Lampyris Noctiluca, GLOW WORM.-Numerous about Matlock Bath, on the banks of the Derwent. The light arises from two specks under the tail. They shine from the first of May to the middle of June. These little creatures are said to put out their lamps between eleven and twelve, and shine no more for the rest of the night.

BLOOD WORMS.-Appear in the water in March.

Anglers use the following worms as baits: viz. dew-worm, dock-worm, lob-worm, palmer-worm, straw-worm, cockspur-worm, &c. as also grubs and gentles.

Gordus Aquaticus, COMMON HAIR-WORM.- Frequent at Duffield.

Hirudo Sanguisuga, HORSE LEECH.-Ditches.

Hirudo Medicinalis, MEDICINAL LEECH.-Wardlow mires, near Tideswell.

Limex Ater, BLACK SNAIL OR SLUG.-Abound in moist shady places towards the end of April.

Helix Nemoralis, SHELL SNAIL.-Comes forth about the middle of April, and not only lays itself up pretty early in Autumn, in places secure from frost, but also throws out round the mouth of its shell a thick operculum, formed from its own saliva; so that it is perfectly secure from all inclemencies of the weather. Blackbirds feed much upon them.

Limax, SHELL-LESS SNAIL OR SLUG.-Are in motion all the winter in mild weather, and commit great depredations on garden plants, and much injure the green wheat, the loss of which is imputed to earth-worms. The reason why slugs are able to endure cold so much better than shell snails is, that their bodies are covered with slime, as whales are with blubber. Snails deposit their eggs in the mould, by running their heads and bodies under ground about midsummer. Hence the way to be rid of them is, to kill as many as possible before they begin to breed.

Large grey shell-less cellar snails lay themselves up about the same time with those that live abroad; hence it is plain that a defect of warmth is not the only cause that influences their retreat.

To the more transient observer, says an eminent naturalist, the snail appears to be little more than a lump of inactive matter, loaded with a crustaceous covering, and totally insensible to all the objects with which it is surrounded; but upon a more close inspection, it will be found to be possessed of every faculty that can possibly be requisite for the life it is formed to lead.

Their sizes are not less various than the countries and places in which they are found. They fill up all the intermediate gradations of magnitude, from that of an apple or egg to the minuteness of a grain of wheat ; and in that diversity of size, exhibit all the colours of the rainbow, with the polish of ivory or marble. The eyes of snails are lodged in their horns, which are four in number, one at the end of each horn, which they can protrude or retract at pleasure. Snails are great destroyers of wall fruit. Lime and ashes, sprinkled on the ground where they resort, will drive them away and destroy the young brood of them; it is a common practice to pull off the fruit they have bitten, but this should never be done, for they will touch no other until they have wholly eaten that they have began of, if it be left for them.

They produce a great number of eggs, which are round, white, and covered with a soft shell. On quitting the egg, the animal has a very small shell on its back, with only one convolution; this very soon enlarges, and the circles increase with the growth of the animal; never, however, exceeding four rounds and a half in the garden snail. They chiefly subsist upon the leaves of plants and trees, but are very delicate in their choice. Patella Lacustris, RIVER LIMPET.-Makeney shallows, Duffield.

Tellina Pusilla, MINUTE TELLEN.-Derwent.

Having given an imperfect sketch of the various subjects composing the three kingdoms of nature, so artfully contrived, so wonderfully propagated, and so providentially supported by their all-wise Creator for the use and convenience of man, to whom He has rendered every thing subservient, upon earth and in the waters, we shall conclude this chapter with the following extract from Dr. Darwin's works: "To insects, and many smaller animals, their colours contribute to conceal them from the larger ones that prey upon them. Caterpillars, which feed on leaves, are generally green; and earth-worms the colour of the earth which they inhabit; butterflies, which frequent flowers, are coloured like them; small birds which frequent hedges have greenish backs like the leaves, and light coloured bellies like the sky, and are hence less visible to the hawk, who passes under them or over them. Those birds which are much amongst flowers, as the goldfinch, are furnished with vivid colours. The lark, partridge, hare, &c. are the colour of the dry vegetables or earth on which they rest. And frogs vary their colour with the mud of the streams which they frequent, and those which live on trees are green. Fish, which are generally suspended in water, and swallows, which are generally suspended in air, have their backs the colour of the distant ground, and their bellies of the sky. In the colder climates many of these become white during the existence of the snows. Hence there is apparent design in the colours of animals, whilst those of vegetables seem consequent to the other properties of the materials which possess them."

