398 
Farm Reports. 
couplets. What little rape he sows is used by the dinmonts in 
autumn, when they are penned on the field with sheep-nets. 
The five-course shift, to wit — two years' grass, oats, turnips, and 
barley or wheat is adopted. White globes, Aberdeen yellows, 
and swedes, are the three varieties of turnips, but fewer swedes 
are sown every year, as the Aberdeen yellows have more bulk. 
The gimmers do not go on to the hill in their first year, but 
are weaned at a hill-farm, or, rather, kept on moorland for eleven 
weeks, and then taken to stubbles and turnips. On the stubbles 
they merely follow the dinmonts, and reach the hill in due course 
about April 1st. They never see a swede, or any kind of turnip, 
except the grass on the hill is not ready for them by that time. 
The dinmonts go as lambs to a weaning farm, and come back 
from thence to get the first run of the stubbles, and then their full 
share of the turnips. They have plenty of swedes, and never see 
the hill again, and then go on to seeds. About five score of " the 
tops " are forced on Indian corn, tares, and oats — just to show what 
they can do — up to 23 lbs. a quarter, and are bought at the 
auction by butchers, while salesmen take the rest to have 
another "dip" on turnips. In the September of 1866, a score 
of the best dinmonts made 3/. 7s., as many gimmers 21. 8s., and 
cast half-bred ewes 21. lOs. The fall in wool and mutton during 
the next two years was such, that the Cheviot cast ewes came 
down from 3l5. to 18s. 6rf., and the half-bred dinmonts, cast 
ewes, and gimmers, to 50s., 31s., and 22s. respectively. Sheep 
only are brought to the hammer by Mr. Donkin at this autumn 
sale, and Yorkshire, Northumberland, Roxburghshire, and Ber- 
wickshire, furnish the majority of the buyers. 
The dry subsoil and total absence of clay on the farm are not 
favourable to the growth of wool, and it generally takes seven 
fleeces to make up the tod of 28 lbs. A good half-bred tup will 
cut to about 9 lbs. if fed on turnips ; and Mr. Borthwick has. 
found that his half-breds preserve the mean pretty accurately 
between the " bred " or Leicester, and the Cheviot. The wool is 
bought up by dealers from the Bradford district. An early hill and 
good autumn grass in this district are the chief makers of wool, 
and last year's clip was especially good both for quality and 
quantity. We found the clippers, six in number, busy at work 
last June, with a young woman as fleece lapper, and a girl pre- 
siding over the pitch cauldron and the marking iron. Each man 
generally clips about thirty a day. Such were our experiences 
of a hill and a half-hill farm. 
