J / CovneU Iftttwmitg Xibravn BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF SHenrg W« ^agc 1891 izpjlfao  \ ■ ■ / \ )  / —oi ' ( Worcestershire 6* 2F 2b ° M IJ> ' & J& ° f °jiyff O jj- C W./nd? f/7 w .. // < Kidde (^punster R\ Vt \\ O j ■’ Stone >ur|{brido*e //,. d z>w ’. sS..' \SwuSi>ed 2^ 2^- li Bushed; Birmuitn, jtfcain / "* V Fordiix ^2 ■ ir4^ -‘ V&L »/,«■ 'S | I * \ Moseley h ' '1 S * ii Jfafforl rS 1 z jSaqley Franfflev S' Kbufsttorten- \ ;' Northfield ffeath,,, S\ \ Chaddcwidi 2 witbob Hertleb r" Elndev Fdmbridqe 0 y^^ordelbty 7 ' Stokt-orier 7 _. SStokeprier 7.^ ^Dooertye 2 | Dipi^.rh ■■ / flinddeton Feeteerduint /S W • /Z • \« - — » SFiberton \ ISdwaten ,-z WORC ESTER , ' V " Wi- Kltu,to. FenAunp, 2 \ .....•--' ’ . °Newland §.£ i; v\ \Madresfield p uKenipney °Throekmorton2''^S^ a6reatMSIvem \^thon^ ftladanore \ 2 Park ‘ B'rtshoi-c •ti * « 1 it I’M b & \ Overbuy tynadw'ly Teddintyten Moreton in the Nhlf'sh K 5 JEt 1 R -E S c.di.x -.-hmm— z«5 eo 2/iS.r Pubbe MapJaJO by Phi/lip# Afar-Brittye Street. Nets sc. Jtl? Sirv.id.GENERAL VIEW OF THE AGRICULTURE OF THE COUNTY of WORCESTER; WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THE MEANS OF ITS IMPROVEMENT; PUBLISHED BY OKDSB OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE AND INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT. .. i - s By W. PITT, FORMERLY OF PENDEFORD, NOW OF BIRMINGHAM. - % ■"■■■■ --41 In Nature’s bounty rich, In herbs, and fruits, whatever greens the spring, When Heaven descends in showers, or bends the bough, When Summer reddens, and when Autumn beams, Or bleating mountains, or the chiae of streams. ♦ #♦#«##** The fragrant stores, the wide projected heaps Of apples which the lusty handed year, Innumerous, o’er the blushing orchard shakes, A various spirit, fresh, delicious, keen. Dwells in their gelid pores, and active poinis, The piercing cider for the thirsty tongue. THOMSON. I xg. M - ItORtHHl : PRINTED FOR RICHARD PHILLIPS, BRIDGE-STREET, BLACKFRIARS. SOLD BY FAULDER AND SON, BOND-STREET ; J. HARDING, ST. JAMES’s- STREET j J. ASPERNE, CORNHILL j BLACK, PARRY, AND KINGSBURY, LEADENIIALL STREET } HUNT AND HOLL, WORCESTER j REDDELL, Tewksbury; ago, evesham ; thorpe, abingdon; fuller, New- bury ; SNARE, READING; KNIGHT, WINDSOR; SLATTER AND MUN- DAY, OXFORD ; HOUGH AND SON, GLOUCESTER; CONSTABLE AND CO. EDINBURGH) AND J. ARCHER AND M. KEENE, DUBLIN. J. ADLARD, Printer, Duke-street, Smithfield. 1810, bet r> ' ' ' i ■ -■ A»i $ 15 0 y * fi ’<} • • . 5 , f L 1 . i < fit . !rt ; '.!. H, ' . -tij : (’ ■: ;/ s. tLnzjji i ■ ■ ' , . : ; is’.: ' '■ ' ■ J ::■ <:< >7 • ; >. si :• -i i i, : • > is. ' , ’ tl .-A. if ‘ Ill ADVERTISEMENT. The great desire that has been very generally expressed for having the Agricultural Surveys of the Kingdom reprinted, with the additional com- munications which have been received since the original reports were circulated, has induced the Board of Agriculture to come to a resolu- tion of reprinting such as may appear on the whole fit for publication. It is proper, at the same time, to add, that the Board does not consider itself responsible for any fact or ob- servation contained in the Reports thus re- printed, as it is impossible to consider them yet in a perfect state ; and, that it will thankfully acknowledge any additional information which may still be communicated; an invitation of which, it is hoped, many will avail themselves, as there is no circumstance from which any one i • ' • 1 caniv can derive more real satisfaction, than that of contributing, by every possible means, to pro- mote the improvement of his country. TV. B. Letters to the Board may be addressed to Sir John Sinclair, Bart. M.P. the President, SackviUe-street, London. PLANV PLAN FOR REPRINTING THE AGRICULTURAL SURVEYS, BY THE PRESIDENT of the BOARD of AGRICULTURE. A Board established for the purpose of making every essential inquiry into the agricultural state, and the means of promoting the internal improvement, of a powerful empire, will necessarily have it in view, to examine the sources of public prosperity, in regard to various important particulars. Perhaps the following is the most natural order for carrying on such impor- tant investigations; namely, to ascertain, ]. The riches to be obtained from the surface of the national territory. 2. The mineral or subterraneous treasures of which the country is possessed. 3. The wealth to be derived from its streams, rivers, canals, inland navigations, coasts, and fisheries : And, 4. The means of promoting the improvement of the people, in regard to their health, industry, and morals, founded on a statistical survey, or minute and careful inquiry* into the actual state of every parochial district in the kingdom, and the circumstances of its inhabi- tants* Under one or other of these heads, every point of real importance, that can tend to promote the general happiness of a great nation, seems to be included. A 2 Investi-Vi Investigations of so extensive and so complicated & nature, must require, it is evident, a considerable space of time before they can be completed. Differing, in- deed, in many respects from each other, it is better, perhaps, that they should be undertaken at different periods, and separately considered. Under that im- pression, the Board of Agriculture has hitherto directed its attention to the first point only, namely, the culti- vation of the surface, and the resources to be derived from it. That the facts, essential for such an investigation, might be collected with more celerity and advantage, a number of intelligent and respectable individuals were appointed, to furnish the Board with accounts of the state of husbandry, and the means of improving the different districts of the kingdom. The returns they sent were printed, and circulated by every means the Board of Agriculture could devise, in the districts to which they respectively related ; and, in consequence of that circulation, a great mass of additional valuable information has been obtained. For the purpose of communicating that information to the public in gene- ral, the Board has resolved to publish the survey of each county, as soon as it is brought to a state fit for publication. When all these surveys shall have been thus reprinted, it will be attended with little difficulty to draw up an abstract of the whole (which will not probably exceed two or three volumes quarto) to be laid before his Majesty, and both Houses of Parlia- ment; and afterwards a General Report on the present state of the country, and the means of its improvement, may be systematically arranged, according to the va- rious subjects connected with agriculture. Thus every individual in the kingdom may have, 3 1. AnVll 1. An account of the husbandry of his own particular county ; or, 2. A general view of the agricultural state of the kingdom at large, according to the counties or districts O O' o into which it is divided; or, 3. An arranged system of information on agricultural subjects, whether accumulated by the Board since its establishment, or previously known; And thus information respecting the state of the kingdom, and agricultural knowledge in general, will be attainable with every possible advantage. In reprinting these Reports, it was judged necessary, that they should be drawn up according to one uni- form model; and after fully considering the sabject, the following form was pitched upon, as one that would include in it all the particulars which it' was necessary to notice in an agricultural survey. As the other Re- ports will be reprinted in the same manner, the reader will thus be enabled to find out, at once, where any point is treated of, to which he may wish to direct his attention. PLAN OF THE REPRINTED REPORTS. PRELIMINARY OBSERVA- Chip. TIONS. II. State of property. Chap. Sect. 1—Estates and their I. Geographical State Management. and Circumstances 2.—Tenures. Sect, i.—Situation and Ex- III. Buildings. tent. Sect. 1.—Houses of Pro- 2.—Divisions. prietors. 3.—Climate. 2.—Farm Houses and 4.—Soil and Surface. Offices; and Re- 5.—Minerals, pairs. Water, Cottages. IV. Modsvni Chap. < IV. Mode of Occupa- tion. Sect. 1.—Size of Farms— Character of the Farmers. 2. —Rent—in Money — in Kind—in PersonalServices. 3. —Tithes. 4. —Poor Rates. 5. —Leases. 6. —Expense and Pro- fit. V. Implements. VI. Inclosing—Fences —Gates. VII. Arable Land. Sect. 1.—Tillage. 2. — Fallowing. 3. —Rotation ofCrops 4. —Crops commonly cultivated ; their Seed, Culture, Produce, &c.* 5. —Crops not com- monly cultivated. * Where the quantity is considerable, the information respecting the crops commonly cultivated, may be arranged under the following heads:— 1. Preparation. 5 tillage. 7 r £ manure. 5 2. Sort. 3. Steeping. 4. Seed (quantity sown.) 5. Time of sowing. In general, the same heads will suit the following grains: Oats, Beans, Rye, Pease, Buckwheat. • Application. Vetches ■ Cole-seed Turnips. { HAP. VIII. Grass. Sect. 1.—Natural Mea- dows and Pas- tures. 2. —Artificial Grasses 3. —Hay Harvest. 4. '—Feeding. IX. Gardens and Or- chards. X. Woods and Plan- tations. XI. Wastes. XII. Improvements. Sect. 1.—Draining. 2. —Paring & Burning 3. —Manuring. 4. —Weeding. 5. —Watering. XIII. Live Stock. Sect. 1.—Cattle. 2. —Sheep. 3. —Horses, and their Use in Husban- dry, compared to Oxen. 1 hoe, weeding. feeding. 6. Culture whilst growing. 7. Harvest. 8. Thrashing. 9. Produce. 10. Manufacture of Bread. Barley, Feeding, 7 Seed. J Drawn - - Fed - - - Kept on grass ------- in houses J 1 4.—Hogs,IX Chap. 6. -—Manufactures. 7. —Poor. 8. —Population. XVI. Obstacles to Im- provement; inclu- ding GENERAL OB- SERVATIONS onAgri- cultural Legisla- tion and Police. XVII. Miscellaneous Observations. Sect. 1.—Agricultural So- cieties. 2.—Weights and Measures. Conclusion. Means of Improvement, and the Measurescalculated for that Purpose. Appendix. Chap* 4.—Hogs. 5-—Rabbits. 6. —Poultry. 7. —Pigeons. 8. —Bees. XIV. Rural Economy. Sect. 1.— Labour — Ser- vants — Labour- ers—HoursofLa- . bour. 2. —Provision. 3. —Fuel. XV. Political Econo- my, AS CONNECTED WITH,OR AFFECTING, Agriculture. Sect. 1.—Roads. 2. —Canals. 3. —Fairs. 4. —Weekly Markets. 5. —Commerce, Perfection, in such enquiries, is not in the power of any body of men to obtain at once, whatever may be the extent of their views or the vigour of their exer- tions. If Lewis XIV. eager to have his kingdom known, and possessed of boundless power to effect it, failed so much in the attempt, that, of all the provinces in his kingdom, only one was so described as to secure the approbotion of posterity ;* it will not be thought strange * See Voltaire’s Age of Lewis XIV. vol. ii. p. 127, 128, edit. 1752. The following extract from that work will explain the circumstance above alluded to. “ Lewis bad no Colbert, nor Louvois, when about the year 1698, for the instruction of the Duke of Burgundy, he ordered each of the intendants to draw up a particular description of his province. By this means, an exact account of the kingdom might have been ob- tained, and a just enumeration of the inhabitants. It was an useful work, though all the intendants had not the capacity and attention of Monsieur de Lamoignon de Baville. Had, what the king directed, been as well executed in regard to every province, as it was by this magistrateX strange that a Board, possessed of means so extremely limited, should find it difficult to reach even that de- gree of perfection, which, perhaps, might have been attainable with more extensive powers: the candid reader cannot expect, in these Reports, more than a certain portion of useful information, so arranged as to render them a basis for further and more detailed en- quiries. The attention of the intelligent cultivators of the kingdom, however, will doubtless be excited, and the minds of men in general, brought gradually to con- sider favourably of an undertaking which will enable all to contribute to the national stores of knowledge, upon topics so truly interesting as those which concern the agricultural interests of their country; interests which on just principles never can be improved, until the present state of the kingdom is fully known, and the means of its future improvement ascertained with minuteness and accuracy. magistrate in the Account of Languedoc, the collection would have been one of the most valuable monuments of the age. Some of them are well done; but the plan was irregular aud imperfect, be- cause all the intendants were not restrained to one and the same. It were to be wished, that each of them had given, in columns, the number of inhabitants in each election ‘ the nobles, the citizens, the labourers, the artisans, the mechanics, the cattle of every kind; the good, the indifferent, and the bad, lands; all the clergy, regular and secular, their revenues, those of the towns, and those of the commu- nities. “ All these heads, in most of their accounts, are confused and im- perfect; and it is frequently necessary to search with great care and pains, to find what is wanted; the design was excellent, and would have been of the greatest use, had it been executed with judgment and uniformity,” PRELIMINARYXI PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS TO THI WORCESTERSHIRE REPRINTED REPORT. The original report of the agriculture of this county, tvas drawn up by Mr. Pomeroy, who took a survey of the county for that purpose in the year 1794; but as agriculture, as well as other human arts, and the pro- ductions of nature, are in continual fluctuation, and as different objects strike different observers, as well as the same objects in different points of view, I was de- sired to take a survey of the county in the year 1805, which was accordingly done, by visiting its particular parts, and examining it in various directions, as well as by procuring such personal information from others as could easily be obtained, which, together with the most material parts of Mr. Pomeroy’s report, were in- corporated together, and presented to the Board. The productions of hops, and of fruit, both uncer- tain in their nature, and which form a peculiar charac- teristic of the county, having this year almost totally failed, little personal observation could be made on them ; the writer has, however, availed himself of such information as could be obtained from others, respect- ing these articles, and hopes the account he has col- lected and given, may be acceptable to the public, and in some degree answer the expectation of the Board. InXll In 1807, by desire of the Board, I again made seve- ral excursions into the county, in different directions ; and the result of information then obtained is incor- porated with the former matter, and the gentlemen, and other persons named, from whom I had the most va- luable information. To Mr. Carpenter, of Chadwick Manor, near Broms- grove, author of an ingenious Treatise on Agriculture, I am much obliged for much valuable matter, as well as for attending me in an excursion round his neighbour- hood ; to avoid repetition of a long name, when I have occasion to mention him in this Survey, I shall desig- nate him by the term Mr. C.—To J. Knight, Esq. of Lea Castle, Wolverley, I am much obliged, for showing me his spirited cultivation ; and to others, whose names are mentioned in this Survey. W. PITT. INTRODUCTORYxiii INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS, Pointing out some Additional Measures, submitted to the Consideration of the Board of Agriculture. By Sir JOHN SINCLAIR, Bart. PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD. Numerous are tlie institutions, which, in this, and in many other countries, have been constituted, for the purpose of collecting information regarding various branches of human knowledge; but the Board of Agri- culture, it is believed, is the first, either established by private individuals, or sanctioned by public authority, with a view, not only of collecting, but of digesting, the knowledge it has collected, and of forming it into a regular system for the general benefit of the public. It is not to be wondered at, that such an attempt should not hitherto have been made, considering the great time, labour, and expense, which such an under- taking requires, if it is intended to be executed in a proper manner. For instance, before it was possible to give a just view of the agricultural state of Great Britain, it was necessary to have repeated surveys of the different counties, with funds very inadequate to such an attempt. From these surveys, which are at last on the eve of being completed, it is now proposed to draw up, under distinct heads, as Enclosures, Imple- ments, Management of Grass Lands, Cattle, &c. the result of the whole enquiry. Nay, after a report on anyXIV any given subject, is prepared by some individual con- versant in that particular department, it is indispensably necessary to submit his observations, in a printed state, to the examination of as many intelligent per- sons as possible, before a paper can ultimately be drawn up, in as complete a shape, and in every respect as perfect, as may be expected, if such a plan is judi- ciously carried into effect. The Board of Agriculture having now carried on its enquiries for several years, it seemed to be full time that a specimen should be prepared of condensed in- formation, regarding some important branch of agri- culture ; and the subject of Enclosures was proposed, as one of peculiar importance, to which the attention of the public had been often directed ; respecting the advantage of which, a variety of opinions had been en- tertained ; and which, if the Board could fully eluci- date, would alone amply repay all the expenses which have been bestowed upon it. These sentiments having been approved of by the Board, the following paper was prepared by a very intelligent agriculturist, who seems to have done ample justice to the plan above suggested. What then may not be expected, when such a work undergoes the critical examination of a number of able men, who will be rewarded, in propor- tion to the value of the additional information trans- mitted by them. In the course of next year, it is to be hoped, that the result of the whole, will be laid be- fore his Majesty, and both Houses of Parliament, and communicated to the public at large. Such a paper, formed with so much care and attention, ought to be considered as a species of code, or standard, regarding all points connected with enclosure; and indeed must set almost every question regarding it at rest. When oneXV one subject is thus gone through, other branches con- nected with agriculture, will, from time to time, be explained, in a similar manner, and with equal care. It will then appear, how essential it is for the public prosperity, to have all the information which a great nation can furnish, regarding any branch of useful en- quiry, first collected, and then digested, into a regular system, so as to be easily accessible to all those, to whom the acquisition of such knowledge may be de- sirable. Is it possible for the public money to be better be- stowed, than in promoting such institutions, and effect- ing objects so essential for the general interest ? The foundation of national prosperity must rest, on the knowledge possessed by individuals, of Agriculture, and all the other useful arts; and where, by public en- couragement, that knowledge is in a double ratio ex- tensively spread, a country must be doubly prosperous. Much, for that purpose, has been already effected by the exertions of the Board of Agriculture, in the great department over which it presides; but if the measures above recommended, were completed; if the princn pics of every branch connected with Husbandry, were thoroughly explained, and digested ; and if, by judici- ous laws, all the most material obstacles to the im- provement of the country, were removed ; and if, in particular cases, even encouragement were given to promote great and useful exertions ; the prosperity of the British Empire would encrease with a rapidity beyond all former example, and even our present heavy burdens would scarcely be felt. JOHN SINCLAIR, jpoard of Agriculture} pt Aug, 1807. PRELIMINARYXVI PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS (continued), 1807. Some of the articles in this Survey, are treated of ra- ther in a desultory manner, for which the writer hopes the following apology will be accepted: the materials were collected and registered at different times, and it was not in his power to incorporate them together, sys- tematically, without recasting the whole, which leisure and other circumstances did not permit; and he has therefore been obliged, in some degree, to sacrifice me- thod and order to perspicuity and matter of fact; he hopes, in its present form, it may be somewhat interest- ing and useful, and afford amusement, as well as in- formation, to those not immediately acquainted with the county, as well as to those within it, who have not turned their thoughts to general subjects, or to things with which they were not particularly connected. As botany has a more intimate connection with agricul- ture than is commonly supposed, and the spontaneous produce of any district is considerably indicative of the nature and qualities, as well as of the management, of the soil, I am unprepared, at present, to define and explain accurately such indications ; but believe the subject to be highly worthy the attention of the botanist, and the philosophical and systematic agriculturist: thus rushes indicate that under, or hollow drainage, is wanted; goose tansey (potentilla anserina) shows a want of surface drains to let off stagnant water; the upland burnet, (poterium sanguisorba officinalis), denotes cold land and moist; chadlock and goulans, hard tillage; couch grasses the same, and bad management; the wild teasel, moist land; and the hare’s foot trefoil, dry sand; and I have never seen the wild parsnip, the me- lilot,xvn lilot, or wild chicory, grow naturally in plenty and luxuriance, but upon good deep corn loams; heath, (•rica), denotes coldness and sterility ; gorse or furze, (ulex), thin barren gravel; broom, (spartium), deeper and looser light gravel. But agriculture has a still closer connection with bo- tany, in the improvements to be effected by the culti- vation of new and valuable plants, at present unknown and unnoticed by the farmer. It is very astonishing, that none of the natural grasses have been brought into general cultivation, except ray-grass, which is appa- rently far from being the best; this neglect can only be accounted for from the tendency of the soil to produce such spontaneously ; or, from the ignorance and inat- tention of those interested. The better grasses should certainly be more generally tried in laying land to pas- ture, particularly the (poa’s) meadow grasses, of which there are two or three good sorts; also the vernal grass, the fox tail, the dog’s tail, the timothy grass, and the rough cock’s foot, (dactylus), also the upland burnet on dry calcareous soil; lucerne on good loams, as well as chicory and melilot for pasture or hay; also the perennial vetches would be a valuable addition to our mowing land ; they are distinguished, I believe, by having a long foot stalk to the blossom, whilst the an- nuals blossom close to the stem, the seeds of such plants should be carefully gathered, cultivated, and en- creased, to be ready for sowing in laying land to perma- nent grass: to these may be added, the lathyrus pra- tensis, and the hare’s foot trefoil for the most barren sands; the bird’s foot trefoil for any soils ; most of these fire natives of this county: the weeds and injurious plants should be pointed out for their destruction, and a more general knowledge of, and attention to, the science of botany, could scarcely fail being productive of improvements in agriculture. Worcestershire.] a CONTENTSxviii CONTENTS. PAGE* CHAP. I.-—Situation and Extent; Acres from different Authorities; Divisions; Hundreds; Vale of Evesham; Particulars, Political and Ecclesiastical; Climate; Ear- liness, of its Seasons ; Elevation; Hills ; Vales; Rivers; Soil and Surface; Acres of Arable, Meadow, &c.; Mi- nerals; Waters; Fishes, of Sorts - -- -- -- 1 CHAP. II.—Estates; Different Classes of Owners; Te- nures -------------- - 17 CHAP. III.— Buildings; Seats of Nobility and Gentry; Farm Houses; Cottages; Out Buildings; Bridges - IS CHAP. IV.—Occupations; Size of Farms; Mr. Knight’s Farm; Brant Hall Ditto; Mr. Smith’s; Rents; Rental .of the County estimated; High Rents for Potatoe Ground; Tithes; their injurious Tendency, ought to be commuted; Poor’s Rates, their Increase; Leases, seldom granted, should be more general; Expense and Profit --------------- 25. CHAP. V.—Implements; Ploughs; Rules of Construc- tion; Shims; Schutflers; Drill Machines; Carrot Drill; Horse Hoes; Threshing Mills; Chaff-cutters; Wag- gons; Carts; Trollys; Winnowing Machines; Drain- ing Tools; Weighing Engines; List of Implements, &c. 42 CHAP. VI.—Inclosing; Ancient and Modern Inclosures; Advantages and Objections; Inclosing Common Fields Lessens the Growth of Grain, but Increases' the Pro- duce of Mutton, Beef, &c.; Inclosing of Wastes unob- jectionable ------------ - 52 CHAP. VII.—Arable Land; Tillage; Ploughing; Fal- lowing; Rotation of Crops; Drilling; Common Field Culture; Instances of Hard Tillage; Seed Clover; Light Land Tillage; various Courses of Crops; Wheat Culture; Mildew; Smut; Steeping; Quantity Grown; Rye, its Culture, sown for Sheep Pasture; when sprouted, poisonous in Bread; Barley, its Culture and Produce; Quantity Grown; Oats ; Pease; Beans; Vetches; Potatoes, their Culture and Uses; Turnips, differentCONTENTS. PAG Sv different Modes of Culture; Certain Remedy for the Fly; further Memorandums on; Weight, per Acre; Swedish Turnips; Cabbages; Carrots, their Culture; Clover; Trefoil; Ray Grass; Saiutfoin; Lucerne; Chi* cory; Burnet; Buck Wheat; Hemp; Flax; Hops; their Culture and Produce; Price, Ancient and Mo- dern; Asparagus; Cucumbers; Onions; Poppy Heads; Clover for Seed; Time of Harvest, &c. t - - - - 6| CHAP. VIII.—Grass Land; Meadows on Rivers; Mea- dow Herbage; Artificial Grasses, Experiment on; Hay Harvest, early in this County; Feeding - - - 138 CHAP. IX.—Gardens; Orchards; Fruit, an uncertain Produce ; Profusion in good Years ; Methods of planting and protecting Fruit Trees; Cyder Mills; Blights prevented by Fumigation; Grafting; amount of Fruit Liquor; Price; Sorts of Fruit; proposed Improvements; Varieties of Fruit; great Value of the best Kinds of Frifit Liquor; Varieties subject to wear out; Trees injured by Misletoe, properly planted in Hop Yards; Varieties of Pears; produce of Single Fruit Trees, New Varieties; Mr. Smith’s extensive Orchards - -- -- -- -- -- -- - 147 CHAP. X.—Woods and Plantations; Elm Timber, ex- cellent; Country well Wooded; Forest of Wire, &c. 1S5. CHAP. XI.—Wastes; Mountain Land; Forest Ditto; Heath, not extensive - -- -- -- -- - i§S CHAP. XII.—Improvements ; Draining, various Me- thods; Elkington’s System; Draining Tiles; Paring and Burning, succeeds in improving Waste Land, and on Peat Land, excellent Crops after; Manures; Salt, Opinions various; Marl; Improvement of Dung-hills; Pigeon’s Dung; Ashes; Town Manure; Soot; Lime; Mud; Sheep Folding; Weeding; Corn Weeds; Seeds dispersed by the Wind; Weeds should be destroyed on Road Sides, and on Heaps of Compost; Watering, extensive on the Foley Estate; Corn Mills, an Obstruc- tion; Brant Hall Watering; Water Meadows, when to be grazed ------------- j po CHAP. XIII.—Embankments, slight ones against the Severn --------------- 213 £HAP. XIV.—Livestock; Sorts of Cattle; Sheep, Va- I rietiesXX CONTENTS. PAGE, rieties of; Price; Weight; Mr. Knight’s Sheep; Wool; Folding; Improvements in Sheep; Lambing Time; Attention necessary; Disorders in Sheep; Size of Cattle; the Dairy ; Cheese Making; Breeding Calves; Feeding, Horses, Oxen; Keeping of Horses; Numbers kept; Mules; Asses; Hogs; Rabbits; Pi- geons; Poultry, Varieties of; Bees, &c. - - - - - 215 CHAP. XV.—Rural Economy; Labour; Servants; La- bourers; Hours and Price of Labour; Provisions; Beverage; Price of Provisions; Fuel; Wood; Coal, brought by Water Carriage; Stubble Burnt - - - 252 CHAP. XVI.—Political Economy; Roads; Public Roads improved; Private Roads, bad; Road Club; Rivers, the Severn, Avon, Teme, Stour; Navigable Canals, the Staffordshire and Worcestershire, the Droitwich, the Birmingham and Worcester, the Leominster; Fairs; Markets ; Manufactures ; Commerce ; Stourport; Droitwich Salt; Poor; Population ------ 2b0 CHAP. XVII.—Obstacles to Improvement; Tithes; bad Roads; Ignorance; Common Fields; Waste Lands; Want of Leases; Remedies proposed - - - - - - 2£)Q CHAP. XVIII.—Miscellaneous; Agricultural Societies; Weights and Measures; Vermin; Worms; Rats and Mice; Moles; Sparrows, and other Birds; Extracts and Remarks - -- -- -- -- -- -- 294 CONCLUSION—and Means of Improvement - - - 302 APPENDIX; Itinerary through the County at different Times, and various Visits and Excursions; Indigenous Plants of the County - ---------- 306 AGRICULTURALAGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF WORCESTERSHIRE. CHAP I. GEOGRAPHICAL STATE AND CIRCUMSTANCES, SECT. I.—SITUATION AND EXTENT. 'y^/7'ORCESTERSHIRE is an inland county, bound- ed on the north by Staffordshire, on the east by Warwickshire, on the south by Gloucestershire, south-west by Herefordshire, and north-west by Shrop- shire, and lies betiveen 52° O' and 52° SO' no,rth latitude, and between 1° 30' and 2° 30' west longitude from London: its extent has been variously estimated. Dr. Nash, in his General History of the County, states the greatest length at 43 miles from south-west to north-east; length along the Severn 30 miles, mean length 36, breadth 26, content 936 square miles, or 599,040 acres, to which he adds for detached parts 19,200 acres, making in the whole 618,240 acres ; he further observes that the county is rich in grain, fruit, and pasture, and that the air is soft, warm, and. healthy. On the contrary, from an account published in the WORCESTERSHIRE,] b MonthlyDIVISIONS. Monthly Magazine, November, 1805, and there stated to have been published by the House of Lords, this county is said to contain only 674 square miles, or 431,360 acres. I know not from what documents, or authority, this account is derived, but am of opinion that both this and the former account are erroneous, the one being too much and the other too little. By comparing the county with Carey’s Map, I estimate the mean length, from north to south down the Severn, at 30 miles ; and the mean breadth, from east to west, at 25 miles ; content 750 square miles, or 480,000 acres j of this two-thirds are to the east, and one-third is to the west of the river Severn. To this may be added, for detached parts, 20,000 acres, making in the whole 500,000 acres. SECT. II —DIVISIONS. Historical and Political. This county was part of the ancient Cornavii, or Dobunii ; during the Saxon Heptarchy it belonged to the kingdom of Mercia; it is divided into five hundreds, and two limits, containing one hundred and fifty-two parishes, one city, Wor- cester, and eleven other market towns. The names of the hundreds are as follow : Blackenhurst, to the south-east of the county. Dodintree, on the west side. Halfshire, on the north-east. Oswaldstowe, dispersed in different parts. Pershore, in the south on both sides the Severn. It is in the Oxford circuit. Nine members are sent to parliament, viz. by the county,CLIMATE. county, two ; by the city of Worcester, two; by Droit- wich, two ; by Evesham, two ; and by Bewdley, one. The Vale of Evesham is an indefinite tract of coun- try in the south-east part of the county: it includes the whole valley of the Avon, the contiguous upland to the north of that river, the whole of the vale land to the south extremity of the county, and the adjoining vale land of Gloucestershire ; it has always been famous for its fertility, particularly in corn, consisting generally of a deep rich loam, not easily exhausted of its productive qualities, if kept tolerably clean from weeds. Worcester is a city and bishop’s see; the county is in the diocese of Worcester, and province of Canterbury ; the bishop’s seat is at Hartlebury, in a fine pleasant, healthy, and fertile country, particularly famous for elm-timber, the finest in the kingdom. SECT. III.—CLIMATE. The climate of Worcestershire, but particularly of the middle, south, and west of the county, is remarka- bly mild, soft, healthy, and salubrious ; the Vale of Severn, but little elevated above the level of the sea, and the vallies of the Avon and theTeme, upon nearly the same level, with the contiguous uplands rising to 50,100, or 150 feet above their level, have at this low elevation a warmth and softness which ripens the grain, and brings to perfection the fruits of the earth from a fortnight to a month earlier than in more elevated countries, even though the soil and surface were simi- lar. It4 CLIMATE. It has been estimated that sixty yards of elevation or rise in the land, are equal to a degree of latitude; or that land sixty yards perpendicularly higher is, in respect to climate, a degree more north ; agreeable to this idea, the north-east of the county between Broms- grove and Birmingham, which is considerably more elevated, is also considerably later. In an excursion over the county the first week in September, 1805,1 found the harvest finished in the early districts; but, in the latter, all kinds of grain, part cut, part growing, and many farmers had carried no wheat, and in some places the grain not ripe. To the north-east of Bromsgrove arises a ridge of hills, termed the Lickey, which continues in a chain to Hagley, and diverges easterly in various directions, rising in some of its peaks to 800 or 900 feet eleva- tion ; this district from its height, exposure, and inclement atmosphere, may be considered, in point of climate, as three or four degrees more north than the fertile parts of the county ; the other elevated grounds are Malvern Hills, a mountain or group of mountains, extending nearly from north to south, upon a base of about gix miles in length, and from one to two in breadth, a line along the ridge of whose summits divides this county from Herefordshire: the highest of these summits, according to Dr. Nash, rises to 1313 feet perpendicularly above the Severn. Abberley Hills, in the north-west, are of consider- able magnitude, and seen to a great distance ; they ex- tend over a parish of the same name, and probably rise to 800 or 900 feet perpendicularly above the Severn, and consist, according to Dr. Nash, of a cold wet clay on limestone. Witley Hill, south of the latter and near it, is also a strong soil on limestone. BredonCLIMATE. 5 Bredon Hills, south of Pershore, and south-east of the Avon, is also of considerable height and magnitude, and seen to a great distance; these are the bleak and inclement parts of the county ; the remaining lowlands and fertile vales have an atmosphere warm, salubrious', and healthy, as any in the kingdom. Bredon Hill is probably of 8 or 900 feet elevation above the Avon, and stands upon a base of very considerable extent, the surrounding cultivated lands being generally of great fertility. As the time of harvest is considerably indicative of the climate, I shall here observe that in 180", wheat reaping commenced on light land near Kidderminster July 23d, and a few days after, in different parts of the county ; rye reaping the same ; a field of barley was finished carrying August 3d ; the same at Fladbury the first week in August; at which time the reaping of both lammas and cone wheat, and the mowing of barley and oats was becoming general in the Vale of Evesham, and most parts of the county. I could gain intelligence of no meteorological regis- ters ; the largest proportion of rain comes from the south-west. I suspect a much less quantity falls here, than in the counties more inland and more elevated ; in Staffordshire the annual rains generally exceed thirty- six inches ; in this county I suppose them to fall short of thirty, the clouds Hying over the low lands, and, as they pass on, becoming attracted by that more elevated. £ 3 SECT.6 SECT. IV.—SOIL AND SURFACE. Beginning with the lowest grounds, the Vale of Severn extends through the county from north to south about thirty miles in length, and from a quarter of a mile to a mile in breadth, containing probably ten thou- sand acres of a deep and rich sediment, deposited from time immemorial, by the waters of this river, and by the streams it receives from the contiguous country, in what was probably originally an unformed ravine; this sediment consists in some places of a pure water clay adapted for brick-making, but generally of a rich mud fertile and favourable to vegetation ; it consists of rich meadow and pasture, on which are fatted great numbers of sheep and cattle. The channel of the Severn is generally about eighty or one hundred yards wide, sometimes more considerably ; and five or six yards in depth, its fall about one foot in a mile, being about thirty feet in the extent of the county ; in the lower part of the county it becomes a deep still water, uniting with the tide ; in floods, the channel is not suffi- cient to contain the water, though in the summer season it sometimes sinks to less than a yard in depth in the middle and upper parts of the county, so as to be scarce- ly navigable. The Warwickshire Avon enters the county above Evesham, and running through it including its various windings above twenty miles, falls into the Severn, near Tewkesbury, and is navigable for barges all through the county; its banks, like those of the Severn, consist of rich meadow and pasture. The Teme from Wales and Shropshire, enters the countySOIL AND SURFACE. 7 county at Tenbury, and winds through it for about thirty miles to the Severn at Powick; it is somewhat more rapid than the Avon, but navigable for barges as far as Powick-bridge and a little higher: in its accom- panying vale are a great number of hop-yards and or- chards, and its banks abound with fertile meadows, and rich feeding pastures. The Stour from Stourbridge, after passing through the Staffordshire parish of Kinver, re-enters Worces- tershire at Wolverley, and runs through it in all ten miles to the Severn at Stourport; its banks contain some good meadow and pasture land, and some bog; this river is said to arise in the famous Leasowes of the poet Shenstone. The Salwarpe, a smaller river from Droifcwich, falls into the Severn above Worcester; besides which, the whole county is intersected, in various directions, with brooks and small perennial streams, which empty themselves into the different rivers, and whose, banks consist of rich pasture and fertile meadow land, pro- ducing an abundant supply of hay, not only for the consumption of the county, but large quantities are sent by the Severn,, and the Trent and Severn canal, into Staffordshire, From these rivers and rivulets, the upland gradually arises in gentle slopes and swells, to the height of 50, 100., 150, and 200 feet above the level of the tide ; few £ instances of any extended plain of flat upland, but the country varying and waving in all directions; and as you approach the hills, and towards the north and north-east, rising to a greater elevation, the soil and surface may, I think, be properly divided as follow : 1. The natural meadows and pastures on the rivers and rivulets as above named. 2. TheSOIL AND SURFACE. $ 2. The rich clay and loamy soils, in the middle south and west of the county, and which may, I suppose, in- clude half the county, and where the peculiarities of Worcestershire chiefly rest; here hop-yards and or- chards, with the various kinds of fruit, are cultivated, in addition to the usual culture of other coun- tries. 3. The light sandy soils, or sandy gravel, about Kid- derminster and Stourbridge, and their vicinity ; of these, some are sterile and barren, as those of Mitten and part of Wolverley; others, rich and fertile; the crops here are generally equally early with those in the fertile part of the county ; the elevation of ground too, is here less than in the succeeding districts. 4. The mixed springy gravel and gravelly loam to the north-east of Bromsgrove, including the hilly cul- tivated districts ; here the crops are much later than in the other parts of the county; and little attention is paid to fruit as not succeeding spontaneously, or with- out walls and shelter. 5. The waste lands, mountainous districts, and wood lands, but which bear a small proportion to the extent of the county at large.—See Waste Lands. Mr. Pomeroy says, “ the face of this county, when viewed from any of the surrounding eminences, ap- proaches rather that of a plain ; the gentle slopes and risings to the east and west of Worcester, remaining scarcely any longer discernible. The state of its culti- vation appears to very great advantage, as there are no tracts of any considerable extent, so barren, or so to- tally neglected, as to be without an agreeable, and profitable verdure. On a nearer view, from the cen- tral hill, which rises more particularly to the east of thatSOIL AND SURFACE. 9 that city, a most beautiful landscape presents itself: the whole of the back ground, which, at its greatest distance, does not exceed twelve, and no where ap- proaches nearer than eight miles (allowing something for the openings to the south-west and north), appears to be one continuation of noble hills; forming, as it were, the frame of the delightful picture that presents itself in the centre, diversified with all the beauties of hill and dale, wood and water. If the Aberley and Whitley hills occasion some irregularity in the frame, they will scarcely be thought to take off from the beauty of the piece; these, and the adjoining hills, rising with a bold front, and most of them cultivated to their summits, recalls to the mind the enthusiastic description of Italy ; and the sheep, hanging as it were, from the brows of others, illustrate the much-admired idea of the Rom an bard. “ The soil is various: to the north of Worcester, which is situated nearly in the centre of the county, it chiefly consists of rich loamy sand, with a small pro- portion of gravel; there is some very light sand; a few spots of clay ; of black peat earth the same ; but chiefly inclining towards the east. In this quarter (the east) the prevailing soil is, for the most part, a strong clay. The waste land, which is not very considerable, in general a deep black peat earth. To the south, be- tween Worcester and the Vale of Evesham, the soil is partly of red marl, and part strong loamy clay ; other parts sandy loam; and there is a small vein of land which partakes of each of these qualities; the sub-soil, more especially under the second division, limestone. In the vale, the soil is particularly deep, of a darkish coloqr earth, with a sub-stratum of strong clay and some10 SOIL AND SURFACE. some gravel. Beyond this, on the confines of the county, and in the small detached parts, including the Cotswold Hills, a limestone prevails on the upper land, and a rich loam on the lower. To the south, between Worcester and Malvern, the general character of the soil, is a clay, mixed with gravel in different propor- tions ; the former prevailing in the lower, and the lat- ter in the higher situations. To the left of this line, including Malvern Chase, a deep surface of clay is found in some places ; in others, a rich loam, inclining to sand ; sub-stratum supposed to be marl. To the right, till w’e approach a central point between the west and north, the proportion of clay increases gra- dually, till at last, a strong clay occurs; this again be- comes gradually more gravelly, till it joins the light sands in the north, below partly marl, partly soft sandy stone, and some limestone is found; in each of these districts is some very rocky land, and in most, some loose stony soil, or stone brash, is met with, but no where are there any traces of chalk or flint.” Mr. Oldacre observes, “ that the meadow soil, by the sides of the Avon, and the other rivers and brooks, is most generally a loamy clay.” In several excursions into different parts of the coun- ty in 1807, I made some further observations on the soil, as follow : The late inclosed land of Bromsgrove Lickey, which is a gravel or gravelly loam surface, is often a sandy under-stratum to a considerable depth ; but some times on the higher grounds, the under-stratum is an irregular granite rock, or an hard congelation of gra- vel. On some of the hilly ground in the north-east of the county, the soil is a moist clay loam, on a brashy rock bottom,SOIL AND SURFACE. 11 bottom, or a lighter loam on clay, or on the same loose brashy rock ; being of the nature of the plum-pudding stone, or Breccia. The sandy lands of Wolverley often continue sand to a considerable depth, or terminate in a sandy rock bottom, sometimes near the surface or at different depths. The Vale of Evesham, whose arable surface is gene- rally a strong clay loam, has various under-stra- tum, sometimes an ochery coloured gravel, sometimes clay; this clay is generally unfit to make brick, on ac- count of containing a calcareous mixture called Lime- wash, which burning into lime, would, on exposure to wet, burst the brick in all directions ; but large tracts have a loose limestone bottom, and some a solid calca- reous flag stone.—See Minerals. The soil and surface of Worcestershire may be thus arranged, but perfect accuracy must not be ex- Acres. Tight land, sand, sandy loam, gravelly, and gravelly loam 120,000 Mixt friable loam adapted to general culture, part fit for turnips, hops, fruit, and most other produce 120,000 Strong clay loam of various depths, where not too wet, often adapted to fruit, and hops, als.o to wheat and beans, but too strong for turnips to 1 advantage 120,000 Carry over Arable land 360,000 Brought12 SOIL AND SURFACE. Acres* Brought over Arable land 360,000 Natural meadows on the Severn, Avon, Teme, Stour, Salwarp, and other rivers, brooks, and rivulets, part of this peat, part sediment from the streams -- -- — 50,000 Grass land in permanent pasture, in- cluding parks, plantations, and plea- sure grounds -- -- -- 50,000 Woodlands, roads, rivers, waters,towns, villages, buildings, yards, and gar- dens -- -- -- 20,000 Wastes and commons -- -- 20,000 Total 500,000 Of the arable land, the common fields may be -- -- — 20,000 Inclosed ditto -- -- -- 340,000 Permanent grass land as above -- 300,000 Kitchen gardens, suppose -- 5,000 Wood, wastes, roads, rivers, &c. -- 35,000 Total 500,000 The orchards and hop grounds must be included in the arable and grass land, the former are often culti- vated for grain, and sometimes at grass, the vacant spaces between the hop plants are also sometimes cultivated for potatoes, cabbages, turnips, and pulse, particularly in new-planted hop grounds. SECT,13 SECT. V.—MINERALS. This county is not particularly famous for mines and minerals, and indeed Nature has been so propitious to its surface, that it is rich enough without searching be« neath ; and it is generally in more mountainous coun- tries that valuable mines and minerals abound ; it is not, however, wholly destitute of mines. Brick clay, gravel, sand, and marl, are common, and limestone in the hills, and various other parts of the county, and in some places burnt for use, particularly at Whitley, and again at Haddington ; but the distance and dearness of coal prevent its being burnt in such quantity as to be generally used for manure; it is, however, used occasionally. Freestone for building is found in various places. Coal is raised in the north-west of the county, parti- cularly at Mamble, which has a communication by a railway w'ith the Leominster canal ; and again at Pen- sax, where coaks are made of it, highly esteemed for drying hops ; they are also used for burning the lime- stone of Witley Hill; but the vein of coal is but about two feet, or two feet six inches thick, and lays at about twenty yards deep ; the water is raised in buck- ets, the mines not being rich enough to support a steam engine. The rich coal mines near Stourbridge, as well as the glass-house pot clay which lays beneath are in Staffordshire. Quartzum, a silicious primeval stone, forms the basis of the Malvern Chain; a similar substance also constitutes the staple of the most precipious swells of the Lickey, north-east of Bromsgrove, Sal commune, common salt; one of the richest 3 sources14 WATER. sources in the whole world, of this domestic article, is at Droitwich,in this county.—See Chap. XV. Political Economy. Limestone is found in plenty in various parts of the county ; it forms the under-stratum of a considerable part of the Vale of Evesham ; at South Littleton I ob- served a lime-kiln where lime is burnt for manure. In the Vale of Evesham, in the parishes of Badsey, and of North, Middle, and South Littleton, are quarries of calcareous flagstone, which are regularly worked, and where considerable quantities are raised for grave- stones, barn floors, and floors for halls or kitchens; the thickness is about three inches, and they are extremely hard and durable, and can be got of any reasonable length or breadth, I saw some of four or five yards in length ; the price at the quarries is five pence per foot superficial; the refuse, or broken stone, is used for mending roads, or will burn into good lime. SECT. VI.—WATER. The rivers and rivulets have been mentioned before, under the article Soil and Surface; the principal rivers arise in other counties, but have tended greatly to the improvement of this, both by the commercial advan- tages they afford from their navigation, and by the fer- tility of soil on their banks, from the sediment brought down by their floods during a course of countless ages. There is no lake in this county, nor any pool or pond of very remarkable size, a few of moderate di- mensions are attached to gentlemens’ seats and mills. The largest artificial piece of water I saw in the coun- ty,FISH. 15 ty, is upon the Packington estate of Westwood, near Droitwich : within a walled park well stored with tim- ber and plantation. The artificial canal navigations, will be noticed further, under the article Political Economy. Malvern Well, situate on the west side of the mountain, about one-third up its slope, is now of considerable resort, both for bathing and drinking the water; it is perfectly limpid, without smell or taste, but said to be slightly chalybeate: some good lodgino- houses are within a convenient distance. The air of this mountain is extremely pure, clear, and healthy, and the perspective from it, extensive, de- lightful, various, and picturesque. FISH. Salmon, Shad, Lamprey, and Lampern, abound in plenty in the Severn ; and these fish, from this river, are highly esteemed, all over England and abroad. “ Although the river Avon, at its mouth near Tewksbury, exactly resembles the Severn, and there joins it, yet no Salmon, Shad, Lamprey, or Lam- pern, ever mistake their course, or go up the Avon.” Nash. “ The Lamprey of the Severn (petromyzon mari- nus) grows to twenty-six inches long, and is often three or four pounds weight; it leaves the sea in the spring, and is esteemed a great delicacy, but un- wholesome when eaten too freely or in quantity, wit- ness the death of Henry I.” Nash. “ TheFISH, 30 t( The Lampern (petromyzon fluviatilis) goes to the sea at certain seasons ; more common than the last, and less esteemed; about ten 3r twelve inches long, and little more than the size of a man’s finger ; common in Worcester market, and in the shops there potted and preserved ; vast quantities are taken at Mortlake, and sold for baits to the Cod fishery,** Nash, CHAP.iy CHAP. II STATE OF PROPERTY, SECT* I.—ESTATES. The landed property of this county, like that of all other commercial parts of the empire, is diffused, into the hands of the various classes of mankind, from the privileged peer, the titled commoner, the opulent esquire, the merchant, thriving manufacturer or trades- man, to the independent, but less opulent, freeholder and yeoman; land being often upon sale, becomes the property of those who have saved money to purchase it, either by hereditary property, by trade, or agri- culture. The county has a good many resident families of considerable opulence and fortune* 2i TENURES. The tenures here, as in-other parts of the kingdom, are either freehold, held by a prescriptive fight; copy- hold, held under a superior lord, by a copy roll in per- petuity, but subject to payment of fines upon death of the owner, by his successor; or upon transfer or alie- nation ; or thirdly, leasehold under the church, Or public bodies, for three lives; when a life drops, the lessor may, or not, at his pleasure, put in another; but, hav- ing only a life interest, he generally does so, upon pay- ment of a suitable fine by the lessee ; the reserved rents in these cases being generally very small in proportion to the present value* WORCESTERSHIRE.] C CHARIS CHAPTER Ill BUILDINGS. SECT. I.--HOUSES OF PROPRIETORS,, This county contains a considerable number of magnificent residences of nobility and gentry; but, which, not being exactly agricultural objects, were not many of them particularly noticed by the writer here- of ; the following are some of the most prominent:— Croome Park, seat Hewell Park, — Whitley Court, — Hagley Park, — Madersfield Court, — Ombersley Court, — Hanbury Hall, — Westwood Park, — Stanford Court and Winterdine, Overbury. — Lea Castle, Wolverley, - Hartlebury Castle, - The Ryd, on the westd bank of the Severn, J of the Rt. Hon. the Earl of Coventry, — The Earl of Plymouth. — Lord Foley. — Lord Littleton. — Lord Beauchamp. — Marchioness of Downsliire. Phillips, Esq. — Sir Herbert Paekington. — Sir Thomas Winnington, — Mr. Martin. — Mr. Knight. —- The Bishop of Worcester. — Mr. Lechmeres. 2. FARM19 2. FARM HOUSES AND OFFICES, AND REPAIRS. This county being principally ancient enclosures, the farm houses have consequently been erected at dif- ferent, and many of them in remote times, and before the general arrangements of design for elegance, or even comfort and convenience were much thought of; they therefore contain nothing singular or striking} some of them have been renewed, but by degrees and at different times^ others retain their original design having occasional repairs, and upon the whole there is nothing singular or remarkable in the farm edifices of this county. Mr. Darke says, respecting Bredon, “ we rather ex- cel in our farm houses, which are chiefly situated in vil- lages near the common fields.” Mr. Oldacre observes, //>/ iAe t>AAJAerrvn a -f/u T/nve/r b rfte/fcam c //ie Couftrr ■ (1 f/te S/oat e e the S/te7re Aviuy/j £ t/ie mum fu/7 o' the Share IMPLEMENTS. 45 it will not clear itself, unless the base and shelboard were lengthened. No. 2. Vale of Evesham plough has no wheels, nor iron work about it except the share and coulter; the length from the point of the share, to the hinder end of the shelve board is 6 feet or more; it spreads the furrow as before 18 inches, and cuts the earth with an acute angle of about 15°; it requires a holder, and in this tenacious soil no plough can do without, it being liable to suck into the earth in moist places, and to leave the ground and break out in dry places, or when , the land is not sufficiently moist. The shim is also in use, consisting of a strong plate of iron, bent on its fore edge, to an obtuse angle, and made sharp so as to cut up stubble, weeds, &c.; it is furnished with handles to guide it, and drawn by one or more horses. A, the line of draught. B B, the fore edges of the plate, which shims off the surface of the land. Schufflers, or cultivators ; also the common and Spiked roller, are occasionally used in Worcestershire ; drill machines are introduced and pretty much in use ; there are several makers of them in and near Evesham. Kichard Arklues, of Great Hampton, near Evesham, makes drill machines for wheat, barley, oats, vetches, or pease; laying in three rows at from G to 9 inches, at46' IMPLEMENTS. at 5 guineas each; the same for beans or pease in two rows at from J to 2 feet, at 4l. 10s. they are used on all sorts of land, and their use is increasing; he has made them for seven years from their first introduction, and now makes thirty a-year. They deliver the seed by means of a cast iron pinion, or voluted cylinder, not furrowed straight along the cylinder but obliquely, and the delivery regulated, and the furrows of the cylinder kept clear, by means of a brush. I examined several of them, they are neat and compact, and seem adapted to perform their business properly. Those made in Eves- ham are upon the same principle; a leader, a holder, and one horse, will drill two acres per day. Mr. Knight, of Lea Castle, Wolverley, uses drill ma- chines made in the north, I believe in Scotland, for wheat, barley, vetches, and turnips. Carrot drill.—Mr. Knight also uses a carrot drill of the annexed form, not for sowing the seed, but for making drills, in which the seed is sown by hand. It is drawn by a machine, and makes three drills at a time, two of which are sown by women following, the vacant drill is occupied by one of the fangs of the implements on its return, thus gaging the distance: the drills are made twelve inches asunder. I find upon farther consideration, and upon a review of Mr. Knight’s premises, that his drill machines for sowing turnips are of the Northumberland construction., as introduced by Messrs. Bailey and Co. and the same constructionTHRESHING MILLS. 47 Construction is in use in many other places; those made in the Vale of Evesham are an imitation of them, and appear to me to be quite equal to the original. The barley drill used by Mr. Knight was made in Hertfordshire, and is distinct from the turnip drill made in the north ; it lays in four rows at a time at ten inches distant. Horse hoes are used for the drilled turnips, but other crops are sown too close in the rows to admit of it, and there are no scarifiers attached to the Hertfordshire drill; the turnip horse hoe is a light plough with a, mould board on either side, thus moulding two rows by being drawn between them with one horse, and will go over two or three acres per day. THRESHING MILLS. Mr. Knight has lately had one erected by Forrest, of Shiffnall, Shropshire ; a three-horse power called, but they have generally used four horses in working it; the price was 88l. independent of the building ; it had only been tried for barley when I saw it, of which it will thresh out ten bushels per hour. It threshed about ten quarters of barley, September 28, 1807, in about eight hours. Mr. Knight has also put up a chaff cutter, worked by one horse; the knives, fixed in a wheel, forming nearly the radius of a circle, do their office by their rotatory motion; this machine is by-----Burrell, of Thetford, in Norfolk ; the price 24l. at Thetford. It will cut, if the horse be put on briskly, near one bushel per mi- nute,or easily 4 or 500 bushels per day,and will be applied here48 THRESHING MILLS. here principally to the cutting of bay. Mr. Knight be- lieves straw does not contain much nutriment, and I have heard an idea expressed by others that cutting, or otherwise eating large quantities of straw by live stock, lessens the dunghill without much improving, or in- deek properly supporting such stock : good hay cut small will be clean eaten up, without any waste, either mixed with a little corn or alone. I am of opinion that his machine, from its good performance and dispatch of business, ought to be brought into general use. 3 O 0.0 The waggons, carts, and wheel carriages of this, county, have nothing peculiar in their construction, but are made of strength and weight in proportion to the uses for which they are meant; those for the road and for heavy loading being strong and weighty in pro- portion to the burden they are intended to bear; I how- ever, observed Mr.'Knight’s dung carts, to be of a neat, compact, and light structure, and some of the harvest waggons in the county have a similar merit, and are contrived for short turning, by means of a crooked, or arch formed side of the waggon at the fore end, splicing to the middle piece, and enabling the fore wheel to strike under the bed of the waggon, so as to turn round in a small compass ; and, indeed, nothing can be a great- er instance of mismanagement than to have a wheel carriage unwieldy, or of a weight to over load the team; for if the tool be too heavy, that strength is exhausted in wielding it, which should produce the effect; the lightening therefore of wheel carriages, so far as is con- sistent with the necessary strength, is an object of great importance in rural economy. THE49 THE FOUR-WHEELED TROLLY Is common over Severn; consisting of a bed resem- bling a small waggon, mounted on four wheels, with poles for harvest, or other top loading mounted on it$ the whole constructed low, the leading wheels being only 3 feet high, the hind wheels 3 feet 6 inches, very convenient for conveying ploughs, harrows, or other implements, remnants of harvest, fire wood, faggots, or anything; the whole being light and forming a wag- gon in miniature, and may be drawn any where by two or three horses, and is found very useful and con- venient. A similar carriage, on low cast iron wheels, is much used in the city of Worcester, for carrying coals, hops, &c. from the wharfs, about the town. The sledge with hind wheels, the fore part sledging on the ground, is used west of Severn for conveying ploughs, harrows, &c. I think this implement much inferior to the last. Winnowing machines are in Use; those by Cornfortb, Chapel, Ash, Wihampton, generally preferred : price from 6 to 7 guineas. The common labourers’ tools have nothing singular ; rakes, hoes, spades, shovels, &c. are in use ; but as far as I have been able to observe, •without any peculiarities, and their form and manner of using them every where generally known. As the foregoing account of ploughs was drawn up before I had an opportunity of particularly noticing Mr. Knight’s implements, I beg leave to add that his ploughs are somewhat different in principle to those before described, they resemble the plough, No. 1, but have no wheels, and are light in construction, they are drawn by two horses abreast, and the man at the plough tails, guides the horses at the end by small in Worcestershire .j| E tracest50 WEIGHING ENGINES. traces, Quere, What are the certain mechanical ad- vantages of drawing double ? Does a wheel plough go heavier than a hand plough ? If not, are not wheels and no holder, better than reins and no driver ? Mr. Knight’s ploughs are managed in a manner similar to those of Norfolk, but of different construction, being light swing ploughs without wheels; but it ought to be observed that the soil is a light sand, or sandy loam, and certainly can be worked with much less strength than clay soils. Respecting other implements, borers and draining tools are well known, and should be at command ; the former consists of a large auger, with screw rods to lengthen it, and a proper head or handle to force it round, besides which there must be a long line, paring knife to cut through turf, and digging tools of different breadth and formed tapering to follow each other, a scoop for cleansing out the bottom of the drain, and scuttles or baskets for conveying materials to fill it up. WEIGHING ENGINES. These are common as attached to the turnpike roads, hut for weighing cattle I saw but one in the county, which was at Mr. Smith’s (Erdiston). It was made at Ludlow, in Shropshire, by a person who makes them to weigh carriages, or cattle, or both on the same ma- chine ; price for cattle alone 101. 