THE
RURAL ECONOMY
O F
YORKSHIRE.
VOL. I,
THE
RURAL ECONOMY
O F
YORKSHIRE.
COMPRIZING THE
Management of Landed Eftates,
AND THE
PRESENT PRACTICE of HUSBANDRY
IN THE
AGRICULTURAL DISTRICTS
OF THAT COUNTY.
By Mr. MARSHALL.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
V O L. I.
LONDON:
Printed for T. CADELL, in the Strand.
M,DCC,LXXXVIIi:
ADVERTISEMENT.
FROM NORFOLK, in November
1782 *, I paiTed thro' Lincolnfliirc
into Yorkshire; my native county;
—where I fpent (ix months ; — prin-
cipally in obferving and regiftering its
Rural Economy : — a tafk I v/as better
enabled to perform in fo fliort a time, as
my early youth w^as fpent among it ; and
my acquaintance with its prcfent pradti-
tioners of courfe extenlive.
When I left the county, in May 1783,
I confidcred myfelf poiTelTed of materials
fufficient for the purpofe I t/jen had in
view. Bat on looking over my papers
(after I had got the Norfolk Economy
through the prefs) I found many addi-
tions wanting, to render my regifter fit
for the public eye. I therefore paid this
country a fecond vifit, in March lad
(i 787 i) and have made a farther flay in
it of nine m.onths : during which time I
have
* Sec the Preface tothcRur.AuEcoNOMY ©f Noriolk.
2C07S44
ADVERTISEMENT*
have not only filled up the deficiencies I
was aware of 5 but have received an in-
flux of frefli infcrmation I did not ex-
pe6t.
It was my intention, when I came
down into the county, to have made
EXCURSIONS into its beft-cultivated Dif-
trids ; but having found, in the imme-
diate environs of the station I have
been led to fix in, full employment for
the time appropriated at prefent to the
county, — I am under the neceflity of
poftponing the intended excurfions. I
poftpone them, however, with lefs re-
gret ; as, in acquiring a general know-
ledge of the rural economy of the king-
dom, tht primary objei5t is to obtain the
"ividely differing f radices of stations
chofen in distant counties: — the
partial excellencies of intermediate
districts, hovvfoever delirable they
may be, arc objects oi -a fecondary nature.
PicKERiKo, 21 December 1787.
Publifhcd March 1788,
CONTENTS
or THE
FIRST VOLUjME.
I. COUNTY - - Page
I
2
J.. Vale of Pickering - 12
3. Estates and Tenures - 19
4. General Management of Estates 23
5. Inclosures - - - 48
(3. Farm Buildings - - 105
7. Drinking Pools - - 146
8. Roads - - - 180
9. Fences _ _ - ig^
10. Shores and Surface Drains 224
11. Woodlands and Plantations 234
12. Farms . _ . 254
13. Farmers - - . 257
14. Workmen - - 259
15. Beasts of Labour - - 260
16. Implements - - 268
17. The Weather - - 284
18. General Management of Farms 290,
19. Succession - - 296
20. Soils and Soil Processes - 298
21. Manures and Manure Process 327
22. Sowing - - 35 j
23. Weeds and Vermin - 354
24. Harvesting - - 3S7
35. Farm-Yard Management - 400
26. Markets - - 409
w
-^ H E
RURAL ECONOMY
O F
YORKSHIRE.
I.
THE COUNTY.
YORKSHIRE has always been fpoken
of as the firft Province of thefe king-
doms. If we confider its fuperior magni-
tude ; the variety and flrength of its natural
features ; the fertility of its foils ; and the
induftry of its inhabitants ; the abundance
and copioufnefs of its rivers ; the richnefs
of the views on their banks; and the wild-
nefs of thofe which are found among its
mountains j — it is well entitled to pre-emi-
nence.
Vol. I. S Viewed
2 T H E C O U N T Y. n
Viewed as a field of Rural Economy, it
is divifible into mountain, upland, and
VALE. The Vale of York, falling gently
from the banks of the Tees down to the
confiux of the Trent and Humber, is Na-
ture's grand divifiOn of the County into
East and West Yorkshire.
West Yorkshire naturally fubdividcs
into mountains, which I Ihall term the
JVfJlern Morebnds -, into Craven, a fertile cor-
ner cut off from the county of Lancafler ;
and into a various rnaniifa^uring Dtjlriol :
East Yorkshire mio Cleveland ; i\\c Er.Jlern
AxDidcinds ; the Vale of Pickering and its fur-
rounditig banks; the Wolds ', and Holdernefs.
The Western Morelands are links of the
cxtenfive chain of mountains which rife with
the Staffordfliire Morelands, and continue
ihrough Dcrbyfhirc, Yorkfliirc, Weflmore-
land, and Cumberland, almofl without in-
terruption, to the Highlands of Scotland.
There mountains are covered with heath :
but the vallies which intcrfcCt them are cul-
livated, WenOey-dalc, the largeft of thefe
vallies, is fertile j and abounds with romantic
bci.utles.
Craven
I. YORKSHIRE. 3
Craven is well cultivated and rich in
foil, but not uniformly fo ; its furface being
broken : it is neither a valley, a vale, nor a
plain ; nor does it fall under the idea of a
mountainous or an upland country. It is
fmall, compared with the other Diftridts of
Weft Yorkfhire.
The MANUFACTURING District is flrong-
ly featured. The northern and weftern parts
of it mix with barren mountains. The more
fouthern and eaftern limb, — a lovely decli-
vity flielving gently into the Vale of York,
is rich and highly cultivated ; excepting the
moft fouthern extremity, which partakes of
the fandy hills of Nottinghamfhire ; and ex-
cepting the mountains on its weftern margin,
which afiimilate with thofe of Derbyfhirc.
The Vale of York is various in fertility.
The fens at its bafe, and a heathy plain,
part of the ancient foreft of Galtres, north-
eaftward of the city of York, are drawbacks
upon its produdtivenefs. In a general view,
however, it has not, in this country, its equal.
The vales of Gloucefter and Evefham are
more fertile, but lefs cxtenfive. The wide
flat of country which lies between the hills of
B 2 Surrey
4 T H E COUNT Y. i.
Surrey and Kent and the Downs of SnfTex,
may vie wi:h it in extent, but not in generj^l
fertilitv. If we edimate the Vale of York
by the number and co[>ioufnefs of its rivers,
and by the richnefs of its marginal banks, it
would perhrips be dillicult, in any country,
to equal it *.
* I nm not fingnlar in my opinion of this paflag^e
c: ctintry. \'r. Gilpin, in h.s Obfervations on the
Mcur.t.iins and Lalccs of Ciimberland and Wciimorc-
1:ind, and on fcvcral other parts of England, fpeaking
of a vie\V from Hackfall near Rippon ; a view which
cvci locks the uppei- part of this Vale; fpeaks of it as
ioliow? :
" It is a circumnance of nieat advniita:^c when you
are canied to this ?,rai-d exhibition (as vou aUva' s
iuould be) through, ti>e clofc lanes of the Rippon road.
Yon have rot the lead: intiiiiation of a d.Ugn upon you,
nor ai-y fiif^gcuion that you are on high grounds ; till
tl-.c folding-dciors of the building at Mowbray Point
be.ng thrown open, you are liruck v\iEh one of the
gr.nJ.tuand moll bcautllul l-urils cf;:ountry that the
jn-jagiriation can form.
" Your cyt is firlt carried many fathoms precipi-
tately down a bold wi ody fuep to the river Ewer,
which forms a large femiLircuiar curve below ; wind-
i:!g ro the very fo';t(»f the p!cci/ice on whiih y;)u ftand.
"I'hr trers of the piccipcf ovtihang the central part
of the curve.
*' In other parts, too, the river is ii"iicrccptcd by
V.O. ds J bi.t enough of it is tiillovcred to leave the lye
at
y. Y O R K: S ri IRE. 5
Cleveland is, in general appearance, a
continuation and r.pperidnge of the Vale of
York;
at no uncertainty in tracing its courfe. At the tuo
oppofite fides of the curve two prcniontcrics flioot i ito
the liver in contrail: with each cither : that on tl\e
rip^ht is wood_y, faced with rock, and crowned with a
caftie ; that on the left rifcs fniooth from the wat>.r,
and is fcattered over with a few clumps. The peni..-
fiilar par , and the grounds alfo at feme diftancc !).■-
ypnd the ifthmus, confiit of one entire woody fL-enc ;
which advancing boldly to ihe front qf the precipice,
upitcs ilfclf -with i'.
" This woody fcener}^ on the banl^s of the river
may be ca'.kd the firfl dillance. Beyo' d this lies h
rich estenfive country — broken into large parts— deco-
rated with all the objects, and diverhiied with all the
tiiits of diilant landfcapc ; retiring frani the eye fcene
after fcene, till at length every vivid hue fading gra-
dually away, and all diiTinalon of parts being lofr,
the country imperceptibly mcks into the horizon ; ex-
cept in fom,e parts where the blue hiih of Hamblsdun
clofe the view.
" Through the whole extent of this grand f.:cp.e —
this dclightfal gradation of light and colours, Nature
, has wrought with her broadefl and freeft pencil. The
p^rts are amp'e ; the compofition perfectly corici't.
She h ith admitted nothing difgLifting, or even trivial. I
fcarcc remem'er anywhere an extenfiv-e view fo full of
btaujies and fo free from faults. The fore-ground is
as pleafing as the back-ground ; which it never can be
where plots uf cultivation approach the eye. Aud it is
rai'Q to n;.d fo large an c>'.teiit cf near ground, covered
6 THECOUNTY. %,
York ; there being no other natural divliion
between them than what is given by an un-
perceived elevation of furface. The waters
of the Vale of York fall into the Oiife and
Kiimber ; thofe of Cleveland into the Tees,
which divides it from the county of Durham.
The Eastern Morelands appear as a
detached raafs of mountain broken off from
the British Alps, which have been men-
tioned. The north-wefl limb of this frag-
ment is an abrupt broken precipice. At
the top a barren heath. At the foot, the
Vale of York and the fertile plains of Cleve-
land. From the brink of this giant preci-
by wood or other furfoce v/hofe parts arc alike grand
and beautiful.
" The vale of which this view is compofed hath not
yet entirely loft its ancient name, the ^aie of Muvobray ;
lb called from Mowbray-caftle, now no longer traced
even in its ruins ; but once fuppofed to be the capital
inanlion of thefe wide domains. This vale extends
from York almoft to the confines of Durham ; is
adorned by the -wale and the Ewer, both confiderable
livers ; and is certainly one of tlie nobleft tracts of
country of the kind in England."
The loivtr part of the Vale of York is not in-
cluded in this view. It is lefs pidurefque thin the
Hipper part ; but more diffufe j move fertile ; and, in
rivers, infinitely richer.
pice
I, Y O R K S H IRE. 7
pice the Morelands dip gently fouthward
to the Vale of Pickering ; on whofe verge
rife abruptly a range of thin-foiled limeftone
heights ; which, in a fimilar manner, flielve
gently into the Vale ; forming its northera
margin.
The Vale of Pickering is a fingular
paffage of country. A lake left dry by na-
ture. A bafon, formed by eminences on
every fide, fave one narrow outlet of the wa-
ters cclledted within its area, and upon the
adjacent hills. Nature, perhaps, never was
fo near forming a lake without finifhing the
dcfign. A dam of inconfiderable length
acrofs the Derwent, near Malton, would
deluge the entire Vale ; and the firfl paffage
of the waters would, in alT probability, be
down the fea cliffs, which are its eallern ex-?
tremity.
The Wolds of Yorkfliirp appear as if,
during fome convulfion of 1 ;ture, they had
been fevered (by the fea-likc Humber and its
broad rich banks) from thofe of Lincoln-
Ihire. In the prefen"! ftate of things they
may be confidered as the main link broken
o{f from the chain of chalky hills which is
B 4 thrown
S THE COUNTY. ^,
thrown irregularly over the more fouthern
provinces. The Yorklhire Wolds ave the
dovyns of Surrey on a large fcale. They arc
the moft magnificent aiTemblage of chalky
hills the ifland affords. The features are larsie.
The furface billowy, but not broken ; the
fvvells relembling Bifcayan waves half-paci-
fied. The ground in general is peculiarly
graceful : JVood and water would render it
moft beautiful. Water is forbidden. But
wood may be had at will : and it is extra-
ordinary that the fpirit of planting Ihould
have broken out fo late. Utility, as well as
ornament, calls loudly for the obvious im^
provement,
HoLDERNESS, towards the Humber, is a
low flat tra(ft : the Fens of Lincolnlhire on
a reduced fcale. But the upper margin, whic-h
forms the Ikirts of the Wold-hills, is a lovely
line of country. On one hand a fertile plain,
abounding with wood and v/atcr : oii the
other, dry airy downs rifing with an eafy af-
cent to the highefc wold.
In RIVERS the county under furvey is
iingularly happy. The Humber, which
might well be liyled the River of Rivers,
bounds
|, YORKSHIRE. 9
bounds it on the fouth. The Tees forms
its northern confine. The Don, the Air,
the Wharf, the Ouse, and the D£RW£\t
|-ife in its mountains, and wind through its
plains.
In a COMMERCIAL light thefe rivers arc
pbjcfts of the greateft: ufe. The tide flows
into the center of the county. Not only
Biill^ but Tork, 'Tadcajier^ Ferryhidge and
Doncajler, may be called inland ports.
The Don is rendered navigable to Rother-
ham, Sheffield; the Air to Leeds, Bradford;
the Calder to Wakefield and to near Halifax ;
the Oufe to Burrougbbridge ; the Derwent to
Malton ; the Hull to Driffield, at the foot of
the Wolds ; and the Tees loTarm, on the bor-
ders of Cleveland, at the head of the Vale of
York. If, with the natural advantages this
County poflefles in its rivers, we view thofe
which are given it by its mines of coals,
allum, iron, lead, copper; and its manufac-
tures of vyoolens and iron wares ; commerce
appears to be fingularly indebted to it : while
to the sea-ports of Whilby and Scarborough
— as nurferies of hardv feamen — the nation
at Iaro;e owe much.
But
JO T H E C O U N T Y. h
But national policy and commerce make
no part of the prefent defign ; unlefs when
they are intimately connedtcd with rural
icoNOMics. It therefore remains to view
the county as a subject of rural economy.
No country entirely mountainous, nor one
which is diilurbed by manufa<fture, can be
a fit fubjcdt of ftudy for rural knowledge.
The western division of the county falls
chiefly under one or other of thefe defcrip-
tions. There are no doubt lands in Weft
Yorkfhire which are highly cultivated ; efpc-
cially aboyt Doncafter, toward Ferrybridge •
a pafllige worth perufing. But if We attend
to the EASTERN DIVISION', wc fhall find col-
lected, vv'ithin comprehenfive limits, almofl
every defcription of country which is intc-
rcfting in rural aflairs. A rich, well culti-
vated plain ; a group of almoft barren moun-
tains, inviting objeds of improvement -, a
fertile vale, various in foil and cultivation ;
with a trad of chalky downs, terminating
in a rich marfliland fenny country : includ-
ing grafs land of every clafs, and arable land
of almoft every defcription. It is the iflanc^
in miniature.
|i YORKSHIRE. ti
Nor do thefe natural advantages alone
render Eaft Yorkfhire a defirable objefl of
fludy : the industry of its inhabitants
makes them peculiarly attentiveto minutial
matters ; while the spirit of improvement,
which has lately difFufed itfelf among all
ranks of men, renders this Diflri<ft iingularly
eligible, as a field on which to trace the
greater outlines Of management.
VALE
ii T f I E COUNTY. u
VALE OF PICKERING.
THE SITUATION of this divifion of
Enil Yorklhire has been already given. Its
OUTLINE fomewhat oval. The extent of its
larger diameter about thirty-five miles ; its
grcateft width about twelve miles : includ-
ing in its area, and the cultivated lands
which hang upon its banks, and which as
property belongs to it, about three hundred
fquare miles, or 200,000 acres,
The feet of the marginal hvells are Hud-
ded with TOWNS and villaG£s; which in
fomc parrs are not a mile afundcr ; but in
others are farther diftant, and lefs regular.
To thcfe marghial townships belong, ge-
nerally, the lands of the Slope, with a por-
tion of the area or bottom of the Vale ;
which, through this reafon, is thinly inha-
bited. From the center wcftward a few
vilkgcs- are fcattered ; but from thence
caftvv'ard, the entire area, one townfliip ex-
cepted, is included within the towniliij)s of
the margin.
JJyland ^i ^ ■ ^
\ Colder by --^S.^ ^herston '' YmivAam
•^iVydo.
, [ Ji^OJ.
-^m . Iss " o|=,.5;;f I ^" «
I 41 --I-
^°^,.:i!/
^ I
Yi'tTrslei'
*Eaftmg-vrood >-, "^ "b.
•3' ^
/
Stil/mfiton
^r> Suite
Ofy o
O
.i:^
^o
1.DS
v I I
-^ %
^
^
I
I
cJ^'li
Thc\
CENT Hills
Tmimrirniir '
3^4
15
-C
*. Y O R K S ri IRE. ij
The AREA of the Vale is extremely flat ;
nearly level -, but being broken by hillocks
of different magnitudes, irregularly fcatter-
ed ; and fometimes by promontories flioot-
ing from the marginal banks ; the eve can
feldom judge either of its flatnefs or its
extent.
Thefc HILLOCKS and head lan'ds are in-
variably fertile; moilly a fat clay : while
the bafe on which they ftand is either a rich
fandy loam ; the common foil of the weft
end of the Vale ■, or an Inferior clay, inter-
• iperfcd with patches of moory foil ; the pre-
vailing foils of the marfnes and carrs of the
eaftern divifion.
The MARGINS are varioiifly foiled. The
Ikirts of the banks are moflly a rich middle
loam ; dry, yet ccol (how eligible for the
fitcs of villages !) but generally decreafe in
quality with the rife of the hills Vvhich back
them.
7'he WOLD HILLS, which on this f.de are
bold but not broken, terminate at their fum-
m/it In a thin chalky loam ; — the foil of Epfom
and Banftead do.vns.
The
i4 VALE OF PICKERING. 2;
The range of hills which rife at Malton,
and fill lip rhe fpace between the wolds and
the heights of Hambledon ; which at prefent
are without a name ; but which I lliall term
the HowARDiAN Hills * ; are lower and lefs
abrupt; terminating in a various foil; cover-
ing a well-grounded, well-wooded, line
fporting country ; — the inferior hills of Kent.
The NORTHERN MARGIN rifcs in general
Hill lefs abruptly ; terminating in a thin
limeflone loam, lying on a chain of heights,
broken by wooded vallies, and backed by
the morcland hills ; which are interfected
by cultivated " dales," appendages of the
*' country" out of which they iffue.
The Climature of the Vale is above the
latitude it lies in (54*'. )• The fummer feafons
are at lead three weeks behind thofe of the
ibuthern provinces. What is remarkable,
the feafons on the fouthern banks, about
Malton, lying of courfe with a north afpedt,
are forwarder, by more than a week, than
thofe
* Castle-Howap. n, the magnificent refidcnce of
IIowARu Eari, f;f Ca.m. isT.B, 13 foatcd amon^; thcfc
hillocks.
2.
YORKSHIRE. i^'
thofe of the northern margin, which lie full
to the fun. The fubftratimi of both is the
fame ; namely Limedone Rock. The fadt,
perhaps, may be accounted for by the pile
of mountains which rife behind the northern
banks ; and which, though they difcharge
rivers of water, ftill retain at their bafes a
fufficient quantity to keep their ikirts cool
throu2:h the fummer-feafon.
o
The RIVERS of the Vale are the Derwetif
and the Rye ; which, by receiving the waters
of the Cqfia, the Seven, the Dove, the Riccal,
and other inferiour brooks *, is more co*
pious than the Derwent at their conflux.
The rivers have their rife in the moreland
mountains, are colledled in the dales, and
wind through the wooded vailies into the
area of the Vale ; through which they move
v;ith fiuggard pace to their narrow outlet.
As
* A reinarkable circamft:incc attends tliefc broo'<3 ;
all of whicli, fiom the llye to the Colla (the Seven in
a dry fum.'iicr not excepted) link (when at dead water)
in the valUcs between the Lhnellane Heights. Some
of them rife again in the fame vailies in which they
fink : others difappear entirely. In the time of floods
they all occupy the channels which nature has provided
for them on the furface ; and which, in the annexed
Sketch, are marked by dotted lines.
16 VALE OF PICKERING. 2.
As a proof of the fiatncfs of the Vale, the
waters of the Rye are fome four or five days
in pafllng from Hemfley to Malton (about
fouitccn miles) : and thofe of the Dervventj
FiOt lefs than a week in moving from Ayton
(about fifteen miles) to the fame general
outlet. It is highly probable, that In a ftate
of nature a principal part of the Vale was
fubjedt to be overflowed. Even nowj fince
rivers have been cut, and embankments
made, extenfive fields of water are ftill to be
feen in times of floods ; not, however,
throu2;h natural neceflitv, but for want of
further exertions of art. By Incrcafing em-
bankments, and by removing obftruuiionS
natural and artificial *, the rivers, in their
higheft fvvcll, might be kept within due
bounds.
In'land navigation. The Derwent \i
made navigable to Malton ; and might,
without extraordinary expence, be continued
U) to Ayton •, and the Rye and its branches
• The cntarcict-likc miil-dam acrofs the Derwent at
Old INLilton is a public nuifance which refieus ulfgiace
« n cvc y man of propeiry in the Yule. It apj ears as
ii intend -d to finifli what nature has left undone !
might
2. YORKSHIRE. 17
might, with little exertion of art, be made
navigable to Pickering, to near Kirkby, and
to Hemfley. But a fcqueftcrcd vale, with-
out mines or manufavfcories *, and with two
fea-pdrts in its neighbourhood, and an inland-
port on its margin, requires no farther af-
fiftance from water carriage. A removal of
the obilrudions of the courfes of the rivers is
wanted here rather than more artificial ones.
Inclosures. a century ago, the marginal
townlhips lay, perhaps, entirely open -, and
there are veftiges of common fields in the area
of the Vale. The weft marfhes, church pro-
perty, have been longer under inclofure ; and
the central townfnips were probably inclofed
long before thofe of the margin ; the foils
of that part being adapted to grafs -, and
while the furrounding country lay open, grafs
land was of Angular value. At prefent, the
entire Vale may be faid to be in a ftate of in-
CLOSURE ; a fubjedt which will be fpoken of
fully in its proper place.
• Excepting a manufaftory of coarfe linen, wliick
prevail-, more or lefs, I believe, through the feveral
difl rifts of Eaft Yorkftiire.
Vol. I. C Produce :
i8 VALE OF PICKERING. 1.
Produce : wood, grafs, and corn : the
two latter at prefent intermixt, from the cen-
ter of the area to the fummit of the marginal
heights. The iirfl, though abundant, being
confined principally to the vallics of the
margin, does not afford general ornament ;
nor even appear to the eye at a diftance^
On a near view, however, fome of thofe val-
lies contain great beauties. The fituation of
Rivaulx, the fite of a dilapidated monaftery,
would fatisfy the m.ofl craving eye. Were
the cxtenfive woodlands which thefe vallies
contain fcattcred on the bofoms of the fur-
rounding hills, the Vale of Pickering would
be a pafTiige of country as fingular in point
of beauty as it is in natural fituation.
ESTATES
YORKSHIRE. ?S
ft
ESTATES AND TENURES.
THE LANDS of the Vale are much
in the hands of fmall owners. The only
laro;e eflate which it contains lies on its
weftern margin ; and this for magnitude and
intirenefs is exceeded by few eflates in the
kingdom. The towns of Hemfley and Kir-
bymoorfide, with the villages in their neigh-
bourhoods, and an immenfe traft of More-
land reaching to the verge of Cleveland, are
included in the Duncombe eflate. The
Earl of Salisbury has a confiderable pro-
perty fcattcred acrofs the richer part of the
Vale from Sinnington to Brawby : and there
are fome few other ofFeftates of noblemen in
difTerent parts of the Diftrid.
The Crown ftill retains, in right of the
dutchy of Lancafter, fome property in the
ancient forefl of Pickering ; and the Arch-
bishop OF York has a confiderable eflate in
the marfhes.
C 2 §I3L
io ESTATES AND TENURES. 3.
Sir William St. Quin-tin has a good
property about his refidence at Scampfton,
and Ibme other Gentlemen have refidences
and property in the Vale.
But the major part of the lands of the Dif-
trid: are the property, and, in general, are in
the occupation of yeomanry •, a circum-
ftance this, which it would be difficult to
equal in fo large a Diftrict. The townfliip
of Pickerim is a fino-ular inftancc. It con-
tains about three hundred freeholders, prin-
cipally occupying their own fmall cflatcs ;
many of which have fallen down, by lineal
defcenr, from the original purchafcrs. No
great man, nor fcarcely an efquire, has yet
been able to get a footing in the parifh ; or, if
any one has, the cuftom of portioning younger
fons and daughters by a divifion of lands,
has reduced to its original atoms the
cilate which may have been accumulated.
At prefent no man is owner of three hundred
pounds a year landed eflate lying within
the townfhip, although its rental, were it
rack-rcnttd, v.ould not be Icfs than fix or
Icven thoufand pounds.
The
3- YORKSHIRE. 21
The prevailing TENURE \sfrcehold\ which,
however, is in many cafes fubjedtcd to a fmall
free-rent i referved by the Crown, or the feu-r
dal lords of which it has been originally
purchafcd. In Pickering, which is ftill held
by the Crown as part of the dutchy of Lan-
cafter, the free-rent of the townfhip is 28 1.
13 s. which is received annually by the free-
holders in rotation, and paid in part into the
hands of the IcfTees of the Crown; the re-
mainder, I underftand, to the heirs of the
late lord Feverfliam *,
The copyhold tenure is lefs prevalent here
than in fome other Didrids : neverthelefs, it
occurs in different parts of the Vale.
The wefl marfhes are principally under
Bijhops leafe for three lives.
An ancient privilege, founded in convc-
niency or a degree of neceffity, and eftab-
iiihed in right by long cuftom, ftill remains
evident in this Diftrid. This privilege,
which is here termed 2i win drake, and which,
* Part of the townflilp, it is laid, having been givea
up in difchafge of monies advanced the Cruwn by a ci-
tizen of London ; who, in parcelling it our, has re-
ferved a frce»rcnt of 8 1. 2 s. 6 d.
C 3 probably,
22 ESTATES AND TENURES. 3.
probably,- heretofore was granted, and may
ftill be traceable, in different parts of the
kinordom, gives the occupiers of one parifh
liberty to drive their cattle to water over the
commons of another, which happen to lie
between a mcfluage, hamlet, or village, and
a brook or other convenient watering-place ;
with, however, a provifion, that the cattle fo
watered iliall not be fuffered to ** couch and
Iciyer" on the ground driven over. But
this original ftipulation having in fome
cafes been neglefted to be complied with,
the windrake has in time grown into a right
of commonage. An inftance wherein fuch a
ricrht has been eftablifhed will be mentioned
o
under the article Inclosures.
GENERAL
4. MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. 23
GENERAL MANAGEMENT
o F
ESTATES,
THE leading principles of management,
here, differ widely from thofe which prevail
in Norfolk *. Here tenants are in full pof-
felTion of the farms they occupy ; which, un-
til of late years, they have been led, by in-
dulgent treatment, to confider as hereditary
poffeffions, defcending from father to fon,
through fjcceffive generations ; the infertion
of their names in the rent-roll having been
confidered as a tenure, almoft as permanent
and fafe as that given by a more formal ad-
mi (Tion in a copyhold court.
One of the firft eftates in the Diftrid af-
forded fome years ago a ftriking inftance of
this indulgent treatment. In the early days
* See Rural Economy of Norfolk, Vol. I, p. 66.
C 4 of
24 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. 4,
of its late pofllflbr, the tenants were not
only fuffered to heqiieath their farms to their
refpedlive relations, but to /i-// the "good-
will" of them to ftrangers.
The effcdsof this perhaps unprecedented
indulgence were thefe : the happinefs of
thoufands of individuals ; — a refpedability
of character of the fource of fo much bene-
volence ; a retardation of improvements in
hufbandry ; and, confequcntly, a lofs of pro-
duce to the prefent community : this being
one of the few infiances I have met with, in
which a lov/nefs of rent has operated as a
caufe of indolence in the renter.
In the later part of life, this benevolent
character, perceiving perhaps the evil effedl
of too great indulgence, or aduated by other
motives, increafed his rent-roll fome 50 per
Wit. But ftiil he prefcrved his refpcdabi-
iity : for his farms were fliil moderately
rented.
The prefent pofiefibr has repeated the ad-
vance ; but whether v/ith equal propriety
and equal credit, is a matter not neceflary to
be difcuffed in this place.
A fimilar
4. YORKSHIRE. 25
A fimilar condcd: has taken place on ano-
ther confiderable cftate in the Vale, and with
fimilar effeds. The fivil: rile was moderate,
and made with judgment; the lad ill-judged
and immoderate ; intailing 3'ears of wretch-
cdncfs on numbers who had hitherto partaken
of the common comforts of life.
Thefe, and other inftances which have fal-
len within my own knowledge, are fufncient
evidences of the folly of deranging an eflate
by exceflive rents. Heretofore the tenants
on the eftates above-noriccd not only kept up
old eredions in proper repair, but reneived
with fubftantial buildings ; and made other
improvements upon their refpedtive firms,
with the fpirit of owr.ers ; confid-ring them
in every refpedt as their own cfl.ites ; under
a confidence that no advantage would be ta-
ken of fuch improvements; but that they
would remain with themfelves, nnd defcend
to their families.— Now, ncccflary repairs
are negledled, buildings fuffcred to diminifh,
and improvements in hul^Dandry laidafide;
for all confidence is lojl : one rife has not been
thought fufficienr, and two may be thought
top few. It is faid, and I am afraid with
truth,
25 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. 4.
truth, that the common good management
of laying down lands with grafs-feeds has
been difpenfed with, " for fear the field
** fhould look green, and the rent of the farm
" be raifcd !" Be this as it may, it is abun-
dantly evident that both extremes in the rate
of rent are prejudicial to an eftate ; and that
in fixing a rental, as in all other human af-
iairs, there is a happy medium, which, though
ottcn difTicult to find, always deferves to be
feduloufly fought. No attention ought to
be Iparcd in endeavouring to afcertain the
Jiioan value of an ei>ate to be raifrd ; for on
this only the advance can be adjuilcd with
propriety.
It is evidently a want of policy in the ma-
na:-cr of an eftate to do any a£t which forfeits
the confidence of tcnunts at 'will. For in
t'^is cafe, conndcnce is the only tie between
landlord and teni.nt; and if a rife of rent
be neeelfary, it Diould be made with judg-
nuiK and moderation, and at one advance ;
iluit the necellary confidence may not be
ihaken, and the cdate thereby rendered lia-
hle to the-vvaHie of tenants at will driven to
•<.|c:1pair.
\Yith
4. YORKSHIRE. i-]
With a kjfee the cafe is different : the leafe
is in this cafe the tic : the maintainance of
buildings, the ufage of lands, and the term
of occupation are fixt ; and the refponfibility
of the tenant may, in this cafe, apologize for
an exceffivc rent, though it will not always be
found a guard againft its evil effe<fts. Howe-
ver, it may be fairly inferred, that an eftate can
with propriety be rented higher under leafe
than at will : and further, that leafes, or a firm
reliance in the tenants on the head and heart
of their landlord, are abfolutely neceffary to.
improvements in Hufbandry.
It is not my intention to draw general in-
ferences, unlefs they refult aptly from fadts
under obfervation ; and unlefs they tend
to what appears to be an obvious improve-
inent in the general management of the
Diftridt under furvey. Nor is it my intention
to di£late, or even lo recommend^ unlefs when
fuch improvements prefent thcmfelves to
my mind in ftrong colours.
It appears evidently that in the larger
eftatesof this Diftridt, the tenants (entirely at
will) have loft much of the confidence which
gught to fubfift between landlord and tenant;
and
23 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. 4,
and it ftrikes me clearly that it would be
good management on fuch eftates to grant
leafes on the larger farms, and fix the fmaller
ont- s at fuch rents, and under fuch affurances,
as will rellore fpirit and peace of mind to
theiroccupiers.
The m.an-agem.ent of a landed eftate is not
a light matter ; the profperity and happincfs
of the country it li-.^s in are nearly connected
with ir. And no other apology, I flatter
myfelf, will be required for publifhing the
foregoing fafts and refleiflions, or for ven-
turing; to recommend an innovation which
prudent management might have rendered
unnecelTuiy.
The particular departments of manage-
ment which require to be fpoken to under
this head are,
i . Manor Courts. 6 Covenants.
2. The Purchafe of Lands. 7. Removals.
3. Tenancy. 8. Receiving.
4. Term, 9. Heads of Leafe,
5. Rem.
I. Manor Courts. Thefe ancient fources
pf the law of villagers are ftiU pretty gene-
ra Uv
4. YORKSHIRE. 29
rally kept open ; even in manors where nei-
ther copyhold nor free-rent tenants remain ;
and where, of courfe, their le.^rality is dif-
putable. Ncverthelefs they have ftill their
ufes : the cleanfing of rivulets and common
fewers, — 'the repair of roads to grounds, — •
the fufficiency of ring-fences, — and the cfti-
marion of damages by impounded cattle, — •
the flocking of commons, and the removal
of public nuifances, — are matters which fre-
quently require the interpofition of a jury ;
who, in places where they are ftill impannel-
led, are confidered not only as judges of the
general welfare of the manor, but are fre-
quently called in as arbiters of private dif-
ferences : and who are fo fit to fettle village
difputes as a jury of neighbours who have
perfonal knowledge of the parties and the
fubjcd: matter in difpute ?
In a manor vv'here the lord has no intercll
in the well-ordering of the lands and the in-
habitants it contains, it might feem unrea-
fonable to oblige him to maintain a court :.t
his own expence ; but if f nes for non-ap-
pearance, and amerciaments for default?,
could be legally recovered, the extra charge,
if
30 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. 4.
it any, would be fmall, and might be borne
bv the county. And tlierc appears to be no
folid objedV/iort to a regulation^ which would
in the end be produdive of public as well
as private good : for whatever tends to thd
advancement of cultivation and the well-or-
dering of fociety, contributes to the virtue
and proi'pcrity of a nation.
II. Pl'Rchase of Lands. From the mul-
tiplicity of fmall eflates in this Didricl, fre-
quent transfers of property take place ; a
market for land is always open, and the fair
market-price pretty accurately underftood ;
confequcntly x\\q fluBuating value of land may
here be obferved to advantage.
Some -.cars ago the price was extremely
high ; forty or fifty years purchafe upon a
very high rent : lands not worth fifteen fliil-
lings an acre rent were fold for forty pounds
purchafe. This, however, was not uniform
through the Diftvict : for at the tiiiic thofe
extravagant ])rices were givvn in qwq part of
liie Vale, lands of twice the rental value to a
farmer were fold in other parts of it at ex-
actly the fame vnluc ; thoug-h the diflancc
between them is only a few miles ; and in
the
4. Y O R K S II IRE. 31
the fame Dirtrid iimilar land is not now
worth thirty pounds.
The caufe of this dlfparity is a proper
fubjed of invelligatlon. The fituation in
one cafe is dry, with good roads-, in the other
low, and the roads deep a/.d dirty. 'Ti.rJ
is chiefly in the hands of fmall owners — mod
of them monied men, and anxious to increafe
their pojfcjjions : This principally in the oc-
cupation of tenants. In J'hat the rage cf
polTeffion had broken loofe, and ideal values
had in confequence been fixed to the lands
on fale ; while the lands of 1'his were cut cf
fafoion, and of courfe neglectfd. A move-
able commodity may be carried to the bcft
market ; but land can only be fold at what
is ertcemcd the fair market-price in the place
it happens to lie in.
Hence it fecms to fellow, that a pcrfon
who wiihes to purchaie at a cheap market
without regard to locality, Ihould look for a
neglected Diftritft, and endeavour to avoid the
neighbourhood of fmall owners, and that in-
ordmate luft of poflcllion which is evidently
epidemical, but not continual.
On
32 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. 4;
On the contrary, one who wants to fell
•fhould wait, if he can, until a dear time
offer itfelf ; or othcrwile accept, perhaps to
a difadvantage, the fofiionahU price of the
day.
Thcfe inferences, however, are more
ftridly applicable to fmall than to large
purchafes.
The prefcnt medial price of land in this
Diftrid is about thirty years purchafe upon
a fair rental value ; but varies much with
the circumftances it happens to be under.
III. Tenancy. Upon moft of the iargeir
eftates krjes arc unknown ; the farms have
been let at will, and held as hereditary pof-
feffions through fucceffive generations. But
it has been already obferved, that the bafis
on which this fpecies of tenancy formerly
reftcd, has of late years been fapped, and
is no longer fufficiently fecure cither for
landlord or tenant.
In the marfhes, in which the Archbifhop
of York has confiderable prop^ty, Icafes for
lives is the ordinary tenancy ; and there, it is
obfcrvable, rapid improvements in hufoandry
have been made.
IV. Term
4. YORKSHIRE. 2Z
IV. Term. Lime beino- the fadlitious ma-
nure of the Diftrldl ; and upon old-inclofed
land, the principal means of improvement ;
it may feem that a fliort term would be here
fufficient. But if it be confidered that the
nature of much of the land, and the efla-
blifhcd praftice and produce of the country,
require an alternacy of corn and pafture,
fourteen years is a reafonable term : if the
price of labour and produce could be fore-
known, twenty-one years would, for the te-
nant, the eflate, and the community, be more
eligible.
V. Rent. Extremely high. In mofl parts
of the Vale much higher than even in Nor-
folk. There are lands under the ordinary
courfe of hufbandry let to farmers at thirty
to forty Ihilllngs an acre. In many parts of
the kingdom the fame lands would not 1st
for two-thirds of the price.
Thefe circumflances imply a goodnefs of
land, and a fuperiority of m.inagement, — or
improvidence on the part of the renter. The
three may be concerned. The land is good,
and the management, in one particular, ex-
cellent ; and it is allowed, that to this piece
Vol. I. D of
34 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. 4-
of management is principally owing the pre-
fcnt high rate of rent.
Formerly it was the univerfal praftice to
plow with four oxen and two horfes^ toge-
ther with a plovv^man and one or two aiUft-
ants. This extravagant plow-team is now
unlverfally reduced to two horfes and a plow^-
man. It is at lead remarked by men of ob-
fervation and judgment, that without this
faving in the mode of tillage^ the prelent
rents could 3iot be borne.
It muft be obferved, however, that the
lands let at the above extravagant rents lie in
eligible fituations, ' and are let in fmall par-
cels. The larger farms lie in general in lefs
eligible fituations ; and there are few, if any,
fo high as twenty fhillings an acre.
To fpeak of the medium rent of the Di-
f^ricfl would be vague ; the rate of rent is, or
ofght to be, proportioned to the quality of
foils ; and lands worth from a pound to a
penny an acre may probably be found on
the fame farm.
This variation of foil enables the obfcrvant
cuhivalor to make accurate diftindtions In
the
4. YORKSHIRE. 35
the expence of management and produce,
and confcqnently in the rental values of
lands of diiTerent qualities : and this may
account in fome meafure for the extraordi-
nary eftimation in which good land is held
in the DiftricT:.
This diftinftion is in general too little at-
tended to upon large eftates, the number of
acres being in general too much regarded,
and the quality of the foil too little. Maps-
are convenient inftruments in the hands of
managers of eftates ; but unlefs they fhew
with fufticient accuracy the quality and fitu-
ation, as well as the quantity of the land they
feprefcnt, they become dangerous guides
in fixing a rental : an accurate valuation is
much more eilimable than a handfome plan.
The art of furveying may be learnt in a
fchool ,* but the judgment rcquifite in the
valuation of lands can only be obtained by
great experience in the field, and by fome
eonfiderable Ihare of knowledge of the par-
ticular lands to be valued.
VI. Covenants. Under the old tenancy, r^-
pairs were done, and new eredions made entire-
ly by the tenants, landlord allowing timber -,
D 2 and
jG MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. 4.
and on fome extraordinary occafions, a fr.ni
certain towards the workmanftiip and the
Gcher materials.
Gates and hedges were entirely under the
management of the tenant ; landlord allow-
ing timber for the gates and dead fences, as
well as iox implements uled upon the farm j alfo
hedging llufFand brulhwood iox fuel.
The management of the land, too, was left
to the tenant, who plowed and cropt It in the
fame manner as he would in all probability
have done had it been his own eflate.
While the neceffary confidence on the part
of the tenants remained, thefe principles of
manacement were abundantly fufficient. The
tciiants took care of the eflate as their own ;
the landlord's only care being direfted to the
annual receipt of the rent. But finding the
tenants alarmed, and fome of them no doubt
dilTatisfied, with the recent additions of rent,
it was thought prudent to introduce new re-
gulations refpedting timber and the manage-
ment of lands. Woodlands have been in-
clofed, and woodwards appointed. The
plow has been reftrained^and particular crops
prohibited.
While
J^ YORKSHIRE. 37
While the advance of rent remained mo-
derate, verbal orders were found fufficienr.
But it is not probable that tenants at will
and at rack-rent will pay much attention to
the interefb of their landlords, when their
own intercft is no longer connefted with it.
It flrikcs m.e clearly that no ejiate at will can
be fafely rack-rented. Nothing but a legal
agreement fpecifying covenants, and bind-
ing a rcfponfible tenant, can guard againfl
the effe<fts of an exceffive ifent,
VII. Removals. The time of the re-
moval of tenants here is, invariably, old Lady-
day.
By the cuflom of this country, tenants at
will are allowed to clear the premifes pre-
vious to the day cf removal, oi hay, firavj,
and manure ! quitting the farm on that day,
and leaving it entirely naked of every thing
except the wheat en the ground; v;hich at
harveft he reaps, and carries off! paying only
for the '' on-ftand," or rent of the land which
the wheat has occupied *.*
D 3 For-
* Barley fown before Ladydny, on faUoii\ is alfo
the tenant's, paying the on-couiing tenant for the on-
|land only.
38 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. 4,
Fortunately, however, for all parties con-
cerned, removals have, until very lately, been
little pradtifed in the Vale : for a worfe time
or a worfe mode could fcarccly be devifed.
Old Ladyday is the middle of fpring feed-
time ; — ftock are flill in the houfc ; — the hay
and ft raw partly eaten, and in part to eat •, —
and at that time of the year the roads, having
been foaked and cut up during winter, and
Hiffcned by the winds of March, are in their
very worfl: Hate. Thefe are difadvantages
to the outgoing tenant. The inconveniencies
of an incoming tenant entering upon a farm
ueilitute of manure, and materials to raife it
from, need not be enumerated.
In Ckvekmdy the time of removal is much
more judicious. The incoming tenant takes
poffcdion of the arable land at Candlemas, —
of the paOure grounds at Ladyday, and of
the mowing grounds at Mayday; — when
the outgoing tenant quits every thing but
the wheat.
Thefe regulations are admirably adapted to.
REMOVALS INT SPRING, and render them more
eligible in many refpefts than Michael-
mas REMOVALS, even when tempered with
the
4. YORKSHIRE. 39
the Norfolk regulations. Old Michaelmas
throws wheat feed- time too backward,
and the unthrafhed corn incurs a iono; and
frequently tedious connexion between out-
going and incoming tenant: belides, too,
the hay, the turneps, the feedage of leys
broken up, and of young clover aft^r har-
veft, make a lon.^ account between them :
whereas, in Cleveland, the wheat on the
ground, and perhaps a little remaining hay,
are the only things to be valued (or remov-
ed), and the remaining wheat in the barn
(if any) the only thing the outgoing tenant
leaves behind him. It the barns be cleared
by Mayday, vvhich in general they may be
without impropriety, the connexion bet'.veen
theoutgoingandtheincomingtenant (or land-
lord) diliblves entirely on the day of removal;
which, namely, 0!d Mayday, is an eligible
feafon, and a leifure-time of the year.
The chief inconvenicncy attending this
mode of removal is that 01 the incominp; te-
nant (refiding, perhaps, at a diftance) put-
ting in the fpring crops. But there is no day
in the year on which this difagreeable bufi-
nefs can be done v»^ithout inconvenicncy to
D4 all
40 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. 4.
all parties -, and all that can be done is to
find out fuch days, and fix upon fuch regu-^
lations as will reduce the inconveniency
within the narroweft bounds pofTible.
From the obfervations I have hitherto
made, New Michaelmas with the Norfolk
regulations, and Old Mayday with thofe of
Cleveland, appear to be the mod eligible
feafons of removal.
VIII. Receiving. The //«7^ of receiving
varies on different eftates. On one, Candle-
mas for the Michaelmas rents, and Mld-
fummer for thofe of Ladyday, are the efla-
bliflied times ; and were they adhered to,
better days for the purpofe need not be
chofen ; though in llrid propriety the firft of
March and the firft of June might be ftill
better *. But to fuit the conven'iencies or
the caprice of the receiver, the ordinary-
times are fcldom adhered to, the tenants be-
ing left in a flate of uncertainty as to the
time of receipt ; notices being fomctlmes
given and countermanded repeatedly : a flate
of cmbarrafTment this to the tenants which
* See NoRF. EcoN, Min. 47.
implies
4. YORKSHIRE. 41
implies unpardonable management. On a
larore eftate the days of audit lliould be a%
fixt and invariable as the days of entrance
and removal j and nothing but extraordi-
pary circumftances can warrant a deviation.
Upon another eilate, ftili more confiderable
than that above alluded to, the pracftice is to
receive a few days after the rents become due ;
namely, about Ladyday and Michaelmas.
Worfc feafons would be difficult to fix upon ;
and the practice is the lefs excufable, as it is
founded on the principle of narrow econo-
piy, not on that of neceflity.
With refpeft to the mode of receiving, it 1%
here reduced to the lowefl degree of limpli-
city. The tenants not only repair and fence,
but pay the land tax of their refped:ivc
farms, which they rent at a <ftjm certain,
fubjedt to no dedudiion •, confequently there
are no accounts to be fettled, nor any voucher
to be examined.
On thefe fimple principles of manage-
ment, even the bufmefs of receiving (the
almoft only bufinefs on an eflate thus ma-
naged) is made light ; and little time being
loil
42 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. 4.
loft in regaling^ difpatch follows of courfe.
In Norfolk, where economy is ftudied with
confiderable attention, the " Audit Frolick"
is always a gaudy day ; but here thoufands
are received over bread and cheefe, and tens
of thoufands without even a horn of fmall-
beer to quench the thirft.
IX. Forms of leases. It has been ob-
ferved, that the leafe is a fpecies of tenancy
uncommon in this Diftrift : I know but of
one eftate on which it has been adopted ; an
oif ellate in the family of a Scotch noble-
man. This eftate is, I believe, principally
vnder leafes of fourteen years.
The form is not altogether excellent ; but
in fome refpe^fts it is lingular ; and in others
judicious. It exhibits the outline of ma-
nagement of that particular eftate, and gives
fome idea of the rural economy of the Dif-
triifl". There are ciaufes in it which many
good tenants would object to j but there arc
others which are well adapted to the pre-
fervation of the eftate, without appearing to
be opprelTive or difgraceful to the tenant.
Lcafcs are nnnunlly becoming more and
more neccfiary -, and it is my intention to
adduce.
^. YORKSHIRE. 4-3
adduce the forms of thofe of different Dif-
trid:s. The formation of a leafe requires
great circumfpcflicn. A colledion of di-
gefted claufes will facilitate the talk of draw-
ing a new form, or improving an old one ;
and will at the f\ime time exhibit in the mod
fubftantial form a compendium of the general
management of eilatcs in different parts of
the kingdom.
Landlord agrees to let •,— certain fpeci-
fied premifes j— from Ladyday ; — for a rent
agreed upon j— during fourteen years, " and
thence from year to year fo long as (both
parties) fhall pleafe.'*
Also to put the buildings in tenantable
repair.
Landlord reserves all mines, quarries,
and royalties ; timbers, and timber-like
trees, fpires and other trees ; — with power to
fearch for cut down and carry away at feafon-
able times ; together with full power of
fporting, &;c. &c. (Tenant being allowed
fuch damages as two indifferent perfons ^* of
equal degree" iliall determine.)
Also
44 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. 4,
Also a power to enter upon the premifes
from time to time, to view the repairs and
the condition thereof.
Tenant agrees to take-, — and to pay,
without dedu£lion (except the land tax) half-
yearly ; — at Michaelmas : and Ladyday (or
within twenty days, demand being duly
made) under forfeiture of the leafe.
Also to pay fuch aficlTments, and to per-
form fuch ferviccs, duties, and cufioms,
as are or fliall bs incumbent on the pre-
piifes.
Also to perform the cuHomary leadings
or boondays obfervcd at the lord's principal
manfion ; also ^' ail other fuits, ferviccs,
'^ duties, and cuRoms of any kind v\'hich
^' now arc or fhall at any time during this
" dcmii'c, be taxed, charged, or impofed !'*
Also to obferve all rules, orders, and
bylaws of the courts Icct a:id baron of the
lord.
Also not to kr, nor fuffcr any perfon
whomfoevcr to occupy, the whole or any
parr of the premifes, '* other than him
*"? the laid (tenant) his executors or admini-
*' ilrators,
4. Y O R K S H 1 R li!. 45
«« ftrators, their or his wife or children ; — or
" a covV-gait to a cottager holding under the
*' lord;" — without fpecial licence in writ-
ing.
Also to keep the buildings, fences, and
watercourfcs in good repair ; and to fcour,
yearly, fuch ditches and watercourfes as
landlord Ihall direit : provided the part lb
let out do not exceed one-fixth of the whole.
Also not to cut down, flvred, top, or lop
timber or other trees ; but to defend from
cattle all trees and hedges.
Also not to burn fern, nor furze for ailics
for fale, without confent.
Also not to fow rape, hemp, flax, woad,
weld, madder, or hops ; nor more than a
fpecified quantity of potatoes, without leave.
Also to hoe, properly, all lands fown
with turncp feed, and " to drcfs and weed
" them according to good hufbandry,'' — •
under the penalty of lo s. an acre.
Also to fpend on the premlfes all the
grafs, hay, and draw grown thereon.
Also not to fell nor carry off d'jng or
other manwre.
Also,
46 MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES. 4;
Also, not to flock the premifes with rab-
bits.
Also, not to Tuffer pigs to go loofe Without
being rung. But in all things to ufe the
premifes in a hufband-like manner.
Also, to refort with his corn, grain, and
grifl to his lord's mill.
Also, to employ fuch mole-catchers and
Vermin-killers as landlord fliall appoint or
approve.
Also, not to obftrufl workmen, nor game-
keepers, he, &c.
Also, not to fportj nor keep fporting dogs>
&;c. &c. without leave in VvTiting.
Also, in the lajl year, not to few more than
one-fourth of the arable land with wheat.
Also, in the lajl year, to fuffer oncoming
tenant to enter after Michaelmas to fcale and
drefs the grafs lands, — and to plow the arable
for fallow or for crops, — and to fov/ and
harrow, — without hindrance.
Also, at the determination of the demifc,
«' whether by furrendcr, forfeiture, or other-
*' wife," to leave the hft year's manure, ll:raw,
dung, and compoft.
Also, to leave in tcnantablc repair, and with-
out waite or fpoil, all the houics, Jjuildings,
fences.
4. YORKSHIRE. i,^
fences, (Htches, and banks ; and to difcharge
all taxes and other outgoings due from the
prcmifes.
Tenant binds himself, Sec. in a fpeciried
fum for the due performance of the feveral
covenants.
Tenant to be allowed (hy award of ar-
bitrators) for the wheat of the lafr year : — to
be valued in Augull or September before it
be cut : — dcdudling from the eftimate value
the rent of the land it may grow on, agree-
ably to a fpecified valuation.
Also, for the turnep fallow of the lafl year*
Also, for the hay and draw left uncon«
fumed. And for the manure of the lad year ;
TOGETHER WITH the ufc of fuch land as land-
lord fliall appoint for the confumption of hay
and flraw, after the expiration of the terra, until
Mayday.
Also, during the term, to be allowed lime-
flone for the ufe of the farm ; fuch limc-
ilone being raifed by the landlord, tenant
paying fourpcnce a v.'aggon-load for raifing
them.
Mutually agree that all unprovided-for
difputes fhail be fettled by arbitration.
I N-
48 I N C L O S U R E S.
IN CLOSURES,
THERE has no doubt been a time (and
not perhaps many centuries piift) when the
entire country lay open ; when conmion
fields, common meadows, common paflures^
open woods, and extenfivc forcfls and waftes,
uere the only divifion of lands in this
kingdom. Even the demefne lands of the
feudal lords appear to have once lain open
with the lands of their tenants.
FiTZHERBERT, who wrote about two hun-
dred and fifty years ago *, fpeaking of the
herbage
* Antmo>' V FiTZHERBERT was Judge of the Court
of Common Pleas in the reign of Kcary VIII. Befide
his Natura Brcviam, Juftice of Peace, and other works
in the law, he left two on Rural Economy — the Boke
OF IiUSbANDRY and thc BoKE OF SURVEYING; —
the firft treatifcs probably which were written on the
ful)jeft in the Engliflx language ; and thc beft that wcrs
wrifen for more than a century afterward. Tlicre haa
been fomc doubt about whether thcfc two trcatifes were
really written by Jitd^c Fitzherbcrt ; but I flatter my-
fclf I fliall, in its proper place, be able to adduce fuih-
cient evidence of their being his pi.c)da(5tioi;s.
^. YORKSHIRE. 49
herbage of townlhips, fays, " by that is to be
** undcrftood the common palKire of the
*' town whereupon the herdman keepeth the
*' tenant's cattle j for it may be fo good that
*' the tenants ntcd not to have any feveral
** pafcurc" [importing in this place ilintcd
pafture] ; '' but that their common pafturc
" fhould be able to hud all their cattle, borh
*' horfes, mares, beads, and llicep : and fo
" it was of old time, that all the lands, mea-
** dows, and paflures lay open and unclofed.
*' And then was their tenements much better
" and cheaper than they be now ; tor the
" moft part of the lords have enclofed their
** demcfne lands and meadows, and keep
*' them in feveralty ; fo that their tenants
*' have no common with them therein." la
this ftate the cultivated lands of the kingdom
appear to have lain in Fitzherbert's day.
For in his laft chapter, the fubjed of which
is, *' How to make a townlhip that is worth
" twenty marks a-ycar worth twenty pounds
" a-year," he recommends inclofure •, — not
as a known improvement to be perfcvered in,
but as a fcheme eligible to be adopted.
