70 
The Farming of Cheshire. 
has no hesitation, in return, to consent that a piece of his old tilled land 
shall rest. Rest indeed it must, as probably it has not done so (in many 
instances) for forty years. There are very lew tillage farms in the district ; 
but where the occupiers have had the advantage of access to manure, and 
the capital wherewith to purchase it, and thoroughly drain the land, an 
advantageous course of cropping has been thus pursued, viz., 1st, clover, 
pastured, or if mown, manured ; 2nd, pasture ; 3rd, beans or vetches, 
drilled, and partially manured ; 4th, wheat ; 5th, fallow and turnips ma- 
nured ; 6th, wheat, clovered down. This rotation applies to heavy wet 
land, where neither barley nor oats can be advantageously grown." 
Breeds of Cattle in Cheshire. 
There is no distinct breed of cattle pecuhar to this county ; the 
dairy stock consists principally of a great variety of crosses with 
the breeds of other districts, viz., the Yorkshire or Holderness 
short horns, the Lancashire and Staffordshire long horns, the De- 
vonshire, the Ayrshire, Welsh, Irish, and the improved short 
horns. Doubts, I believe, exist in the minds of some intelligent 
farmers, whether any improvement has been effected in the milk- 
ing properties of dairy cows, by the introduction of the improved 
short horns among them ; that the latter breed is much disposed 
to fatten, is admitted ; but this class of cattle does not stand very 
high in public estimation as milkers; it may therefore be reason- 
ably supposed that there are good grounds for thinking that it is 
very possible to introduce too much of the improved short horned 
blood into the dairy stocks, and that great caution should be taken 
in crossing ; however that may be, I am of opinion that an im- 
provement may be effected by the introduction of the blood to a 
certain extent, care being always taken to select the male animals 
intended to be reared from the best milkers. 
I cannot here refrain from noticing the beautiful and well-se- 
lected stock of improved short horns, belonging to Messrs. Forrest 
of Stretton, near Warrington. Those gentlemen, at much pains 
and expense, have succeeded in introducing into Cheshire some 
of the best blood in the kingdom; and they frequently obtain 
premiums for their stock at the exhibitions of the Royal Agricul- 
tural Society. There are, however, in many parts of the county, 
well selected dairy stocks ; and for a great number of years, a slow 
but gradual improvement has been perce])lible in the appearance 
of cattle bred within it, and they now assume a more decided 
character of breed, the Holderness or short horns predominating. 
Though some of the latter breed are alluded to in a treatise by 
Mr. Wedge, which was published in 1796, they were not then 
much in favour, as it was thought they were too delicate for wet clay 
land ; but on the introduction of a few pure-bred ones from York- 
shire, about thirty-five years ago, or immediately preceding the 
publication of Dr. Holland's book, they were highly approved by 
sand land farmers, and soon after were sought for with avidity. 
