NOVEMBER 379 



once more. New oxen fatten in the byre, new corn springs in 

 the fertile earth, and yonder through the fence new children 

 watch the husbandmen at work as their forefathers watched them 

 centuries and centuries ago, and as their descendants will watch 

 them when we have been dead a thousand years. 



The shed over the bullock yard is a great success although 

 Moore complains that one of the posts will be in the way when 

 he is carting manure. As it is necessary to the structure, however, 

 this cannot be helped. 



Since portions of this book began to appear serially various 

 kind correspondents have written remonstrating with me for 

 using galvanized iron as roofing material upon these rough sheds. 

 Their allegation is that it is hot in summer and cold in winter, 

 and that animals sheltering beneath it are liable to chills. Now, 

 I have no doubt that there is truth in all these statements, and 

 also that the vapours condense upon its inner surface, causing 

 drip and damp. But after all the proof of the pudding is in the 

 eating, and as one of these sheds has stood in a yard here for 

 about fourteen years, and as the cattle have always done ex- 

 ceedingly well beneath its shelter, the iron cannot be so very 

 unwholesome. It must be remembered in its favour also that it 

 is cheap and most lasting ; indeed, if kept coated with a suitable 

 paint, I do not see why it should ever wear out. Doubtless the 

 open boarded roof sheds, as one of my correspondents brings to 

 my notice, are in many ways better, but are they as inexpensive 

 and as durable ? I may mention that these sheds of mine, if 

 large, are ventilated by the lifting of a sheet above the others 

 throughout their length, and that they are all of them lean-to 

 sheds, so that the sharp through-draughts which some critics 

 mention do not exist. 



The kohl-rabi at Bedingham are a very fair crop, and have 

 stood the drought marvellously. I believe that on these heavy 

 lands it is far better to drill kohl-rabi than swedes, as the return 

 is more certain, and they will flourish with half the amount of 

 moisture. Also up till about Christmas-time they are excellent 



