714 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



[No. 12 



October 28. — Wheat seed is now finished vviih 

 me lor this eeuson, having sown ultojiether sixty- 

 eiiihl acres, viz. tliirty-eiffht acres upon land that 

 had been summer-fallowed, anci lh;r(y acres that 

 had carried peap and heans lo n)y f)redecessor. I 

 hail an intention nl' Iryinij ten or (welve acres ol' 

 clover stuiiltle ; hut alier hearinir my I'alher's 

 opinion upon that point, (rave up all inoii<;liis ol 

 attempiiniT wheat iherenpon, as he thinks oats to 

 he a more certain, and. at all events, as valuahlea 

 crop. He iirj^es, that clover stubhles seeded with 

 wheat are consianily in had condition aiier the 

 crop is reaped ; whereas, when seeded with oats, 

 a jrood crop may not oidy be expected, hot, what 

 is o(" jxreaier importance, tlie jxround will always 

 be found in order lor carrying pP'^s and beans as a 

 preparatory crop lor wheat. These reasons indu- 

 ced me to change the resolution originally formed, 

 though I mean to sow with wheat in the spring 

 all the land cleared ol" turnips before the first of 

 March. I will, however, sow our usual autumn 

 wheat, having no favor (or the new kind of spring 

 or summer wheat so keenly recommended by that 

 respectable gentleman. Sir John Sinclair, Baronet. 

 I am satisfied our climate does not suit that varie- 

 1y, It may do in Sicily or Kgypt, but will not an- 

 swer in this country. From a conversation the 

 other day, with that excellent and assiduous agri- 

 culturist, John Christian Curwen, Esquire, Presi- 

 dent of the Workington Agricultural Society, I 

 noticed, with pleasure, that his sentiments respec- 

 ting spring or summer wheat, are precisely the 

 pame with wliat I have f^.rmed on the subject. 

 Mr. Curwen has tried this newly introduced variety 

 to a grea' extent; Iherelbre is a competent judge 

 upon its uiiliiy. In fact, ihe variety seems to he 

 recominendi'd as a aaccedaneuni (or barley afier 

 tnrni()s, now when the culture of that valuable 

 grain — valuable certMinly upon liL'hl soils — is dis- 

 coiui enanced tiy the leirisl.iiure of ihe country. 



I was sorry that vou was not ai Falkirk, as ex- 

 pected. I purchased there thirty very good File 

 ijiree year-old slots, which prohiihly may ft^ed to 

 forty stones Amsterdam, or thereby. I intend, 

 after the stuldiles are ranged, to give them straw 

 till the muldle ol" February or so ; ader which, 

 they shall receive a tasiing ofturnips and ruta baga. 

 Ol" my twelve, acres of these roois, I am almost 

 sure ihat f:ix acres will fully supply the ewes; 

 therefore, the remainder will he o("irreat advantage 

 to the cattle. I shall take care to proportion the 

 quantity in such a way, as thai the ruta baira may 

 last to the first of June, when culling grass is to 

 be expected. 



Since u'heat seed was finished, I have entered 

 upon the fields, intended next year (or turnips and 

 ruta baga. giving them a deep furrow, in imitaiion 

 of your practice. I mean, next, to plough the bean 

 land, though I am not resolved wheiher to give a 

 cross furrow, or to gather up the ridge. Could a 

 good spring season be depended upon, I would 

 adopt the last method, and give the cross (iirrow 

 previous to the seed one. Perhaps ii may be best 

 lo try both ways, a.^^, by acung in this manner, 

 there is a chance of being more successlLiI, than by 

 exclusively adopting either the one or the other 

 inod(\ 



The horses are now put upon hay and corn, and 

 are in good spiriis. JMy predecessor sfieiiks u("not 

 intending lo thrash any of his peas and beans till 

 ailer i^.artintr.as; sol must keep lo hay till that 



time. It is a great matter to have horses in order 

 at this season ol" the year ; as, if they get out of 

 condition at the begining of winter, it is hardly 

 piacticahle to make them up for many months, with 

 every indulgence. 1 mean, therelore to be par- 

 ticularly aiienlive to their keep at this time, arid 

 next week to give up two journeys per day. As 

 fielil labor is in an advanced stale, one journey of 

 five hours will, in my opinion, answer quite well 

 till the spring quarter arrives. 



November 25. — As the land intended for beans 

 and peas has now got the first furrow, part in 

 length, and the remainder across, we have now 

 begun with what is meant \'ov summer-fallow. 

 I have ordered (hat a deep ploughing shall be giv- 

 en lo these (allow fields, knowing, unless it is com- 

 pletely ripped up, that no after exertion can com- 

 pensate any deli^ct in the first instance. I have 

 taken particular care, that the head-lands and 

 ga((;-l"urrovvs o(" every field ploughed, shall be 

 sufficiently digged and cleaned out. so as a drop 

 of water may not stand upon them during the 

 winter months. This was an advice which you 

 constantly inculcated ; and, if 1 recollect right you 

 often said, that, at one glance, you could deter- 

 mine whether the general management exercised 

 upon a clay land farm was good or bad, merely by 

 looking at the head-land furrows. 



My predecessor is busy thrashing out his crop, 

 and rather proceeding faster than is desirable. It 

 IS ibrcign to my inclination to have any dispute 

 with him, eiiher on that or any other matter; 

 therefore, though he could be compelled lo thrash 

 in a regular manner, I am stacking the straw in 

 ihe yard, which will, at least, serve for littering in 

 summer. It is built widi care, and the stack be- 

 ing carried up in leels, may be expected to stand 

 the weather without sustaining much injury. 



The invitation given in your last, lo spend a 

 few days at Barnhill, is highly acceptable. I trust 

 to be accompanied by my (i.ither to your hospitable 

 mansion — a mansion where business is never neg- 

 lected, nor the slightest departure ever made from 

 good order and regularity. There I spent twelve 

 months with great satislaction ; and thence I ex- 

 pect to derive happiness (or many years. You 

 have been always good to me; and I can only 

 show the gratitude implanted in my mind, by de- 

 firing most sincerely to receive a greater favor 

 than any hitherto conferred upon me. 



Class IV. 



December 15. — I have the satisfaction of ac- 

 quainting you, that [ goi safe home from Barnhill 

 and lhat all things had gone on well during my 

 eight days' absence. Indeed, my foreman ap- 

 peared lo have been particularly attentive to the 

 instructions given liitn at my departure ; though, 

 as the weaiher remained steadily dry, they were 

 easily (bllowed out. It is under different circum- 

 stances that absent n)asiers fuHer most. They 

 go (i'om home, leaving directions — probably \ery 

 proper ones at the lime they delivered, though 

 quite irrelevant when a change of weather occurs. 

 I(" such directions, theretbre, are literally obeyed, 

 much loss neccr-sarily ensues. Hence the utility 

 of a head-servant, of" good capacity and sufficient 

 experience ; one who can (brm a new plan of 

 action upon the spur of the moment, and with pre- 

 cision apply it to the diflerenl people over whom 



