CHAP. I. OF SOILS.

THE firſt thing every ſyſtematic treatiſe on agriculture teaches the huſbandman to enquire into, is the nature of his ſoil. Whether this conſiſts of marle or limeſtone, more or leſs ſalts or oil, the pabulum of plants, to the plain practical farmer, is immaterial; all that is eſſential for him to know, is, whether the land be ſtiff or light, and whether it is beſt adapt⯑ed to the growth of wheat or barley. Of this he may inſtantly judge by his eye, or he may learn it from a ſight of the crops, the information of the neighbours, or the trial of one year; and if even reduced to pick up his knowledge from the laſt, an indifferent crop for one year cannot ruin him.

[5]Every huſbandman knows, that rye, bar⯑ley, turneps, and clover, will thrive beſt in a light ſoil; oats, beans, and wheat, on a ſtiff or ſtrong one: that ſtrong clayey land will require winter fallows to break and pulverize the ſoil; and that light, ſandy, or gravelly land will want ſum⯑mer fallows to deſtroy the weeds: that horſe-dung is the beſt manure for all kinds of land, but that clayey land will receive benefit from light dreſſing, though it be aſhes, or even ſand; and that light lands may be helped even by a dreſ⯑ſing of clay.

I would, however, adviſe every perſon commencing farmer, or taking a farm, to make ſome little enquiry into the nature of his land: as he will never jump into a farm haſtily, without ſome conſideration, I would recommend it to him to take a view of the crops juſt before harveſt, the ſeaſon before he is to take poſſeſſion of it. [6]If the land be poor, the crops of wheat or oats will be thin, the ſtraw ſhort, and the ears ſmall; if rich, the crops, on the con⯑trary, will be thick, the ſtraw long, and the ears large, and in many places it will be lodged; that is, inſtead of the ſtraw ſtanding upright, it will be fallen on the ground, a ſure ſign of the ſtrength and richneſs of the land. If the wheat be full of poppies, it denotes a light poor ſoil; if full of thiſtles, a ſtrong good one. I men⯑tion this laſt obſervation, from what I have too often ſeen, that of a farm's being generally foul when a tenant quits it. In⯑deed a new occupier has little to expect, but to loſe money for the firſt three or four years, till he has cleared his land, and brought it into good heart; (ſo apt are old tenants, through a mercenary principle, to over-crop it, and neglect to clean it, to⯑wards the expiration of their leaſe) unleſs he takes it immediately out of the hands of ſome gentleman, who has valued more the [7]neatneſs of his grounds, than any profit he might derive from them. By ſuch a view of the different fields, he will be able to form a good judgment of the nature of the ſoil, and what kind of crops it is beſt ſuited to. If it ſhould ſo happen, that he cannot have this view of the farm the ſeaſon before, he may collect the information from ſuch neighbours as are no way intereſted in his taking it; or let him take a ſpade and examine the depth and nature of the mould, by digging in one or two of the furrows in each field. The greater depth of mould there is, the better the land, and the more capable of improvement. If the earth be a black crumbling mould, it cannot be bad. Foulneſs and poverty are to be got the bet⯑ter of, but it is very difficult and expen⯑ſive to increaſe the depth of the upper ſtaple of the land; that is, the earth in which the corn grows. With reſpect to the ſtrength and richneſs of the ſoil, thiſtles among the weeds are no bad proof of it. [8]It ſhould be the new comer's buſineſs to enquire what dreſſing has been laid upon the different fields, and when, and what courſe of crops they have borne; that is, what grain they have been ſown with ſince the laſt fallow, and he ſhould deter⯑mine his future crops accordingly. If he goes this way to work, and crops his land agreeable to the courſes pointed out in this work, he will have no reaſon to apprehend much loſs; particularly, if he has got a good honeſt carter, with ſome little experi⯑ence, who can plough and ſow the land well, and who will not rob his maſter him⯑ſelf of the grain when threſhed, nor ſuffer the threſhers to do it. Such a man may be eaſily procured in every part of the king⯑dom; for countrymen, in general, accuſ⯑tomed to hard and homely fare, and unac⯑quainted with the luxuries of life, have few temptations to diſhoneſty, and being void of art and cunning, if a little attend⯑ed to by their maſter, will not readily find [9]the way to injure him. Gentlemen, who, as I have before obſerved, are obliged to entruſt more to their ſervants than farmers do, have been apt to attribute their loſs in agriculture to them, which, in fact, has ariſen only from their trying experiments, purſuing every fanciful ſcheme laid down in books of huſbandry, and expending more in the beauty and neatneſs of their lands than is neceſſary. If gentlemen wiſh to profit by farming, they muſt content themſelves with tolerably clean fields, and good ſaving crops; but if they ſtudy to decorate their farms, by clipped hedges, large branching trees, that impoveriſh the headlands, &c. belt walks, and the like, they muſt expect to ſuffer in the product. Lands will require a certain number of ploughings and harrowings, and a certain quantity of manure, and will well pay for ſuch labour and expence; but if that cer⯑tain quantity is exceeded, the money is thrown away; for land may be made to [10]produce as good a crop with five or ſix ploughings as if ten were beſtowed upon it; and as to dreſſing, every farmer knows, it may be over done, for rank luxuriant wheat will be lodged with the firſt rain or wind, and the crop then is irrecoverably loſt. A cer⯑tain degree therefore of cleaning and ma⯑nuring is neceſſary, and will be attended with advantage; but beyond that degree, the crop will not anſwer the tillage.

CHAP. II. OF THE TEAM.

ANOTHER principal matter that has miſled many in their calculations of farming, is want of attention to the ex⯑pences of a team. Few gentlemen in commencing farmers begin with more than fifty or ſixty acres of land, what is called a ſmall farm. Upon ſuch a quantity of land, I defy any but a working farmer to be a gainer; he who works upon his farm himſelf, and ſaves the expence of a ſer⯑vant, and who occaſionally goes with his horſes to job-work, ploughs and harrows for other people who may now and then ſtand in want of aſſiſtance, or employs his team on ſpare days in carrying coals, timber, manure, &c. for ſuch as will hire him! for three or four horſes will nearly [12]conſume the whole produce of a farm of fifty acres, unleſs the land be very rich indeed.

Light ſoils may be ploughed with two or three horſes; but ſtiff lands will re⯑quire four; a ſufficient quantity of land then muſt be occupied to find full employ for ſuch a team, in order to pay the farmer for his toils. This team will cultivate about one hundred and twenty acres of arable land; and as in moſt farms there is ſome meadow, ſome upland graſs, and ſome coppice, we may reckon a farm of one hundred and fifty acres of land not too much for a team of four horſes, a man, and a boy. Other ſervants need only be hired occaſionally. We will now conſider the ex⯑pences of ſuch a team. But let us firſt eſtimate the value of the neceſſary farming imple⯑ments, that we may be able to rate their annual decline in value, as part of the ex⯑pences. I ſhall not be very nice or exact in theſe eſtimates, as the difference of a [13]pound or two in yearly expences is of little moment, and as very accurate calcu⯑lations would unuſefully ſwell the ſize of this tract; but I ſhall ſet them down from minutes I have taken, and eſtimates I have made from ſuch minutes, for my own curioſity, for many years.

The price of labour, and the firſt coſt of farming implements, will be found to vary a little in different counties, but not ſo much as to make the difference of the aggregate ſum of any conſequence. Our enquiries are not about ſhillings, but ſums of greater moment.

It will be neceſſary then for the culti⯑vation of a farm of one hundred and fifty acres, to have as follows: [14]

[15]

[16]

The above expences being as neceſſary on a farm of ſixty acres, as upon one of [17]one hundred and fifty, it evidently appears, that no profits are to be gained upon ſo ſmall a farm; for after the rent, ſeed, and har⯑veſt are added to the amount, there muſt remain a conſiderable loſs, even ſuppoſing the land, on an average, to bring in four pounds an acre; which, conſidering acci⯑dents, and the neceſſity of letting it lie idle for a fallow, once in five or ſix years, it cannot be ſuppoſed to do: But let the ſame team do the work of a farm of one hundred and fifty acres (which, with management, it is capable of doing), and it will yield a conſiderable profit; as I ſhall hereafter ſhew. If gentlemen keep coach-horſes, which they can occa⯑ſionally ſpare to plough or harrow a few acres of ground, and cultivate no greater quantity of land than will maintain thoſe horſes, and yield a product which they can conſume in their own families; they will certainly find their account in occu⯑pying [18]even thirty or forty acres; as I have fully evinced in a Pamphlet I publiſhed ſome years ago, called The Way to be Rich and Reſpectable; where it will ap⯑pear, a perſon may live as well and make as good an appearance in the country for four hundred pounds a-year, as others do that ſpend a thouſand pounds, having no ſuch land: but thoſe who keep horſes and ſervants, merely on the principle of farming, muſt not expect to profit, un⯑leſs they occupy as much land as will employ thoſe ſervants and horſes fully.

Some have recommended the uſe of oxen inſtead of horſes, as eating no corn, and of courſe leſs expenſive; indeed, oxen do not decline in their value as horſes do, being after four or five years labour generally fattened, and young ones broken in in their ſtead; nor are they liable to ſo many diſorders as horſes: if an ox falls lame he is only fattened the ſooner, where⯑as [19]a lame horſe is of little value. Again, alſo, there is ſome little ſaving in harneſs, and attendance when their work is done; but, when it is conſidered that it will re⯑quire three, if not four, oxen to ſupply the place of two horſes, and of courſe that a greater quantity of hay is conſumed, the object ſaved is not ſo great; eſpecially when ſome farmers contrive to ſave the decline in value of their horſes, by doing their work with colts, and ſelling them at five years old for coach horſes. By this method their teams have turned out very profitably to them, the only neceſſa⯑ry care being, not to work them too hard. To effect this end, the team ſhould con⯑ſiſt of mares, and a ſtone-horſe ſhould be kept on the farm. With gentle work, a mare may be kept in harneſs till ſhe drops her foal, and worked again a few days after, with her foal by her ſide.

[20]Being now on the ſubject of the team, I will take the opportunity of recom⯑mending iron axle-trees to waggons and carts, inſtead of wooden ones; the firſt expence indeed will be more, each iron axle-tree coſting about five pounds; where⯑as the price of a wooden one is not above ſeven ſhillings and ſixpence: but I aver, it is cheapeſt in the end, as they are not ſo liable to break, and will laſt out two or three waggons; and add to this, the principal motive of my recommending them, a waggon with iron axles is of con⯑ſiderably leſs draught than one with wooden axles. I am perſuaded it is the difference of one horſe in four; that is, three horſes will draw as much with iron axles, as four would with wooden ones: and the reaſon is evident. To make wooden axles ſufficiently ſtrong, their diameter muſt be twice as large as iron ones; the friction, therefore, and of courſe the draught, muſt be proportionably greater.

CHAP. III. OF WHEAT.

WHEAT being the farmer's ſtaple crop, to which he looks for his chief profit, he will pick out the cleaneſt fields for this grain, and ſuch as are moſt in heart. The land is generally fallowed and manured for a wheat ſeaſon, or the grain is ſowed on the breaking up of a clover lay, which has lain a year or two in that artificial graſs, or after a crop of turneps fed off with ſheep, the land for which has been dreſſed or manured the ſpring before.

The time for ſowing this grain, is from the beginning of September to the end of November; but the prime ſeaſon, as ap⯑pears from a number of experiments made [22]by Mr. Young, is between the firſt week in September and the laſt in October. Farmers, in general, wiſh to get their ſeed into the ground by the 29th of September; they ſeldom think of ſowing earlier; in⯑deed, if they are to break up a clover lay, or ſow it on a turnep field, they cannot well get their land ready ſooner; as, in the firſt caſe, they loſe the clover feed in the month of September; and, in the other, the turneps are of little value much before Michaelmas. If, therefore, they have much wheat to ſow, and but one team to prepare the ground, neceſſity of⯑ten obliges them to be ſowing wheat in the month of November. If the land be wet, by poſtponing it ſo long, they may chance to loſe the ſeed-time, from an im⯑poſſibility of working the ground; but if the land be dry, the end of November will not be too late to produce a tolerable crop, though the nearer it is ſowed to Michael⯑mas, the more we may expect to reap.

