PRACTICAL FARMING.

New Zealander, Volume 9, Issue 717, 26 February 1853, Page 4

PRACTICAL FARMING.

(From the London “ Times”)

In the neighbourhood of Leeds the land is well farmed,*, whether occupied as arable, pasture, or market, garden. On the strong loams near Wakefield heavy, crops are grown by good management in the market gardens here.situated, and winch supply several of the thickly peopled districts of the Riding. In other parts of the coal district the local value of produce and the facility of getting manure have enabled the farmer to grow a succession of crops, which without these advantages he could not continue long with benefit. The following rotation is not uncommon in such localities(l) turnips, (2) wheat, (5 and 4) seeds eaten on, (5) wheat, (6) wheat or barley according to the nature of the soil. In some cases wheat is taken every’al ternate .year,,, and AfevCharnock, in his report of the West Riding, mentions an instance, on the banks of the Caldcr, of wheat having been takep ftiopi lhc.same field for 50 years in succession, with only four exceptions—one of these having been a bean crop, another barley, the third fallow, and the fourth potatoes. The ,crops during the whole period are said to have to 42 bushels per acre. The.farm occupied by Air. Johnson, of pievet Grange, between Wakefield and Barnsley, may be taken as a favourable sample of the arable farming of the lower district, of..the West Ridings It contains 280 acres of sound good land capable of growing good crops; of wheat and ; barley, and dry enough for,eating .the turnips off with sheepr. One-third of .the farm is, by the!common rule of the kept in permanent grass and meadow; the other two-thirds —180 acres in extent — are managed in the four-course rotation. Previous to the seeds being ploughed up for wheat the ground is sown with a few cwts. of salt for the purpose of killing snails. It is ploughed in October, and, after being harrowed, eight to 10 pecks of seed are drilled at seven inches apart. The seed is a mixture of Spalding’s red and Australian while,,in the proportion of three of the former to onp qf the latter. The two kinds ,ripen.together, and the mixed sample sells considerably bcltetf than if it had been all red, while jdiq produce is believed not to be diminished. It is not found i i necessary to band or horse hoe the wheat crop, as the land is never allowed to get foul. The average produce is forty bushels an acre. The preparation of the land for the turnip crop is the next process, and for this tfie wheat stubbie is ploughed, with three horses abreast, a deep strong furrow, and the only furrow of the same strength given in the course.

In spring the land is wrought to a sufficient degree of fineness by. repeated .ploughings and baorrowings, or ‘‘dressings,” as the conjoint operation is termed here; after which six. loads an acre of manure from the farmyard are spread over it and lightly ploughed in. Lime applied once in eight years at a cost of 3Gs. to 40s. an acre. The seed is then, drilled on the flat* the drill at the same lime depositing a mixture of eight bushels of bones and two pvt. of superhosphate per acre. - The rows are 19 inches apart, and when the, turnips arc ready they are hand hoed tw ice, and horse hoed. About i-lath of the crop is Swedes, the rest while and other soft turnips. Almost the whole is eat on the ground by sheep, which are confined by nets and shifted from space to space as the crop is consumed. .The sheep eat the turnips from the ground, .thescooped out bottoms being afterwards ,l dragged” up to be eaten. Boxes with cut straw' chaff and a little salt are placed for the sheep to eat, as this is found to keep them healthy, and they are not on this farm put on the turnips until these have become ripe, which is indicated by the leaves beginning to decay. When, pul on at an earlier stage young sheep arc apt to die, and are, at any rale, very subject to scour. The turnip crop is reckoned to keep eight or ten young, sheep per acre for 20 weeks. In spring the land is ploughed and sown with barley, of which forty eight bushels arc considered an average crop. Red plover is sown on one-third of the land, mixed seeds on another, and the other is left unsown to be followed by a pulse crop (pease or beans drilled at 10 inches apart) in the following spring. By .this.,arrangement red clover comes only once in I2,years. The seeds carryTvppvthree |o five sheep an acre when pastured. A part is cut for hay, and ip' autumn the course is completed. 20 to 30 beasts .are wintered Jn the yards on straw and 41b. each of oilcake daily. Eight work horses are kcptpn tins farm, the thrashing being done by horse power. In winter they are fed on a mixture of oat and wheat straw, and a small portion of clover ha rupee! together into chaff. This is placed mart of horses’ manger, and then slightly damped with water, after which about a quart of bean meal is strewed over it, which being well mixed by hand adheres to the wet chaff, and makes the whole a palatable and nutritious feed for the farm horse. At night the horses are all turned loose into a yard, where they arc supplied with straw in racks. In summer they are put on the old grass land. A good many pigs'are fed on Egyptian beans, which have been previously steeped 12 hours in cold water, and then, after having lain 24 hours longer to soften and germinate, are found an excellent and economical grain for pig feeding. The pigs receive as much as they can eat, and get nothing else. Four ploughmen and three extra men are required for the labour of this farm, besides additional labour during harvest. They are paid 1 -is., j 3s., and 12s. a-week according to ability. The .farm is very compact, and die different operations arc carried on with much neatness. ' ibe‘‘fields are divided by closely trimmed and straight lines of hedges. The farm buildings comprise a huge barn, with stables for the horses and sheds and open yards for the callb. In the stackyard the crop is secured in high long stacks, in the Lincolnshire fashion —the largest of which is estimated to contain not less than 1,000 bushels of wheal. Besides this farm Mr. Johnson occupies other extensive farms in the neighbourhood, managed on the same plan.