Read Ebook: Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine No. 401 March 1849 by Various

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Sauva ojona rynt?sin min? koiraa vastaan, mutta samassa oli Bock jo k?ynyt sen niskaan ja molemmat py?riv?t ne nyt ?risten maassa kidat vuorotellen toistensa niskassa. Min? riensin eteenp?in ja olin t?lm?t? tiell? makaavaan hevoskaakkiin. Pys?hdyin kovin h?mm?styneen? tutkimaan elukkaa ja huomasin edess?ni vankkurit eli jonkunlaisen py?rill? kuljetettavan huoneen, jommoisia ilveilij?seurat ja ulkolaiset kulkukauppiaat k?ytt?v?t maaseudulla matkustaessansa markkinoilta markkinoille.

Nuo yh? jatkuvat vihlovat huudot tulivat sielt? vankkurein sis?lt?. Kun sis??nk?yt?v? oli vastakkaisella puolella, kiersin min? t?m?n katetun ajopelin ja nousin ?kki? yl?s puuportaita my?ten, jotka veiv?t vankkurin ovelle, mutta olin samassa kompastua pahantekij??n.

N?ky vaikutti minuun niin oudosti, ett'en alussa ymm?rt?nyt mit??n. Er?s polvillaan oleva mies n?ytti rukoilevan hartaasti. Vankkurein sis?lle tehdyll? vuoteella taas lep?si kyljell?ns? joku puolipaljas olento, itse?ns? v??nnellen; h?nen kasvojansa oli minun mahdoton erottaa, sill? alinomaa h?n liikahteli, v??ntelihe ja ulvoi.

Se oli vaimo lapsivuoteessa.

Niin pian kuin minulle oli selvennyt t?m?n tapahtuman laatu, joka nuo voihkeet aiheutti, huomautin min? l?sn?olostani; mies, joku h?pertynyt marseillelainen, k??ntyi p?in ja rukoili minua pelastamaan h?net ja tuon poloisen vaimon luvaten lukemattomin sanoin palkita ty?ni vaikka mill? tavoin. Min?, joka en koskaan ollut n?hnyt synnytyst? enk? ikin? ollut auttanut ket??n naista enk? narttua, en kissaa enk? koiraa t?llaisessa tilaisuudessa, selitin h?nelle kykenem?tt?myyteni asiassa ja katselin kummastellen tuota olentoa, joka vuoteellansa yh? huusi niin syd?nt? s?rkev?sti.

Voitettuani j?lleen kylm?verisyyteni, kysyin h?t?ytyneelt? miehelt?, miks'ei h?n ole jatkanut matkaa seuraavaan kyl??n saakka. Hevonen oli tiell? kompastunut er??seen maanhalkeamaan ja nyrj?ytt?nyt jalkansa niin pahasti, ett'ei se jaksanut en?? nousta seisoalleen, selitti mies.

-- Mit? siit?, sanoin min?, onhan meit? nyt kaksi miest?; vet?k??mme nainen vankkureineen minun luokseni.

Koirain r?hin? pakotti meid?t samassa k?mpim??n ulos vankkureista ja minun t?ytyi erottaa ne niin ankarilla sauvaniskuilla, ett? pelk?sin niiden heitt?v?n henkens?. Sitten p?lk?hti p??h?ni valjastaa ne avuksemme, toinen oikealle, toinen vasemmalle puolen vankkureja. Kymmenen minuutin kuluttua oli kaikki valmiina ja hiljalleen l?hti ajopeli liikkeelle netkahdellen ja t?r?hdellen syviss? maantiekuopissa niin tuntuvasti, ett? vaimoparan olisi toisinaan luullut kylkiluunsa katkaisevan.

Voi sit? matkantekoa, yst?v?ni! Heng?stynein? ja hiess?p?in r?histen, jopa joskus kompastuenkin livett?v?ll? savitiell?, vedimme me vankkureita pime?ss?, sill? aikaa kuin koirat huohottivat jaloissamme kuin palkeet.

Vasta kolmen tunnin kuluttua saavuimme t?nne linnakartanoon. Portille tullessamme lakkasi vaimo vaikeroimasta. ?iti ja lapsi voivat kumpikin hyvin.

Pian saivat he hyv?n vuoteen ja sitten l?hetin rengin noutamaan l??k?ri?, sill? v?lin kuin marseillelainen, joka taas tunsi itsens? rauhoittuneeksi, iloiseksi ja lohdulliseksi, s?i itsens? melkein tukehduksiin ja joi itsens? patahumalaan juhliessansa onnellista synnytyst?.

Vastasyntynyt oli tytt?lapsi.

Viikkokauden saivat he sitten asua talossa. ?iti, neiti Elmire, oli eritt?in tarkka unissa ennustaja ja lupasi minulle sanomattoman paljo onnea ja loppumattoman pitk?? el?m??.

Seuraavana vuonna ja t?sm?lleen saman p?iv?n illalla tuli sama palvelija, joka juuri k?vi kutsumassa meit?, p?iv?llisen j?lkeen luokseni tupakkahuoneeseen ilmoittaen:

-- Se viime vuotinen mustalaisnainen on t??ll? ja tahtoisi kiitt?? herraa.

