Farming  of  Gloucestershire. 
1G9 
them  in  their  early  stages,  and  vigorously  to  push  them  on  out 
of  the  reach  of  the  fly,  the  crop  was  deficient  and  uncertain. 
The  use  of  bones  has  for  many  years  been  common  on  the 
Yorkshire  wolds  and  in  other  parts  of  England,  and  was  found 
to  answer  very  well.  At  length  they  were  introduced  into 
Gloucestershire.  In  1834,  Mr.  P.  Mathews,  a spirited  farmer, 
erected  a bone-mill  on  his  farm  at  Coombe-end,  and  very  soon 
his  excellent  turnip-crops  attracted  attention,  Their  use  soon 
spread,  and  has  now  become  general.  This  farm  is  situated  in 
an  elevated  exposed  part  of  the  Cotswolds,  and  not  twenty  years 
ago  was  proverbial  for  the  lateness  of  the  harvest.  Now,  from 
his  excellent  turnip  and  sheep  management,  and  general  improve- 
ment, his  harvests  are  as  forward  as  those  on  more  favoured  soils, 
and  equal — if  not  superior — in  produce  to  those  of  his  neigh- 
bours who  are  more  advantageously  situated.  A marked  im- 
provement has  been  observed  in  the  crops  since  the  introduction 
of  bones,  particularly  on  his  own  farm,  but  also  in  the  great 
majority  of  others  in  the  district. 
On  Lord  Bathurst’s  farm,  Mr.  Anderson  has  had  beans  and 
mangold  as  a double  crop.  The  beans  were  drilled  in  double 
rows,  with  an  interval  of  3 feet.  In  the  spring  the  mangold  was 
planted  between  the  double  rows  in  the  centre  of  the  wide  space 
left.  At  harvest  the  wurzel  was  very  regular,  but  not  so  large  in 
bulb  as  those  planted  without  beans;  but,  on  the  beans  being 
removed,  the  wurzel  grew  very  rapidly,  and,  when  removed  for 
storing,  the  roots  were  little  inferior  in  weight  to  those  where  no 
beans  had  been  planted.  The  land,  of  course,  was  not  so  clean. 
Mr.  Slatter  of  Stratton,  and  others,  drill  about  1 cwt.  of  guano 
and  ashes  from  turf,  with  vetches,  which  answers  well;  the 
vetches  treated  so  this  autumn  are  the  finest  I ever  saw.  For 
the  last  six  or  seven  years  several  of  the  best  farmers  have  adopted 
the  method  of  cropping  their  hedges,  and  keeping  them  so 
cropped  ; and  have  thus  brought  into  cultivation  a considerable 
portion  of  land  that  was  truly  waste,  and  have  removed  a great 
number  of  unnecessary  hedges,  put  drains  in  the  ditches  and 
covered  them  over,  and  grubbed  vast  quantities  of  old  pollard- 
trees  from  the  hedgerows  that  are  left.  Nothing  could  be  more 
improved  in  this  respect  than  many  farms  in  the  county:  Mr. 
Cook’s  farm  at  Down  Ampney,  Mr.  Edward  Bowly’s  farm  at 
Siddington,  Mr.  Bubb’s  farm  at  Whitcombe  Court,  Mr. 
Slatter ’s  farm  at  Stratton,  Mr.  Clifford’s  farm  at  Frampton,  and 
the  College  farm  at  Cirencester. 
The  recent  establishment  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  College 
cannot  be  passed  over  in  silence,  but  it  would  occupy  too  much 
space  to  sketch  its  history  and  its  objects  ; I must  be  satisfied, 
therefore,  to  state  that  it  has  been  established  for  the  education 
