meadow and sheep-fold system are particularly adapted to its cultivation.

"But although the flinty loams, and particularly with the assistance of a sheep-fold, are the only lands in the district peculiarly adapted to barley, yet such is the force of custom and imitation, that it is not an uncommon thing, to see the strongest clayey or chalky loams, under the same crop, with the same kind of management, whereby, in case of a wet sowing time, the crop scarcely reproduces the seed sown, and the grass seeds sown with it come to nothing. This is frequently the case; and was so particularly in, the year 1792. And for this reason, whatever arable fields have been laid in severalty, the almost exclusion of barley crops on the strong heavy lands has been the consequence, as is the case in several instances, particularly in the Pewsey Vale."

P. 76. "In a wet seed time, the white land runs and bakes like melted lead, and ruins the crops; and in a dry one, the barley sown on the sand land frequently comes up in two shares, and ripens unequally; and on both kinds of soil the barley usually ripens very late, and is seldom of a very good quality. In this present summer (1793), the barley on the flinty loams about Salisbury was harvested a full month earlier than that on the sands about Maiden: Bradley, and on the white lands about Broad-Hinton, notwithstanding the weather was particulaly hot and dry the greatest part of the time. Query, if this circumstance does not point out the impropriety of making barley a depending crop on either of these kinds of land? The farmers on the sand vein, in the Pewsey Vale, seem to be of this opinion, and generally adopt pease, beans, vetches, &c, as a substitute for a barley crop; and on the white lands, in Broad-Hinton Vale, the farmers allow barley to be a losing crop, although they have as yet adopted no substitute for it."

Semination of Barley.-P. 75, "Barley is sown later in Wiltshire than, in, most counties. There is a certain degree of coldness in the land in general, which prevents the fallows, working so early as they, do, in Hertfordshire, and many other counties; and, as the dependence for a barley crop is so much upon the water-mead, fold, the time of sowing is regulated by the growth of the water-mead grass, so as to begin when the time of spring feeding begins, and to end when that ends. Perhaps this may, on an average, be from the fifteenth of March to the twenty-fifth of April. The Wiltshire proverb is, that barley will do, if it has a May dew, and they carry this so far, as frequently, to injure their crop much by sowing too late."

* P. 75. " Of barley, sometimes six bushels; seldom so little as five."!

Harvesting Barley.-P. 76. "The barley and oat crops, are almost uniformly mowed with a scythe in this district. They are seldom strong enough in the straw to require sheafing. They are forked from the swath into cocks, or pooks, and the ground raked by hand.

"Although wheat ripens well, and comparatively very early, in this district, the case is very different, in many parts of it, with the barley crop. Of the three principal kinds of soil which compose this district, viz. flinty loam, white land, and sand,' barley seldom ripens kindly on any

but the former."

Produce of Barley.-P. 77. Twentyeight Winchester

bushels.

OATS.-Soil.-P. 46. "Oats are not much cultivated in this district. Perhaps there is a doubt, whether there are not more consumed in this district than what grow in it.

"Barley being, as is before said, the favourite crop, oats are seldom sown in any great quantities, but in such soils and situations as will not bear barley, particularly in the black light soil of the new-broke downs. Even where they have a regular tenantry oat-field, the farmers look upon the cultivation of them to be bad husbandry; and will frequently forego the crop, to give an additional year's rest to their wheat lays."

Semination.-P. 75. "Of oats, sometimes a quarter; seldom less than six bushels."

Produce of Oats.-P. 77. Thirtysix Winchester bushels. POTATOES.-The following remarks on the value of potatoes, in agriculture and domestic economy, are sensible' and just.-P. 51. "Potatoes have of late been very much. cultivated in almost all parts of this district, but particularly on the sand lands. The general introduction of this valuable root, has been exceedingly fortunate for the labouring poor, of whose sustenance they now make a very considerable part, especially in a season when wheat is

dear.

"A remark has been often made in this district, as to the peculiar aptitude of potatoes to supply the want of wheat, viz. that a bad season for wheat is generally a good one for potatoes.' Although this, like other general remarks, is subject to exceptions, it is nevertheless founded in

reason.

"Bad crops of wheat are generally occasioned by extreme hard winters, or wet summers. In the former case, the misfortune is known soon enough to increase the quantity of potatoes planted: in the latter case, the wetness of

summer is peculiarly favourable to a potatoe crop. The reverse does not always hold good-a favourable rain, immediately after a good wheat harvest (as in 1793) may save a failing crop of potatoes, and then both crops may be good."

TURNEPS.-And the subjoined considerations on the tur nep crop, on the chalky lands of Wiltshire, are not less marked by good sense, and mature local knowledge.

P. 48. A common-field system undoubtedly excludes, in a great measure, the cultivation of Turnips. But it has been remarked, that even in the inclosed farms of this district, a turnip crop seldom makes a regular part of the general system; notwithstanding there are very few parts of South Wilts where their cultivation is not understood, and practised at times, and that a turnip crop seems rather, a matter of accident than of system. There are, doubtless, local reasons for this seeming neglect of a crop so valuable in other countries; and it is more candid to inquire into those reasons, than to condemn, in a lump, the husbandry of a district; especially of so large a portion of a county, whose farmers have seldom been charged with ignorance of their own interest, or want of spirit to pursue it. The principal reason seems to be, a peculiar unfavourableness in the soil of many parts of the district to the growth of turnips.

