74 



IRRIGATION. Were I to enter fully into this subject, 

 it would occupy more space than I can allot to it in this 

 little work. Irrigating grass land, in a proper manner, an- 

 swers the purpose of manuring, and in some respects, for a 

 time, better, for it will earlier bring forward spring grass, 

 which is always very valuable, and when eaten off, the land 

 may be again irrigated to produce a good crop for hay, and 

 thus make the grass land enrich the arable. The most 

 effective and productive irrigation is in meadow land, where 

 the brook can, for the necessary time, 1* turned out of its 

 course. The advantages of irrigation ar|tovv so well known, 

 it is surprising that every occupier of g*<iss land who can at 

 little expense irrigate, does not. I have observed in travelling 

 through hilly countries, that very few opportunities are lost 

 of conducting the rain water from the ditches and roads to 

 go over adjoining grass land, and thus at a very trifling 

 expense greatly increase its produce. I have seen abun- 

 dance of grass produced from irrigation with spring water ; 

 but the water of brooks, and the soft rain foul water from 

 ditches and the public roads, must afford more nourishment 

 to the land, and be less likely to produce aquatic grasses 

 than hard spring water. Sheep cannot be safely kept in 

 irrigated pastures from the beginning of April till after the 

 first frost in winter. 



FARMING ACCOMPTS. There nre many different 

 useful accompt books to be had, with all the requisite printed 

 columns. These books are quite necessary if a bailiff is 

 kept, but where the occupier pays and receives all, and 

 superintends what is going on, it is giving himself unne- 

 cessary trouble to make the various entries which these 

 books point out. If he sees his labourers at work, it is of 

 no use to enter in a book what each is doing. My farming 

 accompts have ever been kept in the way 1 will state, and 

 perhaps I could not keep them in a more satisfactory 

 manner. 1 use for my cash book what the stationers call a 

 common 8vo. book, with lines for date, and . s. d. In 

 this I enter all payments and receipts, whether for the farm 

 or other purposes, and balance it weekly, to guard against 

 omissions of entries. At the end of the month I fold a 

 quarter of a sheet of post writing paper, till it forms columns 



