AGRICULTURE 



It was said in 1 844 23 that no part of England 

 had undergone so great a change for the better 

 in the preceding half-century. In the western 

 or sand district of Nottinghamshire, instead 

 of vast tracts of waste land where only the 

 rabbit browsed, nutritious pasture in the summer 

 and fine crops of turnips in the winter fur- 

 nished food for large flocks of sheep, and these 

 were supplemented by fine crops of corn of the 

 best quality. The farms were usually from 

 300 to 500 acres, some being considerably larger, 

 and a few over 1,000 acres. The leader in this 

 progress was the Duke of Portland, who did for 

 Nottinghamshire what Lord Leicester did for 

 Norfolk. He was one of the first to use bones 

 for manure, and was always ready to make ex- 

 periments in the interests of agriculture. He was 

 an energetic tile-drainer, having the entire work 

 done systematically at his own cost, and then 

 charging a moderate percentage on the outlay. 

 Many, however, of the owners of encumbered 

 estates were unable to follow his example, with 

 the result that their land went undrained, and on 

 the same estates farm-buildings were imperfect 

 and inconvenient. When the forest land was 

 first broken up it was often nearly pure sand, or 

 sand and gravel, yellow and unpromising to look 

 at, and it did not assume the appearance that 

 generally indicates fertility until it had been 

 under cultivation for many years. 



One of the main causes of the improved state 

 of farming in Nottinghamshire was the introduc- 

 tion of the swede turnip by Colonel Mellish of 

 Blyth, who distributed small portions of seed to 

 the leading farmers, but owing to their ignorance 

 of its cultivation the first results wert most dis- 

 appointing. No implement for slicing them was 

 known, and they were regarded at first as a 

 failure. However, slicing-machines were in- 

 vented, drills were used for planting, and the 

 swede was soon described as the ' sheet anchor of 

 the farmer.' Another impetus to good farming 

 was given by the use of bones, which is said to 

 have changed the face of the western part of the 

 county. As they were cheap, boning was over- 

 done, and farmers had to look out for substitutes, 

 with the result that a long list of artificial manures 

 came into use. 



The course of cropping in the western division 

 then was the Norfolk, or four-course : (i) turnips; 

 (2} barley ; (3) seeds ; (4) wheat. The early-sown 

 turnips were generally ready to stock in Septem- 

 ber, when the lambs were turned on them. 

 The most approved kinds of barley were the 

 ' Welsh ' or ' Chevalier,' 14 or 1 6 pecks per 

 acre being used if sown by hand, and 12 pecks 

 when drilled. Of red clover, 1 2 Ib. was thought 

 sufficient to the acre, with half a peck of rye- 

 grass, or lolb. white clover with 2 Ib. of rib- 

 grass, 2 Ib. of trefoil, and 2 pecks of dwarf rye- 



grass. For the wheat crop 9 to 12 pecks were 

 sown to the acre, nearly always Hunter's White, 

 and 30 to 40 bushels was the result, in harvesting 

 which the scythe had displaced the sickle. Mow- 

 ing, taking up and binding the sheaves, and binding 

 the rakings, cost 6s. to 8s. an acre. The farming 

 in this division, the north and west, was in many 

 respects superior to that in the south and east. 



Nottinghamshire had for some time been 

 famous for its superior breed of sheep, and in the 

 middle of the igth century the pure Leicester- 

 shire, or a cross between that and the Lincoln- 

 shire or Yorkshire, was the favourite, a few 

 Southdowns being kept on the large estates. 

 As much as 1,000 guineas had been paid for the 

 hire of a ram for the season, and nearly all the 

 farmers in the western district were sheep- 

 breeders. Many persons then living could re- 

 member the time when forest farms of 300 acres, 

 then supporting 500 to 700 sheep, could not 

 maintain more than fifty. The breed formerly 

 peculiar to the district, known as the Forest Sheep, 

 was by this time nearly extinct. The cattle, 

 with few exceptions, were Shorthorns, bred to a 

 greater or less extent on most farms, the chief 

 breeders being Earl Spencer, Mr. Parkinson, near 

 Newark, and Mr. Watson of Walkeringham ; and 

 their efforts, with those of other less well-known 

 breeders, had effected a great improvement in the 

 last few years. But no animal had changed for 

 the better so much as the pig, which, from 

 being a long-eared, coarse-offaled animal, difficult 

 to fatten and unpalatable to eat, had now become 

 compact, with small ears, short snout, deep in the 

 sides and thigh, and short in the leg. 



Ploughing in the north-western division was 

 done invariably by two horses abreast, of a more 

 active kind than formerly, many of the mares of 

 late having been crossed by a Cleveland stallion 

 brought into the county by Mr. Watson of 

 Walkeringham, a great supporter of agriculture. 

 In the south-eastern or clay district, it is interest- 

 ing to learn that in 1844 there were several of 

 the old open fields still in existence. 24 Ploughing 

 was here done by three or four horses in line, and 

 the common plough all over the county was the 

 swing-plough, the wheel-plough only being used 

 on the borders of Leicestershire. 



The farms were as a rule much smaller in the 

 clay district than in the sand, the most common 

 size being from 70 to 150 acres, and throughout 

 the county they were nearly all held by tenants 

 at will who had no wish for leases, as the confi- 

 dence between the tenant and the landowner, 

 especially the large landowner, was complete. 

 The live stock in the south-eastern division had 

 undergone as much improvement as in the north- 

 western, and the cattle, of which there were 

 a greater number in the former, had attained a 

 standard of great excellence. Among manures 



" Roy. Agric. Soc. Engl. Journ. (ist Scr.), vi, 2. 



2 



377 



Roy. Agric. Soc. Engl. Journ. (ist Ser.), vi, 24. 



48 