6

"There is a peculiar churliness (provincially clottiness') and want of mellowness in the soil of many parts of South Wilts, particularly on the white land soils, (probably arising from the coldness of the sub-soil) that in some seasons prevents the seeds from vegetating; and in others, from coming to any great maturity. There are also many parts of the down lands, on which it is reckoned almost impossible to get a good crop. And the stiff white lands are not only unfavourable to their growth, but (in wet winters particularly) to feeding them off when grown. Both these kinds of land have been already mentioned as unkindly for. barley, and they are still more so for turnips. And yet there are, doubtless, many parts of this district, on which, under the idea that turnips will not grow, they have never been tried; or in case of their having once or twice failed,, the experiment has not been repeated. Surely it merits the attention of every farmer to investigate, whether the fault is really in the land, or whether a little of it may not be in the management.

"The flinty loams that have been mentioned as so very. kindly for barley, are by the same rule equally so for turnips; but it happens, that these soils generally lie near watermeads, where turnips are not absolutely indispensable for

spring food. The water-mead grass hot only being a good, but a certain substitute.

"And although there are, at least, two months in every winter before the water-mead grass is fit to be fed off, in which turnips would be very useful; yet as the crop for indeed the chance of a crop) is to be purchased at the cer tain loss of a crop of barley, (and that manured better from the water-meadows than from turnips) there is some reason for the neglect of turnip husbandry, in such soils and situ

ations."

CULTIVATED HERBAGE.

RAPE HERBAGE.-P. 50. "Rape (or Cole seed) is much cultivated on the downs, particularly on those parts that are peculiarly unkindly for barley and turnips. It is reckoned a very nutritive milky food for ewes that have lambs; but is supposed to exhaust the land, unless fed off early, before it has taken too deep root. It is certainly, when under proper management, a most valuable green winter food; and particularly as it will grow in those kinds of soil in this district where neither turnips, saintfoin, vetches, clover, and, in some instances, not even ray grass will grow, viz. the strong, cold, wood-sour land, and the black loose soil of the downs.""

TARE HERBAGE." Vetches do not thrive at all on the soils of the downs of the two latter descriptions: they are very apt to suffer by mildew: but their cultivation is very common on the strong loams, as a preparation for wheat. They are often sown to cut as green meat for horses; and still oftener for weaning lambs on. Both kinds of vetch, 'the winter vetch and spring vetch,' are sown in this district, so as to have a succession of erops during the summer.

"The winter vetch is usually sown early enough in autumn, to be high enough to cover the ground before winter, and it is usual to muckle them over with loose strawey dung, to preserve them from the frost."

RYE HERBAGE.P. 51. "Rye is frequently sown to be eat off with sheep, but not often suffered to stand for a crop.-The usual time of sowing it (August) makes it peculiarly proper to supply the failure of a crop after turnips, and it is not uncommon to harrow in the seed among a thin crop of turnips, and let both stand and be fed off together." -This is new; and, as an expedient, may be found very valuable.

MIXED HERBAGE.-P. 47. "The kinds of artificial grasses) that are usually sown in this district, are

"Broad clover in the low lands; and

"Ray

"Ray grass, with usually an intermixture of hop clover (otherwise called trefoil, or nonsuch), on the high lands.

"But in those fields where clover has been long introduced, and repeatedly sown every third or fourth year, they begin to complain that the land is tired of broad clover, and therefore frequently vary the sorts, sowing hop and ray instead of it, and sometimes adding a mixture of marle grass, or Dutch clover; which last has been found to answer very well in lands tired of broad clover."

SAINFOIN.-P. 47. "Many of the high lands are proper for saintfoin; and though there are some of which the soil is too light and too loose, there are many others which might be sown with it to great advantage, and so rested from corn for some years, as is done in the neighbouring county of Hants; but as this is not practicable in commonfield husbandry, very little of that valuable grass is sown in this district.

"Perhaps one reason, why the cultivation of saintfoin has been so little attended to in this district, is, that it is not so much wanted for autumn food, as in countries where they have no sheep downs."

RAY GRASS. P. 48. "The great object of sowing artificial grass in South Wiltshire, is to have a plenty of spring feed for the sheep, from the time the water-meadows are fed off, till the time the sheep go to down; and on this account ray grass may be called the depending, artificial grass of this district. This grass is less subject to fail than clover; and makes an earlier spring feed, especially in high and exposed situations; and being of an exceeding nutritive nature, is very proper for ewes and lambs."

GRASS LANDS.

PASTURE GROUNDS.-P. 18. "Natural herbage of the downs.-The natural herbage of a great part of the downs of Wiltshire, is composed, not only of almost every known kind of grass, but also of a mixture of various kinds of plants; and the sweetness of the feed depends much more on its being kept close, and eaten as fast as it shoots, than on any particular good quality of the grass itself: for there are many downs that, when close fed, appear to be a very sweet pasture; but which, if suffered to run a year or two without a full stock on them, will become so coarse, that sheep will almost as soon starve as eat the grass: and even in those parts of the downs, where the finer and sweeter grasses abound, the soil is frequently so loose and porous, that nothing but close and constant treading will prevent them from dying out, or being choaked by the larger and coarser grasses."

Those