310 



Examples of Improvement. 



Vol. X. 



no coal, and for fuel, the inhabitants pare 

 the surface of the land, which seems co- 

 vered with a thick matted moss and heather, 

 and which, when taken off, leaves under it 

 a mixture of white gravel, and black, peaty 

 mould. This being taken off in spots, the 

 country resembles the face of a man reduced 

 to a skeleton, with his skin pitied and blotch- 

 ed all over with the small-pox. It will be 

 understood that I am speaking only of a 

 part of Cornwall, and in particular, the 

 mining districts; for in some parts there 

 are spots of eminent fertility, of which the 

 culture is singularly skilful, and the produc- 

 tiveness nowhere exceeded. 



Some of the land owned by Colonel Sco- 

 bell, is of the description of which I have 

 spoken. He sells the moss and heather — 

 taken off by what a native American may 

 properly call this scalping process — at X24 

 per acre; and then by deep and brave cul- 

 tivation, and by most ample manuring, at 

 an expense of j£10 an acre, he brings this 

 very land into productive cultivation. This 

 IS what, in New England, we should call 

 adroitly, and certainly, most honestly and 

 creditably, "turning a penny;" here it is 

 evident it might be designated by a denomi- 

 nation two hundred and forty times larger. 

 After this land is in this way brought to, it 

 would readily let at thirty or forty shillings 

 per acre. After the land has been pared, 

 his process is to drain, subsoil, and manure 

 it, and then he gets excellent crops of tur- 

 nips, barley, and wheat. 



All circumstances considered, the whole 

 management of this farm seemed to me ex- 

 cellent, and it will not be deemed out of 

 place if I now speak of it, since the subject 

 is before me. 



The farm embraces an extent of some 

 hundreds of acres, of a gravelly soil, and 

 much of it composed of rotten and decom- 

 posed granite rock. It required no small 

 resolution and courage to take such a tract 

 of country in hand, with a determination to 

 make its cultivation profitable ; for though I 

 have referred to some cases in which the 

 returns from the sale of the furze and heather 

 upon it were very large, it could scarcely be 

 expected lliat such a process of profit was 

 applicable to a large extent. 



The farm is not in what would be called 

 " pink style," and nothing is done for show. 

 The fixtures, though very convenient, are of 

 a plain and inexpensive character. He keeps 

 150 head of neat stock ; he raises all his 

 calves; he fats a large number of swine, of 

 which he has an excellent breed, being a 

 mixture and cross of the Essex, the Neapo- 

 litan, and a boar procured from the United 

 States, which appeared to be a chance ani- 



mal with excellent points. His cattle are 

 of the improved Durham, which seemed not 

 the kind best adapted to the short pastures 

 of the country, and were not in good condi- 

 tion, having, as he said, suffeied from the 

 extreme drought which had prevailed during 

 the summer, and of which it was quite evi- 

 dent the stock in all that country had felt 

 the severity. 



His stock are kept in the house the greater 

 part of the year, and fed upon steamed food. 

 Mis swine are generally killed at one year 

 old, and weigh from fifteen to seventeen 

 scores of pounds; and when kept until two 

 years old, he calculates them to weigh about 

 thirty-five scores of pounds. He has killed 

 those which weighed thirty-six score. They 

 run in the pasture upon grass only, "with 

 no meat," — that is, no grain or meal — from 

 April until October, They, are then put up 

 and fed with steamed potatoes, mixed with 

 barley meal, and given to them while warm ; 

 and twelve gallons of barley meal are deemed 

 sutKcient for the fattening of a hog. His 

 swine, when put up for fattening, are fed 

 several times a day. Indeed, the hind 

 watches them constantly, and supplies them 

 with food as often as their troughs are 

 emptied. 



The cattle are tied in stalls with chains. 

 Provision is made, by a movable trough, to 

 let in water to them, so that they are not 

 turned out except for occasional airing. The 

 stable and barns are upon the side of a hill, 

 and the cattle are kept upon a lower story. 



The upper part of the barn is devoted to 

 the washing and steaming of the food ; for 

 all of it, the chaff as well as the vegetables, 

 are steamed for the stock. The turnips and 

 potatoes are placed in a large trough or tub, 

 directly under a full current of water, com- 

 ing from a drained field, which falls some 

 short distance directly upon them, and im- 

 mediately passes off, carrying the dirt with 

 it. The potatoes are steamed in barrels. 

 The barrels are suspended in an iron half- 

 hoop, and are swung back and forward by a 

 crane. They turn upon a pivot, and have 

 but one head in. They are easily swung 

 round to the trough, where the potatoes are 

 washed, and then filled. A movable bottom, 

 full of holes, is then placed in the open 

 head to prevent the potatoes from falling 

 out, and they are again swung round and 

 dropped upon a platform, and a steam-pipe, 

 opened by a cock, introduced under the bot- 

 tom, which effectually steams them in fifteen 

 minutes. They are then again attached to 

 the lever, swung round, inverted, the mova- 

 ble head taken out, again inverted, and the 

 cooked contents poured into a trough, and 

 the barrel again filled and cooked as before; 



