Agriculture of Hertfordshire. 
295 
rape (dressed with superphosphate), which is fed off by sheep with cake or 
corn iu September or October, and sown with wheat. I sow 20 or 30 acres of 
winter tares on some of the strongest land for the horses, pigs, &c. ; and, when 
they are off, the land is cultivated and laid up in ridges for mangold in the 
following spring. This enables us to get the mangold in early, whatever the 
weather may be. In April I begin to put in some early turnips, with 3 cwts. 
of Lawcs's manure, on some of the wheat-stubbles on the strongest land, 
sowing about 3 acres every fortnight. I do not risk sowing many acres 
together so early ; for, although mildew seldom affects them, they become 
jiitliy if they arc not eaten at the proper time. We generally begin them 
early in August. Some few acres are sown with spring tares, for fear that 
keep for the lambs may run short before the turnips are quite ready ; these 
are eaten off with cake or corn, and the land made a tilth for barley. 
" I put 300 Hampshire Down ewes to a Cotswold ram. They arc now 
lambing, and the lambs born in February are weaned early in May and put on 
trefoil, having the first run. Some store-sheep are put behind them to clean 
up what they leave. The ewes are fattened off every year. The lambs have 
cake or corn all the summer, and, until they go to market at 11 to 13 months 
old, shorn. I have already sent 130 to market, which sold from 48s. to 53s. 
each ; these cut 8 lbs. of wool each. As soon as the ewes have lost their 
milk they are put on good keep and fattened off, and a fresh lot bought at 
Overton Fair on the 18th of July. 
" Getting rid of my home-bred tegs so early, I am often enabled to buy in 
others advantageously in the early spring for summer-feeding ; 50 of the best 
of the Down lambs so bought and kept to the age of 21 months, averaged 
last Christmas 51. 3s. 6(2. each. Mr. Slater, of Kensington, had 24 of them 
at 5s. 8c?. per stone, which averaged 18 stones 2 lbs. each. 
"As to oxen, I put off two lots in the year, one from the grass and the 
other from the yards. Forty or fifty well-bred polled Scots are bought at 
Barnet Fair in September, which run on the grass till about 1st of November, 
when they are put into small, well-sheltered yards, 8 or 10 in each. They 
begin with 3 or 4 lbs. of cake, and go up to 10 lbs. each. They have clover- 
hay and wheat-straw chaff cut together ; 1 bushel of cut swedes or mangold 
and half a peck of ground beans are mixed with the chaff. They are sold fat 
from April to June (according to the beef-trade) to some London butchers. 
Last year they weighed 115 to 130 stones, and made 5s. 4rf. per stone. 
" We put about as many store-pigs in the yard as there are oxen, which live 
chiefly on what the oxen drop. A polled Scot requires to be in yards 5 or 6 
months to make him good, and will then have made manure enough to dress 
an acre of ground, and this I value at 41. 1 generally have about 20 young 
shorthorns sent me from Durham in May : they are about 2 years old, very 
poor, and cost from 101. 10s. to 111. 10s. They go behind the Herefords, eat 
up what they leave, and remain grazing about till Christmas if the weather 
continues open. They are then shut in yards, have a couple of bushels of 
cut swedes or mangolds a day and J peck of ground beans mixed with wheat- 
straw chaff until they are turned out for summer grazing, when they have 
either cake or corn with the grass, and they generally go off about August. 
Last year they averaged a little more than 108 stones, at 5s. per stone. 
" I paid last year (in addition to home-grown corn) — ■ 
For cake and corn 
For manures . . 
£ s. d. 
1130 6 0 
263 18 0 
£1400 4 0 
This was rather less than usual. 
" I always endeavour to be beforehand with the work of the farm»" 
