r >-^ / .' -'^t^^-' >J •< ? y. ^.--lant to its Ravage, 409 Wool Markets, 96, 190, 286,382, 478, 574 Wool, on, 561 Wool Trade, Annual Report, 173. THE EMBELLISHMENTS. Suflolk Stallion Leicester Ewes • Bell's Reaping Machine . Bell's Reaping Machine in full Operation Illustration of Milch Cows A Galloway Scott , Farm Buildings Illustration of the Hessian Fly in its Several S Illustration of Electrical Experiment Illustration of a tila?s ^Yall . Hereford Bull . . Iris, Winner of the Oaks . Illu'^tration of Mr. Lawford's E.vperiments Short-horn, in-calf Heifer . Leicester Wethers , Plan of Farm Buildings . Hereford Steer . A Curious Orange Illustration of Vegetable Physiology Effects of Alkali Works on Vegetation A North Devon Ox • Russborough . . Agricultural Machines exhibited at the Great E Page. 1 1 . 9 . 12 53, 54, 55, 56 . 97 . 97 . 138 . iCO 1C8, 1G9, 270 . 191 . 203 250, 257, 258 . 287 . 287 . 380 . 383 . 414 , 462 . 463 • 479 . 479 hibition, 545, 540, 547, 548, 549, 551, & 552 ->1 c 1 ^ ^. J ? ^ (agricultural THE FAKMEK'S MA^'ZIVe. JANUARY, 1852. PLATE I. A SUFFOLK STALLION. The subject of our first plate " Duke", a Suffolk Stallion, the property of Mr. Catlin, of Butley Abbey, near Woodbridge, is a beautiful chesnut cart-horse, rising five years old, and allowed by competent judges to be equal to any horse in the kingdom. He stands sixteen hands two inches high, and was bred by the owner. His sire, the celebrated horse Boxer, was sold to his Grace the Duke of Manchester for £300. His dam, an exceeding good Suffolk mare, belonging to Mr. Catlin ; and her sire, a noted horse, belonging to Mr. Largent, of Marlesford. "Duke" obtained, in 1848, the first prize at the East and West Suflfolk Agricultural Associations, as the best two year old. In 1849 he obtained the first prize amongst horses of any age at the East Suffolk Show. At Bury St. Edmunds, he won the first prize for the best three-year-old. In 1851 the first prize of Thirty Sovereigns at the Royal Agricultural Society's Show at Windsor, was awarded to him, beating all England ; and at the East Suffolk Show, held at Woodbridge, in September, 1851, he obtained the first prize of Ten Sovereigns. PLATE II. LEICESTER EWES. The subject of our second plate, a pen of Leicester ewes, the property of William Sanday, Esq., of Holme Pierrepoint, Notts, obtained the first prize of Twenty Sovereigns at the Royal Agricultural Society's Show at Windsor, in July last. REAPING MACHINES. The great interest displayed by the agricultural world in reference to the American reaping machines recently introduced into England, would almost lead to the supposition that public atten- tion had never before been directed to this object, and that no attempt had ever been made in this country to construct such an implement. Most persons will, we think, be surprised when they learn how many parties have, at various times, applied themselves to the subject, but without producing a machine fitted for actual work. Believing that an account of the various attempts to construct reaping machines, made in Great Britain, would be interesting to our readers, we have collected the subjoined information, from which it will be seen that an implement, very like the American machines, had been produced in Scotland twenty- five years since, and from the similarity of M'Cormick's reaper to this machine (Bell's) it will, we think, be apparent that the original invention is of British origin, OLD SERIES.] B No. 1.— VOL. XXXVI, 2 THF, FARMER'S MAGAZINE. having been improved upon in America and re-introduccd into this country. The engravings and dascription of Bell's reaping machine (page 6) are talcen from that excellent work, " Loudon's EncycloppDdia of Agriculture," published by the Messrs. Longman, to whose liberality we are in- del)ted for the use of the cuts, and permission to extract the description.^ — Ed. Fak. Mag. ON THE USE AND ADVANTAGES OF A REAPING MACHINE, IFrom the "Quarterly Journal of Agriculture,^' August, 1828.] I am aware that there are popular prejudices still alive in the country against machinery in general, and that objections will be brought against the introduction of so useful an instrument as a reaping machine. I shall now state one or two of these, and show that they are all groundless p.nd trivial. 1. It may be objected that, if reaping machines were generally introduced, one of the most hvely scenes-which the country presents \\ ould be with- drawn, and the gaiety and charms of rural life would, at this season, be destroyed. The noise and bustle that must prevail among a multitude of rustics of all ages collected together may, no doubt, disturb the stillness of the country ; but I am at a loss to know in what manner such an assembly can add much to the comfort and happiness of human life. The tourist who has deserted the smoke of the city to invigorate liis languid frame by excui'- sions of pleasure, may no doubt be attracted by the bustle and activity of harvest work; the busy and lively scenes may cheer him on his journey, and give him a high idea of the health and cheerfulness that prevail amid rural occupations. The poet, too^ transfers the picture into his pages, and adorns it with all the embellishments of fancy. Perhaps it may be said, that if the creaking and monotonous sound of an engine had only been heard on our harvest fields, instead of the voice of rural scandal and rural jest, one of the finest passages in the " Seasons" would never have appeared, and one of the peculiar charms of rural life would have been entirely obliterated. It is true, that amid a band of reapers there may be much social glee, and the toil of the fair may be mitigated by nameless gentle offices, and the hilarity of the harvest-home may lose its relish if not sweetened by the recollection ol the toils that are past and the foretaste of the rest that is anticipated ; but when the picture is stripped of its poetic drapery, we shall see love associated with jealousy and hatred— harmony with rivalry and contention— that the labour is too severe for health and true enjoyment, and that the sprightliness which novelty had excited soon gives place to languor and fatigue. The haiwest-field is in fact a scene of constant, severe, and laborious exertion. If the crop is likely to be exposed to an equinoctial blast, and a farther supply of reapers cannot be obtained, it may be supposed that every nerve will be strained by the v/hole band, that no interval of rest will be allowed, and that while the head is bent down, and every member of the body exerted to the utmost, and the heat often oppressive, immediate and fatal consequences will frequently take place. The hope of victory, or the desire of re- ward, may for a while animate the heart amid strenuous exei'tions ; but wherever there is a con- tinuance of labour the inevitable result will be un- easiness and pain. Who would willingly submit to a burden if he could obtain relief? Who would willingly drink a bitter cup if he could r:^nder it pleasant? And who can doubt that relief from harvest-work, notwithstanding all its fancied gaiety and harmless mirth, would be gratefully hailed as a boon by the peasantry of our land, if we exclude the stimulating rewards with which it has hitherto , been associated ? The most romantic theorist, or ! the most sentimental moralist, will x'eadily allow j that a mode of reaping so very expensive, and be- coming every year more impracticable, should not I be persisted in, though some of the beauties of autumn should fade, and some of the charms of the country be defaced. 2. It may also be objected, that if reaping ma- I chines were generally introduced they would seriously aftect the interests of old and infirm peo- ple, whose earnings are small, but who obtain great relief from the high wages they receive for harvest work. There is no doubt that one of the expected advantages to be derived from the introduction of ; an efficient reaping machine is to reduce the num- ber of hands employed in harvest, and tlms effect the reduction of the price of agricultural labour; and we may admit, without hesitation, that indi- viduals will suffer by a lower rate of wages ; but we must at the same time affirm, with equal confidence, that any general benefit can very seldom be acquired without incurring partial evil. The only question with regard to a reaping machine is not whether it will be attended with loss to individuals, but whe- ther the evil that it will inflict will not be more than counterbalanced by the good that it will produce ? : What public benefit can result from the price of J harvest-work being higher than the price of any THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. other kind of labour? If any extraordinary ex- pense is incurred in the production of corn, this ex- pense raust necessarily be included in the price, and a tax will consequently be imposed on ihe whole community. If the farmer were exempted from this extraordinary expense, he v/ould be able to cultivate his land better, and raise more luxuriant crops ; a more aljundant supply would be folio ,ved by a fall of price, and the poor would generally receive more essential benefit from the low price of corn than the reapers had derived from the high price of labour. But is it at all reasonable th:(t the burden of supporting the old and infirm should rest solely on the shouldei-S of the farmer, and be attached to so necessary an operation as that of cutting down the corn ? If the hand must still be employed in reaping, way not in spinning and weaving r If the sickle is to be continued for the benefit of old women, why should the matron be deprived of her Vi'heel? If manual labour is to be preferred to machinery, should not the spinning-mill and the pov/er-lpom be consigned to immediate destruc- tion ? The steam-engine, too, the formidable rival of manual labour, though the source of oiu- high commercial prosperity, must likewise be doomed (palleo mctu) to silence and rest. The suj)position is monstrous and extravagant ; but no less visionary is the objection to the introduction of machinery into harvest-work. If any discovery in the arts of life be desirable, tliere is none that can come into competition with an in\'ention that v.ould reduce the expense of the operations of husbandry, in- crease the produce of the ground, lower the price of provisions, extend our commercial superiority, and thus diffuse comfort throughout all classes of the community. It is not to be supposed, however, that no labourers at all would be emjjloyed in harvest- work, however powerful the machinery to be intio- duced. A considerable degree of manual labour would still be indispensable ; and that labour, too, of a nature in which the most feeble v.ould partici- pate. Although the corn be cut by the aid of a machiiie, it has still to be gathered, bound, set, carried, and stacked by the hand of man. A grand point, however, would be gained, if harvest- work could be brought nearer the same scale with the other operations of husbandry; for where costly sacrifices and extraordinary exertions are requisite, there must be danger and difficulties necessary to be removed. 3. Another objection is, that the construction of a reaping machine to cut down corn without damage or loss is hopeless and impracticable. I wish I could overleap this barrier, and that the ob- jection with which I have now to grapple derived no strength from past experience. The history of former attempts, however, serves to check our hopes, and damp our spirits. Many efforts of able and scientific men, continued through a series of years, have all proved fruitless. Splendid pre- miums offered by different agricultural bodies have all failed in calling forth the wished for invention. In the year IS 15, an honourable committee of the Highland Society of Scotland were appointed to inspect a reaping machine, invented by Mr. James Smith, manager of the Deanston Cotton Ys'orks, Doune ; to examine the machine in operation, and to report their opinion to the society. The com- mittee accordingly met ; they set the machine to v/ork in cutting oats and beans on uneven ground, and they reported, that the machine not only wrought expeditiously, " took up the whole straw close from the ground, and laid the cut corn with great evenness and regularity, ready for the band- makers and binders;" but they also farther re- ported, " that, in their humble opinion, this machine is perhaps, next to the plough itself, the most valuable invention that has occurred in the annals of husbandry, that tho discovery is of great national importance, and that Mr. Smith is not only highly deserving of the ])atronage of the society, but eminently entitled to the special favour of government, and to lil>eral parliamentary reward ; that, regarding Mr. Smith as standing high in the class of ingenious men, who devote their talents to the good of their country, they felt themselves called upon to recommend earnestly that the society be pleased to make him a j^resent of 200 guineas as a mark of their ap];robation, and as an encouragement to labour for the public good." In the same year, nineteen respectable farmers, in the district of Monteith, felt themselves called upon, in witnessing the operation of the same machine, to bear their testimony in approbation of the work performed in their presence. Thcj' certified, "that the cutting and laying were most correctly done, and that the quantity of work per- formed exceeded their most sanguine expectation. They congratulated the public on Mr. Smith's success, and were fully satisfied that, in a very short time, the machine would be generally used wher- ever agriculture is properly understood and practised." A new era had now commenced. The night had passed away, the morning had auspiciously dawned ; but, aJas ! the darkness has as suddenly returned. Certainly our hopes are very much damped by this and many other failures. Frequent disappoint- ments, however, in such cases do not necessarily lead to despair. "We are not warranted to suppose that the whole inventive powers of man have B 2 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. already been exhausted in abortive attempts at the construction of a reaping machine. Is it not more reasonable to suppose that in every new attempt former defects will be avoided, that former improvements will be adopted, and that, before eveiy man ot mechanical ingenuity has contributed his share, ultimate success will be obtained ? Mr. Patrick Bell, a young man in the county of Forfar, of high attainments in many of the sciences, has lately constructed a reaping machine on a new principle, and the harvest is impatiently looked to that his invention may be put to the test of experi- ment. A model of this machine was some time ago lodged with the committee of the Highland Society, and public attention has again been highly excited to a matter of the highest importance to the general interests of agriculture. That this machine will combine perfection in all its parts on the first trial may be too much to expect ; but may we not expect too little, if we do not hope that some pro- gress may be made towards the end we have in view ? With regard to the impracticability of con- structing an efficient reaping machine, I may, without scruple, concede that there is little or no hope that one will ever be invented to work in all circumstances. If corn be much lodged, or bro- ken down in different directions, it is not to be expected that by the power of machinery it can be cut and gathered regulai'ly and without loss. Al- though a reaping machine were discovered as powerful as our wishes could desire, still it would bs prudent to use the sickle partially, as manual labour must be applied when mechanical power fails. In good seasons it is but a very incon- siderable part of the crop that is lodged; it is only when the corn is too long exposed to the weather, after it is fully ripe, that the stalks are broken down in different directions ; and if a machine could be discovered of such power as to cut down all the corn as soon as it came to maturity, there would be but comparatively little of the crop that would not come iully within its operation. Although the sickle were partially employed on every farm, and the strength of the young and the old fully called into maturity, the great object of a reaping machine might still be attained ; and those increasing evils with which the farmer is now struggling might be almost wholly removed. I need scarcely say that these objections I have been considering are but of little weight, and pre- sent no insurmountable obstacle to the introduc- tion of a reaping machine ; they ought not to cool our ardour, nor relax our exertions, as the goal may be nearer than we are well aware. The ad- vantages that would result from the use of a reaping machine may not be so easily enumerated. It would not only lessen the unavoidable expense of harvest-work, give a new stimulus to the culture of the ground, preserve much of the corn that is now exposed to injury from the weather, afford a more plentiful supply to our grain markets, and consequently cheaper food to our manufacturing population, but it would infuse new economy into the management, and new order into the arrange- ment of rural affairs. The farmer has not j-ct derived full benefit from the improvements that have taken place on the im- plements of agriculture, as he cannot reduce the number of people retained on the farm so much as he could ^vish, on account of the difficulty he ex- periences in executing his harvest-work. He can carry on his operations at other seasons with few labourers ; enormous bands of reapers, however, are required in harvest. As a certain number of reapers are indispensable, and cannot be found in many situations without extreme difficulty, it is necessary to encourage a great proportion of thesn to reside on the farm. For this purpose the farmer has to build cottages, to let them on the express stipulation that the occupiers are to be at his disposal in harvest; and, in addition to the high rate of wages, he has to submit to many incon- veniences, and much indirect expense, that his corn may not remain uncut, or be destroyed by an undue exposure to the weather. Now, as the families of all these cottagers must draw their subsistence from the farm, and are induced to remain in the coun- try, from the cows, pigs, and poultry they are allowed to keep, as well as from the high jirice of harvest-work, the use of a reaping maching might thus relieve agriculture from the pressure of a burden which, under the present mode of reaping, it has been found impracticable to remove. It is the business of the farmer to provide food for the pubhc; he is the purveyor for the whole com- munity. Now, the less he consumes on his own farm, he has a greater quantity to carry to market ; and if the food consumed by these half employed cottagers were brought to market, there would be a more abundant supply, and the interests of the pub- lic more effectually promoted. The sickle, then, remains the enemy of agricultural improvement, and opposes those salutary arrangements which are necessary for the pubhc good. Among the many advantages that would result from the use of a reaping machine, I may remark that the corn, when cut by it, would be left in a loose or uncompressed stale. To some this may appear to be a matter of trivial consequence, but it is, in reality, of much importance. When the corn is cut down by the sickle, it is collected by hand- fuls, and the stalks are necessarily firmly squeezed together, so that the whole sheaf is closely com- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. pressed when bound and set in the stook. The compression of the sheaf is attended with no small inconvenience. If the straw is damp it will soon putrefy ; and reaping by the sickle is always im- practicable but when the weather is fine and the straw completely dry. The more closely the sheaf is compressed, the longer period must elapse before it is fit for the stack, and the longer it must be ex- posed to injury from the weather. The corn, how- ever, when cut, must necessarily fall loosely from a reaping machine ; the sheaves, when bound, will not be in such a state of compression as when col- lected by handfuls in reaping by the sickle, and, being sooner ready for the stack, will be sooner secured from the risk of injury. If it be, then, an advantage attending the use of a reaping machine, that the crop will be cut down as soon as it comes to maturity, and the loss arising from shaking thus in a great measure prevented, it is, without doubt, another advantage of considerable moment, that the corn will be sooner carried to the stack-yard after it is cut, and be exposed to less risk of damage from the weather. Another advantage attending the use of a reaping machine is, that a portion of the crop might be thrashed out immediately as it is carried from the field. The ancient practice was to thrash out the whole grain before it was removed from the fields ; and this custom would probably have still re- mained, if it had continued to be practicable. In the present state of harvest-work, such an opera- tion is altogether impossible, however great may be the advantages with which it is accompanied. It would lessen the amount of labour in carrying the corn, for it would be taken directly from the field to the thrashing mill. It would lessen the amount of the loss of corn, for loss must necessarily be in- curred in building the stacks and taking them down. By bringing the new crop earlier into market, it would reduce the amount of the stock of old corn, and consequently the price ; for the price of any commodity must, in some degree, be regu- lated by the length of time it is kept on hand. But the greatest advantage attending the pro- posal of thrashing out a part of the corn when brought from the field is, that it would be used when it contained the greatest quantity of nutritious matter. There is a strict analogy between animal and vegetable life. Plants and animals, when arrived at full maturity, equally verge toward decay; and, though in some individuals of each class this progress may be slow, and for a time imperceptible, it is nevertheless certain and in- evitable. Grain, when fully ripe, and before the process of decay commences, contains the greatest quantity of farina ; it is consequently in the best state for food, and can be used with the greatest economy. It has been ascertained, by numerous experiments, that corn, when carried immediately from the field, is of greater bulk, or measures better, than at any future period, and, in this respect, it is in the most profitable state for selling. From many of these experiments, which seem to have been made with tolerable accuracy, it appears that corn, when kept in the stack for several months, loses in quantity about 20 per cent. ; and what is still more remarkable, the quantity of meal or flour that it yields is diminished in an equal proportion. This is a fact with which every farmer is familiarly acquainted, however un- accountable it may be that it is almost totally over- looked and neglected in practice. The common excuse given by the practical farmers for delay in thrashing out the corn is, that the value of the straw would be injured if not given to cattle so soon as it was thrashed. The excuse, however, is in- admissible. If the straw of the corn thus thrashed were immediately built in large stacks, would it not keep as well as hay, and be in a more sound and fresh state than when built up in the smaller circular shape, which is necessary for the preservation of the corn ? I am afraid that there is, in the usual practice of thrashing one stack after another, as the straw is consumed, some de- gree of blind attachment to former habits, as well as som.e little feeling of pride and ostentation. A corn-yard well filled with stacks, well built, well thatched, well roped, has certainly an imposing effect, and the possessor may be supposed to view it with some degree of exultation : and there is no doubt that the speedy removal of a stack is a tacit reproof of the care that was employed in building it, that the symmetry of the whole is thus destroyed, and that so much wealth is thus with- drawn from public observation. The introduction of a reaping machine, that would enable the farmer to thrash out a portion of his corn as it came from the field, would be attended with advantages to compensate him for any wound his feelings might receive by the want of s])lendour atid display in his corn-yard. The bulk of straw might still meet the eye ; the immense stack or stacks might be taste- fully arranged, and have a substantial appearance ; the stores of the granary might be exhibited ; the bank-book might be inspected with less uneasi- ness, and pleasant conversation might be held with the factor on the rent-day when the arrears were paid up. In short, if it really be the interest of the farmer to thrash out the corn before it be built up, means would not be wanting to gratify his vanity, and maintain his consequence in the eyes of the world. If there be any truth in these statements I have now, through your indulgence, submitted to the 0 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. consideration of the piiWic, the obvious conclasion is, that every encouragement should be jjfiven by individuals, and public bodies, to promote an in- vention which involves the interests of the whole British Empire. But hoiv is the encouragement to be fjiven ? What are the most fit means to be em- ployed in obtaining the end proposed ? I know no way more effectual than 1))' proposing liberal pre- rniums. Might not all the agricultaral socisties in the kingdom make a simultaneous offer ? It -.vonld well become our own Highland Society, who so often appear as the van in tlie march of improve- uTent, to set a conspicuous example, in not only voting a grant themselvo«, but in arranging the ))lan for other ])odies to act in concert. Tliey have already a just claim to our gratitude, in having suggested, and carried into effect, several measures of much public interest, and their attention cannot be directed to an object of more essential benefit to agriculture than the invention of a reaping machine. On every farm of any considerable extent, ])y the use of a proper machine, there might be a yearly saving of £30; the average saving on a single parish migh.t ba £200 a-year, and, upon the v/hole of Great Britain, no less than a million sterling. A preaiium of £20,000, or even £30,000, would Ru.eiy not be too high an encourageuient for such an object as this. It v.ould excite public attention, it would whet the invention of scientific men in every part of the world, it would attract the notice of many who may not be aware of the importance of the subject, and give more sleepless nights to those who may have wished to associate their names v,-ith the imj)rovemeiit of their countjy. Three years might be allowed to complete and perfect the invention, and, at the lapse of that period, arbiters might be ap])ointed by competent societies, by whose judgment the premiums might be awarded. I feel, however, that I must leave this part of the subject to abler and more skilful hands; if the matter shall excite any degree of publ c attention in consequence of my humble en- deavours, I shdl obtain the object I have in view. I am, &c. D. c. REAPING MACHINES. {From Loudon's Encyckpfzdia of Agriculture.) Though reaping machines, as we have seen (133), are as old as the time of the Romans, one of an effec- tive description is yet a desideratum in agriculture, unless the recent invention of the Rev. Patrick Bell can be considered as supplying that desideratum. The high price in manual labour dui ing harvest, and the universal desire in civilized society of abridging every description of labour, will doubtless call forth such a reaping machine as may be em|)loyed in all ordinary situations ; and this is, perhaps, all that can be desired or expected. Corn laid down, or twisted and matted by wind and rain, or grow- ing among trees, or on very irregular surfaces, or steep sides of hills, will jn-obably ever require to be reaped by hand. But independently of the high price of labour, despatch, as an able author ob- serves (Sup. Encj/c. Brit., i., 118), is a matter of great importance in such a climate as that of Britain. In reaping corn at the precise period of its maturity, the advantages of despatcii are in- calculable, especially in those districts where the difficulty of procuring hands, even at enormous M'ages, aggravates the danger from the instability of the seasons. It cannot, therefore, fail to be in- teresting, and we hope it may be also useful, to re- cord some of the more remarkable attempts that have been made towards an invention so eminently calculated to forward this most important opera- tion. The first attempt at a reaping machine, so far as v.'e have learned, was made by Boyce, who obtained a patent for a reaping machine early in tlie present century. This mach.ine v/as placed in a two-wheeled carriage, som-ewhat resembling a com- mon cart, but the wheels were fixed upon the axle, so that it revolved along with them. A cog-wheel within the carriage turned a smaller one at the upper end of an inclined axis, and at the lower end of this was a large vv'heel, which gave a rapid motion to a pinion fixed upon a vertical axis in the fore part of the carriage, and rather on one side, so that it went before one of the wheels of the carriage. The vertical sjnndle descended to within a few inches of the surface of the ground, and had there a number of scythes fixed upon it horizontally. This machine, when wheeled along, would, by the rajiid revolu- tion of its scythes, cut dosvn a portion of the corn growing upon the ground over v.'hich it passed ; but having no provision for gather-ng up the corn in i)arcels, and laying it in proper heaj).s, it was wholly unsuited to the purpose. An improvement on this attempt was m;ide by Plunket, an agricultural implement maker of Lon- don, some years afterwards. The jvrincipal altera- tion he made, was in substituting for the scythes a circular steel plate, made very sharp at the edge, and notched at the upper side like a sickle. This plate acted in the same manner as a very fine-toothed saw, and was found to cut the corn much better than the scythes of tlie qriginal machines. .lu.s-i'j^ A machine invented by Gladstone, of Castle Douglas, in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, ope- rated upon nearly the same principles with Plnn- ket's; but Gladstone made his work much better by THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, introducing a circulai- table, v.iili strong woaden teeth, notched below all around, which v/as fixed immediately over the cutter and parallel to it. The uss of these teeth was to collect the corn and re- tain it till it was operated upon by the circular cutter. The corn when cut was received ui)on this table, and when a sufficient quantity was collected, taken away by a rake or sweeper, and laid upon the ground beneath the machine in separate parcels. To this machine was added a small circular wheel of wood, covered with emery, which being alwa}'s kept in contact with the great cutter at the back part, or opposite side to that v.nere the cutting was performed, kept it constantly ground to a sharp edge. Salmon, of Woburn, made the next attempt; and his invention, it is said, promised better than those we have mentioned. It was constructed upon a totally different princijile, as it cut the corn by means of shears, and it v.^as provided with a very complete apparatus for laying it down in parcels as it v.-as cut. The next machine, and one of great ingenuity and promise, is that constructed by Smith, of the Deanston Cotton Yv'orks, Perthshire. Smith's perseverance, his successive improvements, and ingenious, yet simple contrivances for remedy- ing defects, afforded strong grounds to hope that he would ultimately succeed in rendering his machine a most valuable acquisition to agricultu- rists ; but various circumstances have prevented Mr, Smith from perfecting his invention. He made the first trial of his machine, upon a small scale, during the harvest of 1811. It was then wroHght by two men. In 1812 he constructed one upon a larger scale, to be wrought by a horse ; but though he cut down several acres of oats and barley with coiisiderable ease, it was found that when met by an acclivity the horse could not move the machine with proper effect. In 1813 he made a more suc- cessful attempt with an improved machine worked by one man and two horses, and (1814) it was still further improved by an additional apparatus, tend- ing to regulate the application of the cutter v/hen working on an uneven surface. This machine was again tried in September, 1815, and with much success. A Scotch acre (U- acre English) of beans was cut down with ease in an hour and a quarter. The trials made with it on wheat, though not ex- tensive, were satisfactory; and in reaping oats, the corn was laid down in the most regular manner. The cutter of this machine is circular, and operates horizontally ; it is appended to a drum, connected with the forejjart of the machine, its blade project- ing some inches beyond the periphery of the lower end of the drum ; and the machine is so con- structed as to communicate, in moving forward, a rapid rotary motion "to this drum and cutter, by which the stalks are cut, and falling upon the drum, are carried round and thrown off in regular rows. This most ingenious piece of machinery will cut about an English acre per hour, during which time the cutter requires to be four tim.es sharpened with a common scythe stone. The ex- pense of this machine is estimated at from thirty to thirty-five pounds. If properly managed, it may last for many years, only requiring a new cutter every two or three years — a repair which cannot cost much. This promising invention, which attracted a good deal of notice a few years ago, remains, it is believed, as it was then, in a state not calculated for extensive use. Mr. Smith's large concerns in the cotton manufacture may have prevented him from continuing h's experiments, and it is understood that the time he has already devoted to it has been v/ithout suffi- cient remuneration or encouragement. Bell's reaping machine (figs. 1 and 2) is the most recent, as well as the most perfect inven- tion of this description. The framework of this machine (aa) may be made lighter or stronger, according to circumstances, bb and cc are four wheels, upon which it is mounted, of whatever form it is made, bb have their spokes at right angles to their naves, and are 3h feet diameter. For neat- ness' sake the naves are made of cast iron. The wheels are from 5 to 6 inches broad at the rims, and are surrounded with a slight hoop of iron. Were they made narrow^er in the rims, when the ground was soft they would both cut it and drag without giving motion to the connected parts of the machinery. The small wheels (cc) which support the front of the frame, are, like the large ones (bb), made of wood ; they are 14 inches in diameter, and 6 inches broad at the rims, with a very slight hoop oi" iron round them. Their axle?, which are of iron, are screwed to the frame, and are about 1:^ inches in diameter. The wheels are placed as near the front of the frame as possible, the reason for which will appear when the general description of the machine is given. The wheels (bb) are connected with the main axle (d) in such a manner as that they may turn ui)on it similarly to a carriage wheel, v/ithout moving the axle with them : or they can be fixed to it at pleasure, so as to tura it round with them as occasion requires. For this purpose the holes in the naves are circular, and of course so much of the axle as passes through them is round. There are cross flanges cast upon the nave, which catch hold of the coupHng-box (e) when the machinery is to be moved, and are disen- gaged from it by the handle (f) when the machine is going, without moving the machinery. In the engraving this part of the machinery is entirely THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. concealed at one of the wheels, except a small por- tion of the handle at h. The other coupling-box is but faintly i-epresented at e. The' handle (f) has a joint in it, which is fixed to the other half of it, which passes through the frame of the machine and terminates with the handle (ii) ; so that both coupling boxes can be managed by the dri\'er standing at h, although they are on opposite sides of the frame. The main axle (d) is 3^ feet long between the shoulders, and 8 inches from the shoulders to the coupling box. The frame of the machine is 4 feet broad by 7 feet long. Fixed upon the main axle (d) is the bevilled wheel (i) of 60 teeth, part of which is seen in the engraving. This bevilled wheel moves two pinions of 10 teeth each. These pinions are concealed in the plate by the frame of the machine. One of them turns the crank-rod (ic), and the other gives motion to the coupling-wheels (ll) upon the top of the frame. The crank-rod (k) being thus put in motion as the machine moves forsvard, the crank (m) which gives motion to the cutters revolves with a uniform and steady motion, n is a coupling strap of iron, which connects the crank (m) and the moveable bar (oo) together, which is kept in its place by means of the sliding hooks (pp) working in the brass sockets (qq), which are screwed upon the strong iron supports (rr). It is obvious that as the crank (m) revolves, it will, by pulling the con- necting-rod (n), give a perpetual motion backwards and forwards to the moveable bar (oo). In order that there may be as little friction as possible to the moveable bar (oo), there are two friction pulleys fixed to the iron supports (rr), upon which the moveable bar (oo) rests. These are not seen in the plate, as they are placed immediately below the bar; but to any person who considers the thing attentively they must be readily understood. They are of the greatest consequence, as the back parts of the cutters whollyjest upon the moveable bar (oo), and from the spring which each cutter must neces- sarily have, the pressure upon it is very consider- able. With respect to the cutters, it may here be remarked that the greater body of them is made of iron, edged with the best steel, hardened as much as they will bear without breaking out into chips when the machine is in operation. The cutter- bar, that is the bar upon which .the cutters are screwed, is strongly screwed upon the extremities of the supports (rr) and is 6 feet long by 3 inches broad and three-fourths of an inch thick. The lower, or fixed cutters (sss), are made triangular, of soUd iron, edged with steel as before mentioned ; they are 15 inches long from the point to the extremity, 4 inches broad at the base, and nearly one-fourth an inch thick; they are steeled only to the front of the bar, thus leaving a steeled edge of about one foot. In the middle of the base of the cutter there is a hole pierced, half an inch in diameter, and a corresponding one in the bar where it is to be placed ; the hole in the bar is screwed, and in fixing a cutter a bolt is passed through the hole in the base, and screwed tightly down into the bar. To prevent a cutter from shifting its place, there are two small holes pierced, one on each side of the half-inch hole in the base, and corresponding ones in the centre of the bar ; these holes are one-fourth of an inch in diameter. Into the holes in the bar there are two iron pins firmly riveted below, and left one-eighth of an inch above the bar, made to fit neatly into the holes in the cutters, although with a suflficiency of looseness to allow the cutter to be taken easily off when the bolt in the middle is screwed out. By this means, when the bolt in the middle is screwed down, a firm and unalterable position is insured to the under cutter. The upper cutters (uu), &c., like the under ones, are made of good iron, edged with steel as far as the hole where the bolts upon which they turn pass through. They are three inches broad where the hole is pierced ; and behind the cutter-bar, as is seen in the plate, they are bent down about two inches, to allow the rollers and canvas to operate, as shall be afterwards described. After being continued horizontally about three inches, they are again bent up, and their extremi- ties placed above the moveable bar : they are made about 13^ inches long from the point to the hole, and about 74 inches from the hole to the extremity backwards. Both upper and under cutters are sharpened on both sides, similarly to a pair of scissors, the under ones of course upon the upper side, and the upper ones upon the lower side, thus forming, when the cutters are screwed to their places, a perpetual cutter upon that prin- ciple. The bolts upon which the upper or move- able cutters work are half-an-inch in diameter, and are screwed to the bar through a hole of corres- ponding breadth. They are made to go through the bar about half an inch, upon which a nut is screwed, to prevent the bolts from unscrewing, which they would otherwise do from the moving of the cutters, which would allow the edges of the cutters to separate, and of course the machine would get deranged, and would not operate. The points of the under or fixed cutters are six inches separate ; of course the holes in the bar by which they are fixed are six inches apart : the bolts of the upper or moveable cutters are intermediate — that is, three inches from the others, so that the cutter-bar is bored from end to end with holes half an inch in diameter, and three inches distant. The small holes, with the pins which prevent the fixed cutters from shifting their places, are 1^ THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, li^ 1.1 //^ /I V > O 10 TilE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. inches from the large holes ; so that the bar, before the cutters are screwed upon it, is pierced first ^vith a small hole, then a large one, then two small ones, then a larc[8 one, then two small ones &c., as may be understood from the plate— each liole 1 J inches apart. The back parts of flie mo\-e- able cuttei-s, as was already mentioned, rests upon tlie moveable bar, and on each side of every cutter there is an iron pin of one fourth of an inch in diameter, riveted into the moveable part. By means of these pins it is easily seen, from the con- sideration of the plate, that as the moveable bar is ])uslied backvi'ards and forwards by the crank (m) upon the friction-pulleys bcIo;v it, the moveable cutters will have a perpetual motion backwards and forwards. Under the heads of the bolts which fasten the moveable cutters and the cutters themselves there is placed a washer of brass to diminish the friction as much as possible ; and for the admission of oil there are two small holes pierced in the head of each bolt : there are twelve moveable cutters, and thirteen fixed ones, with intervals of six inches betv/een the points of the latter, so that the breadth of the machine is exactly six feet ; but this breadth, from the principle of the machine, may be either increased or diminished, according to the nature of the farm upon which the ma- chine is intended to operate. Upon a perfectly level farm the machine may be made broader; but upon a farm of sloping or uneven surface one of six feet in breadth vvill be found to be work enough for two horses. As it was before stated, the bevilled v.'heel d) gives motion to the coup- ling-wheels (l l) of eighteen teeth each; these move the horizontal shaft (v), and the wheel (w) which is fixed to the end of it. The wheel (w) h-is thirty-six teeth and pinions (x), which it turns, and which is fixed upon the gudgeon of the roller (y), has eighteen teeth. This part, however, is misreiiresented in the drawing, which was taken from a model which had the rollers turned by coupling-wheels, as shown in thejuate; the one roller ( y) turns the other (z) by the pitcii-chains (« a), the chief use of vvhich is to keep the sheet of canvas from changing its place by the revolution of the rollers : the canvas, from its gravity, would slip dov/n upon the rollers as the machine moves forward, and it would twist upon them by the un- equal pressure to which it is exposed by the cut corn pressing unequally upon it. To prevent these derangements there are loops fixed to the canvas, which are made fast to the links of the chain about six inches apart; and there being an equal number of links to both the upper and lower chains, and an equal number of teeth in the four pulleys uj)on which they work, the canvas revolves uniformly without being in the least deianged by the many casualties to which it is exposed. B is the pole to which the horses are yoked : it is made of wood, and is firmly fixed to the cross-rails upon the to]) of the frame ; its length is ten leet from its extremity to the frame of the machine, c c are the swingle-trees by which the horses are yoked : they are yoked similarly to horses in a car- riage, so as both to draw forward or i)ush back- wards at jdeasurc ; their heads, of course, are towards the machine, and in appearance they jmsh the machine before them, but in reality they are drawing, the same as in the plough. (^ is a small rod of wood, or helm, which the driver holds in his right hand, by the jnxUing of which to him, or push- ing it from him, he conducts the machine straight forwards. The dotted lines in the plate are a con- tinuation of the ])ole, with the swingle-trees and helm attached ; the macliine is turned at the end of the ridge by the following contrivance : The two wheels (e e), in the body of the machine, are joined to the lever (/), by an upright moveable axle; these wheels are similar to the two (c c) on the front of the frame : they have a strong iron axle, which is made so long as to let the wheels conve- niently turn between the crank-rod (iv), and the frame of the machine. In order that this i)iece of the apj)aratu3 may be uted with advantage, the bevilled wheel (i), is not placed uj)on the middle of the main axle (d), but about one foot from the end of it, as is seen in the engraving; this throws the crank-rod (ic) nearer the side of the machine, thus leaving plenty of space for the turning of the appa- ratus in tlie middle of the horizontal axle of the wheels (e e). There is an upright of iron suffici- ently strong and firmly joined to the horizontal axle ; this upright standard or axle passes through the middle of the lever (/), v/hich is of wood, and at this part about 5 inches square ; about 20 inch; s from the end of it, upon the toi) of the upright standard there is placed a segment of a wheel (t), v/ith the teeth on the lower side : this is worked by a small pinion of six teeth upon the end of the rod ((/) : this pinion is not seen in the en- graving, as it is completely concealed by the segment (i), the rod (g), and the small pinion upon it are turned round by the handle (h) ; the pinion moves the segment (i), Vihich, being firmly fixed to the upright standard, turns the small wheels (e e) either way. When the machine is cutting, the wheels (e e) are put ])arallel to the cutters, and in this position they assist the machine in passing a furrow without allowing the cutters coming in contact with the opposite side of it; but when the machine is to be turned round, they are turned with an angle to the path of the macliine by the handle (h), and the rod (ff) being fixed in that THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 11 position by a screw near the angle, the lever is then pressed down and fixed with catch to the frame of the machine. In pressing down the lever (/), the small wheels (e e), which before were two inches from the ground, are pressed to the earth about tu'O or three inches below the natural level of the ma- chine; of course the two front v.heels (c c) are lifted two or three inches from the ground, and the cutters considerably more, thus insuring them from accident while turning round. The machine now rests upon the two large vvheels (b b), and the two small ones (e e), of the lever ; and the two front wheels go for nothing, as they do not touch the ground ; but the axle of the small wheels (e e) being placed with an angle to the m.ain axle (d) of the large wheels (b b), the machine will naturally turn round upon the hjrses being moved slowly forvrard. Of course, the greater the angle formed by the two axles, the less space will the machine require to be turned upon. In turning the ma- chine, however, attention must always be given to disengage the large wheels (b d) from the main axle (d); this is done by shifting the coupling boxes (e e) by means of the liraidles (h ii). The apparatus (/ 1), or collector, is placed exactly above the cutters ; it is two and a-half feet in diameter, made of uood as slight as maybe; the suppoi-ts {k k) in the original machine were made of iron, but now the two side beams of the machine are made of a piece of wood, v.'ith a natural cast upon it, similar to the beam of a plougt), but rising with a much greater angle, as near the form of the iron supporta in the plate as possible, and continued horizontally till their points are exactly above the moveable bar (o o). The points {p p) are made of iron, bent as in the jiiate, to allow the collector (Z I) to turn round. At q q q q are strong iron screws, working in nuts placed in the wooden parts of the supports, which serve the double pur- pose of uniting the iron part to the v,-ood, and allowing it to be drawn forward, or pushed back- ward, as occasion may be, by either shifting to another hole, or, which is better, by long slips to the middle of the bar. Long corn recpiires the collector to be placed forward, and short corn re- quires it to be taken back. At o o are two per- pendicular rods, which shp in holes in the points of the supjDorts, by the moving of which upwcu-ds or downwards the collector {I I), which turns in sockets in the lower end of these rods, is lowed or heightened, according to the length of corn to be cut. The rods are fixed in tiieir places by screws in the ends of the supports ; the collector is turned by a cross bolt or chain passing over the two pulleys (ki n). A piece of slight canvas is put round the rollers (y z),. fixed to the chain (a a), as before described ; the lower ends of the rollers have a shield of plate iron round their gudgeons, to prevent the cut corn from v/arping, which it does effectually. The bushes of the roller (z) are made to shiffc by screws, to tighten the chains a little, to prevent them from slipping the pulleys, as they lengthen by using, especially when new. Figure 2 is a representation of the machine in full 0])eratlon ; about six or eight yards of the field re- quire to be cut at the ends, to allow the machine to turn without injuring the corn, which may be done by the machine itself. If the corn is standing nearly upriglit, a convenient number of ridges may be taken in and cut by going round them ; but if the corn is standing, and the field free from deep furrows, it may be cut by going round and round it till it is finished in the middle. One man, as seen in the plate, is suflticient to manage the whole operation. The cutting, collecting, and laying are the three principal parts of this machine, which have been all more or less explained in the gene- ral description above ; but as they are particular, a few words on these heads may still be necessary, that the machine may be completely understood in all its bearings. First, then, with regard to the cutting, it is desirable that the machme should do her work, and nothing more ; if the motion of the ciitters were too slow she would not clear the ground, and if it were too quick there would be a useless expenditure of j)0wer of machinery. Let it be remembered that the large outer wheels (b b) are three and a half feet in diameter, that the bevilled wheel (i) has 60 teeth, and that the crank rod pinion has 10, and that the cutters have twelve inches of cutting edge. The diameter of the wheels (b b) being three and a half feet or 42 inches, their circumferences are 131 9467S inches : every revo- lution of them will pass over nearly 1 32 inches of tlie ground surface ; but there being ten teeth in the crank-rod pinion, and sixty in the bi'villed wheel (i), every revolution of the wheels (b e) will turn the crank pinion six times, and of course the crank as often ; but every turn of the crank- pinion gives two cuts, and each stroke of the cut- ters clears 1 2 inches of the ground, because they have 12 inches of a cutting-edge ; therefore one revolution of the wheels (b b) gives 12 strokes to the cutters, and clears 12 times 12, or 144 inches of the surface of the ground ; but one revolution of B u 12 inches more than enough, that is 1 inch each stroke. This, however, perhaj-.s is nothing more than is advisable, to calculate upon making allowances for the operation of the machines, the partial dragging of the wheels, &c., &c. Secondly, the collector (/ /) must not move too slowly, but it should retard the corn from falling upon the canvas ; and it must not move too quickly, lest it should shake ripe grain : as before stated, it is 2§ n THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. o O I— ( o ^. o E-" w THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 13 feet in diameter, that is 9-i-2477 inches in circum- ference ; but one revolution of b b passes over 132 inches of surface ; therefore, that the collector {I I) may just touch the corn without bringing it back, or retard it from naturally falling back, it must make 1.4 revolutions for every one that b b makes. Since there are six arms in II, every arm will touch the standing corn at equal distances of 15.7 inches. The pulley (m) makes six revolutions for one that b b makes ; it is six inches in dia- meter, and the pulley (n) upon the axle of (I I) is nine inches; therefore m revolves 1.5 times for once that n turns round ; and the collector {I I) revolves four times for once that the lai'ge wheels (b b) revolve. 4 X 94.2477 = 376.99 inches the space passed through by the circumference of the collector, while the machine moves forward only 132, the difference of which is 244.99 the space that the collector passes over more than the machine during one revolution of B b, therefore every inch of the corn is brought back 1.54 inch nearly by the collector, which is sufficient to insure its falling backwards upon the canvas ; and yet it touches the corn so gently that it is impossible that it can injure it in the smallest degree : a quicker and a slower motion, however, is advisable, which is easily given by having two or three sheaves iipon the pulleys (m) and (n), and then by shifting the bolt a different motion is produced. With regard to the canvas, it is necessary that it should revolve as much as the ground passed over by the machine ; that is, while the wheels (b b) make one revolution, or pass over 132 inches of the surface, 132 inches at least of canvas should pass over the rollers : w, as before stated, has thirty-six teeth, and x eight- een, so that the roller (y) will give two revolutions for one of w ; but w revolves six times for one revolution of b b, hence the roller (y) will revolve 12 times for every revolution of b b. The dia- meter of the rollers is 4 inches ; their circum- ferences, therefore, are nearly 12.56 inches, 12 revo- lutions of which will give 150.72 inches. As before stated, one revolution gives only 132 inches, wherefore there is a preponderance of motion on the side of the canvas of 18.72 inches for every revolution of b b ; this velocity is necessary to ensure the canvas of clearing itself in all cases, and with a smart velocity the cut corn is laid down with a greater angle to the path of the machine. It may here be observed, that it is often found convenient to have the canvas to lay down the corn on either side of the machine, according to the direction from which the wind is blowing : this may be done with a double wheel at x, with a handle in the usual method, employed for revers- ing the motion of the rollers of the threshing- machine. It were desirable, if possible, to have the canvas besmeared with a drying oil or gum, or some other substance which would prevent it from contracting with moisture, as the slightest shower or dew of a morning contracts it so much as to render the implement useless until the corn is per- fectly dry. An estimate of the probable value of Bell's reaping-machine may be formed from the re- ports signed by numerous practical farmers who were spectators to different trials made in 1828 and 1829. In Sejotember, 1828, the machine was tried at Powery, in the county of Forfar, before between 40 and 50 proprietors and practical agriculturists, who signed the declaration stating that the machine cut down a breadth of five feet at once ; was moved by a single horse, and attended by from six to eight persons to tie up the corn ; and that the field was reaped by this force at the rate of an im- perial acre per hour. — Taken from Gardeners' Magazine, vol. v., p. 600. In September, 1829, the machine was tried at Monckie, in Forfarshire, in the presence of a still greater number of persons^ who attest that it cut in half an hour nearly half an English acre of a very heavy crop of oats, which were lodged, thrown about by the wind, and ex- ceedingly difficult to harvest. It was tried in a number of other places in Forfarshire, Perthshire, and Fifeshire, and the general conviction appears to be that it will soon come into as general use among farmers as the threshing-machine (GarcZen- ers' Magazine, vol. vi.). The price is at present between £30 and £35 ; but if it were once in general use, probably the cost might be lowered ; but even that price would be saved out of the usual sum paid for manual labour during only one harvest by an extensive farmer. Few men de- served better of his country, and indeed, of every civilized country where agriculture is practised, than Mr. Bell ; for surely that invention must ultimately be of great benefit to men and women, which enables them to do by horses, oxen, or steam, that which they have hitherto done by a most severe description of manual labour, rendered doubly oppressive by the season of the year in which it must necessarily be performed. A machine for reaping, and at the same time sheaving, corn ; was invented in the year 1822, by Mr. Henry Ogle, a schoolmaster at Ren- nington near Alnwick, Northumberland. In 1823, Messrs. Brown, ironfounders, in Alnwick, advertised that they would furnish machines of this sort, complete for sheaving corn, at the begin- ning of harvest. No farmer, however, could be found who would go to the expense. The opera- tion of the machine was satisfactory, and it was estimated to cut 14 acres per day. An engraving and description of it vdll be found in the Mechanic's u THE FARMER'S MACiAZINK. Mar/rjzinc, vol. v., page 50. In tlie s;une work, vol. i., page 145, will be found an engraving of a inowinf>-machine, invenled by Jeremiah Daily, of Chester county, United States, about 1821, and said to answer well, and to have been extensively iised. ^^'hoever contemplates further improveinen'.s in this description of machinery, would do well to be_:rin by making himself master of all tlie foregoing inventions. Mann's reaping machine, invented by Air. Joseph Mann, of Kaby, near Wigton, in Cumber- land, was first of all tried in 1822, and first tried in an improved form in 1820, and first tried in Scotland, at the Kelso ileeting of the Highland Society, in 1832. It made similar promise to Smith's and Bell's j and, had it I)een as perseveringly improved as the former, it might possibly have won the con- fidence of practical men; but, quite as much perhaps from want of hope on the part of its proprietor as from want of encouragement on the part of leading and influential agriculturists, it is going to rust along with its predecessors. It has a revolving polygonal cutter of twelve equal sides, and pro- daces its cutting effects by a very rapid series of strokes. It gathers the cut corn by means of re- volving rakes, and strips these in such a manner as to lay dov/n the corn in a regular swathe. It is drawn by one horse walking along the side of the standing corn, and it cuts a breadth of 3i feet at each turn, and is capable of cutting about 10 acres in 10 hours. A figure, and a description of it, may be seen in the 6th volume of the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. (From the Mark Lane Express, December 15, 1851 J We have no doubt that very many of the persons, whose attention was attracted to the reaping-ma- chines exhibited at the Show in Baker-street during the past week, were mystified by the statements and counter-statements put forth in reference to the "sole right" of manufacturing "Hussey's" reaping machine. We therefore think we shall be doing some service by explaining the facts and exposing the fiction with which the question indisputehas been surrounded. It having been some time since enume- rated amongst other beneficial results of the Great Exhibition, that through its instrumentality the American reaping machines had been introduced into this country, we took occasion to remark, on the 13th October last, that such statement had been made in error, inasmuch as one of "Hussey's" machines had been brought over from America at the instance of Mr. Tollemache, one of the mem- bers for the county of Chester ; had been taken up by the Messrs. Garrett, of Leiston Works, who had been engaged in making a machine with some improvements which suggested themselves, before the meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society at Exeter, in July 1850, where they intended to exhibit it, but were unable so to do in consequence of some informality in the entry. In order to clearly understand the question, which is extremely simple when divested of mystification, it will be necessary first to look at the facts, and next to tlie law of the case. In the year 1850, Mr. Ellis, of Liverpool, imported one of " Hussey's" reaping machines from America, at the instance of Mr. Tollemache, who, during a tour in the United States, had, from observation and infor- mation obtained, arrived at the conclusion that it was the most effective implement of tb.at descrip- tion. The machine so imported by Mr. Ellis was publicly worked by him in the neighbourhood during the ensuing harvest. The Messrs. Garrett immediately commenced the manufacture of ma- chines on that construction, and entered one for exhibition at the Roj'al Agricultural Society's Show, to be held at Exeter in July, 1850. They also entered and deposited one in the Great Exhibi- tion some time previous to the arrival in this coun- try of Mr. Hussey's own machine for the Great Exhibition. It should be observed that neither Mr. Tollemache, Mr. Ellis, nor the Messrs. Garrett, took any steps to secure to themselves the sole right or privilege of making these machines, or of obtaining any especial advantage from their introduction into this country. One of '* Hussey's" ma- chines, with certain alterations and improvements, made by the Messrs. Garrett, was worked through- out the late harvest in the county of Suffolk, as already notified to the readers of the Mark-lane Ex- press in a document signed by a large number of in- fiuential farmers in that county, exjjressing their satisfaction at its efficiency. Mr. Hussey's own machine was also worked in various parts of the country, and, in one instance, in successful compe- tition vv'ith >.rCf)rmick's reaping machine. Mr. Hussey himself was in England for-, we believe, some months, having sailed from Liverpool about the 26th November, during which period not a word of objection was raised by him to the introduction and use of his machine by the Messrs. Garrett. On Monday last, the 8th inst., however, an advertise- ment appeared in the Mark Lane Express, we believe for the first time, setting forth an agree- ment between Mr. Dray and Mr. Hussey, in which Mr. Hussey appoint s Mr. Dray as sole and exclusive manufacturer and vendor of his reaping machine ; Messrs, Dray and Co. giving notice in the same advertisment that " they will commence legal proceedings against all persons assuming Mr. Hussey's name to enable them to vend their imita- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 15 tioi) ■ of his celebrated reaping machine." The date of the agreement between Mr. Dray and Mr. Hussey is not given. \Ye will now state the facts succinctly, in order the more readily to see the bearing of the law upon the case. One of " Hussey's " machines is imported by Mr. Ellis early in 1850, and is publicly worked in the harvest of 185 1. A machine upon the same principle of construction, but with some improve- ments, is made hy the Messrs. Garrett in 1850, is exhibited at the Great Exhibition, and is publicly worked by them in Suffolk throughout the late harvest, and, as we shall presently show, with the sanction and approval of Mr. Hussey himself; and on the Sth of December, 1851, direct two years after the introduction of the machine into this country, and after it had been publicly worked, an attempt is made under the cover of an agreement without a date, to monopolise the manufacture and sale of the imjilement, to the injury of the at/ri- cullurisls of the United Kingdom. Wc .say an attempt; for anything more futile than the idea of sustaining a claim to the exclusive right of making or vending it, under the circumstances, could not be entertained. Such a right could only be secured by patent or registra- tion ; and it is an established point in patent law that an inventor, or the introducer of an invention, who stands in the same poMition with the inventor, loses his right to a patent by using, or allowing others to use his invention publicly. Here, how- ever, the claim is not made under the cover of a patent, but under a mere agreement between two paities, who seek to deprive the public of their riglits, for their own private advantage — an agr e- ment which, we have no hesitation in affirming, so far as Messrs. Dray and Hussey are concerned, is not worth the paper it is written upon, and so far as the Messrs. Garrett or any other im- plement-makers in this kingdom are concerned, does not in the slightest degree prevent them from making reaping machines upon Hussey's principle. We cannot refrain from observing that we think it would have been more consistent with good taste had the ^Messrs. Dray abstained from the use of harsh language, which under no circum- stances adds strength to a cause if a good one and if a bad one, raihtates much against those who indulge in such expressions. They announce that they caution the farming world against " the un- principled advertisements put forth by other houses making use of the name of Hussey ;" and they further add that " one house pretends to be manufacturing under the direct superintendence of Mr. Hussey, that gentleman at the present time being far on his way to America." Now it is impossible not to see that these remarks are levelled at the Messrs. Garrett, and although their reputa- tion for honourable dealing needs no support from us, we have taken it upon ourselves to make some enquiries, and v/e deem it but an act of justice to make known the following facts in answer to the charge above referred to : — That Mr. Hussey's visit to the Messrs. GaiTett was not merely a " social visit," but a business one, inasmuch as an agreement was actually en- tered into between Mr. Hussey and the Messrs. Garrett, upon certain points in reference to Hussey's machine in England, and in other countries, but which, for the reasons above stated, they were r.dvised by their professional men could not be sustained ; however, in a letter dated Liverpool, Nov. 21, a few days only before his departure for America, Mr. Hussey says in a letter written to Mr. Garrett, " I knew, as a thing of course, that you would make and sell 7mj reaper • and whether it was for my benefit or not, I wished you to make it in the right way for my own credit, as well as for the benefit of the farmer. I never was sanguine, neither am I now in the expectation of ever deriving any considerable profit on this side of the water, but I want Hussey's reaper to be kept in credit, and hope there will be no conflicting in- terest amongst manufacturers and agents to cast a shade upon it even if I get nothing." Taking all these circumstances into consideration, v/e can- not but regard the attack upon the Messrs. Garrett as unjustifiable, and we repeat our assertion that it is open to every agricultural implement maker in the kingdom to make Hussey's machines without let or hindrance; and they may consider them- selves in great measure indebted to the Messrs. Garrett for that privilege. 16 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ATMOSPHERIC INFLUENCES. BY FRANKLIN COXWORTHY, AUTHOR OF " ELECTRICAL CONDITION. Of the atmospheric influences of bye-gone ages we have no other record than is afforded in the remains of the animals of that period. These mostly possessed a powerful crushing or masticating apparatus, which en- abled them to subsist on branches of trees ; whilst in those of later date may be traced characters progres- sively partaking of the nature of the present class, which feed almost entirely on food of a nitrogenous property. The vegetable kingdom may, therefore, be supposed to have undergone a change calculated to produce these results ; anditis within our remembrance that, when a boy, in Devon, the nature of the potato was totally different to the root now raised there — it having almost lost its mealy character; whilst grain and all other plants of a nitrogenous kind have in- creased in quality in a corresponding ratio. That this change is referable to some cause is beyond doubt ; and we think that its demonstration is both simple and easy, without the slightest departure from the rule that has governed our previous inquiry — a strict adherence to facts. On the operation of combustion and respiration we need not dilate, it being well determined, that for every 27 parts of carbon converted into carbonic acid, 73 parts of oxygen are abstracted from the atmosphere ; whilst hydrogen combines with oxygen in the propor- tion of 1 to 8. Coals, wood, and turf or peat — the principal articles of combustion — contain a consider- able proportion of hydrogen ; bat in order to simplify the question, although our argument will damage thereby, these materials will be considered as composed of carbon only : any estimate, in fact, that may be formed of the amount ofammonia generated being little more than approximative, and must unquestionably fall very far short of the actual quantity. Of the amount of fuel consumed before the potato disease made its appearance we have not by us any statistical account; but it maybe observed that New- comen's engine was introduced in the year 1705 ; and with the improvements that have been made on it, in- cluding those by Watt, con tinned in use only as a land- engine until 1807, when Fulton practically applied the steam-engine to the propulsion of a boat; and from that period steam-vessels have progressively increased in number ; and with their increase steam has been applied to locomotive and other purposes, consequent on the rapid improvements towards civilization that have been developed within these few years; whilst furnaces of all.kinds have kept pace with the appliances of steam. That the potato disease has increased in virulence with the increased consumption of fuel is unquestionabfe. We will, therefore, endeavour to trace what are the conditions necessary to the production of this epidemic. The following statement, on the authority of Pro- fessor Ansted, will give an approximative estimate of the amount of coal raised, and, therefore, consumed in the world ; and to it is added the respective coal- fields :— Tons. Square Miles. British Islands 32,000,000 12,000 France 4,150,000 2,000 Belgium 5,000,000 520 Spain 550,000 4,000 Prussia 3,500,000 1,200 United States 4,000,000 .... 113,000 British North America — 18,000 Total 49,200,000 Or about 50,000,000, to which is to be added wood, peat, and other combustible materials, also the carbon consumed in respiration, which certainly may betaken at 10,000,000 more, making a gross total of 00,000,000 tons ; GO x 73=4380^27=162,000,000 tons of oxygen abstacted from the atmosphere ; and if to this be added the 60,000,000 tons of fuel or carbon, it will give 182,000,000 tons of carbonic acid generated. Now, it is self evident that for every volume of oxygen ab- stracted from the atmosphere, there must be four volumes of nitrogen liberated ; and although it is of rather less specific gravity than oxygen, its weight may be assumed at four times 162, or 648,000,000; and as this gas combines with hydrogen in the jiroportion of 5 to 1, we shall have a general annual increase in the amount of ammonia generated in the formation of snow — the rationale of which is given in No. VIII., and brought down to the earth, of no less a weight than 777,000,000 tons. That rain and snow-water invariably contain ammonia is unquestionable ; and although our principles were communicated to the editors of the Philosophical Magazine so far back as 1844, in the Journal for October, 1851, will be seen an article, extracted from the Comptes Rendus, expressive of surprise that in hailstones, analyzed by the writer, should be found ammonia and black matter, analogous to the carbon of the vegetable kingdom. That such an amount of accumulating matter, to which should be added the increase of ammonia of pu- trefaction, should induce aputrefactive disease in anon- nitrogenous plant, under particular conditions, may readily be conceived ; and it is but reasonable to as- sume that the amount of moisture that passes through a plant should be in proportion to the evaporating in- fluence in the atmosphere. In 1846 and 1847, when the evaporating influence was great, and the earth was neaative, the potato disease prevailed ; but with a si- milar amount, of evaporation in 1849, and the earth positive, it totally disappeared. If, then, our position be correct, the remedy for this epidemic is self-evident — the abstraction of the ammonia being all that is re- quisite; and in 1847 we suggested to a friend that, for the preservation of his crop, he should plant the escu- lent between cabbages — a highly nitrogenous plant ; and in half of a plot of ground which he so treated, he had not half a dozen rotten tubers ; whilst in the cor- responding half, but without the cabbage, he had not as many sound. We are also informed by Mr. Biuk- erton, an experimental farmer in Wales , that he has tried the plan with singular success. — Mining Journal. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 17 THE LONDON FARMERS' CLUB, 'ARE THE INTERESTS OF LANDLORD AND TENANT PROMOTED BY THE LAW OF DISTRESS FOR RENT?" The usual monthly discussion took place on ^londay, Dec. 8th, at the Club Rooms, New Bridge-street, Black- friars : subject, introduced by Mr, Shaw, of the Strand, " Are the Interests of Landlord and Tenant promoted by the Law of Distress for Rent ? " The chair was taken by IVIr. Payne, of Felmersham. After a brief opening address from the chairman, Mr, Shaw rose to introduce the question. He said : Gentlemen, there are many of you who recollect the first occasion on which the question of tenant-right was submitted to the club, in this room. You also recollect the impression which the discussion of that question created, both in this room and out of it. The impres- sion in this room was so favourable that a resolution was passed, on the occasion of the first discussion, in favour of the principle ; and the committee proceeded to give notice of a special general meeting of the mem- bers, in order that it might be discussed before the club at large. That meeting took place ; and to it were in- vited the chairmen and secretaries of all the local clubs in the kingdom, and also the chairmen and secretaries of all the local agricultural societies and of all the protection societies then in existence ; the object being to afford as ample an opportunity as possible for its being again discussed, that the principle contended for might be made known as widely and extensively as possible. It will be recollected that on the occasion of the general meeting, our friend, Mr. Bennett, who has always taken a lively interest in the subject, proposed that a com- mittee should be appointed to communicate with mem- bers of Parliament. I well remember that I differed from him on that question, thinking it premature then to take such a step. But the sense of the meeting was against me. A committee was appointed ; and 1 need scarcely say how beneficial have been the results. I believe that no other question has made such rapid pro- gress, in so short a time. I am, therefore, in one sense, glad that I was defeated. I think, however, that both my friend Mr. Bennett and I were partially right and partially wrong. He was right in proposing a step which gave to the question greater publicity, and I was right in my notion that the time had not yet arrived when we could hope for legislation. Now I hive made these (ew introductory remarks because I feel that there is a very materi;il distinction to be drawn between the question of tenant-right and that which I am about to introduce. If I were not sanguine on the occasion referred to, aa to the speedy adoption of the principle of tenant-right, I confess I am much less san- guine with regard to the question now before me. And I will tell you why. It is well known that, although tenant-right has not been adopted to the extent to which we could desire to see it adopted, the principle has been established, and is in operation in a very important loca- lity. It is well known that, acting on the principle of tenant-right, the landlords and tenants of the county of Lincoln, and of part of the county of Nottingham, have made such progress, that a gentleman, who certainly knows what good farming is, after visiting the Lothians of Scotland, gave the palm to Lincolnshire, We are able to point to Lincolnshire and say, " There the prin- ciple of tenant-right is to be seen in practice ;" and this is an argument which must always go a long wny, not only with those who are usually termed practical men, but with all who seek to arrive at a right conclusion from sound premises ; for however we may dilate and theorise with regard to principles, no one can pronounce principles sound till they have been tried and proved by practice. Hence it is that I do not feel sanguine as to any immediate practical result from the discussion of tlie question which I have to submit to you this evening. But I feel that there have been occasions on which doubts have arisen : there are persons who entertain di)ubts whether the power of distress for rent is so advantageous as might be supposed ; and believing, as I do, that there is a growing feeling in that direction, I think it may not be improper, quietly, calmly, and dispassionately to consider the abstract principle, and see what can be sa'd on the one side and on the oiher. And I am quite con- fident that on this subject, as on all others, if truth and justice be on its side, and it be kept constantly before the minds of those who are competent to judge, the result will be ultimately a successful one. Having made these preliminary remarks, I will now proceed to submit to you the observations which I have put on paper, on this question ; and although, when you enter upon a discus- sion on any question, it is difficult to pursue an abso- lutely unbiassed course, yet I do hope that when, through the usual channels, my own remarks, and those which follow, come before the public, they will be found tempered with such discretion and moderation, that no party will be enabled to say what was once said aftt-r the question of tenant-right had been discussed in this room — but which remark has, i hope, since been contro- verted — that in seeking for tenant-right we desired hnd^ lord-wrong. (Hear, hear.) For myself, I repudiate, as I always have done, and as I am quite sure you will ail do, any such intention. (Hear, hear) I feel, however, that in these days of altered circu instances, as compared with past times, abstract questions may fairly be dis- cussed ; and we may reasonably inquire whether any particular alteration would be for the benefit of all parties, C ]S THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. uilliciit justly exposing oursrlves to the charge that we are st'tkiiig to deprive any cl;!£3 of persons of the rights which they are fairly entitled to possess. (Hear, hear.) I will now proceed to read what I have committed to paper : — " Ilistoiiaiis are not agreed where or from whence the l)ower of distress was iiitroduecd ; it is, however, per- fectly clear that from the earliest period of our history this power was used by the lords to compel the tenants to ))crforin those services which they hail enS'ised to ron- dei- by way of rent or retribution for their fai ms, and Avas substituted for tlie more serious consequences which at an anterior date attended the non-performance of those services, namely, the absolute forfjiture of the fond or farm. The distress was, originally, however, not so much a remedy as a means of obtaining a remedy, inasmuch as the goods remained in the possession of the distrainer as a pledge, he being bound to restore them in tlic snme state as w'h?n he to >k them. Notwithstanding this power was so limited, being arbitrarily exercised by the lords, it not only became oppressive to the tenants, who, in disputes be- tween neighbouring lords were frequently distrained upon by both, but enabled them to compel great num- bers of vassals to take the lield against their prince, thereby disturbing the peace of the kingdom. So isrrcat and insiipporlable did the abuse of this power bccomary to inquire whether there may be any other collateral advantages; and, indeed, so great, that it appears difficult to show any disadvantages which can outbalance siitdi an advantage. As, howevcr> we have to look at both sides of the question, we must inquire if there be any such disadvantage; and the first which occurs to my mind is, whether the knowledge that lie possesses such a power does not in- duce the landlord to look to the amount of the retit offered, rather than to the responsibility of the tenant, inasmuch as if the tenant be possessed of a portion only of that capital which in strictness would be con- sidered necessary to well manage the occupation, still that he will always have a sufficiency of stock upon the i)remises to meet the demand for rent, thereby granting the use of his land to parties who not only have not the means of improving it, but may, in fat^t, deteriorate its condition. I must confess I do not see any prominent inducement to the landlord to conic forward and voluntarily waive so important a privilege, unless, in enquiring how far distresses affect the siluu- tiou of the tenant, it shall be found that the tenant is prejudiced, and that the injury re-acts upon the landlord himself. In considering the eflfect of the power of distress upon the tenant, I shall, in the first instance, refer to that which is commonly regarded as an ad- vantage— namely, that, in most cases, he is permitted to hold half a year's rent in hand; a privilege which, it is presumed, the landlord would not grant, if he did not possess the power of distress. Now, although in some special cases the giving credit for rent may be the means of aiding an industrious thrifty man who may be short of capital, I should regard the system to be unsound in principle; but, let raeobscrve, I would not, by any means, were it in my power, make a sudden alteration in the present practice — I am too sensible of the evils resulting from such abrupt and sweejiing changes. If there be one more fertile source of evil than another at the present moment, operating as an impediment to good, I do not mean the so-called Jiiyli, farming, it is the want of sutficicnt capital by the tenantry, speaking of them as a body. This system of giving credit for rent tends to encourage the tenant to embark in an occupation beyond his capital. The man who is not prepared to pay his first half year's rent when due, without rcfirence to the coming crop, cannot be in a situation to meet the difficulties of a bad harvest. In fact, to the amount of that payment, be it what it may, he is re- lying upon borrowed capital, repayable by force of law at a moment's notice. I am aware that this custom prevails upon many estates where the tenants would not come under the scope of these remarks ; but, of course, they avail themselves of the privilege awarded. I only refer to cases where the half year's rent is really an object to the tenant as part of his capital. 1 con- sider that in this respect the law of distress, by in- ducing the landlord to adopt such system, operates l)7TJudicially to his interest. I apprehend it will not be denied that capital does not flow so rapidly and abun- dantly over the land as the friends of the agricultural interest would desire to see it. Can any measure ope- rate so prejudically in preventing the tenant from borrowing a portion of the capital to work his farm as the power of distress ? Who will lend money to an THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 21 inrtividiial who may have virtually an execution put in at any moment to sweep off all the produce of the farm ? la ordinary debts or obligations, if a man starts fair and does not give a voluntary preference, the necessary Icjral proceedings must be had recourse to before execu- tion can be obtained, and all the creditors have a fair chance; hut the man whose property is subject to a distress is in the same situation as he who has a judg- ment entered up against him, upon which execution may be issued at any moment, and a great part or all of his effects swept away. How would any man of business act, upon being asked to lend a sum of money to a person against whom a judg- ment was in force ? And is not the tenant subject to a power of distress much in the same situation? If wo look at the general credit which the tenant may fairly expect to obtain, will it not be equally in- fluenced by his being subject to this power? Will it not bo contracted by the knowledge of the fact that gooils supplied are liable to be taken summo.rily for rent, without the creditor having the chance of receiv- ing a proportionate share in the event of a failure, as ho woulil do in other cases ? The pecuniary transac- tions of farmers generally are more of a ready-money character than in other occupations ; and I much in- cline to the opinion that the practice originated in a feeling of insecurity, arising from the fact of the tenant's property being subject at any moment to an impending execution. Again — what is the situation of the man as regards his independence of mind, and ficcdom of action, whether socially or politicully speaking, who knows and feels that, however great the confidence he has in his landlord, still changes un- foreseen, and circumstaices not anticipated, may oc- cur; and, be they what they maj', it is an actual existing fact that, so soon as his rent is due, if not paid on the appointed day he is liable to have his property seized and sold ; and if we look at the cove- nants sometimes introduced into leases, in which heavy penalties are imposed for the Infraction of them, and made recoverable by distress, it does appear to bo a stretch of power far beyond the original inten- tion of such a remedy. In respect to the interests of the public in this question, I believe numerous in- stances can be adduced in which tenants have obtained a credit and standing which they never could have done had not the landlord possessed the power of distress. Too frequently admitted into an occupation wholly disproportioned to the capital they possessed, and not uncommonly suflered to fall largely into arrears of rent, they have run into debt with trades- men and others to a heavy extent, and ultimately the goods supplied have been swept away to satisfy the landlord. But one of the gravest consequences result- ing to the tenant having capital from the power of distress possessed by the landlord, consists in the competiti >n into which he is brought with parties having little capital, who ignorantly or recklessly bid a price for land which the tenant with capital cannot afford to pay, and submits to conditions to which he ought not to subject himself; but who would not be accepted by the landlord were hs not clothed with such powers. It is natural for the public to inquire, why should land be better protected than pr<>i>erty of any other description? To place all upon an equal footing, the tradesman who supplies a tenant with goods should have a judgment for the amount at a given period, so that if he saw fit he might issue exe- cution on tlie day fixed for payment if default were made. I am well aware that it will be said the trades- man supplies his goods with a knowledge of all the circumstances ; but that is no explanation of the prin- ciple that affords a peculiar privilege — if privilege it be — to a thousand pounds invested in land, which is denied to a thousand pounds invested in goods or manufactures of any description, I may observe that I was induced to bring forward this subject on reading the report of the Society for the Amendment of the Law, which I have already referred to, ami particu- larly that part of it which states that ' the landlord brings the temporary usufruct of his laud into the market, just in the same manner as the merchant brings his wares ; and the only advantage he has, viz., that of possessing a commodity of which there is a limited supply, is one strictly commercial. The rela- tion of landlord and tenant is really the same as that of two parties to a contract concerniTig a chattel, one of whom bargains for the use of the chattel for a given time — the other for a pecuniary return.' " Having occupied your attention much longer than the very general remarks which I have been able to offer to your notice on this question deserve, I submit it to your consideration, in the hope of eliciting such a dis- cussion as may throw a light upon its reul merits. Mr. C. Johnson said : It was always with great regret that he even apparently differed from his excellent friend Mr. Shaw, but having now for some years been engaged in efforts to promote the interests of tenant farmers, whom he regarded as his clients, though he had no re- taining fee (laughter), he could not compromise what he considered to be their true interest by any attempt to catch their applause. Whatever question his friend pro- pounded, he was always inclined to think it must have some reference to the interests of tenant farmers ; but he must confess that if it were proposed even by him to take steps for securing the abolition of the right which the landlord now possessed of distraining for rent, he could not bring himself to vote in the affirmative. In any case like that under consideration, it was always of vast importance to ascertain who were the parties really interested in the suit. A little reflection would show that the parties interested in this case were not tenant farmers with ample capital, not those who took farms with sufficient capital for all the purposes of cultivation, for to them it mattered not whether the landlord possessed the power of distress or not, seeing that they were both able and willing to pay their rent as soon as it was due. Tiie question concerned only those farmers who took farms without having sufficient capital for their cultivation, and who were therefore obliged, as Christmas ap- proached, to tell the steward the real truth of the case. Let them suppose him to be the advocate of parties so situated, and to go to the steward to ask on their behalf Buch consideration and accommodation as one English- THE FARMER'S MAGAZliNE. man might in such a case expect from another. The strongest a:id most powerful argument he could use was this — tliat if the landlord consented to give the accom- modation, he would at all events be perfgclly safe ; that thtre was abundance on the land to make him secure — that at any time he could seize for his rent ; that if he chcse to give hix months' accommodation he would not thereby incur any risk. This was an argumtnt of a most convincing nature (Hear, hear) ; and he believed that in nine cases out of ten the landlord would be in- duced by it to show a proper consideration for anhduest and struggling tenant. The case of rent had been com- pared liy Mr. Shaw to that of a simple contract debt ; but he must be a'lowed to remind him that there was very little similarity between the two cases. The land- lord did not merely trust his tenant with one hundred or two hundred pounds : he placed in his hands an estate worth perhaps thousands, or even tens of thousands ; exacting from him no security in the shape of a bonds- man, no deposits of any kind ; but placing him, for the time, in free possession of the land. They might, by sound and substantial arguments, induce the Legislature to do away with the law of distress. But after they had succeeded, what would the landlords do ? Why he would say to the tenant — "You and I stand now, sir, in a different position ; and, as I can no longer distrain for rent, I must have security" (Hear). He would thus reason as a merchant would in a similar case. The merchant would say to any one with whom he had dealings, " I'll trust you with a hundred pounds' worth of goods ; but if you want the use of property worth thousands I must have security." On these grounds he was of opinion that, far from doing any good, it would do great and irre- parable injury to the tenants of England to alter the law of distress. As to tradesmen and others by whom farmers were trusted, it appeared to him that they had no cause to complain. They knew that the law of distrefs hung over the farmer's head ; and, if they went too far, they had no right afterwards to turn round and complain that they were not placed on an equal footing with the landlord. Mr. J. C. Nesbit wished to joint out two or three fallacies in the speech which had just been delivered. Ivlr. Johnson had observed that the tenant received from the landlord property worth thousands, or even tens of thousands. A little consideration would show that this was not at all like the case of depositing goods ^Hear), hear). Let him do what he cou'd, the farmer could not run away with the land ; all he could do was to inflict on it a very slight injury. Again, Mr. Johnson said that the landlord, by having the power to put in a distress whenever he liked, was enabled with safety to allow the tenant to postpone payment of his rent. He had omitted to notice that the power of distress for rent prevented the tenant from borrowing money of any one but his landlord ; and that, but for the law of distress, the whole of the goods and chattels on the farm might be used as instruments of borrowing money to carry on cultivation (Hear, hear). Mr. Johnson said also that the la-v of distress did not affect those who had money in their pockets ; but he forgot to state that its indirect operation was to cause a bidding for land, and to raise its price far beyond what it would otherwise be (Hear, hear). Mr. JMeciii said he could not see any real distinction between a landlord and tenant in the cate of land, and a landlord and tenant in any other case. He apprehended that the general charge for rent was about five-and- t-.venty or thirty per cent, on the gross produce, or the gross amount of business ; and a tenant would be much more likely to obtain credit when all the creditors were placed on an equal footing than when one particular cre- ditor had a prior claim to all the rest. To be able to obtain credit in such cases was always a great adviuitage. Every one, perhaps, knew some persons who, having at first nothing but ability and integrity, had succeeded in raising themselves in the world by means of borrowed capital. He had, therefore, come to the conclusion that it was injurious to the farmer for the landlord to have a preference ; and it might fairly be argued that what was injurious to the tenant would react injuriously towards the landlord (Hear, hear). One effect of the present system was to induce landlords to accept tenants who had not sufficient capital for the purposes of cultivation. On the whole, he thought it would be better for the landlord to be placed on the same footing with other creditors ; better for himself, better for the tenant, and better fcr the country at large. Mr. Parsons said : When he entered the room, he did not expect to hear a proposal to abolish the power of distress for rent without providing some substitute. In what position would the landlord be placed if the present law was abolished ? Living, as he did, in the Weald of Surrey and Sussex, he had seen the working of the present system ; and in a district of 12 miles, though distresses had been put in, he had never in his life seen a party sold out. In the last 13 months there had only been two distresses in the district he had named, and in both cases friends had come to the rdief the tenants. He regretted the introduction of such a topic at a time when landlord and tenant were both lying un- der such immense disadvantages, and when the land- lords throughout England were reducing their rents to such a large amount (cries of " No, no," and " Yes, yes"). He appealed to all present whether throughout the whole of England landlords were not reducing their rents to a large extent (expressions of assent and dis- sent). As regarded distress for rent, the tenant, know- ing beforehand that he would have to pay within a cer- tain number of days after the rent became due, had no right to find fault if he were distrained for non-payment. Mr. Walton felt very much obliged to Mr. Shaw for introducing a subject so interestii g to all parties — interesting even to those who had capital, because the pov.'er now possessed by the landlord prevcnte 1 him from looking out, as he otherwise would do, for men of substance as tenants. To himself it would be a very ungrateful task to go pleading to his landlord for time. It would be far better to resort to some other person who would be likely to grant accom- modation ; but this the tenant could not do now, beciiuse the landlord retained a sort of feudal rower over him. He believed tlie present system injured the tenantry, and rai-ed their rents, on an average, three or four shilling? THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 23 an acre ; but he was especKilly opposed to it as a remnant of feudalism. Mr. Ramsay said he must demur to the conclusion of Mr. Pusey, mentioned by Mr. Shaw, that the agri- culture of Lincolnshire was superior to that of the Lothians. No sound conclusion could be arrived at through such a visit ; and he would pay as little respect to an opinion so formed as to a reproperly, ta that identity of interest which should subsist between land- lord and tenant. Now this was one of the great and important questions, which might be discussed at clubs like this (Hear, hear) ; an.l he was free to confess that he thought a great deal was required to be done to maintain that unity between landlord and tenant which he, in common with the nobb lord, earnestly desired to see established (Hear, hanr). He believed that not only practical agriculture, but everything v/hich related to the economy of agriculture, including especially the relations betwenn landlord and tenant, must progress with the times ; and he much feared that unless those relations were adapted to existing circumstances, idenUty of interest would not be maintained (Hear, heir). It would be useless to disguise from themselves that there Wire yet in what might be termed the reldtioa of land- lord and tenant many relics of ancient and bygone times ill adapted to present circumstances, but wliich he thought might be altered and amended, without in the slightest degree dissociating the two classes ; nay, he would go farther, and say that it would tend to bind and knit closer together those two classes if the relations in which they stood to each other were judiciously amended (Hear, hear). Tlie time had gone by for anything like that subserviency on the part of the tenant towards his landlord which existed at former periods (Hear, hear). He said this with due respect for landed proprietors ; for he knew that those amongst them who went with the spiiit of the times — ha meant a proper spirit, and not an improper one — were prepared to adapt themselves to circumstances, and to admit the tenant to that position which his altered circumstances, his increased capital, and his general advancement required that he should occupy (Hear, hear). It would not, he believed, be denied that the tenant of the present clay bore little resemblance to the tenant of 150 years ago. It would be strange indeed if farmers had not advanced with the progress of the times ; and all he (Mr. Shaw) asked was, that when the tenant was possessed of sufiicient capital (his capital amounting often to one-fourth of the value of the fee- simple of the land,) and possessed intelligence tor the good cultivation of the soil, his rights should be respected, proper liberty of action sliould be conceded to him, and he should be protected in the use and enjoyment of that capital as much as the landlord himself was protected in the ownership of his estate (Hear, hear). No man was more gratified than he" was at tlie circumstance of a land- lord being deeply respected by the tenantry around him ; but he liked to sec that respect the result of moral obligation and moral feeling, and not that of personal control (Hear, hear). This club was established for the express purpose of enabling tenant-farmers to meet together to discuss, and to arrive at conclusions upon questions bearing upon their interests. If its discussions and conclusions as sent forth to the world caused a beneficial influence, how much greater influence would be exerted by the hundred farmers' clubs that existed throughout the kingdom, were they but carried on with that energetic spirit which he would like to see more in operation — that spirit, he meant, which was sometimes spoken against as the commercial spirit, but which stimulated men to meet together to discuss their common interests! In introducing the health of her Majesty, their Chairman had complimented the yeomanry of England as being eminently loyal. However much they might be complimented on their loyalty, he (Mr. Shaw) was exceedingly sorry that he could not compliment them on their attention to their own interests (Hear, hear). If there were one class of men in the whole kingdom more than another unconnected, dissociated, and most commonly a rope of sand for any purpose requiring union, he would tell them fairly that that class was the one to which they belonged. He had, for more than twenty years day by day, week by week, and year by year, associated with tint class, and h.id been constantly bringing his mind to bear upon matters connecttd with the agriculture of this country; and aUhough he might have peculiar notions, as they all had more or less, still he never had but one object in view, namely, that of in- ducing the farmers of England to uni'e together for the protection of their own interests, but which he regretted to say had never yet been realized (cheers). During those twenty years, as all must admit, there had occurred some of the most eventful circumstances recorded in the history of British agricallure. lie had seen three as- sociations established which were intended to unite the wliole of the agricultural classes of this country, but he had never yet seen the agricultural body itself taking up any question with that spirit or union which was essential to success. He would only repeat now what he said last year and the year before, that he trusted they would in future associate together as much as pos- sible ; that they would not be so chary as they had been of occupying time in meeting together; and that when they did meet they would not be contented with valiantly expressing their sentiments, at the market- table or elsewhere, and then mounting their horses and riding home, to caro no more about the matter till that day v/eek, that day month, or perhaps not at all (Hear, THE FARxMER'S MAGAZINE. 27 hear). This was, he beli&ved, too faithful a descripiion of the past coui-ie of British farmers. He did hope that in future thfy would take better care of their interests by means of farmers' clubs, since those iaterests were so im- portant to thetnsslves and to the country at large (loud cheers). Mr. Cheetiiam said he had been requested to pro- pose the health of tlieir worthy chairman (cheers). That gentleman was too well known to need any eulogy ; yet he was bound to say that he dis^charged his relative duties v.-ith hoiiour to himself and with advantage to all around him (cheers). He was quite sure the agricultural interest had not a belter advocate and exponeut thui Mr. Bennett ; and if all who were engaged in agriculture were as energetic in promoting its interests as Mr. Benn3tt, it would not be in its present position. He had, then, great pleasure in proposing their chairman's health. Drunk with three times three. After the cheers had subsidird, tlie Chairman rose and said: Mr. Vice-Chairman, my Lord, and Gentle- men,— The very kind and unequivocal expression of your esteem and good-will, believe me, is fully appre- ciated ; and I can find no suitable words to convey to you my heartfelt gratitude, but I will not waste your time in speaking of myself, but pass on to give you " Better success to bur agric.ilture." At this our an- nual banquet, wljen hilarity and good chgjr are the order of the day, it might appear unseemly to brood at any length over our troubles, or attempt to take the gauge of the miseries which unhappily surround our different localities (Hear, hear). But, Gentlemen, if I were to give so important a toast in total silenee at the present crisis, I feel I should be doing dishonour to the high position to which your committee so kindly and unani- mously invited rae, as well as to the cause with which we are all so closely identified. That cur agriculture has not of late been successful, but languishing, and many of her sons are coming to rain, is a truth which can hardly be disputed (cheers). Not even the high- farmers, as they wish to be styled, will venture to assert that the farming interest is in a Iiealthy state. Some amateur farmers there are, on particular snots, who, by selling off the land everything it produces, and returning nothing to the soil, have sought to guU the public by still showing a profit in farming — a system which a mere schoolboy in agriculture would condemn, and one, in fact, justly prohibited on ninety-nine farms out of every hundred in '.he country (loud cheers). Other oracles of this order there are, who talk year by year of a certain balance-sheet, but take good care never to produce it. These gentlemen attend agricultural shows, and have the temerity to ascribe the distress of farmers either to a want of cipital or to their vulgar prejudices in refusing (forsooth !) to adopt all the costly vagaries which they, in their wisdom, think fit to recommend (Hear, hear). What their object can be, as I am unwilling to impute unworthy motives, I will not attempt to divine. In the manufacturing world we hear of nothing of the sort. In the tiuie of depression of the silk trade, the glove trade, or hosiery, I never recollect any wiseacre coming forv/ard and declare that, while all was distress around him, there was nothing the matter. No, Gentle- men ; this extraordinary farce has been reserved to be played cfT in these latter days. No wor.der that tie real high farmers, vdio by their skill and capital have literally given fertility to barrenness, and changed the face of large districts of the country, should feel outraged at such (I had almost said) monstrous impudence (great cheering). V,^e are not, however, dependent upon any such dubious authorities as to the actual condition of agriculture. Gcutlemeu, whatever be your respective views of the wisdom or folly of the policy which has been recently adopted, you are all aware that we have seen within about six short weeks the close of the first three years of the operation of the new measure, and from the best authenticated sources within reach, I sin- cerely believe that by the 1st of February next the agri- culturists of the kingdom will find themselves despoiled of about 195 millions of money, or 65 millions annually. Mr. Villiers made the saving to the consumers the first year about 90 millions ; and if food now came from t'le skies without cost to produce if, well. Eut he com- pared it with the year 1817, said to bj a year of famine ; consequently there wis no fairness in taking tliat as the basis of the cjloulation. In the estiraate I have made I pass over entirely the first twenty years of ta^ present century, which was mainly either a time of war or of foreign imports, and no reasonable man desires a recur- rence of tliose liigh prir:es. But I confine myself to the average of the last eight-and-twenty years previous to 1819, during which wheat had averaged as near as may be 7s. per bush., and other farm produce in like pro- portion ; to which stale of things it is fair to presume the value of land, mortgages, rents, and the various other monetary arrangements in the country, had pretty well adjusted themselves. As compared, then, with the average of thoso eight-and-twenty years, the three last (I repeat it) will show a diminution of income from the soil of at least sixty-five miliious a year (loud cheers). This fact, however, I know is quite inexplicable to many. Because the tenantry of the country, as one man, have not abandonedtheir holdings, and some farms still find tenants, induces them to suppose we exaggerate. But what, I as'.c, is this tenantry to do, and where are they to kc ite therr^ selves to avoid the wide-spread misery (cheers) .' Youal know, gentlemen, that the competition still remaining for farms is a competition fur home and for country, rather than for land ; and you are aware how a man clings to his father land, and how v.ishfully he looks (o the spot where he has spent his money, made his home comfort- able, and formed his early associates (Hear, hear). Hundreds, however (I might say thousands), have been compelled to break through all these ties, and are taking their families and their little wreck of fortune to other lands, where they hope to meet with that encouragement for their industry which is now denied them in their na- tive country ; and thousands more, if ih.^y could get away, would follow. Some very considerate gentlemen are disposed to moralize on this state of things. A very respectable commercial gentleman said to me the other day, " I quite agree with you, Mr. Bennett, that the agriculturists have been cruelly dealt with by the legis- lature ; but I sometimes think there must be a Provi- 28 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. dence in all this ; as farmers, you are too numerous here, while tl^ere are immense tracks of land in the world that only await the hand of cultivation" — a sentiment I was by no means disposed to controvert. But I do con- tend this abates not a jot from the cruelty of those who have placed the farmers of England in their present position, having by legislation deprived them of the means to pay, and not abated scarcely an iota of their payments. Another popular delusion is the mere ad- justment of rent. Far be it from me, however, to advocate exorbitant rents ; for I think not only is an adjustment called for, but in most instances a great reduction is imperiously demanded, but most of all from those landlords who, whether in Parliament or out of it, have lent their aid to extinguish rents on poor land, or ruin the occupiers (cries of " Shame ! "). But if it were a mere question of rent, what is to be said of that important class of the community who farm the paternal estate, left them subject to certain fixed payments to other members of the family (Hear, hear) ? It would seem, however, in the opinion of some, that landlords have no rights — that the hired demagogues who have gone through the land to defame them had literally succeeded. But surely men could not talk more ignorantly or foolishly on this subject, if the en- tire land rental of the kingdom was all boxed up the mommt received, and sent over to the transatlantic regions (loud cheers). But, viewed on its own merits, on what principle, I ask, is the estate of the landlord to be confiscated, and the money-monger to remain un- scathed ? These parties have about the same sympathy for the tenant as for the landlord, and betray the great- est ignorance of the relative position of both. They view the tenant as simply sowing the seed and reaping the crop, and then both coming in to share the spoil, with scarce another obligation, and little else to pay — a monster delusion ! (Cheers.) The importance of the tenantry of the country to the body politic is, however, so admirably portrayed in an article which has recently appeared, that I cannot refrain giving it you. It is as follows : " The farmer is the great middleman between poverty and wealth, between labour and capital, between the many and the few. In the hour of distress the battle always falls back upon him. According to the consti- tution he is the responsible man ! The tenant pays the wages, the poor-rates, the way-rates, the church-rates, the couuty-rates, and the tithes ; and, directly or in- directly, he is the assessor of all but the last two. Add to these payments rent and taxes and the numerous small tradesmen who live on the tenant-farmer, and he presents himself in the light of the unicersal jjai/masfer. In h;ilf an hour's walk, from almost every market-place in the kingdom, you find yourself under the sway of these powerfal and responsible, though unassuming, po- tentates." (Hear, hear). " Once among green fields and hedgerows, and the tenant-farmer is your immediate superior. The road you are riding upon, the ditch you leap over, and the bridge you cross, are maintained by him. If you damage a fence, it is his. The cattle are his. The labourers are in his pay, and the cottages are in his letting. He keeps the carpenter's bench, the saw- pit, and the forge incessantly at work. The village shop and the village public-house are filled by his servants and labourers. If profits fall, he has to draw on his capital to keep things going. If wages are reduced, he has to bear the odium. If disaffection spreads, his ricks are burned. When he can no longer j)ay wages, he must still pay rates. If there are widows, or orphans, or old men, or cripples, or sick, or vagrants, the tenant-farmer must maintain them. If they die without friends, he must bury them." (Loud cheers). Who would have imagined that this truly graphic de- scription of the farmers of England could have emanated from the very pen that has with equal talent and untiring zeal been employed in writing down this same body of men (Hear, hear) ? But it is, gentlemen, veri'y the pro- duction of the Times ; and if the editor of that power- ful organ shall at length say, " Hold, it is enough!" although he may have no sympathy with you in the miseries he has assisted to bring upon you as farmers ; yet, as the " universal paymaster," he has evidently some apprehension. To despoil you of a revenue of about ^'65,000,000 a year as a class " standing between poverty and wealth, between labour and capital, between the many and the few," may, after all, prove rather an awkward affair for the nation (loud cheers). Aye, and true enough ; although you, the farmers of the country, have as yet been the chief sufferers, the many, the vast majority of the naiion, will, erelong, be most assuredly involved in the common ruin. I lay no claim to the gift of prophecy, nor do I know whether our ancient rivers are destined at the command of my Lord Pal- merston to reverse their wonted course or not — (voci- ferous cheering) — but I am prepared to say that no ad- justment of rent that is practicable, that no reduction of taxes that can be effected, and last (though not least) no improvement in agriculture within our reach, can alone, under the withering one-sided anti-British policy that is now adopted, restore the nation to a healthy and pros- perous condition. Let me not, however, be misunder- stOud ; the whole of these ought to be attempted, as far as practicable, in justice to the consuming public (Hear). The first duty of the State is most assuredly to lower the cost of production by all legitimate means. That ac- complished, a wise and paternal Government would raise a revenue from every foreign production brought in competition with that produced by the industry of our own people ; whereas duties are mainly levied now on the introduction of articles we either cannot or do not produce, absolutely raising rather than lowering the cost of home production (crits of " Shame !") Why, if the labouring people are to iiave bread at a low price (I will not say cheap), made from foreign flour, why not beer on the same terms, made from British barley ? If they are to be fed with foreign meat without tax, why not with foreign tea ? (cheers.) If we are to have no fiscal regulations to assist British agriculture, why have government interference to impede it ? (Cheers.) Look at the immense Bedford Level, with a soil adapted almost beyond example for the growth of beet, where poor occupiers, with blighted wheat last year, and blighted potatoes this, are ruining by scores, and yet not allowed to grow this beet for making sugar, on pain of being exchequered. These, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 29 gentlemen, are some among the many discouragements under whicli our agriculture is suffering (Hear, hear). What then, do I advise you to despair ? By no means ! Do I recommend you to turn Chartists and resist the laws ? Oh, no I What ! the farmers of England resist the laws ? The very idea is a paradox ; they have always been foremost to maintain them, either as peace-officers, or, if needs be, as soldiers, to rally round the crown and the institutions of the country ! That such devoted loyalty should not have been a sufacient safeguard to the yeomen of this country from misrule and oppression, I confess is a most disheartening and humiliating consi- deration (great cheering). But I repeat it — never de- pair ! Many have fallen, and many more must go ; but a brighter day will ere long dawn upon you (Hear, hear). True enough, it is not in man to command success ; but with God's blessing we may deserve it. With these sen- timents I call upon you, upstanding, with three times three, to drink — " Better success to our native agricul- ture" (the toast was received amidst great cheering). Mr. Baker, of Writtle, on rising to propose " Suc- cess to the Royal Agricultural Society," prefaced his remarks on the immediate subject with some observa- tions on the present position of agriculturists and the practical difficulties which impeded their operations. He saw little cause for hope in the schemes propounded by such men as Messrs. Huxtable and Mechi. The latter gentleman had informed him that he was that very evening going to present his balance-sheet before the Society of Arts, and had invited him to attend for the purpose of criticising it if he thought proper to do so. His reply was, that it was impossible to judge accurately on such a subject the moment the figures were stated, but that he might depend upon it everything he said would undergo a proper testing (Hear, hear, and laughter). Lord Malmesbury said, the other day, that he saw light in the horizon, and instanced a small ad- vance in barley as affording ground for hope. If there were really light he (Mr. Baker) would be happy to recognize it ; but, as regarded his lordship's statement that 28s. was almost as good a price for barley now as 32s. was 20 years ago, because the cost of production and the burden of taxation had been greatly diminished in the interval, he need scarcely remind them that it took half as much again of their produce to obtain the same sum as was obtained formerly. Money for the payment of taxes could only be secured by the sale of produce, and, having reference to that fact, he maintained that taxation was higher now than it had ever been before during the last 50 years. The toast which he had un- dertaken to propose, related to a society which had done much for agriculture, and which, if its energies were led in a right direction, might, he believed, do a vast deal more. He held that, in the present juncture of affairs, politics were indispensable — (Hear, hear) — and he was sorry that the Society had thrown politics overboard as regarded agriculture. If it saw its interest aright, it would throw politics overboard as regarded everything else, and cultivate them as regarded farming. With the utmost sincerity he proposed the toast. The toast was well received. Mr. R. Smith, a Member of the Royal Agricultural Society, returned thanks. In reference to Mr. Baker's observations upon the course pursued, he must remark that the Society thought it best to occupy peaceful ground — to be, as it were, a temple of peace, where all parties might meet together for the promotion of the common good, on points on which all agreed (Hear, hear). In his opinion the Society was a most important national institution. The Windsor Meeting presented a display of energy, enterprise, and industry on the part of the British farmer, which must have produced a most favourable impression on the foreign visitors ; and he could not but think that a society which numbered from six to eight thousand subscribers, and whose excellent publications were so extensively circulated, must be exercising a very powerful and beneficial influence (Hear, hear). Mr. Payne, of Felmersham, proposed the " Smith- field Club," in connection with the name of Mr. Samuel Bennett, The toast was well responded to by the company, and in his reply by Mr. S. Bennett, The Chairman" proposed, " Agriculture, Manufac- tures, and Commerce," coupling with the toust the name of Mr. Allan Ransome. After a good response to the toast, Mr. Ransome said, whatever difficulties and em- barrassments he might, under any circumstances, feel on being called upon to respond to a sentiment which in- volved such large subjects — subjects the consideration of which extended over so large a space — he did, more es- pecially on the present occasion, regret that the Com- mittee had not entrusted to more able hands the duty of setting profitably before them the general consideration of the close and intimate union which should ever exist between these three main branches of industry. Agri- culture, manufactures, and commerce seemed necessarily, by long usage, to be associated in their minds ; and the day, he hoped, had long since passed away when any one could be found who would, for a moment, deny that the interest of the one could not fail to minister to the interest of the others. He felt, with reference to the association of these main branches of British in- dustry, that it was interesting, it was profitable, it was pleasant, at all times to view them happily together in their bond of union. He trusted that they would long and ever remain, not as the rope of sand of which one of their friends had spoken, but as the three strands of that three -fold cord which was so soundly and sufficiently twisted as to form a fitting cable for the maintenance of the prosperity of this great country (cheers). Itmightnot be unprofit- able to take a somewhat different view from that ordi- narily taken of the aspect under which these three great features of British industry presented themselves for consideration. Important as they were in themselves, closely connected as they were, and accustomed as they were to be viewed respectively by each class engaged in them as the means by which they were enabled to pro- vide for themselves what ministered to their wants and comforts, and perhaps even to their luxuries, there seemed to him to be a still higher view in which at times they might profitably be regarded. It was a ao i'HK FARMKR'S MAGAZlNiC. far Lyiicv aud injlicr new to rigiiJ llit-m as jimt .■i;iil parcel of a wise dispensation of eveuts which ministered to the good of mankind. Tar, far beyond tlic fact that they conduced to individual aggrandisement, was the fact that these things were in themselves missions of no ordinary character — instruments not only to supply them with tliat for v.hich they individually laboured, but by which the good of the universe might ultimately be carried out, in co-operation with the designs of the great Giver of all good (applause). Agriculture had its mission, and a most important mission it was — that of providing the sustenance for thousands and tens of thou- sands who had to live by the bread they ate. It had also an important mission as forming part of that which, to a greater extent than anything else, tended to repeal a portion of the curse, to convert the desert into fruit- ful fields, and to cause flourishing produce to arise where once were briars and thorns ; and whilst he who endea- voured by ar.y means to produce two ears of corn where only one grew before, or to fatten an animal at an earlier period than such an animal was previously fatted, while such a man followed his pursuits for his own immediate advantage, he had also the satisfaction of knowing that he was at the same time carrying out a mission which would conduce to the public good (cheers) . Not a less important mission was that of the manufacturer, diving deep as he did into the very bor/els of the earth, taking therefrom that which in its existing state was useless, receiving at the hands of the agriculturist that which he afterwards formed and fashioned to clothe the naked, and moreover giving to raw products those forms of usefulness and features of beauty by which this world was not only enriched, but embellished (cheers). And from a rapid survey of those two great branches of in- dustry which related more especially to the products of the soil they trod, they might turn with even greater interest to the still more important mission of commerce (Hear). Firmly did ho believe that commerce was de- signed to be one of those high and holy instrumentalities by which the civilization of this world was ultimately to be worked out : commerce, carried on not merely in a sordid spirit of self-aggrandisement, but in order that the bounties which a beneficent Creator had spread over all lands might, by the enterprise and energy of those who were engaged in it, be made to minister to the comfort of all. And while surveying the wise order and the beautiful harmony which marked these three branches of industry, he earnestly desired for each that it might understand its misiion — that it might perceive that there was something in the cause that lay deeper, and had a wider range and extent than the breeches pocket ; and that all would endeavour so to feel and so to act, as to carry out, to a far greater ex- tent than they had hitherto done, that which was the ulti- ma! e object of their several avocations. He thanked them for the attention which they had paid to him while responding thus far to the toast. He felt unwil- ling to trespass on their attention any longer. (Cries of " Go on.") There was, however, a subject which was so intimately connected with that of which he had been treating, that he would like for a moment to refer to it ; it had reference to those by whose hands this great woil;, wiicthcr iu "gricul'urc, i:i manufaclurfs, Or in commerce, was mainly carried out— he meant the working classes. (Cheers.) He had long believed, having been much associated with those classes in tlieir various characters — he had long thought that employers had fallen short of their duty in what should be accounted by them a privilege, in not having endeavoured more to advance the interests of those whom they employed. He spoke not simply of their physical interests ; he spoke not, at least, of wages, being persuaded that the question of wages was, to a considerable extent, one of supply and demand (Hear, hear); but independently of such things, he was convinced that there were large means at the disposal of every employer, the use of which would not only minister to the comfort of the labourer, but also tend to make him a better man and a better member of society ; and while great attention v/as being paid to the improvement of agriculture, and to the improve- ment of breeds of cattle, he was perfectly persuaded that no part of their time could be more profitably or more pleasantly spent than that which was spent in en- deavouring by all means within their power to improve the resources, intellectual as well as social, of the working classes. (Cheers.) On that subject he trusted a better feeling was every day extending, and he hoped that in fulfilling that portion of his mission the Britibh farmer would not be behind any other part of the com- munity. (Cheers.) The Chairman- then proposed, " The Committee of Management," to which, after a due response from the company, Mr. J. C. Nesbit replied. The Chairman gave " The Local Farmers' Clubs," coupled with the name of Mr. Ramsay, Vice President of the Newcastle-on-Tyne Farmers' Club. Rlr. Ramsay, in responding, insisted witti much ability on the necessity of the local farmers' clubs gene- rally supporting the London Farmers' Club, and so endeavouring to place it in that position which it ought to occupy. The Chairman proposed " The Secretary." The toast was received with the customary enthusiasm. Mr. CoKBET responded, as usual, with laconic brevity. He felt very much obliged, and if the members were satisfied, he was (cheers and laughter). The Chairman then gave the concluding toast of the evening, " The Visitors ;" and this having been responded to by Mr. G. F. Young, the company soon after dis- persed. FARMERS' CLUB HOUSE, General Annual Meeting, December 11. J. Pain, Esq., of Felmersham, in the Chair. Mr. Corbet, the Secretary, read the following Report from the Committee, wliich was received and adopted :— The Committee., in accordance with an annual custom, have again to report on the position and prospects of the Farmera' Chib, as gathered from the experience of the year, and the subjoined Balance Sheet of Income, Expenditure, and LiabiUtics incurred. Since the formation of the club, now more than eight years Til]': FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 31 past, it h83 co;;tiuMecI to leccive ii s'tidy E:iji;Jort— if ii'^'-t to tUe extent its ongiualors niiy have expected, still perbajis in as great a degree as the trying nature of tbe times woukl allow. The committee feci convinced tiiat they have the well wishes of !i!auy who, under better circunistances, would, by their pre- sence a!id subscriptions, have tcnde.l more substautial aid. As it is, the new names added to tlie list of members more than counterbalance those retiri:!^ during the past year. On another point the committee consider that they have every reason to congratnlate themselves and the members of the club : the discussion meetings have again been well attended, while the reports of them are received with increasing interest and attention. The committee, in giving the card of last year, can refer to it with sincere satisfaction; and they trust to do as well iu selecting subjects for the future : — On February 3, 1831. — ''How far Taxation enters into. the Cost of Agricultural Produce," was introduced by Mr. S. Cheetham, of the Grove, Eling, Southampton. March 3, 1331. — "On the Adulterations of Artificial Ma- nures, and the best practical means of Detection," intro- duced by Mr. J. C. Nesbit, of Kennington-lane. April 7, 1851. — "To what extent the cultivation of land in England and Scotland is affected by Soil, Climate, and other circumstances," introduced by Mr. R. Baker, of Writtle, Essex. May 5, 1851. — "On the best means (legislative or other- wise) of inducing capital to be more freely invested in Land, and the benefits hich would result therefrom to all classes," introduced by Mr. E. Tattcrsall, Jun., of Hyde Park Corner. June 2, 1851. — "On the advantage cf Covered Homestalls, as regards the fattening of Stock and manufacture of Manure," introduced by Mr. J. Beadel, of Broomfield Lodge, Chelmsford. November 3, 1851 — "On the Injurious ElTects of the pre- sent Beer-shop System in the Agricultural Districts," in- trohicc-.i by Mr, W. Fisher llob'j?, of Boxtcd Lodge, Colchester. December 8,1851 — "Are the Interests of Landlord and Tenant promoted by the Law of Distress for Etnt?" introduced by IMr. W. Shaw, of the Strand. The Committee, ou the other hand, feel that they should scarcely be doing their duty did they close this report without some reference to the amount of arrears of subscription. The collection of thom has long had their attention ; and they are happy to add that during the past year many subscriptions long overdue have been paid. The Committee, however, would not stop here, while they hope in this, as iu other efforts they may make, to meet with the approbation of the majority of members, and best supporters of the club. The following members of the Committee went out by rotation: — Messrs. J. Beadel, J. Carter, S. Cheetham, G. Emery, R. Garrett, W. Gray, J. J, IMecbi, T. Mount, J. C. Nesbit, Vv''. Shaw, jun. (ofCoton),R. Smith (of South Moltou), R. B. Smith (of Edmonton;, H. Trethewy, G. Turner, and J. Tyler. Messrs. J. Beadel, J. Carter, S. Cheetham, G. Emery, W. Gray, J. J. Mechi, J. C. Nesbit, R. Smith, R. B. Smith, H, Trethewy, G. Turner, and J. Tyler were re-elected, and the following gentlemen elected on the Committee to fill up vacancies which occurred: — Mr. W. Carter, of Boughton, Faversham ; Mr. W. Pain, of Compton, Winchester ; Mr. S. Sidney, of Clapham ; and Mr. R. Caparn, of Ilolbeach, Lincoln. Messrs. T. Barker, W. Bell, and E. Purser, were .•e-elected Auditors. A discussion subsequently took place on the general arrangements of the Club, at the conclusion of whicli votes of thanks having been passed to the Chairman and the Secretary, the meeting broke up. STATE AND PROSPECTS OF AGRICULTURE IN IRELAND. The follouing arc e.xtracts from the Annual Kepoit of the Commissioners of Public Works iu Ireland : — " In making this our annual report of the works in operation under the Landed Property Improvement Act, we have the pleasure to state, that during the yenr ISoO the Act has continued to work in the same satisfactory manner as during the three previous years ; and as will appear by the extrncts from the reports of our scveriil iui^peetors of drainage hen inafter quoted, the spirit of agricultural improvement, which revived in some measure through the ope ration of this Act, has continued unabated throughout the country, the pro- prietors as well as many of the tenant-farmers being convinced by experience that deep thorough draining, followed by subsoiliug, effects such an increase in the productive qualities of the soil as to enable it, when moderately excited by manure, to produce returns sufheient to repay the entire expeiuiiture, in some cases in one, and frequently in two year?. " But we must again repeat the caution expressed in former reports, that if the operations under the Land Improvement Act be confined to thorough draining alone, comparatively little advantage will be derived from the expenditure, except perhaps in pas- ture lands of superior quality. '■ In our last report we suggested that improvements might advantageously be carried on jointly by the landlord and tenant, the landlord to undertake the cost of the thorough draining, and the tenant the subsoil- ing : by this arrangement both would be benefited, the land would be more tlinn doubled in value, at the average cost to the proprietor of about £3 per acre, and thus his rent vt'ould be amply secured, and the tenant, rcceivin^r a double return, would be transformed from a struggling pauper to a thriving Airmer. " Several successful examples of this joint arrange- ment have come under our notice during the last year, and we have the pleasure to state that they are on the increase ; and we feel assured that the extension of the principle, by creating a unity of interest and ac- 32 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. tion bctrtxen (lie landlord and tenant, will tend mu.h to the agricultural improvement of the country. "At the i)resent moment a feeling of hope has suo- cecded to apathy, and a spirit of industry prevails Irom the highest to the lowest. All agriculturists agree that dependence can alone be placed on an im- proved system of husbandry. "The cultivation of flax, hitherto ccntined to a few of the north-eastern counties, has now become more general. The extent sown this year, exclusive of the northern district, will more than double that of tlie last or any previous year ; and the quantity would have been considerably increased if scutch mills had existed at convenient distances throu'j;liout the southern and western districts. One ton of dried flax straw is reduced to 5 cwt, by the process of scutching j and it is to be observed that wherever a scutch mill has been erected, the proprietors and tenant-farmers of the neighbouring district have this year sown flax exten- sively. "There can be no doubt that the mild and humid climate of Ireland is peculiarly suited to the growth of flax, as well as of root-crops of every defcription ; and as this country has been at all times proverbial for its pastures, it becomes evident that the attention of far- mers should be directed, in addition to the flax crop, more t» the breeding and feeding of cattle, sheep, and pigs. Ill fact, except in a very few favourable locali- ties, oats is the cereal crop which is best suited to the moist climate of Ireland, and in the producti-m of which it can compete with any country. Barley and rye succeed well ; but owing to a deficiency of heat at the season when it is most required, samples of wheat are rarely produced which will bear comparison with those grown in more favoured climates. "If the foregoing view be assented to, deep draining and subsoiling become doubly important, for unless the soil and subsoil be dry, 6uely pulverized, and ac- cessible to the influence of sun and air, the root-crops, as well as flax, will be deficient in quantity and quality. "The only novelty which has occurred connected with our land-improvement operations during the last year is the authority given by the Act 13 and 14 Vic, cap. 31, to make loans for the erection of farm-office buildings, in addition to the loans for thorough drain- ing, fencing, &c., given by the original Act, 10 Vic, cap. 32. " This power was necessary to enable landed pro- prietors who possessed large tracts of laud at present unoccupied to fit them for letting in extensive farms to superior agriculturists, by the erection of farm-build- ings suited to the modern system of improved hus- bandry. " At the time of passing the Act It was anticipated that a considerable number of experienced tenant-far- mers, possessing sufficient capital, would have taken large farms in the country, but hitherto such has rarely been the case ; in consequence, the applications for loans for the erection of extensive ranges of farm- buildings have been limited to a few. " But, perhaps, under the circumstances of the country, it is fortunate that such has been the case, as by this means more time will be allowed for matur- ing plans, iind the proportions and internal arrange- ments of those buildings in process of erection will have been tested by experience as well as criticised by fanners of the modern school. " Up to the end of the year 1850, though many per- sonal inquiries were made, and much correspondence took place relative to farm buildings, still only thirteen regular applications (or loans were received. The schedule gives the names of the applicants and amount.} applied for, together with the loans made or declined in each case, from which it appears that up to Decem- ber lust only seven loans, amounting in the aggregate to £f')fibO, were actually made. Scverwl of those are now in progress, and will be completed during the present season. " Up to the present time, April, 1851, the total number of applications which have been received arc thirty-three, of which fourteen have been approved, amounting in the whole to the sum of .£7,GoO. We have found much greater difficulty in making final arraUj^^ements relative to the proportions of the build- ings connected with the small loans, varying from i,'-200 to ^'400, than for the large ones ; but still mat- ters are progressing regularly and s'eadily ; and we feel assured that on the completion of a few squares of farm-offices in any district, that the number of appli- cations will increase ia proportion as the benefit de- rived from the buildings becomes apparent to tlu> neighbouring proprietors and principal tenant-fanners. "sums expended, and progress of the AV0RK3 DURING THE YEAR 1850. "' In our report for the year 1849, we stated that up to the ;31st December of that year the total sum ap- plied for amounted to £3,501,776, while the gross amount of loans granted, deducting those relinquished, was ^''1,617,529, leaving a balance on hand up to that date, exclusive of £57,730 allocated, of £124,741 out of the sum of £''1,800,000 previously voted by Parlia- ment. " During the last session of Parliament, the Land Improvement Fund having been further increased by an additional vote of £200,000 (Act 13 and 14 Vic, cap. 31, sec. 1), a great number of applications which had been postponed, or of which only a portion of the sum applied for had been sanctioned, were entertained, and loans perfected to the amounts requisite to com- plete the works previously approved of by us. In consequence, a number of new loans have been made during the period which has intervened between De- cember 31, 1S49, and December 31, 1850, to which our present statement refers. "Up to December 31, 1850, the total sum applied for amounted to £3,835,734, and the amount of loans sanctioned, deducting those relinquished, amounted at that time to £1,777,954, leaving an apparent balance on hand of £222,046 out of the £2,000,000 allocated by Parliament; but at that period investigations had been completed, and allocations made relative to new loans not then recommended for your lordships' sanc- tion, but which either have been or will be immediately THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. submitted for your lordships' approval, araountinEf to £91,28G, Icavinijf only an unappropriated balance of £130,760. " The gross amount of Instalments on loans which have been issued from the commencement up to the 31st December, 1850, is £1,042,017, of which £250,609 has been issued between 31st December, 1849^ and 31st December, 1850. " According to the several reports of our inspectors, it appears that the sum of 4.'7 19,452 has been expended in thorough draining, subsoiling, making farm-roads, &c., up to the 31st December, 1850, and the sum of j^323,lGo, being the amount of the instalments which have been last issued to the several proprietors, may be said to be in progress of expenditure. " In our last report we expressed our regret that a few jjroprietors who had obtained loans, either in the autumn of 1847 or early in 1848, and to whom an in- stalment had been issued, had not then expended the money. We have now the pleasure to state that, in consequence of the pressing expostulations which have been made to such defaulting proprietors, the greater number commenced operations, and having expended the money advanced in a satisfactory manner, have since received additional instalments. On the whole, then, when we consider the pecuniary diflSculties which press upon a large portion of the landed proprietors of Ireland, and that 2,281 distinct loans have been made, on which £1,042,617 has been issued, we are happy to say that the amount of mstalments which have not yet been brought to account is insignificant when com- pared with the total amount which has been issued. "The number cf acres that ha\c been thorough drained under the Land Improvement Acts, from the commencement up to the date of this report, amounts to 107,060, giving an average cost of £4 10s. per acre, of which 30,000 acres have been drained during the year 1850, and a considerable portion of the land drained has been subsequently subsoiled." PROBUS FARMERS' CLUB. The followin;istence and position of any bars of clay or other retentive strata tending to throw the water to the surface along some particular line ; the nature of the outfal afforded by adjacent rivers or streams, their liability to overflow or fret away their banks after floods, with a variety of other circumstances requiring to be accurately determined and care- fully weighed in order to prevent failure and disappointment in our attempts. It has often ap- peared to me that, considering the way in which draining operations have been usually conducted, it is so far from being extraordinary that they often do not succeed, that it is almost wonderful they ever do. All this applies with additional force to spring drainage, because there we have to deal with a source of supply often very difficult to discover and yet absolutely necessary to be discovered ; we have here to make one drain instead of many ; but this one must be in the right direction and must arrive at the right point and at the right depth, or all that we have done will be often fruitless. In dealing with a piece of ground where a spring is pretty evidently the cause of its wetness, the first point to ascertain is as nearly as possible from observation on the surface where it rises. This is often not easy to do, and requires some little knowledge both of the subsoil and of the strata underneath it. Having ascertained this, the next thing to observe is how a drain can be best brought from the lowest outfal it will command to this point. In a new district a few pits sunk at intervals will frequently help a good deal in deciding this. Having, from all the information that can be gained, decided upon the best direction for the drain to take — that is, the shortest compatible with attaining the requi- site depth — it is best to begin by making its le- vels from the outfal as dead as can be pru- dently done, because we can always rise as fast as we like afterwards, and it is very possible we may find the want of every inch of levels we can possibly procure. A rise of about one inch in a chain, or 1 in 700, with well laid pipes, is abundantly sufficient for the water to flow easily ; and as long as this can be maintained without meeting with either rocks or any other obstruction, there is no danger of its being too deep. It often happens that a drain brought in at a depth of twelve or fourteen feet will efl:ectually re- move the water from many acres of land, when a drain two or three feet shallower would fail alto- gether. As a general rule, indeed, a drain intended to carry off a spring cannot be brought in too deep —it is always easy to bring the water in from above, generally difficult to do so from below. If, how- ever, after having brought the drain in as deep as the levels will allow, the water is still found to rise in the bottom of the trench, the only plan is to sink a vertical shaft till the water rises powerfully into the drain : then put pipes into this vertical shaft; secure them carefully around, make a good connection with the horizontal ones, and the probability is, there will be no more trouble with S8 THE lARMER'S MAGAZINE. it; but this of course involves ailditional trouble and expense, and it is always best to get the drain under it at once if i)Ossible. The i)ij)es used in sprinj? drainage should always be large. Four-inch should be used in all cases where the water rising is at all considerable ; ])e- cause it must be remembered that one drain has here to do the work of many. The tu-o greatest ditbculties to be contended with in draining operations are the occurrence of deep pits and bogs in the course of the drains, and the injury done to the pipes by roots getting into them. The first may, as before remarked, be generally cured by putting indejjendent drains into these pits or bogs —independent, I mean, of the general drainage of the ground. Of course, if one drain can be made to take the water from two or three pits, so much the better. The second is a far more serious enl, and one that there is, I believe, no effecfual mode of guarding against. The roots of the mangold wnrtzel are ])articu]arly apt to grow into drain pipes, and do a great deal of mischief, not only by partially filling them, but also by lifting them out of their places. In boggy ground, too, there is a sort of close matted net-work of roots, which frequently very much interferes with the flow of water through the pipes. The only remedy for these evils is, first, to avoid as much as possible putting drains near hedges or roots of trees, except at a considerable depth ; and, secondly, wherever there appears a danger of the presence of roots, to makeihe pipes ])roportionably longer. Neither of these precautions, liowever, will do more than decrease the evil ; and it is there- fore important that whenever the appearance of a wet spot near a line of pipes after drainage indicates some stoppage, they should at once be taken up, examined, cleaned, and relaid, otherwise the evil will go on increasing. In conclusion it may not be undesirable to give a few instances in which these principles have been applied in practice, with the success attending them. We have within the last two years drained two or three moors on Clahar Garden estate, in the pa- rish of Mullion. These moors lay in the bottom of a valley, with a very tortuous stream running through it, and possessed a tolerably fertile soil, carrying good grass for a month or two in the'year, but lying upon a very retentive clay subsoil some two or three feet thick, \vith rubble underneath. Here we first of all straightened the stream, and thereby prevented its overflowing its banks, which it frequently did after heavy floods. The first moor was drained with one-inch pipes throughout; excej)t the main drain, which ran ])arallel with the river, and was laid with two-inch. The drains were about three feet deep and sixteen, feet apart, and were continued at the same depth until they reached the dry soil. The adjoining land rises precipitately from the moor, and is very rocky. The lower part of this piece of ground is now per- fectly dry, although it was previously difficult to walk over ; and, last season, it ju-oduced as fine a crop of wheat as was grown in the parish. A few wet spots, however, remained in the immediate vi- cinity of the rocky ground. Benefiting by our ex- perience in this case, we have drained the next moor more effectually. JNIany of the drains are laid with two-inch jiipe.';, and they are curved round at the upper end and carried as deep as possible for a short distance into the dry ground. As far as we can yet judge, for this has not been long finished, it appears to have been perfectly successful. Another example is a moor on Gilly Estate, in the parish of Mawgan. This was so wet that the farmer had frequently lost cattle in it. It l\ad a thin soil, very retentive subsoil of yellow clay, was quite flat, and had no extraneou.s water to carry oft'. We drained this principally with one inch pipes, sixteen feet apart, and three feet deep, without any main drain, bat with all the pipes en- tering the ditch at the bottom. A small part was drained with the drains four feet deep and twenty- two feet ajiart ; but these did not answer quite as well, although they invariably began to run just after a heavy fall of rain. This moor lias been cured effectually, although a wet spot or two soiue- times remain a few days after heavy rain where the deep pipes were. It is now in regular course of tillage with the rest of the ground, and bears good crops. The cost of draining this moor per acre wa^ as follows ; — 2,500 1-inch pipes, at '25s. per thousand including freiglit £> 2 G Labour, including opening and filling the trenches, laying the pipes &c. . . 7 5 0 £10 7 0 The cost of labour here is much too high ; the men were all unaccustomed to the work, and did not know how to use the tools. The increas'd va- lue of the moor, however, was at least £1 per acre per annum. A very wet field at Trev/arnevas, in the parish of St. Anthony, cost as follows : — Pipes as before £3 2 C Labour, including an open ditch made at the bottom of the field 4 0 6 £7 2 0 This was an arable field on the top of a hiil lying on a stiff clay over the Serpentina, and very f-;f/)ny. THE faemi^r's magazine. S9 The spring corn wns never able to be put in till the end of May. The first i)lac8 in u'liicli we laid a main drain the cost was as follows : — Small pipes as before £3 2 6 Main drain, 3!G feet, at 75s. a thousand 1 3 10 Labour 4 6 4 4 0 10 £3 At a moor in Merris, in Mullion, the cost v/as £7 5s. 5d. i^er acre. And in another, at Trenance, in Muliion, £7 10s. All things considered, therefore, £8 appears to be a pretty fair average. The excess of cost over similar works in the in- land counties arises principally from the increased cost of pipes, which is nearly double. When we make our own pipes, which will, I hope, before long, be generally the practice, the cost per acre will be considerably reduced. In anotlier moor, on Trevitho estate, in the pa- rish of Mullion, we had to contend with some very deep and wet bogs of the most formidable charac- ter, so as to be obliged sometimes to lay double rows of pipes in one trench, and sometimes 4-inch pipes for two or three drains in succession. Be- sides running out sliort side-drains in all direc- tions, where it appeared necessary, we kept our drains as deep as we possibly could — eight, ten, and twelve feet— laying our pipes bit by bit, and filling in at once above them ; and the result has, so far, exceeded our most sanguine expectations. The ground has sunk considerably in level, and the quantity of water coming out of the main drains, which was at first nearly a four-inch jiipe full, has decreased very much ; indeed, there is no difficulty in ploughing or working the ground in any way, whilst before it v/ould, as the men said, have buried a house, to say nothing of horses and cattle. Again, in a small moor, near Mullion Church- tovi'n, wc have been exceedingly annoyed, by a constant net work of fibrous roots fdling the pipes, making the water run sluggishly and come out a dirty red colour, instead of clear as it should have done. This moor v/as first laid with one incli pipes, and we are now taking up such of them as appear to be choked and relaying them with two inch ; probably three inch would be better still. I will only allude to one more example — a field on Merris in Mullion. Here we found one part of a field on the side of a hill constantly wet, whilst the remainder was tolerably dry ; I suspected the exis- tence of a spring ; but as, on sinking pits, we could not discover one, and found the subsoil a retentive clay, we determined on thorough draining. We accordingly began at one end and carried our drains up sixteen feet apart. Drain after drain ran pretty freely for a day or two and then stopped- Whilst cutting one of the last drains, liowever, the water suddenly burst out into the trench (so that the man were glad to get out of it as quickly as possible), and continued running a strong stream for some days. As soon as we were able to work at it, we continued this drain pretty deep into the hill-side, laying four inch pipes in it ; and there it is now running half a pipe full, whilst the others are aU dry. It need not be added that the field is cured. This was a case for spring and not thorough drainage. Having already, I fear, exhausted your patience by a long string of o])iriions, theories, and facts, following no regular order, and as yet but partially borne out by experience, I have only to add, in conclusion, that I do earnestly hope that botli landowners and land-occupiers will ere long sec the importance of bringing into cultivation the thousands of acres of land now lying either wholly or partially useless in this county, solely for want of draining ; that they will at all events make the cal- culations, and see if they find that it will amply re- munerate them for the required outlay ; and of the result of these calculations, if fairly conducted, I have no fear. And I hone, too, that when they do undertake it, they will do it in accordance with right principles; that is, in such a way as to avoid, not only the cost and annoyance of failure, but the liability to have to do it all over again in a fev/ years. — West Briton." DAIRY HUSBANDRY. A very much neglected branch of farming is the ':ysti"m of dairy husbandry. In many districts it does not pay. In some fev/ it is pursued as a busi- ness, but there is sad mismanagement; whereas, compared with corn-growing, it, wlion well man- aged, will often be found a more remunerative pro- cess Combined with arable land it is often sadly ne- glected, left to chance and circumstances, and sup- posed to devolve mainly, if not altogether, on the 40 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. female part of the farmer's establishment. One }rreat disadvantage of the farming class pursuing any of the great branches of profit is that they can- not thoroughly divide their labour. For instance, animal and vegetable life depend on each other ; and one farmer cannot cultivate one, and another another branch of the business. A spinner, a cloth-finisher, and a dyer, divide the labour and care and skill and energy of their several opera- tions. A piece of wool goes to one, who selects, and combs, and spins it into yarn; a second takes this, and weaves and finishes ; and a third, again, takes this and a[)plies to it the finishing dye. But the farmer who keeps stock, whether for the pail, the carriage, or the butcher, must grow corn and straw and roots. He must know the manual operations of animal chemistry and vegetable physi- ology ; must know the movements, practically at least, of almost the whole cycle of the sciences. But he does not. His operations are fitful and empi- rical; he reasons not for what he does. He grows crops at too great expense — grudges, perhaps, his cattle a little artificial food ; treads down his straw in winter, and calls it manure ; but buys bones and guano. Sometimes he feeds his cattle on the one hand with plenty of good food, and allows it to waste again by the chilling effects of the rain and cold and frost. Others can manage vegetable and animal life bettex", but make sad work with their products : ruin and spoil the cheese and butter and pork for want of special knowledge of the best modes of treating these productions. To such, the last of Richardson's series of hand- books, " The Cow,"* will be an invaluable guide. It aims at avoiding all circumlocution, and dashes at once into the substance of all that science and experience have taught the agriculturist and dairy- man, up to the present period ; and the facts and principles it contains, together with its advice and directions, cannot be obtained except with a very critical eye, alembecising the contents of a vast pile of authorities. Commencing with an introduction on the origin of British cattle, it goes on to divide classes of cattle, not as has been usual by the length of the horn, as short-horned, middle-horned, long-horned, and hornless herds, but classes the breeds as "fat- producing and milk-producing." He says — " It is usual in works on cattle to classify them by the length or shortness of their horns ; and as a matter of natural history it may be the most correct mode of dividing or classifying the different tribes of animals which prevail in one or other of the dis- * Thp Cow : Dairy Husbandry unrl Cattle Breerling. By M. M. Milburn, Author of Prize Essays of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. London : W. S. Orr ic Co. tricts of Great Britain and Ireland. But for prac- tical ])urposes it is by no means either advantage- ous or convenient. There are certain breeds which have certain peculiarities ; and as the size of horn has no connexion whatever with those qualities, it is by far the most desirable course to classify them according to their propcrtips rather than by any mark of distinction altogether unindicative of their peculiar capabilities" (p. 15). The writer then goes on to describe the confor- mations of the animal indicative of tendency to se- crete milk ; and in passing, reviews Guenon's theory, and gives a history of its reception and treatment in France, leaning raiher to the idea of flatness of make of the animal generally as indicative of milk- secreting tendencies, as roundness is of the fat- forming. He then instances the Ayrshire, the Al- derney, the Yorkshire, and several other breeds, and passes on to the other class — the meat-makers. Here he enters upon points and symmetry, and with the illustrations of course first selects the short-horn, then the Hereford, then the Highland Scot, and among the last the Devons, paying, how- ever, a well-deserved tribute to such men as Mr. Turner, of Barton, for his efforts to improve the breed. We do not intend to follow him through the chapters on cattle breeding, feeding, calf-rearing, or cow-leeching, to which he administers a well- deserved castigation; but his chapter on dairy- management is so different from most works on the subject, which are nearly all reprints from Aiton, who was indeed the best of the writers on this dif- ficult subject, that it deserves attention. After a very clear and elaborate description of the different parts of milk, chemically, and a de- scription of the changes it undergoes, he goes on to say — "The object of the dairym.an is sometimes to assist and sometimes to retard these natural stages of decomposition, into which the milk will run when left to itself; sometimes it is necessary to defer, sometimes to hasten, these stages ; and he possesses great power for controlling them. Thus heat, it will be seen, is necessary to all these stages of action. Hence, in winter, he can easily arrest, and by artificial application as easily advance, the manipulations of his craft. But in summer it is not easy to control. He has often to be in his dairy watching his milk under the influence of the sun's rays, and he contrives the dairy so as to keep out the hot rays of the sun as far as possible ; or he endeavours, by evaporation or profound shade, to counteract their influence" (p. 61). The different kinds of butter come first under review, and the circumstances affecting its manu- facture and preservation ; the preservation of milk. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 41 and its adulterations, ai'e also succinctly described. Take the following hint for a connoisseur, as to the inoculation of cheese : — "The inoculation of cheese is one of the refine- ments of modern taste and luxury. A blue mould is by some considered the sine qua non of a tasty cheese ; while others prefer the decay to be grey, and the cheese to be in a state of putrefaction so absolute as to be soft and wet — a nidus for mites and jumpers. If it be desired to give a cheese, es- pecially a Stilton, the flavour peculiar to one of its kind, it may easily be accomplished. A dozen holes may be made in the specimen to be operated upon, with the common cheese-trier, and the pieces taken away. Tlie same trier may cut as many pieces out of the favourite cheese, and insert them in the ])laces from which the others were removed. This covered up in a close place for a month will, if free from mould before, turn out absolutely ripe, and be of the same flavour as the cheese from which it was inoculated, always premising that the moulding process had not first set in in the inoculated sub- ject" (p. 69). The writer goes on to describe the mode of mak- ing the various kinds of cheese so celebrated in the country— the Dunlop, the Cheshire, the Stilton, the Glo'ster, the Wensleydale, the Chedder, the Parmesan, and the Mascarponi, giving not only the modus operandi of the making, but the tempe- rature at which they are most successfully made. The temperatures given are — Dunlop 85 degrees. Cheshire 83 „ Stilton ^ 85 „ Parmesan 1 20 „ Pasturage, treatment, and proportions of new to old milk, make much of the difterence in different kinds of cheese. — Gardeners' and Farmers' Journal. THE AGRICULTURAL DISTRICTS OF ENGLAND. [from the times' commissioner.] Carlisle, Jan., 1851. The lower lands of East Cumberland chiefly rest on the red sandstone formation, and the upper dis- trict on mountain limestone. In the plains along the banks of the rivers and streams, the Eden, the Esk, the Irthing, the Caldew, and the Line, the soil is generally a fertile alluvial loam ; on the low- lying ridges which divide the several plains, it varies from a strong retentive soil to good friable turnip land ; and near the Scottish border, on the Sark and towards the Solway, there is an annually diminishing extent of unimproved bogs or peat moss. The lands along the valleys are very liable to be flooded by the sudden rise of the streams after heavy rains in the mountainous district on the eastern border of the county. The quantity of rain which falls during the year in this county is in the most favoured parts nearly twice as much as on land at the same elevation on the east coast, while the greater frequency of rainy days gives a character of humidity to the atmosphere much more bene- ficial to the growth of grass and green crops than corn. This humidity of climate has given to those who cultivate the soil with a wise desire to enlist nature on their side, instead of vainly trying to supersede an influence which may be modified but cannot be controlled, a preference for stock over corn farming. By keeping this in view we shall be better able to appreciate the value of the advice lately given by Sir James Graham to the tenantry of Cumberland, to " plough less and graze more," a corroboration of which is found in the manage- ment adopted by all the best farmers we visited in this county. The fact that agricultural labourers here are not in excess, as in some of the southern counties, removes of itself any objection on the score of diminishing employment; while all attempts which have been made to introduce on a large scale the corn system of the east coast, however success- ful for a time, have in the end been found unremii- nerative. A wet autumn has interfered with the proper season for sowing the wheat trop ; or if got in during a favourable time, and after giving every promise of an abundant increase, the continued rains of a wet summer "lodge" the crop, and the farmer, when he thrashes out his bulky stack-yard, is greatly disappointed in the quality and quantity of the yield. Mr. Curwen tried the system 40 years ago on a large scale, and failed; and though for the introduction of the best breed of short-horns and the spirit he infused among all classes for agri- cultural improvement his name is still gratefully recollected, as a corn farmer his example has not been followed. The future range of the price of corn is likely still further to limit any desire for its more extended cultivation in this county, and the fact that the men who have really made money here have done so as breeders of feeders of stock, has become so generally understood that to the deve- lopment of that branch of their business the atten- tion of the best farmers is now chiefly directed. The farms, for example, of Mr. Ferguson, of Harker Lodge, a considerable extent of which used to be kept in cultivation, are now being laid to grass with such success that on an extent of 700 acres 3,000 hoggets and 200 cattle are fed during the summer, the hoggets being sent oflf to the mar- ket as they become fat, after yielding an increase of 43 THE FAIIMKR'S MAGAZINE. 