Farming of Oxfordshire. 
247 
Besides the first-class cultiv.ators and Bentall's broadshare, 
there is one called the " Oxfonlshire drag, or cat's claw :" it has 
a rectangular wooden frame. There are four bars of wood across, 
and in each of these are fixed three semicircular teeth. It is a 
nice implement to bring couch to the surface when land has been 
well stirred, and it is easily emptied, but it is of no use as a scarifier 
to pull up hard ground. The horse-rake is not often used, yet 
the corn that it would save on passing over the stubbles of a large 
farm would pay for it tlie first year, to say nothing of its advan- 
tages in the hay season. Horse-hoes are still not so common as 
their well known efficacy deserves, though of course .they are 
much more numerous than in the days of Arthur Young, who 
only saw two specimens of this implement in his progress 
through the county. 
The northern part of Oxfordshire has furnished its share of 
useful or original agricultural implements, viz., Gardner's 
turnip-cutter, Newberry's dibbler, Samuelson's digging-machine, 
and Huckvale's liquid-manure diill and turnip-thinner. 
The drill is not so much in favour as in other counties : al- 
thougli the use of it has very much inci'eased since the time of 
the last report, there is a vast deal — perhaps in the south of 
the county the larger portion of the corn — still sown by hand. 
On the chalk hills the uneven nature of the ground in some 
localities forbids the general use of the drill. When a nicely 
ploughed ley is well pressed, the seed falls into the indentations 
of the presser, and springs up like a drilled crop ; but in dry 
spring seasons, when the ground is at all rough, the sown grain 
being deposited at various depths does not all vegetate at the 
same time, and an uneven growth is the consequence. It is a 
common practice to have drills let out on hire : the farmer finds 
horses and gives the drillman 25. per day and his dinner, and 
pays Is. per acre for the hire of the drill. If the drill is well 
employed the proprietor makes a good income ; and it is won- 
derful, that some extensive farmers in three or four years pay 
the cost of a drill, and yet do not secure the advantage of having 
the implement at command when most required. V ery large 
drills, requiring 5 horses, are mostly used, it being the object 
of the drillman to go over as much ground in the day as possible 
without regard to the amount of horse-power employed. Hand- 
dibbling wheat is almost unknown, but there are a few dibbling 
machines used for setting wheat on light lands, and also for 
planting barley and oats. 
Till within the last 3 or 4 years steam threshing-machines 
were hardly known in Oxfordshire ; now they are becoming 
common, as many as 20 steam-engines being in use in different 
parts of the county. As there are very few larms large enough 
