173 
Farming  of  Gloucestershire. 
ducted  on  to  the  top  of  the  wheel  by  means  of  a pipe  2 or  3 
inches  in  diameter.  This  spot  is  at  least  300  feet  below  the 
house.  This  wheel  works  two  force-pumps  ; and,  what  will  pro- 
bably appear  singular,  they  drive  the  water  of  a spring,  which  is 
half  way  up  the  hill,  through  pipes  to  the  top  of  the  house.  The 
rate  is  a gallon  per  minute.  Several  others  have  been  erected  in 
the  county:  at  the  White  Way  Farm,  at  Cirencester,  the  property 
of  Miss  Master;  at  Sapperton,  the  property  of  Earl  Bathurst;  at 
Colesbourne,  on  the  property  of  Henry  Elvves,  Esq.  ; at  Ampney 
Crucis,  the  property  of  the  late  G.  G.  Blackwell,  Esq.;  and  at 
Katherop  Castle,  the  property  of  Lord  de  Manley. 
Stock  and  its  Management. 
On  the  hills  the  improvement  in  the  management  of  the  flocks 
is  plainly  proved  by  the  weight  and  age  at  which  they  are  brought 
to  market,  compared  with  what  they  were  at  the  time  of  Rudge. 
lie  says  that  when  three  years  old  they  would  weigh  from  twenty- 
two  to  thirty  pounds  per  quarter ; now  they  are  brought  to  that 
weight  at  fifteen  months  old  only.  I once  saw  a sheep  hung  up 
at  Stow  May  fair  which  weighed  forty  pounds  per  quarter  at  this 
age.  There  is,  also,  a greater  number  kept.  On  one  farm  the 
flock  of  Cotswold  sheep  used  to  be  managed  in  the  same  way  as 
is  now  followed  on  the  hills;  that  is,  running  at  large  in  separate 
fields,  feeding  on  the  young  and  old  seeds.  The  number  of  ewes 
kept  for  many  years  varied  from  100  to  110.  The  present  occu- 
pier, seven  years  since,  noticed  the  folding-off  system  practised  in 
Wiltshire  through  the  summer,  on  vetches,  clover,  &c.,  and  tried 
it  a little  at  first,  increasing  as  he  felt  the  benefits.  His  stock  is 
now  1 50  ewes  of  the  same  breed , and  the  increase  is  owing  wholly  to 
the  folding  off  system.  The  whole  of  the  Cotswolds  cannot  be 
thus  managed,  as  the  soil  in  some  instances  is  so  thin  that  it 
would  scarcely  grow  any  seeds  or  green  food,  except  rye-grass — 
the  worst  thing  possible  to  fold  off':  but  it  can  be  done  on  the 
best  land  of  most  farms. 
The  climate  and  appearance  of  the  Cotswold  Hills  have  been 
much  improved  by  belts  and  patches  of  plantation  scattered  over 
them.  It  is  also  a profitable  investment  where  the  steepest,  wettest, 
and  poorest  land  is  planted,  which  is  often  the  case.  The  only 
drawback  is  where  game  has  been  preserved  to  excess.  Wood- 
pigeons,  too,  have  become  very  numerous  and  destructive  to  the 
crops,  not  only  of  corn,  but  vetches,  clover,  and  swedes  in  winter. 
In  some  places  vetches  can  no  longer  be  sown  for  feed.  There 
is  a full  average  quantity  of  game  preserved  in  the  county,  suffi- 
cient in  some  places  to  injure  materially  the  crops  of  the  farmer. 
Railways  have  afforded  great  facilities  for  the  transmission  of 
corn,  butter,  cheese,  milk,  and  fat  stock  to  London  for  sale,  and 
