Continental Farming. 
161 
distance. The soil is a naturally fertile light loam, but, through 
the wretched system of farming practised, its productive powers 
had been much reduced ; however, the example and success of 
j\Ir. Smallbones must ultimately do great good. Mr. Smallbones 
grows about 450 acres of wheat, 150 of barley, 150 of maize, 
which he cuts green for fattening bullocks and feeding his farm- 
ing horses and oxen ; 150 acres of tares, which are partly eaten 
in the houses by the fattening cattle and teams, the rest is eaten 
on the land by sheep, which have a liberal allowance of corn or 
cake at the same time : this crop is immediately followed by a 
crop of turnips. He has also 150 acres of mangold-wurtzel, and 
150 of clover, with about 50 acres of lucerne. I believe his 
rotation runs thus : wheat after clover, tares followed by turnips, 
barley, Indian corn sown thick for soiling cattle, working oxen, 
and horses, wheat, mangold-wurtzel, wheat, clover. 
The soil, like the surrounding country, is naturally good, but 
when it came into his occupation Avas in a poverty-stricken 
state : he set to work, however, with the full determination of 
showing what could be done in the way of improvement. Mr. 
Smallbones came over to England and took out a stock of the 
machinery and implements best adapted for the country and his 
system of farming : he is now getting his farm into excellent 
condition ; although he has only had it a few years, his crops on 
all those fields that have been fallowed with roots are excellent, 
notwithstanding the season has been an unusually dry one, which 
has greatly reduced the usual bulk of straw, but the ears (on the 
land in good condition) were beautifully filled, with fully-de- 
veloped grain : when I was there he was having his clover mown 
for hay ; it was the heaviest and longest crop of clover it has ever 
been my lot to see ; above a yard high, and as thick as it could 
grow; and to see above a score mowers hard at work on 140 acres 
of such a crop, was one of the finest agricultural sights that could 
be witnessed. Mr. Smallbones has arranged his farm in rota- 
tions as near 150 acres each as the form of the land will permit ; 
but has adopted the clever plan of making four fields as nearly 
as possible 75 acres each close to the homestead, and four of 
the same size at the greatest distance, one of each being cropped 
together, while in the middle distance the fields are the full size 
of 150 acres : thus he makes the distance, for the manure and 
other haulage to be done, the same one year as another, which is 
of great importance. 
The house is a splendid edifice, and the farm-buildings are of 
the best description, and conveniently built. He had upwards of 
100 head of large Hungarian cattle up feeding upon tares ; they 
were to be finished upon Indian corn or maize cut green, which 
is very fattening food : he had also 30 working oxen, 30 horses, 
VO"- XVI. M 
