I 



chiefly as rer/ards the Production of Meat. 417 



little in-field and meadow. On such holdings hay is a very 

 important commodity, being required in winter when frosts 

 occur, or when snow is upon the ground. Many of the 

 •large arable farms are from 400 to 600 acres in extent, 

 and are in general well managed. The prevailing system of 

 cropping is the five- or six-year course ; in rare instances the 

 four-course shift is practised, but it does not answer well, except 

 under peculiar circumstances. The following example of the 

 management of a farm cropped under the six-course system will 

 serve to illustrate the methods observed on most of the well- 

 conducted large holdings. The farm consists of 790 statute 

 acres, 740 of which are arable, and the remaining 50 permanent 

 pasture. The rotation is, first year, oats ; second, roots — partly 

 consumed by sheep being folded on the crop, and partly used 

 for stall-feeding purposes ; third, wheat or barley ; and the three 

 remaining years in grass. When I visited the farm in 1870, the 

 green crop covered an extent of 147 acres, 90 of which were 

 occupied by swedes, 35 by common turnips, 5 by mangolds, 3 

 by carrots, 1 by potatoes, and 13 by beans. The root-crops are 

 always liberally treated ; 20 tons of farmyard-manure being 

 put on per acre, with 5 cwts. of artificial manures — Peruvian 

 guano or bones. For mangolds, the soil is made manurially 

 rich by the application of 25 loads of home-made manure per 

 acre, together with 6 cwts. of artificial manure, and 3 cwts. of 

 salt. Beans are always taken after oats on the flat, the land 

 having been previously manured and reduced to a fine tilth. 

 The seed is then deposited by the drill in rows, about 14 inches 

 apart, and the crop is succeeded by turnips after the land has 

 again been well manured. So much of the turnip land as can 

 be got ready is sown with wheat during winter ; the remainder 

 Is cropped with barley. 



The basis of the sheep flock kept consists of 200 half-bred 

 ewes, which are served by Border Leicester rams. These are 

 kept upon the pastures throughout the winter months ; and their 

 lambs, which average from 14 to 15 score, are fed off during the 

 following winter. About the middle of May the hoggs become 

 fat, and are sent to market. Rough hoggs are then bought in to 

 supply their places, and, after having been dipped, are turned 

 upon the pastures, where they usually make such satisfactorv 

 progress that the tups are ready for the butcher in six weeks to 

 two months. From 700 to 800 lambs — according to the appear- 

 ance of the root-crop — are also annually bought in at St. Bos- 

 well's or Melrose Fair, to be ready for folding upon turnips in the 

 early autumn months. Although a few sheep are bred, yet the 

 flock may be spoken of in general terms as a " flying flock," 

 and the number of sheep upon the holding at different periods 



VOL. X. — S. S. 2 E 