[23]Next, as to the quantity of ſeed per acre: This is, in ſome meaſure, determined by the cleanneſs and richneſs of the land. If ſown upon a fallow, or after turneps, two buſhels an acre is the general allowance; if on a cloverday, rather more than two buſhels, —about two buſhels and a half. In a va⯑riety of experiments on clayey and gravel⯑ly ſoils, Mr. Young aſſerts, that two buſhels and a half is the moſt advantageous quan⯑tity for an acre of land; but farmers in general ſeldom ſow more than two buſhels, or two buſhels and one peck.

To prevent the wheat being black or ſmutty, it is ſeldom ſown without being firſt ſteeped ſome hours in brine, made of water in which as much ſalt has been diſ⯑ſolved as will cauſe an egg to ſwim; when taken out, it is dried with powdered lime, and then ſown. This cuſtom took its riſe from an accident near the ſea-ſide, where a quantity of wheat was ſowed, that by the [24]wreck of a veſſel had been ſome time under water. It was obſerved, that the year, in which this happened, was remarkable for ſmutty corn, and the wheat in that neigh⯑bourhood particularly ſo, whilſt the pro⯑duce of that grain that had been ſoaked in ſalt water was totally free from the leaſt appearance of ſmut. Many farmers lime the ſeed only, by pouring boiling water on lime, and when cold ſoaking the ſeed in it.

The ſeed once ſown, it requires little care till harveſt: all that is neceſſary is, to keep it dry by water-furrowing, to weed it in the ſpring, if foul (which ſhould be done, if poſſible, before the end of April, leſt it ſhould be too much grown), and if its colour be a very dark green, and the crop ſhould be too luxuriant, owing to the ſtrength and richneſs of the land, to turn a flock of ſheep into it, in dry or froſty weather, in the month of March, and let them eat it down cloſe to the ground. If [25]this precaution be not taken, there will be danger of its falling, or being lodged by wind or rain before harveſt, and the crop in a great meaſure ſpoiled. When eaten down by ſheep, it will branch out afreſh, and the ſtems will be ſhorter and leſs liable to fall.

Should the wheat in March or April bear a yellow hue, it is a ſign of its not being healthy; its colour ſhould be a dark green. In wet land it will look yellow, but as the dry weather approaches it will regain its colour. In wet ſoils, the nar⯑rower and higher the ridges or lands lie, the better; what ploughmen call two or three-bout lands are beſt; in this caſe, there being a greater quantity of furrows, the water will, of courſe, run off the readier, and the lands lie drier. In harrowing ſuch lands after the corn is ſown, the horſes ſhould go in the furrows; this will leave the ridges round and ſmooth. In ſowing [26]wheat, ſome plough it in, and others only harrow it in like other grain; the chief advantage of the firſt way is, to preſerve it from the birds. Wheat may be ſown with advantage with, or after, the ſecond ploughing.

If, in the month of February or March, the crop appears thin, weakly, or un⯑healthy, top dreſſings of wood aſhes, malt⯑duſt, or ſoot, may be occaſionally ſown over it, at the rate of about thirty or forty buſhels an acre, which will greatly im⯑prove it; but this is an additional expence of twenty ſhillings an acre, neither of theſe articles being the produce of the farm.

Change of ſeed is another material ob⯑ject of attention, to which farmers pay a due regard, that their wheat may be large and heavy; nay, ſome kinds of grain will produce a greater quantity than others. The chief point with farmers in general [27]is, not to have ſeed, if they can help it, from their own neighbourhood, but to procure ſeed from light land to ſow on a ſtiff ſoil, and ſeed from ſtiff or ſtrong ground to ſow on light ſoils; and great care ſhould be taken, that the ſeed ſown be clean from the ſeeds of weeds, otherwiſe you contribute to the foulneſs of your land.

In a word, though wheat is a grain that will not pay great expences in the culture, it ſhould either be ſown on land in good heart, or not at all. It is a crop that ſhould ever ſucceed ameliorating ones, viz. beans, clover, tares, turneps, &c. or a ſummer fallow, and thrives beſt on ſtiff ground.

The following is an eſtimate of a gene⯑ral ſaving crop upon an acre of ground. As I ſuppoſe the farm to conſiſt of one [28]hundred and fifty acres of land, and the aggregate expences of a team, with wear and tear of implements, &c. to be as be⯑fore ſtated 149 l. 17 s. I ſhall rate the team at twenty ſhillings an acre. The account then will ſtand thus:

[29]

[30]Land may be brought into ſuch heart as to produce four or five quarters of wheat an acre, at leaſt ſuch land as that I am now ſpeaking of, which I ſuppoſe to be worth fourteen or fifteen ſhillings an acre. In this caſe, every additional ſack of grain will produce an additional profit of eighteen ſhillings and ſix pence. In the above eſtimate, I have alſo rated the price of wheat very low; it is much oftener at a higher price than otherwiſe.

Wheat will receive a greater advantage from dreſſing, if the manure be not laid on immediately for it; that is, if the wheat crop follows an ameliorating crop of tur⯑neps, tares, &c. for which the land had been previouſly dreſſed; for, by this me⯑thod, the great ſtrength of the manure which makes the wheat rank, is taken off by a prior crop.

[31]Beſides, dreſſing and fallowing land for tares or turneps will produce a luxuriant crop, that will overſhadow the land ſo much as to ſmother any weeds carried on by the dreſſing, and of courſe the ſucceed⯑ing wheat-crop will be cleaner, as I ſhall ſhew in the chapter on Tares.

In looking over a field of wheat, if it be free from ſmutty ears, the ſtraw pretty thick on the ground, and not lodged, the ears in general large, and the crop tolerably even; that is, the ears of corn throughout the field riſing every where from the ground to a level with each other, it may be pro⯑nounced a good crop.

Wheat is ripe and fit to reap when the ſtraw is every where yellow, and the ears hang down. If the wheat ſheds in reap⯑ing, it ſhould not be cut in the middle of the day, but mornings and evenings when [32]the dew is on; and that part of the field ſhould be firſt cut that was firſt ſown.

There are two or three ſorts of wheat, but I do not know that one will produce a more profitable crop than another.

If, after wheat is reaped and bound, there ſhould be much wet, the grain will be apt to ſhoot, particularly in the bands. In this caſe, it ſhould be opened, dried, and rebound.

Between three and four hundred ſheaves an acre, provided the ears be large and heavy, is a very good crop. Some acres will yield from ſeven to eight hundred ſheaves; where there is ſo much ſtraw, there is generally leſs corn. Some acres again, if the land be poor, will produce ſcarce two hundred ſheaves.

[33]If fifteen ſheaves produce a buſhel of wheat, it is a very good crop. In this caſe, an acre that gives three hundred ſheaves will yield two quarters and a half, or half a load of wheat.

CHAP. IV. OF BARLEY.

BARLEY thrives beſt on a dry light ſoil, and requires three ploughings at leaſt, if not four, with a good deal of harrowing to bring the land into fine and proper tilth. The ſtiffer the ſoil, the more ploughings are neceſſary. If the ſpring be fine and dry, there is time to make the ground tolerably clean for this crop, which is ſeldom ſowed till about the beginning or middle of April. Barley is frequently ſowed, and with ſucceſs, in the laſt week in April; but Mr. Young, from a variety of experiments which he made, aſſures us, that provided the land be dry, and can be got into good tilth early enough (which may be, if barley follows [35]a ſummer fallow), the moſt profitable time of ſowing it, is the end of February or the beginning of March, as ſuch early ſowing will produce a third more at harveſt. This may be true, and worth the trial; but farmers, in general, ſow it late, that they may have an opportunity of beſtowing much labour on their land, and making the ſoil as fine as poſſible. Beſides, ſuch late ſowing often enables them to crop that land that was ſown with turneps the year before for ſheep-feed, and which can⯑not be eaten off, perhaps before the end of March.

The quantity of ſeed uſually ſown, is four buſhels per acre; and this is univer⯑ſally allowed, when clover is ſown with it, to produce the beſt crop at harveſt. In⯑deed, when barley is ſown without clover, five buſhels of ſeed will produce more grain at harveſt than four, but not in the proportion of five to four; ſo that four [36]buſhels of ſeed per acre, is certainly the proper quantity to ſow with or without clover. As in the caſe of wheat, the richer the land is, the leſs quantity of ſeed is re⯑quiſite, but that diminution of quantity is not great; perhaps a peck, or half a buſhel.

Change of ſeed is here as neceſſary as in wheat crops. Care ſhould be taken to ſow ſuch as was raiſed on a different ſoil to that on which we mean to ſow it; and that the ſeed be clean from the ſeeds of weeds.

The general method of cultivating bar⯑ley is, to ſow the land with clover after the barley is in the ground, as will be ſhewn when we ſpeak of clover; at pre⯑ſent, I will give the reader an eſtimate of a tolerable, ſaving crop of an acre of barley alone, but of ſuch with which clover is mixed.

[37]

[38]Seven quarters of barley is no uncom⯑mon crop for rich light land; but from ſtiff land, you may not reap more than four or three. When this is the caſe, bar⯑ley ſhould not be ſown. I have valued the ſtraw at the price it would ſell for; but this ſhould be eaten by cattle, and con⯑ſumed upon the farm, for the ſake of the manure. But, admitting this to be done, it is ſtill of equal value to the farmer.

From a continuance of dry weather af⯑ter the ſeed is up, the blade will ſometimes look ſickly, and wear a yellow hue, but a little rain will ſoon recover it.

The ſame indications that declare wheat to be ripe, will pronounce barley to be fit to cut.

Care ſhould be taken that barley with which clover was ſown, ſhould be turned [39]after it is cut, ſufficiently to dry the clover, before it is either houſed or ſtack⯑ed; otherwiſe it will heat in the mow, and ſpoil the grain. Good barley, as good wheat, may be known by the grain's being heavy, large, fair, plump, and ſweet-ſmell⯑ing; not dry, diſcoloured, ſmall, ſhri⯑velled, or muſty.

CHAP. V. OF OATS.

THIS grain, though not ſo profitable as wheat or barley, from the great number of horſes kept in this country, is a part of every farmer's crop. Indeed, though the produce is not of equal value with a crop of barley or wheat, there is more certainty in the price it will fetch at market; for I never yet obſerved ſo great a variation in the value of oats, as in that of the other two. If a farmer finds his land rich, and able to bear crops for years together, that will turn out more profitable than oats, he would be impru⯑dent to grow any. In this caſe, it will be his intereſt to buy all the oats he wants, rather than grow them to a diſadvantage; [41]but, if his ſoil be a hungry one, and he cannot procure ſufficient manure, he will do right to have a crop of oats occaſional⯑ly; for oats will grow almoſt in any land; though here, as in other crops, the richer the earth, the greater will be the produce. From four to five quarters of oats on an acre of ground, is a very good crop, where the land has been even dreſſed; but, as farmers are apt to take three or four crops from their ground, after it has been fal⯑lowed and manured, before they ſow it with oats, they ſeldom get more than three or four quarters an acre; whereas, were they to ſow the ſeed on ground in good heart, the produce of an acre would be from ſeven to ten quarters.

There are ſeveral kinds of oats, ſuch as are known by the names of, Eſſex, Poland, Scotch, and Black. The firſt two are a large-bodied grain; the Scotch, [42]are ſmall white oats, ſuch as are given to horſes; and the black are alſo good horſe⯑corn, but of a black colour. The Eſſex and Poland thrive beſt in light barley land, the Scotch and black on ſtrong wheat land. The fairer, plumper, and ſhorter the body of the grain is, the better the quality; and to make it marketable, it ſhould not be brown or mow-burnt, or have any muſty ſmell. Such as is deſigned for ſeed, ſhould be well cleaned from the ſeeds of any weeds.

