important matter here), they were certainly a long way behind us, in our opinion. The difference in cleaning and thinning turnips attracted my attention. The practice in Wiltshire was to clean principally with the hand-hoe, about 9 or 10 inches long, made at an acute angle with the handle, which was about 3 feet long, so that the hoer was obliged to stoop, and was thus enabled to throw his whole weight and strength on the hoe to cut the soil deeply. I have known a good farmer refuse to employ men till they reduced the length of their hoe-handles, making it an indispensable condition; but in Scotland I found the hoes about 7 inches long, forming a right angle with the handle, which was at least 4 feet long: both kinds were suitable for the different modes of culture. In Wiltshire, without the horse-hoe, all the land required to be cut, and it was generally performed by our best men; whereas, in Scotland, all the cleaning was done by horse-hoes, the hand-hoes, as above described, were used by females for thinning only, standing almost upright in their work, and the hoe was adapted for thinning the plant by pushing from as well as by pulling towards the person using it. I had some hoes made of this pattern, and having, since that time, managed many hundred acres on both plans, am of opinion that I can grow the greatest weight of roots, and best clean the land in all seasons, on the Scotch system.

In 1842, I used "Daniel's patent manure," 30 bushels per acre, in the manner directed by the patentee, without seeing any effect from its use; and this year I experienced a greater advantage from the use of bones than I had at any previous time. I prepared a piece of the new land, as well as I could, for swedes, and drilled a little more than 16 bushels of bones per acre with the seed; and, in order to demonstrate more fully to the unbelieving the benefit of bones, I ordered a manure-pipe to be stopped from end to end of the piece on several parts of the field, and allowed only the seed to drop, and the difference was truly wonderful. Where no bones fell, the swedes never attained the size of a nut, and where the proper portion of bones was deposited, they were generally from 16 to 21 inches in circumference; e; and even then some would not admit the good of bones. One person, farming his own estate of about 700 acres in Wiltshire, held me up to ridicule in a public company for stating the above facts, and declared that no one should ever convince him that 16 bushels of bones on an acre of land could do any good to a crop of turnips. Nine years afterwards, I saw two of that person's waggons leaving his market-town with full loads of artificial manure. On inquiry, I found that he had first used it the year previously.

Up to 1844, I had not made rent or taxes, having expended all in improvements; but this year I had a great breadth of corn,

and the summer was fine, and the crops yielded well. I had previously limed upwards of 100 acres, at 30 qrs. per acre, besides using a great quantity on the pastures, which I generally mixed with road-scrapings, of all which I now found the advantage. I had used lime from eleven different kilns, which was burnt from almost as many different kinds of stone, but could not discover much difference in the results. My plan of liming the arable land has always been to put it on fallow after it has been once harrowed, and generally at the rate of 30 qrs. per acre. If applied when the fallow is rough, a portion, more or less, according to its state, will be lost. When properly slacked, I spread it evenly, and immediately harrow it two or three ways, so that it may be thoroughly incorporated with the soil. It is an expensive dressing, and should not be carelessly applied.

I tried carbonate of soda for wheat, with bad results. It increased the bulk of straw, but retarded its ripening, and the corn was blighted, although it was in the middle of a field otherwise free from blight.

I tried subsoiling on some of my best land previously to sowing it with spring-beans, but it was useless; and I have never since been able to discover any difference in any crop that I have grown on it. I had previously tried beans, without ever getting anything like a good crop.

I have grown winter beans with rather better success. Peas of several different kinds I have tried, and given up as unsuitable for the land and climate.

I cannot grow barley to any advantage. I may obtain a bulk of straw, but the grain is always of very bad quality.

I dislike thin crops of corn, therefore have never tried thin sowing, but have witnessed the results. A gentleman came to an estate near me from a much better climate and land, and condemned very much my practice of thick sowing. He tried the opposite system by dibbling a small piece to wheat at the rate of 1 bushel per acre, and also by sowing three pieces of the same size to oats:-1st, 4 bushels per acre; 2nd, 6 bushels; 3rd (much against his will), 8 bushels per acre. The result was no wheat, the exact yield of oats I never ascertained; but the bailiff told me the piece sown with 8 bushels per acre produced about as much as both the other two pieces, which, from my own frequent observation, I believe was near the truth. There is another evil attending thin sowing on my land; for I have always found that, unless I take full possession of the land with the crop I want, I am sure to have an abundance of things that I do not want. When corn is drilled, of course, the hoe may prevent the intrusion, but only to a certain extent; for the hoeing cannot be continued long enough to do so entirely. I have proved many times that I can grow more corn per acre (particularly of wheat) by sowing than by drilling.

My improvements went on rather slowly for two or three years, as I could not obtain the promised lease. The steward of whom I took the farm died, and soon afterwards his successor followed, so that I did not feel justified in going so far as a yearly tenant as I otherwise should have done; but, fortunately, my noble landlord called on me, rode over the farm, and was so well pleased that he told me at once that I should not be any longer disappointed of a lease. I then with fresh spirit took out all the remaining fences that I could on the arable land, and reclaimed the whole, making a total of 403 acres arable. I have one piece of 280 acres, without a fence, cultivated in three equal portions. All the land, as it came into a ploughable state, was managed on a five-field course, as follows:-wheat; swedes, grown with artificial manure; oats; clover; vetches, rape, and turnips. All my yard-manure was applied, after the clover was mown, for vetches, rape, and turnips, on the field intended to be sown the following autumn to wheat. This system I found inconvenient in one respect, which was that it was not economical to get my swedes fed off sufficiently early to sow oats in proper season, and barley did not pay me. I tried white oats, but they were always of a bad colour. In 1850, I altered my system to another five-field course, namely-wheat; oats; clover; vetches and swedes; vetches, rape, and turnips. I have now changed to a four-field course, -taking wheat; oats, half sown to grass; clover and swedes; vetches, rape, and turnips. By this plan, I sow clover but once in eight years, by which I hope to secure a better crop. I have tried Italian rye-grass several times, first as long ago as 1843, but I have never had a thick good crop. I do not much like it (perhaps I have not sown a good and clean sample), but have found a little very useful as early feed on several occasions. Hitherto (1852) I had hired a steam-engine for threshing for some years, having been the first to introduce one in the parish: but now I bought one, and a boulting-machine, of Mr. Cambridge, which answered well; and although it was a portable engine, I built a high chimney and a house for it, which I consider a great advantage, as I can use it for any purpose in any weather, without any risk, and with less fuel. In about four years, the boulter was much the worse for wear, but the engine (which was of 5-horse power) was as good as ever; and, to keep pace with the times, I exchanged with Mr. Cambridge for a combined thresher and an 8-horse power engine, which, I think, taking it in all its points, is as good as anything of the kind 1 have seen.