103. ])er head, on the avera.^o, for their keep from the end of April till November. Ketherby, the estate of Sir James Graham, occu- pies the north-western extremity of the county on the Scottish border, and extends from the Sohvay for seven or eiglit miles up Eskdale. It includes in one compact and undivided property the whole of the land between the lower part of the river Line and Dumfricsshii'e, and comprises altofjether nearly 30,000 acres of land, between 2,000 and 3,000 acres of whicli arc wood, much of it fine old tiin- ber. Sir James succeeded to the estate u[)wards of 30 years ajro, and since that time he has been un- intermiilinfrly eno;aged in its improvement. Neither time nor large exjienditure has been spared to make it what it is now confessed to be— the best conditioned estate in Cumberland. Time and money alone would not have done this had not both been expended with judgment; and it may surprise our readers to hear that a statesman, wYio during the greater ])ortion of that time has occupied so con- spicuous a place in the councils of the nation, is more minutely acquainted with tn.e details of arable farming and the general management of land than many men of inferior capacity who devote their whole lives to the business. The leading feature in the management and im- provement of the Netherby estate has been the timely consolidation of the' good land into large farms, and the proper subdivision and enclosure of the inferior lands. An idea may be formed of the extent to which this principle has been acted on, and the consequent diminution of an overgrown agricultural occupying population, from the fact that the number of rent-))aying tenants holding land in 1820 was 340, and in 1350 only 165. Fine farms of 300 and 400 acres now occupied in one holding by an enterprising tenant, were then held in seven or eight separate possessions. The de- molition of useless clay buildings and superfluous hedges caused au immense saving of horse pov.'cr; and, as one great feature in the management seems to have been the careful selection and encourage- ment of good tenants and the unsparing weeding out of bad ones, Sir James was at every step assisted b> his tenants in the further imj)rovement of his property. He had not to work single- handed against ignorance or indifterence, but enhsted on his side both energy and capital. In planting sheltering woods to enhance the value of his farms, he was at the same time laying by an improving capital ; and in erecting new farm build- i ip;s, in draining, removing, and replanting fences, making ojien water-ways and embankments, and constructing roads, he was assisted by his tenants, who contributed in labour a material part of the cost. The buildings on the estate, vv'hich were then chiefly of mud and thatch, have all been replaced by substantial stone and slate. Year after year sees a diminishing extent of moss, the landlord contri- buting the material for drainage, and the tenant performing all the other cost of the reclamation. During the cun-ency of his lease he enjoys the benefit of his industrj-, but at the close of it the landlord participates in the increased value caused by the improvement. In constructing new fences the same principle is adopted, and the tenant is bound to maintain them constantly in good order. This is strictly attended to, and the neatly trimmed thorn fences along all the lines of road traversing this extensive estate mark its boundaries on every side. Great thovigh the expenditure of the landlord has been, it could not have effected so much with- out the aid of an cnter[)rising and industriouM tenantry—wisely directed it is true, 1)ut still rendered in addition to the rent. The farms are all let on lease at money rents for a jieriod of 14 years, free of all manner of tithes. The tenant enters on his farm at the term of Can- dlemas, and ])ays his rent at two terms in the year — Whitsuntide and Lammas. He pays all taxes, rates, and burdens, already imjjosed or that may be imj)o.sed, by law uj)on farmers during his term of possession. The stipulations as to management are very stringent, but we were assured that a good tenant is never interfered v.-ith. With regard to drainage, the former custom on the estate was for the landlord to furnish the tiles free of charge and the tenant to put them in. This system was commenced many years ago, but the drains were then made too shallow, and a great portion is now being taken up and relaid at greater depth. Sir James nov/ executes all drainage at his ovvn cost, the tenant performing carriage and pay- ing 5 per cent, on the net outlay. Two-inch ])ipeH, with a flat side to lie on, are the size chiefly used ; they are 13 inches ia length when burned, and cost at the kiln iGs. per 1,000 for all sizes as required (a due ])roport!on of large mains being furnished at the same price), the cost of coals, inclusive of cartage, being 10s. per ton. The drains are made, according to the nature of the soil, from three to four feet in depth and seven to ten yards a})art, and the highest charge for interest to the tenant is 3s. Gd. per acre. In the management of his woods Sir James docs not fail to take advantage of a new outlet afibrded by the increasing v.ants of oar manufacturers. AVe heard that he is at present in treaty with a thread manufacturer of Manchester for ti>e erection of a steam-power mill at Longlown, at which the small v/ood of the estate is to be cut into bobbins. This trade is already largely established at Winrlermere, and supplies an excellent market for the tojis, bcughs; and rubbish, which used formerly to be burnt to get them out of the way. For this j)ur- pote !)e2ch, hazle, elder, birch, and ash coppice are all suitable, and are now sold, where the trad 3 is fully established, at Is. per cubic foot. At a sale lately in that district a coppice of this description brought £30 an acre, free of all expense of labour, to the owner of the land, and in about 14 years more the same cojipice will be again ready to cut. Su?h prices cannot, of course, be looked for at first, but when the trade is fully organised the manufac- turers compete with each other, and as higher rates call further on their ingenuity, ijou'der factories are established, where all the wood under one inch in diameter, and which is therefore unsuitable for the bobbin mill, is turned to profitable account. Be- sides the direct benefit to an estate in affording a good and accessible market for the small wood, a mill of this descrij)tion employs 50 or Go hands, and THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 43 In process of time it may lead to the manufacture of the thread as well as the pirns. There has Ijeen no abatement of rent on the es- tate, nor are there many complaints. The prices of coi-n arc Ion-, and the returns from cattle have not been remunerative ; but Sir James Graham's tenants draw a large ])ropo.tion of their annual leceipts from the feeding of sheep and pigs, both of which have been paying well. Considering the condition of the farms ay regards drainage, fences, and build- ings, the rent appears to be.faii'b,' charged, and the tenants have no doubt that Sir James will not per- mit them alone to bear all the bur-den of unfors^een lovv' j)rices, should they continue. The present leases were entered to in 1843. Rents vary con- siderably, according to the quality of the soilj from 20s. to 26s. an acre may be the average for arable land, about a tenth of which is reclaimed moss. The highest rent for a large farm of excellent land, com- ])letely drained, fenced, a;id housed, is 36s. an acre, the tenant also i^aying rates, the whole of which do not together exceed Is. 6d. i)er £1. The usual course of husbandry adopted on the estate is the five course, the land reniaining two years in grass. A good farm.er who desires to change the system is at once ])ermitted to do so, and on land of su))erior quality it is understood that the landlord would not object to such a tenant taking wheat every alternate year if lie found such a prac- tice advantageous;. As an example of the mode of farming practised on the estate we may shortly describe that of Mr. Birrel, of Guards. He occupies the extreme north- v/estern boundary of P^ngland, his land lying a few yards from the shop of the famous Gretna black- smith wiio used to bind for ever the runaway lovers who presented themselves at his forge. In extent the farm comprises 475 acres, oO being reclaimed moss, for which the landlord su])plied the tiles and the tenant expended the rest of the cost of the recla- mation. This was a condition of the lease, the land- lord providing tiles, and the tenant binding himself to reclaim a certain number of acres annually. The farm is divided into three natural divisions, (1) of moss, (2) weak land unsuitable for wheat, and (3) good land fit for the grov/lh of any kind of crop. These are each subdivided into five fields, and the rotation being a five course, tiierc is thus annually a field of each quality of the farm bearing the same kind of crops — there being three fields of oats, three of green crop, three of wheat, barle}', or oats, three of " seeds," and three of pasture. This, with steady management, insures as nearly an uniform result as can be attained. The green food and fodder bear a pretty constant proportion to the quantity of stock, and the amount of horse and manual labour are regulated in the same manner. The rotation begins with oats, which are sown broadcast on one furrow, and yield 27 bushels an acre on the inferior land, to 36 and 43 on that of better qality. The oats are followed by green crop, one-third of v/hich is pota- toes, one-third white and yellow turnips, and one- third swedes. The potatoes are manured with the best dung of the farm, and yield from 6h to 7h tons an acre, of the Prince Regent variety, which is at present selling at £3 per ton. The turnips and swedes receive about 20 tons of dimg and 2 cwt. of guano per acre, all that have been dunged for being drawn for consumption in the feeding-houses. The turnips whicli are to Le eaten on the ground by sheej) receive no dung, but have three cv.t. of guano per acre. The sv/edes are all taken up in Decem- ber and stored for use in spring, as the farmers here are quite sensible of the injury done both to the soil and the root by leaving it in the ground during the winter and early part of spring. Two- thirds of the land, after green crop, is sown with oats, one- third with wheat, the average yield of v/hJch is 30 bushels an acre. 20 fat cattle, reared on the farm, are sent to market annually, and 300 Cheviot lambs are bought in September, and, after being wintered on turnips, are sold fat off the grass during the summer. They receive cake or corn from the end of January till sold, and leave an average advance of 20s. each. 60 pigs are bred and fattened an- nually on the produce of the farm, and bring about £200. They are bought by dealers, who lake chem by railway to Leeds, Nottingham, and oilier mid- land towris, whence a brisk demand h.as arisen, ac- comi)anied by paying prices. Five pairs of horses, assisted occasionally by two young ones, do all the horse- vvork of the farm. They are chieily fed in the stable, except during the summer, when they are turned out niglitly on a good pasture. So little do the farmers wioh to increase the ex- tent of their arable land, and so sensible are they of the gi eat advantage of laying their land to grass with a full plant of " seeds," that it is not uncom- mon to see the farmers themselves, and of their ovv-n choice, sowing out their fields without a corn crop. . This practice is attended with mucli success. On the fine farm of Mr. Cibbons, of Burrfoot, a large extent of strong land is nov/ being laid to grass in this v/ay. It is fallov.ed and thoroughly cleared of weeds, and in the month of June or Jul}', as soon as it can be got ready, it is sov, ii with a mixture of grass, rape, and clover seeds, in these proportions— 5lb. perennial rye grass, 7ib. v.-hite clover. 71b. cov/ grass or perennial red clever, and 3lb. or 4lb. of rape-seed per acre. This is stocked with sheep the same autumn, the 40-acrc piece which we saw having yielded excellent keep for 3S0 sheep for upwards of eight u'eeks. It is nov/ a dee]) rich green, very refreshing to the eye at ibis season, and v.-ill keep and feed a heavy stock of slieep during the coming summer. Bordering with Sir James Graham on the Scot- tish side is the estate of Lord Mansfield, who has lately concluded an arrangement with his tenants which is said to have given complete satisfaction. The basis of that arrangement is that the rent during the last leases of 14 years is converted into a grain rent at the average price of the county for these 14 years, and, that being ascertained, 10 per cent, is deducted, and the balance, as a fixed money rent, becomes the future rent of the farm. On these terms the v/hole of the tenants have willingly entered into new leases. By this arrangement au improving tenant reserves to himself the whole benefits of his improvements, whereas a new valua- tion taxes the improving tenant unfairly and lets the sluggard go free. The tenants of East Cumberland are an indus- trious, hard-working, and economical class of men. 44 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Their families are brought up to industry, the younf>- men working in the lields, and the daughters as- sisting in the dairy and the house. The in-doors work of a ('uniberhuid farmhouse is a serious mat- ter, as all the farm servants, married and single, receive the whole of their food in the farmer's kitchen. They have bread, jiorridge, and milk to breakfast, broth, meat, and bread to dinner, and milk i)orridgo and bread to supper. Besides jjre- paring all tliis, the daughter of a substantial farmer or independent yeoman may be seen on market- daj^ at ( 'arlisle selhng her poultry and dairy produce while her father or brother is disposing of and de- livering his corn and potatoes. Derby, February, 1851. A description of Chatsworth, the magnificent residence of the Duke of Devonshu-e, docs not fall within our province, though no one ought to pass through that part of Derbyshire without spending a few hours among its varied beauties, both natural and artificial. It is a privilege which the humblest is alike capable of en- joying with the haughtiest ; and it is a trait in the Duke's character worthy of being mentioned, that he takes a particular pleasure in witnessing the gratified and happy countenances of the wondering artisans and their families, who are brought up in crowds from the "black" country in Staffordshire by the excursion- trains, and are permitted to walk through and inspect his superb apartments and ornate grounds. Bat the village which the Duke has erected within the park for the accommodation of his labourers, and the arrangements he has made for their comfort, may be briefly described. The village of Edensor is entirely the property of the Duke of Devonshire, and within his park. It comprises the parish church, a very hand- somely-built school, and a considerable number of cot- tages, standing singly or in groups, and all disposed in such a way as to produce the most pleasing diversities of effect. They are constructed substantially of white freestone, with variegated roofs, and interspersed with pretty green slopes and shrubs. Their pointed gables, Italian towers, and snug picturesque little porches show that here the labourer has both a comfortable and an elegant home. The park itself is partly devoted to their comfort, the best of it being reserved for the cows of the cottagers and labourers on the estate. The rates paid by the labourers for joisting a cow are from 50s. to 55s., which are very moderate, and must be a great boon, and add much to the comfort of a labourer's fireside. Another part of the park, about 300 acres in extent, is joisted to the tenants, who are thereby enabled to ease their farms of young stock in summer, and to reserve part of their grass for hay. The rate charged to the farmers for four-year-olds is 25s. ; for two-year-olds, 353. ; for young horses, SOs. each ; and for a mare and foal, £5. We are persuaded that this is a. plan which might be advantageously adopted on m jny large estates, and which would afford, on moderate terms, very useful keep to the neighbouring tenantry, and possibly with more direct advantage to the proprietor than he, on the ave- rage, secures from speculatingin the grazing of cattle on his own account. The principal proprietors in this part of the county are the Dukes of Devonshire and Rutland. On neither estate h;>ve there been any reductions of rent, but both are believed to be moderately let. On the Duke of Rut- land's estate it has been thought proper, on account of the complaiuti of the tenants, to order a revaluation. That has not yet been completed, but so far as it has gone the farms are now revalued at the same rent, with the average of wheat under 40s., as they bore eighteen years ago, when the average was 65s. This is considered by the authorities on the estate a wonderful result, and only to be accounted for by supposing that at that time the farms were greatly undervalued. The solution, in our opinion, may be found without casting any imputa- tion on the skill or good faith of the former valuators, by considering that in a district where nine-tenths of the land are in grass, the price of wheat cannot truly re- gulate the value of soil to the farmer. His main depend- ence is on stock ; and the price of meat of every kind, and of dairy produce, wool, and vegetables, is as good as it was then, while the demand for these articles is constantly increasing. Not a farm on this extensive di- vision of the Duke of Rutland's estates has been given up. If by any chance one becomes vacant, there are many competitors for it, the Duke's character as a land- lord standing very high with his tenantry. But not only are thei'C no farms vacant, but we were told on most competent authority, that at the rent audits there had not been more than one defaulter for the last five years, and at the last audit only one complaint of the times, among a tenantry numbering 1,100, including village and cottage as well as farm tenants. The farms are generally small, being from 50 to 100 acres in extent. Where drainage is required the Duke pays half the expenses, the tenant charging all team work as part of his share. The stock being chiefly for dairy purposes and fed in stalls, the liquid flowing from them is collected in tanks made at the latullord'sexpense. In the neighbourhood of Rowsley the tenantry used to suffer very serious loss by the strictness with which game was preserved ; but the hares and rabbits have been greatly reduced, and the winged game only is now pre- served so strictly. The damages paid by the Duke to the tenants last year for the destruction of their crops by gams were ^£600. His Grace makes no charge for repairs or additions to farm buildings, looking upon this outlay as a landlord's investment, which is as re- quisite to enable the tenant to pay his rent as the pos- session of tiie land itself. There are few changes of tenancies, but the farms are periodically revalued. One case, of rather an instructive character, may be men-. tioned, where a man of slovenly habits fell into arrear with his rent, and got behind in every way. He was warned that he must either improve his habits or leave the farm. He did improve, and has now paid off all arrears, and has his farm better stocked tlian ever it was before. The rent of the best grass land may be stated at £2 per acre ; arable, 15s. to 30s. — all tithe free. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 45 The eastern district of North Derbyshire is more of au arable country. Great improvements have beea and arc being made by Mr. Arkwright, of Sutton, on his extensive estates, which we regretted that we had not an opportunity of visiting and inspecting. In the southern division of the county, near Duffield, the land is chiefly in grass, the best of which lets from 40s. to 60s. an acre. In preparation for hay it is top- dressed with dung. The hedges are neatly trimmed, but the fields are small, and encumbered with numerous hedge-row trees. The corn is sown broadcast. Some miles further to the north, the land, while under crop, is not uncommonly cropped in this succession — (1) oats, (2) wheat, (3) oats, (4) fallow, (5) wheat, (6) " seeds," (7) wteat. Good green crop land is fallowed when it becomes too foul to bear a crop. It is then limed and cropped again. Many farms have no turnips whatever, and the accommodation for stock is generally defective. There are cases, however, of much better management. The following particulars of a farm in the parish or dis- trict of Shottle may convey an idea of the system pur- sued. The farm consists of 130 acres, between 30 and 40 of which are under tillage. A portion is under meadow and old pasture, and the rest in pasture in rotation with arable. Two successive crops of oats are taken when the land is broken up from grass, then fallow, limed and dunged, then wheat sown out with " seeds," which remain in grass two years more. The oats are said to average 32 bushels an acre — certainly a very moderate crop, considering the quality of the land. There are 22 dairy cows kept on this farm, short-horns or crosses. They are housed during the winter, and get very few turnips, but are kept in fresh condition by the following mixture of food, in addition to their fodder of oat straw :— The refuse of the oat straw in the cribs, and any damaged or inferior hay, are cut into chaff, over which is poured half a peck of ground linseed, which has been previously steeped twenty-four hours in cold water. The mixture, which is damped a little, begins to heat in twenty-four hours, and is then given to the cows once a day viith a handful of bruised oats, but the half-peck of linseed mixture serves the whole stock three days. When the cows calve, their daily allowance is doubled, with a few turnips besides. We were assured this feeding kept the dairy cows in good healthy con- dition when not giving milk, and it certainly is not costly. The dung on this farm was carefully managed, and mixed with absorbent earth, and the whole liquid is collected in a tank, whence it is pumped over the dung- heap during the winter, and taken out to the meadow in spring. On the land farmed by Mr. Bell Crompton, of Duf- field Hall, a stock of Ayrshire dairy cows has been suc- cessfully introduced. Mr. Crompton finds them excel- lent " doers," and more profitable than any other stock on his hmd, considering the quantity and quality of food they consume. The produce of these cows by a short- horn bull are very fine animals. For feeding his cows he grows the large drumhead cabbage, the young plants being transplanted into the field in June, at one yard apart every way, and manured with 7 tons of dung per acie. The plants arc laid in every third furrow, a fork- ful of dung being placed on each plant, which is then covered up by the next furrow. They are taken up when most convenient in winter, the good cabbages being carted off to a plot of ground near the feeding- houses, and there placed top downwards, each plant on the ground, where they remain fresh till wanted. The bad plants are used at once by the pigs and young stock, but none by the milch cows, as they would affect the taste of the milk injuriously. We may mention a top-dressing which has been used here with great success on poor pasture. It consisted of 2 cwt. of rape dust, 3 cwt. of superphosphate, and 1 cwt. of salt per acre, mixed together and applied early in spring. 3 cwt. of guano tried beside it caused a more rapid growth of coarse grass, but the former raised the thickest and most nutritious herbage, especially so of clover. Mr. Crompton finds it a good plan to mix his new mown hay, when only one day cut, in layers with oat or wheat straw. The juice and flavour of the hay make the straw palatable to the stock, and the mixture is eaten eagerly by the milch cows and young cattle in winter. The liquid manure is here also carefully col- lected in tanks, and used with much advantage as a top- dressing on grass. There is still a great deal to be done by drainage in improving the moister parts of this district. The drains which are made are too shallow, 2 to 2^ feet being the general depth. Labourers' wages are from 10s. to 12s. a-week ; cot- tage rents, with gardens, from 3d. to Is. 6d. per week ; poor rates, 74d. per pound ; and the rent of land about 23s. an acre. Before ending the description of Derbyshire we may mention the general impression made on us, and the contrast afiforded with the county we had previously visited — Northumberland. The situation and soil of the two counties are certainly very different, but not more so than the state of agriculture. The rate of rent, wages, and taxes of all kinds, in Derby- shire is higher than in Northumberland. The farms are better cultivated, and the farmers infinitely more pros- perous and contented. In Derbyshire the land is chiefly in grass, carefully managed, and the small proportion of ploughed land receives minute attention. The farms are small comparatively, being from 100 to 300 acres, and the farmers superintend their own business. They are not encouraged by their landlords to add farm to farm without being provided with adequate capital. They de- pend for their returns more on the produce of the dairy, breeding, and sheep stock, than on corn. The low country of Northumberland, again, is chiefly under the plough, most of it undrained, the small farms held by men of insufficient capital, the large ones by men who had capital, but who have been tempted to dissipate it over far too great an extent of land ; the price of corn has failed them, and they have little stock to fall back upon. They have overploughed and entangled them- selves with large undrained farms, the returns from which will not pay the expenses of cultivation. Derbyshire is a pleasant picturesque county, in which landlords, 4G THK FARMER'S MAGAZINE. tetianis, and kil) urcis a.cm uiulu i!Iy i;'ji\tciit, v.Ikic the pastures are well managed, the ploughed lands neatly cultivated, and the stock suitable to the soil and carefully tended. Passing through Leicestershire, wc traversed the Sinall county of Rutland, which seemed undulating and well wooded. The grass land management appeared to be very good ; the turnips inferior. Close round Stam- ford much of the land is still uninclosed, and held in little patches by farmers whose fields are intermixed with each other. Eighty years ago Arthur Young described it exactly as it is at present, adding then that " it is me- lancholy to think that, in an age wherein the benefits of inclosing are so well understood, such tracts should re- main in such a comparatively unprofitable stHte." And yet so they remain to this day. The following is a table of the prices in this neigh- bourhood in 1770. 1851. Beef, per lb., Sd 5Jd. :Muttoti, per lb., 3d, 5d. Butter, per lb., 6d. .. .. .. .. Is. Pork, per lb 5d. Miik, per rpiart . . . . . . . . 2d. Bread, per lb., 2J l^d. Wheat per quarter, 41s. Id. .. .. .. 403. Labourers' wages, 63. per week . . . . IO3. "Womca at weeding coru and haymaking 8d. to Is. a day. Boys who can plough 5s. a week without food. Cottage reuts, 20s. with an r SOs. on great estates, with 1 acre of laud < rood of land ; SOs. in open L villages, with small garden. Average produce of wheat on good sandy loam, 20 bush. 28 bushels. Kent per acreof farms, as. to 7s. 20s. to SOs. At Stamford we passed into Northamptonshire, ob- taining a glimpse of the Marquis of Exeter's finely wooded park and mansion of Burleigh. This magnifi- cent place, founded by Queen Elizabeth's Lord Treasurer Cecil, with its grand old trees and noble park, is just the place a foreigner should be taken to, to give him an idea of the wealth of our English nobility. The tenants on this estate arc represented as being in the most hopeless state of despondency on account of the present low prices of agricultural produce ; and as they were complaining vehemently, the Marquis offered to have the farms of any tenants who desired it revalued. Only one on this great estate accepted the offer. There have been no farms of any consequence yet given up, and for those which do come into the market there are plenty of offerers, though men of capital are become chary, and will only look at very desirable farms. The estate is said to be low-rented. Small farmers, of whom there are many, are suffering most severely, as they have not saved anything in good times to fall back upon now. Some of them are, indeed, greatly reduced, and we heard of one who had applied to his parish for relief. Others have sold everything off their farms ; and some, we were told, had not even seed corn left with which to sow their fields. In a fine country, with a uently undulating surface and a soil dry and easy of culture, laid into large fields I niodcratciy ivMilcd, urn- is surprised tn heap ihnt (Itcro is so much complaint and so much real sull'eriiiy among the poorer classes of farmers. It is only in part accounted for by the devastation of game, which on this and some other noblemen's estates in North Northamp- loiishirc is still most strictly preserved. On the 241 h of January last, seven guns, as we were told, on the Marquis's estate, killed 430 head of game — a most im- moderate quantity at such a late period of the season. The fields are all stuck about with bushes to prevent the poachers netting ; and the farmers feel most se- verely the losses they sustain in order that their land- lord and his friends may ^ not be deprived of their sport. The strict preservation of game on this and some other estates in the northern parts of the county w-as described to ns in the bitterest terms, as '' com- pletely eating up the tenant farmer, and against which no man can farm or live upon the farm." It is " the last ounce that breaks the camel's back," and men who might have made a manful struggle Hg^inst blighted crops and low prices, are overborne by a bur- den which they feel to be needlessly inflicted, and of which they date not openly complain. In consequence of the distress among the small farmers many of the labourers would have boon thrown out of employment had work not been found for them by the Marquis in stubbing and clearing woodland, which will thus be rctdaimcd for cultivation. The improvement is expected to be highly remunera. tive in the end, and it is one of the unlocked for results of free trade, which arc to be met with in every part of the country, that a landlord is compelled by circumstances, various in kind, to improve the neglected portions of his estate, and which, without such impelling cause, might have long lain unproduc- tive. Every such improvement is not merely an ad- dition to the arable land of the kingdom, but it be- comes also an increased source of employment to the labourer. The oiTer of a revaluation, which is made by many landlords, may be declined by their tenants, and yet be no proof that they complain un- justly. On every large estate there are tenants of Tarious degrees of enterprise and skill ; and one i'arni, of the same soil naturally with another, may be doubled in its productive qualities by the su- perior skill and industry of its occupier: the want of these qualities may have actually reduced the natural fertility of the other farm. Now, these farms may have been originally valued to their respective occu- piers at the same rent, and a revaluation now would increase the rent of the one and diminish that of the other. In the one ease, the landlord would obtain a benefit from the skili and capital of the tenant over and a!)0ve the intrinsic value of his land : in the other, he would be deprived of its fair value on account of the mismanagement of the tenant. The tenant of in- dustry and skill, who had employed his capital to the advantage of his neighbourhood, would be actually fined for his enterprise ; while the indolent or incapa- ble man, who had benefited neither himself nor others, THE FAKIvJKlVS MAGAZINE. 47 vvoiiltl oiiijUtiii il I'ViMiiiiun foi his ii'Iscaiiiliict or t;cv,li- gtiiee. We ma.v mention au offer which was made by one )iindh)r(l in this district to liis tena\its in order to meet the difficulties of the time. He proposed that an out- Liy of 30 per cent- on the rental shou'.d be exjicnded in cake, njanure, and any otlier beneficial object the tenant preferred, on condition that this outlay siio!tkl be borijc etiually by lamiluid a:]il tLiiaul. It was equivalent to the offer of a reduction of 15 per cent, in the rent, witli this important diiie- rencc-, that that rcduciion was to be made the basis of future fertility. An outlay of 30 per cent, could not fail to be attended by the best results^ inasmuch as the crops would all be greatly increased and the ground- work be laid for solid prosperity. CULTIVATION OF COTTON The cultivation of cotton on soils which, as they form part of the British empire, may not inappro- priately be called British, has been a subject of speculation witli several theorists since the failure of the production of the cotton plant in America has so much injured the success of British manu- facture. This, however, is a subject with which we have little to do. India may or may not be capable of growing that plant to a great or small degree ; it may answer or it may fail in Natal or Cape Coast : on these investigations we have neither practical information nor physical data enough to enable us to determine ; nay, hardly, indeed, to examine. But the anxious and painful inquiries made in America on the subject of the failure of cotton have much to do with the principles of vegetable ])hysio- logy and vegetable chemistry, and promise to throw a little light on investigations of a more domestic and closely interesting character. Why is it that our once far-famed " wheat and bean land" has become " cold clay" ? Why has the tobacco failed to grow in Virginia r— the sugar- cane in Jamaica ? Chemistry says that it is because we took out of the soil more than we put in, and therefore it could not bear the depletion, any more than the arterial system of a man, or the pocket of a bankrupt. So far there can be no possibility of error. Some argue, however, that it is only the mineral ingredients which are required; others say the am- monia; others, again, carbon. Perhaps all are right : it needs the whole. Upon this a theory is based which is not found truthful in practice. Men have imagined that if they could put into the soil exactly what the plants took out, they might grow one crop for ever on the same soil. But this is not so. Hence the excretory theorists have claimed a victory. But the simple question has been asked over and over again in this Journal, Is it not also necessary to put the materials into the soil so as to afford them to the plant in the state riiost fitted for its wants ? Here is the problem. Professor Norton, in his recent investigations on the cotton plant, has done something to solve the difficulty. He took for examination two soils from the same j^lantation, of precisely the same character, the one, however, had grown cotton until it v/as completely exhausted, and the other produced fine crops of cotton. The exhausted soil had nearly two per cent, more of organic matter than the other, nor was there so great a disproportion in the inor- ganic materials of the two soils as might have been expected. But then there was another element of essential difference which accounted for the whole. This was in the degree of solubiUty in the relative ele- ments : — I per cent, only of The exhausted soil had .... 0.117 -^ its elements sol- 1_ uble in water. The unexhausted soil had . . 2.170 ,, ,, The former had 5.19 ,, in acid. The latter 4.96 ,, But the exhausted soil had 88.373 insoluble in acid. The unexhausted 87.83 ,, ,, Thus while the absolute elements dittered in no very striking degree — at least not by any means so far as to account for the one being decidedly firo- ductive and the other decidedly barren— yet as re- gards ready solubility, the exhausted soil has only some one-seventeenth as much ready soluble mat- ter available for the plant as the other. As if it had been said, the soil has indeed all the elements necessary for growing cotton— it has them indeed, but so locked up that the plant cannot disintegrate the cohesion in which their affinities hold them, and hence it fails for want of free and available food. Though rest might restore the balance, it is not so kept at present as to be capable of growing the de- sired crop. Professor Norton, however, went into the very pith of the matter : he examined each part separately, and the following were the re- sults : — 48 LTHE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Fresh soil. .. 1.710 . Worn .,.6, 1.299 0 0.230 0. .... 0, .... 0 0 0 Organic matter Soluble in water — Silica Alumina, iron, and 1 j)hosplioric acid . . J Lime 0.189 Magnesia 0.090 Manganese 0.034 Potash 0.248 Chloride of sodimn . . 0.107 0 Soda 0.000 0 Sulphuric acid 0.144 0 Soluble in acid — Silica 0.409 0 Alumina 1.644 1 Iron 1.448 0 Lime 0.535 1 Magnesia 0.576 0 Manganese 0.002 0 Potash 0.348 0 Soda 0.000 §, Sulphuric acid 0.070 0 Phosphoric acid 0.092 0 The portion insoluble in acid gave — Silica 78.845 84. Iron and alumina .. 5.946 2. Lime 1.091 0. Magnesia.. 1.142 0 Manganese 0.623 0 out soil. 290 ,072 019 .020 .000 .000 .120 .000 015 009 .920 820 ,670 340 080 000 ,070 180 080 ,003 930 370 260 680 000 Now, in this case, it seems the great elements of difference were in the soluble alkalies and salts. True, the exhausted soil had very little phosphates or sulphates ; it was destitute of magnesia and manganese and chlorine. Rut as it is known that lime will replace magnesia, and soda will replace potash in vegetables, it might have been imagined they would live. But in these elements it was defi- cient comparatively : it had only about one-fifteenth of the lime, and little more of the alkalies altogether than one-third. Thus not only is the element of solubility a very important one in the application of manures, but it merits still more investigation. Water is the first, the most common, and the readiest solvent ; but who shall say that acid of any kind is the next ? It will dissolve out, which water will not ; but may there not be some nearer approximation to nature's operations in testing this, than the use of any acid ? When we see such mistakes made by great and able men as a destruction of one of the elements of plants — the sulphur — in the very act of investigat- ing its presence, we ought to be cautious at every step. And it is possible there is some mode of de- composition more in accordance with nature's own operations than any solution in acid at all. We hope to hear that the sulyect will be investigated thoroughly. — Gardeners' and Farmers' Journal. SMITHFIELD CLUB CATTLE SHOW. LIST OF PRIZES. JUDGES OF CATTLE AND LONG WOOLLED SHEEP. Messrs. James Quartley, Henry Chamberlain, Thomas Greetham. JUDGES OF CROSS-BRED SHEEP, SHORT WOOLS, AND PIGS. Messrs. Edward Pope, John Ford, jun., John Farncomb. STEWARDS OF CATTLE AND LONG-WOOLLED SHEEP. Messrs. George Turner, John Buckley, William Loft. STEWARDS OF CROSS-BRED SHEEP, SHORT WOOLS, AND PIGS. Messrs. Jonas Webb, James Burgess, J. Saxby. fTIte names of the butchers purchasers of the several anirnals are given in Italics.) Oxen or Steers. Class 1.— The first prize of 30 sovs., to Mr. William Heath, of Ludham-hall, Norwich, for a Hereford ox, purchased by Mr, Mann, of Croydon — a silver medal to the breeder, Mr. John Oakes, of Afcott, Church Stretton ; the second prize of 15 sovs., to Mr. William Henry Brickwell, of Leckhampstead, for a shorthorned steer (not sold) ; the third prize of 5 sovs., to his Royal Highness Prince Albert, for a Hereford ox, purchased by Messrs. Pratt and Best, of Bridport. Class 2. — The first prize of 30 sovs,, and silver medal as breeder, to Mr. Edward Longmore, Adforton, near Ludlow, for a Hereford steer, purchased by Mr. Nolt, of Birlcnhead ; the second prize of 15 sovs., to Mr. William Heath, of Ludhara- hall, Norwich, for a Hereford ox, purchased by Messrs. Riyhton and Farrow, of Reading; the third prize of 5 sovs., to his Royal Highness Prince Albert, for a Hereford ox, purchased by Mr. Jeffery, of Foubert-place, Regent-street. Class 3. — The first prize of 25 sovs., to Mr. Joseph Phillips, of Aldington, near Wantage, Berkshire, for a Hereford steer, purchased by Mr. Copeland, of Abingdon — a silver medal to the breeder, Mr. Thomas Carter, of Dodmoor, near Ludlow, Salop; the second prize of 15 sovs., to his Royal Highness Prince Albert, for a Hereford ox, purchased by Mr. Alder, of Egham ; the third prize of 5 sovs., to Mr. Isaac Nibiett, of Conygre Farm, Filtou, near Bristol, for a Hereford ox, purchased by Mr. Harris, ofChertsey. Class 4. — The first prize of 20 sovs., to the Right Hon. the Earl of Leicester, of Holkham-hall, Norfolk, for a North Devon ox, purchased by Mr. ColUngwood, of Lambs' Conduit- street — a silver medal to the breeder, Mr. William Baker, of Bishop's Nympton ; the second prize of 10 sovs,, to Mr. Daniel Maydwell, of Ashstead, Surrey, for a Hereford ox, purchased by Mr. Minton, of Windsor. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 49 Class 5. — The first prize of 15 sovs., to tiie Eight Hou. the Earl of Leicester, of Holkham-hall, Norfolk, for a North Devon oyi, purcliased lij Mr. Webber, of the Edgcware-road — a siK'er medal to the breeder, Mr. George Turner, of Barton, near Exeter; the secoud prize of 5 sovs., to Mr. Thomas Bond, of Bishop's Lydeard, near Taunton, for a Devon steer, purcliased by Mr. Kiwj, ofPaddiwjlon. Class 6. — The prize of 10 sovs., to Mr. G. H. Kiuderley, of Kilpaisou, Pembroke, for a Pembrokeshire ox, purchased h'j Mr. ColUwjwood, of Lambs' ConduU-slreet. Cows AND HeIVEES. Class 7. — The first prize of 20 sovs. and silver medal as breeder to Mr. Samuel Druce, of Eynsham, near Oxford, for a Hereford heifer, purchased by Mr. Collinr/wood, of Weslbourne- place, Paddiiif/ton ; the second prize of 10 sovs. to Mr. Pvichard Strattou, of Broad Hinton, near Swindou, Wilts, for a short-homed cow (not sold) ; tlie third prize of 5 sovs. to Mr. John Phillips, of Ardington, near Wantage, Berkshire, for a short-horned Leifer, purchased by Mr. Copeland, of Ahimjdon. Class 8. — The first prize of 20 sovs. and silver medal as breeder to the Right Hon. Lord Feversham, of Duncombe- park, Helrasley, York, for a short-horned cow, purchased by Mr. Cruyy, of Mount-street ; the second prize of 10 sovs. to Mr. Joseph Giliett, of Little Haseley, near AVheatley, Oson, for a Durham cow (not sold). Class 9. — The first prize of 20 sovs. and silver medal as breeder to Mr. William Holland, of Lightclift", near Halifax, for a short-horned cow (not sold) ; the second prize of 10 sovs. to Mr. Robert Beman, of Moreton-in-the Marsh, Gloucester, for a Durham cow (not sold). LONG-'WOOLLED SHEEP. Class 10. — The first prize of 20 sovs. and silver medal as breeder to Mr. R. L. Bradshaw, of Burley-on-the-Hill, Oakham, for a pen of 3 Leicester wethers, purchased by Mr. Glass, of Lambeth Walk; the second prize of 10 sovs. to Mr. R. I. Hall, of Hesley, near Bawtry, for the like, purchased by Mr. Barclay, of Tichfield-slreet ; the third prize of 5 sovs. to Mr. George Walmsley, of Rudston, near Bridlington, for the like (not sold). Class 11. — The first prize of 20 sovs. and silver medal as breeder to Mr. Lawrence Willmore, of Whetstone, near Lei- cester, for a pen of 3 Leicester wethers, purchased by Mr. Caldwell, of Portland-place, New Kent-road ; the second prize of 10 sovs. to Mr. Thomas Pulver, of Broughton,near Kettering, for the like, purchased by Mr. Brooks, of Hampstcad-road ; the tliird prize of 5 sovs. to the Marquis of E.xeter, of Burghley- park, Stamford, for the like (not sold), LONG-WOOLLED (NOT BEING LeICESTEKs). Class 12. — The prize of 10 sovs. and silver medal as breeder to Mr. Robert Beman, of Moreton-in-the-Marsh, Gloucester, for 3 Cotswold wethers, jjio-c/iosecZ hy Mr. Lucking, of Wal- brook, City. Cross-brkd Sheep. Class 13. — The first prize of 10 sovs., and silver medal as breeder to Mr. J. R. Overman, of Burnham Sutton, near Burnham Market, for a pen of 3 cross-bred Southdown and Leicester wethers, purchased by Mr. Collimjwood, of Islington; the second prize of 5 sovs., to Mr. Samuel Drucc, of Eynsham, near Oxford, for a pen of 3 cross-bred long and short-wool i!;e.i]icis,, purchased by Mr. Pecklington, of Old 'Change, City. Class 14. — The prize of 10 sovs. and silver medal as breeder to Mt. J. R. Overman, of Burnham Sutton, near Burnham Market, Norfolk, for a pen of 3 Southdown and Leicester vethtTs, purchased by Mr. Holmes, of Fore-street, City. SnOKT-WOOLLED SlIEEP. Class 15.— The first prize of 20 sovs. and silfct medal as breeder to his Grace the Duke of Richmond, of Goodwood, Chichester, for a pen of 3 Southdown wethers, purchased by Mr. Jeffery, of Fourbert's-place, Regent-street ; the second prize of 10 sovs. to Mr. William Sainsbury, of West Lavington, Devizes, for the like, purchased by Mr. King, of Paddington. Class 16. — The prize of 10 sovs. and silver medal as breeder, to Mr. William Sainsbury, of West Lavington, Devizes, for a pen of 3 Southdown wethers, purchased by Mr. King, of Paddington. Class 17. — The first prize of 20 sovs. and silver medal as breeder, to his Grace the Dulie of Richmond, of Goodwood, Chichester, for a pen of 3 Southdown wethers, purchased by Mr. Kirkby, purveyor to Her Majesty ; the second prize of 10 sovs., to Mr. J. V. Shelley, of Maresfield Park, Maresfield, for the Yike, purchased by Mr. Phijjps, of Lower Belgrave-street. SnORT-WOOLLED (NOT BEING SOUTIIDOVVNS). Class 18. — The prize of 10 sovs. and silver medal to the breeder (withheld). Pigs. Class 19. — The first prize of 10 sovs. and silver medal as breeder to Mr. John Coate, of Hammoon, near Blandford, Dorset, for 3 Dorset pigs, purchased by Mr. Haymaier, of High-street, Poplar; the second prize of 5 sovs. to Mr. Wiliiam I\IilU Barber, of Langley Broom, Slough, Bucks, for 3 Mid- dlesex pigs, purchased by Mr. S(p(ire, of Tottenham Court-road. Class 20. — The first prize of 10 sovs. aud silver medal as breeder, to Mr. John Coate, of Hammoon, near Blaudford, Dorset, for 3 Dorset pigs, purchased by 3fessrs. Hedges and Co., of the Harrow-road ; the second prize of 5 sovs. to His Royal Highness Prince Albert, for 3 Bedford and Suffolk pigs, purchased by Mr. Wall, of Jermyn-street. Class 21. — The fiist prize of 10 sovs. and silver medal as breeder to Mr. John Coate, of Hammoon, near Blandford, for 3 Dorset pigs ; the second prize of 5 sovs. to the Earl of Radnor, Coleshill, near Farringdon, for 3 Coleshill pigs — bot/t pens purchased by Mr. Garland, of Market-place, Oxford-street. GOLD MEDALS. The gold medal for the best ox or steer in Classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, to Mr. Edward Longmore, of Adforton, near Lud' low, Salop, for his Hereford steer, in Class 2, The gold medal for the best cow or heifer in Classes 7, 8, or 9, to Mr. Samuel Druce, of Eynsham, near Oxford. The gold medal for the best pen of long-woolled sheep iii Classes 10, 11, or 12, to Mr. E. L. Bradshaw, of Burley-on- the-Hill, Oakham. The gold medal for the best pen of short-wooUed sheep in Classes 15, 16, or 18, to his Grace the Duke of Richmond, of Goodwood. The gold medal forthe best pen of pigs in Classes 19, 20, or 21, to Mr. John Coate, of Hammoon, near Blandford, for his pen of Dorset pigs. SILVER MEDALS FOR EXTRA STOCK. A silver medal for the best beast in extra stock to Mi"; William Heath, of Ludham-hall, Norwich, for a Hereford ox, purchased hy Mr. Bromwich, of Not ting Hill. A silver medal for the best long-woolled sheep to Mr. Law- rence Willmore, of Whetstone, near Leicester (not sold). A silver medal for the best short-wooUed sheep to Mr. William Sainsbury, West Lavington, near Devizes, purchased by Mr. King, of Paddington-street. A silver medal for the best cro8s*bre(3 sheep to Mr. John E ;•)() The FARMER'S MAGAZINE. IJitclimaii, of J.liilc Million, \Vl;cu'iIy, iutnluised by Mr. Adds, of Epsom. A silver mediil /"or llic best pi^- to Mr. William CuUifoid, of Hajliiig Islam], llavant, Ilauts, for liis old Ilampshirc and Sussex pig, ;)((n7f«s('(; by Mr. Start, of Briijhlon. — This animal attracted great attention, crowds surrounding the pen from morning till night : its weight is said to be half a ton, less seven pounds. niGni,Y COMMENDED. Class 2. — Mr. Alfred Beisley, of Timshury, near Korasey, a Hereford ox, 2>urc/uised by Mr. Ilanslie, of Winchester. Class 7. — Mr. William Gibbs, of Bishops Lydeard, near Tauutou, a Devon heifer, piircJiaseil by Mr. King, of Fiiddi nylon. Class 15. — Mr, John Williams, of Buckland, near Farring- don, a pen of Southdown wethers, purchased by Mr. Maynard, of Queens-road, Chelsea ; "William and Thos. Arkcoll, of Lang- iiey, near Eastbourne, a pen of Southdown wethers, purchased by Mr.Bolterill, of llochesler-row, rrcslminslcr. Class 20. — Sir John Conroy, Old Arborfield pigs, purchased by Mr. Woodley, ofReadiny; Mr. Stewart Majoribauks, York and Suffolk pigs, ^Jiere/ioserf by Mr.Sinkler, of Bromplon ; and Mr. Thos. Kiug, of Paddingtou- street, a pen of Old Bedfordshire pig3,^)H)T//rtsc«' by Mr. Taylor, of Little PuUney-streel. COMMENDED. Class 2.— Mr. Richard Strattou, of Broad Huuton, near SwiudoD, a shorthorued steer, purchased by Mr. Botterill, of Rochester-row, Westminster; Sir C. E. Isham, of Lamport, Northampton, a Hereford ox, purchased by Mr. Collier, of Coventry. Class 7.— Mr. Ilichard Healy, of Laugliton, near Folking- ham, a shorthorned heifer (not sold) ; Mr. Joseph Phillips, of Ardington, near Wantage, a shorthorned heifer fnot sold) ; lit. Isaac Niblett, of Conygre Farm, near Bristol, a shorthorued cow (not soldj. Class 15.— A pen of Southdown wethers. Lord Walsiugham —purchased by Mr. Lancefield, of Camberwell— and Mr. J. R. Overman, of Burnham Sutton, near Burnham Market, for the like, purchased by Mr. Collingwood, of Westbourne-plaee, PaddinytOH. Class 16. — The Duke of Richmond, a pen of Southdown wethers, purchased by Mr. Kirlcby, purveyor to Her Majesty. Class ] 9.— Mr. William Goodson, of Hill Farm, Carshalton, a pen of Esses pigs, purchased by Mr. Ilaymaier, of High- street, Poplar; Sir John Conroy, of Reading, a pen of improved Arborfield pigs, purchased by Mr. Woodley, of Reading ; and Mr. Stewart Majoribanks, of Watford, a pen of York and Sutfolk pigs, purchased by Mr. Russell, of Watford. B. T. BRANDRETH GIBBS, Hon. Sec. Another anniversary of the exhibition whicli the coun- try annually aflbrds the metropolis has just taken place — an exhibition open to the siglit of all, either in the living cattle themselves, or afterwards in the butchers' shops, ornamented with holly and misletoe — an exhibition not, like the majority of shows, for the eye alone, but which, it is to be hoped, will supply many a poor as well as rich man with his Christmas dainties, in the " roast beef of Old England," or in the suet of the plum-pudding, in the sausages not German, and in the pork as cer- tainly not town-fed. It is plain that Londoners owe much to this institu- tion for what they are supposed to value highly at all (iiuc.-, and more cspfcially at ('Inistmao — goocl living. How mucli fatter this compclitioa causes stock generally to be made than it would if no Smithlield Club existed ! How much docs the fat- ting of these animals improve the general character of live stock over the whole of England, by the sight of them in London, and the report carried down into the counties, of the extraordinary fat stock, to say nothing, at the present moment, of the efTects of these shows in improving breeds, in proving whicli fatten earliest, and which are the best fatting kinds, as shown by the perfection of particular specimens ! We allude merely to its effect this year and this Christmas on the fatness of the stock sent up to Smithfield for the immediate consumption of Londoners ; and that this is considered a point of no mean importance, is proved by the number of Londoners who favour the show with their presence this year, as in years gone by. The Bazaar in Baker-street, although considerably enlarged, is throughout the day, and until a late hour iu the evening, filled with crowds of people, the majority of whom, to judge from their criticisms on the cattle, are inhabitants of the metropolis. While we congratulate ourselves upon the unabated interest taken in this exhi- bition, it is also gratifying to perceive that each year brings with it improvements in the arrangements as re- gards additional space for the stock, and for the conve- nience and comfort of the visitors. With regard to the show itself there is, we believe, a diminution in the number of cattle exhibited as com- pared with the entries of last year ; but this is made up by the improved, character of some of the classes for sheep, more particularly the Southdowns and half-breds between the Leicester and Down. We did not observe so many of those enormous animals with ugly protuber- ances of fat, whose chief merit was to excite the wonder of a gaping public ; but we saw what was far more gra- tifying— a great increase in the number of young animals, which are as remarkable for their size and symmetry as they are for their early maturity. As a whole, it was the general opinion that the Herefords had a decided advantage over the shorthorns and other breeds. In the classes for oxen and steers the Herefords carried off most of the prizes ; and it is only in the classes for cows and heifers that the shorthorns have been the most suc- cessful. However, the most remarkable feature of the show is the perfection and earlier maturity of the cattle, which is of itself an abundant proof, if it was wanted, of the benefit of the Club to the farming interest ; in fact many of the advances the farmers of this country have made may be fairly attributed to this and similar so- cieties. To the stimulus given to the makers of agricul- tural implements by the annual gatherings of the Smith- field Club in Baker Street, and at the periodical meetings of the Royal Agricultural Society, may be attributed the pre-eminent position of our implements and machines when compared with those of foreign nations shown at the Great Exhibition. Nor, if it had not been for these, should we now number foreigners of high rank as cus- tomers for superior and high-priced specimens of livt^ stock. , TFIE FARMER'S xMaGAZINE. 51 Amonjc the successful competitors, wc observe ia Eevernl classes ilie name of his Royal Highness Prince Albert, wlio is a larger contributor than usual, and ob- tains in addition to prizes for pigs, three prizes in classes 1, 2, and 3, for very creditable Hereford oxen. In class one, for oxen we mention as deserving of particular notice, the Hereford oxen shown by Mr. William Heath, of Ludham Hall, Norwich, who is also the successful exhibitor of several excellent animals of the same description in other classes. The second {)rize is awarded to a compact shorthorn steer, four years and six months old, shown by Mr. Brickwell, of Leck- hamstead, Buckingham, who, we believe is for the first time an exhibitor. The symmetry and compactness of this ox, formed a very striking contrast to others of the same breed, which, although large and fat, were far from being handsome. A four years and four months old Durham bullock, shown by Mr. Leeds, of West Len- ham, Norfolk, was very large and useful. In class two, oxen or steers, of any breed, above three and not exceeding four years old, a remarkable level Hereford, bred and fed by Mr. Edward Longmore, of Shropshire, took the first prize, the silver medal, and also the gold medal, as the best ox in the first six classes. Mr. Longmore was also the breeder of a commended Hereford shown by Sir C. E. Isham : this ox was three years and nine months old, and from the same lot as the one with which Mr. Longmore was successful ; but al- though a symmetrical beast, it was scarcely so well fed as the latter ; we may mention also Mr. Heath's three years and nine months old Hereford ox, to which the se- cond prize was given. Prince Albert's was firm and fleshy, but not a level ox. In class three, the first prize was given to Mr. Phillips, of Ardington, Berks, for a very good and level Hereford two years and ten months old, which was remarkable for its form and early maturity. Vv'ith a few exceptions, the shorthorns in the above classes, although numerously exhibited, were generally too big and coarse for prize animals. The Herefords were superior to them in squareness of form, firmness of touch, and compactness. The Earl of Leicester is successful in classes four and five, with two good beasts of the North Devon breed. Cattle of the Scotch breeds were more numerously shown than we remember to have seen them on former occasions ; but, if we except a useful Highlander or two, and one of the Galloway breed, these animals would not bear comparison, either for fatness or in the signs of an aptitude to fatten, so well developed in the more im- proved breeds of England. We should scarcely think the cattle of this class so good as we have seen them at local shews, and we are justified in this remark by the judges having awarded the prize to a wtll-fed Pembroke- shire ox, 4 years and 6 months old, belonging to Mr. G. H. Kenderley. In class seven, for cows and heifers under 5 years old, the shorthorns maintained their reputation by carrying off the prizes. The first prize and the gold medal were awarded to Mr. S. Druce, of Eynsbam, Oxford, for his shorthorned and Hereford heifer, aged 3 years and 4i months — a very complete and perfect animal. The same may be said of Mr. Stratlon's co.v, and of many others in this class. In class eight — there being only three exhibitors — but little judgment was required in making the award of the first prize to a shorthorned cow belonging to Lord Fe- versham. Three or four good animals were shown in class nine. The first prize shorthorn was certainly a good and well- fed cow ; but its appearance was spoilt by the ugly pro- tuberances of fat on its rumps. Mr. Bemai\'s roan cow, 5 years old, and of the Durham breed, was de- servedly an object of much attention. We observed also a fine old cow shown by Mr. Chas. Kuighlley. The extra class contained very few objects worthy of admiration for symmetry : in fact, the only exception wc need make is Mr. Heath's Hereford, removed from class 4, being over weight — a level, short-legged ox, to which the silver medal was given. A cross-bred Brahmin and Ayrshire heifer, shown in class seven, and a young Brahmin and shorthorn ox, shown in class three, might, we think, have been classed as extra stock. They stood no chance of a premium ; but they were certainly well formed and well fed, and showed much improvement by the cross from the original breed. Of ihe sheep exhibited, thoze which attracted the most attention were the Southdowns bred and fed by his Grace the Duke of Richmond, and by Mr. Sainsbury, who very nearly divided the prizes between them; as examples of feeding these were considered almost perfect. There were also many other pens of good Southdowns shown by Mr. Shelley, Mr. Williams, Messrs. Arkcoll, and other gentlemen. Altogether this was a most excel- lent class. In the class for short-woolled sheep (not being Southdowns), the prize was withheld : the only- exhibitors were his Royal Highness Prince Albert, Mr. Wm. Hurafrey, and Mr. Stephen King. The sheep shown by Mr. Humfrey, although certainly inferior in their touch and fatness to the other prize sheep ; yet, ia the opinioii of many, were sheep well suited for the purpose of (he butcher; and, although perhaps inferior to some, they illustrated the character of a valuable breed — the Hampshire Downs, which has as yet been little encouraged by our national agricultural societies. As a class, the Leicesters were scarcely equal to the Southdowns ; nor did they, although numerously exhi- bited, attract an equal amount of attention. We have already given the names of the successful exhibitors, so that in this instance we must refer to the report of the judges for the list of awards. We observed only two pens of Cotswolds ; the three fine sheep shown by Mr. Bemau took the prize. Mr. Cother, whose letter on the subject of Cotswold sheep in this paper has most likely attracted attention, exhibited, at a butcher's shop just opposite the entrance to the Bazaar, a most extraordinary carcass of mutton, weighing no less than 3361bs. — about four times the weight of an ordinary carcass. The sheep was of the Cotswold breed, and three years and nine months old. The valuable class of cross-bred sheep was well illus- trated by the Southdown and Leicester wethers, shown T- 9. 52 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. by Mr. T. II. Overman, of Binnli;im, Norfolk, who was again successful in carrying ofl' the prizes, in compe- tition with some good sheep shown by Mr. Druce, of Eynsham, and Mr. John Ilitchnian, of Little Milton, 0,\on, and some others of scarcely equal merit. Our limited space will not admit of our giving a lengthened report of the pigs ; and perhaps we shall be excused making mention of the exhibitors— the more so as the first prize in all of the three classes, with the gold medal, has been awarded to the excellent specimens of "improved Dorset pigs," shown by Mr. Coate, of Hammoon, near Blandford, Dorset— thus beating in a wholesale manner the best specimens that the far- famed breeds of Coleshill, Eynsham, Arborficld, and others could produce. We congratulate Mr. Coate upon his success. However, we must not omit the enormous Hampshire and Sussex pig, said to weigh half a ton— but we will not vouch for the truth of this — two years and nine months old, bred by Mr. W. Culliford, of Hayling Island, Havant, Hants. The alterations in the classificatiou of the cattle recently determined upon, by which it is intended at en- suing shows to form the classes according to the different breeds, so that shorthorns will only compete with short- horns, Herefords with Herefords, and Devoiis with Devons, &c., &c. With the other kinds will probably be a cause of increased competition amongst the members of the club for the honours it so liberally con- fers. It will also probably lessen the difficulties of the judges in making their awards; for the mostunpreju- diced breeder of cattle must be more or less biassed in favour of his own kind ; and this may influence a person's judgment without he being himself conscious of it. — Mark Lane Express. The approach of that season when almost every EngUshman places upon his table the very best specimen of the national food of his country, brings with it the annual show of fat stock, for which the venerable and highly useful Smithfield Club Cattle Show has for many years been famous. It may be remembered how one member of the daily press a few years ago exerted itself to the very utmost of its great abilities, to put down this Smithfield Show; and many were the witty jokes it perpetrated against grease and tallow. But despite of this, the natural feelings of the English predominated, and year after year has rolled on, bringing with it meetings and exhibitions of a more extensive character, and, indeed, a more improved collection of animals : but in the present year it may have said to have outgrown itself, both in quantity and general quality. In quality it has manifestly made the greatest strides. There was a time when the animals ex- hibited had laid on their fat in jmrts, until they became positively ugly. It was a system of strong l)hysiologic;il tendency to lay on fat, that made here and there cushions— more elegant in the show- room of the butcher, when cut in pieces, than pre- senting a «)/ I nuttee. Henry Blanshard, J Examined, audited, and found correct, this 12th day of December, 1851. (Signed) Thomas Knight, \ Auditors on the purt Geo. I. Raymond Barker, J of the Society. Mr. Barker, after reading the accounts, said it was not for the financial committee to compliment them- selves, but the accounts were there for inspection, and he would be happy to furnish any information which might be desired with i-egard to the items. Mr. Astbury felt great pleasure in proposing a vote of thanks to the auditors for the manner in which they had fulfilled their arduous duties. Mr. Woodward, in seconding the motion, said he fully concurred in its terms. Living as he did at a great distance, he was not able to attend the meetinga so frequently as he could wish ; but the members re- ceived such excellent reports from the Council on all matters connected with the society, that he felt that they V, ere greatly indebted to the managing body. The motion was then agreed to. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Mr. R. BARKER; in returning thanks, said the mem- hers now found the happy result of some steps which had beea recently taken. It was true that money was of no use unless it were spent ; but the greatest care ought to be taken that it should be properly laid out. That was the principle which had guided the committee since he had been honoured with the confidence of the Council in connection with the finances of the society. On the motion of Mr, Astbury, seconded by Mr. Druce, Mr. Dyer was chosen to fill up the vacancy amongst the auditors for the ensuing year. The Chairman then handed to the members present printed copies of the programme of the Lewes meeting next year, observing that there might still be some ver- bal alterations, but that it was substantially correct. He then said that, as they had come to the conclusion of the topics which had been prepared for consideration, he should be happy to hear any remarks which any gen- tleman might desire to make. As no gentleman rose in consequence of this invita- tion, The Duke of Richmond said the business of the meeting being concluded, he begged to move a vote of thanks to Lord Ducie for his conduct in the chair, and for his general attention to the improvement of agricul- ture since he had been a member of the Council (Hear, hear). The motion was seconded by the Rev. J. Linton, and immediately carried. The Chairman said he could not but thankfully express how much he felt the kindness of the meeting in thus noticing his services to the Society. It was very gratifying to him to be noticed in that way at all ; for he felt, not indeed that he had been remiss, but that he had been prevented from fully performing the duties which were devolved upon him when he was elected president. It was a deep source of regret to him that he had been obliged to appear at the Windsor meeting as vice-president by substitute. All he could do, how- ever, in that matter, was to make the same excuse as the horse-dealer made for a lame horse, and declare that it 69 was his misfortune and not his fault (laughter). He need scarcely add, that if it should please God to give him health, he would not lose any opportunity of fulfil- ling the duties which had devolved upon him. The meeting then separated. The meetings of the Council stand adjourned over the Christmas recess to Wednesday the 4th of February. The following new Members were elected : Bulkeley-Oweu, B. H., Tedsmore Hall, Salop. Bulley, Rev. Frederick, Fellow of Magd. College, Oxford. Coryton, Augustus, Pentillie Castle, Cornwall. Del Valle, The Conde, Vergana-in-Giupoiscoa, Spain. Evans, David, Llaethlin, Aberayron, Cardiganshire. Fischer, Ewald, Wietendorf, Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Goodson, William, Hill Farm, Carshaltou, Surrey. Greener, Thomas, Etherley, Darlington, Durham. Groves, Thomas, Manor House, Nun-Monktou, York. Hall, Dr. Marshall, Grosvenor-street, London. Harris, His Exc. Lord, Governor of the Island of Trinidad. Hartley, John, The Oaks, Wolverhampton. Hawkesworth, Thomas, Chesterfleld-place, Weymouth. Jackson, John S., Bank of Mona, Douglas, Isle of Man. James, William, Maypowder, Blandford, Dorset. Ke}', Kingsmill Grove, 103, Newgate-street, London. MacCliutock, H. Stanley, Randal's Town, County Antrim. Matthews, Francis Cook, Driffield, Yorkshire. May, John, Bath- road, Reading, Berkshire. Mitchell, Wm. Rowland, Royal Agr. College, Cirencester. Peacocke, IMoutague, Pylewell, Lymingtou, Hants. Pccock, Thos. William, Glenridge, Virginia-water, Surrey. Pollen, R. H., Rodbourne, Malmesbury, Wilts. Powell, William Styles, Castle-street, Hereford. Pye, William, Oaklands, St. Alban's, Herts. Scott, Sir Wm., Bart., Ancrum House, Jedburgh, Roxbshre. Stonehewer, Wm. Scott, jun., 10, Brunswickterr., Brighton. Townshend, Charles, Pulford, Chester. Weir, Edward, 351, Oxford-street, London. Whiting, Charles, Beaufort House, Strand, London. Wright, George, Chapel Farm, Dorking, Surrey. The names of six other candidates for election at the next Monthly Council were read. RECENT IMPROVEMENTS IN IRRIGATION. BY CUTHBERT W, JOHNSON, ESQ., F.R.S. The introduction of the steam-engine into agri- culture, as I some time since ventured to suggest to the farmers of England, will most probably be now rapidly extended. Its gigantic power will not be, I feel, confined to the working of the machinery of the farm-yard : far greater and more profitable objects than any of these will suggest themselves. )](Ve have seen within the few past months ma- chinery employed in the cutting of corn, and more than one attempt is now making to bring to work- ing perfection a steam-plough. The use of the steam-engine in the irrigation of the land, a plan whose easily attained and profitable advantages I long since endeavoured to advocate, has since been carried out by Mr. Huxtable, at Sutton Waldron, in Dorsetshire, and others ; and in Scotland, near Edinburgh and Glasgow, either by associations, or by private enterprise. At p. 11, of Johnson and Slum's Farmer's Al- manac for 1852, the reader will find an estimate by ro THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Messrs. Ransome and May, of the cost of lifting water to various heights. The vahiable paper of these eminent engineers will well repay the very serious attention of both the landowner and the tenant farmer. One of the startling conclusions to which they arrive is this — that supposing, as for the purposes of irrigation, that the farmer wishes to raise water from a stream, to the height of ten feet, that then by the ordinary steam-engine 714 tons of water may be pumped up to this height with the con- sumption of only one hundred weight of coals ; and this, be it carefully remarked, is almost exactly equal to an inch in depth over seven acres of land, or to an avei*age of a fortnight's rain in the midland and southern districts of England. If the height to which the water is to be raised is less than ten feet, the expenditure of fuel will be less— if it is only five feet, then 1 cwt. of coals will raise 1,428 tons of water to that height. If, on the other hand, the height is greater, more coals will be required — for instance, the same coals which raise 160,000 gallons of water to a height of 10 feet will raise 100,000 gallons to a height of 16 feet. Thus economical and powerful in raising v/ater, need we feel surprised that the irrigating steam- engine is finding its way into the farmers' fields ? or that the skilful Scotch farmers are using it in several places ? Hearing of the progress which the Scotch far- mers were making in steam irrigation, a deputation from the General Board of Health has recently visited some of the localities where the steam-engine has been thus employed. A valuable report, by the Honourable D. F. Fortescue, has since been made of the result of their observations, from which I take the following extracts ; — " The first farm we visited was that of Craigen- tinney, situated about one mile and a-half south- east of Edinburgh, of v/hich 260 Scotch (one fourth more than the English acre) acres receive a con- siderable proportion of such sewerage as, under an imperfect system of house drainage, is at present derived from half the city. The meadows of which it chiefly consists have been put under irrigation at various times, the most recent additions being nearly 50 acres laid out in the course of last year and the year previous, wlvlch lying above the level of the rest are irrigated by means of a steam engine. The meadows first laid out are watered by contour chan- nels following the inequalities of the ground, after the fashion commonly adopted in Devonshire ; but in the more recent parts the ground is disposed in " panes " of half an acre, served by their respective feeders, a plan which, though somewhat more ex- pensive at the outset, is found preferable in prac- tice. The whole 260 acre:-; take about 14 days to irrigate ; the men charged with the duty of shifting the water from one pane to another give to each plot about two hours' irrigation at a time ; and the ergine serves its 50 acres in 10 days, working day and night, and employing one man at the engine and another to shift the water. The produce of the meadows is sold by auction on the ground, "rouped"as it is termed, to the cow-feeders of Edinburgh, the purchaser cutting and carrying off" all he can during the course of the letting, wliich extends from about the middle of April to Octolicr, when the meadows are shut up, but the irrigation is continued through the winter. The lettings average somewhat over £20 the acre ; the highest last year having brought £31, and the lov/est £9; these last were of very limited extent, on land re- cently denuded in laying out the ground, and con- sequently much below its natural level of produc- tiveness. There are four cuttings in the year, and the collective weight of grass cut in parts was stated at the extraordinary amount of SO tons the imperial acre. The only cost of maintaining these meadov/s, except those to v/hich the water is pumped by the engine, consists in the employment of two hands to turn on and off the water, and in the expense of clearing out the channels, which was contracted for last year at £29, and the value of the refuse ob- tained v/as considered fully equal to that sum, being applied in manuring parts of the land for a crop of turnips, which, with only this dressing in addition to irrigation with the sewage water, presented the most luxuriant appearance. The crop, from pre- sent indications, was estimated at from 30 to 40 tons the acre, and v/as expected to realize 15s. the ton sold on the land. From calculations made on the spot we estimated the produce of the meadows during the eight months of cutting at the keep of 10 cows per acre, exclusive of the distillery refuse they consume in addition, at a cost of Is. to Is. 6d. per head per week. The sea-meadows present a particularly striking example of the effects of the irrigation ; these, comprising between 20 and SO acres skirting the shore between Leith and Mussel- burgh, were laid down in 1826 at a cost of about £700; the land consisted formerly of a bare sandy tract, yielding ahnost absolutely nothing; it is now covered with luxuriant vegetation extending close down to high-water mark, and lets at an average of £20 per acre at least. From the above statement it will be seen how enormously profitable has been the a]iplication in this case of town refuse in the liquid form ; and I have no hesitation in stating, that, great as its advantages have been, they might be extended four or five fold by greater dilution of the fluid. Four or five times the extent of land might, I believe, be brought into equally productive cultivation under an improved system of drainage in the city, and a more abundant use of water. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 71 Besides these Craigentinney meadows there are others on this and on the west side of Edinburgh, which we did not visit, similarly hiid out, and I be- lieve realizing- stiU larger jn-ofits, from their closer proximity to the town, and their lying within the toil- gates, "The next farm visited was in the immediate vicinity of Glasgov/, where the supply of liquid ma- nure is derived from another source, and distributed in a different manner. The supply is from a dairy of 700 cows, attached to a large distillery ; the en- tire drainage from the former flows in a full con- tinuous stream into a tank containing 30,000 or 40,000 gallons, whence it is pumped up immediately by a 1'2-horse power engine, and forced through 4-inch iron pipes, laid about IS inches under ground, into large vats or cisterns placed on the highest points of the land to be irrigated. From these it descends by gravitation through another system of pii)es laid along the ridges of the hills, finding an outlet through stand-cocks placed at in- tervals, from which it is distributed through move- able iron pipes fitting into each other, and laid along the surface in whatever direction the supijly is required. The land thus irrigated consists of three farms lying at some distance apart, the farthest point to v/hich the liquid is conveyed being about two miles, and the highest elevation 80 feet above the site of the tank and engine. The principal use to which the irrigation has been applied has been to preserve the fertility of the pastures, the general appearance of which was at first rather disappoint- ing, but this was explained by the fact that they are fully stocked, and that the cows rush with avidity to those parts that have been last irrigated, and eat them down quite bare. As is the case in other instances, however, by far the most profitable application has been found to be to Italian rye- grass, of which 15 (Scotch) acres were under cul- tivation, some with seed supplied by Mr. Dickin- son, whose successful cultivation of it by similar means, near London, has long been known. The first cutting of this had yielded about 10 tons the acre, the second nine, and the third, which was ready for cutting, was estimated at eight or nine more. Some crops of turnips and cabbages were pointed out to us in a state of vigorous growth, and with more than common promise of abundance; these were raised by a dressing of ashes and refuse (of little fertilizing value, having been purchased at 2s. 6d, a ton), conjoined with four doses of liquid, one after the preceding crop of oats had been car- ried, one prior to sowing, and two more at different stages of growth. The enterprising gentleman who has carried out these works at his own expense, and in spite of the discouragement arising from partial failure in his earlier attempts, though speak- ing cautiously, as was natural in a tenant on a nine- teen years lease, of the pecuniary results of this un- dertaldng, imparted some facts which leave little doubt that it must have been largely remunerative. Besides maintaining, if not increasing, the fertility of the pastures, to which the solid m.anure from the byres was formerly devoted, at a heavy expense of cartage (the whole of which is now saved), he is enabled to sell all this manure, of which we esti- mated the quantity at about 3,000 tons a year, at 6s, a load. For a good deal of the Itahan rye-grass not required for his own consumption he obtained upwards of 13s. a ton, the profits on which, taking into account the yield before stated, may easily be imagined. " These results fall infinitely short of what might be done by carrying out the same system on an im- proved scale ; the urine, instead of being diluted, as has been found most expedient in practice, with three or four times its bulk of water, is dehvered on the land in nearly its fall strength, or with not more than one-third of water, thereby occasioning an enormous waste, greatly increased by the imper- vious nature of the soil of the pastures, from the sur- face of which it flows off in large quantities, to the loss of its fertilizing effects, and to the pollution of the waters of the neighbourhood. The breaking up and cultivating more of this land in Itahan rye- grass and root crops would add immensely to the productiveness of the farm. I must mention that the mode differs in applying the liquid to the pas- ture and to the cultivated land ; on the former it is distributed from a hose of gutta percha or vulcan- ized caoutchouc : on the latter a succession of short lengths of iron pipe, 3 feet long, I2 inches diameter, laid doum between the drills, are added on, almost as quickly as a man can walk ; and the liquid is thus shed about the roots of the plants, without touching the leaves, so as to be capable of innoc- uous application, if desired, at the latest periods of growth. It is interesting to know that these works were undertaken under the combined influence of the late Mr. Smith of Deanston's representations of the immense waste of valuable material that for- merly took place, and of the remonstrances of par- ties in the vicinity, to whom the flow of refuse into the adjoining canal was an intolerable nui- sance. "The next place visited was the farm of Myer Mill, near Maybole, in Ayrshire, the property of Mr. Kennedy, who adopted and improved on the me- thod of distribution just described. On this farm, about 400 imperial acres of which are laid down v/ith pipes, some of the sohd as well as the liquid manure has been applied by these means, guano and superphosphate of lime having been thus trans- mitted in solution, whereby their value is consider- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ably enhanced. This is especially the case with guano, the use of which is thus rendered in great measure independent of the uncertainties of climate, and it is made capable of being applied with equal advantage in dry as in wet weather. In some re- spects this farm labours under ])eculiar disadvan- tages, as water for the purpose of diluting the liquid has to be raised from a depth of 70 feet, and from a distance of more than 400 yards from the tanks where it is mixed with the drainage from the byres. These tanks are four in number, of the following dimensions respectively : 48 X 14 x 12; 48 x 14 X 15; 72 X 14 X 12; 72 X 17 X 12. They have each a separate communication with the well from which their contents are pumped up, which are used in different degrees of ' ripeness,' a certain amount of fermentation induced by the addition of rape-dust being considered desirable. The liquid is diluted, according to circumstances, with three or four times its bulk of water, and de- livered at the rate of about 4,000 gallons an hour, that being the usual proportion to an acre. The quantity to be applied is determined by a float-gauge in the tank, which warns the engineer, whose busi- ness it is to watch it, when to cut off the supply, and this is a signal to the man distributing it in the field to add another length of hose, and to com- mence manuring a fresh portion of land. The pumps are worked by a 12-horse power steam- engine, which performs all the usual work on the farm, threshing, cutting chaff and turnips, crush- ing oil-cake, grinding, &c., and about six-horse power is the proportion required for the service of the pumps. The pipes are of iron ; mains, sub- mains, and service pipes, five, three, and two inches in diameter respectively, laid eighteen inches or two feet below the surface. At certain points are hy- drants to which gutla percha hose is attached in lengths of twenty yards, at the end of which is a sharp nozzle with an orifice ranging from one to one and a-half inches, according to the pressure laid on, from which the liquid makes its exit with a jet of from twelve to fifteen yards. All the labour required is that of a man and a boy, to adjust the hose and direct the distribution of the manure, and eight or ten acres may thus be watered in a day. There are now 70 acres of Italian rye-grass and 130 of root crops on the farm. The quantity they would deliver by a jet from a pump worked by a horse steam-engine would be 40,000 gallons, or 178 tons, per diem, and the expense per ton about 2d. ; but a double set of men would reduce the cost. The extreme length of pipe is three-quarters of a mile, and with the hose the total extent of delivery is about 1,900,000 yards, or 400 acres. To deliver the same quantity per diem by M'ater-carts to the same extreme distance would be impracticable. One field of rye-graes, sown in April, has been cut once, fed oft' twice with sheep, and was ready (August 20) to be fed oft' again. In another, after yielding four cuttings within the yeai', each estimated at 9 or 10 tons per acre, the value of the aftermath for the keep of sheep was stated at 25s. an acre. Of the turnips, one lot of swedes dressed with 10 tons of solid farm manure, and about 2,000 gallons of the hquid, having G bushels of dissolved bones along with it, was ready for hoeing 10 or 12 days earlier than another lot dressed with double the amount of solid manure without the liquid applica- tion, and were fully equal to those in a neighbour's field which had received 30 loads of farmyard dung, together with 3 cwt guano, and 16 bushels bones per acre; the yield was estimated at 40 tons the Scotch acre, and their great luxuriance seemed to me to justify the expectation. From one field of white globe turnips sown later, and manured solely with liquid, from 40 to 50 tons to the Scotch acre was expected. A field of carrots treated in the same manner as the swedes, to which a second ap- plication of liquid was given just before thinning, promise from 20 to 25 tons the acre. Similarly favourable results have been obtained with cab- bages; and that the limit of fertility by these means has not yet been reached was clearly shown in one part of the Italian rye-grass which had ac- cidentally received more than its allowance of liquid, and which showed a marked increase of luxuriance over that around it. The exact increase of produce has not been accurately determined, but the num- ber of cattle on the farm has increased very largely, and by means of the Italian r3''e-grass at least /o?'ing, as I v\'as informed, to the general negligence with which the prix faiteurs were apt to treat the vineyards which they had contracted to till; and the neces- sary work is now done by means of day labour. The produce of the low-lying land is occasionally changed from vines to a succession of corn and green crops. When the former plants cease to yield, wheat is considered a fair return ; they are rooted up, the ground thoroughly broken by the hoe, and corn sown in their stead. Five or six years under grain is held to bring the land into first-rate condition again for vines. Under the hill, upon the margin of the lagoon, cottages are thickly scattered, occupied by fishermen, a picturesque- looking race, v>'ith Phrygian bonnets — the original, by the way, of the cap of liberty — long jackets or doublets, breeches, and striped woollen hose cover- ing the legs. These men ai'e fishers and net makers, seldom or never possessing land, but occa- sionally working at the manufacture of roj)es, spun from a species of long tough grass imported from Spain, and much used, on account of its cheapness, for barges navigating tlie lagoons. The skiffs em- ployed by the fishermen in question are ex- ceedingly slight, flat-bottomed boats, fast rowing craft, and very graceful upon the v/ater. The " Catalan" boats used for fishing purposes outside the harbour, with their high curved cut-waters, sharp bows, and melting runs, are beautiful models of naval architecture. There is one species of industry actively pursued by the energetic people of Cette, which redounds more to the credit of their ingenuity than their commercial morality. This is a no less impudent piece of quackery than the concoction, in very large quantities, of imitations of all European wines of celebrity, the stuff being of course purchased in the markets upon v/hich it is principally poured, as the genuine article. The raw materials used by the wine manufacturers of Cette are mainly the groY.'Lh of the numerous but undistinguished vineyards of the departments of Herault, Gard, and Bouches du Rhone. A quantity of rough, coarse v.-ine, from the higher reaches of the river, towards the Her- mitage district, finds its way annually along the Canals de Beaucaire and des Etangs to Cette. Cider is also used as a basis. The imitations of particular flavours are mainly imparted l)y subtle chemical ingredients, and so deftly is the task per- formed that the palate of a practised connoisseur is requisite to distinguish the port of the Douro, the sherry of Cadiz, the claret of the Garonne, and the hockheimer of the Rhine and the Maine, from the port, sherry, claret, and hockheimer of Cette. The extent to which this forgery of vintages is carried may be inferred from the fact that the amount of fabricated wines annually shipped from Cette — never, however, I believe, under the French flag — for ports in the north of Europe, equals the quan- tity of claret exported from Bordeaux for the same destinations. In 1843 there were cleared out from Cette, loaded with manufactured wines, 22 ships for Russia, 8 for Sweden, 10 for Norv/aj', 34 for Denmark, 28 for the Hanseatic Towns, 12 for other ports in Northern Germany, 11 for Holland, and 1 for Belgium — in all 12G vessels, of the burden of 27,240 tons. The tonnage despatched to the same jjorts from Bordeaux the same year, loaded with genuine wine, amounted only to 28,182. In 1841 Cetta sent forth to European markets 1 18 ships, of 21,081 tons, and in 1842 upwards of 115 ships, of 23,013 tons. Nor are the unfortunate heads and stomachs of the northern part of our own quarter of the v/orld the only sufferers from the ingenuity of the slow poisoners of Cette. In 1843 there left the port 4 ships for the Brazils, 12 for Rio de la Plata, 6 for the Mauritius, and 2 for the United States. The cargoes of these vessels were entirely wine. It is comforting, however, to mark that none of the compounded trash in cpiestion finds its v/ay either into Jiritain or, v/ith one exception, into any of our colonies. Not far from Cette, to the east, lie the ])altry town and once celebrated vine- yards of Front'gnac, stretching seaward amid sand, marsh, and shingle beds, and fringed vv-ith low scrubby fences of dried grass and bruii h- wood j al- together a dreary spectacle. The sweet wines pro- duced hereabouts now find their principal buyejs among the fabricators of Cette, who speedily trans- form them into golden sherries and south-side Madeiras. Arrived, as I now am, almost in the centre of the olive-growing provinces of France, I may here introduce what account I have managed to scrape together of the cultivation of the tree and of its effects upon the condition of the rural population. The task has not been an easy one. There is an almost total v/ant of written information uj)on the subject of the olive tree and its productions, so that my inquiries had, from first to last, to be pushed in the fields among the ])easantry. The contradic- tory information I received on all hands was at first bewildering, but I think that some perseverance in the inquiry has enabled me to offer a sketch v;hichwill,inits main features, be found tobecorrect. The olive then, whatever may be its utility, is not, in English eyes at least, a handsome tree. It wants all vegetable symmetry, all grace, all pic- turesqueness. Poplars have hardly a more uniform fixmily hkeness than olives; the only feature distin- guishing any one of the latter tribe from the others being the higher or lower point at which the trunk 76 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. divides into branches. A not bad idea, in fact, of an olive grove could be obtained by cutting short the handles of a regiment of mops, and sticking the mutilated imjdements erect in a very dusty yard. For all that, however, your true Provencal or Lan- guedocien talks of the beauties of the olive with an odd misplaced enthusiasm, and discovers all man- ner of recondite graces in ])eculiar varieties and peculiar styles of branching of the tree. There are olive fanciers, in fact, as there are tulip fanciers and rabbit fanciers, and these amateurs hit upon all manner of modes of twisting and distorting the tree. The most common method of treating an olive, so as to develop its beauties in the eyes of the amateurs in question, is to proceed by " couronne- ment ;" in other words, so to bend and direct the branches of the young tree, as to spread out the foliage in a flat circular table-like mass, around and above the trunk. The aspect of a field of olives so treated is curious. They look like so many gigantic toad-stools ; or, if they are planted close to each other, like a regular compact layer of vegetable matter, supported at certain intervals by bare wooden pillars. Olives planted in alleys are almost invariably treated in this fashion ; but I ought to add, that the method is condemned by many of the best cultivators, who maintain, and certainly with reason, that it injures the vigour and fruit-bearing caj)abilities of the tree. Olives flourish best upon dry, stony eminences, and the sides and tops of hills. You occasionally see them in the flat arable land, but never in the flourishing state m which they appear on their favourite gravelly or rocky slopes. In respect to soil, indeed, the vine and the olive show a very similar taste, and in the south of France generally go together. The mistral is very prejudicial to the oil-giving tree, and southern and eastern exposures are always, if possible, chosen for rearing it. In rich, damp soils, the tree gives plenty of leaves — but little (and that little inferior) fruit. In clay grounds, however favourably situated, the tree will hardly grow at all, the earth becoming clodded and baked round its roots in the summer droughts, and rotting the delicate fibres in winter by soaking them with the cold rain water which it retains. Even if in ordinary years ohves planted in low moist ground give respectable crops, their produce is much more liable to be affected by unfavourable seasons than that of the trees rooted in congenial soil. The latter are able to endure a degree of cold which would wither and kill the former. As may be supposed, a peculiarly severe winter is the dread of the olive grower. The sinking of the thermometer eight or ten degrees beneath the freezing point seals the doom for seasons, or it may be entirely, of hundreds of thousands of olive trees. Winters in v.hich such catastrophes have taken place are re- membered as times of national loss and sorrow in Provence and Languedoc. Such were the severe seasons of 1709, 1765, 1769, 1820, and 1830. The first of these years was particularly fatal, and the popular impression still existing in the country is that the tree has never recovered the shock which, as a species, it then received. It was in the month of January that the severe frost in question occurred, blasting the trees to their very roots. lu the course of the following summer shoots sprung uj) around the dead trunks, and from these the great body of the still existing trees have been de- rived. I am indeed assured that the mass of wood furnished by the present existing olives is not above a fifth or sixth of tliat which was aftbrded by the average of dead trees killed by the frost of 1709. l"he winter of 1820 was another of the very fatal epochs, a single night of intense cold killing multi- tudes of the trees outright, and injuring the greater portion of those surviving to such an extent that they had to be cut and pruned almost down to the ground. The disaster produced a profound public sensation in the south of France, and so unreason- ing was the panic that it was afterwards discovered that many trees had been rooted up and flung aside, which, though damaged, were by no means ren- dered liors de combat. The last fatal winter was that of 1830. These severe seasons sufficiently ac- count for the number of young trees, almost sap- lings, which are sprinkled over the fields, particularly in the level portions, where the frost was most severely felt. A young olive tree, in the best condition for planting, costs from three francs to ten francs, ac- cording to its quality and the variety of the family to which it belongs. The price of thriving sapplings of the four species which flourish most in Provence — the verdale, the oliviere, the grousseau, and the picholine— may range from five francs to six francs. The smoother and cleaner the bark, the more valuable are the shoots, or "subjects." They are planted sometimes in regular lines — sometimes here and there, at random — sometimes along the boundaries of fields and roads, according to the general species of cultivation adopted on the ground. The larger and deeper the holes dug for their reception the better. Cavities comprising four or five square feet of space are generally em- ployed, but the most successful cultivators dig them still larger. The holes are only in part filled up with the friable rock, flints, and gravel in which they have been usually sunk. A thin layer of fine warm earth is deposited arovmd the roots, or occa- sionally a small quantity of forcing manure. Great attention is requisite properly to develop the vigour and valuable qualities of the young olive. The stem is apt to be beset with insects and parasitical plants, requiring patient attention to discover and remove. In the heats of summer the loosened earth above its roots demands frequent waterings and tillage with hoe and pick. The second season after planting it commonly yields fruit, but it does not begin to undergo the annual ordeal of pruning and trimming before the third year. The dead and dry twigs only are cut away each spring, befoie the leaves begin to shoot. In subsequent seasons great attention is paid to forming the shape of the tree. Branches which bear little or no fruit, and which are called r/ourmands, are lopped mercilessly oflT; the centre portions of the boughs are thinned so as to admit a free circulation of air through the olive, the general object of the cultivator being to produce a tree with boughs of nearly equal length, spreading regularly and horizontally out from the trunk, Uke the ribs of an umbrella — the upper part of the foliage kept as flat as possible. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. The subsequent routine of prunin jf, to wliicli tlie mature tree is subjected, diiiers in different districts. In some places the sj'stera is to apply the knife in winter after the fruit has been gathered. In other districts the operation takes place before the bud- ding of the tree in spring. Sometimes the process is repeated in nearly the same manner every year. And this is, I believe, the most approved fashion. In other cases cuttings, npon a large and small scale, annually alternate. All this pruning work is managed in a very systematic manner, there being technical names for and technical modes of accom- plishing every degree of curtailment. Thus the slightest species of taille, consisting simply of the snipping oft of dead twigs and leaves, is called the emondaye. When larger branches are cut the tree is said to be claque. To ebrancher an olive is to loop asunder the medium branches at their junc- tion with the stem. To efourcher the tree signifies to cut through the larger and more important boughs at their roots ; and a tree is said to be recepe when the axe is applied to its trunk. The care with which these operations are gone about may be in- ferred from the fact that skilful cultivators cut the thickest branches with sharp knives or chisels in- stead of with saws, the friction of which is said to burn the wood, and irremediably to injure the bough. If, however, the position of the branches necessitates the use of a saw, the stump is afterwards cut with a knife, so as to get rid of the seared por- tion of timber. Grafting is much practised in olive plantations. As in the case of other fruit trees, there are many varieties of the operation. It is frequently resorted to in order to improve the pro- duce of the wild olive tree — a dwarfed and stunted variety — and is usually undertaken in the month of March. The olive requires from time to time attention beneath as well as above ground. A few cultivators who possess facilities for the purpose, not common in the south, water their trees in times of long-con- tinued drought, but these cases are necessarily ex- ceptions to the general rule. In all instances, however, in which ordinary care is bestowed upon the tree, the earth surrounding it is yearly hoed, or broken with the plough. When vines or corn (bar- ley chiefly) are cultivated beneath the shade of the olive, the same preparation of the earth suffices for tree and shrub, or plant. Every second year, im- mediately after the gathering of the fruit, the roots are laid bare, and covered with a fat layer of stable manure. The usual plan is to arrange matters so that one half the trees upon a property come in yearly for their turn of artificial nutriment. The process is one of the most expensive portions of the culture of the olive. It forms a hard day's work suitably to manure three trees of average size. The value of the compost applied to such olives may be about half a franc a piece; and, at a rough estimate, the total ordinary expenses requisite for the due culture of each tree may range from H to 2^ francs per annum. With respect to the average annual produce of the tree, I found it no easy matter to get any very reliable information. The point may seem a simple one — but the difference of opinion which subsists with respect to it, even among the practical culti- vators of the tree, is astonishing. I was furnished with estimates varying from a couple of francs to over fifty. Ihe truth is, that the yield in difi:erent districts, and in different years, is subject to as- tounding irregularities. A grove upon the plain will be producing annually oil to the value of only two or three francs per tree, while within a gun-shot a clump of olives springing from the hot gravelly soil of a southward sloping hill will be yielding an annual revenue of over twenty francs a-piece. Here and there, too, are to be found trees of very large growth, producing singly as much oil as will be furnished by a whole field of oliviers in the neighbourhood ; and now and then I heard legends of wonderful trees, the pride of a whole district, the yearly profits of which were described as perfectly fabulous. An intelligent person, the principal functionary in an oil mill, to whom I applied for in- formation, informed me that he would not reckon an olive tree vraimcnt tin bon arbre unless it produced somewhere about 60 litres of oil, at 14 sous per litre — thus yielding a gross revenue of 42 francs. In the neighbourhood of Montpellier, the products of the olives were estimated as ranging from 4 to -30 or 35 francs. Near Nismes, the general valuation was lower, including all manner of sums from 3 and 4 to 10, 20, and 25 francs. The fact is, however, that although individual trees, or individual clumps of trees, are frequently large and fruitful, the smaller and the more sterile class very much predominate — a no inconsiderable pro- portion of the whole number being very little re- moved from the category of bushes. He would be, then, on the whole, 1 think, a bold man who would estimate the annual net average income pro- duced by the olive trees of Provence and Lan- guedoc at more than a sura ranging from four to six francs per tree. The single small tract, with reference to the ohve, which I have been able to pick up, and which was published apropos of one of the fatal frosts to which I have alluded, com- plains pointedly of the wretched quality and species of a great proportion of the trees in bearing, and advocates the necessity of a general rooting out and replanting with fresh and vigorous imported shoots throughout Provence and Languedoc. " A foolish parsimony," says the author, " the necessity of a rigorous economy on the part of a father of a family, and, above all, the diflficulty ex- perienced in procuring yoimg, healthy, and vigorous shoots, too often compel proprietors to plant half, or even two-thirds of their land with trees of an inferior species, often wild olives grafted, or old, stunted, and rickety deformities. Nothing is more common than to see good olive-bearing ground cumbered with these sapless and withered sticks, which for generations take up the space which ought to be occupied by thriving and fruit-pro- ducing trees." The same authority, who seems to be a practical provincial cultivator, exclaims against the parsimony of manual labour, ordinarily bestowed upon the roots of the olive, particularly in the case of the young trees. The earth with which they are sur- rounded is often, he says, ill-selected, the waterings are neglected, manure is not supphed in sufficient quantities, and the soil is seldom or never suffi- 78 THE FARMER'S x>JA(jAZINE. cicnlly (Iccply aiul ijuHk'knlly ofl'.-n stirred ami looscnctl. The olive tree is cultivated sometimes upon the metayer system, in connnon with the vines or corn among M-liich it grov/s ; but it is, perhaps, more often tilled and pruned by day-labourers, hired at the seasons mIicu the operations are necessary. RIetarics, properly speakinf?, are, indeed, rather the exception than the rule in the olive country. The name only subsists universally, the head or ma- naging labourer being termed a metayer, although he is paid a fixed wage, and has a fixed allowance of corn and v/ine. The money amount in question may average about 200 francs. One intelligent old man near Montpellier reckoned the average sum as about ten Louis-d'ors — the old peoj)lc in this j)art of France commonly count by the ancient coinage in gold and silver — other estimates came to nearly the same mark. The farm-servants placed under the metayer have about the same amount of money wages as their superintendent, minus the grain al- lowances. I tried to ascertain definitively the extent of the independent powers of this, the leading work- ing man of the farm, and the sum total of the re- plies v/nich I received amounts to that he was the master when the master was away, the plain fact, however, being that routine is the lord of both master and man, and that no sort of agricultural skill other than practical acquaintance with the style of ploughmg, sowing, reaping, and manuring practised in the district, is ever in demand, or ever thought of. The cases are few, indeed, in which a course of experiment and reforms demands an intel- ligent overseer — a man of ingenuity and resource. .A.S in the Bezier district, the metayer is frequently the ramoner. The vv'inter allowance per day, per man, for the purchase of animal food, I found in the neighbourhoods of Montpellier and Nismes to be generally low, not more than 2i sous. The best class of workmen were, however, those hired by the day, and paid a fixed money wage without food. The ability to tend the olives beneath ground, to hoe and manure the land, does not at all necessarily include skill in jiruning, grafting, and training the tree. The general run of agricultural labourers are, therefore, in the olive districts to be divided into two classes — those who meddle only with the spade, hoe, and plough, and those who are skilled with the pruning knife. The latter class, as may be imagined, generally include the former. The ordinary farm workers receive the ordinary average wage of 20 sous and their food. The more skilled pruners earn in the season, lasting about four months, during which they are mainly employed, as much as 40 or 50 sous per day, and a man whose reputation is firmly established can fre- quently command, if called to operate upon a frost- bitten or injured tree, still higher wages. As perquisites, the individuals in question are also generally entitled to the lopped oflF branches. Around the large towns, more particularly Nismes, the working men, who are tolerably well off, possess almost universally patches of vineyards and olive grounds. Further a field are many large properties, among the nooks and corners of which the infiniti- simal estates of the peasantry lurk, so that, as is common in France, the farm-servants are proprietors. Tlie olive harvest is late, ui;l lakiug place until the bcgiiniiiig of iJecember. The fruit is allov.ed to remain on the tree imtil it becomes perfectly black. The olive grounds, so lonely and desert- looking for the most part of the year, then swarm with men, women, and children ; but somehow the harvest has little or none of the joyous festival feeling which attends the vintage, the whole work being managed in a very cold and business-like fashion. In the Beziers district it is common to spread sheets beneath the tree and shake the fruit down into them. Further . east the olives arc giUhered more carefully by the hand. Broad, light, self-sujiporting ladders are used, or tlie men strip off their sabots, and, in the case of the larger trees, clamber up among the branches. Each olive gatherer has a basket strap])ed round his or her neck, the contents of which are emptied into the panniers of a mule or a donkey and carried home, or to the mill. As there is no particular huriy re- quisite in getting the olives in, the time of their gathering produces notemporaryrisein wages, and, wonderful to relate, the owners may begin their harvest when they please, M. le Maire having for once nothing to say or do in the matter. The olive-pressing mills are, for tlie most part, simple machines enough. They abound in the outskirts of the towns, in the scattered villages, and sometimes the better class of farms or country houses each possess an implement of the kind. Generally the olives undergo two distinct processes — that of crushing and that of pressing. The crushing mill is a circular stone trough, round the interior of which revolves, upon its edge, a ponderous mill«stone, set in motion by water in some of the best mills, but generally by a mule or a couple of donkeys. Half an hour suffices to crush the quantity of olives flung in at the same time. The oil which rises and gurgles in the trough is virgin oil, and of considerably more value than the pressed sort. When it has been extracted, the mass of crushed fruit, mashed into a species of cake, is placed in flat baskets, or rather straw-woven bags, called cabasses. These are piled up one upon ano- ther in thepressoir, a ponderous machine, made on the same principle as a wine-press, the moveable portion working by means of screws and vices. In first-class establishments there is a system of furnaces and boilers arranged behind the pressoir, from v/hich hot water streams into a stone or wooden trough in front, while upon the surface of this water flows out, by gradual degrees, the oil strained from the olive cake as the ponderous vices and sci'ews force down upon the heap the massive planks which press it. The oil of course floats on the hot water, and is spooned up every half hour, until the recumbent mass above has been thoroughly drained and squeezed almost as dry as hay. The oil is preserved in vessels of earthenware, stone, and wood. The cost of squeezing is, I understand, from five to six per cent, on the value of the oil. Above Nismes rises a range of stony hills, that is to say of hills composed almost entirely of masses of splintered and fractured rock and boulder stone — a sister eminence, in fact, to the miniature moun- tain overhanging Cette. The hill is laid out in precisely similar fashion; being a maze of vine- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 79 yards and olire-ffarden^, iateisccted by ylci p scrambling paths, fenced by high dykes. Toiiiny alorif? one of these I encountered a broad-faced, honest-looking, working man, a weaver, as he afterwards told me, of Nisines. Almost the whole of t!ie vineyards and olive grounds by which we were surrounded belonged, he assured me, to the working people of the city ; the richer merchants and traders had their country houses further afield. The majority of the hill patches vt^ere cultivated upon Sundays and fete days by their proprietors. Metayers v/ere occasionally employed by those who tried to turn a penny from their rural possessions, but generally the results were slender. The coun- try people about, who really understood the culture of the vine and the olive, were, my informant assured me, to be by no means implicitly relied on as to giving up the fair half of the proceeds ; in fact, he said, imless a man s])ent half his time in watching, his metayer, in nine cases out of ten, managed quietly to make away with at least two- thirds of the whole produce. I should not have reported this statement had it not been in the fullest manner confirmed to me upon indisputable authority at Marseilles, The miitaire system for t'ae cultivation of small patches of ground round the city v.as there, I was told, falling into great dis- favour, principally on account of the general dis- honesty and bad faith of the persons employed. It is common with the Marseilles citizens to contract for the management of the plots of ground attached to their hasiides, or country houses, upon strict •mitaire principles, extending even to the very flowers in the gardens, not one of which the pro- prietor can venture to cull, so strict are the culti- vators in the interpretation of their rights. It would be well, however, I was informed, were their adherence to the terras of the contract as strictly observed on the one side as it is enforced on the other. The fact is, said my informant (a gentleman many years resident in Marseilles), that if you em- bark in a metairie speculation in this part of the world, and are not as watchful as a sentinel, your farmer will cjuietly dispose of one half of the crop for his peculiar profit, by private l)argain, and con- siderately allow you the stipulated moiety of the remainder. I return, however, for a moment to my Nisraes weaver. He had been up at his barraqiie, a dis- tance of two good miles from the town, and some 800 feet above it, to feed a couple of rabbits, which afforded a portion of his Sunday delectations. Presently, as v/e talked, he found an opportunity of hinting that I was possibly an Englishman. I ad- mitted the fact, and he straightway insinuated, " Et monsieur est aussi probablement Protestant ?" I again acquiesced. The man's face brightened up like a sun-burst; he caught my hand in both of his, wrung it with the most enthusiastic fervour, and suddenly burst out — "We're 14,000 here — 14,000 strong. The others (strongly accented), the others say only between 12,000 and 13,000, but I say 14,000 — I tell you 14,000— all imderstanding each other, all ready to stick by each other, all good fellows, all boas enfanis .'" For an instant I could hardly tell what my honest weaver was driving at, when my eye caught a gliinpse of the distant ridge of stciil-j aiid rocky mountains, stretching away east and west in the northern horizon, and immediately I remembered all. The hills were the chain of the Cevennes, once the wild abode of the Covenanters of France. A hundred and fifty years ago, the Grand Monarque had attempted to bring them back to the bosom of the Church by the means of artillery, dragoons, the provost marshal, and the hangman. Then arose the v/arrior enthusiasts, the Camisards. Then, led on by their prophets and proj^hetesses — simple peasants inspired by fanaticism and persecution — they gave battle again and again to Louis's dragoons — again and again cut to pieces his most veteran troops, and foiled his ablest generals. It was one of the fiercest religious wars ever waged. Neither side gave nor took quarter. The King's troops shot, burnt, or tortured all their prisoners ; and when, in turn, any of the Royalists fell into the hands of the Camisards, all they had to look to was a high gallows and a short shrift. At length the strong hand so far triumphed. Open rebellion was put down; but the moral energy remained — opinion flourished and flourishes still — for the Cevennes and the adjacent plains form one of the most firmly-established Protestant strongholds in France. So far so good, but the odium theologicum is tough of life ; there is yet a gulf between the Protestants and the Catholics of Nismes. They keep apart, and count heads, as if they meditated some day a rush at each other. There is an ap- parently implacable animosity and mistrust betwixt the two bodies of religionists. On the hill they have their different districts for gardens; and, ludicrous as the thing may seem, it is oddly and deeply significant, that in the city they have different places of public entertainment — no true Protestant drinking his beer in a Papist cafe, and no devout Catholic rattling his dominos in an heretical estaminet. THE APPLE COUNTRY OF THE UNITED STATES.— The old apple country of the United States — the home of the Newtown Pippin, the Spitzemberg, and other highly-prized varieties — is on the Atlantic border, between Massachusetts Bay and the Delaware. But western New York and northern Ohio have now entered into earnest competition with these old dis- tricts, and threaten to bear away the palm. By its residents, tlie new apple coiuitry is regarded as the finest fruit country in the world. The mollifying in- fluence of Lake Ontario — which never freezes, as Lake Erie does — extends more or less over the whole level, or slightly undulating region occupied by the lower portion of the upper Silurian rocks, on which the rich soils of this part of the State rest, and from which they are generally formed. From Oswego, near the west end of Lake Ontario, to Niagara, beyond its western or upper extremity, this region forms a belt about forty miles wide, by one hundred and fifty miles long: and over it the early frosts of autumn, which are so injurious to fruit trees, are comparatively unfelt. The rich soils 60 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. of this district protliicc larger iiiid more boaiitil'iil fruit, tliougli inferior, it is said, in that high flavour which distinguishes the Atlantic apples ; and the profit of tlic cultivators is estimated, on the average, at from £20 to £30 an acre. In Wayne County, about the middle of this belt of land, the merchants of Palmyra (a shipping village on the Eric Canal) sent off 50,000 barrels of green or fresh, and 10,000 of dried apples in the same year, besides 1,000 bushels of dried poaches. In Oneida County, part of four townships shipped on the canal, in 1848, as many as 18,000 barrels, at from 62^ to 100 cents per barrel. This is a very low price for good apples ; but in New York the best apples sell for three or four, and in London for nine dollars a brl. Indeed, so rapidly is the fruit culture rising into impor- tance in this region, and so great the number of per- sons now interested in it, that a pomological conven- tion has recently been formed, for considering and in- vestigating everything connected with the culture of . the apple. Nearly two hundred recognized varieties of apples, says Professor Johnston, are already culti- vated in the States ; and one important object which this convention may usefully keep in view, is the clas- sification and nomenclature of these different kinds. In the States, only the finest apples are sent to market, the waste or refuse being generally made into cider. But it is to be remembered that those varieties which are best for the table are unfit alone to make a palat- able cider. The culture, growth, and selection of apples — the proper mixture of varieties in the crushing- mill, Sec, is a branch of husbandry requiring special knowledge, the acquisition and diffusion of which may be greatly promoted by a judiciously conducted asso- ciation of growers. In the United States, also, as elsewhere, the apple trees naturally yield a heavy crop only every second year. But Mr. Pell — the owner of one of the finest orchards in America, on the River Hudson — has recently been investigating whether an ammal crop might not be secured from his valuable Newtown Pippin trees, of which he has 2,000 in full bearing. His experiments, we are told, were perfectly successful ; only he had begun to apprehend that the life of his trees might be shortened by this course, and that he might have to replace them so many years sooner. Should this prove the result, it will still, pro- bably, be found more profitable, as itis with the peach- orchards of New Jersey, to have a succession of new trees coming up to replace the old, than to continue to gather only one full crop in the two years. Mr. Pell cultivates his orchard-grounds as if there were no trees upon them, and raises grain of every kind except rye, which crop, strange to say, be finds so injurious, that he believes three successive crops of it would destroy any orchard which is less than twenty years old. This is a physiological fact as yet incapable of being ex- plained, but well deserving of scientific investigation. It is well known that the quality of both soil and subsoil has a very material influence on the growth of fruit tree, the apple, the pear, the peach, and even the coflee tree refusing to thrive or continue bearing in favourable climutes, if the soil be unpropitious. This is not uncommon anywhere, but it is distinctly brought out in the case of the apple trees at Mirainichi, in New Brunswick, where the young trees die, though the cli- mate is most favourable ; yet if a good deep soil be put under them they will thrive well, and bear good fruit. Another curious illustration of the connection of geo- logy, even with this branch of rural industry, is, that the nature of the rock over which the apple trees grow affects the flavour of the cider which is made from the fruit. Thus the cider of the chalk soils in Normandy differs in flavour from that of sandy, and both from that of clay soils, the variety of fruit and the manage- ment being the same. Hence the gout deterrain spoken of by French connoisseurs, is a correct expres- sion for this recognisable difference. Doubtless among the varied geological deposits of western New York, similar differences must likewise bo observed, both in the fruit and in the cider made from it, which will give peculiar characters and recommendations to the pro- ductions of the several districts. Of course climate must have its due, and its effects are striking enough. Thus, in New Brunswick, fruit of good quality may be raised, and the cultivation for home consumption car- ried on, with a profit; but the apples, though of a plea- sant agreeable flavour, are in general small, and can- not compete with the large delicate apples of the Hudson River, of western New York, and of northern Ohio. " It is probable, 1 think," says Professor John- ston, " that the great heat of the sun is in reality a chief cause of the smallness of the fruit, hastening the ripening process before the apple has had time to swell. Its scorching effect was seen upon the fallen fruit, which was dried and altered, as if by artificial heat, on the side which had been exposed to its rays. The ten o'clock sun has the effect also of scorching the young trees, burning a stripe all the way down the stem, and finally killing them. The preventive is to wind a straw rope round the stem, and to let all the branches grow till it has got a rough bark. It is an interesting fact, that part of a stem thus protected will thicken faster than the uncovered portion, and, when the straw is detached, will sensibly be of a greater girth." The celebrated apple- toddy of Maryland, Mr. Johnston informs us, is made as follows : — " Take a red- streak apple, roast it before a slow fire, on a china plate, put it into a half-pint tumbler, mash it well, add one wine-glassful of good Cognac, and let it stand twelve hours. Add then two wine-glasses of water, dust it over with nutmeg, put in a spoonful of white sugar, stir up well, and drink." This is genuine apple-toddy, taken as a water drink, mint-juleps taking its place in summer. Among these jovial middle States men, a stranger has a chance of living according to his humour, which the determined temperance- upholding people of the north-eastern States scarcely permit. — Journal of Agriculture, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 81 ABD-EL-KADER'S ACCOUNT OF THE ARAB HORSE, WITH HIS NOTICE OF THE TRIBES OF ALGERIA, &c., &c. (from the morning post.) " GLORY TO THE ONE GOD. HIS REIGN ALONE IS ETERNAL." Greeting to him who, in his excellent qualities, equals all the men of his time, who seeks only what is good, whose heart is pure, and whose speech is admirable, the wise, the intelligent Lord General Dauraas— from your friend Sid-el-Hadj Abd-el- Kader, son of Mahhi-Eddin. Behold the reply to your inquiries, i. How many days can the Arab horse travel without repose or injury ? Know that a horse, sound in aU his limbs, fed on barley, which his belly demands, can do what- ever his rider wishes him \o do. With reason the Arabs say — "A lef ou annef" — " Give barley and abuse." But, without abusing the horse, you can make him travel sixteen parasangs* every day ; that is the distance between Mascara and Kondiat Aghe- lizan, on the Oued Mina. A horse making this journey every day, and fed on barley, to the utmost of his appetite, can continue unfatigued for three or even four months on the road, without resting one single day. 2. What distance can the horse traverse in a day ? I cannot tell you with precision ; but that distance ought to approach fifty parasangs — from Tlemsen to Mascara, for example. We have seen a vast number of horses do the journey in one day. How- ever, the horse which has accomplished that distance must be spared next day, and would not be able to do at all so much without a twenty-four hours' in- terval. Most of our horses used to go from Oran to Mascara in one day ; and for several days together they could repeat the journey. We have left Saida at eight o'clock in the morning (au doliha) to sur- prise the Arbaa, who were encamped at Am Toukria (among the Oulad-Diad, near Taza), and we reached them at break of day (fedjer). You know the country, and you can understand the distance we had to accomplish. * A parasang is about three miles, as will be seen in this very letter of Abd-el-Kader's, under the head of the 4th question. 3. What examples are there of the abstemious- ness of the Arab horse, and what proofs of his power to bear hunger and thirst ? Know, that when we were established at the mouth of the Meloui'a, we made razzias in the Djebel-Arnour, following the road of the Sahara, pressing our horses to the gallop for five or six hours together in one breath on the days of attack, and accomphshing our excursion thither and back in twenty or twenty-five days at the most. During this interval our horses had no barley to eat, except what they could carry along with their riders ; that is, about eight ordinary meals. Our horses found no straw, but only some alfa or chilli, or, in spring, a little grass. Nevertheless, on our return home, we performed the games on horseback, the day of our arrival, and struck the dust with some of our horses. Many which could not exhibit this exercise, were yet in a condition for the campaign. Our horses used to remain without drinking for one or two days. Once they had nothing to drink for three. The horses of the Sahara do more than this. They remain for about three months without eating a grain of barley! they know not straw except on the days when they come to purchase grains in the Tell; and they eat, for the most part, only alfa, chilli, and occasionally c/uetof. Ths Arabs say — "Alfa enables the horse to travel — Chilh makes him fight — And guetqf is better than barley." Certain years pass without the horses of the Sa- hara having a grain of barley to eat during the whole year, when the tribes have not been received in the Tell. Sometimes, then, they give dates to their horses ; this nourishment fattens them; they are then marched out, and enter on expedition. 4. Why, as the French do not ride their horses until after they have passed the age of four, do the Arabs mount theirs extremely young ? Know that the Arabs say that horses and man can be well taught only in the tenderest age. This is their proverb on the subject ; — " The lessons of infancy are graven on stone." "The lessons of riper years disappear like the nests of birds." G 83 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. They also sny, " The j'oung branch recovers its pasture without much difficulty, but the thick wood never recovers from a warp." In the very first year, the Arabs begin to instruct the young horse to go with the reseun, a sort of ca- vesson ; they then call him djeda, beginning to break and ])ridle him. As soon as he becomes teni, that is when he enters his second year, they ride him one mile, then two, then a parasang ; and when he has completed his eighteenth month, they are no longer afraid of fatiguing him. When he has become tehoru telutu, that is ^\hen he enters his third year, they cease to ride him ; they fasten him, cover him with a good djdah (cloth), and fatten him. On this head they say, " In the first year, tie him for fear of accident. In ihe second year, ride him till his back curves. In the third year, tie him again ; and if he has not be- come what you wish, sell him," Jf a horse be not ridden before his third year, it is certain that he will never be good for anything but speed, which he does not require to learn, it is his natural faculty. The Arabs express the idea thus — "El djouad idjri be daselouh." — "The djouad runs according to his blood." The noble horse- needs not to learn swiftness. 5. Why, if the stalHons impart more qualities to the breed, should the mares nevertheless be dearer ? This is the reason : — He who buys a mare, hopes that, while using her as a steed, he will at the sa^ae time rear a numerous brood from her; whereas, he who buys a horse only employs him for riding, no money being taken by the Arabs for commercial purposes. 6. Do the Arabs keep registers to establish the genealogy of their horses ? Know that the Arabs of the Sahara trouble them- selves as little with registers as little as do those of the Tell. Notoriety suffices ; for the pedigree of their blood-horses is as well known as that of the riders. I have heard that some families keep regis- ters, but I cannot quote them. These books are used in the East, as I mention in the little treatise which I am about to address to you. 7. What tribes of Algeria are the most renowned for their horses ? Know that the best horses of the Sahara are those of the Hamyan, without exception. They possess none but excellent horses, because they never employ them either for tillage or with the pack-saddle, but solely for expedition and war. These are the steeds which best bear hunger, thirst, and fatigue. Next to the horses of the Hamyan, come those of the Arbaa and of the Ouled-Nayl. In the Tell, the best horses for nobleness and hlood, for figure, form, and beauty, are those of the people of the Chelif, especially those of Oulad Sidi- Ik'U-Abd-AUah (Sidi el Aaril)i\ near the Mind ; and again those of the Oulad Sidi Hassan, a frac- tion of the Oulad Sidi Dahhon, who inhabit the mountain of Mascara. The swiftest on the race- course (fine also in shape) are those of the tribe Flita, of the Oulad Sheriff", and of the Oulad Sekreud. The best for a march over stony ground, without being shod, are those of the Assassena tril)e in Yakoubia. A saying is attributed to Moulay Ismail, the celebrated Sultan of Morocco — " Let my steed have been reared in Maz and wa- tered in the Biaz." Maz is a place in the country of the Assassena, and the Biaz is the stream known by the name of the Foufet, which flows in their territory. The horses of the Oulad-Khaled are also renowned for the same qualities. Sidi Ahmed Ben Yussouf has said, with reference to that tribe, " long tresses and flowing manes will be seen amongst you till the day of the resurrection," thus panegyrising their women and their horses. 8. You say to me that you are told that the horses of Algeria are not Arabian but Bcrberian — that is, hnrhs. This is an opinion which recoils upon its holders. The Berbers are genuine Arabs. A celebrated author has said — "The Berbers inhabit Moghebbo ; they are all sons of Kaiss Ben Ghilan." It is aveiTed, moreover, that they spring from the two great Hemiarite tribes, the Senahdja and the Ket- tama, who entered with the invader Ifrikech-el- Malik. According to these facts, the Berbers are cer- tainly Arabs ; and historians establish the filiation of most of the Berber tribes, and their descent from the Senahdja and the Kettama. The coming of these tribes was anterior to Islamism. Since the Mussulman invasion, the number of Arabian immigrants is incalculable. When the Obeidin (the Fatiraites) were masters of Egypt, immense tribes passed into Africa, and among others, the Riahh. They spread themselves from Kairoun to Merrakech (Morocco). It is from these tribes that the Douaouda, the Aiad, the Madid, the Oulad- Madi, the Oub.d-Jacob-Zerara, the Djendel, the Attaf, the Hauris, the Braze, the Sheha, the Flita, the Medjahar, the Mehal, the Beni Amer, the Ham- yan, and many others, spring. Doubt there is none but that the Arabian horse came with his Arabian rider. In the days of Ifrikech-Ben-Kaif, the empire of the Arabs was omnipotent. It ex- tended itself towards the west as far as Morocco ; as in the days of Charaar the Hemiarite, it ex- tended itself in the east as far as China. Tlie ac- count of this is given by Ben Konteiba, in his book entitled " El Marif." It is very true that, if all the horses of Algeria THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 83 are of Aralriaii l)loo;1, uiauy of them are fallen from their nobleness, because they are only too often employed in tillage, in retillage, in carrying, in drawing loads, &c., because the mares have been Eubjected to the assj whereas, nothing of that sort \vas done among the Arabs of old. On this point they say that it is enough for the horse, but to v/alk over tilled ground to make him lose some of his merit. The following story is tokl on the subject : — " A man was tnivelling, mounted on a blood-horse, lie is met by his enemy, he also being mounted on a noble courser. The one jjursues the other, and he who gives chase is distanced by him who flies. Desjiairing to overtake him, the pursuer cries : ' I ask thee, in the name of God, has thy horse ever worked V * He worked once for four days,' ' Good ; mine lias never worked ; and, by the head of the Prophet, I am certain to overtake thee." Accordingly, he continues the pursuit. Towards the close of the day, the fugitive begins to lose, and the pursuer to gain ground. He soon contrives to come up with, and to fight him whom he had de- spaired of catching. My father (God have him in his mercy !) was wont to say — " No more blessing is there on our country since we have turned our war-horses into beasts of burden and of tillage. Did not God make the horse for the charge and the race, the ox for tillage, and the camel for carrying loads ? There is no gain in amending the ways of God." 9. ^^'hat are our precepts for the nurture and nourishment of our horses ? Know that the owner of a horse gives him at first but little barley, augmenting his ration by small quantities, then diminishing it again a little as soon as the animal leaves any, and finally main- taining the allowance at that measure. The best moment for giving barley is the even- ing. Except on the road, there is nothing to be gained by giving any in the morning. The saying on this head is — " The barley of the morning is found on the dunghill; the barley of the evening in the croup." The best manner of giving the barley is to give it to the horse saddled and girthed ; as the best manner of watei'ing him is to water him bridled. They say : — "Water with the bridle, barley with the saddle." The Arabs, above all, prefer a horse that eats little, provided he be not weakened in consequence. He is, say they, " a treasure beyond price." To give a horse drink at break of day makes him giow thin; to give it to him in the evening makes hirn grow fat ; and to give it to him in the middle of the day keeps him in his condition. During the great heats, which last forty days (semame), the Arabs water their horses only once in two days ; and they aver that this practice has the best effects. In sununer, autumn, and winter they give an armful of straw to their horses ; but the chief part of the food is barley, in preference to all other substance. The Arabs have a saying — " If we had not seen that horses beget horses, we should say thr.t they were begot of barley." Again — " Buy the big horse, barley will make him swift." " Of forbidden meats," say thej', " choose the lightest." That is to say, choose the lightest horse ; horse flesh is interdicted to the Mussulman. Among their further proverbs are — " A man becomes a good rider only by having his bones broken repeatedly." " Thorough-bred horses have no malice." " The horse trained is the m.aster's honour." " Horses arc birds without wings," " There is nothing d'.ttant to the horse." " Those who forget the beauty of the horse for that of woman shall not prosper." " The horse knows the horseman-i" The holy Ben- el-Abbas (may God be pleased with him) has also said ;— " Love the horse, care for him, spare not your pains," &c., &c. I have finished the letter of which our friend and companion, the friend of every one, the Comm.ander Sid-Ban-Senna, will be the bearer. Health. General Daumas, to whom this remarkable epistle was addressed, in rej^ly to inquiries which it specifies, remarks:— "The whole of this letter was written by Abd-el-Kader with bis own han'l ; the original is in my possession, and is certified by the Chef d' Escadron d'Artillciie Boissonnet, who has for three years occupied with honour a difficult and delicate position with regard to the Emir. It is to the Commandant Boissonnet that I owe the translation of this precious document. (Signed) " Le General E. Daumas." THE OBJECT OF KEEPING AND GENERAL TREATMENl' OF CATTLE IN YARDS. BY AN EX-FARMEU. The season is now on the move when country ration. Social meetings are convened, and neigh- life is somewhat gay, the feelings of the heart re- j hours wend their v/ay to the well-known and ceiving indulgence rather than the intellect culti- respected country "house," to meet the friends and o2 84 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. relatives of the Esquire, whose face shines brightly from the influence of the anticipated display of hos- pitality. The hoary, the vigorous, and the light of heart asse'xble for one common purpose of making each other pleased ; and many angry feelings are being torn from the breasts of their possessors, or are being buried in oblivion by the persons in whom they lurked in being brought together by accident or intention, to quaii' the best of the stock of bever- ages which our host reserves for the set times when Englishmen willingly give way to the inviting flavour of some exhilarating juice. Our cards of invitation may not have been Init half attended to, and the visits we are desired to return may yet be numerous, whilst each one adds to the foretasted pleasure of the next to come, weariness being a word unknown to the lovers and seekers of Frien d- SHip. But amidst all thl;; self-satisfaction on the one hand, and inspiration on the other, and governed, as all seems to be, by the mutual parti- cipation of the mirth and gaiety which is exhibited at the suggestion of the occasion, the naturally cool temperament and consistent disposition of English men of business, cause a dulness to exist, as matters and questions connected with their daily avocations spring uppermost in their minds, and they turn to consultation in an nnder-tone with their nearest friends. This inattention to the jokes and laughter of the more merrily disposed, is the be- ginning of that re-arrangement which companies are accustomed to, as the day wags on; for the sparkling eyes and the smiling faces of fathers and grandfathers have turned to steadiness and calm- ness, and all things seem to say that a division of tastes is essential; v.-hereupon the softer sex with- draws to consider by itself the afiairs of daily life, and the younger shoots of Old Father Agricola skip and jump to the hall, where they may more freely give vent to the emotions their age is subject to, and where they sooner or later portend " what they are cominy to," by stepping up to the spot beneath the emblem of the season, with a view of having a little practice in the art of " billing and cooing." Thus the minds of the fathers are freed from dis- turbance, and the temperament of the hour is that which admits of strength of thought and eloquence of expression, whereby each question raised is dis- pensed with in a manner both masterly and rapidly. Imposts, taxes, prohibitions, " reckless repeals," and general ])olitics, receive an occasional allusion, but the general subjects discussed are the quality of such and such a Christmas bullock, such and such a sheep, and so on ; and how the quality of these was obtained ; and, further, how such arti- ficial treatment may be extended with profit to the individuals who practise it. Whoever, therefore, practically and scientifically argues a question, which is not only vitally connected with the means we have for fostering friendship in the future, but also connected with the question of our prosperity : whoever does this is advancing the progress of the human family, and his writings are read with atten- tion and respect, inasmuch as every man free of infirmities seizes every sentence of reasonable counsel with a view of turning it to account, that he may gratify that principle he inherits, which prompts him to advance his position. The art of " manufacturing manure'* (as it is termed by the lovers of novelty) has been so often explained, and by these explanations so simphfied, that it is unnecessary to blend it with the present consideration. However, the object of each skilful farmer is to make each annual produce of straw into manure as early as possible, that it may in- crease the jn'oduce of the next crop of corn; and, also, of fodder for the support and greater comfort of his animals the following winter. In doing this, expenses are narrowly watched ; for if persons be careless of them, and expend more to obtain a cer- tain end than the profit in the shape of increase can possibly be at the end of the course, or when the return comes, why the imagination will be indulged by means of emptying the pocket. It is true that it costs more on some farms than others to produce that which will effect proper ferm.entation in the straw of them. This is one of the reasons for mixed soil being worth more rent per acre than heavy soil. But expenses on any farm may be im- necessarily heavy, and it is the object of calculating men to run up the cost of their husbandry no higher than they are compelled. Their only object is to rot the present crop of straw ; for they have perceived the influence of the agent which effects this on soil, its power of disintegration being so strong that it cannot be passed over without being observed by even the careless. It is nonsense to talk about a '• splendid yard of manure ;" for every load of turnips, cake, and corn, that is fed in a yard after there is enough acid to accomplish the desired and above-named object ; every load thus appro- priated is a mis-application of food to the im])rove- ment of the farm. When straw is thus overcharged the foreign essences escape, and are lost by every touch of the labourer; whilst, if these expenses be applied with judgment, even rain will not wash them from the manure-heap, for the affinity they have for those substances which do not contain them is so great that a union takes place of the various elements, and so they remam till buried in the soil, unless the heap they compose is left so long as to waste down and become so rotten as to suspend in water, and thereby run away with it, when it falls abundantly. It is no uncommon thing (to apply this reasoning to practice) to perceive farmers fatting bidlocks in a house, tied up by their necks, even when they have not enough turnips, or do not use sufficient corn, to tread all their present straw into manure. This is the most inconsistent practice that can be carried out. No one can be so unobservant as not to look upon feeding bullocks in the homestead as a means of gaining profit indirectly. This indirect profit comes in the shape of increased crops the following year. Wh}', therefore, are bullocks housed, when they will accomplish the desired ob- ject in a yard with ten times the rapidity ? Even supposing that they will fatten faster — which is doubtful, as I shall shortly show — it is better to do with a smaller number, if the same object can be accomplished : for it is a fair calculation to say that one bullock eats as much as ten sheep ; and a given quantity of turnips will make as much value of mutton as it will of beef. Well, then, which is the better system— to house bullocks and keep less ,THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 85 sheep, or to make manure with fewer fatting bullocks and keep more sheep ? Mutton is generally pre- ferred to beef, and it, therefore, generally makes a higher price in the market : independently of which, it is truly said that "a sheep has a golden hoof"; for by treading the soil at certain seasons — which the practical farmer alone is acquainted with — there is that development of the various metallic basis of the soil, which is required to neutralize and govern the acciimulated acid in the shape of roots and green crops, that the following grain crops may neither be diseased nor lodged, but stand uprightly and stiilly. Even now, our 13ritish farmers have generally brought their farms to that condition of richness, which makes it often impossible for the atmosphere to perfect that in the stems of grain- bearing plants which is by nature required of it. Science cannot iinjjrove the atmosphere, further than make it dryer by draining and clearing woods and thickets ; therefore too much may easily be de- posited by an unskilful manager, which is done by those persons who cart their turnips and green crops to the homestalls, and do not facilitate the development of the elements of the soil, by the friction of the feet of sheep, after the applica- tion of a heavy dose of some manure to force the green crops. Nay, by this system the roots themselves imdergo oxidation, which lessens the amount of that process necessary to the formation of a fine quality of grain. This is why the produce of a field, which was sown at the same time and of the same kind of grain, is often so diflferent both in quantity and quality. Treading soil is like exercise to animals ; that natural action of the air takes place, which the allvvise Creator of the earth and its productions thought proper to make one of the laws of nature. Lastlyj though not the least insignificant part of the argument, if ten sheep eat no more than one bullock, and if the fleeces of the former make only 5s. per head, why, there is a profit on the same return of 50s. over and above what there would have been had greater expense of cartage and so on been incurred, with a view of making an exhilaratinc/ display of " the volatile salts." Surely some of our "progressive" gen- tlemen will soon be tired of their experiments, and the labour of reporting them, when want of amuse- ment will turn their reflections inwardly, and they will shortly think to themselves — it is not to be thought they will publish it — " Well, I ixsed to fancy I knew a thing or two, but I have recently made an ' accurate analysis,' and to my alarm I dis- covered that that which I thought predominated, came only up to a trace." Every grazier and feeder of bullocks is aware that a herd of these animals will differ very m.uch in the degree they have grown, and the amount of fat and muscle they have made dm-ing the run of a given number of months. It frequently occurs, too, that those which progressed more favourably in the meadow, improved slowly in comparison with the others, when their food was changed, and they were subjected to the confinement of a yard or house. These phenomena arise from diflerence of constitution, which need not be discussed here, as every interested reader is familiar with the same, more especially as each peculiarity of con- struction must be considered as the remedy is made plain. When bullocks are taken from the pastures and put in yards, the ordinary feeder seldom gives them, much besides turnips of some kind. A little chaff, and perhaps a little meal of such corn as may be at hand is given, as an antidote to the purgative nature of autumnal food. It is supposed th?t all feeders have provided some portion of their bul- lock feed in the shape of turnips, and also that all give a certain quantity of " dry" food, in the form of corn or oilcakes, to their bullocks, as it is not only cheaper to do this than it is to cart an equiva- lent of turnips from the field, but more turnips may be fed on the land to its greater enrichment. The few farms which are so rich as not to I'equire the aid of corn, or other food than green crops, are not alluded to in this place. Well, then, it remains to be decided whether it be right in prac- tice to feed all our bullocks alike, or whether it be necessary, when a division is made, to consider the formation and temperament of the animals, and then place those together which are likely to thrive under a particular treatment in regard to food and so on. That it is, necessary to do this may be easily illustrated, as every yard of cattle contains specimens of wrong treatment consequent upon treating different constitutions after the same way. To make a bullock fatten regularly, that is, to make him good at all his " points," is an impossi- bility, unless nature formed him for the purpose, which is not the case with one in fifty. But to say that these " points " cannot be made of a proper consistency, or made to " handle well," by proper feeding, would be as much as to say that one ani- mal grows as fast as another, and that a given lot will be fit to kill on the same day for certain. This we know never occurs ; and, as one animal thrives faster on certain food than it does when it is eating what we term " better " food, why it is very clear tliat this " better " food is not suitable for assimi- lation by its organization. To understand the remedy for these things, we must consult and reflect upon our experience. We know that beans and peas make meat hard, par- ticularly pork ; and that linseed inakes it tender and oily where it should be fat. If, therefore, a part of a herd be " hard handlers," why those ani- mals should be put together, and have such food as is conducive to softness ; and, on the contrar)', if the remaining ones l)e " soft handlers," such food as will make them firm should be given them with the green crops. And so should cattle be divided according to their constitution, and the extra food they have given them sliould be regulated accord- ingly as they turn soft or firm, which constitutes the art of feeding. Some whimsical persons feed at certain hours, and fancy that a pound or two of meat is missed of being formed if a meal is varied a few minutes. No one can censure regularity, but it is ridiculous to imagine that a bullock is ready as regularly as the clock strikes. If reasonable quantities are given at a time, and he is left to himself, there is no fear but his own feelings will dictate the time, and he will eat when he is hungry, and drink when t'other. It is by supplying proper food that he progresses S(J THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. .'hrn this costivene.ss is suffered to exist for some length of time, scurf forms on tiie skin, and this increases until it is considered necessary to use inward and outward " heal-alls " to get rid of it. Cupiss' " Constiuit on Balls" are recommended, as " high- fed cattle will thrive faster if one is occasionally given." But if feeders will consider the foregoing, and remember what their j)ractical experience must afford, and then reflect on the two piarts in com- bination, they cannot fail to luiderstand that a change of food v/ould have, not only made the skin loose and pliable, but also made the animal thrive faster, even aUhough it consumed ])er day food of less value in the market. This subject was chosen because the season aff'ords the opportunity of carrj^- ifig it into practice, or working it out; which expe- riments will beget that knowledge of the question, which viill admit of a tkilful division and selection of food at the beginning of the season, which we ex- pect to arrive by-and-by. To buy any kind of food for cattle because it happens to be cheaper than other kinds, is to do that which betrays ;;s much want of experience as any one does v.'hen he goes to a fair or market, with a view of buying " if he can pick up a cheap lot." It is not always the cheapest lot which proves to be the l)est bargain, neither is the cheapest food al- ways the most profitable; forasihe former may not be adapted for the food they will have to eat, so the food which is cheap may be unsuitable to the cattle It is intended for. When a feeder has food to con- sume, his consideration should be, what character of animals will suit all the circumstances attending it — how long it will keep, when it should be fi- ished v/ith the most advantage, and what will be the number necessary to do this, and so on ; when he may go to a mart with some comfort, and if he have to give more than the market value for what suits him, it is very certain that they will prove to be three or four times cheaper than such as would not have suited, supposing that they could have been bought for less money per stone. And when any one lias got cattle by him, his consideration should be, what food w ill be ])roper to give to them as a corrective to the food they have, and the condition they are in. Beans may be cheap, and linseed dear, but it does not follow that it is proper to buy the former; for they may prove dear in the end, for the above rea- sons ; whilst, if linseed had been jmrchased at jts high rate of value, it might have been more pro- fitable, after the same rule. In regard to the breed or "blood" of cattlcj nothing can be advised ; for some which have a pedigree as long as their tails, are as often in as bad a condition fro n bad feeding as can well be found, and those which bear a high name from bad judges, because they liave been bred " in and in'' till they will breed no more, are " specimens" which it would not avail any one to coui-ider. However, the condition of their disgusting backs may be materially altered by an alteration of pro- vender. It is the feeding which i)roduces the superiority, and not the breed alone, as many would-be first- prize-receivers fancy. Symmetry of " points" and size of bone, may be found in "humble herds," and the remainder is brought about by skill and care, as it goes in at the mouth. If any readers should have any of their c.t le m the particular conditions described above, they will undoubtedly do honour to this them.e by tiying what it recommends, when th.ey will subsequently be rewarded by having their own judgment strengthened and their experience e.\tended, if they should not be able to realize, on the first trial, that which the perusal of it may have led them to ex- pect. The Arts are slow of growth; but when once acquired, they are never forgotten : and it h a bad practice to reflect upon the evil of knowing too much. The head hnd better ache le other cause. ROOTS THE PRODUCE OF IRELAND EXHIBITED AT THE SMITHFIELD CLUB CATTLE SHOW. At a period when so great an extent of landed property in Ireland is changing hands, and farms of all sizes a;id of every variety of soil and charac- ter are needing occupiers — when English capitalists are weighing the pro''ai)ir!ties of advantage from investments in the jjurchase of land in that coun- try, and when both in England and Scotland many farmers are ])ondering whether a better prospect is not opened for farming operations in the sister island than in their own respective localities, it is not surprising that the exbi!);iion of roots fiom Ireland, displayed at the late Smithfield Club Show in Baker-street, should have attracted so much at- tention. The reputation of the Messrs. Thos. I Gibbs and Co., of Half-Moon Street, of iMr. ! Skirving, of Liverjiool, of Mr. Grove, of Great I Baddow, Essex, and others, is so well establislied, that tliev need fear no competitors in such a dis- play : but had there been a competition between ; either or all of them, and the Earl of Clarendon — for to that noble lord we were indebted for the ex- hibition of Irish roots -the struggle for superiority ' would have been severe, the result doubtful. ' Some of our readers may not be aware that there ! exists in Dublin a society established in the year i 173), called "The Royal Dublm Society," for the ^ promotion of agricultural improvement in Ireland. Of this society the Earl of Clarendon ie President. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 87 This society has an annual exhibition of roots and i cereal productions, butter, &c., at which prizes j are awarded for the best specimens of each kind, j There is also a spring show of cattle, the prizes offered being open to the United Kingdom. The | Society has an extensive museum of natural history in Dublin, as also an agricultural museum, and Botanical gardens at Glasnevin— all of which, with their schools of design lately formed in connexion with the Government, are open to public inspection gratuitously, and which will be found deserving the attention of persons visiting Dublin who take an in- terest in such objects. Although Ireland has here- tofore produced a considerable quantity of wheat for the supply of this country, independently of her own consumption, it is exceedingly questionable whether oats and roots will not, in consequence of the moisture of the climate, be found the most pro- fitable articles of agricultural i)roduce. The natural fertiUty of a t reat portion of the soil of the " green isle" is proverbial, and its capabilities for producing artificial as v/ell as natural green food for the use of cattle would seem, from the specimens recently ex- hibited, to be almost fabulous were they not re- spectably authenticated. The collection of roots, &c., to which we refer was sent to the Sraithfield Shov/, upon the suggestion of tlie noble President of the Society, and a more judicious and practical (m'c trust the term will not give offence) mode of prov- ing incontestibly the root-producing capabilities of the Irish soil, could not have been adopted. We believe we are correct in stating that nearly the whole, if not all tlie specimens shown in Baker-street had already been exhibited in comjje- tition for the jirizes of the Dublin society. Amongst the contributors we observed the following : — Tlie Marquis of Drogheda, Moore Al)bey ; Viscount Monck, Charleville ; the Hon. Charles Hancock, Athlone; Lord Talbot de Malahide; Lord Chief Justice Blackburn, Rathfarnham ; the Earl of Charlemont; Mrs. Evens, Poitrane ; Colonel La Touche, Luggelow; Francis Dinagh, Flsq., Meidlin, Drogheda; Henry Lnigden, Esq., Castlenock ; Geoi-ge Watts, Esq., Delgany; William Dargan, Esq., Kildinan, co. Cork ; R. P. O'Reilly, Esq.. M.D., Castle Wilder, Longford; J. E. Vernon, Esq., Clontarf Castle ; Christopher Fitzsimon, Esq , Glencullen ; Thomas Ball, Esq., Malahide ; R. C. Wade, Esq., Clonabrany ; Mr. Charles O'Hara Harrolds, Cross Fields, who exhibited onions, of which 15 tons per Irish acre had been grown ; and the Eail of Roden, field cabbages, four of which weighed l60lbs. Dr. Kirkpatrick, agricultural inspector of national schools, exhibited some spe- cimens of Kohl Rabi raised by the pauper inmates of the Galway Union; the produce being at the rate of 25 tons jier acre. We cannot afford space to go into the details of all the prize roots exhibited, but the amount of jiroduce stated in some in- stances is so startling, and is regarded with so much scepticism by many of our farmers, that we deem it necessary to refer to particulars in two or three cases. And here we must observe that our information is obtained from the cards displayed with the roots at the stand. Specimens were exhibited by the Earl of Charlemont, all of which obtained first prizes from the Dublin Society. The first and most prominent is, "Red Globe mangold wurtzel," of which 112 tons per Irish acre, or 69 tons 3 cwt. nearly, the imperial acre, were pro- duced. The soil is described as being " alight loam on a gravelly sul^soil." (The previous crop wheat.) Manured with 35 tons of farm-yard manure per Irish acre, being 21 tons 12 cwt. per imperial acre. Sowed on ths 26th April, in drills 30 inches apart. The plants were thinned out to 15 inches apart, and the after culture was done with die spade. 2dly, Orange or Yellow Globe mangold wurtzel, of which 96 tons per Irish acre, being nearly 60 tons per imperial acre, were produced. The soil, manure, and cultivation the same as the preceding. Thirdly. Long red mangel-wurzel ; soil, a deep loam, on a clay subsoil; previous crop, grass, manured with 40 tons farm-yard manure per Irish acre, being 24 tons 14 cwt. per imperial acre. Sowed on the 30th April, in drills 30 inches apart. These were grown on lea ground, which was subsoiled 20 inches deep. At the time of sowing, the drills were formed by the ])lough, but all suljsequent cultuie was done by the spade. Mr. James Brady, who, it appears, superintended the cultivation of these roots, states, in his accoiT.t of the mode of cultivation, that, in addition to the farmyard manure, the ashes or burned earth from roots and clods burned in the field, were put into the drills over the manure. As be- fore stated, the culture was done with the spade, and at each of two diggings after thinning the plants, a plentiful soaking of hquid manure was applied. We may here o])serve that in the statement by Mr. Brady, all the land is described as " lea ;" whereas, in the description upon the cards e.xhibited, it is stated that the land on which the Red Globe and the Orange Globe were groum, had been previously cropped with wheat, Mr. Brady gives in detail the cost of these roots, which he makes £25 lis. per Irish, being £15 15s. 6d. per imperial acre, or 4s. 7d. per ton for the Red Globe wurtzel, and 5s. 3d. per ton for the Yellow Globe and the Long red wurtzel. The second prizes for mangold-wurtzel were awarded to Mrs. Evens. The preparation for and cultivation of all the three kinds of mangold were the same — nearly. The soil a dark mud on a blue clay subsoil. The previous crop, oats. Sowed the last week in April, in raised beds, three rows in each bed ; manured with 40 tons of farm-yard manure per Irish acre. From a description given by Mr. William Kelly of the treatment of Mrs. Evens's crops, it appears that the rows were 28 inches apart, and the ])lants IS inches asunder in the rows. The soil was dug be- tween the rows, and two dressings of liquid manure were given. The produce was as follows : — Tons. cwts. Red Globe Roots.. 51 8^ Tops.. 13 12 Yellow Globe Roots.. 47 Hi Tops.. 18 17 Long Red Roots. . 