Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1853-12-29


We must not only excel in general hus-
some extent especially claim our attentions;
) indeed the whole routine of the affairs of
rural life as suited to our soil and climate,
including Horticulture, and Fruit culture,
and whatever is calculated to enbellish
our homes or enrich our estates must re-
ceive the best thoughts of our minds and
the best lsbors Of our hand.
To this end will make some sugges-
lons in reference TO what came under my
observation in recent short visit 10 Eu-
rope.
! Let me give you descr plion of Wark
farm, situated in the county Of Nor,hum-
berIand, on the south bank of the Tweed,
which separates England from Scotland.
II belongs to The estate of the Earl ut
Tank ervile, aud is in the tenure Of Mr..
William Dove, very intelligent and enter
prising farmer. il contains 1900 acres Of
very superior land the annual rent of the
farm is $4,000, or $4,000. il is worked
in four shifts. Two hundred acres are
in permsncnt pasture, Two hundred and fl
ty in Turnips, five hundred in other crops
= mostly Wheat. Oats, and Barley, two
hundred in grass. He works it with twen-
ty-four horses, employs twelve ploughmen.
two spadesmeD, two stewards or oveTseers;
he hires thirty women workers in summer,
and twenty in winter. in harvest he EN-
pI oys from eighty to one hundred and six
iy hands in all he keeps Diner and a
black smith, he lhrashes by water power
He keeps and feeds from six TO seven hun
dred sheep. and feeds and tnrns off about
Two hundred and fifty heads Of cattle in the
course OF year. The women laborers are
paid twenty We cents day,'t men about
ihiuy-seven and a haH, oil boarding them
selves. The cattle and sheep he mostly
breeds on other Highland or Scotch farms
lie rents. He pays altogether $4,000 an
nusl rent.
Now ! take this farm as type or mod
ell to convey an idea of English farming op-
era,ions-to show wha, crops they cuI'i-
vste, to what extent ,hes Craze and feed,
and for this, and The kind cf labor they use
and the price they pay, Wark farm may be
! considered a fair representative of Avery
large class of English and Scotch farms
1t is larger than the average, but smaller
than some. Two. three, five, six and seven
hupdIed acre farms are more common.
Seven hundred out of the twelve hundred
acres Of Wstk farm il will be seen are de-
voted to grazing and feeding, for The two
hundred and fifty acres Turn ps are Of
course fed on the farm 10 caltle and sheep.
This crop is made to answer 10 our Corn
crop, and though far from being Of equal
value lhev calculate that less than All acre
Of good Turnps will fa,ten a bullock
A large bullock they say, v i'll eat six bush
els day. have much-higher opinion
Of their value since have seen how they
will fat,en ca,!e and sheep. ] think we
may caltivale them to advantage TO some
extent by way Of variety. But little
over one hundred acres on this farm of
twelve hundred goes in wheat. Ia good
season they count on forty bushels of ~
pounds 10 the bushel, equal to forty-six or
seven bushels to the acre Of sixty pounds
to the busheI, our standard.
i. [ Besides all the manure that is made from
F feeding so many cattle and sheep, 20 tons
, of Guano and 500 bushels of bones are an
nualIy purchased, and once in about eigh,
}, years the land receives dressing of nine
tons of lime, to the acre, about three hun
! dred bushels
Now to keep this farm in the condition its
intelligent and successful proprietor desires.
if he were to make grain its principal product
, and sell ,ba, off from The farm, the annual
| outlay for manure would have to be very
, great, and the $l5 900 annual rent p obabIy
could not be made. Their idea seems to
i, be that the profits of breeding and grazing
whatever they may be, are clear profits.
while in selling grain they ale selling labor
and manure, or portion of the valuable
constituents of their soil, all Of which have
to be bought back in the market again.
think we may take hint from Them here
| doubt if any country that is constantly
heavily cropped in grain or in any tIllsge
crop, and which is sold from the farm, is
likely to reach a very high state of improve
, men. and be kept there. We should mol
become so set in our ways or fixed in ouI
! habits as not 10 change our practice when
the state end condition of The markets will
compensate US for doing so.
The subject of the markets is not suffi-
cien,y considered by US; che English are
wiser. We send for instance, our grain to
market al a certain season as a part OF a
mere routine we sow, harvest, thrash and
then send forward to market-wilhout once
considering whether there is fair legi.i-
mate demand at remunerating prices, or
whether we are likely TO be met only by
the spectators in The market, buying in Il
glutted market al a minimum price TO reap
in good time the profits that should be the
producers.
Last year mucI, of the wheat crop was
sold for rs and so cents bushel It subse-
quen,ly wen. up, after il had parted from