G72 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



tNo.,11 



the same shall be aaCermineh b}^ neutral^ men. of 

 skill aaJ capacity niulually appointed. The con- 

 dition of the houses and leiices is also to be sub- 

 mitted to neutral men. Here, my dear sir, allow 

 me to request that you would act as my arbiter on 

 this occasion. The matters to be deternuned are 

 ofsome importance to me; and I am the more 

 anxious to have my interest under your guidance, 

 since Ilearned from my iather that heavy losses, 

 on one side or other, are ofien euslamed, when 

 unqualified persons sit in judf^menf. The clause 

 with regard to tences bears, that they are to be 

 capable^'of keeping in cattle and sheep ; and as to 

 houses, that they are to be in good habitablf^. con- 

 dition. To me these terms appear loose and un- 

 precise; though, to persons of experience, their 

 meaning may not be doubtful. 



I corne now to the rent agreed upon, which I am 

 fearful may be too higli ; but, being ofl'ered under, 

 the express sanction of my lather, nmst be reckon- 

 ed as not higher than the market value of similar 

 soils. In sliort, the rent agreed upon is one thou- 

 sand guineas, or three pouiids ten shillings per acre, 

 which is a smart one especially as the public bur- 

 dens, say property-tax, horse-tax, window lights, 

 statute labor, &c. must be added ; and these may 

 be computed at ninety pounds, or six shillings per 

 acre more. My fether, in valuing the ftnn, trus- 

 ted much to the goodness of its condition, and the 

 retrular mode of cropping exercised for several 

 yeTirs ; and assured me, that, under dillerent cir- 

 cumstances, his estimate would have been curtail- 

 ed considerably. He added, that he has known 

 iarms newly taken, where one year's rent could 

 not be paid out of two crops ; whereas, in the 

 present instance, the rent might nearly be paid at 

 xhe outset. This, to be sure, is an importan!. mat- 

 ter ; freeing me from an expensive outlay in Uie 

 first instance, which in lact, would operate after- 

 wards exactly in the same way as so much more 

 rent. I wished greatly to have had the benefit of 

 your advice before the transaction was concluded ; 

 therefore, felt much concern when I learned that 

 your other engagements prevented us from obtain- 



miz it. , ,. . 



Allow me, in the next place, to solicit your 

 advice concerning the most suitable rotations o( 

 cropping for the 'several soils described. I shall 

 throw out my crude ideas on that subject, submit- 

 lin"- them eaiirely to your better judgement. 



/r-.v.sf—Ou the strong loam, I ain inclined to 

 think that an eight, course shift may be most pro- 

 fitably Ibllovved, especially, as that soil is divided 

 into eight enclosures, some of them more, some of 

 them less than twenty acres, which would cause 

 the arrangement to suit well when o;rass was re- 

 sorted to. ^The rotation might commence with a 

 coinpleie suinmer-lallow ; 2. go on with wheat 

 und crrass seeds; 3. pasture; 4. pasture ; 5. pas- 

 ture r'3- oats; 7. beans ; 8. wheat. My liither 

 thinks, as the land is well enclosed, and profits 

 tlom grass husbandry on the increase, that the 

 benefits of thi-^ rotation may exf.eed those to be 

 obtained from employing the plough more exten- 

 sively ; and that whilst only one dungir>g "-was 

 required during the rotation, the whole crops may 

 be ex[)ecled good from the vegettihle manure ac- 

 cumulateil dnring the three years blpas-tarage. - 



,gn.,),i.l^{yii the thin clays, it appears cxpediejit 

 to exai'ci'^'' i^gerulff rotation, ptberwib-c full crops 

 ■cannot be cxpccKnl. Say, 1. suni'ncr fi'low with 



dung ; 2, x^heat and seeds ; 3. clover and rye- 

 grass ; 4. oats. ' You liave often told me, that 

 grass husbandry did not pay on such soils afier the 

 first year, and that as good oats were got after one 

 year's grass as aller three years. Satisfied that 

 these sentiments are well founded. I propose that 

 the filty acres of thin clay should be divided into 

 lour breaks, and cropped in the way described.^ 

 According to any other plan, the same quantity <A' 

 produce cannot be obtained at so little expense 

 of labour. In lact, five, or at the most six plough- 

 ings, are oni^^ required during the whole rotation. 

 ^Third—As to the light soils. I am clear that 

 turni|)s should be the basis of any rotation that 

 may be adopted. This, 1 know, will gain your 

 approbation. I am more doubtful about the after 

 crops ; but let me suppose the course to be as fol- 

 lows: 1. turnips; 2. wheat on the portion of 

 ground cleared by the first of March ; barley on 

 the remainiler; grass seeds to be sown with both ; 

 3. clover and rye-grass, either to be used in soil- 

 ing, or nianuliictured into hay; 4. oats ; 5. peas 

 an'd beans drilled ; 6. wheat. There being one 

 hundred acres of light soil, this gives about 16| 

 acres for each break. My father says the rotation 

 is a iiood one, if dung can be administered twice 

 in the course of it ;— a point which cannot be as- 

 certained at the present moment. 



Now, let me bring the crops of the several ro- 

 tations into one view, before calling your attention 

 to the number of men and horses that will be re- 

 quired in their cultivation. Upon looking back, 

 it appears that there will be nearly thirty-seven 

 acres of wheat upon the strong loam ; twelve and 

 a half acres upon the thin clay; and twenty acres 

 upon the light soils, supposing one half of the 

 turnip break cleared in time, making, in all, sev- 

 enty-four and a half acres annually under wheat. 

 The extent of barley ground will be eight acres 

 and a half, or thereby ; of oats about Ibriy-eight 

 acres ; of beans and peas about thirty-five acres, 

 of turnips nearly seventeen acres, besides thirty- 

 two acres of plain summer-liillow. The total 

 number of acres, therefore, under the plough in 

 one season, according to these rotations, is two 

 hundred and fifteen; whereof one hundred and 

 thirty-one will carry white corn crops, and fifty- 

 two beans, peas arid turnips; whilst eighty-five 

 acres are in grass of different ages ; and the re- 

 mainder of the farm, viz, thirty-two acres, under 

 the radical preparatory process of summer-fallow. 

 In my humble opinion, the above sketch is not 

 far amiss, especially as it includes the cropping of 

 various soils, whose properties are so dissimilar, 

 as to render what may be called good manage- 

 ment upon one of them altogether inexpedient up- 

 on the others. 



Do you think five ploughs and ten horses will 

 be quite sullicient lor carrying on the work I have 

 chalked out 7 Or would you consider six to be ne- 

 cessary? To save a plough in these times, is the 

 same thing as to save one hundred guineas; though 

 i am-Well aware, if the strength kept is below the 

 wouk to be executed, that every saving in the 

 first instance will ultimately turn out a real loss to 

 the person who attempts it. Still, as 1 remember 

 llrat a i)lough with vou cultivated more acres than 

 Mumvmeniiohed, and, know that an extensive, 

 farmer in this neisfhborhood, whose farm is chief- 

 ly composed of loam and clay soils, had last season . 

 330 iu'rcd under grain crops, whilst his strength 



