Root  Crops. 
431 
Col  beck  says  that  the  lambs  are  better  shaped,  and  make  better 
meat  than  either  breed  pure.*  There  is  this  further  advantage 
sometimes  in  crossing,  that  the  ewe  may  be  of  a breed  that  can  bear 
hard  living  upon  poor  bleak  mountain  pasture,  quite  unfitted  for 
the  improved  breeds.  In  this  way  a Welsh  ewe  might  be  kept  on 
the  moors  for  eight  months  in  the  year,  yet  her  lamb  have  many 
qualities  of  the  improved  Leicester. 
But  to  return  to  feeding  the  lambs.  Of  course,  instead  of  hay 
with  their  turnips  they  will  now  have  cut  straw  : and  it  is  very 
satisfactory  to  see  a barley  rick  after  threshing  thus  disappear, 
being  minced  at  once  by  the  chaff-cutter,  with  the  aid  of  one  horse, 
into  a mountain  of  chaff,  which  remains  in  the  barn  sufficient  to  last 
a good  flock  for  three  weeks.  They  must  also  have  oil-cake,  the 
other  heavy  item  besides  bones  in  the  account  of  high  farming. 
Now,  1 do  not  say  that  no  additional  capital  is  required  for  cake  ; 
but  this  I do  say  : farmers  found  it  answer  some  years  since  to  pay 
12/.  per  ton  for  linseed  cake,  which  is  now  fallen  to  71.  or  8/. ; and 
further,  I must  beg  to  repeat  what  was  published  by  me  in  this 
Journal  three  years  ago — sheep  thrive  as  fast  upon  the  best  London- 
made  rape-cake  as  upon  linseed-cake,  and  for  such  rape-cake  I 
have  paid  hitherto  41.  10s.  This  is  really  a useful  thing  for 
farmers  to  know  ; but  they  must  not  do  as  one  gentleman  told 
me  he  had  done,  give  his  beast  rape-dust,  a substance  resembling 
bad  mustard  flour.  Now  if  it  answered  to  give  sheep  cake  a few 
years  ago,  at  12/.  per  ton,  surely  there  can  be  small  risk  in  doing 
so  now  at  about  one-third  of  the  outlay.  But  further,  as  to  the 
mere  extent  of  capital  in  high  farming  : if  the  lambs  or  tegs  begin 
to  receive  cake  in  September,  they  may  also  certainly  begin  to  go 
for  ready  money  to  Smithfield  in  January.  Now,  the  customary 
credit  for  cake  is  three  months  ; the  money  begins  therefore  to 
come  in  almost  as  soon  as  it  goes  out.  I dwell  on  this  point, 
because  exaggerated  notions  are  abroad  among  practical  farmers, 
as  to  the  expense  of  high  farming,  as  it  is  called.  The  advocates 
even  of  improvement  set  the  capital  required  for  improved  farming 
very  high.  Ten  pounds  an  acre  is  a floating  estimate  of  the 
proper  capital.  Farming  myself  of  course  high,  I cannot  bring 
my  own  investment  to  more  than  six  pounds  an  acre,  a sum  which 
I believe,  with  sheep-farming,  at  least,  to  be  an  ample  allowance 
for  the  highest  possible  farming.  A fair  capital,  I firmly  believe, 
may  be  made,  by  plain,  common  sense,  to  go  nearly,  if  not  quite, 
as  far  in  good  as  in  slovenly  farming.  At  all  events,  when  we 
see  the  bill  for  bones  and  for  cake  reduced  by  fully  one  half,  we 
need  not  be  frightened  from  good  farming  by  the  cost  of  a few 
score  of  ewes  to  add  to  our  breeding  flock ; for  this  is  what  it 
comes  to  at  last. 
* Report  on  Northumberland,  Journal,  viii.,  433. 
2 f 2 