10s. for carriages, also 15l. 15s. I was not able to procure any authentic accounts of the proportion of live and dead weight. An implement rather peculiar to this county, called a kerf, is used in the hop grounds, for moulding up the young plants; it is a strong and heavy hoe, the size and weight about equal to the bit of a common spade. I shallWEIGHING ENGINES. 51 I shall conclude this article with a list of implements from Mr. Carpenter’s Agriculture, lately published, who is a Worcestershire farmer, and who advises every farmer to have such things in a place of safety ready for use. Waggons and carts, ploughs and harrows, a proper assortment; sickles, weeding hooks and tongs, forks and pitchforks, rakes, sledge, roller, hopper, scythes. Meadows and Pastures. Pitchforks and prongs, hay cutting knife, dung and mole-hili spreaders. Barn and Stables. Flails, ladders long and short, winnowing machine, measures for grain, sieves, brooms, sacks, scuttles, buckets, curry-combs, mane-combs, whips, harness for horses, goads, harness and yokes for oxen, panniers, packsaddles, bridles, saddles, surcingles, side-saddle, cart ropes, and corn screen. Other necessary Implements. Wheelbarrows, handbarrows, hammer and nails, gimblets, saws, pincers, scissars, axe, &c. Hedging hook, ditto mittens, garden roller, grindstone, whet- stones, beetle and wedges, hurdles, iron leaver, sheep, and hedge-shears, hoes, hog-yokes and rings, geese- yokes, scales and weights, marks for live stock, spades, shovels, &c. Elkington’s borer for under draining. Mr. C. remarks, “ He that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing,” and so often does the lender of implements by having them sometimes spoiled, or in not finding their way home again; and though it would be un- neighbourly to oppose, or object to lending or bor- rowing upon urgent occasions, yet he recommends to make a trade of it as little as - Meadows on Avon 1600 1300 800 3700 acres. “ There are besides 500 acres of commonable lands which are of little or no use, being over-stocked pro- duce a beggarly breed of sheep, of little use to the owner, for being constantly brought off the high lands in autumn, to pasture and feed on the land subject to floods, they there receive their bane, and that produce is prevented which might assist population and com- merce.” Upon the whole, I think it pretty clear, that the en- closure of rich common fields tends to lessen the pro- duce of grain, and to diminish the agricultural popu- lation ; at the same time it gives an opening for im- proving, and greatly increasing the value of the land 5 improvingENCLOSING, FENCES, GATES. 57 improving live stock; and increasing the produce of butcher’s meat, hides, and wool ; which last being staple commercial articles, find employment for an additional population in manufacturing articles Which are sure to find a market. I remember the late Jos. Wilkes, Esq. of Measham, Derbyshire, who was a deep thinker, and well ac- quainted with commercial and political, as well as agricultural economy; maintained in a time of scar- city, that it was a less evil to import grain, than the raw materials of manufacture, particularly as such grain was paid for by the export of our manufactured goods. Mr. Pomeroy says, “ the lands are in general enclosed; here are, however, some considerable tracts in open fields, the most extensive are in the neighbour- hood of Bredon, Ripple, and to the east of Worcester, The advantages from enclosing common fields, have been evidently very considerable ; some few objec- tions have been started, but they do not appear, on the whole, to have considerable weight: the rent has al- ways risen, and mostly in a very great proportion; the increase of produce is very great, the value of stock has advanced almost beyond conception; in one parish alone, where the quantity enclosed has been pretty considerable, it is stated, on unquestionable authority, to have amounted, in sheep and wool only, to full 10001. a year. The improvements that may be made in stock in general, if properly attended to, are too obvious to be insisted on : it may be said in gene- ral terms, that there is but one opinion throughout the county on this subject; indeed it is in enclosures alone, that any improvement in the line of breeding in general can be made. The58 ENCLOSING, FENCES, GATES, 44 The average size of the enclosures, is from fourteen to twenty acres, but varying considerably according to the size of the farms ; the greatest part of the old en- closures is under this estimate. “ The new fences are chiefly made with hawthorn, secured by post and rails; on the Bredon and Cotswold T4ilis they are of stone. The expense of making them is difficult to judge of with accuracy; but from the supply of materials, which are in most parts plentiful, it may be deemed moderate. “ If a doubt is admitted, whether enclosures increase or decrease population, it must depend in this, as in other counties, on the nature of the land enclosed. Where waste land is enclosed, it must obviously in- crease population; there can only be a doubt, when the question arises respecting common fields. The enclosures in this county have been chiefly of the latter sort, and yet the population is admitted to have in- creased. Considerable enclosures have been made of late, some by authority of parliament, others by mutual consent of the parties interested in them ; more would certainly take place were it not for the expense which attends procuring acts of parliament for that purpose.” Respecting the improvement, by enclosing barren waste land but one opinion can prevail. Mr. Darke observes, in this case, “ The advantages are innu- merable, to population as well as cultivation ; and instead of a horde of pilferers, you obtain an useful race as well of mechanics as other labourers.” The following particulars respecting the enclosures lately made in the parishes of Bromsgrove and Bell- broughton, were given me by Mr. C. with whom I viewed the premises the beginning of August, 1807. By one of these enclosures, in 179 i, 3JO acres were addedENCLOSING, FENCES, GATES. 59 added to his occupation of Chadwick Manor, which before was 150 acres of old enclosure; the soil is a pebbly gravel, or gravelly loam, on a sandy under- stratum. Situation and aspect rather elevated. Lickey enclosure, 2 to 3000 acres, under two different acts of parliament cost 3l. per acre, at least in solici- tors, surveyors, and commissioners expenses, besides enclosing, which costs ol. per acre more. Total 8l. per acre. In this enclosure the rights of the poor were respect- ed, and the established cottagers had their land allotted, and where confirmed in possession. Bourn Heath, Bromsgrove, 60 acres enclosed, 1802, about twenty cottages existing thereon had their land enfranchised, and now live comfortably on their own premises, with wrell cultivated gardens, potatoe ground, and pigs, but no cows.-—See Cottages. Bellbroughton, Madeley Heath, Bell Heath, and Wildmoor, enclosed 1802, about 500 acres : expenses the same as above. Wildmoor, a deep peat, has been drained, and has produced excellent potatoe crops three years together; oats growing there August 5, 1807, not less than 50 bushel per acre. These enclosures were made with post and rail and hawthorn quick. Mr. C. advises and used one crab quickset in a yard, on which fruit may be grafted, and a sprinkling of holly to fill up the bottom. According to Mr. C. the gravelly waste lands were thus best reclaimed. 1. Pare and burn for oats, pota- toes, or rye. 2. Lime 4 to 6 tons per acre for turnips. 3. Autumn wheat, or spring wheat, or barley with seeds, then sheep pasture for two or three years, with tender cropping upon again breaking up, otherwise the land will60 ENCLOSING, FENCES, GATES. will revolve to a state of sterility; the paring and burning cost from 42s. to 50s. per acre. The peat land of Wild Moor will bear more crop- ping, but there is danger of carrying this too far. Oats and potatoes have in some instances been already three times repeated, the land seems adapted to hemp, which Mr. C. says it would well bear, but would answer bet- ter permanently, to clean well hy a turnip fallow and ay down with proper seeds for permanent meadow. Respecting rent or profit, the enclosing and reclaim- ing of indifferent waste land, is no very profitable spe- culation in general; nor can be expected to pay much more than interest of capital in addition to its former value as waste ; but the produce of food for mankind is certainly very much increased; and as a public mea- sure the enclosure and improvement of waste land can- not be too much promoted and encouraged. Mr. C. says, quicksets for enclosures, should be three years and a half, or four years old when planted, from the time the berries are gathered; the roots should be pruned of their superfluous fibres when planted. If these cuttings from the roots be placed in regular bunches, and planted in rich mould in rows one inch apart, and nine inches between each row, and kept clean from weeds, in two years these fibres will pro- duce as good quick as those from the berries in four years, one thousand of quick so managed will give six or seven thousand, or more, if it be strong and kind in the root. The thick part or upper end of these cuttings should be just slightly covered with fine mould; the fibres of crab quick will produce the same effect. CHAP-bi CHAPTER VIE ARABLE LAND, The agriculture and cultivation of this county is wore miscellaneous, and less subject to characteristic system, than that of most other counties ; the soil ge- nerally rich and fertile, answers well either to a general culture, to a more operose culture, or to grazing; and any thing, or every thing succeeds that is conducted with skill and industry. Hence grain and pulse, hops, and the various kinds of fruit, garden herbs, and me- dical plants, the fatting of sheep and cattle, and the dairy, have all been cultivated with success, and each one succeeds in that course of management to which his taste and inclination leads. SECT. I.—TILLAGE. The well managed summer fallows have four plough* mgs, whether for wheat, barley, or turnips. “ Some farmers put the dung on their fallows about Midsum- mer, and plough it in at the second ploughing, others upon the barley stubble for beans, &c.; the last practice 1 think the best.”-—Mr. Oldacre, In the land adapted for turnips, the wheat stubbles are often ploughed up in September and sown with ryePLOUGHING. 62 rye ; this being eaten early in spring by sheep, the land has three more ploughings for turnips. Beans and pease and vetches are generally set or sown upon one ploughing of stubble or clover sward. Barley after turnips should be upon two or more ploughings ; as no land unless such as is very light and sandy will work fine and well upon one ploughing after having been trod by sheep and cattle. In general all tillage land will require as many har- rowings as ploughings, unless such as is sown under furrow, or by a drill machine, or set by hand. The harrowings should certainly be given when the land is in a tolerably dry state. PLOUGHING, FURTHER REMARKS ON. Ploughing, as remarked under the article Imple- ments, is generally performed upon the light or gra- velly soils, by three horses and a driver, but no holder, with a plough guided by wheels, and which will easily plough an acre in seven or eight hours, or by a two furrow plough drawn by five horses, who will plough two acres in the same time. This plough may be ma- naged by one man, but a boy to drive is sometimes allowed. Mr. Knight, upon the light sandy loam of Wolver- ley, has adopted the system of two horses drawing abreast, and guided by a man at the plough tail by small in traces: these two horses plough an acre in the same time as the one furrow plough above named with three horses. The ploughs they use are nearly the same with the Worcestershire plough, No. 1, but refinedFALLOWING. €3 refined and lightened, the wheels taken off, and made to cut the ground with a more acute angle, they are thus neat light tools not overloading the team by their weight. Mr. K. has adopted a mode of ploughing in some cases, which he has seen in Hertfordshire, called hacking, the object of which is to lay the land level. It can only be practised on loose, or broken soil; in this mode the horses go twice along the same furrow, once to push the land side of the furrow a little into the unploughed land, and then back again to turn it into the thus opened furrow; the ploughed land is thus left in small ridges from twelve to fourteen inches asunder, with small hollows between, and when har- rowed across becomes almost perfectly level, more so than if done by a turn-wrest plough. This land will bear to lay perfectly level, as it wants no water fur- rows. A little hindrance is occasioned by this method, instead of an acre, two horses only plough three quar- ters of an acre per day. Mr. Knight is introducing an improvement by using cast iron shares, which he be- lieves will answer, both in execution and economy. A new share weighing eight pounds will cost Is. or 12s. per dozen, and when worn down they are worth half the money to recast; this, he believes, will be cheaper than new pointing and repairing common plough shares. 2. FALLOWING. A complete summer fallow for wheat on enclosed land is only resorted to occasionally, or upon cold wet lands, where it is supposed at times indispensable. All lands that are adapted for turnips are cleaned when 1 foulPAltOV/lNO. €4 foul by their culture, and no person would think of fallowing such hind in any other way, but the culture for turnips being the same, or similar, both in process and manure, as that upon a dead summer fallow; it is generally considered as, and called a turnip fallow. On strong clay land fallowing for barley is more prevalent, as will be shown in the next article on the rotation of crops. “ In the common fields our custom or usage, time immemorial, has been three crops and a fallow; during the fallow year, the lands are a common pasture for sheep.”—Mr. Darke. Mr. Pomeroy says, “ the plough is generally ob- served on the fallows after rain, when the land is said to work well; and afterwards observes that one plough- ing in dry weather is of more service than all that can be done in wet, and this, in most countries, would hold good ; but I have been informed that in the Vale of Evesham, it has long been an established maxim, founded on experience, that fallows work kindly in wet weather ; and in the case of ploughing wheat under furrow, it is reckoned no unkindly symptom to see the water follow the plough down the furrow. As the use of fallowing is to destroy all kind of weeds, and clean the land, and as a whole season is lost, by the land being made unproductive for that purpose, what an infatuation it must be to defeat the purpose intended, by neglecting the fallows, and which, I am sorry to observe, is but too often the case ; instead of early ploughing and harrowing to, destroy the growth, the fallow is too often suffered to run to grass and weeds, which get to such a head as not afterwards to be destroyed, and the whole has the ap- pearance of a slovenly and neglected sheep pasture, instead!ROTATION OF CROPS. 65 instead of a clean fallow Where summer fallowing is practised it should be managed so as to clean the land, otherwise a year’s produce is thrown away to no pur- pose. Mr, C. observes thus, “ when strong lands are be- come foul and impoverished, there is no other way to make them answer any good purpose than by making good fallows, to which should be added under drains, if wanted, with four ploughings at least, and sufficient harrowings; the first ploughing to be given in autumn, and after the second ploughing, and harrowing down in spring a good thick coat of lime about six tons to an acre, and if seeds be sown amongst the wheat the ensuing spring, the land will be so much the better and more improved ; fallowing strong land at proper seasons cannot be left off, nor continual cropping intro- duced, without great plenty of manure, more indeed than can be had ; follows and rest at grass must there- fore come in rotation.”—Mr. C. 3, ROTATION OF CROPS. No particular system is followed here; where tur- nips can be properly grown, it is sometimes: 1. Wheat. 2. Turnips. 3. Barley. 4. Seeds and pasture, one or more years. Or, 1. Pease, or oats. 2. Wheat. 3. Turnips. 4. Barley. 5. Seeds and pasture at pleasure, WORCESTERSHIRE.] F 166 ROTATION OF CROPS. I observed clover in wheat stubbles several times, and believe the course here to have been, 1. Turnips, early eaten off. 2. Wheat, with clover sown on it in the spring. 3. Clover. Mr. Pomeroy says, “ except in the common fields, no particular rotation of crops prevails.” Mr. Oldacre, ofFladbury, describes the following as a common course of crops in his neighbourhood, where the land is in good condition, and too strong for turnips. 1. Plough with the turf plough, and set beans or pease. 2. Wheat, at one or more ploughings. S. Fallow. 4. Barley, with grass seeds, viz. red and white clover -and trefoil, five pound each to an acre, with about two pecks of ray grass; the latter I had myself given up till I found I was wrong. This is the practice on enclosed farms, where there is but a small proportion of meadow or old pasture, and it is usual to let the land lay as long as it will graze well, which will gene- rally be for two or three years. But where a farm has a sufficient quantity of mea- dow and old pasture land, the tillage is generally- divided into four equal parts: ]. Fallow. 2. Barley. 3. Red clover without any mixture. 4. Wheat. In this case the red clover is used principally for tyling off with horses upon the land ; or carrying green to the stable ; the first practice is a most excel- lent preparation for wheat upon clay lands. ButROTATION OP CROPS. 67 But part of the land is generally in this course, 1. Fallow. 2. Barley. 3. Beans, or pease, or vetches, according to the soil, or necessity for green crops. The eating of vetches upon the land is of infinite service to the following crop :— 4. Wheat. The custom is, in this system of hus- bandry, to manure well on that part of the barley stub- ble intended for beans and pease, ploughing in such manure. Wheat, beans, barley, pease, oats, and vetches, the latter principally for green food, are the crops in gene- ral raised. The unenclosed lands, which are but a small propor- tion of the whole, are cultivated according to ancient custom, one system is crop and fallow; that is wheat every other year. This system prevails only on poor land which lies a great way from the fold yard, so as to get no other assistance except sheep penning. Ano- ther custom is, 1. Fallow. 2. Wheat. 3. Beans, mostly practised on strong heavy lands, but the most general practice is, 1. Fallow. 2. Barley. 3. Beans, pease, vetches, or red clover. 4. Wheat. But upon all lands that will bear treading with sheep, turnips are cultivated in great perfection, and have much improved light lands; and clover answers well upon all soils that are not very poor. I never yet saw a farm of strong land, clean and in good68 ROTATION OF CROPS. good heart unless summer fallowing was practised, in every round or succession of crops.—Mr. Oldacre. Mr. Darke observes, “ that in common fields pro- perty being much intermixed, there can be little expe- rimental husbandry, being by custom tied down to three crops and a fallow. Beginning with a fallow, the course is as named before. 1. Fallow. 2. Barley. 3. Beans, which always produce abundantly, or clover, or vetches, eaten off as green crops by horses tied with stakes and ropes made with the rind of witch hazel, a custom peculiar to the Vale of Evesham ; and there are well informed gentlemen who highly commend this mode of husbandry. 4. Wheat, sown on the bean stubble, or vetch, or clover sward ; and this mode invariably succeeds bet- ter than sowing it on fallow ground, a doctrine in ge- neral disbelieved by those who are strangers to the Vale of Evesham, so remarkable for its high ridges and deep furrows. In the common fields of Eckington, and of Bredon, I observed large breadths of turnips,, and of potatoes • these were good crops, well managed, and kept clean: if the potatoes -were followed by wheat, and the turnips by barley it gives a course as follows:— 1. Turnips. 2. Barley. 3. Clover. 4. Potatoes. 5. Wheat. Such a course well managed, upon land of sufficient staple to bear it, would furnish an abundant supply of food for man and beast; and perhaps no course of fieldDRILLING. 69 field culture could excel it in value of produce, which would almost rival that of a kitchen garden ; but to support this, and ensure full crops, there must be a combination of two at least of the three following cir- cumstances:— I st, good land ; 2dly, good management; Sdly, plenty of manure. DRILLING. The drill husbandry is well known and fairly introduced, but is mostly practised on the hills and lighter soils, and chiefly for barley ; it also answers well for pease, and I observed vetches laid in with the drill: beans are preferred to be set by hand. Some little wheat is drilled, but generally sown broadcast in the vale. There are two makers of good drill ma- chines in Evesham.—See Implements. Respecting the common field husbandry, I must beg leave to observe, that it is, in my opinion, the least improved, and in general the worst managed, of any part of British agriculture ; naturally calculated, and particularly upon soils of a good staple, to raise large quantities of grain. The fallows are generally neglect- ed, the weeds suffered to flourish and disperse their seeds, the drainage omitted, the roads left scarcely passable, and the general economy and arrangement conducted in a neglectful and slovenly manner. These e.yils might certainly be easily remedied by the in- fluence of leading persons, but it seems as though each one neglected his share of the business, under the idea that if the field should be enclosed he would have a different plot of laud ; whereas, if each one improved andROTATION OF CROPS. 70 and cleaned his share, he would be sure, enclosed or not, of a better Jot. I have no doubt but the common fields, under good management, by which I mean clean fallows and proper drainage, would be greatly more productive. Mr. Lucas, of Hanbury, complains much of the ruinous system of keeping land, that is enclosed land, in constant tillage, without any intermediate rest by pasturing; and observes, that instead of 10 or 12 acres in a hundred, 45 or 50 acres in a hundred should be at pasture, which being grazed for two or three years would acquire fresh nutriment from the dung of sheep and other animals: he names the following course as common in his neighbourhood upon the heavy soils. 1. Fallow. 2. Wheat. 3. Beans. 4. Barley. 5. Clover mown, sometimes a second time for seed. 6. Wheat, on the clover lay. This is certainly hard tillage, and such as no ordinary land can support without extra assistance from manure. Mr. Lucas observes, that it is weakly urged in favour of perpetual tillage, that the clover never makes it appearance after the first year, but dies away and dis- appears. This, he acknowledges, is not unfrequently the case, when it is sown on the third or fourth crop from the fallow, choaked up with weeds on an impo- verished soil; but would not be the case if the land were fallowed and manured for a spring crop, as bar- ley, and seeded down and pastured for two or three years. As seed clover is a good deal grown in this country, and as it is an article of necessity, it might not be right K toROTATION OF CROPS. 71 to debar its growth. I approve very much of Mr. Lucas’s idea after the growth of seed clover, which, however, should never be upon a second mowing. Clover for seed should be grazed to the end of the first week in June, should then be fenced up, and the field dressed over; when mown and harvested, to prevent exhausting the land, if it be too heavy for turnips, then fallow for barley with manure, and lay to grass with red and white clover, trefoil, and ray grass, and graze for two or three years; but if fit for turnips they will of course be sown, and barley and seeds may succeed as before. The true system of Agriculture for the good of the community at large, is that wherein corn and live stock are made subservient to each other, and in which the greatest quantity of both is raised for the food and em- ployment of mankind; a mere corn farm without use- ful live stock would be slavery, and a grazing farm without corn may be termed the luxury of agriculture ; grain is so necessary for the support of mankind, and a given quantity of land will support so much greater a population than at grass, that it demands the first consideration. But the introduction of live stock to fertilize the land and increase the produce of grain is of the highest importance ; every system of cropping ■which tends to beggar and exhaust the soil is to be condemned ; grain is occasionally so scarce, that no system, that tends to lessen the quantity of pro- duce, ought to be approved. In a further tour through the county, in 1S07, I had an opportunity of further observation and information on courses of crops, and therefore beg leave to add as follows:— 4 On*70 ROTATION OF CROPS. On all light and weak lands, Mr. C. is strongly of opinion, that grain should never be sown upon one ploughing of grass land, which he says always tends to foul the land and fill it with couch, but the course should be thus: 1. Plough up in August, and sow rye 2 bushels per acre, and vetches half a bushel per acre; this will be ready for ewes and lambs in April, stock hard and eat it down against the clover and ray grass is ready for the sheep ; then plough and work the land well for turnips, manuring with muck, or lime, or both, then sow turnips: this the first year. 2. Autumn wheat may be sown on the turnip ground first eaten off; spring wheat in March upon such land as is then ready, and barley upon the remainder, with seeds upon the whole, red and white clover, trefoil, and rye grass ; suppose half the land sown with wheat, and half with barley. 3. 4, and 5, years to August, sheep pasture, which completes the routine, and then begin again as before. Mr. C. says, that land thus treated and well managed, will never tire or become foul. In this course, upon 100 acres arable there would be 10 acres of wheat, 10 acres of barley’, 20 acres of tur- nips, 20 acres of rye and vetches for spring feed half a year only, and 40 acres the whole year, and 20 acres more to August for sheep pasture. I objected to this as giving too small a proportion of o-rain, and particularly of wheat, so necessary to the support of mankind, and proposed thus alternately after five years as before ; 6 wheat at one ploughing on the turf; 7 turnips on a complete fallow ; 8 barley, with seeds; and 9, 10, sheep and pasture; and then begin with rye and vetches as before, InROTATION OF CROPS. 73 In this course 100 acres, on the average would have 15 acres of wheat, 15 barley, 20 turnips, 20 rye, and vetches half the year, and the rest sheep pasture ; but Mr. C. objects to this, and maintains that the course he proposes will be both better for light land, and more profitable. On the Lechmore estates, in the parish of Hanley, west of the Severn, upon strong or mixed loam, the following course is common : 1. Grass land ploughed, and beans set, or drilled; rye for sheep pasture sown immediately after harvesting the beans. 2. The rye grazed in April or May, then fallowed for wheat, and wheat sown in autumn. Lime freely used. 3. Wheat, with clover and grass seeds sown in spring. Or where the land is somewhat milder thus : 2. Turnips, part common and part Swedish, the common turnips drawn early for stall feeding, and wheat sown; the Swedish kept on later, and fallowed by barley, making thus, 3. Part wheat, part barley, with clover and grass seeds sown on the whole in the spring, or sometimes, 2 winter vetches, succeeded by 3 wheat, and seeds in the spring. Mr. Lechmore has this autumn, 1807, a piece of wheat of 8 acres, drilled in at about 7 inch rows, by one of the Worcestershire drill machines; the prepara- tion was fallow; if bushel of seed used per acre; 2$ bushels are sown broad cast, the crop is meant to be well hand hoed in spring. On good sound loams, light enough for turnips, no course can be more productive, or74 ROTATION OF CROPS. or more profitable than the following, which is often practised, but the land should be clean to begin. 1. A vetch, or potatoe crop ; if vetches, to be sown in September, the true winter vetch; after Midsummer, as the land is cleared of the vetches, to be ploughed up so as to make a partial fallow ; unless the land be in good heart it should be manured for the vetches; if po- tatoes be planted, they should be kept very clean. 2. Year wheat. 3. Turnips, upon a complete turnip fallow. 4. Barley with seeds, and then at grass so long as may be thought proper or necessary. Upon stronger soils vetches may begin as before, if the land be clean and in good heart; 2. wheat; 3. fal- low; 4. barley, writh seeds, and then at grass as before. But if land be foul with couch or weeds, it should begin with a fallow. Mr. C. advises in such cases, and the land being poor, to fallow for grass seeds only, and to sow them in August, which he knows by experience will answer, and restore the fertility of the soil by giving it rest at pasture; but I think a fallow should always be succeeded by some crop, even rye is better than nothing, and, if the land be very poor, an exertion should be made for manure or a top dressing. In Sedgbury common field, the course is: 1. Fal- low ; 2. barley; 3. beans, or other pulse, or clover; 4. wheat. In Rilhamplon, and some other common fields that lie -wide from manure, the course is crop and fallow manured only by folding sheep; it would certainly be an improvement to introduce clover, thus, 1. fallow folded; 2. wheat; 3. clover; 4. fallow folded ; 5. bar- ley ; 6. clover, or vetches ; and then fallow again. Mr. Knight, Wolverley, intends the following course of crops upon his sandy loam, so soon as he can get hisCROPS. 71 his farm regular; extent 330 acres, meadow, pasture, and plantation, 90 acres; remain 240 acres arable to be thus disposed. 1st. year. Turnips, 60 acres. 2d. year. Barley, 60 ; or 50 acres barley, and 10 acres carrots. 3d. year. Clover, 50; vetches, 10 acres. 4th. year. Wheat, Go ; or wheat 50 acres, and oats 30 acres. Or, 200 acres thus; turnips, barley, clover, wheat, 50 acres each. 40 thus, turnips, carrots, vetches, oats, 10 acres, each. Total 240 arable. This will admit of some variations with the same result; thus, the carrots may be grown after clover, and the oats after turnips, also the wheat after vetches, and the oats omitted if thought proper. I think with Mr. Knight’s spirited manuring and management, this is likely to turn out a very productive and profitable course. CROPS COMMONLY CULTIVATED. 1. Wheat, the varieties generally grown in this county are the four following; 1. the red lammas wheat; 2. 'white wheat; 3. cone or bearded wheat, (the variety most common is that termed blue cone, which upon deep rich loams is superior to all others in produce); 4. summer or spring wheat, (triticum cesti- vam)CROPS. 75 vain) the variety grown here is slightly bearded, though I am informed there is a variety of smooth eared wheat that will succeed and ripen well, spring sown. The preparation in the common fields is generally fallow, but wheat is sometimes sown there after clover, or pulse, (i. e.) beans, pease, or vetches. In the enclo- sures, fallows for wheat are made upon cold strong land, and if such land be in a foul, couchy, and un- ameliorated state, such fallow is necessary ; and wheat cannot be grown thereon to advantage in any other way. A fallow for wheat ought to be ploughed up in au- tumn, or in the winter months, cross ploughed in May, and wrell harrowed down, manured in June with lime 4 to 6 tons per acre, or muck 10 tons per acre, or both. It should be drawn up into lands in July, in which state it may lay through the harvest, when it should be again ploughed and harrowed in September, and in October may be sown with wheat under furrow. If these operations are regularly and well performed, the land will be in so meliorated a state, as not to require' fallowing again for many years. Wheat is also sown upon one ploughing up of a clover or other lay, or upon one or more ploughings of oat or pea stubbles, also very often after a crop of vetches eaten olf by tying horses or carted to the sta- ble, or gathered for seed ; in the former cases there is time to make a partial fallow ; also upon one ploughing up of a bean stubble, or after potatoes, or turnips eaten off, in the latter case spring wheat will succeed well to the end of March. The state of the soil, as to ameliora- tion, must determine whether it be fit for the drill, or must be sown broad cast. TIME77 TIME OF SOWING. tc Wheat is sown as early after the 1st of October, as the rain falls to make it wet enough, but if not sown to Christmas, I have frequently seen good crops.”—- Mr. Oldacre. “ Wheat is sown from the middle of October to the end of November, under furrow, with harrows, and trod in with men, on the clover sward harrowed, and some little drilled.”—Mr. Darke. Mr. Richard Miller, upon Brant Hall farm, near Hales Owen, but in this county, sows his wheat about one half upon summer fallow, and the other half upon vetch fallow; 2| bushels per acre, or 3 bushels (if late sown) 9 gallons to the bushel, produce 20 to 30 bu- shels per acre: sort, the red lammas, of which a new va- riety, called Courland wheat, has been found to answer well. Mr. Knight, Wolverley, has this year, 1807, a 14- acre piece of wheat, sown on lay or turf once ploughed, which was manured only by folding sheep. The soil a light sand ; 200 sheep were folded upon it from sowing time, the end of September, to the end of February, they went over 12 acres, 2 acres of the best land had no manure, the wheat was drilled in at y inches, 2| bu- bushels per acre ; by this experiment folding has not answered expectation, the crop being light but kindly, about 20 bushels per acre ; wheat, the copimon lammas red straw. Mr. C. thinks wheat should never be sown on very light soils except after turnips; autumn wheat may succeed those eaten off in time, and spring wheat may- be sown with success to the end of March; this latter heWHEAT CROPS. he thinks ought to be more attended to, and intro- duced, especially after wet autumns, which prove so unkindly to summer fallows; he has had as much grown per acre, succeeding turnips, as the winter corn, and a greater weight; the sort a little bearded. This kind he thinks cannot exhaust the land nearly so much as winter wheat, being not half so long on the land, and is ripe as early if sown in March, with the advantage of not being subject to mildew.—Mr. C. I remarked some spring wheat growing, which seemed to me a week or two later than the autumn wheat, but this Mr. C. observed was not sown till April, which is rather too late. As a proof that wheat is very uncertain of succeeding upon over-tilled land, I give the following instance at one corner of the enclosed Lickey, near Bromsgreve, upon good light loam ; observing in company with Mr. C. a crop extremely unkind, and overrun with weeds, the reapers picking it out, I enquired about the cropping and manure, and found as follows :—1st year, turnips j 2. barley; 3. wheat; 4. oats; and the crops hitherto good. The occupier was tempted to try wheat again on the oat stubble, but in order to give the land force, gave it a good dressing with bucking ashes from Broinsgrove (i. e.) linen whitener’s ashes (which have been proved an excellent dressing for grass land) the wheat looked promising through the winter and till March; in the spring a prodigious shoot of the May weed, or corn chamomile (anthemis arvensis) took place, the wheat became totally enveloped and smo- thered in it, the straw mildewed, and the plant so far perished as not to produce the seed again. August 4, 1807, questioned the reapers concerning the cause of this failure of crop, they attributed it to the bucking ashes.distempers in wheat. 79 ashes, but reported the above as the preceding tillage. There can be no doubt but the failure was owing to the excessive tillage, in which the land had been fouled by the seeds of the above weed, whose growth was ac- celerated by the manure; I have known other instances of over-tilled land being rendered foul, so as to choke the crop by applying manure, which does snore harm than good to any crop, unless the land can be kept clean from weeds. Notwithstanding this failure, the average crop of wheat in Worcestershire may be put high. I estimate the common fields and light sandy land to produce 20 bushels per acre, the enclosed loams to average 4 quarters at least, or 32 bushels of y gallons each, which is the usual Worcestershire measure, and will weio'h upon the average TOlbs. weight. In the. Vale of Eve- sham in good enclosed land the blue cone wheat will often produce from 40 to 45 bushels per acre; the average of seed sown is two bushels and a half per acre; sometimes on strong land, and late in the season, three bushels per acre are sown. The distempers to which wheat in this county is principally subject are, mildew and smut; of the former there is no great complaint this season: I saw it only in a few instances, and mostly in the parishes of Littleton. No attempt has ever been made at prevention or cure, or can be I suppose, other than good husban- dry, keeping the land clean, and sowing in proper sea- son a good sort of grain; the cause is, I believe, in the atmosphere, too much humidity and want of sun- shine, the proximate causes, and improper tillage and an abundance of weeds the predisposing ones. With respect to minute fungi being the cause of this distem- per, this is doubtless beginning at the wrong end ; such, ifso PREVENTION OF THE SMUT. if they exist, being the effect of the distemper and not the cause, their natural growth being upon putrid or decaying substances. Respecting the smut, the usual method of brining the seed is only one in use as a preventative. Mr. I. of Kidderminster, who is, and has been very largely in practice both as a grower and manufacturer of wheat, informed me, that their usual method was to pour down the seed wheat in a heap, then flattening, or making a hollow in the top of the heap, to pour in brine, or urine, or both, till it was well saturated, and then drying it with quick lime in that state to sow it, when this was done the crop was uninjured by smut; when neglected their crop has been so smutty that they have not chused to use it in the manufacture of flour for bread ; but have preferred selling it to the starch makers at an in- ferior price. It is well understood in this country, that no miller of character will buy wheat in any degree in- jured by smut, but at a very inferior price. Mr. C. prefers a large tub of brine, or mixed with urine; it should be strong enough to swim an egg, and the wheat sifted or gently poured in, and whatever swims skimmed off, and then dried with lime, after drawing off the liquor to be used again as before; this he believes from experience and observation to be quite effectual in preventing the smut. Observations.—-This latter method is certainly pre- ferable to the first; but if the liquor should get fouled by smut dust, it is unfit for further use ; in the former case the liquor is used but once, and is far the best me- thod, but the operation is imperfect; it has been proved by experiments made in Northamptonshire, and which I have reported to the Board, and which have been corroborated by experiments of my own, thatSMUT IN WHEAT. 81 that brine is not essentially necessary ; but that if the seed-wheat be clean washed in any proper saline, alka- line, or acrimonious liquor, the smut is prevented. I believe clean common water would do; but prefer a mixture of salt, or alkaline lye, to render it more ac- tive, It is certainly a great blessing to mankind, that a distemper in wheat so formidable as the smut, which renders it disgusting and nearly unfit for human food, should be effectually prevented by the simple opera- tion of clean washing the seed, which 1 consider as an established point; and that no one need be troubled with smutty wheat, who is not too idle or too negli- gent to perform that simple operation. If wheat be ever so smutty, it is well known that clean washing, and careful drying on a kiln, will ren- der it fit for use; the loss is therefore the expense of those operations, added to the loss of the smutty grains, which contain only a stinking black powder. With respect to black or burnt ears, they are, I sup- pose, known every where; but the contamination is so slight, as not to attract much attention ; they are owing, I apprehend, to an imperfect impregnation, or abortion ; but never, in my observation, have they amounted to one hundredth part of the crop. Barley is equally subject to this complaint with wheat; when it occurs to any extent, the produce should be rejected as seed; as I have experienced, that the evil is inclined to in- crease. With respect to the quantity of wheat grown in this, or in any other extensive district, it is difficult to esti- mate, with any certainty, without authentic documents, which can only be obtained by authority. I shall however risk an estimate, which those who are dissatis- fied with it may correct j after premising that Worces- worcestershire.] g tershire82 GRAIN CULTIVATED. tershire is in general by no means a bard tilled count}’'; the hardest tillage is to be met with in the eastern district; the west and south being more inclined to pasture and fruit, or the hop culture. Ar»M« band. Acres, bu. per Ac. Amount. 20,000 ac. common field, |-th wheat 4,000 20 80,000 120,000—light land,saiidyorgravelly,^5thwh. 12,000 20 240,000 220,000—friable, or clay loam, g-th wheat 27,500 32 880,000 360,000 Total in wheat.................... 43,500 1,200,000 ^Deduct seed 2-C bu. per acre . . . 108,750 Nett produce .... 1091,250 A Worcestershire bushel, upon which I have calcu- lated, contains 9 gallons, and will weigh, on the aver- age 70lb. this will produce 561b. of flour, and will, in its turn, make 70lb. of bread. I reckon 5 bushel per head of 70lb. to be a good average allowance per an- num for human kind ; and therefore conclude, that this county produces wheat for bread for upwards of 200,000 persons. The population of the county is about 140,000: I therefore reckon, that, in a plentiful year, like the present, Worcestershire produces bread for 60,000persons, over and above its own inhabitants; this surplus finds a ready conveyance to Birmingham, or by the Severn or canals coastwise, or to the popu- lous parts of Shropshire or Staffordshire, either in its raw state, or ground into flour. The stubbles of wheat are very commonly, and almost generally, mown in this county, raked together, and carried home for litter. Ah/f, for a crop, is cultivated only in a small propor- tion ; and the principal inducement to its culture, is the ' occasionalGRAIN CULTIVATED. 83 occasional demand for its seed to sow as early sheep pasture. I should suppose the growth of the sandy district of the county, as a crop did not exceed 1000 acres, in seasons of scarcity, occasioned by excessive rains; it is however a welcome addition to the resources for bread; its produce may be reckoned more than that of wheat, on light land, and may be from 3 to 4 quarters per acre. No particular preparation is necessary, except a fallow manured upon very poor sand. In other cases, it may be sown upon a clean turf or stubble, be the land ever so light or sandy. Respecting its uses for bread in wet seasons, I am assured, by a gentleman of Kidderminster, whose knowledge and experience on the subject cannot be questioned, that in a grown or spurted (sprouted) state, it is not only unfit for bread, but an absolute poison, and that many lives have been lost by so eating it. The principal and most valuable use of rye, is to form a very early sheep pasture for ewes and lambs in April; for this purpose, Mr. Carpenter says, turf land should be ploughed up in August, and sown about the end of that month with rye, 2 bushels per acre, and half a bushel of winter vetches to fill up the bottom ; if de- ferred to September, it is too late to be worth the seed and loss of autumn grass; if thus sown in time, it will be half a yard high the beginning of April, and form an invaluable resource for ewes and lambs in that pinching time, and the land will be in good time to work thoroughly for turnips. Barley, is generally sown after turnips on all land were turnips are grown ; on strong clay loams, whether open field or enclosed, it is sown after summer fallow, and can be grown in no other .system consistent with • good84 CROPS. good farming ; though I believe a small proportion may be grown after pulse, or sometimes upon one ploughing of a clean turf. When barley succeeds turnips, they should be, and generally are, eaten off in time to admit of two plough- ings, the first immediately succeeding finishing the tur- nips, and the second immediately preceding the sow- ing of the barley, with proper harrowing between ; when this is the case, and the land in good heart, and well drained, it can scarcely fail being a good crop. In enclosed land, clover and grass seeds are com- monly sown with, or soon after, the barley. The sorts cultivated are generally the long ear, or sometimes the spratt barley (Hordeum Zeocrithon), but I neither saw nor heard of the other varieties. Drilling in of barley is practised both in open fields and enclosures, and the practice I understand to be increasing ; very good machines for that purpose are got up in the county, as well as imported from else- where} seeds are sown afterwards, and harrowed in with light harrows, without disturbing the barley, though in some cases I could perceive a tendency to the grass seeds being in rows, which I believe is no in- convenience. Mr. Knight drills his barley at about 9 or 10 inches, 3 bushel per acre, no account made of saving seed by drilling; the crops succeeding turnips are very good, SO to 40 bushel per acre, which is a great produce for this light and sandy soil; but the turnip fallows were manured for, and managed with, great spirit, and the season has been favourable, with plenty of rain at proper times, as well as sunshine. Mr. Knight observed to me, that he does not think he gains in produce by drilling ; but believes he should do as well by good broadcast sowing. Three rows only areCROPS. E5 are drilled at a time by one horse, no hoeing used ; seeds are immediately sown, red clover 8lb. white ditto 5 or 61b. per acre, with sometimes a proportion of trefoil, and always a peck of ray grass. The seeds mown this year were in a stack, July 6, 1807, and were a good crop ; barley ground is always rolled when the seeds are sown. Folding for barley, upon a poor weak sand, for which there was no manure, and not being ready in time for turnips, the fallow was continued through the winter^ and folded with sheep, and in the spring, 1807, sown with barley and seeds; the barley not equal to what might have been expected, not more than 20 bushels per acre, much inferior to that succeeding turnips; consequently, folding appears to be much inferior to spirited manuring and turnip-husbandry. But Mr. Knight means to make more experiments on folding, on account of the dearness of manure. Respecting drill, and broadcast sowing of barley or other grain, Mr. C. thinks much more depends upon the land being kept in a clean and fertile state, than upon the manner of sowing ; but the drill and hoe sys- tem will not always keep land clean without a good summer or turnip fallow; nor should the drill system be adopted till the land is well cleaned. Drilling of bar- ley from 1 to 9 inches, has, however, found its way into the common fields, and into most parts of the county. On strong loams, in the Vale of Evesham, the barley is sometimes ploughed in under furrow. After a sum- mer fallow, the land may lay ploughed up during the winter frosts, and when it becomes sufficiently dry in March, it is harrowed down and the seed sown, and then ploughed in ; if seeds are sown, they must be co- vered with light harrows. 2 o With86 CROPS. With respect to the general produce of barley, in the common fields, from hard tillage, and on some moist loams from want of drainage, the average is not more than 20 bushels per acre of 9 gallons ; but in the well-managed enclosures, and after turnips, much more. Mr. Richard Miller, on Brant Hall farm, a cool soil, reckons to grow from 30 to 35 bushels, and the best of Mr. Knight’s cannot be less than 40 bushels per acre; and on some of the rich friable loam, 40 to 45 bushels is grown. I estimate the produce of the county as follows : ARABLE. ACRES. 120,000 acres light land, -j-th barley - - - - 15,000 120,000 ----friable or mixed loam, -j%th barley 12,000 120,000 «■— ■ strong loam, the last proportion 6,000 Total . - - • 38,000 The average produce may be put at 4 quarters, or 32 bushels per acre, deduct seed 3 bushels, remains 29 bushels per acre ; total amount 957,030 bushels. Reckoning the consumption in malt liquor at 4 bushels per head, gives 560,000 bushels for the annual consumption of the county ; the remainder, or near 50,000 quarters, is a surplus for other purposes, as the fatting of hogs or cattle, or for the consumption of the neighbouring populous country. Oats are grown but in a smaller proportion, and sometimes sown upon one ploughing of grass land. Mr. Richard Miller generally grows thus, from 35 to 40 bushels per acre; and the oats are succeeded by pota- toes or winter vetches ; he sows 6 or 7 bushels per acre. Oats are sometimes grown upon new enclosed waste land, after paring and burning. I saw, upon a late en- closedcrops, 87 closed peat bog, but well drained, oats growing at least 50 bushels per acre. Mr. C. thinks oats a very exhausting crop ; but upon light land of inferior quality, believes may answer better than barley, but should succeed turnips, and be laid down with seeds. He further complains of oats degenerating in qua- lity ; says, he has formerly had Poland oats 10 or )2lb. per bushel heavier than can be met with now; and thinks premiums should be offered to the merchants for importing seed-oats of superior quality. The oats universally preferred here are the white oats, Dutch or Poland. A sort is known here, and has made its way in many parts of the kingdom, under the name of Potatoe-oats, the name said to be derived from having originally come over in a cargo of potatoes; it is a good white oat, bolder and larger than the com- mon Dutch oat. The culture of oats in this county is not, I believe, greater than for its own consumption, being seldom grown upon the rich or fertile lands, the average produce may be reckoned fib bushels per acre, and the seed sown 6 bushels. Pease are cultivated in the fields, but upon a small scale; nor does the crop in general seem to answer here so well as grain or other pulse. In the present year, 1807, there has been an almost total failure, a ten-acre piece, harvested near Evesham, was shewn me by the owner, which he estimated would not produce him more than 6 bushels per acre; the stubble was working as a partial fallow for wheat, the crop had been drilled, but owing to sudden rain had been pre- vented hoeing, and became smothered with weeds; other pea-crops had been out as fodder for horses; but • z I was88 CROPS. I was informed some good pea-crops had been har- vested at Fladbury the last week in July, 1807. Pease are grown either upon one ploughing of turf, or upon a barley stubble, ploughed up after fallow bar- ley, and are generally succeeded by wheat; they are sown broadcast, or drilled, and seldom set by hand; produce precarious; a good crop 30 to 40 bushels per acre, a great yielding crop sometimes more, and often- times less, down to 20 bushels per acre, or to scarce the seed again. This crop should certainly never be sown but in rows, on clean land, and kept perfectly clean from weeds by hoeing. , Beans are grown considerably upon the strong lands of Worcestershire, and none but the greatest slovens now think of sowing them broadcast; they are very generally either set by hand, or drilled by a machine; in the former case women and children are principally em- ployed, who set from 3 to 4 bushels per acre, at from Is. 6d. to 2s. per bushel (of 9 gallons) with the allow- ance of a quart of cyder per day each; the average expense of thus setting may be reckoned at about 8s. per acre; the time of setting is February and March. Mr. Darke observed, “ we excel in nothing so much as setting beans, it is superior to drilling in its most per- fect state; they are all set by line, and we prefer set- ting them north and south, to have the benefit of the Sun betwixt the rows ; they are hoed three times with the gardener’s coming-hoe ; the large tick bean is used, and they produce sufficient to satisfy the culti- vator.” The machines for drilling beans, lay in two rows only, and are drawn by one horse, at about 18 inches distant, with a holder and driver j 2 acres per day may • . ' becrops. 89 be drilled; the expense may therefore be reckoned less than one half that of setting. August 6, 1807, I examined a bean field adjoining Hampton Church-yard, near Evesham, set in rows 18 inches asunder, 4 to 5 feet high, and well podded ; the crop cannot be less than 40 bushels per acre .* saw many other fields of beans set or drilled, the crops generally good, free from mildew or insects. Mr. Murrall, of Evesham, shewed me a field of his drilled by a machine at 14 inches, the crop clean and good, full 4 quarters per acre. A good crop of beans will sometimes produce -10 to 45 bushels per acre. Thp harvesting of beans is in August and September; they are cut by hand with a hook, and laid down in armfuls to season and dry ; they are afterwards gathered up, and set an end in shocks; and, when sufficiently seasoned, are carried to the stack. I suppose the growth of beans in this county to be considerably more than its own consumption. Vetches. Winter vetches are sown the latter end of September, and summer vetches in March, April, and May, for succession ; but I have always had the best crops from winter vetches.—Mr. Oldacre. I have seen them up this season, 1805, in September and Oc- tober, and some sown in drills; they are principally eaten green by horses, either by tying to them, or carrying them to the stable, and a proportion are saved for seed.—IV. P. Vetches arc very generally cultivated in Worcester- shire in most parts of the county, and the main object is for feeding horses in their green state; they are sel- or never made into hay, the excellent natural meadows of the county rendering that unnecessary. Mr, Richard Miller, Brant Hall, always grows 6 Or 8 acres,VETCHES. 90 8 acres, part autumn and part spring sown ; they are mostly carted to the stable. At Mr. Knight’s, Lea Castle, Wolverley, vetches are regularly cultivated, and always with a view of carting to the stables; the present year, 1807, I there examined a piece of 10 acres, drill sown, mostly in the autumn, but part in the spring, the crop good ; two single-horse carts can at once draw enough for a night and a day’s consumption of twelve horses; which, in J uly, the stew- ard and I estimated to consume half an acre per week, at which rate 10 acres last twelve horses twenty weeks; they were drilled at nine months and hoed, and will be followed by vetches again; but Mr. Par- tridge, the steward, thinks, on their light land they are in general best followed by a fallow for turnips. I observed, about the middle of August, part of these vetches were cut for a crop of seed, they’* having- run too ripe to be used as green food. Upon this subject of making vetches last the greatest length of time possible as green food, Mr. C. ob- serves, that the winter vetch early mown, that is at any time before being in full blossom, will, in its second shoot, or aftermath, continue green much longer than the spring sown vetch ; but after being in full blossom, the aftermath is not worth saving. The true system for extending their use is probably this, 1. manure, and sow early in September, to be ready for cutting the beginning of May ; 2. continue sowing in September for succession, and a few may be sown in spring for comparative experiment; 3 the second shoot of all those cut before the plant is in full blossom must be preserved for late use; but, when the full blossom is attained, the ground may be ploughed as the crop is cleared. Mr. C. thinks, that by- judicious management upon [-VETCHES. 91 upon this system, vetches as green food may be secured generally through the months of May, June, July, and August. Mr. C. further says, upon an arable enclosed farm, one-tenth of the arable is not too much to be sown with winter vetches, in a dry summer all will be want- ed, or cut in full blossom ; they make excellent fodder, or may be saved for seed ; in general, they do best sown about the end of September for general use. He also says, horses are best fed with vetches in the stable, as they are then always in readiness for work, besides making a deal of manure ; some, however, think tying the best, especially for young horses. Cat- tle, sheep, and pigs, are equally fond of vetches ; in some years, when grass has run short for milking cows, I have cut vetches for them, and thereby kept them up to their milk, till rain came to bring forth the grass, otherwise the cows would have been nearly dry. In order to be sure of the true winter vetch, it is best for the farmer to save his own seed ; the winter vetch is known by its growing bushy for some time after springing up ; the other sort growing spiry, and will not stand a hard winter ; seedsmen are sometimes de- ceived themselves, and the value of the seed has been known to be returned when the crop has perished by frost; but this does not make amends for the lost crop. —Mr. C. I shall beg leave to conclude the subject of vetches, by an attempt to correct an error very prevalent, which is that of calling vetches tares; vetches are no more tares, than wheat is rye or barley, being or’ a distinct and different genera and species, though of the same class and order, but having distinct essential characters. Thevicia, or vetch tribe, includes the plant in question (vicia92 POTATOES. (vicia saliva,) and with it five or six more species, which are natives; also the different varieties of beans and pease, which are but different families of the same tribe, and though originally exotics, are now natu- ralized. The ervum, or tare tribe, includes two native species, the smooth podded and rough podded, both terrible weeds when abundant in corn ; the seeds are generally four in a pod, but sometimes more, the lentil (ervum lens) is of this genus. Potatoes. This excellent vegetable seems to be eh- tircly got clear of the curl, no appearance of it to be seen in the crop, nor complaints heard of it in conver- sation ; the cure of the disorder has been radically effected by rejecting the old sorts, worn out or dege- nerated, enfeebled or debilitated, (according to Dr. Darwin) by repetition of solitary reproduction from sets or cuttings, but now restored and renovated by the introduction of invigorated varieties, raised by sexual reproduction from the flowers and seed vessels; the time of planting potatoes is March, April, May, and some in June. Potatoes are grown in great plenty and perfection in this county, and in a variety of ways, both by hand ■work, and the plough. In the neighbourhood of Broms- grove and elsewhere, are large field plots, well-ma- naged and kept clean; and the present year, 1807, nothing can be more promising for a crop. Mr. Richard Miller, upon Brant Hall Farm, prefers the following; method : after well wmrking; and ma- nuring the land, it being harrowed down level, to strike furrow's with a common plough about two feet asunder, then to drop in the sets by hand, and cover them slightly wdth a hoe or rake, and as they shoot, horse-hoe them wdth a plough, turning a furrow either ' way,POTATOES* 93 way, the earth boards on either sides of this plough can beset wider or narrower by screws ; it is also adapted for hoeing cabbages, or any other crop in rows, at a proper distance ; he reckons to grow from 300 to 400 bushels per acre, of 80lb. to the bushel; and has grown annually about four acres; sold them, in 1806, at 20l. per acre growing; the buyer getting them up, but he drawing them to Birmingham, about six miles distance. Mr. Carpenter says, potatoes were known in England a little before the year 1600; they succeed on any soil, but best, both in quantity and quality upon light land; he prefers growing them after turnips, as they want no other manure, and it ensures a clean crop. The mode he adopts is to give the land a first ploughing and har- rowing, and then to plough the whole field in two fur- row ridges, the furrows of a moderate breadth ; women and children then drop the seed in each opening at six inches a part; this done, draw, with one horse, a light pair of harrows across the furrows to cover the sets ; the land being in a clean fertile state requires hoeing or moulding but once; and at gathering the crop, there being no weeds, prevents much trouble and expense. In addition to these methods, large quantities of po- tatoes are set by hand in holes made by a dibble or setting stick, both after digging and the plough. Mr. C. relates a case of two day labourers, who, in his neighbourhood, in the spring of the year 1800, gave a guinea for an acre of waste land to plant with potatoes ; they pared and burnt it by moonlight after their daily la- bour, spread the ashes, and paid for ploughing them in; the crop proved so good, and the price of potatoes so high, that they shared 4( 1. between them, besides re- serving plenty of potatoes for their families. USES94 USES OF POTATOES. I In times of scarcity their value is well known as human food, when cheap they are of great use to pigs and cattle; to make pigs fat they should be boiled and mixed with about one-third part of ground barley, rye, or other meal; store pigs that go about thrive well with potatoes in a raw state ; and, by giving a feed of raw potatoes once a day to fatting pigs, they require less water, and by thus changing their food they will thrive better than by confining them to one sort of food only. Potatoes when boiled are good food for all kind of fowls in a lean state, and will make them fat with speed, mixed with a third or fourth part of barley- meal, which is also good food for dogs, and further im- proved by a little oatmeal, skim-milk, or butter-milk.