Wisconsin herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1846-1849, 1846-11-07

Blessings of Shetland.
We have cheap lands, cheap rents,
cheap beef, cheap mutton, cheap bread,
cheap poultry, cheap fish, cheap every
thing. What would an English or
Lothian farmer say to getting whole
island to himself at the rate Of eight
shillings the statute acre, with plenty
of women TO labor it, at wages of six
pence day? Nay, in some of the
islands this rent would be deemed ex-
travagantly high. 1000 per cent. too
dear! Ia Yell, for instance, an estate
of $4,000 acres. nearly one half in
pasture, the rest arabic and enclosed
grass land, only produces an avarage
rent of scarcely cightpence per acre !!
Surely here is scope for Lord Brough-
ANS agricultural schoolmaster to look
abroad, and instruct our land owners
and husbandmcn in the virtues of gu
ano. True it is, our soil is none of the
best, partaking more or less of the
quality of moss, mixed with clay or
particles of decaycd rock on which it
rests. The atmosphere, too, especial
ly in winter, is uniformly moist, but
temperate beyond what will be credit
cd by those accustomed to the cold
prevalent at that season in the interior
of the three kingdoms. Snow rarely
lies above day or two at time; al
though we have occasionally snow
storms Of two or three months dura-
ton. A few years ago the clergyman
of Yell noted The following in his
memorandum book on the cath OF De-
cember:-"This day the turnips are as
green as they were at MicbaImas; the
rye-grass among beer-slnbbles measure
from eight to ten inches Of green blade;
and among the last years rye grass the
daisy is every where seen in bloom"
Let the Carsc Of Gowric, or the shell
tered fields Of Hampshire and Devon
shire match this if they can. Last
Christmas, such was the mildness Of
the weather, we could boast of young
goosebcrries, and winter blossoms as
well as our most southefly neighbors.
And then there are certain trouble
some vermin, abundant enough in more
favoured climes, from which we are
exempt. There are some Of our ISL
ands TO which neither the mouse nor
the rat have found the way. The
grouse or moor(owl is also stranger TO
US, though common in Orkney and the
Highlands OF Scotland; and the reason
perhaps is, that the heather with rs is
too stunted to afford them the shelter
they require. 1t is not many years
since Justices Of the Peace were as
rare as the moorfowl, for, except the
sheriff substitute, there was not mag.
istrate Of any kind in Shetland. Nay,
it would appear we must have had a
visit Of st. Patrick TO scare away GER
tain loathsome reptiles, for an eminent
living naturalist observes in his tour,
"The untravelled natives Of INST had
never seen either fr, gs or toads, aud
indeed had no idea Of the appearance
or nature Of these animals!" Our do
mestic cattle are abundant, but their
diminutive size and price would as
tonish the dealers in Smithfeld mar
ket. A good fatied COW ready TOR
slaughter weighs from onc-aDd-a-hslf
TO two-hundred weight; so that flesh.
or could tuck her under his arm; and
an alderman at one Of your civic feasts
would not feel alarmed were one Of
them served up entire in an ashet be-
fore him. Beef is reckoned extrava-
gantly high if it exceed three-half-
pence or twopence the pound. A
whole calf may be purchased for eigh-
teen pence; and if the skin is re-sold it
brings shilling, leaving only a six
pence as The price Of the carcase. A
eve fit for the butcher will sell for four
or five shillings, and male ,gnb for a
third part OF the sam.-Fraser's Mag
azine.