i;;i^v: /' .v .'>:' ' f ^»JVv^ bdii' ♦ i ?'['■ m tsUti^ " Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/farmerscalendarcOOyounrich THE FARMER'S CALENDAR: CONTAINING TUB BUSINESS NECESSARY TO BE PERFORMED ON VARIOUS KINDS OF FARMS DURING EFERY MONTH OF THE YEAR, BY ARTHUR YOUNG, ESQ. F. R. S. SECRETARY TO THE BOARD Of AGRICULTURE, Honorary Member of the Societies of Dublin, Bath, York, Salford, Odiham, South Hants, Kent, Essex, and Norfolk ; the Philosophical and Literary ' Society of Manchester; the Veterinary College of London; the Economic cal Society of Berne ; the Physical Society of Zurich ; the American Society of Massachusetts ; the Palatine Academy of Agriculture at Manheim; the Imperial Economical Society established at Peters- burgh ; the Royal and Eleaoral Economical Society of Cellc; Member of the Society of Agriculture for the Department of the Seine, France ; and Corresponding Member of the Royal Academy of Agriculture at Florence; of the Patriotic Society at Milan; and of the Economical Society at Copenhagen. A NEW EDITION, GREATLY ENLARGED AND IMPROVED. LONDON PRINTED FOR RICHARD PHILLIPS, st. Paul's church-yard; AND TO JJE HAD OF ALL BOOKSELLERS. 1804. ADVERTISEMENT, GARDENERS have found great us^e- in Calendars of their necessary work for every month in the year ; and^ if the two employments of the Farmer and the Gardener be well Co?isideredy it will appear that the former wants such a re- membrancer., ut least as much as his brethren in the garden, ' At the beginning of every months a good Farmer^ whether he has or has not a book of this sort^ is obliged to refed^ on the work he has to perform in that month: he ought to foresee the whole at ortce^ or it is impossible he should make a proper provision for its due performance, I leave it to any one to judge ^ if such an estimate of monthly business can be gamed so easily^ com^ pletely^ or systematically^ without such an assist- ance to the memo I y as is afforded by this Work ; and even if a book^of this sort but once in a year gives mtimation of some important work^ which might other%vise have been forgotten, its worth must be acknozvledged. a In iv ADVERTISEMENT. In respedl to the Calendars which had appeared previously to this Publication^ they were very slight arid imperfeSl ihtcheSy generally nothing but additions to other books ; and their authors omitted at least as many useful articles as they inserted. TO THE NEW EDITION. /;/ various parts of the Corresponde7ice pub* lished during the last ff teen years in the Annals of Agriculture, / have been called upon for a New Edition of this Calendar^ and have as often resolved to give it ; but the new improvements which have taken place ^ made so many and such great alterations necessary^ that other and more pressing employments have prevented the under- taking. It is at last completed; and I hope the Reader will find it^ in the present form^ vuorthy of his attention. A. Y. Fthuary 3, 1804. CONTENTS. C O N T E NTS. JANUARY, SHEEf, folding, in rouen. Farm-yard, Straw, Bean-straw, Cut chaff, CoWs, Dairy, Yearling calves. Young cattle. Fat beasts. Cake, &c. beasts. Swine, Weaned pigs, Horses, Threshing, — mill. Fences, Ditches, f ACE 1 3 8 9 10 11 13 17 IS id. ib. 19 20 22 23 24 it'. 25 28 7ACE Draining, - - 2S Beans, - - 31 Carrots, - - il'. PotatoeSi - - il\ Wood, - - 32 Mole-plough, - 35 Marling, - *• 38 Draw chalk, - 42 Examine water-furrows, 45 Burn lime, * i^. Liming, - - 46 Mountain improvement, 47 Town manures, - ib», Watered-meads, * 4g Carting turnips, - 50 cabbages, - ib. Fell ash, - 51 Wititer evenings, - ib. Travelling, - 52 Oats, - - 53 FEBRUARY. Beans, after barley, sort, ■ soil, ■ seed, ■ rows, — — — after clover, ■ after wheat, ' after turnips. Barley after turnips, broad-cast, on fallow. Cabbage, sown, sort, Reynolds', Fare and burn grass, O^ts, sort. 57 59 02 63 64 ib. 65 66 07 ib. 71 ib. n 73 ib. 74 7^ Pease, - ■ ■ - on layers, ' manure, ■ ■■ rows, seed. Borders, Woods, Carrots, Cabbages, Water-furrowing, Manure grass, — — . — green wheat. Farm-yard, Plant willows, • ■ osiers. Tares, Watered-meads, 77 79 80 81 ib. 82 83 84 86 87 89 ib. 89 - ib. 90 - 91 Potatoes, yi CONTENTS. Potatoes, Parsnips, j Crop trees. Lambs, Sheep in rouenj Barley, ■ after turnips, — - after fallow, — - drill. ng, seed, Oats, — ^^ — after turnips, on- lays. Clover, Trefoil, White clover. Alternate :;rassj Sow cl-icory. Pease, drilled, on layers, Beans, . — to be eat green, . on lays. Tares, — . on stale furrow Carrots, • on grass. Parsnips, Potatoes dibbled, on grass, on borders, — ;- horse-hoed. Cabbages, ' Reynolds', Turnip fiillow. Lentils, I^ettuces for hogs, Mastard, Mangel wurzel. Barley, Pease, White bats, JUick wheat. Beans, ate green, i^ettuce for hogs. Spring tares, - FACE . ib. 90 ib. 97 Composts, Lime, Marling, Sainfoin, pAee 97 101 ib, 106 MARCH. 107 3 09 111 ib. 112 114 116 ib. 117 119 120 ib. 124 12() 128 129 130 ib. 132 133 134 ib. 1.37 138 139 140 ib. 141 142 143 148 149 ib. 151 ib. Woad, Chamomile, Scarify wheat. Hand-hoe wheat, — do. broad-cast, dibbled, - ' Sheep, " in stubble turnips, — in rouen " in buiTiCi, - in Swedish turnip, .Gows, — rf^ — dair- Fatting be a. Teams, Horses on <:aiTOt >, . Wafer-furrn\\ ing, P.ir.I-ry, . Water-meads, Moles, Manure green wheat. Manures turned in. Alder, Paring and burning, ii^n and bog, heaths, moors, - sainfoin. Lime, Cart dung, Hops, Pick stonts. Feed new lays, - Seed oats. APRIL 189 190 191 ih. 392 lb. 10.1 Spring wheat. Steeping spring corn. Madder, Licjuoricc, Teasils, Lucerne, ?^.niifoin. 152 ib. ib. 155 ib. ib. lb. 166 ib. 157 ib. ib. 168 -9 O ..b. im 162 163 tb. 167 170 171 181 ib. 182 ib. 183 184 ib. 186 188 ib. 193 - 194 ib. 198 ib. ib. - 202 Buruct, CONTENTS. VU Burnet, Chicory, Lay down grass. Sheep, in rouen, water- meads, — • sell, and beasts, Smithtield, Cows, Oxen, Hogs, Potatoes, Carrots, breadth, plant, . - ■ cuttings, • sorts, ■ preparatloUj -planting, - seed. PAGE 203 204 it: 205 20S . il. - it: 209 211 212 ib. '^13 ib. 214 215 216 217 ib. ib. ib. Farm-yard, Feed or mow grass, New lays, Cattle in grass, Cake and corn fed beasts, Buck-wheat, Lucerne, Sainfoin, Burnet, Carrots, Potatoes, plant, Cabbages, -^ drill. Sow Swedish turnip. Madder, Liquorice, Wheat fallow. Hoe white corn, beans. Hoe pease. Sheep, Close feeding. Cabbages, i — drill. Water-furrowing, Turnip fallow, Woods, Hedging;, Clear grass. Rolling, Hops, Flax. Water-meads, Poultry, Building, Hemp, Sow grass-seeds. Separated ditto, Siberian melilot. Weld, Tares in clover. Sow furze. MAY. 245 248 249 251 154 ib. 555 257 258 ib. 25g ib, ib. 260 262 263 264 ib. 265 266 ib. ib. 269 Folding, Salt for sheep, Hogs, soiling, Horses, Oxen, Cows, dairy. Pare and burn. Hops, Bees, Hemp, cottagers, Flax, Spring tares. Water-meads, form new. Soiling, Cart yard-dung. Mow tares, ■ ■ lucerne. Fogging, PACK 218 ib. 220 ib. ib. 221 ib. it. 222 223 223 229 230 240 24i ib. 24'i 243 ib. 2-14 271 275 ib. 277 ib. 278 279 280 290 292 ib. ib. 296 ib. 297 297 298 316 322 325 326 327 JUNE. Turnips, - - 328 after tares, <■ 332 on pared and burnt liUid, - 336 Turnips on old grass, ■ ■ ■■ - with rape du>it, Swedish turnips, - Cabban:es, 336 ^/^ - 337 ib. Cabbages, VUl CONTEXTS. - Cabbages, fallow. PACE 341 Dig challc. PAfia 370 Carrots, 342 Empty ponds. 371 Potaroes, 343 Cole-seed, 372 ib. Madder, ib. — ^ — for sheep. Liquorice, Hops, "^44 *■ J ib. 373 id. lor seea. Soiling, Flax, lb. Long and short dung, 376 Lucerne, it: Dairy, . : ib. S:iint"oin, 345 Pare and burn. 380 Clover, 34t) State of wheat crops. 381 Meadows, lb. Flax, 385 Watered- meads 356 Hemp, 385 Feeding and mowing. 357 Plant holly, ib. Teams, 359 Travelling, ib. Horse-hoeing, ib. Lime, 387 Fallows, ib Spring tares. 383 Buck-wheat, 360 Bees, ib. after tares. ib. Hogs, ib. Sheep, 3(33 Hoe beans, 389 wash and shear. ib. Warping, ib. the fly. 365 Plou-h in green crops. 396 Folding, 366 Mountain improvements. ib. Wheats thistle. ib. Hire harvest-men. 397 Dig marie. 367 Burn dry weeds. ib. — clay. 369 Sainfoin, 400 JU LY. Farm-yard, 402 Fallows, 416 Turnips, 403 Fold, 417 drilled. 405 Wean lambs. ib. ,.-^,.» ib. 40(5 Madder, Cut pease. Cole-seed, 418 419 Cabbages, ib. Barley, 420 Weld, 408 Wheat, ib. Potatoes, ib. mildewed. 421 Carrots, 409 Buck- wheat. ib. Beans, ib. Pare and burn. ib. lAicerne, 410 Hogs, 422 Burnet, ib. Fat oxen, ib. Mow grass, 414 Warping, 423 Hay, 415 Manuring new lays. ib. Teams, 416 Shift up rouen. ib. AUG1 UST. Harvest-men, 425 I'urnip and rape-seed. 433 Wheat harvest. 427 Sow rape. 434 Stacks for threshing-mill, 429 Gleaning, ib. Barley, &:c. harvest. 430 Farm-yard, 435 Buck- wheat. 432 Turnips, ib. Fca*e, lb. Wheat amongst turnips. 436 Beans, ib.- Cabbages, ib. Sow CONTENTS, IX Sow cabbage-seed. Drill do. Potatoes, Lucerne, Sainfoin, Dig manures. Fold, Hogs, Carrots, Wheat, sort, •^ steeping, after fallow, -— after beans, ■ ■ after clover, — tares. Water-furrowing, Buy in sheep. Breed of sheep. Crones, Fatting beasts. Cows, Teams, Manure grass, iScason, Hiring farms. Stocking do. Setting the flock. Servants, Family arrangement. Farm accounts. Farm-yard, Teams, Horses or oxen. Cows, Fatting beasts. Hogs, Sheep to turnips, Manure grass. Dig up carrots. Plough up potatoes, r A r. 437 438 il;. ib. 439 ib. ib. . ib. 440 Pull hemp, flax. Set stuck lambs. Sell lambs. Keeping round. Laying to grass. Conversion of poor lays, Shut up rouen. SEPTEMBER. Scarify grass, Burnet, Fern, Stubble, Hops, Plou^^h fallows. Threshing, Fences, Borders, Folding, 452 452 453 ib. 454 456 459 ib. 460 46l 462 ib. 464 ib. ib. Water-furrowing, ?AC S 440 442 ib. 446 ib. 447 450 451 4().l 46d ib. 467 iK 46y ib. ib. ib. 46g , ib. Lucerne, Soiling, Sow winter tares, . on pastures Laying to grass with wheat, 470 Failure of new lays, - ib^ Autumnal management of new lays, - - 47 1 OCTOBER 473 ib. 48 JL 483 ib. 486 489 490 491 ib. 493 ib. 494 495 ib. 4q6 497 NOVEMBER. Lay up fallows, - 499 Sow wfieat, - 501 winter tares, - ib. Manure and plough for beans, ib. Plough for pease, - 502 Plough for barley and oats, 502 for madder, Dig up liquorice, Courses of crops. Drill husbandry. Ridges, Standing fold, Colle6t leaves. Depth of ploughing, - Gather apples. Put rams to ewes. ib. 503 ib. 505 507 508 ib. 509 510 511 £12 Watered-meads, 513 ib. Burnet, 514 ib. Walling, ib. 5J3 Di^ n)anures, 515 Cat X CONTENTS. PACE PACE Cut ant-hills, - - 515 Cover turnips against frost. 520 Madder, iL Steam roots. ib. Pease, . - ih. Fatting beasts. 521 Sheep, it: Breeding horses. ib. Teams, 517 Garden, 522 Draining, ib. Plant fruit trees. ib. Klkington's draining. 518 Fish ponds. ib. Woods, 519 Salt for sheep. 523 DECEMBER. Threshing, 524 The laboratory. 527 Farm-yard, 525 Farm accounts. 533 Plough up lays. i/;. Woods, 548 Sheep, if: Straw-fed cattle. 550 Swine, 526 Litter farm-yard, ib. I^ences, 527 Poultry, 552 Dig manures. 77'. Fatting beasts. 553 Manure hops. il'. APPE] NDIX. Equality in weight of cattle, 555 Pinch on the withers, g-, - 565 Salts, ib. Pviwder for rheumatism, ib. Comparison of Thermo- Burdon's horse ointment, 566 meters, 557 New covenants in letting th e Comparison of acres. - ib. farms of T.W. Coke, Es(] I. lb. Weight, 558 Catalogue of farming im- Measures of lengtli of se- plements. 56s veral countries. 55g Synopsis of the breeds of Tables for planters. 500 sheep. 5/0 Table of expence. 563 Division of soils. 5/1 Ditto, 564 The farmer's library, - 5/2 Tests for the analysis of Old and new chemistry. 573 water. 565 Table of comparative prices Strong gullion. ib. of wool. 575 Disorder from heat in a hot Index, Sjd climate. ib. THE THE FARMER'S CALENDAR JANUARY. SHEEP. IN this month ewes of some breeds of sheep will lamb. Great care ought lo be taken of them : till then they seldom want turnips ; most farme. having grass either in whole fields, kept walks, or in borders, 8cc. sufficient for lean-stock till they are near lambing, when they should have turnips regularly given them. If the land be not dry, the best method is to draw the turnips, and cart them to a dry pasture, and there bait the sheep on them twice a day, observing well, that they eat clean, and make no waste ; which is not a bad rule for ascertaining the quantity necessary. In this way, the turnip crop goes the farthest- On dry soils, the best way, for the sake of manuring for barley, is to eat the crop on the land, hurdling off a certain quantity for the flock; and, as fast as they eat pretty clean, to remove the hurdles farther. This method saves much trouble, and is highly improving to the land ; but it should be pradlised » only 2 s SHEEP. [JA^. only on lands that are dry, otherwise the sheep poach, and do mischief. The crop will not go , quite so far as if drawn and laid in a grass field ; for the sheep dung, and stale, and trample on many of the roots after they are begun, which occasions some waste : nor is there any loss of manure in carting them, only it is left, in one instance, on the arable field, and, in the other, on the grass one. No improvement can be greater than this of feeding the sheep with turnips. On whatever land they are given, the benefit is always very great. It is further to be observed, that many sheep are fattened on turnips, particularly wethers ; in which system of husbandry many of the turnips are wasted, if you have not two flocks, one lean, to follow the fatting sheep, and to eat up their leavings; for sheep will not eat clean in fattening. In very wet weather, storms, or deep snows, the sheep and lambs should be baited on hay. Some farmers drive them to hay-stacks, which shelter and feed them, but it is wasteful. Others give the hay in moveable racks ; and allow a certain quantity every day. It is an excellent method, to allow them in their racks a small quantity of hay daily while on turnips, let the weather be good or bad: but this is not absolutely necessary. • In some parts of the kingdom, the best farmers give their ewes and lambs in this month bran and oats, or oiKcake, in troughs, while they are feeding ' '^ on J AN .J FOLDING SHEEP. 3^ on turnips ; but it must be a good breed^ for such a practice to repay. FOLDING SHEEP. In respe6l of folding, a very great change has taken place on inclosed farms in the pradlice of the best farmers, especially in Norfolk. They are now fully convinced, that it is an unprofitable prac- tice, except where the openness of downs and com- mon fields renders it necessary for the purpose of confinement. The number of sheep that may be kept on a farm without folding, is much greater than can be supported with it. This is a very essential point. There is a dedu6lion from the farmer's profit, in the injury done by folding to both ewe and Iamb, which has been estimated by experienced judges, at from 2s. 6d. to 4s. per ewe ; so that a farmer should consider well, before he determines to follow a pra6lice, which, from a mul- titude of observations, is pronounced unprofitable. Mr. Bake well used to call it robbing Peter to pay Paul. The arguments now used in its defence are not satisfacStory : it is contended, that if sheep be not folded, they will draw under hedges, &:c. for shelter in bad weather ; if so, they ought to be allowed to do it, for more would be lost in such cases by forcing the sheep from shelter, than the value of their fold. Where this pra(5fice takes place, good shepherds will, in case of rain, get up in the night and let their flocks out of fold, know- ing the consequence of confinement on arable land in wet weather. The instind of these animals will B 2 condudt 4 P0LDIN6 SHEEI*. [jAN*. conduct: them much better than our reason, not only where to fly for shelter, but also for choosing their own time to go to rest, and to feed in the morning. These they vary according to seasons and weather ; but folding prevents it, and forces them to a regularity never called for by the wea- ther. When I began first to entertain doubts of the propriety of folding sheep on any farms in which they can be kept to certain fields in the night with- out that pradlice, I desired earnestly to try some experiments that might throw more light on the question than it was possible for reason to do ; but to efFe6l this comparatively, was very difficult, as the trial I wished for was such, as should carry some positive convidlion with it. I have not been able to effect it fully ; but the trials I have made, may not be found destitute of power to throw some light on this interesting question. I am perfectly persuaded, that it would have been impossible for me to have kept on the same land, nearly such a stock in one parcel with folding. I do not con- ceive that the fields would have carried three- fourths so managed. Four drivings in a day make them trample much food, disquiet the sheep, and transfer the choice of their hours of feeding and rest from themselves to the shepherd and his boy. While lambs are young they are injured by this, and the ewes are liable to be hurried and heated ; all which are objedls that should weigh in the questioilU| When sheep are kept in numerous parcels, it is ndt only JAN.] FOLDING SHEEP. 5 only driving to and from fold that afFedls them, but they are, in fa6t, driving about in a sort of march all day long, when the strongest have too great an advantage, and the flock divides into the head and the tail of it, by which means one part of them must trample the food to be eaten by another. All this points the very reverse of their remaining per-r fedly quiet in small parcels. But the question turns on the benefit to be reap- td by the fold ; for if that be great enough to com-j* pensate for the loss by such circumstances, the pra61ice may not be condemned. I believe the reason why farmers are such warm advocates for folding, arises from the power it gives them of sacrificing the grass lands of a farm to the arable part of it. Their objedl is corn, by which they can carry off a farm whatever improvement they bring to it. Grass improved is profit to the landlord in future ; and tenants are too apt to think, that this is done at their expence. They do not at all regard impoverishing a grass field in order to improve a ploughed one ; and I need not observe, that every sort of sheep-walk is thus im- poverished ; so that ancient walks, which have Ijeen sheep-pastured perhaps for five centuries, are no better at present than they ever were before ; whereas most fields sheep-fed, without folding from them, are in a constant state of amelioration : this leads me to remark the e&S, I observed on several of my own fields. I attended, through the course of ^ summer, B 3 many 6 FOLDING SHEEP. [jAN. many gentlemen over my fields, with a view to ex- amine whether the sheep had seemed to have rested only on spots, to the too great manuring of such ; or, on the contrary, to have distributed themselves more equally ; and it was a pleasure to find, that they seemed generally to have spread in every part, if not quite equally, at least nearly so. The im- proved countenance of several old lays fed in the same manner, when examined in autumn, con- vinced me as well as my bailiff^", that the ground had been unquestionably improved considerably. Those fields had carried a very bad appearance for some years, but they were, after sheep-feeding, of a rich verdure, and as full of worm-casts as if they had been dunged. I rolled them heavily in No- vember, but they soon became rough again by worms, and demanded much rolling in spring. They had afterwards a greener and more fertil appearance by far than ever they wore before. The whole of this circumstance, the value which I shall be able to appreciate in the trials future years, belongs to this method of dividing flocks, to the exclusion of folding. The fold valuable, but so is the improvement of the grass" land, and may, for what I know, nearly equal it when, in addition, we include the greater numb( of sheep that can be kept, and the favour done them by letting them alone, there remains, in n mind, no further doubt of the fadf. It is common to hear flock-farmers in open coun- tries s^y, they have not the power lo manage so. ^1 ig. i iL : I JAN.] FOLDING SHEEP. J5 I'his may be very true, upon the major part of the farms, but such have often many inclosures, in which this management might be applied without difficulty. But if we suppose folding to be the system pur- sued, I may remark, that the farmers in those parts of the kingdom which understand it best, do not ex- tend it so far as they might ; they give over folding in November or December^ whereas it may certainly be carried on through the whole winter with profit; even supposing that the pra<9:ice is necessary : on those farms which have a perfectly dry gravelly pas- ture or two, it is advisable to fold all winter on such dry grass land. It must not be attempted on moist arable land, nor on moist grass land ; but on dry pastures. The safety to the sheep is greater, and the benefit to the grass an object. There is another method of gaining all the benefit of folding, quite through the winter, and on all soils ; this is, to confine them at night in a sheep- yard, well and regularly littered with straw, stubble, or fern ; by which means you keep your flock warm and healthy in bad seasons ; and at the. same time raise a surprizing quantity of dung : so great a quantity, if you have plenty of litter, that the profit will be better than folding on the land, A great improvement in this method, would be giving the sheep all their food (except their pasture) in such yard ; viz. hay and turnips ; for' which pur- pose they may be brought up not only at night, but also at noon, to be baited ; but if their pasture be B 4 at S FARM-YARD. [jA^f. at a distance, they should then, instead of baiting at noon, come to the yard earlier in the evening, and go out later in the morning. This is a pradlice which cannot be too much recommended ; for so warm a lodging is a great matter to young lambs, 4nd will tend much to fprvvard their growth ; the sheep will also be kept in good health ; and, what is a point of con sequence to all farms, the quan- tity of dung raised will be very great. If this method is pursued through the months of Decem- ber, January, February, March, and April, with plenty of litter, 100 sheep will make a dunghill of at least 6o loads of excellent stuff, which will am- ply manure two acres of land : whereas 100 sheep folded (supposing the grass dry enough) will not in that time equally manure one acre. SHEEP IN ROUEN. Such ewes as have lambed before, and in thi^ month, should be drawn ofF from the flock, and put into rouen in inclosed farms, to give early^ lamb ; but this remark is not applicable to flockJ farms, where the grand support is the turnip crop. On such, the rouen should be preserved till the pe- riod of distress arrives, when turnips are done, and forward grasses not ready. ^^ FARM-YARD. "■ In this month a stridl attention should be given to the cattle in the yard or yards ; those I mean which nm loose there. Care should be taken to have them regularly supplied with straw, if that be the food, and that they have always water at comr ... I MN.] STRAW. 9 mand. The threshers should be so proportioned to the stock of lean cattle, as to make the straw last just through the winter. Take good care also to keep the yard well littered from the stacks of straw, stubble, fern, he. raised in autumn, so that the cattle may always lye perfe611y dry and clean. Their health requires this attention ; which should, at any rate, be given, were it merely for raising large quantities of manure. STRAW. While it is noted, that if the cattle are fed with straw, it should be done with certain necessary attentions, it would be an omission not to remark, that the best farmers in Norfolk are generally agreed that cattle should eat no straw, unless it be cut into chaff mixed with hay ; but, on the con- trary, that they should be fed with something bet- ter, and have the straw thrown under them, to be trodden into dung : and I am much inclined to be- lieve, that in most, if not in all cases, this maxim will prove a just one. The common cases of straw- feeding are, of cows, young cattle, or black cattle just bought in, and not yet put to fatting. With regard to cows, the food is certainly insufficient, and lets them down so much in flesh, that when they calve, and are expelled to yield produdively, they lose a considerable time, and that, perhaps, the most valuable, in getting again into flesh, be- fore they give their usual quantity of milk ; but if they have been well and sufficiently wintered, they are 10 EEAX-STEAW. fjAJST*: are half summered, and yield at once adequately. For young cattle, it is still worse management ; for their growth is stunted, and they never recover it. Black cattle from poor mountains had better be put to straw than any other stock ; but here again care must be taken that the system be not de- ranged by it. If well fed, and the beasts be not large, they may be cleared off between harvest and the end of November ; but if they are wintered on straw^ this may not be effected, and the farmer may be forced to put himself to the expence of corn or oil-cake, to feed beasts not of a size to pay well enough for those articles. The evil is less if he has plenty of turnip or cabbage, but for these he may have other applications. In so far as regards the quality of the farm-yard dung, all this reasoning becomes still more forcible ; for from straw-fed cattle, the farmer will, at the end of winter, find perhaps a large heaj), of so poor a quality, that it will go but a little way in manuring his fields ;. whereas, one load of dung made by fat or well fed cattle, will be equal to two or three of it. The proper food for cows in this month is cut chaff, one half hay and the other half straw, with a good bait of turnips or cabbages. For young cat- tle, the same chaff, and as much cabbage as they will eat ; and the same, or turnips, for black cattle. BEAN-STRAW. *' Bean-straw, if well harvested, forms a very " hearty and nutritious diet for cattle in the winter " time. I JAN.] CUT-CHAFF. 11 ^^ time, and both oxen and horses, when not worked, ^' will thrive on it : sheep, also, are very fond of ^^ browzing on the pods, and the caving is a very *' nutritious manger meat." — Bannister. The importance of putting beans in early, and reaping soon enough, will appear clearly, when I observe that the straw, well harvested, is worth from two to three pounds per acre. Mr. Arbuthnot's teams, wdiich were always hard worked, never had ii truss of hay while his bean-straw lasted. CUT-CHAFF. The number of engines which bave of late years been invented for cutting hay and straw into chaff (most of which execute their work sufficiently well), leaves no farmer in the kingdom under the necessity of using the common chaii-box,. worked by those only who have acquired the art of using it, ^nd who usually made much greater earnings than the common pay per diem. Of these machines, I believe Salmon's has the preference ; the price is 12l. 12s.; but a very good one is made at Thetford for eight guineas. The practice of cutting both hay and straw for all sorts of stock, is one that has been found very important by many practical and intelligent cultivators of great experience. General observations are not so satisfactory as comparative experience ; but there are not many persons who have opportunity, time, and power, to compare the food and labour of two different teams, the one fed in the common way, with hay, and the -other with cut chaff, half or one-third straw. The opi- nion 12 C0T-CHAFP. [jAN, nion of the best informed persons is decidedly in fa- vour of the latter. However, if racks are permitted in a stable^ it is not an easy matter to prevent horse -keepers from cramming them full of hay, and especially at night. The best contrivance I have heard of to supply the place of racks, was that of Mr. Vancouver, who made a sort of hopper the whole length of the manger, which delivered chaiF from a loft above it gradually, as the horses moved the lower lip of the hopper with their noses, in this manner supplying themselves ; but a very intelli- gent nobleman trying it, found that it would not deliver regularly : this might arise from the dimen- sions not having been sufficiently attended to ; for if the hopper be not of a due breadth, the chaff might arch above the moveable board, and not come down : the aperture in the manger through which it passes, must necessarily be of a certain size, neither too wide nor too narrow. It certainly seems to be a pra6lical idea, and very ca- pable, after some trials and regulations, of being fully applicable to common practice. It well de- serves attention, especially as the expence of an ex- periment for one stall could not be considerable. I have often determined to try it myself, but have always been prevented by some journey or excur- sion taking me from home at the moment when I could otherwise have given the requisite attention. I conceive that it would demand a manger from four to six inches wider than common ones. The pra6iicc, however^ of giving hay cut vvith ^ mixture JAN.] COWS. 13 mixture of straw, instead of feeding in the com- mon way with hay, is to be recommended, at all events, to as great a degree as can be effedled ; for the saving is unquestionable. Nor is it to be prac- tised for the teams only, but also for all other stock that eat hay. Mr. Page, of Cobham, in feeding his stock, gives no hay or straw but what is cut into chafF. At the expence of only 5l. he added a mill-wheel to his chafF-cutter, by which means a boy and a little poney cut 20 bushels per hour. This pradice he finds so profitable, that he earnestly re- commends it^. For sheep, attention must be paid to the troughs in which it is given, to see that they be so boarded as to prevent the wind from blowing the chaff out : this is efFedled in Lord Clarendon's sheep-yard, in Hertfordshire, by a semicircular boarding, which covers the sheep's heads while feeding in the troughs. COWS. Several cows will probably calve in this month ; about a month before which, they should be tak- en into the cow-house from the straw-yard, and be baited twice a day with green food ; turnips, cabbages, carrots, potatoes, or whatever is the field winter food. After they calve they should be kept quite separate from the lean stock, either in the house or in another yard, and be fed upon those arti- cles and hay, or very good straw. Cabbages will m'aintain cows in the cheapest manner, and make the butter perfedlly sweiet ; but the decayed and yellow * Annals of Agriculture, vol. xyyili. p. 107. leaves i4 cows< fjAK. leaves must be picked off, giving the cows nothing but the heart of the cabbage : the refuse leaves will be eat clean up by the lean cattle. The great expence of winter feeding cows with hay alone, eats up half the profit of the dairy, even if none be given till they calve; for supposing them to calve in January or February, there remains three or four months for that food. If the dairy consists of more than one or two cows kept for the use of the farmer's family, the system of feeding them becomes an obje6l of considerable importance, and should be well digest- ed. This subjedl demands most attention at Mi- chaelmas, when all arrangements of stock take place. In the Calendar for Oclober, it will be par- ticularly considered ; but as in January the cows are probably calving, their food demands a careful at- tention. The preceding remarks suppose them taken from the straw-yard; but let it be remembered, that superior managers, especially about Epping, arc cautious of letting their cows at any time de- pend on straw. If no other food be provided, they have hay only; it is not necessary to consider whether it will an- swer to give it to them when at certain high prices, as many farmers are, by their leases, deprived of the power of selling hay : where this is the case, the hay must be valued at what it costs, and not at what it would sell for : this estimate is easily made. Ilei4t £.2 14 o 5 4 2 19 4 10 O ;^.2 9 4 JAN.'J COWS. J$ Rent of an acre, £.100 lithe, 030 Rates, - - O 5 o Mowing, making, carting, and stacking, - 10 O Manuring onc« in four years, - - - O 15 Fences, -- OlO Interest and profits, teh per cent. s After-grass, if sQld, - - - - Expence of Hay, - - - - ^uch land, therefore, if it prod aces one ton of hay, ascertains the cost of the hay to be49s. 4d. 'a ton — say 50s. Supposing then a cow to be fed at the rate of 561b. per diem, and that only during 120 days, it is exactly three tons, which, at 50s. is 7l. 10s. No other calculation is necessary to prove that feeding cows with hay is ruinous. I have fed cows with my own hands, that have ate 561b. per diem ; but supposing only 30lb. per diem, it is above one ton and a half, at 50s. above 3l. 15s. which, for four months only, is much too high ; and ought to convince the young farmer how necessary it is for him to provide green win- ter food. In the Annals, vol. xvi. p. 36 1, is an experiment of mine, in feeding smaller cows, such as would fatten to about 45 stone {I4lb.) Three milch ones ate, in 06lober, 961b. each, of cabbages, per diem : and, in another trial, S^lb. of cabbages, and 10|lb. of hay each per diem ; or, in the propor^ tion l6 cows. [jAK^ tion of 2 tons, 18c\Vt. of cabbages, and 15cwt. of hay, in six months. In the weaning of calves there are many different methods. — In Suffolk they do not wean till after Christmas, letting them snck six or seven weeks > then they give bran and oats, with flet milk and watery and some very sweet hay by them, continu-* ing this till grass is ready : but, if the farmer has carrots, they make an excellent article of their food, and save oats. The Duke of Northumber- land's method succeeded with his Grace repeatedly, and I tried it with equal success. His account is this : " I have for some time entertained an idea " that skimmed milk might be prepared with pro- ** per ingredients, effedually to answer the purpose, *' where the pra6lice is to give new milk from the " cow, and at about a third of the ex pence. The " articles are treacle, and the common lint-seed *^ oil-cake, ground very fine, almost to an impal- *' pable pow>der, and the quantities so small, that to " make thirty-two gallons would cost no more, " exclusive of the milk, than about sixpence. I^| " mixes very readily, and almost intimately with the " milk, making it more rich and mucilaginous, " without giving it any disagreeable taste. — Take *•' one gallon of skimmed milk, and in about a pint '^ of it add half an ounce of common treacle, *^ stirring it till it is well mixed ; then take one " ounce of lint-seed oil -cake finely pulverized, and *^ with the hand, let it fall gradually in very small " quantities into the milk^ stirring it in the mean " time, JAN.] THE DAIRY. 17 *^ time, with a spoon or ladle, until it be tho- " roughly incorporated, then let the mixture be. " put into the other part of the milk, and the *^ whole made nearly as warm as new milk from " the cow. After a time^ the quantity of oil-cake *' may be increased.*' THE DAIRY. Mrs. Chevallier, a lady very attentive to a very successful dairy, remarks^ thiit in winter, it is a good way to add hot water to milk, diredly as it comes from the cow ; it makes it yield the cream better* The trays in which it is set, should also be scalded with hot water, or else warmed by the fire> before the milk is set in them. All trays should be of deal, about three inches and a half deep : they are preferable to leaden ones^ which not only blister when hot water is poured into them, but are also said to be unwholesome. About twelve square yards of tray, with some spare bowls, will do for twenty cows. The churn for such a dairy- should contain about 50 gallons beer measure. The copper should hold 100 gallons. Chaffing dishes of charcoal are kept in dairies in frost, but then the cream does not rise so well. The best dairy-maids never put the butter in layers in the iirkin ; but leave the surface every day rough and broken, in order to unite better with that of the suc- ceeding churning. In Suffolk, from three and a half to four pints of salt are commonly used to a iirkin of butter ; but two, with good management, are better. The milk, after the first skimming, is left twelve c hours 15 FATTE^flXG BEASTS. [jAN", hours more in the farm-houses, to make a second butter, which is sold to the poor at an infericl price. A dairy-maid commonly milks seven or eight cows in an hour. YEARLING CALVES. '^ These are very subjedl to the garget, sup* '^ posed to resemble the rheumatism in the liuman *^ body : lying wet either in yards or in fields will ^^ give it. To be kept perfedlly dry, is an almost " sure preventative." — Mrs, Chevallier. YOUNG CAITLE. The last year's calves should now be fed with hay, and roots, either turnips, carrots, or potatoes ; and they should be thoroughly well fed, and kept perfectly clean by means of litter : at this age it is a matter of great consequence to keep such young cattle as well as possible, for the contrary pra6lice will inevitably stop their growth, which cannot be reco- vered by the best summer food. If hay is not to be had, good straw must be substituted ; but then tlK roots should be given in greater plenty, and with more attention. To steers and heifers two years old, the proper food is hay, if cheap ; or straw, with baits of turnips, cabbages, &c. It is not riglit to keep yearling calves and two year olds together ; be- cause, in general, the younger the cattle are, the better they should be fed. FATTENING BEASTS. At this time, the farmer who makes it business to winter fatten, is in the height of his work. There are three methods of fattening cat- tle 1 I : his i JAN.] OIL-CAKE AND CORK'-PED BEASTS. IQ tie, viz. carrying their turnips^ &:c. to a dry grass- field, to a farm-yard, or to the house where the beasts are tied up ; the two latter methods are the best. Not many pastures ate dry and sound enough to bear the tread of an ox in winter • and great numbers are fattened in the field, in Norfolk, eating the turnips where they grow. If fattened in a yard, the food, viz. turnips, cabbages, or carrots, must be given in mangers under open sheds, with good cut chaff always in them, if hay is not plenti- ful ; but they will pay well for the best hay. The same rule is to be followed in stall-feeding ; but they must be littered well, or else they will presently have a bound hide, and not thrive. In either of these methods, plenty of litter must be pro- vided. I would advise the use of three waggon- loads of straw, stubble, or fern, to every beast, for so much they will make into dung, which ought to be the guide, and not the expence of the litter, as the dung will repay that with great profit. I am sensible that less will do ; but it should always be remembered, that raising dung is. the grand pillar of husbandry. OIL-CAKE AND CORN-FED BEASTS. Feeding beasts in this manner is so very expen- sive, that if the greatest attention be not paid to them, the loss will be considerable. The points to be constantly attended to, are ; 1 st, cleanness of lodging, by constantly removing dung, sweeping the pavement clean, and giving plenty of clean litter, to prevent all filth from sticking to their hides ; 2d, clean mangers often washed ; 3d^ and V c2 the I 20 SWINE. [jAX. the most material article, to give very little food at a time, and to vary it properly. Beasts which are carelessly fed in this respecl never thrive well. The master's eye is constantly necessary. 4th, To keep them warm enough by shelter, for warmth fattens almost as much as food. These attentions are ne- cessary for all cattle stalled, wliatever their food may be, but if neglected with that, which is very expensive, the mischief is more felt. SWINE. This is a principal season with swine, both for fattening, rearing, and bringing forth. As the two first are mentioned largely under other months, I shall at present speak only cf the management of sows and pigs. They must be kept each litter in a sty, and fed with dairy^wasli out of cisterns, ' and with the food stored for them in autumn, such as carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and cabbages ; all these do excellently for them. To substitute bar- ley or pease, or even purchased bran or pollard, is therefore unprofitable. The sows should aUvays have as much as they will eat, or the pigs will suf fer ; and what is of as much consequence, is keep- ing them them well littered. Let them be always perfedtly clean ; it ensures the health of the pigs, and at the same time raises a large quantity of the best manure on a farm. The breeding of swine being one of the most profitable articles in the whole business of a farm, the husbandman cannot pay too much attention to it. I shall, in as few words as the subjeiSl will ad- mit, give an account cf the best system to be pur- sued JAN. J SWINE. 24 sued in this branch of his business. The farmer who would make a considerable profit by hogs, must detenuine to keep a proper number of sows, in or- der to breed many pigs , but this resoluti'on ought to be preceded by the most careful determination to prepare crops proper for supporting this stock. Thq proper ones for that purpose are barley, buck, beans, pease, clover, and potatoes, or carrots. In the common management, a farmer keeps only a sow or two, because his dairy will do no more ; but in the system of planting crops purposely for swine, a diffe- rent condud must necessarily be pursued. Potatoes, carrots, Swedish turnip, and cabbages, must be pro- vided for the sows and stores from Odlober till the end of ]May, by which time clover, chicory, or lu- cerne, should be ready to receive them, which will carry them till the stubbles are cleared ; so that the whole year is filled up with these plants, the com- mon olral of the barn-door and the corn-fields, When the sows pig, meal must be provided to make wash, by mixing it with water. This in summer will be good enough for their support, and in win- ter it must be mixed with boiled roots, o'ats arul pea-soup, for the young pigs. If covys are kept, then the dairy wash is to be used in the above mix- tures. Upon this system, a farmer may proportion his swme to his crops, or his crops to his swine ; and he will find that for the whole year he should have about an equal quantity of roots and grass, and half as much corn as potatoes. For carrying the profit to t\\e highest advantage, the sows should pig but c 3 twice 22 WEANKD PIGS, [, J AX twice a year ; that is, in April and August ; by which means there will never be a long and expen- sive season for rearing the pigs before they are put to the staple food of clover or potatoes, &c. ; but this circumstance is much removed by the provi- sion of crops raised expressly for swine. Upon this plan the annual sale of lean hogs should be in 061ober, the litters of April sold then as stores, and those of August kept till Odlober twelvemonth, to sell for baconers, if the farmer f:its lione himself. The stock upon hand this month will therefore be the sows, and the pigs littered in the preceding Aaigust, all v.hich should have root^ from the store, and run at the same time in the farm-yard, for shackin'g the straw of the barn doors. In proportion to what they find in this, you must supply them with roots, giving enough to keep them to their growth, WEANED PIGS. It has been often remarked, that winter pigs are unprofitable ; and it is certainly true, if they are not kept with great care and attention. Where there is a dairy, the milk and whey may be so profit- ably, applied to their use, that it should be preserv- ed carefully for that purpose. The best addition, or which alone will wean them incomparably, is pea soup. Six pecks of pease boiled in a hogshead of water till well broken and dissolved, and tlicn mixed in a tub or cistern with dairy wash, or given alone, will wean them well. If dry meat be given in addition, or alone, it should be oats, which do for young swine far better than other sorts of grain. JAN.] HORSES. 23 grain. Barley does not agree nearly so well with them. HORSES. One of the most useful general lessons that can be given to an arable farmer, is to keep his liorses always at work. The expence of a team is so great, that, if he does not pursue this rule, he must lose by them. January is a month in which all business of tillage ought to be at a stop. If the weather is a hard frost, care should be taken to make use of it in carting manures on the farm. If there are composts ready, a frost should not be let slip ; or, if there is faggot carting to be performed, or the earth of borders under hedges to be carried, the carts should be kept close to work of that kind, as long as the frost lasts. But, if the weather is open, road-work must be done. Carting out the corn may not nearly employ the teams ; on other days the carts should go to the nearest town for manure. There certainly are situations precluded from this advantage, but not many. How well it would answer to keep a team on purpose for the employment, depends on various circumstances; but we may be assured, that it must answer to employ the teams about it, when they would otherwise stand still ; for then the expence is little more than labour and wear and tear. The same observations are partly applicable to the ox teams ; and the farmer should have a stri6l eye, that both horses and oxen have plenty of litter ; otherwise his farm will suffer from a deficiency of manure. C 4 THRESH- 24 THRESHING -MILL. [jAN. THRESHING. I before remarked, that the farmer, in thresh- ing his crops of corn and pulse, should be atten- tive to proportion his threshers to his stock of lean cattle, that neither more nor less straw may arise, than is regularly consumed. Jlelative to the ma- nagement of the threshers, the farmer should he very clear-sighted to their njotions, both as to the cleanness of their work, and as to their honesty. pe may lose immensely if his straw is not threshed clean ; and, as it is a work generally performed hy measure, the men are too apt to turn it over too quickly, and to thresh out only that corn which comes the easiest from the ear. In respecfl: to pilfering, the work gives them greater opportu- nities for it than any other ; for which reason, he should have a sharp look out, and take care now and then to meet the men of an evening in their way home, and to come upon them in the barn, at various times, and unawares. Such a conduct will keep the men honest, if they are so already, and will prevent many knaves from practising their roguery ; whereas an indolent, inattentive master, will make pilferers. THRESHING-MILU If the farmer has one of these most useful im - plements^ he is safe from the two evils mentioned in the preceding article. The expence of a fixed mill, is from 6o to JOG guineas for one that requires two or three horses. It will thresh abopt 15 quarters of wheat In eight or nine hours, and from 15 to ?0 c^uarters JAN.] JEXCES. 25 quarters of barley, oats, pease, or beans. Barley is the grain that threshes worse with them tlian any other ; but I have seen several that thresh it as well as other corn, such as Mr. Asb<.^y's, at BIyborough, Suffolk. His price, for a fixed one, 100 guineas, and for a moveable one l6o guineas. Tiie granary should always be over the fixed mill, that the corn may be drawn up at once and lodged safe under the farnjer's Icey. For feeding cattle, fresh threshed straw is better than old ; for littering (the proper application) they are equal ; but the best manage- ment for eating straw clearly is, to cut it into chaff by the power of the mill, and to have the chaff- house adjoining, so as to receive the cut straw at once, without any carriage. This house should have brick walls, in order that fermentation may not set fire to any thing, and then if water be thrown on the chaff it ferments, and is much mor^ nutritious* than when used in the common way. FENCES. This is a principal season for hedging and ditch- ing. A farmer cannot give too much attention to the fences of his farm ; for, without good ones, he might as well cultivate open fields : he can- not manage them as he pleases, but is for ever crampt, for fear that his own or other people's cat- tle should break into his com or hay fields. In. fencing, he should determine to execute the work in the best manner, which is the plashing method. * Annals, vol. iii. page 480. It 26 FENCES. [jAX. It is done in the following manner : the men first clear the old hedge of all the dead wood, brambles, and other irregular growing rubbish, leaving along the top of the bank the straightest and best-grow- ing stems of thorns, hazel, elm, oak, ash, sallow, beach, &c. about five or six in a yard ; but, if there are any gaps or places thin of live wood, on each side of such places they leave the more. When this work is done, they repair the ditch, which I should never advise to be less than three feet by two and a half, and six inches wide at bottom, in the driest soils ; but in all wet or moist ones, never less than four by three, and one at bottom. All- the earth that arises from the ditch is to be thrown on the bank. The men, if no bargain is made. with them before-hand, will lay some of it on the brow of the ditch ; but this must not be allowed, unless the ditch-earth hap- pens to be extraordinarily rich, and to pay well for carrying it to the land, otherwise the grass of the border is spoiled, and the farmer is at the expence of carting earth which may be worth but little. When tlie ditch is finished, the men begin the hedge. Such of the stems left in cutting the old hedge, as they find growing in the line where the new hedge is to run, they cut off three feet from the top of the bank, to serve for hedge-stakes to the new hedge. Tiiis practice cannot be too much commended ; for these stakes being immovable, and never rotting, keep up the new hedge, so that it never falls, or leans either way. In the next JAN.] FENCES. 27 next place, they drive in their dead hedge-stakes where wanted, chusing sallows or willows, that they may grow. The hedgers then plash down the remainder of the live wood left standing. They cut the stick, twice, one stroke near the ground, and the other about 10 or 12 inches higher, and just deep enough to slit out a part of the wood be- tween the two, leaving the stem supported by little more than the bark, or about a quarter of its first size. It is then laid along the top of the bank, and weaved among the hedge-stakes. All are served thus ; and, where they are not thick enough to finish the hedge, dead thorns are wove among them ; then the top of the hedge is eddered in the com- mon manner. The fence thus made, consists of a good ditch and a hedge, most parts of which are alive ; that is, the stakes, and much of the wood that is weaved between them. The importance of having as much as possible of the hedge alive, cannot be too strongly impressed. This management ensures a lasting fence ; whereas, the hedges that are all dead, presently rot, and fall into the ditch. Those farmers, who live in countries that know nothing of the plashing method, cannot give too much at- tention to teaching it to their men. The best way is, to send for labourers from the plashing coun- tries, who, in one season, will easily instrudl their regular men in the business, which they may after- wards perform without difficulty. DITCHES. 28 DKAINING. [jAN. DITCHES. In very wet soils, where draining is an essen- tial improvement, and where the soil is a poor, loose loam, and not sufficiently consolidated, an evil that demands clay or marie, it is the custom of many farmers to dig- ditches of much greater depth and width, for the douhle purpose of making better drains, and of raising clay or marie, where- with to manure the fields. But I have heard other, and very pradical farmers, obje^l to this ; urging, that the expence, when compared with marling from a pit, is more than doubled ; for it costs more to throw it out of a ditch than into a cart, and, when removed, only two men can stand to till : and, further, that for want of the greater depth to which pits are dug, the marie is neither so good nor so pure. These objedions are powerful ones, and seem to authorize the- farmer to reje6l any greater size of ditch, than the two purposes of draining and fencing demand. DRAINING. January is a proper season for draining. There are several sorts of drains ; but I shall confine myself at present to the covered ones. There are two methods of making them ; one by plouglis, which cut them either at one, or various furrows, according to their merit ; another by digging with a system of spades, which work one after the other, so as to dig a drain about two inches wide at bot- tom, and of various depths and breadths at top.^ If JAN.] BRAIMIMG. 0>^ If a farmer occupies land that has no stones in it large enough to obstra6l a plough, that implement is by all means eligible ; for theexpence of cutting the drains with a plough, is not so great as with spades. But it should be observed, that draining- ploughs can only cut the small drains ; spades must be used for the main ones : their various courses and superior depths require manual work. Sup- pose a large field drained by parallel cuts of a plough, j^till the water must be carried out of those cuts by deeper drains dug^ unless the land has a regular descent ; but, whether the operation be performed by a plough, at a small ex pence, or by spades at a large one, still the necessity of the improvement for wet soils remains the same, and those who have had experience of their nature, will not regret the €xpence of performing the work eftedlually. Wet grass-lands are for ever over-run with rushes, and other aquatic rubbish ; the hay of little value, and small in quantity. Arable land that is wet, can never be applied to a profitable purpose. It is too adhesive to be ploughed, when kindlier soils have received their tillage, and are sown. In wet sea- sons, the crops are too trifling to pay expences. Whatever attention is given to water-furrow them, still the land will not have that mellow, favourable nature, that enables it to yield advantageous crops. The expcnce of covered drains may be estimated, on an average, at 3l. an acre, when done with spades. Now this expenditure v/111, in moderate cases. 30 DRAINING, [jAN. cases, be repaid by the mere saving of the extra expence of water-f arrowing, exclusive of all the superior benefits of it. Covered drains, dug 32 inches deep, two inches wide at bottom, and 12 at top, and filled about 10 inches deep, may be com- pletely executed at 3d. a perch, where labour is 18d. per day in winter. In respedl to filling up these drains, the farmer must be guided by the cir- cumstances of situation. If stones are to be had in great plenty, he should fill with them. Bushes, common faggot-wood, bricks, horns, and bones, turf laid in like a wedge, straw, fern, ling, stub- ble, &c. are all used in various places ; and in Essex, where these drains have been made almost time immemorial, the farmers insist, that the great obje6l is not durability of materials, but the arch- ing of the earth, when the materials are rotten and gone. In many parts of that county, drains run well to this day, that were filled with nothing but straw, more than thirty years ago. The extending such a praclice should, however, depend absolutely on soil ; for most certainly there are soils, in which such a pradtice would be totally inexpedient. A very economical way of doing this work is the following : first, the farmer ploughs four or five times in a place with his common plough, and then shovels out the loose mould ; after wliich, on that smooth bottom, he takes one spit with a very long spade, about four inches wide at top, and narrow- ing to two at ^bottom ; then with a scraper cleans out JAN.] POTATOES. 31 out the moulds, and fills them up. Digging this spit is three hahpence a rod, and lilling up a half- penny. The newly-invented mole-plough will be mentioned hereafter. BEANS. If the autumnal sowing of Mazagan beans has been prevented by the weather being uncommonly wet, it ought to be done this month, for the earlier the beans are planted, the better will be the crop. And as the season must regulate, the article of til- lage in all cases, the farmer ought to sow his beans the first month his land is dry : some seasons will be dry in January, that were wet in December. Beans are a crop that will pay very well for ma- nuring ; and if there are not many turnips, pota- toes, &c. all the dung of the farm should be laid On for them, by way of a preparation for wheat ; in which case the manure may be laid on at any time when it can be done previously to the plough- ing. CARROTS. The best culture of carrots is to let the barley or wheat stubble lie till you plough and sow, put- ting them in on one earth. If much previous til- lage is given, the second earth will probably fall in this month. I mention this circumstance, in case the farmer is determined on much tillage, which, for carrots I do not think advisable: possibly on very running sand, winter tillage might be beneficial. POTATOES. The above observation is also applicable to this root. There may be cases in which a ploughing in January 32 WOOD. [jA5r. January may be advisable ; but in general the land fhoald either lie till the planting, or at least have only autumnal tillage. In dry soils^ upon which weeds have come up since that time, a ploughing now may be right. If the dung designed for the potatoe land is laid in the field ready for it, atid the weather happens to be frosty, the first opportunity may be taken for carting it on, especially if the land is wet enough to make a frost necessary. WOOD. There are not many distrifls in which woods are profitable to a farmer to hire ; but when he finds them a part of a farm, it is not always that he can have a choice whether to take or leave them, and must therefore apply himself to convert them to the best profit. This month is generally a busy one in felling : the men who do the work are com- monly paid by measure, or tale. In some coun- tries the falls are only cut and laid in rows, and sold in that manner by the rood ; in others, the farmer converts the stuff to the proper use, and sorts it into faggots, poles, hoop-stufF, or hurdles ; and this, I believe, will generally prove the mo&t profitable way. In cutting woods there is one point much dis- puted, which is, the number of years growth at which to cut. Customs vary from nine years to twenty -seven, but generally about twelve or four- teen. I have seen many woods, in cutting which, one stem on a stool was left to be of a double age at next cutting, in order to have some large wood in JAN.] WOOD* 33 ill each fall. The question is, whether such stems draw from the root so much nourishment as to les- sen the young growth as much as the large shoots amount to. From viewing such woods, I have ob- served, that the part of twelve years growth, among which were some of one stem, twenty-four years old, was as good as others, where the whole was only twelve. If so, the additional growth is nearly all profit; but if not, it certainly makes the wood when cut more saleable, and applicable to more purposes. One great point to be attended to in the ma- nagement of woods, and to which too much atten- tion cannot be paid, is to keep the fences in the very best order possible ; for a farmer or landlord had better let cattle into their wheat, than into their underwood ; because their biting and mang- ling one year's shoot, is doing mischief to the amount of at least three years growth. But if woods are so ill fenced and so extensive, as to be too great an expence for the person to afford re- pairing ; in that case, the longer the growth is, the greater will be the profit ; for supposing that cattle, upon an average, eat three years growth, then there are three in twelve or fourteen destroyed ; whereas, if the term is twenty-four years growth, still there are but three destroyed ; which is doubly advantageous. These are points which should be well considered ; and, also what is the age at which the various sorts of underwood attain the greatest weight, having D always I I S4 Wood. [jAn. alvvavs in view the variations of soil. For instance, it should be tried, what weight twenty single stems of sallow, ash, oak, hazel, hornbeam, &c. come to at six, twelve, and twenty-four years growth, t see whether the produce is proportioned to th age. This Avould be a very easy experiment in every respedl, but that of the time it would de- j mand. In the beech woods of Buckinghamshire, this system is carried exceedingly far ; for they are not cut till thirty or forty years growth ; the conse- quence of which is, they are destroyed as underwood, and nothing appears but single stems, which are successions of yoitng trees. The way of cutting them is 'not by falls, as incommon woods, but by singling 'Out, e\'ery year, the largest of the trees, and cutting enough of them to pay 12, 15, or 20s. per acre, per annum, according to the goodness of the wood. These trees, though some of them when cut woilld more than measure ns timber, are all sawn into lengths of four feet, or thereabouts, and rived into billets for fire-wood, for the London market, being conveyed there by .the Thames, (rood beech woods, upon this system, will pay 20s. an acre, clear of expenccs, which is more than undcfwood would pay upon the same soil. I be- lieve it will generally be found, that the older the growth the greater will be the profit. At twelve years growth of ash, the land must be very good to have a crop of hop-poles; but at twenty years growth, :rAN.] THE MOLE PLOUGH. 35 growth, you will have very fine ones, and pay your- self* much better than by the younger growth. Some woods are so very wet, that the ash, hazel, hornbeam, and oak stubs, will not thrive ; in thajt case, the sallow and willow should be multiplied, or the wood hollow-drained ; which is a pra6lice be- ginning in some parts of Essex. There they have so long seen the advantages attending drains of that kind, in their corn and grass lands, that they now think their wettest woods will pay as well for them as an arable field. It cannot be doubted, but the practice must be exceedingly advantageous ; and this month is a very proper time for doing it. THE MOLE PLOUGH. The accounts which have for the last two oi* three years been received, of the efFefts of this im- plement, are extremely contradictory. With some farmers the use of it has been great, and the dura- tion of the drains extremely satisfa6lory ; with others the reverse. I have attended to these cir- cumstances in various districts, and have employed the tool on my own farm, and from all I could ob- serve or hear of it, the effe(5l seems to depend en- tirely on the soil. In clay the result has given much satisfaction ; but in loose spungy loams, how- ever wet, and where sand gauls (as they are called) abound, the drains have generally stopped. A young farmer should therefore acquaint himself well with his soil to the depth of from 12 to l6 inches, for if he has not a pretty regular stratunj of clay, or stiff marie, he may expert the pipes to fail in D 2 two I 36 THE MOLE PLOUGH. [jAK^» two years : whereas in stiff soils, those are running well at present that were made six or seven years ago. Another remark that should be made, relates to the strength of the draft. Without wheels the mole plough demands 10, 12, and even 14 horses; these, when the land is wet, do almost as much mischief in trampling as the drains can do good. The addition, therefore, which has been made to this implement, of wheels before and a roller be- hind, is of essential importance, and reduces the team to six horses. It is certainly an excellent tool, if well applied. A precaution, which should be mentioned here, is, on grass land, to open a furrow with a good common plough, or better, with an open furrow drain plough, in order that the mole plough may follow; and finish the work by turning back the fur- row. This defends the slit from the frost, which otherwise is apt to moulder down the earth, to the hazard of stopping the drains. The state in which land should be for draining, admits but of one question, the right moment for applying the Essex method of hollow-draining ? With respe6l to this there is a diversity of opinion, and, perhaps, with some propriety, it being a point on which something may be advanced on both sides. As to all other circumstances, such as the greater exertions of large open drains ; the brick soughs of Mr. Elkington, &c. they should be un- exceptionably performed previously to all tillage ; an assertion which' many pradlical reasons support. They JAN.] THE MOLE PLOUGH. 3/ Tiiey imply a degree of wetness which would be niiiious in tillage^ and as that wetness commonly proceeds from powerful springs, much carting and trampling could not be permitted after ploughing, even in summer, without essential mischief. An> other obje(5l in extensive works, especially on moors upon the slopes of hills and in mountains, is the union of draining and irrigation. The general mouth of many drains may, in numerous cases, be made the constant supply of a system of watering the land below it. Till this is settled, the improver is uncertain what land it will be advisable to break up, and what otherwise to improve by water, for it may be laid down almost as a maxim, that water, where it can be had, should be tried with mere le- velling before any other method be attempted. Upon the high moors to the south of Paitely-bridge, in Yorkshire, there are some remarkable instances of small abandoned mill -courses having overflowed the ling moor below them, and thereby destroyed the ling, and established a large family of grasses,^ converting black into what they call ivhkekmd^ and which, though (like ail the rest of the moors) in a state of utter negle6l (this accidental circumstance excepted), would let, with a wall fence around it, at 10s. an acre, instead of 6d. or gd. When the efFedl of water is so remarkable, it is a proof that not a drop should be lost, but that what comes from the drains should be converted from an enemy inta a friend. It is the praftice of many farmers to chuse the D 3 y ii t^S MARLING. [jAN. year of falloVv for this vvGrk, because they think it is better clone in summer than in winter, and while the land is in fallow than when under clover, though that clover be fed. If this be really the fa6V, it probably depends not only on the land being dry, by which means it admits cart- ing of the straw and bushes, but also because the sun and air have the efFed, by dr)'ing the earth ot the sides of the cuts, to avoid that plastering which the a6lion of the spade has in digging them in wet weather, and by which they are apt afterwards to bleed through the pores less freely. There may be something in this. Other farmers do the work in winter, partly because they have a better opportu- nity, on flat fields, of seeing how the drains dratv, as it is termed ; and partly because at that season labourers are easier to be had. But poaching the surface upon arable land is an objedlion. It seems on every account to be desirable, that such soils as well as others, and whether the work be done in winter or summer, should be drained while in grass, by which means poaching is avoided, and if the surface turf be tough, it gives an opportunity ot making sod drains, which are cheaprr ihau flllhig them either with bu^jhes or straw. MARLING. The marie and clay carts may ysork all this month. This is so important an objecl, that too much attention cannot be given to it, nor can a great breadth of land be thus manured, if the teams and men assigned to it be not ejnployed regularly the JAN.] MAULING. ?»() tlie year through. Upon dry soils no diflkultics occur, but upon wet ones the teams can stir in win- ter only, while the surface is frozen, unless it be on lai/trs of some years standing, and well drained. Upon sand, marie or clay should be laid on, i^ the pro^Kjrtion of 50 or 6.0 cubical yards per acre ; but on loose wet loams, upon which clay or marl^ works a very great improvement, it should be lai^ on to the quantity of 100 yards. Tl^e cheapest way of doing it is, to contrail for the whole job with some little farmer, or horse keeper, who works for hire. In Suffolk, it is not uncommon to give 8d. a cubical yard for all expences whatever, except spreading, which accurate farmers chuse to do by the day, as a minute attention is in nothing more im- portant. If this be not well executed, some spots in the field will have in the proportion of 200 loads, and others not more than 50. If the young farmer wants any inducement to undertake the work of marling, it will be best found in the register of what his brethren have done. Mr. Rodwell's account of this operation is very interesting. '' My operations at first, were to inclose with " thorn hedges, marie or clay, and break up 300 *' acres of the heath ; and in the first seven years " of the lease I finished what I meant to improve " in that term. I marled or clayed 60O acres, at 70 '^ loads an acre, being 42,000 large tumbril loads. In ♦' this work I employed three teams, two of my p 4 ^^ own, 40 MARLING. [JAX, own, and one I hired for several years. It is se- vere work, and the second year I lost nine horses, attributed to feeding on pea-straw from the new broken heath, a circumstance that deserves the attention of improvers. '^ In the eleventh year of my lease I applied to my landlord for a renewal ; on which the farm was valued again by Mr. Hare, the surveyor at Peterborough, and I took a fresh lease of 15 years, to commence at the termination of my old one, at the rent of 400l. " I immediately clayed and broke up 200 acres more, at 100 loads an acre, 40 bushels per load, inclosing all with quick hedges, and ditches five feet wide and 4 feet deep ; after this I improved 100 acres more in the same manner. " In the two leases of 28 years I clayed or marled 820 acres ; and I have claved or marled so much over the second time, at 70 loads an acre, that the quantity I have carried in all, is very little short of 140,000 loads. '' Upon taking a third lease, I was, in l/QS-p, particularly steady to this work, and in 4() weeks and three days carried 1 1,275 cubical yards, pay- ing by measure of pits, and not by loads, which were filled and spread by four men and a boy, and carted by six horses and two tumbrils. *^ In this business of carrying clay or marlc I have pra6lised hand-barrowing : the men can make good earnings at lOd. per yard, wheeling it 30 rod ; and down to 7d, a ^ard at shorter dis- '* tanccs ; I JAN.} MAKLING. 41 ' tanccs ; and I am much Inclined to think that if ' we had workmen used to the operation, and ' handy at it, hke those employed in navigations, ' that this method would he of all others the ^ cheapest, especially on heavier soils. But by ' far the greatest part I have done by tumbrils, the ' expence of which put out is 5d. per yard for ' team, and 2^d. a yard for labour ; this, with pay- ^ ing for laying picks, wedges, he. also for stones ' that rise, increase the whole expence to 8d. per ^ yard, which is at least a halfpenny per yard cheaper ^ than I can do it with my own teams ; the reason ' of which is, that the man who contra6ls with me • drives his own horses, and looks after them. At ^ 8|d. per yard, 140,000 yards have cost me 4,958l. ' excepting the small proportion hired at a half^ ^ penny a yard lower. '^ I come now to mention a few circum- • stances, which I hope may ^^ tend to render ^ this paper useful to others not having the ^ experience which I have acquired : I shall use • but few words, but they shall be founded on ' positive experiment or attentive observation. " Clay is much to be preferred to marie on these ' sandy soils, some of which are loose, poor, and • even a black sand. By clay is to be understood ' a grey clayey loam, some of it brick earth, and ^ all has with vinegar a sn)all effervescence. • Marie is a white, greasy, chalky substance, that ' effervesces strongly with acids : I make a univer- ^' sal 42 jOrxAW CHALK. [JAX, *• sal rule, on a second improvement, to lay clay " on the fields marled before, sometimes marie "where clay was spread before ; but this not ge- " neral, as clay answers best on the whole. " On 90 acres, clayed 100 loads an acre, I have " had, after two crops, the one turnips, the other *^ barley, cole-seed, and sold it on the ^' round for *^ 1000 guineas : then turnips, a famous crop, fol- *^ lowed by barley, on 75 acres, 16 coombs an " acre (the coomb is J a quarter ;) and by oats on "15 acres (poorer land), 10 coombs an acre. " These crops are, for the soil, great ; but in ge- " neral my produ6ls have been highly to my satis- " faaion.^' Since this account was written, I have heard o\ gd. per yard being given in Suffolk, and even as far as lOd. offered, to induce a little farmer to set up a team strong enough for the work. DRAW CHALK. " The method pursued in Hertfordshire in chalk - " ing land is this ; and the persons employed there- " in follow it as a trade : a spot is fi\ed upon, ^* nearly centrical to about six acres of land to be " chalked. Here a pit, about four feet in diame- *' ter, is sunk to the chalk, if found within twenty ^' feet from the surface ; if not, the chalkcrs con- " sider that they are on an earth pillar ; fill up " the pit, and sink in fresh places, till their labour ^^ is attended with better success. The j)it from ♦^ the surface to the chalk, is kept from falling in " by JAN.] DRAW CHALK. jf| *' by a sort of basket-work, made with hazel or *' willow rods and brushwood, cut green, and inanu- '^ faelured with the small boughs and leaves remain- '' ing thereon, to make the basket-work the closer. ^' The earth and chalk is raised from the pit by a '' jack-rowl on a frame, generally of very simple ^^ and rude constru6lion. To one end of the rowl *' is fixed a cart-wheel, which answers the double *' purpose of a fiy and a stop. An inch -rope of "'* sufficient length is wound round the rowl ; to " one end of which is affixed a weight, which ^' nearly counterbalances the empty bucket fast- *^ ened to the other end. This apology for an ^' axis in pcritrochio, two wheel -barrows, a spade, ^' a shovel, and a pick-axe, are all the necessary ^' implements in trade of a company of chalkers, ^' generally three in number. The pit-man digs ^' the chalk and fills the basket, and his compa- *' nions alternately wind it up, and wheel its con- *' tents upon the land : when the basket is wound -' up to the top of the pit, to stop its descent till '* emptied, the point of a wooden peg, of suffi- *^ cient length and strength, is thrust by the per- *' pendicular spoke in the wheel into a hole made *' in the adjoining upright or standard of the ^"^ frame, to receive it. The pit is sunk from twenty ^^ to thirty feet deep, and then chambered at the ** bottom, that is, the pit-man digs or cuts out the " chalk horizontally, in three separate diredlions ; ^' the horizontal apertures being of a sufficient '' height jff <^> DRAW CHALK, [jAN. *' height and width to admit of the pit -man's '* working in them with ease and safety. One pit " will chalk six acres, laying sixty loads on an " acre. If more be laid on. and to the full ex- '^ tent of chalking, viz. 100 loads, then a propor- " tionable less extent of land than six acres is *' chalked from one pit. Eighteen barrow-fnlls " make a load, and the usual price for chalking is *^ 7d. per load, allexpences included ; therefore the *^ ex pence of chalking, at sixty loads per acre, is " ll. 12s. 6d.; and at 100 ditto, 21. 18s. 4d. *^ As the chalk is considered to be better the '^ deeper it hes, and the top chalk particularly, if *^ it lie within three or four feet of the surface very " indifferent, and only fit for lime, or to be laid on *^ ix>ads, gateways, &c. the chalkers must be di- '^ reeled to lay by tl}e chalk for the first three or " four feet in depth, to be applied to the above '^ puq)oses, or if not wanted, to be again thrown *^ into the pit when filled up; and also to pick " out the flints from the chalk before it is carried " on the land, for if they, are not narrowly watched^ "' they will chalk witli botli. *' Mr. John Hill, of Coddicot, farms upwards •* of 1200 acres in the adjoining parishes of *^ Coddicot and Kimpton, a considerable part of ** which is his own estate. He has chalked many " acres of land, and approves much of the prac- *' tice. He chalked a field of strong clay-land in ^* the autumn of 1793^ laid on sixty loads to an " acre. JAN.] BURN LIME. 45 '' acre, and the chalk where the pits were sunk lay ** about ten feet from the surface. I viewed the ^^ field the 7th of August 179'^!; it had borne a ^^ crop of pease since it was clialked, and was then *^ under the plough, preparatory for a crop of wheat. " The chalk was good, and the land appeared to ^^ work well, though the chalk was not then tho- " roughly incorporated with the soil. Mr. Hill *^^ never lays on more than sixty loads of chalk on *^ an acre : this, he finds, will not only make the *^ land w^ork much better with less strength of " ciittle, but also, with a light coat of dung, or '^ spring dressings occasionally laid on to quicken *^ the vegetation, produce abundant crops for ten ^^ years ; he then chalks again with equal success." —Mr, Walker, EXAMINE WATER-FITRROWS. At this season, if snow melts, all water-cuts made in autumn for keeping arable fields dry, should be carefully examined, to see that leaves, weeds, frozen snow and ice do not impede the passage of the water, and overflow the stitches. If this be neglected, mischief may presently occur ; and no- thing demands, in this respec^l, more attention than young clover and other seeds, BURN LIME. If a farm affords the opportunity of burning lime, and experiments made for the purpose, or common practice, have proved its efficacy, it is a business which may go on through all the winter. Perpe- >l6 LIMING, [jAX. Perpqtual kilns are not uncommon In Ireland, which have burnt through the entire year, coal or cuhn being the fuel, in layers between layers of broken stone. They are best situated on the slope of a hill or mountain, for ease of conveying the stone to the kiln, and for drawing out the burnt lime at bottom. Sheds, or stores, should be conveniently situated for receiving it, that it may be kept from the weather, if preserved any time before using ; as in many cases it should be used unslacked. The common way is to contract with the burners, for quarrying and burning, by the quarter hogshead or | bushel. In that case, the chief attention to be given them is, to see that the coals delivered pro- duce a proper quantity of burnt lime. LIxMING. Should lime burnt in January be used or kept till the spring ? There are two motives for burning stone or chalk : one is, for the sake of reducing the material to })owder, for accuracy in spreading ; the other is, for the application of a caustic body destructive of living vegetables. For the former purpose, the lime had better be kept ; for the latter, it is usually laid on in such large quantities, that it is not very mateiial at what season it is spread, provided it be done fresh from the kiln. It will have a greater effe6l in spring and summer, bnt the superiority is not such as to induce delay from a time in which the teams have little to perform, to a season in which there is much work for them. The 1 J A N . J T O W X MA X I R E S . 47 I'lie grand efl'ccl; of this manure is on uncultivated waste land. On moors, mountains, bog, and boggy bottoms, the efic thick enough at first, lost so much of its plant, by the winter frosts, that I expected it must have been MN.] OATS. 55 been ploughed up, and sown again in the spring; but observing the plants that were alive beginning to flourish very early, I gave them time ; yet it never got to be a full plant, nor did I expe61:, though the straw was very stout, and the hawes, or ears, very fine ones, that it would have turned out so well. Those sown in January and February both lost some of their plants, so ihat that sown in March, 2vith the least seed, was the fullest and evenest plant of any." The Earl remarks: *^ I was induced to make the following trial, from having Seen upon two very capital farms in Kent and Essex, great crops of oats, sown as early as Christmas week, and from being informed, by the gentlemen who occupied those farms, that they always sowed their oats as early as that, if the season admitted of it ; and that they thought it the best time for sowing that grain, I wished to ascertain whether this plan w^ould an- swer in this more northern county. The general time of sowing oats here, is from the beginning of March to the end of April ; and it is the opinion of most people here, that oats sown much earlier would be liable to be destroyed by spring frosts. Last winter was very favourable for the experiment, as the w^eather was open at Christmas for sowing, and the frost in the spring not severe. I divided a field of eight acres equally : one half was sown the day after Christmas day ; the other half the middle of March, Five bushels per acre were sown broad- cast on each part, and the same oats ; the sort, a $; 4 small 56 OATS. JA'N'. small white oat, here called short-smalls. The early sown were ripe and cut one week before the others ; they were harvested equally well, without being exposed to any bad weather. I had a rootj^. of each set out very carefully in the middle of thl^|| field, reaped and threshed as soon as carried. The , produce and weight were as follows : Winch. Bushels. Qrs. Early sown. - 22 per acre. 11 Late sown. - 19 do. - 9 4 " Weight per Winchester bushel as soon threshed : Early sown. - 44i:lb. Late sown. - 42ilb. ^^ The crop was, as you see, very good. The lan( yielded potatoes the preceding year, 450 bushels per acre, and was not manured for that or the oat crop : it had before that been in grass for six or seven years. The soil a red loam. I am inclined to think that the early sowing will answer here, as this field is very high and much exposed.'* FEBRUARY, (57 ) FEBRUARY, BEANS. In this month, a farmer should begin to sow his bean crop, and, if the soil and the season agree, iinish it if possible ; for later sown crops will^not succeed so well. The land ought to have been ploughed into the three-foot ridge, and well water- furrowed the autumn before ; by which means his only objedl now will be dibbling in the seed : so that the Jirst dry season may be taken. To get the bean crop in the land in February is an obje6l of consequence, if the soil is dry enough. As to the methods of sowing, there are many. Some farmers sow the beans over the land, and plough them in ; others plough first, and harrow in the seed ; and these both on ridge and fiat work. A better way of sowing is, either to half plough the ridges, sow broad-cast, and afterwards finish ; or to sprain them by hand before the plough, so that they may rise in rows, on the tops of the ridges. In the latter way, they are in single rows, but in the former double. In the following sum- mer, the single rows are ploughed between, in the horse-hoeing manner, and the double ones hand- hoed. Both miCthods are common husbandry in several parts of the kingdom. But I shall recom- mend, in preference to them, other methods, and using a drill plough, as it executes that work with much 58 BEANS. [fEbJ much greater accuracy than any hand can do. Light drills may be had to wheel along the ground, like a wheel-barrow. The use of such an instru- ment will save money, at the same time that it performs the work much better. A farmer who has land proper for beans, should, on no account, avoid giving a particular attention to that crop ; for it will prove one of his surest funds of profit. By means of beans, he may be able to lessen, if not to banish, the custom of fallowing ; for a crop of beans, rising in single rows on three-feet ridges, or double rows at one foot, on four-feet ridges, gives so good an opportunity for ploughing the in- tervals, and also admits hand- hoeing the rows, that the land may be cleaned as well as by a fallow, and the crop succeeded by corn. But, if the soil be in such order that this culture is insufficient to clean it, then a second crop of drilled beans should succeed, which will be very profitable husbandry, and cannot fail of bringing the land into order. Whenever beans are cultivated with this view of substituting them in the room of a fallow, the farmer should absolutely determine to drill or dibble them, so as to admit the plough between the rows ; foi no hand work will clean and pulverize the land suf- ficiently for this purpose, at least without an ex- pence too great for the objcv^l. If the spirited husbandman calculates the expence of a summer fallow, and also the account of a drilled bean crop, fie will find the necessity of this culture. Beans do very well oji loams, and on lighter ones than comn J PEB.