292 
Farming of Monmouthshire. 
" moulded " or " earlhed up" at all, but flat-hoed by a boy, and 
the result in quantity and in quality was most satisfactory. 
By the kindness of Mr. R. Stratton, I am enabled to give the 
following account of his farm-operations carried on at the Duffryn, 
near Newport : — " My occupation," he says, " consists of 800 
acres, half grass, half arable, all the property of Lord Tredegar. 
The arable portion of the Home farm is a light loamy soil, upon 
gravel, very suitable for roots and clover, but requiring to be done 
well to grow good crops of corn. The New Park farm is a 
sandy shallow soil on the limestone, and very hilly : it grows 
turnips fairly, but has not sufficient staple to grow heavy crops 
of corn. I adopt the four-field system, with modifications, and 
use a large quantity of artificial manure, corn, and cake. From 300 
to 400 breeding ewes are generally kept ; some of the earliest lambs 
are sold fat in April, May, and June — the remainder are stored 
through the summer, and fattened on roots in the winter. The 
ewes are all sold fat every year, and a fresh lot bought in. Dorsets, 
Downs, or Radnors are kept, and all crossed with the Cotswold. 
No roots are hauled off — all are consumed with sheep on the 
land. All the seeds are mown. Of the grass-land, all is summer- 
grazed, with the exception of from 40 to bO acres mown. Eighty 
cows are milked, and Cheddar cheese is made with the surplus- 
milk which is not required for Newport. The ordinary Durham 
cow is kept, pure-bred short-horn bulls are used, and 20 of the 
best heifer-calves are reared, being brought into the dairy at two 
years and six months old. The principal proportion of the cows 
calve in March and are milked till December, when they are 
dried off and kept on straw, oats, barley, beans or peas, and grains, 
with 4 lbs. of linseed-cake or 5 lbs. cotton, till they calve, when 
they have hay till grass-time. If the hay is inferior, a little cake 
or grains is given with it. The milking-cows for Newport have 
hay, grains, and cake all the winter. No roots are used with the 
horned stock, as grains, cake, &c., are considered cheaper, and 
are required to keep the land in condition to grow fair crops. All 
the cows are tied during winter. Cliaffing is not adopted, or rather, 
it has been discarded. As the cattle must have some bedding, 
I prefer to let them eat the best of the straw, and bed them with 
the refuse. 1 have less casualties, and find the cattle do better 
on the uncut food. The calves are kept in during the first sum- 
mer: they have milk for the first two months, then cake; and 
green food or hay till they are twelve months' old. Barren cows 
are generally fattened in winter. Many of the sheep are kept on 
the grass-land in summer, the ewes generally being lattened on 
grass. Thirteen farm-horses are kept: they lie out in the 
pastures during eight months of the year. Owing to the pecu- 
liar shape of the fields, steam-cultivation is of no advantage 