Vol. I. E la
50 I N C L O S U R E S. 5.
In the prtfent ccntnry, more efpecially
within the lalT: fifty years, inclofnre has made
a rapid progrefs •, and its efiedts have in ge-
neral, I believe, been equal to thofe forefcen
by Fitzherbert. The garden is the higheft
ftate of cultivation ; open fields and common
pafturcs the loweft ; feparate inclofures a
middle flate which feems to be well adapted
to the prefent population of this countr}'.
Be this as it may, the fpirit of inciofure
continues to be fuch, that in half a century
more an open field, or an undivided common
may be rare^ and the remembrance of them
will of courfe foon wear away. This is there-
fore the proper time to regiftcr interefting
fads relative to the fubjedt, and this the pro-
per place for adducing them.
In my own remembrance, more than half
the Vale' under obfervation lay open: now
fci.rcely an open field or an undivided com-
mon remains. Befides, the largeft parifli in
the Vale — c;ne of the moft extenfive parifhes
in the kingdom — is now under inciofure ;
and the circumftanccs attending it arc fuch as
have fcldom occurred: afuitable opportunity
this for endeavouring to afcertain juft ideas
of a
5. YORKSHIRE. 51
of a fubjcdt, which, though it has of late
years been much agitated, appears to be, even
ycr, imperfectly undcrftood.
In the beginning of the prefent century,
the immediate townlhip of Pickering re-
mained in its ancient uninclofed ftate.
Having been thought too large to be
laid out conveniently as one townfh p, ir had
been judicioufly fplit into two divilions by
a natural line, a confiderable brook which
runs through it.
On each fide of the brook lay a fuite of
COMMON FIELDS; three in number; for the
unvarying round of wheat, &c. beans, &c.
fallow. Thefe comt:icn fields were refpec-
tively divided into cxgan^s evenly fcattcred
over every field ; fo that each occupier might
have an equal or fimilar fhare of good and
bad, near and diftant land ; the houfes being
in this, as in every other conimoii-fieid town-
fhlp, placed in the town. Eich field con-
fifted of twenty-two oxgangs ; each of which,
on one fide of the townfl/ip, contained twen-
ty-four acres — on the other twelve acres ;
confequently the fix fields contained 2^75
acres.
Each divifion had likewife its commo.v
MEADOW,
E 2 Other
52 I N C L O S U R E S. 5.
Other portions of the towiilliip were laid
out in STINTED PASTURES, wholly appendant
to the common-field land ; each oxgang of
which having a fight to a limited number of
gaits for cozvs and 'working oxen.
The remainder of the townfhip, contain-
ing many thoufand acres, was common.
During this century the common fields and
common meadows have been gradually con-
tradiing by amicable exchanges and transfers,
and are now in a manner wholly inclofed.
The ftinted paftures have, at different times,
been inclofed ^^ by commijjion ;'' namely, by
t'"ic unrinimous reference of the parties con-
cerned, to certain arbitrators or commif-
fioners appointed by themftlves; without
calling in the aid of parliament. The com-
mons are now under inclofure, purfuant to a
bill procured for that purpofe.
This bill, and the circumftances attending
ihe procurement of it, afford a flriking pic-
ture of modern inclofurcs by adl of parlia-
'ment.
The lands to be appropriated in this cafe
confilled of 3,760 acres of culturable foil,
valued (by the commifllon under the inclo-
fure)
5. YORKSHIRE. 53
fure) at 3s. to 50s. an acre rent ; and of a
ftill greater quantity of heathy barren land,
reaching to the center of the morelands, va-
lued (by the famej from below 3s. down to
3d. an acre. The quantity of oxgang or
common-field land fas above alcerrainedj
2376 acres ; and the number of ancient com-
mon-right houfes, or fites of fuch houfcs, two
hundred and fixty.
To thofe 2376 acres *, and thefe 260
houfes or fitcs, the commons belonged ; but
in what proportion had not for ages perhaps
been clearly underflood. Within memory,
it feems, an attempt was made to Hint them j
but the regulation laftedonly one year. Be-
fore and fince that time they have been, in
the flridtefi: fenfe of the word, unjlinted com-
mons, for all kinds of commonable flock ;
excepting flieep and working oxen ; which
lafl were, by the by-lazvs of the tozvjiJJoip, con-
fined to the fllntcd palUircs and the upland
commons ; and the former to the upland
commons only.
It may be taken for granted, that the firlt
mover to an inclofure is private intereft, ra-
ther than public fpirit. In the cafe of Pic-
E 3 kering.^
* TofT'.ther with the meadow lands.
54 I N C L O S U R E S. 5.
kcring, the land o vn'Ers in general were
fatisfied with the open rtate of the commons.
Some of them who had inherited, or pur-
chafed, at an advanced price, lands which
lay conveni ntly to the commons, were qf
courfe adverfe to an inclofaie ; and the
mere house-owners were eirher apprehen-
fivt of tlie fmallnefs of their claim, or their
voices wyrc too weak to be heard among
thofc.of the land-owners.
Under thefe circumftances the commons
lay open, and wojld probably have conti-
nued in that ila'-e, had there befn no other
intercft in the townfhip than that of the
owners of its lands and iiousr-s.
But the tithioi three or four thoufand acres
of corn land was an object of too great mag-
nitude to be overlooked by the leffee (for
lives under the Dc;in of York) j and, being
fccn, had charms \n it too ufcinating to be
loll: fight of.
Adtuared thus powerfully, the kjfee of the
tithes applied to the lant-ownj-rs to join
him -in an application to parliament for an
inclofure. The landowncis refufed : their,
condudt, however, was impolitic and ill-
juid^edi
5. YORKSHIRE. 55
judged; and a fair opportunity loft is not
eafily regained.
The leflee of the tithes a<5led under a reft-
lefs impulfe ; and no matter the inftruments
he made ufe of, fo thej^ anfwered his purpofe.
He, therefore, applied to the house-own- .
ZRs; who, feeing riches within their reach
which till then they had never thought of,
grew frantic with expedlation.
A law-acrent well fuited to the defigrn was
pitched upon ; and other agents, no Icfs qua-
lifi'ed, gave hini their beft afliftancc. An
equal divifion of the commons among the
houfes only was the prize held out ; and a
bill, framed for the purpofe of obtaining it,
was fent up to Parliament.
A faint ill-condudted oppofition was made
by the land-owners •, but a more powerful in-
tereft, well applied, having got there before
them, their intentions of throwing out the
bill were fruftrated.
Parliament, however, feeing probably the
iniquity of the bill, without being willino- to.
enter into a minute inveftigation, or able at
their diftance to afcertain with conveniency
fufficient fads, left a principal matter open to
E 4 a trial
56 I N C L O S U R E S, 5
a trial at law; namely, whether the commons
Ihould be divided among the houfesonly; or
whether one moiety of them ihould remain
\yith " the lands of the townfhip, which,
" upon the firft of January 1784, belonged
" to the owners cf ancient common-right
*• mtfiuagcs, cottages or fites."
In confcquence of this orc!er of Parlia-
ment, ihequollion was tried, on a feigned
jffuc, at the afTize for the county, in the fum-
nier of 1785.
The trial was coaduded with the fame ex-
ertions on the part of the promoters of the
bill, and \y'n\i the fame tamcnefs and iil-
ludged confidence on tlie part of its oppo-
fers, as had been evident in every liage of
the buf.nefs. Thcfe circumftances co ope-
rating with the " uncertainty of the law,"
a vcrdift was obtained in favour of the
]-iOufcs.
Thus, by mana^wvre ; v.irhout even the
Ihadow of ri'-hi beino; olfercd 1 the owner of
a iiicr^' cottage without a garden-place, or
of a heap cf fhones which had long lain as
ruins, and who could have no rightful ad-
vantage whatever from the commons in their
open
5, YORKSHIRE. s?
open (late, became entitled to an equal fhare,
under the inclofure, with the largeft land-
owner; who, perhaps, previous to the paf-
fing of this law, occupied rightfully fome
hundred acres.
It is true, many poor families may gain a
temporary relief by this inequitable tranfaftion ;
and fo far the bill may have operated bene-
ficially. But it mu(l be evident to thofe who
have a knowledge of the townlliip, and who
think impartially on the fubjeCt, that they
might with equal propriety have been re-
lieved out of the inclofed lands, or the per-
fonal property of the land-owners ; and it
could not be the intention of Parliament to
"be inftrumental in transferring the property of
one man to another without afufficient caufe :
we may therefore fafely conclude, that Par-
liament either in this cafe were impofed up-
on, or judged erroneoufly ; or that they are
in want of feme general principles of in'i
clofure.
I Ihall not prefume to did:ate to Parlia-
inent ; but as I have paid fome attention to this
important fubjedt, and may not have an-
pther opportunity fo fuitable as the prefent
of
58 I K C L O S U R E S. 5.
of fpeaking my fentiments upon it, I will
here thro'.v together the ideas which have
Itruck me, as a ground- work for further ar-
g'jmenr.
It will be proper in the outfct to take a
view of the origin of commons, and the firft
laying out of to/.'nfhips.
Fltzhcrbert, whofe opinion in this cafe ij
vTjluable, fpeaking of cuftomary tenants, in
his i3i:h chapter of Surveying, fays, " Cuf-
' tomary tenants arc thofe that hold thei;*
' lands of their lord by copy of court-roll
^ after the cuftom of the manor. And there
' be many tenants within the fame manor
' that have no copies, and yet hold by like
^ cuftom and fcrvice at the will of the lord :
' and in mine opinion, it began foon after
• the Conqueiu When William Conqueror
* had conquered the realm, he rewarded all
' tho'e that came with him, in his viage
* royal, according to their degree. And to.
' honourable men he gave lorddiips, ma-
• nor?, b.nds, and tcricments, v.ith all the in-
' j-.abitanis, men and women, dwelling in the
^ fame, to do with the:n at their pleafure."
And in his 40. h cl^.aptcr, in which he pro-
poles
5. YORKSHIRE. 59
pofes to improve by inclofure, he fays, " It
«« is undoubted, that to every townfliip, that
«» ftandeth in tillage in the plain country,
*' there be arable lands to plow and fow, and
** Icvs to tie or tedder horfes and mares
" upon, and common paftnre to keep and
*• pafture cattle, beafts, and Iheep upon ;
" and alfo meadow ground to get hay upon."
In another part of the fame treatiie, chap-
ter 4. " Of foreign paftures that be com-
" men," he fays, *' This is a dark letter to
" be tinderilood withou'- a better declara-
'^' tion, for it may be underftood three ways.
*' In many towns, where clofes and pailures
*« lie in feveraky, there is commonly a com-
*■■' mon clofe taken in, out of the commons
" or fields, by the tenants of the town, for
" their oxen or kine, or other caccie, in
'* which clofe every man is ftinted, and fet
** to a certainty how many beafts he fhall
" have in the fame, and of what manner of
** beafts they fhall be. Another mmner
*' of common is moft commonly in plain
" champion countries where the cattle go
*' d:;ily before the herdman, and lyeth near
^l adjoining to the common fields ; and it
t^ may
6o I N C L O S U R E S. 5.
" may lie in two or three places or more. — — »
" The third manner of common is the lord's
" outwoods that lie common to his tenants,
" as common moors or heaths, the which
** were never arable land."
The fame, or a fimilar diftribution of
lands remain in every uninclofed townlhip to
this day. Each townlhip is one common
FARM ; laid ont into three arable divifions
ior c(^rn •, a flat of meadow land for hay j —
and one or m.ore pujiiires for {lock.
It appears evident from obfervation in dif-
ferent Dirn'i<fl:s of the kingdom, that in laying
out a townfhip which contains a diverfity of
foil, the dried and beft lands have been laid
out as arable fields ; the wetted, if fufficient-
ly found, as mowing ground; and the re-
maii'dcr as paflure land, and as a fourcc of
fiicl. In feme townfliips, part of the paflurc
ground has been fet apart as a flinted pafturc
for fome particular fpecies of cattle ; and,
in others, part of the common-field land has
been laid to grafs for the purpofc of teddcr-
ing uorfes upon in the corn years, and feed-
ing fliccp upon in th: fallow year.
5. YORKSHIRE- 6i
In tovvnfhips of a more uniform foil, good
land, fit for arable, has been fct out as com-
mon pafture : for in the days when town-
fhips were laid out, it would have been Icfs
poffible to have cultivated and manured the
common fields of a townfliip without a com-
mon pafture, than it would now be, when
the ufes of clover and vetches are known, to
manage a farm entirely under the plow, with-
out any pofllbility of purchafing manure.
It is therefore evident, that common pas-
tures and common fields are in their orio-inal
intention, and ever have been in their ufe, as
infeparable as animal life and food : — it was
neceilary to keep working ftock to till the
fields, and almoft as neceflary to have other
live ftock to confume the ftraw^, and to raife
manure. And it may be fafely drawn as an
inference, that the herbage of the common
paftures of a given townftiip belong, /;/ thsir
original intention^ to the arable and meadow
la'iids of that townfliip : for, without them,
the former muft have lain in perpetual fal-
low, and the hay of the latter have been uft;-
lefs. Confequently, by the original intenticn,
every houfe which occupied a -portion of the
arable
62 t N C L O S U R E S. ^.
arable end meadow land of the toxvnfhip, had
a right to a like portion of the herbage of the
comnlon paftures •, and this without any re-
gard to the time of its being credited ;
namely, whether before or after the laying
out of the tovvnfliip.
But with refpedt to the fuel, and thtpaitage,
(when thefc were not refeived to the lord)
the original intention vvas undoubtedly diffe-
rent •, for a certain plot of woodland (fc-r in-
flarice) was fet out in proportion to the num-
ber of hotifes in the townfhip at the time of
fetting out. This was a grant of the lord
to the hotifes in being at the time of the
grant j which particular houfes thereby ob-
tained an cxclufive right to the fuel and pan-
age thus granted ; oihcrwife an uniim.ted
and exceffive increafe of houfes might have
abridged the original habitations in their
riohtj and have done away the original in-
tention.
Since the ilnprovements in navigation and
the art of mining have taken phicc, many
common woodlands have probably been
cleared away ; for it is evident, from ob-
fcrvation
5. YORKSHIRE. 63
fervatlon confirmed by tradition, that mnny
of the grafsland commons, which now remain,
and which a few years fince were thickly fcat-
tered over the kingdom, were formerly co-
vered wholly or partially with wood ; the
original fources of fuel and panage : which
fuel and panage belonged exclufively to the
orij^inal houfes : confcquently, when the land
which produced them v.-as cleared, the houfes
hid a pica for an cxclufive right to the her-
hfl^e Which fucceedcd.
o
Thus the ancient houfes having, by original
right, a claim upon the wcodj and, by impli-
cation, upon the herbage \v\\\c\\ fucceeded it^
they became objedls of importance compared
with modern houfes ; and it appears to have
grown gradually into a cuftom, which in
time became law, that no modern l:oufc, nor
even the lands of the townfhip which lay to
them, fliould enjoy either the fuel or the her-
bagc of the commons.
Thus the ancient houfes by implication
gained in part, and by ufurpation entirely, a
privilege oi prefenting the lands of the town-
fiiip with ihQ freedom of the commons : which
privilege
64 I N C L O S U R E S. 5.
privilege has rendered them move valuable
than modern houfes of equal (ize ; and this
difference in value is the real intereft they
have in the commons.
It is the moll they ever had, or can of right
have, while the commons remain open. For
a mere houfe without land has neither plow
to work, manure to raife, nor fodder to con-
fume, and cannot in the ordinary courfe of
hufbandry make any ufc whatever of the
herbage of a common.
And with refped: to the privilege of pte-
fentation, it is equally vague in the owner of
an ancient houfe to lay claim to an equalized
fliare of the lands of a common, becaufe by
a power (no matter now whether ufurped or
not) of enfranchiiing the lands of grangers
to a fhare of the herbage, as it would be in a
lay-prefenter of a living to lay claim to the
benefice, becaufe he has the advowfon.
"Whatever the advowfon is worth, fo much
intereft the prefenter of the herbase of a
common, or the profits of a living, has in
that common, or that living.
From thefe premifes we may Infer, that
rozVi neither an ancient houfe without lands,
of
5:. YORKSHIRE. 65
of a given townlhip, belonging to it, nor a
parcel of land without an ancient houie being
held with it, is entitled to any fharc of the
common herbage of that townlhip. But,
whenever this boufe regiiins land, or the land
is again laid to ?.n ancient houfe, the right of
commonage returns. The right, therefore,
only lies dormant ; and is not, in either cafe,
extingtiijked.
The fame of a fitc. While covered v/ith
ruins, it can have no right either to fuel or
herbage ; but whenever the houfe is rebuilt
and inhabited, a right of fuel returns ; and
having had lands laid to it, a right of herbage.
And vvhatcver a fite is worth over and above
the value of the land it contains, fo much in-
tercfi: it has in the common lands of the
towniliip it lies in.
The inter eft oi dormant lands may be afccr-
tained in a fimilar way : whatever their vaku
is depreciated by the alienation from the
commons, fo much lep intcrcft they have in
a divifion of them. To fhut them out of an
Jnclofure Bill is to take them by furprizc, and
thruft them out of the townfliip-, thereby
ftrangling that right which before had only
Vol. I. F ilept ;
66 I N C L O S U R E S. 5.
flepti and which might the next year, or the
next day, have awakened in its fuUefl: luftre.
Befide thefe particular interefts, there is
one general intcrcft to be confidered ; namely,
X.\it f.tuation of lands, houfes, and iitcs, with
refped: to the common to be inclofcd •, — for
boiifcs^ at Icaft, which are fituated contiguous
to a common, liad in the firft inftance, have
had ever fincc, and mufl have while the
commons remain open, a greater benciic
from its herbage, and have on that account
been fold and purchafcd at a greater price
than houfes fituated at a diftance ; and of
courfe have a right to a greater fliaic of the
lands to be inclofed.
The interefts of fi:es vary in a Umiiar
manner.
Bur, with refpedt x.o lands, this fnccies of
in':ercfl: is Icfs evident. While common fields
and common mjcadows lie open, they have
llitle advantage or di (ad vantage from litua-
tion v.'irh rcfpccl; to the common pafturc.
But where tiic arable and me"adow lands have
l>ctn incU>f.cl, and the paHurcs remain open,
fituaiion btcom.s ofcunfiderable importa-ncc.
And where il.c appropriated lands have been
lone
5. YORKSHIRE. 67
long held in feveralty, and have been fold
and purchafed under thofe circumftances, the
lands which lie near to the common paftures
fecm to have gained by the circUmflance of
inclofure, ratified by long ufage, an extraor-
dinary znd perjnauent intereft in the herbage :
an interefl which they can never lofe fo long
as the appropriated lands remain inclofed, and
the common paflures remain open. Hence
it is iinwife in thofe whofe lands lie at a dif-
tance from the common pafti^re, to fuffer a
partial inclofure to take place •, for by that
means they are eflablifliing, to their own dif-
advantage, a fpecies of intereft in common
paftures, which before had no exiftence.
Before we proceed farther, it may be pro-
per to confider the limits of ccmmon-rigbt on
tinjlifited common paftures.
it is generally underftood, and may, I be-
lieve, be confidered as the common law of the
realm, that each common-right houfe has a
power to fummer as much ftockon the com-
mons as the lands which lie to it will winter:
or, to fpeak more practically, a right to ftock
in proportion to the value of the lands re-
fptvCtively held with the common-right houfes:
F 2 for
68 I N C L O S U R E S. 5.
for it fo happens, that by improvements in
hiifbandry lince the time of laying out town-
ihips, — n:iore efpecially where the appropri-
ated lands have been inclofcd, — commons in
general r.re unable to fupport in fummer fo
much flock as the arable and meadow land
can winter; confequently it is become im-
praclicable to. adhere clofely to the ancient
regulation : which ancient regulation, how-
ever, though time has rendered it in moft
cafes impraifticable, is as ftrong an evidence
as need be produced in favour of the herbage
of unHinted commons belonging fclely to the
land.
That the idea is ancient, and not of mo-
dern invention, may be feen in Fitzherbcrt j
who, in his 6th chapter, " Of Foreign Woods,
" where otiicr m.en have common, but where
" the lord may improve himfelf," fa}s,
"It is clearly ordained by the ftatute of
*' Mcrton, and after confirmed by the fla-
" tute of Weftminfter, that the lord fliall
'^ improve himfelf of his wafles — leaving his
" tenants /v^faV.'/; common. It is neccflaryto
'* be known what x^fu^icient common; and ihat
** to me feemeth by realon ihould be thus :
" To fee how much cattle the hay and t.he
" ilraw
5. Y O P. K S H I R E. 69
" ftraw a hufband gcttcth upon his own tc-
" nemcnt will find fufRciently in winter if
" they lie in the houfe and be kept therewith
<^ all the winter leafon ; for fo much cattle
" fliould he have common in fummer ; and
«' that is fuficient common''' It confequently
follows, that the occupier of a houfe without
land could not of right keep cattle upon the
common in fummer -, becaufc his tenement
afforded him neither hay nor flraw wherewith
to keep them in the houfe during the winter
fcafon.
Laftly, the intered of the lord cf the foil
requires confideration. Here Fitzherbert's
treatife may be taken as a fafe guide. The
ground-work of the firfl feventeen chapters
is a flatute of Edward I. named Extenta Ma-
nerii j of which Fitzherbert himfelf gives the
following account : "In mine opinion, this
" (latute was made foon after the Barons'
" wars, the which ended at the battle of
<' Evefliam, or foon after, in the time of
*' king Henry III. whereat many noblemen
" were llain, and many fled, who after were
" attainted for the trcafon they did to the
^' king. And by reafon thereof their caflles
F ^ " ancl
70 I N C L O S U R E S. 5.
" and manors were feized into the king's
" hands. And lb for want of reparation the
*' caftles and manors fell to ruin and in decay.
*' And when the king and his council faw that,
" they thought it was better to extend them,
" and make the moft profit that they could of
*' them, than let them fall to the ground and
*' come to no man's help znd profit ; therefore,
'•' king Edward I. ordained this ftatute to be
*' made the fourth year of his reign, wherein
" is contained many and divers chapters and
*' articles, the which at that time were but
** inftruftions how and what they fhould do
«•' that were Commiffioners or Surveyors in
" the fame."
Inftrudtions framed by Parliament and ex-
plained by an able Judge afford evidence of
the higheft authority.
A claufe of the ftatute rcfpedling ccm.mon
paflures runs thus : " It is --o be enquired of
" foreign pafliures that be common ho v many
*' and what fort of cattle the lord mjay have
" in the fame, and what the paflurc of a beaft
" is worth by the year."
It is this claufe which Fitzherbcrt fays is
*' a dark letter to be underftood without a bet-
ter
5- YORKSHIRE. 71
ter declaration ;" becaufe there are three forts
of commons : namely, a ftintcd common
clofe ; — a tended common, open to the com-
mon field ; — and the lord's outwoods, or un-
ftintcd comm.on pafture. In the two former,
he fays, '' the lord fhoiild be put to a cer-
** tainty — and every man be ftinted either by
" yards, lands, oxgangs, rents, or fuch other
" cuflom as the tenants ufe,— and the lord in
** like manner." — But in the outwoods, "me
" feemeth the lord fnould not be Hinted nor fet
" to a certainty, but put his cattle upon fuch
" manner of comir.on paflure at his plcafure;
*' becaufe the whole common is his own, and
^* his tenants have no certain parcel thereof
" laid to their holdings ; but all only hite cf
" tncuth with their cattle :" by which is evi-
dently meant (frpm various pailages'y/.^Y/V;;/
h:te for the tenants' cartlc. Hence it clearly
follows, that if the herbage of the common
be more tlan ft'.ficient for the cattle of the
townfnip, the overplus, be it more or lefs,
belongs to the lord. Cn the contrary, if the
herbage of the comimcn is 7iot more than fuffi-
c'lent to fummer the cattle, which the town-
lliip can maintain in winter (in an uninclofed
F 4. flate),
y2 I N C L O S U R E S. 5.
ftate), the lord has not {?nere!y as fiich) any in-
tereft whatever in the herbage of the commons
within his manor.
In another claufc refpeifting outwoods, fpe-
cially, — the flatute orders, that it " be en-
" quired of foreign woods, where other men
** have come in, what part of thofe woods the
*' lord may improve himfelf of, and of how
** many acres, and for how much the vejiure^
" that is to fay, the zccod of excTy acre may
*' be fold, and how much the ground is worth
" after the wood be fallen, and how many
*' acres it contains, and what every acre is
*' worth by the year."
By this claufe it is implied by Parliament,
that the u:ocd of a common belongs folely to
the lord : and Fitzherbert's expofition of it
implies the fame idea : " The declaration of
" this ftatutc is doubtful ; becaufe of the
*' non- certainty of what \i fufficient ccmynon ;'
— which having explained as above, he con-
tiiuics, " You fnall underftand that there be
*' four manner of commons, that is to wit ; —
" com IV on appendant, — common appurte-
" nant, — common in o-rofs, — and common
"becaufe of ncighbourlliip. Common ap-
pendant
5. YORKSHIRE. 73
" pendant is where the lord of old time hath
" granted to a man a mefeplace and certain
<' lands, meadows, and paftures, with their
**" appurtenances, to hold of him. To this
*' mefeplace, lands, and meadows, belongeth
*' common, and that is common appendant.
" — Com.mon appurtenant is where a man
'' hath had common to a certain number of
** beafls, or without number, belonging to
*' his mefeplace in the lord's wafte : this is
" common appurtenant by prefcription, be-
*' caufe of the ufe out of time of mind. —
"Common in grofs is where a lord hath
" granted, by his deed, common of pafiurc
** to a ftranger that holdeth no land of him,
" nor ought to have any common but by
" reafon of that grant by deed. — Common
** cf vicinity or neighbourihip is where the
** waile grounds of two townlhips lie togc-
*' ther, and neither hedge nor pale between
*' to keep their cattle afunder : — this is com-
" mon bccaufe of neighbourfiiip ; and it is
" not ufed nor lawful to pin the cattle fo
*' going ; but in good manner to drive and
" chace befide fuch common."
Of
74 1 N C L O S U R E S. 5,
Of common in grofs, he fays, " the lord
*' may not iaiprovehimfelf of any parcel; for
" it is contrary to grant, though there b- fuf-
** ficient of common." But " ye fhall un-
*' derftand that how be it a lord may not im*
*' }>rove himfelf of his wafte grounds, yet may
*' he lawfully fall and fell all the vvcod,
*' brocm, gorfe, furze, braken, fern, bi.flies,
" thor:.s, and fuch other, as frct-ilone, lime-
" fior.e, chalk, turves, clay, fand, lead-ore, or
" tin, to his own ufe •, for the tenant may
'* have nothing by reafon of coqimon, but
** only bite of mouth with his cattle."
Hence wc may conclude, that the cuttin?-
oifitel (if pradtifed) was iken merely on fuf-
fe ranee.
In liis explanation of a claufe rcfpedino-
pnnage, &c. he fays, " Where this ilatute
''• fpcskcth d^tamgio, that is to be underftood
*' where there is any maft growing in the
*' lord's wood, whereby men's fwine may be
*' fed and relieved ; what profit that mav be
*'• to thclcrd ; for tliere is no man that can
*' cinirn of right to have the m'all, the which
" is a fruit, but the lord ; and the lord fnall
y^- Lave ir in forcifvn or outwoods, as well as
♦^ in
5. YORKSHIRE. 75
** in his parks or fcvcral woods ; and as the
f quantity of inaft is, fo the lord's bailey
** ousht of rieht to lay men's faine there-
" unto from Michaelmas to Martinmas, and
<' to make a true a count thereof at the lOrd's
** audit, what he takcth for every fwine/'
Thus it appeals tha: not orAy fuel but
panage, likewife, was originally a matter of
fuul-rancc when enjoved by the tenants.
Fiom thcfe premifcs, and from the pre-
fent injiifficlency of commons, we may fafely
infer that the lord (merely as fuch) has no
intereft whatever in the herbage of comn^op.s
-within his manor. But we may infer, with
equal fafety, that of the ijuood of a coramori
the lord is foie proprietor ; except where a
right of fuel and panage has been cftablilhed
by long cuflom ; for, in this cafe, prefcrip-
tion has fruflrated the original intcncion •
and, here, the houfcs have a joint interefl; with
the lord.
Laftlv, with rcfpecl to hecths and fat-.
Yiioors^ from v/hich the inhabitants of a to-vn-
fhip have, by prefcription, a right of cutting
fuel.
The
76 I N C L O S U R E S. 5,
The ftatutc orders, that it be enquired of
moors, heaths, and waiics, what they be
worth by the year : — and Fitzherbert fays,
" Moors, heaths, and waftcs p-o in like man-
" ner as the herbage of the town ; for the
** lord's tenants have common in all fuch
" ov.t-grounds with their cattle; but they
*' fl:iall have no wood, thorns, turves, gorfe,
^' fern, and fuch other, hut by cujiom, or elfe
*^ fpecial words in the charter."
We may therefore conclude, that the lord
has no intereft in the herbage of a heath ; nor
in the///w^/; except there be rrtore than fufji-
dent for th'f ufc of the inhabitants of the
ancient houfes ; in which cafe the lord fcems
to have an intereft in the overplus; provided
he can reap the benefit of it without injuring
the herbcge.
From the fum of this evidence it appears,
that, at tliis day, lords of manors in general
have no ot'icr intereft in the commons with-
in their refpC(2:ive manors than in the mir.eSy
the quarries^ and the lu.ood. The herbage be-
longs to the land j and the fuel (v.hcre cuf-
toni allows it to be taken) to the houfes.
As
5. Y O R K S H I R E. 77
As to the right of foil, it appears to be
merely homrary : tor the foil cannot be re-
moved, nor turned to advantage, without de-
ftroying or injuring the herbage. A lord of
a manor has, however, a claim upon the
folly though indirect : for no man, nor fet
of men, can break it without his conf^nt.
But this feems to be a claim oi hoior rather
than oHnteref} ; for, while the commons re-
main open, he cannot in Uriel legality reap
any emolument from it.
Thus we have enumerated five diflinfl in-
tertfts.
I. Common-right Lands * h:ld with
COMMON-RIGHT HousEs. To thefe lands
* By coMMOX-RiGKT land is meant the original
common field and common meadow land, and fuch
other land, lying within the tcwnfhip, as has by grant
or prefcription a riirht of commonage when held w;th a.'
common-right hcufe j in contradiilinction to fuch lands
of the townfliip as have not, and to the lands of the
i-eft cf the kingdom which never can have, by any le-
gal a6^, fuch a right, though held with a common-
right houfe. Suppofe nine-tenths of the townfnip in
a ftate of temporary alienation, by fome legal circiim-
flance which could not be avoided, or by any circum-
ftance whntever, could the other tenth part catch the
opportunity in the interval of fulpcnce, and appropri-
ate
78 I N C L O S U R E S. 5.
the i'enefit cf I be herbage belongs, in proportion
to iheir value ; and the right of the rcfpcc-
tive paiceh to fnarc in a divifion of the
lands ought to be afcortained by their incrin-
fic quality, lmkI their affinity to the common
(where this operates on their value ui the open
(tatej taken jouitly -f.
2. COMMO.N'-RIGHT LaNDS HELD WITH-
cuT COMMON-RIGHT HousES. Thc Original
light of thefe lands was indifputably the
fame
ate rhf Ir.nds cf thc commons to tliis one-tenth of the
t'-vvnfliip ? It would be nbuird to fuppofe it. If one-
tcRth cannot by ;iny advantu^^e choufe the other nine,
why ih.oiild r.iiie parts of a townfliip be fuifeied to
lliarc tlie right of the tenth r v^te p. 56, 1. 4.
t To fct afide the haicls of the tovvnfliip entirely
(as in thc cafe of Pickering) is too abfurd to be treat-
ed cf fcriaully. Siippofe rine acres of ten, or ninety-
nine of one hundred, of a given townfliip, to belongs
to one h.oiifc, and thc ether one hundredth part to be
liividcd an-iOiij; two hundred and fif y-ninc houfes : or
fuppofe the commons of a given townfliip to contairi
ma; y thoufand acres, and the appropriated common-
ii;;ht lands toconfiftof 2376 acres ; that thc common-
ri^'iit houfes of the towniliip were only two, and that
3370 acres of the appropriated lands belonged to one
hcufc-, thc other fix acres to the other houfe; would
h be equitable in either cafe to divide by the houfes ?
If not in thcfe cafes, why iu ary cafe where the pcin-
c'lp.t of right li prccifc y the fame ?
5. Y O R K S FI I R F. 79
fainc as that of the other lands of the rown-
f.-iip ; and their t.wporary alienation is iiie; ely
n circumdance which docs not extinguifn,
but only fulpends their right to a bsnefj of
the herbage. Whatever this temporary alie-
nation depreciates theni below the other
lands of the townfnip of the fame intrinfic
quality, in fimilar lituations, fo much pro-
ponicnabiy lefs is their right to a fliare
of i\-\z lands of the common J.
3. CoMMON.-r.iGHT HOUSES. The propor-
tional rights of hoiifes depends on i\\q nature
of the commons to be inclofed.
If they produce h:rhaze r.Icne^ — a com-
mon right houle ought to fliare with the
lands in proportion to its extj-a value ■^'^ fu/h ;
that is to fay, whatever it is worth more than a
non-common-right houfe of thefam.c lnir:iy:c
value, in a (imilar fituation, fo much it
ought to be eliimat'-d at in the general va-
\ The depreciation here Intiinntcd will fsldoiii t;;ks
place ; for the appropriated lands of a towmliip are
worth mere to the occupier of a commou-ri-;ht houfc ;
becaufe they intitie him to a greater fliare of the coir;-
mon pafturage, than to the occupierof a non-comiTion-
right houfc, 'to whom they can fcldoin give any aJc-
tjuutc privilege.
I'jation
8o 1 N C L O S U ?v E S. 5.
Illation of the commonable property of the
townfhip *.
If the common to be inclofcd produce
fuel alone, the houfes (cr the houfes and the
lord of the foil, if an overplus can be proved)
are alone intitled to it.
If herbage and fuel jointly, the lands and
houfes have rights in it proportioned to the
herbage and the fuel it produces -j-.
CoMMON-RiGiiT SiTES. The right of
fites is fimilar v;ith that of houfes: whatever
the dormant rio;ht of urefcntation and the
dormant rij^Iu of fuel are worth, fo much in
proport'oii
* The c.v'ra value of common right houfes varies with
the value of the commons and the number of houfes.
Thus, fuppo e the commons of two dillinft tovvnfliips
to be of C'.[U;il value, and that one townfliip contained
ten, the other one hundred common-right houfes ; the
right f prefcntation would be vvorth more in that than
in //'/. townfliip ; and where herbage alone is the pro-
<lucc of the common, the right of rcprcfcntation and the
extra value arc the fame.
•^ If part of the cc/.nm ns to be ini.lofed produce her-
bage alone, and other parts principally fuel, and a fe-
par.ite divifion be made (as in the cafe of I'itkering),
the extra I'a've is compounded of the right of prefenta-
ti .n to the herbage, a id the r'.ght of cutting fuel ;
tit her of which being cftim ted, thj other is of courfc
i"u f:icic n tl y a : c c r t a i n c d .
5. YORKSHIRE. Sr
proportion they ought to ihare with the
lands and houfes.
5. Thk loxd of the soil. To the lands
of a common on which open i;jocdlands flill
prevail, the lord of the foil has a principal
risht. But whatever the lite of mouth is
worth, fo much in proportion the land is en-
titled to ; and if a right oi fuel be eilablifn-
ed by cuftom, the houfes have their claim.
Whatever proportional advantage the fcveral
interefts would receive in an open ftate, fuch
proportions of the land they are feverally in-
titled to under an inclofure.
If valuable mines ?.nd quarries be given up,
the lord ought to receive an equivalent in
land^ and is entitled to fomc iliarc for the
mere chance of mines and quarries being here-
after difcovered. But of fiaked commons, af-
fording neither wood nor fuel, and of which
the mines and quarries are referved, the lord
of the manor (merely as fuch) has nor, on
the principles offered, any right to lliare in
a divifion of the foil, faving the honorary
right which has been already mentioned *.
* In the cafe of Pickering, the Crown, as owner cf
the honor, forefts; and manor of Pickering, (in right cf
Vol. I. G the
$2 I N C L O S tT R E S. 5.
While the I'ickering bill is before me,
I will make a few further remarks.
I. Five coyir,r;iJ}ione7's appointed: three of
them, only, being diredtcd to value the com-
mon lands, and to fct out the king's allot-
ments. Of thcfe three, one was nominated by
the chancellor of the dutchy of Lancafter ;
one by the Icflee of the tithes (who could
have no fpecic.l right of nomination, as no
part of the commons was ordered by the a<ft
to be fct ciu as tithes) j and the third by the
proprietors
the dutchy of Lancafter) had oneicnlh of the principal
jvat of the towiifliip, and onr-fif(crnth of the rcnrah.'ing
j»iiit, granted by the act of Inclofure.
The woodbnds, in this cafe, had formerly been in-
clofcd and held by tie Crown in fcvcraky ; and the re-
mainder of the coinmons given up eiitiiely to the ap-
propiated lands of the townfliip ; fluvtting out even
the park and fame dcmefne land of the dutchy from a
r!:;ht of coirmona^'c ; fo that neither ivos^ nor r.vood-
i.iid is by the aCt given up : yet all the mcmcrial rights
a e refiTvcd ; exec, t the h'-norary right of foil, and 0:-
ccj t q a rie> of f one andfiatc : whijh laft arc fufficicnt-
ly ab;indi;nt in the wld appropriated lands to fupply the
tovvufhijj with building materials and lime manure for
;H Icail a tho ifand years. Therefore, the conlideratioa
i;ii-cn up was of inconlKlcrable value — compared with
that which was given as ftjuivahnt ; but which ap-
pears to be, in this particu'.iir caff, unrcafunable aud ex-
ccllixc.
5» YORKSHIRE. g^j
proprietors of the townfhip. Before the
lands were valued and the allotments fet out,
the commiffioner of the tlthe-leflee obtain-
ed an appointment under the Crown ; in
confequence of which the townfliip was in ef-
fe(ft valued,, and the Crown allotments fct
out by the agents of the Crown, without the
proprietors of the townfhip having in any
cafe a calling vote; their commifTioner be-
coming, under thefe clrcumftances, a mere
bv-ftander.
It would be well if, in cafes of importance,
hon:rary commijfioners^ chofenout of the inde-
pendent gentlemen of the neighbourhood,
could be appointed as a check upon adting
commifiloners in predicaments of this na-
ture.
2. New roads to be made, and old ones to
be repaired ^ — common-fhores to be opened,
^Yidi public refervoirs formed, by the commif-
fioners, at the joint expence of the lands to
be inclofed. The forming of refervoirs of
the v/aters collefled by the roads, for the
purpofe of public drinking-pools, ought to
be a (landing claufe in every Inclofare-bill ,♦
and commiffioners, mod efptcially in up-
G 2 land
i4 I N C L O S U R E S. 5.
land fituations away from running waters,
ought to p-iy due attention to it.
3. Lands exceeding the yearly value of
three iliiilino-s an acre to be divided and
O
inclofed, — the refidue to be allotted, only,
leaving it in the option of the perfons to
whom they be allotted, to inclofe them, oi'
let them remain in a ftaic of open common ;
fubject to fuch regulations as the commif-
fioners fnall appoint. Too much cannot be
faid in praife of this diftindtion. Good land
will always pay for inclofmg, and be the mod
valuable in that iiate -, but bad land is fre-
quently too dear at that price : many men
of comfortable fortunes have, in this D'.l-
tri-il, been beG[Q:ared, and the fortunes of
Others injured, by the inclofurc of lands
which haVe not yet paid, nor probably ever
will pay, for inclonng ; and the fame may be
obfcrvcd in other Dillvids of the kingdom.
4. A good regulation rcfpeding fences is
likcwifc noticeable. The a6t allows a privi-
Icrc of niacins a fence on the outfide ot the
ditch, upon the adjoining allotment, to de-
fend the face of the young hedge; and to
remake
5- YORKSHIRE. 85
remake and remove Uich fence durino- and
o
within the fpace of ten j'ears. Alio to con-
tinue the fence at the ends (by rails reaching
over the crofs ditches) to the polls or rails of
the adjoining crofs fences.
5. Laftly, the reference of matters in dif-
pute to a trial at law requires the molt ma-
ture confideration.
The appropriation of common lands is a
ferious adt : they are ufeful to individuals in
an open ftate ; but would in general be much
move ufeful in a fLite of Inclofure. Whoever
has reaped a rightful benefit of them, time
immemorial, ouoht to have that benefit con-
tinucd to them : and all that Parliament has
t© do is to afcertain the quantity of right of
each party or interefl: concerned in the par-
ticular bill before them j — cr to refer fpecial
jnatters in dlfputc to fome other inqueft
more adapted to the neccfTiry enquiries;-—
or to refufe the application.
A court of affize is, perhaps, the moft im-
proper inqucit which could be referred to
for fettling difputes rcfpcd:ing Inclofures :
and are beyond difpute much worfe adapted
to make th'^ neceffary enquiries than a com-
G ^ mitte^
86 I N C L O S U R E S. 5.
mittee of the Houfe of Commons ; where
ever}^ Member is ajud^e, and has fufficicnt
time for deliberation ; whereas in a court of
aOizc all is hurry and confufion j with only
ewe man to think, and the mind of this one
man neceflarily crowded with achaos of ideas.
It will however be faid, that a fpecial jury
of the county in which the iite of Inclcfurc
lies, are the fittefl to determine the rights of
the claimants. This in theory is plaufible ;
but is fcldcm veriftrd in practice.
In the cafe of Pickering, only four of the
fpecial jury attended •, and one of thcfe was a
tradefman of the city of York. It is highly
probable, that not one of the jury refided
within twenty miles of the fite of Inclofurc ;
or had the fmallefl iliare of perfonal know-
ledge either of the fitc or the fubjedt of In-
clofurc. A jury impanncilcd in any other
county of the kingdom would have bccu
equally qualified for the purpofc.
It was therefore a }fiere trial at law, which,
to a proverb, is a game at hazard ; and the
wifdom of Parliament, which has flionc forth
on many great occafions, lofes much of its
Uiflre when it refers matters of importance
from
5. YORKSHIRE. 87
from a committee (chofen, it is to be fup-
pofed, with judgment and impartiality, fror.i
among themfelves) to a jury ; or, in other
words — to manccuvre and chance.
It is far from my intention to fay any thing
in flronger language than the fubjefc re-
quires ; but it ftrikes me clearly, and I flat-
ter myfelf that I am not influenced by any
principle of difrefpedt either to the laws of
my country, or to the makers of them, that
it would be more judicious in Parliament to
refer to the dice-box, than to a jury in a
court of afijze : for in one cafe chance alone
is concerned ; in the other, chance and m.i-
nceuvre may operate jointly.
In the cafe of Pickering the houfes were
within a point of lofing the game : Sir Tho-
mas Davenport died, and Mr. B. (their two
leading counfel) was put under arrcft the dav
before the trial was to have come on ; and
thc\r agents, finguine as they had heretofore
been, novvr on thoic acciJefjts happening, gave
themfelves up to defpair. But, by chance, or
by manceuvre, the trial was poftponed. The
houfes now came into court fully prepared,
while the land, by a train of ill luck or bad
G 4 manage-
88 I N C L O S U R E S. s-
management, was, in effed, left without aii
advocate; and folely by " the uncertainty
of the law" loft its right. Even the houfe-
ovvners themfelves confidered the verdid as
a game artfully won— and their large allot-
ments as plunder bravely got. Right was
out of the queftion : the idea of it had been
abforbed long before the decifion, in rancour
and ill blood ; a circumftance more to be la-
mented than the inequitable divifion of the
commons.
In the cafe of Knaresborough, too, a dif-
pute between the land-owners and houfc-
owners was ordered to be decided by legal
corJcJl. There, as at Pickering, the houfes *^
* In this cafe the houfes were divided into m'JTuagts
and cottages — ovlC meflliage was confidered as equal to
two cottages. This diftindtion, which is not uncom-
mon, has moT pr.bably niiien from the circumilance of
the woodlands being grubbed for the fake of herbage.
A melT.iage, namely, u houfe with wiiich land was an-
ciently occupied, had not rnly a privilege of cutting
fiiel\\\ the outwoods, but, of nccellity in early days, a
privilege of taking plowholt., cartbolf. Sec. Kcnce its
claim upon the ' e-t>a;^ewh'i^h. fuccceded theiu^jo^becamc
greater than t^at of a mere cottage, with which no
landi be ng o cupicd, hr.d ni ufc for implements of
l.ufbasdr^ .
claimed
5- YORKSHIRE. 89
claimed the whole ; but the lands hnppening^
in that cafe, to employ the better forces, they
wen the day. Almoft the whole foreft was
divided amonc: the land-owners : even a
meffijage did not fliare, on the bed land,
more than two acres. The land-owners had
offcircd the houfe -owners a greater propor-
tion ; but they chofe to take their chance in
a court, as other defperadoes do their chance
in a lortcrv — a landed eflate, or nothing; ;
and, it is laid, what fome of them got did
nor pav their extra -expenccs. Here the
pr.or man loft his right ; a circumHance
which renders the cafe of Knarefborough
harder than that of Pickering.
Thefe are facts which appear to be fuf-
ficiently ftriking to induce Parliament to
efiabllfh fome general principles of Inclofure,
and to enquire thcmfelves into the rights of
claimants : or, if a committee of Parliament
cannot conveniently determ.ine, to order refe-
rence to a commilTion of independ^^nt dif-
interefted men in the immediate neighbour-
hood of the fite of Inclofure ; who havinp-
perfonal knowledge of the prcmifcs and the
claiming parties, are bed enabled to judge of
their
oo I N C L O S U R E S. 5.
their refpedtive rights : or, if the oppofi-
tion in Parliament be ftrong, and the matters
in difpute too weighty to be left to reference,
to fend back the petitioners, and let the com-
mons remain open. It does not follow, that
becaiife a few individuals, inftigated, pcr-
j}aps, by one more intercfted than the reft,
take it into their heads to try their fortune
in Parliament, that a fuitc of valuable com-
mons fnould of neceffity be inclofed. A few
years might reconcile differences in opinion ;
an J, then, there might be no difficulty in
afilgning every man his rightful fliare.
The late of Sinnington was determined
by that of Pickering -, the different interefts
having agreed, previous to the trial, to abide
by the decifion of the court.
The Siniiington bill is entitled to a few
remarks :
I. Title. It is diiTjcr.h ro write with temper
on the fubjedt of tithes. At the time they
\verc inflituicd, fpccic was little In ufe as a
medium between the producer and the con-
fumer of the produdlions of the foil ; and
then it v;::s necefTary, if an indigent clergy
V. ere ncccf.liry, that they fhCuld be fupported
out
5. YORKSHIRE. 91
out of the immediate produce. But to con-»
tinue this ancient regulation, in a time when
money is become the univerfal medium of
property, when the clergy arc no longer the
admiration or the terror of the occupiers of
land, and when improvements in cultivation
engage the attention of all ranks of mankind,
is an impropriety vvhich none but the advo-
cates of oppreffion will defend.
A general difiblution of tithes, though fer-
vently to be defired, is not probably yet near
at hand : the hiighe^r inf20vrJion is at prefent
too terrible in the eyes of the Many : but,
under the circumllances of the prefent times,
to increafe the quantity of titheable lands, as
in the cafe of appropriating commons with-
out afTigning fome certain part of them, or
fome other equivalent, in lieu of tithe,";, is a
(rime which pofterity can never for.o-ive.
In the cafe of Sinninorton, every thino- 19
done which, under the falfe principles of the
bill, could be done : indeed more ; for even
the general principle of the bill was broken
into with rcfped to the tithes. The adt
affigns one -tenth of the commons for the
tithe of the commons ; and afterwards cm-
powers the commifTioners to fct out a fur-
the
92 I .N C L O S U R E S. 5.
thcr parcel of them for kilf the tithes of
the old-inclofed lands of the townfliip be-
longing to the copnmon-right houfes : which
is in cfTcfl giving fo much of the commons
to the common-right Ir.nds independent of
the houfes. And further authorifcs the com-
mifllor.ers to award a perpetual modus or
money-payment in lieu of tie ciLcr half of
the ccrnmon-right lands ; and for the vjhdc of
the dormant lands \ namely, luch lands as had
nor, fome time previous to the pafling- of the
bill, a common-rifzht houfe belonzinz to them*.
Thus t];e entire townfliip is freed for ever
from a fpccics of oppreffion which ihe whole
Jcingdom is entitled to be relieved from.
2. Lcrd of the foil. The Sinnington Bill af-
figns ovic frje-and-lwen'ieth for the right of foil
* The fife ground of tlii; diftinclion has been al-
rcatly llicvvn. Supp fe a tr iiisfcr of ji pvincipal part of
t! c'c lant',3 10 have taken pl«ce (ihrouf^h ordinary clr-
cumilanccs without any finiller views to an In.-lofure)
:;lont the time the cxcluiioa of right takes place, —
wovild the mere chcvm/iaticeo^ ^w'xng the particular day
of ci-clafion twen'y-four hours before or twen y-four
houriaftcr the day of transfer, alter, either oneway or
olcr, the nuiu'ral r!;^ht of fuch lands tofliare in the be-
jiCjIis o* thv invloforc !
5. Y O R IC S H I Pv E. 93
©nly ; all other mancrial rights whatever
being refervcd. No qucrries, or known bcvis
oi marl, &c. on thcfc commons.
3. Dcnizsn righ^. The priory of Keld-
holm, which anciently flood at a Ihort di-
llance from thefe commons, without the
boundaries of the townfhip of Sinningtonj
had a right or freedom of comm,Gnage for
iixty bcafts and four hundred fliccp. This
right has of late years, and perhaps ever fi'nce
the diflblution of the priory, been excrcifcd
in part, but never perhaps wh.oUy. The Earl
of Scarborough, who is at prefent in poffef-
fion of this ri^^ht, has received little more
than a yearly acknowledgment : ncverthelefs,
on a diviiion of the common^ his claim' be-
came important ; for the ancient right, in its
fuUeft extent, was equal perhaps to half the
pailurage of the commons under inclofure.
In this cafe the did:a:es of common pru-
dence would have led the promoters of tho
bill to have fixed the quantity of right be-
fore they went to Parliament. This, how-
ever, was negledtcd, and all the acl em-
powers the Commifiioncrs to do in this re-
ipcft is to examine iwto the merits of ttvo
claim.
94- i N C L O S U R E S. 5,
claim, and ict out fiich a pr.rt of the com-
mons as appears to them to be a compenfa-
tion. The confequence is, an injunction has
been granted to flop proceedings : through
which aukvvard circumftance the inclofure is
at a fland, to the no fmall inconveniency of
the townfhip. A certain and confiuerable ex-
pence is incurred — commonable flock fold
Ou" — and fencing materials prepared — with"-
our, at prcfjnt, any certain advantage ac-
cruing ; a predicament this, which ought
to caution the promoters of bills of Inclo*
fure to have a clear underilanding with the
feveial intcrcPcS concerned before they bur-^
den ihe townfiiip with the expcnces of a bill,
and ihc confcquent ir.conveniencies.
4. Alien claim. Another claim is made
Upon thefe commons — by the owner of a
farm which lies by the fide of them, and
whole, flock has, time immemorial, been fuf-
fcrcd to departure upon them. It is fuppofed
that this encroachment has been made thro'
the means of a ivinclrake * acrofs a corner of
thcfe commonr. ro a river which runs at a
dillance -, or ihnt it hr,s been fuff^-red to take
• See Esi ATL» am; T!:.r:xJUEj.
p.lacc
5. Y O R IC S H I P. E. 93
place through mere negkdt •: be this as it
mav, it ought to be a \clTon to unincloled
townlhips to attend to the ilock of their rc--
]*pe(ftivc commons. I term it an incroach-
menr, becaufe there is not a more general
pofition than that the commons of a given
townfliip belong in original right to the
lands and houfcs of that townfuip, and that
no right of commonage can be juftly claimed
by the lands and houfcs of another townfliip,
iinlefs a fpecial grant, or fomething ade-
quate to it, can be produced. Cuitom may,
in this cafe, be confidered in lauj as ad<i-
quate to a grant \ — although in equity and
common fenfe it might feem more reafonable
to award damages for a trefpafs, rather than
a portion of the commons as a compenfation.
5. Fencing. The whole to be inclofed
within fix months from the time of ftakins
out. Counter fences may be made upon the
adjoining allotment, and over the terminating
crofs ditches. Sheep to be kept out of the
new inclofures during the firfl {QV'i^^ years -,
and all kinds of flock out of the bncs durin.-r
ten years-, — afcer which time thefurvcyors of
the roads of the townfliip iriav let the crafs of
the
96 I N C L O S U R E S. 5.
the lanes and bye-ways, and apply the rents
to the repair of the roads. Admirable
claufe !
6. appeal. By this bill, perfons aggrieved
may appeal to the QLiartei-Scffions ; except
in Pjch cafes where the determinations of the
commlfiioners are direfted to be final. This,
in fome cofes, may be a check upon the act-
ing comaiiffioners ; but is far from being
tqulvalent to a fpecial commiffion of gentle-
men refident in the neighbourhood, who
would, in all cafes, be on the fpot, to be ap-
pealed to. To do ilrift juftice to every indi-
vidual, in a complicated bufinefs of this na-
ture, is beyond the power of abilities and
honedy to accompliui ; but the nearer this
fummlt can be approached the better ; and
every probable means fnould be employed in
attempting it.
In the cafe of Middle ton, hdf the com-
mons were affigned to the houses, kaJf \.o the
LAND, in proportion to the L:nd-tcix : a mode
of divifion which has, I believe, been pretty
generally adopted in the Vale.
This method of apportioning; the fhares
of the land -(IV '"r " , in townfnips where the
land-tax
5. YORKSHIRE. 97
land-tax is levied by rack-rents, more equi-
table than it is in cafes where it is paid by an-
cient valuation, as it was in Middleton when
the Inclofure took place : but it cannot in
either cafe be ftridtly equitable ; nor approach
lb near to flrid: equity, as a valuation accor-
ding to circumftances at the time of inclo-
fure.
On this alone an equitable divifion of
commonable lands can be made : not with
refpedt to land only j but with regard to
every other fpecies of commonable property.
Whatever benefit the feveral intercfts, and
the individuals of the refpcdtive interefts,
rightfully enjoyed previous to the inclofure
or were, in reverfjon, rightfully entitled to,
(as dormant lands and houfes), fuch propor-
tional benefit they are feverally entitled to,
under the Inclofure.
