Farming  of  Gloucestershire. 
141 
machine,  but  it  is  very  questionable  whether  dibbling  will  super- 
sede the  drill  to  any  extent.  The  dibbling-macliine  does  not 
deposit  the  seed  so  regularly  as  the  drill.  I have  counted  from 
eight  to  seventeen  plants  in  a bunch,  and  nearly  adjoining  each 
other,  and  the  machine  will  not.  work  with  the  land  in  so  wet  a state 
as  the  drill  will.  I,  therefore,  deem  it  not  so  suitable  for  late 
planting.  The  greatest  advantage  in  dibbling  is  on  the  lighter 
kinds  of  land,  where  early  planting  is  practised.  It  confers  a 
greater  solidity  on  porous  soils  than  drilling,  but  consolidation 
can  now  be  obtained  by  the  numerous  implements  made  for  the 
purpose,  as  well  as  by  the  old  practice  of  driving  stock  over  the 
land,  which  is  still  followed  to  some  extent.  Two  bushels  of 
seed  are  usually  sown  per  acre,  but  some  are  trying  a smaller 
quantity.  I have  tried  one  bushel  drilled  rather  early,  on  poor 
land,  with  advantage,  although  this  kind  of  land  is  not  generally 
considered  suitable  for  thin  seeding.  Red  wheat  is  much  the 
most  commonly  grown,  and  the  old  red  straw  Lammas  the 
favourite.  Many  other  sorts  have  been  tried,  Golden  Drop, 
Clovers  Red,  Spaldings,  See.  Several  of  the  new  sorts  will, 
at  first,  grow  more  in  quantity  than  the  old,  but  the  quality  is 
complained  of  by  the  millers.  The  w'heat  growing  on  the  best 
land,  in  this  district,  is  generally  hoed  at  3s.  to  4s.  per  acre. 
Some  is  weeded  and  thistles  removed  by  women  with  paddles, 
and  many  fields  are  not  touched  from  the  time  of  planting  until 
harvest.  Reaping  with  the  common  sickle  is  the  usual  way  of 
cutting  nearly  all  the  wheat,  which  is  performed  by  men,  women, 
and  children,  from  the  neighbouring  villages  and  towns ; many 
small  tradesmen  leaving  their  calling  to  take  a share  in  it. 
blowing  has  been  introduced,  but  does  not  rapidly  gain  favour  in 
the  eyes  of  the  farmers.  The  practice  of  bagging  or  fagging  is 
increasing  in  favour.  The  greatest  drawback  to  both  mowing 
and  bagging  is  the  increased  quantity  of  straw  that  has  to  pass 
through  the  machine.  Thrashing  is  mostly  done  by  horse  power, 
and  if  little  or  no  expense  be  avoided  by  mowing  or  bagging,  the 
saving  of  horseflesh  is  worthy  of  consideration.  The  cost  of  cut- 
ting in  either  way  is  from  6s.  to  10s.  per  acre.  The  produce  varies 
very  much  with  seasons.  It  has  been  estimated  by  several 
farmers  at  an  average  of  22  bushels  per  acre  for  the  whole 
district.  Prizes  have  been  offered  through  the  Cirencester 
Society  for  dibbling  wheat  with  small  quantities  per  acre,  ranging 
from  one  peck  to  three  or  four,  from  which  no  satisfactory 
results  were  obtained.  The  crops  were  all  but  a failure,  and  the 
prizes  were  discontinued.  Mr.  Edward  Bowly  tried  several  ex- 
periments with  thin  drilling,  which,  it  appears,  did  not  answer,  as 
we  find  he  does  not  follow  the  practice.  Gloucestershire  cannot 
be  said  to  be  a thick-seeding  county.  From  six  to  eight  pecks 
is  the  usual  quantity  of  wheat. 