K?skin h?nen tulla sis??n ja h?mm?styin huomatessani h?nen vierell?ns? pitk?n, tukevan, valkoverisen nuoren miehen jostakin pohjoisesta maakunnastamme; tervehtiess??n selitti t?m? olevansa joukkueen p??mies. H?n oli kuullut hyvyydest?ni neiti Elmire? kohtaan eik? tahtonut antaa t?m?n vuosip?iv?n menn? k?ym?tt? minua kiitt?m?ss? ja osoittamatta h?nkin puolestansa kiitollisuuttansa.

K?skin palvelijan saattamaan heid?t ky?kkiin illalliselle ja valmistamaan heille y?sijat. Seuraavana p?iv?n? jatkoivat he matkaansa.

Sen j?lkeen tulee t?m? poloinen nainen joka vuosi samana p?iv?n? luokseni, tosin aina saman lapsen, eritt?in siev?n tytt?sen kanssa, mutta mukanansa aina joku uusi -- herrasmies. Ainoastaan yksi ainoa, er?s auvergnel?inen mies, joka omalla murteellansa kiitti ja kosteli minua, tuli kahtena vuonna per?kk?in. Kaikkia n?it? kutsuu tytt?nen is?-nimell? aivan samalla tapaa kuin me ranskalaiset annamme kaikille mieshenkil?ille nimityksen "herra". -- -- --

Niin olimmekin jo tulleet linnakartanoon ja huomasimme h?m?riss? kolme varjoa seisovan rappusten luona odottamassa meit?.

Ylimm?isell? rapulla seisova olento tuli nelj? askelta vastaamme, tervehti suurellisesti ja sanoi:

-- Hra kreivi, me olemme tulleet t?nne t?n? muistop?iv?n? osoittamaan teille kiitollisuuttamme...

T?ll? kertaa oli se er?s belgialainen! Hith a few more woodcuts, it would, in minute and graphic illustration, by prints and letterpress be a most worthy companion to the work of Agricola.

The plan of the book is to give a history of the agricultural year, after the manner of the Roman Palladius and our own old Tucker; and the present volume embraces the operations of the skilful farmer in every kind of husbandry during the winter and spring. But, before we come to the heart of the book, hear what Mr Stephens says about the agricultural learning of our landed gentry:--

"Even though he devote himself to the profession of arms or the law, and thereby confer distinction on himself, if he prefer either to the neglect of agriculture he is rendering himself unfit to undertake the duties of a landlord. To become a soldier or a lawyer, he willingly undergoes initiatory drillings and examinations; but to acquire the duties of a landlord before he becomes one, he considers it quite unnecessary to undergo initiatory tuition. These, he conceives, can be learned at any time, and seems to forget that the conducting of a landed estate is a profession, as difficult of thorough attainment as ordinary soldiership or legal lore. The army is an excellent school for confirming, in the young, principles of honour and habits of discipline; and the bar for giving a clear insight into the principles upon which the rights of property are based, and of the relation betwixt landlord and tenant; but a knowledge of practical agriculture is a weightier matter than either for a landlord, and should not be neglected.

"It is a manifest inconvenience to country gentlemen, when taking a prominent part in county matters without a competent knowledge of agriculture, to be obliged to apologise for not having sufficiently attended to agricultural affairs. Such an avowal is certainly candid, but is anything but creditable to those who have to make it. When elected members of the legislature, it is deplorable to find so many of them so little acquainted with the questions which bear directly or indirectly on agriculture. On these accounts, the tenantry are left to fight their own battles on public questions. Were landowners practically acquainted with agriculture, such painful avowals would be unnecessary, and a familiar acquaintance with agriculture would enable the man of cultivated mind at once to perceive its practical bearing on most public questions."

And what he says respectively of the ignorant and skilful factor or agent is quite as deserving of attention. Not merely whole estates, but in some parts of the island, whole counties lag in arrear through the defective education and knowledge of the agents as a class:--

"A factor acquainted with practical agriculture would conduct himself very differently in the same circumstances. He would endeavour to prevent legitimate differences of opinion on points of management from terminating in disputes, by skilful investigation and well-timed compromise. He would study to uphold the honour of both landlord and tenant. He would at once see whether the terms of the lease were strictly applicable to the circumstances of the farm, and, judging accordingly, would check improper deviations from proper covenants, whilst he would make allowances for inappropriate ones. He would soon discover whether the condition of the tenant was caused more by his own mismanagement than by the nature of the farm he occupies, and he would conform his conduct towards him accordingly--encouraging industry and skill, admonishing indolence, and amending the objectionable circumstances of the farm. Such a factor is always highly respected, and his opinion and judgment are entirely confided in by the tenantry. Mutual kindliness of intercourse, therefore, always subsists betwixt such factors and the tenants. No landlord, whether acquainted or unacquainted with farming, especially in the latter case, should confide the management of his estate to any person less qualified."

These extracts are long, but we feel we are rendering the public a service by placing them where they are likely to be widely read.

The early winter is spent in ploughing, which we pass over, and mid-winter chiefly in feeding stock, in threshing out the corn, and in attending to composts and dunghills. Preparing and sowing the seed is the most important business of the spring months, to which succeeds the tending of the lambs and ewes, and the preparation of the land for the fallow or root crops. These several operations are treated of in their most minute details, and the latest methods adopted in reference to every point are fully explained.

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 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 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:--

"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:--

lb. lb. The Leicesters being 46 each, gained 10-1/2 each. South-downs 47 " 11 Half-breds 44-1/2 " 12 Cotswolds 56-1/2 " 10-1/2"

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:--

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:

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--

The names of cattle are a little less complicated.

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

Those of the pig are as follows--

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