44 



1851.1 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE 



•falee 



V 



the whole, however, minted in a somewhat skill and industry with a judicioo* ai.nlicmtim >f <ioHa) 

 manner. All this is included in Id', octavo are Gradually difftirfn*. in thr,;- ;J'„j«_. • ,' ' 



701 



jfl.arrau I manner 

 page*- Other 60 pages are devoted to descriptions of 

 £e districts into which Lancashire is divided — High 

 and Low Furness, Cartmel, Ireby, Borwiek and War ton, 

 Foxholes, Bleasdale, Quernmore, kc. ; Pouiton-by-the 

 Sands, the Fylde, Preston, Darwen, Wigan, the Earl of 

 Derby's estates, Harrington, &c. On the whole, the 

 work" is of far more than merely local interest ; and 

 we hope it will accordingly obtain a more than local 

 circulation. We extract a passage descriptive of the 

 ftnner and present condition of Lancashire farming : 



• Forty years ago, whilst the drill, the iron plough, 

 and other improved implements, draining, and the 

 breeding and economical feeding of cattle, were receiv- 

 ing the requisite attention in various parts of England 

 tod Scotland, Lancashire, with very few exceptions, 

 remained, so far as her agricultural interests were con- 

 cerned, in a state of ignorance and indifference. 



u Implements of the rudest construction were in 



general use : four or five horses, one before another, 



might be seen dragging a heavy wooden implement 



attended by two men, even in ordinary ploughing ; 



and the practice which already obtained in some 



other counties of ploughing with a pair of hor $ 



abreast was here considered a dangerous innovation 



The land which had grown grain in successive crops 



till the produce from it was not remunerative, was 



left to Nature without any Grass seed being sown, and 



from its stiff texture and worn-out undrained condition, 



the Grass which Nature supplied was sc iry, and of 



?ery inferior quality : this land was roamed over 



summer and winter, by cattle ill bred and worse fed ; 



and where the prejudice against ploughing up these 



worthless pastures still remains, the effects of the system 



are visible at the present day. At the same period the 



practice of marling was very general ; from 100 to 150 



cubic yards per acre were laid upon the land (generally 



sward) in summer, and by this means after remaining 



on the surface in masses till the land was ploughed in 



winter or spring, heavy crops of grain, principally Oats, 



were frequently produced for several years in sue vs- 



sion, and when the land was exhausted the operation of 



marling was repeated ; it consequently became stiff and 



intractable; for, as the calcareous portion of ti marl 



(varving from 15 to *20 per cent) diminished, and the 



inferior clay only was left, the land was found, in a few 



years, to be less fertile and more difficult to cultivate 



than before : 



are gradually diffusing m their immediate n< libour- 

 hoods, the knowledge of a better system of manager .t • 

 and many landowners, by a judicious i w \± 



injurious restrictions, by the encouragement of draininr 



the granting of longer leases to men of sufficient capital,' 



and by their own examples as practical farmer* are 

 successfully endeavouring to raise the character of Lan- 

 cashire as an agricultural county ; still a considerable 

 portion of its extent, consistin- principally of the undu- 

 lating slopes between the moors and the low lands, is 

 occupied in farms varying from 50 to 150 acres by a 

 tenantry not possessing" sufficient knowledge or capital 

 for their profitable cultivation. A farmer possessing a 

 couple of hundred pounds considers himself qualified 

 for a farm of as many hundred acres, and generally 

 depends upon the sale of his produce for his first half 

 year's rent. Thus, the time of entry being the 14th of 

 February, and the rent, according to the agreement, 

 being due on entry, or on the 1st of June afterwards ; 

 by the permission of his landlord, the payment is gene- 

 rally delayed till November, when he is enabled, by the 



sale of his cheese and Other small produce, to raise the 



necessary sum ; the second half year's rent (paid in 

 February or May following) is provided by the sale of 



his grain. With a fair \ i j*e for his farm produo lie 

 manages, by the exercise of great economy in his house- 

 hold, and by the hard labour of himself and his famil 



w*jarrt and selecting rasM lor the cotnia* eeaeeeu We w 

 intended making a fcw remark, on SasJsultsof t£Tr^? 



