228 



THE FARMEKS' REGISTER. 



ascertained, that by the introduction of good roads, 

 the value ot' a country will be greatly increased ; 

 — their instruments of husbandry are cheap, and 

 well constructed ; their ploughs excellent, worked 

 by two horses,* and peculiarly well calculated lor 

 general use ; and their carle superior to any other 

 for agricultural purposes; — their live stock are 

 valuable, well calculated (or iheir soihand climate ; 

 and their horses, not only well adapted lor the la- 

 bors of husbandry, but maintained in such a man- 

 ner, as to render them capable of performing a 

 great deal oC labor;— in some cases they have 

 tried a partial use oC oxen wfth success, more 

 especially in thrashing-mills ; — nor do they ne- 

 glect to pay a proper degree of attention to the 

 articles that ought to be raised upon a farm, ac- 

 cording to its soil, its climate, its elevation and 

 exposure, and its situation in respect of markets. 

 In regarti to the actual cultivation of an arable 

 farm, many points of infinite importance liave 

 been ascertained by the experience of Scotch 

 farmers, in a manner the most satisfactory. They 

 have ascertained the proper length, breadth, and 

 shape of ridges ; — in the use of putrescent, and 

 still more of calcareous manures, they have made 

 great improvements ; they have proved, beyond 

 the possibility of doubt, the advantages of deep 

 ploughing ; — they have completely ascertained 

 the advantages of summer-fallowing, where soils 

 are either ot a clayey nature, or are incumbent 

 on wet subsoils ; — they have carried on with suc- 

 cess, some essential improvements in the cultiva- 

 tion of various crops, in particular in regard to 

 those important articles, turnips and potatoes; — 

 they have also brought to a high degree of per- 

 fection the course of crops calculated (or different 

 soils ; and have ascertained the rotations (or 

 which each description of soil is respectively best 

 adapted ; — they cultivate in drills, beans, turnips, 

 and potatoes, in a manner not to be surpassed 

 for its excellence, and they have laid it down as a 

 maxim, that crops of grain should be drilled, 

 where the land is sown in spring, particularly 

 where it is subjected to annual weeds ;t — they 

 have also made some improvements in harvesting 

 grain ; m particular, the plans of cast-iron pillars 

 and bosses, are admirable inventions for a wet 

 climate, by means of which, the harvesting of 

 grain, and of pulae in particular, may be complet- 

 ed in half the usual time ; — they have brought 

 the cleaning and thrashing of grain to the highest 

 degree of perfection ; almost every individual, 

 who has any claim to the character of a farmer, 

 having fanners in his possession, and thrashing- 

 mills having become almost equally general ; — 

 they have carried, to a great extent, the practice 

 of coiling horses, and even cattle ; and have 

 proved, by decisive experiments, the superiority 

 of that plan ; — they have restricted the practice 

 of preserving permanent pastures within reason- 

 able bounds, and have proved, that the converti- 

 ble system of husbandry, may be generally adopt- 



* la Norfolk they use only two horses in a plough, 

 but four horses are commonly allowed for each plough, 

 two for a journey of five hours in the morning', and 

 two more for another journey of five hours in the 

 evening. 



t It must be admitted, at the same time, that the 

 drilling grain crops, is more generally practised in 

 England, than in Scotland, but that is not the case in 

 regard to beans, turnips, and potatoes. 



ed, to the great benefit of the landed proprietor, 

 and of the public. 



These are circumstances connected with the im- 

 proved system of husbandry established in Scot- 

 land, the existence of which, I trust, is abundant- 

 ly proved in the course of the preceding observa- 

 tions. 



The result of this system is in ihe highest de- 

 gree satisfactory. In all the corn districts, where 

 the convertible husbandry is thoroughly establish- 

 ed, greater crops are raised, and higher rents are 

 paid,* than in any other part of the British domi- 

 nions, and, what is equally remarkable, the con- 

 dition or circumstances of those engasfed in agri- 

 culture evidently bear the like marks of abun- 

 dance. Without enlarging upon these matters in 

 this place, I may only add, that the produce of 

 crops, in good seasons, and in (ertile districts, is 

 calculated to be fi-om 32 to 45 bushels of wheat, 

 (r'om 48 to 55 bushels of barley, (rom 60 to 75 

 bushels of oats, and from 80 to 35 bushels of 

 beans, Winchester measure, ;)e'»* statute acre. As 

 to green crops, 30 tons of turnips, 3 tone of clover, 

 and 8 tons of potatoes, per statute acre, are no 

 uncommon crops. Any system that can produce 

 crops of eo superior a description, even on fertile 

 soils, is well entitled to imitation, more especially 

 when it is accompanied with great economy in 

 the expense of cultivation. 



Forty-four years have now elapsed, since one 

 of the ablest writers on agriculture in modern 

 times, (Lord Karnes,) pointed out the imperfec- 

 tion of Scotch husbandry ; and it is singular that, 

 with hardly any exception, these imperfections 

 have since been removed. Had it not come from 

 such high authority, it is hardly possible to credit, 

 that within the memory of so many persons now 

 living, our agriculture could have been so misera- 

 bly deficient as it seems to have been at that time. 

 The learned Judge represents our instruments of 

 husbandry as sadly imperlect ; — our draft-horses 

 as miserable creatures, without strength or met- 

 tle ; — our oxen scarcely able to support their own 

 weight, and ten going in a plough, led on by two 

 horses ; — the execrable husbandry of infield and 

 outfield generally established ; — the ridges high 

 and broad, in fact enormous masses ol accumu- 

 lated earth, that would not admit of cross-plough- 

 ing, or of proper cultivation ; — shallow plough- 

 ing universal ; — ribbing, by which half the land 

 was le(t untilled, a general practice ;— summer 

 fallow, though common in three or four counties, 

 yet only creeping, on in others ; — over the greater 

 part of Scotland, a continual struggle for supe- 

 riority between corn and weeds: — the roller al- 

 most uidinown ; — no harrc^vving before sowing, 

 and the seed thrown into rough uneven ground, 

 where the half of it was buried; — imperlect ro- 

 tations of crops ; — little skill in harvesting ; — no 

 branch of husbandry less understood than ma- 

 nure ; — potatoes in general propagated in lazy- 



* Mr. Curwen, in his Report to the Workington 

 Society for the year 1810, p. S6, states the rent of 

 (ertile land in East Lothian to be, £.6 per Scotch acre, 

 and the produce, 40 bushels of wheat, 60 of barley, 

 90 of oats, excellent beans, weighty crops of turnips, 

 and most luxuriant crops of clover. It is proper, 

 however, to observe, that this is only applicable to the 

 more fertile soils. A farm of 330 acres of arable land 

 near Dunbar has lately been let at £8, 2s. ^er Scotch, 

 or £6, lOs. per English acre. 



