1838] 



F A R M E R S' REGISTER. 



OSS 



district to eupply that particulnr luitriment which 

 sainfoin dt'in;inils, and of whicli ils growtli has 

 deprived tlie soil; and tlie land must l)0 pnmitiod 

 to acquire gradually those almirnts, whatever 

 they may be, which constitute the food of this 

 plant. 



The, clover, in some measure, in this respect, 

 partakes of the nature of the sainloin in this dis- 

 trict. It is generally the crop of every Iburlh 

 year; but the besr liiVmers aduiit, that even this 

 interval is not sulRi-iently long io obtain a cro|) 

 proportionally abundant with those of ihe inter- 

 vening grain"; and that the iiighest slate of culti- 

 vation, m as far as it depends on manure, will not 

 supply the defect of longer intervals between (he 

 sovvirios. They are compelled by necessity alone 

 to follow their present system, as no substitute lias 

 been as yet susgested, which is consistent vviili 

 the rotation of other crops. 



The best crops of sainlbin in this district do not 

 exceed two tons and a half per acre, and proba- 

 bly upon an average of a number of years, no 

 farm produces moie than a ton and a half or be- 

 tween that quantity and two tons jier acre. 



It is difficult to conceive by what means any 

 considerable stock of sheep could have been kept 

 here, previously to the introduction of turnips and 

 sainfoin into common use, both of which were lit- 

 tle known a century ago. This country consisted, 

 at that period, of large tracts of down, now broken 

 up, which afl(3rded a subsistence for the flocks in 

 summer; but in llie winter they must necessarily 

 have resorted to the richer pastures of other dis- 

 tfiets, where the natural grasses afi'orded a suffi- 

 cient growth to make hay. 



Meadow-land. 



The natural meadow ground in this district 

 bears a very small proportion to the arable, and 

 hardly enters into the account of a -system in the 

 distribution of a farm. Upon the farm now de- 

 scribed, about fourteen acres of gravel, mixed 

 with dark loose mould, were highly manured and 

 well cleaned, and laid down twenty years since 

 with varieties of grass seeds in great abundance, 

 collected from the growers near London, atid of 

 the sorts which, according to the doctrines then 

 prevalent, were held to be best adapted to the soil. 

 'They flourished lor four or five years, and ])roin- 

 ised to form a permanent meadow, but ihey grad- 

 ually disappeared, in defiance of the utmost care 

 and attention bestowed on their management, and 

 were superseded by, or acquired the appearance 

 ■of, the short and wiry grasses, the indigenous 

 growth of the soil, and formed a turf resembling 

 an ancient down. The feed is at all times whole- 

 some; but, except in very wet summers, not abun- 

 •dant. It disposes the cattle to increase in flesh 

 more than in milk. This portion of the land was 

 chosen for this purpose, from its contiijuity to the 

 house; but the other quali:ies of soil have not 

 been found much better calculated for this purpose, 

 and no attempt to fix the finer meadow grasses in 

 them permanently, has succeeded. 



None of the soil upon this farm is well suited to 

 potatoes. Upon the third sort of land their quali- 

 ty is excellent, but the crop is^never abundant, 

 and cannot, be cultivated for profit. An acre is 

 however always planted for the use of the family 

 and the carters and men who reside at the cot- 

 tagea contiguous to the house. 



Slock. 

 The stock in general best adapted to this land 

 are, the Alderney, and smaller race of Norman 

 cows. The Devon.shire and larger breeds require 

 licher pasture; and although ihey are kept in 

 condition, the milk they ijive is by no means in 

 proportion to the bulk of food they consimie. The 

 Norman and Alderney cattle appear to be less af- 

 fected by the quality of the herbag.'. It has been 

 customary on this farm to keep one cow of the 

 Devonshire breed, with three of the Norman or 

 Alderney. and to mi.x the milk, on the presump- 

 tion, that by being tiius diluted, it produces better 

 and a larger quantity of butler. The cream is 

 skimmed, and scalded over a stove, before it is 

 cluirncHl. This process certainly renders less 

 churning necessary, gives the butter more flavor, 

 and increases the quantity. In a district where 

 meadow land is scarce, baiter generally bears a 

 hiiih price, and perhaps no part of the farm de- 

 scribed is so profitable as the small portion of it 

 allotted to the dairy. 



Sheep. — The sheen kept on this farm are usual- 

 ly called the South Downs; but they are not the 

 pure race; thev are larger, and weigh, when in 

 the usual condition lor the butcher, from 60 lbs. to 

 70 lbs., and sometimes more. They are extreme- 

 ly docde and manageable, and are perhaps better 

 calculated l)y their weight to knead and condense 

 ihe soil than those of a lighter description. Their 

 lleece averages about 3^, lbs. for each 'sheep; the 

 wool is short and varies considerably in fineness, 

 according to the keep. Where their food consists 

 of artificial grasses and tuniips, the wool is much 

 coarser than of those which are pastured princi- 

 pally on Down lands, and have to work harder 

 lor a subsistence. The practice of folding is in- 

 dispensably necessary to i-arming in this district, 

 and no system has been long suggested which 

 can supply its place. The wool is, however, pro- 

 bably injure*! by the continual exposure to the al- 

 ternaiiun of wet, and severe frost, during the win- 

 ter, and it certainly bears no comparison in color, 

 fineness, softness, and beauty, to that shorn from 

 flocks which are sheltered and housed during in- 

 clement weather. 



Lambs.— h is the common practice here to ex- 

 pose the ewes during the season of lambing in 

 iblde in the open fields, Without [jrotection liom the 

 I fall of rain or snow. This is the consequence of 

 the habitual thoughtlessness of the farmers, who, 

 bein<r accustomed from early education to spare 

 all the labor and trouble that absolute necessity 

 does not enforce, neglect the precautions which 

 more vigil <nce would sugicest. The loss of lambs, 

 upon an average, amounts to near one-fifih of the 

 whole. Common sense would appear to indicate 

 the prudence of affording a dry s|)Ot on which 

 such tender creatures as new-born lambs may ba 

 deposited imtii they have gained some strength. 

 The ewes pufl(?r at that period nearly as much, 

 and are often attacked by fevers,, which aflect 

 their milk, and de.;troy iis wholesome and nutri- 

 tious quality. A fold." under these circumstances, 

 in wet weather, exhibits as dreary and dismal a 

 spectacle as can well be imagined, the lambs 

 trembKns with cold, and the maternal aflections of 

 theewes^half exiingnishec) by their own sufiering. 

 The system is justified by the farmei*, on the 

 ground that it renders the flork hardy; hut the 

 truth is, that none but the strong turvivs the 