of the larg* markets for the tale of ll-ghland suae* ws noau 

 pone these r a little . .ad with raj, rd I to rTL^&Sj 

 a^mptinffUi detail all the point. w2e c^WnafcTSstS 

 tut* the mode of our mountain sheep, .ither Chelator b art- 

 faced, we woul >nly adrer o a few of the eaaaluteh Lcet. 

 sary qualificat;ons-difposition to fatten ined wttW 



hardy constitute, and abundance of weal of the beat oualitv 

 The question of lite it one which may be aafaW left to ■ • 

 man's knowledge of hit particular locality, who should be best 

 able to determine tbe standard moat sl .ble for him. and will 

 take care not to aim either at one above what hit leTn nastura 

 will maintain, or one which, in a well sheltered and cesanaral 

 tively fertile situation, ii manifestly below what ha is able to 

 produce. It is generally a sign of good manage**** when the 

 stock on n farm are increasing in size, but the revere* whea 

 they are growing lets. From 40 to 60 ewes, according to the 



nature ,»r ib« .. M ... — A L.1 * a. - __ . .... a • . m " 





».«»•«» * larger ouuay or money than is either prudent or 

 11 Hence most breeders make a practice of rear a* a 



proportion of their own rams, and so saving a considerable 

 annual outlay, without, at the same time, running into the 



aanfterous ij*teui of e*er-clos* breeding. Though generally 

 admitted that the produce of shearlings Is more rigorous than 

 that of four or fife-shears, the , nee is not so great as to 



render it necessary to part with a good si ■% because be has 

 beer, used one or two seasons ; botli because Cher* is consider- 

 able difficulty in procuHng a s fficlent number of good shear, 

 lings, and also because, until their produce is grown up, It is 

 almost impossible to ray whether or not t * will beeome good 

 breeders. Hence, whenever pra, ticable, oneor more first, class 



....... . , . . . > r * mi ihol,:d ** "Itcted from some stock of known celebrity 



to obtain a living and to pay his \va\ : 1 nd this result * l,d J ,ut ! ? * P* 1 ** 1 Uti of •*•• ; and as mountain -hr*» van 



Ins expectations rarely extend ; an increase of bis 



:*«! - ! _ r __ » • *. 



; and although this may be remedied to some 

 extent by the application of lime, yet a serious and per- 

 manent evil has resulted from the practice of marling, 

 particularly in a level part of the county, by creating a 

 large number of pits in the middle of the fields, which, 

 from the retentive nature of the subsoil, f n became 

 filled with water. The extent of mischief entailed upon 

 the land by these obstructions to ploughing and cultiva- 

 tion, the loss of land, the injury to the adjourn 

 land as well as to the climate, may be conceived by 

 casting the eye over the accompanying small plan 

 of a portion of the Fylde district, copied from 

 the Ordnance map. That the owners should have 

 been willing to allow such irremediable injury to their 

 property must ever be cause of surprise and re -ret The 

 cheapness of guano, along with the annually increasin; 

 supply of Other manures from manufacturing towns, and 

 the extension of the growth of Turnips, have since 

 operated to check this expensive and troublesome mode 

 of cultivation. At the period to which I allude the 

 usual rotation of crops was, 1st Oats (after Grass) ; 

 2d, frequently Oats ; 3d, summer fallow ; 4th, Wheat ; 