Most, I suppose, know that where lime answers well, chalk or malm will also do good; but few persons, I think, have witnessed such extraordinary results as I am about to relate from the use of the latter. In 1841, I wished to try malm on a piece of land of 26 acres, which was covered with very short heath and fern, with a little grass of the very coarsest kind. I agreed with a neighbouring farmer to allow me to dig some on his farm at 3d. per load (I have nothing of the kind on my land). I had about a mile to haul it, and I put about 35 loads per acre, at a cost of about 51. After I covered about 6 acres of the worst part of the field, a circumstance occurred that prevented my continuing it; the next year it began to alter the appearance of the land, and in two or three years after, if a flock of sheep were turned into the opposite end of the field, in a few minutes three-fourths of them would be on the 6 acre malmed. In 1847, being six years after it was done, I decided on digging the whole piece, and I began with the malmed part, which turned out mellow and nice; but when the men, about 20, came on to dig on the other part, it was of quite a different colour, and such a sour and most unpleasant smell arose from it, that I could perceive it a quarter of a mile off. In fact, a gentleman walking with me at about that distance could not imagine from whence the smell came, and had to be convinced by going to the spot. The digging was taken at 24d. per lug, but, when the malmed part was finished, I was obliged to advance the price to 3d. per lug. Some weeks after the whole field was turned, the malmed piece, and 3 acres adjoining it, was sown to oats; the other part of the field was drilled to swedes with dissolved bones. At harvest the oats on the malm part were 5 feet high, and produced 63 bushels per acre; and on the adjoining 3 acres, 1 feet high, producing 15 bushels per acre. The swedes were not very good; I fed them on the same, and then ploughed the whole field, and found the turf but little rotted on the part not malmed. At spring I sowed it all to oats, and the result was 59 bushels on the malm parts, and 25 bushels per acre on the remainder of the field; every drill of bones used the previous season for seeds could be easily seen by the difference in the oats. I then folded the whole field equally over with 2000 sheep per acre, and sowed oats again-this was the third time on 9 acres, and the second time on the other part; this crop produced 67 bushels per acre on the malmed, and 41 bushels on the other parts, showing the extraordinary difference in the average of three crops of 63 bushels against 27 bushels per acre ; so that, if I had continued the malm over the whole field at first, I should have had on the three crops 1324 bushels of oats more than I had, which, at 2s. 6d. per bushel, would be 1551. 10s. I then considered the field deserved better treatment; so I fallowed it, and limed the part not malmed with upwards of 30 qrs. per acre, brought it into a regular course with my other land, and have had good crops of all kinds on it since. For at least seven years after it was dug, a person walking across it blindfolded could tell the malm part by the difference of feeling to his feet.

I have tried salt with lime, which answered well; and also salt alone on some occasions has been very beneficial, principally in preserving vetches from the slugs. I have tried it for preventing "fingers and toes" in turnips (which my land is very subject to), but I have found lime the best preventive for that disease.

I have found genuine guano very good for a top-dressing for corn, and Proctor's wheat manure good for wheat; but prefer doing all that is necessary to secure, or to expect a crop of wheat, in the summer previous to sowing it. I have found soot, the genuine article, exceedingly useful where the wire-worm or hares and rabbits have injured my wheat. With regard to soot, I have been sadly imposed upon in the country by adulteration, and in the large towns by short measure.

I have tried a great many sorts of turnip manure with various results, and have dissolved bones with vitriol on the premises for several years, which proved economical; but now prefer using bones alone chiefly, and some dissolved without vitriol. I have also used the liquid manure drill with great advantage, and was one of the first that used it.

I have sown sanfoin many times in small patches in my lent corn, but never saw any come to the scythe.

I have scarcely ever grown any good winter vetches when sown in the autumn; but have grown them very good when sown in February, and spring ones as good as I have ever seen anywhere.

From the commencement in 1837 to 1853, I continued the system of breeding cattle, regarding quality rather than milk, but not to the extent of the Hereford breeders. I merely kept my calves on milk as long as was necessary (not the whole summer), and made cheese afterwards; but in 1853 circumstances induced me to let my cows, which I have continued to the present time; and although my present dairyman makes cheese of the very best quality, and can, I presume, make the most of the milk, I do not consider it so profitable, on the whole, as my former system. When I reared all my calves, I could keep a greater number of cattle; and through the winter I invariably fed them on ground swedes and chaff, except when swedes were short, then cake was used instead, and sometimes boiled peas were substituted, which are an excellent food to mix with chaff. My stock were all of good quality, and my worked oxen, barren cows, and bulls, always commanded good prices.

With regard to my grass land, I mow it and feed it alternately,