Mr. W. G. Hogarth's Views. 225 



The Opinion of a well-known Boeder Ageicultueist 



ABOUT THE FaEMING AND STOCKING OF ' ClIFTON-ON- 

 BOWMONT FaEM. 



Linton Bankhead, Kelso, 



25fh September, 1907. 

 Dear Sir, 



In answer to yours of the 10th inst., regarding the farm- 

 ing and stocking of Clifton-on-Bowmont, I would like to say at 

 the outset that I have had great pleasure in going there several 

 times a year for the past- 19 years, and that I have not only ad- 

 mired the success of your various experiments with new grasses, 

 but have also so much appreciated the same that I have adopted 

 many of them for our regular five course rotation, and find great 

 benefit from doing so. 



Now, as to farming and stocking Clifton-on-Bowmont, as a 

 tenant, I would assume it to carry about 46 score of ewes with 

 their hoggs (but number does not matter much as my arguments 

 will apply in the same proportions to smaller numbers). I should 

 still have kept at least 3 pairs of horses, and made from 50 to 60 

 acres of turnips every year, either from lea, old grass, or from 

 oat stubble ; thus, every year getting young grass from the crop 

 sown with seeds after turnips, so very valuable for ewes and 

 twin lambs. I look on Olifton-on-Bowmont as one of those 

 farms that can be almost self-sustaining as regards stocking, and 

 this leads me to that part of the subject. Now, assuming 

 45 score ewes, I should have divided them into 30 score half- 

 breds and 15 score Cheviots, keeping the Cheviots on the west 

 side of the farm and the half -breds on Shereburgh and Sunnyside, 

 taking half-bred lambs of the Cheviot ewes of older ages if kept 

 to five years old, and Cheviot lambs of the gimmers and young 

 ewes, thus breeding on the farm ewe lambs to keep up the half- 

 bred stock, possibly needing to replenish the Cheviot ewe stock 

 by buying first-class Cheviot ewe lambs to make up what may 

 be short. Then the half-bred ewes would have mated with half- 

 bred rams, and being very careful in selecting the truest type of 

 half-bred ewe lambs from the ewes and gimmers which I was 

 sure were out of Cheviot ewes, so as not to get too far away from 

 Cheviot blood, for hardiness, and nursing mothers. Thus, with 