Before I take leave of this fubjcd, I will
note the effcds of the three different means
of Inclofure which have been, in different
townfhips, made ufe of in this Diflridt :
namely,
1. Inclofure by Exchanges, &:c.
2. Inclofure by private commiflion.
3. Inclofure by kdi of Parliament.
Vol. I. H i. Incio-
98 I N C L O S U R E S. 5.
I. Liclofure by Exchanges. In the north- weft
divlfion of the Vale, the common fields and
common meadows have moftly been in-
clofed progrefTively, piece after piece; either
in the original flips, fingly ; or more than
one of them have been joined by purchafe,
or by private exchanges between the feveral
proprietors : by which m.eans the whole of
tl'.e appropriated lands of the townfliips in
which this fpecies of Inclofure has taken
place, have been, in procefsof time, inclofed
and held in feveralty.
This method of Inclofure is attended with
at leaft one difagreeable confequence. The
common- field lands having lain principally
in fingle. ridges, fome of them perhaps near
a mile in length, the Inclofures are badly
proportioned. They are either too long for
their width, many of them refembling lanes
rather than fields ; or, if cut into lengths,
there are no drift-ways to the inner divifions :
— befides, much unneceflary fencing, with all
its attendant evih, is by this mode of Inclo-
fure incurred ; and what is yet worfe, each
nun's property is dill, j^>crhaps, fcattercd over
the townfiiip,
2. hclo'
5. YORKSHIRE. 99
2. Inclofure by private commijfion. Some en-
tire townihips (except perhaps the unftinted
commons), and many flinted paftures, have
been laid out by commifTioners, chofen
unanimoufly by the fcveral interefls con-
cerned, without foliciting the afliftance of
Parliament.
By this means the diftinfb properties are
laid together, in well-fized and well-propor-
tioned InclofureSjVvith proper roads and drift-
v/ays ; and this without the expcnce, the
inconveniency, orthe /^^zar^ attending an ap-
plication to Parliament.
3. Inclofure by A5i of Parliament. By this
expedient the advantages above-mentioned
are obtained in their fulleft extent ; but they
are unavoidably burdened with a train of at-
tendant evils, which render this mode of In-
clofure much lefs eligible than that of in-
clofing by general confent.
Tbis^ however, is frequently impra<5lica-
ble : obflinacy has its adherents in every
townfliip ; and where various interefls are
concerned, as in the cafe of dividing unftint-
ed commons, it is fcarcely poftible that every
intereft, and every individual of each inte-
H 2 tcreft,
,o» I N C L O S U R E S. 5.
tercfl fliould be of one mind. Therefore,
without /ow^ exertion of legal authority, un-
ftinted commons in general muft continue
to lie open.
But it does not follow that, becaufe fome
is nccefiary, much fliould be ufed. It may
be received as a found pofition, that in cafes
Vvfhere an Inclofure would be highly beneficial
to a townlhip at large, a great majority of
the individuals concerned would forward a
meafure evidently calculated to promote
their own intereft ; provided they could ob-
tain it by fome certain and known means. It
is the idea of giving up a certainty for an //;;.
certainty, of entering the lift of contending
interefts, and of being outwitted or over-
powered by their neighbours, which deter
men, whofe fortunes are not defperate, and
vi'hole difpofitions are peaceable, from enga-
ging in contejis about Inclofures.
At prefent, a notice of a petition to Parlia-
ment, for the appropriation of unftinted
commons, implies the watchword havoc k :
— he is the beft fellow who gets the moft
plunder. And, until fom.e general law
OF IN CLOSURE, be eftab ilhed, ihh uncivilized
mode
4. YORKSHIRE. loi
mode of procedure mud neccITarily conti-
nue.
The multiplication of ftatutes has ever
been fpoken of as an evil ; and though pub-
lic adts may in general be meant, private
bills may properly be included. There needs
no apology therefore for venturing to recom-
mend one Ad: of Parliament which would pre-
clude the paffing of a thoufand.
Bills of Inclofure muft occupy much of
the attendance of Parliament, and divert
their attention from matters of public im-
portance. Befidcs, private intereft, although
it may not be able to exert its influence in
Parliament at large, may be ditticult to
fhut out entirely from its committees : but
^vhat can lower the dignity of Parliament
more than private intereft being permitted,
in any way, to warp its deterniina'cions ?
That a GENERAL BILL OF INCLOSURE
might be framed to anfwer the purpofe of an
equitable appropriation of commonable lands,
in a much higher degree than has been, or
perhaps ever can be obtained by feparate
bills, appears to my mind indifputable ; and
why fuch a meafure has not long ago been
H ^ adopted.
,02 I N C L O S U R E S. 5,
adoptedj would be difficult for any man out
of Parliament to conceive.
It would be improper in me to dictate
to Parliament, and might be wrong to of-
fer my fentiments too freely in this place ;
but having ventured to cenfure the prefent
mode of Inclofure by A6t of Parliament, it
is incumbent on me to convey fome idea
of what I conceive would be an improve-
ment.
In every townfhip, four diftinct interefts
claim a right of fharing in its commonable
lands : namely, lands, houfes, tithes , and the
lordCmp. The two former have a benefit in
commons in their open (late ; but the benefit
of the other two arifcs folely out of the In-
clofure*. Hence it follows, that it is the
con lent and approbation of the two former
interefts which ought to be obtained previous
to a chi'nge from the open to the inclofed
Ibtc ; for the two latter may be fuppofed to
be always ready to receive propofais for an
Inclofure.
It
" The tithe of wool, lamb, and milk only excepted ;
ai tides of fmall value compared with the tithe produce
of lands In a ftaic of cultivauou.
4. Y O R K S H I R F. 103
It has already been fccn, that v/hcn the
tithe and the lordlhip are able to draw over
to them a third intercll, they can gain the
deiired point. But the evil cffecfts of Inclo-
fures thus condudied have alfo been feen.
Therefore, in fixing a general rule for the
quantity of approbation requifite to an In-
clofure, the other interefls are more particu-
larly to be attended to.
Were the lands and the houfes equally fitu-
ated with refped: to the commons to be in-
clofed, amajority o( t:\c\\ might be lufficienr.
But this not being the cafe in any townlliip,
a larger proportion fcems necefTary. Tbree-
fcurths might in many cafes be too fmall ;
but as Inclofures arc, in all human probabi-
lity, beneficial to the public, it might be im-
politic to fix it higher.
Thus it appears to me, that in framing
a general law of Inclofure, three-fourths in
value of the land, and three-fourths in num-
ber of the houfes, with the confent of the
lord of the foil, ou^jht to be confidered as
the requifite quantity of approbation.
The QUANTITY OF RIGHT ofthc fcvcral in-
ji:erefls, and of the individuals of each intercil:,
II 4 has
104 I N C L O S U R E S. 5.
has been already difcufTed : and although the
prefent fketch may not afford lufficient mat-
ter for the completion of the general law
propofed, I am clearly convinced that,
without any extraordinary exertion of ftudy
or application, fuch a law might be
formed.
Unftinted commons would conftitute the
principal objedl of the bill ; but ftinted com-
mons, common fields, common meadows,
and every clafs of fpecial matter refpeding
Jnclofures, might be included and provided
for.
Authorized and guided by a general law
of this nature, the bufinefs of Inclofure would
be fafe and eafy. Every man before he fet
out would know with certainty his propor-
tional fliare ; and the Adt would empower
the feveral interefls to make choice of com-
miffioncrs to fecure to them their refpedtive
rights.
Numberlefs Inclofures remain yet to be
made ; and it were much to be regretted
that the attention of Parliament fhould be
fo unprofitably employed; and that the pro-
perty of individuals fhould be fubjedcd to
fo
6. YORKSHIRE. 105
fo much hazard, as it is to be feared they
will be, while common lands are continued
to be appropriated by separate bills,
without any established principles of
INCLOSURE.
6.
FARM BUILDINGS,
THE BUILDING MATERIALS which arc
now in common ufe on this fide of the Vale
are, chiefly.
Stones,
Pantiles,
Deal:
But there are other materials which require
to be noticed j namely.
Bricks,
Cement,
Oak.
T, Stones. The Hones in ufe are of two
kinds ; fre^Jlone and limejlone *. The for-
mer
* In the quarries from which thefe materials are
drawn, the limellone generally forms the upper flra-
tum, rifing to within a few inches of the furface. The
foil
ic6 F A R :d BUILDING S. 6.
rner being lefs periihable, arc ufed for foun-
dations, coin';, cornices, and the coping of
ridges and gables ; the latter, being more
eafily railed, and requiring lefs labour in
drcffing thcra for ufj, are, in farm-houfes at
leaft, generally ufed in facing the walls; and
when properly hammered, and properly
forted fo as to give the thickefl: to the lower
courfcs, Icfiening the f ze of the ftoncs froui
live or fx to three or four inches thick, as
the building rifes, a neater material need
not be dcdrcd ; nor, if kept free from con-
llant moifture, one which is more lafting, or
which prefervcs the face of youthfulnefs fo
long.
2. Pan-
foil itfclf is generally a limrflone gravel; under whkh
ja fre<|uently found a ftratum of thin flate like lime-
I'one, which increafcs in thicknefs as the dejth in-
cixafcs ; from one to four or fix inches thick ; lying in
general loofc and horizontal. Thcfe arc the " walling-
ibnies" ufed in the face of buildngs ; for which ufc one
<)f their edges is bammerrti into a brick-like form : ai>
cper.ition romcv\hat tedious; but not equal to that of
chiiicUing frecftone. Under the walling-ftones, an
irregular limeflonc rock (of many feet in depth perhaps)
is u'.ually found ; aad under this a bed of freeftone, of
mi fa: homed depth.
6. YORKSHIRE. 107
2. Pantiles. Fovmci\y,J}razv nnd a licavy
kind oijh.te were the conmion coverings ; but
of late yc2TS pr.nliles have become univerfal,
for ordinary buildings j and blue f.ate for
better houfes.
In the fouthern counties pantile is consi-
dered as an ordinary material : but the efti-
mation of it there arifes from an improper
method of ufing it ; not from any intrinfic
demerit of the material itfelf when properly
manufad:ured. From London to Grantham
in Lincolnfhirc, fcarcely a roof of pantile
occurs : north of Grantham it is become the
almoft: univerfal covering. It has two qua-
lities fufficiently valuable to rccomm.end it in
any country : chcapnefs and lightnefs.
Much ho\vever depends on the manufac-
turing, as well as on the la\hig of p .ntiles.
If the materials be not fufficiently expofcd
to the adion of the air ; or, if of diflimilar na-
tures, though fufficiently tempered, they be
not united f'tyidently into one hotiiogcneous
mafs or uniform fubftnnce, the tiles which
are made from them arc liable to peridi ; not
only before burning as well as in the kiln,
but after l?eing expofed to the influence of
the
JOl
FARM BUILDINGS. 6.
the atmofpherc upon the root of a building.
Or, if the materials be good and well -pre-
pared, the moulds be truly midc, and the
moulding fkilfully executed j — ftill, if they
be fuffcrcd to warp in drying, or to twift in
being fct injudicloufly in the kiln, they are
^'holly unfit to be laid on as a covering ma-
terial ; and every judicious workman refuics
them. Were workmen in general, or thofe
who have the fuperintendcncy of w'orkmcn,
niore fcrupulous in this refpecH: than they ge-
r.crally are, manufadurers would be more
diligent in their endeavours to approach the
ftandard of perfedion ; by which means this,
in many cafes, mod eligible covering might
o;row into univerfal eflimation.
3. Deal. In a Di{lri(5t furnilhed with three
confiderable fea-ports, and 3 river-navigation,
it is no wonder that deal fhould have been
long in ufe as a building material. Floors
have been laid with it for near a century ;
and of late years it has been ufed for almoft
every purpofe of building. Beams, joifls,
9nd entire roofs, arc now almoft univerfally
ipade of fir-timber.
4. Bricks,
4. YORKSHIRE. 109
4. Bricks. Where floncs arc far to be
fetched, as towards the ccnrer of the Vale,
bricks are become a common material. It
brick earth be found near the fite of build-
ing, as it generall)^ may in fituations where
ftones are fcarce, clamp bricks are confi-
dered in this country, where coals may be
had at a moderate price, as the rcadicft and
(all things confidered) the cheapeft walling
material.
5. Cement. Formerly, ordinary Hone-
buildings were carried up entirely with
*' mortar i" that is, common earth beaten up
with water, without the fmalleft admixture
of lime. The ftones themfelves and the fil-
lings (of flone) were depended upon as the
bonds of union ; the ufe of the " mortar'*
being merely that of giving warmth to the
building, and a degree of iliffnefs to the
wall.
The event, however, proves that walls
built without lime have in many inflanccs
flood for ages. Even part of the walls of
Pickering Castle, formerly efteemed a
fortrefs of confiderable ftrength, have been
carried up with a cement which, te appear-
fmce, feems little fupcrior to common mortar :
never-
no FARM BUILDINGS. 6.
nevcrthelefs, fuch is the cffctt of time upon
walls which arc cxpofcd on every fide to the
atmofpherc, that they now hold together
with confiderable tenacity.
To this effcd: of time ; or, more accurate-
ly fpeaking, to certain laws of nature which in
procefs of time produce this efl'cd: •, we ought
perhaps to afcribe the ftone-like contexture
of the cements of ancient walls, rather than
to any fupeiior flciil in preparing them.
The cirr.del or central ftronghold of the
fortrefs under notice has been built with bet-
ter cements, which, however, vary much in
outward appearance. One fpecimen which
I .have collccled, is a fir.ooth clialk-like
fubflance ; another, a coarfe rough mafs
comnofed of fand and fmall gravel, with a
fmallcr proportion of chalk-like matter.
In the fofle which furrounds the outer wall
lies a fragment (perhaps part of the parapet
or theembrafures of theoutfidc wall), whole
cement has acquired a Hione-like hardnefs,
efpecially the part which is expofcd to the
oiirer furface *.
I have
* The a^qe of th's fortrefs would pcrh"ps be difficult
to afccrtaiu. l*art of the outer wall w;is repaired and
feme
6. YORKSHIRE. in
I have beflowcd Ibmc attention on the dc-
compofitlon of thcfe four fpccimens. The
refults are as follow :
Exp. I. Cement of Pickering Castle :
— the ^o^r/^rf[)ecimen, taken from the ruins
of the central tcwer.
In general appea'-ance it refembles dirty-
chalk, thickly interfperfed with fmall gravel -,
fome of the granules as large as peas. Its
tenacity that of common writing-chalk; the
afperities eafily broken off with the fingers.
One hundred grains, pounded, dried, im-
merged in v/ater, and balanced together with
the menftruum, loft in folution 25 [ grains
of air ; and yielded by filtration 40 grains
of refiduum ; affording by elutriation 35
grains of gravel and rough fand, and 5 grains
of fufpendible mud-like matter : the folu-
tion yielding by precipitation 64 grains of
calcareous earth.
35 grains
fome towers raifed hy (I thiiik) Edward VI. Bjt when
the parts which are here the fubje£t of notice were
erefted, is probably uncertain. They are fuid to be 'af
very great antiquity.
112 FARM BOILDINGS. 6.
25 grains of fand and gravel,
5 grains of filt,
64 grains of pure chalk.
104 grains.
From this analyfis it appears,
1. That the proportion in this cafe (fup-
pofing crude limeftone in lumps fit for burn-
ing to be of equal weight with fand and
gravel) was three meafures of unflaked lime
in lumps to two of fcind and gravel.
2. That the fand and gravel in this cafe
had been wajhed-, either by the brook which
runs at the foot of the Caftle mound, or
more probably, by hand ; the proportion of
dirt being fmaller than that which is gene-
rally found ^mong dr if i fa}t J.
^. Ihat the lime had not regained the
whole of hsjjxi air. The increafe of weight,
which appears in the fynthefis of this experi-
ment, is a fufficicnt evidence, were it not
corroborated even unto proof by the defi-
ciency of air thrown off in the lolution. To
try whether the increafe on one hand, and the
deficiency on the other, agreed as to quan-
tity, I refufpcndcd 50 grains of the chalk
obtained
6; YORKSHIRE. ^113
obtained in this experiment : it lofl: exa(ftly
23 grains in folution ; as 50 : 23 :: 64 : 20i.
Therefore the incrcafe of weight in this cafe
appears to be wholly owing to the deficiency
of air.
Exp. 2. Cement of Pickerkcg Castle :
finer fpecimen of the central tower.
General appearance that of ftalc lime, rnn?
together with water, and baked to a cruft :
almoft a pure white : furface rough -, fatw-
ing the cells and the unbroken granules of
the original lime. — Contexture, more brittle
than common chalk ; full of pores ; does
not appear to have been much worked at the
time of preparation.
One hundred grains yield in decomposition,
twenty-one grains of air.
42 grains of whitiih grit,
5 grains of fufpendible duft-like particles,
Cj6 grains of pure chalk.
103 grains.
Obs. The refiduum in this experiment is
evidently the powder of free/tone. The par-
ticles are fmall, and of irregular figures ;
very different in appearance (when magni-
VoL. I. I fit>d)
114 FARxM BUILDINGS. 6.
ii'^d) from common fand. I was at a lofs to
jtfcertdin their nature, until pounding feme
freeftonc, and vvailiing it in the m.anner I had
done the rciiduum, 1 found it to refemble ex-
adtiv the forty-two grains of wafhed grit of
the experiment. It appears to have been
pounded or ground very fmall, and to have
been put through a fine fieve •, the whole
being in a l\atc oi grit ; no fragn-^ent fo large
as 2 pin's head.
It is obfei vablc, that the cement of this
experiment is weaker than that of the laft :
but whether from the nature of the hafe^ or
fjom the froportion of lime being lefs, or
from the two united, is not evident.
Ii is alio cbfervable, that in the decompo-
fuion of this fpccimen a urinous fmell rofe
during the folution ; and that the edges of
the full filter attrad moillure from the air.
It is at prcfent a prailice among fome plaf-
lerei 5 to make ufe of urine in the prepara-
tion of plaftcr.
Exi*. 3. Cement OF Pickering Castle :
taken from the ruins of the old cuter iva'tl
tricing the northweft. Colleded in three or
four different places •, a few feet above the
foundation ;
6. YORKSHIRE, 1(5
foundation ; and moftly from the inner parts
6f the wall (where it has parted) -, not from
the outer furface.
Its appearance that of fandy loam, intcr-
fperfed with fpecks of chalk -, fome cf them
larger than peas, lis fragility fimilar to that
of dried brick earth.
One hundred grains of this fpecimen yield
thirteen and a half grains of air.
30 grains of rough land, and a few large
fragments,
37 grains of (ilt and fine fand,
36 grains of calcareous earth.
103 grains.
Obs. There are two caufes of the zveaknefs
of this cement : the fmall proportion of lime,
and the impurity of the bafe: a heterogeneous
mafs of fragments of various kinds, fome of
them apparently gypfeous -, of fands of dif-
ferent fpecics, principally of a cryftalline
afpedt J but chiefly of mere mud, or of fand
fo fine as to be impalpable between the fin-
gers. It i'S therefore evident, that the mate-
rials, in this inftance, have not been wajhcd.
I 2 Exp.
<i6 FARM BUILDINGS. 6.
Exp. 4. Cement of Pickering Castle:
taken from z fragment in the north-weft cor-
ner of the ditch.
In genera! appearance fotnewhat refembling
the lafl noticed fpccimcn •, but in contexturt
very different. The cruft of the outer fur-
face, which has been expofed to the influ*
cnce of the atmofphere, probably, during
many centuries, has acquired ahnoft the
hardnefs of limedone : nor is any part of It
to be broken with the fingers : neverthelefs,
this fpecimen, alfo, is full of liimps of un-
mixed lime ; fome of them the fize of fmall
hazel nuts ; and at the time I took the fpeci-
men (the feafon wet), as foftas butter j when
dry they are of the confiftency of very foft
chalk.
One hundred grains of this fpecimen yield
fifteen grains of air.
8 grains of fragments,
1 2 coarfe fand,
^6 fine fand,
3 of a fizelikc matter,
45 chalk.
104 grains.
Obs.
6, YORKSHIRE. ii;
Obs. The conftituent parts of this reii-
duum refcmble thofe of the lall fpecimen ;
excepting the abfence of the mud, which has
evidently been wajljed away ; and except-
ing the prefence of a mucilaginous matter,
whofe nature I am not at prefent able to
guefs ; nor have I leifure at prefent to pur-
fuc the enquiry.
Gen. Obs. i. All thefe cements, whether
weak or ftrong, have laid hold of the ftones
with a degree of firmnefs proportioned to
their refpeClive flrengths. Every crevice of
the wall is filled with cement : the whole
form one united mafs.
Hence it is more than probable that thef<;
cements have been poured into the walls in a
liquid date, in the {late o^ puddle ; and they
appear to have operated, with refpedt to com-
padnefs, as x.\\t puddle of the canal-makers.
2. The fubjccts of Exp. 3, and 4. are
llrong evidences, that in the preparation of
thefe puddles the ancient builders were very
deficient. Not more than half of the lime
they contain appears to operate. The lumps,
y/hcther large or fmall, are w^r^ than wafted;
I 3 weakening.
ii8 FAUM BUILDINGS. 6.
weakening rather than flrengthening the ce-
ment.
3. From the whole of thcfc experiments
it is evident, that the fevcral cements had ac-
quired the principal part of their fixed air j
chiefly, perhaps, after they were depofited in
the buildings. The air in the ftronger fpe-
cimens bears a confiderable proportion to the
entire quantity of cement ; and being infinu-
ated in theclofe flate above-mentioned, muft
have added greatly to its compaBnefs.
Hence it is highlv probable , that the ftone-
like tenacity of old cements is chiefly ov/ing
to a tranfmutation fiom lime and land to cal-
careous earth and fand ;- — a fubflance rcfcm-
blino; the orip-inal limeftone.
On examining a wall which has been built
with loam alone, without any admixture of
lime, and which ha? probably ftood about a
centurv, I find that the lo.im haS laid no hold
whatever of the ftoncs ; and that time has
made no alteration on its contexture. It is
flill the fame friable fubflance it prob.ibly
was the day it firll became dry in the build-
ing; without having the fmalleft appearance
of acquired tenacity, obtained during the
century
6. YORKSHIRE. 119
century of time it has been cxpofed to the
influence of the atmofpherc.
It is therefore probable that the atmo-
fphere imparts nothing, voluniarily, of a co-
hefive nature to the niortar of walls which
are expofed to it.
But it is more than probable that cement,
containing a portion of lime, imbibes from
the atmolphere fomething which gives it a
degree of tenacity fuperior to that which it
had on its fiiTi becoming dry in the wall ;
and it is a fad: well eflablifiied, that lime
begins to imbibe, the moment it Jirows cool
from the kiln, tiat which the fire has d^^-
jirived it of •, namely, fixed air ; which fixed
air being imbibed, after the cem.ent is depo-
fited in the walls, is, frobably, a princip:ii
caufe of tenacity.
This being admitted it mav feemto follow,
that the niore qu"ckly it is transferred from
the kiln to the building, the greater portion
of air will be imbibed afrer it is laid in the
walls, and of courfe the greater effcvft will
lime have on the tenacity or cohefion of the
cement : and hence we might be led to in-
fer, that if the ancients had any fuperior fkill
I 4 irj
120 FARM BUILDINGS. 6,
in this matter, it confifted in their haftening
the lime from the kiln to the building.
But, in practice, it is obferved that frelh-
made mortar does not fet To well j does not
cohere into a foft-ltone-likc lubflance To rea-
dily as that which his been prepared fome
time before it be ufed.
This fa(fl, perhaps, is acccunted for in the
lime having had, iinder this circumftance,
time to lay hold of the particles ^i fand with
which it is intermixed.
But, on the fame principle, it feem: to fol-
low, that if the preparation be made :oo long
before the murur be laid into the wall, it
will have regained too much of its fixed air,
to lay hold, fufficlently, of the /tones, or other
tnaterials, which it is intended to bind toge-
ther.
Be this as it may, it is commpn, in prac-
tice, when mortar is not ufcd prefently after
making, to cover it up clqfely from the out-i
ward air. It is the opinion of a perfon, who
laas paid this fubjc<5t confiderable attention,
that if mortar be buried within the furface
of the ground, it may be kept twelve month*
in perfcftion.
The
6. YORKSHIRE. 121
The fame perfon, whofe penetration r.nd
judgment in the few fubjedts he has more
particularly employed his mind upon are fu-
perior to thofe of moft men, has ftruck out
a new idea relative to the jJaking of lime
for mortar.
Lime, whether it be intended for cement
or for manure, ought to be reduced entirely
to a dry po'wder. And for cement it ought tq
be mixed, in this ftate, evenly and intimate-
ly with the fand.
It is almoft, if not utterly impoffible to
reduce lime $ntirdy to powder, with ivater
alone ; fpmc part or other will always be fu-
per-faturateJ, and thereby be reduced to
2.pajie; whdethe outlides which are expofcd
to the airnofpaere will (unlefs th^; ilone be
extremely ^««?j fall in granules, not into pow-
der.
Every piece of pafte and every granule,
though but the fize of a pea or a muftard
feed, is ufelefs, if not detrimental to the ce-
ment ; for with thefe the granules of fand
cannot be intimately mixed ; much lefs be
coated with them ; as they may, and un-
dpubtedly ought to be, with lime in-powder.
But
122 FARM BUILDINGS. 6.
TjUl it inftead of water, wet f and be ufed ill
Caking the lime; (piling it with the lime-
in- ftone, layer for layer, and covering up
the heap with it ;) thole evils are avoided :
no part is ruper:raturated, nor are any gra-
nules formed by the adtion of the outward
air.
Bef.des, anothergreat advantage isobrain-
ed by fl.king the lime, in this m.anncr,
v.'i:h the f^nd with which it is Intended to be
incorporated. Ihe two ingredients, by ber
iiig, perhaps, repeatedly turned over ; and
by p^vi^ing through the fieve together •, ne-
ceffdiily become intimately blended ; more
intimately, perhaps, than they could be
mixed by any other procefs equally fimple.
It thi; fand be ivafJoed (and all fand mixed
with lime for cement ought to be waflied)
the labour of preparation is by this method
of flaking the Umc confiderably leflcned,
But in the preparation of cement, slak-
i>JG THE LIME makcs only one ftage of the
procefs; MIXING the ingredients intimate-
W, and uniting them clofely together into
one compadl homogeneous mafs,is an opera-
tion which requires the ftritteft attention.
6. YORKSHIRE. 1 2j
We have feen the ull-lefsnefs of unburft
lumps of lime in cement ; and the good ef*
fedt of puddling cement has been at lead
conjectured.
Compa5lnejs feems to be efiential to the
hardnefs of cement. When mortar is laid
in with the trcjuel, it remains in the ftate in
which it is hid, and does not run together
into a cloie form, like melted metal or
LIQUID CI>MENT.
Much care, therefore, is requifite in the
preparationof mortar for the trowel. Work-
ing it with the fpade alone is infufficient.
Beating it with the edge of a board, a kind
of wooden axe, is more efficacious, but is
very tedious. Mills for the grinding of clay-
are common, and fufficiently effedual of the
purpofe intended : but a mill for the grind-
ing of mortar I have not yet either feen or
heard of !
6. Oak. This is now almofl wholly laid
afide as a material of the houfe-carpenter ;
except for door and window- lintels, wall-
plates, and Ibmc few other purnofes, which
require ftrength and durability. The ports
pf Whitby and Scarborough take off the
larger
124 FARM BUILDINGS. 6,
larger timber; and the refufe has of late been
much in demand for the purpofe of inclo-
fure. Deal has of courfe ganicd ground as a
building material. There arc, however,
fomc few men who ftill retain a fufficient
partiality for the oak, to ufe it freely in every
fpcclcs of building, under a full perfuafion
that in tl-c end it will prove the cheapell
material.
Having thus enumerated the materials of
building in mod common ufe in the Diftridt,
I will proceed to give fome account of the
BUILDINGS themfelves ; and of fuch opera-
tions in rural architcdture as merit parti-
cular notice.
The fpirit of improvement which has fo
evidently diffufcd itfelf through this extenfive
county, is in no particular more confpicuous
than in Farm Buildings •, nor, perhaps, docs
any part of it afford fo many ftriking innova-
iions in this particular as that v;hich is under
furvey.
The Fancy-Fap.m-Houses, which have
been eredlcd in different parts of it, I pur-
pofely pafs over. Tafte, whether true or
faife ; mere ornament without ufe ; is foreign
to
6. YORKSHIRE. 125
to the prefent fnbjed: : and I have in another
work, profefledly on the fubic<5l of rural
ORNAMENT, fpoken my fentiments freely on
ornamental buildinp-s.
In Rural Economy, ftraight lines and
right angles are firft principles, which can
feldom be deviated from with propriety ;
cither in laying out a farm, or in planning
Farm Buildings.
Here the great objefl is to obtain the de-
fired conveniencies at the leaft expencCj pre-
fent and future taken jointly, fo long as the
given conveniencies may be required. To
thefe principles we may venture to add, — the
greater number of conveniencies there can be
included in one building, the cheaper will
thofe conveniencies be obtained.
There is a certain width, which can fel-
dom be exceeded with propriety, in Farm
Buildings; but the nearer this width is ap-
proached, the greater quantity of conveni-
cncy will in general be obtained with a given
expenditure. The long-cube form, with the
plain fpan roof, can never be difpenfed with,
without evident impropriety, in conilrudiu^
Farm Buildings
The
126 F A R M B U I L D I N G S. 6:
The number of Inclofures which have of
late years taken place, and the fpirit of im-
l^rovemcnt which has gone forth upon the
wolds, have given cxiftence to farmeries
of almoft every form and dmienlion.
The pradlice of houfirig cattle in winter,
which will be fpoken to hereafter, requires a
greater quantity of building than that of win-
tering them in the open yard. But the quan-
tity of barn-room rcquifite in this country,
even on the arable farm.s is much lefs than
in the fouthern counties, where barley and
oats are harvefted loofe, and where the fliovel
or the fail-fan is ufed in the drefTing of corn.
Here corn is univerfally bound, and the ma-
chine-fan in almoft univerfal pradtice. In
Noriolk, one man expeds a floor of fifteen
feet by twenty-four to himfelf; here two men
will thrafh contentedly on a floor nine feet
by twelve ; ten by fifteen is a full-fized floor.
Such being the rcquifites of a Yorkfliirfi
Farmery, it is no wonder that the new ones
which have been ercded fhould be compofed
of a firing of fmall buildings, generally
formed into a fquarc, open to the iouth, in
imitation of thofe of other countries where
c^ittle
6. YORKSHIRE. 127
cattle are wintered in the area between the
buildings, not in the buildings themfelvcs.
In one inftance, I have obfcrved the cattle
hovels fpun out in fuch a manner as wholly
to inclofe the dung-heap, excepting a gate-
way to get it out at. But the hovels in this
caie were only feven feet wide; not wide
enough for cattle to (land acrofs them ; they
being placed in them length way in pairs. The
quantity of walling, the number of doors,
&c. and the quantity of roofing, with the
fubfequent repairs incident to low Straggling
buildings, render this, and every other plan
which refembles it, altogether inelig'ble in
any Diilrifl where cattle are wintered under
cover. Wide houfes, or open flieds wide
enough to permit curtle to ftand acrofs then,,
are in many refpefts preferable.
In oppoiition to the Farm Yard lafb men-
tioned, there is, likewife in this neighbour-
hood, an inflance of the entire Farmery (of a
fmall upland farm) being comprifed under
one roof !
The f.te a lorfg fqunre. One end is oc-
cupied by a fmall dwelling-place for a
*' hind," or bailiff; the ground-fioor of the
remainder by a ftable d.nd bcafl-houfes; over
v>h:ch
>28 F A R M B U I L D t N G S. 6.
which are a barn and hay-chamber ; with a
CHAMEER-BARN-FLooR ! a thing I had not
leen, nor conceived an idea of, before I ob-
ferved it, in more inftances than one, in this
Dilbidti
The above-mentioned is the only one I
have feen in a new ereftion j I have howevef
had full opportunity of obferving the ufe of
another thrown over a cow-houfe; in a large
old building which had long been ufed as a
barn, liable, and beatl-houle.
The advantages of a chamber-barn*
FLOOR arc drynefs, cleannefs from dirt car-
ried in with the feet^ and fccurity againft
pi^s, poultry, and other accidents to which
ground-floors arc more liable : for thrafhing
wheat upon, chamber-floors are obvioully'pre-
fcrable to ground-floors ; moll efpecially in
lov/ dirty fituations.
No effential difadvantage has yet (Iruck
me refpefting a chamber thrafhing-floor ;
but with rcfped: to a chamber-barn, there
is one which is obvious ; namely, that of
having the corn at harvefl, a bufy fcr.fon, to
ruifc one ftory higher than ordinary.
If
6. YORKSHIRE. 129
If a barn be built againft a rifing ground,
this objedion falls in part, or wholly. Even
on plain ground, it appears to me that (efpc-
cially where cattle are houfed) it would be
greatly over-balanced by the advantage of
obtaining a fuite of flables, cart-houfc, and
cattle houfes, without the expence of roofing,
in the firft inilance ; and which, if fubllan-
tially built, would laft for ages to come
v»'ithout repairs.
The flooring of a chamber-barn might on
the whole be fomewhat more expcnfive
than that of a ground-floor barn ; but the
thralhing-floors, if of plank, would be laid
cheaper and laft much longer, in the former
than in the latter fpecies of building j
and the mow-floors, if laid with clay on
rods *, would foon regain their extra coft in
keeping the bottoms of the mows dry and
fweet; and in preferving it more fccure from
vermin than ground-floors generally do.
It is far from my intention even to inti-
mate that in corn countries, fuch as Norfolk,
Kent, and other Diftrid:s, where cattle are
* NORF. ECON. MiN. I 3.
Vol. I. K win-
ijo F ARM BUI L D ING S. 6,
wintered in yards, that cliamber-barns would
be univerfally eligible ; but in a country
like this, or in any country, or on any farms,
on which grafsland predominates, and where
the houfing of cattle is pradtifed, I fee no
fulilcicnt objediion to chamber-barn-floors,
nor to entire chamber-barns. On the con-
trary, it appears to me that on fmall graffy
farms, in low damp fituations at leaft, they
would be found Angularly eligible.
But although a clofe yard is unnecelTary
where cattle are houfcd, a fingle building,
like that which was laft dcfcribed, is perhaps
too fimple to be altogether eligible ; efpe-
cially in an expofcd iitiiation, where fome
degrees of fhclter are requifite.
Two buildings properly phiced would give
this neceflary fliclter : one of them a barn,
with offices under it •, the other, the dwcl-
ling-houfc, placed at right angles with the
ibrnier : the two buildings touching at the
corners only; forming a fmall yard with their
ends, for hogs, poultry, &c. and a larger
one with their fronts, for the dung-pir, &c.
with a fmall areh-way communication be-
tween them.
This,
6. YORKSHIRE. 131
This, however, is intended by way of
hint. To enter Into the particulars of a plan
which I have not fcen executed, would be
breaking into the delign of the prefent work:
neverthelefs it might be wrong to fupprefs
this idea ("which flruck me while I was
fketching a plan of a Farmery on the above
principles) with regard to aspect.
It is ufual in planning a farm-yard to place
the main line of building with its front to
the fouth ; in which cafe two wings become
neceflary to fcreen the yard from north-eafl
and north-weft winds : and perhaps this has
eflabliflied the common pra6:ice of inclofing
a farm-yard on three fides with buildings.
But if inflead of the back of a building
being placed to the north, the angle of two
buildings were directed to that point, the
yard would be moft effectually fcreened from
the north, the north-eail, and the north-weft
wind, without an unneceftary multiplication
of low narrow buildings to eke out a third
fide with.
On a capital corn farm, on which a num-
ber of fubftantial buildings are required,
three lines of building may be eligible ; bu:
K i on
I2i FARM BUILDINGS. 6.
on any rinall farm, or on almofh any farm on
which grafsland abounds, two lines of build-
ing, forming a cheveron or carpenter's fquare,
and placed with the an_^le towards the north,
would, in my mind, be greatly preferable.
Another idea in rural architecture,
new to me as that of achamber-threfhing-fioor,
I have fccn executed in a fubftantial manner
by two of the firft occupiers in the Vale ;
namely, a granary over a barn-floor.
In all other barns I have feen, the fpace
over the floor, whether this be large orfmail,
and whether the building below or lofty, re-
mains entirely ufelcfs *. The idea of occu-
pying the lower part of this fpace with a
cattle houfe, as well as that of filling the up-
per part of it with a granary, have perhaps
been originally and recently flruck out in
this country.
In the two inftances in which I have fccn
CRANTARIES OVER P. AR N-F L OORS, the joiils
are fupported by two beams thrown acrofs
the buildinLT, and the flooring of the granary
• Except in one inllance, in which a very fpacious
building having been convcitcd into a barn, joifls were
thrown acrofs out of the reach of the Hail, and tiie
mows continued over the floor.
let
6. YORKSHIRE. 133
let into the walls at the ends; fo that not-
withftandingthe granaries may be furroundcd
with vermin, they are proof againft them.
In the floor is a trap-door with taclile over
it, to raife and lower the corn from and to
the barn-floor.
The height between the floors thirteen
feet. This in my opinion is too great a
height. Ten feet high is the moft the flail
requires * ; and every inch above that height
renders the granary in many refpedts lefs
commodious.
Confining the dufl:, which always rifes
more or lefs in thrafliing, appears to be the
only objedtion to a barn-floor-granary :
1 mean in a barn with pitch ing-holes tohoufe
the corn at. But if ventilators were made
immediately under the granary-floor, with
valves to open or fliut as the wind fliould
change, the health of the thraflier would in
all probability be lefs injured than it generally
is by this laborious and unhealthful employ*
ment.
Indeed, in this country, where tall, wide
folding BARN-DOORS are grown into difufe,
* See NoRr, EcoN. Vol.11, p. 67.
K ^ vent-
134 F A R M B U I L D I N G S. 6,
vent-holes of this kind are in fome degree
neceflary to every barn-floor. Even upon the
Wolds, a corn country, the ufc of large doors
is declining : fome good barns have lately
been built with common-fized doors ; one at
each end of the floor : opening however in
tvv'o parts, one above the other ; fo that the
lower half can be fnut to keep out pigs and
poultry, while the upper one is opened to let
in lio-ht and air.
This is a fortunate circumflance for the
owners of landed cftates : folding-dcors large
enough to admit a load of corn are expenfivc
in the iirft inftance, and frequently require
repairs ; befides the thrafliing-floor, be it of
what material it may, being liable to great
injury in the aft of drawing loaded waggons
upon it.
Indeed, throughout, the YoRKSHUiE Barn Is
characterized by economy. In Norfolk, barns
of one hundred and fifty to two hundred
pounds coft are not unfrcquently built: here
a very convenient one, and fuch a one as
will fatisfy a good tcpant, may be built for
forty or fifiy pounds. ''^Vhat a laving is this
ypon a large cflatc !
The
6, YORKSHIRE. i^t;
The particulars which now remain to be
noticed under this head are,
1. The method of laying pantiles.
2. The method of coping ridges and
cables.
3. Eaves gutters.
4. Water cifterns.
5. Painting window-leads.
6. Mortar floors.
1. Laying Pantiles. Formerly it was
the practice to hang pantiles upon the naked
fpars, bedding their ends in mortar, and
pointing them at the fides to prevent Ihow
and rain from being beaten through between
them.
This method had two evil effedts : lime
is liable to expand, contract, and pcrifh
with the weather ; to which in this cafe it
is fully expofed. The confequence was, if
the cement laid faft: hold of the tiles it broke
them ; if not, it Aid from between them, and
left the attic room expofed to the weather.
The other bad efTcd: of this method is, their
being liable to be thrown off in high winds
by the inward air being pent up, and finding
an eafy pafl'age through this flight covering *.
K4 To
* See NoRF, EcoN. Vol, II. p. 84.
J36 F A R M B U I L D I N G S. 6.
To remedy thefe two evils, it has of late
years been the common pradtice to *' fheet"
the roof; that is, to interlath with plaftering
laths between the tiling-laths, and cover the
entire roof with a Iheet of lime mortar : and
over this, to lay the tiles on " dryj" that is,
without bedding or pointing them, being
careful not to fuftcr any part of them to
touch the mortar : — to prevent which a flip
was nailed in between the fpars and the
tiling-laths to raife the tiles fufficiently abpve
the flieeting.
This method, which has been praftifcd
fome fifteen or twenty years, has been found
cfFedtual againft the two inconveniencies
above mentioned ; but it has lately been
found, that in twelve or fifteen years the
laths begin to fail, owing it is fuppofcd to
their being expoled too near to the outward
air ; from which the lime alternately ab-
forbing and imparting moifture, the laths be-
come fubjcfted to decay. I am rather of
opinion, however, that this efxed is caufed by
the tiling-laths; whofe under-fides touching
the plaftcring, check the dcfccnt of the rain
or
6. YORKSHIRE. 137
or fnow water which beats in between the
tiles. Or it may be owing jointly to the
two caufes.
Be this as it may, an improvement has
lately been flruck out which feems to bring
the art to as great perfedlion as perhaps it is
capable of being raifed to. This improve-
ment confifls in nailing the plaftcring laths
leneath^ in (lead of upon^ the fpars ; laying
the main coat of plaftering above the laths,
between the fpars •, afterwards fmoothing
over the under-fide with a thinner coat. This
method removes the cement from the more
immediate adtion of the atmofphere, gives a
free circulation to the air and the water
(which may be beaten inj between the tiles
and the plaftering ; and at the fame time
gives neatnefs to the room beneath ; without
the expence, or the inconveniency, of a coun-
ter ceiling.
There is one very great convcniency arifes
from laying pantiles on dry. If by the wind,
or by accident, a tile be thrown offor broken,
it may be replaced by a plowman, as well as
by a profcflcd tiler : a conveniency, which
upon
13S FARM BUILDINGS. 6.
rpon a farm, perhaps, at a dillance froiri
workmen, is of no fmali value.
2. Copings. RiJ}[e Ti'es, beins; laid en-
tirely on niorrar, and being expofed in
the fuiieft manner to the adion of the
winds, are very liable to be thrown off;
us well as to be broken by the weather : it is
no uncommon thing, in places where ridgs
liles are ufcd, to fee half of them difplaced
or b-roken ; the heads of the fpars having
nothing but the mortar to hide them, with-
out any thing to defend them from the wea-
ther. The ill confequence is evident.
In this country where frccilone, which will
fland the weather, abounds, ridge stones
are in common ufe.
The form triangular; namely, half a fquare
divided diagonally. The longelt fide is hol-
lowed to receive the top of the tiles : the
oppofite angle forms the ridge. The angles
at the bafe are generally drcffcd off. to pre-
vent the wind from laying hold of them ;
and to give them a more fnug and neat ap-
pearance. They are fet on with mortar, in
the f:'.mc manner as ridge tiles are laid.
The
6. YORKSHIRE. 139
The copings of gables, let the walihig ma-
terial be what it may, is ufually of drefled
Hone, fiipported at the foot by an ornamental
bracket of the lame, projeding ten or twelve
inches without the fide walls ; giving a de-
gree of lightnefs, and an appearance of con-
fequence to the building.
The end of the firft ftone of the coping
refts on this corner bracket ; the others rc-
fpedlively on thofe next below them.
There is an evil cfFecl attends the common
method of putting on thefc copings : the ends
of the ftones being ufually cut fquare, and
flufh with each other, to prevent their flip-
ping, and to give them a fmooth uniform ap-
pearance, the joints between them, when the
mortar begins to fail, receive rain-water, and
conduft it into the end wall, by which means
their principal intention, the prcfervation of
the wall, is rendered dcfcflive.
To prevent this effect, I have obferved, in
a few inftanccs, an ingenious expedient prac-
tifed. The upper ends of the coping floncs
are pared down to about half their common
thicknefs fas from two inches thick to one),
with a flope fufficient to give defcent to wa-
ter
J40 FARM BUILDINGS. 6.
ter when they are laid upon the gable : the
lower ends having notches cut on their un-
der-fides, to receive the reduced points of
the upper ends, about an inch beneath them.
By this expedient the water is effectually
^ot rid of, without endangering the firmnefs
of the coping •, but fimplicity being by this
means difturbed, the eye is difpleafed with
what, hov;ever, is upon the whole a very va-
luable improvement.
On this fide of the Vale, the morelands af-
ford in great abundance ftones well-fuired
to thefe purpofcs : but on the Malton fide
of the Diftrift frecftone is lefs abundant :
ncverthelcfs, fuch is the ccnveniency of in-
land navigation, the Derwent brings a fup-
ply of thofe ufeful materials ready drefiTed
and fitted for ufe. And now, when inland
navigations are become fo prevalent, there is
fcarcely a difiiria in the kingdom which
might not be fiippUed with them at a mode-
rate expence*.
3. Faves
* The price of the iloncs which are raifed neai-
Leeds, and carried by water down the Air, and up ths
Derwent to Malton, are as follow : R!d^e /.ones fifteen
pence a yard, or five pence a foot : Copings the fame
i->rlce : ryradcis two niUlinss and fixpencc each.
6. YORKSHIRE. 141
3. Eaves Gutters. The troughlcts made
life of to catch rain-water dripping off the
eaves of roofs, are ufually formed by nailing
two narrow flips of board together : but
eaves troushs made in that manner are liable
to warp, and become leaky at the joint i — the
bottom ; — the moft effential part.
Here, they are pretty univerfally hollowed
out of one triangular piece of wood, with a
round-mouthed adze. A piece fix to eight
inches fquare, flit diagonally, affords two
triangular pieces fit for this purpofc. The
hollowing is not a work of fo much labour
as theory may fuggcll. They are ufually
made of deal. Gutters thus made are ftiffer,
and more eafily fupported, — are Icfs liable to
warp, and much lefs fubject to leak than thofe
made in the ufual manner.
4. Water Cisterns. In Surrey and Kent
there are inftances of wells three hundred
feet deep. The expence of tackle, and the
expence of labour in railing water for every
domeftic purpofe, and frequently for the ufe
of flock, from this intolerable depth, would,
it is natural to imaj^ine, have Ions; a2"0 driven
the inhabitants to fome expedient for col-
lecting
142 FARM BUILDINGS. 6.
ledting rain-water : yet flill they draw water
out of the bowels of the earth ; or, in very
dry feafons, drag it perhaps three or four
miles up-hill in water-cans !
In the ifland of Bermudas, and in fomeof
the Weft India iflands, the inhabitants have
(generally fpeaking) no other frefli water
than that which they colled: from the atmo-
fphere in tanks j and it is ftriking to fee the
fiiiall quantity of colleding furface requifitcto
the fupply of a family with this neceffary cle-
ment; a furface fmall in comparifon with the
roofs of a middle-lized farm-houfe and offices.
In fhis Diftricl", in which water-cifterns ate
growing into general ufc, efpecially in upland
iituations, I have (ecn an inflance where the
dwelling-houfe alone affords more than a fuf-
ficiency of water for every ufe of the family.
Nor is it the convcniency of having a con-
ftant fupply of water always at hand, which
alone conftitutes the utility of watcr-ciuerns.
Rain-water prcfcrved in quantity under
ground, is pure and palatable in a fuperior
degree : cool in fummer, and warm in win-
tct. It is particularly grateful to cattle ; ef-
pecially when they arc ill : and it is highly
probable
6. YORKSHIRE. 14^
probable thar, as a menflruuai of aliment in
general, it is the moll. ivhoUfome water.
The /ilualiofi of i\ water-cidein is generally
under the kitchen, or in a vacant corner of
the yard near the kitchen-door.
The form oi'v.atcr-ciiicrns is various. The
deeper they are funk, the better they keep the
water. The cube is perhaps the moil: conve-
nient figure ; but a double cube would per-
haps keep water better. A ciftcrn nine feet
cubical would contain twenty-feven cubical
yards, or about Cxty v>'ine hogflieads of water.
The ;;/^/^;7u-/jof waier-ciilerns in this DiU
trict are clay, bricks, and tarras.
The melbod of waking haS larcly received a
confiderable impiovcment. When the art
was Icrfs known than it is at prcfcnt, an irre-
gular hole vc'as dug -, the determinate figure
of the cillern being given by the walls ; be-
hind which the clay v^'as rtimmcd. Now, the
intended form of the ciftcrn v^'hen finiHicd, is
given to the excavation ; wliofe fides are
fquared and plummed with the exaclncfs
with which a wall is carried up. On this
wall-like face of the excavation the clay is
laid flnjier-ivifc witii a trov.'el, coat over coat,
two
144 FARM BUILDINGS, 6.
two or three inches thick ; and againft this
firm even face of plaftering the brick-work
is raifcd. The bottom is, or ought to be
in all cafes, bedded with three or four inches
thick of itrong clay, beaten into a fmooth
even waxlike fubftancie. On this flooring of
clay a double floor of brick is laid ; and on
the marp-in of this the fide-walls are carried
Up half a brick thick. The bricks arc, I
believe, invariably laid in tarras.
The cGveritig fimilar to that of a well ;
■with a pump, or a roller and bucket. The lat-
ter, perhaps, the more eligible ; efpecially if
the admiflion-pipe were carried down to near
the bottom of the clllcrn •, by which means
the water at the furface would always re-
main undifturbed and pure.
5. Painting Window-Leads. This is
not introduced as a thing of importance : but
the practice feems to be peculiar to this
country. It gives a degree of neatnefs plea-
fing to the eye •, and the paint is faid to be a
preferver of the lead. The colour invariably
white.
6. Mortar Floors. A new fpecies of
cottLige-flooring has lately been thought of,
and
6. YORKSHIRE. 145
and is now pretty commonly made ufe of in
this neighbourhood.
The materials lime and fand ; mixed
in nearly the fame proportion, and pre-
pared in the fame manner as the common
mortar of bricklayers ; except, that for
making floors with, it is generally made
ftronger, and is always made up fofter than
it is ufually done for haying bricks in.
The method : — The bed being prepared,
the materials are carried on, in pails, in a
flate between pafte and batter; laying them
on four or five inches thick, and about one
inch higher than the intended height of the
floor ; to allow for their fettling in drying.
The whole beino; well worked over with a
fpade, the furface is fmoothed with a trowel ;
and, as it dries, is beaten repeatedly with a flat
beater, to prevent its cracking -, the work-
man in this operation (landing on planks.
A fortnight or three weeks of dry weather
will render it ftifF enough to walk upon.
If, after the lafl beating, croft lines be
deeply graven on the furface, a floor of ce-
ment has the appearance, as well as the ufe-
fulnefs of a freeftone-floor.
Vol. I. L DRINK-
146 DRINKING POOLS. p
DRINKING POOLS.
IN DISTRICTS abounding with upland
grafs we may expedt to find artificial
DRINKING PLACES for the ufc of pafturing-
ftock ; but no Diltridt in the kingdom will
gratify our expectations fo fuliy in this re-
fpcd as that which is now under obfervation.
In this country there are three fpecies
oi artificial drinking places :
1. Standing Pools.
2. Artificial Rills.
3. Field Wells.
I. Standing Pools. The art of *' pond-
making" ranks amono- the moft ufcful arts
in Rural Economy. In many high fituations no
other expedient can be pradifed with pro-
priety : rills cannot be raifed; nor wells funk
and worked, but at too great an expence for
the nurrofe of waterins: rtock.
On the hills of Surrey and Kent, ponds are
made to hold vatcr- tolerably well with chalk
beaten
*'. YORKSHIRE. 147
beaten firmly together '* : and in Norfolk, I
apprehend, they have been formerly made
with marl. In all countries where unfathomed
beds of clay are common, drinking pools
fufficiently retentive may, at a fmall cx-
pence and without much art, be formed ; and
are in general fufficiently abundant.
But the art of making retentive pools with
CLAY, in loofe abfcrbent foils, is a recent dif-
covcry which has been hit upon in this
Diftrift i in which it has made a rapid pro-
grefs, and is now in univerfal praftice among
farmers of every clafs. Indeed, for a country
like thisjwhere upland foil is kept principally
in grafs, it may well be confidered as the
moft valuable difcovery which has lately
been made in Rural Economy -f.
L 2 There
• Experiments have, it is faid,been tried with chalk
upon the Yorkfliire Wolds without fucccfs ; owing
pr bably to the too g.eat hardnefs of the \V(jld-chalk.
A fat foft chalk is no doubt fitted for this purpofe.
-j- Francis and Robert Gardiner, W( 11-diggcrs
and fifli-pond-makers, of Driffield, are entitled to much
more than the credit of this difcovery. The York
Agriculture Society voted them a premium cf ten
pounds : were the nation to grant them tea thoufand,
it wculd not be more than they merit.
i4 DRINKING POOLS. p
There is little difficulty in making a pit
hold water with clay alone ; provided it be
kept up full to the brim ; but once emptied,
its retentivenefs is loft. There are two caufes
of this lofs of retentivenefs : — the cracking
of the clay by droughty and its being liable^
whenever the water fubfides, to be per-
forated by ivormSy which prefently convert
the bafon into a filter, and for ever afterward
deftroys its retentivenefs. It is therefore ne-
ceirary that thofe two enemies fhould be
guarded againft.
To o-uard againll the latter a coat of lime
is fpread under the clay : above it a coat of
earth, and over all a covering of JloT^es is
laid, for the double purpofe of guarding
againft drought, and for preventing the feet
of cattle from injuring the clay ; which
alone is the caufe of retentivenefs ; and on
the proper working of which the art princi-
pally depends.
But many other particulars are requifrte to
be known before the art can be fufficiently
undeillood to be pradiiled with certainty.
1. The Run, or collecting 4. Claying.
furface. 5. Covering.
2. The Rcfcrvoir. 6. Timeof making.
3. L iming. 7. Coll.
I. The
7. YORKSHIRE. 149
I. The Run. A bare firm I'lirfacc, as a
road, collefts the greateft quantity of water.
A grajjy furface retains the rain-water which
falls upon it, and which in Ic'jei iitiiatlons is
conduded into the foil by w'orm-holes and
other inlets, with which grafsland in general
abounds j efpecially in fummer, when a col-
le(5lion is of the greateft value. However,
if the fublbil be retentive, ditches, efpecially
of arable inclofures, will frequently afford 4
fupply even in fummer ; but, in an upland
SITUATION, where the fubfoil is generally ab-
forbent, a road, or an artificial run, becomes
neceffary.
In highland Diftrids, as the Wolds of
Yorkfliirc, and the Downs of Surrey and
Kent, the furface is generally broken into
hill and dale, and diverfined by fmaller val-
lies and inequalities. In fituations of this
kind ARTIFICIAL RUNS atc mod wanted, and
may be moft eafily made. I have feen fome
faint attempts at making them on the Wolds
of this Diftrid:, by cutting a few grips with a
fpade above the rcfervoir ; but they were too
few, too fliort, and too feldom fcoured to an-
fwcr in ^ny confiderable degree the in-
L 3 tenacd
150 D R I N K I N G P O O L S. /,
tended purpofc. They neverthelefs ftiewed
plainly enough the utility of channels for
catching hafty Ihowers falling owgrajfy Jlopes,
off which a confiderable quantity of water
will efcape, provided there be channels at
proper diftanccs to receive it.
