168 
Farm Capital. 
stock and implements, and ready money to pay for tlie other 
necessary outgoings before he can begin to reap any return from 
his exertions. And in order that the expense of each mode of 
farming may be considered, suppose that the 100 acres of pasture 
and upland meadow comprise two fields of 10 acres each, suitable 
for fattening cattle of a medium size ; two fields of 10 acres each, 
suitable for dairy purposes ; three fields of 10 acres each, more 
adapted to rearing store-stock ; and the remaining three fields of 
10 acres, suited for mowing. 
In selecting the stock to be fattened I should be guided, not 
only by the richness of the fields themselves, but also by the 
means the arable land placed at my disposal for wintering the 
cattle. In the present instance the arable land does not permit 
me to grow with advantage roots to be drawn off for the cattle and 
consumed with the straw (which itself is principally reedy wheat- 
straw), neither is it light enough for sheep to consume turnips 
on the ground. The horses will also require most of the clover- 
liay, and the dairy cows and young stock the meadow-hay. 
And as pasture-land of this description will not bear treading 
by cattle in the Avinter, they must all be in enclosed yards with- 
out the benefit of a walk. I should therefore give the preference 
to Welsh cattle (the black breed of South Wales), as they are 
more hardy, will do better on worse food, fatten rather more 
quickly, and of late years have been of more ready sale in conse- 
quence of the thickness of their hides ; and I should prefer cows 
and heifers to oxen because they are more readily sold in the 
country, come to perfection sooner, and if a few of them chance 
to be in calf, they are easily turned over to the dairy, when any 
cow that is not doing her part in that department may be dried 
and turned out to fatten. After trying both short-horn and Welsh 
cows for butter-making purposes, I have come to the conclusion 
that, on moderately-rich, cold land, the Welsh cows are the most 
profitable. They do not cost so much in the first instance ; and 
although they do not yield so much milk as the short-horn, and 
are therefore not so suitable for cheese-making, still, if carefully 
selected, they will average neaily as much butter, fatten their 
calves quite as soon, particularly if they have been put to a short- 
horn bull,* and are ready when dry to go to the straw-yard, and 
take their turn afterwards on the fattening-land. The store-land 
may either be grazed with young short-horn beasts, to be sold at 
* Mr. Wratislaw reckoned that these cows, if they received 2 lbs. of cake per 
day, would on an average give 8 lbs. of butter per week. He considered that an 
increase of 1 lb. of butter per week was gained by each pound of cake which, 
within moderate bounds, was added to their daily diet. The calves were always 
fattened, and generally sold at the age of 6 or 7 weeks, when they weighed about 
20 lbs. per quarter.— P. H. F. 