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CHAPTER IV.

Preliminary observations on the agriculture of Derbyshire. Estates, value of land, leases and rents, farms, cottages, tithes, &c.; implements of agriculture; enclosures; fences and hedges; hedge-row timber; gales.-Tillage; courses of crops; meadow and pasture; grasses; dairy farms; cattle, &c. &c.

THE agricultural character of the county of Derby is as varied as its surface, and is to be found

in all its varieties, from the rich meads on the banks of the Trent, the Derwent, the Wye, and -and from the the Dove, to the scanty herbage on Kinder-scout, Axe-edge, and Combs moss— productive red marl and gravel, in the arable district, south of Derby; or, from the occasional patches of rich loam, upon the coal-measures more northerly; to the sterile limestone in the northeast, and the cold thin hill sides on the north-western corners of the county. No fixed data can, therefore, be assumed, as characteristic of the agriculture of the whole county; but, on examination, we shall be able to detect a few peculiarities, though chiefly arising from the difference in soil, situation, and climate, before alluded to. Those parts of the county which lie nearly north and south of the town of Derby, present a striking contrast in geographical features; the former abounding in hill and dale, whilst the latter is chiefly flat and unvaried. The southern district is, however, more generally fertile than the other, and the appearance and culture more uniform. With respect to those parts of it which are arable, no general rule can be laid down for the course of cropping; so much will ever depend on the opinion which each occupier entertains of his own knowledge. The necessities of some induce cross-cropping to so great an extent, as to defy all reduction to system, as well as all restrictions by yearly agreement or lease. Indeed, there is a sufficient tie, with good farmers, in fair times, to manage well, without restrictions. The hope of self-advantage, the future benefit of children, or other relatives, together with the spirit of emulation, excited by the improvements of neighbours; these, and other motives, combining, would go far to keep up the agricultural spirit of the country. But it is now so long since the capital and industry, employed in agriculture, yielded a fair return, that the patience of the great body of the occupiers of land is nearly worn out; and, but for the feeling of unfitness, in the majority of them, to take up any other business, the relinquishment of farms would, we fear, have been

numerous.

It is often the case, with the cultivators of the best arable land, that, as the incentive is not so great, so the exertions put forth, and the capital employed by them, fall short of what are bestowed, where nature has been more niggardly. And if we were to risk a contrast between the two districts alluded to, as to the cultivation of the arable land, we should say, that the occupiers of the more fertile district are not so liberal in the use of adventitious manures, as the less fortunate cultivators of inferior soils. This remark applies particularly to the hundred of Scarsdale. There, by means of bones to the spring-fallows, they are enabled to obtain a crop of turnips; and with Peak-lime to their summer fallows, to raise a crop of wheat; and thus they have it in their power to reserve the yard-manure for the grass land. By this mode of management, they are brought nearer to an equality with their brethren of the south, who generally confine themselves to the manure arising from the produce of the farm. The difference lies here:-in the latter case, the additional capital is found by the proprietor in the superior quality of the land, and refunded by the occupier in an additional rent; while, in the former, the additional capital is furnished by the occupier, in the great outlay required to make his land productive, which is, naturally, much inferior. On this account, however, he pays less rent. To the culture of wheat and