47 7 Tops.. 15 4i Mr. Kelly also gives the cost per acre in detail, and v/hich he makes exclusive of the expense of Kiinding to market, his plan being to dispose of the 88 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. produce in that way, £23 per Irish acre, and taking the average of roots at 49 tons per Irish or 30 tons per Enghsh acre tlie cost will be Os. 4d. per ton. Some White Globe mangold {^rown by Mrs. Evens produced 42 tons per acre, and some sugar beet 36 tons per acre. Some Yellow Globe grown by Mr. Ball, of Malahide, with 40 tons of farm-yard manure, and 4 cwt. superphosphate of lime, i)ro- duced 55 tons per acre. It is very remarkable that in neither of these cases, although the cultivation was most liberal, the produce sliould have reached more than half of the Earl of Charlemont's crop. It would be exceedingly desirable if the parties who are acquainted with all the circum- stances of the respective localities would endeavour to account for the extraordinary excess of the Earl of Charlemont's crops, which render them, in the cant term of the da)-, '"' exceptional." Of turnips we find the following crops grown : — Aberdeen turnips, ^'iscountMonck, 55 tons per acre, a first prize was awarded for this crop. Swede turnips, Mr. Ball, 50 tons per acre ; Purple Top, Mr. Dargan, 50 tons per acre; Swede turnips, do., 62 tons ])er acre, without tops ; White Globe, do., 50 tons per acre, without tops. A crop of cabbages, grown by Mr. C. Wade, Clonaberry, Crosakeil, Meath, produced 80 tons per Irish aero, or 49 tons 8 cwt. per imperial acre. The information to be derived from the fore- going facts shows that, excluding the exceptional case of the Earl of Charlemont, about 48 tons per acre of mangold-wurtzel may be grown at a cost of about 9s. 6d. per ton. We have no account given of the cost of raising the turnips, but we see no reason to regard it as less than that of mangold wurtzel. We find that the turnips average about 53 tons per Irish acre, and if we take Mr. Kelley's estimate of expenses, £23 per acre, as equally applicable to the turnip crop, the cost of the turnips will be about 8s. fid. per ton. That a jiroduce of 53 tons ])er Irish acre, or 32 i tons the imperial acre, is far above the average of crops grown in this country or in Scotland, is perfectly manifest ; but on comparing the expense of producing mangold wurtzel and turnips in Great Britain with the quantity grown i)er acre, it will readily be ascertained whether the large crops ob- tained in Ireland at a cost of 9s. 6d. per ton for the former, and 8s.6d.for the latter, exhibit any, and what advantage. It should be observed thatin the calcula- tions of expenses above referred to, no rent, taxes, or rates of any description, or interest of capital, are charged, nor any allowance made for the time of the baihfl' or farmer. The facilities aH'orded by steam navigation enable the Irish farmer to forward his pro- duce, and himself to attend the English markets with as much ease and at as small a cost as the North- umbrian or Scotch farmers ; if Ireland, therefore, presents advantages for the employment of capital in the cultivation of the soil, there are at all events no difficulties on the score of accessibility. We consider that not only the Irish but tlie English public are indebted to the Earl of Clarendon for having shown the British agriculturists, by the ex- hibition of roots referred to, what the Irish soil is capable of jiroducing. Nor can we close our re- marks without exjiressing our a])])robation, from personal observation, of the exemplary manner in which Mr. Corrigan, the curator of the Dublin Society's Museum, executed the mission with which he was entrusted, in clearly and courteously replying to the numerous inquiries made by the visitors at the Smithfield show, who in crowds surrounded his stand, and catechized him upon all points, some with no inconsiderable want of confidence in the statement that 112 tons of mangel wurzel had been grown even upon an Irish acre of land. — Mark Lane E.xpress. AGRICULTURAL REPORTS GENERAL AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR DECEMBER. During the greater part of this month the weather has been seasonably fine, and highly favourable to all farming operations. The sowing season having been concluded somewhat earlier than usual, and under the most sat sfactory aus- pices, farmers in general, in order to meet future demands upon them, have threshed out very large quantities of both wheat and barley, of which ex- tensive sales have been effected at drooping prices. It is much to be regretted that so splendid a crop of wheat as that grown this year should, from ne- cessity be forced oft' at the present low figures. On the whole, the cattle trade has ruled tolerably firm, and prices have been from 2d. to 4d. ])er8lbs. higlier than at the corresponding period in 1850. The turnip and other root crops having turned out very good, both as to quantity and quality, the stock in most of our large grazing districts has fared extremely well. Hay continues in great abundance, and may be purchased on very low terms. In the London markets meadow-hay has sold heavily, at from £2 12s. to £3 15s.; clover ditto, £3 5s. to £4 6s.; and straw, £1 to £1 7s. per load. The supplies in the hands of the growers are unusually large. With very few exceptions, our accoimts respect- ing the appearance of the winter wheats are very satisfactory. The weather having continued com- paratively mild, they have not stood much in need of snow to protect them from easterly winds. It is stated that the breadth of land under wheat cul- ture in the eastern, midland, and northern counties, has somewhat increased this season, as some far- mers are of opinion that that grain will be selling at higher rates during the greater portion of next year, and which opinion is certainly favoured by the present state of th« trade abroad. Exceedingly large imports of Peruvian guano having taken place, the stock of that article has increased to 80,000 tons. For home use, very few sales have been reported at from £9 to £9 6s, per THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 89 ton ; but about 2,000 tons of other kinds, chiefly from Valparaiso, have sold for shipment to the continent. The crushers of linseed have been more actively employed than for some time past; hence prices, both on the spot and for forward delivery, have been on the advance. The supply of cakes having become small, rather more money has been paid for both English and foreign parcels. In the quality of the latter, especially America, a decided improvement has taken place, some of the cakes being nearly as good as those manufactured in this country. It will be recollected that, shortly after potato-raising was commenced, we gave it as our decided opinion that the crop was unusually large, and of very fine quality; that it would keep well during the winter months ; and that the im- ports from abroad would be very triflmg. So far as we have yet progressed, it must be admitted that our premises have been correct. The whole of our markets, including those in Ireland and Scotland, have been very heavily supplied with all kinds, for which the demand has ruled dull, at from 50s. to 80s. per ton. Very few losses have yet been sustained by the growers, and the arrivals from the continent have been under 300 tons. Unless a very great change takes place in the ap- pearance of the root, prices are likely to continue low. In the Scotch and Irish markets the demand for all articles of grain has been in a very inactive state. Prices, however, have undergone very little change. Farmers have been busily occupied in thresbing out barley and oats, liberal supplies of which have been forwarded to the metropolis. The produce of spring corn generally is represented as good. As is usually the case at this period of the year, the imports of foreign stock into the United King- dom have exhibited a falling off. REVIEW OF THE CATTLE TRADE DURING THE PAST MONTH. The holding of the various cattle shows has, of course, been one of the leading features of the month. Notwithstanding that the prices of fat stock have ruled extremely low during the whole of the jn'esent year, arising from the immense impor- tations from abroad, the exhibition of both beasts and sheep in Smithfield has proved exceedingly fine. In the Baker Street Bazaar, however, we have noticed a falling off in the number of each kind of stock compared with 1850; but this dechne must, in a great measure, be attributed to the great success of the Midland Counties Show, and not to any want of spirit on the part of our breeders gene- rally. Last year, it will be recollected, very severe losses were sustained by those who forwarded sup- plies for the " great day;" but this season, notwith- standing that the supplies on offer in Smithfield have been large, and that very extensive receipts of dead meat have taken place up to Newgate and Leaderhall, a steady business has been doing at prices about 4d. per 8lbs. above those obtained in December last. We will not enter into the ques- tion of actual jjrofits ; yet it is clear, from the appearance of the stock, and the comparatively " ripe" age at which a large portion of it has been brought forward, that oil-cake has been somewhat sparingly used of late. The reports from the various grazing districts state that both stall and home-fed beasts continue tolerably free from disease. In most quarters the supply of food is unusually abundant and good. The total supplies exhibited in Smithfield have been as follows : — Head, Beasts 20,554 Cows 451 Sheep 93,462 Calves 1,201 Pigs 2,872 COMPARISON OF SUPPLIES. Dec, Dec, Dec, Dec, 1847, 1848. 1849. 1850. Beasts 18,978 19,016 23,853 24,239 Cows 500 490 442 316 Sheep 101,720 87,240 119,180 99,944 Calves 1,240 1,113 1,413 1,864 Pigs 2,765 1,549 2,139 2,619 From the above comparison, it will be seen thai the supply of beasts has fallen short of 1850 by nearly 4,000 head, and that it has been considerably less than in 1849. The total number of sheep has likewise been small ; nevertheless the consumption in the metropolis has been readily met by the im- mense quantities of meat forwarded from different parts of England, as well as from Scotland, by rail- way conveyance. The average prices have ruled thus : — Per 8lbs., to sink the offals. s. d. s. d. Beef, from 2 10 to 4 2 Mutton 2 10 to 4 4 Veal 3 0 to 4 4 Pork 2 8 to 4 0 COMPARISON OF PRICES. Dec, 1849. Dec, 1850. s, d. s, d, s, d, s. d. Beef, from . . „ . . 3 4 to 4 6 2 8 to 4 0 Mutton 36 46 26 42 Veal 3 2 4 0 2 6 3 6 Pork 3 4 4 2 2 8 4 0 A shght falling off has been observed in the arrivals of foreign beasts, but those of sheep have increased, whilst their general condition has greatly improved, es])ecially the sheep and calves. The supplies have been as under : — Head, Beasts 3,237 Sheep 16,396 Calves 1,564 Pigs 397 Total 21,594 Same month in 1 850 . . . . , 20,435 Same month in 1849 16,36S Same month in 1848 12,346 Same month in 1847 11,028 At the outports only about 1,800 head have been received, chiefly from Holland. Newgate and Leadenhall markets have exhibited unusually large supplies of each kind of meat, for which the de- mand has been stead)', at fluctuating prices. 00 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. METEOROLOGICAL DIARY. Barometer. Thermometer. Wind and S i'ATE. , Atmosphere. j Weath. Day. 9 a.m. 10p.m.' Mill. Max, lOp.m. Direction. Force, 'is a.m. 2 p.m.. lOp.m, fl 1 fine Nov.21 1 i in. cteen puffed up by frost. Thin sowing is recom- mended by some luminaries ; but the remedy, or the precautions to be taken here, is to sow early •. begin with the year if it Avill do well, and make the moulds solid, that the roots may not run too easily. Some persons sow all early because one field hap- pened to answer last year. This is absurd. Poor fields are completely exhausted of their food before the time for the ears to make their appearance : therefore there cannot be any corn, except it be such a season as makes the crops of the good land rotten. So scheme and forecast as to have late spring feed on the poorer fields, and sow the richer ones when the first opportunity offers. By this system, the great item of horse-labour is both economised and well directed, inasmuch as justice is done to the one part; and the other part, or fal- lows, may have that attention which is requisite when fields are idle ; and the turnips may, there- fore, be sown when they should be ; and thus the most important crop to the enrichment of a farm may be well treated ; and by these means will that accumulation of atmospheric matters take place, which is the only means we have of taking advan- tage of the natural powers about us, to that extent which makes the process profitable, it being itself a gift of Heaven, and, therefore, needs no labour to facilitate it when once it has received the start, which the same celestial Power has ordained as one which must come about by the exercise of skill and the employment of the hands of man. HEDGES AND FARM FENCES BY A PRACTICAL FARMER. " As the twig is bent, the tree's inclined." " Of all parts of wisdom the practice is the most valuable." As this is the season of the year when all farmers are looking to their ways, and proceeding to repair their roads and fences, it may not be inappropriate to offer some observations upon their management. I propose for the present to confine myself to fences, or rather to hedges, hedgerow timber, useless hedges on small en- closures, and the management of a young quick hedge for the purpose of making good farm fences. With the view of aiding my brother farmers in obtain- ing a good and permanent one, I offer the following remarks ;— The best hedge is unquestionably the Hawthorn hedge; i. e., Whitethorn, or Quickset hedge. It will be necessarv to begin with the young quick ; as upon its proper management depends the successful main- tenance of the future hedge. The hedge to be planted should be with quick of three years' growth • i. e., one year in the seed-bed, and two years after being transplanted out jlngly in trenches or rows. From thix nursery the plants should be carefully taken up, their roots trimmed, and their longer fibres shortened; they will then bo ready for planting. The line of fence lOG THE FARMER'S MAGAZfNIC. being marked out, a trench about 13 incbcs wide and 10 inclicM (!opp slioiild bo dug, and ])rei)nrcil with a strong uiixlurc of loamy soil and i)artiully-decomposcd dung, to be thoroughly mixed, and oxtcndiuj; the wliolo length of the fence. The planting should thou take place, and mny be proceeded with in open weather tliroughout the winter ; care being taken to avoid frosts, Kst the tcndor fibres should rieoive injury. Thejilants mny be set at intervals of from 7 to 0 inches, according to their size and sti-cngth ; tlieir roots to ho, carefully covered to the top of the trench, and be well trodden down. In this way they must remain for tlio summer; but in tlic sncccciling winter it will be desirable to take off the top, close to the gr.mnd, in order to thicken the bottom of tlie future fence. In the following summer its growtli will be so vigorous as to require the top to be levelled ; taking care to cut only those shool.'^ likely to overtop their nciglibours. This will cause it to grow compact, and regular in form ; iind on reaching tlie height of 4 fett it should be kept under with hook or shears, and never allowed to get away. By these means it will speedily become a strong thickset hedge, of suitable character lor a permanent f.^rm fence. To keep it such it ought to be kept in the best shape; every plant receiving equal encouragement a!id protec- tion in its growth. For this purpose I suggest its being cut so as to leave a base ol 3 feet in width, sloping equally upwards on both sides to a narrow top at 4 feet height. This, I think, is the b;!st form of hedge either for pasture or arableland ; every part of it receive srqnal benefit from sp.n and iur, while from the widtii of its base the growth of grasses and weeds is more effec- tually prevented. What a delightfid contrast would the wdiole country present — how agreeable and pictu- resque ; and what an immense benefit would arise were hedges of lliis character universal, instead of tiiose un- sightly, cumbrous, vermin-stocked jiests, now so gener il ! Agriculture will flourish in proportion as it approailns garden-like culture, and this is one step towards it. Every hedge should be made to assimi- late to it, except from peculiar circnmstauces. No land ought to be overshadowed or overgrown by either hedge, or hedge-row timber, if the occupier is to derive a profit; but for ornamental purposes, for fuel, for fencing, and the like, it should only be left on the grass and meadow lands, or at all events on those parts of the farm least likely to do injury to the cropping. The writer of this has on his own farm hedgerows in which are growing large trees, whose roots spread far and wide, and exhausting the soil to a great extent. In one instance some roots of the Ash which were dug up had extended in a direct line from the trunk up- wards of 70 feet, and many from 20 to 00 feet around ; and in no case had they entered the earth to a greater depth than 2 feet, but appear to have sought their food on the surface — a decided proof of their injurious ten- dency. Fancy an oblong field, of narrow width, beset with two such fences — hedge-rows ; but I shall revert to this a,'!i!ii under " Useless Fences," and shall now proceed to direct attention to the management of existing liedore'. It 19 indisputable that hedges properly managed arc cf very essential service, both in the protection of arable lands and in depasturing grass lands. The shelter given to young and tender corn-i)lants in in- clement seasons, and to stock feeding off" the turnip" crop on arable land, is very serviceable; and on pasture land hedges arc almost indispensable. Neither do I object to a moderate sprinkling of good timber trees on such land ; they are both useful and ornamontiil. In winter they break off the blustering winds, and in summer afibrd cooling shade; it is the negligent abuse of such fences that is to be so highly deprecated. It is advantageous to any land where the hedges are good and of moderate bulk ; not encumbering, but affording protection and shelter both to stock and crop. The greatest difficulty is experienced in the management of existing hedges, particularly those of long stand- ing. Where it has became thin and bad frmn ago or improper management, the best way is to grub it up at once, and plant anew, taking care to avoiil planting precisely in the old txhausted line of fence ; but where tlia hedge is in tolerable condition, every reasonable method should be adopted to improve it. One very useful plan is to plasli it (cut it up), and in every thin place to bend down a suitable branch, so as to lay it abmg the ground, or rather in a trench. Stake it firmly down, and notch it where a shoot is required. In this way it will grow and fill up the gap. Young quick or old stools, planted in old hcdgei s, of seldom do well. Another ]dan to improve an old hedge is by cutting it in what is termed " Scotch fashion" — i. e., alternately on either side, allowing one or more years to intervene, the design being to obtain a thick bottom, ;!S well as to retain a suf- ficient fence while so thickening. The hedger com- mences at the bottom, and cuts upwards, in a slanting direction, to the required height, or about 4^ feet, taking out only those pieces at the bottom most likely to throw out shoots, and all other branches in succes- sion, as he proceeds upward to the required heiglit. The opposite side of the hedge being left nearly un- touched till the succeeding season, when it must undergo the same course or operation. Both sides being thus cut into similar form, it will soon become a thick, compact hedge. The most common method of managing an old hedge is by plashing and laying ; and if properly done, it is a very good one : but, as usually cut aud laved, it is very hurtful to the hodgi-. ^N'o live stakes ought to be left standing, and the whole should be cut closely up from the very bottom, every stool being cut in a slanting direction upwards, so as to prevent splitting them, or other injury, aud tl)us permitting the rain to get down the crevices, or rotting the roots. It is also a folly to cram as much wood into the layers as possibl', for the purpose of ensuring a temporary fence. This will prevent the future pro- sperity of the hedge ; and the live or uncut stakes, taking the lead, soo'i cause a tldn place on either side of them, from overtopping the cut stools. As this is t! c common way of managing hedges, and much evil has arisen from niismamu'^;«ent, I will detail what I THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 107 tliink the best practice. The hedge to be plashed and layed sliould be carefullj' looked over by the hedger, so as to ascertain if it contains plenty of stakes and binders, and how they can be best obtained from it. He should then proceed to cut down as closely as possible to the ground i\\\ the hedge, except such suitable pieces as he requires for the layers, and which ought not to be too many. He should then cut out his stakes, and, OS he proceeds witii his work, drive them into the ground, about two feet apart, along the line of fence, and 15 inches from the stools or cut hedge. He should then lay along the bottom, and entwine with the stakes a layer of the smaller cut branches ; next, a slight layer of somewhat larger growth; above them, the layers or pieces left standing, and intended to keep all fast; these to be again followed by a few layers of strong growth ; and the whole to hi carefully bound with the long and thinner branches or binders, by being thoroughly twisled on the top of the stakes. This must be very securely done, as upon its nice adjustment and execution the stability of the fence mainly depends. Great care must be taken not to overload the stakes. Only just so much should be put into tiie fence as will prevent Iambs and smaller animals creepi^g througli it. The binders ought to be sufficiently strong to obstruct the larger stock. If the stakes are heavily loaded, in a year or two, either from high winds or drifted snow, they will give way. By the above plan of setting the stakes away from the old stool:>, they have room, can be kept clean, and moulded up, besides having the advantage of sun and air. At the end of four years, the live or stand- iug layers must be cut out, and, if requisite, the staked ience repaired, the young hedge " sided uj)," and the lop levelled to the desired height. It may thus, in about five years, be brought into that form of hedge which I think is to be preferred for general purposes. Another very common method of managing an old hedge is to " buck-head '' it— z. e., to cut it off at any required height. This is done by simply cutting equally on both sides, along the top fr.)m the bottom, in (as befu^re stated) a slanting direction upwards, so as to leave a narrow top. In many situations it is a useful practice ; but, if not required for a temporary fence, it is best to cut up from the very bottom, and in all cases, I again repeat, to be cut upwards so that no stool is split or splintered. If this is not attended to, the root is greatly endangered, if not destroyed. Assuming, then, that the hedges have been brought into proper shade and order, they ought to Ijo kept so; and this can only be done by constant pruning and cutting, keeping as closely as possible to the desired form. The cutting should take place twice in the year— i. e., early in June, and late in lYovember; but this is not absolutely requisite, The hedge may be kept in fair order, and under moderate dimensions, by a good cutting or pruning in Sep- tember. Tills would for a long period keep it in tolerable bounds, when it may be again cut up from the bottom. One great benefit to be derived from such prescribed bounds to hedgerows is, that birds, insects, and vermin are deprived of comfortable quarters; and it may be presumed that, owing to so little harbour being given them, they will neither in- crease so fast, and that birds, in particular, will not be so destructive as when screened by larger hedges. Other ailvantages I shall endeavour to show when treating of useless fences or hedges, in which I shall include the subdivision of fields, its injurious effect upon good husbandry, and the great loss it occasions to the country. This may be somewhat irrelevant; but I hope its importance will suffice as my reason for so doing. AGRICULTURE. ON THE TMPR0VE;MENT "OF THAT HUMAN MACHINE— THAT MAN ANIMAL, THE DAILY LABOURER." BY A YOUNG PARMER. Progress : This is a suggestive word to a reflective mind. It is one of those stones from which Shakspeare says, " Sermons may be written." What does it not imply ? What of past inertness — of present imperfec- tion and passage — of future realisation ? Does it not stand as the illuminated motto of our age — the guiding spirit of our times — tiie pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by night ? There are many, however, who disbelieve in progress altogether, and judge all those who see " bright lights in the clouds '' and " good in everything," as enthusi- asts and visionaries, possessed of a diseased faculty of hope, whose action is increased in proportion to its un- healthy condition, and who, therefore, behold the most glorious visions when there is just the least foundation for them. There are, we are aware, some people who believe in the stationary position or retrograde movement of society ; and these resemble somewhat in character the celebrated Irishman who cried in his distress, " I will be drowned, and nobody shall help me." They affect to bemoan a condition on which with childish petulance they insist — insisting in the face of all reason and common sense. We say in the face of all 108 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. reason and common sense, beeause wc arc sure that any mind giving itself to reflect npon the signs of the times now visible, be it the dnllest of all minds, can readily puzzle ont the eight letters of the word progress ; not in any faint, invisible, crude type, but in unmistakeable, indelible, deep, graven character. Tiiere is no time to pursue this part of the subject further. Those who doubt can make their own in- vestigations. But let no one laying his hand upon " Douglas's Advancement of Society," " Porter's Pro- gress of the Nation," " Miss Martineau's History of the Peace,'' and " Professor Hoppus on Education " — let no one, we say, with his hand on these works, yet affirm that the evidences of a progressive movement are wanting. We are materially assisted in ascertaining the kind, degree, and direction of this onward tendency by the perusal of Miss Harriet Martineau's " History of the Thirty Years' Peace." No work of late years has so forcibly impressed us. From no study do we arise more fully confirmed in our opinion of the blessing of peace. To oppose to the events of the last thirty years those of any previous period is most effectually to show that the whole phase of our history is changed. TheEiiglishchroniclespresent,up to the 19th century, one nearly unvarying record of misrule and dissensions — of despotism and civil war— of personal ambition and sanguinary strife — of war abroad and misery at home— of aristocratical oppression and demoeratical resistance— of military glory and commercial distress. In the levy of taxes to maintain our forces, the sinews of trade were paralyzed — public confidence was de- stroyed— the tram-way of speculation was torn up — and the slender earnings of the labouring classes were swallowed by this insatiable lust for empire ; the only results of which were still more oppressive taxes, and a glory, the vanity of which was speedily discovered and cursed. All domestic and social wellbeing was sacrificed to a delusion the French have not yet ex- ploded, and the disastrous effect of which we now feel through every nerve of society, and bitterly lament. As we have already said, the annals of the last thirty years present us with a striking contrast. The his- torian of tliis period has had to record not actions such as those of Crescy and Agincourt, but such as have been performed under the command of Sanitary Re- form and Towns' Healtli Acts, which have sent large corps of " street orderlies " through our thoroughfares and into the miserable haunts of our poorer classes, armed with besom, scoop, and shovel, to remove the pestilential source of our annual mortality. He has also to describe the subtle works of invention, and the rapid aggressive movements of machinery— that vast army upon which we alone can depend to conquer every waste, to subdue every barrenness — to obliterate the terms scarcity and dearness— to lay low commercial restriction — to reduce to servitude the elements of the three worlds : the terrene, the aqueous, and the gaseous ; and make them minister to the necessities, comfort, and luxuries, of mankind. He has also to note the growth of charity — the increase of public spirit and public virtue — the spread of religion and the extensive nature of scientific researcli and discovery. From the bebates in the House of Commons he may also discover what subjects have particularly engaged the nation's attention. Civil and religious liberty — social and political economy — moral and political re- form— education and the labour question in all its branches — the desirability of a pacific relation with foreign affairs, of reduction in our war establishments, and a substitution of a simple form of arbitration in the place of diplomatic manoeuvring and armed force, are questions that must be mentioned as having been discussed. Then come measures concerning commerce, manufacture, agriculture, trade, art and industry, the great exposition of which marks an era which shall stand out in all coming time as a thousandfold more memorable and better entitled to admiration than our Blenheims, Trafalgars, or Waterloos. Such is the difference in the aspect of our former and our present history. It is now our business to enquire what good has re- sulted to agriculture from this turning of the eye of the nation uj)on its own inner and vital workings. Has it shown itself susceptible in tlie same degree to improvement as other interests that have been men- tioned ? What is there lacking to the perfection it approximates? Its alliance with the foundry, the forge, and the laboratory have rendered it distin- guished ; and other means that have contributed to this result are the revisal of its code of laws, the ex- tended and varied nature of its methods, and the superior breeds of domestic animals that judgment and diligence have introduced. We are sorry to say tliat it has been in a great measure coerced to this im- provement. Be this as it may, it is now however reduced to a science very different from what it was when Old Thomas Tusser gave forth his " Five Hun- dred Points of Good Husbandry,'' or Arthur Young published his well-known reports. But are the implements, the drainage, the daily routine of farm work, and the rearing of cattle, the only respects in which agriculture is open to improve- ment ? Is there not one consideration of still infi- nitely higher importance than all these? That human machine — that man animal, the daily labourer — what of it ? Can we raise no charge against any one ? Is no one guilty with respect to them? What is it that stimulates the tenants against the landlords, and the labourers against their masters, but the want of that humanizing sympathy that should breed a common feeling of neighbourhood, and of united interests? and how many of our farmers are there who show a proper regard for their men ? how many who manifest any sort of interest in their domestic concerns, and who will step forward with generosity to assist a man honestly and heroically struggling against poverty ? how many whose only effort to instruct and improve them is performed in the witness or the jury box? Tiierc are bitter cnmplaint.s of the ignorance and de- pravity of labourers, and of the illfeeling cherished amongst them against their employers. We c!o not THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 109 palliate the sulky, resentful, spirits in the poor ; but unless there is some change in the employers it must ever be thus, for it is the natural consequence of the heartless behaviour of the masters to their dependants. If they would have it otherwise, let them proceed to better elevate their labourers, and show that they have raoi'e than a money interest in their wellbeing. Apart from these considerations, and regarding the subject in a purely commercial point of view, would it not be good economy to treat this workman better? A farmer, possessing some influence in the village, may reason thus — " A well-conducted, sober, honest, labourer is worth far more than one that is a sot and a thief. More attention must, therefore, be given to tlie children of the poor ; they must be drawn from the streets and the beershops, and from vicious prac- tices, and cared for morally and spiritually ; their homes must be rendered attractive, and industry must be encouraged. An educated labourer is more profi- table to us than a dolt. The schoolmaster must then visit us, and our children must not only learn to read and write, but they must be taught both the theory and the practice of the operations they will have to conduct. These will then be intelligent labourers. A thriving labourer is a better workman in all respects than a half-starved, squalid man. It will be well, then, to reconsider the subject of wages — piece-work and the like. The poors'-rates and the county rates will be lessened, and it will not be unpleasant to see some part of the return upon this extra outlay visible in the bright faces and happy hearts of our village population." To some these may seem ill-timed,hiuts, coming as they do in a season of distress. But we would force the farmer to acknowledge that in neglecting the moral, mental, and physical condition of the working- man, he is acting a most short-sighted part. It is said, " Bad farming will not answer in the best of times, and most assuredly not in the worst ;" but it is not borne in mind that this neglect is perhaps just the most rotten source of bad farming. It is fitting that every thinking man should look upon his fellow-man as made for something better than to be driven whither and thither as a herd of animals — for something better than mere gold seekers — for something better than mere material machines. And with respect to his fellow-men, it is also fitting he should remember that he has right and duty to fulfil, social obligations to discharge, and minds to cultivate and enlarge. The practical remarks we intend to throw out on such topics, relative to the improvement of the labouring classes, in our future numbers, we hope may not fail of some beneficial results. LAW OF HYPOTHEC The Bill introduced by Lord Brougham into the House of Lords for altering the law of hypothec affords another instance of the reckless and inconsiderate man- ner in which laws, the most conducive to the prosperity of Scotland, are tampered with, and the great interests of the country interfered with, without any adequate cause. As the law at present stands, the whole community have it in their power to go to the public market, and purchase agricultural produce exposed for sale. The right of a purchaser who has thus bought, received, and paid for grain or other produce, is complete, and cannot be challenged at the instance of a landlord or any other party ; but if a party choose to purchase privately, or in a market by sample, he must then take care that he transacts with a responsible person, who can deliver him the grain, &c., free from challenge. The practical ad- vantages derived from the law have led the tenants freely to acquiesce in the restraints imposed on their power of sales, and also to the recognition by the community at large of the propriety of the statutary regulations. Only a few restless individuals have refused to recognise its salutary effects, and urge forward a change which would seriously affect the interest of a large class of the tenantry of Scotland, without any adequate advantage. Any serious alteration of the law would have the effect of materially encroaching on the resources of the te- nantry, because it must be followed by earlier payment of their rents. Nearly a year's rent is at present left to fructify in the tenant's pocket during the whole of his lease, under the security afforded to the landlord by the existing law. Throughout the greater part of Scot- land, no rent is payable by the tenant under a lease until he has been fifteen or eighteen months in posses- sion of his farm. If he enters, for instance, at Martin- mas, 1850, his first half-year's rent will not be payable till Candlemas, and in many cases till Whitsunday, 1852. The postponement of the rent thus attained has no doubt, in conjunction with leases, been of much avail in aiding the intelligent and industrious tenantry of Scotland to occupy the advanced position they hold among the agriculturists of Britain ; and in the benefits of their advancement the whole of society has partici- pated. A more effectual mode of encroaching on their means and discouraging leases could hardly be devised, than the proposed alteration of a law which has hitherto been a main-spring of the liberal arrangements which landlords have been willing to make both as to terms of payment and periods of occupation. In its effects upon the landlord's rights the bill is equivalent to a breaking-down of settled security for private engagements, unless it provides for an alteration of the terms of payment of rents. Trusting to the secu- rity provided by the law, the landlord has entered into a covenant with his tenant to allow him credit for his rent for a certain length of time. Unless the proposed 110 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ultcralion is to be inoperative as to all existing leases, the result will be an iniliiect attack upon the existing I ights of property. In some parts of Scotland, particu- larly in the Highlands, the tenure of farms is from year to year; in which case what is called a "forehand" rent is stipulated to be paid. There the tenant enters to the grass of the farm at Whitsunday, and to the arable land at Martinmas— the first half-year's rent becoming l)ayablo at the Martinmas teim in the year of his entry, and the other half at the following Whitsunday, so that in fact he has paid a full year's rent before he reaps any crop from the arable ground ; and if the existing law is infringed upon, the general adoption of the " forehand" rent must be immediately looked for in all new bargains. Without a saying clause as to the landlord's security under existing leases, the bill must be looked upon as the first breach proposed in parliament on the security of property ; and let the country be aware lest it should ere long be quoted as a precedent for more direct attacks. — Fifeshire Journal. TO THE EDITOR OF THE MONTROSE STANDARD. We have been requested to publish the following letter on the Law of Hypothec, which appeared in an Edinburgh contemporary : — Sir, — I take leave to send you a few remarks on the Law of Hypothec, ou points I have not seen noticed at either of the meetings which have been held in Edinburgh. At the time this law was first made, all rents were paid in kind— so much barley, bear, oats, and oatmeal ; and if the farmer sold this part of the crop, he sold what was not his own, but the landlord's. JVow, all rents are paid in cash, and farmers, unless they are men of large capital, cannot pay their rents till they sell part of their crop. Rents are made payable at Martinmas and Whitsunday, or Candlemas and Lammas, after the crop is reaped. If a landlord sequestrate within three months, I believe, after the last half-year's rent is due, he may oblige the buyer to pay a second time, so that this may be more than a year after he has made the pur- chase and payment. This is certainly very unjust towards the buyer ; but let us see in what situation the farmers arc placed by this law. 1. Landlords, knov/ing they have such security, are not very particular to whom they let their farms, if rent enough is promised; and men of straw, and without ex- perience, often outbid men both of capital and experience, and thus rents are unduly raised in the country, and the landlords, in a year or two, are obliged to make an abatement, or to take back their farms in bad order. 2, Farmers are not held by the law to be principals, l/ut mere agents of the landlords, and till their rents are due and paid, they are not in a situation to pro- secute a buyer. The buyer has a right, and / have often known it executed, to say, show me your receipt for your two half years' rent, and I will pay you, hut not till then. All the farmer can do, may be to insist on the money being lodged in a bank ; but, if it suit the buyer's purpose to hold it, it may cost him some trouble to get this done. It is easy, therefore, for men of straw to go to a market, buy of the farmers, and put them at defiance, and he may walk olf altogether, with the nioney in his jiocket, before the farmer is in a situation to pre- vent him. 1 have known this done in more instances than one, and the sellers never got a penny. Although the farmer produce his receipt for the first half-year's rent, that is not enough ; he must produce the second also, and then it may be after August before he can compel payment. 1 have known farmers apply to their landlords for a letter to the purchaser, to say be will relieve him of his responsibility, and 7 have known payment refused even on this being produced, as with that the buyer can be compelled to pay. It is true few cases have appeared in courts of law, as no one that knows the law will defend the claim ; and I have known t!ie money paid a second time, in several instances, rather than do so. A bond fide deliver g of j}(iyment should settle the transaction, without reference to sales by sample ; and now that the prices are regulated by the weight per bushel, much grain is sold and delivered without any sample having been shown. In this part of the coun- try, nearly a half is sent in without any sale whatever, and paid for at the market price of the day, according to weight. Landlords could be protected were they allowed to sequestrate the grotving crop for the rent of the pre- vious one, as one crop is always worth two rents (but at present they cannot do so) , and the name of the party sequestrated should appear in the Gazette, to put the public on their guard, and not, as at present, aliow parties who are under sequestration to be buying and selling, and the public to be in total ignorance of it. I am told in grazing districts landlords keep their tenants under sequestration at all times, so that parties buyi;ig stock from them in a public market may be compelled to pay it a second time. It is to be hoped the farmers will bestir themselves to get this law amended, and not remain, as at present, mere agents, who cannot compel payment of the corn they grow, if a buyer be disposed to hold the money, and also may, any day, be sequestrated by their land- lords, even although there is no rent due ! Montrose, Ajyril 10, 1850. There are few, wc believe, of our iutelli:;jent farmers who, whatever theiropinion on tlie corn lav/ question uny have been, entertain the idea that a protective duty on grain will be restored in this country, and still fewer who do not know that such restoration would only have the effect of preventinji a new arrangement in the instances in which this is required in justice to tl;e tenant. But while the ordinary commercial relations of those interested in land, whether as proprietors or tenants, have been and are in the course of being accom- modated to the nev/ system, a searching investigati'tu will be made into those artificial causes which influence the natural relations of agriculturists with each other, and with the rest of the community. Among the most important of thuse,i3 the law which THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Ill gives peculiar powers to the laiuUord, as a creditor of liis t«naut. It may be assumed that such a law owes its origin to a legislature in which " the trade of own- i'lg land" lormed a very po.verfiil party ; but it by no iiK'aiis follows that it has been without useful eflects, bsicause itcaunot be defended on the principles of ab- stract justice. The law of primogeniture, for example which involves aa arbitrary assumption, has, with some disadvantages, been productive of great benefit in this country. One leading evil of the lav/ of hypo- thec is its tendency to enable the landlord to dispense with a proper scrutiny of his tenant's character and circumstances, and in many cases to encourage an un- due competition for farms, in which the farmer with skill and capital is either beaten from the field, or forced lo bid a rent higlier than his judgment approves of, by parties whose position is such, that without the stern security of hypothec, their proposals would never have been entertained for a moment by any but the most careless landloid. On the other hand, it may be doubtful whether the competition might not be too much reduced by the abolition of the landlord's right, wliich woi'.ld drive him into requiring some other se- curity for his rent than the ample one which the law now allows him. In the summing up of his views on the present state of agriculture recently made by Mr. Caird, in the columns of the Times, wc expected to find this important subject treated somewhat fully. He only touches upon it, however, in the following fashion : " It may be very ilifficult to hit the happy mcau ; and, if there was no extraneous element to influence the result, that mean would probably be best regulated by supply and demand. But Ilia preference over otlier creditors given to tha landlord by (he law of distraint is sonietiraes used toencouraoje compe- tition,between men of capital aud skill, and men who have little of cither, aud the rent may thus be unfairly raised. Compe- tition in the open market, therefore, is not always, in the pre- sent state of the law, tht fair measure of the value of laud to the tenant of capital. " We may assume, howc\er, that the merits and de- fects of this law will ere long undergo a searching in- quiry. It may be rather too delicate a question for discussion in agricultural ineeliugs in thid country, which have been with great judgment kept always clear of any thing savouring of polities ; but there are other modes of discussion, aud one of these — the co- lumns of a newspaper — are open to the views alike of farmers and proprietors of land. In English farmcrs'- clubs, where the discussion of practical questions has not prevailed so e.'cclusively as in Scotland, we may anticipate that " the law of distress" will not bo over- looked. The London Farmers' Club have already taken it up ; we publish in auotlier page a summnry of the discussion which took place last month, and it will be fouuil worth the attention of many of our readers. Nor cire landlords and tenants alone interested in this matter; evcryihing touching these two great and im- portant classes must also affect the general community ; but, moreover, the numerous body of shopkeepers and tradesmen who live by supplying the wants of the farmers, have a deep commercial interest in a law which too often has been a fatal one to them. It is all very well to say that the village grocer, or the country blacksmith, should not trust too much to his customer, the farmer's stackyard, as it may be swept away any day by the landlord. But looking at the position { c- cupied by supplier and customer, it is impossible for the former to refuse credit utdess under very peculiar circumstances. In this respect the law of hypothec, like the law of entail, has frequently enabled parties to run into debt to an extent far beyond their real po->i- tion ; and this evil is one of the most important ele- ments in the consideration of the propriety of its re- tention on the statute-book. — Dumfries Cuiuier. CONVERTIBLE CORN RENTS versus FIXED MONEY RENTS. Recent political arrangements aft'ecting the value of agricultural produce appear to render it desirable that a change should be made in the usual mode of estimating rent, in order to equalize the burdens which the political arrangements just referred to have thrown upon the owners and occupiers of land. These burdens are par- ticularly felt by such land occupiers as are bound by i'^-eements, entered into prior to these political changes, to pay a fixed money rent, now that they have been de- prived of the means of meeting their engagements by a depreciation in prices, consequent on unlimited foreign competition. Some benevolent landlords, indeed, having a tenantry so situated, have endeavoured to alleviate this distress by granting deductions from their actual rental of ten, fifteen, or twenty per cent., according to circumstances. But a deduction so granted bears no real proportion to the actual depreciation in price in the corn market — it is a mere temporary expedient— and does not possess either the character or advantages of a fair commercial contract between man and man. In short, it places the tenant in somewhat the same position as the recipient of eleemosynary aid, without providing a permanent relief from burdens which the tenant has not brought upon himself, and from which, without a fresh arrangement being entered into between landlord and tenant, it is in vain to look for a fair and lasting deli- verance, assuming, as is most probable, the permanence of those political arrangements by which the eflects re- ferred to have been brought about. The readiest and most equitable remedy for this state of things appears to be a change in the usual mode of estimating rent — a change that would confer on rent a fluctuating, in place of the fixed character it has at pre- sent in the southern districts of the kingdom ; rent being regarded as that portion of the produce of a farm which accrues to the owner, after the expenses of cultivation and the legitimate profit of the occupier have been paid. The amount of this portion of the produce of a farm, being estimated in kind, but paid in money, becomes a corn rent ; which rent rises and falls with the price of produce, assumes the character of self-adjustment to circumstances, and apportions fairly between landlord 112 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. and teuunt the ctlects of a rise and fall in the price of grain. Not only is a change in the usual mode of estimating rent desirable for the reasons stated, but the substitu- tion of a fluctuating for a fixed rent appears to be the only arrangement under which a landlord can, with jus- tice to himself and his successors, at present grant a lease for a term of years ; for which tenants are becoming clamorous, and which the public are convinced is the only species of tenure under which the resources of the country can be fully developed, by inspiring confidence in possession, and assurance of enterprise reaping its re- ward. But, however willing a landlord may be to grant leases to his tenantry, to give free scope to their capital and exertion (now so necessary amid the universal com- petition to which they are exposed), he cannot do so, with justice to himself and heirs, at such s, fixed money rent as he would receive under present prices, because his doing so would deprive him of all participation in a future rise in the price of corn, should such take place ; nor is it possible to found a rent on a prospective range of prices in the corn market. But all those difficulties and all those chances of in- justice vanish with the adoption of a convertible grain- rent, such as has been long since adopted in the north- ern portion of the kingdom ; for there rent is estimated in the *' times' -price" of grain, a proper proportion being allotted as the landlord's share of the produce. The value of this becomes easily reckonable by the average price of corn for the crop and year of each county ; and thus, whatever be the price of grain, the rent being so adjusted, the tenant pays, and the owner receives, what is the fair rent-value of his property for the time bemg. Such being the benefits which appear to us as likely to result from the general adoption of convertible corn- rents, it is with satisfaction we see, by a circular issued by Mr. Cowan, a land-agent in Devonshire, that the in- telligent minds in the country are being drawn to this mode of adjusting the burdens of agriculture. Mr. Cowan, in his circular, fully points out the evils of a fixed money-rent, and the advantage of adopting, as a substitute, a corn-rent payable in money ; and as the success and celebrity of north British farmers is said to be due in a great measure to the circumstance of their holding under corn-rents, there can be no doubt that equal advantages would attend the adoption of the system in England, where the burdens accruing from fixed money-rents are so severely felt ; and now that leases are so much in request, the system recommends itself particularly to both landlords and tenants, as being the only system which, in those days of doubt and difficulty, can fairly secure the interest of both parties to a lease, whatever be the state of British grain markets at a future period. And although a convertible corn-rent can never free the farmer from those casualties to which his trade is liable, its decided tendency is to minimise the evils arising therefrom, and apportion them equally among all the parties interested in land. The fixation of the standard, by which the money value of the corn rent shall be reckoned, is of course a matter for special agreement ; but in justice to both parties concerned, the fair standard is the average price of grain in the district, for the crop and year for which the rent is payable. But we observe with surprise that this principle is departed from, or rather is not recog- nised on some estates, where it is proposed to extend the corn average which is to govern the amount of rent over seven years, as is the case under the Tithe Commutation \ct— an obvious piece of injustice to one or other of the parties to a lease; for should the average price of grain for seven preceding years be higher than that for which tlie rent is due, then the tenant pays under an average price higher than that under which he sells ; and should circumstances be the opposite of those sup- posed, then the landlord receives less than is the real rent value of his property for the time being. Let us suppose a case to further illustrate the working of such a system of corn-rent as that referred to. Sup- pose a tenant to enter on possession of a farm at Lady- day in the present year, agreeing to pay a corn-rent, regulated in its amount by a seven years' average. In such a case the tenant will dispose of his produce under a free-trade regimen, but pay his landlord his portion of the produce at a price raised by the amount of import duty levied on corn throughout a portion of the last seven yearg. But reverse the supposition. Let us suppose a tenant to enter on a farm under such an agreement as that supposed, and that in consequence of war ensuing, or by some other combination of circum- stances, the price of corn is raised above the average of recent years, then the landlord, by such an agreement, voluntarily deprives himself of all advantage from such a rise, and condemns himself, Tantalus-like, to the mor- tification of seeing his tenant reaping literally a golden harvest, in which he himself holds no adequate share. We therefore maintain that the only just standard for guidance in such a case is the average price of that species of grain in which rent is payable for the crop and year for which the rent is due, and that any other system of payment must occasionally press unfairly on one or other of the parties to a lease. That the most beneficial consequences have attended the substitution of a convertible corn rent for a fixed money rent, is evidenced by Mr. Cowan, in liis circular already refered to, wherein he observes — " The subscriber recently commuted the money-rent of seve- ral farms (taken when wheat averaged 60s. per quarter), and relet them — those wholly arable at entire grain rent ; others, partly in grass, at rents payable in money and half in grain . The consequence has been, that the tenants, relieved froiu the perplexities which had previously beset them — liable as they were to the payment of a rent which could not accrue — have since pursued their business vigorously, and paid their new rents contentedly, because they feel that the arrangements in this respect have operated, and must continue to operate, with perfect fairness towards them ; and as the market value of land depends upon the market value of the produce of land, the landlord, in this case, is placed in a position to obtain that value at all times, and is relieved from the necessity of letting his land at a low fixed money rent — and should prices after- wards rise — from the inconvenience, disappointment, and loss, which is generally the consequence of then giving a tenant notice to quit or pay more rent. Lands now let at money rents must he let at "times' prices," and therefore at low rents, because you cannot fix a present value of land upon a prospective value of produce. You cannot, in calculating a valuation, reject actual prices and adopt supposititious prices — you must base a fixed rent upon present or past prices, not upon those in prospect. Tenants are now, more than ever, anxious for leases, that they may, with safety, invest their capital in such improvements as the requirements of the times may dictate ; but a landlord cannot, with justice to himself or to those who come after him, grant a lease at a low fixed rent — at a rent wliich present prices would point to as merely the present value. Substitute a corn rent, however, for a fixed rent, and justice is done to all parties." The enterprise and contentment exhibited by those tenants referred to in the extract from Mr. Cowan's circular above given, upon their rents being placed on an equitable basis, would no doubt be universally ex- hibited throughout the country were the system of convertible corn rents universally adopted ; and, firm in this assurance, we confidently recommend the system to the favourable consideration of the landed interest. G. K. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 113 REPORT ON REAPING MACHINES BY MK. JAMES SLIGH'J", Curator of the Hiyhlaiid and Agricultural Society's Models. The process of reaping the crop in the season of harvest is the most engrossing event of the agri- cultural year, and that in which all the other opera- tions of the farm may he said to centre. It is not surprising, therefore, that, from the earliest periods in the history of agriculture, there have heen, from time to time, attempts made to facilitate the opera- tion of harvest by the aid of machinery, more or less complex, for cutting down the cereal and le- guminous crops. But it is a fact, not less curious than unaccountable, that this operation of reaping, simple though it may 'appear, continues to be al- most entirely performed by the sickle and the scythe. There have certainly been examples, both in Britain and the Continent of Europe, and more recently to a considerable extent in America, of the application of mechanical means to this im- portant purpose; but the attainment of a completely effective reaping-machine is an object yet to be sought for. In the present year an unusual de- gree of interest has been produced by two American reaping-machines which appeared in the great Ex- hibition, and which, under the general excitement of the period, as well as by being studiously brought into view, have had the effect of attracting a large share of public attention. From the g/eat importance of the subject, and the wide distribution of advantages likely to arise from a really success- ful solution of a problem so long sought for, the present seems an appropriate time to take a retro- spect of the progress of the reaping-machine during the past half-century, and, by so doing, en- deavour to arrive at something like the due degree of merit appertaining to the different inventors and operators, as well as to establish for Scotland the claim of having produced, and for the Highland and Agricultural Society of having encouraged, the original of the machines now introduced from America. Previous to the commencement of the present century, there had, even from the period of the Roman greatness, been occasional attempts at the accomplishment of a process by which the grain crops might be more expeditiously cut down than by the sickle ; but none, it would appear, had ever assumed such a satisfactory form as to induce agriculturists to adopt them. Of the structure of such abortive attempts at a reaping-machine, little information has come down to us, and that little is vague and unsatisfactory. Nor is it of much im- portance that we are not in possession of direct in- formation respecting them, seeing that nothing ef- fective had ever arisen out of these attempts. Soon after the commencement of the present century, when agricultural improvements were making progress in every direction, by the exten- sion of the use of improved machinery to the va- rious branches of the art, the important department of the harvest operation naturally occupied a share of the inquiries then going on. Agricultural so- cieties, too, by the offer of premiums, called forth the energies of inventors, both amateur and prac- tical, in this particular line. Very early in the century we learn of Boyce's reaping-machine, for which he secured a patent. This was based on the revolving-cutter principle; but the revolver was armed with a series of short scythes, which cut the corn as the machine moved along. It was desti- tute, however, of a proper apparatus for gathering and depositing the corn after being cut, and hence it never reached any degree of success. About the same period, one PJunket, a London implement- maker, made a similar attempt, also on the revolving principle ; but in place of the scythe of Boyce, he adopted a circular cutter, toothed like a fine saw or sickle. Being destitute, also, of a proper gathering apparatus, this machine acquired no reputation, and speedily was laid aside. Nearly about the same time, 1806, Gladstone, a millwright, of Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbrightshire, brought out a reaping-machine that excited much interest, and possessed considerable promise. Its principle was the revolving circular smooth-edged cutter, supported in a carriage-frame, with two main-wheels only. A pair of long horse-shafts projected forward on one side, so that the horse walked alongside the standing corn — thus drawing the machine. The circular-cutter was ingeniously overlapped by a sort of shield, armed with pointed prongs, projecting in front of the cutter, which served to collect and to hold the straw until the cutter had done its work. A complicated and pe- 114 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. cnliar apparatus was applied as a gatherer, to collect and deliver the cut corn in small parcels like handluls. This machine, as given in the Fartner^s JMagazine, vol. vii.,. appears to have pos- sessed great ingenuity of contrivance as a whole. Its cutter also appears to have been formed on a sound principle; and it was, besides, provided with an apparatus, by which the cutting edge could be whetted as often as necespary without stopping the action of the machine. Its gathering apparatus, however, carries too conclusive evidence that upon that member of the construction the whole design had failed, and the machine sank into oblivion like its predecessors. At a still later period, Mr. Salmon, of Woburn, brought out a reaping-machine under promising circumstances. In this there appears the first in- dications of a cutter on the clipping principle, com- bined with an apparatus for collecting and deliver- ing, that promised to lay the cut corn in pai'cels like sheaves ready for binding. Although this invention seems to have been brought out under the most flattering hopes of success, it does not appear to have ever obtained the approbation of the class for whose use it was intended, and has been, like its precursors, almost forgotten. We may advert to one or two others in their proper order of date ; of these, the first is that of Mr. Scott of Ormiston, factor to the Earl of Hope- toun, an amateur mechanician of no small merit. Dunng the war, in the early part of the century, he had directed his mechanical views to the con- struction of self-acting floating machines, or vessels, for the purpose of disabling or destroying the fleets or ships of the enemy by stratagem. With the peace of 1815 he found that " occupation gone," and very adroitly turned his talent towards more peaceful objects Amongst these came his reaping- machine, which, like most others, as the writer well remembers, was an object of considerable in- terest for a time, although it ended in a failure, like those that had gone before. Mr. Scott's machine had a cutter acting on the revolving principle, though not a circular cutter, but a wheel carrying sixteen small-toothed sickles, and had projecting prongs in front of them, hke Gladstone's. lie had copied Mr. Smith's imperfect gatherer (an inverted conical drum), but added to it twenty-four jointed prongs or fingers, acting in the form of collectors or rakes, which were expected to convey the cut corn from the cutter to the ground. This machine was supplied with other contrivances, such as a brush to keep the cutters free of stubble or weeds, which might otherwise have stopped their proper action ; but mth all these precautions and auxiliary appendages, it is known that the machine never performed beyond a mere trial. About 1822, Mr. Ogle, at Renington, near Aln- wick, invented a machine, by which he and a Mr. Brown, of Alnwick, engaged to combine every act of reaping, except binding and ])lacing the sheaves in stook. This machine is reported to have per- formed very satisfactorily in the field upon wheat and upon barley ; but in consequence of no en- couragement being given to the makers, tne manu- facture of the machine was dropped after the first coTuplete specimen was made. The inventor, in 1S2G, published a drawing and description of the machine in the Mechanics^ Magazine, vol. v., from which the following abstract is taken. The frame- work or body of the machine closely resembled the skeleton of a common cart, mth its wheels and shafts, to the latter of which the horses were yoked to draw the machine, walking by the side of the standing corn. To the right of the carriage was projected the cutting apparatus — a light frame, whose front bar was of iron, and armed with a row of teeth three inches long, projecting forward : im- mediately upon these teeth lay the cutter, a straight- edged steel knife, equal in length to, and a httle more than the breadth of, the com to be cut at one passage. By a motion from the carriage wheels, this knife was made to vibrate rapidly from right and left, as the machine travelled. Above, and a little before the cutter, a fan or vane was, from the same source, made to revolve, which thus collected and held the corn to be cut by the knife ; and, on being cut, was by the vane carried backward, and laid upon a deal platform immediately behind the cutter : here, by the assistance of a man with a rake, it was collected to the extent of a sheaf, and then discharged : There is here observable a very curious coincidence in the almost perfect sameness, in every point, between Ogle's machine and one of the American reapers — Mr. M'Cormick's, to be afterwards noticed ; the similarity is so perfect that the description of either would suit equally well for the other. But the curiosity of it is lessened from the consideration that similar coincidences are not uncommon amongst mechanists. A case of this kind actually occurred at the pe- riod of Mr. Smith's invention of his reaping- machine, in Mr. A. Kerr, of Edinburgh, having produced a small model proposed as a reaper, in which the cutter and gatherer were exactly on the same principle as those of Mr. Smith, and were admitted to be so by that gentleman. Kerr's model, still in the museum of the Highland and Agricultural Society, exhibits these two members precisely as admitted ; and placed within them is a pair of small wheels, which are all that appears for a first mover. That such wheels could ever have served the purpose of impelling the action of a reaping-machine seems altogether improbable, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 115 though very applicable as an auxiliary to support the cutter at a proper height. To this defect it is easy to ascribe the failure of Kerr's machine, when extended to a wori^ing size. It were easy to extend the number of com- petitors in this field of invention. At the period here spoken of they were numerous, besides occa- sional aspirants since ; but, with the exception of the three principal, yet to be noticed, none seem to have proceeded beyond the formation of an imper- fect model. Mr. Smith, of Deanston, afterwards so well known as an agriculturist, came on the field with his reaping-machine in the year 1812, with very considerable promise of success; Mr. Smith, hav- ing been well trained as a mechanician, and being conversant in all the mechanical inventions and applications of machinery of the period to various manufacturing purposes, and having, of course, observed the numerous ar.d successful applications of rotary motion in preference to any kind of re- ciprocating action, wherever the former could be applied, >vas very naturally led to the adoption of the continuous rotary action in the construction of a I'eaping-machine. This principle he accordingly did adopt, and, although liis first trials were not al- together successful, they were such as led to a series of improvements that brought the machine, as we shall see, to a degree of efficiency which promised ultimate success. The Dalkeith Farming Society had previously off'ered a handsome premium for the invention of an effective reaping-machine, and Mr. Smith became the only competitor in 1812. In the followingyear the machine. in its improved state, was again exhibited in operation before a committee of the Dalkeith Club, when they, although not con- sidering it entitled to the full premium, voted to Mr. Smith a piece of plate, value fifty guineas; and shortly after, the Highland and Agricultural Society having appointed a committee to examine and report on its efficiency, found that report so satisfactory that a piece of plate of fifty guineas' value was in hke manner voted to the inventor, and at the same time a complete model of the machine was lodged by Mr. Smith in the Society's Museum. In its original form this machine consisted of a horizontal wooded frame of about 74 feet long and 3 feet wide. Beneath this was attached the main axle and pair of broad wheels, of about 5 feet high, the axle turning with the wheels by means of spring and ratchet, and carrying a spur-wheel, which geared into another fixed upon a shaft placed above the wooden frame, and parallel to the main axle, and thus gave motion to the succeeding movements of the machine. This last shaft carried a pair of reversed bevel»wheels, loose on their shaft, while they continued both in contact with a third wheel fixed on a shaft, placed horizontally above the frame ; a sliding clutch on the former shaft brought either-of the tvvo bevel-wheels, at the pleasure of the conductor, into action with that upon the horizontal shaft, by which arrangement tiiat shaft was turned to the right or to the left, or by placing the clutch so that neither was in contact with it — the third wheel and its shaft remaining stationary. On the forward end of the horizontal shaft was placed another bevel-wheel acting upon the pinion of an upright spindle ; and this spindle, supported on the forward extremity of the horizontal frame, assisted by a three-ribbed iron arch raised above the frame, was, by means of the two bearings, kept suihciently steady for its duty of carrying the circular cutter at its lower extremity. Here, however, the spindle had a further suppott from a pair of small wheels and frame, placed under the toot of the spindle, and by a stay of iron pro- ceeding from the hinder part of the frame. The cutter, 5.2 feet in diameter, was composed of thin steel segments bolted upon an iron ring, and this last was surmounted by an inverted frustum of a cone, formed of sheet-iron, whose lower diameter was 10 inches less than the cutter, or 4 feet 8 inches, while its diameter at top was 5 feet 4 inches. The front wheels under the cutter were only 14 inches diameter, and about as much apart; their duty was to keep the cutter at the regular distance from the ground to which it might be set for the time being. The gearing above described was so arranged as to bring out a velocity in the edge of the cutter, such that, for every inch of progressive motion of the whole machine, any point in the edge of the cutter passed through a space of 9 inches in its motion of revolution. The machine was moved by two horses yoked to a pole fixed to the wooden frame, and projecting from behind, so that the horses pushed the machine before them by drawing with trace-chains from a yoke-bar attached to the end of the pole behind them. By means of the clutch and bevil-wheels, the cutter could be made to revolve to right or left, and the cut corn laid down right or left accordingly ; convenient means were also provided for [)lacing the cutter higher or lower at pleasure, by means of a lever that lifted or lowered the cutter and conical drum, acted upon by a chain and screw, the latter brought to a con- venient point at the end of the pole. In working, the grain was cut regularly and well. The drum revolving with the cutter carried the cut corn round until it fell off at the side of the machine in a pretty regular continuous swathe. The description here given applies to Smith's machine, after it had undergone some improve- ments up to 1814; from that period, at occasional I 2 ]16 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. intervals, it was brought out with renewed hopes of success, until, in 1835, at the Highland and Agricultural Society's Show at Ayr, it was exhibited in operation with remarkable eclat. Mr. Smith had now engrafted upon it an important addition, borrowed from a machine which has yet to be described, invented by Mr. Mann, of Raby, Cum- berland. This was the attachment of a series of rakes placed vertically upon the periphery of the original drum, the teeth of the rakes being about six inches long. This served the purpose of a more certain conveyance of the cut corn to the place of delivery at either side of the machine. Although the application of the rakes was less efficiently done than in the machine from which the idea was taken, their velocity being here the same as that of the cutter, they nevertheless seemed to facilitate the process of gathering, which hitherto had been imperfect. The experiment was made on a field of wheat in a fair condition for being cut by a machine. The operation began, not at an out- side, as was usual, but right in the middle of the field, the spectators being placed around the point of commencement, and amongst these the writer had the fortune to be placed. The passage of the machine through the field left behind it an open lane, where nothing was at first observable but a bare stubble, the cut corn being all laid down at one side against the standing. Never, perhaps, did an experiment come off with better effect, or greater success ; the general impression was that the problem had at last been solved — that Smith's machine was complete. Not so was it, however, in fact ; for, notwithstanding the striking effects pro- duced by that day's trial, the machine remained, and to this day remains, without making further progress. It is more than probable that the failure of this machine rested mainly on the following defective points — first, from its great length and weight, it was unwieldy in all its movements ; secondly, from its great length also, and from the mode of attach- ment of the horses, together with the want of a swivel-carriage either before or behind, it was defective in turning at a landing; and, thirdly, from the small diameter of the bearing front wheels, and especially from these being placed nearly direct under the centre of tlie revolving cutter. This last and important member, when these wheels fell into a furrow, ran right into the brow of the adjacent ridge, and thus destroyed for the time the whole edge of the cutter, its projection before the wheels being nearly 2^ feet. And fourthly, it may be stated as an objection — namely, the price, which probably could not have been much under £50. The next important step in this direction was taken by Mr. Joseph Mann, of Raby, Cumberland, who brought out a reaping-machine in 1820, in the state of a working model, before the Abbey Holme Agricultural Society, who expressed their approba- tion of the design, and advised a horse-power ma- chine to be constructed with some proposed alterations, one of which was that the horses should push instead of draw the machine, the model having been upon the latter principle. These alterations seem to have turned out ratlier unsuccessful, for in 1822 a full-size machine was exhibited to the same society ; but the mechanist having endeavoured to satisfy too many opinions, his machine became so comj)licated that its success was doubtful, and it fell aside till 1826, when Mr. Mann returned to his favourite method of drawing instead of pushing ; and from this period to 1830 he was, from time to time, engaged in completing his improved design, which, from his own statement, at last possessed the four principal points of a good reaping-machine. First, it preserved the parallelism of the line of draught, though that draught was applied to one of its angles in front; secondly, a polygonal cutter; thirdly, the gathering process from the cutter, performed by a revohing series of rakes; and, fourthly, the process of stripping the rakes in such a manner as to lay down the cut corn in a regular swathe by the side of the machine as it progressed. Mr. Mann's machine, possessing the above described points, was exhibited at the Highland and Agricultural Society's Show, held at Kelso, in 1832. On this occasion the writer had ample op- portunity of studying its construction, and also vv'it- nessed its trial on a small portion of a field of oats, performed under very unfavourable circumstances. The portion of the field acted upon had been later than the other parts ; hence it was left uncut, and was still unripened, and withal thought so worth- less that cattle had been allowed to traverse it. But, notwithstanding all this, the machine per- formed the operation of cutting much better than could have been expected under the circumstances, while the laying of the cut corn in the swathe was performed very regularly. In working up-hill, and especially in crossing the ridges, its operation was less satisfactory ; and on the whole, although the trial called forth much approbation, the judges could not take upon them to recommend a premium. Nevertheless it must be admitted that, making allowance for Mr. Mann being only an amateur mechanic, and having constructed the machine al- m.ost entirely by his own hands, it could not be ex- pected to be other than a rude specimen of mechanism, and, therefore, not capable of doing all that the principles involved ought to have brought out : it deserves, however, to be looked upon as possessing the germs, at least, of the four points which its author held to be the ultimatum sought THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 117 for in a reaping-machine. It is the opinion of the writer also, in looking back, that the principles of that machine, in the hands of an able mechanician possessed of capital (for of that commodity, like many others of his kind, the inventor was defi- cient), might have placed it foremost in the com- petition for the solution of the problem. As it may be interesting to those who may yet turn their attention to the construction of the reaping-machine, the following description is given from the writer's original paper, published with drawings in the Journal of Agriculture, which for more minute details may be consulted by the machinist * In Mann's machine the cutting pro- cess is performed on the revolving principle ; but instead of a circular cutter hke Smith's, one of a polygonal form had been preferred, having twelve equal sides. By this form of cutter the action upon the standing corn is somewhat different from that of the perfectly circular cutter : with the latter the cutting edge is constantly and equally acting upon the standing corn, but with the polygonal the effect is a rapid succession of strokes, arismg from the inclination of the cutting edges in the sides of the polygon to each other ; for, as will readily be understood, from the angles of the polygon being farther from the centre of revolution than any point in the straight side thereof, any opposing body, as a stalk of corn, will be forcibly acted upon when the angle is passing the stalk ; and, if passing without completing the separation, the progressive motion of the whole machine will not only keep the edge in contact through the first half of the poly- gonal edge, but as the next angle approaches the stalk, it will receive the more impressive stroke from the remaining half side to complete the severance — and so of all the rest. The cutter is formed in twelve separate segments of thin steel plate, fixed upon the extremities of a corresponding number of horizontal arms attached to a vertical revolving shaft. The joinings are formed by the erids of the segments lapping over each other, and situate posteriorly to the angles of the polygon in relation to its motion of revolution. The segments of the cutter were attached to the revolving arms be means of a slender slide-bar of iron, riveted on to each end of the segment ; and these sliders, two together, being those of the con- tiguous ends of two segments, were passed through a clasp in the ends of the arms, and there secured by a pinching screw. This mode of attaching the cutter rendered the removal for sharpening ex- tremely convenient, as a whole spare set of the seg- ments could be carried with the machine, the change of the one set for the other being capable of " Journal of Agriculture," vol. i., p. 250. accomplishment in a few minute. The cutter, when completed with all its segments, was 4j feet diameter ; and taking the rate of progressive motion at 2i miles per hour, the cutters made 175 revolu- tions per minute, which corresponds very nearly with the rate in Mr. Smith's machine. The framework of Mann's reaper was of rather irregular construction : in plan its form was that of a trapezium, the sides parallel, the back at right angles to them, and the front side had the acute angle at the left or nigh side, and to that the draught was apphed by means of a pair of horse- shafts. This framework was supported on three principal wheels : of these two had a diameter of three feet, one being on each side towards the rear, but that on the off-side about a foot in advance of the other, and from the axle of it alone the move- ments of the working parts was derived. The third wheel had a diameter of two feet, and was attached to an upright or rather a sloping swivel-shaft, placed in connection with the acute angle of the framework, and to which the horse-shafts were firmly attached — making thus to the machine a swivel or fore- carriage, by which it could be directed or turned round in a small sjiace. A fourth and much smaller wheel or roller worked in the fore-end of the perch that extended from the lower part of the framework, and on whicii rested ths foot of the cutter shaft directly over this fourth wheel ; but of its utility there are doubts. One of the peculiarities of this reaper was the application of the revolving rakes to gather the corn as it fell from the cutter. This was accomplished by the construction of a skeleton cylinder, placed over and revolving concentrically with the cutter upon the upright shaft of the latter, but in- dependently of it, and with a different velocity. The cylinder was mounted with 25 rakes attached to it in a vertical position, each rake having 10 teeth of about six inches long. The revolutions of the rake-cylinder were made in the same direction as the cutter, but at a rate only as one to seven of the latter — namely, about 28 per minute. To complete the gathering part of the process, a second and fixed rake or comb was attached in a vertical position to the near side of the framework. The wooden teeth or prongs of this comb were of con- siderable length, and were projected horizontally between the lines of teeth in the revolving rakes. In the latter also a ring of light wire was carried round each row of the teeth horizontally, having at attachment to every tooth about two inches from its root; and as the point of the prongs of the comb lay within or nearer to the centre of revolu- tion than those rings of wire, not a single straw could escape the comb, but were all regularly stript from off the rakes as they came round. The cut 1!8 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. and (fatliered corn was thus rej^ularly laid down in a ccMUinuous swathe, the stalks of grain lying parallel to earh other, and nearly at right angles to the line of progress of the machine. The gearing of this machine was extremely sim- ply. On the axle of the ofF-side carriage- wheel, already alluded to, was fixed a bevel-wheel of 56 teeth, which acted on a horizontal wheel of 28 teeth ; and upon the vertical shaft of this last were mounted two pitch or chain wheels, the one of 8 teeth, the other 28 ; these, by means of two pitch chains, acted upon two other wheels of 21 and 9 teeth resjjectively, placed upon the rake-cylinder and upon the cutter-shaft, bringing out the velocities before named for the two members. Besides these active motions, there was provision by means of levers, by which the height of the stubble could be regulated almost instantaneously, and the revolving parts thrown out of gear, and also for raising or depressing either side of the machine, to suit the rounding of ridges and deep furrows. The power required to draw this reaper was one horse, and with this it cut down a breadth of three feet; so, taking its rate of travel at 2.' miles per hour, its performance, by calculation, is limited to 9 acres in 10 hours, or thereby; but in actual work it might not exceed 7 acres in that time. Of all the reapers hitherto taken notice of in this paper, it is beheved that not one of them was ever worked throughout a harvest. Even Smith's and Mann's machines, which were the most perfect, do not appear to have been worked beyond a few hours consecutively; their actual capabilities, therefore, seem never to have been properly tested. The year 1826 may be held as an era in the history of this machine, by the invention, and the perfecting as well, of a really effective mechanical reaper. This invention is due to the Rev. Patrick Bfdl, now minister of the parish of Carmylie, in Forfarshire. The principle on which its cutting operation acts is that of a series of clipping shears. "When the machine had been completed, Mr. Bell brought it before the Highland and Agricultural Society, who appointed a committee of its members to inspect its operation in the field, and to report. The trials and the report being favourable, the Society awarded the sum of £50 to Mr. Bell for his invention, and a correct working model of the ma- chine was subsequently p'aced in the Society's museum. The invention shortly worked its way to a considerable extent in Forfarshire; and in ths harvest of 1834 the writer, in a short tour through that c.junty, saw several of these machines in operation, which did their work in a very satisfac- tory manner. Dundee appears to have been the principal seat of their manufacture, and from thence they were sent to various parts of the country. It is k lown also that four of the machines were sent to the United States of America, and this circum- stance renders it hi^^fhly probable that they became the models from which the numerous so-called in- ventions of the American reapers have since sprung. At the great fair or exhibition held at New York in 1851, not fewer than six reapers were exhibited, all by different hands, and each claiming to be a special invention ; yet, in all of them, the principal feature — the cutting apparatus — bears the strongest evidence of having been copied from Bell's machine. There are slight variations, as might naturally be expected, in the cutters, but the original type is evident throughout. It is re- markable, too, that in Hussey's reaper, which, by the American reports of the fair, appears to have been the first of the kind brought out in the Union, there is the closest possible resemblance to Bell's, the original; but, as we shall have occasion here- after to notice, it is but an imperfect though cheap imitation. Notwithstanding the perfection of Bell's reaper, it has rather unaccountably been allowed by our agriculturists to fall into disuse, and only in a few cases have its operations been kej)t up to the pre- sent time. One of the most interesting of these is that of Mr. J. Bell, of Inch-Michael, in the Carse of Gowrie, a brother of the inventor. Mr. Bell has a strong natural bias towards mechanics, and during fourteen years, in which he has regularly worked his reaper, he has taken a particular pleasure in seeing it put in proper working order at the com- mencement of the harvest. ; so prepared, it is then managed with perfect success by any ploughman of ordinary intelligence. By these simple precau- tions, Mr. Bell has been enabled in the most satis- factory manner to reap on an average four-fifths of all his grain crops every year; the remaining fifth, more or less, according to the season, being too much laid for the machine, has been reaped by the scythe — no sickle having been used on his farm during all this period. The expense of machine- reaping has, in this case, been found not to exceed 3s. 6d. per imperial acre. Under these favourable views of the efficiency and economy of Bell's reaper, a question naturally arises — What has been the cause of such a machine falling so much into disuse ? One obvious reason is, that all the best reaping-machines herein referred to may very ap- propriately be said to have appeared before their time — that is to say, before the subject on which they we. e to act had been prepared for their recep- tion. In the first quarter of the present century, furrow-draining, levelling high ridges, and filling up the old deej) intervening farrows, were only be- ginning to assume their due prominence in the practice of agriculture ; and so long as these im- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 119 provements remained in abeyance, the surface of the land was very ill-suited for such operations as that of a reaping-machine. Hence serious obstacles were presented to its application ; but as these are fast being removed, there is a prospect of a more successful apphcation of machinery, of whatever kind, being now brought to bear upon the field operations of the farm. Whatever be the causes that may have operated against the extension of Bell's machine, we have seen that, in the hands of a good manager, one of them has served well during a period of fourteen years, and it seems capable of serving at least four- teen more, thus holding out a strong recommenda- tion to the re-adoption of it, or some other equally good or better, if such may be found. To enable our readers to form a just conception of the con- struction and principles of Bell's machine, and to compare it with those now being introduced after the American copy, the annexed plate is given, showing a full view, in perspective, of Bell's reaper in its most approved form.* I'he machine consists — first, of an open carriage framework of carpentry about four feet wide, the same in length, and about three feet high. This is supported on two principal wheels about four feet in diameter, and two minor wheels eighteen inches in diameter, supporting the forepart of the carriage, to the front bar of which the cutting apparatus is attached. The axle of the main wheels passes quite through the carriage- frame, and supports it by turning in bearings, fixed to the middle horizontal bars, on either side. On this axle is fixed a bevel wheel, twenty inches in diameter, turning with the main wheels and axle, and gearing into the 'bevel pinion fixed upon the sloping shaft, which, at its lower end, carries a short crank. This last, by means of the connect- ing rod, gives the vibrating motion to the cutter-tail bar, to which bar the tails of the moveable blades of the series of shears are loosely jointed. The bevel-wheel gives motion also to the small sloping shaft through a pinion ; and at the upper end of this shaft, by means of the small mitre- wheels, motion is given to a small horizontal shaft, on the end of which a combination of three bevel- wheels and clutch gives motion to the first web- roller, making the web revolve to right or left, as desired. The web, when in action, is stretched over the two rollers. The light iron bars serve to carry the revolving fly or vane to collect and carry the cut corn to the web. The vane derives its motion from a pulley fixed on the ex- treme end of the small shaft, another being fixed on the extremity of the axle of the vane ; and a * Engravings of Bell's machine appeared ia the January number of the Farmer's Magazine. — Ed. F.Mag. small band passing round these pulleys, completes the motion. The vane is readily adjustable to suit any height of grain, and also to distance horizon- tally, to suit the delivery of the cut grain upon the web. This machine is worked by two horses, pushing it before them by means of the pole to which they are yoked by the common draught-bars. In its original form, a castor or swivel-wheel was attached under the machine, and brought to bear up the hind- part of it from the ground, by a rack and pinion worked by a handle. The intention of this was to obviate a supposed difficulty in turning the machine. Experience, however, has shown that the supposition was groundless. The swivel- wheel has been laid aside ; and as one of the main wheels necessarily required the convenience of being disengaged from the gearing that drives the cutter, &c., the same disengagement serves to make the machine turn with all requisite facility. The cutter consists of a fixed bar of iron, six feet in length, so that it projects over and clears a passage for all the bearing wheels and other pro- jecting points in the machine. The bar is strongly attached to the fore-part of the framework by two iron brackets, and to the bar are firmly bolted the thirteen fixed blades of the shears. The twelve moveable blades are likewise attached to the same bar, each upon a joint-bolt. Each of these last blades is prolonged backward in a tail-piece, till they rest in the vibrating bar, where the ex- tremity of each tail rests between two pegs, which serve as a secure but simple and loose joint for it. Such are the different motions of the machine, and, when in operation, the effects are as follows : — The main or driving wheels being nearly four feet in diameter, one turn of these carries the machine in its progressive motion over twelve feet of surface. The bevelled -wheel and pinion and being in the proportion of six to one, the crank and cutter-tail bar will make six vibrations in the time that the machine moves over twelve feet ; but as the move- able blades of the shears cut both ways, they will each make twelve cuts in the same time, each cut extending to twelve inches forward ; and as the cutting-blades are fourteen inches long, the uncut corn can never reach the root or joint-end of the shears, to produce choking. The revolving vanes in front serve to catch hold of and retain the corn against the onward pressure of the cutter, but their chief duty is to assist in laying the cut corn upon the endless web. The duties of the web are very simple, being merely to convey the cut corn to right or left, and to deliver it upon the ground, which it does with a regularity perfectly sufficient for the purpose of being gathered into sheaves. In the process of v/orking this machine, Mr. Bell's practice is to employ one man driving and 120 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. conducting the machine; eight women arc required to collect the cut corn into sheaves, and to make bands for these sheaves; four men to close and bind the sheaves, and two men to set them up in stocks — being in all fourteen pair of hands, besides the driver of the horses, whose time reckons along with them; and the work performed averages twelve imperial acres per day. These data have been obtained from fourteen years' experience of tlie machine, and have therefore a strong claim upon the consideration of the farmer. The ex- pense in money for reaping by such a machine will of course vary a little with the rate of wages ; but, on an average, it may be taken at three shillings and sixpence an acre, including the expense of food to the workers. This, in round numbers, may be taken at a saving of one-half the usual expense of reajjing by hand, at the lowest calculation ; and the saving on a farm where there might be 100 acres of cereal and leguminous crop would do more than cover the price of a machine of the best quahty in two years. The importation of *wo reaping-machines from America has already been adverted to, as also their resemblance in principle to that of Bell's, leading, when coupled with other circumstances, to the conclusion, that not only those two imported but all the reaping-machines now used in the union, are based upon the same principle which is the leading feature — the cutter — in Bell's. In the American machine, the framework is so constructed and arranged that the horses draw the machine, walking by the side of the standing corn, as in Mann's and others already referred to ; but that change in the application of the power, as well as the construction of the whole framework, are mere matters of detail, without at all touching the prin- ciples recognized by the Highland and Agricultural Society in the award given in favour of Mr. Bell's machine. It must be observed, too, that the oldest of the American reapers — Hussey's — con- tains nothing beyond the cutters, and that is essen- tially Bell's, with this very unimportant difference, that the cutting-blades, instead of acting from centre-bolts, are fixed dead upon a vibrating bar, corresponding to the bar so named in the descrip- tion of Bell's, and of course move along with that bar, producing that every-day form of shears— the parallel motion shears. The maker has stopt short at that point where all inventors in this field of mechanics have found their greatest diflSculty— the collecting and delivering the corn after being cut; for in all attempts at machine-reaping, the cutting process seems to have presented little, if any, difficulty; but it was not imtil Bell's and Mann's machines came upon the field that anything appeared deserving the name of a collecting and delivering apparatus. Mr. Hussey, it would ap- pear, had met the same difficulty ; but, taking a short method of obviating it, he gives forth his machine with the cutter only, leaving all the after- details to be performed by manipulation. By thus leaving the machine in a half-completed state, he is obliged in most cases, it is understood, to employ, besides the driver, two inen upon the machine, to collect and deliver. In consequence of these half- measures of construction, the framework and gearing of this and all the other American reapers are very simple, and, as a matter of course, very similar to the original, excepting such changes as are required to let the horse walk in front by the side of the standing corn. M'Cormick's machine, which, on its first appear- ance in England, had the cutters nearly identical with the one above described, has latterly been fitted with one long straight-edged and finely- serrated cutter, giving apparently a new character to the machine, though in fact it is no more than engrafting a new idea upon the original — Bell's. Mr. M'Cormick has also gone a step beyond his neighbour, Mr. Hussey, by taking from our original also the revolving vanes in front for col- lecting and holding the corn to the cutter. By these means the machine is made 'more effective, and operates with the assistance of one man upon the machine besides the driver. In all other respects it is not sensibly different from the other. Of the other reapers incidentally alluded to as of American construction, and judging from the pub- lished figures of each, they stand — two with the revolving vanes, like M'Cormick's, and two with- out, like Hussey's. Of the actual performance of the two Transatlantic visitors little can yet be said, neither of them having yet performed a day's work in this country— and by that alone can their proper value be determined. The first is given out as capable of cutting 15 acres a-day, with two horses walking at the rate of 2^^ miles an hour. The second is warranted to the same extent, with the same power walking at the same rate. But these results, so far as this country is concerned, can only be of necessity the result of calculation, seeing they have not done a day's work ; and as we have seen that Mr. Bell's v/ell-tested machine should, by cal- culation, cut 18 acres a-day, with two horses walking 2^ miles an hour, whereas in practice it can only accomplish 12 acres, it is not unreasonable to suppose a like shortcoming between calculation and practice, bringing the results, in the case of the Americans, down to 10 acres, or even less, as few farm-horses will be found to continue to walk even at 2^ miles an hour. The price of Hussey's ma- chine is quoted by the makers at £21 ; that of M'Cormick at £30. It is difficult to see how such THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 121 a difference of value can exist in two machines differing so little from each other in their general structure and performance, A sketch has here been given of the progress, through half a century, of che attempts to estabhsh an effective reaping-machine by British machinists ; and it has been shown that the latest and most successful of them, though sanctioned and rewarded by the Highland and Agricultural Society, yet has, from some undefined cause, been suffered lo be al- most neglected by both agriculturists and ma- chinists; fortunately, however, a successful practice of fourteen years has amply established its true and valuable character. In this interim our American brethren have been, in the usual western phrase, going ahead ; and, amongst many subjects, with that also of the reaping-machine. Two of them, sent to the Exhibition, stirred up the whole agri- cultural body of Britain— aided greatly, no doubt, by the universal excitement under which the entire community then laboured. But however merito- rious these reapers may have been, they still are but copies, and imperfect ones, of that machine which had previously acquired the highest degree of merit in this country. This claim is made, not with any view to disparage the exertions of the Americans, or to undervalue their mechanical productions— the importance of which, in all departments of the arts, is already known over the civiUzed world, but simply with the view of establishing a fact, and attributing priority of invention to the true author — a circumstance too often overlooked, especially in matters mechanical, where the original has not been covered by a patent. Time alone can decide the question of ultimate success in this country. We have, on the one hand, the original form of our own countryman's invention satisfactorily surviving the test of fourteen years' practical operation, and, on the other, the general success which has attended the introduc- tion of its imitation into the United States; but we cannot doubt that the operation of another harvest will go far to solve the point. — Journal of Agri- culture. WINCHESTER FARMERS' CLUB. ON THE BREEDING, BEARING, AND FATTENING OF STOCK. The monthly meeting of the Club was held Satur- day, Nov 29th, at the Black Swan Inn, Winchester. Mr. W. Pain, the secretary, after some prelimi- nary business had been disposed of, gave notice that the subject for discussion at the next meeting would be on the Cultivation of Turnips, by Mr. Smither, of Robert Winnal. On the motion of Mr. W. Pain, seconded by Mr. T. Pern, Mr. E. Read and Mr. C. Lunn, proposed at the last meeting, were declared to be duly elected members of the club. The Chairm.\n (Mr. Robert Pile ) observed that the subject for discussion on that evening was one of importance and very interesting to agriculturists He would, therefore, call upon Mr. William Pain to be kind enough to give them the benefit of his experience respecting the breeding, rearing, and fattening of stock. Mr. W. Pain said, Mr. Chairman and Gentle- men,—The subject of which I have given notice for this evening's discussion is the breeding, rear- ring, and fattening of stock ; and, although as a farmer I have for years paid some attention to the breeding of stock, I am fearful I shall not be enabled to do justice to the subject this evening, but will, as far as my abilities allow, do my best to lay before you my ideas, in the hopes that by so doing I shall excite discussion, and that beneficial results may arise therefrom. I class under the denomination of stock— sheep, horses, beasts, and pigs ; and as the management of each is dissimilar to the other, I propose to consi- der them separately. I think the sheep is the most profitable animal kept on a farm, as without them it would be impos- sible on a hill farm to make manure sufhcient for the corn crops, and as they drop the manure in the place where it is required, it saves the expense of carting, which is a very serious item in the farming account. In considering the management of sheep, I shaU commence with the tupping season. I con- sider it very essential that at this time the ewes should be kept as well as possible, for the better their condition, the more likely they are to produce twins ; there is no better food for ewes at this period than rape. I think the best time to put the tup with the ewes, in this part of the county, is the latter end of August, as you then get the lambs strong to go on turnips in the spring. After the ewes are with lamb, it is highly necessary that they should be 122 ^THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. kept as quiet as possible, and in regular condition ; for if they are frightened, or are kept well at one time and badly at another, they are apt to slip their lambs. I have been in the habit of keeping my ewes, from the month of November till the time they lamb, entirely on hay and water, having had a great number of ewes slip their lambs when I have fed them on turnips and hay ; but I think, from an ex- periment which I tried last year upon 100 ewes, and keeping them almost exclusively on turnips, that if the ewes had their fill of turnips that were ripe, and in a fit state to eat, they would do quite as well on turnips and a little hay, as they do on hay and water. The great evil, in my opinion, in giving ewes turnips previous to lambing is, that we do not give them sufficient (and oftentimes the turnips are not ripe), and the consequence is, that as soon as they are let into the fold, they eat as fast as they possibly can, and over-fill themselves with wind, which is the cause of their shpping their lambs ; but if they had plenty to fall back upon, they would not eat so fast, and there would not be any danger of their being hoven; and I think in the end they would not consume more food, and certainly they would do better. One other great cause of ewes slipping is from lying on wet colci land. Previous to lambing time, I select a piece of ley ground, or wheat stubble, for my lambing field, and cover it with muckle, that the ewes may be enabled to lie down comfortably without being in the dirt ; as I consider when they are heavy in lamb they lie down so much that they are apt to be chilled. I give them a fresh fold every day, and by so doing I prevent their being tainted, and get my land regularly ma- nured. I very much disapprove of keeping the ewes in what is caUed a dead fold during the lambing time — it often proves to be a dead fold: I have known more ewes die from this plan than any other, as, after they have lambed, they are turned out of the fold, and are apt to take cold, which is often followed by inflammation, and terminates in death. I have a large number of hurdles thatched with straw, to put round the fold for shelter ; and the shepherds have a covered cart to sleep in, in the field ; and as I have two men with the sheep, they are never Lft night or day, as the men go to bed by turns. I have pens made in the fold, to put the ewes in as soon as they have lambed, and, as soon as the lambs are strong enough, they are removed to a large fold, well sheltered from the wind, and littered with wheat straw, where they remain till they are strong enough to go ujjon turnips, which if the weather is dry, will be in about a week or ten days. The ewes and lambs continue on turnips till April, and are supplied with a good allowance of hay ; but if they have their fill of turnips, and the weather is dry, they will eat but little, I do not pen my sheep uj) close when feeding turnips, but let them have a large piece of ground to fall back upon, as by so doing I give them an opportunity to keep them- selves out of the dirt, and they do not tread and waste the turnips as they would if penned close together. In the month of April they go into the water meadows in the day, and are penned on rye, or sometimes on swedes, at night. I generally keep some swedes for my dry sheep till the begin- ning of May. After the meadows are finished, which is generally from the 1st to the 12th of May, the ewes and lambs are fed on seed in the day, and penned on winter barley or tares at night, until the lambs are weaned ; I have also given the lambs mangold wurzel with great success. I generally wean my lambs the beginning of June, previous to shearing the ewes, as they (the ewes) are apt to take cold in the udder if the lambs are weaned afterward. After the lambs are weaned, I keep them principally on tares, somtimes a little sainfoin or clover in addi- tion ; I last year kept ray lambs entirely on tares, and never had them do better. I think driving them from one sort of food to another does them as much mischief as the food does them good ; it is almost impossible to fat sheep without they are kept quiet. I sell my lambs and old ewes in the month of July. I have described to you the plan I pursue in breeding and rearing of sheep. I will now make a few remarks on the fattening, which I think might be adopted in this neighbourhood with success. If a farmer were to keep less ewes, and, instead of selling his lambs, were to keep them till the follow- ing autumn, and bring them out fat, he would find that at the end of the year his sheep account would prove that fattening paid him, and of course his farm must be very much improved by the corn and cake eaten by the sheep. I have entered into some calculations on the subject, and they fully bear out the opinions I had formed. If you keep a flock of Goo ewes in stock order, you would want 235 lambs to keep up your stock, making together 835, as I calculate a loss of five ewes and two tegs to the 100 is about the average of this county, and I think if you breed 90 lambs to 100 ewes, it is quite as many as is generally bred in this neigh- bourhood ; but if, instead of 600 ewes you were to keep 500, and keep all their lambs, and fat them as tegs, and also your sale ewes, you would then have 950 sheep in all to keep, which I think you may easily do, as you can keep two tegs on the same food required by one ewe, and I imagine nearly three, after the ewe has a lamb by her side. Under this calculation, Goo ewes would breed 540 lambs Required for stock 235 „ Leaving for sale 305 „ THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 128 200 ewes for sale, at 28s. per head . . £230 0 0 200 lambs „ at 24s. „ . . 240 0 0 105 ditto „ at 20s. „ . . 105 0 0 570 ewes' vvool,at4lb. each, at25s.pertod 101 15 6 203 tegs' ditto, 5lb. „ at 28s. ,, 57 10 0 Making a total from 600 ewes of ... . £784 5 6 500 ewes would breed 450 lambs Required for stock 195 „ Leaving to fat 255 „ 166 ewes for sale, at 35s. per head . . £290 10 0 200 tegs „ at 40s. „ . . 400 0 0 50 ditto „ at 32s. „ . . 80 0 0 475 ewes' wool, at4lb. each, at25spertod 84 16 0 441 tegV ditto, at 5lb. „ at 28s. „ 110 5 0 Making a total from 500 ewes of ... . 965 11 0 Deduct total from 600 ditto ... 784 5 6 Leaving a balance in favour of fatting of £181 5 6 I know it will be said, that to fat this large number of sheep it will require a great outlay for oil cake, which certainly would be the case, as there would be 416 sheep to keep, on an average of five months each on cake, and they would consume at lib. pe head per day nearly 28 tons of cake, which, at £7 10s. per ton, would cost £210; then calculating that the land receives half the benefit of the cake eaten by the sheep, amounting to £105, it will leave still a balance in favour of fatting of £76 5s 6d. These calculations are made supposing the sheep to be fatted in the summer, but it is often the practice to fat the tegs in the winter, and sell them as soon as shorn ; but if that were done, you must keep more ewes, or you would have a short stock of sheep in summer. There is another thing which must be thrown in the scale on the side of fatting, and certain!)', in my mind, is of some moment, and that is the small quantity of hay that would be eaten by the tegs in the winter, as compared with that required by the ewes, consequently there would be a saving in haymaking; and a part of the seeds which are now cut for hay could be eaten in the summer by the sheep, instead of being obhged to go to the expense of sowing tares for feed, to the great injury of the succeeding turnip crop. In fat- tening sheep I have found oilcake the safest food I could use, and I certainly think it will make more weight of mutton in a given time than any other food, and must, therefore, necessarily be the cheajjest. I consider lib. per day a full allowance for a sheep. In fattening lambs for the early part of the season I have adopted a plan which I find answers remarkably well : I put the ewes into a yard as fast as they lamb, and keep it well littered with wheat straw, which I find prevents the ewes having the lameness which is generally the case with sheep that are kept long on muckle. (I should say that I am not allowed by my lease to sell straw). I have found the ewes get lame when I have used barley or oat straw. I divide the yard with gates to allov/ the lambs to run into a shed, where their food is kept in the dry, and out of the reach of the ewes. I keep both ewes and lambs upon cut swedes and mangold wurzel, with clover and sainfoin chaff, and in addi- tion lib. uf oil cake, and rather more than a pint of oats per day per couple. I find by this plan I can get my lambs fit for the butcher at about 10 or 12 weeks old, and weighing 9lb. to lOib, per quarter ; in fact I had one last year that weighed 1 lib. per quarter, at nine weeks ol propose was " Success to the Wenlock Farmers' Club." When they last met he entertained some hope that this year he should have had it in his power to address them on the improved prospects of agriculture, but he was sorry to say he was un- able to do so. He was not one of those who were inclined to despair, because he thought — although they were then in difficulties — before very long, by the adjustment of rents and other payments which affected the farmer, and by'a judicious management of their land, they should be enabled to get their living, though he never looked forward to a very great profit. He thought the capital employed in agriculture would afford a less profit than if it were embarked in manufactures and so forth ; and he was led to this conclusion by the fact that agricul- ture was an occupation more healthy and pleasur- able than any other, and because many persons were willing to rent land at such at price as to ren- der a high degree of profit impossible. He was glad to perceive that their numbers had been in- creased during the past year, and this ])rosperity could only be attributed to the conviction which must exist in the neighbourhood of the utility of the club, and he trusted that the discussions which had taken place at their meetings had caused it to spread, and had excited a great degree of emula- tion. He hojied that its usefulness would still con- tinue, and that by its efforts, and by the efforts of institutions of a kindred nature, their land would be prevented from going out of cultivation, and that they might live to see better times. Sir George Harnage, Bart., proposed that the toast be received with three hearty cheers, which was most cordially responded to. Mr. Evan Davies said the duty now devolved upon him to read the re])ort of the proceedings of the past year ; and, in doing so, he would not oc- cupy more than a very few minutes. He then read the following REPORT. Your committee have but few general remarks to make on this occasion. The same uncertainty still continues as to the future prospect of agricul- ture, and, notwithstanding the efforts of the Wen- lock Farmers' Club to stimulate to greater exer- tions, and to introduce all approved improvements in the cultivation of the soil, your committee view with serious apprehension the abandonment of farms within the club district. Instead of having, as formerly, to congratulate you on the successful progress of agricultural improvements within our district, we have now to report, in too many in- stances, the neglected root crops, and, instead of well- prepared fallows, ample crops of thistles, scutch, and other noxious weeds ; and whatever political economists may say to the contrary, your committee cannot help feeling that the plague spot is upon us, and, unless some timely and efficient aid is afforded, the once flourishing agriculture of England will become a bye-wortl and a sneer. Your committee have to report a donation of £10 from W. W. Hull, Esq., as a life member of the club, being the first and only one in that class of contributors. Your committee express not an opi- nion, but they conceive if a permanent fund could be established, the interest of which maybe applied to secure a lecture occasionally on the sciences connected with agriculture, it may tend to give a zest to our proceedings, and rally the drooping spirits of our members. With these few remarks, we proceed to review the discussions of the past year. The first meeting was held in December ; subject for discussion, on " the properties and application of artificial manures." There was a large attend- ance, and the question was well gone into, and considerably enlightened by the report of the proceedings of a farm attached to a large manu- factory in the neighbourhood ; but as the manure employed was chiefly obtained from the refuse of the manufactory, the advantages were not available to the general body of farmers. The successful application of gypsum to the clover crop, and also as an absorbent of ammonia, was strongly pressed upon the consideration of the members present ; but as the gentleman who strongly advocated the application also employed Crosskill's clod-crusher to his clover, it is questionable as to which the flourishing state of his crop is indebted, for as gyp- sum is nearly insoluble, its use as a manure or deodoriser is very problematical. A very animated discussion took place, the members freely relating their several experiments with the artificial manures ; but it was the general opinion of the members pre- sent that the Peruvian guano stood first of all pur- chased manures, and the best mode of applying it was to sow it broadcast, with or without being mixed with other substances, then ridge up. The next meeting was held in March; subject for discussion, on " the cultivation of the natural grasses as a substitute for clover and rye grass, and as to the best mixture for permanent pastures." There was a full attendance of members ; but as the cultivation of the natural grasses has made but little progress within the circuit of our club, the subject rested a good deal with the member bring- ing it forward. He produced several tables of mixtures which had been tried with more or less success on his farm. Several of the members en- gaged to try the mixtures on their respective farms, and report the results to the next club, by which means it is recommended for general adoption, and thereby obviate the great loss sustained by the failure of the clover crop. The meetmg dechned to pass any resolution on the subject. The next and last meeting was held in April ; subject for discussion, on " the breeding, rearing, and management of sheep." As the introduction of the subject was undertaken by one of the mem- bers justly celebrated for his southdown flock, the meeting was looked forward to with considerable interest. There was a good gathering of the mem- bers, and considerable information was elicited; and it was resolved that in selecting male animals, the very best of his kind, if possible, should be obtained; that all objectionable ewes should be 130 THE FARMERS MAGAZINE. drafted; ewes when lialf ifone with lamb slionld have a little coin and other di'yfood; lainhs to l)c dipped in a wash composed of two pounds of arsenic, live ])ounds of soft soap, fifty gallons of water, for 100 lambs; lambs when weaned to be put into aftermath clover, then cabbat^e or common turnips, then swedes. The southdown or fihroiishire down are the best for this neighbourhood. Your committee met on the first Monday in October to audit the accounts and award the several ])rizes, a list of which will be laid before you. We find a balance only of 3s. S^d. in the hands of the treasurer to meet the payment of the prices, &c. Your committee cannot close this report without referring to the loss the club has sustained during the last twelve months by the death of two of its steadiest patrons. Sir Francis Lawley and the Rev. Benjatnin Ilowells. To the countenance afforded by the former the club is indebted for a considera- ble accession of members, and also by his munificence your committee were enabled to enhance considerably the value of some of the ]3rizes ; and they who have regularly attended our monthly discussions can best appreciate the zeal with which the Rev. B. Ilowells entered into the subject under consideration, and the eloquent manner in which he invariably expressed himself at our annual gathei'ing must be fresh in the memory of all of us, and make us deeply regret the loss of so valuable a member. Your committee trust they have not exceeded their province by giving vent to the feelings which they conceive will find a corresponding vibration amongst most of the members present. Your committee have to report the kindness of Lord Wenlock in offering to con- tinue the augmentation of the plough prizes as was heretofore done by the late Sir Francis Lawley. Y''our committee conclude this brief report of your proceedings with every good wish for your successful career. Mr. Mytton moved, and Mr. George PRITCHARD seconded, that the Report now read be adopted, which was carried with acclamation. Mr. Mytton said he had heea entrusted with the next toast, which was the health of a nobleman who had long been connected with the borough of AVenlock. He would give them, " the health of Lord Forester, Patron of the Wenlock Farmers' Club," which was toasted in true Salopian style. Colonel FoRESTKR briefly returned thanks on behalf of his brother. Mr. Evan Da vies proposed "the health of Lord Wenlock," and intimated that his lordship had kindly offered to double the plough prizes given by the late Sir Francis Lawley. The toast was duly honoured. Mr. George Pritchard said he had great pleasure in proposing the next toast, " the health of Earl Granville," which was received v.'ith loud demonstration of applause. The Rev. S. Mixton, in giving '-'the health of Sir George Harnage, Bart.," observed that he had taken a very great interest in trying to get a corn market for Wenlock, which all the farmers were unanimous in saying was very much wanted ; and for the agricultural interest, which he (Mr. Minion) was sorry to see so much depressed, he had mani- fested the deepest concern. The toast was received with three times three. Sir George Harnage, Bart., briefly returned thanks. Mr, R. C. Blakeway said the toast which had been jdaced in his hands was " the health of their worthy and estimable president, John Pritchard, Esq." There were many things, illustrative of his admirable and amiable character, which he might state, but in his presence it would not be fitting to do so. It might perhaps be in their recollection what he stated last year, that he considered good farming was profitable, but that high farming v/ould not do in this countr}'. A tenant of Mr. Pritchard's, before he adopted high farming, had obtained 21 bushels per acre, and since he had adopted it had only 23 bushels per acre, thus only giving an in- crease of two bushels for an increase in the ex- penditure at the rate of £5 per acre. He thought this result must be a most convincing argument that high farming would not do, and that good might. At the request of Mr. Evan Davies, the toast was drunk with three times three. The Chairman said he was very much obliged to Mr. Blakeway for the kind manner in which he had introduced the toast, and to the company for the cordial reception they had given to it. This mark of their approval would give him some en- couragement to continue in the position which he then held — a position which, in times of deep dis- tress, could not be a very enviable one ; but so long as he had their countenance and support, he would endeavour to discharge its duties faithfully. For some months past he had been an absentee from this county, and had not been able to make him- self thoroughly acquainted with the state of the neighbourhood ; but the time had been suflrtcient to ascertain that the year ending March 25th, 1851, had been a most disastrous one. He did not find that high farming answei'ed, and that after laying out his money he got a less profit than before; for in the harvest of 1850, instead of his having 22 or 23 bushels per acre, the average produce was under 20. Some persons said only farm your land well, and all things will go right ; he said that in farm- ing well they did not get that return that would compensate them for the increased outlay. He had already alluded to his having been absent, and during that absence he had had the opportunity of looking to the agriculture of a neighbouring coun- try', to which he had given more than ordinaiy at- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 131 tention, in consequence of a letter which appeared in the Times in the early part of the present year, in which was stated that in some part of Normandy, in France, land\vas cultivated in such a superior manner that unless the farmers of this countiy looked sharper after their own interest they would be unable to compete with them. He had not been in Normandy, but he had travelled from Calais, in the north, to near Marseilles, in the south, and also through the middle of France, and he thought the country was in a very bad state of cultivation. The land was not well cleaned, and the implements of husbandry vvdiich the natives used were of the same kind that had been employed for ages and ages. And in going very little farther south, he had seen wheat trodden out by oxen, just in the same way that he believed it was done in the days of the Apostles, which would very clearly show that they had nothing to fear from competition as regarded the talent and ability which was directed to the cul- tivation of land. They had apprehension on one score ; he was afraid that France was getting poorer and poorer, and that the inhabitants were becoming unable to consume their own produce, and that a much greater quantity of their produce would ulti- mately find its way into this country. He wished every one of those present had had the same oppor- tunity of seeing farming and the condition of far- mers in France, and he was sure that they would have returned home thankful that their lot had been cast in a country where the good feeling between landlord and tenant, and master and servant, was cultivated to the extent that it is in our own beloved country. The Chairman then i^ead the Ust of prizes to farm labourers. After the candidates had received their prizes and partaken of a glass of good ale, they were ad- monished by the Chairman as to their future con- duct. He said he was very glad to see them, and he hoped that they would do all they could to im- prove on their present proficiency, and take care that those who were placed under them conducted themselves properly. The candidates then left the room. The Chairman said, he was quite sxire that they all felt very much indebted to the judges for their services, and he believed they had discharged their duty with great judgment and impartiality. He had great pleasure in giving " the healths of Charles Emery, Esq., of Burcott, and Mr. Edward Davies, of Harley," which was toasted in a bumper. Mr. Edward Davies briefly returned thanks on behalf of himself and Mr. Emeiy. The Vice-Chairman gave " the Members for the County," which was drunk with a hearty hip, hip, hurrah. Sir George Harnage, Bart., proj)osed " Good health, long life, and pros[)erity, to the Members for the Borough of Weniock." The toast was drunk with three times three and one cheer more. Colonel Forester returned thanks, and gave " The health and happiness of the Mayor and the Corporation of Vv enlock," which contained one of the oldest corporations and the best bench of magis- trates in that neighbourhood. Mr. W. P. Brookes returned thanks on behalf of the magistrates. Mr. MvTTON and Mr. George Pritchard returned thanks on beh?df of the corporation. Mr. Edward Davies proposed " The health of Thomas Mytton, Esq., of ShiptoiT," which was cordially responded to. Mr. Mytton briefly returned thanks. Mr. Evan Davies proposed the Hon. Beilby Lawley as a member of the club, and he was ad- mitted. Mr. Jeffreys proposed Mr. Peake, of ArleS» cott, as a member of the club, and he was admitted. Mr. Nock gave "the health of George Pritchard, Esq.," whom he characterised as a good landlord and an upright and kind magistrate. The toast was responded to with three cheers. Mr. George Pritchard returned thanks . Mr. W. P. Brookes said, as far as his experience went, in conducting that and similar institutions, a great deal depended upon their financial manage- ment ; and, therefore, when they saw an institution like the Weniock Farmers' Club in so flourishing a condition as it was, they must attribute it to the judicious management of the committee ; and he thought they could not have elected any body of gentlemen better fitted to discharge the onerous duties which devolved upon them than those who had been honoured with their suffrages. And with regard to Mr. Evan Davies, its president, he could not help thinking that he was the founder of the club ; and every one, from the nobleman down to the farmer and the labourer, reposed the greatest con- fidence in him, and he (Mr. Brookes) was sure that so long as he gave the club that attention which he had hitherto devoted to it, it v/ould prosper. He would give " the Health of Mr. Evan Davies, of Patten, and the Committee of the Weniock Far- mers' Club." He was always glad to meet the members of that club ; for whatever might be their difference in politics, they all had the prosperity of agriculture at heart. The toast was drunk with three times three and one cheer more. Mr. Evan Davies said, on behalf of the Com- K 2 133 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. mittee of tlie Wenlock Farmers' Club, he begged to return them his sincere thanks for the very kind manner in whicli they had been pleased to receive the toast which had just been introduced to them in a flattering and highly complimentary address l)y Mr. Brookes. It was an extreme gratification to them to iind that the manner in which they had endeavoured to conduct the business of the AVen- lock Farmers' Club had met with their approval. Happy should they have been had it been in their power of congratulate the meeting on the slightest prospect of returning prosperity, but they saw no appearance of the good times which they had been told were coming; they saw nothing but the dark clouds of ruin thickening in the horizon, which must soon arrive at the zenith, and overwhelm in one fell swoop of destruction the whole of the agri- cultural interest. It was in vain for the committee to put questions, or to recommend the discussions of questions, tending fortunately to greater exer- tions, or to increased outlay in the improvement of the soil; for it was then pretty generally acknow- ledged that any approach to high farming was, with present prices, only a nearer approach to ruin. He believed, if not all, most assuredly a very consider- able portion of the land and money owners who were around him, would bear him out when he said that the least loss was to let land lie in one wild waste, or merely to obtain from it what it would produce with the least possible outlay. Two or three years ago he should have been called a mad- man to make such an assertion as that. The panacea for all their evils was high farming ; but he wovdd be a bold man who would make the asser- tion then. Then again he might be told, " Oh ! but you have your rents to pay whether you get half a crop or a good one." True ; but how long would rents be paid ? Then the modern, and perhaps the rignt definition of the word rent was that sum of money which a tenant agreed to give the land- lord for the use of his land, or, as Mr. Disraeh called it, his raw material. But if the raw material would not return a profit for the manufacturer, how long did they think it would continue to be em- ployed ? Let him tell them, nothing but the want of a fair and equitable adjustment had prevented the great body of the farmers of England ceasing to be manufacturers of raw material. If the direful policy of 1846 had been as it ought to have been, accompanied by a law giving to the tenant-farmers of England a power to claim and obtain a full and fair compensation for all unexhausted improvements on their respective farms, he pledged his word that in another year the landlords of England would have had a far greater scope for the exercise of their ingenuity as cultivators of the soil than they hitherto had had; and he thought the little experience they had already had, had been sufficient to prove to them that any increase of acres to cultivate would not be the means of increasing the amount of their rent roll; and let him, as an honest man, tell them that they did not, nor could sympathise with them in the ditHcuIties they were placed in, or about to be j)laced in. No, they believed, and therefore were bound to speak, that they showed the white feather in 1846 ; and they felt and were bound to say, that they had not come forward as they ought to have done since the passing of that practical measure. They had been again and again appealed to, to come forward to assist in obtaining a reversal of that mea- sure. Had they ever responded to those appeals ? Let the low ebb of the exchequer of the National As- sociation testify — let the subscription list of all the protection societies bear witness. Well, if they re- fused to assist in obtaining a reversal of the present unjust policy — if they consider the present measure could not be reversed, then they were in duty, in justice, nay, he would say in honour bound to come forward manfully and offer their shoulders to bear a fair proportion of the evils attendant upon this fatal measure. But pardon him, in all humility, had they done so ? — had their abatement of rent been in any proportion to the reduction in the farm produce ? — nay, had they, who had been able to retain their tenants, felt all the evil effects of the present imperial policy ? — had not the reduc- tion in price of their consumed articles more than compensated them for the paltry reduction they had made in their rent roll ? It grieved him much to address them in those terms ; respect for his supe- riors had heretofore been his untiring principle. He felt that they had been deserted by their na- tional leaders. This respect was fast oozing out at his finger ends. When he placed his wife and family with the ruin that appeared to await them in one scale, and his regard for his superiors in the other, respect quickly kicked the beam. He knew there were a few noble exceptions ? he knew that there were those among the great of the land who had sympathised with the suffering tenantry of England, and through evil report and good re- port had nobly stood forward in condemnation of the present law, and with purse and heart had en- tered fully into the conflict, but these exceptions were few— very few indeed. The greater bulk of them had stood aloof from their sufferings, and un- heeded their cry of distress. Whether they had done so from fear or indifference he would not pre- tend to say. The fact was all he could testify of : let others explain the cause. And what was the great boon that was then offered to them — the great panacea that was to dispel the gloom that surrounded them, and to crown them with the cap of prosperity ? Why a reduction of taxation, and THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 133 an equalisation of local burdens, was the bait which had been thrown out to catch a whale, and had in some degree taken effect on the minds of his bro- ther farmers, and withdrawn their attention from the one tiling needful. Perhaps he might be allowed to call their attention to a few figures, to show them that with all the possible help that could be ob- tained from that source, they ivould be still unable to compete with the slaves and serfs of Poland and Russia. They were told by Sir Robert Peel in 1846 that free trade would maintain an average price of 56s. per quarter for wheat; he asserting at the same time that that was the lowest price which it could be grown at in England. Well at that price the gross annual value of agricultural produce was estimated at £300,000,000. Mr. Davies then entered into a statistical statement to prove that by a reduction in prices there had been an annual loss to the farming interest of £100,000,000, which, with the reduction of rents, local burdens, taxes, &c., could not but be reduced by £25,000,000, still leaving an annual loss of £75,000,000. Away then with the idea that these things were to compensate them for the effects of free trade. Their rallying cry must be. Protection, and nothing but protection, against an unjust competition with the unrented and untaxed land of the continent. Tell them they could not afford to grow cheap bread in England as long as the land of England was burdened with a national debt of £800,000,000; tell them they could not afford to grow cheap bread as long as they were called upon to pay a rent consequent upon the na- tional debt; tell them they could not afford to grow cheap bread by the price of labour, consequent upon that national debt; tell them they could not, as long as they were called upon to supply their labourers with a large quantity of highly taxed beer, compete with those farmers who paid their labourers 3s. per week, and supplied them with untaxed beer; tell them they could not compete with the farmers of Russia and Poland, where labour was performed by slaves and serfs. They were all pretty well satisfied that time last year with the great diflficulties the farmers then had to contend with; if so last year, how was it this? He found by the MarkLanereturns, that the price of wheat for October 1851 was 6s. and a fraction less than October 1850. Now he cal- culated the average growth of wheat in Shropshire to be three imperial quarters per acre, which made 18s. per acre less in the crop of wheat since last year; then mutton, he found, was 2d. per stone less this year than last; an acre of turnips was calcu- lated to produce 40 stones of mutton, which, at a reduction of 2d. per stone was 6s. 8d per acre; and an acre of seeds was calculated to produce 20 stones of mutton, which, at 2d. less, was 3s. 4d. per acre. So that the loss of this year over last, per acre, was s. d. 18 0 6 S 3 4 1)28 0 Wheat crop Turnip crop Seeds Or on the four-course shift Which gives an annual loss, per acre, of 7 0 So that, supposing their rents were fairly adjusted last year, which he denied, in order to put the tenant in the same position this year as last, it would require a further reduction of 7s. per acre. Were they prepared to maket his reduction? He trowed not, nor would they do it until one half of their property was thrown upon their hands ; and were it not from the circumstance that such an event would plunge hundreds of families in ruin, he for one would say the sooner the better. It had been his endeavour, as well as the endeavour of every tenant who had publicly addressed them the last four years, to show an identity of interest between landlord and tenant ; but this identity of interest had only been acknowledged by the tenant. The landlords had shown no disposition to identify themselves with their sufferings. Away, then, with the idea of swimming in the same boat. They must then, as far as in them l.iy, endeavour to pro- tect their own interest, and let the landlords make the best bargain they could with their Manchester friends. With these observations he concluded his address by again thanking them for drinking the health of the committee, and resumed his seat amid loud applause. Mr. Jeffreys gave " the health of the Vice- Chairman,"which was received with a hearty round of applause. The Vice-Chairman briefly returned thanks. Mr. George Pritchard proposed " the health of Mr. Richard Davies, of Little Wenlock," which was drunk with three times three. Mr. Richard Davies returned thanks. Mr. Mytton gave " the New Members of the Club, the Hon. Beiley Lawley and Mr. Peak, of Arlescott," which was received with loud cheers. Mr. Peak returned thanks. The Chairman said they had gone through the list of toasts, and he had nothing more to say : They had had the pleasure of meeting each other that day, and he hoped if they were spared to another year that they would meet in greater num- bers. He thought times could not be worse than they were then, and he hoped next year that things would be something better, though he did not ex- pect them greatly better. The Chairman then vacated the chair, and the company were about to leave the room, when Mr. Evan Davies rose, and proposed as a toast " the Press." He apologised for not having 184 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. given it sooner, and said tlic omission was entirely owinjT to the nunil)cr of other matters pressing on his mind. The toast was very cordially received and suitably acknowledged. The meeting then broke up, HADLEIGH FARMERS' CLUB. The 12th annual root show of the above club and agricultural association was held at the Corn Ex- change, Hadleigh, on Triday, Nov. 14. As usual, the exhibition of roots was very superior, RoBKRT Kersey, Esq., the President, took the chair. He said that whatever might be their posi- tion as agriculturists, he hoped they would never be brought to so low an ebb as to be unable to keep up the club {api)lause.) The following awards of prizes were made : — Best six globe mangel wurzel (S2 lbs.), Mr. H. Partridge, Shelly, 5s. Best six long mangel (66ff lbs.),Mr. Robert Kersey, Hadleigh, 5s. Best six Swede turnips (4G lbs.), Mr. Isaac Everett, Capel, 5s. Best six white turnips (7U- lbs.), Messrs. R. and J. Rand, Hadleigh, 5s. Best six Scotch tur- nips (34J lbs.), Mr. Isaac Everett, 5s. Best six white carrots (20i lbs.), Mr. Thomas Partridge, Aldhani Hall, 5s. Best peck of cattle potatoes (143 lbs, to the peck,) Mr. Postans, of Shelly, 5s. Tlie Chairm.an called on Mr. Matthews (one of the judges) to state what he thought of the roots exhi- bited, Mr. Matthews —Ths mangel wurzels were ex- cellent. The long reds seemed to be rather out of growth, as there were not so many as on former occasions. The short ones (the globes) seemed to obtain the most weight, but the heaviest were not so perfect inside as generally. When they got so large they would attain a roughness, be out of shape, and somewhat hollow. Of those they ex- amined, it v.'as found that the quality of the red globe was rather the best. The Swede turnips were good in quality, and the size very respectable ; but he thought he had seen some quite as large on former occasions. Amongst the white turnips the largest had stood rather too long, were somewhat over-dated, and very pokey inside : but the prize ones, though of very large weight, held their quality and were very prime. The prize Scotch turnips were excellent, but the selection happened to fall upon one not so good as it should have been; still the weight of the remainder was sufficient to carry off the prizes, the five being equal in weight to the six next in merit. The judges saw some tur- nips which they were told were to be the regular old-fashioned Scotch, and they expected when cut- ting them that they would have answered to the knife : but they seemed deficient in the quality which in the flat old Scotch they had been accustomed to see. It appeared to him that they could not be of that stock, but were of some hybrid description, or grown under disadvantageous circumstances. The carrots generally were very good; the prize ones at- tained great weight and were of superior quality, and those which were not so heavy were of good sha])e. Of jjotatoes only two samples were shewn, one being rather inferior, the other pretty decent, but not so large as had been shewn before. There were several descriptions of late turnips, grown after something else, which were very respectable, but they were not considered good enough to have an extra prize awarded to them. He did not think the shov/ altogether equal to some they had had, but the season had not been favourable for the root crops. He could not say anything as to the cul- tivation, not having had the opportunity of seeing how the crops v/ere managed, which was a matter of importance ; for, in a general way, those roots that were exhibited did not proceed from the best farming— very frequently a thin crop v/ould bring the largest plants ; whereas, when the decision was upon the average, good farming would be every- thing. The Chairman called on Mr, Everett, as having obtained two prizes, to give the club a statement as to his method of cultivation, particularly as to swedes, which he himself had certainly anticipated surpassing that gentleman in. The specimens he had shewn were admirable, Ivir, Everett did not know that there was any secret to reveal. What he was most pleased v/itli were his Scotch turnips, which he fancied he had raised to greater perfection than any thing else. Both of his lots were grown after oats and tares— he had entered them for an extra prize, but had con- sented to withdraw that entry. Thsy were both off the same piece, and the tares and oats had been a very heavy crop ; they were mown off, and he then ])ut on a coat of muck, and the turnip seed was drilled in. He drilled a quantity first, and then sowed broadcast, and this was a plan which he should recommend for adoption, not because of his being a eeed grower— (a kugh)— but because the THE FARMER'S iMAGAZINE. 10- system was, in his opinion, the proper one. They could not sow too close. Sometimes the flies re- quired a good many of the plants, and he thought hy pursuing this system, he managed to supply the flies and himself too ; and after all, it did not cost much, as the seed v/as cheap enough. He found there had been sufficient moisture to bring up the drilled turnips ; the sown ones did not come up till after rain, but he got sufficient for a very good plant. He hoed his Scotch turnips freely; then he singled them out as well as he could, in the first instance giving them a good start. He found if he had not done so that he would not have had the op- portunit)', the weather not permitting. He would observe that though they put manure to their crops, they could not put in moisture, unless they used a liquid manure drill, which they were not prepared with at the present time ; and if they had that, they could not put in sufficient moisture. He really thought if they would have a hquid manure drill in that neighbourhood— and if they were not strong enough to keep a drill singly they m.ight do so amongst them — that it would answer the purpose of the neighbourhood, if not of a single individual. (Hear, hear.) His system of cultivating swedes had been that which was common, except that he had ploughed his land as little as possible, but he cleaned it as much as he could, taking care that the last two ploughings were very near each other. He set his plants out at proper distances, calculating that there should be so m.any roots per rod. He fixed in his ovvn mind how many roots there should be per rod to make a good produce, and after they were dropped in v/ith the hoe in the first instance, they were singled out by hand. He would state that in the course of his life he had been at many shows, and he had never seen roots equal to those exhibited at the Hadleigh Farmers' Club; he had gone over districts where tlie land was richer, and the farmers had, he was going to say, more pride, and where they fancied they knew more than all the world besides ; but still they had not been able to jiroduce roots such as had that day been exhibited. It was a remarkable thing that at the Hadleigh Farmers' Club, though they had not the right description of land for the purpose, yet from some stimulus that was given, or from something else, they were able to exhibit roots of larger size and of better quality than those sliewn elsewhere. He might challenge any neighbourhood to say that there had been such v/eight of roots produced as at Hadleigh. Perhaps some of this success might be owing to the stimulus given to the members by the excellent chairman they had had for the last twelve years — (cheers) — who had a happy facility in bringing out the opinions not only of the successful, but ;dso of the unsuccessful candidates (cheers.) Mr. Matthews asked to what depth Mr. Everett horse-hoed ? Mr. Everett replied that he hked to horse-hoe as deep as he could, the second time especially. The first time depended very much on the age of the plants; they must take notice of that, for the deeper they went the further they must go from, them. He did not know they v/ould do any harm by going any depth they could, and he thought the more they pulverised the land the better. If a little fibre struck out where the hoe went, it made the roots shoot more, and the faster the plant grev/. He would here remark that it did not matter where they put the manure, as if they had a turnip on the stetch it would find the manure wherever it was. Mr. Matthews asked in what manner Mr. Everett kept his land clean ? Mr. Everett employed the horse-hoe, or rather the scarifier, in the first instance, to bring the land into nice order; and having got it into that condi- tion, by good cultivation on the four-course or other system he kept it so. In his Swede turnip field he broke his wheat stubble up in the autumn, and it had but two ploughings in the spring. He cleansed his land in the autumn, and it had a good scarifying and cleansing about. Mr. Matthews enquired if the drilling of a double quantity of seed between the rows intended to be left was not a better plan than broadcasting ? Mr. Everett thought this a very good question to ask, and he liked the idea ; but he thought his own system pretty near the mark, inasmuch as if he thought he had not drilled enough for the flies to eat oif the drilled turnips he would have drilled more, but there were only sufficient for them to eat. There v/as his advantage in sowing after drilling ; in drilUng the flies were able to master the drilled turnips, the broad-cast coming up a little after, the flies were not able to master them ; and he found they came just in the place where he wanted them. The Chairman said he had not had any Sv.'ede turnips at Hadleigh to shew in competition with Mr. Everett or any other member, and he had had recourse to a fisld at Ipswich — perhaps too poor a field and too poor a soil, for it lay next Rushmere heath. He thought one of the great reasons why they did not produce better roots was in conse- quence of the bad quality of seed. If they could by any means encourage any members of their club to take particular pains in tlie growth of a certain quality of seed it would answer the purpose of the farmers of the district, even if they paid double the price for the seed. He himself attributed the want of good quality to the seed, and had lost several acres of Swede turnips this year thereby. The turnips he had thi-? year exhibited he had felt ratlier I3fi THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. an interest in. He sent a young friend over to Rose Ilillfarin yesterday for a dozen turnips — they were grown upon a very inferior quality of land, such as he did not believe was worth at this time 10s. an acre. The seed was drilled with mangel wurzle, but the fly came and took oti' nearly every mangel. The Swede turnips were drilled the last week in April or the first week in May, and there certainly was as fine a crop as in any other part of this district perhaps. He was led to believe that if the farmers were to plant their Swede turnip seed at the same time, or very shortly after, and with the same preparation as they prepared the soil for the growth of mangel wnrzel, they would be able to grow and exhibit swedes much larger than at the present time ; he thought the swedes he had exhi- bited that day grown on a poor soil were a proof of this. Mr. Matthews enquired how Mr. Kersey ma- nured for those swedes ? The Chairman— without any guano, but with about '20 common loads per acre. He fancied the farmers were too late, on a certain description of land, in sowing. Mr. Rand — Is the land heavy or light ? The Chairman — Quite light; they could not have an idea of what a poverty-stricken sort of land it was. On a soil of that kind, or almost any soil where he wished to produce a heavy crop of swedes, he would pursue the same system as for a crop of beet root. Mr. Warren thought that Mr. Everett's tur- nips would make two stones of beef, where Mr. Kersey's would make but one stone and a half; he thought that Mr. Kersey's lost in quality by being sown too early. Mr. Kersey thought the quahty of the land ought to be taken into consideration. Mr. Everett thought this rather an important subject. If they ought to plant early on any soil, it should be on that soil which had a very cold bottom, for this reason — that it took longer to pro- duce a plant fit for the hoe on a cold heavy soil ; therefore it ought to be in so much the sooner. But if they advocated early sowing without respect to the soil, they committed the same fault as Mr. Mechi had done in recommending them to plant very thinly, irrespective of time. If they put in their turnips very early on light land, at the same time as mangel, they must then expect, if they did not con- sume them before Christmas, that they would be worth very little. They would get their growth up, and they would be ripe after a certain time, and, like pears, would not keep. No turnip would keep so well if it had its growth up as if it had not ; decay was much quicker in the fully ripe than in the partially ripe. The Chairman thought that quality depended much on the soil. If they could, by early i)lanting, grow, as he had grown, anything like 20 or 25 tons per acre, when by late jdanting only 15 tons would have been grown, that was a good argument in favour of early planting. His opinion was that at the exhibitions of that club they had all produced a greater weight of roots by early than by late sowing. He thought the earlier they planted — he was not speaking of white turnips especially, but of swedes and mangels— the more they would draw oft" for the stock in their yards. The Chairman called on Mr. Partridge, a suc- cessful competitor for carrots, to explain his system of cultivation. Mr. Partridge said he was fortunate in having a nice piece of land favourable for carrots. It was formerly an old pasture which he broke up last year. He had intended to take the flag oft", and did begin it, ploughing it and taking it off" three inches deep ; but he found there would be too much labour be- longing to it, and he left off, and was glad he had done so. Where he took the flag off, there was not above half the weight of carrots as on the parts he left. That flag was a great deal of trouble to him — he ploughed it in the autumn and turned it in; in the spring he began to sow it ; but he did not think he should have been able to get his carrots in. He harrowed it, ploughed it, chopped it, and double ploughed it ; he got a strong iron plough, and he took the breast ofl", and followed the other plough with it, and he ploughed the entire depth. Certain- ly he got a great weight of carrots ; but, no doubt, old pasture land was better able to grow carrots than any other sort of land. He thought he had produced at the rate of IS tons per acre. He sowed the seed broad-cast. He did not scarify after the last ploughing — he merely harrowed. The Chairman called on Mr. Postans to explain his system of cultivating potatoes. Mr. Postans said it was hardly worth while to say anything on this subject, for potato cultivation was so common that all knew how to grow them. He planted 2 or 3 inches apart on the ridge, and manured with about 15 loads per acre of farm-yard manure. Mr. Strutt had challenged the members of the club in respect of potatoes, having felt rather lonely, there being no one to compete with him ; and he was kind enough to give him some of his seed, which had enabled him to beat that gentle- man. His potatoes were, he believed, about 18 to the peck. Mr. Matthews seemed to think they were not so large as usual, but he did not recollect ever having seen larger ones at their Root Show. They were very sound ; he had cooked two or three of them for the house, but thought they would not do for culinary purposes, having too much water in THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 137 them, (Mr. Strutt said they would do in May, when they were very mealy.) He had some from Mr. Jacob, of Pakenham, superior in size; but he ques- tioned if they came under the denomination of cattle potatoes, but they were superior to the others for cooking purposes. [A discussion here ensued as to what could be called cattle potatoes ; and it was determined that anyj producing a great quantity should come under that term. It was subsequently decided also that the produce of gardens should be admitted into the competition for the half-dozens.] Mr. PosTANS said he did not know that he ought to speak upon any other root, but he had just visited a friend in Essex, Mr. Thompson, whom he saw clamping up an excellent plant of beet root. He asked with what manure that gentleman had culti- vated the field, and he replied that there was not a bit of muck on it. He was perfectly astonished, and asked what was the previous crop ? It was a crop of wheat. Mr, T. had ploughed the land several times, and got it into good condition, but had not put any kind of manure upon it till the mangel was all up, and the reason he gave was that the weather was too dry ; but after the plants were up, he gave them a pinch of guano each (which he should have thought would have killed them), and they made rapid growth. He mentioned this as a hint to those who might like to try the plan. Mr. Strutt, explaining why he had been beaten by Mr. Postans, said he believed that his jiotatoes required a change of soil, and this accounted for Mr. Postan's success. The Chairman was glad to see Mr. Philbrick, of Colchester, present. He was an amateur farmer. He (Mr. K) and his brother had had the pleasure of looking over this gentleman's farm, and it did him an infinite deal of credit. He had roots of a quahty and size that would be an ornament to any farm, and he had asked him to exhibit ; still he congratu- lated himself on beating him. He liked to see Mr. Philbrick entering into the lists, but he trusted the members of the Hadleigh Farmers' Club would not allow any agriculturist from Essex, or sohcitor from Colchester, to carry away the prizes. Mr. Philbrick said, howevermuch Mr. Kersey might felicitate himself on having beaten the Col- chester lawyer and amateur agriculturistfrom Essex, he (Mr. Philbrick) hoped he might have the good fortune still to be a member of the Hadleigh Farmers' Club, and to be enabled to compete again, and endea- vour to beat him on the next occasion. From his experience he should say that the early sowing of swedes was not attended with danger, but was better than sowing late, though that was contrary to the usual opinion. Mr. Everett proposed the cordial thanks of the meeting to Mr. Kersey, and that he be requested to continue to act as their Chairman. Mr. Philbrick seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. The Vice-President, Secretarj', Treasurer, and Committee were next re-elected ; after which a social evening was spent. THE HESSIAN FLY. We cannot, on the commencement of a new year, avoid the conclusion, that while man often arranges and contrives. Divine Providence, above all, defeats and disposes of events. While man is debating and contesting whether wheat shall be 32s. or 40s. per quarter, an unseen hand is ordering and directing all to a tendency which may result in a price double that amount. We are not now speculating on any European war, or any French invasion of England ; ominous as are the aspects of Europe, and possible as a blockade and preven- tion of foreign supplies may be at some not very remote period, this does not at present occupy our attention. But while we are looking for unlimited supplies of wheat from the virgin soil of the valleys of the Ohio and the Mississippi, we must bear in mind that a Power far above our limited comprehensions has said, in reference to more things than the ocean, " Hitherto shall thou come, and no further." The vast extension of the wheat crop brings with it a counteracting check, to remind man that the limits of his powers are under the control of the Almighty's will, and hence consternation is shewn in America by the vast ravages of the Hessian fly, or rather of its larvae (the cecidomya destructor), called so by the Americans from the supposition that it was introduced into that continent by some straw brought with the Hessian troops during the American war. Now, though its importation is a question of debate amongst naturalists, still it is certain its ravages began about that period, and in Austria it was hardly observed till 1833, when some edicts were passed concerning it by the Arch- duke Charles. The Hessian fly, of which the accompanying wood-cut will give some idea, as well as of the mode in which it attacks the wheat-plant, is not 138 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. AC A. A stalk of wheat infested v.'itli tl'.e Iar?a3 of tlia Hessian fly. 6 6 6. A a. The same magnified. E. The larva; maguifieJ. C. The male lletsian fly. D. The female. unlike our midge, or a small gnat. It deposits its eggs between the stalk and the leaves of the wheat j maggots immediately follow, and these consume the juices of the stalk, so that a field of apparently sound and healthy wheat will at harvest time be found scarcely Vv'orth rea;)ing. The British Ameri- can Cultivator, a respectable periodical paper, pub- lished at Toronto, gave the following ])ainful ad- vice respecting this pest: "Judging from the history and habits of the Hessian and wheat-fly in other countries, and especially in the eastern part of our own, the inference may be fairly drawn that the loss that may be sustained as to the wheat crop may be so considerable that all intelligent and ob- serving cultivators will find it to be to their interest to disconfiniie sowinr/ wheat for afctv se«S0HS until the fly has passed away." The same authority goes on to say that, for " ten consecutive harvests, the farmers in Eastern Canada lost their entire wheat croji, and the same catastrophe took place in the eastern i)ortions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania." The American Cultivator for October, 1851, speaks of another serious ])est which seems to have attacked the wheat, and which is distinct from the Hessian fly, though of the same family (the titmice), and v/hich, in its larvas state, is called in Aiiierica the joint worm, because it attacks the joints of the growing grain at various periods of its growth, a swelling and excrescence appear, and so the juices of the grain are exhausted, and it withers and dies. At some earlier period, however, it attacks the plant nearer the ground, and a s\velling and knot are instantly formed, and the head of the corn falls down at various angles. " In every case, " says the authority above quoted, " it operates by a species of strangulation of the plant, and finally starves it out, so that the juices no longer circulate, and the feeble heads dry up and perish. In this way, a wheat field that is thus preyed upon, ])resents the apjjearance of a stvuited, pale, decaying sedge, with here and there a few straggling heads of wheat that, in case of their es- cape from the rust, would not reward the husband- man for the laboiu* of gathering them." Nay, further, speaking more generally of the American crops, a writer in this periodical — Mr. Alexander Rives — says, " It is difficult to convey to you a faithful picture of the complete destruction of the wheat crop, in many instances, by this insect. It is vain to think of reaping at all in many fields. The farmer is esteemed fortunate, where this insect has been three years, if he makes his seed and bread" (p. 321). The editor of the C?«7/i?ja/or forwarded specimens to the celebrated naturalist, Dr. I'itch; and he gave it as his opinion, from the differences of habit which it manifests from the larvas of the Hessian fly, that it is not identical with it, but another sjjecieg, perhaps, of the tipula:. Now, though v/e have no absolute fear of a total destruction of any vegetable, yet the great losses v.e have so many years sufTercd from the potato show that it may be very considerably reduced in its quantity, and that those who depend u])on it may suffer great privation and loss, and even the death of m.any may be the unhappy result. We should not be surprised if the prices of corn may be such as to defeat the objects, and falsify the opinions, of all classes of political economists. — — fiardenors'and Fjirmcrs' Journal. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 189 LECTURE ON AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY OF MANURES. AND THE NATURE BY J. C. NESBIT, F.G.S., F.C.S.; Corresponding Membeh of the National and Central Society of Agriculture of France, AND Principal of the Agricultural and Scientific Academy, Kennington, London. A lecture was delivered on Saturday, the 27th Jan., by Mr. J. C. Nesbit, ia the Town Hall, Dorchester. It originated in an invitation given to the lecturer v.'hile on a visit to Mr. Saunders and Mr. Homer (farmers of considerable eminence in the locality) ; and although the attendance was perhaps diminished by the circumstance of the lecture happening only two days after Christmas, it v:as still so large that the Town Hall (a handsome and spacious room) was completely crowded. The following gentlemen were some of those present : John Fioyer, Esq., M.P. (one of the members for the county) ; W. Ilenning, Esq. ; W. Manfield, Esq. ; W. Dunning, Esq. ; Messrs. Saunders, J. Homer, Hawkins, Bridge, V/atts, Birt, T. Dowden, J, Kent, S. T. Harding, Cull, Cowpcr, Cains, Atkinson, S. T. Kel- loway, Mayo, Wood, Luckham, Tizzard, &c., &c. At four o'clock Mr. Floyer, addressing the assembly, said he had no doubt they would hear a very interesting lucture from the gentleman who had kindly undertaken to address them, and that in the result it would be very useful to all of thera. As, however, it was necessary that they should have a chairman, he begged to propose for that office a gentleman who, to some extent, had himself combined science with practice, and who was on that account fitted to fill the office on such an occasion. He moved that Mr. James Harding should take the chair (cheers). Mr. T. Saunders, of Watercome, seconded the motion, which was adopted unanimously. Mr. Harding then took the chair. The Chairman said : As they had paid him the com- pliment of placing him in the chair, he would, before he introduced Mr. Nesbit, mention that if, after the lecture any gentleman wished to question Mr. Nesbit on any point which had occurred to him, Mr. Nesbit would be happy to reply, whether the question related to the nature of manures or to any other matter connected with the subject of the lecture. He begged now to introduce Mr. Nesbit to the mectiug. Mr. J. C. Nesbit then came forward and said : Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, when I consider the counter attractions of Christmns, I really feel highly honoured by having before mc so large an assembly ; and it shall be my endeavour to add as much as possible to your stock of information on agricultural subjects. I do not come before you to oppose science to practice ; to set up the dogmas of the chemist in lieu of the practice of the farmer. I shall simply attempt, to the best of my ability, to graft upon the practice which I know the men of Dorsetshire possess, a little of the science of the labora- tory, and perhaps we shall find that practice with science will do better than either of them separately. At the close of the lecture I skall be exceedingly happy to answer any questions or remarks which may fall from any gentleman present in relation to this subject. I dare say many things will drop from my lips which will nppear at variance with the practice and the observation of many of my audience ; but, gentlemen, a time of settlement will come for all such variations in opinion. At the end of the lecture I shall be ready to meet any attacks which may be made on my remarks, with the view of proving that I am wrong, or to give any information which I m.ay not have furnished in the lecture itself. I will now proceed at once to consider the general habits and properties of plants. You know, gentlemen, that plants send their roots downwards and their leaves upwards. Both roots and leaves have certain functions to perform. The roots penetrate the ground in search of moisture, and of mineral ingredients dissolved by the moisture and essential to the plant ; and the materials which they collect there are taken up by the sap of the plants and passed into the leaves. By means of experi- ments made by various chemists it has been clearly as- certained that when the light of the sun, or the diffused light of day, sLines on the leaves of plants, those plants then acquire the power of acting on various gases con- tained in the air, of absorbing them, and of converting them into materials adapted to the growth of plants. Now, without the mineral ingredients of the soil ycu cannot get plants to obtain organic materials from the air. These terms, " mineral" and " oiganic," T will explain. If any plant be burnt, the ashes repre- sent the mineral matter taken from the soil ; the part burnt off is the organic matter taken from the air. Now, if we consider the nature of plants, in their wild state especially, we shall find that if they be supplied with an adequate quaniity of mineral mattei', according to their varieties, and according to their circumstances, they will obtain all the rest from the air without any as- sistance. Let me instance a few cases. Take the case of the lavas of Etna, Vesuvius, or any other volcanic moun- tain. It is well-known that when tha red hot laras, ejected by varicus eruptions, have to a certain extent cooled down, that the wild fig-tree and other plants take 140 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. root and penetrate the Assures of the lava, obtain thence mineral matter, and as the lava contains no vegetable or organic matter, evidently must obtain from the air the other material of their growth. Let us take the case, again, of some of the wild lands in Scotland. A few years ago certain parts of Scotland were planted, by enterprising individuals, with forests of larch and fir ; and, although previously little or no organic matter was found in the soil, yet the consequence has been , that since that period thou- sands of tons of timber have been removed, and the soil is still richer in vegetable matter than it was before the trees were planted. From these facts, then, and from a thousand others that might be adduced, it is perfectly clear that vegetables have the power of acting on the air, and of taking therefrom the great bulk of the materials which they require. Now this natural growth of plants is goinp: on continually on the varied surface of the soil ; Nature clothing the land with plants adapted to the different soils. You have the same kind of process going forward in Dorsetshire. You have the heath on the sand ; you have the oak on the clay ; and, according to the nature of the soil, whether it be chalk, limestone, or sand, or anything else, according to the nature and texture of the soil, will the land be found adapted to sustain particular kinds of plants. But now our friends the fiiriners come upon the scene : they have to alter this state of things. You, gentlemen, do not want merely the grasses which would natu- rally cover the surface of the soil; you wish to change them for others, and therefore you employ certain methods adapted to the growth of the vege- tables you wish to produce. It is too often supposed that farming is a natural course of operations. Farm- ing is, in truth, almost wholly artificial ; as much so, I may say, as any pursuit of our manufacturers. You, gentlemen, are called in, not to work against nature, but to assist her — to make use of certain methods which are the best adapted to your own purposes, and to study carefully the nature and habits of the several tribes of plants which you have to grow : you have, in short, to provide everything that is required for the successful growth of those plants, which would not naturally grow upon your land. It is unnecessary for me to reiterate that the plants which you are occupied in cultivating would not grow naturally on the lands on which you grow them. Gentlemen, if you were to try to grow wheat on your lands without any pre- paration, and to do so consecutively, crop after crop without cessation, you would very soon find a limit to your growth : probably from one to two quarters of wheat per acre may be taken as the limit of the quan- tity of wheat which could be produced under sucli a state of things. Then what are the means which you use for the purpose of assisting the growth of wheat or of any other plant on your lands ? These means, gentlemen, are various ; they seem, at least, very various ; and I have no doubt they are so considered by many practical farmers who, not having compared the different systems, have failed to detect the con- necting link between them. I think I shall be able, however, to show you that whatever means you may make use of for the purpose of assisting or increasing the fertility of your soils, there is one principle run- ning tlirough the whole. Let us take the case of the ploughing and stirring of land. You are no doubt all aware that porous materials have the power of ab- sorbing gases and other substances from the air. You are aware, for example, that charcoal recently made, when exposed to air, sometimes absoibs so much as to become red hot and ignite. You are aware, too, that dung-heaps if exposed to the air, have a similar ten- dency to acquire heat under the action of the atmo- sphere. I have known instances in which dung-heaps have been set on fire by this cause. Soils are similarly porous as charcoal, and operations which increase tlie surface exposed, increase the absorptive power. Such is tlic effect produced by the ploughing and stirring of the land. Every ploughing, every moving of tlie soil causes a greater surface to be acted upon by the air, eliminates a large amount of mineral ingredients from tlie soil, and at the same time causes the soil to absorb a considerable amount of ammonia and other valuable matters from the atmosphere. Now when I say this I do not fiirget the effects of pressure upon land, because I know very well that, after ploughing, pressure, either by means of sheep or otherwise, upon light soils is quite necessary. To goon, however, to speak of the effects of exposure — this exposure* whether by turning or by ploughing, causes the soil to act upon the air, and to absorb a quantity of ammo- niacal and other substances. The air also acts on the mineral ingredients of the soil; makes those soluble which were previously insoluble ; while the soil absorbs an extra quantity of that organic matter from the air which ordinarily plants only obtain by their leaves. The mineral matter and extra organic matter absorbed by the roots pass into the vegetable, and by the ac- tion of light upon the leaves are formed into a nourishing sap of the plant. Fallowing is merely an extension of the ordinary means of plougliing and stirring. In fallowing upon the old system, you had two years' atmospheric action on the soil, while you took only one year's crop. The system of fallowing is neither more nor less than another of those prac- tical plans by whicli you place in the soil an additional quantity of those materials which are essential for an increased growth of vegetables. It is, in fact, a system of manuring from the air. And when the wheat plant follows the fallow, the additional materials accumulated from the air increase the crop perhaps by two or three quarters per acre. Now, gen- tlemen, let us take another of the more important farming operations. Amongst the operations which are essential to good cultivation, I take draining to be one of the principal. On lands not drained naturally, it is absolutely essential that we should resort to artificial draining. I shall not now dilate on this subject : I will not speak to you of the coldness produced by wet: I will not enlarge on that state of things which is produced by the constant eva- poration of water from the surface. But let me just point out to you, that so long as lands are not pro- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 141 perly drained, so long as stagnant water fills up the pores of the soil, it is impossible that lands can be properly acted upon by atmospheric influences ; so that, putting aside all the other bad effects of leaving superfluous water in the land, let us bear in mind that under such circumstances the land can never absorb organic matter from the air, for tlie use of crops. In reference to drahiing I would remark that, wherever it is practicable, it would be well to provide for the circulation of air through the drains ; because in that case the drains are not confined in their operation to the conveying away of the water, but they also convey air to tlie plants for their use and nou- rishment. Now lean trace allyourplansandoperations, gentlemen, for the benefit of the land, to one and the same principle. All your beneficial farming opera- tions tend to accumulate in the soil an excess of those organic elements wliich most plants in a state of nature obtain in more limited quantities from the air. And this increased amount of manure in the soil causes a corresponding increase of the crop above that which naturally would grow upon the land. Let us consider another important operation — the plough- ing in of the green crops. I do not know whether or not that is much practised here. This is a stock- producing district ; and what is suitable in other dis- tricts may here be unsuitable ; but in America, where stock is of little or no value, clover, instead of being eaten off the land, is ploughed in, and they require no other manuring to carry on the growth of wheat, the rotation being clover ploughed in, wheat, and fallow. Now your rotation of crops, gentlemen, is founded on the same principle; so also is your system of ma- nuring. But before I speak of the rotation of crops, let me make a few observations with regard to farm-yard dung. Farm-yard dung is, as we all know, the sine qua non of agriculture. We all know that it is the manure : we have all heard our practical friends declare that all other things put together are not to be compared to farm-yard dung. Now it is not my object this evening to endeavour to lead you away from the use of farm-yard dung, so far as you have found it beneficial, but rather to induce you to graft something upon it ; and to show you, that though farm- yard dung may be a very good thing, it is not the only thing useful to the land. I can show you clearly that fifty other things may be made use of that are equally good, and many of them a great deal better, though I repeat it is not my design to lead you to abandon the use of it, for of course as much manure as possible ought to be made on each farm. But as we know that even when we have produced a large stock of farm-yard dung, that we still require to im- port manure in some shape or other, I shall endeavour to point out the most useful to the farmer. Now what is farm-yard dung? Gentlemen, according to the circumstances in which you may happen to be placed, you make farm-yard dung in various ways out of vegetable matter. Some persons put a quan- tity of straw in a yard ; they turn a number of cattle into the yard, and there supply them with food j the cattle tread the straw about, and the straw after it has become a little decotnposed is called farm-yard dung. Others feed their cattle with oil-cake, and we then have another variety of dung. But, whatever be the process, you will find that the dung is nothing more nor less than materials whicli once grew on the land, once had vegetable life, which materials are put on the ground again to reproduce vegetable life. It is a simple fact, that what once formed part of a vegetable can become part of a vegetable again. If you use straw alone, you will have very few of the materials which are requisite to produce seed ; but if you use seed as well, you will have the materials which are requisite to produce seed and straw. Now is there any real difference between making a mixture from straw and other materials in the farm-yard, and passing materials through the bodies of animals? This is a great question for practical men ; and I wish to be clearly understood on the point. Many persons believe that the animal system of sheep, bullocks, and so on, acts in a particular manner on food, and alters its nature and properties. Now I maintain that nothing of the kind really takes place. Observe the action of air upon coal in a grate. Coals, as you are well aware, are merely remains of an ancient vegetable world. All our great coal-fields were once primjeval forests, whicli have assnmed their present appearance owing to great pressure, and to various chemical changes ; and even now the microscope enables us to detect in coal the forms or outline of the woody fibres of the trees. As these ancient vegetables are con- sumed by the air in the grate, so a similar but slower effect is produced in the case of the decomposition of ordinary vegetable manure. The air acting on the dung-heap slowly burns away the charcoal, or carbon evolving carbonic acid gas, and producing heat; the hydrogen also is consumed, producing water and liberating heat ; and the mineral matter originally contained in the vegetable substance, together with some of the organic elements, is left behind in the form of ash. When a farmer places a quantity of straw, or other vegetable matter, in heaps, the air does not act upon the whole mass, it is true, as powerfully as it would if it were set on fire ; but still it does act upon it. Every pound of charcoal you consume in the form of coal produces a certain amount of heat, whether the fire burn quickly or slowly. So, also, in the case of your heaps of dung, a certain amount of heat is produced by the slow action of the air upon the char- coal therein contained. It follows that the more you decompose manure, the more you lose. If 100 tons of fresh dung be ploughed directly into the soil, or applied at once upon clover or seeds, it will produce more effect than 100 loads reduced by decomposition to 50 loads, and then put into the land. But it is quite possible that for many crops one ton of the latter may be much more efficient than one ton of the former. Whether or not you should allow dung to decompose, or to what extent you should allow it to do so, depends upon whether the land is strong or light ; I mention the fact, however, that the more 112 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. duii;^ is docoinposfil, tlic gieutor will bo the loss. Now let U9 take tlic lU'ticui of tlic animal sy&tcrri upon a quiintity of food. I showed you just now that tlie whole action of the open air upon vegetable matter Avas to effect a slow combuslion of a portion of it. Now does the animal system do anything else? Let me take a full-grown well-proportioned man — I might take a Dorsetshire (aimer as an cxanii)lc— who eats from eight hundred to a tliousand pounds of food every year, and who is just as heavy at the end of the year as he was at the beginning. The fact i:>, that a great proportion of the food taken is burnt in the system by the air taken in by the lungs; animal heat is thus produced, and the air expired by the lungs contains the products of tlic combustion of the food, as the air in the chimney contains the products of the combustion of the coal in the grate. When I analyze the gaseous matters given off from burning vegetable mutter, and the air given out from our lungs, I find them the same. I find carbonic acid — the gas pro- duced by burning charcoal — always present. This gas is that bo often I'ound in brewers' vats, and at the bottom of wells j and it is also identical with that choke-damp which proves so fatal to miners. There is also given out from our lungs a large quantity of moisture produced by the combustion of the hydrogen of our food ; and this burning of the hydrogen likewise evolves a certain amount of heat. In health our bodies are at all times at a higher temperature than the surrounding atmosphere, and we take food into oar systems for the purpose of producing and sustaining animal heat. We are, in fact, like so many steam- engines — we are obliged to have our air, and our fuel or food, to maintain our operations ; and that which is unconsumed is cast out, as so many ashes from the fire-grate. Well, then, you perceive that the passing of food through an animal causes it to decompose, and as in the case of the dung-heap, the efi'eet is a loss, I have hitherto spoken only of a full-grown man or animal ; but it is evident that in the case of young stock, and of animals giving milk to their offspring, the loss must be still greater. If I give a full-grown bullock a certain quantity of food, he v/ill fake, per- haps, a trifling amount for his own subsistence, and having done so will pass the rest out of his system. Ou the other hand, a young animal requires a constant supply of bone-earth or phosphate of lime to assist its growth, and a quantity of nitrogenous matter for its flesh. Take the case of a cow. If a cow is giving milk, the dung (from the same amount of food) will be much worse than that of a fattening bullock ; the bone-earth and the nitrogenous matter passing away in the form of milk. You see therefore, gentlemen, that dung will differ, not only according to the kind of food which is given to animals, but also according to the difference in the animals themselves, whether they are nearly fatted or only half fatted ; whether they are young feeding stock, or whether they are giving milk. If, therefore, vegetable matter passed through animals suffers a loss, and if — as is the fact — the ultimate decomposition of vegetable and animal matter in the soil, tlie duhg-licap, and the animal system is the same, the fieccs or dung of animals will always contain less of the principles of manure than tlic food did upon whidi the animals were fed. This is a proposition which I put before you, and I will endeavour to make it as simple as possible. Tvvonly tons of turnips on an acre of land, fed off by sheep, with the addition of no other food whatever, would give fur less manure to the land than twenty tons of turnips chopped up and ploughed into the land, and then properly decomposed. Now, gentlemen, I admit that the mechanical action of the treading of sheep is often of essential use, and in the case of very light land may produce a better crop than any other me- thod of i)rocecding. But I will put the case of land which especially requires such treading out of the question, and I repeat that twenty tons of turnips on an acre of land fed off by sheep will prove less bene- ficial tlian the same quantity ploughed in the land. Well, now for the practical proof of my argument. I have had this matter tested, not merely in one county, but in several ; and in every case where there Iiqs been the ploughing-in of a certain quantity of turnips, as against the feeding- off of the same quantity by sheep, the result has been, on the succeeding crops, in favour of ploughing-in. Bear in mind I am proving a prin- ciple. I do not rocommend you practically to carry it into effect; for, in my opinion, at present the feeding of stock, particularly of sheep, is the sheet-anchor of agriculture; but I want to impress this thoroughly upon your minds, that the sheep add nothing to the turnips, but the turnips give everything to the sheep. It has been tried in Kent, in Suffolk, in Northamp- tonshire, and in every case with the same result. The following letters from different gentlemen will pcrhajjs be interesting :— Letter I. My dear Sir, — In renly to your letter, I am instructed to say that the members of the Farmers' Moon Club, iu the neighbourhood of Kochcster. Kent, unanimously agree that vegetable manures are pecuharly fructifyiug, atid that, takiug trie case of a fallow or other field, being all previously of the same tilth, and sown with rape for feeding, and divided into three divisions, one of which siiall be fed off with sheep without any extra food to the rape, the second division ploughed in, aurl the third division fed off with oilcake or corn ; that the worst corn succeeding the rape will be on the first division, tlie next best on tlie second, and the best on the tliird. Thus all speak in favour of green crop for manure. Yours truly, John Oakley, Old Broad-street. Aitfjust 10, 1349. J. C. Nesbit, Esq. Members of the Club : — Jno. Stunt, Giliingham I Juo. Walter, Upchurch Ambrose Spoiig, Friudsbury | W. Walter, Rainham Jno. Baker, Coohng I Cs. Smart, Gravesend J. H. Soloman, Sherne | R. Cobb, Higham W. Eley, Frindsbury 1 Jno. Oakley, Darland W. Lake, Chalk 1 Nasehy, May 15, 1849. My dear Sir, — I'regret I was not at home to answer your inquiry sooner, having been in Yorkshire the last fortnight ; however, I hasten to send you the required information. In the spring of 1816 I hid more turnips than my stock could THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 143 coiisiiuie; I therefore tliougiit iliat it was rcii;oiiab!e that, if the crop was broken to pieces and ploughed in, the grain crop that followed would derive as much benefit as if eaten by sheep. I therefore did so with cue acre ou the first week in February, and With another upon the fourth week in March. Fart of the rest of the field was catcu on the land, and part being uewiy ploughed up land, the whole crop was drawn off. On the land where the turnips (white rounds) were broken and ploughed in on the last week ia February, the produce was 84 busheld per acre of Hopetoun oats. V/here the turnips were broken and ploughed ia on the fourth week in March, the produce was 74^ bushs. per acre. Where eaten on the land by sheep, 70j bushs. per acre. And on t!ie newly-ploughed up land, the whole of the crop drawn off 41 bushels of wheat. I am, yours faithfully, J. C. Nesbit, Esq. Peter Love. Letter III. Assinglon Moors, June 15, 1S49. Bear Sir, — I have just seen Mr. Underwood, who was a neighbour of mine eighteen years ago, but is removed to u dis- tance. He says he has practised ploughing in a fcv acres of turnips almost every year for upwards of twenty years, and considers three sacks of barley per acre quite within bounds, as th'i increase from pl,oughing-in over feeding-off. The clover is rauch better; but he has not observed the wheat sufficiently to say what the difference is. He estimates an average acre of white turnips to be worth SOs. more to chop and plough-iu, any ticie before they begin to ran to seed (say Februarj' out), than to feed eft'. I inspected a field of wheat this week belonging to John Gurdon, Esq., which was white turnips three years back ; a part was ploughed in, and the rest fed off with sheep, and half- a-pound of oilcake per day each given to them. The wheat, where the turnips were ploughed in, is decidedly better than the rest; I think three buahels per acre. i>Ir. Hudson, the steward, told me the barley was quite a foot higher than the rest of the field, and three sacks per acre, if not more, better. The clover was all fed off, and no notice taken ; nor would a-.ything more have been thought about it had not the wheat looked so much better than the rest all the spring. The tur- nips were about three quartera of a plant, but regular ; the sheep went down with the epidemic, and were sold, leaving about two acres of turnips to feesl ; and rather than purchase any more stock they were ploughed iji. As I told you at the club, I am generally a buyer of turnips ; but the obstinacy of my neighbour, Mr. Underwood, who re- fused to take 203. per acre for his to feed off (for the sake of convenience to me} when almost everybody else were giving theirs away, attracted my attention to the after crop ; and I can, in t«o instances, confirm his statements. Notwithstand- ing, if 1 5 cwt. of swedes (I think a ton of Swede turnips will make 141bs. of mutton, from experiments I have tried) or 2 cwt. of white turnips will make 1 lb. of mutton, and we can grow 21 tons of the former and 25 or 2S of the latter, it must be more profitable to feed at 5d, per lb. for the mutton than to plough in to gain 30s. or 403. per acre in the corn crop. I have been unwell, and could not see the parties, or I should have answered your note before. I am, dear sir, very sincerely yours, Mr. J. C. Nesbit . Tiios. Hawkins, Well, nov.', the truth which we may learn from this is one which I find not sufficiently appreciated by practical men, namely, that the real source of manure for your land is the vegetable food which you use to feed stock with, and not the stock itself. Many per- sons think it quite clear, that the more stock they feed upon their land the better the land will be ; but this is by no means proved. Many of you gentlemen keep a large amount of stock ; but this is because you produce vegetables which enable you to do so, and it is the quantity of vegetable matter you grow or im- port upon the farm, and not merely upon the stock itself, that the amount of manure you produce must inevitably depend. Let me now speak ot the rotutiuu of crops. Gcnllemcn, v/orthy jiraclical men cn^iaged in agriculture discovered the system of rotation : it was not discovered by sclenUfic men in thc-if labo- ratories. Farmers tljcmselvcs found that by pe- riodically changing the crop they, secured a better result than was otherwise attainable. Let us take, for example, the four-course shift. You have, we will cay, turnips, barley, clover, and wheat, or other grain. The truth is, gentlemen, that there is an essential difference in the habits of these plants, and in their powers of acting on the soil and on the air. Other things being equal, those plants which have t!ie broad- est development of leaf, the largest foliage, must have the greatest power of acting upon the air. Now what docs the turnip crop do ? Turnips, when provided with proper mineral ingredient.-?, as bone-dust and phosphate of lime, send their leaves into the air; these leaves, being acted upon by the light, absorb a large quantity of carbon and ammonia from the air, and accumulate them in their bulbs ; and the bidbs are adapteil by nature to grow turnip seed in the ensuing spring. But you come in and say, Ko, we elon't want turnip seed, we want barley. You either plough in the turnips, or, by feeding them with sheep, retain suppose one-fiflh for the mutton, while the rest goes into the land. You make a certain portion of mutton out of the roots, and the rest you leave upon the land. The barley is then sown. This barley might, by ordinary action, have produced two quarters per acre ; but by the aid of the turnips you have accumulated in the soil a quantity of materials from the air j these entering into the land pass thence into the crop, and the result of the whole is that, instead of two quarters of barley, you have five, six, or seven. You have allowed the largo leaves of the turnip to act upon the air, and to provide for the barley that which naturally it could not obtain from the same source. Similarly the clover crop is used to obtain organic matter for the wheat. The clover, with smaller-sized leaves than the turnip, possesses a large amount of foliage, and each leaf as it grows upv/urds sends a little radicle or rootlet downwards, so that in exact proportion to the upward growth of the clover is the development of the roots in the soil. These by their decomposition afford such extra nu- triment to the wheat crop which follows as gives an additional product, far above that whicl), unassisted by the farmer's art, it would be possible to obtain. A curious circumstance connected with the growth of clover is, that by cutting the clover twice, and removing all the hay, a much better wheat crop is obtained than by feeding it off wltli sheep, even if some arti- ficial food be used. This is owing to the fact that the growth of the roots of the clover in the land is in exact proportion to the growth of the leaves in the air. Each leaflet that shoots upward sends a radicle or rootlet downwards. If the leaflet be bitten off or destroyed its radicle ceases to grow. It therefore follows that grazing clover by sheep materially diminishes the amount of vegetable matter accumu- 144 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. lated ill the soil by the roots, ami consequently the produce of the succeeding crop. A friend of mine in Northamptonshire had a field of clover ; it was divided into two portions ; both were cut at Midsummer, and one part was then fed off with sheep, the other was left to grow till September, when it was again cut and the hay removed. Equal portions of the separate pieces were then compared. Where the clover had been cut once and fed once he got 35 cwt. of clover roots per acre ; where he cut twice, 75 cwt., there being a difTerence of 2 tons of vegetable matter per acre. I believe such will always be the result, and the only case where the practice is objectionable is on certain light lands, which would be rendered too porous by the long roots of the clover, and where the treading of sheep, though with less manure in the land, would perhaps be more beneficial. Now, gentle- men, having thus shown you that the rotation of crops which you employ, the ploughing-in of green crops, and fallowing have but the one object of accu- mulating in the soil materials for plants, and of ob- taining from the air what will secure a greater amount of produce than could otherwise be expected, I shall now speak of manuring in general. What is it that constitutes the virtue of farm-yard dung? If we analyze a ton of farm-yard dung, we shall find that it contains probably what I will now state. The first thing we shall meet with is 15 cwt. of water, which is of no value whatever. We shall next find, perhaps, 4 cwt. of a woody fibrous matter. There will be some mineral matter containing potash and bone-earth. There will be likewise a variable amount of ammonia. In one ton of manure merely made by cattle in a straw-yard, you would probably not find mo;e than 5Ib. of ammonia. On the other hand, if you fed the animals with oil-cake on the box-system, or in sheds, you might find above 20 lbs. per ton. Every one knows the difierence between the manure of animals fed in the ordinary way, and the manure of animals fed partly on beans, peas, oil-cake, and the seeds of any plants whatsoever. Now let us examine this point. The real object of the life of any plant is to re-produce its kind ; and when a seed has been put into the soil it grows up, and is endowed with vitality, in order that it may produce seed to continue the life of the species. If we examine the composition of seeds we shall find that they contain more phos- phoric acid (the acid of bones), and more nitrogen (the base of ammonia) than any other portion of the plant. Animals find seeds the strongest and best of vegetable food. They there find the bone-earth — the chief thing required for constructing the frame- work of the system — and also nitrogenous compounds, without which that frame-work could never be clothed with muscles, whose main element is nitrogen. You will perceive, therefore, that food will be valuable or otherwise, in proportion to the amount of bone-earth and nitrogen that it contains. You perceive, also, that when you feed your animals on seeds — whether oats, beans, or oil-cake — instead of hay or straw, the dung of those animals increases in value ; and you find, in iact, that the best manure is that which contains the most bone-earth and ammonia. Now, the question arises here, are there any other sources from which these manures can be obtained ? We all know tliat you yourselves cannot produce on your farms as much manure as you require, and that you are obliged to go to extraneous sources for a sup- ply. Now, what are the cheapest and best manures that can bo made use of.^ or, ratlier, what are the sources of supply for those manures which, as practical men, you have found that you require in order to keep your farms in good condition? I shall endeavour to answer these questions — to show you what affords the best means of supplying what is required for the growth of vegetables. We have shown that phosphate of lime and ammonia are chiefly required. We will take the case of bone first. You are aware that animals live for the most part on vegetables, which themselves obtain their bone-earth from the ground. Now, when phos- phate of lime has been thus extracted from the ground for a lengthened period, and no supply has been given back, we all know that in such cases bones act almost like magic when applied to the soil. In the case of Cheshire, for example, after cheese had been exported from the county for a lengthened period, the pastures became so poor that there was really very great diffi- culty in getting the requisite supply of grass for ani- mals; and when bones were tliere applied the produce was at once greatly increased. In returning to land the phosphate of lime, it must be borne in mind that the more finely divided the more soluble it is, and that therefore a less amount may be used. Bones or other phosphates, made into superphosphate of lime by oil of vitriol, act so efficiently because of their solubility. Now let us consider the sources of ammonia, of which the chief is guano. Guano is one of the most valuable manures ever discovered ; and it is a manure derived originally by animals from vegetable matter growing beneath the surface of the ocean. Probably there is a greater quantity of vegetation at the bottom of the ocean as there is on land. Fishes have derived their subsistence from the vegetable matter beneath the sur- face of the ocean ; birds have fed upon these fishes, and afterwards deposited their excrements on many of the small islands which lie along the coast of South America, in latitudes where no rain falls. This manure, there- fore, is simply the excrements of birds who have fed upon fishes, the fishes having fed on vegetable matter ; so that on these islands you have really the quintessence of the ample vegetation of the ocean. Now the ques- tion is, how can these extraneous manures be best made available to the growth of various crops, and to which are they most adapted ? I daresay many of you are aware that a great discussion has taken place between Mr. Lawes and Liebig, as to whether mineral matters should be used for theland,0r ammoniacal and organic matters. On the one hand we have Liebig maintain- ing that mineral matters will prove the best ; on the other hand it is contended that the application of mineral matters will be of little or no use, and ammon- iacal and organic matters are particularly recom- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 145 uicnded. As. in nearly all similar cases, the truth probably lies between the two. Mr. Lawes' experi- ments were made chiefly on clay lands, which contain a large quantity of mineral ingredients, and in such cases no doubt organic manure would be best; but without the mineral matters the application of the organic would not produce their appropriate effect. Let me illustrate this. In Dorsetshire it might seem to be totally unnecessary to apply lime to the soil, most of your lands being chalky ; but, in point of fact, on the upper soil of many chalky downs I belie .'e lime can hardly be discovered. The lime is always liable to wash downwards ; and though it may be found within a few inches of the surface, a top-dressing is often absolutely necessary for good cultivation. I know some hop land in Kent, within a few inches of the Kentish rag limestone, on which I was able to detect only the merest trace of lime. On this point let me saj', that if you put soil into a wine- glass filled with water, and find that the water effer- vesces after the addition of strong vinesrar, you may be sure there is a sufficiency of lime. In most of the western districts lime is the great want of the soil. On IVIr. Knight's property, at Exmoor, you will find that a couple of loads of lime per acre will do more good to commence with than any other application of manure. I could give an entire lecture on the subjectof lime, did time permit, so different are the circumstances con- nected with its application ; but I must content my- self with remarking, that unless there is an adequate quantity of lime in the soil, it is in vain to expect the proper result from the application of any manure. To return to organic manures : let us ask what is the effect of the ammonia applied to plants, either as sul- phate of ammonia, or in the cheaper form of guano ? Ydu well know, gentlemen, that farm-yard dung, when produced by animals fed on oil-cake, is the best adapted for grasses, and so on ; and it is to the great amount of ammonia in the dung of animals fed upon oil-cake that this effect is produced. Professor KuhN man, professor of chemistry at Lisle, tried a number of experiments on this subject; the result of which is very instructive. Applying equal quantities of am- monia in different forms to pieces of grass land of equal size, he found the produce in each case equal, and much superior to land without the manure. Wlien double the ammonia was put, double the effect was produced ; and, in fact, the amount of grass i^roduced was precisely in proportion to the amount of ammonia or nitrogen used. This he found to be the result in whatever form the ammonia might be put on the land ; whether as sulphate, muriate, or any other form. This is of great importance to you, who keep a great quantity of stock, and to whom increased food is so essential. Mr. Shittler, of Wlmborne, has been trying some ex- periments v.ith guano; and after applying 2cwt. of guano per acre, he has found himself able to maintain u much larger quantity of stock than he ever did before upon the same amount of land. While using guano, or other ammoniacal manures, you must not fail, how- ever, to supply your lands occasionally with mineral matter, in the form of ashes or otherwise : these are exceedingly useful to increase the growth of grass and other green crops. When used for wheat or grain crops you must proceed with caution. It is not merely luxuriant vegetation alone that you want in the case of grain crops, but the increase of the ear ; and in that case, if they are used without caution, there is great danger of the wheat being thrown down before the harvest. When used judiciously, to the extent of from 1 to 2^ cwt. per acre, guano is one of the best manures for wheat, oats, or barley. Let me here remark, gen- tlemen, that it will generally be found that the appli- cation of 4 cwt. of salt per acre with the guano for wheat will enable you to grow more than you otherwise could expect to do. Salt has the effect of increasing the strength of the straw ; and consequently by its aid you can apply ammoniacal manures without incurring the same danger of throw- ing down the straw, which is an essential point. Well, now, with regard to the question. What kind of ammoniacal manures you should use? let me say that it depends entirely upon the price at which they can be obtained in the market. I was at a meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society the other day, when the Duke of Richmond was detailing the endeavours which had been made to secure a reduction in the price of guano, which is now £9 5s. per ton. No one more than myself wishes that reduction to take place ; but it so happens that at this moment all the other sources of ammonia are dearer than guano. How strange it would appear to the Peruvian government to be asked to reduce the price of guano under such circumstances ! Now, gen- tlemen, I am not apt to Introduce into my lectures any allusion to the politics of the continent; but I must here observe that those politics happen to be, in some degree, connected with the price of guano. There is a curious link between the price of guano and the disturbances which took place on the continent in T848. In consequence of those disturbances, large numbers of men were kept under arms, and ammunition was required to be ready for use. In this state of things a large quantity of gunpowder was required. Saltpetre, chemically called nitrate of potash, was therefore in great demand, and its rise in price caused a corres- ponding rise in all the other salts of potash. The alum makers of this country use either sulphate of potash or sulphate of ammonia, according to the price. Now, as the salts of potash are so dear, the alum makers use sulphate of ammonia, which has raised the price of all salts of ammonia, and consequently, at present, guano, an imported substance, is the cheapest agricultural source of ammonia. If by any means salts of potash decrease in price, a corresponding fall in ammonia will take place. You see, therefore, that peace is essential to your own pockets. Now, gentlemen, for a brief application of the remarks which I have made. I would say, generally, that artificial manures will be of use to you by enabling you to grow more food for your stock, and that stock by eating off the food will enable you to grow more corn on yourland. You have seen, gentlemen, L 146 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. that irtllowiiiy is very uscl'u', by enabling you to iiccii- nuihilo from tli'.? air a to perfec- tion, lie thought where the land could be brought into a fit state of drilling, the less they i)loughed the belter. The Chairman said they were all much obliged to Mr Smither for the able manner in wliieh he had brought tlie subject forward. It appeared that the conclusion which had been arrived at was to sow on wheat stubble. He thought there was nothing in the objection that tliey jiloughed too much ; for, in his oiiinion, they ploughed too little. He could speak from personal experience of the utility of the Rcarifier, vrhich acted similarly to Lord Duoie's drag, bringing all the couch grass to the surfaL-e. His own impression was that land intended for turnips could not be fallowed or crossed too early. He objected to moving it in a hot summer, and there- fore he thought the scarifier preferable to the plough. Salt was, no doubt, very beneficial. In addition to th -' turnips mentioned by Mr. Smither, he tho ught they might sow more swedes, as they were not merely required for sheep alone, but were applicable as food for ot'ier animals, and he once kept his horses on them. With regard to the liquid manure drill, he had only once tried it, and that was for turni]is after vetches; tliat was at a time of year v/hen they re- quired uioisture, and he certainly succeeded well, having had an excellent crop. One great evil, in his opinion, \v.;s llint they did not hoe early enough. He certainly at one time was adverse to hoeing turnips in dry weather ; but he had this year kept on hoeing, and had come to the conclusion to hoe earlier, and to begin to do so v>hatever the weather might be- He had never before heard any remarks relative to the direction in which they drilled. In drilling peas it was usual to go from north to south, the ob- ject of so doing being to admit the sun in the ranks. He bad used a clodcrusher, which prevented the land from becoming too scaly on the top, after a thunder storm, which prevented vegetation. He was a great advocate for land, which was to be sown with turnips, to be ploughed early in the autumn. He thought their root-crop land required to be ploughed deep. One remark he had heard which he could fully agree to ; which was, that swedes, if left in the ground in the spring, extract a good deal from the soil, and he therefore did not think it prudent to let them run to greens too much in the spring. Last year he jdoughed them up, and turned them in under a furrow, which kept them moist. When he wanted to feed them, he gave them a line or two with the harrow, which brought them to the surface. The ewes and lambs did well on them, and the sheep did well late in the spring. The use of superphosphate on particular soils in Hampshire must tend to economise the production of turnips ; the only diiliculty v/as in getting it genuine. He liad dissolved half inch bones at home. If they under- stood chemistry and geology, thi-y would be enabled to get better crops, and he hoped that in the next generation a knowledge of these sciences would be encouraged as being most essential to the interests of agriculture. A question had been started that there was a difference in the quality of turni])s gown on poor land and those grown on good land. He himself was not aware of this, but he knew that there was a difference m this respect .as re- garded hay. He was convinced, after discussion at their last meeting, that Hampshire must still be considered as a breeding county. On one part of ihe land they produce good turnips, but not suffi- cient for grazing purposes. When a stranger came into the county he was impressed with the idea that the agriculture of Hampshire was proceed- ing under a profitable system. Taking it as a whole, the county v/as more suitable for breeding than for grazing; and, no doubt, the cultivation of turnips was the foundation of all good husbandry, being the foundation of all cereal cro])s. Mr. Pain's ob- servations on hoeing, he thought deserving of j)ar- ticular attention. The men f.o engaged employing one or two of their children was certainly very be- neficial, as it enabled them to earn something during the suram.er months. The Chairman then put theresolution, which was unanimously agreed to. Mr. W. Pain said the members were greatly in- debted to Mr. Smither for the able manner in which he had laid the subject before them. It was from its nature calculated to excite an interesting discussion, and he hoped that all had been bene- fited by it. No doubt what would suit on one soil would not do on another; still all have learnt some- thing from that night's discussion. He therefore projjosed a vote of thanks to Mr. Smither for the able manner in which he had brought the subject forward. Mr. Ga:irett seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. Mr. Smither said it was much more agreable to receive a vote of thanks than one of censure. He was glad that the subject had given rise to the discussion, because at that time they would have leisure for coucsideration before they prepared for the next season. Mr. W. H.Earl proposed a vote of thanks to the Chairman for his able conduct in the chair on all occasions, and particularly on the present one. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 155 Mr. Thomas Pern seconded the resolution, which was unanimously agreed to. Tlie Chairman said he felt greatly ohhged to the merabers for the kind manner in which they had regarded his feeble efforts. He could only assure them that he felt deeply interested in the welfare of his brother farmers, and was always glad to render them any assistance in his power which might tend to benefit them in the shghtest degree under exis- ting difficulties, to enable them to carry on their operations in a more economical, and he trusted eventually in a more profitable manner. He was fully aware that they, as agriculturists, had a great deal yet to learn ; and by meeting together as they had done in that room, they would be the means of assisting each other in carrying on their occupa- tion ; for scarcely a meeting had been held there from which a farmer might not learn something, and when he got home he had time to reflect upon it, and turn it to his advantage. He hoped the farmers' clubs throughout the kingdom would be productive of advantage not only to them, but be beneficial to the community at large. "A WORD IN SEASON "— W HEAT GROWING, The writer of the pamphlet, "A Word in Season," is one who, in wheat-growing, would give as little as possible to the soil, and take all away. He would give no manure, would give but ten pecks of seed, would rem.ove both corn and straw; and yet would expect the land to grow wheat, if not ad in- fjiitum, at least for an indefinite period. His statements are plausible, and at first sight rational. He cites Jethro Tull, who declared his thirteenth crop of wheat the Ijest of all he had grown, and his twelfth wheat crop in succession the next Ijest, by wide-rov/ drill husbandry, without any manure. The writer pleads for a practice su])erior to TuH's : Tull, he says, never stirred the subsoil, but he has done it, and therefore is in advance of that doubtless great man. Now we will see for a moment the theoretical basis on which his system rests. Liebig long ago asserted that it was the mineral ingredients of the soil which mainly tended to sustain the wheat crop; that the ammonia was supplied by the air in suffi- cient quantity, as well as the carbon ; nay, that all soils, as he subsequently showed, had more am- monia in them tlian any crop could take away. Now, every one knows that a soil will disinte- grate and crumble, and liberate its constituents locked up by severe affinities, by the united action of the air, tlie frost, and the water; and, therefore, if one body of the soil were always subjected to the influence of these, it was like giving a crop an alter- nate fallow; and this, it will be admitted, would secure a crop for some time, both in the way of cleaning, and also for pulverization, and even sus- taining fertility. Perhaps, too, one of the greatest obstacles in the way of those who have attempted to grow wheat year after year is, that the land became unavoidably foul. Careful digging, cleaning, and forking might, and perha[)s would, do much to obviate the diffi- culty. We never saw cleaner or better beans than those of Mr. Wiley, of Bradsby, wlio is not satis- fied with hand and horse hoeing the Vv'ide intervals he allows between the rovvs. Hence there is, no doubt, great merit in wide and well-stirred husban- dry. Now, the anonymous writer begins with land newly taken out of grass, hand manured with the refuse of stock, and the roots of grasses which had perished and decomposed centuries ago. He mixes this, on a strong soil, with the subsoil, by deep trenching the whole, and thus exposing it to the frost, the rains, the air, and the sun. It neces- sarily becomes open and friable, the ochrey matter present in many clay subsoils will wash away, and the soil will doubtless become deeper year after year. He commences, however, a system of depletion of an extraordinary kind — he grows wheat year after year, on wide rows, occupying half the land with corn, and the rest with digged, hoed, and forked soil. On this he piofesses to make a profit, exclusive of rent, of £9 per acre— or, at any rate, of £'8 ; for the accounts vary. That he is deepening the soil must also be ad- mitted. This is an important point. If he sustain tlic stable, as he calls it, it would be very well; l)ut his system of taking off all, both straw and corn, is one which must bring any stable soon to an end. Much ammonia as the soil has in it, and much as Mr. Huxtable may talk of its natural produce, still there is not enough of either ammoniacal, carbon- ized, or mineral elements to bear a system of entire withdrawing, A heap, however large, will get less and less by constantly taking from; and ouranon}'- mous adviser will find, v/hen the freshness of his soil is gone, his system will disappear with it. In his balance-sheet for 1850, he makes out an expenditure of £3 14s. per acre; his four quarters and two bushels of v/heat to be worth £3 10s. ; and his twelve cwt. of straw to be worth £3 4s., showing a profit of £8 per acre. Now, as this theory, if true, were also true seven years ago, had he taken it up with wheat at the price it averaged for a great number of years, about 5Gs. per quarter, allowing the straw to be the same, it would have been thus : Wheat, 34 bushels at 7s £^1118 0 Straw, as above ? 3 4 0 £\b 2 0 Deduct expenses, as above 3 4 0 Would leave a profit of, per acre .^11 18 0 ! The idea — for such it is— is preposterous ! 166 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. It seems to us there are three great elements of error into which he has fallen in his calculations. First, he over-estimates the straw. There is no farm process to which it can be applied to be] worth £2 per ton. It is generally a loss. To convert it into manure is the great object of the farmer, and he too often, recently at least, has done it to his cost, as we have seen by recent examples ; but to reckon on anything like £2 per ton for straw, when manure for wheat is of no value, is quite absurd and irrational. Secondly, he over-estimates his crop. Once he has had thirty-four bushels per acre — he has had it more than once ; but this is not anything extra- ordinary on fresh land, and it is certain it cannot be depended upon with our climate and the con- tingencies of a crop, even if the fertility of the soil be kept up. Nay, more ; the fact is well known that fresh soil will keep much easier free from weeds than any that is old going ; and therefore, while the expenses of production will increase, the produce will fall. The following will be a nearer estimate ; — From 34 bushels of wheat, at 5s., deduct 10 per cent, for probable failures, and Ss. for tail corn not worth .'is £1 10 0 Then deduct expenses as given ..£3 14 0 Rent 2 0 0 Interest of capital 0 14 0 Oversight 0 10 0 G 18 0 £0 12 0 This is without any deduction for deteriorated con- dition of the soil, which must soon require manure ; nor is the rent charged at a sum commensurate with that which ought to be charged for newly taken- out land. Altogether there is no more hope for the farmer in low farming than in high ; that is, to lay a judi- cious expenditure on a farm is far preferable to any excess or any stinginess ; and we cannot help hold- ing up Mr. Mechi on the one hand, and Mr. Stout British Farmer on the other, as beacons to warn the grower against following. We were told Mr. Mechi's predecessor grew 28 bushels of wheat per acre ; he has increased it to 35 by enormous cost. We should hke to know if this be true. — Gardeners' and Farmers' Journal. THE SMITHFIELD CLUB.— THE NEW ARRANGEMENT FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS. The inhabitants of the British islands being es- sentially a meat-consuming people, it is a matter of great importance that an ample supply should be provided ; in effecting which object quality and price must form most important ingredients. The Smithfield Club was, as we have frequently heard a former respected President of the Society(thelate Earl Spencer) express it, established for the purpose of " supplying the markets with the best and cheapest meat ;" and that it has been preeminently suc- cessful in promoting that object, is admitted even by those who from time to time indulge in stric- tures on the " mountains of fat" exhibited on the carcasses of some of the animals. We are not of the number of those who place implicit confidence in the saying, "Let well alone;" because by so doing we might interpose a barrier to improve- ment. But we deem it prudent not to forget an- other old saw, *' Hodge was well, wanted to be better, took physic, and died." We think that when doing " well," clear and sound reasons for believ- ing that we shall do better should be advanced be- fore we expose ourselves to the chances attendant upon a change of system. No men can better ap- preciate the value of this proposition than farmers. The Smithfield Club was once at a very low ebb, but by the energy and devotedness of the late Earl Spencer, and the practical men that he gathered round him, aided by the untiring exertions of the late Hon. Secretary, Mr. Brandreth, it attained a high position, and has continued, under the present ex- cellent official management, to progress up to this time. Those persons who are conversant with the arrangements of the club are aware that the prizes have hitherto been open to animals of every breed ; Shorthorns, Herefords, Devons, Scotch, and all other breeds, competing with each other. At the meeting of the club in December last, how- ever, pursuant to the recommendation of a com- mittee appointed in December, 1850, to consider the subject and report thereon, a radical change has been effected, and in future the animals \v\\\ be classed according to their respective breeds ; by which means all comparison and competition be- tween breeds will be put an end to, the only com- petition being between animals of the same breed. The same sums will be given in prizes to each of the breeds — Shorthorns, Herefords, and Devons ; and however coarse and bad the animals in any one of the breeds may be, however inferior a class of one breed may be to the hke class in another breed — as was seen at the late show — the same stamp of merit will be affixed upon them, the prizes awarded being the test of merit. There are also se- parate classes for " Scotch, Welsh, and Irish," for " other purebreeds," and for " cross or mixed breed s," the prizes for each class being smaller in amount than for each of the three first-named breeds, Now, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 157 so far as we could collect, the principal reasons assigned for the change were, that a feeling of dis- satisfaction existed amongst the exhibitors, arising from the behef that the judges were influenced in their decisions by prejudices in favour of the particular breeds of which they themselves were breeders, and hence that strict justice was not done; and further, that the classification of breeds had been adopted by the Birmingham Society, was approved generally, and that it would have the effect of taking exhibitors away from the Smithfield Club if the same system were not adopted. An instance was cited as having occurred in December last, in which a Devon cow had been sent to Birmingham because she stood no chance of ^vinning at Smithfield. Now there can be no doubt that it is very judicious in the individual, whose object it is to obtain a prize, to exhibit his animal where he is most likely to be successful. But why was want of success antici- pated ? There are three grounds, and three only, which present themselves to our imagination : First, positive inferiority to other animals exposed in competition ; secondly, the incompatibihty of a Devon competing with a Shorthorn, a Hereford, or any other breed ; and thirdly, the apprehension of a prejudiced decision by the judges, adverted to before. Now, in respect to the first ground, we throw it overboard altogether as most impro- bable. As regards the second ground, we ask is it impracticable to determine the relative merits of animals of difterent breeds ? and if so, how comes it that the objection has not been raised long ago ? How is it that the system adopted in the Smithfield Club has worked so well hitherto ? In respect to the third ground, the most important, as being the foundation of the recent change, we say it is not founded in fact. In order to test the merits of this question, we submit to our readers a statement, in a tabular form, of all the prizes awarded by the Smithfield Club during the last twenty years, with the breeds of the animals to which prizes were awarded ; distinguishing each as " oxen," or " cows and heifers," or " cows," as the case may be, and adding the names of the judges in each year. This statement will, we think, afford valuable in- formation to persons who take an interest in this question, so as to enable them to arrive at a sound conclusion upon it. We must confess that we are much surprised at some of the facts elicited by the investigation we have made, and which are set forth in the statement to which we have before re- ferred. We should here observe that the statement is principally made up from the list of prizes, which appeared in the periodicals of the day, and hence may not be perfectly correct ; but we will undertake to say, that the errors, if any, are not such as to materially affect the results. It appears that in the 20 years from 1832 to 1851 inclusive, there have been 308 prizes awarded for cattle. Of these 210 have been awarded to oxen, and 98 to cows, or cows and heifers. That of the 210 awarded to oxen, 109 have been carried off by Herefords, 55 by Shorthorns, and 28 by Devons ; the remainder, 18, by other breeds. Of the 98 prizes awarded to cows, 81 have been taken by Shorthorns, 1 1 by Herefords, and 2 by Devons ; the remainmg 4 by other breeds. Of the 210 prizes awarded to oxen, 103 were first prizes ; and of these the Herefords took 50, the Shorthorns 21, and the Devons 18 ; the remaining 14 were taken by other breeds. Of the 98 prizes given to cows, 48 were first prizes, of which the Shorthorns carried off 42, the Herefords 3, the Devons 1, and the Longhorns 2. Of the gold medals to oxen, the shorthorns took 10, the Herefords 8, and the Devons 2. Of the 6 gold medals to cows, the Shorthorns took 4, and the Herefords 2. From these figures it will be seen that in a period of twenty years the Hereford oxen have beaten the Shorthorns nearly two to one, and the Devons nearly four to one ; yet under the new system both Shorthorns and Devons will have the same encouragement, the same sum of money awarded to them. In cows the Shorthorns have beaten the Here- fords more than seven to one, and the Devons more than forty to one; and yet the Herefords and Devons will now have an equal sum in prizes with the Shorthorns. But then it will be said this in- equality arises from the prejudice of the judges. Let us refer to the names. We are tolerably well acquainted with most of them, and we beheve we may state with confidence that a very small proportion of the judges who have acted during the period referred to are breeders of any description of stock. They are principally graziers or feeders ; and if there be a preponderance of breeders of any particular sort, the Shorthorns have the advantage in that respect, although so vastly behind in the prizes for oxen. Here then we find the Herefords eminently superior in the ox classes to the Shorthorns, whilst the latter are pre-eminent in the cow and heifer classes. Is there any sound practical inference to be deduced from these results ? Under the new system, had it prevailed during the last twenty years, all would have stood ahke. Are we to infer that Herefords are best for ox beef, and Shorthorns for cow and heifer beef? We have no object in referring to this subject but to put those who take an interest in the Smithfield Club in possession of facts which may show how the old system worked, and thereby enable them to form a better opinion of the probable operation of the new system. We entertain a strong opinion that the change which has been effected is subversive of the principle upon which the Club was founded; nevertheless if it shall prove more effective in attaining the object sought, it will have our most cordial support. At present, however, we consider that instead of pro- moting mquiry into the relative merits of animals of all descriptions, \vith a view to encourage those which will " supply the markets with the best and cheapest meat," the new system ^vill encourage all breeds alike, without reference to which may produce the "best" or "cheapest" meat. As regards the Scotch cattle, it is well known that Scots fetch a higher price in Smithfield market than animals of any other breed, and yet they are stamped as of an inferior class, lower prizes being given to them. We much fear that the " pre- judice" charged upon the judges rests elsewhere. — Mark Lane Express. 158 T H K l-'A II M E ll'H M A(j; AZ IN E. Pi o o Q en w Q Q 2 I K . I o O w so . Si 111 ^2 >>rJI >e^^ I I .-^ . I dag 3-^ "^ d coaj a o „ e a a t?"J fe (U -rt T3 ■c ■= -a v2 "^ • 0 0 P.H'^ . Z £ ^WW • 4) UJ aa a a a a •513-3 i- T! a ■n -n ^ ^ J3 0 -O J3 -C -' • a 0 * ^ M ►2 -O m ~ ri- 01 S yj aa g-^^ S £ rS -CS r3 •2<2 J5 ^ ^ <2 «2 <2 • ; • So-JM wK was ^2 TSTS S T3 '3 t: ■n a CO «; 0 1) a -a -a t: -a TS a t4 ^4 ^ : 0 : ffiW wa pa M ? -«9 r^TS ■^ £ a :^^ : 'S. t2 • ^ ; a^ Hfi aw a a "S "B ■«2 <2 :-f : MM J3 ' aa 02 a a TS "O tJ 13 • 0 0 • g K ^ Wm aa aa d c a 0 0 0 -a T3 -a aa aa2 a o i; !^ t: I 52° ■ A £ .5 5.2 PHI-qffi a o so d C »4 li^ ai r/5 g v£ -5 a ^ -c :-zP r; :z; w TS tS >< O U U sw !=iua)_^(u_ga4^4)Oo *04) _2a)_2_24;4loj4) -4)4) g WCi m (/!■v, he before purchased food for cattle, because it was low, and cake, and bones, and, for aught we know, chalk too ! From his allowance as Mr. Mechi the outgoer ought to be deducted the allow- ance to Mr. Mechi as incomer. Some regret that be did not get a Lincolnshire valuer ; for, to the valuation of 30th October, 1850, would doubtless have been added "allowance for tillages," and the valuation 30th October, 1851, would probably have contained the element of "allowance for tillages" also ; to take the one without the other would be extremely unfair, and we fear, if the outlay of 1849-50 were deduced from that of 1850-1, the difference would be very trifling, and therefore the debit of the unfortunate balance-sheet would, we fear, be unaltered. We are unable to divine how Mr. Mechi happens to farm his drained lands, as he says, at " much less cost than the general run of farmers holding unimproved farms." Now, while we neither say that they are farming profitably — that these farmers, to do the same amount of work, may have to employ an extra quantity of labour— yet we can hardly see how the balance sheet makes out the much less cost. For instance, Mr. Mechi has a steam-engine, and still employs, in one sheet five, in another eight horses. Did three die during the year ? for no credit seems to be taken for their sale. This number may be necessar)', where so many roots are carted, and sheep house-fed. But his steam-engine costs — £ s. d. Engine-man's wages 39 8 11 Repairs of engine {now almost new) . . 20 0 0 Coals (query, any charge for carting ?) 55 15 0 Showing an annual charge for working expenses, without any allowance for depreciation, or interest of capital . . 115 3 11 Now this has thrashed 324 quarters of corn— all the produce of the farm, as far as we can see — at a cost of upwards of seven shillings per quarter, if it were used for this alone. But probably it was not. It cut the straw, and ground the corn for the cattle ; as this was really done at a loss, it would seem that the steam-engine at any rate has not done much for its owner. It has not saved the horses— it has thrashed the corn at double the expense of horse labour, and, whatever else it has done, it has done at a loss, or for a loss. If Mr. Mechi's system be right, we agree with him, when he asks the question if farming is as profitable as trades or professions, that " I should say decidedly not." And, so long as he carts off turnips to light land for sheep, so long as he buys expensive food for stock, so long as he farms bad land at a great expense, with low prices, we shall have, we fear, to re-echo his " decidedly not." While the incesant din of Mr. Mechi's losses by high farming is raising a perfect babel of tongues on the losses of the very tip-top farmers— the ex- ample men of their class — the fruit of science and skill, with a £600 annual loss, there are others who are still holding out that low or cheap farming, or the very reverse of Mr. Mechi's school, ought to be adopted to meet the exigencies of the times. One urges that great outlay should be made — great sacrifices for the sake of getting manure, and even £fiOO, after seven years' improvements, is not too much to expend for the purpose of fertilising the land : another does away, Jethro-Tull like, with all manure and its appliances, at one fell swoop, and repeats the adage, " Dig deep, and treasure you will find." And " A Word in Season ; or how the corn-grower may yet grow rich, and his labourer happy," is addressed by an anonymous writer to the stout British farmer. He took a four-acre field ; and we thus dash into his practical facts — for his theory and reasonings we shall refer to hereafter ; and to show the results of his system, and the state of the soil, he says he took the land in hand October, 1850, and it produced 2O2 qrs. of dressed wheat, weighing 61 lbs. per bushel, and 8 tons of straw. The previous treat- ment of the soil had been — the land had been ma- nured at the beginning of a four-course rotation, and this was the last crop. This he ploughs seven inches deep, ivithout manure, and sowed in drills, three rows together, one foot apart ; then an inter- val of three feet, then other rows at a similar width. The intervals are digged between, and forked over tmce, and hoed frequently, he says ad libitum. He then calculates the general expense of the process — One double digging £\ 10 0 Two single forkings 1 0 0 Pressing, sowing, hoeing, carrying, thrashing, rates, and taxes 2 10 2 pecks of seed, at 5s. the bushel 0 2 6 £4 13 6 This is for half an acre or ^9 6s. per acre. The field in question, however — the one on which he gives his balance-sheet — is differently treated. It is ploughed seven inches deep ; he has forty-one bushels per acre ; wheat after wheat, without ma- nure, where the crop was five qrs., showed that his previous tenant ought not to have been discharged. However, he takes it in hand, and the following 166 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. is the balance-sheet. How different to Mr. Mechi's I — Ploujjhiiig, ] 2s., hiilf portion of the acre . . . .^"0 6 6 Harrowing, levelling, and clearing the (oul stubble 0 10 0 Pressing the channels for the seed 0 1 0 Dropping the sped by hand [Why is this done ?] 0 5 0 One peck and a-half of seed, in round numbers 0 2 0 Rolling 0 0 C Hoeing the rows, scarifying the intervals, bird- keeping, and all the operations, down to harvesting and marketing 2 0 0 Rates, taxes, and interest [Query tithe ?] . . 0 10 6 £i 15 0 5 qrs. and 1 bush, of wheat, at 35s ^8 15 0 2 tons of straw, at 40s 4 0 0 Deduct outlay ^12 15 . 3 15 Total amount of profit to the proprietor .. ..£9 0 0 Now, it is impossible not to stop here and in- quire if this leaves a profit of £9 per acre ? and this it appears to be the object of the proprietor to show. What was the rent of the land ? and how much of the forty-one bushels per acre was due to the manure — the capital of his unfortunate tenant left in the land ? and how much to his manage- ment, for it is quite clear that he neither manured, double-digged, forked, nor interfered at all with the subsoil. Mr. Mechi, we fancy, would have voted away all this to be paid to the out-going tenant. But it seems still more clear that whatever merit his Tullian mode of husbandry may have, he has not adopted it, when he takes land from a tenant which he has previously properly cultivated. It will be seen, also, he takes credit for both the straw and corn. Not to say one word of the im- possibility of finding a market for all the straw, especially if manure were of no use, how can it be reconciled with any showing of chemistry whatever, that all may year after year be carried off" the land, and nothing brought back, and still the land be capable of growing wheat for ever ? The only thing he tells us of the soil is, that it is a gravelly loatr. He neither tells us the rent the previous tenanr paid, nor gives us any idea of the depth of its soil Only to plough seven inches deep after wheat is not a very remarkable circumstance, and shows that he had more faith in the unex- hausted manure of his tenant, on the surface, than he had in the fertility of his fee, the soil beneath. But he got a still further insight into the fallacy of his system even than this : on his own land, doc- tored after his own fashion, and which he had had in hand before, his other land, as he calls it, he had averaged about 34 bushels ; so that we fear his tenant's system had been a far preferable one to his own. On the land he so inconsiderately took in hand he had 41 bushels; on his own, an msm«Z pro- duce of about 34 bushels. His balance-sheet, there- fore, shows his own to be a bad system of farming. We have the low farming of this instructor of his race in contrast with the high farming of Mr. Mechi, and neither of them seems to pay. We fear, if the stout British farmer is yet to live by either of these unhappy systems, he will be very awkwardly situated ! CORN AVERAGES. (From the Gazette.) Return, stating what has been, during seven years, ending on the Thursday next before Christmas day, 1851, the average price of an imperial bushel of British wheat, barley, and oats, computed from the weekly averages of corn returns. Published pursuant to an act passed in the 6th and 7th year of the reigu of William IV., entitled " An Act for the Cora- mutation of Titles in England and Wales." Wheat. Barley. Oats. d. 8. d. 6 2| 3 IQi 2 7i The average price of corn per quarter (imperial measure), in England and Wales, for the quarter ending Christmas, 1851. Wheat. Barley. Oats. Rye. Beans. Peas. 36 26 28 8. d. 29 0 Henry Penton Jadis, Controller of Corn Returns. Corn Department, Board of Trade, Jan. 1. TITHE COMMUTATION. Sir, — As your agricultural, as well as clerical, readers may feel anxious to know the result of the Corn Averages for the seven years to Christmas last, published in the London Gazette of this evening, viz. — 8. d. Wheat 6 2| per imperial bushel. Barley 3 lOi do. Oats 2 7i do. I beg to state for their information that each £100 of rent- charge will, for the year 1852, amount to £93 168. ll^d., or very nearly 2f per cent, less than last year. The following statement from my "Annual Tithe Commu- tation Tables" will show the worth of £100 of rent-charge for each year since the passing of the Tithe Commutation ct, viz : — £ s. d. For the year 1837 98 13 9| Do. 1838 97 7 11 Do. 1839 95 7 9 Do. 1840 98 15 9i Do. 1841 102 12 5i Do. 1842 .. . ., .. 105 8 21 Do. 1843 105 12 2i Do. 1844 104 3 5A Do. 1845 103 17 IH Do. 1846 102 17 8i Do. 1847 99 18 lOi Do. 1848 102 1 0 Do. 1849 100 3 7| Do. 1850 98 16 10 Do. 1851 .. 96 11 4f Do. 1852 93 16 Hi 16)— 1,606 5 10| General average for 16 years . . . . £100 7 10 J I am. Sir, your most obedient servant, Charles M. Willich. 25, Suffolk-street, Pall Mall East, Jan. 2. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 167 COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH. EEGINA V. VANN. — LIABILITY OF A FATHER TO BURY HIS CHILD. This was an indictment for a nuisance in not having buried the body of a dead child, but leaving it in a yard, the stench from which was a public nuisance. It appeared that the child of the prisoner died ; that he applied to the parish to bury it, but the guardians said that, under the power of the Poor Law Commissioners, they would lend him 7s. 6d. to bury the child, provided he would sign a document undertaking to repay the amount on demand. The prisoner refused to sign this docu- ment, and the relieving officer refused to advance him the money. The prisoner then removed the body to a yard, and the stench from it amounted to a nuisance. The chairman of the Leicestershire sessions told the jury that as the prisoner had been offered relief he was bound to receive it, and he was net excused from his liability. Upon this the prisoner was found guilty. A case was reserved, whether the prisoner by refusing to render himself under an obligation for a debt had not rendered himself liable to this indictment ? Lord CAMPBELL said — We are clearly of opinion that this conviction is unlawful. There is no doubt that if the man has the means of burying his child he is bound to do so, but he is not liable to be indicted for a nuisaace if he has not the means of burying it. He cannot sell the body or throw it into a river. Unless he had the means of giving the child Christian burial he does not commit a nuisance by the child remaining unburied, although it might be a nuisance to the neighbourhood, for which the parish officer would probably be liable. The defendant was not bound to accept a loan and render himself liable to be proceeded against, and lose his liberty and lose the means of maintaining his family, by in- curring a debt. Conviction quashed. A CUSTOM BINDING THE LANDLORD TO PAY 2-7tHS OF THE EXPENSES INCURRED UPON TILE DRAINING TO THE TENANT ON aUITTlNG THE FARM NOT UNREASONABLE. LuDLAM V. MosELEY — This was an appeal to the Court of Queen's Bench, from a decision of the Judge of the County Court of Derby, and came on last Wednesday. An action had been brought by the outgoing tenant of a faim against his landlord, to recover, among other claims, a claim for " tile and brick draining," executed by the plaintiff ou the defendant's land during the plaintiff's tenancy. The plaintiff was to cul- tivate the land according to the rules of good husbandry and the custom of the country. According to the plaintiff's evidence, the custom of the country was, that the landlord was bound to pay an outgoing tenant 2-7ths of the expense in- curred by the tenant in the drainage. The defendant's evidence went to show that the custom was for the landlord only to pay such proportion of the expense when it was in- curred with his consent. The judge said it was a question for the jury as to what was the custom, and that was to be determined by the credit they gave to the respective witnesses. The jury found for the plaintiff. Mr. Phipson, on the part of the defendant, now contended that the direction of the judge was wrong, for though the jury had found as to the custom in the plaintiff's favour, the custom itself was unreasonable, and the judge ought to have told the jury so. Mr. Tomlinson, who appeared for the plaintiff, was not called npon. The Court thought that where the tenant was to cultivate accord- ing to the rules of good husbandry, it was not unreasonable that he should be entitled to recover 2-7ths of the expense in- cuned in drainage, and dismissed the appeal with costs. EXCHEQUER CHAMBER. REGINA V. CHEAPOR. — ARE TAME PIGEONS CAPABLE OF BEING RE-CLAIMED ? The prisoner had been tried at the sessions held at Not- tingham, on the 7th of July last, for stealing four pigeons, which the indictment alleged to be tame and reclaimed. The pigeons were kept in a dovecote, over some stables. On the outside were holes through which they had ingress and egress; and at the bottom of the floor of the dovecote was a trapdoor, which was kept locked. This door the prisoner opened, and by thai means stole the birds. It was contended at the trial, by the prisoner's counsel, that the pigeons, being enabled to go in and out of the dovecote through the holes made for that pui pose, were not reclaimed birds, and the learned chairman directed the jury that they were not reclaimed, and could not be the subject of larceny; but the jury took a different view of the case from the learned chairman, and found the prisoner guUty. The Court was of opinion that the chairman was wrong in so directiag the jury ; for pigeons must see and enjoy the air, and unless the holes were made in the dovecote they could not get out. Accorduig to the doctrine of the learned chairman geese and ducks, and other barndoor fowls, could not be made the subject of larceny. The jury found that the pigeons were tame and reclaimed, and the Court thought they had come to a right conclusion, and that pigeons were reclaimed although they had the opportunity of going out and enjoying themselves in the open air. Conviction confirmed. COPPER SMELTERS LIABLE FOR DAMAGE TO CROPS BY SMOKE.— A case of considerable importance to copper smelters and farmers in the vicinity of such works was decided in the Llanelly County Court on the 20th iust. Mr. Williams, a small farmer, claimed compensation for damage done to his corn, and for loss in the produce of his cows in the year 1850, by the vapour arising from the operations of Messrs. John Schneider and Co., of the Spitty Copper Works. The plaintiff was a small farmer, residing at Penscallen, in the borough of Loughor, and the defendants were owners of copper works on the other side of the river ; the works had been carried on many years previously by Messrs. Shears, but had been idle sixteen years, when defendants commenced about five years since. In 1850 plaintiff saw the copper smoke over his land, and when his wheat crop of about an acre was coming into ear : in former years he obtained 30 Winchester bushels from it, but in that year only 4^ bushels. The smoke also passed over the grass, the cows dried up in milk, and from being healthy and fat became ill and thiu ; they had been so bad as almost to have ceased giving milk, and the wheat scarcely paid for harvesting. The crop had been valued, and the cows inspected. It was also proved thai defendants had paid other parties compensation, and had .remunerated plaintiff for the damage done in 1851, but declined any attention to the claim of 1850. Mr. Gaskoin, for defendants, claimed a nonsuit on the authority of Penruddock's case, which required notice to defendants of a nuisance before action, and on the ground that the works had been established twenty years, which, however, the Court refused. Counsel then attempted to prove the nuisance came from some glass-works, much nearer the plaintiff's farm than the copper works, but failed, and the judge having clearly summed up the case, the jury gave a verdict for plaintiff, damages £5 5s,, to which the judge added all the costs. — Mining Journal, :68 THE FxVRMER'S MAGAZINE. GLASS WALLS. " The best is always the cheapest in the long run," is an aphorism of universal acceptation, and implies a principle which we, at least, never once heard called in question. If, therefore, we can be permitted to take this ground, we thrust aside as wholly obtrusive and uncalled-for the question of first cost, be the object what it may. It may be said this is taking royal ground, and wc admit that it is so ; but, unless we ignore principle alto- gether as a rule of guidance, and become the pliant subjects of expedient, there seems no alternative but to admit the truthfulness of the quaint truism, and repeat that " the best is always the cheapest." As gardeners, however, we often entertain very way- ward notions of the real value of ])rinciple. To- day we buy the best, because in the end the cheapest garden seeds we can obtain ; and this we say we do upon principle. To-morrow we buy an old greenhouse, because, being cheaj) at first, it is excessively dear in the end ; and therefore proves |iy-7?l£ii2»PS§»P^ REFERENCE TO THE ENGRAVINGS. Fig. 1 represents a portion of the glass wall, with au opening in the centre, and showing the mode in which the uprights are fixed in the ground. To the left (n) is seen a tree trained to the wires in the horizontal manner : tlie sashes here slide to the right or left ou small wheels ; one sash is seen at the centre of the tree ; the parts at the right and left of this is supposed to te open. To the right of the opening of the centre, the portion above (i) shows a different construction. Here tlie sashes do not slide, but open outwards, and are secured at any angle by iron rods. As may be seen, tlie divisions or sashes here are narrower than at (a), and which is owing to the difference of construction. The sashes may be any convenient width on the sliding principle, but if they are made to open outwards, they would be too readily acted on by wind, and take up much space unless their width were more limited. We are not enabled at present to give details as to the exact measure- ment, but this is a point that may be best determined by taste or other considerations. In any case the trees may be trained iu the centre, as shown by Fig. 2, which shows a vertical end section, with the ventilators open at the top, or close to the glass on each side, as shown by Fig. 3. Fig. 4 shows the exterior of the end as it appears when finished. Fig. 5 is the ground plan of the portion (a) Fig. 1, showing the sashes both open (c), and closed (rf). Fig. 6 is a similar plan of the portion (6) Fig. 1. With respect to prices, we learn from a prospectus before us that the class A, with sliding sashes, are priced as follows: — No. 1, per lineal foot of 9 feel high, glazed with 16 oz. sheet glass, £1 43. 6d. ; No. 2, do., with folding top, £1 63. ; No. 3, do., £1 Is. the greatest contrast and opposite to the principles which we professed the day before. We had better, however, proceed no further in this direction, lest we find ourselves nearing the conclusion and un- avoidable admission that gardeners, hke most other classes, are open to the allurements of expedient, just as often as they are guided by the higher dic- tates of principle. Having, therefore, run this narrow circuit, we find ourselves brought back to precisely the same point from which we started, but without having reached any very positive conclusion, or discovered that, as horticulturists, we do other than bend to the pass- ing necessity, and follow expedient to the full as frequently as we do that of principle. Therefore, according to this view, sanctioned as it is by the developed habits and conduct of all classes, it is evidently a problem still unsolved whether we ought to say the best is the cheapest, or the cheapest is the best. Whether Mr. Ewing's glass walls — fig. 2 — may tend to throw any light upon this question, we wait for experience to tell. The pre- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 169 Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Fig. 4. "[wr [w Fig. 5. Fix. 6. sent, suffice it to say, offers a fair opportunity for seeing throiigli a difficulty of tliis liind. Looking at tliese walls abstractedly, as compared with the very unsightly, or positively ugly, common red brick wall, one would think there could be no two opinions as to which was the best — to look at, at least; and although the one may be as dear again as the other, it ought not to be forgotten that the glass wall is in fact not only a wall, but a hothouse or forcing house : not like a brick wall, which cannot be renewed but at the expense of a new one, a glass one is, or may be, portable ; and the materials when taken down are nearly as valuable as new. These are not unimportant points, although the main one, we admit, is suit- ableness to the end in view ; and here, of course, for a time at least, speculation must occupy the place of experience. That these walls will approve themselves to all, or even to any large number of gardeners, is far from likely ; nor do we by any means regard them as all perfection, and no draw- back. No such thing ; for indeed they would then form an exception to every thing which we know connected with gardening, or any thing else. One thing is certain : these glass walls are not designed as a substitute for a thing already perfect, for we suppose no one will venture to affirm that brick walls are perfect, and without a drawback. A glass wall, as we have already said, viewed merely as a glass wall and nothing else, must, in spite of all that can be advanced to the contrary, be a more agreeable object to look at, whether near or at a distance, than glaring red brick. If this be con- ceded, then comes the question, can a glass wall be made to afford as much protection to fruit trees as a brick wall ? Can there be any doubt about this ? We think there must be more — much more. It is true, as a fence against thieves, a fellow might take a hammer, or the end of a stick, and break his way through a glass wall. We never, of course, heard of this being done through a garden-wall of brick ; but we have often heard that brick walls proved but small protection against thieves. It is contended that the trees in these walls cannot be attended to ; that the manage- ment of the ventilation will be most difficult ; that they cannot be kept clean ; that there will be a waste of heat ; and that they will be very cold at night — perhaps the latter may prove no disadvan- tage, since the trees themselves will be kept dry. Nor is this all ; it is fully expected that these walls cannot stand— that the wind must blow them down. All these, we admit, would be very great defects, should they ever be realized; but the most unpro- mising things do sometimes turn out better than expectation ; as our readers must remember, it was said the Crystal Palace, from its peculiar construc- tion, ought to have fallen when it was full of people; and yet somehow the thing never happened : so was it expected by all true Frenchmen that the world would stand still when Napoleon died ; and yet this never came to pass : therefore we may hope that some of the apprehended disasters may be averted from the glass walls. They are, of course, as yet wholly untried ; and for the present the wisest course for those who wish to be near the truth will be to make some deductions from those who pro- nounce them to be perfection, and a like deduction from those who pooh, pooh ! and call them toys ; for they are neither the one nor the other. The thing is right in principle ; and if the present appli- cation be less perfect than future experience may ultimately make it, that forms no valid argument against the present effort. The first step once taken is always something gained. The idea con- tains enough of promise to claim for it at least a fair trial. With these remarks we now give en- gravings which will convey an idea of what glass walls are. — Gardeners' and Farmers' Journal. 170 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE GREAT EXHIBITION. FARM BUILDINGS. A good example of the best buildings of the highly- cultivated districts of Northumberland and the soutli of Scotland was shown by the model of farm buildings, Class 30, No. 228a, designed by Mr. John Bullman, builder, of Kelso, and erected by him at Wark, in the county of Northumberland, in the year 1850, for the Earl of Tankerville. A greater value is given to this design on account of its being the counterpart, on a re- duced scale, of a farmsteading actually erected, whilst many of the others, however convenient their apparent arrangement, have never reached beyond the pasteboard of the modeller. From the details given by Mr. Bull- man, we learn some interesting particulars relating to the farm upon which his design was carried into effect. It appears the farm is one of 930 acres of rich loam, capable of producing the usual grain crops, and highly suitable for turnip husbandry. The rent is understood to be about £2 lis. 6d. per acre, or £2,394 15s. per annum. Mr. Dove, the present tenant, is understood to have expended in draining, lime, and manure, during the first twelve months, little short of eight thousand pounds, exclusive of outlay in the purchase of stock and in buildings. A large proportion of the farm is managed upon the four-course rotation, and there are usually about 400 acres in corn crop, 200 acres of tur- nips, and as many in potatoes as are required for the use of the servants and others upon the farm, the re- mainder being in pasture and hay. About one-half of the turnip crop is consumed upon the ground by sheep ; the other half by cattle, in the courts or curtains, and in feeding-boxes. There are ge- nerally upwards of 100 cattle fattening at one time, and their places are filled up by others so soon a^ they are fit for the butcher. In addition to the turnips, the cattle have corn or cake— the latter a practice rather unusual amongst north-country farmers, many of whom feed solely upon turnips. The machine for thrashing the crop is propelled by water collected from springs upon the higher parts of the farm into a reservoir upwards of 1,000 cubic yards in extent, which is discharged into the river Tweed at a distance of about 200 yards. The water-wheel is of ten- horse power, 18 feet in diameter, and five feet broad. The plan of collecting the water of the farm, either of drainage, or from the small streams which are so abund- ant in a hilly country, for the purpose of working the machinery of the farm, is very general in the north of England, and might in many instances be very advanta- geously followed in other districts. The site of this steading, with the stack-yard, stands upon upwards of 3j acres. The buildings themselves are arranged in a square form, having the bam, granary; and cart-sheds on the north side ; stables on the east ; cattle-sheds on the west; and cattle-boxes on Mr. Warne's plan complete the square by forming the south side. In the centre of the square are sheds and cattle- yards, between which and the four sides of the external buildings is a roadway giving easy access to every de- partment. As it would require too much space to give the details of the construction of each separate building, it will be sufficient for us to say that the barn is arranged upon the usual Scotch system, there being a small thrashing- barn upon an upper floor, beneath which is the barn for winnowing the corn as it comes from the thrashing- machine, and a straw-barn conveniently placed for re- ceiving the straw from the machine, and for its removal to the cattle. What is unknown in an English home- stead is the servants' byre, 50 feet by 15 feet, for 15 cows, the produce of a cow being part of the wages of the labourer. The access for milking to this and to the farmer's byre is from the outside of the steading, the doors communicating with the court being only used for cleaning and supplying the cattle with food and fresh litter. The method of supplying water is perhaps the best that can be adopted. From a small regulating cistern, having a ball and ball-cock, the water is supplied to 38 troughs throughout the steading. These have been carefully levelled, so as to give a proportionate quantity of water to each. The immense number of stacks shown in the model is a peculiarity in the Scotch homesteads which always strikes a south-countryman. The yard in the model contains the same number of stacks as were actually built from the crop of 1850. They are 18 feet in dia- meter, and so placed that any particular one can be taken at pleasure. No. 215a, Class 9, is the model of farm-yard and buildings where steam-power is used, designed by Mr. Isaac Tyson, of Selby, Yorkshire. It is calculated for a farm of 500 acres, 350 acres being arable land, and the remaining 1 50 grass. The designer attaches much importance to the aspect of the farm-stead ; the loftiest buildings are, therefore, placed upon the north side. The implement and cart and waggon- sheds open on the north and west sides, where the sun will least affect them ; and the lowest buildings on the side most sheltered from the cold winds, and forming, in Mr. Tyson's model, a uniform block of buildings, with a couple of warm and well-sheltered yards, having a double row of cattle-boxes ranging between them, and at right-angles with the barn. Tramways are laid from the feeding- houses to the stables, cattle-house, and piggery, to admit of the food being taken at once, on a THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 171 truck, to the animals. The turnip-cutter is so fixed that the cut turnips drop into the truck, and are at once taken away to the cattle. The greatest novelty, how- ever, is that the stacks, weighing 15 or 20 tons, are built on frames with wheels, running on tramways, ar- ranged in three lines, each line forming a series of from four to eight stacks. Each stack can be drawn by the engine into the corn- shed adjoining the barn where the threshing-machine is fixed, without the aid of horses or men ; and by this arrange- ment the corn is pitched at once from the stack to the thrashing-machine. In the barn itself the whole process of threshing, winnowing, packing, and even loading the waggons is by the aid of machinery carried on without lifting by manual or horse labour. An elevated tank, with pipes and taps attached, supplies the whole of the buildings with water. In Class IX, No. 205 is a model of a farmstead, by Mr. George Bland, of Market Harborough, described as " suitable for a farm of from six to seven hundred acres, of which five hundred may be arable. The build- ings are so arranged that by the aid of a two-horse-power steam-engine the whole of the usual operations required on such a farmstead may be performed." The design shows a good farm house, large cattle yards (to which tolerably convenient access is obtained). The arrange- ments for the steam-engine are upon the Scotch system: altogether is more extensive than those usually seen. No. 170 in the same class is a model of farm buildings exhibited by Mr. Edward W. Wilmot, of Congleton, Cheshire, for a farm of about 300 acres, with plans of farm house and labourers' cottages. The architect esti- mates the cost of the farm bmldings at j£'600, the farm house at ^"'250, and that of two cottages at j^l50 ; which are very reasonable prices when compared with the cost of buildings usually erected upon farms of 300 acres. The buildings are arranged in an oblong form, and consist of a barn and engine house, cart shed, cow houses and cattle boxes, having in the centre a large tank (71 by 22 feet) to receive the manure. Above this are the sheep and pig pens, covered over with a rough de- scription of roof. This is a convenient arrangement for collecting the whole of the dung of the farm yard into one reservoir, to be improved and preserved by admix- tures of charcoal, &c. W. H. R. DEVOURING TENANT-FARMERS' PROPERTY BY GAME AND RABBITS. Sir, — Tiie tide of reason and justice lonjj delayed, long checked nml obstructed, lias nevertheless set in, so that the British farmers will but little longer suffer themselves to be eaten up by game and rabbits. For the landlord to let the land at a rack-rent to u dilipfent farmer, and to stock it (without stint) himself with animals which the farmer cannot empound nor lay on damages for depredations committed by them, is monstrous indeed. Who indirectly supports the game- keeper and his family .' Why, the tenant-farmers. Many game-keepers are allowed to stock their masters' domains with as many rabbits as they think proper ; which, in most cases, is one of the keeper's perquisites, or part of his wages, to fill the hungry maws of the gamekeeper and his family, and this after the farmer's property is reduced thirty per cent, by Act i>f Parlia- ment, and in many cases without an abatement of rent or tithe. A single rabbit running over a farm will, in one year, destroy a bushel of wheat ; and what is the rabbit worth when it has destroyed the bushel of wheat? Why, from 6d. to 8d. Is this system wise, just, reasonable, or honest, that the industrious farmer and his family should be driven to the workhouse by his crops being destroyed, by what he justly calls ver- min? Well may the Americans, in their exultation on acquiring true liberty, point the finger of scorn to the cultivator of land in England, who dares not destroy the spoiler of his harvest ; the hare not only falteaing on his corn, but destroying five times the quantity eaten, attacking the joints of the spindle, leaving the remains as a witness of destruction; and encroaching on his very garden, eating his tender plants raised for liis own support, and which must not in their plunder be disturbed ; for the act of coercing them from their depredations, observed by some lord's de- pendant (more tyrannical than the lord himself) is construed into an ofience against the game-laws, and the free-born Englishman is cast into a loathsome prison, prosecuted, and confined, even beyond his power to satisfy, and thus thousands of families sink to rui::. Tile British farmers are not only called upon to pay the county rates fur the jjrosecuticm of poachcis for destroying animals which devour their crops, but they have to support the wives and families of the said poachers confined in prison, and of tho.^^e who arc transported, which is doubly tyrannical and disad- vantageous to the British cultivator. Will not such treatment drive thousands of the best British farmers to cross the Atlantic and farm in a free, untaxed country, where there are no old feudal game-laws, and where they do not pay from 70 to 90 per cent. taxes (under free-trade) for converting barley into malt? Befo.e I finish I will mention an extremely hard case, of a farmer living not one hundred miles from the north side of Old Rockingham Forest, who rented a farm of 120 acres at 25s. per acre. His family had lived upon the estate and in the lordship for 370 years. This straightforward, hardworking, homely tenant has been greatly eaten uj) with hares and rabbits, at a loss 172 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. of more than one pound per acre per year for thirty years. As something in the shape of a proof: In a deep snow, on a moonlight night, 140 hares were counted, by three substantial witnesses, upon five acres of common white turnips, first helping them- selves before forty lamb hogs. Justice calls out aloud and wide, and says, " How long would 140 hares be in eating and destroying five acres of turnips in a frosty winter?" Under such a system of depredation com- mitted by hares and rabbits, coupled with the free- trade price of corn, this tenant's property was con- sumed, and he was advised to make an assignment of his property for the benefit of his creditors. The money which the property made found its way through the auctioneer into the lawyer's hands ; and now it appears to be all swallowed up, because he tells the creditors there is nothing for them, and this poor farmer's friends are now raising money to carry him through the Insolvent Court ; which I Lope will be a caution to farmers makiug assignments, because it does not free them of their other debts, unless the creditors all sign. A Looker-on. Southorpe, near Stamford, Dec. 8. LONDON FARMERS' CLUB. The following are the subjects for discussion at the forth- coming meetings of the London Farmers' Club : — February 2, 1852. — On Guano : its Application, Supply, and Adulteration : with Details and Statistics, collected from original sources — Proposed by Mr. E. Haslewood, of the Stock Exchange. March 1. — On the Necessity for, and Means of Extending Agricultural Education — Mr. S. Sidney, of Thurlow Cot- tage, Clapham. April 5. — On the best System of Management for Light Land — Mr. W. Bennett, of Regent-street, Cambridge. May 3. — On the Injurious Effects of Copyhold Tenure on the Cultivation of the Soil— Mr. W. Fisher Hobbs, of Bosted Lodge, Colchester. June 7. — To what Extent can Landlords afford Substantial Relief to their Tenantry in the present Emergency, with- out involving any considerable Outlay of Capital? — Mr. W. Shaw, of the Strand. November 1. — On the Use and Abuse of Lime in Agriculture, and the Properties of different kinds of Limestone — Mr" J. C. Nesbit, of Kennington-lane. December 7. — Upon the Economy of Farming — Mr. R. Baker, of Writtle, Chelmsford. CHICORY. Chicory having been cultivated in many places for the sake of the roots, which are prepared and sub- stituted to a considerable extent for cofiee, and as the present time commences the proper season for saving and curing it for the merchant's use, a short account of the mode may be of service at this juncture. The process of lifting the roots may now be commenced, and continued during the winter, as the root is very hardy, until all maybe finished; but the better plan will be to lift the crop as soon as possible after the full development of the root is effected, our mild winters keeping up an almost incipient vegetation, which, to a certain degree, weakens the tonic properties of chicory. When extensively grown, it is usual in some districts to plough up the roots with strong ploughs, drawn by four to six horses, with men stationed along the line of drill, to separate them from the clods with forks, in the same manner as we lift potatoes, with women and boys to gather them up ; but though the roots descend to a consi>turbance at the Cape, although the seat of hostilities is some distance from the wool-growing districts, may injuriously affect the future supphes from this quarter. Germany. — The import continues to decline, and a few houses now find it worth while to continue it as a trade. Within a short period the receipts have fallen off two-thirds, but the consumption in Germany has increased to more than the same extent, particularly of medium class wools, and each year they are becoming larger customers in this country for such descriptions. Spanish and Portugal. — The former is now of uncer- tain sale ; there has been little inquiry during the year : at present, however, there is a fair demand, and the prospect is good. Estremadura and Border wools have been of very cur- rent sale, and continue so. A large quantity of fine unwashed has been received, but there is generally a dislike to wools in this condition : a portion has consisted of black, which, being to a great extent a fancy article, the demand is rather uncer- tain, and the stock is at present rather large. Of Oporto the receipts have been less than usual ; and, although long-washed wools have met with ready sale, the prices have not been remuiicratiny ; wliile in the unwashed state they have been only saleable at forced rates. Unitkd Status. — About 2,000 bales have been received ; they have, however, not cnnsistc 1 of wools of American growth, but chiefly of Mediterranean kinds, imported direct, which have been sent to this country witli the hope of finding a better market. Tlieir manufactures are rapidly extending ; and, notwithstanding the increased growth, which now exceeds 100 millions of pounds, it is all required at home ; but the condition of the trade seems to be in by no means a sound state. Peruvian and Alpaca.— The supply of sheep's wool has been on a very reduced scale. There has been a fair demand ; stocks have been very light throughout the year, and are at present entirely exhausted. The receipts of Alpaoa have been very large ; they have met with very ready sale at well sustained prices, and the market is at present entirely bare of the article. Buenos Ayres and River Plate. — The receipts have been to a diminished extent (the prmcipal part having been sent direct to the United States), which is more apparent when we state that the weight of the great portion of the bales has been much less than usual. They have generally met with ready sale on arrival, at full market value, compared with other kinds, and a good portion was sold early in the year, at prices which conld not have been since obtained till lately. The ac- counts of drought and gold discoveries in Australia led to some speculative purchases in Colonial, which gave a firmer tone to other descriptions, in which Buenos Ayres wools participated, and we consider the prospect favourable for next season. East India. — The demand has been uniform and good, more attention has been shown in bringing them forward as they were required by the trade ; prices have, therefore, been well supported. We could do with a greatly extended supply, but it is understood the quantity to be obtained does not ex- ceed 12,000 to 13,000 bales, and our last year's import nearly reaches this amount. Russia. — The import is much in excess of last year, princi- pally to London. Donskoy fleeces, suited for combing, has been in good demand, but the quantity of this description seems to be yearly decreasing ; shorter stapled kinds have been less, although in fair request; autumn has been of current sale ; lambs' less so, excepting superior quality, of which we have seen very little. Zegay has been generally dull, and very little has come to hand. Scoured, brook-washed, and germanized have not been in much favour ; but the demand is improving, and they are likely to be wanted. Mediterranean shows a fair increase, chiefly consisting of Egyptian, which have been very current of sale ; we are sorry, however, to observe, that they have not been by any means so well got up as formerly. It only requires proper at- tention in this respect to render them a favourite article, and they would be at all times very saleable. Other kinds — as Servia, Bosnia, Vidino, Volo, Scopia, Scutari, &c., of which in former years we have been accustomed to receive large sup- plies— have almost entirely failed, having been worth more in other markets. MoH.-viR. — The import has been rather less than last year; the demand has been good, prices have been well maintained, and have not varied more than 2d. per lb. during the year. The quantity received here has exceeded by 2,000 bags the import of the former year, but the principal part, having been for London account, has been sent up under the strange im- pression that better prices can be obtained there, when more than three-fourtfis of the entire import is consumed in York- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 175 shire (close to our doors), and chiefly by the purchasers o' Alpaca Wool, of which the entire trade is centered here. The advantages of our market are too palpably apparent to need further comment, and we venture to predict that in a short time it will become the chief mart for Mohair, as it already is for Alpaca, and which, from its proximity to the chief seat of consumption, it cannot fail to be. MoGADOR. — The supply has been about an average. They have generally met with a ready sale, although importers have complained of prices not being satisfactory; still, compared with other kinds, they have brought their full value. Iceland. — It will be seen that the import has been nearly double what it was in the preceding year. There has been a fair demand at current rates, and a good portion was sold on, and some previous to, arrival. • Domestic Wools. — In English a large business has been done at intervals throughout the year, and present stocks are supposed to be much below an average. During the last month there has been an improved demand for combing Wools, at ad- vanced prices ; which has also been the case in Irish, even to a greater extent, and since the revival of confidence in France, there has been an extraordinarj^ demand for this description, being particularly required for that trade. Holders are very exorbitant in their demands, and stocks seem to be less than they have been for the last five years, which confirms the opi- nion that there has been a great falling off in the growth. Noils have been in good demand, at well-sustained rates. Scotch. — Prime white Cheviot has not met with ready sale, but for other kinds the demand has been generally languid ; for Laid High- land there has been more inquiry of late, and for these, as well as other descriptions, there is an improving prospect. Sheepskins have generally been in good demand, and are at present much wanted. Hughes & Konald, Wool Brokers. SEED AND OIL T R A D E. - A N N U A L ACCOUNT, Messrs. Edwards and Eastty, in the seed and oil trade, thus sum up the annual account — " The termination of an eventful year affords us again the pleasure to address you our annual circular, with retrospect of prices, and the chief incidents marking our trade during that period, together with the comparative imports to previous years, and probable supplies to be expected during remainder of season, &c. " Linseed. — The import into London is an average, being some 25,000 qrs. in excess of 1850. Hull, the chief port of entry for seed, exhibits a deficiency of about the same quantity, whilst into the whole United Kingdom we shall probably be 35,000 qrs. short. Compared with the former year, a still greater deficiency is found, viz., 50,000 qrs. ; and with 1848 220,000 qrs. The change in the places of supply is again worthy of notice, our increase this year being attributable to the East Indies, which has supplied us no less than 52,000 qrs. out of the 1 45,000. The Baltic imports were insignificant, not amounting to 20,000 qrs., whilst from other places no great difference is observable. Black Sea seed, as usual, forms the most prominent feature in the supply, 170,000 qrs. having arrived during the year at Falmouth, for order, and which were divided as follows:— 49,000 to London, 35,000 Hull, 13,000 Dover, 9,000 Southampton, 8,500 Yarmouth, 8,000 Newcastle, 6,000 Liverpool, 5,500 Ipswich, 3,600 Grimsby, 3,200 Glou- cester, 2,400 Rochester, 1,800 Dublin, and to the Continent 25,000. St. Petersburgh supplied 105,500 qrs.. Archangel 65,000; Riga also about 65,000 qrs. crushing. Only 12,000 qrs. (nearly all of which was shipped since September) were re-exported, showing a great falling off by comparison with previous years. " The price on the spot of Black Sea seed at commencement of the year was firm at 49s. per qr. ; but oil becoming slacker, and one or two speculative p ircels being forced on the market, drove it down to 46s. during the month of January, at which period also a little was contracted for, for summer shipment, at 463. 6d. per qr. In February seed was found to be very scarce, and 48s, 6d. was again paid. " March still further improved us, and 49s. 6d. to 49s, were the current values. From then until July we were without any stock or new supplies of Black Sea ; but other sorts bore a relative value, and only gradually declined to meet the price of the new seed, in which a fair business was done early in June at 46s. per qr. for average quality. Up to that period the business had been very inconsiderable, the positive loss to the crushers in working deterring them from buying more than they could actually help, so as just to keep their regular customers supplied. " In July there was a large trade at 46s, 6d. per qr., up to 47s. 6d. and 488. for picked samples. Contracts of some mag- nitude were likewise entered into for East India seed at 48s, per qr., which sort of seed had by that time established a pre- ference over Black Sea of a difference of Is. to Is. 6d. per qr., the latter having but little improved upon the bad quality noticed the previous year. " In August an occasional sale occurred at unaltered rates ; after which, until nearly the end of October, we had an exceed- ingly dull trade, and scarcely a sale upon which to mark a quotation ; the tendency being decidedly to a fall, owing to the reported abundant crops in the south of Russia. We had at that time, within a few days, to quote a fall of 38. per qr., 46s. having been made one week, and 43s. accepted the next. At this time, also, an immense business had begun for shipment from the Sea of Azov next season at 40s. per qr., and from then until now we will venture to say a greater quantity of seed has changed hands than was ever known in a similar period of time. The prices have scarcely varied since the opening contracts ; but, if anything, they are in sellers' favour. " The sales comprise — average quality on the way, and ship- ping at 43s. to 43s. 6d. per qr. ; fine samples at 443. ; East India at 44s. 6d. to 433. 6d„ according to the date of shipment ; Alexandria at 41s. to 42s. ; and all other sorts in proportion^ And, for next season. Black Sea at 40s. (also by sample at 41s. to 4ls. 6d.); and East India, for shipment before June, at 41s, 6d. to 42s. 6d. In the aggregate at least 300,000 qrs, have found buyers during the last two months, " To-day our market is very quiet, but prices firm, a parcel Black Sea sold ex ship at 44s. ; East India, of good quality, at 44s. 6d, ; other descriptions remain as quoted. "The quaUty of the East India seed has been much approved. 176 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Archangel also gave great satisfaction. The Riga was of the most inferior description, and the bulk of the St. Peters- burgh likewise of very low quality. The Alexandria seed, the bulk of which, before the unsettled state of France since 1818, went directly to Marseilles, has been very good. The earliest cargoes from the south of Russia showed some improvement over the previous two years ; but the later arrivals were far from satisfactory. The new seed, however, of which a little is already to hand, is excellent ; and the hope expressed in our last is, we trust, about to be realized, Black Sea seed regaining the character it formerly bore, and again standing pre-eminent in point of quality over all other sorts. " In granary we have 9000 qrs. only — namely, 6500 St. Petcrsburgh, 1500 Archangel, and 1000 Riga. Of East India there is also some small quantity, but it is chiefly in crushers' bauds. Afloat, we have a seemingly very large quantity — say, 210,000 qrs., coming from the following places : Black Sea, 150,000; East Indies, 35,000 qrs.; Alexandria and sundries^ 25,000 qrs. " This fact has led to the inference that we shall have more seed than will be wanted for remainder of our season's work- iu", and that prices must necessarily decline ; but how does the fact really stand ? In the first place, the Continent is very bare of linseed. We know a good deal is destined there, and probably at least one-fifth of the 210,000 quarters will eventually be so ordered. Then, again, at this time last year, in Hull aud London alone we had more thin 100,000 qrs. in granary, and, besides this, imported a further 177,000 qrs. into the kingdom by June, at which period nothing was left in stock. Our great supply, therefore, is soon reduced ; and, by comparison, we shall actually be short, instead of showing a surplus. " If, instead of comparing our imports from January to De- cember, as customarily taken, we take the working season, and which is really the crushers' year, or say from July to June, we get, in round numbers, the following results : 1848-49 709,000 qrs. 1849-50 600,000 qrs. 1850-51 700,000 qrs. And if our estimate prove correct, we shall find 1850-52 to be within 600,000, thus, under every phase, showing a deficient quantity. From all we can gather, our crushers generally are lightly stocked, especially in the north ; and if any casualties occur to the expected arrivals, seed will not be found so plentiful. " The present prices of oil and cake will not justify us in looking for an advance in seed ; particularly as the cheaper parcels to come in for next season will induce crushers to work up every qr. rather than hold stock to meet those arrivals. We must say, however, we do not anticipate any decline during the next three or four months ; more particularly as the desti- nations of the floating cargoes become clearly defined, showing how widely they will be spread. Our supplies, after July, will doubtless be very large ; the crops everywhere being reported so large in quantity, and we are glad to add also superior in quality, that we trust low prices may stimulate such a trade for next year as will in some measure compensate the crusher for the unprofitable workings of lata. " LiN'SEED Oil — The high rates paying for this article during the first nine months of the year materially checked speculation; and it has been therefore much more even in demand, and steadier in price, than for several years past. As we expected, the light stock aud great export when the year opened told immediately upon the value, and within a day or two of our last annual circular £34 10s. was the current price, and some sales made for forward deliveries as high as £35 ; this brought out many sellers, aud it fell during January to about £33, at which price to lOs. more we were very steady during February, March, aud April. In May there was a very dragging trade, owing to the discouraging accounts from the United States, and the price receded to £30 lOs. at the end of the month. June, however, again allowed how empty all the cisterns were, about 9,500 tons having been by that time ex- ported, whilst the arrival of seed during the same peiiod was scarcely 180,000 qrs.; and it followed therefore every gallon of oil made from the seed imported during the six months had been exported, leaving the home-trade wants to have been 8U[iplied from the short stocks left over in 1849. In less than a fortnight we recovered to £32 10s. ; at about which we con- tinued until August, when we again touched £33. " In the absence of any American demand, upon which we so much depend for any long continuance of high rates, since the mills recommenced work in September, ic has been one downward course; September, £32 to £31; October, £31 to £29 ; and November, when the cake trade was exceedingly brisk, £28 10s. to £26. Latterly we obtained a shade more money, having, in the middle of December, improved 10s. to 20s. per ton, the great reduction having rendered many Medi- terranean orders executable, and also encouraged an export to the German, Dutch, and Belgian ports. The course of prices as shown herein have been of a very even tenor, subject only to the most legitimate influences throughout the year, aud far fewer speculations have been entered into than usual. The future is again full of uncertainty, and any mere opinion valueless. We believe high or low prices depend exclusively on our export, aud are confirmed in this opinion by a reference to our export tables. We shall be found in 1851 to have sent away nearly an equal quantity to 1850, in which latter year it was evenly divided over the 12 months, and prices at opening and close of the year (although they had as usual fluctuated considerably during the time) showed no great difference. Last year, however, two-thirds of the export was at beginning of the year, and the decrease at its close has left us with a de- preciation on the opening price of more than 20 per cent. No doubt the present value, which is about an average one, will materially increase the late consumption, still the market must far exceed any possible home demand. The cake trade in- creases year by year — so much so, that within the last few months three or four new mills have been erected, and the old ones throughout the kingdom have several of them added ad- ditional presses to their works.so that the quantity of oil made is consequently greater than ever. The relatively higher value of fish, and all other oils, will tend to prevent any further re- duction, and also cause a large continental demand. To the American markets, however, we must again look, for upon them do we still mainly depend. They are reported to have good crops of seed, and their mills (many of which, for the last two or three years, had been standing idle) to be at full work, quite adequate to their consuming wants. We doubt this ; surely after many years taking a large proportion of our make, they cannot all at once do entirely without, especially with their increasing population, and, owing to their Californian gold, greater facility of payment. We expect yet to see con- siderable shipments to meet their spring trade, aud that pre- sent prices will in any case be maintained for some months to come, whilst anything approaching the demand from thence of the last two years would greatly enhance the value here. Large speculative transactions have been entered into for monthly deliveries this year, at £27 lOs. to £27 for January to June, at £26 10s. for all the year, and to meet cheap seed coming in for nest season, at £25 10s. to £26 for last six months. To- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 17 day the price is £26 10s. to £26 ISs. per ton for immediate deliveries, and biit little doing, but there are many inquiries for spring deliveries on continental account. "LixsEED Cakes have become an article so well kno^Ti and of such very regular and extensive use that they require now but little remark from us beyond a register of the course of prices. The price opened at £7 to £7 10s. per ton, with a laige trade, but at barely supported prices during the first three months of the year. In April the scarcity of foreign cakes, which has continued throughout the year, began to telh and we were again very firm at the opening prices. The sum- mer demand was slacker than usual this season, and £7 was an extreme value. The dealers, as the autumn set ia, showed much anxiety to contract for winter deliveries, which was but rarely met on the part of the crushers. From September to October we had scarcely an average business doing, but in November an immense trade set in, and prices advanced £1 per ton, which is firmly maintained, and £8 is the present London value, while in the consuming districts the value is £8 10s. to £9 per ton taken from the mills, the crushers holding even less stock than usual, and do foreign cakes in baud. lYe consider this rise will be maiutained to the end of the season, and for two reasons : first, we shall have but very moderate supplies of foreign, we shall not be over-d;ne with seed, and the low price of oil would cause the working short time of many of the mills, if they did not get remunerative prices for their produce ; and secondly, the scarcity and comparative high prices of all other feeding stuffs and lower qualities of grain. The harvest was generally so well secured last year, the farmers find themselves with very little bad or ill-conditioned corn ; it will probably, therefore, all go to market in lieu of finding its way into the feeding stalls, and the want thereby occasioned be supplied by an increased demand for linseed cake, especially if the meat market continues in its present healthy state, and which we see no reason to doubt. " R.A.PESEED. — Although our import here is in excess of 1850, the quantity into the United Kingdom will fall far short —probably some 20 per cent. ; still this is greatly in excess of the quantities we have been accustomed to in former years. The bulk of seed brought in being East India, we take it as the standard, and find that the price of 423., with which we commenced the year, was maintained imtil the middle of Feb- ruary, when it fell to 40s., and the heavy stocks on hand sent it back gradually to 38s. in April, which price held until August ; it then recovered the fall, and maintained it for some time. By October, however, it was again at 3Ss., to a little over. In November its value had improved to 393., and to- day that price to 39s. 6d. are the exact quotations. To-day a sale has been made of 500 qiiarters, at 393. 6d. per quarter. " K.\PE Oil has had a very large consumption throughout the year. Our home make being considerable, added to au extensive importation of foreign, which has kept our market well supplied. .\t the opening of the year foreign ranged from £37 to £38, and English £36 IO3., but exhibited a drooping tendency till May, when it touched £34 for foreign, at about which it ruled during the remainder of the year. We quote the price of refined to-day £33 lOs. to £33 foreign, and £31 lOs. English. "Rape Cakes. — About £4 per ton has been the ruling figure throughout the year for this article, varying from 2s. 6d. per ton less, to lOs. more than that price, and we have usually had to write them of ' very ready sale.' They are now very extensively used for feeding, displacing some of the lower sorta of foreign linseed-cake, and the value, which is higher than it used to be in former years, seems likely to be of permanent duration, at the rates current to-day, which is £4 10s. per ton." SM ITHFIELD CLUB. Sir, — Your e.xposition and remarks upon the past 20 years' results of the Smithlield Club are valuable, and must prove exceedingly interesting to the public. As an old member of this national institution, allow me, sir, to thank you for your zeal upon all agricultural matters, but more especially for the late " tabular state- ment" containing the information referred to. It is far from my wish to disturb the harmony of the past, or to reflect upon the future ; but I cannot refrain from a remark upon this national subject. The historical results of the Club laid before the pub- lic in your last journal must be gratifying to the founders of the Society, as by analysis it is found to expound and confirm the object they had in view — " The establish- ment of the SmithfieJd Club for the express purpose of a national comparison of fat animals (regardless of breed) to stimulate the breeders and feeders to further e.Tertion in the supplying of Smithfield market with the cheapest and best meat." Your clear and explicit remarks upon the past and probable future need no comment at my hands, my only desire being to support the attention you have paid the subject, and to express my sorrow that so important a change should have taken place in the ab- sence of evidence to support it. No one heard a com- plaint iu the Show yard as to the award of the judges, the classification as to breeds, weights, or otherwise ; neither should we have had the old constitution of the Club changed, had you published the present tabular form before the late decision took place. My views are simply these : The Smithfield Club being instituted for the express purpose of " supplying the consumer with the cheapest and best meat," I con- sider that the original plan of all fat animals of any breed or cross being classed together, under their res- pective ages and weights, to compete for a given sum of money, as more likely to accomplish the great object of the Club, than by dividing the same amount of money between the several breeds and crosses, regardless of competition and comparative merit. As regards ths se- lection of judges and their past awards, who can now question the result of the last 20 years .' and what is important— a majority of them have been feeders in ac- cordance with the objects of the Club. Again, if a diflSculty or prejudice existed in making the award under the old plan of classification, how is it to be remedied by the judges in future, when the animals are classed in breeds, or in the award of the gold medal ? Breed against breed ! Yours, &c., An Old Officer of the Club, —Mark Lane Express. N 178 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. BOARD OF GUARDIANS-EXETER. [We beg especial attention to a report laid before the Board of Guardians of the Exeter Poor-law Union, upon " an industrial scheme for the purpose of traininfi the children to manual employment, and turning to account the surplus labour of the house," and, by which, a repectable balance is shown in favour of the scheme. The chairman very appro- priately observed, that it was " a most interesting document" — interesting, in a two-fold point of view: first, as regards the interests of the rate- payers by relieving the rates; and next, as regards the children themselves, by training them, as ob- sen-ed by Mr. Coward, "in the habit of earning a liveUhood by their own industry," It is lamentable to feel that youths intended as future labourers are left v.'h.olly to blunder upon the right mode of using the tools by which they are to earn the value of the labour paid for by their employers, and by which they are to obtain their own subsistence. At all events. Poor-law Unions might be made schools of instruction for the inmates. Nay, we go further : fortified by the successful results of the experiment of the Exeter Union in respect to chil- dren, we maintain, as we have done on former occasions, that our poor law unions (so far as re- gards all except the sick and the aged) and our pri- sons might be made self-supporting. ' It is absurd to suppose that a working man or woman cannot earn his or her support within the walls of the union as well as without— it is preposterous to ex- pect that the honest and industrious should be called upon to contribute to maintain the vicious and the indolent in a prison, or on board the hulks, whilst they have strength and ability to earn their own maintenance. The rule should be, " He that doth not work neither shall he eat." The idea of entering into competition with the free labourer is absurd. Were these people honest instead of dis- honest they would be competitors in the field of labour : they are no more, within the walls of a prison. — Ed. F. Mag.] G. S. Ct'RTis, Esa., Chairman. SUCCESS OP TUB INDUSTRIAL SCHEME. This board havins been the first to adopt an industrial scheme for the purpose of training the children to manual rmployment, and turniu;^ to account the surplus labour of this h >'ise, much interest was felt in the following report, which was brought up hy Mr. Storey : — AGRICULTURAL REPORT. Dr. Payments. £ s. d. £ s. d. Rent new field, Michaelmas 1830, to Michaelmas IS51 18 0 0 Ditto old ditto 13 7 4 Ta:ie9, rates, and tithe rent charge 5 19 9 Wages of superintendent, to Michaelmas 20 3 10 57 10 11 Allowance for value of crops iii the gar- den at Christmas, 1350 £10 0 0 25 bags seed potatoes, from old peld, at 4s. 6d 5 12 6 5 bags do, from Mr. Beazley, at 53 1 5 0 5 bushels seed barley, from Mr. Symons, at33.3d 0 16 3 Seeds and plants, purchased by the master 1 17 -19 11 20 hogsheads of lime, and drawing 4 8 24 dozen spades purchased 3 13 7^ 6 barrows do 4 10 0 3 reaping hooks, 7s. 6d. ; 3 Norway stones, 6d 0 8 0 2 hay rakes 0 16 Draniing tiles 0 8 4 9 1 5; Hire of horse and cart for harvesting barley 1 0 0 Cider for men, for harvesting barley 0 5 2 Reed,&c.,for binding barley,4?. ; thatch- ing, 3s 0 7 0 Thrashing 55i bags of barley, at 6d 17 9 Liabilities unpaid. Rent of fields from Michaelmas to Christ- mas 9 0 0 Wages of superintendent, do 7 10 0 1 poor rate, 14s. Gd. ; 1 highway rate, 14s. 6d 1 9 0 17 19 0 Duna Balance. £111 10 7i ,. 3 10 0 115 0 7^ ., 52 2 3\ £167 2 10| Ck. By vegetables consumed by the inmates, from Christmas, 1830, to Christmas, 1851. £ Cabbages, 2,839 11 16 Leeks, 61 score, 6ilbs 4 5 Onions, 109 score, Sibs 6 5 Carrots, 12 cwL 1 qr. 71b3 1 8 Turnips, 41 cwt. 3 qrs. 21bs 3 16 Parsuins, 23 cwt. 3 qrs. 201b3 4 14 Herbs," 6 score lbs 0 10 Celery, 5 score, lOlbs 0 9 Peas, 16 peck 0 8 Scarlet-runners, 1731b3 0 8 d. £ 7A 1 7^ 2 0 0 2 0 7 3i 2 H Potatoes consumed by inmates : — Lady-day to Midsummer, 10 score,171b3. 0 6 9^ Midsummer to Michaelmas, 59 bags, 3 score 10 8 0 Michaelmas toChristmas, 91 bags, 6score 24 9 10 35 4 7^ Straw supplied for bedding, 17 seams 2 3 0 Supplied to piggery :— Small potatoes. Midsummer to Michael- mas, 59 score, ISlbs 0 14 11 Ditto, Michaelmas to Christmas, 63 bags 0 6 0 Straw, 14 seams 1 15 6 Barley, 36 bags H 14 0 ■'' ° 20 10 5 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 179 Balance for crops growing, and in store : — IN STORE. Potatoes, 156 bags 41 12 0 Ditto seed, 30 bags 8 0 0 Ditto, small, 41 bags 5 9 4 55 1 4 Barley, 191 bags 6 11 7i Leeks, 56 score 2 16 0 Parsnips, 394 cwt 4 13 9 7 14 9 GROWING. Cabbages, winter grown 2 10 0 Swedes, 6 tons 3 0 0 Celery 0 5 0 5 15 0 £167 2 lOf ilemorandum. — 6| seams of straw, used to cover potatoes, in caves 0 15 3 P1GGEP.Y ACCOUNT. Dr. Payments, £ s. d. £ s. d Purchase of 15 pigs, and ringing do 12 5 0 Ditto pollard, bran, and barley meal 9 1 H Ditto grains, by the master 4 3 3 Ditto 6 bags of potatoes 0 15 0 26 4 4i Field Account. Potatoes, MidsuniM'.cr to Michaelmas, 59 score 151b 0 14 11 Ditto, Michaelmas to Christmas, 63 bags 6 6 0 Straw, 14 seams and two-tenths 1 15 6 Barley, 36 bags 11 14 0 20 10 5 £46 14 9* Cr. ~ s. d. By produce of 4 pigs killed, gross weight 52 score irib .•■••."•••;•• 1' 3 6 By balance for pigs in store, 10 pigs, weighing 78 _ ^ score 2o / 0 £46 14 9| The CuAiRMAN said the balance now handed iu presumed that the Board would pay the salary of the Inspector of La- bour, but that was not so ; the inspector's salary was paid by the Council of Education, and this would increase the balance in favour of the union to £83 17s. 6id. He might fairly say, iu asking them to receive the report, that it was the most interesting document that had been presented to thcui since he had been a member of the Board. (Hear.) Mr. Creed had much pleasure in moving the adoption of the report. He thought the best thanks of the Board were due to the committee, for the zeal they bad manifested in carrying out the scheme ; and he moved, also, that the thanks of the Board be given to the committee. Z\Ir. Coward seconded the resolutiou, at}d hoped the gen- tlemen of the press would do their best to give publicity to the report, in order that other unio.is might be induced to follow the example, and adopt industrial schools to employ the surplus labour of the house, and educate the young in tlie habit of earning a livelihood by their own industry. (Hear.) The Rev. C. Wolston having e.spressed his gratification, and Mr. Palk having made some suggestions for the better manage- ment of the piggeries, Mr. Hutch iNGS, the introducer of the scheme, said the report exceeded his anticipations, but it was only one half of a scheme that he intended to propose, and he should shortly take the opportunity of introducing the other half. (Hear.) CLOVER SICKNESS. Sir, — I have read vfith much interest in your impres- sion of the 12th inst., the report of Mr. Nesbit's lecture at Dorchester, and am now about to draw your attention to that part only of the proceedings relative to the cause of clover being occasionally an uncertain crop. The chairman of the meeting put the question — " Why was it that clover could not be grown in that county oftener than once in six years, and, in some cases, not even more than once in ten years .'" to which Mr. Nesbit replied that it was " almost a poser." The question is one which applies to many localities befcides Dorsetshire ; and probably the answer is the most satisfactory which could have been given, inasmuch as it is not calculated to mislead any one in their en- deavours to investigate the cause of so singular a pheno- menon, and in seeking to apply a practical remedy. The complaint which I have here designated as a sin- gular phenomenon, I have generally found most pre- valent on lands where a large proportion of roof crops are grown, and am strongly inclined to think that on such due attention is often not paid by the farmer lo a sufficient restoration of sulphates to the soil. All animal and vegetable substances contain a certain quantity of sulphur as a constituent of their organism ; and more especially turnips, red clover, lucern, sainfoin, &c. ; so that the inference is probable that land repeatedly cropped with turnips may be so far deprived of its sul- phates, by growing that root, as to be deficient in the re- quisite quantity necessary for carrying clover to maturity in the rotation. The experiment would be well v.-orth a trial, as the expense would be very trifling, for the quan- tity required would not exceed a few lbs. per acre, and may be supplied by various sulphates, such as gypsum (sul. of lime), alum (sul. of alumina), sulphuric acid, or common brimstone, and also coal ashes. Sulphur is but sparingly supplied by most lands in the natural decom- position of the soil itself ; for as a constituent of the natural crust of the earth, it is found only in small quan- tity, and as it exists in notable cjuantity in hair and wool, where many sheep tmd beasts are kept, a considerable portion is consequently sold ofF the land annually ; it is therefore important to the farmer that a sufficiency of this raaterial should be restored when a deficiency of it in the soil may be suspected. In concluding these remarks, I would venture an opinion that the deficiency of a due proportion of sul- phates in arable land is frequently the cause of a number of the unaccountable diseases of which farmers and gardeners so much complain. I remain. Sir, your obedient scrvii.nt, David Scott. Hendon, Middlesex, Jan. 22nd. — Mark Lane Express. N 2 180 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. METEOROLOGICAL DIARY. Baroaieter. ' Thermometer. ! Wind and State. 1 1 i Atmosphere. Weath. 8 a.m. 10 p.m. Mill. Max. 10p.m. Direction. Force 8 a.m. 2 p.m. 10p.m. r>pv. in. cis. in. cts. 29.84 40 43 42 S. by East varblc. cloudy cloudy cloudy 29.54 rain 23j 30.10 30.23 38 42 41 Northerly gentle cloudy cloudy cloudy dry 24j 30.25 30.27 35 40 38 S. East calm cloudy .sun Icloudy dry 25i 30.29 30.34 30 40 38 W. or by North calm cloudy sun cloudy dry 2(J 30.40 30.51 31 37 25 Easterly calm fine sun fine dry 27, 30.51 30.38 25 34 34 , Var., Westerly calm haze cloudy cloudy dry 2S, 30.30 30.42 33 37 36 N. East gentle cloudy calm haze cloudy cloudy rain 29 30. 4S 30.48 33 39 36 , E. by North liaze cloudy dry 30 30.48 30.40 34 40 30 Var., S.E. gentle cloudy cloudy fine dry 31 30.28 30.10 29 36 35 S. West calm Icloudy cloudy cloudy dry Jan. 1, 29.98 29.84 31 35 31 S. Westerly calm haze cloudy fine dry 2 29.75 29.69 28 40 38 S. Westerly gentle jcloudy fine cloudy rain 3, 29.68 29.60 35 45 45 S. West brisk jfine sun cloudy I dry 4 29.55 30.10 42 44 32 N. by West brisk fine sun fine dry 5| 30.20 30.10 28 42 38 S. or by E. lively 'fine sun cloudy dry 6 29.96 29.70 34 44 44 South lively fine sun cloudy ' dry 7 29.55 29.88 38 48 40 S. Westerly lively cloudy sun fine rain 8 29.88 29.23 37 47 47 S. West strong cloudy fine cloudy rain 9 29.19 29.50 34 39 34 S.W., N.W. very bk cloudy fine fine jrain 10 29.65 29.48 30 37 37 W.byS., Sthly. gentle fine sun cloudy dry 11 28.97 29.24 36 50 47 S. West brisk cloudy cloudy fine rain 12 29.29 29.39 46 46 45 S. West lively cloudy cloudy cloudy Irain 13 29.51 29.58 39 49 49 Estly. S.Wsty. varble. cloudy cloudy fine ira'm 14 29.70 29.79 47 51 45 S. Westerly gentle cloudy sun cloudy ! dry 15 29.63 29.50 , 45 52 52 S. Westerly strong cloudy fine cloudy rain 16 29.70 29.92 , 46 50 45 S. Westerly gentle clovidy fine cloudy Jdry 17 30.— 30.27 41 47 37 Wstly., N.W. gentle fine sun fine 'dry 18 30.31 30.30 ! 32 44 37 S. West gentle fine sun cloudy ! dry 19 30.20 30.02 33 42 42 S. West gentle fine sun cloudy dry 20 29.80 29.83 40 48 42 S. or by West gentle cloudy cloudy fine rain 21 29.96 29.49 35 50 50 1 South strong cloudy cloudy cloudy irain estimated averages of JANUARY. Barometer. j Thermometer. High. I Low. I High. I Low. I Mean. 30I77 I 28.89 1 52 I 11 1 36.1 REAL average TEMPERATURE OF THE PERIOD. Highest. i Lowest. I Mean. 43.22 I 35.64 1 39-43 Weather and Phenomena. December 22 — Soaking showers. 23 — Change- able; fine mid-day. 24 — Some sun till evening. 25— Frost early; fine. 26 — Clear; keen frost. 27 — Rapid change. 28 — Damp and chilly. 29 — Hazy ; cloudy. 30 — Fine, and richly tinted clouds at sunset. 31 — Frosty; then a thaw. Lunations. — New Moon, 22nd day 3h. 34 m, afternoon. First Quarter, 30th day 15 m. afternoon. 1852: January 1 — Semi-haze; quite tranquil. 2— Gentle; improving. 3 — Beautiful day. 4 — Rain in night. 5 — Beautiful; gorgeous sunset; green, silver, and golden strata. 6— Fine cirro- stratus. 7 — Early frost; pale lunar halo. 8 — Changeable ; hints of rain. 9 — After night rain a fine day. 10 — Fine, li, 12, 13 — Night rain at first; copious rains follow. 14 — Fine. 15 — Much rain, with storm. 16 to 20 — Little sun (but dry), excepting on the l7th and 18th. 21 — Very wet. Lunations. — Full moon, 7th day, 6 h. 9 ra. morning; sets eclipsed. Last quarter, 14th day, Ih. 11 m. morning. New Moon, 21st day, 7h. 27 m. morning. remarks referring to agriculture. The winter is passing away, and since the early frosts of November, is of a decidedly mild charac- ter. No snow is seen in East Surrey ; and the fields are verdant as in spring. A very good sup- ply of rain has fallen since the 20th night of Dec, and the spring will probably rise fast. The wheat remains subdued, and everything on the farms is looking well. Some keen ground-frost might be healthy and seasonable, aflfbrding also a useful check. Croydon. J. Towers, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 181 CALENDAR OF HORTICULTURE. PLANT HOUSES. Conservatory. — Use every exertion to keep this house gay by a constant draught upon the Forcing- house and the Store-pits ; and if such plants as Euphorbias, Aphelandras, Justicias, Poinsettias from the stove, together with Dendrobiums, Odontoglossum grande, and Bletias from the Orchid-house, are brought into it, the temperature will require considerable attention, and should be kept as high as 55 degrees by da}', and about 10 degrees less by night : such plants should have the warmest places selected for them. Take care that they are not exposed to cutting draughts. The same remarks will apply to plants from the Forcing-house, of which there should now be a good stock in bloom, such as Hyacinths, Tulips, Narcissi, Rhododendrons, Kalmias, Deutzias, Lilacs, Indian and hardy Azaleas, and a few of the dark China and Fairy Roses ; Mignonette, also, will now be coming on, if kept near the glass. Make a small sowing in pots for succession, and place them in a cold frame near the glass. Lachenalias will soon be throwing up their bloom spikes, and should be placed on a shelf close to the glass, otherwise the bloom will come weak and small. Amarylhds should be removed from the pit to a forcing-house, or early vinery, as soon as they indicate flowering. Water them freely when well started. CameUias will now be in great beauty ; therefore, in syringing, avoid wetting the flowers, as it will most likely spot them. Be careful at all times, in syringing, to use very clear water. Sprinkle the walks &c. daily, to keep up a pleasant, but not too moist an atmosphere. Stove, — This house is generally more liable to a variety of insects than any other, and there is no more important operation in the plant department generally than that of keeping down such vermin. Omit no opportunity of doing so ; for if allowed to get ahead, the labour is doubled and trebled. Prune and re-pot Stephanotis, Allamanda, Dipla- denia, Manettia, Clerodendrons, and other plants of a similar habit ; syringe them occasionally with tepid water, but do not water too freely at the roots until growth commences. Examine Ixoras, and give them a shift if necessary, and remove them to a lively bottom-heat. Greenhouse. — Calceolarias will now require con- siderable attention to shifting, as the roots are in full action, and, if fine plants are desired, they must not be cramped for pot room ; for, if they are, they will throw up for bloom too fast, which is not desirable just yet. Apply liquid manure to such as are in a free growing state. Thin out the branches of Pelargoniums where too much crowded, so that the air may circulate freely amongst thera ; per- sevei'e in training as they make growth, and con- tinue shifting the late plants. Small plants of Indian Azalias, intended to be grown on for speci- mens, may now be shifted at once, and removed into heat. Larger plants of the above, for next seasons forcing, should also be started in heat, to make an early growth. Do not permit them to flower. Remove forced Camellias which are past blooming into heat, to make fresh growth for early blooms another year. Prepare a selection of pots, composts, and drainage for shifting hard-wooded plants. Florists' Flotoers. — Auriculas have now begun to make growth ; let them be top-dressed imme- diately, all decayed leaves removed, and every en- couragement given to obtain a stocky growth, by abundance of air, and situation close to the glass. A little more water may now be given to them, but avoid too much. Carnations and Picotees ai'e on the move, and will soon be ready for shifting into blooming pots ; see, therefore, that the compost is getting ready, and be sure that it gets a thorough manipulation, to destroy every vestige of wire-worm. Stir the surface of the beds of Pinks and Pansies, and apply a slight dressing of soot and ashes. Bulbs of all sorts, such as Anemone, Hyacinth, Ranunculus, Gladiolus, &c., remaining unplanted, should be got in without delay. Those advancing in growth must be protected from frost and heavy rains. FORCING HOUSES. Vineries. — As the fruit will now be mostly cut in the latest houses, the trees should be pruned with- out delay, and dressed over with a mixture of soft soap, sulphur, soot, and lime, in about equal pro- portions, with just suflficient water to make it of the consistency of paint. It is best to apply it warm — 100 degrees is not too much— afterwards the houses should be put in thorough order, the glass washed, and cleanliness established throughout. The re- cent drenching rains will render it necessary to exarriine the state of the borders in the earlv houses. IS'2 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Add fresh fcrmentincf material, so as to keep the hent as littlo below 70 degrees as possible. If this mrth.od of heatinf^ the borders is not employed, at least endeavour to ado])t some means of throwinj*- ofFthe drenchinor rains from the border;;, which, at this season cannot bnt be very injurious, and much more so if the drainage is at all imperfect. Attend to previous directions with regard to syringing and thinning the growth. Peach-house. — The latest houses may now be put in good order, the trees pruned, and, previous to being fastened to the trellis, well and carefully painted with the mixture above recommended for vines, commencing at tlie base of the shoots and using the brush upwards ; the house may then be closed, and, after a few days, slight fires put on. Early houses as before directed. Pits and Frames. — Look to the state of the beds intended for Early Melons and successions of Cucumbers. As soon as the bottom-heat has fallen to 80 degrees, the plants, previously well prepared, as directed before, may be planted in the ridges, and carefully watered with tepid water. Do not cover too heavily whilst the heat is very lively. Look to the stock of fermenting material, and keep plenty ready for use. Mitshroom-house. — Prepare materials for making beds for succession; those lately mads may be safely spawned as soon as the heat has sunk to 80 degrees. Beds in bearing will be much benefited by being watered with some warm liquid manure, in which a handful of salt has been dissolved. Keep the house moderately warm and moist. FLOWRR GAIW1EN. Continue to make the best use of whatever vacancies may occur in heated structures to put oft' autumn stores and bring them forward in rooting, which is of more importance than their making much top-growth. See that abundance of air is supplied to store plants in ])0ts, such as Pentstemon, Antirrhinum, Pansy, &c. A bed, or beds, may now be sown with Delphinium con- solida for the earliest blooming. Prepare also beds for Dwarf Rocket Larkspur, and for another sow- ing of Hardy Annuals. Ten-week stocks may be sown and brought forward on a gentle heat ; but it is full early, unless in special recjuest. KITCHEN GARDEN. A first sowing of one of the most useful vegeta- bles extant, Brussels Sprouts, may be got in this week for the earhest crop. Cauliflowers in frames and hand-lights will require abundance of air, and dressings of soot and ashes to keep down slug. See that a i)iece of ground is in course of prepara- tion for the first sowing of Parsnips. Plant Jeru- salem Artichokes and new Horseradish beds, — C. AGRICULTURAL REPORTS GENERAL AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR JANUARY. Notwithstanding that very large quantities of rain have fallen in most parts of the United King- dom during the month just concluded, our reports, in reference to the general appearance of the fields, are tolerably favourable. It cannot be denied, however, that a few somewhat sharp frosts, aided by a mcderately-deep fall of snow, would now be beneficial to the winter wlieats, as well as to the stocks of grain in stack. The former have, in some districts, grov/n somewhat rapidly, whilst the latter are mostly in a damp and somewhat un- saleable condition; nevertheless, considerable in- roads have been made upon the supply of wheat of last year's growth in the hands of the growers, with a greater inclination on the part of millers to operate, arising chiefly from, the large consumption and the falling oflfin the imports from abroad. On the whole, the supply of grass in the pastures in most of the leading grazing districts has been good, yet immense quantities of turnips have been con- sumed l)y fattening ftock. Although advices have reached us to the efFect that very large supplies of linseed — nearly 200,000 quarters — are on passage from the Black and Mediterranean Seas, including the East Indies, that article has been in improved request, and nearly or quite the v/hole of the arrivals have been dis])osed of at full prices. For cakes the demand has improved to some extent, at higher figures. It is thought, therefore, that graziers in general have come to the determination to force ad- ditional numbers of both beasts and sheep for our various markets ; but we believe that, as the system has never given an adequate return for the outlay of capital, it will be a matter for serious consideration on the part of those immediately interested whetlier it would be prudent to make large investments in an ariicle which does not tend to lessen the cost of production. Our opinion is that — owing to the unusually small imports in 1850 — the supply of linseed in the hands of the crushers is mu.-h smaller than usual, especially as a continuous de- mand has taken place for shipment to the con- tinent, where it is now used more freely than here- tofore ; and hence that the consumption is spread over a larger surface than m the ordinary run of years, Compared with most corresponding periods THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 183 prior to the present tariff laws coming into opera- tion, prices of all fat stock — arising, of course, from the heavy arrivals from the continent — continue low; nevertheless, it is pretty generally admitted that, as they have fluctuated but little for several months past, and that, as a consequence, store beasts and sheep have been more easily purchased by small farmers, the losses have not been so severe as in some previous seasons, more especially as the stock has proved comparatively free from disease. Our Dutch letters state that the numbers of stock ready for shipment to England are much larger than usual, but, owing to the short days and strong gales, that the exports will be small during the next month. As to quantity, the crop of barley grown in this country last year is proving good, but mostly deficient in quality — very little of it being fit for malting purposes. -Fine samples have commanded somewhat high rates, and a steady business has been doing in grinding and distilling sorts at im- proved currencies. The aggregate yield of oats, beans, and peas is turning out a fair average one, yet there appears to be every reasonable prospect of steady prices. Much surprise has been expressed in several quarters respecting the immense abundance of the crop of potatoes. The metro- politan, including the country, markets have been heavily supplied with that esculent in excellent condition, wliilst the imports have been under 40 uons ! The low figures at which potatoes have been disposed of have, as a matter of course, interfered to some extent with the consumption of the better kinds of food, and we may safely venture to assert that the supplies still on hand are consider- ably in excess of most former seasons. Throughout the continent, the yield has been found unusually small, and deficient in quality — a convincing argu- ment against shipments to the United Kingdom. During the year 1850 the arrivals into England from France, Holland, and Belgium, were nearly G0,000tons; but in 1851 they were under 8,000 tons, and those chiefly derived in the months of June and July. As far as we can understand, the l^readth of land under potato-culture in the above countries has increased fully one-third during the past two seasons ; consequently, as no surplus has been left for the outward trade, the losses to the growers must have been enormous. In most parts of the country very abundant sup- plies of both hay and straw are to be met with. Of course they have materially lessened the gra- ziers' expenses in jjroviding food for cattle. Prices have, in consequence of this abundance, ruled very low. In London, meadow hay has sold at from £2 128. to £3 17s. ; clover do., £3 5s. to £4 6s. ; and straw, £1 to £1 7s. per load. Grass-land farmers naturally complain of these low currencies; but then they must take into the account the addi- tional supphes still on hand, though, of course, they have entailed upon them additional expenses for cartage. The arrivals of artificial manures into the United Kingdom have been large in the extreme, viz., about 10,000 tons from Cailao, and 2,000 tons from other quarters. The accumulated stock is now little short of 120,000 tons— or the largest on record. The high rates still demanded by the consignees of the Peruvian government have operated against sales ; hence the quotations have ruled almoit nominal. Should, however, the value of wheat continue to improve to anything like a paying point, we may fairly anticipate an improved de- mand. Sheep-shearing has been partially commenced in our flock districts, and we may intimate that much attention is now being directed to the article of wool. In the manufacturing districts — where every evidence is manifested of activity and profitable re- turns— the stock of both English and colonial wool is unusually small ; whilst the accounts at hand from the Cape, and likewise from Australia, tend to confirm the impression that the present year's clip in those quarters will lie much smaller than usual. In reference to the Cape, we may observe that the warlike operations carried on there have destroyed a large portion of the stock in that country, and which cannot by possibility be replaced for some considerable time. Labour has become scarce and dear : whilst immigration has received a severe check. In Australia the gold fever has taken away some thousands of persons from agricultural em- ployment, and it has become a matter of doubt whether a suflicient number of hands will be found to carry on the usual branches of trade, much bss the shearing of sheep, which is almost invariably done by parties Vv'ho have no settled homes. For- tunately for the manufacturing interest, the quan- tity of colonial wool in warehouse in the metropolis is large, or about 70,000 bales, the greater portion of which will be offered for public competition in Fe1)ruary and March; yet it is evident that prices v/ill continue very firm for some considerable-time, as there is every prospect of production barel v keep- ing pace with our actual demands. The immense trade at this time carried on between this country and the United States, the important discoveries of gold in California, added to the deficiencies of foreign wool calculated to compete with the produce of our colonies, induce the opinion that the future prospects of the wool trade are good. In Scotland and Ireland the prices of all agricul- 184 TH]<: FARMER'S MAGAZINE. tural produce, including those of fat stock, have had an upward tendency, with a good consumptive demand. The shipments to England have steadily increased. REVIEW OF THE CATTLE TRADE DURING THE PAST MONTH. The actual numhers of English stock on sale in Smithfield iu the month just concluded have been by no means extensive, the time of year considered ; yet they have proved equal to the demand. Prices, however, arising from the immense consumption, have been steadily supported. As we are noiv drawing near the close of the season's receipts of beasts from the north of England, it may not be uninteresting to observe that those reported during the past si\ months have not been very first rate, either as regards quality or weight. Hitherto the arrivals from Norfolk and Suffolk have been ex- ceedingly good. An excess has taken place in the imports from abroad, yet the total supply of beasts has exhibited a slight deficiency; but that of sheep has increased to some extent, about 10,000 more having been exhibited and disposed of than in January 1851. The continuous extension of rail- way communication, and the comparatively high rates at which the offal is selling in some parts of England, added to the saving of commission in many instances, have been beneficial to the pro- ducers of fat stock ; hence unusually large quanti- ties of countrj'-killed meat have been forwarded uj) to Newgate and Leadenhall, where they have been mostly disposed of at fair quotations. That the system will continue to extend does not admit of a doubt, notwithstanding that, during the continu- ance of warm weather, a portion of the arrivals is frequently sacrificed. The total supplies exhibited in Smithfield have been as under : — Head. Beasts 17,325 Cows 442 Sheep 102,970 Calves 1,336 Pigs 2,515 CORRESPONDING PERIODS. Jan., Jan., Jan., Jan., 1848. 1849. 1850. 1851. Beasts 15,589 16,623 15,553 1S,310 Cows 480 568 442 361 Sheep,... 61,880 93,150 95,560 92,590 Calves.... 770 873 1,014 1,178 Pigs . . 2,435 1,185 1,783 2,998 _ Very little change has taken place in the quota- tions, the average of which have ruled thus: — Per Slbs., to smk the offals, s. d. s. d. Beef, from 2 4 to 3 10 Mutton 2 8 to 4 4 Veal 3 0 to 4 0 Pork 2 8 to 3 10 CORRKSPONDINti PKRIODS. Jan., 1848. Jan., 1849. s. d. s. d. 8. d. s. d. Beef, from 3 4 to 5 0 3 Oto4 0 Mutton 3 8 5 4 3 8 4 10 Veal 4 4 5 6 3 G 4 8 Pork 3 8 5 2 3 4 4 8 Jan., 1850. Jan., 1851. s. d. s. d, s. d. s. d. Beef, from .... 2 10 to 4 0 2 6 to 3 8 Mutton 2 10 4 2 3 4 4 4 Veal 3 0 4 0 3 0 3 10 Pork 3 4 4 2 2104 0 The bullock supplies have been thus derived . — Head. Norfolk and Suffolk 4,900 Northern districts 3,400 Other parts of England 2,000 Scotland 1,364 The imports of foreign stock into London have been : — Head. Beasts 1,924 Sheep 7,298 Calves 1,307 Pigs 38 Total 10,567 During the same period, in 1851, we received 9,018; in 1850, 3,220; in 1849, 4,495; and, in 1848, 5,485 head. The total supply at the out- ports has been only about 2,000 head. Rather an extensive business has been doing in Newgate and Leadenhall markets, where the cur- rencies have ruled tolerably firm. The general quality of the meat disposed of has been somewhat superior to some past seasons. CHIPPENHAM MONTHLY CHEESE MARKET has again begun its annual round, with every indication of increas- ing prosperity. It may not be out of place here to state that liuring the last year nearly 2000 tons of cheese were brought ij market, and disposed of, and this cannot have realized much less than tlie large sura of £80,000. The average monthly supply throughout the year appears, therefore, to be upwards of 150 tons, derived from the counties of Wilts, Somerset, and Gloucestershire, and consists of all qualities, from 30s. to TOs. per cwt. The market was supplied with about 100 tons of cheese, which was nearly all sold at a slight improvement in price. Broad doubles, 403. to 4G3. per cwt. ; prime Cheddar, oCs. to eOs. do. ; thin, 30s. to 40s. ; leaves, 443. to 4G3. ; skim, 223. GLOUCESTER MONTHLY MARKET.— There was a short supply of both beef and mutton, which sold readily at the following prices : — Beef, 5d., mutton from 5id. to 6d. per lb. WORCESTER MONTHLY f AIR.-The attendance of buyers was very numerous, and the show of stock large, as well of beef as of mutton, also stores of all classes. Beef fetclied from 4|d. to 5d., and all sold. Mutton Ojd., wethers G\., and nearly all sold. Of pork there was a small supply, price 4 Jd. ; stores a shade lower. A very bad show of horses, and very little doing. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 185 REVIEW OE THE CORN TRADE DURING THE MONTH OF JANUARY. The weather has, contrary to expectation, been remarkably mild up to the present period, not only in this country, but likewise over the greater part of the north of Europe, resembling in this respect the winter of 1850 and 1851. The season is now so far advanced that any protracted interval of severe frost is, to say the least, improbable ; and we are therefore likely to have a forward spring. A mild open winter is not generally deemed favour- able, but the result of last year's harvest has proved that the rule is not without exception, as, notwithstanding the almost total absence of frost, the autumn-sown crops gave a very good return both in quantity and quality. That the consump- tion of all kinds of food has been economised in consequence of the comparatively mild weather cannot be questioned ; but in one respect it has proved injurious to the farmer, the humidity of the atmosphere having had a very deteriorating eftect on the condition of all kinds of grain in stack ; but we think this disadvantage has been more than compensated by the saving of fodder for cattle, &c. In our last monthly article we prepared our friends to expect some adv^ance in prices, and the course the trade has taken since then has proved 'that our opinion on this point was not ill founded. Since the commencement of the new year the value of almost all kinds of agricultural produce has steadily improved, and present appearances induce us to believe that the upward movement has not yet reached the maximum. The cause of the rise has unquestionably been the deficient yield of rye and potatoes on the continent, and a consequent increased use of wheat in countries where, in ordi- nary seasons, the bulk of the people live principally on the inferior kinds of food. This has naturally led to a decrease in the shipments to England ; and our markets having been temporarily freed from the undue pressure of foreign importations under which they have laboured since the first introduc- tion of free trade, something like confidence has been restored. The causes which have produced this effect still exist, and it is therefore fair to infer that the improvement will go on for some time longer j but we would caution our agricultural friends not to become too sanguine, and allow the opportunity to realize somewhat more remunerating prices to escape them. So long as quotations abroad continue so much above those current here, as they now are, there is little chance of over- whelming imports ; but we are of opinion that the rise in Germany, though originally founded on sound basis, has latterly been greatly assisted by speculation, and that a good deal of that bought will ultimately have to be resold. "When this time arrives the local demand may not perhaps be adequate to take all that is brought forward, and consignments to Great Britain will in that case be resorted to, more especially if (as is not improbable) our prices should meanwhile creep up. Experi- ence has proved that whenever anything like scarcity is calculated on in this country the extent of the expected want is genei-ally overrated ; the prospect of a profit is sufficient to induce our merchants to enter into preparation to meet the anti- cipated demand, and though as yet there has been nothing like excitement, many are disposed to take a much more sanguine view of the probable future range of quotations than we consider warranted by our position ; and we should therefore not be sur- prised if purchases were to be made abroad at prices which may ultimately involve the operators in loss. We consider it by no means sound reasoning to argue, because we imported nearly 4,000,000 qrs. of wheat in 1851, that the same quantity, or anything approaching it, will be again needed ; without compaiing the last crop with either of those of the productive years of 1834, 1835, or 1836 (when no foreign supplies at all were needed), we are satisfied that the produce of 1S51 very greatly exceeded that of the season immedi- ately preceding, and that a much larger proportion of the potato crop was saved sound both in this country and in Ireland, than in any former year since the first appearance of the disease. It would not, therefore, we think, be safe to estimate our pro- bable wants by the standard of imports of last year. We are induced to make these remarks to guard against any undue expectations ; though, as we have already intimated, a further moderate advance appears not only possible, but probable. A good deal of importance is just now being attached to the fact that purchases of wheat have been made in this country for shipment to the continent. This is certainly a novel feature, but to what does it amount ? The exports have probably been greater from Hull than from any other port ; still the total quantity shipped from thence since 186 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. the first commencement of the foreign demand has not exceeded '20,000 qvs., and we rjuestion whether more than 100,000, or at most ir)0,000 qrs., have been taken altogether. Against wh.ich we liave imported into the United Kingdom, in the month ending 5th inst., 178,839 qrs. wheat, ;'GG,7r)0 cwts. flour, and 120,183 qrs. Indian corn. Of the last- named article the stocks in Ireland are computed to consist of 400,000 qrs., against 164,000 qrs., up to the corresponding period last year ; and it ap- pears to us, therefore, to say the least, somewhat premature to talk of scarcity. The reports from the agricultural districts gene- rally speak well of the as|)ect of the young wheat plant : it is described as healthj', and, notwith- standing the mildness of the winter, by no means too forward. "We do not, however, place much importance on the appearance of things thus early, but in the course of another month or two this will tell, and we think the future range of prices will be governed m.ore by the weather and the aspect of the crops in the spring and early part of the sum- mer than by the tenor of the foreign advices, though hitherto the rise has been principally caused by the latter. The fact that barley has ever since harvest maintained a relatively higher value than wheat tends to confirm what we then stated to be oiu- impression, viz., that the yield of the spring-sown crops v.'ould be found to turn out inferior to the produce of wheat ; indeed we know, from un- questionable authority, that in many cases farmers have made less by their barley and oat crops this than th.e preceding season, notv.