Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1857-1858, 1857-12-29

nation. He farms about 8, 600 acres, and has |
hundreds of cattle and horses, and thousands |
Of sheep. Perhaps a ride ronnd the farm, for /
II Is quite too large to walk over, may give an |
IDEA Of large farmers affairs in that part of |
England. Mr.. Crispis Ike most most farmers, |
a tenant and not the owner of the land he oc- /
Cupes. These tenancies, usually, hud, are |
not by ? written lease, but by A sort OF under |
standing, not quite definite enough for my taste
regulated much by the customs OF the part'cu-
lar estate a large proprietor, Lord somebody
or the Duke of something, owns some 10000 |
! or 10000 acres, which has been IN the family
a thousand years or, at least, from the time
! Of William the ConGueror. This proprietor
! usually gives no personal attention 10 ms es-
tates, far as the rents are concerned, but IN
trusts al such affairs to a steward, who makes
/ his bargains with the tenants, and the IOrd OF
| the domain sometimes does not even vislJ
farm in a generation; the tenant occupies at
/ fixed rate which he pays half-yearly in cash;
/ and, although neither party is bound for more
! than the year, the tenant often occupies for ms
/ lifetime and bis son takes the farm at his de-
| cease. Landlords are willing to give long leas-
/ es, but tenants seem to prefer the yearly sys-
| TEN, so far as | have observed.
| The tenant farmer seems to go on and make
! the permanent improvements, often at great
! expense, and laws out his work as if he owned
/ the fee simple; and on the whole homes are
more permanent in this land OF mere tenants,
/ than in our land of fee simple owners with mi
! gratOry habits. The farmer pays rent OF, say
i've dollars per acre, annually, for his land and
conducts his operations in his own way, pro-
vded he does not cut down trees, or pillow up
any pasture land or disturb the game, such as
! hares, and partrdges, and pheasants, which go
! where they please, and do as much damage as
! they like, uumOlested.
! ''keeper'-that Is a game-keeper-lives
on the estate, whose business 1t is to protect
the game, and catch the poach-rs who presume
/ to touch these animals, who are held as sacred
as the geese in Rome's capital. The game
laws are, and ever have been, truitess source
of crime and suffering, and always will be, till
/ human nature is thoroughly changed. On eve
/ ry estate where | have been, have noticed
with Indignation the ravages Of these useless
animals called game in the fields OF the finest
| wheat, while neither farmer nor laborer dares
/ even drive them away. on penalty of his lords
displeasure, and the loss of his lease next year.
| | Twill say, however that, properly viewed, this
| waste of human food is not the loss of the far
/ mer, but Of the landlord. because land not sub
| iect to the preservation of game is, for that
| reason, leased at a higher rent.
There are no large barns for grain AID hay
in the south of England, as with US, but those
! products which we so carefully protect are
| never housed. l have discussed the topic
good deal with farmers here, and they have
reasons for their course; some l cannot ven
| ture to answer. They say they cannot afford
! the expense of barns, and that, If they could,
hay would heat and burn up by spontaneous
| combustion fUut into them. The climate there
| is much more moist than ours, and think the
| storms are not so violent. Hay does not dry
so readily nor iniure so much in the stack as
| with rs and, on the whole, if English farmers
| like their own mode best, we will find no fault
with their judgment; but | am sure 1t Is poor
economy for New Enganders to follow their
example in this particular. The low price OF
labor and the high price Of building material
in England, make III favor OF stacks ard against
barns.
In Mr. Crisp's farm yard, l saw an original
Of the farm yards in which Landseer, aud Her
| ring, aud other painters Of animals, so much
| delight. Around in some order, though with
no great regularity, are huge stalks of wheat,
and barley, and hay, and straw, large as
goodly sized barns, al neatly matched and
| trimmed.
There is a donkey quietly medtating upon
the better condition of half dozen cart-L orses
that are standing up to their knees in straw
eating rye-grass and clover from the rack; and
there a dozen black pigs of two months, with
their maternal relative, roofing about the very
feet OF the horses. Flocks Of ducks wad-
ding about in the same yard, and hens and
chickens mix into the scene in crowds. As
big dog is chained to the gate, and smaller
one is barking TO any stranger who approaches.
Under the long tile-rooted shed, dozen carts
keep company with As many long-handled,
long-nosed long beamed plows.
a steam engine is putting away, quietly and
busily, with q threshing machine. Two or
three men are passing up the sheaves from the
| rick, and two women on the Top of the thresher
receive it and unite the bands, while two more
men are pitching the straw TO a new stack,
| about as large and high up as a tOrty-tOOt barn;
| while on the top of the same stack boy is
mounted on horse of near a toms weight,
riding constantly about to tread down the
straw. The horse and rider remind you Of an
/ equestrian statue on a very large pedestal;
and as the horse IS gradually rising higher and
higher, you wonder how he is ever to get
down again. seeing that the stack is perpendi-
cular on every side, and fifteen feet high al
ready. Everywhere Is straw u foot thick
about the yards, in the stables, in the cOw-stals
The greater object seeming to be to tread It
own for manure.
We went down to the tide-water which
bounds one side of the farm, and examined
he embankment against the sea. The
mbankment extends about twenty
niles, and the "marshes'' (as the drained lands
re ealeG) are some of the most valuable
yheat-heds / have ever seen. | have since
Xsmined the "Llncolnshire fens" and the
node of drainage BY immense steam-eugiues,
$ well as large tracts reclaimed from the sea
lSewhere, and l feel safe IN saying that the
tu,aviest crops Of wheat have seen in Eng
iaud are upon these fens and marshes. They
equire peculiar treatment, and a different
rotation from the uplauds; but tue whole sub
iect is well understood, and may be studied
/ with advantage by all of US who live on the
,auks OF rivers, or on the coast of the At
.utic.
Upon one part of the estate we found brick
nd tile works, where all the operations of ma,
ing, setting aud burning drain tiles weel
Ding on This is a subject which has special
Occur led my attention, and have seen var,
Gus machines in operation in several places
and have narrowly watched the methods o.
aying out the drains and laying tiles. / all
aore impressed with the importance of the
ubjeet TO at home. Much perhaps of oul
Sew Eng aud soil requires no draining, bu
luch of our most valuable land, / am satisfied
could double ia value, at small expense, By
raining with tiles, when we have them at i
tair price, aud know how 10 use them.
] j have not space now 10 speak particularly q
he crops OF wheat and other grain, nuruf tht
llture of the root crops, 2or Of the maguihcs n
( cattle, swine, and sheep, nor VI The stool
I lowing with those queer, Old plows, straigh
5 arrows for half mile, snCh as / never saw u
= America. We have bad many talks abou
{ lows, but they have oue argument ia tavo
e t their uugaiuly Implement. Their work Is Is
p euer than ours, and II Is either because the,
: ave De ter plows ct hold ghem better, aud on
irners aud pillow makers may settle that quest
4 as they can. have seen man IN Eogiaud
+ | nth yoke Of oxen fastened IN collar, lik
I aT-qa vpill. tftrflsrs an and bits the