Bit of experience

Writing about my Sister going potato picking reminded me of my two experiences regarding working on the land.
The first experience was with a friend, not a close friend but we used to hang around together sometimes. He once asked me to go chasing a couple of girls, after about 10 minutes of chasing them and getting nowhere I told him that I had had enough.
Anyway this particular time was in the Autumn Term. It would be early September and one day he asked me if I would like to go spud picking with him for a couple of days. This lad in a lower Form who he knew well had asked him if he would help them get the late potatoes in. I, of course readily agreed and the next night. I guess it would be around 4.30pm we caught the bus to Barrowby, the next village around 2 miles away. He told me his pal would meet us at the buss stop and take us to the field.
True enough he was there. I forget his name but he seemed pleasant enough but I had no cause or reason to get to know him well. Off we went to the field. We only had a couple of hours of daylight left so when it got dusk, we stopped and was told that we could finish the field the next night. This would be on a Wednesday so off we went again and did the last of the field. The Farmers Son, my pals. friend told us that we had to go to the farmhouse the next night to get paid.
To be honest I thought it was a bit of a bind, going all the way to Barrowby to get paid. Anyway we went and my pal was well known by the Farmer. He greeted him by saying "Hi David, thanks for helping out. That is 2 hours a day for 2 days at 1/- an hour so I owe you 4/-" He turned to me and told me that as I had worked for 3 days I would get 6/-. I didn't say anything but David was a little peeved. We had both worked for 2 days but I had been paid for 3 days. I didn't complain.
Now the other happening was totally different.
I was by that time working on the Railway and a young Driver lived almost opposite me. We got on well and he was a nice guy. He came to see me one day and asked me if I would care to help the local Farmer out. He told me that the field at the end of our road was going to be set with potatoes and would I help him with setting the potatoes.
Now remember this would almost certainly be in the late 50s. What I can remember about the potato setter was that it was a circular design with spaces to put a potato in and as soon as the tractor moved the thing would move and drop a potato in the hole made below. We then had to keep filling the space where the potatoes had been dropped. There were 4 of these sort of rings so we had 2 of each. There were seats, if you can call them seats to sit on. I guess the field would be about 3 acres in all. It was an experience that to be honest I would never volunteer again as the ride was so bumpy and uncomfortable. It took us about 90 minutes to get the field set and if my memory is correct I think we both got 10/- each. By the way, I am not good at explaining things but think of the contraption as a bicycle wheel on it's side with compartments for holding a potato. I think it held a dozen when fully loaded.
I did however have another experience with farm work. This was a labour of love. I used to go to my Sister's each Christmas. My Mother would always be there. I should mention that my Sister's Husband, my Brother-in-Law was Farm Manager. The Farm belonged to Lord Brownlow so was large and was mixed with arable and cattle. I used to go out on Christmas morning with Jim my Brother-in Law to feed the cattle. It meant that the Farm workers could have Christmas Day off. To be honest I enjoyed it. I would ride on the back of the tractor and then we would pick up a trailer which was loaded with hay and other feeding bits, then off we would go to the field and I would then unload the food and watch the cattle come hurrying to get their feed. It was a custom that they bought the cattle in on 31st December, they were bought into the cattle sheds for calving. There were about 100 head of cattle. Each bull calf was humanely castrated by putting a ring on their testicles so that they were starved of blood and dropped off. After 18 months or so they then went to market. Any young cow calf's were kept. This way they intended to gradually increase the size of the herd. He had I think 2 bulls Hereford cross. What I did find out though was that for every calf born there was a subsidy of £100. No wonder Farmers in the eighties were well off. More soon.