70 



F A R fll E 11 S ' REGISTER 



about the middle of August, concludes the lillai^e. 

 Ill some cases, howevur, a second, and more ettoc- 

 tual setting up takes place in the montli of De- 

 cember, of tbal part of the crop intended lor latest 

 use, after the first frosis have made it plain that 

 no further increase of crop is to be expected. 



By the above process tl\e irround is left without 

 the vestige of a weed, and the crop does, gene- 

 rally, in every case, completely cover the soil. 

 The Culmaily turnips have, this season, been tidied 

 by pulling and weighing measured spaces, as fair- 

 ly as possible, over different parts ol' the field, and 

 the following are the results : 



Fold Manure Bone Dust Average. 



White globe per imperial acre T. 20 8 2 T. 35 2 3 T. 27 15 2.^ 



ditto 18 5 1 33 17 26 1 04 



Green Top - - - 18 1 31 10 1 24 15 2^ 



Field yellow - - - 25 12 3 



This was not a fair experiment betwixt bone 

 manure and Ibid dung mixed with decomposed 

 sea-weed, since that sown with dust was much 

 the best field of the two. But it shows clearly the 

 proportions which the different sorts of turnips bear 

 to each other, and the causes why, for keeping 

 stock, the writer prelers to have his greatest quan- 

 tity of the coarser and more common sorts. Of 

 Swedes and mangel-wurzel, he has, for many 

 years, grown none. Whether from the nature of 

 the climate or the soil, he could never bring them 

 to a full crop, and as his sheep hospital, in a great 

 measure, breaks up when the cotton grass comes 

 into flower in March, he found no inducement that 

 he could balance against the sacrifice of quantity. 

 Barley. — When the turnips have been eaten off 

 by sheep, the surface of the field bears some re- 

 semblance to a macadamised road. So far as 

 compression goes, it is certainly not much differ- 

 ent from lea, when about to be broken up after 

 pasture. It is usual to cross-rib and harrow it be- 

 ibre giving the seed furrow. In strong land, 

 •indeed, it sometimes gets a previous clean cross 

 furrow; in soft sandy loams a seed furrow on the 

 turnip break is found quite sufficient. No weeds 

 grow among the corn sown up to grass, and it is 

 never drilled, but invariably sown broad cast. 

 The broadest sowing machine, is an invaluable 

 article, although extremely apt to be bent in the 

 rods, and otherwise spoiled, by the rough, and 

 unskilful hands, which use ii. The quantity of 

 seed given varies from three to five bushels, ac- 

 cording to the quality of the soil. The seed time 

 endures from the 1st of April, to the 1st of May, 

 Early sowing has not been tried ; but by what is 

 said on that subject in the Society's report, No. 1, 

 the writer of this paper intends to make the ex- 

 periment in February, and March first. The 

 returns vary from thirty-nine to fifty bushels of a 

 dark coloured heavy weighing grain, in good favor 

 with distillers. 



Grass. — One advantage derived from our late 

 period of sowing is the opportunity afforded of 

 putting in the grass seeds in good time to be co- 

 Tered by the last turn of the harrows, which follow 

 the seed corn ; a method adbrdinix a belter braird 

 and more vigorous plants than when the seeds 

 are rolled in alter the barley has got above ground. 

 On soil of the first quality one bushel pacey rye- 

 grass, having a good admixture of rib grass in it. 

 eight pounds white clover, six pounds red, and 

 six pounds trefoil. On soil of the second quality, 

 one bushel and a half ray-grass, eight pounds 

 white, lour pounds red, and six pounds trefoil ; and 



on third quality, two pounds of ray-grass, eight 

 pounds white, six pounds trefoil, are usually given; 

 to which, in very light moor land, he has very 

 successfully substituted for barley half a peck of 

 rape seed. In this last case an inclosure of very 

 worthless land becomes, both in autumn and 

 spring (April), a nurscKy for the weak part o[ 

 yount? slock of' first quality. 



One inclosure, of best quality, is invariably set 

 aside lor hay to the working horses. That it may 

 come early to the swaith, it is never permitted to 

 eat it down in autumn. To save the esculence of 

 the hay and the fertility of the field, it is cut the 

 instant the ray-grass comes into flower (excepting 

 what is required for next year's ray-grass seed,) 

 and an exertion is made to get the hay carried be- 

 fore the 8lli or 10th of July. 



Isl. That the aftermath may be, at speaning* 

 time, open to recruit the weakest and worst fed 

 lambs; and 2dly, that the haymaking may be 

 put past, after the cleaning of the rape, and before 

 the succession of turnips sown, press, for hoeing, 

 on the hay-makers. The young people employed 

 on these works are sure to quit the farmer by the 

 1st of August, to employ themselves in the her- 

 ring fishery ; and the fiirmer, whose summer 

 hand work is not, by that time, completed, has a 

 very poor chance, for that se?ason, to bring hia 

 green crops to a successflil termination. 



Besides this field appropriated lor hay, the rota- 

 tion gives six inclosures at Culmaily, and two at 

 Morvich lor pasture. The two at Morvich are 

 devoted as a summer nursery for the ewe stock; 

 one at Culmaily as summer nursery for the weth- 

 er stock; one for the ' work horses, colts, and ser- 

 vants' cows; and the remaining four prepare 

 the sale cattle lor market. The fields at Morvich 

 not being eaten bare by the sheep, the scythe is 

 passed over them as soon as the lambs have been 

 speaned, and the ewes sent to the heather : the 

 grass cut, made into hay, and carted off as speedily 

 as possible, that a short close bite may in good 

 time succeed Cot the further progress of the stock. 



The cattle alluded to are all bought in from the 

 people who are settled round the shores of Suth- 

 erland, in small lots of land, lor 'the prosecution 

 of the herring fishing. These people have one, 

 two, or three cows each. They sell the calves at 

 from nine months to a year old. The tillage farm- 

 ers buy them, and prepare them to travel south. 

 The writer of this report uses nearly from seven 

 to eight scores. He buys them in April, puts 

 them, during summer, on his superabundance of 

 deer hair, transfers them from that in August to 

 certain coarse rushy loams, where coarse grass 

 grows, brings them to his courtinesat Morvich and 

 Culmaily to eat straw in winter, and finishes them 

 off for the road during next summer in the in- 

 closures above mentioned. With some little as- 

 sistance from the field appropriated to the horses, 

 the lour fields summer, on an average, with atten- 

 tion, at the rate of 1^ per acre. It is the practice to 

 fill u|) two fields with three cattle per acre, and 

 to shift once a fortnight. 



The breed is the Norland Kyloe crossed, in 

 some cases, with the Arjryleshire breed, of which 

 the noble marquis has long kept a selected breed 

 at Dunrobin. I am of opinion thai had proper 

 skill and attention been used to infuse the Argyie- 



* Weaning. 



