Chap. II. RUTA BAGA CULTURE. lOT 



process of burning earth into ashes, without suffer- 

 ing the smoke to escape, during any part of the pro- 

 cess, is a discovery of Irish origin. It was pointed 

 out to me by Mr. William Gauntlett of Win- 

 chester, late a commissary with the army in Spain. 

 To this gentleman I also owe, England owes, and I 

 hope America will owe, the best sort of hogs, that, 

 I believe, are in the world. I was wholly unac- 

 quainted with Mr. Gauntlett, 'till the summer of 

 1815, when happening to pass by my farm, he saw 

 my hogs, cows, &c. and, when he came to my house 

 he called, and told me, that he had observed, that 

 I wanted only a good sort of hogs to make my stock 

 complete. I thought, that i alrecidy had the finest in 

 England ; and I certainly had a very fine breed, 

 the father of which, with legs not more than about 

 six inches long, weighed, when he was killed, izven- 

 ty-seven score, according to our Hampshire mode of 

 stating hog meat weight ; ov,Jive hundred, and for- 

 ty pounds. This breed has been fashioned by Kt. 

 Woods of Woodmancot in Sussex, who has been, I 

 believe, more than twenty years about it. I 

 thought it perfection itself ; but, I was obliged to 

 confess, that Mr. Gauntlett's surpassed it. 



102. Of the earth burning I will give an account 

 in my next Part of this work. Nothing is easier 

 of performance ; and the materials are every 

 where to be found. 



103. I think, that I have now pretty clearly given 

 an account of the modes of sowing and planting and 

 cultivating the Ruta Baga, and of the preparation 

 of the land. It remains for me to speak of the 

 time and manner of harvesting, the quantity of the 

 crop, and of the uses of, and the mode of applying 

 the crop. 



