1G4 
Farming  of  Gloucestershire. 
to  thrasli  with  the  machine  and  steam.  Hedging  and  ditching, 
ploughing  and  mowing,  arc  almost  the  only  things  which  we 
have  not  seen  performed  by  the  Gloucestershire  women. 
For  ages  the  Gloucestershire  farmer  has  been  aware  of  the 
benefit  of  planting  in  drills,  and  most  probably  practised  it  when 
no  such  practice  was  adopted  elsewhere. 
Before  drilling-machines  were  invented  the  Vale  farmer  planted 
his  beans  in  rows  across  the  ridges  by  hand,  and  sometimes  his 
wheat ; the  saving  in  seed  paying  for  the  labour.  This  was  done 
by  women,  but  the  use  of  machines  is  now  superseding  hand- 
bean  planting,  and  has  altogether  superseded  wheat  setting, 
and  promises  soon  to  scare  away  broad-cast  sowing  from  off  the 
land. 
When  the  Gloucestershire  farmer  kills  his  pigs,  he  does  not 
scald  them  and  scrape  off  the  hair,  as  in  the  north,  but  burns 
it  off  with  straw,  which  is  called  stealing,  a less  troublesome  prac- 
tice than  scalding. 
The  slow  movements  of  the  labourers  in  this  county  is  not  a 
peculiarity  which  attaches  to  it  alone ; like  many  others  named 
by  me,  it  applies  to  the  whole  west.  This  fact  cannot  have  escaped 
the  observation  of  strangers,  and  of  itself  must  be  a.  serious  obstacle 
to  the  rapid  progress  required  in  many  of  the  farmer’s  operations. 
This  slowness  necessarily  extends  itself  to  the  working  cattle,  and 
many  times  have  I been  compelled  to  look  at  some  tree  at  a 
distance  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  the  plough-teams  were 
moving,  but  we  seldom  see  the  team  altogether  at  a stand  except 
in  the  middle  of  the  day  for  a few  minutes,  when  the  oxen  some- 
times take  the  liberty  of  lying  down,  while  they  chew  the  cud 
with  all  the  ease  and  unconcernedness  conceivable.  The  re- 
moval of  this  obstacle  to  the  farmer  will  not  be  easily  effected. 
The  boy  at  an  early  age  gets  inured  to  it,  and  it  will  be  found 
a difficult  task  to  alter  his  habits  which  have  been  early  formed. 
The  Cotswolds  have  for  many  years  been  celebrated  for  the 
breed  of  sheep,  but  the  Cotswold  sheep  which  have  taken  the 
name  from  having  originated  there  are  not  the  Cotswold  sheep  of 
the  present  day. 
Our  two  divisions,  Vale  of  the  Isis  or  Thames  and  the  Cots- 
wolds, possess  many  excellent  flock-masters,  who  have  become 
justly  celebrated  for  their  stock.  To  do  justice  to  the  sheep  in 
this  district  would  occupy  a volume  of  itself,  and  will  claim  a 
short  notice  in  another  place,  our  business  here  being  to  do  little 
more  than  record  that  the  improved  Cotswold  sheep  are  a dis- 
tinguished peculiarity  of  the  county  of  Gloucester,  and  the  eastern 
portion  of  the  county  is  celebrated  for  the  number  of  farmers 
who  have  assiduously  devoted  their  energies  to  the  selection, 
breeding,  and  improvement  of  rams,  which  are  annually  let  and 
