Star.
London, England, 1816-07-10 00:00:00

AGRICULTURE.

HOCICHAM SHEEP-SHEARTI4O,-FIRST DAY.

This great Agricultural festival commenced on
Monday, the Ist instant. The company began to
assemble about ten o'clock, and having mounted their
horses, proceeded to Longlands, where the bhearers
were at work, in Mr. BULLEN's barn. The neatness
of the shearing was as usual much admired, and in-
deed, in point of economy, it.cannot be disputed that
the rib method is much to be preferred to the longi-
tudinal plan, formerly in common use in the County
of Norfolk. From the barn they proceeded to inspect
a very useful and simple horse-hoe, which is calcu-
lated for turnips or beans drilled on the Northumber-
land plan, cleans two furrows at once, and does its
work well, but requires great accuracy and precision.
'Lying seen the operation of this implement, which
aoveared to open the eyes of many heavy-land far-
rut•rs to the advantage of the raised "frill method of
grow;ng turnips, Mr. Cores invited his guests to in-
sped a fine crop n! the white mangel-wurzel; at the
same time observing, that from what he had formerly
said against mangel-wurzel in genera', he might be
supposed inconsistent in again attemptitig its culture.
The fact was, he said, that this was some seed for-
warded to him by the Emperor of RUSSIA, who much
wished him to make trial of it. The plants looked
very healthy and promising. A fine crop of lucerne,
put in this spring, next engaged the attention of the
party. It was drilled in rows of nine inches distance,
at 401 b. per acre, and with k sown a cast of buck-
wheat. The company, after viewing a carious Nea-
politan boar, and a two•year old Devon bull, rode
on to Mr. DENNY'S farm, at Egmere. With Mr.
DENNY'S occupation the party were highly satisfied,
and the state of his crops obtained for him the just
commendation of all who saw them.

Notwithstanding the rainy weather most part of the
day, the, company did not return to the Hall till
three o'clock, when about 100 Noblemen, Gentlemen,
and Farmers sat down to dinner, Mr. COKE presiding
at one table, and the Duke of BIDVOILD at the other.
After the cloth was removed, and the usual
toasts drank, Mr. COKE proposed the health of the
Isiihop of NORWICH. upon which the Rev. Mr. GLOVER
rose, and in an energetic address enumerated the
Al my virtues of this truly worthy man. Mr. GLov Eft
then took occas;on to digress to the subject of tithes,
and after discussing the subjec, at considerable length,
in the course of which be dt•fended the c'Aims of the
Clergy, although he hoped those claims would never
be enforced to the uttermost, he proceeded to state
it as his decided opinion, that much of the mischief
might be attributed to a class of men who had lately
smelt under the name of tithe valuers—men fre-
quently without a single qualification for such an
office, but who only calculated their ten per cent.
profit on their rah:Awns, without thinking or hear-
ing any thing further about the matter. The Rev.
Gentleman concluded by proposing as a toast—
,' A Constitutional Govvrna.rot without Corruption, and an
Eccleaiadtical Hierarchy wicbcut tr.:olerance.”
Mr. COKE now adverted to a discussion on folding,
which had been begun last year between Lord Albe-
marle, Mr. Greig, and himself. Hi wished the
Noble Lord to.state his sentiments on the subject, and
concluded by proposing the health of Lord Albe-
marle, with three times three.

The Noble Lurcl, in returning thanks, stated with
Much humour his reasons for differing on so impor-
tant a subject from his master, as he styled him, and
the Duke of Bedford. The main drift of his argil.
intent went to prove that manure may be distributed
with greater regularity by the fold than if the sheep
were suffered to go at large, without that injury to
the animals which Mr. Coke had Maintained they
wound suffer. • As to the wool, he contended that it
was improved rather than injured by folding. Mr.
Coke had said, that his farm carried a vast timber
of sheep more than when lie practised folding ; but
still his Lordship remained firmly of opinion that he
was correct, and they were in error.
Mr. Coss said his Own experience on this subject
was totally at variance with that of the Noble Lord,
in proof of which he instanced the present improved
state of Lis laid, and the greater proportion of sheep
it was now enabled to carry—a quantity, he maintain-
ed, he could not have kept, if he still continued to
fold. Mr. OWE concluded by giving the health of
the Duke of Bedford and the House of Russell with
three times three.

His Grace here tdok occasion to observe, that his
sentiments were perfectly in unison with those of his
Honourable Friend Mr. Coke. He had been twenty
years a farmer, and during all that period had been
an advocate fur the non-folding system. He did not
contend that folding might not, in some cases, be
advisable and even advantageous, but it was wrong
to establish it as a general principle. On the whole,
the question appeared to him to be simply this—h
the injury sustained by the sheep equal to the benefit
derived by the landl?
The Noble Duke having sat down, Mr. Coicz pro-
posed the health of General Walpole, with three
times three; who then briefly returned thanks.
Mr. Gnmo rose, and at some length went over the
arguments against folding but in order to settle the
matter at once, he proposed to Mr. Coke to allot him
one of his breaks to be folded upon ; another, Mr.
Coke might feed on the non-folding plan : he knew
stf no other way of setting the question at rest. Mr.
Cave then adverted to a new method he had di'.
covered of raising turnips. His farm, he said, was
in a seven course shift, and was ploughed only three
times in seven years I His worthy friend, Mr. Coke,
had doubted the success of his turnip culture ; it was
merely to scarify
.his wheat stubble' in the spring,
azd sow the turnips, by which a plurality of plough-
ings was avoided, which, he contended, was unne-
cessary.
Mr. COLE then gave—" Lord Nugent," with three
limes three. His Lordship returned thanks.
The health of Mr. Coke having been proposed by
the Duke of Benroan, the company adjourned to the
sheep-pens, where several pens of Southdown hog-
gems, in their wool, were exhibited for prizes; also
sundry rams, which were much admired for their
size and symmetry.
A model of a stack-saddle was likewise exhibited
by ble.Baowar.. of Thrigby, the frame of which was
of cast-iron, and covered over with deal boards.

SECOND DAY.-TUESDAY.
The company assembled this morning in much
ream number, than on the precedipg day. The