Clover may be, and often is, ſown with a crop of oats; but this is chiefly on ſtiff land, where barley is never ſown. In light barley land, farmers prefer the bar⯑ley crop to ſow their clover in, becauſe at that time the ground is cleaner, and in better heart. I ſhall treat of an oat-crop here as ſown by itſelf, without any mix⯑ture of clover, or other graſs.

[43]Farmers ſeldom plough more than once for oats, tho' it would be better to turn the laſt year's ſtubble in before Chriſtmas; and the cuſtomary time of ſowing them is in the month of March, but a dry April is a better ſeed-time than a wet March. Black oats will, generally ſpeak⯑ing, admit of being earlier ſowed than white ones.

The quantity of ſeed generally allowed for an acre of ground, is five buſhels; though Mr. Young (whoſe authority I have more than once quoted), from his ex⯑periments, aſſerts, that the moſt advantage⯑ous quantity is from ſeven buſhels to ſeven buſhels and a half; but it appears from his enquiries, that the produce of ſix buſhels does not exceed that of four buſhels and a half, more than about one buſhel and a half, which is juſt the extra quantity of ſeed; ſo that his experiments prove no [44]more than that five buſhels, the cuſtomary allotment of all farmers, is the moſt ad⯑vantageous.

The following is an eſtimate of a to⯑lerable crop on an acre of ground:

[45]

There is an additional expence in car⯑rying the crop of every field to market, which I have not mentioned before; nor was it perhaps neceſſary now, it being in itſelf but trifling.

Plenty of ſtraw in a crop of oats, gene⯑rally denotes plenty of grain; but it is not always ſo in other crops.

There is a critical time in cutting of oats; if they are cut too ſoon, before they [46]are ripe, great part of the grain will not be threſhed out; if they ſtand till they are full ripe, they are very apt to ſhed in cutting, turning, and getting in. He who would preſerve his good crop, ſhould, as they ripen, every day examine it; and, if he finds them eaſily rub out as he handles them, ſhould order them to be inſtantly cut. It ſometimes happens, that one part of a field ſhall be riper than another; when this is the caſe, the riper parts ſhould be cut in the mornings and even⯑ings, when the dew is on them; the greener part, not ſo liable to ſhed, may be cut in the middle of the day. The ſame care ſhould be taken in turning them, and raking them together after they are cut. If they are ſtacked or houſed before the ſtraw is quite dry, they will be apt to heat in the mow, get a brown hue, and a muſty ſmell, which will conſiderably reduce their value; and if they are full ripe, when cut and tumbled about in the [47]middle of the day, half the crop will be left ſhed and ſcattered in the field.

Should the ſtraw of a crop of oats be ſo luxuriant as to fall or lodge, it will receive leſs damage then a crop of any other grain. We need not be apprehenſive, therefore, of its being too rank.

CHAP. VI. OF BUCK-WHEAT.

BUCK wheat, or French wheat, is a ſpring crop, and frequently, like tares and turneps, ſown merely as a manure, to plow into the ground, in order to prepare it for wheat. It is a grain not commonly brought to market, yet, nevertheleſs, of importance to the farmer, as it will thrive in lands not in a proper condition for bar⯑ley, and will pay him well for ſowing it in rich ſoils; though the general opinion is, that it flouriſhes beſt on poor lands. But what is moſt worthy of conſideration in this crop is, that it need not be ſown till the middle of May, a circumſtance very advantageous to ſuch as occupy wet lands. So that if the ground be not in very good [49]heart, or it ſhould turn out a bad ſeaſon for barley ſowing, it is not an unpleaſant thing to be able to reap from it a good crop of buck-wheat. Where barley is given to cattle, buck-wheat will anſwer the end as well; and the ſtraw, if pro⯑perly got in, will turn out good winter fodder. Wet ſummers are not ſo favour⯑able for it as dry ones.

The time to ſow this grain is, as I ſaid before, about the middle of May, and the moſt advantageous quantity of ſeed per acre, one buſhel. If the land, by fre⯑quent ploughings and harrowings, be made tolerably fine, and the ſeaſon be favour⯑able, there is little doubt of having a good crop.

[50]An eſtimate of an acre.

[51]When the land is in good heart, it is no uncommon thing to reap eight or nine quarters from an acre; and at market it will generally fetch the price of middling barley.

CHAP. VII. OF BEANS.

BEANS thrive beſt in a ſtrong ſtiff ſoil; and few farmers ſow them but in ſuch ground. There are ſeveral ſorts of beans, though ſeldom more than two are the ob⯑jects of the huſbandman's attention; theſe are horſe-beans for the food of horſes, and tick-beans for the food of hogs. I have ſeen ſome fields of long-pods, which is a garden bean; and I have myſelf ſowed an acre or two, more than once, with broad Windſors, and dwarf kidney beans; but as theſe are out of the line of farming, I ſhall not ſay more about them.

Of the two ſorts uſually cultivated at large, horſe-beans require a ſtronger ground [53]than tick-beans. There are two me⯑thods of ſowing them; ſome ſow them broadcaſt on the ground, and plough them in, in one earth flat; or plough the ground firſt into ridges, then ſow them broadcaſt, and harrow them in; and others ſet them, bean by bean, in a line with dibbers. I have tried them both ways, and ſcarce know which to give the prefer⯑ence to. If they are ſown upon a clover lay, they certainly ſhould be ſet, that is, pricked in, bean by bean; for as ſeldom more than one ploughing is given to a crop of beans, the earth of a clover field, when broke up, is not fine enough, that is, not ſufficiently pulverized, to admit of their being ſowed broadcaſt, like other grain; but if they follow a crop of turneps, wheat, or oats, broadcaſt fowing will do very well.

In ſowing beans broadcaſt, the expence of ſetting them (which is done by women [54]and children) is avoided, and alſo a fur⯑ther diſadvantage; for though the diſtance from row to row is pointed out to them, they are apt to ſet them too thick in the rows, being paid in proportion to the quan⯑tity they ſet, ſeven-pence or eight-pence a peck, which they get rid of as faſt as they can; nor, watch them and talk to them as you will, can you prevent their doing it: this not only waſtes the ſeed, but too often injures the crop. But then again, on the other hand, when ſowed broadcaſt, every part of the field may not be equally co⯑vered, the land does not look ſo neat, and there being a greater difficulty in hoeing them, the men are uſually paid ſix⯑pence or nine-pence an acre extraordina⯑ry. The quantity of beans ſown and ſet is nearly the ſame in both ways. About two buſhels and a peck, or two buſhels and a half per acre. The crop at harveſt is rather in favour of ſetting than other⯑wiſe, [55]but perhaps not ſufficient to pay the extra expence.

If drilling of crops be worth the atten⯑tion of the farmer, it is more ſo in beans and peas than in any other grain; but even here, ſetting them is a very good ſubſtitute; and conſidering the expence of a drill-plough, which not one wheeler in twenty knows how to make or repair, and not one ploughman in a hundred knows how to uſe, I queſtion whether ſetting is not equally cheap in the end. I am ſure it is leſs troubleſome to the farmer. Beſides, on ſtiff clayey ſoils, where beans beſt thrive, it is impoſſible to uſe a drill-plough, which is adapted only to looſe light lands.

The end of February, or early in March, is the cuſtomary ſeed-time for beans, though many ſow them ſo late as April; [56]and ſome, I have heard ſay, put them in at or before Chriſtmas. From Mr. Young's Experiments, it appears, that early in Fe⯑bruary is the moſt advantageous time; but accidents will occaſionally delay the ſowing ſometimes a week or a fortnight, ſuch as wet weather, particularly where they are ſet by women, and there is a want of hands to ſet them.

The great advantage of a crop of beans to the land ariſes from the hoeing, as ſuch a crop muſt be always hand-hoed with a ſix-inch hoe, once, if not twice, during its growth. If the land be tole⯑rably clean, and the hoeing can be deferred till the beginning of May, once may be ſuf⯑ficient: but if after the firſt hoeing, the weeds ſtill get a-head, and are likely to riſe as high as the beans, they muſt be hoed a ſecond time. If the land be in good heart, and the beans grow away [57]ſtrong after once hoeing, they will get above the weeds, and by their luxuriance keep them down, and ſmother them. As beans have a tap root, and draw their nu⯑triment chiefly from the lower ſtaple of the ground; and as they are hoed once or twice during their growth, and of courſe the weeds deſtroyed; farmers conſider a bean crop almoſt as good as a ſummer fal⯑low, and will often ſow wheat immediate⯑ly following; though I do not hold this to be good farming, unleſs the land had been manured for the beans. A maſter will be better able to judge whether they be clean hoed, provided they are ſet in rows, than in the broad-caſt method of ſowing; and in a broad-caſt crop, it is as neceſſary to cut out beans with the hoe, where they riſe too thick, ſetting them out at diſtances in the manner of turneps, as it is to cut up the weeds. To know whether this be properly done, we muſt walk over every land.

[58]To judge whether a field of beans be good or bad, we muſt examine how they are kidded; for a good crop depends more on this, than on the quantity of haulm. If they are kidded all the way up from the bottom to the top, and the kids in general contain five or ſix beans, we may expect to reap largely; but, if otherwiſe, the re⯑verſe. A dry ſummer is not ſo good for beans as a ſhowery one; for, in very dry weather, the ſtalks are ſhort and ſlender, and the crop often blighted; that is, co⯑vered with a black fly: in this caſe, they muſt take their chance, for rain only can recover them.

They are ſeldom ripe enough to cut till September; but the proper time may eaſily be known by examining them. When the kids are black, and begin to open at the end, they ought to be cut; and though throughout the field ſome of the kids be not ſo black as others, this ſhould not pre⯑vent [59]us; for they will ripen and harden after they are cut, by ſetting the ſheaves upright, and leaving them out in the field for a week or ten days. If they are cut before they are ripe, they will ſhrivel; and if too ripe, they will ſhed conſiderably in the cutting. Should this laſt be the caſe, they ſhould not be cut in the middle of the day, but in the mornings and evenings only, when the dew is on them. They ſhould not be pulled up by the roots, for you would thus carry a quantity of dirt into your threſhing floor, but cut off with a hook as they reap wheat.

An acre of land proper for beans, will produce, with good culture, from two quarters and a half (that is, half a load) to five and ſix quarters; but three quarters and a half, or four quarters, may be rec⯑koned a very good crop. Rather a greater quantity of tick-beans may be got from an acre of ground than horſe-beans; but horſe⯑beans [60]bear always a better price, ſo that the value of each crop will be much the ſame. In purchaſing beans, particularly for ſeed, care ſhould be taken that they are hard, and not ſhrivelled; and the ſmaller the bean the better, as there are a greater quantity in the ſame meaſure. Beans will generally fetch a greater price after they have lain in the ſtack eight or nine months, than if they are threſhed out before Chriſt⯑mas, as they are then harder and better for feed.

The following is an eſtimate of an acre of horſe-beans, ſuppoſing them to have been ſet.

[61]

[62]

Where manure is laid on for any crop, it will add ſomething to the expence; as an additional hand or two muſt be employ⯑ed to fill the cart, and ſpread the dung. The price of ſpreading is generally one ſhilling per acre, and one ſhilling or eighteen pence an acre may be reckoned for labour in filling.

Mr. Young tells us, that, from the ex⯑periments he made, he finds, that by ſow⯑ing beans upon the ſame land, year after [63]year, each ſucceeding year will produce a better crop than the year before, even though no dreſſing be put upon the land; that where the firſt year produced only three quarters and a half, the third year produced five quarters. This he attributes to hoeing and deſtroying the weeds, which was done three or four times in each year, and the tops of the beans being cut off, juſt as they were going to bloſſom. It may be worth the trial on ſmall ſpots of ground, but is a thing never done by farmers.

I hold trench-ploughing to be good in the culture of beans, where the depth of mould will admit of it, as it gives the plant room to ſtrike deeper than in the ordinary method of ploughing, but I am no advocate for turning up the gravel or clay among the mould.

