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acres are annually applied to the culture of this necessary

article.

"The soils proper for the growth of flax are such as possess a considerable share of natural fertility, yet are inferior to those on which hemp is grown."

Management of the Flax Crop.-P. 299. "The management of flax is not thoroughly understood by any, except professed flax jobbers; and after the land is got ready, it is often let to these people at about 10 pounds or 10 guineas per acre, to sow and manage it at their own expense and discretion. At other times the farmers sow the land, and sell the crop to the flax-jobbers according to its goodness, as the time of pulling approaches."

State of growth in which Flax is harvested.-P. 297. "The crop is seldom pulled up before it is ripe in this county, unless it appears to be in danger of rotting from its large growth. The seed ripens, and the crop is drawn up by the roots about the beginning of August."-The produce is of course of inferior quality, in this case, to that which is gathered before the seeds be matured.

"Ripening" the Stalks of Flax.-P. 300. " Dew-ripening is a term applied to the exposure of flax for three or four weeks, on stubbles or meadow land, to the action of the dews and rains; by which means the flax is made to separate easily from the stalk. This is a process which cannot be thoroughly understood without the aid of practice. It requires turning several times, and seems to enrich the ground where it is laid, though this effect does not appear in the grass more than one season.

"Neither hemp nor flax are here watered in, pits or brooks, as in some other parts of England."

POTATOES.-P. 267. "About thirty or forty years ago, this valuable root was only introduced in a very partial degree into the gardens of Dorsetshire; but of late years its cultivation has extended very rapidly, and appears likely to be still further increased. Potatoes are grown on every kind of soil, but the greater part of those which are intended for sale, are cultivated, as a fallow crop, on the the rich loams in the vicinity of Bridport, Beaminster, Abbotsbury, &c."

TURNEPS.-P. 251. "This kind of crop, which is of the very first importance in the cultivation of light soils, is comparatively of late introduction in the county of Dorset.

"Mr. Park of St. Giles's, who has been many years land steward to the Earl of Shaftesbury, says, that thirty years ago it was common for the farmers to say they could not live by turnips. At this time a gentleman, whose name Mr. Park did not recollect, cultivated some turnips, and

gave them to some farmers, free of expense, that they might thus ascertain their value. Mr. Park adds, that late as they were in beginning to sow turnips, the improvement of the county, by these means, has been very rapid of late years. There is, however, much still remaining to be done." It was therefore improvident to bestow twelve pages of paper and printing, on their cultivation, in that County.

BULBOUS RAPE.-P. 251. "Swedish turnips have been introduced into perhaps all parts of the county, but the quantity of them which is cultivated, is very trivial."

RETROSPECTIVE REMARK, on this Reporter's Account of the ARABLE CROPS of Dorsetshire.-By the paucity of information which I have gathered from one hundred and twentyeight pages of matter (more than one fourth of the volume) concerning this important subject in agriculture, it may be conceived that I have treated the book and its author with neglect or disrespect. To frustrate such a false conception, I think it right to say, that I have paid the same deliberate attention to the Dorsetshire Reports, in this and every other particular, as I have to the nume rous other Reports to the Board of Agriculture, the merits and demerits of which I have had occasion to estimate.

ORCHARDS.-P. 321. "It is supposed that there are upwards of 10,000 acres of orchard ground in this county.".

Raising Orchards.-P. 322. "Mr. Groves of Bettiscombe, has a nursery of apple-trees, and sells a great many at 3s. 6d. each. They are grafted on crab-stocks nine or ten inches from the ground, and clay wrapped round them in the usual way. The top leader or middle branch is cut off for the purpose of making the other branches spread, and none of the side-shoots permitted to grow within six feet of the ground."

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"Mr. Groves of Abbotsbury, thinks it improper to support apple-trees with props, after they have become firmly rooted, and has convincing proofs that they thrive the best when the roots are moderately shaken and loosened by the wind."

P. 323." Mr. Roberts of Burton Bradstock, has planted a small orchard on what he considers to be a very improved plan. Large holes, L-believe as much as three feet deep, were dug, and half filled with furze and rubbish, previous to the good mould being put in which surrounds the roots of the apple-trees.

"The trees planted in this manner appear to have grown very rapidly, as is also the case with the quick hedge which surrounds this garden and orchard, the subsoil of which was

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also mixed with furze and rubbish, previous to the planting of the quicksets."

Cider.-P. 322. "In the neighbourhood of Sherborne, it is common to mix six bushels of sweet apples with three of the sharp or bitter sorts, in making cyder; and in some places a few crabs are substituted for the rough or bitter apples.

"At Bradford Abbas, and some other places, it is asserted that the best cyder is made, by filling the casks with the juice as soon as it is pressed out, bunging them down close, and depending on the strength of the casks to check the fermentation. It seems to be pretty generally under stood, that 20 bushels of apples will make a hogshead of cyder; and Mr. Strong of Powerstock observes, that an apple-tree in that neighbourhood has been known to produce seven hogsheads in a season." (?)

GRASS LAND...

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The AGGREGATE QUANTITY, in Dorsetshire.-P. 304. "The quantity of grass land in this county is very considerable, especially in the Vale of Blackmoor, which contains very little arable land; not more, as it is supposed, than onetenth of the whole.

"Perhaps about two-thirds of the chalky district consist of meadows, cow and sheep pastures, and downs.

