Farming of NorthamjJtonsJiire. 



71 



one piece of land on which wheat and potatoes had been grown 

 every other year for the last twenty years. Some of the small 

 allotments have cottages erected upon them, and the ground 

 cultivated with root-crops and wheat or oats, spending the 

 produce on the land ; but the more general plan has been to carry 

 away the produce to the high land, which system was very suc- 

 cessful for many years after the enclosure, owing to the great 

 fertility of the soil, abounding with vegetable matter ; but it has 

 now become very exhausted, and presents a foul and weak ap- 

 pearance. 



Borough Fen is the property of Sir CuUen Eardley Eardley, 

 and is a very fine tract of rich land, containing some first-rate 

 grazing pastures, capable of feeding one beast to the acre during 

 the summer months. The arable land is principally cultivated 

 after the following system : 1, Coleseed, mangel-wurzel, carrots, 

 or potatoes ; 2, Oats ; 3, Seeds ; 4, Wheat ; 5, Winter beans ; 

 6, Wheat ; this may be considered the present system since the 

 introduction of winter beans, previous to which the following 

 course was adopted: 1, Coleseed or root crops; 2, Oats; 3, 

 Wheat; 4, Seeds; 5, Wheat. 



The beasts kept are bought in during the autumn, and put into 

 the yards to consume the straw, receiving 6 lbs. of oilcake per 

 head, and some mangold or carrots daily. The sheep are the 

 Lincoln breed, being purchased as tegs in the spring, grazed 

 and made off fat during the summer, or kept on to coleseed. I 

 saw some very fine shear-hogs on Mr. Thomas Griffin's farm 

 weighing 40 lbs. per quarter. 



The land is farmed in a very superior manner, but there is a 

 great want of farm-buildings. Most of the houses are comfort- 

 able residences, but the provision for the accommodation of 

 cattle is not in unison with the size of the farms, most of them 

 exceeding 400 acres. 



Sir Cullen Eardley Eardley has erected school-rooms on the 

 estate ; a great number of children from all parts of the fens attend 

 the schools, many coming from Crowland, a distance of 4 miles. 



The four principal occupiers are Messrs. John and Thomas 

 Griffin, Mr. Pank, and Mr. Virgette ; they are all large consumers 

 of oilcake, grazing and feeding about 100 beasts each annually, 

 besides giving cake to sheep. In the consumption of cake they 

 consider that two-thirds of its cost lies in the manure, and one- 

 tliird is returned on the beasts in beef; and that two-thirds of 

 the cake given to sheep is returned in the shape of mutton. 



Horses. 



There are not many horses bred in the county, probably not 

 more than sufficient to supply the annual wants of the farmer in 



