1836] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



863 



Cattle. — or cattle, Mr. Barclay had two sets. 

 One set of from five to seven years old, and weijih- 

 ing, each, Irom forty to sixty atones, at sixteen lib. 

 to the stone Amsterdam, was bonglU in anrmally, 

 in the months of July and August. The numb'-r 

 of this class was from sixty to sevent}', which 

 were picked up in th'? di(l!M-(Mit fairs in the county 

 or neighborhood, at ti'om 10 to 12/., a piece. They 

 were first laid upon his clover fields, then on after- 

 grass from the first cuttinij; and in the course of 

 the season had also a raniro over the whole stub- 

 ble land, till about the middle of October, when he 

 began to draw tue turnips for them, from the dif- 

 lerent fields or enclosures umler that crop. His 

 rnetbod was, to draw alternately from one half to 

 two-thirds of the surfiice on the best of the land, 

 and to leave the remainder to be eaten on the 

 ground. On the inferior parts of the field, howe- 

 ver, he left the whole to be thus consumed by the 

 cattle or sheep (afterwards mentioned), which 

 continued on the spot while the crop lasted. Cy 

 this method, the least fertile portions of the lands 

 were rendered, for the succeeding crop, nearly as 

 productive as the very best. 



These cattle were never led in houses or in 

 stalls, but at all times in the open fields, to which 

 the turnips were carted, and spread over the sur- 

 face; and there enriched, by the manure dropt, 

 other parts of the grounds, to an extent equal to 

 half of that on which the turnips were produced. 

 This practice, however, is not applicable to every 

 situation. The general inclemency of the winter 

 season would render out-doors' leeding impracti- 

 cable in most cases. But the lands of Ury hav- 

 ing a hanging exposure, open only to the south, 

 and intersected by dilTerenf glens or hollows, are 

 remarkably well sheltered from the storm, from 

 whatever direction it may come ; and care was 

 taken to shift the cattle from field to field as the 

 weather required. The lands, too, are particular- 

 ly dry ; so that no bad consequence, from poach- 

 ing, can arise either to them or to the cattle. 



This lot of cattle was fattened off in the course 

 of the winter, and soM, from time to time as they 

 Vt^ere ready, to butchers from Aberdeen, at from 

 151. to IS/, each, then weighing from 50 to 72 

 etones a head. Some of a larger kind, bred by 

 himself; were, after the turnips were done, kept on 

 upon the grass till about the end of June, when, 

 weighing from 80 to 84 stones each, they were sold 

 at from 20/. to 21/. a piece. 



Mr. Barclay had another set of cattle of an in- 

 ferior sort, which he bought in, in the month of 

 October yearly, to about the number of four score. 

 They were generally three years old rising four, 

 weighed from 30 to 40 stones, and cost from 71. to 

 8/. each. These were put into the straw yard, 

 for the pur|)ose of consuming straw and making 

 muck. They were, however, brought out occa- 

 sionally to the turnip fields, and had a picking 

 from those left by the larger oxen. They got from 

 time to time a larger share, in proportion as the 

 greater cattle were sold otT; till, in the end, when 

 the turnip crop was all expended, they were put 

 on the pastures, and completed their feeding by 

 the months of June or July, when they weighed 

 from 40 to 50 stones, and were sold at from ten 

 guineas to 12/. each. 



Sheep— Mr. Barclay bought in about 300 wed- 

 dere yearly, in the month of October, fi'om the 

 Highlands of Banffshire, by the water of Avon, in 



the parish of Kirkmichael. These were a healthy 

 and hardy black-li:iced breed, weighed about 12 

 lib. a quarter, and cost about half a guinea a piece. 

 They were first pastured upon the stubble grounds 

 and after o;rass, till they learned to eat furnips, 

 whicli were daily portioned out to them till they 

 \rd upon them freely. Alferthis, they were taken 

 fioni the pastures entirely, and put into the turnip 

 fields, where they fed in flakes erected lor the pur- 

 pose, and in which they had a suuill quantity of 

 hay in racks. Both flakes and racks were move- 

 able, and were carried liom field to field, and from 

 place to place in the same field, as occasion re- 

 quired. These wedders were disposed of from 

 lime to time, as they got into condition; begin- 

 ning by the first of January, and continuing till 

 the first of April; by which time the whole were 

 sold off. The price was fi-om 14s. to 16s. each, 

 and the weight from 13 to 14 lib. the quarter ; the 

 advance upon the price having arisen more from 

 the rise in the value of mutton in the market, 

 tiian from any advance in the weight of the ani- 

 mal. 



Mr. Barclay had also a floclc of from 250 to 300 

 breeding ewes, which he kept generally on the 

 uniaipi-oved part of the estate, but brought occa- 

 sional!}', in severe weather in winter, to get a 

 share also of the turnips. About 60 or 70 of the 

 oldest of these were kept on the turnips the whole 

 season over, till they had reared their lambs, 

 which were in general so early ready, as to be 

 sold, from the end of March to the beginning of 

 May, at from 10 to 12s. each — reckoned a high 

 price then, about the year 1780. His method of 

 rearing these lambs was somewhat singular. 

 They were kept constantly in the St raw-yard, among 

 clean litter, and under the shelter of a shed ; but 

 the dams were turned out to the fields to pick up 

 their food among the turnips, from which they 

 were brought home twice a day, and all night to 

 give suck. By this means, the lambs were al- 

 ways kept under shelter fi'om bad weather, which 

 no doubt contributed to their thriving, and made 

 them sooner ready for the market. After the tur- 

 nips were all consumed, these ewes were turned 

 to the pastures during the sunmier, where they 

 Sfot fl\t generally by the end of July, or beginning 

 of A.ugust, when they were sold at about 12s. 

 each. 



The labor reqn.ired in this system of feeding 

 v.-as wonderfully little. Three men, with two 

 carts and f()ur horses, served for the whole purpose 

 of carting off the turnips. One man drove them 

 oft", with three horses in the cart, to the different 

 places where they u'ere to be spread. Two re- 

 mained on the field, pulling the roots, and packing 

 them into the cart that remained with one horse. 

 When the carter returned with the empty vehicle, 

 he left it with the horse in the shafts, to be filled 

 in its turn, and with the two tracers now j'oked 

 before the other horse in the full cart, set off, in 

 fall strength, with the loading. In this manner 

 they wrought from morning to night ; taking care 

 always to leave the two carts full at night, to be 

 early distributed in the morning, before a new 

 supply could arriv-c. Two men more were suffi- 

 cient to tend the whole quantity of sheep. 

 [ Barley. — This succeeded in rotation ; and, from 

 ' the fine order into which the land was previously 

 i put, never failed to be a good crop. The quantity 

 I of seed was eight pecks (about three and one sixth 