Y

barley, and occasionally of beans and peas, the southern district is for the most part applied, as far as respects the growth of grain. Turnips are produced wherever practicable, but chiefly with a view to their being pulled off; the land, generally, not being dry enough to admit of their being eaten upon the ground where they are grown. From the difficulty of obtaining a good crop of turnips, of late years, cabbage and mangel wurzel are much more largely cultivated than formerly. Upon the stronger soils, the practice of naked summer fallows still prevails, and it is founded, we think, in good judgment. Occasionally a crop of winter or spring vetches may be taken; and if the land be previously cleaned and limed, or manured, the preparation for the succeeding wheat crop will be found a good one. Great crops of red clover and other artificial grasses are raised, but consumed principally by the husbandry horses. An economical custom has lately been introduced, of soiling this part of the farming-stock in the yards, in summer, and chopping hay or straw for them in winter. The great features in the southern and western parts of the county are the dairying and grazing systems, which are carried to a state bordering closely on perfection. Of the truth of this, the demand for, and the high character of, Derbyshire cheese, in the London market and the sea-port towns, afford sufficient testimonials; whilst no town in the kingdom presents a finer show of well-fed butcher's meat, than is weekly exhibited at Derby. In the spring of the year, the markets and fairs at this place are distinguished by very great collections of milch cows, supplied from Yorkshire and the north-eastern part of this county; and are from hence dispersed amongst the occupiers of the dairy farms, to a great distance. Nor are the markets and fairs at Chesterfield and Ashbourn less celebrated for the abundant supply of cattle for grazing, which are brought thither in great droves from the north, and thence distributed into the surrounding country, into Leicestershire, and still further south. The quantity of sheep kept in the county is very large, and the southern part may boast of as good flocks of the improved Leicestershire breed as any county in the kingdom. And, taking into account the height and bleakness of the hilly parts, and the consequently increased exposure to the severity of the weather, the great improvement in the flocks of sheep in these exposed situations reflects no ordinary credit on the spirit of the owners. The long-woolled breed of sheep prevails, in this county, to the almost total exclusion of others, except the horned or moorland sheep; of which (though of late years decreased, in consequence of the enclosure and cultivation of many of the moors) the number is still considerable. For farming horses, Derbyshire, and particularly the hundred of Scarsdale, has long been celebrated, and furnishes, annually, a considerable number of black colts for the metropolis and the south of England, where they are well known by the name of Scarsdale blacks. It is to be feared that the breeding of heavy or teaming horses has not been properly attended to of late years; a mongrel race having been too generally substituted, which will bring neither profit nor credit to the breeder. Some years ago this county was famed for possessing many fine herds of long-horned cows; now they are much diminished; and although nothing has been lost to the public, by the introduction in their place, of the improved short-horns, yet many persons regret their decline, and it must be confessed that they possessed excellent properties, both for the grazier and the dairyman. Both these descriptions of occupiers, however, having partaken of the advantages derived from putting to the short-horn cows, which this county and the west-riding of Yorkshire did possess, bulls of the purest blood from the north, there is now considerable anxiety manifested to purchase animals still nearer to perfection in breed. All admit the superiority of these animals, on account of their earlier maturity for the grazier's purpose; and if good milking properties be combined with this excellence, there is no doubt of the breeder being ultimately recompensed for his perseverance, or of a general adoption of the improved short-horns. The breed of pigs varies much; but many excellent animals, with qualifications calculated to recommend them both to the farmer and gentleman, are to be met with in every part of the county. Upon some of the moors the improvement, of late years, has been very great, in consequence of the numerous enclosures furnishing a field for the industry of the spirited husbandman; and lands, which before were of the most unsightly appearance, presenting nature in her wildest garb, now bring abundant crops of oats, and, in a few instances, of wheat. The removal of surface stones, stubbing, paring, burning, draining, and the free use of

Peak lime have effected this. The difficulties presented by the still higher and more mountainous parts, as well as by the bogs and peat fields, are not likely, for the present at least, to be assailed by the industry of man. The corn harvest in the Peak is much earlier than formerly, in consequence of earlier sowing and using seed from warmer districts and of forwarder kinds. Within the last twenty years we have witnessed whole fields of corn, both standing and in shock, nearly buried in snow, and others that would never come to maturity. Comparatively speaking, little wheat is grown in the Peak, the principal grain cultivated being oats.

