Out with the Old......

In the days before mechanisation, it would take one man with two horses, pulling a single furrow plough, all day to plough one acre. In so doing, he would walk about 14 miles and turn over 20,000 tonnes of soil!

Those were the days................

Now a man driving a modern tractor fitted with a 7 or 9 furrow plough can cover around 34 acres in a day*. 68,000,000 tonnes of soil per day -- hardly bears thinking about.

(*Where do we learn such things? Round the 'camp fire' during a cold day's bush-beating - naturally )

Our Rectoryreserve patent ploughs are amazing diggers but will (luckily) never reach those dizzy heights. It's no good telling the little ones that though ---they believe they really are JCBs in the making!

Speaking of which, we dropped in on 'Little Polly Pig' on New Year's eve. Her first litter - of 7 (clearly the Mangalitza magic number) - were born just two weeks earlier and are growing very nicely. Unlike ours, they are in a purpose built farrowing unit and have the benefit of a heat lamp. So they are lovely and clean and snug.

Polly, like her mum, is an excellent mother: so much so that she can be a bit nasty to any humans who encroach on her space. Maybe it's because she is indoors - therefore doesn't have the safety of the 'wild' to protect her little ones in. It will be interesting to learn if any other differences develop as the indoor piglets grow.

Meanwhile, a friend drops in with an old photo of Lincoln Curly Coat 'Charity Rita' - winner of the 2nd prize at the County Show in 1949 for local breeder J J Middleton.

We are pleased to note that Rita is far from the immense size which was prized in the earlier part of the last century. Much more like our own pigs in fact. Clearly the post-war Curly Coat was a far more sensible size and shape than her predecessors who were bred to be large and lardy!

What other news, surprises, challenges, excitement and delight will this New Year bring............

(The current very cold spell is certainly presenting a few challenges.... but more of those another day)

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