CHAP. VIII. OF PEAS.

PEAS generally flouriſh moſt in light, dry, ſound land, but tolerably good crops may be procured on cold, brick earth, loams, or clays.

There are various ſorts of peas, but thoſe uſually ſown by farmers, are white peas and hog peas; the firſt is well known, but of hog peas, there are alſo two or three ſorts, grey, dun, blue, &c.

There being other crops that pay better than peas, farmers generally ſow them on poor land, ſuch as is grown foul, and per⯑haps out of heart; but, like every other crop, I am perſuaded, they would pay for a certain degree of cultivation; but over⯑dreſſing [65]would make the haulm grow large and rank, and the crop will ſuffer by it. Wet ſeaſons are always prejudicial to peas: for the above reaſons, peas are not always a part of the farmer's crop.

In light land, drilling them may be a good method, as, in that caſe, if neceſſary, they can be better hoed, and a future crop alſo will receive a benefit from ſuch hoe⯑ing; but in ſtrong ſtiff lands, they muſt be ſown broad-caſt. Indeed, ſowing broad⯑caſt will, all things conſidered, produce a greater quantity at harveſt than drilling; and, as it is attended with leſs trouble and expence upon the whole, perhaps it may be as well, if not better.

The quantity ſown on an acre of ground of the white peas, is generally three buſhels; but Mr. Young, from his experi⯑ments, finds, that four buſhels and a half of [66]white peas, and five buſhels and a half of hog peas, are a more proper quantity; for, in wet ſeaſons, if a quantity of ſeed ſufficient to ſtock the land be not ſown, a proportion of weeds will occupy their place; and where farmers do not hoe their peaſe, a thick crop is neceſſary to cover the ground and ſmother the weeds.

The cuſtomary time of ſowing, is about the middle of March, and that of cutting, in Auguſt. When they begin to ripen, it will be neceſſary to ſtation a boy in the field to frighten away pigeons, and other birds, otherwiſe they will carry away half the crop. The ſame attention muſt be paid to the time and manner of cutting, as was pointed out in the caſe of beans. A good ſample of peas, is when they are not ſhrivelled, but look large, plump, and fair.

[67]An eſtimate of an acre of broaſt-caſt peas.

[68]

For the culture of peas, the land ſhould undergo three or four ploughings, and many harrowings, to bring it into as fine a tilth as poſſible.

Drilled peas, like beans, ſhould be twice hoed, which will be an additional expence of five ſhillings an acre, but a future crop will be benefited by it.

CHAP. IX. OF TARES.

TARES are cultivated for three or four purpoſes. Some ſow them for the ſeed; others to cut green for horſes and other cattle; ſome make the haulm into hay, for winter feed, and others feed it off with ſheep and lambs in the ſpring. In which⯑ever way, however, the crop is conſumed, though it ſeldom forms part of a farmer's regular courſe of crops, it is, neverthe⯑leſs, far from being an unprofitable one.

There are two ſorts, winter tares and ſpring tares; the firſt are a hardy kind, and generally ſown before or about Michaelmas, to cut green for horſes in the ſpring, or ſtand for ſeed.

[70]If they are ſowed in the month of Auguſt, and deſigned for ſeed, they will be fit to cut early in the month of Auguſt following, after which there will be ſuffici⯑ent time to prepare the land for wheat: or when the tares are carried off the ground, it may be ploughed up, and ſown with turneps, by which means two crops are produced from the ſame ground in one year.

But the beſt farming is to ſow them at Michaelmas, or not later than the ſecond week in October, about two buſhels, or rather better, to an acre, and that upon land that has been fallowed and dreſſed: from ſuch fallow and dreſſing, may be ex⯑pected a very luxuriant crop, that will riſe above, and ſmother every weed that might either be carried upon the ground in the dreſſing, or not be deſtroyed by the fallow. This crop ſhould be cut for hay in the be⯑ginning of June; when, after two plough⯑ings, [71]the land may be ſown with turneps, and being eaten off by ſheep at Michael⯑mas, the ground is in the beſt order that can be for a crop of wheat, as it will then be perfectly clean, and in good heart; for the dreſſing the ſheep leave will amply compenſate for the crop of tares, which not being ſuffered to ſtand for ſeed, will not draw the ground, but leave it in the fineſt order. Thus, alſo, two crops will be gained in one year, without injuring the land.

Whether ſpring tares are ſown for hay, or for ſeed, the quantity of ſeed, and time of ſowing, are the ſame. As one great advantage in cultivating this pulſe, is bringing the ground into fine order for wheat or barley; it would be well if the land were dreſſed for it, and care taken to ſow it early, that there may be a thick crop, ſufficient to cover the ground and ſmother the weeds. March is the proper time for ſowing, and [72]the quantity two buſhels and a half per acre. Once or twice ploughing will do for tares, which ſhould be rolled after they are well harrowed in. They require no further trouble till harveſt, except cutting out the thiſtles, if any ſhould riſe, for every other weed a thick crop of tares will deſtroy; and ſuch is the advantage of a thick crop, that if cut for hay, they ad⯑mirably prepare the ground for a crop of wheat, breeding that putrid fermentation in the ſoil, which renders it as fertile and as mellow, as after the beſt fallow.

If tares are deſigned for hay, the time of cutting them is when they are in full bloſſom. If they are left longer, they draw the land too much, and make not ſuch good hay as when they are in the higheſt ſtate of ſucculency. Though ſome contend, that the hay will prove heartier food, if they ſtand to pod, and the pods to fill; that in this caſe, horſes eating ſuch hay, [73]will require leſs corn. This I believe to be the caſe, but I am a ſtrong advocate for keeping the ground in good condition. If the crop be got in without rain, tare⯑hay is better than any common hay, but rain injures it a great deal.

The following are the expences and profits of an acre made into hay.

[74]

In farms where there is not a ſuffici⯑ency of graſs land, a field or two of tares for hay muſt be very advantageous, eſpe⯑cially as they leave the land in better ſtate than when they were ſown. Beſides, if they are not to be followed by a crop of wheat, the land may be immediately ploughed up and ſown with turneps, which will produce an additional profit of near thirty ſhillings an acre, as may be ſeen in the chapter of Turneps, and leave the ſoil in fine ſtate the next year for bar⯑ley, oats, or any other ſpring crop.

[75]The following eſtimate ſuppoſes the tares to ſtand for ſeed.

[76]Now, on the faireſt calculation, here is evidently a loſs of eighteen ſhillings and two pence between the two profits, which might have been avoided, had the tares been cut for hay; beſides the injury the ground receives by a ſeed-crop, and the loſs of ſo much dung as cattle eating that hay upon the farm would have yielded. An acre may poſſibly produce two quar⯑ters and a half, which is an additional profit of about ſeventeen ſhillings; but this is not, in my opinion, an adequate com⯑penſation for drawing and impoveriſhing the land.

CHAP. X. OF TURNEPS.

TURNEPS, like tares, is one of thoſe ameliorating crops, whoſe cul⯑ture cleans the land, and, at the ſame time, enriches it. They thrive beſt in light ſoils, but ſucceed tolerably well on ſtiff ones. Very ſtrong clays are the only ſoils in which they will not grow to ad⯑vantage.

Farmers conſider a crop of turneps as a ſummer fallow, and as the beſt preparative for either wheat or barley. To obtain a good field of turneps, they plow the land four or five times, harrow it till it is as fine as they can make it, and then dreſs it. All this is done with the ſame view that I recommended tares, viz. to procure a [78]luxuriant crop, that will ſmother the weeds which the dung carries into the field with it, in order that the ſucceeding crop, whether of wheat or barley, may be clean and plentiful. Beſides, as this crop is fed off by ſheep, the better it is, the longer will it maintain a given number of ſheep, and of courſe the greater quantity of dreſſing ſuch ſheep leave behind them. It is generally a loſing crop for that year, but the advantage hereafter reaped amply repays the loſs.

The moſt proper time to ſow them, is about midſummer, or ſoon after, ſo that, if the ſpring be fine, there is ſufficient time to clean the ground. Though we wait a week or two for it, a dripping time is beſt for ſowing, for without ſome rain the ſeed may not grow; in very dry ſea⯑ſons, as ſoon as they are out of the ground, the fly is apt to deſtroy them; and when this is the caſe, we have no other reſource [79]than to harrow the land, and ſow it afreſh. If they eſcape the fly, as ſoon as they put forth the rough leaf, they ſhould be hand⯑hoed with a nine-inch hoe, cutting them up where they are too thick, and leaving them at about nine inches diſtance from each other. About a month after, they ſhould be hoed a ſecond time, to deſtroy the weeds: by this time, they will be of ſufficient growth to keep the weeds down and ſmother them. They require no other care till they are either drawn for cattle, or eaten off by ſheep. One pound of ſeed per acre, is the quantity uſually ſown; and as there are two or three ſorts of tur⯑neps, ſome prefer the green-round, and others the tap-rooted, as growing to a larger ſize. In a tolerable good crop, the average weight of an acre of turneps, is about thirty or thirty-two tons. They rather improve in weight from December to January, but decline in weight from [80]January to March. In my neighbourhood, where farmers have not a ſufficient ſtock of ſheep of their own, they ſell their tur⯑neps to thoſe who have; and the price of an acre varies in proportion to the quan⯑tity of feed there is, from twenty-five ſhillings to forty ſhillings; and they never think of diſpoſing of their crop any other way. Thoſe who draw them to fatten cattle, may poſſibly turn them to greater advantage; Mr. Young ſays double; but, as every farmer has not money to buy ſtock to fatten, he is obliged to give up that thought, and content himſelf with enriching his land, by folding of ſheep upon it. For ten acres of turneps would require a ſtock of one hundred and twen⯑ty-four pounds in cattle to conſume them.

[81]For curioſity, let us ſee what is loſt on an acre of turneps well ſold.

But even here is a gain of twenty-four ſhillings and ſix pence (deducting ten ſhil⯑lings and ſixpence, the expence of the turneps, from one pound fifteen ſhillings, the price they ſell for), when we conſider [82]that, without this crop, the land would have lain idle; and when we take into the conſideration the advantage the next crop or two receive, from clean enriched land, we ſhall have no reaſon to complain.

Stall-fed cattle, beſides a rack of hay, will daily eat in winter between a third and fourth part of their own weight in turneps.

CHAP. XI. OF CLOVER.

THE introduction of clover has turn⯑ed out a great treaſure to the far⯑mer, it being one of thoſe crops that pays well for the tillage; and, at the ſame time, enriches and ameliorates the land. Its profits are reaped three ways, being either fed, cut for hay, or ſuffered to ſtand for ſeed. If the farmer has ſufficient ſtock to eat his clover green, or has money to purchaſe ſuch a ſtock, he will reap a double advantage by ſo doing; for an acre of clover fed off green, will maintain a given number of cattle much longer than it would, if made into hay. Beſides, as in this caſe it does not ſtand to flower, it draws the ground leſs, and the dreſſing left by the cattle is no inconſiderable ad⯑vantage. [84]If cattle are turned in in the be⯑ginning of June, three acres of clover (ſuppoſing theſe three acres, if cut and made into hay, to produce four loads and a half cut out of the rick) will fatten and maintain nine horſes and four cows for four weeks; which, at four ſhillings a horſe, and two ſhillings and ſix pence a cow, per week, amounts to nine pounds four ſhillings. Now, in this time, they would eat ſix loads of hay, worth twelve pounds; or, were theſe three acres cut and made in⯑to hay, reckoning the hay at forty ſhillings a load (and it is always five ſhillings leſs in value than a load of meadow hay), and deducting ten ſhillings an acre for mowing, making, ſtacking, thatching, and binding, it leaves a profit only of ſeven pounds ten ſhillings; and ſhould a purchaſer require it to be carried ten miles, ſuch carriage would be two pounds five ſhillings, and re⯑duce the profit to five pounds five ſhillings. But was ſuch a firſt crop of clover (for I [85]am now only ſpeaking of the firſt cutting, I ſay, was ſuch a firſt crop) cut day by day, carried into the ſtable, or farm-yard, and given to horſes or cows there, it would turn out ſtill more advantageous, for it would maintain twenty horſes for four weeks (I ſpeak this from experience); which twenty horſes, in the ſame time, would conſume eleven loads of clover hay, worth twenty-two pounds. Here, indeed, the dreſſing is not laid upon the land; but the horſes would in that month, if littered down with about ſeven loads of ſtraw, yield forty loads of dung, which would dreſs four acres of land well; a circum⯑ſtance that would amply pay for cutting and carting home, and carrying the dung out again upon the land. Beſides, a team ſo kept upon green meat, would require very little corn; half the quantity would do, an object of importance to the farmer.