— Mr. Carpenter. Respecting the sorts planted, the names are merely provincial, and would, therefore, convey no general idea. A great variety of early and late sorts have been raised, and their qualities are well known to every cottager who has a garden ; the sorts called here blue kidney, and Prussian white, were named to me by Mr. C- as famed for excellent cropping. The quantity of potatoes raised in this county is very considerable, not only sufficient for their**own consumption for man and beast, but large quantities are sent to the market of Birmingham, and to the po- pulous parts of Staffordshire. Turnips are pretty much grown in this county, and in various rotations ; on friable loamy soils, very often after the ploughing up of a wheat, of other stubble, in autumn j cross ploughing and harrowing down the same inTURNIPS’. 95 in March, a third ploughingand harrowing down in May; then manuring with dung, or lime, or both ; ploughing up and sowing the end of June or beginning of July, and two hoeings afterwards ; this management gives a good chance for a crop, and tends to cleaning the land, and preparing for the succeeding crop of barley. The crops of turnips are in general very good on those lands that suit the cultivation; we have lately practised hoeing, and find it adds one-third at least to the value of the crop; we eat the greatest part off with sheep, though many are handed into the farm yards for cattle; in wet seasons our sheep tread the lands, owing to the deep loam and loose soil, to the prejudice of our barley crop ; notwithstanding which, we prefer the sheep for this business, as it firms the land, and backens the mathon poppies and other light weeds, and prevents them from getting too powerful in the succeeding crops.—Mr. Darke. Mr. Richard Miller, Brant Hall, being short of tur- nip land, sometimes grows turnips on the same land four or five years together, and with the best success. Swedes succeed best after the common turnip, and mucked from Birmingham at six miles distant; he grows about as many Swedish as common turnips, and often the two sorts in rotation ; the first turnips gene- rally succeed wheat. Mr. Knight grows annually fifty acres, or more, generally upon a turf fallow, but sometimes after wheat, vetches, or carrots; they are mostly drilled, but some sown broadcast; the turnip drilling is thus ma- naged, after well working the land and laying on lime four tons per acre, which costs J 4s. Cd. per ton, ready money, delivered upon a canal against one side of the farm, the lime being spread and well harrowed in, the land96 TURNIPS. land is stricken into two furrow ridges, about two feet from middle to middle ; the dung cart is then applied, and a row of rotten dung laid along every fifth hollow, at the rate of about ten tons per acre; this is imme- diately divided and distributed along the hollows, and another plough follows to cover the dung, by dividing the ridges upon it in single furrows; the drill machine follows, drawn by one horse, going along one of the hollows ; a roller presses down two ridges, one on each side the horse’s path, in which the seeds are deposited over the manure, and covered in by short rollers fol- lowing the delivery, two rows only are thus drilled at a time, by one horse, upon four furrows. Mr. Partridge, the steward, observes, they get on thus at the rate of one acre and a half per day, with nine or ten horses, four in two teams to plough, one at the drill, and the rest at the dung carts; the whole is immediately done on the fresh soil, by which the vegetation of the seed is pro- moted, the dung covered up under the seed, and a good crop generally ensured. But Mr. P. thinks the distance in the rows being about two feet is too wide, as they are horSe and plough hoed ; and that more weight per acre might be obtained by broadcast sowing, which is sometimes practised, particularly on uneven land, where the drill does not work so well. When dung is not used in addition to the lime, soot is substituted, 50 bushels per acre,, at 8d. per bushel, besides carriage, but the soot merchant sowing it upon the land well worked and harrowed down ; the land is then stricken into ridges as before, and the drill imme- diately follows without turning back the furrows; the cleaning is performed by a hoe-plough between the rows, which are afterwards further thinned by women 2 andTURNIPS 97 and children, no skill being necessary; about 2lb. of seed is drilled to an acre. In some other places, I saw turnips drilled on level land, at about 9 inches, but the greater part of this crop is, at present, sown broadcast. Mr. C. has made comparative experiments on the effects of muck and lime, and both on turnips and the succeeding crops, and reports as follows;—«• No. 1. Muck and lime, both for turnips; turnips, barley, and seeds good. No. 2. Muck only for ditto ; turnips rather inferior, barley better, seeds good. No. 3. Lime only for ditto; turnips inferior, barley three-fourths the former, seeds better than either, and after three years pasture, the land equal. Mr. C. reports a piece of land in his occupation, sown with turnips, being so full of chadlock, that no hoeing, or weeding, could master it the first year; it was, therefore, fallowed for turnips a second time the ensuing year; the chadlock came up very thick after the first and second ploughings and harrowings; but, after another ploughing, became clean, and has con- tinued so ever since. Mr. C. thinks turnips upon light land, should al- ways be sown upon a clean turf fallow, or after rye and vetches sown in August, and eaten off by ewes and lambs the April following; in this rotation they scarcely ever fail, will do with less manure, and the land will produce more grain afterwards by many bushels per acre, either of wheat or barley, than when it has been previously exhausted by cropping from the turf. He prefers, for early sowing, the tankard turnip, the white Norfolk, and the bell; or some of each sort; for the second sowing the stone, and for the last the early Dutch. WORCESTERSHIRE. ] H ButTURtfIPS, But Whatever sorts you sow, lie says, it is iteces- sary to plant turnips for seed under your own inspect tion; the proper time is November, and to prefer those turnips that are best in shape, clearest on the rind, with the fewest wrinkles on the crown, and before planting the top should be cropped ; as I have known a wild sort come from the seedsmen, that has run in the top, and produced very little bottom. Turnips are sown here from midsummer to the end of July; hoeing is done at 5s. per acre the first time, and 2s. 6d. the second, with a gallon per day of beer to each workman. Many things have been suggested (says Mr. C.) to preserve turnips from the fly, but there is no dependance to be placed on any of them; night rolling does not answer the end, the only pre- caution is to give the land a fine tilt, and fill it with manure to push the young plants into the rough leaf, at which time they are safe; but this will not prevent the ravages of the fly, if attacked by them before that period. To this I shall add, that sowing every day immediately after the plough should never be neg- lected, I scarcely ever knew a piece of turnips much injured by the fly, where this practice had been rigidly adhered to. Mr. C. professes to be in possession of a nostrum, or specific, that will effectually answer the end; and will drive the flies out of a field of turnips, if they appear ever so numerous, will secure the crop, and do material service to the young plants in their future growth. This secret I requested him to detail in this Report, and trust to the gratitude of his country for a suitable recompense, but this he has hitherto de- clined ; he offered to communicate it to me, if I would keep it secret, but this I refused, telling him what- ever information I received I should communicate. He' TURNIPS. 99 * * He advises to sow half a gallon of seed per acre, in- stead of the usual quantity of from 1 to 2lb. ; when the plants appear to harrow the piece with light harrow's lengthwise, and a few days after harrow crosswise, the fly, he says, will be much disturbed by the harrow, the plants thinned, and the operation of hoeing facilitated. Respecting the best method of using turnips to advantage, he thinks, if the land be in high condition, a considerable part of the crop may be drawm off to stalls, or turf land, for cattle, or sheep; but if the land be indifferent or poor, the greatest part should be consumed by sheep, on the place of growth. Turnips are often sown on early stubbles near Kid- derminster and elsewhere, on sandy land, for spring sheep pasture; and, to be succeeded by turnip fallow'. A very good crop, 1807, there, sowm after barley, harvested August 3. Mr. Carpenter has since communicated to me his preventative, or preservative, against the fly in tur- nips, wrhich he permits me to make public, together wdth a certificate from a gentleman wrho has proved it. He intends to publish a second edition of his Treatise on Agriculture; but, supposing this Survey may come before the public sooner than that makes its ap- pearance, he permits me first to report it. If the effect should be properly established by experiment, he will certainly be entitled to the consideration of his coun- try, and to a remuneration proportioned to the im- portance of the discovery. He believes it will never fail, if strictly adhered to. The turnip fly, that he refers to, appears to me, from his description, to be of the beetle kind, (chry- somela nemorumj wings two, covered by two shells, skippers, hop or take wing, length half a line (Ber- kenhout).100 TURNIPS. • $ . kenhout). A line is, I believe, one-tenth of an inch, This insect, when much disturbed, takes wing, and is soon out of sight. As prevention is better than cure, the first process is in the preparation of the seed; mix an ounce of flower of brimstone to every pound weight of turnip seed, at least twenty-four hours before sowing; sow two quarts to an acre regularly and well, and so as to cover the ground well without vacancies, then look over the ground once or twice a day for the fly, if •with a microscope the better; if the fly be discovered, immediately harrow ; if not, harrow to thin the crop, and cross harrow till thin enough for hoeing; if the fly comes or continues, then sow 8 bushels per acre of dry lime, or dry sifted fine ashes j but, at all events, hoe in time, and repeat it, if necessary; the sowing of lime, or ashes, should be done early in the morning, or in the evening when the dew is on, as it then better adheres to the leaves of the young turnip plants. Mr. C. has great confidence, that if these rules be strictly attended to, the effects of the fly on turnips wall be prevented ; but says, “ if people -will not be at the trouble, they must take their chance. He has never known it to fail, and the communication was attended by the following certificate. Inipney, July 16, 1803. “ This is to certify, that I have, with satisfaction, “ tried the method recommended by Mr. Car- (t penter, for preventing the ravages of the “ flies on turnips, and have found it effectual. some return for the great labour and expense they are attended with, might be looked for from the fruit; a larger proportion of the land would share in turn, that extraordinary at- tention which is now confined to those parts on which the hops are grown. The crops of these would pro- bably never rise so high as they occasionally do now; but it must be remembered, these are not those which pay the planter best, as all the expenses on the pro- duce are the same, on a given weight, •whatever price it bears. Moreover, the average produce of the plan- tations is now said to exceed the consumption: in the great years, such as the present, so much so, as to re- duce the price so low as scarcely to repay the planter; they are, nevertheless, increasing : those of this coun- ty, within the last three years, have added one hun- dred and fifty acres to their former growth ; and this, notwithstanding there appears but little prospect of any new markets for them being found: a very serious consideration, and highly deserving the utmost atten- tion of the planters. If this statement proves true, the following practical inference may be with certainty- drawn from it—that it will be adviseable to forego 4 some132 HOPS. some of those points which are particularly calculated to assist the crops of hops alone, in favour of a pro- duce, the value and consumption of which are con>- stantly increasing. The circumstance of those hops which are most in request, ripening all at nearly one time, is a consi- derable inconvenience, both to the owner and holder of the estate: as they damage so scon, whether left on the wires when ripe, or gathered, if not dried imme- diately, it is necessary to have buildings, and a number of kilns, in proportion to the size of the plantations, and more hands during the season, than would be otherwise wanting. Could those sorts which ripen earlier or later, be improved, or any others introduced, that do so, it w’ould be a considerable acquisition. The parts necessary to perfect the seeds, are found on different plants, and as the greatest stress is laid on these, it may be proper to notice, that the practice of removing the barren stocks, may be carried too far: it is an inquiry well worth attending to, whether this may not be the cause, in some instances, of the early decay on some grounds. The following observations of Dr. Withering (Bot. Arang.) on the honey-dew, deserve to be introduced to the notice of the planters.—“ If the hop-yards t( were covered with stones, the plants would be less 4£ liable to suffer from the honey-dew, or from the “ otter-moth; for the honey-dew is the excrement of iC a species of louse (aphis) ; but these insects seldom <£ increase so as to endanger the plant, unless it is in a <£ weak condition ; and the larva of the otter-moth at *( the roots, first occasion the plant to be sickly. Now, <£ wrhen the hop grows wild in stony places, and fissures <£ of rocks, where the moth cannot penetrate to de- posithops. 13S st posit its eggs, the hop is never known to suffer from (i the honey-dew.” Under this view of the disease, might not the prac- tice of smoaking the fruit plantations, on the first alarm of a blight, used in some fruit countries, be ap- plied here to those of hops ? The other injuries to which they are liable, still remain without a remedy. A free circulation of the air through them, and complete draining of the land, are the only dependence. The use of the kerf is attended with one disadvantage, and which, when employed, almost solely, to destroy weeds, is of consequence: the person working with it, in some measure, defeats the intention of his labour, as he is continually treading down the soil again, he has just loosened ; and thus, in some degree, re-sets the weed he had but a little before turned up; but the greater despatch made with it, more than can be done with the spade, will probably continue it that pre- ference in which it is held. The tythe of hops is more particularly complained of than that of any other article, and considering the very great expense at which they are cultivated, it appears to be with reason. The present regulations respecting the hop duty are not complained of; and if the tax must be continued (to use the language of the planter) it cannot probably be altered for the better; the only use of consequence to which bops are applied, is the preserving malt liquors. The shoots called hop tops are introduced, in spring, as a vegetable at table, and somewhat resemble asparagus. Strong cloth is made in Sweden of the stalks; for this purpose they must be gathered in autumn, soaked in water all win- ter ; and, in March, after being dried in a stove, they are dressed like flax, K 3134 ROTS. The construction of the kiln is as follows: the brick- work rises perpendicular from the ground, to a height sufficient to admit of about two or three feet below the bars, or grate, oa which the fire is made, and about six or seven above it; the dimensions at the base vary according to the size required for the grate, and to give the brick-work sufficient strength to support the superstructure; the height of this is determined by that of the building, when it is not erected new for the purpose; at the top of the perpendicular brick-work, iron bars are fixed at right angles; on them are laid tiles, or large flat stones, where they can be procured, tfiese are covered on the upper side with a coat of mortar; the name given to this part of the kiln, the spark-stone, sufficiently denotes its use; it is placed in the centre, and of such size as leaves room around it to admit the heat above, at the same time that it pre- vents the sparks from the fire being carried there; from this part the brick-work becomes "wider, over- hanging gradually for about four feet, in a funnel- shape, when it again rises perpendicular about two feet ; here joists are worked in at small distances from each other, and on these, laths are nailed, forming the floor; the brick-work is continued a foot higher, forming a breast-work round the top; on the floor, and round this breast-work, the hair-cloth is spread iq which the hops are contained. Dr. Nash thinks hop-ground a species of farming, taken for a number of years, injurious both to land- lord and tenant; a few acres swallow up the manure of a farm, the crop is very uncertain and precarious ; on which account, the landlord often gives long credit for rent; it gives the tenant a turn for gambling and spe- culation, which frequently proves his ruin; it is in- juriousCROPS NOT COMMONLY CULTIVATED. 135 jurious to the timber, by occasioning it to be lopped and cropped for poles, which it is not easy to pre- vent. CROPS NOT COMMONLY CULTIVATED. Asparagus. Grown upon a considerable scale iq the neighbourhood of Evesham—saw several flats in the fields; it is principally carried to the market of Birmingham, though at near thirty miles distance. Cucumbers. Grown, too, iu large flats, in the en- closures north of Evesham; and disposed of as the foregoing article, principally at the market of the town of Birmingham. Onions. Grown in the same rich enclosures, and to supply the same demand; a prodigious quantity are sent to the Birmingham Michaelmas fair; an acre together, or thereabouts, are sometimes saved for seed, as I observed, in the enclosures north of the town of Evesham. Poppy Heads. A field of two or three acres of this plant (papaver somniferum) was growing at Norton, three miles north of Evesham, September 6, 1805; more than half the field had the heads cut off and car- ried away, the remainder were growing, and the seed ripe. A girl, who lived near, told me they were sold to the druggists. Clover Jor Seed, is grown in considerable quantities in various parts of this county.; and, from its appear- ance in many cases, seems to be upon the aftermath, or second crop, which tends to impoverish the soil, and is by no means the true system. Where clover is intended136 TIME OF HARVEST. intended for seed it should be grazed down to the end of the first week in June, and then fenced up, after dressing over the field, levelling dung, See. The seed- clover of this year, 1805, was generally harvested the end of September, and beginning of October; the crop promising, and well got together, the weather- having been favourable for that purpose; also, Sep- tember, 1807, saw a piece of seed-clover very pro- mising, at ’Squire Smith’s, of Erdiston, in the west of the county. TIME OF HARVEST. The harvest of this county is early, particularly on the fertile soils, which include the sandy or light gravelly soils in the north, and the deep rich clay or loam in the middle, south, and west of the county. There is, in the air and climate of these parts of Wor- cestershire, a mildness, softness, and salubrity, which brings to perfection the fruits of the earth, a full fortnight earlier than in the country thirty miles north ; insomuch, that it has been usual for reapers, from Cheshire and Lancashire, to assist in the reaping of Worcestershire, afterwards in that of Staffordshire, and to get home in time for that of their own country. In Worcestershire the fertile clays, though apparently inclined to wet, are thus early, as well as the sandy and gravelly soils; the present season, 1805, I take to be a fortnight later than average ; and, from showery weather, the harvest nearly a fortnight longer in con- tinuance, than in a settled season; the harvest was pretty generally begun Monday, August 5, and as generallyTIME OF HARVEST. 137 generally finished by the end of that month. In the Vale of Evesham, a clay soil, nothing remained out the first week in September, except the beans, which were generally cut or cutting, and some small scatter- ings of the blue cone wheat, which is somewhat later than the lammas; but in the higher grounds, and north-east of the county, the grain was only about half cut, and very little carried. The bean harvest, this year, was the middle of Sep- tember, and finished by the end of that month; the seed-clover was got the end of September, and be- ginning of October. Hops have almost totally failed* and fruit only a small partial bearing. July 23, 1807. Wheat reaping near Kidderminster ; rye and pease also cut. 27th. Barley mowing at the same place. August 3d. Barley carrying ; a whole field cleared. 6th. Wheat reaping become very general in the Vale of Evesham. At Fladbury, barley and pease had been harvested. By the middle of August, harvest generally finished on the early farms, and in the middle and south of the county, and elsewhere, by the end of that month. Beans and seed-clover got in, in September j also the hop-picking finished in that month very generally. CHAP,138 CHAPTER VIIL GRASS. JECT. J.—NATURAL MEADOWS AND PASTURES. The natural grass-land of this county is very consi- derable ; the Vale of Severn, as before observed, con- tains, very probably, ten thousand acres of a deep rich soil, in some places as level as can be conceived, to a large extent; upon this land great numbers of sheep and cattle are fatted. I have* seen a large meadow of this rich soil almost covered with sheep; the verdure too is early in spring, and late in autumn j and where it is sufficiently elevated, to be pretty well secured from floods, it is very valuable for mowing for hay. The banks of the Avon, the Teame, and the Stour, abound in rich meadow and pasture land ; in some parts similar to the former, in others thinner of soil, and inclining to be swampy. The county is-also intersected in all directions with smaller rivers, brooks, and rivu- lets ; whose margins consist of guod meadow and pasture. I have observed, in some of these low-lands, cattle fatting and doing well, notwithstanding the ap- pearance of rushes and aquatic plants. The soil origi- nally, from the rich upland, has a fertility, and givesNATURAL MEADOWS AND PASTURES. 13<> the grass a staple, which affords a nutriment to cattle, superior to what is given by the same herbage in poorer countries. As this land is adapted either to mowing or grazing, any proportion of it may, with a little management, be mown at pleasure, and more hay is produced in Worcestershire than it consumes ; the surplus finds a ready market for horses employed on the canals, or in the mines of Staffordshire. Mr. Darke, of Bredon, says, our old pastures abound with honey-suckle (trifolium repens), yellow craisey (ranunculus repens), crested dog’s-tail (cynosurus cris- tatusj, ray-grass, &c. Mr. Marshal], who examined the grass-land of the Vales of Severn and Avon, with attention ; at the proper season, gives the following as the principal pasture herbage:—Ray-grass (lolium perenne), white clover (trifolium repens), trailing trefoil (trifolium procum- bens), barley-grass (hordeum pratense), Timothy-grass (phleum pratense), crested dog’s-tail (cynosurus cris- tatus), sedge-grasses (carex’s), vernal grass (anthox- anthum odoratum), meadow fox-tail (alepocurus pra- tensis), flote grass (festuca fluitans), tall fescue (festuca elatior), creeping bent grass (agrostis alba), fine bent (agrostis capillaris), marsh fox-tail (alopecurus genicu- latus), meadow soft grass (holcus lanatus), brome grass (bromus mollis), meadow-grasses (poa’s), meadow- burnet(sanguisorba officinalis), meadow-vetchling (la- thyrus-pratensis), meadow-clover (trifolium pratense), bird’s-foot trefoil (lotus corniculatus), creeping crow- foot (ranunculus repens), orchard-grass (dactylus glo- meratus), quake grass (briza media), besides some other coarser grasses, neutral plants, meadow-flowers, and greeds, On140 ARTIFICIAL GRASSES. On a farm called the Sink, lately purchased and taken in hand by A. Lechmere, Esq. the grass-land being a moist loam, on a clay bottom, and having been neglected, a good deal of coarse herbage appears; the season was unfavourable for examining it, but I could discern the following : dyer’s broom, proyin- cially here wood-wick (genista tinctoria), thorny rest- harrow (ononis spinosa), wild carrot (daucius carota), and rushes; these Mr. Lechmere hopes to destroy by draining, top-dressing, and rooting up, without plough- ing up the land to bring it to a proper herbage. SECT. II.—ARTIFICIAL GRASSES. / The artificial grasses usually sown here are red and white clover, trefoil, and ray-grass; or, on the vale land, sometimes hay-seeds from the loft; these are sown in the spring, and most commonly with barley, but sometimes with wheat. At Wolverley, Mr. Knight always lays his land to, grass with barley after turnips; the seeds are about eight pounds of red clover, six pounds of white ditto, and two pecks of ray-grass, to an acre, seldom any tre- foil. At Worley Wiggorn, upon high cool land, Mr. Richard Miller sows eight pounds of red clover, eight pounds of white ditto, and a bushel of ray-grass, to an, acre; the land to lay several years at pasture: where land is sooner broken up, it is usual to sow ten or twelve pounds of red clover, three or four of white, three or four of trefoil, and only a peck of ray-grass, to an acre } but the quantity sown varies according tQ theARTIFICIAL GRASSES, 141 the nature of the soil, and the judgment of the occu- pier. Mr. Darke has converted five hundred acres and up- wards of arable land into pasture, and greatly in- creased its value. He lays down with white honey- suckle (trifolium repens), eight or ten pounds to an acre ; all other seeds except trefoil are injurious in these soils; six or eight pounds of trefoil to the acre assists for one year only. Experiment.—A piece of seeds having missed, Mr, Knight had it ploughed up in August, and laid, down with seeds upon the one ploughing; the soil a light sandy loam: no other crop was sown, but four tons of lime laid on per acre ; the produce judged not ■worth standing, was ploughed up the spring following for turnips. Observation.—Wheat, or rye, might have been sown, and seeds in the spring might have done better; or rye, or vetches, for sheep pasture, might have been followed by turnips.—W. P. Mr. Pomeroy observes, “ the grasses chiefly culti- vated to prepare pasture lands, are the red and white trefoil, with a mixture of natural grass-seeds. The following excellent mode of laying down grass-land, is adopted by Mr. Wakeman, of Buckford. Having prepared the land by a good summer-fallow, of at least three ploughings, he provides a collection of the choicest of the grass-seeds, which are found to flourish most upon the places adjoining to the land intended to be laid down. These seeds are obtained in the proper season of the year, at a small expense. The sorts principally made use of, are the anthoxarothum odo- satum, the poas trivialis pratensis et annua, alopecurus pratensis, the cynosurus cristatus, and the white, red, and142 HAY HARVEST, and yellow trifoliums, adding to the whole mixture a. small quantity of the lolium perenne. After having sown the barley, these seeds are combed in with a light pair of harrows. By this method, the ground is im- mediately stocked with native grasses, without waiting years for their spontaneous production In the winter of the second year, the seeds are covered with a me- liorated compost.” SECT. III.—-HAY HARVEST. The hay harvest commences here early : in the pre- sent late season, the spring having been retarded by cold -winds, I saw a new hay-rick in the Vale of Severn, Monday, June 24, 1805, which had been made the week before ; but, from the showery season, the whole of the hay harvest was scarcely finished in July. In the month of April, 1804, I had occasion to ride into Worcestershire; towards the dusk of the even- ing, observing something differing from common ap- pearance upon some meadow-land, I alighted to exa- mine it, and found it the young shoots of meadow- flowers, chiefly cowslips, nothing of the kind having appeared in Staffordshire. The common meadow- flowers, the cowslip, the hyacinth, the anemone, and the ladysmock, appear a full fortnight sooner in the meadows of Worcestershire, than in those of Stafford- shire, at half a degree more north, but probably at 800 or 400 feet more elevation. The hay harvest for both natural and artificial grasses, is in the months of June and July, according to the season. NoFEEDING. 143 No particular process is used in the making of hay; that from artificial grasses is kept turning in the swathe till dry, and then got together in cocks, when it is fit for carrying to the stack. Meadow-hay is made here, and 1 believe every where, by the same process; after mowing, it is spread over the whole ground, which is called tedding ; against night it should be raked into win rows, and then into small cocks; next morning 'when the dew is off, the cocks must be again spread, and the hay afterwards turned ; when, if it has been fine weather, it will be fit to cock and carry; other- wise the last process must be repeated another day, be- fore it be carried to the stack. Dr. Nash observes, that the grass-land of this county is better managed than the ploughed; but that grass upland ought not to be too frequently mown, not more than once in three years; unless such land be frequently top-dressed with dung or compost. The produce of hay in this county may be reckoned, from one to two tons per acre, and on water-meadows some- times more. SECT. IV.—FEEDING. This is principally done in the fields and meadows, the staple of whose soil is sufficiently rich to fatten the various kinds of sheep and cattle, and their ver- dure continuing the greater part of the year; when grass fails, assistance must be had from hay and tur- nips, as well as oil-cake. The hay produced from some of the uplands of this county, is (as I have been informed) of a very nutritive quality, and well adapted. for144 EEEDING. for feeding cattle; and stall-feeding is considerably practised in this county; and some considerable ex- periments have been made by individuals. Mr. Darke, who was himself occasionally a stall-feeder, says, Mr. Lechmere will average more than 30k each, for thirty oxen bred in Herefordshire; this was in 1794: these gentlemen are, I understand, both since deceased, and the grazing concerns consequently in other hands.— See Chap. XIV.—Live Stock. In December, 18O7> I paid a visit to the Eechmere estates, and was, with great liberality, shown the feeding cattle-stock ; the capital grazing farm of Severn-end, formerly occupied by Mr. Lechmere, sen. is now in the occupation of----Terret, Esq. and the present Anthony Lechmere, Esq. has, in hand, consi- derable grazing occupations, at his residence of the Ryd, and again at the Sink, and at Timberden-farm ; the grazing business is conducted by both these gentle- men, with great spirit and judgment, on a large scale.—» See Chap. XIV. The cattle drawn from the dairy, as well as a con- siderable number of Welch, and some Herefordshire, are fatted by the summer-grass, finished by aftermath ; and, if not then sold, continued on hay, and some- times turnips given out of doors, till they are disposed off. Stall-feeding is generally applied to the larger kinds, or to Herefordshire oxen; these latter are generally worked in their native country till six years old, or sometimes older ; they are turned to grass, for fatting, at that age, after the barley seed-time, and are to be bought at the fairs of Herefordshire, from spring to autumn, in different stages of forwardness. On the approach of winter, after having had the summer-grass, they are taken to the stalls; the kinds ofFEEDING. 145 of food principally used for stall-feeding here are hay, corn, oil-cakes, and linseed ; the best kind of hay in this county, is said to bring on cattle nearly as well as grass. The species of corn used are barley and beans, ground, and given dry alone, a limited quantity per day, at stated times, with a supply of water for the animal to drink at pleasure. Where oil-cake is given, hay is sometimes cut with wheat-straw, and given between the meals of cake, by way of cleansing their mouths, as well as to correct the over richness of the cake; one man is supposed sufficient to attend and take care of twenty head of oxen. The season of stall-feeding is, during the absence of grass ; three meals of hay per day, and two of cake between, are generally given, with water always with- in reach; the quantity of broken cake given at a time, a quarter of a peck; but it is sometimes given oftener per day; but care should be taken not to cloy the animal. In regard to the progress made, an ox is expected to get fat in ten or twelve months; and, if bought in May or June, after the summer’s grass, to be ready by stall-feeding, for Smithfield Market, by Can- dlemas, Lady-day, or May-day, according to the disposition of the animal, and state of the market. They are seldom, however, kept the whole of the winter in stalls ; the most forward bullocks only being stalled the beginning of the season ; the rest being fed in open yards, or, perhaps, with hay only in the field, and the forwardest of them taken up as the stalled bullocks go to market. If the last stalled bullocks are not finished suffi- ciently for the market before the spring grass is fit WORCESTERSHIRE.] L to145 FEEDING. to receive them, they are sometimes transferred from the stalls to the fields; but this is not deemed an ad- vantageous practice, nor do they often come on well, unless the cake be continued to them at grass. When oil-cake has been advanced to an extravagant price, some spirited individuals have tried linseed itself boiled to a jelly, and mixed with flour or bran, and it is said with good success; linseed oil is also said to have been used in the same way ; the principal objection to linseed jelly, is said to be the trouble of preparing it. The market for these cattle, which are mostly fed in the south of the county, is Smithfield, whither they are driven in about eight days, the distance about one hundred miles, at the expense of about 10s. or 12s. per head, salesmen and toll, included. The above, in part, from Mr. Marshall.-—See Chapter XIV. CHAP.147 CHAP. IX. GARDENS AND ORCHARDS. Besides the domestic gardens attached to houses in the country, are tracts of garden ground near the prin- cipal towns, for the supply of their markets ; particu- larly near Worcester to the north-east, -where there are considerable gardens and nurseries, and near the town of Evesham to the north, where are considerable garden grounds for the raising of all the usual garden plants, as well as onions, cucumbers, and asparagus, for the supply of the neighbouring markets, and the town of Birmingham; there is now supposed to be near three hundred acres of land, under the garden culture in the neighbourhood of Evesham ; and from these pre- mises, asparagus, and early pease, are sent to Bath and Bristol, as well as to Birmingham; from sixty to eighty horses have formerly been laden in a day with garden stuff for Birmingham market; but the roads being now improved, it is sent in wheel-carriages, with a much fewer number of horses. The rent of garden ground near Stourpott, and other populous towns, is 2s. 6d. per perch or rod, of eight yards square, this is nine guineas per acre; the pro- duce can be worth little more than rent and labour; but a garden is a convenience, as well as a source of amusement. This148 GARDENS AND ORCHARDS. This price given near towns, shows that every coun- try labourer can afford to give as much, or more, for garden ground, than it is let at to the farmer; they should, therefore, always have so much garden ground for potatoes, and other vegetables, as they can culti- vate without losing time. A top-dressing of lime on garden ground, is sup- posed to be useful in destroying grubs ; and I have observed that a garden well cultivated, and kept clean by repeated hoeing and weeding, is less liable to the depredation of insects, than one neglected, or suffered to get foul and weedy. Orchards have been long and successfully cultivated in this county, particularly in the middle, south, and ■jvestern parts ; where they are to be found, in the neigh- bourhood of towns, villages, and farm-houses; and the various kinds of fruit-trees are often dispersed over the country in hedge-rows, and form one of the pro- ductive articles of a farm. Fruit is an article of uncertain or casual production, some years producing little,, or nothing, more than a supply for the table ; of which sort is the present year, 1805, in which, cherries have borne a high price, sell- ing in the markets from 6d. to gd. per lb.; plumbs are tolerably plentiful ' of apples and pears, a slight scattering, sufficient for the table, or the supply of the markets only; little or none for cyder or perry; walnuts and chesnuts, a pretty full crop. In a plentiful year, or what is called a hit of fruit, the profusion is so very great, that in remote places, upon bad roads, the fruit will not pay for collecting and carrying to market, nor can casks be procured for containing the whole of its juice, so that large quan- tities are devoured by hogs, or suffered to rot on the ground,POMEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATIONS, 149 ground. In such years, the cyder will scarcely pay for pressing out and carrying to market; I have heard of its having been carried many miles, and sold in Worcester market for a guinea per hogshead, though cyder in the inns at Worcester has been, at the same time, Is. per hottie ; it pays no duty whilst it remains in the hands of the grower, but upon sale, it is subject to an excise. Dr. Nash observes, that two or three tons of cherries are often sold in Worcester market, on a Saturday morn- ing before five o’clock, and that six tons have been known to be sold there in one morning ; they are car- ried to the neighbouring towns, also to Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and to Lancashire and Yorkshire. I have been very credibly informed, that in some such year, the sum of 2,000l. has been paid for ton- nage of fruit upon the Trent and Severn canal, passing to the north. The length of the canal is forty-six miles, tonnage is paid I jd. per ton per mile ; the quantity passed must, therefore, have been near seven thousand tons. The cultivation of fruit in this county is of consi- derable antiquity; it is known to have been celebrated for fruit, in the reign of Henry III. near six hundred years ago.—Dr. Nash. MR. POMEROY ON THE FRUIT PLANTATIONS. The fruit plantations do not share, in any pro- portion, the attention paid to the hops ; such, indeed, is the natural fruitfulness of the soil, and so congenial to the growth of fruit of every kind, that it flourishes, even where most neglected, in a manner unknown to 3 l most150 POMEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATIONS, most other districts; of course, necessity, the first spur to exertion, is wanting. Many circumstances, however, unite now, to fix the attention of the county on this article of its produce. The plantations may be considered as cctisisting of those in the old orchards, and those of iatei' date; of those under the present improved management in the hop-grounds, and the single trees, either in hedge- rows or elsewhere. The old orchards are by no means deserving of particular notice, except for the strongly contrasted light in which they place the improvements already adopted, and to point out those which may he more abundantly introduced. There is no variety of soil or situation, surface or aspect, through the county, that has not its plantations under the old system. The leading circumstances of the present manage- ment, to judge from them, were much undervalued by our ancestors. They severally abound with a variety of the different kinds of apples or pears, and sometimes of both ; and are much crowded, their greatest distance being, whether in pasture or tillage, twenty feet between the rows; and on an average, much less betwixt the trees (frequently, no order in the planting is discoverable); the heads, of course, have not sufficient room to spread, but are much entangled with each other, and form a shade so thick, as to injure materially, not only the fruit, but the crops also that grorv beneath. In many instances, there is scarce an evil to wfiich they are liable (though easily remedied wfith moderate attention) by which they have not suffered in a great degree. If the bark has escaped the teeth, not a solitary instance occurs, -where the trees have been preserved from the rubbing of the dif- ferent cattle that have access- to them. They are uni- versallyTOAIEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATIONS. 151 versally over-run with moss, and often encumbered with a considerable weight of misletoe, and decayed wood: such is the condition of many, from age and neglect, that they ought to have been replaced by young plantations long ago. There is but little that can be added, respecting the trees growing in hedge-rows: the practice is now gene- rally condemned, and given up, for reasons too obvious to be mentioned. Those of long standing, partake of all the defects of the old orchards, so far as their situa- tion will admit; the same may be said of those scat- tered up and down the farms, or found in small clusters, the remains of former small enclosures. It is from the plantations of later date, more parti- cularly, that the following observations are drawn :— Different soils are well known to influence both the quality and flavour of the produce ; some attention has been paid, in this particular, but by no means all that it is capable of; the size to which the several trees naturally grow, and the predominant characters of the fruit, being but little attended to, in fixing on them for the culture of the different sorts. Those preferred are, the deep loamy lands, and strong clays, when per- fectly dry. The former, on the soft sandy stone, which prevails in some of the western parts of the county, though without any considerable depth, is esteemed particularly well adapted for cyder planta- tions. The gravelly clays, frequent in many parts, are also deemed favourable. Marl, when duly me- liorated, is in much esteem; perhaps, strictly speak- ing, many of the plantations, said to be on a clay soil, are growing on a meliorated marl. These are what are preferred, and are even necessary for apples. The pear will also do well on most other soils. The153 POMEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATIONS. The situations are generally chosen, so as to avoid the extremes, which either expose too much, from their elevation, or are liable to suffer from moisture, by being low. A gentle declivity, and south or south- west aspect, with a view to secure them from the chills of the north and east, is sought for : some distant screen also to the west, to protect them from the vio- lence of the winds proceeding from that quarter, is required. No preparation of the ground, for planting, is made, beyond that which occurs in the common course of husbandry. The stocks are generally raised from seed obtained from the crab, or kernel fruits, and mostly bought at nurseries. The price is from 8d. to Is. Gd. : the management of them must of course be uniform; the only object with the nursery-men, being to procure strong, upright, handsome plants, without any view to their future application, as to the different kinds of fruit which they are to bear ; some are also procured wild from the woods. They are planted at about eight or ten years growth, seven or eight feet high, and about four inches girth ; in this situation, they re- main, in general, three years before grafting, as it is esteemed the best practice, to graft after they are transplanted to the spot on which they are to continue. The time of performing this, is in the months of March and April. The methods chiefly used are, the stock and saddle grafting. In the former, the head of the stock being sawed off, and two or more openings made with the saw, and afterwards smoothed with a knife, an equal number of grafts are secured in them with clay, or the common soil of the ground, tempered into a paste with water. In the latter, the head is also taken off’, and the graft bestrides its top, which is shapedPOMEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATIONS. 153 shaped up into a sharp edge to enter it, and is secured as above. When this method is adopted, it is always done at a much earlier period, and generally in the nursery. The grafts are mostly procured from the same, or some neighbouring plantation. In taking up and re-planting, the setting of the tree upright is all that is attended to—but little method is observed in either cutting, or placing the roots ; the soil is returned as it came out, and if the ground is pasture, the turf is carefully replaced: they are then supported by one or two stakes driven into the ground, reclining towards them ; to which they are tied with a band of hay or straw. In the hop-grounds, no further security is required; but, in those lands that are liable to be stocked, they have either thorns fastened round them, or a frame to protect them ; these frames consist sometimes of three stakes, standing triangularly with cross pieces; at other, of only two, but considerably broader than the former, and furnished in the same manner with cross pieces. This, however, must be understood of the superior management ; it is too often wholly omitted; or, having been provided at first, is after- wards neglected. In the hop-grounds, and more mo- dern plantations, the distance usually observed be- tween the rows, and betwixt the trees, is from thirty to forty feet. From this time till they reach their full growth, the only attention they receive is, to train the trunk upright, and to clear the head from the low hanging boughs, in order to place them as far as may be, out of the reach of cattle. Pruning the trees, and clearing them from decayed and useless wood, is, in some degree, continued afterwards. In about five years from grafting, they begin to bear ; and in about thirty years, are supposed to attain their prime, and to154 POMEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATION’S. to continue in full vigour thirty } ears more. Pear-trees, remain for a still longer period ; in many instances, they are known to have produced plentiful crops when a hundred years old. The produce of the different sorts of fruit, varies considerably—an apple-tree that yields a hogshead of liquor, is deemed a great bearer ; where- as, instances have occurred, of a pear-tree affording three hogsheads, of a hundred and ten gallons each. Most plantations have their trees, that, in a tolerable year, give a hogshead each. The apples in most esteem are, the red and yellow stire, golden pippin, bland-rose, red streak, different sorts of quinnings, rennets, margils, pear-mains, &c. &c. The pears are squash, huffcap, barland, linton, &c. As a general characteristic, apples of a yellow or red colour, both within and without, are preferred. The management of the soil varies in nothing from that pursued on those parts not planted ; the same succession of crops is observed on the arable, and the grass-grounds are either mown or grazed as usual; nor is the choice of manure influenced, but by the circumstances of the soil. The different fruits, and their several binds, ripen at different times; including the early sorts for the market. The season begins about June; but the fruit harvest, more strictly speaking, for the general orchard fruits, not till the beginning of September, for pears, and the close of the same month for apples. Their falling spontaneously from the tree, is the only criterion by which they judge of their ripeness. Two methods of gathering are observed—‘ the one is, hand picking, when they are taken from the tree singly by the hand, so as to avoid every risque of bruising them. In the other, and more general way, they are shaken off with long poles having hooks, with whichPOMEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATIONS. 1.55 which they lay hold of the boughs; or, when more force is necessary, they are beaten off with the poles. The first method is usually followed with the fruits designed for the table, or the market; these are generally gathered be- fore they are fully ripe. The latter is universally adopted in gathering those for the mill; in this also, the trees are always cleared of the whole of their produce at once. That which is designed for the table at home, or for the market at a later season, is laid up dry on the floors of large rooms, strewed with straw; in frost, they are covered with it, and are examined occasionally, to prevent, as much as possible, the accidental decay of any from injuring others. That designed for the mi l, is collected together, even the choicer, in large heaps, near the mill, in the open air, and on the ground: the two last circumstances are particularly insisted on, to prevent too great fermentation before they are ground. But little care is taken to keep the several sorts apart: a particular’ quarter of the general heap, is the chief distinction 5 a partition with a board is sometimes made, but this is only for the prime fruits. The size of the heap is very uncertain, as no means are em- ployed to confine them ; in the centre they usually rise to the height of three or four feet. In this state they remain exposed to the weather, till they are judged to be mellow ripe. Should not the whole be made into liquor before the frost sets in, as is often the case in great fruit years, the heaps are carefully covered with straw, to preserve them from it. What follows, with respect to the making of cyder, must be understood as relating to the general practice of the county. When deemed in a proper state, the fruit is conveyed into the mill, and ground with great care, so as to reduce the whole pulp, rind, and kernel, so156 POMEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATION'S; so much as may be, into an uniform pap. When re- moved from the mill, it is thrown into a vat, where it remains for a day or two, till some degree of fermen- tation is observable. It is then put into separate hair cloths, each being, when the sides are raised over the contents, about six inches thick; and from six to ten of these are placed, one on the other, beneath the press where they are continued, under a most powerful pressure, so long as any juice can be forced from them. The liquor is then put into other vats, and when the grosser faeces have separated, it is drawn off into casks of sixty-three gallons each, leaving both the scum that had risen to the top, and what had settled to the bot- tom, behind. This, being strained through a three- corner bag of linen, or woollen cloth, is added to the other liquor, and is supposed to be the best of the whole. This last part of the process is omitted till after the principal part of the liquor has been racked once, or oftener, as it is found necessary to check the fermentation; and the faeces separated at each time, collected, and the whole strained as above. The liquor thus gained by straining, is found to possess consi- derable power to retard fermentation ; it is accordingly added to each vessel, in proportion as it seems more or less disposed to ferment. The refuse from the press in plentiful years, is thrown away; but in those of scarcity, it is mostly ground a second time, with water; and the liquor procured, is used as an inferior family beverage, called, provincially, washings. In very scarce years, it is not to be supposed but the cyder-house has its obligations, in point of quantity, elsewhere, as well as to the trees. The management of the fermentation and fining, is an art so refined, so enveloped in mystery, that mortal language is not equalPOMEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATIONS. 157 equal to the describing of it; though communicated some way or other to numberless votaries, they have all acquired it they know not how ; of course they cannot, perhaps will not, give any information on the subject. This much is certain, no borrowed ferment is used, and the fining is variously conducted with white of egg, isinglass, ashes, sand, bullock’s blood, or red earth, according to the suggestions of the several genii who may be supposed to preside over this part of the business. The dimensions of the buildings vary according to that of the plantations. The construction of the mill is this :—A heavy round and fiat stone, running round on its edge in a circular trench, sunk in several others closely joined together: the fruit is thrown into the trench, and oround bv the weight of the circular stone rolling round, and drawn by a horse. The dimensions of the bed, or horizontal part of the mill, that in which the trench is made, in one of a middle size, is about ten feet diameter, and stands about twenty inches from the ground. The depth of the trench, is from eight to twelve inches. On the inner side, it rises perpendi- cularly, the outer sloping so as to give about four inches greater breadth at top than at bottom ; by this means the fruit, when crushed from under the roller, rises chiefly on that side, and is more easily returned into the centre by the person who follows, generally a woman or child, who also attends to the horse. The returning of the fruit into the middle of the trench, is sometimes effected by fastening a piece of wood, used for the purpose, to the mill work. The size of the circular stone, or roller (that which runs in the trench) in a mill of these dimensions, is about four or five feet diameter, and about fourteen inches thi^k;158 POMEROY OX FRUIT PLANTATIONS. thick ; the weight varying according to the texture of it, from one ton to one ton and a half. An axle-tree passes through the centre of the roller, one end of which extends sufficiently over the bed of the mill to admit of a horse being fastened to it: the other enters an upright shaft, which has a circular motion by means of a pivot in some beam or bearing of the floor above j the bottom has a similar motion on the centre of the mill. The axle-tree has also a rotary motion in the shaft, and again in that part to which the horse is fastened. Thus a circular and rotary motion is ob- tained. In this state, however, which is by far the most general, the machine is incomplete, as the roller frequently slides along the trench, forcing the fruit- before it. To obviate this defect, a cog wheel has been added, in several instances, to the inner arm of the axle-tree, which, working in the teeth of a cor- responding wheel fixed on the surface of the bed, this motion becomes equally certain with the other. Ano- ther improvement, lately adopted, is this—the inner edge of the roller is sloped off, so, that when standing in the trench, it forms with the bed of the mill a level, by which means the circular motion is much eased. The rotary motion is also much assisted, The press is constructed on the same principles as every other per- pendicular press: short levers are used at first, after- wards longer; and at last, a long iron bar. To in- crease the purchase, a strong rope is ultimately fastened to the end of the bar, by means of an open noose, and secured from slipping off by a pin; this rope com- municates with an upright post in a distant part of the building, moving on pivots at each end ; the lower, in a hole of the floor, the upper, in some of the tim- bers above : this post has also openings about three or 2 fourPOMEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATIONS. 15.9 four feet from the ground, to admit levers, by which it is worked, and the utmost force required is obtained. A cast iron screw has been lately introduced instead of the wooden one—no inconsiderable improvement. The only defect complained of in the mills, is this— they do not always break the kernel sufficiently (it must certainly be very difficult to fix so small, hard, and slippery a part, when dispersed through large quantities of soft matter in machines of such dimen- sions), nor is it probable any improvement of the pre- sent simple, but excellent construction, can wholly ob- viate it. Nor do the different contrivances hitherto proposed seem likely to be very generally adopted. Such, however, is the price the more perfect liquors bear, as to make any moderate additional expense not of material consequence. In preparing these, picking the fruit, so as to separate that which has been da- maged, is particularly recommended by the first ma- nagers. When this is done, might not the person thus employed, with a circular scoop, take out the core of the apple with but little additional trouble ? The form of the instrument conceived under this idea, is as fol- lows: the cutting part of it cylindrical, open at both ends, half an inch or rather more in diameter, and about two inches long; from each side proceeds an upright piece, three inches, or something longer than the largest fruit, to give room for the core to fall out . between the top of the cylindrical part and the handle: this is formed by these two pieces meeting in the middle, and entering a cross piece of wood. It is con- ceived, that with little practice, this might be used with considerable .expedition by children, at very low wages: bone would be the most eligible material o make it of. Should metal be used, the inside of the cylinder160 POMEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATIONS. cylinder might be armed with two or more cutting edges, crossing the diameter, or rising along the inside ; these would serve to divide the core still more. The kernel, thus separated from almost the whole of the pulpy part of the fruit, would, if ground by itself, be with more certainty brought under the action of the mill; or would be reduced with much less trouble, by any of the other machines that are used, or have been proposed, for grinding fruit. The method of using it would be this—a piece of deal, or any soft wood, must be fixed before the person employed, on which to rest the fruit, while the scoop is forced through it, and a pail, or bucket, underneath, to receive the core as it drops from the scoop, each forcing out that which preceded it. Should the idea, as thus stated, be ap- proved, it may be carried still farther. The fluted iron rollers, used in some parts of Herefordshire for a cyder mill, might be adapted to this grinding of the kernel; and contrived, without much additional ma- chinery, to work with the present mill, or the con- struction of the malt mill could be easily applied ; the nut being fixed on the inner arm of the axle-tree, the box secured by a support, projecting above and below from the upright shaft. All this, however, is only conjecture, no attempts having been made as yet, to put it in practice. Should it be found to answer, or lead to any other improvement, by directing the attention of the ingenious to this defect of the present mill, every end proposed will be fully attained. The stone of which the mills are made is not met with in any part of this county; they are procured from several parts of Herefordshire ; the nearest is Bromyard-down, a distance of about eleven miles from Worcester. Those most in esteem, are brought out of Wales,POMEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATIONS. l6l Wales. The price of the stone, worked at the quar- ries, is 20s. per foot; that is, a mill, the bed of which measures ten feet in diameter, costs 101.; the expense of setting up one of these dimensions, 4h or .51.; the price of the hair-cloths for a press, to a mill of this size, is from 5s. to 6s. each; they measure about three feet six inches square, and last, with care, twenty years or more ; the mills, a hundred years and upwards. The superiority of the mills of this district over those generally used in Devonshire, has been already no- ticed ; and so very obvious are the advantages they possess, that it appears matter of much surprise, they should not have hitherto supplied the place of their very imperfect contrivance to break the fruit—this being the most the mills of that county can be said to do. The benefit derived to the liquor, from the rind and kernel, appears to have wholly escaped the obser- vation of the cyderists of that district, and is certainly the reason of their sending the fruit to the press so very imperfectly reduced as it is in their present practice. The hair-cloths employed here in the press, should also supersede the reed and straw used there. They are not only more convenient, but, on the whole, considerably cheaper ; the reed for a hogshead of 63 gallons, costing, on an average, 6d. seldom less. There are other circumstances in which the fruit management of the two counties varies considerably. The following instances may possibly be found de- serving the attention of the planters of this.—The orchards of Devonshire are wholly appropriated to this produce ; no other crop, except now and then a little garden stuff, is ever expected from them. It is, as before observed, a general clause in their leases, that they shall not be stocked; and though horses, and Worcestershire.] M perhaps16% POMEROY ON ERUIT PLANTATIONS. perhaps calves, and pigs, are turned in, in the spring and beginning of summer, it is mostly a trespass upon the covenant. Sheep are universally excluded; and this, from a well-grounded apprehension, that the grease, or whatever it may be they leave on the trees after rubbing against them, is peculiarly preju- dicial. Upon the first surmise of a blight, they collect the coarse grass of the orchard, or any other material that in burning produces a considerable smoke, and with this they fumigate the trees. Myriads of insects have been known to be destroyed in this manner. The fruit is gathered as it falls from the tree; no force is used till the leaves are mostly fallen, and all employed then, is shaking with the hand, or striking between the larger branches with a slight pole. It is, if possible, collected when dry, and housed in a loft over the mill, separated frequently with partitions, all opening by sliding boards into one part, in which there is a hole, through which jt is let down into the mill; as that gathered first is placed nearest the opening, it of course is also ground first. No respect is had to quantity ; whatever the loft will hold, is placed in it without scruple. The cir- cumstance of much rain falling on the fruit when se- parated from the tree, though totally disregarded, or rather recommended here, is considered there as one of the most fatal accidents that can befall it. If the loft over the mill is not equal to the whole crop, wha remains is laid up in other* buildings. As some liberty has been taken, in reprobating what appears to be the general management of the county, with respect to the fruit plantations, the following ob- servations are offered, with great deference, to the consideration of the planter. TheFOMEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATIONS. 