^ BEANS AFTER BARLEY. 69 commonly imagined ; but on light gravels, sands, &c. more profitable crops may be substituted. Let the farmer remember the general maxim, if he ploughs for beans this month, never to allow his ploughs to stir while the land is wet : if his horses poach at all, or his ploughs do not go clean through the land, he will lose, or greatly damage his crop, But improvements, and especially those which have taken place in Middlesex, but most of all in Suf- folk, have opened a new field for this cultivation, which will be explained in this work. The grand basis of it is^ to banish spring ploughings, by lay- ing the land ready in autumn, for either dibbling or drilling. BEANS AFTER BARLEY. The barley stubbles intended for beans, or land whereon clover failed, having been ploughed into the proper stitches, and laid dry for winter, are now ready for drilling or dibbling. It will pro- bably be the end of the month before the season is suitable for this work. The same attention must be paid to this crop, as to barley, in respedl of avoiding spring ploughings, and also to etFe6l: every operation without permitting the horses to set a foot on the land. They are ever to move, in spring, only in the furrows. As this is the first month for putting in beans, it will be proper for the young farmer to consider, whether he shall adopt the system of drilling or of dibbling, setting, or plant- ing, as the operation is in different distridls diffe- rently termed. Dibbling 6a BEANS AFTER BARLEY, [fEB^ Dibbling is an excellent method^ when well per- formed ; but the grand objc6iion to it is, the diffi- culty of getting it well done. When it becomes the common husbandry of a distridl, the workmen find that great earnings are to be made by it ; and this is much too apt to make them careless, and eager to earn still more ; and if a very minute at- tention be not paid to them, by the constant at- tendance of the farmer, they strike the holes so shallow, that the first peck of a rook's bill takes the seed, and acres may be destroyed, if the breed of those birds be encouraged as they ought to be. Boys are employed for weeks together, to keep the iields, but all works that depend on boys are horribly ncgle6led, and thus the farmer suifcrs materially ; but if the seed is deposited two and a half, or (better) three inches deep, it is not so easily got at. The imperfedl delivery of beans by all the drill-machines which I have seen, caus- ing many gaps in the rows, is an additional motive to dibble. But, on the contrary, the power to put in the seed at the desired depth, with the drill, is a great motive to use it ; nor should the difference of the expence be forgotten. To dibble beans well, at eighteen inches equi-distant, will cost 5 s. an acre ; but drilling will not come to the half of that sum. On layers, whether of grass or clover, I pre- fer dibbling, because, on such, it is easier to de- posit the seed at a safe depth, by the dibble than by the drill, unless it be on clover of one year, ploughed with Mr, Ducket's skim-cpulter before winter^ I 1->ER.] I^EANS AFTER BARLEY. Ol winter, and left for frosts to work upon. On such, the drill will work well. This is, however, a point that must be left in some degree of latitude. No general rule can safely be laid down : the farmer must judge according to soil, season, his depend- ance on dibblers, and other circumstances : both methods, when well applied, are good. The dibbled crops demand harrowing with fine, light, short-tootiied harrows, which will not dis- place the seed, and it should be carefully done, in order to hide the holes from rooks. The drilled crops want only one light harrowing, to smooth the land. In putting in beans after barley or wheat, on land ploughed in autumn, the farmer must remem- ber, that if the frosts have had full play, the sur- face will probably be in such friable order, in a dry February, that he mnst drill, as the mould would run in, and fill the holes before the seed is dropped. This is a circumstance that will sufficiently explain itself. There is a practice about Coggeshal, in Essex, that should here be noted. Their course is, 1. Fallow, 2. Barley, 3. Clover, 4. Wheat, 5. Fallow, 6. Barley, 7. Beans, 8. Wheat, Designed, I 62 SORT OP BEA5r. [fkk. Designed^ probably, to throw the return of clo- ver to the eighth, instead of the fourth year.- The barley stubble of the sixth year, is dunged in autumn, with farm-yard composts, and ploughed .^bJ after wheat-sowing is finished, on ridges of three' ^"1 feet ; two bout ones. In February, they dibble a double row of Windsor-beans^ on the ciown of each ridge, nine inches from row to row, which leaves an interval of twenty-seven inches for clean- ing. They are exceedingly deficient, in not horse- hoeing so wide an interval, applying the hand-hoe only ; but they do this three or four times ; and^ if the stubbles are in the least foul, they are very at- tentive to hand -hoe them for the wheat which suc- ceeds. Their avoiding spring-tillage for the beans has much merit. This pradice they carry so far^ as neither to scarify, nor even harrow, putting the seed into the frost-worked surface, and their suc- cess is a justification of the system. SORT OF BEAN. The common little horse-bean has the advan-*- tage of all others, in being more generally market- able ; for in certain situations, it is not always easy to dispose of ticks, Windsors, long-pods, and va- rious other sorts. They also grow higher, shade the ground in summer more from the sun, and yield a larger quantity of straw, which makes ex- cellent' manure. But sorhe of the other sorts are generally supposed to yield larger produ6ls. This, however, is a point in which some wcll-condu6leil comparative experiments are wanting. SOIL I I I ■ VEB.] i^Oir. FOR BEANS. 03 SOIL FOR BEANS. Every one knows, that all the sorts of strong and heavy soils are the common ones generally ap- plied to this crop. In Kent they wisely cultivate them to great extent, upon rich dry sound loahis ; but it is not generally known, and very rarely prac- tised, to venture them on light turnip loams and middling sands. I have, however, seen them succeed so well on such, that a no^te of it ought to come into this work ; and as this is the month in which a ftirmer will first turn his thoughts to beans, it deserves his attention to consider, whether he has not land upon his farm which would do for that crop, al- though he never before thought of venturing k. The soundness of a man's farming pra6lice may be iudged of by this cultivation, as well as by any other criterion ; for he ought to have beans where- evcr it is possible to have them. They do not ex- haust the soil — they prepare it better for wheat than any other crop — they stand eredl to harvest, ad- mitting horse-hoeing to the last ; they shade the ground from the sun, and the straw is valuable, if harvested in a favourable time, or, if not so har- vested, makes excellent dung. The favourable cir- cumstances attending this crop are so many, that every man who can have them ought to determine on the culture. A bad crop of pease fills the land with wetids, but a bad crop of beans may be as clean as a garden. Some of the greatest pro- duds of this plant, which I have seen, were on a rich sand ; but I have know^n beneficial ones on a sand 64 ROWS OF BEAXS. [feB, sand of 10s. an acre. Beans are never seen in Norfolk, on sands that let from JOs. to 15s., and even more per acre; and this is a deficiency in their husbandry. QUANTITY OF SEED BEANS. The quantity of seed will depend much on the distance at which the crop is drilled or dibbled. It takes about two bushels of horse-beans to an acre, the rows equi-distant at 18 inches ; and it demand^M six bushels of Windsors, put in in the same man-^^ ner. — ^The quantity of seed proper for other va- rieties, will necessarily be in proportion to the size of the grain ; and the variation of distance in the ro\vs, will demand seed in proportion to these quantities for the distance named. It is in almost every case better to put in a peck too much than half a peck too little. THE ROWS OF BEANS. Beans are drilled from 12 to 24 inches, equi- distant. In Suffolk, by many farmers at 12 inches; but, on good land, they will then be evidently too thick, and draw themselves up, without podding below. Eighteen is a better distance, and used by the best farmers. In Kent, 14 and l6 inches is the distance adopted by many. In Essex, I have ju^st stated double rows at nine, with intervals of 27 inclies. I have had great produ6ls on layers, from double rows, at nine, with intervals of 18, and also 27* that is, two JIags planted and two or three missed, for intervals ; the former, viz. the double rows, with intervals of 9 and 18 inches, have. rEB.] BEANS AFTER CLOVER, &c. 65 have, I think, been most produ6live. But this point will entirely depend on the fertility of the soil ; for in proportion as the land is rich, whether from nature or from manuring, the distance should be large. In Berkshire they have a custom, which, in this respedl, varies from all other countries with which I am acquainted : it is, to plant in clusters four or five beans in a hole, and nine inches from hole to hole; the space between the rows varied according to soil. Their crops are large. This method ad- mits effe6live hand-hoeing in the rows, and the intervals are horse-hoed. It may be combined with de Chateaux vieux well-known experiment on plant- ing barley in clusters, which seems to have been very carefully made, and in which four, five, or six grains in a hole, produced more than the same number of grains singly, in as many holes as grains. It is in vain to reason about such results ; but it appears as if the germination of the grains, in such close conta6l, caused a fermentation in the soil around, that was beneficial, even in the produce at harvest. In the case of the Berkshire beans, some- thing is certainly to be attributed to the hoeing be- ing more efFeclive than in common rows, BEANS AFTER CLOVER, &c. To put in beans after clover and other seeds, is most excellent husbandry, and preferable to sow- ing wheat, which does better after beans, and also enables the farmer to get two profitable crops in- F stead 66 BEANS AFTER WHEAT. [fE] stead of one, with the land preserved at the same time in good heart, and clean. 1. Fallow, turnip, cabbage, winter tares, or potntoes ; 2. Barley ; 3. Clover, &c. ; 4. Beans ; 5. Wheat. Here is a much more profitable course than of four years ending with wheat ; or of five years^ by taking barley or oats after the wheat. The clover lay should be dunged before wheat sowing, if the lime should be too dry for that operation, or after it, and then ploughed into such stitches as suit the drill -plough oi* scarifiers, and planted in this month without more ploughing. This is an excellent system, that cannot be too much commended. The layer afirbrds a good op- portunity for carting the manure, which is wantin in some courses. BEANS AFTER WHEAT. There are some rich soils, upon which the mos! profitable husbandry that can be practised is, to take beans and wheat alternately ; others on which the same husbandry may be repeated twice in five years, or thrice in seven. There may be one or more such fields on a farm ; but wherever found, thi| management should not be neglecSled. In all ca the land ought to be ploughed in autunni ; n spring ploughing to be given ; and the stitches drilled o? — r atinff Dre i FEE.] BARLEY AFTER TURNIPS. 6f or dibbled this months if the weather be favourable ; if not, in March; i;KANS AFTER TURNIPS. Froiii tin v/ctnegs of the soil or season, turnip- land, after sheep -feeding, will sometimes be found in very bad order for barley. The general prac- tice is, to i)ersist in the intention for barley, and to effedl a partial pulverization, by much tillage and much patience : bnt if land is found in such order, it is much better to give one deep earth, and to dibble in beans. For this grain, it is no objedion that the land breaks up a whole and clung furrow, as tlie farmers term it. The beans succeed wel]> and the horse and hand-hoeings", with the efFe6l of the seasons through summer, bring the land into proper order for scarifying for wheat. I have found this husbandry successful, and every one knows how easily a crop of barley is lost in such a case. - BARLEY AFl^ER TURNIPS. Towards the end of this month, part of the tur- tiip-land will be ready for heing tilled for barley ; and, as this is the first time of mentioning the sowing of that grain, it will be necessary to explain a system that has, for a few years past, and since the former editions of this work were published, been making a greatly rapid progress in Suffolk : it is that of putting in barley on turnip-lands, by means of drilling, without any ploughing. For this purpsoe, and for many others, the sur- face of the field is throw^n on to lands (stitches, as F 2 they 68 BARLEY AFTER TL'RNIPS. [fEB. lliey are called in Saffblk, and ridges in some counties), of such breadth, as shall very exadlly suit for one stroke or going of the drill -machine, or for two ; a bout, as it is termed. The shafts of the drill are fixed, like those of a cart for one horse, that quarters. This will be more particu^ Jarly explained elsewhere, but the horse-hoeing implements, and scarifiers, and scuffiers, whatever may be used, must be prepared according to the drill -machine, to fit the stitches cxa6\ly. We shall suppose the turnips to have been drilled, or sown, on stitches sixty-six inches wide, which will admit seven rows of barley to be drilled, at nine inches asunder, besides leaving twelve inches for each furrow. These lands being cleared of turnips, either by sheep-feeding, if the soil be dry, or b carting off with double breast carts (the horses and wheels moving only in the furrows), and the soil on the surface being pulverized and opened in some degree by frosts, the question will be, how to prepare it for barley or oats. The husbandry universal in the kingdom, till very lately, was that of ploughing such land once, twice, or thrice, for spring corn ; the bcttsr farmers thrice, others once, and a few twice. Upon very dry soils, the evil was little more than that of a useless expence, except, probably, a greater dissipation of the vola- tile particles of the urine of the sheep that had fed on the turnips ; but upon all other soils more stiff and unmanageable, the surface, which had been rendered r'EB.] BARLEY AFTER TURNIPS. 6() cndered friable by the frosts, being turned down, ;:nd the more stift^and clung bottom not influenced in the same manner by those natural agents being brought up ; it might also, if very favourable wea- ther ensued, be brought into good order, but if the season proved the least unfavourable, the farmer could have no chance of obtaining so fine and safe a tilth as the surface was capable of, without any such reversal of it by ploughing. The new sys- tem is, to apply the scarifiers instead of such ploughing. Mr. Cook's, with his cast-iron beam, or any other heavy enough, is used, the horses walking only in the furrows, and consequently without any trampling of the land. These scari- iiers are of diffei-ent breadths, but all narrow, usually about three inches, or, at most four, and they will go as deeply as may be thought proper. They ought to stir to the depth to which it would liave been ploughed, whether four, five, or six inches. They completely loosen the soil, let down the air, to dry it at bottom, give a very good tilth, with the material advantage of not burying that pulverized surface which frosts have given, and which^ if once lost, may not be regained in time for barley. In some cases, one scarifying, and two or three harrowings, will efFe6l the preparation ; in others two. Three operations may be wanted in others, that is, two scarifyings and one scuffling, with broader triangular shares. These variations will depend entirely on the degree in which the soil is tenacious, and to ascertain which, the far-* F 3 mer's 70 BARLEY AFTER TURNIPS, [feb. mer's eye and foot can alone enable him to judge. These operations go off very quickly, and leave the lands, or stitches, in excellent order for the drilU jnachine to follow, and deposit the barley-secdi the farmer, during the whole of these operation^, being as little liable to be thrown out by unfavour- able weather, as it is possible he should be, and much less so, tlian if he had ploughed the hind Those who are used to attend to the effects of til- lage on different soils, know well, that loams and clays of various degrees of tenacity, if they have been properly formed into lands for winter, and not poached by horses trampling, receive the frosts to advantage, and are found with a friable surface in the spring. If rain comes, it dries, and leaves the surface still in good order, and ready for any ope- ration: but plough such land, and turn up the more adhesive bottom, not acSted upon by frost, and let rain fall on such fresh turned furrows; it remains stiff and saddened ; it does not becoir.< porous again; the air cannot get into it; and if drying sharp winds at north-east follow, the fur- rows become longitudinal slices of clod, very dif" ficult to be acted upon by any instrument, and tl farmer finds himself in a most unpleasant situation.. He no more recovers a fine friable surface, and it becomes twenty to one whether he has a good crop. His only cliance is, to have abundance < patience, to wait for favourable weather, and lay his account to sow very late. The motive for ad- vising him to avoid such spring ploughings, is not derived FEB.] BARLEY OX FALLOW. 'J I derived from the pra6licc of a few individuals, but from that of a considerable district, occupied by numerous and intelligent farmers. BROAD-CAST BARLEY. The preceding diredtons are not confined to the drill-husbandry, but are applicable to the prepara- tion of the land for broad-casting. In this mcr thod, the same attention must be given to the breadth of the lands, because the operations must be effected by horses that walk only in the fur- rows ; and when the seed is covered by harrowing, the same attention must be paid to that circum- stance. BARLEY ON FALLOW. In some very well-cultivated districts of heavy land, it is the common practice to sow barley on a summiCr fallow; it is particularly so in Essex. There the farmers plough their fallows in August or September, on two bout ridges, of three feet breadth ; if in August, some will reverse the ridges immediately after wheat-sowing, others before it. They water-grip the field well, and in February plough and sow, still on the same ridge, but har- rowed nearly fiat, by harrows made for the pur- pose. If they have a dry season to plough and sow, they get good crops, but much ever depends on this in spring tillage. To lay their lands in such form as to admit the scarifier and drill, the horses walking only in the furrows, and avoiding any spring ploughing (now the common pra6tice on the strong lands in Suffolk^ where they also p 4 fallow 7'2 sow CABBAGE-SEED. [fEB, fallow for barley), is a very superior practice, and attended with great success. SOW CABBAGE-SEED. The seed of cabbage intended to be planted in June, may now be sown upon land which has been pared and burnt in August (see the Calendar of that month), and carefully manured and dug in 06lober ; but it must be well raked before sowing. Before the farmer determines on this matter, he is to consider another mode of cultivation, which is upon the whole preferable, and will preclude his trusting principally to the transplanting method. This is, drilling the seed where the plants are to remain, and for which April is the proper time, under which month it will be particularly described. Transplanting cabbages demands a very wet time of at least two or three days ; and, if hands are not to be procured plentifully, of a longer duration, such a time may not occur when wanted : it must then be waited for, perhaps while the plants are drawing themselves up to long shanks in the seed- bed, and thereby much damaged. Tliis is a great obje6lion to the method, and often causes a light crop on land, which, from soil or preparation, is equal to giving the largest. This inconvenience is prevented by drilling the seed where the plants are to remain. It will be the safer way to pradice both methods, and it is consequently necessary to de- scribe both in this work. Three ounces of seed should be sown on each square perch of the pre- pared nursery, well raked iu, and then a peck soot FEB.] heynold's cajjbage-tuhnip. 73 soot sown over each rod. A cabbage-nursery can- not be too rich, nor too much care taken to have fine strong plants, by afterwards thinning carefully. If this crop is meant to be cultivated on a large scale, an acre of land should be well inclosed for a nursery, kept highly manured, and the seed drilled at nine inches, for the purpose of weeding and hoeing. SORT OF CABBAGE. The great American cabbage, which thirty years ago was to be had, and whicli came to 50, Oo, and even 80lb. weight, is, I fear, lost at present. The great cattle cabbage, the great Scotch, the Drum- head, the Dutch, and other sorts, are not distindt varieties, and little dependence is to be placed on the manner in which orders to seedsmen are exe- cuted. A farmer should, at first, get the best stock he can, and then trust only to the seed he raises himself. At present, I am inclined to believe, that the best sort to be procured_, is the large red cab- bage. It comes to a good size, and is hardier than most others, green boor cole, brown cole, rape, chou de vache, &c. may now be also sown for transplantation. REYNOLP'S CABBAGE-TURNIP. The latter end of the month is the proper time, if the weather be open, for sowing the seed of this plant, if it be intended for transplantation. There are some objedions to it, on comparison with the ruta baga, particularly its being still harder, and growing more with fangs^ whereby it is more diffi- cult 74 BLACK OATS, - [PEB. cult to get it up clean, but its impenetrability by frost will always render it a valuable article, and more so still, if complaints should continue to be heard, of the latter plant degenerating here, and rotting with frosts. The preparation of the nur- sery should be the same as for the preceding ar- ticles, PARE AND BURN GRASPS-LAND. This husbandry is mentioned in the present month, merely that if the north-east winds should happen to set in the last week of it, the farmer may not lose the opportunity. Those are the most evaporating and drying winds of the year, so that this operation never goes on better ; and it is to be borne in mind, that the land should be ready pared, to receive their influence when they blow. In the Calendar for March, when this work should be in full operation, I shall examine the question in relation to the expediency of this husbandry, and endeavour to shew, that there is no other way of breaking up old grass, and all waste lands, heaths, commons, downs^ moors, fens, mountains^'-j Sec. that is comparable to it. I have pared and^ turnt layers, *of my own sowing, which were only ten years old, that did well, and yielded plenty of aj^hes ; and this hu'sbandry is so very valuable, that it is no inconsiderable motive for sowing seeds to last nine or ten years, expressly with a view to It. BLACK OATS. Tiiis month is the proper S'ja^ou for sowing^^ black oats. The land .>iiould have been ploughec^ I FEB.] SORT OF OATS. 75 in autumn, and the seed harrowed in. Four or live bushels per acre is a proper portion of seed, in rich soils ; but six does better on poorer ones. They suit best on turf land plouglicd up before the winter *, and left till this time for dibbling in, which is a profitable husbandry. The farmers usually sow them after other crops of corn, but that practice is always to be condemned. They likewise plough for them at the time of sowing. On the contrary, I suppose the land to have been ploughed in the preceding autumn. They follow beans or pease properly, or any ameliorating crop of roots, &c. Supposing the land too wet for dibbling, they cannot be sown this month ; but, if the soil and the season will allow, there should be no delay in getting them into the ground ; for early sowing of all hardy crops, when the land i$ dry enough, is of great importance, and many times more than sufficient to balance other very expensive circumstances. SORT OF OATS. The sorts of oat which chiefly demand atten- tion are, 1. Poland, which produce, on dry warm lands, a very large plump and beautiful grain. 2. Essex short smalls. This is remarkably short^^ * The reader will h^ve the goodness to remark, that the di- reftion to plough the land, at a former season, previous to sow- ing, was given (however imperfedly) in the first edition of this work, printed in 1/71. and m 76 PEASE. [PEB. and weighs better than most other kinds. It does on any land that is tolerably dry. 3. Black, These are well known ; they bear a wet harvest well, and do on the wettest soils. 4. ' Churches oat, yield well ; are white, and come into ear more early than any other oat. 5. Potatoe oat, lately introduced ; is very heavy, and yields largely. PEASE. This is also the season for sowing the hardy sorts of pease. The land should have been plough- ed in autumn. A farmer, desirous of keeping his land always in good and clean order, should, in the arrangement of his crops, take great care not to be too free with wheat, barley, and oats, which are all exhausting plants. He should sow beans j and pease enough, because they are ameliorating ones, and admit hand-hoeing, to kill the weeds. In those fields, in which the common husbandmen sow oats or barley, after wheat, or after each other, let the good cultivator substitute pease or beans, or some other ameliorating crop, which will pay' him better than white corn, under such circum- stances, and at the same time keep his land clean. Pease may be sown, like black oats, on turf plough- ed up before winter, and now harrowed in. I must in general remark, on the culture of pease, that bad farmers are too apt to sow this pulse, when the land will yield nothing else. They have a proverb among them, which signifies, that the season does as much for pease as good hus- bandry I J rEB.] PEASE ON LAYERS. 77 bandry ; and they from thence take care, that good crops shall be owing to season alone. Hence arises the general idea of pease being the most uncertain crop of all others. This is owing to their being scarcely ever sown on land that is in good order. Let the good husbandman lay it down as a maxim, that he should sow no crop on land that is not in good order ; not merely in respedl of fine tilth at the time of sowing, but also of the soil's being in good heart, and clear of weeds. I would not, however, here be understood to rank all these crops together ; because beans and pease will admit of cleaning while they grow. On that account, if a farmer comes to a field which his predecessor has filled with weeds, a horse-hoed crop of beans will be expedient, when a barley crop would be uttcrlv improper, and, after land has yielded one crop of barley, certainly another should not be sown, but one of pulse substituted. If these ideas are well executed, the pease and beans, in every course, will find the land in heart enough for barley, the soil will always be clean, and the crop good. Pease, when managed in a spirited manner, will not have the reputation of being so very uncertain a crop» which character has in some measure been owin. Pease and turnips^ 5. Barley, 0. Beans, 7. Wheat J3road-cast pease are to be utterly rejecled in every case. The only question that can arise in their culture, is between drilling and dibbling. If the former is deteritiined on, the land should have been ploughed late in autumn, with Ducket's skim- coulter, into lands adapted to the drill machinCj and scarifiers. The surface being then w^orked shallow, in this month drilling should directly fol- low. If dibbling is determined on, the land should )iot be ploughed till the time of planting, and a heavy roller follow the plough. On lighter soils, if the frost has worked the surface, after ploughing, the ground will be in too friable a state, the holes will moulder in, and the seed will be laid too shal- low. Dibbling pease on a layer cannot be too much commended. It is an excellent pra6\ice. . There is a remarkable circumstance observed by that excellent husbandman, Mr. Overman, of Nor- folk, relative to pease, which should be in the mind of every farmer fond of a pea crop. It is, that they do not succeed well, if sown oftener than once in 10 or 11 years ; and I have heard it more generally observed by others, that pease should not be sown too often, SHOULD PEASE BE MANURED ? It is the practice of some farmers to manure for pease ; I must confess that I have b^en always so much. ^^ nOWS OF PfiASfi. fpES, much against it, that I never did it myself, and therefore can only state my reasons for avoiding it. If land is in heart, and they are put in on a layer^ they do not want manure. A very good crop may be gained without it. I have had 5, and even 5 ^- quarters an acre, without any manure appHed for this crop. Dung makes them run to long straw, and that is not favourable for podding produdively. Dung encourages weeds ; and pease, except in the early stage of their growth, do not admit of such hoeing as a farmer would wish to give. Beans cannot have too much dung, but with pease the case is different. There are very few situations in which the farmer can have such a command of ma- nure as to give him a sufficiency. It is therefore of much consequence to him, never to spread a load but where it will be sure to answer best. Every man complains of a want of dung; how very care- ful therefore ought all to be, to give it to the crops that will pay best for the expence. ROWS OF PEASE. The practice of various farmers differs exceed- ingly on this point. Equi-distant rows from g to 18 inches are commmon. I have seen them at 2 feet and even at 3. In dibbling, it is common in Norfolk and Suffolk, to put in two rows, on every flag of 9 or 10 inches breadth; some farmers one row on such a furrow : and I have known very good crops in most of these distances. If horse- hoeing, or much hand-hoeing, is intended, double rows at Q inches, with intervals of 1 8, do well ; but FEB.] BORDERS. 81 but the grcatest crops I have known, have been from planting every flag. QUANTITY OF SEED PEASE. From two to two and a half bushels an acre is the usual quantity, in planting every flag. If they are drilled at greater distances, 6 or 7 pecks will do. Some have trusted to one bushel per acre, but that quantity is too small. BORDERS. This is a proper season for bringing the borders of the inclosures into good order. They are gene- rally found to be high, irregular ridges of land, from earth thrown out of ditches, and not carted away, and from the turning of the ploughs and harrows. They are often over-run with bushes and wood, and much land is thereby lost. The best method to be used with them, is first to cut all the wood, and make it into faggots, and then to grub lip all the roots, and make them into stacks, for which work labourers are generally paid by the piece. It is proper to agree with them for raising the earth into a high ridge, in the middle of the border. In mostcountries,thiswillbedonefor 6s. to 10s. a stack, of the roots 1 6 feet long, 3 high, and 3 broad ; but in others it may cost more. The earth then lies ready, and without any obstru6lion, for carting away, either to the field, to the farm-yard to make a compost, or for dung to be brought to it. But, in case one spit deep is not sufficient to make the border lower than the surface of the field, which it should always be, or, -at the least, on a level with it, if it is grass land : G then 82 Woods. [feb. then it will be advisable to let the men who stub up the roots, leave it level, and set others to dig it to the proper depth. I have seen many farms so over- ran with rubbish, that the borders occupy a consi- derable part of the whole. They then yield a very contemptible profit ; for the produ6l by wood that is spontaneously planted, and open to all cattle, is (consisting three parts in four of brambles and rub- bish) of little value ; upon the whole, no obje6l, compared with the land lost. When cleared, and dug away to a proper depth, they are ready to be laid down for grass, so as to pay rent as well as the rest of the farm. In arable fields, the plough will advance much nearer the hedges than before, and yet leave space enough for a grass border. Such an obje6l as this may^ appear trilling to some farmers, who have not attended to the great loss of land from this slovenly pradtice, but to good husbandmen, desirous, of I making the most of every part of their farms, it will not appear in such a light. WOODS. Tills month, as well as the preceding, is a good season for felling underwood, in which work, and the converting of the produdl to the best profit, lies much judgment. When a farmer has taken a farm tliat has a wood in it, he should consider well which is the most advantageous use to put it to. In some countries hoop stuft' pays best ; in some, hop-poles are, of all other articles, the most pro- fitable ; in others,, faggot wood of various sorts. In some situations, bushes, loose or tied in faggots, are particularly valuable. In many parts, nothing in a WQOcl* FEB.] CARROTS. 83 wood pays so well as hurdles. Whatever answers best, the farmer should apply his wood to, and subject his management of it to such changes as a variation in demand may occasion. This may appear superfluous advice to old farmers, but there are many young ones that want reminding now and then of such circumstances. CARROTS. This crop is of vast importance to the farmers who have spirit enough to cultivate it. It is com- mon husbandry in some parts of this kingdom. March is the proper season for sowing it ; but^ on some soils, part of the preparation may be made this month. I suppose the land ploughed as deep as possible in 06lober. If, on examining it, there is any reason to expedl that it will be deficient in fineness at sowing, let it receive a common plough- ing in dry weather this month, which can scarcely fail of ensuring a good tilth the ensuing one. The soil proper for carrots being dry gravels, sands, or loams, it may probably be practicable to plough them this month. This tillage will not be neces- sary, if the land bids fair to work fine in March. Let me here remark further, that in case the land is very mellow, and in good enough order for being harrowed on this month's tillage, it should by no means be omitted to sow upon this ploughing, and harrow in the seed ; for although March is the common season, yet the uncertainties of weather are such, that the state of the land, in most cases, requires a greater attention than the name of the month ; and carrot seed, let the weather be ever G 2 so 84 CABBAGES. [fee. SO severe, will take no harm. It may be sown without danger in Noveitiber. In case March turns out very wet, and your sowing is driven into April^ it is twenty to one that the crop will suffer. The preceding is the method pursued by some persons, and with success; but I must observe, that the Suffolk system is quite different ; and as the crop in that county, abounds far more than in any other of the kingdom, there being perhaps more carrots in it than in all the rest of England together, much attention is necessarily to be paid to their ideas and pra61ice ; and that is, universally, to sow nearly about the 25th of March, and not to plough till then. CABBAGES. The fields designed for cabbages in April or May, and ploughed in October on to the ridge, should this month, if the weather will admit, re- ceive an earth, reversing the ridges, but not stirring flat. This will have good effects in pulverizing the soil, which it may be supposed to want, as it con- sists only of stubbles turned up in autumn. This is a point that should be attended to ; for cabbage are always to be considered as a fallow, in which light their importance must appear sufficiently great. As this tillage is the first that marks the land for the crop (all stubbles being ploughed in autumn, for whatever crops designed), it will be proper here to speak more particularly of the preparation and de- sign of the culture. Cabbages flourish to very great profit on all good soils^ FEB.] CABBAGES. 85 soils, and have the particular property of enabling the farmers of clays and wet loams, to winter more cattle than those of lighter lands can effecl, by means of that excellent root, the turnip. The great evil of clay farms used to be, the want of green winter food, which confined their stocks to hay alone, and consequently prevented their reaping those extended articles of profit, that arise from numerous heads of cattle : and besides the immediate benefit from the cattle, they lost also the opportunity of raising large quantities of dung, which never can be effedted so well as by keeping cattle. But all these evils are by the cabbage cul- ture remedied, and the clay farmers put in pos- session, in many respedls, of an equality with the turnip ones. If the difference between a summer- fallow year on clay, and a turnip-fallow on light land, be considered, the importance of this dis- covery will appear sufficiently clear. Thirty shil- lings an acre expence, of the first, are not an ex- aggerated calculation ; but all is saved on the tur- nip land, perhaps with profit ; and the barley, that follows the turnips, is probably nearly as good as that which succeeds the summer-fallow clay. Supposing the following clover and wheat equal in both, accord- ing to soil, still there remains a superiority in the article manure; for all that is raised by the con- sumption of the turnip crop is so much superiority to the clay soil. But reverse the medal. Suppose cab- bages to be introduced on the clay, and the scene is changed. That crop will exceed the turnips^ yield G 3 morQ 86 WATER-FURROWING. [feb. more profit, and enable the farmer to make more manure. For these reasons, the recommendation of cabbages appears to be extremely well-founded ; and consequently, those farmers who possess the proper soils, cannot determine too soon to enter on the cultivation of them. But there is another circumstance attending soiVi j sorts of cabbages, which make them highly eligible on all farms, which is their lasting for sheep feelH longer in the spring. Ruta baga, turnip cabbage cabbage turnip, and green boorcole, are in per^JI fe(£lion in April, and last even to May, the mos^ pinching period in the year. Turnips will do no such thing ; consequently those farmers who pos sess turpip soils, should, on no account, slight the culture of cabbages for this purpo«e. WATER-FURROWING. Care must be taken to cut w^ater-furrows throng all new ploughed lands, as soon as the fields are finished. Saving a trifle of money in the omissio of such a necessary v^^ork, often hazards a crop, ai is sure greatly to damage it, In making them, t descents and variations of the surface are to be ke in view, so that no water can lodge in any par however wet the weather. The old watcr-furro in the wheat-fields are also to be examined, as well' as those in the fallows ploughed in autumn. If they have been filled at any place, by the crumb- ling in of the moulds after frosts, or by the pas- sage of moles, or other accidents, they must be cleaned I FEB.] MANURE GRASS-LANDS. 87 cleaned out. Too much attention cannot be given to keep the lands quite free from stagnant water. MANURE GRASS-LANDS. This is the proper season for laying on several sorts of manure, such as soot, coal-ashes, wood- ashes, lime, malt-dust, &c. and in general those that are spread in too small quantities to require a whole winter's rains to wash them in. The use of these manures, and other light dressings in Fe- bruary, is very beneficial ; but, throughout the management of purchased manures, experiments should be formed for a year or two, before the pradlice is extended, to see which, at a given price, will suit the land best. Without this precaution, a farmer may probably expend large sums of money to little purpose. Nor would I advise him to trust to the mere appearance of the efFe6l soon after the manuring ; for some of them, particularly soot and malt-dust, will shew themselves after the first heavy showers, in a finer green than the rest of the field ; but the proof of the efrecSl does not arise from fine greens, but from weight of hay ; for I have myself found from experience, that the latter is not always an attendant on the former. Contiguous half- acres, or roods, should be marked out, the prices of the manures calculated, and on each piece a sepa- rate one spread, all to the amount of 20s. an acre, for instance. At hay-rtime, the crops should be weighed. It will then be known which manure, at the given prices, suits the soil best. This know- g4 ledge 88 FARM- YARD. [pEi: ledge will prove true experience^ and a very dilfe* rent guide from general ideas. MANURE GREEN WHEATS. This is likewise the season for spreading super- ficial dressings on the green wheats, such as soot, ashes, malt-dust, pigeons' dung, poultry dung, rab- bits* dung, &c. and many other sorts in the neigh- bourhood of great cities. It is very good hus- bandry ; but the profit depends on the expences. I shall venture to recommend trying them in small, (a rood, for instance, to each) before extending the pradlice to whole fields, especially those which ar not dungs. As to the latter, provided the price be not extravagant, there can be no doubt of their answering on all soils. Whenever a farmer has th choice of manures, never let him hesitate aboui which to take. He may lay it down as a maxin that dungs of all sorts are excellent. Other manure may be the same, but they are not so universally beneficial to all soils. ^J FARM -YARD. ^1 Throughout this month, great attention must l. paid to the farm-yard, and all the buildings wherv cattle are, to see that every place be kept con- stantly littered, so that the beasts may be clean ; and, if the stock of litter laid in in autumn will not last, it is time now, to agree with some neighbours, for a weekly supply of refuse straw or stubble. At all events, there ought never to be a want of litter, cither in the stalls or the yard ; for the only way of PEU.] TLANT OSIERS. 89 raising large quantities of dung, at a cheap rate, is to make use of plenty of litter. PLANT WILLOWS. I do not, in this Calendar, mean to treat of the planting of trees, as that is the business rather of landlords and gentlemen, than of farmers; but, with the quick-growing aquatics, the case is diffe- rent. If any part of the fences of the farm are situ- ated in low, wet, or boggy places, it is a chance if thorns prosper well. The best method of repairing them is to plant trunchions of willow, sallow,' alder, &c. for hedge-stakes, and along the bank, for plashing down afterwards, which will ensure the tenant a great plenty of firing ; and in such situations, and in waste spots that cannot easily be better improved, it will answer extremely well to set longer trunchions for pollard trees. They re- pdy the expence with great profit, PLANT OSIERS. It is now a proper time to plant osiers and other sorts of willows. No part of the farmer's business pays better than such plantations, and especially if he has any low^, spungy, boggy bottoms near a stream. The land should be formed by spade- work into beds six, eight, or ten feet broad, by narrow ditches ; and if there is a power of keep- ing water in these cuts at pleasure by a sluice, it is in some seasons very advantageous to do so. The late Mr. Forby, of Norfolk, knew the value of these plantations well, for various purposes. Osiers planted in small spots, and along some of his hedges^ 88 FARM- YARD, b ledge will prove true experience^ and a very dilFe* rent guide from general ideas. MANURE GREEN WHEATS. This is likewise the season for spreading super- ficial dressings on the green wheats, such as soot, ashes, malt-dust, pigeons' dung, poultry dung, rab- bits' dung, &c. and many other sorts in the neigh- bourhood of great cities. It is very good hus- bandry ; but the profit depends on the expences. I shall venture to recommend trying them in small, (a rood, for instance, to each) before extending the practice to whole fields, especially those which are not dungs. As to the latter, provided the prices be not extravagant, there can be no doubt of their ' answering on all soils. Whenever a farmer has the choice of manures, never let him hesitate ab< which to take. He may lay it down as a maxim^, that dungs of all sorts are excellent. Other manures may be the same, but they are not so universally beneficial to all soils. FARM-YARD. Throughout this month, great attention must be paid to the farm -yard, and all the buildings where cattle are, to see that every place be kept con- stantly littered, so that the beasts may be clean ; and, if the stock of litter laid in in autumn will not last, it is time now, to agree with some neighbours, for a weekly supply of refuse straw or stubble. At all events, there ought never to be a want of litter, either in the stalls or the yard ; for the only way of raismg PEB.] TLANT OSIERS. 89 raising large quantities of dung, at a cheap rate, is to make use of plenty of litter. PLANT WILLOWS. I do not, in this Calendar, mean to treat of the planting of trees, as that is the business rather of landlords and gentlemen, than of farmers; but, with the quick-growing aquatics, the case is diffe- rent. If any part of the fences of the farm are situ- ated in low, wet, or boggy places, it is a chance if thorns prosper well. The best method of repairing them is to plant trunchions of willow, sallow, alder, &c. for hedge-stakes, and along the bank, for plashing down afterwards, which will ensure the tenant a great plenty of firing ; and in such situations, and in waste spots that cannot easily be better improved, it will answer extremely well to set longer trunchions for pollard trees. They re- ptiy the expence with great profit, PLANT OSIERS. It is now a proper time to plant osiers and other sorts of willows. No part of the farmer's business pays better than such plantations, and especially if he has any low, spungy, boggy bottoms near a stream. The land should be formed by spade- work into beds six, eight, or ten feet broad, by narrow ditches ; and if there is a power of keep- ing water in these cuts at pleasure by a sluice, it is in some seasons very advantageous to do so. The late Mr. Forby, of Norfolk, knew the value of these plantations well, for various purposes. Osiers planted in small spots, and along som.e of his hedges^ 90 'i -lKI;; [ FE] hedges, supplied him- with hurdle-stuff enough to make many dozens every year, so that he supplied himself entirely with that article, as well as with a profusion of all sorts of baskets, especially one kind that he used for moving cabbage-plants, for which purpose they were mncl) better tljan tumbling the plants loose in a cart. The common osier he cut for this purpose at three years, and that with yel low bark at four. i TARES. This is a proper season for sowing spring tares^ called in some places, vetches, fetches, thetches, &c. The land I suppose stirred in autumn. The first season in this month that is dry enough, should be chosen for harrowing in tln-ee bushels an acre o^H seed. I suppose them designed for making hay, or feeding green ; but, if they are for a crop of seed, two bushels will be sufficient. Tares for hay make a most excellent fallow year. They are mown before they draw or exhaust the land at all, and their extreme luxuriancy and thick shade so mellow and loosen the soil, and kill all weeds, that, if the crop is good, and the seed sown not later thai February, there will be a very good chance for a^ crop of turnips after them, on one earth ; but, without such luck, this husbandry is far preferable to sowing two crops of corn running. If a farmer thinks of sdwing barley after wheat, barley, or oats or oatis after either, let him throw a crop of tarei for hay between two of corn, and he will be sure to' reap the benefit of it. They will give him, on midcllii i VEB.'] WATEHED MEADOWS. ()1 middling land, from a ton and a half to two tons and a half of hay per acre, which, with their clean- ing and ameliorating nature, will be found to far exceed any second crop of corn on the same land, WATERED' MEADOWS. Much attention is now required in the floater. Mr. Wright remarks, that if the water be suffered to flow over the meadow, for the space of many days without intermission, a white scum is gene- rated, which is found very destrudive to the grass ; and if the water be then taken off, and the land exposed in its wet state to a severe frosty night, a great part of the tender grass will be cut off. In Gloucestershire, two methods of avoiding these injuries are practised. One is, to take the water off by day, to prevent the scum, and to turn it on again at night, to guard against the frost; the other method is, to take the water off early in the morning, and if that day be dry, to suffer it to re- main off for a few days and nights ; for if the land experiences only one drying day, the frost, at night will do little injury. Theformer of these pradices, where it is found not too troublesome, is preferable to the latter. About the middle of this month, the floater begins to use the water rather more sparingly than in autumn or winter, fo.r his chief objedl now is, to encourage or force vegetation. In the last week of this month, if the preceding management has been good, there will be a good bite for ewes and lambs. Mr. Boswell prescribes rolling after Candlemas. POTA- 92 PARSXIPa. r FKJ POTATOES. Tills root is one of the most profitable crops the farmer can cultivate ; nor does the advantage of it depend on markets for selling them ; for they will pay a beneficial price, if given to cattle of va- rious sorts, or hogs. In Ireland they feed their cows on them with profit. The land designed for potatoes, I suppose to have been ploughed in au- tumn. They are to be planted the beginning of next month ; and, as they affe61 a good tilth, it will be advisable to plough the land this month, preparatory to the planting earth, provided the wea- ther be'dry enough : but in the preparation for this, as well as for all other crops, no ploughing should go on vyhile the soil is at all wet. As this tillage marks the land designed for this crop, it is proper to caution those fiirmers who arc unacquainted with the culture of it, against iipply- ing too much land to it. It they have a great plenty of dung at command, they may enter largely into this husbandry ; but they should de- termine to plant no more land than can be ma- nured at the rate of 25 or 30 large loads per acre ; for one acre well cultivated, will pay better than five, or even ten, indifferently managed, PARSNIPS. Of all the roots which a farmer can cultivate, this is the most valuable ; but it demands a better soil than any other crop he can put into the ground. If he has not land of an extraordinary quality, lie had better not venture on the attempt. They love a very TEB.J PARSNIPS. f)^ a very deep, rich, dry, sound, friable, sandy loam, j)loughed as deeply as possible, towards the end of autumn, and left for the frost to pulverize and sweeten. About the 12tli of this month, if the weather be favourable, it will be proper to sow and harrow in five pounds of seed per acre, which will come up in about six weeks. In order that the young farmer may see' what inducement there is to apply so good a soil to this use, I shall here lay before him a short detail of advantages, given by a considerable farmer in Surrey, which was commu- nicated to the Society of Arts. ^^ I wmII now proceed to relate the use I made of this root. In the first place, I put up l6 hogs a fatten- ing upon them. The method I took in giving them to the hogs, was throwing the parsnips on the ground whole. This I continued for about a month, when finding my hogs grow heavy, I observed they did not go on so well with them as at first. Upon this I boiled the parsnips^ and made wash of them : thickening the wash with half a bushel of barley- meal every day. I gave it them in a trough, and continued this method for two months, when I killed them, and found them to be very good meat ; weighing from 28 to 33 stone per hog. One of them, being very large, weighed 58 stone. The neat value of my hogs, when killed, amounted to 52l. 17s. 4d. The whole expence of my barley meal with which I thickened the wash, amounted to 3l. 18s. gd. ; of the firing to boil them, at 6d. per day, ll.lOs. ; of a boy tO look after them for three ^i pARs^^IPs. FKB. three months, at 6d. per day, 2l. 5s. which sums, added to the expences attending the parsnips, prime cost of the hogs, &c. smounts in the whole to 35I. so that my profit upon this article only, is 17I.- ^6s. 8d. which remains to be carried to the ac- count of the parsnips. After my hogs were killed I kept four dairy cows uppn the remainder of the parsnips for three months, which, at Is. 6d. per week, amounted to 31. 12s.; and this sum, added to the 17I. 16s. 8d. before mentioned, makes the neat profit on the one acre of parsnips to bc^ 21I. 8s. 7d. '^ I must observe, that giving my dairy cows the parsnips, answered my purpose greatly, by increas ing their milk, and making the butter much richer and finer than turnips or carrots, which I had given them long before. The manner in which I the parsnips was, cutting them in pieces. " Finding the parsnips agree with my hogs and cows so well last year, I now determined to give them to my horses ; and having five that were making up for sale, I begun with them by giving them a very few the first week. I observed then that they agieed with them extremely well, and I therefore gave them a larger quantity, which made them thrive very fast, and determined me to con- tinue giving them the parsnips, which saved me a great deal of hay, as I found they had occasion fQ|H| very little of it. I kept them in this manner fo^^ ten weeks, when I sent them to Mr. Bever's repo- sitory, where they were sold for 40 guineas each ' horse. M FEB.] PARSNirs. g5 horse. The manner in. which I gave them the pars- (lips was, cutting them in small pieces and throvv- ;ug them into the manger. I calculate the expence half a guinea per week for the parsnips for each liorse, which amounts to 2d\. 5s. to be carried to the account of the parsnips for this year. " At the same time I began fattening an ox, which cost me 4l. lOs. from the plough. He was 13 weeks in fattening, and ate nothing but parsnips the whole time. I then sold him to Job Spratley, a butcher at Guildford, for 2s. 8d. per stone, weighing 1 02 stone 61b. which amounted to ] 3l. 1 4s. 4d. Ex- clusive of tlie above, he had within him 22 stone 61b. of loose fat, which was more than ever was known to be taken out of a bullock of that weight in the town of Guildford, and it was remarked by many, that finer beef never was eaten. I mention these particulars, in order to shew the great use of parsnips, as I am convinced by experience, they are preferable to carrots or turnips. But to proceed on in my ac- count : the profit upon this bullock amounted to qI. 4s. 4d. which I also carry to the account of the parsnips. ^' The remainder of my parsnips I gave to seven dairy cows eleven weeks, at Is. 6d. per week each, which amounts to 5l. 15s. 6d. so that the neat profit (after dedudling 61. 12s. per acre for the necessary expences attending the parsnips, as per che calculation for last year) amounts to 28l. lOd* besides a great many of the parsnips that I gave oc- casionally gS COMPOSTS. [f£b. this I have foand by experience is wrong. For the fermentation raised in the compost is not strong enough to penetrate these thick layers, especially those of clay, or strong earth ; for after the rest have sufficiently fermented, and the com- post is turned, these layers rise almost as whole as when first laid, and must be broken by hand, to miK them with the rest of the compost ; whence arise two inconveniences ; one, an extraordinary ex- pence of labour ; and the other, that twice or thrice turning is sometimes necessary to dissolve these large pieces ; and as a new fermentation is excited every time the compost is turned, the strength of the manure is greatly wasted before it is laid upon the land, where it is then incapable of raising any considerable fermentation, which is one of the principal uses of manure. ** The best way, therefore, of making compost, is not in thick layers ; but after the ground is marked out for the compost, to lay the several ma- terials, after being well broken, in heaps round the space marked out for the compost-heap ; and to place a man between each two heaps, to throw the manure spreading upon that space. In this man- ner the compost-heap will soon be raised to the in- tended height, and the several sorts of manure being thus well mixed, the whole will soon begin to ferment, and will incorporate as fully in two months, as the same manures, placed in layers in the usual way, will in four or five. The owner, there- fore, in making such compost, should not prepare them FEB.] COMPOSTS. QQ them too long before they are laid upon the land ; otherwise they will be much wasted, arid their best parts evaporated. " Composts prepared in this manner need not be turned, or at most not above once. If the fer- mentation is observed to abate too soon, make holes with a pole, from the top almost to the bottom of the heap, upon which throw urine, or the running of a dunghill, which will fill the holes, force through the whole substance of the compost, and soon complete the fermenta- tion. ^^ Such a compost, by duly proportioning the ingredients, may be made to suit any sort of land, and is excellent for meadow or pasture grounds. A way to improve these, is to cut them five or six inches deep with the five-coultered cutting- plough, or scarificator, which cuts the surface in slips four or five inches asunder, but does not raise or turn them. This cutting of the roots Oi the grass, and the manure laid on at the le time, sinking into these incisions made bv the coulters, causes an improvement in the quality of the' herbage, and also makes such grass-grounds produce much more than they did before. But here it is to be noted, that cutting tlie ground first, and then laying on the manure, ir.akes a greater improvement than manuring first and then cutting ; and both are superior * manuring and not cutting; all which have n proved by experiments. The cutting- H 2 plough J 00 COMPOSTS. £feb. plough is used with success upon clay-grounds, loams, and gravels ; but in very strong grounds, the coulters are apt to be thrown out of their work by stones ; and therefore it is not proper to use the cutting-plough where stones abound. *' In such composts, where it is intended to use a large proportion of earth, that lies at a consi- derable distance from the homestead, to save tlic double carriage of it to and from the compost heaj), the dung and other materials may be carried to a headland of the field to be manured, and thert^ mixed into a compost. *^ The best situation for a compost, is upon level ground ; or if made upon a descent, a trenc i should be cut on the lower side to receive the run- ning of the heap, which is some of the best part of it, and should from time to time be thrown up again, which will quicken the fermentation. '' The richest composts may be made in tlie farm-yard, which should be made deepening ;.ll round, from the sides to the middle, in form t hojlow ditch or bason. When the yard is mad this form, little of the urine or liquid part of manure can run off or be wasted. When tiic dung is carried from the stables, cow-houses, &c into the farm-yard, it should not be thrown care lessly in heaps, each sort by itself, but carried in carts or wheel -barrows, and laid regularly, anc spread all over the yard. Upon this should b( spread a thin layer of earth, mud, the scowerings o ditches and ponds, green vegetables before tlie; rui m FEB.] MARLING. 101 run to seed, and other such materials as are most suitable to the nature of the land, to be manured with them. Tiie rackvS and cribs, out of which the cattle are foddered, should be frequently moved over the yard, tliat the ofFal, straw, and hay may be equally dispersed, and trod in by the cattle. This method of spreading the dung and other materials being continued, the whole will be in- corporated with the urine of the cattle, and make an extraordinary rich compost. " The only inconveniency of this kind of com- post, is its being filled with the seeds of weeds, from the earth, mixed with it, the hay, straw, and dung of the cattle. It is therefore a manure best suited to grass-grounds, and to such arable lands as are to be hoed, as turnips, cabbages, carrots, pota- toes, beans, &c. as these weeds will in great mea- sure be destroyed by good hoeing." LIME. The lime-kiln may be kept burning through all this month, and lime carted and spread whenever the carts can move without damage to wet soils. This may be done on dry land at all times. MARLING May go on profitably through all this month. In January, I gave an account of the methods of one who had marled more than most men ; and here I shall note some opinions of another excel- lent farmer, who occupied 1200 acres, and marled much of it. h3 ^^ From I 102 MARLING. [fEB, '^ From different trials of my own, at a very- great expence, and the observations I have made on my neighbours' and the Norfolk farmers' man- ner of improving Hght sandy lands, by clay and marie, I am clearly convinced, that about seventy square yards* is the properest quantity to be laid upon an acre of land, pole measure. If more be laid on^ the longer it will be before it incorpo- rate with the soil, and of course, the longer before any benefit can be received from it. I once saw an mstance, where a farmer laid on 3 20 loads, or square yards per acre, and gave this reason for it, that the land was so poor, he was sure he could not hurt it. But the consequence of it was, that after an expence that would have purchased the fee-simple of the land, I could not sec, for many years, that he had done it any good, as it produced no better (if so good) crops, as lands by the side of it that had not been clayed at all, but otherwi^c farmed the same. It has now, however, evidently, the advantage of the other lands, having been done above twenty years. ^' This trial was in the middle of a shiftablc field, where, by the course of husbandry, two crops arc taken to one summer tilth ; and, where this is the case, claying, &c. seldom (or never I might say) answers the expence : for claying and marling * A square yard is as much as Is generally carried for a load. being FEB.] MARLING. 103 being only a first, or beginning of improvement *, by going on diredlly with a course of ploughing, which cannot well be avoided in shiftable fields, it is often buried and lost before it mix properly with the soil, especially if turned in too deep the first earth, of which great care should be taken. I would therefore recommend claying or marling only upon inclosed lands, unless where large breadths lie together, that can be farmed in any manner the occupier pleases ; and in that case (as well as in inclosures,) I would advise that the lands should be laid down with clover, rye-grass, and trefoil, the spring 12 month before laying on the clay or marie, and to remain at least six months after it, that it may have time to sink and eat itself into the flag before it is ploughed up, and then there will be little or no danger in losing it, as it will already be in some measure incorporated with the soil. " No pains should be spared to break all the lumps, and get it fine by repeated harrowings and rollings, and having all the stones picked and car- ried away, that the grass may get through as soon as possible, for stock to be grazing upon it, which is the great and finishing improvement ; for, as I ob- served above, claying or marling seldom or never answers where you go on immediately with a course of ploughing in the John-Trott way. ^' In my opinion, as much, or more, depends on * An excellent observation. The whole paper is full of truly pradUcal knowledge. A. 7. H 4 the 104 MARLING. [FEB, the management of lands after claying or marline;, than in the mere laying it on, which, however, is very expensive, and therefore a very persuasive ar- gument in favour of that sort of management thi will he the most likely to make it lasting. " Little need be said about the different quality of clay or marie, as every one must be content to use such as is found on his own premises, for I never heard of any in the counties of Suffolk or Norfolk that would answer long carriage ^ : clav that is freest from sand and marie, that is soft and greasy, are certainly the most valuable ; and even blue clay, that is condemned by most farmers, I have found to answer very well on light sands, but they generally lie at too great a distance from each other to be prudently got together. ^^ Where there are different sorts of manure equally convenient upon the same premises, which is sometimes the case, viz, pure clay, white soapy clay marie, clay with much marie in it, loamy clay and cork ; I should certainly prefer the former for light sandy lands; on sands of a stronger nature, that have a mixture of loam with them, I should chuse the soapy marie, or that mixed with clay marie, whichever was most convenient ; but any of the inferior ones must be used, rather than submit to long carriage, especially on a large scale. * In the county of Kent I have seen a sort of marie that the Essex farmers buy, which, after behig sent many miles by water, I am informed they find answers carrying five or six miles by land. " In FEB.] MARLING. 105 " In point of the expences, the first is the Jill- hzg, which, including spreading, is 25s. a hundred, or 24d. a load, with an allowance hy some farmers of 2s. 6d. hy others of 5s. for opening the pit, and Is. a load for all the large stones they throw out at the time of filling ; the farmer to find drifts and stakes, for letting down what they cdlV the falls, '' The team must consist of four strong trace horses, and two shaft horses, which, for such strong work, must have very high keeping. I can- not therefore lay their labour at less than 2s. a day- each''^, and the carter at Is. 6d. a day, which, sup- posing they carry, one day with another (allowing for wet weather and hindrance by accidents, &c.), 30 loads a day, will be about 5|d. per load more, making in the whole J^di. a. load for filling, cart- ing, and spreading. '' As farmers differ in opinion about the quan- tity that should be laid upon an acre, some prefer- ing 80 loads, and others 70, I will take the medium, and say. * Two shillings a day for a cart and horse may be thought a high price, but when it is considered that he is, or ought to be, worth 201. I believe no person in his senses would lend another such a horse, pay keeping, shoeing, and farrier, and run the ha- zard of his being spoiled by being whipped and strained 30 time* a day out of a clay pit, for less money. Seventy- J 0(5 SAlNFOIlSr. [FEB, Seventy-five loads, which, at 7-|<5. a load. Is, per acre, ------- £'.2 8 5* Harrowing and rolling several times, to pulverize and spread it equally on the surface, per acre, - - 016 Wear and tear of carts and harness, including ac- cidents, at a farthing per load, per acre, - 1 61 Loss of seed, as it should always be laid upon a layer, and be some months before it is ploughed in, per acre, - - - - 10 £.2 12 5^ SAINFOIN. " The sowing of sainfoin seed ought never to be deferred longer than the beginning of March, but it is still better to complete this work in February, as there is generally at that time a degree of moisture in the ground sufficient to accelerate the vegetation of the plants ; whereas, if the seed were sown at a later period, and a dry spring should take place, great part of it would never vegetate, and that which did grow, would be liable to be destroyed in its infan- tine state by the fly." — Bannister, MARCH. ( 507 ) MARCH. BARLEY. This is the proper month for getting seed-barley into the ground. Crops later sown may be very bene- ficial, but, if all circumstances were equal, the March- sown would be superior to any at a later season, which is here the comparative point of consequence. This grain is sown after various preparations. Tur- nips are the most xommon, which root will not last for feeding any cattle, with propriety, upon the average of seasons, longer than the beginning of this month : so that the turnip-land barley must be sown on one earth, or the season be absolutely lost ; for April and May sowings are inferior. I am not here asserting, that April is a month improper for sowing barley, I know the contrary from experience ; but if soil, ploughings, manuring, water-furrowing, &c. are equal, a March-sowing will exceed an April one, on an average of several years, by four bushels in the crop. Saying, therefore, that barleys in cer- tain places, sown in April and May, yield great crops, is saying little, unless it be added at the same time, what parallel success other crops had sown in March. Neither do I venture to insinuate, that all March -sown crops will be successful. One great point in putting in most crops, but barley par- ticularly, is to have the land dry. March may pass away without a single ploughing season for wet lands 108 BEANS. [march. lands in the whole month. In such a case barley cannot be sown ; but still this is not in reference to a particular pra6lice, but to a general maxim in husbandry. Ploughs ought never to work if the land be wet ; consequently, advice to sow barley in March must always be under the proviso that the land is dry enough for ploughing. Summer-land barley, on clay, or other heavy soils, should be sown on one earth, in the first dry ploughing season, whether in February or March. In some clay countries, the farmers have a good system of barley culture. They summer-fal- low their land, and lay it up on three feet ridges, well water-furrowed for the winter. In a hard frost they carry on their dung, and leave it in heaps till sowing time, when they spread before the ploughs. This is good husbandry. It i^ conduced upon the same principle, upon beans, pease, tare, potatoe, or carrot land : all which crops are taken up in autumn, and the land ploughed after them, on to the ridge, and well water-furrowed, ready for spring-sow- ing. The great point is, to have the soil, pre- vious to the crop, in such good order, that no other spring tillage than the seed earth may be ne- cessary. The most profitable way of cultivating barley, is to throw it into a regular course, preparatory to the clover. For instance : 1. Turnips ; 2. Bar- ley ; 3. Clover; 4. Wheat. Or, 1. Cabbages; 2. Barley; 3. Clover; 4. Wheat. Another; 1. Fallow; 2. Barley; 3. Clover; 4. Wheat. What^ MARCH.] BARLEY AFTER TURNIPS. 10^ Whatever variations may arise in the crops, still barley must always follow either an ameliorating crop or a fallow, and in many cases be followed by clover. In several parts of the kingdom, unac* quainted with clover, this latter reasoning may ap- pear bad ; but that can only arise from false ideas of the use of clover. Let good grass lands be ever so plentiful, they will in no case be found to pre- clude the use of clover. Thus far the culture of barley has been treated, for the use of those farmers who adhere to the common management of spring-ploughing. It is necessary aUvays to keep in mind, that the system mentioned last month, of avoiding spring-plough- ings, is applicable to many cases. BARLEY AFTER TURNIPS. If the turnips were not drawn and carted, or not eaten by sheep, in time enough to allow sowing with barley in February; or if the farmer does not approve of sowing this grain early, by reason of the tjuality of his soil ; in these cases, March may be the principal period of his barley-sowing. As the fields are cleared, much attention should be given to the state and temper of the surface; for turnips are ventured on so many soils that are not entirely fit for them, that difficulties often occur at the time when it is proper to stir for the, spring-corn that is to succeed. The season is now so far advanced^ that it may be unsafe to trust to such smart frosts ensuing, as shall have any efledl in pulverizing the soil. Upon all clays, and loams of any degree of tenacity. 110 BARLEY AFTER TURNIPS. [mARCH-* tenacity, which have been sheep-fed lately, the sur- face may be firm and trodden. The degree will de- fend upon the weather that has taken place, whe- ther wet or dry; but if the farmer has a strong and heavy hoe in his hand, or a spade, he will easily perceive whether or not the temper of the surface will let the scarifier work efFe6!ually. In this re- s];e61, more attention is necessary now than in Fe- bruary, as the advanced state of the season has lessened his chance of frosts, which are more ef- fective in giving friability than any other circum- stance. If this tool works well, or is likely to work well by the 20th, its use should preclude the plough ; but if, from the state of the surface, compared with that of the soil, at the depth of five inches, it appears that a ploughing is really neces- sary, in such case, the prudent farmer will, of course, give it. His grand object, in this exami- nation, is to avoid turning down a surface which is in a friable state, and -bringing up another^ which will harden, by north-east winds, into cloch of Lrlck, as they are sometimes called. Let him -only have the circumstance in contemplation, and he will then be guarded, on one hand^ against being w^edded to customary tillage, and, on the other, against being too ready to trust to new methods, of which he may have had little or no experience. It must, however, at all events, be prudent to make a trial in every field, as the result will bring more conviction than any previous reasonings. .Such trials may be made^ whether he sows his barley MARCH.] DIULLIxN G BARLF.Y. 1 1 1 barley broad-cast or drilled. He should keep in recollc6lion, that if the last earth for the turnips turned down a manuring, it is better situated for safety against sun and wind, than if brought to tlie surface by a new ploughing; that it lies where the barley-roots will find it; and that the urine of the sheep sunk in the soil, is less liable to evaporation without than with ploughing. BARLEY AFTEPx FALLOW. If the weather, in February, prevented sowing the fallows with this grain, there can be no ques- tion in what manner to execute it now. Here ploughing should certainly be rejedled. These fallows have had the frosts of the whole winter, and must necessarily be fit for scarifying or scuf- fling. It is the same with all land ploughed before winter; such as tare, bean, and pea-stubbles; and also with turnip-lands that were cleared and plough- ed early. In all such cases the use of these imple- ments may safely be adopted. DRILLING BARLEY. Qiiere. Whether the importance of this prac- tice does not increase as the season advances ? Barley put into the ground in February, has the start of many seed-weeds, which might vegetate as quickly as the crop, in the latter part of March, or in April. In the former case, broad-cast crops might be clean in fields, which, if sov^n in the two latter months, might be much more subje6l to the depredation of weeds ; if so, the drill will, m this respecfl, be of great use. It is a dreadful spedacle which 112 SEED-BARLEY. [mARCH which some distridis exhibit, of crops, yellow from the quantity of charlock. To free drilled com from such enemies, is much easier than to weed broad-cast crops. SEED-BARLEY. Increase the quantity of seed -barley as the season advances. Early-sown crops have more time to tiller than late-sown ones. If three bushels be the quantity in February, three and a half should be sown the end of March. *' The season of sowing has been recommended by the Northern Botanic School, to be drawn from the foliation of vegetables ; for which idea, the following table will be of use. " As I do not know that any thing of this kind has ever been published in England, I will subjoin the order of the leafmg of some trees and shrubs, as observed by me (Mr. Stillingfieet) in Norfolk, anno 1755. I J. Honey -suckle. January ]y 2. Gooseberry, March 1 1 3. Currant, 11 4. Elder, - 11 5. Birch, - . - April I 6. Weeping- willow, 1 7. Kasberry, 3 8. Bramble, 3 g. Brier, 4 10. Plumb, - - - 6 11, Apricot, 6 12. Peach, - - - G 13. Fil- MARCH.] SEED-BARLEY. 113 13. Filberd, - - - _ April 7 14. Sallow, - - - - _ 7 15. Alder, 7 lb. Sycamore, .- - , . 9 17. Elm, - - . . . 10 18. Quince, - - - . - 10 19. Marsh Elder, - - . , 11 20. Wych Elm, - - - , 12 21. Quicken-tree, - - . 13 22. Hornbeam, - - - . 13 23. Apple-tree, - - - - 14 24. Abele, - - - - - - 16 25. Chesnut, - - - . 16 26. Willow, - - ... - 17 27. Oak^ - . - . 18 28. Lime, - - ^ - - 18 29. Maple, - - - - - 19 30. Walnut, 2C 31. Plane, _ - - . . 21 32. Black Poplar, . - . . 21 33. Beech, - -- 21 34. Acacia Robinia, 21 35. Ash, ----- 22 36. Carolina Poplar, - - . 22 ^' It is wonderful to observe the conforn^ lity be- tween vegetation and the arrival of certain birds of passage. I will give one instance, as marked down in a diary kept by me in Norfolk, in the year 1755. April the l6th, young figs appear ; the 17th of the same month the cuckoo sings. Now the word |6CK;ti> signifies a cuckoo, and likewise the young %; I li4 OATS. [march. fig ; and the reason given for It is, that in Greece they appeared together. I will just add, that the same year I first found the cuckoo-flower to blow the 19th of April. *^ To the instance of coincidence of the appear- . ance of the cuckoo, and the fruit of the fig-tree in Greece and England, I will here add some coin- cidences of the like nature in Sweden and Eng- land. " Linnaeus says, that the wood-anemone blows from the arrival of the swallow : in my diary for the year 1755, I find the swallow appeared April the 6th, and the wood-anemone was in blow the 10th of the same month. He says^ that the marsh- marygold blows when the cuckoo sings : according to my diary, the marsh -marygold was in blow April the 7th, and the same day the cuckoo sung *." OATS. White oats should be sown now, in preference to any other season ; and, in the general condu6i of them, the farmer should, by all means, avoid the common error of sowing them after other cc crops, by which they exhaust the land. They should always receive the same preparation as barley ; nor ought a good husbandman to think of their net paying him as well for such attention as that crc It is a very mistaken idea, to suppose it more pro- fitable to sow barley on land in good order than oats. I am, from divers experiments, inclined Slillingfleet. think^ MARCH.] OATS. 115 tbink, that oats \\i\\ equal, and in many cases ex- ceed barley. The superior quantity of the pro- duce will ever be found to more than answer the inferiority of the price ; which, however, some- times exceeds that of barley. What good reasons are to be offered, for sowing oats on land in such bad order that barley is not to be ventured in, I know not. The common ar- gument is their hardiness, which will give a mid- dling produce, about sufficient to pay expences, and leave a trifling profit, when no other crop will do the like. But this is only proving them to be assistants of bad husbandry ; nor is such a paltry profit, granting false premises (for I am well per- suaded that common oat crops, among bad farmers, are but so much loss), an obje6i that ever ought to influence good husbandmen. Why should a good farmer be at all solicitous to gain 10s. an acre pro- fit by oats after barley, &c. ? Suppose his course to be, I. Turnips; 2. Barley; 3. Oats: or, 1. Fal- low ; 2. Wheat ; 3. Oats : in either of these courses, or in any other, where the oats follow another crop of corn, the profit of them must be small. What comparison with sowing clover with the barley, which will pay far more profit, and at the same time prepare, in the best manner, for that most beneficial crop, wheat ? What but a fallow, or a fid low crop, can succeed the oats ? How unpro- fitable, compared to the clover system ! For these reasons, I cannot but recommend that oats should be considered in the same light as 1 2 barley. J 116 OATS ON LAYS. [mARCH, barley, and never sown unless the land be in proper order for barley, or to sow them after a fallow crop, and clover with then), in the same manner as barley. OATS AFTER TURNIPS, Sec. The observations which have been made on bar- ley, are equally applicable if oats be sown. And the farmer should, in the distribution of his farm, consider which of these two crops is likely to pay him best. This will very much depend on his soil. Warm forward sands yield as many quarters of barley, perhaps, as of oats ; but upon various other soils, the produce of oats, compared with that of barley, will be as 4 to 3, and on some as 5 to 3. He should also take into consideration, the greater steadiness of price which oats have for many years yielded, in comparison of the price of barley; cir- cumstances which may reasonably induce him to sow them in a larger proportion than is common among his neighbours. On the other hand, it is not to be forgotten that they exhaust more. OATS ON LAYS. It is very common husbandry to put in oats on one ploughing of old grass, and on layers of shorter duration. The method is to plough the land be- fore the frofits, and to dibble in the spring, as soon as the weather is dry enough ; but the soil must, from its nature, or from rolling, be in such temper as to permit the holes to stand, and not to moulder in, when the dibble is removed. In some cases, the safe way is, to plough, roll, and dibble imme- diately. MARCH.] CLOVER. 117 diately. Bat in very many cases (possibly in all), it is better to put pease in, on light land, beans on stiff soils, and to follow these with oats or wheat, according to circumstances. I have known oats^ which had prcxluced inferior crops, followed by oats again the next year, and produce largely, which proved that they wanted tilth. Pease or beans will rather improve than exhaust land, when put in thus in layers : whereas, two crops of oats will scourge the land too much. Let it, however, be well remembered, that these observations are made (so far as they relate to old grass), on the supposition that the farmer will not, or is not allowed, to pare and burn, a method vastly superior, and which ought to be pursued in all cases where it is pradicable. CLOVER. There are several methods of sowing this seed, which is so profitable upon almost every farm, that it must be had if possible. 