On the Economy of Carting. 
227 
substituted for this, that distance would then be reduced to a 
quarter of a mile.* 
The substitution of four field-barns and yards, even under the 
most favourable circumstances, would therefore diminish the 
cartcige by one-half. Let us further consider how important an 
item in the annual expenditure that of cartage may be in such a 
case as that before us. The rotation on such a farm may be 
stated as follows : — 
1st year, turnips and swedes. 
2nd „ barley. 
3rd ,, clover and grasses. 
4th year, wheat. 
5th „ half roots, half pulse. 
Gth ,, wheat. 
We shall, therefore, have 3^ shifts, or 367^ acres, in grain and 
pulse crops, producing straw for litter and manure ; and 
shifts, or 15 7 J acres, in roots. 
The amount of produce to be carted on such a farm may be 
thus estimated : — Of the turnips and swedes grown in the first 
year, 5 tons per acre may be drawn. Again, of the 52 acres of 
land in roots in the fifth year, we may assume that 20 acres are 
in mangold and 32^ in swedes. This land will have been highly 
manured, so that we may reckon on all the mangold and 10 tons 
per acre of the swedes being drawn and carted. Setting the 
mangold-crop at 30 tons per acre and the swedes at 20 tons,t the 
total amount of roots to be carted will therefore be : — 
Tons. 
105 acres of turnips, at 5 tons per acre 525 
20 „ mangold, at 30 tons „ 600 
32J „ swedes, at 10 tons „ 325 
1450 
* This statement may be illustrated in the A B 
following manner : — Suppose A B C D to be 
the area of a square mile, subdivided into 4 
squares or shifts of equal size : then if H be 
the central liomestall, the point of mean dis- 
tance in each of the shifts will be as at 
a-^ x^, x^, X*, and if roads at right angles 
divide the shifts, we may assume that x is 
reached from H by going on the road to P, 
and thence over the land to x, and the dis- 
tance HP + P^; = 2HP = JBC = J amile. 
If, however, 4 field-barns were erected at 
,ri, x\ &c., the new point of mean distance 
would be as zXy, and that distance (xq+qy) 
would = H P, or ^ of a mile- 
t On an average of ten years I grew 36 tons 10 cwts. of mangold per acre; and 
S"? tons per acre of swedes on an average of thirteen years ; the swedes being 
early sown and the land cultivated nine inches deep ; but for a general statement 
the quantities as given above are high enough. — P. L. 
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