163 The advantage of situation is thoroughly understood, and though there is some difference of opinion as to aspect, the leading principles are well ascertained ; and will no doubt, in due time, be universally carried into effect. The general outlines, with regard to soil, are known and observed, but there appears room for im- provement in the filling of them up; that is in the ap- propriating of the several soils which are fit for fruit; to secure and improve the discriminating qualities by which each of the superior sorts is distinguished Trees which naturally grow to a large size, planted on a shallow soil; austere fruit on a strong clay; and that which is dry and spongy, on a crude marl, are errors often met with, very obvious, and easily avoided. The stock should be raised under the eye of the planter, or under his who has a still greater interest in the success of the plantation, the proprietors of the estate. In the nursery, a proper distinction should be made of those raised from the seed of the crab ; those from an austere, and those from more mellow fruits; that they may be each applied to the growing of fruit of that character they suit best, or may be most likely to improve. There certainly is no sufficient reason why those from the crab should be uniformly preferred ; the others may, without doubt, in many instances, have a pre- ference: they decay sooner, but they also come to per- fection sooner; and when the seed is selected with care from young vigorous trees, as that of every kind ought to be, are found to possess every requisite to form handsome and lasting plants. Owing to inatten- tion in adapting the stock to the size of the tree it is intended to support, it is very common to see the up- per part of the trunk, that growing from the graft, several inches larger in girth than the lower; that which164 POMEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATIONS, which remains of the stock, forming a considerab’e projection where the graft was inserted. Great care should be taken in the choice of stocks, independent of that to ascertain the seed from which they are raised. At a very early date, a pretty accurate judgment may he formed of the future success of the plant; at two or three years growth, many will be found to put out thorns; others will be disposed to throw up shoots from their roots ; both should be invariably removed immediately. An improved practice in grafting has been lately introduced, and deserves to be more generally adopted. Instead of taking off the entire head of the stock, it is left on till the boughs are large enough to receive the grafts. An injury to which the trees in general are liable (splitting in the crown) is by this means, in a great measure, avoided. The common soil, or clay, used to defend the grafts, is apt to crack, and fall off in dry weather ; and a compost of sand, and new cow or horse dung, would be an useful improvement. The absorbent system of plants being now generally ad- mitted, it is an inquiry worth attention, how far the practice of taking off the whole head of the tree, in grafting, may prove prejudicial to its growth. The spare trunks of the lopped elms of the district, stretch- ing out their small heads to the length they do, in quest probably of nourishment they have been deprived of, certainly countenance the suspicion. In preparing the ground, something more than the mere sinking of a hole capable of receiving the roots, ought to be done. The openings should be made at least two feet deep, and for some considerable time before-hand (the longer in reason the better) ; the earth, more particularly that from the bottom, should bePOMEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATIONS. 165 fee repeatedly turned ; if the soil be of a stiff marly na- ture, till it is completely reduced. They ought also to take in a circumference exceeding that of the roots, in order to give the young fibres sufficient room to ex- tend themselves through the meliorated soil: six inches is the depth at which trees ought to be set. In plant- ing, the hole should be nearly filled up with some of the inferior soil; on this the sod, which will probably be nearly rotten, belaid, and the roots spread with care immediately on it. A necessary precaution is this, that they do not cross each the other, and that they extend as much as may be, equally in every direction: the remaining mould should be then returned, throwing the best, that from the former surface, round the outer part of the hole, and working it carefully in among the extreme roots. To those who have been accustomed to plant in the usual manner, these directions will, per- haps, appear trifling and unnecessary; they are re- commended, however, not as a plausible theory, but as the result of a very considerable experience. Watering the holes before planting, and the trees after, has been practised, and it is said with advantage; but the time and labour this requires to do it properly, or rather so as not to prove injurious, must exclude it from the common practice ; it will be, however, right, to pay at- tention to the nature of the soil, and if dry, or of a very loose nature, to plant rather in the months of October and November, than in the spring. The following instance of successful management in this particular, deserves to be recorded, more espe- cially, as there are many situations in this county that now lie neglected, on which it might be adopted with every prospect of success. The ground planted was in pasture, with a gentle declivity j the soil, a shallow 3 M strong166 POMEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATIONS. strong clay, on a solid calcareous marl. About the middle of March, circular holes were opened, about four feet in diameter; the sod, with the surface soil, to the depth of about six inches, was thrown up on one side, on the other, that beneath, so as to leave an open- ing two feet deep: during the summer, the whole was repeatedly turned, and as winter came on, the earth being then dry, was thrown up separately into round tumps, by the sides of the opening ; on the approach of the following spring, small gutters were made level with the bottom of the holes, opening on the surface below, so as to carry off all the water that could collect in these basins formed in the marl. In planting the trees, the method already recommended was observed 5 and in the following winter, a circular trench, two feet wide and two deep, was dug out round the outsides of the first openings; the soil left exposed, and turned as before; and the ensuing summer, it was nearly filled with furze, before the soil was returned into it, with the view to keep it loose, and by that means invite the shooting of the roots. The gutter was also extended, and carefully preserved. On the adjoining ground, the situation and soil exactly similar, a plantation was made in the usual manner, the trees being set when the openings in the first were made. The latter was re- peatedly manured, and managed throughout with at- tention : on the former, no manure has been used. The trees of each plantation were young and thriving, about the same age when planted, and every other circumstance, exclusive of the method of planting the same. The result of the experiment, for such it may be called, though accidental, is this—the trees of the former plantation are at this time (about fourteen years from the first opening of the ground) full twice the size8POMEROY OK FRUIT PLANTATIONS. 167 * size, some even three times, that of those in the latter, which are nevertheless allowed to be well grown. The difference of the produce is equally great. One cir- cumstance, however, ought not to be omitted; and may probably be thought to have contributed, in some mea- sure, to the superior growth of the former: they are trained so as to form low spreading heads, branching off at about two feet from the ground. The latter, on the contrary, to form what has been termed the up- right besom head, with a stem about five feet long, which is the usual height in the more western parts of the kingdom. The only motive that induces to guard the trees, ap- pears to be the apprehension of their being torn up by the wind, or barked whilst young, by the cattle. The mischief done to them in every stage of their growth, by the rubbing of the cattle, is totally disregarded. Such, howrever, is the opinion entertained of it in ano- ther fruit district, that, as has been before stated, it is usually an article in their lease, that the plantations shall not be stocked at all, principally with a view to obviate this mischief. Here are two extremes; per- haps both equally remote from the point of good ma- nagement. This much is certain, that the continuing the fences round the trees in the grass grounds, and keeping the stock of every kind off the tillage, after the crops are removed, and when fallowed, wrould be amply recompensed by the growth and fruitfulness of the trees. The inconveniencies attending the gathering and sorting of the fruit from orchards, where they are growing promiscuously, are so evident, that future planters will undoubtedly avoid them, by appropriating separate spots to the several varieties. The168 POMEROY ON FRUIT PLANTATIONS, The present generation has to regret a great want of attention in their predecessors, in the choice of their fruits, in a considerable proportion of the aggregate plantation, a total neglect; this consisting of the bare spontaneous production of accident, notwithstanding they had fruits to choose from, perhaps equal to any art can produce. A just idea of the importance of this neglect may be formed, by comparing the great differ- ence in the price the better and inferior sorts bear, and will no doubt have due influence with the planter of the present day. Indifference in this point, would be the more unpardonable, as it is not for future ages alone he plants; he often lives to share abundantly the cheering offspring of his labour. When young orchards are planted out of the hop grounds, and the distances now recommended are ob- served, might not cherries be advantageously planted in the rows between the apple trees ? It is said to be practised in some fruit districts, and with success. They bear, and reach their full growth, much sooner than the latter, and produce a very lucrative crop. In the neighbourhood of Worcester, there are about twenty acres in cherry orchards, now in perfection; ten of which are known to be let for JOOl. per annum, the remaining ten are not in any respect inferior to the others, and probably bring, nearly at least, the same tent; and yet, such is the demand for the fruit, that the market, three times a week, opens by three or four o’clock in the morning, and is generally cleared before seven. It appears extraordinary, that a doubt can possibly arise, whether or no the two additional crops of the fruit and hop districts operate ultimately to the advan- tage of the occupiers. In this county, about six thou- sandGARDENS AND ORCHARDS. 169 sand acres of hop-ground, and, perhaps, about a third of this quantity (two thousand acres) may be estimated as adequate to the injury the ground crops sustain from the trees ; these making together eight thousand acres ; and may be supposed to produce this year, calculating by the former statement of the exports, as follows:—- By hops (the lowest average price cannot be set down, now, at less than bl. 10s. per cwt, and six cwt. per acre - .£12(5.000 By fruit, 58,125 pots, at 4s. - - - 11,625 By cyder, 10,000 hogsheads, at 3l. - - 00,000 By perry, iOOO ditto, at 5l. I Os. - - 5,500 Amounting in the whole to - £173,125 which, upon 8000acres, is considerably more than 2ll, per acre.—See the article Commerce. To this may be added, a saving in malt to a very con- siderable amount; and yet a doubt is very generally- entertained, whether or not the tenantry at large is be- nefited by these crops ; yet the same number of acres, under a common course of husbandry, in no instance in this neighbourhood, produces a sum equal to this, even after allowing for the more frequent failures to which they are liable. One circumstance, relating to the fruit, as more particularly striking, may here be men- tioned, which is, that the fruit plantations have not been considered, by the more numerous part of the planters, as producing an article for the market; pro- vided they are fortunate enough to get the enormous supply of liquor necessary for the home consumption, without having recourse to the maltster, they rest sa- tisfied. As170 GARDENS AND ORCHARDS. As cyder is subject to no ta< in the hands of the planter, and till it becomes an article of traffic, it has but little advanced in the average prices for a number of years ; the fluctuation in its price, though consider- able, seems wholly owing to the plenty or scarcity of fruit. The following price of cyder, from the planter, for a number of years, such as is generally used in London, and in public-houses, is communicated by Mr. Hooper: From 1769 to 1781 Highest Price per Hhd. 110 Gallons. f. s. d. 5 0 0 I.owest Price per Hhd. 110 Gallons. £. s. d. 110 Average. £. s. d. 2 6 0 From 1732 to 1794 5 0 0 110 2 18 0 The above average price is produced, by adding to- gether the price of each year, and dividing by the number of years ; the most dear years occurring in the latter period. Dr. Nash observes upon these estimates, that 6000 acres of hop-ground is too high a calculation for the county of Worcester; but if it includes the Worces- tershire Excise Collection, which takes in part of Here- fordshire, &c. it may be near the matter. He also observes, that the calculation on the profits of cyder, perry, and fruit, are certainly too high for an average of years ; and that for four years past fruit has produced little or no profit, but he has declined giving any other estimates ; I can, therefore, only ob- serve, that in a good year, or hit of fruit, the amount of produce is much greater in quantity than here stated; but if several bad years succeed, the average amount will be less, and that in a good year, the fruit and its produce has been generally sold by the grower, at less than a fair average price. AsGARDENS AND ORCHARDS, 171 As the extension of orchards, and improvement of fruit, and the liquor obtained from it, seem objects of considerable national importance, more especially, if the quality of the liquor could be so improved, as to supersede, in some degree, the importation of foreign wines, and its quantity so increased as to lessen the immense breadth of land sown with barley, I shall beg leave to make some abstracts from Mr. Marshall’s ob- servations, who made this fruit district his residence, more than once, for some length of time, for the par- ticular purpose of obtaining information on this subject, and for a more minute detail, see his Hural Economy of Gloucestershire—Article, Fruit. I assume with him the commonly received, and I believe established, maxim, that all our sorts of apples are varieties of the wilding or crab (Pyrus malus), and all our sorts of pears, varieties of the wild pear (Pyrus communis) ; and that all these varieties have been at different times accidentally raised from the pippin or kernel of the original fruit, or from each other. Dr. Withering says, (I know not from what autho- rity,) that the cyder apple trees were originally brought from Normandy. Miller, who had great ex- perience in fruit, says, there are not above two or three sorts of French apples much esteemed in England, which are the rennets and the violet apple, the other sorts being early fruit, which will not keep long, and generally mealy; and we have many better fruits raised in England, which he enumerates, and amongst them the golden pippin, and other prime sorts. Mr. Biggs, Nurseryman, Worcester, advertises the new scarlet nonpareil, and the new Blenheim orange apple, as in high estimation, 1807. Mr.172 GARDENS AND ORCHARDS. Mr. C. recommends to the farmers’ attention, the cul- ture of wall-fruit, as far as he has opportunity, parti- cularly pears of the best kind, peaches, apricots, nec- tarines, and cherries, as well as strawberries. He says, soap-water, after the family washing, is good for fruit-trees; by applying it in the winter, he has ren- dered a barren vine fertile in grapes ; also asparagus, mushrooms, garden beans, pease, chamomile flowers, elder berries, red and white, cucumbers, and early po- tatoes, are very profitable, and worthy the farmer’s at- tention, as well as turnips for seed; garden-gound, well attended to, being more profitable than any other. Apple and pear trees thrive and bear well, only a few years, on light soils; to remedy this, a succession of fresh young trees of the best sorts should be pro- vided every six or seven years ; light soils will produce crabs, medlars, servins, quinces, and the Siberian crab, much esteemed for making of tarts, or eating, when kept till mellow. Cherries, plums, damsons, and all stone fruit, will do well on light soils, as will also filberts, which meet a ready sale, and pay better than any fruit whatever ; they have the advantage of not being molested by birds, and should be reared from the slips of grown-up trees, and will bear well in a few years; the filbert does better to grow as a standard, than in the bush way. Mr. Marshall gives the following as the apples most esteemed for making cyder ; after observing, that the old fruits, which raised the fame of the liquors of this country, are now lost, and the red streak is given up : ]. The Stire Apple; this is going off, the stocks canker, and are unproductive; fruit somewhat below theGARDENS AND ORCHARDS. 173 the middle size ; colour, pale yellowish, sometimes a faint blush on one side ; flesh firm ; flavour, when ripe, fine ; a good eating apple ; the cyder rich, highly fla- voured, and of a good body ; price often four times that of common cyder. There are also varieties, called the red stire, the yel- low stire, and the kernel stire, which, being probably kernel fruit, and bearing some likeness to the true stire, have had this name improperly given to them. 2. The Hagloe Crab is next in esteem ; it was pro- duced about the year 1718, in a nursery, among other stocks raised from seed, by Mr. Bellamy, of Hagloe, in Gloucestershire, grandfather of the present Mr. Bel- lamy, near Ross, who draws from trees, grafted with this variety, a liquor which, for richness, flavour, and price, on the spot, exceeds every other fruit-liquor which nature and art have produced: he has been of. fered 60 guineas for a hogshead of 110 gallons on the spot; the fruit is nearly white ; when ripe it has a yel- lowish cast freckled with red on one side, about the size of the stire apple, but more oblong; the flesh soft and woolly, but not dry ; juice sweet when ripe, but not in great quantity; flavour resembles that of the Caskew apple of the West Indies; cyder rich, highly- flavoured and coloured, notwithstanding the palenes^ of the fruit. 3. The Golden Pippin is more generally known than the last, and I believe its liquor at market is generally second in price, and next to the stire apple. 4. The old Redstreak is yet in being ; fruit small, roundish, pale yellow, with faint red streaks; flesh firm, full of juice, finely flavoured when ripe : little genuine red-streak cyder is now made, being generally mixed. 3 5. The174 gardens and orchards. 5. The Woodcock, a favourite old sort, now wear- ing out; fruit large; form oblong, with a long stalk feigned to resemble a woodcock’s beak; colour like the red streak, with some dark blood red streaks on one side ; flesh fine, fit for the table as for cyder ; tree large, growing in the pear-tree manner. 6. The Must, an old favourite fruit, of which there are three varieties. 7. ThePauson, a middle-sized green apple. 8. The Royal Wilding, a.-large white apple. 9. The Dymmock Red, middle-sized red. ]0. The Cockagee, large, greenish white, with an orange blush ; well fleshed ; and highly flavoured. 11. Russets of sorts, in good repute, particularly the Longney Russet. 12. &c. The Bromley, Foxwhelp, Red Crab, Queen- ing, all large red apples, are in good estimation for cyder. Besides some of the above, Mr. Pomeroy has named, as Worcestershire cyder apples, the Blandrose, Ren- nets, Margills, Pearmains, &c. Mr. Marshall says, the varieties of orchard fruit, in Herefordshire particularly, are without number; a very considerable proportion of the whole being kernel fruit, produced from trees raised from seed, and not Pears—1. The Squash Pear, for perry is in much the highest esteem ; it is an early fruit, and very ten- der ; if it falls ripe from the tree, it will burst with the fall: the liquor is pale, well flavoured, and of a strong body, highly esteemed, and resembling Champagne both in colour and flavour, and is preferred to it by many; the price generally about four times that of common perry. 2. TheGARDENS AND ORCHARDS. 175 2. The Oldfield, is a favourite old pear, remarkable for the elegant flavour of its liquor. 3. The Barland is in great repute, for producing an agreeable liquor ; esteemed a specific in nephritic com- plaints. 4. The red pear affords a liquor of singular strength. 5. 6, &c. The Huffcap, the Jaynton, and the Sack, have usually been grafted as perry pears; also the Linton, and a variety of others, besides a number of kernel fruits, that have never been grafted. Respecting the wearing out of the old sorts, I believe it is irremediable, and what must of necessity naturally occur to all vegetables not raised from seed, in a long course of time. Dr. Darwin, in his Phytologia, has stated, and I think proved, that every bud, or shoot of a tree, is a distinct plant, and that a tree, taken indi- vidually, is of the nature of the polypus, and composed of a multitudinous assemblage of distinct plants, con- nected and nourished from the same stem and set of roots, but equally capable of existing separately, if placed in a situation where they can be supplied with their proper nutriment: that these buds and shoots, being produced, and reproduced, from the original shoot, and from each other, by solitary propagation, must partake of the nature of the original stock, beyond which it can never be improved; and from the ten- dency of all material substances to decay, by successive production and reproduction, and being still, as it were, but a renewed part of the original stock, it must, in length of time, be exhausted of vigour and fertility. But this decay, and wearing out, may, probably, be protracted to a great length of time by art and manage- ment ; conducive to which may be. the choice of healthy and vigorous stocks to graft upon, and receive the scions176 GARDENS AND ORCHARDS. scions and shoots, and the choice of such shoots’ from the original variety, or as near it as may be, and not from trees that have been drawn forward, through many successive generations, from the original stock. But the true system of preserving and improving varieties of fruit is, by raising young and vigorous plants, from the pippin seed, or kernel, of healthy indi- viduals, whose productions are the most promising ; this being a sexual reproduction from the blossoms, formed from the most beautiful and perfect part of the plant, at the moment of its highest perfection, and being, as it were, the sport of nature in her most playful mo- ments of highest exhderation, a production may be ex- pected, that will vary from, and sometimes exceed, the parent stock ; and when a superior variety is produced, may be continued for a great length of time, by the usual method of reproduction from grafting. The same principle is applicable to potatoes, and other plants, which are generally cultivated by sets, shoots, or layers, instead of seeds. For an orchard Mr. Marshall prefers a south-east as- pect, screened to the north, though a blight is best partially avoided by having fruit in different aspects. Fruit-liquor is much affected in its flavour and quali- ties by the nature of the soil ; a loose soil on calcareous rock gives richness and high flavour to cyder ; a deep strong loam gives roughness and strength ; on the con- trary, the squash pear gives the highest flavoured li- quor ft;om deep strong land ; the pear tree loves sloping ground (Withering), in such situations it will flourish in cold clay (Marshall). In a mere orchard, half a chain is recommended as a proper distance for fruit trees every way, which is 40 upon an acre ; in grass land, or cultivated ground, a chainSARDENS AND ORCHARDS. 177 chain length distant is recommended, which is ten upon an acre. Season of Planting.—In a dry soil autumn is pre- ferred ; in a tenacious soil, the spring: the roots should he left on, as many and as long as possible; the young planted trees must be carefully protected from sheep, which, in a snow, would peel off the bark, and soon destroy the whole plantation. At the end of two or three years, the stocks are sawn off about six feet above ground, and cleft grafted; the grafts are protected by a kind of wicker-work basket, fastened round the stock; but he recommends grafting in the boughs. He also recommends planting fruit trees in hop yards, as an advantageous practice : the trees, when young, do little injury to the hops ; are highly improved by the hop cultivation ; and, before their size becomes inju- rious, the ground is worn out for hops, and may be laid to grass, or cultivated. The neglect of pruning fruit trees, which often oc- curs, is highly blameable, the suffering them to be ruined by misletoe still more so ; it is easily pulled out with hooks in frosty weather, and is worth more than the labour, as fodder for sheep, who are very fond of it, and to whom it is good and wholesome food.—Mr. Marshall conceives, that healthy trees, kept so by pro- per pruning, and free of misletoe, are less liable to blight than neglected ones; he also observes, that young fruit trees can seldom be raised with success in old orchard grounds, and that pear trees being of much longer duration than apples, they ought not to be mixed in the same fruit ground. Perry is the produce of pears alone ; Cyder is either produced from apples alone; WORCESTERSHIRE.] N Of,178 GARDENS AND ORCHARDS. Or, 2, from apples and and pears jointly} Or, 3, from the common wild crab, and the richer sweeter kinds of early pears; the two last species are used as family drink. The early pears are fit for the mill in September; amongst them the squash pear; the stire apple is ready from Michaelmas to the middle of October; and the other sorts as they ripen: as they are often shaken down by the wind before ripe, and sometimes beaten down in that state, they are laid together in large heaps in the open air, until the ripest are beginning to decay, and then taken to the mill. In grinding, it is necessary to good management, that the rind and the kernels, as well as the pulp, should be crushed or broken, as these are believed to give colour and flavour to the liquor: when ground, it is put into the press, which is worked by one man, who, with the girl or boy who drives the horse, and a man to put in fruit, and carry away the liquor as the reser- voir under the press fills, make a set; and three hogs- heads of perry, or two of cyder, is about their me- dium day’s work ; but working early and late five or six hogsheads are sometimes made in a day. The li- quor is put into the cask immediately from the press, and set in the fermenting room; but no ferment, or ad- ditional substance, is made use of. Having remained some days in the first vessel, the liquor is drawn off the lees, and put into fresh casks, which operation is termed racking, and this is sometimes repeated. The prices of orchard fruit and its produce are very fluctuating, varying with the quantity produced and the stock in hand ; one night’s frost in the spring has been known to raise the price of fruit liquor threefold from the preceding day. InGARDENS AND ORCHARDS. 179 In the great hit of 1784, common apples were sold at Is. 6d. to 2s. per sack of four corn bushels; and in 1788 the same, but stire fruit, about four times that price. Common cyder is frequently sold from the press for less than a guinea per hogshead of 110 gallons, and common perry as low as J 5s. yet the superior kinds are seldom so low as four times that price ; when once racked it is generally one fourth higher, and when fermented one half more than the first price, but in scarce seasons the prices are much higher. Stire cyder is worth, from the press, from 5l to lol. per hogshead, a price which, I believe, the finest wines are not worth in any country immediately from the press. Squash perry is worth, from the press, five guineas to twelve guineas per hogshead : at inns the price is seldom less than Is. per bottle, and, as they profess to sell only the best sorts, sometimes Is. 6d. and even 2s, per bottle. Profusion in good Years.—In 1784, for want of casks, cisterns were formed in the ground to receive the liquor, but they did not answer; the liquor was spoilt: in Pershore, the juice is said to haze run from the pear-hoards, in currents, into the common sewers. The excise on cyder, which passes through the deal- ers’ hands, is about threepence halfpenny the wine gallon. The yield of liquor depends on the species of fruit, and the season. Pears yield more juice than apples, and some species of apples more than others; two hogsheads of pears will yield one of liquor, but some sorts of apples, as the Hagloe crab, and the stire apple, in very dry sea- sons, will require near throe hogsheads of fruit to one of liquor. I was shewn single pear trees in Worcester- 1 shiie180 GARDENS AND ORCHARDS. shire, which in a hit have made two hogsheads and a half of perry, of 110 gallons each ; they must therefore have borne 550 gallons, or about 60 bushels level measure of fruit. Mr. Marshal says, I was shewn a pear tree from which two hogsheads of liquor-were made this year; and three hogsheads are said to have been made, by one pear tree, and two hogsheads are said to have been by one apple tree, but these are rare instances ; one hogshead of cyder from a tree is reckoned a great produce. . Mr. Marshall says further ; I have been informed, by undoubted authority, that twenty hogsheads have been made from an acre of ground, in a close orchard ; and that there are several individuals this year, 1788, who will make between two and three hundred hogsheads, and some few who will make five hundred hogsheads of liquor each, including cyder, perry, and their own fa- mily drink; but there are single orchards in Hereford- shire of thirty to forty acres each. It is from these large plantations that the markets are supplied ; farmers in general have little more than will supply their own houses : it is observable, however, that cottagers, who have orchards, have been known, in a plentiful year, to make eight or ten hogsheads for sale. The produce of the four counties of Worcester, Gloucester, Hereford, and Monmouth, on a par of years, may be laid at thirty thousand hogsheads.—Mr, Marshall. Notwithstanding this great produce, it has been dis- puted, whether, upon the whole, it be a good or an evil to the neighbourhood, under all circumstances: the damage done to the crops, by the drip and shade of the trees, is annual and certain ; a hit of fruit is most uncertain, and not expected oftcner than every third year; when the produce is abundant, the price is so low,GARDENS AND ORCHARDS, 181 low, that it little more than pays for labour, carriage, and attention ; yet the profits of such year have to stand against the damages of three or four years, also against the cost of the plants, planting, grafting, and protecting the young tree, besides the mill-house and apparatus, and the cost and wear and tear of casks, as well as cellar room ; and Mr. Marshall says, the evils of a habit of drinking in a-fruit year is the cause of much idleness, and in a dearth of fruit of an unnecessary waste of malt liquor. Notwithstanding these objections, I cannot give up the idea of so beautiful and excellent a production as fruit, being both an advantage and a blessing to man- kind, as well as an article beneficial to the country in a commercial view. If the trees are at proper distances, trained up to proper height, and pruned, the damage will be little ; if the liquor be prematurely sold at an under value, that is, for want of system, and the dealer gains the advantage instead of the grower, which is. equally beneficial to society, the price will of course always be high enough to pay the amount of labour and interest of capital, or the liquor could not be made; and the evils of drinking must be placed to the abuse, and not use, of the article, and may be corrected by regular management: something ought also to be placed to account, for the advantage of having always plenty of fruit for the family, as an article of food, made into reared pies; cheese and beer at meals are but little ne- cessary for the servants and children of the family. When fruit trees become unproductive from age, they should be cut down, and not suffered to rot growing, and would thus pay all the damage they occasion, as timber and fuel. 3 N As182 Sardens and orchards. Ab the better kinds of fruit liquors are now in sufficient demand at good prices, the way to maks fruit trees profitable, is to cultivate the better kinds, and increase their number; and there is no doubt but a persevering industry might multiply and increase new varieties, equal to any formerly produced, and thus promote, not only individual profit, but national advantage, by in- creasing a produce that might, in some degree, super- sede the importation of foreign wines. The stire apple is now said to be propagated with tolerable success, by suckers from the roots, or rather by young wood pulled out of the crown of the tree; perhaps, some of the more valuable old fruits may be longer perpetuated by this means than by grafting. Mr. Marshal proposes layering the crown shoots, in tubs of earth elevated for that purpose. He farther advises the fruit growers to relieve them- selves from that bondage, which suffers dealers, from all quarters of the kingdom, to impose, in open convo- cation, what prices they please for fruit liquor, in a plentiful year ; but these objects of reform and im- provement must originate with the land owner, and not with the tenant, who has only the use of the pre- mises for a time uncertain. The present year, 1807, is a partial, but not a general, hit of fruit, supposed to be from one-half to two-thirds of a full crop, in some places a full hit, and in great profusion, and in other places partial failures; the apples, generally, a better crop than the pears; a very large quantity has been sent this season, in its natural fruit state, packed up jn casks, along the canals to the northern counties. In the hop grounds at Lower Areley, fruit trees are planted upon every fourth seven-foot ridge, at about eleven,gardens and orchards. 185 eleven yards asunder in the row; this is nearly one tre$ upon 100 square yards, or 48 upon an acre : this, Mr. Crane observes, assists the hop culture. The varieties of apples, called the Stedman and Knotts-kernel, are approved of for cyder apples, and the Barland and Linton pears are most common here as perry pears; the Hampton-rough, a new perry pear, from a parish of that name where it was raised, is under trial, and is said to have produced some very good perry. The fruit trees are here planted out, ready grafted when small in the nursery; and Mr. Crane observes, he can graft again when they begin to bear, if he does not like the sort, and thinks time is gained by planting ready grafted. I observe, in the Worcester newspaper, Mr. Biggs, nursery and seedsman, of the city of Worces- ter, often advertises new and approved varieties of fruit trees ready grafted for planting. Mr. Smith, of Erdiston, in the Vale of the Teme, and about six miles from Tenbury, has the greatest breadth of orcharding I have seen in the county, be- longing to any individual; the extent of his fruit plan- tations is between 100 and 200 acres of different ages, and in different stages of growth, but a large propor- tion in full bearing, and this year being a pretty good hit, the fruit is in great profusion, enough to make some hundred hogsheads of fruit liquor; he has con- stantly kept planting young fruit trees in succession, and the ground being cultivated for wheat, beans, or other crops, or grazed as pasture, the fruit trees oc- casion little or no waste of land : a number of hands were employed gathering fruit when I was there, Octo- ber 1st, 1807. Mr. Smith raises fruit trees in his hop grounds, but rather sparingly; the soil being a deep, yich, strong loam, the hops grow with great luxuri- ance,184 GARDENS AND ORCHARDS. ance, and have room allowed in proportion ; they are here planted in nine-foot ridges, and fruit trees only in every fifth ridge, which is 15 yards from row to row, and they are near 14 yards asunder in the rows, each tree has therefore about 200 square yards of land, which is only 24 to an acre, this is the case in the hop grounds ; in the arable and pasture orchards, they are thicker on the ground, and nearer each other. Mr. Smith has adopted a particular mode of fencing or guarding young fruit trees, when planted on exposed land; he plants around them a tuft of well-grown haw- thorn quicksets, without lopping, close to the tree ; the tops of the quicksets are tied round so as to guard the tree, and grow with its growth : upon my observ- ing that the growth of these quicksets must rob the young fruit tree of part of its nutriment, his answer was, young fruit trees succeed no where better than in hedges, and this case is similar; besides he has found, from long experience, the practice to answer well; and, he observes, “ nobody’s trees bear better or sooner than his so guarded when the tree is suf- ficiently grown, the growing quicksets are taken away ; it is very probable, that the shelter and protection they have afforded the young fruit tree have more than made ample amends for sharing its nutriment from the earth ; and their roots also, most probably, strike in different directions in search of such nutriment. A variety of the apple, termed Fox-whelp, is esteem- ed a good cyder apple here, but is an uncertain bearer, and is said to have generally borne better formerly. One of Mr. Smith’s labourers has been known to make 11 hogsheads of cyder, from the produce of three quarters ot an acre of land in one year, and expects this season, 1807, to make five or six hogsheads from the same orchard. CHAP,185 CHAPTER X. WOODS AND PLANTATIONS. The county of Worcester is well stored with the various kinds of timber ; and contains as much as is consistent with the rich quality of its soil, adapted to better purposes. The hedge rows, through a large portion of the fer- tile parts of the county, are well stored with elm timber, the largest, finest, and, 1 believe, best in the kingdom, growing lengthy, tine, and large, and being generally sound and hearty, free from shakes and flaws; large quantities of this quality are now growing in the neighbourhoods of Hartlebury, Ombersley, and else- where, though great quantities have been cut down and carried to Birmingham, and other inland towns, and by the Severn and canals to Liverpool and the sea-ports. The elm timber here grows to a very large size; there is now growing upon a small patch of waste land, near Dr. Nash’s, of Bevere, an elm, whose trunk is nine or ten feet diameter, and containing some very long and bulky branches ; elm in hedge rows seems to occa- sion less damage to the adjoining land, than any other timber tree. The county is interspersed, in various parts, with poppices of oak of different degrees of growth j the Throckmorton] 36 WOODS and plantations. Throckmorton estate contains many coppices of good oak timber. In many other parts are as good oak and ash as the kingdom produces; but the extensive forests, so very considerable in early times, have almost disappeared, and the ground is much more properly occupied with corn and grass ; Feckenham Forest has sunk entirely under the continued demands of the salt works at Droit- wich : these, however, having been worked for years with coal, that demand ceases, and there remains plenty of hedge-row timber, particularly elm. Some wood- lands are regularly cut in rotation, leaving young trees for timber at certain distances; the principal use pe- culiar to this county, to which the underwood is ap- plied, is for hop-poles, and the cordwood is burnt into charcoal for the iron works. Many of the noblemen and gentlemen’s parks and pleasure grounds are well stocked with timber and plantations. At Croome, the Earl of Coventry’s, is an exuberance of timber and plantations, in various stages of growth, disposed with such skill and taste, as to add picturesque beauty, and magnificent scenery, to a landscape not highly favoured by nature, unassisted by art. At Kagley, Lord Littleton’s, is a profusion of timber and plantation, now verging very fast to ma- turity : Hagley was an early and very successful at- tempt at modern landscape gardening, laid out in the former part of the last century ; in situation, variety, and aspect, nature had been propitious, and the timber has since been spared ; amongst a variety of the better sorts, are oaks of great length and dimensions, fit for any use to which oak is applicable. Many other of the noblemen’s and gentlemen’s seats are sheltered, and some of them almost hidden with timberWOODS AND PLANTATIONS 187 timber plantations ; many of the precipices upon the banks of the Severn, and sides of hills elsewhere, are well planted with fir, intermixed with other kinds of timber trees: at Tardebig, Lord Plymouth’s planta- tions are very extensive, abounding with oaks in vari- ous stages of growth. The vallies upon the rivers are pretty well stocked with poplar and willow, and particularly the course of the river Teme, which is often enveloped in willow plantations. The Forest of Wire, near Bewdley, extends into Shropshire, but a considerable tract of it is in Wor- cestershire ; this is a great nursery for oak poles and underwood, which are cut out at stated periods, re- serving timber trees at proper distances ; the oak poles, which are often shoots from old roots, are innumera- ble ; and very great numbers are cut down annually, and, after being stripped of their bark, are sold for making rails, hurdles, laths, &c. under the name of black poles. Upon the Madresfield estate of Lord Beauchamp is a great profusion of timber, and some very capital fine oaks; upon the Severn-end estate ©f Mr. Lechmere are many very fine elms and oaks; I noticed an oak, contain- ing by estimate 500 feet of timber, and 30 cwt. of bark; an elm was lately there felled, containing 700 feet of sound timber J it was ascertained to have been of about 140 years growth, and had grown five foot annual average. CHAP.183 CHAPTER XT WASTES. The waste lands of this county are not very consi- derable, and consist of high hilly grounds, or email commons or wastes, detached and dispersed over va- rious parts of the county. Of the high billy grounds, the upper parts of Malvern Hill, are the most elevated; these being rocky, are generally impracticable for cultivation, and must therefore ever remain sheep walk orplan- tation; the upper parts of Bredon Hill, near Per- shore, of Abberley, and Whitley Hills, and some of the ■unenclosed parts of Bromsgrove Lickey, are in the same predicament; these are adapted for timber plan- tations. The waste lands, according to Mr. Pomeroy, and which agrees with my estimate, do not exceed 20,000 acres, the greater part of which is capable of being converted into good arable land; at present they are in a state of nature, overrun with furze, heath, and fern ; and summer a few sheep, of the short wool kind, but of an indifferent breed. Mr. Oldacre says, the extent of waste lands is but trifling, and those are depastured with sheep, cows, or horses; a certain number to what is called a yard land. One cow, or horse, is reckoned equal to three sheep,WASTES. 189 sheep, and the farmer stocks with his proportion of such stock, as is most convenient to him; he further says, they are generally the poorest of the land, that would not pay much for tillage, but support flocks of sheep for folding on the common fields, which is an excellent manure for one crop : the commons, however, he admits, might be improved by fencing in ; the poor- est parts of them, he says, are often covered with furze, or thorns, which are useful in many respects. Few counties have less proportion of common or waste land than this, which might, however, be wholly much im- proved by enclosure, cultivation, and plantation. Wire Forest, west of Bewdley, and in the north-west of the county, is of considerable extent, and penetrates into Shropshire; it is part wrood land, and part open common land, of a cold indifferent quality; the wood land is well furnished with oak, from wrhich are thinned immense quantities of poles, which, after stripping off the bark, are sold underjhe name of Black Poles. Of the small, or detached commons, or waste land, Mitton Common, near Kidderminster, is a poor barren sand ; Hartlebury and Lynall Commons, of some hun- dred acres, would make good arable land in the turnip and barley culture; Oldfield, near Ombersley, is now good sheep land and plantation ; Burley and Astley Commons, near Stourport, are sound land, adapted for turnips and barley; besides which, are many other commons in various parts of the county, which might be improved into good arable and pasture land, by en- closure and cultivation. CHAP. CHAP. XII. IMPROVEMENTS SECT, I.—DRAINING. This, as in other counties, is considered as a firsts rate improvement, and is not, in enclosed lands, neglected; this county, however, has less occasion for this improvement than many others, as containing na- turally a smaller proportion of springy or boggy land. Various experiments have been made at Ewell Grange, the seat of the Earl of Plymouth, and in that neighbourhood, by boring hollow drains after Elking- ton’s method. The drain to be bored in, is thus made:—The trench is begun almost level with the surface, in that part from which the water can be most certainly and con- veniently carried off. In determining its direction, great attention is paid to the situation of the bogs, and to the rising grounds from which they (the bogs) are likely to proceed; the trench is then continued on, varying from a dead level only so much as may be of service in promoting the discharge of the water; when sufficiently advanced into the piece to be drained, an attempt by boring is made, to discover the spring; if successful, and the water is judged to issue in a proper quantity, this part of the business is completed ; otherwise the trench (or its necessary branches) is con- tinued on, and the boring repeated at intervals, till it succeeds.D&AtttlNG, succeeds. The drain is formed of brick made for the purpose, called gutter brick. The brick, the pebbles, and the faggots, which form the drains, at the bottom of the trenches in which they are used, are covered in the usual manner with earth. Some of the old under ground drains are also made with brick . others with small pebble stones, where they are in plenty ; and some, with small faggots of brushwood. Draining is not much practised in common fields, but more attended to in enclosures; in clay soils turf is used; in others, wood or stones, which is most con- venient, the latter is most lasting,—Mr. Oldacre. Mr. Darke observes, of the lands in Bredon, in common fields, little or no attention is paid to drains, The Severn is our main drain ; the Avon, the first conductor to it; our brooks and ditches leading to the Avon, change their owners as the lands vary: con- sequently, the cleansing is not regularly attended to. Much draining has been done in enclosed fields; some in the open fields. We prefer the stone-drain ; what W'as done formerly with wood, is entirely worn out, and in gravelly soil, it goes very soon indeed. The most skilful drainer I know in Worcestershire, is the present Earl of Coventry: his part of the county was a morass not half a century back, and is, at this present time (though formerly a moorish soil) perfectly dry, sound for sheep, and other cattle. He has but few under drains. His principal drains are open, formed thus: turfedDRAINING. 192 turfed to the bottom, so that cattle can graze without any loss of herbage; no water ever stands; and Croorfte is now noted for its dryness, as well as being well kept; and although the house is surrounded with 1,400 acres, under his own inspection, you do not see a tree, bush, or thistle, growing upon it, undesigned or out of place. It may very justly be stiled a pattern farm to this king- dom, from its well-formed plantations, and its judicious and extensive drains. He has a beautiful breed of the Holderness, or Yorkshire cattle. On a farm called the Sink, lately purchased and taken in hand by A. Lechmere, Esq. draining is now carrying on with great spirit. I was shewn one of the main outlets covered in, and communicating with other drains, in which borings have been made where thought necessary; this main outlet produces a con- stant perennial stream, and has done so in the driest sea- son ever since its construction : tiles are used in form- ing tne drain, twelve inches long, about three inches and a half wide, and three inches and a half deep. Mr. Carpenter shewed me a tract of land, of upwards of 60 acres, formerly a peat bog, which he had drained by Mr. Elkington’s method, and converted into good meadow land; it now forms part of Chadwick Manor Farm, on the west side of Bromsgrove Lickey, part being old, and part new, enclosure; the principal out- let from which forms a considerable perennial stream, issuing out from it and falling into the brook below; the following is his own account of it: “ For the speedy improvement of this land, I am in- debted to Mr. Elkington, and must acknowledge the benefit I received from his advice; he came to take a survey of the bog intended to be drained, when I pressedDRAINING, 193 pressed him to undertake the cure, but he, having so much business at that time under hand, was obliged to decline my work, along with some others. “ I afterwards applied to Mr. Masters, a neighbour of Mr. Elkington’s, who had, for some time, followed his plan of draining ; I must likewise do justice to Mr. Masters, by observing, he conducted and completed the business to my entire satisfaction ; and the whole was performed by a single drain, as the land falls gra- dually from the upper side towards a brook opposite. “ Mr. Masters employed six, and sometimes seven or eight good labourers, and set them to work at the lower end next the brook ; beginning shallow at first, to se- cure a proper fall for the water to empty itself into the brook, till he came sufficiently into the bog; then cut- ting a trench four feet wide, and from eight to nine feet deep, carried it on from end to end, near three parts in four distant from the upper side, and about a fourth part distant from the brook ; the earth was thrown out chiefly on one side, but occasionally on both. “ While this work was carried forwards, the borer was employed, being worked by two> three, or four men, according to the hardness of the separate layers of earth, mixed with stone or gravel, considerably below the bog: this is a laborious business, the borer being forced, by dint of labour and strength, from seven to nine feet below the bottom of the drain ; and this was performed about every four yards from the be- ginning to the end. “ The borer thus used always, produced some water; but in many places the water issued with such force, that a staff, when dropped its whole length a yard or more into the cavity, would almost immediately be sent to the surface, -while this work was going on. WORCESTERSHIRE,j O “ Til?194 DRAINING, “ The next step taken, was, to follow up the work so as to secure a course for the water to empty itself into the brook; this was done by stones got at an ad- jacent quarry, cut on purpose, about eighteen inches long, and eight in depth, placed on each side the drain six inches apart; then a thin turf put on each outside of the stones, to prevent the soil from getting between the joints ; afterwards a covering stone, eighteen inches long, and eight wide; over these turf, gorse, or rushes; heath (erica), is, I believe, still better; and lastly, the drains were filled up with the soil which had been thrown out; this is done in the best manner by two men, one to shovel the soil into the drain, and the other, at the same time, to level and tread it well, to prevent any wet from injuring the drain.”—See Plate IV. Fig. I. I viewed the above-described drainage in August, 1807, but then forgetting to make a sketch of the pre- mises, must refer the reader to Plate IV. to convey the general idea. A. the lower corner of the premises; A. B. the outlet, the ground rising to B. eight or nine feet above the level of the brook at A.; B. C. the drain, tvith borings, in a direction rising a little from B. to clear itself: this drain, by its depth and borings, drains the land above, and by intercepting the springs, pre- vents their breaking out below. Upon Brant Hall estate, Worley Wiggorn, Mr. Kichard Miller has executed hollow drains with great spirit where wanted, in almost every field; here drain- ing tiles are used to form the opening ; they are made in a semi-circular,, or rather semi-elliptical form, thus -* -PARING AND BURNING. 195 being four inches wide, three inches deep, one foot in length, and one inch in thickness; in hard ground they are placed on the bottom of the drain ; in soft, on tile pieces; and where one is thought insufficient, two together are used, formirfg a pipe of four inches wide by six deep, or laid beside each other, forming two drains ; this method has here answered extremely well, by rendering sound and wholesome a farm form- erly cold and springy, and which, from being sterile and unproductive, now yields good crops of grain, or excellent pasture for sheep and cattle ; the tiles cost 50s. per thousand at the kiln, which, when laid single, amount to 15d. per rod of eight yards, or, if laid dou- ble, to 2s. 6d. the labour lOd. for every such rod, and beer, which makes it equal to Is. the depth of the work three to four feet; they are secured by turf and heath, &c. laid upon the tiles before the drain is filled up. Mr. Miller often bores in the bottom of his drains: land should be drained before liming, and, indeed, before any other improvement. SECT. II.——PARING AND BURNING. This, Mr. Oldacre says, has not been much practised here, as there are but few old lands to break up, and there are but few roots in new turf to make ashes. If a farmer has a piece of strong turf, he generally plants it with beans, or sows flax at one ploughing with a turf plough, by which, the turf being buried under a clean furrow of mould, by the next year is sufficiently melio- rated; and this practice is preferred to paring and burning. But Mr. Carpenter relates, that paring and burning 1 fcas196 PARING AND BURNING. has been a good deal practiced in the improvement of the waste lands of Bromsgrove Lickey, and in that neighbourhood. Part of the drained bog mentioned in the last article, was, he says, pared and burnt, and planted with potatoes; the ashes being spread regularly on the surface, the land was ploughed in about twelve furrow ridges ; for, he says, “ it would not do to plant in the way I prefer, owing to its being so very tough from rushes, and other hard roots: after ploughing, the furrows were hacked and levelled with heavy hoes, then planted across the ridges in rows, and owing to the large quantity of ashes, produced an abundant crop.” The ploughing of bog land with potatoes, after draining, and paring and burning, is, I believe, the best rule that can be adopted ; the ashes upon the fresh soil are peculiarly adapted to forcing a full crop of potatoes, and the crop being properly hoed and cleaned, will leave the land in a good state of ameliora- tion ; the next year after the potatoes, this land pro- duced a very strong crop of oats ; the succeeding year as good oats as the first; it has been since laid down with seeds after a clean fallow, which succeeded well: land of this sort, consisting of a deep peat, may be pared and burned at any time, and will produce good crops, without any other manure but the ashes produced from its surface ; and that without danger of being ex- hausted ; and, like watered meadows, will produce manure for other parts of the farm, without injury to itself. The waste lands in this neighbourhood, Mr. Carpenter says, were best reclaimed thus: 1. pare and burn for oats, potatoes, or rye; 2. lime, four to six tons per acre, for turnips;MANURING. 197 turnips; 3. autumn wheat, spring, wheat, or barley, with seeds, then pasture for two or three years: the paring and burning here cost from 2l. 2s. to 2l. 10s. per acre, with three quarts of good beer per day to each labourer; but the ground was very much covered with gorse, and very stony likewise, which rendered the work difficult, and had been thought impracticable, 'which accounts for the high pries given; the ashes also cost Is. 6d. per acre the spreading. Mr. C. says, “ I was at considerable loss in one part, by not spreading the ashes so soon as they ought to have been, being what is termed in a dead state, and the crops suffered accordingly ; but I afterwards took care to have them, spread in a live state, with different kinds of grain, &c. as wheat, rye, turnips, and potatoes, according to the season, and as the ashes were ready, when the whole produced good crops; but, on the average, the potatoes answered best; I sold, at one time, nearly 40 acres of potatoes to different persons, from new enclosed waste land, managed as above, at from eight guineas to twelve guineas an acre, those who bought them gather- ing the crop, and carrying them off the ground ; rye sold at ten guineas, and oats at 61. per acre. I wished to bring this land to sheep pasture as soon as possible, but the seeds sown on these crops in the spring failed ; I was, therefore, obliged to turnip fallow with about six tons of lime per acre, drawn twelve miles ; the turnips and barley following were good, and the seeds then succeeded perfectly well, which I attribute to the lime, which answered much better on this fresh soil, by many times oyer, than on old tilled land, though used in the ?ame quantity. o 3 SECT,I£»4 SECT. III.—MANURING. Dr. Nash says, manure pays better put on green- sward than on tillage, but the land must first be drained and made sound. The farm yard dung is used on wheat fallow, or for turnips, or potatoes, or sometimes laid on grass land : where hops are grown, a good proportion of dung is sometimes laid upon the hop ground, which Dr. Nash thinks one objection to the culture of that plant; which objection may be, in some degree, removed by the use of lime, or a compost of soil and lime, with one-third part dung, which is an excellent dressing for hop ground, and will answer the purpose better than the constant use of dung only; also, if the occupier were obliged to purchase elsewhere, all the dung used in his hop grounds, the objection respecting robbing the other part of the farm, would be entirely removed. In the north and north-east of the county, upon the gravelly and sandy soils, considerable quantities of lime are used for manure, brought from Dudley, and its neighbourhood, by the canals, or by land carriage; this lime has a good effect in binding the light blowing sands, and rendering them less liable to be acted upon by the wind; it is also found excellent in promoting the growth of grass seeds, if laid on with the crop, with which such seeds are sown. Mr. Pomeroy has named horn shavings, leather shreds, ashes, soot, and offal salt, from the works at Droitwich, as being likewise used ; also soil from ditches, and marl mixed into a compost by turning them to- gether ; he has further expatiated upon salt, and stated its being used as manure under the tax. Mr,MANURING. 199 Mr. Carpenter also says, common salt is an excellent manure, when only slightly mixed with mud, or soil; he relates an experiment of 10 acres of rough old pas- ture, covered with rushes, which, by dressing with a compost of soil, mud, and offal salt, after close mowing down the rushes, produced, the next year, a matting of white clover, cow grass, and yellow vetchling, and effected a very great improvement in a short space of time. But these accounts are rather at variance with other very respectable authorities ; Dr. Nash believes, from experience, (and he occupies a respectable farm,) that Droitwich salt is neither a manure in itself, nor capable of exciting any vegetative principle in the earth; that it produces bad effects on ploughed land, by increasing its dryness in hot weather, and by making it greasy, and what the farmers call raw in damp weather, and that its only use in heaps of compost is to destroy weeds, and their seeds. Marl is used, in some instances, upon the sandy and gravelly soils in the north and north-east of the coun- ty, but the generality of the land of this county has enough of the marly principle in it from nature. Where the distance from great towns is too far to get manure from them, it is not much a practice to sell hay, or straw, but great attention is paid to make the most of what the farm produces in dunghiljs, which is conveyed annually on the land. Mr. Oldacre, Vale of Evesham ; he says lime is too dear to be commonly used. Nature has been bountiful to us; we often put our manure immediately on the land from the fold yard ; but when we spare it from the arable to the pasture, p e turn it once, and when we clean ditches and ponds mix200 MANURING. mix soil with it; we use no lime, it lies too far distant. —Mr. Darke, Bred on. M r. Car pen te r recoin men d s t o fol d a 1 arge fl ock o f sh ecp every night in the straw yard ; in this case, there should be two fold yards, or one divided in the middle, that the cattle may not injure the sheep; the sheep must be penned every other night in the yard, the cattle are foddered in the preceding day, and the cribs emptied, and the contents spread about for the sheep, who will have the advantage of picking amongst the straw, and laying warm and comfortable, and the manure will be improved: in very severe weather, a little hay should be given the sheep in the cribs and racks. Mr. C. says, all muck in a raw state, should be turn- ed over to ferment before it be carried on the land ; and further, in farms where the roads are bad, and ma- nure scarce, it would be an advantage to feed a num- ber of pigs to eat all the beans, pease, and refuse grain of the farm; and should the pigs, when fat, only barely pay for the food which they consume, great advantage would arise from the addition of manure they make. Pigeon and fowls dung should be preserved in a dry state, and sown as a top dressing on any land you think proper; soot is also an excellent top dressing either for grain or grass, especially on cool land. Mr. Knight has found it equally beneficial on light land. The mud of pools, ponds, and pits, is very service- able to all kinds of land, and is improved by mixing with lime ; horn shavings, malt dust, and woollen rags, are also recommended as manure. Wood, turf, and peat ashes, contain rich and fertile salts, and soap boilers’ ashes, are very enriching to land, but can seldom be procured in any great quantity; ashes kept in a dry state, previous to being spread on land jMANURING. 