English Farming—Old and New Style.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 4211, 12 October 1886, Page 2

English Farming—Old and New Style.

The “ Vagabond ” thus discourses on the question of farming in England “ now and then ” —lt is the English farmer who very seldom rises in the social scale. They are now, as they have always been, in a dependent position. Man}' of them may hold much larger farms than their forefathers, who were only peasants ; bnt they are still only tenants, and with a tenant’s respect for the opinions of bis landlord. There has been a great outcry of late years that the British farmer is mined. As far as I remember, the same outcry existed 100 years ago. It is their landlord who is the general mouthpiece of the farmer, he himself being generally scant of words, and only able to emphasise bis opinions over his gin and water after the market dinner, or in vociferons applause at a meeting of the country members. Still, of late years there has been a great change in the manner of living of the British farmer. I can remember as a schoolboy, when flying over the country in psperchases, or in holiday pedestrian tonra round England, that in the farm houses we visited there was a remnant of the old style. The farmer’s wife then tacked np her sleeves and made batter and cheese, and supervised the pickling of hams and bacon, and the brewing of beer. Nor were they ashamed to go oat into the bayfleld and work bard, and be of real service with the rake. I oou'd then see the rising of the new generation. The girls, who 1 were sent to school, tanght Shakespeare, the mmical glasses, and “ French of StratforJ-atte-Bow,” and who, by the ideas they imbibed, became in the social scale neither “flesh, fowl, nor good red herring.’’ The sons, owing to the extension of commnnication, were sent to Metropolitan academics, and learnt a smartness which pleased their fathers, bnt which was not of mnch use to to thorn in farming the old acres. The yonng yeoman wanted to ride to bounds as often as his landlord, and he grnmbled at being deprived of the shooting on his farm. He would run to the Derby or to Newmarket, or Doncaster, and bet heavily on all the races; Whereas, in the old days, perhaps once a year at the country meeting the sporting yeomen would enjoy himself, be now goes to all the principal race meet, ing in England, and so, with the wife lolling over the piano in the drawingroom, and the bnsband away at the race course, the money which their fathers saved is soon spent, and the mode of living in the fashion of the day soon causes farming to become “unprofitable.”