Farming:
1818
AN ACCOUNT OF CROPS GROWN IN OUR GROUND OR THE LAND IN OUR OCCUPATION
....................... 1818 1819 1820
Little Lopen (against the lane Taters Wt Fitchens )1821 Mr Saml Anstice
...... (Middle Part Lymd Flax do and do ) bought this Field
...... (the other side Lymd Flax do Barley )
............... 1821 1822 1823
Southfields (against Palpit Taters Wt Beans Hemp Wt Beans
Close ( Middle Part Hemp do do do do do & Clover
( the other side Hemp do do Clover do do
Netherway( against Easons Lymd Pots Wt Beans Clover Wt
(.............. Turnips
( against Viles Lymd Pots Wt Beans Clover Wt
............... Turnips
Rydon ( against Templemans Barley Clover Wt Turnips ) Simeon bought
( against Donystraphe Barley Clover Wt Turnips ) Rydon 1821
Sheaf Close.......... Beans Flax Wt Taters Wt Vitches & Turnips
Slate Close........... Wt Flax Peas Wt Flax Barley & Clover
Plumtree Furlong Taters Wt Beans Taters Wt Beans 1½ acres
Churchpath.......... Beans Flax Wt Beans Hemp Now in P T furlong
Severstone........... Barley Clover Wt & Lyme Beans )changed in 1822 for South Acre Field Bean
Eastfield by the Road Beans Flax Wt Beans Taters Wt
Yonder ½ Acre Beans Flax Wt & Lyme Beans Taters Wt
Ps Yonderside Beans Taters Wt Beans Taters Wt
Nearside ........ Beans Pease Wt Beans Hemp Wt
Southfield Acre Flax Wt Beans Taters Wt Beans
by the Road......... Taters Wt Beans Flax Wt Beans
Orchard End and Rood Wt Beans Taters Wt Beans Hemp
............... 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823
Over Yard............. Wt Church Path
............... Changed
............... Taters Wt Beans Beans Taters
Yonder Acre........ Wt Beans ½Acre Wt Beans Hemp
............... Hemp
Nearside ........ Wt Beans Taters Wt Beans Hemp
Hanglawn............. Wt Wt Flax Wt Beans Taters
Pookditch............. Wt Barley Taters Wt Wt Flax
Little Ash............. Wt Beans Taters Wt Wt Taters to Jn Warrs
Under Hedge Wt Barley Taters Wt Wt Taters
Longcroft............. Wt Wt Pease Wt Wt Flax
Yonder Acre........ Wt Wt Wt Wt Wt
West Down.......... Wt Taters Flax Wt Wt Wt
Littlegore.............. Wt Beans Taters Wt Flax Pease
Slade .75 ........ Wt Wt Hemp Wt Wt Taters
½ Acre ............... Wt Wt Taters Unsound Beans Hemp
............... Wt (Exchanged)
Yonder 3 Rood West Down Taters Flax Wt (Darby ) Wt
Northfield 1823 = beans
Late ) Pookditch 1823 = Pease
Bakers ) Little Ash 1823 = Pease
Ground ) Slade 1823 = Pease
Bawdens Close 1823 = Turnips Lymd
Acre Littlegore 1823 = Hemp
Five Rood do 1823 = Pease
PLANTED TREES etc
1824 The Young Apple Trees was planted in that Orchard before our Door
in by Gaius Wines James Wines and myself. And the new hedge was
Feb planted in Long Croft the year and month as above. The plants was
taken from the Yarn Barton where they had been planted for Twenty years before. The Work was done by Simon Edmonds and his 2 Brothers.
1824
Feb Gave James Wines and Gaius Wines for turning the Nursery 5s Od
23 and they done it in two days 15d pr day.
24
PLANTED APPLE TREES
1824 Mr Edmonds of South Petherton planted that large Orchard between
Feb Watergore and Petherton and the other by its side against Pewel was Planted the year before in 1823 when Mr Robt Vile of Stratton Planted the Orchard opposite our Nursery called Sullhay both in the year 1823.
REAPING
1825 This Day we began reaping in Northfield Myself,James Wines, Jacob
July Ware Senr and Joseph Hebditch hewed the first Acre within 3 Hours
26th - and by Saturday night 4 of us cut 13½ Acres. Saml Tucker and Samuel Stuckey bound after us and in 8 days we cut, bound and hauled or carried 14¼ Acres, we only stitched about 2 Acres of it as the Weather was so very hot the greatest part of it was Grown in Southfield Closes etc. I believe twas the thickest and best wheat I ever cut.
GOOD CROPS AND SECURED WITH VERY LITTLE EXPENCE
1832 The Crops this Summer have been all very good except the Apple Crop, which has been very partial and the Weather had been unusually favourable for securing the whole except Barley, and perhaps three fourths of it has been so much injured by the Rain that it would not do for Malt.