"The whole quantity of pasture, meadow, common, and down land, is supposed to be 300,000 acres, or about threefifths of the county."

The QUALITIES of Grass Lands.-P. 307. "The rent of dry meadows appears to vary from 20s. to 30s. an acre, in the upland parts of the county; but the meadows of the Stour, in the vale of Blackmoor, are worth from 21. to 4l. per acre. In Purbeck, according to the Rev. Mr. Dampier, the rent of meadows varies from 20s. to 40s. per acre.'

MOWING GROUNDS.-P. 304. "About 6000 acres of the meadow land in the chalky and sandy districts are regularly irrigated; and such as are not subjected to this process, are either mown or fed with sheep or dairy cows. In the Vale of Blackmoor, the meadow land, on the banks of the river Stour, and the other rivulets which fall into that stream, is in general very rich, and is applied, in a great measure, to the production of hay for the wintering of dairy cows or fat beasts."

P. 309. "The abundant produce of the water-meadows, together with the custom of keeping the cows almost en-" tirely on straw, during a considerable part of the winter, render it unnecessary to mow any very large portion of upland pasture."

GRAZING

GRAZING GROUNDS.-P. 308. "The rich feeding land of this county extends through all the lowest parts of the Vale of Blackmoor, and detached spots of fertile pastures may be seen in other parts of the clay and stone-brash districts;' but the upland chalky part of the county contains very little pasture-land that is ever applied to the purpose of fattening sheep or cattle.

"Many wether sheep and beasts are fattened in the Vale, perhaps one-third of that fertile part of the county is applied to this purpose."

DAIRY GROUNDS.-P. 309. "Dairy-Grounds are common in every part of the county.

"The low pastures of the chalky district, as well as those of a similar discription in Purbeck, and along the coast to the borders of Devonshire, are not, in general, adapted to the purpose of the grazier, and are therefore applied to the support of dairy-cows, which furnish the Portsmouth and London markets with potted, or firkin butter."

DOWN LANDS.-P. 335. "The downs occupy a large portion of the county, and are in general destitute of shelter, either from trees or hedges."

"The down grasses are mostly of a slender and diminutive kind, yet the herbage is said to become hard and unpalatable, if it is not fed down very close. In some parts of the downs there is an intermixture of a kind of hard carnation, or sedge-grass, of a blue or a yellow colour; and in other places the herbage consists almost entirely of wild burnet, mouse-ear, moss, &c. In general, the downs appear smooth and agreeable to the eye, but there are occasional patches of ling, or heath, and furže."

P. 336. "The upland part of the county contains a very great extent of down-land, as well as some rough and coarse pastures, which in their present state are but of little value. A great part of this land might be converted to tillage, to the profit of both landlord and tenant. It would keep more and better stock than it does now in its natural state, and would produce large crops of corn under good management, and a proper rotation of crops."This is assertion, only.

"Mr. Wickins would never suffer maiden downs to be broken up, as he believes a turf of equal value could never be restored. Such as have been broken up near Blandford, and elsewhere, he observes, have been reduced to a caput mortuum by burning, and will never recover their fertility; many of them are not worth 5s. per acre, while others are worth 8s. or 10s. an acre."

LIVESTOCK.

CATTLE.-P. 374, "There is no select breed of cattle in

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this county; the dairy cows of the chalky district, and the South-eastern parts of the county, are a long horned kind, rather short in the leg, with white backs and bellies, and dark spotted or brindled sides.

"They are a mixture of various breeds from Hampshire, and other neighbouring counties, and more regard is paid to the quantity of milk they are likely to produce, than to any other quality. The coast of Dorset being directly opposite to the Isles of Alderney, Jersey, and Gurnsey, it it may be expected that a few of those kinds of cows are kept, as well as others that are called Norman or French cows; but no attempt has been made to ascertain their relative merits. In the western part of the county, as well as in the Vale of Blackmoor, the cows are mostly of the Devonshire kind. This circumstance may be admitted as furnishing a strong argument in favour of that kind of cattle; but perhaps, at the same time, it may render it. probable that they are best adapted to low and sheltered pastures, and have more merit as feeding, than as dairy beasts."-This is considerate, intelligent Report.

DAIRY.-Mr. Stevenson adopts Mr. Claridge's leading remarks on this subject. See p. 250, aforegoing.

The extractable matters, in the volume now before me, on this object of husbandry, are as follow:

P. 387." Whatever may be the utility of letting cows to dairymen, it will be admitted as a proof that the farmers have more business than they have leisure or inclination to attend to; and therefore, that it would be much better for the country, and not much worse for themselves, if the size of their farms were diminished. The dairy and cheesemaking processes are too servile employments for the wives of the large farmers, and indeed it would be absurd to suppose the wife or daughters of a man possessed of property to the amount of 10 or 15,000l. would engage in the drudgery of the dairy. Some of the farmers let as many as a hundred dairy cows to three or four dairy-men; and in the last century it is probable that the labour of such a dairy was performed by half a dozen farmers' wives, who deemed it no drudgery, while they were permitted to consume a part of the produce."

P. 388. "In the Vale of Blackmoor, the farms are not so large as in the upland part of the county; and many of the leaseholders and others in that district, manage their own dairies in the same manner as is common in other parts of the kingdom."

The subjoined touches on a minutia of practice which is new to me; but not of high import.

P. 384. "Some of the skim-milk-cheese, which is called

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