Let us take a ſecond view of this.

[86]Three acres of clover, fed off by cattle on the land.

or 3 l. 1 s. 4 d. per acre.

The dreſſing theſe will leave will be equal to about two loads of dung per acre, and the land not exhauſted.

The ſame crop mowed the firſt time for hay.

[87]

or 35 s. per acre.

No dreſſing here, and the land ex⯑hauſted.

[88]The ſame crop cut green, and carried into the ſtable.

or 8 l. 17 s. 2 d. per acre

Here alſo the land is not exhauſted, but exceedingly well dreſſed. I have [89]reckoned nothing for labour in cutting, as the carter and boy will do it; nor have I brought ſtraw into the account, as the farm will produce ſufficient litter, that could not be ſold, bean-haulm, fern, &c. Nor have I here eſtimated the ſaving in the corn given to the horſes, which is conſiderable; nor either rent or team, theſe being equal in every caſe.

Whilſt I am upon the article of clover, and mentioning the feed of it for cows, I muſt not omit the danger of turning them in, while it is young and high. Cows are internally differently formed from horſes; a cow has not only a ſtomach, but a paunch, deſigned by nature as a receptacle for her food. Here ſhe depoſits it for a while without maſtication; and when ſhe has eaten ſufficient, ſhe, at her leiſure, brings it a ſecond time into her mouth, chews it, and conveys it into her ſtomach, where it is digeſted and carried off. Clover [90]is a very looſe vegetable, full of air, par⯑ticularly when young, and in ſhowery weather; and as the paunch has not the ſame digeſtive power with the ſtomach, checking that fermentation that lets looſe the air; if ſhe eats heartily of young clo⯑ver, and fills her paunch by drinking ſoon after; when fermentation takes place, and the air is let looſe, ſhe will ſwell prodigi⯑ouſly; and from ſuch ſwelling, the vital ſyſtem will be impeded, the circulation of the blood ſtopped, and the animal will die in fifteen minutes. If ſhe has not filled herſelf too full, driving her and hurrying her about, will often relieve her; but ſhould ſhe have overloaded her paunch, and drank upon it, there is no remedy but one, which, though ſevere, is generally ſafe and effec⯑tual (having had occaſion to try it, I ſpeak from experimental knowledge); it is, that of making an inciſion with a pen⯑knife through the flank into the body of the paunch, and introducing the pipe of a [91]funnel into the orifice, thus letting out that air, that otherwiſe would deſtroy the ani⯑mal. By keeping the hole open, till the complaint ceaſes, we remove the dan⯑ger; and by piercing the hide with an awl, ſowing up the wound, and the ap⯑plication of a plaſter, it will ſoon heal. The place to make the inciſion is in the fleſhy part of the left ſide or flank, at an equal diſtance from the ſhort ribs, the ſpine of the back, and the hip-bone; it ſhould be pierced till the air iſſues out freely. Sheep are formed like cows; of courſe the ſame caution ſhould be taken with them. But let the bulk of the graſs be firſt eaten down by horſes, and there is no danger; or, it is ſaid, if they are not turned in while the dew is on the graſs, it may be done with ſafety.

Clover is a fine thriving food for hogs; where there is a pond in the field, which they can always have recourſe to, I do [92]not know any better way of diſpoſing of the crop. But water is ſo neceſſary, that without it, it is in vain to think of it. Any part of a field may be hurdled off with gate-hurdles; and the only trouble is, tak⯑ing good care that they do not break out. Some are apt to think hog-dung prejudi⯑cial; but it is an erroneous notion. Being very full of ſalts, where the land is richly dreſſed with it, the firſt crop may be rank, but future crops will feel its effects for years. I am of opinion, that there cannot be more profitable huſbandry, than by purchaſing ſows forward with pig, turning them into clover, ſuffering them to pig there, and continue with their pigs till they are three or four months old, and then ſelling them for ſtore. An acquaint⯑ance of mine told me, that having once five acres of clover, a good crop, with a pond in the field, and well fenced in; he purchaſed in May ten ſows of the large breed, ready to pig, which coſt him thirty [93]pounds; that he turned them into this field about the middle of the month, kept them there till the middle of September, and then ſold them; that the ten ſows brought him ninety-eight pigs, which he ſold for fifteen ſhillings each, and the ſows for two pounds ten ſhillings each; that they fold⯑ed the land like a flock of ſheep, and ſo richly manured it, that it wanted no dreſſ⯑ing for near twenty years. After the clover, he ſowed it with wheat, which was ſo rank, as to fall, and turn out of no value; but the year following, he ſowed it with wheat again, and had a prodigious crop.

Suppoſing five acres under this ma⯑nagement.

[94]

or 11 l. 9 s. 6 d. per acre.

The following is an eſtimate more to be relied on; that of an acre hurdled [95]off and fed, from the firſt week in May to the laſt in September.

[96]

beſides enriching the ground.

Clover, in general, thrives beſt on light barley land. It is uſually ſown with the ſecond crop after a fallow, with either barley or oats, but ſometimes with wheat; and the richer the land, the better the crop. After the barley or oats are ſown and harrowed in, they cuſtomarily ſow the clover, ſometimes by itſelf, particularly if it be deſigned for ſeed, and ſometimes mixed with artificial graſſes for hay. When ſown, it ſhould be rolled. If clover is ſown with a wheat crop, it ſhould be put [97]into the ground in the month of March, before the wheat is too high. This is done by harrowing the ground, ſowing, and rolling it. The harrows will not da⯑mage the wheat. But wheat is a crop that does not afford it ſufficient ſhelter; of courſe it is bad huſbandry.

All things conſidered, it is much more advantageous to ſow clover with a firſt crop after a turnep ſeaſon, or a fallow, than with the ſecond, as is commonly done; for, the land being then clean, and in good heart, the crop will be conſider⯑ably greater, and the clover will ſtand a ſecond year very well; eſpecially if, in ſuch ſecond year, aſhes, or a light dreſſing of dung, be beſtowed on it. Indeed clover is one of thoſe crops, which will pay for very ample manuring; but is, at the ſame time, liable to be injured by unfavourable weather; a dry ſeed-time, or a wet har⯑veſt. In dry ſummers, though the crop [98]be ſmall, it will weigh heavy, and cattle will thrive on it better than when the crop is larger, it being ſweeter and fuller of nu⯑triment.

The quantity of ſeed ſown on an acre of ground, is generally from nine pounds to fourteen; the average quantity ten pounds. But, Mr. Young aſſerts, from a variety of experiments that he made, that in poor land twenty pounds, and in clean rich land, fifteen pounds an acre, is the moſt advantageous quantity; as in rich land the roots will ſpread more, and leave leſs room for weeds, or natural graſs.

There are ſeveral ſorts of clover, viz. broad clover, which bears a red flower; the white Dutch, which bears a white flower; and the trefoil, which bears a yel⯑low one. The firſt is what farmers ge⯑nerally ſow, as growing higher, and pro⯑ducing a larger crop. The white Dutch, [99]and trefoil, are better for laying down lawns and meadows, as they will matt and grow thicker at bottom; but they are not profitable to cut for hay. There is alſo another ſpecies of clover, called cow-graſs, from its being leſs liable to ſpring cows that feed on it. This laſt, though ſown in March, makes but little appearance till Mid⯑ſummer, and can be cut but once; but yet grows to a great height, and produces in general large crops.

The profits of a crop of clover, as I ſaid before; are reaped three ways; by feeding it with cattle, cutting it for hay, or ſuffering it to ſtand for feed. I have al⯑ready pointed out the profits ariſing from feeding; let us next ſee what it will pro⯑duce when cut for hay; and in this eſti⯑mate, I will ſuppoſe an equally good crop with that I conſidered before as fed, viz. to produce two loads and a quarter per acre at the two cuttings; I mean two loads and a [100]quarter out of the rick; for clover is a graſs that will loſe conſiderably in its weight by drying.

An eſtimate of an acre.

[101]

A load of clover is generally five ſhillings under the market price of meadow hay; but ſhould hay be dear, this crop would be more profitable.

It ſhould not be cut till it has done flowering, and begins to decay at the bot⯑tom; nor ſhould it be over-dried in the making.

When deſigned for ſeed, it ſhould be firſt cut for hay, and eight or ten days [102]earlier than when the ſecond cut is made for the ſame purpoſe. A ſeed-crop is a very precarious one. A wet harveſt will deſtroy it; and if it does not flower well, the quantity will be ſmall. The ſecond growth generally determines the farmer in this matter. If the herbage be large, it ſhould not be left for ſeed, as it will be apt to fall before the ſeed is ripe, and da⯑mage the crop. When the herbage is ſhort, and bloſſoms full and large, there is a good proſpect of reaping a profitable harveſt. In this caſe, it ſhould ſtand till it is quite ripe. Three buſhels and a half of ſeed from an acre, is a good return.

[103]

[104]I have rated it here at ſix pence per pound: it ſometimes ſells for more; but often ſo low as three pence.

A buſhel of ſeed generally weighs from ſixty to ſeventy pounds, according to the ſize of the grain. The ſmaller the ſeed, if good, the better, and the heavier the buſhel weighs.

When a crop has ſtood for ſeed, it will produce but a ſmall crop of clover the next year; it ſhould, therefore, be ploughed up and ſown with wheat. Farmers, in general, ſay the ground is in as good heart for wheat after it has ſtood for ſeed, as if it was cut for hay; but I am of a different opinion. When threſhed, the chaff and haulm (if it may be called ſo) will ſerve to fodder cattle in the winter.

CHAP. XII. OF THE COURSE OF CROPS.

THE ſucceſſion of crops is a principal matter to be attended to. Different plants draw different nouriſhment, and from different parts of the land. Thoſe with horizontal roots from one part, thoſe with tap-roots from another. Some require cleaner ground than others, and ſome land in better heart. Again, ſome ſoils are better adapted to cer⯑tain crops than others. All this obliges the farmer to ſtudy a little the nature of his land, and the method of cropping it: and experience has taught him, that it is moſt profitable, after the ground has been well fallowed and cleaned, to purſue the following method of cropping.

[106]On ſtrong ſtiff lands, either

• 1. Wheat.
• 2. Oats and Clover.
• 3. Clover.
• 4. Beans or Wheat.
• 5. Turneps, or a fallow.

• or, 1. Tares.
• 2. Wheat.
• 3. Oats and Clover.
• 4. Clover.
• 5. Clover.
• 6. Beans or Wheat.
• 7. Turneps, or a fallow.

• or, 1. Beans.
• 2. Oats and Clover.
• 3. Clover.
• 4. Wheat.
• 5. Peas.
• 6. Turneps, or a fallow.

Where the land is naturally rich, or made ſo by ample and frequent dreſſings, [107]a ſummer fallow may not be neceſſary, which is deſigned only to reſt the ground, and deſtroy the weeds. Dung naturally fills the land with weeds; but a crop of turneps or tares will ſmother them, and render it clean again: for this reaſon, I recommend dreſſing the land for turneps, or tares, in preference to wheat.