-ithstanding the comparatively high ])rices obtained. Suj)j)lies of these articles have not increased with the advance in quotations, and the prevailing belief is that the quantity remaining in the grov.'ers' hands has already been so much reduced as to render any great increase imlikely. Under these circum- stances, and considering that all which can be said respecting the improbability of large importations of wheat, applies with fully as much force to the prospect of supplies of foreign spring corn, we are inclined to think that present prices may be re- garded as safe, and we should certainly not be surprised to see a further rise in the value of superior malting barley, that being an article which the continental growers have not yet learned to produce, or, at all events, not in sufficient quantity to affect the value materially in this country. The growth of oats in England has of late years decreased, and we almost invariably have to depend on Ireland and the continent for a large proportion of our supply. We believe that the quantity re- quired this season will be fully as great as usual, and we question whether it will be possible to obtain what shall be needed e.vcept at higher l)rices than those now current. The oat crop in Ireland does not appear to have jiroved so pro- ductive as was expected at harvest time would have been the case ; and the high value of rye, potatoes, &c., over the greater part of the north of Europe, has naturally influenced the value of oats abroad, as also pi'ices of beans and peas ; and the prospects arc therefore in favour of some improve- ment here in quotations, more especially as regards oats, prices of which have not hitherto gone up in proportion to those of other articles. Though the season has imposed no impediments to shipments being made from the near continental ports, and the Baltic has throughout the winter re- mained almost wholly free from ice, the relatively high value of all kinds of corn and pulse abroad, as compared with prices in the British markets, has prevented foreign holders consigning to England ; and there is at present hardly any j^rain on passage from the continent to this country. We may^ how- ever, calculate on receiving tolerably good supplies of wheat and Indian corn from Odessa, Galatz, Alexandria, and other eastern ports, and some quantity of wheat and fljur from the United States of America. Tiie impetus which has lately been given to prices here will, we think, have the effect of causing shi])ments to some extent from the Baltic in the spring, and we are by no means ap- prehensive of anything like scarcity being experi- enced. What proportion of the last crop still remains in the hands of our own growers cannot be accurately ascertained : the deliveries of wheat have certainly been liberal during the autumn and v.'inter, but the yield was large ; and tliough the less wealthy class of farmers may have been compelled by pecuniary pressure to part with tlie greater part of tlieir pro- duce, others, who were in a position to hold, have no doubt felt great reluctance in selling at the miserably low terms till now current; and cur im- pression is that there is a much larger stock of home grown wheat in the country than at this period last year. Vre shall now jiroceed to give our usual retro- sj)ect of the operations which have taken place at Mark Lane during the month. The arrivals of wheat into the port of London coastwise and by railway have not been particularly small ; the weekly receipts by water carriage have amounted to about 3,000 qrs., but a considerable proportion has gone direct to millers without appear- ing on the market for sale, which circumstance lias caused the extent of business to be a good deal diminished. There were no symptoms of e.xcite- ment in tl:e wheat trade tlie first fortnight in January, and though the quantity brought forv/ard THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 187 by land-carriage samples from Essex and Kent, on Monday, the 5th inst., was decidedly small, some difficulty was experienced in placing the same at an advance of Is. per qr. on the terms current at the close of December. During the succeeding week a considerable quantity of rain fell, which rendered the atmosphere so damp as seriously to influence the condition of the samples exhibited on the 12th. The millers were consequently exceed- ingly cautious in their operations on the latter occasion, and the sales then made were at prices scarcely equal to those reahzed on that day se'nnight. Since then a more favourable view of the probable future range of prices has taken strong hold of public opinion, and sellers have gradually raised their pre- tensions. With a moderate show of samples from the home counties, and but little offering from Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, factors v/ere enabled, on the 19th inst., to exceed the Cjuotations of the l2th by fully Is. per qr., and on Monday last a further rise of 2s. per qr. was established, making the total rise since our last 4s., and in many cases 5s. per qr. The improvement has been greater on the red wheat from Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire than on other qualities; and whilst the top price of Kentish and Essex red has not e.x-ceeded 43s., as much as 44s. per qr. has been obtained for 63 lbs. red Lincoln. The arrivals of wheat from abroad have been on quite a moderate scale, and a large proportion of what has come to hand has been from Egypt, a quality not suitable for our millers, and the greater part of which will probably be used for distillation. The scanty nature of the supply of foreign wheat, and the ])revailing belief that the receipts from abroad will continue small for some time to come, have imparted great firmness to holders of grana- ried samples, more especially as the indifferent order in Vi'hich the new English has come f()rv\'ard, in consequence of the constant mild damp weather, has rendered a larger mixture of old foreign abso- lutely necessary. The irnprovement in the value of the latter has consequently been fully equal to that which has taken place in prices of the former ; and when we compare present rates with those current six weeks or two months back, we find that a rise of 5s. and 6s. per qr, has been established on some descriptions. The advance is best shown on really fine and low qualities, the intermediate kinds having excited less attention. Fine Danzig wheat is now currently bringing 50s. to 52s., and picked lots even higher rates. Superior old Rostock is worth 50s., and other kinds of Baltic red corresponding rates. Mean- v.'liile Polish Odessa, and similar sorts on the spot, have risen about 3s. to 4s. per qr. ; and inferior fcmall Russian wheat, which was offered at about 28s. per qr. in the early part of last month, has lately been held at 32s. per qr. In addition to v.'hat has been done in foreign wheat on the spot, a large business has been trans- acted in floating cargoes, and the upward move- ment in prices has been equally rapid. Polish Odessa v/heat on passage has risen from 35*. and 36s. to 39s. and 40s. per qr., and Ghirka is now held at 40s. and 41s. per qr., cost, freight, and insurance. Egj'^ptian wheat to arrive, which was freely offered at 27s. per qr, when we last addressed our readers, cannot now be bought below 30s. per qr., cost, freight, and insurance; and the Greek houses, who are principally engaged in the trade in grain with the Levant, are hkely to come out of their specu- lations much more profitably than appeared at one time likel}'. The top price of town-made FJour, after having remained stationary for a long period, was advanced 3s. per sack on the 5th inst, : previous to this rise, m.ost of the metropolitan bakers bought largely, many of the millers having entered into contracts to deliver a given quantity at stated periods, and, consi- dering the rise in thevalueof wheat,they(themillers) are therefore not likely to derive much profit from the advance. The first week or two after Flour had been put up to 40s. per sack there was a decided falling off in the demand ; but since then the in- cjuiry has improved, and the bakers seem still dis- posed to continue their purchases, though a further rise of 3s. per sack was established on the 26th inst. Country flour has risen in the same proportion as town -made, and the sale for fresh marks has been free during the last fortnight, Su[)plies from France have nearly ceased, but we have had tolerably good arrivals from America at this port, French has risen quite 2s. per sack since the close of December, and the improvement on American may be fairly estimated at Is. (id. to 2s. per brl. The latter has excited a good deal of speculative attention, and rather large parcels have been taken to hold over. Good sound quahties are now worth 23s, to 24s., and superior 24s, to 25s, per brl. The supplies of English barley have hardly kept pace with the demand, and notwithstanding the high value this grain had previously attained, a further improvement has taken place. In the early part of the month the maltsters acted somewhat cautiously, and prices did not vary materially till the 19th inst., when 35s. per qr. was realized for fine malting samples. This rise has not only been since maintained, but in many cases the rate named has been exceeded by Is. per qr. All other de- scriptions of home-grov> n barley have moved off ratlier freely, and we consider secondary malting and distilling sorts quite is. per qr. dearer than at the close of last month. The receipts of this grain 188 THE FARxVIER'S MAGAZINE. from abroad have been principally from Alexandria, from whence one or two large cargoes have come to hand, wliich will leave the parties concerned a good profit — the price for this sort of barley having now risen to •20s.to21s.per qr. The arrivals from the con- tinent of Europe have been comparatively trifling ; our prices, though high, aftbrding no margin for profit on shipments from thence. We observe that very large purchases have been made lately at Ham- burg of barley free on board in the Danish islands in spring, with a view of the English markets. "What the result of these purchases may be remains to be seen; but considering that as much as 24s. 3d. has been paid, we are disposed to look upon the specu- lation as somewhat hazai'dous — such quality being only worth about 26s. per qr. in the London market at present. Malt has been influenced by the state of the barley market, and sellers of the former article have gradually raised their pretensions, for moderately good parcels 55s., and for superior lots as much as 60s. per qr. being now demanded. The weekly arrivals of oats have fallen short of the quantity required to supply the consumption of the metropolis, and the large dealers have had to draw somewhat extensively on their stocks. The knowledge that the quantity held by the dealers is not heavy, and the conviction that the receipts will for some time to come be very moderate, have caused sellers to manifest little anxiety about realizing from on board, and buyers have been obliged to pay enhanced rates for this grain. The unwillingness on the part of purchasers to give any advance has caused the trade to wear a somewhat languid ap- pearance, and the transactions were, in the early part of the month, on a strictly retail scale. An improvement of about 6d. per qr. was established with difficulty on the 5th inst. ; and though the tendency was upwards, the following week no further alteration was made in quotations until the 19th, when a similar rise took place. On the Mon- day following the dealers were evidently anxious to add to their stocks, and the business done was more extensive than previously, though a further advance of 6d.to Is. perqr. was insisted on. Good English and Scotch feed oats, weighing 38 to 39 lbs. per bush., are now worth 20s. to 21s., fine 22s. to 23s., Scotch potato 23s. to 25s., Irish feed from l7s. up to 21s., and Archangel and Riga 19s. to 20s. per qr. The quantity of English Beans brought forward at Mark Lane since our last has not been large; but having in the early part of the month had very liberal supplies from Egj-pt, the article became difficult of disposal, and in partial cases a decline of Is. perqr. was submitted to; this abatement has, however, since been nearly re- covered, the upward movement in prices of barley and oats having had more or less influence on the value of all other articles suitable for feeding purposes. Egyptian beans on the spot, after having been sold at one time at 23s. 4d., are now held at 24s. per qr., and for cargoes on passage nearly as much money is asked, showing that opinion is in favour of a rise hereafter. Peas — in the value of which the fluctuations were important during the months of November and December — have remained comparatively quiet since. Good boilers have moved off" steadily at about 35s. per qr. Maple and grey ])eas receded about Is. per qr. on the 5th instant, and that de- cline has not since been recovered. There have been occasional inquiries for fine large blue peas for shipment to Holland, and the best sorts have realized full terms. A lively demand has been experienced for Indian corn afloat, principally on Irish account, where, notwithstanding heavy stocks, a considerable ex- tent of speculation has been cai'ried on in the article. The consequence of this state of things has been rather an important rise in quotations. The advance within the last fortnight has been fully 3s. per qr., and good Galatz is not now to be obtained below 30s. to 30s. 6d. per qr., cost, freight, and insurance. Those who were fortunate enough to buy early have therefore now a favour- able chance of realizing a good profit. The quan- tity of Indian cox'n at present on passage to the United Kingdom is estimated at 200,000 qrs., which, with the 350,000 to 400,000 qrs. held in Ireland, will suffice to satisfy the consumption, which is computed to be at the rate of 32,000 qrs. per week for at least four months. The position of the grain trade abroad is worthy of attention. The dull state of business in the British markets from harvest time until within the last month or two failed to make the least impres- sion on holders on the continent, and whilst prices were declining here, a gradual advance took place abroad. This could scarcely have occurred had there been no ground for believing that a serious deficiency in the crops of food existed, and we are therefore inclined to give credit to the reported failure of the rye crop in the interior of Germany, &c. ; but, at the sam.e time, we question whether the eftect of the short produce of rye, and the par- tial failure of potatoes in a few of the German states, will prove a sufficient cause to raise prices of wheat to any great extent in this country. Thus far it has certainly operated that way, but should the prospects in the spring prove favourable, the excitement of our continental neighbours will pro- bably cool down, and, with an abatement of specu- lation, prices would most likely give way more or less, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 189 The latest accounts from the Baltic represent the excitement as very great, the late rise here having added fuel to the fire. At Danzig, equal to 40s. per qr. had been paid for very inferior new wheat of 571bs. weight by speculators from Konigsberg and Stettin ; and for good qualities, such as would stand a voyage, though not by any means fine, 45s. to 46s. per qr. free on board in spring was asked ; whilst superior old highmixed could scarcely be bought, the holders considering a further I'ise inevitable. For rye 40s. to 41s. per qr. had actually been paid, notwith- standing which hardly any supplies were coming forward. From Konigsberg we learn that all kinds of grain and pulse had risen materially in value, and prices there almost rival those recently paid at Stettin. On the 20th inst. highmixed wheat, weigh- ing 6olb., was quoted 46s. 9d. ; mixed of 6o41b. weight, 45s. ; and red also weighing eOjlb. per bushel, 43s. 9d. per qr. free on board. Rye had met a ready sale at 40s. to 41s. ; and barley, oats, and peas were all dearer than in the English market. The latest advices from Stettin, of the 23rd Jan., state that, after great excitement and much specu- lation, business had become somewhat more calm ; but, considering the height to which the value of all kinds of grain had previously been run up, we are not surprised that buyers should have become unwilling to continue their operations. As much as 44s. to 45s. per qr. free on board in spring had actually been paid for moderately good qualities of red wheat. From Rostock we learn that further purchases of wheat on account of Hamburg speculators had given a fresh impetus to prices, and that equal to 42s. 9d. per qr. free on board had been freely given for good 6 lib. quality. At Hamburg a large business has been done in all sorts of corn during the last fortnight, mostly from outports and for spring shipment. The latest advices from thence state that large contracts had been closed for wheat from the lower Baltic ports at 42s. 9d. to 44s. 9d., and for barley from the Danish Islands at 24s. to 25s. per qr. free on board. In the Dutch and Belgian markets the value of wheat has continued to tend upwards, and nearly the whole of what has been shipped from hence has gone to the Netherlands. In France prices of wheat and Hour ran up very rapidly during the early part of the month, but within the last week the accounts from thence have become somewhat more subdued. Quotations are, however, as yet quite as high there as in this country. Letters from Marseilles of the 19th inst. quote Flour 34s. to 37s. per sack, cost and freight; and for PoUsh Odessa wheat equal to 36s. per qr. free on board had been paid. At Alexandria a considerable rise had taken place in the value of wheat, owing to the arrival of a large fleet of vessels, for which it had been necessary to purchase cargoes. The advices from America are of mvich the same character as before. The tendency of prices had, it seems, on the whole, been upwards, but there had been no great activity in the trade. At New York good States flour had risen from about 20s. to 21s. per qr. free on board. Few of the English orders (of which a good many had been received) had been executed, most of them having been limited too low. CURRENCY PER IMPERIAL MEASURE. ShilliDgs per Quarter Whsat, Essex and Keut, white 42 to 46 fiaeup to 52 Ditto ditto old ..42 45 Ditto ditto red, new. ... 40 43 Ditto ditto old 40 42 Norfolk, Lincoln, & Yorksh., red. . 40 42 Ditto ditto old, none Ditto ditto white new 42 43 Ditto ditto old, none Bakley, maltiuj^, new 24 Chevalier ... 34 Distilling 24 Grinding 24 Malt, Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk, new 53 55 extra Ditto ditto old 45 48 „ Kingston.Ware.and towBmade,new53 55 „ Ditto ditto old 48 53 „ Irish feed, white 19 20 fine Ditto, black 18 19 fine Oats, English feed 19 20 fine Ditto Potato 21 24 extra Scotch feed 22 24 fine Ditto Potato 24 27 fine Rye 26 28old26 Beans, Mazagau 24 26 „ 24 Ticks 25 27 „ 27 Harrow 27 29 „ 29 Pigeon 28 32 „ 30 Peas, white boilers 34 35 „ 32 Maple 29 31 „ 29 Grey 29 30 .,28 Flour, town made, per sack of 280 lbs, — — „ 38 Country marks — — i. 32 FOREIGN GRAIN. Sliillinga per Quarter Wheat, Dantzic, mixed. . 42 to44 high mixed 46 48 extra54 Konigsberg 40 42 „ 43 46 „ 47 Rostock, new 44 45 fine old 45 47 „ 50 Pomera.,Meckbg.,andUckermk.,red 43 44 extra 44 45 Silesian „ 41 43 white 43 Danish and Holstein ,39 41 „ 41 Rhine and Belgium „ 41 44 old 43 Barley, grinding 22 Distilling 23 Malting none — Oats, Dutch, brew, and Polanda 21 Feed 18 Danish and Swedish feed 18 Stralsuud , 19 Russian 18 French , 17 Beans, Friesland and Holstein 24 26 Konigsberg 28 Peas, feeding 28 30 fine boilers 32 Indian Corn, white 27 28 yellow 27 Flour, French, per sack . , . , 30 33 fine 34 American, sour per banel 20 21 sweet 21 46 31 36 26 25 60 51 60 55 22 21 22 26 26 28 28 28 30 31 33 35 32 31 43 36 190 THE FARMER'S ^MAGAZINE. I M PERI A For thk Wheat. Week Ending : s. d. Dec. 13,1851.. 37 5 Dec. 20,1831.. 37 7 Dec. 27, 1851.. 37 2 Jan. 3. 1852.. 37 2 Jan. 10,1852.. 37 4 Jan. 17,1852.. 38 3 Aggregate average of last six weeks 37 6 Comparative avgc same time last year 38 9 Duties 1 0 L AVERAGES. LiST Six Weeks, Uarley. Oats. Rye. Beans s. il. s. d. ' 3. d. s. d. 26 8 18 6,27 2,30 2 26 6! 18 3I27 4 29 9 26 3 18 3|23 1:29 2 20 3 17 9I2G 11;28 7 26 5,17 10 30 1,23 9 27 1 18 1 27 5|27 11 26 6 18 1 27 10 29 1 23 4 116 11 24 3 27 3 1 Oil 01 1 0 1 0 Peas. 8. d. 30 0 29 G •29 0 28 4 28 1 28 10 28 11 27 11 1 0 COMPARATIVE PRICES AND QUANTITIES OF CORN. Averages from last Friday's Wheat Barley. Oats . Kye. . . Beaus . Peas . Gazette. Qrs. , 106,GG9 , 102,818 , 28,79-1 2C5 , 6,3G7 , 2,323 Av. d. 38 27 18 27 27 11 28 10 Averages from tlie correspcud- intr Gasetle in 1851. Av. Wlieat . , Barley . . . , Oats Rye Beans . . . , Peaa . . . , ars. 79,384 95,594 22,468 57 5,672 ].421 38 0 22 8 16 9 24 8 2G 7 26 11 PRICES OF SEEDS. The Seed trade was firm, and for Canaryseed an ad- vance of Is. per qv. was in sonae cases paid. The ai rivals of Clover and Trefoil have been tolerably good of late, 1,027 bags and bales, and 52 casks having been received during last week. BRITISH SEEDS. Linseed (per qr.j. . sowing 60s. to 65s. ; crnshing 48s. to 528. Lij.seed Cakes (per 1,000 of 3 lbs. each).. £8 10s. to £10 Os. Cow Grass (nominal) £ — to £ — Trefoil (per cwt.) 17s. to 2l3. Raoeseed, (per last) new £21 to £23 old £— to £— Ditto Cake Qier ton) £4 Os. to £4 lOs. Mnstard (per bushel) white Gs. to 7s. ; . . brown, 7s. to 8s. Coriander "(per cwt.) new lOs. to lis., old 9s. to lOs. Canary (per qr.) new 38s. to 40s. ; old 38s. to 403. Taics, Winter, per bush., 3s. 6d. to4s. Od.; Spring, nominal. Carraway (per cwt.) new, 31s. to 33s. ; fine 34s. Tiu-uip, white (per bush.) 6s. to lOs.; do. Swedish, — 3. to — 3 Clovtrbtcd red 423. to 453., fine 48s. to SOs. FOREIGN SEEDS, &c. Clover, red (duty 5s. per cwt.) per cwt. 403. to 45g„ super. 50s, Ditto, white (duty 5s. per cwt.) per cwt 40s. to 50s. Linseed (per qr.) . . Baltic 44s. to 473. ; Odessa, 463. to 50s, Lmseed Cake (per ton) £6 Os. to £8 5s. Rape Cake (per ton) £4 2s. to £4 43. Hempseed, small, Qier qr.) 323. to 343., Do. Dutch, 34s. to 37s. HOP MARKET. BOROUGH, Monday, Jan. 26. The supply of fine Hops on oflfer is extremely limited, and hardly equal to the demand. Prices remain firm, with an upward tendency. Mid and East Kent 145s. to 2408. Weald of Kent 126s. to 1478. Sussex pockets. . . . ■ . . 112s. to 128s. per cwt. "" POTATO MARKET. SOUTHWARK, Waterside, Jan. 26. During the past week there have been several arrivals coastwise, and a very large supply by rail. The trade etill continues very heavy, at the following quotations : Per Ton. "York Regents 60s, to SOs, Scotch 60s, to 65s. Ditto Cups 50s. to 608, Kent and Essex Regents 60s, to 758. Lincolnshire & Wisbeach 50s. to 65s. PRICES OF BUTTER, CHEESE, HAMS, &c. Friesland, per cwt. 100 tol02 Kiel 9G 100 Dorset 100 104 Carlow new 76 84 Waterford „ 76 80 Cork „ 78 82 Limerick 64 70 Sligo 72 78 FreshButter.perdoz. 11 13 Cheshire Cheese, per cwt., 50 70 Cheddei- do 56 68 Double Gloucester, per cwt 46 to 56 Single do 44 52 York Haras 64 74 Westmoreland do. CG 72 Irish do 50 28 Cm American do 30 Wiltshire Bacou green, 48 52 Waterford Bacon . . 44 47 Hamburgh do 40 42 American — — BELFAST, (Friday last.) — Butter : Shipping price, 77s. to 828. per cwt. ; firkins and crocks, 8id. per Ih. Baoon, 40s. to 443.; Hams, prime, 563. to GOs. ; second quality, 543. to 563. per cwt. ; mess Pork, GOs. per brl.; refined American Lsnl, in bladders, SOs. to 52s. ; kegs and firkins, 48s.; Irisli Lard, in bladders, GOs. to 53s. ; kegs or firkins, 483. per cwt. Butter. IJacon. Dried Hams. Mess Pork. Jan. per cwt. per cwt. l)er cwt. per brl. 22. 8. d. R. d. s. d. . s. .'. s. tJ. S. (1. 8. d. s. d. 1S48 88 0 !)2 0 51 0 S'-J 0 .■•(O 0 05 0 70 0 75 G I84'J 78 0 82 0 48 0 50 0 08 0 60 0 76 0 77 C 18,511 68 0 70 0 38 0 40 0 G8 0 80 0 70 0 77 0 1851 80 0 8(5 0 58 0 63 0 69 0 62 0 58 0 58 0 1852^ 77 0 82 0 ^8 0 41 0 54 0 60 0 (iO 0 62 0 CHICORY, Per Ton:— Foreign root (d. p.) £ s. £ s. English root (free) £ s. £ a. _ HarJingcn .. 27 0 28 0 | York .... 8 10 9 10 Enslish root (fret) | Roastel and ground Guernsey .. 10 0 10 10 1 r.ngli?h .. 30 0 40 0 Kent & Suffolk none. Foreign . . 40 0 60 0 Duty on all Coffee and roasted Chicory imported, 3d. per il>. on Chicory Root £21 ])er ton. HIDE AND SKIN Ml Market Hides, 56 to 641bs 0 Do. 04 721bs 0 Do. 72 801bs 0 Do. 80 881bs 0 Do. 88 961bs 0 Do. 96 1041bs 0 Do. 104 112!bs 0 Calf Skins, light 1 VRK d. li to 2 n f 1' 6 6 6 0 6 9 9 El s 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 0 7 6 5 4 S. d. 1^ l-cr lb. H » 3^ '.: H „ H ,. Do. full .. 3 6 „ .. 5 0 >, Polled Sheep .. G .. 5 6 3 „ Half breds .. 4 9 „ .. 3 9 „ BARK. Per load of 45 cwt, Knglish, Tree.... ...,..£13 0 0 to £14 0 0 Coppice 14 0 0 15 10 0 WOOL MARKETS. BRITISH WOOL. LEEDS, Jan. 23. — Sales of combing wools this week hn re not been large. Prices are without alteration. We do not quote any change in clothing wools. LIVERPOOL, Jan. 24. Scotch. — There is no new feature in the market. The demand for all kinds of Scotch Wool is limited to the immediate wants of the trade at late rates. «. d. ». d. Laid Hi^'hl;nd Wool, iisr 2iii?.,.. 9 0 lo 9 9 White Highlauddo 12 0 12 0 Laid Crossed do.. .unwashed .... 10 9 11 6 Do. do.. .washed 11 0 12 6 Laid Cleyiot do...unwas)ifi'i .... HO 12 6 Do. do., wa^iied ...„, 13 6 16 0 WhiteCheviot do... do. ...... 22 0 24 0 FOREIGN WOOL. CITY, Monday.— The wool market is very firm, and holders are not at all disposed to press sales. The expectation is that prices will advance, and the next auctions of colonial are looked for with considerable in- terest. __^______ Printed by Rogerson and Co., 246, Strand, London. t^^^:^^^^- M THE FAKMEK'S MA&AZIlsrE. MARCH, 1852. PLATE I. HEREFORD BULL. The subject of our first plate, "Walford," is a Hereford Bull, the property of the Right Hon. Lord Berwicic, of Cronkhill, near Shrewsbury, bred by Mr. Thomas Longraore, of Walford, near Ludlow, to which the first prize of Forty Sovereigns was awarded at the Royal Agricultural Society's Show, held at Windsor, in July 1851. In September 1 849, at the Ludlow Agricultural Society's Meeting, " Walford"' was the winner of the premium for bulls, having been shown with four of his oflFspring under one year old. In September 1850, at Ludlow, he won the Sweepstakes, with Twenty Sovereigns added by the Ludlow Agricultural Society for stock bulls, which Sweepstakes were open to all England. " Walford" is by the same sire as the Hereford Ox, the property of Mr. Edward Longmore, of Ad- forton, near Ludlow, which obtained the first prize of Thirty Sovereigns and Silver Medal at the Smith- field Club Cattle Show, in December last. PLATE II. IRIS; Winner of the Oaks, 1851. (For description see page 203.^ THE EFFECT OF DRAINAGE UPON THE HEALTH OF ANIMALS, BY CUTHBERT AV. JOHNSON, ESQ., F.R.S. We are all, I believe, much too apt to take a too limited view of the advantages of drainage. As in most other researches, it is only by degrees that we attain to a valuable knowledge in such great modern paths to comfort and profit. The obstacles we may encounter, however, in such efforts should only encourage us to fresh exertions. Reflections like these have often supported me in my endeavours to improve (I hope not altogether unsuccessfully) the unhealthy condition of the neighbourhood in which I dwell, and I trust they will ever stimulate and support other sanitary reformers. The history of the oppositions to the drainage of wet and unwholesome districts would present a OLD SERIES.] much more ludicrous story than most persons would believe. The proposal, for example, to drain, two centuries since, the fens of Lincolnshire raised a lusty outcry on all sides. "What will you do for a supply of reeds and rushes?" shouted one lot of persons. " What will our geese do without water ? Where will all the wild fowl go to ?" roared out a second and third. " Down with the dykes and banks !" exclaimed the mob. And in a minor way, when the town of Croydon was placed under a local board of health, when it was found that there were about 2,500 cesspools in the space of about a square mile, that one large portion of the town stood on ground in which the land water so rested O No. 3.— VOL. XXXVI. 192 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. as to be within a few inches of the surface ; that every grave in the churchyard was sunk into water ; and, worse than all, when it was found that the Croydon Board of Health were earnestly purposing to remove these sources of disease and wretchedness, then a stout and noisy opposition arose. It is true that this was confined to the most uncomfortable persons in the town, but still an op- position it was — and all kinds of arguments were used to stay the drainage of the district. The owners of cottages shouted ; the millers, too, were irate : they fancied all sorts of impending injuries. And speaking of water mills, these are far too often, in a sanitary point of view, the curse of the coun- try. Is not the time now arrived when such rude modes of economising labour should be done away with ? The progress of steam, it is true, will do this at no very distant period ; but still, as long as these water mills are allowed to linger near to well-inhabited places, so long will dams be found, not only impeding the drainage of the valley, but absolutely adding to the mass of stagnant land water with which it is encumbered. Compulsory power should be given to all local boards of health to enable them to take at a valuation all these relics of past and more primitive times. The good results of improved drainage upon the health of animals are undoubted. The sheep and the horse by instinct get out of the way of low lying wet pastures. You find these, if they have the privilege of choosing for themselves, feeding on the upland pastures, where the air breathes pure over lands which nature drained. Some recently published papers of the Board of Health on drainage thus depict its influence upon the public health ; and although this graphic pic- ture describes its efifects chiefly on mankind, yet almost all its sketches apply with equal force to the live stock of the farm. The board remark {Minutes of Evidence, p. 1.) : — "Town drainage is two-fold— foul-water drainage and simple-water drainage. The first comprehends sewerage as the term is now commonly used ; that is, the removal from within dwellings or from their immediate neighbourhood of all refuse which can be carried oflf by water. The second— simple-water drainage— is the removal from the sites and suburbs of towns of superfluous water, causing dampness, whether such water be derived from land springs or rain-fall. " So generally is the latter or simple-water drain- age neglected, that it appears from the late sanitary investigations that in town districts which are called drained, the foundations of the houses are very generally damp from the retentiveness, or the water-bearing power, of the soil in which they are built. Water rising from the foundation by capillary attraction renders the floors and the walls dam]), in proportion to the absorbent nature of the materials of which they are constructed. When experienced medical officers see rows of houses springing up on a foundation of deep reten- tive clay, inefficiently drained, they foretel the cer- tain appearance among the inhabitants of catarrh, rheumatism, scrofula, and other diseases, the con- sequence of an excess of damp. Such diseases break out more extensively and in severer forms in the cottages of the poor who have scanty means of purchasing the larger quantities of fuel, and of ob- taining the other appliances which partly counteract the effects of the dampness. Excess of moisture is often rendered visible in the shape of mist or fog, particularly towards evening. An intelligent medical officer took a member of the sanitary com- mission to an elevated spot from which his district could be seen. It being in the evening, level white mists could be distinguished over a large portion of the district. 'These mists,' said the officer, ' exactly mark out and cover the seats of disease for which my attendance is required. Beyond these mists I have rarely any cases to attend but midwifery cases and accidents.' " The result of efficient drainage is the diminu- tion or removal of such mists, and a proportionate abatement of the diseases generated or aggravated by dampness. After houses built in the manner described have been inhabited for some time, and especially if crowded, fevers of a typhoid type are added to the preceding list of diseases, in conse- quence of emanations from privies and cesspools. The poisonous gases, the product of decomposing animal and vegetable matter, are mixed with the watery vapours arising from the excessive damp (such vapours being now recognized as the com- mon vehicle for the difi"usion of the more subtle noxious gases), and both are inhaled night and day by the residents of these unwholesome houses. A further consequence of the constant inhalation of these noxious gases, which have an extremely de- pressing effect, is the habitual use of fermented liquors, ardent spirits, or other stimulants by which a temporary relief from the feeling of op- pression is obtained. "The system of drainage for houses, streets, yards, and covered spaces in towns, which is now found to be the most economical as well as the most efficient for its main purposes — the removal of matters in- jurious to the public health — consists principally of tubular and impermeable drain pipes. The ar- rangements hitherto in general use for the purpose consisted of spongy or permeable brick drains, which let in the land springs or the surplus mois- ture of the site, and when these brick drains were of proper inclinations they slowly carried it away, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 193 notwithstanding the obstacles created by their de- fective form, material, and construction ; but too frequentlj', on account of their permeability, they let out and saturated the site with the foul water, which it is most important they should keep in and remove from it. Whilst these common brick drains thus let out much of the soluble portions of the cesspool matter, which saturates the foundations of houses, and ascends the absorbent brick walls by capillary attraction, they detain, as sponges or as filters, much of the solid portions of the refuse matter. This accumulates in the drains and sewers, the gaseous products from its putrefaction escape through the permeable brick itself, and still mo^e copiously through openings into houses, and through gully shoots into the streets, and pollute the atmosphere. "Every one must have remarked, on passing from a district \vith a retentive soil to one of an open porous nature — respectively characterised as cold and warm soils— that whilst the air on the re- tentive soil is cold and raw, that on the drier soil is comparatively warm and genial. The same effect which is here caused naturally may be produced artificially by providing for the perfect escape of superfluous water by drainage, so as to leave less to cool down the air by evaporation. The reason of this difference is two-fold. In the first place, much heat is saved, as much heat being required for the vaporisation of water as would elevate the tempera- ture of more than three million times its bulk of air one degree. It follows, therefore, that for every inch in depth of water carried off by drains which must otherwise evaporate, as much heat is saved per acre as would elevate eleven thousand million cubic feet of air one degree in temperature. But that is not all. Air is not only cooled by the eva- poration of the water, but is also rendered damp by it, and damp air feels colder than dry air of the same temperature, consequently dampness of the air affects comfort even more than its temperature. It is easy then to understand how local climate is so much affected by surplus moisture, and so remarkably improved by drainage. A farmer being asked the affect on temperature of some new drainage works, replied that all he knew was, that before the drain- age he could never go out at night without a great coat, and that now he could, so that he considered it made the difference of a great coat to him. Mr. "William Tilley, head gardener to the Duke of Portland, stated to Mr. Lee, Superintendent Inspector of the Board, that the local climate was improving ; that in consequence of the drainage of part only of the district there had been a rise of one degree in the temperature of the whole district on the average of ten years. As the evaporation is greatest in the summer, the rise of temperature is greatest at that season. Dr. Madden has observed a difference of 6.^ degrees in the summer temperature of drained and und rained land, and of course there would be a corresponding difference in the temperature and dampness of the air. It appears, therefore, that an effect similar to that of removal to a more genial climate may by produced by draining, which is itself a profitable employment of capital, both to the owners and occu- piers of the soil." Of the effect of good drainage upon the health of live stock, the late James Smith, of Deanston, gave the following result of his observations — " In the alluvial clay districts of StirUnj^ shire, and west of Perthshire, where the drainage was formerly effected by large open ditches, in the Dutch fashion, ague was periodically prevalent, and rheu- matism, fevers, and scrofulous affections were much promoted, until the introduction of thorough- drainage, 40 years ago ; after v/hich period those diseases began to disappear, or to be greatly mitigated in severity. Few cases of ague now appear. Fevers are seldom known, except in the usual course of fevers which prevail epidemically over the whole country ; and it is generally ob- served by the inhabitants that their cattle or stock are now less subject to diseases. In the undrained condition of those districts they were subject tg dense fogs, especially in the autumnal months when much rain had fallen, communicating a chilly feeling to the inhabitants ; but since the general in- troduction of thorough-draining those fogs seldom prevail, unless in a general foggy tendency of the atmosphere of the country. " On the farm of Deanston, in the west of Perth- shire, consisting of about 200 acres, and which was the first farm on which the entire system of thorough-draining and subsoil-ploughing was in- troduced, there was a marked effect produced. The farm, after periods of rain, used to be covered with chilly fogs, which entirely disappeared after the thorough-draining was effected. The cattle grazing on the farms were much subject to the disease called 'red water;' since the draining there has been no case of that disease. In other parts of Scotland and England similar results have been stated to have followed the introduction of thorough-drainage." The evidence of several other gentlemen was to the same effect* Mr. Alexander Maccaw, of Ardlochan, remarked :— " As to the health of cattle or stock I have the strongest evidence of the bene- ficial effects of drainage in many instances. On the lands which I possess, and on several others in the district, a disease called red water prevailed, in some years proving very fatal ; but after drain- age and cultivation of the marshy parts of th6 0 2 194 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. pasturage the stock has been free of that disease, I may mention that the first and most severe cases of pleuro-pneumonia in cattle that had occurred in this and a neighbouring county were on lands of a swampy undrained character. The surface drainage of sheep walks in every district is well known to promote the healthiness of the stock ; and I believe the thorough drainage of a single swamp in any locality will be an important means of improving the health both of the population and stock con- nected with it." We may safely conclude, then, that the removal of land water is productive of increased health to the live stock which tenant our farms. This is, therefore, another reason why we should by drainage add to the fertility of the soil. It is not in all cases that the prosperity of the vegetable and the animal world are promoted by the same causes ; here, however, we have an instance where defec- tive cultivation in the presence of stagnant water retards the healthful ])rogress of not only the farmer's crops, but of also the stock which con- sume it. And again, let me remind the farmei', when he is acting upon the conclusions to which I have been referring in this pajjcr, and when he is removing land water, that it will be well if he con- siders how useful, for the purposes of irrigation, the noxious water may in many situations be ren- dered. The nnpurities of such waters commonly partake of the nature of the manures with which the land from which they are removed has been dressed. And where, as in the case of Lord Hatherton's farms in Staffordshire, the water can be collected in a reservoir, in which it can be en- riched with the drainage of the farmyard, and after- wards spread over grass land, the profit derived from the irrigation is such as to go far to repay all the outlay bestowed in such drainage operations. THE ADVANTAGES AND MODE OF GROWING TURNIPS ON HEAVY OR CLAY SOIL. BY AN EX-FARMER. When a country has become peopled till mere ploughing and sowing will not be sufficient cultiva- tion to cause its surface to yield enough support for its inhabitants, a temptation is offered which induces those who follow the plough to improve the system which hitherto has been satisfactory in its results ; and when a country has become further peopled, that is, when there are several to an acre instead of one, a greater temptation is oflPered to make its soil yield her increase, as a demand is be- gotten which produces a reward to the food growers, and they are accordingly stimulated to exertions- Even at this advanced stage of society, a reward must be promised before labour and skill are ear- nestly appHed ; for the organization of men is such, that a profit, or the means of improving their posi- tion, must be tolerably certain before they, as a body, will apply themselves earnestly in improving the domestic affairs of life. The mind of man is brought to bear on whatever proves itself to be what is commonly termed "' profitable ;" and without this " profit," this important element or compound of mortals is either diverted from its course, or it retrogrades and eventually sinks into lethargy. Profit at the outset may be so misapplied that it seems to be an evil ; but sooner or later it preys upon the natural propensities of men, and the more highly favoured become strong in those powers which emanate from the "agitation of intellect" produced by this stimulant. Humiliating as it may be to those who fancy they labour under the character of philanthropists, there is not such a thing as a constant exercise of body and mind for the sole benefit of mankind. There are a few ex- ceptions to this rule; but they are not fit to live in this world, if they have to contend with its diffi- culties and contentions ; therefore they sink under the denomination of "the unfortunate," unless some representative of the comforts of hfe has been handed to them by some one who was of the re- quired organization and temperament for taking advantage of things in their legitimate position. As it is with men generally, so it is with men as they are divided into interests and classes ; unless they are permitted to have a due reward for those exertions which advanced societies require of them, and thereby have the means to progress or grow powerful by taking advantage of the various insti- tutions and agencies which spring into existence in progressive societies, why they become distanced in the race, and, subsequently, move so inade- quately to the work [allotted them, that they act as clogs to the onward movement of those societies whereof they are parts. And so soon as this hin- drance has begun to be felt, it will become more and more burdensome, till all interests feel its ef- fects ; and they are, therefore, checked in that pro- gression which they rejoiced fn when all shared equally in the advantages to be derived from each other. Although the interest, which more directly re- presents the most important part of the business of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 105 this life, is, in this country, deprived at the present time of the means which are required to raise, and when raised, keep the mind continually on the as- cent, it is to be hoped that its position will soon be changed, and, therefore, that instead of a less num- ber of that interest being able to patronize the agents of intelligence and instruction, an increased number will be able to enjoy these advantages. Those who have something to fall back upon, and can, therefore, afford to purchase such writing, will not suffer the loss it is to be without a knowledge of how the world is moving, even although they may be aware that such knowledge will not receive its reward when carried into practice. Besides, to peruse the thoughts which spring from reflecting men, and to reflect upon detailed experience, begets that reason which will enable the " raw material" to be turned to profitable account when all other cir. cumstances will admit of it. That the following system of cultivation will prove profitable I cannot take upon myself to aver ; but that it will prove a productive system where practised I have no hesi- tation in stating, the which the experienced reader will agree in, when he has given it his careful pe- rusal. There are few farms in this country which do not possess a portion of land which is not con- sidered to be " turnip land," from its being too much of the character of clay; and there are a great many farms which are composed of this kind of soil to such an extent that there are frequently considerable portions of them fallowed or tilled throughout the summer, because the loss would be greater than the gain to sow them with turnips and mangold, with a view of being able to keep more cattle for the purpose of indirect profit in the shape of manure. But although the ordinary system of sowing and cultivating land for turnips will not answer here in the same way as it does on " turnip land," there are means whereby this heavy land can be made to grow turnips productively, and at the same time improve the soil for the barley crop. It is the custom throughout most counties to cross-plough land when it is under the fallowing and green cropping part of a course; and when land is of a friable nature it is proper to plough rather deeper than the autumnal ploughings ; but on the soil in question, to turn up fresh soil at that season when these ploughings generally take place is the very way to make it impossible, in ordinary seasons, to bring it about so as to make it capable of producing a good crop of turnips. Indeed, it is not necessary to cross-plough this character of land at all, for it is not the depth a plough runs here which does the good, but the art consists of moving it at proper times and seasons, 'lliis soil is never too dry, nor is it seldom too soHd for plants to thrive in, unless it is poor or devoid of vegetable matter; and when such is the case, to plough deeply is the very way to make it more unlikely to become rich in vegetable matter, for it is necessary that the soil in which plants stand should have considerable proportions of atmospheric elements, or "vegetable matters," as they are commonly called. If, therefore, the subsoil is stirred and mixed with the surface soil, the result is that no plant will grow luxuriantly, not even such as feed principally on the air — tares, turnips, and so on. An ordinary quantity of farmyard manure will besides, under this management, prove inefficient, as it will be " eaten up," as the expression runs, which means, that it will be so completely lost in the quantity of earth wherewith it is mixed, that the roots of green crops cannot take it up at the onset, which thereby receive a check ; and when they have managed to grow to a size when they ought to begin to thrive, they have to feed on fluid which contains so much earthy or metallic proper- ties that it is impossible for it to be assimilated by plants of this order; consequently, no atmospheric constituents are assimilated, which is the process whereby green crops enrich the farms or fields on which they grow. If a quantity of four inches of soil be made rich enough, no matter how, for the reception of turnip seed, and an inch of subsoil be stirred, pulverized, and mixed with it, there would be required an ordinary quantity of farmyard manure to make this, soil as calculated to grow as good a crop of turnips as it would have been had not this inch of subsoil been stirred ; for if the pulverizing is effected by the air, the metallic bases it contained are set free to unite with the soil which was fit for receiving the seed ; and if the acid in. these four inches effect the pulverization, deprivation takes place of that acid, which made i( of a proper degree of richness whilst that acid was there. It is the greatest possible mistake to suppose that green crops require a great depth of moulds ; and, also, that if this is effected all that is required to be done is accomplished. For a certain amount of acid, or a certain character of carbonate, must be formed in the soil before a plant will begin to grow ; and this must be near the surface, for the lateral roots run within two or three inches of it ; and these seem to be the ones which absorb the food of plants, as the main roots, or the ones which run per- pendicularly in the soil, cannot take up nourish- ment, for if they did the subsoil would produce crops as well as the cultivated surface. These last roots seem to be a provision of nature to bring up moisture from beneath when the surface has be- come too dry for plants to luxuriate. Well, then, if any reader has got fields which he intends to sow with turnips, let his object be not to 106 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, try how deeply they can be ploughed, but to see how fine they can be made. It is consistent enou^jlh to plou'^h sandy and gravelly land a tolerable depth ; but it is ridiculous to plough this heavy land likewise, because the other kinds are the better for it. And if there be any readers who have any heavy fields, let them endeavour to produce a crop of turnips on them by ploughing no deeper than they have been ploughed, and using the scarifier, harrows, and rollers in preference to ploughing too often; for the latter will be equally efficient in causing the air to act on the soil, and the moisture on the surface maybe retained, which is a material point in this case. It is a fortunate circumstance that that soil which requires to be fed off early in the autumn will produce turnips fit to feed at that time. And it is very singular that the system I am just alluding to should have been overlooked so long as it has been, and in feeding districts too, where it is more necessary to carry it out; for, where there is but little grass land, there is always a scarcity of feed for good sheep whilst the general crop of turnips is growing fit to feed. Some portion of this land is sown with beet and swede seed on nearly every farm which contains it, and it is quite right to do so to a certain extent; but the great expense attending the cultivation and storing of these crops will not admit of their being cultivated further than any one is obliged to do for the purpose of having green food to tread his straw down by, or rather to give to cattle whilst they effect this important object. Instead, therefore, of extending the cultivation of beet and swedes, where circumstances will admit of more acres of green crops being grown, by adopting the system herein recommended, sow some early kind of white turnip, such as the White Tankard, Red Tankard, and so on, but not any hybrib varieties, as they are invariably subject to mildew, which disease is seldom bred in white turnips, let them be grown as early in the summer as they may. They should be sown immediately after the swedes, or certainly not later than the first or second week in June; and the reason why they have not been grown on this soil more extensively is, because they have not been sown early enough to be so forward that they may be otF by the latter part of October, or begin- ning of November, and thereby admit of the land being ploughed up before winter arrives. By carrying out this system, there are many ad- vantages gained. Every one is acquainted with the value of a good piece of white turnips at the latter part of September or beginning of October, for then, as I have said, feed for fatting sheep is generally scarce, and pastures are not often over- done with grass at these times ; therefore, a few pulled off and thrown amongst the bullocks intended for the yards as soon as the swedes are ready, will be the means of keeping them from wasting, as well as of making them like the flavour of turnips before they are confined to them entirely as green food. And there is not the slightest obstacle in the way of producing a good piece of this character of feed at the times named. As to whether it will be proper to use farmyard or foreign manures depends on circumstances; such as the value of the former for other purposes, and the distance the field or fields lie from the homestead. The cartage of guano is trifling ; but to carry farm- yard manure to the far end of a large farm involves heavy expenses, besides the time it takes to carry it on at this busy season. By the following para- graph, it will be shown the advantage of applying manures to green crops ; and, on the strength of the knowledge I possess in this respect, I recom- mend the use of that part of the farmyard manure which is made late in the spring on young clover, for the increased value of these crops will be more than if it had been used for wheat, and the next crop of wheat will be as good as if the same value of farmyard manure had been applied directly to it. By-the-by, that land which is to be sown with guano should have it applied at once ; for not only will there be no loss from the heat of the sun, but it will ferment in the soil, and thereby pulverize it as much as several weeks' action of the air. It is astonishing how strongly it acts : besides, by this action, metallic bases are developed, which unite with it, and form that natural compound which makes plants both vigorous and healthy. It will not wash away, as some self-styled " scientific men" aver; for the affinity it has for earthy matters is so great that it forms itself into a com- pound therewith, and no power, save that of plants, can disunite it again, as the quantity applied is so small that the attraction of the soil is far greater than the disposition it has to dissipate. In reference to the effect a crop of turnips like the one in supposition has upon such a soil, why nothing can be obtained to enrich it more, for it is a part of nature itself in its most simple form. When this land is exposed to the air one year in four, it is done with a view to make it tender, and restore the powers it has lost by a course of crop- ping. This restoration of powers consists of at- mospheric accumulation, or a union of air with the soil. What, therefore, must be the value of the manure which is composed of plants, the very functions of which are, the assimilation of air with the compound of earth and air which they suck up ? There is no system so cheap as that of manuring by green crops. If foreign manures be used, let THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 197 them be applied to green crops. If a field be poor, let it be green cropped till it is rich, and then, by proper management under the usual course, it will maintain its value ; for rich land, if carefully managed, is like a rich "estate:" it grows richer every time its affairs are balanced. For the action of the accumulated parts increases the means of action, and thus that which was " floating wealth" (or air) becomes fixed, and aids, or causes more of that which is still " floating" to become fixed, and so it may be made to continue till land is too rich, and requires to be impoverished by adding to our own wealth more rapidly, and this by taking an extra straw or "money-making" crop. This essay is in season ; and those readers who will take advantage of it, and consider how it may be best adapted to their own occupations, will find that they have neither perused carefully nor carried it into practice to no purpose. SHEEP: THEIR WINTER CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 3Y A PRACTICAL FARMBB. "Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocka, and look well to thy herds." Proverbs of Solomon. It is not to be expected that in a succinct and j concise article any clear and full definition can be given of the many modes of management or treat- ment to whicli sheep are subjected in the various dis- tricts of this country; nor is it necessary. Our aim and endeavour are to make our readers think upon this subject more intently than they have hitherto done. Good we know must then come out of it The more we can keep alive a spirit of inquiry, the greater is the improvement that will ultimately follow. The proper care and treatment of the flock during the months of winter, in a country so variable in its climate and geological character as the British Isles, are a subject of transcendent importance. In its farm economy we do not know one worthy of equal consi- deration. To the flockmaster it is a matter of the utmost consequence, and ought ever to have his eager and constant attention both to its details and in its practice. The subject is in itself easy and simple enough throughout : there is nothing mysterious or intricate in the management of a flock of sheep — nothing be- yond the comprehension of any ordinary mind. What we aim and wish to urge is improvement in practice, rather than the inculcation of knowledge : the great thing is to supply them freely with good nutritious food, dry lairs, warm shelters, and constant, careful attendance. Every animal intended to yield the greatest profit must be kept steadily progressing from its birth. A prudent flockmaster will, to further this end, endeavour to provide a regular succession of pasturage during the summer, and ample supplies of the usual kind of succulent food for the winter con- sumption; indeed, it is indispensable to the property of the flock that a sufficient supply of turnips, man- gold wurtzel, rajie, or other similar kind of food, should be provided for their sustenance during winter. We shall suppose this to be provided — nay, we take it for granted that it is so done; and the few observa- tions we would ofier upon the subject must be with that understanding. We do not profess to include in this article the management of mountain-sheep, nor those of any other peculiar district; but merely the regular country flocks under ordinary farm conduct or administration. The Winter Care of Sheep. — In treating upon this subject we shall first begin with lambs. May we be pardoned for a short digression : we are always at a loss respecting the names of sheep. Lambs have in particular localities various names — the male is called a tup-lamb, ram-lamh, pur-lamb, and heder-lamb ; after weaning he is called a hoff, a hogget, a lamb-hog, a hoggerel, a tup-hog, a teg; if castrated, a iwe/Zier- hog, SfC. The female, a ewe-lamb, a gimmer-lamb, a sheder-lamb, SfC. until weaned ; and then hog takes the place of lamb, i. e., eioe-hog, §-c. When these are shorn the names are still more varied and numerous, i. e., yearling, shearling, shear-hog, tioo-toothecl teg, dinmonts, wethers, tcedders ; females, yearling-ene, shearling -ewe, theave, two toothed ewe, gimmer, SfC. Now this is wrong, and uot a little perplexing to general readers : it is much to be regretted that one name should not be applicable to the same kind of sheep throughout the kingdom. We do not know any insurmountable obstacle to this generalization. In this article, then, we shall first speak of the winter management of lambs, or rather " young sheep." The care of " young sheep " should commence very early in the season : they should be put upon their winter food long before the commencement of winter. It is very desirable that they should be taught to eat esculents and edible food immediately on their being weaned, which is a critical period in their short lives. When separated from their dams, we would suggest their remaining for a time on their accustomed pasture. In a week or two, as judgment dictates, let the stronger ones be removed, and put on well-grown eddish or aftermath ; clover-eddieh or tares, if not too luxuriant. Shortly afterwards, the zieaker ones may follow, and all should be supplied occasionally with cabbage or similar food, and a small allowance of corn or cake. This will prepare them for consuming rape or turnips 108 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. without injury. The Kroatcst caution is now requisite, as tlie strong succulent eddislics are apt to cause a laxative habit of body, which probably a winter care may not subdue. About the latter end of Sipteniber the u'eaker ones should be put upon rape or turnips, having their allowance of cake, corn, or meal continued to them. In two or three weeks at least the stronger ones should follow them ; and on no account should any young sheep be kept from such food later than the middle of October. It is highly conducive to their winter prosperity that they become accustomed to their winter provision before severe weather sets in, and it is a considerable time before they eat with avidity either rope or turnips. In districts where rape is extensively grown, it is always stocked first; next follow the varieties of com- mon turnips ; and as spring puts in, Swedish turnips conclude the winter course. This is also the usual course in those districts where turnips only are grown : the common sorts are tirst stocked. The usual and most common mode of stocking turnips is to separate the young flock in three lots — first, the weaker of both sexes ; next, the stronger males; and last, the stronger females. These take precedence of each other in the folds in this order, the weaker having the first picking. This course is, how- ever, occasionally deviated from, according as the flock appears to progress: and one groat reason is this — chemists tell us that the turnip-top contains princi- pally that necessary chemical property which goes to form bone, and give muscular power to the animal system; hence the occasion for deviation. Every sheep must have a requisite quantity of these tops, or they will be liable to fail in their shoulders and knee-joints, as is too frequently the case. The folds then will require arranging accordingly, only taking care to provide that the stronger lot shall take the '' leavings" of the weaker ones. This is the common practice, and in mild, dry winters will do very well. The chief object in separating the stronger males i-", that tliey being generally designed for early sale or fatting, they of course require more forcing food, and more favour- able treatment to push them forward. All should have either corn or cake, but these certainly an extra share. We are strongly impressed with the convic- tion that this outlay is abundantly repaid, both in the extra weight of wool obtained, and in the improved and healthy condition of the flock, irrespective of all other considerations. The quantity allowed to each need not be excessive: one half-pint of beans or peas, or one half-pound of cake, is amply sufficient for each sheep — indeed, in the early part of the season it is customary in some of the best-managed districts to commence with 2 oz. each of cake, and gradually to increase that quantity, till it reaches half-a-pound. We are quite willing to look favourably upon this method of consuming the turnip crop, as being inex- pensive; but we think a much better practice is to cut the turnips and supply them in convenient troughs. This is our own practice : we adopt the separation into lolSp as named above; we give corn and cake, and we cut or slice the whole, or nearly so, and give them to the sheep in troughs; we use Gardner's machines — the troughs are from 12 to 18 feet long, made from slit deals, one deal being sawn into four leaves, the bottom being cut from an 11-inch deal, and the sides from 9-inch deals, about J-inch boarding being quite strong enough; they are raised upon feet, about 18 inches from the ground, and the feet well set out, to prevent overturning. This prevents waste; the sheep can neither get into them, nor can they throw out the turnip-slices. Our corn and cake-troughs are much smaller, and not raised up; and as soon as the feed is eaten they arc turned over, to keep them dry. We have used troughs of various make, but never found any so serviceable or economical as those on feet ; be- sides, they have another advantage, which is not to be overlooked. The sheep whilst feeding are obliged to hold up their heads : this causes them to grow up with better fronts and nobler looks — we like to see sheep look nobly up. The sheep are supplied with turnips about 8 o'clock a.m., 12 o'clock, and o o'clock P.M. The chaff and cake or corn arc generally given in separat troughs; if not, we give them immediately before the turnips at the morning and night feeding. We take care to give an extra quantity of turnips for ihe night feeding, particularly on moonlight nights, when frequently an additional quantity is consumed. We also provide bean, pea, or wheat-straw, so as to be accessible to all. We either make small cobs in each fold, and surround them with hurdles or trays ; or we set down close parallel lines of trays, between which we put straw daily, of which much Is eaten. Another very Important practice of ours is, in bad winters, to construct shelters, that are both convenient and readily made. We set down at requisite distances posts parallel with each other, or what is better, strong trays or hurdles capable of bearing weight; these are so arranged as to form an oblong shelter of required length. On these we lay poles from tray to tray or post to post. On these, again, we lay transversely any broken trays or hurdles, or anything likely to prevent the covering from dropping through : on these we lay straw or strawy rubbish of any kind nearest at hand ; the long sedgy grass from ditch-roadings we generally reserve ; it makes a capital covering ; a few spits of earth or sods will keep it from blowing away : on the sides we set down trays or hurdles in double lines, between which we cram straw or rubbish, taking care to leave convenient openings for the sheep. 'J his con- struction, when bedded down with straw or stubble, forms an admirable shelter, and if occasionally sup- plied with stubble, will keep dry and clean. We fre- quently contrive these shelters so as to suffice for a whole field. A little attention to these niiaor matters will do much. We are so satisfied with the great utility of shelters that we unhesitatingly recommend them for universal adoption. Wo know objections are made. Wc have been asked. Why not breed a more liavdy kind of sheep, that can do without shelter — a kind that do not require nursing or costly care ? We say we are not THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 199 acquainted with any kind, which, we arc persuaded, would not be benefited by comfortable shtlter, as well as good lairage, warmth, and quiet. The economy in food will more than repay the cost, besides a deposit of valuable manure on the spot where it h -nost likely to be required for use, to say nothing of improved condition in the flock. These advantages we have had proof of for many years, and at the risk, of being deemed presumptuous and egotistic we again say, that -we most unequivocally recommend the adoption of fold. shelters to all flock-masters. On this point we would direct attention to the course usually — nay, almost invariably pursued by those breeders who aspire after the prizes ofi'ercd for public competition, or who aim to get up stock for public exhibition ; such as ram-brteders and others. Nearly every animal got up for these ends by these breeders is fatted in hovels, or they arc provided with secluded shelters in fields — most commonly " lioused." We have seen many fiehUirhelters of variuus con- struction : one we will describe — it was made of half- inch boarding or slit deals, on strong framework of wood ; the shupe was oblong, having one side and the two ends boarded up, except two hanging-doors or flajis, to be opened at jileasure from the top ; the bot- tom was slatted on a strong frame, provided with wheels for easy removal from place to place j the top a boarded common-shaped roof: we thcjught this a good kind, but expensive. Shelters are 'd' easy make and adaptation ; the great aim must be to provide a more eligible and desirable place of rest for the animals intended to be benefited by them. There are so many methods of wintering sheep prac- tised, that it does appear s-omewhat presumptuous to profess a decided preference for any given course. Different districts have their customary modes; and it is a faulty notion for a stranger to step in and say, You are wrong here and wrong there. The precise circumstances of the locality must be taken into ac- count. It is a very difficult matter to winter sheep satisfactorily on turnips or rape, on heavy clay land ; and on light sands sheep are very apt to take too much 8and into their stomachs with their food, to their great injury. Again, where much hay is grown, it is usual to allow a considerable quantity to sheep on winter food; this is either given in rucks, or laid upon the ground, and a kind of wicker-work frame put over it, through which the sheep draw their provender. Who is to say this is bad practice? In other districts it is not unusual to turn the whole flock into the turnip-field, and allow them the full scope of it — ■' to leave them to take their chance" — " to cut their own meat." Now this we venture to say is bad practice; it is useless and extravagant waste. Take the month of November last past ; suppose the crop to be par- tially consumed, and such weather sets in, the crop is inevitably spoilt; much loss was during that month sustained by many growers. A word as to medical treatment. We do not recommend much resort to medicine, if it can be avoided ; change of food will do much: of course in fevers bleed freely, and administer purgatives ; in scouring cases bleed moderately, and give powdered chalk ; if sheep are thriving very fast a little diuretic medicine will be serviceable ; for ticks use a weak solution of arsenic ; for scab, mercurial ointment; for foot-halt, mild costics and great at- tention. We shall now make a remark or two upon the " wintering " of yearling or older sheep, and then pro- ceed to our subject — Breeding ewes and the lambing season. "Yearling sheep," or " shearlings:'' these should either be pushed forward with the view of fattening them during the winter on turnips or artifi- cial food, or they should be kept in such an ordinary and inexpensive manner as may render them likely to yield a profitable return for the following summer's grazing. Sheep that have been well fed during winter are not good stock sheep for summer grazing, and will seldom succeed on average pasture lands without a liberal supply of artificial aids, as corn or cake. It is by no means profitable to take fatting sheep from turnips or similar food, and place them on common pastures, or even on the best pasture lands, for summer grazing. To make this change advan- tageous corn or cake must be allowed, and that liber- ally, according to the state and condition of the sheep — they must be kept progressing. Yearling sheep intended for summer grazing ought to be wintered thinly on grass land, having a sujiply of turnips or other food allowed them in unfavourable weather, in deep snows, or on bare pasturage. Sheep well fed during winter will require a first-rate pasture to fatten them. Our custom is to separate the inferior sheep from the flock for winter fattening, and place the bet- ter ones on grass land preparatory to the summer's grazing. The former are put to turnips, and they will generally make themselves fat during the winter; should, however, the turnips lose their quality, we give corn-chaff and cake. We do not think them good enough for summer grazing; those intended for this purpose, and considered *' good grazers," we place thinly on the grass pastures, and, as we judge requisite, give them an occasional supply of turnips or mangolds, or, in deep snows or long blasts, corn or chaff. Our design is to keep up their condition without fatting them. These sheep, thus wintered, we consider the most profitable for summer grazing, and the very kind that every good grazier is anxious to obtain, and would travel far to purchase. We do, however, strongly advocate the fattening of young sheep. The great object with most breeders is to attain early maturity, and in most breeds this is ac- complished, and ought to be taken proper advantage of by feeders. We know many farms upon wliich the fattening of young sheep (Iambs) has been practised for many years ; and, with the aid of artificial food, they are usually brought up to great weights, and from their exceeding good quality realize great prices. This course we think worthy of general imitation ; but we decidedly object to the practice of getting up these young sheep into high condition, and then put them to common grazing purposes. This is an error which 200 THE FARMER»S MAGAZINE. must be guarded against, and ought to be severely and constantly censured. Graziers cannot be too cautious in this part of their business. The purchase of high fed animals is seldom advantageous. The suitability of the pasture to improve the condition of the stock to be purchased must be the guide, and the grazier will adapt his purchases accordingly. Yearling sheep will unquestionably fatten faster on pasture land than younger sheep ; and if the pasture is better adapted for fattening than common-grazing a " grow- ing young stock," by all means purchase older sheep. These minor matter must be left to the judgment of the grazier, and herein consists in a great measure his principal business, and upon its judicious adaptation depends liis profit. Breeding ewes : their management in winter and in the lambing season. On this part of the subject we start from a point at which others may deem it un- necessary to set out. We think that the preparation for a ffood and safe lambing season should commence immediately after the time of weaning. The ewes, on being taken from the lambs, should be placed upon bare pastures, or such inferior keeping as is most likely to cause the loss or drying up of their milk. At this period their udders must be closely watched, and in every case requiring aid the ewe should be milked and her udder gently rubbed by hand ; should sore- ness, swelling, or inflammation take place, warm water and soft soap ought to be freely applied. Should the milk continue to flow, and the case assume an obsti- nate aspect, strips of adhesive (diaculum) plaster placed about the udder, and avoiding the teat, will be found of great service. As soon as the milk is dried up, gone, they should be turned to good pasturage, and for a time the faster they thrive the better — they will be earlier prepared to receive the ram — they will take to him more readily, and if care is taken that they do not get too fat a more abundant fall of lambs will be the result. The weaning time being generally about the end of July, or beginning of August, the ewes have nearly two months' rest, and the improvement madi; during this interval will suffice to prove which are likely to make profitable breeders, and of course qualified to be put to the ram. The others must be put to the best keeping the farm will afford, and sold as draft or cull ewes, or be further carried on and fatted on turnips. The regular breeding flock will have to be replenished from the young ewes ; and in making this selection we would recommend great lati- tude for tiie first year — a small and ordinary looking yearling ewe will bring up a good lamb, and herself make a better feeder for t!io following year. The ram may be turned to the ewe at any time between the middle of September and the early part of November — the earlier the better according to circumstances. In tl»is particular the breeder must be guided by his position in reference to locality, climate, the kind or variety of sheep, and purpose for wliich they are desiiin< d, &c. ; and much must depend upon the pre- paration or provision he has been enabled to make for their sustenance and shelter in the ensuing spring. Many like considerations will suggest themselves to every breeder to direct his course. The ram on being put to the ewes should be constantly marked along the belly with red ochre or other marking, so as to enable the shepherd to distinguish the ewes that have been served by him. The ewes ought to have their tails trimmed; and on being served should be marked by the shepherd so as to denote the time or week when thus served by the ram. This will be of use, by ena- bling him to separate them for lambing ; he can by his own private marks distinguish those likely to lamb earliest; and as the time of gestation is about twenty- two weeks he knows precisely the time for lambing, when they ought to be separated from the flock, and will prepare for them accordingly. The ram ought to be with them at least six weeks, so as to give every ewe an opportunity to take him twice, which they will do if not in lamb, at intervals of three weeks. This will insure greater safety ; and by this means a protracted lambing season will be avoided, which is very de- sirable. It is of great importance that the ewes should be kept to their food with great regularity throughout the winter. If " wintered '' upon turnips they should, if possible, be kept to one variety. To winter ewes on turnips is excellent management, and it is most com- monly and universally pursued in all turnip-growing districts. The usual course is to allow the heder or male lambs to take the first pick of the field, these followed by the sheder or female lambs, and finished by the ewes. If they are " wintered " on grass pastures they should be kept pretty close to their pastures, and not allowed a change from field to field ; but should the pasture become bare, a moderate allowance of mangolds should be carried to them daily— -we say daily, and not at intervals : indeed, as the lambing season approaches, it is desirable to keep up this sup- ply ; as the ewe becomes weaker and weaker, as the lambs she bares become stronger and larger. But it is only in very severe seasons that we recommend corn or cake should be resorted to, at least before the lamb- ing season is over. The great thing is to keep them in fair and proper condition, by no means to make them fat nor give them food tending to make them feverish, neither must they undergo any change likely to aflfect their constitution or habit of body. A change from common turnips to swedes, or again to man- golds, must be made with great care and caution. The common turnip possesses a strong diuretic pro- perty, and ewes fed long upon them are liable to abor- tion. On such cases appearing the flock should be instantly removed and placed upon other keeping, having hay, chaff, or similar dry food given to them. The afTccted ewes should also be separated; for such is the power of animal sympathy, aided by the above and other predisposing causes, that more are sure to follow. Sometimes a considerable proportion of the ewe flock is thus affected, and every care must promptly be taken to avert the danger. Quiet and composure are the surest remedies. Bleeding is also recommended ; it is indeed indispensable to their THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 201 general health and their welfare during the lambing season that tiiey should, by kind treatment, be made docile and gentle ; no dog, or other alarminy; cause, should be allowed to disturb them. If repeatedly frightened they become wild and restless. The writer of this paper has unfortunately had full proof of this : some years ago he suffered a loss of nearly forty ewes, owing principally to some greyhounds playfully racing amongst and then running after the flo^k, causing them long and exliansting gallops when heavy ^yith lamb. Numbers of lambs presented themselves wrong : we had some cases of abortion — our difficulties were great, often very perplexing, as well as the loss and annoyance ; besides, the series of alarms they were subjected to made them so restless and wild that much care was required in approaching them to render aid in lambing, and we had much trouble to make them abide with their lambs ; in the night many ewes quitted their lambs immediately after lambing, and numbers in consequence died. Tliey cannot be kept too quiet and free from alarms either during the period of gestation or the lambing season. Every attention ought to be paid by breeders to this department in the management of a breeding flock, as much depends upon it. We love to see docility and gentleness the characteristic of a breeding flock. The most important part of this subject, however, is the lambing season. We will then suppose the ewe flock to have been wintered with every requisite care and attention — that they are in fair order and proper condition for lambing — neither too high nor too low, and free from feverish fears and alarms — if so we calculate upon a favourable lambing season. Many are the preparations and contrivances to ensure com- fortable folds, warm lairs, and good shelters for the ewe flock at this period. To attempt to enumerate such would be superfluous : they almost equal the number of breeders, each having their own peculiar conveniences. Be these of whatsoever construction, it is abs'ilutely requisite to provide them. It is also desirable to provide suitable paddocks, and in one of these those ewes first served by the ram should be put, as they will first need the shepherd's attention ; but when these have for the most part lambed, he will find the general flock coming on so fast as to set aside any need of selection, and his attention must now be divided between the whole flock. To enter upon any lengthened detail relative to their management at this season would occupy too much space ; we will, therefore, content ourselves by giving an outline 'of the course we have for many years pursued. The "ewes times being up '' Ihcy are col- lected into a convenient field, at one corner of which stands the shepherd's dwelling-house. Adjoining it a temporary fold of sufficient extent is made, by setting thorn faggots as closely together as possible around it, so as to break ofl" the wind. At the northern end of the enclosure a number of small pens are also made — these are made with trays or hurdles; the Irajs are set in double rows, so as to allow the sides being well stuffed with stubble or strawy material, not likely to be eaten or pulled out ; and the tops being covered with straw, they form very warm and comfortable shelters. In the fidd we make many small pens, they are just large enough to contain a ewe with her lambs ; these are made with tiays closely wattled with straw, and are placed in suitable situations about the field, in order that any ewes about to lamb may with the greatest facility l)e conveyed to them, or they are in cold weatlier put in immediately after lambing; both these and the fold we endeavour to keep as clean and free from taint as possible, lest putrid matter of any kind should affect the ewes by coming into contact with any sores or lacerations they may have about the bearing and shape. This is a point well worth the best attention. It is very important that the fold and pens should be carefully watched, and no gangrenous matter be allowed to remain ; by this means serious injury is averted, and putrid fevers mainly prevented. If tlie weather is fine and open, and the nights moon- light, we do not use the fold unnecessarily ; but at other times the ewes yet to lamb are gently driven into it at dusk hour, and a few roots of mangold wurzel thrown to them to satisfy and quiet them for the night. Mangold wurzel is almost the only food supplied to them during the lambing season, and for some short time previously ; if the weather is very cold or wet we give them hay or chaff. The mangolds at this season (March) we think equal to any food that can be supplied to them, and as it is a crop yield- ing an abundant supply of food, and that of a quality highly productive of milk, we give it our highest re- commendations for this purpose. The shepherd's duty is to be in constant attendance upon his charge during the whole season, to sup[)ly them plentifully with food (mangolds and chaff), and to watch closely every case, and only render aid when imperatively required. We do not approve of early interference witli the natural efforts of the ewe during partiuition. Our practice is to examine each ewe to ascertain if the presentation is all right, i.e. the forc-fcet just lying under the head and near to the bearing or bhapc, and then have her pretty nearly to her own natural efforts. Should, however, she prove incapable of bringing forth her lamb without extreme exhaustion, we then render such assistance as appears really necessary. The shepherd with all gentleness approaches the ewe, and, having caught her by the neck with his long crook, proceeds with every care to lay her on her right side, and then with a firm and gradual eftort draw the lamb awaj'. Should a false presentation occur he summons help, and having taken the neci ssary precautions jnst named, he commences by inserting his hand into the vagina, and endeavours to chamie the position of the lamb — this will generally require pushing back into the womb and there turned riglit. The ewe will con- tinue ]'aining ; and as he withdraws his hand, still keeping the lamb riuht, it will £0yard or any other manure. He be- lieved that the use and value of guano were not yet fully understood by the British farmer. When too copiously applied to root crops it increased the bulk but not the quality ; and therefore he felt persuaded that if a proper admixture were made of mineral with ammoniaoal ma- nures it would come into more general use. But unless it was thought desirable to reduce the price, and take more care to prevent adulteration, the farmer would be compelled to economize his own manure, and (as it was stated to have been the case during the last three or four months) there would not be such a demand for guano as in former years. He had heard from manure dealers that they could not understand why, during the end of the winter and the commencement of the spring, when farmers generally gave their orders for guano and other artificial manures, they had not done so this season. It was because they feared, generally speaking, that they would have an adulterated article, and also because they considered they had not been fairly met by the Peruvian Government upon the subject. He trusted, therefore, humble as he was, that such a remark coming from that Club would have some effect in calling attention to the subject ; for he was thoroughly satisfied that if the price were reduced by 20s. to 40s. per ton, the demand would be much greater, if not double. He quite agreed with what Mr. Nesbit had said respecting the advantages of guano and salt combined for mangel wurzel, but did not at all agree with him that, by growing flax and turnips together there could be obtained a good crop of turnips, or from three to four quarters of flax per acre (Mr. Nesbit: " It has been done"). He had not been a great grower of flax, but he thought that 24 bushels, or three quarters, was a large growth for flax alone (Mr. Nesbit: " I said three"). It was something like the crops they were encouraged to grow by the Duke of Beaufort's agent — mangel wurzel and carrots. He hoped the result would be successful, but he did not place very great confidence in the experiment. He considered that the gentleman who had opened the subject had fully ad- hered to his promise in giving them original information upon it ; and no doubt it would cause an increased anxiety on the part of those who used the guano to have it in a pure and unadulterated state. Mr. Nesbit, in explanation, said that a great deal depended upon the different times at which the two crops were growing — the one growing for a long period in the spring, and the other for a long period in the autuum ; so that they were together a very short time. Mr. Paulet used guano a great many times a few years ago. He generally threw it broadcast over the top of the land, or drilled it in with the seed for turnips; but he could not find any good result from it. Last year, however, he had some land in stetches that were ridged up for turnips ; and he had the guano strewed broadcast before the land was ploughed the last time, and the seed was drilled in upon the top. The land had been previously manured, but the guano was put in at the rate of about 2 cwt. per acre. Upon measuring the land and the turnips this year, he found that he had about two tons and a half where the guano was applied, 214 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. to about one ton where it was not. lie tried it for mangel wurzel, and found something like the same result. He also tried it last year for wheat, and it gave an advantage of about a bushel per acre. But he never found guano pay for itself. Perhaps his site was not so well adapted for the use of it as some sites ; but he could not find any beneficial result arising from it, as far as he had proved it. Mr. Baker said, in reference to a remark he had made, upon guano not being on the whole beneficial to cereal crops, that he believed it would be beneficial under peculiar circumstances — under others it would not ; but that it was highly productive of turnips and mangold- wurtzel be was quite satisfied. He made a very exten- sive experiment last year, upon seventeen acres of man- gold-wurtzel. Upon one portion he put twenty tons of good farm-yard manure, and upon a large portion ten tons of farm-yard manure and two tons of guano. On two acres in particular he doubled the quantity of ma- nure, and put twenty loads on one acre, and four hun- dred-weight of guano on the other; and this grew very much faster than the other part, and was very much better, though there were evidences in the next crop of the twenty loads of manure being more beneficial. But, so far as the mangold-wurtzel was concerned, the por- tion of land to which the four hundred- weight of guano was applied produced as much as that which had the twenty tons of manure ; and he had no hesitation in say- ing that he could obtain the same result again uj)on a full description of land. 'Mr. Hazlewood : At what do you value the twenty tons of manure ? Mr. Baker: "VVe could not cart it over the land at less than ^£8. Mr. Hazlet\-ood replied. He came to learn, as well as to teach ; and he was certainly not in any way dis- appointed, as he had learned several things, or they had at least been brought before him in a new light. Mr. Aitchison had said, that on very bad grass land guano restored the clover and better grasses, and got rid of the worst ones. If no other benefit were to be derived from guano in this country, that alone would be a very great blessing. The Americans complained bitterly that v\ ith all their appliances they could not get their grass to grow as it did in England, on account of the superiority of our climate, which they maintained to be one of the main sources of our riches. Mr. Nesbit had stated that the autumn was the best time for the application of guano ; whether or not it was from the fact that the guano lying on the ground ameliorated there, he (Mr. Hazlewood) was confident that the autumn was the best time for its application ; and if he were, as a farmer, to apply guano in any large quantity, he would do so then. In reference to a remark of Mr. Shaw, he would say that the order of the Peruvian Government was to sell the guano at £9 53. per ton ; and so far there was an end of the matter. Mr. Shaw also remarked, that he could not get three crops with it out of the same spot in one year. He (Mr. Hazlewood) never said that he could : he merely observed that it was done in Peru ; but in Peru there was an qnlimited amount of guano, an abundance of irrigation, and the advantages of a tropical sun — and these three points, particularly the last, made all the difference. Mr. Haker had been kind enough to jjoint out the benefit to be derived from guano incorporated with soil. Among the experiments which were yet to be tried was that of the mixture of guano with pure virgin earth. In nine cases out of ten, where he (Mr. Hazlewood) had stumbled upon anything remark • able, he had found that virgin earth had something to do with it ; but farmers should not buy the mixture — they should make it themselves. Mr. Purcell had found advantage from the use of Ichaboe guano ; still, that was a long way off from the really valuable article — it was something like a glass of brandy-and-water with- out the brandy, and it was very much to be questioned whether farmers would look at it now, even if it could be bought. Mr. Chowler had said that he mixed the guano with ashes : were they wood ashes or coal ashes ? Mr. Chowler : They were ashes of sods, head-sides — principally vegetable matter. Mr. Hazlewood : Did any rain follow your applica- tion of the guano ? Mr. Chowler : Quite sufficient for a crop of turnips; but mine is gravelly land. Mr. Hazlew^ood : You see, if you are right, you cut the ground from under us. Here is a single case in which the thing has not been successful. What steps did you take to ascertain whether the stuff you bought was guano or not ? Mr. Chowler : Mr. Denison, a member of parlia- ment, living in my immediate neighbourhood, was anxious, four or five years ago, to have guano intro- duced, not only to his own farms, but to those of others. He requested me to try the experiment, and said that he had a whole cargo of it. I fetched some from the vessel, and tried it. I can give you no other informa- tion. Mr. Hazlewood continued. Guano might be tested by burning it in a common fourpenny ladle, at a read heat, for ten minutes ; and if anything remained which was not of a perfect whiteness, or if any variety of colour were observed, it might be depended upon that there was tampering somewhere. Mr. Hobbs had said that he approved of mixed manures, and he (Mr. Hazle- wood) trusted that a variety of experiments would be made with guano and mixed manures. Mr. Hobbs had also told them that if the Peruvian Government lowered the price of guano 20s. or 40s. per ton, they would sell double the quantity. They would be obliged to do so to obtain the present revenue. But would every one pre- sent undertake to purchase double the quantity they had hitherto done, providing the price were thus reduced .' (Hear). Let persons say what they would about guano, it certainly furthered the harvest three or four days, and if the produce of this country was worth three hundred millions, one fine day was worth a million. Mr. Baker : It rather retards the ripening of the crop several days, although it quickened the vegetation of the straw. Mr. Hazlewood had found it to be exactly the contrary. It produced a heavier crop, and much facili- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 215 tated its ripening-. Mr, Paulet had said that he did not get his pound back for his pound ; but he remarked that his land was possibly of that character which did not require it. It could not be supposed that a certain set of rules could be laid down which would be sure to succeed ; but he (Mr. Hazlewood) was watching in every corner where he found the experiment unsuccessful. The Chairman : Perhaps you will allow me the privilege generally accorded to the Chairman, of saying a few words at the close of the discussion. I have much pleasure in saying that I have not been at all deceived in my expectations ; that I have not only been much gratified, but much instructed by coming here. The discussion has been opened in a clear, clever, tem- perate speech from my friend, Mr. Hazlewood ; and the remarks which it has elicited from various parts of the room must have been instructive to us all. I have used guano three times to a considerable extent ; and my case has been precisely the same as Mr. Paulet's. It has been utterly useless to me ; but I can thoroughly un- derstand the reason why ; and I am not, therefore, dis- posed to disparage the very great value which guano is supposed to possess. I did not use it in three consecu- tive years ; but the three years in which I did use it happened to be years of peculiar drought. It was ap- plied on buraing sand-hills : and the reason why I used guano was because it was more concentiated and easier carried than other manure; but, unfortunately, after each application, drought set in ; and I could not, in those fields of turnips — each experiment was upon 14 or 15 acres— perceive the slightest improvement in the crop. Possibly, had it been applied in the form of liquid manure, the result might have been very different ; for I find, from examination into those crops of turnips whic;! are grown in various parts of England, that guano is bentficial in exact proportion to the wetness of the climate, and that in Cumberland, where turnips are seldom grown without it, and in some parts of Scotland, the effect is most extraordinary. I, therefore, come to the conclusion that, on sandy and dry land, it is rather too doubtful and expensive a manure to be much relied upon for the growth of turnips, but that in moister climates it is invaluable. I believe, however, that in the eastern parts of England we shall find in superphos- phates a more valuable manure. I do not know that the remarks which have been made this evening will elicit any more from me, unless it be one which fell from Mr. Baker, and which finds a thorough context in my own experience — that, after crops of rye and tares, your turnip crops will always be inferior, I have never found it the contrary, because I know how well the land re- quires to be manipulated in order to ensure a heavy crop of turnips. Although I was a large grower of swedes when in Hertfordshire, T never lost an acre by the fly ; and the reason of this was that I took peculiar care to have the land manipulated, which could not have been done if it had previously grown crops of rye and tares. Mr. Shaw then submitted the following resolution for the consideration of the meeting : " That the value of guano as a manure is well understood and appreciated ; but, taking into cousideration the immense extent of the supply, the reduced price of produce of every de- scription, and the cost of freight, which enters largely into the price of the article, this club is of opinion that the price of guano is more than is necessary to afford a reasonable profit to the vendors and consumers, and might, advantageously to the interests of the Peruvian government, be reduced, inasmuch as it would lead to a much larger consumption." A discussion ensued, in which Mr. Hazlewood pro- posed an alteration, whereupon, Mr. Shaw said he was warranted in asserting that guano could be sold at a much lower price, and yet yield a sufficient profit. He was aware how disinclined the Peruvian government had been to attend to the question of reducing the price wlien they had been applied to ; but he did not want it to depend on individual applica- tion ; he wished the club, as representing the British farmers, to express what they thought upon the subject ; and no doubt it would be found that the Peruvian go- vernment would not lose money by reducing the price, bnt, as in other cases of monopoly, a reduced price would lead to an increased consumption, and conse- quently to a larger profit. The resolution as proposed was adopted unanimously. Votes of thanks to Mr. Hazlewood and the Chairman were then passed, and the discussion ended. STAINDROP FARMERS' CLUB. Meeting held in the club-room, Staindrop ; the president, T. F. Scarth, Esq., in the chair ; subject for discussion, " The Advantages of Hinds as Farm Labourers," treated by Mr, W, Watkm as fol- lows : — Mr. President and Gentlemen, — The subject for our consideration this evening is not one of those which at first sight ir ay arrest the attention, or appear of paramount importance compared with other subjects which have from time to time been so ably brought before this meeting; but I do say that although we have had some very important discussions — there are none which should command so much of our attention as the question— How may the labour of the coimtry be beneficially em- ployed? For labour is the machinery by which the capital or the wealth of this country is increased, especially by that which is of a productive character. How important is it, then, that we should take a clear and distinct view of the division of labour with which we are immediately connected, even in its minutest details — for the produce of labour should not only pay its own wages and the profits of the stock which employs it, but the rent of the 210 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. land upon which it is enffa.a[ed. Under such cir- cumstances, it is obvious that whatever contributes profitable employment of labour, likewise tends to improve the condition of the other two classes con- nected with agriculture, thus uniting them in one common intei'est, which to neglect is alike detri- mental to all. But I am sorry to say there are two great obstacles to its profitable employment. First, there is not that permanent security for the outlay of capital in the soil that there ought to be, in order to enable the farmer to employ his capital in labour with advantage; and secondly, prices are so low, and profits so diminished, that lal)Our now catmot always be employed to advantage. Having pointed out the value of labour, I will come to the more immediate subject for discussion, viz : — " The Advantages of Hinds as Farm Labourers," The provincial word hind signifies a married man, who engages himself and his wife to do agricultural work for the term of one year, and so on from year to year, at fixed money wages, with the excej)tion of a house (rent free), which gives his employer the privilege of re- moving the family from the house and farm (after due notice) without any law proceedings, such as an ejectment, &c. Son^etimes they have a quantity of potatoes and wheat at a fixed price per bushel; the wages are generally paid fortnightly or every month. Having explained the term of hind as applied to married men engaged for the year, I shall endeavour to prove to you not only the necessity of liaviiig such servants, but also the advantage to be derived from having them in lieu of others who must of necessity fill their places. But I will first bring before your notice the wages and expenses of keep- ing a servant in the house. It has been a very com- mon practice with many farmers to engage young boys into their houses, who must consequently be inexperienced in all kinds of v/ork, and who can scarcely be entrusted with the care of horses and cattle on the farm, and certainly ought not to be sent from home with horses and carts. Such boys as I have alluded to, may be hired for from £8 to £10 per annum — their food, board, and washing costing as much as that of a man ; amounting alto- gether, with wages, to nearly £30. Men from IS to 21 years of age may be hired for from £13 to £1S per annum. Such of course are able to do some kind of work very well, such, for instance, as attending their horse? and cattle, ploughing, and a feware able to stack ; bat scarcely one can use a spade or cut a hedge. Such men will cost from £32 to £35 per annum — some people may feed them for a few pounds less. I shall, in the last place, I think, have little difficulty in proving to you not only the advantage of hinds as labourers in preference to house servants, but the absolute necessity of having such servants upon every farm, in order to conduct the business of such farm in a proper, husbandman- like, and advantageous manner. (I am sorry at present I cannot add "profitable" as v/ell.) I think that every jierson occupying 300 acres, with a fair proportion of tillage, tay one-third grass and two- thirds tillage, should have three hinds, and for every extra 100 acres not loss than one man in ad- dition ; consequently a man farming 500 acres would have five hinds; and probably some of those men may have sons capable of going with a pair of horses — if not, you will require two men in the house, being as many, nay, I may say more, than any farm house is constructed to hold (if I might venture to scrutinize the manner in which servants of both sexes are provided with sleeping apartments). When the aforesaid number of men have not cottages upon each farm, the occupier is obliged to have recourse to datal men, who may, and often do, leave him at the busiest season of the year ; this shews the uncertainty of such labourers, and they gene- rally have as much per v/eek as hinds, besides the privilege of earning more at piece v/ork in hay and harvest time. The wages, in money, of hinds, in this district ranging from nine to eleven shillings per week, house, garden, coals led, and a few potatoes, is, as you will perceive, less than house-servants co.-t, and also less than datal men; but what is of still greater importance, they are for the most part able and more skilful to perform the v/ork they have to do, and you have their services two hours each night and morning when you cannot have datal men— consequently stock are properly attend- ed to, and work conducted on a systematic princi- ple ; and likewise you have their wives and families to go out at a few minutes' notice, instead of sending a distance of probably two or three miles. In North- umberland, the hinds are chiefly paid in grain, with the exception of about £4 per annum in money — the son (if they have one) is paid very frequently half money and half grain. Avery common wage is about £15 in money and the remainder in corn. The value of the wages being regulated by the price of grain, may make those of young men range from £24 to £26 per annum. Living, as they do, with their parents, they have the advantage of parental advice and instruction ; and when the family is large, the young men's wages united with their father's is a great advantage to the support of the familv, which might not be so properly applied when young men are left to their own resourses. Tliere is also the opi)ortunity for young men, v/hen boys, to be always employed on the farm at such work as they are capable of performing ; and observing the work done by the men makes them generally expert at their business en arriving at manhood — a decided advantage over boys brought up in a village, and having all to learn when they THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 217 should be able to make themselves useful. V/hat- ever may be the opinions on this subject, it is certain there are instances to prove, from the long periods many hinds have served under one master, that the result is of the most satisfactory character. I be- lieve there are different members of this Club who have hinds living with them now who came to them when they first commenced farming, or even held the same situation under relatives before them. Gentlemen, it certainly m.ust be a pleasant thing to see those who are brought into daily and hourly contact maintaining that good understanding for so many years which ought ever to exist between the employer and employed. But let us not forget that this good understanding could never have been brought into operation if the inheritors of the soil had not taken a deep interest in their mutual welfare, by building cottages on the diffe- rent farms belonging to them, and we have a noble proof of this in his Grace the Duke of Northum- berland having ordered 1000 cottages to be built on his estates in Northumberland. Although much remains to be done in the way of building cottages, yet we may rest assured that as their value becomes better known, they will increase in propor- tion to the interest that landlords feel in the welfare of both tennant and labourer, and as they are im- pressed with the fact that now, more than ever, wealth must go hand in hand with industry, to keep ])ace with the requ.irements of agriculture. The Rev. L. Sedgwick begged to express his tlianks to Mr. Watkin for the manner in which he I had adverted in his able pajjcr to the moral and * social bearings of the question. From his own ob- servation of the defective accommodation for farm- servants, he thought nothing could tend more to their demoralization. The Rev. H. C. Ltpscomb also tendered his thanks to Mr. Watkin. Mr. Bell said the subject was of great import- ance, and as such Mr. Watkin had treated it. It must be a great advantage to the farmer to have la- bourers located on the farm as hinds ; knowing, as k I do, something of the working of both systems, I * certainly prefer married labourers to having young men in the farm-house. There is much greater interest felt by the servant v/hen home and family are on the farm, than can be expected from young men ; the married men having no inducement to leave the place, can be relied on morning and evening for attending to his horses, cattle, &c. Where a part of the labourers come from the vil- lage, especially such men as work a pair of horses, there is such a disposition to get done at a set hour, that work is imperfectly done, or horses im- properly driven. There is also so much going on in the village in the shape of amusements in the evening that tho labourer is kept up till a late hour, unfitting him for the duties of the day, and, on coming in the morning, he has so much to re- hearse, as to lose valuable time, and not unfi'e- quently engenders a spirit of dissatisfaction in the minds of the young men residing on the farm with their situatioiiS. The relation between master and servant ought not to be a disjointed one ; when the master attends to the comfort and happiness of his servant, the "servant will be sure to look sharply after the interests of the master. There is always so much time lost in changing young men, which very frequently happens twice a year, that it is a great inconvenience and loss to the master, and very undesirable to have so many changed drivers for horses. The hinds were also much cheaper to the farmer, more especially as they were engaged in Northumberland — being paid chiefly in kind— and in every respect the hind is the most desirable kind of servant. The children of the hinds being also valuable at little work, and when grown to manhood could perform the kind of work required of them ; whereas the young lads brought up in the village learned nothing useful, and, when hired as farm- servants, were just a pest to their em- ployers. Mr. HeaviiSide could add very httle to Mr. Watkin's observations- all of which he most cor- dially approved. Mr. Raw thought there could not be tv/o opi- nions as to the advantage of having hinds— the only obstacle in the way was the deficiency of accoramu- dation. Mr. Graham agreed with Mr. Watkin in all his remarks, but thought a change ought to be made as to the time at which it was the custom for hinds to be hired — the first week in March. The disad- vantage was that from that period to May-day the hind became indifferent to his work, at so impor- tant a period of the year. He thought if the in- terval could be limited to a month it would be better. Mr. Bell and Mr. Seymour concurred in thinking that the interval was not too long for a married man to change his home, and the latter said that if a man neglected his work there were ways to make him do it. Mr. Bell remarked that such an objection would not be heard if hinds were the rule and not the exception. Mr. Hawdon could not see how such an estab- lishment as his could be carried on with young men ; there would be disadvantage to the farm and no comfort in the house. The Duke of Northum- berland had set a noble exam^^le. Good cottages were necessary, for j'ou could not expect a good hind to go into a bad house. He thought paying part wages in grain &c,, was advantageous to both 218 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. master and servant; it saves marketing expenses, and to the hind intermediate profits. Mr. Nelson felt gratified to hear such a paper as Mr. Watkin's read before the society, especially at a time when increased labour was imperative. Tlie President, in conclusion, observed : Much has been said in the discussion of this evening about the obligation landlords are under to provide cottages for hinds on the farms of their estates, and that little has been done in that respect on the large estates in this county, and the brilliant exam- ple of the Duke of Northumberland is adduced, who, report states, has ordered 1,000 cottages to be built on his i)roperty in Northumberland. Where farms are large and require such accommodations for the labourers employed on them, 1 quite agree that the tenant should be assisted by the landlord in their erection, and I have no hesitation in say- ing, on the part of the Duke of Cleveland, that his Grace would authorize such an outlay, the tenant paying 5 per cent for the money expended ; or he would furnish materials for the buildings, which is equal to two- thirds of the whole expense, the te- nant defraying the expense of workmanship. On what terms the cottages to be built on the Duke of Northumberland's estates are undertaken I know not, but it appears to me very improbable that so large an expenditure would be incurred without some return to his Grace. On opening the sub- ject for discussion this evening, Mr. Watkin stated the necessity of the tenant having perfect security for any investment made on his landlord's property. In that remark I fully agree. AVhen a tenant is not satisfied with a tenancy at will, and has ability, with sufficient capital to manage his farm, a lease ought to be granted ; and I speak the sentiments of the noblemen for whom I have the honour to act in saying, that a lease under such circumstances would not be refused him ; but as proof of the se- curity his Grace's tenantry feel in their tenancy at will, the security of which I think has been amply proved by the long continuance of the present te- nantry on the estate, where leases have been of- fered they have been declined, and the old system of tenancy at will performed. Mr. Nelson has stated that the accommodation for farm laoburers in some parts of the south is so defective that they are obhged to ride on asses to the farms on which they are employed. I am much in the south, but such an occurrence has not come under my obser- vation. In the midland counties many of the farm- houses are in villages, where the farmer has the fa- cility of locating his hinds or labourers near him without the necessity of erecting cottages. The ir- regular conduct of single men as farm servants re- siding in their master's house has been much commented on ; but that I think may, in some de- gree, be attributed to the want of proper precaution on the part of the farmer when hiring them. Why should not a farmer ascertain the character of the servant, as a gentleman does, before he admits him into his house ? Why do not farmers require testimonials of good conduct of a servant from the last place he has left, instead of hiring him indis- criminately at a market hiring ? If that rule could be established amongst farmers, and well acted up to, it would prevent many of the complaints now made. CURE OF BRAXY IN SHEEP. We have been favoured with the following valu- able communication upon this disease, so fatal to young sheep, the result of long experience and careful observation, by Mr. James Aitcheson, over- seer at the Home Farm, Kilmory, Argyleshire, the Beat of Sir John P. Orde, Bart. Mr. Aitcheson is well known through a large district as a skilful farmer and improver of the breeds of cattle and sheep : — It is well known to breeders of sheep that braxy is a very prevalent disease among hogs, from the month of October till the end of December : and in the first place I shall attempt to point out what seems to me the cause. It is also well known that it seizes on the fattest of the flock, the reason for which is, that when an animal is in high condition it is then easier burt, particularly by any disease in the blood. Braxy always affects the hogs at that season when they are confined to pasture on old grass ; and if it has been reserved through the sum- mer and autumn so much the worse, as some of the grass has died by age, and other portions have been killed by frosty nights. This kind of food is very confining to the bowels of the sheep, and hard to digest; and when the derangement takes place in the stomach, blood cannot flow long healthily through their veins. To prevent the disease I have adopted pasturing the sheep on young grass after the corn has been cleared off the fields, and when this was done I never had a single case of the malady. When it is necessary to take them oflf the young grass, not to over eat it or damage the plants, I put turnips into the most convenient field of old pasture, and drive them into it every night till they have all learned to eat the turnips. Then by giving them a few turnips THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 219 every day, they may be kept on pasture that other- wise would have killed the finest of the flock. Housing the hogs at night will not prevent the dis- ease, as is supposed by some parties. I had about three score housed at night in a well-aired house, and pastured out during the day on such old pas- ture land as I have already described. They were housed before any disease commenced, and before there had been any frost ; and after frosty nights came on, I never allowed them to get out till all the frost rime was off the grass. They continued to do very well for some time, till about Martin- mas, when I used to find one or two dead or dying in the house every morning. There was good hay put into the rack every night ; they very soon came on to eat a large quantity. After I had several cases I removed them to an open shed or yard, where I kept them in day and night, and fed on hay and turnips; but not having learnt to eat turnips while at grass, it was some days before they all began to use them, and during the first eight days I had three cases of braxy. From this I concluded that however rapid death came on after being seized with the disease, they might have eaten the food which caused it eight days before it took effect. Some of my neighbours may with justice say, What can we do when our whole farm consists of sheep pasture, and we have neither young grass nor turnips ? I would recommend parties so situated — as I had never seen a hog, that had met with anything to check its condition, ever take braxy, and as I have remarked already, as it is always the i fattest that are seized — to take all their hogs into a fold or house, and handle them all over, bleeding all the fat ones. I find from several experiments that a fat sheep, from sixty-five to seventy-five pounds weight, has, at an average, six pounds of blood, and consequently would expect a hog, how- ever good, to have less ; and that taking two pounds of blood from them would check their condition, and would prevent the braxy during the season when they are liable to it. I prefer bleeding with phlemes instead of a lancet, and pursue the follow- ing method : — I lay down the sheep on its side, pull a small quantity of wool off the jugular vein, and draw a string tight round the neck so as to make the vein rise. I use the smallest phleme of a caseof three; and recommend the performer tokneel at the back of the sheep's neck : if he has another person to steady the sheep so much the better. I have cured many by bleeding after they had been seized ; and never failed when I caught them in time, so that the blood would run. I have even bled them when the blood was as thick as the grounds of coffee, and had them recover. I would recommend all shepherds, having the chargeof young sheep, never to go without their phlemes in their pockets ; if they have to go home for them, or for some person to bleed the sheep, when they return there is every chance of their being a post too late, as it is well known to all who have the charge of sheep in a highland country, that they are but a very short time ill ere they are dead, and that all that are seized die, if the disease is not stopped. To ef- fect this, I know no other remedy than bleeding. I have seen recommended, in a well-written ar- ticle on the subject, putting the sheep into a hot bath, and administering salts and many other things to it. But this can seldom be attended to, as they are generally far from any house, and before getting it home it would probably be dead. I never suc- ceeded in curing any till I commenced to bleed j and would conclude these remarks by advising every farmer or stock-master to see that his shepherd is provided with a good set of phlemes.— Greenock Advertiser. EAST BERWICKSHIRE FARMERS' CLUB The following subject was discussed at the meet- ing in December last. CULTURE OF WINTER AND SPRING TARES. The committee having fixed on this as the sub- ject for discussion, had previously requested several members to send in written reports of their views on the following seven points : — 1. The best time for sowing ; 2. The quantity of seed used, and whether in mixture with rye or other grain, and in what proportions ; 3. The preparation of the land, and the manure used for said crops ; 4. The place occupied in the rotation — that is, what crops should they follow and precede ; 5. By what kind of stock consumed; 6. What soils are best adapted for them ; 7. Are the crops liable to failure, and from what cause ? In reply the committee had received eight communications, which were then read as follows : — Mr. Murray, Marygold, in his reply said : I have much pleasure in stating the result of our ex- perience in the cultivation of tares ; the winter va- riety we have only sown for one year. In answer to query 1st, regarding " the best time of sowing," I consider that ought to be as soon after the preced- ing crop is removed as can be accomplished, not only that the plants may acquire strength before severe weather sets in, but to have food early in summer and to make way for a crop to succeed. 220 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. The spring tares we sow in the mouths of March and April, in order to have a succession of green food'; and to insure this as far as we can, we intend sowing a proportion of the winter variety next spring, expecting a weightier crop ; and that will extend a supply of soiling over a greater portion of summer. 2. — "As to the quantity of seed, how mixed," Sec. Last autumn we sowed 7 acres with 15 bushels of tares and 3 of wheat, which answered so well that we have sown this year about the same proportions, viz,, 32 bushels of tares and C of wheat upon 15 acres; we sow from 2 to 3 bushels per acre of spring tares according to circumstances, and mixed with oats or beans. 3. — "The prepa- ration of the land, and the manure used for said crops." We sowed on the stubble furrow after a crop of oats, the land previously having been four years in grass, with a top dressing of guano one of the years, so that we did not think manure neces- sary. 4th— "The place occupied in the rotation that is, what crops should they follow and precede ?" We have sown spring tares both after lea and oats; last year we sowed after oats, which system I pre- fer ; we had the field in portions of potatoes, beans, spring tares, and winter tares ; we reserved part of the winter tares for seed, cut a part twice, and the remaining part we sowed with rape, which is now consumed, and the field all manured and sown with wheat, which we intend following with a turnip crop to be succeeded with barley sown down with seeds. This rotation obviates in a great measure the objections of some that you cannot have a full crop of turnips after tares, and they thereby assume that they are not equal to that crop. In adopting this rotation, or in submitting this rotation to your perusal, I would keep in view not the plenitude of a redundant crop of swedes, witlr the concomitant expenses, but rather the deficiency which often oc- curs in the second and third year's grass, which on second rate soil is far from profitable, not produc- ing nearly the quantity of food that the same land would do in green food. But not to digress from the subject, I shall turn to query fifth. 5th — " By what kind of stock consumed ?" By horses, cattle, sheep, and swine. They were given to the horses in the stable, and to the cattle and sheep they were spread out on a grass field, as by that means we found there was not so much waste as when they were confined and given in racks. 6th — "What soils are best adapted for them ?" They will suc- ceed upon almost any soil, provided it is fresh or well manured. 7th — " Are the crops liable to failure, and from what cause ?" Our winter tares last year were a good crop ; and in Yorkshire, 1 believe, they are considered a safe crop even at a considerable altitude. The spring ones generally succeed; I have seen them much injured with the grub worm, and with a small while snail — ihey arc more liabh to this after lea. The next communication was from Mr, Nichol- son, of Lennelhill, which was read by the Secretary in that gentleman's absence. Mr, Nicholson said— I may state in the first place, that after four or five years' experience, I have not found this crop, the winter tare, to come forward for use more than 8 or 10 days sooner than the common tare sown in the beginning'of March ; a result in which I have been much disappointed, and which I attribute to the cold and exposed situation of this farm. Upon warm and low-lying lands, a better result may be looked for. The crop of winter tares should be sown as soon after harvest as possible ; I believe the sooner the better ; the quantity of seed not less than 2| bushels. I have not mixed the tares with any other grain, but I have no doubt that rye would be very beneficial. This crop may follow a white crop of any kind, and if the land is clean and in high condition, may be followed by another. From farming in the fifth shift, I make turnips after the tares, to keep the rotation unbroken. If a piece of land in good condition is taken for this crop, I think manure is not necessary, but might rather be injurious by causing too great a growth of straw. Upon one occasion I top-dressed with soot, but without any marked benefit. All kinds of stock thrive well upon this food. The principal use I make of it, besides feeding horses in the sta- ble, is to give it to fattening cattle in the pastures in August and September, when the bite of grass is insufficient, and also to sheep, which feed re- markably fast upon it, given in moderate quantities, not as their only support, but to assist short pas- tures. In many situations where there is a diffi- culty in putting down straw, tares consumed in the foldyards would be an excellent method to improve and increase the manure of the farm, I think crops of tares do not often fail; they may be lessened by great drought or rotted by continued rtiin, I v/ill not trouble the committee with any observations about spring tares, a crop which has been cultivated amongst us time immemorial. Mr. CocKBURN, of Harelaw, said — I confess, gentlemen, that it is with reluctance I venture to comply with the wishes of the committee, and ad- dress you on the subject proposed for discussion, viz., " The Culture and Use of Winter and Spring Tares," both because it is a matter deserving of greater interest and investigation than I have been able to give it, and because my experience, es- pecially in the cultivation of winter tares, has been limited to too small an extent, and confined to too short a period, to enable any one to place future re- liance upon the practical results. I beg to add also, that in treating the subject I shall confine myself THE FARMER'S MAGAZLNE. !221 strictly to the few practical experiments which it has been in my power to make, and am only sorry that you will not find them so satisfactory as I could vv'ish. The points to be alluded to respectin^r the use and culture of v,'inter and spring tares are all comprised in the seven questions proposed by the committee. I propose answering the first two of these together; but before doing so, I may here state that I have been regularly in the habit of sow- ing spring tares to the extent of about four impe- rial acres annually for seven years past ; but it was not until two years ago that I v/as inclined to try the cultivation of the winter variety, and have done so only in the following proportions, viz., three acres in 1849 ; tu'o acres" last year j and I have in- creased the quantity this season to nearly three acres again. In the autumn of 1849 I sowed the winter tares on 23rd October; being quite aware that this was too late, I took the precaution of giv- ing more seed than usual, i. e., three bushels per acre, in order to foster a more rapid growth. In the season of 1850, I sowed the tares on ISth Sep- tember, and they were above ground by the begin- ning of October ; on this occasion applying only two bushels of seed per acre. This year the tares v/ere sown on the 13th September, and at the rate again of two bushels per acre, m.ixing for the first time, however, with a little wheat in the ratio of a bushel of v/heat to five bushels of tares. Respect- ing spring tares, I have confined myself to what is commonly called the Scotch variety, sowing at the rate of 21 bushels per acre of good clean seed, mixed with a quarter bushel of oats. I now believe beans to be as good a substitute, aflfording a greater chance of carrying the tares up off the ground. The time, or rather times, for sov/ing found best are the last week of March, the middle of April, and second week of May, thereby enabling one to have the tares fresh at various periods. I now come to the third question viz., " The preparation of the land and the manure used for said crops ;" and may state, that before sowing winter tares, I had the ground well fallowed and thoroughly cleaned, but no manure has been given till spring, when each of the two seasons I applied, to half the quantity sown, two cwt. of Peruvian guano— the other half, by being allowed to remain longer in the ground, nearly equaUing the former at last. For spring tares, I have prepared and sown the land in the same manner as the oat crop, generally selecting for the purpose the weakest and most sandy soils, and applying with the seed two cwt. of guano per acre. The fourth question is "The place occupied in the rotation, that is, whnt crops they follow and precede." My winter tares were sown for the first two seasons after barley and oats ; but wishing this year to get thcra sooner put into the ground, I sowed them after early cut spring tares. Being late, as previously mentioned, with sowing in the year 18-19, I followed the tares next season by a crop of turnip seed ; but last summer I got them all consumed in time to have a crop of white turnips sown with the usual manure on the 24th June, which turned out a good average jneld, and were ready for using early enough to enable me to succeed them with wheat on the 14th Novem- ber last. The spring tares have always been pre- ceded by grass, and followed with turnips, in the same manner as the oat crop. In answer to the 5th question, " By what kind of stock consumed ?" I may add, that the winter tares have been principally given to cattle summer feeding in stalls ; spring tares being consumed during the summer and au- tumn months by cattle and horses; each variety being also found most profitable in its season for pigs. I am quite aware that to no stock are tares more beneficial than to sheep, but from the small quantity sown, I have never been able to spare any for this purpose— having delayed until I could hear of some experiment pointing out the best system of giving the food, and the profit attending it. 6th, "What soils are best adapted for tares ?" I think that light soils are best suited for both varieties — winter tares requiring, in order to be followed by turnips during the same se.5son, to be put upon the richest, best, and most sheltered situations which the general rotation of farming will afford. Re- specting the seventh and last question, " Are the crops liable to failure, and from what cause?" I can only say, that spring tares have never proved a failure on my farm, and also that both of my crops of winter tares have succeeded admirably upon the best croft land— being equal, and I could almost add, superior, to any crop of spring tares that ever came under my observation. Whether a severe winter and an exposed situation may alter the mat- ter, you will easily see I am unable, from too short an experience, to testify. The result of the present crop, sown upon worse land, and upon a more ex- posed situation, v/ill in all probability answer this question. The Secretary then read the following paper from Mr. Hamilton, of RiflSngton, who was not present. Mr. Hamilton said — I will endeavour to state, as concisely as the subject will permit, my experience and opinion upon the cultivation and uses of the winter and spring tare, adhering to the seven points stated by the committee. I may, however, premise that the tare is exempt from one of the greatest obstacles to the cultivation of many of our most useful varieties of plants and roots, namely climate. This is no bar to its growth. Although, of course, it does not come to perfection quite so rapidly in this northern locality as in a 222 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. more southern temperature, yet it is found in every county of Great Britain both in a wild and culti- vated state, and is supposed by many to be a native of this country; being, however, found growing luxuriantly in Japan, China, and even Siberia. My own experience extends over three counties, on to- tally difierent soils, and different temperatures ; first, on the Cotswold Hills of Gloucestershire ; secondly, on the strong clays of Shropshire; and, lastly, in this district. The best time for sowing, if only one sowing of each is intended, for the winter tare October, for the spring tare March ; but if for a forage crop, the sowing of each kind should take place with intervals, according to the weather, as near as possible, of three weeks, and make three sowings, commencing with the winter tares as soon as harvest is over, and^with the spring tare as early as the ground will work, by which means you have a regular supply of nutritious food as you may re- quire it ; whereas if all sown at once, part of the field will be too ripe and heating for stock before it can be used, and as exhausting to the soil as a corn crop, "When grown for its seed, 21 bushels per acre are plenty to sow ; but when grown for foddei", from 2 J to SJ bushels are requisite— the first sow- ing not requiring so much as the later ones'; a good deal must, however, depend upon the condition of the land and its freedom from dirt. A mixture of either rye or oats is necessary and very beneficial, preventing the tares lying on the ground and rotting, at the same time making it more easy to cut, and less liable to rush any animals when first put on them. In the south of England, they use either rye or the black oat for the winter tare, the latter being better able to stand frost than the common oat ; 1 bushel of rye or oats to 3 bushels of tares is abun- dance. In this locahty, as a general rule, the crop will occur on an oat stubble, which may be either too stiff for turnips or requiring a change from that crop. The best method, if you can spare it, is to give the stubble a good dressing of fresh dung, ploughing it in with a good furrow, then sowing the tares or else ribbing them ; the latter is de- cidedly the best, especially for the winter variety, as it affords them a better protection from frost till they gain strength, at the same time that it allows you in the spring, if occasion permits, to hand-hoe them, which is a great assistant to their growth ; I have myself given them a stroke with the seed har- rows with good effect. When you cannot spare the dung, or have not time to lay it on, give them in the spring a top dressing. 1 have used guano, gypsum, nitrate of soda, and soot. Soot, in my oj union, when it can be obtained reasonably, is de- ci ledly the best ; guano next. The important pr ints to be observed in preparing land for tares, eiiAer winter or spring, is to have the ground deep ploughed, a good tilth and clean ; and tares always grow well were lime is present in the soil. It is difficult to state any particular jjlace to be occupied by the tare in the rotation of crops, as so much de- pends upon cuxumstances and localities. In this district it must almost invariably fall upon the oat stubble, unless the landlords make some concession to the tenant, allowing him to make such alteration as may not interfere with his full quantity of sale- able produce, and undoubtedly the system of green cropping is as beneficial to the landlord as the te- nant, acting upon the soil like a change of food upon a hard-worked horse, by refreshing its con- dition, without drawing upon its powers. Last au- tumn I sowed a few acres of oat stubble with winter tares ; these were cut for the horses during the month of June; in July the tare stubble was ploughed and sown with white mustard ; upon this the ewes were netted the end of September till they were all tupped, and this was very rapidly done ; the ground was then ploughed for winter wheat. Tares are a good preparation for wheat, provided they are not allowed to ripen ; for if any seed falls and germinates with the wheat, it is injurious to the flour, the seed of the tare being black and having a bitter taste. As a general rule, tares may precede or follow any crop with success, except peas or beans, which are strictly of the same order and si- milar constitution. I knew a farmer in Shropshire who had two fields of a strong clay loam situated on a hill difficult of cartage, a good distance from the onstead, and unproductive; he drained and fallowed them, sowing one winter wheat and the other winter tares at intervals ; the latter he ate with sheep on the ground during the following summer, then jjloughing it for wheat and sowing the other field with tares. For some years he thus worked the two fields, alternately tares and wheat, and most excellent crops of each he had, between sheep and corn paying well, but this of course was under local circumstances, and might not answer else- where. I have seen stock of every kind fed upon tares with advantage. I have myself fed cattle in boxes on tares during the eai'ly part of summer, seUing them fat off after grass ; they throve well, making a lot of excellent manure. Sheep thrive well provided they are put on in small quantities and before the tares are too rank ; it is, however, better to net the sheep on the bare ground, cutting the tares and putting them in hacks. It is my opinion that for horses, cattle, and pigs, tares are excellent, and will repay the labour, but I do not thmk so much of them for sheep. Respecting horses, I have invariably remarked that those which have been fed during summer on tares, always keep better condition and health during the ensuing win- ter. I have, when over supplied with tares, cut them. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 223 allowing them to remain for a week on the ground till about half withered, then carted them, forming a stack, every alternate layer with good wheat straw and a sprinkling ^of common salt, which in the following spring was used as fodder for horses proving excellent meat, the superfluous pieces of the tares being acted upon by the salt, and absorbed by the wheat straw. The soil best adapted for the growth of tares is a good clay loam with a dry sub- soil ; but except on a very light sandy soil, or very wet clay, with moderate care and attention, I have never seen the tare fail where the ground was mode- rately dry and not poverty stricken. The only disease I ever experienced as injurious to the tare was mildew, and this only twice, slightly proceed- ing, no doubt, from atmospheric changes. I do not mean to infer but what the tare, like all plants, is liable to fail, for instance, on a high gravelly knowe, or in an undrained slack in a wet season; but I consider it as free from casualities as any plant in common cultivation, and more so than most of them. There is one point that must be con- stainly borne in mind — sow real seed, not spring tares in winter, or vice versa. The only way to be sure is to grow your own. I send a sample of the real winter tare for inspection ; and allow me, in concluding the subject, to express my conviction, that with the present depressed prices of corn, when artificial manures weigh so heavy on the farmer, the system of green-cropping is a most useful, and to a certain extent economical substi- tute. The next paper was from Mr. Ho;iiCK, of Hut- ton Mains, in which he replied seriatim to the seve- ral queries of the Committee, as follows : - 1st, From the middle of September to the middle of October: when everything suits, I prefer September. 2nd, I have been in the habit of sowing about two bushels to the imperial acre ; mixing a little red wheat, of the kind called creeping, not exceeding half a bushel to the acre. 3rd, I generally sow my winter tares after a white crop, and after the land has got one furrow. If the land is friable, I give it a single harrowing before sowing. After sowing, finish and harrow in the usual way. If the land happens to turn up stiff and rough, I then harrow completely, and rib with the small i)lough, making the ribs about twelve inches apart ; sow with the hand, and single or double harrow as may be required. As to manure, about the middle of April I top-dress with about 1 § cwt. of guano to the acre, which is best done in showery weather. I then take the first opportunity to roll, so as to make the surface even for mowing. The land on which I sow win- ter tares is of the first quality, being a rich black loam, on a clayey bottom. I find it best to top- dress only one-half of the quantity sown, which half is to be first cut, beginning about the first week of June : about the middle of July the un- top-dressed gets fully strong enough for use. I find when I top-dress the whole that, when coming near perfection, the tares are apt to get too strong, and then there is danger of considerable waste from rotting at the root, &c. 4th, That part of my land on \\hich I sow tares being, as I have already said, of first-rate quality, I farm in the following rota- tion, which may be called a four or eight shift :— 1st, turnips; 2nd, wheat or barley, I prefer wheat after turnips when the weather is favourable for sowing; 3rd, beans; 4th, barley or wheat; 5th turnips ; 6th, wheat or barley ; 7th, broad clover ; 8th, oats. I sow my tares after the barley or wheat, so as to come in the same rotation as the beans. The land on which I sow my tares and beans is particularly clean, being only once in white crop after fallow. I have, in my experience, found it quite impossible to keep land clean with either tares or beans, unless it is thoroughly cleaned before sowing. 5th, I begin to cut about the first week of June for my work horses, giving them tares in the stable (fitted up for the purpose) between yokings, and again from 6 o'clock to half-past 8. They are then turned out to pasture for the night. They are kept the whole of the Sunday in the stable on tares, I also give my milking calves tares in a small field near the steading : I find the want of a shed in this field operates against their feeding — the tares would be kept fresher under shade, the calves would not be so much annoyed with flies, and would be more comfortable in a wet day. I also had this year two yearlings, a young buU and his twin sister, kept wholly on tares, after the Swedish turnips were finished. They were just a year old when put upon tares (having been calved on the 8th June). My other yearlings were turned to grass about the middle of May — they were in excellent condition when put to grass, being about three months older than the two which were kept in ; they had thus a considerable start on the two kept on tares, and yet when the yearlings returned from grass, the two that were fed on tares were completely a-head of them, both with regard to condition and size, al- though three months younger. I must say, how- ever, that the pasture was not quite so good as I could have wished. Three acres of tares kept nine horses, nine calves, and two yearlings, from the first week of June till the 22nd August, the horses going out through the night, and the calves having the benefit of the small field of about one acre. Cth. I consider rich loam on a clayey bottom the best soil for tares. The field should have a good exposure, and be, if possible, well sheltered. 7th, In the course of my experience I have never had a failure in winter tares, with the above treatment ; Q Till': FARMER'S MAGAZLNK. and with regard to spring tares, I generally sow them after one-year-old lea, when I sow my oats, being the first succession. The second I sow about the beginning of May, trying to do so after a shower, when the land is hard and diy. My first succession I begin to cut when the winter tares are finished. They are then in jierfection, viz., in August. I go on with them till my second are ready, which is generally about Sej)tember, leaving the remainder of the first for next year's seed. My second generally serves till all the corn is in the stackyard, being used by the horses whilst leading in the crop. I may be allowed to remark that part of my land is well adapted for spring tares, being a stiff clay, and not too growthy, so that the tares pod well, and do not rot at the roof. I have had the misforlunc to lose a steer by swelling, from the tares being too ripe : when he was cut up, his paunch was found to have burst. I have ever since taken care not to give them to my cattle in so forward a state. With regard to the horses, I have always found them thrive well on tares, and that they can do more work on them than on any other kind of green food. When the pods of the tares get full, 1 take the oats from my horses. I have also a small field of about two acres, which I don't keep in re- gular rotation, and on which I have been in the habit of sowing winter tares, having them all used by the middle of July, and afterwards sowing tur- nips for seed. This I find to answer well on a small scale, but on a small scale only. Mr. Wilson, of Cumledge, sent the following communication : — In reply to yours of the 8th cur- rent, I shall be happy to note down, as requested by the Committee of the East of Berwickshire Farmers' Club, the result of my experience on the cultivation of tares, and in the first place I shall answer your queries in their order. ] . The best time of sowing. — Winter tares, I think, should be sown in the end of October ; spring tares in March and April, at different times, for a succession — the earlier the better, if the land is in proper condition. 2. The quantity of seed.— This must depend upon the richness of the land ; from two to three bushels. I do not think a mixture of grain is of any benefit. 3. The j)reparation of the land. — For winter tares, if the land is clean, it answers very well to give the land a good, deep, close-laid furrow, after a crop of oats or any other grain ; if manured so much the better, with farm-yard dung, or any other ; but if guano is used, I think that is better aj)plied as a top* dressing in wet weather in spring. The ground may be harrowed before as well as after the tare sown, and then well rolled, to prevent throwing out. This kst I consider to be a very essential point, and may be repeated early in spring with advantage. This year I have sown them after a crop of hay, when the clover plants have been thrown out, and at present they look well ; the ground has not been manured, but 1 shall give a top-dressing of g\jano in spring. The cultivation of spring tares is so well known that little need be said ujion that head. The principal aim of the club in bringing this matter under discussion, I conceive would be, to induce its members to adopt a more extended cultivation of this useful description of green food than they have hitherto done. 4. The place occu- pied in the rotation. — This, of course, must depend upon the rotation followed. To the extent that it may be prudent to cultivate winter tares in this climate, they may be sown after any other crop in October, and be off the ground in time for sowing turnips in June, and in that case would not inter- fere with any rotation. Spring tares might often be sown with propriety in place of a second year's grass, especially where the clover plants have failed, which often grazes little, and tares might yield a much greater quantity of food, and there can be little doubt that a much better crop of oats or any other grain would be obtained after them than Holcus, and other inferior grasses, which take pos- session of the land when the finer sown grasses fail. 5th. By what kind of stock consumed. — Tares are excellent food for all kinds of stock. If the land is poor they should be eaten on the ground with sheep, and this answers admirably in fattening off clipped hoggs after the turnips are finished, espe- cially with a little addition of oil-cake or grain ; but when the land is rich and in good condition, it may answer as good a purpose, and perhaps better, to soil cattle and horses in the house with them. 6th. What soils are best adapted for them. For winter tares, in this climate there can be little doubt that a sharp dry bottomed soil, and well sheltered, is the best ; but they will do in any well- drained soil. I would consider soft inadhesive land the worst, being apt to throw out the plants during winter. 7th. Are the crops liable to failure ? I do not think that spring tares are more liable to failure than many other crops, but when they do fail the greatest cause I have found to be from slugs eating them : for this, salt is a cure, if applied when they are out creeping on the surface. All recent writers on high farming strongly urge a more extensive cultivation of grain crops for summer use, and soil- ing cattle in the house. I believe it would be found beneficial to adopt this system to a greater extent than it has hitherto been done in this dis- trict, and a more extended cultivation of tares is the best means of enabling us to attain this object. Mr. Crosbie, Hutton Hall Mill, sent the follow- ing communication : — In reply to yours respecling " the culture and use of \\dnter and spring tares," I beg to say that I will briefly dispose of the spring THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. lares, by stating that the only quantity we grow of theni, is sown on a part of the land intended for beans, and at the same time that the beans are sown, the quantity of seed used being two bushels of tares and half a bushel of oats. They are cut during the summer, and are consumed by horses and cattle in sheds and curtains, before commencing with the second cutting of clover. I will now pro- ceed to give you the result of my experience of winter tares, by answering the questions in the order in which they stand. And " 1. The best time of sowing ?" As the tares are invariably preceded by a grain crop, the land in most seasons cannot be cleared sufficiently early, to make any mistake by sowing too soon. We prefer the middle of Sep- tember. They may, however, be sown any time during the month, but not later, Avith any prospect of having the advantages of early cutting than the first v/eek of October. "2. The quantity of seed used, and whether in mixture with rye or other grain, and in v/hat proportions ?" Three and a-half bushels of tares and half bushel of wheat per acre. We have tried a mixture of rye, but prefer wheat, as we find rye, although eaten at first, that during the last week or two of its growth is refused l)y cattle J not so with the wheat, it appears to be as much relished as the tares. The reason of giving such an apparently liberal allowance of seed is, that by doing so we find that the crop grows more rapidly, and is much sooner ready for cutting. " 3, The preparation of the land, and the manure used for said crops." Twenty cartloads per acre of good well-prepared dung is evenly spread on the stubble. It is then ploughed in with a furrow of moderate depth, well harrowed, then made up into drills, or ribs of 12 inches in width, the seed sown by hand and covered in by harrows in the usual way. It is thus left during the winter, and as soon as vegeta- tion has fairly commenced in the spring, the land is all hand-hoed ; after which we give it a top-dressing of 40 bushels of soot per acre. With this treatment wegenerallycommence cutting thefirst week of May. "4. The place occupied in the rotation — thatis, what crops should they follow and precede." With us they have always occupied a part of the turnip quarter, and have followed wheat, barley, and oats ; and as soon as the tares are all cut the land is prepared for turnips, and the turnips are sown with 2 cwt. of guano per acre. We have at present growing on the tare land a full crop of white globe turnips. " 5. By what kind of stock consumed ?" They are consumed by horses, milch cows, and young cattle. It may not be considered out of place for me to state here, that our crop of the past season consisted of only 2 acres. We commenced cutting the fifth day of May, 5 horses, 6 two year-old cattle, 4. year-olds, and 2 milch cows. vv'ere sparingly supplied with the tares for the first week ; and from that time up to the 30th of June th ey had all a full allowance. The cov.'s during that time had nothing but the tares, and with which they did uncommonly well. The one and two-years-old cattle respectively had each in addition a daily allowance of 2 and 3 lbs, of bran, and with this feeding they made great improvem.ent. " 6. What soils are best adapted for them ? " To this question I regret being unable to give a definite answer, as my experience, although extending over a period of five years, has been too much confined to soils of a similar quality to enable me to speak with any degree of certainty, and which for the most part consists of deep gravelly soil, v.'ith a gravel subsoil ; but I should consider any good dry, early turnip soil as well adapted to their growth, " 7, Are the crops liable to failure, and from what cause ?" I am not aware of any failure we arc liable to> never having seen the least symptom of any, but may remark that we have been much more suc- cessful in their growth for the last three years, since adopting a thicker system of seeding. Mr. Dickson, of Whiterigg, in reply to the cir- cular of the Committee, said— I received yours of the 8th, containing queries on the subject for dis- cussion at the next half-yearly meeting of the East of Berwickshire Farmer's Club. Had I been able I would have had great pleasure in answering them very fully ; and as I consider the matter to be discussed an important one, I v/ould like to have stated the result of my experience of feeding stock on tares for the last four years, and also to have pointed out what value they are of, in com- parison with turnips and rape. During the time I have used them it has been to my complete satis- faction; my stock has thriven uncommonly well upon them, and I find my grass very much benefited wherever they have preceded it— a result I fully anticipated, and which I recollect I stated atone of our meetings when the cause of the failure of the red clover was gone into, and I promised at an after period to mention if my predictions were verified. The introduction of tares breaks up the monotony of the four and five-shift rotation as prac- tised generally in that district, and with so good an effect that I am certain, when their advantages are better known, they will be extensively used. I will now endeavour to reply to your queries, and I trust the reason I have assigned will form a sufl^cient ex- cuse for my doing it in so brief and imperfect a man- ner. " 1st— The best time of sowing ?" I have never sov»-n winter tares, being afraid of the effects of the season on the crop. They may thrive in such a mild winter as the last; but I am afraid if the weather v.'ere severe they would not succeed, and most likely in the long run prove inferior to a spring- Q 2 226 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. sown crop. I begin sowing whenever the land is dry— in February, if possible; and continue at short intervals until the middle of April, and use the different breaks in succession. In this way the first sown are quite ready for stocking by the first of July, and the remainder will last until the mid- dle or end of September; a season when they are most acceptable, from the grass then losing much of its feeding qualities. " 2— The quantity of seed, and if mixed?" I sow tares unmixed, excepting with a few beans when they are to be eaten by sheep, as I find when rye or oats are added they are rejec- ted by the stock. The quantity of seed I use is from 2 to 2.j bushels per acre. " 3rd — The prepa- ration of the land, and the manure for the crop ?" The land is ploughed from stubble in winter, and the seed is either sown with the drill, or the ground ribbed with a small plough, but it will succeed equally well broadcast. My reason for drilling is to extirpate any annual weeds that may grow with the crop. If the land is in good condition no manure is requisite ; but to the first sown portion I generally give a little guano, in order to push on the crop, and have it ready by the 1st of July, from reasons I shall afterwards state. I do not think it advantageous to manure heavily for tares, for when too luxuriant they are apt to become rotten at the bottom of the stalk, and their value is lessened. " 4th — The place occupied in the rota- tion ?" What it should be depends much on the views of the grower; for if he can successfully raise the winter variety, then he may both have a tare and a turnip crop in one year. The mode I adopt is to make the tares take the place of the grass in the rotation, and sow them on a wheat or barley stubble, ploughed in autumn. I take oats after them, the same as if the previous crop had been grass ; but either barley or wheat might succeed them if considered more remunerative; but I always find my oat crops, after consuming the tares with sheep, remarkably abundant, and fully of as much v^lue as any other. The land I have grown the tares on has generally been farmed on the four-shift rotation ; where it has to remain two years in grass, the grazing upon secondary soils is often very inferior the last season, and I am convinced it would be much better to plough up a portion of it after it as lain one year, and sow it with tares, and follow them with oats, which crop, if the tares are eaten with sheep, would be much better, and the land in superior condition, than if it had remained all that time in grass. " 5th — By what kind of stock consumed ?" Unless for the supply of the work horses during, and for a short time after harvest, I consume all my tares on the ground with sheep. They are a most valua- ble food for this description of stock, and I never found any thing to equal it for lambs when newly weaned. They are very fond of them, and eat them most readily. The great advantage the tares possess is, in keeping the young animals perfectly free from those diseases of their bowels which are so common, and so frequently fatal at that critical period ; and if farmers were to grow them for no other purpose, they would be amply repaid ; they would find their lambs strong and in excellent con- dition for putting on turnips, and thoroughly i^re- pared for encountering the hardships of the coming winter. This mode of treatment is, in my opinion, vastly superior to the plan very com- monly practised, of sending them to board, and earn a scanty subsistence on some moor at a dis- tance from home, where they not unfrequently, from being mixed with other stock, contract diseases and lose condition, which they are long in recover- ing; besides they have the advantage of being under the eye of their owner, who must be much gratified at the rapid progress they make. When I first grew tares for grazing sheep, I mowed them, and put them into small cribs set in a field ; but I found this both a very troublesome and bad method, for I had them all to cart, and the stock ])ulled out, and wasted a great quantity, where the cribs stood ; besides, the land was unequally manured. When I was last in England, I was advised by a gentleman there to make the sheep eat them through low sparred hurdles, placed in a sloping position against the tares. I have since tried it, and find it a most admirable plan, as no portion of the crop is wasted, and the land is equally gone over, and if the hurdles are properly constructed they are easily shifted from time to time, when necessary. They are generally made of wood; but I think iron would be better, as when of that material they will scarcely ever break, and cannot be upset in very high winds, as wooden ones sometimes are. The ditFerence in price is not very great, and of course those made ofiron last much longer. If the owner of the sheep thinks fit to give them a little cake along with the tares, I need scarcely say he will find both his stock and the succeeding crop much the better for it. I generally treat my late small lambs in that way, and their progress is wonderful. " 6th —What soils are most suitable ?" Any soil that is clean, and in good condition. " 7th — Are the crops liable to failure ?" I have never experienced any. I hope the few remarks I have made will meet the approval of the club. I only regret that I am unable to have the pleasure of being present at the meeting. The noble President said the meeting had now heard all the papers which had been sent in to the committee; but valuable as these were, it might be desirable to hear the opinions of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 227 other gentlemen who had not given in written re- ports. Mr. Clay, of Wynfield, rose and said — Not having tried the growing of winter tares, I am un- able to offer any ojjinion on the subject ; as I have always thought that our heavy lands were unfit to grow a crop of winter tares with as much profit to us as those sown in the spring. Therefore my ex- perience has been confined to the spring tares alone, which I have grown successfully for four years past. The first three years I grew them for nothing but horses and cattle, but more especially for the cattle. The tares always came in for use about the middle of July, when grass on our heavy land seems to give up growing all at once. I found that the cattle throve much better by spread- ing the tares thin on the ground of a lea-field then if you put them into hacks ; the cattle are apt to pull so many over, and waste them among their feet. Having had a few sheep going along with the cattle, the sheep seemed to devour the tares greedily, and fed fast upon them. I was led to think that if I could manage to feed my lot of din- monts on tares when my grass failed, it would be a great profit, and of immense benefit to the land. I this year went more fully into the system, by sow- ing ten acres after lea. The tares are in the place of two-years-old grass, which is so often of such little value in this district. My first sowing was in the middle of March ; second sowing was the 1st of April ; last sowing the 20th of April. I do not like to continue the sowing so late as the beginning of May, as some of the papers just now read re- commend. I give the first sown Ig cwt. of guano, to get them forward in time for use ; they are then ready by the 20Lh July, when I put my sheep upon them. Having a small piece of ground cleared at the top of the field to give the sheep room to fall back until they had time to eat way for themselves, with the assistance of Mr Wilson, Edington Mains, I contrived a hurdle which answered the })urpose with great effect ; it is nine feet long, by three feet high, one rail on the top, and one on the bottom, to which there are upright spars nailed, ten in number, which admit of the sheep getting through their heads and necks, to eat the fresh meat as it is put forward by the man that attends them. The first week the sheep did not like to be confined upon them, neither did the man like the shifting of the hurdles ; but ere a week passed over, both the man and the sheep got expert at their business of shifting and eating. The man took about two hours to shift the hurdles at first, but by the finish of the tares he could accomplish the shifting in about half an hour. The last thing he did at night was to shift the hurdles close up against the grow- ing tares, so that the sheep had meat enough, if they felt inclined to eat. Early in the morning when the man came that attended them, the tares were all bared as far as the sheep could reach through. The first thing he did was to give them a little fresh meat, by cutting a swarth close to the post which the sheep had bared through the night. He took it forward in small quantities, which they devoured with great rapidity; all day long he con- tinued to feed them in the same manner. Every hour the sheep took about a quarter of an hour to feed, when they all went and lay down to feed- ing time again, which they all knew well by the rattle of the scythe. The hurdles were 48 in number, which reached across the whole break, so that ] 0 score of sheep got fothered with great com- fort. Any one that saw the sheep before they went on to the lea, would not have known them when they came off, they having made such rapid improvement. When the butcher handled them he was struck with their firmness ; therefore the quality of the sheep was of the first class, which was proved by getting the top price in the market by per lb. I calculated the sheep at 5d. per week for the time they were on the tares, which was a very moderate calculation for such feeding ; at that rate the tares eat at £4 4s. per acre, which is much better than the grass that I could have grown, and the land was left in three times better condition. I have now got it sown in wheat and looking well. I am so much taken with the system, I intend to carry it out to a greater extent next year, as our two-years-old grass on our heavy land is such a niinous affair, we are obliged to try some system to move forward with the present times. Mr. Wilson, of Edington Mains, said that the reports which had now been read having been put into his hands as Convener of the committee, with a request that he should draw out a short summary of them, he begged now to lay it before the meeting, merely premising that he was giving no opinions of his own, but simply an abstract of the various papers which had been sent in. I think that I am warranted in congratulating the club on account of the important and interesting information which this day's discussion has been the means of drawing forth. Our proceedings to-day are well fitted to confirm us in the practice of substi- tuting written for oral discussions, and afford a good illustration of the service which such associations can render to agriculture by collecting and publish- ing professional information of a trustworthy and useful character. How difficult it would have been for any of us to have obtained by personal inquiry the same amount of information on the subject under discussion which had been presented to us in the papers just now read. These communica- tions go also to confirm the impression which has 228 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. steadily been ;Taininfr frvonnd nmon2;st us, that we must bestow far mora attention than lieretofore upon the cultivation of forage crops. Although we have been in the habit all our days of growing tares, most of us probably feel that this is a more important crop than we have been aware of, and that we have much to learn about its proper uses. In passing through the country in several direc- tions during the past summer, I was struck with the greatly increased extent of land imder this crop in the present as compared with former years; and I have no doubt that the publication of these reports will give an impetus to the movement which has already begun. I shall now endeavour to collect the evidence supplied to us by the gentle- men v,'hohave favoured us with their reports, upon each of the heads of inquiry, in the order in which they were adressed to them. *• ist. As to the time of sowing." For winter tares, most of the reports recommend September, or more generall)"-, as soon after the preceding grain crop has been removed as possible. Mr. \Yilson specifies the end of October as the best time; but Mr. Crosbie, who has had longer experience, says expressely that they cannot be grown so as to secure the benefit of early cutting if they are sown later than the first week in October. Mr. Stark, with a yet longer expe- rience to guide him, sows in August whenever it it is practicable. (Mr. Wilson here explained that before this discussion was resolved upon he had privately obtained informaiion of a similar kind to that contained in the reports, from Mr, Stark, at Mellendean, who has grov/n winter tares for many years.) For spring tares a majority of the repor- ters say March and April. Mr. Dixon makes his first sowing in Februar}', if the land admits of it, and sows at intervals till the middle of April. All approve of a succession of sowings, which two ex- tend into May. '•' 2nd. Quantity of seed." From two to two and a-half bushels per acre is the quantity specified by a majority of the reporters, who also approve of mixing wheat with the tares to the extent of from one-quarter to one-half bushels per acre. Several prefer beans for this purpose, but all who have tried rye object to it. Mr. Crosbie uses three and a half bushels of winter tares, with one half bushel of wheat in addition; and adds a nota bene to his report, that since he began to seed thicker, he has grown the crop with decidedly better suc- cess. He is fully coroborated in this by a writer in the Agricultural Gazette, of the 20th September last, who recommends three bushels per acre for winter tares, and four bushels for spring tares. •' 3rd. Preparation of the soil and manure." One ploughing after a grain crop is the usual practice. A majority advise to harrow well ; after this, furrow, and to rib the land before sowing. Mr. Stark re- marks upon the advantage of depositing the seed rather deeply, tliat the plants may be well rooted previous to top growth. Ribbing or drilling is also recommended, in order that the crop may be hoed in the spring. Several of the reporters consider it unnecessary to manure this crop, at least when the land is in good heart; but those who seem to have grown winter tares most successfully are decided in recommending a liberal api)lication of farm yard dung at the time of sowing, as well as a top dressing of soot and guano in spring, " 4th. Place in the ro- tations." Winter tares, in nearly all the instances re- ported to us, have been grown as a catch-crop, and follovyfed by turnips in the same season, witliout in- terfering with the established rotations. It is evident I think, unless this crop is so managed as to have it ready for use in May, and the land on which it grew cleared and sown with turnips before June expires, that the ])eculiar benefits are in a great measure lost. Mr. Crosbie deserves much credit for his ju- dicious and successful management of this crop. From a casual remark in his paper, it appears that he follows a regular system of soiling by means of winter and spring tares and clover; and hence his early sowing, thick seeding, and heavy manuring of his winter tares, are parts of a well-concerted plan for securing a regular suc- cession of green food from May till October. Several of the reporters aie of opinion that on poor soils a crop of spring tares is preferable to second year's grass, both l)ecause the tares produce more and better food, and leave the land in better condi- tion for bearing a crop of oats or other grain. Mr. Dickson's practice, however, brings out some totally distinct features of great practical impor- tance. He confines himself to spring tares, for reasons which he states; but instead of substituting them for second year's grass, he puts them (for one revolution of the course) in place of grass altogether, and by this mcjans — as he very happily expresses it — breaks the monotony of the four-coarse rotation and yet without deranging it. ISy this plan the in- terval betwixt the recurrence of clover and grass seeds is lengthened from four to eight years. The tares are grown at the cleanest stage in the rota- tion, and when there is least risk of their being injured by grubs. Their consumption on the land by sheep is an excellent preparation for the suc- ceeding grain crop, and Mr. Dickson assures us that when clover is ultimately sown, he finds it do well after this variation in the course of cropping. When thus referring to Mr, Dickson's report, I cannot refrain from expressing the gratification which it has aflforded me, not only by its intrin- sic merits, but from the evidence which it bears to the improved health of its author, whom we all so much respect, and whose lengthened absence has THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. been such a loss to this club. " 5th. Dis])osal of the crop." When grown on rich soils, the most ap- proved plan of using tares is to coiisume them at the homestead by horses, cattle, and pigs ; and in the case of poorer soils, to have them eaten by sheep on the land where they grow. Some practi- cal difficulty is experienced in so managing this process as to avoid waste, and various expedients have been resorted to for this purpose. That de- scribed by Mr. Dickson is probably the best. It requires, however, a frequent shifting of the flakes as the sheep can only get at so much of the crop as can be reached by pushing their heads betwixt the bars. Mr. Clay, at \Vynfield, informs me that after trj'ing this plan for some time, he had a few swathes of the crop mown parallel to the flakes, and forked close to them as required, and that in this way one shifting of the fence daily sufficed. 