Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 401, March 1849

In the husbandry of the most advanced portions of our island, the turnip occupies a most important place in the estimation of the skilful farmer, whether his dependence for the means of paying his rent be placed upon the profits of his corn crops or of his cattle.

Of the turnip we have now many varieties – though it is only seventy or eighty years since it was first introduced into field culture – at least in those districts of the island in which its importance is most fully recognised. The history of its introduction into Scotland is thus given by Mr Stephens —

"The history of the turnip, like that of other cultivated plants, is obscure. According to the name given to the swede in this country, it is a native of Sweden; the Italian name Navoni di Laponia intimates an origin in Lapland, and the French names Chou de Lapone, Chou de Suède, indicate an uncertain origin. Sir John Sinclair says, 'I am informed that the swedes were first introduced into Scotland anno 1781-2, on the recommendation of Mr Knox, a native of East Lothian, who had settled at Gottenburg, whence he sent some of the seeds to Dr Hamilton.' There is no doubt the plant was first introduced into Scotland from Sweden, but I believe its introduction was prior to the date mentioned by Sir John Sinclair. The late Mr Airth, Mains of Dunn, Forfarshire, informed me that his father was the first farmer who cultivated swedes in Scotland, from seeds sent him by his eldest son, settled in Gottenburg, when my informant, the youngest son of a large family, was a boy of about ten years of age. Whatever may be the date of its introduction, Mr Airth cultivated them in 1777; and the date is corroborated by the silence preserved by Mr Wight regarding its culture by Mr Airth's father when he undertook the survey of the state of husbandry in Scotland, in 1773, at the request of the Commissioners of the Annexed Estates, and he would not have failed to report so remarkable a circumstance as the culture of so useful a plant, so that it was unknown prior to 1773. Mr Airth sowed the first portion of seed he received in beds in the garden, and transplanted the plants in rows in the field, and succeeded in raising good crops for some years, before sowing the seed directly in the fields."

The weight of a good turnip crop – not of an extraordinary crop, which some persons can succeed in raising, and the accounts of which others only refuse to credit – is a point of much importance; and it is so, not merely to the farmer who possesses it, but to the rural community at large. The conviction that a certain given weight is a fair average crop in well-farmed land, where it does not exceed his own, will be satisfactory to the industrious farmer; while it will serve as a stimulus to those whose soil, or whose skill, have hitherto been unable to raise so large a weight. According to our author —

"A good crop of swede turnips weighs from 30 to 35 tons per imperial acre.

"A good crop of yellow turnips weighs from 30 to 32 tons per imperial acre.

"A good crop of white globe turnips weighs from 30 to 40 tons per imperial acre."

Of all kinds of turnips, therefore, from 30 to 40 tons per imperial acre are a good crop.

The readers of agricultural journals must have observed that, of late years, the results of numerous series of experiments have been published. Among those that have been made upon turnips, he will have noticed also that the crop, in about nine cases out of ten, is under twenty tons; that these crops vary, for the most part, between nine and sixteen tons; and that some farmers are not ashamed to publish to the world, that they are content with crops of from seven to ten tons of turnips an acre. Where is our skill in the management of turnip soils, if, in the average of years, such culture and crops satisfy any considerable number of our more intelligent tenantry? We know that soil, and season, and locality, and numerous accidents, affect the produce of this crop; but the margin between the actual and the possible is far too wide to be accounted for in this way. More skill, more energy, more expenditure in draining, liming, and manuring – a wider diffusion of our practical and scientific agricultural literature – these are the means by which the wide margin is to be narrowed; by which what is in the land is to be brought out of the land, and thereby the farmer made more comfortable, and the landlord more rich.

The subject of sheep and cattle feeding is very important, and very interesting, and our book is rich in materials which would provoke us to discuss it at some length, did our limits admit of it. We must be content, however, with a few desultory extracts.

The following, in regard to sheep feeding upon turnips, is curious, and, in our opinion, requires repetition: —

"A curious and unexpected result was brought to light by Mr Pawlett, and is thus related in his own words, – 'Being aware that it was the custom of some sheep-breeders to wash the food, – such as turnips, carrots, and other roots, – for their sheep, I was induced also to try the system; and as I usually act cautiously in adopting any new scheme, generally bringing it down to the true standard of experience, I selected for the trial two lots of lambs. One lot was fed, in the usual manner, on carrots and swedes unwashed; the other lot was fed exactly on the same kinds of food, but the carrots and swedes were washed very clean every day: they were weighed before trial, on the 2d December, and again on the 30th December, 1835. The lambs fed with the unwashed food gained each 7½ lb., and those on the washed gained 4¾ lb. each; which shows that those lambs which were fed in the usual way, without having their food washed, gained the most weight in a month by 2¾ lb. each lamb. There appears to me no advantage in this method of management – indeed animals are fond of licking the earth, particularly if fresh turned up; and a little of it taken into the stomach with the food must be conducive to their health, or nature would not lead them to take it.'"

