THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



501 



pense. A grubber with four horses could be made to do as 

 much as four ploughs with six horses : this was quite within 

 the mark. In February last, he put his grubber once through 

 the soil, liarrowed once, drilled iu the barley, and harrowed a 

 second time. This was all the work done on the land, and 

 people had told him that his crop was better than any other 

 in the neighbourhood. He also used the grubber after 

 harvest over a stubble field, using six -inch shares 

 in the shape of a heart, once across the field, and then 

 round and over the field the other way. By this process 

 the roots were separated from the soil, leaving the 

 weeds on the surface to die ; then he ploughed it all unden 

 and the land would be as clean in the spring of the year 

 as it was now. The land might be ploughed both wayS) 

 cutting the weeds into pieces, but these all took root again, 

 and thus by this means the cleaning of the land was a hope- 

 less task. The scarifier did it thoroughly at a tithe of the 

 expense. The first summer he came here, being short of 

 time, he put in turnips on some of his land after the scari- 

 fier without ploughing, and to his surprise, though some of 

 the land was most unfavourable, the crop was excellent, 

 and double that on land ploughed. His system was to 

 plough the land once in a year, making the grubber do the 

 rest ; and the whole was considerably less costly than the 

 ploughing and harrowing. He would advise the experienced 

 farmers present to try the experiment on part of their land and 

 compare their results with his own, He should be 

 happy, if any of them would pay a visit to show 

 them what he was doing. As to stock, Devonshire 

 was pre-eminently a breeding county, but he had learnt a se- 

 cret as to this breeding, namely, that it much depanded on 

 what entered the mouth. The other day, at the great sale of 

 Mr. George Turner's stock, there was an illustration of this, 

 and it was noticed by Mr. Kekewich and other leading men. 

 There was one pen of five sheep sold at seven guineas, and 

 others of the same breed precisely sold at only half the sum ; 

 but the first were highly fed, prepared for show, and their ex- 

 tra growth was the result. It was well known that an animal 

 removed from an inferior soil to a better improved in every 

 generation. On the other hand he had seen Leicestershire sheep 

 taken into Norfolk, gradually degenerate, notwithstanding 

 every care and expense ; and the infusion of new blood failed to 

 keep of the breed. The same observation applied to horses. In 

 this district the horses wanted muscle and weight for the 

 lack of corn, &c.; but even then they could not compete with 

 the breeds of more faovurable counties. He knew men who 

 did wonders with stock onboth land, but this was an exception to 

 the rule, as they bestowed extraordinary care, and incurred un- 

 usual expense. Shorthorns, again, he believed to be the best 

 breed in England — fattening sooner, giving more milk, and 

 being altogether more perfect animals ; but under ordiuary 

 management they soon depreciated, becoming nearly as bad as 

 the Norfolk home-breds, which was known to be the worst in 

 England. With inferiority of soil it was no use to attempt 

 breeding. The celebrated Norfolk hack was almost as extinct 

 as the Devonshire pack-horse. He had himself obtained from 

 a high-bred mare and a good cart-horse, a lot of fine 

 strong colts. He believed very good hacks, approaching 

 the park breed, might be obtained from a best bred Exmoor 

 pony and a horse of good system and right action. As to the 

 land in Devonshire, he allowed that a large portion was unfit 

 for flat ploughing unless drained ; but it might be mentioned 

 that the drill was introduced into Norfolk from Suffolk, where 

 the soil was a strong clay, and utterly unsuited for the drill 

 till drained. Hundreds of pounds might be laid out in 

 manure and cultivatioD, but it would be a waste of outlay 



unless land was drained. It was a sine qua non towards 

 having a good crop to get rid of the water. He had been en- 

 deavouring to discover the best way to do this, and though he 

 had been so far successful, he had not proved the thing. 

