402 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1800. 



travel to Smithfield, and was there- 

 fore sold to Mr. Charlwood a neigh- 

 bouring butcher, for 4?/. 



Next to the advantage obtained 

 from oxen, as much benefit as pos- 

 sible has been endeavoured to be 

 derived from sheep, by means of 

 the fold. Two ewe flocks are kept, 

 of four hundred each ; the soil be- 

 ing light and dry, admits of winter- 

 folding (except when the weather 

 is wet ) upon the young clover ; a 

 practice much to be recommended, 

 as it is productive of a great crop 

 of clover, and prepares the land the 

 ensuing autumn for a crop of wheat 

 without any farther assistance. 

 Another excellent practice is fold- 

 ing upon light land, in dry weather, 

 immediately upon the sowingof the 

 wheat, which may be put forward, 

 or kept back, a fortnight or three 

 weeks on that account; and it is not 

 amiss to have the fold rather large, 

 and to give the sheep a turn or two 

 round the fold in a morning before 

 they are led out, to tread and settle 

 the land, which does a great deal of 

 good, over and above their dung. 



A third method of folding has 

 been found to answer almost be- 

 yond description. This was first 

 tried in the winter of 1793 ; but 

 from an idea of the shepherd, that it 

 injui'ed the sheep, has been since 

 disused : but as there is good reason 

 to believe that there was no just 

 ground for such an opinion, it is 

 meant to be revived next winter. 



A dry sheltered spot is selected, 

 and sods of maiden earth, a foot 

 deep, are laid over the space of a 

 very lai-ge fold. It is then bedded 

 thinly with rushes, leaves of trees, 

 fern, moss, short straw, or stubble ; 

 and in hard or wet weather, the 

 flock, instead of being penned upon 

 the clover, in the open fields, is put 



into this warmer fold, where the 

 usual quantity of hay is given to 

 them in racks ; and every night 

 they are so penned, the fold is fresh 

 littered. When this has been con- 

 tinued, at intervals, during the win- 

 ter, a layer of lime, chalk, rubble, 

 or ashes, six inches thick, is spread 

 over the whole surface ; and when 

 it has heated together, about the 

 month of April, the whole is turned 

 up, and mixed together, and makes 

 the very best manure that can be 

 used for turnips. 



I have been particular in descri- 

 bing these methods of folding, as 

 they are not common in any place, 

 and in others entirely unknown, 

 and to gentlemen who have parks 

 and large plantations which afford 

 abundance of leaves, this hint may 

 be the more deserving attention. 



Upon the Norfolk farm, the land 

 not having been yet marled or 

 clayed, the clover is apt sometimes 

 to fail, which is also the case else- 

 where, upon the same sort of land. 

 When this happens, his majesty 

 does what every other person in a 

 similar situation should do; instead 

 of letting the ground remain unpro- 

 ductive, the next year it is sowed 

 with vetches, which are nearly as 

 valuable as the clover, and wheat 

 always grows remarkably kind after 

 them. 



As to implements the Norfolk- 

 plough is chiefly what is used ; and 

 upon a light soil, it is certainly pre- 

 ferable to any other. It ploughs a 

 cleaner furrow, by completely mo- 

 ving the whole body of earth, and 

 inverts it much better than any 

 other plough ; and to establish its 

 superiorityover the common ploughs 

 of the neighbourhood, I need only 

 add, that from its construction it is 

 nearly the draught of an ox easier. 



