112 Warping. 



if these remain standing until harvest the yield is usually very 

 heavy, say 8 or 9 quarters per acre. 



The third crop in the rotation will be clover, oats, and 

 roots, or oats followed by clover may be taken. Oats almost 

 always get laid, and even then they may yield very heavily, 10 

 or 12 quarters being nothing uncommon. Clover grows very 

 luxuriantly. Red clover is sown for mowing, and this often 

 is a very profitable crop, up to 2^ tons of hay per acre being 

 got. As already said, the second crop is frequently ploughed 

 in, and is the very best preparation possible for the potatoes to 

 follow. Warp land grows very excellent mangold wurzel and 

 first-class turnips, both of which are, of course, pulled and 

 stored for cattle. At one time flax was very extensively grown, 

 but latterly the market for it has dwindled to nothing, and 

 oats have taken its place in the rotation. 



Labour. 



From the foregoing it may be anticipated that the labour 

 bill upon a warp farm would be a heavy one, and such is the 

 case. A pair of horses is required for each 30 acres of arable 

 land, first-class shire horses being in most general use and 

 usually in good condition. As to regular manual labour, a farm 

 of 100 acres of arable land, in addition to the grass, would 

 require four labourers permanently, and their wives also would 

 find work upon the farm the greater part of the year ; three 

 young horsemen would also be needed. Further, a gang of 

 eight Irishmen would be wanted for a fortnight or three weeks 

 to gather the potatoes. This is much above the average of the 

 number of hands engaged upon farm work throughout the 

 country, and it follows, therefore, that the process of warping 

 creates a considerable demand for labour, and causes an influx 

 of population into the neighbourhood. 



Stock. 



With regard to live stock, it is a rare thing to see sheep 

 upon a warp farm ; still, if a few are kept, but only a few, 

 they are most profitable. A few cull ewes, say forty of the 

 Lincoln breed (upon an average farm such as above), should be 

 bought in the autumn and put to a Hampshire Down ram. 

 These will pick up their living upon the young seeds, and later 

 upon the grass with a few swedes thrown to them. The lambs 

 should be timed to fall early, and they may all for some time 

 run upon the clover for mowing, afterwards upon the grass. 

 Probal)ly most, if not all, the lambs will be sold oft" fat, and the 

 ewes will also go off^ fat during the summer, making room for a 

 fresh lot. 