201 larttf, are much superior to those in a wet or damp con- dition, when used as a top dressing. Mr. C. thinks a good coating of sand, would dou- ble the value of some clay soils, but this does not seem to have been proved by experiment: he says, it not only ameliorates it, but absorbs its wet and unkindly qualities. Manuring of Waste Land.— Some well meaning persons have contended, that waste land can only be improved by the surplus of manure from land already in tillage, but this idea is erroneous ; waste land ought to be improved front its own resources, or from foreign aids, as paring and burning, lime and marl, with clean fallowing, turnips, clover, sheep, and other live stock, with the manure they make from the produce of the land in question, without robbing the old enclosed lands, Pigeons Dung.—Mr. C. says, he has known, upon a farm of 200 acres, enough of this collected, in the space of twelve months, to manure ten acres of land ; the method was to strew malt dust over the floor every time the dove-house was cleaned; and to keep this compost of malt dust, saturated with pigeons dung, carefully in a dry place till used ; before sowing, it,on the land, it must be well mixed by turning it over ; this is an excellent top dressing for grass, turnip, or other land ; a little will do morejservice than a common dress- ing of other manure. Town Manure.—Upon Brant-hall Farm, in this county, six miles from Birmingham, Mr. Richard Mil- ler finds the manure from that town to answer well, both for grass land, and every kind of crop ; he em- ploys a six-inch wheel waggon and six stout horses, to draw this manure at all leisure times ; finds it excellent for£02 manuring. for the Swedish turnip, after common turnips, eaten mostly on the ground by..sheep; draws five and some- times six tons at a load; and several hundred tons in a season, or in the whole year. The price of good stable manure in Birmingham, seven shillings per ton: one of his loads thus costs from 35s. to two guineas, be- sides the carriage. Mr. Knight, upon his'farm of Lea Castle, Wolver- Jey, manures with great spirit, but principally for tur- nips; he buys all the soot he can get, at Kiddermin- ster, and other towns within his reach, the price Sd. per bushel, the soot-merchant sowing it on the ground; a waggon will hold with tilted side-boards, and a team will draw, 200 bushels; a load thus costs 61. 13s. 4d.; but it is sown upon four acres, 50 bushels to an acre, the expense of sooting an acre is, therefore, only ]1. J3s. 4d. It is generally sown upon the turnip fal- low, and harrowed in before the last ploughing, but has been found to answer in every way, and. as well as any, to top dress mown grass land. Lime is also very freely used for turnips, about four tons per acre, besides drawing it from a canal to the land, the price is 14s. 6d. per ton; this is 2l. lSd. per acre, besides carriage and spreading. The remaining source of manure in this county, be- sides those before-named, is sheep folding; this is regu- larly practised in the open fields upon the fallows, but rarely in the enclosed lands: Mr. Knight has, how- ever, made several experiments on folding sheep, which he means to continue.—See Folding, under the Article, Sheep. Mr. C. says, marl is an excellent change of manure for the kitchen garden, where, if you would have the sweetest and best kind of garden stuff, it is not proper toWEEDING, £03 to load your garden, year after year, with muck ; which will give the produce a rank taste; to prevent which use marl, fresh soil, lime, &c. alternately, and dung more sparingly. Mr. Lechmere, Dec. 1807, is top-dressing hisgrazing pastures at the Ryd, with rich manure, made by his stall-feeding cattle, fed with hay and oil cake: as little ploughing is done here, the dung is not over propor- tioned with straw, and having undergone sufficient fer- mentation, must be highly fertilizing to the land, and increase its produce of grass, as well as improve its 4. WEEDING. The drill husbandry being a good deal practised in this country, gives a good opportunity, between the rows of grain, of cutting up weeds by the root without injuring the grain, which is one ot the advantages of this practice; in broadcast sowing they are generally only cut above ground, and thus only weakened, or par- tially destroyed. Every good farmer will cut off, or root up, the docks, thistles, and other luxuriant weeds, which infest his pas- ture land, and this should always be done before their seeds are perfected, as thereby a great increase of these noxious plants may probably be prevented. Examined the weeds in a pea-stubble near Evesham, and found corn chamomile (anthemis arvensis), bind- weed (convolvulus arvensis), chickweed (alsine media), groundsel (senecio vulgaris), bearbind (polygonum con-, volvulus), and common thistle (serratula arvensis). Mr. Marshall204 WEEDIXG. Marshall says, the following are also common : ivy chickweed (veronica hedere folia), hairough, or corn goo-egrass (galiuni spurium), shepherd’s purse (thlaspi bursa pastoris), mouse eai' (cerastium vulgatum), fu- mitery (fumaria officinalis), chadlock (sinapis arvensis), goose foot (chenopodium viride), marigold (chrysan- themum segatum), poppy (papaver rhceus), wild oat (avena fatua), corn horse-tail (equisatum arvensis), knap weed (scabiosa arvensis), besides the couch grasses, and many others less common. The original design, and true use, of summer fab lows was, and is, to destroy weeds, previous to sowing the intended crop ; and thus, by preventing their growth with and in the crop, to apply the whold force of the land to that alone; but the intention is frus- trated, and the effect defeated, unless the fallow be well managed ; ploughing in dry weather has a tendency to destroy root weeds, as couch grasses, thistles, hoi’se- tail, colt foot, &c. ; but the ground should afterwards be harrowed down fine, and left for showers to force the vegetation of the seedling weeds, which include most of the other species, and when they are well ve- getated, they should be well ploughed in, and the ground again harrowed to vegetate those seeds which were before too deep, as well as to bring the root weeds to the surface, to promote their destruction by exposure to the sun and air ; a fallow well managed, by these operations being repeatedly and well-timed during the summer, will probably have little occasion for weeding during the crop, unless the land has been long fouled by weeds shedding their seeds. It is to this latter circumstance, that the innumerable weeds in cultivated ground are principally owing ; for being hardy natives their seeds will vegetate, after be- ingWEEDING. 205 ing buried for years, upon being exposed to air and moisture, by ploughing and pulverization of the soil ; the prevention, therefore, of weeds shedding their seeds, is of great consequence to agriculture, for one years seeding shall make seven years weeding. Many of the common corn weeds, as thistles, grounsell, sow-thistle, colt foot, and many others, have their seeds furnished with feathers or wings, by which they fly for miles all over the country with the wind, and grow wherever they alight ; and I saw many, and some most shameful instances, where these weeds were suffered in great numbers to perfect and shed their seeds, and thus scatter them over the whole country, from fallows, hedges, road-sides, and particularly from heaps of soil intended for compost and manure ; this neglect ought to be considered as a public nuisance, and made indict- able at common law ; and it would be a good regulation, if the constables, who, by ancient custom, are obliged to make presentments, and who seldom have any thing to present, were obliged upon oath to prevent such of- fences at the Quarter Sessions, and the offenders to be punished by a suitable fine. Mr. Marshall, in his minutes on the Vale of Evesham, says, it is a common practice there to hoe wheat sown, broadcast; as I was not there in the weeding season, this escaped my observation, and I therefore beg leave to quote from him.—“ The first hoeing is begun in April, and ought to be finished before the plants begin to til- ler, or put out their shoots ; the sooner the second hoe- ing succeeds the first, the less difficulty there is in doing it; width of the hoe from three to five inches, from that of the turnip hoe, with the corners rounded off; the operation performed by women and children; the price half a-crown an acre for the first hoeing, or 2 sometimes \ -WATERING. 20S Sometimes 3s.: a woman, under kindly circumstance^ will hoe half an acre a day j the second hoeing is fre- quently more tedious than the first, by reason of the crop hiding the ground, and frequently passes over in a hand-weeding only.” 5. WATERING. The extensive range of meadows on the Severn, and other rivers, are watered occasionally by the inundation from those rivers, and the land thus kept in high condition ; though not without some inconvenience, from the operation not being always timed, suitably to the leisure or convenience of the occupier Dr. Nash relates an account of 300 acres of land, near Chaddersley Corbett, watered by Bellbroughton brook, and, being barren sand, improved from 5s. to 30s. per acre, annual value, and that this improvement was made 100year's ago: this may serve to shew, that the improvement of land by watering is not a modern prac- tice or discovery.—See Mr. Turner’s Account. Mr. Darke of Bredon remarks—In one instance only the water of the fold-yard is carried over a large field, evidently to great advantage. Our meadows are won- derfully enriched, and at the same time too frequently damaged, by the overflowing of the river Avon, which extends itself near six miles through this parish. We, on the spot, conceive our meadows to be the first flood- ed, and to lie the longest under water, of any in this kingdom. Severn is our natural drain ; but we want in wet seasons, more sluices, or gates, or wears (which might be easily made), to conduct our overflow of waterWATERING. 20/ water from Avon to Severn ; could we be unanimous in the method of effecting it, the expense would be easy : nothing would improve this part of our country, or render us such essential service. Now I am noticing meadows, if ever an enclosure takes place, the meadows should be lotted, to lay property together, but not divided by fences; And Mr. Oldacre—Here are about 80 acres of land watered, belonging to George Perrott, Esq. but I do not know of much land capable of that improvement. MR. turner’s ACCOUNT OF THE WATER MEADOWS ON THE FOLEY ESTATE, BEING THE SUBSTANCE OF A LETTER TO MR. POMEROY. The plan of watering the land in this neighbour- hood, belonging to the Foley family, is shortly as fol- lows:—It is in the first place necessary to observe, that all the mills on the brook, or stream of water, as soon as it enters on their property, until it unites with the river Stour, for near three miles, belong to them, of course they have the controul of the water. At the upper end of the stream, are three or four water- courses, made for several miles upon a level to the dif- ferent farms that are watered, and the old stream di- vided in a manner proportioned to the quantity of land each course is intended to water. The farms that receive this valuable acquisition are eight or nine, and the quantity of land watered upon the whole of them, is between three and four hundred acres. The quality of the soil, in general, is a very light sand, and many parts of it mixed with gravel: by the division ofI SOS WATERING. of the stream as above, each fartp has its portion of water repeated from two days to a week, every three weeks throughout the year ; and in order to prevent the least dispute between the tenants, respecting the distribution of the water, a person is appointed to turn it from one person’s land to the next in turn, at certain stated times, fixed for this purpose. The farmer then takes to the management of it, and floods such part of his lands as is generally prepared to receive it. There are very few of them that mow the whole of the land they water, but mow and graze it al- ternately, in such a manner that they use the water at all seasons of the year in their turn. A very consi- derable quantity of land in this neighbourhood, is well situated to receive this improvement, if the stream was sufficient for the purpose : besides the number of acres already mentioned, the greater part of which was formerly a very poor arable land, and not worth more than os. an acre. The industrious farmers are very atten- tive to the use of the water ; all the gutters are cut for floating, with the use of a water-level, and the more numerous the gutters are, the greater quantity of grass the land produces. In some situations, with the use of little stop-gates, the gutters are cut deep enough to drain the land they are made to float; this circum- stance, where the land requires it, is worthy of great attention. The whole plan of irrigation, where prac- tised, (and very few farms indeed but will admit of it in some degree), is beyond a doubt the first, and great- est improvement, at the least expense, ever discovered. This is the w atering referred to by Dr. Nash, before- mentioned. Mr. Carpenter highly approves of the improvement of land by watering ; but says, “ it requires attention v taWATERING. 209 to carry it to the necessary perfection ; it is let at double and treble the price of land of equal quality, incapable of watering.” He has seen watered meadows, with proof spots not watered, on purpose to shew the difference. In the month of April, the watered land was good pasture for sheep, or cattle; on the parts not watered the land was barren, without any spring shoot of grass. As soon as a meadow is cleared of the hay, there should be plenty of live stock turned in, to bite close what little may be left by the scythe ; and that no time may be lost for promoting the growth of grass, the floating gutters should be pared and cleaned as soon as possible, and the land floated so soon as water can be had, which will force an early and plentiful af- termath; the same rule is to be observed in the spring of the year, so soon as the land is saved for the en- suing hay crop. In general I have found the space of three days suf- ficient for the water to flow on the same spot at one time; but light dry soils will bear much more water- ing than wet and strong ones; but on this point, and Various others, as the situation, the quantity of water at command, and other local circumstances, must depend the means to be used to promote the greatest advan- tage. If the water be neglected, and allowed to float too much in one place, the grass will be coarse and rotten at the bottom when mown, whilst other places may have too little crop for want of water. It is much to be regretted, that the improvement by watering should be neglected, on any laud capable of receiving that benefit; but in all cases, draining, if Worcestershire.] p wanted,210 WATERING. wanted, should precede watering, otherwise the grass* or hay, cannot be expected to be of the best qua- lity. A number of useless small corn mills is a great hin- derance to the improvement of land by watering. I sel- dom find that mills erected on large streams prove much obstruction to watering meadows; on such large streams mills are proper, and sufficient to perform the business in most countries; or if not, steam or wind- mills ought to be erected, which might well answer the purpose, and the water might then be applied to a much better use. I could easily prove, in many in- stances, that these small mills do more injury by de- priving the land of the water, than they are worth, and five times more than any service they render the pub- lic, or their owners ; they also often pound up the wa- ter so as to prevent many meadows from being under drained, to the great injury of the land. A farther loss to the land occasioned by these small mills, is their retaining the mud, and other rich soil, in their mill ponds, which is washed by the heavy rains from the adjacent countries. I have known a ten acre meadow much benefited by the mud produced from a mill pond ; this work, though it saved the miller the expense and trouble of doing it himself, he does not choose to allow being done, without a premium ; it is the work of one day in the year, performed by six or seven men with scrapers, to mix the mud with the stream, and this thick water floats the meadow over during the time allowed. Respecting grazing water meadows with sheep, the best opinion is, that there is no danger of their taking the rot after the first autumnal frost, till it is time to re- serveWATERING, 211 serve the land for mowing, which should be in the month of April, for watered meadows, when the fences should be well repaired, and all stock taken out; but the closer it is then grazed down the better, as the floating gutters should be previously cleansed, and the land receive the benefit of watering, if possible, imme- diately upon being shut up; meadows, so managed, may be expected to yield hay in great plenty, in de- fiance of drought, and when hay is in the greatest de- mand, here the dung cart is not wanted, but the pro- duce assists the dunghill, for the benefit of the land kept in tillage. Upon Brant Hall estate, Mr. Richard Miller regu- larly waters about 30 acres, upon the Catch water system; he happens to be luckily assisted by a reser- voir ready formed to his hand, intended for a fish- pond and watering place for the use of the farm, and containing about half an acre ; this piece of water is constantly supplied from what was formerly a bog above it of about two acres, but now being well drained is planted annually with cabbages, but continues to afford an equal, if not an increased, supply of water; the bog and reservoir being situated in a valley, also re- ceive a considerable supply of water from land floods, and the melting of snows. The pond is occasionally drawn down at pleasure, and the water distributed over the land below ; the mud is, at times, stirred up by means of scrapers, and sometimes a pair of harrows are introduced and drawn to and fro by men with long ropes; by these means, 30 acres of grass land is main- tained, in a good mowing state, with little or no assist- ance from the dun£ cart.—See Plate V. Explanation. — L\ the pond, or reservoir; s. the 2 stream,212 WATERING. stream, or rill, which supplies it from the drained bog above ; A. the meadow flood gate, to turn the wa- ter along either carrier, another being in the pond above to stop the water when not used ; c. c. main carriers, or floating, gutters; b. b. b. b. &c. are secondary float ing gutters, communicating with those above by cross gut- ters, which can be shut up by stops, or with clods at pleasure. Trunks and paddles are laid in at the head of the* cross gutters, where they join the main carriers c. c. by means of which, the water can either be driven farther along such main carriers, or let down into the floating gutters below at pleasure. CHAPTER,VJ t 213 CHAPTER XIII. EMBANKMENTS, These, as connected with agriculture, are, at pre-, sent, rather unimportant in this county. Some slight at- tempts have been partially made in the lower parts of the county near Upton, to keep off the minor floods of the Severn ; but these not being upon a general system have no great effect; and, indeed, I suppose it diffi- cult, and perhaps not possible, to keep off such a wa- ter as the Severn, which, at times, after heavy rains, or the melting of deep snows upon the mountains of Wales, spreads over the vale, from half a mile to a mile in breadth, and to a considerable depth, as sketched, Plate IV. Fig. 2. These embankments are nothing more than earth covered with turf, without any particular puddle in the construction, being only reached upon an overflow of the river. Mr. Marshall, in his Minutes on the Vale of Severn, says, ‘‘ This is not a public work, nor is it ge- neral, the meadows being, in many places, still left open, the intention of it is merely to secure the grass from being sitted, and the hay from being swept away by summer floods; the banks being low, not more, 3 p perhaps,214 embankments. perhaps, than two or three feet high, the winter floods surmount them ; or if raised higher, the water, at that season, is, I understand, sometimes let into the mea- dows, by sluices opened for that purpose, so that the meadows still receive a benefit from the floods.” In some places, where the channel of the river is near one side of the valley, an embankment is raised on one side only, CHAPTER215 CHAPTER XIV. LIVE STOCK SECT. I.—CATTLE. This county has no particular breed of cattle, and Dr. Nash observes, that the land is too good for breed- ing, as it certainly is, unless for the breeding of prime stock ; the cattle when wanted, are therefore bought in, and the sorts most esteemed are the Hereford and long horn, which latter are procured at the fairs of Staffordshire and Shropshire. Observation.—Worcestershire, on its fine land, has little occasion for breeding cattle, surrounded as it is by breeding countries ; Herefordshire and Shropshire on its borders, and South Wales at hand, all produce plenty of capital stock to spare, and the produce of Staffordshire and Yorkshire are brought in by jobbers. Mr. Pomeroy says, “ The bullocks, on the western side, are chiefly of the Herefordshire breed; Stafford- shire furnishes some, and indeed, all the adjoining counties. The Earl of Coventry has introduced the Holdcrness breed, with great success; his lordship’s tenant, at Mitton, has some Devonshire, but they are not of the true breed of that county he further says, 11 those that have been bred in the county, are a mixed 'breed, without any particular improvement in view; some216 SHEEP. some few have now turned their attention this way, and the experiments are injudicious hands, such as will spare neither expense nor care in perfecting them.” At Croome, Lord Coventry has cultivated two breeds of cattle: the Holderness, as above-named ; and the Alderney; the Holderness are very large heavy cattle, the Alderney small and light boned: at a sale of some of these cattle, which were to be spared, by auction, October 8, 18U5, the Alderney sold much the dearest in proportion to their weight; a small Alderney cow in calf sold for 20l.; an Holderness of about three times the weight with a calf, sold for 27l. Mr. Darke says, “ A part of our pastures is used in dairies; some of these are employed in making butter for the Birmingham market, and a skim cheese, they call two meals or seconds; these sell for 8s. per cwt. less than one meal, or best making; the dairies that make best cheese depend entirely upon it and make no butter ; where they make the skim cheese, the land is deemed too rich for one meal, as it causes it to heave, which gives it a strong rank flavour.” Some of the finest pastures at Mitton and Bredon, are employed in feeding oxen of the best Herefordshire breed, and some of the Devonshire sort for the London market.—See feeding, Chap. VIII. and in this Chap, article Feeding. sect. II.—SHEEP. The sheep of this county, like the cattle, are of no particular breed, except the common or waste land sheep; these, both upon Malvern, the Lickey, and the otherSHEEP. 217 other wastes, are grey faced, with grey legs, without horns, and with clothing wool; and are, doubtless, from the same origin with the Cannock Heath, and Sutton Coldfield sheep of Staffordshire, and the South- down of Sussex; this is one of tiie most extensive waste land breeds in the kingdom, but has only been im- proved by attention, in the case of the Southdowns ; those in Staffordshire and Worcestershire, remaining nearly in their natural state; other different sorts are preferred by farmers who have no common right. Dr. Kash; and many others, approve of the Ross, or Rye- land ewe, crossed with a Leicester ram, and this cross forms a thick compact breed, healthy, and of good car- cass. In the north and east of the county are many flocks of the Leicester and Cotswold sorts, the own- ers of which, find their account in crossing with new Leicester rams. A considerable number of sheep have, also, been brought in from Weyhill, and other fairs, of the Somersetshire, Wiltshire, and Dorsetshire, breeds ; these are generally kept as annual stock, and after fat- tjng an early lamb and shearing, are put into some of the rich meadow apd pasture land, and made up for the butcher. Mr. Pomeroy has observed, there is a breed pecu- liar to the Cotswold Hills, part of which are in Wor- cestershire ; these are very general in the southern parts; they are without horns, long woolled, and of large size, having broad loins and full thighs, but rather light in their fore quarters. One cross of the Disldy sort, to add to the Cotswold the principal, or according to some, the only perfection of the Leices, tershire, a good fore quarter, is found to answer well; but a second cross is said to be injurious: it diminishes the size of the sheep, und the quantity of wool. The sheep218 SHEEP. sheep of the first cross, when two years and a half old, will weigh from 36 to 40lb. per quarter; the quantity of wool shorn from each sheep, runs from II to 14lb. (this weight of a fleece of wool, is, by no means, average weight, or at all general, but has occurred in particular instances only,) which wool, in 1793, sold at ll. per tod, of C8lb. to the tod. This wool has since advanced to 80s. per tod, or more ; and since then sunk again to 26s. or 27 s. per tod.—Obs. 1807. Mr. Darke says, We breed some of the best Glou- cestershire (Cotswold Hill) sheep; we touched on the Leicestershire, but found them, though handsome, rather too small for our rich pastures; we feed what sheep we breed for the London markets. Mr. Old- acre—The improvement in stock is rapidly increasing, I mean, in tiie beast and sheep kind. The wastelands in the south of the county, are generally stocked with Cotswold sheep; those in other parts, with the grey faced above named. The Cotswold is a polled, long woolled, good sized sheep, similar to the former breed of Leicestershire, and has been prevalent on these hills time immemorial; hence it is probable and pretty cer- tain, that the popular idea of the Spanish fine woolled sheep, having been derived from hence, is without foun- dation, no two varieties of the same animal can be scarcely more distinct; this breed of sheep is deficient in the fore quarter, in which respect they are much im- proved bv crossing with new Leicester rams. The best and most valuable sheep stock in the county, is, however, that which comes nearest to the new Leices- ter; and, that this is the public opinion, is proved by their fetching, beyond comparison, the highest prices at sales. In the present autumn, a first rate flock was sold, though not in this county, close to its borders, the propertySHEEP. 219 property of Mr. Penrice, of Sawford, just within War- wickshire; the prime ewes bought, by auction, from 101. to 20l. each ; the dock had been crossed for many years by rams, from Messrs. Stone, of Leicestershire; the owner having retired from business, the flock w’as sold without reserve ; similar flocks are in the hands of others within the county, particularly Messrs. Parrott and Oldacre, of Fladbury, Greesley, of Salwarp, and many others. The Cotswold sheep will bring no more upon sale than they are worth, with a view to mutton and wool ; but the high bred sheep are bought with a view to in- troduce their blood into the flock, and bring about a general improvement of the w^hole, and, perhaps, an eagerness to take the lead in this, may induce the giving of prices somewdiat extravagant. On the 8th of October, 1805, I attended a sale of part of Lord Coventry’s flock by auction ; his lord- ship having, for many years, taken this method of dis- posing of what he has to spare at stated times, annually, or at longer periods, near 80 head of cattle, and about 250 sheep were thus disposed off; but it must be ob- served, the sheep being the cullings of the flock, or such only as they chose to part with, could take no more than they were worth with a viewr to mutton and wool; the breed, Cotswold, with a slight cross of Leicester. The ewes sold to----------- 2l. each. Wethers ditto twro shear--- 2l. 15s. (id. to 3l. Os. 6d. Mr. Richhard Miller, on Brant Ilall farm, has a flock of highly improved Leicester sheep ; eighty breeding ewres are kept, and crossed wflth rams annually pro- cured from his brother, Mr. Thomas Miller, of Dun- stall,220 SHEEP. stall, near Wolverhampton, whose flock has been highly improved, and is still improving, by crossing with rams from Mr. Honeybourne, Dishley ; Farrow Lough- borough ; Messrs. Stones, Quorndon, and Barrow; Green, Normanton, Leicestershire ; and Buckley, Not- tinghamshire: three ewes, on the average, rear four lambs, the lambs are generally shorn the first summer; the ewes average 61b. of wool, and the wethers Sib. Shear hogs sold to the butcher, March, 1807, at 8d. per lb. and average 2lib. per quarter, price56s. each ; two shear would average 30lb. the quarter, and the aged ewes would feed to 27lb. the quarter. This flock is never folded, otherwise than by hurdles on turnips; and these, as well as Swedish, and cab- bages, are often drawn to them on turf land, in which way they go farther ; a little hay is given in severe frost and deep snow, but no corn. In early spring, they graze the watered meadows, and in summer are kept on grass and clover; they are, in general, healthy, and by good shepherding, kept free from distempers. At the Ryd, Mr. Lechmere’s flock are a cross be- tween Spanish and Southdown ; the sheep are of a good size, the ewes appear to me large enough to weigh, when fat, from 15 to 18lb. the quarter/the wool of the last season was sold at 2s. 8d. per lb. Mr. Lechmere means to draw his flock still nearer to the Spanish, by farther crossing with a ram of that breed, and thus to continue improving the wool. Mr. Terrett, at Severn End, has a flock, which he assured me are of the true Ryeland, or Ross, breed, un- mixed ; and could furnish any gentleman with a few of that sort of the pure blood, but he has of other sorts. He sold his wool of 1307 altogether, at 2s. per lb.; the pureSHEEP. 221 pure Ross alone would have been worth more, but it went with the rest. At Lea Castle, Mr. Knight keeps a considerable flock of sheep, and has kept two sorts for comparison, Leicester and Southdown ; of both sorts about 130 breeding ewes, and the whole flock, July, 1807, in- cluding lambs, was about 500. Mr. Knight is partial to the Southdown ; but his steward, thinks the Lei- cester, not only the heaviest, when fat, but generally, when kept together, in best condition, and that they will bear being stocked as many upon an acre as the other ; he believes the Southdown to be rather the most prolific, but thinks even this depends a good deal upon the rams used ; value of the wool per fleece, upon the average, nearly equal, or rather in favour of the Lei- cester ; thus 6lb. of Leicester wool, per fleece, at Is. 2d. 7s. ; Sib. of Southdown, at 2s. 6s. ; but this will de- pend upon the price of the different sorts of wool. Mr. Kn ight intends to fix in fine woolled sheep, Southdown, Ryeland, Merino, and crosses. His stew- ard was gone, September 29, 1807, to meet a jobber, to purchase from him some Ross ewes; the pure Ross breed is said to be nearly extinct; he has now a Merino ram, boughtof Lord Somerville, of very fine wool, which has got some good looking stock from the Southdown ewes ; also a Southdown ram, bought from the Duke of Bedford at Woburn, at 40 guineas, and another of the same breed, bought at 50 guineas; believes he shall be able to keep 400 ewes and 100 theaves, -which he supposes may produce 500 lambs, which he intends to sell to the butcher, or as stores in autumn, except about 50 ram lambs for wethers and stock, and 100 ewe lambs for succession ; 100 of the aged222 FOLDING. aged ewes to be annually drawn off. The extertt of Mr. Knight’s farm is detailed under the article Occu-« o PATIONS. FOLDING. This practice, except on the common fields, is at- tempted but by few persons who have valuable flocks; Mr. Knight has made some experiments on folding, •which he means to continue, as he wishes to promote every source of manure. Upon a weak sandy loam, for which there was no manure, and not beins? in time for turnips, the fallow was continued through the winter, and folded with sheep; and, in the spring 1807, sown with barley and seeds, the barley not equal to what might have been expected, I estimated it, in July, at 20 bushels per acre, much inferior to that succeeding turnips with the usual manure; consequently, folding appears to be inferior to the common manure, and tur- nip husbandry. At Michaelmas, I again viewed this piece of land with Mr. Knight, and found the seeds un- commonly promising ; the folding has, consequently, answered better for the seeds than for the barley crop, and, perhaps, their growth might be promoted by the thin crop of barley. Folding for Wheat.—A 14-acre piece sown on lay or turf, once ploughed, was folded upon by about 200 sheep, from sowing time, the end of September, to the end of February; they went over 12 acres, two acres of the best land had no manure; the whole was drilled with wheat at nine inches, two bushels and a half per acre, the crop light, not exceeding 20 bushels per acre; sort of wheat, the common lammas red straw ; here the manureFOLDING. 2C3 manure from folding, lias hardly answered expectation; 200 sheep went over an acre in about twelve days. Mr. Knight is making further experiments on fold- ing, which he means to continue. He, this autumn, 1807, folded a large flock of lambs and sheep of all ages on clover lay, the lay a good pasture ; they were suffered to range in it, at liberty, in the day time, but were driven into hurdled folds at night, the object of which is to concentrate the dung and urine of the flock to particular points, and prevent any of it being wasted under the hedges ; it is admitted here, that Leicester sheep make a better fold than Southdown, 30 of the former being deemed equal to 40 of the latter, they do not suppose the sheep injured here by folding. Mr. Carpenter observes, light lands are best for breeding sheep, and they are, doubtless, best for folding sheep, as their lodging; is more drv and wholesome. On the open fallow fields, sheep arc regularly folded, as in other counties; and Mr. C. observes, that, on strong land, great injury is sustained for want of drain- age, by which means, sheep,pasturing there,are rotted; they are also subject to hunger, the scab, and an un- certain and irregular supply of food, and these half- starved sheep have the further misfortune to be con- fined, during the night, in folds to manure the fallows; these different causes give them an unthrifty unkindly appearance; if folding be continued, the sheep ought to be fed with vetches in racks; one would hope no humane person will any longer continue two such bar- barous customs as starving and folding. Mr. C. says, “ I have made trial of many breeds of sheep, all of which, by adapting each sort to their pro- per pasture, have answered well; the large sheep bear- ing long strong wool, are best suited for rich old pas- ture ;224 FOLDING. ture; those of inferior size, are best adapted for seeds and turnips. It is every where allowed that the late Mr. Bakewell had great merit in producing the new Leicester breed of sheep; and so have his successors^ Mr. Honeyborn, Messrs. Stone, Mr. Green, Mr. Buck- ley, and others, in continuing and improving the breed, who also continue to let rams to different parts of the united kingdoms, and the prime ones at high prices. But there can be no other method of perfecting any breed, than in well keeping the stock, and by a succes- sion of good rams, the culls or inferior lambs being parted with, and the best only reserved as breeding stock. To assist the ewes in lambing time, Mr. C. says, provide some small enclosures near the homeage, and let the grass be there saved ; draw the ewes from the flock as they come near lambing, and put them in these small enclosures till they have yeaned, when they may be taken away, and replaced by others till the season is over; many ewes and lambs may be thus saved which might otherwise have been lost, by the opportunity it gives of attending night or day, with the convenience of being supplied with proper food, as turnips or cab- bages may be thrown to them, and the ewes be as- sisted in a bad lambing time. It is the safest to cut the ram lambs when young, at about a week or nine days old ; there is less risk then than when they are suffered to grow older. Mr. C. gives the following receipts for complaints attending sheep:—To prevent the fly breeding mag- gots on sheep j take two quarts of cold drawn linseed oil, one pound of flour of brimstone, half a pound of the common oil of amber; mix these ingredients well togetherON CATTLE, THE DAIRY, &C. 225 together, and anoint the sheep, about a fortnight after they are shorn, along the back from the neck to the tail; the above quantity is sufficient for 80 sheep, and when properly done, I have never known it to fail. To cure black, or red water, in sheep ; one quart of butter-milk mixed with three spoonfulls of turpentine, to be given at the discretion of the shepherd, accord- ing to the state, or increase, of the disorder. To cure the rot in sheep ; a table spoonfull of oil of turpentine, to six or eight spoonfulls of water, given cold to one sheep, once a week, has, I am assured, cured sheep far gone in this disorder; but the best wray is to prevent the disorder by draining the land, and if that cannot be done, to stock it with cattle instead of sheep. ON CATTLE, THE DAIRY, &C. Mr. Carpenter says, “ Respecting size of cattle, the richer your pasture, the larger your cattle may be; but those of a moderate size are to be preferred for the dairy, as being calculated to give more milk in propor- tion to their keep, than very large ones.” A cow is justly ranked very high amongst useful animals ; milk is the support of infancy; and roast beef is the king of meat; the article of leather too from the hide, is applicable to numberless important purposes, for shoes, for implements in agriculture, for accoutre- ments in travelling, for luxury, and self-defence; with many other conveniencies from hair, horns, hoofs, &c. Milk is one of its most useful productions ; the arti- cles of butter and cheese rank very high amongst our WORCESTERSHIRE.] Q Comforts526 OX CATTLE, THE DAIRY, &C. comforts and necessaries; and their being produced id the greatest quantity and perfection possible, is of con- siderable importance. Mr. Carpenter has given the particulars of the process of cheese-making, but as they are well known to every dairy woman, I shall only abstract some of the leading points^ after promising that the strictest attention to cleanliness is, in every part of the business, necessary. When the milk is of a proper warmth, before the runnet is put to it, put a handful! of salt to the milk of every five cows, and so in proportion ; this will make, the runnet work quick, and the cheese all salt alike, and less salt will be necessary afterwards ; a great fault consists in breaking up the cheese too soon, before the curd becomes solid; and the procuring of sweet and well prepared maw skins for making the runnet, cannot be too much attended to. When the cheese is thoroughly come, which will be in an hour and a half, or two hours, after putting in the runnet, it should only be cut in slices in the tub, and then put into the vat, and well worked by squeez- ing thoroughly to make it firm and close, then put it into the press, and no more is needful. Cheese thus made, will be the finest, fattest, and best flavoured, as well as the most in quantity. Cheese is often impregnated with the juice of bruised sage leaves strained out, and mixed with the milk, which gives a green colour; potatoe tops and parsley have been used in the same way; marigold flowers also give a colour nearly equal to anotto ; cochineal is also used by the curious, being of a fine pink hue, and has a pretty effect in the hands of an ingenious dairy wo- man. But the principal ingredient used for colouring cheeseON CATTLE, THE DAIRY, &C. 227 cheese is anotto, which is thus used : take a piece of Spanish anotto and a bowl of milk, dip the anotto a little into it, then take a stone and rub the wet anotto, washing it into the bowl, till it becomes of a deep co- lour, and put it into the cheese tub before you put in the runnet or salt, in such quantity as will render the whole a pale orange colour, which will increase in co- lour after the cheese is made. The anotto is perfectly harmless, void of taste or smell, and used only to please the eye. At Brant Hall, Mr. Richard Miller keeps a well ma- naged dairy: cows, long horned, twenty, or more, re- gularly milked, and new milk cheese the principal ob- ject, three tons of which are annually made for sale from twenty cows, besides the consumption of a large family, which may be reckoned at half a ton more ; and the making of butter, and rearing of calves, is also attended to ; the cow calves being all reared, and now and then a bull calf for stock, but seldom any for oxen: he is possessed of a very excellent long horned bull of the new Leicester variety. When the cows are drawn from the dairy, they are fatted on the premises, a small lot annually, and young ones introduced ; weight, when fat, eight to nine score the quarter ; they are fat- tened on the summer’s grass, but sometimes kept in stalls, and fed with hay, turnips, cabbages, or barley meal. Mr. Carpenter says, some are of opinion that parti- cular land is necessary to produce good cheese, but this is not the case ; cheese of a good quality.may be produced from any land that is capable of supporting stock in a healthy state, though it must be admitted, the better the land the greater will be the yield. Dairy cows are here in summer, always fed on the summer’s228 BREEDING calves. summer’s grass ; in winter, they have hay when milk- ed, and when dry, straw, to which is sometimes added a fewr turnips. Potatoes, turnips, and cabbages, have also been given to new milch cowrs before grass time, but they should be in limited quantity, being other- wise too cold for their stomachs, and hay should be given in the night, and at intervals. Mr. Carpenter advises to sow a piece of rye in Au- gust, or early in September, for new milch cows in April; also to tie up milking cow's in the daytime, during summer, and feed them with vetches, turning them to pasture in the night only; this, I much ap- prove, but do not find that it is any where practised. Mr. Carpenter gives the following receipt for mak- ing soft or summer cheese:— “ Take six quarts of new milk warm from the cow, the stripings, or last milkings, are best, being the richest milk ; put into it two spoonfulls of runnet, let it stand three quarters of an hour, or till it is hard, coming, or full curd ; put it into the vat with a spoon, not breaking it at all, and laying upon it a trencher or flat board; press it with a four-pounds Aveight, or if you find it gets too hard, press it with a lighter weight, turn- ing it with a dry cloth once an hour ; and, when got stiff, shift it every day into fresh grass or rushes; it will be fit to cut in ten or fourteen days, or sooner, if the weather be warm.” BREEDING CALVES. There are many graziers who take pains to improve their breed of cattle, in form, blood, and fashion, and to produce such as will get fat in the least time j with 2 theCALVING COWS. 229 the dairyman, the object is different, whose care should be to rear both bull and cow calves from those cows that have good bags, or udders, and yield the most milk of the best quality ; but, at the same time, paying- due attention to improvement of carcass. The calves reared where dairies are kept, are gene- rally reared by hand, after having the cows milk for a few days, they have milk given them by hand, then milk pottage ; and, lastly, whey pottage, and whey, when turned to grass; the bull calves are generally turned upon a cow ; which, Mr. Carpenter says, is the cheapest and best method, and produces the best cat- tle, he, having reared four fine calves upon one cow in one season ; the two first were turned upon the cow early in April, and taken from her at Midsummer, and sent to grass ; two other calves were then put upon the same cow, who kept them till Michaelmas, when they were weaned. Calves should be wintered the first year on turnips, or on hay and picking on grass ground, till spring, when they can be supported by grass alone ; lor they will not pay for rearing, unless they are well fed. CALVING COWS. Mr. Carpenter remarks, very properly, that, in the early spring months, such calving cows as have been fed with straw, should be well minded when they be- gin to spring; at such time they should be put where they can have good hay, or other nutritious food, until they calve, and afterwards to grass, or they will pot answer in the dairy. q 3 In230 FEEDING CATTLE. In the west of the county, Mr. Smith, of Erdiston, keeps mostly ITerefords : his dairy consists of a bull and twelve cows of that breed ; but he has long horn as wrellas Herefords for fatting ; he gives the summer’s grass, and sometimes stall feeds oxen.—See Farm Buildings, Chap. III. At the Ryd, Mr. Lechmere keeps a dairy of seven or eight very fine Yorkshire short horned cows ; and as many at the Sink, another farm near, of the same breed; butter and cheese is made for the family, and to spare. A very fine young bull of this breed is in his possession, hired for the sea- son at 30 guineas. Mr. Lechmere grass feeds and stall feeds here Yorkshire cattle, drawn from his own dairy, or bought of jobbers. At Timberden, his other farm, he feeds only Herefords. Mr. Terrett, at Severn End, (the occupation of the late Mr. Lechmere,) has a dairy of capital Herefords, and he grazes and fats principally Herefordshire oxen, but has some of other breeds. FEEDING CATTLE. A good many cattle are fatted in this county, not only of its own produce, but bought in from Hereford- shire, South Wales, Shropshire, Staffordshire; and by means of jobbers, the short horned Yorkshire, and some Scots, and some from North Wales, are brought in ; a good many are drawn off from dairies, and very few sold out of the county otherwise than fat; the principal feeding is in the south and west of the county, Mr. Knight, of Lea Castle, Wolverley, who grows a considerable breadth of turnips, also stall-feeds a good manyFEEDING CATTLE. 231 many cattle, with a view, not only of a profitable con- sumption of the turnips, but also to makegood manure of his large quantity of barley straw. In December, 1807, I saw and examined sixteen head of cattle in a shed, six of which were cow or heifer stock, and ten oxen, small Hereford, Pembroke, and one Scotch, in- tended to be killed for the family use. The shed was merely a lean-to against the side of a barn about twelve feet wide, and long enough to hold twenty head of cattle, or more; the turnips are thrown in a heap at one end of the shed as they are carted home ; the cattle are tied to boosy posts, from four to five feet asunder, with a roomy wooden trough, or manger, before them, from two to two feet and a half wide, the whole length of the shed, to contain their food, but no rack or cratch ; there is no foddering room before the cattle, but their food is carried up between them ; the back part is a row of pillars to support the roof, which, except the necessary gate entrances, is paled up breast high, to keep out swine, or intruders. The cattle are bought in at neighbouring fairs in the autumn, in different degrees of forwardness, as they can be procured, except a few of the cows drawn from their own dairy ; they are fed with whole turnips, root apd branch, and hay cut by one of Burrell’s ma- chines, of Thetford, given several times a day in the trough before them ; with this food they require no water, but are let out in the middle of the day, to rub themselves, and tread the straw in the yard; their dung is also daily wheeled amongst the straw, to improve the compost. I endeavoured to inquire the quantity of hay and turnips respectively eaten per head, per day or week, |^ut it had not been ascertained. I suspect that a stone of£32 FEEDING CATTLE. of ltlb. weight per day of hay, and one hundred weight of turnips, to each beast, would be a good al- lowance; this, at 5s. per cwt. hay, and 6s. per cwt. turnips, would be about 8s. per week each beast, and with the labour attending it, they cannot be cheaper well fed. One principal advantage of thus stall-feeding upon an arable farm, is the improvement and increase of manure; for, in point of profit, it does not promise much upon paper, for an ox, or heifer, thus kept twenty weeks, will cost Si. and cannot be expected to improve more than the expense. They are, however, thus supported from a small breadth of land; the tur- nips, for twenty weeks, would thus be seven tons, which, in a tolerably good crop, would be produced on half an acre; the hay would be 17| cwt. at 112lb. the hundred, which ought to be produced from little more than half an acre also, besides the aftermath ; each beast may therefore be reckoned to be fed on the produce of little more than an acre of well cultivated land; the produce is, at this price, well sold at home, the dunghill increased, and the land thereby improved, making the w'hole a good concern, though not appa- rently very profitable, when reckoned on paper. At the Ryd, Mr. Lech mere at present feeds only the short-horn or Yorkshire cattle ; 12 were in stalls when I was there; one, a large bull of this breed, feed- ing for the butcher, a large thick and heavy animal; a second, a young bull, hired for getting stock, at 30 guineas for the season ; and ten cows or heifers, part drawn from his own stock, the rest bought from job- bers ; they are fed with oil cake and hay, with plenty of water ; four cakes per day are given to each feeding beast, weighing about fourteen or fifteen pounds, toge- therFEEDING CATTLE. 233 ther with what hay they will eat, of the best quality, which may be about one hundred weight per week : a man will easily attend twenty or more ; the price of oil cake is subject to fluctuation, and a little mystery hangs over this part of the business, which the gra- ziers are unwilling to throw open, under an idea, that, when the high prices they sometimes make of a lot of capital beasts, come to the knowledge of the breeder, it may tend to raise the price of lean stock ; for the breeder of Herefordshire, or long-horn, or other oxen, is rarely the feeder of them, but generally sells them in store order, to be fatted by others. But I think, when the expenses of stall-feeding come to be detailed, it will by no means have that tendency; for upon paper those expenses appear so high, as to be enough to deter any one from the practice, unless he be encouraged by a reasonable price, both of store stock, and food for their support, and for making them fat.—Mr. Lech mere informed me, that oil cake in Lon- don is sometimes so high as 20l. per thousand, besides carriage down ; and yet, that he buys most of his cake in London: this, if four cakes be given per day, will amount to 1 Is. 2d. per week, each beast, in cake only ; but, I believe, the price is oftener about two-thirds of that sum, and sometimes onlv three cakes are given per day ; but when a beast is meant to to be pushed forward, double the usual allowance is often given, or as much as they will eat without danger of cloying them. Thirty-one cakes, he informed me, weigh about a hun- dred weight, hence 1000 weigh thirty-two hundred weight and a quarter, which at 20l. is upwards of 12s. per hundred weight; if the price varies from Si. to 12l. per ton, and [ 4lb. average weight be given to each beast per day, this makes the expense, for each beast, Is. to534 FEEDING CATTLE. 7s. to 10s, 6d. per week, in cake only, to which add, 5s.. for a hundred of hay, makes 12s. to 15s. 6d. per head, per week, and 1 s. per week more ought to he added for attendance and stall room, which will make the regular expense near J 5s. per week, or 2s. per day each beast is the lowest average. Hence it appears, that if a beast were thus stall-fed through the winter, from the beginning of December to the middle of April, 20 weeks, the expense would be 14l. an expense which but few would repay ; or if a beast wrere laid in early ia the spring, and grazed through the summer, sup- pose 32 weeks at 3s. 4l. 16s. and 20 weeks on hay and oil cake, 14l. total for a year’s keep, thus 18l. l6s. a sum which, with the price of the beast, could hardly be expected to be repaid ; some cheaper mode of fat- tenning must, therefore, in general be resorted to. Mr. Lech mere’s feeding sheds at the Ryd, are open behind to the yard, but the yard is fenced in, and none but cattle stock admitted, and hogs and other intruders, are kept off by the man in attendance. The cattle are tied to boosy posts, at from four feet and a half to five feet, from middle to middle ; before them is a wooden trough or manger, full two feet wide across the top, and before that a foddering bin, four feet wide ; the cattle stand in a space about nine feet wide, the whole shed is therefore about 15 feet wide within, and at every four feet nine inches, (the other way lengthwise of the shed,) is a tying for one beast, and a pump is at hand for supplying them with water. At Timberden Farm, Mr. Lechmere feeds capital Herefordshire oxen, and has different sheds and yards for them, in different stages of fatness, and they are classed and arranged according to their condition in this respect; they are all kept at grass in summer, but when- / f'ferce.'f&r. Plate / 7 fa faeePaye ?35. SjaMwiates "~~—~~~ larp open la l/te Pasture Seale of Feet FEEDING CATTLE. 235 when winter approaches, and grass fails, they are in part taken to the sheds; the prime oxen are taken to the finishing sheds, where they are fed with oil cake and the best hay, and have each one a stall, in which they are kept loose, and can turn and move about at plea- sure, with each a stone trough for water, to which they have access as often as necessary ; these sheds are fur- nished with a bin before the troughs, for dealing out the food. The second class are tied to boozy posts, as mentioned before, with a range of troughs before them, and a bin from which they are fed with secondary food, as hay and turnips, but seldom oil cake. The third class have access to a yard, and open shed, lying open to their pasture; they are supplied in the shed with hay, but are at liberty to go to their pasture. The fourth class are kept in pasture all weather, perhaps a distance from home, but supplied in severe frost, or at other times if necessary, with a small portion of hay and turnips, one, or both, thrown about their pasture. The following are given, as a sketch, of a set of the best Worcestershire stall-feeding sheds ; they are not exactly copied from any, but those of Mr. Lechmere, at Timberden farm, were principally in idea; though others, and particularly those erected by the late Mr. Lechmere, at Severn-end, are upon the same principle. Plate VI.—Shed, No. 1. a.a.a. &c. ox-stalls, in which the oxen stand loose, being pent in by the gates cl. e. which also open tof. thus letting the beasts ail at once to the watering troughs f. without coming together; these troughs are supplied with water from a pump, P, by means of a pipe. B. the foddering bin, from whence hay and oil cake are given in the trough ; c. cl. h. i. sec- tion of the tiled roof; the space behind the standing stalls being unroofed, or left open ; the wall at the back236 FEEDING CATTLE. back of the troughs is built only fence high, and the dung of the cattle thrown over it into the yard. No. 2. A secondary shed with boosy tvings: B. the foddering bin : c. c. the troughs for hay or turnips; oil cake seldom given here ; if hogs or other stock be ad- mitted into the yard the space between the pillars be- hind the cattle should be fenced, except the necessary gate or door entrances, and this is done either with gates, or pales, or brick-work fence high, leaving the space above between the pillars open ; if the yard be confined to the feeding cattle only, no such fence is necessary. No. 3. Part of a shed open for the cattle to shelter in at pleasure, with a trough for hay and turnips, and sometimes a cratch or rack against the walk At the capital grazing farm of Severn-end, M. Ter- ret has seldom less than from 60 to 100 oxen, much the greater part being prime Herefords ; but he has some of other breeds; he has now four very large short-horn, bought at Lord Coventry’s annual sale, which will make enormous beasts when fat, but he fears they will lay long on hand ; he had between 20 and 30 capital Here- fords sold at Smithfield, against Christmas, 1807, some of them in price, exceeding 50k; has now, Dec. 2], 1807, a shed full of very prime ripe oxen, which will soon find the same road : they are kept in a shed similar to that marked No. 1, being loose and at liberty to turn about: he has, besides, a great many very forward in succession, in secondary sheds, fed with hay and tur- nips, those in No. 1, being fed with hay and oil cake ; a third class have access to the sheds similar to No. 3, for hay or turnips, or range to the pastures at pleasure: and a fourth class are confined to the pastures, but supplied, 'when necessary, with turnips or hay.—- These oxen have generally been worked in Hereford- shire^DEEDING CATTLE. 23/ fehire, till six years old ; are then drawn off and sold to the graziers the ensuing summer or autumn ; when laid in lean, they often lay 13 months on the grazier’s hands, and it is generally more satisfactory to buy them fresh or forward, and make a quicker dispatch. The prices, when lean, vary from 12l. to 30l. and upwards, according to size and condition ; if bought lean in th© spring, they must have the summer’s grass, and may be finished the ensuing winter in stalls; but if bought lean in autumn, they are wintered in the pastures, with the addition of hay and turnips, when necessary ; must afterwards have a summer’s grass, and then remain to be finished in the stalls. No account is made of straw here for cattle, except as litter ; and even Mr. Knight, on his arable farm, thinks there is no advantage in feed- ing cattle with straw in any form ; it affords them lit- tle or no nutriment, and their eating it robs the dung- hill ; it is, therefore, either used for litter, or spread plentifully about the yard, where they pick a little of it, and trample the rest to manure. On the feeding farms, straw is scarce even in quantity sufficient for lit- ter : respecting the prices the prime oxen are brought to by the grazier eventually, Mr. Lechmere shewed me particulars on paper, of 12 prime Hereford oxen, which he sent up to Smithfield previous to the show of cattle, December, 1807, and which were there sold, the paper was the salesman’s account, and nothing was said against making the result public, though he did not permit me to copy exact particulars. The highest price was 49I. the lowest 33k the total amount of 12 oxen, 4571. 10s. average price 38k 2s. 6d. each ; from this is to be deducted the expense of driving them up, as well as salesman, and keep; Mr. L. observed, that his neighbour Mr. Terret con'd shew ma238 DRAUGHT HORSES, &C. me a more interesting paper, as be had beaten him both in price and number, but I did not see Mr. Ter- rett’s prices. When the grazier’s expenses come to be considered, I do not see much danger of raising the envy of the breeder, by exposing the grazier’s prices ; for the above cattle must have been on hand a whole winter, and a summer at least, besides being kept on oil cake at a good allowance, for some time previous to being sent up; they very probably cost in, 20l. each or more, which, with their keep and other expenses, would leave little enough of net profit; besides, it must be con- sidered, these were picked out as prime beasts. SECT. III.