72 
On tlie Drill Husbaudri/ of Turnips. 
they will probably find them sucli as would be difficult to matcb 
by 400 of tJie satne age in the possession of any other two in- 
dicidua/s. I know that the average price for the last lour years 
at which one of these parties has sold his 200 wethers yearly 
(they then being about 17 months old) has exceeded 65s. per head, 
and that they were supposed to weigh from 30 to 33 lbs. per 
quarter each. I am aware that much confidence is not placed in 
supposed weights, therefore I name what was under the average 
price. 
Another consequence of the rapid improvement in agriculture 
in that district is, the comparatively high price of labour. I 
think I am justified in saying, there is no other district in Britain 
where the wages of good agricultural labourers are so high as in 
the East Riding of Yorkshire. Many men are now employed 
there who have come from other parts of the kingdom ; but at 
first they have to take lower wages ; simply because they are 
scarcely ever worth so much as those trained there. Large farms 
are common in the East Riding, and they afford the occupier 
opportunity of selecting men for each particular kind of work, 
according to their peculiar qualifications for it. Thus on such 
farms each kind of work may generally be seen executed in a 
superior manner. By liaving good examples generally before 
them, the men are more likely to acquire a desire to excel in 
some particular part of their work ; and, as soon as their master 
has observed a decided superiority, he will take care to afford all 
the opportunities he can for practising. I have been told by 
persons in different parts of the country, that they ridge at 27 inches 
apart, merely because they can then use the horse-hoe. To such 
I would only further say, I have seen hundreds of acres of tur- 
nips drilled on level as straight and at as regular a distance as 
I ever saw cabbage rows in gardens at Fulham, and in conse- 
quence of that straightness as well horse-hoed or scuffled as pos- 
sible at any distance, although only 18 inches asunder.* There- 
fore they must not suppose that, because it is difficult, and they 
have not yet succeeded, none can accomplish it. Those who can 
lead a drill-horse well are almost sure to be good ploughmen, if 
they have had practice ; but it by no means follows that excellent 
ploughmen could, if they chose, lead a drill-horse straight. The 
man who can walk straight with a plough to support him some- 
times fails completely when he makes the attempt, not only with- 
out such assistance but with the drawback of having to lead a 
horse at a certain distance from him. 
* I know several cases in which the horse walks in the 14-incli rows 
without leading, and without doing damage. — G. Kimheuj.ev. 
