Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England (part 1 of 2)

CHAPTER IX.. A Railway Ride.—Second Class.—Inconvenient Arrangements.—First

A Railway Ride.—Second Class.—Inconvenient Arrangements.—First Walk in the Country.—England itself.—A Rural Landscape.—Hedges.— Approach to a Hamlet.—The old Ale-House and the old John Bull.— A Talk with Country People.—Notions of America.—Free Trade.—The Yew Tree.—The old Rural Church and Graveyard.—A Park Gate.—A Model Farmer.—The old Village Inn.—A Model Kitchen.—A Model Landlady. 85

CHAPTER X.. Talk With a Farmer.—With a Tender-Hearted Wheelwright.—an Amusing

Talk with a Farmer.—With a Tender-Hearted Wheelwright.—An Amusing Story.—Notions of America.—Supper.—Speech of the English.—Pleasant Tones.—Quaint Expressions.—The twenty-ninth of May.—Zaccheus in the Oak Tree.—Education.—Bed-chamber.—A Nightcap and—a Nightcap. 92

CHAPTER XI.. The Break of Day.—a Full Heart.—Familiar Things.—the Village At

The Break of Day.—A Full Heart.—Familiar Things.—The Village at Sunrise.—Flowers.—Birds.—Dog Kennels.—“The Squire” and “The Hall.”— Rooks.—Visit to a Small Farm.—The Cows.—The Milking.—The Dairy-Maids.— The Stables.—Manure.—Bones.—Pasture.—White Clover.—Implements.—Carts.— The English Plough and Harrow. 99

CHAPTER XII.

Breakfast at the Inn.—A Tale of High Life.—The Garden of the Inn.—An old Farm-House.—Timber Houses.—Labourer’s Cottages.—Wattles and Noggin Walls.—A “Ferme Ornée.”—A Lawn Pasture.—The Copper-Leaved Beech.—Tame Black Cattle.—Approach to Chester. 104

CHAPTER XIII.. Chester Without.—a Walk on the Walls.—Antiquities.—Striking

Chester without.—A Walk on the Walls.—Antiquities.—Striking Contrasts. 111

CHAPTER XIV.

Chester within.—Peculiarities of Building.—The Rows.—The old Sea-Captain.—Romancing.—An Old Inn.—Old English Town Houses.— Timber Houses.—Claiming an Inheritance.—A Cook Shop.—One of the Alleys.—Breaking into the Cathedral.—Expulsion.—The Curfew. 119

CHAPTER XV.

Chester Market.—The Town Common.—Race-Course.—The Yeomanry Cavalry, and the Militia of England.—Public Wash-House.—“Mr. Chairman.” 128

CHAPTER XVI.

Visit to Eaton Hall.—The largest Arch in the World.—The Outer Park.—Backwoods’ Farming.—The Deer Park.—The Hall.—The Parterre.— The Lawn.—The Fruit Garden.—Stables. 133

CHAPTER XVII.

Gamekeeper.—Game Preserves.—Eccleston, a Pretty Village.—The School- House.—Draining.—Children Playing.—The River-side Walk.—Pleasure Parties.—A Contrasting Glimpse of a Sad Heart.—Saturday Night.—Ballad Singer.—Mendicants.—Row in the Tap-Room.—Woman’s Feebleness.—Chester Beer, and Beer-Drinking. 140

CHAPTER XVIII.

Character of the Welsh.—The Cathedral; the Clergy, Service, Intoning, the Ludicrous and the Sublime.—A Reverie.—A Revelation.—The Sermon.— Communion.—Other Churches.—Sunday Evening.—Character of the Townspeople. 150

CHAPTER XIX.. Clandestine Architectural Studies.—a Visit to the Marquis of

Clandestine Architectural Studies.—A Visit to the Marquis of Westminster’s Stud.—Stable Matters. 162

CHAPTER XX.