On the eastern side of the vale of Scarsdale, commencing near Hardwick hall, is a narrow strip of land upon the magnesian limestone, joining Nottinghamshire on the east and Yorkshire on the north. Some of this land is of fair quality; and by the judicious use of bones, and eating the crop of turnips upon the ground, very fine crops of barley, clover and wheat are obtained. Other parts are so sterile as to be considered not worth cultivation. Although a considerable quantity of limestone is burnt at several places, all differing a little in quality, and carried some miles for use upon shale and gravel soils, yet a small portion only per acre is applied. If more than half the quantity of what is considered a good dressing of Peak lime be used, the effects of this magnesian lime are pernicious. The different properties of these two limes have been often illustrated by the effects produced on the after-crop; where a cart load or more of each kind have been deposited in two heaps, and remained some weeks, until in a fit state for spreading upon the land. Upon the place where the Peak lime lay, the after-crop will be very luxuriant; whilst the after-crop upon the place where the magnesian lime lay, will be sickly and not come to perfection; or, what is frequently seen, will produce no corn at all.

In the vale of Scarsdale the land is of various qualities, as indeed, is usually the case in coal and ironstone districts. Some of it is very good, and some very bad. The same farm, nay, the same field, often contains several different kinds of soil, each of which requires a different mode of culture; and, notwithstanding that the farms are generally small, it is no unusual thing for the occupier to follow grazing, dairying and breeding, upon his grass land; and the different modes of cultivation, as practised in Norfolk or Northumberland, upon the arable part. As farming land is of a mixed nature and character, (much of it being of an inferior description) and where a variety of sytems must necessarily be followed, there are no farmers who excel, generally speaking, those in the vale of Scarsdale.

Amidst so many breeders and farmers of deserved celebrity as this county presents, it may, by some, be considered invidious to select any for particular mention. Yet justice demands that we should record the names of those who stand pre-eminently conspicuous for their encouragement of good farming, and the improvement of the breeds of horses, cattle, sheep and pigs. The late and present Duke of Devonshire have, for many years, kept stallions for the use of the tenantry and neighbourhood. The late Earl of Chesterfield was a warm promoter of agriculture ; and his large farming establishments continued and improved with equal spirit under the present Earl. Sir George Crewe, bart. is a strenuous supporter of the farming interest. So is Sir George Sitwell, bart. Francis Mundy, esq. one of the members for the county. William Palmer Morewood, esq. of Alfreton hall. Thomas Hallowes, esq. of Glapwell. Mr. Wilson, of Stenson. Richard Arkwright, esq. of Willersley castle. The Messrs. Strutt, of Belper and Derby. William Jessop, esq. of Butterley hall. W. B. Thomas, esq. of High Fields, through whose exertions the Derbyshire Agricultural Society was established in 1819, and who has ever stood forward as the farmer's firm friend, whether as an introducer of the best breeds of farming stock, or as a staunch advocate for due protection to the British farmers. Abraham Hoskins, esq. of Newton Solney. Samuel Rowland, esq. of Derby. Mr. Hassall, of Hartshorn, who has for many years been a celebrated breeder of sheep. Mr. Smith, of Swarkstone Lows, more recently celebrated as the successor of the late Mr. Bakewell, in his residence at Dishley, near Loughborough, as well as in his great merit as a breeder, which will be more fully shown hereafter. Mr. Webster, of Norton. Mr. Heywood, of Brimington. Mr. Gratton, of Wingerworth. Mr. Gregory, of Longstone. William Carleill, esq. of Longstone hall. Mr. Greaves, of Bakewell. Arthur Heathcote Heathcote, esq. of Stonecliffe hall. J. G. Barnes, esq. of Ashgate. E. S. Cox, esq. of Brails

