On the Drill Iliishundry of Turnips. 
71 
sidered as quite unfit for the fjrowtli of wheat ; but now they grow 
fully as good crops of wheat per acre as the average of the king- 
dom. As a sample of the change in this respect, a friend of 
mine sold the late occupier of the farm B, mentioned in the 
annexed schedule, wheat for the use of his family, because that 
farm would not then grow wheat, or rather because it did not 
then grow suflRcient, for the use of his family. Both the parties I 
allude to lived to see that farm grow wheat, 100 acres together, 
which was supposed by the best judges to have 5 quarters per 
acre. This was told me by the individual who sold the wheat, 
and who had afterwards seen the beautiful crops I have described. 
I do not say the farm grows, on an average, 5 quarters per acre, 
but the crops of wheat on it will generally be found decidedly 
above the average of England ; and all this resulted from high 
cultivation, loiia continued. 
There are several farms in that district now producing excellent 
crops of corn, &c., which only a few years ago were rabbit-war- 
rens ; and others, which, during the same period, have changed 
from sheep-walks (that is, land on which a few sheep would barely 
exist until two or three years of age, and then fetch a trifling 
price) to good corn-land, in addition to the well-known fact, of 
their now keeping about as many sheep as before, which are ge- 
nerally sold fat when shearlings. 
It might be unbecoming in me, a party interested, so far as the 
credit of my native county is concerned, to put forward statements 
merely as my own opinion, therefore I will not only give the 
opinions of others, but afford my readers an opportunity of judg- 
ing for themselves what the sheep of those wolds are at the pre- 
sent time. On the 25th September, 1839,* at Weighton fair, I 
heard a very intelligent Scotch gentleman, who farms extensively 
in the East Riding, and Avho is himself well known to possess an 
excellent breed of sheep, say that he thought it probable that 
there were not in the whole world 200 sheep of the same 
age in the possession of any other person so good as the 200 
wether shearlings belonging to Mr. , which he was pointing 
out. The observation was worthy of more weight as coming 
from one who certainly seemed to have no reason for speaking 
more highly of what he saw there than he really thought. It was 
not addressed to the owner of the sheep, nor to any of his parti- 
cular friends, but in the open market. I will not say hei-e that 
I thought the gentleman might be right ; but I will venture to 
say that, if any of my readers see the sheep shown by Mr. — ■ — 
of B B , and Mr. of G , at Weighton fair. 
* Market Weiffhton is about nine miles from Beverley, on the road to 
York. 