Mr. Young tells us, that he has tried beans upon the ſame ground for three or four years ſucceſſively, and has every fu⯑ture year had a better and a better crop. This he attributes to hoeing the land two or three times in the courſe of the ſummer. There is no reaſon to doubt his veracity, but it is not the common practice of farmers; indeed, where the ſoil is natural⯑ly rich, where it has been dreſſed for wheat, and the crop has been lodged from its luxuriancy, farmers have ſowed the ſame land with wheat again the next year, and found their account in it; for if land [108]be too rich for wheat, it is apt to lodge with wind or heavy rains, and be conſider⯑ably damaged.

On light ſoils the courſe of crops is va⯑ried, ſuch as follows:

• 1. A fallow.
• 2. Wheat.
• 3. Barley and Clover.
• 4. Clover.
• 5. Oats, or Rye, or Peas.
• 6. A fallow again, or Turneps.

• or, 1. A fallow.
• 2. Barley and Clover.
• 3. Clover.
• 4. Wheat.
• 5. Oats or Rye.
• 6. Peas.
• 7. A fallow.

If the land be naturally poor, the more it is reſted the better; of courſe, the longer [109]it lies under clover, the larger will be the crop that follows it. Indeed, as poor land is generally low rented, laying it down in paſture is the moſt profitable way of farm⯑ing it; eſpecially if dreſſing cannot be readily procured. By feeding, land is an⯑nually manured and enriched; and, at the ſame time, pays no great tythes, a circum⯑ſtance very pleaſing to the occupier, where tythes are paid in kind. Inſtead of a fallow once in ſix or ſeven years, it will be found frequently neceſſary to let poor land lie a year uncropped, once in three or four years; for if (in the farmer's phraſe) it be over⯑driven, without a much greater quantity of manure than he generally has to beſtow upon it, it will often produce little more than the ſeed, be the ground ever ſo clean.

CHAP. XIII. ON THE PROFITS OF A FARM IN GENERAL, AND GRASS LAND IN PARTICULAR.

LET us now recapitulate the profits on the different crops I have mentioned, and it will ſhew the fair advantage a gen⯑tleman may expect to reap from a farm of one hundred and fifty acres of arable land, under good management. As we ſhall take a view of ſeven ſucceſſive years, in the courſe of which a round of crops takes place, it is immaterial whether we ſuppoſe the whole farm cropped the ſame year with the ſame kind of corn, or with different ſorts: the produce at the ſeven years end will be the ſame.

We will begin with ſtiff land, on which the courſe of crops will be, after a fallow, 1. Tares. 2. Wheat. 3. Oats and Clover. [111]4. Clover. 5. Clover. 6. Beans. 7. Tur⯑neps.

Divide then 2652 l. 10 s. by 7 years, and it will appear, that a farm of 150 acres will yield an annual profit of 379 l. but, if the land be naturally poor, and it be [112]neceſſary to make the ſeventh year a fal⯑low; inſtead of 135 l. loſs on the turneps, we muſt reckon the loſs of rent and team, which will be 300 l. this will make a dif⯑ference of loſs to the amount of 165 l. and reduce the 2652 l. 10 s. to 2487 l. 10 s. which divided by 7, leaves the annual pro⯑fit only 355 l. 7 s.

Now, ſuppoſing the farm to conſiſt of light land, we muſt crop it as follows, after a fallow. 1. Tares. 2. Wheat. 3. Barley and Clover. 4. Clover. 5. Peas. 6. A fal⯑low. Then,

1845 l. divided by ſix years, gives an annual profit of 307 l. 10 s.

[113]As moſt farms conſiſt of ſome meadow, take the following eſtimate of an acre.

[114]The ſtubbles, &c. of a farm of one hun⯑dred and fifty acres will keep thirty ſheep all the year round, of courſe an additional profit ariſes of more than 40 l. a year.

In ſhort, a tolerable good farm, whether it conſiſts of a light or a ſtiff ſoil, will pay upon an average, with good management, forty or fifty ſhillings an acre; provided the occupier holds ſufficient land to employ his team fully.

The nearer a farm is to a market, and to the convenience of getting manure cheap, the more valuable it is.

Let me recommend it to every occupier of land, whether gentleman or farmer, to keep a regular account, debtor and credi⯑tor, not only of his farm in general, but of every field in particular, with a memo⯑randum annexed of the time the ſeed was ſown, the harveſt reaped, the favourable⯑neſs [115]or unfavourableneſs of the ſeaſon, the quantity of ploughings the land received, the dreſſing given it, and every other particular. By a recourſe to this, at fu⯑ture times, he will be able to aſcertain the condition of his land, and how far he proceeded on a good plan, or fell upon a wrong one; and, of courſe, whether he ſhould purſue the ſame method in future or not. By ſo doing, his buſineſs will be⯑come an amuſement, and his farm not on⯑ly be profitable, but inſtructive.

The following is a ruled paged for that purpoſe, and a copy of ſuch an account kept.

[116]

CHAP. XIV. OF PLOUGHING AND HARROWING.

IT is neceſſary to make ſome few obſer⯑vations on this head, both as to the na⯑ture of the ploughing, the time when, and the number of ploughings.

I would, in the firſt place, recommend it to every occupier of land to employ a very good ploughman, one who knows how to plough and ſow well, and one who will not want watching. A team of two horſes in light, and four in ſtiff land, will plough an acre, or more, in the courſe of a day; one acre is the cuſtomary allotment of a day's work, and is generally perform⯑ed in eight hours. The team uſually leaves work at two o'clock; but it is better for the [118]horſes in ſummer time to get to work at four or five, and quit before the heat of the day.

All that is neceſſary for a maſter to take care of, is, that his ploughman does not ride upon the handles of the plough, but plough the ground as deep as the plough will effect it, or as the upper ſtaple or layer of the land will admit.

Plants that have tap-roots, as beans, carrots, &c. thrive beſt in deep earth, which has induced many to trench-plough their land: but for corn, the common depth of five inches is preferable to deeper ploughing. As I ſaid before, I am no ad⯑vocate for turning up the clay or gravel, and mixing it with the mould; and for this reaſon; that it will require a long ſeries of tillage, to bring ſuch ſoil as is thus turned up into the ſame ſtate with the ſurface: and it is contrary to the general practice of huſbandry.

[119]We are next to take care that the ridges lie handſome, round, and even. In dry ſoils, the ridges may be broad and flat; but in wet moiſt ground, the higher and narrower the ridges are, the drier it will lie. In wet clayey ſoils, I have ever found three or four bout-lands the beſt, as in harrowing, the horſes may walk in the fur⯑rows, and thus avoid poaching it. The furrows between the ridges ſhould, when the work is done, lie clean, ſo that the water can run freely off; and water⯑furrows ſhould be made in all depending places, to carry it clean away into the ditches. This cannot be well done but by the ſpade, and men ſhould be employed for the purpoſe; for unleſs the crop lies dry, it will turn out a poor one. It is neceſſary, therefore, to drain all wet ſlanks; for where the water ſtands, the crop common⯑ly fails. For the ſame reaſon, at the laſt ploughing, in moiſt riſing land, the fur⯑rows ſhould be up and down the hill; but [120]in hungry, burning ſoils, it may be pro⯑per to leave the ridges acroſs the hill, in order to hold the water and the dreſſing, which otherwiſe might, in heavy rains, be waſhed away.

As to the time of ploughing, this muſt be, in ſome meaſure, regulated by the weather; for, in wet ſoils, there are times when the plough cannot go upon the land. In ſtiff clays, where a winter fallow is ne⯑ceſſary to mellow and break the clods, the ſtubbles ſhould be always broken up in autumn; but where winter fallows are not neceſſary, autumnal ploughings may, for want of time, be omitted; eſpecially when the ground is deſigned for beans or turneps the next year. Such a crop, receiving no very great advantage from ploughing in autumn, the ſtubbles may as well be left for the feed of ſheep; for autumnal ſtir⯑rings are deſigned to deſtroy the roots of weeds by froſts, and to pulverize the land. [121]this is more neceſſary for barley or oats, than for a crop that can be hoed, as hoe⯑ing the ground will effectually deſtroy the weeds. But, in wet ſoils, when ſuch autumnal ploughings are given, care ſhould be taken to ridge up the land, and water⯑furrow it ſo as to lay it dry, otherwiſe, where we mean to do good, we ſhall chill the land, and do a great deal of harm.

Farmers vary in their opinions reſpect⯑ing the number of ploughings on different ſoils. In ſtrong lands, ill adapted to cer⯑tain crops that thrive beſt in lighter ones, as turneps, clover, barley, peas, &c. the more we pulverize the ſoil the better, which cannot be done but by many ploughings, rollings, and harrowings; and where we wiſh to ſummer fallow and clean the land from weeds, it is only to be done by frequent ſtirring it; but when we mean to ſow it with ſuch grain as delights in ſtrong land, [122]as wheat, beans, oats, &c. many plough⯑ings are not only unneceſſary, but may be injurious. The ſame reaſoning will hold good in light land, provided it be clean; one ploughing is better for wheat, beans, or oats, than three; but where it is neceſ⯑ſary to clean the land, as in fallows, or turnep-ſeaſons, if the farmer has time, and can do it with his own team, ſo as not to beſtow more expence upon the land than it will pay, he cannot well plough it too much.

All that is neceſſary to ſay with re⯑ſpect to harrowing is, that every farmer ſhould have three pair of harrows of dif⯑ferent ſizes: a large heavy pair for three or four horſes; a ſmaller pair for two horſes; and a leſs pair for one. The great harrows follow the plough, the next ſize pulverize the land, and the ſmall harrows are chiefly uſed for harrowing [123]in the ſeed. The land being ploughed in order to clean it, we cannot well make too much uſe of the harrows, for it is our buſineſs to bring it into fine tilth, and not ſuffer a weed to grow.

If the land be not a ſtrong clay, ſeven or eight acres harrowed, twice over in a place, with the great harrows, is a good day's work. Smaller harrows ſhould go three or four times in a place.

CHAP XV. OF WEEDING.

IT having been obſerved that, clean our land ever ſo well, time will naturally foul it, and that the carrying on of dung will contribute to ſuch foulneſs; where⯑ever we find obnoxious weeds riſe with a crop that cannot be hoed, it ſhould be hand-weeded, by going up the fur⯑rows, reaching acroſs the ridges, and pulling up ſuch weeds by the roots; for, were they ſuffered to ſeed, inſtead of one weed, without a freſh fallow, we ſhould have the next year a thouſand. Catlock, poppy, docks, thiſtles, all ſhould be clean pulled out; and whenever we find the laſt even in the hedge-rows, they ſhould conſtantly be cut down before they ſeed; [125]we never can have a clean farm without; for the ſeed of the thiſtle is winged, and will fly with the leaſt breath of air from field to field. Weeding the crop has ſaved the neceſſity of many a fallow, which is the loſs of a year's rent, and the annual expence of the team.

Thoſe who ſtudy the cleanneſs of their ground, will take care to weed their dung⯑hills from time to time, and ſow no grain but ſuch as is free from the ſeeds of weeds.

CHAP. XVI. OF HEDGING AND DITCHING.

WHAT they call dead hedges are the cuſtomary fences in my neighbour⯑hood; and, I apprehend, this method of incloſing fields is very general throughout the kingdom, except in counties where they have plenty of ſtone, of which they make walls. Gentlemen and opulent far⯑mers, who ſtudy more the neatneſs of their farms, than the article of profit, will plant their banks with quicks, or white thorn. Such a fence, no doubt, is beautiful, ſe⯑cure, when properly grown, and, if cut with ſheers once or twice in the ſummer, will laſt a great number of years; but it is certainly an expenſive one: for, beſides the annual labour of clipping, the farmer [127]loſes the advantage he would otherwiſe receive in the ſpare wood, which will ſup⯑ply his copper and his oven; and let a quickſet hedge be ever ſo good, it is not impenetrable to hogs.

