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A TOPOGRAPHICAL 



in succession ? But so it is; nor do I know that in any part of the 

 kingdom better are got upon the whole ; the land is good, yet there 

 are many parts in this county, its equal, where the crops are much 

 inferior. The usual mode with the farmers in this part, is to lay 

 all or the greatest part of their manure upon the land for the 

 barley crop, amongst which are sowed the grass seeds, which put 

 the land down in as good condition (or better) than when took up 

 from grass, which enables it to carry a great stock of cattle, &c. 

 while in grass seed, &c. and in its course comes up again in such 

 condition that is sure of gaining good crops. You will remark, 

 that in this course of husbandry, he must be a bad farmer who 

 does not give all the land ploughed one good dressing of lime in 

 the course of the three years' cropping, which is mostly put upon 

 the land at Michaelmas, or soon after, on the barley fallow, which 

 dressing varies in quantity per acre ; but, I observe, those that 

 use the most lime have their land in highest condition. The writer 

 of this has been in the farming line forty years, consequently 

 has had the opportunity of seeing different culture of land of the 

 same quality ; his has been for many years upon land of nearly 

 the above description, after the wheat is got (if dry weather) to 

 plough the stubble under directly ; he has sometimes ploughed 

 the spaces betwixt the shock rows before the wheat has been got, 

 finding by experience the earlier it is ploughed the better ; and, if 

 the weather suits, puts his lime on, harrows it in, and cross ploughs, 

 and draws the furrows before he begins to sow his wheat ; when 

 done that seedness, draws it up and lets it lie in that state until 

 seed-time in the spring, then ploughs it down and oft up again the 

 same day, not chusing to have rain fall upon it betwixt these two 

 ploughings ; by this means of early ploughing at Michaelmas, the 

 seeds that have been shed (and some there will be, let him be ever 

 so good a farmer) have time to vegetate and to be totally destroyed 

 again before spring ploughing ; and I have by this mode put a 

 farm of strong deep soil in good culture from its^ open field state. 

 I have this year, 1797, about 20 acres of turnips growing, not upon 

 such as before described, but that loose soil much addicted to couch, 

 lakeweed, and chickweed, &c. and there is scarce a weed sprung 

 up amongst them, which I attribute to a winter fallow. My prin- 

 cipal system is never to plough strong land wet, particularly loose 

 fallows, nor cart my manure upon the land (if possible to avoid it) 

 when dirt adheres to the wheels. Many are the times when we 

 farmers had better let our men be at play, than daubing themselves 



