General Ohservatims. 
367 
malting- quality. One shallow ploughing of the clover ley is 
sunicient for wheat, which should be all in before November. 
The half rod lands are just covered, and can be well worked, by 
drills, cultivators, harrows, and horse-hoes, the horses walking in 
the deep furrows. 
For most of the ploughing two horses (Suffolks) are sufficient, 
though three may be used when turning in a stubble for roots. 
About ten Irish shorthorns are fatted during the winter. Mr. 
Hughes follows the usual Isle of Wight plan of breeding early 
lambs from about 200 Dorset ewes. The lambs are all gone by 
the end of May, and the ewes (also fat) in October, to make 
room for their successors. The beasts will probably be dimi- 
nished, and the flock increased. 
Mr. Hughes always keeps the chalk cart at work. He has 
greatly improved some salt-marshes, at a small expense, by a low 
bank of earth, and some hatches for the management of the 
sea water, and by fresh water irrigation from the higher ground. 
Some extensive tracts, between Newtown and the sea, seem very 
capable of receiving similar benefit from similar treatment. 
(VI.) Observations on the tvhole Island.- — The best chalk in the 
island comes from Arreton DoAvn : the cost at the pit is Is. 3d. 
per waggon load, and it is hauled to a distance of six miles. 
It is applied, as elsewhere, to the wheat stubbles, at the rate of 15 
or 20 tons to the acre, and allowed to lie before being ploughed 
in. The effects are described with enthusiasm. The straw is 
stiffer, the yield of corn greater, and its quality higher : in the 
turnips, clubbing disappears, and ten good roots are grown in the 
place of one. 
The horses on the Island are a good sort of animals, short and 
punchy, with a hardy constitution, but of no particular breed. 
Four horses are said to be indispensable for winter and spring 
ploughing: "two have been tried, and ruined." But then it should 
be mentioned how horses are kept on the Island. During the 
winter they have no hay, nothing but bai'ley straw : their allow- 
ance when at hard work is one bushel of oats per week ; vigour 
and endurance are hardly to be looked for on such keep. The 
heavy island plough also must be taken into account. 
The old Isle of Wight plough is the high carriage implement, 
in its pristine freedom from modern innovation. I have heard 
that it had, at no remote period, wooden wheels. I did not indeed 
see a specimen, there seemed to be some shyness in exhibiting 
them to a stranger : and yet this implement has improved. The 
share is now not of wrought, but of cast iron — a change which I 
heard a ploughman regret. " You can't ply the point down, if he 
turn up a bit." Howard's ploughs are coming into use, being one- 
fourth lighter. Scotch carts have been tried ; but, in this up and 
