ong job," I found him
weeping and much distressed. Later he said, "When you lose a horse I
reckon it's a double loss, for you haven't got the horse or the
money." My mind being dominated by the unanswerable accuracy of the
latter part of the statement, I did not, for a moment, see that the
first part was fallacious, because, of course, one could not have both
at one and the same time.

He was an excellent ploughman, and considerable skill is demanded to
manage the long wood plough, locally made, and still the best
implement of the sort on the adhesive land of the Vale of Evesham. It
has no wheels, like the ordinary iron plough has, to regulate the
depth and width of the furrow-slice, because in wet weather, if tried
on this almost stoneless land, the wheels become so clogged with mud
and refuse, such as stubble from the previous crop, that they will not
revolve, sliding helplessly involved along the ground. Even the
mould-board is wood, generally pear-tree, to which the mud does not
adhere, as happens with iron. As an old neighbour explained to me,
"You can cut the newest bread with a wooden knife, whereas the doughy
crumb of the bread would stick to a steel one." Pear-tree wood is used
because it wears "slick" (smooth), and does not splinter like wood
which is longer in the grain.

With these long wood ploughs the ploughman himself regulates the depth
and width of the furrow-slice--_i.e.,_ each strip that is severed and
turned over--by holding the handles firmly in the correct position as
the plough travels along, for it cannot be left for a moment to its
own inclination. This entails strict attention and much muscular
effort, and, of course, the latter comes into play also in turning at
each end of the field. The result is very effective; the flat
mould-board offers the least possible resistance to the inversion of
the soil, whereas the iron plough, with a curling mould-board, presses
the crest of the furrow-slice into regularity of form, and gives a
more finished appearance at the expense of much extra friction and
labour for the horses.

A carter-boy accompanies each team, as driver, to keep the horses up
to their work and turn them at the ends. A farmer I knew in Hampshire
would not, if possible, employ a boy unless he could whistle--of
course the ability and degree of excellence is a guide to character,
and indicates to some extent a harmonious disposition; he always said,
"Now whistle," when engaging a new bo