Robert Bakewell. 
7 
farms lie is understood to have founded his own system of 
farming at Dishley. 
We find, accordingly, as we follow the testimony of the 
different visitors at Dishley who have recorded their impressions, 
most scrupulous neatness, order, regularity ; ingenious time- 
saving contrivances ; the cheapest ways of doing efficiently the 
ordinary work of the farm ; in short, at all points, rigid economy. 
When Arthur Young was at Dishley, in the course of his cele- 
brated tour through the East of England in 1770, the farm 
comprised 440 acres, of which 110 were under the plough. 
The proportions of white and root crops were generally about 
15 acres of wheat, 25 of spring corn, and not more than 30 of 
turnips. The rest of the farm (330 aci’es, less the sites of build- 
ings, the yards, watercourses, &c.) was all grass land. Bakewell 
is classed by Marshall as having stood first in the kingdom as 
an improver of grass land by watering ; and from Monk’s Agri- 
cultural Report we learn that by means of irrigation he was 
enabled to cut grass four times a year. Young says that his 
irrigation is “ among the rarest instances of spirited husbandry,” 
much exceeding anything of the kind he had seen before, even 
in the hands of landlords. He describes the water meadows, 
from 60 to 80 acres, as having been, like the rest of the country, 
all in ridge and furrow, covered with ant-hills and disfigured by 
inequalities of surface. These Bakewell had ploughed up, 
thoroughly tilled, and laid down again to grass with a perfectly 
even surface ; while the old-time farmers around stared at an 
operation which they said was “ burying good land to bring up 
bad,” and, filled with alarm lest his overflow should “ poison ” 
their rough, untidy lands, threatened, and one chronicler declares 
actually commenced, legal proceedings to restrain him. “ Our 
farmer,” Young remarks, “ has expended large sums in these 
uncommon undertakings : he richly merits the enjoyment of 
their profit.” The meadows seen by this authority when he first 
visited Dishley did not, however, comprise one-half of the land — 
200 acres — which was eventually irrigated. 
After laying down the 60 or 80 acres as already stated, Mr. 
Bakewell cleaned to equal depth everywhere the brook supplying 
the water, using the heaps and ridges of earth and sand left by 
the stream as filling for the hollows in its course, without 
throwing any out upon the banks. This process was extended 
to the ditches and the water conveyed to other fields away from 
the brook, further ditches being used to take the water off after 
it had flowed over the land. He did not hastily either adopt 
or extend his system of irrigation, but felt his way as he ad- 
vanced, trying various experiments to satisfy himself of the 