—HORSES AND OTHER BEASTS, FOR DRAUGHT AND BURDEN. The horses are generally of the strong black breed, but not exclusively; other sorts and colours are met with occasionally ; and the Worcestershire farmer, not taking pride in himself as a breeder, supplies himself with a horse or a colt when he wrants, or thinks proper, at fairs and markets where he can. The ploughing, husbandry business, and team work, is very generally done by horses. Mr. Pomeroy says, the breed of horses is chiefly confined to those sorts that may be useful in the cultivation of the land ; they are, howrever, much heavier, and of course slower, than ap- pear necessary for that purpose. Perhaps the general construction of the ploughs, and the unwieldly weight of the waggons, together -with the badness of many of the parochial roads, may be thought to render them necessary ;DRAUGHT HORSES, &C. 2 $3 iWcessary ; and there is no doubt, but clay soils require strong machinery, and much greater strength than light land, both in cultivation, and upon the roads. Mr. Oldacre, of Fladbury, observes, horses are ge- nerally used; oxen sometimes, and drawn single, like horses; but I never knew a farmer, in the Vale of Evesham, but what was tired of them after a few years’ practice. I have to observe, that I believe strong deep clay soils to be the least of all others adapted to draught oxen. Were more oxen introduced into the working stock, it would undoubtedly be a very advantageous improvement. One objection of some weight is this, that they cannot be worked in yokes, upon the declivi- ties of the present high ridges; and the harness neces- sary for them, worked in length, is very expensive; but this will be done away when the ridges are lowered. Their advantage to the owner, in point of keep, ex- pense, and other circumstances, is obvious; it may not, however, be superfluous to add, that, in those parts, where they are in general use, they are preferred by the graziers. They are worked till they are six years old; they usually begin at the age of two or three. Mr. Oldacre observes, the breed of horses leaves room for great imprQvement. If gentlemen of property would but keep stallions for their tenants and neigh- bours, paying for the use of them, of the true useful sort, the breed might be soon improved ; I will not pretend to determine the sort, only that the clean legged, free from hair as much as possible, are easily kept clean, and are the most healthy. At Brant Hall, Mr. Richard Miller employs in the farm business of 218 acres, seven stout horses, includ- ing a hackney, which draws when not used for the saddle,240 DRAUGHT HORSES, &C. saddle, and a breeding mare, which had foaled before March 30, 1807 ; the sort black and brown, but not heavy, about fifteen hands and a half high, nimble and of quick step ; six of them work a six-inch wheel wag- gon to and from Birmingham, at six miles distant, with a load of from four to six tons; they also work two ploughs in any land, and sometimes a double furrow and a single furrow plough ; or three six-inch wheel dung carts on heavy roads : seven draught horses are a very complete set, and will do a great deal of work ; but Mr. Miller has never tried oxen. Vetches are grown for the horses. At Lea Castle, Mr. Knight respecting horses is ra- ther singularly circumstanced: when the situation of public affairs rendered it adviseable for the volunteer cavalry to be raised, he resolved to come forward with a troop raised in his own neighbourhood, and princi- pally at his own expense ; to forward which plan, his own heavy cart horses were sold off, and cavalry horses purchased in their stead. He now mounts ten of his own servants, or dependants, upon as many of his own horses, for military service ; these horses also do all his extensive farming business, and occasionally serve for saddle horses, or to draw his carriage; they, in part, appear to me of the Yorkshire breed, are of quick step in different paces, either for farming purposes, the road, or the army; were, in part, purchased from army contractors, and the rest picked up promiscuously as the purpose could be answered ; they are all constantly kept in the stable the year round, and fed with vetches, carrots, cut hay, or strawy with an additional allowance of a bushel, per head per week, of oats, and a peck of beans; and are constantly kept in exercise, and in active working condition. In241 DRAUGHT HORSES, &C. In summer, they are fed with vetches, from the time they are fit to cut, till they get too ripe; two single horse carts can at once draw enough for a night and a day’s consumption of twelve horses, who, in July, Mr. Pomeroy and I estimated to consume half an acre per week ; they are good and succulent for about a quarter of a year, from the middle of May to the middle of August; soon after which, on this early land, they wither and ripen the seed ; in this time, twelve horses will consume six or seven acres, besides their allow- ance of corn. Mr. Carpenter says, he kept, in the dry summer, 1794, fourteen horses, besides other cattle, several months on about eight acres of vetches, besides cutting several loads for seed. He also says, horses will very well eat Swedish tur- nips, and that he knew an instance of four horses, kept through the spring seed time, the turnips being only washed, and given morning and evening; and it was found that half the allowance of corn usually given, was sufficient. The horses refused good clover when they had Swedish turnips before them. The man who took care of the horses, says this food is equal to carrots for them, as he has proved both ; they are proper to give from Christmas to May. I think it would be a great im- provement of them for horse food, if, after washing, they were cut by one of Hanford’s Leicestershire ma- chines, or by some other adapted for that purpose ; and mixed with a little corn, chaff, or cut hay. This plant is not unlikely to become a great resource in the keep of horses. Mr. Knight has again informed me, that he thinks carrots unfit for the staple food of working horses, as being too laxative to be given alone in quantity, and so stimulating to a horse’s stomach, that with a moderate WORCESTERSHIRE.] R quantity242 DRAUGHT HORSES, &C. quantity they will eat as much hay and corn as though they had none; they would thus, perhaps, improve a horse’s condition so used, but there is no economy in them thus applied ; their highest value is for human food ; but they are generally reckoned here of more value for cattle and sheep, than for horses. Horses (Mr. Carpenter says) are so very useful, that, for various purposes, they cannot be dispensed with, such as for stage waggons, and drawing the heavy loads in London, and other great trading towns, as well as the heavy loads of farmers over the bad roads of clay countries; and for these uses they must be strong and of some weight. There is also a second sort, of a lighter make, very useful in agriculture upon lighter lands, as well as for coaching and the saddle; but those calculated for the road, have, of late years, been too much mixed with the race breed, on account of superior speed ; but, for general use, they ought to have a suitable proportion of bone and strength. He thinks, that if a less number of horses were kept for agriculture, and more oxen were employed, it would be a national benefit; oxen, he says, have been long generally disused in these parts, though tradition informs us, they were formerly generally made use of for the purposes of agriculture. In the year 179b he says, ke introduced a valuable team of oxen of the Gloucester and Hereford breed, and hired a man of that country to work them ; since which, a few more farmers have used oxen at the plough. I saw very few ox-teams in use, though some are kept, on the west of Severn principally. Mr. Smith, of Erdiston, had an ox-team at work -when I was there, and occasionally uses two ox-teams at the plough; upon the Lechmere estate, several plough teams of oxen areDRAUGHT HORSES, &C. Q4S dre kept. But Mr. Lechmere, ploughing little him- self, does all his draught business with four horses. The number of farmer’s working horses, kept in the county, may be about one to every 30 acres of land,, which will amount to about l6,000; to which may be added one-fourth of the number, or 4000, as young or succession stock, and an equal number or 4000 more, kept by gentlemen for pleasure, use, or amusement; this naJmber may also include the young horses for succession, and those employed on rivers, canals, and for all other uses, making, in the whole, 24,000. A horse kept in the stable and worked the whole year, if well fed, will consume the produce of two acres of corn; a bushel of oats per week, is 52 bushels per annum, and may be reckoned the produce of one acre and a half, besides the seed; and 13 bushels of beans may be called the produce of half an acre, besides seed. For one quarter of the year he may be supplied with vetches, for which, half an acre, if a good crop, will suffice, and the remaining three quarters will re- quire the produce of two acres in hay making; four acres and a half per annum. Young horses for succession stock, colts, &c. being at grass, generally, or often, in some rough pasture, and seldom fed with corn, except in severe weather, are not so great consumers; I think that two acres of pasture, and half an acre of corn, is a fair allowance for such per annum ; and reckoning one-fourth of the latter description in this class, the consumption by horses will be— acres. 19,000 horses at 4| acres per head --—------ 85,500 6000 young ditto, at 2| ditto - — -------- 12,500 Total -- ——. 98,000 or244 MU LES. or the produce of about one-fifth of the county con- sumed by horses. Mr. Carpenter advises, if farmers will keep horses, that some good bony useful mares be kept also, which, if well fed and properly attended to, will do as much work as geldings, except a little hinderance at foaling time, as the profit of a good' foal at weaning time, when four or five months old, is a valuable considera- tion. . , MULES Are also used for agriculture in this county, as well as for the saddle and other uses, a good many having been kept by the late Samuel Skey, Esq. of Spring Grove, near Bewdley, and some of them of a good size, to fifteen hands high or more, and some of nearly a milk white colour, the most beautiful of which were reserved for drawing his carriage, and for which a great price had been offered; they were bred from grey, or white, mares, and a white spotted foreign ass, which he had in his possession many years, but is now dead; all the farm work was here done by these ani- mals, upon a light sandy soil. At Mr. Teverell’s, near Worcester, are also kept seven handsome mules, bred by Mr. Skey, who do all kinds of farm work, and are kept principally on straw in winter, and though kept to hard work, look remark- ably sleek and well, Their hardiness is a valuable property, and their longevity a great advantage, as they will perform a deal of work, when only two or three years old, and are in full perfection at thirty, and areASSES—HOGS. 245 are said to be capable of working to the age of se- venty, or upwards. ASSES. Mr. Carpenter, near Bromsgrove, employs a strong gelding ass, with paniers, to carry turnips to his ewes and lambs in winter: and the same practice is adopted by others; some have a folding-door opening outwards at the bottom of the panier, to let out all at once; they are also employed to draw light carriages on the road, as well as to carry burdens: also to haul canal boats, in which office their masters kindly assist, when the strength of the animal is insufficient. SECT. IV. —HOGS. No particular breed of hogs is peculiar to this coun- ty ; about the farm houses, I generally saw the large slouch-eared sort, and as the farmers here can keep them well, they come to a good weight in due time, and find a ready market in the populous manufacturing country near. The colour is mostly white ; they are fatted with dairy produce, pease, barley, and bean flour; a good deal of bacon is eaten in farm houses by the family and servants. Mr. Richard Miller, at Brant Hall, has a good thick sort of hogs, light boned and thin hided, keeping them- selves fat at all times, and when running about with r 3 common246 RABBITS---PIGEONS, common food are generally fat enough for pork ; they have in common, a little dairy produce given them, and sometimes a few potatoes. SECT. V.—RABBITS. I do not believe rabbits are any where attended to in this county as an article of profit, or, at least, in very few instances. The only instance I saw of rabbits, was upon the south side of the declivity of AbbeHey Hill, but had no opportunity of learning whether they were regularly attended to as private property. Mr. Marshall says, they have been neglected on the Cots- wold Hills, which border on this county, on account of breaking their bounds, and straying over the country, SECT. VI.—PIGEONS Are kept by gentlemen resident in the country for variety’s sake, and the supply of their own tables, also by farmers who happen to rent old mansions where pigeon houses have been formerly erected, and by whom the markets are supplied; but I do not think them an increasing article; and, indeed, kept in too great numbers they would be a nuisance, from the de- predations they commit in corn fields and in crops; yet, Mr. Carpenter says, taken in all points of view, and in many situations, they are more profitable than any other sort of the feathered race; they do best in dove houses, as boxes fixed on the side of houses are subject POULTRY. 247 subject to many inconveniences. Pigeon’s dung is Very valuable.—See Manuring. They sometimes re- quire to be fed, particularly in the benting time; I have known ten dozen of young pigeons taken in a very short time from a moderate sized dove house. Pigeons will sometimes forsake their habitations for want of attention in being fed and kept clean j in which case, you may boil assafcetida in water, and wash their holes with it, and their feathers will receive the scent, which pleases their companions so much, that you will soon have the flock restored. Cummin seed is reckoned a great enticer of pigeons, by washing their holes in its decoction, or feeding them with grain steeped in such water; perhaps used both ways, it may the better produce the desired effect; I have also found they are very fond of salt, a lump laid in a plate on the dove house floor is very salutary to them, or in a large dove house, the salt may be so put in two or three separate places. SECT. VII.— POULTRY. Poultry are an article of secondary consideration, but are domesticated and bred here as in other coun- tries, of the various kinds, turkies, geese, fowls, ducks, and the variety termed gallinse, from the name of the order to which it belongs, and for want of some other generic name, but called also guinea fowl, and kept for variety by curious persons: they are seldom reckoned upon as a staple article, but arc kept for family use, and perquisites or pin money, to the female part of the family. I. TURKIES.248 I. TURKIES, Mr. Carpenter says, “ are held in more estimation than other sorts of tame fowls ; they require more at- tention in rearing, but mav be bred in all countries, but do best where there is plenty of growing wood ; they are fond of acorns, and their eggs are esteemed delicious; since turkies have become so common, the capons, though a fine fowl, are not so much sought after ; however they would be very profitable to those that may cultivate them, on acco'unt of their rarity.” 2. GEESE. u In the neighbourhood of commons and waste lands,, that have been lately enclosed, there appears a scarcity in the breed of geese, which the poor people had used to rear, and sell them in a lean state to farmers, to fat- ten in stubbles for the table; but they must for time to come, be bred on the farmer’s premises.” Geese are reckoned salutary and wholesome to horned cattle; and Mr. Carpenter says, from his own observation, th.it on farms, where geese are kept to graze with horned cat- tle, such cattle are less subject to disorders, than where few or no geese are kept. 3. FOWLS. These are of many sorts, and generally plentiful in country markets; and those who are at the pains to rear DUCKS. 2^0 »ear them, so as to be early in the spring of the year, find it worth their attention ; the chickens selling at a good price, and at an early state of their growth ; the eggs also of these fowl, produce considerable profit. In November, 1807, eggs were sold at Stourport at 2d. each, as well as in many other places. The gallinas, or guinea fowl, are also very prolific, and their eggs much admired ; they have a wild fowl appearance; their flesh is also much esteemed by some people, who fancy in taste it resembles that Of the pheasant. 4. DUCKS. The breeding of ducks is not so much attended to as it ought to be, in particular when we consider the great use they are of to grass lands, and more so to culti- vated vegetables, in cleaning them from worms, snails, and insects. A gentleman who resided two years in China, told me, (says Mr. Carpenter) that it is the custom of the Chinese, to keep very large flocks of ducks to devour certain reptiles common in that coun- try, and which would otherwise destroy the crops of rice, and I experienced the benefit of the information ; for one year I had a field of flax of about six acres so covered with the slug wrorm, that the crop was, in many parts, like to be destroyed; these fat slug worms do almost all the mischief in the night, or early in the morning, and in an hour or two after day light appears they retire into their holes. To put a stop to their de- predations, I sent about one hundred ducks of the com- mon sort amongst them, and bargained with a man to attendC50 BEES. attend them properly ; as soon as day light appeared, the ducks were driven to the ftax- field, and devoured as many of these slug worms as their craws would hold; the ducks were then pent up till the following morning, when they were again turned out, and this was repeated for about nine days or a fortnight, by which time, the insects were destroyed, and the flax was preserved, and produced a good crop. If you have no running water near, there are no farm yards where a goose or a duck pond may not be easily made, and filled from the rain or dunghill water ; ducks, in particular, being very fond of thick water. But, if there is plenty of clear pool water, so much the better, as both kinds are fond of a change. The Mus- covy duck, is, by much the largest, and finest flavoured, as well as most beautiful and various in colour; and, what is very remarkable, this last variety will some- times perch.—Mr. Carpenter. SECT. VIII.—BEES. I did not see or hear of any particular cultivation or management of this useful and ingenious insect. They are kept occasionally by cottagers, and at farm houses; but I suspect the English climate to he too often overcast, and too irregular, unsteady, and sub- ject to wind and showers, for honey, or wax, to be raised in any great quantity. Mr. Carpenter says, 44 that there are not more of these very industrious insects kept than there are, is to many, a matter of wonder. A number of bee hives is attended with ittle expense, and considerable profit mayBEES. £51 may be made by selling the honey, which is, and may be used, in many instances in the place of sugar: honey also makes an excellent wine called mead, the only sort of made wine of the produce of this nation, that requires no sugar, and is esteemed very fine.” Whether the increase of bees, to the utmost limits of which they are capable, would be consistent with pru- dence, or general economy, is questionable. Dr. Dar- win says, in his Phytologia, “ a great number of bees must be very injurious to flowers, and, consequently, to the production of fruits, as they plunder the necta- ries of their honey, and thence deprive the anthers and stigma of their adapted nourishment; they likewise injure the semiqal products of vegetables, by plunder- ing the stamina of flowers of their anther dust, for bee bread ; and also of the wax which covers the anthers for their defence against rain.” He further says, “ the bees of one society fre- quently attack those of another, destroy most of them in battle, and plunder them of their honey ; in this respect, resembling the societies of mankind; to pre- vent which, he laid a board of about an inch thick on the bee bench, and set the hive with its mouth exactly on the edge of this board ; he also made a semicircular hollow in the board, and contracted the mouth of the hive, thus fortifying the entrance; this, in some mea- sure, prevented the attack ; the next day he removed the attacked hive to a distant part of the garden, after which, the war entirely ceased. CIIAP,252 CIIAP. XV. RURAL ECONOMY. SECT, I.—LABOUR, SERVANTS, AND LABOURERS. The hours of labour are from six in the morning' to six in the evening, during the summer ; in some parts they are from five to seven, with a proportionate in- crease of pay. In winter, from day break to the close of the evening : during the harvest months there are no fixed hours of beginning or leaving work ; it is regu- lated by weather and circumstances. The price of labour, as given below, in 1794, is now somewhat advanced in proportion to the advance in provisions, and may, in 1805, be reckoned at least, upon an average, higher by 20 per cent, or’ one-fifth of the whole. The wages of a day labourer, Dr. Nash says, is now, 1805, Is. fid. per day. Price of Labour, 1794. A shepherd, or man to feed stalled oxen, Ils. to 12s. per week. A carter, 8s. to 9s. Threshers earn by task, 8s. to 9s. Old men and moderate hands, 6s. Mowing grass, per acre, with a gallon of beer, or cy- der, Is. 6d. Reaping wheat, with ditto, 5s. to 6s. Harvest month, with beer, 56s. Women, per day, 6d. to 7d. Masons and carpenters, ditto, Is. 8d. and wages increasing.—Mr. Darke. DayTRICE OF LABOUR. 253 Day labourer’s wages, with beer, Is.; hours of work- ing, six to six ; in winter, from light to dark. Wheat threshing, per bushel, 4d. Barley, ditto, 2|d. Beans, ditto, 2d. Grass mowing, per acre, and six quarts of beer, Is. 8d. Hay making, Is. 4d. to Is. Gd. per day, with beer. Harvest month, 30s. and maintenance, or 3l. and beer; instead of beer, I give five pecks of malt and one pound of hops to each labourer.—J/r. Oldacre. The price of labour varies at different parts of the county ; in 1807 Mr. Richard Miller, at Brant Hall, states it to be as follows:—A labourer in harvest, Is. Gd. a day, and meat and drink, and the carriage of a load of coals. At other times, 2s. per day, and beer ; or to 2s. 6d. without beer. Waggoner, per an- num, 12l. 12s. Man servant, 101. 10s. Dairy maid, 5l. to 61. Under maid, 3l. to 5l. Wheat threshing, 7d. Barley, 4d. Oats, 2^d. per bushel. Plough- ing, 10s. 6d. per acre. The average price of labour, with drink (beer, cy- der, or perry), is Is. a day, or Is. 2d. without, at the choice of the person employed. A true idea of the ex- pense of furnishing drink, will not be formed from the proportion the two prices bear to each other, or from what is usual in most other parts: two gallons a day is now pretty generally considered as thefixed allowance to each man, in the harvest months, but oftentimes there is no restriction. In extenuation of this abuse, it is said that a part is taken home to the families; but this, when it happens, may be set down as an exception to general custom. Hired servants have the same. The254 PROVISIONS. The price of labour, mentioned above, is to be an* derstood as that of common day labourers: those who are qualified to undertake, and are entrusted with the care of any particular part of the business, such as the management of feeding cattle, or the care of sheep, re- ceive from 10s. to 12s. a week. Women have 6d. with, or 8d. without drink. The price of piece-work varies in different parts of the county; the customary daily wages being the rule by which it appears to be > regulated. The yearly wages of an able man servant, are from 5k to 7k a year, exclusive of diet, washing, and lodging ; some few, and those chiefly such as are entrusted with the care of the team horses employed on the farm, receive from eight to twelve guineas. Women servants, from 50s. to 4l.—Mr. Pomeroy. 1807. Labourers near Bromsgrove, have from 8s„ to 10s. per week, and beer, with meat in harvest. Mr. Knight keeps about half a dozen labourers in constant employ, to do all sorts of work, ploughing as wrell as other ; their wages are 1 Is. per week in com- mon, and 12s. per week to those who have the care of horses, or other stock; but no regular allowance of beer, but some is given occasionally. In hay and corn harvest they have 15s. per week, and beer, but not board, unless occasionally at the pleasure of their em- ployer. SECT. II.—PROVISIONS. Every kind of provisions, necessary for the comforts, or conducing to the luxuries, of mankind, is raised in this county. The rich Vale of Evesham, and the other cultivatedPROVISIONS. 255 cultivated parts, afford corn, grain, and pulse, of every kind, much more than necessary for the consumption of the county. Sheep and cattle, and the various arti- cles from them produced, are in much greater quantity than the home demand requires ; and the surplus finds a ready market at Birmingham, and in the mining and manufacturing parts of Staffordshire, to which places, grain, and fat ware, are often sold, and the markets there almost wholly supplied from this county with fruit; corn and meat are consequently generally cheaper here than in the neighbouring places above named. In a hit of fruit, large quantities of perry and cyder are produced, and the growers of these articles, with their families and dependants, drink this beverage duty free ; but upon sale, wholesale or retail, it becomes subject to the excise. The various kinds of garden vegetables are raised in great plenty, and some of the rarer and choicer kinds sent to the market of Birmingham. Excellent salmon, as well as shad, lampreys, and lampern, is caught in the Severn, in the proper season, not only for the supply of the county, but of the above markets; the county is also well supplied with the other kinds of sea, and fresh-water fish. An exuberant supply of hops (when a crop) is af- forded, both for this county, and the contiguous parts of the kingdom. Salt.—The salt works of Droitwich afford an inex- haustible store of this article, and of the most excellent quality ; more particulars of which will be given under the article Commerce. The price of all kinds of provisions is very much advanced of late years, a principal cause of which, is the great increase of manufactures in the adjoining . counties,Q56 PROVISIONS. counties, more particularly those of Warwickshire and Staffordshire. A second, and perhaps of equal conse- quence, is the encroachment luxury has made on the mode of living of the inhabitants in general, from which even the farmer is not exempted. - There are employed every week, on an average, from twenty to thirty horses, in conveying the productions of the butter and poultry market, from Worcester alone, for the consumption of Birmingham and its neighbour- hood, besides what is procured from the markets of Droitwich and Bromsgrove. Those employed in car- ry ing vegetables, and other produce, raised by the Evesham gardeners, are still more numerous. Pro- visions are not, however, on the whole, particularly dear, the certainty of a ready sale being a sufficient inducement to most of the farmers on the confines of the counties of Gloucester and Hereford, to give a preference to this market; where the average price of butter in summer, is qd. per pound, in winter, 12d.; good family cheese is seldom under 5d.; beef, those parts which are more particularly called for by the labouring part of the inhabitants, may in general be had in quantities, from 3|d. to 4d., and mutton 4|d.; veal, for a considerable part of the season, 4d. and sometimes under. The price of wheat (at Worcester, where the measure is 8| gallons), with all the other productions of the corn market, have varied very consi- derably within the last seven years ; at present, many of the articles run remarkably high : the price of wheat, 7s. 6d. to 8s. 2d.; barley, 4s. 6d. to 5s.; oats, 3s. Gd. to 4s. 6d. ; horse beans, 6s. 2d. to 7s. 2d.; pease, 6s. lOd. to 7s. 4d.; malt, 7s. 6d. ; hops of the best gathering, 3l. 10s. to 5l. The price of cyder and perry is extremely fluctuating. It is necessary to re- el mark; iPROVISIONS. 257 remark, that each town has its peculiar corn measure, and the price varies accordingly ; the Worcester bushel is said to be the least.—Mr. Pomeroy, 1794. Price of provisions, 1794, in the Vale of Evesham: beef, 3jd. per lb.; mutton, 4|d. ditto. Wheat, 7s. fid. per bushel of 36 quarts; barley, 5s. lOd. ditto; beans, 6s. ditto.—Mr. Oldacre. Worcester, Saturday, September 28, 1805 ; measure, nine gallons:—Wheat, Ils. 6d. to 13s.; barley, 6s. 6d. to 6s. 8d.; beans, 7s. 6d. to 8s.; oats, 4s. to 4s. 6d. Hops, per cwt.—Old, 61. to 7l. 7s.; new, 7l. 7s. to 8l. 8s.; prime, 8l. 8s. to yl. 9s. Beef and mutton, 6d. to 6^d, per lb.; lamb, veal, and pork, 6jd. to 7d. ditto; butter, Is. to Is. 2d. ditto ; cheese, 7d. to 8d. ditto. November; beef somewhat lower, 5d. to 6d. per lb. Worcester market, at different times, 1807, Saturday, September 26 ; grain measure, nine gallons and a half: —Wheat, 8s. to 10s. 3d.; barley, 4s. 6d. to 5s.; pease, 6s. 6d. to 8s.; beans, 6s. 6d. to 7s.; oats, 4s. 6d. to 5s. 4d. Hops, 1280 pockets, sold from 61. 6s. to 7ls. 7s. per cwt. September 30, at Stourport, 99 ditto, from 61. to 7l. ditto. Worcester, October 31st.—Wheat, 8s. to 9s. gd.; barley, 5s. to 5s. 4d.; beans, 6s. 8d. to 7s. 4d.; oats, 4s. 6d. to 5s. 6d.; 433 pockets of hops, sold from 5l. to 61. 6s. per cwt. WORCESTERSHIRE.] S StOlirport,258 PROVISIONS. Stourport, November 4 :—137 pockets of hops, 5l. 5s. to 61. 6s. per cwt. Evesham market, Monday, August 3, 1807:—Wheat, per bushel of nine gallons, 10s. 6d. to 10s. T men, ten, twelve, or more, sometimes, at a barge; but lately, horses have been introduced, and it is now not uncommon, to see a horse assisting a smaller number of men in this business; when the wind is favourable, or down the stream, no haulage is necessary. Several attempts have been made to remove the shoals, and the first engineers of the kingdom have been consulted upon it to little purpose ; for, if one of the shoals be removed another forms in its stead ; pub- lic works have been erected to contract the river in the shallows, and thus deepen the water, but were afterwards indicted as a nuisance and removed by au- thority. The best remedy seems to be to remove the shoals gradually as they form or increase, and to keep the middle of the channel as regular and uniform as possible ; when the autumnal rains fall, the perfect na- vigation of the river is restored. The Avon is also navigable for barges, from its junction with the Severn near Tewkesbury, upwards through Pershore and Evesham for twenty miles or upwards, and to Stratford-upon-Avon. Locks have been introduced upon this river to render it at all times navigable. The Teme is also navigable for barges, from its junction with the Severn near Powick, upwards to a small distance above Powick Bridge. The river, having considerable declivity, its navigation is sooq interrupted by shoals and shallows. The Stour is also navigable for some small distance, and forms a navigable communication between dif- ferent iron works on the lower part of that river. The navigable canals, which are a work of modern times, are, 1. The Trent and Severn, or, as it is more commonly called, the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal;270 NAVIGABLE RIVERS AND CANALS. canal, one of the early works of Brindley, and com- pleted about the year 1770. This canal enters the county at Wolverley, and after accompanying the Stour (but always upon a higher level) for nine miles, with nine locks, and a fall of ninety feet, communicates with the Severn at Stourport; this canal is constructed for long boats, flat bottomed, seventy feet long, and seven feet wide, burden twenty to twenty-four tons; the depth of water, four feet six inches, and top water* width about thirty feet. This undertaking has turned out an advantageous concern, both to its proprietors and the public, for- tunate in its general line, which unites the Severn and Trent, and nearly at right angles with both ; passing near the inexhaustible coal and lime mines of Stafford- shire, and opening a communication from Bristol inland direct to the north of the kingdom, and to the ports of Liverpool and Hull; it has become a kind of general thoroughfare for commerce ; an extensive basin havincr been formed at its junction with the Severn, it is gene- rally crowded with boats and barges; and the new town of Stourport has arisen, with near 200 houses and 1000 inhabitants, forming a commercial town and harbour in the interior of the kingdom, where a bridge has, with great public spirit, been thrown over the Severn, consisting of a single iron arch over its main channel of 150 feet span, and 150 feet rise, and a number of brick arches form the approaches, to the extent both ways of between six and seven hundred feet. I 4 The Droitwich canal, from that town to the Severn, was also constructed soon after the former by Brind- ley ; this is a barge canal, five miles and a half in length, with about sixty feet of fall, and five locks; it cost 2.5,0001. and, so early as 1782, produced a tonnage ofNAVIGABLE RIVERS AND CANALS. 27 1 of l600l. per annum. The principal article carried upon this canal is salt, and coals for making it. About the year J790, a barge canal was projected from Birmingham to the Severn deep water, below Worcester, for vessels of sixty tons burden, the ground surveyed, and application made to parliament; this project was undertaken almost in defiance of opposi- tion, expense, and difficulties; strong opposition was made in parliament by other canal proprietors, and persons interested in mill streams stirred up to jealousy and opposition. It was stated to parliament, that the coal country would be exhausted, by increasing the outlets for that article, and the manufactures thereon depending ruined-, in consequence of which, by order of parliament, a general survey of the coal country was taken, which, proving satisfactory respecting quan- tity of coal, and the projectors giving up all claim to mill streams, and undertaking to supply the canal with water from the Heavens, and by a tier of steam en- gines to pump water from the river Severn, an act was obtained, after soliciting it through two or three ses- sions of parliament, at the expense of about 15,0001. The canal commences with a tunnel under a hill near Birmingham, and after continuing three or four miles with a six feet water, and bridges built upon a scale for barges to pass under, has two deep valleys to en- counter at Selly Oak and Barnbrook End, of four or five > hundred yards across, and thirty feet or more in depth ; these are filled up with a wet loose marl, dug out of the deep cutting or excavation of the canal, and which, being of a loose texture, was with difficulty kept together, and not without timber to tie it and keep it within bounds ; the Barnbrook embankment has a wa^oon road under the canal bottom, being of sufficient height J for Q72 NAVIGABLE RIVERS AND CANALs.- for that purpose, and to admit the highest loads ; these works were completed at an enormous expense, and the cutting in the course of the canal, is often twenty or thirty feet deep. Between King’s Norton and Alvechurch, a very formidable tunnel intervenes, being upwards of a mile in length, and passing through a loose springy marl; this has been long in hand, but is not yet completed so as to be navigable through, being a work of great ex- pense, labour, and difficulty. The lockage of 450 feet fall to the Severn is not yet commenced, so that much remains to be done in completion of this great and public spirited undertaking, which, when finished, will bring the barges of the Severn over valleys and under hills, to along side the wharfs at Birmingham, in a position 150 yards perpendicularly above their usual and natural situation. A communication with the Droitwich canal was intended ; also in the course of the canal a basin near the city of Worcester, upon a level considerably above that of the Severn. The summit level of this canal, from the wharfs at Birmingham, when finished, will be sixteen miles and three quarters in length- Upon this, and its collateral branches, some business is now doing in the convey- ance of coals, lime, and other articles. About the same time, or soon after, a canal was pro- jected across Herefordshire, in the direction of King- ton, Leominster, and to enter Worcestershire near Tenbury, and from thence, across the latter county to Stourport, which would have opened a direct commu- nication with the Staffordshire coal mines, the town of Birmingham, and the Severn. The Herefordshire part is, I believe, finished, and four or five miles cut into Worcestershire, near the coal works of Mamble; but here FAIRS. 273 here its progress is for the present arrested, by awk- ward times, untoward circumstances, and scarcity of money. The lockage to the Severn, remaining to be executed on the unfinished part of this canal, is very considerable. Dr. Nash observes, <£ Though the Severn has been navigable from early days, yet the first load of coals brought by it to Worcester, was in the year 1570. From 1805 to 1807, the Leominster canal has made no progress; on the Birmingham and Worcester, the great tunnel has been finished, and the summit level made navigable to Tardebigg, about sixteen miles from Birmingham ; but the lockage to the Severn is not yet begun, nor the whole of the summit level com- pleted. sect. in.—FAIRS. All the market towns, and several of the principal villages, as Alvechurch, Bellbroughton, Blockley, Feckenham, King’s Norton, Redditch, &c. have fairs, one or more annually, for the sale of cattle, sheep, horses, hogs, cheese, linen and woollen cloth, wearing apparel, wool, leather, and other articles. At Worcester, September 19, is held a great annual fair, at which, when hops have been a full crop, a very large quantity of that article is offered to sale by the growers, or planters; this fair is, on such occasions, fully attended by dealers and speculators from the neighbouring counties, and distant parts of the king- dom, and a great deal of business is frequently done. The following are the fairs, mostly from Ogilby; WORCESTERSHIRE.] T which,274- FAIRS. which, I believe to be correct, having found no errors in my inquiries, compared with his account, bat I have made some additions. Alvechurch, April 22, August 10, for cattle, sheep, and lambs. Bellbroughton, first Monday in April; Monday be- fore St. Luke’s, (October 18) for horned cattle, horses, and cheese. Bewdley, April 23, for horned cattle, horses, cheese, linen and woollen cloth; December 10, for hogs only; 11th, for horned cattle, cheese, horses, linen and wool- len cloth. Blockley, Tuesday after Easter week, for a few cat- tle ; October 20th, a mop, or statute, for hiring ser- vants. Bromsgrove, June 24, October 1, for linen cloth, cheese, horses, and cattle. Droitwich, Good Friday, October 28, December 21, for linen cloth, and hats. Dudley, May 8, for cattle, wool, and cheese ; Aug. 5, for sheep, lambs, and cattle; October 2, for horses, cattle, wool, and cheese. Evesham, February 2, Monday after Easter week, Whit-Monday, September 21, for cattle and horses. Feckenham, March 26, September 30, for cattle. Kidderminster, Holy Thursday, and three weeks after, September 4, for cattle, horses, cheese, linen and woollen cloth. King’s Norton, April 25, September 5, for all sorts of cattle. Pershore, Easter Tuesday, June 26, Tuesday before All Saints ; November 1, for cattle and horses. Redditch, first Monday in August, for all sorts of cattle. Shipston,WEEKLY MARKETS. 275 Shipston, June 22, Tuesday after October 10, for horses, cows, and sheep. Stourbridge, March 29, for horses (very noted) and other cattle; September S, for all sorts of cattle and sheep. Stourport, weekly, on Wednesdays, from September to Christmas, for hops. Tenbury, April 26, July 18, September 26, for horn- ed cattle, horses, and sheep. Upton, Midlent Thursday, Whitsun-Thursday, for horses, cattle, and sheep; July 10, Thursday before St. Matthew (September 21), for horses, cattle, sheep, and leather. Worcester, Saturday before Palm Sunday, Saturday in Easter week, for horses and linen cloth ; August 15, September 19, for cattle, horses, cheese, lambs, linen, and hops. SECT. IV.—WEEKLY MARKETS. Large weekly markets are held at Worcester on Sa- turdays, for the sale of grain, pulse, flour, malt, hops, butcher’s meat, fish, fruit, butter, cheese, and most other articles. In the summer season, Dr. Nash relates, that several tons of cherries are frequently sold here very early in the morning, to dealers in that article, from Birming- ham, Wolverhampton, and the north. Immediately after the great fair of September 19, this market (particularly in plentiful seasons of that ar- ticle) is filled with hops, by the growers and planters of, and speculators in, that article; this continues to Christmas,I 2/6 WEEKLY MARKETS. Christmas, and the market is attended the whole year by hop dealers, who have always a stock of that article in the warehouses ready for sale ; this place being the great mart for hops, not only the produce of this county, but of the two adjoining ones of Gloucester and Hereford. Most of the hop dealers are also dealers in the seeds of clover, trefoil, and ray grass, of which large quan- tities are sold wholesale and retail in this market. In the fruit season, and in cyder and perry years, large quantities of those articles are also sold in this market both by the growers and dealers ; and Worces- ter, from its situation on the Severn, and convenient distance from the place of growth, and production of hops, fruit, cyder, and perry, as well as from the popu- lous countries where those articles are consumed, is the greatest mart for them in this part of the kingdom; and its mart and commercial business are so consider- able, as -well to support half a dozen or more capital inns, besides a number of very decent inferior ones; all of which are oftentimes fully occupied, and, at public times, so much crowded, that it is difficult for a traveller, who is a late comer in, to obtain a comfort- able room, and decent accommodations. A great deal of market, fair, and commercial business, is done in this place.—See Commerce. The regular weekly markets in the county are as fol- lows Bewdley---------------Saturday. Bromsgrove------------Tuesday. Droitwich-------------Friday. Dudley--------------- Saturday, Evesham- ------------ Monday. Kidderminster---------Thursday. PershoreMANUFACTURES. 277 Per shore--------------T uesday. Shipston---------------Friday. Stourbridge----------— Friday. Stourport ----------------Wednesday. Tenbury----------------Tuesday. Upton------------------Thursday, Worcester, Saturday principally; but Wednesday and Friday also market-days. SECT. V.—MANUFACTURES. The principal manufacture in the city of Worcester, is that of gloves, which, according to Dr. Nash, em- ploys about 4000 persons in the city, and in the country round about. Here are also two or more manufactures of porcelain, or China ware, which manufacture has been long established in this city. Messrs. Flight and Barrs, manufacturers of this article, had the honour of his Majesty’s patronage, upon his visit to this city some years ago. Some very good articles are also got up in the cabi- net and furniture way, and sold to distant places. Stourbridge has a manufacture of woollen cloth ; and some very fine and good cloth is there got up from British wool only, produced from the common of Morf- Shropshire. But the principal manufacture of Stourbridge, is that of glass, which has long flourished both here and at Dudley, and in which, some good fortunes have been made; a good deal of business is also done in the skin- T 3 ner’s■278 MANUFACTURES. ner’s way, or the manufacturing of sheep skins into leather. Bromsgrove does something in the wool-combing and spinning way, from long wool; the yarn goes to the stocking weavers of Leicestershire. The town con- tains about 500 houses, and 3000 inhabitants, and the whole parish of 14,000 acres, about 3000 more; the other manufactures are, linen for wear, for table linen, and sheets, finished and whitened; also needles, made both here and at Redditch. Nailers for small nails, tacks, lath nails, tenter hooks, &c. made all over the parish. Most of the towns contain tanner’s yards, where hides are tanned into leather, and there are curriers who dress it, and prepare it for use. In Dudley, and its neighbourhood, is a considerable manufacture of nails; also, according to Mr. Pomeroy, of needles and fish-hooks. Glass utensils are also manufactured here in great perfection. Kidderminster has a manufacture of carpets; also of stuffs of worsted, and of silk and worsted. Dr. Nash relates, that in 1772, there were in this place 250 car- pet looms, each employing a man and a boy ; and 1700 silk and worsted looms, each employing one weaver; that 5000 people, men, women, and children, were then employed in the town and neighbourhood in spin- ning and preparing yarn. Kidderminster carpets excel in the brilliancy and durability of their co- lours, towards which, the fitness of the waters of Stour is said to contribute, in scouring and striking the colour. At present the carpet trade remains undiminished ; hut that of stuffs has often fluctuated, on account of theMANUFACTURES, Q79 the preference given to cotton, and it is now supposed to be in a reduced state from that above stated.* The principal produce of Droitwich is salt, of which more particulars are given in the next article. On the Stour, and its collateral streams, are a num- ber of very considerable iron works, where pig iron from Staffordshire and Shropshire founderies, and else- where, is rendered malleable, and worked into bars, rods, sheet iron, and various manufacturing purposes. Mr. Darke states, tiiat in Bredon, are about from sixty to eighty stocking frames, which employ about one hundred persons dependant on that manufacture in Tewkesbury; this, he says, certainly increases the poor’s rates, which I balance by our having an excel- lent market at Tewkesbury, both for large and small productions ; this manufactory is in high credit, and their trade good. By the returns upon the population act, it appears that more than three-sevenths of the working popula- tion ot this county, are employed in trade, and less than four sevenths in agriculture ; consequently, the * The above was the state of the manufactures of Kidderminster at the time referred to, but I am informed in December, 1807, by a respectable manufacturer of the town, that the 1700 silk and worsted looms, each employing one weaver, are now decreased to 700; but, that the 250 carpet looms, each employing a man and a boy, are increased to near 1000; and that the carpet trade is much ad- vanced, and with it the general opulence and commerce of the town, as well as its population.—See Sect. viii. of this Chapter. The advance of the carpet trade has been much greater than the diminution of stuffs, which has shewn itself in the animal erec- tion of extensive buildings of late years, for workshops and ware- houses, as well as some pretty extensive villas for the master manu- facturers pear the town, consumption280 COMMERCE. consumption of landed produce, by people in trade, bears a large proportion towards one-half of the whole: this must have a very great effect upon the markets ; and if to this be added the convenience of being fur- nished with the manufactured articles at the best hand, there can be no doubt but the manufactures of this county (notwithstanding they increase the poor’s rates) are an advantage to agriculture and the landed in- terest. SECT. VI.—COMMERCE. The commerce of this county is considerable, from its own fertility and various products: the convenience of its navigable rivers arid canals, and its situation near a populous mining and manufacturing country. It consists in the surplus of its own manufactures, and the export of gloves, China ware, glass, hardware, and Kidderminster goods; but more particularly in that of the landed produce of this and the neighbour- ing counties; Worcester as named before, being the great mart for the hops, fruit, perry, and cyder, of this part of the kingdom, and which, in good years, amounts to a very great quantity of each article: some very good, and even large fortunes, have been made in these concerns, and particularly in the hop trade ; for in a plentiful year of this article, the market is so over stocked, that the price is little or nothing more thaq the amount of labour and duty, and the merchant who has the command of money, may buy up large quan- tities upon these terms for speculation, and they are, upon these occasions, good, and better, than in fc>acl sea- sons »COMMERCE. 281 sons; the next year, should the crop fail, the price may be doubled or trebled, and the merchant who has a large stock in hand, makes a fortune. This, however, does not always occur, for in the case of a succession of good years, the article kept grows worse, and the holder is sometimes obliged to part with them at a loss, as well as he can. I have known good Worcestershire hops, many years ago, as low as 2l, 2s. per cwt. and I have known them as high as 15l. 15s.; the last season, 1804, was a good one, and they tvere as low as from 4l. 4s. to 4l. 10s. per cwt. which, I was assured, gave little or no profit to the grower ; they are notv, September, 1305, tvorth from 7k to 8l. per cwt. the best sort. Fruit, in its raw state, being a perishable article, is not liable to much fluctuation, except from plentiful or scarce produce; but perry and cyder being kept from plentiful to scarce seasons, rises in price similar to hops, though not in so great a degree, as being ar- ticles (in the present taste of mankind) pf less pressing necessity. Clover and grass seeds, corn, beans, flour, malt, sal- mon, fat cattle, sheep, lambs, hogs, hay, timber, and pole wood, are also commercial articles of this county. The navigation of the Severn, tends greatly to pro- mote the commerce of this county; a number of re- spectable individuals, under the name of otvners, em- ploy barges and trows upon this river, between Bristol and Stourport, and upwards into Shropshire, to convey the various kinds of merchandize and manufactured goods up and down the river; many of them also keep canal boats, to continue such conveyance into the inte- rior and north of the kingdom. At Stourport is always a large stock of Staffordshire i coals,282 COMMERCE. coals ready to supply the Severn trade ; coals are also brought down the Severn from Shropshire. The produce of salt at Droitwich is very consider- able. Dr. Nash relates, that these salt-works are upon record from the year 816, when salt furnaces were named at this place, in a deed of Kenulph, King of the Mercians. The following are particulars of the different stratum above the salt on the premises of Richard Norris, Esq. 1779 > from the surface, mould five feet, marl 35 feet, talc, (a gypsum or alabaster) 40 feet, then a river of brine £2 inches, then talc 75 feet, then a rock of salt into which the workmen bored five feet. The brine is inexhaustible ; any one, for the yearly rent of Si. may have as much as he pleases. The pro- fits to the proprietors are very small, the price, or prime cost of salt, exclusive of duty and profit, being only about 5d. per bushel.—Dr. Nash. On boring through the talc, the brine immediately arises and fills the pit. Salt made here and sold in one year, from April 5, 1771, to April 5, 1772, 604,579 bushels; of which, exported abroad, 110,120 bushels. Duty paid into the Salt Office, London, 61,437k which was then nearly one-third of the whole revenue from salt in England. The progress of making salt at Droitwich, is as fol- lows:—A little common water is first put into the pan, to keep the brine from burning to the bottom, the pan is then filled with brine, and a small piece of resin thrown in to make it granulate fine; when the brine is boiling, the salt first incrusts at the top, and then sub- sides to the bottom; when subsided, the persons em- ployed lade it out with an iron skimmer, and put it 3 intoCOMMERCE. £83 into wicker barrows, each containing about half a bushel, in the shape of a sugar loaf, and let them stand at the side of the pan for some minutes to drain ; they then drop the salt out of the barrow, and place it in the stove to harden. They boil a pan-full of brine in about twenty-four hours, the drawing out they call a lade ; 14 or 15 cwt. of good coal will, with care, boil a ton or 40 bushels of salt; they usually boil the brine very fast, which makes the salt weak, and of a fine grain, for the vio- lent coction deprives the salt of part of its acid spirit. The best salt fpr pickling is from a heat not much greater than solar heat. By Dr. Johnson’s analysis, a bottle of Droitwich brine, weight, with the bottle, 4lb. 3 joz. weighed with Malvern water Sib. I2joz.; and 4lb. 7|oz. of brine in a heat of 70° Fahrenheit, produced salt, when dried, lib. 3|oz. more than one-fourth its whole weight, per- fectly free from bittern, and every foreign admixture. The strength of the Droitwich brine, exceeds that of any other we are informed of, except Barton, Lan- cashire, and some pits at Northwich. Sea water on our coasts, seldom contains more than one-thirtieth, and to one-fiftieth, of sea salt. Nant- wich and Northwich yield one-sixth, and Weston, Staffordshire, one-ninth part of salt. The Droitwich brine certainly exceeds all others, and is, perhaps, one of the richest sources of sea salt in the •world in purity. In 1755, Mr. Baker, a druggist from London, spent 12,0001. in a project for conveying the Droitwich brine in pipes to the Severn, without success. Dr. Nash, from experiment, believes Droitwich salt to be neither a manure in itself, nor capable of exciting any284 COMMERCE. any vegetative principle in the earth, as animal or ve- getable salts, or lime may do; it produces bad effects on ploughed lands, by increasing their dryness in hot weather, and by making them greasy, and what the farmers call raw in damp weather. He has found it serviceable to scatter foul salt upon large heaps of manure, to kill weeds, and destroy their seeds, but not to enrich ; care must be taken that it be not laid near the roots of trees, as it will certainly de- stroy them. If laid at the bottom of pools, it enables them to hold water; it is wholesome to granivorous, and gramini- vorous, animals, but prejudicial to carnivorous ones. Dr. Nash says, further on the subject of salt, 1805, *{ Having a considerable estate at Droitwich, I sunk a pit there, at the expense of 30l. sufficient to furnish salt for half the kingdom, and now let it for Si. 10s. per annum. A bushel of salt, without duty, is worth about 5d. or not so much ; with the duty, the labourer, who salts his pig, pays above 15s.” But I apprehend some mistake or omission in this calculation, as the coal delivered at Droitwich will cost most of the money; to this is to be added labour, rent of salt pits, and of buildings necessary in the trade, furnaces, tools, machinery, interest of captital, &c.; the duty, however, forms a very large proportion of the price of the article. Mr. Pomeroy says, “ The produce exported is chiefly fruit, cyder, perry, and hops; considerable numbers of fat cattle, sheep, and hogs, are also sent to London, and the large manufacturing towns of the counties of Warwick and Stafford. The quantity of wool is estimated at 2000 packs, of 240lb. each, value from lOl. to 161. per pack. But the principal source ofCOMMERCE. 285 of wealth, in ts commerce with the different parts of this, and other countries, arises from its fruit, perry, cyder, and hops. The former is now growing into an article of considerable consequence, and deserves par- ticular attention, more especially as the demand for it, in the large manufacturing towns of the north, and all the intermediate country, increasing yearly, promises a certain and ample recompense for the greatest exer- tions that can be made in this branch of its rural econo- my. Some idea may be formed, from the following circumstances, of the quantity exported, and the price it bears. The average tonnage of fruit sent by water into the north, for the last three years, amounts to 1500 tons [in the year 1791 it exceeded 2094 tons], each ton weighing equal to fifteen horse pots, the measure by which it is commonly sold, making 22,500 pots. The pot holds about five pecks. potatoes, elm timber, and excellent meadows on Avon : pass the river over a bridge to Eckington, which, with Bredon, have two excellent common fields; fruit trees about the villages, some ridges a yard high, and 15 or 16 wide, but soil to the bottom ; but some broke down and divided, I suppose, for experiment; bean land ploughing for wheat, clover on some lands; good Cotteswold sheep. In both these common fields are large breadths of turnips and potatoes, which are good crops, well ma- naged, and kept clean, some on broad high ridges, and some on smaller ridges broken down. In Bredon field is also a breadth of the Swedish turnip. Poor women plucking up bean stubble for fuel, which they have for their trouble; fallows here for wheat, and Cotteswold sheep kept; observed in these fields three kinds of Chadlock as weeds, 1. the common wild mustard; 2. smooth leaved, or wild rape; 3. rough leaved with paler flowers, wild radish. From Bredon field to Tewkesbury, two miles, is all grass land of the best quality. October 9, from Tewksbury round the south side of Bredon Hill to Evesham.—First two miles Vale of Avon, all at grass, rich land ; pass Bredon to Kemerton ; en- closed, thence to Overbury, where Mr. Martin, mem- ber for Tewkesbury, has a seat, with groves of very fine elm adjoining; through Conderton and Beckford to Evesham, the country enclosed, and a large proportion at grass. Evesham is on the river Avon, which is navigable here and all through the county; orchards and wal- nuts plenty; gardens here for the supply of Birming- ham,APPENDIX. 317 ham, with large flats of cucumbers, onions, and aspa- ragus; also potatoes and turnips; soil, deep rich light loam. Northwards towards Norton, and then to Church Lench.—Soil, often cold and poor; common fields to the west; Stone Morton lately enclosed, soil deep red loam; to Inkborough, which has a common field of good sound loam ; to Feckenham, enclosed with hedge rows, very full of elm timber, thence through Hanbury to Bromsgrove. A list of the most remarkable vegetable productions of the county of Worcester, observed in a tour through the county in September and October, 1805, with at few from other authorities. Veronica hederefolia. Ivy leaved chickweed. Amongst wheat very early in the spring, March, April. Veronica beccabunga. Brook lime. In shallow streams. Veronica chamoedrys, and serpytti folia. Germander, and thyme leaved speedwell. Hedges in sum- mer. Valeriana disica, and officinalis. Wild valerian. In moist meadows, hedge-sides, &c. Iris fcetidissimo. Stinking gladdon, or flag. Great Comberton, and in thickets near Pershore.— Dr. Nash. Scirpus romanus. Roman club grass. In marshy places near Throgmorton.—Nash. Bromus pinnatus. Spiked Brome grass. Rough clayey pastures. Iris .riphium. Garden iris, or flower de luce. Avon side, near Fladbury, and in other parts of the county.—Nash. Jivena318 APPENDIX. Avenafatua. Wild oat. In bard tilled corn fields. llordeum murinum. Wall barley. Dry banks on road sides. Dypsacus sylvestris. Wild teasel. Moist hedges. — ---*—pilosa. Shepherd’s rod. Moist hedge sides near Droitwich. Scabiosa succisa. Devil’s bit scabious. Rough pas- tures, ------- columbaria. Small field scabious. Rredon Hill. Galium mollugo. Tall galium. Hedges. -------spurium. Corn galium, or hairough. Corn fields. *------verum. Yellow bed straw. In pastures. Sangyisorba officinalis. Meadow burnet. In mea- dows. Plantago major. Broad plantain. Road sides. ----------media. Hoary plantain, or lamb’s tongue. A variety with variegated straw-coloured stripes grows at Hawford Bridge, near Worcester. - ...—— lanceolata. Rih grass. In pastures. Cynoglossum officinale. Hound’s tongue- Hedge sides Shrawley, and other places, in the town of Evesham, on rubbish. Ditto, variety, folio virente. Green leaved hound’s tongue. Between Worcester and Pershore, and in shady lanes about Worcest.—Dr. Nash. Symphytum officinale. Cornfrey. In great plenty upon the Stour near Kidderminster, a good pot herb. Echium vulgare. Viper’s bugloss. Road side in the north of the county, a showy flower. Primula vulgaris. Primrose. Ditch banks. ----------veris. Cowslip. Meadows, early in spring.. appendix. 319 Convolvulus arvensis. Corn bindweed. Corn fields. -----------sepizim. Great bindweed. In hedges. Solanum dulcamara. Woody night shade. Hedges. -------- nigrum. Common or garden night shade. Road sides, and on dunghills, in most parts of the county. Campanula latifolia. Large bell flower. In hedges. —----—— patula. Field bell flower. Road sides. Verbascum thapsus. Great white mullein. Road side on sandy ground north of Kidderminster. -----—— blaltaria. Yellow moth mullein. In the same situations with the last, Rhanmus frangula. Smooth buckthorn. In hedges north of Evesham. Hyoscyamusniger. Henbane. Road sides, and amongst rubbish. Chenopodium bonus henricus. English mercury. Banks, on road side, near Bromsgrove. ■-------— rubrum. Red goose foot. Road sides. Pucedanum silaus. Meadow saxifrage. A meadow plant. Angelica sylvestris. Wild angelica. Moist hedges, Conium maculatum. Hemlock. Hedges. Choerophyllum sylvestre. Cow chervil. Pastures. Scandix cerefollumf Common chervil. Hedges near Worcester. Cenqnthe pimpinelloides. Meadow dropwort. North side of Bredon Hill. --------crocata. Hemlock dropwort. Side of ditcher and rivers; a most virulent vegetable poison, resembles celery, and sometimes fatally mistaken for it. Smyrnium olusatrum. Allisand.ers. .Hedges near Avon side,520 APPENDIX. side, formerly cultivated, but its place now sup- plied by celery. Parnassia pahistris. Grass of Parnassus. On boggy meadows on the north side Bredon Hill.—Nash* Galanthus nivalis. Snow drop. Foot of Malvern, Colchicum autumnale. Meadow saffron. Meadows about Malvern.—Nash. In the Vale of Severn, Allium vineale. Crow garlick. Vale of Severn.— Marshall. Paccinium oxycoccus. Cranberries. Boggy parts of the Lickey, near Bromsgrove.-—Nash. Chlora perfoliala. Yellow wort. Stiff clayey pastures about Comberton.—Nash. Paris quadrifolia. Herb, Paris. Woods and thickets on the sides of Bredon.—Nash. Epilobiums of sorts, in watery places. Willow herbs. Polygonums. Snakeweeds. Moist cultivated ground. Saxifraga granulata. White saxifrage. Hedge bank near Kidderminster, dry pastures Wolverley. Dianthus armeria. Deptford pink. Hedge banks about Pershore, Eckington, and other places.— Nash. Sedum album. White stone crop. Rocks of Malvern. -----—acre. Wall pepper. Roofs and walls. Lythrum sahcaria. Spiked willow herb. Moist places, Agrimonia eupatorium. .Agrimony. Roadsides. Reseda luteola. Dyer’s weed. On banks and rubbish. Euphorbia amygdaloides. Wood spurge. Hedges near Worcester, on the Bewdley road. Serbus domcstica. Quicken pear tree. In the south part of Wire Forest, in the parish of Aka, or Rock, near Bewdley. Spircca filipendula. Dropwort. Upon Bredon Hill, above Overbury, plentifully.—Nash. RosaAPPENDIX. sgi $losa spinosissima. Burnet rose. Hedge near Wor- cester, on the Kempsey Road ; also on barren waste ground near Church Lench, north of Evesham; a plant of beautiful foliage. (domadum palustre. Marsh cinquefoil. Boggy places. Chelidonium m&jus. Celandine. Hedges in Siiravvley. iPapaver hybridum, rhosas, and dubium. Poppies, of sorts in corn fields. Nymphoea alba and lutea. White and yellow Water lilies. On the Avon, and other rivers. ^Clematis vitalba. Great wild climber. Hedges near Malvern, and North of Evesham. A most exu- berant parasitical shrub, twisting round every thing in its way, and hauling down the fences, a troublesome hedge weed ; the cottony hairs of this shrub, are said to be employed in France in manufacture, and are recommended here for the stuffing of chairs. Thalictrumflavum. Meadow rUe. Meadows and banks of rivers ; meadows on Severn.—Marshall. ■Ranunculus repens. Creeping crowfoot. This plant is highly esteemed in pastures ; whilst the upright crowfoots are deemed prejudicial on account of their stalkiness and acrimony. Teucrium scorodonia. Wood sage. On hedge banks. Verbena officinalis. Vervain. Road side Powick, amongst rubbish in the town of Evesham in great profusion. Mentha aroensis. Corn mint. Corn fields and moist ground. ’Glecoma hederacea. Ground ivy. Hedge banks. Ballotta nigra. Stinking horehound. Hedges in the Vale of Evesham.—Marshall. Worcestershire. ] y MarrubiumAPPENDIX. Marrubium vulgare. White horehound. Road sides, on sandy and gravelly soils at Shrawley* Scutellaria galericulata. Skullcap. Side of the Trent and Severn canal, between Wolverley and Stour- port, in many places. Euphrasias. Eyebrights, two sorts. Corn fields and pastures. Antirrhinum linarium. Toad flax. In hedges. Scrophularia&quatica. Water betony. Watery places. Melissa calamintha. Calamint. Woods and thickets near Malvern and elsewhere.