252 A FARMER'S YEAR 



There is a belief here that mangold will not bear, or at the 

 least will never thrive after, transplanting. To satisfy myself 

 about the matter I collected some good plants that had been 

 singled out by Mrs. Fairhead without injury to their roots, and 

 with my spud dibbled them into a blank space on a baulk near 

 the gate where the sparrows have destroyed the seedlings. As the 

 land is wet they will have a good chance, and I shall be able to 

 watch what happens to them. 



The barley is now in full ear, but it is still rather yellow in 

 colour. 



June 30. To-day has been dull and showery, with a thick close 

 air in the afternoon. As the hay cannot be stirred in such 

 weather, the men have been employed hoeing and on other jobs 

 about the farm. Fairhead has been at work cutting the new 

 pasture. No. 5, which was laid down with last year's crop of barley. 

 Notwithstanding the drought of 1897, the seeds took well, making 

 an excellent bottom, which, I think, has been somewhat improved 

 by running the ewes on it for a little while before it was shut down 

 for hay. The crop of grass is heavy, with a great deal of clover in 

 it, but much * laid ' by the winds and rains. This makes it neces- 

 sary to exercise great care in the cutting, as the machine can only 

 be driven against the grain of the grass, that is, in the contrary 

 direction to which it is laid ; otherwise, it merely shears off the 

 tops of the stuff, leaving the bulk of it upon the ground. To cut a 

 field thus means that the mower cannot be worked for more than 

 half the round, as the knife must be lifted and put out of gear for 

 all that part of the journey when the horses are walking in the 

 direction in which the grass is laid. Mowing with a machine is 

 very simple work if the crop stands stiff and upright, for then it is 

 only necessary to drive the horses round and round in an ever 

 lessening circle until all is down. But if, as is frequently the case, 

 the grass is flattened by wind and rain, it requires thought and 

 skill to cut it to the best advantage. 



At Bedingham this afternoon I found the wheats in full bloom 