1st, In the drill-husbandry, it may be sown and harrowed in, at the time the barley is sown broad-cast ; a pair of light harrows at the same time following the drill-machine, to cover the clo- ver-seed. 2dly, It is sown before the roller, when the bar- ley is four inphes high. 3dly, It is hand or horse-hoed in, when the corn receives either of those operations, if the farmer is in the pradlice of giving them. These are the methods most commonly used. 13 Mr. «l 118 CLOVER. [march. Mr. Ducket drilled the seed in the same drills as the barley, but that way is very uncommon. Another way I have known, has been that of scarifying the barley-stubble in harvest on light soils, and sowing the seed alone then. Of these methods, the first is the surest for a crop, and the most to be recommended, notwith- standing the admitted evil which sometimes takes place in a wet season, of the clover growing so luxuriantly as to damage the barley. The second succeeds well, if rain follows in due time, and would perhaps generally succeed, if the farmer ven- tured to harrow it in, which he might safely do. In the third method it often succeeds, but it also often fails, nor is it necessary, in many cases, to hoe the barley. In regard to the quantity of clover which the farmer sows, he has several considerations to go- vern his determination. In the first place, it is in many situations, and on many farms, as profitable a crop as any other he commonly reaps. On tole- rably good land, he may expe6l, at two mowings, three tons of hay ; on good, three and a half, and even four. Or, if he applies it to soiling his teams, for want of lucerne, the produce in a different way is equally striking. This produce is also gained at a very cheap rate ; cheaper than he gets any other crop. Add to this, that it forms an excellent pre- paration for either beans or wheat. Still, however, the quantity to be sown will depend in some mea- sure on his having lucerne, sainfoin, or a great plenty *^ MARCH.] TREFOIL. I IQ plenty of meadow-land. If he is deficient in these, it becomes more than useful, it is essential. The unfortunate circumstance which attends clover, is its being extremely apt to fail, in distriiSls where it has been long a common article of culti- vation. The land, to use the farmer's term, be- comes sick of it. After harvest he has a fine plant, but by March or April, half, or perhaps more of it is dead. This makes a new course of crops neces- sary. Instead of its occurring once in four years, in the common Norfolk course, it becomes neces- sary to sow it only in the second round alter- nately, beans after barley in one course, and then clover in the next. This has been found to an- swer. This observation, however, should be made not without observing, that on a farm at Mor- den in Surrey, Mr. Arbuthnot, by means of deeper ploughing than common, and ample ma^ nuringy succeeded well with clover every third year in this course : 1. Beans, 2. Wheat, 3. Clover, on land that was said to be sick of it, though sown before only once in four years. I viewed his crops in that new course during three rounds, and never saw finer. Ten to 12 lb. an acre is the usual quantity of seed, but 15 is better. TREFOIL. Upon light and poor sandy lands, on which clover does not succeed well, it is common hus- I 4 bandry 120 GRASSES FOR ALTERNATE HUSBANDRY. [mARCH bandry to sow trefoil, with a portion of white clover and ray-grass, with intention of leaving it two years. Six pound of trefoil, four of white clover, and half a bushel of ray, are common quan - tities. These are for sheep-feed. WHITE CLOVER. A very profitable article of cultivation, which has of late years been particularly attended to in Suf- folk and in Essex, is that of white clover alone for seed. The first growth (contrary to the case with red clover) is seeded. Some take a spring feeding first. The returns depend, of course, on the price, which varies much, but it has proved a very pro- fitable article, yielding from 7h to 15l. an acre. Wheat succeeds well after it. GRASSES FOR ALTERNATE HUSBANDRY. Upon Impoverished worn-out lands, and others ill-treated by bad management, and over-cropping with white corn, there is no better system than that of the alternate husbandry of corn and grass for sheep-feeding. Such lands are much recruited by these means, and will, after a term of years, surprize their occupier by the superior corn-crops, which five or six, or even four years sheep-feeding will enable them to give. They should, however, be got into clean order. The course : 1 . Turnips, 2. Barley, 3. Grasses for 4, 5, or 6 years, 4. Beans or pease, 5. Wheat, will in one round improve them much. The ob- ject I MARCH.] GRASSES FOR ALTERNATE IIUSBANDrvY. 121 jedl for present consideration is the seeds to be sown. The ibll(!)\ving may be recommended : Cocksfoot, Yorkshire white, Timothy, White clover, and a small quantity of trefoil. If sown alone, the quantities are : cocksfoot, 4 bushels ; York- white, 2 bushels ; Timothy, 61b. ; white clover, lOlb. ; trefoil, lOlb. but a mixture may be better. In a Prize Essay sent to the Board of Agriculture, the followins: remark deserves attention : This is not an uncommon system in Rutland- shire, and is a very profitable one. By loams lying in grass, and being well-covered with sheep, they are prepared in the best manner for corn, and it is the same on fen and peat lands. The follow- ing is a proper course : On dryer land. On soils Inclinable to moisture,- or of good fertility. 1. Oats, 1. White pease and 2. Turnips, turnips, 3. Barley, 2. Barley, 4. Clover, or winter 3. Clover, tares, 4. Wheat, 5. Wheat, 5. Turnips, 6. Turnips, 6. Barley, 7. Barley, 7. Grass for 3 years. 8. Grass for 3, 4, or 5 years. Such husbandry must keep land in a constant state of fertility. This 122 GRASSES FOR ALTERNATE HUSRAXDRy. [mARCII, Tliis alternate husbandry appears to be well un- derstood in Northumberland. " By means of three years grasses depastured with sheep, the land will grow good crops of oats, which they could ■never get it to do under their old system. Soil, sandy, and dry light loams." — Report, p. 6l. " Various systems have been tried in Northumber- land, particularly the boasted course of, 1. Turnips ; 2. Barley; 3. Clover; 4. Wheat; till the crops have evidently declined, particularly the turnips and clover ; and the only means of restoring such lands, have been the system of three years arable, and three years grass depastured hj sheep. By this mode, Nature has time to prepare a sufficient lea- clod, which, being turned up for the turnip-fallow, will ensure a vigorous crop of turnips, as it is well known that they always flourish upon fresh land, or where they find the remains of a lea-clod to ve- getate in. The portion that is kept in grass for three years, breeds and fattens such a number of sheep, as leave a considerable profit, probably equal, if not move than the arable crops, the yearly profit of a sheep being estimated at not less than 20s. to 30s. six or eight of which, an acre of clover will fatten, and an acre of turnips about double the number." This is to the credit of the Northumberland drill system, or the soil must be very extraordinary. " By this system are obtained the principal advantages of folding, without any of its inconveniences ; for if, on an average, The \ MARCH.] SAINFOIN. ' 123 The 1st year's clover and grass carry 7 sheep an acre, for 20 weeks, 2d ----5 --20 3d - - - - 3 - - 20 and the turnips - - 12 - - 20 that is - - - - 2/ sheep ixjr acre, for 20 weeks, which is after the rate of 540 sheep per acre for one week, once in six years, leaving 25s. a head profit." lb. p. 163. The great advantage of having land alternately under grass and corn, was known in the last century. Considerations concerning Common Fields and InclosureSy 4to. time of the Commonwealth, page 10. But in France much earlier, De Serrcs 1629, page G. SAINFOIN. This is the principal season for sowing sainfoin, and if the reader has land that will produce it, he can apply it to no crop equally profitable. Loams and sands upon chalk are the favourite soils ; also loams and clays in a shallow stratum, on lime-stone. It does, however, on very dry sound gravels, but not if the under stratum be much mixed with clay. I have tried it without success on good dry turnip loams, but on every species of chalk and white marie its success is certain. The profit far exceeds that of any other application of such a soil. Onpoor sands in Norfolk and Suffolk, w^orth only 5s, an acre, the crop, for several years (after the first), has been from one to two tons and a half per acre, of excellent hay, and mown every year. Whatever the price of hay may be, such a produce on such land is prodi- gious. 124 SOW CHICORY. [march- gious, with the additional circuinstance of an after- grass extremely valuable for weaning and keeping lambs. I know not a more lamentable circamstan than to see such poor soils yielding a beggarly pr du6l in corn, other grass and turnips, with not one- acre of sainfoin where there ought to be an hun- dred. Sainfoin, on extremely favourable soils, will get the better of weeds, but it is always right to sow it with barley after turnips ; four bushels an acre broad-cast, but three are enough drilled. If with drilled barley, the best way is to drill the corn first, and then the sainfoin across the former drills. Three bushels of good seed sown in this way is enough for an acre. SOW CHICORY. For several purposes on a farm, this is of such importance, that a farmer cannot, without its as- sistance, make the largest profit on various soils. Whenever it is the farmer's wish to lay a field to grass for three, four, or six years, by way of rest- ing the land, or for increasing the food of sheep, he cannot hesitate. There is no plant to rival it. Lucerne demands a rich soil, and will always be kept as long as it is productive, but upon inferior land it is not an equal objecf . U])on blowing sands, or upon any soil that is weak and poor, and wants rest, there is no plant that equals this, which, if sown with a portion of cocksfoot grass and burnet, will form a layer for six or seven years, far exceetl- ing I IvrARCH.] sow CHICORY. 1'2-, ing those formed with trefoil, wliite clover, and ray-grass, which are the plants usually had recourse to, and wijl support so many sheep as very mate- rially to improve the soil. This is one capital mo- tive for cultivating chicor)\ Another is, for the application of the produce, on better land, to soiling horses, oxen, cows, and all sorts of cattle, for which use three years are the proper duration. A third use is, for feeding in the field, or soiling hogs, for which purpose it is very advantageous. These are ob- jeds so important in themselves, as to plead power- fully in its? favour. Objections to it have been made, by reason of its rising, and becoming a vi- vacious weed, in succeeding crops. If the circum- stance be not guarded against this will happen, but not more, or so much as with lucerne. But who ventures to forbid that culture on account of this quality, which is really founded on its merit ? When the land is ploughed, only use a broad sharp share, and harrow in tares, for feeding or soiling, or break it up for turnips, and tliere is an end of the objec- tion. Such observations against a plant are truly futile, and arise only from ill management. Let us, therefore, suppose a farmer too wise to listen to them, and that he determines to sow tiie plant. He may do this broad-cast, among spring com, in the same way that clover is sown ; or he may drill it at g inches on poor land, and at 12 on bet- ter soils, in order to give it now and then a scari- fying ; the first for feeding, the last for soiling. From 10 to 12lb. of seed per acre is the proper quantity 126 PEASE. [march. quantity. Once harrowing after sowing is suffi- cient. PEASE. This month is the proper season for sowing sorts of pease, that were not sown in February^ nor is it proper to delay any of them later, if tl weather now suits. White pease should be sown Jast, and on light land ; for they do not succeed well on heavy or wet clays. There are scarcely any soils that do not suit some pea or other. Stifl:* clays do very well for the hardier hog-pease, and all lighter loams, gravels, chalks, and sands, answer well for the tenderer kinds. In common management they are sometimes ploughed, and at other times harrowed in ; which variation often makes a difference in the crop ; for, if the land is apt to bind with rain, and the pease are ploughed in, they sometimes do not rise at all, not having strength to pierce the plastered surface. But tli; evil attends the very binding soils only with late sowing. On the contrary, when the seed is only harrowed in, if the field is not very well watched, the pigeons and birds will carry away much of it, and for that some allowance should be made. If land breaks well with the harrow, it is best to har- row in on all but the very lightest lands. But on loose sands, or very light and porous soils, or those that are extremely dry, it must certainly be prefer- able to plough in, on account of having a greater depth, and of being further from the sun, which is apt, in hot summers, to burn these soils. Pease I MARCH.] TEASE. ' 127 Pease should be sown after corn. Tliey always v come in best after wheat, barley, or oats,* generally with good luisbandry after layers. I can hardly suppose a situation, where this is not the right ma- nagement : they come very properly into such courses as these: 1. Turnips; 2. Bailey; 3. Clover; 4. Pease; 5. Wheat: or, ]. Cabbages ; 2. Oats; 3. Clover; 4. Pease; 5. Wheat. When wheat succeeds clover, you may throw in a crop of pease after it, if it suits you better than to come again to turnips, cabbages, or beans, the first of the course. " If wet weather happens whilst the pease lie in wads, it occasions a considerable loss, many of them being shed in the field, and of those that re- main a great part will be so considerably injured, as to render the sample of little value. This inability in pease to resist a wet harvest, together with the great uncertainty throughout their growth, and the frequent inadequate return in proportion to the length of haulm, has discouraged many farmers from sowing so large a season of this pulse as of other grain ; though on light lands which are in tolerable heart, the profit, in a good year, is far from inconsiderable. The straw (as hath been mentioned before,) is a very wholesome food for cattle of every kind ; and there is generally a con- siderable demand for pease of every denomination in the market, the uses to which they may be ap- plied being so many and so various. The boilers, or yellow pease^ always go ofi' briskly ; and the hog- pease I2S DRILLED PEASE. [mARCH, pease usually sell for 6cl. or Is. per quarter more than beans. For feeding swine the pea is much better adapted than the bean, it having been de- monstrated by experience, that. hogs do fat more kindly when fed with this grain than on beans ; and, what is not easy to be accounted for, the flesh of swine which have been fed on pease, it is said,, will sv/ell in boiling, and be well tasted ; whilst the flesh of the bean-fed hog will shrink in the pot, the fat will boil out, and the meat be less , delicate in flavour. It has, therefore, now become a pradlice with those f^irmers who are curious in their pork, to feed their hogs on pease and barley- meal, and if they have no pease of their own growth, they rather chuse to be at the expence of buying them, than suffer their hogs to eat beans. Nay, so far do some of them carry their prejudice in this particular, as to reje6l the grey pease for this use, as bearing too near an affinity to the bean, and therefore reserve their growths of white pease solely for hog fLitting. " Pease, if the ground is kindly for their gi'owth, and the summer moist, do generally pro- duce a great abundance of haulm, which takes up a large space in the barn, and for this reason the mow ouaht alwavs to be trodden with hocrs or horses, which will close down the haulm into one sixth part of the compass it would otherwise have occupied.'* — Bannister. DrxILLED PEASE. This pulse in many districts is drilled, which is a very IvIARCH*] PEASE ON LAYERS. 3 29 a very good method. The great use of driUing pease is, the rendering it so much easier to hand- hoe them. Good farmers, whatever their soil, are al- ways desirous of getting the hand -hoe into as many crops as possible, and few pay better for it than pease ; but, when promiscuously sown, it is difficult and expensive to perform that work well ; whereas, if they are drilled in equally-distant rows, one foot asunder, the hoeing is regular work : it will be ex- ecuted much easier, better, and cheaper, and the crop be consequently superior : for that operation, given while the crop is quite young, checks the weeds so much, at the same time that the crop is forwarded, that the tendrils join the sooner, and are much the stronger for it. Consequently, a thick, luxuriant crop, is gained in a much greater degree. Another advantage in this method is, the saving of seed ; for a bushel, or a bushel and a half less seed, will do in this way than in broad- cast sowing. PEASE ON LAYERS. There is scarcely an article of cultivation to be treated of in a Calendar at present, in which a double attention is not necessary, and which may give an appearance of repetitions that are unne- cessary. But when it is considered that there are clearly two descriptions of farmers who ought to find the use of such a work, being both inexpe- rienced, such an idea will be found erroneous. There are men who design only to pursue the prac- tice of their own distrid, in which great improve- K ments 130 BEANS. [mAKCH. ftients may not be common ; and there are others, more enlightened, who wish in every month to be reminded of what are the works going on at 'that time in all other distri61s, that they may try them or not, at their pleasure. The preceding articles, under the head of pease, are for the former de- scription ; but the latter were probably at work for this crop in February, for by means of that new and great improvement of autumnal ploughing, for so many crops to be put into the ground in the spring, without any fresh ploughing, the land may have been laid in stitches, exadtly suitable to the drill machine, and to the scarifier, scuffler, and barrow, so that the surface may now be worked to the necessary degree, without a horse ever setting his foot any where but in a furrow, and consequently not tread- ing the beds or stitches in the smallest degree. With this management all spring works are much accelerated. HowTver, February certainly may, in some seasons, pass vvdthout the farmer being able to put m his crop of pease. In that case the work must be done in March, by the direc- tions given in February, whether for drilling or dibblinc:. I ■to' BEANS. February is the month in which the farmer should be adtive in putting in this crop. Some delay it for the more tender sorts, but I have re- marked in many trials, that even these have suc- ceeded better when sown in February. Should the weather prevent early work, of necessity it must be WARCH.] BF.ANS TO BE EATEX GREEN. 131 be postponed, and then, as with pease, the direc- tions must be postponed in execution for one month, BEANS TO BE EATEN GREEN. Some experiments were made by a very ingenious gentleman, in sowing beans for stall-feeding bul- locks, while podded but yet green. It was not in my power to ascertain how it answered, but atten- tion to this scheme has been since recalled, by another similar trial, for the use of hogs, by Mr. Cross, and which has been published by Dr.^Hun- ter. The circumstances merit attention. He drilled garden beans at three feet, and afterwards turnips in the intervals. When the beans began to lose their flowers, and to shew a disposition to pod, they were drawn by hand and given to 38 pigs, 10 weeks old, well littered with straw. These were bought the 18th of May, and were kept on clover till the beans were ready. The beans being consumed, the pigs were sold the 18th of Septem- ber for 40 1. beyond the prime cost, and they made 40 loads of rich manure. They consumed four acres of beans. To persons who make it a point of using hogs as the means of raising large quan- tities of manure (and there is no more efFe6live way of doing it), these hints may be very valuable. Beans used for this purpose may be off the land very early, probably much earlier than these were,^ and in time for putting in another crop imme- diately, either late turnips or cole-seed, and the land cannot be in the least exhausted. With this K 2 view. 13'2 BEANS BETTER THAN OATS ON LAYS. [mARCHX; view, there should be a succession of plantings i February, March and April. BEANS BETTER THAN OATS ON LAYS. *^^ To sow oats on a lay newly broken up, espe cially if such ground has been many years in grass is at all times very hazardous, and frequently cans a total destru6lion of the crop, an instance of whic I experienced in the spring of the year 1771. Th preceding winter had been very severe, with a con tinuation of unkindly weather till late in the sprin for at the close of the month of April the pond? were covered with ice, and sharp frosty nights in- tervened till the 10th of May. Early in the month of March I sowed with oats a sainfoin lay that had been ploughed up some months before, and covered in the seed with the large two-horse harrow, and as soon as possible closed the soil with a five-horse roll, so that the ground seemed to lie as close as one could desire ; but the dry irosty weather above- mentioned setting in for a month afterwards, ren* dered the surface very porous, and the soil was, become dry as ashes, and by far too liglit for the purposes of vegetation. Towards the middle of April, the oats, by favour of some kindly showers, began to make their appearance, but before they were all fairly out of the ground, the worm seized on the fibrous roots below the surface. The land being at that time not sufficiently dry to admit the use of a roll, I endeavoured to close the lightened soil by treading it with horses. My primary view was, to have trodden the upper part of the field only, the J^AllCn.] TARES. , 133 the lower side remaining at that time unhurt by the worm ; but in a few days these insedls spread over the whole close, and although I omitted no opportunity of treading and rolling throughout the spring, the crop at harvest was very slender, as well in straw as grain. From hence we may learn how hazardous it is to sow such lay ground, in the iirsl year after breaking up, with oats, or indeed of cropping it with any other grain than either beans or pease ; for though, in a very kindly year, such corn may not be totally destroyed by the worm, as it turned out in the event, with the greatest part of my oats ; yet there is no doubt but (maugre all his care and pains) the husbandman will then find cause to re- pent of his condu6l, and should a dry frosty time succeed, the destruction of the crop is inevitable. Still more hazardous is it to sow this grain on what is termed a lay -breech, as the worm will in such a season be more likely to destroy the crop, than even after the first breaking up of the lay-ground," JBanniste?'. TARES. If the weather in February did not allow sowings spring tares, or at least all the crop, the work must not be delayed longer than March, otherwise the crop will suffer. The best way is, to plough the land flat, or on broad lands, and harrow in the seed : but the farmer must observe well, that the soil be dry before his ploughs go on it, which is an universal rule, that ought never to be deviated from. K 3 TARES 134 CARROTS. [maRCPU TARES ON A STALE FURROW. Sowing on a stale furrow is much superior to a fresh ploughing. If the land was ploughed before the Christmas frosts, and the weather in February has been favourable to the vegetation of weeds, some may have appeared, but the scarifiers or scuffles will utterly destroy them, and working only in the dry pulverized surface, will prepare for the seed much better than ploughing. Let it be remem- bered, that the necessity of a succession of tare crops (which may be continued through all the spring) depends on the farmer's being not duly provided with lucerne, chicory, clover, or other crops applicable to soiling. - If he has such crops, tares are proportionably unnecessary ; but if he has not, then he should be very careful to have a due succession of tares. These are also to be applied to penning sheep, and are for that use of much importance. CARROTS. This is the season for sowing carrots. The land should be ploughed in the common manner, but fiat, and 5 lb. of seed to an acre sown broad- cast, and harrowed in. If the weather is unusually wet, a farmer may be prevented from getting on the land ; but, if possible, he should delay it no longer than the 25 th. The proper soil should not be mistaken through common notions, nor confmed to a compass much within the reality. It is a general idea, that nothing but sands will do for carrots ; but this is a mistake. The best soil for" them MARCH.] CARROTS. 135 them is a sandy loam, rather light, but moist, of a ;reat depth ;. ill which there is little difficulty in ploughing to the very beam of the plough, all the ~:oiI brought up being of the same kind, and as fit or vegetation as the surface. This sandy loam, vith these properties, should in general yield good rops o{ all sorts. But, at the same time that I ;nention this soil as most desirable, still the crop vill thrive to great profit on heavier loams, but J at on wet ones or clays. On good wheat loams, ;f the gravelly kinds, that plough easily, they do veil. At first sight, such soils might perhaps be hought too stifl'; but they will yield large car- ots ; but the expences will run higher in clean- -g, &c, I cannot leave this article, without recommend- ]g to all the possessors of the lighter sort of lands iiat have a pretty good depth, to cultivate this ex- cllent root with spirit ; not to confine it to a little lose of an acre or two, but to introduce it, in the ourse of the crops on a farm, regularly, like wheat, arley, turnips, or any other plant. None will pay Lttcr; and, if managed tolerably, few so well. The almost uniform practice in Suflblk, where liia root is cultivated more largely than in any other :^art of the kingdom, is to delay all tillage till the irne of sowing, the favourite period for that being bout the 25th of this month. The best of all reparations for this root is a turnip-fallow, the op of which was fed on the land by sheep. Tho K 4 "^>^t I 136 CARROTS. [march. next best a barley stubble, which succeeded turnips so fed. Some farmers put them in on a wheat stubble, when a manuring of yard-dung has been given for the wheat crop ; but in this way they arc more apt to be foul. A modern improvement, an< which deserves attention, is, that of steeping tl seed from twenty to thirty hours, in order to acce^ lerate its coming up. Though carrots are consumed only in the wint( and in the spring, and consequently their m to be treated of under the head of winter an< spring food, yet as the young farmer must detei mine in this month of March, what breadth land he will apply to carrots, it is necessary to men- tion here some of the inducements which should instigate him to venture, without apprehension, on so very profitable an article of cultivation. 1st, The teams of horses cannot, in any other way, be fed so profitably as on carrots. If they have only chaff and carrots, the allowance is two bushels per horse per diem. If a bushel of oats per horse per week, then one bushel a day of car- rots, and no hay. An acre of 400 bushels, lasts one horse 200 days, or two horses 100 days, during which time they are in perfe6lion. Thus fed, it is an acre per horse : or, at half-feeding, half an acre per horse. ' 2dly, They are excellent for all sorts of stock- hogs, sows, weaned pigs, and all others. They have been found to fatten well, though some who liav( MARCH.] CAIIROT5 OX GRASS. 137 have tried them for that purpose have had ill suc- cess. However, for all lean hogs, there is no question or dispute, but they thrive vi^ell on them. 3dly, No food is superior for fattening oxen. 4thly, Nor for feeding young cattle and milch cows. 5thly, They fatten sheep profitably. They may be estimated to cost 61. per acre, or 3^d. per bushel, prime cost. Supposing 4d., it is evident that the advantage must be very great. The common selling price, among neighbours, in Suffolk, is from fid. to gd. a bushel, generally 6d. Nor is it only in the use of them that this crop is vakiable to the farmer : they arc also very advan- tageous to the land. In the opinion of some farmers in Suffolk, the barley which succeeds them is equal to that after turnips fed on the land by sheep ; and all agree, that they prepare perfe6tly well for that crop. A circumstance which speaks for them, perhaps more than any other, is, that the culture, within the last ten years, has in- creased greatly in that county, so that there are now probably twenty acres, where, twenty years ago, there were not five. It is common now to see from twenty to thirty acres on a farm. If a young cultivator, therefore, possesses any dry and deep soil, he cannot do better than determine upon this branch of farming, which will be sure to pay him well. CARROTS ON GRASS. This is not common husbandry any where, but it 138 PARSNIPS. [makch. it should be in the farmer's recollection, that they do exceedingly well put in on one ploughing of old grass land, that is on a proper soil. Mr. Gains- borough, of Sudbury, on a farm at Braintree, in Essex, ploughed up a grass-field, the turf seven years old, and harrowed in carrot-seed immediately, the soil a good loam, worth 20s. an acre twenty years ago. The crop varied from 600 to 700 bushels an acre. He practised this husbandry three years running, on different portions of grass, and with uniform success*. PARSNIPS. Early in this month parsnips are to be sown. They are not to be recommended, except on tlie deepest and richest soils. The land should be dry but very fertile. Tiie putrid rich deep sands worth 40s. or 50s. an acre, the deep friable sandy loams, that are as good two feet deep as on the surface, are the soils fittest for this root. On these they come to a great size ; and no other crop on such land can pay better. Where the soil is proper, the in- ducement to cultivate them is very great, for they will fatten bullocks as well as oil-cake, and are ex- cellent in fattening hogs. Of all roots they arc the most saccharine. Tlie tillage and management is the same as for carrots, but they demand deeper ploughing : four pounds of seed the proper quan- tity, sown like carrots, broad-cast, and the first week of this month the right time. If the weather * Annals, vol. v. p. 414. is I ^vlARCH.]} "POTATOES DIBBLED. 139 is favourable, they may be sown the last week ia IVbruary, 4 lb. of seed per acre, and liarrowed in. Both these roots have been tried by drilling, by very rikilftd drillers, but they have not answered like broad-cast crops. Nothing prepares better for corn, if due attention be paid to keeping them en- tirely clean. POTATOES DIBBLED. The land I suppose to have received its first til- lage in autumn ; and, if it was inclinable to be rough, to have had a second ploughing in February, The first dry season in this month, it should be stirred again flat, turning in the manure, of what- ever kind it might be. The best is farm-yard dung; and the more the better, unless the soil be very rich. Upon an average of lands, less should not be laid than twenty-five or thirty large loads per acre, which should be spread equally, that it may plough in well. As soon as the surface is harrowed smooth, the planting should be begun, which is performed in this manner : A man holds in his hand a dibble, which has one point, and a place for him to set his foot on it, to strike it into the earth, in order to make a hole to receive the set. A woman, or boy, follows him with the sets, and drops one into each hole. After this, the land is har- rowed twice or thrice, and the business is done. They are in this method set promiscuously, at from nine inches to one foot asunder. The work is done quickly, and is not very expensive. In this promis- 340 POTATOES OX BORDERS. [mARCH, promiscuous way, from fifteen to twenty bushels of potatoes are necessary to set an acre. POTATOES ON GRASS. Grass-land is often broken up for a crop of po- tatoes, and by most people preferred to any other. Themethods are, first, to dung it moderately^ fif- teen pr twenty loads per acre ; then to dig up the turf, and work in the dung at the same time, and dibble in the sets, in the way before mentioned. The crop scarcely ever fails of being great in this method. Another is called the lazy-bed way. The grass is dunged as before, and marked into beds five feet wide, with narrow slips between them, two feet wide. The beds are then dunged, about fifteen loads per acre : on the dung are laid the potatoe- slices, after which the turf is dug thinly up in the two- feet intervals, and laid on the sets, which, with another spit, and the loose mould, completes the covering. This is not equal to digging all the ground, on account of its being left whole for the succeeding crop, but the crop of potatoes is gene- rally good ; for, besides the dung, they have the turf below to spread upon, and are partly covered with that from the trenches, so that they lie hol- low, and in a rich bed. POTATOES ON BORDERS. If you have any rough borders of fields, that were grubbed up to clear away roots and rubbish the preceding winter, it is common to dig them regularly in the beginning of this month, and dib- ble I MARCH.] POTATOES FOR HORSE-HOEING. Ml ble in potatoe sets, by which means there is a cer- tainty of getting a beneficial crop ; for such places are generally fertile, from the rotting of leaves and wood. They will be left ready in autumn for car- rying the earth on the land, in order to level the border, and lay it dowa to grass. When some rich earth is thrown out of ditches, or mud out of ponds, it is often left long enough for yielding a potatoe crop, which either is capable of giving. POTATOES FOR HORSE-HOEING. The new husbandry has been much recom- mended for the culture of potatoes, and there have been many instances of great crops gained in this manner. The pra6^ice of it is various ; but, what- ever the manner, the land should be ploughed into ridges for them, according to the rows intended. They have been tried in equally-distant single rows, at two, three, four, and five feet. In double rows, at one foot, on four-feet ridges ; the same, and also three rows, on five-feet ridges. These methods may most of them have succeeded, but the wide distances between the single rows certainly lose too much land. If equally-distant rows were used, three feet is preferable. Double rows on four feet have succeeded. All give the advantage of the horse-hoeing culture, without losing much room. Equally-distant rows, at two feet, with a- neat horse- hoe that turns no furrow, but only cuts the sur- face of the ground, earthing up afterwards, have likewise succeeded. The principle of introducing the I 142 CABBAGES, [MAKCif, the horse-hoe is to save some of the cxpence of hand-hoeing, and at tlie same time to make the crop flourish better. The advocates for this hus- bandry acknowledge, that there are more plants in the old m.ethod ; but assert, that the tillage of the-^ plough is so much more efFedlual than that of the" hand-hoe, and the admission of air among the plants so much freer, that the loss of number is more than made up in the gain of size. It has also been said, that horse-hoeing is so efFe^lual, that there is no occasion for dung with it ; but let all good farmers be very suspicious of such asser- tions. If they give up the benefits of rich ma- nurings for any purpose so imaginary, they will certainly repent it. Potatoes may, in certain soils, be cultivated without dung, with some, but never with equal profit ; and on most lands it is abso- lutely requisite. After all, let it be remembered, that April is a better time for planting this crop. CABBAGES. There are two principal seasons for planting cabbage-crops designed for cattle, viz. the latter end of April and the beginning of May, and about Midsummer. The land for both I suppose to have been ploughed, the first time at Michaelmas. If February was ^ very lavourable for tillage, another earth should have been given, if the teams had leisure for it. The fields to be planted in April and May, must be ploughed again in March. These stirrings are not to be flat, but the land kept oa MAIICII.] REYNOLDS' CABBAGE-TURNIP. 143 0!i the ridge, by reversing. If as much time can be spared this month from seed tillage (which are ever the most important part of tillage), as in April, it will be now advisable to plough those lands also that are for the Midsummer crop, by which means there will be a certainty of gaining a line tilth, late in spring, which is the best method of destroying seed weeds. In the beginning of this month seed should be sown a second time. The seed, and seed-bed, must be proportioned to the intended quantity of cnop. A good rule is, to sow one pound of seed to every three acres of land intended to be cropped. For a seed-bed, a rich piece of land summer-fal- lowed, and dunged with rotten stuff, is to be chosen. See the Calendar for last month, for par- ing and burning for a nursery ; also for the sorts of cabbage. REYNOLDS' CABBAGE-TURNIP. This month, if the weather be favourable, is the proper time for sowing the seed of this plant in a seed-bed, for transplantation in June. It is a re- markable circumstance, that very great and suc- cessful exertions were made in the culture of this plant thirty years ago, but that it went out of ge- neral use, without any sufficient reason ; for its great merit was then well known. Long since that -period the ruta baga, or Swedish turnip, was intro- duced, but in Norfolk the depredations of the fly upon this plant have been so great, that it is also in danger of being given up. As there is no point of 144 Reynolds' cabbage-i-uiinik [march- of greater importance than that of providing greei winter and spring food, for cattle, I must recom- mend a due attention to both these plants. Tlie^ following particulars, communicated to the Societyi of Arts, dated in April, well deserves the attentiouj of the farmer, relative to this cabbage -turnip. " I have sent six more of the roots for the in- speclion of the Society, indifferently chosen. They weigh 38lb. so that upon an average, at thisl time (viz. April 29), there is no less than 35 tons] per acre. And let it be observed, they are not full) grown, the spring being backward, otherwise thej produ6l would have been greater. I pitched a fold! in the form of an oblong, in two divisions, and placed therein 387 sheep, ApVil 2. The crop has kept them exceeding well, without any fodder, or even any other provision (save only the turning them into a rough pasture a few hours in the mid- dle of the day, for by so doing, they return fresh to the roots in the afternoon) ; and will maintain them in the same manner till the 12th of May, I am confident, which is in all full 40 days. I placed those designed for fattening in the front, and the store iihecp in the rear. The plants are drawn up with a three pronged hoe. The fold is removed daily for those in front to have fresh food ; and those in the rear eat the remains of what was left the day before. Thus the whole is spent without the least loss, and the land enriched at the same time. This, I say by experience, gained last year ; for my barley crop, on land in the same statC;, I MARCH.] REYNOLDS* CABBAGE-TURXIP. 145 State, turned out very good, both in quantity and quality inferior to none of my other growth (which was upwards of 80 acres) ; the produ6l full five quarters per acre, sown the 12th of May. ^' Eight milch cows have been fed with these roots for this month past ; and are very fond of them ; and I have found great savings in my hay since they began them. Both the milk and but- ter proved very good, and a considerable increase in both kinds. " I also find that hogs and pigs like them ex- tremely well. Sows give plenty of milk when fed with these roots. ^^ Upon the whole, it is very certain that they are found to be of the greatest utility. '^ Nothing, that I can find out, is more bene- ficial to the land-holder, ybr spring-food, especially in hard weather, and times of distress, such as we have of late very severely felt. This consideration only, ought to encourage all concerned in raising them, were there no other motive whatsoever. But that is not the ease ; for I find that besides this great food, of giving plenty in time of need, there is another benefit annexed to it, viz, the improving land for the ensuing crop, when these roots are spent with sheep where they grow. These are cir- cumstances of the greatest merit in agriculture, especially to those who have them in possession. ^^ These roots are proof against, frost ; whereas turnips have been but of little service in general this spring, the frost having destroyed many of L thera 14(J REYNOLDS* CABBAGE-TURNIP. [mARCH. them long ago. But these vegetables are now in a fine flourishing state, quite sound and good ; well tasted top and bottom : better food cannot be desired for horned cattle and sheep. It seem indeed, the very thing long sought' for (namely) good spring food. " This is certain, my sheep are now thrivinj beyond all expedation ; whilst other flocks, in g^ neral,. having no such provision, are almost starv to death for want of sustenance. *^ If what is here asserted and proved by exp rience, will not induce people to raise these roots, know not what will." In a letter from Mr. Reynolds, dated the 15th Ja nuary, read to the Society, he speaks thus oF the pro- duce of the turnip-rooted cabbage. '' This is certain, large crops have been obtained within the two last years in several counties. Their produdl have risen from 25 to 35 ton per acre; and if my memory serve me right, there are two accounts from Nottingham and York, as high as 44 tons. Kent and Sussex have obtained near 50 tons ; but one gentleman in Surrey has outdone all that I have yet heard of. This plantation, and that no small one, produced upwards of 56 tons per acre, in 1770. I have thi- well attested ; and that many of his single root- weighed 14lb. each. This may seem incredible to some, but it is not so to me in the least. For imy shepherd brought me in one single root, on the 4th of May, 1773, that, when cleansed, weighed 17lb. the most extraordinary plant of this kind ever beheld. I ARCH.] REYNOLDS* CABBAGE-TURNIP. 14? beheld. My curiosity led me to see where it grew, ulj on viewing the place, I found it stood where heap of grass -burnt ashes had been ill spread; tid this occasioned its extraordinary size." Mr. itcynolds' conclusion, with respecl to the great magnitude of this root, is justified by many in- ances of extreme great crops of the brassica, or ibbage kind, being produced on land, after burn- })aiting ; and even after burning the turf of heathy i; nd, without any other manure. This account of the great utility of the turnip- rooted cabbage, is strongly confirmed by several passages of Mr. Reynolds' letter of January 15, 1774, mentioned in the preceding note. He says, '^ With respedl to my turnip-rooted cabbage, I find it is now propagated more and more in. this ^ighbourhood, with all desired success ; and be- jas to spread apace throughout every county in I >ngland and Wales, and in some parts of Scotland, it has been cultivated by an eminent North Briton, - he expresses it, to their very good liking and ad- nitage, and withal, is muck admired in bearing nst very ivell ; which, according to his informa- ion, is more intense and severe than with us. I have letters to prove they are in no small esteem in lie kingdom of Ireland: and I find they are re- !nmended by their Society to all concerned in eeding and feeding cattle to propagate." Mr. ynolds supports his assertion in this letter, of ^ great utility of this plant as a spring-food for :tle, and more particularly for sheep, by the in- L 2 stance 14:8 TURNIP-FALLOW. [mARC] stance of what happened to him in 1773, '^ ' most of the turnips that had been sown the ceding year, had failed ; or those few that had e~ caped run away to seed much earHer than com- mon," and the farmers therefore were in the ut- most distress, at the same time that he, having no less than seven acres of this plant, felt no incon- ^ venience. TURNIP-FALLOW. 7 The land designed for turnips, I suppose to havef 'been ploughed from a stubble at Michaelmas. In | this month it should receive the second earth, J which is very necessary, that it nuiy, bv harrowing { well, or by another stirring in xVpril, if the land is I stubborn, be made so fine, as to ensure a thick, crop of weeds in May. A succeeding ploughing turns them in, and quite destroys them. This is j method that is very effe6lual in destroying seec weeds, and particularly suits turnip-fallows, as it is a crop that requires a very fine tilth. But modern improvements have discovered bettec ways of efFe61ing these purposes. The turnip-faL lows that received an autunmal ploughing shoulc not be ploughed again till surface operations n March have stirred and loosened the earth, to fa vour the vegetation of weeds. This is best done by scarifying or scuffling. These tools will do their work if they are well construc^lcd, to any depth the farmer may wish, and this tillage keep- ing the surface that has been pulverized by frosts, unburied, is much more favourable to the growth .>f MARCH.] LETTUCES FOR HOGS. .14() of weeds, than turning it clown by ploughing. The work also is clone much more rapidly, which, at so busy a season, is an obje6l of great consequence. LENTILS. This crop is not uncommon about Chesterfbrd in Essex. They sow a bushel an acre on one ploughing in the beginning or middle of the month. They make hay of them, or seed them, for cutting into chatl' for trough-meat for sheep and horses, and sow them on both heavy and dry soils. The whole country is calcareous. Attention should be paid, not to water horses soon after eating lentils, for they are apt to hove. They are cultivated for the same purpose in Oxfordshire. LETTUCES FOR HOGS. I first saw the sowing of lettuces for hogs prac- tised in a pretty regular system, on the farm of a very intelligent cultivator (not at all a whimsical man) in Sussex. He had, every year, an acre or two, v/hich afforded a great quantity of very va- luable food for his sows and pigs. It yields milk amply, and all sorts of swine are very fond of it. The economical farmer, who keeps many hogs, should take care to have a succession of crops for these animals, that his carts may not be forever on the road for purchased grains, nor his granary opened for corn oftener than is necessary. For lettuce the land should have been ploughed before the winter frosts, turning in by that earth 20 loads of rich dung per acre, and making the lands of the right breadth, to suit the drill-machine and horse- L 3 hoes^ 150 CHICORY. [march. hoes, so that in this month nothing more may be necessary than to scarify the land, and to drill the seed at one foot equi-distant, at the rate of four pound of seed per acre. If half an acre be tried, or even a rood, near the farm-yard, the advantage will not be inconsiderable. CHICORY. This most hardy plant will do well whenever sown. It is indigenous over the greater part of the kingdom. There are several views with which this grass may more particularly be cultivated. 1. On poor barren blowing sands, such as many distridls abound with, especially in Norfolk and Suffolk, it will yield a greater quantity of shec}) food, than any other grass at present in cultiva- tion. 2. On fen and bog-lands and peat soils, it thrives to much profit. 3. On all land, whatever the soil, on which clover, from having been too often repeated, is apt to fail, chicory may be sub- stituted to great advantage. 4. It does very well for soiling cattle, both lean and fattening. 5. It is of excellent use for those who keep large stork.- of swine. 6. It does exceedingly well in an alter- nate system of grass and tillage, as it will last four; live, six, and even more years, but it should not be sown With any view of making hay in tbis climate, though it forms a considerable proportion of many of the best meadows in tbc South ot France and in Lombardy. Objedlions have been' raised to it, from its rising again after tillage, but these will be fully obviated when I mention the, proper MARCH.] MANGEL WURZEL. 151 proper husbandry by which the layers should be broken up. MUSTARD. In breaking up the rich common of Marshland Smeeth, in Norfolk, the crop that was supposed to pay better than any other, was mustard. The soil is a rich silt and clay, worth 60s. an acre. They ploughed once, and harrowing twice, sowed one-fourth of a peck of the seed per acre, from Candlemas to the end of March, according to the weather. Few farmers have a soil that answers for this crop, but it is necessary to name it, that if markets are promising they may at least have it in their mind. It may now also be added, that they hand-hoe the plants twice. The crop is reaped im the beginning of September, being tied in sheaves, and left three or four days on the stubble. It is then stacked in the field. Rain damages it. A good crop is six or seven combs an acre : the price from 7 s. to 20 s. a bushel. They take three or four crops running. MANGEL WURZEL Is dibbled in this month, along the tops of ridges two or three feet wide, and which have been previously manured, and reversed to cover the dung. It is very little cultivated at present ; but Sir Mor- daunt Martin, of Norfolk, adhering to the culti- vation, and finding the root very advantageous for his cows, it is right to name it in a work of this nature, L 4 VVOAD. 152 SCARIFY WHEAT. [mARCH. WOAD. According to Mr. Cartwright, the middle this month is the proper time to begin to sow t plant. I no more than name it, as all that a you farmer can, with any propriety, have to do with it, is to let some very rich grass-land to the travelling woad-men, who will give 4l. 5l. and even 6\. per acre, per annum, for liberty to cultivate it for two or three years. If he has such land, he will hear of them. In Somersetshire, they sow it in June. CHAMOMILE. This is an article of culture in Derbyshire : they chuse a good loamy soil, well prepared, and plant the roots from an old crop. It remains three years on the ground. It is a troubleson^e culture, and by no means tempting in profit. To name it once is sufficient. SCARIFY WHEAT. This operation, which should not be delayed longer than March, is so material a part of the drill-husbandry, that much attention should be paid to executing it at the right moment, and also to doing it in the best manner. Opinions arc various, and many farmers do not approve of horse-hoeing at all, probably from hav- ing done it too late, or too severely. Mr. Cook has invented two implements applicable to this work, his fixt harrow and a scarifier. The former works merely by plain harrow-teeth : it has three rows, and, by varying the position diagonally, one, two, or K.xCCH.J SCARIFY WHEAT. J 53 or three teeth may be worked in the space of nine inches, without damage to the rows of wheat. If two, they may be drawn in a breadth of three inches ; if three, in that of four inclies, and these spaces widened at pleasure, but still so as to keep quite clear of the rows of wheat. By loading the harrow, the teeth are forced to the proper depth. The scarifier has teeth of various breadths, but for working at this season between nine or twelve inch mws, the narrowest are to be preferred. The intention of the operation now performed is, to loosen the surface earth and let in the air. The hoe of the scarifier may cut two inches deep safely. It will do this without raising any such surge of moulds as to bury the plants, and in its motion through the earth, it loosens without removing it. There the air immediately penetrates, and comes in conta6l with the roots, which, from the soil being moved, can spread with the greater ease. Another motive for hoeing is, to loosen and pulverize the mere surface when bound by rain or other weather. This has relation to the coronal roots of tlic wheat, which shoot out at this time of the year, when tlie seminal ones decay ; and there is a curious circum- stance noted by Bonnet^ which is, these coronal roots striking not under the surface, but above it, into the air, and entering the earth at a small dis- tance. It is then of consequence that the surface be in a pulverized state, to permit their free pene- tration. All hoeing before that moment must ne- cessarily be beneficial, because preparing the sur- face 154 SCARIFY WHEAT. [mARCH. face to receive these roots ; but, if given aficrwards, and so near the rows as to disturb them, it must do mischief for the time^ as Nature has then her ope- ration to perform again : and though the wisdom of Nature's Author without doubt provides for the case, as in that of the blossoms of wheat being blown off, yet a delay takes place, and a succession of injuries may be felt in the crop. The circum- stance should at least induce the farmer to be early jn his operations : if he is early enough, he may break the surface of a nine-inch interval, to the breadth of five inches, but afterv/ards he must re- cede from the rows, for fear of mischief. These tools of Mr. Cook are very effective, and if used with attention will be safe, while they dispatch a great deal of work in a short time. When, how- ever, it is considered, that at this season, in com- mon management, the teams arc all in full employ- ment, it must be admitted, that if there is much horse-hoeing to do, the common charge of a few pence per acre, is utterly inadequate for a period when a farmer would be glad to hire horses, could he get them, at 5s. per day, and even at a greater charge ; but if the modern s}stem, of avoiding as far as possible, all spring ploughing, by the use of the same and other tools, be taken into the ac- count, then the di ill-husbandry will not demand more horses, possibly not so many. Whatever the operation, never loosen the bottom, for that should be Icitjirm for wheat. HATO^^ MARCH. J SHEEP. 155 HAND-HOE WHEAT. If the fanner does not chuse to pra6llce the pre- ceding operations of horse-hoeing his wheat, he must at all events hand-hoe the drilled intervals ; but the same attention to earliness, is as necessary in this operation as in the former. If he gives the first hoeing early in this month, he may do it a second time the last week, or early in April. HAND-HOE BROAD -CAST WHEAT. There are sev^eral districts in the kingdom, iu which this is generally done by every good farmer, and in some at a considerable expence. Some of the most careful and attentive cultivators, and men of much intelligence and observation, have however assured me, that they found mischief from it, and left it off: and I am much inclined to think, that if any such operation is intended, the wheat should by all means be drilled. HAND-HOE DIBBLED WHEAT. Two methods of dibbling will be explained under the proper month. The one is, planting two rows on a flag ; the other one row, in which latter way, there is an ample space for efFe61ive hand-hoeing, a method which answers exceedingly well. When wheat is thus put in, the farmer should on no account omit hoeing, SHEEP. At this season the stock, whether ewes, lambs, or fatting sheep, must be kept extremely well. If they are pinched now, all the monev before ex- pended will be nearly thrown away. Turnips can no 156 SHEEP IN ROUEX. [MARCIf. no longer, with any propriety, be depended upon. If the fanner has not a great breadth of ray-grass, or some other dependence, he must sell off his fatting sheep sooner than he desires, and stop the growth of his lambs, at a time when they ought to be half fat. In fattening wethers, the great object is to keep from selling till the middle of April. To begin then, and keep killing till the end of May, is the most profitable conduct, for the price that a but- cher will then give, exceeds what he would have given two or three months earlier. How advan- tageous is it, therefore, to have food ready to take all the stock by the middle of March, and to have enough to last till May. SHEEP IN STUBBLE TURNIPS. One of the resources for sheep feeding, at this pinching season, is stubble turnips. A good ma- nager, vvho finds a field of warm, forward, rich, land harvested early (whatever may have been the crop), will sow turnips, with a view to sheep-feed in March and April. If they are not sown early they will consist of little more than shoots, but as they run up very rapidly at this time of the year, they afibrd much food, and are truly useful, at a season when every blade is valuable. SHEEP IN ROUEN. ' As turnips are by this time done, or ought to be done, the farmer will now find the immense im-. portance of that reserve of kept grass, called rouen in MARCH.] COWS, kc. 157 in Siifiblk.. All his ewes and lambs may now be ill it. SHEEP IN BURNET. The autumnal growth of burnet may now be fed with sheep, to great advantage, and prove of sin- gular importance. SHEEP IN SWEDISH TURNIP. Tliis plant should no more be left this month, where it grew, than common turnips, for as the shoots for seed spring, they lay fresh hold of the earth, and exhaust it considerably. Such portion of the crop, therefore, as was not consumed in February, should be so early in March, but when the weather is mild the last week of February, they should tlicn be removed to a grass field, for feeding. If, however, the land where they grew be dry, it is of such ad- vantage to eat them on the spot, that another me- thod may be pursued, which is a very good one, and that is, to draw them with one hand, and by giving them a chop with a knife by the other, to strike off the tap-roots, and drop them on the sur- face of the land. In this way, they will draw the soil infinitely less, than when left undisturbed, and women do the work easily. Thus treated, the young white fibres are broken in drawing, which checks them, and though fresh shoots will push out from the part of the root in contadl "with the earth, still they will take some time, and be weakly. COWS, &c. Throughout this month the cows, lean and young cattle, should be kept close -to the farm- yards^ 158 THE DAIRY. [iVTARCH. yards, and on no account allowed to wander over any of the fields. If they even steal into a grass field, and it be a forward spring, so that they get a mouthful or two of grass, it will be a prejudice to them ; for they will not be so well contented with their dry meat afterwards. Besides, they poach the grass, and lose manure. For these reasons, it is very advisable to have all the yards (I suppose water to be in them) locked up, and then it will not depend on the memory of servants. Every- place must be well littered with stubble, straw, or fern, and it is to be remembered that omitting this attention will be just so much mischief to every crop on the farm, in the article of manure. At this season, a farmer who has weaned any of his calves, should observe that they be well and regularly attended. They should have a small yard with sheds to themselves, and have their bellies full of the refuse leaves of the cabbages given to the milch cows, with whole ones, if these are not sufficient. Carrots are also of admirable use. Young cattle should be kept well, otherwise they will come to a very poor size. Their dry meat should be good cut chalf. THE DAIRY. This branch of the farmer's business must ne- cessarily depend so much on his wife, if he has one who understands it, or on his dairy -maid, if his wife is ignorant, that his own share can be rarely more than a general superintendance, to see that every thing is clean, and that produd^s and prices do MARCH.] THE TEAMS. 15^ do not manifest neglcdl. The minutiae of the dairy concerns would till a volume, and, after all, would not probably be useful to any extent. Here and there a hint may be dropped, to bring certain points to his recolledlion ; but all will at last de- pend on the pradlice and skill of the operator. FATTING BEASTS. Much attention should be paid to the stall or yard -fed beasts, in food, water, and litter. The young farmer will do well to weigh them, once a fortnight at least, before feeding in the morning, as this will tell much better than can be guessed by any one, except a most experienced hand, the degree in which they are thriving. If they do not keep advancing etpially to preceding weighings, their food should be changed or varied. THE TEAMS. A diligent farmer will now see that his horses and oxen perform a good day's work. In sowing time, he should not let them work less than nine or ten hours ; but this he will not be able to efFe<^, if the ploughmen have to take care of their horses. It is best to have horse -keepers, for the mere at- tendance of the teams, so that the men who hold the ploughs may have nothing to do but the mere ploughing. Let the horse-keeper have the horses fed and harnessed ready for the ploughman, to be ' in the field by six o'clock. At eleven they should come home for an hour and a half to dine and bait, during which time the horse-keeper is in attend- ance again. At half an hour after twelve, they should l60 WATfiil-^URROW'INC?. ^MARCrf should go out again, and work till half an hour after five, when the horse -keeper should again take the teams. By this method a pair of horses, in a well-made plough, will, without any driver, plouglv an acre and a quarter, or half^ very easily ; and no^ objedl is more important, than the ploughs doin good days work in the spring of the year. The consequence especially, of making the most of dry weather in March, is extremely great. One acre ploughed and sowed then may be fairly worth two that are left till the beginning of May. From lone observation of tlie value of dry seasons for tillage in this month, must arise the old proverb of — . / peck of March dust is luorik a king's ransom. HORSES ON CARROTS. This is a month in which carrots are in full per > fedlion ; they have now evaporated much of their moisture, and easily bend in the hand, being as it were withered. Then every ounce is nourishment, and they are fully as hearty as oats ; insomuch, that horses that have had a month's carrots will refuse oats. To provide this root in ample quantity, for February, March, and April, is an objcd that ought never to be omitted. WATER-FURROWING. In all new sown or ploughed lands, as soon as a field is finished, let the ploughs, before they leave it, strike the water-furrows, and send in men di- rectly with spades to scowcr them, that is, throw out the molds. In all lands, sown with clover or grasses among the corn, these furrows should be dug I i MARCH.] POULTRY. l6l dug a spit deep, and the molds thrown carefully out. Many farmers are not attentive enough to this point. They only scour the furrows ; but they should consider how long the grass is on the ground, which may be two or three winters, con- sequently it must be very material to the crop to lie dry all that time, which scouring alone will not efFe6l. POULTRY. Much attention is necessary to all sorts of poul- try this month ; and as it is the first time of the subjecSl. being mentioned, it will be necessary to ofier a few observations on the system which a young farmer may adopt with relation to this arti- cle of live-stock, if, in the common way, he keeps but a few of each sort, that take their chance at the barn-door, for the convenience of eggs, and not to go to market when a fowl is wanted, no par- ticular attention is requisite ; but as, in some situa- tions, they may pay well for more food and closer attention, it will be proper to bring a few circum- stances to recolledlion. The poultry-house should contain an apartment for the general stock to roost in, another for setting, a third for fattening, and a fourth for food. If the scale is large, there should be a fifth, for plucking and keeping feathers. If a woman is kept purposely to attend them, she, should have her cottage contiguous, that the smoke of her chimney may play into the roosting and setting rooms ; poultry never thriving so well as in warmth and smoke ; an observation as old as Co- M lumella. I 161 WATERED MEADOWS. [mARCH. lumella, and strongly confirmed by the quantity bred in the smoky cabbins of Ireland. For setting both turkies and hens, nests should be made in lockers, that have lids with hinges, to confine the if necessary, or two or three will, in setting, cro into the same nest. All must have access to gravelled yard, and to grass for range, and the building should be near the farm-yard, and have water near and clear. Great attention should be paid to cleanliness and white-washing, not for ap- pearance, but to destroy vermin. Boiled potatoes are the cheapest food ; and of corn, buck-wheat. Turkies, while young, demand incessant attention, and must be fed with allum-curd and chopped onions, for which purpose, store of those roots should be kept where they will shoot out and pro- duce much food. If there be not much success in broods, and a certain high price, they will not answer, for the ex pence s are heavy. WATERED MEADOWS. At the beginning of this month the crop of grass on the old floated meadows will generally be sufii- cient, Mr. Wright remarks, to aflbrd an abundant pasturage to any kind of farming stock, and the water must be taken off for nearly a week, that the land may become dry and firm before the heavy cattle are admitted. It is proper, in the first week of eating ofF the spring feed, if the season be cold or rainy, to give the cattle a little hay in the even- ing to intermix, with their moist food. But the grand application of the young meadow-grass is, for i MARCH.] MANURE GREEN WHEATS. ] 63 for ewes and lambs, and attention should always be paid to hurdling off the grass, and giving stripes across the meadow, exadlly in the way that turnips are hurdled for sheep. The caution o{ Mr. Bos- well, never to feed on these meadows any heavier stock, in spring, than sheep and calves, seems to be judicious, but will, however, depend much on soil, for, upon a sound gravel, a practice may be admitted which would be mischievous on a peat meadow. DESTROY MOLES. This is one of the principal months for destroy- ing this species of vermin, as they run more now and in April, than at any other time. Mole- catchers who do not keep farms clear by an annual contract, but are paid by the head, are too apt to negledl their business when their attention is of most consequence. MANURE GREEN WtlEATS. February, March, and April, arc the months for sowing top-dressings on the young wheats. There jire a variety of articles which answer for this pur- pose, of which Mr. Farey gives a detail, as used in the vicinity of Dunstable, &c. 1. Soot, from coals, is bought in London at 7d. togd. per bushel, struck. The measure of London soot is very deficient, viz. about four-fifths of Win- chester, which makes the price Qd. to lid. per Winchester bushel, struck. It is brought from London to the lands, and there deposited in a heap (which is their pradice also with the other light M 2 dress- l64 MANURE GREEN WHEATS. [mARCH. dressings), at 3d. per bushel. From these heaps a common seed-scuttle is filled, and a man walking the length of the lands, sows the soot in the sani manner as corn is sown. The expence of sowing is a halfpenny per bushel. The quantity used per statute acre, is from twenty to forty Winchester bushels. In general thirty bushels are used for a complete dressing ; ?*. e. when dung, or some other manure, has not been previously applied to the same crop, which is very frequently their pra6lice, and the quantity of top-dressing is then diminished to about one-half of a complete dressing. Of soot, a complete dressing as above, costs 30s. to 36s. pi acre. Soot is found to answer best on wheat in April. It likewise succeeds on pease or clover, in the same month, and has a good efFedl sown witJ. barley in the beginning of April, and harrowed in, A slight dressing of soot is used at any time in the spring, when grubs or worms appear to injure the young corn. The worms frequently make great havock here, by drawing the blades of young corn after them into their holes : this, soot prevents best. Soot thinly distributed on newly-sown tur- nips, just before they come up, prevents the fly or grub from injuring them, provided no rain falls to wash it into the soil. Soot answers best on light dry chalk soils, and in moderately wet seasons. It does little good on strong or wet land, or in very dry seasons, unless sown earlier than usual. The London soot from coals is rarely bought unmixc;! with cork- dust, coal-ashes^ or sweepings of th streets ; MARCH,] MANURE GREEN WHEATS. l66 streets ; yet even in this adulterated state, it is I found to answer much better than real country soot I from wood. 2. Coal-ashes cost in London from 6s. to 14s. per waggon-load (narrow wheels and four horses), the price depending on the business doing I in the brick-fields near town, in which considerable quantities of aslies are used. Carriage included, they cost on the land about 5fd. per bushel. Coal- ashes are bought in small quantities in the neigh- bourhood at 4d. per bushel, and colledled to the land at about id. per bushel. They are distri^ buted on the land with a shovel, from a cart or wheel-barrow moved along the land. Another, and perhaps the preferable mode, is sowing them by hand. The former way costs 12d. per waggon- load, the latter 18d. Coal -ashes are used from 50 to 6o bushels per statute acre for a complete dressing, which amounts from 23s. to 26s. per acre ; they succeed well, sown on clover in March or April, on dry chalk lands ; and also do much good to sward, applied during any part of the win,- ter or spring. They are never used on wheat. In very dry seasons coal-ashes do little good : tne}, as well as most other of these dressings on light land, require rain after being sown, to set them to work=^. 3. Peat-ashes, brought from the neighbour- hood of Flitwick on asses, are delivered on the land * In 1790, Mr. pann procured from London the finely-sifted coal-ashes, which are sold there, and spread them, 45 bttshels per acre, on clover and sainfoin, and the benefit was very trifling j m3 but l66 MANURE GREEN WHEATS. [mARCH. land at 4jd. per bushel, struck ; being distributed in the same way, -and at the same expence as the last article. Forty bushels per acre is a comph dressing, and costs about 1 6s. Peat-ashes succe well, used at the same time, and on the same crc as the last article, except that they apply it ca wheat in April, with good effedt. Peat-ashes^ greatly improve dry chalk soils, but will do little good on wet land, or cold sward, or on hot sandy, lands. This, like most other of their dressings, is little affected by the season, provided wet falls sooa «fter it is laid on the land. 4. Peat-dust costs the same as the ashes, nnd is sowed in the same manner and quantities. It answers equally well, and in every way the same as the ashes. Peat-dust is esteemed the best pos- sible dressing for an on ion -bed in a garden, and is not found to promote weeds more than other dress- ings. It has great effc6l on thistles, which it is scattered upon, causing them to wither, as if scorched ; but they generally recover, unless the dust be repeated. The occupiers of the chalk- lands in this neighbourhood are under considerable apprehensions for the loss of the valuable peat manures, by the proposed drainage of Prisles Moors, intelligence of which has reached them already. 5. Folding is used as a top-dressing, and on but the ashes from Chntham Unrrncks (not kept under cover), and not finely sittcd, have improved those crops to the amount of a load of hay superiority per acre. " The cinder, therefore," says Mr. Dann, " is better than the ash." these. MARCH.] MANURE GREEN WHEATS. I67 these, as on most other soils, answers to good purpose : it succeeds best on dry land. Its effect on these light soils is not entirely attributed to the sheep's dung, but in a great degree to the stiff- ness the land acquires by the treading, which is here found so very beneficial, that they frequently lead the plough-horses a-breast up and down the lands several times after sowing wheat, or other grain, to tread it. MANURES TURNED. IN. 1. Furriers* clippings ^ which arc bought in Lon- don at 12s. to 13s. per quarter (being a ten bushel- sack crammed full) weighing about 2^ cwt. The carriage to the lands costs 3d. per quarter. They are sown by hand from the seed-scuttle, at about 3d. per quarter, on the land intended to be sown with wheat or barley, and immediately ploughed in, after which the seed is sown and harrowed in, when such pieces of the clippings as are left above ground by the harrow, are pricked or shoved into the ground, by the end of a stick, to prevent their being devoured by dogs or crows, who seize them greedily. From two to three quarters are usually sown per statute acre. Clippings answer well on light dry chalk or gravelly soils, where they are supposed to hold moisture, and help the crop greatly in dry seasons. They have but little efFedl on wet soils. 2. Horn-s havings, which are of two sorts, small, or turners, and large, which consists of re- fuse pieces of horn. The small are bought in m4 London l68 MANURE GREEN WHEATS. [maRCH. London in the same way, and generally at the same prices as the last article. The large shavings cost about 2s. less per quarter. Horn-shavings are used in the same way and quantities as the last article, except that they want no pricking, and the large are generally ploughed into the land three months before sowing wheat or barley. Horn- shavings answer in most soils and seasons, except very dry ones, when they will not work. The small shavings are much the most useful. 3. Woollen rags cost in London from 3s. (3d. to 4s. 6d. per cvvt. : the carriage home Is. per cwt. In the country they arc bought at 4s. 6d. to 5s. and are colleded at about 2^d. per cvvt. The rags being generally in large pieces, are housed and chopped at the expcnce of 5d. or Od. per cwt. : the extra expence of housing and carting to the land is about 4d. per cwt. They are sown by hand, and ploughed in three months before sowing wheat or barley : the quantity used is six to ten cvvt. per statute-acre. Woollen rags, like furriers' clippings, hold moisture, and are adapted for dry, gravelly, and chalk soils, and succeed in dry seasons better than must manures, but they do little good on wet soils. London rag;> are found much better than thos. colledied in the country ; but the danger of catch- ing the small -pox in chopping and sowmg them, deters many farmers from their use. 4. Sheep's- trotters, and Fellmongers' cuttings, arc bought of the neighbouring fell mongers at about 6d. per bushel, heaped loose : carriage to the land MARCH.] MANURE GREExNT WHEATS. 1 6^ lnud is about 2^d. per bushel. They are used in the same way as furriers' clippings, from 2.0 to 40 bushels per acre, and need pricking in, as dogs and crows are very fond of them. They do not answer on wet land, or in very dry seasons : indeed no- thing does succeed in excessive dry seasons on these soils. The trotters contain a considerable quantity of lime, and are often adulterated with sand, and sometimes considerable qiumtities of oak saw-dust are mixed with them, which has been found not to injure them. 5. Malt-dust costs at the neighbouring malt- houses Is. per bushel heaped, and about a half- penny per bushel carriage to the land. It is sown hy hand, from 24 to 32 bushels per acre, at the same time with barley, and harrowed in with the seed. It suits most soils aud seasons. Malt-dust <]uickly spends itself, and is therefore never sown with wheat : as a top-dressing to wheat in March, about 30 bushels per acre, it probably would suc- ceed on these soils. Black malt-dust, gr suCh as falls through the kiln -plate in drying, is greatly- preferred to the white, on account of the seeds of charlock (sinapis arveiisis) with which it abounds being destroyed by the heat. These chalk-lands, under their present management, produce such abundance of charlock, that they are generally obliged to mow off the heads and flowers about the middle of June, to prevent its entirely smothering the corn. Charlock-seed so abounds with oil, that it will lay for any length of time in the earth with- out 3/0 ALDEB, ' [march, out vegetating.; which, however, it never fails to do, when brought near enough to the surface by the plough. Pigeons are supposed to pick up con- siderable quantities of charlock-seed after land has l>een ploughed. These lands are very subject to be over- run with black grass (alopecurus agrestisjy. which is said to impoverish it much. , 0. Pigeons'* -dung costs Is. per bushel heaped, and about a halfpenny j)er bushel bringing to the land : it is used as malt-dust, and does good in any soil or season. 7. Soap' boilers^ ashes, or wood-ashes from which ley has been made, is to be had (in small quantities only) at 6d. per bushel hea{)ed, and costs about Jd. carriage: the effecSl of these on cold sw^ard is very great. 8. Hogs-hair, which is sometimes to be had in London at about Qs. per quarter (the same quantity as furriers' clippings), and carriage 3d. applied in the same manner with clippings, answers well. Seal-hair, rabbits'' -dung, and lime, have been tried upon these soils, and found ^to answer no good purpose. ALDER. If a farmer has an alder-car on his farm, or stubs of tlicm Sy a river, he should be attentive to cut them when the bark will peel, .-md immediately soak them two months in a pond. This hardens the wood to such a degree as to improve it greatly *. * Annals, vol. ix. p. 485. It MARCH.] PARING AND BURNING. 17 1 It. merits experiment, to ascertain whether the effe 6 1 -j or, per acre, 1 8 2 quantity of stones, J [ J Ditto, from that where ^ f j the stones were ga- > 6 O < ditto, J 7 2 O thcredofF, - - J [ J Ditto, from that in its ] q . f ^Uto, 1; 3 1^ natural state, - - J \ J " From this single experiment the result is in favour of the largest quantity of stones; and I ve- rily believe it is quite wrong, after the sheep have * This result coincides with various observations that have been made in several of our counties, particulariy Hertfordshire, and also in France. The lesson it suggests deserves no slight at- tention. — ui. Y, trod 1S8 SEED OATS. [march, trod out a great quantity of stones^ in feeding ol turnips, to have them raked up clean, which I hav known some farmers do, nor can the rake be usee without taking some of the tathe, or dung, withi them." FEED NEW LAYS. Land laid down last August, or the precednig spring with corn, should not have had a hoof in them through all the last autumn and winter. They will now present to the eye a beautiful fleece of young grass, of much value for sheep, and they are to be well stocked and kept down at pre- sent, and through all the following summer, by this stock only. Nothing is more pernicious than mowing a new lay, as directed by certain authors. They may have succeeded in spite of such bad ma- nagement, but never bi/ it. SEED OATS. Mr. Walker, near Belvoir Castle, Lincolnshire, sows eight bushels of oats per acre, and finds the crop much better, and the sample more equal than with less seed : the oats are less taili/, no tillers to give different degrees of ripeness, and the crop ready to cut four or five days sooner than with thinner sowing. Mr. Ducket is of the same opi- nion, and holds no idea cheaper than that of re- commending the drill husbandry as saving seed : he drills five bushels of oats per acre. APRIL, ( 189 ) APRIL. BARLEY. THE barley crops not sown in March, should be In the ground by the middle of this month. The land I suppose to lie as thrown up in the autumn before ; so that whenever sown, it is (on the old ploughing system) on the spring earth. This sup- position is necessary ; because, if there had been previous ploughings in March, or in the end of February, the seed should have been sown then ; excepting, however, turnip-land, that broke up at first too rough to be sown, which will sometimes happen. The farmers, in some parts of the king- dom, will put off their sowing till the last week in this month, and the first or second of May, for the sake of gaining time for giving three spring earths; but they lose more by far from late sowing, than they gain bv making their land fine. If clover is a principal obje6l, and they had not the land fine enough before, delays must be made ; but if so, that can scarcely be owing to any thing but bad husbandry : for such events should be had in view, and the tillage given before winter, on lands not cropped with plants that stand till the spring. The utmost exertions of good husbandry should be made to reconcile jarring circumstances, when they cannot be totally prevented. But igO PEASE. ["aPRII.. But in the modern system of avoiding sprini ploLighings, with a care proportioned to the heavi- ness of the soil, the main reliance is on frosts for pulverization, and the objecl is to keep the surface so gained, for the seed to be deposited in it. If the weather was unfavourable for sowing in March, or, being favourable, the breadth was too great to allow the operation to be finished, and if weeds appeared in the lands laid up for barley, it is to b. supposed that they were of course destroyed by th- scufBers ; and this month the sowing must b linishcd, whether broad-cast or by drilling. In tL latter case, the dire6lions relative to the rigli breadth of the stitches should have been very al tentively executed. The young farmer must have it carefully in memory, that as the summer ap- proaches, with hot suns at intervals, any degrc of poaching, or daubing or trampling, become more and more fatal, for the sun binds whatever earth was touched in too wet a state. This cau- tion has little to do with the occupiers of sand, much of which wants adhesion to be given it bv art ; but here, again, if such land has been amp]\ clayed, it will sometimes be apt to set, to bind witii heavy rains, so that the temper of it should always be examined before the teams at this season are permitted to go on it. PEASE, Should always be put in before this season, an(i therefore directions are omitted here ; but if, from some peculiar circumstances^ the farmer wishes now APRIL.] BUCK-WHEAT. l^l now to SOW a field, I need only remark, that they may still he sown, with the expe61ation of a fall crop ; hut it may prove too late to have good tur- nips after them. WHITE OATS. It is the custom in Hertfordshire to sow barley before white oats. Wherever such maxims pre- vail, this will be the principal month for sowing oatSe All the precautions that hav€ been given with respedl to barley, are equally applicable to this crop. BUCK-WHEAT. The lands designed for buck-wheat, in Alay or in June, should be well tilled this month, ploughed and harrowed well at least once. It is not neces- sary for that grahi, but for the grasses which should be sown with it, and for the important obje6l of making all the seed-weeds grow, in order to kill them by the following tillage. This April preparation marks the land for buck-wheat. I shall therefore take this opportunity to advise the farmers in general to try this crop. Nineteen parishes out of twenty, through the kingdom, know it only by name. It has numerous excellen- cies, perhaps as many to good farmers, as any other grain or pulse in use. It is of an enriching nature, having the quality of preparing for wheat, or any other crop. One bushel sows an acre of land well, which is but a fourth of the expence of seed barley. It should not be sown till the end of May. This is important, for it gives time in the spring to kill all 192 LETTUCES POU U0G5. [aPRIL. all the seed-weeds in the ground, and brings no disagreeable necessity from bad weather in March or April, to sow barley, &c. so late as to hazard the crop. It is as valuable as barley. Where it is known, it sells at the same price, and, for fatting hogs and poultry, it equals it. It is, further, the best of all crops for sowing grass-seeds with, giving them the same shelter as barley or oats, without robbing. BEANS FOR EATING GREEN. If Windsor -beans are cultivated with this inten- tion, a portion of land should now be planted with them. LETTUCES FOR HOGS. If the stock of swine be large, it is pro[)er to tlrill half an acre or an acre of lettuce this month. The land should have been well manured and ploughed before tlic Christmas frosts, into stitches of the size that suits the drill-machine. It should also have been scuffled in February, and again iu March, and well harrowed ; and this repeated be- fore drilling. The rows should be equi-distant, one foot asunder. The crop which was drilled in March (a suc- cession being essentially necessary) should now be thinned in the rows, by hand,, to about nine or ten inches asunder. If this necessary attention be ne- gledcd, the plants draw themselves up weak and poor, and will not recover it. Women do this business as well as men. When about six inches high, they should be horse-hoed with a scarifier I or APKIL.] SPRING WHEAT. l^S or scufflcr, with the hoe about four inches, or at most five, wide. SPRING TARES. If the young farmer depends in any degree upon a succession of tares, he ought to have two sowings, one at the beginning ^nd the other towards thO end of ApriL To have these crops to follow one another in consumption, is a very material objedl. Two bushels and an half of seed per acre are a pro- per quantity. SPRING WHEAT. I cannot in general recommend the culture of this grain, for barley or oats commonly pay better, but as certain circumstances may render it very profitable, it is proper for every farmer to have the obje6l in liis mind. Mr. Marshall h^s a useful minute on it. " Spring wheat (triticum o'stivum) is here culti- vated, and with singular success ; owing principally to the time of sowing : the wane of April ! '^ This proves that it is a species widely distin^l in its nature from the winter wheats. In the prac- tice of a superior manager (Mr. Paget, of Ibstock), it was discovered, that by sowing early, as the be- ginning of March, the grain was liable to be shrivelled, and the straw to be blighted, while thgt sown late, as the middle of latter end of April, or even the beginning of May, produced clean plumo corn ; effeds diredly opposite to those of winter wheat.'