 5th, Beans (broadcast) or Barley ; then Oats repeated 

 if the land were not quite exhausted ; the land was then 

 left without any Grass seeds. Some sowed Red Clover 

 amongst the Wheat, and after two crops of Clover 

 followed by a crop or two of Oats, the land was allowed 

 to lie a few years, but without any Grass seeds being 

 Sown, Some few better managers sowed Barley with 

 Grass seeds after the Wheat. Shallow stone drains, 

 across the slope, were sometimes made in the wettest 

 part of the land, the landlord allowing a shilling for 

 every rod of 7 yards, the tenant providing the carting 

 and labour, often without any but his own inspection ; 

 and from his uncertain tenure, the drains were very 

 "^perfectly executed. Leases (seldom exceeding seven 

 years) were not uncommon, but were encumbered with 

 awkward clauses injurious to both parties. The tenant, 



th m r ny CaSeS ' Was bound t0 bestow a11 the manure of 

 m ^ farm upon the meadow land ; he was allowed to 



Ptough only certain specified fields, and not permitted 



o break up any pasture ; the plough was kept going 



year after year on the same land, and it was by no 



jneans uncommon to hear of certain parts of the farm 



avtng been in grain crop, with an occasional fallow, 



«K the memoi T of man. 

 r he tenant was also bound to the precise manage- 



en f of each field during the term of his lease, without 

 ^sideration of the uncertainty of seasons and the 

 ^fcasional failure of crops ; heavy penalties were pro- 

 ed for the infringement of the clauses, and to insure 

 I h ° Wl ? er a g a inst retaliation for arbitrary proceedings, 

 the 71- wn the foUo^iiig clause inserted :— « That if 

 Den ?• S ' la ^ consic * er himself aggrieved by any of the 

 penalties aforesaid, he shall have no redress either in 

 ** or equity/ 



eou ! Iavin S described the condition of farming in the 

 proc l * tllC commencenien t of the present century, I 

 the t0 State m ^ v * ews °f * ts present condition, and 



ment aU8eS whi( ' 11 i,ave combined to retard its advance- 

 f j. am ongst a numerous class of the present occupiers 

 e soil. Some individuals there are, who, combining 



Ins hopes. mm this description of the small fanner 

 of Lan shire, it must be evident that without an in- 

 crease of capital and intelligence on the part of the 

 tenant, or a deer e in the size of the farms, littl 

 improvement ran be expected in the system oi farming 

 which II obtains in the extensive districts I have 

 d rribed. As tenants possessing the noceeeary capital 

 and skill can rarely be met with, it becomes the duty of 

 the landowners to consider the propriety of reducing 

 these faring to an extent more suitable to the means of 



the occupiers ; and by a ju ions IJStem of instruction 

 and encouragement, to raise them from their lethargic 

 and almost hopeless condition. 1 would not be misun- 

 derstood as advocating small farms in preference to 

 those of greater exti nt, where sufficient capital can 1 

 commanded lor the latter : but in the present state of 

 the small farmers of Lancashire, I am confident that a 

 reduction of their farms to one half their present extent 

 would be a great step towards the ultimate benefit of 

 that class and of the whole community." 



much in their appaaranc* atdiffi 



Til 



i 



< ) \ -.rv 



stsres o( ihrtrftrst^e • 



capital or a provision for his family being beyond even ""' — ' "*™ U *"™* ] 1'< •««"*■ that the „** of ti 



his hopes. From this description of the small faro 



of Lancashire, it must be evident that without an in- 



troduce, except a few which may be glaringly defotne, bs 

 kept entire, «nd the final selection d rred until the? a 

 shearlings. Ws havt often been struck with the dtrTeraaoe 

 between i < icesters and our Cheviot and black.f***d braedi in 

 th srespact; the eject tl <ipert*e**d bi*e<*cr of ih* former 

 halng able to select, with almost unerring pracbion, th* very 

 day they are dropped, thois animals which, for igure an.l 

 quality are likely to suit his purpos*; while what appear ?n* 

 most unexceptionable specimens of the latter, as lambs, too 



frequently ftvs anything hut satisfaction Wh*T> gmwn up a*d 



therea-ui wo believe to be simply this— that whereas In th* 



Miscellaneous. 