Another experiment on the fattening properties of different breeds of sheep, under similar treatment, quoted from the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, is also deserving the attention of our readers: —

"Experiments were made in 1844-5 on the Earl of Radnor's farm at Coleshill, on the comparative fattening properties of different breeds of sheep under the same treatment. The sheep consisted of Leicesters, South-downs, half-breds, – a cross between the Cotswold and South-down – and Cotswolds. The sheep, being then lambs, were divided into lots of three each of each breed, and were grazed four months, from 29th August 1844 to 4th January 1845, when they were put on hay and swedes for three months, from 4th January to the 31st of March following. While on grass, the different breeds gained in weight as follows: —

It is one of the most delicate qualifications connected with the stock-feeder's art to be able to select that stock, and that variety of it, which, under all the circumstances in which he is placed, will give him the largest return in money – hence every experiment like the above, if well conducted, is deserving of his close attention. At the same time, in rural experiments, more almost than in any other, the number of elements which interfere with the result, and may modify it, is so great, that too much confidence ought not to be placed upon single trials. Repeated results of one kind must be obtained, before a farmer can be justified in spending much money on the faith of them.

In turning to the winter feeding of cattle upon turnips and other food – a subject important enough to justify Mr Stephens in devoting forty of his closely printed pages to it – we are reminded of a character of this book which we like very much, which squares admirably with our own idea of neatness, order, and method, and which we heartily commend to the attention of our farming friends: this is the full and minute description he gives of the duties of every class of servants upon the farm, of the necessity of having these duties regularly and methodically performed, and of the way in which the master may bring this about.

The cattle-man is an important person in the winter feeding of cattle; he therefore commences this section with an account of the duties and conduct of this man. Even his dress he describes; and the following paragraph shows his reason for drawing the young farmer's attention to it: —

"The dress of a cattle-man is worth attending to, as regards its appropriateness for his business. Having so much straw to carry on his back, a bonnet or round-crowned hat is the most convenient head-dress for him; but what is of more importance when he has charge of a bull, is to have his clothes of a sober hue, free of gaudy or strongly-contrasted colours, especially red, as that colour is peculiarly offensive to bulls. It is with red cloth and flags that the bulls in Spain are irritated to action at their celebrated bull-fights. Instances are in my remembrance of bulls turning upon their keepers, not because they were habited in red, but from some strongly contrasted bright colours. It was stated that the keeper of the celebrated bull Sirius, belonging to the late Mr Robertson of Ladykirk, wore a red nightcap on the day the bull attacked and killed him. On walking with a lady across a field, my own bull – the one represented in the plate of the Short-horn Bull, than which a more gentle and generous creature of his kind never existed – made towards us in an excited state; and for his excitement I could ascribe no other cause than the red shawl worn by the lady, for as soon as we left the field he resumed his wonted quietness. I observed him excited, on another occasion, in his hammel, when the cattle-man – an aged man, who had taken charge of him for years – attended him one Sunday forenoon in a new red nightcap, instead of his usual black hat. Be the cause of the disquietude in the animal what it may, it is prudential in a cattle-man to be habited in a sober suit of clothes."

Then, after insisting upon regularity of time in everything he does, following the man through a whole day's work, describing all his operations, and giving figures of all his tools, – his graip, his shovel, his different turnip choppers, his turnip-slicer, his wheel-barrow, his chaff-cutters, his linseed bruisers, and his corn-crushers, – he gives us the following illustration of the necessity of regularity and method, and of the way to secure them: —

"In thus minutely detailing the duties of the cattle-man, my object has been to show you rather how the turnips and fodder should be distributed relatively than absolutely; but whatever hour and minute the cattle-man finds, from experience, he can devote to each portion of his work, you should see that he performs the same operation at the same time every day. By paying strict attention to time, the cattle will be ready for and expect their wonted meals at the appointed times, and will not complain until they arrive. Complaints from his stock should be distressing to every farmer's ears, for he may be assured they will not complain until they feel hunger; and if allowed to hunger they will not only lose condition, but render themselves, by discontent, less capable of acquiring it when the food happens to be fully given. Wherever you hear lowings from cattle, you may safely conclude that matters are conducted there in an irregular manner. The cattle-man's rule is a simple one, and easily remembered, —Give food and fodder to cattle at fixed times, and dispense them in a fixed routine. I had a striking instance of the bad effects of irregular attention to cattle. An old staid labourer was appointed to take charge of cattle, and was quite able and willing to undertake the task. He got his own way at first, as I had observed many labouring men display great ingenuity in arranging their work. Lowings were soon heard from the stock in all quarters, both in and out of doors, which intimated the want of regularity in the cattle-man; whilst the poor creature himself was constantly in a state of bustle and uneasiness. To put an end to this disorderly state of things, I apportioned his entire day's work by his own watch; and on implicitly following the plan, he not only soon satisfied the wants of every animal committed to his charge, but had abundant leisure to lend a hand to anything that required his temporary assistance. His old heart overflowed with gratitude when he found the way of making all his creatures happy; and his kindness to them was so undeviating, they would have done whatever he liked."