* O STEEPING 104 ^lADDEK. [april. STEEPING SPRING CORN SEED. In case of an unfavourable season, by reason of a drougbt to an uncommon degree, it should be recolleiftcd, that steeping barley and oats, &c. has been tried with success. It is a practice rarely ne- cessary, and mentioned here only as a hint, whic^ a farmer may apply now and then to advantage. MADDER. This is the principal season for planting madder. I suppose the deep tillage to have been performed in Oclober, and the land to have been thoroughly Water-furrowed. Early in this month it should be ploughed again, and harrowed fine ; and towards the latter end of it another earth should be givet; and the land harrowed again. It is then in order for being planted. Great attention must, however, be paid to tli: tillage being all given in dry weather. If the soil is moist, or apt to bind, scarifying and scuffing w^ill be superior to ploughing. The sets are to be slipped from an old planta- tion. When they are about two inches above the ground is the proper size, and they should b( slipped off as much below the surface as possible, because they will then have the better ciiance of growing ; and as fast as they are taken up, they arc to be thrown into tubs of water. Other hands are to be employed in planting ; in which work thi cultivator of this crop must be ruled by the me- thod of disposing the beds. That which was prac- tised Avhcn (more than 30 years ago) the Society offered /^ F' RIL.] MADDER. lg5 bred premiums, is equally-distant rows, two feet aider, the land flat. If, for laying the land dry :!i winter, ridge-work is preferred, only one row, three feet, can be set on each. On foui'-feet Iges, two rows at nine inches or one foot may planted. The planting should be performed th care. Women or children should drop the s, and men follow to plant them. In this month 2ve can be no danger of their not growing, espe- lly if the land is in as good tilth as it ought. Watering will scarcely ever be necessary. Let the young farmer, however, remember, that the culture of these plants, applicable only to the use of manufadlures, and which are also largely im- 'Iported from abroad, is rarely advisable. I was a madder planter once, and lost by every acre I Iplanted. A man may plant in the moment of a ^h price, and take up his crop, three years after, a low one. All such speculations are too hazard- ^ ; nor w^as there even a fair, open competition ong the purchasers. Those who have cultivated madder with the xess boasted by the writers of husbandry, should t hold these observations in contempt. There )ears to me almost as much use in mentioning 'Is that were unsuccessful, as in those that are r so profitable : for it is certainly of as much isequence to tell one man that his soil will not for madder, as to assure another that his tvill Instead of an acre or two, I might possibly ve launched (like many others) into 10 or 15 o 2 acres.. JqG madder. [afhii. acres, in which case the loss would have been n-^ trifle. And it surely is highly incumbent on every one, to make known to the world such of his ex- perience as will probably be of any use to it. Bad success of several persons in a culture, is too apt to prejudice others in general against it. Ho\ ever irrational, still it is so, and it ought to be a caution not to recommend any thing in general, imder the extravagant notion, that because an arti- cle of culture is profitable on one soi!^ it must bc- the same on very different ones. But the grand obstacle to -the culture of madder, is the difnculty of sale : for while a man has not a fair market for his unmanufa6lured madder, none can with any prudence engage in it, unless on so large a scale as to admit the whole apparatus of reducing it to such a state, as to be absolutely a marketable commodity. In answer to this, it may be said, that madder really dry is a marhetahle commodii But this matters not, if the purchaser has it in li..- power to be a knave : he has a pretence, a screen always at hand, that Will cloak the greatest knavery, and to a degree known in no other branch of agri culture. Among the gentlemen of trade who ha\ a mutual understanding and confidence, such ol jeclions a])pear trivial ; but to the cultivator, at distance from the market, it is a different affai He writes to a madder-merchant to know the pri( < Tl^ ansvi^er is, four pounds an hundred weight, \ he sends his madder, and instead of 4 1. receivL but 3l. not from a variation in price, but in weigL I. PllIL.J MADDER. 1()7 may be said, that the correspondent In London lay be in the right. Very true; but will the )untryman beHeve it? He thinks himself right, .aid has no other proof that he is not so, but the iiterested assertion of the man who buys it. Is it ot evident, that in such a case the cultivator will v! disgusted, and throw aside a business in which .^. knows neither the market weight nor the mar- ct price. If encouragement is designed to this dture from any quarter, it should not be exclusive t* this circumstance : manufa^lories should be ecSled and established, in which the madder could e prepared for any one at so much an hundred 'ight, and that by persons not the least concerned I purchasing. Then the cultivator would have a HDmodity in his hands which he could sell in as inple and fair a way as any other. If nothing r this sort can be efFeded, all encouragement iould be for such a number of acres (and no >s) as will answer the expence of a private manu- (^ure, which would prevent persons being un- aardedly drawn in, by premiums apparently con- ,-jclerable, to cultivate a root which, when raised, is HI its sale absolutely at the mercy of the purchaser, I am informed, that at present (1803) the largest quantity pf madder used in our manufactures, is . [APRIL, same day, or his little one, wliose stock took the same chance through the means of a confidential drover. The man who thus drops in a lot, out of the regular course of his business, is rarely satis- fied with the treatment he receives. There must be a great deal of truth in this remark, because it has been made to me from so many different quar- ters, and I have suffered in this way myself. Let the young grazier, therefore, consider the circumstance well, try the country butchers, and feel his way through the difficulty, if his farm be of that size, and in that situation,, which lays him open to its influence. The possession of an en- gine for weighing beasts alive v^ill be extremely valuable to him ; for, by comparing the live with the dead weight, when the beasts are killed in the country, he will soon be convinced of the truth of the many comparative accounts of live and dead weight, which are published in the Annals of Agriculture, and from which he will be able to ascertain correc'^ly the dead weight of any common sized bullock of which he knows the live weight. He may also compare the result when the live weight is taken from Kenton's measurement. As to sheep, calves, and hogs, weighing is done with the utmost ease ; for a cage with a door at each end, and a large pair of steelyards, form the whole appa- ratus necessary. He should never fatten any ani- mal whatever, without regular weighings, by which means he knows how his stock (whatever it may be) thrives, what changes it is requisite to make in their food^ APRIL.] COWS. 211 food, and when to sell, i£ markets suit. All these are very nriaterial pohits, and he will have much satisfadlion in being at any time able to ascertain them. Old and very experienced graziers can do without these helps, but they often suffer for want of them. To young ones they are essential. But let a grazier be as experienced as he may in buying and selling, and judging by the hand and eye, the butcher will beat him, from having been able to bring the live to the test of the dead weight, in such a variety of cases, that his knowledge is per- fedl. The grazier cannot equal him, but his nearest approximation will be by means of carefully weigh- ing. COWS. It is no great objeft to a good farmer to get his cows out of the farm-yard this month, if he has a provision of ruta baga and chaff, as he ought. He must be very amply provided with grasses, indeed, to do it to good purpose, as his flock of sheep must be the first objedl for spring food. Besides, the raising of great quantities of manure in the farm-yard, is so important an obje6l, that he should keep it in sight as long as possible. Turning out any cattle, before there is a good bite for them, is unprofitable ; for a field so begun will not last proportionably with another of a proper growth. The milch cows should have their bellies full of roots and cut straw throughout this month, and be always kept well littered both in the yard and in the house. P 2 HOKSES. 2\1 HOGS. [apeii,; HORSES. The horses ought to be kept m the stable throughout this month, and to have plenty of lit- ter, that they may continue to raise much dung. This is so busy a time, that a close eye should be had to the work that the teams perform, as one day now is worth two by-and-by. The diredlions laid down for last month, on that head, are to be fol- lowed still. FEED TEAMS ON CARROTS. Throughout this month the teams should depend on carrols, which are now in that dry withered state, in which their use is incomparably valuable. They are more hearty and nourishing to horses than any other food. Each horse may have two bushels a day, which will be about the quantity they would eat were there no limitation of allow- ance. OXEN. The ox teams being kept to pretty sharp work at this season, should be well fed with good hay, straw, cut chaff, and a daily allowance of roots. If they are large beasts, they should have fifty pounds 6f cabbages each, every day. This is a use, among many others, that will be found to shew the great consequence of having plenty of roots. HOGS. The fattening swine, sows, pigs, and lean bogs, require good attendance. There being nothing yet for theni in the fields, they must be kept close to the larm-yards, where the threshers (who should be APRIL.] EREADTH-PLANTED. 213 be kept at work quite through this month) will partly supply them with food, and the wash cisterns and winter stores of carrots, parsnips, potatoes^ &:c. will keep them in good heart. POTATOES. In the latter end of this month, the land to be planted early with potatoes should all be hand-hoed over the whole surface, to cat up weeds clean, and loosen the earth. This management is known only in the neighbourhood of London, but it should be extended over the whole kingdom, for the excel- lence of it is indisputable. The expence of hoe- ing, when there is a clear space to cut, is trifling, and the succeeding cleaning which the potatoes re- ceive after they are up, is performed at a much less expence on account of this operation, and at the same time in a more efFediual manner. But the cheapest and most efFedlive method of performing this necessary operation is by a large shim, which cuts three or four feet of surface. For this purpose, there should be a small broad wheel at each end of the beam, to regulate the depth. The work is confined to the surface, the intention of it being merely to cut up weeds and to loosen the earth, which rain and succeeding sun- shine may have encrusted. The operation is of great importance, and will lessen the expence of the following hoeings. BREADTH-PLANTED. Before a farmer determines what breadth or number of acres he will plant with potatoes, he p 3 should 214 PLANT POTATOES. [aprii should consider several circumstances ; as the num- ber of acres of carrots he has sown ; for if his soil be suitable to that crop, they are greatly to be preferred to this root, being cheaper, not requir- ing dung, and being applicable to all the uses to which potatoes are applicable. They do not at all impoverish the land, whereas potatoes scourge it, if the expression be permitted, more than any other crop the farmer puts in. These are very material motives to influence a preference. But if the soil will not suit carrots, then it will be necessary to plant so much the more potatoes. The same ob- servation may be applied to cabbages, which also, in a great measure, answer the purposes of pota- toes. If he deals largely in that crop, it lessens the necessity of having this root ; and ruta baga is as useful to hogs as the potatoe itself; but being far more uncertain, and the difficulty of securing a crop of it being greater, it cannot be depended on, like potatoes. The fly and drought, &c. are so fatal to it, that many farmers in Norfolk have sowed in vain for several years together. PLANT rOTATOES. The end of April is the best season for planting potatoes, but it ought to be regulated by th iinishing of other work, because this should be the last of the great spring operations of planting or sowing. When all others are done, then is the time to begin this. It will, some years, be in May : and I know several potatoe planters of grcsi,t experience, and on an extensive scale, that prefer APRIL.] POTATOE CUTTIXGJr. 21 J prefer May to April for this work. That opinion, however, is far from general. POTATOE CUITINGS. The first operation is that of cutting ; slicing off the eyes of the potatoes, in which a good deal of attention is to be used ; first, chasing from the po- tatoe heap only large and fair roots, rejecting all small ones, which should be thrown by for hogs, &c. There should be but one eye to a slice, but rather than have the slice a very small bit, two may be left in it, for sizeable slices are better, es- pecially if a drought succeed, than small ones, as the plant in this, as well as in many other cases, in its first germination derives its nourishment, from the set. Tliese attentions are not stated as essential points, but as circumstances which will, in certain cases, have a degree of influence, which render them worth some portion of thought ; and, in the long run, he who attends closely to every part of the business, and to all minutiae, will on the average of soils, seasons, and manuring, get the best crops. Some planters, wlio value them-- selves much on their skill in this culture, prefer having the cuttings ready some time before plant- ing, as they think a moderate keeping in that state beneficial. This point does not seem to be at all 'essential. In the scarcity, scoops, for scooping out the eyes in semi-globular cuttings were brought into use, to save the fleshy remains of the potatoes for common consumption. This pradice was p 4 mucH 2lO SORTS OF POTATOES. [aPRIl. much condemned by some planters, and eqiia!' approved by others. From some experiments carefully made, the. result of which I am well ac- quainted with, it appeared that these contradictory opinions might both be just, when founded on va- riations in pradice. When the soil is sandy, or in a very light pulverized, or highly manured state, and every other requisite for success beneficially secured, these scooped cuttings succeeded just as well as larger sets ; but when the soil was more stiff, unfavourable, in worse tilth, or not equally, manured, or the sets ploughed in, under circum- stances not very favourable, then the larger cuttings, had a considerable superiority. The propriety, therefore, on any future occasion, of having re- course to this expedient, will depend on the state of the land, the soil, the manuring, kc. If the cutting be done by the bushel, 2d. is a fair price, where women's labour is 8d. a day. SORTS OF POTATOES. They are endless, and fresh sorts coming every day into notice, till they give way to others in suc- cession. It would be easy to name many sorts, but quite useless. The ox-noble was, for somo years, the most productive for cattle and hogSj^ but I have known it to decline of late. It is,' however, still preferable for largeness of produ a little pigeons' dung may be sown with the seed, for it agrees admirably well with the flax : but this must not be done if the ground is very light and too dry. It will also be right to lay wet land out in beds thirty or forty feet wide, separated by deep trenches, to drain off the water, and convey it into the surrounding ditches. Most of our linseed is brought from the North. Linseed is reckoned good when it is large, oily, heavy, and of a bright brown colour. To know whether it be oily, a few grains of it are thrown into a red-hot tire-shovel, and they in that case crackle almost instantly, and blaze briskly. If it is suffi- ,.PRIL.] l-'tAX. 22/ sufficiently heavy, it will sink to the bottom of water ; and to judge whether it be new, a number of seeds exadlly counted should be sown on the end of a hot-bed, and notice taken wliether they all grow. When the goodness of the seed is known, more or less of it is to be sown, according as the husband- man intends either to raise a quantity of linseed for sowing, or to have very fine and soft flax. In this last case, tlie seed should be sown pretty thick, in order that the plants may rise the closer together, and by that means grow slender and tall, which adds much to the fineness of the fibres of the flax. 1( the linseed is sown with an intention to let the flax remain for seed, a much less quantity of it should be used, that so the plants may come up thin, and thereby have room to grovv^ to their full vigour and extent. Some sow, with their linseed, either annual or perennial grass-seeds, when they intend to lay the land down for pasture after the flax is taken off. The plants grow but weakly under the flax, which, however, they do not hurt ; but as soon as the flax has been pulled, they increase apace, to the great benefit of their owner. Flax is sometimes damaged by insedls, when it is about tlu'ee or four inches high. It is said that they may be destroyed by a slight strewing of soot, ashes. Sec. At all events, it is certain that this dressing will give vigour to the flax, though it should not kill the inseds. — DnhUn Societi/, Q 2 ^VATEREB 228 WATERED MEADOWS. [aPRIL. WATERED MEADOWS. Throughout this months if there are watered meadows on a farm, the use of them in supporting ewes and lambs is exceedingly great, but Mr. Wright is marked in his caution never to continue it longer, as it will greatly injure the quality of the succeeding crop of hay. Not, however, that there is any positive rule in feeding, as is evident from a case cited by that writer : " Having heard that tb proprietor of an old floated meadow at South Cerney had disposed of the produce of it, in the year 1795, in a way that was well calculated to ascertain its real value, I wrote to a person who resides on the spot, requesting him to send me a particular account of the product, and I received the following statement. In order to make the most of the spring feed, the proprietor kept the grass untouched till the id day of j4pril^ from which time he let it to the neighbouring farmers to he eateii off in Jive iveeks (which ran a iveek into May) by the undermentioned stock, at the fol- lowing rates per head : a sheep, lOd. per week; a cow, 3s. 6d. ; a colt, 4s. The quantity of the land is eight acres. 107 wether AV RIL.] POULTRY. 229 10/ wether sheep one week, 8 cows, do. 4 colts, di). For five v/eeks. Three colts added for three weeks, The hay crop was, as usual, about 15 tons, and was five weeks in growing. £.35 1 10 15 tons, suppose 50s, - - 37 10 O After-grass 15s. - - 6 - ^.4 9 ^ ~ 1 8 - 16 6 13 3 5 . 33 5 10 ek5. 1 16 8j35 1 10 Per acre. 4 7 8 8^78 11 10 Total per acre, £. g l6 5 '^ The 4l. 7s. 8d. was made at a time when ther grass-land is in a dormant state, or exhibits but feeble symptoms of vegetation. But the reader will perhaps see the advantages of this art in a still stronger light, when he is told that this meadow, which is now in the occupation of a miller, was a few years ago in the hands of a farmer, who, being at variance with the miller, was entirely deprived of the use of the water for a whole winter, which un- fortunately was succeeded by a very dry spring and summer ; of course the spring feed was lost ; and the whole hay crop of eight acres was only three tons." POULTRY. This is a very busy month with the poultry-maid, o 3 The 230 BUII/DING. [APRIL, The young broods, especially of turkies, demand such a careful and almost constant attention, that if they are numerous, the servant to whom tht are entrusted should have little else to do. Tl.i , circumstance renders it necessary either to breed i. large number, that the 0xpence may answer, or else to have no other than the common barn-door system. BUILDING. This is an article of rural economy which geu rally belongs to landlords or their stewards ; bin as a young faj'mer may possess his farm by pur- chase or inheritance, it is highly necessary tjiat he should be cautioned in certain points, wherein it probable he will have had no experience ; and the may be noted without any encroaciiment into tiic bounds of works properly archite61ural. If he en- tered to his farm at the more common season of Michaelmas, he could not begin any buildings that 'require the work of masonry til] April, but he should not longer delay it, for there is no point in building more necessary to be attended to, than ^ that of finishing, as early in summer as ])Ossible, J that all works in mortar may have much time to | dry before winter. If the house the farmer lives i in be a very bad one, or which wants alterations and J great repairs, it should be exceedingly well con- j sidered before they be undertaken, for thousands * have thrown away so nuich money by beginning too / soon, and without due reflection and foresight, that I shall suppose him to think steadily of -it in some winter month, and not till he has resided in it a year, APRIL.] BUILDING. 231 year, thoroughly to understand every convenience and inconvenience of the old one, before he thinks of going to work. But the farm-yard and offices, if they must be done, rank with other profitable improvements, that cannot (by those who have money ready) be done too soon. At present, I shall lay down such general observations on each office, and on their general connexion forming the farm- yard, as he may himself easily apply to his own particular case. 1. The threshing-mill. The most important ob- je6l, perhaps, which is answered by this machine, is that of saving barns, which are so very expensive in forming a new farm. I begin with it, as its posi- tion determines that of almost every other build- ing in the farmery. There is not the smallest doubt of the propriety or profit of having one of these machines fixed in the principal farm- yard. If the farm be large, and stacks con- sequently scattered over various fields of it, then it may be right to have a moveable one also ; but so many operations are wanting at home, that one should certainly be fixed. I have, in four plates, in the Annals of Agriculture, vol. xxxiii. p. 488, explained the relative position of the stacks to be built, on standings on wheels moving in a circular iron rail-way, so contrived that a very few horses (four sufficient for any common stack) will draw each stack to the mill. This contrivance is essen- tial, as it saves the whole expence of carting the G 4 corn. 231 BUILDING. ' [APRIL, corn, as well as the necessity of waiting for fine days to do it in ; and as the expcnce is moderate, I cannot suppose that any person will now go to the heavy charge of barns and capt-stone stand- ings, when less money will give him much greater conveniences. The circular form of the rail -way on which the stacks are* brought to the mill, is necessary, as being the only one which permits a choice of any particular stack to thresh, without waiting for all or many others being done, before it can be got at ; but a straight line leading to and past the mill is admissible, except for this circum-- stance, though inferior in some other points to the circular form. But whatever plan may be chosen, the mill should have the granary above it, to hoist up the corn as threshed. It must also have the chaff-house annexed^ as the power of the mill must cut into chaff all straw which is used in feeding cattle ; and as hay is used in this operation, mixed with the straw, this decides the position of at least some hay -stacks. Close to and connected to the mill, must be a shed on posts, roofed to draw one stack under, before the thatch is stripped, and from which the corn is delivered at once to the mill. It is turned (so much as is wanted for chaff) into a straw-room, and the rest replaced on the standing of the stack that was last cleared, and being stacked on it with some care, is ready to be drawn away in the circle for litter. This circumstance decides the position of the sheds for cattle and horses^ APRIL.] BUILDING. 233 horses, as they shoulcl be so placed as to be very near tbis litter. Thus situated, they demand hay also in their immediate vicinity, and as hay was also wanted for chaff, all the stacks should be within the circle. Thus far every thing is connected, and eacii building so placed, that it cannot be supposed in any other place, without a manifest inconveni- ence following. If milcii cows be in the circle, which they ought to be, tbis article demands another combination of the dairy and the pi^irgery, which jDust also be conne6lcd, but at a due distance from each oti^.cr. I have, in the plans above alluded to, supposed the circle of cattle and team sheds to open on the outer side, to bring in the cattle, and to void the dung into a circular repository that sur- rounds all the sheds. A late writer has disapproved of this, and proposed to have the sheds to open •within the circle ; but this I conceive to be very erroneous. The beasts must for this purpose be reversed ; their heads to the outside, and the dung voided within the circle. This completely deranges the whole design, and converts much convenience into a most inconvenient arrangement. The chaff, hay, 6cc. must be conveyed ivithout the circle to the heads of the beasts, by a long walk, instead of the nearest line ; the dung must be within the area, cutting off all connexion with it ; dirt and litter will be found v;here cleanliness should prevail ; and nothing gained in return but a little better shelter, supposing the sheds to be open ; but as the con- trary is supposed, this objedl would not be varied ; so 234 BCILDING. [aPKIL. SO that I must adhere to the original proposal, as very much superior in convenience to the alteration thus indicated. Farm-yards, &c. have heen exe- cuted by the great at an immense expence, which are not to be compared to this circular system, which might be executed for one-tenth of the cost : and let the young farmer remember, that the com- bination for convenience is as applicable to the roughest and cheapest mode of execution, as it is to works of brick and slate, and ornament. Fir- posts, with a covering of stubble or fern, may be thus disposed, as well as columns of stone and mangers of copper. The dairy should be situated within a certain reach of that part of the circular shed assigned to the cows, suppose 30 yards, and a slight foot-bridge thrown over the dung-pit, from the centre of the cow-standings. In contriving the dairy, there are a few points v*^hich should be attended to. The en- trance into the milk-room should be through the scalding-house, and the copper for heating water, &c. should be in a shed without the scalding-house, that the heat may be as far as possible from the milk. The boiling water should pass by a cock in the bottom of the copper, through a trough or pipe, across the scalding-house (another cock being there in the pipe for washing smaller imple- ments) through the wall into the milk leads, that "whenever the dairy is free from milk, &c. or with- out being free in winter, the water may pass at once through the whole system of leads or trays, and APRIL.] BUILDING.' 235 and be kept vStanding at pleasure in any of them, which is the most efFe6\ive way of scalding, an4 having made the tour of all^ may pass out to a drain. The immediate passage of the water through the wall of the dairy, should be in a trough large enough to receive securely a pail of milk emptied by it, that all from the cows may ;'un at once through a hair sieve in this trough into as many trays as are requisite to receive it. This prevents all ingress to the dairy by dirty men and boys who may bring pails of milk to it. The dairy itself may be circular, and, if ex pence is iiot regarded, a fountain of water may play in summer in the centre of it, the water falling in a circular ^>/, surrounded by a clean gutter to convey it away. This, however, is mentioned as a hint for expensive dairies, and not by any means as necessary. The establishment of a piggery demands even more attention than that of a dairy, combining as it does with more objedts. This must be in a circle, or it ^nust fail in convenience. In the centre, the boiling or steaming-house, with a granary for corn, meal, bran, &c. a range of cisterns in divisions around it, for receiving immediately from the copper or steam apparatus, and also by tubes from the gra- nary ; around these a path, then the fence, wall or paling, in which the troughs with hanging- lids, for supplying food directly from the cisterns, on one side, and for the hogs feeding on the other; a range of yards next, and another of low sheds be- yond, and last of all, the receptacle for the dung. The 136 BUILDING. [APRIL. The potatoe stores (pyes as they are called) should at one end point near to the entrance, and water must be raised to the coppers and cisterns at once by a pump ; a trough or other conveyance from the dairy to the cistern?, for milk, whey, &c. Such an arrangement will be very convenient, and the ex pence need not be considerable. To annex a certain space of grass, or artificial grasses, in di- visions, into which the hogs may be let at pleasure, is an addition of admirable use, if the spot permit it. Those who do not possess 'a convenient pig apparatus, can have little idea of the great use of it, in making manure. This alone becomes an obje6l that would justify any good farmer in going to a certain expence, for attaining so profitable a part of what ought to be his farm-yard system. In nine tenths of the farmeries in the kingdom, it is lamentable to see so many parts of a right pig- gery scattered and unconnedled, in such a manner as to preclude convenience, increase labour, and prevent the making of dung. In 1765 I built a hoggery, nearly, but not ex- a(!?lly on this idea, the cxpences of which were, The boiling-house, - - - ^.18 ]8 O Copper, 1300 Pond, - - - - 4 Pump, 1 10 Cisterns, - - - - - 1400 Shed, -.-,. 6l5 Paling, 770 Carryover - £.65 10 O Paving, I APRIL.] BUILDING* 237 Brought over - £.6o 10 O Paving, - - - - - .10 O Troughs, ----- 30 Total, hesidcs timber, - - £,yB,\0 O By means of one of these yards, I fattened 88 hogs in spring 1/60, with only one man to attend them ; whereas three would not have been suffi- cient without such conveniences. They were lit- tered with nine loads of straw and haulm, that cost (31. 18s. ; and this made 90 loads of very rich dung, valued by several farmers on the spot at 5s. a load. Value of dung at that rate, - - £.2?, 10 Straw, &c. .. - - - 6 18 Profit in dung, - - -^.15120 But they had not half the litter they ought ; they would have made 35l. worth of manure, be- yond doubt. Ninety loads costing 61. 18s. is Is. 6d. per load. These particulars surely must prove the vast im- portance of such conveniences, for fattening great numbers of swine, for the mere purpose of raising manure. Suppose the expence, timber included, to be liol. and the interest called 5l. what com- parison is there between the expence of 5l. a year, and the prodigious utility of having it always in your power to fatten, with scarce any expence of labour, whatever number of hogs you please ? With such a convenience, all the pease, beans, barley. 138 ^ jgriLDIKG, [APRIL; barley, buck -wheat, potatoes, parsnips, carrots, Sec. that are, or can be raised on a farm, may be apphed to the rearing, feeding, or fattening hogs ; by which means the farmer has the opportunity of improving his land to the highest degree, and at the cheapest rate possible. The total expence at present of such yards would not be less than 150l. And if made conform- ably to the more corredl idea, would be 200L or 250l. But the governing idea of position should be followed in sties of 20l. The last circumstance of rural management that I should recommend to a proprietor, on his inhe- riting a farm, is that of building a house. He may however be in such a situation, in respedl of habitation, that to build a new house is more prudent than to submit to the very heavy repairs of an old one ; and in other cases he may come to a farm without any house, it being let to a con- tiguous renter. In such cases, it will be useful to have some general hints for his direction. It very rarely happeiis that a man has an oppor- tunity of making the experiment of building a house twice in his life, and, thercfcre, he should refledl well before he begins. It is more common to see people fail in this essential step, than almost any other. How many new houses, in which people have no more elbow-room, in a number of pieces, than if they were in the stocks ? How many in which comfort is sacrificed to show, warnath to space, the sun's rays, in latitude 55, to the APRIL.] BUILDING. 239 the sight of a park or a lake, shelter to a prospe6V, and the convenience of a lumber-room to the ar- rangement of an anti-chamber ? and as to cup- boards, closets, and stowage of many sorts, the fools in middling life allow their puppy architedts to sweep them all away, because my lord, with 40 servants, transfers such things to the offices. Where do we meet with a moderate house well calculated for a small fortune ? Where do you find one planned for a man who keeps the key of his wine- cellar ? who has connected a kitchen and dining- room in such manner, that the smell of the former shall be excluded, without a long walk to the lat- ter ? Who has contrived a moving table, served through the wall, without any servants to wait in the room ? There is not one apartment in a house, from the cellar to the garret, that has not been improved for men of large fortune, but, for small incomes, I believe invention has either gone retro- grade, or at least stood still. Circumstances for convenience, which should be attended to, in planning a house to be inhabited by a family whose income is small. It is not necessary to define what the income may be, but only to mark it, by the points of the mistress being her own housekeeper, and the master keeping the keys of the wine-cellar ; and that a general system of economy pervades the manage- ment, the proprietor farming his own estate, whe- ther 400 or 1000 acres. 1st, The kitchen should not be a thoroughfare, nor 240 HEMP. [APRIL. nor any house-door open diredlly Into it. The scullery as near it as possible, but without opening into it. 2d, The mistress's store-room should have a square opening into the kitchen (with a sliding door), on a level with the dresser or broad shelf which surrounds the whole store-room, through which she may give out whatever is wanted, with- out the necessity of her or her maids, &c. passing b}^ a round-about way. 3d, The common keeping-room to open on one side into the store-room, and on the other, into a passage that leads diredlly to the wine and ale cellar, which should be near, in order that the eye may attend to what the hand need not perform. 4th, The window of the keeping-room to look full upon the grand avenue to the yards, barns, cattle, &c. and if possible full (but at a safe dis- tance), into the farm-yard. 5th, The farmer to have a store-room, as well as his wife, for sacks, small tools, nails, &c. &c. 6th, The farmer's bed-chamber, with a large window full to the East, that the sun may shine in early. HEMP. This crop is oftea sown in April, but in the more modern pra6lice of the best cultivators, it has genfe- rally been deferred till May, probably from expe- riencing the evil of late spring frosts, when sown early. I shall therefore postpone the particular diredions till the Calendar for that month. SOWINC APRIL.] SEPARATED GRASS-SEEDS. 241 SO\yiNG GRASS-SEEDS. Seedsmen are apt to mix seeds of nearly the same size, in order to have the fewer casts. This is a very bad way, and always to be guarded against. Five pounds of any clover, &c. cannot be divided and sown at two casts ; but lOlb. may, and ought, and *a larger quantity is better done at three ; but for all small seeds, the Norfolk turnip-trough, which i^ now adapted to clover and ray-grass, is much the better way of delivering these seeds. Those of grass, which are light, ought never to be sown in a windy day ; for an equal delivery is a point of great consequence. All grass-seeds should be covered at one tining of a very light pair of harrows. Of all other circumstances, sowing in the wet, so as to have the least degree of poaching or stickiness, should be avoided. SEPARATED GRASS-SEEDS. I cannot advise a young farmer to pay much at- tention to this obje6l, unless he proceeds upon very :-ure grounds, by forming a contradl for the sale of the seeds at a good price, before he commences his operations. I have^ myself gone largely into it, and have found it a cheaper method of procuring tile seeds, to have them gathered by women and children, by hand, than to raise them myself, under the determination to have them perfed^ly clean from all mixture. However, as in certain situa- tions, and under certain circumstances, it may be- come an objedl of attention, something should be said of it here. R This 242 SIBERIAN MELILOT. [aPKIL. This is the month for a spring sowing. There? is no object in the whole range of cultivation, which demands land to be so perfe611y clean as this, nor is any weed so mischievous, as a different sort of grass from that sown, nor any more likely to come. The seed must be sown in drills by hand, at one foot asunder, and from their first appear- ance above ground, kept absolutely clean. The year following that of sowing, they yield most seed, and presently decline in quantity. I have known several persons who have made the experiment, and who all gave it up. The sorts to be recom- mended are the meadow fescue, the poatrivialis, the crested dog's-tail, the meadow fox-tail, and the rough cock's-foot. Timothy is always to be had from America, and Yorkshire- white is in common sale. But for the farmer's own use, it is not so ftecessary to be so very nice, in which case, broad- cast crops may be trusted to, for a mixture is no formidable circumstance. I have had the cock's - foot and the tall oat-grass gathered at 4s. a bushel, in large quantities ; and the crested dog's-tail at Is. a pound, and have thus laid down many scores of acres. At these prices I have found them cheaper than when raised in drills with great atten- tion. SIBERIAN MELILOT. " The Meli lotus Sityrica, from Mons. Thouin at the King's Garden, at Paris, makes in the garden of Mons. Faujas de St. Fond, a most superb figure. Nobody can vicNY its prodigious luxuriance^ with- out APRIL.] TARES IX CLOVER. 243 out commending the thought of cultivating it for cattle. The coronilla varia is a common plant here, and of such luxuriance, that it is hardly to be destroyed. The Jicdijsanan corofiarhim does well here." From this hint (which I extract from my own Travels); I introduced the culture of the me- lilot in Illy experiment-ground, and found it aii obje6l much deserving attention. WELD. In Norfolk this plant is sown with barley, in April, from one quarter to half a peck per acre of seed, in the manner of clover, and often with clo- ver at the same time, which is fed or mown, after the weld rs pulled in the following year. This being a producl sold to manufadlurers, the price is hot fixed in any lilanner very satisfadlory to the farmer, and therefore I merely name it, that the f-eader may have it in his mind, for trial, should he be so disposed. In other parts of the kingdom it is sovvu with turnips, which are fed off in the spring, and the weld left for a crop. TARES IN CLOVER. Very early in this months and id some seasops. In March, the young clovers should be Carefully Examined, for if the land has had this crop too bften repeated, it is very apt to be what the far- mer's call sick of it. A full plant in autumn often dies away in winter and spring, so that by this month, the farmer, perhaps, is in doubt whether he shall let it stand, or plough it up. In this case, it is highly advisable to dibble into all the vacant K '2 spots. 244 Sow FURZE. - [april, spots, spring tares, which thus take extremely well, and between clover and tares a very ample crop is produced. SOW FURZE. Dr. Taylor, in Surrey, had a poor field of six acres, worth 7s. per acre, sown with furze, and thus con- verted to be the most profitable of the farm : sown, the land being cleared from couch, in April 1782 ; mown in 1 7 84, to thicken it ; and cut for the first crop in 1786, and since regularly every two years, three acres per annum. Last year's cut of three acres pro- duced 7700 faggots, and sold at 3l. 3s. per 1000, on thespot; this24l. 5s. 6d.; cuttingand binding Is. 6d, per hundred, or 5l. 15s. Od. ; clear, 18l. 10s. Sup- pose tithe, rates, and fences, to equal 5s., rent 7s., in all 12s. ; or, for three acres, ll. 1 6s. ; that, further charge deduded, net l61. 14s. ; or, per acre, 5l. lis. 4d. ; and, per acre per annum, 2l. 15s. Sd. which is a greater net profit than any man receives from wheat upon such land. Dr. Taylor thinks that the produdl rather increases than diminishes. For the time of cutting, would recommend dry weather in February, or the beginning of March. when severe frosts are over. MAY. ( 245 ) MAY. FARM -YARD. ABOUT the twelfth of this month the farmer may calculate ihat hie will have a sufficient bite of grasses to leave off foddering entirely, and before that, he should not think of it ; for, if cattle are turned into grass not sufficiently advanced in growth, they will require such a number of acres, that his mowing ground will be greatly curtailed. As soon as the yards are cleared, if he is in the mixing system, the dung in them must be turned over, and mixed carefully with the stuff beneath, whether it be chalk, marie, turf, ditch-earth, or whatever sort. For this purpose, he must set many hands to work, so as to get it done as ex- peditiously as may be ; because it should lay a little after turning before it is carried on to the land. It thereby undergoes a fresh fermentation, and becomes more rotten. The method in which the men should do this work is, to begin and throw the dung up against a wall, or into some vacant space, so as to have the command of a trench to work in : they should always keep this trench three or four feet wide : then they draw down with dung^ cromes the dung, and, breaking it to pieces with a fork, throw it up on the part already mixed, in a spreading manner, so as to cover all the chalk or B 3 earth. 245 PARM-YARp. [may. earth. In this manner they proceed witli the dung, to the breadth of about 18 inches, or two feet, till they come to the stuff under it ; all which they pull down with pick-axes or mattocks, and, when it is in the trench, break it further to pieces, so as to have it fine ; that is, no pieces larger than a man's wrist. If water hang in any plapes in their trench, they should have a water-bowl ready to throw it on to the part they have mixed. If this work is well executed, he will havp a large hill of excellent manure, ready to lay on to the cabbage or turnip land, to be turned in by the last earth. Respedling the quantity- — therein lies the proof of his being a good farmer ; perhaps the most important, convincing proof, that a farm can offer. If he has riianaged well, he will have from 15 to 20 loads for every head of great cattle, and about 10 loads for every hog, not reckoning pigs : not above a third of the whole marie or earth. Every trussed load of straw, trampled into dung, will make six qart ones of dung. The earth, which has lain under the dung all winter, and received all the urine of the cattle, must by no means be reckoned as inferior to the dung itself. It is become a rich manure without mixing with dung, richer than the best of marles: and I am well persuaded, that this retention of the urine in it is of such consequence, that the whole pompost, when well mixed together, will be better than if chalk or earth had not been brought into the MAY.] FARM-YARD. 24? the yard, at least for most soils : but, that the flivourable circumstances of the condudl much ex- ceeds the expence of it, for all soils, cannot be doubted. A great recommendation of this farm-yard system is the cheapness of thus manuring the land : the farmer will find_, that he can, in no other me- thod, manure at nearly so sn\all an expence. Pur- chased manures come higher ; many of them much more expensive, in proportion to their value. In some situations there are no manures of any sort to be purchased ; in such, the farmers, if they do not adopt such a plan as I have mentioned, must give their land a poor chance ; for it must be an admirable soil, or course of crops, to render manure unnecessary. Thus far this article stands^, as it did in the former editions of this work ; but more modem experiments and observations have given birth to a different system, which must also be noticed here. The question of using yard dung in a long or a rotten state, was stated in the Calendar for last month. The young farmer will adl wisely to try both methods carefully, in order that he may have a degree of convi6\ion which experiment alone can yield : but such a trial demands particular atten- tion, or it may deceive. Supposing two half acres marked out, they should be manured, the one with a certain portion of rotten dung, and the other with that portion of the same sort long, which the degree of freshness would demand in order to pro- R 4 duce 248 FEEDING OR MOWING GRASS-LAND. [mA duce in rotting the quantity so carried in a rotte* state : this cannot be prescribed, for it dej)ends on the state of both dunghills at the moment. This is one way of trying it, but a still more accurate method is to litter two sties, each of 10 hoe;s i\ equally, or two sheds of four fat bullocks, with ;; certain weight of trussed stVaw, and to use the dung of one fresh and of the other turned up and rotten ; the experiment terminating at a time when the long dung can be used ; the rotten may wait, but the long cannot. Should the farmer determine on the older me- thod, he turns and mixes his yard-dung as befoi described. If on the new way, he has nothing t do this month, but is to wait till he wants it for h, turnip crop. FEEDING OR MOWING GRASS-LAND. As this is the usual season of turning cattle i grass, and consequently the time of determining what fields are to be fed and what mown ; our young farmer has some circumstances to attend to which may demand consideration. P^or instance, is alternate feeding and mowing better than to keep the scythe out of pastures and the cattle out of mowing grounds ? Mr. Goring here offers a va- luable remark : " I do not even admit that grass-land should be mown and fed alternately ; it is certainly the way to go on the longer without manure, and as cer- tainly the way to ruin (pari passu) both fields in the end. In order to maintain its proper quantity of I eP* MAY.] FIRST year's MANAGEMENT OP LAYS. 249 of Stock (we used to say) the land must be used to it ; the more it keeps, the more it will keep ; four this year, five the next : give it a Httle ma- nure, more stock wiJl follow, and so on till it has attained its ne plus ultra, if that point be to be attained. Land that has been used to the scythe will not (ca^teris paribus) keep so much stock and so well as an old pasture, though it may have been better manured ; neither will old pasture produce so much hay as the other ; each will grow as it has been accustomed to grow ; but the old pasture has an inherent sweetness in it, as well as virtue, which is hardly to be seen upon the ground, but is to be felt upon the rumps and sides of the ox ; or to be discerned in the number of sheep which it main- tains.'*'' FIRST YEAR'S MANAGEMENT OF NEW LAYS, In this point there is a great difference of opi- nion. Some have contended that the new lay should be pastured by sheep; others by cattle ; others mown for hay ; others seeded. In the North Riding, the best farmers feed their new lays with sheep the two first years. If ray-grass and white clover be meant to remain some years, a gentleman in Strathern, of superior knowledge, eats them the first year with sheep : by this they are rendered thick, close, and durable. To let heavy cattle in the first year, does mis- chief which demands years to recover. If mown for hay it should be cut early, for no- thing 25a FIRST year's management OP LAYS. [mAV, thing is worse for new layers than the grass running to seed. Mr. Wright, of Ranby, pastures them with beasts the first year, as sheep do harm. Dr. Wilkinson compared sheep-feeding with mowing experimentally, and the superiority of the former was very great. The Marquis of Rockingham seeded them the first year. Colonel St. Leger fed the two first years with great success ^- . I have practised all these methods ; the last mere- ly for gaining the seed for other lands ; and I have not the Jeast doubt upon the question : if the grass be kept unfed in autumn, and it be not turned into too early in the spring, sheep do no harm, but much good : the number should not be so great, nor kept so long, as to allow the plants to be nibbled too close ; but sheep-feeding is certainly the best for the first year. If bents rise, as they will do. Jet them be swept with a scythe before any of them seed, unless the plants 'be evidently too thin on the ground ; in that case the seed falling may do more * Though I have litde doubt that feeding is the right ma- nagement, yet it is not to be concluded that, with mowing, tlie grass will not succeed : Lord Rockingham's new lays, viewed in the autumn of the first year, were by description among the finest that have been seen ; they were manured however the autumn after so^Ving, which is admirable management, provided tlie soil is sound, and the season very dry. good >rAY.] CATTLE IN GRASS. 251 good by raising fresh plants, than liarm to those which yield the seed. But it is not only the first year that sheep-feed- ing is the best management for a new lay; it should be so fed also the second year ; and if the third, so much the better : there is no ncccssiti/ of continu- ing it longer ; but I have had some fields which succeeded well in feeding four, five, and even six. years : and in general it may be laid down as a rule, that the more the land is sheep-fed, the more it will be improved, and especially if it is ever to be ploughed again for corn. But when sheep-feeding inclosures is mentioned, it is understood that the sheep are not folded from such fields ; a ruinous, impoverishing, unnecessary system, of which the ^ farmers are too fond, as they are of e^evy way of fobbing grass to favour corn. CATIXE IN GHASS. When cattle, whether cows, fatting beasts, or young stock, arc turned out to grass, it is requisite to consider the best method of feeding. There are two opinions on this point diredlly contrary to each other : first, it is asserted, by one set of graziers, that, let the grass to be fed consist of ever so many acres, that the cattle should have it all at once : if it is divided into eight or ten fields, the gates of all to be set open, for the stock to feed wliere they like. Secondly, the other set advance, that large fields, of fifty, eighty, or an hundred acres, should be divided, that the farmer may change his stock from one to the other, and give the grass fresh and 232 CATTLE ly GRASS. [maV. and fresh. And each of these parties assert, thaffll they know themselves to be right from experience. But that is impossible ; one must, undoubtedly, be wrong. Let us consider the point from reason : it is one that will never be decided fairly from expe- riment ; for two pieces of grass, each of eighty or an hundred acres, contiguous and perfe&lly alike, are not to be met with in the king's dominions ; and, if they were, two sets of stock, exadlly simi- lar, would not be found. The divisions into fields- by hedges and ditches, for the purposes of draining and shelter, is not the inquiry, the comparison not being fair ; as such divisions may be io.^. at once, by setting all the gates open, as well as one field. The inquiry is, whether the cattle will spoil the grass more in one way than in the other ? and whether the grass will go as far in one as in the other, by fatting or feeding the beasts as well ? The argument of giving the grass fresh and fresh, appears to be rather vague ; for it supposes that the cattle will not eat it fresh, if they have the whole range at once, which may be a mistake : they will not be seen in the evening where they were feeding in the morning, but vary their food in the manner most agreeable to themselves; and we may in general observe, that the sagacious animals, when left to their own conduct, manage such points better^ than we can for them. As to the treading and spoiling, it is an equal obje<5lion to both methods ; the legs of the beasts are not tied in small closes, any more than in large ones, lu MAY.] CATTLE IN GRASS. '153 In case all the smaller pieces have not water, the objections to feeding them separate are much greater. On the other hand, it must be admitted that there are disadvantages attending this way ot\ pasturing : for a time tlie trampling may be greater, as cattle are disposed to beat a sort of march around their fields on first turning in, and also on some kinds of disturbance : but a greater evil is that of disturbing a large herd instead of a small one : tliis a dog may effedt in one inclo- sure unseen from others, and consequently the stock in them left without interruption ; and, perhaps, a motive greater than this is, its having been obsei-ved that cattle, and sheep also, do better when well proportioned to their pasture, when divided into small lots rather than large ones. In the stocking grass-lands, the farmer should attend well to the proportion between his stock iud the quantity of his feed. Let him remember hen he stocks his grounds, that he should be -TCtty nice in this proportion ; for if he overstocks, lis loss will be certain and great ; and, if he does liOt throw in as many cattle as he ought, then he vill suffer in his profit. There are several divisions in fattening : to buy n beasts in Odtober or November, and put them io straw till the end of February ; then to begin .heir fatting on turnips, and continue it in March ; thence to the middle of May on other v)od, and then to turn to grass, and kill in August or 254 BUCK-WHLAT, [mAY or September. The other scheme is, to buy in smaller beasts in May lean, and sell them fat from the grass in the Oclober and November following. Where winter food is raised with spirit, and the farmer takes a proper care to provide great plenty of litter to turn into dung, the first method i much the most profitable : but, where either ot these requisites are wanting, the latter is preferable. A third system, to buy at that period which will, according to the size of the cattle, admit their beinp ready for market in April and May, when meat 1, generally sure of a good price ; one winter not highly fed ; a summer's grass^ and a second wintc driven on by the best feeding. This for large oxen ; if smaller, to be bought in in spring, and hav ■ only a summer's grass and a winter's stalling. CAKE AND CORN-FED BEASTS. Our young farmer, if he has any cake ol* corn- fed beasts, not fat enough to go off the end of April or the beginning of May, is under no neces sity of parting with them^ as they do very well or good grass though taketi from oil -cake : I have known, however, in Lincolnshire, cake in a mode- rate allowance to be given while the beasts were at grass^ and to go on very rapidly while thus fed. BUCK- WHEAT. This may be sown towards the end of iht month So late a time has oHered the opportunity of goof tillage to destroy weeds, and of course, the lane is fine, and in good order. It is a most profitable crop, and especially on all (except very heavy soils Ian MAY.] lAlCEllNE. 255 land that either requires late sowing, or that you are disappointed in the design, of sowing soon enough to barley. Late sown orops of the latter grain are seldom good enough to pay expences : in such cases, it is useful to substitute buck-wheat ; for* I do not think that there are many soils on which a crop of buck-wheat, sown in May, will not exceed in value a crop of barley sown in May : yet, in many trads of country, it is a common 32 and 33, by themselves, the one from the carrier, the other from the ditch between it and 28. 13th, In regard to the -respedlive operations to be performed in each field, it is necessary in such a work as this, merely to afford such general prin- ciples and hints as a man of any sagacity may ap- ply to every distindl piece of ground when he views it. The grand principle which is to govern these works is, to bring water on as plentifully as may be, and let it run off quickly, — nimbly, in irrigating language : if it stagnates it does mischief, and if it only creeps sluggishly, much less good than a better course vi^ould have enabled it to efFe6l. All spaces that are level, or nearly level, should be ploughed on to lands or ridges eleven yards wide, X 2 and 308 FORM NEW WATERED-MEADS. [mAY. and raised, if water be plentiful, three feet higher on the crown than in the furrow, in this form, and of course these ridges must be laid out by the spirit level, so that the delivering trenches on their crowns may be able to take water from the larger carriers which lead along one head-land ; and that the furrow-drains may convey the water away to the receiving ditches provided for that purpose. Those trenches are to be so exadlly cut, that they will overflow through the whole length equally at the same time, for which purpose they lessen in breadth as they advance. But upon dry slopes, no- thing more is requisite than to cut trenches of de- livery, which operate by alternate watering both as deliverers and as drains. This is a point little imderstood in watering through several distri6\s I have seen, and as it is a very important one, and a branch of that diagonal system I have already ex- plained with relation to the position of the fields, it merits a short explanation. In the annexed Plate, the slope of the land from A to B, is supposed regular, which, of course, rarely happens in nature, nor is it essential, as any man who has common sense will see that inequali- ties of surface, though they may break the uni- formity of his lines, by causing a necessity of going round MAY.] FORM NEW WATERED-MEADS. 309 round hills or boles, yet will make no breach in the principles which govern the irrigation. Here, it appears, that if water from the main carrier, river, or ditch, 31, be let into the deliver- ing trench, 32, and the stop, 33, be let down, the water will flow over the division of the meadow (or pane, as Mr. Boswell calls it) 1 . The deliver- ing trench, 34, then adls as a drain, and conducts the water into the trench, 35, the stop, 36, being let down ; thence, of course, it overflows the pane No. 2, and in like manner, successively, No. 3, 4, and 5. If the stop, 33, be drawn up, and the stop, 37, let down, the panes 6, 7 , 8 and 9, are watered in the same way ; and so on by the stops 38 and 39, which will water the panes 10, 11 and 12; also 13 and 14: and the stop, 40, being let down, and 41 drawn up, the pane, 30, will be watered. Then return to the ditch at the other end of the field, and letting down the stops, 42 and 43, it is evident that the water will flow into the trench 34, and the stop, 44, being down, the pane, 15, is watered, and the trench, 45, becomes a drain, which, successively, conducts the water, as above explained, over the panes 16, 17, 18 and 19. Now it is clear, that when the trench, 46, becomes supplied with water, and the trenches, 34 and 45, are empty, that the panes, 1 and 15, are in a perfe6l state of drainage ; and this may be sufficient to explain the system, and to shew how every trench operates, either for delivering or drain- ing off the water, at the pleasure of the irrigator. x3 And 310 FORM ICE VV WATERED-MEADS. [mAY. ^j And It should be noted, that this diagonal system enables him to use the smallest quantity of water, as well as the largest, for he can use it only through one system of panes, if necessary, or he can, with great plenty, flow all at the same moment till the meadow has enough, and then stop the whole out, and leave the trenches to operate only as drains, while the water is working in another meadow. It is not uncommon, for want of such a plan of operation, to see trenches of delivery accompanied by drains, which operate only as drains, and which carry away tlie water without any power of using it even a second time ; and in other cases we see the water brought into slopes without any thought of taking it away again, consequently some parts arc much watered, some less, and some perhaps not at all. 14th, The application of this system to moun- tainous moors, is one of the most profitable spe- culations which agriculture has to offer, and yet there are none so much negledled. From viewing them I have been greatly surprized at this^ because there are scarcely any that do not contain such spontaneous proofs of the advantage, as might have been sufficient for a hint to the stu- pidest clown. The firm spots by the sides of the torrents, from flooding, acquire a beautiful ver- dure, that proves a perfect contrast to the dreari- ness of the waste around ; and where there are lit- tle rills on tlie mountain sides, not considerable enough to cut a regular bed for their waters, but which MAY.] FORM NEW WATERED-MEADS. 311 which Spread, thcv arc attended so universally with a verdure, from the grasses getting the hetter of the lieath, owing simply to the water, as shews the ad- vantage in the clearest manner. I am confident that, with a little attention, out of 20 or 30,000 acres on a range of mountains I have viewed in Ire- land, water might be thrown over three parts in. four. The declivities through which the streams run are considerable, and extensive tradls of land slope off on either side, so that by obstructing those streams, by piling torrent stones across them at various heights, and drawing small channels in the mountain sides, just above such obstru(51ions, to receive the water; this most advantageous woric might be done at small expence, and a single ex- periment of it would presently shew the prodigious advantage of the pradlicc. In case these papers should come into the hands of any possessors of mountain trades, willing to try it, but not acquainted with the proper mode of executing the work, I shall here offer a few direclions, not by way of going minutely into the whole business, but in order to put every man in such a train as to enable him by practice to instru6l himself in the rest, and to carry it further than many books on the subje6l will teach. The principle upon which he is to proceed, is to throw as much water as possible over the sides of the mountain, and as equally as possible ; and in doing this to guard against two circuinstances : lirst, its remaining in any spots; and, secondly, his works being blown uj3 by sudden floods, frcm X 4 heavy 312 FORM NEW WATERED MEADS. [mAY. heavy rains, which come in large tracks of moun- tain with an impetuosity incredible to those who are used to a fiat country. It would be right to begin, by choosing a place where the declivity of the mountain is gentle, in order that the space improved may be more useful and obvious than it can be when very steep : going up as high as the water can be conveniently com- manded, make a wear of stone across a torrent, just high enough to form a little bason among the rocks, if there is none executed to your hand by nature : in the Galties you find these at every ten yards. At the spot where you have made, or found one of these basons, open a trench from it, a spirit- level shewing where to condu6l it ; taking care to give it no more fall than necessary to bring the water in a very gentle current. The stream is to be made to overflow out of this carrier-trench all the way it runs : the trench must be made gradually smaller to the end, as the body of water it brings lessens as it advances. I would advise the proprietor to see the expe- rience of a year or two, watering with no further cxpence than I have described (which is evidently too trifling to be an objedl). If he find the effe6l great, as in all probability he will, I should then advise his levelling the spaces over which he throws the water, to that exadlness which is necessary for mowing ground : this, in many mountains, is the most expensive part of the business ; for rains which drive down their sides, in almost universal torrents, work thousands of little channels round the MAY.] FORM NEW WATERED-MEADS. 31 J the tufts of hcatli, that are so deep and sharp, as every sportsman knows, who has heen tired with walking, or rather tuiiihling over them : these must all be levelled, and the water let gently over, which will soon cover them with grasses, and other beneficial plants. The heath lives in its own acid water that stagnates in the moss and peat, as in a dish, but will die away by being flooded in the manner I have described. The progress of the work will naturally arise from success ; if the pro- prietor be attentive, he will find his success so great and obvious, as to be induced to go into the busi- ness with the utmost spirit. He will then level all inequalities, cut a variety of inclosures, and divide the declivities into fields by good and sufficient fences. 15th, Wherever irrigation is applied, it is right, when arable land is thus intended to be converted into meadow, or on any other land the surface of which is much broken by the works, to sow any sort of grass-seeds that can be procured in the greatest plenty, before the watering begins. It is well known that the water will of itself bring grasses, but it demands some time, and the be- nefit of sowing them is always found to be consi^ derable. l6th, It is a common practice in Lombardy, to have a sort of heavy harrow drawn along the bot- tom of the main carriers, in order to disturb the mud in autumnal, winter, and early spring irriga- tions ; and it has been pradised in England to throvr 314 SOILING. [may, throw lime in, the great divisibility of which body in water is well known : these are means of adding to the manuring quality of the water very easily to be pratS^ised. ■ 17th, To attempt describing the minutiae of eredling wears, sluices, stops, and to note how trenches or drains are dug, would be unnecessary In Mr. Bosweirs pamphlet on watered-meadows, a:| work of great merit, these pai'ticulars are detailed ; and to him I refer for the necessary informa- tion, ^d 18th, Wherever roads intervene, the Italian 'n method is to form a work of masonry to a6t as a syphon : the water is made to descend perpendi- cularly on one side the road in a tunnel of brick or stone, pass in an arch under the bed of the road, and rise on the other side in a similar tunnel, and then pass on in its course. I have seen several of these between Goni and Turin, and in other parts of Lombardy. SOILING. This month being in general the period for turn- ing out various sorts of live stock to grass or clover, it. is now a question which demands the young far- mer's very serious attention, whether he should comply with the more common custom of feeding off certain crops, or whether he should deter- mine to pursue the soiling system, of mowing, and giving them green in the stables, stalls, i yards, &c. Considering the decisive superiority of the latter mode of consumption, there is not a ge- neral MAY.] SOILING. 3)5 iieral iaS: in husbandry which ought to create so much surprize as the general custom, all over the kingdom, of feeding cows, young cattle, oxen, bullocks, &c. in the fields ; and the almost gene- ral pra6iicc of managing the teams in tlie same way. Enlightened farmers have in many districts adopted this system for horses, but still reje6l it for cattle ; and it will probably take a century to render it as universal as it might be, most profitably. The objedions to it are not of any importance, even if started in the strongest manner : it has been ar- gued that the expence is an object ; and that cattle will not thrive so well, nor will cows give so much milk as if fed in the field. That the expence is something, cannot be denied, but that it amounts to any thing considerable, is contrary to lacSt. Mr. Mure fed 240 fatting oxen in sheds through a whole summer by the mowing of one scythe : if the at- tendance upon the beasts be added to this amount, tlie whole will evidently come to a sum which, when divided either per head or per acre, will be so low as to do entirely away this objection. As to the question of thriving, the assertion has been made, as far as it has come to my knowledge, with- out a trial, and is consequently mere theory. The beasts mentioned above, were all sold fat at Smith- field, and did as well as similar beasts had done fed abroad in the most favourable seasons, and better than in any summer not remarkably favourable. I prac- tised it for several years together veiy carefully for fatting cattle, weighing alive periodically, both while in 3l6 SOILING. [may. in stalls and when at grass, and I found that in soiling they throve better than when abroad. It the world will reason upon every question of farm- ing, they should do it without prejudice, and then their reason would, to my apprehension, agree with these facls. Every one knows how tormenting flies are to cattle when abroad : ride into a field in summer to look at stock, and where do you find them ? Not feeding, but standing or resting un- der trees, in ponds, in rivers, and, if there is no better shelter, in ditches under brambles ; in a word, any where but feeding in the open air. What they graze, is in the morning and evening ; and in many cases they lose in the heat of the day all they gain at those moments of their comfort. To this superiority we must add that of the main objeci, which is the dunghill : in one case this }■ accumulated in a degree even superior to what is efFedled in winter ; in the other it is scattered about the pastures, and nine-tenths of it carried away by the flies, or dried almost to a caput mor- tuum by the sun. The warmth of the season in summer promotes the fermentation in a mass, and speedily prepares it for use, in whatever state the farmer wishes to have it. The prodigious superi- ority of thus raising a large and very valuable dunghill in one case, and none at all in the other, ought to convince any reasonable man, that there is not a pra6lice in husbandry so decidedly superior as this of soiling, were there not one other reason for it than what have already been produced. SI Tho3™ i MAY.] SOILING. 31? Those farmers who have given particular atlcn- tion to the state of farm-yard manure, as it is made in winter and in summer, and to the efficacy of both, can scarcely have failed to remark, that the supe- riority of the dung arising from any sort of slock, rommonly fed^ in summer, is very great to such as .s made in winter from stock no better fed. The inanure yielded by fat hogs, and by fat beasts fed on oil-cake, is of such a quality, that the season does not demand attention ; but with all other -lock I have great reason to believe, from many observations, that a farmer should make as large a reserve of straw-stubble, &c. for littering in sum- mer, as possible. Cattle, when soiled upon any kind of green food, as tares, clover, chicory, lucerne, or grass, make so large a quantity of urine as to demand the greatest quantity of litter : the degree of this moisture in which their litter is kept, while the weather is hot, much assists a rapid fermentation, and great quantities of carbonic acid and hydrogen are generated. The winter's cold, with superfluous water, by rain or snow, has a contrary tendency : the manure is, comparatively speaking, weak and poor. When I view the common spe6\acle of a large yard spread with a thin stratum of straw or stubble, and a parcel of lean straw -fed cows wandering about it, I think I see the most ingenious way of annihilating litter, without making dung, that the wit of man could have invented. Burnins; such straw 318 SOILING. [may, straw upon the land before sowing turnips, would be an application fiir superior. Cows thus managed, are amongst the most unprofitable stock that can be kept on a farm. With the best food and management, their dung is inferior ; but thus kept on a' wide expanse of thin litter, well drenched in rain and snow, running to ponds and ditches, they destroy much, but give Jittle. When a farm is rich enough to summer-graze oxen, large or small, oil -cake feeding to finish, or wait for markets, is often profitable, and the litter sure to be converted into excellent manure ; but when the grass-lands will not permit this system, a farmer cannot .possibly be too sparing of litter in winter. Hogs form an exception, but I know not another. It is a fadf, that stock, not in fattening condi- tion, make good dung in summer, but they do it not in winter. But there is another equal to this important one ; and that is, the food thus given going so much farther than it will do when grazed where it grows. This superiority has in certain experiments been marked as amounting to double, thrice, four times, and even five times as far as when eaten in the field ; and when we recolledi the old remark, that a beast feeds (or consumes) with five mouths, and it mio;ht be said to be with seven, we shall not be surprized at those remarks. However, that food thus given, goes much farther, cannot be doubted ; MAY.] SOILING. 31Q doubted ; thus, a much greater stock may be sup- ported by the same farm, in one system than there can be in the other. Two circumstances demand attention, which, if negle6led, will considerably lessen the benefit to be derived from soiling. The one is, to have a plen- tiful provision of litter ; and the other, much care in feeding; to give the beasts but little at a time : if much be tumbled carelessly before them, it iieats, they pick it over, and the waste may be great ; and if a cart be left in the yard loaded, the contents heat, and then cattle will not eat it. A certain degree of care is necessary in every thing ; and in nothing more than in feeding all sorts of cattle. As to litter, it is an objed of such import- ance, that provision for the system should be gra- dually made through the winter, if corn enough be not left for summer-threshing to supply the beasts. All wheat-stubbles should be cut and stacked ; leaves, in woodland eountries, should be collected ; fern procured from commons and warrens, rushes and aquatic weeds stored from fens, &c. ; and if nothing else can be had, heaps of sand formed for this use ; for which peat also is excellent. An enterprizing, vigilant farmer, when he has such an objccl as this in view, will exert every nerve to be prepared for a system, the profit of which will de- pend so much on the care previously taken to be well provided with litter of some sort or other. The first crop that will be ready for soiling is lucerne ; which may be supposed to last all the stock 320 CART OUT YARD-DUNG. [mAY. stock till the first sown winter tares are ready, when the lucerne left uncut should be mown for hay. The second sown winter tares come next ; then clover, to be succeeded by the third sowing of tares, and by the second growth of lucerne. After this come spring tares and 'the second growth of clover ; and the third cutting of lucerne may follow. If chicory be applied to this use, for which it is well adapted, it will, on any good land, be mown thrice, and on very good soils four times. Thus the whole summer may be provided for, without hav- ing recourse to natural grass ; but, if wanted, that also should be used in the same manner. The quantity and value of the manure thus made will surprize those who have not witnessed it, whether the stock be stalled, or kept in well-littered yards, in divisions, according to sort, size, age, fatness, value, or any other rule of separation : if they are fed carefully, have water at command, and are kept clean, all sorts will thrive to the farmer's satisfac- tion ; and if hay be an obje6l to him, and he has artificial food sufficient for the whole, he will be enabled to mow all that is mowable. As to horses, it is not requisite to say more than this ; it is at present the system with every truly enlightened farmer in the kingdom. CART OUT YARD-DUNG. As this is the first time that it has been necessary to treat distinctly of this work, it will be proper to bring to our young farmer's attention, a very material question, respedting all the dung he mav .MAY.] CART OUT YARD -DUNG. 321 may raise on his farm, especially in the yards, stables, stalls, sties, &c. And this is, whether it should be removed in a fresh, long, strawy state, or turned over to ferment and rot ; or carted first to •d compost or heap, in order for turning over and mixing, and for keeping till more rotten still. There are many variations in management, for which some better reasons ought to be given than we commonly meet with. A very common method is, to leave the dung where made till all winter feed- ing is over, and then to turn it up where it lies into heaps, and leave it till wanted to cart on for turnips. Others, who intend it for wheat, having turned up a border or hedgreen in the field that is to be sown with wheat, cart the muck on to the earth so prepared, and afterwards, sooner or later, mix them together, and before the wheat-seeding cart it on to the land. If no border of this sort, they make a heap of it, which is afterwards turned over. These are the more general methods. Some few, thinking it beneficial to have the dung as rotten as possible, keep it over i/ear, as they term it, and turn a second time. It is evident that these several methods are founded on certain ideas, that rotting is beneficial, and that more is gained in quality than is lost in quantity by that operation. This is a very important question, and well de- serves many careful experiments to ascertain the real fadl ; but unfortunately the number of these hitherto made is so few, that they have not done much more than excite some attention to the point, y and 32'2 CART OUT YARt)-DUNG. [mAY. and instigate several intelligent and thinking men to give more consideration to the subjedl than they had been accustomed to do. Mr. Thompson, of Northamptonshire, observing a spot in a field of corn better than the contiguous parts, and not be- ing able to account for it, made inquiries among his people, and .found that it was where long straw dung had bben spread, the rest in a rotten state : he took the hint, and tried the comparison experi- mentally : the result the same. He repeated it, and was confirmed in the conclusion he drew, and from that time changed his pradice. A celebrated farmer near Lewes, in Sussex, made a similar re- mark on the comparison between yard-muck turned up after winter, and some not stirred, and con- vinced himself, by repeated observations, that the latter was most advantageous. In addition to these cases, it is remarkable, that Mons. Hasenfratz, the celebrated French chemist, from experiments made on a diflferent objed, and with very difi:erent views, drew collaterally the same conclusion. " A circumstance in favour of the Picardy farmers is, the continual transport of their dung to itheir fields, rather than leave ii to destroy itself in the farm -yards, by waiting for fixed periods to move it. By carrying it still fresh to their fields, the heat of its first fermentation is employed in heating the soil ; the little alkali which it contains, instead of being dissolved in the farm-yard, and carried away by the rain, remains in the earth and improves it, if the alkali is useful to vegetation. The MAY.] MOW TARES. 