396 



FARMERS' REGISTER— STALL-FEEDING NEAT CATTLE. 



In the county of Norfolk, however, wliich has 

 long been celebrated for its turnip husbandry, there 

 are very great numbers of cattle annually iLittened 

 for the London market, on little other food than 

 turnips, which are given to thom ivhclc, and in a 

 raw state; anil it rarely happens that any animal is 

 choked, or otJierwise injured, by roots sticking in 

 the throat. When this accident occurs, the prac- 

 tice is to pour a horn full of salt and water down 

 the beast's throat; and in case that docs not suc- 

 ceed, a similar quantity of salt and melted grease, 

 such as hog's lard, or any conmion grease, or oil, 

 is used, which preparation has rarely been found 

 to fail of procuring relief to the animal in danger of 

 suffocation. 



The Norlblk method of turnip-fattening cattle is 

 threefold:* — according to the first plan, the roots 

 are thrown on stubbles, grass lands, and fallows, 

 to cattle abroad in the fields. This is the prevail- 

 ing practice, a great paTt of the cattle fed in that 

 district being tatted abroad: it requires the least at- 

 tendance, and is allowed to be beneficial to light 

 lands. 



The general practice in the county of Norfolk is, 

 to begin with the wheat stubbles, on which turnips 

 are usually thrown, till they are broken up for fal- 

 low or barley. The next throwing- ground is fre- 

 quently the barley stubbles, which receive the bul- 

 locks, (i. e. fatting and fatted cattle.) as the wheat 

 stubbles are scaled in, and retain them until they 

 are, in their turn, broken up for a turnip fallow. 

 Fro.m Christmas till early in April, the clover leys 

 only are thrown upon: and afler these are shut up, 

 in order to acquire a bite of grass for the unfinish- 

 ed bullocks, (he turnip fallows sometimes become 

 the scene of throwing. 



Occasionally, however, the farmers deviate from 

 this mode; some objecting to the throwing of tur- 

 liips on land intended lor those roots the following 

 year, under the apprehension that it produces the 

 disease termed anbury.^ In this case the clover 

 leys succeed the wheat stubbles, some part of 

 them being kept open till the turnip crop is finished 

 in the spring. Sometimes young clover fields are 

 thrown open; but this is regarded as bad manage- 

 ment, unless the season is remarkably diy, and 

 the surface of tlie earth is perfectly sound; nor is it 

 oflen done unless (here happens to be no clover 

 etubblc in the vicinity of the turnip piece. 



But though the soil of Norlblk is, in general, 

 very dry, the farmers of that district are some- 

 times inconvenienced, in wet seasons, for clean 

 ground on whicli to throw their turnips; and not- 

 withstanding the value of teathe,l when the land 

 will bear the bullocks, instances have occurred 

 where farmers have requested their neighbors to 

 allow them to throw turnips upon a contiguous 



* Marshall's Rural Economy of Norfolk, vol. i. p. 

 287. 



t The nature and probable cause of this affection in 

 turnips will be stated in Book IX. Chap. V. Sect. I. 

 where the culture of those roots is discussed. 



X " This is an important word in Norfolk husbandry, 

 for which our lang;uage has no appropriate synonym: 

 it denotes the fertilizino; effect of cattle upon the land 

 on which they are foddered with any kind of food; 

 whether such fertilizing effects be produced by their 

 dung, tlieir urine, their treading, or by their "breath, 

 perspiration, and the warmth of their bodies." — Mar- 

 shall's Norfolk, vol. i. p. 34. 



piece of old ley-ground, or olland, as it is there 

 called; preferring the loss of the teathe to checking 

 his bullocks. On this account, therelbre, Mr. 

 Marshall recommends, in laying out a farm upon 

 the Norfolk plan, so to intermix the crops, that 

 there shall be at least two pieces of ley in the 

 neighborhood of each piece of turnips. 



The turnips are thrown on the land in the fol- 

 lowing manner: a cart enters on one side of a 

 close, in which stands a boy, who, as the vehicle is 

 going regularly to the other, throws the roots out, 

 with their tops and tails on, as they are drawn out 

 of the ground; giving every part an equal share, 

 and never throwing twice in the same place, until 

 the whole has been gone over. In the commence- 

 ment of the throwing season, while there is yet an 

 abundance of grass tor lean stock, the usual prac- 

 tice is, to keep the fatting beasts constantly in the 

 same piece of wheat stubble, a Iresh supply of roots 

 being given to them every day, or every second 

 day at farthest. 



When the clover stubbles are cleared from gi'ass, 

 and the store cattle begin to require assistance from 

 the turnips, the fatting cattle have followers, i. e. 

 reanng cattle: lean bullocks, cows, or store sheep 

 follow them to pick up their refuse. In this case it 

 becomes convenient to have three shifts, or three 

 pieces of throwing-ground in use at the same time: 

 one allotted for the head beasts, another for the fol- 

 lowers, and a third plot empty, for the purpose of 

 throwing turnips on it. Two pieces, or at least 

 two divisions of the same piece, are indispensably 

 necessary; and sometimes a row of hurdles is run 

 across a throwing piece, in order to separate the 

 bullocks from the followers. 



In throwing turnips, it is of great importance 

 that they be thrown evenly and thinly, so that 

 while a beast is breaking uj) one root, he cannot 

 have it in his power to trample or dung upon ano- 

 ther. But sufficient precaution is seldom taken to 

 guard effectually against (his inconvenience — 

 though if turnips are cast at the distance of one 

 yard asunder, they are not ill thrown — as they are 

 top often dropped in rows, or clusters, of half doz- 

 ens together. 



Bullocks, which are fed on turnips abroad, are 

 sometimes driven into the straw j'ard at night, 

 where the distance is not too great; and, occasion- 

 ally, a little straAV is given them under the hedge 

 of the throwing piece, when they continue entire- 

 ly abroad. The quantity of straw thus consumed 

 is very trifling, the object of it being merely to 

 cleanse their mouths from the dirt of the turnips, 

 on which root alone the farmers place all their de- 

 pendence tor bringing their cattle forward; though 

 there can be no doubt that the straw is also mate- 

 rially useful in correcting the too abundant mois- 

 ture of the yellow turnip. 



Mr. M. remarks, it as an interesting fact, that 

 not one in ten of the highly finished bullocks, 

 which are annually sent to Smithfield out of Nor- 

 folk, taste a handful of hay, or have scarcely any 

 other food whatever than turnips and barley straw, 

 excepting such as are fattened off in the spring 

 with ray-grass; and a few (hat are fatted by supe- 

 rior graziers, who make it a point to give a little 

 hay to their bullocks at turnips, towards (he spring, 

 when those roots are going off", and before the 

 grass-leys are ready for their reception; an excel- 

 lent practice, which ought, if possible, to be gene- 

 rally adojitcd, as without such precaution bullocks 



