172 



Sketch of Robert Bakeicell, Esq. 



Vol. VII. 



also proportionably reduced, his expenses 

 great, and his hospitality unlimited, it cannot 

 be wondered that he found himself in diffi- 

 culties. But even then, Bakewell kept up 

 his high position, for when his stock was 

 valued, (the unexpired term of his lease 

 being included in the valuation,) there was 

 a balance in his favor, of from £1,500 to 

 £2,000. 



As a practical farmer, Mr. Bakewell at- 

 tained great celebrity. He was in advance 

 of the age, and we may say full half a cen- 

 tury before any of his neighbours. It may 

 be questioned if the land in Leicestershire 

 is even now so well cultivated, as Dishley 

 farm was when its possessor died. He adopt- 

 ed the system of irrigation, and turned a 

 small rivulet that flowed along a portion of 

 his farm to such good account, that from 

 it he contrived to water from 60 to 80 acres 

 of meadow land every season. He turned 

 this little brook also to other useful purposes, 

 making it to feed a mill, and save the trou 

 ble and expense of carting his turnips, which 

 being thrown into the stream, were allowed 

 to float down with the current to the barn 

 end, where their further progress was im- 

 peded by a grating at the bottom of a reser- 

 voir, from which they were taken out and 

 laid up clean and freight free, for the win- 

 ter's supply. The idea was beautifully sim- 

 ple and eminently useful, but Mr. Bakewell 

 possessed a mind that was continually devo- 

 ted to the improvement of mral affairs. He 

 pursued the drill system of Tull, never sow- 

 ing broadcast; both grain and turnips he al- 

 ways sowed by the drill, and kept the ground 

 clean by the horse-hoe. There was a strik- 

 ing contrast also in his system of ploughing 

 and that of his neighbours. Some of them 

 employed from four to seven horses at the 

 plough on a sandy loam soil, and then did 

 not turn up much more than half an acre per 

 day. Mr. Bakewell invariably confined him- 

 self to a pair, and stiired up an acre with 

 ease, thus quadrupling the quantity of work 

 done with an equal portion of strength. 

 Dishley, in fact, was a school of practical 

 agricultural reform, and it appears rather 

 wonderful that the system was not generally 

 adopted by the Leicestershire farmers. It is 

 not now unusual in that county to see a 

 string of four or five horses attached to the 

 plough. For a long time the drill system 

 also met with considerable opposition, but 

 within some few years it has been looked 

 upon in a more favourable light. Cultivators 

 naturally look to the amount of profits that 

 are likely to arise from the practice of any 

 separate system; that of Mr. Bakewell did 

 not place him among the wealthy, but had 

 he been less liberal in his ideas, less given to 



hospitality, less visited by the patrician portion 

 of the community, who entailed enormous ex- 

 penses upon him, he must have lived and died 

 a rich man, whether it was his desire to do 

 so or not. It does not follow that a system 

 must be erroneous, because it does not at once 

 open a mine of gold to fill the pockets of the 

 inventor. Every system must have time to 

 work, and every effort at improvement de- 

 serves, and ought to receive, the strictest at- 

 tention. A practical agriculturist is of far 

 more value to a nation than even a practical 

 manufacturer, for the benefits the one con- 

 fers upon the human race are lasting, the 

 other but transient ; yet both deserve to be 

 honoured by their country. 



Dishley Grange was not exactly what a 

 fashionble auctioneer would " term one of na- 

 ture's most favoured spots," but under the 

 care of Mr. Bakewell it became more noted 

 for its usefulness than its beauty. Clumps 

 of willows were planted for ornament and 

 shelter, which were carefully cut every se- 

 ven years, and the wood thus supplied, was 

 brought into use to make handles for rakes, 

 and other purposes of husbandry, manifestly 

 causing a great saving of expense. Even 

 the peelings of the willows were not thrown 

 away, but by the direction of the master- 

 hand, were applied to make the bottoms of 

 the sacks. Swampy as the grounds adjoin- 

 ing the house were, Mr. Bakewell contrived 

 to make even their barrenness available. 



The gardens were cultivated rather for 

 utility than for show ; the fish-ponds were 

 always kept well stored, and even the drain- 

 ings from the yard were conveyed to the 

 brook, and thus mixed with the water, used 

 for the purpose of at once irrigating and 

 manuring certain fields belonging to the 

 farm. 



It ought to have been remarked that the 

 liberality and high-mindedness of Mr. Bake- 

 well never evinced itself more fully than in 

 his incessant application to the improvement 

 of the Dishley estate. He was but a ten- 

 ant, but he yearly increased the value of the 

 land he rented, for the benefit of the land- 

 lord. He stood forth as a model for all prac- 

 tical farmers to study; an example for all 

 honest tenants to follow. He was indeed a 

 man of rare merit, and it would perhaps be 

 difficult to find his fellow. But, like almost 

 all men who have benefited and enriched 

 their country, and increased tenfold the wis- 

 dom of posterity, by the most important dis- 

 coveries in arts, sciences, and agriculture, 

 Bakewell has been allowed to rest without 

 even a monument to his memory. He de- 

 voted his energies to the good of the public; 

 his own immediate interests lie disregarded, 

 without once thinking that future ages 