To reap the greateft benefit from an arti-
ficial run, and to make it with the greateft
eafe, — form the bafon at feme confiderable
diftancc from the head of a valley ; from
which down to the rcf.rvoir open a main
channel, by two furrows of a plow, turned
outward. From this main Hem plow lateral
branches along the fides of the flopes, by
fino-le furrows, turned dov/n-hill ; by v/hich
means the plowing will be rendered eafy, the
channels made free on the upper fides for the
admilTion of water, and high on the lower
fides for retaining it. If the bottom of the
valley be fteep, it would be better to rejie^
the lateral branches than to fiioot them up-
v/ard, like the branches of a tree, toward the
head of the valley.
The plow would not be Icfs expeditious in
fcouring than in making the channels : or
perhaps a more fledge-like implement would
be
«. . YORKSHIRE. 151
be more effcdtual than the plow in clofmg
the fiffures and worm-holes which prefcnrly
arc formed in water-courfes laid dry, and
which, if left open, abforb an inconceivable
quantity of water before they be faturated;
efpecially if the current of water be retarded
by grafs or other obflrudions.
2. The Reservoir. The Jiiuaiion of the
refervoir depends principally on the run.
Near the fide of a road is in general the moft
defirable fituation, provided a fufficient de-
fcent can be had from the road to the refer-
voir. Roads leading along the fide of a Hope
can only afford a fupply to the grounds on
the lower fide. But in this country, when a
road leads down the defcent, it is generally
furnilhed on both fides with ponds •, fome of
them perhaps not having more than a hun-
dred yards of run off a narrow way ; yet from
that fmall quantity of furface are fufficiently
fupplied with water.
In \.hQ fituation of a pond there is one thing
requifite which does not fcem to be attended
to even by the moll Ikilful in the art. The
requifite I fpeak of is that of admitting a
V/adc water-place on the upper fide of the
L 4 refer-
152 DR IN KING POOLS. 7.
refervoir, to prevent the water, when the pond
is full, from running through it ; by which
means it becomes filted up unneceflarily. For
the nature of foul water is fuch, that when-
ever it changes from a current to a flagnant
flate, it depoiitcs a coniiderable part of its
foulncfs i io that the water which runs out
of a full refervoir is finer than that which
runs in •, the fediment of the furplus water
being left behind in the pond. Whereas, if
the current into the pond ceafe when the pond
is fufficiently filled, the fediment of the over-
plus water is got rid of. the pond receiving
in this cafe no other foulnefs than that which
is given by the quantity of water which is
required to fill it *.
'The form of the refervoir is, univerfally,
that of a {hallow bafon, or more ftridly fpeak-
ing that of an inverted cone ; the fides llielv-
ino- llraight from the brim to an angle or
point m the center. If the excavation
be made fixty feet diameter, its greated:
depth
''■■ A fmall Catch Pool, between the run and the
refcrvo'.r, would arrcA much of the fouhicfs of water
coilcacdfrom a road ; and, in a fituation which would
:.dinit of it, would be worth the trouble of forming'.
f. YORKSHIRE. 153
depth is about feven feet : if forty diameter,
the depth is about five ; — before the coats of
clay. Sec. be laid on *.
The firfl bufinefs in fetiing out a refervoir
is to take the level of thefite, and drive piles
as a guide in forming the banks -, and in ma-
king the conducting channel, and wafte wa-
ter-place
If the fituation be on a f,ope, the excavat-
ed mould is ufed in forming the bank on the
lower fide : if nearly level, the mould re-
quires to be removed, or (if laid round the
edge) the condu6ling channel to be railed.
If clay or ftone be excavated, it is laid
feparately afide to fave carriage.
If the lower fide be raifed with the exca-
vated materials, they ought to be firmly
worked
* A refervoir fet out twenty-two yards diameter, by
feven feet deep, will, when finiflied, meafure about
fixty feet by ux, and vv'iU hold about two hundred and
ten cubical ) ards, or near feven hundred hojflieads of
water. Forty feet diameter by four feet deep, when
finiflicd, contains fixty-two cubical yards, or two
hundred hogflieads (of fixty-thrce gallons, wine rae;i-
fure).
j-54 DRINKING TOOLS. ;,
worked together, or fhould lie a fufficicnt
time to fettle ; otherwirc the fide thus form-
ed is Ihble to fettle after the refcrvoir be
finiflied; by which means cracks are form.ed,
and a mifcarriage enfues.
The excavation having received the in-
tended form, its fides are made firm and
fmooth for the reception of the lime.
3. LiiMiNG. The life of lime being mere-
]y that of preventing earth-worms from per-
forating the coat of clay, the proper quantify
depends, in fome meal'ure, on the nature of
the foil. A fat rich earth, among which
worm5 always abound, requires more than a
dead hungry mould, or a dry ftoney bottom ;
on which retentive pools are faid to have been
made without lime. However, as no foil,
perhaps, is entirely free from thofe enemies.
It would be folly to r Ique a mifcarriage in
any fituation ; as the expcnce of liming make?
but a fmiall portion pf the whole expence.
The only preparation of the lime is that of
falling it, and picking out the cores; no fift-
ing or fi-ircening being, in general, ulcd ;
;hough obvioufly ufeful.
It
^. YORKSHIRE. 155
It is ufuall}' laid on vviih a fpade or fliovel ;
but a riddle would, perhaps, be found by
the inexperienced a better tool ; and the ex-
tra labour no objeft.
The tbicknefs of the coat laid on is about
half an inch. Half a chaldron of lime is
fufficient to complete a pond of forty feet
diameter. The principal part of it is laid on
beneath the clay j a few bufhels only being
rcferved for fcartering round the edges, to
prevent the worms from getting into the
(:lay *.
4. Claying.
* A ftill more fecure, and on the whole a more eli-
gible method of liming has lately been thought of, and
is now (June 1787) in pradice at Lockton (in this
neighbourhood) by the Commiliioners of laclofure, in
making public drinking pools for the ufe of the town-
fliip. Inllead of fcattering the lime in powder, :t i?
formed vvith fand into mortar ; a regular coat of which
is fpread about an inch thick, not only beneath, and at
the edges of the clay, but over the entire furface. This
is an obvior.s improvement, which appears to human
forcfight to bring the a.t near to perfedtion. The clay
becomes cafed on every fide with a rc:;ular coat of ce-
ment, and is tliereby fecurcd, in perhaps the completeil
manner poffible, from the attack of worms. The la-
bour and expenct;, however, is by this method in-
ci"fafcd, A pond nineteen fed diameter took tuo chal-
droii,
156 DRINKING POOLS. 7.
4. Claying. In this operation the ma-s
nual art and the labour principally center.
Upon the Wolds, cla" is fomctimes fetch-
ed fix or fevcn miles ; and is feklom found
at hand in fituations where artificial pools are
moll: wanted: the carriage of the clay, there-
fore generally, becoLJies a heavy article of ex-
pence.
The choice of clay is ihou^j^nt to be lefs
CiTential than the working of it. Good ponds
are faid to have been made with common
loamy mould •, but ic is wrong to depend on
any thing but a ftrong duftile clay, if it can
be had within a moderate diftancc.
The thicknefs of the coat^ now pretty gene-
rally laid on, is about five or fix inches in
the rough ; beating it down to about three
inches. In the infancy of the art, two coats
of clay, of about that thicknefs, were laid
on; but one coat has been found effedlual,
and
drun and an h;ilf of I'mc, and five fniall cart-loads of
fand. Both the materials were iiftcd, and worked up
in the ufual way into mortar. Great caution is ncccf-
fary in laying on the clay in this cafe. If the morta,r
do not lie fomc time to ftiffen, the ciay difplaces it : if
it get too dry before it be covered, i: is lluble to crnc^k.
). Y O R K 5 H I R E. 157
and much Icfs cxpcnfive. However, it is
probable, it will not prove fo durable.
The method of beatiug will be ditficulc to
dcfcribe •, yet it moft efpecialiy requires de-
fcription.
The drier the clay is v;orkcd, the Icfs lia-
ble it will be to crack with drought
when finilhed. In a dry feafon, however, it
is nccelTary to moiilcn it ; for which purpofe
the center of the pit is Ibmetimes finiihed,
firft, to collect the water ot fhowcrs; the car-
riage of water being, in Ibme cafes, cxpcn-
five.
In laying on the clav, the workmen begin
at the bottom of the pit and work upward ;
laying patch after patch, or circle after cir-
cle, until the brim be reached ; taking great
care not to carry on fticks, ftravvs, dirt, or
any kind of foulnefs amoi^g the clay, or with
their feet ; and being careful not to difpiacc
the lime in throwing it on : to prevent which
the lime is not fprcad over the whole at.
once ; but is fcattered on as it is wanted to
be covered with the clay.
The plot of clay laid on and adjuPtcd, it
is bealen fiat, with a wooden *^ mell," or.
beetle,
^58 DRIN KING POOLS, 7.
beetle, made, at prefent, of thefe dimenfions :
tiie head fourteen inches long, and three
inches diameter ; the handle four feet long,
and fuited in thicknefs to the hand of the
workman. Beetles of different fizes have
been in ufe in different ftages of the art;
but none of them fo well adapted to the
operation 3s that in ufe at prefent.
The fird beating is given with thtfide of
the beetle, to level the protuberances, and
fmooth the roughneifes, fo as to make the
whole into a regular Iheet of an even thick-
nefs.
This effeded, it is beaten forcibly with the
eudoiVAQ: beetle, which is flruck down nearly,
but not quite, to the lime ; leaving the fur-
face full of fomewhat honey-comb-like cells
or dints. If the beetle be ftruck unguardedly
quite through to the lime, a piece of clay,
and a little lime, if required, is carefully
placed in the brc:ich, to prevent a defecfl in
the part thus injured.
The whole being gone over in this man-
ner with the end, the furface is again levelled
down with the fide of the implement j the
workman walking backward.
The
7, YORKSHIRE. 159
The next beating is with the end, but not
(quite fo deep as before ; and the roughnelils
being again levelled with x\\zfide, it is again
worked over with the e/id ; but ftill fiiallower
than in the middie beating.
Thefirft ftrokcs v>'ith the e?:d oi the beetle
ought to clofe the bottom of the clav firnil)'-
with the lime and the bed on which it is
fpread ; — the fecorid ought to unite the
middle of the clay with the bottom -, — jnd
the lafi to clofe, without a pore, the uppcr
partwith the middle ;— and the laft itrokcs
with ihQ fJe of the beetle ought to be fufti-
ciently forcible to clofe entirely the dimples
formed by the lafl-given ftrolies witii the
end.
If thefe feveral beatin2;s be vhoucht infiif-
CD O
iicient, it is continued to be v/oiked u'iih the
end and fide of" the beetle alternately, until'
not a flaw can be found ; the entire coat of
clay being worked into a lead-like fheer, firm
enough to bear a man v.'ir.hout an imprcfTjony
and a horfe without injuvy *.
5. Covering
* When two coats of clay were in ufe, the upper one
'.ra"; laid upon the rough uirface of the hiftcnd-beatin;^ ;
by
i6o D R I N K I N G P O O L S. 7.
5, Covering. The firft coat is of com-
mon earlh, to aflilt in keeping out the
drought, and to make a bed for the flones ;
to prevent their piercing, and thereby injur-
ing the flicet of clay. This coat may be
three or tour inches thick, according to the
nature of the flones with which it is to be
covered. If thefe be large and irregular,
more earth is requifite than when the flones
are fmall or flat. The leaneft mofl infertile
foil is litteft for this piirpofc. Worms and
WEEDS are ea.iially to be feared •, and a rich
foil is genial to both. Jn this point of view
two coats of clay arc much preferable to a
coat 01 clay ajid a coat of rich mould.
Pond-makers feem not to be fufficiently
aware of the mifchievoufnefs of weeds: in-
deed fomc ponds will remain for leveral years
in a manner free from them. But I have
feen others in which weeds, even docks (near
the edge) have grown luxuriantly. It is
probable that the tap-rooted weeds flrike
through
by wlikh means the two coats became, by the fubfc-
<luont beatings, incorporated in one thick ilicet. A
fubftantial me; hod, this, of which the prcicnt appears
to be. rather a rclincnicnt than Jin improvcineiit.
:7. YORKSHIRE. i6i
through the feveral coats ; and, whenever
the roots decay, a perforation mufl be left.
Mould taken from a dry found highland
fituation is in all human probability lefs li-
able to propagate aquatic weeds than the
earth of a low fituation or a bog *.
The mould being rendered level and
fniooth, the fiones are laid on : firil: cover-
ing the mould with the largeft, laid with a
flat fide downward, to prevent their finking
down to the clay ; and upon thefe laying
fmaller, until the coat be made five or fix
inches thick -|-.
A Fave-
■■' I have obfcrvcd an ingenious and fimple metliod
of keeping the weeds under ; efpecially at the edges,'^
where they are generally moft abundant. Though all
the lides of a drinking pool be open, cattle will go to
particular places to drink ; and in thefe places the
Weeds arc trampled upon and killed. Therefore, to
check the rankeft, the parts which are moft free are
covered with thorns, while thofe which are weedy are
left open for the cattle to drink at.
t S/t-aw has been ufed between the clay and the
flones ; and, in the inrtance (mentioned in a fore-
going note) in which an improved method of lirainp^
was praftifed, a layer of thick /.dj was laid grafs-fide
downward up )n the lime ; and upon the fods about fix
inches thick of lo.fe ftoncs.
Vol. I. U
i62 D R I N K I N G P O O L S. 7,
A PAVEMENT would be a more regular co-
vering; and, If the ftoncs were fet in lime
and land, would not only prevent vjorms
from getting into the mould and upper fide
of the clay when the pond happened to be
dry ; but would In all probability prevent
tveeds ; and, when the pond required to be
cleaned from mud, would be a regular floor
to work upon.
The only objedlon I have heard made to
PAVIMG the bottoms of ponds, is, that it
would be a temptation to cattle to go into
the water in hot weather ; and, by {landing
there, would not only foul the water, but la
time tread up the pavement, and injure the
clay ; whereas fharp loofe ftones prevent
their going farther than the edge. If the
ilones made ufe of in a pavement were fuf-
ficiently large, the latter part of the objec-
tion would fall ; and whether cattle fland-
i!\n- in a pool in fummcr be detrimental or
beneficial, mav be a difputable point.
tiowcver, whether or not the infide of the
biiibn ought to be paved, the rim fhould
. certainly be a broad fmooth caufcway, with
a gentle gralTy flope on the lower fide ; that
the
y. YORKSHIRE. 163
the cattle may approach the water without
wading in dirt, to the Injury of the bank ;
and without having Iharp loofe ftoncs to
walk and ftand on while drinkino-.
A drinking pool, formed by a fkilful
artift, full to the brim, free from weeds, and
fmooth round the edge, is, in a green paf-
ture ground, as agreeable an objed: as the
eye can be entertained with.
6. Time OF MAKING. Autumn is efteem-
ed the beft time. Drought and froft are
both enemies to new-made ponds. In au-
tumn, drought has generally abated, and a
fufBciency of rain-water may be expedted in
this fcafon, to fill them before frofts fet in.
A covering of Jirazv over the floncs is the
ufual guard againft the extremities of fea-
fons.
If a refervoir be formed in a flope, where
the lower fide requires to be raifed with loofc
earth, it ought (as has been already intimat-
ed) to remain a coniiderable time to fettle,
before the coatings be put on : otherwlfe, it
is liable to fettle afterwards, and crack the
clay. I have feen an inflance of mifcarrlage
through this ncglcd:. If there be much
M 2 made-
!64 D R I N K I N G P O O L S. 7.
made-earth requifite to be ralfcd, the excava-
tion ought to be formed twelve months be-
fore the claying be done.
7. ExPENCE. Although it is now twenty
years fmce the difcovery was made, the art is
flill partially hid under the veil of myfcery ;
and is not yet become familiar to comm.on
farm labours. In this neighbourhood ponds
flill continue to be made by men from the
Wolds i all of them, in reality or pretence,
pupils of the firil inventors.
Thefe men generally work by the grofs ;
the ;^rice being in proportion to the diame-
ter ; but thev feem to have no reo;ular me-
■J o
thod of calculation.
Ten pounds were given, and may now be.
coniidered as a medium price for twenty
jards diameter * ; forming, claying, cover-
ing, and in general digging the clay, inclu'.I-
cd : all carriage and extra labour being,
done by the employer.
A circle twenty yards in diameter contains
in its area 314 fquare yards. Therefore,
each
* In the early days of fhc art, and when uvo coats
of chiy.ivcrc iilVu, twenty jrpuuds wc e given for ponds
ef this dimenfiou.
7. YORKSHIRE. 165
each fquare yard oi fur face colls, at this price,
fevenpence half-penny.
The folic! contents of a cone whofe bafe is
60 feet diameter, and whole height is fix
feet, is 209.4 cubical yards ; each of which
cofts, in the above inftance, elevenpence-
halfpenny.
Five pounds have been given for a pond
twelve yards in diameter : which is tenpence-
halfpenny each fquare yard of furface ; and,
fuppofing it four feet deep, two Ihillings
-each cubical yard of water.
Three guineas v;ere given for forty feet
diameter, and four feet deep, the excavation
having been previoufiy formed. This mav
be called four pounds for the grofs ; whicli
is about fevenpence a fquare yard of fur-
face ; or fifteenpencc-halfpenny each cubi-
cal yard of water.
The men in the laft cafe earned abou!:
three fliillings and fixpence a day, without
extraordinary exerrion. In the firft mention-
ed iniiance, the lame workmen did not (ac-
cording to their own afTertion) make more
than Lwo-aiid-fixpcncc a day. But a large
M 3 pond
i66 D R I N K I N G P O O L S. 7.
pond gives longer en:ip]oyment ^ and the bu-
finefs of pond- making being uncertain and
inconflant, travelling workmen can afford to
make a large pond at a cheaper rate than a
fmall one.
The curve fuperjicies^ or fuperficial contents
Ciixhe^Jides^ of a cone twenty yards in diame-
ter at the bafc, and two yards high, is about
320 fquare yards. This, in making a pond
of thofe dimenfions, is the quantity of coating:
for each yard of which near 'j\d. was given
in the firft inflancc, and lefs than 7 d, in the
laft. Sixpence et^ch fquare yard of furface to be
coated, may perhaps be taken as a fair raedium
price.
To afcertain the quantity of coating, mca-
fure the exacft circumference or rim of the
pit, when finally form.ed and adjuiled for
claying : this dimcnfion multiplied by half
the length (or depth) of the fide (mcafuring
from the brink, down the flope, to the cen-
ter) is the quantity of furface to be clayed and
coated. The digging would (under this
mode of calculation) fall proportionally hea-
vier on a large pond ihnn on a fmall one ; but
this
7. YORKSHIRE. 167
this would be counterbalanced by the advan-
tage aboveiiicntioned.
The quantity of clay ufed In the firft in-
flance was about forty cart-loads, fetched
about three miles ; in the laft, about fifteen
loads, fetched one mile. The quantity of
lime in the former cafe, one chaldron ; in the
latter, half a chaldron.
From the fum of thefe particulars it is
plain, that the larger the pond, the lefs in
proportion is the expence. A refervoir to
contain two hundred cubical yards of water
requires little more than three hundred fquare
yards of coating; whereas one to contain only
fiftv yards of water would require one hundred
and twenty yards of coating : confequently a
cubical yard of the former would only coft (at
ninepence a yard for marAial labour materials
and carriage) eightcenpencc -, while the fams
quantity of the latter would coil near two
fhillings and fixpence.
The UTILITY of Drinking Pools requires
not to be dwelt on : but the superiority of
pools made in the manner above defcribed,
to thofe which have formerly been made by
fome other art, or which have been formed
by nature or accident, may with propriety be
mer;tioncd. During the dry fcafons which
M 4 have
i68 DRINKING P O OLS. 7,
have prevailed of late years, it has been ob-
ferved that new-made ponds retain a fupply
of water when the waters of other flagnant
drinking places are dried up. This can only
be accounted for perhaps by their perfedl
retentivenefs, and by their being free from
weeds, which convert to their own nourifli-
ment, and throw off daily by perfpiration a
great quantity of water. Upon the Wolds
their excellency was moft confpicuous : —
uhile one man was driving his ftock three or
four miles to water, his neighbours, v/ho had
** made-ponds" upon their farms, were free
from this inconvenicncy. In many fituations
arrificial Drinking Pools may repay the ex-
pence of making thefirft dry feafon. Driving
llock to diftant water in hot weather, and in a
bufy feafon, is an expence and a detriment to
the ftock fo driven, which it would be difii-
cult to cflimate.
General Observations.— On examining
ponds in this neighbourhood, which have
been made fome years, the evil cffcdi of cover-
ifjg'wiih loofe jlones is evident.
For one, two, three, or more yards round
their edges, according to the time they have
been
7. YORKSHIRE. 169
been made, the ufe they have been liable to,
and to the fteepnefs of their fides, — the ftones
are entirely difplaced or trodden into the
clay ; which is by this means oppofed to the
feet of cattle, and to the open attack of
drought and worms. For a while the clay,
even thus expofed, prcferves its rctentive-
nefs ; but in time it is defiroyed, and the moft
valuable part of the pond entirely loft.
This eife<ft is io probable, fo evident to be
forefeen, that, on firft refieiTtion, it feems afto-
niftiine fo unfuitable a coverins; Ihould be
univerfally adopted. A beafl when it goes
into a drinking pic ncceflarily throws the
chief part of its weight upon its fore feet ;
which, in the aft of drinking moll efpecially,
are placed as for the intention of forcing
whatever they ftand on down the Hope to-
ward the bottom of the pit. Upon loofe ftones
laid on a fteep furface, cattle cannot make a
flep, or move a foot, without producing this
effeft in a greater or lefs degree ; and by re-
petition and length of time, the entire coac
(except fome few which happen to be trod-
den into the clay) muft, in the nature of
fhingSj be forced into the center.
But
170 DRINKING P O OLS. 7,
But this pracftice, evidently abfurd as it un-
doubtedly is in this Diflrid, was firfl efta-
bliflied upon the JVddsy whofe Jlone is of a
peri{l;iable nature ; a Ipecies of chalk ; which,
on being expofed to air and water and to the
treading of cattle, unites into a cement j
which, forming a regular cafing, preferves
the clay from injury for a confiderable length
of time. Loofe chalk as a covering was there-
fore a good thought of thefiriT: inventors (in-r
deed upon the Wolds there was no alterna-
tive) ; and it is not to be wondered at that
their pupils, mofdy day-labourers, fhould
imitate the practice, in this country, by mak-
ing ufe of loofejlones.
Pcrifliable or/c//y?<?;?^j of any fpecies, a
il;rong rough graz-el, or even fa/2i^, would, I
believe, be better than loofe hard unperifli-
able ftoncs.
But in this neighbourhood where ftones
of various kinds abound ; or in any country
where Hones of a proper fize can be pro-
cured at a moderate expence •, there appears
to me to be no choice with refpcdt to cover-
ing. A regul.u- firm pavement, flrong
enough to bear Rock without an imprefijon,
would
7, YORKSHIRE. 171
would lad through ages ; and although the
expence in the firft inftance would be fonic-
thing more than that ot loofc {tones, its dura-
bility would in the end doublv repay it.
Even the Wold ponds, which have been
made fifteen or twenty years, are many of
them beginning to fail, and will in a few
years require to be frefli coated ; whereas a
pond properly paved w^ould, in all human
probability, remain perfedl for at leaft a
century.
There would be an advantage of a paved
pond which may not ftrike every one. The
clay and its coverings, while the pond is fil-
led with ai',\ appear to be a firm folid mafs,
which would require a great power to dj-
fturb it. But the pond being filled with
•zc-^/^r the texture of the clay is changed, and
the relative gravity of all the covering ma-
terials confiderably altered. They no longer
adhere to the bottom with the fame firmnefs,
nor in fadt lie upon it with the fame weight,
they did before the water v/as let in. For if
inftead of fi:one the clay had been covered
with blocks of wood (for inftance), whofe
fpecific gravity is Icfs than that of water,
.they
,72 DRINKING POOLS. 7,
they would have rlfen to the furface, and
have left the clay wholly cxpofed at the bot-
tom : even flones themfeives lie in water vi^ith
little more than half their weight in air.
This propenfity in the covering materials,
when covered with water, to rife towards the
furface, and- the fl;aie of fofrnefs which the
clay is rtduced to by a free communication
with the water, render them very liable to be
di'durbcd by the feet of cattle ; thus expofing
the clay to injury from above : while lubtcr-
rancous water, after heavy rains, iiiay infl-
iniatc itfelf beneath the clay, and not only
diliurb the lime, but raife up the clay, and
affill: in rendering the coatings Hill lefs firm ;
or, in other words, in promoting the general
tendency of the whole to form an artificial
quagmire.
But if a pond were properly paved while
the coats were yet in a firm folid flate j the
pavement, beirg an inverted dome and adl-
Ing as an arcb againft their upward ten,
dency, would prcferve them in that ftate fo
long as the arch itfelf Ihculd remain per-
fect; which muiL of nccefTity be until the
^ones were worn out, or the foundation on
'(Vhich they relied fliould give way. For the
prcfTure
y. YORKSHIRE. 173
prcfTure of the feet of the cattle being di-
reded towards the center, would iTdhev J^iffen
than weaken the arcb ; v, hlle the fwelling of
the clay and the foil (if any), with the
water which would of coiufe filter through
the pavement, would afTill in promjting the
general union.
If irregular rough pebbles were ufcd, the
fiatteft end ftould be placed downward to
prevent their injuring the clay ; and the
point upward, to prevent the cattle from
Aiding into the pond while drinking-, as well
as from (landing upon them after their thirft
were quenched.
But ilones hammered into a long-cubical
form, like the Scotch ftones now ufed in
pavi?g the ftreets of London, would make
the firmed: pavement ; the upper edge being
left rough for the purpofe lalV mentioned.
It appears to me that a well-made pond
paved in the workmanlike manner in v.hich
the ftreets of the metropolis are now in general
paved, muft of ncceffity remain perfedl until
an eruption of the earth, or a general dlfTo'
lution take place : provided the rim Vv-erefrom
time to time repaired, to prevent the feet of
cattle
174 D R I N K I N G P O O L S. 7.
cattle from breaking up the edge of the
bafon.
2. Artificial Rills. The Heights of the
r.orthern margin have neither fprings nor
rivulets (fome very few inftances excepted),
nor any other natural waters than the brooks
Avhich wind at the bottoms of the deep vallics
that divide them ; and the rivulets which
generally run at the feet of the precipices
that terminate them.
Formerly thefc brooks and rivulets were
the only refourccs which the villages that
are fcattercJ on thefe Heights had for water,
both for the ufe of cattle and for domeftic
purpofcs.
In proccfs of time wells were funk ; but
they arc of fuch a depth as to make the la-
bour of railing the water little lefs than that
of fetching it from a moderate diflance.
This kind of natural neccflity has led to
an expedient, which, though not new in prin-
ciple, is perhaps entirely fo in limplicity of
execution, and might be pradtifed with great
advantage in many fimilar fituations.
1 he nioreland mountains rife with gene-
rally an cafy afccnt, from the beds of the ri-
vulets
7. YORKSHIRE. 175
vulcts laft mentioned to a height much ex-
ceeding that of the hills to be watered j fre-
quent!)' abounding with fprings almoil to
their higheft f>.vells.
Thefe fprings arc collcdlcd and conducted
by a narrow channel down the Hope of the
mountain fides, and along the face of the
precipice, until the fummit be gained ; the
waters being thence conveyed to the place or
places defircd.
In planning an artificial rill, a level and
lome little knowledge of the country are the
requifite guides. The furveyor begins at
the place to which water is required to be
brought-, and afcertains the loweft part of
the brink of the precipice from which water
can be conducted. The face of the preci-
pice is traced in like manner ; and, if necef-
fary, the afccnt of the moreland hills ; until
fprings, or their natural rills, can be com-
manded.
If his level bring him to the bottom of
the fleep foon enough to catch the rivulet
which runs at its foot, the work is readily
completed. \i nor, he goes above its high-
eft bend; generally to the head or highcit pare
of
175 D R IN KING POOL S. 7,
of the valley (between the heights and the
morelandsj and winds alcng the (ide of the
oppofite fvvell to fome more elevated fonrce.
If, when he arrive on the moreland hills
(orbv an obfervationfrom the top of the pre-
cipice) he firid that nature does not furnifli
the requiiite quantity of water high enough
to give the neceflary fall, the work is of
courfe impradlicable.
In executing an artificial rill, opening a
ihallow channel, of a width proportioned to
the quantity of water to be conduced, is the
main operation. In mnkingflagnani pools we
have found that much art is necefTary to
make them retentive ; but in forming the
bed of a rill no fuch art is requiiite. It is
the nature of nintimz ''boater's to render the
furr'ace on which they run firm and retentive.
Sand is, I believe, the chief material ufed in
forming the channels of thcfc rills ; and this
only in places where an open rock or other
porou=i ftratum is croiied.
Fvluch however depends on the quantity of
yVr//and the quantity of water. If the fall be
but little, and the quamity of water at the
fourcc be fuch as r.o': to admit of much wafle,
great
^^. Y O R K S II I R E. i77
great care is reqiiifite in forming the bed of
the rill.
The fall is therefore regulated in a great
degree by the quality of the ground. On
good ground the channel is nearly level.
Over faulty ground the water runs with a
current ; for the double purpofe of getting
quickly over it, and rendering its channel
the more retentive.
The principal enemies of artificial rills are
leaves in autumn and fnows in vvinter. To
remove the obftructions which thefe not iin-
frequently caufc, and to repair fuch breaches
as time will always m^ake in the vs'orks of art,
& fupennundan( IS necelTary to every artificial
rill.
The Rill of Kirrymoorside is, I be-
lieve, the largeft, and was the firft, v/hich was
brought upon thefe Heights*. Since the in-
troduction of this, feveral others have been
Vol. I. N raifed j
* This rill was brought to the villages of Gilliinore
and Fadmore near forty years ago ; and has been ex-
tended to Kirby about thirty years ; by Joseph Ford ; sz
fclf-taught engineer, of great ingenuity and fonie judgj
ment j a man to whom the country ei<;cj mvich,
17^ DP.INKING PO OLS. 7*
ralfed ; and fome few unfuccefsful attempts
have btren made : the channel was in one in-
ftance (that of Newton) extended a confider-
able way before the impracticability of comi-
pleting it at a moderate expcnce was difco-
vered ; a piece of mifcondudt which nothing
but a want of accuracy in the ufe of the level
can lead to *.
'Ihc firji coji of Kirby-rill was not altoge-
ther one hundred pounds. The d'ljiance about
ten miles : watering (befides the town of
Kirby) two villages, and aline of cultivated
waterlefs upland country about four miles in
kngth.
Befides
■" The milcarnage in this cafe was net owing to a
war.t of elevation in the for.rcc, but to a depreffion of
the channel at the foot of the fteep ; the head of the
valley (if fuch it may be called) bting lower than the
top of tl e prc/i ice at the given point. This flicw3
the ncceility of tracing the cnire channel with fufTicient
accuracy before any other expence be incurred.
In the cafe of Kirby the channel is raifed fome feet
by a bridgc-iikc mound of earth thrown acrofa the
crown f f tl e vaiky.
The tan'c mound fcrves the purpofc of conducing
another rill acrofs the fame difficult [ afs ; from whence
the Kirby-rill takes an eaihvanU the rill of IVellbuni
(applied principaUy to the watering of paflure grounds)
? uellward direction.
^, YORKSHIRE. i;^
Befidcs the firll coft, which was raifed by
fubfcription, 2. fuperintendant has ten pounds
a-year for keeping it in repair and free from
obftruflions ; which yearly falary is paid by
the voluntary contribution of the perfons be-
nefited ; each being rated agreeably to the
eflimated benefit received *.
3. Field-Wells. The fkirts of the mar-
gin, formerly arable fields, but now grafsland
inclofures, were on their firftinclofure equal-
ly deftitute of natural and artificial watering:
places. Water for flock, how'ever, was in a
tiegree neceflary j but the art of pond-making
was not then known. Wells were therefore
funk : the depth twenty to thirty feet, ac-
cording to fituation. The water is raifed
either by a pump or by a roller and bucket.
The referv'oirs ftone-troughs. Sometimes the
wxU is funk in the line of a fence, fupplying
two fields with water.
In fituations which are low and flat, yet
dry, pools are diflicult to be filled ; and wells
of courfe more eligible. They arc readily
funk, and feldom dry, in fuch fituations.
N 2 ROADS.
* In a bill which is now before Parliament for in-
clofuig the commons and remnant common fields of the
townlliip, a claufe is wifely infcrted to eflablifli a I gal
ajjejpmnt for th-e prefervatiou of this rill.
iSa R O A D S. ^^
8.
ROADS.
THE SPIRIT ol improvement has in no
particular made greater exertions than in the
FORMING OF RoADs. Within my remem-
brance all the roads of the Diftridt lay in their
iiatural form ; that is, in a ftate of flatnefs,
in flat fituations ; or in hollow-ways, on the
acclivities of hills. Now there is fcarccly a
flat road or a hollow- way left in the country.
The more public roads at leaft are now iini-
vcrfally barrelled-, the banks of the hoilow-
v.ays having been thrown down, and the flat
roads raifed into a convex form.
Formeriv the floughs and inequalities were
filled up with a foft fort of gravel, which
being foon reciuced, or finking in the mire,
oniy added to the quantity of dirt and the
heavlncfs of the road. Now the univerfal
covEKiN-G on th's fide of the Vale is lime-
stones broken into fmall pieces, affording a
roi:a:h but durabh' road.
But
8. YORKSHIRE. i8i
But notvvithftanding thcfe exertions, nnd
the quantity of labour and money which
have been expended on thefe alterations, the
roads are ftill far from being commodious,
or even fafe. The fame folly of doing over
much, which difcovers itfelf too plainly in
the roads of almoft every Diftrict of the
kingdom, is here manifeft.
Roads can fcarcely be raifed too little : a
gentle defcent for rain-water is all that is re-
quifite or ijfeful, and conftitutes the fole in-
tention of raifing; them. And the only drain
the fide of a road requires is a mere channel,
with out-lets, to prevent the water,thrownofi'
by the road, from collefting by the fide of ir.
Therefore, in forming a road, all the
preparation requifite (previous to the cover-
ing) is to form fuch a channel on either fide,
by paring down the outer edges of the fee ;
calling the foil into the margin, or carrying-
it off for fome ufcful purpofe. Not a fpade-
fuU of earth (hould be thrown into the middle
of the fitc, except to level inequalities. The
con'Ucxity (the flope formed by the paring on
either fide excepted) Ihould be given en-
lircly by the ftoncs or other hard materials j
N 3 whicl\
j82 roads. ».
which ought to be laid on 2. firm Jiirface. If
the fite be naturally unfound, the foil ought
to be removed, or to be made firm by under-,
draining. For until a firm foundation be
obtained, it is highly imprudent to be at the
expence of laying on a covering.
Neverthelefs, a general method of raising
Roads in this and almoft every other reclufe
Diflrift, is to dig a deep ditch on cither fide ;
to cafl the loofe earth into the middle of the
file ; and on this to pile a iiarrow high ridge of
hard materials. The effedis, carriages being
necefTarily confined to one track upon the
ridge of the rond, the Hones which are not
preiTed into the loofe dirt beneath, are foon
cut through by the wheels always pafling in
the fame ruts, through which the artificial
bog below foon rifes to the furface.
The method of repairing is equally ab-
furd. Inftcad of the ruts being clofcd, by
pecking in the ridges on either fide of them,
or by filling them with a /^w additional flones;
the entire road-way is covered with a thick
coat : and fo often as frelh ruts are formed,
fo often is this expenfive and therefore doubly
abfurd method of repairing repeated : until
bavin 2;
8, YORKSHIRE. i«3
having laid coat over coat, and piled ton upon
ton unnecefiarily, a mound of earth and ftones, '
refembling the roof of a houfe rather than a
roiid, is formed.
The FORMING and repairing of Roads
incur a heavy tax on landed property •, and
the SAFETY of roads is a matter of public
concern.
Some years ago the Legillature paid con-
fiderable attention to this fubjeci:, and ex-
tended their authority perhaps as far as could
be done with propriety.
It might bp difficult perhaps to frame a
general lazv for the forming of Roads ; bc-
caufe different fituations require different
FORMS. In low fituations a common-lhorc or
a ditch by the fide of a road may be ncceflary ;
but in abforbent upland fituations neither of
them are admifiiblc : the road ought to fall
gently to the foot of the H£Dge-bank on
cither fide, when it leads through a lane ot a
fuitable width ; or to the foot of a mound
OF EARTH, raifcd (with the parings of the
road) for the purpofe, when the lane is too
wide, or the road pafles over an open country.
In low retentive fituations, where deep drains
N 4 are
,84 ROADS. ^,
are requifite, fimilar mounds ought to be
formed, as guards to the shores or ditches
behind them •, openings being made at pro-
per diftances for the water coUedled by the
road.
The CONVEXITY of a road ought to be
fuch as will throw off the rain-water which
falls on it, without endangering in any de-
gree 2. top-load.
Before a top-heavy load can be over-
turned, the entire weight muft be thrown
upon the wheel or wheels of one fide ; con-
fequently the nearer it approaches to the
dangerous equipoifc, the greater injury the
road will receive.
Thus, fuppole a loaded waggon to weigh
two tons. Upon level ground each wheel
\vould fullain half a ton-, but upon a flielving
road, fleep enough to bring the load to the
equipoife of overturning, the entire weight
would reft upon two wheels only, each of
which would in this cafe fuftain one ton ;
confequently, if we reckon prefiure as in-
*(ury, the damage done by a carriage at the
point of overturning is twice as much as that
which is caufcd by the fame carriage on level
ground ^
g. YORKSHIRE. $ti
ground ; and the nearer it approaches to
one or the other of thefe extremities, the
more or lefs injury the road will fuftain by it.
Nor is the injury the road itfelf is fub-
jefted to the only evil effedt of a fteep-iidcd
road. The additional friction which is
thereby caufed between the inner naves of
the wheel and the body of the carriage, &c.
(or between the iron-work which feverally
belongs to them) gives an addition of re-
fifiancc to the team ; whofe extraordinary ex-
ertion on this account is at once injurious to
themfelves and to the road.
Mod of the roads about the metropolis,
^nd many parts of the great north-road
between Gunnerfberry-hill in Lincolnfliire
and Ferrybridge in Yorkfhirc, are, for road-
furveyors, proper fubjeCts of fludy.
The furveyors of roads, in general, are as
uninformed, or as inattentive, about the re-
pairing of roads as they are about the form-
ins of them.
Ruts are the principal enemies of a bar-
relled road. On a waved road they ferve as
fondu^ors to convey off the water : but on
a €0)1-
ig6 ROADS. 8,
a convex road the dcfcent of the water ought
to be immediately from the crown to the
channels on either fide.
The great art, therefore, in the manage-
ment of CONVEX ROADS is to form them in
fuch a manner as to -prevent ruts as much as
poITible ; and, if they appear, to be attentive
in doing them away before any material injury
take place.
The obvious method of preventing ruts
is to keep the road low at the crown, and
guarded at the edges ; fo that even top-loads
may be drawn over every fart with conve-
niency and fafety.
Upon the roads above fpecified it would
be difficult to endanger the mod top-heavy
load ; except by running wilfully upon the
hedge banks. Every foot, from fide to fide,
is travelahle road \ and every part impartially
travelled over.
On the contrary, upon the ridged-up road?
of this and other countries, the driver of a
top-heavy load dare not leave the top of the
ridge; and the drivers of loads which lie
lo'.ver, for a variety of reafons, follow the
beaten track : even horfemen who are timo-
rous
8. YORKSHIRE. 187
rous arc afraid to leave it •, and tbofe who
arc not fo, purfue it for obvious realbns •, no
other part of the road being beaten, or con-
venient to travel upon.
Of a road properly formed, the immedi-.
ate channel on either fide (being a fpecies of
wajh-ivay) is frequently the cleaneft, firmeft,
and, if freed from flones and other obftruc-
tions, the pleafantell: horse-path. But who
pofleffed of common prudence would ride
upon the tender brink of an unguarded
ditch ?
The efFedt is notorious : horfes and car-
riages of every kind are equally confined to
the fame narrow track upon the ridge ; fre-
quently confiding of two ruts and a middle
path, with no better quatering for horfes
which draw double, than there is in a narrow
green-lane, or over a rutty common.
The method of keeping convex roads in
REPAIR is not to permit them to be worn in-
to ruts and holes until they be impaifable ;
and then to plaftcr over the whole furface,
found or unfound, with a thick coat of ma-
terials ; but to pay, from time to time, due
attention to the wearing of them.
Ruts
i88 ROADS. 5,
Ruts and hollows, \\4Tich are yet too flial-
]ow to require to be filled in, fliould be open-
ed on the lower fide to prevent water from
flanding in them ; but luch as are too deep
for this operation, fhouldbe levelled in with-
out lofs of time.
Upon fto'nc rocJs, this may frequently be
done by coiledting locfe fioues^ aqd chipping
off the neighbouring frc tuber ances (equally
dangerous on :hc furfacc of a road) and bury-
ing them in the hollows to be filled up ; thus
removing two principal evils of (lone roads
in doing away a third.
But additional materials being in many
cafes Fcquifite, they ought to be laid ready
in proper rcccffcs; for the purpofc of level-
ling inequalities as faft as they are niade;
and thereby preventing the evil effeds of the
worft enemy of a wcll-fcrmed \o?A^—Jland-
inz zvaier.
The road between Lvnn and Wlfbech,
over the mnrfhlands of Norfolk, is formed
ciKircly ofy?//, a fpecie^ of fea-mud, fo fine
as to be fcareciy palpable; nevcrthelcfs,
wi'h tlie pr-c:u;i'ons of keeping the furface
jrse fromfiandui^ iJOJiter^ and of levelling in the
Yiiis
^. Y O R K S FI 1 R E. iS<)
i'uts and hollcivs^ with a \\oq^ fo fajt as they ar6
formed^ it is, in wet weather, one of the fineft
toads in the kingdom.
I have obferved, in other parts of the
ifland, roads, covered with nothing but com-
mon /and, kept in good condition by the fame
eafv means. And the roads which have been
held out as patterns are all managed, whe-
ther of gravel or of ftone, in a fimllar way.
Indeed, all well-managed turnpike roads
have men confiantly employed upon them for
the purpofe of repairing Jmall breaches, in or-
der to prevent large ones ; and every township
ought to employ a roadman or wobkino-
WAY-REAvt, one or more days in each week
throughout the year, for the fame excellent
purpofe.
Inftead of exhaufiingthe whole of the fta-
tute duty (as it is called) in laying on coat
upon coat, at feme certain feafon ol the year,
and Iciting the ro.uls lie until the return of
that feafon, as much neglected as if they did
not belong to the towniliip -, — fach parts,
only, as arc worn too thin, fliould be cover-
ed : a fufiicicncy of materials being referved,
and
190 . ROADS. t,
and diftributcd in the mod convenient man*
ner, for repairing occafional breaches.
Before I clofe this fedlion, two particulars
require to be fpoken to :
The width of roads -, and
The height of hedges on the fides of roads.
The Road Adts, palTed in the thirteenth
year of the prcfent reign, order that every
*' horfe or driftway" Hiall be made eight feet
Iroad ; and every " cartway'* leading to a
market town, iliall be twenty feet broad; that
the lane of every " highway" Iliall be thirty ;
and the Icnc of every " turnpike road" fhall
be fixty feet -wide ; without fpecifying any
particuLir Ireadth cf travelcMc 7-oad.
In fome few iituations, as in the bottom of
a narrow valley between two hanging woods,
and where a common-fhore and a mound of
earth are requifue on either fide of the road^
a lane fixty feet in width may be in fome de-
gree neceffary. But, in ordinary fituations,
that widih incurs a wajls of land without any
adequate advantage. Indeed upon mountains,
and in other expofed fituations, the traveller
is thereby deprived of the JJ^clUr which a
clofe r ianc would alTjul h:n;.
Nor
8. YORKSHIRE. igt
Nor does the lofs of culturablc land, and
the circumftance of expofing travellers iin-
neccfiarily to the inclemency of the weather,
conftitute, in this and other cafes of a fimi-
lar nature, the fum of impropriety ; grajjy
lanes are the greateft nuifance an occupier of
land can have in his neighbourhood : and it
would be well if fome general law could be
inftituted for their regulation.
In the kft fedtion it was mentioned, that
in the Sinnington Inclofure Bill^ an admirable
elaufe is inferred refpecling the grafs of the
roads to be fet out. For the firit ten vcars,
no flock whatever arc to be turned loofe into
them ; nor, after that time, are they to
be common ; the furveyors, for the time be-
ing, having a power to let them, and apply
the rent to the repair of the reads of the to'xr.foip.
With rcfped to the drying of roads after
rain, more depends on the kejght of the
HEDGES th;jn on the width of the lane. The
crown of a barrelled road thirty feet wide,
with hedges kept down to fourTeet high,
will dry nearly as foon as if no hedges were
near it, and much foonerthan a road in the
middle of a lane fixty feet wide, with hedges
and
192 ROADS. f.
and perhaps a line of flubwood, as may fte-
qiiently be feen, thirty or forty feet high^
rifmg on each fide of it, depriving the road
entirely (unlefs when the wind happens to
blow icngthway of the lane) of a free com-
munication of air.
In low, and Indeed in ordinary fituations^
hi"h hedg-cs on the fides of roads are doubly
hurtful : they are not only injurious to the
road itfcif, but, in clofe weather, are oifeniivc
to the traveller, and very injurious to the
beafts of burden and draught which are em-
ployed upon them. The Highway Ad there-
fore wifely orders, *' that the pofTefTors of
** the land next adjoining to every highway
** lliall cut, prune, and plalh their hedges.'*
But this falutary claufe has hitherto been
very little attended to. In many counties it
would be diflicult to find an inllance in which
it has been obeyed or enforced.
The magiftracy of this county, however^
may claim fuperior merit in this refpcdt. 1 he
toad between York and Doncafter, near forty
miles, is fingularly well kept in this parti-
cular: fcarcciy one licentious bufli is left ;
a no.
8; YORKSHIRE. 193
and many of the lefs public roads of the
county are laid open in a fimilar manner.
But excellent as this regulation undoubt-
edly is, in low as well as in ordinary fitua-
tions, more efpecially where roads lead through
old inclofed countries, in which lanes are fre-
quently too narrow ; it would, neverthelefs,
if indifcriminately enforced, be greatly de-
trimental in wide lanes and expofed fitua-
tions ; wh&ve Jhellery rather than a current of
air, is definable.
However, the execution of this law being
in the hands of magiftracy, its evil tendency
may be eafily checked, without injuring in
the lead its more general intention.
Vol; I. Q FENCES.
J 94
FENCES.
FENCES.
THE PARTICULAR articles which re-
quire to be noticed under this head are,
I.Gates, 4. Dead Hedges,
2. Fence- Walls, 5. Live Hedges,
3. Polls and Rails, 6. Hedgerow-timber.
I. Gates. The conimon field-gates of this
country are, in general, made Jlighter and
niuch ialkr than thofe of other Diftrids. In
Surrey and Kent^ three feet eight or nine
inches is the ordinary height of a gate ;
which is there compofed of four common
bars, and a ftrong top raih Here, gates have
generally fix or feven bars, all equally flight ;
and the common height five to fix feet.
Horses are the grcatcfl enemies of gates.
A low gate, let its ftrength be almoft what it
may, is no fence againrt a refolute powerful
horfe. If he can place the mufcular -part of
his
'f. Y O R K S H I R E. 195
his chefi firmly againft the top-rail, fcarccly
any ftrcngth of wood can refift him. But if
the top bar be placed high enough to receive
his windpipe infiead of his chcft, his power
of injuring the gare is in a manner wholly
taken away. It is therefore no wonder that,
in a country where the breeding of horfes has
long been a common praftice, high gates
Ihould have grown into common ufe.
The HANGING OF GATES is an art little nn-
derftood even by the hangers of gates them-
felves, though highly interefling and ufeful
in Rural Economy.
A perfon here who has paid unufual atten-
tion to the fubjeft, and who has in reality
made himfelf maftcr of it, dill continues to
hang his gates x^^onpivots fixed ^t the feet of
the hartrees *.
This was undoubtedly the original method
of hanging gates, and is perhaps, all things
cbnfidered, the belh
It is probable, that in the infancy of the
art the foot of the hartree was itfelf formed
O 2 into
* Hartree ; the principal end-piece, into which the
bars are mortifed, and by which the gate is hung : op-
jpofedto the iiEAD, the other end-piece.
,96 FENCES. 9;
into a pivot, while the upper part of it was
confined to the poll, or perhaps to a tree,
with a rope or a wilhe.
In the inftance under obfcrvation, the up-
per part of the hartree is hung in the ufual
manner with a hook and eye; and the foot
of it is fnod wnth a pivot of iron, fet upon
a large hard Jione4
The great advantage of hanging gates
on PIVOTS is that of their being readily altered
with refped x.o fall or catching : moving the
pivot-ftone a quarter of an inch this way or
that with an iron crow, is frequently a fuffi-
cient regulation : the pivot, too, takes part:
of the zveight of the gate.
But gates to be hung with pivots require a
peculiarity of construction. Every gate
when fhut ought to hang plumi? and level ;
that is, the head fhould be every way up-
right, and the bars horizontal.
This requifitc however, and at the fame
time a proper /j//, cannot be had in a gate
made i;i the fquare^ and with ^jiraight hartree.
Either the lower jvirt of the hartree mufl be
crooked^ or the gate mnft be made cut of the
fquare ; thai is the barsmuft ^c.vc^A fomcwhat
obliqi.c'v.
9- YORKSHIRE. 197'
obliquely, not perpendicular!}' to the har-
tree ; and in this cale the pivot muft be placed
not in the center, but on the outfide of the
foot : the firfl: to throw the point of the pivot
behind the pin of the upper hook, to give the
gate a fall when open at right angle ; and
the latter, to throw the point of the pivot
fvithout the pin of the hook, to give the gate
a fall at the pod, and make it catch with cer-
tainty.
This being underftood, it is eafy to con-
ceive that if the lower end of the hartree be
crooked, and if the elbow or convex fide of
the bend be directed not to cither pofl, but
towards the middle of the gateway, the nc-
celTary falls may be had without throwing
the gate out of the fquare, or the pivot out
of the center of the hartrcc.
I mention this method of hanging gates
the rather, as, notwithftanding its advan-
tages, it is grown into almoft total difufe ;
owing, it is very probable, to a v^'ant of
l^nowledge of the proper principle of con-
ftrudlion. I Ihall, in another place, have oc-
calion to fpeak fully of the method of hanging
gates on hooks,
O 3 2. FfNCE-
,98 FENCES. <^.
2. Fence-Walls. The common homeflal
fence of this Dillridt is wall; either of brick
or Hor^c.—Bailomng, in the Norfolk mannerj^
is unknown, and clofe paling feldom made
life of.
In the morelands, and upon the limcftonc
heights, ftonc walls are the common field-
fence. Live hedges are in thefe lituations
flower of growth, and more difficult to raife,
than they are in warmer better foils ; whereas
flones are plentiful, lying in fome places an
incumbrance to the furface.
Inhofpitable and unornamental as naked
Hone-walls may fecm, they are in many fitua-
tions the moll eligible fence : — cheap and
<]urable.
They are of two kinds, " double" and
** (ingle :" the latter, which are compofed of
fingle Hones piled one upon another, are a
fufficient fence againft (lock, provided they
be railed high enough ; but are liable to be
thrown down by the wind. The former,
which are built in the common wall manner,
but without mortar, are more expeniive in
the firfl: inflancc; but if properly raifcd, will
endure for ages with little or no repairs.
The
^ YORKSHIRE. 199
The MODERN FENCE-WALL, ot which many
miles have been built in conlequcnce of the
newlnclofures which have lately taken place,
is of the following form and dimenfions.
The height five feet. The width at the
bafe twenty-two Inches, narrowing to fixteen
inches at the top ; which is coped (as a guard
againfl: fheep) with the Vv'ideft and flattefl of
the flones laid afide for this purpofe,
A frame of wood of thefe dimenfions is fct
np as a gauge, and as a guide to the builder.
The loweft^r/V^ which has, I believe, been
given for raifing, carriage, and walling, is
five ftiillings and (ixpence for a rod of feven
yards. But a (hilling a yard may be taken as
a more medial cofl. Each yard takes about
a three-horfe cart-load of flones.
3. Posts and Rails. In mofl: countries,
the prevailing temporary fences are hurdles.
Pofls and rails are only ufcd for the defend-
ing of young hedges, and for orher perma-
nent purpofes ; being generally put down by
a carpenter, and are fcldom removed until
they become ufelefs as a fencing material.
But here they are confidered In a different
light, They are (fpeaking generally) the only
O 4 tcm-
200 FENCES. f.
temporary fencing made ufe of. If a piece
of ground require to be divided, for one fea-,
fon or for a few weeks, a line of polls and
rails are run acrofs it ; not by a carpenter,,
but by a common farm labourer. And when
the purpofe is anfwered, they are removed
and laid up for another occafion.
I mention this circumftance as pofts and
rails are more durable, and a much better
fence againft horfes and cattle than hurdles
are ; and the labour of putting dov/n and
removal is much lefs than inexperience may
imagine.
4. Dead Hedges. The Jtake-and-edder
hedge prevails in this Diflricl, and is in ge-
neral conftrudled with uncommon Ikill, The
fuperiority of conftrudion lies principally in
the eddering.
In other places the edders are trimmsd up
to naked rods : here the fpray towards the
top is left on. Thefe fpray ey tops being
wound round the bodies of the fucceeding
edders make them lay hold of the flakes,
thereby preventing their rifing. If the tvvig^
of the ccldcrs be intufhcicnt, brambles or
9ther pliable brufn-wood is wound in with
the fame intent.
But
9. YORKSHIRE. zn
But the mod effcdual way of preventing
cattle from throwing off the edders, which
method is here fometimes pra(flircd, is to carry
on the two operations of eddering and filling
together, burying the fprayey tops of the edders,
(imong the filling ; by which means they are
effefluaily lecured from the horns of cattle ;
and even while they remain found, from the
hands of hedge-breakers.
5. Live Hedges. The management of
hedges appears to me a matter of fo much
importance in the management of an estate,
and is a fubjcft to which I have paid fo much
attention, that I always find it difficult,
whenever I fit down to v/rite upon it, to con-
fine myfelf within due limits.
