62 
The Farming of Cheshire. 
On one farm in the Hundred of Eddisbury, of 200 acres, slate-marl is 
applied to the grass-land when it is broken up for potatoes or turnips, 
which are followed by wheat ; then potatoes or turnips ; oats, or barley, 
and seeds — 10 lbs. red clover, 2 lbs. trefoil, perennial rye-grass, top-dressed 
and mown, pastured for three or four years. 
On a farm of 160 acres, in the Hundred of Bucklow, the course is — po- 
tatoes or turnips on ley, manured, in drills, from the farm yard ; wheat ; 
potatoes or turnips ; wheat clovered down— G lbs. red, 3 lbs. white, and 
liay-seeds, mown twice, and pastured five or six years. The clover root is 
manured with bones, previously to mowing, at the rate of 10 cwt. or 12cwt. 
per acre. 
On two adjoining farms of 300 acres, in the Hundred of Eddisbury, the 
course is — wheat on ley ; turnips and potatoes ; barley ; clover, pastured 
for four years. If the land be sufficiently clean after the wheat, a crop of 
baricy i.= taken before the turnips. On these two farms, previously to the 
year 1820, the practice was to grow four or five grain crops in succession, 
without ever thinking of a green crop : the land was in consequence filled 
with charlock, and the corn was exceedingly light. The farms have be- 
come much improved by the introduction of turnips. 
On a farm in Delamere, consisting of light sand-land, another course is 
adopted, as follows: — 1. Oats; 2. Potatoes and turnips; 3. Wheat ; 4. 
Oats and clover, afterwards pastured for four or five years. 
Clay-Land Dairy Farm. 
The course of cropping adopted on a clay-land dairy-farm 
varies considerably from that of a sand farm. The grass-land is 
frequently broken up for a summer fallow ; it receives one 
ploughing before Christmas; early in the spring it is cross- 
ploughed ; in the course of the summer it receives one or two 
more ploughings, and an occasional harrowing, knife or spike 
rolling ; towards the middle or latter end of August, it is formed 
into butts, and, if the weather is favourable, is sown with wheat 
about the middle of September. It is not unfrequently sown 
under-furrow, as it is termed, the seed being sown on the surface, 
and turned under by a shallow furrow with the plough. This 
practice is not so common as formerly, it being thought by many 
belter to harrow in the seed. Alter the seed has been deposited, 
ploughed under, or harrowed in, the field is carefully water- 
furrowed and guttered. A large portion of the flat clay-land 
has been formed, ages ago, into butts or loons, varying in width 
from 15 to 50 feet or more. Where this is the case, the form is 
scarcely ever altered, unless by a few furrows being ridged up in 
the rein, to the width of 5 or 6 feet. Sometimes small butts are 
made at right angles with the larger ones. This appears to be 
an excellent plan for keeping the land dry during the winter. 
Tlie reins, which empty themselves into the main reins, are drawn 
w ith a double mouldboard plough, so as to admit of a free escape 
for the water. The wheat-crop is succeeded by oats, the land 
being either winter-fallowed or sown on one furrow early in 
March. The latter mode is preferred by some, not only on 