Dead hedges are fences made by cutting the ragged rambling hedge cloſe down to the bank, repairing the bank by caſting the contents of the ditch upon it, driving in ſtakes between two and three feet long, filling the lower part with buſhes, and weaving it to the top between the ſtakes with hazles, or any pliable ſticks of ſome length. A man will complete four or five rods, or perches, of ſuch a fence in the common way, in the courſe of ten or twelve hours; and the cuſtomary price with us is from three pence to four pence a rod, and two ſhillings a hundred for the faggots he makes with the ſpare wood, with the liber⯑ty of taking home a faggot, worth two or three pence more, each night on his leaving [128]work. Such a fence, with occaſional mend⯑ing, will laſt five or ſix years, till the wood in the hedge is ſufficiently grown to re⯑make it. Making this fence is, in fact, attended with no expence, as the faggots obtained at every ſuch making, are gene⯑rally worth twice the value of the labour.

If the adjoining ditch be ſufficiently cleaned out to let the water paſs freely, the bank be ſmooth and tight, and the hedge even and ſtrong, which may be known, by put⯑ting our hand upon the top and ſhaking it in different places, the fence is well made.

CHAP. XVII. OF THRESHING.

SOME farmers chooſe this buſineſs ſhould be done by the day, others by the quarter. Thoſe who are for the firſt mode, give this as their reaſon; that when men work by the day, they generally do their work better, being in no hurry to get it done: whereas, when they threſh by the quarter, they ſeldom beat the corn clean out. Thoſe who are for the other mode, argue thus: if men threſh by the day, unleſs the maſter's eye is conſtantly upon them, they will waſte their time, and of courſe, in the end, he will pay more for his threſhing than if the work was done by the quarter; and as to not beating it out clean, that is the maſter's buſineſs, he muſt examine it, and ſee that the buſineſs [130]be properly executed. In moſt counties men wiſh to threſh by the quarter; as by working hard, and a greater number of hours than is the uſual complement of a day's work, they can earn more money in the courſe of the week. This principle has made it difficult to find men to threſh by the day; and, indeed, if honeſt men are employed, I think it moſt pleaſant both for maſter and man, that the work be done by the quarter.

Where a day's labour is rated at eighteen pence, the following prices are generally paid for threſhing.

according to what the crop yields.

[131]After the corn is threſhed out, the cleaning, or winnowing, is paid for beſides. Two men and a boy will clean a load of oats or wheat in a day.

Clover ſeed is from five ſhillings to ſix ſhillings threſhing and cleaning.

Drawing, weighing, and binding of wheat ſtraw after threſhed, one ſhilling a load.

CHAP. XVIII. OF MANURING.

MANURING of land is of ſuch im⯑portance to a farmer, that he who omits it muſt never expect a good crop; indeed, it is the very life of huſbandry, and the cultivation of land cannot go on without it. In the neighbourhood of great towns, plenty may be had, and at a very reaſonable price; but what are farmers to do who live too remote to enjoy ſuch an advantage? Where manure is not to be met with on the farm itſelf, or in its vi⯑cinage, a method muſt be contrived to make it; and this can be done only by keeping as large a ſtock of cattle as the farm will admit of, and by other modes which I ſhall point out.

[133]Stable dung is one of the beſt manures; and, if purchaſed (where it can be purchaſ⯑ed), is worth upon the farm from five ſhil⯑lings to ten ſhillings a load; ten or twelve of ſuch loads is an ample dreſſing for an acre of land, and will keep it in good heart, if kept clean, for five or ſix years. To raiſe then the greateſt quantity upon a farm from a given number of horſes, is the matter in queſtion. This is to be done by keeping them all the year round in the ſtable, and littering them well; in which caſe, a horſe will, on an average, make twenty-ſeven or twenty-eight loads, which will manure three acres well; but to effect this, it will take four loads and a half of ſtraw to each horſe; which, if the farm will not ſupply, ſhould be purchaſed. Sup⯑poſe theſe four loads and a half to coſt 3 l. 7 s. 6 d. and to produce twenty-eight loads of dung; the price per load will then be under half a crown. Fern, where it can be got, is a tolerable ſubſtitute for [134]ſtraw; but a farm generally yields ſuffici⯑ent litter to make the purchaſe of it unne⯑ceſſary. The ſtubble of the fields might be mowed or harrowed up in froſty weather, and ſtacked for the purpoſe.

Farm-yard dung is the next in quality; and where cattle are foddered the winter through, and the yard well ſpread with litter, they will, upon an average, yield ſix or ſeven loads per head, ſo that two cows will manure an acre. Where cattle are ſtall-fed for fattening, two beaſts will, if well littered, yield about twenty-three loads of dung in the ſpace of fifteen weeks.

It ſhould be a farmer's ſtudy to make a compoſt dunghill at every field-gate. For this purpoſe, he ſhould carry there all the manures he can pick up. Cleanings of ponds or ditches, chalk, earth, clay, aſhes; the dung of hogs, geeſe, pigeons, poul⯑try, [135]brick-rubbiſh, or any thing he can get, ſuch as the liſt below points out; this, if well mixed together, with a little lime, and turned once or twice in the year, will turn out an excellent manure for graſs, clover, or any other purpoſe. But he ſhould take care to keep ſuch dunghills free from weeds.

When land is dreſſed at the rate of ten cart-loads per acre, each cart ſhould con⯑tain ſufficient to make ſixteen heaps, as parcelled out in the field; and one ſuch heap ſhould be allotted to, and ſufficient, to cover one ſquare rod of ground, there be⯑ing one hundred and ſixty ſquare rods in each acre. But where the ſoil is in tole⯑rable good condition, eight loads per acre will be ſufficient for wheat, as ten loads of good dung may make the crop too lux⯑uriant, and occaſion it to fall before har⯑veſt. With eight loads, one ſuch heap [136]ſhould be appropriated to rather more than a ſquare rod of land.

As the hedges ſhelter birds, which of⯑ten conſume the crop, and the corn under them, from its warm ſituation, is natural⯑ly drawn up weaker and taller than in more open parts of the field, and of courſe more apt to be lodged; farmers ſeldom dreſs the head-lands of a field when they crop it with wheat.

The following is a liſt of manures, with the uſes they are fit for, moſt of which are eaſily procured in different places.

Horſe Dung. When freſh, for cold ſtiff clays; when rotten, for all ſorts of land.

Cow Dung. Rich and cooling; ſit for dry ſandy ground.

Hog Dung. Ditto. This is rather too ſtrong of itſelf, but is an excellent mix⯑ture for the compoſt dunghill.

[137] Dung of Sheep, Rabbits, Goats, Deers, &c. Very warm, good top dreſſing. Fold⯑ing a flock of ſheep every night upon fallow ground, is a good practice. Sixty ſheep will fold an acre in ſix weeks, equal to ten loads of dung.

Pigeons Dung. The hotteſt of moſt dungs, good for the compoſt dunghill.

Chicken Dung. For top dreſſing.

Gooſe and Ducks Dung. Ditto. Some think it ſpoils the graſs, becauſe horſes do not like to eat where geeſe have fed; but this is owing to the ſtrong ſalts in it. Where geeſe take to ſitting at nights in a farm-yard, if the place be daily littered and kept clean, they will in the courſe of the ſummer make a great deal of dung.

Human Dung is of ſo hot a nature, that it is fit only for the compoſt dung⯑hill. If roch-lime be thrown into the ne⯑ceſſary in January, it will remove the of⯑fenſive ſmell, and dry it ſo as to make it ſpread.

[138] Human Urine, and Urine of Cattle, Dogs, &c. The ſame quality as their reſpective dungs; and have this advantage, that they do not produce weeds: if mixed with as much, or two thirds water, it is a good top dreſſing, to be ſprinkled over land with water-carts. Human urine ſhould be daily thrown upon the dunghill, and the drainings of ſuch dunghills, with the urine of cattle, ſhould never be ſuffer⯑ed to run off from farm-yards, but, if poſ⯑ſible, collected in reſervoirs.

Dead Animals ſhould be buried in com⯑poſt dunghills.

Blood from the butchers. A very ſtrong manure; it ſhould be mixed with earth, ſand, or ſaw-duſt, for the convenience of carriage, and then uſed as a top dreſſing for any land.

Horn-ſhavings, bones, hoofs of cattle, bits of leather, hair of animals, feathers, and woollen rags. Good top dreſſings for any land.

[139] Salt. Excellent top dreſſing for moſt lands. Refuſe ſalt is ſold, duty free, for this purpoſe. It ſhould be ſowed upon the land.

Lime. A general manure for all lands, ſtiff or light; excellent to mix in a com⯑poſt dunghill, as it makes the maſs ferment and rot.

Chalk. Good for all ſoils; eight or ten loads an acre. Put ſome, if poſſible, in all compoſt dunghills.

Marle. A general manure, but excel⯑lent for dry, ſandy, gravelly, or light lands; good even for moſſy ground and clay, if well diſſolved. Will make white clover come naturally. Happy is the farmer who has a marle-pit in his grounds!

Sea Sand. For cold ſtrong clays.

Oyſter ſhells, and ſea ſhells ground fine. For ditto.

Sand. For ſtiff clays.

[140] Clay. For ſandy land, or when mixed with lime or aſhes, for moſt ſoils.

Gravel. For ſtiff clays and boggy ground. If full of large ſtones, ſcreen it.

Lime rubbiſh, and Brick rubbiſh. For ditto.

Rotten wood, and Saw duſt, Tanners bark, Rotten leaves, and Willow-tree earth. For ſtiff clays.

Wood ſoot, Coal ſoot, and Malt-kiln duſt. For cold ſtiff clays, to kill ruſhes in mea⯑dows, and for top dreſſing to corn in ſpring. Soot and malt duſt may be bought for ſix pence or ſeven pence per buſhel; and twen⯑ty or thirty buſhels will dreſs an acre well.

Wood aſhes, Aſhes from green vegetables, Soap-boilers aſhes, Potaſh aſhes, Peat aſhes, Charcoal duſt, and Turf aſhes, are good top dreſſings, being full of ſalts. They ſhould, if poſſible, be kept dry till uſed.

Coal aſhes. For cold ſtiff clays, either meadow or arable land, and will produce [141]red clover naturally. If not very fine, put a little unſlaked lime among them, and it will reduce them to a very fine powder.

Chippings of Stone and Marble. For clay land.

Sea-weeds. Very full of ſalts, and ſhould be ploughed in directly, or made into a dunghill mixed with earth, lime, &c.

Weeds of all ſorts ſhould be burnt for aſhes, if their ſeeds are ripe; otherwiſe, for the compoſt dunghill.

Offals of a Kitchen Garden and ſweep⯑ings of ſhort Graſs. For the compoſt dung⯑hill.

Sweepings of Streets. For meadow-land.

Sweepings of Herb-markets. For the compoſt dunghill.

Offals of Fiſh. For ditto.

The Roots of Couch or Scutch graſs har⯑rowed from lands. For the compoſt dung⯑hill, or burnt upon the land.

Mud of Rivers, Fiſh-ponds, and Ditches. For dry ſandy ground.

[142] Ant-hills. For the compoſt dunghill.

Oil-cakes. A good top dreſſing; are fre⯑quently imported from Holland; fifteen ſhillings worth ſpread on an acre will dreſs it well.

Hops from Brewers. For clays.

Grains from ditto. Good top dreſſing.

Burnt Clay. A very convenient manure, after making new ditches on clay lands; a little bruſh wood will burn a large quan⯑tity.

Sweepings of a Dog Kennel. For the compoſt dunghill.

Buck-wheat, Tares, Rye, Clover, and Everlaſting Pea. To be plowed in when going to bloſſom.

Turneps, ploughed in at Michaelmas.

Urine of all ſorts, brine of ſalted meat, and pickled fiſh, ſoap-ſuds, liquors from dye-houſes, ſalt and water, blood and wa⯑ter, or the waſhings of a ſlaughter-houſe; for top dreſſings; but, when too ſtrong, ſhould be diluted with water.

[143] Flower of Brimſtone and Water. Good to ſprinkle over turneps, or ſoak the ſeed in before ſown, to prevent the fly.