TJie Farm pfQaboH, JsUmf ><f Lewis.— The following 

 report by 1 member of the Lewis Farming Society was 

 read at the late meeting of that Society by Sir J. 

 Matheson : " Permit me shortly to state the following 

 facts as regards the farm of I .alson, when I took the 

 lease of it. I found a portion under small tenants. I 

 gradually laid the ground under green crop, manured 

 with stable-yard manure mixed with seaweed, and a 

 little guano, which produced a good crop, equal to any 

 I have seen on the mainland. I then sowed Barley 

 mixed with Grass seeds, in the proportion of 10 lbs. of 

 Clover seeds, 8 lbs. of Timothy, and 1 bushel of Rye- 

 grass to an acre, which yielded the following year at the 

 rate of three tons of hay of excellent quality, which 

 was stacked in the first week of August. Generally, 

 however, I have found it more beneficial to pasture, the 

 grounds being far from markets. I may here state the 

 feeding capabilities of the Galson Grass — a field of about 

 16 acres yielding excellent pasture for 18 Highland stots 

 throughout the season, which are feeding for the Castle, 

 and will weigh on an average 450 lbs. The sheep are 

 pastured partly on natural and partly n sown Grass. 

 They are a cross breed between black- faced sheep and 

 Cheviot tups, ami weigh usually about I lbs. each. 

 The fields referred to were drained on the late Mr. 

 Smith of Deanston's plan. The success of any improve- 

 ment depends upon the after-treatment, and great care 

 hould be taken in not allowing the cattle to poach the 



fields during winter and spring." North Briluh Agri- 

 culturist. 



The, Birmingham Cattle and Poultry Exhibition. — We 

 have been requested to call the attention of our agricul- 

 tural readers to the advertisement announcing that the 

 certificates of entry for all the classes at this grea 

 annual show are now being issued, and to urge them to 

 make an early application for the required forms, in 

 order that the entries may be properly completed. We 

 understand that the promises of support to the approach 

 ing Exhibition are already so numerous as to leave no 

 doubt that it will surpass, both in extent and general 

 excellence, the two which have been previously held in 

 Birmingham ; while the arrangements in Bingley Hall 

 for the accommodation of the stock are such as cannot 

 fail to be entirely satisfactory. The space appropriated 

 for the show of domestic poultry will th year be con- 

 siderably enlarged ; and extraordinary as the exhibition 

 was in this department last year, we are assured that a 

 much finer collection will be brought together in Decem- 

 ber next, and fully demonstrate t zeal and intelligence 

 which have recently been brought to bear upon a highly- 

 attractive branch of rural economy, and one that, a few 

 years ago, was almost entirely neglected. 



turea of chance, or, when attempts at superior culture wir 

 made, the-e were conducted on n » filed prim Hut better 



days have now dawntd ; the true principles of breeding mr^ 

 being better understood -our hill farmers have get som* 

 definite idea of what is wanted ; and, with something like a 

 true standard to go by, we have no fears oi a successful result, 

 while on this subject, we cannot conclude these desultory 

 remarks, whheut nferring to the stimulus given by tin High- 

 land 8< ety of Scotland, as one great cause of the growing 

 Improvement so observable in the mountain aheep of that 

 Country, both by the handsome prises offered at th* annusl 

 shows, and by the example set, and the substantial assistance 

 tendered to the numerous local associations in various districts. 