Also the weather has been very seasonable for Wheat sowing this Autumn.
.... On the whole there has been but little Rain consequently Hay was never made better than in 1832, since my recollection now worth 2/6 cwt
BOUGHT CAPTAIN
1833 Bought of Mr Wm Harding a 2 Year Old Black Horse Colt that he
March exchanged with Mr Wm Darby for a Heifer and Calf this day (this
23rd Colt was the son of the above Mare sold Mr Seward) I gave for it
£12 0 0. We call his Name Captain - it has been worked and proved steady.
DUKE & CAPTAIN TO PLOW FIRST TIME
Apr This day we went to Plow with the above Captain, and Duke, the
19th first time either of them ever went to Plow ‑ we put Duke Lawn ‑ Captain furrow and Violet before them, in the Acre late Easons in South‑field these Colts was but 2 years old each. We put them in String Harness but 2 days before. This Dukes Father was Englands Horse of Merriott and Violet the Mother.
N.B. My Son Wm Benjm rode home Duke who was the first person that ever was on it and he only 4 years old.
Sold it to Mr Baggs of Norton for £10 in 1836.
1833 This day I sold at Somerton Fair 80 Horned Lambs at 16/6 £66 0 0
June Apr 23rd last I sold 80 hogs 24/6 £98 0 0
4th and May 14 do do 40 do 24/- £48 0 0
£212 0 0
The above Sheep cost £165 0 0
Hogs £47 0 0
Omitted 13 horn hogs at 28/ sold at Crewkerne
Market say £18 4 0
and 16 0 for skins etc
_______
Profit this year £66 0 0
1834 My Profit on Sheep was £64 10 0
1836 Inclosure
John Fort and Jas Wines Son of Gaius, dug and planted the hedge and ditch that inclose the 1½ acres in long furlong in South Field in Over Stratton it took 16 hundred of thorn plants.
1837 The best and cheapest way of keeping Rooks from Wheat or any other
Jan Crops. Take a Dead cat and occasionally move it from pace to place on the ridges or ground.
1839
Feb Jas Wines who work for us about 35 years left us and our Services
16th .... - and I forgave him £10 (to do so) Potatoe Rent etc.
1839 .... Giles Tolley our Labourer took possession of our Cottage at the top
March of Stratton where James Wines lived for many years at 1s 4d rent per
10th week
1842 .... HARVEST
1st Began reaping 8½ acres of very good upstanding wheat and let
Aug .... it to George Willy and Giles Tolley to cut, and Harry Mitford to bind for 5/- per acre and 3 gallons cider per acre which they finished (with very little help) in 6 days and hauled and had it all covered in winter mows by the 9th day of the same month which was the Best, Quickest, and Cheapest Harvest I ever had or known.
1842
Oct ... In 7 days I had 530 bags of Potatoes dug in Southfield at 1½d per Bag and all separated and the Men earned per day 2/3.
.... Potatoes this year generally was very small especially those planted late as the Weather was very Dry all the summer and the Frost came in early.
.... N.B. This Summer the Hay was made very Good the Wheat Barley and Beans secured without scarce any Rain and the Potatoes Dug in a dry healthy state - It was one of the most seasonable summers every known - all the crops secured without much expence.
.... Consequently the prices very low as follows this month:
.... Wheat 6/6
.... Beans 4/3
.... Barley 3/3
.... Potatoes per
........... 120lb 2/0
and Bread 4lb for 6d.
1843 .... Weather Very Wet
May All May Month was very Wet so that the Potatoe land coud not be
and .... brought to work and what potatoes were planted was put in a Rough
June unkindly state so that many acres was ploughed up again being so rotten by the Rain - and the Hemp ground could not be sown being so wet and the 2nd and 5th days of June we had such heavy Rains that Hundreds of Acres of Mowing Grass was so Flooded that it was not worth mowing. We have had an extraordinary Apple Blossom this year yet the Rain was so constant that we do not expect a full crop of Apples.
1843
June George Willy, Saml Realon and Tolley began mowing our grass being
24th 13½ acres on Saturday the 17th and this day being the following Saturday we finished Hauling - we never had so much so much grass or swath and never had less rain as it only rained a little on the Sunday - I calculate 25 tons.
1843
WHEAT EXTRAORDINARY
Aug The Harvest being late this year and not generally good I have an
16 extraordinary good piece in South-field Furlong being 5½ acres, called the Alberts White, although 2 year Wheat and after potatoes there was scarce one sheaf down in all the furlong and from 5 to 5½ feet long in general, but I brought home one stem being a little above the others that measured SIX FEET. I fully expect 300 Bushels when thrashed.