Cultivation of Arable Land. Farms Hiring and Stocking of. 403 



are, if the gravel isfharp, very apt to burn in dry fummers ; but they give great 

 and fweet crops in wet ones, provided the land is a gravelly loam. An abfolute 

 gravel fhould never be under grafs. A farmer fhould not, however, regret having 

 a pafture or two of this fort in his farm, being of excellent ufe in winter for feed 

 ing fheep and lambs on with turnips, &c. The low meadows, whatever the foil, on the 

 banks of the rivers and brooks, are in general good, but often fubject to the mif- 

 fortune of being overflown in fummer ; which not only ruins crops of hay before 

 they are cut, but carries them away perhaps when juft made. Many grafs fields 

 on all foils, confift of fo bad an herbage as to be of little value ; made up of 

 weeds and t^wrnvorft and coarfeft ofgraffes : if a landlord will not allow fuch to be 

 ploughed, the farmer mould minute the rent accordingly. This fault is vifible at 

 all feafons. A river that does not overflow, running through a farm, is a very 

 favourable circumftance, as it indicates a probability of all the grafs fields being 

 well watered, that is, for cattle. And in many cafes it may be converted to the pur- 

 pofe of irrigating the land. 



Jf the climate be mild, and the lands well flickered from the effects of the north 

 and eafterly winds by tracts of high grounds or woods of fome extent, they are in 

 many cafes circumftances of a favourable kind, efpecially where much of the farm 

 is to be conducted under the grazing fyftem. 



The fituation of the land near towns, where the markets for the difpofing of 

 their different products are good; and in many cafes near large cities, where the 

 produce of feveral different forts can not only be difpofed of to much advantage, 

 but manure in abundance be procured and brought back in return, is alfo a point 

 that mould not be unattended to in the taking of a farm. And if lime, marl, 

 or other fubftances capable of being made ufe of as manures, be near at hand, they 

 are of great importance in the management of land, and mould have their due influ 

 ence with the farmer in his fixing himfelfina farm. Beiides thefe, there are various 

 other local circumftances and advantages, that may operate in different cafes with 

 propriety in directing his conduct in the bufinefs of taking a farm. 



It is a matter which Mr. Young juftly confiders of the greateft confequence in 

 the engaging of a farm, that no larger a one be taken &quot; than the fum of money a 

 man can command will ftock properly. A common fault among farmers is, he 

 fays, the hiring too much land for their money : they are extremely eager to farm 

 as much as pofliblc j the certain confequence of which is the conducting the foil in 

 an imperfect manner. In the neighbourhood of great cities and towns, variety of 

 manures are to be had, in fome places cheap $ but if the farmers have not money. 