The Cheshire Cheese District and English Husbandry Upon Heavy Soils.—Pastures.—Their Permanence.—The Use of Bones as a Manure in Cheshire.—A Valuable Remark to Owners of Improved Neat Stock.—Breeds of Dairy Stock.—Horses. 169

CHAPTER XXI.. Tillage.—Size of Farms.—Condition of Labourers.—Fences.—Hedges.—

Tillage.—Size of Farms.—Condition of Labourers.—Fences.—Hedges.— Surface Drainage.—Under Drainage.—Valuable Implements for Stiff Soils, not used In the United States. 177

CHAPTER XXII.. The General Condition of Agriculture.—Rotation of Crops.—

The General Condition of Agriculture.—Rotation of Crops.— Productiveness.—Seeding down to Grass.—Comparison of English and American Practice.—Practical Remarks.—Rye-Grass, Clover.—Biennial Grasses.—Guano.—Lime.—The Condition of Labourers, Wages, etc.— Dairy-Maids.—Allowance of Beer. 183

CHAPTER XXIII.

Remarks on the Cultivation of Beet and Mangel-Wurzel. 191

CHAPTER XXIV.

Delightful Walk by the Dee Banks, and through Eaton Park.—Wrexham.—A Fair.—Maids by a Fountain.—The Church.—Jackdaws.—The Tap-Room and Tap-Room Talk.—Political Deadness of the Labouring Class.—A Methodist Bagman. 194

CHAPTER XXV.

Morning Walk through a Coal District.—Ruabon.—An Optimist with a Welsh Wife.—Graveyard Notes.—A Stage-Wagon.—Taxes.—Wynstay Park.—Thorough Draining.—A Glimpse of Cottage Life.—“Sir Watkins Williams Wyn.” 199

CHAPTER XXVI.

Stone Houses.—Ivy.—Virginia Creeper.—A Visit to a Welsh Horse-Fair.— English Vehicles.—Agricultural Notes.—Horses.—Breeds of Cattle; Herefords, Welsh, and Smutty Pates.—Character of the People.—Dress.— Powis Park. 206

CHAPTER XXVII.

English Vehicles.—A Feudal Castle and Modern Aristocratic Mansion.— Aristocracy in 1850.—Primogeniture.—Democratic Tendency of Political Sentiments.—Disposition towards the United States.—Combativeness.— Slavery. 212

CHAPTER XXVIII.. Paintings.—Cromwell.—Pastoral Ships.—Family Portraits and Distant

Paintings.—Cromwell.—Pastoral Ships.—Family Portraits and Distant Relations.—Family Apartments.—Personal Cleanliness.—The Wrekin. 224

CHAPTER XXIX.

Visit to a Farm.—Farm-House and Farmery.—Fatting Cattle.—Sheep.— Vetches.—Stack Yard.—Steam Threshing.—Turnip Sowing.—Excellent Work.—Tram-Road.—Wages. 228

CHAPTER XXX.

Visit to two English Common Schools. 232

Appendix A. 235

Appendix B. 246

LIST OF CUTS,

DRAWN ON WOOD BY A. FIELD.

FROM SKETCHES BY THE AUTHOR.

PAGE

1. THE SCHOOL-HOUSE (vignette, title page).

2. THE ENGLISH COASTER (calm), 45

3. THE ENGLISH COASTER (squalls), 47

4. THE ENGLISH PLOUGH (vertical), 103

5. THE ENGLISH PLOUGH (horizontal), 103

6. THE TIMBER HOUSE (old farm-house), 107

7. OLD ENGLISH DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE (Chester, 16th century), 124

8. OLD ENGLISH DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE (Chester, 16th century), 149

9. THE CLOD CRUSHER, 180

10. THE ULEY CULTIVATOR, 182

11. THE STAGE WAGON, 202

12. OLD ENGLISH DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE (the village schoolmaster’s cottage), 207

Walks and Talks

OF AN

AMERICAN FARMER IN ENGLAND.

CHAPTER I.

EMIGRANT PASSENGER AGENTS.—SECOND CABIN.—MUTINY.—DELAY.—DEPARTURE.