323 The straw, yet entire, divides the soil better ; its fermentation goes on less rapidty, is less advanced when the seed is sown, and, consequently, the dung is more in a state of furnishing a greater quantity of carbonic acid, which appears, with water, to be the principal aliment of plants." I have since been informed of a variety of other cases, which seem to give much weight to this new opinion, that long dung is more beneficial in many applications than that which is short and rotten, and particularly upon all heavy and tenacious soils. Its superiority upon grass-land seems equally well established. Should this at last prove the real fa6l, it affords a curious refle61ion on the erroneous con- xlu6l of such multitudes of pradical farmers who have been all their lives putting themselves to con- siderable expence in carting and re-carting, and turning and mixing, for no other purpose but to do mischief. MOW TARES. Very forward winter tares in a mild spring will be ready to mow for soiling this month. Great care should be taken to make the men cut one en- tire stitch along the field before they begin another; and not m the common slovenly way in squares, or irregularly, so as to preclude the plough or scarifiers till much is done. Whether the worjc is done this month or in June, it is of great import- ance that the tillage, whatever it may be, is given immediately ; the land is thereby preparing for turnips ; whereas if, from irregular mowing, the y 2 teams 324 MOW LirCERNE. [mAY. teams are kept out, and a drought should succeed, the tillage will be badly perforined, and, perhaps, not at all. Immediately after the scythe, whatever the weather may be, tare land is always in admir- able order for tillage : loose, friable, and, if the crop has been great, putrid. It is best to plough it with Ducket's skim coulter, which will com- pletely turn down and bury whatever remnants of a great crop there may be, which, becoming dry and fuzzy, are apt to impede the common plough, and stick out between the furrows : in this situation it does not rot, is unsightly, and injurious to the work of any implement that follows, which should be the scuffler and harrows. A little attention thus given, will save much trouble and ex pence af- terwards. There are many operations on a farm which can be efFe6livcly done only by means of that coulter : a farmer should at all events possess it ; on many occasions, he will not have a more useful implement on his farm. MOW LUCERNE. If the lucerne was well manured, there will be a cutting, as already observed, towards the end of this month ; however, this will necessarily depend on the season ; if there are late frosts it will be much impeded, and this work not take place till June. Whenever it is fit to cut, the attentive hus- bandman should order his men always to mow longitudinally of the rows if drilled, or of the field if broad-cast. Left to themselves, it is twenty to one but they cut out a square, and enlarge it in such MAY.] FOGGING. 325 such a manner, that however he might wish to give a scarifying, he will be precluded till the young growth is too forward, and will be damaged. FOGGING. This is a most peculiar husbandry, no where com- monly pradlised but in South Wales. It consists in keeping the whole growth of grass in upland meadows free from either scythe or stock, and eating it in the following winter. Many years ago I knew a Suffolk clergyman who was in the regular habit of this singular pradice, and spoke of it as a most profitable one. I have tried it thrice, and with success : it thickens herbage greatly, and yields far more valuable winter and spring food than any person would expe6l who never tried it. But it should be pradised only on dry, or tolerably dry land. Y 3 JUKK% ( 326 ) JUNE. TURNIPS. THIS is the great season for sowing turnips : later sown crops scarcely ever arrive at the size of those sown in June. There is a common idea amoijg the farmers, that the turnip season lasts just a month, a fortnight before, and a fortnight after Midsummer. The land I suppose to have been ploughed for the last time but one, in May : the beginning of this month the manure should be carted on to it, which, in a well-ordered farm, should come from the farm -yard ; and, if that does not yield a sufficiency to cover a fifth part oi the arable land, the farmer is negligent. If he ha a thorough command of litter, and money enough in his pocket to buy plenty of cattle, it will cover a third of it ; but, whatever quantity of turnips he has, let him dung them well. In this work he should proceed regularly, beginning on one side of the field, and laying the heaps in lines from top to bottom : it should be spread immediately, and the ploughs follow diredly to turn it in. Upon that ploughing, the seed should be sown without loss of time, and covered by two or three harrowings, ac- cording to the fineness of the land. I have some- times seen the dung carried out long before it is ploughed in ; but that is bad husbandry : for much (A JUNE.] TURNIPS, 327 of the.goodness is carried away by the sun. It should be taken in full fermentation from the heap, and turned diredly in, so as to ferment under the moulds, which will ensure a great crop. If the farm employs many teams, it will be proper to pro- portion them, so as to let the manuring, plough- ing, and harrowing, be constantly going on, with- out interruption. As to the seed, observe well to sow the great round Norfolk white turnip, that lies above ground, and holds to it only by a tap-root. It grows larger than any other, and has the excel- lent quality of being used in winter with much greater ease than those sorts which root quite under ground, and are consequently not to be got at in frost. Sow about a quart an acre : less than a pint is sufficient, perhaps half a pint, if they all grow, and escape the fly ; but I have seen many thin^ sown pieces eaten up, when the thick-sown ones have sutiered much, and yet enough escaped for a crop. In extreme dry seasons, much seed will not ve- getate ; but such instances are rare : the most common misfortune is the fly, which eats them off before they gain the rough leaf. Many remedies have been proposed for this evil ; but none that are effectual. Steeps for the seed are mere quackery. Strewing soot over the plants, as soon as attacked, will very often save them, but the remedy is expen- sive ; because, on numerous soils at this season, the soot will be of little service as a manure. The very best dependence is on the richness of the soil : y 4 if 328 TURNIPS. [JL'NE. if it is extremely fertile, or full of dung, the growth of the turnips will be forced ; so much ac- celerated, that they will presently grow out of the power of the fly. I have often remarked in fields partly dunged, that those lands which received no manure, have been totally eaten up, while the dunged parts have escaped. Without manure, the growth is so slow, that the enemy has many op- portunities to attack the plant. When a crop is totally destroyed, the farmers plough or scuffle and sow again, which should ne- ver be omitted, if you have time. Probably you raay do this, and yet get in your crop in June, which will be a fortunate circumstance attending a first early sowing. The directions here given for sowing turnips throughout the month of June, are for those put in before the 20th, chiefly applicable for such as are to be used before Christmas ; for early sown crops are much more liable to the mildew than such as are sown later ; and the young fiirmeris to remem- ber, that early sown turnips are much more apt to be attacked by that distemper than such as are sown later. TURNIPS IN THE NORTHUMBERLAND METHOD. Upon this most interesting subjeCl, the cultivator of 500 acres annually, shall speak to our young husbandman. Mr. Cullcy says, " The land being made very fine, prepared, &c. as in the broad-cast method, the ploughman (where it is thought most proper to begin) sets up three sticks or poles in a right JUNE.] TURNIPS. 329 right line ; by having his horses yoked double, and driven by himself with cords, l>c sees these poles between the horses, and by keeping his plough to bear always upon the poles, he draws his first fur- row as straight as possible =•*': in returning, he keeps his far-side horse in the new-made furrow, and his plough at such a distance as to form a one-bout ridge, like an A ; by proceeding in this manner, the land, when finished, will appear thus: the distance of these little ridges is generally from 27 to 30 inches : a less distance does not admit ploughing between the drills. *' The next operation is spreading the dung, which is performed as follows : a cart goes down every third drill, and lays the dung in small heaps; wo- men and children follow, and with small three- pronged forks spread the dung evenly in the bot- tom of three drills, that is, in the one where the dung is dropped from the cart, and those on each side of it : when this is done, the ploughman splits the one-bout ridges, and covers up the dung ex* adly in the middle of a one-bout ridge ; but be- fore the seed can be sown, they require to be flat- tened at the top by a small roller, four feet eight inches long, and Q inches diameter, which fiat- tens two ridges at once : on the top, and exadily in * Our Suffolk ploughmen do this in peiTt dion, by a single white stick, even 40 rods from them at beginiiing. — jl, Y. the 330 TURNIPS. . [jUNE. the middle of these fattened ridges, the seed is deposited by one or two drill -machines tied to the roller by a rope six or seven feet long, at which distance they follow the roller, and each machine guided by a man : when hnished, the work appears in this form : s s s s s s s s "^vpv'jVTXM/rvTVT- vv- ->r y^ ^ -,r •yc- >,? -fi dddddddd where s represents the seed, and d the dung di- rectly under it. Tlie roller is drawn by one horse, driven by a boy. Setting up the one-bout ridges, and covering in the dung, are performed by a common swing-plough. The drill -machines are of various constru61ions : we generally sow about lib, of seed to an acre, as it is better to have an abund- ance of plants for fear of accidents. *' When the plants have got four leaves we begin to hoe, and leave the plants at only eight or nine inches distance in the rows : as they have so much room sideways, or from row to row, the hoers go sideways and pull the surplus plants, weeds, &c. into the hollow or space between drill and drill, and the turnip- plants are left as regular as if they had been planted with the greatest care and exadlness : the hoeing is performed by women and children, and costs about 4s. per acre for two hoeings. *^ If the drills be made in the same dire(5^ion the ridges lie, at the next ploughing for corn, the sur- face will be irregular, and the dung unequally dis- tributed. To avoid this inconvenience, if the land be I JUNE.] TURNIfS. 331 be dry and level, the drills are made diagonally across the field, but if the ridges be high, it is best to make the drills directly across the ridges, and draw a plough down the furrows to take off the water. " The quantity of dung used is from twelve to twenty-two, two horse cart-loads to an acre, ac- cording to circumstances. ^' It is generally supposed that a weightier crop is produced by the drill than by the broad-cast me- thod ; but, even admitting them equal in this re- specSl, the superiority as a fallow crop must be allowed, because, by the repeated horse-hoeings or ploughings in the intervals, and hand-hoeing in the rov/s, you have it in your power to extirpate the whole race of annual weeds, and so much sur- face being exposed through the winter, makes a higher preparation for any succeeding crop. An- other advantage is, the facility with which they are hoed, as a boy or girl of nine years old can hoe them with the greatest ease, and indeed generally better than experienced broad-cast hoers, because these are more apt to take too many away, and leave them over thin in the rows, while the young ones, from the apprehension of hoeing them too thin, will leave the plants at any distance you fix upon. *' This mode of drilling turnips has fully establish- ed itself wherever it has been tried. Very few or no turnips are now sown broad-cast in this country ; the drill system universally prevails, and is now pradlised 332 TURNIPS AFTER TARES. [jUNE. pradised even by its most virulent opponents, to the extent of several thousand acres yearly : the fani^s are in general very large, and there are many farmers v/ho drill every year from 100 to 200 acres. " In this neighbourhood, last autumn, several small parcels of turnips, drilled in tjie manner above described, were sold at 61. an acre; and lipon our own farms we had at least 500 acres diilled, which I have no doubt could have been readily sold for 2,500l. ; or, on an average, at 51. an acre." TURNIPS AFTER TARES. The winter tares that were sown the last weefe! in August, or the beginning of September, will, if the season proved favourable, be mown for soiling early enough to put in turnips within this month. If manure was necessary, it should have been spread for the tares, and by that means the field will be in fine order for this crop. Much depends on ma- nagement : the tares should be mown stitch by stitch longitudinally, and on no account whatever in the common random way, in a round or square portion irregularly ; for, by that means, the ploughs are kept out so much longer, and if a drought succeeds, the land may not be in a state to ploug till too late ; but taken soon after the scythe, ncJ land stirs better than that where tares have been mown. If the crop was large, and beaten at all to the ground, there will be an uncut stubble, which is scarcely ever turned clean in by any com- mon ploughs ; it should be attempted only with the I J JUNE.] TURNIPS AFTER TARES. 333 the skim-coulter, which sweeps it clean to the botloin of the furrow so buried, that the harrows drag out none. The turnip-seed should be sowed immediately, and thus managed, there will be little fear of a crop. They have on the South Downs an admirable practice hi their course of crops, which cannot be too mudi commended ; that of substituting a double crop of tares instead of a fallow for wheat. Let the intelligent reader give his attention to this pradice, for it is worth a journey of 500 miles. They sow forward winter tares, which are fed off late in the spring with ewes and lambs : they then plough, and sow summer tares and rape, two bushels and a half of tares, and half a gallon of rape ; and this they feed off with their lambs in time to plough once for wheat. A variation is for mowing ; that of sowing tares only in succession, even so late as the end of Jane for soiling. Oclo- her 6th, I saw a fine crop fmishing between Lewes and Brighton, on land that had yielded a full crop of winter-sown ones. The more this husbandry is analyzeil, the more excellent it will appear. The land in the fallow year is made to support the ut- most possible quantity of sheep which its destina- tion admits : the two ploughings are given at the best seasons ; in autumn, for the frosts to mellow the land, and prepare it for a successive growth of weeds, and late in spring to turn them down. Be- tween the times of giving those stirrings, the land is covered by crops. The quantity of live stock supported. 334 TURNIPS ON PARED AND BURNT LAND. [jUNE. supported, yields amply in manure. The treading the soil receives previous to sowing wheat, gives an adhesion grateful to that plant : in a word, many views are answered, and a new variation from the wretched business of summer-fallowing disco- vered, which, by a judicious application, would be attended in. great traces of this kingdom with most happy consequences to the farmer's profit. Another stroke of pradice, which Mr. Ellman, of Shoreham, is warm for, and with great reason, is that of breaking up his layers two years (clo- ver, ray, and trefoil) for summer tares and rape. What an immense improvement is this upon the common slovenly custom of Norfolk, of ribbling, or half, or bastard-ploughing such layers I a mi- serable pradlice, yet very general amongst the spirited cultivators of that celebrated county. TURNIPS ON PARED AND BURNT LAND. The lands that were pared and burned at any time previously to the time of sowing turnips, may now receive the seed. The ashes having been spread, and the field thinly ploughed with an even level furrow, \Vill present to the eye a face of whole furrows. The best operation further to prepare the surface, is to pass over it the Norfolk hcav; drill -roller, drawn by four horses, which will cut the furrows in pieces without disturbing cither them or the ashes, and has an efFedl in executing this work, which will be admired by all who view | it. The cutting circles which move around the iron axle are only four inches asunder : if the seed be, I JUNE.] TURNIPS ON OLD GRASS. 335 be then sown, and the roller be passed again across the line of its former movement, the job will be finished in the best manner possible ; but the com- mon method of harrowing is a very bad one ; and trusting the seed without any operation to cover it, causes an inequality in the plant, for it is apt to fail where it does not fall into cracks. Every man who is, or can be in the habit of this husbandry of paring and burning, should determine to sow turnips (or coleseed) on all the land that may have been pared and burnt after potatoe- planting : many farmers are not at all solicitous upon this point, because they are so very eager to sow white corn wherever it is possible to do it with any expectation of a crop : they put in oats on all early pared ; and wheat on all that is done afterwards ; but the pradlice is erroneous, nor can I see the gain by it ; for as to two crops of white corn, it is absolutely to be prohibited ; and as to three or four, such management is that of a barbarian : it arises from such execrable condudl, that there are many landlords prejudiced against •this excellent husbandry. If oats or wheat are taken for the first crop, turnips or cole must be the second ; therefore, it is not easy to understand what the motive can be. TURNIPS ON OLD GRASS. Where a man is not allowed to pare and burn, or cannot do it for some other reason, he should be reminded that this crop succeeds well when sown on one earth upon old turf ; but it should be ploughed 336 TUKXIPS WITH RAPE-DUST, kc. [jUNE, ploughed with a skim-couUer ; then well worked, but sh.illow, with the scarifier, and the seed har- rowed in. I have seen very good crops thus gained ; and have had them myself even without scarifying. This is much better husbandry than putting in oats first, which should follow the tur- nips. TURNIPS WITH RAPE-DUST, &c. A pradiice very lately introduced, and immedi- ately adopted and extensively applied by that great patron of modern improvements, Mr. Coke of Norfalk, is to drill rape-cake dust from the same machine, and at the same time with the turnip- seed ; for which purpose a machine has been very successfully made on Mr. Coke's principle, by Mr. Burrel of Thetford. Rape-cake is a very common manure in Norfolk. ; when spread for tur- nips, it has been usual to sow it grossly powdered five or six weeks before the sowing the turnip- seed ; but Mr. Coke has found at Holkham, that by means of grinding it to perfedl powder, there is po necessity for any space of time between sowing the manure and the seed ; and this may be pro- bable enough. It is, however, a point in which comparative experiments would be valuable. By thus delivering the manure and the seed into the same pipes and shares of the machine, a ton does six acres instead of three. In whatever way the question of the time of application may be decided, ftill the importance of the machine remains the game ; fur, with various other manures, there is no question Tl'NE.] CABBAGES. 337 question yet made of the propriety of delivering: them at tlie same time as the seed. This is the case with bone-dust, soot, coal and wood-ashes, dried and threshed pigeons' dung, powdered night- soil, and many others. Soot must, however, be mixed with some rougher powder, to prevent the cups smoothing their way in it, and by pressure preventing the delivery. These are all cheap ways of manuring for turnips ; and, as the seed and the manure are deposited in close contact, the plants receive immediate benefit, and obtain that quick growth, in their early state, which enables them best to escape the fly. SWEDISH TURNIP. A second, or perhaps a third sowing of this very valuable plant, should take place in this month : see the directions in May. And if the former sowing was eaten up by the fly, the land should be well scuffled and fresh sown. CABBAGES. Upon your cabbage-lands you should pursue the eame maxims as above laid down for turnips, only in ploughing the manure in, always throw the land on to the ridge, and set the plants in a single row on the top of each : so the dung is covered up in the ridges, and the plants in a proper situation for pmfiting by it to the utmost. As to the distance of the rows, you must be guided absolutely by the richness of the soil : if you find the plants join from row to row, when at four feet, then you have proof that they should not be planted nearer ; but, z if 338 CABBAGES. [jIJNE, if they no more than join on three-feet rows, then you would lose in the crop if you gave a greater distance : two feet, from plant to plant, is the proper distance. m When the manure is spread and turned in, the ' proper way of planting will be to send women or children in with bundles of plants, to drop them on the tops of the ridges, at about two feet distance. They will lay ready for the men, who may then plant almost as fast as they can walk ; but, if they have to get, carry, and set the plants, they will not be able to do near the work they might with better contrivance. The rows at four feet may be planted at five shillings an acre. It is a rule among the cabbage-planters in husbandry, never to water the plants, let the season be as dry as it may, insisting that it is entirely useless. Upon this I shall veur lure to remark, that in most years, if the land is in ] fine tilth, and well dunged, this may be right, as j the expence must be considerable ; but I should ■ apprehend that, in very dry seasons, when the new-set plants have nothing but a burning sun on them, that watering would save the lives of va^l jiumbers, and might answer the expence, if a porta ^ is near, and the work done with a water-cart. There is one use in cabbages, which appears not to have met with the attention it n^erits : it is the planting on those lands where turnips have failed. A late-sown crop of those roots comes not often to a profitable amount ; but cabbages planted on the |and, without any fresh ploughing, would turn out ^ a bene- lUNE.] CABBAGES. 339 beneficial crop for sheep late in the spri^ng : in II probability (unless on very light, sandy, or ine-stone soils), of greater value than the turnips, ad they succeeded. No farmer can entertain too high sentiments of le necessity of gaining crops of green winter food : he importance of having such food for his cattle, nd not depending totally on hay, is one of the learest axioms in the whole range of husbandry. lis profits will be amazingly lessened : his loss in he want of manure felt severely for many years, nd on farms not abounding with hay, his expence 1 buying it, or his loss in selling his cattle, will e equally great. But, besides these accumulated vils, there is another of a different nature, which e should consider well : it is the change of his 3urse of crops. After either turnips or cabbages, he )ws spring corn, and with that spring corn clover. >n some soils, the grass is left but one year, in Lhers two, and in others, mixed with ray-grass, :c. longer. The lay is ploughed up, and wheat : once harrowed in. This is compendious, cheap, id yet excelknt husbandry ; for the duration of 16 grass is a constant fund of profit, at scarcely ly expence, and the preparation for corn is Trying on in the most beneficial manner. But, the turnips fail, and no cabbages planted, lat is the consequence ? Why, the farmer sows leat on the fallow, in hopes of a good crop, to y him for so much tillage as the land has re- ived. This introducSlion of that grain at once z 2 breaks lABBAGES. JUNE.-: breaks the whole iirrangement of liis farm, and he i« forced either to begin again, or to pursue that pernicious husbandry of sowing two crops of white corn running. He must either fallow for turnips again, or take a crop of barley, and then turnips : thus is he tlirown out of his clover, though as im- portant a crop as any on his farm, and launches into a series of tillage, that cannot but prove very expensive to him, without repaying the benefit that the clover-couise would have done. For these reasons, when the turnips fail, and cabbages are not planted, the land should be laid up in winter for barley, and the clover sown with it, which will turn out far more profitable thait throwing in wheat. The cabbages planted in April, and hand-lu and horse -hoed in May, should now have the - cond of each of those operations given : a hand hoeing the middle of the month, which must cut up all weeds, and break the earth well of the nar- row slip on which the plants were left. Towards the latter end, the double earth board plough should go in the intervals, splitting the ridge thrown u[) in May, and returning it to the rows. These opc!\ tions will be of great utility to the crop. The cabbages drilled in April where to remain, will demand much attention this month to kc( p them at a proper distance, the tops of the ridges well hand-hoed, and the intervals shimmed, that they may be gradually reducing to a fine state of pul- veriaation. In all horse-hoed crops, these works should JUNE.] CABBAGE FALLOW. 341 should be particularly attended to while the plants are young, for when they are much branched out, the instruments cannot perform their work with any thing like the same eftedt. CABBAGE FALLOW. If a drought happens in the month of June, and the preparation of the fallow be not very forward, a farmer may be caught with his clods not suffi- ciently reduced to form the ridges : in this case, there is a tool so efFe6live, that the following mi- nute of my own pradlice may be worth attention. In preparing my fallows for cabbages this year, (1793), I found a use ih the Norfolk drill-roller, which I had not discovered before : I had got a ten -acred field, by heavy rolling, and harrowing, ind repeated tillage, into pretty good order, and :he dung well buried ready for the plants : this leld was finished about the gth of June : at the ;ame time another ten acres were preparing ; but lere, instead of a large two-ox roller covered with ead, I ordered my bailiff to try the drill-roller, hich requires four oxen : the effect was very great ndeed : the clods, from a long series of continued iry weather, were large in spite of five ploughings, nd much rolling and harrowing ; but once going wer with this most efFedlive tool, cut and bruised hem to atoms, so that the land then ridged up for ung is in excellent order. I have seen very pow-" rful spiky rollers used, but not with equal efFe6t. should, however, observe, that no tool in the 'orld can be expef it than can be dis- pensed with, the hay paying so much better. In the making of all artificial grasses into hav, particularly clover and sainfoin, it should be ob- served to a6l quite differently from the making na- tural grass. The latter is strewed about soon after mowing ; but the former should lie in swath a day or two, then turned carefully, and lie a day or twa longer. In good weather, this makes it sufficiently. It may then be got into cocks, in which it should remain about two days, and then carted to the stack. The whole is a very easy and cheap pro- cess. ]MKADO\VS. The very early or rich meadows, and the highly manured upland pastures, abont great cities, will be ready to mow in June. In executing the work, observe particularly, that the labourers cut as close to the ground as possible : grass never thrives well that is not mown quite close, and the loss in the crop of hay is very considerable ; for one inch at > bottom weighs more than several at top. In the making it into hay, you will be a loser, if you have not many hands ready for the work. It should be shaken JUNE.] MEADOWS. 347 shaken out dire6\ly after the scythe ; wind -rowed, that is, raked into rows, before the evening, shaken out again next morning, and in the afternoon got into grass-cocks : t4iese should be opened the morn- ing following, and got into the great cock by night ; by which time the hay will be well made, if no rain comes ; but, in a\se of bad weather the process will be more tedious. If successive rains come, so that the hay is damaged, and you are fearful of its turning out unprofitably, by all means «alt it as you stack it ; a peck strewed in layers on the stack to a load of hay : it will have a very great effe(^ in sweetening it, however bad ' it may be, even to blackness ; and it has been found by expe- riment, that horses and horned cattle will eat da- maged hay salted, which they would not touch without that addition. The following is the process in Middlesex : This branch of the rural art has, by the farmers of Middlesex, been brought to a degree of perfec- tion altogether unequalled by any other part of the kingdom. Tlie neat husbandry, and superior skill and management that are so much, and justly, ad- mired in the arable farmers of the best cultivaterl distrids, may, with equal justice and propriety, be said to belong, in a very eminent degree, to the hjai/ farmers of Middlesex, for by them may very fairly be claimed the merit of having reduced the art of making good hay into a regulai* system ; which, after having stood the test of long pra6tice and o48 MEADOWS. [jUNB, and ex}-)erience, is found to be attended with the most desirable success. Even in the most unfa- vourable weather, the hay made according to the Middlesex manner, is superior to that made by any other method under similar circumstances. It is to be regretted that this very excellent pradiice has not yet, except in a very few instances, travelled beyond the borders of the county. But as it most justly deserves the attention and imitation of far- mers in other distrid^s, I shall, for their informa- tion, endeavour minutely to describe the method in which the Middlesex farmers make their hay. In order that the subjed^ may be more clearly understood, I shall relate the particular operations of each day, during the whole process, from the moment in which the mower first applies his scythe, to that in which the hay is secured either in the barn or in the stack. Before I enter more inime- diately on this task, I would just premise a few ob- servations, viz. when the grass is nearly fit for mowing, the Middlesex farmer endeavours to se- led the best mowers, in number proportioned to the quantity of his grass, and the length of time it would be advisable to have it in hand ; which having done, he lets it out as piece-work, or to be mown by the acre *. * Ench mnn mows from an Mcrc nnd a half to an acre and three quarters per day : some tliere arc who do two acres per day, during the whole season. — J. M. About JUNE.] MEADOWS. 34^ About the same time he provides five haymakers (men and women *) to each mower. These last are paid by the diiy, the men attending from six till six ; but the women only from eight till six ; for an extra hour or so in the evening, when the business requires dispatch, they receive a propor- tionate allowance. The mowers usually begin their work at three, four, or five o'clock in the morning, and continue to labour till seven or eight at night ; resting an hour or tWo in the middle of the day. Every haymaker is expelled to come provided with a fork and a rake of his own ; but when the grass is ready, and labourers scarce, the farmer is* frequently obliged to provide both ; but for the most part only the rake. Every part of the operation is carried on with forks, except clearing the ground, which is done with rakes, and loading the carts, which is done by hand. Having premised so much, I now come to the description of the business of the First Day, — All the grass mown before nine o'clock in the morning is tedded (or spread), and great care taken to shake it out of every lump, and to strew it evenly over all the ground. Soon afterwards it is turned, with the same degree of care and attention ; and if, from the number of hands, they are able to turn the whole again, * Including loaders, pitchers^ and slackers, and all others. — they 350 MEADOWS. [JITNE. they do so, or at least as much of it as they can, till twelve or one o'clock, at which time they dine. The 6rst thing- to be done after dinner, is to rake it into what arc called sins;le wind-rows * ; and the last operation of this day is to put it into grass^ cocks. Second Day. — ^The business of this day com- mences with tedding all the grass that was mown the first day after nine o'clock, and all that was mown this day before nine o'clock. Next, the grass-cocks are to be well shaken out into staddlcs (or separate plats) of five or six yards diameter. If the crop should be so thin and light as to leave the spaces between these staddles rather large, such spaces must be immediately raked clean, and the Takings mixed with the other hay, in order to its all drying of an uniform colour. The next busi- ness is ro turn the staddles, and after that to turn the grass that was tedded in the first part of the morning once or twice, in the manner described for the first day. This should all be done before twelve or one o'clock, so that the whole may lie to dry while the work-people are at dinner. After dinner, the first thing to be done is, to rake the staddles into double wind-rows -^ ; next, to rake the * Thnt is, they nil rake In such manner, as that each person makes a row, vi hich rows ar«=; three or four feet apart. — J. M. f In (loiiig whicli, cvcr^' two persons rake the hay in opposltj dlreftion?, or towards eacli otiier. and by that means form a \ovf between them of double the size of a single wind-row. Each of these double wind-rows arc about six> or eight feet distant from •• ich other. — J. iM. grass J-UNEf] ' MEADOWS, 351 orass into sins^lemnd-vows ; then the double wind- rows are put into bastard-cocks ; and histly, the single wind-rows are put into grass-cocks. This -completes the work of the second day. Third Day. — ^The grass niown and not spread on Ithe second day, and also that mown in the early part of this day, is first to be tedded in the morn- ings and then the grass-cocks are to be spread into staddles, as before, and the bastard-cocks into -staddles of less extent. These lesser staddles, though last spread, are first turned, then those •which were in grass-cocks ; and next, the grass is turned once or twice before twelve or one o'clock, Avhen the people go to dinner as usual. If the weather has proved sunny and fine, the hay which Avas last night in bastard-cocks, will this afternoon be in a proper state to be carried * ; but if the ■weather should, on the contrary, have been cool .and .cloudy, no part of it probably will be fit to ear^ry. In that case, the first thing set about after dinner, is to rake that which was in grass-cocks last niglit, into double wind-rows ; then the grass .which was this morning spread from the swaths, into single wind-rows. After this, the hay which was last night in bastard-cocks, is made up into ^ull si2;ed cocks, and care taken to rake the hay uy.^ .clean, and also to put the rakings upon the top of each cock. Next, the double wind- rows are put * It seldom happens in dry wenther, but that it n^ay be cnr- ried on the third day. — /. M, into 352 MEADOWS. [jUXE. into bastard-cocks, and the single wind-rows into grass-cocks, as on the preceding days. Fourth Day. — On this dav, the great cocks just mentioned, are usually carried before dinner. The other operations of the day are such, and in the same order, as before described, and are continued daily until the hay harvest is completed. In the course of hay-making, the grass should, as much as possible, be protected both day and night, against rain and dew, by cQ<:king. Care should also be taken to proportion the number of iiaymakers to that of the mowers, so that there may not be more grass in hand, at any one time, than can be managed according to the foregoing process. This proportion is about 20 haymakers (of which number 12 may be women) to four mowers : the latter are sometimes taken half a day to assist the former. But in hot, windy, or very drying weather, a greater proj)ortion of haymakers will be required than when the weather is cloudy and cool. It is particularly necessary to guard against spread- ing more bay than the number of hands can get into cock the same day,- or before rain. In showery and uncertain weather, the grass may sometimes be suifercd to lie three, four, or even five days in swath. But before it has lain long enough for the under side of the swath to become yellow (which, if suffered to lie long, would be the case), parti- cular care should be taken to turn the swaths with the heads of the rakes. In this state it will cure so JUNE.] MEADOWS. 353^ SO much in about two days as only to require be- ing tedded a few hours, when the weather is fine previous to its being put together and carried. In this manner hay may be made and stacked at a small expence, and of a good colour, but the tops and bottoms of the grass are insufficiently separated by it. There are no hay-stacks more neatly formed, nor better secured, than those of Middlesex. At every vacant time, while the stack is carrying up. the men are employed in pulling it, with their hands, into a proper shape ; and, about a week after it is finished^ the whole roof is properly thatched, and then se- cured from receiving any damage from the wind, by means of a straw rope extended along the eaves, Lip the ends, and near the ridge. The ends of the thatch are afterwards cut evenly below the eaves 3f the stack, just of sufficient length for the rain- vatcr to drip quite clear of the hay. When the itack happens to be placed in a situation which "nay be suspected of being too damp in the winter, I trench of about six or eight inches deep is dug ound, and nearly close to it, which serves to con- ey all the water from the spot, and renders it per- e6lly dry and secure. The Middlesex farmers are desirous of preserving he green colour of their hay as much as possible, hough a lightish brown is of no disservice to it. lay of a deep brown colour, occasioned by its laVing heated too much in the stack, is said to r'eaken the horses that eat it, by promoting an A a excess 354 MEADOWS. fjUNE. . excess of urine, and consequently it sells at a re- duced price*. In the making of hay, some attention should be paid to the quality of the soil, and the kind of herbage growing on it. The hard, henty, hay, of a poor soil, is in little or no danger ofjiring in the stack; and should, therefore, he put very early to- gether, in order to promote a comiderahle perspiri^A tion, as the only means of imparting a flavour :^1 such hay, luhich will make it agreeable to horses and lean cattle : it will be nearly unfit for every other sort of stock. It is the succulent herbage of rich land, or land highly manured, that is more likely to generate heat siifficient to hurst into Jfame, as it has sometimes done : of course, the grass from such land must have more time allowed in making it into hay. This the Middlesex farmers are perfecTtly aware of; and, when the weather proves moderately drying, they make most excellent hay. But when very hot or scorching, they, as well as most other farmers,* under similar circumstances, are sometimes mis- taken. In such weather the grass becomes crisp, rustless, and handles like hay before the sap is suffi-> ciently dissipated for it to be in a state fit to be; put into large stacks. But if that be done when it is thus insufficiently made, it generally heats too much, * Observation . If you woiill make your Iiay come out of the stack of a line colour, and the beauty of the flowers to appear. JUNE.] MEADOWS. 356 innch, sometimes becomes mow-burnt^ and in some cases, though very rarely, has taken tire *. The great quantity they have in hand at the same time, viahes it extremely difficult to carry the whole just at the moment it is sufficiently made ; although it is certainly of considerable consequence that it should be so, in order to its yielding the greatest possible weighty and preserving its best quality ; as, every minute after that precise time, it continues to lose, both in weight, and in its nutritious pro- perties, by evaporation -j". Even the difference of an hour, in a very hot drying day, is supposed to occasion a loss of ] 5 or 20 per cent, on the hay, by its being carried beyond the point of perfedlion, and frequently even a greater loss is sustained. The expences are, per acre, as under, viz. Mowing, 3s.; beer, 6d. - £.0 3 6 Making and stacking, - - Q 6 Pulling the stack^ and laying the hay pulled out, upon the stack, - O O 6 Carryforward - ^T. O 13 6 appear, the hay you have shaken out of bastard-cocks to pre- pare for carting, should be cocked in the heat, and remain till the next morning ; then turn and open the cocks, for the air to take away the damp that is collected, which otherwise would heat in the stack, and of course the beauty of the colour would be done away. * Hay stacked in a barn in the same state, would not heat too much } and as to firing, no such thing was ever known. — J. M. -f Every tlnng we smell affords proof positive, that more thaa watery particles evaporate. — /. M. A a 2 Brought 356 WATERED MEADOWi?. [jUXE Brought forward - /".O 13 (> Horses, harness, and carts, - - O 2 (> Straw for thatch, 3s. ; thatcher arid la- bourer, 6d. - - * 3 (] Total expence per acre in the stack -yard is IQs. or 20s. - — Middle I an. ' WATERED MEADOWS. These come in for mowing this month. Mr. Bosvvell direds, that as soon as the hay is cleared, cattle of any sort (no sheep) should be turned in for a week to eat the grass out of the trenches, and what may be left by the mowers. Then the water should be worked on them, care being taken to let it only dribble over every part as thinly as possible, this being the warmest season of the year. The first watering should not last longer than two or three days, before it is shifted to another mea- dow : there will soon be an after-grass of such a rich and beautiful verdure as will astonish a speda- tor not accustomed to it ; and the quantity and quality will be beyond conception, compared with the state the lands were in before they were watered, Mr. Boswell further cautions his reader to guard by all means against keeping the water too long upon the meadow in warm weather. It will very soon pi'oduce a white substance like cream, which is prejudicial to the grass^ and shews it has been upon the ground too long already ; but if permit- ted to 'remain a little longer, a thick scum will settle upon the grass, of the consistence of glue, and JUNE.] FEEDING AJJD MOWING. 357 and as tough as leatlier, which will quite destroy it. FEEDING AND MOWING. Relative to the application of grass, there are some common opinions, which I heard so often canvassed, or rather asserted, in discourse, that I gave a particular attention to them on my own farm. It has been said more than once, that mow- ing land exhausts it more than feeding ; and that pastures should be alternately fed and mown upon the same principles that arable lands are fallowed. I have remarked the eflec^s of both on several of my fields, and also on my neighbours, and there- fore can speak to it from better authority than mere conje6lure. Several grass-fields on this estate, and some of my own, have been mown every year as long as the labourers remember : I have a minute of 22 successive crops of hay in one field, and yet neither that, nor any of the rest, shew more signs of being exhausted than others on simi- lar soils that have been fed. Here are fields that have been constantly mown, separated only by a hedge from others that have been often fed ; the soil and treatment in other respeds alike ; and yet the one are as good as the other ; nor are the few crops taken from the fed lands better than those from others mown. I have fed parts of fields, and mown parts, and the year following mown the whole ; nor could I perceive a difference. Why is feeding thought to be so beneficial, as to rank with a fallow ? upon what principles ? it can A a 3 onlv 358 FEEDING AND MOWING. [jUNE, only be the appearance of a large burthen of hay at once upon the ground, that constitutes so strong an idea of a crop ; and the notion of cattle in feeding manuring the land greatly. As to the product, it is, probably, nearly the same when fed as when mown ; only the eating as fast as it grows, prevents the quantity appearing : the argument is therefore reduced to the manuring received from the cattle in feeding. That this is not of much consequence from great cattle, I think there is reason to suppose. In the first place, it is not laid on in one body, so as to occasion a fermentation in the soil. In the next, it is dropped at an unfavourable season, summer. It is also in such irregular quantities as to do mischief. Great cattle, while they dung, stand still, and dro[^ the whole in one spot ; no grass is there to b; found for a twelvemonth ; and when it does come, it is often rank, and left uneaten, occasioning loss, unless the scythe follows ; and the quantity of grass thus hurt for a season is not inconsider able. ' Perhaps the treading of heavy cattle is hurtful to the grass ; the surface of the ground is too com ■ pa6l and bound without such an addition. But the land receiving little benefit from feeding is not the only point : I conceive that a crop, such as we mow for hay, if cut early, is of benefit to it, from being at once on the land. The thick shade in the summer breeds a fermentation, opens and QOsens the surface ; of which any one may be con- vinced. JUNE.] HORSE-HOEING. SSQ vinced, who examines the surface of two grass fields, one fed and the other inown ; and it must be a be- nefit to loosen the soil for the roots and fibres that are in general so bound and matted. These, I ap- prehend, are the reasons for the (aS. observed. But extend the argument, and suppose the hay con- verted to dung in the farm-yard, and then carried on to the field in proper quantities, and at a pro- per season, it is clear enough (all expences carried to account) which method will have the advau-r tage. THE TEAMS. Continue to soil your horses and oxen in the sta- bles, or under sheds, upon lucerne mown every (^ny or two, and take care to have great plenty of Jitter, to spread under them, for treading into dung. They will raise immense quantities of most valuable manure with this management, and at the same time be kept at a much cheaper rate than if turned into any kind of pasture, HORSE-HOEING. The drilled crops of pease and beans, must be horse-hoed at least once in June. If they had re^ ceived a first horse-hoeing in May, then this of June must reverse it : throw the earth back again to the rows, splitting the ridge in the middle of the interval. In these works of horse-hoeing, the plough should not be carried nearer the rows of corn than four inches : even at that distance, som^ of the corn will be apt to be buried. A a 4 FALLOWS. 360 BUCK-WHEAT AFTER TARES. [jUNE. FALLOWS. The fallows, whether for wheat or barley, if in common management, should this month receive a stirring ; by which the crops of weeds, that have arisen since the land was ploughed and harrowed fine, the latter end of April, or the beginning of May, will all be turned in and destroyed. But in the more modern management, it is not necessary to give any ploughing this month ; the weeds are better destroyed by the broad shim, or by thescufflers, which should work till just before har- vest, and then one earth if wanted will be effective. BUCK-WHEAT. This crop bearing to be sown so late is, in many cases, a most valuable circumstance. By means of it, you have time to get the land into extreme good order, and quite free from seed- weeds. If the stubbles are broken up in October, he must be an indolent farmer that cannot get his land fine and clean by the middle of June. BUCK-WHEAT AFIER TARES. This is a very beneficial system, which was first explained by the Rev. Mr. Moscly, of Suftblk, and it is so much deserving of attention, that I shall insert his own account of it. The excellent Norfolk method of managing light lands I generally adhere to, viz. turnips, barley, clover, and wheat ; but findi/ig, from a failure of clover in my two last crops after barley, that the succeeding ones were not equal to my ex|)e<5^ation, I de- JUNE.] BUCK-WHEAT AFTER TARHS. SGi I determined to try something as a substitute for that excellent preparation. Tares, I was aware, were frequently sown, and excellent crops of wheat have succeeded ; but, as there were near three months between the time of cutting tares and sow- ing wheat, I thought that something might be done in the interim, in order, not only to keep the land clean, but to improve the succeeding crop. It was necessary to consider what would answer this end, that would not be attended with con- siderable cxpence ; buck-wheat claimed the prefer- ence, as it was of quick growth, and had been re- commended as a strong and lasting manure. I therefore determined to try the effedts of it, and have reason to think that my expedlation was not too much raised ; for although I cannot with that certainty ascertain the real produce of the land as I can wish, as a considerable quantity of the wheat lias been destroyed by vermin, yet still have I had the satisfa6lion of lodging in my granary as much as I usually have done in the common method of husbandry. The loss I sustained was, indeed, very considerable, from such small animals as mice, for there was not a rat in the barn, and will be a stand- ing memorial to me for threshing my corn in the proper season. It was computed at one fourth of the whole crop. But, even deducting the loss, and allowing the increase to be equal to former years, will it not be right sometimes to alter the usual course, and substitute a preparation equally profit- able as clover for the farmer's grand crop, wheat ? The 362 BUCK-WHEAT AFTER TARES. [jUXE. The land upon which this experiment was made, was light, and produced excellent turnips and barley, but seldom more than a moderate crop of wheat : 20 bushels per acre were as much as Plight be expedted in a good season. But although I cannot speak with precision in regard to the wheat crop, yet I can thus far aiiirm, that the additional profit from the rye, as spring feed, which succeeded the wheat, was more than equal to the original price of the buck-wheat. How Ion?: the effedls of this manure will continue, I cannot possibly say, but, from the luxuriance of the rye, should not have made the least doubt of its operative qualities to the ripening that crop. The expence is trifling, for you cannot find any manure even for a single crop, equal in all respe6ts to this for five shillings, which is, in general, the price of two bushels, and is sufficient for one acre. But a material advantage there certainly is from two vegetable crops, the one immediately suc- ceeding the other, in cleaning the land, for although the rye was sown as soon as I could conveniently plough after the haulm was carried off, yet, upon breaking up the land after the rye was fed off, it was much cleaner than it was after the last fallow, I wish I coidd have drawn a more accurate con- clusion from this experiment, as I find that it is the first that has been made in this manner ; and would not have troubled you with this, had it not been by your particular desire, it being impossible to as- certain precisely the loss i sustained, consequently mere JUNE.] WASH AND SHEAR SHEEP, 3G3 njere presumption to ofier cs much from longitudinal cut- ting. The improvement of clipping circularly round the body of the sheep began in Lin- colnshire, and thence passed into Leicestersliirc. The Earl of Egremont was assiduous in introducing it into Sussex, the Duke of Bedford into Bedford- shire, and Mr. Coke into Norfolk, so that gradu- ally it will spread over the kingdom. Possibly the motive JUNE.] ' THR FLY. 365 motive for this mode of shearing was to add to the beauty of the animal. I know not whether there are shearers who can cut as close in a different dire<5tion, but I never saw it done. In winding the wool there are some absurd a(5ls of parliament which operate : confidence in the common course of business ensures good washing, and so it will fair winding ; for he who once sells dirt clots and sand for wool, will find the loss when he deals again. In common clipping, the pay per score is 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. for washing, clipping and winding, labour being at Is. 6d. a day. THE FLY. Sheep that are kept in Inclosures, and especially in a woodland country, should be examined every day, lest they be fiy-struck : in twenty-four hours it may be almost past cure. " As a preventive of the fly, the midland shep- herds use curious applications, especially to the lambs. Train-oil is found to be efficacious ; but it fouls the wool, and makes the sheep disagreeable to touch. An ointment made of butter and the flowers of sulphur seems to be in the best repute*. Inse(9:s certainly have their antipathies, and to find out those of the sheep-fly is an interesting subjedl of inquiry. * The butter being melted, a sufficiency of brimstone is stirred into it, to form an ointnjent of a prcUy firm consistency. Jn application, .a piece the si^e of a small walnut is rubbed be- tween the hands, and these drawo along the backs of the sheep. The 366 FOLDIXG, [jUNE, The method of destroying maggots here^ >s effedlualj and if apphed in time, simple and eas}\ Instead of cutting the wool off* the part affeded, and scraping off the maggots wkh the points of the shears, the wool is parted, and the maggots picked OLit with a knife, or otherwise dislodged, without breaking the coat ; and a small quantity of white lead scraped from a lump, among tl>e wool ; which being agitated, the powder is carried evenly down ta the wound. Too much discolours the wool : a little prevents any further harm from the maggots that may be left among ,tl>e wool, driving them away from the wound ; and, at the same time, is found to promote its healing. In well shepherded flocks, which are seen regularly twice a day, there is no such thing as a broken coat.'* — Marshall, FOLDING, This is a capital month for the sheep-fold, with those who still pra6tise it. Now you may fold the cabbage and turnip-land, which are the crops that will soonest succeed the operation : the general rule for all manuring. Give each sheep a square yard in the fold, and go two nights on the same land. THISTLE THE WHEATS. In this month, the crops of wheat, if any thistles have arisen in them, should be weeded. The best manner of performing the work is with a small hand-hook. It should not be deferred longer than the beginning of June, or damage will be done to the crop by the treading. DIG JUNE.J DIG MAHLE. 307 DIG MARLE. This is a good season for marling land : one of the most important works that can be done in husbandry. All farmers, that have marie under their fields and do not make use of such a treasure, are to be condemned. In some countries, it is the common manure; and almost every where to be found when dug for ; in such places, the farmers have nothing to do but to resolve on the undertaking : they all acknow- ledge the expediency of the work, and seldom dis- pute the great profit of it ; but, in other parts, the knowledge of marie is very confined. It may per- haps be discovered half a century before it comes into general use. In tra<^s of waste land, or sheep walks and warrens, let at a shilling, or two shill- ings and sixpence an acre, marie being discovered, and rendering such land capable of yielding noble crops of turnips, clover, and all sorts of grain and pulse ; the uncommon effect, and the amazing ad- vantages made by it are so striking, that the use spreads fast. But, on the contrary, when marie is found under richer soils (inclosed countries, for instance, of ten or twelve siiillings an acre), the case is different : it will not make such an improvement as on the poorer lands ; and, as great fortunes are not suddenly made by the use of it, the farmers in some districts will not be persuaded to use it with any spirit, possibly, not at all : they think that a rent> comparatively higher than the other trades, will not allow of their spending such sums about it; 368 DIG MARLE. [jUKK. it : that they will not reap equal profit is un- doubted ; but why not accept of twenty per cent. advantage ? Should they rejedl It, because thev cannot command fifty ? U tenants are backward in making use of marie on lands of ten or twelve shillings an acre, their landlords should set them the example, and shew that the work will answer well. Marie is of various sorts, and lies in various strata : in some places, it is a soft, fat, soapy sub- stance ; in others, it is hard as chalk, which are called stone-marles : sometimes you find it white, sometimes grey ; also blue, yellow, and a dark brown. In some counties you have shell -marie, which is composed of nothing but decayed shells. The depths at which it lies are various : sometime«» only three feet from the surface, at others ten or twelve, and in some places so deep, that it will not iinsvver to get it at all. The strata are also of dif- ferent thickness, from two feet to twelve feet deep ; but the general circumstances in which all true mafles agree, and which denote them to be reaU are the effervescence with acids, and the falling in water : the crackling in the fire is a good sign, but not alone determinate. If it is uncertain what strata are under a farm. it is. ever advisable to use the screw-borer, to dis- cover what soils arc within reach. By means of that instrument, you discover, at a trifling expenre. if there be any marie at command. The best way of conveying it on to the land, ii' JUNE.] DIG CLAY. 369 if it does not lay very deep, is to open a sloping mouth, sinking the pit gradually, wide enough for a cart to drive in and out ; and, when you come to the marie, to work it away circularly, and to keep the pit ten or fifteen feet deepj by which means the expence of filling the. carts will be much lessened. The expence of marHng, when it is thrown in this manner into the cart, will be, upon an average, threepence to threepence-halfpenny per cubical yard, the filling and spreading ; and about fourpence- halfpenny for the teams, carts, and drivers t in allj eightpence per load, or cubical yard, or three pounds six shillings and eightpence per hundred loads. This will be a proper quantity for an acre d( land : the benefit will last for twenty years^ and the land alwavs be the better for it* DIG CLAY. Where marie is not to be had, clayj in many places, is to be found at a moderate depth* This manure has few of the properties by which marie to be known ; but yet it works wonderful im- arovements on many soils. In some light lands it las been preferred by many very good farmers to ndifFerent sorts of marie ; and this preference has seen the result of attentive experience. But the great point concerning clay is not so nuch the comparison with marie, as the use of it vhere no marie is to be had. On all light sandy mis it should be used with a confidence of sue- ess ; for the precedents of its good efFedls are so mmerous, that we cannot have a doubt of itsexcel- Bb lence. $70 DIG CHALK, [jUNE, )ence. About sixty or seventy loads an acre, at the same expence as of marie, will work an improve- ment great enough to shew how much mistaken those men are, who think nothing but the finest marles worthy of attention ; and upon heavier soils, such as wet loams, brick-earths upon clav. and loose hollow soils, that want a firmer texture, clay is an excellent manure ; but there are vas; traces, of such land, that cover very fine veins of clay, and yet the farmers know nothing of the us( of it. It is much to be regretted that their land- lords do not give them a juster idea, by being at the expence of claying some small fields, until the benefit of the improvement becomes conspicuous. DIG CHALK. Chalk is a manure common in many parts of tlu kingdom, and this month is a very proper season for digging it. A distinction is here to be made: between the chalks that are of the fat soapy kind, and those hard ones that are flakey and different. The first ought always to be ranked among th( marles, for such they really are; but the latter i^ properly chalk, and are of excellent use on man. soils: they work a great improvement on lighi sands and light loams : they have in many places been used witli great success on gravels ; and on clayey loams and clays they do extremely well, mellowing them greatly, and bringing them into much better order for ploughing, and much earlier in the spring, which, on- such soils, is always :: matter of consequence. The expences of this im provemciit JUXE.] EMPTY PONDS. iji provement are the same as of marie or clay, being sometimes dag and thrown direflly into carts, and at others drawn up in buckets through shafts. These variations are not of such importance as to exclude the propriety of the improvement, even in the most expensive countries. EMPTY PONDS. This is a proper season for emptying ponds, and cleansing rivers ; for, being early in the summer, you will afterwards have an opportunity of turning the mud over, and thereby sweetening it, and lay- ing it into the proper state for bringing oh to the land. This is a part of husbandry too much neg- ledled by many farmers ; but advantage should always be taken of it by a good husbandman, when he is lucky enough to- succeed a great sloven ; for then he will probably find all the ponds,- &c. full of rich mud. It is improbable that pond mud, especially if there is a stream into the water, should ever fail of proving a good manure, when judiciously used. The method of managing it, which has been found the most beneficial, is the following : As soon as the mud is dry, and hard enough to spit, turn it over, and, in about three weeks or a month after, mix it with an equal quantity of chalk or marlc : either bring the chalk to the mud, or carry the mud to the chalk. If lime is cheap and plenty, it will be an excellent management to add about one-fourth the quantity of mud in lime. Let the whole be mixed well together, and remain B b 2 until 37' hape for seed. JUNBil until September, when it should be turned over again, and spread iipon pasture or meadow land in 061ober. This is husbandry that will pay well. RAPE OR COLE-SEED. This plant may be sown now, in the same man- ner, and upon the same preparation as turnips. RAPE OR COLE FOR SHEEP. This crop is sown, when intended for sheep-feed, all throuo:h June and July ; but for seed, the first week in August will do : upon fen and peat soils and bogs, and black peaty low grounds it thrives greatly, and especially on pared and burnt land, which is the best preparation for it. In many respe6ls the culture is the same as for turnips, only double the quantity of seed, as the crop is not commonly hoed. Two quarts an acre : but some sow three ; and I have heard of a gallon being used. RAPE FOR SEED. The Flemish culture much deserves attention They sow in a seed-bed for transplantation. Sow the seed thick, setting it out on an oat- stubble, after one ploughing. This is so great and striking an improvement of our culture of the same plant, that it merits the utmost attention ; for saving a whole year is an objedl of the first consequence. The transplanting is not performed till 0(5lobcr, and lasts all November, if no frost ; and at such a season there is no danger of the plants not succeeding : earlier would, however, purely be better, to enable them to be stronger rooted^ to withstand the frosts, which often destroy them. JUNE.] SOILING. 373 them, but the object of the Flemings is not to give tlieir attention to this business till every thing that concerns wheat-sowing is over. The plants are large, and two feet long ; a man makes the holes with a large dibble, like the potatoe one used on the Essex side of London, and n>en and women fix the plants, at 18 inches by 10 inches ; some at a foot square, for which they are paid Q liv. per manco of land. The culture is so common all the way to Valenciennes, that there are pieces of two, three, and four acres of seed-bed often met with. The crop is reckoned very uncertain : some- times it pays nothing ; but in a good year, up to 300 liv. the arpent (100 perches of 24 feet), or 8l. 15s. the English acre. They make the crop in July ; and, by manuring the land, get good wheat. SOILING, Soiling on lucerne, tares, clover or chicory, should go on through the whole of this month. In -some soils, and situations, and seasons, it may not be possible to do any thing in it in May, but now these plants will every where admit it. The mowings should be daily, and attention paid that the food be not left Loaded in carts, or given in the racks or cribs in such -quantities as to ferment, which presently renders it unpalatable, and conse- quently refused by horses and cattle, much waste ensuing. If the number to be fed be not so great as to demand a one-horse cart load for every bait, it will be proper to have an ass car lor this putpose, B b 3 as 374 SOILING. [jUNE. as it is very material that all which is brought home should be immediately distributed to the stock. A good farmer will have been attentive to secure as ample a provision of litter as possible ; if he has not reserved his wheat-stacks to be threshed at this season, which usually gives the best price, at the same time that it provides for littering at a season the best calculated for making dung. That sum- men is that season, there are several reasons for ad- mittmg. Those farmers who have given particular atten- tion to the state of farm-yard manure, as it is made in winter and in summer, and to the efficacy of both, can scarcely have failed to remark, that the superi- ority of the dung arising from any sort of stock, commonly fed, in summer, is very great to such a is made in winter from stock no better fed. The manure yielded by fat hogs, and by beasts fed on oil-cake, is of such a quality that the season does not demand attention ; but with all other stock I have great reason to believe, from many observa- tions, that a farmer should make as large a reserve of straw, stubble, &c. for littering in summer, as possible. Cattle, .when soiled upon any kind of green food, as tares, clover, chicory, lucerne, or grass, make so large a quantity of urine as to demand th( greatest quantity of litter ; the degree of this moisture in which their litter is kept, while the weather is hot, much assists a rapid fermentation, ^nd gi^at quantities of carbonic acid and hydrogen are JUNE.] SOILING. 375 are generated. The winter's cold, with superfluous moisture by rain or snow, has a contrary tendency ; the manure is, comparatively speaking, Weak antj poor. When I view the common specSlacleof a large yard spread with a thin stratum of straw or stubble, and a parcel of lean straw-fed cows wandering about it, I think I see the most ingenious way of anni- hilating litter, without making dung, that the wit of man could have invented. Burning such straw upon the land before sowing turnips, would be an application far superior. Cows thus managed, are amongst the most un- profitable stock that can be kept on a farm. With the best food and management, their dung is infe- rior, but thus kept on a wide expanse of thin litter well drenched in rain and snow, running to ponds and ditches, they destroy much, but give little. - When a farm is rich enough to summer-graze oxen, large or small, oil-cake feeding to finish, or wait for markets, is often profitable, and thelitter sure to be converted into excellent manure ; but when the grass-lands will not permit this system, a farmer cannot possibly be too sparing of Jitter in winter. Hogs form an exception, but I know not another. It is a fa6l, that stock not in fattening condi- tion make good dung in summer, but they do not in winter. If, on experience, it should be found by others as it has often been by myself, that litter of all kinds is converted in summer to better dung than common B b 4 'winter 376 DAIRY. [jUNE. winter keeping can efTedi, the vast importance of raising amply various crops for soiling, acquires a fresh interest in the farmer's system. He will be sedulous to cover his fallows with tares, clover, and chicory, and apply a breadth of his very best land to lucerne ; he will ever take care to have too much rather than too little, as an increase of his hay- stacks can in few cases prove any evil ; and as these crops prepare for corn at the same time that they furnish support for cattle, horses, and swine, when dung is best made, they tend, in every way, to keep a farm in heart. LONG AND SHORT DUNG. Many experiments have been made, not only by garden farmers in the vicinity of Wimbledon, but also by Mr. Paterson, comparing long fresh dung with such as is well mixed and rotten, and the re- sult has been very generally in favour of the long dung. DAIRY. " I take it that oftentimes in very hot weather, the milk in a cow's udder, much agitated by driving, or running about, is in a state not very far different from that carried in a churn, which frequently makes the great difficulty in what is called bringing the cheese, or fixing the curd in the tub or pan : J have often heard dairy-women say, that it is sometimes very difficult to make it come at all, and instead of one hour (the time very commonly given by dairy -women, in bringing the cheese) that it will frequently not come in three, four, or five hours, and i JUNE.] DAIRY. 377 and then in such an imperfedl state, as to be scarce capable of being confined either in the cheese-vat or press, and when released from the press, will heave, or puff up, by splitting or jointing, accord- ing as the nature or state of the curd happens to be. Whenever people find their cows in this situ- ation, which in hot summer evenings must often happen, especially where water is scarce, or in grounds where there is very little shade ; then it is, that making use of a little cold spring water before earning, or rendling, is useful, as that will make the runnet take effed^t and the milk coagulate much sooner. It often happens, in some dairies, that the work is quite at a stand : the dairy-woman not knowing how to hasten the coagulum, or coming of the cheese, thinks of putting more runnet in to forward it ; but the nature of runnet being such as will dissolve the curd in part coagulated, if more be put in, disturbs the wliole, and prevents its becoming curd at all, or in a very imperfedl state, remaining in the whey, in an undigested state that will neither turn to curd or cream, and a principal part of the richest of the milk is then cast away with the whey. Cold water, with a little salt (as hereafter recommended) will, in a great measure, prevent this difficulty. One great point, or thing to be observed in first setting off, or rend- ling the milk, is carefully to observe the state of the milk as to heat or cold : the grand medium, or state it should be in when you put the runnet into it, is what may be properly understood milk- warm ; if you find 378 DAiBT. [junk. find it to be warmer than that, it is recommended to put some fresh spring water into it, in such quantity as will reduce it to the milk-warm state : a quart, two, three, four or more, according to the quantity of milk to be so cooled : many people may think water will hurt the milk or impoverish the cheese ; experience shews it will not, but is a means of the runnet more immediately striking or operat- ing with the milk. I would recommend the use of a thermometer, to shew the degree of heat miik bears. I doubt not one may be constructed on a very easy plan, that will cost a very little money, and it will be well worth while to be at a small charge to regulate a fault, of putting milk together too hot, which is of more ill consequence than people are aware of. — Twamleif. *' Sometimes, if cheese be laid cool when first made, or coming from the press, is dried outwardly by means of a harsh cool air, when at the same time the inside of the cheese remains in a moist state, though the coat is hard and dry, when that cheese is exposed to heat, either by lying near a hot wall, or near tiles in hot weather, or by the immediate heat of the sun, it will be drawn up round, in the same manner, and by the same cause, that a board is made round, or coffered up, by the heat of the sun : rank cheese very often heaves, from the cause before given, that makes it rank. Cheese is very apt to split, or divide in the middle, by being salted within, especially when people spread salt across the middle of the cheese when the #UNE.] DAIRY. 379 the vat is about half filled, which curd, though in a small degree. separated by salt, never closes or joins, and is much easier coffered up or drawn round than other cheese ; especially thin cheese made iir what we call Gloucester vats, being round or rising in the bottom, and the slider or cheese-board that is laid ov^ir it, made convex also, in order to make the cheese thinnest in the middle, that it may diy ,quick for early sale. Then, if salted within, and being laid soft on the shelf to dry, as it bears only on the edge all around, it is almost sure to split, and it is often seen ; scarce a cheese in some dairies ^of this form but what do split. Salting a little in the milk is greatly preferable, for these dairies in .particular .—T?6'« inleif. '^ It is a fa6l well established, that the season has great influence on the quality of cheese ; especially on the defe^l more immediately under notice. In 1783, a dry hot summer, scarcely any dairy could make good cheese. In some dairies more than half the make was hollow, and' even in the best dairy I had an opportunity of examining, numbers were " eyey :" while in a common season, and more especially in a cool summer, the same dairy has scarcely a defective cheese. " In North Wiltshire, an experienced, and very intelligent dairy-woman observed, that when tlie *^ crazey" (the crowfoot) is in full blow, she finds her cheese particularly inclined to heave; while a dairy farmer of the highest class in the same dis- inS., has observed that when the creeping trefoil. w rhite 380 PARE AND BLRX. [jUNE, white Tclover (trifolium repens) has been in full blow, and in particular abundance, he has heard the loudest complaints of the licentious disposition of the cheese. It is not probable that any one species of plants is the sole cause of the disorder. Almost every cheese has its peculiar flavor, and its different de- gree of acrimony. Nothing is more likely to give that almost caustic quality which some cheeses are pos- sessed of, than the common and bulbous crowfoots : not only their flowers, but their leaves, are singu- larly acrid. On the other hand, there are several circumstances which render it probable that a re- dundancy of the creeping trefoil tends to aggravate the disorder. Dry seasons, by keeping the grass short, give it an opportunity of spreading. Ma- nure is well known to encourage it ; sometimes in a singular manner. Sheep- feeding pasture grounds produce a similar effe6t, partly owing perhaps to the blade grasses being kept short ; and in part to the soil being meliorated by a fresh manure ; and it has been observed that a suit of cow -grounds, which have been occasionally fed hard with sheep, are very difficult to make cheese from : while a few sheep among cows may, by picking out the clover, be serviceable to the dairy." — MarshalL PARE AND BURN. The men employed in this business should be kept steadily at work throughout the whole of this month ; if heavy rains impede the drying and burning, let it be remembered that the paring may probably go on the better for it, so that whatever the JUNE.] STATE OP WHEAT CROPS. 381 the weather may be, this operation, which is of such essential importance in many improvements, need not stop. STATE OF WHEAT CROPS. The young farmer will now be naturally led to watch the progress of his wheat crops : no accu- rate judgment can be formed till this month, which will enable him to make various observations which a man of any curiosity will not omit. It is re- marked by a late writer, that wheat which has carried a green and flourishing countenance throughout the winter, often loses its verdure in the spring, and assumes a yellow sickly aspedl. In the spring of the year 1780, the forward sown wheat was so much afFe<51:ed by the cold weather in the months of April and May (it having been one of the most backward springs I ever remember), as to become exceedingly yellow, and was interspersed throughout with innumerable patches of different tints, which patches, wherever they appear, are al- ways accounted a certain and infallible prognostic of a bad crop of wheat ; it having been remarked that the fields where these patches abound, do sel- dom if ever recover : though it is otherwise in fields which have not these patches in them, since with kindly weather in June, the corn on these lat- ter fields often surmounts the mischief occa- sioned to the blade by the vernal cold, according to the old proverb current among the farmers, and expressed in their homely lines, '^ I came to my wheat 382 STATE OP WHEAT CROPS. [jUNE. wheat in May, and went right sorrowful away : I came to my wheat in June, and went away whistling a merry tune. After a dripping summer, bread corn is generally dear, as there is no weather so inimical to the wheat on the ground as wet, especially on the deep rich lands, where the largest crops are raised ; and even on poor chalky soils, it is matter of doubt with me, whether a wet summer be not rather in- jurious than beneficial to the wheaten crop, though such moist weather may haply increase the growth of straw. But although this reasoning generally holds good, yet I have sometimes known the crops of wheat turn out very prolific after a wet summer. The year 1777 was one of the wettest that could have been remembered, and the spring had been uncommonly wet and chilly, so that the fitrmers, from the great abundance of straw, and from an observation of the unkindly state of the air through- out the summer, expcdled that their wheaten crops would turn out to bad account, and that conse- quently this grain would fetch an advanced price in the ensuing winter, but the event falsified their predidtion, and the public were served with bread at a reasonable rate throughout the winter^ the price of wheat never exceeding 42s. or 43s. per quarter. This miexpedled fertility was occasioned, as I conceive, by a kindly and favourable season at the blooming time, for in this year the wheat was very backward in coming out of the hose, and dur- ing the time it remained in blossom, the weather was JUNfi.j STATE OP WHEAT CROPS. 383 was most favourable for that purpose, being, m truth, the only part of the summer unaccompanied with rain or wind. From these observations may be drawn the following corollary : that when the wheat hath a good blooming time, though the rest of the summer, both antecedent and succeeding this period, may have been unkindly ; yet so much depends on the kindly state of the air at the blos- soming season, that little danger need be appre- hended to the crop from the weather in any other part of the summer. On the other hand, though the summer months may in general have been such as to promise a good crop of wheat ; yet should a wet and unkindly season intervene while the com is in bloom, the produce will not be analogous to the general state of the weather during the greater part of the summer months, but to that particular prevalence of it at the time when the wheat was in bloom, a time whereon seems to depend the future wellare of this and every other vegetable. A series of easterly winds at the blooming sea- son is often highly prejudicial to the wheaten crop : in the year 1771, the weather having been such as above described, there appeared a very capital de- fedl in the wheat after the blooming season was past ; on opening the chests of the ear, were per- ceived several small maggots, resembling in size and colour, the male blossoms of the wheat, and for which I at first view mistook them. These- maggots lay in a cluster within the chest, and ad- hered closely to the nib of the seed : within some of 384 ^^TATE OF WHEAT CROPS. [jUNE# of the chests the corn had attained nearly to half its growth with these maggots preying upon its sur- fiice. On a closer insped'tion into the nature of this malady the succeeding year, I could clearly discern the maggots adhering to the female blossoms, and in whatever chests these maggots were found, the male blossoms, which in a kindly state of the air are suspended without the chests, and are con- ne6lcd to the female blossoms by very slender fila-* mentSj and by this economy, apparently convey the fruciifying quality to the female blossoms, w^ere in close contadt wqth the latter within the chests, amongst which the maggots efFedl their lodgment, and, as I observed before, bear, on a superficial view, a strong resemblance to the male blossom, but on a closer inspection, are found preying on the female blossom, and covered by the male : from whence it seems reasonable to conclude, that these maggots are the produce of a small fly, which set- tling on the male blossom whilst it is performing its office, may there deposit its eggs, which being instantly conveyed to the nib of the seed, are suc- ceeded by a progeny which are the maggots in question. These eggs may possibly retard the male blossoms from completing their office, and prevent Iheir flying ofl^, which they ought to, when the female blossoms become impregnated, and this may be the reason why the maggots are always found adhering to the male blossoms. Of the male blossom of wheat it is to be re- i^arked, that if by wind or other accident it be- comes JUNE.] FLAX. 385 comes disunited from the ear, a succession of bloom still continues to supply its place, and this a second or third time, which displays the wisdom and good- ness of Providence, in thus securing to us this ne- cessary part of our aliment from the variety of ac- cidents to which it is liable in this critical period of its vegetation ; and for this reason stormy weather at the blooming season is not of such very fatal consequence to the growing crops of wheat as many people imagine. But in a wet or clouded atmosphere, the danger is much greater ; for by this density of the air, the chests are so intimately closed as to prevent the male blossoms from escap- ing out of the hose, and hence ensues a corruption within the ear, which occasions, as hath been re- marked, the evil mentioned. A mild and open winter is by no means kindly for the growing crops of wheat, not only from the blade having by such weather been encouraged to push forward with too much celerity, and thus be- coming winter proud, as before remarked ; but for another reason, namely, that the weeds will be apt to spring up in great abundance, and meeting with no resistance in their growth, spread over the sur- face and become a formidable enemy ; and should a dripping summer succeed, the mischief accruing from a weedy crop will be still increased to a very high degree. — Bannister, FLAX. The flax crop will this month want a carefiil weeding by hand : it should be done with atten- c c tion, 386 T-AAt'^ELtlNG. JUNE. lion, not to go on to it in wet weather, and to beat it down as little as may be. HEMP. Some writers have recommended weeding hemp in June ; but on all soils proper for this plant it is unnecessary, the crop will get the better and destroy all weeds : if these get ahead among it, it is a sure proof that the soil has been improperly chosen. PLANT HOLLY. No plant makes so good a hedge as holly ; if pre- served with any attention in its infancy, it will in a few years be impenetrable to man or beast. It often fails from being planted at an improper sea- son ; for there is not the least certainty of any success except by planting about Midsummer. The plants should be from six to nine inches high, and well rooted ; they should not be let into the slop- ing face of a bank, but on a level tablet left for that purpose, and well defended on both sides, to keep both sheep and hogs from it. TRAVELLING. If our young farmer has any relation, friend, or : confidential bailiii' that he can trust his farm t<> for ten days oi* a fortnight, let him now take his nag far a summer tour, to view sowie farms in well ^ cultivated countries, and to introduce himself to the conversation of his intelligent brethren, from ] whom he will be sure to karn something useful. In this month are the sheep shearings of his Grace the Duke of Bedford and of Mr. Coke ; he cannot do better than be present at one of them^ as he will JUSTE*] LlMfe; 387 will there meet with able cultivators from every part of the kingdom, and may \ekrh where best to diredt his stepSj whatever may be his object : and this, let itie fetnark^ is no inconsiderable proof of the great national utility of those meetings. I have met farmers both at Woburh and at Holkham, who were in the progress of such journies, were pro- perly and usefully inquisitive, and without doubt received no slight advantage from the knowledge thus gained. This is a good sfeasori for a journey; the corn of ii)\ sorts sh^ws itself fo advantage; the turnip seafson is ki full operation ; lucerne is mowing for soiling ; the marie carts are at work ; the lime-kilns adlive, and most of the works of a farm either in operation or effedl. LIME. The linrte -kilns ought to be in full work in this month, and there is no bettei^ time for carting and spreading it. At this period the proper land to spread it on is the turnip fallows, which now being in full tilth, if the surface be well harrowed after fefceivirVg tl>6 rrianure', the rniioti: of it With the sofl will be intifnate ; it shouM be left some tirn6 before ploughii^g fot slacking and re-imbibing the caf- bonic acid driven from if by the aift of burning. Modern chemists are rnuch inclined to attribute great effects to this acid in the business of vegeta- tion '^ the point i$' by no rriea^ns fully elucidated', and does not very well aCxioi*d v^i^tih tl^e very sniaH benefit derived from Yivhte when laid on certain poor soils ; but as there afre" many othrer* oh which the cc 2 good 388 HOGS. [jUN] good effects of lime are unquestionable, and our farmer may be supposed to have satisfied himself by previous experiments, he will bestow the ex- pence only where he is sure of a re-inibursemen Where fallowing for wheat is the system pursue lime is also spread on these fallows throughout a! the summer months. A bushel to a rod is a very good dressing : and even half the quantity well applied has a considerable effect. On waste lands, such ] as fresh drained bogs and mountainous raoors, the greater the quantity, even to 500 or 600 bushels per acre, the greater is the effecSl, an probably the profit also. SPRING TARES. It is exceedingly good husbandry to sow spring tares in this month, and a quart of cole-seed over the same land in order to have a very wholesome and nourishing food for weaned lambs in autumn. This is a prar. [jUNE. better for it ; but he has not attended to it in the seeds, because hard stocked with sheep. He has burnt on the land for turnips, the long straw dung from the surface of the farm-yard, and he had better turnips there than where the dung was laid. This has been the case in two experiments he has made. A general practice through the mountains of Gas- cony, and almost toBayonne, is that of manuring for raves, a sort of turnip,.with the ashes of burnt straw. I observed several fields quite black ; and demand- ing what it was, rny guide told me of this com- mon practice here : afterwards I saw them strewing straw thickly over land, part of which had been already burnt on. They do this on a wheat-stubble ; but not thinking that stubble enough is left, they •add much wheat-straw, and setting fire to it, burn the weeds as well as the straw, and clean as well as manure the land. With such quantities of fern on all their extensive wastes, 1 asked why they did*] not burn that, and keep their straw ? The reply was, that fern makes much better dung than straw, so they burn the straw in preference. As soon as the operation is over, they plough the land, and harrow in rave-seed. One large field, thus treated, I saw ploughing for that crop. They both hoe and hand-weed the raves, and have them some- times very large ; many as big as a man's head. Use them for oxen. SAINFOIN. When the plants of sainfoin are thin on the ground. I I JUNE.] SAINFOIN. 