—Nash. Jberis nudicaulis. Naked candytuft, or rock cross. In old stone pits, Pensham field. Cardamine amara. Bitter cresses. Banks of Avon.-— Nash. Sysinbrium, nasturtium and amphibium. Water cress and water radish. Vale of Severn.—Marshall. Sinapis arvensis. Chadlock, wild mustard. Corn fields , and turnip grounds; three distinct plants are called chadlock by the farmers ; which are, wild mustard, wild radish, and wild rape. I found them all amongst turnips, in the common fields around Bredon Hill. Sinapis alba. White mustard. On the bank of the Leominster canal, by the road side near Ten- bury. Geranium prat ease. Crow'foot geranium. Amongst bushes ; an ornamental flower, worthy a place in the garden. Malva moschata. Musk mallow. With the last, and equally specious. —------parviflora. Small flow'ered mallow. Road sides, and often near buildings. FumariaAPPENDIX; Tumdria claviculata. Climbing fumitory. Rough stony places on Malvern Hill.—Nash. Ononis spinosa. Thorny rest harrow. Road sides, heaths, and rough ground. Lathyrus nissolia. Crimson vetch. Woody hedge banks near Pershore ; a very beautiful plant. Lathyrus sylvestris. Pea everlasting. In the same situation with the last, near Eckington.—Nash. Vicia sylvatica. Wood vetch. Thicket, north of Bre- doii Hill. Hippocrepis comosa. Horse-shoe vetch. South side of Rredou Hill, below the Camp. Astragalus arenaria. Purple cock’s head. Near the above. Trifolium arvense. Hare’s-foot trefoil. On sand in the neighbourhood of Kidderminster, Mitton, and Stourport. If cattle are fond of this plant it might be worthy of trial in cultivation, as it flourishes on the most barren sand in the driest seasons : my horses eat it. Hypericum montanum. Mountain St. John’s w'ort. About Pershore, and on Bredon Hill. —• Nash. Tragopogon pratense. Yellow goat’s beard. Vale of Severn. Hyoseris minima. Small swine succory. Pensham Field, near Pershore, in the most barren and gra- velly places.—Nash. Cichorium intybus. Chicory, or wild endive. At Pin- vin, north of Pershore, upon headlands by a road side through several enclosures. Intro- duced into cultivation by Mr, Arthur Young, as foodAPPENDIX. 3$4 food for cattle; its natural appearance is hot promising, being stalky and weed-like. Carduus eriophorus. Woolly headed thistle, or friar’s crown. Bredon Hill; road sides elsewhere ; the most elegant British species of this plant.—Nash. Tanacetum vulgare. Tansy. Abundant near the Stour and other rivers; a warm and not unpleasant deobstruent bitter; will preserve animal flesh from the fly. Gnaphalium sylvaticum. Upright cudweed. Rough pastures near Fladbury.—Nash. Senecio paludosus. Bird’s tongue groundsel. Near Malvern well by the road side, and on the road thence to Upton. Inula, helenium. Elecampane. Side of Bredon Hill, above Great Comberton.—Nash. ——~ dysenterica. Middle flea bane. Road side, on moist ground; common. Chrysanthemum segctum. Corn marigold. Cultivated Matricaria parthenium. Feverfew. Hedge sides, Shrawley. Anthemis arvensis. Corn chamomile. A common corn weed. Satyrium viride. Frog satyrion, or frog orchis. Pas* tures about Pershore and Great Comberton, abundantly.—Nash. Ophrys insectifera. Insect, twayblade, or bee orchis. Rough pastures, Great Comberton.—Nash, Arum maculatum. On ditch banks common. The stem of this plant crowned with a bunch of red berries, remains on ditch banks here to Septem- berappendix.,’ 325 her and October, though an early spring plant; I have not observed this circumstance in Staf- fordshire, where the plant is common. Poterium sanguisorba. Upland burnet. On Bredon Hill; on very barren waste land near Church Lench; on rich red loam near Inkborough, and in a meadow nearTenbury ; yet not common to be found in the county. Pis cum. Misletoe. On fruit trees; a bad orchard weed, suffered to infest fruit trees to their very great injury; yet might be easily cut off, or it is said to be easily pulled off by hooks in frost; and is good food for sheep. Tamus communis. Ladies* seal, or black bryony. Hedges in the Vale of Evesham. Juniperus communis. Juniper. On barren waste land between Evesham and Church Lench. Bryonia disica. Bryony; wild vine. Hedges on sandy or gravelly soil, in the north of the county. Atriplex patula, Wild orach. Road sides, and on rubbish. Equise turns, arvensis and palustris, Horsetail, In corn fields, and in bogs. Osmunda lunaria. Moonwort. North side Bredon Hill, amongst fern.—Nash. Addenda, 1807.—Mercurialis perennis. Dog’s mer- cury. In hedges, between Bromsgrove and Fockbury, an early spring plant, said to be poi- sonous to sheep, but I believe they will not eat it unless compelled by hunger. y s ITINEBARV( ITINERARY CONTINUED, In the year 1807, I made several other excursions into, and through the county, particularly in the spring to Brant Hall, in the summer to Lea Castle, Wolver- ley, Stourport, Droitwich, Bromsgrove, Chadwick Manor, and round the county through the Vale of Evesham, and to Worcester, Bromsgrove, and Stour- bridge ; in the autumn, through the west of the coun- ty, and the orchards and hop grounds, and to view the stall feeding on the Lechmere estates, which is very considerable, and several times to Mr. Knight’s occu- pation of Lea Castle, Wolverley : particulars of these excursions are incorporated in the different parts of this survey. Vale of Evesham, August 6 and 7, 1807 ; wild parsnip abundant as a common field weed, also chicory and melilot growing luxuriantly; soil, deep loam, lammas wheat reaping, crop I estimate 30 bushels per acre, blue cone growing 40 bushels ditto ; in some corn fields convolvulus rather plentiful, a field of set beans five feet high, and a good crop. Bredon Hill, one mile to the right; wheat lodged or layed by the rain ; here and there a fruit tree in the fields ; misletoe; daucus and corn chamomile in addition to weeds before named j bad farming, and bad crops; a modern enclo- sure, some acres of furze on good loam; older enclo- sure badly cultivated; a coppice; Cotteswold sheep; horses tied to clover aftermath ; vetches mowing for seed, vetch fallows foul with couch and weeds. Sedgbury common field , course, fallow, barley, beansAPPENDIX. 327 beans, wheat; meliiot common ; a tender employed with a gun to frighten crows; blue cone wheat will here grow a fortnight from August 6, lammas wheat earlier; beans set by hand, and some a fair crop four feet high, some indifferent and shorter ; chicory plenty, patches of clover mown and carted home, and some tied to; soil moist 10am ; enclosures near the village. Memorandum in the church yard of Hampton, one mile from Evesham: the upland burnet grows north of the church ; some good crops of set beans in this neigh- bourhood j turnips sometimes sown on the lighter loams; sehufflers used. Arklews, drill machine maker, says, two bushels of wheat drilled, are as good as three bushels sown broad- cast upon an acre. August 7 : viewed Mr. Murrall’s farm; beans drilled by a machine at 14 inches asunder, two rows at a time; wheat drilled by the same machine, at from seven to nine inches, and barley about the same distance, three rows at a time. Pease drilled, but had totally missed, they were al- ready harvested, and the crop not exceeding six bushels per acre, sudden rain prevented hoeing, and the weeds grew fast; the land was undergoing a partial fallow for wheat; many acres of pease had been cut this season for fodder, being thought not worth keeping for harvest; the beans in general set or drilled here, none but the greatest slovens think of sowing them broadcast.—See Beans, Chap. VII. Near Evesham, good aftermaths of clover, mowing and carting home for horsea; made an excursion to Aldington j Badsey j South, Middle, and North Little- tou;328 APPENDIX. ton; Cleeve Prior, and back to Evesham.—-Lammas wheat cut or cutting, the blue cone wheat from seven to fourteen days later, crops good, the former generally four, the latter five, quarters per acre; barley cutting, the crop various, good on sound deep loams, four to five quarters per acre; on wet clays starved, produce about half the above; some orchards here, with corn crops between the trees; under stratum sometimes gra- vel, but oftener calcareous clay, totally unfit for brick making from that quality. Aldington common field.—• Fallow, barley, pulse, (i, e.) beans, pease, or vetches, or clover, then sometimes wheat, or sometimes fallow. Bad- sey to South Littleton.—Fruit trees in hedges, moist whitish loam, wild plants as before, with the addition of felecampane, wild teasel, and a large bell flower (campanula latifolia); under stratum, calcareous flag- stone, very hard in texture, about three inches thick, may be got of large superficies, to four or five yards over; horses tied to vetches almost smothered with weeds (convolvulus, centaurea scabiosa, scabiosa ar- vensis, corn sow thistle, and crepis tectorum) and wheat to succeed; country here enclosed; in hedges,bry- ony, lady’s seal, dogwood, maple, apple, and pear trees, hemlock, and other weeds ; good crops of cone wheat; at South Littleton, some fruit trees; reaping Aug. 7; lime burning with coal, at 20s. per ton, or more; quarries for grave stones and floors in various places. To North Littleton, across the common field.—In which are both barley and wheat drilled, the latter foul with convolvulus, and much mildewed, both the white and red lammas ; cone wheat less mildewed ; chicory, a common corn weed. Bent of common field land in the Vale of Evesham, toAPPENDIX. 329 to 20s. per acre; of enclosed farms, SOs. to 50s.; of "water meadow, 2l. to 5h per acre: about Middle Little- ton, more quarries of flag stone ; price at the quarry, 5d. per foot superficial: pass another common field, barley drilled at seven inches and clovered down, crop poor, starved in the hollows, two to three quarters per acre; some of the hollows grass mown, which answers much better than sowing barley ; the cultivated trefoil sown here in some places, and the trifolium agrarium spontaneous; some swells of land in these fields light enough for turnips : to Cleeve Prior; the wild carrot, ditto parsnip, melilot, chicory, and convolvulus, very common weeds. Cleeve Prior to Evesham.—Landscape enchanting, a beautiful view of the river and Vale of the Avon; rich and verdant meadows with sheep and cattle gra- zing them, and fertile corn fields at a distance on the gently-rising acclivity beyond the river; the road is traced along a high ridge almost overhanging the Avon ; landscape to the right a perfect picture, the country seen as a map, with the various and beautiful windings of the Avop up and down for many miles, Bredon appearing on the back ground with great ma- jesty, and the Cotteswolds closing the perspective. Barley good above this ridge, five quarters per acre, below it a dingle, with the wayfaring (viburnum lan- tana), and the great wild climber (clematis vitalba) abounding*. Uppenham.—Good loam ; turnips and barley good, beans and flax grown : return through Aldington com- mon field ; wheat drilled at eight inches, barley and clover. Evesham to Worcester.—Great crops of cone wheat. At Fladbury.—-Pease and barley carried. 1 Moorfield,530 APPENDIX. Moorfield, a common field belonging to about six farmers; system improved, turnips and clover grown, barley a good crop. Bilhampton, a common field near.—Course, crop and fallow, the land being weak, and far from manure; sheep folding in both these fields. A TREATISEA TREATISE 0N THB CULTIVATION OF APPLE TREES, AND THE PREPARATION OF CIDER. $EING A THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL WORK FOR THE USE OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLAND OF JERSEY, TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OP THE LATE REV. FRANCIS LE COUTEUR, A.M. Jlector of Gronville, Jersey, and sometime Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. * Augmentez, propagez les richesses rustiques —---------------N’allez pas tropsuperstitieux, Suivre servilement les pas de vos ayeux: Creant a I’art des champs de nouvelles ressources, Tentez d’autres chemins, ouvrez vous dAutres sources. Delille, Gear. Fra>i$, cb. 2.1 ’iC . , .. •■¥ , .. i ■■ " , • I SShE* - . ■ i. .. , ’ -r/iI A TREATISE ON CIDER ; WITH A SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE AUTHOR, THE LATE REV. FRANCIS LE COUTEUR, A. M In perusing a work of merit, the curiosity of the reader is directed to know who was the author, what propensities in- clined him to any particular study, what was the tendency of his pursuits, and to what degree of eminence he ever arrived. After contemplating the man in his literary capacity, we feel interested to follow him still farther, and to see him in the less conspicuous, but more amiable, relations'Of private life. The following Treatise, of which a translation is now offered to the public, is calculated to awaken such a curiosity 5 and, at the same time that the mind of the reader is warmed with the recital of private worth, it is certainly the most gratifying task to a biographer to extend the fame of a good man, and to pay a tribute to the memory of a departed friend. In such an endearing relation, stood the writer of this Sketch with the author of the following work. It was his happiness to have long known and esteemed the man whose merits he now attempts faintly to delineate. The lives of literary men, and indeed, of all such whose actions are not of so public a nature as to be linked with the history of their country, is generally barren of interesting incidents, and is little more than a detail of dates and publications. And as to the occurrences that happen to men in private life, they are so nearly similar to those which are daily to be met with in every other situation, that unless they are distinguished by great jnoderalion and self-denial on the ope hand, or extreme de- pravity334 pravity on the other, they are seldom recorded ; and, indeed, if they were, they would be read without any interest. Francis Le Couteur was descended from an anciedt and respectable family, which had been settled for some centuries back in the Island of Jersey ; his ancestors had almost all been ■uniformly distinguished for their learning and virtues; se- veral of them had been in the church, which they had adorned with their piety, erudition, and humility. In the list of the deans of the island, we find two of the name of Le Couteur, the latter of whom died in 1714, at a very advanced age, whose name is still venerated among his countrymen as a me- morable instance of every Christian virtue. Young Le Couteur was early intendedifor the church ; and perhaps his abilities, which were already most promising, together with his own inclinations, determined the choice of liis friends. After being sufficiently grounded in gramma- tical learning, he was entered at Jesus College, Oxford, where he obtained an exhibition through the interest of bis uncle Payne, then Dean of the Island, and formerly a Fellow of that Society. During his stay at Oxford his studies were chiefly directed to mathematics and experimental philosophy, which sciences continued to be his chief amusement to the end of his life. In course of time, he became Fellow of Exeter College, in the same University. Aftef an honouiable residence at Oxford for some years, and being intimately connected with several gentlemen who have since filled some of the highest situations in the University, he took orders, and went to serve a church at Shrewsbury, where he remained two or three years. He was on the point of making the tour of Europe, as tutor to a young gentleman, when he met with an accident, which was the means of determining his future life; he had the misfortune to fracture his thigh, whibh was attended with very distressing circumstances, and through which he re- mained lame ever after. It was then, that, if ever he had felt the cravings of ambition, they forsook him, and that he began to look upon the world with the eyes of a philosopherj He retired to his native island aXd married, wisely preferring a competency, and the virtuous pleasures of domestic life, to the uncertain acquisition of high preferment, and the gratifica- tions of a licentious age. He was presented to the living of St. Martin, in Jersey, which he afterwards exchanged for that of Gronville. When the island was surprised by the French on the 6th of January, 1781, and the Lieutenant-go- vernor capitulated without firing a gun, he proved that pa- triotism and military courage on great emergencies are not inconsistent with the clerical profession. He came forward on this trying occasion, and to him and a few others, under Providence, was owing the deliverance of the island from the insidiousness of domestic treachery, or the open attacks of a foreign enemy. When Mr. Le Couteur came to reside in Jersey, he found that cider, which is the staple commodity of the country, was generally335 generally of an inferior kind ; he easily perceived that it was not owing to the fruit, but to the ignorance and prejudices of the growers. He foresaw, that to remedy these circumstances, would be to confer an essential benefit on the island, and, at the same time, enable him to follow his predilection for ex- perimental philosophy. With this view, therefore, he de- voted the greatest part of his leisure from his professional avocations for his last thirty years* to this branch of rural eco- nomy. He not only succeeded with regard to his own cider, but he had also the satisfaction to see his instructions spread daily more and more among his countrymen, and their staple commodity increase- in reputation. The first edition of his work was published in 1801, and the second, with very consi- derable additions, in 1806. The substance of some of Mr. Le Couteur’s speeches in the states of the island have been pub- lished at different times. We are now come to the most afflicting part of the narrative. He had the misfortune in the beginning of the year 1808, to lose his daughter-in-law, the wife of his eldest son ; this amiable and interesting lady was snatched in the bloom of youth, and her loss was still more severely felt by her discon- solate family, as she was an only child, and left three infant children. Scarcely had Mr. Le Couteur experienced this affliction, when it pleased Providence to visit him with another trial, in the loss of his second son, Captain Philip Le Couteur, who had died in the East Indies. This young gentleman’s merit had given room to the fondest expectations; he had a particular talent for painting, and he fell a victim to his art by having remained too long in a marshy situation in drawing some cataracts. Religion and philosophy still supported the worthy parent under this severe infliction. His soul was not to be subdued by grief; but the human constitution cannot fail of being impaired under such circumstances, and worn out, as he already was, by bodily infirmities, he did not re- cover from the shock; he was seized with a typhus fever a few weeks after, and a mortification at the same time taking place in one of his thighs, he expired without a struggle, on the 15th of May, 180S, being then in the sixty-fourth year of his age. Mr. Le Couteur’s constitution was naturally robust, but it had been impaired by the accidents which he had met with at different times. In his person, he was rather tall and strong built, he had a full face, and there was something remarkably pleasant in his countenance, such as indicated the benevolence of his heart, and the frankness of his disposition. In his character, Mr. Le Couteur appears to the highest advantage. In his different capacities he deserved commen- dation : as a clergyman, no one ever discharged his duty more conscientiously ; his piety was lively and unaffected, without either ostentation or enthusiasm ; he was not an orator, but his earnest and forcible manner of delivery, which proceeded from his conviction of the awful truths of Chris- tianity,$36 tianity, never failed to arrest the attention of his hearers; as his duty required he visited the sick, and administered ad- vice and consolation to the afflicted; and he was, at the same time, free from that pride and superciliousness whifch are never so contemptible as in the person of a clergyman. He was, in fact, rather the father than the rector of his parish. To be poor, or unfortunate, were sufficient recommendations, for the one to experience his charity, and for the other to ex- cite his sympathy. A man possessed of such exalted prin- ciples cannot be supposed to have been deficient in any of the domestic duties; He was a kind husband, an affectionate father, and an indulgent master; he was meek and humble $ but, at the Same time, the friend of independence, not indeed of that sullen spirit which, while it tries to trample on supe- riors, calls itself by that name, but of that which disdains ser- vility, and secures to every member of the community an equal protection of the laws. In the minor duty of social in- tercourse, he was not less eminent; he was affable and con- descending without meanness, and he could adapt himself td all persons and circumstances. Among his friends, his con- versation was cheerful without levity; and he possessed the happy art of being communicative without appearing pedan- tic. He was removed from all worldly mindedness, and looked down with contempt on those petty objects which engage so large a portion of mankind ; even ambition, the last foible of a great mind, never influenced his conduct. After his ser- vices, in 1781, which he might have urged on government as a claim for preferment, he remained unrewarded; he asked for no recompence, and he received none. At a subsequent period, when his virtues and talents pointed him out as the properest person to fill the deanery of the island, which must be bestowed on a native, he saw it without repining conferred on a person confessedly his inferior in those essential qualifi- cations. In his limited sphere as a public man, he never suf- fered considerations of personal interest to come in competi- tion with the public good. This was his rule of conduct for more than thirty years, that he was a valuable member of the states of Jersey ; this was also his primary object for writing the following treatise. The natural conseqnence of a life spent in such pious, dis- interested, and patriotic pursuits, was the love and vfcnera* tion of his countrymen. His relatives, and those who had the happiness of enjoying his intimacy, felt all the poignancy of grief at the melancholy event; but if any thing can soften the regrets of his surviving friends, it is the homage which has been paid to his virtues. His countrymen deplored his death as a public loss, and his name will not fail of being always recorded with the worthies of his native island. If there is any thing that we have to regret, it is that his virtues were confined to such a narrow sphere of action. This sketch may be supposed to be written in a strain of panegyric, dictated by the fond partiality of friendship; all praises337 praises are suspected of this, perhaps for no other reason, thah that because the generality of mankind do not deserve them, we are unwilling to allow that any exceptions are to be found. There are sometimes persons who rise to such a degree of excellence, that the praises which can be applied to them ■with the strictest propriety, would, if bestowed on other men, foe no better than an indirect libel on their memories^ at least make them appear ridiculous, it is true, that the writer of this was an intimate friend of Mr. Le Couteur, and therefore it affords him now a melancholy pleasure to delineate his de- parted worth ; but he knows that falsehood could not fail of being discovered, and that affection itself should give way to truth. This sketch cannot be better concluded, than with a tran- slation of some lines descriptive of a good man ; they are taken from a French poem on Hope, lately published at Lori- «3d'n by one of his relatives. He sees futurity without affright; His duties form his glory and delighh . His country’s service each exertion calls ; He wipes the tear that from misfortune fallSi Mach day produces generous deeds, still bloom His virtues to the confines of the tomb. Science and friendship, with their mild’ning rayj, Embellish still the ev’ning of his day ; And rais’d already from this low abode, Hope bears bint to the bosom of his God. Mr. Le Couteur received the most flattering testimonies of approbation from the President of the Board of Agriculture, to whom his work is dedicated. He had also the thanks of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts and Manufactures. This translation was to have been performed under the Super- intendance of Mr. Le Couteur himself, if his life had been preserved a little longer. He intended to have made several additions and improvements, which have now been adopted, as far as it could be done from an inspection of his papers. Nothing has been added or retrenched without sufficient au- thority. As to the merit of the Work, the agricultural reader will be best able to judge. Tile author is clear and concise, Which is by no means the case With the generality of writers of his class. The abstract from M. Lancry’s experiments to make fruit trees bear, is in Mr. Le Couteur’s own words: *‘The idea originated with the famous Count Buffon, though it has lately been ihbdestly claimed in this country as a new discos very.” The ingenious Major Le Hardy, of the Island of Jer- sey, has followed up M. Lancry’s practice with a great number 'of experiments, the results of which will not fail to be very interesting, when they are published. The translator is happy to avail himself of this opportunity to acknowledge the advice and assistance he has received from him in the progress of his undertaking. October i, 180S. WORCESTSRSHIRE.) # £ TO \838 i TO SIR JOHN SINCLAIR, BART. M. P. President of the Board of Agriculture, fyc, SfC. SIR, Your enlightened zeal, which causes rural economy to flourish in Great Britain, excites the applause of Europe; while the former, raised above all other countries by its useful knowledge, reaps the valuable fruits of your patriotic esta- blishments. The Island of Jersey, which has already been the object of your attention, is scarcely able, from a variety of circum- stances, to support its inhabitants two-thirds of the year. To this deficiency in the produce of our fields may be added the want of manufactures. On the contrary, as the island pro- duces more cider than is wanted for its consumption, it may exchange it for such other articles as it stands in need of. Your talents, which have carried the breed of sheep, the wool, and the agriculture of the mother country, to a degree of perfection which they had not yet attained, will undoubt- edly give new life to the principal branch of industry of twen- ty-four thousand of his Majesty’s loyal subjects, nearly three thousand of whom are in the royal navy and the merchant ser- vice. Your kindness in permitting your name to appear at the head of this work secures them your patronage. While others are founding an ephemeral glory on the wrecks of subjugated nations, may you, when you reckon the Slumber of your days by that of the benefits you have con- ferred, taste the solid pleasure of serving long your country- men, and of being beloved by them. Deign then, Sir, to re- ceive this tribute of the profoundest respect of the author. INTRODUCTION., 3S& INTRODUCTION. About the middle of the fifteenth century, cider began to be an object of rural economy in this island. Before that pe- riod, mead was the common drink of the inhabitants. Till then, they were unacquainted with, the use of. spirituous li- quors. According to Camden^ the jerseymen of his time had no need of physicians; that temperate and frugal race was seldom exposed to any disorders except agues, which some- times attacked them about the end of autumn. Wine, which our foreign trade has made so plentiful, and which now extends ito the lowest clashes of society, was almost entirely confined, to the communions of the church. \ We may presume that it was the example of the Normans, which suggested to our islanders the idea of cultivating the apple tree, and of extracting from its fruit a liquor equally agreeable and nutritious. By the beginning of the fourteenth century, the former had already transplanted it into their own country, from the province of Biscay, where it grows spon- taneously, and often produces without grafting, valuable varie- ties. (Rozier, tome iii. page 342.) If the introddctiori of it into this island was so long delayed, we must attribute it to the difficulty of overcoming old preju- dices, and to the circumspection of individuals, who wished to ascertain, by the experiments of many years, the probability of its success, before they ventured to cultivate it on a large scale. - But our cider is now our principal produce.* After d * The exportation of cider from this island to England, Ireland, and Newfoundland, according to the official registers, amounted, in i8O3, to> J919 hogsheads. Insurmountable difficulties have prevented the author from,carrying his researches farther back. Two reasons did, no doubt, con- tribute to diminish it that year; the former, the great number of strangers, who, on the conclusion of peace with France, having come over, had in- creased the consumption of all kinds of provisions ; and the latter, the re- newal of the wdr, which, during more than half that tefm, injured the markets. • {12^4 hogsheads. 3227 to the 1st? The exportation or cider -i 1805 > ofAug. f These may be valued^ at one with another, at 30s, a hogshead, so that .< 1 moderate 13754340 moderate calculation, Jersey produces yearly, on an average, from thirty to thirty-five thousand hogsheads.* Mr. Fallen who published a History of the Island in 1734, and who then characterised its actual produce with the ernphatical term of a sea of cider,” made it rise to twenty-four thousand. Since that time, the number of our orchards has increased by more than one-half. That judicious historian remarked, that, “ This vast quan- tity of cider must be wholly consumed among ourselves,- very little being exported abroad, though it be the only produce of the island of which we have an overplus to spare.” But now the business of the farmer is no longer to prepare this beverage merely to supply the wants of the inhabitants. An advan- tageous market presents itself to our speculations; a new career is now open to our industry. The goodness of our gracious sovereign, who has never ceased to seek his own happiness in that of his people, has established our privilege's bh this fundamental point, and placed them on a level with those of the subjects of the mother country. It is to be regretted, that the officers at the head of the dif- ferent military corps in this island, as well ^s the commanders of vessels of war Gn this station, should not use more the liquor of the country. I do not pretend to establish that ci- der ought totally to exclude beer; but I can see still less rea- son, why it should actually be proscribed from the service; its qualities are not problematical, and, as to its price, it is seldom equal even to that of small beer. By intrusting in- telligent persons to choose it good, the commanders might reserve the best for their private use; and thus, by blending their own interest with that of the proprietors, they would form connections with them, which, by a mutual exchange of good offices, could not fail of being beneficial to both par- ties. Allowing twenty-four thousand hogsheads for home con- sumption, the remainder, though manufactured in the ordi- nary manner, certainly procures us an advantageous trade; but if it was generally of a good quality, and had once ac- quired some reputation, it is obvious, that it would afford a much more considerable revenue. A precaution which would during seven months of the last year, that branch of trade, has introduced into the country about 50001. The reader will not be sorry to be enabled to compare it with the expor- tation of cows and bulls. {180 1804^ to the 1st and bulls j 1805| (.1806. of Aug. !rose to 4 . I 406 cows. 2 bulls. 267 428 400 According to thia table, he will.be able to judge which of the two is of most importance. * Hogshead of 60 gallons. essentially341 essentially contribute to increase it, would be, to intrust pub- lic officers with the inspection of that which should leave the island. This might suit our police, who are actually bound by law, to take care that no unwholesome cider be retail- ed within their respective parishes. They might subject every cask on exportation to bear the seal of office, and it might be prohibited, under a heavy penalty, to export any of an adulterated kind. The extraordinary occurrences of our times have intro- duced, among all orders of men, a number of artificial wants j and if they wish to be able to satisfy them any longer, they must seek the means of doing it in their own industry. Pneumatic chemistry, by extending the sphere of our know- ledge, has opened a vast field to further observations on the manner of treating liquors. It is therefore probable, that the art of the cider-maker, notwithstanding the high degree of perfection to which it is thought to be arrived, is still only in its infancy. Mr. Marshall, of all those authors whom I have had occasion to consult, seems to me to be the ope who has best developed its theory; it is, however, to be observed, that he rather gives an account of what exists in a particular district, than instructions on what ought to be generally prac- tised, and that he embraces rpany subjects which are remote from our rural economy. The author, by consecrating to the service of his country the little knowledge which he has acquired in this art, and the cultivation of fruit trees, hopes that some abler hand will re- move the deficiencies of a work, the want of which has long been felt among us. These considerations, and a desire «f being useful, baye dictated the following Treatise. A TREATISE342 A TREATISE ON THE CULTIVATION OF APPLE TREES,, AND THE PREPARATION OF CIDER, s CHAPTER L 4 general Idea of Cider-making—What Precautions are necessary—And, how to Preserve Fruit for the Table. The fundamental principles of making good cider, are to observe cleanliness in making it, to keep it in well-seasoned vessels, and to mi^ no water with if. There may be, how- ever, an exception to this last rule, when it is kept for the use of the family, and is to be consumed within the five or six first jnonths of the year. Even in this case, it is proper not fo use well or spring-water, as being too hard, and unable to incor- porate itself with the cider; rain and running water, or even that from a pond when it is clear, are the only sorts fit for that purpose. When one wishes it to pass the summer, or to be sent beyond the seas, it will be proper to observe the following precautions.- ' , In the first place, we should take care, with a view of pre- serving the blossom for the ensuing year, to avoid tfie very common practice of beating about the boughs with a pole; by shaking them gently by means of an iron hook fixed to the end of it, the ripe fruit only will be detached from the tree without any thing being injured. The apples which are intended for cider, should, be such as fall of their own accord, or which, on being shaken in the man- ner just mentioned, detach themselves easily from the tree. They should then be gathered dry, and laid in separate heaps pf such varieties as suit each other, in a room having free ac- ' • - > • . •• • ...... cess343 cess to the air, or what is better still, under a shed with a southerly exposure. They ought to be stirred often, and not exceed ten inches or a foot in thickness. The heaping of them out of doors is attended with several inconveniences. They are subject to be covered, with leaves which get rotten in the autumn; they are exposed to the rain, “whose moisture they imbibe, and to the frosts which discom- pose them, and they are also often half buried in the mud. In consequence of all this, they are in a short time deprived of their fragrance, and commonly only afford a poor and watery juice. As to fruit for the table, a modern author* recommends to make it perspire together for ten or twelve days, before it be put in the fruit room. This method is defective in every point of view. The fermentation which results from it withers it, and shortens its duration ; and even when it does not rot it, the effluvia which it communicates from one to the other, in- evitably tend to impair it. After having been gathered with the hand, it should be ex- posed to the sun for some days, in a room with the windows open; it may be then laid gently on dry fern, and shut up in boxes; it may be wrapped up in paper, and hermetically sealed in vessels of such a size as will allow it a speedy con- sumption when it is drawn from them; or it may be placed by itself in a room of a moderate temperature, and as little ex- posed as possible to the variations of the atmosphere. In all these cases it requires to be protected against light itself, the effects of which contribute to impair it.-f The only precau- tion of wiping it occasionally with a dry cloth, and removing what was rotten, yvould often prqlopg till the summer a whole- some and delicate food, which, according to the ordinary prac- tice, is cpnfined to the first months of the winter. It would, however, be in vain to protect it against the incle- mency of the elements, if it was not also secured against the depredations of rats. An attention to this is essentially neces- sary in a country, where commerce daily introduces an almost innumerable quantity of those destructive animals ;. individuals are often deterred by prudential considerations from having re- course to the ordinary expedients for their destruction, yet no one ought to be ignorant of such contrivances whereby he may get rid of them without danger. In the following chapters I sliall lay down the directions ' which are necessary to be observed in the raising of fine, fruit trees. * Forsyth. f- Light acts chemically on bodies, that is, that it operates combinations and decompositions ; one rnay judge of this by the difference which appears ip. the same bodies when exposed to light, or when deprived of th^t pleuient. —-Fourcroy, Phil. Chem. Til. I. No. 4. CHAPTERM4 CHAPTER IL ' . * ■' / Cf the Seedling and the Cutting—Of Seeds—Of the Young Plants in the Nursery—And how to Quicken their Gtowth. yVmi a view to, raise fine orchards, one should make use of the seedling. From the very large apple trees, which were formerly to be seen in this island, it is sufficiently plain, that cur ancestors had the good sense of not grafting them on any Other stocks. I have often observed some of those apple trees in my youth, whose trunks were above two feet in dianieter ; and an old orchard, now the property of Mr. George Ingon- ville, at a place called the Coie, near St. Helier’s, can still give an idea of the superiority of that practice over that of propagating by means of cuttings. The cutting is generally small and badly conformed, be^ng old from its birth, and as a production of art, inheriting the defects of the tree of which it once made a part. The seedling being the offspring of nature, is vigorous and full of youth, and displays in all its appearance the richness and luxuriance of vegetation. The perniciops custom of cleft grafting on the cutting at six inches from the ground, and sometimes at less, contributes to make it still weaker. This fatal operation seldom fails to communicate the canker totheroot, which is already disposed to contract this mortal disease, and this is another reason why the tree should last so little, and should be so often blown down by the high winds. Such persons as give it the preference, say, that it bears sooner ; but this is doubtful. It is, however, certain, that the seedling when cpme to its full growth, considering its advan- tageous size, will often give more fruit in one year, than the cutting would produce in many: still it may be remarked, that the deficiency of individual size in cuttings, can easily be made up by their greater numbers. This notion probably draws many proprietors into an erroneous practice, which it may not be improper to examine here cursorily, Let us suppose that cuttings were planted ; double the num- ber of what seedlings would have been, and that each of them s should345 should in time acquire half the diameter of the latter, which is nearly the case, it is clear, that altogether they would cover only half the surface of what seedlings would have covered. It is a geometrical demonstration, that by taking two equal lines, and dividing one of them into two equal parts, the circle described on the whole line, contains double the sum of the other two circles, which are described on the parts of the other line; but when it is considered, that the seedling raises itself to more than twice the height of the cutting, their relative proportion is no longer tp be calculated by the area of the cir- cle, but by the cube of the whole. Taking it then for granted, that the seedling and the cutting are equally fruitful, (a fact which I believe is not contested) the former must carry it over the latter as tp the quantity of its fruit, in the proportion of more than four to one. The same gradation is nearly observable between the seedling and cutting, as between the wild pear and tlie quince. Sqme pears of the mellow sorts succeed better on the latter, and per- haps some sweet apples would acquire more flavour on the cutting; but this is an experiment yet to be made, and which has more reference to fruit for the table than for cider; and, until the fact be ascertained, it is better to procure the one and the other from the seedling. It is seldoip that the English and Normans plant apple trees, which have been grafted on a cutting; nevertheless, their nurserymen cannot be ignorant how easily it may be propagated; but they kqpw, that if they did it, they would lose the confidence of the public, and be deprived of their customers. If, after all, contrary to the evidence and practice of the most enlightened cultivators, some persons should still persist to aljow this unfortunate plantroom in their orchards, let it be at least confined to low grounds; it is rather better adapted to such places than to any other. It may be asked, how it has been possible to spread a preju- dice so contrary to the first principles of nature? Perhaps the following causes have contributed to it; It is because the cut- ting requires no further management than that of digging the ground where it is to be planted in the nursery ; it is also be- cause it is strong from its first year, and scarcely wants more than half the time which the seedling would take to develope itself. These advantages, together with its being cheaper, have made it an pbject to those cider growers, \vho, reckoning the beauty of their orchards as nothing, and rather calculating the number than the quality of their apple trees, think they are truly economical, because they are put to less expense. The plausibility of a thing has always afforded a defence ot errors, and under such auspices; one may well conceive how 'this particular one was disseminated from one neighbour to another. Be it as it may, this practice must be clas'sed with some of those unfortunate prejudices, through which routine is become stronger than reason, and has, for some years past, ttmong usj got the better of our true interests.340 It is proper that cuttings, as being always inferior both in shape and size to others of the same species, which have been raised from seeds or kernels, should be excluded from all plan- tations t?f consequence. There ought hardly io beany excep- tion to this rule, except pithy plants, such as the vine, all $orts of willows, and the quince tree. The finest and best grown seeds ought to be selected, as the elements of plants are of the highest consideration with respect to their future progress. These may be sown in the end of autumn, or in the beginning of spring. Those of a crab stock are preferable ; but such as are procured from a foreign coun- try, ora severer climate, are better still.* The second winter following, the plants may be taken up, and after selecting the strongest, they may he transplanted in a nursery about three feet from each other, which has been pre- viously well dug. The ground must be ploughed up at least twice a year, be kept entirely free from weeds, and no manure is to be used. It will not do them any injury to raise between the rows those vegetables which draw principally their nou- rishment from the atmosphere, as French beans, onions, let- tuces, &c. but all such as strike deep roots ought to be re- jected. So far from its being a disadvantage, it is a favourable cir- cumstance, when at this time the young plants throw out from the root or foot one or more shoots. Unless the stem be very fine, one must take good care not to destroy those shoots, as it is commonly done. After selecting that which promises best, it may be substituted to the stem about the end of the second winter, which is then cut off. As it is perfectly smooth it pauses itself vertically, and becomes mpre vigorous in one year than the stem would have done in many. This shoot is a fa- vourite of nature, but almcsst all the gardeners and nursery- men of this island consider it in all cases as an intruder, and make it a point to destroy it; about one-fourth of apple and pear trees admit of this operation. There are several other species of trees subject tp the same law?. As the sap de- cidedly takes a perpendicular direction, it will be easy in ge- neral to excite a rough or stunted young stem to put forth la- teral shoots; the only requisite being to bend it down. * The thorn, the wild pear, and some other trees, are propagated by se- parating the small roots, and covering them with mould to about the thick- ness of an inch. Although these plants are inferior to others, there are ia- Stancesin which they will sometimes be serviceable. CHAPTER347 CHAPTER III. 0f Grafting—The Opinion of a Proprietor on the Subject—Of the Choice of Grafts—What must be done before Grafting and Nursery—A par- ticular Manner of Budding the Quince Tree—And how several Sorts of Trees may be easily raised, v The art of grafting is one of those fortunate discoveries, from which we derive in this northern climate one of the most agreeable sensations that flatter the taste; and it is a process by which a graft or bud is joined to a tree, which by develop- ing itself there, changes, and most commonly improves, its subsequent produce. Grafting is varied according to the strength of the stock, and other circumstances. It may be reduced to four different pro- cesses: ist, Grafting by approach or inarching; andly, Cleft- grafting; 3rdly, Side grafting ; 4-thly, Budding. The first is practised on the orange, the citron, and other delicate trees* The second and third are commonly applied to the apple and pear tree. The fourth is made use of on trees that have gum, and sometimes on others also. It is not the junction of the external barks, which forms the future union of the parts, but the coalescing together of the liber, or inner barks, is the ob- ject to which our attention should be only directed. It is not my design to describe here the manual process of grafting, about which information may be easily procured from writers on gardening. I shall merely observe, that when the graft is placed on the chief boughs, it occasions less de- rangement to the vegetable economy, than if it was on the trunk, and that the wood of the stock, being naturally closer than that which springs from the graft, is better able after- wards to resist the high winds, and bear the weight of the fruit. M. Dierville, Lieutenant-general ofEvreux, in Normandy, relates in the Journal de Physique for March, 1781, an observation made by an old grower, and which, he says, experience seems, ^.b have confirmed. It is, that cider apple trees are produc- tive34$ tive only when one has taken care in grafting them, to fake the grafts from a tree in its bearing year. He adds, that this has not been attended to, and the graft being taken from it in its barren year, the tree will produce plenty of blossom, but never any fruit. Fruitfulness, being then in all cases, the happy result of a concurrence of circumstances on which it is impossible to cal- culate, it would follow after this principle, that to make sure of success the apple tree should be always budded, for its crop is seldom decided before the middle of July ; but bud- ding is seldom practised upon it, as jt is generally considered as by no means the best plan. According tome, it is a much more essential point, that the grafts should be taken from the lower branches, and the south- erly aspect of a tree which is sound and fruitful and of middle age. The best grafts are well grown shoots of the preceding year, not very long, and with the buds lying close to each other. The buds from the fourth to the eighth, are for the most part the finest. Two of them are sufficient; a greater number requires too much nourishment from the stock, and might occasion a failure in the prpcess. One should not graft a whole nursery indifferently; as the individuals, though they are pf the same species, put forth their shoots at different times ; one must take care to join to- gether those varieties which are analogous to each other. Never did the graft of an early sort, strictly speaking, thrive on a late stock, nor a late graft on an early stock. The plants may be classified in the preceding spripg, that one may be the better able to unite them afterwards in a manner conformable io their nature. *Care must be taken in budding not to use blossoms, for al- though they would blow in the spring, they would commonly die immediately after. The safest method that I know of to take up the bud, is by means of a goose quill, which has been shaped like a pen, whose nib is not quite sharp nor split; this instrument being inserted between the wood and the inney bark, and pushed from the top downwards, separates them from each other without injuring the bud. Miller recommends to transplant the trees which had been budded the preceeding year, about the end of winter, before they begin to shoot. An ingenious friend* of mine has carried this notion yet farther with respect to the quince. He bpds it first on the branches, then he cuts t}iem the following spring, and plants them as cuttings. For my part, I prefer stocks of this kind which have been planted at least two years where they are to remain, for the reasons which are specified in the IXth Chapter. With a view to quicken their growth, I grafted cuttings some years ago, before placing them in the nursery. The greatest part Major Le Hardy.549 the grafts took, and I already flattered myself with having made an important discovery ; on the contrary, it was not long before I perceived, that this method, so far from promoting ve- getation, only tended to check it. It is good not to be too hasty in suppressing the shoots which come out near the graft or bud ; this should be put oft' till the sap, by working a passage into the adoptive channels, Has decidedly secured to the graft the nourishment of the stock. A contrary practice very often occasions the loss of the one and the other. There is an expeditious method of increasing the number of many sorts of trees, which is, in the beginning of spring, to make a strong ligature round one of the well grown shoots of the last year, and, if possible, just above a nodus or smutty excrescence, taking care to cover the ligature sufficiently with a composition of fat earth and cow dung. The strangulation, by causing a swelling and intercepting the course of the sap, obliges the shoot to strike root that very year. In the autumn or the next spring, it is separated from the parent plant, and. thus this process is neither attended with the risk of the delay of grafting. It is said that the Chinese have a practice very much like the above. They surround the lower part of a bough with a quantity of unctuous earth, and then suspend a jug of water, which, by dripping over it, keeps it moist; the bough then strikes root in the earth, and is fit to be cut and transplanted the next winter. One may, however, conclude, that trees raised in this man. ner, are in some measurecuttings, and must necessarily partake along with them of the same disadvantages. The nature of layers is so generally known, that it would be useless to dwell upon a description of them here. CHAPTER i3-50 CHAPTER, IV. 0/ 'transplantation—What Advantages transplanted Trees derive from e, certain Composition—And how they are secured against high Winds. It is plain, from the circumstance, that nature renders those trees more vigorous which have not been removed, that one cannot be too careful to preserve the roots of such as are trans- „ planted. In taking them up one should dig in a direction pa- rallel to the roots, for by doing it crossways, or at right.angles, one is in danger of mutilating them. When the roots have once been laid bare with the spade, a pitch-fork will be very Useful in disengaging them from the earth, without doing them any injury. One may conceive^ from the analogy which exists between trees and annual plants, that as transplanjion accelerates the maturity of the latter, and makes them run up to seed sooner than they would have done otherwise, it will also have a be= neficial influence on the former, by making them produce fruit the sooner. This fact has beon confirmed by experience.* As to the pits, it is proper that they should be dug for some months before planting, and that they should be sufficiently large to give room to the roots to spread thamselves. The earth of the surface must be set apart, so that it may be put hack in its place whenever it will be necessary. In all level grounds the tree should not be planted deeper than it was in the nursery, or not even so deep; considering that the ground will afterwards sink in. The roots being deprived of the be- neficial effects of the atmosphere, by having been planted too * Having some cauliflowers which had been sown thick in my garden, I had them thinned, so as to leave the remaining ones at about two feet from each other, and I had then those which had been pulled up planted in rows. These were fit to cut for some weeks before the former, which had not been moved, notwithstanding they were taken care of, and enjoyed she sa$ge advantages of manure, soil/ and exposure. deep;331 deep, the tree would not fail to be wasted, or at least whilft nature was obliged to have recourse to expedients, it would be considerably retarded in its growth. It is seldom that a fine tree is to be met with, whose large roots are not close to the surface of the ground. As soon as the stem of the apple tree has come to about eight inches in circumference, it is time to transplant it into the orchard. It is, however, essen- tial to its growing', that its top should be previously lopped off, and then be immediately planted. When it has been fixed in its new residence, tread down strongly against the roots the earth, which in digging the pit had been taken from the surface, or else substitute mould in- stead of it; if, on the contrary, it is a heavy soil, it must be lightly trodden. In case the season should be advanced, and there would be reason to expect a continuance of dry weather, you will throw into each pit, at the time of planting, a few bucket’s-fuli of soft water. When the roots of a tree have suffered, either by carelessness in taking it up, or by having been kept too long out of the ground, it will be proper to prune them to the quick, and in the latter case, to steep them in soft water for some days before the tree is planted. Whoever will take the trouble to examine the trunk of art old tree which had never been transplanted, when cut hori- zontally, will perceive that the portions of heart and sap are thicker on the southern than on the northern side. This is a convincing proof, that it is an object of some consequence how to give trees properly a southerly exposure on transplan- tation. For this reason, I prefer to insert the graft on the northern side, as I find that it covers again the wound of the stock the sooner. I remember to have observed, among other trees, three alders which grew near each other, and had been cut down close to the ground ; the first of them measured thirty inches in diameter, the second twenty-four, and the last twenty-one. The strongest of them had twenty inches of wood from the heart to the circumference, on the southern side; the other, sixteen; and the third, fourteen. These instances afford a re- markable coincidence, and I doubt whether many of the kind could be found; but they prove at least, that in this island, nature has made itself a law of a principle, that is to say, to nourish the wood a great deal more on the southern than on the opposite side. It is then highly probable, that the de- rangement occasioned in a great number of trees by not attend- ing to this particular in transplanting them, especially such as are come to a certain degree of strength, checks and stunts their growth, and very often destroys them without the cause being so much as suspected. Some time ago, a friend of mine shewed me three fine chau- montel pear trees on espaliers, which had been transplanted in his garden the preceding winter, two of which were dead. He did not know to what to attribute their loss, as he assured me they had been taken up with the most scrupulous attention. I enquiredenquired, then, if he had taken care to give ^hem the sathe ex4 posure they had before. I was told that the one which was living was so planted, and that those which were dead, had been placed in a contrary direction. It is difficult to say, whether trees should be transplanted in the winter, or in the spring. This question is to be decided, from the nature of the soil, the species of the plant, and the situation where one wishes to fix it. The former of thesfe rea- sons is, in general, better adapted to dry and high places ; the latter, to low and wet grounds. There are places where the soil is totally contrary to vege- tation ; and others, where its sterility exists only in the inferior strata. In a marshy situation it will be requisite to make a chain to carry off the waters, and in the other above-mentioned Cases, to dig large pits and fill them with good earth. As high grounds are liable to give way and sink, and low ones to raise themselves, the trees on the top of declivities nnist be planted deep, while those in the vales need not be much below the sur- face. Those in intermediate situations must be set in propor- tion to the degree of declivity. As the roots of the cutting do not strike deep; they must be planted deeper than those of the seedling. A composition of tow dung, clay; and wood, or se^-weed ashes; in the proportion of weight Of 3, 2, and 1; in the order I mention these articles, being diluted with urine and soap-suds, and applied in a rope of twisted hay round the young plants, nourishes them, and protects them against field mifce and rab- bits, and guards them against the effects of frost, and the other Inclemencies of the weather. When they are secured with either thorn or furze, it prevents the catfle from doing them any injury. The spring is the proper time to remove thif> co- vering, when the trees are become strong enough to dispensd with it. The violence of the high winds is liable to shake them, but a few stones heaped up round their foot will keep them steady. They ate preferable to props, as they allow the trunk to movaf itself gently; and do not occasion any stagnation in the sap. They have, besides the salutary effect in a light soil of making the earth lie closer on the roots; and by restraining evapora- tion, of keeping them fresh during the summer. There is no reason why the field should not be sown the same year that the trees are planted. The crop may grow equally on the whole of its surface, care having been taken after ploughing; bf covering the stones with earth in the shape of a small tumulus. It is desirable that the circulation of the sap in the vege- table, as well as the secretion of fluids in the animal economy, should bemade elaborate by exercise. This is the cause that the fruit of standard trees, when it comes to maturity, has more flavour, than that of the same kind which has been grown on espaliers; this circumstance being striking in the warmer climates. The circulation of the sap in the trunk of trees • which353 which have been recently planted, having been slackened, it wants, especially at this period, to be gently excited by mo- tion. It is principally to these three causes, namely, the use of the above composition, the stones, and the motion, that I at- tribute the preservation of one of my orchards, which consists of thirty-six apple-trees. Although it had been planted in the spring of 1803, on a high gravelly ground, and exposed to the sun heat, it withstood, without being watered, the heats and the drought of the next summer, which was remarkable for the intenseness of the one, and the long continuance of the other. I lost but one foot, while, with some of my neigh- boursj more than half failed. WORCESTERSHIRE.] CHAPTER A a35* CHAPTER V, Of the Shoots which cw below the Graft—To‘what Height the Trunk of Apple Trees ought to be suffered to Grow, and how to Plough among them., to Manure, and to Prune them—Of Forsyth's Composition for Curing the Wounds of Trees—Of its Qualities with respect to Grafts—Of Miller's Composition for the same Object, and how to sim- plify it—A Remedy for Decortication. It is indispensable to suppress the shoots which grow below the graft. They would otherwise consume the sap to no pur. pose, and make it abandon that precious deposit of art. The trunk of apple trees, especially of such varieties as are subject to bend down their boughs, ought not to be less than six feet high, so that they may be safe against any injury from cattle. The fruit undoubtedly suffers a little in consequence of this height; but the beauty of the plantation, and the better quality of the grass, equally recommends a practice which obviates the necessity of cutting the large boughs, as one is but too often obliged to do, when the orchard is to be culti- vated, and which thus essentially tends to its preservation. The apple trees may be allowed to be lower, when the ground will not admit of being ploughed, as the denseness of the air, and the reflection of the sun-beams, will then contribute to improve the fruit. Plough the ground among the trees, but not deeply, and ’ let the manure be put at a certain distance from the foot, as a contrary practice would make them decay. It will add to their strength by retrenching the superfluous branches. Without this precaution vegetation exhausts itself to no pur- pose, and all the parts of the trees are thereby visibly im- paired. The branches must be gradually thinned. Two or three years are not too much for dressing trees of a middle age, which had not yet been pruned. As to the old ones, it is- no longer time to perform upon them this operation, as it would be dangerous to turn out of its usual course the sap, which is ready to be dried up of itself. TheS55‘ The praises which have been so liberally bestowed itporf Forsyth, seem to place beyond all doubt the efficacy of his Composition for curing the wounds of all sorts of trees. The work, in which is contained the receipt for making it, has been recently published, and is scarce and'dear. Either of these circumstances would be sufficient to deprive those of its in- formation, who are most interested in possessing it 5 and here it may be worth while to enable them to avail themselves of a discovery which is considered as very valuable. A tree, which, according to Forsyth, has hardly anything living but the bark, and which, if left to itself, would linger on, and die in a short time, may not only recover after his me- thod within three years, but grow, during that period, and ba- restored to its former luxuriance, It is easy to conceive, that though it may have been very much mutilated, it may be preserved by being treated in the same manner. The process consists in removing the diseased and unsound parts by cut- ting to the quick witii a sharp knife, and then immediately applying the above composition with a brush to the wound. This composition, (says theauthor), is preferable to the mix- ture of clay and cow-dung, which is used in grafting. My experiments in this respect, have not been successful, as not one out of more than two dozen has succeeded. In fact, its calcareous causticity, cannot fail of absorbing the moisture which is necessary to the union of the graft and the stock; and, in my opinion, it is precisely this very quality, which makes it so serviceable in curing the wounds of trees. It is a pity to see prejudice triumph over ingenious inven- tions* The mixture of turpentine, wax, and rosin, the use of which was so strongly recommended by Miller, the oracle of English gardening, (Gard. Diet. Art. Grafting.) has now remained buried in oblivion for more than half a century. I have substituted instead of it, one more simple, by combining with a given quantity of rosin, about one-fourth part of tal- low ; this mixture has the advantage of cleanliness, expedi- tion, and cheapness. It must be moderately melted on a chafing dish, and theriappiied with a wooden spatula or spoon to the grafts; it will completely defend them against small worms, and the effects of the sun and the frost, and the other inclemencies of the weather. I have now used it for a long time with complete success. It is worth while to inform the reader, that when this mixture is warmed often, it will be ne- cessary to add more tallow occasionally; as otherwise it would be subject to fall off in scales, and sometimes to detach itself entirely, and thus make the graft fail. The following is the substance of Forsyth’s receipt, which, besides other advantages, lias procured him a grant of 6000]. from the parliament of Great Britain, Take a bushel of tresli cow-dung, half a bushel of the rub- lush of old buildings, (that of ceiling is preferable), such as old slacked lime and chalk, half a bushel of wood ashes, and the sixteenth part of a bushel of sand from a quarry or a river.356 -These three last Ingredients must be well Sifted before mixing them. Incorporate the whole together with a spade, and then beat it with a flat board, till the composition being well di- luted be rendered as fine as plaster for ceilings. Reduce it to the consistence of paint rather thick, by pour- ing upon it a sufficient quantity of urine and soap-suds, and apply it in that state ; sprinkle then upon it wood-ashes mixed with a sixth part of burned bones pulverised, out of a tin box in the shape of a pepper-box, till the surface be en- tirely incrusted with it. The spring is the most favourable season for this operation. It will be proper to examine the application from time to time, to repair it in case it should have fallen off7. There are but few individuals who want to provide them- selves with so large a quantity of this specific. With a view to reduce it according to exigencies, and to facilitate the making of it, I will give an account of my own process. I got sand from a quarry, and whiting, to be ground fn the same manner as is done for paint; I had them both sifted, as Well as the ashes, and each of them put separately; after- wards I had a glass full of sand emptied into a large pail, add- ing to it eight times as much whiting, eight times as much ashes, and sixteen times as much cow-dung; these ingredients were then mixed together with the hand, till they were per- fectly incorporated, and laid by in a vessel on purpose. The quantity which is occasionally wanted, is drawn from it, and diluted with urine and soap-suds. I have followed the same proportion about the ashes and pulverised bones, having mixed them together in a bottle by shaking it, as I filled it gra- dually. In case some of the bark of the trunk should have been taken away, the piece itself may be replaced, which method, I believe, was first contrived by Mr. Bucknall; the bark of another less valuable part of the same tree, or even that of another of the same species, may be substituted, and in both cases, the wound having been previously well cleaned, it must be adjusted to it, and laid even with it in its whole cir- cumference, and kept close to it with a strong ligature for three weeks or a month ; the wound is then so perfectly cured that there hardly remains any scar. The only disadvantage I know of, attending this remedy, is, that it cannot be practised but when the sap allows the bark to detach itself from the wood. CHAPTER.CHAPTER VI, what Distance Apple Trees ozight to be planied—The Author's Rule—* That of Miller—Inferences drawn from the Perspiration of Trees, It is an error to plant too closely, as the same effects resnlt from it for the whole, as for the individual. High grounds which want shelter, and declivities which are unfit for the plough, are nearly the only places calculated for such a prac- tice. The best rule, in my opinion, for grounds advantage- ously situated, is to place the apple trees in the form of a ring, allowing but one row round a middle-sized field, and to have them at the distance of two perches and a half from each other. Miller thinks that a distance of a hundred feet is not too much ; the following are the reasons with which he supports his opinion:—“ It may, perhaps, seem strange to some per- sons, that I should recommend the allowing so much distance jo the trees in an orchard, because a small piece of ground will admit of very few trees when planted in this method; but they will please to observe, that when the trees are grown up, they will produce a great deal more fruit than twice the number of trees, when planted close, and will be vastly better tasted ; the. trees, when placed at a large distance, never being in so much danger of blighting as in close plantations, as has been observed in Herefordshire, the great'county for orchards, where they find that orchards so planted, as that the air is pent up among the trees, the vapours which arise from the damp of the ground, collect the heat of the sun, and reflect it in steams so as to cause what they call a fire blast, which is the most hurtful to their fruit; and this is most fre- quent when the orchards are planted to the south sun.” The perspiration of trees, especially when they put out their leaves, is a fact which has been known for a long time.