In this Diftrict I find ample matter to ani-
madvert upon. The nnclt hedges in the
kingdom (if any one particular fpot cm
claim a fuperlority) are now growing in this
neighbourhood ; and more new ideas re-
fpedting the management of hedges have oc-
curred to me in the Diftrid: now under notice,
than in all the others I have vifited. It would
therefore be wrong to treat the fubjeift night-
ly in this place. But I will endeavour to
comprcfs
002 FENCES. ^,
comprefs the matter which I have accumu-
lated within as narrow a compafs as may be.
The fub-divifions which the fubjecl in this
place requires are :
1. The fpecies of hedgewood,
2. The method of planting new hedges,
q. The method of defending them.
4. The method of cleaning and training,
5. Their after-management.
6. The treatment of old hedp-es.
o
I. The prevailing hedgewood is ijohite-'
thorn. Formerly it was in this, as in other
places, gathered in the woods and roqgh
grounds. But at prefcnt, and for fome years
pad, *^ garden (juickwood" has been pretty
generally, though not yet univerfally planted.
But although the vvhite-thora is the com-»
xuon hedgewood of the Diftrict, and, in or-
dinary fituations, may be the moft eligible,
I have feen crah-tree ufed in cold foils, as well
fis in bleak fituations, with great fuccefs. la
an infraace where crab-tree and white-thor^
T/cve planted alternately, by way of expcri-
■\^^x\t^ the crab -tree plants have outgrown
thofe
9. YORKSHIRE. aoj
thofe of the thorn in a flriking manner. In
iix years they have acquired ftems as thick a$
the wrift, with tops fufficient as a fence
againft ordinary flock.
Upon the Wolds I have obferved the elder,
a plant which braves the bleakeft fituation,
made ufe of as a hedge-wood ; but nevep
faw it planted with fufficient judgment to an-
fwer the intended purpofe. Neverthelcfs,
in the abundance and luxuriance of this plant
upon the moil expofed parts of the Wolds^
it is evident that, with proper management,
it might be made at lead a ficreen to better
hedge-woods.
The holly I have feen raifed (in the prac-
tice of a man who has paid great attention
to the bufinefs of hedge-planting, and in this
particular with great fuccefs) with an unu-
fual degree of rapidity and certainty.
The fecrecy of the art lies in the iime of
iranfplantirig : a holly tranfplanted at Mid-
fummer fcarcely receives a check from the
removal : a faft, this, which few planters
are aware of. — Thoufands of hollies are eve-
ry year deftroyed by removing them in the
winter months,
2, Planting,
;c4 FENCES. 9.
2. Planting. The common methcd is
to turn a fed, ten or more inches wide, upon
the brink of the intended ditch, and, behind
this, to fet the plants m a leaning pofcure;
covering the roots with Ibme of the belt of
the mould the ditch affords ; and, behind the
plants, to lay the remainder of the excivated
earth, in a low broad bank.
The ordinary difcb is very fmall •, barely
affording mould to back up the plants with.
Neither the ditch in fiont nor the bank be-
hind are confidcrcd, r,s they are in Norfolk,
a guard to the young hedge.
The Fickcring Inclosure Bill orders,
that the ditches in the lower grounds^ when
they are neccflluy as drains, fhall be made
four feet wide, and two and a-half feet deep.
But for the upuindi no limits are prcfcribed •
i|-je alliance between the outer brink of the
ditch and the line of hedge-wood being the
fenly thing limited. This width is nxed,
throughout, at four feet and a half. In this
cafe, the outer brink of the ditch being the
bpuivdary line of (.ach man's property, a flip
of
9. YORKSHIRE. 205
cf whole ground is left between the inner
brink and the iiril-turned fed.
One deviation, however, from this general
mode of planting under the Inciofare Bill
occurs. In this inft.ince, a narrow trench
only is dug againft the boundary line ; leav-
ing fufficient room between the inner brink
of the trench and the line of quick to place
the dead fence ; by which means the owner
of the land, getting his young hedges within
his own prcmifcs, is no way liable to the ill-
nature or negligence of his neighbour. And,
inftead of laying in the plants behind the
firft-turned fod, the ground is dug four or
nve feet wide, and the plants let in a trench
upright in the nurfery manner, having, in
this cafe, a line of prepared eaiih on either
fide to feed among.
Nor is this the only inftance ! have met
with In the Diftridt of planting hedge-
wood ON A LEVEL. The famc judicious
planter has, in dividing upland inclolurc:-^.,
planted hedges without any ditch wlv.'.tevcr.
I-iis pra(flice has been to plow a Hip of ground,
on each fide of the intended line of the fence,
the
%c6 FENCE S» ^.
the preceding fpring ; and having previoufly
dunged it, to plant it with potatoes. Du-
ring fummer the land is repeatedly cleaned
with the hoe ; in autumn, the potatoes be-
ing removed, the entire (lip is gathered into
a ridge with the plow ; and the enfuing
fpring the quick is planted, nurfery-wife, in
a trench run along the middle of the ridge.
The fuccefs of this method has proved equal
to what might be expected from manage-
ment To obvioufly judicious.
Another new idea, which has been (Iruck
out and carried into pradiee by the fame per-
fon, is that of SORTING hedgewood plants :
not according to the thicknefs of their ftems^
or the fize of their tops, but agreeably to the
llrcngth of their roots. When the plants
are put in, indifcriminately, the fcrong fooit
outgrow and overpower thofe which arc
weaker. But plants which are judiciouily
forted, rife together amicably, without de-
ftroying each other. BefideSj in doing this^
many worthlefs plants are thrown afide, and
thofe which arc weak may be referved for
fuitablc fituations) while the ftrongeft are
planter
9* Y O R K S H I R E. 207
planted where the greatcll ftrength is re-
quired.
But the boldcjl idea I have met with in
hedge-planting is that of burying the
PLANTS ! by covering up their heads, an
inch or more deep, with mould : and this,
not as an experiment, but in the praftice of
a common labourer.
The method of planting, in this cafe, is
the common one of fetting the plants behind
the *' cape-fod," or firfl-turned fpit. But
inftead of leaving the heads two or three
inches above ground, the plants are fhorten-
ed, and the heads placed about an inch be-
low the furface.
Obferving a work of this kind prefently
after it was executed, I waited v/ith impa-
tience to fee the event. In Av.q feafon the
plants made their appearance i not in a num-
ber of irregular fpreading ilioots, as from an
expofed head i but rifing, as from fesd, in
one, or perhaps two or three, ftraight upright
fhoots, of peculiar ftrength and beauty.
They did not, however, rife together i
fome of them remaining in the ground f:ve-
fal weeks after the earlieft made their appear-
ance.
2d8 fences. ^;
ance. The covering of mould, therefore^
ought, perhaps, to be as fine, and laid on as
light as maj^ be, to prevent obltriiftions to
the tender (hoo:s in ri^ng *.
The advantage of burying quick appears
to be the valuable one of giving the young
hedge an upright tendency, and thereby pre-
venting the ftrength of the roots from being
expended on ufclefs fide-flioots. Plants thus
raifcd take the growth, and probably the ha-
bit of SEEDLING plants. The roots, in this
cafe, may be confidered as artificial
SEEDS, furnifhed with a peculiar ftrength of
vegetation.
3. Defending. Pofts and rails are the
common dead fence. Sometimes one, fome-
times two rows : a moft cxpenfive way of
defending a young hedge.
In
* On clofc examination, I find tl;c tallcft flrongcfl
flioots rile from fuch as vveic barely, or perhaps impar-
tially, covered with nu)uUl : fvich as were buried deeper
are, at prefent^ (in the month of Auguft, the firftyear of
planting) fliortcr and weaker ; owing, perhaps, to their
rifing later in the fpring. It is therefore probable that
the lighter and thinner the covering, piovidcd it be
fuiticicnt to prevent liJe Ihoois, the more eligible is
thii pradite.
^, YORKSHIRE. 209
In the lower parts of the Vale, where (lones
are nottoonumerous/and where deep ditches
are requifite, the Norfolk method might be
introduced with great propriety "*.
But, in floney foils, that method is imprac-
ticable : and there, two rows of poib and
rails, or fome other dead fence adequate to
them, are, in mofl cafes, abfoiutely neccfTury
to good management.
It is therefore wife in the framers of In-
clofure Bills to fecure the right of placing
fences during a certain number of years, up-
on neighbouring allotments, as guards to the
young hedges -|-.
I have obferved, in more inflances than
one, the good effcdts of fetting a fharp ridg-
let of earth on the outer brink of the ditch, as
a guard to the face of young hedge plants ;
efpecially againft horfes. In one inftance, a
younor hedge was defended by two fmall
J CD O '
ditches, one on either fide, with banklets of
this kind, without any dead fence whatever;
and this, too, againft well-bred hunters .
fuch as would in a chace have taken the
<i See tvojiF. EcoN. Vol. I. p. 102.
t See Art. Inclosures.
Vol. I. P hcdgling
no FENCES. ^.
he<^gling and both ditches without hefitation.
Cattle arc Icfs terrified withthefc devices.
The pradlice of pricking thorns into the
firft-turned fod upon the inner brijik of the
ditch, as a guard to the face of the quick
againft fhccp, affords a degree of temporary
fecurity -, but deprives the plants of that air
and cxercife which is necefTary to a luxuri-
ancy of growth.
4. Training. This department of the
management of hedges is too much neglefted
in all countries. The planting, and thefirfl
erection of guard-fences, generally receive
a tolerable fhare of attention. But repairing
thefe fences from time to time, — deilroying
wcedsj — and giving the young plants a pro-
per tendency, are matters which are fcldom
confidered as eflential to fuccefs.
In this Diftrid: ihc front fence is in general
too little attended to, or negledcd too long;
the young plants being frequently brouzed
and ftinted before the neceflary guard be
thought of or placed.
With refpedt to iveeding, however, tlie
Difl:r;6t is above par. But in regard to train-
i}:g the ■plunls themfclvcs, by ftriking off the
luxuriant
9. YORKSHIRE. 211
luxuriant fide flioots, and thereby promoting
the upward growth of the hedgling, it is
very deficient.
I have, neverthelefs, had frequent oppor-
tunities of obferving one inftance in which
this requifite bufinefs in the raifing of hedges
has been executed in, perhaps, a fingular
manner. In this inftance each plant is train-
ed with a fingle ftciUj pi'uned in the nurfcry
manner.
One advantage of this method is that of
rearing every plant with a degree of certain-
ty •, the tops being in this operation attend-
ed to as well as the ftems : thofe of the
ftrongcr plants being IcfTencd, to give head-
room to the weaker.
Another very great advantage, efpecially
on a flieep-farin, is that of getting the young
plants out of harm's way. Sheep are danger-
ous enemies to young hedges ; and every
expedient to guard againft their mifchiev-
oufnefs in this refped: deferves at leaft a trial.
Strong plants, judicioufly planted, and train-
ed in this manner, may, with a degree of cer-
tainty, be got out of the reach of fhcep in
three or four years.
P 2 The
212 FENCE S. g.
The labour is confiderable, but by no
means exc-jfTive. In this one inftance, the
expence of labour appears to be greatly ex-
ceeded by the advantages obtained by it.
The pruning fhould be done in winter or
fpring, while the lap is down; not in the
f'jmnier feafon.
5. Aftermanagement. In this depart-
ment, the Diih'ift under furvcy excels : not
in the manner of cutting, but in the frequency
of it. Many young hedges are cut before
they arc twenty years old ; and the cutting
of fucb as are thriving at leail:, is uTually re-
peated every five or lix years ; a practice
which ought to be univerfally followed. No-
tlup.g is more irjurious t;o a hedge than un-
irccjucnt cutting.
The prevailing method of cutting is that of
^' buck- heading;" — namely, cutting theflems
■otr level, about three feet high above the le-
vel of the inclofure ; generally winding a
few (Iraight boughs horizontally between the
lieads of the ftems, to prevent flock from
forcing thiough between them. A more
fimple, or a cuespcr method th.an this,
ci'.nnot pcrhiips be deviled ; efpccially as the
ditch
9. YORKSHIRE. 213
^itch is feldom touched •, the roots being
purpofely fuffereJ to ft;ikc acrots it ; by
which means they enjoy free padurage on
either fide.
On the Malton fide of the Diftrid, the pre-
vailing method of cutting is that ot 'ploMAn^
\\\ the Midland manner : an operation which
I fliall have occafion to fpcak fully of in an-
other place.
6. Old Hedges. The pradice of jy;;/^z;//-
tng worn-out hedges in the Norfolk manner,
I have not met with in this Dlftri»5l..
Stopping breaches with dead kd^iitgy there-
by cffcdually preventing their ever clofing
again, is a piece of execrable management,
which is no where more prevalent than in the
Vale under obfervaiion.
One inilance of exertion, however, in ol-
der to RECLAIM a live fence from a row of
large old thorns, the remains of a negleded
hedge, occurs in this Diftri^t, and would do
credit to any country. It is the only one of
the kind I have met with.
The bulhes or fcparate detachments of th
old hedge being trimmed on both fides ; and
the miain flems cut out at the ground, or
P 3 headed
e
214 FENCE S. 9,
headed at fuch heights as circumftances re-
quired ; the long flender boughs, growing
in the line of the fence, were trained into the
vacancies, with ftrong flakes, in the espalier
MANNER : a bank of earth having been pre-
vioufly thrown up, and the lowcfl ground -
"boughs LAYERED in it, ID ordcr to ftrike
root, and fend up frefh plants, to afllft in fill-
ing up the vacancies cfFedtually.
This mode of treatment is not applicable
to fuch hedges only ; but to every live
hedoc in which wide vacancies are found.
The beft time for filling them up in this
manner is when the hedge is felled p the
ground.
Another inflance of pracftice in the ma-
nagement of old hedges, which had been
planted on broad banks, with ditihcs on
either fide ', and which, through the narrow-
ncfs of the pallure, and the neglecl of timely
cutting, wc^e become ftunted, and thin of
ftcms, merits notice.
The thorns, in this cafe, were felled to the
ground ; the ditch, to the fouthward or weft-
ward of the hedge, re-made ; and that on the
rprth
9. YORKSHIRE. 215
north or eafl: fide o(\x.fi''}edup with the exca-
vated mould. By thcle means the plants
were fupplied immediately with frefh pai-
turaee in made-earth ; and let loofe to feed
at large in the adjoining inclofure. The ef-
fedt is ftriking. The plants fhoot iinufually
ftrong i and, in three or four years, form an
invulnerable fence.
Perhaps, reversing the ditch of an old
hedge (with a ^//o-/(? ditch) might invigo-
rate it in a fimilar manner, by giving the
plants a frefh field of paflurage. The ex-
periment, however, ought to be tried
with caution. Depriving old plants of all
their main roots (though they were at the
fame time cut off by the ground) might be
dangerous.
General Observations. From'whathas
been faid on thcf ordinary treatment of hedges
in this neiehbourhood, it is evident that thcjr
fuperiority is not owing to an excellency of
management. The richncfs of the foil ; the
negled of the ditches ; the frequency of
cutting ; and, above all, the prefent age of
the hedges, account fufhciently for their tre-
S5NT flourishing STATE.
V 4 Thofe
2i6 FENCES. 9.
Thofe which ftrike the eye with a pecu-
liar luxuriancy of growth, arc about fifty
YEARS OLD : and it is abundantly evident,
that hedges growing in a good foil may, until
they have reached that age, be hcculed fence-
high with a degree of fafety. But, on a
nearer view, it appears to me equally evi-
dent, that the pra<5tlcc cannot be exercifed,
in perpetuity, with any degree of propriety.
On examining hedges, which have noc been
planted seventy years, and which have
been treated invariably in that manner, I find
they have already received irreparable injury.
I'he underling plants are already fo far de-
ilroycd as to leave vacancies of three feet or
more in width ; while the mailer plants, now
no longer of themfelves a fence againil: fiieep,
h.ave acquired ftems of a tree-like fizc.
Felling to the ground, and training 2,
range of 7ieiv Jlens, is the only effecflual re-
medy of this evil. But this when deferred
too long is impradicable, or at lead dan-
gerous. Large old flcnis v^'ill not always
furvive the operation; but if applied in time,
and with due care, the remedy is certain
without iin<.
It
^. YORKSHIRE. 217
It would be difficult perhaps to prcfcribe
rules for the felling of hedges, by their
ages ; or the intervals of time between the
fellings. Perhaps no hedge ought to ftand
more than fifty years from the firft raifing,
nor more than thirty years between the
fdlhigs.
But, b);- their sizes, and the ilate of their
growth, fome general rules may with pro-
priety be mentioned. No Jlem (howfoever
healthful, nor how fizeable foever to the
neighbouring (lems) of more than a foot in
circumference ought to be fufFered to remain
ilandino-.
If there be a great difparity, as there gene-
rally is, in the^z^ ofthejleras, either the en-
tire hedge ought to be felled before any of
them acquire the limited fize •, or, in head-
ing them, the larger ought to ho. fhortemd
proportionahly to their refpe^ive fixes ^ in order
to IclTcn their deftruftive tendency, and to
give the weaker an opportunity of gaining
at Icait a temporary afcendency *.
* An expedient of this kind I have feen executed
With a tolerable appearance of fuccefs.
If
2l8 FENCE S. 9.
If the plants, let their age and fize be
what they may, grow mojfy, or wear the ge-
neral appearance oi JluntednefSy they ought to
be removed, that a more healthy race may
be trained up in their ftead.
The fame as to meadinc. No particular
gge can be pointed out for the firft cutting ;
nor can any certain interval of time between
the headings be prefcribed with ftrid pro-
priety. Soils and Ctuations influence the
growth of trees ; and, viewing the manage-
ment of hedges in a general light, the tops
pught to acquire a degree of usefulness be-
fore they be taken off.
A bough fix or eight inches in circumference
is large enough for a fxake \ and when the
ilrongeft have got to this f,zc, the remainder
are generally fit for the fillings of dead
hedges: that therefore is the flare in which
they ought to be cut.
It Vvould, in my opinion, be better manage-
fnent in n man irbo occupies bis oivn eft ate to
burn them and give their afhcs to the Vv-inds,
than to fuiTer them to remain on the ftcms
^ftcr they have reached that fze.
But
f. YORKSHIRE. 219
But in a tenant, who has no permanent in-
tereft in the hedges he occupies, negleft is
lefs criminal. — It matters not to him whether
the live hedges upon his farm remain fuffi-
cient fences one or /zt'o centuries. He is no
way concerned in the purchafe-value of the
cftate, unlcfs it be in the depreciation of it.
His plan of management (if he has any in
this refped:) is to make his hedges fubfer-
vient to his own intereft, efpecially when he
has no certainty of continuing in pofTefllon.
Thefe circumdances are not mentioned
with a view of breeding ill-blood between
landlords and tenants ; but to endeavour to
convince the former, that it is a duty they
owe to themfelves and their fucceflbrs to pay
fpme attention to the live hedges upoi their
eftates.
It is now a cuftom pretty generally adopt?
ed upon v/ooded eftates to appoint woodzvards
for the prefervation of timber and under-
wood.— And upon every large efhate, lying in
an inclofcd country, it is, in my opinion,
equally necefiary to appoint a hayward for
the prefervation of its hedges.
An
2?o FENCE S. 5,
An EXPERiEKCED HEDGER woiild pcrhaps
be the fitted for this employment. In ordi-
nary cafes, as where heading only might be
requifite, orders might be fufficient ; but to
the raifing of new hedges, and the renewal of
old ones, ferfcnal attention ought to be paid,
not only to the planting and the felling, but
to the fencing ar.d the weeding, until the
pew or the renewed hedge be out of danger.
6. Hedgerow Timber. This is an inte-
refting fubje<ft to the proprietors of inclofed
eftatcs : and no country affords a better field
for obfervatipn tjian that under furvey.
I'hc old-inclofed parts of this neighbour-
hood, when feen at feme diftance, have the
appearsnce of woodlands -, the inciofures
bein<T moitly narrow and full of hedgerow
timber.
Tlie age, on a par, is about fifty years.
In half a century more, the value of the
limber of feme parrs of it, ^f fuffered to fcand,
will probably be equal to the value of the
land : a circumfbance this of no imall im-
port 10 the ozvncr. But the dctiimcn:: to the
Qidipier requires to be coniidered.
In this country, it fcems to be a general
![dca, founded perhaps on experience, that
loftv
^, Y O R K S H I R E. 221
lofty hedgerows are hcwjicial to grafsland ;
increafing its produttlvencis by their warmth,
and giving flicker and Ihade to pailuring-
flock. The roots, even of the afii, arc con-
fidercd as inoffir.frce to hmd in a flare of
grc.fs ; in which flate the grounds thus leaded
with hedo-es and timber-trees is aimoft uni-
verfaliy kept.
Indeed, it would be impoffiblc, in their
prefent flate, to occupy them as crahle land.
There are entire inclofures, every foot of the \
areas of which mufl neceflluily be occupied
by aJJj-rccts; neverthelefs they give an ample
fupply of hay and pafturage. One to two
tons of hay an acre. And in many of them,
three acres will afford fumcient pailurage for
two cows of the largeft fizc. The rent from
thirty to forty iliillings an acre. Strong evi-
dences thefe that. the rcois of the (^JJj arc not
very injurious to grnfsland.
It is evident, however, that the onk, when
fuffered to thruft its kiv fpreading bead into
the inclofure, is injurious to the herbage be-
neath it ; that the Ica^'cs of the ap are very
detrimental to aftergrafs ; and that the
hedges are annually receiving irreparable da-
ms ee
'^^^ J
ii% FENCE S* g,
mage ;— no general plan of training up the
trees with tall ftems having, I believe, in
any inftance been adopted.
General Observations. From what is
here mentioned we may conclude, that the
advantages arifing from the planting of tim-
ber-trees in the hedges of inclofed common-
fields, of a foil, and lying in a fuuation
adapted to grafs, — arc far fuperior to any
difadvantages accruing therefrom, even where
they have been fuffered to grow in a Hate of
almoft total negledt.
Land which has lain open, and which has
been kept in a ftate of aration during a fuc-
ccllion of ages, is equally productive ofgrafs
and frees. And it is generally good manage-
ment to let it lie to grafs for fome length of
time after inclofure.
In this neighbourhood, it is evident to
common obfervation, that trees flourifli with
unufual vigour in the newly-inclofed lands of
arable fields ; and that their injury to grafs-
land is inconfiderable when compared with
the value of the timber they produce. The
Icwfpread'aig heads of the oak and the leaves of
the ajh appear to be the chief inconvcniencics
of thcfc two fpecics of trees to grnfsland.
But
g. YORKSHIRE. 2213
But an akcrnacy of corn and grafs is gene-
rally eligible on lands which our anccftors
have made choice of for common-fields ; and
the roots of the ajb are nor only oblirudtions
to the plow, but the general nature of the
plants is in a fingular degree inimical to corfj.
It is therefore ncceffary to eradicate the
ajb from the hedgerows, before the land be
again broken up for arable ; or to preclude
this tedious operation, in thefirft inllance, by
planting oak in its Head.
The HEAD of the oak may be raifed to
fuch a height as to be no way injurious to
gr^fs ; nor to the hedge, while yet in a youth-
ful flate, even though it be fuffered to run
up to its natural height.
Whenever the inclofures are broken up
for corn, the hedges ought in common good
management to be headed, and kept in a
dwarfiih ftate •, in which cafe tall-steaimed
OAKS would be a valuable fource of timber,
without being in almoft any degree inju-
rious to the HEDGE or the corn growing un-
der them.
But the TRAINING OF YOUNG OAKS, and
the GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF HEDGi-ROW
TIMBER,
224 SHORES AND SURFACE-DRAINS, id,
TIMBER, cannot, with any degree of pru-
dence, be left to a mere occupier. Viewing
hedges as nurferics of timber, a hedgemaw
becomes cfTentially neceffary to every landed
eftatCi
lO.
S H O R E S and SURFACE-
D Pv A I N S.
THE DIVERSITY of country which
the Diflridt under furvey exhibits, requires
a varied exertion of art with refpe<fl to sur-
face-water. Upon the hills, art is requi-
red to retain it upon the furfacc ; in the
lower parts of the Vale, art is equally want-
ed to kaftcn it to the river or general out-
let.
It has been already mentioned, that much
of the bottom of the Vale is, by natural fitu-
ation, liable to be overflowed by the rivers in
lime of flood. Neverthekfs every part of it,
1 apprehend,
10. YORKSHIRE. 225
I apprehend, is fo fituated as to be capable
of being laid fufficiently dry, by the rivers
at dead water.
Therefore the only exertion of art in this
caferequifite is, to open fufficicnt shores be-
tween the rivers and the grounds to be laid
dry ; finking fufficient ditches from the fliores;
and fufficient drains from the ditches.
Many efforts of this nature have been made
with fpirit and with fucccfs. The West
Marshes, in general, are a ilriking inftance:
for although they lie upon a dead flat, and
but barely above the level of the waters of
the Derwent, they arc at prefent kept princi-
pally in an arable (late, and chiefly in wide
flat beds. Neverthelefs, by keeping open
furrows, deep ditches, and clean fliores, the
land in general is left as free from fuper-
fluous moiftuve, as if it were elevated a mile
above the Dcrwcnt.
But the East Marshes fand fome othet
fmaller portions of the Vale) ftill remain a
difgrace to the country ; lying chiefly in a
ilate of /^»»— provincially " Carr;" — over-
ran with fedges and other paluflrian plants ;
which afford, during a few months in fum-
VoL, I. Q^ m<-^
226 SHORES AND SURFACE-DRAINS. lO.
mer, a kind of ordinary pafturage to young
{lock. In the winter months they are gene-
rally buried under water, and in the fummer
months are fubjed to be ovevflowed.
The remedy in this cafe (and in other cafes
of a fimilar nature, — of which almofl every
Diflridt in the kingdom affords an inftance) is,
to BANK OUT THE RIVER, which winds
through the middle of it ; and, in doing this,
TO SINK A COMMON SHORE ON THE OUTER
SIDE OF EACH EMBANKMENT.
If, at the lower end of thefe f/jores^ the
niVER lies fufficiently lo-w at the time of dead
water to receive, freely, the drainage of the
marfli, the work may be completed with an
inconfidcrcible expenditure, compared with
the macrnitude of improvements of this na-
ture. Flood gates, placed at the outlets,
to five vent to the furface waters colkdcd
within the fite of improvement, and to pre-
vent the waters of the river in time of llood
from Piowing back upon it — are the only ad-
ditional requifite.
If the furface of the river at dead water
fhould be found to lie too hi^b for the nectf.
farv
40. YORKSHIRE. 227
iary depth oi tht Jhore, Marsh Mills*
placed in the lower parts of the fite will, in
any ordinary cafe, do away the deficiency of
fall.
The expence of a mill is in the firft in-
ftance confiderablc-; befides an annual ex-
pence of repairs, and attendance. But fup-
pofing the firft coft to be one or even two
hundred pounds, and the repairs and atten-
dance to be ten or even twenty pounds a-year,
the whole expence would be inconfiderab'e,
when compared with the improvement of
converting, perhaps, two or three thoufand
acres of unprodu^ive fenny grounds into ara-
ble, MEADOW, and pasture lands, oifve,
or perhaps ten times its value.
In the cafe immediately under notice,
mills, if requifite, could only be efFedlve 0:1
one fide of the river. The rivulets on
the north fide of the Derwent are too copious
to be difcharged by a mill. But by embank-
ing thofe rivulets, and by furnifliing each
compartment of the marfh with a mill, the
defircd improvement might on a certainry
CL2 be
*■■ See NoRF. Ecoy. Mm. 118,
228 SHORES AND SURt" ACE-DRAINS. lo.
be made. On the fovith and call fide of the
Dervvent, where perhaps the greateft im-
provement ma)^ be expedted, }efs difficulty-
would arife : the embankment of one rivulet:
would perhaps be found the only addition
requifite to the general embankment *.
It may be unneceflary to fay, that the ex-
cavated mould of the shores ought to go to-
wards raifing the embankments ; thus ob-
taining, in one operation, the two principal
means of improvement : or that main drains
ousht to be led from the fhore into the area
of the fite to be improved.
One thing, however, may not be fo obvi-
ous : namely, the situatiom of the em-
bankments WITH RESPECT TO THE RIVER.
If the BANKS be fct upon the immediate
Irink^ as in general they arc, they become li-
able to be injured by the fmalleft deviation of
the RIVER ; with which the shores in this
cafe become too nearly connedted. Bcfides,,
the
* Since writine this article a meeting of the pro-
prietors of thcfc marlhcs ha been held, to confidcr of
an application to Parliament ior Jlraightmin^ and en-
larging the bed of the Deiivcni / But the propofal was
•vcr-rulcd.
10. Y O p. K S H I R E. 229
the waters of floods being by this means con-
fined (fuppofing an embankment on either
fide) to the bed of the river, the banks re-
quire to be raifed to an unnecelTciry height.
But if the lines of embankment be run at
a proper dijlance from the river, as ten, twen-
ty, or thirty yards, the banks and the shores
are placed out of danger from the river;
and a greater area being left for the water
of floods to fpread over, their rife will be
proportionably lefs, and the requifite height
of bank will of courfe be leflcned in the
fame proportion.
Theory may conceive a wajie of land by
this means-, but experience fliews that fucli
an apprehenfion is ill- grounded. The em-
bankment is equally beneficial to the land it
enclofes, and to that it ihuts out from the
river. The enriched waters of floods, now
confined by the banks, depofit on the in-
clofcd flips the whole of thofe particles which
hitherto they had fcattered over an extent of
country. By this means the fwamps and
hollows of the flips are prelencly filled up ;
^pd in time the entire furface is raifed.
Q^ 3 I have
230 SHORES AND SURFACE-DRAINS, m.
I have obferved an inftance of this kind,
in which the ground on the river-fide of the
bank has been raifed near a foot above the
natural level of the ground on the other fide
of it.
By this elevation of furface the land is not
only laid dry, but, if the waters be of a good
quality, is at the fame time enriched.
Thefe flips, if of fufficient width, are fin^
gularly well adapted to the purpofc of ozier
BEDS : and are eligible pasture grounds.
The banks are places of fafety for flock to
fly to in floods ; a fpecies of refuge they had
not when the whole lay open.
The EXPENCE of embankment, in ordina-
ry cafes, and under proper management, is
far from exceflive.
This Vale affords more than one inflance
of RIVER-EMBANKMENTS. Brawhy-mccr^ con-
taining about three hundred acres of low
marlliland foil, over-run in an open (late with
furze and rufiies, together with fome inter-
fpaccs of fcdgy grafs, was liable to be over-
flo'.vcd by the river Seven, which runs on
the upper fide of it ; the Rye, which wafiies
it 051 the orhcv iide, being its natural fhore.
Thefe
10. Y O Pv K S H I R E. 231
Thefe three hundred acres are the entire
property of the Earl of Salisbury ; and
in their open Hate were let out in one hun-
dred gaits for young ftock, at ten fhillings
each gait, producing his lordlhip in that
flate fifty pounds a year.
The embankment coft about fixty pounds j
namely, about three quarters of a mile at
one fhilling per yard. But the ruins of an
old bank leffened the expence in this cafe.
The bank when finifhed was about fevcn
feet high ; wide enough on the top for cattle
to walk upon ; Hoped fufficiently to prevent
its Ihooting or being trodden down by cattle;
and faced with green fods, to guard againft
the floods.
This improvement is worth tracing. Be-
fides the embankment, which, if the old
bank had not aflifted, might have coft one
hundred pounds, a road through the middle
of the fite of improvement was requifite to
be made ; — the whole to be inclofed ; and
fome erections to be made, Suppofe the
road, the inclofure, and the buildings to coft
three hundred pounds, the whole expence
Qjf w'ould
432 SHORES AND SURFACE-DRAINS. lo.
would amount to four hundred pounds, or
fifteen to twenty pounds a-year.
The rent, in the firft inftance, was, I be-
lieve, fixed at eight fliillings an acre. Three
hundred acres at eight Ihillings produce one
hundred and twenty pounds a-year ; fo that
in the outfet there appears to be a clear im-
provement of fifty pounds a-year. In twelve
or fourteen years it may be worth twice that
rent, the foil being deep, and of a quality
which, though not rich, is fuited by fituation
to both corn and grafs. When the flipulatcd
improvements are made by the firft occu-
piers, the three hundred acres will be worth
at leaft two hundred pounds a-year; namely,
FOUR TIMES ITS FORMER VALUS.
Another inftance of river-embankment oc-
curs in this townfliip. The commiflioners
under the Att of Inclofure have wifely fecur-
cd the lower grounds to be inclofed from the
waters of floods which have hitherto occa-
fionally overflowed them. The remedy in
this cafe was eafy : a partial embankment
only was neceflary ; and the bank, in the
parts where it was wanted, feldom required
to h: ralfed above two or three feet high.
Never-
10, YORKSHIRE. 233
Neverthelcfs, the advantage obtained at this
eafy expence is that of enabling the refpec-
tive occupiers of the lands under inclofurc,
to change them from a flate of unprodudiive
fward to that of arable land ; and by that
means to improve them, perhaps, to three
times their prefent value.
If, in the management of estates, any
fuperior faculty be requifite, it is that of be-
ing able to ftrike-out and execute intrinsic
IMPROVEMENTS ; fuch as givc a permanent
increafe of rent-roll,— without diminilh-
ing the personal happiness or the respec-^
TABiLiTY of its owner.
WOOD-
II.
WOODLANDS
AN D
PLANTATIONS.
I. THE NATURAL WOODS of this
Piftridt are nuaierons.
The vailies which fever the limeftone
heights, on the north-fide of the Vale
of Picker! nj;^, and give palTage to the rivers
and brooks -.vhich take their rife in the
morelands, it has been faid, are moftly filled
with v>-ood. Formerly, it is probable confi-
derable plots of woodland were I'kcwife
fcattercd at the feet of thofe heights ; but if
there were, mofl of them are now done away :
fome few patches, however, remain.
On the fouthcrn banks of the Vale too arc
fcattered fome valuable tradts of woodland.
The TIMBER of thefe woods is chiefly oak,
with a fmall proportion of ash. Beech,
tven upon the limeflone heights, a fitnation
to
IT. YORKSHIRE. 235
to which it is peculiarly acKiptcd, fcldom if
ever occurs in jjatitral woods : a degree of
evidence this that the oak and the ash are
natives^ lineally defcended from the ancient
forefts which probably heretofore occupied
thefe hills -, and that the beech is -not a native
of this part of the kingdom. The limcftonc
heights of Glouceflerlhire, Herefordlhire,
and South Wales, are hung on every fide with
BEECH, growing, to all appearances, in a
ilate of nature.
The information wh;ch I have gained re^
fpefting the woodlands of the Diftriift under
furvey, falls under the following heads ;
1. Raifing. 4. Timber,
2. Selling. 5. Bark.
3. Felling, 6. Carriage.
I. Raising. The pradlice of raifing woods
from ACORNS, a practice which formerly has
evidently prevailed in different parts of the
ifland, cannot eafily be traced in this. In
fome few inflances, however, art may have
been employed ; but the generality of the
old well- timbered woods which were ftandino-
within the prefent century, but which now
arc
^3^ WOODLANDS. n.
are nearly extinguiflied, have, it is highly
probable, got up fortuHouJly from feedling.
plants, rifing in mgle^ed roughets : a fpecies
of propagation which is flill obfervable in
amoll every woody wafte -, and is in truth
Nature's only method of propagating
TIMBER OAKS,
An OAK which fprings from feed in an open
plai'/i, throws out horizontal branches on
every iid.-% and being browzed upon by
cattle takes ?ijhrub-like form. But oaklings
rifing in a thicket are fccure from the bite of
cattle, and arc taugl » by felf-prefcrvation tq
Ihoot upward with a fingle Jiem ; the fooner
to gam the afcendency of the Ihrubs which
furround them.
This early habii of {hooting upward, per-
haps, afterward promotes an upward ten-
dency. It is alfo probable that plants whofc
conjiituiions arc naturally weak, are unable to
cope with the difficulties v/hich furround
them ; corifequently that thofe which ftruggle
through hardfhips fp evidently great are of an
afpiring robuft nature. Be this as it may, it is
obfervable that oaklings which rife naturally
in thickets generally make tall vigorous
trees.
But
It.
YORKSHIRE. 237
But mofl of the woods which at prefint re-
main on this fide of the Vale have been raifed
from STOOLS of timber-trees formerly taken
down.
This method of railing woods is called
'« fpringing" them -, or, with greater pro-
priety, RE-SPRINGING them*, a praftice which
has long been prevalent in this country,
where coppice-wood is of lefs value than in
is in moil others, — fuel, hedging- materials,
and a few firkin-hoops being the only faleable
articles.
When a wood is intended to be resprung,
the timber is felled a few inches above
ground, leaving the bark of the ftools as
entire as poflible.
Before the young fhoots make their ap-
pearance, the GROUND is or ought to be
finally cleared from the fallen timber and
topwood, and the fences made up. If the
timber or topwood be fuffered to remain
among the flools until after they have made
their firft fiioot, much mifchicf will be done
in getting them off afterward. And if the
young faplings be fubjedled to the bite of
ftock, efpecially in their infant ftate, the
lofs v>^i]l not readily be retrieved.
For-
23S WOODLANDS. iU
Formerly, defending the timberlings from
foreign enemies was the only care beftowed
upon "young fprings-," and this perhaps
not very rigidly attended to» Now, the
fences are pretty ftridly kept up, and the
plants themfelves from time to time weeded,-^
provinciallyj " looked ;"* — ^that is, thinned i
the undervvood and crofs-growing timber*
iircrs being in this operation removed, to
give air and room to thofe which are more
promiling»
The bufinefs of weeding is generally de-
ferred until the weedling plants have acquired
a degree of usefulness ; by which means
the operation becomes doubly profitable.
The frjl thinning, I believe, is generally
given 'as foon as the undergrowth is large
enough for stakes, and the fecond when it is
long enough for rails; the former being
given at about ten, the latter at about twenty
years old. At every ten years afterward, for
half a century at leaft, pods as well as rails
may tycntrally be taken with double ad-
vantage.
Timberlings trained in this way will
reach, in a tolerable foil and a mild fituation,
thirty
tj, YORKSHIRE. 239
thirty to forty feet in height, and will
meafure from twenty to thirty inches in cir-
cumference, in about forty years.
It is obfervable, that when a wood is in-
tended to be fprung again for limber, the
entire ground is, or ought to be, ckared of
every tree great and fmall. Single trees, —
STANDAR.DS, — provincially, " wavers," — left
in a v/ood, under an idea of their being too
young and thriving to be taken down, fcldom
retain a luxuriancy of growth after the
neighbouring trees are removed j bur, by
their drip and Ihade, do certain injury to
the young faplings rihng round them.
It is alfo obfervable, that there is a great
inequality of fuccefs in raifing timber in this
way : while in fome inftances there will be
a tenfold fufnciency of llioots to be trained ;
in others too great vacancies will be found.
This is probably owing to management, or
to the AGE of the timbers taken down. A
youH^ wood may be fprung afrcfh with a de-
gree of certainty. But, perhaps^ there is dan-
ger as well as difficulty in regenerating an
eld one.
2. Selling. It has already been intimated,
that the large feedling-timbers which for-
merly
240 WOODLANDS. ii;
merly reared their heads in this Diftrift arc
now nearly extirpated. There is, I believe,
but one eftate, and that not of confiderable
magnitude, upon which any large timber can
now be found.
The AGE OF SELLING is therefore lower
here than in moft other countries. There
are inftances of fapling woods being fold at
foriy cr fifty years old -, and, when fituated near
a new Inclofure, are thought to pay better at
that age than they would have done had they
been fullered to Hand a longer time.
One fold at forty years old neated to the
feller about twenty pounds an acre. The
foil a cold fpringy clay ; — worth, in a flate
of ordinary improvement as arable land,feven
or eight Ihillings an acre. But it would coft
a confiderable portion of its value to change
it from a flate of woodland to that Hate.
Therefore, confidering the coll of improve-
ment in one cafe, and the profit of the wced-
Jing plants and underwood in the other, it is
much more eligible to keep it in its prcfent
llatc, or to improve it to the utmoft as Vv'ood-
land (there being in this inflance fcvcral va-
cant patches), than to fubjcd it to agricultural
management.
The
i\. YORKSHIRE. 241
The MODE OF DISPOSAL IS to fcU it In the
grofs, Jlandifig ; by auriion, or by private cen-
tral. The former, however, ii for the feller
the moft eligible mode of fale.
The buyers of timber arc generally men of
bufincfs ; profeffionally verfed in the value
of wood ; and able to make their own valu-
ation with fufficient accuracy, while the feller
is obliged to rely on the abilities and the inte-
grity of a third perfon ; who, being unin-
terefted in the fale, wants the grand flimulqs
to rigid accuracy.
But, in a sale by AucTioN,'with afufficient
number of bidders, the feller's valuation is of
little confequence : the bargain, in this cafe,
is transferred to the bidders : tke conteji is
not between feller and buyer, but between
bidder and bidder ; both (or all) of which
being judges of the lot under fale, the feller
has more than a fair chance of felling it for its
full value.
The METHOD OF VALUING gtown timber
is to eftimate every tree : not, however, by
an exadl admeafurcment of each : but by
taking the dimcnfions of a few with fufficient
accuracy. The valuer, having by this means
Vol. I. I^ adjufted
^4i WOODLANDS. n,
adjullcd the eye, he depends afterward up-
on that alone ; except now-and-then check-
ing it with the rod and line. If the trees be
of moderate girt, the rod and line are fome-
times difpenfcd with, by men in great prac-
tice •, who, with the arms only, can take the
girt and the ground-length with fufficient ac-
curacy.
3. Felling. The pra(5lice of refprlnging
fallen woods being the cflablifhed pradlice of
the country, that of felling timber trees a
few inches above ground is univerfally preva-
lent. Grubbing, or grub felling in the Nor-
folk manner, is feldom, if ever, pradtifed.
The PEELING of oak timber is generallv
done by the day ; the labourers being, I be-
lieve, invariably employed by the timber-
merchant, not by the tanner : praftices which
are productive of a confiderable faving of
b.uk, Men working by the ton or the quar-
ter, or tanners paying by weight or meafurr,
will not peel the boughs fulliciently near j it
is againft their intercft to do it. But it is the
inttrcfiiof the timber-merchant, or of the tan-
ner, if he purchafe by the grofs, or by the ton
ftf timber, to peel fo long as the bark will
pay
it. YORKSHIRE. 243
pay for the labour. This accounts for the
fmallnefs of the twigs which are peeled in
this country : if the bark run freely, twigs
not much thicker than the linger are fre-
quently ftripped.
The method of DRYING bark in this coun-
try is generally the common one of fctting it
in a leaning poUure againft poles lying hori-
zontally, on forked Hakes. But inawetfeafon,
or when the ground is naturally moid, it is
laid acrofs a line of topwood, formed into a
Iwind of banklet, raifmg the bark about a foot
from the ground. By this "pra^ice no part
of the bark is fuffered to touch the ground :
and it is, perhaps, upon the whole, the bcfl
pradice, in all feafons and fituations.
4. Timber. For oak timber, the prin-
cipal markets have hitherto been the ports of
Whitby and Scarborough. But there is now
Very little fliip timber left. The feedling
woods are few and fmall •, and faplings in ge-
neral Handing thick upon the ground, perhaps
three or four from a ftool, rife too ftraighr,
arid are yet much too young, for the purpofes
of Hiip-building. It is a fadt, however, that
atprefent (1787) the fpivk of lliip-building
R 2 i$
244 WOODLANDS. it,
is fo fiat, that: fcarce as Ihip timber is reallj
become, the market is now overftockcd.
I'he medium price of77;//>-timber, deli-
vered at the ports, is 3 1. to three guineas a
ton of forty feet. But the price varies with
the times, and ftili more according to th«
quality, that is the crookedness of the wood.
Oak timber, fit for the purpofe of the i&oo/?-
carpenier^ may now be bought for fourteen
pence a foot.
Ash timber is chiefly worked np by the
carizvrigbts ; and by ccopers into butter-
firkins and dairy iitenfils. The price one
fh.liing to eightcenpence a foot in the flick.
This fimilarity of price between afii and
of.k is owing to fcvcral caufcs : the prefent
want of demand for oak •, the prefent fcarcity
of aili ; and to the circumfiance of afii tim-
ber being, on the fpot, at its principal mar-
ket ; whereas oak requires to be carried
twenty miles before it can be placed in a fimi-
lar fituation.
5. Bark. Oak bark is here fold to the
tanner ready-prepared for his \ife. The tim-
ber-merchant not only dries it in the wood,
but
ii. Y O R K 5 H I R E.' 245
but flacks or houfes it; and generally fhives
and chops it ready for the tan- pit ; felling it
to the tanner at fo much a quarter.
This cuftom appears to be founded on a
falfe bafis : the tanner is, or ought to be, the
belt judge of the mode of preparation, and
the operation ought to pafs under his eye.
The pradtice o^ grinding bark does not feem
to have yet got footing in the Diftridl : when-
ever it does, it will of courfe bring the pre-
paration of bark into its proper channel.
The medium^r;V^of chopt bark, 10 s. 6d.
a quarter.
6. Carriage. The carriage of timber
has long been a diftindl employment in this
part of the Diftrifl. The price for twenty
miles, the nearcft diftance, is about 15 s. a ton
of forty feet j for forty miles, the iongeil: dif-
tance, 30 s. has been given :---^this is, in both
, cafes, nine pence a ton a 7nile^
Suppofing the price of oak timber at the
ports to be three pounds a ton ; and that it
lies at the weftern extremity of the Vale j the
carriage reduces the price, in the place of
growth, to 30 s. a ton •, which is one-half
of the price at market. But timber which
R 3 grows
246 WOODLANDS. xu
grows only twenty miles from the ports is re-
el aced in price by carriage only one-fourth of
its market-price ; and that grown within ten
miles of market, no more than one-eighth *.
Thefe circumftances fhow, in a flriking
manner, the advantage of propagating timber
in the neighbourhood of fliip-yards j and
point out the impropriety of raifing it at a
diftance from water-carriage ; or fome elta-
blifiied inland-market.
II. Plantations. The fpirit pf plant-
ing can fcarcely be faid to have gained a foot-
ing in the DiftriCt under furvey.
Of late years the paffion of taking dpwa
has been much (Ironger than that of raifing
up. Indeed, in fome parts of it, the na-
tural WOODLANDS wbich abound render
PLANTATIONS lefs ncceffary.
But
* Some years ago the price of ordinary afli timber,
St Scarborough, was 1 1 d. a foot. I knew an inflance
cf a parcel being carried fomcwhat more than twenty
m'les (the inland-market being of courfe over-ftocked)
:ir the rate of 5 d. a foot for carriage. This reduced the
price to 6d. a foot in the place of its growth. Had
fuch afli 'imber been carried at thofe prices from the
cxtiemity of the Vale, it would have ncatcd only 2d.
a foot.
ir. YORKSHIRE. 247
But upon the wolds and other heights adja-
cent to the Vale, shelter-plaxtations are
every where wanted; and it mufl be a mat'
ter of aftoniihment to every one who gives it
a moment's refledtion, that the fpirit of plant-
ing fhould in thefe fituations have lain dor-
mant fo long.
Upon the WOLDS, however, it has at length
roufed into adlion. Sir Geo. Strickland
has Icattercd a number of fheltering clumps
upon the heights towards Malton ; and Sir.
Christopher Sykes and others are placing
ikreen plantations upon the bleak fwells of
the higher wolds. Should this laudable fpi-
rit diffufe itfclf into a general pradice, not
only the face of this fine paflagc of country,
but the very foil, or at leaft its produce and
value, will in a fhort time be changed.
The ikreen plantations which 1 have cb-
ferved upon the wolds are all of the miscel-
LANLOus kind ; — pines and deciduous trees
of various forts mixt together.
It flrikes mc, however, that the beech
alone would be the moil eligible tree to be
propagated upon the wolds : it is peculiarly
adapted to calcareous foils ; and thrives
R 4 with
24^ WOODLANDS. U,
with {ingiilar vigour in expofed fituations.
Upon the chalky hills of Surrey and Kent it
is the prevailing timber tree. Upon the
hills about Amcrfham in Buckinghamfhire,
too, a chalky foil, the beech thrives with un-
common beauty and luxuriance : and its
wood feems to be growing daily into eftima-
tion.
Sowing the mafhs in drills, and cultivating
the intervals, is perhaps the mod eligible
method of propagating this tree for the pur-
pofe here mentioned.
In the Vale, the almoll only plantations
which have been made with a view to utility,
are fmall clumps of Scotch fii\ planted for
the purpofc of giving Iheltcr and fhade to
pafturing-ilock.
There is one inftance, however. In which
a more regular plan of improvement has
been chalked out and executed.
This inftance of improvement having been
prolecutcd with judgment and perfeverance,
TiHd by one from whom I have received more
uk'tul ideas in planting than from any other
man I have converfed with, is noticeable.
'^'^t fi'.Q of improvement was a low moory
fwamp.
II. YORKSHIRE. 549
fwam^, lying barely ?.^ove the level of a ri-
vulet running by the fide of it. The fub- foil
a blue^cky : the top-foil a black peat earth,
of an irregular depth ; varying from a foot
to three or four feet deep. The turf, a mat
of rufhes, fedges, and other palullrian
weeds, equally unpalatable and unproducr
tive, either of hay or pafturage j fome parts
of it being dangerous to ilock. The form
triangular : the area, containing nine or ten
acres, an entire flat ; except a gentle defcent
towards the longeft corner. The fttuaUoiiy
though low, extretneiy chilling, being ex-
pofcd on every fide in a naked watery plain.
The Improvements obvioully requifite in
this cafe, were ivarmth, and a proper degree
of drynefs.
To obtain thefe, the rivulet and the fur-
rounding ditches were deepened ; and a deep
counter ditch, or main drain, funk at a diftance
from the boundary fence 5 leaving an irre-
gular border, of five to ten yards wide, en-
tirely round the area of the fite of Improve-
ment, which by this limple operation alone
was removed fufFiciently out of the water's
\(2y ', except at the lowed extremity, where
the
5-50 WOODLANDS. n.
the main dr^in had its outlet into the ri-
vulet.
The BORDER, too, by the fame operation,
was laid fufficiently dry for the purpofe of
PLANTING.
The loweft extremity, and the moifter
part of the margin next the rivulet, were
planted with aquatics ; the drier parts
with FOREST TREES of various fpecies.
It is now fourteen or fifteen years fince this
improvement was firftfet about. The border
of planting begins already to have, at fome
diftance, the cffeft of an entire plantation of
equal circuit •, while the area within enjoys
all the advantage which Ihelter can give it.
What remains to be faid here rcfpcdting
the effec^ of the improvement under detail,
is to pnention the prefent ilate of growth,
and the comparative progrefs of the differ-
ent SPECIES of FOREST TREES Upon a DRAIN-
JED MOORY SOIL *.
It is an opinion of the improver of this
plot of ground, that a drai.nted moor is the
^ The further 'unprovenicnr of the aria '.vill be men-
bcned ia its pr. per place.
irisfi
II. YORKSHIRE, 251
4rieji of foils : an opinion founded on his own
experience. The fummers of Eighty-five and
Eighty-fix were very dry i the plantation
made little progrefs, and the area was un-
productive. This year (1787) the fummer
has been mqlft ; — the tjrees and the grafs are
equally luxuriant.
MooRY SOIL, when perfectly dry, repels
water like a dry fpunge-, but, like this,
when once it is faturated with moifture, it re-
tains it lonjrer than common earth does.
o
But a moor, effedlually drained, and placed
gbove the level of collected moifture, is not
readily filled v/ith water ; it may therefore
be juftly ranked among the drieji foils.
This accounts for the rapid progrefs which
the BIRCH and the Scotch fir (both of
them mountain plants) have made in thcfe
plantations. In the drier parts they are more
than twenty feet high ; far outftrlppingr
^very other fpecies ; except
The Norway srpuce, which, for the
firft ten or twelve years atleaft, thrives vigor-
oufly. But fome plants of this fpecies, plant-
ed fourteen or fifteen years ago, are getting
Tagged, and appear to be in an unthriving
ftatp.
252 WOODLANDS. u,
ilate. But whether this be owing to the fe-
verity of the late winters, or whether the
roots, being now crampt for room, have got
down to the uncultivated moor, or the cold
barren clay which lies under it, is uncertain.
The American spruce, too, the pine-
aster, the LARCH, and the Virginia cedar,
thrive 'abundantly in this Toil and lituation ;
but none of rhcfe have been planted more
than feven or eight years.
The ASH and the broad-leaved elm alfo
make a promifing appearance ; but the oaks,
though they look healthy, do not Ihoot up-
ward *,
On the rnoiiler parts the alder t:ikes the
lead. But the ash, the asp, the poplar, and
the OSIER, grow with fufficient luxuriance,
to {[vcw that their fiLuation is perfectly agree-
able to them.
A
• This, however, is ihoiight to be owing more ro
Kite fpring frofts tha.n to the nutuie of the foil. Silver
firs iiuve done worfe than tlie oaks j but flioots fcvcr^l
'juhcs in length have been evidently obferved to be
nipped off by fummcr frofls ; which, it is obferved, are
much llrongcr in low than in high fituatlons ; owinr,
perhaps, to the greater tjuuntity of int;iftiirein the air :
This, at leaft, accounts for the extn.ordinary quantity
■ vf htar in lov, fituations,
IT. YORKSHIRE. 253!
A patch of oziERS were kept dov/n, expe-
rimentally, as an o7,ier bed. The growth
was luxuriant; and the profit, the llcond to
the fifth year, ample ; the produce, at icall,
five pounds an acre yearly : but the plants
beginning to decline, and an ozier ground
not being calculated to give the required
Shelter, the experiment was not purfucd. The
cziers which were fuffered to run up from the
firfi: planting, have already been cut for
rails.
Gen. Obs. Upon the v/hole, it appears to
me evident, that the osier, the ash, and the
BIRCH are the mofl eligible fpccies to be
planted on a drained moor ; keeping them
in a flatc of coppice wood, and felling the
inner and outer edges of the border alter-
nately : the firit fall for flakes ; the fecond
and fucceeding falls for rails.
By this means a perpetual ^.hzlter
would be fecurcd.
A few Scotch firs planted at proper dif-
tances upon the margins, and kept pruned on
the inner fides, would add a degree of orna-
ment, without being defirudive of utility.
F A R M S.
«54 FAR M S. Hi
12.
FARMS.
THE SIZES OF FARMS vary in dlf^
fcrent parts of the Diflricl. On the Wolds^
they are principally large ; in the Vale and
the MoRELANDS, extremely fmalh
Confidering the Vale diftinclly, more than
half of its lands are laid out in farms under
twenty pounds a-yeaf. Perhaps three-fourths
of the Vale and the lands belonging to it lie
in farms of Icfs than fifty pounds a-year.
