112 ON THE AGEICULTUKE OF THE 



eacL acre. About two-thirds of tlie turnip break is usually put 

 under swedes. Besides from lo to 25 loads of farm-yard manure per 

 acre (spread on the surface before ploughing), a very heav}^ 

 dose of artificial manure is applied. The dose ranges from 6 cwt. 

 to 12 cwt. per acre, and is composed of bone meal, crushed bones, 

 coprolite superphosphate, muriate of potash, nitrate of soda (not 

 more than 1 cwt.), and common salt. Considerable quantities of 

 seaweed are also used for manuring both turnips and potatoes. 

 As might have been expected from the very short interval be- 

 tween the two root crops in the rotation, a good deal of loss was 

 at first experienced by '' finger and toe," but by the application 

 of the above-mentioned mixture the ravages of this destructive 

 plague have been completely checked. Mr Gordon gave special 

 attention to the cultivation of turnips for some years, and has 

 been very successful in hi^' experiments. He attributes the pre- 

 valence of " finger and toe " throughout the country chiefly to 

 the fact that in the mixture of artificial manure usually applied 

 to turnips, all those ingredients necessary for nourishment to the 

 plant are not present in the requisite proportions. He has 

 grown three crops of turnips in four years, with but very little 

 appearance of " finger and toe;" but this he thinks could be done 

 only Avhen then turnips are eaten off by sheep, by which system 

 a good deal of what the turnips absorbed from the land during 

 growth is returned to it in the sheep-dro23pings. Mr Gordon 

 generally grows from 12 to 15 acres of potatoes, chiefly Victorias. 

 The potatoes are usually planted on the lighter and more gravelly 

 land, and get about the same quantity of manure as the swedes, 

 except that the potash is slightly increased. Mr Gordon has 

 cultivated a few new varieties from the plums of Victorias, which 

 now afford a larg-er return than the original varietv. The farm 

 is worked by four pairs of good substantial horses. For some 

 years Mr Gordon kept a stock of cross cattle, breeding from 

 polled cov\'S and shorthorn bulls, but since 1871 he has been de- 

 voting a frood deal of attention to shorthorn breedin^^. Of the 



o o o 



^shorthorns, however, more anon. Mr Gordon has for many 

 years been one of the most extensive sheep farmers in the coun- 

 ties, and in addition to a large mixed stock of sheep, he has been 

 rearing a few pure bred Leicesters. Of these, also, more anon. 



Towards the end of last year Mr Gordon purchased the estate 

 jof Arabella from Mr Fraser. It extends to about 600 acres, is 

 almost all arable, and lies in one of the prettiest spots in Easter 

 PlOss. The land is very level, and the soil is rich alluvial clayey 

 loam, close but not stiff, and if properly cultivated should grow 

 heavy crops of all kinds. The alluvial soil lies on 6 or 8 

 inches of sand, and beneath that is a layer of strong blue clay. 

 The land has been imperfectly cultivated for some years, and is 

 full of weeds and rather rough. The course of cropping follov/ed 