ford, and many others. Nor ought we to omit honourable mention of the late Mr. Princep, of Croxall. Mr. Cox, of Culland. Mr. Horton, of Catton, and Samuel Oldknow, esq. of Mellor. After these general preliminary remarks, for which we are highly indebted to an intelligent agricultural friend, it is necessary to enter more particularly into the minuter circumstances, by which the agriculture of Derbyshire may in some respects be regarded, as distinguished from the rest of the kingdom.-Like all other British districts, the land of this county must in the first instance be considered as divided into possessions or estates. The nature of that ownership will belong more properly to the general and family history of the county; and it will suffice to observe, in this place, that with a few extraordinary exceptions, the ownership of territorial property is not remarkably extensive or unequal. Mr. Farey estimates the prices at which estates sold in Derbyshire about fifteen or twenty years ago, at thirty years' purchase on the rental. We believe the present prices may be calculated, upon an average, at a much lower rate; although there are recent instances of parcels of land having exceeded this valuation. The price of land necessarily differs, not only with respect to its quality, but its situation. Good land near Derby has been sold at £200. and £250. per acre. Mr. Farey says, that in 1815, the selling price of land about Mackworth was from £90. to £150.: at Kirk Ireton land was sold as low as £90. Newly allotted common-land was purchased about the same period, near Egginton heath, at £80. per acre, and at Hoon two farms on red marl and gravel were sold at the same rate.- Freeholds are far more numerous in this county than copyholds. Leases were more frequently granted in Derbyshire than they are at present; and perhaps the great fluctuations which have taken place since the war, in the prices of agricultural produce, have deterred tenants from soliciting the advantages which leases are thought to ensure. The Duke of Devonshire grants no leases; but then, by a continued and hereditary liberality, unexampled perhaps in the kingdom, the tenants have been so fully encouraged to confide in the honour of their landlord and the rectitude of his agents, that improvements, costly and extensive, are not unfrequent on farms held under his Grace, by tenants at will.-Leases are granted by the Earl of Chesterfield at Bretby, for twenty-one years; and similar leases are known at Ashover, Dale, Stanton, Hartington and some other places.The leases of the Earl of Chesterfield's farms require the tenants to plant and protect a certain number of young timber trees. In the verbal lettings at will, there are seldom any other conditions than the carting of coals, repairing of roads, and performing the landlord's statute duty; but even these conditions are not general, and the keeping of a few sporting dogs for the landlord, seems the only claim of a general nature. In covenants or agreements for letting farms, the proportion of land to be in tillage is sometimes mentioned, but throughout the county, it is mostly left to the tenant to break down or lay up any particular pieces of land. In this the Derbyshire farmers possess an advantage over those of the southern counties, where fields are obliged, by clauses in the letting, to be kept in pasture or arable, which would frequently be more profitable in an opposite state.

The farms in this county are mostly of a moderate extent, there not being more than six or seven that exceed six hundred acres, with the exception of some held by the tenants of the Duke of Devonshire in the woodlands of Hope, who have very large tracts of mountain bogs and heathy uncultivated hills, attached to farms which might of themselves be considered comparatively small. There are farms in the Scarsdale hundred, round Ashover, which average less than fifty acres each; and in the same parish there is an instance of ninety-seven tenants on a rental that barely exceeds sixteen hundred pounds; and such small occupancies are by no means uncommon in other places.

The rents of lands near the principal towns are high. Near Derby, it is not unusual for the small tenants who supply the town with milk, to give from 70 to 120s. per acre. There are farms which let at 40, 50, and 60s. per acre; in Kirk Ireton the average rent is said not to exceed 20s. and at Ashover it is about that sum. At Newhaven the new allotments have been let at 10, 12, and more recently, at 16, and 20s. per acre.—Upon the whole, the rental of Derbyshire, taking into consideration the extensive waste tracts of the Peak, is below the average rental of all the surface of England and Wales. Mr. Farey observes, that "here and everywhere else, the major