674 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



[No. 11 



He seems to be peifectly up to a business of that 

 kind ; for when 1 wuited upon liim with a copy of 

 the submission, lie immediately said, tliar, with 

 the genilemnn appointed on ihe oiher side, he 

 would undertake todelermine therespeciive claims 

 in lour or five hours. Surprised at this rapid, 

 mode of procedure, and knowing of some pub- 

 raissions which had been carried on dedie in diem, 

 1 ventured to hint, that longer time might be 

 necessary, to do justice to the panics. '• Oh," 

 said he, in an easy way, " I can readily explain 

 the cause of the delay which you allude to. 

 Those who were acting did not know the busi- 

 ness entrusted to their decision, and of course 

 hailed at every step. People acquainted with 

 such matters get more cleverly Ibrward, especi- 

 ally if they have been often employed. In short, 

 I pledge myself that a decreet shall be pro- 

 nounced, at one sitting, upon every article in the 

 submission shown me. Nay, I tell you plainly 

 and candidly, that I have been engaged in more 

 complicated submissions than yours, and spent less 

 time in discussing them than what I have men- 

 tioned." Believe me, had not the gentleman been of 

 your recommendation,! should have leltsome ap- 

 prehensions about the issue of the submission; but, 

 recommended by you, every apprehension vanishes. 

 JiJay 3. — The turnip break is cross-ploughed, 

 and will ne.xt week be harrowed, rolled, reharrow- 

 ed and hand-gathered; after which, the person, 

 employed will give it a third i'urrow ; in which 

 state it must remain till I enter to pos.-^ession of the 

 farm. I have talked to him about cross-ploughing 

 the plain fallow, and offered 14s. per acre if he will 

 plough it nine inches deep. He does not seem 

 averse to the offer, provided he can get on with 

 his own business, which, he alleges, has rather 

 fallen behind during the time he has been enuaijod 

 with the turnip land. If he declines, I shall look 

 out for some other person, being sensible ol" the 

 great importance ofsiirring the li\llows at an early 

 period. The dung on the farm appearini; to be 

 imperfectly made, I proposed to my predecessor 

 to have it removed from thecourtine, orlarm-yard, 

 60 as it may be properly piled up and mixed to- 

 gether; and offered to provide fillera, if he will fur- 

 nish horses and cans. In fact, a removal is lor 

 both our interests, 'i'o him it must prove benefi- 

 cial, because the dung cannot be accurately mea- 

 sured in its present situation: and to me the remo- 

 val must be advantaueous, because, without it, 

 the dung can neither be properly rotted nor fer- 

 mented. He has agreed to the proposal ; and the 

 removal is to commence on JMonday, when all 

 hands will be employed. 



May 27. — I have now entered to possession ol 

 the farm ; that is to say, to the grass and lidlow 

 land, and the dwelling-house, cottages and stables. 

 My situation, at present, is certainly not a com- 

 fortable one ; but in a few weeks, I hope matters 

 will be suitably arranged. I purchased four hor- 

 ses at some roups in the neighborhood, and en- 

 tered ihem this day to harrowing the turnip break, 

 so as it might be prepared for a fourth furrow. 1 

 mean to set out for Glasgow fair to-morrow, to 

 purchase six other horses; and next week the 

 submission betwixt my predecessor and me is to 

 be discussed. You therelbre see that I will not 

 ne idle for some time. My father and another 

 friend mean to accompany me to Glasgow ; and 

 Sifter our return, you shall hear from me. Indeed, 



I haVe already received so much benefit from 

 your inetructions, that I would be callous to my 

 own interest, were I to neglect any opportunity of 

 seeking infijrmatioii at a source whence the igno- 

 rant may always be supplied without lee or re- 

 ward. Yours, &c. 



Class II. 



June ^. — Upon my return from Glasgow market, 

 where I had gone with my father and another 

 friend to purchase horses, I was happy to find a 

 letter from you on my table ; more so, as the con- 

 tents showed that you still reiained the same par- 

 tiality and kindness in my favor, as the tenor of 

 your behaviour, since I had the good luck of being 

 conimitied to your superintendence and manage- 

 ment, had constantly evidenced. Allow me, my 

 dear sir, to thank you sincerely (or so many kind 

 and affectionate advices. I shall treasure them 

 up in my mind, and endeavor to exemplify the 

 force of them in my daily conduct. Prudence 

 and integrity are certainly qualities of the first im- 

 portance. These qualities you warmly recom- 

 mend, as tending to compensate for many imper- 

 leciions. Though I may be two young to have 

 full possession of the first, yet I hope the last has 

 never been disregarded. Indeed, upon these two 

 qualities, the real character of every man depends. 

 Without the first, he is a fool ; wiihout the latter, 

 he viay be a rogue ; — but, guided by both qualities, 

 his actions must necessarily tend to promote his 

 own happiness and the welfare of society. 



But, to come to rural matters. — I am highly gra- 

 tified by the approbation you are pleased to bestow 

 upon the rotations of cropping submitted to your 

 consideration in one of my former letters. In par- 

 ticular, I am well pleased that my father's observa- 

 tions concerning the increased and increasing ben- 

 efits fiom grass-husbandry, are thoutrht worthy ofso 

 much coramenduiion. He has been a kind parent all 

 along, — therefore merits from me not onl}' profound 

 respect, but also implicit obedience on all occasions. 

 You justly remark, that the advantages of grass- 

 husbandry will increase in direct proportion with 

 the prosperity of the country, because the general 

 taste of mankind is in favor of the use of butcher 

 meat. This, my father says, is a sound remark, 

 being justified by the experience of many years. 

 He adds, when he commenced fiirming, that a 

 beast or two of thirty stones each, with a few 

 half-fed sheep, (ully supplied the weekly demand 

 of the neitrhhoring borough ; but that now when 

 the wealth of the country is so greatly increased, 

 twenty or thirty beasts, and these of (jreater weights 

 wi!h a considerable number of well fed sheep, are 

 required to supply the consumpt of the inhabitants 

 for the like period. Indeed, should the wealth of 

 the country increase to such an extent as to allow 

 the lower ranks one meal of butcher meat per day, 

 there is no saying to wliat length grass-husban- 

 dry may be carried. In my humble opinion, how- 

 ever, it should always be connected with corn- 

 husbandry, and never exercised in an exclusive 

 way, as customary in many parts of this neighbor- 

 ing kingdom. 



We purchased six cood horses at Glasofow mar- 

 ket, none of ihem above six years ofatje-j the av- 

 erage price of which amounted to fifty-five guineas 

 or thereby. In point of expense, a good horse 

 may be as cheap, if not cheaper maintained, than 