And the money profit which this attention to regularity will give, in addition to the satisfaction which attends it, is thus plainly set down: —

"Let us reduce the results of bad management to figures. Suppose you have three sets of beasts, of different ages, each containing 20 beasts – that is, 60 in all – and they get as many turnips as they can eat. Suppose that each of these beasts acquires only half a pound less live weight every day than they would under the most proper management, and this would incur a loss of 30 lbs. a-day of live weight, which, over 180 days of the fattening season, will make the loss amount to 5400 lbs. of live weight; or, according to the common rules of computation, 3240 lbs., or 231 stones, of dead weight at 6s. the stone, £69, 6s. – a sum equal to more than five times the wages received by the cattle-man. The question, then, resolves itself into this – whether it is not for your interest to save this sum annually, by making your cattle-man attend your cattle according to a regular plan, the form of which is in your own power to adopt and pursue?"

We must pass over the entire doctrine of prepared food, which has lately occupied so much attention, and has been so ably advocated by Mr Warner, Mr Marshall, Mr Thompson, and which, among others, has been so successfully practised by our friend Mr Hutton of Sowber Hill in Yorkshire. We only quote, by the way, a curious observation of Mr Robert Stephenson of Whitelaw in East-Lothian:

"'We shall conclude,' he says, 'by relating a singular fact' – and a remarkable one it is, and worth remembering – 'that sheep on turnips will consume nearly in proportion to cattle, weight for weight; that is, 10 sheep of 14 lbs. a-quarter, or 40 stones in all, will eat nearly the same quantity of turnips as an ox of 40 stones; but turn the ox to grass, and 6 sheep will be found to consume an equal quantity. This great difference may perhaps,' says Mr Stephenson, and I think truly, 'be accounted for by the practice of sheep cropping the grass much closer and oftener than cattle, and which, of course, prevents its growing so rapidly with them as with cattle.'"

The treatment of farm horses in winter is under the direction of the ploughman, whose duties are first described, after which the system of management and feeding of farm and saddle horses is discussed at a length of thirty pages.

Among other pieces of curious information which our author gives us is the nomenclature of the animals he treats of, at their various ages. This forms a much larger vocabulary than most people imagine, and comprises many words of which four-fifths of our population would be unable to tell the meaning.

Thus, of the sheep he informs us —

"A new-born sheep is called a lamb, and retains the name until weaned from its mother and able to support itself. The generic name is altered according to the sex and state of the animal; when a female it is a ewe-lamb, when a male tup-lamb, and this last is changed to hogg-lamb when it undergoes emasculation.

"After a lamb has been weaned, until the first fleece is shorn from its back, it receives the name of hogg, which is also modified according to the sex and state of the animal, a female being a ewe-hogg, a male a tup-hogg, and a castrated male a wether-hogg. After the first fleece has been shorn, another change is made in the nomenclature; the ewe-hogg then becomes a gimmer, the tup-hogg a shearling-tup, and the wether-hog a dinmont, and these names are retained until the fleece is shorn a second time.

"After the second shearing another change is effected in all these names; the gimmer is then a ewe if she is in lamb, but if not, a barren gimmer and if never put to the ram a eild gimmer. The shearling tup is then a 2-shear tup, and the dinmont is a wether, but more correctly a 2-shear wether.

"A ewe three times shorn is a twinter ewe, (two-winter ewe;) a tup is a 3-shear tup; and a wether still a wether, or more correctly a 3-shear wether– which is an uncommon name among Leicester sheep, as the castrated sheep of that breed are rarely kept to that age.

"A ewe four times shorn is a three winter ewe, or aged ewe; a tup, an aged tup, a name he retains ever after, whatever his age, but they are seldom kept beyond this age; and the wether is now a wether properly so called.

"A tup and ram are synonymous terms.

"A ewe that has borne a lamb, when it fails to be with lamb again is a tup-eill or barren ewe. After a ewe has ceased to give milk she is a yeld-ewe.

"A ewe when removed from the breeding flock is a draft ewe, whatever her age may be; gimmers put aside as unfit for breeding are draft gimmers, and the lambs, dinmonts or wethers, drafted out of the fat or young stock are sheddings, tails, or drafts.

