yoifX MOR riMKR. 159 



altcrnale year as pasluns, ami tCd oft instead of heini;- mown, " for 

 feeding is as necessary for lia\- ground as fallowing is for corn lands." 

 He considered English c-lover sirds ihr bost, and he knew all ahout 

 alternate husbandry. i\)r-grass is rcconinicndcd for sowing with the 

 clover to prevent the bursting of cattle. He knew little al)out harvesting 

 clover seed as he adds, " If one could get an account from Flanders how 

 they thrash their clover there it would be of gnat advantage." He 

 speaks of the seed being sown in tin- husk, ami I know of a farmer 

 to-day who sows his land with clover heads, in spite of the enlightened 

 times in which we li\ e. He speaks of rye-grass seed being worth is. bd. 

 per bushel in London (nowadays it fetches 45-. to 65-.). Sheep's parsley 

 and mustard are sovereign remedies when grown as a crop against rot 

 in sheep. He preferred the Hertfordshire plough lo any olli.r, being the 

 strongest and easiest of draught on all sorts of land, and he gives 

 diagrams of the various makes used in different parts of the count rv. 

 He purchased seeds of the various corns brought from the north to the 

 south. He always steeped his seed corn in brine, and bv putting worm- 

 wood into the brine it prevented the birds from eating it. 



He next goes into the structure of soils, the weed plants found in 

 each, what crops various soils are best likely to carry, and the cultural 

 customs in different countries in altogether an intelligent manner, and 

 much in accordance with the practices of to-day. There are chapters 

 upon chalk, lime, and marl, and also on various manures — all exceedingly 

 interesting. He recommends sowing '' rye in the dust and wheat in the 

 dirt," and he may have been the originator of this old farmers' saving. 

 Of the different wheats he speaks of the eggshell as a good white on 

 light lands. In Essex they largely sow the red-bearded wheat, in Oxford- 

 shire the long cone wheat, in Staffordshire the red lammas, in Berkshire 

 a variety of what they call pendulum wheat, from the hanging of its ear. 

 Of barleys, the rathripe or patney in Oxfordshire, the Scotch barley in 

 Lincolnshire, and the wheat barley in Staffordshire, shaped like l«arley, 

 but a grain like wheat : " tis much sown at Rowley, Homstal, and 

 Redmore. It makes good bread and malt." Of oats, he refers to a sort 

 of red or naked variety grown in Staffordshire that is fine for oatmeal, 

 '■ because the kernel thrashes out of the hull without carrving it to the 

 mill." 



Hops are thoroughly discussed. He says in Hampshire they sell 

 water trefoil as dear as hops, as an eighth part of it goes as far as the 

 hops, and it does as well. Several chapters are devoted to live animals 

 of all kinds for stocking the land. The best sort of cow for the pail, he 

 says, is " the long-legged, short-horned cow of the Dutch breed, many 

 givmg two gallons of milk at a meal." Of sh(>ep, he says around London 

 they buy Way-hill sheep, a sort bred in Hampshire, Wills, (S;c., which 

 lamb very early. (There is a celebrated sheep fair at Wi-vhill, 

 Salisbury ; this is probably tlie place he refers to.) He says pigeons are 