In the weft marfiies, and in the richer
PARTS OF THE Vale, low moift fituations,
inhabitants arc thinner, and farms larger.
But viewing the Vale colledlively, there
is not perhaps in this kingdom another Dlf-
tridt of equal extent, and of which hus-
bandry is the PRIMARY OBJECT, which con-
tains fo great a number of farms^ or rather
parcels of land in diftindl occupation ; many
ot them being occupied not by tenants
but by OWNERS.
The
jl. YORKSHIRE. 255
The advocates for small farms will con-
ceive that a Diftrifl thus laid out muft necel-
farily excel in hulbandry ; and that the fu-
periorit}' of management mull of courfe be
in proportion to their degree of fmallnels.
On the contrary, however, no country per-
haps affords flrongcr evidence of the tallacy
of thofe conceptions. A mixture of good and
bad management is evident in every quarter
of it; and it is on the larger, nol on the
/mailer farms, we find a spirit of improve*
memt, and a superiority of management
prevail.
Poverty and ignorance are the ordinary in-
habitants of fmall farms : even the fmaller
eflates of the yeomanry are notorious for bad
management.
It is on the larger efcates of yeomanry, and
on the larger farms of tenants, we muft look
for the befl practice of the Diftricl.
It is not meant that a regular gradation of
management can be traced by the magnitude
of farms : many exceptions might be pointed
out. Nor does it foUo'^ from the evidence
of this Diftridl that very large farms are con-
ducive to good management. An occupier
of
256 FARM S. Hi
of eight hundred or one thoufand pounds
a-year is too fully employed with the out-
lines of managemer.t to attend fufficiently
tOMiNUTii^, much lefs to conceive and e:jf:e-
cute ufeful improvements* His beft ma-
nagement is to prefs forward in the beaten
track of the country he farms in ; depending
upon the amplenefs of his bufinefs to make
up the deficiencies arifing from the unavoid-
able ncgleft of minutial matters.
The CHARACTERISTIC OF FARMS IH thc
Vale is crass, with a fmaller proportion of
arable land.
Formerly, thc area of the Vale was princi-
pally grafs, and thc margins open arable
fields. Now, the latter is inclofed, and prin-
cipally applied to the ufe of the dairy ;
while the former is much of it fubjedcd to
arable. management.
Upon the whole, although the admixture
of Au ABLE be confiderable, the Vale in a ge-
neral point of view comes under the deno-
mination of A GRASSLAND COUNTRY.
FARMERS.
it. YORKSHIRE. 257
13-
FARMERS.
FROM WHAT has been fald in the lart:
fedtion on Farms, a general idea of the
Farmers of the Vale may be gathered.
Among the lower clafs of tenants little in-
formation can be expefted, and Hill lefs
from the inferior yeomanry^ whofe fcanty pof-
feffions are too frequently marked vyith an in-
feriority of management.
It is from the fuperior clafs of yeomanry,
and from fome few principal tenants, we mud
expedtto learn the belt pradice of the coun-
try. Ic is on the farms of men whofe indepen-
dency, converfation, and perhaps reading, has
led them to think and a6: without prejudice,
v/e muft expedto find a fuperiority of general
management, and a fpirit of improvement
prevail.
It has long been obferved in the economy
of nations, that where liberty is eflablifhed
Vol. I. S there
458 FAR M E R S. i^.
there commerce 'and the arts flourifh. And
it is equally oblcrvable in Rural Economy,
that where independency refides, there agri-
Cidture improves. A man cultivating his
own eftate enjoys the higheft degree of
independency ; a leafe-tenant the next j
tenants at will the loweft.
It has already been intimated, that in this
Diftridt tenants at will (fome very few per-
haps excepted) have loft all confidence, and
confequently have loft even their ideal in-
dependency. They dare not improve left unfair
advantage flioiild be taken cf their improve-
ments. It has alfo been laid that leafes arc
yet but little in ufc.
Therefore, among the yeomanry alone
we muft look for that degree of indepen-
dency which is effentially neccHary to im-
provements in agriculture.
No couniry of equal extent can boaft offo
numerous a body of yeomanry as the Vale
liiidcr furvcy ; noranv country, I will venture
t3 arnrm, where induftry and economy are
more confpicuous ; or where a perfonal in-
dependency is fo ftrongly rooted among
men in middle life.
W O R K-
14. YORKSHIRE. 25^
14.
WORKMEN.
THE YEARLY SERVANTS of this
Diflridt are noticeable for the highnefs of
their wages, and the lownefs of their living,
and for the length of their working hours.
The WAGES of an able man-fervant, twelve
to fifteen pounds a-year. During the late
war, fifteen to eighteen pounds were given !
But the fimplicity of their diet more than
compenfates for the extraordinary height of
their wages. Milk Hill remains here a food
of farmers fervants. In fome places, animal
food three times a day is expedted; here, once
a day (except perhaps in haytime and har-
veft) is confidered as fufficient.
In MALT-LIQUOR tck), the farm-fctvants of
this country are equally moderate.
Neverthelefs, if one may judge from their
appearance, and from the quantity of labour
they difpatch, their mode of living is con-*
ducive to health.
Sa The
160 BEASTS OF LABOUR. i^.
The TIME OF CHANGING SERVANTS whlch
prevails through this country is Martinmas''''
(iVov. 2 2.). The convcnicncy of this time
of changing fervants, and the inconveniency
of changing at Michaehiias, have been point-
ed out on a former occafion -j-.
^5-
BEASTS of LABOUR.
TI JE LONG-AGITATED difpute about
the fuperiority of oxen or horses as beafts
of draught, miiy here be confidered with fin-
gular propriety. But I am afraid even this
country will not furnifh fufficicnt evidence
for a final dccifion.
Formerly, and from time immemorial,
four or fix oxen in yokes led by two horfcs,
aUo doubl::', were the invariable " draught'*
* Excepting C LEV a LAND, where Mayday is a more
g'-nci"iil time ot" changing.
I Sec MiNuiLsoF Agriculture— Dates lo and
13 OcAOEkR 1775.
or
1$, YORKSHIRE. aOi
or team of the country ; nor only upon the
road, but in plowing. Even in flirring a faU
low, four oxen and two horfes were generally
confidered as requiiite. And in breaking up
a fallow, two men and a boy were the com-
mon attendants of this unwieldy expenfive
team.
At prefent, there is not perhaps through.
out the Vale a fingle ox employed in tillage :
two horfes with whip-reins without a driver
is now the univerfal plow-team for all foils,
in almoft every ftate.
Upon the road, however — that is to fay, in
farm- carriages— oxen are flill in ufe ; but
feldom more than a fingle pair to a carriage ;
— generally at the pole, with two or three
horfes at length before them. Befides, a num-
ber of entire horfe-teams now travel upon the
roads ; things which formerly were unknowi^
in the country,
On a general view, and in the opinion of
men whofe age entitles them to be judges of
the fubjc6l, there is not kept at prefent one-
fourth of the working oxen which formerly
were employed in the Vale,
S 3 Shall
262 BEASTS OF LABOUR. 15,
Shall we hence argue, that becaufc oxen
have declined, they are ineligible asbeafls of
draught ? It might be unfair to do it.
There are two evident caufes of the decline
of oxen in this country.
Formerly, there was not only m-uch more
land in tillage, but the plow of thofe days
was a heavy ill-lbsped implement, requiring
at leafl one pair of oxen extraordinary to
draw it ; yet, unwieldy as it was, the quan-
tity of land then in tillage required that it
fliould be worked in all feafons. At prefent,
the plow in ufe is admirably conftrudted ; — ;
light and well fomicd for paffing through
the foil. With this plow, and with the land
in feafon, it is found that the two horfes alone
without the oxen are fufficient for the pur-
pofe of tillage. This, in a country where the
breeding of horfes had long been an efta-
blifhed pradice, was a fufficient caufe of ibe
difufe of oxen inplozving.
Their decline upon the road is in part ow-
ing to the fame caufc. Four horfes make
two plow teamSjandoccafionally a road team.
This accounts, in fome meafure, for the in-
crcafe of horfe-tcams upon the road j but it is
not
15, YORKSHIRE. -263
not the only caufe of their increafe. When
oxen were in common ufe, the roads lay in
their natural flat ftate ; deep in winter, and
foft to the hoof in fummcr : now they are
univerfally a rough caufeway of lime-ftones,
in all feafons unfriendly to ihe feet of oxen.
Even fhoeing is found incfFcdlual when they
go conftantly upon the road.
Under this change of circumftances it \i
no wonder that the ufe of oxen fliouid have
declined. On the contrary, it appears to me
a matter of furprifc that fo great a number
fhould flill be employed; a circumllance
•which, in my mind, evinces their utility as
beafls of draught.
Even the timber-carriers (an induflrious,
wary fet of men) continue to ufe them ;
tho' their fole employment be upon tlie road.
They not only find them able to iland v.-crk-
ing every day, provided their feet do not fail
them ; but what is n.uch in their favour,
they are found to ftand long hours htler than
hprfes going in the fame pafture. An ox in
a good paflure foon fills his belly, and
lays himfelf down to reft j whereas a Ihort
S 4 fummer's
204 BEASTS OF LABOUR. ^5.
fummer's night fcarcely affords a horfe time
enough to fatisfy his hunger.
Another advantage of oxen is here held
out. In {liff pulls of every kind, moft efpe-
cially in going up fteep hills, a pair of oxea
are conlidered as a Iheet-anchor. Horfcs, it
is argued, are fearful, and foon iofe their
feet in a fteep flippery road ; while oxen,
where they are unable to proceed, will always
ftand their ground. Indeed oxen feem to be
confidered as effentially neceflary in an auk-
ward hilly country.
This idea, in a country where half-bred
hunters are the principal horfes ufed in
draught, is no doubt well founded; but
where thorough-bred cart-horfes are in ufe,
it lofes much of its weight.
But what are thorough-bred cart-horfes >
"Why, a fpecies of ilrong heavy fluggifli ani-
mals,adapted folely to the purpofe of draughty
and, according to the prcfcnt law of the
country, cannot, without an annual expence,
which no one beftovvs upon them, be ufed
for any other purpofe.
This fpecies of beads of draught coft, r.t
four years old, from twenty to thirty pounds i
wills
?5. Y O R K S H I Pv E. 265
will, with extravagant keep, extraordinary-
care and attendance, and much good luck,
continue to labour eight or ten }tars •, and
may then generally be fold ior five Hiillings
a head.
If we had no other fpecies of animals
adapted to the purpofe of draught in the
ifland, nor any one which could be natu-
ralized to the climate, cart-horfes would be
truly valuable ; they being much fuperior
to the breed of faddle-horfes for the purpofe
pf draught.
But it appears to me evident, from theexr
perience I have had, and the obfcrvations I
have ma:de, that were only a fmall fliare of
the attention p-id to the bts-EEDing o£
draught-oxen, which now is beflowed on the
breeding of cart-horfes ; animals equally
powerful ; more aftive •, lefs coilly ; Cv-^ually
adapted to the purpofes of husbandry, (if
harnefied with equal judgment) ; lefs ex pen-
five in keep and attendance; much more du-
rable ; and infinitely more valuable after
thev have finifhed their labours — mioht b'-'
produced *.
* 1 do not mean to Iniiinate that any breed of oxcu
lyould be equnlly fit as borfcs for xhc road cnlj : I have
had
j66 BEASTS OF LABOUR. 15.
Oxen, here, are all worked in yokes, and
always ied by one or more horfes. They arc
ufually broke in at two or three years old ;
and worked until they be riling fix •, when
they are bought up for the Midland or South-
country graziers.
Conlidcring oxen as rearing cattle which
are worked occaiionally during the years of
growth, this plan of management is eligible
enough ; but viewing thera abftradedly as
heajis of draughty that mode of treatment is
very injudicious : they are worked while
they are feeble for want of age, aukward for
v.'ant of experience,andthick-\vindtd through
a fullnefs of growth ; and thrown up fo foon
as they have learnt to know their duty, and
are become able to ftand work, -
A fteer,
l\ad no experiercc ff cither of thcni in this land of
cmpleyment j which is foreign to the prcfent fubjciTl ;
let carriers and draymen mikc their own elecftion. All
I contend for is, tliat, were a proper iittcntion paid to
BREED, oxen, and fpayed hjifcrs, equally ns fit for
:he purpofes of tillage, the carriage of manure, hay,
corn and f jcI, and for every ether purpofe of draught
!n the ordinary bufmefs of husbandry, as the hea-
vy cart-horfcs at prcfent ia ufe, m'g.lit be 9btalncd.
,5. YORKSHIRE. 267
A fcecr, like a colt, ought to be famili-
arized to harnefs at two or three years old ;
but fliould never be fubjeded to hard labour
until he be five years old : from which age,
until he be fifteen or perhaps twenty, he may
be confidered as in his prime as a bcaft of
draught. An ox which I worked feveral
years in Surrey, might, at feventeen or eigh-
teen years old, have challenged, for ftrength,
agility and fagacity, the beft-bred cart-horfe
in the kingdom. .
The SPECIES of ox worked in this Diftridt
will appear under the head Breed of
Cattle.
I M P L E
its IMPLEMENT S. j^.
i6.
IMPLEMENTS.
The Implements of the Vale which require
to be noticed are,
1. Waggons. 4. Moulding fledges,
2. Plows. 5. Machine fans.
3. The common
fledge.
I. Waggons. The waggons and other
•wheeLcarriages of the Vale are, with refpeft
10 fize, much below par. — A full-fized wag-
gon does not mcafyre more than forty cubi-
cal fecr. The ox-cart — provincially " cood"
— about twenty-four feet.
Their conflruSlioriy though in many refpetls
lingular, is pafled over, as being no way pe-
culiarly cxcellerit *. But they have a defeSi
which
E::cci ting in two petty rnprovcmcrits which I
)i»ve not observed cllcwhere. The one is a fimplc im<.
piovciucn^
i6. YORKSHIRE. 269
\vhich requires particular notice -, as it is not
peculiar to the Yorklhire waggon ; but is
common, in a greater or lei's degree, to the
carriao-es of every other Diftrid:.
The Turnpike-road Acft, made in the thir-
teenth year of the prefent reign, orders,
*' that no pair of fuch wheels, (common
three inch wheels) pafiing on turnpike roads,
being above twenty miles froir. London,
fhall be wider than four feet fix inches from
inlide to infide, to be mcafured on the
ground ;" (that is, four feet nine inches from
middle to middle of the ruts) " under the pe-
nalty of five pounds !"
, The
provement of the Wheel-washer provlncially
•' Runnel" which frequently iVicklng i;i the end
of the nave, \vcai'3 oil' the ends of the Unch-pin;
thereby lofmg its principal intention t The improve-
ment is made by placing a knob on the outer furfucc of
the Walher; which, catching the end of the linch-p;n,
prevents its turning round with the whf^el ; bv which
means the entire fridion is, as it ought to be, between
the Waflier and the end of the nave. Accidents fre-
quently happen for want ol this precaution. The
other improvement is a Falling-door in the bcxitom
of the fore part of the waggon ; for the more caly de-
livery of lime, coals, and other body-lcuds.
^70 IMPLEMENTS. i6.
The wao-p'ons of the Midland counties
(the fize of them extraordinary large) run
the width of five feet two or three inches
from middle to middle of the rut. Thofe
of Gloucefterlhire (of the middle fize) run
four feet nine inches wide : thofe of the Vale
of Pickering only four feet three inches.
All thefe widths are much too fmall for the
refpedive fizes of the carriages : and how
the framers of the Bill above-mentioned
could impofe a reftridtion evidently tending
TO deftroy the roads they were endeavouring
to preferve, is a matter of furprize.
In the article Roads, page 184, the cficds
of carriages pafilng upon Ihelving roads (of
the nature of which every barrelled turnpike-
road more or lefs partakesj have been men-
tioned. The damage will always be in pro-
portion to the inclination of the road, to the
height of the load, and to the narrownefs of
the fpan of the wheels, confidered jointly.
The center of gravity of the load, (inclu-
ding^ the carriage) and the two points of the
peripheries of the wheels, (of a two-wheeled
carriage) which are in contadl with the road,
form a triangle. Thv cxrremity of damage
is
i6. YORKSHIRE. 271
is when the load is in the cquipoife of over-
turning; the entire weight of the load and
carriage reding at that time upon one wheel;
which, in that cafe, injures the road juft ns
much as a load of twice the weight would
O
do pafilng upon a level road. Whenever
either fide of the triangle above-defcribed is
brought into a perpendicular pofition, the
load is in the injurious equilibrium.
Thefe prcmifes being duly confidered, it
is obvious that there are three ways of redu-
cing the perpendicularity of the line ; con-
fequently of prev-enting a loaded carriage
from being placed in fo deftruttivc and dan-
gerous a (late. Firft, by railing the deprcf-
fed corner of the triangle; that is, by bring-
ing the road nearer to a level : fccond, by
Ihortening the fides of the triangle ; that is,
by lowering the center of gravity of the
load ; or, in other words, reducing the height
of the carriage: third, by lengthening the
bafe of the triangle ; that is, by widening the
fpan, or placing the wheels farther afundcr.
Thefe things are mathematically demonilra-
ble; but as they muft appear obvious to every
one acquainted with the rudiments of fci-
encc.
272 IMPLEMENT S. i^.
ence, it would be wrong to load the prefent
volume with a more minute explanation.
But the injury of the roads is only one part!
of the mifchicf ariiing from the wheels of
carriages running too narrow. The increafe
of draught (fee Roads, p. 181.); the ex-
traordinary f;refs and wear of the carriage ;
and the evil effects of overturning; — are mat-
ters of fiill more importance to farmers, and
other proprietors of carriages.
It would, perhaps, be in vain to conjec-
ture the means through which the prefent
widths of the fpan of carriages have been
eflablifned in different countries ; each of
which has its particular width ; otherwifethe
difi'iculty of paffingin rutty by-roads would
be greatly increafed.
In the prefent ftate of hufbandry and land-
carriage, and the prefent ftate of roads, it
appears tome evident, that gateways alone
ought to prefcribe bounds to the width of
carriages.
o
Farm gateways mcafure from eight feet
and a half to ten fccc wide. I know no ex-
traordinary inconvcnicncy arifing from a gate-
way of the latter widai j and through fuch a
gateway
i6. YORKSHIRE. 273
gateway there would be no difficulty in con-
dudlng a carriage with dilhed wheels run-
ning five feet or even fix feet wide.
This increafe of width would operate in a
variety of ways to the advantage of land-
carriage. Roads would be Icfs injured; team-
labour would be facilitated ; carriages would
laft longer ; and loads would be lefs expofcd
to danger than at prefent.
Nor would thefe be the only advantages :
the increafed difi:ance between the wheels
would admit of a proportional increafe in
the width of the body of the carriage ; and this
of a proportional reduftion of the height of
the load. Advantages thefe, befides the ad-
ditional flrength which the carriage vx'ould
by this means receive, which appear to mc
too obvious to require further argument *.
Vol. I. T 2. Plow
* Thefe principles are applicable to every fpscies
of carriage. The accidents which are daily occurring'
upon the roads form a fubjedt worthy of humanity. If
the ingenious promoter of the prefent improved mode
of conveying poll-letters would order his carriages to
be fo conlli-udted as to move U'jon bafes one foot wider
than the narrow foundations on which they at prefent
totter, we fliould hear of fewer bones being broken in
mail-coaches.
274 IMPLEMENTS. i6.
II. Plow. The plow at prcfent in uni-
vcrlal eftimation in the Vak is of the little,
iliort, winding-mouldboard fort, which in
different parts of the kingdom goes under
the name of the I)utch--plQZv, or the Torkpfirs
Plow.
On the conflrudtion of a fliip volumes have
been written, without any univerfally receiv-
ed principles being yet eftabliilied. The Ber-
mudians, who build by the tyt alone^ without
either drawing or gauge to alTift them, excel
all other nations in the conftrutflion of fmall
vefTels (the almoft only p-oduce of their
ilLmds) •, which are remarkable as fafl: failers,
and notorious for lying nearer the wind than
any other veffels.
Different as the fliip and the plow may be
in magnitude and general appearance, there is
fome fimilarity in the principles of their con-
fir u6l ion •, and the difiiculty of fixing thofe
principles, and of reducing them to a regular
theory, is nearly the fame in both. The art
of conrtruclion in cither cafe is principal! v
attained by pradlce.
In this Ditlrift, the fpccics of plow under
ROilce is in general conflruftcd better than
it
l6. YORKSHIRE. 275
it is perhaps In any other; yet even here, the
plows of different makers pafs through the
foil with various degrees of facility and exe-
cution : neverthelefs, though I have paid
fome attention to the different makes, I find
myfelf entirely incapable of laying down
fuch particular rules of conflruftion as would
do my country any fervice, or my work any
'credit. Even the general principles of con-
ftruction I mufl mention with diffidence.
The great difficulty, in the conflruclion of
a plow, is that of adapting it to all foils, in
all feafons, and to all depths.
If the foil break up in whole furrow, every
inch of depth requires, in ftridlnefs, a fepa-
rate plow, or a feparate regulation. Here
refls the main objection to the winding
MouLDBOARD, which admits of no regulation
in refpe*5t of depth.
If thefemi-nrc.b or hollow of the hindpart
t)f the mouldboard be raifcd fufRciently high
to turn a thick furrow completely, it is of
no ufe in turnino; a thin one. On the con-
trary, if it be brought down fufficienrly low
to nun a fhallow furrow properly, it is im-
T 2 poflible
276 IMPLEMENT S. 16.
poirible to turn a deep one with it in a work-
manlike manner. There is not room for it
within tlic hollow or fcmi-archway of the
mouldboard. The inevitable efFedl of this
is, either the furrow is forced away wholly
by the upper edge of the mouldboard and
fct on edge ; or the mouldboard rides upon
the furrow, railing the heel of the plow from
the ground ; the evil effcdls of which need
not be explained.
An UPRIGHT STERN, With E movcablc
HEELPLATEj to tum the futrow at any given
deptii, is in this pomt of view much pre-
ferable to a hollow mouldboard ; and if its
ufe in raifing a creft of mould for the pur-
pofe of covering the feed be added, its pre-
ference is fiill more confpicuous ; and I fee
no reafon why the Yorkfliirc plow fhould not
receive fo valuable an improvement.
The FOREPARTo of a Yorkfhlre plow of the
bed conftruftlon arc admirably adapted to
infinuate themfcives beneath the foil and
ralfc the furrow : a better form, perhaps,
cannot be conceived.
But
•j- Sec JMiNUTKS OF Agriculturi, Plate III,
|6. YORKSHIRE. 277
But the plows even of this neighbourhood
are far from being uniformly excellent in
that refped. The neck is frequently too
thick and the bosom too hollow : the former
creates an unneceffary fridion ; and the latter
forms a receptacle for loofe mould to lodge
in ; and both of them are detrimental to the
turning of the furrow. The bofom may be
made too full, but the neck cannot well be
made too fine on the off or outer edge.
The right-hand fide of the focket of the
SHARE ought to be brought down to a fliarp
angle, or rather to an edge ; the under iidc
being made flat, and as level as may be with
the under furface or foal of the plow. 'I he
part which is folded back to lay hold of the
bottom of the woodwork too frequently
fprms a foul protuberance on the foal, ren-
dering the plow unfleady ; — increafing the
fridtion unnecefTarily ; — and, by raifingup the
fin of the fhare, prevents it from adting pro-
perly.
The form of the Yorkfliire plow is not its
only excellency : the ordinary price of the
woodwork complete, is not more than feven
^lillings and fixpence ! the iron-work about
T 3 twenty
278 IMPLEMENTS. v6.
twenty ihillings, including plates for the
landfide and mouldboard. Cajl iron pktes^
fomewtiat refembling thofe of tlie Norfolk
plow, are now coming into nfe inflead of
wooden mouldboards. Thcfe vail reduce the
general price ilill lower.
III. The common Sledge. This petty im-
-plement will be confidered as unworthy of
notice by thofe who are unacquainted with
the ufes of it. Nevertlielefs, here, where
it is in common ufe, it is in univerfal efti-
mation.
For carrying harrows and other imple-
ments,— thorns and other rough wood, —
turneps when the ground is tender, &c. &c,
a fledge is frequently much preferable to a
cart or a waggon. Some are made fmall and
light for one hurfe j others ftrong and large,
to be drawn by a Learn of oxen or horfes.
The principal lingularity of conflrudion
confiils in a valuable addition to the com-
mon harrow-fledge of other countries. This
addition is made with two crofs-pieccs (like
the crofs-pieces of a cart or waggon)^ one
fixed uj,on Cach end of the body of the
fledge, projcdipg without the fide-pIeccs
about
,6. YORKSHIRE, 279
about ten or twelve Inches at each end. Upon
the extremities of thefe crofs-pieces are fixed
two rails, — provincialiy, ^* fhelvings," — one
on each fide ; thus increafing the width and
hoUownefs of the bed of the fledge, and
thereby rendering it capable of carrying ^
larger load with greater fleadinefs.
IV. Moulding Sledge. This implement^
I apprehend, is peculiar to Yorkfliirc.
Its USE is that of fmoothing the furfacc
of meadows ; at the fame time fprcading
the dung and molehills.
The CONSTRUCTION is that of the body of
the common ficdge, without its fide-rails and
crofs-pieces j the upper edges of the fide-
pieces (of the body of the fljdge) being for
this purpofe made perfedly flraight.
In ufe, it is drawn with the face downward,
and the fide forcmou, acrofs the ridges.
Its efedl is different from that of the
Landplane defcribed in the Minutes of
Agriculture, which having a middle bar,
ievcis the furface ; v/hercas this, having no
middle bar, only /moot k 5 it.
The FRONT BAR (namely, thc_y?^<f which is
drawn foremoft) forces off worm-cads, the
T 4. I'^i^'i'
28o IMPLEMENTS. 16.
rudiments of anthills, and other protube-
rances of the fnrface ; alfo collects the dung
of cattle and horfes, the molehills, and other
loofe incumbrances which lie in its way.
This collc<5iion of materials being driven
before the implement grind each other down
fine enough to lodge in the dimples and
fifTures of the fward, thus fmoothing the
furface in a two-fold way ; at the fame time
mixing, reducing, and diftributing the me-
liorating ingredients in the moft efredtual
manner.
The FRONT BAR is fometimes fhod with
iron, projedting with a hoe-like edge before
the woodwork. But this is unncceffary; and
is frequently injurious in defacing the fward.
The woodwork itfelf, while the adting angle
in front remains fliarp, is perhaps the beft :
but the angle foon wears off; by which means
the implement lofes its effcdt in removing
the more flubborn protuberances. An iron
bar fixed, net hencath^ but in \\-\q front of thq
woodvvork, the lower edge being fet flufh
with the face of the implement, ads in a
fimilar way to the wood itfelf, without being
lb liable on this to be worn away.
The
l6. YORKSHIRE. 28r
The ufc of the hind bar is to give firm-
nefs to the implement, and to finilh what the
front bar may by accident have left incom-
pleat •, the manner of adtlng being in both
of them the fame.
The length or width of this implement is
ufually fix to eight feet. The breadth, or
dimenfion from out-to-out of the front and
hind pieces, four to five feet. The depth of
thefe pieces fix to eight inches : their thick-
nefs about three inches.
Additional v/eight, if required, is given by
logs, ftoncs, or other heavy materials laid
upon the crofs bars which bind the two afl^
ing pieces together. In places where a par-
ticular exertion is requifite, the driver will
add his own weight by flepping on to the
implement, and remaining upon it until the
difficulties are pafTed.
V. Winnowing Machine. This excel-
lent machine is too well known as a ciiriofity
in moft parts of the kingdom, to require, in
this place, a general defcription *. But the
county
* The late Mr. Zharp of London made it fcvcial
years. ^7«/fliv of Margaret-l'treet, Cavendifh-fquare,
ilill makes it.
282 IMPLEMENTS. 16,
county under obfervation being the only one
in which its ufe has been eflablillied in com-
mon PRACTICE, it merits in this place parti-
cular notice.
We are probably indebted to the Chinefe,
or other eaftern nation, for the invention of
this machine. I have feen it upon an India
paper drawn with fufficient accuracy, t(3fhe\v
that thedraughtimanwas intimately acquaint-
ed with the uics of it. The Dutch, to whom
the invention has been afcribed, imported it,
in all probability, from the Eaft Indies. Be
this as it may, it indifputably came from
Holland into this country.
Its liril introduftion into the Vale w'as by
a gentleman of this neighbourhood, abont
five- and -thirty years ago. But the introducer
committing this complex machine to the care
of fervants, without paying attention to it
himfclf, it was, as might be expedled, foon
throv.n afide as ufclcfs.
Some time afterwards, however, it fell in-
to the hands of a fenfible fubftantial yeoman ;
, who, wi;a the afllitance of a friend, dlicover-
^d icb uftfulnefb, and reduced it to pra(5tice.
i6. YORKSHIRE. 283
My father, who had m:icle hiiiifelf mufler
of the excellencies and defedis of this pattern,
made one from it, with fome improvements.
This \yas the firfl which was made in the Dif-
tricl, and perhaps the firfl which was made
in Eno-land.
The utility of thefe being feen by fome dif-
cerning individuals, feveral others were con-
flrufted under my father's direftion. But,
notwithftanding many of them were kept in
comriion ufe, and vifited as fubjecls of ad-
miration, it was fome fifteen or twenty years
before they grew into popular eflimation.
Within the lafl ten or fifteen years, the
making of them has been a principal em-
ployment of Wrights and carpenters. At pre-
fent there is fcarcely any man, whofe farm-
ing is confiderable, without a " Machine
Fan."
The Construction of this machine has
undergone feveral alterations, and fome fevyr
improvements may have been made in it;
none of them, however, of moment, ex-
cept that of changing the materials of the
fails from boards to fheet-iron. Its com-
plexnefs is the only bar to its popularity.
Should
a84 THE WEATHER. 17,
Should a happy fimplifiCatlon of it be hit
vipon, it mull inevitably rulh into univerfal
practice.
The prefent price about Ave guineas.
Its ufcs will be Ipoken of under Bark
Management,
17-
TH E W E A T H E Ro
THE BAROMETER here, as in other
places, has its advocates and its revilers.
But neither of them appear to view it in its
true light. The former fpeak well of it, be-
caufe it has more than once faved their hay
or their corn from damage : the latter re-
vile, or perhaps break it, becaiifc they have
been caught in the rain when the iveather-
glafs was above changeable : expcding that
the ghfs fliould indicate the weather with
the fame precifion that a clock or a watch
c^oes the time of the day.
But
i;. YORKSHIRE. 28^
But this is fomcwhat unrcafonable : it
would, indeed, be equally philolbphical to
quarrel with the Icales when the guinea is
under weight. It is quarrelling with the
laws of nature, not with a glals tube and
quickfilver.
All that the barometer pretends to is to
afcertain the weight of the atmosphere,
which it does with great delicacy and ac-
curacy : it is beyond the power of mechanifnt
to form fo fine a balance.
To the ridiculous tables of the Jews and
ether makers (who ought to have judged bet-
ter) we muft afcribe thofe difappointments
which have brought their inflrument into
undeferved difrepute. If inll:cad of fair, rain,
and changeable, they bad fubftitutcd heavy,
light, and medium, or merely a fcalc of de-
grees, the barometer would have been con-
lidered what it really is, a balance for afcer-
taining the weight of the atmofphere ; not
what it never was or can be, /;/ itfelf, an in-
fallible prognollicator of the weather.
In a former work * I digcfled my ideas on
this fubjed fully and circumfpedlly. It is
now
* Experiments and Observations concerning
Agriculture and the Weather.
2S6 THE WEATHER, 17,
now more than leven years fince that work
was written; durhig which period I have
continued to pay, in the fummer months of
almofl every year, ftricl attention to the
weather. My fuccefs has been almoft uni-
form, much beyond any thing my expedlation
could have fliggefted.
My THEORY and practice flill remain
•unchanged. The setting sun and the ba-
rometer, taken 7>/«//y, not feparately, have
been my chief dependance : other appear-
ances, the WIND, and the degree of heat,
have, in doubtful cafes, lent their afiiftance.
'What I mean to fay further on the fub-
jedat prefent is, to recommend to every man
eoncerned in matters of hufbandry to pay due
attention to the weather. 1 know from my own
experience (even though I may have been in
fome degree fortunate) that much may be
faved by it.
He muft not, however, expeflthat a fore-
knowledge of the weather is readily learnt :
like holding the plow, and judging the qua-
lit^- of ftock, it requires confiderablc prac-i
T1C£.
In
jy. YORKSHIRE. 287
In hc.y-tinie and harvcft, let hi:7i give an
eye to atniofpherical appearances, and at-
tend to the fetting fun as a bufinefs of the firft
importance ; and let him confider his baro-
meter as a ufefid implement of hufof.ndry.
In the courfe of a few fummers he will
find himfelf enabled to forefee the weather
with the fame kind of practical klnow-
LEDGE as that which tolls him what hay is
fit for the {lack, and which bullock will pay
beft for grazing.
The PROGRESS OF SPRING, 17*7, Picker-
ino; Yorklhire.
The grofsberry foliated, — lo March,
The fallow in full blow, — 5 April.
One fwallow, near water,— 12 April.
White-thorn foliated, — 18 April.
Swallows about houfes, — 27 April.
Cuckow firft heard, — 6 May.
Swifts, — 12 May.
Oak foliated, — 29 May.
Hawthorn blowed,io June.
A fh foliated, — 11 June.
During May, cold pinching winds j and
in the beginning of June, a very fmart froft.
^ery.
a^8i T H E W E A T H E R. i/.
^ery, Do thefe circumflances account for
the unufual difference in the time of folia-
tion of the oak and the afh, and the blowing
of the hawthorn; which in a common year
happen within a few days of each other ?
The roots of the oak lie low -, thofe of the
afh and hawthorn fuperficially.
In June^ heavy rains fet in ; and continu-
ed, almoft without intermifiion, until De-
cember. So wet a fummer has feldom— per-
haps fcarcely ever — happened. Hay in gene-
ral was fpoilt ; and thoufands of acres of
corn were little lefs than wafted in the field 5
a circumilanccj perhaps, entirely new in the
annals of huibandry. I never before knew a
feafon which did not afford a time (to thofe
who had patience to wait for it,) for harveft-
ins hav and corn in tolerable condition. But
this year, the late-ripe crops upon the Wolds,
the Northern Heights, and in the Morelaiids,
were ineviiahly little Icfs than loft. During
the latter harveft there were not, I believe,
two fair days together, until near Chriftmas !
the corn which was carried was ol: courfc
fpoilt in the ftack or \\\o\\\ Hogs were
bought
i-j. YORKSHIRE. 289
bought up, and turned loofc among the
Iheaves hi the field !*
Another remarkable circumftance of this
fcafon was the extraordinary strength of
VEGETATION, which was equally manifcfb in
the garden and the field. Every thing was
out of fize. Some plants quite disfigured.
Pafture-grounds over-run with flale grafs.
In fome Hinted paftures (grounds let out an-
nually in cowgaits to a fixt number of cows)
fcarcely half the grafs was eaten.
Thefe extraordinary exertions of vegeta-
tion are, perhaps, to be accounted for in a
fucceflion of dry fummers terminating in a
moifl one. The foil, unable to exert itfelf
during the dry feafons, became furniflied with
extraordinary powers ; to which the moilt-
nefs of this fummer gave full fcope.
* Yorkfliii-e was not fingular \\\ this difafter. All
the Northern counties, I believe, fliared a fimilar fate.
Vol. I. U THE
290 MANAGEMENT OF FARMS. >S.
i8.
THE
GENERAL MANAGEMENT
o F
FARMS.
THE HUSBANDRY of the Vale, like
that of many other Diftrids, has undergone
a total change by inclosure.
Formerly, the entuc margin, and much of
the bottom of the Vale by in open common
riELD; fubjed, from time immemorial, to
the round of
Wheat, barley, or big.
Oats, beans, or other pulfe.
Fallow.
Above thefe fields were extcnfive common
SHEEP walks; below them common pas-
tures
»8. YORKSHIRE. 291
TURES for cattle and horfes, and common
'WEADows for hay.
Under this ancient fyflem of management
the produce of the Diftridt was fmall j the
fields were unprodu6live, by incefTant plow-
ing, and for want of a change of crops ; and
the meadows, by being mown year after year
without remiffion, and without any other
melioration than what chance floods might
partially afford them : while the pafture-
grounds, over-run with bufhes and weeds,
were equally unprodudtive. The principal
part of the entire produce went to the main-
tenance of the oxen and horfes employed in
the cultivation of the fields. Even the yeo-
manry, with all their induftry and frugality,
ftarved on their own eftates, well foiled as
many of them naturally were.
The Inclofures which have taken place
within the prefent century (fee the Art. In-
CLOSUREs) have not only changed the fyflem
of management, and have increafed the neat
produce of the Diftridt perhaps threefold;
but have inverted, in a remarkable manner,
the comparative value of lands.
U 2 Formerly,
S92 MANAGEMENT OF FARMS. 18.
Formerly y the meadow lands were generally
efteeaied the moft valuable part of a town-
{hip : there have been inftances of thefe lands
cold-foiled, wet, diflantly fuuatcd, and un-
prodiidtive, being exchanged for common-
field lands ; which at frcfdnt being naturally
well foiled, fituated near a town, now inclof-
ed, and laid down to grafs, are of five times
the value of the old grafsland ; fome of which
flill lies in an intermixed unimproved ftate.
This is the moLl ftriklng proof I have met
with of much being to be done, in fome cafes,
bv a CHANGE OF GENERAL MANAGEMENT.
This extraordinary improvement has not
been eire(ftcd bv the mere circumftance of
Inclofurc ; but principally by that ot chang-
ing: OLD ARABLE LANDS TO GRASS, AND OLD
lAST'JHE LANDS TO ARABLE. A changC
which feldom. fails, if properly made, of
being highly beneficial to the occupier,
and is frequently, as in this cafe, permanently
beneficial to an estate.
The cnci.nt fyRcm of management being
now nearly cxtincl' -, and no circumftance of
ir, except the cxrrcir/j induftry and frugality
with which it was condudcd, being worth
.prcfcrvation •, I lliall -.nocceJ to confider the
Vale
i8, Y O Pv K S H I R E. 193
Vale as an inclosed country, and defcribc
its PRESENT GENERAL MANAGEMENT; With
the various improvements which have been
made in it during the lafl twenty or thirty
years.
The primary object of the Vale-Huf-
bandry is
Butter,
put down into firkins ; the bed of it for
the London market ; the inferior forts for
the manufacturing towns of Weft Yorkfliire.
Cows, barren, or in calf;
Oxen, and fome few younger cattle ; and
Horses, principally for the faddle,
have long been ftaple produce of the Vale ;
and arc annually fcnt out of it in conlidcr-
able numbers, principally to the fouthcrn
markets. Some
Bullocks, and great quantities of
Sheep are fatted, in the Vale and More-
lands, for the ports of Whitby and Scarbo-
rough. Of late years
Bacon has been fent in confiderable quan-
tity into the Weft of Yorkfnire, and fome to
the London market.
Rabbits arc not a ftaple article in the
Vale, or on its miargins, though fome good
warrens occur.
U 3 With
294 MANAGEMENT OF FARMS. i8.
"With refpecft to vegetable produce^,
Rape
may be confidered as that which brings moft
money into the couniry. Since the inclofure
of common paftures great quantities of
Oats
have been fent out of the Vale. Alfo fomc
fmaller parcels of
Barley and
Pulse
have of late years been fent down the Der-
went. But notwithftanding the goodnefs of
the foil, and its fitnefs for
Wheat,
very little of this grain has been carried out
of the neighbourhood of its growth ; having
been v/holly ufed in home-confumption. Of
late years, however, there has been an over-
flow ; and Whitby has drawn part of its fup-
ply from hence.
Befides thcfe articles of market produce,
a variety o^ fubordinate crops are raifed; as
GrasSj^
XS. YORKSHIRE. 295
Grass, or natural grasses ;
Clover, and other cultivated grasses;
TuRNEPS, for cattle and fheep ;
Potatoes, for cattle and fwine : alfo
Flax (manufactured in the Vale) ;
Tobacco.
But before the methods of raifing thcfe
crops, and of obtaining their produdions, can
be feparately defcribed, a variety of general
fubjeds require to be fpoken of; namely.
The Succession of crops and fallow ;
Soils, and the method of culture ;
Manures, and the mode of applica-
tion ;
Seeds, and the general methods of sow-
ing ;
Weeds and vermin ;
Harvesting crops in general -,
Farm-yard management j
Markets.
U 4 SUCCES-
296 SUCCESSION. 19.
19.
SUCCESSION.
NO REGULAR SUCCESSION of arar-
blc crops ri::d fallow can be traced in this
Diilrid. Every man follows the dilates of
his own judgment, and fubje(fts his arable
land to fuch ufes as are beft fuited to the ge-
neral economy of his farm in the given year.
This mode of management is not pecu-
liar to the Vale under obfervation, but is
common to other Diftridts in which grass-
land predominates ; under which circum-
ilancc aration is conlidered as a fccondary,and
in moil cafes "^ fub ordinate branch of manage-
ment.
When the fward becom.es unprodudlive it
is delivered over to the plow, and the foil
kept in an arable i1:ate until another piece of
fward begins to fall ; when the former is laid
down again to grafs^ and the latter broke up
for arable.
In
19. YORKSHIRE. 297
In the Midland counties, where this altcr-
nacy of grafs and corn has, in fome inftances,
been in pradice time immcmori.d, a regular
courfe of hufbandry has taken place. But
here, where. this fyftem of management is in
its infancy, and where the diverfity of foils
is almoft endlefs, no regular round of ma-
nagement can, with propriety, be at pre-
fent purfued.
Land which has been kept in tillage
century after century, is prone to grafs,
and will retain its fward much longer than
l^afid Avhich has been only a few years
under the plow. And a rich soil, coolly
SITUATED, will 7-etain its fivard much longer
than thin-foiled upland.
There are numberlefs inftances in which
the richer cooler parts of the early-inclofed
common-field land have no.v lain more than
half a century in grass : neverthelefs the
fward^ though perhaps mown year after year,
and treated with no extraordinary care,
Jiill remains uni7iipaired : the herbage well
forted, and the produce ample.
Therefore, to fubje<5l the lands of this
Piftri(5i, circumflanced as they are, at pre-
fent.
298 SOILS AND SOIL PROCESSES. 20.
fenty to any methodical arrangement, or
REGULAR ROUND OF CROPS^ would be an evU
dent impropriety *,
10.
S O I L S'
AND
SOIL PROCESSES.
THIS COMPLEX fubjea requires, in
the prefent inftance, the following arrange-
ment.
i. Species,
■I. Sub-foils and under-draining.
0. Rouoh grounds and clearing.
4. Tillnge.
1. Species. The great diverfity of foils
-which the Vale and its environs afford has
been
"* TliC only particular of the management of the
Vale in this refpe*5t which appears to me cenfurable, is
that of fuffcring thin-foiled, thirjiy upland to lie in a liite
cf ^^lar//, perhaps as '• meadow" (mowing ground,)
■when it would, I apprehend, pay much better in a
lourfe of ARAur.E management. Turneps, baih^y,
\vheat, arid the cultivated giaflcs, equally afied it.
20. YORKSHIRE. 299
been mentioned. Viewed in this light, it is
i fpecitnejj oi country which admits not, petT
haps, of comparifon. Within the narrow
limits of a few miles barren heath and
RICH FEN LANDS are included ; with al-
moft every intermediate foil : unprodud:ive
GRITSTONE SAND ; thin-foilcd LIMESTONE
LOAM ; deeper and more productive " red-
stone LAND * ;" rich deep pebbly loam + i
ilrong
* Red-stone land.— This fingular fpccies of foil
is compofed of loam of different qualities, intermixed
■with a greater or lefs quantity of foft fandy ilones,
about the ordinary fize of flints, and of a dark yellow
or orange colour J a fpecies of grit, or free-ftone. The
cultivated foil is in fome inftances nearly half of it made
\\p of thefc ftoncs ; vyhlch, fome men are of opinion,
afford in themfelves a degree of nutriment to corn
crops. An inftancc is mentioned, in which a gre;;t
quantity of thefe ftones having been gathered off as an
incumbrance to the foil, its produftivenefs was much
lowered ; but the ftones being returned, the foil alfo
returned to its former (irate of fertility. Be this as it
may, the foil under notice is beyond difpute one of the
fiiieft corn foils in the iiland.
f Pebbly loam. This foil is noticed as being,
taken all in all, the mofl: li/eful foil I have any where
yet obferved. It is equally produftive of corn ox grafs ;
may be worked as arable latid in any feafon ; and is
fgijnd enough in grafi to bear ftock ia winter. I p .r-
licularize
30O SOILS AND SOIL-PROCESSES. 20.
ftrong blue clay. And what renders this
circumftance ftill more remarkable, there are
inftances in which the feverai fpecies of foil
here enumerated are included within the
fame farm.
A farm thus varioufly foiled is a fpur to
ingenuity -, obliging its occupier to break
through thofe confined opinions and narrow
prejudices, v/hich are too frequcntl\- con-
irafted in countries where a uniformity of
SOIL, and a regular iioutine of manage-
ment prevail.
This may account, in fome mcafure, for
the SPIRIT of IiMPRovfment fo confoicuous
among the husbandmen- of the country un-
der fnrvey.
II. Subsoils. The feet and sides of hills
generally abound in landsprings and cold
wet subsoils, caufed by the waters abforbed
by the upper parts of ihc fwells lodging and
ilriving tor vent in the lower regions.
jFrom the cloud of hills which rife to the
north of this Vale, it might be expcded that
a vein
ticiilarlze thcfe foils as they iriay hereafter, with a va-
riety of others, form a frparate fubjcrt of invcftiga-
t'on.
20. Y O R K S H I R E. 301
a vein of cold land would be found on its
margin-, but obfervation proves the contrary.
The waters of the morelands find vent in
the dales and dingles with which they are
interfered •, and are entirely cut off from the
Vale by a deep valley which lies between
the moreland fwells and the range of lime-
flone heio-hts which fcrni the immediate
b-anks of the Vale ; while the heights them-
fclves, being in all human probability formed
entirely of rock, receive into their bofoms
the Vv'aters v.'hich they abibrb, and which fink.
below their bafes, or rife in rocky fountains
at their feet.
Near Pickering the river Costa takes its
rife ; not gulhing forth as from the mouth of
a cavern, but rifing at numberlefs apertures
through a filter of fand, which has probably
been brou'^ht out of the fiilures of the rock ;
O
the entire river, or rather river-like brook,
rifing within the compafs of a few acres.
It is a fact worthy of attention, though
perhaps eafily to be accounted for, that a
trail of country containing perhaps twenty
r(|uare miles, lying above this cifiux, has
fcarccly
302 SOILS AND SOIL PROCESSES. 20.
fcarcely another spring belonging to it, not
fcarcely a perch of springy soil upon its
lurfacf.
The limeftone andredftone land lies alien
ROCK above the level of this fpring. The
pebbly loam which lies below it is equally
fortunate in a feam of gravel, which, tho*
it lie fome feet beneath the furface, renders
it fufficiently dry to be worked at all feafons,
and to carry ftock in winter with impunity.
Under thefe circumftances underdrain-
iNG is rendered ufclefs; and no inftance of
it occurs in this neighbourhood, except in
the improved peatbog, which was mentioned
under the article Planting, and which lies
in the immediate vicinity of the fource of
the Cofta •, by whofe waters, before the
channel of the river was made, that bed of
moor had been formed. The wetter parts of
the area received confiderable improvement
from underdraining.
But altho'the fubllrudture of the margin
is fuch Lis to preclude the ufe of under-
draining, that of i\\Q f-joells which rife in the
BOTTOM OF THE Vale rcndcrs this operation
frequently ncccilary •, and in fome few in-
ftances it has been pradtifcd with great
fucccfs.
20. YORKSHIRE. 303
In the inftance which I mofl: particularly
attended to, thirty acres of cold unproduiflive
land, lying on the (kirt of one of thofe hil-
locks, was, by undcrdraining, improved to
more than twice its formtr value. From a
ftate of rulhy ill-graffed fward, it was raifed
lirft to a piece of productive corn land, and
is now a found well-herbaged grazing-
ground.
The MATERIALS wood. No flones in that
neighbourhood.
In the MORELAND DALES undcrdraining
would in many cafes be a valuable improve-
ment ; and there Jicnes, the moft eligible
material, are abundant.
The OFFAL FREESTONES which lie an in-
cumbrance to the quarries of the margin,
would pay w^ell for carriage into the bottom
of the Vale.
III. Cleaning rough grgu\-ds. The in-
clofures of commons and waste lands
which have of late years taken place, have
directed the attention of huPoandmen toward
the clearing and breaking up fuch lands for
the purpofes of agriculture.
Sod-
304- SOILS AND SOIL-PROCESSES. 2c.
I. SoDBURNiNG. The pradice which has
gauicd the greateft ellimation is that of
SODBLTRNING — provinciallv, " paring and
burning:" — a practice which is little known
in many parts of the ifland ; but which ought
to be well underftood by every hufbandman
in it,
I. Piiring. The buflies and other incum-
brances of the furface being removed, the
fward is inverted with the breaft-plow, — -
provinciaily, " paring fpade," — In fods about
a foot wide and three feet long.
T\\^ jiidg-iient requiiite in this (lage of the
procefs lies chiefly in determining the proper
THICKNESS of the fods. If they be pared too
thick, they are difficult to burn ; if too thin,
the fward is not effeftually dellroyed, and
the produce of aihcs is too fmall. A rough
fpungy furface ought to be pared thicker
than one which is firm and bare of grafs ;
and a light fhallow foil ought to be pared
thinner than one which is deeper and more
tenacious. An inch may be confidercd as
the medium thicknels.
The attention required in this part of th.e
bufmcfs is principally to fee that men, who
work by the acre, break off the fods at proper
Ungths,
20. YORKSHIRE. 305
lengths, and clear them effedtually at their
outer edges.
The price ten to twelve flilllings an acre,
varyiag principally with the freenefs of the
foil. Roots are detrimental, but llones are ,
the greateft enemies to the paring-fpade.
2. Burning. If the fods be naked and the
feafon moift, they are '* fet" on-edge to dry ;
if graffy, and the weather be fine, this labour
may with propriety be fpared.
The method of burning is invariably in
fmall heaps *, a rod or lefs afunder according
to the quantity of fod ; but the way of
forming the heaps is not fixed.
The bottom is generally made in a round
form, about a yard in diameter, v/ith fods
fet on-edge. On the windward fide of this
bottom, fome lay a bough of furze or other
kindling with the end out, covering it above
with the graffieft and driefl bits of fod ; and
then make up the heap in the form of a fmall
hay-cock, keeping the fods on the infide as
hollow as may be, but laying them flat and
clofe on the outfide to keep in the fire.
Vol. I. X The
* For the greater conveniency of burning the fods,
as well as offpreadins: the aflies.
3o6 SOILS AND SOIL PROCESSES. 20.
The heaps made in this manner are fet on
fire with a bough of lighted furze,— or,
which is better, a link made of tow dipped
in tar and wound round a fmall ftake or other
fcick ; — the lighter running along the rows
from heap to heap, fetting fire to the
kindling.
Others, having formed the bottom as
'above defcribcd, carry up the heap with a
chim}iey in the middle, kindling it with a
fhovel-full of hot aflies thrown down the
chimney. When kindling- materials arc
fcarce, this ir.ay be the more eligible method.
When the fods are under-dry, much Ikill
is requifite in forming the heap. The chief
art lies in Iceeping it light and hollow within;
and, whether it be made with an eye or a
chimney^ in having due regard to the wind-
ward-fide. A little pradice and proper at-
tention will foon fupply the reft.
If the heaps be made too large at firfi,
their own weight crufhes them down, and de-
Aroys the neccffary opennefs of the inner
fide ; if too fmall, the fire, not being fuffi-
ciently confined, flies outward, and fpends
itfelf prematurcly-
Thr
20. YORKSHIRE. 307
The heaps well on fire, frefli fods are laid
on from time to time, until the whole are
expended ; not more than half of them per-
haps being ufed in forming the original
heaps.
In *' beating up" the heaps, the frefli fods
are laid on the fide on which the fire is the
ftrongeft ; the addition being feldom made
until the fire begins to make its appearance
on the outer-fide of the heap.
When all the frelli fods are expended, the
unburnt pieces which Aide down the fides
of the heaps and lie round their ikirts are
laid upon the top, and the whole reduced to
afhes.
The burning is principally done by wo-
men, by the day : fometimes the paring and
burning are let together by the acre. The
fr ice of burning five to fix fliillings an acre.
3. Afhes. The moft general method, and
that which fcems to be in the beft efteem, is
to fpread the afiies as foon as they are cool,
or perhaps while yet warm, and to plow the
land immediately for the crop, with 2.jhaUow
funo'uj^ to prevent the afhes from being bu-
ried too deep in the foil.
X 2 Some-
■2jS soils and soil Px^OCESSES. ao.
Sometimes the foil is only rice balked, not
plowed clean.
Perhaps the moft effedtual method of mix-
ing the aflies with the foil, the great thing to
be defired, would be iirll to r'.ce-balk acrofs
the ridges, and then to gather them up with
a clean plowing.
This fummer has afforded me an opportu-
nity of obferving a fingular innovation in
the art of fod-burning.
Infteadof the ibds being dried and burnt,
and the afhes fpread on the pared furf ace, and
pkzvcd in under furrow, the land, in this in-
iuince, was plowed immediately as the paring
was fiiiifhed, the fods dried and burnt, and
the afhes fpread upon the plowed furf ace , to
be harrowed in with the feed as a topdrejfing.
In executing this method, the ridges of
the lands v/ere cleared, five or fix feet wide,
by throwing back the fods into the fides of
the lands ; and, as the ground was plowed,
the fods were returned to nearly their former
fituation,^^ being thrown on rough over the
plowed gi;6.UHd. One plow took about three
women, at.' t.cnpence a day, to follow it. The
extra e^pence half-a-cro\vn to three fhillings
an acre.
The
20. YORKSHIRE. 309
The advcintages propofcd by this novel
practice are thefe : firft, that of fecuring a
burning feafon with a degree of certalntx ,
and without the expencc of " fetting" the
fods, which being kept hollow underneath
by the inequalities of the plowed lurface, a
free circulation of air is admitted, and the
evil efFedt of regrowing to the ground en-
tirely prevented ; and fecondly, thofe of
mixing the afhes more intimately and more
evenly with the foil, and of preventing their
being buried too deep by the firft plowing ;
which, in this inftance, was neccflarily given
veryv deep, the foil being of a moory nature,
and in a ftatc too tender and moiil to be
plowed with a ihallow furrow, which would
not have laid the furface fufHciently dry for
turneps, — the intended crop.