* The effluvia, or attenuated substances, which they exact, and * Ingenhouss, Duhamel, Rozier, Massim. which558 which excite in us the sensation of smell, show that these par- ticles, which may be considered with regard to the tree as fe- culent matter, sometimes extend their influence to an astonish- ing distance.* Nature, by rejecting them, plainly proves that they are baneful to vegetation. Qn this account, trees which have been planted by themselves in a favourable situa- tion, have almost in every case a finer appearance, and their timber is more perfect than that of such as grow in forests. Whenever any of the latter acquire strength, they cause the contiguous ones to perish, that they may at the same time find room to extend their roots and get rid of the effluvia which incommode them. A clump of trees will often shoot up to a great height; the reason is, that the trees being in part de- prived of nourishment of the atmosphere, hardly receive the light but at top ; this element being equally necessary to their own growth, and causing the greenness of the leaves. But this portion of light not being sufficient to keep them healthy, they gradually decay, the lateral branches are withered up, and the trunk, by being deprived of the genial influence of the sun, becomes weak and slender.' But to draw some inferences from the principles which we have just laid down :—The more the boughs are liable to bend down and assume a horizontal direction, as is commonly the case with those of the apple tree, at the greater distance ought the plants to be placed from each other. By such a practice they are more exposed to receive the mild heat of the sun, and to enjoy a wholesome air, and their fruit ripens better. The grass under is of a better quality, and when the ground is sown for grain, it produces better and more plentiful crops. There is also another advantage attending it, which is, that when the trees have got old, and yield but an indifferent pro- duce, an orchard may be replanted without any inconvenience, by placing the young trees between every other of the old ones, and in a few years be renewed. * We are assured by voyagers of credit, that in their passage to the East i'ndies, they have distinctly smelled the aromatic scents of Ceylon at the distance of more than fifty miles. j , CHAPTERI CHAPTER VIE Of the Soil and Exposures most favourable to the Apple Tree—A Conjee* ture how to procure Fruit every Year—How to destroy the Moss and Insects. It is the opinion of many experienced growers, that the soil favourable to broom (genista) is in this climate that, which is best adapted to the apple tree. A poor, dry, and gravelly, soil, improves the nature of the fruit, and what is lost in quantity is more than amply made up by the quality. By distributing the trees in a variety of situations, it is pos- sible to secure crops at very different periods. Often will it be a plentiful year in one spot, when, in consequence of the ordinary variation of the seasons, there is a failure in all other situations. Though the apple tree agrees well enough with most situations, provided it is sheltered from the sudden gusts of high winds, yet a south and south-east aspect are the best exposures for an orchard; this is what is almost always to be seen on the slope of a sheltered hill, where one has taken care to plant such varieties as blossom late; there the spring sun dissipates, in a short time, the dews and fogs of the morning, and the atmosphere warmed by its refraction, sheds for the re- mainder of the day a gentle heat, and for a long while pre- serves the tender tissue of the blossom. The east wind, being dry, and seldom violent, co-operates till the season is further advanced, to retard, by its chillness, the formation of fruit. It is not generally desirable, that the crops should be very plentiful, as, besides that they are inferior in price, and almost always in intrinsic value, it is then that the grower is drawn into most trouble and expense; it is then, his interest to endeavour to procure moderate ones each year. Might he not be able to g^in this point by putting off the produce of the apple trees ? I think that this is not impossible. The flowers which adorn, our garden shrubs in the spring may be delayed till the au- tumn. The rose bush which scatters around its fragrance in the former season, if it is deprived of its leaves, it will reserve260 it for the latter. This takes place, if I am not mistaken, with respect to the fruit of the raspberry; some varieties of that plant bear spontaneously in autumn, and I think that all might do the same with proper care and attention. Nature is atten- tive to the different species, and never ceases to occupy itself with contriving the means of their re-production. By destroy- ing the blossom of a plant, which, like the apple tree, most commonly bears every other year, might it not be possible to put back its crop very often to the subsequent year ? I conjec- ture it; I do not dare to warrant it, having not yet made any experiments of the kind.* Happily the misletoe, which is so common among our neigh- bours, has not yet shown itself upon our treesthey are, however, attacked with the moss, which does them an infinite deal of harm; the cutting, as being weaker, suffers more than the seedling. It may be destroyed by throwing, in damp win- ter weather, wood or sea-weed ashes, or pulverised quick lime, over the branches; by washing the trunk with fresh lye, such as is used in washing, and after it has been laid on with ashes, by cleaning it with a coarse cloth or a handful of straw. In this manner the trunk becomes perfectly smooth, and the in- sects perish which were lodged in the external crevices and gnawed the bark, together with the eggs which in the spring would have produced some other insects. It will be sufficient for the most part, to repeat this operation once every three of four years. The lye, being rendered more caustic by being boiled with quick lime, in nearly the same proportion as that of ashes, when injected with a garden engine into the branches of the peach tree, destroys the aphis. This operation, when per- formed about the end of autumn, annihilates the future gene- ration of that destructive insect. This may be done on all sorts of trees, and, it is probable, that the birds most often at» tack the young buds, but with the View of feeding on the grubs which are lodged in their tender cellulas. ■ * I hope the reader will indulgently receive these conjectures, as they have no other object than the advancement of rural economy, even if fu- ture experiments should demonstrate them to have been erroneous. From the increase of value in our orchards within these few years, they may now be looked upon as the chief and most important part of our larded property. Besides the advantages we derive from the cider, the traffic in apples and pears already gives room to expect the most favourable results; may then such powerful and interested motives determine our farmers to concentrate their industry on these solid bases, rather than buoy up themselves with the hopes of speculations foreign to their situation in life, and at all times doubtful, but which, at the end of the war with the continent, would in- fallibly be overturned in the course of a few weeks 1 f After the publication of this work, the author discovered one solitary instance of the misletoe in the island, but this can hardly invalidate the as- sertion in the text. CHAPTER361 CHAPTER VIII. P/ i.ie Pear Tree for Perry—-Remarks on the Cultivation of Peach Trees, &c. From the many fine pear trees of the perry sorts, which are scattered here and there in our fields, it is probable, that in most districts, they would succeed perfectly well. Without pretending to exclude the cultivation of apple trees, that of pear trees would have its own advantages: ist. That its pro- duce is more regular, and that the varieties proper for perry are highly esteemed ; 2ndly, That the liquor is sooner fit for use; 3rdly, That* the pear tree commonly bears when the apple tree fails; 4thly, That it lasts at least three times as long; 5thlv, That though it be generally larger, it withstands, the winds better; 6thly, That fogs, high winds, and hoar frosts, seldom injure its blossom, and that there is hardly any thing besides hail that hurts the fruit; ythly, That, finally, by this means old orchards may be renewed, when the soil is exhausted for apple trees. Plants seldom or never succeed when they replace imme- diately others of their own species. Nature seems to have prescribed this law to trees as well as to garden vegetables.* * It is, perhaps, as much owing to the exhausted state of plants as that- of the soil, that the small bulk of most of our oaks is to be attributed. Itis probable that the inhabitants of this island, have, time out of mind, confined themselves to raising the indigenous sorts. It is, however certrin, that in England and France, where, from the extent of those countries, the nu- merous varieties of this kind are better able to cross themselves, the timber grows infinitely stronger. I cannot attribute to any other cause this effect, which is so striking in an intermediate country like this, where the soil, the situations, and the shelter, seem to offer all that is requisite for the most ample display of vegetation. Proprietors then who interest them- selves in the improvement of timber, and the well being of future genera- tions, will sow acorns, and transplant select young oaks from foreign coun- tries, with the view of retrieving among us the majesty of that monarch of She woods. There exists, in this respect, a perfect an; logy between the 1“ There362 There is a remarkable instance of it in peach trees on espa-, liers. When they are planted in good and new grounds, they are for the most part luxuriant and fruitful; while on the contrary, those that succeed them become stunted, and scarcely bear any thing. This is the case, more or less, with all old gardens. It is to be supposed, that this defect arises from the species itself. As trees are a genus, they contain many species, which, by appropriating to themselves their own suitable support, may come to perfection one after another,1 in the same manner as the different sorts of grain, when varied with judgment, suc- cessively produce plentiful crops for several years in the same field without additional manure. “ It is by the adoption of this advantageous practice, (says the author of Annotations on the French Georgies), that the Flemings, the Brahantese, the Swiss, the Alsatians, and>„ above all, the English, have raised their agriculture to a de- gree of perfection unknown to the rest of Europe; that they have been able to raise, one after another, on the same soil, and always with success, a great number of vegetables of dif- ferent species and natures, and have established, a course of crops as the basis of rural economy.” It follows then, that peach trees may very properly replace each other, provided the one has been budded on the plum tree, and t he other on the almond, or vice versa ; because it is the stock, on which the graft has been intrusted, which sucks up from the earth the juices with which it supports it. Peach trees may be grafted upon each other, or on the apricot, the plum, or the almond ; the latter two are generally preferred, princi- pally, I think, because they are stronger: the English choose the plum, and the French the almond. The inequality be- tween them, is, in all probability, not very striking, unless it be owing to the climate; a consideration, which, in this in- termediate country, cannot have much weight. It is also well known, that the plum tree throws out lateral roots, and that the almond is top-rooted; and thus, when the soil is ex- hausted for the former, it is in some measure new for the lat- ter. Byqrlanting the almond after the plum tree in the place intended for the peach, it will establish a still more decided difference in the relative characteristic of the roots of the two stocks. The almond, which has not been transplanted, will then shoot its roots deeper, and a luxuriant vegetation will lay the foundations of a future plentiful produce. The almond, when budded in the month of August, or sometimes later, succeeds better than at an earlier period ; the sap being then too abundant, is liable to drown the eye or bud; gum is also subject to form itself, and the process is vegetable and animal kingdom, as it is by judicious unions in each, that the one and the other are procured in the highest perfection. The most flou- rishing breeds will degenerate, unless care is occasionally taken to cross them again! surer363 surer of success, by putting it off till the lateness of the sea- son has diminished the vigour of the tree. With a view to prevent the inconveniencies resulting from the ordinary prac- tice, as soon as the bud is well taken, the stock must be cut two or three inches above it; as, by this means, it will be preserved, and excitetl to develope itself. When the peach tree is budded on the almond, it acquires strength sooner than when it is budded on the plum tree, while the borders reap an evident advantage from it by not having their manure exhausted to no purpose, in supporting the suckers of the latter. I pulled out last year suckers from the same plum tree at five different times, all of them almost as strong as those which are commonly used in transplanting. Whenever this stock is to be used, it should have been raised from a kernel, as it becomes finer, and throws out fewer shopts., than that which is raised from a sucker. The principles which I have just explained, in the cultiva- tion of the peach, are applicable to that of the nectarine and apricot. Be it as it may, the practice of raising different trees after each other, is, independently of any hypothesis, adapted to all circumstances. CHAPTER i364 I CHAPTER IX. jty tke Means of rendering Trees fruitful—An Abstract of M. Pinery's Experiments on the Subject— How to Cure the Canker—What is it's Principle—Inference drawn from the Practice recommended. The crops arc the chief object in raising fruit trees ; there are several expedients in use to make them beaf^ there are $ome trees which, from a natural defect, are condemned to a perpetual barrenness, and are incapable of yielding any pro- duce. The unfruitfulness of others, arising from causes essen« tially different in themselves, makes it impossible to prescribe a mode of treatment adapted to all cases. Sometimes they have beep made to bear by making a hole to the heart with 4 borer, and then stopping it up with a peg, by splitting the trunk longitudinally, by suppressing some of the roots, See. These are violent, and often destrucive methods, and which it would be difficult to refer to any solid and established prin- ciple. In other respects, as nature troubles itself but little in the vegetable, and still less so in the animal kingdom, with the secondary object of propagating the species, at the time it forms the individual; it will seldom allow these means to be had recourse to, before the trees are come to their full growth. They must, at least, be suffered to attain a certain degree of Strength, .before they can be expected to produce plentiful crops. Such as bear young, remain slender, exhaust them- selves, and disable themselves from bearing afterwards. From the circumstance of there not being found, in this island, any calcareous substance, except that of a few shell fish (which is but trifling), it is a long time since, that some agriculturists would have concluded, a priori, that lime would be our best manure.* The fact is no longer problematical. It may be laid down * Rliogue, otherwise called the rustic Socrates, lays it down as a prin- ciple, that the best manures are such as differ most from the nature of the soil. I believe that this idea is just. In support of this theory, 1 will state a fact, of which our cultivators may avail themselves. from365 £rorr» numerous instances; without any fear of being mistaken,, that quick lime buried in small quantities about the end of autumn, a few feet from the trunk of trees nearly come to their full strength, is an improvement which will seldom fail to increase their produce, or to determine it, when it is not yet decided. Unless the cause of unfruitfulness be very ob- vious, a wise cultivator will first make a trial of this method, which, at any rate, is innocent, before he has recourse to measures^ which, instead of being serviceable to his trees, might end in their destruction. Some use may also be made of wood and sea-weed ashes, of sea-weed itself, of dung, road dirt, &c. taking, however, the above precaution of burying these substances at the proper season, at a certain distance from the trunk. There is, besides, another practice, which is, to lay bare the large roots in the winter, and let them be ex- posed to the frost. Some persons who have tried it speak of it in high terms. We are indebted to the investigation of the famous Buffon for another process, which, having been since evinced by the successful experiments of M. Lanery$* find uniting in itself many signal advantages, has, of late years, acquired extensive celebrity on the continent. It must, however, be used with caution, as otherwise it might endanger the life of the tree. To convey a right understanding of his method, and to guard against the abuse which might be made of it, I shall subjoin a summary detail of the principles on which it is founded. It has long been received as a fact, that the sap circulates alternately in two opposite directions, ascending mostly through the bdrk in the spring, and descending in the same manner towards the earth after midsummer. A reason that seems to decide in favour of its flowing up and down, is, that trees divested all around of their bark in a horizontal direc- tion, were it only a foot long, can seldom survive the opera- tion more than two years; the distance being sufficient to preclude the lip, or extremity of the upper bark, from the possibility of effecting a re-union with the lower bark. Buf- fon, having observed that trees upon the decline more fre- quently bore fruit than others of the same species, concluded, that, by shortening the distance between the bark, so as to bring upon them only a slight degree of transient decay, it would probably contribute to their becoming fruitful. He Last autumn, two adjoining fields in St. Saviour’s parish, as equal as pos- sible in size, depth of soil, and exposure, were manured after a crop of pair- nips. There were spread on the former field ten cart-loads of dung, and two cart-loads of sea-weed ashes; and on the latter, ten cart-loads of dung, and one cart-load of lime; they were then ploughed up and sown in the like' manner, with the same kind and the same quantity of wheat. I afterwards examined both at the time of harvest, and I ascertained, that the latter field had the advantage over the other, in the proportion of above one-third in the quantity and quality of the grain, as well as in the strength of the reed. I cannot attribute this difference to any thing else than the lime. * Encyclopedia Methodique, Art, Bourrele, accordingly366 accordingly found, that, by reducing it to a Small ahnular de- cortication, they bore plentifully. M. Lancry having con- firmed, the positions of Buffon, and added to it many experi- ments of his own, ascertained that fruit obtained in this man- ner, is considerably larger and ripens sooner by nearly three weeks, than that from the spontaneous production. It is evident, that nature forsakes, in a great measure, the part above which the operation has. been performed, from the tree in almost every instance striking shoots below the wound. The practice we are now treating of, must therefore be limited to such trees, as are of a competent age, and only to a certain number of their branches; It is also so far from superseding the beneficial application of manure, that it more particularly requires it as the tree remains exhausted by a preternatural exertion. The result of M. Lancry’s practice, is: ist. That the operation is applicable to every species of fruit trees, but is more advantageous to vines, as the wodd shoots freely, and requires to be often renewed. indly. That the best season to perform it in, is early in the' spring, but may, however, be done occasionally in a more ad- vanced state of vegetation. 3tdly» That in order to have the wound closed up in the course of the year, a circumstance very essential to the re- storation of the tree from its temporary languor, the annular decortication should not in general exceed in length one-third of an inch. 4thlyi That the bark should be perfectly scraped off front the woody substance. 5thly. That if the tree should not produce fruit the same year the operation has been performed, it certainly Will on the subsequent. The apple and pear trees of the tender varieties, which afe subject to canker, or lose by mortification during the winter the shoots of the preceding summer, bear fruit but seldom, and even then, it is of a bad quality. It will be of little avail to prune off the branches as they get cankered, because the succeeding ones perish like those which had preceded them. I will now describe a mode of treatment against this disorder, which has never yet failed me. As it restores the health of the tree, it excites it to shoot out new wood, and in a few years makes it bear plentifully. The following instances will enable the reader to judge of its efficacy. About twelve years ago, I had a standard pear tree, of the sort, called here little St. Michael, which had been planted from sixteen to eighteen years in a good soil. It had been grafted on a free stock, but its boughs were so cankered, that It seldom bore, in the best years, more than five or six wretched pears, tough, and full of crevices. After having, at several intervals, attempted to cure it to no purpose, by re- trenching the decayed parts, I ventured at length to cut off its top, having often observed, that forest trees which had been367 ^een lopped in the common way almost never cankered ;riod, event was answerable to my expectations. From that peving it has not only thrown out vigorous shoots, without ha j now any branch cankered, but it has produced the best 1 finest fruit of the kind, that I have ever eaten, and in such a plenty, that last autumn it did not produce less than two bushels. Having experienced a succession of similar fortunate attempts, I have acquired so much confidence in this remedy, that I apply it now to all the trees which show the least symp- tom of that disorder, without making any distinction between apple and pear trees; 1 take care, however, that they should have been planted where they are to remain, for three or four years before, that the root may have had time to strengthen itself, and be enabled to afford the trunk a plentiful nourish- ment, and make it put forth healthy shoots; grafts have even been made use of, taken from the tree I have just mentioned, without the ones which were propagated from it, having ever after shown any sign of canker. Having extended this principle to two vines, which bore almost nothing, they had the next year five bunches of grapes on some of the twigs, four on some of the others, and three on the least. 1 have lopped, under the same circumstances, pear trees grafted on the quince, which had been planted more than twelve years, but which, three years after the operation, were become stronger than they were before, and which have at present all the appearances of perfect health. An old, bar- ren pear tree, grafted on a free stock, in some measure made young again by this practice, is become fruitful. I have equally succeeded on a golden pippin. As the improvement of the tree, and almost a moral certainty of its future fruitful- ness, afford an ample recompence for the delay in its produce, it will be prudent to have rather recourse to this method, than to plant another, the success of which must then be always doubtful. A proof that this process, when judiciously executed, is far from being hurtful, is, that the tree shoots, and generally keeps its leaves later in the season than others of the same kind. It may be asked, what is the principle of canker ? The solu- tion of this question would be as curious to the naturalist, as it would be important to the cultivator; but this, I believe, has not yet been satisfactorily done. It is probable that this disorder is occasioned by many causes independent ofeach other, such as acold and exhausted soil, a poor gravel, a too close clay, the extreme dampness of the ground, the want of shelter, and the like ; but what seems to me to be the chief cause of it, and the most common, is the oldness of the varieties; this being equally the case with fruit trees that have gum, and with such as have not. It is very seldom that this disorder attacks forest trees, and when it does, it is easy to trace the occasion of it to some of the sources 1 have just mentioned ; moreover, they are- not raised, or at least368 least they ought not to be raised, with the exception of a very small number, by grafting. As nature renews them at each generation by means of seeds, there exists a remarkable uni- formity in the shape, the taste, and the size, of their fruit, making allowances, however, for the difference resulting from the mixture of the impregnating substances they derive from each other, the variety of situations, of climate, and of soil. Although fruit trees are, in many respects, subject to the same laws as forest trees, yet, when the varieties of the former are distinguished by any very excellent produce, they are proportionably sought after, and, with the view of re-pro- ducing them, recourse is then had to grafting. This is the reason, that among apples, the nonpareille, the golden pippin, and the pearmain, are so often to be met with; and among pears, the colmar, the bearre, and the chaumontel. Nature is so copious in all its productions, that probably there were never found any two of these varieties, or of any others, which were precisely the same, and that the difference observable among those of the same kind, is owing to the soil, the situation, and. the trees themselves, which, in a few years, change in a great measure the peculiar characteristic of the fruit ;* they all in time become exhausted, they dPcay, and are attacked by the Canker. Now the following account is that in which, I think, that this disorder occasions the loss of fruit trees. As it is the property of heat to dilate bodies, and that of Cold to contract them, it follows, that during the summer^ the channels of vegetable productions being expanded, the nourishing juices will freely circulate into them, and excite them to throw out shoots. On the contrary, in the winter, these channels, which were already too contracted, being drawn closer, they are disabled from performing their func- tions, the course of the sap is checked, and its passage being obstructed to the parts farthest from the trunk, where nature is least active, it is obliged to flow back into the parts which are nearest to it. This is the reason, that, in the first stage of this disorder, the extretfiities of the branches being deprived of nourishment, get slender, dry up, and die. If trees, when, in this state, are transplanted into a better soil, and especially if the temperature is a few degrees warmer, they recover; but the remedy which I have just recommended, concentrates for fa certain time, in the roots and trunk the nourishment which was intended to have made the top grow, which has been lopped off. The beneficial effect of this operation on the tree, is, that it acquires by it new vigour, that it supplies its former boughs with others stronger and better grown; and, lastly, that the sap being of a better quality, is more likely to con- vert itself into fruit. * There are commonly reckoned three varieties of the bearre^ the grey, the red, and the green : Miller assures us, that he has often met with all three dr. the same bough. I am convinced, that an attentive observer might say as much of many other sorts, apples as well as pears. WhenI 369 When, after this treatment, the tree puts forth in the spring ®nly one strongand luxuriant shoot, one may then reckon that it will be crowned with complete success. When there ap- pear many shoots, it will be proper to allow all those which are above the graft to strengthen themselves during the first, and sometimes even during the second, year. As the leaves contribute considerably to the support of trees, and with respect to them, perform the same functions as the lungs do in animals, it will not be right to begin pruning them before the following spring. By doing it too soon, there would be a risk of causing a revolution, which would be dangerous to the ve- getable economy. As nature has assigned bounds, as we have just seen, and those too narrow enough to the duration of varieties, there exists a point, no doubt, beyond which it would be in vain to flatter oneself to prolong their vigour. But, among such as are not yet perfectly worn out, it is possible, after the above practice, to restore many individual trees, which would other- wise have been consumed with canker, and have remained barren. It may be added as a corollary, that it is a better practice to graft three or four years after the trees have been planted in the orchard, than to do it in the nursery. They suffer less from it, are not so subject to canker, and bear more and better fruit, A V/ORCEiTERSHIRK.] CHAPTER £ ’«>370 CHAPTER X, How to protect the Blossom of Fruit Trees against the Frost—Different Ways of securing them against Caterpillars. Unfortunate circumstances will sometimes happen, when all the precautions we can take, will not prevent the loss of our crops. There are, however certain expedients, by means of which it is possible to correct some of the inclemencies of the weather. The Chevalier De Bininbery, Counsellor of State of Bo- hemia, having surrounded the trunks of several trees with straw ropes, one of the ends of which rested in vessels full of water, observed that the ropes, by acting as conductors of the cold, had preserved the blossom, one night that all the other trees in the neighbourhood had lost their’s through the in- tenseness of the frost j having afterwards repeated this expe- riment several times, he assures us, that it never failed to suc- ceed. It is also a good practice for the protection of wall trees, to cover them, during the winter, with a small masked net. The depredations of insects, will often do trees very serious injuries. It is possible to prevent the mischief they would cause, by exposing them to the smoke of a smothered fir? lighted to windward of the orchard. Some cultivators of re- putation maintain, that, by making use of this preservative, plentiful crops may be obtained, in years when the neighbour- hood experiences a total failure. The caterpillar devours plants ; the apple and pear trees, the gooseberry bush, the thorn, and indeed, almost all sorts of trees are a prey to its ravages. rder, it may keep so for generations with the addition of a little cement, and be serviceable for ages. Besides, the trough may be applied to a number of purposes, and cultivators of every description may in one way or another, derive the most essential advantages from it.* * The delay occasioned in Thy pondTous engine. Water will imbibe The email remain? qf spirit,, and acquire A vinous flavour; this the peasants blithe Will quaff, and whistle, as thy tinkling team They drive, and sing of Fusca’s radiant eyes, Pleas'd with the medley draught.—-Book ii. v. 103. * The tfSugh, even in the way it is ip general fitted up, is admirably well adapted for preparing clay for masonry, pottery, bricks, mud walls, and the like, the process being much quicker, and the work bettor, than when it is done with the spade. Mortar made in this manner, though it be wetted with only one third of the water commonly used in making it, fashions itself sooner, is more binding, not so liable to crack, and is cheaper. Sinse the author wrote this note, government has adopted his suggestion of preparing mortar in a trough, for the fortifications now building on tha Town Hill, near St. Hilier’s, Jersey. Might it not be possible, by using a machine, constructed on nearly tha Same principles, to quicken considerably the work of kneading in bake- houses, where large quapt&es of br.ead must be baked daily ? grinding373 grinding the fruit, is a defect which is now partly corrected by* the mechanism 1 have mentioned, and which is applicable to all troughs. It seems, that the slowness of the work is more than made up for by the complete manner in which it is done. In short, they who wish to spare room, who had rather gain on the time of making, than on the quality of the work ; who wish to have for preparing the mash an expeditious, though precarious machine, rather than one of resistance, applicable to several purposes, but which works more slowly ; such per- sons, I have no doubt, will determine their choice in favour of the mill. If the trough has been some days without being used, it should be washed, as without it, it would give an acid taste to the next mash. The surest way is to rince it after each mash with a few buckets of water. It is indispensable to employ in the construction of it, a stone not calcareous, on which the acid has no effect. This is one of the characteristics of granite ; such is the stone of the neighbouring small French island of Chausey, and among us, that of Mount Modo. These two kinds are perfectly adapted to it in this respect, as well as in that of their grain, which is susceptible of a sufficient poliffi. CHAPTER319 CHAPTER XIV. Qftke Single Screw, and the Double Screw—A new Construction of this tatter Press—A Mode of repairing the Head of Broken Screws—Hy- drostatic Press. It would be foreign to the purpose to give a detail of all the utensils which are made use of in making cider 5 but as the single screw, and the double screw, the only presses in use among us, are pieces of the utmost importance, it will be pro- per to give here a sketch of their respective advantages. ' The English make a great use of the single screw. That press, which always acts in a direction perpendicular to its base, acquires an immense force by means of a nut of brass, and an iron screw. After the first expense, the proprietor will be for a long time without being obliged to have recourse to any repairs, which is a consideration of great weight; it is, however, a sort of improvement vtry rare among us, on ac- count of the expense into which it draws the grower. Being totally made of wood, the double screw deserves the preference; because, in this respect, theory and practice agree perfectly well together. In fact, witliolit being originally dearer than the other, it lasts as long, and augments its force, when it becomes most necessary to it, that is, in proportion to its sinking; while the single screw loses his in the same ratios one man can manage the double screw without adding blocks. The single screw wants some to be added, according to the degree the cheese sinks in, and requires to be raised up, when they are to be added ; but this is a tiresome work, and which wastes time. In the former case, one screw draws assistance from the other screw ; in the latter, it acts by itself. The former of these presses becomes stronger by the elasticity of the beams ; the latter works by a vis inertia, which diminishes every moment. The double screw is made still more advantageous, by join- ing nuts of wood strongly secured witii hands of iron, and fixed with the hinges of the same metal to the second beam, at380 at each end of which there is an elliptical hole, which allows the screws to work easily (see Plate II.); while the screwS bearing at top against the third beam, (whic4i consists in a thin beam annexed to two upright ones) are kepj steady by means of pivots.* The nuts being moveable and rounded under* by allowing the second beam to descend alternately nearly two f'ett more one way than the other, the work is in a great measure secured against the awkwardness and want of skill of the labourer. In the ordinary construction of this machine* there is simply but one power in action; instead of which, we have here three combined together. The first results from the base or lower beam, which raised from the ground and supported by blocks ot stone, and yielding to the pressure of the Screws, re-acts upon the cheese. The second springs from the middle beam, which, being sawed in four planks, except sixteen inches in the middle, and thereby become very elastic, concentrates its force on the same point as the former. The third is derived from the upper beam, which, by adding essentially to the force displayed by the other two, consolidates the work, causes an opposition to the screws, and, by its redaction, pre- vents theirf heads from breaking. Such is the mechanism of ft press, thirteen feet and a half long, which I have had put Kip, by means of which, six hogsheads of cider have often been pressed out in one day. A boy, with the help of a capstan, is able to work it. Tormerly, when a screw broke, the accident never failed to occasion the loss of much valuable time; but the means have been found to remedy it in a few hours. We are indebted for it to Sir John Dumaresq, chief magistrate of this island. At the most busy time of the season before last, the head of one of the screws broke, and rendered his press unserviceable ;■ he called in workmen to no purpose, as they all declared that thefe was nothing to be done besides substituting another screw ; he then contrived an expedient, of w hich the follow- ing is an abstract: — He caused two spars to be brought, (see Plate III.) AA. from seven to eight inches square, and two feet longer than the screw ; he had them joined together in a parallel direction, about eight inches from each end, by two cross boards, BB. of four inches by six, sufficiently long to enable the spars, by embracing the lower beam at C, to allow the upper beam at D. to work up and down. * Timber may be used'for screws the very year it has been felled ; after boring a hole at the centre, from one to two inches in diameter, from one end to the other, it must be steeped quite green in water for some months, and then dried in the shade; this method prevents it from warping; the screws are secured against vermin, and rendered perfectly smooth, by daubing them over with a mixture of soft soap and black lead in powder, in- the proportion of two parts of lead and one of soap. f Deaf, being more elastic thanottoer # the most proper for the beams. He381 He had then this parallelogram raised vertically 5 hemadettie truncated end of the screw at E. -to-rest upon the lower cross "board, and passed through the middle of the upper board a round iron gridiron at F. from three to four inches in dia- meter, and eight in length, which was driven into the end of the screw, to serve it as a centre of motion, and to keep it in its place. The wheel and spokes having been removed, there remained four mortoises; as the spars obstructed the working of the screw, he had four more mortoises added, G. in the Space between the former ones, that it might the more-comma., diously be worked with a lever. By means of this supplemental part, at once ingenious and simple, he was able, without losing any time, to make that screw as useful as a new one; it then bore'against the top; instead of that before, it feore against the bottom. Tl>e dou- ble screw, repaired in this manner, succeeded perfectly well during the seas -n, and might have lasted for many years ganger, if it had not been taken down to make room for a sin- gle screw of iron in its place With a view to facilitate the carriage of a large quantity of hay within a small compass, ; press has been invented in Eng- land, which is now actually used to condense the trusses, and which makes them as hard as boards. This surprising effect is the result of an hydrostatic press, for which Mr. Bramah, the inventor, obtained a patent in 1796. I mention that machine, as it might be made serviceable in cider-making ; it is possible, that after the patent is expired, it will be used for that pur-, pose; at present, it is very dear, ' CHAPTER38 CHAPTER XV. Of Reed Straw and Hair Cloths to lay the Cheese—Of the Use of Wooden. Shoes. One may lay the cheese, with reed straw after our custom, or make use of hair cloths, after that of Herefordshire. Reeds which have been well preserved, communicate no bad taste whatever to the cider, a fact which is proved by experience; hut there is no person who can be ignorant, that a single handful of bad reeds is enough to spoil a whole cheese ; on the contrary, there are very few of our growers who are ac- quainted how much cleanliness hair cloths require. Unless they are washed as soon as the work is done, (except, in case they are to be used again immediately) they heat, ^et sour, and operate like leaven on the next cheese. In manual pro- cesses, which are not attended with serious inconveniences, one is often obliged to abide by the practice of the country; because, if he attempts to depart from it, when his situation in life is such as to require the work of others, he must expect to be under the necessity of never losing sight of his labourers. Let us now make an analysis of each practice. As the grower is, in general, provided with the reed necessary to lay his cheeses, he has nothing to disburse; he takes, indeed, on the income of his farm ; but, as the supply of this article goes even with his want of it, and is at hand, he finds, the expenses less burthensoine, than if he was obliged to procure it all at once. But it is a matter of importance, to-which few persons at- tend, that unless the cheese knif« is kept clear and well wiped, it is very subject to turn the cider black. From the want of tracing this effect back to its origin, it is often attributed to causes which have no reference to it. The extreme divisibi- lity of bodies, proves that a very small portion of iron, de- composed by the acid of the fruit, is sufficient to colour a considerable quantity of liquor.* As * Odoriferous substances, as we have already seen, establish this prin- ciple. Fire is another striking instance of it. In a dark night, a lighted «aa d402 CHAPTER XXIII. Of Filtering the Lees—The Theory and Manner of making Vinegar. The quantity of the lees may be diminished, and a good drink extracted from them, when they are poured in.by them- selves, and half a gallon or a gallon of brandy is added to each hogshead. When they are filtered through linen bags, in the shape of an inverted cone, supplied with a hoop at top, or through cloths held up in such a manner as to form a hollow, they will also afford an useful residuum, which, when added to other liquor, will very much improve its qua- lity. It is indispensably necessary, that this residuum should be perfectly clear, as otherwise the liquor to which it would be added, would become hard to clarify. A barrel filled with straw, with a hole at bottom, furnished with a bundle of reeds, after the way used in making the buck, or covered in the inside with two or three inches thick of sand, may do for such persons as want other conveniencies. As soon as the passage through these materials is choaked up by the thicker lees, it is plain that a fresh supply must be put in. It is thus that the lees of old cider can be turned to profit, by using them for making vinegar. This latter preparation, on account of the use of it in several trades, would be suscep- tible of being formed into a branch of our commerce with the mother country. Above all, it is now become valuable, through the increase of the royal navy, on board of which the consumption of it is almost incredible. Parmentier describes an easy way of making it. “ The in- habitants of the cider and perry districts (says he) make vine- gar with those liquors. It will be sufficient, for this purpose, to dilute in a cask of 200 gallons* about six pounds of sour yeast, made with barm and rye flour, which is first diluted with warm water, and then poured in at the bung. After having stirred the whole of the contents with a stick, it must be let alone, and in about a week for the most part, the vine- * Original buit cents pintes. The pint of Paris weighs two pounds, which is equa! to our ijuart. gar403 gar will have acquired sufficient strength.* It is indispen- sable to rack it as soon as it is made, it being more subject to get dead than wine vinegar.” There are several of our fruits, whose juice w'hen fermented, can make tolerable vinegar, as their saccharine mucilage natu- rally disposes them to it. Gooseberries treated after the fol- lowing receipt, afford vinegar of an exquisite taste and fragrant smell: — Bruise a certain quantity of the fruit well ripe, and mix with it a few raspberries ; boil water, and after it has got cold, put three parts of it with one of the juice of the gooseberries. Twenty-four hours after, filter this mixture, and to each gal- lon of it add a. pound of brown sugar. In nine or ten months it will be fit for use. Its strength may be increased by ex- posing it to the sun. The making of vinegar requires, ist. An exposure to the action of the air.f 2ndly. A certain degree of heat, that is, from about 65 to about 85 degrees of Fahrenheit’s thermometer j but a greater heat would prevent it from making. 3rdly. A saccharine principle. 4thly. A mucilaginous principle, and if it is possible, some mother, or pellicle, previously formed on the vinegar, or a small quantity of vinegar already made.J The liquor from which the vinegar is to be made should be clear, and the vinegar itself kept in a clean vessel. It is subject to lose its fragrance, and to get impaired, if it is exposed for any time to the air. Scheele, a celebrated chemist, thinks to have disco- vered a very simple expedient to keep it good: it consists in making it boil for a few minutes in a well-tinned pot, to pre- vent the terrible effects of verdigrease, or in filling glass bot- tles with it, and placing them on the fire in a pot-full of wa- ter. When the vinegar has boiled for a quarter of an hour, it is taken out ; and, according to him, when it has been thus warmed, it will keep for many years, though exposed to the open air. It is obvious, that cider, with which a gregt deal of water was mixed at the time of making, cannot by itself make good vinegar; but it follows from the third rule, that such vinegar may be rendered better by making it work again with sugar, honey, raisins, and the like. * It is understood, that the process takes place in summer, or in a warm room. j- To impregnate the greatest part of bodies with oxygen, and in general almost all simple substances, there is only need to expose them to the action of the atmospherical air, and to keep them up to a suitable degree of heat. —Lavoisier, tome J. p. 201. J For these reasons the verjuice of crabs or sour grapes, is not, strictly speaking, vinegar j and, in fact, it is made use of for very different pur- poses. CHAPTER404 CHAPTER XXIV. Of Bunging the. Cider—A method 14, for ploughing, read planting. P. 213,1. 20, for sitted, read silted. P. 226,1. 7, for promising, read premising. P. 232,1. 3, for '6s. read 6d. per cwt. P. 234, 1. 32, read troughs c. 0. d. h. i. section, Sec. P. 241,1. 5, for Pomeroy, read Partridge, Mr. Knight’s Steward. P. 306,1. 10, for white-hazel, read witch-hazel. P. 307,1. 23, for Be-vern, read Bevere. P. 316, LI, Birmingham is a mistake and should he crossed out. The town spelt Broomsgrovc, should be Bromsgrove, A CATALOGUEA CATALOGUE er AGRICULTURAL SEEDS, SOLD BY THOMAS GIBBS AND Co. Seedsmen and Nurserymen to the Board of Agriculture* Corner of Half Moon-street, Piccadily, London: Who also sell every Article in the Nursery and Seed Line; and with whom Bailiffs, wanting Blaces, leave their Address, and particulars of Situations in which they have previously been. Barley. Isle of Thanet, ...... Norfolk. ...... Naked. ------ Winter. Beans. Small Essex. .... Tick. . — Mazagan. Broom. Common yellow. Buck, or French wheat. Burnet. Cabbage. Gibbs’ true drumhead, for cattle. _________ Thousand-headed. ...... Scotch. ...... American. ...... Large red. .________ Long-sided. ...... White turnip above ground. ...... Purple ditto ditto, or kohi rabi. ...... White turnip under ground. ...... Tall green borecole. ...... Tall purple ditto. _________ Siberian hardy sprouting. Carrot. Large thick orange, for cattle. ... .. Barge thick red, ditto. Canary. Chichory. Clover, Common red. ...... Perennial, or cow grass. ...____ White Dutch. Yellow,trefoil, nonsuch, or black grass, Clover. Malta. ..... Providential. Flax, or linseed. Furze. Grass. Meadow foxtail. .... Meadow fescue. .... Sheep’s fescue. ______ Hardish fescue. .... Purple ditto. .... Float ditto. _______ Crested dog’s-tail. ______ Rough cock’s-foot. .... Tall oat-grass. ______ Yellow ditto. .... Meadow ditto. ______ Sweet vernal. ______ Great meadow. .... Common ditto. .... Marsh ditto. Compressed ditto. .... Annual ditto. .... Common ray-grass. ______ ' Peacey ditto. .... Improved perennial ditto. _______ Timothy. .... Yorkshire. With many other sorts, Hemp. Russian. .... English. Honeysuckle. French. Lettuce. Large Coss. Lentils. Small. ..... Large. Lncerne.424 Lucerne. Mangel wurzel, Maw-seed. Medicago, various sorts. Millet. Red. ..... White. Mustard. Brown: Oats. Early Essex. .... Dutch brew. Tartarian. »... Poland. .. — Potatoe. «... Flanders, «... Caspian. .... Black. Parsley. Plain. Parsnip. Large thick. pea. Marlborough grey. - - Large grey rouncival. - - Early white. .. White boiling. -Pearl. .. Blue Prussian, Maple. Potatoes. Ox-noble. ...... Late champion. ...... Large red. ...____ Nicholson seedling. ...... Bomb-shell. Rib-grass. Lamb’s-tongue, or Up- right plantain, Rape, or coleseed, Rye. Sainfoin. Sarideila Tares. Spring. .... Winter. .... White. _____ Perennial. —. Birdsfoot. Trefoil. Common, various sorts. _________ Early stone. Turnip. White Norfolk. ....... Norfolk bell. .._______ Stubble. Greentop. ‘ ' 3' Turnip. Rfcd top. ______ Large yellow. ...... Globe. ...... White tankard. ...... Green ditto. ...... Red top ditto. ...... Large Dutch. ...... True yellow Swedish, or ruta baga. ...... White Swedish. Vetch. Kidney. ______ Chickling. .... Pale-flowered, ______ Everlasting, .... Greatwood. .... Six-flowered. .... Tufted. .... Bush. .... Hoary, ______ Sainfoin. .... Red-flowered. ______ Biennial. .... Bastard. .... Broad-podded. .... Rough. .... Single-flowered. ______ Narbonne. . .... Flat-podded., .— Hairy ditto. .... Narrow-leaved. .... Streaked. .... White-flowered. .... White.seeded. .... Horse-shoe. .... Milk. .... Liuuorice. Weld. Wheat. Red Lammas. ...... Common whit^. ______ White hedge. ...... White Siberian. 1 ...... Egyptian. ...... Sicilian. ......... Round African. ...... Zealand. ...... Cape. -..... Dantzick. Woad. Y arrow. ALPHABETICALALPHABETICAL INDEX. PAGE. A. Acres of the County - -1,2 Agricultural Societies - 294 Appendix ----- 306 Apples ------ 173 Arable Land - - - - Cl Artificial Grasses - - - 140 Ashes for Manure - - 200 Asses ------ 045 Asparagus - - - - -135 B. Barley ------ 83 Beans - - - r - - 88 Bees ------ 250 Beverage - - - 8C, 253 Birds ------- 2.97 Brant Hall Farm - - - 30 Bridges ----- 24 Botanical Catalogue - - 317 Buckwheat - - - - 110 Buildings ----- 18 Burnet - -- -- -110 C. Cabbages - - - - - 102 Calves, rearing - - - 228 Canals ------ 20'9 Carrots - - - - - 103 Carts ------ 43 Cattle - - - - 215, 225 Chaff-cutter - - - - 47 Cheese-making - - -226 Chicory - - - - - 10Q F PAGE. Climate ----- 3 Clover ------ 106 —------for Seed - 70, 135 Coals - - - - 13, 258 Commerce - - - - 2SO Common Fields - - - 53 Conclusion - - - - 302 Corn Weeds - - - - 203 Cottages ----- 21 Courses of Crops - - 65 Crops cultivated - - 75 Cucumbers - - - - 135 Cyder, particulars of - 155 D. Dairying - - - 225, 228 Divisions of the County - 2 Draining ----- 190 Drill Husbandry - - - 69 -----Machines - - 46, 88 Droitwioh Salt - 199,282 Dunghills - - - - - 200 E. Early Seasons - - - - 3 Elevation above the Sea 3, 4 Elkington’s Draining- - 192 Elm Timber, excellent - 185 Embankments - - - 213 Estates ------17 Evesham, Vale of - - 3 Expenses and Profits - 41 Exports - - - - - 280' Extent of the County - 1 Extracts and Remarks - 298 f Fairs*  426 IN35EX* PAGE. F. Fairs...........-273 Fallowing ----- 6*3 Farm Buildings - - - 19 Farmers ----- 26 Farms ------ ib. Feeding - - 143, 146,230 Fencing ----- 52 Fishes of the Severn - - 15 Flax ------110 Folding of Sheep - 202, 222 Forest of Wyre - - - 187 Fruitand FruitTrees 149,184 Fuel ------ 258 Fumigation - - - - 16*2 ' G. Gardens . . . . .147 Grafting . . . 4 . l64 Grass Land . 138, 140, 142 H. Harvest . . . . .136 Hard Tillage, effects of 78 Hay Harvest . . . .142 Heaths..................188 Hemp................110 Hills.....................4 Hogs .... . . 245 Hop Culture, &c. 112, 135 Horse Hoeing . . • 92,96 Horses . . .29, 238, 243 Houses of Proprietors . 18 Hundreds . . . . . 2 I. Ignorance . . . . . 291 Indigenous Plants . . 317 Implements . . . . 42 PAGE, Improvements. , . .190 Inclosing . * * . . 52 Itinerary . .: . i , 306 K. Knight^ Mr. his Farming 26 L. Labourers and Labour . 252 Lambing Time . . . 224 Leases...............37 Leclimere Estate, Feeding 23,2 Light Land Tillage . . 72 Lime .... 14, 19S Live Stock ..... 215 Lucerne ..... IOS M. Malvern Wells 4 15,30'S Manufactures .... 277 Manures and Manuring . 198 Market Towns and Mar- kets . , . . . *275 Marl..... 199,"202 Meadows ..... 13s Mildew 79 Miller, Richard, his Farm 30 Mills, a Nuisance . .210 Minerals.............13 Miscellaneous Observa- tions ..... • 294 Misletoe • • e • 177 Moles . . ... . 296 Money, Value altered . 33 Mud . . . 200 MuleS . . . . . . 244 N. Navigations ' . . . . 268 O. Oats, . . . 0 0 . 86 Obstacles INDEX. PAGE. Obstacles to Improve- ment ...............290 Occupations . * . . 25 Onions ...... 135 Orchards . . * . .147 Oxen .... 144, 234 ----, for Draught 239, 242 P. Paring and Burning * . 195 Parks . / . . . . 12 Pastures . . . . . 138 Pears . . 154, 174, 180 Pease .... . . 87 Peat Land . . 60, 103, 196' Perry .... . • 179 Picturesque Farming . 27 Pigeons .... . . 246 Planting . . . . . 186 Orchards 177, 149 Ploughing . . . . . 62 Ploughs . . . . 42, 49 Political Economy . . 260 Poor .... . . 287 Poor’s Rates . . . . 36 Population . . . . 288 Poppy Heads . . . . 135 Potatoes . . . . . 92 Poultry .... . . 247 Prices of Labour . . . 252 Provisions . . . . . 254 Prices of sundry Articles 257 Plough Shares, cast Iron 63 R. Ray Grass ..... 108 Rental, Rents .... 32 Rivers ...... 6 Roads, Road Club . . 260 Rotation of Crops . . 65 Rural Economy . . , 252 Rye . ................83 when spurt, poisonous ib. 427 PAGE. S. Saintfoin ..... 108 Salt 199, 282 Seats of Gentlemen .- . IS Severn, a free River . . 268 Servants ..... 253 Schufflers 45 Sheep, and Folding ditto 216 Shims 45 Situation and Extent 1 Size of Farms .... 25 Sledge 49 Smith, Sir W. his Farm . 31 Smut in Wheat . . . 89 Soil and Surface . . . 6 Soot 202 Sowing 77 Sparrows . * . . . 297 Steeping Seed .... SO Stubbles ... 82, 259 Swedish Turnips . . . 101 T. Tenures . . . . . 17 Threshing Mills . . . 47 Timber 185 Tillage 6l Tithes 34 Town Manure . . . . 201 Trees, extraordinary 185 ,187 Trefoil 108 Trolly ...... 49 Turnip Fly. . - . . 99 Turnips 94 ■— Terret, esq. his Feeding 236 V. Vale of Evesham . . 3 Vetches ...... 90 Vermin 295 Waggons 42$ INDEX PAGE. w. Waggons . . . , . 48 Waters . . . i . . 14 Wastes.................. Watering............206 Weeding . . . 203,303 . page. Weeds, Seeds of . 205, 302 Weighing Engines . . ' 50 Weights and Measures . 294 Wheat . ... i , 75 Winnowing Machines . 49 Woods and Plantations . 185 Wool ...... 21S J. Adl Ar d, Printer, Duke Street, Smithfield. /s'