We intended, if we could be suited, to take a second-cabin state-room for our party of three, and to accommodate me my friends had agreed to wait till “after planting.” While I therefore hurried on the spring work upon my farm, they in the city were examining ships and consulting passenger agents. The confidence in imposition those acquire who are in the habit of dealing with emigrant passengers, was amusingly shown in the assurance with which they would attempt to lie down the most obvious objections to what they had to offer; declaring that a cabin disgusting with filth and the stench of bilge-water was sweet and clean, that darkness in which they would be groping was very light (a trick, certainly, not confined to their trade), that a space in which one could not stand erect, or a berth like a coffin, was very roomy, and so forth.

Finally we were taken in by the perfect impudence and utter simplicity in falsehood of one of them, an underling of “a respectable house”—advertised passenger agents of the ship—which, on the lie being represented to it, thought proper to express its “regret” at the young man’s error, but could not be made to see that it was proper for them to do any thing more,—the error not having been discovered in time for us to conveniently make other arrangements.

We had engaged a “family-room” exclusively for ourselves, in the very large and neatly-fitted cabin of a new, clean first-class packet. We thought the price asked for it very low, and to secure it beyond a doubt, had paid half the money down at the agent’s desk, and taken a receipt, put some of our baggage in it, locked the door, and taken the key. The ship was hauling out from her pier when we went on board with our trunks, and found the spacious second cabin had been stored half full of cotton, and the remaining space was lumbered up with ship stores, spare sails, &c. The adjoining rooms were occupied by steerage passengers, and the steward was trying keys to let them into ours. The mate cursed us for taking the key, and the captain declared no one had been authorized to make such arrangements as had been entered into with us, and that he should put whom he pleased into the room.

We held on to the key, and appealed first to the agents and then to the owners. Finally we agreed to take a single room-mate, a young man whom they introduced to us, and whose appearance promised agreeably, and with this compromise were allowed to retain possession. The distinction between second cabin and steerage proved to be an imagination of the agents—those who had asked for a steerage passage were asked a little less, and had berths given them in the second-cabin state-rooms, the proper steerage being filled up with freight. The captain, however, directed the cook to serve us, allowed us a light at night in our room, and some other extra conveniences and privileges, and generally treated us after we got to sea as if he considered us rather more of the “gentleman” class than the rest;—about two dollars apiece more, I suppose.

After the ship had hauled out into the stream, and while she lay in charge of the first mate, the captain having gone ashore, there was a bit of mutiny among the seamen. Nearly the whole crew refused to do duty, and pledged each other never to take the ship to sea. Seeing that the officers, though prepared with loaded pistols, were not disposed to act rashly, we offered to assist them, for the men had brought up their chests and were collecting handspikes and weapons, and threatened to take a boat from the davits if they were not sent on shore. It was curious to see how the steerage passengers, before they had any idea of the grounds of the quarrel, but as if by instinct, almost to a man, took sides against the lawful authority.

Having had some experience with the ways of seamen, I also went forward to try to pacify them. (Like most Connecticut boys, I knocked about the world a few years before I settled down, and one of these I spent in a ship’s forecastle.) The only thing the soberest of them could say was, that a man had been killed on the ship, and they knew she was going to be unlucky; and that they had been shipped in her when too drunk to know what they were about. Perceiving that all that the most of them wanted was to get ashore, that they might have their spree out, and as there was no reasoning with them, I advised the mate to send them a fiddle and let them get to dancing. He liked the idea, but had no fiddle, so as the next most pacifying amusement, ordered the cook to give them supper. They took to this kindly, and after using it up went to playing monkey shines, and with singing, dancing, and shouting kept themselves in good humour until late in the evening, when they, one by one, dropped off, and turned in. The next morning they were all drunk and sulky, and contented themselves with refusing to come on deck when ordered.

When the captain came on board and learned the state of things, he took a hatchet, and with the officers and carpenter jumped into the forecastle, and with a general knocking down and kicking out, got them all on deck. He then broke open their chests and took from them six jugs of grog which they had concealed, and threw them overboard. As they floated astern, a Whitehall boatman picked them up, and after securing the last, took a drink and loudly wished us good luck.

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