Farming of Lancashire. 



37 



though more rainy, he finds not so cold as on the eastern side of 

 England. His farm is about 340 statute acres, and for the most 

 part naturally drained, with a rich loamy soil capable of growing 

 anything. His system of cropping is as follows: — 1st, oats, say 

 60 acres ; 2nd, fallow 30 acres, turnips or mangold-wurzel 30 

 acres ; 3rd, wheat after fallow and seeds, barley and seeds after 

 turnips ; 4th, seeds for two or three years, and so on vice versa, 

 taking care that all the land lies fallow in tarn, as he considers it 

 quite indispensable, on account of the scarcity of hand labourers 

 in the district. He grows from four to five quarters of wheat 

 to the acre, and considers 25 to 30 tons of turnips a good 

 crop. Rape has been grown in the district and eaten off, but it is 

 found that the crop of turnips next succeeding it in the course is 

 not so good, and consequently it is becoming unpopular. His 

 farm buildings are commodious, with yards and sheds for his 

 young stock attached, and the whole district is well provided in 

 this respect; Lord George Cavendish, of whom Mr. Dickson 

 makes frequent mention, having taken great pains to improve 

 them about 30 or 40 years ago. The farms on this property are 

 mostly held on yearly tenancies ; leases are not asked for, and 

 therefore they are not granted ; but his Lordship, under the ad- 

 vice of his able and active agent, Mr. Drew, has lately introduced 

 a new form of agreement, by which the tenant is bound "not to 

 take two white-straw crops in succession (except the field has 

 been ten years or upwards in grass, when a second straw crop 

 may be taken), nor in any year to have less arable land in fallow, 

 turnips, or other green crops, properly cleansed and manured, 

 than is equal to half the land sown with white-straw crops, and 

 shall not grow white straw, corn or grain, on more than 2-5ths of 

 the arable land." He has also added compensation clauses for 

 unexhausted improvements, as is customary in Lincolnshire ; and 

 this is allowed (on the fulfilment of certain conditions) to the out- 

 going tenant, whether he give or receive the notice to quit. The 

 proportion of the proposed conditional allowances to be regulated 

 as follows : — 



" For bones used on the land; the allowance to extend to three 

 years ; half the cost price to be allowed after one crop, one- 

 third after two crops, and one-fourth after three crops. For 

 guano used on the land, the allowance to extend to two years ; 

 one-third of the cost price to be allowed after one crop, and one- 

 sixth after two crops. For rape-dust used on the land, the 

 allowance to extend to one year; one-third of the cost price to be 

 allowed after one crop. For linseedcake used for feeding cattle 

 and sheep, one-third of the cost price to be allowed for that 

 which has been used since the 1st of October then last, and one- 



