the sward is pared off, and the turf raised is turned upon a line of unmoved turf. The paring of turf in this case is from one to two inches thick, on the coulter margin, decreasing in thickness to a thin feather edge, by which it adheres to the unmoved sward. Having lain some time in this state, to rot, or grow tender, it is pulled to pieces with rough harrows, drawn across the lines of turf; and having lain in this rough state till it be sufficiently dry, it is bruised with a roller, and immediately harrowed with lighter harrows; walking the horses one way, and trotting them the other, to shake the earth out more effectually from the roots of the grass; going over them again, and again, until most of the earth is disengaged. The beat, or fragments of turf, being sufficiently dry, it is gathered into round heaps of five or six bushels each, called beatburrows, and these being shook up light and hollow, fire is set to them, and when the centre of the heaps are consumed, the outskirts are thrown lightly into the hollows, and the heaps rounded up, as at first, till the whole of the beat is consumed, or changed by the action of the fire. The produce of the first skirting being burnt, and spread over the surface, the operation is sometimes repeated by running the plough across the lines of the first skirting, thus paring off the principal part of the spine; and again dragging, rolling, harrowing, collecting, and burning, as in the former operation."* "There needs not a better proof," continues Mr. Marshall, "that this practice, under the guidance of discretion, is not destructive to soils, nor any way dangerous to agriculture, than the fact so fully ascertained here, that, after a constant use of it, during, perhaps, a long succession of ages, the soil still continues to be productive; and, under management in other respects much below par, continues to yield a rent equivalent to that drawn from lands of equal quality in more enlightened districts: and there appears to me strong reason to imagine, that, under the present course of management, sod-burning is essential to success. Indeed, instances are mentioned, and pretty well authenticated, in which men who stood * Rural Economy, &c. Vol. I. p. 146. stood high in their profession, and of sufficient capitals, having been injured, or brought to poverty, through their being restricted from this practice, which may be said to form a principal wheel in the present machine, or system of the Devonshire husbandry: for it is observable, that the wheat crops of this district, after the burning, liming, and one ploughing, are in general beautifully clean; and this, though the succeeding crop of barley may be foul in the extreme: a circumstance, perhaps, which would be difficult to account for in any other way, than in the check which the weeds receive from the burning. Let it not, however, be understood, that any facts which are here brought forward, are intended to show the necessity of sod-burning in this or any other district. To three fourths of the island, the practice may be said to be unknown; yet in many parts of this unburnt surface of country, if not throughout the whole of it, the present state of husbandry is preferable to that of Devonshire; and whenever clean fallows, and suitable fallow crops, shall be introduced here, and judiciously mixed with the grain crops, agreeably to the practice of modern husbandry, burning beat will certainly be no longer required. In fact, the upland soils of this county are not adapted to the practice. The soil, under ordinarily good management, is, in its nature, productive of clean sweet herbage; and, under a proper course of husbandry, never would become coarse and rough-skinned, so as to require this operation; which is peculiarly adapted to old, coarse, tough sward, whether of dry land or wet, light land or stiff; and probably to cold retentive soils, whenever a suitable rotation of crops will permit." The introduction of orchards into this district is, by tradition, affirmed to have taken place between 200 and 300 years ago; and those belonging to Buckland Priory are said to have been the first planted. The situations of the orchards are generally in the vallies, and in the dips or hollows in the vicinity of the farm-houses. The specics of fruit is invariably the apple, where liquor is the ob ject; but cherries, pears, and walnuts, are in some parts raised in great abundance for the fruit markets. The orchards that succeed best in West Devonshire, are those which are seated in the hollows, hollows, and deep narrow vallies, where the situation shelters them from the bleak blasts of the north-east, and the sea-winds from the west and south-west. In setting out orchards, the practice of this county is somewhat peculiar, the ordinary distance between the plants not being more than five yards and a half. The most approved method of planting, is to remove the soil down to the rock, which seldom lies very deep, and to cover this eight or ten inches thick, with a compost of fresh earth and sea-sand. Upon this compost, in most cases, the inverted turf is laid; and on this the young tree is set, its root being bedded in the best of the excavated mould. The pit is then filled with common soil. New orchards, however, are seldom planted; the general custom being to keep the same ground in an orchard state, in perpetuity, by planting young trees in the interspaces, as the old ones decay. The ordinary place of manufacturing cyder is provincially termed the Pound House; probably from the ancient method of pounding or breaking the apples, by hand, with wooden pestles, in a large tub, or trough; a practice still continued in some parts of Cornwall. This building is generally a mean barn, or hovel, without any peculiarity of form, or trace of contrivance, excepting where the orchard grounds are