224 
Farming of Oxfordshire. 
cow-stock. It is also common to see a pure Aklerney cow or two in 
each dairy ; still, speaking; g:enerally, the cows are short-horns : 
a useful animal for the milk-pail, not over well-brecl, but carrying 
fair points in a large frame. The best blood in the county is 
to be found at Sarsden, where are some splendid animals, de- 
scended from the purest breeds in the kingdom. The cattle at 
Water Eaton are very commendable : they possess excellent 
points, are ready feeders, and yet good milkers. The foundation 
of this stock was laid from the celebrated Fawsley herd, and one 
bull and his offspring alone has carried off twenty-two prizes. 
Indeed, the greater number of premiums at provincial shows for 
cattle are awarded to stock from Water Eaton or its immediate 
neighbourhood. A well-selected herd of short-horns was till 
last Michaelmas kept at Little Hazeley. Bulls from this stock 
have been much sought after, and have greatly improved the breed 
of cattle in the south of the county. There are hardly any exten- 
sive dairies in the Cotswold or Chiltern hills ; the principal are 
found on the Oxford, Kimmeridge, or gault clays. There are 
a few dairies on the red soils of the north, but it is chiefly 
grazing land there ; and, besides cattle, a large quantity of sheep 
are fattened on the grass land of that district. There are a few 
pasture farms on which some Hereford and cross-bred cattle are 
reared ; these are sold at two years old in Banbury market. 
Dairy farms should always have some arable land with them, 
since, where this is not the case, straw is gi'eatly needed for 
litter and for thatch. Three acres of fair land will support a 
cow winter and summer ; thus a farmer with 150 acres of good 
grass-land may keep 40 cows and his young stock. The cows 
in milk are kept entirely on grass and hay ; they are fed in 
the winter with some hay when being milked in the cowhouse, 
and are also foddered with the same in small quantities strewed 
about the grass-ground. The in-calf cows that are dry are 
kept in the strawyard, and fed on straw and caving, being 
allow"ed hay for a month before calving. The cows lodge in the 
meadows all the winter, as there are hardly any yards or sheds for 
their accommodation. From January to May all cows should 
be kept in; not only do they consume more hay when out, but 
they cause serious injury to the meadows by treading; they 
also crop off every sprig of young grass, and so damage the hay 
crop and retard an early bite in the spring. The milking is 
performed entirely by men : an expert hand can milk twelve cows 
in an hour, but eight is about the average. The cow-sheds are 
often at a distance from the house, and the milk is taken to the 
dairy in carts or large buckets. The milk is skimmed five 
times, beginning at twelve hours after it is brought in, and re- 
peating the skimming at intervals of twelve hours till the five 