 When he had he should be ready to impart his experience to 

 his agricultural brethren. In the matter of wool, he be- 

 lieved the Devonshire farmers were ^more imposed upon 

 than any others, This year the same quality of wool which 

 sold here for Is. 2J^d. per lb., realized in Norfolk 2s. The 

 only way, in his opinion, to obtain a good price was to estab- 

 lish a good wool fair, whose quotations would regulate the 

 market ; by this means every farmer might learn the correct 

 value of his wool, and not sell at so great a disadvantage as at 

 present." — Mr. J. II. Holly, of Oailands, Devon, at the Oke- 

 hampton Agricultural Club. 



THE OLD WOODEN PLOUGH. 



[A STAFFORDSIURE DITTY.] 



tip by th' Ulake Mere o'Morridge, not long time ago. 

 There lived an old chap, wi' an old wig o' tow : 

 His name was Tom Morris, and I'll tell you how 

 He made a discourse on an old wooden Plough. 



Gee ho Dobbin 1 gee bo Dobbin I gee ho Dobbin I 

 Gee up and gee ho t 



'Twas the tenth of October, and th' oals were just ripe, 

 On the settle he sat, and he smoked his long pipe ; 

 And he thought a long time about this thing and that. 

 And said " Tummy 1 sit down and I'll tell thee what's what." 

 Gee ho Dobbin 1 &c. 



" These are terrible limes, lad, I prithee come nigh. 

 And I'll gie thee a wrinkle or two ere I die : 

 I can't stand it much longer, it shortens my breath. 

 These new-fangled notions will soon be my death. 



Gee ho Dobbin ! kc. 



"They're going too fast, lad, I tell thee, a deal; 

 There's Lord Talbot, o' Ing'stre; and Kalph Sneyd o'Kcel ; 

 And Saudon, and Duller, and Main'ring, ami Bill — 

 Lordl the stutt' they've been talking 1 it mak's me quite ill. 

 Gee ho Dobbin ! &c. 



" With their bones and their acids ; their drills and gu-hanner; 

 Thy grandfather, Tom, niver farmed i' that manntr : 

 He'd ha' stared hard enough, if lie'd heard what they say 

 About boiling o' oilcake, and cliopping o' hay. 



Gee ho Dobbin ! &c. 



" Then soughing^s a thing as in course they mun alter. 

 So they go a mon's depth for to get at th' top water — 

 And they scoop out the dirt wi' a thing like a spoon. 

 And for tiles ! they'll be using o' bacco iiijjcs soon. 



Gee ho Dobbin ! &c. 



" Then they prate o' their carrots and mangels and sicU— 

 As if carrots and mangels would mak' a mon rich ! 

 Of hoeing o' lurmits, and clearing o' yallows — 

 Stuff and nonsense! and growing o' whe.it without fallows. 

 Gee ho Dobbin! Sec. 



"It makes me to loff! without fall.iws indeed ! 

 Why, I think they rnun ha' a soft place in their yead ! 

 But what dun ye think they've been doing just now ? 

 Why they've got up a loff at an old wooden plough. 



Gee ho Dobbin ! kc. 



" Aye 1 an old wooden plough— and they say to be sure. 

 As the wide-awake fanner mun use 'em no more : 

 The mun a' be of iron, and wood there's no trade for — 

 Why, what do lii' fools thinken as ash trees was made for? 

 Gee ho Dobbin ! &c. 



" Talk o' ploughs made o' iron ! why, th' next thing they'll do 

 As sure as yo live, they'll be painting 'em blue- 

 Then they've two tits abreast, as ihey call a ' gee ho'— 

 Thev may call long enough, but they never can go. 

 ^ ' Gee ho Dobbin! &c. 



" No ! gie me a good wooden plough as is strong, 

 And a good pair o' big wheels to help it along, 

 And four long-tailed tits and a mon and a lad, 

 And a good steady pace, and it shannar be bad. 



Gee ho Dobbin ! &c. 



" But Tommy, my lad, niver heed what t'ley say. 

 But pet thee on still i' thy father's old way: 

 Tkei/'U bring all their hogs to tine markets just now. 

 But "stick while thee liv'st to thy old wooden plough." 

 Gee ho Dobbin ! &c. 



