676 



FARM K R S ' REGISTER. 



[No. 11 



trouble. They ordered six guineas to be paid to i 

 the gentleman who acted as their clerk, for siaiups, | 

 and writing the submiss-ion ; and. award ot|e ( 

 ^'tiinoa 10 a landmeasurer who ascertained thej 

 qiianiiiy "I dung; ami iiaif a guinea each to six 

 tradesmen sumnioiied as asset^t<ors ; which sums , 

 were paid by my predcce&sor and.iiie in efjual I 

 prop iriions, Alier business was des|)atclied, the 

 ailiilcrs anti oversinan did me the liwor oi" taking 

 a share ol" dinner aionsril wiih my Hither and the 

 outgoing tenant, togeihcr with the clerk and 

 landmeasnrer. I find the laiier lo he a decent 

 and discreet man, an excellent figurer, and one 

 who understands mensuration in all its parts. On 

 these accounts I mean to give him all the counte- 

 nance and employment in luy power. We spent 

 the alicrnooii agreeably, and did not Ibrget to 

 drink your health. My predecessor behaved very 

 handsomely through the whole arrangement. 

 In short, without showing the least ill-will or spite 

 to me, becau.se I am his successor, he has, h'om 

 first to last, acted like a gentleman, and as one 

 who knows the world. He has never ostentalious- 

 Iv prolessed lo serve me ; but, on the other hand, 

 has as seldom thrown cold water on any part of 

 my proceedings. 1 am so nmch satisfied that good 

 agreement betwixt outgoing and incoming tenants 

 is for their mutual advantage, that 1 mean to meet 

 him more than hall-way in every matter which 

 may occur, till his crop is harvested and marketed. 

 In these processes, it is in luy power to serve him 

 materially. 



'I'he turnip field is now ready for sowing, hav- 

 ing received five plouuhings, (he lust across, 

 (which my fitherstreimously recommended as the 

 best method preparatory lo Ibrming the drills), 

 with repeated harruwings ami roldng^-. It is per- 

 i'ectW clean, and completely pulverized ; but lam 

 alVaid that liramlinir sap may be scanty, (I'om the 

 severe droughi which has lor some weeks prevail- 

 ed. I should have mentioned that one Iburlh of 

 the field was sown last week with ruta baga and 

 yeilow turnips, havuiir, /jer liivor ol" my predeces- 

 sor, nbuiined as nmch dun<i as was required to 

 supply that part of the field, though the arbiters 

 had neiiher valued nor measured it. The number 

 of cart loads drove out were ascertained ; and it 

 was agreed that each can load should be consider- 

 ed as containing one and three quarter cubic yards, 

 and paid lor accordingly. This is one instance ol 

 the benefit which may be done, by an outgoing to 

 an iuconnng tenant; for, assuredly, had my pre- 

 decessor drawn cross, I could not have got either 

 ruta baL''a or yellow turnips sown in proper season. 

 My lather is a great advocate lor yellow turnips, 

 eaying, they possess all the (]ualiues of rula baija, 

 and are much easier produced. He seems to think, 

 that a full crop of ruta bagu c;m oidy be obtained 

 from ground, either naturally of very fine quality, 

 or which has received a large supply of dung. 

 The advantages of ruta baga are, resistance lo 

 the sevierest frost, and supplying Ibod lor cattle and 

 sheep, alier common turiups are consumed, and 

 till the grass season arrives. Similar advaniaires, 

 my father says, may be procured from yeilow tur- 

 nips upon interior soils, and with less exi)enditure 

 of manure. These matters, I hope, ere long, to 

 be able to speak upon, Irom practical experience. 

 Though ihe uliTiost care has been takeii to feed 

 the horses well, and not to push them, too last, I 

 find those bouiiht at Glasgow are rather getting 



into a backward state, being duller in the eye, 

 drier on the skin, and not lt;eling so plump^ and 

 mellow as when they were purchased. The 

 horses bought at country roups have not liillen ofi'in 

 rhe least, though equal work tiiid ireaimeut has 

 been given the whole stock. Shall i attribute the 

 difierence of condition lo the west country horses 

 no! being Ibrmerly kept upon the same sort of food 

 as given to them here ; or nmst I suppose, that, 

 ai home, they were gently worked, and not used 

 to nine liours per day in plough and iiarrow, as 

 has regularly been the case (Sundays excepted) 

 since they were purchased'? Each ol' them have 

 got nearly one third of a firlot, or twenty-one 

 pounds weight, of good potato oats, and one and a 

 half Scots stones, or thiriy-three pounds weight, 

 avoirdupois, of hay every day since they came into 

 my custody. I purchased the oats at 28s. per boll, 

 and the hay at one shilling per stone ; so, of course, 

 the expense of their maintenance has not been less 

 than lour shillings per horse per day. 1 have now 

 begun to give ihcTi cutting grass instead of hay, 

 though I do not think it would be prudent to with- 

 draw any part of the corn till ihesovving of turnips 

 is concluded. 



My establishment (perhaps the term is an im- 

 proper one, when applied to the servants of a 

 larmer, though used m a pamphlet lately publish- 

 ed) consists of my sister, who has kindly underta- 

 ken to manage the house till a better manager 

 can be procured, a maid-servant, and a boy to 

 clean my sadtlle-horse, and [lerlbrm odd jobs. 

 The plouahmen and laborers are married men ; 

 and all of i hem have behaved steadily and decently 

 since they entered to my service. They leave the 

 stable at five o'clock in the morning, and it gene- 

 rally is half-past len o'clock belbre they return; 

 as my orders like your's, are, that the yokincr is to 

 commence when they put the plough in ujotion, 

 not when they go out ol' ihe stable-doors. In the 

 aliernoon, they leave the stable al)out twenty 

 minuies belbre two o'clock, and go four hours al- 

 ter the plough is set to work. Now, when the 

 horses receive grass, the ploughmen have to bring 

 it liom the field bet wixt yokings, it being cut and 

 tied in bunches by one of the laborers, which, as 

 you often told me, are most saving operations. 

 in fiict, where such management is neglected, a 

 great waste and an irregular supply aie the ne- 

 cessary concomitants, though, where attended to, 

 the horses are supplied in a regular and economical 

 manner. 



June Yith. — The sowing of turnips is now finish- 

 ed, and fine dry weather was enjoyed during the 

 whole of the process. 1 could not, like you, carry 

 on the forming of drills, dunging the ground, split- 

 ting the drills, and runnin<r ilie seed-machine, all 

 at one time ; but I diil the best in my power which 

 circumstances would permit : I formed a conside- 

 rable number of the drills beforehand, em[)loying 

 three carts in driving out the dung, two ploughs 

 coverinjf it in as fi\st as it was spread, while, with 

 an odd horse, the drill-machine regularly deposited 

 the seed. I made it a point, that a sinirle drill 

 was not to remain uncovered at the end of the 

 yoking, and took equal care that none were left 

 unseeded; as I hope the best wns done under the 

 circumstances of the case. When the drills pre- 

 viously made had been dunged, the whole strength 

 was employed to form additional ones; and, by 

 acting in this way, and paying constant attection 