 As another step towards the improvement of mountain sheen. 

 we are wau-luug with much Interest, the determined efforts at 

 present making to mtr uce the Scotch breeds into manv t 

 the rich past«-, a l districts of Ireland. Though we have "not 

 had the pleasure of a personal inspection, the acooa * jjivea 

 by practical graziers are such, that if there be any truth in the 

 saying, that " it is the ground which makes the shet hesa 



new colonies will vary soon rival if not outstrip the parent 

 stock. Of late such large importations of the Inst blood 

 (especially Cheviot) have been taking place, that in the coarse 

 of a few years we may expect a keen competition at the three- 

 nationsl agricultural societies' annual met tings, when it will 

 be no matter of surprise if the M gi een island " claims tbe palm 

 of vi iry. The last of our annual cast of Iambi were disposed 

 of some weeks ago, and the remainder of our draft ewes will 

 be sent off in the course of a few days. Considering it better, 

 in many respects, to sell at home, than drive stock to a public 

 market, we always endeavour to avoid the latter alternative, 

 and have t > en fortunate to make all our sale* this year at 

 "our ain fireside." We are now laying in a supply of mate- 

 rials, and purpose beginning this laborious and unpleasant 

 work in the course of a week. The past is tbe latest harvest 

 we have had in this district for some years. The weather at 

 the c-mmencement was very unfavourable, though towards 

 the end the frequent showers were counterbalanced by drying 

 winds. Still we fear that on most farms late sown grain is but 

 imperfectly ripened ; and after the beginning of October it Is 

 almost in vain to let it stand, without any good prospect of 

 improving. Whiter it may become, but seldom much ri[>er, 

 while the quality ot the straw is deteriorated for fodder. Tur- 

 nips, though inferior to last year, are growing and promise to 

 be an average crop. We observe more "fingers and toes " than 

 usual. A Lammermuir Farmer. 



Calendar of Operations. 



OCTOBER 

 SrrrKMBia and October are busy mo * ni 



the she^p I 



firmer, bting the tiu^e tor disposing of hi3 draft ewes and 1 



Notices to Correspondents. 



ABoa-miiTN Cows: Header. You will find on consulting the* 



best authorities, that nothing certain is known on the sub- 

 ject. Ergot in the Grasses has been supposed one csuse. 



Allotments: Xpr. No act has been passed relative to allot- 

 ment grounds. One was brought la some years ago by Mr. 

 Cowper, but it did not become law. We do not 1 •« if t 

 publication called tne •• Labourer's Friend" is still pub- 

 lished. Apply to any bookseller. 



Cattle: if//. We do not know that there is any difference 

 of hardiness between these two, i. *., whether bullocks or 

 heifers >.tand the cold and inclemency of winter with least 

 injury to their growth. 



Flias : P P Q says, " I am sadly vexed, and mj neighbours and 

 work-people annoyed by fleas in a farm-yard where I have 

 had pigs fatted. Can >ou teil me how to destroy them f M 

 (Could you not drown them ? Keep the yard soaked for a 

 week. The weather will soon remove them for you.) 



Kohl Rabi : lonbridgiensis. The leaves may be stripped and 

 given to cattle ; also the roots may be stored, as in the case 



of Mangold Wurzel. 



Nettles : I . You must fork them up, and sow the places withr 

 Orass seeds again. 



Foulirt: El\ It is impossible to say of what disease the 

 chickens die t unless some description of it is given. Yoia* 

 should state the symptoms and the time of year at which the 

 mortality is greatest. Half the diseases of <hickens are 

 caused by the filthy water they are obliged to drink,— J T, 

 Many people have very good Malay fowls, but some are of 

 course more perfect than others ; early chickens of such are 

 worth fr m 50#. to 501. the pair.— D, The principal difierenca 

 between the white and grey Dorking is in size, the former 

 being much smaller; the prints are the same. In grey 

 Dorking fowls the comb is not considered, being single or 

 double, as fancy may be, but in the white a double c< b is 

 always preferred, and by many considered essential. J. Batty. 

 113, Mount ttrcct. 



Sheip Mana^fmewt: A D. Tbe ewes may be folded on tbe 

 stubble Turnips and young Barley. If they are too fuccu- 

 lent, and sh Id hit the soeep, give a little hay with them* 

 —Dr. N< ga'e dibble is a very good and efficient insiru*. 