Note. The compoſt dunghill may be a mixture of any ſort of manure; but if lime be mixed with every layer, it will make it ferment and rot the ſooner. It ſhould be made in a ſhady corner, if poſſible, or co⯑vered over to prevent the ſun's exhaling the virtue of the dung; it ſhould, as I ſaid before, be frequently turned, and no weeds be ſuffered to grow on it.

CHAP. XIX. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS.

1. MEADOWS. To make meadows, or paſtures flouriſh, they ſhould be cut for hay only once in two years: the ſecond year they ſhould be fed.

Soap-boilers aſhes, which may be pur⯑chaſed for about three ſhillings a hundred weight, will effectually deſtroy thiſtles in graſs lands, by mowing the thiſtles, and ſprinkling the aſhes lightly over them.

2. Cows. A milch cow will require an acre and three quarters of good meadow, or two acres of indifferent paſture, to keep her well from May 1, to October 31; or one acre and a half of clover green, will keep [145]her twenty-three weeks, and enough will be left to keep two ſheep ſix weeks. She will eat, when fed on hay, forty pounds weight a day upon an average; which, for the winter ſix months, is four loads and a half. Straw and fifty pounds of tur⯑neps per day, will keep her well before calving.

Whether the farmer weans calves, to ſell them at three years old, with calves by their ſides; ſuckles calves for the butcher, or converts the milk of his cows into butter or cheeſe, each cow will, with management, pay him about five pounds ten ſhillings, or ſix pounds a year; ſo that he may pro⯑ceed the way that is attended with leaſt trouble, and moſt convenient to himſelf.

N. B. It will require the cream of be⯑tween ſixty and ſeventy quarts of good milk (ſuppoſe ſixty-five) to make five pounds and a quarter of butter; which, at nine [146]pence per pound, is worth three ſhillings and eleven pence farthing; whereas the ſame quantity of milk ſold at one penny halfpenny per quart, would yield eight ſhillings and three halfpence; but, in the firſt caſe, the ſkimmed milk is left for hogs, which may be fattened, if they have plenty, on that alone: and in feeding of hogs, ſkimmed milk will pay about one halfpenny a quart.

In dairies where cheeſe is made, butter is generally made of the whey-cream; and in dairies where butter is made, a blue milk cheeſe is uſually made of the whey⯑curd.

In buying young cows with calf, make choice of thoſe with a fine, long, ſpreading, ſmall, green, horn, fine and clear of leather under the chops; with a good ſhoulder, deep cheſted, broad and well made behind, a ſtraight broad back, full hips, with ſhort ſtraight legs, a walk open and ſtately, a [147]thick ſkin, broad-ribbed, with a good milk vein and udder, and large teats. Their age may be known by their horns. A cow throws off the tip of her horns, which is called ſhedding them, at three years old; at four years, a ring or wrinkle is ſeen round each horn, near the baſe; and every future year adds a freſh ring. Thus, two rings denote that ſhe is five years old, three rings ſix years, and ſo on.

In buying ſtore-heifers, take care they are not bulled before you buy them. A ſure token to know they are bulled, is from their having wax in their teats, which may be brought out by drawing them be⯑tween the fingers. Obſerve alſo the barren under the tail, if there is a drop hanging at it, which generally gathers dirt, de⯑pend upon it ſhe is bulled.

3. Sheep. To ſuch as wiſh to keep ſheep, the following eſtimate will be ac⯑ceptable.

[148]

It will take an acre of graſs to fatten five ſheep; but where graſs is not plenti⯑ful, they may be fed on ſtubble till Chriſt⯑mas, then on turneps till May-day; next on rye, and then on clover till ſold. No meadow will do for ſheep in the win⯑ter, that is wet enough to let them ſink up to the firſt joint of their legs; it will rot them.

[149]An acre of turneps will feed one hun⯑dred ſheep for ten days, or about eight ſheep from Chriſtmas-day to May-day.

Sheep require a large range of paſture: two acres and a half of graſs, and two and a half of ſtubble, be they ever ſo bare, will keep a ſheep all the winter till March.

Twelve pounds weight of hay will keep twenty ſheep and their lambs a week.

An acre of turneps will keep forty ſheep three weeks, as much as they will eat to fatten them.

Dung of ſheep, when folded upon land, for the richneſs of the manure, is equal in value often to the profits ariſing from the ſale of them. Threeſcore ſheep folded every night will manure an acre of ground well in the ſpace of ſix weeks.

4. Calves. A yearling calf will eat about five pounds or ſix pounds of hay in [150]the courſe of the night, by way of fodder in winter (i. e.), half a load in ſix months. To make them grow, they ought to have the beſt hay.

Calves may be weaned with very little milk, by the following method.

The firſt eight days, after they are calved, they ſhould ſuck the cow. They ſhould then be taken from the cow, and the next eight days fed with new milk: the next eight, you may give them three parts new milk and one part hay-tea mixed, made by ſteeping the beſt hay in hot water, and letting it ſtand till it is cold; the eight fol⯑lowing days give them half new milk and half hay-tea; the next eight three-fourths hay-tea, and one-fourth milk; and after this, nothing but hay-tea till they will drink water. During this time, they ſhould have a little freſh hay put daily before them, to tempt them to eat; and, [151]in the laſt three weeks, they ſhould be turned out into graſs, that they may learn to feed. One cow will thus wean ſeveral calves. Calves ſo weaned will thrive well and grow, but not equal in ſize to thoſe that run with the cows all the ſummer.

5. Feed of Cattle. The greater extent of ground cattle have to range in, the better. Thus, one field of ten acres will fatten or keep more cattle than two fields of five acres each.

6. Stubbles. To make the moſt of ſtubbles; turn geeſe into thoſe of oats, and pigs into thoſe of beans: each muſt have water to have recourſe to, or they will not thrive. Where there is no pond, place a trough or two. One month in an oat-ſtubble will fatten geeſe well.

7. Weight of Wheat, &c. A buſhel of wheat, weight ſixty pounds ſtandard [152](eight gallon meaſure), when ground into meal, and dreſſed into flour, gives forty⯑five pounds one ounce of flour, and twelve pounds of bran, which, when baked, will yield fifty-eight pounds and a half of bread.

Note. Twelve ounces of yeaſt, and four ounces of ſalt, to half a buſhel of flour.

A buſhel of good wheat, nine gallon meaſure, will weigh ſeventy pounds.

CHAP XX. ON THE PRICE OF LABOUR.

THOUGH the price of labour differs a little in moſt counties, the follow⯑ing prices in the county of Surry, may lead gentlemen to judge of its value in other places, eſpecially if they take into the conſideration the price of day-labour, which is there in the winter one ſhilling and four pence; in the ſummer eighteen pence.

according to the good⯑neſs of the crop.

[154] Note. Cleaning the above is always paid for apart.

Threſhing and cleaning clover ſeed, fit for ſale, from five ſhillings a buſhel to ſix ſhillings.

Setting tick-beans by women, ſix pence per peck; horſe-beans eight pence; an ad⯑ditional penny a peck, if the ſetters cover them in.

Reaping wheat, from ſeven ſhillings to twelve ſhillings an acre, according to the crop, and whether it be lodged or not.

Mowing barley with clover mixed, about two ſhillings and ſix pence an acre.

Mowing oats, one ſhilling and ſix pence, or two ſhillings an acre, according to the crop. Two ſhillings and ſix pence, if they are much lodged.

Mowing graſs, two ſhillings and ſix pence an acre; three ſhillings if flooded or lodged.

[155]Cutting beans five ſhillings or ſix ſhil⯑lings an acre, according to the crop.

Hoeing turneps, ſix ſhillings an acre the firſt time; four ſhillings the ſecond. An active man can earn at it three ſhillings and ſix pence, or four ſhillings a day.

Hoeing beans, five ſhillings an acre, if ſet in rows; ſix ſhillings if broadcaſt.

Cutting and making faggots of furze, three ſhillings a hundred.

Cutting of turf for fuel, two ſhillings a thouſand.

Felling a timber tree, one ſhilling; cut⯑ting up the tops and making them into faggots, one ſhilling and ſix pence a hun⯑dred; and one ſhilling and ſix pence a load for the ſtack-wood.

Grubbing roots, five ſhillings a load, and nine pence a ſquare rod for breaking the ground.

Note. A load of ſtack-wood, is a pile three feet high, twelve feet long, and four [156]feet over; or three feet high, three feet over, and ſixteen feet long.

Making inſide dead hedges, three pence halfpenny per rod, and a faggot per day. Outſide hedges, next roads or commons, four pence per rod, and a faggot.

Note. Sixteen feet and a half in length is a rod.

Throwing out gravel from a pit, four pence a load.

Spreading dung upon land, one ſhilling per acre.

Binding hay, two ſhillings a load.

Binding ſtraw, one ſhilling ditto.

Cutting a waggon load of fern on heaths, four ſhillings. For this the cutters help to load the waggon.

Cutting chaff, one penny a buſhel. Some men can cut forty buſhels a day.

Thatching hay-ricks, one ſhilling a ſquare of one hundred feet, and one ſhil⯑ling and four pence for bean-ricks. If the thatcher finds the pins, he has two pence a [157]ſquare more. Two men can thatch eight or nine ſquares in a day.

Waſhing and ſheering a ſcore of ſheep, three ſhillings.

Digging new gripes or water-trenches in meadows, the width and depth of the ſpade, one penny per rod; cleaning out old ones, a halfpenny.

Ploughing light land, five ſhillings or ſix ſhillings an acre: ſtiff, from ſeven ſhil⯑lings to ten ſhillings.

Withs to bind faggots are ſix pence a hundred.

Common hurdles five pence each; higher ones ſeven pence; gate hurdles of oak, three ſhillings and eight pence each.

The price of making a dozen of ſuch hurdles as are commonly ſold for five ſhil⯑lings a dozen, is one ſhilling and three pence, and one ſhilling and ſix pence for ſuch as ſell for ſeven ſhillings a dozen.

Stakes for hurdles, three ſhillings a hun⯑dred; five feet ſtakes, five ſhillings a hundred.

Edders to weave the tops of dead hedges, two ſhillings and ſix pence a hundred.

CHAP. XXI. ON MEASURING OF TIMBER.

THE ſubject of this chapter is rather out of the line of farming; but the work being calculated for the uſe of coun⯑try gentlemen, ſuch may occaſionally have timber to ſell, and to ſuch, the method of meaſuring it may be acceptable.

Timber is paid for by the cubical foot; and to get at the exact dimenſions, they take the girth, or meaſure the circumfe⯑rence in the middle of the body of the tree, between the root and the part where it forks or branches off. Should there be a ſwell in the middle, the buyer is at liberty to take the girth in any place nearer the root.

The girth thus taken, four inches are allowed for rind, and the remaining num⯑ber, of which the girth conſiſts, muſt be [159]firſt multiplied by itſelf; the product in inches muſt then be multiplied by the num⯑ber of feet, of which the length of the body of the tree conſiſts, and this product being divided by 144, the cubical inches in a foot, gives the true cubical feet in the tree.

EXAMPLE.

What are the cubical feet in a tree 17 feet long, whoſe girth is 9 inches? Anſwer, as below; 9 feet 6 inches.

The top of the tree is generally given to the purchaſer for cutting it down, and car⯑rying it away.

[160]All under 6 inches in girth is accounted top, and not timber.

Where there is a fork, above 6 inches in girth, one of the prong pieces only is rec⯑koned in the length.

Fifty ſolid, or cubical feet, is called a load.

No part of a tree that is not found is meaſured into the length.

Gunter's ſliding rule is that by which timber is meaſured. This rule, with a book of explanations, may be bought at any mathematical inſtrument-maker's.

Every country carpenter knows the price of timber, which varies according to the ſituation of the place, and diſtance to be carried.

Forty yards of bark, 3 feet and a half high, ſet up againſt poles, is called a load, and is worth about 35 s. or 40 s. The price of barking about 12 s. a load.