1 have been told that when tares are given to sheep in racks, they are apt to break their teeth in pulUng out the tough stems. " 6th. Soils best adapted for tares." Mr. Hamilton has noticed the important fact that the tare is indigenous to this country, and that it thrives under the greatest diversities of soil and climate. This is curiously corroborated in these reports, where we find most of the writers expressing the opinion that such soils as their own farms consist of, are best adapted for tares, while we know that they are as diverse as well can be. I can only say that the best crop of tares which I have had was ujion Edington Hill Moor, where I also observed that the wild tufted vetch grows freely. " 7th, Causes of failure." The chief risk of failure seems to be from grubs, when the crop is sown after lea. Much diffi- culty is experienced in preserving winter tares where game and wood-pigeons are numerous. Upon the whole, it appears that tares are liable to as few casualties as any crop ordinarily cultivated. Before closing these remarks I wish to call attention to the data with which Messrs. Hosick and Crosbie have furnished us, for ascertaining the value of a good crop of winter tares — Mr. Crosbie's 2 acres kept 5 horses for 7h weeks, which at 3s. per week, is £ 5 12 6 6 two-years-old cattle, do. do. 6 15 0 4 one-year-old do., for 72 weeks, which, at 2s. per week, is 3 0 0 2 milch cov/s, for 7i weeks, which, at 3s. 6d. per week, is ; 2 12 6 £18 0 0 Mr. Hosick's 3 acres kept 9 horses for 12 weeks, at 3s £l6 4 0 2 one-year-old cattle, do., at 2s 2 8 0 9 calves, do., at Is 5 8 0 £24 0 0 In fixing upon these rates, I have kept in view that Vlv. Crosbie's cattle have a few pounds of bran, and Sir. Hosick's horses and calves some grass along with the tares ; but still I beheve that I have stated them at less than could have been obtained for the board of similar kinds and ages of stock on the tares alone. The time mentioned by Mr. Crosbie is eight weeks; but as his stock did not receive full feed the first week, I have called it 7h- From this cal- culation, it appears that a really good crop of tares will afford as much food as the best crop of turnips, and of a more nourishing quality. It has been customary with us to adopt some resolution, em- bodying the opinion of the meeting on the subject discussed. Now, however, that we have the benefit of well considered written reports, I think it much better that these should be left to speak for themselves, and I therefore decline proposing any finding. The Earl of Home said that they were all very much indebted to Mr, Wilson for his able sum- mary. This was certainly more satisfactory than any attempt to pronounce at the moment a deliver- ance on the important topics brought under their notice. The m.eeting then separated.— Berwick Warder. TO THE EDITOR OF THE BERWICK AND KELSO WARDER. Sir, — As the estimations which I gave of the money value of the crops of winter tares grown by Messrs. Hosick and Crosbie, in the remarks ad- dressed by me to the East of Bervv'icksliire Farmers' Club, were unaccompanied by any statement of the outlay involved in the production of these cro])s, and may, on this account, be thought by some to present an exaggerated view of their value, I shall feel obliged by your allowing me space for a few words of explanation. When winter tares are grown successfully, they are cleared from the ground in time to be followed by a crop of turnips in the same season : or, if grown on clay soil, to admit of the space occupied by them being prepared for wheat along with the bare fallow. As stubbles must be ploughed in autumn, at any rate, and as many farmers winter- dung a portion of their intended turnip-break, it is evident that all the additional labour expended, ia consequence of sowing winter tares on a portion of it, is the ribbing and harrowing of the land at the time of sowing, hand-hoeing of the crop in spring, cutting and carting home the crop, and ene addi- tional ploughing, with its accompanyingharjowings, in addition to what would otherwise have been necessary to prepare the land for turnips. Now, as we cannot suppose that these gentlemen employed any additional horse or manual labour in conse- 230 THE FARMER'S MAGAZliNE. qxience of growing these few acres of winter tares, but must simply understand tliat they varied a httle the distribution of the work of their ordinary com- plement of men and horses, it wouUl be quite un- warrantable to put down a money estimation of the ploughing, &c., connected with this cro]), inasmuch as they did not spend a farthing more in labour or rent than they would have done although the land had lam bare all winter, and been sown with turnips in the usual way. The actual outlay is, therefore, limited to the cost of the seed, and of the top- dressing applied to the tares in spring, and to the deficiency in the value of the turnip crop from its being later sown than it would otherwise have been. I do not include the value of the dung applied in autumn by Mr. Crosbie, as neither that, nor the guano which he gave at the time of sowing his tur- nips, is beyond what most of us are in the practice of applying for the latter crop alone. The account will, therefore, stand thus : — Estimated value of an acre of Mr. Cros- bie's tares, on the data given in my summary . . . , £9 0 0 85 bushels of seed-tares, at 6s. per bushel £1 1 0 I bushel of wheat 0 2 6 40 bushels of soot for top-dress- ing, at 3d 0 10 0 Loss on succeeding turnip crop by later sowing 2 10 0 4 3 6 £4 16 6 As Mr. Hosick's crop would show substantially the same result, it is unnecessary to rejieat the calcula- tion. To this extent, then, I believe that the con- junct crop of tares and turnips exceeds in value a crop of turnips only, sown at the proper season on similar land and with the same manure, and sup- posing both to have been consumed by stock taken in to board at such rates as 1 liave given. The ma- nure jjroduced from the tares would, of course, be an offset in their favour, not to mention that their value to the grower in enabling him to carry for- ward his own stock at a critical season of the year, will usually be far l>eyond what he could realize by letting them to others in the way which 1 have sup- posed. I do not know what rent these gentlemen pay for their land, and although I did, it would not af- fect the simple view of the matter to which I have restricted myself. I do not for a moment suppose that such results can be realised with any kind of soil and climate, and any kind of management; but, at the same time, it does not detract from the merits of these gentlemen to say that they do not mono- polise the good land and skill of the district, and that what they have done may be equalled by scores of their neighbours, if they choose to try. I should be sorry were my statements to induce any one to depart rashly from his ordinary practice ; but there is enough surely in the reports read to our club on Saturday last, to warrant any of us to make trial of these crops in a cautious way, and more than this I do not advise. Jno. Wilson. Edington Mains, Dec. 8, 1851. HIGHLAND AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY, A monthly meeting of the society was held in the Museum, on Wednesday, the 28th January. His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch in the chair. His Grace, on taking the chair, remarked — As this is the first occasion on whicb I have attended as the chairman of these meetings, having held on previous occasions the honour of orticiating for others, who have so well and so worthily filled this position, I think it necessary to state that I feel it my bounden duty to further the interests of this society, and, in doing so, of my countr}', and also to show publicly the high estimation in which I hold these meetings, which have both created a very great interest throughout the country gene- rally, and also communicated valuable information to those who have been present. Not being able to attend the annual meeting of the society, I can only return my thanks for the honour you have done me, in appointing me chairman of these monthly meetings. Mr. Hall Maxwell stated that the next meeting would be held on Wednesday, 25th February, when the cultivation of flax would form the subject of discussion. As there existed some excitement on this question at present, he might mention that it was not proposed by the society for the next meeting, in consequence of recent meetings or statements in other quarters ; on the contrary, some of the papers to be brought before the meet- ing had been called for by the society so far back as 1848, and embodied the results of practical ex- periments conducted over several years, and on considerable extents of ground. Some may think the society remiss in not having ere this made public their views on tliis important question, for the guidance of the farmer ; but the directors felt that, before recommending any change, they were bound to exercise the utmost circumspection. They did not feel they possessed data sufficient to warrant a decided opinion as yet, but they pro- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. •231 posed to introduce the subject at the February ineetinof. Subject for discussion : — " The comparative value, in point of economy, immediate and perma- nent effect, of guano and other special manures, and of farm-yard manure produced by turnips alone, or by turnips with auxiliary feeding." Mr. Dickson, Saughton Mains, Mid-Lothian, said— When I proposed this subject in committee, as one likely to be interesting for discussion at one of our meetings, I expected rather to have gained information by listening to others than to have been called upon to open the discussion myself; but holding the opinion that every ore ought to come forward when asked to give his views on any subject under discussion, I readily agreed to state to the society the result of my experience on this question, which is rather a difficult one. Seeing it is only about ten years since guano was intro- duced into this country, and that for some years at first, from the high price of the article, and the uncertainty regarding its effects, it was applied to the soil in small quantities, and chiefly along with farm-yard manure, it was only after some experi- ence of its beneficial effects that we were induced to risk the production of a good crop with guano alone ; therefore, the period is limited over which our experience extends, in forming a correct judg- ment of the comparative advantages of special and of farm-yard manures. I have made many experi- ments with guano, and nearly all the other special manures on soils of various qualities, the general result of which has been that while rape, bones, and many other special manures have proved powerful fertilizers when judiciously applied, guano has been decidedly the most profitable of the class. But as these experiments were made not so much with the view of minutely satisfying myself as to the immediate and permanent effects of the sub- stances employed, as of profitably conducting the working of my farm, and as they were not insti- tuted with the intention of giving them publicity, I am consequently unable to detail the exact produce of the different crops, and am compelled to make my observations more general than I could have wished. However, in so treating the subject, I shall endeavour to state only such results as I am fully satisfied in my own mind are correct. To save repetitions, I may here mention that in using tho word acre, I mean the imperial acre, and by guano, good quality of Peruvian, which, including the cost of carriage and application, I estimate at £10 per ton; and by farai-yard manure, I mean good quality and well prepared, which, including the cost of carriage and application, I estimate at 8s. per ton. In dealing with the question of eco- nomy there can be no doubt as to the advantages of employing special manures. The sanng of labour and time thus gained is in the first place indisputable. I consider their most profitable ap- plication, however, to be in conjunction with farm- yard manure; and I find that by applying 15 tons of manure, 4 cwts. of guano, and 2 cwts. of dis- solved bones, I can raise a heavier crop of turnips than by the application of 30 tons of manure alone. Such a substitution of special for farm-yard manure is therefore economical and profitable, although from its immediate efJect it is less perma- nent ; but the saving of £3 4s. besides the advan- tage of having a superior crop of turnips, enables us to apply an additional quantity of manure to the succeeding crops of the rotation. My neighbour, Mr. Finnie, informs me that he has raised as heavy a crop of turnips with 6 cwts. of guano, 5 cwts. guano and 3 cwts. rape, 5 cwts. guano and 2 cwts. dissolved bones, as from 30 tons of the best horse and cow manure. And he has given me an in- stance where 5 acres of turnips manured with 6 cwts. of guano alone, brought as much by public roup as 5 acres adjoining which had received 30 tons per acre of farm-yard manure, which entirely coincides with my own experience. On light sandy, or gravelly soils, where manure of all kinds is quickly used up, it is found advantageous to apply only the light manures to the green crop, and the farm-yaid manure to the succeeding white crop, which, as well as the succeeding crops of the rotation, are much benefited by this arrangement, and by a liberal application of the light manures the turnip crop is generally better than where the farm-yard manure is applied alone. In looking to the permanent effect of manures on soils, it is necessary to keep in view the various descriptions of land, as the permanency of the effect produced by the application of manure to the kind of soil last described is very different from that on a soil con- sisting of a deep clay, or clay loam. In applying a full quantity of farm-yard manure to the green crop of the rotation, it is generally understood that the beneficial effect of the manure extends over the current rotation, including the succeeding white crop, the one or two years' grass, and the following white crop, when it is supposed to be exhausted ; whereas, in applying guano, it is understood to be exhausted by the first crop, and that, unless where the crop is consumed where it grows by sheep, it is necessary to make fresh application of manure to the succeeding crop. I believe this theory to be mainly sound; however, having repeatedly ob- served beneficial effects on the second crop, I am satisfied that to some extent it is useful to the crop succeeding that to which it has been appHed, al- though I would not recommend any one to trust to it alone in the second year for securing a full crop. THE FARMKR'S MAGAZINE. In the communication above alluded to, from Mr. Finnie, he concurs uith mc in objectinnr to place reliance on the permanency of guano and other special manures, unaccompanied during the I'Ota- tion by farm-yard manure ; and he states as hie 0|)inion that it is not profitable to displace more tiian 2 J tons of manure for every cwt. of guano used. In comparing the effect of the liquid manures with that of farm-yard manure, the following experiment has been with me the most successful in growing with the former equally good crops, for a period of four years, against 30 tons of farm-yard manure per acre ajipUed to the turnip crop, over an equal extent of the same field. Tiie following special manures were apjjlied, viz. : 5 cwt. of guano and 2 cwt. dissolved bones to the turnip crop ; 6 cwt. of rape cake to the wheat crop ; 1 cwt. of nitrate of soda to the grass crop; and to the oat croj), 1 ] cwt. of sulphate of ammonia. The cost of these light manures was under £7, and that of 30 tons of farm-yard manure, £12. At the same time I am not of opinion that this application of these light manures would have been equally suc- cessful if continued through another rotation ; because, as I formeily stated, { consider their most; profitable application to be in conjunction with farm-yard manure. I merely refer to this case as a successful substitution for farm-yard manure in a part of a rotation, and I should farther explain that the crop grown on the land previous to the turnips was wheat after potatoes, to which there had been ap])lied about 40 tons of farm-yard manure, so that a different result might pro'oabiy follow the same application made to ])oorer soil, which had been less amply supplied with manure previously. As there are different modes of apply- ing guano and light manures generally I may state my own practice, viz : — When the farm-yard manure has been previously applied in autumn (which is generally the case with me) after the land is prepared for drilling up for turnips, the guano is sown broadcast and well harrowed in, and mixed with the soil, the land being then drilled up and sown with turnip. Where the manure is applied in spring, after it is spread, the drills are rolled down with a moderately heavy roller, so as to cover the manure as much as possible and present a greater surface of the soil to mix with the guano, which is then sown broadcast, and the drills split up and sown with turnips. I have mentioned this as I frequently observe the guano applied to the turnip crops only in the centre of the drill, and when used along with farm manure placed right over it in a narrow line, and seeing it is well known that the roots of a good crop of turnips fill the whole space between the drills of the soil and sub- soil as deep as it has been prepared for their re- ception, it is surely a mistake to confine manure (viz., the guano) which can be equally spread over the whole to such a limited portion of the soil that only a small part of the roots of the crop can come in contact with it. 'I'he result of my experiments in applying light manures to grass for c\itting is, that I found tlie most profitable application to be one cwt. of guano about the beginning of March, and one half cwt. of nitrate of soda and one half cwt. of sulphate of ammonia about the beginning of April, selecting moist weather. I have seldom seen an unprofitable application of the light manures to a turnip crop by using too large a quantity, but I have observed less from the same cause with young grass ; but, unless in the case of a very dry season, I have generally found the above a])plication repay the outlay in the increased quantity of grass. And, touching the last part of the subject imder discussion, I am not aware of any sufficiently satisfactory result of experiment on this subject from which to draw definite conclu- sions ; but, besides my own experience, haviiig ample opportunity of hearing the opinions of others, who have used cake and corn along with their green crops in feeding stock more largely than I myself have done, I am satisfied in my own mind that although it is most desirable to in- crease the quality of the manure, by the consump- tion of cake and corn along with the green crop, yet, as the old-fashioned saying is, " gold may be bought too dear" — and keeping in view the price of guano and bones, and taking the present prices of cake and corn, and supposing them to be con- sumed on a farm to a moderate extent — say not ex- ceeding five pounds per day for each ox, and one pound for each sheep — no farmer would, in my opinion, be justified in debiting his manure account with more than one-fifth part, or twenty per cent, of their cost. And in case, as sometimes v/ill hap- pen, the balance of the feeding account should unfortunately be on the wrong side of the book, I would counsel my unfortunate brother farmer rather to set off the loss against the year to which it properly belongs than to deceive himself by adding it to the manure account of the succeeding crop, which, like many of its predecessors, may have enough to do v/ith its own proper burdens. In giving this opinion, I am not ignorant of the fact that in many counties of England the manu- rial value of the consumption of cake and corn on the farm is estimated considerably higher than I have stated it at ; but I am also aware that these rates were fixed long before the introduction of guano into this country, and as the auxiliaiy sub- stances are chiefly used for feeding sheep, besides the additional increase of value in the quality of the manure, there was included the benefit derived THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 283 from the ccnsolidalion of the land from the treading of the shee'i, winch can be now more cheaply effected by growing green crops with guano to ahnost any extent ; and were the manurial value of the consumption of cake and corn to be fixed under present circumstances, I believe it would be estimated at a much lower rate. In my own ex- perience I find the application of guano and other light manures yearly increasing without interfering to any great extent vnth the quantity of farm-yard manure formerly applied ; at the same time I do not see how we could possibly farm without them, or grow crops that would either please ourselves or suit our present circumstances. Mr. Dudgeon, Spylaw, Roxburghshire, said — As I must confess I have had no experience in comparative trials with special manures and farm- yard dung produced under different circumstances, which forms the main feature of the question as set down in the prograiiime, I at first felt considerable reluctance to take part in this discussion ; and this hesitation has since, I am sorry to say, been rather increased from finding, on inquiry, that I am still unable to throw any direct light upon this — the chief subject of investigation — from the experi- ments of my neighbours. Bat as I have had such experience as has been able to satisfy myself of the comparative value of many varieties of artificial manures, and pretty full practice in the use of the chief, and what I have been led to think the most superior of these manures in the raising of turnips — which may be said to be, as practised in the dis- trict I now have the honour to rei)resent, the foun- dation of all the other crops in the rotation on the farm— while I have not negleeted to satisfy myself as to the benefit of the application of some other of these special manures to the cereal crops— I trust that, thus confining myself chiefly to the main field of my experience, it may not be without its use that 1 have ventured now to assist in the dis- cussion of the question now before us. The intro- duction of bone dust may be said to have given the first great impetus to improved agriculture in the turnip districts in Scotland, where, much of the land being steep, and without much expense and labour inaccessible to ordinary farm-yard manure, as little as possible was made to serve on these high uplands, and hence scanty crops alone were produced. A great change came over the pro- ductive powers of these lands, when 8 or 10 cwt. was made to serve the purpose of 16 or 20 tons of manure. No wonder for some time the farmer re- mained sceptical as to the virtues of so greatly de- creased an application ; and it was only, it may be said, as each had satisfied himself, that he became convinced that at one step such extraordinary pro- gress had been accomplished. For the first time he now began to listen to the wonderful things v,'hich scientific men promised him, and the labours of the laboratory were no longer disregarded. x\t this time, accordingly many experiments began to be made with purely chemical substances prepared for the purpose. I see, on looking back to my notes upwards of twelve years ago, I engaged on a small scale in many of these experiments, but in most instances, I am free to confess, v/ith little encouragement to extend my operations. But we were not done with all that nature had accomplished for us : and intelligent investigation now began to draw general attention to the highly fertilizing pro- perties of a substance, the virtues of which as an exceedingly effective manure, though known for ages, the stubborn reluctance to adopt new expedi- ents, had hitherto excluded from our shores. Though the attempt had frequently been made be- fore to recommend it to our notice and to intro- duce it here, it was not then until 1340 that, in the small quantity of 20 casks, guano was brought into this country. 1 have take'i the liberty to de- tain j'ou with these few preliminary observations as marking the period at which it may be said the more general use of special manures commenced ; and the time when the attention of the agricultural community came to l)e more particularly directed to experiments with chemically prepared substances in comparison with bone dust and guano. It was in 1842, when our imports of guano, v/hich in the last eleven months amounted to upwards of 200,000 tons, vx'ere only about 1,700 tons, that I was in. duced upon a small scale to test the virtues of this valuable manure. Though my experiments were very limited in extent, I took especial care to make them as general in the apjilication as the nature of my land allowed. Those upon the turnip crop thus came to occupy ])ortions of three different fields, the comparison in each case bemg made v/ith bone dust and well prepared farm-yard manure. The guano was applied at the rate of 3, 4, and 5 cwt. ; the bone-dust and farm-yard manure at the usual quantity for an ordinary crop, of 16 bushels and J 6 or 18 tons respectively. In every case I was satisfied of the superiority, general healthy appear- ance, and ultimately in weight, of the drills manured with guano, which, being in juxta- position and alternating with those drills otherwise manured, shov.-ed throughout distinct evidence of a better quality. Tlie weight was subse(|uently tested, and the whole results at the time reported to the Highland Society. In the same year I applied guano mixed with animal charcoal, two parts of the former to one of the latter, at the rate of 3 cwt. per acre, as a top dressing for barley. This was no com])arative trial with any ether manure, but merely to ascertain the effects as an additional 234 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Btimiilent. I cannot say much as to the econo- mical result of this last experiment, and I merely have adverted to it here at all to show my early impression of the questionahle nature of the benefit of fruano as a manure for cereal crojis, compared with the very decided conviction with which I was, at this time, impressed of the high value of this manure as adapted for the growth of turnips. For so satisfied was I of this latter fact, and my experi- ments, limited though they were, had been so diftused as to enable me well to ascertain the virtues of guano as a manure of turnips on different varieties of soil, that on the following year, while there was not I have reason to believe much more than a similar cjuantity over the whole county of Roxburgh, I had nearly 100 acres of turnips raised with this manure; and great part without any other stimulating application. The result proved highly satisfactory. I now continued to extend the use of guano in raising my turnip crop, very frequently in the first course applying no other manure j but this only when the whole, or the greater part, of the turnips are consumed on the ground by sheep. I have endeavoured alone to procure the best quality of guano ; and when used without other manures, I have been inclined to think, from the result of my first experiment, when the whole crop was weighed, that the most econo- mical application is in quantities from 3 to 4 cwt. per acre. All this time I had not failed to observe other special or artificial manures which were being pressed upon the notice of agriculturists. Some of these professing to give all the valuable elements of Peruvian guano, " with additions ;" other's to be the concentrated essence, in a portable form, of all that can give virtue to plants as contained in manures of established utility, while others were the carefully prepared substances which science indicated as the best adapted for special plants. Many of these I tried, but only to confirm me in my faith of the superiority generally of guano. It was now that the investigations of science led to the discovery, or perhaps I should rather say to the more general knowledge of the important fact, that, by the addition of sulphuric acid to crushed bones, they became, in this shape of superphos- phate of lime, more soluble and better adapted readily to be taken up as the food of plants, by which great economy in the quantity of bones re- quired was effected. In point of money value, the quantity of this substance required for a turnip crop approached more nearly the price of guano ; indeed, in some instances, lately pretty extensively used in my own neighbourhood, the cost is, I understand, considerably less. But I have just been told by some gentlemen, who have been in the habit of using this limited quantity of bones thus prepared to a considerable extent of late, that it has frequently occasioned such disappointment as to have led them to the resolution in future to substi- tute guano. Prepared in the method thus recom- mended, I have made trial frequently, on a limited scale, of this superi)hosphate, and have also ap- phed that manufactured and sold from chemical works, in comparison with Peruvian guano ; but I must say I have still had occasion to be satisfied generally, at the same price even, with the superi- ority of the latter. This opinion has been strength- ened, and appears to me to be corroborated, by the result of the great majority of the experiments with special manures, reported in the Highland Society's transactions; and it is extremely gratifying to know, from the careful and elaborate analysis of the very eminent chemical officer of the society, that his investigations have led to the conclusion that turnips grown with guano cannot be con- sidered in any respect inferior in feeding properties to those produced by other manures. But I am prepared to admit there are some soils of a dry sandy and gravelly nature where bones will be found fully as efficient and economical, and pro- bably more durable. The operation of such soils upon bones in a minute state of dinsion, seems to be suflficiently active to occasion a dissolution or solubility, fitted to the immediate supplies of the plant, while in all probability a larger jiortion re- mains to afford nourishment to the after crops in the rotation than would be preserved from the lesser weight, and more evanescent nature of guano. As a top dressing for cereal crops and grass I am inclined to think guano is surpassed in many instances by other special manures applied at the rate of the same amount in money value, such as sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of soda, and, for permanent pasture, composts with bone-dust. I have reason to believe also that bruised rape-cake is a more efficient and economical application for autumn-sown wheat applied at the time of sowing, though I admit I have not had much experience of this manure, and I think, perhaps, it is less used in the district with which I am best acquainted than it deserves. Perhaps it may be thought in thus dwelling upon the comparative merits of special manures I have unnecessarily occupied the time of this meeting, which, as it does not directly form the subject of this discussion, might have been more hastily passed over. But I conceive it may not be without its use that I have gone over the ground by >vhich I have been led to the conclusion as to the superiority of guano over all other special manures, as thus narrowing the field of the legiti- mate subject of our investigation, namely, the com- parative value, &c., of the various kinds of special manures with farm-yard dung. For having shown THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 235 the reasons of this preference for guano, I am not called upon farther to go into the comjiarison which remains to be made, than as regards the value of guano thus estimated. And, even with the question thus narrowod, here I am met with so many difficulties in my endeavours to make the estimate required, that I confess I have no hope in the time here allotted to me — even were the first data for such a comparison better ascertained — of being able to lay before this meeting, in the absence of direct experiment, the great variety of elements which fall to be considered in coming to a just con- clusion on so extensive a subject as is embraced in this question. I must, therefore, content myself by offering a few general remarks by which it will be seen by what considerations I have been guided in my own practice in the matter under considera- tion, and to what preference I have been led. The difficulty which meets us in the outset, to which I have alluded, in making an estimate of the value of guano in point of economy, compared to that of farm-yard manure, is that the one is represented by a fixed price, while the other is merely of a con- ventional money value, which varies in different districts and locahties. Hence the want of data upon the most material element for such a calcula- tion. I get over this difficulty, however, as regu- lating ray own practice, in still giving a preference to guano as manure for my turnip crop, in com- parison with farm-yard dung — in that I have in a great measure, since the introduction of guano, discontinued purchasing dung in the neighbouring town of Kelso. This, which I have established to be equal to the best farm-yard manure, and perhaps about the same money value when all is considered, can be obtained for about 3s. a load, equal to about a ton — 18 to 20 such loads being, in ordinary cases, sufficient for an imperial acre; but it costs me, besides estimating the labour at the usual rate of the country, from 35s. to 45s. an acre to lay it down on my farm and subsequently apply it in the drill — Thus to produce an acre with such manure may be said to cost .... £4 16 0 I have found that I have been able to produce an equally good crop of turnips with Peruvian guano, say 4 cwt. at 10s 2 0 0 Difference £2 16 0 in first cost. As regards "economy" here is an immediate saving. In respect to " immediate effect " I have said I have found the turnip crop to be equally good in weight and appearance. As to " durability," under ordinary circumstances, and presuming I was obliged to take the whole crop from the field, I believe I would require to admit some defalcation. But with the usual manage- ment, and means of disposal as regards the turnip crop ui the district, I have no opportunity, at no sacrifice ( f value in ordinary circumstances, to have the whole, or the greater part, of these turnips, as I may incline, consumed on the ground by sheep. This is accordingly done. I have had no reason to think the succeeding crop of barley or wheat, as the case may be, deficient in comparison with such a crop where the preceding crop of tur- nips was raised with farm-yard manure. I cannot speak so positively, in every instance, as to the succeeding crops of grass and oats ; but still I am inclined to think there has in no case been a defi- ciency which has not been well met by the £2 l6s. saved at the outset. Of course I would be careful not to repeat a similar application of any light manure to the same field in the next rotation ; for, however valuable these may be in the elements re- quired for the food of plants in the first instance, every practical fanner's experience must have taught him that there is a substantial and lasting effect in more weighty applications which it would be dangerous long to dispense with. It is, there- fore, as accessory, and in conjunction with farm- yard manure, that special manures are especially valuable ; and as I am not prepared, from my own experience, to detail to you any trial of a compara- tive nature with guano and farm-yard manures produced by turnips in conjunction with cake, &c., I trust I may be permitted to make a remark or two on this subject, which may perhaps be of some use in any investigation which may be afterwards made in the institution of such a comparison. Permit me to say, then, that from my experience hitherto in comparing the effects of farm-yard dung produced by turnips alone, and in conjunction with cake and corn, I have not in every instance been able to mark any sufficiently striking differ- ence to justify a strong preference ; and if I am right in this, I fear it may be still more difficult to institute a satisfactory comparison as to the value of farm-yard dung, produced in these different ways, with any special manure. It does not seem to follow, because the excretions of animals fed upon a higher description of food are superior in some valuable properties, as affording nourishment to the ordinary plants of the farm, that therefore the manure heap derived from cattle partly fed upon corn and cake must be more efficacious. It may be true that these richer substances contain far more nitrogen in proportion to weight than turnips ; but we know that the diminished quantity of the latter consumed by cattle, to which a large portion of cake is given, is so considerable, that the real quantity of nitrogen thus taken up — if that gives the value to the manure — is not augmented to 236 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. an extent corresponding with the increased weight of corn and cake which may be thus supplied. Then, as to the question of economy, no doubt a larger number of cattle can be kept on the farm in proportion to the quantity of turnips grown by tlie addition of artificial food. And let it he admitted that a larger amount of fertilizing properties can be imparted to the straw available for manure by the free use of richer feeding sub- stances ; but if, as has been allowed by a great authority on this subject, and one whose practice has been conspicuously held forth as example on such matters to others — " no food, be it hay, straw, turnips, oilcake, or corn, can be bought, brought home, and consumed without a loss (in- cluding all charges and casualties) of 33 per cent." — it would follow that the fewer animals that can be kept with a view to the right preparation of the manure heap — by which I mean equivalent urinal saturation— limited to the ordinary feeding s'.ib- stances which the farm affords, the more profitable will be the practice. I do not mean to say, how- ever, I would at all times act ujion the principle indicated by the conclusion thus arrived at. I am still rather inclined to think very considerable additional value may be imparted to manures, when otherwise properly treated, by the use of richer feeding substances, particularly oilcakes. And I conceive, moreover, to a limited extent, such food may be supplied to yield a profit — presuming a fair condition of markets — irrespective of manu- rial advantages. But, taking into account all risks, it is only when there is a good prospect from prices that auxiliary food can be given without any direct loss upon the cattle so fed, that I would con- sider it safe to enter far into this practice. In the meantime it would be very desirable to ascertain by experiment, extended over the whole course of rotation, what am'.mnt of the value of artificial food may be safely placed to the account of fertilizing effects. Hitherto, I must say, I have been in the habit of looking to my stock as something more than mere manure manufacturers, and I well know that rents would soon cease to be paid in Rox- burghshire were tenants deprived of the profits which go to form this item in their balance-sheet. A full allowance of nutritious food is at all times essential to secure a valuable manure heap, but at the same time more would seem to depend upon the manner in which it is treated and preserved than upon the nature of food given to the animals which produce it. Much difference of opinion, and not a little absurdity, it appears to me, at pre- sent exists on this subject, and notions which agitated the minds of practical men upwards of forty years ago, only to be in the end repudiated, have been revived. I must say I have been in- clined all along to agree Avilli Mr. Pusey on this subject, when, in alluding to the escape of ammonia occasioned by the collecting of the urine sepa- artely, and the loss of carbon by the consumption of straw in quantities which might l)e more profitably cmj)loycd by being otherwise well saturated — ho warns agriculturists against what he thus desig- nates " to the last degree questionable in science as well as novel in practice." And I must add further, I think that eminent agriculturist and ac- complished gentleman is just in the remark with which he concludes his review of this subject, when he says — " That in the management of manures generally we should adhere rigidly to our present system, and that before it undergoes a radical revo- lution the various transformations of animal maniu'e require to be traced by chemistry with ac- curate investigation of its different stages." But, undoubtedly, as I have said, it is as an assistant, and in conjunction with farm-yard dung, that the triumphs of special manure are conspicuously seen. Like some recent improvements effected by the adaptation of science, they have served to give en- couragement to what it was at first thought they would supersede. They have done more — they have actually become tlie propagators of thei)' rival ; for by their means the amount of farm-yard dung (after all, the main support and chief foundation of successful agriculture) has been greatly increased. They have, above all, by the facility with which they are administered, unaided, cai'ried fertility to the mountain tops, and, in conjunction with farm- yard manure, have enabled the preparations of the most fundamental crop in the rotation to be pro- perly overtaken within a season formerly from necessity too much extended ; but which, as now accomplished, secures success by great additional productiveness. It is well known in practice that turnips sown in the early part of June will, in ordi- nary circumstances, with a greatly less quantity of manure, be superior to those better treated in this respect, committed to the ground in the latter part of the same month. Thus early sowing is now, by the use of special manures, comparatively easily accomplished, and the duties of an active season brought within due limits, by the practice now so generally adopted, of applying the farm-yard dung in the less busy season of autumn and winter ; and it is highly satisfactory to think that the hesitation and doubt by which some men were impressed as to the questionable economy of such a system has been of late much removed by the result of the valuable experiments of Mr. Thompson and Pro- fessor Way, as to the absorbing powers of the better descriptions of soils. The result of the former gentleman's intelligent investigations in the field, confirmed and enlarged by Professor VV^ay's THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 237 valuable experiments, you are aware has been satis- factorily to establish that loamy soils not only arrest ammonia, but everything that can serve as a manure for plants ; and that the deep description of such soils are thus, it has been jiroved, able to retain all that is valuable in the farm -yard dung committed to them until required by the future crop. Farm-yard manure then applied to the land in the autumn and v/inter months, as it can be got properly prepared before the first ploughing, and guano distributed in the drill immediately before sowing, I consider the best mode of securing, as far as that is otherv/ise possible, a full crop of tur- nips ; and, moreover, of preparing the soil benefi- "cially for the after crops of the rotation. I regret, as 1 feared would be the case, I have found it im- passible from my experience, or from that of my neigh];ours, to give much information directly on the question under discussion, as to the nature of special manures in cornparison with farm-yard dung under different circumstances; and 1 beg you will excuse me if in the observations I have made I have departed in any way from what may be said to be legitimately connected with the subject. 1 shall be relieved to learn, that in thus endeavouring to give some additional interest to the remarks I have had the honour to be permitted to offer, I have not transgressed the bounds permitted in these discussions. Mr. Main, Whitehill, Mid-Lothian, said — It would be a gratuitous attempt, in a meeting like the jiresent, to get up a special pleading in recom- mendation of guano, or the better portion of the manures of which guano is the representative. One might as well discuss with a cotton-spinner the importance of using the spinning jenry. There were sceptics no doubt in the virtues of guano, &c., and it is possible that many of ourselves have shaken our heads wisely on the subject. With many the "pickle broon snuff" would not go down at all ; but since its wonderful power on vegetable life has been experienced, these doubters have been fain to admit with the old ploughman, " It canna de dooted, it speaks for itself." So, believing that light manures have powerfully spoken for themselves to all of us, vje take the ad- mission of their intrinsic merits for granted, and pass on to the question on the card. I shall leave the economics of the question to be discussed after the other divisions of it have had their proper share of attention. This arrangement then at once introduces us to the immediate effects of hght manures as compared with farm-yard manure. My experience has led me to the following con- clusions on the immediate relative merits of these substances: — !. Light manures have a speedier effect on the growth of turnips and other root cro])s : not so much that they braird them earlier, as that they j)ush them on more rapidly after they are brairded. I consider this characteristic of light manures as it effects turnips, coupled with a little thicker sowing, a greater security against the ravages of the fly than any of the nostrums we have so lavishly supplied to us. 2. Light manures produce a greater and better sustained growth during the season. 3. Light manures secure a more equal-sized crop of roots, and bring them earlier to maturity. 4. They produce, when ap- phed in quantitive proportion, and at much less cost and labour, an equal, if not a superior, crop. 5. The quantitive proportion, such as I adopt in practice at least, is about 2\ cwt. or 3 cwt. of light manure, as equal to 10 tons of farm-yard manure But as the application of the. light substance is in.' creased, I have generally found that the quantitive proportion may be lessened. Thus, though apply- ing 10 tons of dung to one acre, I would not apply to another acre less than 3 cwt. of guano, for instance; yet if applying 20 tons of dung to a third acre, I would expect to secure an equal result if I applied 5 cwt. of guano to a fourth acre, and so on in proportion. The greater the mass of the light substance its operation is the more active, and its vegetative power is proportionally increased. 6. Light manures do not deteriorate the nutritive value of root crops. On this subject Dr. Ander- son's valuable paper in the last number of the Transactions is of great importance, and is clearly demonstrative of the fact that the nutritive qualities of our crops are not injured by the use of hght ma- nures, if in fact they are not improved. 7. Light manures are of greater advantage in the cultivation of high land, and lands to which the expensive ap- plication of farmyard manure v.-ould be attended with difficulty and loss. And 8th, Light manures afford greater facility in the cultivation of root crops, and have supplied us with moi-e abundant means for the jn-oduction of beef and mutton, and those in better quahty. I might add, that light manures facilitate the improved cultivation of all descriptions of soils, and supply to the farmer an easier obtained, a cheaper, and more efficacious agent for keeping his lands in a higher state of fertility. In enume- rating these conclusions, I have made them gene- rally applicable to all light manures ; but of course there are individuals of the class, on which v/e can place a greater dependence, and to which in conse- quence these remarks are more particularly directed. I may enumerate guano, bones as superphosphate, sulphate and muriate of ammonia, nitrate of soda, and to these I would now add dried flesh manure ; rape is also useful, but I have found it chiefly as applied to potatoes and beans, and even on these crops all the substances previously enumerated 238 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. have, in my experience, been pioduclive of greater immediate results. In the preceding observations I have had in view the comparative effects of light and heavy manures individually applied. If, how- ever, we estimate the effects of the light substances^ as they exhibit themselves when combined with heavy manure, all the conclusions I have specified are applicable to them in a greatly enhanced degree : and applied in this mode the quantitive value of these substances is greatly changed. I have found, for instance, 12 tons of home manure with little more than 2 cwt. of guano, produce a crop of tur- nips fully equal to 28 tons of home manure. In this case 2 cwt. of guano was equal to 16 tons of dung. In another instance I found 16 tons of dung with 4 cwt. of super])hosphate produce up- wards of 2 tons of turnips per imperial acre, more than 26 tons of home manure. In this case 4 cwt. of the light substance proved itself much superior to 12 tons of dung; and in fact we may justly con- clude that, to the extent of our present knowledge at least, the best mode of using light manures is in connection with farmyard dung. It is in this com- bmed form the great bulk of these manures is used, and the consequent immediate effects on the style and character, as well as the results of agriculture, have greatly exceeded calculation. In fact, the use of light manures may now be considered indis- pensable to the farmer, whether we view them as agents to promote the fertility of his land, or the machinery for extending and faciUtating his busi- ness. In this way the immediate eflfects of light manures gain immensely by the comparison with farmyard manure. But the comparison is not more favourable to these substances in their physical, than in their intellectual effiects on agriculture — " a spur in the head is worth two on the heels," says the old adage ; and the saying is a true one, inde- pendent of its original ajiplication, applied to all the social relations of life. Now light manures have been the spurs in the agricultural head — their am- moniacal fumes, like the fumes of other potent agents, have supplied energy to the cranial organi- zation, and we may hope they will bring us, with the aid of moderate and wise political appliances, clearly and speedily out of every diflficulty, and render us " O'er a' the ills o' life victorious." Certainly light manures have given an immense stimulus to the science of agriculture, and the che- mical and physiological facts thus eliminated have established a truer and better appreciated theory, and one in greater harmony with the ideas and ex- perience of practical men. But the practice as well as the science of agriculture has been intellectually benefited. Inquiry and observation have been elicited by the occurrence of new facts. Farming, which previously wore but one aspect, varied occa- sionally by the changes of seasons, now presents various interesting phenomena, the i)roduction of which the farmer finds he has lo a large extent under his own direction and control. In fact, farming, which was once little better than a blind chance, is now so reduced to a science, and though still dependent on seasons and other agents beyond human control, the farmer, in the judicious use of the means a kind Providence has supplied to him, can more safely, and with less presumption, calcu- late on the resources of his farm. The next subject for our consideration is the permanent effect of light manures as compared with farmyard manure. This question has received much less attention from agriculturists than its merits demand. Prol)ably this has arisen from a hitherto generally and tacitly admitted a jmori conclusion, that light manures are not to be trusted for a rotation ; for of course in comparing the permanent effects of light with heavy manures, the rotation principle must always form an element in our calculations. And certainly the idea that the " pickle broon snuff"" is fitted to enrich our lands, and grow green crops through a rotation, as well as the portly manure we have been in the habit of applying, is, at first sight, sufficiently attenuated to warrant our incredulity. But of late years we have been cognizant of many facts, which make us hesitate to affirm that we will never have confidence in the application of light manures, to be used as rotation manures. The fact is, they are so already in connection with sheep-farming and grazing. The practice of many high country farmers is to grow turnips with guano or bones or rape, and eat the crop wholly or partially on the ground with sheep, and the after-fertility of these lands appears to lack nothing from the want of farm-yard manure. Again, I am aware that several farmers who have had lands long in pasture, have trusted their rotation, when the lands were lifted, to the fertilizing powers of light manures, and have not been disappointed. For several years I have followed this practice on portions of Whitehill home farm, and though I regret I have no special results to communicate, I can safely aflSrm that the portions so treated with light manures are at this moment as fertile as any other parts of the farm. Indeed, I never hesitate when arranging my turnip break, to exceed by four or five acres the breadth I could otherwise have Jown, and to use for those extra acres light manures alone. It is true sheep- farming and grazing form part of my agricultural system, and it may admit of question whether, without these important adjuncts to light manures, they would in themselves be effectual for a rotation. Without anticipating the results of inquiry into this THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 239 important matter, I may state that at present I would be unwilling to recommend the use of light manures (except for the purposes of experiment), without combining with them the benefits of sheep culture. Where turnips can be eaten on with sheep, however, I have little hesitation in saying that light manures will not lose in the comparison with farm-yard manure in permanent effects. While this holds true of light lands, however, the question is as yet unsettled as regards heavier soils : and probably on many of these soils the question vv'ill have to be determined on the powers of light ma- nures unaided by sheey or even pasture. This will more effectually test their merits ; and, indeed, it is desirable that their permanent effects should be tested in this way. Unless we know the individual strength of the forces, or section of forces at our command, we will be unable to use them with equal advantage to ourselves, or to the production of our crops. These once known, however, we may in- dividualize or combine as we choose, with an en- lightened perception of the means we employ, and with a machinery well and wisely directed to secure the desiderated results. In the absence of any ex- perim.ents of my own on the permanent effects of light manures, I may be allowed to refer to the pub- lished report of others. In the Agricultural Journal for October, 1843, Mr. Gibson, of Woolmet, re- })orts the results of an experiment on the imme- diate effects of rapecake on the turnip and potato crop of 1840, Mr, Gibson there remarks : — " In 1841, I tried rapecake on a greater scale, and the result was most satisfactory. In 1S42, it did not succeed so well from the dry season. As compared with guano it was decidedly inferior ; indeed, the latter, applied at the rate of 72 cwt. per Scots acre, produced a better crop of turnips than any of the other manures I applied that season. In regard to the succeeding crops," Mr. G. remarks, " no dif- ference could be observed on the wheat after pota- toes, as compared with that manured with well-made horse and cow dung; but the barley after turnips was decidedly better,"' This is strong testimony in favour of the continued effects of light manures. In the Highland Society's Transactions, for July, 1845, Mr, Gardiner, at Barrochan, reports a num- ber of experiments on the permanent effects of light manures, and his results range over three years of the rotation. The m.ajority of the results are in favour of the permanent effects of light manures ; but as Mr. Gardiner applied the light substances over and above an equal weight of dung, to that of the dung lot itself, their individual merits are less distinctly brought out. In a report of experiments by the Turriff Agricultural Association, however, we have better defined results, and I shall therefore take the liberty of introducing one of the experi- ments in full. The investigation was conducted on three farms, and the results are wonderfully uniform. The experiment supplies results from three years in the rotation ; it was conducted on the farm of Hap, in Aberdeenshire. It is as follows : — No, of lots. Substances employed. Bone dust Ditto and sulphuric acid Guano Farmyard manui'e Farmyard manure , and Bone dust .... Farmyard manure and Dissolved bones Farmyard manure and Guano Peat Bone dust , Sul, of ammonia Nitrate of soda , Farmyard manure Bone dust Sul. of ammonia Nitrate of soda Quantity of each appUed. Immediate results. Continued effects. Crop 1843 Turnips, Crop 1844. ! Crop 18-^ Oats. j Hay. 5. 20 bush. 12 „ 6 cwt. 20 tons 10 „ 10 bush. 10 tons 6 bush. 10 tons 3 cwt. 10 tons 6 bush. 75 lbs, 56 „ 10 tons 3 bush, 37 >i lbs. tons cwt. 13 6 10 18 16 13 13 18 12 18 16 17 18 18 13 0 17 15 ^irs. 1 2 0 2 3 3 1 0 3 qrs. bush. lbs. cwt. qrs. 5 0 16 21 1 4 1 10 19 2 4 3 21 ! 15 2 5 5 loj 18 3 5 0 35 22 1 lbs. 12 4 4 20 1 1 T 20 } T 5 4 13 6 2 16 4 3 5 5 7 22 19 1 22 0 17 0 21 1 8 } 0 «■ -\ ) i 24 ) 240 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. These results uiKjiiestionably jH-ove that at all events the effects of light manures, even unaided, are not so ephemeral as many may he inclined to sup])0se. The eflects of bones on the hay crop of the third year are astonishing, and speak well for their permanency. Undoubtedly, however, the greatest results — immediate or continued — of all the years proceed from the combination of light ma- nures with farmyard manures. This fact, and many other weighty reasons, connected both with the character of our soils, and our system of farm- ing, warn us in the meantime to counsel the con- servation and improvement of our old ally— farm- yard manure ; and though we dare not say that, as compared with it in permanent effects, light ma- nures do not present many claims to our regard, yet we await the results of more definite experiment before we can assert, that iinaided they are superior to it, if indeed equal. Light manures, however, demand, and are entitled to have their merits as rotation crops more fully investigated. They have made out a strong case in support of this demand, and agriculturists will greatly overlook their best interests if they allow the question to remain much longer in abeyance. It is true, that while we pro- duce cattle as well as com, we will always find farmyard manure of value as a fertilizer, and so far there is less inducement to attempt its substitution. But cases will readily occur to every mind, where the lessened use of farmyard manure would greatly aid the farmer in his struggles with hard times, or ■with any times, and while easing his laboiu's vv'ould increase his profits. Our interests then obviously demand that we become better acquainted with these new agents, and determine by accurate ex- periment their true value as auxiliaries and inde- pendent manures. No prejudices should be allowed to mar the investigation. In those days of "no favour " we must cast about our ideas on the field of fair and judicious inquirj', and incorporate them with other forms, and other associations than those of the past, and on the old principle of putting " everj'iron in the fire," attempt the subjugation and appliance of every power from which we can extract the greatest good. We have now to attend to the last branch of inquiiy — the economic effects of light manures as compared with farmyard ma- nure, the produce of turnips alone, or turnips with auxiliary feeding. In the preceding remarks, 1 had in view their application to light manures, as com- pared with any description of farm m.anure. My experience of the value of hght manures has been chiefly in connection with dung, enriched by auxiliary feeding, and if I have found them so superior by this test, I am entitled to argue their greater su;)eriority in connection v/ith home ma- nure not so enriched. Hence the following econo- mical conclusions arc apjjlicahle to light manures, as compared with either description of farmyard manure :~lst, they secure lessened outlay in farm- ing; •2nd, greater productiveness; 3rd, greater facilities in agricultural pursuits ; and 4th, a fruit- ful and secure means of promoting the improve- ment, and maintaining the fertility of the soil. There is no necessity for entering into further de- tail on these conclusions : my previous observations establish their correctness. I apprehend, however, that the question is not exhausted by these remarks, and that to do it full justice, we must institute a comparison betwixt auxiliary food to cattle as a means of enriching manure, and light substances as auxiliaries to it. That is the comparison of the effects of hght manures with those from auxiliary feeding. This question enters largely into the economics of farming, and from the very absurd notions entertained regarding it, many have been led to excessive and ruinous outlay. To under- stand the question aright, it will be necessary to determine as nearly as possible the extent to which auxiliary feeding to cattle enriches home manure. Last year I conducted an experiment on Swedish turnips with this object expressly in view, and I shall now take the liberty of detailing the results. The field is a heavy clay, thorough drained ; it re- ceived two deep furrows in the autumn of 1850, and the land was prepared last year for the turnips with the grubber and roller alone. Each experi- mental lot contained one-fourth of an imperial acre, and was manured at the rate of 20 tons of each de- scription of home manure per acre ; in addition, each lot received at the rate of 5 cwt. per imperial acre of Peruvian guano, and dried flesh manure in mixcure, in the proportion of 3 cwt. of guano to 2 cwt. of the flesh manure, I may just add that each lot had its proportion of light manure weighed, mixed, and applied separately to secure correctness. The turnips were hfted and weighed during the last week of December, and the first week of this month. The weight of bulbs is the mean of two portions lifted in each lot. The following are the results : — RESULTS OP AN EXPERIMENT ON SWEDISH TURNIPS. CROP 1851. Nos. Produce per of Description of application. Imperial acre. Lots. Tns. cwt. lbs. 1 Home manure — old rotten clung, made by summer fed cattle — food, cut grass, straw fodder, with Gibs, of oilcake daily .... 21 17 56 2 Home manure — old and rotten, made by cattle kept during win- ter— food, full turnips, and straw fodder— no auxiliaries 18 2 84 3 Home manure — 8 weeks in heap, made by cattle winter fed — THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 241 Nos. Produce per of Description of application. Imperial acre. Lois. Tns. cwt. lbs. food, full turnips, straw fodder, with 6 lb3. of oilcake (home) daily 21 11 84 4 Home manure — 8 weeks in heap, made by cattle during winter — food, full turnips, straw fodder with 51bs. of rapecake daily. .. . 17 16 .. 5 Home manure — in a rank or green state, made bj' calves — food, turnips, with 21bs. of home oilcake — taken from open court 16 18 .. 6 Home manure — exactly the same, as lot 5, but taken from covered shed 18 6 .. 7 Home manure — in a rank state, made from feeding cattle — food, full turnips, straw fodder, with Gibs, home oilcake — dung talicn from open court 18 0 56 8 Home manure — exactly the same as lot 7, but taken from covered shed IS) 16 50 9 Home manure — in a rank state, made by three young horses — food, hay fodder, turnip mashes, &c 16 1 84 10 Home manure — exactly the same as let 9, but taken from covered shed 10 0 84 11 Home manure — in a rank state, made by pigs — food, offal, with a mixture of coarse dust and cracklings 20 16 56 The portions of the above results applicable to our present purpose are those of lots 2 and 3. The first, the produce of dung from cattle fed on full turnips without auxiliary food ; and the second the produce of dung from cattle fed on full turnips, with 61b, of home oilcake extra per day. Both de- scriptions of dung were in a rotten state, but the manure from turnip feeding alone was about one month longer in heap than the other, and conse- quently fully more rotten. The result is 3 tons 9 cwt. of bulbs, in favour of auxiliary feeding. I shall now state the results of portions of two expe- riments with home and light manures in combina- tion, as against home manure alone. The first to Swedish turnips, crop 1849. The 1st lot received at the rate of 26 tons of farmyard manure alone; and the 2nd lot, 16 tons of farmyard manure, and 4 cwt. of dissolved bones, and the produce was as follows : — tns. cwt. lbs. Lot 1, at a cost of £7 163. produced.... 19 7 43 Lot2, at a cost of £7 4s. , 22 2 76 Leaving excess in favour of dung and bones 2 15 33 The next experiment was on Dale's hybrid turnips, crop 1850. The 1st lot was manured with 28 tons of farmyard manure j and the 2nd lot, with 12 Ions of farmyard manure, and 228lbs. of Peruvian guano, and the produce was as follows ; — Lot 1, at a cost of £8 Ss., produced.. Lot 2, at a cost of £4 13s. „ Leaving excess in favour of dung and uuano So far the vegetative results are in favour of aux- iliary feeding ; but we must now apply the econo- mical test to these results, and they will stand as follows : Cost of auxiliary food in 20 tons of dung — £ s. d. calculating this quantity as the produce of 2i beasts (as on a calculation of last year's manufacture of manure. I estimate that each beast hft me rather less than 8 tons), we have the sum of 2 3 0^ Value of 3 tons 9 cwt. of swedes, at 7s. 6d. per ton, the consuming 1 6 lOJ Loss from auxiliary feeding £0 17 2 Of course I estimate the value of the auxiliary food in the manure, on the principle of the advocates for its excellence, at one-third of the original cost. Here, then, is a clear loss of 17s. 2d. per imperial acre. But the economic results of the experiinents with hght manures as auxiliaries to farmyard ma- nure, exhibit a decided gain. They are as follows : first experiment, 1849, on Swedish turnips, I gained — 1st, Increased produce, 2 tons \?> cwt., at £ s. d. 7s. 6d. per ton 1 0 7^ 2nd, Saving on original cost of manure .. 0 12 0 Gain from application of bones £1 12 7^ Second experiment in 1850, on Dale's hybrid tur- nips, I gained — 1st, Increased produce, 7 cwt. 98 lbs., at £ n. d. 69. per ton 0 2 4 2nd, Saving on original cost of manure .. 3 15 0 Gain from api)licatlon of guano. £3 17 4 These calculations clearly enough prove the greaS economical suj)enority of light manures, as com- pared with the immediate effects of auxihary feed- ing in farmyard manure. But this advantage is furtlier evident, from the fact that the auxiliary feeding was in the application over and above the same weight of manure— each lot receiving at the rate of 20 tons per imperial acre ; whereas the light manures left a large quantity of dung free, to be used in extending the break of turnips— in one case 10 tons, and in the other 16 tons of farmyard manure was thus saved, or a quantity equal to an additional two acres of turnips. Now this latter fact itself is of sufficient importance to stamp the greater value of light manures in point of economy ; and, even admitting that a much larger produce could be raised from manure enriched by extra food r2 242 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. than my experiment exliibits, yet taking all the ad- vantages of light manures into calculation, an am])le margin is left for increase in the productive powers of these rival fertilizers, and despite that increase, there will still be left more than enough to prove their superiority, I am aware that I left unnoticed numerous minutiae of calculations in this estimate; but if the omissions were supplied, the advantages of light manures over auxiliary feeding, taken at its estimated manurial value, would only be the more apparent. If such calculations as those I have enumerated were carefully attended to, we would hear less of the manurial value of auxiliary feeding, and of the absurd estimates based upon it. The idea is wholly chimerical, that if we lose on our feeding speculations, we make up our loss in our manure. In the first place, I have shown that at least we can obtain more effectual and more econo- mical agents as fertilizers than any description of auxiliary food ; and then I must take leave respect- fully to question the possibility of getting back in increased prodvictiveness the sum we have lost on turnips or cattle. Even admitting the probability of the productiveness, there is the uncertain state of both the cattle and grain markets to check an over zealous expectation of retrieving our loss. But examine the question of productiveness. I have shown a loss of 17 s. on the manurial value of the extra food, as compared with iis increased pro- duce ; but to this I have to add the value of at least half an acre of turnips, which I could have had extra had I used light manures alone, and estima- ting those at 50s., I have an aggregate loss of £3 7s. per acre to make up, or a sum equal in my case to two rents. Now, just calmly consider the pos- sibility of this sum being obtained from land already in a high state of fertility. No doubt, the great apostle and advocate of this principle (Mr. Mechi) says, that after his great outlay, he has now nothing to do but to redeem his loss by severe cropping. How does he mean ? — without further expenditure ? Then a more unscientific and impracticable scheme was never propounded. By moderate and more judicious outlay, and fair rotation cropping, hemai/ make his farm pay in the future, but he may bid " a long and last farewell " to his lost thousands. Do I then condemn auxiliary feeding? By no means. As a part, and an important part, of our improved husbandry, it is indispensable. What I condemn is the abuse of the principle. Farming, as well as other speculations, should be conducted as near to the mercantile principle as possible, and our attempt should be to render every individual part of our system self-sustaininrj. If we depart from this rule, and spend large sums on one de- partment, in the hope that the greater profits of another will repay our expenditure, we build on a false foundation, and only doom ourselves to cer- tain disai)pointment and loss. Moderate expendi- ture, in auxiliary food, I have always found profit- able. My usual practice is to give Olbs. of extra food daily to each beast ; and last year this system, besides rejjaying the whole extra outlay on food, left £5 ])er acre for turnips. But on a calculation I find that had I given a much increased allowance of extra food, I would have left little or nothing to })ay for turnips. This last result would have in- flamed a desire for after advantages, which I might have dreamed of, but never realized. In conclusion I do not hesitate to admit that auxiliary feeding does improve our home manure, I have shown it by experiment; but the advantages we thus derive from the system ought to form part of our profits, to afford some remuneration for our extra trouble, and some additional per-centage for our extra capi- tal. If we must calculate on these advantages to repay a loss, how useless are our eftbrts at improve- ment, and how profitless withal! Our feeding sys- tem must be self-sustaining, or it is worthless and worse than worthless. But with economy, and fair markets, which we are entitled to calculate on, this system can be rendered profitable, and in fact more profitable with than without extra feeding. Taken as its self-supporting estimate we make auxiliary feeding a useful appendage, or rather an inseparable part of improving agriculture ; but at its contingent estimate, it is a clog to the advancing wheel, better to do without it altogether. But we are not to fear, or adopt any such alternative ; and we just perceive in auxiliaiy feeding another aid to our efforts, which, in combination with light manures, will enable us largely to enhance the fer- tility of our soils, and have a fair remunerative profit to ourselves. Dr. Anderson said, the subject under discus- sion is one of much importance, and now that guano and other light manures are so extensively employed, deserves the best attention of the farmer. It is exactly one of those matters on which science and practice meet on a common ground, and regard the same questions from different points of view, and are enabled mutually to illustrate and assist one another. The observations of the different speakers, and the opinions they have expressed, are strictly in accordance with the conclusions to which we are led by theory. Mr. Dickson has informed us that guano is much the cheapest artificial manure, and that corresponds completely with a statement I made some time since, in the Transactions of the Society, that it must of necessity be the cheapest, as the valuable matters of manure are obtained in it at a lower price than they can in other substances. 1 iigree in full, however, with Mr. Dickson, that these light manures can never be depended on as com- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 2ii plete substitutes for farmyard manure. They are most important as applications to rapidly growing crops, such as the turnip, because they supply rapidly a large amount of the essential elements of the plant, while farmyard manure onl)' yields these matters slowly, and steadily during a longer period of time. It is for this reason that guano proves so valuable, and not because it aiiords more nutriment to the plants than farmyard manure does ; in fact, it actually supplies much less : 30 tons of farmyard manure — which may, however, be taken as a large manuring— yield to the soil about 260 pounds of nitrogen, corresponding to about SlOlbs. of am- monia, and about 450lbs. of phosphates. But 5 cwt. Peruvian guano, which would be an ample supply, contain only about 87lbs. of ammonia, and about 100 to 110 of phosphates. You see that if this be the case we could never depend upon guano, in this proportion at least, as a substitute for farm- yard manure ; in fact, a turnip crop of 20 tons per acre, which is not very large, takes from the soil pretty nearly that quantity of ammonia to form its nitrogenous constituents, and more than half the quantity of phosphates which the guano contains. It is obvious from this that guano must of neces- sity merely exhaust its effects upon the crop to which it is applied, and comparatively little influence will be exerted on those fcUov/ing ; some effect there must be, but comparatively trifling. Mr. Dickson has related a very interesting experiment, in which he employed a variety of light manures throughout the rotation, and with good effect. I agree, however, with him that a repetition of the experiment throughout another rotation could scarcely have given an equally good result ; for it may be easily shown by calculation that his crop must have carried off more nitrogen than they re- ceived from the manure employed, and they must consequently have been abstracting nitrogen from the soils ; and though the quantity of that element Vi'hich a fertile soil contains is, comparatively speak- ing, considerable enough to supply many crops, still the state in which it exists is such as enables it only slowly to become available to the plants, and of course if nitrogen be not supplied from with- out, the crops must of necessity diminish in amount. The comparative value of the manure produced by cattle fed on turnips, and on turnips with auxihary food, is a subject on which I have no information. I question, however, much, whether any great dif- ference will be observed. It is true, we supply a much smaller weif;ht of food in the sha;)e of these auxiliaries; but though the actual quantity of nutri- tive matters is proportionately large — 5lbs. of oil- cake, for instance, containing about as much nitro- gen as a cwt. of turnips, and in this respect perhaps a benefit might be obtained — yet it must not be for- gotten that that auxihary food was used in the hope of producing a larger amount of fat and flesh, and therefore it seemed thr.t a larger proportion of that nutriment passed into that form, and if that were the case no advantage would be gained. Mr. Mairi's experiments throw more light on this subject than any with which he was acquainted ; but with all deference to that gentleman, he would desire to see these, experiments continued through a series of years, for he considered that in all agricultural mat- ters, single experiments must be accepted with great caution. In answer to a question by Mr. Gulland, Xewton of Wemyss, Fifeshire, Dr. Anderson explained that if the necessary elements could be supplied to the soil in the form of guano, he believed it would be the cheapest manurial application; but he doubted whether the supply of guano to the full money value would have the same effect on the crops of the rotation, as guano was especially applicable to the quickly growing crops, as turnips, and not so much so to the cereals. Mr. MxLNE, of Milnegraden, remarked that taking comparative values of farmyard manure and guano, the former contains a much larger propor- tion of chemical ingredients, and consequently ought to be a much more productive agent ; so also with oilcake, which containing a greater proportion and variety of elements ought to prove the more power- ful in the fattening of animals. In like manner, a combination of manures is m.ore likely to give to the plants the various numerous ingredients" which they require. This is a circumstance which is not sufficiently attended to. Guano presenting the elements in a more highly soluble form, tends es- pecially to quicken vegetation, while the other ma- nures contribute to the .permanent support of the land. .-;'.) ■ ■ Mr. FiNNiE, Swart^pn, doubted the continued effects of guano, and *einaj-ked, that however fine the appearance of the crop, he invariably traced the effects of the gtt&fib when the croj) came to be thrashed. -^ The Chairman remarked, that the present meeting seemed to him inferior to none to which at least h^^d.had the opportunity of listening. His Grace shortly referred to one or tv,-o of the leading points which had been brought out in the discus- sion. On the motion of Mr. V/ ardlav\- Ramsay, of Whitehill, the thanks of the meeting were given to the chairman. — North British Agricultur st. zu THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, THE CULTIVATION OF DUPLICATE CROPS ON THE SAME LAND. Of the new propositions which are made to the agricultural public, that of growing more cro])s on the same area of land is amongst the foremost. We do not mean growing a larger ])rodnce of the same kind of plants, but the production of either several kinds of jilants in one year in succession, or at least the combining of them, so as to interfere as little as possible with each other, and by this means yield a much larger proportion of food from the same soil. Now, theoretically, this is decidedly correct. I'here are many ])lant3 which have a large leaf de- velopment, and derive a large proportion of their sustenance from the air and from the water. There are others which have a small leaf development, and hence derive a large amount of nutriment from the soil. The same may be said of roots. There are some which send down v/edge-liUe tap roots, and derive a large portion of their food from the lowest stratum of soil — almost from the subsoil. There are others which are continually spreading their small filaments sideways in all directions. Now, these may be combined, for they do not much interfere with each other mechanically. So che- mically there are some plants which feed largely on a certain class of mineral constituents, and but slightly on others, and vice versa; while some feed on the organic and some on the inorganic, the one in larger proportions than the other. Now, if these could be so combined together on the same soil, it is perfectly feasible to suppose that a much larger amoimt of food per acre might be obtained of two kinds of produce than one. Hence some parties have mixed seeds. They have sown rye and wheat together, called maslin; and they have obtained a larger produce per acre in bushels than they could possibly do by either the one or the other. They sow two or three kinds of turnip seed at once, and as they go on in the process of turnip hoeing, they throw out the least promising looking plants, and they find that Nature has selected for the soil and season those individual plants, or that kind of turnip plant which is best adapted for the one and the other, and hence have a larger crop. But there is another mode in which crops may be combined : they mature at different periods. Hence artificial grasses, which are useful in their second year, are sown with barley, which ripens in the first, and is consequently out of the way, before the second crop is required, and instead of wasting two years over producing it, the land is going on. But there is manifestly a limit to this mode of farming. We well remember a theorist who, seeing the fertility of good grass land, deter- mined to try his hand at growing beans on grass land without ploughing up. lie commenced by driving, a deep cut in the grass, a little wedge-shaped, and in this he put a set of rov.'s of beans. II is plan was to have wide rows of beans growing with grass, the latter to be hand-mown, and so eaten while the former were ripening. He calculated that, as the beans did not occupy above one-fortieth part of the absolute surface— at least in the early sla:fes of their growth— the loss of grass would be scarcely perceptible ; while, if he got some twenty or thirty bushels of beans per acre, as he fancied he easily could do on fresh grass land, he imagined he had found out the way to get rich. And he did sow ; he mowed the grass ; he watched the beans : but they grew up to a certain period — some five or six inches high— and withered away; and all his plan of combination faded away. We have seen, in gardens, beans and even cab- bages grown with potatoes, on the same land; nor could it be said that, in ground so highly manured as garden-ground generally is, there can be any want of crop— any over-cropping of the soil: and if, on a farm, a greater weight of nutritious green food could be grown by adopting any of the schemes which are propounded, there is no doubt but it must considerably benefit the farmer. But how far can it be done ? Great success is some- times reported to have attended the cropping of a dry, blowing sand, during its fallow-time, with mustard, and rape succeeding it. Instead of the open fallows in the south all the year, a bastard fallow is sometimes made, and winter tares sown, to cart off and eat on the land green with sheep, so manuring and consolidating a soil, which is afterwards broken up and mellowed by the plough, the drag, and the harrow. A crop of rye is some- times taken off between the wheat and the turnips. We recently met with a gentleman who is a theoretical chemist, and who makes agricultural chemistry his peculiar study, who very strongly urged upon the agriculturists so far north as York- shire to insert a green crop of some description be- tween the wheat and the turnips as a rule. He argued that, the wheat being off in — say September, there was ample time for stubble-turnips, rye, Italian rye-grass, winter tares, or some such green food for stock ; and that, all this food being abi-o- lute gain to the farmer, on which no more rent, rates, tithes, and very little labour, were chargeable. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 1243 it must be an advantage to the farmer. But this is not so. The climate is too cold and backward for stubble turnips. The lighter soils, on which this would be applicable if carried out, would bs so opened by the mechanical influence of the roots of the plants, that the succeeding crop of turnips would never be obtained, at least in a droughty- season; while, if the roots were attempted to be cleared off, the working of the soil then would be destructive. If any could be introduced, it might be the rye-grass. There is great command over this by the application of liquid manure. Sown on a clover stubble in the spring, when the young wheat plant is grooving, it would Ije a pasture early next spring. A plough, and share or skim, before it, would easily get rid of this, and form a bed of decaying matter below the soil beneficial rather than injurious to the turnips. But, as this could only apply to deep loams, and where there were no weeds, it could not be of very extensive applica- tion. There are circuinstances easily conceivable when it may be desirable to grow as many crops as possible on the same surface of land. Thus the demands of a town increase the value of products which will not bear a very long transit, and hence great rents are paid for convenience. It is called accommodation land, and we knov/ parties who find it economical to pay ten pounds per acre for land close to their dwelling. Now on this land it is clear every effort should be made to produce the greatest amount of crops possible. On land situated differently it is a simple question of econom.y. The gross producing of say ten pounds worth of produce per acre— over seven pounds per acre is not all profit — and it is possible that it may be more profitable on some farm land to allow it to lie a winter, and even an occasional summer fallow,in preference to grov/ing an intermediatecrop. Nay, more, on a very great many soils in the coun- try we are convinced that, if instead of a four- course shift — a really exhausting course when attempted to be self-supporting on inferior soils— a five-course were adopted, and after the midsummer of the second year of seeds — when the clovers usually begin to yield but little food — we are cer- tain that great advantage would accrue to the farmer by a bastard fallow. We had rather run the chance of a little hghtness of the soil arising from it, and all its probable damage to the wheat or other crop which might be sov/n, than contend with the ruinous effect of the weeds upon it which, in low quahties of soil, ever insinuate themselves in the vv^heat crop at the close. Mr. John Sillet, of Kelsale, near Saxmundham, in Suffolk, has recently called attention, in a pam- phlet on fork and spade hus1)andry, to whicli we shall more particularly hereafter allude— to a mode of growing two, three, and even four crops on the same piece of land in twelve months; and, while there are many valuable hints and suggestions — while we are quite certain that much of his process might be adopted by small suburban farmers — we are not prepared to advocate its full adoption on any inland farm, unless there were special circum- stances of soil or situation, especially demand for the crops, or peculiar favourable position for obtain- ing cheap manure. We will first give an idea of the area and produce of the land. Two acres were purchased at £118 per acre — a proof of two circumstances, viz., con- venience and good quality of the land. He h-eaJcs up tins 2^asture, and consequently avails himself of the manure of his predecessors, accumulated in centuries, and which he paid for in the £236 ; in other words, he commenced cropping out of capital. In proof of its being in a convenient posi- tion and thriving neighbourhood, where there was a population and a market, he had £l63 per acre bid for it, and could since sell it for three times that sum. So much for his land. Now for his produce in 1847. He made as follows : — Produce of two cows, after family's £ s. d. consumption, fattening one calf and weaning one 29 12 8 One calf fatted weighed nine stone, at 8s. 2d. per stone of 14 lbs £3 12 6 Skin, head, feet, &c.. . , , . . 0 16 0 4 S G One-year-old heifer 5 0 0 One fat pig of eight stone, at 8s. per stone 3 4 0 Twenty sacks of potatoes, at Ss 8 0 0 Twelve bushels early ditto, at 5s 3 0 0 Seven thousand cabbages, at O^d 14 11 8 Twelve pecks of onions, at ] s 0 12 0 Various seeds, vegetables, &c 5 15 0 Deduct rent for land, at 5 per cent, on purchase money (including ex- penses), £250 12 10 0 Rent for house 8 0 0 Rates, taxes, &c 2 12 0 74 3 10 23 2 0 What he calls "Nett profit for the year'-" £51 1 10 Now what we have to call attention to, is the gross rather than the " nett profit," for it is clear it is no such thing as nett profit. There are no deductions for seed^ labour, nor interest of capital ; and the pro- duce of the cows is not given clearly, for it is a very small produce in itself; only the family are supplied, and the extent of this supply we have no 240 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ineans of knowing,'. We know two cows are in favourable situations, capable of making? f GO ])er annum gross, if they are successful, and of a right kind ; but the question of the greatest consequence in the matter is, how is he able to heep two coivs and a yearling out often acres of newly taken out ffrass land .^ This brings us to his plan of growing four crops off" the same piece of ground within the year, con- sisting of cabbages, wheat, potatoes, and Swede turnips. Early cabbage seed is sown on the 22nd of July in beds previously manured and dug. These are planted out in rows the first week in October, two feet apart. The interstices are sown with wheat about the last week in October; Spalding's prolific being the kind selected. In the middle of February early potatoes are dibbled be- tween the cabbages, which we ought to have said are transplanted fifteen inches apart. In May he cuts ofFthe blades of the wheat close to the stem, and gi\'es them to the cows. This gives food in considerable quantities to the animals, air and space to the potatoes, and prevents the lodging of the wheat. The cabbages are fit for use and cleared off in May, and in June the potatoes in Suffolk, are ripe and fit to take up for sale, being ash-leaved kidney.s. He then digs the ro^-s between the wheat out of which the potatoes and cabbages have been taken, and plants out in the last week in June rows of Swedish turnips, which make the fourth crop. In August, early, the wheat is fit for cutting, and then the swedes have the full benefit of the sun and air. He does not mention digging nor forking the spaces from which the wheat has come out, but we doul)t not this is done ; and thus in twelve months, by com- bination of crops ripe at diflTcrent stages, and by the transplantation of those capable of it, four crops, and these in a fine climate, and a rich and fresh soil, may doubtless be obtained. The labour here is, however, it must be confessed, very con- siderable, and he has not taken proper credit for it in his balance-sheet, but we have no doubt there are situations and circumstances where it will pay. He has also similar combinations of other crops, as potatoes, beans, and turnips ; mangold and beans ; cattle-cabbages and beans ; and so far as he shows skill in combination, in producing great bulks of produce from a small area, and, above all, selecting the best possible soil for the success of his experiment, we cannot but give him credit.— Gardeners' and Farmers' Journal. THE AGRICULTURAL DISTRICTS OF ENGLAND. [from the times' commissioner.] Matlock, Derbyshire, Feb., 1851. On a wet and stormy winter night we arrived by railway at Matlock, too dark to get a glimpse of the country, the only outline indication of which was the glimmering of window-lights — some beneath us, some at the same level, and some far above us. The morning opened with a crisp light frost, and presented a scene from the esplanade in front of Mr. Greaves's hotel contrasting pleasantly with the ])lains of the vale of York, which we had traversed on the preceding day. Deep in the recess of a rocky valley lay the little village of Matlock Bath, while dotted about the sunny face of the steep hill 1)y which it is shut in, at all various points of eleva- tion, stood villas of difl['erent architecture, prettily interspersed .vith trees and little patches of green field or garden ground. In the bottom of the valley flowed the swollen Derwent, brown with winter floods, hemmed in on its opposite bank by lofty crags of mountain limestone, every crevice of which and each bluff projecting eminence were clothed with wood. Entering the railway carriage, we were soon whirled throuarh a tunnel about a mile in length, whence we emerged on a more open country skirting the stream of the Derwent. Along the river the fields are chiefly in grass, forming the meadows which yield winter food for the stock of the dairy farmers. The sontliern and northern parts of Derbyshire are very dissimilar, tlie former being in many re- spects like the adjoining parts of Leicester and Stafford, the latter celebrated for the beauty of its scenery, and its constant succession of hill and valley. On the moors of North Derliyshire com- mences the back bone of England, whence a con- tinuous range of mountain stretches northwards by Yorkshire and the northern counties to the Scot- tish border. The principal geological features of this district are the grit and mountain liirestone, the river Derwent forming the boundary of each. On the grit the soil is earliest, and vegetation springs more rapidly. On the limestone the land is richest, and its pasture stands out longest. The best feeding j)astures are found on the latter, and those which yield the highest rent to the landlord and the largest returns to the farmer. The High Peak is a region of bleak high moors, intersected by deep valleys, where the native breed of white- faced moor sheep are the only stock that the se- verity of the climate admits. It is very subject to violent storms of wind and rain, which, with the high elevation of the country, render it cold and backward, and the vegetation more bulky than nu- tritious. In the lower country, within the limits of profit- able cultivation, the land is still very hilly, but it is cultivated to the tops of the hills. Wheat, which is grown as high as GOO feet al)0ve the level of the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 247 sea, does not, on the whole, succeed well. It is generally thick chafted, and does not yield in pro- portion to the bulk of straw. Oats are more com- mon and much more to be depended on. They are groxvn successfully at an elevation of 900 feet. Nine-tenths of the county are in grass. It is a dairy and rearing district, the growth of corn being of quite inferior consideration. The farmers of the lower hills rear, from their dairy stocks, short- horned cattle, which are sold to the graziers of the low country to be fattened. The same practice is generally followed with Leicester sheep, which, after the first winter, are ])assed off to the richer clover of the low country farmer. In some places, however, the pastures are of rich feeding quality, and for the most part they are sweet and healthy for stock. Passing from a general description, we proceed to detail the management of the farm of Buxhills, on the Duke of Devonshire's estate, in the parish of Bakewell, and occupied by Mr. Furniss. It is 300 acres in extent, ICO acres of which are perma- nent pasture and meadow, and 200 acres tillage, the half of which is in crop. The course of cropping is not very clearly defined, the great object with Mr. Furniss, as with all tenants of highly manured farms, being to grow as heavy crops of the most valuable kinds as can be grown without lodging. The fields are laid out in divisions of 12 or 13 acres each, the landlord paying the expense of new fences and the tenant doing the team work. Drains, where requisite, are made 30 inches in depth, still laid with the expensive three-inch tiles and soles ; all at the Duke's charge, except team-work. On this outlay no interest has yet been charged. The soil is a fine friable loam, with a considerably undulat- ing surface. On breaking up from grass the first crop is usually oats, sown on one furrow, and yielding an excellent crop, 72 bushels to the acre, and weighing 42lbs. to the bushel. The next crop is swedes, for which the land receives the usual autumn and spring cultivation. In the end of May it is drawn into ridges, about 28 inches apart, into which 15 tons of well-rotted dung and 16 bushels of bones are applied per acre, and the seed is then sown. This is uniformly a successful crop, the average for the present year, as weighed on the ground by im- partial judges, being 27 tons an acre. The winters being generally very severe, the swede crop is taken up before winter, and stored in little hea])s in the field, of about one and a half ton in each, co- vered with straw and nine inches of soil. In these the turnips remain protected from the weather or the depredation of game till wanted. But the ex- pense of this operation seems very great, being not less than 15s. an acre for lifting and pitting, besides cartage. The turnips are followed by oats, or bar- ley, which are sown out with red clover or mixed seeds, part of which are mown and part pastured. The " seeds" are dressed with dung, the clover does not require it. The clover stubble or second year's seed, as may be, is broken up, and, after being ploughed, is pressed and sown broadcast with red lammas or Burwell wheat, eight or ten ])ecks to the acre. The yield varies from 30 to 30 bushels. Instead of swedes or turnips, rape is sometimes taken, sown in ridges at the same distance, and ma- nured with bones. The rape is eaten off with sheep early in autumn, and the land is then sown with wheat. Seventy liead of cattle, young and old, are kejjt on this farm. They are all high bred short-horns. A milking stock of 12 cows is kept, v/hich, besides rearing 20 calves (the requisite number of young calves to make up this quantity being purchased in the neighbourhood), yield, in cheese and butter, about £8 each. The calves ai-e fed for the firtt fort- night with six quarts a-day of new milk (three quarts at a time); after that, with two gallons a- day of skimmed milk, with which half a jiound of boiled hnseed is mixed. This is continued till the calves can help themselves to other food. The sales annually consist of 20 three-year olds ; if oxen, fat, if heifers, in calf, at an average price of £10 to £12 each. The sheep stock comprises 110 high-bred Leices- ter ewes, the produce of which used to Ije sold at 20 months old, but, by an improved method of winter feeding, are now ready for the fat-market in little more than 12 months. In a sheltered situa- tion not far from the farm buiidmgs, and so placed as to admit of access on all sides to different pas- ture fields, a nicely contrived establishment for the winter feeding of sheep has been erected. It com- prises, in the centre, a house for turnips, with a loft over for hay and cake or corn, and accommodation for the shepherd in the lambmg season. Behind this are two yards, open in the centre, and shedded all round for shelter. A rack for hay runs right round the shed, and under it a manger for the cut turnips and cake. The yard is littered with straw or haulm. Each yard opens into a pasture field, to which the sheep have access for exercise. As soon as the pastures fail in autumn the young sheep are put into these yards, and there receive the v.'hole of their food. They have cut swedes twice a-day, lib. of oats each, and ^Ib. of cake each, for the last ten weeks, besides hay in the 'rack. Both fleece and carcass are improved by this management, food is economized, and the stock are less subject to casu- alties. Tlie j'ear-old sheep sell at 30s. each, besides their wool, at present worth 6s. more. The ewes are lambed in one of these yards. Five horses and a riding nag do the horse-work of the farm. The manual labour is performed by six men and a bo}', four of whom are boarded in the far.-n-house, and three are on weekly wages. These average lOs. to r2s., without beer. The in-door men have £10 to £12. and^their food, which, as it is very substantial fare, we may detail for the instruction of some of the large corn farmers on Salisbury Plain, whose poorly-paid labourers must often go to bed on a supper of bread and water. For breakfast they have porridge, then bread and cheese. They take with them to the field each man his pint of ale, and what bread and cheese he likes. At 1 o'clock they have dinner, which is either ba- con, beef, or mutton, and pudding, with small beer ad libitum. At 7 o'clock they have supper of milk porridge, then bread and cheese. The men are stout and muscidar, and work hard. During har- vest they have a quart of ale per day. Since 1831 the stock kept on this farm has been 248 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. much increased, whilst at the same time a larger extent of it is now under crop. Tiie yield ])er acre has also ^''^'^'^ly increased. The rent of the farm is '24s. an acre, poor and all other rates Is. Gd. per ])oand. On the home-farm of Mr. Thornhill, of Stanton, near 13ake\vell, great improvements have been ef- fected, and, as they illustrate tlie advantage of such improvements, and show by contrast how much may yet be done by wcU-diiected enterprise to in- crease the produce of our fields and the employment of our labourers, v.^e shall describe them aoir.ewhat in detail. The farm extends to 400 acres, 200 of which arc grass' and 200 arable. Mr. Thornhill took it into his own hands in 1S40. The farm then kept 16 cows, producing 2 J cwt. of cheese each. There were about six young cattle sold olF the farm annually, and 50 to 60 sheep. Four farm horses were e:n])loyed in working it, and, besides an an- nual produce of 60 quarters of oats, there might be once in three years or so a field of five or six acres of the best land in wheat, which, after a clean sum- mer fallow, yielded 27 bushels an acre. Such was the whole produce of the farm in stock and corn. It now maintains a regular stock of 43 milch cows, 30 of the jjroduce of which are sold fat every year at three years old. Each cow, besides rearing the calves, produces equal to 4 cwt. of new milk cheese. 200 sheep, old and young, are now kept on the farm, and £160 worth of ])igs were last year sold off it. The average yield of wheat is now 40 bush- els an acre, and of oats 60 bushels. The land lies on the gritstone, and is all on a considerable slope, the lowest part being 620 feet above sea level, from which it rises over the top of the hill to an elevation of OOO feet. It is well shel- tered by plantations, and good stone walls, and the fields have been laid out in convenient enclosures. The soil is now dry and friable, and the field ope- rations can be conducted without impediment. To render it so, a very large expenditure has been in- cuned, the land having been full of great blocks of stones, all of which have been removed, either by being broken and j-laced in drains, or by being carried bodily from the field, or by breaking them to pieces, and then covering them with trenched earth to a depth beyond the reach of the plough. This latter operation is at present being carried into effect on a corner of a field for the purpose of mak- ing the fence straight. The ground is literally paved with huge blocks of grit-stoue, which are blown to pieces by gunpowder, or si)lit by wedges, and then, after being spread along the face of a trench, are covered to a considerable depth by fine friable soil, got by the workmen in great abundance under the bed of the different massive blocks as they are removed. The cost of this operation is £50 an acre, and can only be justified on the score of convenience in laying out the adjoining better land. But the reclamation of the whole farm has been an expensive operation, 200 acres having cost £15 an acre for drainage, trenching, and fences. The arable land is managed on the four-course system, with this peculiarity, that on the upper land oats are the only corn crop taken, and on the lower and richer land wheat only. On the upper land the turnips and clover are both eaten on the land, the sheep getting also cake or corn. On the lov/er land the turnips are drawn for consumption in the stalls, and the clover is cut for soiling or for hay. The general stylo of iiianagemcnt is as follows ; — 1st. The "seeds," which are a mixture of I4ll)s. of red clover and 2 pecks of Italian rye-grass per acre, are watered with liquid manure from the tank in April. The first cut is made into hay, and the ground is then watered a second time with the best ctlect. The second cut is given to the horses, and to the con's when the grass on the pastures begins to fail, in August, at which time the grit-stone land gives way, and the cows fall off in produce a half- cvi't. of cheese, as compared with those fed on lime- stone land. The cut grass more than counter- balances this natural defect of the soil, the increase of produce in consequence of this additional food being from a i cwt. to 1 cwt. of cheese each, 'i'he whole of this land is ploughed up for wheat in Oc- tober, the worst of it being first dressed with 10 tons of farmyard dung per acre. The land is then sown with (2nd) v/heat, 8 to 10 pecks of Spalding's Prolific being drilled across it, in rows of 7 to 8 inches apart. The v.heat-crop is never hoed. Last year the average yield was 48 bushels an acre. When the crop has been harvested the stubble is gone over by men with forks, who fork out all the twitch. This, after being exposed to the weather, is gathered into heaps and mixed with lime. The land is then ploughed and prepared in spring for (3rd) swedes, mangold, and yellow bullock turnips. The swedes are sown in the end of May, 20 tons of dung being previously spread in the ridges. The crop averages 20 tons. It is in all cases drawn in autumn and pitted. The other green crops are treated in the same way. On the most distant and elevated fields 16 bushels of bones and 1 cwt. of guano per acre are used without dung, which can - not be conveniently taken so far; but the crop is there consumed on the field where it grew by sheep, the turnips having !.been previously taken up and pitted in little heaps, to preserve them from frost or other injury. The turnips are taken out of tlie little pits as required, and given, cut, to the sheep in troughs, with sib. to lib. of cake each daily. The green crop is followed by v/heat on the best land, by oats on the inferior land. The cattle being all fed in stalls, and the build- ings spouted to carry off rain water, a large quantity of liquid manure is collected in an underground tank, which is found most valuable as an ap|)lica- tion to young grass. The dairy produce chiefly consists of cheese, which weigh from 271b. to 30lb. each. They are coloured, and salted by being placed in brine in a trough for two days. The calves are fed for the first fortnight on four quarts of new milk a-day each, for the second fortnight on six quarts, and after that on scalded whey and lib. of oilcake, steeped overnight in boiling water and hay tea. The accounts on this farm are kept minutely and accurately, and for the last year they showaciiarge in addition to the old rent of 7 per cent, interest on expenditure on buildings, 5 per cent, on other per- manent improvements, 10 per cent, on implements, 10 per cent, on live stock, amounting altogether to a charge of £vS5 against tlie farm for rent and in- THE FARMER'S xMAGAZINE. 240 terest of capital. After deducting an abatement of 10 per cent, on the rent for "present prices," and adding the usual expenses of cultivation, the pro- duce of the farm in stock and crop last year leave a balance over to the credit of the farm. Mr. Thornhill has, therefore, the satisfaction of having furnished remunerative employment to a large ex- tent by his enterprise, besides ameliorating the face of the conntry and engaging himself in an occupa- tion most useful to the neighbourhood, and which not only does not interfere v.-ilh, but adds zest and interest to the other occupations of a resident land- lord. On the farm of Ashford, occupied by the Hon. Mr. Cavendish, M.P., and situated 600 feet above the sea, it has been found necessary on account of the rankness of the crops, to adopt, instead of the four-course, a six-course, with two successive corn- crops, as follows: — (1), clover; (2), oats; (3), wheat ; (4), turnips or mangold ; (5), potatoes ; (6), winter barley. The v/inter barley is eaten down in April or May by sheep, affording, at that time, very useful feed, and is then left for a cro]), which last year proved a heavy one. Tho sheep, v/hich are Shropshire Dov/ns, are fed during the winter in sheds and yards ; the cattle are wintered in stalls. There is a privilege in this part of the country enjoyed by the public which very much inteferes with the economy of an arable farm. In the mine- ral districts, and on " King's field," that is v.-here the Sovereign is lord of the manor, in the Duchy of Lancaster, any one may enter v/here he likes, or whatever crop may be in the particular field, and dig for ore without paying damages to the owner or farmer of the land. He has a right to keep the pit open for a certain time, and can extend that time by occasional workings. There are some restric- tions connected with the exercise of this privilege, but not in any degree commensurate with the in- jury done to the surface where the pits are opened in valuable tillage or grazing land. There is no general custom of compensation to outgoing tenants for manures or management, but on the Duke of Devonshire's estate a s])ecial agree- ment has been introduced, by which tenants receive the following payments : — for labour and manure on fallows the last year of lea^ie ; for lime, its value as for two years on jiloughed land, for seven on pasture ; for purchased manure, as for two years ; for inch bones, four years ; for bonsdr.st, three years on tdlage land, and double that time on grass land ; the jirice of " seeds ;" the expense of paring and burning for the turnip crop ; for drains, as for seven years; fences, seven j'ears; and anything farther that, in the discretion of the Duke's agents, the tenant may have a just claim to. On a farm of 268 acres the payment made by an incoming to an outgoing tenant, under this agreement, was summed up thus: — "Amount of tillages, including the above items, £56S Is. lOd.," or, rather over 42s. an acre. In Bakewell there are no poor but frame stock- ing knitters, who were established in their trade before pov/er-looms were invented. They still con- tinue to work at a business to which they were brought up, although it scarcely nov/ nffords them a bare maintenance. Northampton, Feb., 1851. The farm of Mr. Sharpley of Wittering, a few miles south of Stamford, presents us with the details of good agricultural management in North I'vorth- amptonshire. It contains 630 acres, 4S0 of which are arable and 1 50 in grass. The arable is ma- naged in a four course rotation of 120 acres in each division. Beginning with (1) wheat after seeds, the land is ploughed and pressed, and sown from the middle of October to the middle of November with three bushels an acre of Spaidings red v/heat scattered broadcast. It is rolled in spring with Crosskills clod-crusher. The aveiage produce is 23 bushels an acre. The stubble is then ploughed in autumn in ]>reparation for (2) turnips, and in the following spring it i-- worked twice with Finlayson's l;ari-ou-, which n-tonly takes out the twitch better than the plough, but is less expensive, and keeps the mois- ture in the land, which the turning over by the plough in dry spring v.-eather entirely dries up. When the land is thus suficiently cleaned and pre- ])ared the turnip seed is drilled on the flat, in rows 16 inches apart, from the middle of June till the middle of July, v.'ith 10 bushels of bone dust and 70 bushels of ashes per acre. The ashes are burnt in spring from bottoms of hedge banks, road sides, and any v.aste corners, and are found a most valu- able adjunct to the bones. Ti-.ore are no swedes grov.'n on this frrn-:, as they are l)elicved to exhaust the land, are found more difhcult to grow, and are not considered better than common turnips for a breeding stock of ewes. There are tv.'o varieties of turnijjs cultivated— the Vv'hite, which are meant to serve till Christraa8 ; and the green top white, which are to carry the stock on till the beginning of Ajiril. The cro]) produced by this management is equal to the keep of 8 sheep per acre for 20 weeks. It is consumed on the ground by the v.'hole of the flock, in two divisions, the hoggets first, and the ewes fol- lowing. Such sheep as are being fed fat go loose before all. No cake is given, nor are any turnijis cut. As soon as each piece is eaten, the ground is plough.ed about three inches deep and prepared for (3) barley, which is; sown broadcast as soon after the middle of March as possible. The seed is "scuSled " in v/ith long-tined strong harrows. This crop yields 40 bushels an acre. It is followed by (4) seeds, 100 acres of which v/ere sown with 12lb. of white clover, 2lb. tf trefoil, and half a peck of rye grass per acre, which is grazed with sheep only, except that for a few weeks at first the young cattle are also admitted to it. The remain- der of this division, 20 acres in extent, is sovm with 1411). of red clover and half a peck of rye grass per acre, to be mown for the horses and for hay. The red clover piece is changed at each re- turn of the course, and its recurrence on the same ground in that way postponed for several rotations. 40 acres of the grass land is mov.-n for hay also, the remainder being grazed. The vv^hole of the dung from the yards is carted out during the v.'inter and laid in large heaps in in each of the fields of" seeds," where after being v.'ell rotted, it is applied before ploughing for wheat in September. If it could be got rotted in time, Mr. Sharpely would greatly prefer api)lying it oil 250 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. the seeds in sjjring, that they might receive the first benefit, as the additional feed eaten on the ground would eqiially prepare it for wheat. But this is thought to require a year's dung in ad\-ance, which would necessitate the use of artificial manure for a year, on a scale more expensive than the farmers here are yet accustomed to. The stock on this farm consists of 400 Lincoln- shire ewes, which lamb in March, and rear about 400 lambs. The wedders are sold at one year old (last year at 31s. each), the ewes are kept for stock. 900 sheep altogether are wintered. 400 ewes and lambs and 100 young ewes are kept during the summer. Besides a few milch cows there are every year about IS or 20 heifers, which have a calf, and rear it. 26 calves are thus reared annually. The steers are kept till three years old, and sold in March or April to go to the rich grazing lands to feed. The average price last year was £13. The heifers, after rearing a calf, come into the straw-yard to be win- tered, and they are sold in spring with the steers. During winter 80 to 90 head of cattle altogether are kept in yards on this farm. They never receive a turnip, as Mr. Sharpely thinks it a waste of labour to draw home the turnips and take back the manure: besides that, he finds the turnips to pay better by sheep feeding, and as the cattle are kept only in a rearing state, they can be carried on very well, and not expensively with straw and cake. They ai-e managed in this fashion: — During sum- mer they are grazed on the grass lands, and in winter are put into separate straw-yards with sheds. The yearlings get hay or clover-chaff and lib. of cake each daily. The two-years-old get barley straw and 2lb. of cake each dail}', besides barley and wheat chaff, of which they are very fond. The three-year-olds get two fodderings of straw, one of clover-hay, and 3lb. to 4lb. of cake daily. They have all an abundant sup])ly of water in their yards and look fresh and thriving. When the cattle leave their yards for the grass their places are supplied by the work horses, 12 in number, which are taken from their stables, and during the summer receive their food in the cattle yards. The whole of the straw on the farm is thus made into good dung. In the winter the horses are put into a stable in which there are no division stalls, but if any horse is inclined to be vicious a bar of wood is hung up between him and his neigh- bours. The v.inter food of the horses consists of two parts oat-straw with the corn, and one part clover hay, cut together, and given in the manger, as much as they can eat without waste. The quantity of oats consumed by each horse in the day, besides the straw and hay, may be about 12| lb. During the summer they received green clover and oats. The work of the farm horses is very light, as the land is easy of tillage. Eight men and two boys are regularly employed on the farm, the men receiving 10s. a week, and the boys, who can plough, 5s. This farm was entered to on the 25th of March, and the first half-year's rent is payable on the 1st of January thereafter, the second on the 1st of July. The whole implements were bought two years ago, quite new, and with the live stock, cost the tenant 3,500/. Besides that sum, he had to pay for labour before getting any of his crop turned into money. His invested capital altogether amounted to 61. an acre, but there is here no draining, building, or per- manent improvements, which the tenant has either to execute himself or to aid in doing; he has just to stock and work an easy light land farm. It is com- monly thought in this part of the country that an arable farm requires less capital than a grass farm, and mariy men without adequate capital enter to arable land with the intention of trusting to crop- ])ing entirely. But an arable farm, if fully stocked an([ fully funned, cannot he carried on without a good capital. Here there is said to be a great defi- ciency among the farmers in that important matter, many having taken to arable farming with the idea that ploughing and sowing, with seed and labour, were the only requisites. The low range of jn-ices is compelling greater attention to business, and, as we were significantly told, the fox-hunting farmers are becoming a gradually diminishing body. In- dustry, capital, and skill may, it is conceded, still carry a man through with difficulty ; a deficiency in all these qualities must be fatal to him. The only tenant-right or compensation in this part of the countiy is that an outgoing tenant is allowed the whole of his " bones" bill and the half of his " cake" bill for the last year of his occupa- tion ; but in general practice little or no artificial food or manure is purchased. The dung of the few poorly straw-fed cattle is used to raise the turnip crop. That is eaten on the ground by sheep, and insures a fair crop of barley. But there is no pro- gress here, no addition to the powers of the soil to compensate for their continued exhaustion, and consequently there can be no increasing averages to make good the deficiencies of price. In the neighbourhood of Wansford we come on the Duke of Bedford's estate, where the well- managed farm of Mr. Perceval at once arrests the notice of the traveller by its neatly trimmed fences, well kept roads, and cleanly cultivated fields. The swedes are a fine crop. They are taken xip in the beginning of winter, and stored in little heat)s co- vered M'ith earth on the field where they grow. When the sheep come over the ground a few hur- dles are placed round each heap and the turnip cutter inside, and the cut swedes are then served out to the sheep in boxes. The crop is by this means protected from injury by game, it is kept juicy till wanted, and it neither exhausts itself nor " draws" the ground by shooting up a seed stern in a mild winter or at the beginning of spring. Win- ter tares and rye are sown in autumn, to be cut for the horses in spring and summer; and these are followed by white turnips, which are eaten on the ground by sheep. The next farm, that of Mr. Leeds, of Stebbington, is also very neatly farmed. On this portion of his estate the Duke of Bedford is draining all the heavy and wet fields of such of his tenants as are unable to do so themselves. In these cases he supplies and carts the tiles, makes the drains, and finishes the whole free of all charge to the tenant. The drains are made 4 feet deep and 33 feet apart, and are found very efficient on strong land. All the labourers are employed^ and the general THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. •251 late vl \va^;ti i-j 'j:i. a-ueek. ISo beer is given to the labourers. The Duke's cottages are let at very low rent?, but others in the village are extremely high, as much as 3s. Gd. a-\veek, with much less accommodation and a more limited extent of garden- ground than the more fortunate tenants under the Duke, who pay Is. to Is. 6d.a-week. Nearly the whole county of Northampton lies on the lower oolite formation. The southern division is celebrated for its grazing qualities. For ten miles round the town of Northampton one-third to one- fourth of the land is in grass. Grazing, which v\'as formerly the most profitable occupation of the Northamj)tonshire farmer, is now interfered with by the mode of feeding adopted on the arable farms, which by the aid of artificial food, corn, and cake, turn out more fat stock than the purely grazing farms. Some of the farms in this division are wholly arable, but the most common proportions into which farms are divided are two-thirds arable and one-third old grass. In winter the cattle are generally turned out on the grass lands during the day, and seldom receive any cake in the yards, as after such treatment they are found to fall off when turned out in summer to be fattened on the pastures, the cake not being then continued. The appearance of the country generally is well wooded and pic- turesque, undulating, with a fine friable red soil, admirably suited for green crops, corn, and grass. Though there are many excellent farmers in the count)', and much improvement has taken place in its agriculture, good farming is still the exception. For this there are several causes. In regard to the landlords, in the first place, many of them have no interest in their farms beyond the annual rent they receive, know nothing of the management of land themselves, and do not employ an agent who does. Some employ men of low standing with a small sa- lary, and in a dependent position, butlers, gardeners, and sometimes gamekeepers, performing the func- tions of land-agent. Lawyers are employed by some, but they merely receive the rents. The duties of a competent agent, embracing an inspection of the farms, a general intelligent supervision of the jjroperty, with that confidential communication with the landlord as to the measures best adapted to pro- mote the interests of both landlord and tenant, and the suggestion of such improvements as may be made at the least cost for the benefit of both, can- not, of covirse, by such agency be contemplated. Many of the landlords are straitened for capital, having their land heavily mortgaged or burdened v.'ith annuities, and who would yet rather embarrass themselves more by spending money in adding to their acres than by improving those they have, though their tenants from deficient buildings and want of drainage are incapacitated from doing jus- tice to their farms. In many cases the arable land is much injured by superflixous fences and hedge- row timber, the injurious quantity of Vv'hich may be seen right and left from the railway between Blis- worth and Rugby. The inequality of rents is also the causa of some districts and estates being better farmed than others. Many estates are let and have been rented for years at 20 and 25 per cent, higher than others. These are carefully eschewed by the best tenants, and any good farmer with capital who may have the misfortune to be placed on such rack- rented estates is constantly looking out for a vacant farm under a more liberal landlord, where he may expend his capital with security. A great obstacle to good farming is the system adopted by some landlords, and those not the least popular among the tenants, of letting their farms at low rents, with the understanding that all improvements are to be made by the tenants. A good tenant keeps things in good order, and very possibly improves his farm. A bad tenant most likely deteriorates it. In the course of years a stranger is sent to make a new valuation of the farms, and he of course fixes the highest rent on the good farmer, whose spirit of improvement is effectually curbed for the future. On the part of the tenants the obstacles to good farming are those too common to their class in other counties as well as Northamptonshire — a headlong running after more land than they have capital to manage, and the employment of insufficient labour to work their farms. On the light soils the four-course system of crop- ping is i)ractised by some farmers, especially for the purpose of cleaning their farms, but the most general course on the red land is a six-course, thus — (1) turnips, (2) barley, (3) clover mown, (4) clo- ver grazed, (5) wheat, (6) barley. Though some farms are profitably managed under this course, they are never quite clean. If the land is not per- fectly clean when laid down to clover, the two years' grass allows the root weeds to gain strength and strike deeper, and with two corn-crops after the breaking-up of the clover leys the land gets very foul. Where the land is left only one year in clover, and if well farmed and the wheat stubbles cleaned before sowing the barley, the crops are ge- nerally very good, and the land tolerably clean. Where the substrutum, instead of being red sand- stone or sand, is of a clayey nature, the eight-course is successfully practised, viz., turnips, barley, clover, wheat, turnips, barley, beans, wheat. In some parts of the county the clay lands are very ill-farmed and imjierfectly drained. On the eastern side of the county, however, there is some good clay farming where the land has been v/ell drained, and the fol- lowing mode of management is adopted : — Half the fallow is sown with vetches, the other half is a naked fallow well worked through the summer, and as the vetches on the first half are folded off with sheep the land is ploughed up and the whole worked together. It is kept as rough as possible, and soon after harvest before the land gets wet it is ma- nured. In that state it is left till the spring, when, without again ploughing, the barley is drilled as early in the season as the land is dry. Under this management heavier crops of barley are got on very strong clays than on the best turnip soils, es- pecially in a dry season. The barley is followed by clover, which is mown, the clover ley is sown with wheat, and the wheat is followed by beans. Some farmers take the beans after the clover, and follow thera with wheat, which they find to succeed best after beans, and less subject to grub and wireworm than after clover. On some very good and well- managed land within a mile or two of Northampton^ on the frrm of Mr, West, of Dallington, we saw a fine crop of swedes 252 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, which had been drilled on the flat, the dung havinith the management requisite ; where, however, time for the rearing of the hedge is of no importance, younger quick will do well, and it is bought at a lower price. There arc so muny methods pursued in the planting of young quick, that I scarcely know which to prefer j I will name one or two. One plan is to cut two parallel ditches ; throw up the earth from each so as to form a bunk between, on which the quick is planted. Another plan, on gravelly or stony land, is to raise a bank, by cartage or otherwise, on which to plant the rpiick. Both llic?c plans are open to objection. The banks soon become dry from exposure to sun and winds, and the moisture from the subsoil cannot so leadily be brought up I'or its nourishment. Another plan, in the low countries, is to throw out the contents from a ditch on the side intended to be planted, and after well trampling, to plant it along the ditch side. This is also objection- able, as liable to serious injury from drought in sum- mer and drifting snow in winter. Tlicse causes, in many districts, operate to the destruction of tlie quick by causing it in both cases to fall into the ditch, in the summer from the cracking and parting of the ditch bank, and in winter from the heavy lodgment of snow. I am inclined to think the plan I recommend in the former part of this article is the best for general adop- tion ; but every district has its peculiarities, both of soil and climate, and the judgment of the planter must be his surest guide. All the aids that a prudent planter can afford will not be lost upon the young hedge, whether it be in protection, cleanliness, culture by repeated diggings or forkings, or bedding up, stop, ping, or again by fresh soiling or manuring. " Banks, newly quicksetted, some weeding do crave. The kindlier nourishment thereby to have; Then after a shower, to weeding a snatch. More easily weed with the root to despatch." TUBStR. VALUE 01' LONDON SOOT.— In Londo?i Labouf and the London Poor we find the following statistics as to metropolitan soot : — Bush, of soot per annum. 53,840 houses, at a yearly rental above ^^50 producing six bushels of soot each per annum 323,040 90,002 houses, at a yearly rental above £30 and below £50 producing five bushels of soot each per annum •450,010 163,880 houses, at a yearly rental below i?30 producing two bushels of soot each per annum 327,760 Total number of bushels of soot an- nually produced throughout London 1,100,810 The price of soot per bushel is but od. and sometimes 4^d., but 5d. may be taken as an average. Now, 1,000,000 bushels of soot, at 5d., will be found to yield i;20,833 69. 8d. per annum. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 356 MR. LAWFORD'S EXPERIMENTS TO FEED BULLOCKS AND GROW GRAPES AND FLOWERING PLANTS IN THE SAME HOUSE. It is a notable fact that science, no matter in what department, owes nearly all its greatest triumphs to restless and speculative spirits, who, according to the verdict of the world, are commonly thought to be " a little cracked." This is the opinion which the world has hitherto entertained of all its greatest benefactors, at least during their own lifetime. Let a man have but a little more or a little less intellect and genius than the current and ordinary endow- ment, and for this he is certain, in either case, to be set down as " a little wanting" — " not quite sound." Lambert, whose well-deserved fame and merit as a botanist and patron of botany, was, by some, thought to be " a httle cracked ;" and we have ourselves seen him dance in frantic joy at the exhibition of a new flower which he had never seen before. Loudon, whose enthusiasm and love of horticulture led him to say and hope many things, which all very sober and extremely prudent people thought worse than strange ; but, nevertheless, some of his wildest speculations have been abun- dantly realized. It was deemed to be a public duty by some of the wisest horticulturists of the time to try and disabuse the public mind of their misplaced confidence, as it was then said, to the advantage and skilful experiments of the late Mr. Knight, of Downton Castle : he, too, though one of the greatest benefactors which horticulture ever had, was gravely pronounced to be " rather cracked." So has it been in every pursuit and profession ; and so, we suppose, it ever must be ; for, however great the gain, the public mind is sure to be shocked, irritated, and annoyed, if upon any subject, no matter what,a sudden glare of hght is unexpectedly thrown ; and the natural result, which is sure to fol- low invariably, has been an endeavour to obscure and conceal and misrepresent all such discoveries ; and the more brilliant and striking, the more they have been and will be resisted and spoken against. We remember the time when thrashing machines were very generally reckoned an agricultural curse ; spinning jennies and power-looms have been many times demolished by popular rage. Railways, the very heart-strings of our little island, were once on a day avoided and shunned by towns and cities, just as a sullen ill-tempered animal skulks away from the hand that would have caressed and fed it. The mowing-machine for lawns, which offers to save many a weary back-ache, is far from being a favourite with those whom it is so admirably calcu- lated to benefit. But poor horticulture has un- happily escaped much disturbance from intrusions of this kind. As a great body politic, it is very conservative of its ancient practices, habits, and customs ; and since the late Mr. Knight talked of growing pineapples without bottom heat, and Mr. Hoare of making vines flourish on dry and sultry brick pillars with their roots uppermost ; and more recently Mr. Barnes' ^system of pine culture in the open borders ; Mr. Fleming's salting-machine, and the turning tender plants into hardy ones, as in the case of Weeks's Vic- toria ; and a few miracles which have been wrought with Polmaise and plate-glass— we say, with the exception of these small ruflflements, horticulture has had a wonderful freedom from internal dis- turbances; has been most happy and self-com- placent, and believed everything to be progress, down to several degrees below that of positive stand-still. We suppose, then, we must just re- gard horticulturists as men cast in a very similar mould to those of mechanics and men of science — embracing, of cour?e, the public at large— for there is, in one and all, a very proper and wholesome amount of suspicion running through and pervad- ing the minds of all classes ; and by this not very bright ingredient of the mind it is that we are mainly protected, nevertheless, against empiricism and imposture. While we therefore point to, and smile at the evils and absurdities which naturally grow out of this cherished habit, and regret its existence for its own sake, we of course acknow- ledge its universal power, as well as its useful- ness. The facts and incidents to which we have just referred will assist the mind to com- prehend and see at once that improvements in horticulture, any more than in other branches of art or science, are not to be correctly estimated from the first blush of public opinion respectino- them, to say nothing of the indispensability of time to prove or disprove their actual worth. With these remarks, we beg to introduce to our readers that which, although we have previously briefly noticed, we still feel warranted in viewing as a hor- ticultural novelty. We refer to the following com- munication by Mr. Bundy, who gives a full and interesting account of Mr. Lawford's experiments to feed bullocks and grow grapes and flowering plants in the same house, and under the same roof. A reference to the wood-cuts will show at once the kind of arrangement by which this is effected; and a perusal of Mr. Bundy's correct s 266 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. and clear description will furnish the reader with the details. We need only observe that we were eye-witness of the^ occupation of the single house (Fig. 1) at the time the back- <--" --- ISfT- Fig. 1. Refereuce to section. A A walk in front of the cattle B Ditto b8hiud tbe cattle C Border where it is intended to plant orange trees, &c. D Feeding trough E Water trough F Manure water drain G Upright post to which the cattle are tied n Platforra for plants in pots I Ventilators J Vine border K South front sash (upright). Fig. 2. Reference to ground plan. A Walk in front of cows B Ditto behind c Border for orange trees, &c. D Food trough E Water trough r Manure water drain G Upright posts ii Partition between trough and walk M Cattle stand N Outside wall. water wall in front of the cattle was covered with flowering plants ; the path itself was rubbed with white stone, and therefore quite as clean, and more cheerful to walk along, than many conservatories commonly are. The double house (Fig. 3) was then being built, and this, of course, we did not see in use. One thing struck us as very remark- able, in passingthrough Mr. Lawford's very wonder- ful establishment; namely, what a different aspect the occupation of the agriculturist assumes here, where system, order, cleanliness, and all the requi- site aids and appliances of science, money, and ex- perience can bring to bear, to that which it presents in some of the wasteful and slovenly homesteads which one is often compelled to witness. With the comparative profits of high and low farming we of course have nothing to do. As a horticultural e.x- peritnent, we regard it as exceedingly interesting, and claim for it the forbearance of those who very projjerly use the microscope when they investigate the claims of whatever comes before them in the character of a novelty. The thing is very sug- gestive, and cannot fail to furnish useful experience both to the farmer and the gardener. To Mr. Lawford, therefore, and all such, we tender both our homage and thanks. It is to such men that the world owes nearly every thing. TiRVDAiL, near llandilo, the residence of t. w. LAWFORD, ESQ., F.H.S. In laying before the readers of the Journal some of the particulars of this place, which bear upon the sub- ject of horticulture, it may be well to remark that it is but five years since Mr. Lawford first turned his atten- tion to the cultivation of plants and fruits ; and when the fact is considered in connection with the progress he has made, probably we have no instance on record of a single individual having accomplished such practical ex- periments, or brought more to a successful issue. But before entering on the description of its horticultural features, more strictly considered as such, I shall pro- ceed to notice two houses which have been erected for cattle, as well as plants. My present object is simply to show that at Tirydail plants and cows do stand some- what in relation to each other. And, although the cattle here are not the pruners of the vine or tillers of the gar- den, neither are they used in any way as a specific for the various maladies which plants are subject to ; they are the heating apparatus, so to speak, of two exten- sive ranges of glass, as well as the producers of those chemical properties which form so essential a part of the atmosphere to plants, viz., carbonic acid gas and ammonia. And in consequence of this and other reasons, particularly that of the present moderate price of glass, they are now made the inmates of these houses, together with ornamental plants, figs, strawberries, and grapes ; presenting to the curious and the critic a scene most in- teresting, and a speculation most fruitful. Certainly the combination is an attempt at an experiment involving many considerations, and numerous have been the vague premises of the theorist upon the scheme, and not a few are more inclined to ridicule than to qneslion the soundness of the plan ; but to each I would say, be J»Ot THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. A Viue border B Upright sashes C Ventilators D Platform for plants in pots placed on the tie beams Fig. 3. — Double Span-roof House. E Food trough F W ater trough G Liquid manure drain H Cattle stand I Outside walls I J Walk between the two rows of cows I K Walk behind i L Pillars that support the tie beams, I and to which the cows are fastened E Places for the feeding F Ditto water troughs G Manure water drain Fig. 4. — Ground Plan. troughs I H Cattle stand I I Outside walls I J Walk between the rows of cows K Walk behind L Posts to which the cows are fastened M Entrance Fig. 6 Shows the elevation of this house, with the heating apparatus below. hasty in pronounciag an -opinion against what I, for one, see no philosophical argument to advance ; as (empora mutantur, ei nos miUanmr cum illis. I have heard some fastidious persons remark that the flowers and fruit grown in these structures would taste and smell of cows. Nothing can be more absurd than suck conclusions ; but these questions have already been set at rest, as Mr. L. has flowered and fruited plants in one of these houses with the cattle, possessing their own innate odour and flavour unaffected by any supposed unpleasant smell or taste that could be imparted by the cows. And now, as glass roofs can be put on to buildings at the same expense as slate ones, let us ponder on and examine into the advantages that are likely to accrue from the use of transpaient roofs. It is a well-known fact that light is an important agent in the animal as well as in the vege- table economy, and Mr. L. has already found that cattle grow faster and are healthier under transparent roofs than under opaque ones, which circumstance is of itself valuable ; but when it is found that grapes can also be grown under the same roof with advantage to the cattle by the shade which the foliage gives, we may not be 268 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. surprised if in a few years we see in many noblemen's farms greater quantities of grapes and other fruit grown under glass-roots over cattle than the most sanguine have ever ventured to conceive. The first of these two houses is a single-span roof (Fig. 1), 96 ft. long and 13 ft. wide. It stands east and west, presenting a width of 20 ft. of glass in the roof, with 3 ft. of upright sashes in the south side. The upright sashes are on hinges, and open and shut in 25 ft. -lengths by a simple contrivance of leverage. The roof is glazed in 2 ft. squares of Hartley's patent rough plate glass, laid into fixed sash- bars that were cut at Montgomery's saw-mills. A border, 7 in. wide, runs along the walk at the head of the cattle, for planting any plant to grow against the wall. Oranges are intended to be planted there ; and shelves are given in front and back, as well as a platform on the tie-beams, to hold plants, as is shown in the section plan. Under the lights, 1 ft. from the roof, is a trel'is of strained galvanized wire of }-inch size, placed at one foot apart, to which the vines are trained at two feet distance from each other. They have been planted one year, and many of them now reach the ridge, but will be cut back, when pruned, to about half that height. The vine border here is made above the surrounding ground, in a sloping direction. When plants were first introduced into the house with the cattle, they evidently showed signs of ill health, and it was soon discovered that the dust which arose from the daily currying of the cattle was more than had been anticipated, and was thought to have a share in producing the sickly hue then upon the plants ; therefore this operation was soon dis- pensed with, without any disadvantage to the cattle, re- quiring only a little more attention to clean floors, which was also found to be necessary in order to keep in check that volatile chemical agent, ammonia. These little difficulties have now been overcome, and the vines and other plants have luxuriated in this house during the past summer with surprising vigour. The heat of the cattle is found to be sufficient to keep out the frost, although a stove has been provided, in case it should be necessary to dry up damps when the grapes are ripening, and it is calculated that the vines will break about six weeks earlier than if out of doors. Their foliage will shade the cattle till midsummer, when the animals will be turned out for three months each year, and at the time they will be jjlaced in again it is expected the greater part of the crop of fruit will have been cut. The great probability of success in this house induced Mr. L. to erect a second one, 100 feet long, and wide enough for two lines of cattle, with a double span roof (fig. 4), with three feet of upright sashes all round, which are all glazed with " crown" glass in frames of 8i inches by 6j ; and in consequence of using glass of this size the roof cost less by a few shillings than a slate one would have done. — HenryBundy, Dynevor Castle, Llandilo. — Gardeners' and Farmers' Journal. PRICES AND BUSINESS IN 185) AND 1852. There is a singular unanimity in the trade circulars Issued at the beginning of the year, in anticipating during its progress great manufacturing and commercial activity, accompanied by rising prices and successful business. Great activity prevailed throughout the past year, but it was not accompanied by rising prices nor successful business, for those who buy only to sell again. As if to warn them in time that the general anticipations may not be realized, the colonial produce market opened, after the Christmas holidays, with slight exceptions, worse than it closed ; and, though it has now recovered a little, it afterwards declined still further. The metal markets, too, are dull, and prices have fallen since the year began. From India, the trade reports are not favourable. The demand for silk and wool, partly con- sequent on the political apprehensions felt in France having been temporarily allayed by the certainties of despotism, and partly in anticipation of a short supply of wool from Australia, is greater than the supply, and the prices of these two important raw materials are hardening. So the corn market is getting up, both here and on the continent. A comparatively short supply of food, and of some raw materials, with other markets de- clining, suggest a doubt whether the general anticipations will be realized, and make it advisable to subject them to a brief examination. The anticipations are chiefly founded on the fact, that prices at the close of 1850 and the beginning of 1851 were speculatively high, and that the fall of from 20 to 25 per cent, in the course of the year only reduced them to their proper level. Now, it may be expected that under the impulse of rapid consumption they will gra- dually improve, give increased value to stocks on hand, and at least reasonable profit to those who import com- modities, or buy them in order to sell them unaltered in form. To producers of all classes, most of whom have done well in 1851, the subject is of less importance than to the merchant, who, meeting lower prices when he ex- pected higher, has been the sufferer. To both, however, it is of great consequence to take correct views of future THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 259 prices, and to ascertain whether the fall last year is a mere temporary oscillation, or only a step in the general reduction of cost. A considerable rise of prices for a considerable period, and a theory founded on that which has been generally received, though later events dis- parage if they do not disprove it, make it more neces- sary to be cautious as to the future. To suggest the probability of a general and a continued tendency to a decline of prices, we ask attention to a brief table, copied in part from Mr. Tooke's work on prices, and in part from the Economist, which he copied : — a o ^ ! *' (N O "" O - O • ^ M UJ o =6 til —I » •* . "^ ^ ,^ .5= -SNO o O w 00 • 'O o o •-wt^ "? ii 5 _•.-•_• ~ • "^ § ® _: ^ ,^ _• •« '■^ JS . — ?3 . VT CO t^ CM 00 w l> «? ^ -:«H V « djS £ 2 *= & ; — '-' jrj ,^-d o ot 2S-«<' 3.e> .. 00 o ,^ o o o "^ o "^ ** *1 "C ' -a CO t^ II "> • 00 K to -O ■" r-. 5H ^ 5j)'~'oOo222i- ' m " 2 . " " -< -d "^ T-* -a gs :! s.2^. ^ "' " n c.pq i; a S r'^Pn? «• LW ^tK ? ST; S a. o ?■ tc - ^ Sic atS S:3 g g^ o o o «^ c 2 J-IO .;2^ o : : Jg £ g I : - c S B p. c-s - • « o'p.2 ..a' 3 o S— 0)3— 033CS ■ ■- -S S c. S 5 c i S '-' 53 S a o-S.o It is true, therefore, that in the beginning of 1851 the prices of some articles — coffee, cotton, indigo, silk, sugar, tobacco, &c. — were temporarily higher than the demand and the stocks on hand justified ; but it is also true, that the prices of the majority of the articles re- ferred to had a tendency to fall before that period. It may be necessary to remind the reader with respect to the price of wheat, that 1847 was a famine year through- out Europe, and that prior to Sir Robert Peel altering the corn-laws in 1842, the average price of wheat, and what was considered a necessary remuneration to the grower, had successively fallen from upwards of 80s. to 56s. per qr. Since the corn-laws were abolished, though there have been two bad harvests at home and one on the continent, the price of wheat has steadily approxi- mated to about 40s. It has fallen legs as yet, since the laws were repealed (28 per cent.), than it fell (30 per cent.) while they were maintained in their full vigour. Of almost all other things, the price fell continuously before 1840, and has continued to fall since. There are some esceptions, such as fish oil, the supply of which does not keep pace with the demand ; and such as hemp, silk, cotton, &c., cultivated in comparatively narrow districts, and of which the improvements in cul- tivation do not always compensate for inauspicious sea- sons ; but otherwise, the price of every product of human industry, more especially those products which require much ingenious labour to perfect them, has almost con- tinuously fallen. Nature does not mock the exertions of man, and the attempts everywhere made and making to produce all kinds of useful commodities at a cheap rate have been almost everywhere eminently successful. Within the last four years, the fail in price has been very remarkable, for it has gone on almost continuously, contrary to all expectation, in spite of a new supply of gold, exceeding in one year threefold the produce of all the gold mines previously worked ; in spite of very much increased consumption, by an increasing population ; and in spite of the development of industry having been impeded by unusual political convulsions. Is it, then, quite certain, as all the circular writers conclude, that prices have now reached the lowest point ? that continuously falling for years, they are hereafter to rise ? that the exertion still everywhere making, and we think now making, more than ever, to produce com- modities at a diminishing: cost, are to be fruitless ? and that in the present and the following years stocks of all kinds, and all kinds of capital, are to increase in value, and merchants to obtain higher prices for every com- modity they import ? The question interests alike the trading classes, the statesman, and the philosopher ; but to answer it effectually, and in reference not only to the year now begun, but subsequent years, more facts than have jet been accumulated must be collected; and he must be very presumptuous, or possess more than ordi- nary wisdom, who undertakes more than to bring to- gether a few facts bearing on the subject. With reference to the present year, to which we now confine our remarks, it may first be noticed that the corn market, both at home and abroad, is rapidly rising. The finest flour is dearer at Paris than at London, and wheat, which already is exported to Belgium, is purchased to be exported to France in March. The price in our market is not at present sufficiently high to bring large quantities from the United States, or the neighbourhood of the Black Sea ; our stock of corn in the hands of the farmers is not supposed to be un- usually large, and it seems certain that between the pre- sent time and the next harvest, the price of bread will rise. Now, as a portion of the sum applied to buy ma- nufactures, colonial produce, &c., is derived from what those who live on wages can spare from their necessary expenditure on food, arise in its price is not immediately favourable to a rise in the price of other things. There is less in fact, with a short harvest, to be given for them, and the failure of the last barye^t on the continent is a •2o0 THE FxVKxMER'S MAGAZINE. sure indication of a diminislied demnnd there for manu- factures and colonial produce. Some persons rather hastily conclude that a rise in one market gives buoyancy to other markets, and that a rise in the price of corn causes a rise in the price of other things. So far as corn and sugar can be substituted, as in the distilleries, for one another, such an effect may be imme- diate ; and so far as the price of corn enters into the price of other things, such an effect is sure in the long ran to follow a rise in the price of corn. But the reverse also ensues from a fall in the price of corn, which by lessening the cost of labour, lessens the cost of its pro- duce. We may fairly set off, therefore, against the effects of a temporary rise in the price of food over the price of other things, the effects of its low price for some years. Indeed, it may be doubted, considering the de- graded condition of the bulk of the labourers under the corn laws, and that the increase in their number has not yet operated, subsequently to an improvement in their condition, to their disadvantage in the labour market, whether the uniformly low price of food for the list three years has yet had all the effects it is destined to have in lowering the price of other commodities. We are inclined to think that wages are more likely to fall than rise ; and that the price of other things will yet be reduced, in consequence of the great reduction that has already taken place in the price of food. This is one reason for supposing that, so far as a successful business in the present year is expected from a rise in the prices of other commodities than food, it will not be realised. Assuming that consumption will be unabated, and will increase progressively in 1852 as in 1851 — which is doubtful as to England, and almost certain not to be the case on the continent— the stocks of colonial pro- duce on hand are extremely heavy, and with what are coming forward, in several cases apparently in excess of the demand. Thus the stocks were at the close of the years — 1850. 1851. Of sugar, in the principal ports of Europe 2,785,000 cwt. 3,781,000 cwt. Ofcolonial in Great Britain 1,092,000 „ 1,730,000 „ Of coffee, total stocks in Europe 254,000 „ 1,014,000 „ Ditto in Great Britain. . 380,000 „ 350,000 „ Of tea 34,400,000 lbs. 47,600,000 lbs. Of indigo, in Europe 35,706 chests 39,343 chests We willingly include Europe in the statements, because Europe is now one commercial whole. Telegraphs and railroads place the stocks in any one port under the immediate command of the capitalist in almost every other. The increase of consumption of sugar in 1851 in Great Britain was about six per cent., but the increase in stock at the end of the year was upwards of 36 per cent. ; and while the increase in the whole stock in Europe was 35 per cent., the consumption in all Europe was actually 57,000 cwt. less than in 1850. Consump- tion in Europe, according to the usefully compiled tables in the Economist of the 24th inst. :— Cwt. 1850 9,674,000 1851 9,617,000 Less in 1851. 57,000 This is in face of a rapidly increasing supply both of colonial and beet-root sugar. The increased consumption of coffee in 1851 in Great Britain was something less than four per cent., or in the eleven months, for which which we have accurate re- turns, 29,005,2731b. in 1850, against 30,170,020 lb. in 1851, and the stock was about eight per cent, less in 1850 than in 1851. In the whole of Europe the in- crease of consumption has been from 2,308,000 cwt. in 1850, to 2,078,000 cwt. in 1851, or about 14 per cent., and the increase of stock in Europe is only about six per cent. Notwithstanding the complaints made of the consumption of chicory, there is a better prospect for coffee than for sugar, though the latest accounts from Ceylon and Brazils tell us of large crops coming for- ward. Of tea, the consumption in 1851 was 53,700,0001b., against 51,100,000 in 1850, or an increase of five per cent. ; but the increase in the stock from 34,400,000 lb. to 47,600,000 lb., or thirty-eight per cent. The stock on hand is estimated at ten months' consumption, the usual quantity being seven ; and large quantities con- tinue to arrive. The consumption of indigo last year was less than usual, and the supplies greater. It may be reasonably expected that the consumption in the present year will be greater than in the last ; but the supplies, we are informed, will be still more abundant ; and there can be as little hope that the price of indigo will rise as the price of sugar. The articles we have referred to maybe taken as indi- cating the general state of our markets. It is very en- couraging for our manufacturers, it is full of promise to the consumers, it is all that can be wished by free- traders and the bulk of the people ; but we cannot join in the conclusion that it is likely to be advantageous to the mercantile classes. They were sufferers in 1851 ; and, we fear, they are likely to be sufferers in 1852. Over the operations of the producers in various countries they can exercise very little control ; and the producers, everywhere bent on lowering the cost of production, are continually bringing forward greater quantities at a less cost, and reducing the prices of all existing stocks. These considerations are wholly commercial, and they apply exclusively to the present year. We have not referred to the effects of the great political changes which appear likely to ensue ; and we have left wholly untouched the larger question of prices in future, com- plicated as that now is by almost daily discoveries of new mines of gold. The sum of cur observations is to impress great caution on all mercantile men ; while for most manufacturers and for all consumers the prospects for the present are as good as were the realisations of the past year. — Manchester Examiner. THE FARMER'S iMAGAZINE. 261 MODEL LODGING HOUSES Sir, — The model lodging-house in Kirkgate, for the accommodation of seventy-five single men, has now been in operation a sufficient time to enable any one who looks at the accounts, to judge how far it has been suc- cessful in a pecuniary point of view : and for this pur- pose I send you a statement of the income and expendi- ture upon the house for the past half-year, from which it will be seen that after allowing a liberal margin for depreciation and replacement of capital, there remains a very fair interest on the original outlay. It must be borne in mind, moreover, that had the receipts for the first four months of the half-year been equal to the last two months — as they probably will be in future — the profit would have been much greater; indeed, the de- mand for accommodation during the last two months has been such, that I am now enlarging it to the extent of no beds. I take this opportunity, too, of publishing an account of the original outlay, which may possibly interest some of your readers; and, at any rate, will serve to answer numerous requests that have been made to me for infor- mation from various places in the north of England, with a view to erecting similar establishments in other large towns. These particulars I have collected from the various invoices ; and the whole outlay made by me is rather under, but approximates as nearly as possible to, the total stated here. STATEMENT OF CAPITAL EXPENDED. ALTERATION OF PREMISES AND FIXTURES. £. 8. d. £. s. d. Builder's contract for converting four old houses into suitable premises. 200 0 0 Plumber for gas apparatus, lead for stairs, and other work 30 0 0 Extra painting, sign boards, &c. .. . 10 0 0 Ventilating apparatus 20 0 0 Cooking ditto 10 0 0—270 0 0 BEDS. 45 bedsteads, at lis. each 41 5 0 265 sheets (three for each bed) and making 16 17 6 75 counterpanes, at 23. 6d. each. ... 976 Tick, &c., for 75 mattresses and pil- lows, and making 13 10 0 Flock for 75 beds, and filling in 12 0 0 Blankets, 75 pairs 24 0 0—117 0 0 FURNITURE, &C. 75 cupboards for bed heads 9 10 0 36 ditto, with locks and keys, for use of lodgers 5 14 0 5 tables 5 4 0 2 large chests for linen 3 0 0 Seats and forms 4 15 0 Bath, and trellis flooring for bath room 3 10 0 Plate racks, shelves, hooks, and rails. 2 13 0— 34 6 0 MISCELLANEOUS. Pots and pans, plates, dishes, &c 9 9 0 Brushes of all sorts 2 0 0 Clock 113 0 Towelling, &c 2 0 0 Ledgers, account books, and printing 3 12 0 — 18 14 0 Total cost Portions of rent, &c., accruing during the alteration of the premises 440 0 0 10 0 0 450 0 0 STATEMENT OF THE RECEIPTS AND EXPENSES FOR THE LATTER HALF OF THE YEAR 1851. Receipts from Sd. per bed. Receipts for 26 weeks, from the Ist July to the 27th of December 130 4 9 130 4 9 Expenses. Current expenses for 26 weeks, from 1st July to the 27th December, including wages to super- intendent, £1 per week, and assistant, 143. do. G8 17 10 Half-year's rent 17 10 0 Ditto water rate 1 1 0 Ditto gas 'nil 7 16 8 Poor rate 1 13 4 96 18 8 Allowing for replacement of capital expended in alteration of premises, &c., 7i per cent, per annum on £270 '. 