694 
On  the  Farming  of  Somerset. 
“ to  be  above  its  work.”  I observed  some  very  fine  crops  on  a 
high  field,  which  not  many  years  ago  was  a furze-brake,  and  on 
inquiry  I learned  that  they  had  been  produced  by  growing  two 
green  crops  in  succession  fed  off  with  sheep.  Mr.  Danger  has, 
on  full  consideration,  decided  on  adopting  for  his  high  land  a 
five-field  rotation: — I.  Wheat;  2.  Turnips;  3.  Barley;  4 and  5. 
Grass  for  two  years.  This  decision  is  taken  after  trying  the 
four-field  system,  partly  with  reference  to  the  situation  of  the 
farm  and  partly  with  reference  to  the  circumstances  of  the  present 
times,  in  order  to  reduce  the  outgoings.  In  any  field  in  which 
the  grass  may  happen  to  fail  in  the  second  year,  rape  will  be 
cultivated.  All  the  green  crops  are  put  sufficiently  wide  in  the 
drills  to  admit  of  the  use  of  the  horsehoe.  The  plants  are  always 
singled  out  by  hand — leaving  common  turnips  6 inches,  swedes 
10  inches  apart;  the  work  is  done  by  children.  Mr.  Danger 
attaches  great  importance  to  this  plan,  as  the  turnips  often 
require  hoeing  when  the  men  are  wanted  in  the  harvest-field  ; 
and  great  mischief  would  be  done  if  the  hoeing  were  delayed. 
One  woman  looks  after  eight  or  ten  children;  and  in  point  of 
regularity,  Mr.  Danger  says,  they  will  beat  the  best  hoers  in  the 
county;  and  they  do  it  at  less  cost.  Certainly  the  neatness  of 
his  turnip-fields  confirms  this  statement. 
Mr.  Danger  and  several  of  his  neighbours  keep  Dorset  horned 
flocks.  But  Mr.  Danger  is  not  content  to  follow  the  practice 
of  the  south  of  the  county,  by  working  his  sheep  hard  in  folding 
and  selling  them  lean.  He  fats  his  own  wethers,  and,  by 
keeping  them  well  through  the  winter,  and  giving  them  corn 
for  two  months,  brings  them  to  20  lb.  per  quarter  at  16  months 
old.  He  does  not  consider  that  folding  the  sheep  on  the  land 
for  ten  or  twelve  hours  with  nothing  to  eat,  is  good  farming. 
They  run  on  the  pasture  by  day,  and  are  folded  at  night  on 
vetches,  rape,  or  some  other  green  crop.  He  has  adopted  an 
excellent  plan  to  give  shelter  to  his  sheep.  It  has  been  ma- 
tured by  degrees  after  several  trials,  and  answers  thoroughly. 
It  may,  therefore,  be  worth  the  attention  of  other  hill  farmers 
to  learn  the  results  of  Mr.  Danger’s  experience  without  his 
trouble.  He  has  a number  of  moveable  sheds  (1)  of  simple 
construction,  about  9 feet  by  8 feet  or  9 feet  square,  and  covered 
with  thatch.  Instead  of  wheels  to  the  sheds,  which  were  found 
to  clog,  a truck  (2)  is  used,  on  which  two  men  can  easily  place 
the  shed  and  move  it : several  of  these  sheds  are  placed  quite 
close  together ; and  in  cold  or  rough  weather  the  sheep,  when 
lying  down,  are  always  to  be  found  under  them. 
It  deserves  consideration  whether  the  chief  objects  aimed  at  in 
the  house-feeding  of  sheep  are  not  attained  on  this  plan  without 
the  labour  of  carting  home  the  roots  and  carting  back  the  manure 
