Farming of Northamptonshire. 



91 



Cottage allotments are very general, scarcely a parish without 

 a field being apportioned for that purpose ; many of them are on 

 the glebe farms, or are the property of a resident proprietor. 

 They are let out in plots of from 20 to 40 poles each, at rents 

 varying from 35. to 65. per pole, and are much prized by tbe 

 labourers, who grow upon them potatoes and other vegetables. They 

 are often inconveniently situated, lying at a distance from the la- 

 bourer's dwelling ; they sometimes produce unpleasant feelings on 

 the part of his master, in consequence of the man occasionally taking 

 leave to give over work somewhat earlier to work at the " lotment," 

 and men have been known to go to their own land before coming 

 to their work on the farm. It would be of considerable advantage, 

 if, in the erection of new cottages, a rood or 20 poles of garden 

 ground were allotted to it ; under such circumstances, the wife and 

 junior members of the family might assist in the cultivation of the 

 garden, and the labourer himself might of a summer's evening be 

 more inclined to have an hour in the garden after a day's toil, than 

 when he has to walk a mile to the allotment field. The extension 

 of cottage allotments has been tried in some parishes by the 

 letting out of 2 or 3 acres to the better class of labourers, but it 

 has not succeeded, and has been nearly abandoned. Few men had 

 time and capital at command to work it properly, and many of 

 them proved to be shocking bad farmers. 



The Rev. C. Smith, of Weston-cum-Weedon, has carried out 

 spade cultivation very satisfactorily on about 4 acres of land in his 

 own occupation and under his own immediate attention, I had 

 the pleasure of going over his land and seeing his system of ma- 

 nagement. He double digs the soil, and plants 3 rows of wheat 

 10 inches asunder, then leaves a space of 06 inches, and so on 

 through the piece ; having one half of the land wheat, and the 

 other half exposed to the influence of the atmosphere during the 

 summer, which last is planted with wheat the succeeding year, 

 when the wheat stubble is dug up, and rested in turn. He has 

 pursued this system on 1 acre out of the 4 for four successive years, 

 and has grown on the average 34 bushels of wheat per acre each 

 year, without any manure. So sanguine is he of success, that he 

 has this autumn taken in hand 4 acres more of the vicarage farm, 

 has placed the rent at 6O5. per acre, and intends to follow out the 

 same system, and hopes to show a good profit. He cultivates 

 root-crops upon the same principle, to which he applies all the 

 manure he makes, and by combining the system of deep cultiva- 

 tion with the extirpation of all weeds, he grows some splendid 

 specimens of mangold and swedes. He may be thought en- 

 thusiastic on this subject, still he is worthy of attention. He con- 

 siders his system would not be successful on all soils. 



On many noblemen's estates the cottages are let very low, the 