extensive, and appropriate arrangements are made for the production of the liquor. The Pound House mentioned by Mr. Marshall as the best, with respect to plan, which the nature of a fruit liquor manufactory will admit of, or requires, is described by that gentleman as an oblong square, having behind it a flooring or platform of loose stones, to receive the fruit as it is gathered, and to give it the first stage of maturation in the open air. "The ground-floor of one end of the building contains the mill and press. Over this part is a loft or chamber, in which the apples receive the last stage of maturation, and from which they are conveyed by a spout into the mill. The ground-floor of the other end of the building is the fermenting room, sunk a few steps below the floor of the mill and press-room; a pipe or shoot conveying the liquor from the press, into a cistern in the fermenting room." In In the Devonshire method of gathering fruit for the making of cyder there is nothing peculiar, except, perhaps, the circumstance of the fruit being gathered either wet or dry. When the apples are collected, they are spread in heaps* in the open air, where they remain exposed till they become as mellow as possible, or till the brown rot has begun to take place. The apples are then picked; the green or hard fruit being separated, and set apart to mellow, to prevent the cyder from fretting; and the black rotten fruit removed, as their juice is exceedingly injurious to the making of good liquor. The apples are now conveyed to the mill, and ground, or rather broken; and in this state carried to the press. The presses are of different kinds: the most general is an improvement of the simple lever, by adding a rider, or lever upon lever; at the end of which a weight is suspended: by this contrivance the acting lever is kept hard down upon the cheese, and follows it as it sinks; an advantage which the screw-press does not possess. The screw-presses are of an enormous size, whether made with one or two screws; being large enough to press four, five, or six hogsheads at once. The method of pressing is invariably that of piling up the pomage, or ground-fruit, in reed, (unthreshed straw,) in layers: those of the pomage being three or four inches thick, having the reed laid thinly over, and then another thin covering spread across the first. Under the gigantic presses just mentioned, the pile is four or five feet square, and nearly as much in height. On the top, a broad strong covering of wood is laid, and upon this the lever is lowered: the pressing of one of the enormous cheeses of the larger presses, takes two days to complete. When the pile has acquired sufficient firmness, the outsides, and loose spongy parts, which evaded the pressure, are pared off, and either placed upon the top of the cheese, to receive the immediate action of the press, or reserved for beverage, The best method, though not commonly attended to, is to spread the ap ples to the depth of sixteen or eighteen inches only, in order to prevent theit sweating too much. ✦ The cheese is the name given to the pile of pomage, or broken fruit, from which the liquor is expressed. beverage, being watered and pressed separately. The must, or expressed liquor, is placed in large open vessels, or cisterns, where it remains till the head rises, and is then drawn off into casks.* The disorder termed the Devonshire colic has not unfrequently been said to originate in the cyder, or rather in the circumstance of the mills and presses having lead made use of in their construction. Mr. Marshall observes, that from two or three striking cases of this disease, which he had an opportunity of examining, it appeared to him to be "the joint effect of cyder, and of a vile spirit which is drawn by the housewives of Devon from the grounds and lees of the fermenting room. These dregs are distilled (of course illegally) by means of a porridge-pot, with a tin head fixed over it, and communicating with a straight pipe, passing through a hogshead of water. The liquor being passed twice through this imperfect apparatus, comes over extremely empyreumatic; and is drank in a recent state, under the appropriate name of necessity. In evidence of the improbability of lead being the cause of this disorder, a mill, which had been constructed a century at least, and which is cramped together by means of lead, being examined, VOL. IV. B it * The following directions for the management of cyder, after it is put into casks, were communicated by a gentleman of Devonshire. The casks should not be filled higher than to within four or five inches of the bung-hole, that the air may have space to spread from one end of the cask to the other, which will assist the liquor in settling the sooner. After this, it should be racked into clean casks, having the same space unfilled as before. When it begins to sing or fret, rack it again, still leaving room for the air, with the bung out, and continue this process till the fermentation has completely subsided. When the cyder becomes settled, it may be fined with isinglass, one ounce being sufficient for a hogshead. Infuse this quantity in a quart of warm cyder, stirring it frequently as it thickens, add more cyder, and whisk it well about with twigs of birch: when dissolved, and strained, it will be fit for use, Now rack the cyder, put the isinglass into a can, adding some old cyder; and after mixing it well, pour it into the cask, stirring it with a flippant stick till it froths considerably at the bung. Then stop the cask about eight hours, and afterwards leave it open. If the cyder does not become transparent in a week or ten days, the same process must be repeated; and it will not then fail of producing the necessary transparency. This being accomplished, the cyder may be stopped down for use, as it will not ferment again. : |