Ar/riculhire of Shropshire. 25 



Orchards. — There are many orchards in this district, but very 

 few of them produce much cider, nor is the quality good. Tliere 

 is a too-general neglect in pruning the trees for them ever to 

 produce a good crop of apples. Tiie mossy branches indicate a 

 want of air to circulate amongst them and dry them after the 

 falls of moisture they receive. As a rule one half of the wood in 

 the orchards might be removed with great advantage, due care 

 being taken to leave the fruit-bearing wood. Most of tlie 

 orchards here are under grass and fed by sheep and pigs. Con- 

 siderable advantage would result from digging round the trees and 

 giving them some lime or lime compost. In the' manufacture of 

 cider the quality is sadly depreciated by bad management, more 

 especially in allowing the fermentation to proceed too fai*. The 

 cider is not racked soon enoufih after the fermentation commences, 

 and thus the body of tlie cider is wasted. Prompt and frequent 

 racking will check the fermentation, and although it may 

 involve some degree of trouble, this ought not to interfere witli 

 the proper management of cider. It is a very good plan to have 

 a frame (say 18 inches square) covered with horsehair, and some 

 cruslied charcoal spread over it, and then to pass the cider 

 through it. The consequence is, the charcoal lays hold of the 

 fermenting matter which would otherwise go into the fresh 

 barrel, and not only is much trouble saved as regards future 

 rackings, but the strength of the cider is left uninjured. I do 

 not mean that this will supersede the necessity of racking, but it 

 will considerably lessen it. 



The Management of Live Stock. — Cattle. — This is the dairy 

 district of Shropshire, and as tlio production of butter is the chief 

 consideration, we might have anticipated that little attention 

 would be paid to purity of breed. Such is really the case, for wc 

 find all kinds of cows kept. An inferior description of Here- 

 ford predominates, but we also find Welsh, Lancashire, Long- 

 horns, Sliort-horns, Ayrshires, and Devon cows. Tiie three last 

 are represented by very degenerate specimens. The Herefords are 

 decidedly the best as regards quality, but this chiefly arises from 

 the better and more abundant supply of them from neighbouring 

 districts. There are some few herds of Herefords of good 

 quality, but they are exceedingly rare. It is not tlie rule of this 

 district to have well-bred cows, for they would not suit the re- 

 quirements as well as inferior-bred animals. The cow which 

 will produce most butter at the least cost is the favourite. The 

 great demand from the manufacturing towns around ensures a 

 prompt sale at good prices, and there are many dealers who 

 travel from market to market purchasing all that the farmers 

 send from their dairies, to be conveyed to the manufacturing 