Therefore, in this cafe, the management
was obvioufly judicious: and whether the
advantages of forwarding the drying,
and of being able to ufe the afhes as a top-
dressing, may not render the prad:ice gene-
rally eligible, can be afcertained only by
experience.
X 3 4: The
310 SOILS AND SOIL PROCESSES. 20,
4. The time of fod-burning depends upon
thtfeafon and the intended crop.
It is always imadvifeable to pare in a v:et
fcafon. The covering moid and feeble, and
the fod fopt with wet, fall heavy and flat to
the ground. The grafs foon rots ; and if the
feafon continue moifl, the roots will in a
little time regain a footing in the foil.
On the contrary, fods pared in dry weather
fall light off the fpadc, and are kept hollow
underneath by the grafs or other covering,
which in a dry feafon are rigid, bearing the
fods froni the ground, thereby admitting a
circulation of air beneath them ; by v/hich
means the extra cxpence and trouble oi fet-
ting is avoided, and the procefs of cineration
rendered much lefs difficult and irkfome.
The CROP, therefore, ought to be in fomc
meafure fubfervient to the season.
5. The crops moll in ufe for fod-burnt land
are WHEAT, RAPE, TURNEPS, BIG, OATS. It
is feldom, however, that a paring feafon can
be got early enough in the fpring for either
of the latter crops ; the laft more efpecially.
Big, however, is frequently fown on burnt
land the latter end of May, or the beginning
of
20. YORKSHIRE. ^n
of June with fuccefs. Rape and turneps are
the moft general crops, and upon the whole,
perhaps, are the moft eligible : the month
of June is a leifure-time, and generally a
good burning feafon. However, wheat, pro-
vided the land were fallowed, and the foil
and afhes mixed together by repeated plow-
ings and harrowings between the burning
feafon and feed-time, does not appear to be
an ineligible crop.
There have been inftances, I am told, in
which the afhes (having been fpread in the
middle of fummer) were fufFered to be
grown over with grafs ; which being turned
under in autumn, wheat has been fown on
one plowing with good fuccefs.
General Observations. Sod -burning
appears to be one of the fources of real im-
provement, which being yet imperfcdlly un- '
derftood, require every effort of the farmer
and the philofopher to raife them nearer to
perfed:ion.
At prefent, the pra(ftice Is confined to a
few Diilrifts : and in thofe it was applied to
particular purpofcs only : while this principal
part of the kingdom is a ftranger to its
ufes.
X4 It
312 SOILS AND SOIL-PROCESSES. 20.
It does not appear to be confidered even
in this Diilridlas a general source of ma-
nure ; but merely as being applicable to the
reduction of old tough [ward.
For even here, where it has long been in
common pradfece among difcerning hufband-
men, there are men, who flill fee it as a bug-
bear, too terrible to become familiar with.
The falfc notion of " fending the foil into the
clouds," fiiohtens fome ; while the better-
founded idea of reducing it all to aflies — by
too frequent repetition of this operation — is
a ftumbling-block to others.
Whoever will attend to the quantity of
earth in the fods, and the quantity of alhes
produced from them, will lofe his fears about
the y(?f7 being hjjened by this operation.
Suppofing the fod to be an inch thick ;
not more than one-fourth of it, perhaps, is
■ foil; and this, fo far from being reduced in
bulk to an alarming degree, is perhaps in-
creafed in fize by the aflion of the fire ; which
by leaving it in an open porous ftate, ren-
ders it mor," bulky than the fame foil, Ihook
from the fods. and reduced to a perfed: flate
of dryncfs only, would prok^hiy have been.
20. YORKSHIRE. 313
I will not contend for the increafe, nor will
I, at prefent, admit that the foil is lejfened by
the operation. Different foils are adted upon
in different ways by fire : clay burns to hard
cinders^ of the nature of brick, remaining in
the foil unaltered by time ; while the cinders of
lighter foils are more perifhable.
Thefe effects of fod-burning do not appear
to have been attended to. Its ufe in reducing
tough fward ftrikes every one •, and its effedl
as a manure, in the cafes in which it is ufu-
ally applied, is here clearly underflood by
thofe who are beft acquainted with its man-
ner of afting.
But its effe<ft in improving the contex-
ture OF STRONG COHESIVE SOILS has cfcapcd
general notice. Yet how could art devife an
ingredient more likely to give opennefs and
freedom to a clofe-textured foil than rough,
porous, unperifhable afhes ? a material of
improvement which the foil itfelf fupplies,
free of cofl. The immediate acquifition of
MANURE repays the expence of the opera-
tion. The more permanent improvement
of the contexture of the soil is of courfe
obtained without expence.
Viewed
3X4 SOILS AND SOIL-PROCESSES. 20.
Viewed in this light, sod-burning, what-
ever effect it may have on light porous foils,
is, in all human probability, a cardinal im-
provement of foils of a CLOSE clayey
NATURE : and it appears to me a matter in-
cumbent on every pofleflbr of fuch foils to
try, on a fmall fcale at lead, the effedt of a
FREQUENT REPETITION of this Operation. '
2. FuRZE-GROUNDS. It is the opinion of
one who has paid clofe attention to the fub-
jeft, that old furze -grounds^ off which fuel
having been repeatedly carried, areof courfe
much depauperated, may in general be im-
proved in the following manner.
Grub ; fow grafs-feeds, on the grubbed
furface, without plowing •, ^nd let the land
remain in this ftate until it has acquired a de-
gree of iirmnefs, the fmaller roots left in it
are decayed, and the furface has got a co-
vering. Then fod-bum, lime, &c, and
break up the foil for a courfe of arable crops :
clofing with cultivated grafs. When the
turzes begin again to grow troublefome, re-
peat the fod-burning.
3. Woodlands. The fame inventive huf-
bandman has Ibuck out a fimple and certain
method
fte.
YORKSHIRE. 31^
method of freeing grafsland from the sloe-
thorn, — one of the hardieft Jhrubs which
hufbandry has to contend with.
If black-thorns be grubbed up by the rootSy
every fibril left in the foil produces a frefh
plant ; fo that inftead of being leflened by
this tedious and expenfive operation, their
number is increafed.
If they be felled above-ground^ the flubs
are in the way of the fithe and the bite of
cattle ; and the thicket is prefently renewed.
But if they be cut off level with the
SURFACE, the fithe has free fweep, and the
young fhoots are of courfe removed with eafc
and certainty.
If the ground be movrn for hay, the fame
llroke which cuts the herbage takes off the
ligneous flioors.
If paflured, cattle and fheep, provided they
have no woodland left to brouze among, will
gnaw them to the quick ; fcarcely leaving a
ftem or a ftump remaining. It is, however,
always advifeable in this cafe to fweep the
ground over with the fithe in the courfe of
fummer ; to remove effedtually the remains
which may have efcaped the bite of the paflur-
ing ftock.
3i6 SOILS AND SOIL PROCESSES. 2g.
The fecond year ih&JJjoots rife weak ; and
the roots thcmfelves feldom furvive the third
year.
In a very few years more the roots are
found entirely rotten ; thus becoming a
fourcc of nutriment to the crop, inftead of
remaining a nuifance.
If a thicket or a border, whofe /ward is
nearly loft, be treated in this manner, rub-
bifh of every kind lliould be raked off, a few
GRASS SEEDS fcattcred on, and the furface
run over with a roller, as a preparation for
the fithe.
This mode of extirpation is not applica-
ble to the SLOE-THORN alone ; but to the
OAK, the ASH, the white-thorn, the ma-
ple, and every other tree and Ihrub to which
it has been applied, — the furze and the
bramble excepted.
Gen. Observ. It is, I believe, a univerfal
practice, when woodland is given up to
HUSBANDRY, to take up all t\\t roots, large or
fmall, at an expence, perhaps, equal to half
the value of the land ; which, in this cafe, is
iubjciftcd immediately to the plow : altoge-
ther
10. YORKSHIRE. 317
ther the mod rugged operation which huf-
bandry is acquainted with.
But how much more clicrible would it be
to treat fuch land in the manner above de-
fcribed ? keeping it in a ftate of grass un-
til the rooti were decayed, and rendered obe-
dient to the Ihare.
The fums of money (not to mention the
fortunes) which have lately been expended
in the improvement of Enfield Chace, are
too well known ; and will, it is to be feared,
threw a damp on the further improvement
of the Royal Wastes; a matter of fome
importance to thefe kingdoms.
But how ealily, and with what certainty,
might thefe waftes be improved ? The wood
upon mofl of them is doubly fufficient to
make the neceflary improvement.
Take down the timber trees and pol-
lards •, by grub-felling, in the Norfolk
manner : remove fuch of the larger roots
as will pay amply for removing ; and fill up
the holes with the cores of ant-hill or other
protuberances with which thefe waiios gene-
rally
3i8 SOILS AND SOIL PROCESSES. 20.
rally abound ; fowing grafs feeds on the fur-
face.
Treat the under and other brush wood
in the manner above defcribed ; and let the
whole lie in grass, keeping it carefully fwept
with the fithe, until the re.v^aining roots
be fufficiently decayed.
Then, hut not before, bring the foil under
a courfe of arable management.
The fencing, the caftration of ant-hills *,
and perhaps doing away a few other rough*
nefles, would be the only labour requifitc
which would not more than repay itfelf -j-.
The ROOTS, inftead of being a principal
caufe of lxpence and anxiety, would, un-
der this management, become a fource of
improvement of the soil ; while the ex-
pence of bringing the foil under a courfe of
arable management would be in a man-
ner precluded by having ^ free grajfy furface
for the purpofe of sod-burning.
This townfhip (part of the ancient foreft
of Pickering) affords at prefent (Auguft
1787)
• See Norf. Econ. Min. 50.
f It DRAINING fliould be found reqiiifite, how fu t-
able au opportunity while hnd iciDiuns ingrafa.
ao. YORKSHIRE. 319
1787) numberlefs inftances of the great uti-
lity of SOD-BURNING MAIDENSWARD.
In adjoining allotments (fee the Art. In-
closures) without a Ihade of difference as to
foil or fituation, the crop, after fod-burning,
is in fome inftances fourfold that of the crop
fown on one plowing of the natural fward ;
notwithftanding the favourablenefs of this
fumnaer towards the latter procefs. Flad the
feafon proved dry, oats fown on one plowing
of the thinner foils muft have periihed -, or at
beft muft have remained in a dwarfifh unhar-
veftable ftate. There are oats, even this
year, not fix inches high ; and others, too
weak and ftraggling to ripen as a crop, have
been fwept over and raked together as fod-
der.
It is obfervable, however, that, on the
deeper foils, there are, this year, fome fine
crops of oats on the natural fward.
The caufe of this difparity between the
produce of deep and fhallow foils is obvious.
The furface of foils which have remained
from century to century in a ftate of sward,
is in a manner wholly occupied by the roots
of
320 SOILS AND SOIL PROCESSES. lo.
of graffes and other plants ; forming a tough
mat of fibres-, reaching, in feme cafes, feveral
inches deep ; efpecially over a cold moifl:
fubfoil ; where the fedgy tribe are frequently
in full pofTefTion,
If the foil be THIN, it is wholly occupied by
roots : the bottoms of the furrows afford Jio
locfe mould for covering the feed j which
either lies cxpofed on the furface, or falls
through the feam.s upon an infertile fubfoil,
and among grafs, ftill perhaps in a growing
ftate. The few grains which happen to get
buried in the mould flourifli while their own
fubftance lafts ; but the kernel being cx-
haufted, the rootlings look out in vain for
foreign fuftenance -, the foil is already occu-
pied by veteran roots too powerful for the
infant fibrils to contend with.
But if the foil be deeper than the
SWARD, the feeds get properly covered, and
the young plants have frelli mould to Ibike
root in ; and to fupport them until the fward
die, decay, and afford nourifhment to the
rifing crop.
The USES OF SOD-BURNING thick-fwardcd
foils are thofc of effe^flually killivg ike fivard%
doing
20. YORKSHIRE. 321
doing away the toughnefs of the furrow, and
furnilhing in the aflies afupply of acceptable
pabulum to the infant plants.
Out of this ftatement of effedts refult thefe
general conclufions.
Rich, deep foils, though covered with old
fvvard, may be fownwith corn on one plow-
ing.
It is reafonable, however, that this plow-
ins: iliould be civen fome time before the
feed be fown, for the double pilrpofe of ex-
pofing the bottoms of the furrows to the me-
liorating influence of the fun and air, from
which they may have long been ellrang-
ed ; and of forwarding the digestion of
THE SWARD.
It is likewife obfervable, that in this cafe
a DOUBLE PLOWING (burying the fod at the
bottom of the furrow) is obvioufly prefer-
able to a fingle one.
^mfhallow, lefs fertile foils will not bear
this treatment : they require either to be
sod-burnt or summer-fallowed, to reduce
the fward and meliorate the foil.
But fallowing is expcnfive, lofesone year's
crop, and does not change the texture of co-
Vol.; f. Y hesive
%>ii SOILS AND SOIL PROCESSES. 29.
KESivE soil; to which, whether deep or
fhallow, fod-burning appears to be fingular-
ly well adapted.
The length ofthefereflecflions will, I tfuft,
find an excufe in the magnitude of the fub-
jedt which gives rife to them. The Royal
Forests at prefcnt afford little benefit to the
community ; but are no doubt capable of
affording great national advantage. To en-
deavour to forward their improvement by
pointing out the caficft method of accom-
pliihing it, is therefore the duty of every man
whofe experience has led him to refledtions
on the fubjcdt.
Improvements thus condudlcd would be
progrcfllvc and pleafurable ; requiring no
extraordinary fhare either of attention or ca-
pital.
IV. Tillage. In a country in which
Grassland is the primary object, excel-
lency in the minuti^ of the arable pro-
cesses muft not be expedled : ncvcrthelefs,
where the invention is let loofc, and a fpirit
of improvement prevails, we may hope to
find foT.e SPECIAL matter worth no-
I'.ce.
The
20. YORKSHIRE. 323
The only particulars which appear to me
riOticeablc in this place are,
1. Plowing with reins,
2. Laying lands acrols nopes,
I. Plowing with Rein's. In thisrefped:,
the hufbandmen of the Vale excel. Various
as are their foils, they plow them invariably
with TWO HORSES, driven and guided with
Vv^HIP-REINS.
Proper /eafo?js for the operation are endea-
voured to be caught ; but, even with this ad-
vantage, it is matter of aftonilliment how fome
of their llrong deep foils are turned by a
pair of light {lender horfes •, which, in a ba-
lance, would barely outweigh one of the lour
(or perhaps Cix) which are ufed upon the
hills of Surrey and Kent in plowing foils of
lefs tenacity !
In Norfolk the foil is light, and the great
merit of the Norfolk hulbandmcn lies in
their expedition. Here, where thecuuom is
to go only one journey, the quantity plowed in a,
dav is much Icfs than in Norfolk : but eene-
rally more, even in the ftrongcr foils, than is
done by two men and four expenfive horfes
in inany other places.
Y2 It
^24- SOILS ANlb SOIL PROCESSES. 20
It has been a generally received idea, even
among men who think liberally, and are in-
clined to think well of the pradtice of plow-
ing with a pair of horfes, that it is only appli-
cable to LIGHT THIN SOILS. But thc eftablilli-
ed hufbandry of this country proves that idea
to be erroneon?.
It flrikes me, however, advocate as I am
for the pradticc, that in fome cafes, cfpecially
where the foil is deep and tender, three
horfes at length would be preferable.
But the plea held out againft this manage-
ment is, *' We cannot afford it !" The truth
is, land here has got up to the two-horse-
PLOv/ PRICE ; and tenants feem to be aware
that they cannot pay their rents, if they fend
more than two horfes and one man to plow.
What a ftrong recommendation is this of the
pradicc.
2. Laying lands across the slopes of
HILLS. The general pradlice, unlefs where
the turnwrefl plow is in ufc, is to plow^ the
fides of hills up-and-dcwji, laying the lands
parallelvvith the line of defcent, not oblique-
ly acrofs it.
Where
^p. YORKSHIRE. 325
Where the subsoil is abforbent, this is per-
haps the moft eligible method ; the rain-
water which falls being by this means effec-
tually prevented from making its efcape off
the fide of the hill. For, unlefs ridges be
raifed very high, the water in this cafe has
no propenfity tov/ard the furrows on either
fide; its tendency, when the lands lie flat,
being down lines lying parallel between them :
confequently, the rain-water which falls up-
on them may run from the top to the bot-
tom of the hill, without finding its way into
the interftirrows, which in this cafe are ren-
dered entirely ufelcfs as surface-drains.
This circumftancc renders the common
method of plowing hill-lides altogether in-
elisible where the subsoil is cold and reten-
live; and where the surface-water is of
courfe required to be got rid of the q^uicksji
^Xidjhorttji way.
To this end the lands are thrown across
THE SLOPE, nearly parallel with the horizon,,
barely giving ihcm fuffici cut defccnt for water
to find its way along the interfurrows.
The EFFECT of laying the lands in this di-
redion is evident : the rain-water which falls
Y 2 upon
326 SOILS AND SOIL PROCESSES. 20.
upon them has never farther to run than the
width of the land it falls on ; (even fuppo-
ling it to fall on the upper edge) for fo foon
as it is caught by an interfurrow, the vege-
table pailure is in efFedt relieved from it.
Hence, the narrower the lands, provided
the interfurrows be fufficiently deep, the
more immediate the efFeift.
The only inconveniency of laying lands
acrofs the Hope is that of having the pUts on
the lower fides of the lands to turn againji the
hill; an operation which requires a good
workman to do it properly.
Buc dicrc is an advantage in this mrrhod
wliichir.ore th?.n overbalances that inconveni-
ency. The PJLL is always upon, or n^.arly
upon, LEVEL GKOHND ; whcfcas, in the com-
mon direction of the lands, the uphill pull is
intolerable to the beafts of draught, efpe-
cially to horfes ; which, through fear or im-
patience, draw by jerks, eager to reach the
lop of the hill ; thereby fariguino; themfelves
and the plowman unneceflarily, and render-
ing the work defed:ive.
The 2:ood cffe6l of lavino: lands acrofs
flopcs, is not only plaufible in theory, but is
verified
20. YORKSHIRE. 327
verified by pradice. I have feen an inftance
in which land, which had heretofore been
cold and poachy , improved, merely by chang-
ing the diredlion of the ridges, to dry,
SOUND, PRODUCTIVE foil, wotth nearly twice
the rent it was before this fimple alteration
took place.
21,
MANURES
AN D
MANURE PROCESS.
THE SPECIES OF MANURE princi-
pally ufed in the DilUidt arc.
Dung,
Lime,
Aihes ;
the lad chiefly in the morelanps, where
great quantities of turf and peat arc burnt
Vpon the hearth, for the double purpofe of
Y 4 FUEL
318 MANURES. ai;
puEL and MANURE ; the afhes being confi-
dered as equivalent to the expence of col-
lecting the materials.
Marl
is not found in quantity, as a fojfil^ either in
the Vale or Morelands. The only marl
which has been uled as a manure is a produce
oi petrifa£Iion. This marl and the fountain
from whence it flows are noticeable.
The waters of "Newton-dale-well"
have Ion? been celebrated for their virtues in
cold-bathing ; and for (Irengtheningthe limbs
of children they are, 1 believe, celebrated jufl-
]y. An anniverfary relative to thefe waters has
been obferved time immemorial, and is ftill
obferved by the neighbouring youth, who
meet at this fpring upon fome certain Sun-
day in the fummer months to bathe; and —
a poetic mind would add, — to celebrate the
virtues of the water.
The fituation of this fpring is Angularly
wild and romantic : the country on every
fide mountainous and barren, excepting the
narrow dale, or cultivated chafm, near the
head of which the fpring is fituated.
At
zj, YORKSHIRE. 329
At the time thefe mountains and this chafm
were formed, it is probable the water gufhcd
out of the face of a perpendicular rock,
which now rifcs about eighty feet above
the fpring ; but through the mouldering
of the rock, and the accumulative effedt of
the waters, the bafe of the precipice, out
of which they iffue, now reaches with a Iharp
afcent to near the mouth of the fpring.
The upper part of the flope at leail has
evidently been raifed by vegetation and
PETRIFACTION. Had not the hand of ar(
been aflifting in removing from time to time
the accumulated matter, in the form of
*' marl" and " limeflone," and in leading the
water by a channel from the rock, the fpring
might long fince, by over growing its mouth,
have been the caufe of its own extinftion,
Thefe waters,, at their fource, are remark-
ably cold and flrongly chalybeate to the
tafte, tinging their bed of a deep ruit co-
lour ; but as they fall down the bafe of the
hill, they lofe by degrees their chalybeate
qualities, lofing them entirely before they
reach the foot of the flope.
Whal
2p M A N U ?. E S. 2i;
What is equally oblervablc, their petri-
TACTivE quality is, at the Iburce, barely per-
ceptible, and does not acquire its full effedt
vintil they have run fome twenty or thirty
yards down the llope ; about which point
they lofe almoft entirely their chalybeate
iajie, though they flill continue to tinge the
channel ; the colour growing fainter as the
IcDf^th of channel incrcalcs *.
Where the rill meets with no vegetable
matter to petrify (or rather to incrujl), it
fprms an incrustation at the bottom of its
channel, which in time being filled to the
top, the vaiers overflow, fpread over the
fiOpc, and incrufl every thing which falls in
their way ; until having found fome hollow
channel (or perhaps in a ilate of nature
having reached ths face of the rock), they
form a frefli rill ; v.hlch being annihilated in
the fame manner, the v/aters proceed or return
bacl<;; alonp- the fide of the Hope -, thus form-
ing, in an undillurbcd (laic, a natural cone.
* This rpri"'^, wliich is at Icaft an obje(5l of curio-
^ty, and whole uaters* may conttiiu medical virtues
which require to be pointed out, is lituated about
t;vo miles fr.jsn Sal:er^ai--int!j on the road between
J'iCi;;RiNC and Wiiirsy.
Where
21, YORKSHIRE. 331
Where the furface has been free from mofs
or other vegetable produftion, the accumu-
lated matter is WHOLLY calcareous; of a
light colour, refembling the marl of Nor-
folk, except in its being difcoloured more
or lefs with a chalybeat tinge. Where mofs,
liverwort, and other veo-etables have been
incruflcd, a stone-like substance is form-
ed : the former is called " marl," — the latter
** flone.'*
At prefent, the face of the flope is hol-
lowed out into great irregularity, by digging
for and carrying away the mcrl, leaving
maffes ^of 7?^;?f, fome of them containing
many cubical feet, {landing above the pre-
fent furface.
Thcfe ftones, though light, being full of
hollowneffes within — mere bundles of mofs
and algcE — -have, by being long expofed on
the furface, acquired a very great degree of
hardnefs, their fmallcr afperities being with
difficulty brol:en off.
By immcrging the fragments in the acid
of fea-falt weakly diluted, the calcareous in-
cruftation is Icifurciy diffDlvcd, leaving the
vegetable matter entire, and to appearance
as
332 MANURES. jr.
as perfe(5t as when it was firll incrufted, tlio'
it may have lain locked up in that ftate a
tho'jfand or perhaps many thoufand years.
Thefe vegetable Jloties have likevvife been
f:arried away and burnt as limestone. The
quantity of lime, however, produced from
them cannot be great ; but mixed with the
efies of the vegetables, a valuable manure
may neverthelefs be formed.
In a fituation fo reclufe, it is no wonder
this valuable fource of manure fhould have
been in fome degree negle<fled. T'he bottom
of the dale which winds below it, docs not
appear to have been much benefited, either
bv the waters themfelves or the matter
which they have formed. The principal
part of that which has been taken away has
been carried up a winding road over the top
of the mountain to a ncip-hbourlno- dale
(Goadland) fomc three or four miles diftant.
Over and above the difficulty and expence
of carriage, a ihilimg a load has been paid
to the leflee of the royalty for thefe calca-
reous fubdanccs • not for the purpole of ex-
periment, but in purfuance of cllablifhed
pradice ; a fufncient evidence this of theii:
"jirtiie as a manure.
Lime.
ai. YORKSHIRE. 333
Lime. Liaic is a flicet-ancbor in the Vale
hufbandry. It is ufcd invariably, I believe,
on every fpecies of foil, and in -mcjl cafes vvitli
great fuccefs. It feems to be at prefent a re-
ceived idea that the bufinefs of aration could
not be carried on, or at Icaft that the prefent
rents of land could not be paid, without the
affiftance of lime.
It is not my intention to attempt to prove
or difprove the truth of this opinion. Suffice
it for me to fay, in this place, that I am not
acquainted with any country in which lime
is held in fuch high repute, nor where the
manufacturing of it is fo common a practice
among farmers as it is in this. Almoft every
principal farmer upon the margin burns his
own lime.
There are, befides, great number of ^' fale
kilns" for fmaller farmers, and for the centre
of the Vale, where no materials for burning
-are to be had. There is an inflance of one
man occupying eight or ten kilns ; burning
two or three thoufand chaldrons yearly.
The LIME-HUSBANDRY of this Diftrlft,
therefore, merits particular notice. The fub-
jett requires the following divifion :
I. The
334- M A N U R E Se 21,
1. The materials burnt.
2. The method of burning,
3. The cofl, and the felling price.
4. The foils, and the crops to which it is
applied.
5. The method of applying.
1. Materials. On the Northern mar-
gin of the Vale, lime is burnt folcly from
Jlones, of different colours and contextures.
The fpecies moft prevalent are a ftrong light-
coloured GRANATE, and a fpecies of blue
and white marble ; the blocks, whether
large or fmall, being blue at the core, and
lighter-coloured toward the outer furfacc.
Thcfe ftones are hard^ ponderous^ and almoft
purely calcareous.
One hundred grains of the former, taken
from a lower flratum of Picker ing-Castle-
BAN'K, yield forty-three grains of air,
and ninety- four grains of calcareous earth,
leaving a refiduum of fix grains, chiefly a
brown filt, with a few gypfum-like frag-
ments.
One hundred grains of the latter, taken
from the lower ftratum of a quarry near
KiKCYMOORSicE, afTord thirty nine grains
of
21. YORKSHIRE. 335
of air, eighty-fix and a h:ilf grains of diflb-
luble matter, and thirteen and a half grains
of refiduuni, fine impalpable filr.
The lime produced from the former is of
a dufky colour, and falls in rough coaifc
granules; that of the latter burfts into a white
volatile flour-like powder.
The ftones of dificrcnt quarries are dif-
ferent in quality, but none of them differ
widely from the fpecimens above defcribed*.
On the SOUTHERN HEIGHTS the prevailincr
material is a lingular fpecics of soft gra-
NATE. Its colour a dirty white : its con-
texture refembling the grains of white
muftard-feed run together with a cement of
chalk or marl. The hardncfs of this jtone
(if it merit the name) increafes with the
depth of the quarry. The lower blocks are
ufcd in building ; but the upper flratum, for
three or four feet below the foil, is generally
a STON'E-xMARL of no mcan quality, but varies
in different quarries. I have not learnt, how-
ever, that in any inilance it has been applied
as a MAN'URL. On the contrary, it appears to
be
* For a defcri;'tion of the ^iUAERiSs ofthefe ftrnes,
i";;e Alt. BuiLUi NG 3Ia'j£: RIALS, psge 105, note.
336 MANURES. 2z,
be univerfally caft, as an incumbrance, to the
bottom of the quarry *.
One hundred grains of the Maltom
GRANATE, taken from the middle of the
quarry oppofite the Lodge at New-Malton,
yield forty-four grains of air, and ninety-
fcven grains of calcareous earth, leaving three
grains of rcfiduum, chiefly a brown lilt.
But the ftones of different quarries vary
in quality. One hundred grains taken from
a newly-opened quarry, by the fide of the
road leading from Malton to Caflle-Howard,
yield only ninety-four grains of diffoluble
matter.
I men-
* On this fide of the Vale, too, the llmeftone rubble
which lies between the foil and the rock, is much of it
of the nature of mar l, and might in many cafes be ap-
plied as fuch with advantage.' Its efteft, where it has
been thrown back from the edges of the quarries on
Scallow-moor (a light loam inclining to a black moory
foil) above Pickering, is ftriking. The earth of this
rubble is itrongly calcareo'.is, and its flones are fre-
quently covered with a white efflorefcence which is
purely calcareous. Great quantities of it might be
Gollc(5ted ; and where a fit foil can be found (by trying;
experiments with it on a fmall fcalc) in the neighbour-
hood of a quariy, it would in all probability pay amply
for fetting on. For the bottoming of farm-y-irds and
dunghills, the entire '* coping," the foil inclufivc,
would be found c:;ccllcnt.
21. YORKSHIRE. 337
I mention this circumftance, as the plot
of ground in which this (jiiarry is dug was
bought, it feems, at an extravagant price for
the purpofe of lime-burning ; but the lime,
// is faid, proving of an inferior quality, a
principal part of the money will be funk.
This fhews the great ufe of analyfis in afcer-
taining, without hazard, a knowledge of the
qualities of limeflones *.
One hundred grains of Wold-chalk, ta-
ken from a lime-quarry near Driffield, yield
forty-four grains of air ; three and a half
grains of a foft mucilaginous rcfiduum ; and
ninety-fix and a half grains of calcareous
matter -f.
2. Burning. In giving the detail of this
operation, the following fubdivifions will be
requifite :
Vol. I. Z I. Building
* 111 this cafe, however, if the f^»eclmen I happened
to take was a fair one, the bad quality of the lim;: cannot
be altogether owing to the ftane ; which, by this ana-
lyfis, is far from being a bad one, though inferior to
that of the preceding experiment.
f In thefe experiments the quantity of calcareous
MATTER is inferred from the quantity of residuum,
no more of it being precipitated thafi a fufticiencv to
fliew its colour^ which in every cafe was oifnowy txihite-
nefs; a principal evidence of its being a pure calc.ireous
earth. The quantity of air and the quantity of re-
»I»UUM were in each experiment elofely attended to.
338 MANURES. 21.
1. Buildins: the kiln.
2. Raifing and breaking the (lones.
3. Coals and their proportion.
4. Filling the kiln.
5. Drawing the kiln,
I. T'be kiln. The materials are either llme-
{lone entirely, or limeftone lined with bricks
on the infidc. Neither timber nor mortar
ought to be ufcd in building a lime-kiln ; the
former prefently decays, and the latter by
alternately fvvclling and flirinking burfts the
walls -, befides rendering them in the firft in-
flance too tight to admit a proper quantity
of air : no other air-holes than the " eyes '*
at whxh they are kindled being made in the
kilns of this Diftrid.
The form 01 the cavity is an irregular cone
inverted. At the bottom are generally two
eyes oppofitc to each other ; the cavity being
here contracted to a thin point, or narrow
irongh ; the width that of the eyes. As the
vv.dls are carried up, the cavity takes by de-
gi CCS a circular, or fometimes an ov<il line ;
ill the fatiie time receiving, as it riles, a co-
«:i-a!fovm; until having reached fomewhat
more
21. YORKSHIRE. 339
more than half its intended height, the form
is changed to cylindrical ; or is fometimes con-
tra£ied towards the top. The proportion be-
tween the depths and the diameters of thefc
kilns is that of the depth being generally
about one and a half diameter of the top,
Thtjize varies from fix to forty chaldrons.
2. The jlcms. The arc of raifing ftones
can only be learned by experience in the gi-
ven quarry in which they are to be raifed.
They are fometimes raifed by the day; fome-
times by the load; but moil generally the
entire labour of burning is taken together at
fo much a chaldron of lime.
The breaking of hard, ftrong (lones is a la-
borious part of the operation of lim.e-burning.
On the north- fide of the Vale it is done by
men with large fledge hammers •, but on the
Malton fide, where the ftone is foft, women
are frequently employed in breaking.
The medlum^2;i? is that of the two hands ;
but men burning by the chaldron will not,
unlefs well attended to, break them fo fmall ;
(tones nearly as big as the head are fome-
times, but very improperly, thrown into the
Z 2 kiln J
340 MANURES. iu
kiln ; for unlefs the proportion of coals be
unneceffarily large, the outer fhell only is
burnt to lime, the core remaining a lump of
unburnt ftone.
3. Coals. The morelands for the laft fifty
years, have furniflied the north-fide of the
Vale with coals for lime-burning, and for
an inferior fpecies of fuel. The feam of this
co^l is thin, and the quality in general very
ordinary.
Before the difcovery of thefe coals, lime
was burnt with furze and other brulhwood 5
but notwithllanding the morelands are now
nearly exhaufied of coals (unlefs fome frefh
difcovery fhould be made), the Diftrid is re-
lieved from the apprchenfion of returning
92:ain to its ancient mode of burning lime.
The Dcrvvent, beiidcs an ample fupply of
coals for fuel, brings an inferior kind (both
of them raifcd in Wefl-Yorkfnire j for the
purpofe of lime-burning. The eaflcrn end
of the Vale is equally fortunate in this rc-
fpcdl, by having the port of Scarborough in
its neighbourhood.
The prcportiofi of coals and ftoncs varies
with the quality of the coals, and likewife,
but
21. YORKSHIRE. 34.;
but in a lefs degree, with the quality of the
ftone : the method of burning, too, varies
the proportion. Three chaldrons of lime from
one of coals (the meafures equal) may be con-
lidered as the mean produce. From two ancj
a half to three and a half for one, includes the
whole extent of produce of well-burnt lime.
4. Filling. Some kindling, and an extra-
ordinary proportion of coals being ufed at the
eyes, and at the bottom, the kiln is filled up
with ftones and coals, in thin alternate layers j
thofe of ftones five or fix inches thick ; with
coals in proportion ; the coals, if not fufii-
cicntiy fmall, being previoufly reduced to a
gravel-like ftate -, in order to run down more
freely between the interftices of the ftones,
^nd thereby to mix more evenly with them.
The materials are caft into the kiln with
large fcuttles ; which are filled with ftones,
by means of an iron-toothed rake, compofed
of four teeth about fix inches long, of a heacl
about a foot long, and a handle about four
feet long.
If feveral men be employed in filling a
kiln, it is common for each man to fill and
empty his own fcuttle. But this is an uncer-
Z 3 taittj
342 MANURES. 21.
tain, 'and therefore an improper wa}' of pro-
ceeding. Much depends on the regularity
and evennefs of the layer, and the due pro-
portion of coals ; and to judge of this with
fufficient accuracy requires fome experience,
and a fleady eye ; cfpecially when the kiln is
on fire, and the cavity to "be filled up is full
of fmoke. If more than one perfon be em-
ployed in this cafe, it is highly probable the
work will be imperfedtly done.
Amono^ the fale-kilns about Mai ton there
is an excellent regulation in this refpeft. The
fcuttles are all filled, and brought to the top
of the kiln, by women and boys, who deli-
ver them to the master, or his foreman,
flanding there to receive them, '■juith bis eye fix t
within the kiln ; by which means he is en-
abled to dif!:ribute the fl:ones and coals with
the greatcit accuracy.
5. Drczving. There are two fpecies of
kilns ; cr rather one fpecies ufed in two dif-
ferent ways.
A kiln which is filled, fired, and fufTered to
burn out before any of its contents be drawn,
is called a *' standing kiln."
If
21. YORKSHIRE. 343
If the contents be drawn out at the bottom
while the upper partis yet on fire, the vacancy
at the top being repeatedly filled up with
flone and coal, as the lime is extraflcd at
the botrom, the kiln is termed a " draw
KILN."
Since coals have been ufed in the burning
of lime, draw kilns have, until of larc years,
been molt prevalent. But at prefent fland-
inp- kilns are moft in ufe.
The reafons given for this change of prac-
tice are thefe : firft, that the lime is burnt
evener in {landing than in draw kilns ; in the
drawing of which the ftones are liable to
hang round the fides of the kiln ; thofe in
the middle running down in the form of a
tunnel ; thereby mixing the raw with the
half-burnt flones. The confequence is, the
outfide are burnt too much, the infide too
little J the fiones too frequently running
down to the eye in a half-burnt flate. Se-
condly, the uncvenncfs of furfaceleft by this
method, together with the obfcurity caufed
by the fmoke, render tho: filing difficult ; un-
der-burnt ftones, or an unnecefliary wafte of
coals, is the inevitable confequence. A third
Z 4 argument
344 MANURES. aj.
argument in favour of {landing kilns is, that
a greater proportion of well-burnt lime may be.
produced from the fame quantity of coals.
It is allowed that more kindling fuel is re-
quifite ; and, at the bottom, a greater pro-
portion of coals ; but the fire by this means
getting a ilrong head, a lefs proportion of
coals are required in the body of the kiln ;
and what, perhaps, is of ftill more confe-
quence, lefs h^at is loll: at the top of this
than of the draw kiln ; which is always un-
covered, and too frequently hollow and full
of cracks; while the top of the (landing
kiln being piled up in a conical form, and
clofely covered with fods or rubbilh, colledts
a greater body of lire, and keeps in the heat
more effedlually.
One civcumftance, however, relative to the
{landing kiln rciiuircs to be mentioned. The
iniidc fhould be lined with brick. For every
time a kiln which is lined with limeflone is
fufiered to go out, a fhcll of lime peels off the
infidc; by which means the walls are foon
impaired.
The lia-iC is drawn out at the " eyes" with
a fhovel, and generally carried out m fcuttles,
or
ij. YORKSHIRE. 345
or in baflcet meafurcs, to the cart or waggon.
Of a living kiln the drawing is generally
continued until red aihes begin to make their
appearance.
But {landing kilns are fuffered to burn un-
difturbed until the fire go out ; except, per-
haps, when the fire is rifing toward the top,
and a frefli fupply of air is wanted, a few
Ihovelfulls are drawn at either eye, by which
means an internal hollownefs is formed, and
frelh vigour given to the fire.
From thefe circumftances it is plain, that a
regular fupply of lime cannot be had fvc'ni
lefs than three {landing kilns : one filling ;
one burning; one drawing. The fmaller
burners, however, have frequently only twoj
and for a farmer, one, proportioned to his
farm, is fufficient *.
3. Cost
f About Brotherton and Ncttlngley, near Feiry-
BRiDGE, from whTice vaft f^uan'ities of lime are fent
to diftant parts of the Vale of York ; particularly to-
ward Eafingvvood ; the kUns arc very JJ^aV.n^M and
imde ; the ccvie of materials piled ahove the furface, be-
in^ to appearance equal to the contents of the kila.
This rende-G the emj'tying of the kila very eafy ;
ihe lime being all thrown from the furface, or through
a kind of door-way in the fide j not drav/n out of the
eyes;
346 MANURES. n.
3. Cost and Price. The ordinary wages
for the whole labour of raifing, breaking,
filling, and drawing, is i8d. to 20 d. a chal-
dron.
At Malton, the labour, if taken by the
grofs, is about i8d. the price of lime-kiln
coalst with carriage from the keels to the
kiln, about 14s. a chaldron (of thirty-two
bufhels) the produce better than three for one.
The whole ccji about 6 s. x.\\q felling fries 7 s.
a chaldron.
At Pickering, the labour is 20 d. a chal-
dron : the price of " moor-coals" and car-
riage 16 s. of " Malton coals" and carriage
18 s. The produce, if fufficiently burnt, three
to one. The mean coji is therefore about
7 s. 6d. the felling price 8 s. a chaldron. The
building and repair of kilns ; the wear of
tools •, the value of the ftone in the quarry ;
and, in fome cafes, the carriage of it from
thence to the kiln, arc drawbacks upon the
profits
eyes ; which arc in this cafe of no other ufe than to
kindle at, and to admit a fupply of air. Thofe kilns
are much lefs cxpenfive than the kilns o( thh Diflrift;
and more convenient. But query, Do they give as
much heat with the fame quantity of coals as a talle;
pore cylindrical kiln }
21.
YORKSHIRE. 347
profits which appear in the above calcula-
tions. If therefore the floncs be fufficicntly
burnt, the neat profit is in this cafe very
fmall*.
4. Soils and Crops. It has already been
obferved, that lime is applied indifcriminate-
ly to every fpecies o{ foil.
On the higher drier lands, its utility is
evident.
Ac Malron, it is laid on the calcareous quarry
foil with fuccefs.
In a comparative experiment, fairly and
accurately made on a rif^'^^?;;^^/^;/ above Pick-
ering, with three chaldron of lime an acre ;
the value of the lime to the firft crop, wheat,
was not lefs than two quarters an acre, and
the
* Nothing, perhaps, would encreafe the profits of
lime-burning in ibis place more than the kiln being
filled by the hand of the mafter, or Ibme judiciou'; per-
fon not intereftctd in a wafte of coals. It is the intereft
of men who burn by the chaldron to underbreak the
ftones, and to make up for the deficiency of labour by
an increafe of coaL ; which likewife will make up for
ncglecT:, or want of judgement in filling. Let the
Itones be raifed and broken by the chaldron, or the kiln ;
but let the filling be done by women and boys ; by
which means induftry will be encouraged, and the
ftones, by pafling- under the mafter'seyc, will of courfe
berejefted, if not fufficiently broken,
348 MANURES. ai.
the fucceeding crop of oats, (which now arc
\ipon the ground, Aug. 1787.) is a ftill
ilronger evidence of the great utility of lime
in fame cafes : in this cafe the crop at leaft
threefold.
Neverthelefs It may be prudent in the oc-
cupiers of the cold moiji clays in the bottom
of the Vale to lime with caution.
Its ufe to the Iccfe famiy foils of the Weft
Marfnes is, I believe, fully eftabliihed ; yet
in a comparative experiment on a blackmoory
foil ics effccfl has thus far (the third crop) been
4etrhne!Jfal rather than ferviceable.
It is not my intention to damp the fpirit of
improvement, but to endeavour to direfl it
to fuitable objedts. Nothing, at prefent, but
COMPARATIVE EXP ERiMENTS Can determine
the value of a given lime to a given foil ;
nnd no man can, with common prudence,
lime any land upon a large fcaic, until a
moral ccrtaintv of improvement has been
cilablifhed by experience.
The prevailing crop is 'wheat on fallo"Jt;. Tt is
alio pretty generally fet on for rape, iurneps,
or other crop, after fed burnujg^ and fprcacj
among the alhcs. It is alfo fpmctimes fct on
for
ai. YORKSHIRE. 349
for barky. But its efFecl to the fi^Jl crop^
except of wheat or rape, is, I believe, f';;ldom
perceptible.
But beneficial as lime undoubtedly is in
fome cafes to coRrr, its benefit to grass is a
matter in difpute, even among the farmers of
Yorklliire. Incidents are authenticated in
which, to general appearance, it has been
detrimental.
But without the afliflance of compariforiy
the judgment is at a lofs to afccrtain with
any degree of precifion the effeifls of Manures.
Neverthelefs, general appearances to thofe
who have a knowledge of the nature of the
foil, have their weight.
It feem.s, however, to be a generally re-
ceived idea, that lime which is laid on for
grafs is not throwm away ; for whenever the
land is again turned up, its benefit to corn
will have full cff'cd.
5. Liming. Long as Hnie has been in
common ufe as a manure, the proper method
of applying it to the foil is far from being
univerfally praclifcd.
The methods of liming are various.
The
350 MANURES. ar.
Thevvorfl: is that of laying it in large heaps,
and liiffering it to run to a jelly before it be
fpread upon the land.
Next to this is fetting it about the land in
fmnll hillocks ; for although thefe hillocks be
fpread before they approach to a date of
mortar, this method is injudicious.
Lime which falls in the open air does not
fall to powder, but breaks into checquers, or
fmall cubical mafles ; which beino; once
buKied in the foil, may remain in it for ages
without being mixt intimately with it.
As far as experience and theory have yet
reached, lime ought to be fpread in a ftate of
PERFECT POWDER ; thereby lodging it in the
pores of the foil ; and thus, by afTimilating
the two ingredients, form with them one ho-
moo-encous calcareous mafs.
A finale jione expofcd to a moift atmofpherc
falls entirely mio granules, not 'm\.o powder*.
The
* It is obfervablc, however, that ir.ucb depends up-
on the nature of the ftone from which the lime has
been burur. Stones of a unif rni texture, as moft
niavblcs, ;.rc Icfs liable to fall in granules than ftones
whiv-h are natumlly compofcd of ijrains, or arc divided
bv nlRirts into natural fragments.
21. YORKSHIRE. 351
The fmallcr the heaps, the nearer they ap-
proach to fingle ftones ; there is a greater
proportion of fur face, and confequently a
greater proportion of granules.
It is therefore the practice of judicious
hufbandmen to fet lime upon the land in
LOAD-HEAPS, and fprcad it over the foil
out of carts, as foot: as it is fufficiently fallen.
There is an inilance of prat^tice in this
neighbourhood, and, I believe, only one,
which is ftill fuperior to that lafL-mentioned.
In this inilance, the load-heaps are turned
oveVi not fo much to finifh the falline, as to
gain an opportunity of burying the gra-
nulous furface of the heaps; by which means
the fragments are at lealt Icffcncd, if not re-
duced 10 powder.
In the MOR ELANDS a flill better practice
is faid to prevail. There the heaps are inter-
layered and covered up with moijl '''' turf -mould'*
(the rubbifhfrom peat and turf fuel), which
bringing on a rapid fall, the whole is fet 011
fire, and the furface kept free from granules
by a' covering of dry alhes.
This leads to a general improvement in
the method of SLAKING lime: Cover i^p the
heaps, whether large or fmall, with soil,
either
352 MANURE S. 21.
cither of the field they are fet in, or that of
lanes or ditches carted to them for the pur-
pofe ; and if a fpeedy fall be required, throw
water over this covering. See Art. Cement,
page 121.
If lime be ufed on fallow for wheat, it is
generally fpread on in July ; good farmers
making a point oi harrowing it inasfajl as it
is fpread J and plowing it under with a fhallow
furrow, as foon as convenient.
The ufual quantity fet on is three to four
chaldrons an acre.
Dung. Nothing fufficiently noticeable
refpec^ing this fpecies of manure has occur-
red to me, excepting fome incidents relating
to the manuring of grafsland, which will
appear under the head Natural Grasses ;
and excepting a general deficiency in Farm-
yard Economy, for which fee Farm- Yard
Management.
SOWING.
22. YORKSHIRE. 35J
22.
SOWING.
THE SPIRIT OF IMPROVEMENT
may have led Ibme gentlemen, bur, I be-
lieve, not one yeoman or regular-bred farmer
to make experiments in the drill-hus-
bandry, at lead not of late years. In the
day of Mr, Tull fome trials were m.adeof it,
but the refults were not fufficiently favour-
able to eftablifh it as a practice.
A fingularity in the method of fowing
BROADCAST is noticcable, though not pecu-
liarly excellent. The common way is to
fovv one land or one call at twice, fowing
half the feed one way, and (returning on
the fame land) half the other; the feedfman,
in this cafe, filling his hand at one ftep, and
making his caft at the next. But, in the me-
thod under notice, he cads ai every ft ep, and
fows the whole of the {^(^.d. at once going over.
This method is more expeditious than the
common way ; but it requires a fteady eye
and an expert hand to feed the ground evenly.
Vol. I. A a WEEDS
354 WEED S. S3.
WEEDS and V E R M I N.
I. WEEDS. There are, In this Diftrid:,
men who have been fingularly obfervant
with refpedt to the nature of weeds ; marking
their continuance, and defcribing their me-
thods of propagation and rooting with more
than botanical accuracy.
What I principally propofe under the pre-
fcnt head is to enumerate the species of
WEEDS moil noxious to the arable land of
this neighbourhood, and to note what ap-
pears to be worthy of notice refpedting the
different fpecies.
It may be proper to fay, that in arranging
the fpecies I have s>ukavoured to place them
according to their degrees of noxiousness ;
whether it arife from their refpedtive qua-
lities, or from the quantity which prevails in
ihs neighlonrhocd of Picktring. The g!< asses
and-
23. YORKSHIRE. 355
and \.htjfjrubs arc purpofely kept feparate, to
fhew with greater perfplcuity their feveral
degrees of hurtfulnefs to the arable lands of
the Diftridl under obfcrvation.
Provincial names. Linneannaines. Englijh names *>
Common thiftle, — -fcrratula -^ crvcnjis,-—'
corn-thiftle.
Docken, — rirmcx crifpus^ — curled dock.
Nettle, — iirtica dioica^ — common ftinging-
nettle.
Swine t]\\^\Q,—fonchtis cIcraceuSj — common
fow-thiflle.
A a 2 Runfli,
* Taken principally from the catalogue of plants
cultivated in the London Botanic Garden, by IMr.
QxiK-vts^ <i\\X.\\OY oi Flora Londinenju; with, however,
fuch alterations as appear to nic luituble to the fubjedt
of the prefent volumi-s.
f Let no voluminous writer pretend to pcrfcft ac-
curacy. Linneus, vvhofc lyllem is a W'onderful exer-
tion of the human mind with rcfpcdl to accuracy of ar-
rangement, appears to have made an evident miftake in
the claffification of this commoii pl.mt. II.jW he could
be induced to tear it from its natural family carduus,
and force it into that oi jhratula, may now be difficult
to be afcertaincd. I retain the name, — but protcil
againftthe propiiety of it. The Linnean names are
now gone forth throughout all nations ; and whoever
changes them is fpeaking a language unknown to uni-
TERSAL BOTANY.
356 \V E E D S. 23.
Frovincicd names , Linnean names, Englijh names*
RuRfn,: — -finapis arvenfis^ — wild muftard.
Kunfh, — raphamis rapbanijlrum, — wild ra-
diih.
Runm,— 3r/7^r^ napus, — wild rape.
Dea-nettle, — gcdccpfis tetrahit, — wild hemp.
Hairough, — galium aparine, — cleavers.
Groundfilj — fenecio vulgaris^ — groundlel .
Chicken- weed,— ^^i;7f;;?f^/^, — chickweed,
Dog-finkle, — c/z//:?fOT/if <?/«/«,.. maithe- weed,-
Dog-finkle, — amhemis arvenJJs^ — corn-ca'
momiie.
Cuprofe, — papaver rhc:a^y — round fmooth-
headed poj^py.
Cuprofc,-^— /><7/'^i'6r dubiumi — long fmooth-
hei;,ded pop})v.
Bur-rhitlle, — cardtiHS lanceclatiis, — fpcar-
lhii1:!'.\
Rcd-thliile, — cavdtius paJufiris^ — niarfli-
thiitlc.
Swipc-thiftlc,— /t;;t7^//j arverjis, — corn fow-
thiftlc.
Crowfoot, — ranumuhis repens, — creeping
crowfoot.
Foal- foot, — tiijfilago farfara^ — colt's ■ foot.
polenhlla ^jz/i-w:^,— filvcr-weed.
Fat-hen, — ch: n pcdiitm album, — common
goofc-foor.
Fat-
23. YORKSHIRE. 357
Provincial names. Linnean names. EngliJlD names.
Fat-hen, — chenopodium vi'ride^ — red jointed
eoofe-foot.
Popple, — cgrojlemma githagc, — cockle.
Stoney-hard, — Hthofpermum arvenfe, — corn
gromwcll.
Corn-bind, — polygonum convolvulus y—cWmb-
ing buckwheat. '
Sour-docken, — rume'X acetofa^ — common
for re 1.
Sour-docken, — rumex aceiocella, — fheep's
lor r el.
Great horfeknobs, — centaurea fcahicfa, — n
corn knobwced.
Great blue-caps,— y?.^-^^^/? arvenfis^ — corn
fcabious.
C u Ih 1 a , — heracleumfpbondylium, — cow par f-
nep.
chryfa/athemumfegetum^ — corn marigold,
Yer-nuts, — buniiim bulbocajlanum, — earth,
or pig nut.
dauct'.s carota^ — wild carrot.
centaurea cyanus^ — blue-b ottle.
trifolium melilotus officinalis, — melilot.
trifclium alpeftre, — alpine clover.
Docken, — rumex obtufifolia^ — broad-leaved
dock,
A a 3 Docken
358 WEEDS. 23.
Provincial names. Linnean names, EngUJJo names»
Docken, — rumex fanguineus ^ — bloody dpck.
carduus nutans, — nodding thiflle.
carduus eriophorus, — woolly headed
thiftle,
thlafpi campejlre^ — corn mithridate.
lapjana communis , — nipplewort.
polyganum -pcrficaria, — mild perlicarla,
poiy?^ aniim aziculare, — hog wee d .
mentha arvenfiSy — corn mint.
chryfanthemumleucanthemum, — ox-eye
daifcy.
ranunculus arvenfiSy — corn crowfoot..
ranunculus acris, — common crowfoot,
cucubalus behen, — bladder campion.
Cornbind, — convokulus arvenfis, — corn
convolvulus.
acbilka millefolium, — milfoil.
Saxifrage, ■ — peucedanum ftlaus, — meadow
faxifi age.
lycGpfis arienjis, — corn buglos.
Eur- docken, — ar^ium lappa, — burdock,
antirrhinum linaria, — common fnap-
dragon.
Valeriana locujla, — corn valerian,-
refcda luteola, — dyer's weed.
Brake n S3
23. YORKSHIRE. 359
Provincial names, Linnean names. EngliJJj names.
Brakens, — pteris aqiiilina^ — fern, or brakes.
Crake-needle, — fcandix pe£len Veneris^ —
Ihepherd's needle.
veronica hederifolia, — ivy - leaved
fpeedvv'cll.
cerajlium vulgatum, — common moufe-
ear.
fimai'ia officinalis^ — common fumitory,
euphorbia heliofcopia, — fun fpurge.
cnagallis arvenfts^ — pimpernel.
fdago germanica^ — common cudweed.
euphrafia odontites, — red eyebright.
hypocharis radicata, — lo^'^g - rooted
hawkweed.
myofotis fcorpioidesy — fcorpion moufe-
car.
viola tricolor^ — common panfie.
prunella vulgaris, — felf-heal.
Quicks, — triticum repens, — couch grafs.
fefiuca duriufcula, — hard fefcue-grafs.
White grafs, — bolcus mollis, — couchy foft-
grafs.
avena elatior, — tall oat- grafs.
agrejlis alba, — white bent.
alopecuris agrejlis, — field foxtail grafs.
A a 4 Droke,
360 WEEDS. 23.
Provincial names. Linnean names. Englijh names^
Di'oke, — lolium temulentum, — darnel.
datlylis g lomeraia, — orchard grafs.
White grafs, — hokus lanatus^ — meadow
Ibft-grafs.
Alh, — -fraxinus excelfior^ — alh.
Afpen, — populus trctnula, — trembling po-
pular.
White-thorn, — Crataegus oxyacantba^ — haw-
thorn. '
Black-rhorn, — pruntisfpinofa^ — Qoe-thorn.
Briar, — rnhns friittcofus^ — common bramble,
ruhus cafiiis^ — dwarf bramble.
Cat-whin, — rofa fpinofijfrma, — burnct-rofe.