401 ground, it is a very judicious pradiice to suffer the crop to remain the first year for seed, which will thicken the swath in the succeeding crops. The seed will probably be worth 5l. per acre; the straw is good horse-fodder; the plants are not at all damaged at present, and their number greatly increased for the future. D d JULY. ( 402 ) JULY, FARM-YARD. ALL, 6r much of the compost in the yard being carted on to the land, you may now, If you have leisure, begin to cart in the layer of turf, ditch-earth, chalk, marie, clay or peat, upon Which you are to fodder. There is no necessity of per- forming this work in July ; but, as it may probably prove a leisure time for the teams, it is mentioned as a business that should be in hand, as a preven- tion of their standing still. It should be executing from this time till the end of September. As the importance of it is very great, being the source of the most material improvements on a farm, it should be resolved on early. The management of the farm-yard must, how- ever, depend on the system pursued relative to using dung in a long or in a rotten state. If in j the latter, the layer of earth that was spread at ] bottom for absorbing urine and the draining of ; the dung has been mixed by turning over, and may ! be supposed to have been carted on for turnips. But if the dung is taken fresh from the yard, the earth in that case is to be examined, as it should remain till well impregnated, and this may not have been effe6led at present, in which case it will be left fo*- a longer duration and successive soiling on. JULY.] TURNIPS. 403 .on. Wliertftver it has absorbed its due portion, so that white soils, as chalk and clay marles, are become blackish, then is the time for removing them with the dung, and they will be equally bene- ficial . TURNIPS. Now is the time for hand-hoeing turnips ; a work perfe6ily understood in many parts of the kingdom ; but so much neglected in some, that it will be proper to enlarge a little on the method of performing it. Supposing turnip-hoers to be scarce, or to de- mand extravagant prices, or none to be had, order some hoes to be made by your blacksmith : the iron part nine inches long, and three or four broad, neatly done and sharp : put handles five feet long in them. So provided, take your men into the field, and yourself with a hoe should accompany them : make them hoe the crop boldly, and not be afraid of cutting too many up. Diredl them to strike their hoe round every plant they leave, and fix upon the most vigorous and healthy growing ones. By this means they will leave the plants twelve inches asunder ; for, their hoes spreading at every cut nine inches, they cannot spoil your crop by not cutting freely. This work must be done by the day, and you must attend the men well, to see that they cut the land pretty deep, so as to kill all the weeds, and also such turnips as they Istrike at. In about a fortnight after, send them in ijagain to reclify former omissions, in which time D d 2 they 404 TURNIPS. [jULY they must break all the land again with their hoes, cut up the remaining weeds, and wherever the tur- nips were left double, thin them. The men will be auk ward at this work the first year ; but, by de-. grees, they will be able to do it well, and by mixing new ones among them every year, the art will not be lost. In countries where turnip-hoeing is commonly pra6lised, the work is generally done by the piece : four shillings an acre for the first hoeing, and two shillings and sixpence, or two shillings, for ths second, were common prices : but now it is in some districts five shillings or six shillings for the first hoeing, and four shillings for the second. When done by the piece, the farmer's principal attention should be to see that the work is well done ; for, in all these operations, the ixien are ex- tremely apt to run over their work in a slovenly manner, aiming only at making good earnings: the farmer should see that they cut up all the weeds, and leave the turnips every where single. The crop must have two hoeings, which should leave it perfetihj clean, and the plants at regular dis- tances. If the turnip-hocrs are not to be procured in number sufficient to execute the work soon enough, the plants should be well harrowed, which will thin and keep them from running thickly together in bunches. It is common for the men to bargain with the farmer to have a harrowing given beforo. they hoe. DRILLEB JULY.] SOOT TUKNIPS. 405 DRILLED TURNIPS. But wherever hand-hoeing turnips is not well understood, and men for it easy to be had, the Northumberland system should by all means be pra6lised. The rows on the tops of the ridges, as described last month, are hoed by women in great perfe6lion ; they should be set out in good land a foot asunder ; and on weaker soils at nine inches. I have known women send in their children before them to thin the plants with their fingers, leaving them at the distance required, and follow them- selves with six-inch hoes for cutting the ground, and making very good work. This is 3 great im- provement, much deserving the attention of all farmers who live in counties where the labourers are ignorant in common turnipr-hoeing, or where they are scarce, or apt to impose in the prices de- manded. The crops are as good, and in the opinion of many, much better than broad-cast ones. SOOT TURNIPS. In 1803, my son had a crop of turnips drilled in the Northumberland manner, which, as soon as the ypung plants were seen in the rows, he sooted at the rate of twenty bushels per acre, throwing the soot by hand out of a seed-lip, in a stream as near as might be along the row of plants. They escaped the fly, and were the only turnips in the neighbour- hood that did so. It was a thought of his own, for he never read the following passage in Ellis : D d 3 " Turnips 405 CABBAGES. [jl!LY. ^^ Turnips sooted about twenty-four hours after they are up, will be entirely secured from the fly." PraSiical Farmer, or Hertfordshire Husbandman, 1732, p. 86. COLE-SEED. This plant maybe sowed through all this month, which is indeed the principal season for it. The preparation of the land is exactly the same as for turnips ; and it has equal success with turnips when sown on pared and burnt land, wiiich se- cures a better crop generally than any other me- thod of manuring. Two or three, and even four quarts an acre of the seed are sown. It is not common husbandry to give it any hoeing. Upon peat soils pared and burnt, (as in the fens of Cam- bridge and Lincoln), it is reckoned much superior to turnips for feeding and fattening sheep ; and usually sells, if a good plant, at 50s, an acre. COLE-SEED WHERE TURNIPS FAIL. vThe first, and even second sowings of turnips, may have failed by the end of July ; in this case, some farmers prefer sowing cole-seed rather than turnips a third time. CABBAGES. The crop planted in April or May must be looked to this month. As they were both hand and horse -hoed in June, perhaps they will not want any more culture till August ; but this de- pends on the season : if the weeds grow, let them be killed ; for the best rule in this matter is, to hoe sulii- JULY.] CABBAGES. 407 sufficiently to keep the crop perfedly clean, and to horse-ho^ whenever the intervals have been bound by rains or otherwise. The crop planted last month must be hand^ hoed before the middle of this : in which work you should be attentive to cut up all the young weeds that grow near the plants, and break all th^j land on the tops of the ridges ; but the men need not hoe the sides of them or the furrows, as th^ plough in horse- hoeing will cut them much better. Some fresh earth should also be drawn to each plants earthing it up as it were. The first horse- hoeing should be given soon after ; in which ope- ration the plough should take off a furrow from the ridges on each side, and throw up a small ridge in the middle of each interval, which will let the air into the earth on which the plants stand, and pul- verize and sweeten it. The cabbages will be left on a narrow slip of earth, ready for the second hand- hoeing, which will be given with great ease. This work must, however, be done with much care and attention, for if the plants are left in too small a space, and the sun be powerful, they will suffer : the stripe of earth the plants are left in should be nine inches wide ; and, if the weather is very hot, a furrow turned back again, at least on one side, as soon as may be. Afterwards the horse- hoeing should be given with the shim of three ehares ; one low^ for cutting the bottom of the furrow in the intervals, and two others, four inches higher (being drawn up at pleasure through the J) d 4 block), ^ be 4 408 POTATOES. [JULT. block), for cutting the sides of the ridges without removing too much earth from the plants. And this tool followed after a time by the double mould- board plough, to sweep oiit the furrows and round up the ridges. MSi The cabbages drilled in April where to remain, ^ must now be horse and hand-hoed ; and in the latter work, whenever it is executed, well pul- verized earth free from weeds should successively be drawn to the stalks of the plants. WELD. This is the season for pulling weld, which"ls done by women, and bound in small sheaves ; these are set to dry, which takes from one week to three. It is then stacked, and is the better for a sweat. In three months it is bound in fresh sheaves of two stones (I4lb.) each, and is then saleable. A good crop is from 15 cwt. to a ton : the price varies greatly : sometimes to l61. and 20 1. a ton ; at others, 4l. or 5l. POTATOES. The crops of potatoes, planted in rows, must have a third horse-hoeing this month. The com- mon way of ploughing backwards or forwards every time of horse-hoeing, is not well adapted to this crop ; for cutting the roots, when the plants are in full growth, hurts the crop, and you destroy runners that would produce potatoes. For this reason, the third horse-hoeing should be given first with the shim, which cuts and loosens the earth, without turning it over, or forming any ridge. Some I JULY.] BEANS. 40^ Some of them work with ma»ny little triangular shares, some with single flat ones, and others onlr with coulters ; but any of them that cut up fresh moulds at the bottom of the furrows, will answer the purpose. A doable mould-board plough (a common instrument in some counties), should fol- low the shim in about a week ; and, striking the fur- rows, throw up all the loose earth against the ridges, banking them up. There is a great use in this ope- ration ; for it throws up fresh earth for the roots to shoot into, which is preferable to taking it away from them, after they have advanced at all in growth. CARROTS. The carrot and parsnip crops will want a hoeing this month ; which should be given while th tive cultivator refiec^t on the importance of an odd horse performing much of the carting of a farm, while the others are going regularly on with their tillage or road-work. Whoever will consider this comparison in the proper light, will be sensible that It is an economical way of carrying on business. MADDER. In case the season in the spring proved so unfa- vourable to planting madder, that the work wa& delayed until the last week of May, or the first of June, the fields so planted should now be horse or hand-hoed, as most wanting. The best way is to use ■ JULY.] CUT PEASE. 41$ use the shim : not for turning a ridge against the rows, as the plants will yet be too weak for that operation, but merely to loosen the earth of the intervals, thereby to kill the weeds, and prepare the soil for throwing up against the rows by a succeed- ing operation. Haiid- hoeing and weeding should depend on the number of the weeds that arise among the plants. Let the cultivator of madder, through the whole process of the crop, remember, that he must be to the full as accurate as a gar- dener : his soil must be rendered but little inferior to a dung-hill : all weeds must be for ever eradi- cated ; not one must injure the plants: his land must always be kept perfe^lly loose and well pul- verized ; for a crop that depends merely on the quantity of the roots, can never thrive to profit in land that is bound, or in an adhesive state. CUT PEASE. Forward white pease will be fit to cut early in this month. If the crop is very great, they must be hooked; but if small, or only middling, mowing will be sufficient. The stalks and leaves of pease being very succulent, they should be taken good care of in wet weather : the tufts, called wads, or heaps, should be turned, or they will receive da- mage. White pease should always be perfedtly dry before they are housed, or they will sell but indif- ferently, as the brightness and plumpness of the grdin are considered at market more than with hog- pease. The straw also, if well harvested, is very good fodder for ail sorts of cattle and for sheep ; but if E e 2 it n 420 WHEAT. [jULY, it receives much wet, or if the heaps are not turned^, it can be used only to htter the farm-yard with. BARLEY. Some of your barley will probably be ready for mowing towards the latter end of this months par- f I ticularly the Fulham sort, which is frequently cut the middle of July, a fortnight before any other sort, though sown at the same time, and on the same land. This early mowing has several advan- tages ; many weeds are cut before they seed, which, in a fortnight longer, would shed, and consequently injure the ensuing crops. The trouble and atten- tion of harvest is lessened : for a part, at least, of the barley crop may be in the barn, before other farmers, who do not use this sort, begin to mow WHEAT. August is the principal month for cutting wheat, under which head I shall treat of it more particularly. I mention it at present merely to consider the con- duct of many sensible farmers, who are fond of cutting their wheat, at least ten days before it is ripe. There is reason to think this pra6lice a very good one : the corn is left in the field longer than common, to finish in that manner the ripening : the advantage is the fineness of the grain. If you are desirous of carrying to market a sample of wheat that shall exceed all others, it must be thus harvested ; and I have heard more than once several very attentive farmers assert, that they lose nothing in measure by this management. It is at least worthy the trial of all good husbandmen, were it only for the conve- nience I JULY.] PARE AND BURK. 421 nience of somewhat dividing their harvest : the last fortnight in August is so busy a time, that many of them scarcely know how to get in their corn, upon account of all sorts then requiring attention at once. MILDEWED WHEAT. Be very attentive to the wheat crops this month : they are ev^ery where liable to this fatal distemper, which admits but of one cure or check, and that is, reaping it as soon as it is struck. The capital ma- nagers in Suffolk know well, that every hour the wheat stands after the mildew appears is mischievous to the crop. It should be cut, though quite green, as it is found that the grain fills after it is cut, and ripens in a manner that those would not conceive who have not tried the experiment, which I have done many times ; reaping so early, that the la- bourers pronounced I should have nothing but hen's-meat. They were always mistaken, for the sample proved good, while others, who left it longer, suffered severely. The fa6l is now pretty generally known and admitted. BUCK-WHEAT. I have known this crop succeed well and yield largely, when sown so late as the first week in this month; audit isa very valuable' circumstance, that a man can have so long a period for tillage, and then raise a crop which certainly classes with ameliorating ones, and which prepares well for wheat. PARE AND BURN. Wherever there is an improvement goii^ on of E e 3 any t2^ FAT OXEN, [jUL*! pny extent, this work should never stop while the - weather permits it to be continiied. In the spring Ifpr potatoes ; then for turnips ; now for cole-seed ; and, when that is over, then it may go on for wheat, or on m.ountains for rye. An improver should not let the han4s thus employed go to any other work. The stoutest and most skilful hand will not be able to pare (without the burning) more than an acre in a week, even where the work is smooth and free from impediments. HOGS. During this month the stock of swine may be supported on clover, chicory, and lucerne ; foi* sows that have pigs, and for weaned pigs, the early sown lettuces on. rich warm land will be ready, and prove very useful. Garden beans planted for this purpose are also applicable to the use of all soits of swine. This is not a month of difficulty for this animal ; and the young farmer should take care that his dairy-wash is accumulating in his cisterns^ for sows and weaned pigs, for a time when they may want it more than at present. FAT OXEN. Careful graziers make it a rule, however exten- sive their farms may be, to ride round and see every beast in every inclosure, at least once a dlay, Fences demand perpetual attention, and high-fed cattle are apt to break their bounds if this article suffers through negledl. Beasts that are soiled in stalls or yards, have, through all this season, plenty of food, supposing a proper I ji JULY.] SHtJT tP ftOUEN-. 423 a proper succession of those crops which have been often mentioned for this use. WARPING. As this capital improvement, where yet known, goes on only in summer, the farmer should of course keep his works adiive every tide, and never lose one through negledl, or from having his sluices, &c. out of order. MANURING NEW LAYS. This part of the mahagement will not be found essential if the land be laid down in the courses prescribed ; it however will at all tiities be found very beneficial. The best time for it is in August or September, if done the first yeatr, being then a year old, when a moderate dressing will much pro- mote the thickening of the herbage. But upon soils rather unfav^ourable to grass, on which the success is at all doubtful, I should prefer (if it cati be done but once) to delay it to the period when new lays are apt to fall off, that is in August of the third year, if fed ; but if mown, immediately after clearing off the hay, which is the best time of all others for manuring grass-land. Top-dressings of soot, sifted ashes, malt-dust, and other bodies which will wash in the first heavy rain, should be sown the end of February or begin- ning of March. SHUT UP ROUEN. There is scarcely a more important objedl in the range pf common farming management, than that of converting rouen after-grass, after-math, whatever E e 4 it 424 SHUT UP ROUEN. JULT. it may be called, to the greatest profit. If it be consumed in the general manner by feeding soon after the fields are cleared of hay, or in the autumn, the value is small, rarely amounting to more (ex- cept in watered meadows) than from 7s. 6d. to 3 5s, an acre ; and the reason of this low value is, tha^H food is usually plentiful at this season ; but kept for ewes and lambs, and other stock, in the very depth of the winter, and in spring, when food is scarce, and if turnips fail, greatly so, it is of such a value, that whoever once makes the trial of it will never fail to value it highly. By all means lej^l the young farmer make as large a reserve as he can possibly spare, for when his neighbours in spring are much distressed for want of food, and perhapj hundreds of sheep and lambs dying around liirn^ his will be well fed, and himself, in this respedj on velvet. II AUGUST. ( 425 ) AUGUST. HARVEST-MEN. The agreements with harvest -men, in various parts of the kingdom, are extremely different, and even in the same place there are many variations, some farmers pursuing one method, and some an- other. A common way in some parts, is to agree with the men for all, by the acre ; to reap or mow, turn, shock, make, cart, stack or barn, drive, &c. &c. to do all the business of the harvest, in short, at so much per acre : this is a very good way ; but it requires a man to be almost as watchful as day- work : for a very stridl eye should be had to the 7nanner in which every thing is done ; that the men do not cut the corn at improper times ; that they take proper care to turn it after rain, and to get it perfedlly dry into the barn. A pretty sharp atten- tion will be requisite to all these points, and many others. On the other hand, when the work is clone by the day, month, or week, it requires con- stant attention, early and late, to see that the men work their hours ; and that upon carrying, in du- bious weather, they work as lung as they can see, unless the dews are heavy ; for it is a maxim in most countries, that men are not to talk of hours in harvest, but to do whatever they are ordered. In many counties, it is the custom to board the harvest- 42(3 HAAVEST-MEN. ' [iCuG. harvest-men, and in some they are fed at an extra- vagant rate : I would by all means advise the eco- nomical farmer to vary this matter, if possible, un- less the men really work at a great rate, and stick to it early and late ; but, if the custom is rooted so deeply, that they will not give it up, then it is an obje6l of attention to make the expence as mo- derate as possible, which must be by a previous plan of fatting a beast or two, and a few sheep for the purpose ; and also by providing whatever else may be consumed. For many years, that is to say, till the scarcities, I put out my harvests to the men at. 1 5 acres per man, and 4s. per acre for spring corn, and 5s. per acre for wheat, beans, and pease ; three bushels of malt per man instead of beer, and from 5s. to 7s; 6d. per man in lieu of earnest, dinner, gloves, and haivky^ or harvest- home supper, at which rates the whole harvest came to about 3l. ]0s. per man ; it rose to 5 1. 5s. and then even to 61. and 7I. 7s, a man, so that at present, in some parts of Suffolk, the expence is not less than JOs. (id. an acre, every branch of labour included. And this is much lower than it is in some counties. In the fens of Lincoln and Cambridge, where cottage building has by no means kept pace with improvements, I have known 10s. 6d. a day and ten pints and an half of ale given; and 27s. per acre for reaping oats. There the strangers who go to assist in the harvest will let themselves only for the day ; they are found at four o'clock v^ the morning ou certain bridges, and the AV6.] WHEAT HARVEST. 42? the bargain is made for the day, according to wea- ther and competition. As the price of hibour in common with other expences of farming must eventually regulate the rent, landlords are blind to their interest in not building cottages : unite this with the baneful custom of not giving leases, which prevent farmers building, and the folly must be seen in its true colours. In order to bring the harvest business together, I have treated this mat- ter here, but the young farmer is to remember that the harvest-bargain is usually made long before this time ; Whitsun-Tuesday is the common day for it in Suffolk. WHEAT HARVEST. Now is the tin>e that the farmer gives the first of his attention to that golden crop, wheat. Having been a year at least, perhaps a )^ar and lialf, or two years, in gaining it, he is now anxious to get it safe within his barn. Bad weather now greatly injures his profit : he must have many hands at work to make the best use of fine seasons, or he will gain the name of an afternoon farmer. There are two ways of cutting wheat, reaping and mowing : the first is the common practice, used time immemorial, and by far the better. The low reaping called bagging is preferable to mowing ; they cut thus near London nearly as low as the scythe. Reaping is a work often put out by tlie acre to the men, and it may be done as well sa as most works : 428 ^HEAT HARVEST, lUG. works ; but it is necessary to observe, that they do not cut or bind in improper weather, and that they make the sheaves no larger than proportioned to the quantity of weeds, and the ripeness of the corn. In the forming them into shocks or stacks, there is, in some counties, an art of making them in such a manner, that they shoot off the water, and are kept tolerably dry in wet weather, without being laid so close, as not to dry with the sun and wind : it is a good pradlice, and deserves imitation. I have, on another occasion, mentioned the pra6lice of covering the shocks of wheat-sheaves between Sandwich and Dover with cloths and mats. Mr, Boys informs me that mats are more commonly used, and that the pra6iice is found to improve the sample of wheat, so that the Dover bakers give a clear preference to corn thus treated. The mats cost 7d. each. Some farmers leave their corn standing so long, that it is ripe enough to cut and carry, as they call it : that is, they cart home the sheaves as soon as they are bound : but this will only do for very clean crops. In a farm -yard, where there are teams enough, carting the wheat crops requires three waggons : one loading in the field, one unloading, and one upon the road going backwards and forwards : ^ve or six horses are sufficient for them, and two men to pitch, two to load, one to drive, and two to unload ; in all seven : which make good dispatch. But the use of one-horse <:arts is very superior, whatever AUG.] STACKS FOR THRESHING-MILL. 42g whatever the number of horses ; let each be in a well-formed cart, and much more ground will be cleared than Xhe waggons can effedl. In some counties, it is common to stack all the wheat, if they stack any thing ; and they are cer- tainly right in the pradlice. No rats can get into a stack, if it is built on a floor, raised on posts, in the common manner ; and, wheat, being in sheaves, admits the cut ends of the straw all to be laid Out- wards, so that the grain is defended from every in^ jury, from external attack : whereas any corn that is not bound up, is subjedl to some little damage. Wheat is also found to carry a finer countenance out of a stack than a barn : the admission of the air gives it a brighter colour. In getting a stack into the barn for threshing, difficulties sometimes arise : a whole one should be got in at once, it being very dangerous to leave a broken stack ex- posed all night. It must also be done in dry wea- ther, which in winter the farmer may wait for in vain some days, and thereby find inconvenience. Some of these evils would be remedied, and at all times a great expence saved, if a window was cut in the side or end of the barn, and the stack built against it, near enough to lay some short planks from one to the other, and so do the whole by hand, throwing from the stack at once into the barn. These are points that should be considered at harvest, when the stacks are built. STACKS "FOR THRESHING-MILL. The invention of this excellent machine has not been 430 BARLEY HARVEST. pAUG. been attended with one half of the advantages which might have flowed from so useful a discovery, for want of combining the use of it with the various conne<^ed circumstances of the farm-yard. Tiiis business of stacking corn, for instance, must receive an entirely nev arrangement in conse- quence of building a threshing-mill. By means of no other additional ex pence than that of an iron fll rail-way, and placing the stacks on frames resting on block-wheels, two feet diameter, a very consi- derable annual expence in labour is saved in cart- ing stacks to the barns, in loss of corn, and in waiting for weather, as well as in the saving of thresfiing by flails, and all the attendant evils of pilfering and leaving corn in the straw. This is a material ohJGS. which cannot receive too much attention from both landlord and tenant. BARLEY, &c. HARVEST. The barley crops should generally have good field room, laying five or six days after mowing : they will improve, and, if a heavy shower of rain comes, it will not diminish the farmer's profit : it will make the grain swell, and measure more per acre ; for maltsters reckon much on their profit in such dry harvests, that the barleys receive no rain after they are mown. But ever observe, that bar- ley, oat?, &c. be quite dry when you cart them : corn is always greatly damaged from being carried in damp or moist : a heat iscontraded in the mow, the grain much discoloured, and the straw spoiled. While barley lays on the swath, if much rain comes it 4 AUG.J BARLEY HARVKST. 431 it is apt to sprout. In tiic wet harvest of 1801, this crop in Norfolk presented a most melancholy spedlacle ; three or four wet and very warm days made it grow to such a degree, that when the swaths came to he turned, they looked as if feathers had heen strewed along every swath. Many thou- sand acres were thus damaged : those farmers escaped hest who lifted the swaths before they were dry enough to turn ; they raised them lightly from the ground with forks to let air in ; a prac- tice worth recommending. After the fields are cleared, they are raked with an instrument gene- rally called a dew -rake, from its being used in the dew of the morning : a man draws it by a broad leather strap. This is a bad contrivance ; the work goes on slowly, and, being hard, the men often negleft doing it well, and much corn is left in the field. Instead of it, there is in some coun- ties a machine, called a horse-rake ; a rake ten or twelve feet long, drawn by one horse. This ma- chine expedites the work greatly, at the same time that it does it much better. The use of it should be universal ; for one will work against twenty men, as I have experienced ; and the price is not above five guineas and an half complete. Barley and oats in some countries are reaped, an excellent custom where they cut low enough ; for it is not with these as with wheat, which yields a crop of stubble ; if reaped with spring corn, what is left in the field is lost to the farm-yard. But by reaping, some of the evil of a wet harvest is re- medied. 432 BEANS. [aUG, medied, provided the sheaves be made small enough. BUCK-WHEAT. This is a difficult crop to harvest ; for the least improper treatment makes it shed the seed in the field, to the great loss in produd : if ripe, it should be mown only in the dew, and left to dry in the field ; and, if it stood but a few days too long, it must also be carted in the dew, or it will shed in carting. The grain being black, the colour of the sample is not a matter of consequence. It IS only the very early sown crops, however, that can be "ready in any part of this month ; it is not commonly ripe till the end of September or beginning of 06lober. PEASE. All strong crops of hog-pease must be hooked/ and not mown, and care should be taken to turn the heaps after rain ; for the stalks and leaves are so succulent, that the straw will presently spoil if it is ncgledled. If they are stacked, great care must be taken to thatch the rick immediatelv, and to do it perfeclly well ; for a little wet getting in will be of great damage to the pease. BEANS. Beans are always reaped and bound in sheaves, like wheat, and being generally late in harvest, and extremely succulent, they require being left a good while in the field ; and for the same reason, they should be tied in small sheaves. In binding, there arc variations : the bands are made in some places of 11 A AUG.] TURNIP AND RAPB^SEED. 433 of wheat straw ; in others/ of yarn twine, which will last two years, if the threshers are.e poor have no right to glean, but by the permission of the fiirmer ; but the custom is so old and common, that it is scarcely ever broken through. It much .behoves the farmer, in some places, where it is carried on to excess, to make rules for the gleaners, and not suffer them to be broken under any pre- tence whatever. The abuse of gleaning, in many places, is great, as deservedly to be ranked among the fa mer*s evils : the poor glean among the sheaves, and ttyo oftefi from them, in so notorious a manner, that complaints of it are innumerable. Make therefore a law, that no gleaner shall enter a wheat field until it i» quite cleared of the crop : this the practice in many places, and great advantag are found from it. But, upon this plan, always d sist from turning any cattle into the field, until t poor have gleaned it ; for, if a use is made of keep- ing i i AUG.] TUHNITS. 435 ing them out while sheaves are there, merely for an opportunity of turning hogs and other cattle in, it is double dealing, and a meanness unpardonable. FARM-YARD. At the leisure time of harvest, such as the wet days, when the team cannot carry corn, and while all the harvest men are employed in reaping and mowing, if the works of tillage do not require at- tendance, let the horses and oxen be kept to earth- cart, to form the bottom layer in the farm -yard, carrying marie, chalk, turf, ditch-earth, or pond- mud : the quantity in proportion to that of the dung which you expedt will be raised. TURNIPS. The second hand-hoeing of the broad-cast tur- nip crops must be given some time this month, nor should it ever be omitted on account of works of harvest. In counties, where turnip-hoeing is a common business, there is no difficulty in this, as men enough are always to be had. In isome places, many of them make it their business to hoe all har- vest through, earning more at it than by other field-work. But in countries where hoers are scarce, a farmer should always consider his turnip crops when he agrees with his harvest-men, and hire a sufficiency to set them to hoeing as regularly, when the turnips want it, as to reaping when the wheat is ready. Look well to your drilled crops : both the horse and hand-hoeings must be given whenever weeds arise,- or the land seems to be growing adhesive. F f 2 WHEAT 436 * CABBAGES. fAUG. WHEAT AMONGST TURNIPS. ^| . Mr. Wrdker/ a considerable farmer at Harple\ in Norfolk, invented and executed on a large scale, one of the most singular pra6lices that I have met with : that of hoeing in wheat seed at the second hoeing of his turnips on sand land. The wheat got up well, and was not damaged by the sheep feeding the turnips, but, on the contrary, if fed in a dry season and not too late, improved ; by this method he got crops of three quarters an acre with- out the ex pence of a shilling in tillage. I viewed some of them with much pleasure. A singular idea, tliat may be applicable with great profit on certain soils and in certain cases. He pra6^ised it so e] tensively as to lessen the number of his horses in consequence of it. CABBAGES. The beginning of this month, the second horse- hoeing should be given to the Midsunnner planted crop of cabbages : the eartli thrown into a ridgf in the middle of each interval, by the first, should ^^ now be split by the double mould-board plouglji*,- and thrown half to one row, and half to the otiiSr : this eartl), wliich has been some time exposed to the weather, will be in fine order for the young fibres of roots to spread in ; nor should it be stii^H red by the succeeding operations : for the cabbage is a plant of such a luxuriant growth, that the voots have power to follow the well pulverized land thus tl>rown up, and the cabbages will certainly be of a size proportioned to tlie quantity of food the roots Jl AUG.] SOW CABBAGE-SEED. 437 roots command. Care should ali^o be taken to keep the tops of the nd2:es perfedly clean from weeds by the hand-hoe : none should be suffered to grow ; for on this part of the management much depends. SOW CABBAGE-SEED. This is the season of sowing for those crops that are transplanted in April. Plough a piece of well fallowed land until it is as fine as a garden ; then manure it amply with very rotten dung, and turning it in, harrow in the seed ; a pound of seed to every three acres of the intended crop. But a preparation supei*ior to ploughing and dunging, is that of paring and burning a thick coat for plenty of ashes, and adding a thin dressing of very rotten dung ; turn them in together and roll in the seed and bush-harrow. The plants thus escape the. fly and slug. Having on former occasions mentioned the great importance of this crop, the less is necessary at present ; still, however, I must urge our young farmer to determine to have as many August-sown cabbages as he can want for cattle, sheep, and swine, from the first of Odtober to the last of December. The size' they come to is superior to spring-sovvn plants, but they will not, in general, last longer than December. The use is however so great ; so exceedingly valuable for autumnal fatting of oxen, feeding cows, fatting wethers, feeding hoggit lambs, and supporting the whole herd of swine, that one may, without hazard, assert the farmer who does F f 3 not FaugP' 438 LUCERNE. [j not make a provision of them, to be negligent in a very material point of his business. I beg le^ive to refer the reader to my Northern and Eastern Tours, and to very many registers in the Annah of Agri- culture, for abundant information on this subjedl. DRILL CABBAGE-SEED. Cabbage-seed may be drilled on ridges where it is to remain the last week in this month, or the be- ginning of September, as diredted in the Calendar for April ; but the reader is to observe, that the be- nefit of the pra6lice has not that superiority which attends the April drillings, by which a transplanta- tion in June is avoided. When the seed is sown in August, that operation takes place in a much safer season. POTATOES. The potatoe crops in rows must be hand- weeded if necessary ; but it is , now probably too late to horse-hoe. If the intervals are weedy, or bound at all, or the plants not sufficiently earthed up, run the shim through them, but with much care, which will cut up weeds, and loosen the earth : after which the double mould-board will strike them clean, and throw the earth against the rows, bank- ing them up : the running roots and fibres will follow such new thrown-up earth, and increase the crop. LUCERNE. The lucenie will be ready again for cutting : if, unfortunately, you have any drilled with too wide intervals, attend well to the state pf the land, and take AUG.] HOGS. 4Sg take care to keep it iu \opse, vvell^pulverized order, and perfe(9.1y clean from weeds. But with crops put in as they ought to be, that is, broad-cast, or the rows at nine inches, nbtliing will be wanted of this sort. SAINFOIN. It will be now time to turn into the sainfoin fields that were mown in June ; but you should be cau- tious of feeding it with all sorts of cattle indiscri- minately. Sheep, if kept too long on it, bite out the heart by eating into the bulb. DIG MANURES. This is a w^ork which should never stop for hay, harvest, or any thing else, if the farmer has money in his pocket, and his plan is thus to improve his farm : the sooner the work is done, the longer he has the benefit. FOLDING. If this pra6lice is pursued the fold should never stop in this month : the flock will bear it. Re- member the general rule of folding the land that will be first sown. HOGS. This is a common month for the sows to bring their second litter of pigs ; and, if the farmer has not had the forecast to provide plenty of wasJi in his hog cisterns, he will find the di.sadvantage. Clover will not do for sows and pigs ; they must be fed on the skim -milk, butter-milk, and cheese- whey, that have been collecSling together through the preceding months, while the dairy was at its Ff4 height; UO »ULL HEMr. 1JG7 height ; hran, pollard, barley, back -wheat, or pease ground into meal, and small quantities mixed in it. Lettuces now come into use, and are of excel- lent service to the sows and pigs ; and may be deemed necessary if the dairy is small ; and in every event to tend to saving corn. He who keeps many swine cannot be too attentive to providing such ar- ticles of food as shall save corn feeding. Hogs are reckoned, when kept in great numbers, an unpro-^^ iitable stock ; but it is merely for want of makinjjl a due provision of crops for them ; a few acres of each sort will carry a great herd of swine : but let no gap occur between the finishing one crop and beginning another. CARROTS. About the latter end of this month the carrot crop should be examined. It will require a slight hoeing, not an expensive one ; but just to cut up the few weeds that may be supposed to have arisen since the last hoeing. If the former hoeings have been well performed, only a hand-weeding will do. PULL HEMP. The time of pulHng is about the beginning of Au- gust, or, more properly speaking, 13 weeks from the time of sowing : the leaves turning yellow and the stalks white, are signs of its maturity ; the male and female hemp are pulled together : indeed, when the crop is thick, it is impossible to separate them. The expence of pulling is generally estimated at J AUG.] PULL HEMP. 441 Is. per peck, according to the quantity originally sown. When it is all taken up, and bound in small bundles, with bands at each end, to such a bigness as you can grasp with both hands, it is conveyed to a pond of standing water (if a clay pit the better), where it is laid bundle upon bundle, diredl and across, thus, -i— ! ', \ this is termed a bed of I I I I hemp, and after it is piled to such a thickness as to answer the depth of the water (which cannot be too deep*), it is loaded with blocks and logs of wood, until all of it is totally immersed : after re- maining in tliis state four or five days, as the wea- ther shall direct:, it is taken out and carried to a field of aftermath, or of any other grass that is clean and free froni cattle ; the bundles being un- tied, it is spread out thin, stalk by stalk ; in this state it must be turned every other day, especially in moist weather, lest the worms should injure it. Thus it remains for six weeks or more : then it is gathered together, tied in large bundles, and kept dry -j^ in a house till December or January. In the fens the male and female, or femble and seed-hemp, are frequently separated. This may * This deserves experimental inquiry : watering hemp is a partial rotting through fermentation : the vicinity of the atmos- phere must, for that purpose, be necessary. The best hemp ponds I have seen have not exceeded the depth of five feet. f It might do as well stacked, if kept perfectly dry. arise 442 SET STOCK LAMBS. [aug, arise from their hemp being coarser, and the stalks larger. To attempt it, says a manufadturer, in Suffolk, would be, I think, unprofitable, if not impradlicable. Hemp, when left for seed, is seldom water retted, from the additional trouble and expence ; but it would be better if so done. It is generally stacked and covered during the winter, and is spread upon meadow-land in January or February. If the season suit (particularly when covered with snow) it will come to a good colour, and make strong coarse cloths. It is much inferior to hemp pulled in proper time, and water-retted. PULL FLAX. This also is the season for pulling flax : it is bound in small sheafs^ and conveyed to the steeping- pit, where it remains about ten days on an average, and is then grassed. To name the time of the chief works on this croj) is sufficient : flax draws the land, and returns no more to it than hemp. I cannot advise the young farmer to have any thing to do with it. If from singular circimi- stances he is inclined to try it, he sliould procure a man accustomed both to the culture and dressing. SET STOCK LAMBS. Fairs for the sale of lambs in several sheep dis- tri^ls take place in August ; and it is, upon the whole, as proper a season as any otiicr, when the whole are colle6led, to draw into different parcels, is a convenient moment for separating that portion which is meant to be kept for the farmer's own use. AUG.] SET STOCK LAMBS. 443 use. The common management of a flock is to sell a certain number of crones every year, and to keep that number of the very best ewe lambs to supply their place in the flock : and, in making this seledion, the farmer or his shephci'd usually {whatever the breed may be) rejedls all that mani- fest any departure from certain signs of the true breed : thus, in a Norfolk flock, a white leg, and ii face not of a hue sufliciently dark, would be excluded, however well formed : in the same manner a white face on the South Downs ; in Wiltshire a black face, would be an exclusion, or a horn that does not fall back ; in Dorsetshire a horn that does not projedl, &c. &c. and where the pro- duce is annually sold lean, there is reason in all this ; for customers who have been used to, and prefer certain breeds, as having paid them woll, are apt to be fastidious v^'hen they purchase. Some farmers in this selection look chiefly at size, al- ways keeping the largest frames : but this is pro- bably erroneous, unless they heep very high. It connedls with a question by no means ascertained, whether sheep do or do not eat a quantity of food proportioned to their weight ? In general, it is a safer rule to chuse a well -formed lamb, or that indicates the probability of making a well-formed ewe, ra- ther than to select for size. The attention that is to be paid to wool, in the breeds that produce the carding sort, will depend on the price to be re- ceived : if the farmer lives in a distri(3 .where the price SET STOCK LAMBS. AUG, price of the year is given equally to all flocks, there is little encouragement to lessen quantity for- the sake of quality ; retaining, however, in ideaj the fa6l that both are attainable, that it is very common to sec coarse breeched sheep with light fleeces; and those of a fine quality heavy ii weight. The Spanish fleeces, which are finer than' any other, are heavier than those of our finest woolled sheep. With combing wool, the import- ance of the fleece depends still more on price ; we have seen it 8s. a tod ; and it has latelv been 36s. Quality is of very little consequence indeed coi pared with quantity, and when wool sells high, ni prudent breeder will set his stock without being^ governed considerabl}' by this obje6l. The high prices at which new Leicester, ai\d new South Down rams let and sell, has opened a field of speculation in sheep-breed- ing. It is sufficient to remark, that this spirit of breeding, whether it shall prove durable or not ; whether much money shall or shall not be made in it in future, is not what any prudent man beginning busmess will adventure in but with great caution : men of sucii immense fortune arc now taking a lead in it, and arc in many rcspe< doing it on such liberal principles, that the wisest'' condu6l of such farmers as I may be supposed to address, is to take proper opportunities of con- verting their experiments to their own (the farmers) profit. Leave the expence to them, but when you can AUG.] SET STOCK LAMBS. 445 can convert the profit to your own advantage. In setting; a st«)ck of lambs, tlierefore, you may mark* a score of the best, for a future ram to be picked lip when opportunity offers; or, better still, to send to the tup of some ram -letter that takes tliem in at a reasonable price i)cr head. By every year seledling five or six per cent, and by every year covering that number by a ram better than any of your own, the flock must be on the improving hand, and this may be done at a very small ex- pence. Tliis moment of setting the stock lambs is, that of adding to, or diminishing the number of a flock, by keeping more or fewer than the crones sold. This is a very material part of the business : on a farm with a given stationary sheep-walk, it is pro- bably regulated by circumstances that rarely change ; but, on inclosed farms, where the sheep are sup- ported by fields alternately in grass and tillage, variations may easily be supposed, and the question of hard or light stocking, that is, of close feeding or a head of grass, then comes in to decide the number kept. U the produce or profit per head is looked to, the conduct to be pursued is evidently to stock lightly ; but, if the return is looked for in corn from flelds laid down for refreshment by rest, then close feeding is a very material point, and the number kept will depend on it. With all the grasses, &c. that do not decline from age, the more sheep you keep, the more you may keep, and the more corn \\)u will renp when sucli are ploughed ; a cir- 446 KEEPING R0UN1>. AUG. a circumstance too important to be forgotten. But the young farmer will remember, that upon this system he must not have a shoiv flock, or let the vanity of a farm liave the least influence with him: if in this way he will have something to talk of, a score or two of pampered favourites, the fewer the better, for they may cost him more than they are worth. SELL LAMES. Having set his own stock, he drives the rest ol tlie ewe Iambs and all the wethers to the lamb fair; and it will be satisfa6iory to him, in ascertaining comparative prices, as well as for knowing the pro- gressive state of his flock, to weigh and register the weights of all. Let him also ac(^uaint himself by proper inquiries among his neighbours, of the expences which ought to be incurred in drivini hiring grass or stubbles, shepherd and assistants board, hurdles, &c. &c. If the fairs for the sale of lambs are later thi August, as in September, and even to Michaelmai as in some districts, great care must be taken keep them in forcing food, as in spring tares, earlj sown rape, good grass of the right degree of bit< &c. &c. in order to promote their growth and crease their value. But to sell in August is mor( beneficial. KEEPING ROUND. This term is not very expressive of its meanin) but common among farmers, for describing a dii ferent sheep system, that of so proportioning th< number AUG.] LAYING UOWN LAND TO GRASS. 44f number of ewes as to keep all their produce for the butcher. If he is in this system, his principal objedl is to consider wether lambs as fatting stock, and feed them accordingly from weaning to the knife. His crones the same from this period. LAYING DOWN LAND TO GRASS. This is the best season of the whole year for this very important operation, and no other admissible for it on strong, wet, or heavy soils. Spring sow- ings with corn may succeed, and do often, but that they are hazardous I know from forty years ex- perience. In all my trials I never failed with an August sowing but once, and that was with crested dog's-tail gathered too early by the women, know- ing the intention too soon. Preparation, — I suppose this to have been either a fallow or winter tares sown very early, and mown in June for soiling, which may give nearly two months in the very heat of the summer for tillage: sucli a preparation is one of the most effedlive for cleaning land that can be ; and it may farther be supposed that the land had been favoured in the course of crops previously to the year of laying down. Seeds. — These should be varied according to the soil, as in the following table : Clai/, 448 LAYING DOWN LAND TO GRASS, [aug. Clay. Cow-grass. Cocl(.*s.foot. Dog's-tail. Fescue. Fox- tail.- OaC-grass. Trefoil. York white. Timothy. In Loam. White clover. Kay. York white. Fescue. Fox- tail. Dog's-tail. Poa. Timothy. Yarrow. Lucerne. Sand. Chalk, White clover. Yarrow. Ray. Burnet. York white. Trefoil. Yarrow. White clover Burnet. Sainfoin. Trefoil. Rib. the Peat. White clover. Dog's-tail. Cock's, foot. Rib. . York white. I Ray. I Fox-tail. I Fescue. I Timothy. f these regara lo tne quantities per acr plants, this must necessarily depend on tne means of getting them. In situations where women and children are fully employed, it may be difficult to procure large quantities, gathered by hand : in such places a man must be content with what can be bought. Crested dog's-tail is so very generally to be thus procured, that I cannot but suppose it, in a good measure, at command. However^ without adverting to this point, I may remark, that from the lands which I have laid down to grass to a considerable extent, and in which I have us^vl every one of these plants largely, except the poa, and that on a smaller scale, I am inclined to think that the following quantities may be safely recommended : Clay, Seeds, Substitutes. :■ Cow-grass, 5 lb. J Trefoil, 1 Dog's-tail, 10 lb. Yorkshire white, 2 bush. I Fescue, 1 bush. Timothy, 41b. " Fox-tail, 1 do. Do. 4 lb. J or, York white, 1 bush Loam, White clover. ' ^^^' ^ \ Dog's-tail, 10 lb. Ray, 1 peck j Rib-grass, 4 lb. Kay, 1 peck. Fescue AUG.] LAtmo DOWN LAND TO GRASS. 449 Seeds Sulstiiutes, rcbcue. 3 pecks. Yorkshire white. Fox- tail. 3 do. Timothy, 4 lb. Yarrovv, 2 do. Cow-grass, 5 lb. Sand. White clover. . 71b. Trefoil, 5 1b. Burnet, 61b. Ray, 1 peck. Yarrow, 1 bush. Ray, 1 peck j Rib, 4 lb Chalk. Eurnet, 10 lb. Trefoil, 5 lb. White clover. 5 lb. Yarrow, 1 bush. Ray, 1 bush. Peat. Wliite clover. lOlb. Dog's-tail, lOlb. York white, Specks. Ray, 1 peck. Fox-tail, 2 do. Rib, 5 lb. Fescue, 2 do. Cow-grass, 4 lb. Timothy, 1 do. But here I must observe generally^ that if the Jand, thus laid to grass, be intended for sheep, it is not an objedl of very great consequence to sow only the finer grasses ; as close feeding, after the first year, will make any grass named in these lists fine, and sweet, and productive ; but this effedl depends altogether on its being con- stantly fed close ; that is, all seed stems being pre- vented from rising. Every good farmer is sensible of the necessity of this with ray-grass ; but most c g unac- 450 CONVERSION OP POOR LAY^. [aUG* I unaccountably does not extend a similar concern to other grasses. I have laid down above 200 acres^^l chiefly for sheep ; and I have stocked the fields so^ early in spring, and so thickly, as just to keep down the seed stems : the cocK's-foot, oat-grass, and Yorkshire white, witli this management, have proved sweet feeding grasses, not at all reje^led,'- even in fields where the flock had a choice. Sou'i7ig. -^The even distribution of the seeds being of much importance, a calm day should be chosen for the sowing, and particular attentioa given to prevent the seedsmen mixing too many together : let the farmer remember, that the ex- pence of going often over the ground, is nothing on comparison with the benefit of having each sort^ equally distributed. Successive management, — In this respccl, no other attention is necessary than to keep every sort of stock out of the field most assiduously through all the following autumn and winter. Some writers dirc6l manuring ; but this should have been done previously to sowing the winter tares/ if done at all. After sowing, none is admis-. sible but suoh dressings as may be sown by hand. CONVERSION OF POOR LAYS. There are, on many farms, tra<^s of barren lays, from moss, poverty, neglcd, and bad herbage, i>pon which a very great iinprovement may be, made by a single ploughing in August. For this , purpose, a strong four-horse plough must be used with a skim-coultcr ; then go over it twice in diffc- v rent i AUG.] SHUT UP ROUEN. 451 rent diredlions with the scarifier, so as not to dis- turb the flag ; harrow it once, and immediately sow a quarter of a peck of cole-seed, two bushels of cock's-foot, and one bushel of Yorkshire white per acre, adding some of whatever seeds may be procured at the moment cheaply. Leave it unfed and untouched till the March following, in which month, and through April, load it well with sheep ; the use will then be very great ; keep sheep feed- ing it heavily through the year ; the cole will be killed, and you will have a pasture worth treble what it was before. The expence is small, and the improvement rapid. SHUT UP ROUEN. The time for shutting up after-grass for use the following winter and spring, will depend on the richness of the soil : dire6lly from the scythe is the proper period for lands of moderate fertility, that let from 12s. to 25s. an acre; but, in fields of greater richness, from 25s. to 35s. August is a better month, feeding till then quite bare : and, on still richer lands, September may do. On the fine salt-marshes of Lincolnshire there is such a spring all winter, that two sheep an acre are fed without any previous exclusion. This husbandry cannot have too much attention, for it is by far the most certain dependence a man can h^ve for his flock at the most pinching period of the whole year. Lands fed in the spring may be kept equally with those mown. G g 2 SEPTEM- ( 452 ) SEPTExMBER. WHEAT. UPON all cold, wet, and backward soil?, September is the best season for putting in wheat, provided other circumstances permit it ; such are principally the weather, for wheat should not be sown till rain comes in tolerable plenty ; and never in a dry season. Upon dryer and warmer soils, it is better to postpone this business till 061ober. But ia this case, let our farmer remember, that clover and other layers should be ploughed (if rain comes) in September, for it is a great advantage to have such layers remain unsown for three weeks or a month after ploughing. Another general obser- vation is, that in proportion to the earliness of the sowing, may be a small dedudlion from the accus- tomed quantity of seed ;, two bushels sown any time in this month, are equal to three in November. SORT OF WHEAT. These are numerous, and many of them known in different counties under different names, which necessarily causes some confusion in reports that are made on this subjedt. It is here necessary to notice but a few of the sorts. 1. Red lammas ; a red straw, red ear, and red kernel ; reckoned by many farmers the best of all the sorts hitherto known, and yielding the finest, whitest J^ SEPT.] -WHEAT AFTER FALLOW. 453 whitest flour. There are also a yellow and a brown lammas. 2. Hoary white ; white straw, ear, and grain. 3. Bearded ; produdtve on very poor, cold, wet land ; but a coarse grain, and sells for an inferior price. 4. Clark wheat; red blossom, chaff, and straw, but white grain ; a favourite sort in Sussex. 5. Hedge wheat ; white: very produdiive. 6. Velvet ; a distin6l sort from the hoary white ; it is a white wheat, and though not weighty, yields much flour ; a very thin skin. 7. Cone wheat of various sorts, so called from the shape of the ear. STEEPING THE SEED. . The modes of steeping, brining, and liming the seed, are innumerable ; all are equally intended as precautions against the smut. I made several experiments on this objed, from which it appeared, that steeping from twelve to twenty-four hours in a ley of wood ashes, in lime-water, and in a solu- tion of arsenic, gave clean crops from extremely smutty seed, but a short time in those mixtures had a much less efFed:. WHEAT AFTER FALLOW. If there is one pradice in husbandry proved by modern improvements to be worse than another, it is that of sowing wheat on fallows : all I shall therefore observe under this head is, to note that in some counties the fallows are ploughed just before harvest on to two bout ridges, ready to plough and G g 3 sow WHEAT AFTER BEANS- [sept. SOW under furrow in the spraining method a seeds- man to every plough which reverses the ridges. In others they lay their lands into ten or twelve fur- row stitches or lands, and sow some under furrow, some under the harrow. Ridges vary exceedingly, ac- cording to their wetness ; and in Kent they have by means of the turn-wrest plough, no lands at all, but a whole field one even surface. It would be useless to expatiate on the circumstances of fallow- wheat, which ought no where to be found. If fiallows be, or are thought necessary, let them be sown with barley or oats, or with any thing but wheat. WHEAT AFTER BEANS. Beans, if well cultivated, form the best preparS? tion for wheat : I have seen in Kent a field of wheat which followed four preparations, beans, clover, tares, and fallow, and the first was superior to all the rest ; next the clover, then the tares, and the worst was after the fallow. If our young farmer has a bean-stubble on which he intends sowing wheat, he should be as early as possible in giving it the due tillage ; this will depend on soil, for on some it will be more advantageous to trust to the shim, scarifiers, and scufBers, than to the plough. If the land is very clean, the great Isle of Thanet shim will cut through every thing, and loosen the surface sufficiently to enable the harrows to leave it as clean and line as a garden, women attending to pick and burn. If less clean, the Kentish broad- fthare may do the work more efFe6iively. In other cases 3UC li I SEPT.] WHEAT AFTER BEANS. 455 cases the scufflcr may be equal to the business. When he has got the surface to his mincl, he is to consider whether or not he should plough ilj which is advisable if the soil be of a firm, solid, tenacious quality, and if he does not intend to drill the wheat : if he ploughs such a soil he may not have any apprehension of root-fallen wheat, failing roots from a loose bottom ; but he will bring up a new surf^icc that may drill with difficulty, whereas that which has received the influences of the crop, atmosphere, and of his late operations will be ia exadlly the right temper for the drill to work in. If the soil is of a more loose, friable quality, and he should plough down the fine surface he has gained, he will give the wheat too loose a bottom, and he will run the chance of a root -fallen crop. In all such cases, or in any that have a tendency to this circumstance, he should determine not to plough at all, but drill dire(fi:ly ; a method in which he saves tillage, and ha-s the probability of a better produce. This is a new practice on strong land, but I have seen such success in it as leaves no reason for doubting the soundness of its principles, Mr. Ducket, on a sandy s©il, did it for years^ and with great effecl. It should be remembered, that what- ever other circumstances may influence the growth of this gram, it loves a firm bottom to root in, and rarely flourishes to profit when it is loose and crumbly, nor will a depth of such mould do if the under stratum in which it will attempt to fix its joots, be from its quality repellent. The best G g 4 basis 45(5 WHEAT AFTER CLOVER. [sEPT. I basis is the cultivable earth firm from not having been lately disturbed. No such rules can be gene- ral, but the case happens oftener than some are willing to suppose. WHEAT AFTER Cr>OVER. Clover forms a very excellent preparation for wheat, yielding ample crops of the golden grain I at a very light expence : so that, while the Nor- folk husbandry of, 1. Turnips ; 2. Barley ; 3. Clo, ver ; 4. Wheat ; is pradlicable on a farm, dry enough for turnips, and rich enough for wheat, a man may well enough be satisfied with his profit ; but after many repetitions (and this system has been common for above fifty years), it was found that two evils gradually appeared, which were un-^ known at the first introduction of it. Turnips de- manded ample manuring where they were once produced of larger size without any ; and the clo- ver became so subje6\ to failures, that it was no longer easy to have it every fourth year. This, created the necessity of variations (of which more! in another place), but still retaining clover as the! preparation for wheat. The husbandry, however,i was very imperfect, from the mode of putting ia the wheat, which was merely by the harrow, in which method (for the skim-coulter was unknown) the seed was too apt to fall into the seams of the furrows, and came up consequently among what- ever grass and weeds might be in the land. Thoi discovery of dibbling was a very capital improve-i ment : in this method the seed was deposited in the SEPT.] WHEAT AFTER CLOVER. 457 the centre of the flags, and the regular treading the land received, pressed down the furrow, and gave a degree of firmness not otherwise attainable. The success was great ; and had the labouring poor kept to that care and accuracy which they began with in dibjjling, the practice would never have lessened ; but the great earnings they made gave a spur to their avidity, and they have both ia Norfolk and Suffolk done it of late years in so slovenly and careless a manner, that drilling is every where coming in, instead of a pra^lice esteemed by many of the most intelligent farmers as unrivalled when well performed. At present, it is thought in those counties the mark of a bad farmer to sow broad- cast wheat on clover. The land having been ploughed a fortnight or three weeks*, it is to be well roiled down with a heavy roller, and then dibbled : here, as in all other cases, the chief attention is to be paid to the dib- blers making the holes deep enough, and to the children dropping equally without scattering. It is then bush- harrowed. Six peck's of seed Ts enough for two rows on a flag in this month. But if only one row, still I would recommend as much seed to be put in. And another observation it is necessary to make, that if the land is known to be given to the mildew, an increase of seed on that account is right, whatever the soil or season ; * On to drill-stitches, if that husbandry is at any lime to be pra(5tised in the field. by 458 WHEAT AFTER CLOVER. [SEP' by reason of the well known fa6l, that all thin crops suffer more from that distemper than such as are thicker. hi regard to drilling, the various diredlions given in the spring Calendars, relative to accurately ploughing the lands either for one stroke of the drill-machine, or for a bout of it, are equally ap- plicable to drilling wheat. The operations are the same, and therefore to dwell on them needless ; but, it should be remembered, that in ploughing all lays, the use of the skim-coulter is very great, and in sonie cases indispensable : an effe6live har- rowing should precede the drill. The quantity of seed the same as in dibbling. A very singular experiment of Mr. Ducket's, on preparing a clover lay for wheat, should here be mentioned : he had a field in which wlieat rarely escaped being greatly root-fallen : not to lose sowing it with that grain, and at the same lime to guard against the experienced malady, he scarified it repeatedly, till he hnd torn uj) the clover, and also gained tilth enough for drilling in ; then he collc(Bed the clover fragments, and carted them into the farm -yard to make dung, and drilled the field : the wheat having a firm bottom in an un- stirred soil, escaped the disease, and yielded an ample produce : very singular husbandry, and ad- mirably adapted to the peculiarity of tlie soil. The clover-bulb, which would have secured the dreaded looseness had it been turned down, made a large quantity of dung, and therefore was not lost I I I SEPT.] WATER-PUBROWIKG. 45^ lost to the farm, though the particular field was deprived of it. No saving in cxpence was here made, but an extraordinary one incurred ; but it secured a crop v/hcre otherwise there would have been none. WHEAT AFTER TARES. A good crop of winter tares leaves the ground in 3uch loose, putrid, friable order, that it is much better husbandry to sow turnips or plant cabbages on it, than leave it to receive tillage for wheat. However, if this management should take place, the land should not be ploughed at all, but left to consolidate at bottom, to become firm for the roots of the wheat to fix in, and the surface worked with the scarifiers or scufflers, according to its temper, just sufficient to keep it clear of all weeds, and in that state, drill the wheat without any ploughing. Tliis I have pra6lised with good suc- cess. WATER-FURROWING. A circumstance of much importance in the cul- ture of wheat, but oftentimes strangely neglecled^ is water-furrowing : this work should be well and ef- feclually performed on all lands, except those that arc perfectly dry all winter through. The water-furrows should be ploughed as soon as the field is finished sowing, ploughing, &c. and then a spit should be dug out from the bottom of them, and laid on one side opposite the rise of the land, and the loose moulds shovelled out : the openings of all the fur- rows should likewise be cleansed, so that the water may Ji6o BUY IN SHEEP. [sfePt, may have an easy fall out of every furrow into th< water ones. The number of these must ever de- pend on the variations of the surface ; the onFy ge-j neral rule being to make them so numerous, that! no water can stand on the hind in the wettest wea-j ther. In bottoms of fields, or other places, when there is a double slope of the land, it is necessary to cut double water-furrows, about a yard or fouH feet from each other, to take water from eacn] descent. BUY IN SHEEP. If there is not a regular flock kept upon th( farm, the annual purchase may be supposed to tak^l place at fairs towards the end of August, or all through September : and the sort most commonlyi bought is wether lambs, and I believe more profit^ ably than any other. They used to be had for 13 s, in the breeds of Norfolk, the South Down, andj others of a similar size ; but of late years, they have risen to 20s. and even higher. There are two systems of keeping them ; one is, to put themj to the very highest keep, and push them by everjr^ means to sell as soon as possible ; the other, and I' believe the more advantageous method, is to keep] pretty well till March, and then to full keep, and; begin to sell in harvest, continuing till September ! or Michaelmas, and then clearing all. In this way! I have often known the purchase money doubled^ besides the fleece. Sometimes much more is donej but this mavbc looked for on an average of years. ' BREED JH ^EPT.] BREED OF SHEEP. 46I BREED OF SHEEP. In buying in the wether iambs mentioned irt the preceding article, tliere will not probably be much choice in the vicinity ; and it is not commonly a profitable speculation to send into distant counties tor breeds very different from those of the neigh- bourhood. At present, such has been the spirit of making these importations for the purpose of breeding, that th^ere are not many distri<^s where a farmer has a choice. The new Leicester first^ and then the South Downs, have made remarkable inroads in various j)arts of the kingdom. The former come in com;)€tition with all the long- woolled breeds ; and the latter with all the short and middling woolled ones. When bred in suffi- cient plenty to be had as wethers, the new Leicester are generalh/ to be preferred. The only doubtful exception I have heard is, when wool sells high, upon very rich marsh la?id in Lincolnshire, I know of no competition between the South Downs and other fine woolled breeds, in which the South Downs should not be preferred. In buying wether Iambs for mountainous moors in the North of England, the black-faced long coarse woolled Scotch are the common sort, and I believe much superior to any other for regions of real and severe hardship. In all this matter, the young farmer is to bear in mind, that for an annual stock, he is to discard all prejudices that are attended with expence ; these must 462 FATTING BEASTS; SEPT, niList be transferred to the breeding systems, and there well considered before they are adopted. CRONES. It is a common system in many inclosed dis- tridls, to buy old crones in September, to put the ram to them in October, and to sell the lambs as they become fat for the butcher, and then to fatten the mothers, clearing within or about a year from the time of buying. This system is well enough where fences are very secure, and food very plenti- ful ; but in general it is inferior to wether lambs. In buying any sort of sheep that are to be 2vin- tered on turnips, the young farmer should not cal- culate on more than ten to an acre of very good turnips : and, in providing stock for fattening, the best acres must not be expe6led to fatten more than seven or eight ; and middling crops not more than five or six ; due provision being made beside for taking the stock when turnips are done. FATTING BEASTS. You must now be very attentive to the state of your fatting beasts, and the remainder of their food ; see, therefore, that the cattle do not stop for want. A beast that is nearly fat must have plenty ; he is nice, and if he is at all curtailed in his pasture, will fall off. It is excellent manage- ment to have August-sown cabbages now ready for the fat beasts, and to carry them on to Christmas : grass declines after this month ; and if rouen is freely turned into in September, twenty to one but the I I I 4 SEPT.] PATTING BEASTS. ^QS tlie ewes and lambs will be distressed in March and April : whatever grass is now used on the farm, will pay far better by sheep than by feeding at present. The soil, however, must in some mea- sure govern this distribution : for all lands that are subject to floods, or that have a tender and poaching surface, should be left quite bare before the heavy autumnal rains come. The farmer's judg- ment must be exercised in this, as in so many other cases : dry sound soils answer best for kept rouen. Remember that beef is cheaper at Michaelmas than at any time throughout the year ; for grass- fed cattle are then at once brought to market : this should give the attentive grazier an idea of varying from the common method : to sell only apart of his cattle at this time. In drawing off a lot or lots for sale, it is common to sell the fattest, and keep on the ill-doing ones for further exertions. If the food provided be not costly, this to a certain degree is admissible : but if the beasts are for cake or corn ; or the quantity of other food rather limited, it is a very questionable condudl. I would not give expensive food to beasts which have proved themselves unthrifty, but on the contrary, draw off for this purpose the most thriv- ing ones in the lot : the contrary conduct has often been the reason why all winter fatting has been so heavily condemned. The moment a grazier is well convinced that he has a beast that is an ill-doer, the first loss is the best, and he should get rid of him as soon as he can. cows. 464 ItfANUaE GKASS. COWS. The Hairy of cows mast have plenty of grass ttirongliout this month, or their milk will be very apt to fail. Lnccrnc, mown green, and given them in at yard, is the most profitable way of feeding : the pro- (K\(Si is so regular, that it is an easy matter to propor- tion the dairy to the plantation^ and never be under a want of food ; for lucerne, mown every day regu- larly, will carry them into October ; and, although some persons have asserted that cows will not give so much milk thus managed, as when they range at large, and feed how and where they will, it is not a matter of inquiry ; because, if they give less, the quantity will pay more clear profit, than more in the other case : there may be some inferiority ; but the cows are kept on so small a quantity of land, that there remains no comparison between the methods, for profit. THE TEAMS. These must be kept at work. Wheat-sowing is a business in which we usually stretch a point, and make the ploughs do full work. Both horses and oxen should be kept this month to lucerne, &c. mown every day : they will work as well on it as any other food ; but, while they plough, they must have oats and chaflf with it ; for no grass at this season of the year, is so nourishing as it was in the summer. MANURE GRASS. Dung should not be kept until it is rotten, that I I I I J 5t!:?T.J SCARIFY GRAfeS LAXDS. 46C} it will wash into turf; because, by that titiie, it loses its virtue at a great rate, and, while in full fer- mentation, it is of such gi'e'at utility to all land. There are many siiccedaneums for darig, or at least for making it go mucli fiirther on grass than on arable : the proper composts are chalk, clay, turf, ditch-earth, pond-mud, lime, ashes, soot, with some dung ; all, or some of these mixed together, will be in order for spreading on grass lands, and will be highly sufficient to keep them in great heart, with but a small quantity of dung. The end of this month is a proper season for carrying such composts on : lay about i 5 or 20 yards an acre. It is difficult to over-manure arable lands, but very easily done on grass ; because large quantities do not wash in quick enough. Let the compost heaps be spread very re- gularly. A good farmer will manage to give his pas- tures, unless they are very rich, a dressing of com- post every four years. Always add a pound of com- mon salt to every cubic yard of corripost^ sprinkled in in turning over* SCARIFY GRASS LANDS. Scarifying grass is a new prafiice of some ingenious gentlemen, but not yet become common husbandry. It consists in cutting the turf with a plough of coul- ters, or with a ploughing harrow : so that the sur- face may all be cut or torn : this operation is on prin- ciples diredly contrary to the common idea of rolling m autumn, which is done with design not only of levelling for the scythe, but also of pressing the sur- face as much as possible, for which the heaviest rol- H h lers 4GQ FERN. lers are chosen, until some are worked six horses. BURNET. Observe not to let any cattle pasture your burnet fields after mowing, either for seed in July, or for a second crop of hay in August ; for the greatest peci Harity of this plant is to afford a full bite in March? and, if you leave it six or eight inches high in Octo- ber, you will find more the beginning of March, and in possession of the leaves it had in autumn ; for tbie winter's frosts have not much effed on it. Upon this caution, therefore, depends much of the advan- tage of burnet : some who have found fault with it, and asserted that it is unprofitable, have fed off the after-grass in autumn bare, and let their sheep and cattle get into it in winter. It is then no wonder the burnet does not answer the character given of it by others, who have managed in a different manner. FERN. ^1 Cut fern, called, in some places, brakes and braken™ This is most profitable work, and should never be negledled. Carry it into the farm-yard, and build large stacks of it for cutting down through the winter as fast as the cattle will tread it into dung ; also f that the grass-seed$ succeed better H h 3 where 470 FAILURE OF NEW LAYS. [sEPT. where winter tares are sown than hi any spots where by accident there happens to be none. The improve- ment of the old grass by the tares is very great, and the value of the tare crop is considerable in soiling, or in hay. This husbandry is new, extremely in- teresting, and much deserves imitation in many cases. LAYING TO GRASS WITH WHEAT. Next to laying down upon a clean fallow and sow- ing the grass-seeds in August, I believe as good a system as can be pursued is, to sow the seeds with wheat very early in September, provided the weather be favourable for putting in the wheat. I have had very good success in this method. The land must be either a fallow, or sown early with winter tares, and these mown for soiliog, after which there is plenty of time through the heat of the summer for fallowing the land. The seeds are detailed in the Calendars for April and August. FAILURE OF NEW LAYS. If the recommendations given in this work be closely attended to, there is little reason to appre- hend this ; however, as it is possible, from extremely unfavourable seasons, something should, be said on it. Such a failure can scarcely happen to more than one or two of the seeds; in this, or indeed in any case of failure, fresh seed should be sown in a moist time in the spring, and if a flock of sheep can be driven over the land, it will be a good way to cover them ; if not, it should take its chance, for a roller will not so well efFedl it, and a harrow cannot enter without mischief. If a very large fold (five or six yards to a sheep) be run over the field once in a place, and the seeds sown before SEPT.] AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT OP NEW LAYS. 47 X beforc the sheep eater, success is almost certain. At least I have found the benefit of thus thickening new- lays in seasons not peculiarly favourable. Should, however, a total failure from any unforeseen cause take place, the better condudl will be, in fields that were sown in the spring, to clear the corn as early as pos- sible, and ploughing ojice, harrow in fresh seeds imme- diately ; this will succeed very well if they are got in iu the month of August, or early in September^; the sooner the better : and in this case the land should be very well rolled in Odlober, in a dry season. If the failure hap- pens in laqd sown in August, it should have three earths in dry weather in the spring, and the grass- seeds re-sown with buck-wheat in May : that is not a crop for clays and wet loams, but I have known it succeed well in a dry summer ; should the season be wet, it will give little seed, and should be mown v.hen in blossom for soiling cows. It is an ameliorating plant, never exhausting any soil, and therefore pre- serves in the land the fertility gained by the operations previous to the former sowing. And I may here gene- rally observe, that grass-seeds of all sorts, and on all soils, never succeed better than with buck-wheat, of which not more than one bushel an acre should be sown. Th.ere is a distri(Sl in Norfolk where buck is highly valued for this obje6V. It is a profitable article of cultivation on the very poorest barren sands. AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT OF NEW LAYS, This is a point of considerable consequence ; and in proportion to the moisture of the soil. All trampling of cattle and horses is pernicious, for the soil, after a crop of corn, or after the tillage of a fallow, is very H h 4 tender, 472 AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT OP NEW LAYS. [sEPT. tender, • and affedlcd by every impression : it is ali bad to feed the plants, as I have found by much ex perience. The safe way is to keep every thing out through both autumn and winter. The profit of feeding is absolutely notjiing, for the pasturage in the spring for sheep is of far more vaUie, by reason not eating it in autumn : at the former season affords a most valuable and very early bite for e\\\ and lambs. OCTOBER. ( 473 ) OCTOBER. SEASON. IT is necessary to remind the reader, (bat a eir- fumstanee takes place in respecStto this month, which scarcely holds with any other in an equal degree : by OSIober, is to be understood that period of good or tolerable weather which usually takes place before the change by rain, snow, or frost stops most field opera- tions ; what is now diredled to be done must often be executed in November : if the farmer cannot effedt it in the first of theso months he must do it in the second, HIRING FARMS. This is commonly the month for hiring and stock- iaig farms, and moving from one to another. Upon such occasions, the farmer should have his attention awakened : he should be equally clear-sighted to the advantages of a farm and to the disadvantages, that he may be able to draw a balance between them, and compare that balance with the rent demanded. Let him remember, that he must equally discard a too solicitous prudence, which doubts every benefit, and a too daring courage, which overlooks or lessens real evils. It must be open to almost every person's ob- servation, that many lose themselves in deliberating concerning a farm i they have so many mistaken rules pf judging, that we sometimes see them reje6l farms which soon after are hired by others, and prove the fortunes 47'^ HIRING FARMS. [oCT fortunes of such : they are apt to take one false guide in particular, the success of the last tenant. If a man makes a good deal of money on a farm, or leaves it for a much larger, numbers will immediately apply with eagerness to get it ; but if a tenant or two break, or are poor on a farm, most of the neighbours consider little farther; they attribute too much of the ill success to the land, and avoid it, under an idea that, without a fall of rent, no money can be made on it. Soil, — Let the farmer that is debating whether he should hire a farm that is offered him, examine the soil well, to be able to determine its nature, the stiffness, moisture, exposure, levelness, slope, sto- nyness ; what draining, manuring, fencing, &c. will be wanted : let him see to the roads, distance of market, prices of commodities, labour, &c. ; let him fully acquaint himself with the state of tithes or ga- thering. He should know the poor -rates, attend to the compadness of the fields, and consider well the covenants relative to cropping ; for many such are extremely detrimental to a good conduct of the land. One general rule in hiring a farm should not be forgotten — to fix on good land, and he can scarcely pay too much for it ; but, for poor soils, the least rent is sometimes too high to be consistent with pro- fit. By p 007' soils, liowcver, are not to be understood such as have a command of lasting manures, that work great improvements ; nor waste lands, which, under that false denomination, are often found the motJt profitable of all. The sound, nreilow, rich, putrid, crumbling, sandy loam J OCT.] MIRING FARMS. 