Farming  of  Gloucestershire. 
163 
a ton  per  acre  for  the  turnip  field  is  usually  consumed  on  the  land. 
Independendy  of  the  good  effect  it  has  upon  the  sheep,  it  is  also 
very  beneficial  to  the  land.  The  consumption  of  a ton  of  hay, 
whether  the  turnips  be  a good  or  inferior  crop,  retains  the  sheep 
much  longer  on  the  soil,  and  the  consequence  is,  both  a better 
manuring  and  a better  consolidation  of  the  land.  The  great 
majority  of  farmers  not  only  consume  hay  thus  on  the  turnip  land, 
but  give  to  the  fat  sheep  corn,  oilcake,  and  hay,  cut  into  chaff. 
The  attention  paid  to  the  rearing  and  fatting  of  sheep  in  the  vale 
of  Thames  and  on  the  Cotswolds  can  scarcely  be  exceeded  by  any 
other  county,  as  the  prices  obtained  by  our  numerous  sheep- 
breeders  at  the  annual  ram  sales  will  testify.  The  shepherds  in 
this  county  are  provided  with  a portable  house,  or  cot  on  wheels, 
to  which  they  resort  for  rest  and  shelter  in  the  yeaning  season. 
Ploughing  with  from  three  to  four  horses  in  a team  at  length, 
and  a boy  driving,  has  until  lately  been  the  custom  of  almost 
every  one,  not  only  in  the  county,  but  those  which  surround  it. 
On  light  lands  this  practice  seems  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of 
strangers,  who  may  think  because  the  land  is  light  and  thin  it  is 
easy  to  plough;  but  although  thin,  not  of  deep  soil,  it  is,  on  ac- 
count of  the  large  quantity  of  carbonate  of  lime  it  contains,  very 
sticky,  and  the  plough  never  cleans  itself,  and  every  ploughman 
knows  that  when  this  is  the  case  it  is  difficult  to  make  good  work 
and  not  so  easy  for  the  team  as  is  imagined.  This  is  now  dis- 
appearing, and  ere  long  a pair  of  horses  will  be  deemed  sufficient 
on  all  but  the  heaviest  stiff  lands  of  the  vale.  Draining  will 
much  tend,  as  it  has  already  done,  to  render  so  powerful  a plough- 
team  unnecessary,  and  when  no  longer  needed  it  will  not  be  con- 
tinued by  the  present  race  of  farmers. 
Oxen  have  been  much  in  use  at  plough  in  many  parts  of  the 
county,  as  well  as  in  waggon-teams.  The  bull  too  is  worked  by 
many  farmers  as  a cart-horse , and  a most  enormous  quantity  of 
drudgery  he  willingly  performs.  I have  frequently  admired  the 
docility  of  the  animal,  and  his  wonderful  power  in  the  cart-shafts, 
a place  which  he  frequently  occupies,  regularly  harnessed  like 
a horse.  I have  often  seen  him  led  to  the  field  by  a boy, 
and  sometimes  by  a woman,  as  quiet  as  a lamb,  and  bring  back 
an  enormous  load  of  turnips.  The  employment  of  women  for 
nearly  all  kinds  of  labour  but  thrashing  with  the  flail,  may 
be  accounted  a peculiarity  of  the  county  if  not  the  country. 
We  find  the  women  not  only  weeding  corn  and  assisting  in  hay- 
time and  harvest,  but  engaged  in  wheat  and  bean  planting, 
hoeing  wheat,  beans,  and  turnips,  &c.,  assisting  to  distribute  the 
dung  when  planting  swedes  and  turnips,  &c„  and  in  getting  up 
and  storing  them  ; and  also  in  the  sheep-fold  in  the  winter  pulling 
and  cutting  turnips,  working  the  chaff-cutting  machine,  assisting 
M 2 