"In England a somewhat different nomenclature prevails. Sheep bear the name of lamb until eight months old, after which they are ewe and wether teggs until once clipped. Gimmers are theares until they bear the first lamb, when they are ewes of 4-teeth, next year ewes of 6-teeth, and the year after full-mouthed ewes. Dinmonts are called shear hoggs until shorn of the fleece, when they are 2-shear wethers, and ever after are wethers."

The names of cattle are a little less complicated.

"The names given to cattle at their various ages are these: – A new-born animal of the ox-tribe is called a calf, a male being a bull-calf, a female a quey-calf, heifer-calf, or cow-calf; and a castrated male calf is a stot-calf, or simply a calf. Calf is applied to all young cattle until they attain one year old, when they are year-olds or yearlings—year-old bull, year-old quey or heifer, year-old stot. Stot, in some places, is a bull of any age.

"In another year they are 2-year old bull, 2-year-old quey or heifer, 2-year-old-stot or steer. In England females are stirks from calves to 2-year-old, and males steers; in Scotland both young male and females are stirks. The next year they are 3-year-old bull, in England 3-year-old female a heifer, in Scotland a 3-year-old quey, and a male is a 3-year-old stot or steer.

"When a quey bears a calf, it is a cow, both in Scotland and England. Next year the bulls are aged; the cows retain the name ever after, and the stots or steers are oxen, which they continue to be to any age. A cow or quey that has received the bull is served or bulled, and is then in calf, and in that state these are in England in-calvers. A cow that suffers abortion slips its calf. A cow that has either missed being in calf, or has slipped calf, is eill; and one that has gone dry of milk is a yeld-cow. A cow giving milk is a milk or milch-cow. When two calves are born at one birth, they are twins; if three, trins. A quey calf of twins of bull and quey calves, is a free martin, and never produces young, but exhibits no marks of a hybrid or mule.

"Cattle, black cattle, horned cattle, and neat cattle, are all generic names for the ox tribe, and the term beast is a synonyme.

"An ox without horns is dodded or humbled.

"A castrated bull is a segg. A quey-calf whose ovaries have been obliterated, to prevent her breeding, is a spayed heifer or quey."

Those of the horse are fewer, and more generally known —

"The names commonly given to the different states of the horse are these: – The new-born one is called a foal, the male being a colt foal, and the female a filly foal. After being weaned, the foals are called simply colt or filly, according to the sex, which the colt retains until broken in for work, when he is a horse or gelding which he retains all his life; and the filly is then changed into mare. When the colt is not castrated he is an entire colt; which name he retains until he serves mares, when he is a stallion or entire horse; when castrated he is a gelding; and it is in this state that he is chiefly worked. A mare, when served, is said to be covered by or stinted to a particular stallion; and after she has borne a foal she is a brood mare, until she ceases to bear, when she is a barren mare or eill mare; and when dry of milk, she is yeld. A mare, while big with young, is in foal. Old stallions are never castrated."

Those of the pig are as follows —

"When new-born, they are called sucking pigs, or simply pigs; and the male is a boar pig, the female sow pig. A castrated male, after it is weaned, is a shot or hog. Hog is the name mostly used by naturalists, and very frequently by writers on agriculture; but, as it sounds so like the name given to young sheep, (hogg,) I shall always use the terms pig and swine for the sake of distinction. The term hog is said to be derived from a Hebrew noun, signifying 'to have narrow eyes,' a feature quite characteristic of this species of animal. A spayed female is a cut sow pig. As long as both sorts of cut pigs are small and young, they are porkers or porklings. A female that has not been cut, and before it bears young, is an open sow; and an entire male, after being weaned, is always a boar or brawn. A cut boar is a brawner. A female that has taken the boar is said to be lined; when bearing young she is a brood sow; and when she has brought forth pigs she has littered or farrowed, and her family of pigs at one birth form a litter or farrow of pigs."

The diseases of cattle, horses, pigs, and poultry, are treated of – their management in disease, that is, as well as in health. And it is one of the merits of Mr Stephens that he has taken such pains in getting up his different subjects – that he seems as much at home in one department of his art as in another; and we follow him with equal confidence in his description of field operations, of servant-choosing and managing, of cattle-buying, tending, breeding, feeding, butchering, and even cooking and eating – for he is cunning in these last points also.

His great predecessor Tucker prided himself, in his "Five hundred points," in mixing up huswifry with husbandry: —

"In husbandry matters, where Pilcrow[3 - Where ¶ (pilcrow,) or paragraph, is placed at the side of the verse.] ye find,
That verse appertaineth to Huswif'ry kind;