Farming  of  Gloucestershire. 
147 
grass  portion  is  much  the  most  valuable,  containing  the  meadows 
of  the  Severn,  Avon,  Chclt,  and  other  small  rivulets,  which  form 
the  best  land,  besides  a considerable  quantity  of  first-rate  upland 
pasture.  There  are  several  dairies  in  the  vales  of  Gloucester  and 
Evesham,  but  the  principal  portion  of  the  grass  land  is  applied 
to  rearing  and  grazing  in  connexion  with  them.  This  is  in  some 
measure  to  be  attributed  to  the  inferior  quality  of  the  cheese  and 
the  difficulty  in  making  it.  This  appears  singular,  because  much 
of  the  land  is  excellent  feeding-  land.  There  are  but  few  cattle 
o 
or  sheep  bred  in  this  district.  The  graziers  depend  on  Glou- 
cester and  the  neighbouring  markets  for  the  supply  of  store-stock, 
and  on  the  towns  in  the  neighbourhood  and  the  manufacturing 
districts  of  the  north  for  a sale  when  fat.  The  vale  of  Berkeley 
still  retains  its  fame  for  its  dairies,  and  the  grass  land  for  the 
production  of  excellent  cheese,  although  the  breed  of  cows  is 
totally  changed.  In  the  time  of  Rudge  the  Gloucester  and  long- 
horned beasts  were  the  principal  stock,  which  have  almost  dis- 
appeared, and  are  replaced  by  the  short-horns.  There  are  some 
of  the  old  sort  left,  but  the  farmers  who  still  retain  them  are 
rather  fond  of  a cross,  and  indeed  many  farmers  speak  favourably 
of  a cross  between  the  short-horn  and  the  Hereford.  Mr.  Ire- 
land, a farmer  near  Tewkesbury,  considers  the  stock  obtained 
from  this  cross  the  best  for  all  purposes.  The  entire  change  of 
stock  in  the  Berkeley  Vale  not  having  also  changed  the  quality  of 
the  cheese,  shows  that  the  quality  depends  on  the  land,  how- 
ever the  quantity  may  be  affected  by  the  change  of  stock.  The 
general  system  is  still  either  the  4 or  8-course,  that  is  three  crops 
and  a fallow,  although,  where  the  land  has  been  drained,  a bare 
summer's  fallow  is  not  so  frequent  as  formerly,  A fallow  crop 
is  now  taken  of  vetches  or  trefoil,  to  be  eaten  off  by  sheep,  and 
the  land  afterwards  bastard  fallowed : — 
1st  year.  Summer  fallow  or  vetches  5th  year.  Fallow. 
and  bastard  fallowed.  Gth  „ Barley. 
2nd  ,,  Barley.  7th  „ Clover. 
3rd  „ Beans.  8th  „ Wheat. 
4th  „ Wheat. 
On  land  that  has  been  drained,  and  is  rather  inclined  to  a sandy 
loam,  swedes,  turnips,  carrots,  and  mangold  have  been  intro- 
duced. Those  crops  are  sown  on  a portion  of  the  fallow  quarter, 
and  in  favourable  seasons  heavy  crops  are  produced.  The 
greater  part  is  generally  hauled  home  to  assist  in  feeding  the 
cattle  in  the  stalls.  The  root-crops  are  seldom  fed  off  on  the 
land,  the  practice  being  thought  injurious,  though  some  few  in- 
stances have  come  under  my  observation.  A particularly  heavy 
crop  of  swedes  was  fed  off  on  the  land  during  the  winter,  on  a 
farm  in  the  parish  of  Boddington,  adjoining  the  road  from 
L 2 