10 2 6 And allowing for depreciation of stock, &c., 10 per cent, per annum on £180 expended 9 0 0 Leaves a balance of profit equal to 6^ per cent. per annum on £450 total capital 14 3 7 130 4 9 There are 10,400 threepences in £'130 4s. 9d., and adding to that number an average of 40 persons a week who have one free bed, from having slept there six pre- vious nights in succession, there has been accommo- dation provided during the half-year, to the extent of 11,500 beds. Of course in a town with such a population as Leeds, one es,tablishment of this kind is a mere drop in a bucket. The great success, however, which has attended this small effort, may perhaps lead to the erection of others in different localities. There is room and need for many similar ones ; and for whole streets of model cottages, as well as for baths and wash-houses. But in- dividuals can do little in this way by themselves ; such things can only be done well by association. And surely in this town, with its 180,000 inhabitants, there ought to be an Association for the Improvement of the Dwel- lings of the Poor. This is neither the time nor place for any remarks on the success of the model lodging-houses, in a moral point of view; and I will only mention that these results are even more satisfactory and encouraging than those I have already named. Your obedient servant, W. B. Denison. 262 THE FARMER»S MAGAZINE. TABLE SHEWING THE WEIGHTS OF TURNIPS ON VARIOUS FARMS IN THE MIDDLE AND UPPER DISTRICTS OF ANNANDALE, INSPECTED BETWEEN THE 17tH AND 25TIi NOVEMBER, 1851. NAMES OF FARMS AND KIND OF TURNIPS. "^ Hardgrave, Dalton, White Globe Dale's Hybrid Purple Top Yellow , do. Swedes...... do. do DoRMONT, Dalton, Swedes White Globe Yellow Bullock Hardy Green Greenhillhead, Loch MABEN, Yellow Bullock Swedes Prestonhouse, Loch- MABEN, Swedes SmallholMjLochmaben, Swedes Yellow Bullock Halle aths,Lochmaben, Swedes do. (Laing's) .... Dalfibble, Kirk- mi c h a e l . Swedes do. Pomeranian, white Yellow Bullock Swedes Daltonhook, Dryfes- DALEj Hardy Green Hillside, Dryfesdale, Hardy Green (Skirving's), Pur. Top Swedes do. do. do. Green Top Swedes. . . . Purple Top do Green Top do Purple Top do. .... Purple Top Yellow , . . , Green Top do. . . . do. do. . . . do. do, , . . 28 27 27^ 26 J 2S| 29 29 29 27 -J 27i 27^ 291 27 23§ 28i 27 283 282 28 28 28§ 282 28 26J 26 28 27 28 28 271 28 27 26i 28 32 29 25 26 35 38 36 32 32 41 47 39 37 31 32 33 33 30 30 36 32 29 30 30 30 25 35 29 33 40 'c^<3 13 t. cwt. 25 11 31 12 24 12 31 2 37 10 t. cwt, 28 10 27 2 29 12 16 22 1918 1124 1426 1815 9 24 20 25 19 10 24 13 29 15 121 10 27 1916 12 718 10 22 12 21 10 23 9 MANURES. PSH ^O c. y, 15 15 15 15 15 21 11 15* 27 27 27 20 20 27 27 20 20 20 35 22 ca cwt. 2* 2^ 2-^ 2| 2 2 2 2 cwt. 3| 3f 6J 3f 3f 2i CM bus. 13 13 13 13 13 17 17 17 6 10 =QS bus. 18* 20 cl3 •^ -Si-J cwt. DATE OF SOWING. June 19. June 19. June 17. May 24 to 28. May 22 to 23. May 27 to 30. June 13 to 14. June 19 to 21. June 16 to 18. May 30 to June 16 May 22 to 29. May 26 to June 5 do. May 20 to 26. do. May 13 to 17. June 6. June 7. June 10 to 14. May 30 to June 5 June 7 to 13. May 12. May 12 and 13. May 1 3. May 20. May 22. May 20. May 19. June 5. June 4 and 5. June 4. do. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 263 NAMES OF FARMS AND KIND OF TURNIPS. Q KiRKBURN, DrYFESDALEj Swedes Green Top Yellow Purple Top do AVhite Globe Broomhouses, Dryfes- DALE, Purple Top Swedes .... White Globe do Purple Top Yellow .... Green Top do Dryfesdale, Manse, Dryfesdale, Purple Top Swedes .... Dryfeholm, Dryfes dale. Purple Top Swedes .... Green Top do Purple Top Yellow ToRwooD, Dryfesdale, Swedes Green Top Yellow Beckton, Dryfesdale, Swedes Green Top Yellow White Globe Millbank, Applegarth, Green Top Yellow do. Swedes Purple Top do Green Top Yellow Lammonbie, Apple- garth, Green Top Yellow do. do do. do Purple Top Swedes .... Muirhousefoot, Apple- garth, Green Top Yellow Purple Top do Purple Top Swedes .... FisHBECK, Applegarth, Purple Top Swedes .... Green Top Yellow ..,,.. Broadholm, Apple GARTH, Swedes DiNwooDiE Mains, Applegarth, Swedes (Skirving's) .... do. (Lothian) Yellow Bullock Dalmacadder, Apple- garth, Hardy Green . i • . ...... S-i o t. cwt. 27 27 28 27^ 27.^ 28 27^ 27i 27i 29^ 30 28 271 27 28 27 28 28 28 28 28 27^ 28 28 28 28 28^ 29 29i 28A 29 28 28 284 26 31 t. cwt. 25 17 35 24 36 41 40 30 35 43 24 27 43 29 35 43 43 41 43 40 45 37 54 22 13 26 15 21 0 17 3 19 19 26 10 21 17 19 17 21 0 19 5 18 0 23 8 18 5 21 14 20 10 22 17 18 13 29 18 29 19 25 13 15 16 MANURES. rt be S 3 19 1 13 12 15 16 21 0 12 17 0 10 25 18 18 18 24 20 20 20 cwt. 3 3 3 3 cwt. 19 11 21 9 23 12 13 13 15 15 16 13 15 14 5 18 11 14 9 17 4 16 18 14 16 20 13 17 9 23 14 23 15 20 6 12 11 38 29 16 23 12 15 2k 25 20 15 16 OM «S bus. 15 12 12 12 So S O.- a) O 3 bus. 12 10 10 13 13 12 Of 12 cwt. DATE OF SOWING. H May 17 to 24. June 4 to 6. May 24 to 31. May 12. May 17. do. June 6. June 16. June 6, May 19 to 24. May 26. do. June 20. May 28. June 13. May 20. do. May 15. June 2. May 16. May 17. June 14. June 1. May 16. June 10 to 17. May 16. June 15. do. June 13. May 21. June 6 and 9. May 20 to 24. May 26. May 15 to 20. June 28. June 5, 864 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. NAMES OF FARMS AND KIND OF TURNIPS. Da LM AC ADDER (continued) Purple Top Yellow. . . . Swedes (Skirving's) . . Hangingshaw, Apple- garth, Swedes White Globe Purple Top White .... Dinwoodie-green, Ap- plegarth, Swedes (Lothian) Balgrav, Applegarth, Purple Top Yellow .... Swedes Cleugh-heads, Apple- garth, AVhite Globe Yellow Bullock do. Purple Top Yellow .... Shaw, Hutton, Purple Top Swedes .... Hardy Green Purple Top Yellow Yellow Bullock Purple Top White KiRKHILL, WaMPHRAY, Swedes (Lothian) do. (Skirving's) .... Yellow Bullock Hardy Green do White Globe PUMPLIKBURN, WaM- PHRAY, Swedes Yellow Bullock Green Top White Wamphraygate, Wam- PHRAY, Green Top White do. do Yellow Bullock do. Swedes (Skirving's) .... Green Top Swedes Broomhills, Wam- PHRAY, Green Top Swedes. . . . Yellow Bullock Green Top White .... Swedes (Skir\'ing's) . . Annanbank, Johnstone, AVhite Globe do Hardy Green Yellow Bullock ...... M C 26 30 30 30 29^ 27 24 29 29 29 29 28 28 28 28 28 27 » 29 27^ 27^ 29 27^ 41 39 49 33 44 43 27 43 30 33 42 36 44 35 32 37 38 35 32 32 35 35 33 manures. t. cwt. 26 0 23 19 21 11 18 19 18 19 23 12 21 16 24 18 24 3 25 11 15 15 17 19 21 7 20 6 16 8 21 8 21 8 27 14 21 15 15 18 21 5 18 19 12 5 15 15 16 2 19 12 24 17 17 19 19 1 22 8 23 16 26 16 16 2 24 10 26 12 18 4 p. u Id I- . to be >- Q t. cwt. c. y 28 30 20 20 20 20 20 25 28 25 28 22 30 20 20 20 15 16 20 20 20 12 19 0 17 3 15 0 15 0 18 14 17 5 19 15 16 2 13 13 11 5 13 13 19 3 20 5 12 10 14 3 16 18 16 2 13 0 16 19 16 19 21 18 17 5 12 12 16 17 15 0 9 14 12 10 12 15 15 11 19 14 14 5 15 2 17 15 18 17 21 5 12 15 19 8 21 2 14 8 2 3 geoom cwt. 4 4 3 2^ 2h 2 2 2 2 2* cwt. =q:^ bus bus. 22 cwt. date op sowing. June 2. May 21 to 27. May 20 to 26. June 28. June 29. May 17 to 26. June 15. Mav 26. May 27 to 30. June 2. June 21. June 28. May 15 to 16. May 20. Mny 24. June 8 to 10. June 5. May 24. May 21. June 6. June 10. May 21. June 12. May 16. May 19. May 20. June 27. do. June 11 and 12. June 5. May 24. do. May 27. June 9. do. May 13 to 16. June 27. {June 10. June 7. 'June 17. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 26S J c WEIGHT. MANURES 1 D.\TE OF SOWING. NAMES OF FARMS AXD KIND OF TURNIPS. o • CO o >> 12, Per Scotch Acre. Per Imperial Acre. c . 1 .2 o n > m 2 § Bone Meal. Superphosphate of Lime. Annanbank (continued). Yellow Bullock 28 30 30 28 28 28 29 J 33 47 38 43 39 41 33 t. cwt. t. cwt. 18 11 14 14 c. y. 20 25 25 20 20 cwt. 2 2 2 2 2 1^ 14 2 cwt. bus. bus. Of c\vt. June 6. June 5. do. May 28. May 23. do. Barnhill, Kirkpatrick- JUXTA, Green Top White WooDFOOT, Moffat, Yellow Bullock While Globe 19 12 26 3 21 0 21 0 22 8 27 5 15 11 20 14 16 13 16 13 Craigbeck, Moffat, Yellow Bullock Newton, Moffat, Swedes 1 17 15' 24 1 21 12: 24 THE FOLLOWING WERE INSPECTED AND CERTIFIED BY MEMBERS OF THE CLUB, BUT NOT BY THE APPOINTED INSPECTORS. NAMES OF FARMS AND KIND OF TURNIPS. FOSTERMEADOW, DaLTON, Skirving's Swedes .... Gillenbie, Applegarth, Swedes Craighouse, Corrie, Swedes Green Top Yellow Purple Top do Goodhope, Johnstone, Skirving's Swedes Purple Top Yellow Red Top White White Globe Hardy Green Kirkbank, Johnstone, Hardy Green White Tankard o-c :2 c manures. o >, 72 25i 29 29 29 29 30 28 29 29 29 26^ 26,1 25 30 t. cwt. 31 11 24 13 36 25 7 33 J21 16 48 130 15 33 29 30 30 33 31 42 37 37 a o ^ Q t. cwt. 25 2 19 11 c. y. cwt. 10 34 20 2 20 17 6 20 24 8t 20 25 13 24 3 30 25 25 25 25 37 15 29 19| 26 1^ 40 3131 17 265 \\ ^4 O^ cwt. bus. 20 20 cwt. <% cwt. date of sowing. May 15 to 17. May 15 to 21. May 27. June 16. do. May 15. May 16, May 17. do. do. May 21 and 22. May 18 and 20. The weights were taken in different portions of each field, and those stated show the average ; the heaviest and lightest not being particularised, THE average weights OF THE WHOLE FIELDS ARE : — Seoth Acre. Tons. Cwt. For Swedes 24 19 For Yellow 21 13 For Common , 26 11 Imp. Acre. Tons. Cwt. 19 16 17 0 21 1 •m THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. REPORT OF THE LOCKERBIE FARMERS CLUB OX THE PRECEBIXG TABLE. Tbe inspectors appmnted, rit, Messrs. Cumi- tbers^ Kirkhill; French, Wamphnvgate; Dobie, Kirkbura; Jardine, MiUbink; Cit;de, Donaont; and Wflson, Dahonhook, proceeded to tbe ex- Ti— "'■**'™ of tbe cn^ of most of the members of the dab oa die irth and 18th Novonber, and the wv^ts novr^MXted «<«« all taken by them before tbe 25th. Tboee in tbe latter part of tbe table vere not examined bj the inspectors, bot sepa- latdf , and ceili£ed by some indindual member of the dob (not the amitex of the crop\ and inserted by TCqnest hexe, for the sake of Anther doddation. At the request c^ the dob, at didr meetii^ on the -20th November, the fcDovii^ repott is drawn np, contsining the substance of the obsaratkms made by the inspectors, and the t^ankms generally ei|Kc^ed by the members at that meeting. The table cooqKdtends the Arms of ^mem- bos of the dih, and of die vhofe fidds ve^hed mly seyen iwgein AepiopMetor's occnpatiop. GKXEKAL CHA.RACTKS OF THE CKOP. Ihe oop of 1S51 falls far short, in point of vd^it, of those of 1S49 and 1850, as vill be seen by the £oO0«i^ fitaifmpnt of the avoage weighed is not so giieaL It may be observed that the dpficimcy is to a small degree oompensated by a wmeahat farger laeadlh eova, die extent beii^ st31 yeady increasaa^ ia die Strict. TUs diimartioB of adght arising ia the hes of the ^apraved dutnatnn, shown by a greaier ^pna- ti^ md Tariety of maauies aad eaifier genenl Miwiag, is to be aflribolBd to the stoppage of the growth by cold verier ia die end of Jane, aad beginaHis of Jaly. aad the portal £sease by in- sects, wbadi, thoogh aot generafly destroy ii^ die plant, retarded Ae growth. A&ttoight was thea lost and nerer ic^giained; and aldsoo^ gaoerdly JTorawr aad healdiy in Sqitfmba- aad October, thoe was not tsne for ^ boibs to gaia &e or£aary aae til chewed by die'frosts enly ia November. If that month bad been more than usually mild, and the crop allowed to stand, there was erery appearance that an average \mght would be attained, there still appearing great rigour of growth- The years of 1S49 and 1S50 were considered on the whole favourable turnip seasons in the district, and this crop of 1S51 is still in point of weight, perhaps, a £ur average of the six or seven preceding years, thoi^ certainly under what then years wonld have been bad the now moi>e improved ma- n^gemenit then prevailed. TIME OF SOWIXG. It win be observed from the table that the time of sowing (in all cases noted and rea(Ely answered by fermers) is generally earfier than formerly, arising cot so much from any particular facility in the season as the conviction now prevailing that the chances of a large crt^ are much greater with early sowii^ and it may be remarked with rt!gard to Swedes, tibat tbe eaifier after the lOdi of May the better, and after the 25th, or even 20th, of May the dances of wdgbt diminish. CoannoB, or Wiiie Varieties. — It will be noticed diat Tanoas cases occur when these have been 90WB very early, that tbe jnoduce has been so large as 30 to 35 tons per imperial acre. Hie geacxal attention of tbe district has been attracted by these and simHar results last year, aad there is no doubt but the practice will be extensivdy fidlowed, and probably with great profit. Some of these eariy crops, soch as EUrdgrave and DalfibU^ were dl, prenoos to die genenl ia^pertaon, coaeaund, bat were ascertained to be apwaods of 40 tons per Scots acre, while it is also stated that so early as the 15th of September some crops reached 30 tons pa Soots,or 34 per imperial, acre. And the advantage of haning soch crops for oonsamption daring all October is vaj great indeed, as stock of every descriptimi advances so modi mote ia|ndly at that mild season widi fiiU feeding <^ tnrnips. Some formers propose a partial sowing so eaily, if possi- ble;, as the 1st ai'ilaj, reckoning at aQ rates to have dieir October turnips in by the 2Stfa. TeOotc. — ^Theresoks this year do notdiow mnch mark<^d dii&renoei, if sown by tbe lOdi of June. Bat in every variety, in samiDg after the ISth, tbe inferiority u very marked. If any are sown after dat ^B it dwold be the white. lih scarcely aecessary to -observe that however sowing may be delayed, it is ia£spensable to have the had diorongbly wmked and polverised, and in a dryfitiabk state. WIDTH O? DULL AND HOEING. The width of diifis is now, it wiU be seoi, very uniform, vaiyiag from 26 to 29 indies. Ithasbeea THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 267 remarked by some farmers that in cases of full and varied manuring, that this crop (especially swedes) on low or sheltered land, or narrow valleys, where there there is no great circulation of air, would \ this year have been larger, had not the luxuriance of the shaWj with the closeness of the drill, con- tinued during all October to exclude the air and sun too much. There seems no doubt but dis- crimination is required in varying from 26 to 30 inches, or it may be even more in the case of swedes, richly manured and little exposed. The hoeing now on many farms approaches nearer the standard of 12 to 14 inches, exemplified by the practice of Mr. EUiot, of Hardgi-ave, in the two preceding years' weighings, and this would have been more generally approximated to, and to much advantage, had not the cold weather, and the unhealthy look of the crop at the period of hoeing, created hesitation in risking width so much beyond ordinary practice. QUALITIES OF SEED AND VARIETIES OF TURNIP. The complaints of imperfect and mixed seed have been very general this year. The irregular shape of the bulbs, and more than usual proportion in many fields of stalks running to seed, as well as a mixture of sorts, are unquestionably more general than heretofore. As the easiest remedy for this, it is strongly recommended to farmers to raise their own seed from selected bulbs. Several neighbour- ing farmers might join and accomplish it with very little trouble. In noticing the different sorts of swedes, Skirving's purple top is the heaviest, and indeed purple top is this year very marked in superiority over green. The latter is the hardier turnip (against frost) ; but, as remarked last year, now that storing before frost is more practised, both yellow and swedes of the purple-tojiped sorts may be more increased in proportion to the hardier sorts. Of the white sorts the hardy green is prefen'cd by all farmers who have tried it this year. They are the best shaped, appear more firm and solid, and in October attain a greater weight than any other. Some of the inspectors expressed a decided opinion that on many farms yellow should be further reduced in proportional extent to white and swedes. It is to be noticed, however, that when stored they keep fully as well as swedes. They do with later sowing, and when cutting is not prac- tised they are the best turnip for hogs in January, February, and March. As the proportion raised for consumption in early winter increases, white will further supersede yellow. And when the use of the turnip cutter for sheep in spring becomes more general, swedes will also encroach further on yellow on the best soils. MANURE. On a large number of farms the mLxture of farmyard dung with both guano and bones is now practised, influenced no doubt by the great crops on Hardgrave under this system. The result, as appears by the weighing, is very satisfactory ; and it is believed that, in future, bones, both rough and dissolved, will be more generally used with guano and dung. In some cases farmers themselves perform the operation of dissolving with sulphuric acid. They are sure of getting the pure material, and at a con- siderably cheaper rate - the cost of dissolving being Is. 3d. to Is. 4d. per bushel. On one farm, along with equal quantities of dung, 11 bushels of dis- solved bones, costing £l ISs. 6d. per Scotch acre, was compared with 2 cwt. of guano and 6 bushels of dissolved bones, at an expense of £2 Is., and the former found superior in produce. As many farmers have expressed their wish to dissolve the bones, a separate note of the inode of dissolving will be furnished to such members as wish it. It will be noticed from the weighings that so convinced are the farmers of the district of the ad- vantage of adding extra manures, that it is now rare to find any turnips where at least 2 cwt. of guano per Scots acre is not added to the dung that can be spared, and its use has been largely encou- raged by the confidence entertained of the quality, in consequence of the samples of the greater por- tion of all that has been imported into the district having been analyzed by the Highland Society's chemist, and reported, under the sanction of the club, to the public. The club, on a previous discussion, expressed an opinion that 40s. per Scots acre, or 32s. per im- perial acre, might be profitably expended on extra manures, where 15 yards of dung only can be ap- plied. The result of the weighings this, as well as in former years, will confirm the opinion, even putting the smallest value on turnips, which the present low price of beef warrants. At the same time it may again be repeated, that the best mode of obtaining permanent fertility is to increase the farmyard manure ; and the raising of turnip crop, by extra manure, large enough to admit of at least a half being consumed in the homestead, is the best way to eft'ect this. It may be again noticed that this table and its remarks will convey information more useful to the neighbouring farmers, knowing the locality and soils of the difterent farms, than to strangers. The members of the club have a strong impres- sion that, were the practice of similar weighing occasionally followed in other districts, much 268 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. knowledge, practically useful to the country, would be obtained, perhaps more than by the continuance of the practice in one district. At the same time it is trusted that in future years the club will follow out the system, though probably the mode may be varied, so as to show more minutely than hitherto the comparative experiments of individual mem- bers. Several, indeed, have been in the habit of making such experiments, but under the present form of publication they could not be reported. LABOURERS' WAGES. That wages will be more or less regulated by supply and demand, cannot be questioned ; but at the same time there is such a wide difference in the amount of wages paid in different localities, with- out any apparent reason, that it would be highly desirable if some rule could be introduced whereby to judge of the sufficiency of the wage paid in pro- portion to the price of food. This subject has ne- cessarily acquired a greater degree of importance from the reduced prices of agricultural produce. We submit to our readers the following communi- cation on " Labourers' Wages," containing a scale of remuneration, tested through the actual ex- perience of 1 5 years, by a gentleman, one of the most extensive farmers in England, and hence a large employer of labour, and which he has found work satisfactorily both to himself and his labourers. In these UDsettled times I think it might not be thought amiss if sorae principle could be acted on to consolidate the interest of the farmer and labourer ; and the following plan I think likely to act fairly between both parties. The account below shows the working of the labourer's ■wages, if they had varied according to the price of flour — the week's wages to be the price of six gallons of flour and 43. 6d. — for 14 years, from Michaelmas 1835, to Michaelmas 1849, with the price I have paid, showing a difference of only 4s., and that would be in favour of the labourer. From the 5th of October 1835, to 2nd December 1848, both included, is 687 weeks, at which period I paid 123. per week; from the 2nd December, 1848, to 8lh October, 1849, is 45 weeks, at which period I paid lOs. 6d. per week. 687 Weeks 45 Weeks £ 3. d. 732 Weeks, if Ir.a wages had varied according to the price of flour, as below 436 0 6 687 Weeks, 123. per week, is £412 4 Ol.ocifi a 45 Weeks, at 10s. 6d. „ is £ 23 12 6/*'''''° '^ Difference. 0 0 Below are the number of weeks to each price that flour has been in the 14 years in this parish ; the price of flour at this time (March 30, 1 S50) is 1 Id. per gallon. I pay my labourers 10s. per week, tha^ being the price of 6 gallons of flour and 48. 6d., and intend to continue on that scale ; for every Id. per gallon flour rises cr fall?, his wages will rise or fall 6d. per week. No. of Price of Flour* Wages per Tntlll Weeks. per Gallon. Week. B. d. 8. d. £ 8. d. 22 0 10 9 6 10 9 0 9 0 11 10 0 4 10 0 114 0 10 6 59 17 0 94 1 11 0 51 14 0 111 2 11 6 63 16 6 97 3 12 0 58 4 0 88 4 12 G 55 0 0 90 5 13 0 58 10 0 74 6 13 6 49 19 0 19 7 14 0 13 6 0 5 8 14 G 3 12 6 2 9 15 0 1 10 0 1 10 15 6 0 15 6 5 1 11 IG 0 4 0 0 1 2 1 17 0 0 436 17 0 732 0 6 This shows the variation in each year that would have been if the labourers had been paid by the flour scale. From Michs. 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 184G 1847 1848 To Michs. 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 184G 1847 1848 1849 Difference The Labourer received The Labourer received less on account of not over on account of not being paid by thebeing paid by the Flour Scale. Flonr Scale. £ s. d. £ s 5 2 0 1 d. 0 6 1 1 6 , , 3 12 6 ,, 3 3 6 . , 1 6 6 1 19 6 2 "7 1 12 3 7 0 6 6 0 b G , , 3 IS 0 2 's 0 0 0 6 .. 15 2 6 14 18 6 14 18 6 0 4 0 Aprin 5, IS50. CURIOUS BREED OF FOWLS.— Mr. William Lees, gamekeeper to Sir William Goriion, at Earlston House, is at present rearing two young fowls of a very curious and novel breed, beinj^ a cross between a ban- tam lien and a common pheasant. The male is nearly a jet black, though the tail is considerably shorter than the parent's. The female is a beautiful bright red with a black neck. They are about the size of ordinary barn floor fowls, and are so tame that out of doors they will pick crumbs from the hand. 'I'liey are of splendid plumage, and are much adnired in the district. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 269 GLASS COVERING FOR WALLS A correspondent signing himself " Zephyrus," sends us a comraunication bearing upon the cover- ing of brick walls with glass, as a protection to fruit trees against the attacks of spring frost. It was not to be expected that any one would, at the present moment, discuss such a subject without some allusion, direct or indirect, to " the present reigning horticultural novelty" — meaning glass walls ; accordingly we have what may be fairly called a favourable opinion given. " Zephyrus" is to us a stranger ; but as our readers will discover in perus- ing his communication, he is a sound, practical, and clear writer. In connexion with this matter, our correspondent has referred to a particular to which others have also alluded, namely, that of pulling down existing brick walls, in order to re- place them with glass ones. Such a proceedmg would be so decided a mistake, to call it by no worse designation, that it never occurred to us as a thing at all likely to be entertained, and we did not therefore deem it necessary to guard our language, when writing on the subject of glass walls, against that which we thought would never happen. In the matter of glass versus brick, when compared as garden structures, we think it likely that the public eye would decide in favour of the former ; but as matter of utility and practical value, the merits of the latter have been long tried and accu- rately tested, while the former has not yet passed through this public ordeal ; hence the greater the impropriety of pulling down and destroying an agent of ascertained value, for one, the merits of which, however promising, are as yet not fully determined. Our readers will pardon us for re- ferring to this apparently uncalled-for allusion to that which some persons, as well as ourselves, never presumed likely to occur ; but we find, in several instances, persons taking it for granted that wherever a hundred feet of glass wall is erected, so of necessity must the owner pull down a hun- dred feet of his brick walls. This is a very extreme view, and those who are opposed to glass walls may surely find better and sounder arguments than this by which to oppose their introduc- tion and use. Without pulling down or destroy- ing one single j^ard of brick wall now standing, there is ample room to try the experiments with glass walls on a very broad scale ; and to this we think it is fairly entitled. We would not estimate the value of such an experiment as this by the di- rect and positive results, and count nothing gained which was not obviously palpable and seen. Im- provements of every kind, and in every branch of science and art, are the results only of small savings — of long and protracted accumulation — the mere infinitesimal driblets gleaned and compressed from the raw material of common eflfort, upon which all classes of the public, and horticulturists among the rest, are for ever toiling. Why, then, should we not be rather glad to see whether some crumb or two cannot be gathered from the experi- ments on glass walls, and thereby add so much to the general stock of horticultural knowledge ? There would at least be the chance of gain. It is, beyond all question, the fault of the present times that we are all over-wise. We all know too much. Every one knows what every one else knows ; and every one knows beforehand what will and what will not answer. The great desideratum in the hor- ticultural world at the present time is a few persons such as the severely wise call " cracked." We long to see a few such at work in various parts of the country, sanguine, full of hope, and trying all manner of absurdities. It would then be for the very knowing ones among us to watch the zeal and effort of such persons, and snatch the precious gems as they were now and again turned up by the rude operator. Let us not be mistaken ; for, while we hold it to be a pubhc duty to encourage all who expend either time or money in efforts to improve the science or practice of horticulture, we do not feel that it can be a duty to peep and peer and look critically at all failures and aimless effort ; for there must be many of these where the experimentalist comes : but we do contend that it is a public duty to withhold unqualified praise and commendation until time and experience have fairly demonstrated the utility and value of such objects as those to which we refer. Let us only further add that, whenever a new idea is promulgated, the author is necessarily sanguine, and for the most part writes in a tone of hope and expectation of great and beneficial results. Unhappily, however, for such persons, it is but rare indeed that the public display any correspond- ing sympathy. The contrary, indeed, is rather the rule; and for one person who calmly and dispas- sionately weighs the claims which new ideas, appli- cations, or discoveries present, twenty others set to work avowedly to examine and discover all the defects and weak points, passing over whatever is really of value. Now this is not only unjust, but it is impolitic ; for the truth, which nearly always lies] midway betwixt extremes, becomes obscured and darkened by the antagonism and conflict of 270 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. those who approve and those who disapprove. The common procedure, to which we have just referred, permits of no middle course. It would be unjust, however, to not a few, did we make no exceptions. Exceptions there are to this course of action, and our correspondent " Zepyhrus" is one of these. He thinks glass walls are not perfect and all that could be wished ; but acknowledges the propriety of the effort, accepts what is of value, and passes by that which is defective or faulty. This is precisely the spirit which, we think, wisdom and common sense would on all occasions display towards improve- ments, were they more generally consulted and listened to. We are not always sufficiently on our guard against the allurements of prejudice. Only one word more. We do not mean to say by all this that every absurdity deserves to be gravely treated, and that everything, wise or foolish, ought to escape criticism. No such thing at all: we would have every proposition, sound or unsound, tested. We entirely abjure the notion of taking anything for granted which natural laws or science will account for. The more criticism the better ; only let the great end be truth : not merely victory over some yjrinciple or theory, or, it may be, a per- sonal antagonist. The following is our correspon- dent article : — There is generally a tendency in a certain portion of the horticultural world, as well as in the world at large, to meet everything in the shape of innovation with something like unreasonable opposition. While, on the other hand, a counterbalancing portion are too apt to give their unqualified approbation and countenances to schemes and inventions which in reality have only their novelty to recommend them. I do not wish to appear to place the present reigning horticultural novelty, the glass walls, in the latter list. On the contrary, I have no doubt but they will answer the purpose for which they arc recommended, viz., something like insuring an annual crop of apricots and peaches, &c., which, with the protection that is usually afforded them, the last two or three years have, in most localities, taught us not to expect. And if appearance is, " as it surely ought to be," considered in a garden, the effect produced by the glass walls must be highly ornamental; and fruit ripened in them will doubtless be well-flavoured, and free from the mal formations and disfiguretnents which a pressure upon a brick or stone wall and tlic ravages of insects too frccqucntly pro- duce. But with all these, and many more advantages, willingly assigned to the contemplated glass walls, I am not sanguine enough to believe that they will ever become general. In the first place every garden must necessarily be protected by a wall of stone or bricks; no other fence will so (ffcctually secure privacy, exclude cattle, game, &c., or even thieves; for if a stonewall does not always do that, a glass wall is much less likely to do so. And such being the case, I think it will be difl[icult to induce the owners of walled gardens to in- tersect them with double glass walls, when one half the expense will fix wire upon and cover with glass an equal portion of the existing brick or stone wall. I have at present under my care about 1,200 feet of wall, south aspect, and eleven and a-half feet high, planted with peaches, apricots, and tigs ; and I con- template covering a portion of each of them with wood and glass, in the following manner : The trees to be trained to strong strained wire, at 2^ inches from the wall. At two fet't from the wall a wood sill-plate to be supported on 9 inch brick piers (1), at 4 ft. apart, the under part of the sill to be about 3 inches above the level of the soil ; upriglits to spring from the sill-plate at 8 feet apart, to support the top-plate or front of the roof. The upright sashes to be 4 feet wide each, so that two will occupy the space between the uprights ; one of the sashes to be fixed, the other to shde past it horizontally, for the purpose of admitting air. The sliding sash to be suspended from the top by casters, acting upon an iron rod stretching from upright to upright. The roof will stand at about an angle of 20 degrees, so that the roof-lights will be about 2 feet 3 inches by 8 feet, and secured by two screws to the top sill-plate. The whole will be so arranged that all the sashes may be easily taken off (and replaced as occasion may require), leaving only the plates and uprights. The sill-plate being placed 3 inches above the soil, pre- vents contact, and the consequent decay of the former ; and when the sashes are put on, the space between the sill-plate and the soil is to be closed by a tile inserted into the soil on each side of the plate, and the space between filled with moss. The accompanying diagram may assist the elucidation of my plan, which I hope you v/ill be so Icind as give a place to in your Jour7ial; you would greatly oblige me also by any sucgestions on the subject. — Zephyrus.— Gardeners' & Farmers' Journal. Glass Covering for Walls. A A. Portion of wall uncovered. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 2^1 ROYAL AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY OF IRELAND. At the monthly meeting of the Council, on Tuesday, February 3, present— Earl of Clancarty in the chair ; Lord Monck, Lord Talbot de Malahide, William Dar- gan, Colonel Hall, C.B., William B. Wade, J. B. Bank- head, Thomas Ball, Dr. Kirkpatrick, Hans H. Woods, Wm. Owen, Anthony Lefroy, Thomas R. Hardy, Samuel Charles Doyne, William Donnelly, Colonel La Touche, Thomas Seymour, St. John, T. Blacker, and Charles Wm. Hamilton, Esqs., The following list of new members, admitted since 1st January last, was ordered to be published : — • Sir F, Foster, Bart., Stone House, Dunleer. Sir St. Vinceut Keeue HawkiQs Whitshed, Bart. Vere Foster, Esq., Dublin. Lieutenant E. Slade, R.N. Edward Bullen, Esq., 12, Bacbelor's-walk, Dublin. William Maffet, Esq., South Frederick-street. Rev. Somers Payne, Upton, Inuoshannon. George Waller, Esq., Fitzwilliam-square, Dublin. Thomas Harkness, Esq., Secretary to the Society. J. A. Nickolson, Esq., Balrath, Kells. J. R. Boyd, Esq., Ballymacool, Letterkenny. R. S. Cusack, Esq., St. Doloughs. Mr. John Connolly, Builder, Dublin. Mr. Donahy, Agricultural Lecturer and Practical Agriculturist, Glasnevin. C. G. Grey, Esq., Land Agent to the Earl of Derby, Ballykis- tcen, Tipperary. Edward Tandy, Esq., Taxing Master in Chancery. Mr. James Ganley, Auctioneer, Ushers'-quay, Dublin. James McGlashan, Esq., Publisher, Sackville-street. Mr. Miller, Agriculturist and Land Agent, D'Olier-street. The Earl of Mayo, Palmerston House, Naas. The Earl of Meath, KilrudJery, Bray. John Sproule, Esq., Marlboro'-street. George Lefroy, Esq., Carriggloss, Longford. Professor Apjohn, Trinity College. In reply to an inquiry from the Inistiogue Farming Society, the Secretary was intrusted to state that no one can win one of the society's first-class medals unless he shall be a member of both societies ; but that in the second-class persons may compete for the medals who are not members of both societies, provided that they be farmers holding under 100 acres of land, though it is not necessary that they should live exclusively by farming. Various other routine matters were disposed of, and, among others, the Secretary was directed to give due no- tice of future evening meetings of the society, so that parties interested in these discussions might have an op- portunity of attending. THE AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY. From the moment that Lord Talbot forced the subject of evening meetings, for the discussion of practical questions, on the attention of the Council of this Society, we cordially seconded the movement, feeling assured, from the experience of kindred associations, of its utility. And, if any doubts existed on the subject, they would have been set at rest by the very interesting meeting held last evening iu the board- room of the Royal Dublin Society, the use of which was kindly afforded to the Agricultural Society for the purpose. The subject for discussion was the best mode of feeding and housmg Uve stock, a paper on which was read by Mr. Hark- ness, the Secretary, and which was followed by an interestmg discussion. The comparative value of different kinds of food and systems of feeding forming the first division of the subject, only was touched upon, leaving the arrangements for housing live stock, and the physiological part of it, for another paper. The results of the experience of many of the most eminent farmers of the United Kmgdom were detailed at great length by Mr. Harkness, and a mass of statistical information brought forward regarding the quantities of food consumed under different circumstances, the value of which it is impossible to over-estimate, and which reflected the highest credit on the judgment aud industry of the Secretary. Such meetings as that of last evening give hope for extended usefulness on the part of this Society ; and we trust that the information then brought forward may re-appear in some more enduring shape for the information of the Irish farmers, to whom stock husbandry is of paramount importance. A summary of this paper we hope to publish next week. A further gratifying feature, in connexion with the meeting of last evening, was the presence of the agricultural pupils from the Glasnevin estabhshment. Then: attendance was a gracious privilege on the part of the society ; and we can have little doubt that it was duly estimated by the pupil , who must have derived much useful information, and been furnished with many valuable suggestions for further investigation. Lord Clancarty, who presided ou the occasion, expressed the gratifi- cation which he experienced at the attendance of these young men at the meeting. AVe have only further to express a hope that, in future, more publicity may be given to these evening meetings, as, with the ex- ception the of council of the agricultural society, few persons were aware of the meeting of yesterday evening. Previous notice should be given in the newspapers, not only of the day of meeting, but of the subject, so that parties might come pre- pared to take part iu the discussions of the questions under con. sideration. An intimation should also accompany the an- nouncement, to the effect that parties desirous of being pre- sent could obtain the necessary tickets of admission on applica- tion to the secretary. Some such arrangements as these are necessary to give effect to the value of these evening meetings, from which good results may reasonably be anticipated, — The Advocate, ON CORN RENTS. The desire universally prevalent among the agricultural inte- rest for the adoption of a new reiital, ou a more equitable aud satisfactory basis, as between landlord aud tenant, is a natural consequence of the great depression in the price of agricultural produce ; aud amid the difficulties which present themselves, owing to the fluctuation in the present, as well as the uncer- tainty of future prices, no method is calculated -to inspire greater confidence in arrivmg at a re-adjustment of rents than by the substitution of a corn-rent in lieu of a fixed money- rent, the nature of which I shall endeavour to explain. A corn- rent, or rather a corn and money-reut, may be defined as a fixed money payment, together with the value of a certain number of bushels of wheat, barley, and oats, ascertained by the average prices of such grain during a given period ; and it T ■21-> THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. will be conceded that rents which are determiued by the price of corn are likely to preserve their true value better than money- reuts, and that this is clearly the preferable mode ; aa uudcr the system of a coni-reut, if iu cousequeuce of the largeness of the crop the price is lo>r, the corresponding average value with the increased quantity makes up in some degree to the tenant for the diminution of price, while the landowner derives an ad- vantage in the improved condition of the soil. But to illus- trate the mode of ascertaining a eirn-rent by the average prices of wheat, barley, and oats, as published by the Inland Revenue inspector, from the returns of the market town where the principal part of the produce is sold : Suppose, with wheat averaging at Ts., barley at 4s., and oats at 3s., per bushel, before the prohi- bition of protective duties, the original rent, ex- clusive of tithe rent-charge, to be 30s. per acre, or as a ti.\ed money rent for a farm of 200 a. per annum £300 0 0 If at a corn-rent partly, and a fixed rent partly, as iu the case of a stock-farm, then one-third of the original rent always at a fixed sum or money- payment £100 0 0 The remaining amount of rent, £200, being divided into three parts, and converted, oue-third into bushels of wheat at 7s., one-third into bushels of barley at 43., and one-third into bushels of oats at 3s., thus : 190 bush, wheat, at 7s. per bush., 563. per qr £66 10 0 330 bush, barley, at 4s. per bush., 323. per qr. . 66 0 0 450 brsh. oats, at 3s. per bush., 21s. per qr. . . , 67 10 0 £300 0 0 The value of which, by the average prices for the half-year ending Lady-day, 1851, is as follows : 190 bush, wheat, at 41s. 8Jd. per qr £49 11 1 330 bush, barley, 23s. 6^d 48 11 U 450 bush, oats, at 15s. ll^d 44 17 8 Fixed money payment 100 0 0 243 0 0 Total half-yearly rent £121 10 4 And by the average prices for the half-year ending Michael- mis, 1851 : 190 bush, wheat, at 42s. S^d. per qr £50 13 10 330 bush, barley, at 243. 8d 50 17 6 450 bush, oats, at 19s. 6id 54 19 2 Fixed money payment. 100 0 0 256 10 6 Total half-yearly rent £128 5 3 It will be seen that the first half-year's corn-rent is equal to an abatement or reduction of 20 per cent, off the original rent ; which strengthens the opinion I have entertained that from the commencement of free-trade rents should have been re- duced full 20 per cent. The second half-year, owing to the excess in the average price, especially of oats during that pe- riod, is equal to a reduction of only 15 per cent. J. H. — Agricultural Gazette. ATMOSPHERIC INFLUENCES — THE PO- TATO * DISEASE (By Franklin Coxworthy, author of " Electrical Condition"). — Of the amount of evaporation that prevailed before 1846 there is no record, but it will be seen on reference to the statement which appeared in Ihe Journal of the 23rd ult., that from 1846 to 1819, inclusive, it greatly exceeded that of 1850 and 1851, The potato disease was at its height in 1840, and gradually decreased until its disappearance in 1849. There must, therefore, be some other influencing cause than mere evaporation ; and this cause, I think, there will be no difficulty in defining. One of the vessels represented in the diagram which accompanied my paper above referred to, is " electrically" insulated from the earth, whilst the other is not ; so that although the one suspended by copper wire is as much acted on by the electrical condition of the air as that suspended by silken threads, the operation is either retarded or accelerated by the prevailing condition of the earth. The difTerences, therefore, in the evaporation from the two vessels cannot fail in representing the comparative electrical condition of the earth, and of the atmosphere, by which the vessels are surrounded. Statement showing the differences of evaporation from a and b in diagram, as registered at 9 o'clock in the morning and 10 o'clock at night, at 17, Canterbury- place, Lambeth. road : — n 2 "tSrS.— c.»^ » era - B g-i The vessels were I first filled on j Insulate. Oct. 10, 1845. 1 Non-insul. >«'0J00^^>*»•O*■^^i'^-'0»• 01 o o en or o oi o en CI Insulate. ;^"^ 05^1^3 I Non-insul. OOOCncnmocncno o cnj COhSiO ^5I-'I— II— 'I— 1|— 't-J ^0C0^^05OS^0^^00C0MOlf>■ OOCtcncnCTCTtncnocjio Non-insul. O O O oi o en en c O en o O ri_i H-l I-" lO lO > tn5o>(^coo5-j*.-^co^ienio i N on-msul. Ocnenoenencnenencenen I i-'ooc»50>«ocnC305»o--ih3»j Insulatc. oooencntnenoocncno M^;>.^5^^l-'^oci05cn^2^-> Non-insul. to o H- M 1-1 H-i Ci ^^ to 00H-o>eno!^o^^«^MO5toO5 enentnocoenocnenencn Insulate. 00 M O ^s o en O ■ • '"' M CO M M to to 1 >J„_ :, .,,1 OOOeiiCTcnoocen 1 p ^ )_!• H-itolO>-i|-itO col Tneiilofo totoi-i" coootoo5*.*.«D*>. • M 05 CD 05 CO O Cn hS O! • i-" en oooenoencnoo O Non insnl. It will be seen, then, that the total amount of the dif- ferences was greatest in 1849, and next to that in 1846 ; the two periods at which the epidemics influenced most the animal and vegetable kingdoms. But in 1846, during the potato disease, the greatest amount of eva- poration was induced by the air, and in 1849 by the earth ; or, viewing the question in the more simple light above described, in 1846 the connection of the water with tlie earth retarded its evaporation, whilst similar conditions in 1849 accelerated it. And to I he statement THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 273 I have added the mortality per cent, ia the metropolis, as given in the highly valuable returns afforded by the registrar-general. I shall hereafter show that evapora- tion is in no way referrible to " heat" — the dogma that has so long deluded mankind. It must, therefore, be dependent on some other condition or ruling principle in nature ; and until evidence be adduced to the contrary, this principle I shall conclude to be electricity. In 1846 the evaporating influence of the air was very high ; and as all bodies are in an opposite electrical condition to that of the atmosphere by which they are surrounded, it is clear the electrical state of the earth must have been low ; and it will be seen that in July and August, the critical period, and extending through September and October, the differences were enormous ; the cause of which, or negative state of the earth, douht'ess pro- duced a putrefactive action in the plant, by the accumu- lation of ammonia, and ensured the total destruction, or rot, of the plant : the general prevailing features of the complaint, as well as those of influenza at the close of 1847, and of cholera ia 1849, being likewise graphically delineated in the above statement. And yet the instru- ment that has afforded such valuable information, and has set at nought the hygrometer and the electrometer, remains unseen by the scientific world. The next fact in the order of its relative im- portance which my apparatus has elicited, in con- nection with this inquiry, is that evaporation is not referrible to what is commonly understood by " heat" or temperature of the atmosphere, the principle on which are framed the tables for determining the " dew point;" but before proceeding to its considera- tion, I am induced to direct attention to a singular want of relation between the actual amount of evaporation from both vessels and their relative evaporation, as shown in the statements that accompanied my two last articles, and which perhaps may be adduced as the strongest evidence of the value of the instrument, il- lustrative as it is that the " differences" are referrible to some modification of the cause that produces actual evaporation. The evaporation of the epidemic period, or from 1846 to 1849 inclusive, may be taken on an average of 175,000, and its differences at 5,000 ; but 1850, with an evaporation of only 92,000, has an amount of differences equal to those of some of the preceding years, whilst 1851, with the evaporation of 1850, has differences to little more than half the amount, or 2,500, the deficiency being in the non-insulated scale ; and be the cause what it may, it prevails to the present time ; although, perhaps, to verify the old saying, that before the storm comes a calm. Such, however, is human na- ture, that on the mere contingency of our being some day threatened with invasion, to meet brute force by brute force, rifle clubs are being formed from one end of the country to the other, and perhaps with great propriety ; but to the investigation of a question that may put us in a position to mitigate, if not arrest, the influence of a principle in nature that has spread desolation and death from one end of the world to the other, and which assuredly will regain its action, not a votary can be found, although our legislature, from the want of infor- mation identified with the question, may be nearly smothered, baked, and frozen in their deliberative chambe'.-. Connected as evaporation is with vegetable physiology, any step towards the solution of the cause cannot fail in being of great benefit to the enquiring culturist; to the reception of correct principles, the removal of pre-conceived notions of a faulty nature is indispensably necessary, and so far as regai'ds evapora- tion the venerable doctrine of heat must yield to the in- fluence of the figures in the following statement ; it being also to be remarked that in December, 1850, the proportion was only as 1 to 1 73 : — RELATION OF TEMPERATURE TO EVAPORATION FOR 1851. Mean Reduced Evap. Temperature. Scale. Grains. January 43 .. 11 . . 4,125 or 1 to 357 February .... 39 . . 7 . . 2,995 „ 428 March 42 .. 19 .. 5,285 „ 528 April 46 .. 14 .. 5,970 „ 426 Uay 53 . . 21 . . 10,625 „ 506 June 62 .. 30 .. 15,075 „ 502 Julv 64 .. 32 .. 12,895 „ 403 August 63 . . 31 . . 13,530 „ 437 September.... 58 .. 26 .. 9,570 „ 368 October 54 . . 22 . . 5,985 „ 272 November .... 38 . . 6 . . 3,380 „ 563 December .... 41 .. 9 .. 2,640 „ 293 Year.... 50 18 7.673 425 The above " mean temperatures" are deduced from ray register of nine o'clock in the morning, the " reduced scale," consisting merely of a deduction of 32 deg., that being, improperly, our freezing point, instead of zero ; and it must be evident that, in any such comparison as the above, the addition of 32 deg. to 6 deg., the proper temperature of November, or to 32 deg., that of July, could not fail in creating a serious error. Between the figures in the " reduced scale" and the actual evapora- tion there is, it will be observed, no relation whatever ; and, in addition to this evidence, so fatal to the doctrine of " heat," instances without number could be adduced, that a considerable decrease of temperature in the atmo- sphere produces a corresponding increase of evapora- tion ; whilst, with an increase of temperature, a de- creased amount of evaporation is obtained— a fact, un- questionably, that demands the serious consideration of the agriculturist. My next paper will treat of the hy- grometer ; and as, in the meantime, we may lose our frosty nights and mornings, I would suggest to those who still persist in consulting that instrument to test it by the evaporation of water in one vessel of a pair of scales, and counterbalancing weights in the other ; and they will frequently find, at about noon, or one o'clock p.m., that, on a sudden rise of temperature, with a difference of 2 or 3 deg. in the wet and dry bulbs, little or no evaporation has taken place. — Gardeners' and Farmers' Journal. THE GAME-LAWS. TO THE EDITOR OP THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Sir, — If, as your correspondent, "A Looker-on," informs us (p. 171 of the Farme7''s Magazine for February), " the tide of reason and justice, long de- layed, &c., has nevertheless set in," agricultural journals wiU cease to teem with such productions as T 2 274 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. the one I refer to. A few instances of excessive preser- vation of game and destruction of crops thereby in a few counties will no longer be ingeniously made to ap- pear as a system prevalent throughout the kingdom. The expense attending the prosecution of the idle and dishonest, and the consequent ruin of his family, will be discovered to have been caused by your correspond- ent and other like-minded, and by some from whom something better might be expected, who encourage their neighbour (by well-known methods unnecessary here to mention) to break the laws of his country. I suppose, sir, we may shortly hear of the " freeborn Englishman" being " cast into a loathsome prison" for kindly ridding us of a little superabundant vermin in the shape of poultry or sheep. My brother farmers and I have long been tired of the anti-game-law cry. Surely, in these our times of trial, your correspondent will not insult us with such humbug. As far as giving lis relief is concerned, we look upon the abolition of the game-laws in the same light as we should upon triennial parliaments or universal suffrage. We shall never allow game (to which we are rather partial) to " drive us to cross the Atlantic ;" neither are we afraid of the " finger of scorn" being pointed at us by America, or any other country, on account of the protection by law which we enjoy to life and property. Let your correspondent use his brains (if he have any) , put his shoulder to the wheel, and try to help us; and no longer content him- self with talking nonsense and with remaining " A Looker-on." A British Farmer. Feb. 4. P.S. — The destructive powers of game appear to have been settled by nice calculations and experiments. Would any of your readers kindly inform us of the in- crease per acre in stock and produce, on any farms, arising from the permission or order to destroy the game ? DISCUSSION ON GUANO AT THE LONDON FARMERS' CLUB. TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE EXPRESS. Sir, — Seeing on the card for discussion at the Farmers' Club on Monday last — " On Guano ; its Application, Supply, aud x\dulteratiou : with Details and Statistics, collected from original sources," by a Mr. Ilazlewood, a gentleman of the Stock Exchange, I was somewhat anxious to know what addi- tional light he had to throw upon a subject so repeatedly brought before the members of the club ; and I regret to say, although fully concurring in the resolution come to, I was dis- appointed ; for, having understood the gentleman who was to introduce the subject was largely interested in Peruvian bonds, and althoiigh we are much indebted to him for the statistical information he afforded us, I did hope he was desirous of seeing the price of that valuable manure reduced in the same ratio that freights have fallen since its first introduction, viz., from £4. 10s. to £2 per ton — this, deducting the expense of landing and warehousing, would bring it down to £6 per ton ; a price which I have no doubt would double the consumption, prevent adulteration, improve the interest of the bondholder, give an impetus to shipping, and (what is much wanted) confer a boon upon the agriculturists of this country. I am fearful, however, that we are not yet to reaUze this desirable chauge ; and that the farmers of this country must be content for some time with things as they are. I cannot close these remarks without regretting that the public are to be saddled with an additional impost upon another manure (next in importance to Peruvian guauo), viz , supcrpliosphate of lime, and that by a member of the Coiuicd of the Royal Agricultural Society. These thini^s are highly discouraging to agriculturists, and tend to clieck that spirit of enterprise which wc see prevailing in every direction. How- ever, I trust this latter attempt at monopoly will he broken through, and that the farmers of this country may be able to purchase manures at such prices as to enable them to grow corn at a profit. I am, sir, yours obediently, 35, Leadenhall-street, Feb. 7. James Odams. EXTRACTS FROM AN ADDRESS BY IIOM. J. R. WILLIAMS, BEFORE THE St. Joseph County Agricul- tural Society, in October last. — I regard it as the duty of farmers to have more communion with each other, to make and to seek opportunities to compare aud communicate with each other. Mechanics work in close proximity to each other. They are all the time engaged in sharp competition. They profit alike by each other's blunders, or each other's success. Merchants meet each other hourly in crowded tho- roughfares and on the Exchange. What one knows all can readily know. Inevitable failure and ruin often follow an obstinate adherence to an old track, when time, toil, and expense are saved by the new. Not so with farmers — neces- sity does not throw them together. They liave few chances for consultation — aud still fewer chances for correction of blunders. It takes a whole year to correct a single error. But few experiments can be tried in a lifetime. An error in planting the crop is an error which may plunge the farmer into pecuniary ruin. How much it becomes us, therefore, to consult everywhere, with all men, and on every fitting occa- sion, that we may be guided in all our enterprises by all exist- ing light and knowledge. There are men, it is true, whose converse with Nature is richer in instruction than the teachings of men. A man can study a lifetime in a single garden, and delve only on the surface of the great mysteries of Nature. It is true that each farmer walks every morning into a vast palace, compared with which the Crystal Palace is mere tinsel, a bauble. Each trembling dew-drop, glistening on the tiniest spire of grass, rivals in brilliancy, and exceeds in usefulness, the great diamond, Koh-i-Noor. Realities are all around him — not the shine — not the impostures — not the hollow artifices of the great city. Each breeze brings freshness, fragrance, vitality, aud is rarely laden with pestilence. Each exertion which affords vigour to the^ arm, by sympathetic action, com- municates vigour to the intellect. Thus health ought to clothe the whole man. Yet living among such glowing scenes, operated upon by such instructive and healthful influences, farmers, as a class, take the world over, in their habits, opinions, and aspirations, have most doggedly trampled and wallowed along on the dead-level morass of complacent con- servatism. If farmers had constant aud uureraittiug commu- nication with each other ; if each mind was open ; if each faculty was sharpened ; each mistake promptly corrected ; each agricultural invention communicated, explained, and un- derstood, farmers would be marked by the same characteristics as the most keen, energetic, and vigorous in any other pursuit. Fortunately fairs, periodicals, discussions, are supplying the schools which the exchange, the counting-room, the store, the workshop, the streets, the wharf, and the dock, perpetually supply to other men. — Michifjan Farmer. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 373 METEOROLOGICAL DIARY. Barometer. Thermometer. 1 -Wind and State. Atmosphere. Weath. Day. 8 a.m. lOp.rn. Min. Max. 10 p.m. Direction. Force 8 a.m. 2 p.m. 10p.m. Jan. 22 29.29 29.30 37 46 37 w. s. w. lively fine sun fine dry 23 29.41 29.82 34 44 36 W. by South gentle fine sun fine dry 24 29.86 29.60 35 47 47 S. West strong fine cloudy cloudy rain 25! 29.80 29.93 39 49 43 S. West varble. fine sun fine shower 26 30.— 29.94 36 47 45 S. by West brisk fine sun fine dry 27 29.58 29.50 39 45 39 S., S. by E. lively cloudy cloudy cloudy rain 28 29.74 29.99 30 42 33 N. Westerly gentle haze sun fine dry 29 30.07 30.— 28 43 38 South gentle fine sun fine Idry 30 29.68 29.90 37 48 36 S.W., N.W. varble. cloudy cloudy fine rain 31 29.93 29.72 35 50 50 S. West strong cloudy cloudy cloudy irain Feb. 1 29.72 30.— 49 56 47 S.W., var. varble. cloudy fine fine dry • 2 30.02 29.93 44 53 47 S. West brisk cloudy cloudy cloudy rain 3' 30.04 30.15 39 50 39 IW., W. by S. lively fine sun fine dry 4 30.12 29.83 39 50 50 S. West strong cloudy cloudy cloudy rain 5 29.76 29.66 49 52 52 S. Westerly strong cloudy cloudy cloudy rain 6 29.74 30.05 37 44 39 S. Westerly lively cloudy fine fine rain 7 30.16 30.06 33 48 45 S, Westerly hvely cloudy sun cloudy [dry 8j 29.70 29.25 43 52 48 S. West forcibl. cloudy cloudy cloudy rain 9 29.14 29.44 39 45 33 N. AA^esterly gentle ( cloudy sun fine rain 10 29.63 30.— 30 42 34 N. by East lively i fino fine fine i rain 11 30.05 30.10 30 41 29 N. by East gentle cloudy sun fine dry 12! 30.05 29.73 26 34 32 S.E„ S. by W. gentle fine sun fine dry 13{ 29.60 29.85 31 39 35 S. East gentle cloudy sun cloudy dry 14 30.01 30.20 33 42 35 Var., N.W. calm cloudy sun cloudy dry 15 30.22 30.11 32 48 46 S. Westerly gentle cloudy cloudy cloudy dry 16 30.12 29.80 39 48 46 S. West forcibl. cloudy cloudy cloudy rain 17 29.87 29.65 46 56 49 W. by North lively fine sun cloudy dry 18 29.60 29.72 38 45 32 W. by South brisk fine cloudy fine dry 19 29.75 29.98 29 37 32 North, or by W. very bk fine sun cloudy dry 20 30.11 30.19 26 36 28 j N. by West lively fine sun fine 1 dry 21 30.21 30.33 24 39 37 1 W. by N., var. gentle fine sun cloudy dry sun fine idry 22; 30.40 30.55 33 45 31 1 N. by E. gentle cloudy ESTIMATED AVERAGES Barometer. High. j Low. 30.067 29.17 OF FEBRUARY. Thermometer. High. I Low. I Mean, 53 21 38 REAL average TEMPERATURE OF THE PERIOD. Highest. I Lowest. I Mean. 45.7 I 35.6 I 40.65 Weather and Phenomena. January 22 — Fresh, lively day. 23 — Beautiful. 24 — Furious storm at night. 25 — Sharp shower, with hail. 26 — Fine. 27 — Many hours of rain ; finer night. 28 — Foggy, with hoar frost. 29 — Keen frost; clear, warm sun. 30, 31 — Month ends with much rain and wind. Lunations. — First quarter, 29th day, 10 h. 34 m. morn. February 1 — Several faint rainbows early, among low north-western clouds. 2 — Drizzle, and wind at night. 3 — Beautiful. 4 and 5 — Rain in abund- ance; high driving wind. 6— Finer. 7 — Hoar frost ; hot sun. 8 and 9 — Changeable ; showers and some hail; 10 — Frost; a mere hint of snow. 11 — Rime, and some ice. 12 — Changeable; rising wind. 13 — Chilly; frost till noon. 14 — Calm; fine ])roken clouds. 15 and I6 — Changeable; fine clouds ; wet evening on l6th. 17 — Fine as spring. 18 — Keen; clouds form in afternoon. 19 — North- west and north aurora borealis. 20 & 21 — Fmsty; sun warm. 22 — Mild; cloudy till the afternoon; sunny. Lunations. — Full moon, 5th day, 6 h. 52 m. afternoon. Last quarter, 12th daj^ 10 h. 3 m. morning. New moon, 20th day, 12 h. 54 ra. morning. REMARKS REFERRING TO AGRICULTURE. The fears entertained from the effects of the long- protracted absence of rain, and the very mild weather after the first of December, have been nullified — the former by the late saturating showers, the latter by the sharp night frosts of the last fortnight. Every- where in this quarter agricultural labour progresses, and crops are beautiful and promising. Dust in clouds has prevailed since the last rain ; and at this date the barometer is unusually high, Croydon, Feb. 23. J. Towers. 270 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. CALENDAll OF HORTICULTURE. PLANT HOUSES. The conservatory will now be for some time the principal source of attraction, and no exertion must be wanting to keep it very gay. Great attention should also be bestowed to keep every part per- fectly neat and clean, and to maintain a comfortable atmosphere ; indeed, without these useful auxilia- ries, the pleasure of beholding even the most beau- tiful and well -grown plants will be greatly diminished. Be careful to change the position of choice specimen plants every few days, and do not leave them in this structure a day longer than their beauty is perfect. Use the syringe freely on bright mornings over such plants as are not in flower, and occasionally water all over the surface of the borders, as well as a copious allowance to the roots of such as require it. Forced Indian Azaleas and Camellias will require to be returned into heat to perfect their growth for early flowering another season. Stove and orchidceous plants, past flower- ing, will require a season of rest, and therefore water must be gradually withheld, and they should have an intermediate temperature assigned them. Introduce another lot of Indian Azaleas into the forcing house : these will come in just before the general stock from the cooler compartments, A few plants of Azalea sinensis may be put in heat ; they come exceedingly well in the forcing house or vinery, and are splendid additions to the conserva- tory display, as their fine yellow colour contrasts admirably with the ruddier tints of the Indica varieties, particularly with Indica splendens— an excellent variety for forcing. Plants of Erythrinas should now be ^erao^•ed into heat, and, when well broken, the shoots thinned out to five or six, and kept well tied as they advance. The young shoots may be put in on bottom-heat, and will strike very readily. Kalosanthes must now be encouraged to make a good grov/th by a liberal shift, and, if possi- ble, a gentle heat, with plenty of light and air. Remove a succession of Amaryllids into the forcing house as they show for bloom, and apply plenty of water to those in full action. Pot Tuberose roots, and place them on a shelf near the glass in the forcing house, or a vinery. The beautiful tribe of Japan Lilies, also Alstroemerias, and some of the Cape bulbs, such as Ixia, Sparaxis, "Watsonia, and also Gladioli, will nov/ be starling, and should be moderately well-watered ; all these will be invalua- ble for the conservatory by-and-bye. A few pots of the more delicate sorts of Oxalis, such as Com- mersonii, Piottee, elegans, divaricata. are also very useful, and should now be encouraged to make a strong growth in a gentle heat near the glass. Select a few of the best plants of Scarlet Geraniums, Petunias, Troptcolums, Lobbianums, and Verbenas, and give them a shift, and more light and room, to bring them forward as conser- vatory plants for summer and autumn. Do not neglect to get in, on gentle heat, a sowing of varieties of showy annuals, for conservatory purposes. VLOAVKR GARDEN. No time must now be lost in getting the whole of the bedding stores potted oflf, and brought forward in a gentle heat. Those already rooted well in the pots may be removed into cold pits, and keep them well pinched back to induce a bushy habit. Con- tinue the propagation of Petunias, Heliotropes, Cal- ceolarias, Anagallis, and, indeed, of all sorts of which there is likely to be a deficiency. Aim at having rather more than the necessary stock. Persevere in taking oflf cuttings of Dahlias, pot them singly in three inch pots, and plunge in a nice bottom heat. Struck cuttings of Bouvardias, from pieces of the roots should also be potted oflf, and placed in bottom heat. The forking up of the rougher parts of flower borders may be commenced, but leave those which contain the choicest herbaceous plants until the season is more advanced. As the operation of forking proceeds, take care to reduce all over- grown plants, and to fill up all vacancies with sviitable plants from the reserve garden. Continue the pruning, nailing, and tying of climbers of all sorts against walls and treUiage. Also prune and tie Pillar Roses. Now is an excellent time to cut in over-grown Ivy, previous to making its spring growth. Cut close in — nothing bears the knife better — and its appearance will be greatly improved by-and-bye. florists' floavers. Continue the shifting of Picotees and Carnations into their blooming pots, and see (hat they are well protected from cutting sharp winds. Look occa- sionally over the beds planted out in the autumn, and press them firmly m the ground ; the next few weeks will probably try them very much, and if cold cutting winds and parching weather should prevail, it will be necessary to apply some means to ward off their bad eflfects. Hoops and mats are very eflfectual, and easily applied. Pinks, Hyacinths, choice Anemones, Pansies, Tuhps, and Ranunculi will require the same general atten- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. tion. Apply plenty of air to Auricula and Polyanthus in frames. Keep the glass clean, and the plants as near to it as possible. Water pretty freely when the plants require it, and such as are in a very free growing state may be occasionally treated to a little clear weak manure water. HARDY FRUITS. Attend to previous directions as regards the pruning and nailing of Peaches and Nectarines, and be careful to apply protective coverings immediately. Undoubtedly one great object in protection ought to be to retard as well as to preserve from extreme cold. On the morning of the 21st Feb. the register thermometer indicated 20. How will this tell on the forward blooms of Apricots ? some of which, on a south wall, and not protected, are nearly expanded ; whereas others, which have been shaded from bright sun, are fully a week later. The male blossom of Filberts having now for some time shed the pollen very freely, the general pruning may be performed. Keep the middle of the trees well open. The leading shoots may be shortened to six inches or a foot, if strong enough ; but cut all the side shoots close in, except the small twigs on which are the embryo nuts. When pruned, dress the ground with manure, and fork it in. Fresh planted fruit trees had better be well mulched, to guard against the ill effects of dry parching wind.--, which often prevail at this season. KITCHEN GARDEN. Every exertion should now be used to get the soil in the different quarters well turned about and pul- verized, to bnng it into good condition for the re- ception of the main crops of vegetables. A good breadth of second early Peas should be sown, also another sowing of Windsor and Long-pod Beans. Sow a few Onions thick, for drawing early for Salads. Sow also successional crops of Radishes, and Lettuces, of varieties, on a warm bordei-. Make a first sowing of Cabbage, for summer and autumn use. Cattell's improved Dwarf varieties are the best. Plant out Lettuces saved through the winter, on a warm border. Attend well to surface stirring amongst the early crops. Make another sowing of Round Spinach. Plant Red Cabbage, in good ground ; also plant from the store beds a good supply of Cabbages, to succeed the winter crops. Plant beds of Seakale and Asparagus. Give abundance of air Cauliflowers in frames and under hand-glasses ; stir the surface, and dress for slugs. Sow seed for succession. Sow more celery seed on a gentle heat. Draw the earth up to the advancing crops of Peas, and stick in the spray of evergreens, or twigs of birch, on the exposed sides.-- -C. AGRICULTURAL REPORTS. GENERAL AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR FEBRUARY. The progress of most out-door farm-labours was much interrupted in the early part of the month by the almost-continuous heavy rains which fell in most parts of the United Kingdom ; but since the 1 5th a gi"eat change has taken place in the weather, which has been cold and wintry. The temporary suspension of ploughing and sowing the land with Lent-corn — from the fact that those operations were sufficiently forward prior to the rains setting in— has not been productive of any serious incon- venience, if we except the loss of life and property occasioned by the floods reported in the northern districts. Circumstances being considered more favourable to an improved range in the value of wheat, from causes already alluded to, a much larger breadth of land is being sown with v/hat are termed the " light" or spring qualities than in 1851 ; whilst we may observe, and it is important that we should do so, that the acreage sown during the autumn of last year was fully an average. In most of the l)arley counties that grain has (doubtless from the comparative high value it has sustained for some time past) become more in favour, to the displacement of oats, beans, and peas ; although the two latter articles have paid the growers tolerably well. As regards potatoes we may intimate that immense tracts of land are being planted with them ; notv/ithstanding the present low figures ruling in the whole of our markets, and the possibility of foreign qualities coming into competition with home produce. It is certain, however, that the potato crop of 1851 on the continent was a complete failure ; and this remark must be evident when we state, that since the beginning of last November the total imports of that esculent into the metropolis have been con- fined to only 300 tons, against 12,000 ditto in the preceding corresponding season. A difference of opinion prevails in some quarters as respects the actual quantity at this time on hand in the potato- growing districts ; but it must be borne in mind that since the extension of railway communication very large supplies of potatoes have been grown for the metropolitan and other consuming markets in counties far removed from those from whence we were formerly in the habit of drawing them, 278 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Railway competition in carryinpf traflic, aided by fail* retui lis, have induced fanners in the midland districts to turn their attention to potatoes, though their growth is frequently attended with much risk. That the crop of 1851 was imusually heavy and of fine quality, even after allowing a somewhat large margin for losses by disease, is evident ftvui the abundant quantities received daily in London, their fine condition, and the low currencies at which they are selling, notwithstanding that the imports fram abroad have long since ceased ; whilst we have very good authority for stating that the various markets will be somewhat abundantly supplied during the whole of March. It is a remarkable fact that the export trade from the Channel Islands, which in former years furnished us with from 20,000 to 25,000 tons, has sunk into perfect insig- nificance. The cuuse is by no means easily ex- plained ; indeed, the only reasons we can assign for this declension in the trade are the great losses sustained by the growers from time to time, owing to the ravages of the disease, arising in great part from the humidity of the atmosphere in those islands. During ] 850, the total imports of potatoes into the United Kingdom were 1,348,883 cwts.; but in 1851 they had declined to 035,826 cwts.; and yet we have had a lower range of value, if we take into consideration the rapid increase in the consumption, than during the ten preceding years. At present, the quotations in the Borough and Spitalfields markets vary from 60s. to SOs. per ton — the latter figure being for the best York Regents. Much attention has been directed to the public sales of colonial wool in XJrogress in London, from the circumstance that our flock-masters have com- menced shearing, and that they will consequently have large quantities shortly to dispose of. From the published reports of these sales, it will have been perceived that really fine qualities of Austra- lian have advanced fully id. per lb. ; but we would observe that these auctions — which have been chiefly composed of low fleeces, consequently un- suited to the majority of the Yorkshire clothiers — form but a slight index to the actual value of English qualities. It is true that the result of the biddings is calculated to inspire confidence amongst holders and growers ; but we much doubt whether our best Down wools will rise in the same propor- tion, as large supplies of Australian and Cape ■s^'ill be offered for sale within two months from this time. A decline can hardly be anticipated, because our export trade is still rapidly developing itself, and we have advices from Sydney stating that the shipments to England had exhibited a falling oflT of 2,450 bales compared with the precedingyear, arising chiefly from the scarcity of labour, as the result of the metallic discoveries in the interior of the country. The arrivals of wool into the United Kingdom, in 1850, were 72,674,-l83lbs. ; and they increased, last year, to 8 l,063,679lbs.— 51,093,463 being co- lonial, and 29,070,216 foreign. In 1850, the ex- ports were ]2,002,773lbs., but in 1851 they fell to 8,5l7,OOOlbs.; about 4,000,000lbs. of the latter quantity were English ; hence it follows that we retained not less than 76,546,679lbs. for home use, and yet such has been the activity in the manufac- turing districts the quantity now at hand is the smallest on record. We are glad to perceive that an effort has been made by the agricultural interest to obtain that in- valuable manure, guano, at a lower rate than that demanded by the agents of the Peruvian Govern- ment. It cannot be denied for one moment that £9 5s. per ton, in quantities, be it observed, above ten tons, is a very high and most extravagant price to pay for an article, the supjdy of which is reported as almost inexhaustible, and which could be easily increased to 1,000,000 tons per annum were there a demand for it. On this point there can be very little doubt ; but it must become a matter of deep consideration with our farmers whether £9 5s. per ton is a price they ought to be called upon to pay, chiefly for the purpose of enriching the lucky holders of Peruvian bonds, who, it must be under- stood, derive the sole benefit from the consign- ments made from Callao, to the prejudice and loss of the small farmers. It may be all very well for certain committees of the Stock Exchange to make proposals to, and agreements with, various Govern- ments abroad to obtain a liquidation of their claims, which may be founded in equity ; but we contend that nine-tenths of the present bondholders form but a small portion of those who originally ad- vanced money to the Peruvian Government, and consequently that the exclusive privilege or mono- poly granted to one house to sell guano at a stated sum is a positive injustice to our corn growers, and a mere incentive to speculation in the bonds of Peru. This must be obvious, when we assert that some few years since the price of those bonds was only 17, and now it is 99i ! We trust that decided remonstrances will be forwarded to the Peruvian Government on the subject, and we doubt not that it could be very easily proved that, were the price lowered to £5 per ton, more than double the pre- sent supply of guano would be disposed of in the United Kingdom, which increase in the demand would be beneficial not only to the Government itself, but likewise to the bondholders and the ship- ping interest. The quantity at this time on passage to England is calculated at quite 30,000 tons. The early lambing season has passed off remark- ably well, and very few losses have been sustained from the severity of the weather. The lambs in THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 270 Dorsetshire, Hampshire, &c., have grown rapidly, and, from the want of demand for them in London and elsewhere, have become too heavy for first-rate butchers ; hence the highest value obtained for them in Smithfield has not exceeded 5s. per 8lbs. Although a good business has been doing in hay and straw, prices have ruled very low, meadow hay having sold at from £2 15s. to £4, clover ditto £3 5s. to £4 Gs., and straw £1 to £1 7s. per load. The supplies on hand are unusually extensive, not- withstanding the large consumption going on. The fluctuations in the value of corn have not been extensive, but prices almost generally have been in favour of sellers. The colonial markets have been much depressed^ and tallow — arising from the heavy stock — has fallen to 35s. Gd. per cvvt. for P.Y.C. The supplies of home-make con- tinue good. REVIEW OF THE CATTLE TRADE DURING THE PAST MONTH. For the time of year, nearly the whole of our markets have been somewhat extensively supplied with each kind of stock, in, for the most part, full average condition, especially as regards the beasts and sheep. Owing to the violent gales of wind, the arrivals from the Continent have exhil)ited a deficiency compared with the same month in 1851; but this falling off in the supply has been fully made good by the provincial slaughtermen, who have forwarded nearly 55,000 carcasses of beef, mutton, veal, and pork up to Newgate and Leaden- hall. This is the largest number ever received during the month of February ; but there appears every prospect of this traffic continuing to increase, from the great and improved facilities afforded to all parties by the railway companies. On the whole, prices, generally speaking, have not mate- rially fluctuated; and we may observe that the stock from Norfolk, &c., has turned out ripe, and well suited to the cutting butchers. The foreign imports continue to carry a large quantity of in- ternal fat, but in other respects they have exhibited no improvement. The late rise in the value of linseed-cake has checked operations in that article; indeed, its use has greatly fallen off during the past two years, owing to the low rates at which stock has been disposed of, compared with the cost of pro- duction. Our accounts in reference to the general health of stall-fed beasts are favourable, and we learn that very few serious cases of disease have presented themselves for some time past. The total supplies on oflf'er in Smithfield have been as under ; — Head. Beasts 18,797 Cows 433 Sheep 95,30G Calves 1,503 Pigs 2,439 COMPARISON OF SUPPLIES. Feb., Feb., Feb., Feb., 1848. 1849. 1850. 1851. Beasts . . . , 15,404 17,139 16,727 17,393 Cows . . . . 570 617 445 324 Sheep . . . 75,160 81,050 80,160 91,568 Calves . , . 859 1,240 998 1,381 Pigs 1,935 1,247 1,819 2,340 The bullock droves have been thus derived : — Head. Norfolk, Suflfolk, &c 6,450 Northern districts 2,100 Other parts of England 2,200 Scotland 1,930 The average jn-ices have ruled as follows : — Per 8lbs., to sink the oflfals. s. d. s. d. Beef, from 2 2 to 3 8 Mutton 2 8 to 4 4 Veal 3 0 to 4 2 Pork 2 6 to 3 10 COMPARATIVE PRICES. Feb., 1848. Feb., 1849. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Beef, from 3 2 to 4 8 2 8 to 3 8 Mutton 36 56 30 4 6 Veal 4 2 5 4 3 8 5 8 Pork 3 10 5 2 3 4 4 6 Feb., 1850. Feb., 1851. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Beef, from .... 2 8 to 3 8 2 4 to 3 8 Mutton 3 0 4 6 3 4 4 6 Veal 3 0 3 10 3 0 4 0 Pork 3 2 4 0 2 10 4 0 From abroad, the annexed supplies have been received in the metropolis : — Head. Beasts 2,093 Sheep 5,900 Calves 1,084 Pigs 46 Total 9,123 Corresponding month in 1851 .. 11,828 „ 1850 .. 3,880 ■ 1849 .. 5,642 „ „ 1848 .. 3,546 1847 .. 3,946 About 2,000 head have been landed at the northern outports, mostly from Hamburg and Rot- terdam. The highest price for beef in Newgate and Leaden- hall has been 3s. 4d. ; mutton, 3s. lOd.; veal, 4s. ; and pork, 3s. lOd.per 8lbs. by the carcass. 2S0 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. AGRICULTURAL INTELLIGENCE, EAIRS, &c. ASIIBOURN FAIR.— Tlic supplies of cattle were rathor under the aveiasje, which may in a great measure be attributed to the very unpropitious weather which preceded it, and pre- vailed on I lie day, there being a very heavy snow. The luiccs for good things lluctua'.ed but very little from those at the previous fair. BATH FAIR. — The busineis was considerable ; and, thou;jh the supply of lean stork was large, high prices were asked ; and, iu couseriuence, only a lin)i!cd business was done. Fat beast.^, which were not iu great abundance, o'utaiued from 8s. to 93. per score ; and good southdown mutton sold from 4s. 4d. to 4s. Gd. ditto. BEVERLEY FAIR. — The supply of horses was more tLaii an average, and those of a better description met with ready sale. The number of buyers was also very large, and amongst them were several f reiguers. The show of stock of all kinds was very great, and although many sales were efl'eeted, a quantity of fat stock remained unsold. Beef, 5s. to 5s. 6d. per stone ; Mutton, 4^d. to 5§d. per lb. BIS110P3TOKE CHEESE MARKET was opened oa Thursday for the first time, iu the new and spacious market- house erected close to the Bishopstoke station on the Scuth- ■\Yestetu Railway. Bishopstoke being a central station, from which radiate the railways to Portsmouth, Salisbury, South- ampton, Dorchester, and Loudon, it was resolved, some time since, to establish a great cliecse market there, so as to super- sede the present clieese marliets for the neighbouring counties of Hants, Sussex, and Wil(s, held at such places as Weyhill, Marnhill, AViachcster, Salisbury, Lyiaiiigton ; aud the pro- jectors 01 Bishopstoke market encouutered great opposition from the railway compauy, from the neighbouring towns where cheese fairs and markets have been hehl, and from the v.holc- sale buyers. The opposition of the latter arose from the wish to prevent the small buyers from going into the markets them- selves. The market-house is situated so close to the railway that the cheese can be craned to aud from the market-house and the railway-waggons. About 260 tons of cheese were pitched on Thursday at Bishopstoke. There was a large num- ber of buyers and sellers on the ground, aud business was for some time briskly carried on, it being reported that about two- thirds ol the quantity pitched Lad been disposed of, ihe prices realized being as follows : — Best Somerset, 633. to 68s. ; se- cond ditto, oOs. to 56s. ; best Wiltshire, 449. to oOs. ; second ditto, SCs. to 403. ; and skim, 243. to 30s. A champagne dinner, to celebrate the openiug of the market, was given to all persons who attended it. All the principal cheese sellers in ila-:t3 and the neighbouring counties iiave agreed to pitch cheese at no other markets than at Bishopstoke. ArraDgements are form- ing for making it a market for the sale also of hopa. BONHILL HORSE i\L\RKET.— Although there was a goodly uuaiLer of horses present, still the market was much thinner than we have seen it. Trices were hij;h, and little business was dene — a few good horses changed hands at ] rites varying from £24 to £35, and although there were aomc for which a much higher figure v.as asked, wc believe tliey left the field unsold. CASTLE-DOUGLAS HORSE FAIR.— The show of horses wasnot so great as was at one time expected, by reason of some of the dealers having been through the stcwartry some weeks previous to the show day, buying up all they could. Still the show, both in number and quality, was a fair one, and a good amount of business was done. Good roadsters and draught animals brought handsome prices ; v> hile aged and in- ferior beasts of both descriptions, as is always the case, were not so easily disposed of. Experienced breeders say that the fair, altogether, cann!. Gd. to Ss. per score. There were some, however, of inferior quality, which fetched only 7s. per score. Working oxen were in abundance, and many of them of a superior description. In the early part of the morning sales v. ere slack, but afterv.ards there was more disposition evinced to pi.rchase. Tb.o general rates were at from £10 to £14 each. A lot of four sold for £50, or £12 lOs. e.ich ; UTiother lot of six sold for £60, or £I0rach; and a couple of superior quality fetched £27, or £13 10s. each. Two-year-old steers were offering at about £icaoh. Barreuers were plentiful at from 4s. 6d. to 53. per score. Cows and calves were at about tlie qurtations of recent markets ; liiany were offering at from £8 10 £12. GLOUCESTER MONTHLY MARKET was seantily sup- plied v^ith beef anl mutton. Beef maintained its former price, while matton advanced half-penny per lb. Beef 5d., mn'ton from Gd. toG^d. perlb. LONGRIDGE FAIR.-Tlicre wa3 a tolerable show of goods, and businc-3 was briskly transacted. No material al- tcr.ition took place in the prices of calving cows, hut the de- mand for drapes being unusually good, a vise took place in them, and they were easily disposed of. LOUGHBOROUGH FAIR.— The show of beasts was very small, and but few purchasers were in attendance. Good store stock, however, sold pretty readily, at satisfactory prices. Good milch cc'.vs a'so realized tolerably good prices, but most of the beasts of other descriptions were taken home ui -'dj. Tire horse fair was one of the worst ever held at Longhborongli, and very little business was traniacted. MARKET HARBOROUfil! FAIR was the hrgest we THE FA-RMER'S MAGAZINE. 281 have seen for a long time ; but in consequence of the high prices asked for stcck, the sales effected were not numerous. At NEWARK FAT STOCK MARKET there was a tole- rably good supply of stock, and many sales were effected, but without any perceptible alteration in price. There were 2SS sheep and 96 beasts penned. NEWPORT (Monmouth) FORTNIGHTLY MARKET was not so largely supplied with fat beasts as has been usual of late. Good beef may be quoted at about 5d. per lb. ; in some cases a shade higher was obtained. There was a good show of store stock, and a large business doing in that line. There was also a large show of slieep ; good fat ones selling at from S^d. to Gd. per lb., while some lots of nice small wethers reached 6id. per lb. NEWTON-STEWART HORSE FAIR.— There were fewer horses than at our last cue, and a great proportion of those exhibited were very indiffcreut animals, A dozen or so of the best draught horses brought from £23 to £35, and for auiraals of this kind there was a good demand at fair prices ; but in- ferior horses were hard to dispose of. The usual number of west country dealers were in atteudance. NORTHAMPTON FAIR was but scautily supplied with sheep of any description, but sufficiently so for the demand, the fair being but thinly attended by buyers. Best wether mutton made from about Ss. 8d. to 4s. perSlbs. ; best fat ewes from about 3s. 4d. to 3s. Gd. Tliere was a large supply of fat beasts. Good fat beef made from 3s. to 3s. 4d. per 81bs.; good fat cow beef about 3s., with a dull trade. Of store beasts the supply was short, v. ith but few buyers; what were sold made rather more money. Milking cows scarce, with a flat trade. The horse fair was well attended. NORTHALLERTON HORSE FAIR was well attended by all the principal dealers in the kiugdom, as well as by several foreigners. There certainly was not the great number of horses that we have frequently seen. Horses of first-rate quality were readily sold up at high ligure.-, particularly those adapted for hunting and carriage purposes, as well as prime nags. Upon the whole it may be considered as havuig been an excellent selling fair ; many buyers being perfectly satisfied with the business tliey had transacted. There was a great number of inferior horses, which were with difficulty sold, many of them remaining ou hand. NORTHALLERTON FAIR.— We had a^olerable show of fat and lean cattle, with a good atten<'ance of buyers. Fat stock had brisk sale, at from 4s. 9d. to Ss. 6d. per stone ; lean cattle were in good demand, at improved prices; a;id many calving cows were sold, the sale for them being brisk. SALISBURY CHEESE MARKET.— There were about 100 tons, which met with a brisk sale at the following prices : — Skim, 22i. to 283. ; half cowards, 303. to 323. ; half skim, 3Cs. to 41s.; and Somerset, 50s. to 60s. STIRLING FAIR.— Tiiere was a large display of middling and inferior horses exposed for sale, but very few first-rate auimals were shown, and upon the whole it was a very dull market indeed, very few having changed owners during the day. WINSLOW MONTHLY MARKET was well attended, and trade was good. For cows and sheep there was a ready sale. Tegs made up to 403. per liead. Fat beef and heifers made higher prices than of late. WOKCESTEIl FAIR.— The show of stock was good, there being too many sheep for the buyers, although the latter were nnmerous ; also a good supply of fat cows and barrens. The price of beef was from 44d. to 5d ; good qualities met a ready sale, but the others were a drug. Mutton, from 5id. to Cd., but some went back unsold. Pork, 8s.; stores somewhat; dearer. There was a good show of horses, but, as nsudl in this department, very little doing. WYMOXDIIAM FAIR witnessed a large quantity of stock, but little business was transacted, and farmers com- plained sadly of the prices offered. REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE DURING THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY. The time which has expired since the defeat of the Whig Ministry is too shot t, and the arrange- ments for the formation of the new Cabinet too in- complete as yet, to allow of an opinion being ven- tured on as to what may be the effects of the change on the agricultural interest. We may, how- ever, congratulate the country, and more especially our agricultural friends, on having got rid of a Government whose acts thronghoitt the whole of their tenure of office have been ho.^tile to the interest of the farmer. On the meeting of Parliament last year, the existence of agricultural distress was ad- mitted and deplored in the Speech from the Throne; but, not only was no remedy proposed by the Go- vernment, but the proposals of measures for alle- viating the distress brought forward by independent members were systematically opposed by Lord John Russell and his colleagues. The Ministry deemed it politic, on the opening of Parliament this year, to omit all mention of the state of agriculture, though they were well aware that the distress previously admitted had not been overcome. In the pre.sent unsettled state of affairs, it M'ould be hazardous to venture on predictions; but the resignation of the Whig.s can hardly, \vc think, fail to prove a benefit not only to the farmers of Great Britain, but to the country generally. Leaving this matter to be developed by time, we shall proceed with, our usual monthly notice. When we last addressed our readers, there was some appearance of excitement in the grain trade ; throughout the month of January prices of all articles had steadily advanced, and many had be- come very sanguine respecting the future ; since then the tone of the trade has undergone a change, and a check has been given to the upward tendency. This has not been caused by any actual change in tlie position of affairs, but has been brought about by that caution and foresight which not un- frequently follow a period of e.vciiement. Buyers having got tolerably well into stock, deemed it prudent to cease purchasing, and, with a di- mished demand, the supplies from the grov/ers did not fall ofl^". The consef|uence of this has been a small re-action in prices. The present calm affords a favourable opportunity for taking a review of our actual position, in order to endeavour to ascertain in what direction the ne.vt move is likely to be. Leaving all legi.'^lative changes out of the cjuestion, 232 THE FARMER'S iMAGAZINE. and looking at the matter entirely as one of supply and demand, we can discover no reason to expect any material alteration in the value of agricultural produce in this country. Prices here are still too low to oiler much inducement to foreign holders to consign to Great Britain ; and they are likely therefore to retain their stocks in their own posses- sion some months longer, under the impression that an inauspicious spring, or other unforeseen cir- cumstances may hereafter arise to afford a more favourable- opportunity for realizing. Neither are the rates now current so high as to hold out any very strong temptation to our own farmers to use extraordinary exertions to sup- ply the markets, and as the jjreparation of the soil for spring sowing requires to be attended to, we may calculate on moderate deliveries throughout the month of March. On the other hand, it is by no means \mreasonable to supjiose that merchants and millers, who have for some weeks past acted on the reserve, will find it necessary eie long to pur- chase somewhat more freely, and we should there- fore not be surprised if the decline of Is. to 2s. per qr. which has taken place in the value of wheat since we last addressed our readers should be re- covered. We think this may be calculated on with tolerable safety ; indeed, prices may perhaps go a few shillings per qr. higher than they have yet been ; but we do not agree with those who anticipate a material improvement, being satisfied that so long as we continue to admit the produce of the entire world free into our ports, an average price of from 40s. to 45s. per qr. will in general insure a larger supply than the demand will be able to clear off. It was so last year, with a decidedly deficient crop at home ; and we can therefore discover no reason why it should be otherwise with a good harvest, such as that of 1S51 has unquestionably proved. We are quite aware that many authorities on this subject take a different view, and maintain that because there has been a partial failure of the rye and potato crops in the north of Europe, those countries which usually furnish Great Britain with a large portion of her supplies of wheat will not be in a position to spare any con- siderable quantity. This may be true to a certain extent; but it is likewise true that the present high range of prices in the Baltic has been caused by extensive speculation, that much of what has been bought has not gone into consumption, but has been withheld in expectation of an English de- mand, and that without an export inquiry the local consumption will probably be inadequate to take off that which will, after a time, have to be brought forward for resale. We have no wish to discourage farmers, but we arc anxious to make them aware of the fact that stocks of wheat exist abroad, and that whenever our prices reach a point likely to yield a profit to shippers, supplies will be forthcoming. The next matter for consideration, in reference to the future, is the seasons. Hitherto we have heard of no complaints in regard to the appearance of the autumn-sown wheat ; the plant, without being j)re- maturely forward, is represented to be strong and promising ; and if it should continue to progress favourably, one of the incentives to speculation would be withheld, whilst anything threatening in- jury would be immediately turned to account by holders in this country as well asabroad ; indeed, we are inclined to think that the future range of prices will be dependent more on the character of the weather in the spring and summer than on any other circumstance, but we need scarcely remark that prudence is against speculation on such an uncer- tain basis, and we have therefore left the possible effects of an unpropitious season out of the ques- tion in our calculation of the probable future range of prices. The weather, though very wet in the early i)art of the month, has, on the whole, been favourable for out door work, and in the southern parts of the kingdom the plough has been in active emj)loy- ment during the last week or two ; the late frosts have been very beneficial, and the land is reported to work admirably. Farmers have, notwithstand- ing their engagements in the fields, managed to keep the markets tolerably well supj)lied with si)ring corn, as well as with wheat; indeed the deliveries of barley have within the last fortnight been on a more liberal scale than at any previous period since harvest, and at many of the markets in the districts where this grain is most extensively grown, rather an important fall has consequently taken place. It is, however, the prevailing belief that the supply will not be followed up, and there are already symptoms of a rally. In prices of other articles no material variation has occurred at any of the leading provincial markets ; the changes at Mark Lane will be more particularly referred to hereafter. The importations of corn, flour, and seeds, into the United Kingdom have been very moderate of late, as compared with previous arrivals. The fol- owing table, showing the supplies received during the three months ending 5th Feb., 1851 and 1852, may prove of some interest — Description Dee. 5, 1851. Jan. 5, 1852. Feb. 5, 1852. Total. Wheat Barley Oats 135014 24715 44162 24708 10435 126710 294510 178839 33757 42869 31539 10442 126183 366750 126354 27413 20404 65993 1488 581.35 192102 440207 85885 107435 Rye Beans Peas Maize Flour 122240 22465 311028 853362 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 283 Wlieat . Bai'ley . Oats.... Rye . . . Beans . Peas. . . Maize . . Flour . . 1850, 1851. 1851. 320136 324558 328482 68489 48045 70742 42889 21460 41917 — — 354 45949 31233 20123 29255 14927 8956 46443 46405 56007 487334 571582 411979 Total. 973176 187276 106266 354 97305 53138 148855 1470895 It must, however, be recollected that the country is altogether in a different position to what it was in the spring of last year, our stocks of home grown wheat being then very small, whereas there is reason to conclude that our farmers hold quite as large a proportion of the last crop at present as is usual at the corresponding period. We have latterly had a few arrivals of wheat from the near continental ports into London, proving that the late advance has not been lost upon our neigh- bours. Business at Mark Lane has, on the whole, been quiet, and, as far as wheat is concerned, but little change has occurred in quotations. The ar- rivals coastwise into the port of London have been moderate, more especially during the first fort- night, when the provincial markets offered rather better prices than the metropolis ; but some decline having since taken place in the former, whilst quo- tations have been nearly maintained in London, the receipts have rather increased. From the close of January up to the l6th inst., scarcely any alte- ration took place, the indifferent condition in which the greater part of the samples came to hand, owing to the prevalence of damp weather, caused sales to proceed somewhat slowly, but there was no giving way until the l6th, and the decline then scarcely amounted to 1 s. per qr. Since then an improve- ment has taken place in the condition, which has enabled sellers to realize better prices, and we con- sider quotations much the same as when we last addressed our readers. The best qualities of red wheat have lately commanded 44s. and even 45s., whilst for superior white from 50s. to 52s. or 53s. per qr. has been realized. The London average has gradually risen, the returns having during the last four weeks been respectively 43s. Id., 43s. 9d., 44s. 9d., and 44s. 9d. per qr. The receipts of foreign wheat at this port have amounted to about 20,000 quarters. Of this supply a fair proportion has been from Rostock, and some quantity from Holland — the latter mostly Danzig old wheat, which had been stored in bond at Dutch ports, and afterwards re- shipped. The Rostock wheat is of last year's growth, and having been harvested during damp weather, the quality is not so fine as is usually re- ceived from thence. The weight of the cargoes which have hitherto come forward has in few in- stances exceeded 6 libs., and the avei'age has been about 60^1bs. per bushel. The price asked (44s. to 45s. per qr.) has been deemed too high by our millers, and the sales from on board ship have consequently not been important. For the Danzig wheat received from Rotterdam and Amsterdam, 50s. to 52s. has been asked, and these rates being unobtainable, factors have been obliged to land on account of importers. Fine qualities of old wheat ex- granary have been taken to a moderate extent, for mixing with soft-conditioned EngUsh; but we have experienced less country demand than might have been expected, and, with the exception of a few lots taken in the early part of the month by specu- lators, to hold over, and more recently a purchase or two of low quality for Ireland, the sale has been confined to retail quantities to local consumers. In point of price, however, there has been no change, the slight decline in the value of English on the l6th instant having failed to have any influence on quotations of foreign. During the first three weeks of the month, scarcely anything was done in floating cargoes of wheat on passage from the Black Sea, &c., and prices rather tended downwards. On the 20th in- stant there was a revival in the demand, and about half-a-dozen cargoes of Egyptian wheat to arrive were placed at 28s, 3d. to 28s. 6d. per qr., cost, freight, and insurance. Subsequently sellers refused to take these rates, and buyers being unwilling to pay an advance, comparatively few bargains have been closed during the last week. PoUsh Odessa wheat has become scarce. There are hardly any cargoes arrived off the coast, and for those on passage re- latively higher prices have been asked than such quality would be worth at present on the spot ; the operations have consequently been unimportant. We have lately had a few offers of Lower Baltic red wheat at 43s. to 44s, per qr., cost, freight, and insurance — without, however, leading to much business ; but the fact of offers being made from thence shows that, notwithstanding the high quo- tations in that quarter, merchants there look to the English markets for the ultimate disposal of the stocks they have accumulated during the winter months, and we have no doubt that they will after a time come down in their pretensions, if they find that British orders do not come to hand. The top price of town-manufactured flour has remained stationary at 43s. per sack since our last; the sale has not at any period of the month been active, most of the large bakers having made for- ward purchases previous to the advance which took place in January; the fulfilment of these contracts has kept the millers employed, and as they have been enabled to buy wheat on much the same terms as before, they have realized fair profits. :S4 THE FARMER'S MAl^AZIiNE. The siii)i)lies of countiy-niadc flour have rather increased, and purchasers have had the turn slightly in their favour. The receipts from abroad have been very small ; and neither American nor French of fine quality has been sold cheaper this month than in January. The purchases of the former which were then made on speculation have not as yet realized any profit to the operators ; and some quantity is held by parties who, if a rise in prices should take place, will probably bring forward their stocks for re-sale. English malting barley was in lively request in the early part of the month, and continued to ad- vance in value until the top price touched 40s. per qr. This occurred about the second week in Feb- ruary, but the maltsters then began to operate on a more cautious scale ; and a larger supply appearing at Mark-lane on the i6th than on any ])revious oc- casion since harvest, a sudden change took place in the tone of the trade ; indeed, the re-action was so great as somewhat to resemble a panic. The prices bid were 3s. to 4s. per qr. below the extreme terms realized only a week before. So great a de- cline was in most cases resisted, but a reduction of 2s. per qr. was willingly acceded to, without leading to extensive transactions, and a considerable pro- portion of the supply remained undisposed of. The following week the receipts again fell off, and on the 23rd a fair clearance of what had before been left over was effected, but no portion of the reduc- tion could be recovered. Matters still remain in the same state, and we question whether the very finest qualities would nowreaUze37s., whilst capital samples might be easily secured at 34s. to 35s. per qr. Distilling barley has also receded in value, but not to the same extent ; and in prices of grind- ing sorts hardly any change has occurred. For fine heavy Danish, and similar descriptions, 27s. to 2Ss. per qr. has been paid in retail ; and Egyptian, both arrived and on passage, has commanded 20s. to 21s. per qr., showing very little alteration from the rates current at the close of January. Malt has been influenced more or less by the de- cline in quotations of malting barley ; but sellers have in general remained firm, and superior kinds have not been oflfered cheaper. The total arrival of oats into the port of London has been moderate ; but the supply, though small, has raiher exceeded the quantity calculated on, a good many parcels having reached us from Scot- land, and 30,000 to 35,000 qrs. from abroad, the latter principally from Holland. That which has, however, told most on the trade has been the receipts by the various lines of railway; not im- portant in the aggregate, but, being mostly in small lots, the show of samples has been rather for- midable in so dull a market. The principal dealers have tiiroiighout the month confined their purchases to as narrow limits as their pressing wants have allowed; and the con- sumptive demand has likewise been languid* Prices remained perfectly stationary for about a fortnight, and the decline since has scarcely amounted to (3d. per qr., th3 moderate character of the sui)j)ly having rendered factors very reluctant to make any concession. Lincolnshire feed, and similar qualities, weighing 38 to SSilbs. per bush., have reahzed 203. to 20s. Gd., and for Riga, of the same weight, 21s. per qr. has been asked. The heavier kinds of oats have been sold at rela- tively lower terms, more especially Scotch and Dutch brews. The latter, though weighing 40 to 41 lbs., are at present not worth over 21s., and good Scotch feed of 41 to 42lbs. weight may be had at 22s. per qr. We are still inclined to think that oats will bring better prices during the next month or two, as we cannot conceive where supplies of sufliicient extent to provide for the consumption of the metropolis are to come from, unless some advance takes place, so as to encourage consign- ments from Ireland and the near continental ports. The demand for beans has been of a perfectly retail nature, and neither English nor foreign have varied in value to an extent rendering alteration in quotations necessary. Egyptians to arrive have met a moderate share of attention at the old price, say 22s. per qr., cost, freight, and insurance. The supplies of peas have about kept pace with the demand, and where sales have been made simi- lar rates have been realized to those current when we last addressed our readers. The arrivals of Indian corn off the coast have been unimportant, and the quantity on passage to this country from the Black Sea and Mediterranean is considerably less than was the case at this period last year. The knowledge of this fact has rendered the possessors of floatmg cargoes unwilUng to ac- cept reduced terms, and, though the demand from Ireland has been much less active than it was last year, hardly any change has occurred in the prices asked. Within the last week there have been symptoms of a revived inquiry, and Galatz could not at jjresent be purchased afloat below 30s. ; whilst for cargoes to be shipped 28s. 6d. to 29s. 6d. per qr., cost, freight, and insurance, is asked. The stocks of this article in Ireland are heavy, but ge- nerally in firm hands. As the shipping season is now approaching, the position of the grain trade abroad becomes of in- creased interest, and we shall devote the remainder of our space to laying before our readers the sub- stance of the most recently received foreign advices. The general character of the accounts from the Baltic has, within the last week or two, become THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 280 somewhat less firm than jn-eviously, more par- ticularly from those ports where speculation was carried to the greatest extent ; still prices were, ac- cording to tlie latest reports, relatively higher in that cfuarter than in our markets. We are evidently ahout to have a trial of strength between the mer- chants there, as to the power of holding stocks, and those on this side in withholding orders. Letters from Danzig, of the 18th inst., state that about 3000 qrs. wheat, of common to good quality, had changed hands during the previous week, at prices ranging from 41s. to 45s. per qr. free on board. The weather had become cooler, but the frost had not been sufficiently severe to interfere with the navigation ; there was, however, little grain being shipped, as the few orders received had, for the most part, been limited too low, and the Dan- zig merchants were not in general disposed to shij) to Great Britain. At Konigsberg, prices of all kinds of food were very high, indeed much higher than at any of the neighbouring places, and there is no chance of sup- plies reaching us from that port. The advices from the Lower Baltic ports are not of quite so lively a character as they were in the early part of the month, and in some cases a re- action of from Is. to 3s. per qr. had, it seems, oc- curred in quotations. The fall had been greater at Stettin (where the rise had previously been the most considerable) than at Rostock, &c. The general tone of the accounts would lead to the belief that the operators for the rise had become unwilling to continue their purchases, and as much of the wheat bought during the winter had been purchased to be delivered in March and April, it is not impro- bable that wlien the time for payment arrives, some forced re-sales may have to be made. "We are con- sequently inclined to think that prices in that quarter will, after a time, be regulated by those current here. That the failure of the rye crop in the interior of Germany has been extensive, we are ready to believe, and this has no doubt caused an extra consumption of wheat, but not to such an extent as to warrant the high prices which have been paid, and we still attribute the rise which has been estabUshed during the winter in a great measure to speculation, based on the expectation of an extensive English demand. The latest quotations from the Baltic for red wheat, of 60^ to 61 2 lbs. quaUties, are 42s. to 43s. per qr. free on board ; and Rostock is perhaps the cheapest and best port for making purchases. Hamburg letters of the 20th instant state that after a week or ten days of comparative quiet the demand for wheat had again improved, and as much as 44s. Gd. per qr. had been paid for 6I lbs. Wahren ; whilst several cargoes to be sliipped from Pomerania and Rostock had been sold at 42s. to 43s. per qr. In the Dutch markets some quantity of wheat seems to have been bought with a view of shippmg to England; and at Rotterdam equal to 44s. to 46s. per qr. has been paid for white Zealand. In Belgium prices of wheat have been steadily- supported ; and at Antwerp, on the 21st instant, there was a brisk sale for Polish Odessa at from 38s. 6d. to 40s. 6d. ; whilst Egyptian was worth 30s. to 32s. per qr. In France wheat has sold tolerably well at about previous rates ; but the value of flour has lately tended downwards at Paris, &c. At Marseilles rather large arrivals of Black Sea wheat had taken place, which had caused some decline ; still prices are relatively higher in the Mediterranean than with us. From Galatz and Ibraila we learn that conside- rable purchases of wheat and Indian corn had been made, for shipment to Great Britain, at rising prices. The latest reports from the United States are also of a lively character ; the advices from hence and Liverpool, per Europa, having caused a rise in the value of flour in most of the American markets. Stocks at New York had become considerably re- duced; and on the 11th of February good brands of Western Canal could not be bought much below 4 dols. 75 c. per brl. CURRENCY PER IMPERIAL MEASURE. ShiUiDgB per Quarter Wh-kat, Essex and Kent, white 42 to 46 fineup to 52 Ditto ditto old ..42 45 „ 52 Ditto ditto red, uew 40 43 „ 44 Ditto ditto old .... 40 43 „ 44 Norfolk, Lincoln, & Yorkah., red. . 40 43 „ 44 Ditto ditto old, uone „ — Ditto ditto white new 42 44 „ 46 Ditto ditto old, none „ — Baeley, malting, new 28 32 Chevalier «|4 36 Distilling 26 28 Grinding ••••• *"* i^ Malt Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk, new 53 55 extra bO Ditto ditto old 45 48 „ 51 KinKston,Ware,audto7.umade,new60 61 „ 64 Ditto ditto old 50 53 „ 55 Irish feed, white 19 20 fine 22 Ditto, black 18 19 fi^e 21 Oats, English feed 19 20 fine 22 Ditto Potato 21 24 extra 26 Scotch feed 21 23 fine 25 Ditto Tofato ••• 23 25 fine 26 ^^^D.ttolo.ato ^^ 28 old 26 28 BEANS^Mazagan 27 28 ,,27 29 Harrow:::::::::::: 29 30 ,,30 32 Pigeon 32 34 „ 32 34 Peas, white boilers H 35 „ 32 35 Gr?y.::::::::...:::.: 29 30 ,,29 31 Flour, town made, per sack of 280 lbs. — — ,• 41 4d Country marks — " » 32 36 286 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. IMPERIAL AVERAGES. For thk last Six Weisks. Wheat. Barley. Oats. Rye. Beaus Peas. Wkkk Ending: s. d. s. d. s. d. 8. d. s. d. 8. d. Jan. 17,1852.. 38 3 27 1 18 1 27 5 27 11 28 10 Jan. 21, 1852.. 39 3 27 10 18 2 27 10 28 3 28 8 Jan. 31, 1852 . 39 10 28 6 18 2 27 e 28 11 28 4 Feb. 7, 1852.. 41 2 29 8 18 11 29 7 29 0 29 0 Feb. 14, 1852.. 42 8 30 7 18 9 29 11 29 10 ?9 7 Feb. 21,1352.. 42 9 31 0 19 4 30 5 30 2 30 5 Aggregate average of last six weeks 40 8 29 1 18 7 28 9 29 0 29 2 Comparative avge. same time last year 37 0 22 9 16 5 23 8 25 IJ 26 9 Duties 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 COMPARATIVE PRICES AND QUANTITIES OF CORN. Averages from last Friday'si Averages from the correspoud- Wheat Barley. . Oats . . Rye. . . . Beans . . Peas . . Gazette. Qrs. 85,270 76,160 25,854 138 7,534 2.167 Av. d. 9 0 4 5 2 5 ing Gazette in 1851. Qrs. 78,216 71,328 31,903 47 6,498 1,764 Wheat Barley Oats Rye. . , Beans Peas Av. s. d. 37 2 22 10 15 11 23 8 25 4 27 1 DIAGRAM SHOWING THE FLUCTUATIONS IN THE AVERAGE PRICE OF WHEAT during the six WEEKS ENDING FEBRUARY 21, 1852. PaiCB. Jan. 17. Jan. 24 Jan. 31. ••J Feb. 7. Feb. 14. • r Feb. 21. 42s. &d. 42s. 8d. 41s. 2d. S9s. lOd. 89s. 3d. 88s. 3d. • r ^JJLI " PRICES OF SEEDS. The inquiry for cloverseed has rather slackened, but holders have not manifested any anxiety to realise, and prices were quite as high to-day as on this day week. Trefoil was sought after, and was again rather dearer. In other kinds of seeds nothing of much interest tran- spired. BRITISH SEEDS. Linseed (per qr.j. . sowing 60s. to 65s. ; crushing 48s. to 528. Linseed Cakes (per ton) £8 Os. to £8 58. Cow Grass (per qr.) 6O3. to 70s. TrefoU (per cwt.) 21s. to 283. Rapeseed, (per last) new £21 to £23 old £21 to £22 Ditto Cake (per ton) £4 53. to £4 lOs. Mustard (per bushel) white 5s. to 6s. ; . . brown, 7s. to 9s. Coriander (per cwt.) new 17s. to 19s., old ISs. to I63. Canary (per qr.) new 39s. to 42s. ; old 403. to 42s. Tares, Winter, per bush., 4s. 6d. to 53. ; Spring, 4s. 6d. to 5s. Carraway (per cwt.) new, 333. to 343. ; fine 363. Turnip, white (per bush.). . 8s. to lis.; do. Swede, lOs.to 123 Cloverseed, (per cwt.).. ..red 488. to 583., fine 593. to 663 FOREIGN SEEDS, &c. Clover, red (duty 5s. per cwt.) per cwt. 483. to 563,, super. 623. Ditto, wliite (duty 5s. per cwt.) per cwt 503. to 64s. Linseed (per qr.) . . Baltic 44s. to 47s.; Odessa, 46s. to 48s. Linseed Cake (per ton) £7 lOs. to £9 O3. Rape Cake (per ton) £4 5s. to £4 lOs. Hempseed, small, (per qr.) 32s. to 34 s., Do. Dutch, 36s. to 378. Tares, (per qr.) small 32s. to 36s., large 368. to 403. Rye Grass (per qr.) 288. to 358. Coriander (per cwt) 15s. to 168. HOP MARKET. BOROUGH, Monday, Feb. 23. Fine samples meet with a steady inquiry at the quota- tions of this day week. In other sorts we have but little business doing. Mid and East Kent 1403. to 2508. Weald of Kent 126s. to 145s. Sussex pockets 1128. to 130s. per cwt. POTATO MARKET. SOUTIIWARK, Waterside, Feb, 23. During the past week, the arrivals coastwise have been limited, but still a large supply by rail. The tiade continues in a very languid state. The following are this day's quotations : Per Ton. "i'ork Regents 65s. to SOs. Scotch do 60s. to 708. Perth and Forfarshire Cups .... 60s. to 65s. Fifeshire Ditto per ton. His land was of good quality, and well prepared for the crop ; yielding 2 qrs. of seed, and 2 tons of straw per acre. His Flax was of fine quality ; and in competition with his neigh- hours within a range of 10 or 12 miles round, had ob- tained the prize as the finest and best. — Mr. Rowlandson hoped that Mr. Gadesden would furnish the Council with the results of his trials in the growth of Flax ; the greatest pains had been taken by him to obtain correct results, by accurately weighing the Flax at the different steps of its management. — Mr. Gadesden stated that his crop had yielded 24 bushels of seed and 32 cwt. of straw; he had sold the seed in Mark-lane at 56s. per qr., and 302 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. if the straw yielded one-fifth of prepared Flax, whicli in the Leeds market would fetch £60 per ton, the crop of seed and straw together would give a return of more than .£26 8s. per acre. — Mr. Stansfield, M.P., was trying an acre and half of Flax, on land in good tilth, after Turnips. Agricultural labour, in the neighbour- hood of Leeds, where his estate was situate, was scarce and as high as 13s. or 14s. per week. The parties to whom M. Claussen had particularly referred, as the purchasers of Flax straw— namely, Messrs. Quitzow and Co., of Apperly-bridge, near Bradford — being close to Mr. Stansfield's residence, he had applied to them on this point, but found that they had given up the purchase of Flax straw, and would not buy any more. He expected to have 3 qrs. of seed to the acre, and hoped to be able to sell his straw at £2 per ton. The farmer, in his opinion, ought never to have anything to do with the manufacture of Flax ; but simply to raise it as a rotation crop, and sell off the straw at once. He hoped the steeping process would be dispensed with, as it spoiled all the water in the ditches of the neighbourhood where the operation was carried on. — Capt. Stanley Carr having resided abroad for 25 years, and occupied 1,000 acres of land, was desirous, as an honorary member of the Society, to state to the Council the result of his ex- perience in the growth of Flax on his estate in Holstein. He had never seen Flax grown with profit on a large scale, anywhere. On his own property it had been grown on a Email scale at first by the labouring popu- lation, who had a right to grow a little Flax for the coarse linens they required for their own use. When the Flax had been grown, manure was always subse- quently required. It required much labour to keep it clean, as it grew up too fast and got foul. Although the Flax and seed were easily disposed of, no farmer in the fine country of Holstein grew Flax on a large scale, on account of its exhausting character. — Colonel Challoner remarked that last year he had grown some Flax, but found that it did not draw the land, which appeared rather improved than deteriorated by the croji. — Capt. Carr observed that his own land was of a loamy nature, that Flax grown once in ten years would succeed, but once in five years was found oftener than the land would bear ; but, as he had stated, the straw and seed were both sold off, and not returned to the soil. — Mr. Fuller, M.P., had found his own land in Sussex bear Flax without exhaustion. — Mr. Gadesden, in Surrey, had Rye, following Flax, as fine as could be seen anywhere. He always sowed the seed broadcast. — Mr. Rowlandson remarked that the exhaustion from the Flax crop in Germany, alluded to by Capt. Carr, might, he thought, be satisfactorily explained by the circumstance of the whole of the straw and seed being removed from the farm, and nothing returned to the soil, not even the matter extracted from the straw by the retting water, which had been fur- nished to the Flax crop by the land on which it had been grown. — Professor Way had, in his chemical ex- amination of Flux, published in the Journal of the Society (vol. xi., pp. 517 to 528), endeavoured to show, by the composition of its ashes, the character and amount of the different substances taken up from the soil by each part of the Flax plant. These results, in connection with information supplied to him by Mr. Warnes, led him to believe that, when the seeds were returned in any shape to the soil, Flax might be regarded as not an exhausting crop, the fibre and other parts of the plant taking little or nothing from the soil. — Capt. Carr fully concurred in these views, and believed that the return of the seed would repay the soil. — Mr. Row- landson thought the Flax crop better adapted for small farmers, but he saw no reason why it should not be equally worthy the consideration of great ones. He knew 200 acres in Lincolnshire on which £7 per acre was paid to grow Flax ; but he believed that to manage 100 acres required a man of more than ordinary energy ; even 25 acres under Flax in every farm of 300 or 400 acres would require much attention. He thought that Flax-cultuic ought to be a component part of British husbandry. It was, indeed, peculiarly the poor man's crop, whose wife and children could devote to its details that time which was not otherwise employed. He did not, however, rest any hopes on those Utopian exten- sions of the employment of FJax and convertibility of its objects that had been recently brought forward in so many shapes. — Mr. Majendie alluded to the successful manner in which Mr. Warnes was growing Flax still more extensively than formerly, in conjunction with box- feeding. Flax-Sowing. — Mr. Charles Ogle, of Ravvcliffe, near Selby, Yorkshire, having been a grower of flax for the last twenty years, and in one year had 45 acres under that crop, ventured to suggest to the Council that means should be taken to induce implement-makers to construct a machine for sowing linseed broadcast, and depositing it at one inch below the surface of the ground. He thought the great advantage of such a mode of sow- ing would be that all the seed being deposited at the same depth, it would all come up out of the ground at the same time ; a point considered of much importance — for when sown in the usual method the plants come up partially when the weather happens to continue for some time dry, and the remainder only following after d fall of rain ; the late" plants bemg of no value to the manufacturer, as its substance worlcs away in the pro- cess of scutching, and is thrown aside with the refuse. Mr. Ogle expressed his readiness to give information on the requisites for such a machine, to any implement- maker who would apply to him on the subject. It was well known among flax-growers that a mere drill to de- posit the seed in rows was not the machine required, as linseed was always sown broadcast; and that the im- plement desired was one that would not only effect the same equable distribution of the seed as in good broad- cast sowing, but also deposit it an inch deep in the soil. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 303 Farmers' Flax Mill. — Mr. Hill Dickson, of Ar- tillery-street, Bishopsgate, favoured the Council v?ith the following communication :— " I am engaged in makiug a Mill for the Chevalier Claussen, that will break, scutcb, and hackle flax as it conies from the farmer, without being watered. I consider the im- provements I have made will be such as will make my machine a desideratum to the farming interest ; for not only will the trouble and expense of watering and grass- ing be dispensed with, but as it can be worked by two horses, and being on four wheels, and on a frame 6 feet by 5 broad, it can be moved from farm to farm, and con- sequently the great objections to flax-culture entirely overcome. Another advantage in favour of the farmer is that with my machine he requires no practised hands — such as the Irish scutcheri, at three or four shillings a day — but only sis boys or girls, at from eightpence to tenpence a day, to attend, and one man to feed the ma- chine. When I have finished the machine I shall be happy to be honoured with a visit from any of the gen- tlemen connected with your Society, and to explain the nature of my improvements, and work the machine be- fore them. I am making experiments at Chev. Claussen's works, in order to ascertain the difference and advantage of his discovery over that of Schenck, and the old system, a matter which I think the Council of your Society will approve of, when my whole statement is placed before them. I shall show the expense and profit attending each of the three systems of preparing flax, and what is to be made by the spinning and weaving by each." Mr. Love remarked that he had seen the machine, then stated by Mr. Dickson to be in the progress of comple- tion— namely, si.x months ago, and two months ago. The flax-straw was first passed through rollers, and then strained or grazed as it passed out of them. By this machinery, however, it appeared to him at those times that the fibre received injury by the means that were thus employed to prepare it; but as the arrange- ments were not completed by Mr. Dickson, it would be unfair to pass judgment on his apparatus until com- pleted. The injury might not, perhaps, be considered material in those cases in which the fibre was to be con- verted in the Claussen cotton, but would be so when required for long flax. The flax-straw was reduced by the machine to one-third of its bulk, and lost one-tenth of its weight by the operation. Tank-Water Conduits. — Col. Challoner, having to convey manure-water from a tank round a hill, to irrigate six or eight acres of land as water-meadows, was desirous of ascertaining the best means of accomplishing this object, as he had found wooden troughs soon be- come decayed. — Capt. Carr suggested earthern pipes below the surface. — Prof. Way believed the Rev. Mr. Huxtable had substituted earthern pipes for wooden ones. French Wheat Steeping. — Mr. Majendie laid before the Council a bundle of wheat from France, as a sample of wheat grown from grain which had been steeped by a method adopted in France for seed-wheat sown over 30,000 acres. This sample exhibited good straw, but furnished with a bundle of ears that were found to be mere husks, almost entirely empty, con- taining only a few diminutive shrivelled grains. Mr. Majendie was not aware of the particular nature of the steeping employed. Peruvian Potatoes. — Prof. Way, agreeably to promise, laid before the Council the result of his trial of the Peruvian Potato alluded to on that day fortnight. The potato placed in his hands had not undergone, as he was supposed to have said, any chemical examination. He had merely cut it into four quarters, which he planted in his garden. The result was fifty potatoes, of which he had then the pleasure of laying a supply before the Council, in the hope that those who continued the trial of the cultivation would in the same manner furnish sup- plies to the Council, in order that the stock of good might thus become gradually distributed and established. A statement was made of a similar potato from Peru having become the origin of an extended stock over one of the mountain limestone districts in the central part of England, which failed to grow, and only became rotten when transferred to the rich garden-mould of the neigh- bourhood of the metropolis : it was therefore thought desirable that in reports of this potato cultivation the members should particularly state the nature of the soil in which the trials are made. Mr. Chadwick, C.B., transmitted from the General Board of Health, copies of " Minutes of Information collected in respect to the Drainage of the Land forming the Sites of Towns, to Road Drainage, and the facilitation of the Drainage of Suburban Lands." Mr. Barthropp offered suggestions for the entry of animals at the Country Meetings of the Society ; and the Hon. Edward Everett offered, as one of the Honorary Members of the Society, to promote any of the objects of the Society in the United States of America. The Council adjourned to Wednesday, March 18. A Weekly Council was held at the Society's House in Hanover-square, on Wednesday, the 17th of March: present, Mr. Raymond Barker, Vice-president, in the Chair, Lord Berners, Hon. W. H. Yelverton, Sir Charles Lemon, Bart., M. P., Mr. H. Raymond Barker, Mr. R. J. Brown, Dr. Calvert, Capt. Stanley Carr, Col. Challoner, Mr. Evelyn De- nison, M.P., Mr. Dyer, Mr. Fuller, M.P., Mr. Gades- den, Mr. Fisher Hobbs, Mr. W. Cuthbert Johnson, Mr. Maddison, Mr. Majendie, Mr. Mainwaring Paine, Mr, Parkins, Mr. Pendarves, M.P., Mr. Rowlandsou, Mr. Sanford, Mr. Slaney, M.P., Mr. Trench, Mr. Warsop, and Prof. Way. Farmers' Flax-mill. — Mr. Hill Dickson, of Artillery-street, Bishopsgate, informed the Council that the Flax-mill to which he had referred in his former communication, as being in progress towards completion, was quite distinct from the one which Mr. Love stated, at the previous Council when that com- X 804 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. inunication was read, that he had seen tried two months ago, and whiwh he considered to be injurious to tlie flax-fihrp. Mr. Dickson was not aware wliat particuTar mill it was that Mr. Love had then in- spected. It woukl be sufficient to state that it was not the one to whicli Mr. Dickson had invKed tlie attention of the Council, as this mill had only been commenced six weeks ago, and was not yet completed. When that wa8 the case, he would inform the Council of the cireumstance, and request the favour of its capabilities being tested by practical trial in the presence of some members of the Council. He had great hope that this machine, when completed, would prove successful in its object of breaking and scutching the flax grown by farmers — an object, he believed, which, however, dea irable, had not otherwise, up to the present time been satisfactorily attained. Preparation of Seed. — Mr. Martin, of 4) Hanover-square, informed the Council of the progress made in this country to test the efficacy of the late M, Van Cost's Belgian method of preparing seeds be- fore sowing, not simply by steeping, but by enveloping them in an artificial husk of powerful manuring matter, adapted to sustain the plant after the means emp'.oyed to give increased activity to the germination of the seed had taken effect. Mr. Martin stated that this method was totally different in principle from that of M. Bickes, or those of other continental inventors, by one of which the French wheat alluded to at the last Council by Mr. Majendie had been steeped ; and concluded his communication by the following re- marks : " In no single instance, where the seed was prepared by M. Van Oost, or since his death by myself, agreeable to the receipt left by bim, has the prepared seed failed to vege- tate ; the plant, in most instances, during its progress to perfection, has shown a greater luxuriance of growth than the unprepared, the straw brighter and stronger, contain- ing a larger portion of silicate of potash ; the produce in quantity and quality equal, and in some instances su- perior to that grown on the land teimed highly-farmed. In preparing turnip-seed I have not been so fortunate ; but whether that is the fault of the preparation or season, I do not know, as, in instances when I have prepared seed for parties whose farms adjoin, some have had very fine crops, and on others the seed never came up, or very sparingly. In all cases, each party found their own seed. I have prepared seed for the last five years for the Rev. Mr. Gwilt, Icklingham, Suffolk ; as also for three or four years for Thos. Brown, Esq , Denver, near Downham, Norfolk. Both these gentlemen feel satisfied that this invention is an improvement upon the old system ; and, acting upon their advice, I placed Mr. Van Cost's specifi- cation, in January last, in the hands of Mr. Donuy, Pro- fessor of Chemistiy at the University at Ghent; and lam daily expecting to receive from him oats, barley, and buck- wheat seed,prepared,andaconcentrated manure to beapplied to the land at the same time ; part of this seed is prepared to be sown on hght land of the most inferior quality, and part on heavy clay land in Middlesex : the results of these experiments I shall be happy to communicate to you after harvest. The term steep as applied to Mr. Van Cost's method of treating seed is, iu my opinion, incorrect. He always called it manuring the seed, and from the way in which the seed is prepared, this meaning is fully borne out." Mecklenburg Potatoes. — Mr. Raymond Barker stated that, the Council having received in June last, from the Consul of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, a supply of Potatoes which had not at any time been known to be affected by the prevalent disease, with a request that they would test their cultivation in this country, and report the result, the Council had placed these Potatoes in the hands of Sir Robert Price, Col. Chal- loner, Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. Shelley, Mr. Fisher Hobbs, Mr. Carden (of Templemore), Mr. Wilson, Mr. Parkins, Mr. Hamond, Mr. Burton, and himself, each of whom had undertaken to make the lequired trial, and to report to the Council, and through them to the Mecklenburg Consul, the results of their re- spective cultivation. Mr. Raymond Barker had, ac- cordingly, prepared his own return, which he sub- mitted to the Council in the following form, along with a sample of the sound Potatoes forming] part of the produce : 62 Mecklenburg Potatoes, being each cut iuto halves, were, on the 18th June, 1851, planted in two rows, in a kitchen garden of light calcareous soil, without any special ma- nuring. The plants came up on the 3rd of July. The haulms went off at the end of August. The tubers were taken up on the 9th of September, and measured 3^ gal- lons, of which li gallon were faulty with disease, while the remainder were at the time quite sound, but several of them had since gone off diseased. Colonel Challoner remarked, that on his dry sandy soil in Surrey, the potatoes he bad last year planted early in the spring were all bad, while those planted later had all proved a", good as ever were eaten. — Mr. Parkins adopted autumn planting, and be had found no blight among his potatoes. Russian Agriculture. — The Council having in June last received, on the occasion of the personal visit of the Chev. de Masslow and M. Annenkoff to the Windsor Meeting, an interesting collection of Statistical Maps, Sectional Drawings, Reports, and Specimens of Silk, from the Imperial Agricultural Society of Moscow, were at this Council favoured with a second collection of pre- sents from the Russian Government, through the me- diation of M. Kamensky, Corresponding Secretary of the Minister of Finance, to whose care they had been as- signed by the Imperial Agricultural Society of Moscow and the Minister of Agriculture at St. Petersburgh. These presents may be enumerated in the following order. I. Soils. 1. Specimens of the Tchomoi Zeni, or Black Earth of Russia, from the property of M. Von Wisin, of Tamboff— (1) From the surface, or upper bed. (2) From the middle bed. (3) From the lower bed. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 3U5 2. Specimens of Russian Gold-saud — (1) Prom Alexaudrofsk. (2) From Great Nicolaif. (3) From Preobrajensk. II. Plants (dried cereal specimens, Wheat, Rye, Barley and Oats). 1. Triticam, amyleum, dunim, vulgare ; from Moscow and Orenburg. 2. Secale, cereale; from Orenburg, Saratoff, and Wla- dimir. 3. Hordeum, vulgare ; from Orenburg. 4. Avena, sativa; from Wladimir. ni. Seeds. 1. WTient: harrest of 1850; from the Oural Steppes. Wheat : harvest of 1850 ; from the Samara Steppes. Wheat: harvest of 1851 ; the " Kolous," from Bess- arabia. Wheat: harvest of 1851; the "Bieloturka," from Novo- Russia. Wheat : harvest of 1851 ; the " Gourka," from Novo- Russia. 2. Rye : harvest of 1851 ; from Nijni, Novogorod. Winter Rye : harvest of 1851 ; from Model Farm, near Lipetzk, Tamboff. Spring Rye : harvest of 1851 ; from Esthonia. 3. Barhy : harvest of 1851; from Nijoi, Novogorod. 4. Millet: harvest of 1851 ; from the farm of Charkoff. 5. Buckwheat : harvest of 1851 ; from the farm, near Lipetzk, Tamboff. Buckwheat: harvest of 1851 ; from Tcheruigoff. 6. Turnip : harvest of 1851 ; from Olonetz. 7. Linseed: harvest of 1851 ; from Pskoff. IV. SltK. 1 . Twelve samples of Silk, iu hanks ; produced in the districts of the Military Colony of Ukraine. 2. Twelve samples of Caucasian Silk, in hanks (of Arabian, Chinese, Italian, and Thibetian varieties) ; from the establishment of Mr. A. Rebroff. 3. One hundred Cocoons of Alexandroffskian, Arabian, French, Muscovian, and Thibetian Silk-worms. V. Agricultural Implements. 1. Two one-horse Ploughs. 2. Two one-horse Cultivators, with one convertible Share. 3. One pair of bandies, and three delving tools (spades or shovels). yi. Books. Two copies of the Chev. de Masslow's Historical Re- view of the Proceedings of the Imperial Agricultural Society of Moscow. Colonel Challoner remarked that the peculiar cha- racter of a great portion of the soil in Russia, and the small extent to which it was found necessary for their agricultural implements, with the draught of a single horse, to penetrate into the ground for the purposes of cultivation, might render the simple implements then presented to the Council sufficient for all the purposes required ; otherwise he should have thought the great leverage given by tiie length of the shafts, and the distance of the horse from the body of the plough, would render its management difficult to the ploughman who held the short handles. At all events, in our own soil, and at our ordinary depths of ploughing, it would require a dozen Cossacks to hold such a plough ; the ground and its resistance would also, with guch an iniplement, have great advantage over the horses. In the Scotch ploughs, the horses were nearer to their work, and the plough- man had greater power over the handles, — Lord Berners referred to the difficulty experienced last year in getting ploughmen who were able to keep the neat little American ploughs steadily to their work in the ground. — Col. Challoner believed the American and Belgian implement-makers had altered their ploughs in this respect, and brought their leverage more nearly to that of the Scotch ones. — Captain Stanley Carr, now Vice-President of the Industrial Society of Victoria, had formerly, while engaged in German farming, paid a visit to Russia, and became acquainted with its agriculture. One of the Russian ploughs then presented to the Council was, he believed, an improvement on the ancient Roman plough introduced by degrees into the northern parts of Europe. It was calculated to plough a shallow furrow in light soils, turning it at an angle of 60 deg., and leaving it broken and short — a mode of cultivation con- sidered by those who used this plough to be best adapted to the aeration of the soil, especially where the grass land is broken for a fallow of twelve months from autumn to autumn, and used iu Germany and Poland as a run for merino sheep during the summer. The other plough was of the same character, but used for deeper cultivation. The two one-horse implements were used respectively as a scarifier, and as a hoe for cleaning potato rows. The shaft frame was employed with a horse rake placed below it. The implements of Russia were simple and even rude ; but as the object appeared to be only to " scratch" the ground, as we should consider the operation, they were perhaps sufficient for the purpose required. — Mr. Fisher Hobbs remarked that the farmers on the continent appeared to entertain an aversion to having many implements ; but he believed in the north of Germany they were now fully impressed with the necessity of their having good implements if they expected to have good wcrk.— Lord Berners and Mr. Brown, of Cirencester, made inquiries of Capt. Carr respecting the nature of the grass on which the sheep were fed in Poland and south of Russia, and the circumstances under which it was produced. — Mr. Fisher Hobbs referred to the value of the hints the practical farmer may derive from communications re- ceived from foreign counties. In reference to Russia, he cited the useful varieties of the oat we owed to that empire as an instance immediately in point. On the motion of Colonel Challoner, seconded by Mr. Fisher Hobbs, the best thanks of the Council were unanimously voted to the Russian Government, for the favour they had conferred upon the Society by present- ing to it these most interesting presents, It may be added that, in the third volume of the Society's Journal, pages 125 to 136, will be found Sir Roderick Murchison's valuable statement of the geolo- X 2 306 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. gical occurrence and chemical nature of the Black Earth of the central regions of Russia. The Council then adjourned to their Weekly Meet • ■ing, on Wednesday the 24th of March. -fh '.11. N E W M E M B E R S. ,. George Parker Tuxford, Esq., of 246, Strand, London, was elected a Governor of the Society. The following new Members were elected : — Abbott, William, Salcott, Maldon, Essex Arkcoll, Thomas, Guestliug, Hastings, Sussex Beusoii, George, Ludwycke-hall, Shrewsbury Bettinson, Richard, Tburlby, Bourne, Lincolnshire Burgess, William, 103, Newgate-street, London Cobbam, A. C, Shinfield Manor-house, Reading Crawley, John, Stockwood Park, Lutou, Bedfordshire EvanSj James Eaton, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire Fry, James Thomas, Baston, Bromley, Kent Greaves, Richard, Cliff-house, Warwick Gibson, John, Pensher, Fence-houses, Durham llayrock, William, South-street, Huddersfield, Yorkshire Heseltine, E., Blackheath-park, Kent -Hubback, Thomas, Sunlaws-hill, Kelso, Roxburghshire Jarvis, Thomas A., Higher Bolberry, Kingsbridge, Devon tJoUaods, William, Bursdalls, Lindfield, Susses Jones, Henry, Cynghordy, Llandovery, Carmarthenshire Langton, W. H. P. Gore, Newton-park, Bath Macdouald, Major James H., Dancer's-hill, Btruet, Herts MacLundsborough, John Otley, Yorkshire Morgan, James Thomas, Dauy Crwg, near Brecon Painter, John, Burlcy-on-the-Hill, Rutlandshire Powell, JWin, 41,Tiireadi]eedle-8treet, London Pratt, Frederick, Seddlescombe, Sussex Richards, Edward P., Plasnewydd, Cardifif, Glamorganshire Rous, Capt. G., Grenadier Guards' Club, Pall-mall, Loudon Ryland, Thomas, Great Lister-street Works, Birmingham Sampson, Thomas, Winfield, Battle, Sussex Sidney, S., Thurlow Cottage, Clapham, Surrey Smith, Rev. Samuel, Weedon-Lois Vicarage, Towccster Smith, James, Lower Bakeham Farm, Egham, Surrey Smith, Joseph, The Oaks, Epsom, Surrey Tiffen, Joseph, North Skirlaugh, Hull Vallentine, Robert, Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester Webb, R. J., 53, Brompton-row, Middlesex Wilson, John, Erdingtou-by-Ayton, Berwickshire Wood, Western, North Cray-place, Kent Woods, Rev. George, Shapwycke, Chichester, Sussex Woodward, Edmund, Chorley, Lancashire Wrench, John Money, King William-street, London-bridge Wrench, Robert, King William-street, London-bridge Young, Francis Ayerst, Hawkhurst, Kent ladJo 3d T i9c7--b lol LONDON FARMER'S CLUB. b.^^ 3-f?,TSE NECESSITY FOR, AND MEANS OF EXTENDING AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION." • Tlie usual monthly meeting took place on Mondiiy, Marcb 1, at the Club Rooms, Blackfriars. Mr. Ptiin, of Felmer^ham, in the chair. Subject: "The neces- sity fof^ and means of extending agricultural educa- 'tion." - '^ After fe-few prefatory remarks from the chairman, Mr. S. Sidney rose to introduce the question. He Baid he must commence by apologising for not having followed the usual course of preparing a written ad- dress on that occasion, a course from which he had been precluded by a severe illness in his family. The .same^caH^e had prevented him from visiting, as he ->had ipjj^pded, with a view to the discussion, four or five of tpe, most important industrial schools in the couati"y. Under these circumstances, he should be obliged to confine himself to the results of the e.x- perience which he had previously gained as to the state of education among the agricultural classes, and to the information to be collected from a series of extracts ■from the reports of the Commissioners on Education, whidi h6 proposed to submit to the club. The ques- tion assigned to him by the committee had reference to all'classes of the community engaged in agriculture. It was, however, his intention to speak of education principally in relation to the labouring classes, knowing that there were several gentlemen present who were much better able than he was to do justice to the ques- tion as fa.r as it regarded those to whom a scientific ■education was now almost indispensable. Questions like th^ft might l>fi objected to on the ground that they were net sufficiently practical for discussion by that club, ^iow, on that point he was quite prepared to take issue with the parties who differed from him. Indeed, if there was one point on which there was less reason to find fault with agriculturists than another, it was their course with regard to theoretical matters. They were not in the least inclined to theories ; and one of the great advantages of an association like that was that it afibrded an opportunity for the interchange of ideas to those who were almost cutoff by local sepa- ration and intervening distances from participating in the current information and discussions of the day. They all knew what they themselves did; but they knew little of what was going on out of their own districts. To him it appeared, he confessed, that the education of persons engaged in agricultural operations was at least as importantas the proper training of the animals from which arose a considerable portion of their profits. If it were important to know the breeds of animals, and the best methods of feeding them ; surely it must be important to know how labour might be best and most profitably employed — liow an intelligent direction might be given to it. Very little ar- gument could be required to prove that it would be much easier to give orders to, and to secure obedience from, a labourer who had a certain amount of intelligence, than one who was ignorant and stolid ; and no one could deny that, as regarded the great bulk of agricultural labourerj>, at present there was the greatest difficnityin explaining to them anything at all beyond their THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 307 common routine. The whole course of agriculture as at present carried on, in its largest, its most scientific, and its most profitable developments, involved the employment of new implements, and nothing impeded the farmer more than, in the first place, having to do with unintelli- gent, and, in the second place, with untrustworthy labourers. There could not be an intelligent, or, if he might use the expression, a truthful performance of work whilst the agricultural labourer remained in his present mental condition. The agricultural labourer of the pre- sent day was, he had no hesitation in saying, very infe- rior to his forefathers of the middle ages ; and for this reason— the labourer of the middle ages lived at a period when the processes of manufacture were less advanced, when roads were not spread over the country, and when, from various causes, the labourer was far more de- pendent on his own exertions than he was ac present. With the assistance of his wife and children he had to provide clothes, furniture, and tools for the family ; and, having to exercise his abilities in manufacturing these in- dispensable articles, he became naturally more intelli- gent than he otherwise might have been. It was a great mistake to suppose that intelligence consisted merely in being able to read and write (Hear, hear). Anything which called a man's faculties into play tended so far to make him an intelligent being ; to learn this fact they had only to observe what many labourers were when living in this country, and what they became after being transplanted to a colony, where they had free scope for their abilities (Hear, hear). If he travelled eastward or westward fifty miles from London he found the agricul- tural labourer a stolid, stupid being, with scarcely the knowledge of a Deity — unable to form the least idea what the country was a few miles from the spot where he lived ; having no idea even of the government under which he was placed, and none of that sort of knowledge which was likely to be useful to him ; so timid that he scarcely dared venture out of the bounds of his own parish ; and so ignorant that when parties came forward* actuated by the most philanthropic motives, to assist him, in nine cases out of ten he looked upon them as his enemies. He did not know how these observations would be received, but he might state that, in conse- quence of the great interest which he took in emigration, it happened that in the course of the year he was in the habit of seeing hundreds of emigrants from different parts of the country, and he found none so low in the scale of intelligence as those from agricultural counties which he would refrain from naming ; and to what eould be attribute their condition but the miserable cdocation, or non-education, which they received? In the present advanced stat* of nranufactures these pw- ties had nothing to do but perform the task set them, and to receive and spend tlieir wages ; whereas, if any of thom were removed to Canada, or to Australia— and it was of the latter colony that he would speak most con- fidently, as it wasthat with which he was most closely febnn'ected — they became in three or four y^ears in- Cftlligent beings, and very often they succeeded in i*en- 4enDg themselves indepenrlerff. He thotiglrt, ihen, that tftose who empT^H l&bolife?S ih"ffiis toutftr^,*fHid who were interested, whether by ownership or by occu- pation, in the soil, should take more interest than they had hitherto done in the mental cultivation of the labourer. He would remind them that that which most pressed upon them, next to the cost of labour it- self, was tlie expense to which they were put for the suppression of crime and the support of pauperism. He distinctly traced a vast proportion of the pauperism of this country to the want of education. A short time since, in going over a number of workhouses in rural districts, he found in them many persons who, though not idiots exactly, were akin to idiots. They belonged, in fact, to that class of persons whom the farmer discharged first when he wanted to reduee his hands. In the midst of a large agricultural district within 120 miles of London, the master of a workhouse was under the necessity of hiring parties to do workj because those in the house, although able-bodied, were not intelligent enough to do what was wanted without having some one constantly engaged in over-looking tliem. Now, from the observations which he had made, it would be seen that his view of education was not con- fined to books. Education might be given in a variety of modes; and everything was education which tended to develope the faculties which man had received from an all-wise Creator. He could not conceal from himself that among a great number of persons connected with the soil in this country, there was a very strong pre- judice against education. There were even parties who, if their will were consulted, would not allow any education at all to be given to the labourer, or if any were given, they would wish it to be of the very worst quality. He did not say this with any ill- feeling towards the landowners or the agricultural classes generally — all those who were acquainted with him knew that he had a very strong sympathy with agriculturists, believing as he did, that upon the main- tenance of a territorial aristocracy, and upon the pros- perity of agriculturists, the stability of this country greatly depended. He should, however, consider him- self a very bad friend to agriculturists if he did not, when the occasion arose, tell them of their faults, and it was on no small authority that he said there was a strong prejudice on the part of many of them against the extension of education amongst agricultural labourers. The best proof of the value of education was to be found in the results. The means employed to reclaim tliejuviihiWcJrimirialat the Philanthropic Farm Schobl at Rcdliill, were the union of labour with instruc- tion, which'b'ad been found to produce the most bene- fichil resuUs. In the army, the result of the establish- ment of ^ehools, by the order of the commartder-in- chief, wa^an astoiniding diminution in the amount of crime. Some years ago it was considered indispensable to flog rsqrldicrs: at present flogging was exceedingly rate. As regarded the quality of the education gK'en in-thearmy, he believed it was superior to the educa- tion co^imonly given to the children of the middle classes): "tvhen he (Mr. Sidney) wenttoschool. Similar results Bad flowed from naval education ; and the e\- ■plamatifeft'of tWe change ivas that the isol^er &M ttie 308 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. sailor wore less likely ti> yielfl to their passions wlicn the mind was onltivatcri thnn when it was almost a perfect blank : ho flifl not moan to deny that men of the hi'.'lust education might not indulge their imsjions — he was speaking of general consequences. In the course of a tour which he made throughout England in 18£0, he had the opportunity of examining the state of the pducation of the agricultural labourers, and he was continually being shocked with the igno- rance which they exhibited : he found persons who had not the slightest knowledge even of God or Saviour. It was not to be denied that within the last few years great efforts had btcn made to effect an im- provement in this respect, but he was able to show that those efforts had proved inadequate — that thty had not kept pace witli the increase of population, und had not prevailed to the suppression of crime. In order to do this, he should submit a series of ex- tracts from the reports of the government commis- sioners on education for the years 1849-1850, commen- cing with one from the report of the Rev. Henry llellair's, for Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Warwick- shire, Kereforcisliire, Monniouthsiiire, and Oxfordshire. Speaking of the shortness of the period devoted to education as one great difficulty, Mr. Bellairs said— " The school education of children commences, under the most favourable circumstance, at two years old; the attendance of children from this age is tolerably regular, and they are taken away after eight, according to the demand for their labour, until the age of twelve, when ordinarily tliey are withdrawn altogether." Turning to York, Durham, and Northumberland, he found the Rev. F. Watkins reporting that 50 per cent. of the children there did not go to school at all ; that 60 per cent, of the education given was of a most inferior description ; that 79 per cent, of the children under instruction were of and under ten years yf age ; and that the number under seven was as great as that of those of eight, nine, and ten together. The proportions of the older children were — eleven years, 9 per cent. ; twelve years, 5 per cent. ; thirteen years, 3 per cent. ; 14 years, 2 per cent. The cause of the deficiency of the education given might be distinctly traced to the want of funds. Here was an extract from the report of the Rev. H. Mose- ley :— ." The resources of schools in agricultural districts are entirely unequal to the expenditure recessary for an eflScient school. The following is a list of subscrip- tions to a village school in the midland district, a fair sample of the support such schools receive :— The Lord of the iManor and principal £ s. d. landholder 3 3 0 The Rector 17 10 0 The Rector's wife 1 1 0 A friend of the Rector 5 0 0 Six farmers and landholders, 5s. each. . 1 10 0 Farmer, &c 0 10 0 £28 14 0" The following was from the letter of a clergyman in a rural district : — " I have had to make great sacrifices to provide as a school at all ; and after I had raised tiio building I fduiid nobody in the parish, or out of it, tn assist mc in supporting school expense— neither owners nor occupier:? of hind contribute a farthing ; a coal morcliant and a land agent are the only subscribers of £1 a piece, every other expense fulls on inc." The inspector added — " I have often borne testimony in my reports to the fact that when a school is maintiinod in an ogricultui al parish, it is generally by an act of great jiccuniary self-sacrifice on the part of the clergyman, made otten in dimmution of a very limited income." In Cambridge, Essex, Huntingdon, Norfolk, and Suf- folk, there was found the same deficiency ; and the inspector said — " The crying evil is the absence of sym* jiathy on the part of owners of property generally in the education of the working classes." A clergyman wrote to the inspector : — " 1 have to call your attention to the very inefficient and deplorable state of the school in this place, undertaken under auspices so promising and so full of hope. The owner of the soil at de- rives a rental of some £4,000 per annum, and gives the rly in February ; it is done about this time with the view of obtaining aid from the late frosts of winter, and if once the recently ploughed farrow is frozen through, it falls like slaked lime into powder, and the sowing then com- mences. We much prefer the double ploughing, as we thereby secure a more perfect pulverization and greater safety, by the destruction of slugs and grubs, those de- termined enemies to the young benn and pea plants. The varieties of Beans and Peas -their Adaptation to the various Soils und circumstances of their Growth. — The varieties are exceedingly numerous, and selections may be advantageously made to suit almost every soil and circumstance of their growth. We cannot enter upon a description of peculiarities in any variety for want of space. We lepeat that our desire is to aid our practical brethren, and trust the recommendation we now give will be found worthy their notice ; our aim being to suit the variety to the soil, climate, and subsequent use. For cultivation on strong loams and clayey loams we re- commend the Heligoland bean, the common tick bean, the common horse bean (known under many names, i. e., Cambridge whites, August as, Scotch, &c., 6ic ), the Kidwell bean (these for horse corn, &c., &c. ; for tdble use, &c.), the early Mazagan bean, the early long-pod and green loag-pods. For autumn sowing the Russian or winter bean. In peas we name the Dutch white dwarf, the partridge gray, the Prussian blue, the Sweet Jessie (drab) the early I'rance (white) : many others are recommended, but not so well known to us. The pigeon bean and the marrow-fat peas are good sorts. For heavy teiiaiaous clays we recommend the Heligoland and common horse bean, and the Prussian blue and partridge grey peas; and for the lighter soils, we rtcoinrnend the common horse bean, the common long-pod, the Kinwell beau ; indeed, such well-known varieties, both of beans and peas, as grow freely and produce favourably, as proved by experience in the localities wliere grown : the most jiroductive sorts, independent of quality of grain, beini"' generally found to be the most profitable. Time of Sowing, and the different Methods adopted. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 317 — The time of sowing should vary ia some degree ac- cording to the climate, and tlie perfection of the drainage : dang-er must bs avoided from either cause. Theyoung plant will suSer irreparable injury from the late frosts and cutting winds of early spring, and the wetness of soil will starve the roots. The usual time of sowing on the average of soils is from about the 20th of February to the 6th of April : we have known good crops to be produced from the sowing being deferred so late as the middle of May, These are exceptional cases, and not to be depended upon. We could rather trust to a very late seeding than to sow upon land out of con- dition, or through inability to get the seed in properly. The main object should be to get in tlie seed when the season and state of the soil appear most likely to advance the growth of the crop without hindrance or injury; and as the season for sowing may extend over several months (we would say from the 1st of February to the 20th of May), we think it almost unpardonable management to put in these crops improperly. The extremes should, if possible, be avoided, as the early sowing iu February is liable to great damage from weather, grubs, slugs, rooks, &c, &c. ; and the late sowing of iVIay will frequently grow too fast and yield a good crop of straw, but without corn. The present season has been a very tempting one for very early sowing, and much has been got in during the month of February. The soil has worked most satisfactorily, and the seed has been deposited in the finest state to pro- duce a crop. We hope the result will be equally cheering. The different methods adopted fer putting in these crops is in accordance with the condition of the soil ; the course of culture to be followed ; the variety to be sown; the time or season of sowing ; the custom iti par- ticular districts; ifc, Sec. — We think, as a general rule, that the best way to put in these crops is by the drill ; it is in so many ways effective. The drill will deposit the seed almost in every respect according to its re- quirement— depth, distance, quality, can easily be re- gulated and attained, and, so far as our experience goes, it has proved superior to the dibbling irons, and the other methods we have tried ; and we have tried many, and with care too, for the very purpose of test- ing its merits in bean culture. In many districts it is the practice to dibble-in the bean crop ; the chief advantage is, the more equal and separate distribution of the plants, which is of great im- portance. The bean plant to be productive should al- ways have plenty of room in its growth, and particularly during the time of flowering, so that every flower shall have a good chance of poddmg or setting for seed ; this point in bean culture is worth every attention. The crop must not be too thick or too strong in its growth to be productive ; if too thick, we recommend thinning both by hoe and hand ; we have seen extraordinary re- sults from thinning by hand, from which we recommend, as the period of flowering or blooming approaches, that careful weeders be sent over the field to take out super- fluous plants ; it may appear to be a tedious and tire- some business, but in reality it is not so, and will amply repay the expenditure. The weeder will take several rows at a time, merely taking up here and there a plant as he passes along, and only from the thickest or most crowded places ; a little attention to the crop in this way will be of great advantage. Where the soil is some- what out of condition, and much horse-hoeing is re- quired, the better plan is to drill at intervals of six inches and twenty -four inches ; this will give abundant room for the hoeing to be continued up to the time of blooming, when all should cease. We deprecate sowing broadcast, or sowing along the furrow to be ploughed in. The Quantity of Seed required per Acre. — This will depend very much upon the variety to be sown, the state and fertility of the soil to be sown, the season or time of sowing, the after culture to be given to the land, &c., &c. If the variety to be sown consists of small grains, or if the variety produces a large plant, the quan- tity of seed may be limited ; eight pecks of beaus or ten pecks of peas is a fair average seeding on good soils, nor would we exceed ten pecks of beans or twelve pecks of peas on any soils, of course taking care to sow perfect seed ; if the seed time is necessarily late, we would sow less seed. We desire to guard ourselves here, as we do not include the many varieties of garden beans or peas brought into field culture ; these generally require a somewhat more liberal seeding. The subsequent Culture and Management of the Crop. — The first process, when the plants appear fully above groimd, and the soil requires loosening, is to cross-harrow the rows with light seed harrows ; or if the surface does not require loosening, but rather break- ing down, and the subsoil is partially set and requires breaking or jarring, a common but rather heavy field- roller should be passed over them ; in a few days the hand. hoes should follow ; the horse-hoeing also may commence, particularly those in ridges or at irregular intervals should be attended to, and should be alter- nately horse-hoed and ridge-harrowed till very near the full blooming, when the moulding-plough should be carefully passed between the wide rows, gently throwing in the light mould amongst the plants, but by no means so as to " hill them up;" this " hilHng up" is often practised to the destruction of the crop, the large quan- tity of mould destroying the stalks. We urge great care and cautionin this erroneous department of farm practice. The hand -hoeing and weeding must be kept up till the whole crop is in full bloom ; but not later, as the flower should not be disturbed when setting into pod. We do not know a crop that is more benefited by repeated hoeing and stirring of the soil than the bean crop. The pea crop cannot be hoed at so ate a period of growth, owing to its spreading over and covering the land. The hoeings therefore ought to be early and more frequent. The bean crop, if too luxuriant and heading in its growth, may be, like oats, advantageously topped in the last 318 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. stages of its blooming. Sometimes this cannot be done, as, in consequence of any sudden check at this time the blooming will recommence and be carried on to the very top itself. It is very desirable, when the beans are bbout sl-v inches high, to turn into the field a flock of slieep. Tlicy will weed the land well, without eating a plant of beans. This must be avoided in the pea crop. The produce of these crops depend very much upon the season ; they are subject to great injury from blight and mildew ; the latter is generally followed by the attacks of innumerable insects, known as the aphis, and commonly called the bean-dolphin and black- collier. We know of no effectual means of prevention ; early topping will deposit them on the ground, and thus arrest their progress, while the blooming is thereby promoted. No crops are so uncertain in their pro- duce as the bean and pea crops. They rejoice in moist growing seasons, and frequently when all seems pros- perous a few days brings the mildew, with all its ac- companying evils; the dolphin follows, and increases with such astonishing rapidity, that the whole crop is speedily overrun, and all is gone in a few days. COTTAGE-GARDENING IN CORNWALL.