The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-04-17


II the most rotd bseie If short horned Cattle
swine, and * Suffolk cart HORSES in that part vi Knglsnd
spcnt several days under his hosstAbie roof and gave
his stock Of animals retty thorough examination He
about 900 acres AMI has hundreds N cattle and
horses and Thousands u sheep Perhaps ride rousA the
farm for II Is quite too large 10 walk over may give
idea Of large farmers affairs IN that part Of England
Mir Crisp IL, like most farmers tenant, wnd mot tho
Of the land he occupies These tcnAx usually
find not by written lease but by sort VI under
standing not quite definite enough fol my taste rceua
ted mseh by tho customs Ut the particular estate
large proprietor Lord somebody or the Duke Of something
20 80 900 acres which has Ia the
family thousand years, at least from the time OF
William the Conqneror. This proprietor usually gives
personal attention to his estates far the rents
concerned but intruss ell such affairs to steward who
makes bis bargains with the tenants and the lord Of
the domain sometimes docs not visit farm gen
GRAFTON the tenant occupies ut fixed rate, which hc
pays half yearly in cash and although neither party IL
bound for than the year the tenant often oocupies
his lifetime and his the his dccease
Landlords willing to give long leases but tenants
seem to prefer the yearly system, far as have OBJ
served. 81. Z e l8t Htl -t
The tenant farmer seems to go on and make the per
nancnt improvements, often great expense, and lays
out his work he owned the fee simple and the
whole homes permanent ia this land Of
tenants than In the land of fcesimplc owners with mi
gatory habits The farmer pays rent Of SAY five dol
liars annually for his land and conducts his opcr
atoms In his own way provided he does not cut down
trees, plough up any pasture hand, or disturb tho game
such hares Isrtridgss and pcasants which go where
they please and do m much damage ms they Hike I'M
molcsted
keeper that is, q game keeper lives on the estate,
whose business il Is to protect the game, and catch the
poachers who presume to touch these animals, which
held sacred the geese in Romes capital The game
laws are, and have been uitless of crime
thoroughly changed On every estate where have been
have noticed with indignation the rayagcs Of these
less animals called game the eis of the finest wheat
while neither farmer nor laborer nrcs drive them
of his lease next year. will say however, that proper
1y viewed this waste Of human food is not the loss OF the
farmer but of the landlord because land not subject to
the preservation Of IL for that reason leased at
There large barns for grain and hay in the south
Of England with s but those products which we so
carefully protect housed have discussed the
topic good deal with farmers here, and they have ea
for their course cannot venture to answer
They say they cannot afford the expense Of barns and
that If they could hay would heat and burn up by spon
taneous combustion if put in them The climate there is
much more moist than ours and think the storms
not 50 violent Hay does not dry readily nor njurc
much in the stack with us, and, the whole il
English farmers like their own mode best, we will find
fault with their judgment but am sure II Is poor
economy for New Englanders to follow their example III
that particular The low price Of labor and the high
price of building material in England make In favor Of
stacks and against barns. R s3 j
In Mr.. Crsps farm yard original of the farm
yards in which Iandscer and Herring aud other painters
of animals much delight. Around in order
though with great regularity huge stacksof wheat
bailey, hay, and straw large goody sized barns, oil
neatly thatchcd and trimmed
There is donkey quietly meditating on the better
condition of half dozen carth0rses that standing to
their knees in straw, eating rye grass and clover from the
rack and there dozen black pigs of two months with
their maternal relative roofing about the feet of the
horses Focks Of ducks waddling about In the
yard and hens and chickens mix into the in crowds
big dog is chained to the gate and smaller is
barking to any stranger who approaches Under the
CHI
many long handled long nosed, long bcanlcd ploughs
steam engine Is putting away, quietly and busily
with thrashing- machine. Two three passing
up the shcavcs the rick and two the top of
the thrasher receive and unite the bands while two
pitching the straw on to stack, about
large aud high up fortyfoot barn while ON top Of
the stack boy is mounted on horse OF near
tons weight riding constantly about to tread down the
straw The horse and rider remind you Of equestrian
statue very large pedestal aud the horse Is
gradually rising higher and higher, you wonder how he
is To get down again. seeing that tho stack is per-
pendicular every side and fifteen feet high already
Everywhere is straw foot thick about the yards, in
the stables in the stalls the great object seeming
to be TO tread ii down for manure. 81 z
We went down to the tidc-watcr which bounds
side of the farm, and examined the enbanment against
the sea. The cmbankmcnt extends ~ miles, and the
''marshcs the drained lands called, of
the most valuable wheat fields have have
since examined tho ..Lncolnshire lens and the mode
Of drainage by immense steam engines well large
tracts reclaimed from the elsewhere and feel safe
in saying that the heaviest crops Of wheat have in
England are upon these fens and marshes. They
require peculiar treatment aud different rOtatiOn
from the upands but the whole subject is well under
stood and may he studied with advantage by all of
who live the banks Of rivers, the coast of tho
Atlantic
Upon part Of the estate found brick and tile
works. where all the operations Of making, setting, and
banning drain tiles going on This is q subject
Which has especially occupied my attention. and have
various machines in operation in several places and
have narrowly watched the methods Of laying out the
drains and laying the tiles more impressed with
the importance of the subject to Mt home Much per-
haIw Of New England soil requires draining but
much of our most valuable land, satisfied, would
double m value Mt small expense by draining with tiles,
when have them at fair price, and know how to
use them if
have not space to speak particularly of the crops
of wheat and other grain, of the culture OF the root
crops Of the magnificent stock Of cattle, swne and
sheep of the ploughng with those queer old poughs,
strnght burrows for half mile, such never in
America We have had many talks about pougls , but
they have argument in favor Of their ungninly inn
pcment Their work is far better than and it is
either because they have better ploughs hold them
better and farmers and plough makers may settle
that question they have IA in England
with yoke of fastened in collars like horses with
binders and bits in their mouths, guiding them with
reins and holding the plough himself striking out lands
eighty rods long, with stakes except 1T the ends ali
solutey straight that cond not inch variation
in the distance 1t il a common operation here TO
Iouvh ridges Mt