475 loams, are of all soils the most profitable ; such as will admit tillage soon after rain, and do not bake on hot gleams of sun coming after heavy rains, when finely harrowed : such land is better worth forty shil- lings an acre than many soils deserve five. The next soil I shall mention is that of the stiff loam, which is nearest allied to brick earth ; this, till drained, is in general an unkindly soil, without plenty of manure. It is known in winter by being very adhe- sive upon walking over it ; is long in drying, even when little or no water is seen upon it : for which reason it is generally late in the spring before it can be ploughed. When quite dry, it breaks up neither so hard and cloddy as mere clay, nor near so crumbly and mel- low as the good loam. If it is in stubble, it is apt to be covered with a minute green moss. There are many varieties of this soil, but all agree in most of these circumstances, and in being what the farmers call, poor, cold, hungry land. When hollow-ditched, and greatly manured, it yields any thing ; but those who hire it should forget neither of these expences. The gravelly soils are numerous in their kind, and very different in their natures. Warm, dry, sound gravelly loam.s, are easily distinguished in winter. They admit ploughing all winter through, except in very wet times ; always break up in a crumbly state of running moulds ; and if a stubble, will dig on trial by the spade, in the same manner. If under turnips, you may perceive, by walking through them, that it will bear their being fed off. The wet, cold, springy gravel, is a very bad soil ; it is known in winter by the wetness of it ; and in spring, 4/6 HIRING FARMS, [oCT. spring, by its binding with hasty showers. It rarely breaks up in a crumbly state, or shews a mellowness under the spade. Very expensive drains greatly cor- real its ill qualities, but it requires a prodigious quan- tity of manure to fertilize it. Some gravels are so sharp and burning, that they produce nothing except in wet summers ; but such are known at any season of the year. Sands are as various as gravels, and are all easily discoverable in their natures. The rich, red sand, is, I believe, as profitable a soil as any in the world. It has at all seasons a dry soundness, and at the same time a moisture with- out wetness, which secures crops even in dry sum- mers. The spade is sufficient to try it, at any season of the year. The light sandy loam is, likewise, an admirable' Soil : it will bear ploughing, like the preceding, all winter long, and appears quite sound and mellow when tried with the spade. If it lies under a winter fallow, the best v.'ay to judge of its richness, is to remark the state of the furrows, and the degree of adhesion in the soil. Stiff land, being dry and crumbly, is a great perfediion, and sand, being adhesive, is an equally good sign. When, therefore, the farmer views a Jight sandy loam, whose sound dryness is acknowledged, he may presume the^ soil is rich, in proportion to its adhesion. If it falls flat in powder, and has no adhesion, it is 9 m€7'e sand. The white chalky marm is often cold and wet, will not bear ploughing in winter, unless the weather is very dry or frosty ; runs excessively to mortar with a heavy sljower when in a pulverized state. OCT.] HIRING FARMS. A77 State. It is a cold soil, of little profit, except with peculiai* management : "but answers best when dry laid down to sainfoin. . In general, let him lay it down as a maxim, that strong, harsh, tenacioits clay, though it will yield great crops of wheat, is yet managed at so heavy an expence, that it is usually let for more than it is worth. Much money is not often made on such land. The very contrary soil, a light, poor, dry sand, is very often indeed in the occupation of men who' have made fortunes. Some permanent manure is usually below the surface, which answers well to carry on : and sheep, the common stock of such soils, is the most profitable sort he can depend on. All stifi"' soils are view^ed to most advantage in winter : the general fault of tliem is wetness, which is in the greatest excess at that season of the year. If the fields are level, and the water stands in the land, notwithstanding the furrows are well ploughed and open, it is a sign that the clay is very stiff, and of so adhesive a nature as to contain the water like a dish. It is likewise probable, that draining may prove insufficient to cure the natural evil of such land. This kind of soil, likewise, shews itself in the breaking up of stubbles for a fallow ; a very strong draught of cattle is then necessary to work it. It breaks up in vast pieces almost as hard as iron. When it is w^orked fine, it will run like mortar, with a heavy spring or summer shower. These soils will yield very great crops of -beans and wheat, &c. They must, like others, be cultivated by somebody ; but I would advise every friend of mine to have nothing to do 47S HIRING FARMS. [qCT. do with them ; never to be captivated with seeing large crops upon the land ; for he does not see at the same time the expences at which they are raised. Peat, bog, moor, and fen, in many variations are very profitable ; but the expences of improvement demand a calculating head. The vicinity of lime or marie is then of great importance. In respedl to grass lands, the marks for judgment are different. These are best examined by attending, first, to the circumstances in which they are most de- ficient : and then to such as are in their favour. The more seasons grass fields are viewed in, the better ; though any one is sufficient for a toJerable judgment. One evil attending these lands is, that of being too wet ; the signs of which can never be mistaken or overlooked in any season of the year. In winter, it is at once perceived by walking on it ; at all times of the year by the herbage which generally abounds on it, such as rushes, flags, and a great quantity of moss ; and also by the colour of the grass, which is mostly blue at the points ; sometimes of a dirty yellow hue, and always coarse. If the soil is the first described stiff clay, and the surface level, the evil will be very diiiicult of cure ; if of the other sort of clay, or stiff loams, draining will have great effo6ls. Grass fields on gravelly soils are, if the gravel is sharp, very apt to burn in dry summers ; but they give great and sweet crops in wet ones, provided the land is a gravelly loam. Au absolute gravel should never be under grass. A farmer should not, how- ever, regret having a pasture or two of this sort in his 1 OCT.] HIRING FAEMS. 4/9 his farm, being of excellent use in winter for feed- ing sheep and lambs on with turnips, &c. The low meadows, whatever the soil, on the banks of the rivers and brooks, are in general good, but often subject to the misfortune of being overflown in summer, which not only ruins crops of hay before they are cut, but carries them away, perhaps, when just made. Many grass fields on all soils, consist of so bad an herbage as to be of little value. Made up of weeds, and the worst and coarsest of grasses, if a landlord will not allow such to be ploughed, the farmer should minute the rent accordingly. Tiiis fault is visible at all seasons. A river that does not overflow, running through a farm, is a very favourable circumstance, as it indicates a probability of all the grass fields being well watered : that is, for cattle. Size, — Another matter of great import, in the hir- ing a farm, is the taking no larger a one, than the sum of money a man can command will stock properly. A common fault among farmers is, the hiring too much land for their money : they are extremely eager to farm as much as possible : the certain consequence of which is the condudling the soil in an imperfect man- ner. In the neighbourhood of great cities and towns, variety o{ manures are to be had, in some places cheap ; but, if the farmers have not money, how are they to make use of such advantages ? For these, and other reasons, a farmer should not think of ven- turing on a tra(51 of land which he cannot command ; that is, farm as seems best to him. 480 HIRING FARMS. [oCT Conligiiili/ of the Fields.-— ^lauy fanners too often overlook this circumstance. If they attended to it, as much as their profit required, we should see land- lords reforming their estates in this particular, mere than many do at present. There is not a more ex- pensive, perplexing circumstance in a farm, than the fields heing in a straggling, disjointed situation. The disadv-antages are numerous and striking. Covenants. — Many landlords are very tenacious of the covenants which they have usually inserted in their leases ; so that a man, when he approves a farm and agrees to the rent, may find the conditions of tenure proposed to him, such as are incompatible with his interest, his designs^ and even with good husbandry. The merit or reasonableness of covenants must be considered always, on comparison with the nature of the farm. It is for want of this consideration that imreasonable covenants are ever proposed. These prohibitions are often foolish, but some-* times admissible : they must depend on local circum- stances, to be well weighed by the farmer who hires. Ascertainment of Rent. — ^l^his is a very important part of the business in hiring a farm ; but the other circumstances already detailed precede it, rent in a good measure depending on them. The principal point here necessary to touch on, is the combination of rent, tithe, and rates, in one sum. Knowing the capital intended to be invested, estimate the interest of it at not less than 10 per cent, and then calculate the expences anM produce ; the former deducted frorfi the latter, leaves that sum which the farmer can af- ford Tl OCT.j STUCKING FAULTS. 4BI ford to pay in these three species. of rent. - DedtK^: farther- the tithe and raters and the remainder is what lie can afford to pay to the landlord. 'If iient be v.a:^ liied'in iiny -other wayy! it mwstbe^^erroneoaisly. and deceitfully done, ami: )fia'def)endei!wS caitrbeipjpcdd STOCKING FARMSi,.wjK, The be4".efit to be derived from the bccapation oi land, 'depends so mucho!! the fiirmer corntTianding the •requisite capital, that it h extremely necessary f&t' the young beginner t(^ >bii i \^^elt advised^ on rthA essential point. ' If be t^ fijced ih btisiiiessMby some eicgeHenced relation^ he! will not' \Tant':tH6i proper incJ stfitclibn ; but as many adveutarerte (asotbey may bo called) are every day ifmking=effort$'tontry their for -» tune in the culture of the earthy arid' msmy gentlemen taking farms into .thoir iiands, i' sometimes witiioufe" doe consideratiitm pf Hie necessary; txpencts^dt/uf prop^t^^'to' 'minute a>fTBw; ob^ervationsrbn'th'e subjetS.'lo ' Th^y -years agb/Jthe-sutn .tii^'^wds ilsiiaHy > ap^ prdpi^kte^dio stocking aifern^i^rifectfpoqT 3L tor^hzn acrd ;: flfld it wai^a geiieiialndta,.^that:1riie latter 'smli was sft^cient for a*¥)-fn^m,"part arable; aiid pah' grassy of-iift) -Uncommortrfoftility:. ; Rich 'marshes wereyiof cour^0p exdtidediirtfeecalculati6n>;;and light,flock-f fr^rmfi-'were often ^0(?k>d'foy3lv;:pdriacTa; Biit thcec mritters are no\v^ greiitly changed; rents are. nui«Ii increased; tithes- 'are^icomprmnded at a higher pay- i-fttnt; 5?oor-i*at^snsiro:^norinou3ly risen ; all sqrts of imjilc^etfts comprehended in : ther article itear and t^r^'-'^h thirtyi or forty vpter centi dearer^ Jabouf i^ in martyi distriany labourers and few servants ? Twenty years ago I believe the latter was more profit- able, but at present the reverse. The price of day labour, and the difficulty of getting it, are increased more than the wages of servants and the expences of house-keeping: and there is an acKantage, not a trifling one, in the farm-house being made a market for many inferior articles of the farm -produce, '^ifll certainty of commanding hands is a great object. However, much will depend on the local circum- stances and population of the distridl ; and much on the due regulation of the farmer's family. FAMILY ARRANGEMENT. Many accidental circumstances, gradually bring in- to a certain train the common habits of domestic life ; but it would often be more advantageous to lay down a plan to be pursued within doors as well as without : such ideas may not always be pradlicable, but the mere aim will not be without its use. Our young farmer, on entering his farm, must necessarily arrange his plan of life and house-keeping, a subje6l which should not be wholly omitted, yet admits but a few cursory hints that may possibly give a turn to his refledlions, and being properly worked on in his mind, may possibly produce a beneficial effedl on his condudl. It is not every man that has the power of thinking to any marked utility ; but he whose mind is inquisitive, may think to advantage on every subjedl. A prudent economy, free from all sordid avarice, will by every one be admitted as right ; but it demands some reflection on entering life, or a farm, so to arrange every day circumstances, that they shall flow from OCT.] FAMILY ARRANGEMENT. 487 from the plan adopted ; or at least that such plan shall have no tendency to countera6l. In regard to house -keeping, the safest way is to assign a stated weekly sum for it, which should on no account be ex- ceeded. An annual one for his own dress and per- sonal expences ; the same for his wife and young chil- dren. And he should, in prudence, keep the whole allotted expence so much ivithin his probable income, as to possess an accumulating fund for contingencies, children, &c. &c. And if he expe(!n:s the blessing of the Almighty on his industry, he will not forget the poor in such distribution : I do not mean by rates^ but by chariti/ : and this hint demands one observa- tion : a very material evil attending the support of the poor by rates, is the natural tendency they have es- sentially to lessen, if not to cut up charity by the root ; that they do this in many hearts cannot be doubted ; but it is a horrible, and a national evil. Let our young farmer accustom his mind to very dif- ferent refle6lions, remembering that what he pays in poor-rates he is forced to pay, and that it is a part of his calculation in stocking his farm : if he expecSls to prosper (but not from that motive ojilj/, or he might as well close his purse) let him so accustom himself to kind offices and assistance to his poor neighbours, whoever they may work with, as to gain a habit of reaping pleasure from his free benevolence. In such calculations as I have hinted at, he may safely estimate his profit at 10 per cent, on his capital : from 4000l. his income derived from his farm ought to be 400l. a year. He should lay up 50l. and aa much more as his better interest may permit. To ex^ I i 4 pend .^ \B^ FAMILY A^K^}^(^B,^^ii^\ ^^ pend this in e^^r« improve^ifints, may be the most ad- vantageous In v(^st merit, provided he owns his farm, q has.a Icttio: lease, not otherwise,.. • .. /5$ir;a;tteDd market^ [.m4il» few fai?$, , ig ^^ ^o^ss^ par^<:rfi.^rfi«'lt)ep'Sfl)U^iiie?s; but ^o a young man it is a- very dangerous? pairf; it is too apt to give the ev habits of driuking and dissipation : evil company every vyhere tp ,be foi^nd, and many a farmer h been ruined by a w;§nt of a careful seleclion of his a quaintance, find by not avoiding the contraclipn habits which cannot be iiidulged with safety. As. Safe/uard against all evils of this tendency, an ha- bitual attention to the dirties of religion, will ha jnore efficacy than all the philosophic morality vvhi so much abounds upon the tongues of many : by r ligion, I mean that of the national church, the ma ^Jscellent that has been any w^heve established for the instruction of the human species. He can ^ave no true friend tbat will not advise him to keep the Sab- bath piously and sti icily himself, and make hiS: family do the same: many a judge has traced the origin of crimes that h^ive brought labourers tothe gallows, to Sabbath-brealying .; and if the source of failures amon formers were as \Yell explored, they would be trac to the same spring. Serve God on Sunday as y 3e*ve yourself on Monday : if you are a pagan, a del a moral philosopher, you are, to a certain degr ip reason, answerable for the paganism, .deism, i3nfQ?al philosophy pf your children and servants,; iff christian, you are surely the same for tl^eir Christianity you may gain by this, but cannot lose. The fashionable sheep-shearings, farming clu societies; 1 la- i II pCT.] THE FARM ACCOUNTS. 489 societies, &c. render another remark not absolutely unnecessary : a steady, caretal old fanner may not be the worse for mixing a good deal in company of a much higher rank than his own ; but a young man with a smc|H degree of animation niay sirtfer by it. His eye and his mind become insensibly accustomed to objeds and habits of living to which he was before a stranger ; to steer clear of all imitation is not a very easy task, but it is an extremely necessary one : if af- ter an excursion which has carried him into great, and what is called good company, he returns home not quite so well satisfied with home as he was before, he has contra died a taint that may be worse than the scab among his sheep. The caustic of wholesome self-discipline becomes necessary. He should guard carefully against one of the most natural propensities, or his pleasures (partially assuming soniewhat of the garb of business) will prove like the pleasures of so many other classes, treacherous dissipation, and lay a foundation for uneasiness and resrret. THE FARM ACCOUNTS, in the arrangement of the business of a farm, this is an objecSl of no inconsiderable importance ; the mode«^ of keeping them are almost as numerous as there are farmers in the island. The most plain and simple method commonly used, is that of entering all pay- ments on one side of a book, and all receipts on the other, and balancing when the transactions of the year are ended : and this method gives a tolerable idea of the single objedt of profit and loss. I Sviy tolerable, fpr it is but a tolerable one. FARJM- 490 FARM-YARD. FARM-YARD. This may be the last month of cattle remaining abroad, and if so, the farm-yard should be in order to receive them. Good and convenient yards are of such great im- portance to spirited husbandry of all sorts, that, in the hiring a farm, a man should attend to this point ; but if he finds himself on a farm where it has been negle6led, and that the advantageous circumstances of a new one more than balance the expence of alte- rations, let him determine to remedy the evil himself, which may generally be done at no great expence. Let him run a high, warm fenfce, about a piece of ground large enough for all his cattle, contiguous to the barns and other buildings. It will pay the ex- pence of good pales very well ; but a much cheaper fence is, to build a stack of stubble, fern, ling, or straw, about eight or nine feet high, and five or six wide, and to thatch it for preservation ; no fence is so warm for cattle. This inclosure he must gravel or chalk at bottom, to keep it always firm, and hard enough to shovel up earth or dung. Throughout the leisure times of the summer or autumn, a layer one to two feet deep, of marie or chalk, turf, ditch -earth,' peat, &c. should be spread in it ; and upon that layer the cattle may be foddered with straw, hay, &c. all winter. Plenty of stubble, fern, or straw, constantly' spreading as fast as they tread it into dung, or lie wet' or damp : the stables, cow-houses, hog-sties, fatting-; stalls, if any, should be cleaned on to it ; and, if the farmer fats any beasts on turnips, he may give thera in binns ia such a yard ; by which means the quantity of I I OCT.] HORSES OR OXEN. 49I of dung he will raise will turn out immense, provided he has plenty of litter. THE TEAMS. About the latter end of this month, the horses must be put to dry meat ; that is, hay, oats, and chaff. The hay should be given them cut into chaff with straw: as to oats, if the horses are worked con- stantly, they should be allowed two bushels per horse per week, which will be no more than sufficient to keep them in good heart, and make amends for the loss of lucerne : with this food they may be worked regularly. But this system of feeding is expensive, and there is a way to lessen the cost, which is by substituting carrots instead of oats, or, at least, instead of the greatest parts of the oats. If you apply the chief of your carrot crop to other purposes, still you should determine to allow a small quantity weekly to all your horses, for the mere purpose of keeping them in good health. HORSES OR OXEN. In stocking a farm, the question, whetlier to em- ploy horses or oxen, or both, will necessarily demand the farmer's attention. If he lives in a country where both are common, he will probably from pradlice have fixed his ideas sufficiently for the regulation of his business ; but if he live where horses only are known, he may be inclined to try oxen, in which case some pradlical observations on the subjc6l may not be use- less, from one who has had many years experience of both, and of bulls also. There are two cases in which oxen are certainly more 4g2 ^^™^^ HORSES OR OXE>r. [ocT. more beneficial than horses : first, when a farmer lives in a distridl where there is a breed of cattle well adapted to work ; and, Secondly, when his farm is so large that he can buy in a- cotisiderable lot of cattle annually, at a small expence per head, find feel no inconvenience in turning oat such be^lsts from the teams to fattening as do not work well. In both these cases I have little d^ubt of the superiority of oxen to horses. Bat in countries that do not possess a breed of cattle well jtdapted for work in the state of oxen ; and on small f^irms whence fairs must be attended perhaps at the distance of an hundred miles to purchase a few, and consequently at a great ex- pence per head, and po^ibly without land for fatten- ing any, the benefit will be very questionable. In such- a case I should prefer the bulls of the country, which are every where to be procured probably much cheaper than oxen ; are broken in with but little difficulty ; which work well, and which will re- cover from fatigue sooner than any ox. This I be- lieve from what I have experienced, and from all the information I have procured, is stating the ques- tion of the comparison of horses and oxen as nearly to the truth as it cim be done, in few words. There ace, however, some works in the business of a farm, ki' which horses are better than either oxen or bulls, and thereforc'i* may be advantageous to keep a fe\V horses. < . • Therox teams should this month be kept on straw andeabbages, and, in default of thei latter,^ on tui^ nips ; but cabbages are supeiMor. Let tH<5m have good straw always* ial thbii* racks. ^ivUi The OCT.] PATTING BEASTS. 4^ The dairy of (jpwB^su^.,... ...^^ ...v. ..^oteipof thelarm ta- be field- feeding, :\]V now tQ be taken iute^ the yard, wher^- their food V^^^ V^ry f^g tp tlicif state : the dry-r ou^$ jTVU3t be j^t t<>cut,|cJiif&V^PiVM^osein aiilk, in an- other yard, t^o,(ii^bbages, whipji arc fQui>d,on iixperience,> to give no di^^igrqeable taste to. the milk j but good chaff must be given vvith tiriem. Yoang cattle should be put vvith the cows in milk, as they c^nn9t be, k^pt, too well. On no account let any of these cattle out of thie yard^.vth^y only ppaph and jJamage the grass fields. And :Iet it be r^m^pbered, that the grass now to be had in meadows and pastures, suitable to kept rouen, is of far greater, value, for sheep in more pinch- ing seasons. '? Such cattle as have be^n in,;t;he yard or sheds, and supported by soiling, i?)^y. nqw l^aye f their food gr^c^ dually changed to dry meat, roots, or cabbages. FATTING BEASTS. This is the proper time to take the large fatting oxen, that have had the summer's grass, and put them to turnips, cabbages, or carrots : turnips vvith cut chaff will dp ; but up): near so well as cabbages or carrots : both which: will fat a large ox as well as any food. You in ^y either stall-feed; them under, cover, or let them be. loose in a straw -yard, well lit- tered in either case : and, if the latter, they should have ppqn sheds to retire under at pleasqrq. This is also the moqth fqr purchasing beasts of the smaller sort, for fatting on th^; s^ipe articles qf food, particularly turnips and (pabbages,. Jt. is thisr plan of appropriating th^ tu^"n>ps ajpdqabbages of a farm 4Q4 HOGS. [oCT. farm to fattirtg bensts throughout the winter, in a well-Uttered farm -yard, that converts the straw, fern, stubble, &c. into such quantities of dung, as im- proves the land more than any other method whatever. The quantity of turnips and hay which stalled oxen eat, appears from experiment to be a ton of turnips, besides chafFor hay, in a week, for an ox of 75 stone, (14 lb.) ; 12 cwt. a week for a cow of 32 stone, with variations of course. HOGS. Now also put full-grown hogs to fatten : a busi ness profitable, particularly in respe6l to the improve- ment of a farm by dung. If he gets the market price for his pease, barley, beans, buck-wheat, &c. and saves carriage upon them, at the same time getting a fair price for his swine, lean, he certainly makes a considerable profit upon the whole transa6lion, though not an immediate one, as the mere fattener of hogs : but, what is of much greater consequence, is the raising of rich and most valuable manure. The most profitable method of converting corn of any kind into food for hogs, is to grind it into meal, and mix this with water in cisterns, in the proportion of five bushels of meal to 100 gallons of water ; stir it well several times a day, for three weeks, in cold weather, or for a fortnight in a warmer season, by which it will have fermented well and become acid, till which time it is not ready to give. It should be stirred immediately before feeding. Two or three cisterns should be kept fermenting in succession, that no necessity may occur of giving it not duly prepared. The difference in profit between feeding ;TI OCT.} MANURE GRASS, 495 in this manner, and giving the grain whole, or only ground, is so great, that whoever tries it once, will not be apt to change it for the common methods. Pease-soup, however, is an excellent food for hogs, and may, for what I know (but I liave not suffi- ciently compared them), equal the above, especially if given in winter milk-warm ; but the expence of fuel and labour must be remembered. For the general stock of hogs, cabbages are this month of incomparable use. Swine at this season are often very cheap, and it is of material consequence in that case, that the farmer be largely provided with a food, by means of which he can keep this stock for a better market. Without this plant, he cannot keep great stocks of swine to the best advantage. PUT FAT SHEEP TO TURNIPS, &c. Tiiis is the proper time to begin to feed off the for- ward sown turnips. A general rule, which ought rarely to be departed from is, not to begin to fat lean stock on this food ; they rarely pay for it. Sheep should be nearly half fat when they begin turnips ; nor will they feed to profit if lean. I have made the comparison repeatedly with the same result. Upon every soil that will bear it, the turnips ought to be eaten, by hurdling, where they grow, for to draw them, unless absolutely necessary, is most unprofit- able management. A lean stock should follow, to eat what the fat ones leave. MANURE GRASS. If this was omitted after mowing, it should not be deferred later. In some counties, it is an article in the generality of leases, that all^ or much of the dung, of 1 4q5 dig up carrots. [oct* of a farm should be spread on- the grass ; but sue! covenants are contrary to the spirit of good husbandry^ DIG UP CARROTS. About the end of this month the carrot crop should be dug up : some persons leave it till Novem- ber ; but, vn case of wet weather, they suffer. TheyJ^BI may be t-aken up either with three-pronged forks oH with spades, if the land is not hard, which it will not be, if the crop has been well cultivated : a little loosen- ing of the earth wrth the tool, and at the same time drawing up the carrot fe)^ the top, will take them up very quickly. They should be left sf»-ead over t\\0 field till dry, which will be in a day or two : then thrown into heaps and carted home; which moving: will clear the dirt from them. Unload them in d' barn or some out-house, and let the. tops be chopped off, and given to the swine : then lay the roots where they are to remain. Some pile them up in a heap, and cover them with dry sand ; otiiers cover' theni| with straw: they will keep- very: wcily iffpacked clos<5 together in any building :andi if it be only a boarded one, cover them with some straw> enoiigh to keep out the. frost. ThereV'arfei many ways of preserve ing them; one i&, 'toiipile them ih - circle, finishotiMB conically, witn just a scattering of topa left on a few of the outside carrots, as shall form a thirl thatch of tops luinging down : not thickly, for the tops will then ferment, and- heat the ron it. This I have found frost-tight. The beans kefp o^it the weather, and yet admit any steam whichi rfw8 from the roots, which, if it did not escape, WQuld rot them. ' ^ - LAV UP THE FALLOW?. This month must conclude the autumnal tillage on all stiff or moist lands; for in the foliowing, they may probably be too wet: but on very i light feapdy soils, ploughing goes on all winter. Lay it down ^s aa invariable rule, never to have a piece of stubble un*. ploughed the end of November. It is of importance to leave the land for winter in such a manner, that the frosts may get into it. But here our young farmer's attention must be par- ticularly turned to the greatest of all modern improve- ments on strong land ; that of discarding as much as possible all spring tillage ; the summer fallows in- tended for barley and oats ; the bean, pea, and tare stubbles designed for the same crops ; and the white corn stubbles intended for any spring crop, must now be ploughed very carefully, being the future seed-^ earth ; no more ploughings being allowable on any account whatever. In the Calendars for February and March I have entered into some explanations of this system, which is of such importance, that too firm a resolution cajmot be taken to carry it into execution. By. means of it the crops are much greater, and the expences considerably reduced. The K k 2 leading; 500 LAY UP THE FALLOWS. [oCT- leading principle is this : if the land is so laid in autumn, on to ridges of that exa6l breadth which suits the tools (whatever they may be, whether harrows, scarifiers, scufiiers, or drills), so that the horses which draw them may walk only in the furrows, the frosts will have left so fine and friable a surface, that any of these operations may be performed long before the land in the common system could be ploughed. The seed is securely in the ground before the old-fashioned farmer thinks of moving. If he ploughs, he turns down a dry crumbling surface, and brings up the stiff wet clung bottom ; if rain comes, then he is in the mire, and must wait for a season : if a drying sharp north-east wind comes, his furrows are converted to oblong stripes of a stony. hardness. In one case he is plagued, with mud, in the Other with impenetrable clods : he was possessedof jpst the surface he wanted, and which once lost, is not often regained. This sur- face may be scuffled, and immediately drilled securely. If this husbandry be intended, it is of particular im- portance that the lands or stitches be laid out with great exadlness. See the Calendar for the spring months. A caution in the first forming of these stitches should be mentioned ; which is, the difficulty, with- out two or three ploughings, of bringing them from old breadths into a corrc6l form. If the men are not skilful, they raise the centers too high ; and, in re- versing, are apt to leave the outside furrows also too high : the stitch should be flat, or, if rounded, very slightly so ; without this attention, the seed in some drills will be deposited deeper than in others. i OCT.] MANUIiE AND PLOUGH FOR BEANS. 501 SOW WHEAT. All the cases of sowing this grain in Septcmhcr, arc equally applicable to Odobcr, if the. weather was too dry in that month. Odlober is the principal month in the year for putting in wheat throughout the king- dom, and it is every where partly performed in this month, though some like to postpone it to Novem- ber. The management is however bad, should the season suit in Odober. SOW WINTER TARES. There should be two sowings of tares in this month, as it is a material objedl to have a succession for soiling. MANURE AND PLOUGH FOR BEANS. A successful bean husbandry upon harsh and diffi- cult soils, depends upon the exertions which are made in this month, or, in favourable weather, in Novem- ber. As. soon as the farmer has finished his wheat sowing (and before, if he has been delayed by drought), he should cart on the manure, all that is possible for beans. It is the wheat, barley, or oat stubbles, or layers which will come "in course to receive it : if the wheat, the stubble must be mown and carted first ; the manure then carted and spread, and the land carefully ploughed into that form on which. the crop is in the spring to be drilled or dibbled. If the former, the stitches must be 'of the exacl breadth which suits the drill-machine ; if the latter, of that which is adapted to the scCiffle and scarifier. The dung will lie safe, and the frosts will pulverize the surface, a main point for drilling, but not for dibbling. By means of efFedling this before the bad weather comes, K:k3 he: It the »s (ex- 502 PLOUGH FOR MADDER. [oCT. he will be able, if the weather be open, to get in the crop in February, which is of much importance. Let him be assured that there is no crop which will pay him better for dung than this. PLOUGH FOR PEASE. ^^| On the same principle which governed the pre- ceding observation in relation to beans, he must now plough the lands intended for pease ; laying the stitches of the breadth which will suit the drill- machine, or for dibbling them on layers. But the manure should be applied to other crops. PLOUGH FOR BARLEY AND OATS. Whatever lands are intended for these crops cept such as are now under green winter ones), should be ploughed, as remarked in the preceding articles, in this season for the seed- earth, in order that no /; ploughs may be wanted to stir on wet land in tlfH spring. Attention is to be paid very carefully to the bVeadth of the stitches, that the mode of putting in these crops may be duly prepared for. See the Ca- lendar for March. No reasonable man, who has seen the efFedl of this system, can value the modern im- provement at less than the rent of the land. PLOUGH FOR MADDER. This is the right time to give the first stirring to the land designed for madder. It requires great depth of ploughing. Loams, that in common con- versation are called clays, will, with a proper quan- tity of dung, do for madder. The article of ma- nuring is the soul of this culture ; the plant delights to grow ii]i a dunghill, so that you need not fear over- doing it. Let i OCT.] C(W»aES OP CROPS. J503 • Let the fanner, however, deterrnine to have i^Or thing to do with ihh, or with any crop not in arj easy and safe wode of sale, unless he has previously ascertained the certainty and price of the market. DIGGING FOR LIQUORICE. The best culture for this root, and which is com- mon at Ponfeefra6l, is to dig for it four or five fliet deep. This plant sends down' pnly one tap-root, like the carrot ; consequently the great profit of it, is the length of the root, which is exa^ly propor- tioned to the depth of the tillage. In this husbandry, as in that of madder, the same land is preferable for successive crops, as one digging serves both for thQ old crop an'd th^ new. For liquorice you must ma- nure very richly : it will not answer well without this attention. Leave the land well water-furrowed for the spring. COURSES OF CROPS. I esteem this to be the most important subjeel that has been treated of by the modern writers of husbandry, and that on which they have thrown far more light than upon any other circumstance in agriculture. It is a very singular and remarkable circumstance, that befare the reign of his present Majesty, notwithstanding the multitude of books on Agriculture, there is not one author who had any tolerable ideas upon this subjecl, or even annexed to it any importance. They recite courses good, bad, and execrable, in the same tone, as matters not open to praise or censure, end unconnedled with :iny principles that could throw light on the arrangement t f fields. But, when once the idea was properly Kk4 started. 504 COLTxSES OP CROPS. [oCT. started, its importance presently became obvious, so that thirty years have carried to great perfedlion the precepts which practice has afforded in this branch of rural economy. This subjed will demand a principal attention from our young farmer, who should well consider the courses to which his soil is applicable. General Principle. — It is now well known that some crops exhaust land much more than others : that some, notwithstanding they exhaust, return by being consumed on the farm, as much, or more, than they drew from the soil in their growth : that some ad- mit profitable tillage and cleaning while growing ; and consequently, clean, instead of rendering the land foul with weeds ; v^hile others, not. admitting such tillage, and being exhausters, if combined in succes- sion, will deteriorate the land and fill it with weeds. Pra6lice tells us, that by a due arrangement of these crops in courses, land of almost any description may be kept perpetually clean and in heart. It v^ill be useful to detail some of the best cour adapted to the most striking varieties of soil. First, including a fallow on strong and wet land : 1. Fallow, 1. Fallow, 2. Barley, 2. Barley, 3. Beans, 3. Clover, 4. Wheat, 4. Beans, 5. Tares, 5. Wheat, 6. Barley, 6. Cabbages, 7. Clover, 7. Oats, 8. Beans, 8. Tares, 9. Wheat. 9. Barley. Excluding a fallow on good sound loam : 1. Turnips, 2. Barley, 3. Clovi i 1 OCT.] THE DRILL HUSBANDRY, 605 3. Clover, /• Tares, 4. Wheat, 8. Barley, 5. Cabbages, Q. Beans, 6. Oats, 10. Wheat. 1. Turnips, 5. Beans, 2. Ruta baga, 6. Wheat, S. Barley, 7. Beans, 4. Clover, S. Wheat. On good sand : 1. Turnips, 4. Barley, 2. Barley, 5. Clover, 3. Carrots, G. Wheat. On peat, and on soils long harassed by corn : J. Cole-seed, or Turnips, 8. Grasses, 2. Ditto, Q. Ditto, 3. Oats, 10. Potatoes, 4. Ruta baga, 11. Barley, 5. Barley, 12. Tares, or Pease, 6. Grasses, 13. Barley and Grass. 7. Ditto, On dry and calcareous soils : 1. Turnips, 5. Turnips, 2. Ditto, 6. Barley, 3. Barley, 7- Pease, 4. Sainfoin for ten years, 8. Wheat, and upwards ; then pared and burnt for THE DRILL HUSBANDRY. Upon settling in his farm, our young farmer has, among many other pbjedls that require his attention, to determine in what degree and for what crops he will adopt the driU husbandry. It has long been known that this system is applicable, without incon- venience, to sandy soils and to dry loams, which may be safely laid flat, and accordingly, on such it made a great 1 50(5 ' THE DRILL HUSBAXDEY. [oCT. a great and rapid progress in Norfolk ; but it travelled no further in that county. A great revolution which has taken place in the wet land district of Suffolk, has introduced it with equal success on the strong soils of that county. This great change is the banishment of the plough, to as great a degree as [X)ssible from heavy soils in the spring ; all barley, oats, pease, and beans, that can by any means be thus managed, are put in on an autum- nal ploughing, which has thrown the stitches very carefully ploughed to tlie exa6l breadth which suits either one movement of the drill, or a bout of that tool ; according to the systeni the farmer is in, some preferring one and some the other. The frosts give a considerable friability to the surface, so that the farmer can go on very early in the spring, and after one scarifying and harrowing, drill the corn without a horse's foot treading any where except in the stitch furrows. The advantages of this system are beyond con- ception. In the common husbandry of giving two or three spring ploughings, or even one, that friable surface, the gift of the atmosphere, is turned down, and in eight seasons out of ten lost, to be had no more. Successive rain and sharp N. E. winds give a succession of mire and clods, to the material delay, expence and vexation of the farmer. His crops suf- fer greatly, and he is generally in the afternoon of spring operations. The improvement is applicable to the broad-cast system, as well as to the drill ; but as it was intro- duceil, I believe, by those who had been in the habit ^ .J. OCT.] RIDGES, STITCHES, OR LANDS FOR DRILLING. 607 of drilling wheat, they applied it to drilling barley and oats. It removed at once the main objection to this part of the system, and has been pursued with very great success by the best farmers on the strong lands of Suffolk . Turnips yerZ late will in some seasons cause an ex- ception, and render one ploughing necessary. The main objedlion to drilling being by this cir- cumstance done away, there remains no reason for any fafmcr, on a soil where the drill machine can freely move, rejeding the husbandry ; and he cer- tainly ought to apply it in such cases as it is better adapted to, than dibbling, which, however, never made any progress for barley. Upon soils of such tenacity as deny effedl to hollow drains, the system of drilling must be different ; such soils must be laid on round high arched ridges, and to drill these to advantage will demand a machine made for the purpose. ' RIDGES, STITCHES, OR LANDS FOR DRILLING. Drilling, if performed on ridges, demands those of various breadths, according to the system intended to be pursued. Some farmers prefer such as admit but one stroke or movement of the drill machine ; others prefer a boiU, or two movements. Suppose the ma- chine sows six rows at one foot ; that one foot be al- lowed for the rido^e-furrow ; and that one movement is preferred : in this case, the ridge must be six feet wide, always measuring from centre to centre of the furrows ; but if eighteen inches be allowed for the fur- rows, which will make better work^ then the ridges must be six feet six inches. Two movements of the machine 508 COLLECT LEAVES, [oCT. machine will demand in the former case eleven feet, and in the latter, thirteen feet six inches ; and thus, in all other distances, the measure is ascertained on the same principles : but where, from the dryness of the soil, the ridges are ploughed to a great breadth, or the land quite fiat, as in Kent, without any lands or ridges, the more common method is, to drill across the path of the plough by means of a marker attached to the axle-tree of the machine, and moved at turning on the headland. The most corre6l work I have seen in this way was not by leading the horse, but by a boy riding him, and keeping the m.ark always between the horses ears. Another system of drilling has been recommended, which is that of double rows at nine inches, on a three- feet ridge, which may do for beans ; but I never heard of its being attempted in Suffolk for barley or oats, though that ridge is very common there ; and all I conversed v;ith on the subject condemned it in opi- nion ; but for cabbages in single rows, to be drilled in April, these ridges are of the proper breadth, STANDING SHEEP-Ji"OLD. This being the month for movving wheat-stubbles, it is proper to mention the great advantages which at- tend one application of the haulm thus procured : it is that of forming one or more standing sheep-folds for winter folding, especially in the lambing season. This is the best, and indeed, the only admissible sys- tem of folding on farms not particularly open. COLLECT LEAVES. In woodland countries it is of great advantage t( rake up all leaves that can be procured at a moderate expence. OCT.] DEPTH OF PLOUGH ING. 50() expencc, and cart them to the yards, and standing folds, for littering and makinc; them into dung : I do it at 3d. per one-horse cart-load. They do not rot easily, but that is no objection to them ; they are a sponge to be saturated with urine, and if not touched previously to carting on to the land, will convey to the field much of what might otherwise be lost ; and they are extremely useful in aiding the main object of bedding the yards. DEPTH OF PLOUGHING. Our young farmer, on entering his farm at a season when the ploughs will be all at work for various pur- poses, will necessarily have the question of depth come often across his mind ; and it is a subject that will demand no trifling attention. In some of our well cultivated counties, the shallowness of the plough- ing is remarkable ; when almost every other point of management is very spirited and complete, a defi- ciency in this may not be at once perceived in the crops; but I have no doubt but failures are often caused by it, though attributed to other circumstances. It is a subje6t too ample, fully to discuss in a work of this nature ; but the following hints may have their use. 1. An additional depth should first be gained in au- tumn, that a successive change of seasons may take efFedl in atmospheric influences before any seed is ven- tured in the raw stratum brought up. 2. The quality of that stratum should be examined; it is sometimes steril by Reason of an acid, discoverable by boiling in water, and putting that water to the test of blue infusions. 3. Animal 510 GATHER APPLES *AND PEARS. [oCT. 3. Animal and vegetable manures cannot be buried: at whatever depth they are deposited, their constant tendency is to rise to the atmosphere. 4. Fossil manures are extremely liable to be buried^ having a constant tendency downwards. Chalk, marie, and clay, are sufficiently soluble, or so miscible with water as to sink in a regular mass, and are some- times found much below the path of the plough. 5. In soils of a poor hungry quality, there should be some proportion observed between the depth of ploughing and the quantity of manure usually spread ; but this does not hold good upon better soils. 6. Soils are rarely found that ought not to be ploughed, in common, six inches deep; many ought to be stirred eight inches, and some ten. 7. One deep ploughing (to the full depth) should be given once in 12, 18, or 24 months; if this be secured, shallow tillage by scaUng, scarifying, scuffling, shimming, or broad-sharing, is in many cases prefer^ able to deep working oftencr, and especially for wheat, which loves a firm bottom. These hints are enough to make a farmer tkink^ which is no inconsiderable point gained. GATHER APPLES AND PEARS. These crops are now ready to gather : they shoul be taken from the trees in a dry season. Some per- sons keep them some time in heaps to sweat, before they are deposited whefe they are to remain. The safest place is a bricked vault, with broad shelves around, in order that they may not lay too deeply dis- posed. They should be examined for about a month, and moved and wiped if any moisture adheres. This rr. HI I OCT.] PUT RAMS TO EWES. 51 1 is easily done, if one space is left unoccupied when the cellar is filled. , , , PUT RAMS TO EWES. Of all the systems of barboi'ity in relation to sheep, there is none more prominent than tiie management, almost every where common twenty years ago, of turning a number of rams promisciK)usly intocja flock of some hundreds of ewes. Where breeding is ^nirsued on enlightened principles, much attention is given to the choice both of ewes and rams, in sele6ling the lots of the former (50 to 6o in each) and in assigning the latter to the respedive parcels. I have been present with that excellent farmer j the late Duke of Bedford, when he attended to this business ; he had every ram, with the lambs got by him the preceding year, in dis- t\n€t pens, that he might not only examine the ram himself, but also his progeny, before he determined what ewes to draw off for him ; and the condu6l i^ perfeiSlly reasonable : such attention, united with a careful seledlion of cull lambs, must keep a flock in a state of progressive improvement, proportioned to the accuracy of judgment, eye, and hand of the farmer who practices it NOVEMBER. ( 512 ) NOVEMBER. THRESHING. As soon as the cattle are taken into the yards, they are to be fed with straw, the threshers must be set to work, to supply the lean beasts, and they must be kept regularly to it. FENCES. This is the first month for hedging and ditching : 06tober is too soon. iVfter you have once brought your fences into good order, which should always be effected within the three first years of a lease, the best way is, to divide the length of hedging into 12 parts, and to make it a rule to do one twelfth every year afterwards ; by which means the whole will al- ways be kept in good order. The best method for all old hedges, consisting not wholly of white thorn, is the plashing, in which so much of the hedge is made of live wood, that it holds up and lasts far longer than hedges made all of dead wood, which is the pracSlice of some countries ; they are rotten, broken down, and gone, before the quick wood gets up to form, a fence ; whereas, in the plashing method, by leavirig ^3 many hedge-stakes alive as possible, and by laying down much growing wood, the hedge is con stantly impenetrable. BORDERS. The borders in many counties, where the incio sures are small, take up a tenth or a twelfth part of whole JSt I 10-^ J^ NOV.] WATER MEADOWS. 513 whole arable farms ; but, in all encfosed counties, they occupy a great space. It is highly expedient that such land, as it cannot be applied to the profit of the fields themselves, be reduced as much as - pos- sible ; that is, be no wider than requisite for a horse to turn at 'the end of the furrow in ploughing ; but in many farms this is no rule, and borders over- run with rubbish, such as thorns, brambles, thistles, and other trumpery, spread into the fields, to a width that usurps a quantity of land which ought to be appropriated to more profitable purposes. FOLDING. If folding be the system pursued, and this month proves wet, you must leave off for the arable lands and begin with the dry grass fields. Many farmers stop about this time for the winter ; but that is bad management :' the idea that winter folding is of but little use is a mistake. Winter is a proper season for manuring grass lands which you could not fold in summer ; nor does winter folding on very dry grass land do such harm to the sheep as arable folding, and the benefit to the land is great. You may manure mossy ground often, before you destroy that weed ; but the treading of the sheep at the same time that the dung and urine are dropped, completely destroys it : and this manuring is more adapted to turf, than dung to be spread on the surface, which is troublesome to get in. WATER MEADOWS. In this month you may begin to winter water the meadows and pastures, wherever it can be done ; and be assured that no improvement will pay better : a L I winter's 1 i 514 WALLING. NOV.} winter's watering will answer in the hay, fully equal to a common manuring of the best stuff you can on the land ; and the expence, in some sitiiatidns, is trifling. The lower parts of a farm are generally jMI grass ; the farmer should attend to his ditches, ^» that the water from all the higher parts of the farm may have an unobstruded course to a ditch a little above the bottom, from which it may be let at plea sure over the meadows, observing that it only over them, and does not stagnate. BURNET. It is a common error with the cultivators of burne^ to let cattle go into the fields at this time of the year but it is bad management^ and contrary to the int tion of the culture. Keep it throughout autumn a winter from amy cattle : it will then be ready in the i^pinng, when most wanted, for sheep. WALLING. In the dry stony countries, walls are the common fewce, andj when well made, are impenetrable, and extremely durable. This is the proper season to be- gin building them : they are made of whatever stone is most plentiful ; either lime- stone, which is gene- rally in quarries, rag-stone, or grit-stone. The best are lime and grit ; because generally most plentiful, and at the same time much the easiest cut ; but whitt- stone cannot be used to profit for this or any other work, as it is so hard that it will not cut without great difficul ty . But some grit-stones cut with so much eaRe, that you may build walls of it without mortar, a& true as with, and will, iF well laid, last nearly as long. In the enclosures of wastes, it is proper, by all means, NOV.] SHEEP. 515 means, to begin the walling in this month, which is so soon after the hiring time, Michaelmas, and con- tinue the work all winter. DIG MANURES. All this month the carts should be employed in car- rying marie, chalk, clay, or ditch -earth, upon soili that are light enough to admit carting on through winter. CUT ANT-HILLS. This is the proper season for destroying ant-hills. Many ploughs have been invented for cutting iheni off level with the surface of the field, ready to ht carted away ; and if that is the way you take with them, such machines are of great use ; for they will certainly do the work of many men. MADDER. Look well to the Idnd deep ploughed iti the pre- ceding month for madder, to observe if it lays per- fedly dry : if the water hangs at all in the furrows, or the water-furrows, let them be immediately cleansed, so as to run off without the least obstruction ; for it is very pernicious to any land to be soaking in stag- nant water : instead of receiving benefit by autumnal tillage, it is much injured. PEASE. Upon dry soils, that plough well in winter, the end of this month is a good time to sow the hardy hog- pea, which will remain uninjured by frosts, and be fnuch earlier in the following year, than those sow^n m the spring. SHEEP. The lean stock sheep will yet be kept in the re- L 1 2 main* 5l6 SHEEP. [Nor. mains of the summer grass, and on the sheep-walks ; but the fat stock must now be at turnips or cabbages,- Remember that fatting cattle, of whatever sort, should have as much meat as they like.; but should, at the same time.,v be prevented from making any waste. Giving fatf sheep the turnips or cabbages is a dubious point ; many farmers urging strenuously the necessity of saving carriage, by letting the sheep feed them off where they grow, provided the land be dry enough ; but others are of a contrary opinion, and carry the turnips to a grasis field, where they give them to the sheep as required, and without so much waste as i» made in the other case. Upon these systems I shall remark, that, if the land is dry, you may feed off without waste; bepause the soil is^ so clean, that therci is no soiling by dirt or poaching j and, by bringing a btock of l^an'shieep to eat up the leavings of the fal: ones, there \yill not be the least loss : but thi.s point, of lean stock following the fat ones, is too much neglected by many farmers, who only run over their fat sheep, and consequently spoil a proportion of their crops. It is good management, in many farmers, to have a sheep-rack, filled. with-hay always in the turnip field that is fed by fatting sheep: others give them bran or barley-meal, oil-cake, or pollard, or malt-dust, in troughs ; the dryness of which are a corre(B:ive^ to the moisture of the turnips, and will contribute well to the more speedy fattening of them. J do not, however, mention these assistants as being absolutely necessary ; because I know that thousanck of sheep are fatted on turnips, without any such Jielp.. Another articko£.dry/ood^ which agrees ex~ -'<-.• * cellentl e ueniiy ■ J^OV.J DRAINING. 517 cellently with turnips, i« cut chafF: this makes very good dry meat for ^heep that are fatting on turnips or cabb'ages. THE TEAMS. This is an idle month for the teams in many farms; but should not be so with good husbandmen : for, as I have often remarked, they must be constantly well fed, and employed. There are many works that may be executed in this month after ploughing is finished: on light dry soils, the marie, chalk, or clay carts should not stop : th^y may work from the first day to the last. In wetter soils, you may cart any sort of manure on to grass lands, provided you use small carts. DRAINING. In this month you may begin the work of hollow- draining, which, on wet lands, is the siiie qua non of husbandry. It is in vain to think of farming them to any profit, without this improvement. Manuring before. this is done, is but expending money for 5 per cent, advantage, where 50 ought to be the return. Lay your land dry before you attempt other improve- ments : the lirst step is cutting decj) and large ditches around the wet fields ; then you gain a requisite fall to take the water clean away from the drains. If the soil is very wet, it will be necessary to cut the drains near each other ; for instance, about a perch, a perch and a half, or two perches asunder ; by which means it will be laid in most soils in dry and wholesome order. Fill them with whatever materials you can get the easiest, bush-faggots, stones, 3traw^ &c. &c. No improvement in agriculture is greater L 1 3 than 518 ELKINGTON S DRAINING, [ m in I than what is efFe(9:ed by these drains, nor any tlral will sooner repay the expences. In many parts it is well known, that the first arable crop will repay the whole ex pence, which is a profit not to be reaped in any other article, to which a man can attend. ELKINGTON's DRAINING. A very necessary attention is to be [)aid by every" occupier of wet land, to the cause of the moisture which injures him : if, as common in many parts of Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, which are, in general, countries not marked by strong inequalities of sur- face, the wetness proceeds from the texture of the soil, especially the under stratum, and not from springs, the system of hollow-draining applied to the whole surface is the best cure the evil may admit ; but, in many distrids, the case is different ; one spring breaking out on the slope of a hill will da- mage much land below, and appear in so many places, irregularly, as- to assume the appearance of many dis- ! tin6l springs, or a general wetness of surface. The common system of hollow work, in such cases, may fail entirely, though the expencc may be greater than that of another system discovered, or practised, or published first by Mr. Elkington, under the patron- age of the Board of Agriculture. It would be im- possible, in the limits of a Calendar, fully to explain this system ; but the principle of it is to discover what may be called the mother spring, and to cut it off by one deep drain passing across, but above the spot where it breaks out. The boring at the bottom of this deep cut has, sometimes, considerable efl^ect, not or\]y on the spring immediately in contemplation^ but NOV.] WOODS. 519 but on others also that become visible at a distance, Pfid has, in sopne cases, operated effedually to a great distance, and evien on the opposite side of a hill more than a mile from the spot, The principal use of fnentioning this system here is, to caution a young fgrmer to consider well the circumstances of the wet- j^ess which injures him, in order that he may ascer- tain the cause, and the best method of applying a reipedy. If he duly and attentively exan^ines hits farm, and its relative situation in respedl of hills of mountains in his immediate vicinity, and marks all the places where springs break out, he can hardly fail of going to work with more skill and more appro- priated efforts, than if such a system of drainage had not been in his mind. WOODS. Now begins the business of wood-cutting. In some parts of the kingdom^ this is a profitable part of husbandry ; but, in many others, it pays very indiffe- rent returns. If there is a long carriage on the wood, it answers rarely well enough to induce a spirited farmer to apply his attention and money to it : arable and grass land will pay better ; and supposing one hundred or two hundred pounds, or more, of his stock, applied to hiring the wood, he may in general be assured, that the same sum, thrown into his farm in an increase of improvement by draining or ma- nuring, will pay him better interest. But, if it is ex- pedient to keep woods, it is much worth attention to apply them to the best use. Old experienced farmers are always attentive enough in this ; but young ones, and gentlemen just beginning tlieir husbandry, are i 1 4 apt the J 520 STEAMIKG BOOTS. [nOV. apt to be too careless. Labourers will ever persuade them to what pays themselves best. Hop-poles, hoop-stufF, hurdles, short faggots, long ones, bushes, stakes, and edders : each of these articles is, in some places, more profitable than any of the rest ; and I believe, on an average, those will be found most beneficial, for which the purchasers come and take them away. Carriage, on so cheap and bulky a com- modity as wood, is a very great dedudlion from the produdl. COVER TURNIPS AGAINST FROST. We are indebted to the Rev. Mr. Munnings, n Dereham, in Norfolk, for a method of securing turnips against frost, which deserves attention. He drills at two feet equi-distant on the flat ; and, in a dry season, towards the middle or end of November, he covers them so by a deep ploughing as to secure them to a great degree. I must, however, remark upon it, that it seems a husbandry better adapted to the Nor- thumberland system of drilling, often mentioned in this Calendar, than to tliat of flat work. This mode of drilling is upon the crowns of ridges. If the tur- nips at this season are drawn, and two rows set close together in one furrow, and then the ridges, split, they \vill be more effe6lually secured from the frost than possible upon flat work. STEAMING ROOTS. This application of fire to the preparation of roots for feeding stock, is a practice of the present age, and it is thought a very favourable one, and largely prac- tised by many very intelligent cultivators. The best apparatus which I have viewed is that of Mr. Stares, of ji ^'0V.] BREEDING HORSES. 621 of Hampshire, of which there is an explanation and a plate in the Ammis of Agriculture , vol. xxvili. p. 228. The great efFec'^s of feeding cows with steamed tur- nips mixed with cut chaff, has been detailed by the Rev. Henry Close, in the Communications to the Board of x\gricnlture ; and this application of pota- toes in feeding horses has been practised upon a very large scale by H. C. Curwen, Esq. M. P. FATTING BEASTS. Of the food raised on the farm, the best for this bu- siness is parsnips ; next carrots; then come cabbages, potatoes, and turnips. If a farmer has a due provi- sion of these plants, with good hay for cutting into chaff with straw, he will not find corrl and oil-cake profitable, unless beef promises to be very high, and corn and cake very cheap. Whatever the food, it cannot be too often repeated, that small quantities are to be given at a time ; that troughs, cribs, &c. are to be kept very clean, and that litter must be so plentiful, that the beasts have clean hides, and warm beds. BREEDING HORSlKS. Our young farmer, on entering his farm, will have to determine upon the system of keeping mares for breeding, or using geldings or mares without increase. As a general question, I should presume he would, if he be well advised, pursue the latter system. Breed- ing demands a larger number to be kept, and a ma- nagemerit much more careful and attentive, and more obedient servants, than the more common condudl. The hazards, also, are not inconsiderable: I have at- tempted, in various districfts, to analyze the benefit derived $22 Pi%n-^OiiPB. [NOV. derivecj from breeding; jjuthave not, in any, been so convinced of the profit as to deem it proper to pay any regular attention to the article in this Calendar. Where it is the general pra6lice of every farmer, the servants and labourers acquire a certain degree of skill and care, very useful in the business, and which may render it not disadvantageous with tolerable luck ; but, in such cases, there is pot much need of Calendars to remind ; in other situations, I cannot advise a young farmer to breed ; he will find it more ssife and pro- fitable to avoid it. GARDEN. A good and well-cultivated kitchen-garden is a ca- pital object to assist in house- keeping. I have inserted jn the Annals of Agriculture, vol, xxxix. pp. 228, 304, the scheme of a circular one for being kept under the plough, which may be safely recommended as a plan well calculated to save expence. PLANT FRUIT TREES. This is the proper season for planting fruit-trees. A good orchard is a valuable article upon every farm, as they well understand in Kent. The mode of per- forming it, and the whole management belong to the Calendars for gardeners rather than for farmers. FISH-PONDS. This is a proper season for making fish-ponds. The objedl, in certain situations, may be advantageous to a farmer who occupies his own land : it is in all agree- Able, and a very comfortable assistance to house- keeping. The best means of doing it is by a head or biink across a gentle vale, with a puddled wall in it, and St sluice ^t th^ Igwest part. If the declivity of the NOV.] SALT FfiR SHEEP. 523 the land be gentle a-head of six or eight feet depth, will in some cases float many acres with water. The expence, including every thing, may be reckoned at from Is. to Is. 6d. per cubical yard of the head. The late Mr. Bakewell thought, that water well managed would pay better than any grass : it must of course depend on the price and demand for fish. SAJ.T FOR SHEEP. If the land of a farm be wet or moist, or otherwise unfavourable to sheep, the evil may be considerably remedied by the pradice of giving salt in shallow troughs : they should have as much as they will eat, the quantity being very srpall, though they are ex- ceedingly fond of it, little as they take. DECEMBER. ( ^^4 ) DECEMBER. THRESHING. THE threshers must be kept constantly at work throughout this month, that the cattle feeding on straw may have a regular supply. Many farmers, who keep large stocks of lean or dry cattle, are attentive to threshing out their worst straw first, and the best last, proceeding upon the same gradation through the winter, that every change of straw may be (or the better. This is a just condud, and cannot fail of having good effedls on the cattle, who, it is well known, often fall away in their looks on a change of straw that is the least for the worse. The wheat should, upon these principles, be threshed first, as that makes llie worst fodder ; next the oats, then the barley, and lastly the barley or oats that had much clover mown with them ; for, in wet seasons, the clover rises so high, that the straw is almost as good as hay. There is but little trouble in attending at harvest, to lay the corn so as you may begin with what you please, and the advantages to the straw-fed cattle certainly are great. The threshers should always be chosen from the labourers with some care : they should be honest, or the farmer will suffer much, if he does not watch them narrowly, as they have many opportunities of stealing corn. A thresh- dec] SHF.El*. 525 --A threshing machine is an objccl of such import- ance to every arable farmer, that no intehigcnt one will be without it. FARM -YARD. Attend, without ceasing, to the h'ttering of the yards, stalls, stables, cow-houses, hog-sties, &c. With a little management, all the urine might be preserved : the drains that carry off the overflowings of the yard, should lead to a small well, with a pump fixed in it : this pump should have a light trough, turning on a pivot, to receive the liquid, and a heap of turf or marie be kept within reach of the trough : it should convey the • liquid over the whole, , which, being carted on to the land, would prove an excellent ma- nure. PLOUGH UP LAYS. It is by this time wet enough to begin to break up grass-lands, a work that should not be done while the land is dry : for it will not then turn up in clean, well -cut furrows. Ploughing grass lands is a very good piece of husbandry, when they are worn out and over-run with moss and other rubbish, or hide-bound. To keep land under such unprofitable turf is bad management : it should, by all means, be broken up, and kept in a course of tillagefor three or four years,, and then laid down again ; by which condudl four, times the profit will arise, that could be gained from keeping it in lay. SHEEP. This month your forward ewes may be expedled to Iamb, when you should be attentive to keep them much better than they have been in common through the 526 svriJ^B. [dbg^ the autumn : they should huve plenty of turnips or cabbages, as fast as they lamb ; for cattle that have young require as good keeping as those that are fat- ting; and if you let theiri have a rack of hay always in the field, it \vill be* niuch the better for them. Draw the turnips or cabbages, and give them on a dry grass field. One great advantage of cabbages /Over turnips, is the ease of cutting them, in case of the hardest fr6sts, when turnips cannot be had. In case of extreftie bad weather, it will be advke- a:ble to bring your sheep under shelter. Most far- mers are sensible of this, and drive them on such oc- casions into their hay-stack yard, which is not a bad way ; but much inferior to giving them their hay in racks, in a warm yard, with sheds around it for them to feed under. The use of such a yard is so great, that I wonder they are not more common. In driving snows, sleet and rain, the rnjury sheep take in the 0{>en fields is great. Another circumstance, which ought to have weight, is the raising plenty of rich dang : by keeping your sheep in very bad weather all day, and constantly of nights, in a yard proportioned to their number, you fold them perhaps in the most advantageous method of all others ; for, if a layer of turf or marie be spread over the bottom of the yard in autumn, and under all the sheds, and the slieep are kept well littered with straw, fern, or stubble, so as to be always perfedlly clean and dry, they will in the winter make a great quantity of excellent manure. SWINE. This is the geason for making the right profit by hogs. dec] manure hops. 527 hogs, which Is their dung. Sec that all the sows witFi pigs are well littered, so as always to be perfecSlly clean, with bright, healthy looking skins. Also your fat hogs should be constantly littered up to their bellies. If they are not kept peffedly clean, you may depend on losing money, by not making so much dung as might be. FENCES. Keep the hedgers and ditchers close to work all this month, so that they may be ready for other work in the spring. Tlie three first winters of the lease should get the fences into good order; after- wards divide them into twelve parts, and do one every year, which will bring the whole to regular cuttings. DIG MANURES. Upon light and very dry soils it will be proper to keep the marie, chalk, or clay-carts at work : indeed they should never stop ; for, when a ma;n hires such soils for improvement, the sooner they receive the manure, the greater will be his profit : for in some countries, landlords, after the first lease, either raivSC tl>e rents considerably, or turn the tenants out. It is therefore highly incumbent on them to regain their expence with profit, within the term of the first lease; and that can' only be done by marling very quickly at first. MANURE HOPS. Hops are by many planters manured in this month, if the season be favourable. APPBNDIX. APFE IX. USEFUL TABLES. No. I. Equality in the JPcight o/" Cattle, between Scores, Stones, and Hun- dred- Weights. By the Right Honmirabk the Lord Someruille. Scores. Stones, atl4ib. Stones, at 8 lb. Hundred, J 1121b. St. lb. Sf. lb. Cwt. qrs. lb. 20 equal 28 8 50 3 2 8 25 — 35 10 62 4 4 1 24 30 — 42 12 75 5 1 J 2 35 — 50 87 4 6 1 40 — 57 2 100 • 7 16 45 — 64 4 112 4 8 4 50 — 71 6 125 8 3 20 55 — 78 8 137 4 9 3 8 60 — 85 10 150 10 2 24 05 — • 02 32 162 4 11 2 12 ^ 70 -- 100 175 12 2 O 75 — 107 2 187 4 13 1 16 80 -— 114 4 200 14 1 4 No. II. SALTS. BY DR. FORDYCE. Vitriolic acid unites with, 1. Fixed vegetable alkali, forming vitriolated tartar. 2. Fixed fossil alkali, forming Glauber's salts. 3. Calcareous earth, forming selenite. 4. Magnesia, forming magnesian iSlauber's salts. 5. Clay or earth of alum, forming" aliXm. Nitrous acid unites with, 1. Fixed vegetable alkali, forming nitre. 2. Volatile alkali, forming nitrous anoimoniac. 3. Calcareous earth. 4. Magnesia. Muriatic acid unites with, 1. Fixed fossil alkali, forn/mg sca-s?.It. . 2, Volatile alkali, forming sal ammoniac. S. Galea- dec] the laboratory. ^27 hogs, which is their dung. See that all the sows with pigs are well littered, so as always to be perfectly clean, with bright, healthy looking skins. Also your fat hogs should be constantly littered up to their bellies. If they are not kept perfedily clean, yon may depend on losing money, by not making so-.n^^h dung as might be. FENCES. Keep the hedgers and ditchers close to work all this month, so that they may be ready for other work in the spring. The three first winters of the lease should get the fences into good order ; after- wards divide them into twelve parts, and do one every year, which will bring the whole to regular cuttings. DIG MANURES. Upon light and very dry soils it will be proper to keep the marie, chalk, or clay-carts at work : indeed they should never stop ; for, when a man hires such §oils for improvement, the sooner they receive the manure, the greater will be his profit : for in some countries, landlords, after the first lease, either raise the rents considerably, or turn the tenants put. It is therefore higlily incumbent on them to regain their cxpence with profit, within the term of the first lease; and that can only be done by marling very quickly at first. MANURE HOPS. Hops are by many planters manured in this month, 'if the season be favourable. THE LABORATORY. To have permittee], fifty years ago, such an article Min as 526 tHE LABdItATOllY. "[deCs ds this to f6rm part of a Farmer's Calendar, would have been thought an absurdity; but such an opi- nion will not, I trust, prevail at present. The in- timate connexion between, agriculture and chemistry is unquestioned. Let it not, however, be imagined that I propose a farmer should addi(5l himself to a pursuit which is not only very captivating but also very expensive; I would merely have him able to anall lyz^ in a rough way, his soils, and the fossil ma- nures which may be found under them ; for this pur- pose the apparatus is not formidable : and for a la- borator}^, if he has a small blacksmith's shop and forge (which no large farm should be without), it will serve the -purpose very well. It is only providing a cupboard, under lock and key, to secure his glasses and the other articles necessary for these experiments. One caution,* however, I must premise, if he has no forge, and converts some other room to this purpose^ if it be attached to his house or offices, and a fire (from w^hatcvef- cause) should consume tliem, the laboratory would :vitiate his insurance at a fire-office, unless he. enters it, and pays for the whole as doubly hazardous, in the language of insuring. The apparatus necessary consists of the following .particulars : A deal table with a drawer, which drawer should be sufficiently short of the fall breadth to allow a range of holes in the upper surface for glass jars to j stand, free from danger of falling. Half a dozen glass cylindrical jars, nine or ten inches long, and three or four inches diameter ; witU a few of the same shape, but smaller. One or two others, five or six inches diameter and eighteen inchei long : dec] the jlaboratory. 529 long : the contents in ounce measures marked on them with a diamond, beginning at top (when they stand inverted, or the mouths downwards) 1, 2, 3, &c. descending. These to receive and measure the air or gas expelled by heat. Two or three old gun -barrels (the touch-hole closed), cut to the length of eighteen inches, and a small bent tube of ironj or of tin, finishing in an iron scre^v, for screwing to the end of the barrel al- ready mentioned. If a forge is not at hand, a cast-iron furnace, nine or ten inches diameter, with a circular hole to receive the gun-barrel, and a moveable dome cover to receive the end of a tin pipe six inches diameter, and J 2 feet long, and moveable while up the chimney of the room. The fire to be of charcoal. A trough or small tub of water, on legs, adapted in height to the elevation of the gun-barrel when in the furnace^ with a perforated shelf in it, on which the jars to stand for receiving the air expelled. A correal pair of scales and weights. To try whether the gun-barrels or any retorts are really air-tight, an air-pump is very useful, as I have found that blowing in them when under water is not a criterion to be depended on. An evaporating saucepan ; that is, a tin sauce- pan with a circular iixed frame of tin, four inches high, to receive a glass jar containing the earth to be dried by the boiling heat of the water, as it is ne- cessary in comparisons for all specimens to be of t4ie same degree of dryness. Pint or quart phials with ground stoppers of sul- M m 2 phuric 1 530 THE LABOlJAtORT. [dEC; phuricacid; muriatic acid ; carbonate of potash ; solu- tion of potash ; ammonia (caustic) ; muriate of am^ monia (the common sokition of sal ammoniac)'.^ And small phials of the substance^ raenlioned in the Appendix, as tests for the examination of water, A few glass funnels ribbed, for filtrating with blot- ting-paper. — A hydrostatic balance. The whole of this aj>paratus may cost from ten U twenty pounds. ' The most material point in examining a soil, and it is a point in which the authors I have read have committed great errors, is that of taking the speci- men. I have always crossed a field in several direc- tions, and taken about a tea spoonful in abundance of places ; suppose an hundred, and thus taking about a quart, reserved it for trials in glass phials with ground stoppers. The under stratum should be examined, to know if it be retentive, permeable, or calcareous. All specimens may be kept a month before trying, which will enable the farmer to compare various s6ils with his own, under every similar circumstance. Mm In trials with the gun-barrel, he may put one " ounce in it, and then fill up with pounded flint boiled in muriatic acid, which yields no air or gas. The experiments should be double; in this dry, and also in the humid way : upon tlwi latter the following passage from Dr. Fordyce's Elements of Agriculture, will explain his method of analysis. " Take one thousand grains of the dry soil, apply to it half an ounce of muriatic acid, and four ounces of w:Uer in a glass, stone ware, or porcelain vessel, suffi- DEe.] THE LABORATORY. 