Ruft-burn, — ononis arvenfis fpinofa^ — thorny
reft harrow.
Ruft-burn, — ononis repens, — trailing reft-
harrow.
It will perhaps be expefted, that befide
fome account of the natural growth of the
more noxious weeds, the method of de-
stroying them will here be mentioned. It
is my intention, in this place, to make a begin-
ning upon a fubjedl which, to treat of it
iully, would itfelf fdl a feparate volume.
Jherc
43. YORKSHIRE. 361
There are two ways of extirpating weeds
from ARABLE LAND : by fallowing and by
weeding.
By the term fallowing is meant repeated
plowings, harrowings, &c. between the crops ;
whether thefe plowings, &c. be given in two
or in twelve months.
There are feveral fpecies of weeds which,
cannot be overcome without fallowincr.
o
"Weeds which propagate their fpecies hj
SUCKERS FROM THE ROOT are invigorated by
a Jingle plowing, which, bv gi^nng; a frefh
fupply of air and openncfs to the foil, o-ives
freedom to the fuckers ; v/hile the mere feed-
weeds being deftrovcd in the operation, the
fuckers are left in full pofTefTion of the foil :
and whoever attempts to lelTen the number
of fuch weeds with the hoe, is unacquainted
with the praftice of hufoandry.
The continuance of a fallow, and the
number of plowings requifite, depend on the
feafon, and on the number and the nature of
the weeds to be deftroyed. If the fpring
feafon be found infufficient to effeduate the
purgation, — take the fummer, and even the
autumn, the winter, and the enfuing fpring,
rather
S&2 WEEDS. 23,
rather ih2.n crop an under-ivorked falioiv, which
i^ but little luperior to a fingle plowing.
One flirring towards the clofe is frequently-
mere valuable than two or three plowings at
the outfet. To begin a fallow without con-
tinuing it until its iniention he fully acconi'
fhjhed^ is throwing away labour unprofitabl}^
By WEEDING is meant the a<ft of deftroy-
ing or checking weeds while the crop is
growing, to prevent their preying upon the
foil, and propagating their fpecies by feed-
ing ; whether the operation be performed
with the hoe^ the fpiidki the hook, or the band
alone.
Next to the plow and harrow, the hoe is
the mod deftrudive to feed weeds; but the
hoe ought not in any cafe to be relied on :
the HAND alone ought to give tht fin'fjj to
weeding : and the laier this is given, fo that
|he crop be not materially injured by the
operation, the more valuable will be its cf-
fc-a:.
The ckf^ of this operaiion is fimilar tq that
of the fallow. One additional weeding is
given at a fmall cxpcnce; and without it,
perhaps, thofc which preceded were of little
benefito
23. YORKSHIRE. 363
benefit. One weed left to fpread its feeds
this year may be the caufe of an hundred the
next.
Common Corn Thistle. Nature has
been fingularly attentive to the prefervation
of this fpecies of plant. Its feeds have wings,
and its roots are worm-like; diffufing them-
felves on every fide, and ftriking to an un-
limited depth, fending out fuckers from their
joints ; while the plant itfelf is armed at all
points to guard its exidence until its feeds
are impregnated. The fecundation having
taken place, the plant may the next day be
trodden down or torn up by the roots, with-
out hindering the maturation of the feed :
the fucculency of the fiem itfelf being fuf-
ficient to 'mature the feed without further af-
fiftance from the foil.
A plant thus favoured has probably fome
valuable quality belonging to it. Be this as
it may, viewed as a weed to corn, it is the
moll dangerous enemy the arable farmer has
to deal with.
Neither fallowing alone, nor weeding
alone, will prevent its mifchief : their joint
cffbrrs are necelTary to keep it within bound? :
to
J
64 WEED S, 23,
to work its total extirpation from a foil it af-
fedls, is fcarcely poflible. Neverthelefs, it
ought to be the ambition of every farmer to
approach as nearly as he can to this firft
thing defirable with refped: to weeds ; for,
in endeavouring to overcome this, lefs power-
ful enemies will fall imperceptibly.
CoucHGRASS. This plant, viewed bota-
nically, is of the fame genus as wheat :
forming its parts of frucftification in the fame
manner ; and, what is noticeable, its roots
contain a milky juice refem.bling in tafle the
milky grains of unripe wheat.
But nutritious as thefe roots undoubtedly
are, and valuable as their dietetic and medi-
cal properties may be, they are frequently
ranked as the iirft, and may properly be con-
sidered as the fecond, enemy of the arable
farmer.
As a worm-rcotcd plant, the couch-grafs
:3 certainly entitled to precedency among
the weeds ot corn • but its feeds have not
wirigs; nor do they fcarcely ever reach ma-
turity in ^rahk lands.
Its method of propagation, there, is en-
tirely by KooTs ; which, in a loofc rich foil,
will
23. YORKSHIRE. 365
will tliffufe themfelves to an unlimited dif-
tance. Every joint of the root is in ciTecl a
feed^ which only requires air and openncls of
foil to fit it for vegetation, and enable it to
fend forth frefli roots ; and confequently to
furnifli the foil with a frelh fupply of feeds.
The nature of couch-grafs, and its method
of propagation, being duly confidered, the
method of deflroying it evidently appears.
To free the foil from the feeds of weeds
which are lodged in it, we endeavour to place
them in a fituation favourable to vegetation;
and, as foon as they have vegetated, to dellroy
the feedling plants while yetinatcnderflatej
thus converting the feeds into a melioration
of the foil.
The fame principles of managenient are
applicable to the roots of couch-grafs. Break
up the foil in fuch a manner as to give it the
greateft furface, in order to encourage in the
ampleft manner poiTible the vegetation of the
roots. As foon as this isefrciftcd, endeavour
to dellroy the young fuckers while they are
yet in a delicate tender (late, before they have
had time to eftablifh themfelves, or to fend
ouK frefh roots for the purpofj of propagation.
In
366 Weeds, ^j.
In dcftroying the firft crop of fuckers, a fe-
cond expofure of roots takes place ; and
to render the expofure as ample as poflible,
the greattft quantity of furface flitould ftill be
preferved.
Hence it follows that the plow is the fittcft
implement for the deftrudtion of couch.
The harrow deftroys the requifitc rough-
ness and OPENNESS of the foil, and. leflensS
the defirable qttantity of surface. The
common pradlice of harrowing out live roots,
and burning them, or carrying them off, \i
an evident impropriety ; incurring a wafte of
labour, nnd an impoverifhment of the foil.
To attempt to deClroy couch-grafs with the
lof;^ or any other implem.ent of weeding.
Implies Ignorance or folly in the extreme.
I fpeak not here from theory, or from the
opinion of others, but from my own experi-
ence and obfervation in different Diftiicfts of
the kingdom.
Docks. The growth of this genus of plants
is dlficrcnt from that of either of the forego-
ing. It matures its feeds quickly, and in
great abundance ; but they have no wings to
fcattcr them at a diftance ; they fall at the
foot
^2' YORKSHIRE. 367
foot of the plant. This renders a creeping
root iinneceffary. Nature's chief care feems
to have been to eflablifh the parent plant
firmly in the foil, iind to guard againil its
definition.
To this end it is fiifnifhed with a very
llrong perennial taproot of fingular proper-
ties. If divided below the crown, the part:
left in the ground fends forth fapling flioots;
and this from almoft any depth; provided
it have head-room, or the foil be loofe. The
upper part too, if cut off a few inches deep,
will furvive the amputation. Even when in-
verted with the plow, it will recoil, and find
its way to the furface again.
In this cafe, therefore, the plow alone is an
improper implement of deitruction. On the
contrary, it may, and frequently does, en-
creafe the number of plants ; the part cue
off, and the part left below the plow, both of
iliem furviving the reparation.
Hence it is evident, that land v/hich Is in-
fedled with docks fnould be gone over with
the DRAWING IRON or the SPADE foHie time
before the plow be put into it ; that the
tops may be removed, and the rootkts Icit in
the
368 WEEDS. ^j,
the ground may have time to rot before the
land be plowed.
With this precaution, and with a perfon to
follow the plow with a fpadlet to grub up
the bottoms, and to difengage the tops of
fuch as may have efcaped the previous weed-
ing, the roots of docks may with great cer-
tainty be got rid of.
Tl'^t feeds of docks are to be dcflroyed in
the fame manner as thofe of other weeds ;
namely, with the plow, the harrow, and the
roller : with this difference, however, that
in deftroying the feedlings of the docks, or
any ol\itx Jirong-rooted perennial plant, the in-
tervals between the plowings lliould htjhort :
for if they once get themfeives ejtablifjjed in
the foil, it is, without a favourable feafon, out
of the power of tillage to extirpate them.
Another precaution with rcfpedt to the
feeds of docks is ncceflary : they are fome-
timcs/^av; upon the land with corn^ and very
frequently with clover.
From CORN and pulse they may be fepa-
i-ated with the Ikveen, and ftill more effedu-
ally with the fieve •, and no man can, in com-
mon prudence, fow any fpecies of thefc un-
til
23- YORKSHIRE. 369
til the feeds of weeds have been feparated
with the utmoft care.
But from clover seed, the feeds of docks
cannot eafily be feparated : they are nearly
of the hmt/ize and the fame weight ; neither
the lieve nor the fan can part them. Singular
caution, therefore, ought to be had in the
purchaling of this feed.
If every man would be cautious in this
matter, the grower of that article would be
affiduous in weeding their feed clover from
this pernicious and difgraceful weed. To
fuffer one dock which has matured its feed to
be thrajhed with feed-clover is a crime which
ought, among farmers, to be deemed unpar-
donable.
Cleavers. " Hairough'* Is here con-
fidered as one of the worfl weeds which
WHEAT can be infefted with ; not more
from the method of its growth than from the
evil efFcfts of its feeds, which are allied to
the grains of wheat, as the feeds of the dock
arc to thofe of clover. They are very dif-
ficult to feparatc -, and when ground with
wheat, are hurtful to the flour.
Vol. I. B b The
3;o WEED S. lp
The hairough is an annual plant, having a
{m^ulA^U feeble root, eafily to be deftroycd.
When this weed has been thick upon the
ground, and by its climbing nature has gain-
ed the afcendency of the corn, I have known
it dragged out with iron-toothed rakes
with good cfFccl and quick difpatch. In va-
cancies, and while the corn is low, a fmall
HOE may be ufed ; but in general it is beft
to draw it with the hand alone.
The feeds of the cleaver, like thofe of mcft
annual plants, will lie in the foil for 8ges,
without loling their vegetative quality. But
by FALLOWING, provided the feafon be fa-
vourable to their vegetation, they may be
eafily extinguillied.
Wild mustard. With this maybe clafTed
2i\\ othQX annual weeds, w4iofe feeds are y5;a^//
enough or light enough to be feparated eafily
irom the grain among which they grow.
The flems of moft of them will fend forth
frcili Ihonts if cut o^ ahoz^e the crozvn ; but if
taken off beloiv the croivn, the root and fern
are at once detlroyed.
Fallowing and v/eeding are there-
fore in this cafe equally effective. Thofe
\\'
hicb
23- Y O R K S FI I R E. 371
which efcape the flo'-jj ought to be cut off
with the hoe \ and what the hoe miffes, the
hand ought to eradicate.
But it is always better to prevent than to
deftroy weeds ; which if they live but a day,
do more or lets injury to the infant crop.
The extindiion of the feeds ^ before the crop
he fown, is one of the first objects of the
ARABLE FARMER. This is to be effected by
FALLOWING ; and by fallowing only.
In treating of the roots of couch-grafs, an
amplenefs, and confequently a roughness of
SURFACE was recommended. The principles
there laid down are applicable to the diflolu-
tion o^ feeds.
Nature has wifely ordered, that the fmaller
feeds of vegetables fhall not vegetate at a
diftance from the furface ; confequently in
a foil fraught with the feeds of weeds, the
"GKTANTiTV OF VEGETATION Will be in pro-
portion to the CU^ANTITY OF SURFACE.
The ROL'GH FURROWS of \.\\Q firji plowing
of a foul fallow, and the rough clods of the
fecondj will, in a moid feafon, be fet roundj
fo far as their fur faces are free 'and open to the
fi/r, with feedling and rootling plants. Where-
B b 2 as.
0^2 WEED S. aj,
as, IkkI the lurface been levelled with the har-
row immediately after the plowing, more
than half the quantity of furface would have
been done away ; and of courfe more than
half the quantity of vegetation prevented.
But the quantity of furface is far from con-
flituting the only advantage of a rough
CLODDY FALLOW.
If the feafon be dry, the fun and dry air
having free admilTion on almoft every fide of
the prominent clods, the rocts of the plants
contained in them become parched up, dcC-
riturc of pafluragc.
if the feafon be jnoij}, the feeds of weeds
vegetate, zchile the clods are continually moiil-
deving ; thus at once deftroying the feedlings
clrcady excluded j- and baring another furface
for ?Lfiep vegetation.
When the clods are fo far reduced that
the PLOW is no longer able to prevent their
being buried among the loofe mould, it is
the}n\\Q. bufinefsof the harrow to pull them
up to the uiiface.
When the plow, a pair of rough harrows,
and the atmofphere have done their part to-
ward the rcdudlion of the clods, the affiftance
of
.^3. YORKSHIRE. 373
of the ROLLER and finer harrows fnould be
called in. Not a root fhould be left un-
Ipofened, nor a feed unlocked.
When the feeds near the furface haveburft,
another cxpofure (hould be made : not by a
fiat -plowing, but by raifing the foil into nar-
row ridglets by a half -plowing -, thus increa-
fing, perhaps doubly, the quantity of furface.
As the feeds burft and the remainina: roots
O
wither, harrow down the ridglets, and there-
by expofe freih vidims to the atniofpherc.
Reverfe the ridglets, and repeat the har-r
rowing.
If a foil be very foul, either with the roots
or the SEEDS of weeds, it is in vain to think of
making \x. fufficieiitly clean with lefs than five
OR SIX PLOWixGS : feven or eight may, in
fome cafes and in fome feafons, be necefiary.
Spear Thistle. 'Ihis and a numerous
tribe of biennial "jjeeds are more injurious to.
grafs than to corn ; which however is too fre-
quently injured by them.
The nature of this clafs of plants is to form
their root-leaves the/r/? year, and to run up
to feed the feccnd. The feed matured, the
root dies.
B b 3 Their
374 WEEDS. 23.
Their ROOT-LEAVES, by fpreadlng upon the
furface and feeding in the foil, are injurious
to corn ; and among early-fown wheat the
plants may get fufficiently flrong in autumn,
to run up to feed the enfuing fummer. Alfo
corn fown on one plowing may be injured by-
this clafs of weeds furviving the operation
and rifing between the furrows.
The bed implement for deflroying the
biennial thiflles is the spadle, or a fmall
iiOE, taking ofr the crown of the root fome-
what within the furface of the ground. The
root periflies, and the extirpation is of courfe
iinal.
Corn Scadious, Corn Knobweed, Mil-
foil , a n d other ftrong- roated perennial weeds ^
may be ranked among the moft hardy ene-
mies of arable crops.
A dock may in proper fetifon be drawn :
its root is taper, brittle, and runs to a definite
depth. But the roots of the plants under no-
tice are, at fome feafons, as tough as leather,
running, in a rope-like cylindrical fliape, to
almoft: any depth. To draw them, when,
ihey arc fully cflablifhed in the foil, is im-
poffible I and if they be broken off or cue
within
jj. YORKSHIRE. 375
within the furface, they fend forth fapling
{hoots, even from the boitom of the plow
furrow, when cut off with the fharc, and
buried fix or eight inches deep with mould !
The only probable means of extirpating
thefe weeds from arable land, is to follow
THE plow with a long narrow fpadc or other
long sharp implement, fetching up the
root as deep as pofilble, filling up the hole
with mould, and treading it down hard W'itli
the heel, effedually to prevent the faplings
from rifing.
Creeping Crov/foot, Creeping Bent,
Silver Weed, and other creeping perennial
weeds, form another clafs of troublefomc
enemies to corn land. The firft and lafl fend
out creepers (like the ftrawberry) for the fole
purpole of extending their dominion and in-
creafing their fpecies. The fecond fenJs out
rootlets from the joints of its 7?^/;;, which,
being feeble, falls to the ground as its
length is extended and the weight of its top
is increafed. The parent roots of both are
fibrous and eafily deflroyed.
If, therefore, thefe weeds be taken in time,
th,ey are readily extirpated by weeding;
B b 4 byt
376 WEEDS. 23.
but when once they have bound themfelves
to the furface with innumerable ligatures,
FALLOWING IS the Only means of deltru6:ion.
In this caie it is obfervable, that the harrow
may be ufed in the firft ftages of the fallow
with proj^vriety (thereby fhortening its conti-
nuance), provided no other root-weeds are to
be at the fame time deflroyed. Skimming the
furface wdth the plow, the horfe-hoe, or the
paring-fpade, is more eiTed:ual againft thefe
weeds than deep plowing.
Trees and Shrubs. Thefe are doubly
injurious to corn : in occupying the foil, and
in forming obftiudiions to the plow and har-
row. Thofe which throw up fuckers are alfo
burthenfome to the crop.
If the ash, the asp, or the fine-leaved elm
abound in hedges, — either the adjoining in-
clofures fhould be kept in grafs, or, previous
to their being plowed up, the fur face-root $
fhould be cut offhy a trench dug at a fuitable
diftance from the hedge, tracing the larger
roots, and filling up the trench. When the
fmaller roots are rotten, break up j and as oftca
as a frcfli flock of roots become troublefome,
repeat the operation.
But
ji3. YORKSHIRE. 377
But even with this precaution their inju-
lioufnefs will only be leflencd, not wholly-
prevented. A total eradication, let their
Hate of growth be what it may, is in general
to be preferred. How imprudent then to
plant (hallow-rooting trees in the hedges of
Inclofures, whofe loil or fituation requires
that they Ihall be broken up for corn before
the timber reach fufficient maturity.
II. Vermin. The different fpecies of ver-
min which have more particularly excited
notice in this Diftridt are,
1. Mice.
2. Rats.
3. Dogs.
I. Mice. The moufe rivals the fparrow in
mifchievoufnefs toward the farmer. In the
field, the barn, and the dairy, mice are
equally troublefome and deftrudive. In the
field, the quantity of deftrudtion is not eafily
;q be ascertained ; but it is probably much
greater
375 V E R M I N. 23-;^
greater than the iinobfervant are aware of.
At feed-time and at harvefl they not only
feed freely upon corn, but fill their granarie?
with it as a rtfource in Icfs plentiful feafons.
Much care is beftowed on the deftrudlion of
moles; and 'it might be ivorth while to en-
deavour to leffcn the number of iicld-micc,
which. I am of opinion, are in their nature
more injurious to the farmer than moles are.
In the rick-yard, the barn, the dwcK
lintT-houfe, the garden, and the nurfcry-
eround, their mifchievoufnefs is too obvious
to be overlooked ; and the utility of lelTening
their number in thefe places is too well
known to require an enumeration of fadts tq
prove it.
The method of deftroying mice 15 a fub»
je6: not unworthy the attention of any maq
who is Interefled in rui;al affairs. If fomc art
pr fome natural eneiuics were not employed
in Icfiening their number, the entire fupply
of human food would not be fufficient to
jupport them. Kvcn in their pvcfent (late, |
hnve heard it intimated by a man whofe ob-
(crvations arc frequently juft, that it is a dif-
putab.l0
np YORKSHIRE. 379
putable point whether the moufe or the
tithe-man is a greater enemy to the farmer *.
The barn and the flackyard are ufually put
under the care of the cat : to fet a moufe-trap
in a barn full of corn has perhaps been con-
fidered as a thing fo unlikely to be efFedlive,
that it has feldom been tried : I have never
met with an inftance of it, excepting one in
this Diftridt, in whiph its fuccefs has been ex-
traordinary. A barn, which for many years
had been remarkably infefted with mice
(notwithftanding a numerous guard of cats),
has, by a proper ufe of traps, been kept in
a manner wholly free from them.
It having been obferved, during long ex-
perience, that thefe mifchievous animals, un-
contented with their deftrudlion among the
corn, — attacked leather, greafe, or other ani-
mal food, which happened to be left in the
barn, — traps were fet in their runs and na-
tural
• This idea, however, is more applicable in a grafs-
land cx)untry, where corn, being lefs in quantity, is moro
liable to be deftroycd by mice, than it is in an arable
country, where the proportion of corn is greater ;—
where the barn is oftener emptied ; — and where pillar
itack-frames and pillar granaricf arr generally more
in ufe.
SSo V E R M I N. 2?,
tural hiding-places, and baited withthefefubr
ftanees. 1 he fuccefs was every thing to be
defired ; for although a total extirpation has
not taken place, an annual faving of fome
quarters of corn has been the confequence.
Under an idea that it was a change of
FOOD which in the barn conftituted the bait,
the fame principle was applied in the cheefe-
ghamber, and with the fame fuccefs. Here,
traps baited with corn were taken with avi-
dity.
In the garden it was obfcrved, that much
depended on the feafon of the year : there-
fore, here, natural hiding-places were fought
ior ; and if convenient ones could not be
i:ound, artificial ones were made, in diiTerent
parts of the garden, with logs, ftones fet hol-
low on-edge, boards, &c. In thefe hiding-
places a variety of food is laid for feveral
days, whenever mice become troublefome*
and whatever food is preferred, with that
traps are baited.
By thefe means the entire prtmifes have
been kept in a n:ianner wholly free frcrt^
qiicc.
While
ft3. YORKSHIRE. 381
While the number is great, alnioO: any
kind of trap may be ufcd, provided it be
properly baited : for taking a remaining
artful few, a common-lhaped round fleel-
trap, adapted to the fize of the moufe, has
been found to be the moil effed:ual,
2. Rats. This animal, equally artful and
mifchievous, is difficult to be taken by ftra-
tagem. In farm-homefteads iituated near wa-
ter, it is become almoft impoffible to keep
down their numbers. In every country they
are a growing evil, not only in Rural Econo-
my, but in manufadiure and in domeflic life.
Should their numbers continue to increafc
with the fame rapidity they have done fmcc
the prefent breed got footing in the ifland,
they will in no great lengrh of time become
a ferious calamity. They are perhaps 7X
prefent an object of national attention. A
limple and certain method of deHroying
them would indifputably be a public good
of no fmall magnitude ; and the nation's
purfe might be worfe employed than in giv-
ing a reward for fo defirable a difcover\ .
Some years ago the French govcrnmeiU
offered a premium for a fpeedy and efieclual
method
381 V E R M I N. 23.
method of deflroying ants in one of theif
Weft-India Iflands, and it had the defired
effea:.
3. Dogs. It is not through an antipathy to
dogs that I clals them here among vermini
I am led to it by fadts, which, though not
extraordinary, ought to be known.
A few years ago the whole country was
alarmed with the apprehenfion of canine
MADNESS. A confiderable proportion of the
dogs kept in it were adually mad. Much
live ftock and feveral pcrfons were bitteni
Fortunately, however, thus far none of tbefe
have been attacked by that horrid diforder ;
but they ftill live under the dreadful appre-
henfion of their being every day liable to be
fcizcd by the greatctl: calamity human na-
ture is liable to *,
In
* c:
ilince writing the dbovo no Icfj thr.n fcvcn pcr-
fons were, in this phicc, bitten by one dog ! Much live
fto.k has iilfo hitely been bitten. In a neigjhbounng
■viUagc a calf which had been bitten was Icized with
madnefs, and bit the perfon who had the care of it.
Whst aggravates the firft-mcntioncd inftancc is, that
the perfon to whom the d -g belonged knew that he had
been bi ten a few weeks before, yet fuffered him to go
loofr,
27. Y O Pv K S H I R E. 3§3
In the conrfe of lart winter (17S6-7) the
VaUie of SHEEP WORRIED BY DOCS, in this
townfliip alone, was calculated at near one
hundred pounds. A fmall farmer whofc en-
tire fiock did not amount to more tlian forty^
had thirteen fliecp and eleven lambs worried
in one night.
Thcfe are not nientioned as fingular fads :
every Diftrict and alnioft every year afford
indances of a fimilar nature ; nor do I men-
tion them to excite a momentary indignation,
in the breaft of the reader ; but in hopes
that they mav be inftrumental in roufing
the humanity of thofe who hr.ve it in their
power to mitigate the danger, and Icifen the
quantity of evil.
The
looCc though urged to the contrary. Surely, on cul-
prits like this, fome fevere penalty or fome fcvcre pu-
niflunent ought to be infliftable. A general law againil
every man whofe Jog is faffcred to iiray in a (late uf
jnadncfs, might have a good cffetfi:.
It the practice of "joorming be really effectual in pre-
venting the mifchisfs of canine madiKis, a fcveie pe-
nalty is due from every o'.vncr'of a dog which has net
undergone fo falutary an operation.
Several infiances are re'ated of pcrfons to whom ca-
nine madn&fs has proved fatal in this neighbourhood.
And the i;i{lance3 of live ftock which have fuftercd by
the fjir.c means are innumerable.
384 VERMIN. 23,
The quantity of human food which is
annually wafted on iifelefs dogs is itfelf an
objedt of national attention. When the
horrors of canine madnefs, the wanton tor-
ture of innocence, and the wanton deilruc-
tion of one of the firft neccffaries of life arc
added, the objedt becomes of the firfl con-
cern to the nation. Who, even in thefe
days of Public Economy, would think ten
thoufand pounds a-year ill beflowed in doing
away fuch an accumulation of public evil ?
Yet who does not know that in doing it
away ten times ten thoufand a-year might
be drawn into the national treafury ! Let
not the patriotifm of Princes, the ability of
Minifters, nor the wifdom of Parliament,
be fpoken of in this country, wntil a na-
tional ABSURDITY fo glaringly obvious be
removed.
There are men whom friendjJjip inclines to
the caufe of the dog. Far be it from me to
damp the flame of friendfhip. But is not the
lamb equally, at leaft, entitled to our friend-
ihip ? Who Tjcs the little innocent dragged to
the daughter without regret ; and who, with-
out
23. YORKSHIRE. 385
out remorfe, could fee one lie mangled in the
field, half alive, half eaten up, by the mer-
cilefs, yet befriended dog * ?
But the operation of a tax upon dogs would
probably be different to what is generally
conceived. I am of opinion, that were fuch
a tax to be laid on judicioufly, the immedi-
ate deftrudlion of dogs would be inconfider-
able. The tie of affedtion muft be weak
which a fhilling a year would diflblve : even
the poor-man's dog would die a natural death
under thofe eafy circumftances. — But what
poor-man would think of paying even a fhil-
ling a year for a dirty troublefome puppy
for which he had not yet conceived any par-
ticular afFeftion ? Thus the number of dogs
would annually and imperceptibly decreafe.
In fix or feven years the tax would require
an advance : its produdivenefs would be lef-
fened, and the rearing of another clafs of
* In the maflacre above-mentloned, t\\cftiendo£z.
man, whofe fituation in life ought to dired him to b«
the guardian of peace and good-order, was principally
concerned : not once, but repeatedly. Any man who
knowingly fuffers his dog to worry a fecond time, de-
fcrves himfelf to be fubjefted to that which his dog 15
liable to for the firft offence.
Vol. I. C c dogs
•;86 V E R M I N. 23.
J
dogs would require prevention. In a few years
more it might receive its final advance.
The proJudivenefs of the tax ought not
to be confidered as the primary objedt of a
tax upon dogs. The removal of the public
evils which have been enumerated Ihould be
at lead jointly confidered. Five Ihillings a
head would reduce the number of dogs •, and
would, perhaps, be found on experience to
be more productive than a lower tax.
Dogs necejfciyy in hufoandry, mianufadures,
&c. and hounds kept in kennel ovi^x, perhaps,
to be exempted from the tax.
HARVESTING,
24. YORKSHIRE. 387
24.
HARVESTING.
NO DEPARTMENT of rural economy
diftinguiflies the northern from the mid-
land and SOUTHERN parts of the IHand fo
much as the method of Harvefting. And,
perhaps, no Northern Diftricft ismoreflrongly
marked with this difthiguifhingcharadlerlflic
than that which is now under furvey.
1. Cutting corn with the fickle.
2. Cutting corn with the fithe.
I. Sickle. It is probable that nine-tenths
of the corn which is cut with the fickle in this
kingdom is cut by men. In Surrey and Kent
a woman may fometimes be {ten with a fickle
in her hand. In Norfolk it is a fight which
is feldom or ever fecn. Here, it is almoft
equally rare to fee a fickle in the hand of a
man; reaping — provincially, " {hearing,"
—being almofl entirely done by women.
C c 2 Three
3^8 HARVESTING. 24.
Three women and one man make a fett 5
who, of a middling crop, do an acre a day.
If corn be thin, a man will bind after four
w^omen -, if very thick upon the ground, he
requires a boy to make bands for him.
Sometimes the bands are laid for the wo-
men to throw their handfuls into ; but in ge-
neral they lay the corn in " reaps," of about
half a (heaf each ; the binder gathering it up
carefully againft his legs in the manner wheat
firaw is ufually gathered on the thrafhing-
iloor. This is much the beft way (though
fpmewhat more troublefome) ; the corn be-
ing by this means bound up tight and even,
and the Hieaves made of an equal fize.
I'he dav-wapes of a woman in harveft Is
jod. of a man 2 s. Thus wheat, which in
Surrey would coft los. to 12s. and which,
in any country I have obferved in, would coft
7 s. or 8 s. is here cut for 4s. 6 d. an acre.
But the faving of fo much an acre is far
from being the only advantage arifing from
the practice of employing women in the work
of haiveit. The number of hands is in-
ereafed •, the poor-man's income is raifed ;
the parifh-rates are in confequence Icfiened ;
and
24. YORKSHIRE. 38^
and the community at large are benefited by
the difFufion of a habit of induftry, and an
acquifition of health. How conducive to
this arc the employments of hufbandry com-
pared with thofe of manufadure ! And the
work of Harvefl, fo far from being thought
a hardlhip, is, by women who have been bred
to it, confidered as a relaxation to domeftic
confinement, and lefs agreeable employ-
ments.
Wheat and rye are fet up in fhocks, — pro»
vincially " fiooks," — of twelve or ten fheavcs
each ; two of which are invariably ufed as
*' hood-fheaves" for hooding, capping, or
covering the heads of the reft. Twelve
Iheaves are termed a ^' ftook i" in which
wheat formerly was generally fet up \ but
unlefs the ftraw be long, two fheaves are not
equal to the fafe covering of ten. It is there-
fore now the more general pradlice to fet:
them up in " tens ;" by which means they
are much more effedtually covered.
In the fouth of England the covering of
Yrheat is never pradtifed : here wheat is ne-
ver left a day uncovered. Both pradices are
wrong. In fine weather the ears of corn can-
C c ^ not;
396 HARVESTING. 24.
noc be too much expofed to the fun and
dews; if the grain be thin, even a flight
fliower IS of great benefit to it. In a rainy
feafoii they cannot be covered too clofely.
Therefore, in the covering of wheat, as in
almoft many other departments of hufl^andry,
the farmer ought to be diredted by the fea-
fon ; not by the general cuftom of the coun-
try he farms in.
II. SiTHE. In the fouthern and midland
provinces, corn is invariably mown outward,
and dried iwfwath. Here, it is as invariably
mown ctgainjl the fianding corn, and dried in
JJjeaf.
The method of flieafing varies. Upon the
Wolds the prevailing method is to bind the
flieaves in the ufual banding place, and to
fet them up in " ftooks.'* This is termed
" binding ;" — a pradice which appears to be
growing m the Vale.
But formerly, the invariable praflicc was,
and the prevailing praftice ftill is, here, to tie
•.them near the top, and fet them up mfingle
/heaves, — provincially, " gaits." — This is
called " gaiting ;'* which^ if the corn be
weedy.
i4. YORKSHIRE. 391
weedy, or full of cuUivated grafs at the
bottom, is a mod admirable pradlice.
In MOWING corn for fheafing, a cradle of
three points (fimilar to that of two points
ufcd in Kent, and in mowing corn into fwath)
is generally placed over the fuhc, to colled:
the corn, and afllft in fetting it up ftralghr,
but fomewhat leaning, againft the Handing
corn. If corn ftand fair, a man who knows
how to fct his cradle, and ufe his fithe, will
fet it up with great evennefs and regularity.
If corn be fomewhat difordered, yet mow-
able, a bow (fimilar to that ufed in moft
countries for mowing corn outward) is affixt
to the fithe for the lame purpofe.
The mower is followed by a woman, who
makes bands, and " lays out" the corn into
fheaf. This ihe docs either with the hands
alone, or with a fliort-headed, long-toothed
wooden rake : gathering the corn wita the
rake; and, when a Iheaf is coUefled, throw-
ing it dextronfly into the band with her foot ;
without touching it with her hands ; and,
confequently, without the inconveniency of
^looping. If the crop be larg?, the woman
C c 4 has
392 HARVESTING. 24.
has generally a boy to make bands for
her.
A man, or a flout boy, follows to tie and
fet up the Iheaves ; or if the crop be thin,
one man binds after two lithes.
In SETTING UP SINGLETS properly and ex-
peditioufly, there is an art and dexterity re-
quifite which can only be learnt from prac-
tice. The band being loofely tied at about
the fame dillance from the head of the fheaf,
as it ufually is from the butts,— the binder
lays hold of the ears with both hands imme-
diately above the band ; ftriking the fheaf
down pretty hard upon its butts, in order to
give it a flat even bafe. One hand (the right
for inftance) is then loofened, and inferted
edge-way into the middle of the butts. The
body, with the arms in that pofture,is thrown
forward, and brought round with a fweep to
the right; thereby fpreading the butts of the
right-hand fide of the Iheaf. The fituation
of the hands is then changed : the right is
placed upon the ears, the left within the
Iheaf, bringing them round with a fweep to
the left^ leaving the flieaf a hollow, cone.
If
24. YORKSHIRE. 393
If the face in this operation be turned to-
ward the north, and, in the laft fvveep, an
opening or door-way be left to the fouth, the
rays of the fun will have admiffion to keep
the ground dry within, and affifl the wind in
drying the inner fide of the fheaf.
Thefe particulars may, on paper, appear
tedious; but, in practice, an expert hand
will go through them in a few feconds of
time.
There is, however, a much readier way of
fetting up fingle iheaves ; namely, by lifting
them as high as the arms will conveniently
reach ; and bringing them fmartly to the
ground with a jerking motion, which fpreads
the butts; but does not give the defirable
hollownefs ; nor tn^firmnefs which is requifite
in windy weather.
When the linglets are dry enough for carry-
ing, they are " bound,** in the ufual banding
place.
In BINDING, the band is laid upon the
ground, about a foot from the fkirts of the
finglet ; which is pulled over into it, and
bownd in the common manner. The original
band
394 HARVESTING. 24.
band of the firfl flieaf is pulled oflffor the fe-
cond ; fo that, without an accident, the firft
band only requires to be made at the time of
binding. This renders the operation lefs te-
dious than theory may fi^ggeft.
The Iheaves, when bound, are colledled in-
to heaps, and carried on the day of binding ;
orareftt up inflvccks, as accidents or conve-
niency m.ay require.
If the corn be " bound'* at the time of mow-
jn'T, it is fet up in fliocks ; in which it ftands
until it be fit for carrying.
This is lefs troublefome than firft '• gair-
ing" and afterwards " binding" it. And if
the corn be ripe, and the bottom be tolerably
free from weeds, &c. it is, perhaps, the more
eligible method, for corn which is cut with
the siTHE.
But for under-ripe, or weedy corn, though
cut with the firhc ; and for all oats and barky
which are cut with the sickle ; '' gaiting" is
here confidcred as eiicntially neccflary. Corr^
cut with the fickle lies ftraighter and clofer
in the bnnd than mown corn ; which being
more or lefs ruffled with the fuheor the rake,
tioes not bed \q clofely in the band -, the air
thereby
t^: Y O Tn. K S H I R E. 395
thereby gaining a more free admiflion into
the center of the fheaf.
If l?arlsy be fhort upon the ground, free
from weeds, and well-headed (efpecially the
four-rowed barley or *' big"), it is difficult
to be " gaited ;" the heads of the fheaves be-
ing too bulky, and the butts not fufficiently
fo to form a bafis broad enough to fupport
them. Its flippery nature alfo renders it dif-
ficult to be kept in a loofely tied band. Bar-
lev, therefore, is more comtnonlv bound after
the fithe than oats are. But when it runs
much to flraw, and is weedy, or full of gralTcs
at the bottom, gaiting becomes eflentially ne-
cefTary to good management. Barley is more
liable than any other grain to take damage in
the field ; and everv means of forwarding- its
drying, thereby Ihortening the length of time
between the cutting and the carrying, ought
to be employed.
Shocks of oats and barley bound after the
fithe are generally left uncovered until the
time of carrying. If, however, the feafon be
iinfettlcd, and the heads be got pretty well
>v'cathejed while the butts are yet under-dry.
396 HARVESTING. 24,
it is well to put on hood-iheaves, and there-
by guard the grain from too great an ex-
pofure to the weather.
The COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES of har-
vefllng barley and oats in fheaf are numerous,
The wafle throughout is lefs ; the corn, efpc-
cially in gaits, is at once got out of the way
of the weather ; the labour of carrying, houfe-
ing or flacking is much lefiened j much barn
room is favcd ; the labour of thrafhing is
lefs ; the ftraw, if the harvefl: prove wet,
makes much better fodder ; and, under this
circumftance, the corn preferves its colour in
iheaf, incomparably better than it does in
fvvath.
The apparent inconveniency of Harvefling
corn in fhcaf (I mean that which muft ftrike
every one who has not duly confidered the
fubjed:, and compared the nature and the
quantity of labour feparately requifite tq
each of the two methods of Harvefting) is
the incrcafe of labour at the outlet. But if
the laying out and the binding be done by
women and boys, or by men who cannot
mow (which is almofl: invariably the cafe)
the bufinefs of mowing goes onthe fame pace^
9r
24. YORKSHIRE. 397
or nearly the fame pace, as it would have
done had the corn been mown into fwath.
Befides, the repeated turnings which fre-
quently are requifite, and the cocking which
always is necelTary, are entirely excluded by
binding.
Upon the whole, it is evident, that the
quantity of mejCs labour is diminilhed, not
increafed, by the practice of Harvefting in
fheaf. If to this be added the eafe and ex-
pedition in the bulinefs of carrying (the
mod important bufinefs of harveft, and that
which requires the quickeft difpatch), we
may fairly conclude, that by Harvefting in
Iheaf, the labour, the anxiety, and the ha-
zard of harveft are leflened ; while the qua-
lity, and confequently the value of the pro-
duce is increafed.
My own pradlice having been in Diftricls
where Harvefting in fwath is the univerfal
cuftom, I had conceived that the practice of
Harvefting in Iheaf was only adapted to a
country thin of corn ; and that it was altoge-
ther impradticable in what is called a corn
COUNTRY. But the WOLDS of this Diftrid:
leave no room for fuch a conjecture. The
Yorkftiirc
398 HARVESTING. 24.
Yorkfliire Wolds arc not only a corn country ;
but the farms are many of them of extra-
ordinary lize : neverthelefs, it is the invari-
able praftice of the Diftridl to harvefl barley
and cats in flieaf. One man, a few years ago,
grew between three and four thoufand quar-
ters of oats and barley ; every bufhel of
which was harvcfled in Iheaf.
I am too well aware of the difficulty of
changing the cuftom of a country, to recom-
mend to any man who farms in a fouthern
Diftrid:, to attempt to harvefl: all his corn in
fheaf, without regard to the weather or the
{late of thefcafon. But I will not hefitatc to
recommend to every man who has barley or
oats to cut in a wet feafon, or in a late har-
vefl;, to harvefl: them in fheaf.
In Surrey, Kent, and other counties, where
mown corn is laid fl:raight in fwath, there
would be no difficulty in harvefl:ing in Iheaf.
The corn might be mown outward in the
ufual manner, and fheaved out of fwath ;
which is, perhaps, upon the whole, a better
method of Ihcafing than th.at which has been
defcribed as the pradtice of this Difl:ri»ft.
The
24. Y O p. K SHIR E. 399
The great art of laying corn ilraight with
the fuhc, whether it be mown inward or out-
ward, is to keep the face fomewhat inclined
toward the (landing corn : thu?, in mowing
outward, the left hand and the left foot ought
to go fomewhat forcmoll: : on the contrary,
in mowing inward, the right fide ought to
precede. Much depends upon fctting the
cradle or the bow ; which Ihould be fo fet as
to take the whole of the corn cut at a ftroke,
without interfering with the (landing corn.
The (ithe, in mowing, ought to be brought
well round to the left, as if for the intention
of throwing the corn behind the mower. To
allow for this length of fwcep, the fvvath
ihould not betaken too wide; nor, in ravel-
led corn, ihould the fithe be too long.
By a little pradlice, young men who can
handle their (ithes, and whofc difpofitions in-
cline them to oblige, might in any country
foon be rendered fufficiently perfefc In the art
of laying corn (Iraight in fwath ; or of fctting
it up (Iraight and evenly againd the (landing
corn. In cxercifing thcfe, young women
might at the fiime time learn to lay out the
(heaves.
400 FARM-YARD MANAGEMENT. 25,
jQieaves, and ftout lads to fet them up fingly.
A leifure opportunity fhould be embraced;
The outfet fhould be confidered as a matter
of amufement. A few acres this year might
be an inducement to extend the practice to a
greater number the next. The art once ac-
quired, it would be ready to be applied on a
large fcale, whenever a wet feafon, or a back-
ward harvefl Ihould happen*
^5-
FARM-YARD MANAGEMENT,
I. BARN MANAGEMENT. The fub-
divilions of this fubjedt which are noticeable
here are,
1. Binding the ftraw.
2. Winnowing the corn.
1. Binding Straw. Straw of every kind
is bound upon the thra{l:iing-floor. This,
when flraw is not ufed at the time of thrafli*
ing, would, in any country, be good economy.
Straw
25. YORKSHIRE. ^ot
Straw in trufles is much better to move, lies
in lefs room, and retains its flavour longer
than loofe ftraw does. In a country where
cattle in winter are univerfally kept in the
houfe and foddered at ftated meal times, the
binding of ilraw becomes cflential to good
management. Each trufs — provincially,
*' fold" — contains an armful (that is, as much
as the arms canconvenient]y/(?/i/); and this is
the ufuai meal for a pair of cattle. Thus the
bufmefs of " foddering" is facilitated, and a
wafte of flraw avoided.
2. Winnowing Under the article Imple-
ments, the prefcnt pradice of winnowinf
with the " machine-fan" was mentioned. All
that remains to be done here is to endeavour
to give fome general rule for the method of,
uiing it.
Pradicc only can teach the minutijE of the
art, which, though here fo prevalent, is far
from being well underllood. The complex-
nefs of the machine is fuch, that labourers in
•general are ignorant of the means of adjuft-
ing it ; and let its conftru6lion be ever fo per-
fe6l, much depends on regulating it properly
for different kinds of grain, as well as in fet-
ting it with truth for any particular fpccies.
Vol. I. D d The
402 FARM-YARD MANAGEMENT, 25.
The outlines of the art lie in adapting the
ilrensth of the wind to a due and regular
lupplv of the given contents of the hopper j
and in adjufting the feveral regulators in fuch
manner as to feparate the chaff, tte colder,
and the grain with the greateft poflible cx-
,ad:nefs.
IVbeal is generally run twice through the
machine ; but with a good machine, pro-
perly regulated and deliberately fed, it may
be made marketable by running it once
through. Barky and oa^s are feldom put
throuo-h more than once. And l?eans or peas
may be cleaned as faft as a man can fupply
the hopper with them.
Superior advantages of this fpecies of fair
arc dilpatch, the faving of the labour of one
man, and the prcfervation of the health of
thpfe who arc employed. The fail-fan,— the
common winnowing-fan of the kingdom at
jargc, — requires one perfon to turn, one to
ri^^dle or " heave," and one to fill the riddle
or fcuttles ; and for this fctt feven or eight
quarters of wheat is a day's work. Two per-
fons with a machine-fanj properly fet and
pre-
25. YORKSHIRE. 403
properly fnpplied, will winnow the fame
quantity in half-a-day. The fan itfelf fup-
plies the place of the perfon who riddles ;
and all the labour which is neceffarily be-
flowed on the difficult work of fcparating
the one continuous heap into corn, chaff,
and colder, and running the intermingled
parts down again and again to reduce them
to one or other of thofe articles, is entirely
faved.
II. Yard Management requires to be
fubdivided, in this cafe, into
1. Expenditure of draw.
2. Raifing yard-manure.
1. Expenditure of Straw. In the Vale
and the Morelands cattle are almofl: univer-
fally kept tied up in houfes, or hovels, or
under fheds, which, if the afpedt be good
and the ends properly Iheltered, are pre-
ferable to clofe houfes. Warmth and dry-
nefs are no doubt of great advantage to cattle
in winter, efpecially to lean ftraw-£ed cattle,
which cannot bear the feverity of weather fo
well as cattle whofe keep is higher. But in
this, as in moil things, there is a medium to
beobfervcd. The hair of cattle kept in a
D d 2 clofe
404 FARM-YARD MANAGEMENT. 25.
clofe warm houfc naturally grows thin, and
peels ofF prematurely ; expofing the cattle
when turned out to grafs in the fpring to a
degree of unneceffary hardihip, which, in its
efied:, is perhaps frequently worfe than ex-
pofing them in an open yard in the winter
months.
The warmth of rhc cattle, however, ap-
pears to be here only a fecondary objcdt : the
SAVING OF FODDER fccms to bc the principal
motive for tying up cattle of every kind in
winter ^ by vvhich means almoft every flraw
i? eaten; the cattle frequently lying, without
litter, upon the bare floor of their flails.
Twenty or thirty head of cattle are here kept
on the lame quantity of flraw, which in moft
corn countries Is allowed to bc picked over
by eight or ten.
The dung drops into a fquarc trench,
which is ckancd every day, while the cattle
are out at water, or in the fields at grafs.
Bouiul cattle are ufually foddered four
times a day : in the morning ; again in the
forenoon ; a il.iid time when they are taken
up from v.:ueT:ng ; and finally, in the even-
Thc b'-ll of the llraw is sivcn to the
young
25. YORKSHIRE. 405
young {lock, the Inferior fort to oxen. Cows
are chiefly kept on hay, even when they are
dry of milk; an evident impropriety, efpe-
cially when applied to the fhort- horned breed
of cows, which generally calve with diffi-
culty.
On a general view it is evident, that the
expenditure of flraw in this country is adapt-
ed to its climature, and to its (late of huf-
bandry. Where grafsland abounds, cattle of
courfe are numerous, and ftraw proportionally
fcarce. On the contrary, in a cornland coun-
try ftraw is more plentiful than flock ; and
all that is there thought of is to get it trodden
into manure.
2. Raising Yard Manure. It would be
foreign to the prcfcnt work to canvafs tht?
propriety of treading Hr aw into manure. This
country has generally ilock enough to eat
every ftraw it produces; therefore to tread it
to manure and to zvafte it are here fynonymous
cxpreffions. It is here all wanted as fodder,
and it would be an evident abfurdity to litter
the yard with it. All I propofe at prcfent on
this fubjc6l is, to recommend to my country-
jfjen a more economical management ot the
D d 3 little
4o6 FARM-YARD MANAGEMENT. 25,
little yard-manure they make, — let its qua-
lity be what it may^^
The general practice at prefent h to pile
it on the higheft part of the yard ; or, which.^
is ftill lefs judicious, to let it lie fcattcrcd.
about on the fide of a flope, as it were for the
purpofe of dilTipating its virtues.
The urine which does not mix with thc-
dung is almoft invariably led off the neareit
way Lo the common-ihore, as if it were
thought a nuifance to the premiles. That
w.hich mixes with the dung is of courfe car-.
ried co the " midden," and affifls in the ge-
neral difllpation.
A yard of dwigt nine-tenths of which is
ftraw, will difcharge even in dry weather
fomeof irs m.ore fluid particles i and in rainy-
weather is, noiwithftanding the ftraw, liable
to be walhed away if expofed on a riling,
ground.
But how. much more liable to wafte is a
mixture of dung and urine, with barely a
fufficiency of ftraw to keep it together in a
body ? In dry weather, the natural oozing is
conful ruble ; and in a wet feafon, every,
ihower of rain walhes it away in quantity. It
may
25. YORKSHIRE. 407
may be a moot point whether, in fome cafes,
half the eflential virtues of the dung as a
manure may not be loft by improper manage-
^lent. Certain it is, that in all cafcs much
too great a proportion is loft ; and it behoves
the huft)andmen of this Diftrift, and of every
Diftricft where the houfing of cattle in winter
is pradifed, to pay particular attention to the
management of Farm- yard-manure.
If a fmall proportion of the expence and
attention which has of late years beenfo well
beftowedon the making of Drin king-pools
were to be applied to the forming of Dung-
yards, the profits, great as they are in one
cafe, would, I am pcrfuaded, be found ftill
greater in the other.
The Norfolk method of bottoming the
dung-yard with mould is here indifpenfably
neceffary to common good management.
There is no better manure for grassland
than mould faturated with the oozings of a
dunghill : it gets down quicker among the
grafs, and has generally a more vifible cftedl
than the dung itfelf. To negledt fo valuable "
a fource of manure, is negle(5ting a mine of
gold and filvcr which may be worked at
P d 4 com*
408 FARM-YARD MANAGEMENT. 2j.
command. Under this management, the
arable land would have the feif-fame dung it
TjOvv has ; while the grafsland would have an
annual fupply of riches, which nowrunwaftc
in the fhores and rivulets.
But before a dung-yard can with propriety
be bottomed with mould, the bottom of the
yard itfelf ought to be properly formed.
A part of it fituated conveniently for car-
riages to come at, and low enough to receive
the entire drainaoc of the ftable, cattle-ftalls,
and hog-flies, fhould be hollowed out in the
manner of an arrihcial Drinking-pool, with a
rim fomewhat riling, and with covered
drains laid into it from the various fources
of liquid manure.
During the fumraer months, at leifurc-
;ime<;, r.nd embracing opportunities of back-
carriage, f.U the hollow nearly full with
mould, — fuch as the fcowerings of ditches,
the fiiovtiings of roads, the maiden earth of
hnes and uaflc corners, the coping of ftone-
(juarrles, ^ic. ike. — leaving the furfacc fome-
what diibcd ; and within this difli fet the
dung-pile, carefully keeping up a rim of
moulci
a6, YORKSHIRE. 405
mould round the bafe of the pile higher than
the adjoining furface of the yard; equally to
prevent extraneous water from finding its
way into the refervoir, and to prevent the
cfcape of that which falls within its circuit,
26.
MARKETS,
CATTLE AND SHEEP aremoftly fold
in the market-towns of the Vale. Whitby
and Scarborough take the furplus of fuch
as are fit for the butcher ; and thofe which
are lean are bought up by the south-country
DROVERS. Malton is the principal market
for horfes, ccrn, butter, and bacon. Oats, or-
dinary butter and bacon find a market in the
manufadturingDiftridt of West-Yorkshire:
prime butter, and feme bacon, travel by way
of Hull to the Metropolis. Horfes arc
divided between the London and foreign
Markets.
Ai
^IQ MARKET S. 26.
An evil, which has been long growing \r\
the markets of this -kingdom, has here got to.
a height which entitles it to notice.
Gold cannot here be any longer called the
mediuni of property. Let a man fell hi^
whole (lock at market, and it is chance if he
bring home more than three or four guineas.
The remainder of the value received is
PAPER ; — not bank-nates^ — but paper of no
other value than that which i$ given it by
the engraver, and the name perhaps of fome
ihopkeeper, or. other petty ^ banker, wholly
unknown to the farmer ; who is, perhaps, en-
tirely ignorant as to whether the n^me or
names be real or ficftitious.
One accident, has already happened in this
neighbourhood ; and it is matter of aftonilh-
nient that more do not follow : a circum-
ftance which can only be accounted for by.
the profits which this fpccies pf coiners re-
ceive *.
All
* Not only by the intercfi: of the amount of bills in
pr^ula^lon ; but by dead notes ; that is, bills loft and de-
flroyed by accident ; the amount of which is clcs^r
gain.
27. YORKSHIRE., 41^
An arch cobler of Newcaflle upon Tyne
has made a fortune by coining penny and
twopenny notes -f, which are highly embel-
liihed, and rendered valuable by a long lift
of refpe6lable names ; his friend Crifpin at
the head of them. They are alfo payable
in Yjondon, 2X.2i koufe of names equally refpec-
table and refponfible ; the fineft burlefque
upon modern banking which can poffibly be
conceived. The fellow is faid to have, al-
ready, pocketed a thoufand pounds by the
thought.
The conveniency of paper-money few men
will deny ; efpecially now when the weigh-
ing of gold is become in fome degree nccef-
fary : a bufinefs extremely aukward in a
market. All the farmer wants is fecuri^y.
On the other hand, t\\Q profit ahlenefs of pa-
per-money, to thofe who coin it, is ftill lefs
difputable. But why (hall individuals be
fuffered to batten on the public by the pro-
fits of COINAGE ? Why fhall one man be
d*ragge4
f Circulated among the colliers, keelmen and fal-
lors ; every one being proud to have a ♦' bank note'*
ia his pocket.
4i2 MARKETS. 26.
dragged to the gallows for coining fixpences
and fhillings, while others are fuffered to
amafs fortunes by coining five and ten pound
pieces ? — If paper-money be political, the na-
tion, not individuals, ought to have the pro-
fits arifing from it.
But the infecurity of paper-money, and
the crime of coining it, are only part of the
evil which is here meant to be held up to
view. I pretend not to the profound in poli-
tical arithmetic ; but I have always under-
ftood that the prices of commodities at mar-
ket bear a proportion to the quantity of
money in circulation. If this be in truth the
cafe, the evil here fpoken of has the molt
pernicious tendency.
In the prefcnt flate of Europe, this coun-
try can preferve \is pre-eminence as a nation by
manufadlures and commerce alone. The de-
mand for the manufad:ures of a given country
will ever bear a proportion to lh<:\r comparative
price. The price of manufadlurcs depends
upon thofe of materials and labour ; and this
on the price of living. If by a flow of calli
in circulation (no matter whether of gold, fil-
ver.
22. YORKSHIRE. 413
vcr, copper, or paper) the prices of living,
labour and materials be fuffered to advance,
the demand for manufadttires will of courfe
uecline, and with it the profperity of the
nation.
I wlfh not to interfere officioufly in concerns
of Government ; but the fubjedt under notice
feems to be fufficiently connedled with rural
ECONOMICS to warrant its beino; mentioned
in this place.
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
3 1158 0102Vr^
■iiiii ill III III III III III Hill III III
A 000 007 753 7
^^4 -M^'^^y^ '-:>■■
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11