I NOW come to the final chapter of the essay written in 1870 by Mr Thomas Todd of The Green, Lambrigg. The title was: "The best mode of cultivating a dairy and stock farm of 200 acres in the Kendal or Lonsdale Wards". Mr Todd was a well known and highly respected farmer of that time. My thanks go to the Atkinson family for allowing me the privilege of reproducing this, their great grandfather's essay.

The cattle require a great deal of care in the winter and the farmer cannot be too particular in keeping the shippons clean. The walls should be whitewashed and all swept down and a few stones of lime slacked in every loose box and spread all over the shippon floor.

They should also be well ventilated and clear of draughts as it is very injurious for the cattle to be kept too warm and in a humid atmosphere. As it is sometimes difficult to rear young calves it is a good thing to keep them clean and dry., whitewashing the calf hulls two or three times during the winter.

I would give the young calves about two quarts of their mothers milk at each end of the day till they were a fortnight old and then half new and half skimmed milk for another fortnight and four or five quarts during the summer of skimmed milk, till fog time say in the middle of August weaning all those that were calved about February or March when put on the fog (aftermath).

They should be taken into the house about the beginning of November and wintered on hay and a few turnips at each end of the day. I would give those that were calved in the latter end of April and May a little milk all through the winter.

I should never sell any corn or straw, potatoes or other vestures off the farm, but would consume all by feeding a few cows and pigs and the remainder amongst the dairy cows and for domestic purposes thus avoiding the heavy cost and uncertain quality of artificial keep.

I should during the winter keep about 70 half bred ewes and after they have lambed in spring sell about 20, keeping the other 50 and feed the lambs to sell, getting the ewes fat after having sold the lambs, to sell also. About 6 pigs might be kept and three horses should suffice to work the farm.

It might be difficult to find a farm of 200 acres with fields of right size and the soil all favourable for the above operations, but such an assumed farm might be of £300 a year rental and would require a capital of about £1,600.

The writer is 58 years old and was born on and has, all his life resided on and since manhood manged his present dairy and stock farm of 135 acres.

Dialect word: Yewer meaning udder of an animal.

Thought for the day: The trouble with the country is there are too many clowns who aren't in the circus.