531 sufficiently large ; let them stand together till no more effervescence takes place ; and if it was very considerable, pour in half an ounce more of the acid ; let this stand also till the eflervescence ceases ; if any arose upon pouring it in, continue to add niore acid in the same manner, until what was poured in last, produces little effervescence, which is often at the first, and generally at the second or third half ounce. After the effervescence has ceased, put the whole in a filter ; let the solution filtrate through ; pour half a pint of water upon what remains in the filter, let that filtrate also in the same vessel ; add to the solu- tion thus filtrated, an ounce and a half of caustic vo- latile alkali for every ounce of acid used ; if any pre- cipitation take place, there is magnesia, earth of alum, or the calx of a metal (generally iron or copper) contained in the soil ; after adding the volatile alkali, the whole is to be thrown into a filter again ; alter the filtration has taken place, pour into the liquor a solution of mild, fixed, vegetable alkali, in water ; if there be any calcareous earth in the soil, a precipi- tation will take place ; continue to add the solutioii uf the alkali till no fresh precipitation ensues ; throw the whole into a filter ; let the liquor filtrate off; pour on by degrees a pint of water ; let that filtrate off also ; dry what remains in the filter ; it is the calcare- ous earth. To know the proportion of sand and clay. Take what remains in the filter after the first solu- tion in the foregoing operation, and by elutriatiou separate the sand from the clay, dry and weigh them ; if there be any pyrites it will appear in the jaiid. M m 3 In 532 THE LABORATORY. [dEC In the above processes^ che principal things to b attended to, are, Whether there be any metallic, or akiminous salts, as these are absokite poisons, and therefore ar to be decomposed by quick-lime. Whether there be such a proportion of neutral or earthy salts as to be hurtful, in which case, the solu- tion in process (second) will taste salt : a soil contain- ing them in so large a proportion^ will hardly ever admit of culture for grain. Whether there be calcareous earth, and in wha proportion, as that ascertains the propriety of apply ing any manure containing it, and the quantity of that manure. What the proportion of saird and clay is, which ascertains the propriety of adding sand or clay. Whether there be pyrites, as that shews why and when a soil will be long of being brought into culti- vation. Pyrites are best destroyed by fallowing, and after- wards, applying lime.'* When Mr. Professor Davy, of the Board of Agri- culture, shall publish his excellent le^^ures, a mon exa6l analysis will be explained. If in this method of analyzing a soil the propor- tion of calcareous earth be large, the trial of the gun- barrel will give a quantity of gas proportioned to such quantity of calcareous earth, for which allowance must be made ; but if that quantity be small, the ounce measures of air or gas gained from an ounce of soil, and its degree of inflammability, will be the ea- siest test of the fertility of the specimen tried. To s 1 r I I 1 dec] farm accounts. 533 To aid a young beginner^ I shall venture to recom- inend his reading the papers on this subjci^ in the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 12th volumes of the Anun!^: /.r u-lgriculture. Another method of examining soils deserving at- tention is, by weighing them hydrostatically, as tlieir fertility will generally be in proportion to their spe- cific levity, if the expression may be permitted. Fa- broni was, I believe, the first who recommended this test. He gives the following trials : Various soils, weighed hydrostatically, have given the following result, the barometer being at 27-7, and his thermometer at 13 : 1. Tlie fertile soil of a wood, - - 1,530 2. A kindly soil, - - - 1,583 3. Green marie, - - - l,5yt 4. Fertile earth of a friable staple, r - 2,100 5. Volcanic earth, which does well fbt vines, - 2,111 6. Friable reddish earth, - - « 2,131 7. Strong land for wheat, vetches, &c. - - 2,1 60 S. Earth of a mountain, where they cultivate olives, barley, &c. 2,200 g. Sandy sterile land, - - - 2,120 The long evenings of December will give a farmer time for acquiring these branches of chemical know- ledge. FAPxM ACCOUNTS. In the month of October this subjed was touched upon, but in the greater leisure at present, our far-r mer may be more likely to be able to give the requi- site attention to a point which demands much consi- deration. There is not a single step in the life of a farmer that does not prove the advantage of his keeping re- M m 4 gular :3l 534 FARM ACCOUNTS. [] gular accounts ; and yet there is not one in a thou-"^ sand who does this. This is among the many in- stances in which the unenHghtened situation of the praclisers of the art is the evident reason for the backwardness in which the art itself is found by any man who searches for the principles deduced from practice, which ought to give it the regularity of cultivated science. A few rough memoranda, or figures, to yield a gross account of the general receipt or payment, are usually the greatest exertions that common farmers, who pretend to keep accounts, make in this line. The advantages of clear accounts are obvious ii every other pursuit in life ; and to conduct those of a merchant by the Italian method of double entry, has j feieen.made an essential branch of education for th^l classes intended for commerce. Men engaged in large speculations, who are not regular in their ac- counts, are always supposed by the prudent part of the world to be in a dangerous situation ; nor is there a greater reproach to a merchant, short of adlual bankruptcy. But agriculture is destined to be, in all its detail^ an exception to every thing else. Men engage in it without previous education, or even study and in- C|uiry, and they condu6l large concerns in it without those accounts known to be necessary in every other pursuit. With the lowest and most uneducated far- mers this is pardonable : but what excuse have gen- tlemen for such a condud ? It should be remembered that experimental agri- cuhnre, or even those ideas mure or less detailed which M I>EC.] FARM ACCOUNTS. 635 which we meet with in conversation, must depend for their justness very much on accuracy of accounts. For a supposition deduced from general observation on a farm, and grossly conceived, must fall exceed- ingly short for corre<9.ness, of tlie regular detail of exact accounts. Tl)e general fa6t is, however, admitted ; and ac-^ cordingly it is common to hear gentl,emen speak, of their accounts. But, unfortunately, they are usuxilly kept in such a manner as to prove rather the m(*ans of fortifying prejudices, than removing errors ; all those questions of nicetv, where the contrasts are not exceedingly strong, relative to the comparative profit of different soils, of different courses, of different applications of the same soil, of different mode:> of culture, &c. depend on accounts. Keep your ac- x^ounts in the mode of one man, grass is more pro- fitable than tillage ; keep them in a different method, xind the contrary shall be the result. The variety in the mode of keeping these accounts is very great, €ven among gentlemen of considerable attention, •carefulness, and accuracy. This comes from the great and undoubted difficul- ties which rise in many forms, whenever an at- tempt is made at positive accuracy. They are not imaginary, but real difficulties, and such as will de- mand a considerable attention to obviate. I h^ve reflected on the subje<51 for many years, and they are few in which I have been satisfied with any approach towards accuracy. For while there are distinctions which must every where be kept up, there are n: any luinutiaj that must be sacrificed, in order to rerider the 536 FARM ACCOUNTS. [dEC. the account tolerably easy to keep, without an atten- tion that a man in an adlive line of life cannot give. To keep to this medium is the great difficulty. The nature of the farm must, in some instances, regulate the mode of the accounts. Suppose a man has the evil of an open field one, with scraps and bit« of land scattered amongst his neighbours: in such a case it is imposssible for him to keep an account for every field ; and yet this is one of trlie most indispen- sable points that in general must be adhered to ; for he who docs not know what every field has paid him, is deficient in the very foundation of experience. In thi> light all little fields on a large farm are nuisances: they derange accounts entirely, if the greatest atten- tion be not paid, and they are as inconvenient in cul- tivation, and attended with as much loss in headlands, and borders, as they are ruinous to any exa6lness of account, But as many persons keep ficcounts without attend- ing to tiiis point, I would observe, that when all the wheat, all the barley, ail the oats, &c. are respectively thrown together, some very essential objecls of expe- rience depend on guesses, which ought to be ascer- tained corredly. Has fallow, or clover, or beans, paid best, as preparations for wheat ? How is that question to be answered, if all are huddled together in one barn or stack, and meet in the same account ? TJie farmer can guess iimrly. He may : but go to a chemist, ask him if his science was pushed to the present perfec- ticai by accepting such guesses, instead of experiment? .besides, they are in tlieir nature quite uncertain ; and wIkiu a cDinparison is formed by two guesses, a very little I T)XC.] FARM ACCOUNTS. 53/ litde error in each will amount to so much in both,/ as to overturn all authority. Another point is, a m^n's guess being influenced by a favourite theory ; a rigid friend to fallows, when he draws, by guess, a comparison between them and beans, will be apt, in the nature of things, to be [)artial : he should not put himself in the situation : he who would abiior tlie idea of falsifying a fa. Instances are : a bailiff'-s salary ; payments to rat or mole catcher ; mending roads ; expences at markets^ &c. fp ear and Tear includes all payments to blacksmith, carpenter, wheelwright, harness-maker, &c. But in the division of this article, there must be a variation from the preceding ; they are divided over the whole farm, but these must be proportioned differently : the arable lands will absorb the greatest part of these expences ; mowing grass, very little ; and feeding- ground still less. Bvit to avoid any arbitrary estima- tion when a rule can be established, the proper mode of dividing this expence per acre, will be by making the expence of the teams a rule for it : to find how much per cent, or in the pound, of the team-account, this expence of wear and tear amount* to, and charge it accordingly. The 540 FARM ACCOUNTS. [dKC . The team account is that which is in general more rriistaken than any other on a farm. Nothing is more common, than every day to see accounts in which ploughing is charged at 4s. an acre, or at 5s. or at 10s. or whatever may be the hiring price of the country : but few words are necessary to shew that this is entirely fallacious : it is probably much under the real ex pence. Every praclical farmer must know, that the way to have cheap tillage is to keep the teams well employed : when a man's own work is done, his team stands still if he do not employ it for his neighbours ; to do which, he will work for them below the value, and yet lind some advantage in it. In consequence of such a condu6l being common, to say that such is the price of tillage, can never be accurate. It has by no means that best accuracy of price ; because you cannot buy your commodity when you want it ; and he who depended on the market for all the work of his farm, would soon find the state of his fields calling for a very different system. The mtans of ascertaining the rcal expence of all team-work is very obvious, but depends totally and absolutely on accurate accounts. So much per week in summer for their green food : so much hay and oats eaten ; so much for shoeing and farrier ; so much for the a61ual decline of value ; and so much in labour for attendance, give the real expence of the team. In order to divide this total expence among the v;ork executed, a day-book is necessary : which a man .may keep himself, or trust to his bailifl', as he pleases ; it must contain the work of the teams and men every day in the year, specifying the field or business they are dec] PAR^f accounts. bil are employed in. At the end of the year the amount of expence is proportionally divided among the woi^k, and the clearest truth and corredness are necessarily the result. I ought to observe, that this accuracy is very de- sirable for ascertaining various circumstances. The comparative profit of grass and arable land depends much on it. Some persons, from too lightly esti- mating the expence of. teams, think arable- the most profitable ; and others, whose calculation of those charges runs perhaps too high, give too much in the counter opinion. 1 can easily conceive, that many strenuous advocates for fallows might lose a little of their warmth, if they knew what the expence of ploughing an acre of land really was on their farm?. Such instances might be multiplied : they are indeed obvious to every man capable of uniting the theory with the pra6\ice of a business. »-> The article of manure is much more complex, anc!; upon the whole, the most difficult account there, is for a farmer to keep. It must be arranged under the title Fami-yard ; and it conneiSh witli so many obje6^s, that no little care is necessary to keep it ; and with the greatest attention some doubts will still remain. Suppose the system to be that of carting a stratum of marie ovcir the yard before foddering begins : that expence is to be ascertained at once without any dif- ficulty ; but how is the straw to be charged ? Cattle may be put out to straw in this country at Is. or Is. 6d, per week. At these prices a ton will p«y about 542 PASM ACCOUNTS. [dEC. about 7s. or 8s. ; but, while the cattle may be thus supported, the farmer m'ay buy straw, with a view to the dung, at 20s. or 30s. a ton. This contrast is difficult to settle. The price per week is arbitrary, thougli a<^ual : men take them at those rates, be- cause they have non^, or not enough, of their own ; ^nd it is not ascertained what value cattle will really ppj for the straw ; which may be more, or may be lesH. The whole is uncertain. But with the straw of one's own cropy there is a dowble difficulty ; because there must be two valua- tions instead of one. We must reckon so much an acye, or load, for it, and so much a week for the cattle that eat it ; but both suppositions. Among- counter obje6\ions, we must chuse ^the least. The bast method, perhaps, is to charge the fctrm-yard account with the price of the straw, at which it ccmld be sold, deducSljng the expence of carrying it out ; and to credit the same account with the price per week of keeping the cattle ; which price is cliarged to the debtor side of the cattle account, as a pajt of the expences of keeping them. Whatever labour i8 bestowed on the dung, in shovelling and cleaning yards, throwing up the urine, turning over, &c. is charged of course to it. When the whole is carted on the land, the total expence is divided by the number of cubic yards, and the price, per yard ascertained. It is charged to the account of the fields on which it is spread ; and though the whole advantage is by no means exhausted dec] farm accounts* 543 by one crop, yet the whole expence must be charged to the crop that receives it, or the acoounts would be kept open so long as to create confusion. The time of balancing the books every year, should be that of entering the farm : this is most usual at Michaelmas ; but the crop of the year is not then disposed of ; to avoid valuations, which ought never to be relied on, when certainty can possibly be gained, the old year's accounts are to be kept open long after the new year ones are begun ; that is, till the corn is all threshed and sold, till the fatting beasts are gone, and till all those circumstances are decided which relate to the preceding year. This is essential to exadl accounts, and can by no means be dispensed with. In this case, valuations may be nearly rejedled, but there are others in which no management can exclude them : these are, in live stock not bought and sold within the year ; and implements^ A man may stock his farm with cows at lOl. each ; but if he suppose them, some years after, to be worth the same sum, he will grossly deceive himself. He must value them every year^ and also the young- stock which he rears with a view to keep up the number, or for sale : and the rule by which he should make the valuation, ought to be the price they would sell for at the moment. The same management must dire6t liim with succession beasts, bought or bred for fatten- ing ; and also with a flock of sheep. On which last liead I must observe, that the want of keeping such accounts as I am describing, is alone the reason for a difference relating to the profit of sheep. Can any thing be a clearer proof of the barbarity of accounts N n as 544 FARM ACCOUNTS. [^^^*^l as they are kept at present by flock -masters, than th^™' surprizing question once in agitation among them, whether they gain or lose by their flocks : a question that has arisen from Mr. Macro's paper on that sub- jeS:, published in the Annals of Agriculture. Such uncertainty could not obtain, if farmers kept regular accounts. The description of the profits of a flock not being properly a calculation, but an account, it ought to be transcribed from a man's private books ; unfortunately, they are kept in such a manner, that difliculties multiply at every step in the endeavour to understand them. Implements must all be valued every yetfr, and the balance, being the expence, carried to the wear and tear account, of which it makes a part. One of the most complex and difficult accounts, if not the most so of all, is that of grass-lands, fed. It involves itself with cattle of all kinds, with hay, with the team, &c. ; and in such a manner as to make an accurate separation very difficult. How is the value of the food to be calculated ? If 3s. a week for a cow or a bullock, or 6d. for a sheep be charged, it is merely arbitrary : such estimates are fallacious. They imply profits, but allow nothing for losses. On the other hand, if the a6lual profit or loss on the live stock be made the product ; in that case, the grass-land must be made a mere cattle- account : there are obvious ob- je61ions to this ; but it is, upon the whole, less ob- jccStionable than a valuation per week, which must, in the nature of it, lead to error. On this principle, the account may be kept in the following manner : One account opened for motving groundj to which the dec] farm accounts. 54p the rent, tithe, taxes', and all expences, in one total for every field mown, are carried : and the credit of it to consist of the value at the market price (carriage de- du6ted) of the hay mown, as delivered to the team, fatting beasts, cows, sheep, &c. which- several accounts are debited with their respedlive consumptions. But the fields which are mown have also an after- grass, which is fed ; the account of the week's stock which are supported by it, ascertains the value in the manner presently to be mentioned. The account of feeding ground comes next : all the total debits of the fields must be carried to it. The credit side to consist of the food of the teams charged at the price per week, suppose 3s. 6d., and of that of any cattle taken in to joist. These articles may be arranged ; but those w^hich result from profit on stock kept are not so easy. There is farther, a sheep account ; a dain/ one ; and another for fatting beasts. In these are to be charged all the expences peculiar to those articles : shepherd's wages ; market expences, &c. to the sheep : fuel, straw-yard, &c. to the cows : and the purchase money of lean stock to the fatting beasts. Further : the fatting beasts are put to turnips ; the cows have turnips, the sheep have turnips ; how is this to be accounted for ? It creates a new diffi- culty ; but we must examine the best mode of clear* ing it. If the cattle account be charged with the prime cost of the turnips, that is, with the expence of cul- tivating tl-iem, it will by no means be fair, for the expence is usually greater than the value ; and a man N n 2 may 546 tAT(U ACCOUNTS. [dec, may in a turnip country buy them cheaper than he €:an cultivate them : he submits in some cases to 3 known loss, because he knows he shah be iT>ore than repaid in the barley that follows ; but to transfer thi§ loss to the cattle would be unfair, Oi^ way of pro- ceeding is, to value the turnips at what they would sell for, and to debit the cattle accounts with their respec- tive consumptions. But there are two prices of turnips ; one, for carrying the crop op to another man's land ; the other, for eating theflf) in th^ fiel4. The latter ought to be the rate chosen on this occasion, charging the cattle with the labour and expences of carriage. But the adual profit is a better guide. Here, therefore, at the end of the year, five or six, or more, unsettled accounts are open, not one of which can be closed but by reference to each other. Hence arises the great complexity of the farmer's ac- counts ; but, amidst this apparent confusion, ordei must be made to arise, or our labour is vain. The reader will see that the main question on which this arrangement depends, is this — shall the profit of«| loss on live stock be assigned to the stock, by a valua-i™l tion per week ; or, to the land the]/ feed on by a divi- sion per week of the actual profit or loss arising ? Suppose that two hundred pounds profit would be the balance of the sheep account if food be not charged ; shall this sum stand as profit, and the field^ fed charged necessarily with loss ; or shall that balancqj be distributed proportionably among the fields which have supported the flock ? The balance of the account, 200I. amounts to 6d. per head per week for 52 weeks. They have been fed 15 weeks in grass-land^, fed, 10 in i 41 dec] farm accounts. 547 in grass- lands motcn, *]2 in Great Staines (a clover crop), 5 in Ardera (ruta baga), and 10 Jermjjn (tur- nips). It is easy to divide tlie total among them ; and if he wishes further accuracy, he may vary the price per week, according to the scarcity or real importance of the se\^ral softs of food : but still keeping to the real totaL This method of dividing the profit among the crops is far j)referable to assigning the 200l. as profit to sheep. This remark applies equally to all the other live «tock accounts. The farmer sees clearly what he makes by the dif-^ ferent kind of stock, by turning to their respective accounts ; but none of them appear in the profit and loss account ; there they are absorbed in the accounts of the distinct arable fields which produced food; and in the two others of grass fed and grass mown ; or in the two last thrown together in one of grass-land. That there is a complexity in this mode of arranging the accounts of live stock, is beyond doubt ; but after the greatest attention that I have been able to give it, I see no mode of simplifying it. Submit to the rules here laid down, ^nd you have the satisfac- tion of all the accuracy that is attainable ; but in any other method it will remain unknown, whether the profit or the loss belong to the land^ or to the stock that feeds upon it. I am clear this n^ethod will be rejected by those who only read this paper in a common, transitory fnanner, without studiously examining all the points ton which the arrangement depends ; but, to such as will refied on what they read^ and give the due atten^ N n 3 tion. 548 WOODS. [dec tion, I have little doubt but the method will appear satisfa6loiy. When so much profit is actually made, to divide it by a weekly account to the fields that fed the stock, is making an easy calculation, with full data before you : but to charge the stock with so much per week for feeding certain fields, when you do not know but the account of stock may be loss, not profit, is calcu- lating without any better data than mere supposition. Such are, I apprehend, the principal difficulties in keeping the accounts of a farm. I do not offer the mode as one that obviates all objedlions. I do not conceive it possible to obviate all : but I think that fewer sources of inaccuracy will be found in it than in any other. WOODS. The woodmen are at work throuc^h this month. I Worcestershire, &c. the sale of woods is very easy. " Those belonging to the Earl of Coventry are exten- sive, and are divided into fourteen equal parts, one fourteenth of which is annually felled ; this four- teenth is again subdivided into small parcels or lots of 40 yards by 20 ; which subdivisions are made by cutting right lines through the wood, just wide enough to admit a person to pass, who examines and values each parcel according to its growth and qua- lity, numbering the lots in a book prepared for the purpose, with the price affixed to each ; this being done, a day is appointed for the sale, and persons chiefly of the neighbouring villnges attend to pur- chase ; amongst whom, the poor form no inconsider- able part, and for whose acconunodation the wood is thus divided. There I dec] woods. 549 There is one circumstance attending the sale, which, to a person Linacquainted with the nature oi* the business, may appear extraordinary ; that of dis- posing of the wood, and receiving the money, with- out the purchaser having any knowledge of the lot he pays for ; this is done to prevent any dispute that might arise from several persons fixing upon the same lot. The purchaser describing to what uses he in- tends converting his wood, is placed by the person who disposes of the parcels, in that part which ap- pears most suitable to his purposes, and the wood- ward having the name of each person prefixed to his lot, is prevented from making mistakes ; this entirely answers the desired intent, and murmurings are sel- dom heard at succeeding sales : sometimes in the month of January the woodward begins cutting the underwood, taking care to leave a sufficient quantity of young thriving plants, either oak or ash, for the purpose of preserving a succession in the stock : the wood consists of two sorts of stores, which are called tellers ; the oldest are called black barks, and are of 42 years growth ; these are felled in the barking season, for the purpose of procuring the bark, and are then carried off with the faggots by the purchaser of the lot ; the next are called white barks, and are 28 years growth, and remain standing for stores, with a proper quantity of 14 years growth, till the wood is again felled. Some of the woods in Herefordsliire «re stored iu ihe same way, and some are felled at 20 years growth ; some are cut at 1 5, wlicn the wood is complctGly idjed^ and the poles used as hop-poles, which in that X n -4 countv I 550 LITTERING FARM-YARD. [dEC/ county is deemed a profitable mode; those of 20 years are regularly stored, and the poles converted into hoops, spokes, lath, hurdles, cord, wood for char coal, and various other purposes. Twining. ff'm, Phelps,"^ STRAW-FED CATTLE. W ^^ I met with an idea that cattle may be satiated with straw ; or, in other words, may be served with it in too great plenty. It has been observed, that after a dry summer, when straw is scarce, and the cattle have it dealt out to them regularly, they do better than when, after a plentiful year, it is thrown before them in profusion from the threshing floor ; not through the superior quality of the straw in a scarce year, as these efFe6ls have been observed to be produced from the same straw. This subject is by no means uninte- resting to those who winter large quantities of cattle ; I have observed in Yorkshire, where cattle are kept tied up, and of course are regularly fed, that they in general do better at straw, than cattle in the south oi England, where they go loose among a much greater plenty ; but whether it proceed from the warmth, from their ; resting better, from the breed of cattle, or from their being regularly fed and eating luilh an appetite^ I will not pretend to decide."- — Marshall, LITTER FARM-YARD, &c. Littering all sorts of cattle, &c. is never to be omitted at this season. The quantity of manure made is an essential object : the following notes will shew certain proportions of dung to straw. Mr. Moody » — Forty-five fat oxen, in fatting, littered witl^ dec] littering farm-yard. 551 with 20 waggon loads of stubble, raised 200 loads, each three tons, of rotten dung, worth 7 s. ()d. a load. Every load of hay and litter given to beasts fatting on oil-cake, yield seven loads of dung, each 1^ ton, exclusive of the weight of the cake. On a comparison between the oil-cake dung and common farm-yard dung, 12 loads an acre of the former much exceeded 24 of the latter. Mr. Arbuthnot. — One hundred and thirty-four sheep and thirty lambs, penned six weeks in a stand- ing fold, and littered with five loads and 40 truss of straw, made 28 large loads of dung. Fed morn- ing and evening in the fold with turnips. Ate two acres of turnips. Value, dung, - - - - ' ;f . 10 O O Straw, at 20s. - , - . 5 15 O Profit, - £.4 5 Per acre for turnips, - - - £.2 2 6 And per score per week, - - £-0 I g^ William White. — Thirty-six cows and four horses tied up, ate 50 tons of hay, and had 20 acres of straw for litter : they made 200 loads of dung, iu rotten order for the land. The experiments of Mr. Moody and Mr. Arbuth^ not prove how well it answers to buy litter with a view to the dung : in feeding oxen with oil-cake, one load of straw makes seven of dung, each I^- ton; and with feeding sheep with turnips, one trussed load made more than four and a half large loads, worth 7s. 6d. each. With Mr. White, 2p acres of straw, suppose 552 POULTRY. [dec. suppose 30 loads, made 200 of rotten dung in lit- tering cows, which are six and a half for one : whence it appears, that litter may safely be purchased at a very high price, rather than be without it. An ar- gument which should be convincing with those who have it in their wheat stubbles, and yet will not be at the trouble of chopping and carting it home. POULTRY. Throughout this month poultry is on full sale. I made the following memoranda at Mr. Boys's in Kent : Mrs. Boys, who is as intelligent in her walk, of management as her husband is in his, conduces her poultry with greater success than any person I have met with. While I was at Betshanger, a higler's cart carried off above 12 dozen of fowls for one draft: inquiring what could be the process that commanded such plenty, I found it so simple as to be explained in a moment — the labourers wives and families who live on Mr. Boys's farm, do the whole ; he supplies them with what offal corn is necessary, and they re- turn Mrs. Boys the grown fowls, ready for market, at 3d. each, 6d. for turkies and geese, and 3d. for ducks ; and her account, well kept, states a profit of 20l. a year, after all expences arc ])aid, and the family well supplied ; have also all the eggs without any payment. It answers as well to the people as it does to the far- mer. A fat turkey, 2llb. alive, is 14lb. dead. The climate and soil here both agree with poultry ; for here is a farmer, of the name of Kelly, who rears and sells 140 turkies per annum. FATTING 'Ji DEC.J FATTING BEASTS. 553 FATTING BEASTS Demand constant attention, as already so often noted ; the effe6l of acid food in fatting swine has been long well understood, and it is remarkable that I found it applied in France to fatting bullocks. To fatten a pair of good oxen at la Ville Aubrun, would take 45 cart loads of raves, a sort of turnip, cut in pieces, and 20 quintals of hay : when the raves are done, they give the flour of rye or other corn, with water enough added to form a paste ; this they leave four or five days to become sour, and then they dilute it with water, thicken it with cut chaff, and give it to the oxen thrice a day : when fed with raves the oxen do not want to drink. At Bassie they finish with flour of rye, mixed as before mentioned : they assert that the oxen like it the better for being sour, and that it answ^ers better in fatting them. They eat about a boisseau a day (weighing 22lb.) and never give this acid liquor with- out chopped hay. It is proper here to remark, that in coming from Paris, we have met a great many droves of these oxen, to the amount, I guess, of from 12 to 1500, and that they were, with few ex- ceptions, very fat ; and considering the season. May, the most difficult of the year, they were fatter than oxen are commonly seen in England in the spring. I handled many scores of them, and found them an excellent breed, and very well fattened. Limoges. — After the raves, give rye paste, as describ- ed above, but with the addition of a leveii (levain) to the paste, to quicken the fermentation, and make it quite sour : at first the oxen will not drink it, but they 554 FATTING BEASTS. [dEC. they are starved to it ; usually take it the second day, and after they have begun, hke it much, and never leave a drop. Usarch. — Fatten their oxen with raves, as above, and then with rye flour, made into a paste with leven and given sour, as before described. Between Brive and Cressensac they fatten with maize, but, in order to render it tender, pour boiling water upon it, cover it up close, and give it to the cattle the same day ; and, in- this method, it is a most excellent fattener, both of oxen and poultry. But J in order to make them fatten sooner and better, they give them, every night, and sometimes of a morning, a ball of pork grease, as large as an apple : they say this is both physic and food, and makes them thrive the better. The fa6l of hog's grease being given was confirmed at Soailliac ; it is given to increase the appetite, and answers sd well, that the beasts perfedlly devour their food after it, and their coats become smooth and shining. The most fattening food they know for a bullock is walnut oil-cake. All here give salt plenti- fully, both to cattle and sheep, being but ]d. per lb. But this practice is, more or less, universal through the whole kingdom. In Flanders, from Valenciennes to Orchies, for f[Utening beasts and for cows, they dissolve linseed cake in hot water, and the animal drinks, not eats it, having various other food given at the same time, as hay, bran, &c. ; for there is no point they adhere to more than always to give variety of foods to a fattening beast. APPENDi:^. APPENDIX. USEFUL TABLES. No. I. Eijuality in the Weight of Cattle, hetiveen Scores, Stones, and llun dred' Weights. By the Right Ho?iourable the Lord Somerville. Scores, Stones at 141b. Stones, at 81b. Hundred, I12lb. St. lb. St. lb. Cwt. qrs. lb. 20 equal 28 8 50 3 2 8 25 — 35 10 62 4 4 1 24 30 — 42 13 75 5 1 12 35 — 50 87 4 6 1 40 -^ 57 2 100 7 1(5 45 — 64 4 112 4 8 4 50 — 71 6 125 S 3 20 55 — 78 8 137 4 9 3 8 (50 — 85 10 150 10 2 24 63 — 92 12 l62 4 11 2 12 70 — 100 175 12 2 75 — 107 2 18/ 4 13 1 Uj 80 — 114 4 200 14 1 4 No. ir. SALTS. BY DR. FORDYCE. Vitriolic acid unites with, 1 . Fixed vegetable alkali, forming vitriolated tartar. 2. Fixed fossil alkali, forming Glauber's salts. 3. Calcareous earth, forming seleniie. 4. Magnesia, forming magnesian Glauber's salts. 5. Clay or earth of alum, forming alum. , Nitrous acid unites witli, 1 . Fixed vegetable alkali, forming nitre. 2. Volatile alkali, forming nitrous ammoniac. 3. Calcareous earth. 4. Magnesia. Muriatic acid unites with, 1. Fixed fossil alkali, forming sea- salt. %, Volatile alkali, forming sal ammoniac. Muriitlt 556 APPENDIX. Muriatic acid, unites with, 3. Calcareous earth, forming fixed ammoniac, 4. Magnesia. , 5. Earth of alum. Fixed vegetable alkali. Combined with air Free from air - Salt of tartar. Ditto wormwood. Pot-ash. Pearl-ash. Fixed nitre. r Caustic fixed volatile alkali. •^ Common caustic. (_ Soap leys. • . unites with, 1. Vitriolic acid, forming vitriolic tartar. 2. Nitric acid, forming common nitre, 3. Muriatic acid, forming digested salt of Sylvius, When caustic, it dissolves, 1. Oil, forming soap. 2. Animal and vegetable substances. Fixed fossil alkali, r Natron. \ Soda. Combined with air < Sal soda. j Barilla. (.Kelp. {Soap leys. Caustic fixed fossil alkali. ■ unites with, 1. Vitriolic acid, forming Glauber's salts. 2. Muriatic acid, forming common sea salt. When caustic, it dissolves, 1 . Oils, forming Castile soap. 2. Animal and vegetable substances- Volatile alkali, unites with, 1. Nitric acid, forming nitrated ammoniac. 2. Muriatic acid, forming common sal ammoniac. 3. Phosphoric acid. Free from air No. II APPENDIX. 557 No. III. COMPARISON OF THERMOMETEIIS. PEAUM. FAMRN. UEAUM. FAHRN. REAUM. FAHR>r. — 32 15 — 66 30 — . 99l 1 — 34\ 16 — 661 31 — . 102 2 — 3()\ 17 - 70^ 32 — . 104^ 3 — 38} 18 - 7'2i 33 — 106t 4 — 41 19 — 75 34 — 108^- 5 — 43i^ 20 - 771 35 — 111 b — 45\ 21 - 79\ 36 — 113j 7 — 47i 22 - 811- 37 — 115 - 8 — .50 23 ~ 84 33 — H7l 9 — 52l 24 — 861 39 — 120 10 -— 541 25 — 8Si- 40 — 122^ 11 — 5(5| 26 - 901 41 — 124J 12 — 59i 27 - 03 42 — 126i 13 — . 61 f 2S - 951 43 — 129 14 — 63i 29 - 971 44 13 1| ^ o. IV. COMPARISOI vr OF A CRES— FROM PAUCTON. France arpent 100 pen :hes 22 pieds, - - 1,0000 Paris 100 ditto. ' - - - - 0,6694 England acre. - - - - 0,7929 Ancona rubbio. - - - 2,541 Bergame pertica. - - - « 0,12867 Bologna tornatura. - - - 0,3547 Brescia pio. - - - 0,6381 Calenberg acre. - • - 0,5 1 65 Crema pertica. V • - ■ 0,14612 Creniona pertica. - - - 0,15608 Denmark tonde-feart-k orn. - - 2,159 Spain fancga, - - - - 0,6720 Ferrara biolca. - - - 1,2614 Florence stioro. - - - - 0,11461 Francfort-on-the-Main e acre. - - 0,3955 Gotha acre. • - - - 0,3967 Inspruck jancbj - » - - 0,84;2 Livurnia stiora. - - - - 0,1094 Mantua biolca. - - - 0,6059 Milan pertica. - - - « 0,14/2 Modena biolca; a - • - 0,8169 Muscoi'v 558 Muscovy decetine, Naples moggio, Padua campo, Parma biolca, Placentia pertica, Rhine arpent, — - morgen Rhinlandj Rome quartuccio, rubbio, pezzo, Rovigo campo. Saxony morgen, Trente pio, Trevisa campo, Turin giornata, Venice passo quadrate, Verona vaneza, campo, Vicenzia campo, Zurich zuchart. APPENDIX, No. V. WEIGHT. France livre polds de marc, quintal, .^ tonneau, England pound Troy, . pound avoirdupois, . stone, 14 lb. hundred, 112 lb. Germany pound, marc of Cologne, Amsterdam pound of 2 maros, stone, Barcelona pound, Bremen pound, stone. 2,907 0,6546 1,0866 0,5967 0,1494 0,3336 1,668 0,11308 3,619 0,5170 1,2597 ■ 1,0542 0,6810 1,0201 0,7440 0,000588 0,02454 0,588() 0,7100 0,4883 9 Qor "I No. W APPENDIX, 55Q No. VI. Measures of Length of several Countries. loch. Decim* English foot, - - - - ] 2 Paris foot, - . - , . 12 816 Venetian foot, - - - 13 944 Rhinland foot, - - - 12 3gQ Strasburgh foot, - - - II 424 Norimbergh foot, - - - 12 Dantzicfoot, - - - - - 11 328 Danish foot, - - - - 12 504 Swedish foot, - - - - - 1 1 733 Derahor cubit of Cairo, - - - 21 883 Persian arish, .... as 364 Greater Turkish pike, - - - 26 4 Lesser ditto, - - • - 25 572 Braccio at Florence, - - - 22 g56 — ditto, for woollen, at Sienna, • - 14 904 ditto, for linen, at ditto, - - 23- 688 Vera at Almaria and Gibraltar, - - - 33 12 Palmo di Archetti at Rome, • - 8 784 Canna di Arcetti, - - - 87 84 Palmo dr Braccio Mercantia - • 8 346 Genoa palm, - • - - 9 79 Bolognian foot, • - - iS Antwerp ell, - • - - 27 3^6 Amsterdam ditto, .... 27 2l6 Leyden ditto, - • - - 27 12 Paris drapers' ditto, - - - 47 148 Ditto mercers' ditto, - - » 47 244 Roman foot, - - - • 11 604 Creek foot, - - - -12 0875 • o No. \lh j6o appendix. No. VII. SEVERAL USEFUL TABLES FOR PLANTERS A Table, to shew how many Plants y or TreeSy may he planted on an. Acre oj Land at different Distances. In an acre are, 4 Roods, each rood 40 rods, poles, or perches. I60 Rods, 16 feet and an half each. 4840 Square yards, g feet each. 43560 Square feet, 144 inches. 174240 Squares of 6 inches each, 36 inches. 6272640 Inches, or squares of 1 inch each. A Table, to sheiv many Plants may he raised on a Rod of Land air^ • " ,, ^ different Distances. M In a roci are 272 J square feet, or 39,204 square inches : a rod wiff contain. Trees or Number of inches Square feet plants. asunder. to each. 2450 and 4 inches ovci-. 4 by 4 - 16 i960 - 5—4 . 20 1633 and 12 over.- 6—4 - 24 1089 - 6 — 6 - ^^^ 816 — 36 over. 8—6 - '4 qi2 - 36 8—8 - 6? 490 — 4 10—8 - 80 392 — 4 - 10—10 - 100 272 — 36 12 — 12 - 144 261 — 54 15 — 10 . 15Q^ An acre will contain. 1 108 and 360 feet over, at 20 feet asnnder, or 400 160 - I6f - 272f 134 — 144 feet over 18 - 324^ 302 — . 72 - 12 - 14 435 — 60 - 10 . 100 680 — 40 8 . 6^ 888 — 48 7 . 4 1089 - S »J' 5 . 40 12J0 - 6 - 36 Tr«r.s Trees or Number of inches Square feet plants. asunder. to each. 1361 and 8 - - 8 by 4 - 32 1452 - - G — 5 - 30 1555 — 20 - - 7 — 4 - 28 1815 - - - 6 — 4 - 24 2178 - - - 5 — 4 - 20 2722 — 8 - .4 — 4 - 16 29(h[ - - - 5 — 3 - i$ 3630 - - .4 — 3 - 12 4840 - - - 3 — 3 - 9 5445 - - - 4 — 2 - 8 7261 - - - 3 — . 2 - 6 8712 - . - 2|— 2-5 IO89O - - -2 — 2 - 4 J9305 - - - If— If - 2| 21780. - - -2-1 - 2 43560 - - 1-1 A Talte for the more readily calculating the Fatue of several Crops on an Acre of Land. 19360 plants, at - O^d. each.^ 968O ' Ofd. 4840 - Id. I £, s. d, 2420' - 2d. [ ' 20 1^ 4 1216' - 4d. j 605 - 8d. J 7000 plants, at 2d. each, - - 62 Q 8 *200 ditto, - - - 43 6 8 2200 ditto, - - - 18 6 8 998O plants, -s - 40 6 8 6970 - 3i O 10 6534 - 27 4 6 .5400 I - 22 15 O 5445 > at Id. each, 22 13 9 AJ36 \ - 18 3 O 3630 - 15 2 6 1000 - 4 3 4 160 J - O 13 4 15000 plants, "i - 31 5 O 7000 f - 15 11 8 6534 > at l|d. each, 13 12 3 6660 \ - 13 17 8 5000 J - 10 8 4 ^ Q 2 A Taile 5fo APPENDIX. A Table of the Specific Gravity of several sorts of Wood. Specific Cnvity. Tliorn, 87 Crab-trcc, 85 Guince-trce^ 83 Mahogany, 82 Plum-tree, 80 Holly, SO Ash, 76 Barberry,^ 76 Nut-tree, 7Q English oak. 75 Beech, 74 Elder, 79 Pear-tree, 73 Mulberry, 71 Walnut, 69 Yew, 67 Maple, 6Q Yellow deal 63 Cherry, 61 Norway oak. 60 Sallow, sgi Sycamore, 59 Elm, 50 Weight of a Cube Foot> lb. 14 N. B. All the woods were very good of the sort, except the elm, and all very dry -, the measure is English, and the weight avoirdupois. N«.VIIL APPENDIX. #6d No. VIII. A Taffle of Expence, By the Day : By the Week , By the Month* , BythtYett *. d. £• '• d. C^ '. d. ,C. /. d. O I — • 007 — 024 1 10 ( o a oil — 4 8 3 lo • I 1 9 070 4 II 3 c 4 024 — 094 6 I S « 5 ■' — 2 II out — — 7 12 1 • 6 036 — 14 • 9 a « • 7 4 « — - 16 4 10 12 II o 8 4 « — 18 8 12 3 4 o 9 5 3 — t I 13 13 9 o lo s lo 1 3 4 IS 4 X • II 065 I 5 8 16 14 7 I o 070 I 8 .8 5 2 o 14 — 2 16 36 10 • 3 o I I — 440 54 15 4 • I % -— " 5 12 73 • j5 o 1 15 — 700 9« ^ 6 e a 2 880 leg 10 7 o 290 — 9 16 127 15 $ o 2 16 — II 4 _. 146 • 9 o 3 3 » — — 12 12 r64 s JlO o .._ . 3 10 14 182 10 # IX o 3 17 — 15 8 200 1^ 11 o 440 — 16 16 ■ 219 13 o 4 11 — 18 4 m which would fill the land with wceJii. No. XIII. o68 APPENDIX. No. XIII. A CATALOGUE OF FARMING IMPLEMENTS. Asbey's threshing-mill, fixed, - - 105 O Do. moveable, - - 170 O O A winnowing machine, - - 10 10 Cooke's drill, and the corresponding todls, - 40 O O A scuffler, v - - 10 10 O A stout plough with wheels, - - 10 10 O A do. smaller, - - - 7 7 O A Norfolk plough, - - - 440 The best swing- plough, - - 4 4 Harrows, r . . 10 O Do. - - - -500 Do. - - - 3 A fallowing machine, the Norfolk heavy drill-roller, 20 O Great iron roller for grass, - - 35 O O Smaller do. - - - - 25 O O Roller for arable land, - - 8 Barley roller, - - - 4 Northumberland turnip-drill, - - 2 12 6 Garden drill and hoe, - - 4 Sir Joseph Bank's hay-stack apparatus, - 20 O Fen paring plough for burning, - - 4 4 Amos's bean drill, - - - 4 10 O Kentish turn-wrest plough, - - 9 9 The mole drain-plough with wheel and roller, - 6 O Onc-'horse carts with ladders, the only machine for car- riage (except the following article), which should be on any farm J each - - - 12 12 O Small three- wheeled cartj - 10 to 12 O Machine for weighing cattle alive, - 20 O Salmon's cage and steel -yard for weighing sheep and hogs, 8 wheel-plough, - - 3 machine for weighing cattle, hay, 8:c. * 100 chaff-cutter, - - 12 12 O — — machine for ascertaining draught, - 3 3 Jowing machine for broad-cast turnips, - 10 O Set APPENWX. 569 Set of hollow-draining spades. Ant-hill plough, - * - Machine for bruising beans and oats. Double mould-board plough with expanding wings. Smaller do, - - * Berkshire shim, - - - Do. with three hoes, . - - Isle of Thanet shim. Ducket's skim-coulter, ■ — hand-hoes. Miner, . . - The Hon. George Villiers' moveable shpep-house. Apparatus for steaming roots. Machine for breaking oil-cake, Turnip-slicer, Potatoe-cutter, . - - Potatoe harrow, - - - Jointed borer, - - - Hay-drag, Horsp dew-rake, - Wheel hay-rake, - - Mr. Bentinck's machine for drawing up treeys b^ the root, - - - 100 1 1 4 5 10 5 2 10 3 10 10 1 1 .0 10 3 3 20 20 4 2 10 2 2 10 21 4 5 1 1 No. XIV. 570 APPENDIX. g V« »«< t~< Wrf k^ 3 O , 3 w>* w O pppop ocooooooo sr o S'^ o M 3 ^ oq ~- 5 ^^ p sr ^ p p p o p ?^ ni'o o a rt CO 3 Ci- »*1-Nl« Hi- Hl«» »»i- -^ ^^ o o 1^ o o o oooooooooooooo WC0OOO^N5t«3»-OOOOO £-8 ►- — — ^H-^w-w*05COkObO OCMOiOOiOOOOrii-ODOiOOtr**^ 1= 0* Hi SI o CO O ►is H w CO o CO W W pa O 12; p No. XV. I APPENDIX, • 71 No. XV. DIVISION OF S0IL8. Soil. I Clay. Synonima. Strong land. Strong loam. Stiff land. Stiff loam. Lime-stone clay. Marmy clay. Oops, r Cabbages. Beans. J Wheat. \ Clover. W. tares. *- Oats. 11. Sand. r Red. Whit I Blacl White. . Black. S Yellow. I Heathy. \^ Gravelly. p Turnips. ' Potatoes. Carrots. Barley. 1 Buckwheat. Trefoil. L Ray, &c. \ Sandy. I Gravelly. III. Loam. < Hasel. Lime-stone. Stone Irash. [ Potatoes. Turnips. Barley^ Oats. Pease. Clover. Beans. Cabbagcf?. Hemp and flafc. { IV. Chalk. J ^^"^^y ^^^"^ Downs. { Sainfoin. Barley. Pease. Turnips. V. Peat ( Moss. Bog, red and black. Fen. { Potatoes. Rape. Cabbages. Grass. NcXVl. 57^ APPENDIX. No. XVI. - THE FARMER'S LIBRARY. Hitt on Barren Lands, 8vo. Twamley on Dairying, 8vo. Lisle's Husbandry, 2 vol. 8vo. FordyCe's Elenlentb of Agriculture, Svo. Billing on Carrots, Svb. Culley on Live Stock, 8v©. Boswell on Irrigation, 8vo. Wright on Ditto, Svo. Blythe's Improver improved, 4to. Baker's Experiments, 4 vol. Svo. Kirwan on Manures, Svo. Dossie's Memoirs of Agriculture, 3 vol. Svo. Transaftipns of the Society of Arts, 20 vol. SVdi Bath Society's Papers, g vol. Svo. Wight's Survey of Scotland, 6 vol. Svo. Darwin's Phytologia, 4to. Gyllenborg's Elements of Agriculture, by Mills, 12mo. Heme's Principles' of Agriculture and Vegetation, 6lvo. Marshall's Works, iSvol. Svo. Lord Kaimes's Gentleman Farmer, Svo. Reprinted Cotmty Reports, by the Board of Agriculture, 20 vol. Svo Communications to the Board of Agriculture, 3 vol. 4to. Curtis on Grasses, Svo. Swayne's Gramina Pascua, folio. On Potatoes, Published by the Board of Agriculture, 4io. Johnson on Draining, Svo. Martyn's edition of Miller, folio. Bailey's Advancement of Arts, 4to. Anderson's Essays on Agriculture, 3 vol. Svo. Bannister's Synopsis, Svo. Hunter's Georgical Essays, 4 vol. Svo. Stickney on Grubs, Svo. Bartlct's Farriery, 12mo*. * Works of merit that may be here omittedt will be inserted sl«>u1d the work bt a^alA r^pruiti^d. No. XVIL APPENDIX. t73 No. XVI T. OLD AND NEW CHEMISTRY. Old Names. Neiv Names. Alkaline air. Ammoniacal gas. Alkali, caustic tixed. Potash. Carbonate of potash . Ditto. fixed vegetable. Soda OWUa . Prussiate of potash. l!arhnnat*=> r>T iimmr>ni?a ^a/i\l UUlldLC Ul dtilliiUlli jd iiy the pack ounces. of izlb of i8 lb *'f. 52 lb. of 240 ib. £' s. i/. At per lb. £. s. ./. £• s. r/. /•. J. ^. l^' s, d. 9* 9 I 4 9 10 10 3 4 6 8 10 11 O 11 5 8 9 4 11 12 C) 8 12 12 1 13 10 4 14 8 13 2 14 12 8 17 4 14 3 15 15 2 15 4 \6 17 4 2 2 8 16 5 i? 19 8 2 5 4 17 6 18 2 2 2 8 18 7 19 2 4 4 2 10 8 19 8 1 2 6 8 2 13 4 20 9 1 1 2 9 2 1(5 21 () 10 1 2 2 11 4 2 18 8 22 ij 1 3 2 13 8 3 1 4 23 d 2 1 4 2 16 3 4 24 2 1 1 5 2 18 4 3 6 8 25 2 2 1 6 3 8 3 9 4 26 2 3 1 7 3 3 C 3 12 27 2 4 1 8 3 5 4 3 14 8 28 2 5 1 9 3 7 8 3 11 4 29 2 6 1 10 3 10 4 8 30 * Rules for calculating the value of each quantity, when the price per lb. i-s not any number of even pence. 1. If the increase be one farthing, add to the sum found in the tabic, opposit* to the given number of pence, 3d. for the stone; 7d. for the rod of a8 lb. \ 8d. for the tod of 321b. ; and 58. for the pack. Thus, if the price be gid per lb. the value of the stone will be 9s. 3d. ; of the tod of 281b. it will be il. is. 7d. ; of the tod of 321b. it will be 1 1. 4s. 8d. ; and of the pack, it will be 9I . 5s. 2. If the increase be one halfpenny, add to the sum found in the table opposite to the given number of peiice, 6d. for the stone ; is. id. for ihc ted of 28 lb. is. 4d. for the tod of 321b. and los. forthe pack. Thus, if the price be is. 3id. per lb , the value of the stone will be 15s. 6d. ; of the tod of 28 lb. wi!l be lU i6s. 2d.; of the tod of 32 lb. will be 2I. is. 4d. ; a/id of the p.ick, it will be 15I. los. 3. If the increase be three farthings, add to the sum found in the table opposite to ^^. may be sown even so late as the first week in July, 421. harvest of the early. sown crops, in August, 432, Building ; various useful hints relative to conducting this business, 230. the house, when necessary, 230. the threshing- mill ; with iron rail. way, granary, chaff.house, and roofed shed, 231, 232. sheds for cattle and horses, 233. dairy, 234. piggery, 235. diredions respeding the plan and constrafllon of the farm-house, 238 to 240. Burnet, its peculiar benefit as a spring food for sheep, 157, 207. time of sowing ; culture ; produce ; mix with ray-grass or cocksfoot, 203, 204. may be sown with Buck. wheat in May, 258. mow in July the crops left for seed ; thresh in the field, 410, 41 r. interesting remarks on the culture, feeding, produce, and va- rious eminent advantages, of this crop, 41 1 to 414. cattle should not be permitted to pasture the fields after mowing either for seed or for a second crop of hay, 466, r p 3 —but 5So INDfeX. hut it should be kept for sheep-feed in spring, 514, Burfiin^ lime may be continued through all the winter, 45. situations for kilns, and conveniences; manner of paying for this work, 46. Bur>ihig weeds, straw, and gorse, for manure. See the articles IVeeds ; Stra'w ; and Gone, Butter, See Dairj. C Cahbnges ; experiment of the Author, in feeding smaller cows ofi this plant, 15. time of sowing the seed ; and preparation, 72. — method, of drilling on the land where the plants are to remain, which prevents the inconvenience of transplanting, 72. (See also 2 j 8, 219, and 260, zSi,) attention to the nursery, 73. preferable sorts of cabbage, 73. spring ploughing for the land which is to receive the plants, 84. great design of the culture of this crop ; as a supply of green winter food, it even exceeds on clay soils the superiority which a turnip fallow on light land possesses over a summer- fallow clay, 85. — its advantage also in lasting for sheep- feed longer in the spring, 86. seasons for planting the crops designed for cattle ;. and prepara- tion, 142. sow a second time in March; quantity of seed, 143. season for planting the autumn-sown crop: directions for per- forming this operation ; its expence, 218. drilling the seed in April on the ground where they are to remain, is the most certain and profitable culture, 218. (See also 72, and 260, 261.) •^preparation for this purpose ; and method of performing the operation, 219. the crop planted in April must be hand and horse -hoed in May, 259, 260. — preparation also in this latter month for those to be planted in June, 260. the late Mr. Bakcwcll's method, of drilling the seed at once, the., beginning of May, where the crop is to remain ; its advan. tages, preparation, method of sowing, manuring, and cul- ture, 260, 261. (See also 72, and 218, 219.) business upon the cabbage lands in June, 337. — ploughing-in the manure; distroce of rows, 337. — method of planting, and expence ; watering, 338. advantage of cabbages on those lands where Turnips have failed ; in ensuring a supply of green winter food, &c. 338, 339. culture in June of the crop planted in April, 340. — attention also to those drilled (in the latter month) where to remain, 340. - attention in July to the crop planted in April or May, 406. 1 — — and INDEX. 581 and to hand and horse hoeing that planted in June ; care in performing those operations, 407. — horse and hand hoeing the cabbages drilled in April where to reinafn, 4.08. second horse-hoeing early in August, to the midsummer>planted ciop, 436. sow in August for those crops that are transplanted in April, 437; — great importance of having as many Angust^sown cabbages as can be wanted for winter food to the end of December, 437, drilling seed on the ridges where it is to remain, in the last week of August or beginning of September, 438. Sec also the articles Curting ; and Reynolds' s cahhage turnips Cabbage falli-v : great utility of the Norfolk drill- roller in breaking the clods ; preparation for these fallows, &c. 341, Cal't'cSi different methods of weaning them ; the Duke of Nor- thumberland's method, 16. the last year's calves should be thoroughly well fed and kept clean, 18. treatment of the weaned calves in March, 158. Carrots J best culture for them, 31. great importance of this crop ; season for sowing, and prepara- tion, 83. — tj^c Suffolk system, however, quite different, 84. (See also oua.uity of seed ; putting in ; proper soils, 134. extended and regular cultivation of this root recortimended, 13^. Suffolk practice : a turnip.fallow, fed on the land, the best pre- paration ; steeping the seed, 135. inducements to the cultivation: as a food fot the teamsj and for fattening swine, cattle, and sheep ; and in point of profit, and of its advantage to the land> 136, 137. carrots on Grass, though not common, do well, 137. their importance as a more advanced spring food for horses, 160. rule for the first hand-lioeing, 217. harrowing and hand-hoeing in May ; set out the plants at the distance of twelve inches, 258. hoeing about the latter end of June, 342. — in July 409. — in August, 440. season atid method of digging up, carting, and piling, ScQ, 496. universal application of this crop, 497. Carting turnips and .cabbages ; precautions for the right perform- ance of this business should be a'^tended to at the ilme of sowing or planting, in the arrangement of the ridges, 50. Cattle ; attentions to be paid iti the middle of winter to those in the farm-yard, 8. young cattle should be thoroughly well fed and kept clean, 18. — treatment of the cattle in the farm-yard in April, 211. time of turning them out of the farm. yard into Grass, 245'. p p 4 — q^nestion 5'8a INDEX, — question whether on doing this, the whole of the pasture grounds should be at once thrown open to them, or divided off successively ; advaiitages and disadvantages of each me- thod, 251 to 253. — attentions in the point of stocking grass lands, 253. management of young cattle in Odober, 493. may be served with Straw (as a food) in too great plenty, ^50. See also the articles Calves ; Coruos j Farm-yard ; Fattening be a St i ; and Litter, Chaff. See Cut. chaff. Chaff-hojisc. See Tbreshing-^nilL Chalking ; method of performing this business, in Hertfordshire, 42. — sinking the pit, 42. — raising the chalk, 43. — operations at the bottom of the pit, 43. -—quantity of land to each pit ; expencc, 44. deepest chalk the best ; flints to be picked out, 44. successful praftice of Mr. John Hill, of Coddicot ; once chalk- ing produces abundant crops for ten years, 44, 45. distin<5lion between the different sorts of chalk ; and suitable ; soils, 370. dig throughout July and August ; use the small three-wheeled cait, 417, 418, 439. dig in November, 51J. — in December, 527. Chamomile^ its soil, and planting ; the cultivation of it trouble- some and not advantageous, 152. Cheese. See Dairj. Cheshire cheese ; general method of making, 2S5 to 288. Chicory;, peculiar advantage of the cultivation of this plant, 124, objedion to it ; answered, 125. methods of sowing, broad-cast or drilling; quantity of seed; harrowing after sowing, 125,6, 204. Churnsy apparatus to those used in Cheshire, 285, Clay. See Marling. Close feeding pasturage with sheep; important advantages of an at- tention to this point, 269 to 271. Clonjer : great benefit of this crop; various methods of sowing it, J17. — advantage of each, 1 18. \alue of the produce, in different views, 1 18. it is peculiarly liable to fail in distridls where it has been long grown ; course on a farm in Surrey, which succeeded well with clover every third year, i ig. — in such circumstances. Tares may also be dibbled into the vacant spots with advantage, 243. quantity of seed, 119. White clover alone, for seed, 120. time of mowing clover ; this the most profitable application of the crop; diredion in making the hay, 346. — Wheat I N l> R X . 583 — Wheat aftex clover, 456 to 458. — singular experiment of Mr. Duclcet, on prepa|;ing a clover lay for Wheat, 45S. Coal ashfs\ cxpcnce (about Dunstable, &c.) of this sulwtance, and its application as a manure, 165. Cole. See R/jpc, Composts: great advantage of these mixtures; and -dircdions for -the disposition of the ingredients, 97. — layers, either thick or thin, not advisable, 97. — method recommended instead of that pradice, 98. — turning afterwards unnecessary in this plan, 99. .the application of these manures to meadow or pasture-grounds, is much benefited by the use of the cutting-plough, or scari- ficator, 99. — the cutting should be previous 10 the manuring, 99. where necessary, the materials may be mixed in the field to -be manured, 100. best situation for making a compost is on a level, loc. — but the richest may be made in the farm. yard, 100. — grounds to which this last is suited, 101. composts for Grass, 465. Cottagers' hempy 296. Courses of crops ; vast importance of this subjed ; little understood before the present reign, 503, general principles ; and lists of courses on the most striking varieties of soil, 504, 505. Cows ; treatment of them with resped to food, &c. just before and after calving, 13. • — but if nothing else be provided, they have hay only ; esti« mate of the cost of this food to the farmer, 14, 15. — the expence of this pradice is ruinous, and therefore green winter food should be provided, 15. experiment of the Author, in feeding smaller cows on cabbages, feeding cows in May ; clover, and ray-grass eaten off early with sheep, 279. — great advantages of lucerne ; method of giving it in the stalls : its profit, 279, 280. attention to the food of dairy cows in September; lucerne, mown green and given in a yard, the most profitable way of feeding, 464. management of dairy cows in Oftober, 493. See also the articles Cattle ; and Dairy, Cropping pollard- trees, 96. Cuckoo, See Birds of passage. Cut-chaff; different machines for performing the operation of cut- , ting, II. — importance of the pradice, 1 1 . — contrivances to supply the place of racks in stables, in giving this substance to the cattle, 12. — its 584 INDEX. — its use recommended, to as great a degree as can be efFefted, both for teams and all other stock that eat hay, 13. constra<^ion of the troughs for giving it to sheep, 13. chaff hojse : Sec Thriihing^milL D Dairy : various useful direi^ions by Mrs. Chevallier, for the ma- nagement and interior economy of dairies, 17. advantages of parsnips as a food for dairy cows, 94, the condutft of this part of the business must depend upon the farmer's wife, or dairy- maid, and no more than a few inci- dental instructions can be given concerning it, 158. plan and constrU'!:tion of the Dairy, 234. in May begins the busy time with the dairy ; some further directions for its management, 2.S0. — milking, 280. — running water in the Dairy in hot weather, 281* pra(51ice of the Eppuig djiries, 281. process of making Butter, 282. — the method in Hoiland, 282, 283. — butter and milk in Cheshire, 283, 284. — apparatus of their churnb^ 285. general mode of making Cheshire Cheeses, 2S5 to 388, cheese from clover, 288. quality of milk for Cheese, 28S, — in Gloucestershire, 2 88, season for making thin, and for thick. Cheese, 289. preparations of the Rennet, used at Frccester, in Gloucester- shire, 289. in very bad weather, the difficulty (in certain circumstances) of brjrrgitig the Cheese may be beneficially prevented by the application of cold spring water before earning or rendling, disadvantage of injudicious methods of drying Cheese, 378. spreading salt across the middle of the Cheese in the vat is in- jurious ; salting in the milk greatly preferable, 378, 379. the sc::son has considerable effort on the quality of Cheese ; in- flwcncc of the prevalence of certain plants, and other cir- cumstances, in the pabtures, 379, ^"^o. Ditches', the practice of dii.;ging them of greater depth and width for the sake of the additional marie thus procured, is erroneous, 28. Draining: different method? of making covered drains; by the plough, or by the spade, 28. — the former less expensive ; but in the main drains spades must be used, 29. cxpence of covered drains, 29. —materials for filling these drains, 30. economical way of making covered drains, 2^» ^- begin INDEX. 58^ — begin Iiollow-.draining in November ; importance of this im« provcment on wet lands, ^ly, Elkington's draining, 518. See also Mjlc-pLugh. Drill huihnudry^ should be universally adopted on soils that will admit of it, 505 to 507. construction of the ridges, stitches, or lands for drilling, 507. Ducket's skim-coulter ; every farmer should possess this implement, 324- Dung : important direflions respe^ing the attentions to be paid in the farm yard to this article, and its management, :^!^^ to 147. * question of the superiority of yard-dung in a long or 'n a rotten state, 247. — farm-yard management in each case, 248, 402. — the application of it in the former state ascertained to be most advantageous, 320 to 323, 376. See also the articles Manures ; and Soiling, Elb'ngt07/'s dTRimng, 518. E-ives. ^tt l\it thiucXqs Lambi/ig ; ^nd. ShecJ', F Falloaving: attention to keeping the fallows clean in July; the well. timing of more consequence than the frequency of ploughing, 416, 417. the modern well-informed husbandman will rarely have recourse to falJov/s after his first year, 417. plough in September, 468. laying up the fallows in October ; importance of avoiding spring tillage, 499, 450. Farm-houiey useful hints respeding the building of; and direftioni concerning its plan and construvtion, 230, 238 to 240. Farms: Odober the usual month of hiring farms ; important points to be attended to in this matter ; the success of the last tenant a false guide, 473. — the soil, 474 to 479. — size, 479. — contiguity of the fields, 480. — covenants, 480. — ascertainment of rent, 480. stocking farms ; expence of this business, 481 to ^83, setting the flork, 483. servants, 4S3. family arrangement, 486. the farm accounts, 4S9. farm-yar^, 490. the teams, 491, — question of employing horses or oxen in them, 4^1, Farm- iS6 INDEX. Farm-jar J, attentions to be paid in winter to the cattle here, and in the buildings, in point of food, littering, Sec. 8, 88, 525. points of atrention in the construdion, and the management of farm. yards, in the view of providing for making com- posts, 100. cattle must be kept close to the yard through March, 157. general plan and construAion of farm-yards ; threshing. mill. Sec, ; sheds for cattle and horses, dairy, piggery, 231 to 238. important diret^ions respecbing the article of dung, and its ma- nagement, 245 to 248, 402. occasional business in the farm-yard in harvest, 435. attend to the convenience of the farm. yard, at the time of hiring a farm ; system of management to be pursued in the yard, 490, Fattening beastSy diredions to be attended to in fattening, cither in a yard or in the stall, 18. particular points in the management of oil-cake and corn-fed beasts; cleanness of lodging and of mangers; very littlt; food at a time, and varied ; and good warmth, 19. the beasts should be weighed once a fortnight at least, 159, sell toward the end of April, 208. various divisions in fattening, and schemes of buying and sell- ing, 253, 254. — with cake and corn-fed beasts, 254. attention to the fat cattle in July, 422. attention to food, in September, 462. — hints respecting selling at this time, objedlion to the com- mon pradice of first selling off the fattest only, 463. management of fatting beasts in Odober, 493. food, feeding, litters, Sec. in November, <;2i. pradice in France, of giving acid food in fattening bullocks 552 to 554. See also Smithfiild. Felling, See Wood. Fences \ great necessity of having good ones to a farm, 25^. description of the plashing (which is the best) method of fencing, 26. ^ . . the business of fencing must be concluded in April, 221. begin hedging and ditching in November ; method, plashing, 512. (See also 26.) walling, in dry stony countries, 514. uystem of fencing, 527. ' See also Bordt-n. Fern ; cut and carry this substance in September, stacking it ; ad- vantages of this management, 466. Fish-ponds: season for making ; are advantageous in certain situa- tions ; method of performing this business ; expence, and profit, 522, 523. Flax\ time of sowing, 223. proper soil, 223, 224. pradice in southern countries ; of sowing twice, in Autumr and Spring, 224. — pre* INDEX. 587 — preparation for this crop, 225. manuring, &c. 226. means of ascertaining the quality of linseed, 226. quantity of seed, and methods of sowing, 227. sowing with grass-seeds, 227. a dressing of soot, ashes, &c. very beneficial, 227. farther general remarks on the culture of flax ; proper soil, time of sowing, quantity of seed, Scc» 296, 297. weeding the young crop in June, 344, 385. time and method of pulling, 442. this is not an advisable crop for the young farmer, 44s. Flemish culture of rape for seed, 372. Floating. See Wateriug meadonjoi, ^ Fly in turnips, manuring the best preventive against, 327, 328. — soot frequently applied, with success, 405, 6. Fly in sheep ; preventive against, 36 j, 366. fogging ; account of this peculiar husbandry, and its benefits, 325;. Foldifig sheep : now proved to be an unprofitable pradice ; the arguments in its defence are not satisfa(^ory, 3. the Author's experience on this subjed, 4. the benefits to be reaped by the fold, considered ; the improve- ment of the corn. lands at the expence of the pastures is an injurious maxim, 5. the sheep when not folded manure the ground equally, and much increase the value of lays, 6. folding, when that system is preferred, may be carried on through- out the whole of the winter with profit, 7. use of a sheep-yard to answer this purpose, 7, 526. application of folding as a top-dressing in spring, 166. farther remarks on the injudiciousness of folding, 268, 269. folding in June, 366. attention in July to this business ; constant rule, fold those lands first which will be first sown^ 417. folding in August, 439. standing sheep-fold, in Oiflobcr, 50S. folding in November, 513. Foliatioji of vegetables ; curious table on this subject, 1 12. Frnit-treesj season for planting, 523. Fullers* thistle. See Teasels. Furze ; example of its cultivation v/ith great success, 244. CarJen, See Kitchen-garden, Garget, in yearling calves, may be prevented by keeping them perfedly dry, 18. Gleaning, observations respcOing this custom, 434. Gorse \ praftice of burning rhis vegetable for manure, 399, Granary, Set Threshing-mill, Crasi^lands j season for putting on several sorts of manure, 87. — pre- 588 INDEX. — precaution, and attentions, in the application of purchased manures, 87. advantage of alternating grasses with corn, on land worn out, or injured by bad management, 120. — course for this purpose, i 20. — seeds to be sown, and proportions of each, 121. • — praftice in Rutlandshire : other proper courses ; on moist or fertile, and on drier, soils, 121. — pradice in Northumberland-: by alternate three years of arable and of depasturing ; and the latter of these periods equally profitable with the former, 122. — the system of alternating known both here and in France long ago, 423. attention to cleaning grnss-lands in the beginning of April, 2s i. — rolling, and scarifying ; question of the comparative advan- tage of these different operations, 22 r, 222. sowing grass-seeds, 241. separated grass-seeds, 241. — methods of sowing ; and sorts to be chosen, 242. 1 question whether the system of aherjiately feeding and mowing the rcspe^^ive grass-lands is advisable ; decided by Goring to be in the end ruinous to both fields, 248. question relative to the application of grass, to feeding or to mowing ; which is most beneficial, 357. — mowing, probably, is entitled to the preference, 358, 359. laying down land to Grass ; preparation, and time, for this important operation, 204, 447. — seeds, on different soils, 447, 4^8. — quantities of seed, 448, 449. — sowing, 450. • — successive management, 450. business of manuring : succcdaneums, or assistants, to dung, time of application, and quantity ; grass may very easily be over-manured, 464, 465. scarifying grass-lands, 465. laying to grass with wheat in September, 470. Grass -seeds of all sorts never succeed better than with Buck- wheat, 471. manure grass in Of^ober, 495. See also the articles Lays ; and Meadoixis : also Burttet, C/ji* corjj Lucerne^ Sainfoin ^ Trefoil^ Sec. H Haulm of pease ; the mow ought always to be trodden with hogs or horses, 128. Jiay ; estimate of its cost to the farmer, as a winter food for cows, 14, 15. Middlesex proceis of mowing and making hay detailed, 347 to general INDElf. 589 general dirc(^ions concerning hay-making, 414, 415. — importance of attention to large-cocking, 41 5. — Mr. Ducket's method of trying thi* heat of hay-stacks, 41 j. — a fine season, by causing hurry, often more dangerous than a bad one ; 416. Hedges. See the articles Fences ; and Ihllj. He/ftp ; time of sowing, 240. important cautions to be attended to by the young firmer before determining on the cultivation of this crop, 292. diredions, if he adopts it : soil which it requires, 294. — tillage; manuring; quantity of seed; manner of sowing, 295. cottager's hemp, 296. weeding in June unnecessary, 3S6. time of pulling ; mode ; and expence, 440. — method of water-retting, 441. — separating the male and female, or femble and secd-hcmp, 441, — treatniv-^nt of hemp left for seed; might be better if water- retted, 442. Hiring harvest men, 397. useful hints, on the various customary methods of agreement, 425 to 427. Hiring farms. See Farms. Hogs. See the articles ^'tW;/^ ; and P/^^rr>'. Hollon.*j -draining ; begin in November ; importance of tliis im- provement on wet lands, 517. Holljy its excellence for forming hedges ; diredions for this work. Hops ; important advice to the young farmer who thinks of intro- ducing this article on his land, 184, iS^. — particular situation in which it may be prudent, 185. best preparation for hops, 186. hop husbandry in March, 186. business of poling, 222. hop husbandry in May, 292. — jn June, 344. — in September ; hop-picking, 467. — in December ; manuring, 527. Horses ; the system of breeding horses, not advisable for the young farmer to adopt, 521. See also Ttaim, Irrigation ; the union of this business with Draining is an objeft in extensive works, 37. See also Watering, Kitchen-garden ; importance of this objedl, to assist in house-keep- ing, 522, La^oratorj: 590 INDEX. Laboratory : diredions for fitting up, and using ; articles of furni- ture, and expcncc, 527 to 533. Lambs ; great care and attention necessary to the ewes about their lambing time, 96. on inclosed farms, and where this is pratflicable, the e^ves should, as they drop the lambs, be drawn from their flock, and put to rouen, 97. weaning lambs, in July, 417. See also Sheep. Lays : time of feeding new lays, 1S8. new lays should be fed the first twu or three years, by sheep ; different pradices, however, on this point, 249 to 251. time of manuring new lays, 423. method to be adopted on the failure of new lays ; fresh seed in a moist time in spring, and a very large fold for sheep, 470. — on a total failure, 471. autumnal management of new lays, 471. plough up old lays in December ; advantage of this husbandry, 525. See also Grass-lands. ■ Leagues ; advantage of colleding them in woodland countries, in Oftober, for littering in the yards and standing folds, 508. Lentils: quantity ot seed; purposes of cultivation ; soil; horses should not be watered soon after eating them, 149. Lettuces for hogs ; real advantage of this cultivation ; preparation^ drilling, and quantity of seed, 149. a succession in the crop is necessary ; preparation for that to be sown in April, 192. — thatdrilled in March, tobe thinned in Apr'l ; horse-hoeing, 192. Liming: question whether lime burnt in January should be used, or kept till the spring, 46. great effeft of th:s manure is on uncultivated waste land ; quan. tity, and season, of its application, 47. it may be spread on dry land at all times, loi. utility or liming as a manure, with the process of paring and burniiig, it? 3. season for its application in ordinary cases, 1S3. liming turnip fallows in June, 387. ' — on fallows for wheat, and on waste lands, .'. citv for each, 38S. See also Burning lime. Linseed. See Flax. LicjHorice ; depth of culture for, and distances, 198. hand. hoe and carefully hand. weed in May, 264. hand. hoeing in June, 344. digging, in October ; manuring ; watcr-furrowing, 503. Litter; importance of providing a sufficient quantity (for dung) through the spring and suminer, 319. i^ratcmcnts respeding the pinportiou of dung to straw, 550, 551. L:iint:e ; time for sowing, 198. — consi- 1 INDEX. 5{)i *— considerations on the utility of this crop, 199. — proper soils and preparation, 200. — modes of sowing, and quantity of seed, 200, 201. — question, with or without Corn, 201, 202. farther remarks on its cultivation: if broad-cast, should be mixed with Buck-whcat, 255. — proper soils, 255, 256. — method of sowing, usually broad-cast ; drilling at narrow distances (nine inches) would probably be more advanta- geous, 256. ■ — preparation ; different methods of sowing with Corn ; quan- tity of seed ; application of soot j proportion of land to the stock to be fed on it, 2(;'j, superiority of this crop as a summer food for horses, oxen, and cows, 278, 279. — method of mowing it for this purpose, daily ; and carrying to the stable, 280. — attentions in mowing, 324. culture in June of the crop drilled in the spring ; direftions ia hoeing, 344, 345. — the old crops ready for cutting this month, 345. cutting, and horse or hand hoeing, in July ; but if broad-cast, or narrow-drilled (see p. 256), no cleaning is necessary, 410* cutting, and attention to wide. drilled crops, in August, 43 8^ another cutting in September or O^ober, perhaps in each ; fna- nure plentifully after the last, 468. M Madder-, preparation, season, and methods of planting, 194. interesting remarks respefting the cultivation of this root, 195 to 198. hand- hoe in May, 263. hand and horse hoeing in June ; direftlons for performing each, 343- ... . . method of hoeing in July, if necessary ; important recolleftion* in the cultivation of madder, 418, 419. plough (very deep) in 06^ober ; manuring, 502. attention to the land in November, 515. Mangel ivurzely time of dibbling, and cultivation, 151. Manures: dungs of all sorts are more universally beneficial on all soils than other manures, 88. manures (purchased) Turned In ; expence and application of several sorts of, 167 to 170. (See also Ploughing in). See also the several articles Comports ; Folding ; Gorsi ; Marling ; Feat, ashes and djtst-y Ponds , Soiling) Straiv\ Tonjun ma- nures ; and Weeds. Marling \ great importance of this business, 38. proportions of marie or Clay on different soils, 39. cheapest, method of performing it, 39. Q q — Mr. Sg% IND^EXr — Mr. Rod well's interesting account of his extensive praftlce- in. this work, 39. — comparative' cxpcnce of hand-barrowing and of tumbrils, 40, 41. — on some soils. Clay is much to be preferred to marie, 41. — successful crops which have followed the operation, 42. increased prices offered in Suffolk, for teams to do this work, 42* excellent account of the pradlice of another farmer who marled extensively, i-oi. — proper quantity per acre, 102. — should be only adopted on inclosed lands, except in particular circumstances, 103. — good pulverization, and clearing from stones,, essential, loj. — much depends on the after management of the land, 103,. — different quality of the Clay or marie, 104» — expences of the operation, icy^, -.— estimate, 106. farther observations on the benefit of marling, 367* criterions of the cjuality of marie, 368. best way of conveying it on to the land, 368, 369. expence; and quantity, 369. properties of Clay ; and its use where no marie is to be had, 369, — quantity for application ; and suitable soils,^ 370. digging, throughout July and August ; use the small three- wheeled cart, 417, 418, 439» — in November, 5' 1 5. — in December, 527. Meadows : attentions in mowing ; mow close f process of hay- making, 346, 347. See also the articles Grass-lands*, Hay ; and Waterings Melilot (Siberian), its cultivation recommended, 242, Mildtnv ; such wheat as is found to be struck with this fatal dis- temper should be reaped immediately, though quite green, an increased quantity of seed is proper on land given to this dis- temper, 457. Mi7/f. See Dairy, Mole. plough, its efFed in the business of Draining, depends entirely wpon the soil, 35. the addition of wheels befoyc and a roller behind^ is of essential importance, 36. a good method is, to open a furrow previously with a common plough, or a drain plough, ^6. state in which the land should be for the operation of Draining, and for the other processes conneit^ed with it, 36. the union of Draining with irrigation is an objeft in extensive works, 37. many farmers chuse the year of fallow, for Draining ; and others, the winter, 37, 38. — all soils, in either season, should be drained while in grass, 38, MtUs\ attention to destroying them, in March, 163. Mountain INDEX, 593 Mountain improvement, (as quarrying stone, and building walls) . may proceed in the middle of winter if not prevented by snows, 47. (See also 514). attention to this business in the summer, 3g6. Mountains ; importance of applying the system of irrigation to moiui- tainous moors, 310. some direftions on this subje6t, 311, 312. ATud. See the articles Ponds ) and Warping, Mustard: cultivation of this crop^ produce, and value, 151. N Northumlerland method of turnip cultivation ; Mr. Culley's narra- tive on this interesting subject, 328 to 332, 405. O Oats J may be sown In January, to relieve the business of the suc- ceeding months, 53. important experiment by Mr. Macro, of Suffolk, determining the comparative benefit of early sowing, 53. experiment of the Earl of Winchllsea, to the same purpose, 55. time ot" sowing Black oats, quantity of seed, and culture, JA, ^5. sorts of oats, ^5. oats should never follow a Corn crop, 114. very erroneous idea of supposing them less profitable on land in good order than Barley, 114. — should never be sown but on land in proper order for Barley ; may be sown after a fallow crop, and clover with them, ai that grain, 115, 11 6. oats after Turnips ; the farmer should consider whether this corn or Barley is likely to pay him best, 11(5. oats on Lays 3 method of preparation and dibbling: perhaps in all cases better to put in a crop of Pease or Beans first, II7. — interesting narrative by Mr. Bannister, on this subject, 132. — paring and burning, however, should always be efFe6ted, where practicable, 11 7. a good quantity of seed advised 3 the pra6tice of drilling not to be recommended or adopted on the idea of saving seed by it, 183. ,^V^ sowing Barley before ^hite oats, igi. hoeing the crops in May, 265, 266. harvest; sometimes reapec?, 431. plough for oats, in 06tober 3 attend carefully to breadth of stitches, 502. Ofioher, general remark respecting the various operations prescribed for this month, 473. Osiers, and other sorts of Willows 3 season, and dir-e6tions, for plant- ing, them, 89, a q 2 , — advan- sg4 isDzx, — - advantage of osiers j instanced in the pra«Stice of Mr. Forby, of Norfolk, 89. Oxen, See Teams, Paring and burning grass-land} proper weather for this c^ration, 74, — its great advantage, 74. general observations on the opposite systcnas in the question whe- ther the process of Paring and Burning is commendable op otherwise, 171 to 175. examination of its efFeds on different sorts of soil ; on clay, 175. — on loam, 176. — on sand, and on chalk, l/Q, — on peat, 1 SO. methods of performing this work on fenny and boggy soils ; on old meadows and pastures; on heaths and downs; on moors and mountains ; and on old sainfoin layers : general re- marks, 181, 182. farther dire61:ions for this business ; and examinatioa of the ob- je6lions urged against it, 29O to 2^2. reprehensible conduct of over-cropping lands thus prepared, with white corn ; the proper crops described, 335. should be carried on in all weathers, during summer, 380. — and continued through other seasons, when the weather per- mits, 421. Parsnips, an extremely valuable crop, but require a soil of an ex- traordinary quality, Q2. preparation, time of sowing, and quantity of seed, 93. singular detail of advantages reaped froiu two-years' cultivation of them, by a considerable fiirmer in Surrey, 93. particular description of soil for them, 138. tillage and management ; seed, and sowing, 1 38. — broad-cast superior to drilling; they are a very good preparation for Corn, 130. culture in May, and distances, (same as Carrots), 25S, — hoeing of each of those crops in July, 409. Pastures. See the articles Grass-lands ;' and Sheep, pears. See Apples. 'Pease : advantages of this crop, and of Beans ; their ameliorating nature ; should often be sown instead of Oats or Barley, after Wheat, 70. erroneous maxim of bad farmers, of sowing pease when tli« land will yield nothing else, 76. the idea of pease being a most uncertain crop, has been in some measure owing to ill condud, 77. pease on Layers : should be sown as early as possible, to get them off in time for Turnips ; which is very profitable husbandry, 77. soils proper for early pease, 7S. — courses for them, 78. broad-casting pease to be rejedcd^ preparation and culture in drilling, and in dibbling, 79. , —• pcast INDEX. 5y5 '— pease should not besown too often, 79. (See farther 129). ijuestion whether pease should be manured ; reasons agahist that pra6tice, 79. distances of the rows, 80. quantity of seed, 81. in March put in all pease not sown before, 126. every sort of soil stiitcd to some j't-a or other, 120. different management at sowing j ploughing, or harrowing in . each preferable, in different soils, 126. courses for pease, 127- disadvantages, and superior adv«nntages, of this crop, 12/. — its benefit exceeds that of Beans in fattening hogs, and in the quality of the pork, 128. the drill method of sowing is superior to the broad-cast, both from the convenience of hand-hoeing, and in saving seed, 129. pease on Layers, 129. (See also 77). ijowing may be done in April, but too late to have g,ood Turnips after, 190. hoeing in May, 266. horse-hoeing drilled pease in June, 359. cut white pease in July -, necessary attentions in this business, 41 9. method of cntting : strong crops should be hooked j a^id if stacked, thatched immediately, 432. plough for pease, in 06tober, 502. sow the hardy hog-pea in November, 515. See also Haubn. Peat ashes, and dust ; expence (about Dunstable, &c.) of these substances, and their application as manures, l65, l6d. Pkkirig stones -J seasons for this work, and cautions, 186\ experiment of Mr. Macro of Suffolk, ascertaining the injurious effects of this pradice on land in general, I87. Pigg^y, plan and construdion of, 235 to 238. Pigs. See Swine. food for weaned pigs, 22. Plashing method of fencing described, and its advantages, 26, 2/, 512. should not be performed later than April, 221. Ploughing; important hints for the young farmer respe6ting the deplk of ploughing, 509, 510. Ploughing in greeu crops j season, and method, of this operation, 396. Ponds J season for emptying them, and for clearing Rivers, 3/1. management of the mud, as a manure 3 and its advantages, 371. See also Fish-ponds. Pork -J peculiar marks of superiority in that which has been fed o\\ pease, above that fed on beans, 128. Potatoes; dire6lions for their culture, and manuring, 31. great advantages of this crop j and its preparation, 92. — • no more land should be appropriated to it than can be very plentifully manured, 92. quantity and sort of manure } manner of planting described (dib- bling), and distance, 139.