126 HIGH FARMING IN NORTHUMBRIA 



of whom own the land they cultivate, but all have 

 capital at command and farm high both for crops and 

 stock. 



As a rule, a strict four-course rotation is followed, 

 especially upon the lighter classes of land ; but oats 

 often take the place of wheat, and in alternate shifts 

 trefoil is grown instead of rye grass and red clover. 

 The bulk of the root crop consists of swedes, but both 

 mangolds and turnips are extensively grown ; potatoes, 

 however, do not become common until the Border has 

 been crossed. The swedes as a rule are partly drawn 

 off to feed the cattle in the yards and stalls, and 

 partly left on the land to be eaten off by sheep for the 

 benefit of the succeeding crop. With the large head 

 of stock kept, both cattle and sheep, and the length of 

 time during which the grass land can yield them no 

 nutriment in the cold northern winters, the swede crop 

 becomes of very special importance ; and every effort 

 is made to secure a large one. We were, in fact, 

 getting far enough north for big crops of swedes and 

 turnips ; in the south and east of England the average 

 yield of swedes and turnips is no more than 1 1 tons 

 per acre, but it rises in Northumberland to over 

 I 5 tons, and higher still in some of the north-eastern 

 counties of Scotland. The larger crop is chiefly due 

 to the earlier sowing that is possible in northern 

 latitudes and the more equable and continuous growth 

 in the cooler summers. The roots are given all the 

 farmyard manure, together with a considerable dressing 

 of artificials, chiefly as a rule superphosphate, though 

 the prevalence of " finger and toe " in the district has 

 of late years led to a considerable replacement of the 

 latter fertilizer by basic slag. Much of the land is in 

 need of liming ; but though the practice used to be 

 universal, as may be seen from the numerous disused 



