CAPES. 



CAPON. 



The capers, as found in the French market, 

 are distinguished into five sorts; the nonpareille, 

 the capucine, the capote, the second, and the third ; 

 this being the decreasing order of their quality, 

 which depends upon the strength of the vine- 

 gar used in pickling them, as also the size and 

 colour of the buds. 



The caper shrub grows in the driest situa- 

 tions, even upon walls, and does not disdain 

 any soil ; but it loves a hot and sheltered ex- 

 posure. It is multiplied by grafts made in 

 autumn, as also by slips of the roots taken off 

 in spring. 



CAPES, or CAPPS, provincial words, ap- 

 plied to the ears of corn broken off, either 

 wholly or in part, in thrashing; as well as to 

 the grain to which the chaff adheres. 



CA'PITAL (Lat. capitalist. The capital re- 

 quired by a farmer, to a great extent, varies 

 with the soil and country in which he is placed; 

 all practical observations in this place, there- 

 fore, can only be of a general nature. The 

 first and best direction, however, to a farmer 

 must be, " do not take more land than your 

 capital will enable you to farm well." For this 

 purpose, the observations of the author of the 

 British Husbandry, vol. i. p. 41, may very well 

 be introduced in this place. "Most farmers 

 are anxious for large occupations, and many 

 are thus betrayed into the error of renting a 

 greater quantity of ground than they have the 

 means of managing to advantage; some, in 

 the delusive hope of acquiring those means 

 by future savings ; others, from the vanity of 

 holding more land than their neighbours : 

 hence arises deficiency of stock, imperfect til- 

 lage, and scanty crops ; with all the consequent 

 train of rent in arrear, wages ill-paid, and debts 

 unsatisfied distress, duns, and final ruin. 

 Whereas, he who is prudently content to com- 

 mence with only such a number of acres as 

 he has the power of cultivating with proper 

 effect, is certain of obtaining the full return 

 from the soil ; while, not being burdened with 

 more land than he can profitably employ, his 

 engagements are within his means, and thus, 

 while enjoying present ease of mind, he lays 

 the surest foundation for his future prosperity." 

 And, as it is well observed (Quart. Journ. of 

 dgr. vol. iii. p. 452), " Or if, to save appear- 

 ances, he borrows money to complete his ne- 

 cessary arrangements, his condition is not 

 improved ; because the interest he will have to 

 pay for the borrowed money will operate as an 

 additional yearly rent, and thus take from him 

 all the advantages which he was led to expect 

 he would enjoy under a moderate one." Un- 

 der the head APPRAISEMENT will be found the 

 amount of the valuation of the crops, and other 

 things commonly paid by the incoming to the 

 outgoing tenant on a farm of 309 acres, 

 amounting to 1702/. This, however, varies 

 considerably according to the CUSTOM OF 

 COUNTIES, which see. To this must be added 

 the expenses incurred of stocking the farm for 

 the first year. Wages, seed, keep of family, 

 Aent, taxes, rates, &c. On a farm of 500 acres, 

 professor Low (Prac. jSgr. p. 674) estimates 

 the capital required for the first year to be (in 

 Scotland) 

 258 



s. d.' 

 \. Implements ..... 470 4 4' 



2. Live stock ..... 1423 15 o 



3. >'i;iMl - -273 00 



4. Manure - - - - - - 516 10 



5. Labour, &c. ----- 528 17 6 



6. Maintenance of horses ... 343 7 n 



7. Burdens - 31 15 9 



Furniture of house 

 Family expenses, li years 



200 

 150 



3638 8 6 



From this he deducts for produce sold \ on , ., _ 

 in this time - - - - j 995 17 



Required net capital .... 1 2> !-j 10 9 



or 51. 13s. 8rf. per acre. In this .calculation, 

 he supposes that no rent is paid till the crop is 

 reaped. The estimate for the capital required 

 for a Scotch farm of 500 acres (allowing no- 

 thing for payments to outgoing tenant) is, ac- 

 cording to a statement in the Quart. Juurn. of 

 Jigr. vol. iii. p. 475, as follows : 



Value of implements for farm work - 

 do. live stock 



do. barn work 



Thrashing machine - 



Horses .... 



Cattle ..... 



Sheep - 



Other live stock ... 



Grass seeds ... 



Tares - ... 



Peas 



Turnips - 



Potatoes .... 



Corn - ... 



Labour - 



8. d. 



- 228 2 2 



- 43 19 4 

 17 14 4 



- 170 



- 450 



- 511 



- 420 



700 

 87 10 



680 



400 

 12 15 



2 16 



- 215 6 3 



- 865 6 10 



Rent 500 acres, at 40s. 



3041 17 11 

 - 1000 



From which, however, deduct the value of 

 the following articles, derived from the 

 farm before the period of paying the se- 

 cond half year's rent, viz. 

 Profit on 20 fat cattle, 51. each - - 100 

 Wintering 20 kyloes for 24 weeks, at 2s. 



6d. per week - .... 30 

 Sold SO dinmots and gewmers at 25s. 



each, and 20 draft ewes at 30s. each 130 

 Profit on turniping 120 hogs 24 weeks, 



at 'id. per head per week - - - 36 



Sold 14 pigs 14 



Produce of 4 cows over what required 



by family ------ 10 



Wool sold ------ 152 



4041 17 Jl 







3569 17 11 



At p. 658, of Low's Prac. Jlgr. will be found a 

 catalogue of the various implements of a farm 

 of 500 acres, from a thrashing machine worth 

 1QQI. to a grease pot valued at Is. 6d., amount- 

 ing altogether to 474/. 4s. 4c?. And this in- 

 cludes hardly a single article that the young 

 farmer can well do without. As a general 

 rule on the chalks of Hampshire, they deem 

 5/. per acre to be a sufficient capital; but on 

 some of the rich highly cultivated soils cf 

 Surrey, Kent, and Essex, lOf. per arable acre 

 is not too much. Grazing farms require less 

 in proportion than arable lands. 



CAPON (Sax. capun; Fr. chapon; Lat. capo). 

 If cocks, when young, are emasculated, it has 

 a prodigious effect upon their condition, and a 

 similar effect may be produced upon young 

 hens by the abstraction of their egg-bags. 

 These operations have been practised upon 



