706 
On  the  Farming  of  Somerset. 
It  must  be  freely  admitted  that  a prime  Cheddar  cheese  is  one 
of  the  finest  articles  of  agricultural  produce;  and  that  a full  cheese- 
room,  exhibited  by  a Marsh  yeoman  after  his  rent  has  been  paid, 
and  all  made  straight,  is  a pleasant  sight,  as  it  is  one  which  the 
farmers  have  always  great  pleasure  in  showing  to  a visitor;  but, 
paying  all  due  honour  to  the  produce  of  the  district,  it  must  be 
said  that  there  are  several  abatements  from  the  satisfaction  which 
this  fine  country  might  afford  to  the  agriculturist. 
In  the  first  place,  the  women  do  all  the  work.  It  is  true  the 
men  see  the  cows  milked  at  a very  early  hour  in  the  summer,  and 
have  some  trouble  with  them  in  the  winter,  but  the  real  hard 
labour  falls  on  the  women;  and  very  active  and  industrious  thev 
are  ; but  it  is  a sad  sight  to  see  a man  standing  by  doing  nothing, 
while  his  wife  or  daughter  is  turning  many  times  in  the  day  a 
weight  of  above  half  a cwt. 
Cheese-turners  used  in  the  midlands  are  not  in  use  in  Somer- 
set : the  farmers  who  have  heard  of  them  say  they  would  occupy 
too  much  space. 
The  result  of  the  income  being  to  so  great  an  extent  dependent 
on  the  women’s  labour,  as  might  be  supposed,  is  unfavourable  to 
smart  and  active  habits  out  of  doors,  where  the  men’s  labour  might 
be  well  bestowed.  There  is  a very  prevalent  neglect  in  not 
keeping  their  ditches  and  gripes  clear , and  when  neglected  they 
soon  choke  and  become  useless.  The  cows  are  very  frequently 
left  out  in  jointer  as  well  as  summer  ; and  their  droppings  are  left 
too  long  before  thev  are  gathered  up. 
There  is  very  little  care  or  attention  bestowed  on  the  cultivation 
of  root  crops.  Indeed,  it  would  be  correct  to  say  that,  as  a 
general  rule,  they  are  not  grown.  Many  say  that  their  land  is 
too  heavy  for  them,  which  may  be  true  if  the  land  is  not  drained, 
or  if  the  improved  methods  of  managing  roots  on  heavy  lands  are 
not  adopted.  The  result  of  this  neglect  is,  that  the  cows  starve 
all  the  winter,  and  when  grass  begins  to  shoot,  instead  of  at  once 
making  good  cheese,  they  spend  a month  in  picking  up  some 
flesh  on  their  bare  bones.  Add  to  which,  that  from  standing 
about  on  the  grass  all  the  winter,  the  cows  so  thoroughly  “ pound  ” 
the  ground,  that  in  summer  it  is  in  many  parts  as  hard  as  a brick, 
and  the  grass  does  not  come  up  till  very  late.  Here,  however,  the 
owners  of  the  land  are  more  in  fault  than  the  occupiers;  for  the 
want  of  proper  buildings  in  the  Marsh,  and,  indeed,  in  many 
other  parts  of  the  county,  is  truly  lamentable,  and  must  engage 
most  serious  attention. 
Winter  grazing  on  his  own  land,  or  rather  in  his  own  home- 
steads, forms  no  part  of  the  calculations  of  a Marsh  dairy  farmer; 
and  the  consequence  of  course  is,  that  litter  and  dung  are  botli 
scarce.  Indeed,  when  one  reflects  on  the  quantity  of  produce 