— Onions. — These find a place in, T may say, every garden in this neighbourhood. They seem to be used very much by the cottagers, and many of them pride themselves a good deal on the crops which they raise, in the management of their onion-beds, in preparing the ground, for instance, and the proper time for planting them, and their after-management. In all these respects a great difference prevails here. 1 have seen but very few, if indeed any, seed onions growing in the gardens of the cottagers in this place. When I enquire of any of them if the onions they grow are seed onions, ' Oh, no, sir," is the reply ; " we never till any seed onions." "What, then.'" "Oh, the potato onions. We are always sure of a crop with them." I shall just state some outline of what is practised by a few persons ; and this may be taken as a fair index to the rest. In preparing the ground, I have not seen any of the cottagers ridge it, as is generally done by pro- fessionals ' up the country' — that is, towards London, from here. They generally bank it. These banks may be from three to five feet wide at the bottom, and all the soil for a foot or two on each side thrown upon this space, making a round-like bank. This is a very common method of winter fallow. Some use this mode of preparation previous to planting their onions. Those who plant them early in winter, of course, cannot allow their ground to derive much good by either ridging or banking of it, Now, as to the digging and planting, all seem anxious to give the ground at this time some good dressing, and dig it over " very nicely." After this is done, they plant their onions in rows, of some four or five in a bed, generally si.x or seven inches from row to row, and liuin lour to six apart in the rows. Some plant them early in winter ; others about the beginning or middle of February J and a few in March. A few days ago I saw a good bed of potato onions all covered over with sea- weed to the depth of some four or five inches, and the onion tops six or eight inches above this covering. Tins is both as a means of protection in severe weather, and of enriching and manuring the ground ; and again, many of these cottagers (especially if they do not keep a pig) are very careful in saving all the soap suds, and what- ever else they can in the shapeof dirty water, end with this they regularly water, or rather manure, their onion beds. By this means they are often very good and large onions, and arrive at maturity earlier than seed onions sown early in spring. So they can plant brocoli after them (of these they have a variety that grows very large in this county) or flat-pole cabbages: these are almost universally grown by all classes hereabout for common use; others sow turnips — many preferring the Swecd turnips, or Rodibakers, as they are generally termed here by the cottagers. G. DawsoN. — Gardeners' and Farmers' Journa). PROTECTING SEEDS FROM BIRDS.— As the time is now at hand when gardeners are generally much annoyed by the depredations of birds, I beg to contribute my mite of information as to the means of obviating the evil. I have for some years practised the following method with considerable success : — Take a piece of thin board 12 inches long by 4 wide; paint one side white and the other red ; suspend it by a string at the end of a rod so small at the upper part as to bend readily to the action of the wind, and so that the piece of wood may dangle over the seed-bed or plat. The change of the colours has a wonderful eff'ect in scaring or starting the birds. Other conspicuous colours will do equally as well as the white and red. — James Rol- lins.— [This is a very good plan, and deserves a fair trial. We have ourselves seen it adopted in various places, and always with the best results. But in the way of variety, we give a sketch of a contrivance which also possesses strong claims to notice at the present time. It consists of a triangular looking- glass on both sides, the frame being cast-iron. And when suspended in the air llie reflec- lion of the bright sunshine, or even the ordinary light, has a singular eff'ect in keep- ing the birds on the wing. For sparrows of course we can- not promise that anything in this way will be of much use ; these ^\^ birds are too " knowing " to be ^ frightened by a shadow, and ^' something more telling must be employed. But for those that arc not so bold these contri- vynces may at least save a vast amount of trouble and personal attention, which very few can afford to give during seed-time. We believe this double looking- glass is patented, but may be had of the trade]. — Ibid. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 319 Ox\ THE MANAGEMENT OF S H EE P.-C H I PPE N H A M HUNDRED FARMERS' CLUB. The above club, which now numbers 70 mem- bers, held a monthly meeting on the 4th Feb., on which occasion the " Management of Sheep" was the subject arranged for discussion. This being an anxious period of the year to the owners of flocks, and the occasion being one on which they might possibly add to their previous knowledge of the sub- to be discussed, a large number of members as- sembled. After electing new members, and arranging to bring forward "The Management of a Dairy Stock" at the next monthly meeting, Mr. Thomas Little, the Chairman, called on Mr. Blake of Grit- tleton to open the question for that evening. Mr. Blake then rose and said: — Gentlemen, I shall now precede to state what I know of the favourite breed of sheep in this district, and to which I shall confine my remarks, namely, the " Wiltshire South downs." 1, [Breeding and feeding flocks not to be kept on the same farm.] In the first place, I would strongly inculcate the necessity of keeping either a distinct breeding or a dry flock; for I consider it impossible to keep both at the same time, on the same farm, with advantage. The reason is simply this, that feeding sheep, when they arrive at a certain stage of fatness, must be carried on to a finish, otherwise you would lose the condition they had already acquired. They, there- fore, receive all the best hay and produce of the farm, and the breeding flock is thus injured, and gradually reduced in size and value. 2, [May oc- casionally fatten draft or sale ewes and tegs.] Not- withstanding this caution on the subject, farmers may occasionally feed out their draft ewes when cir- cumstances favour it ; and also a few tegs; and by this means they may obtain a profit, and improve their land by the corn and cake which such stock consumes. 3, [Best mode of acquiring a flock.] Suppose then that it is decided on to keep a breed- ing flock, the best way to obtain one is either to purchase a few lots, of all ages, at some well-known flockmaster's sale, if any such occur; otherwise, select small lots from private individuals, or in fairs. An honest dealer can be of material assistance in the latter case. 4, [Selection of rams.] Having procured a stock of ewes, the next step is to select rams for them. This must be done with great care and judgment, but not with a niggard hand; as the produce of a first-rate ram is sure to comprise some superior animals, from which ram lambs may be selected, and sold at prices that will go far to repay the first cost of their sire. Several may also be kept with advantage in the stock. The male produce of inferior lams, on the contrarj', can never be fit for anything more valuable than wethers, and the ewe lambs, from such sires, may not even maintain the quality of the original stock. I think a fair calculation can easily be made to show that the owner of even an ordinary stock is justified, in point of profit, in paying a liberal sum for the hire or purchase of a ram, and the owner of a superior stock a proportionally higher one. It is most im- portant that you procure rams which are good in those points ; both of carcase and wool, in which your own stock is deficient ; otherwise the best rams may do little or no good, simply for want of studying this point. 5, [Time of putting ewes to the ram.] In this district, where the land is cold and late, I would not put the ewes to the ram so early in the season as I would on earher soils. The time I would recommend in this district for all ewes, except two-tooths, would be the beginning of September, so that they might begin to lamb about the beginning of February. The young ewes should be put three weeks later to the ram. This enables them to grow and acquire strength to stand the winter, and brings them a little nearer grass time, when they drop their lambs. The best keep to bring ewes into season for the ram, I have found to be vetches and rape mixed, sown about the mid- dle of June ; penning the ewes on this during the night, and letting them run out on a down or pas- ture field during the day. This should be followed up by early sown turnips, allowing them to run out as before stated, or on the wheat stubbles, until the middle of November, at which time the rams should be removed. The latest lambs will then fall about the middle of April. 6, [Wintering ewes.] The old ewes may occasionally, up to lambing time, be kept in the straw yards for an hour or two daily, to pick over the oat, barley, and pea straw ; but the young ewes should have hay after November, The old and young ewes should always be wintered sepa- rately, astheformerconsumetheirfood much quicker than the latter, and drive them away from all the best cribs of hay and other food. They should both have plenty of room between the hurdles. When the ewes are half gone with lamb, avoid giv- ing them young or watery turnips, otherwise their lambs will drop weak over the loins and altogether rickety. They should then have old turnips, or swedes and hay, until they lamb ; and breeding ewes. •220 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. when in lamb, should never have more turnips or swedes given to them than to supply moisture to their hay. Pitted swedes, whether cut or not, should never be given to them until they have been opened and thrown about on the land several days before being used, or until they become shrivelled : they are not then so hkely to produce scouring. 7, [Lambing time.] Prepare for the lambing by having a well- bedded fold i)rovided in a sheltered place in a healthy field, or in a straw yard. As the ewes lamb, draft them out, putting them singly into small pens, protected on all sides, with a covered place to run into in bad weather. The ewes should then have good hay, not over heated, with a few swedes or turnips, or water, if the latter are not given, and a little bran or ground oats and beans would be ad- vantageous. If the weather is mild and dry, they may be turned out in a pasture field in two or three days, in preference to keeping them in a straw fold. In a few days more, if sufficiently strong, they may go to fold on swedes, or turnips and hay, then to the meadows, if there are any, to be fol- lowed by rye and vetches, with clover. Ewes with two lambs, and those that are poor, ought to have a daily allowance of beans and bran or oats, and they will do quite as well then as ewes with only one lamb without such additional keep : it will only cost about Id. per head per day, or 3s. 6d. for six weeks, and there is a set off against this expense, in the hay it will save. The mothers of ram lambs, after lambing, should be kept extra well ; they should have corn and the best hay with their tur- nips, and the lambs should be allowed to run for- ward to their own allowances. There is nothing better for both ewes and lambs than the first year's sainfoin hay, in conjunction with a little corn. Peas are sometimes given, but they require to be used with the greatest caution ; malt-dust or bran and oats and hay chaff is better. 8, [Weaning lambs.] The lambs should be weaned not later than the first week of June, and the ewes shorn in ten or fourteen days afterwards. The lambs, after weaning, should be put on vetches and clover, &c., avoiding crops affected by blight or insects, and such as are too growing or succulent, all of which are apt to produce fatal consequences. The lambs' tails should be cut when about three weeks old : those lambs intended to be castrated for wethers should be operated on when a fortnight old, if this operation be done by drawing ; but if by searing, the 1st of May is not too late. They are made to look stronger in their constitutions by the latter process. Late lambs should be kept separately from the others until they become strong, and if they have straw to be on, it will lessen the risk of 'joint evil.' 9, [Diseases of ewes and lambs.] Both ewes and lambs are subject to many diseases at lambing time. The most common in ewes is heaving or straining. I generally bleed for this, until the ewe becomes faint, and give from two to four table-spoons full of castor or linseed oil, and a little spirits of turpentine ; if this fail give about a table-spoonful of laudanum. For bad udders, bleed in the belly or udder vein, and keep the ewes in a house — bathing the parts affected, and giving a dose of salts if necessary, 10, [Scouring,] Scouring in young lambs is a frequent complaint, and if many of them are affected, all the ewes should be milked out clean as they lamb, it being then evident that the mother's milk is too flush, or has become too old in the udder. The lambs may have a teaspoon- ful of castor oil with safety ; and should after- scouring affect them, give a teaspoonful of gin with a little lard. Should navel-ill occur, which I be- lieve to be infectious, as well as scour, remove the unlambed ewes, in both cases, to a fresh fold ; and the same should be done in cases of heaving or straining among the ewes, should more than one case occur. To cure navel-ill, cut round the navel with a lancet, near the belly, and apply a drop or two of oil of tar to the wound ; but to prevent the disease, dust a little powdered blue-stone on the part, as the lambs are dropped, for which purpose the shepherd should carry a small boxful in his pocket. When lambs begin to feed, put them into a fold at night with hay and corn, to prevent them eating turnip-tops, &c,, when the frost is on them, which frequently brings on the fatal disease called black scour. 11, [After weaning.] After weaning, separate the ewe from the wether and ram lambs, and put them on vetches, turning them out during the day into pasture, or on seeds. They should never have vetches until they are weaned, unless the lambs are strong and healthy ; but after wean- ing they may be kept on rape and vetches until July, then on the second crop of clover, and sainfoin. Rape and spring vetches come in usefully after the se- cond crop of clover in July. 12, [Sale ewes and we- ther lambs.] Sale ewes and the best wether lambs should always, after shearing time, have the first arid best runs, to make them ready for sale in Sep- tember. This will also apply to ram lambs, which should be kept between the hurdles, on sound land, all winter, having thatched hurdles for shelter. They settle and do much better in this way, than if allowed to run out on pasture. 13, [Stock ewes,] Stock ewes should first " run the stubbles," before going to turnips, &c., the same as already described, I have only to add that all stock sheep should be carefully washed seven days before shearing, and shorn from the 10th to the 20th of June, The lambs ought to be dipped in July, as it not only frees them from ticks, but keeps off flies and mag- gots. This operation may again be beneficially THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 331 gone through in October, if thought necessarj\ If the ewes are dipped, it should be done either be- fore September, or not until they have been put to the ram and are again out of season. I have said little about the management of a " dry flock," hop- ing it will be taken up by another of our members. Mr. D. Tayler (Yatton) suggested that a two- tooth ewe should never be allowed to rear two lambs, which was generally assented to. Mr. James Gough (Sevington) adduced a case where a male animal had caused abortion in cows, and stated his belief that a similar influence would produce a like result amongst a flock of ewes, Mr. Gough gave strong corroborative evidence in support of this conviction, and stated that he had known several other cases, in which the cause could not be doubted. The meeting, however, seemed lo consider the cause of abortion in ewes as yet undis- covered, but generally agreed that the disease was infectious. Mr. Scott (Grittleton) said the management of sheep was a subject in which he took much interest and pleasure. Of all our domestic animals, sheep are peculiarly dependent on the care of man. They have been in his keeping for several thou- sand years, but still we are daily improving our knowledge of them, as to the merits of different breeds, and their respective adaptation to different localities. Sheep are certainly of immense public importance and private advantage. The Spanish proverb says, " The print of a sheep's foot turns the soil into gold," and no class of men can have more reason to subscribe to that saying than the flockmasters of this county, where sheep are indis- pensable agents in the production of crops and the improvement of the soil. Folding is probably more e.'ctensively practised in this county than in any other in England ; and though many parties at a distance, who have not seen its working for a series of years, have condemned the practice, yet we know that without it farmers could not annually show the luxuriant fields of corn on their thin cold brash and down lands which they now do. We are, therefore, peculiarly interested in improving our stock of sheep, both in wool and carcass, and aptitude to fatten at an early age. I have heard of such things as "Sheep Clubs" being formed for the hire or purchase of superior animals for the use of the members, when such animals were beyond the reach of single individuals ; and certainly great good might be done to the members of this club, and to the neighbourhood, by our acting on this suggestion. I have likewise another suggestion to make, namely, the advantage of having portraits of superior specimens of our different kinds of domes- tic animals as standards of excellence to refer to. This is perhaps beyond the ability of our club, and must, therefore, be left to more important bodies of agriculturists. I shall now only name a few points which I have noted down as apparent omis- sions in Mr. Blake's very clear and business-like paper : namely, not to breed from animals too nearly allied, but import fresh blood occasionally into the flock : to add annually some young ewes to the flock, and draft out old ones : to see that the shepherd is constantly in attendance, and vigilant in attention during lambing time : only to castrate when the weather is mild and dry, and to have rock salt constantly beside the sheep, as a condiment. Foot-rot is, fortunately, nearly unknown here ; and it is therefore almost unnecessary for me to state that I have found hot lime sprinkled on a barn floor for the sheep to stand several hours on, after having had their feet pared, the best cure. Last year I tried 150 Hampshire Down ewes against a similar num- ber of Wiltshire Downs, and found the former could not compete with the latter in standing the tear and wear of the folding system. At the request of the meeting, Mr. Sainsbury, of West Lavington, who had been introduced by a member of the club, made a few able remarks, as did the chairman and secretary, and several others ; at the conclusion of which a resolution was unani- mously come to, "That diff'erent breeds of sheep are respectively adapted for diff'erent localities, and that the Wiltshire or Sussex Down is best adapted for this district." — Devizes Gazette. AGRICULTURAL GEOLOGY There was an almost universal opinion prevalent some ten years ago, that the character of a soil would depend upon the nature of the formation on which it rested. Hence there was once a feeling that no proprietor would do well until he carried out his improvements by having a geologist to map out his estate, and lay down to a scale the outlines of the different sub -formations on which it reBted, as a basis for his subsequent operations. If we rightly remember, Sir John Johnstone had Mr Smith, the geologist, over his estate ; and he indi- cated by geological data the productiveness and sterility of certain fields, which practice showed was correct; and he also marked out the loca- lity where the erratic tertiaries threw out springs of water, and so indicated the facility of obtaining y2 S22 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. wells in its locality, while they might search for them in vain ten yards from the outskirts of the stratum. Great doubts, however, are beginning to be thrown upon this hypothesis. Mr. Joshua Trim- mer, in the last number* oi i\\t Journal of the Roy al Agricultural Society — a very valuable and practical number— brings a very great mass of facts to bear upon the point, that generally it is drifts which afi'ect the character of the soil, and not the rock upon which it rests ; and a great number of instances to prove the correctness of his oj)inions from the reports of the Board of Agriculture, and also from the more recent essays on the agriculture of the counties. At the same time some investiga- tions are being made by Professor Hodges for the Chemico-Agricultural Society of Ulster, and have led to the same conclusions ; so that it is clearly a point deserving of investigation. The following is from the recent report of the Societj', kindly fur- nished to us by the Professor : it is entitled — REMARKS ON THE COMPOSITION OF THE ROCKS AND SOILS OF DOWN AND ANTRIM. Professor Hodges brought before the meeting the first of a series of communications, ia which he purposes re- porting the results of numerous analytical investigations, which have been made in his laboratory, of the chief reck formations and soils of Antrim and Down. The first paper referred chiefly to the amount of lime contained in the arable soils of these counties, and the analyses which were given of soils from a great many different localities, demonstrated the curious circumstance that not merely in Down, wheie the slate and granite rocks contain but a minute per centage of lime, are the soils different in calcareous matter, but that even in Antrim the soils of many districts, not far removed from immense beds of limestone, afford but a trifling and insufficient amount of that indispensable constituent of the food of plants. The basalt and other so-called volcanic rocks, Dr. Hodges remarked, which occur in Antrim, were generally rich both in lime and alkalies, but lime was not always present in any considerable quantity ; and besides, he said, in a great many instances the soil cultivated by the farmer had not been produced by the decay or breaking up of the rock upon which it rested, but had been trans- ported, by various agencies, from other districts, so that a knowledge of the composition of the under-lying rocks of a particular locality was not enough for the scientific agriculturist. An analysis had also shown that the same thing occurred in Antrim, as had been remarked with respect to the soils of the great central plain of Ireland, by Sir Robert Kane, that, though in many cases sup- ported by a foundation of limestone, they were strikingly deficient in lime. Dr. Hodges' interesting communica- tion will appear in full in the Journal of the Society. Dr. Hodges also directed the attention of the Council * The Journal of the Royal Agrladtural Society of England, Vol. xx., Part 2, No. 28. London, Murray. to some analyses of rocks, &c , from Antrim, which were valuable for technical purposes. One of the samples of which the analysis had been given was forwarded by a member of the Council — James Walker, Esq., of Lame — who had for some time been successfully engaged in the conversion of the clays in the neighbourhood of Larne into various articles of pottery, some of which were equal to any sent into the market. The specimen of clay examined contained too large an amount of lime to be useful to the potter ; its composition rendered it incapable of resisting the intense heat of the kiln. COMPOSITION OF CL.VV. — FROM MR. WALKER, lAUNiC. Organic matter& water of combination 7 "43^ Alumina 7 94 Oxides of iron 515 Lime, carbonate of 22' 18 Magnesia, carbonate of 5 '45 Potash and soda 1 -06 Alumina, in state of silicate 18'62 Lime, in state of silicate . . 0"84 Magnesia, in state of silicate 053 Potash and soda, in state of silicate. . 5*14 Silica 25-09 Soluble in Acids, 4981 Insoluble in Acids, 50-19 100-03 Water in specimen anilyzed 4*57 So far the Professor. The most important evidence adduced by Mr. Trimmer is the fact of the chalk rocks having soils different; and Mr. Legard's evi- dence in his report on the East Riding of Yorkshire is very striking. Citing from the Transactions of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, he shows that the super soil on a calcareous stratum, the chalk, often contains only five percent., and sometimes as little as two per cent, only of calcareous matter. Now, while we admit this looks like presump- tive evidence of the fact of the super-soil being different from the substratum, and Mr. Trimmer accounts for this very ingeniously by supposing it may be brought up by the plough on thin soils, yet he should also make allowance for the great tendency of all calcareous matter to wash down by the action of rain ; so that a superficial stratum of soil may be so far denuded of its chalk as to be different from the subsoil. Hence the deepest chalks are most rich, because more compact and less pervious. We know some striking instances of this. On the pervious red sandstone a deep well will find the purest and most crystal-like water ; but this., on being put into a steam-engine boiler, will thicken like cream, and make an incrustation so great as to render it unfit for the use of the enginemen; and yet there is not the slightest appearance of cal- careous matter in the soil, nor any calcareous rock below for a very great depth ; and so the washing down of calcareous matter has made this sur- charged spring unfit for engine-boilers. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 323 Mr. Trimmer admits that on the oolites and has there may be some connection with the substratum of rock. He says : " In tracing the oohtes from Yorkshire to the south, we find in many instances a close coincidence between established agricul- tural districts and geological areas" (p. 491). And again : " In Yorkshire we can readily identify the eastern moorlands, the tabular hills, the vales of Pickering and Cleveland, with the lower oolites, the coralhne oolite, the Kirameridge clay, and the has" (p. 492). And then he quotes Mr. Milburn and Mr. Bravender, to show instances m the vales of Cleveland and Gloucester, in proof of his posi- tion. He cites, however, the various reports to show that on the new red sandstone the soil is various, in proof of the drift theory ; but in this he is mis- taken. The soils of the new red sandstone are various indeed, but their variations are within cer- tain uniform and well-defined limits. Every expe- rienced land-agent will tell him that while the tops of the imdulations in the new red sandstone are almost always poor blowing sands, the sides of the hills are rich light loams, and the slacks or valleys are all, more or less, cold wet clay. And yet these are, for the most part, neither drifts nor erratic deposits. The tenacity of soil depends upon its fineness of comminution as much, perhaps, as the presence of aluminous mat- ter. From the hill-tops the whole of the highly- comminuted matter washes, in the lapse of ages ; from the sides a part only ; while it accumulates in the valleys, and so makes a variety of soil on the same formation. We think this washing is not properly taken account of by Mr. Trimmer. — Gardeners' and Farmers' Journal. OXFORD FARMERS' CLUB. LECTURE ON THE VARIETIES OF VEGETABLE FOOD, AND THE REARING AND FATTENING OF STOCK. BY J. C. NESBIT, F.G.S., F.C.S , ETC., PRINCIPAL OF THE AGRICULTURAL ANP SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL, KENNINGTON, LONHON. A lecture wa3 delivered before the Oxford Farmers' Club, by Mr. J. C.Nesbit, on Wednesday, the 14th Dec, in the Town Hall, Oxford : Subject — " The varieties of vegetable food, and the rearing and fattening of stock." The chair was occupied by Mr. Thompson, the presi- dent of the Oxford Farmers' Club. The Chairman said he had great pleasure in intro- ducing Mr. Nesbit to give them a lecture on the rearing and fattening of cattle. He trusted that the time would not be lost, but that some of them at least would derive great advantage from it. Mr. Nesbit said — Mr. Chairman and gentlemen: I have very great pleasure in appearing before you to attempt to give you a few scientific explanations of the best methods of feeding cattle, and to hint to you a few things which may be of material service to you in your practice as farmers. I should be the last person in the world to seek to overthrow the practice of the farmer. I regard that practice as the foundation on which the chemist and the scientific man ought to build ; and I believe it is by taking practice as the basis, and not by overthrowing it, that you will arrive at anything like a useful result. In the observations which I have to make this afternoon I shall endeavour to be as lucid and as brief as possible, and though I take it for granted that most of you know many of the facts which I shall bring before you, yet you must allow me to treat you as if you were perfectly ignorant of the subject, as it is only in that way that I shall be able to elucidate what I have to present to you. Now, gentlemen, vegetables are the food of animals ; vegetables themselves exist on the inorganic or mineral matter found in the soil, and also on the sub- stances which by means of their leaves they draw from the air. When the light of the sun shines on the leaves of plants, they absorb carbon and nitrogen from the air ; and these bodies, together with the mineral matter taken by the roots from the soil, are elaborated into vegetable matter. Perhaps many of you are aware that conside- rably more than three- fourths of the solid matter of plants in general is obtained from the air and not from the soil. Well, now, without entering further into the question of the growth of vegetables and the nature of manures, let us refer at once to the composition of ve- getable matter. The different varieties of eatable sub- stances which the art of the chemist can separate from ordinary vegetables may all be divided into two distinct classes— those which contain the body called nitrogen, and those in which that substance is wanting. The ge- neral components of vegetable matter, in addition to the mineral matter obtained by them from the soil, are charcoal or carbon ; hydrogen, which is found in all common coal gases ; oxygen, which is one of the main constituents of the air ; and nitrogen, which is also found in the air, and in the form of ammonia is used by ladies in their smelling-bottles. This nitrogen is a main constituent of the muscles of animals. The muscle of animals contains carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitro- gen ; whereas the fatty matter only contains carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Vegetables, as I previously 324 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. mentioned, contain two distinct varieties of food — the n trogenons and tlic non-nitrogenmis ; ami tliese have very different offices to perform in the animal eeonomy. Th'.' iion-nitrogeuous materials may be termed the ele- ments ot re.'-piration. The following is a list of the elements of re-^piiution and producers of fat : fdt or oil, starch, ijum, niKcilayc, and sugar. Let us consider the action of the animal economy on these kinds of food. ^Vhen food is taken into the stomach, that portion which is soluble is there dissolved by the action of the gastric juice; thus dissolved, it is taken up by the absorbent vessels, and is then immediately acted upon by the air taken in by the lungs. This action or consumption of the food is the source of the animal heat. You are all aware that if acannon ball heated red-hotbe exposed to the air, notwithstanding its heat, it soon descends to the temperature of the atmosphere by which it is sur- rounded. In like manner, there must be in all warm- blooded animals some internal source of heat, otherwise their temperature would be that of the siir- roundinj; medium ; a portion of the food taken into the animal system is consumed there, just as coal is consumed in a fire through the action of the air. We take food into our system, and by means of our lungs we obtain the air which burns a portion of our food for use. The air which I expire from my lungs differs as much from the air which I inhale, as the pure air en- tering a body of burning fuel differs from that which has passed through it. When carbon is burnt in any manner, the result is a gas called carbonic acid. Car- bonic acid gas is a gas which we find in old wells brewers' vats, and so on ; it is the result of fer- mentation, or of the burning of charcoal. It is easily recognized by its action on lime water, which it im- mediately renders white and turbid. The presence of carbonic acid in tlie air sent out from the lungs is easily shown. If I pour a little lime water into a vessel, and then breathe into it for a few seconds through a tobacco pipe, you will find the lime water, though now per- fectly transparent, becoming opaque, and exhibiting a white deposit.— [The lecturer then performed the ex- periment in the manner described, and with the result stated.]— You see, gentlemen, I have been exhaling from my lungs a gas containing charcoal as one of its constituents ; in other words, a portion of the food which I have taken this morning is in the course of consumption at the present moment, and the gas •which is the result of the combustion is exhibitel in the glass. It would be easy to show you that the burning of any body containing carbon would, in like manner, produce carbonic acid gas. I shall now hold a glass over this lighted candle to allow a portion of tlie car- bonic acid to get into the glass from the combustion of the tallow. On adding lime water we shall have a white deposit.— [Experiment performed]. — I shall refer again to these experiments, when I come to speak of ventilation. I have introduced them thus far now in order that you might be aware of the fact that a portion of the food taken info our system is in reality used in the production of heat. Tf an excess of food be taken in, more than the air received by the lungs can well act upon, there is a beautiful disposition of nature by which a portion of thiitfooii is laid nj)on the ninsclea in the form of fat, SI) as to i)r<>vide forii time when foudof tluit kind is not easily obtaiiied. If a person takes an excess of starchy matter, oil, or gum, after all that is necessary lor the production of heat has been provided, the rest is hiid uj) in the animal system in tiic form of fat, as a pro- vision against the future. Now we know that the sur- rounding temperature has a great deal to do with the amount of food which is requisite to be burnt in the body to keep up the heat. Th.e colder the temperature is, the more food must be taken into the ( per comitis Westmerland de alta proditione at- tincti modo spectan' et pertinen' ad serenissiraam [ in xpo principem et d'nam n'ram Elizabetham ( dei gra' Anglie Francie et Hibernie Reginam fidei defensor, &c. ^ P'cella Dominij de") Yalet fFirma et proficuis' Brauncepeth in )• E'patu UunolmJ vigint' ferorum h. animaliura, videli- V J cet Taurorum, et ^1 vaccarum ferorum ibidem pascen- tium et renovari ^per annum. Memorandum within her ma'ties East parke of Brancepethe in the Bnshopricke of Durham there haithe hene of auncient tyme certaine wild beastes & kyen whiche in the tyme of the late Earles of West- merland were cherished and kept as in the nature and manner of thee wild deere in thee same parke ; and yearelie there was one or two of the saide wilde cattle killed and bestowed of thee poore and most needie people in the Lordshipp of Brancepethe att the pleasure and appointment of the saide Earles. And likewise (as I am informed) there haithe bene THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. $53 yearelie in the tyme of the said Earles certaine Runners or wild yonge calves killed and some yonge quie or yonge stott of that wilde stoore like- wise killed and emploied to the use of the saide Earles. By vertue of a warrant from the right Honorable S'r John Fortescue, Knight, Chaunce- lour of her ma'ties Exchequer, and one of herhigh- nes most honorable privie councell to Mr. Will'm Clopton her ma'ties Receiver and to me her ma'ties Suvveior in the Bushopricke of Durham, or either of us of laite directed, I have vewed the saide wild cattle and did fynd at the makinge hereof remayn- inge in the same East parka of Brancepethe one bull two old kyen three yong quies and three yong bull calves vi'hiche is all the store I found there. The number of the cattle in the Earles daies (as I ame crediblie informed) were commonlie foure and twentie yearlie att the fewest whereof five or six were bulls and the residue kien beside some yong store cherished for the supplie of those that were yearlie taken as abovesaide. There maye be kept and mainteined yearlie twentie wild beasts whereof foure to be bulls and the residue kien with sufh- cient allovv'ance of haye in winter for the same in the saide East parke and yong calves for the sup- plie of the beastes yearlie to be taken respectingc that the yong store exceede not the number so as tv,-entie old ones and six yong ones be there yerelie preserved according to that rate and for that the number of the beasts are but fewe at this present wherebie tlie rent abovesaid cannot be made of the same. Therfor so manie of them that are wantinge the romethes of them beinge letten for rent will answere the rate abovesaide. Endorsed p' me Thom am Chaytor "^ "p'ticuler conc'ninge p'ticulurem sup'visorem > the wild chattail of ib'm. j Brauncepeth" {bb.) Stour is an exact representation of the Latin sy- nonym. Lord John Neville, in 1836, leaves to Ralph his heii-, '' CC vacas pro stauro, CC stottos et stirkes, MM bidentes, videlicet M in Episcopatu Dunolmensi, et M in comitatu Eborum." (cc) In 1614, an elaborate survey of the manors of the Nevilles was taken for James 1 ., from which these further particulars about the cattle of Brance- peth and their East Park are taken. "Brancepeth Castle is the chief manor and man- sion house of his Lordship, which hath been for the space of twcnty-tv/o years last, or thereabouts; and now is in the keeping and custody of Mr. Henry Sanderson and his son Samuel, or one of them as constables thereof, by patent, with a fee of ten pounds per annum. There is a garden belong- ing to the said castle, for the keeping whereof there was and is a yearly allowance and fee of five pounds, with the herbage of three kyne winter and summer in the Fry the and great wood of the East park, for a gardener to look unto the same. And when the said Henry Sanderson came first to be constable of the Castle, the same was kept and trimmed by the gardener there, as well with sweet walks and plea- sant harbours as olherwiie, till of late the said Henry Sanderson having gotten the said gardener's fee and beast gate by patent, and taking upon him the charge and custody thereof, the said harbours and walks are grown ruinous and clean out of all good order, &c. "There are no forrests nor chases within the Lordship more tlian the two Parkes called the East and West Parke, and that the game in the said Park is toward the number of three hundred deer in either of them, having been better stored in former time." Sanderson's depredations on the deer, roes, and conies in both parks are here set out. " Also there are of wild beasts of all sorts, elder and younger, in the East Parke to the num- ber of twenty-eight or thereabouts, which wld beasts the said Henry Sanderson hath, from time to time, since his being constable, both killed for his own use, given away to his followers and friends and disposed of at his pleasure." The profits of the herbage are stated to have been received by the under tenant and assigns of the Lady Anne, one of the daughters of the late Earl of Westmoreland, by virtue of a lease granted by Queen Elizabeth of the herbage. Henry Sanderson and his son Samuel claimed to be chief forresters and masters of the game by patent for lives, and whereas Henry's predecessors and himself used to have summer pas- ture for 12 kyne and 4 geldings in the East Park, in a pasture there called the Great Wood, and their winter pasture in a place called the Great Frythe, he had taken the whole profits of the Little Park, within the East Park, in lieu of the summer pas- ture. " Frythe is a plaine betweene woods." {dd) " George Brabant is keeper of the East Parke by patent during pleasure. And he hath heretofore had a convenient house called the East Parke Lodge, with a stable and a piece of enclosed ground, with pale and rail, called and known by the name of Lodge Garth, containing about an acre of ground, wherein is contained two little gardens ; and hath, for the execution of his office, herbage for six- teen kyne and one bull yearly to go and depas- ture in the Great Wood in summer, and in the Great Frythe in winter, and two horses in the Frythe summer and winter, and a parcell of mea- dow ground, containing 1 6 days' mowing, with a fee of three pounds and eight pence per annum, and a fee buck and fee doe, and shoulder and skin of every deer and wild beast killed" Yearly value of the office, £20. The East Park is stated to con- tain about 700 acres, and both parks were bounded with pals and ditch on the outside about 2 yards broad. The East one contained well-grown under- woods, well set with oak timber and ash, dispersed here and there. Both parks were so overstinted that those who rented herbage had their kyne 2 A 2 854 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. almost famished with hunger, and the deer died 50 or Go in a winter. The wild cattle, it is to he hoped, took care of themselves. In the times of the Nevilles, the tenants of the Lordship paying rents under 40s. were under certain^allowances to mow, make, and lead all the hay spent for the re- lief of the deer and wild cattle, and this service was extensively performed at the time of the survey. At Raby, a close is defined as having been used by the Earl, " as a frithe for the deer, and for the breeding and feeding of calves and other young cattle of the said Earl." These would be most likely domestic, but we have exjjress mention of wild beasts. " The herbage of the Middle Parke is divided by and between the said Sir George Frevile and Anthony Dale, Sir George having nine parts thereof, and the said Anthony the tenth, who to- gether do yearly mowe, cutt, and carry away out of the saide Parke so much grass there growing as the Deer and ivild Beasts, in theiWest Parke and Mid- dle Parke aforesaid are in the winter time hardly sustained ; notwithstanding the game there now being are not great or many. But should they be preserved and increased to such a number as in times past, the whole quantity of grass and hay yearly growing there would not be sufficient for their winter sustenance, for that he (the deponent) hath heard it by many officers and others there most credibly reported that the game hath been such and so fair, that having all the allowance that those Pai kes would afford, the tenants have used in the wint;r-time, for relief of the game, to bring hay on theb backs from other grounds to the same Parke. And he further saith that the deer and wild Beasts are altogether excluded out of the East Parke and of certain closes called Marwen Carr and Crewe Close, where they were always wont to go." In the boundaries of Brancepeth Lordship in this inquisition the Bullring is mentioned as not far from the wood bridge over the Derness near to NeviWs Oak. (v) In the grant in 162G of the demesne of Barnard Castle, in trust for Sir Henry Vane, " all the deer and wild cattle in the parks, free chase and warren," are expressly mentioned in totidein ver- bis, (p) Sir Wm. Brereton, in his journey of 1635, men- tions at Auckland, attached to the Bishop's palace, " a dainty stately park, wherein I saw wild bulls and kine, which had two calves runners. There are about twenty wild beasts, all white; will not endure your approach, but if they be enraged or distressed, very violent and furious ; tJieir calves will be wondrous fat." (ff) This is a true outpouring of Sir William's tem- per. He turned repubhcan, and was characterised as "a terrible slaughter-man at a thanksgiving din- ner. Had he been cannibal enough to have eaten those he vanquished, his gut would have made him vaUant." " Will Brereton's a sinner. And Croydon knows a winner; But O take heed lest he do eat The rump all at one dinner." (ee) The Auckland cattle was probably destroyed in the storms of the civil war, when the Bishop's seat was the subject of low plunder. At that time the wild cattle of Scotland were nearly extirpated. The Curamings were at one period proprietors of Cadyow and Cumbernauld ; and it is likely that in their time the white cattle were in both places. They seem to have partially survived the destruc- tion of their race at Cumbernauld alluded to in 1570, but they have long been extinct there. The universal tradition in Clydesdale is that they have been at Cadyow from the remotest antiquity. They were, as just said, nearly killed during the usurpa- tion, " but a breed of them having been retained for the Hamilton family, by Hamilton Dalzell, and by Lord Elphinstone, at Cumbernauld, they were subsequently restored in their original purity." (/) A gap now occurs in my narrative, for the ex- pression used in the burial register of Henry Mawer in the Bishop Middleham books of 1665, " hurt with Mr. Freville's bull in the park," does not warrant an assumption of wild cattle at Hard- wick. With the commencement of the 18th cen- tury, a steady interest has been taken in the remnants of the old herds of white cattle. Sir Ro- bert Sibbald describes the Scotch ones, in his time, as denuded of their manes. Lord Tankerville in 1838 writes :—'• The remains of the great wood of Chillingham were extant in the time of my grandfather. I remember an old gardener of the name of Moscrop, who died about 30 years ago, at the age of perhaps 80, who used to tell of what his father had told him as happening to him when a boy, relative to these wild cattle ; which were then spoken of as wild cattle, and with the same sort of curiosity as exists with regard to them at the present. In my father and grandfather's time, we know that the same obscurity as to their origin j^revailed." (j) There is a prevailing tradition that, about 1735, when it was found necessary for a time to remove the Cadyow herd from one pasture to another, se- veral hundred individuals, belonging to different baronies on the ducal estate of Hamilton, were called out, and that they only effected their purpose with much danger and difficulty, (l) On Nov. 19, 1756, being the anniversary of Lord Ossulston's birth-day, the Earl of Tankerville gave an elegant entertainment at Chillingham Castle to his tenants, at which were present upwards of 200 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 355 persons ; and on account of the inclemency of the season, and great scarcity of provisions, ordered a great number of the wild cattle to be slaughtered, which, with a proportionable quantity of bread, were on that day distributed amongst upwards of 600 poor people in that part of the country, {gg) According to the writer of the statistical account of the parish of Hamilton, the wild cattle in the Duke of Hamilton's forest or park of Cadyow, " were exterminated from economical motives, about the year 1760." {hh) Sir Walter Scott attributes their extirpation to their ferocity. " Tlieir appear- ance was beautiful, being milk white, with black muzzles, horns, and hoofs. The bulls are described by ancient authors as having white manes ; but those of latter days had lost that peculiarity, per- haps by intermixture with the tame breed." (m) About 1770, there were a few of the cattle at Chillingham with black ears, but the park-keeper had destroyed them before 1790; and there has never since been one with black ears. A few years before the latter date also, the wild cattle at Burton Constable, in Yorkshire, were all destroyed by a distemper. " They varied slightly from those at Chillingham, having black ears and muzzles, and the tips of their tails of the same colour. They were also much larger, many of them weighing sixty stone, probably owing to the richness of the pasturage in Holderness'; but generally attributed to the difference of kind between those with black and with red ears, the former of which they studi- ously endeavoured to preserve. The breed which was at Drumlanrig, in Scotland, had also black ears." {s) The stock at Chillingham was once nearly extin- guished by a catastrophe resembling that at Burton Constable. The breed was reduced to a single cow in calf, and the offspring was fortunately a bull, {n) It is said that there was the utmost diflficulty in in- ducing the cow to take any sustenance, she show- ing her grief at the loss of her ancient comrades in the most lively manner. The hunting of the Chillingham cattle had nearly or altogether ceased before 1720, when it is de- scribed in these terms: — "The mode of kilhng them was, perhaps, the only modern remains of the grandeur of ancient hunting. On notice being given that a bull would be killed on a certain day, the inhabitants of the neighbourhood came mounted, and armed with guns, &c., sometimes to the amount of an hundred horse, and four or five hundred foot, who stood upon walls or got into trees, while the horsemen rode off the bull from the rest of the herd, until he stood at bay ; when a marksman dismounted and shot. At some of these huntings, twenty or thirty of these shots have been fired before he was subdued. On such occasions the bleeding victim grew desperately furious, from the smarting of his wounds, and the shouts of sa- vage joy that were echoing from every side; but, from the number of accidents that happened, this dangerous mode has been little practised of late years; the park-keeper alone generally shooting them, with a rifled gun, at one shot." The description of the wild cattle in 1790, from which this hunting scene is taken, is the oldest one in any minute detail we have, and was written by Mr. Bailey, the Earl of Tankerville's agent. " There was formerly," he says, " a very singular species of wild cattle in this countrj', which is now nearly extinct. Numerous herds of them were kept in several parks in England and Scotland, but they have been destroyed by various means ; and the only breeds now remaining in the kingdom are in the park at Chillingham Castle, in Northum- berland ; at \Vollaton, in Nottinghamshire, the seat of Lord Middleton ; at Gisburne, in Craven, Yorkshire; at Lime Hall, in Cheshire; and at Chartly, in Staffordshire. * * * * The ears and noses of all those at Wollaton are black. At Gisburne, there are some perfectly white, except the inside of the ears, which are brown. They are without horns, very strong- boned, but not high." The following description refers wholly to the Chillingham breed : — " The principal external ap- pearances which distinguish this breed of cattle from all others are the following:— Their colour is invariably white, muzzles black; the whole of the inside of the ear, and about one-third of the out- side, from the tip downwards, red; horns white, with black tips, very fine, and bent upwards. Some of the bulls have a thin upright main, about an inch and a-half or two inches long. " At the first appearance of any person, they set off in full gallop; and, at the distance of two or three hundred yards, make a wheel round, and come boldly up again, tossing their heads in a menacing manner ; on a sudden, they make a full stop, at the distance of forty or fifty yards, looking wildly at the object of their surprise; but upon the least motion being made they all again turn round, and fly off with equal speed, but not to the same distance ; forming a shorter circle, and again re- turning with a bolder and more threatening aspect than before, they approach much nearer, probably within thirty yards, when they make another stand, and again fly off; this they do several times, shortening their distance and advancing nearer, till they come within ten yards, when most people think it prudent to leave them, not choosing to provoke them further, for there is little doubt that in two or three turns they would make an attack. " When the cows calve, they hide their calves for ?6G THE FARxMER'S MAGAZINE. a week or ten days in some sequestered situation, and go and suckle them two or three times a day. If any person come near the calves, they clap their heads close to the ground and lie like a hare in form, to hide themselves. This is a proof of their native wildness, and is corroborated by the follow- ing circumstance that hajjpcned to the writer of this narrative, who found a hidden calf, two days old, very lean, and very weak. On stroking its head, it got up, pawed two or three times like an old bull, bellowed very loud, stepped back a few steps, and bolted at his legs with all its force ; it then began to paw again, bellowed, stepped back, and bolted as before ; but knowing its intention, and stepjiing a^^ide, it missed him, fell, and was so very weak that it could not rise, though it made several efforts : but it had done enough. The whole herd were alarmed, and, coming to its rescue, obliged him to retire; for the dams will allow no person to touch their calves, without attacking them with impetuous ferocity." (This story in Poulson's Holderness is ascribed to Dr. Fuller, quoting apparently from Hamilton Smith, but it is added that the anecdote has been ascribed to Mr, Bailey, of Chillingham.) " When any one happens to be wounded, or is grown weak and and feeble through age or sick- ness, the rest of the herd set upon it and gore it to death. "The weight of the oxen is generally from forty to fifty stone the four quarters, the cows about thirty. The beef is finely marbled, and of excellent flavour." (s) Bewick's cuts of the wild bull and cow, accom- panying this account, are tame in com])arison with his larg?, indeed is largest, cut, printed by Sol. Hodgson, at Newcastle, in the previous year, 1789. This well-known engraving, with the exception of Edwin Landseer's, is the most accurate representa- tion of the Chilhngham bull known to us (c), and it was only right that the draughtsman should be re- compensed by fame for the danger he had under- gone in getting it up. At times the bulls will, without any preliminary wheeling and halting, directly attack any one ap- proaching them. It is said that when Bewick was making the drawing, the leader of the herd gave chase to him, and that the artist only escaped by climbing a tree, v/here he completed his sketch very much to his ov.-n satisfaction, while the animal kept bellowing and pawing the ground below, (hh) The size of the cut was 9 J inches by 71, and only 230 copies were printed. After the few im- pressions were taken, the block broke into several pieces: these pieces were bound together with iron, with the exception of the figured border, which was about 7 of an inch in breadfh, cut upon several pieces of wood, and put round the block ; and, in 1817, impressions were printed by Edward Walker, Newcastle, without the border ; the size of the cut being then reduced to 7 J inches by .'SJ inches. About six proof impressions were taken off on vellum from the block in its original state, and of course are highly valued, {ii) This is the usual statement ; but in the cat:doguc of works illustrated by the Bewicks, recently pub- lished, a much more marvellous account occurs. '"' This beautiful cut, considered by Bewick himself as his chef d'ceuvre, was undertaken at the request and by the direction of Marmaduke Tunstall, Esq. From the block, which was finished and sent to the printer's on a Saturday, four beautiful impressions were taken on thin drawing vellum, at the suggestion of Mr. Jolm Bell, of Newcastle, land surveyor. These four copies were appropriated, one to Mr. Tunstall, another to Mr. Beilby (Mr. Bewick's partner), the third to Mr. Hodgson, the printer, and the fourth to Mr. John Bell, and is now in the possession of his son, Mr. John Bell, of Gateshead. It is understood that Mrs. Hodgson sold the copy belonging to her to Earl Spencer, and Mr. Bcilby's copy has also been disposed of. The price obtained for one, if not both of these copies, is stated to be twenty guineas. The block, after these impressions were taken, was cleaned, and heedlessly laid in a window, v/here it remained until the Monday morning, and when the workmen arrived at the printing office, they found it split into two pieces, apparently by the influence of the heat during the Sunday. Mr. John Bell, of Gateshead, states, that he understands only the four vellum imi:)ressions were taken; but we have seen two im- pressions of the cut, with the border, and without any mark whatever of the fracture, and which have all the splendour and perfection of the vellum copies, namelv, one in the collection of the Rev. Thomas Hugo, perpetual curate of St. Pauls. Halliwell, near Bolton, Lancashire; and another in that of Mr. Thomas Bell, of Cumberland Row, Nev/castlc. Immediate attempts v/ere made to repair the accident, and the block was screwed together, and impressions were eventually taken for sale, but these impressions showed a deficiency in the cut, by a ragged white line running across it, hardly the breadth of a hair; afterwards it was found necessarj' to remove the ornamental border, so as to endeavour to screw the pieces of the block tighter together, which was done so as to remove the white line. The later impressions sold, hov/- ever, are found wanting the border, but the cut still shows much of the brilliancy of execution it did at first. The last repair was made about the year 1817." (jj) In the same work is mentioned a fac-simiie of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 357 this celebrated cut, of much smaller size and with the position of the animal reversed. " Impressions are of great rarity ; the only copies we have seen are in the collections of the Rev. Thomas Hugo and Mr. Whitehead." In 1S12, \Vhitaker, in his Craven, gave excellent illustrations of a bull and cow of the Gisburne breed, and says: — "This species differs from those of Lyme, in Cheshire, and Chillingham Castle, in Northumberland, where alone in South Britain they are now preserved, in being v/ithout horns. They are white, save the tips of their noses, which are black ; rather mischievous, especially when guarding their young, and approach the object of their resentment in a very insidious manner. They breed with tame cattle ; hut it is to be hoped that respect lor so ancient and singular a family will preserve them from any foreign admixtures." (t) About 1828, when the keepers were about to shoot a Inill which they had ridden off from the herd at Chillingham, the infuriated animal suddenly turned upon Lord Ossulston, who was mounted on a pon)', and after a short chase came up with him and threw his lordship and the pony to the ground. The bull then retired a few paces to gain the advantage of a run, but just as he was advancing to renew the attack, one of the keepers fired his rifle and brought him to the ground. The Countess of Tankerville was in the park and wit- nessed her son's imminent danger and escape. A tree was afterwards planted on the spot. The pony, we believe, was gored to death at the onset. (h, hh) On Jan. 10, 1831, Lord Ossulston attained his 2ist year, and instead of the usual general festivities, charity was munificently supplied to the necessitous poor on the Earl of Tankerville's exten- sive estates. His lordship's numerous labourers at Chilhngham were regaled with beef and ale, for which purpose three of the wild cattle were shot, and the flesh, besides furnishing the labourers' dinner, served to afford a portion to every poor family in the parish, (yy) Mr. • , an active member of the Wernerian Society of Natural History, nearly fell a martyr to his love of science in September, 1833. He had advanced near the herd of the purpose of making some particular observations, when a gruff-fronted, sharp-horned bull, offended at the intrusion, turned upon the inquisitive naturalist, and coursed him over the park "in gallant style," aud was gaining ground, when the chase ran to earth in a conduit adjoining the park wall. (kJc) The same year, 1833, as one of the keepers — being on foot, and having two or three persons with him — was endeavouring to separate one of the bulls from the herd, the animal turned upon the party, when each ran off and endeavoured to save himself as well as he could, according to the " good old rule, the simple plan," of " devil take the hind- most," invariably adopted in such cases. The whole of the party escaped over some high pales, except the keeper, who fell when he was at a short distance from them, and before he could rise, the bull came up, and threw him thrice in succession. The animal then left him and appeared to be going away ; but seeing the keeper attempting to rise, he returned and attacked him. again, tossing him and goring him with his horas, every now and then retiring a few steps and taking a ram-race at the unfortunate man, none of whose companions dared to venture beyond the paling to assist him. The bull continued to gore and toss him in this manner for nearly a quarter of an hour, till at length a cart was obtained, which being backed towards the spot, the keeper was lifted into it in a state of insensibility. For some time his life was despaired of, but though dreadfully gored and bruised, he at length recovered, [hh) In this year (1833) the editor of Sir Walter Scott's Poetical Works states, referring to the slaughter of the Cadyow breed about 17G0, that "the breed had not been entirely extirpated. There remained certainly a magnificent herd of these cattle in Cadyow Forest within these few years." (m) These are what are known as the Hamilton cattle. In 1836, Sir William Jardine gave, in the Naturalists' Library, " a very interesting account of this Hamilton herd, furnished by Robert Browne, Esq., chamberlain to the Duke of Hamilton." In many respects its details are very similar to those afforded us in the descriptions of the cattle at Chillingham, and for the purposes of comparison it is here presented at tolerably full length. " The chase is altogether of princely dimensions and appearance, amounting to upwards of 1,300 Scotch acres. The number of white cattle at present kept is upwards of sixty. Great care is taken to prevent the domestic bull from crossing the breed ', and if accidentally a cross should take place, the young is destroyed. In their general habits, they resemble the fallow deer more than any other domestic animal. Having been exposed, without shade or covering of any sort, to the rigours of our climate from time immemorial, they are exceedingly hardy; and having never been caught or subjected to the sway of man, they are necessarily peculiarly wild and untractable. Their affection for their young, like that of many other animals in a v/ild or half wild state, is excessive. When dropt, they carefully conceal them among long grass or weeds in some brushwood or thicket, and approach them cautiously twice or thrice a-day .358 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. for the purpose of siipplyinpf them with the neces- sary nourishment. On these occasions it is not a httle tlanjTcrous to approach the place of retreat, the parent cow being seklom at any great distance, and ahvays attacking any person or animal ap- proaching it with the utmost resolution and fury. The young calves, when imexpectcdly approached, betray great trepidation, by throwing their cars back close upon their necks, and lying squat down upon the ground. When hard pressed, they have been known to run at their keepers in a butting, menacing attitude, in order to force their retreat, llie young are produced at all seasons of the year, but chiefly in spring. The mode of catching the calves is to steal upon them whilst slumbering or sleeping in their retreat when they are a day or two old, and put a cloth over their mouths, to pre- vent them crying, and then carry them off to a place of safety without the reach of the herd, otherwise the cry of the calf would attract the dam, and she, by loud bellowing, would bring the whole flock to the spot, to attack the keeper in the most furious manner. These cattle are seldom seen scattering themselves indiscriminately over the pasture, like other breeds of cattle, but are generally observed to feed in a flock. They are very chary of being approached by strangers, and seem to have the power of smelling them at a great distance. When any one approaches them unexpectedly, they generally scamper ofl" to a httle distance to the lee- ward, and then turn round in a body to smell him. In these gambols they invariably aff'ect circles ; and when they do make an attack— which is seldom the case — should they miss the object of their aim, they never return upon it, but run straightforward, without ever venturing to look back. The only method of slaughtering these animals is by shooting at them. When the keepers approach them for this purpose, they seem perfectly aware of their danger, and always gallop away with great speed in a dense mass, preseiwing a j)rofound silence, and generally keeping by the sides of the fields and fences. The cows which have young n the mean time forsake the flock, and repair to the places where their calves are concealed, where with flaming eyeballs and palpitating hearts, they seem resolved to maintain their ground at all hazards. The shooters always take care to avoid these retreats. When the object of pursuit is one of the older bulls of the flock, the shooting of it is a very hazardous employment. Some of these nave been known to receive as many as eleven bullets, without one of them piercing their skulls. When fretted in this manner, they often become furious, and, owing to their great swiftness and prodigious strength, they are then regarded as ob- jects of no ordinary dread. "The Hamilton breed of wild cattle differs in many respects from any other known breed. As comjjared with those kepi at Chillingham, they are larger, and more robust in the general form of their bodies, and their markings are also very different. The body is dun-white, the inside of the ears, the muzzle, and the hoofs black, and the fore part of the leg, from the knee downward, mottled ■with black. The cows seldom have horns ; their bodies arc thick and short; their limbs are stouter, and their heads much rounder than in the Tankervillc breed. The inside or roof of the mouth is black, or spotted with black. The tongue is black, and generally tip])ed with black. It is somewhat larger in i)roportion than that of the common cow; and the high ridge on the upper surface, near to the insertion of the tongue, is also very prominent. It is observable that the calves that are off the usual markings are either entirely black or entirely white, or black and white, but never red or brown. The beef, like that of the Tankerville breed, is marbled, and of excellent flavour, and the juice is richer, and of a lighter colour, than in ordinary butcher-meat. The size of the smaller cows does not exceed 15 stones tron weiglit; but some of the larger sort, especially the bulls, average from 35 to 45 stones. The circumstances of their breeding in-and-in, of being chased so much when any of them are to be shot, of being so frequently approached and dis- turbed by strangers, and of having been exposed so long to all the vicissitudes of the seasons [did their ancestors fare any better ?], and constantly browsing the same pasture, have no doubt con- tributed greatly to the deterioration of the breed, and must have reduced them much in size and other qualities. " Instances are recorded of their having been taken when young, and tamed, and even milked. The milk, like that of most white cattle, is described as thin and watery. The usual number of ribs is 13 on each side; some have been slaughtered with 14 pair of ribs, but this is exceedingly rare. There is no park of cattle in Scotland of a similar description." (/) There is something like a small mane on the bull in the design by Stewart accompanying this ac« count. A calf is admirably pourtrayed with all its customary awkwardness of long legs. The allotted space for the cattle at Hamilton seems to be com- paratively confined, and Sir Wilhara Jardine con- tinues : — " In ChiUingham Park they roam at large, and there is between 1,500 and 1,300 acres enclosed, combining, besides good pasture, a range of wild and rocky moor, interspersed with abundant wood and cover for their shelter, and approaching, as near as any enclosure can do, to the wild nature of their original habitation." "The oxen feed THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 359 heavier, and in shape and form approach near to the Lancashire breed, the horns being long, and beautifully turned." The turning out of tame cows seems to have been no longer permitted at Chilhngham, for the then keeper of the park at one time possessed a wild cow, which he had taken when a calf, in conse- quence of the death of its mother : it was gentle, was milked as a cow, and bred freely with the common bull ; but the propagation was not allowed to proceed further, the calves being killed at an early age. At Hamilton, as we have seen, the same care is taken to preserve the breed, and if a cross should take place with the domestic bull, the young is destroyed, (n) "We have no i-ecords of the fertile or unfertile character of the produce from any cross between the wild and tame beasts, a cha- racter which Mr. Bell considers woiild decide the question of identity of species. Mr. Hind marsh's paper, read at the meeting of the British Association in Newcastle, 1838, in which the testimony of the Earl of Tankerville himself was introduced, brings our evidences up to a more recent period than Bailey's account. The following is the Earl's account : — " It is said that there are some other places in which a similar breed is found : Lyme Park, in Cheshire ; Hamilton ; and Chartley Park ( Lord Ferrers ). The first I have not seen, but they are described as of a diffe- rent colour, and different in every respect. Those at Hamilton, or rather, Chatelherault, 1 have seen, and they in no degree resemble those at Chilling- ham. They have no beauty, no marks of high breeding, no wild habits, being kept, when I saw them, in a sort of paddock ; and I could hear no his- tory or tradition about them, which entitled them to be called wild cattle. Those at Chartley Park, on the contrary, closely resemble ours in every par- ticular J in their colour, except some small difference in the colour of their ears — their size— general ap- pearance, and, as well as I could collect, in their ha- bits. This was an ancient park, belonging formerly to Devereux, Earl of Essex, who built the bridge on the Trent to communicate with his chase at Channock, and Beaudesert, then belonging to him ; and the belief is, that these cattle had been there from time immemorial. " The Earl proceeds to give an animated sketch of the habits of his own wild cattle : " They hide their young, feed in the night, basking or sleeping during the day : they are fierce when pressed, but, generally speaking, very timorous, moving off on the appearance of any one, even at a great distance. Yet this varies much at different seasons of the year, according to the manner in which they are approached. In summer, I have been for several weeks at a time without getting a sight at them : they, on the slightest appearance of any one, retiring into a wood which serves them as a sanctuary. On the other hand, in winter when coming down for food into the inner park, and being in contact with the people, they will let you almost come among them, particularly if on horseback. But then they have also a thousand peculiarities. They will be feeding sometimes quietly, when if any one appears suddenly near them — particularly coming down the wind— they will be struck with a sudden panic, and gallop off, running one after another, and never stopping till they get into their sanc- tuary. It is observable of them, as of red deer, that they nave a peculiar faculty of taking advantage of the irregularities of the ground ; so that on being disturbed, they may traverse the whole park, and yet you hardly get a sight of them. Their usual mode of retreat is to get up slowly, set off in a walk, then a trot, and they seldom begin to gallop till they have put the ground between you and them in the manner that I have described. In form they are beautifully shaped, short legs, straight back, horns of a very fine texture, thin skin, so that some of the bulls appear of a cream colour; and they have a peculiar cry, more like that of a wild beast than of ordinary cattle. With all the marks of high breeding they have also some of its defects. They are bad breeders, and are much subject to the rush — a complaint common to animals bred in and in, which is unquestionably the case with these as long as we have any account of them. When they come down into the lower part of the park, which they do at stated hours, they move like a regiment of cavalry in single files, the bulls leading the van, as in retreat it is the bulls that bring up the rear. Lord Ossulston was witness to a curious way in which they took possession as it were of some new pasture recently laid open to them. It was in the evening about sunset. They began by lining the front of a small wood, which seemed quite alive with them, when all of a sudden they made a dash forward altogether in a line, and charging close by him across the plain, they then spread out, and after a little time began feeding. Of their tenacity of life the following is an instance ; — An old bull being to be killed, one of the keepers had proceeded to seperate him from the rest of the herd, which were feeding in the outer park. This the bull re- senting, and having been frustrated in several at- tempts to join them by the keepers interposing (the latter doing it incautiously) the bull made a rush at him and got him down ; he then tossed him three several times, and afterwards knelt down upon him, and broke several of his ribs. There being no other person present than a boy, the only assist- tance that could be given him was, by letting loose a deer-hound belonging to Lord Ossulston, whoim- SCO THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. diately attacked the bull, and by biting his lieels drew him off the man, and eventually saved his life. The bull, however, never left the keeper, but kept continually watching and returning to him, giving him a toss from time to time. In this state of things, and while the dog with singular sagacity and courage was holding the bull at bay, a messen- ger came up to the castle ; when all the gentlemen went out with their rifles, and commenced a fire upon the bull, principally by a steady good marks- man from behind a fence at the distance of twenty- five yards; but it was not till six or seven balls had actually entered the head of the animal (one of them jjassing in at the eye) that he at last fell. During the whole time he never flinched nor changed his ground, merely shaking his head as he received the several shots. " (j ) Mr. Hindmarsh added some information collec- ted from Mr. Cole, the keeper, and from his own observation : " There are about SO in the herd, comprising 25 bulls, 40 cows, and 15 steers, of various ages. The eyes, eye-lashes, and lips of the horns alone are black ; the muzzle is brown, and tlie inside of the ears red or brown, and all the rest of ihe aninial white. Even the bulls have no manes, but a little coarse hair on their neck. They fight for supremacy, until a few of the most powerful subdue the others, and the mastery is no longer disputed. When two bulls are separated by acci- dent, they fight when they meet, although friendly before, and do so till they become friends again. The cows commence breeding at three years old ; the calves suckle nine months ; they do not often die from disease, but they are seldom allowed to live more than eight or nine years, at which period they begin to go back. AVhen slaughtered, they weigh from 33 to 42 stones. One was caught and kept, and became as tame as the domestic ox, and thrived as well as any short-horned steer could do, and in its prime was computed to weigh 05 stones. They are shy in summer, but tame in winter, and will cat hay from a fold, although they will not taste turnips." In the concealment of calves, and goring feeble companions to death, Mr. Hindmarsh's description of the cattle agrees with Bailey's. An old man was not long ago gored to death by one of the bulls of Chillingham. "When a person lies perfectly still, they will not harm hiin, but a slir is danger. The victim not unnaturally forgot the rule ( // ). A conversation folio v.ed the paper. Mr. P. J. Selby knew these cattle very wellj they had been the same ever since he remembered them.— Mr. Swainson had thought them a different genus to the common ox, and placed them under Urus. — Mr. Gray thought them distinct from the Urus. — Dr. Greville mentioned the existence of wild cat- tle in Ribblesdale Park, one of which was stated by Mr. Turner to exist in the Manchester Museum of Natural History.— Mr. Webb Hall thought this an imjiortant paper, although opposed in its results to the received opinions of cattle breeders. Here was a race breeding in and in, yet retaining all its beauty, strength, and vigour. This was opposed to all known facts. We have been told that old "Tommy Bates," the great Yorkshire cattle breeder, was much struck with this paper, and afterwards, at a dinner, went into a full discussion about breeding in and in — to the horror of the company, there being several ladies present, but to turn him was to turn the falls of Niagara. If it does turn out that the issue of a cross be- tween the wild and tame breeds are fruitful, then the fact of our having the original stock of out island wealth of cattle would be quite as inte- resting as that of a distinct species lasting through all time. There does not appear one evidence lead- ing to the supposition that these wild herds were once domesticated. In almost every occurrence of them we have the memories of frith and forest j and the natural inference is that the v.'ild beast of the forest were gradually hemmed into isolated remains of their former kingdom of v.'ood ; and there the lords, struck with their singularity and beauty, cherished them in certain limits, hunted them in their splendour, and luxuriated over their flesh in the baronial hall. Their comparative plenty is clear, if we consider that in the county of Durham alone, four contiguous lordships— Barnard, Rab)', Auckland, and Brancepeth — would conduct them over a large extent of country. Their colour is very peculiar, and perhaps an evidence of species rather than of prior domestication. It is not probable that separated domesticated branches would all assume in their wildness the same scarce tint. The Chillingham Cattle have been decided at law to stand in the light of heir-looms, as do the wild deer. W. Hylton Longstaffe. Gateshead. AUTHORITIES. (fl) Swainson's Classification of Quadrupeds. — (h) Bell's British Quadrupeds, 1830.— (c) Penny Cyclop?edia, Oxen. — (d) Owen's British Mammalia. — (e) Wilson's Archaeology of Scotland. — ( f )Cata- logue of the Archaeological Institute's Museum, at their York meeting. — {(/) Kemble, Appendix to Beowulf. — {k) Hodgson's Northumberland. — (i) Nicholson and Burn's Cumberland and Westmore- land.—(j) Earl of Tankerville's letter in Mr. Hind- marsh'spaper, 133S,Athenjeum Report. — (t) Arclia- ologia, vii. — (/) Mr. Brown, in Jardine's Rumi- nantes, Naturalists' Library. — (m) Sir Walter Scott, sub Cadyow Castle, Border Minstrelsy.— (n) Jar- dine Ruminantes, Nat. Lib. — (o) Fitz-Stephen's Description of London, per Pegge, in Archseologia, X. — (p) Hutchinson's Durham.— ( 0 84 0 48 0 50 0 G8 0 7a 0 77 6 8) 0 1850 78 0 84 0 38 0 40 0 68 0 80 0 76 0 77 6 1851 86 0 90 0 43 0 41 0 60 0 62 0 60 0 62 0 1852 78 0 84 0 42 0 45 0 58 0 60 0 67 0 69 0 WOOL MARKET. BRITISH. LEEDS, March 26.— The demand for combing Wools this week has been very flat, and prices have a tendency in favour of the buyers. LIVERPOOL, March 27. Scotch. — There is more doing in Laid Highland, rather under late prices. White Highland is less in- quired for. In Crossed and Cheviot there is more doing at very irregular prices, depending on the feeling of the holder. I. d. s. d. Laid Highland Wool, per 24 105,.,. 9 0 to 9 6 White Highlanddo 11 6 1.3 0 Laid Crossed do.. .unwashed .... 10 6 11 6 Do. do. ..washed 11 Laid Cheviot do... unwashed .... 11 Do. do.. >Y!ishcd 13 White Cheviot do... do 22 FOREIGN WOOL. CITY, Monday. — The market is very dull for most descriptions, although there are not many sellers. Stocks are light, and considerable purchases continue to be made on the continent, of Wool from the next clip. 0 12 6 0 13 0 6 15 6 0 '.'4 U Printed by Kogerson and Tuxford., 246, Strand, London. Q o m m o ^ f^^ Q. Q i^j ^ S< «o 6^ »N i^. ^ e/> 00 CO 121 O H H Iz; Fh o 1^ o M H M 01 M tzi W w Eh E-» E U 3 h 0 5 C3 . ^ h~ ^ 1 Z r Z 111 X S l_ i I 1 1 1 ^ ,a 5r O O d o > o CQ t!.>":'^N^m"V o '^ THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZIIN'E. MAY, 1852. PLATE I. FARM BUILDINGS. BY MR. JOHN BAXTER, LEWES. (For description see page 386 J PLATE II. A HEREFORD STEER, The property of Edward Longmore, Esq., of Adforteu, near Ludlow, Salop, for which the first prize of Thirty Sovereigns was awarded in Class 2, at the Smithfield Club Cattle Show, in December last. This animal was purchased at the show by Mr. Nott, of Birkenhead. ON THE COVENANTS IN A FARM LEASE AS TO MANURE. BY CUTHBERT W. JOHNSON, ESQ., F.R.S. The covenants in a farmer's lease, it is often said, are seldom even read by either the landlord or his tenant. But as this remark is not univer- sally correct, it may be well to consider the subject of one of the clauses the most commonly intro- duced (and often injuriously so) with regard to the management of farm-yard manure. Now it is a correct general observation, as I have in another place had occasion to remark, that these covenants, with regard to fertilizers, are often worse than use- less ; encumbering the efforts of the skilful culti- vator, and rarely improving the practice of the ignorant, lazy, and unprincipled. Thus, by some leases, the farmer is allowed to sell his straw and hay on certain conditions, such as bringing on to the farm in its stead a given weight of manure (commonly two tons of stable dung for a load of straw, and three tons for a load of hay) ; in others, he is restrained from selling either ; in others, from liming or chalking his eoil. In most leases he covenants to spread the manure on his farm, and to leave it in the concluding year of his term, OLD SERIES.] properly laid up in heaps, if it is not already em- ployed on the land. It would be well, I think, if the tenant was in almost all cases allowed to dispose of his hay and straw, bringing upon his farm an equivalent pro- portion of manure. In many instances, indeed, it is to the farmer's interest to produce food for his hve stock (in order to increase the bulk and im- prove the quality of his manure) to a far greater amount than the consumption of his hay and straw can yield. In other instances he can exchange much more and much richer manure for these than his stock can make from them . In other cases he can furnish his lands with so much manure by the use of the grass from irrigated meads, or other sources, that his farm can spare both its hay and its straw without deterioration. These truths I have elsewhere endeavoured to illustrate, when I remarked— The quahty of farm- yard compost naturally varies with the food of the animals by which it is made ; that from the cattle of the straw-yard is decidadly the poorest j that 2 C No. 5.— VOL .XXXVI. 3S4 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. from those fed on oilcake, corn, or swedes, the richest. Of stable diinport of bone and muscle, to be found in the soil. How can the animal obtain them? It cannot eat earth; if it did, its digestive apparatus is not fitted to disintegrate nor iissimilate the specific ingredients. There must then be a medium. That medium is given in the plant, whcse roots penetrate into the earth, and diligently col- lect and present to the animal certain principles identical with the chief constituents of blood ! The life of the plant is therefore subsidiary to the life of the animal. And it is also imperative that the substances of which bone and muscle are composed are yielded to the young animal in the millv of its mother. The processes of com- bustion and transformation demand in the case of the adult animal very large supplies. In the young animal, however, these processes are far more energetic. Not- withstanJing that the metamorphosis of organized parts gets on mi/re slowly than in the adult, there is a more active respiration and a rapid growth that claim an in- cessant and increased supply, and a supply also that shall be concentrated : this claim is recognized in the nature of the mother's milk. Nor is this demand by any means relinquished, although materially reduced, after the structure is matured ; for in the lowest as well as in the highest class of the animal kingdom there is a constant change, a decay and renewal, or as we have before termed it, a metamorphosis of organized tissues going on. So much so is this the case with man that he is supposed at the end of every seven years to bear no very unfair resemblance to poor Pat's stockings, which was so darned and redarned " that sure not a thread of the original remained." It is impossible to conceive what some rogues might not make of this in a court of law, where the identity of their persons were concerned ! Surely it is the fear that such fact as this shall get abroad, and enter into silly people's heads, to the sub- version of all order and constitutional security, that leads certain personages to talk about the danger of educating the " dangerous classes !" Silly people. It is then evident that the animal is bound by an in- I dissoluble bond to the earth— a bond which, if broken, death will ensue. A hazardous experiment is tried when- ever an attempt is made to loosen this bond ; and this is virtually done when the animal is ill supplied, through the soil or plant, with those principles on which it depends. What is the meaning of distinguishing certain grass lands as breeding, suckling, and feeding lands, if it is not that experience teaches that the peculiarity of one is to rear fine lambs, &c. — of the other tj produce fat beasts, &c. ? This right and judicious discrimination is a main secret of successful grazing ; but it is only gained after a series of losses when gained only by natural observation, totally unaided by scientific inves- tigation. How so ? Why, owing to the constant con- sumption of those substances that characterize these difTerent pastures, the fact of this year may be untrue ten years hence ; and ten to one that extensive loss lias supervened between the change and the discovery of it. All farmers are aware of this, and hundreds, for want of the aid that chemistry could render them (and in nu- merous instances common sense only), are floundering about in uncertainty with a radically diseised flock, and a stunted herd, cursing free trade instead of their own ignorance. We veritably believe that much of what is called " local disease" may be traced to the exhaustion that has taken place in one or more of the substances so often mentioned. Some farms are known to have had names because of the peculiar maladies that attack, at certain stages of their growth, the stock reared or fed upon them. And at different stages of growth we know that different elements are assimilated. Suppose, now, that a tenant has exhausted the land of its phosphates by the growth of wheat year after year, but with little intermission, and, determined upon affording it relief, he lays it down with grass. As phos- phorus cannot be restored by the atmosphere, we know that unless it is restored by some other means, no plants, none at least that require it, will grow where it is not. A cow turned upon the pasture such a course would insure, might possibly keep herself alive ; but should she have to support a calf she would do so, so long as she was able, from her own system (Is this not a beau- tiful provision ?), and then death to both would ensue. " The animal," says Fownes, "cannot long be inde- pendent of the quality of the dead earth on which it treads." The cheapest and most expeditious mode of restoring the used-up phosphates to the land is to dress with bone-dust. Phosphates enter largely into, and in- deed are the chief constituents of bone ; therefore, curious as the fact may seem, it is still true, that by supplying bone-dust to the soil you give bone to the animal. Nothing has yet been said concerning the organic parts of soils, plants, and animals. For the most part, these subserve the purposes of res'/?2>a/2on, and are ob- tained from the atmosphere. They have little to do with the formation of blood, and, being of minor importance, we will leave the consideration of them for another oc- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 407 caslon, and return to the solution of the agricultural problem, viz., How can those substances be rejjhiced which have been taJienfrom the soil, and which cannot be furnished by the atmosphere ? In farm-yard manure ? No ; because a very small proportion of the elements necessary to the vitality of the animal will be thus returned : they are assimilated by the animal, and exported from the farm at some time. To arrive at any valuable reply to the qurstion there are many things to be ascertained. We will mention three : First, we must ascertain definitely what substances are abstracted from the soil by different plants. Thanks to chemistry, we have pretty correct information on this subject ; and our information teaches us to divide veget- ables into three or more classes: 1st, potash plants , which includes the best mangold-wurtzel, turnips, and maize; 2nd, /iwe^/an^*, comprehending clover, beans, peas, &c.; 3rd, siliceous plants, including wheat, oats, rye, and barley — i. e,, silica goes principally to form the straw of these. Secondly, we must know in what quantity or proportion these substances are abstracted from the soil by different plants. The results of many experiments are before us. The celebrated chemist Liebig gives us, in the matter of phosphates removed from a surface of land equal to four acres, the following data : Peas I171bs.,wheat 112 431bs., rye 77'051bs,, turnips 37 8-1 lbs. Thirdly, we must arrive at some approximate propor- tion of the ingredients returned to the soil in the animal manure. Chemistry a third time lends us its effective aid, and the researches of Dr. Liebig prove how fully he has overcome this difficulty. So much so is this the case, in each of the three requisites to a successful prac- tice of agriculture just mentioned, that he (Dr. Liebig) anticipates the time when the farmer may be able to keep an exact record of the produce of his fields ; the waste that has taken place in certain substances, and in the measure in which they may be supplied, will then be a matter only of easy calculation. None of these questions— the practical comprehen- sion of which is so essential to success in the economic cultivation of the soil — can be answered by art. In all experiments made by men 5vho are not guided by scientific principles the chance of success is very small ; and just because they are usually failures, they are seldom tried. The ground indicated by science, and which exposes us to no danger of falling, is the only safe footing; and in bringing this interesting inquiry to a close, we would advise all who have their own interest at heart to effect some stand upon it. Liebig concludes one of his chapters with these words, " It is confidently looked for that, by the united efforts of the chemists of all countries, we shall arrive at a rational si/stem of gar- dening, horticulture, and agriculture, applicable to every country, and to all kinds of soil ; and which will be based upon the immutable foundation of observed facts and philosophical induction." So be it. F. R. S. AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK-LANE EXPRESS. Sir, — I have read with considerable interest the re. marks of " F. R. S." on this subject ; and although agreeing in general with his opinions, must think that in his anxiety to ride his own hobby, he has rather too roughly trampled on the toes of other people. " F. R. S." says — " Education, independently of all other advantages, will give to agriculturists their political and social position in society — a position they have yet failed to acquire from the very want of education — a po- sition at which they never will arrive but by education — and a position the manufacturing and commercial popu- lation has attained merely by the means that the rural population have disregarded." Education alone will do no such thing ; and to say that without it farmers will never arrive at their proper political position, and that they are not yet educated, is as much as to tell them — " You are not fit for political privileges ; leave such to the next generation — nay, even the next generation will not be fit for them ; for they do not attend Agricultural Colleges, and your political pri- vileges must be in abeyance, until the Utopian time ar- rives when every farm is held by a college student, and colleges in every hundred are crowded with farmers' sons," Now, I affirm : 1st, That the present race of farmers are as fit for political privileges, from county M.P.'s downwards, as any other in the kingdom, nay more so than most classes ; 2nd, That they could obtain the power instantaneously if they would use their plain com- mon sense, and see that a subserviency to the landowner is detrimental to them, even in a worldly point of view. Landlords always prefer to vote for one of their own class, even if an ignorant " dummy," saturated with prejudices, conceit, and family pride. Let farmers who form the majority of electors in counties vote for tenant farmer candidates ; they could return such easily in a combined movement, and we should then behold a phalanx of business men, who could see the object of the tangled absurdities of a Quarter Session Chairman, and detect the absurdities of a propounder of Arian mysteries. There arein'every county tenant farmers superior even in speech making to the majority of squires, and far be- yond them in business habits ; not sham sympathizers, like the pretended farmers' friends, but real one?, be- cause, as farmers, the cause and interest are their own. It is probable that " F. K. S." can call to mind one even in the neighbourhood of the R. A. College, whose 408 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. sharp trenchant sentenceg have often demolished a fal- lacy, startled a company of squires, and even dumb- founded an " intelligent commercial" gent. 3rd, I affirm that the education of farmers is as sound and suitable for their calling as that of any other class in the community. They attend the very same schools as the commercial and manufacturing classes, and have therefore just the same opportunities for learning. Is not the plain sound English education taught there bet- ter suited for working men than the Greek and Latin forced upon the tender minds and bodies of the aristo- cracy at schools like Eton and Rugby, and colleges of Oxford and Cambridge ? Would not an intelligent far- mer's son, after half a dozen years at his country school, be far more fit for his pursuit in after-life than the best Latin versifier or even pure mathematician that ever left the banks of the Isis or Cam ? By its results on our squires it appears that the forcibly driving in descriptions of Mythology, and Greek and Roman freedom, so disgusts the learners that they hate th.T very name of " Liberty" afterwards, and consider it just as delusive and fabulous as the improving and moral tales of the gods and goddesses. No doubt there are many, too many, ignorant and prejudiced farmers, who know and care nothing of geo- logy, botany, chemistry, and vegetable and animal phy- siology ; but are there not a still greater proportion of .equally ignoi ant and still more prejudiced squires ? If farmers are subservient to their landlords, are not the commercial retail dealers of towns still more subservient ? If manufacturers have greater political power than farmers, it is not because they are better educated, for they are not. The greatest man among them, Cobden, was a poor farmer's son ; and even his "unadorned elo- quence" has almost passed into a proverbial sarcasm. It is because in towns manufacturers stand in the posi- tion of landlords ; they possess property, and have almost unlimited control over large bodies of dependants ; just as in small towns and in nomination boroughs some neighbouring lord bears sway and governs the electors, so in these large towns rival manufacturers have taken the place of the single landowner ; but the majority of the voters are hardly more independent of their em- ployers than the farmers are of their landlords. Agreeing with F. R. S. in his remarks on the R. A. College, I think I can give him the reasons why it is not encouraged by farmers. 1st. The terms are even now too high ; when lower, as originally, they had many farmers' sons. Free trade, so depressing to farmers, so much a benefit (as yet) to all other classes, prevents tenants sending their sons, and encourages others in so doing. Farmers say other classes have been enriched from their poverty, are fed at the cost of their starvation ; they may add, and taught at the expense of their com- pulsory ignorance. 2nd. Success at the College leads to nothing. What member of the middle class would struggle with the expenses of r.u Oxford or Cambridge education did it not lead to fat rectories, good living, and at worst curacies, and the way well strewed with scholarships, fellowships, &c., &c. ? The R. A, College certificate is a mere honorary distinction, which, when gained, does not materially assist the bearer in obtaining a situation. The rich shareholders do not select their stewards, or even lower subordinates from the first col- legians. Travelling fellowships for one year would be far more useful in an agricultural than in a classical col- lege ; as the person obtaining it might thus learn much useful matter concerning the agriculture and domestic economy of foreign countries. 3rd. The want of pre- vious training in the students themselves, renders the best tuition less eflicient : there is a rather stale proverb, " One may take a horse to water, but cannot force him to drink," and in like manner one may lead a person to the fountains of knowledge, but cannot force him to imbibe thereof. In all other collegiate establishments the students have been previously educated in a similar manner at large schools, and undergo besides preliminary examinations, At Cirencester the students, as coming from towns, are frequently entirely ignorant of farming, even to the names of the implements used. What is wanted is four great collegiate establishments, an eastern, northern, and southern, as well as a western, with numerous district farm schools, from which the best scholars might be grafted to complete their education. F. R. S. asks again, "Why, viewing them in a political light, do farmers hold an inferior rank to any other working class of the community ? Because, feel- ing their practical incompetency to manage their own affairs (an incompetency resulting, we aver, from men- tal inaptitude), they have trusted thera to be mismanaged by others." Sharp words Mr. F. R. S., yet not exactly true. It was not incompetence and want of education on the part of the tenantry, or the scientific knowledge and aptitude for business on the part of landlords, that made the foimer to be merely "political capital" to the latter; but it is simply the result of the laws of " supply and demand." The farming class has an equal tendency to increase as other classes ; but this, which gives greater employment to all others, diminishes that of the farmer, as with the increasing wealth and population farms in- crease in size and diminish in number, and competitors come in from other classes. The " ignorant and in- competent" farmer might object to hiring land at a tenancy at will, and to signing covenants which made him a complete serf to the landowner ; but the latter's scientific, and brilliant, and conclusive answer — " If you w^ont sign 'em there's plenty as will " — would prove a complete poser even to the " intelligent " commercial gentlemen who would probably be his competitors ; and if one of these commercials hired the farm, he would soon find that, even if he attained the wisdom and know- ledge of Solomon, he weuld be no match for the densest of squires, after signing conditions, that might lead, on his showing an independent spirit, or even a conscience, not only to a compelled relinquishment of a farm, but to the forfeiture of much expended, or rather " sxmk" capital. "Sunk," I say; for in many instances it might as well have been thrown into the Thames. But free trade, by decreasing this competition, and thus alter- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 400 iog the proportion in the " supply and demand," has ia a great measure changed this. Landlords begin to know the value of a good tenant ; farmers to see the folly of both losing money by their farms and yet im. plicitly obeying the dictates of a landlord. April 8th. A Farmer. THE LIABILITY OF THE POTATO PLANT TO THE RAVAGES OF THE WIREWORM. Though there is not a greater insect enemy to the farmer than the vvireworm, there is not one which is blamed more for injury which it never commits. If a wheat plant is turned out by the frosts of winter — if the same cause thins the clover plant in the spring — if the barley turns yellow three weeks after sowing — if the oats look sickly and die — nay, if the turnips, rape, or mangolds are at all disposed to be sicklj', " it is the wireworm" settles the wliole matter, and the farmer resorts to his thousand-and- one nostrums — some of which do good, some do harm, and some do simply neither. It is to this moment unsettled whether it is de- structive to or destroyed by the potato. Sir Joseph Banks long ago recommended slices of potatoes to be stuck on sticks and buried in the ground in order to attract them, and so on being taken up act as traps to secure them ; while in the eax'ly numbers of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society's Transactions a writer recommended a clean crop of potatoes as a remedy for their ravages. In this state the matter stood until Mr. Curtis, in one of his able papers in the Journal of the Royal Agricul- tural Society strongly asserted their destructibility to potatoes. Now, though it is always admitted that they will really injure a potato crop, while this was never deemed that they would bore tJirough potatoes as they would do through a clod of earth, and so damage the tuber ; still this might easily comport with the idea that a crop of potatoes might free the land from their ravages. A writer sets his face against Sir Joseph Banks, that he confined several wireworras in an earth- enware jar with soil and potatoes, and they all died, and the potatoes were unmolested. To this Mr. Curtis makes rejoinder, and details his experiments tending to show that wireworm s placed in pots with wheat and potato plants growing died when not kept moist, but lived when the pot was placed in water. Now this simply proves either that in the first instance there might not have been moisture suffi- cient, or that in the second the wireworm had lived on the wheat plant j for though Mr. Curtis says the earth was full of their burrows, he does not say anything of the injury they did either to the wheat or the potato, It nvaul, however, be clear, that though a crop of potatoes may not be a remedy for the attacks of wireworm; yet if that insect will really eat the potato it will go far to show that they really are not so. Mr. Curtis endeavours to make out that they will devour potatoes, at least in some districts, and so infers they cannot be inimical to the insect. Still even this does not follow : for it may be as with some other substances, that, though eaten voraciously, they act as a certain destruction to them. He says : " Potatoes suffer greatly in some counties from the wireworm; whilst in others, where that animal equally abounds amongst the turnips, the potato crops escape." He goes on to detail his experience in Dorsetshire, from the wire- worm infesting the potato-land — some eaten into the hearts of the potatoes ; gives Mr. Hope's e.K- perience of their adhering to the slices of the planted potatoes — some partially eaten, some all gone ; and the latter gentleman says : " They first attack the potato when the slices are first committed to the earth:" and to this Mr. Curtis remarks that " Mr. Knight's plan of planting whole potatoes instead of slices would at once remedy the evil." This does not appear to be, however, by any means clear. If the wireworm can injure a crop of potatoesj-we donotsee why it should not also injure whole sets newly put in ; and, if they are a luxury to it, it is only giving it more food by planting whole potatoes — but by no means necessarily remedying the evil. It is some- what remarkable, however, that in several of the instances Mr. Curtis cites, no injury is done to po- tatoes by the insect. Mr. Porter, of Cenerhithe, who seems to have been an accurate observer, says — "Potatoes never suffer on his farm." Mr. Bates, another of his correspondents, says — " No potato crop is destroyed by them." Mr. Salisbury says — " Turnips or potatoes are not so liable to injury from this insect ; and, he further states, that " If land be planted or sown two years in succession with the same crop, it is sure to be well stocked with them — at least it is so with the potato." To prove further that they will live upon potatoes, he says — "I have fed them on nothing else for many v/eeks together." But this is a very indifferent proof— for, Breckander says — "They can fast for a long period ;" nor has, that we can see, Mr, Curtis 410 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. anywhere said that they actually eat the potatoes where there was nothing else for them. He goes on to cite the evidence of a writer in a weekly paper, who signs himself Adan (Adam ?), who alleges that they injure his Sweet Williams, lettuces, &c., by " boring, running up, and eating the hearts out." And these he catches, he says, by setting jiotato trajis with the eyes bored out, and staked down with a slick near those plants : and he will pull out fifteen to twenty of them from one piece of potato." Now, this is quite ample evidence that the writer was sjieaking of some other insect altogether, and not the wireworm : probably, a maggot, a caterpillar, or a millipede; for, it is quite contrary to the habits of the wireworm to bore into the hearts of either lettuces or Sweet Williams ; and this we apprehend is one of the many delu- sions which often take possession of farmers and gardeners on the subject of natural defects, placing cause for effect, and vice versa, with the most per- tinacious obstinacy. Some weeks ago, we communicated with some of the most intelligent agriculturists in the kingdom on this very subject. AVe inquired several parti- culars as to their experience on the natural history and ravages of the wireworm, and incidentally on the liability of the potato plant to be attacked by them. Out of one hundred selected, we received sixty-six replies, and the tendency of these replies was as follows : — Of these four only said they in- jured potatoes; eight replied that potatoes destroyed them ; and two said that a crop of potatoes had no effect. Into these details we shaU afterwards enter; enough will appear to show that Mr. Curtis decided somewhat hastily, when he said that the potato crop was one which supplied a food for the wire- worm; and was also rather inconsiderate to at once put down a writer who asserted it to be so found in some localities. Mr. Curtis, however, admits that the eggs are not deposited in turnips or potato fields pro])ably. Now, as the insect in its larva? state does not live probably more than three years, and, if its eggs are not deposited in potato fields, it would seem that this crop would, at any rate for one year, free a field from their depredation, as the third year after potatoes it would be extinct, if no other crop induced the deposit of its eggs. For instance, if land were seeded with potatoes, then barley, then seeds, and the fourth year wheat, it is })robable that the wheat— the crop which most suflfers— would escape, for it is hardly likely to deposit eggs in the barley or the seeds. The question whether the potato crop is food for the wireworm, or its poison — whether it is ob- noxious or favourable to that msect — whether, in short, we may expect our planting our land with potatoes to encourage that insect, or eradicate it — is as yet almost unsettled. There is, we must confess, evidence on both sides : which prepon- derates ? First, we have the admitted fact that, year after year, land subject to wireworm was, by the intro- duction of a potato crop instead of turnips, freed from its ravages. In the first year, a line was drawn as straight as the plough went, between the ])lants infested with wireworm and the plants free from it. The one side had been potatoes, the other not. Next course, the potatoes were at the ojjpo- site side of the field. Then the middle only was injured ; and lastly, when the whole field had been cropped with potatoes, the headland, which is generally unplanted, and was so in this case, alone was damaged. Nay, more— it was proved that, while a bad, foul, indifferent crop of potatoes, when the land had other matter on which the in- sect fed, was not freed from ihe ravages of the in- sects, a second and clean crop effected a cure. And insects confined in soil with potato-tubers died, either from inanition or from some poisonous in- fluence. Now, what is set against this ? Mr. Curtis says potatoes are injured by them — that he has kept them alive for months, in pots in which potatoes and corn wei'e growing. The first, as a fact, proves nothing. A troop of horses might trample down a whin cover, and destroy it, but could not eat it ; and so a wireworm might bore through a potato, and so injure the crop. And may not the second fact relied on by Mr. Curtis, of a wireworm living in a pot with potato and wheat plants, be referred to the same cause as the instance above alluded to, of the foul potato-field — viz., that the wireworm found other food, and therefore would be quite sufhcient to account for the whole of the facts in- stanced by Mr. Curtis ? Now this was some years ago. A very short time ago, we made the inquiry alluded to before, and the following is one of the answers received to our inquiries as to the eflfect of potatoes. Our corres- pondent says : "After taking two crops of oats in succession, I had the piece planted with potatoes, and never suffered from that cause afterwards ; but whether the potatoes destroyed the insects, or whe- ther they were carried away by them when dry, I can- not say." Now this breaks open a new view of the whole question, reconciling Sir Walsh Bankes, Mr. Curtis, and the writers on the potato theory. If the potatoes act as a trap, they may easily serve the purpose of freeing a field from their ravages. Another of our correspondents says that some kinds of potatoes act in this favourable manner. In answer to the inquiry if potatoes were found to THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 411 eradicate the wireworm, he sa3'S : " Some kinds of potatoes, the Hampshire red particularly." A third correspondent says : " Potatoes will to some extent clear the land." A fourth corre- spondent says : " In my opinion, potatoes have a favourable tendency." Another still says : " Potatoes will clear the land of the wireworm in heavy soils." Mr. Charnock, of Holmfirth, has recommended, as we before said, another class of remedies. If the potato will be injurious to the wireworm, not- withstanding its boring through and eating them, Mr. Charnock's facts are still more remarkable. Small pieces of rape-cake are certainly proved by him to be a remedj% and what is more remarkable the same rape-cake if powdered small will have no influence whatever. Mr. Charnock found small pieces of rape-cake of the size of peas to free a field of the wireworm ; they clustered round the cake, devoured it with avidity, and died — burst or poisoned — most probably the former by the rape cake, when it was presented to them in sufficient quantities. And is it not true, also, that the mere dilute powder of rape-dust being unefficacious is a confirmatory proof of the necessity of supplying enough of the material at the point required to allow the wireworm to burst itself or to eat to such repletion as to cause death to ensue ? Mr. Charnock, by garden experiments, made out the accuracy of those made in the field. He had some carnations sadly hampered and nearly de- voured by the wireworm. He placed the pepper- corn pieces of rape-dust near these infested roots, and the. field experiment was realized — the wire- worms all died, and the plants revived. In reply to our queries, however, the bulk of the correspondents recommend consolidation in various forms. Folding mustard — eating on turnips — and Crosskill's clod-crusher, were the most generally recommended. jSow what is the rationale of all this ? No amount of ordinary consolidation from the surface of a yielding body like soil, and especially light stringy soil, often the most infested, can we think destroy almost a single wireworm even by accident. We suppose there are few clod-crushers which will weigh a ton. There are several parts on which the whole weight is resting, so that no one point can at any time be acting with a direct pressure of more than .3 or 4 cwt. Now we will venture to say that four times that weight will do more injury to the wire- worm in the cases in which it ordinarily exists in the soil than as many pounds. It seems naturally calculated to resist pressure ; its scaly tubular body will resist almost as much weight as can be applied to the soil externally, and will, even if laid on the surface, be almost unimpaired by a direct pressure of any amount if a yielding soil was under it. Yet, though our opinion is that no surface con- solidation will influence it, it may alleviate the ef- fects the wireworm produces. Stopping its burrows, pressure may retard the facility its movements would otherwise possess ; and if a sickly plant be once embedded in the soil it will have another chance of striking fresh fibres out, and thus have a second opportunity of securing its growth. And we can, moreover, easily conceive that a parent in- sect will be more likely to deposit its ova in a solid consistent soil than in one that is friable and oj)en. Here, amongst other things, consolidation is by no means to be despised, but potatoes and pieces of rape-cake will doubtless destroy them. — Gardeners' and Farmers' Journal. THE ARTIFICIAL GRASSES : THEIR SPRING SOWING AND CULTURE. BY A PRACTICAL FARMER. " He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle and herb for the service of man : that he may briug forth food out of the earth." — Psalm civ., 14. Tlie artificial grasses most commonly adopted to carry out the best systems of rotation usually practised in British husdandry arc the following: — Broad red clover, perennial red clover (cow-grass), white clover, or Dutch clover,or suckling (rib-grass), trefoil, cinque- foil, or sainfoin, rye or rye-grass, timotliy-grass, and occasionally lucerne and tare?. Of these, the broad red clover is in most general use, and is so well-known to every- farmer as to render any description of it su- perfluous : the amount of valuable produce it yields both for green fodder and clover hay causes it to be universally grown upon all soils suited to its culture, and in all climates congenial to its growth. It will grow luxuriantly on any soil capable of aflording nu- triment or food to tap-rooted plants ; but, good loams or loamy clays are most favourable to its habits; and on them the crops in moist warm seasons are astonish- ing ; and on any soil of moderate depth and fertility its produce is highly satisfactory — often of great bulk and excellent quality, particularly if sown upon a first crop after fallow, highly manured, and being fed off on the land. It prefers an equable climate, neither too hot nor too cold ; but, under culture and proper se- lection of seed, the climate of Great Britain has been long known as highly favourable to its culture as an intermediate crop between two corn crops : and it 412 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. i3 occasioiially sown mixed with eillicr ryo-grass or timotl)y-grass upon fallow for its pastiiriijro. In thi* way it will yield a great produce, and carry much stock, but not sufficiently valuable to compensate for the loss of a corn crop. The soil should be in " good heart," and clean from weeds. The clover should be sown either upon barley, oats, or wheat, coming immediately after the turuip, rape, mangold, or other green crop ; but it may be sometimes advantageously sown with these crops In the next stage— as oats, wheat, clover ; and may thus have the advantage of a further remove from the last sowing — it being certain to fail, if coming too near in the course of cropping : the land is said to be " clover sick." The selection of the Seed.— This should bo attended to with great caution. The seeds of the dock, sorrel, cbick-weed, butter-cup, daisy, wild geranium, wild parsley, willow-weed, cockle, and many other small seeds of weeds, abound in clovers generally, and more particularly in red clover. The price of clean new seed must on no account interfere witli the selection : good clean seed is almost beyond price. Another point worthy consideration is, to select from a hardy stock. We object to sowing seed the produce of southern France or southern Europe in any of the cold districts, or cold lands or situations of this kingdom. We have often seen failures in the clover plant during a severe winter, and we think from this cause. Clovers from the north of Europe we do not object to ; indeed, from their cleanliness we prefer them. We most strenuously commend this part of our subject to the British grotver. It is unpardonable to allow clovers full of docks or other weeds to stand for seed. We urge our buyers to discard such " dock' samples as much as possible, and to give a much higher price for clean ones. It is one of the greatCf-t evils the improving farmer has to con- tend with, and has led many to abandon seeds alto- gether, and adopt other more cleanly, but less profituble courses. We again urge the most unremitting attention to this subject on both grower and customer. This unscrupulous production of foul seed is a dark blot upon British agriculture, and which it must bc?.t once rid of. As the pest of the farm, it must no longer be endured; a combined effort must be made ; the grower of foul seed must be stigmatized as an enemy to good husbandry, as a propagator of a farming pestilence ; the seedsman must be abandoned who continues to deal in such abominable mixture. We fearlessly assert that the expense of cleaning a foul clover crop will be double or treble the cost of the seed. The quantity of seed: the mode and time of sowiufj. —This will greatly depend upon the season, state of the soil, and quality of the seed. All being satisfactory in this respect, we think ten pounds per acre of good seed a sufficient quantity ; but, if aught is doubtful as to the state and condition of the soil, or seed defective, we recommend fourteen pounds per acre, a trifle more or less, according to circumstances. The mode of sow- ing is very various. Our practice is to sow upon either oats, barley, or wheat. When these have been hand- hoed, we drill with a common corn drill, with seed barrels, taking care to guide the coulters between the rows of corn, and harrow in with light seed harrows. We roll before we hoe, and drill immediately and as early in the season as the corn is ready for hoeing. The more general practice is to sow the seed broad-cast, im- mediately after sowing the spring corn, and cither roll or harrow it in. In all cases where seeds are to be sown along with a spring crop, the soil must be well pulverized and worked down to a fine tilth ; otherwise, a thin plant or total failure will result; and, as the time of sowing may extend from February to May, ample time is given to effect such purpose. The seed must not be buried too deep : if it is but just covered, in a fine season, it will suffice ; but, in a dry season, it should be put in by drill at least \\ inch deep. Weoc- cosionally take out our coulters, and allow the spouts to scatter the seed over the whole interval bftwecm the rows of corn. It is thus distributed more evenly, and a better plant is gained if the land is fine and open. If the clover is sown on a crop of winter wheat, and the condition of the soil is good, the crop should be fed off with sheep, and the clover sown so as to be tram- pled in by them. The same general directions that we have given for the management of red clover will nearly suffice for the other seeds usually sown in the spring. The perennial rod clover or cow-grass is to be put in precisely the same — the only difference being in its duration. It is often sown instead of the broad clover as a change to prevent a too near approach in the rotation. It does not yield a crop of so great bulk as the red or broad clover, but the hay is more lasting —the stalks of the cow-grass being filled with pith ; the red clover is hollow, and therefore shrinks in making into hay. The white clover (Dutch clover) is sown almost invariably broad-cast, and the soil must be made fine, or much of it is buried : it is seldom sown alone. Our practice is to mix with it perennial red clover, trefoil, rib-grass, and timothy-grass, i. e., 7 lbs. white clover, 4 lbs. red clover, and 2 lbs. each of rib-grass, trefoil, and timothy-grass. This for an acre ; if for one year only, we add 2 pecks rye-grass ; and for permanent pasture we add 2 bushels. The same attention is required in the selection of the seeds, more particularly in the rye-grass, which generally abounds in the seeds of twitch and brome-grass seeds; the latter is a common grass seed, and not of much con- sequence; but not equal to rye-grass in value. We know some farmers who will sow four bushels of rye- grass per acre upon bare fallows with similar mixtures, and with very satisfactory results. In the next year, fields thus treated have been known to graze or feed from twelve to sixteen young half-bred sheep per acre, most of which have been made fat. On many light soils both the white clover and trefoil abound. Where this is the case, we need not recommend sowing sparingly. We have seen a beautiful plant on light gravel, on stone - brash soils, and light sandy land. The timothy-grass is one of the earliest in the spring, and also grows a large amount of valuable produce. The seed is generally clean; indeed, it is one of those seeds that may be THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 413 dressed to cleanliuess : clovers, cannot j and ought to be grown free from weeds. The rib-gruss or ]>amb-tongiie is a very valuable grass; on most soils or loauis and peaty soils it grows luxuriantly, and it is a grass much relished by stock. This seed, like clover, is often foul. The docks may readily be detected, or can be separated in dressing, if done with care. The common trefoil is a rery useful appendage to good pasture seed, but we do not advocate its being sown alone for pasturage : it requires a light soil of moderate depth, and will grow well on most soils ; but it is not sufficiently productive in herbage to justify its being sown alone as a seed crop for grazing purposes. Wc must reserve our remarks upon Sainfoin, Lucerne, Tares, Burnet, Trifolium incarnatum, &c.,for another paper. The subsequent management of the seed crop •will depend much upon the requirements of the grower. If intended for grazing purposes, we think stocking should be deferred till the following spring. We prefer mow- ing all corn land sown with seeds, and then to let the plant have free course for improvement in the autumn. In the early winter give it a slight dressing of dang, or even straw manure, as a preservative from injury from the winter's vicissitudes, as well as to add virtue to the soil. In the early spring the crop should be lightly stocked, and great care taken that it should be kept in a growing, thriving state ; and, as it increases in herb- age, additional stock may be placed upon it, but never in such numbers" as to prevent its fair progress. Seeds should not be grazed too closely, or the summer's drought will spoil the crop. If carefully and judiciously grazed, the seed crop will yield a very large amount of valuable food ; but, if " mobbed up," i. e., very barely eaten up, it is (comparatively) a wasted crop. The roots of those recently sown artificial grasses have not the safe hold of the soil that the natural grasses on pasture lands obtain, and therefore must be treated more at- tentively : they must be constantly v/atched, and the stock upon them must be decreased or increased as the best judgment of the occupier dictates. If the seed crop is merely intended as a fodder crop, we also think that it is best to be left nnstocked : the mowing will take place much earlier, and the crop be much heavier in bulk. Many farmers mow their clovers twice for hay : this is not good practice, but if not sold from the farm, and the fodder is absolutely re- quired, we cannot say much against it; but, at all events, we would not eat them off in the autumn for such course. We much prefer early mowing, and then to feed otf the clover eddish with lambs, taking care to let it attain a moderate growth before stocking, or it may bo too luxuriant, and thus injurious to them. When old, and the stalks become tough, we put in our breeding ewes or other stock. LAMENESS IN THE HORSE. BY WM, PERCIVALLj M.R.C.S. {London : hongman and Co., P aternoster Row.) This is a work of great value, and will be perused with interest and advantage by the fai'mer, as well as by all other persons who for purposes of pleasure or business employ that most invaluable animal, the horse. In " General Remarks on the Diseases of the Foot," Mr. Percivall says — "While we hear but little complaint about diseases of the feet in other animals, we are con- stantly reminded of horses being ' lame in their feet.' How is this ? It is readily to be accounted for, when we come to consider the habits, or ra'xer the usages, of one domesticated animal as compared with those of another, and estimate the facts elicited from them by the ascertained laws of physiology. * * * The horse being an animal of action, of labour, of speed, and yet one that is in the habit of lying down less probably than almost any other, puts his feet to great and continued trials. He trots hard, and for long together, as a hackney ; he gallops hard, and for long together, and takes high and precipitous leaps, as a hunter; while he strains every nerve and sinew as a racer. And these feats of labour and speed he very commonly performs either upon hard and rough ground, or upon arti- ficial roads and pavements of too unyielding a description to make any return, save that of con- cussion, to the continual battering of the animals' hoofs." On the disease windgall, he says — " Such an appellation naturally leads any one to suppose that wind must constitute the swelling known as windgall, whereas in point of fact it is a bursa filled to distention (not with wind, but) with the same kind of synovial fluid of which it con- tainsl for the due performance of its function, but a comparatively small proportion in a state of health. The windgall of the fetlock constitutes one of the most ordinary forms in which we meet the disease ; and the everyday aspect of it, com- bined with the innocuousness of it in a general way, furnishes us with the reason of its being a disease,' concerning which we are less consulted than about almost any other. Bog-spavins and thorough-pins create occasional uneasiness in the minds of possessors of horses, whUe windgalls of the fetlock are as it were altogether overlooked." But then he says — "Between the pathology of bog-spavin and windgall there is this important difference, that. 414 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. while windgall has a hursa for its scat, Ijotr-spavin consists iu enlurgement and saccular dilatation of the capsule of the joint itself, viz., the joint of the hock." He descrihes howwindgall and bog-spavin should be treated, and defines thorough-pin as a windgall runninr;, from side to side, through the upper and back part of the hock. " The cite of thorough-pin is notorious enough. It occupies the door of the hollow interval at the superio-jjosterior part of the hock, between the joint in front and the tendo Achilles behind, reposing, as it were, after the manner of a cushion placed tranversely upon the joint beneath." He then points out the causes of this disease ; shows the descri])tion of hock predisposed to it, and gives its pathology; but he says, "of lameness from pure thorough-pin we know of no example on record." In his remarks on curl, he observes — "To detect a curb, the observer should stand alonrjside of the horse's quarter, and not behind him. The eye in this position, running from the point of the hock downwards, readily discovers the irregularity or prominence in the posterior line of the limb ; whereas, had the view been taken from behind, no sweUing would have become visible." He gives a coloured engraving of this disease as it appears, with the hind leg dissected, and then saySj in remarks on its cure — " A speedy and very effective mode of treatment for what is called by farriers ' taking off a curb' is, with the employment of the high shoe, after well fomenting the swollen part, to aiiply immediately to it the acetum cantharidum (which has the same effect as what goes under the name of ' Leman's Essence'). Simply wetting the hair with it by means of a ]minter's brush, and afterwards tying the horse's head up for the night, is all that is required. In the morning, the discharge caused by the vesicatory may be sponged off by renewed fomentation, and this ought to be regeated day by day afterwards for a few days ; at the expiration of which, the physic having worked well in the interval, it mostly happens that the horse will be found fit to resume his work." For stringhalt, Mr. Percivall says, there is no cure; "once stringhalt for ever stringhalt;" nevertheless, the article on this extraordinary disease is most interesting. We strongly recom- mend those of our readers, to whom the diseases of the horse and their cure are of importance, to pro- cure a copy of this work. CURIOUS ORANGE.— In the spiing of 1849 I had a small packet of seeds given me, labelled " Sliiidock Seed?," which I immcdiattly sowed, and in due time tlicy gcnniiiatcd. A few of them were potted singly into 4-inch pots, and placed in the front of a vinery. The same season one of them produced a single bloom at the extremity of its only shoot, about six inches from the surface of the pot; and, contrary to expectation, that bloom has produced a perfect and apparently thoroughly ripened fruit, 7^ inches in cir- cumference, of a lighter colour and smoother skin than tlie common imported orange. Its appearance during the year IS^iO was exceedingly curious — the fruit being nearly as large as the pot in which the plant grew. And many have smiled at the supposed conceit, funcying it to have been stuck on artificially, until a close examina- tion convinced them to the contrary. In the spring of 1851 it was shifted into a 6-ineh pot : it then threw out a few lateral branches below the level of the fruit. And it is now (January, 1852,) a healthy little bush, with the single fruit still remaining in the centre of it. Can any of your readers inform me if they have known similar instances of precocity in the citron family. Tlie sketch I send is precisely one-fourth llie natural size, and the fruit is produced at six inches above llic sur- face of the pot. — Zepuyhus. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 415 ON ARTIFICIAL MANURES IN GENERAL, AND BONE MANURE IN PARTICULAR. BY DR. AUGUSTUS VOELCKER, PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY IN THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE^ CIRENCESTER. Scarcely anything has accelerated the progress of agriculture so much as the introduction of artificial manures. Their more extended application, in- deed, is an improvement in agriculture which has changed the usual routine of farming in no small measure, and which, therefore, may be regarded as the beginning of a new epoch. By means of artificial manures the produce of this country has been considerably augmented ; new crops have been introduced into the usual rotation, and land so stenle that it would not repay the costs of cultivation in the usual way has been forced to yield at once remunerative crops. Before the introduction of bones, superphosphate of lime, and guano, the culture of the turnip crop in its present extended state was unknown. At the pre- sent time, green crops, except under particular cir- cumstances, cannot be raised economically without some addition of one kind or other to the ordinary manure produced on the farm. There are few farms in this country on which home-manure is produced annually, and in suffi- ciently large quantities to bring the land to its maximum state of fertility : some of the land, con- sequently, must remain in a condition in which it cannot possibly yield a quick and fair profit to its occupier, unless he has recourse to some kind of artificial manure. Even supposing the land to be in such a con- dition as to yield the maximum return which the usual rotation of crops is capable of furnishing, the extra command of artificial manures would still materially increase the profits of the farmer, as it would enable him to dispense with those crops which are less remunerative, and to replace them by others which require a larger dose of manure, but which also yield a larger profit. On large farms the carting and distribution of dung is attended with much expense, and a con- siderable saving can be effected by supplying the fields nearest to the homestead with farmyard dung, and those in more remote situations with guano or any other concentrated manure, which admits of a ready distribution. All means which enable the farmer to supply his fields with a larger quantum of manure than could be the case if entirely dependent on the farmyard, must therefore be regarded as valuable ; and the attempts to convert refuse-matters from chemical and other works into fertilizers, for the same reasons deserve much encouragement. Under the name of artificial manures, however, substances or mixtures of refuse-matters of the most worthless description are often sold by cer- tain unprincipled dealers at high prices. These useless compounds are puffeil up by such parties with fictitious analyses, testimonials, and high-coloured descriptions of their siijierior fer- tilizings properties ; and tlie confiding farmer is not only cheated out of the money he jiays for such stuffs, but runs likewise the risk of losing part at least of the crop to which he applies them. We cannot wonder, therefore, that many regard arti- ficial manures with a suspicious eye, and must regret that thus the honest manufacturer does not find so ready a market for his products as their value deserves. Now the only effective means of checking fraud and imposition — of protecting the honest and fair dealer, and guarding against loss and disappoint- ment— is " chemical analysis." Intelligent farmers know this full well, and avail themselves conse- quently of the advantages which chemistry is capable of conferring. The number of intelligent economical farmers in Scotland, when compared with those of other countries, explains perhaps the fact that in Scotland cases of adulteration and im- position are of rarer occuiTence than in the colonies, and even in England. A single example,, which some time ago was brought under my notice, will show to what extent fraud is practised by imprincipled dealers. On examining an artificial manure of a whitish-grey colour, which was offered for sale at £8 per ton, I found no ammonia whatever, and mere traces of phosphoric acid and alkalies ; and instead of these more valuable fertilizers, large quantities of car* bonate of lime, sand, brick-dust, and a little char- coal. The manure, in fact, I have strong reason to believe, was nothing else than a mixture of dried road-scraping and charred spent bark. The determination of the composition of the manure thus becomes the first and chief point to which the chemist directs his attention. It is clear, however, that a farmer will derive little benefit from the figures in a calculated lis of 2 E 416 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. analytical results, if he does not know at the same time how the different constituents act on different crops, and on which of these the chief fertilisinff properties of the manure depend ; how long its beneficial effects are likely to last; and last, though not least, if the actual cost-price of the manure corresponds to its real fertilizing value. Excellent hints on these and other topics are contained in a work, which has lately appeared in Germany, entitled Chemische Feldpred'ujten (Che- mical Field- Sermons), by Dr. Sttickhard, of the Agricultural College of Tharand in Saxony. As this truly practical and useful book is not likely to be read by many farmers in this country, I have thought it advisable to introduce the special examination of bone manure in its various forms by a short exposition of Dr. Stockhard's views on artificial manures in general. The merit which attaches to the first part of this paper thus does not belong to me, but to my friend and country- man. Dr. Stockhard. Before we can possibly answer any of the practical questions which the subject suggests, it is essential to have a clear idea of the composition of the manures, and the relative value of their con- stituents. As the most important constituents of artificial manures, we may regard — 1, Nitrogen, in the form of ammonia or nitric acid. Nitrogen, without doubt, is the most valuable of all fertihzing substances, as it is the so-called stimulating or forcing property of manures. All cultivated plants are much benefited when richly supphed with it in a proper form, particularly at an early stage of their growth : at a later period of their development its application appears much less effective. Nitrogen in a free state, however, is not assimilated by plants to any extent, and it is only when the nitrogen of nitrogenized organic matters has become changed by fermentation or putrefac- tion into ammonia (or nitric acid), that this elementary substance acts as a powerful fertilizer. It is for this reason that fresh bones, unfermented urine, long dung, &c., are much slower in their action than the same materials after having under- gone fermentation or putrefaction. In the latter state they contain ammonia ready formed, which the plants can assimilate at once ; but, in the first case, ihe decomposition of the nitrogenized matters proceeds slowly in the ground, particularly when ploughed in deep; and the plants are thus necessitated to wait a long time before they can absorb the ammonia which is generated during the decomposition of the nitrogenized organic matter. In stiff" soils, and in dry seasons, the formation of ammonia jiroceeds so slowly that the beneficial action of manuring substances is often lost in the first year ; because, if plants have passed the period of the most vigorous growth, they derive little ad- \antage from the ammonia. On the other hand, manuring substances, such as guano, soot, refuse- water of gas-manufactories, sal-ammoniac, sulphate of ammonia, putrefied liquid manure, which all con- tain large quantities of ready-formed ammonia, exercise a most surprisingly quick forcing power on grass-land, and on wheat, and all plants at an early stage of their growth. The effects of ammonia have been so well ascer- tained by numerous practical experiments, in which it has been applied with the exclusion of all other substances, that few practical men at the present time will hesitate to ascribe the rapid forcing effects of guano, of the ammoniacal liquor of gas-works, &c., to the ammonia which they contain. In the form of nitric acid, nitrogen becomes also a most valuable manure, and in this state it closely resembles in its action ammonia. The effects of nitrate of soda, for instance, on grass land, are strikingly exhibited by the succulent luxuriant ap- pearance and the deep-greeu colour which the grass assumes shortly after the application of even small quantities of it. Nitrates thus appear to exercise the same forcing power on plants as ammoniacal salts. It is indeed doubtful whether nitrogen, in the form of ammonia or nitric acid, is most beneficial to vegetation ; and as the determination of this point has a direct bearing on the management of farmyard manure, I would suggest to practical men, who may be inclined to confer some good on the agricultural community, the prepriety of determining the relative effects of nitrates and ammoniacal salts by a series of compai'ative field experiments. 2. Phosphoric acid. — Next to ammonia, phos- phoric acid must be regarded as the most valuable compound in artificial manures. It occurs in soils but in small quantities, and as it is an essential constituent of all cultivated plants, and particularly required for the perfection of grciin, its deficiency in the soil is at once indicated by the poor small ears of wheat, oats, or barley. Phosphoric acid exists generally in artificial manures in the form of bone- earth or phosphate of lime. 3. Alkalies, potash and soda. — Other valuable fertilizers are potash and soda, or rather salts of potash or soda, particularly the first. In their chemical relations, potash and soda resemble ammonia ; and this similarity is also shown in their action, which, like that of ammonia, is forcing or stimulating. All cultivated plants, particularly root-crops and f herbaceous plants, require potash as a necessary article of food, for they show in their ashes large THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 417 quantities of it. It is for this reason that turnips, carrots, and other green crops, are much benefited by the application of burnt clay, in which, as I have shown in this Journal some time ago, a much larger quantity of soluble potash exists than in natural clay. For the same reasons these crops are much benefited by wood-ashes and liquid manure, which both contain considerable quantities of salts of potash. The salts of soda are of less importance in a manure. Most soils in this country will be found to contain a sufiicient quantity of soda, chiefly in the form of common salt, for supplying plants with this ingredient, which, though it preponderates usually in the soil over potash, is nevertheless found in the ashes of plants in much smaller quan- tities than potash. 4. Lime and magnesia. — Lime and magnesia are indispensable for the healthy growth of plants ; but as both belong to the most generally distributed mineral substances on the earth, the farmer can easily supply a deficiency of lime or magnesia in his soil, by the application of quicklime, marl, gypsum, chalk, or similar substances containing lime, which may now be obtained almost anywhere in this country at moderate prices. 5. Organic substances, humus. — Although the decayed organic matters or the humus of a soil play an important part in relation to the growth of j)lants, the farmer need not care to supply his land directly with humus, as, under good management. Nature herself provides for the necessary quantity of humus in a soil. Organic matters, consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen only, are of far less importance than the nitrogenized matters. The latter, we have seen, furnish on their decay ammonia ; whilst the former, or humu< substances, furnish, on gradual decomposition, carbonic acid and water only, which the atmosphere supplies abundantly to plants. In artificial manures, organic matters, consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen only, are not very valuable substances. 6. Silica, oxide of iron, sulphuric acid, chlorine, enter likewise into the composition of the ashes of all cultivated plants, and are therefore essential articles of food for them. But as there are few soils which do not contain these substances abundantly, the farmer has no need to buy them. It will thus appear that nitrogen (or rather ammonia and nitric acid) is the most valuable in- gredient of artificial manures, because our fields are generally deficient in it, and because farmyard manure does not contain a quantity sufficiently large to bring the land to its maximum Ptate of fertility. Another reason for the value of nitrogenized matters (or ammonia) is their costli- ness, and the fact, confirmed by numerous prac- tical experiments, that the mineral malters of manure only show their full fertilizing effects when decaying nitrogenized matters, or salts of ammonia, are present at the same time. Next in value follow phosphoric acid and potash^ as both belong to the rarest of the mineral matters which serve as food to plants, and as both ar« requii-ed for their healthy growth in larger quan* titles than any of the other constituents which are usually found in the ashes of plants. How soon does an artificial manure act?-" Chemical analysis, in many instances, is capable of satisfactorily answering this question. Those con^ stituents of an artificial manure which are soluble in water, or which are easily rendered so by a rapid decomposition, benefit plants in the first year; those which are soluble in acids, or which decom- pose more slowly in the ground, exercise the chief fertihzing action on plants in the second or third year; those, finally, which are insoluble in acids, or which decompose still more slowly, can only benefit vegetation at a still more remote period. It is well, therefore, to arrange the constituents of an artificial manure under three heads : — 1. Substances soluble in water. 2. Ditto in acids. 3. Substances insoluble in water ind Such an arrangement of the analytical results will frequently enable the farmer to form an idea of the probable action and duration of the manure. Exceptions to this general rule are presented to U8 by all those matters which consist entirely of undecomposed animal or vegetable matters, and which are rendered soluble, or available to the use of plants, by previous decay or putrefaction. Rape-cake, bones, and woollen rags, for instance, contain scarcely any soluble matter, and never- theless it would be very erroneous to consider them as slow-acting manures. In all such cases prac- tical experiment alone can decide the question. Experience, then, proves that raj)e-cake is readily decomposed, bones more slowly, and woollen rags still slower. By dissolving bones in sulphuric acid, their full action, which in unprepared bones is confined principally to the second or third year of their apphcation to the land, is obtained in the first year. How are artificial manures best applied to the land? In what state? At what time? In what quantities? — Practice alone can give correct an- swers to these questions. Theory in many in- stances may throw out some valuable bints, but can never give sjjeolal directions', as the nature ci the soil, the position of the land, the climate, and numerous other local influences, necessarily uui^-t greatly alter the mode of application of arlificisl 2 E 2 418 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. manures. The best mode of application is entirely diependent on circuinstances, and can only be established in every s?parate instance by practical exjierience. What is the value of an artificial manure? — This question, undoubtedly, is the most important to the farmer, and happily one the solution of which chemistry will greatly facilitate. The external characters are insufficient indica- tions of the real value of an artificial manure: a much ijetter guide to the correct estimation of its value is chemical analysis. The farmer, however, will derive benefit from analysis only, when he can calculite from the analytical data the money-value in an easy manner. In order to enable him to do so, he requires to know the market price of each of the constituents of the manure. By a simple rule of three he can then ascertain the value of the whole manure. Calculations of this description, however, are not 60 simple as they might appear to be, and often present insuperable difficulties, arising from the want of a standard price of several of the consti- tuents of artificial manures. Many of them are not found in trade at all ; others, like potash, soda, sulphuric acid, &c., which are articles of commerce, are ■.■hvays sold in a more or less purified state ; but it is clear that the commercial value of such materials cannot be accepted as the standard price, because the value of an artificial manure, in which the same substances occur in an impure state, would be estimated far too high. A third difficulty in ascertaining the commercial value of manuring substances arises from the circumstance that two, three, or four simple substances occur together, in the fertilizers of commerce, which renders it very difficult to assign to each its proper value. It would lead me too far to enumerate all the rea- sons which could be assigned for fixing the price of some of the more frequently occurring manuring substances which follow. However useful the sub- joined table may be to the practical man, consider- able latitude must be allowed in estimating the real commercial value of an artificial manure ; and as all articles of commerce are subject to consider- able fluctuations, it follows, necessarily, that the price-list subjoined can have no permanent value. TABLE FOR DETERMINING THE VALUE OF ARTIFICIAL MANURES. d. 1. Every lb. of nitrogen, in the form of ammo- nia, or nitric acid, may be estimated at . . S 2. 1 lb. of nitrogen, in the form of nitrogenized matters, at 6 3. Organic matters, free from nitrogen, (hu- mus,) 18 lbs., at 1 4. Salts of potash, 1 lb., at 1 Or potash separately, 1 lb., at H 5. Salts of soda, 9 lbs., at , Id. 6. Phosphate ot lime, 1 lb., at c c . . . . J Or phosphoric acid, separately, 1 lb., at . . li 7. Gypsum, 6 lbs., at \ S. Lime, 12 lbs., at 1 For all practical purposes, the determination of the value of the remainder of the substarices, which are usually indicated in the analyses of artificial manures, such as oxide of iron, alumina, silica, &c., may be entirely neglected. The chief questions which the farraet requires to have answered by the chemist, are — a. How much, in 100 lbs., does the artificial manure contain of— 1. Nitroten ; 2. Organized substances; 3. Salts of potash; 4. Salts of soda; 5. Phosphate of lime ; 6 Gypsum ; 7. Carbonate of lime, or of magnesia ? b. In what combination does the nitrogen exist? In the form of ammoniacal salts ? Or in the form of nitrates ? Or in the form of nitrogenized organic matters ? Do the latter enter easily into putrefac- tion, or do they decompose with difficulty? The answer to the first question a, including the above-mentioned seven points, will enable the farmer to calculate the commercial value of the manure. The answers to the other questions, b, will teach him aptoximately whether the manure is likely to act quickly, or whether it belongs to those the full fertilizing eflfects of which are brought out only in the second or third year. Before I proceed to the second part of this pa- per, which refers to the composition of bone-manure, I shall give the following hst of the more generally occurring artificial manures, taken from page 59 of the work above mentioned. In this list the artificial manuring substances are arranged according to their action and composi- tion, in an order which begins with the most pow- erful, and ends with the weakest manure. Some of the materials occur under several heads, which is an indication that they contain more than one chemical compound, and therefore act in more than one way. Table of Artificial Manureij, Arranged according to their Action and Chemical Composition. 1. Nitrogenized manures. {For cing manures.) a. Substances containing ammonia. (Very quick-acting manures.) Ammoniacal salts. Peruvian guano ; soot. Putrid animal substances — for instance, blood, flesh, wool, Ammoniacal water of gas-works. Putrid urine; putrid hquid manure. Short dung — particularly sheep and horse- dung. b. Nitrogenized matters, which pass easily in THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 419 putrefaction. (Tolerably quick in their action.) Horn-shavings; glue. Bones— dissolved, steamed, or finely pow- dered. Oilcakes of all kinds ; malt-dust. Fresh urine, fresh liquid manure. c. Nitrogenized matters, which decompose with difficulty. (Slowly-acting forcing manures,) Half-inch bones. "Woollen rags. Long dung. d. Substances containing nitric acid. (Quick- acting forcing manures.) Saltpetre. Chili saltpetre, (nitrate of soda.) Nitre— earth. 2. Carbonaceous manures. {Humus forcing ma- nures.) Common farmyard dung; straw, leaves, of trees, &c. Sawdust ; green manures. Peat, or vegetable remains of all kinds. 3. Manures containing much potash, {Strongly- forcing manures.) Potash, nitre, malt-dust. Urine, wood-ashes. Leaves and green manures. Road-scrapings, compost. Burnt clay ; some kinds of marl. 4. Manures containing principally soda, {Less ef- fective manures.) Common salt. Nitrate of soda, urine. Several minerals. Soap-boilers' refuse. 5. Phosphatic manures. {Grain or seed-forcing manures.) Burnt bones, animal black, refuse of sugar manufactories. Phosphorite, apatite, coprolites. Saldanha Bay guano. Fresh bones, bone-dust. All sorts of guano. Animal matters of all descriptions. Oilcakes; malt-refuse. Human excrements, farmyard manure. Urine of carnivorous animals. Wood-ashes, straw, leaves, &c. 6. Manuring matters containing sulphuric acid, {Partly manures themselves^ partly fi.vers of am- monia.) Gypsum, sulphuric acid. Green vitriol. Coal-ashes, peat-ashes. 7. Calcareous manures. Burnt lime, chalk, marl. Gypsum, coal and peat ashes. Road-scrapings, gas-lime. 8. Siliceous manures. Coal-ashes, peat-ashes. Farmyard manure, sand, straw, &c. After these general remarks on artificial manures, I shall now proceed to state the results of analyses of the several forms in which bones are usually ap- plied as manure, and shall make, at the same time, a few observations respecting the most profitable manner of applying this valuable manure to the land. The forms in which bones are usually applied to the land are, 2 and i inch bones, bone-dust, ferr mented bones, boiled bones, steamed bones, (Black- hall's process,) dissolved bones, (superphosphate.) Although bones of different animals have been repeatedly analyzed, we do not ijossess a sufficient number of analyses of ^ and i inch bones and bone-dust to determine what the average composi- tion of commercial bone-dust ought to be. I pro- cured, therefore, bone-dust from different locaHties, and subjected it to chemical analysis. The first specimens analyzed were obtained hoxo. Mr, Slater's bone-mill, Cirencester. The follovVi ing are the analytical results : — No. L No.H. ^-inch i-inch bones. bones. Moisture 18-12 13-58 Organic matters, gelatine and fat ..„ 29'29 33-69 Phosphate of lime and mag- nesia, bone-earth 44-22 42-77 Carbonate of Hme 5-49 7'04 Alkaline salts, chiefly common salt 1-49 2,00 Sand 1-39 O-92 100-00 100-00 15-27 grs, of bones No, H., dried at 220« F,, burned with soda-hme, gave 12-06 of bi-chloride of platinum and ammonium ; or 100 lbs. of dried bones contain nitrogen 4-96, which is equal to 6 0^ of ammonia. 100 lbs. of these bones, in their natu- ral state, consequently contain nitrogen 4-2S=5-23 of ammonia. The price of these bones was 1 8s. per quarter. The weight per bushel, on an aver- age, was 42 lb. Previous to crushing they had undergone no preparation whatever. How nearly the real com- mercial value of these bones corresponds with the theoretical value, which by means of the above table can be easily calculated, will be seen by the following statement, which we give as an example : In 100 lbs, s. d. Nitrogen, 6d. per lb. .... 4-28 2 1^ Oganic matter. Id. per ISlbs. SSSO 0 U Phosphates, f d. per lb 42-75 2 . 8 Alkaline salts and lime 0 ' 1 Price per 100 lbs,, calculated 5s. actual price per 100 lbs., 5s. 4d. Quarter and half-inrh bones, from another bone- mill in the neighbourhood of Cirencester, 430 MoisUue Organic matters, gelatine and fat Phosphate of lime and mag- nesia, bone-earth Carbonate of lime . . . , Alkaline salts Sand and earth THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. No. I. l-inch. 17 -DO 30-54 34-41 8-56 2-56 6-f)8 100-05 No. II. J -inch. lG-4-2 26-61 4978 6-51 1-17 100-52 20 grs. of bones, No. XL, dried at 220^ V., burned with soda-hme, gave 13-52 grains of bi-chloride of platinum and ammonium; or, 100 parts contained nitrogen 4-12, equal to 5-0 of ammonia. These bones, in their natural state, accordingly contain nitrogen 3-43, equal to 4-18 of ammonia. Before crushing, they had been boiled in an open boiler for a short time, for the purpose of ex- tracting the fat. Along with the fat the gelatine appears to have been partially dissolved, which ac- counts for the lower per centage of nitrogen which these bones contain. A comparison \vith the pre- ceding will show that they are of a much inferior quality. No. I. evidently is adulterated with sand and earth. Half-inch bones from Magee's bone-works at Run- corn near Liverpool. Moisture 9*46 Organic matters, gelatine and fat 29"20 Phosphate of lime and magnesia, bone- earth 52-06 Carbonate of lime 6-11 AlkaHne salts 2-S3 Sand 0-17 99-88 20-9G grs., dried at 230° F., gave 5-94 grs. of me- tallic platinum, or 100 parts contained nitrogen 4-0, equal to 4-S5 of ammonia ; 100 lbs. of natural bones thus contained nitrogen 3-6? or 4-39 of am- monia. It will be observed that the proportion of mois- ture is cor.^iderably less than in the preceding samples, and the proportion of bone-phosphate higher, which renders them more valuable in as far as the bone-phosphate is concerned. Tlie actual price at Liverpool is £6 in quantities, and £6 10s. for small orders per ton. Commercial half-inch bones, obtained from Charles Lawrence, Esq., Cirencester. No. I. No. II. Moisture 1318 13-36 Organic matter (gelatine and fat) 27-92 28-32 Phosphate of lime and mag- nesia (bone-earth) 48-24 48*49 Carbonate of lime 9.66 8-10 Alkaline salts 1*62 2-18 100-^2 100-45 (1.) 13.35 grs. of No. I., dried at 220 degs, 1'., gave 7-Sl bi-chloride of platinum and ammonium ; or, 100 jiarts of dried bones contained nitrogen 3-70 = 4-49 of ammonia. 100 lbs. in the natural state thus contain nitrogen 3-21 = 3-89 of ammonia. (2.) 16-62 grs. of No. II., dried at 220 degs. P., gave 10-54 of bi-chloride of platinum and am- monium; or, 100 lbs, of dried bones contained ni- trogen 398 = 4-83 of ammonia. 100 lbs. of natural bones accordingly contain nitrogen 3-45 = 4.18 of ammonia. The composition of these two samples of bones, it thus appears, is nearly identical ; but as one of the samples was considerably heavier than the other, a material saving would be realized by buying it by measure, and not by weight, supposing the price per bushel to be the same for each. Quarter and half-inch bones from Leith. No. I. No. II. J inch, i inch. Moisture Organic matter (gelatine and fat) Phosphate of lime and mag- nesia (bone earth) 45-66 47*50 Carbonate of lime 5*23 4*53 Alkaline salts 1*96 1*61 9-82 37-50 iri: 34-95 100* i; 99-76 (1.) 17*35 grs. of No. I., dried at 220 degs. P., gave 12*71 grs. of bi-chloride of platinum and am- monium; or, 100 lbs. gave nitrogen 4*60 — 5*58 of ammonia. 100 lbs. of natural bones thus con- tain nitrogen 4*15 = 5*03 of ammonia. (2.) 19-89 grs. of No. II., dried at 220 degs. P., gave 14-95 of bi-chloride of platinum and am- monium ; or, 100 lbs. of dried bones contain nitro- gen 4-72 = 5-73 of ammonia. 100 lbs. of bones in their natural state thus contain nitrogen 4*1 8 = 5*08 of ammonia. These two samples of bones likewise resemble each other closely in composition. They contain nearly one per cent, of nitrogen more than the preceding samples, and are, therefore, superior in quality. The actual price at Leith of No. I. is l6s. 9d. per quarter; of No. II., l6s. 6d. per quarter. It will appear from these analyses that com- mercial bone-dust differs considerably in composi- tion ; that in some bone-mills the raw bones are boiled previous to crushing, for the purpose of ex- tracting the fat; and, lastly, that bone-dust is occasionally adulterated with sand and earthy matters. The practice of extracting the fat has the disadvantage that some of the valuable gelatine is extracted as well, which appears clearly from the smaller proportion of nitrogen which some of the above analyses exhibit. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 421 The fertilizing properties of bones depend on the amount of gelatine (nitrogen) and of bone-earth (phosphoric acid and lime) which they contain. Both the organic portion (gelatine) and the in- organic part (bone-earth) are valuable fertilizers, and it is, therefore, an unpardonable waste to destroy the gelatine by burning. This practice, which has been recommended for the purpose of reducing the bones more easily to powder, deserves to be condemned unconditionally, because there are other means of reducing bones effectually to powder without destroying so valuable a material as gelatine undoubtedly is. Bone dust resembles, in its chief constituents, the solid excrements of animals, and straw, and differs from them chiefly by being much richer, as will be seen by the following comparison : — Constituents. Nitrogen .... Phosph. acid Lime I ri^r.11, fll>000lbS. of , „„„ii c 1,000 lbs. off' V 1,000 lbs. of / 1 , treshcowor , , bone-dust u j dry straw, horse dung. •' 50 240 330 Bone-dust thus contains about twelve times more forcing substances, and eighty to a lumdred times more grain-forming materials, than dry straw or the solid excrements of animals. With regard to the application of bone-dust, I would observe, that the usual practice of applying bones, as § inch or \ inch bones, cannot be recom- mended. In this state they decompose very slowly in the ground — so slowly, indeed, that ten or twenty years may be required to dissolve them entirely. Although gelatine enters very rapidly into putre- faction when exposed to the influences of the atmo- sphere and water, in the intimate combination in which it exists in bones, gelatine is destroyed very slowly, because phosphate of lime, being almost in- soluble in water, protects the interior of the larger pieces of bone from further decomposition, by ex- cluding the air and moisture. How exceedingly slowly the gelatine of bones is destroyed, will be- come apparent from the subjoined analyses of Roman bones recently found at Cirencester— Roman bones found at Cirencester. (a) Lower jaw of an ox, dried at 212 degs. F, Organic matter (gelatine) 1177 Inorganic matters (bone-earth). . 88"23 100-00 (b) Molar tooth of an o.v. Organic matters 8'41 Inorganic matters (bone-earth) . , 91 '59 100-00 (c) Tusk of a boar. Organic matters 18'12 Inorganic matters Sl'SS 100-00 (d) Thigh-bone of a man. Organic matters 13-62 Inorganic matters 86-38 100-00 22*8 grs, of a, burnt with soda-hme, gave 3.3 of bi-chloride of platinum and ammonium. 100 parts, therefore, contained nitrogen 0-909. 27*66 of d gave 5-53 of bi-chloride of platinum and ammonium. 100 parts, therefore, contained nitrogen r255. These bones, probably, have been buried in the ground for a period of one thousand five hundred years, and yet they still contain about one per cent, of nitrogen, corresponding to about six per cent, of gelatine. They clearly show how slowly bones are decomposed in the soil, and we need not, therefore, be astonished to see sometimes no good result from the application of i-inch bones, whilst finely, powdered bones act very well. Particularly in heavy clay soils.bones decompose slowly, because the air does not find so ready access as in a more porous soil. Bone-sawings from Magee's Bone-works, at Runcorn, near Liverpool. Moisture 14-12 Organic matters (gelatine and fat). . . . 25'12 Phosphate of lime and magnesia (bone- earth) 5374 Carbonate of lime 5-39 Alkaline salts 0-7S Sand 0-83 99-93 29'65 grs., dried at 220 degs. F., burnt with soda- hme, gave 8-69 of bi-chloride of platinum and am- monium; or, 100 parts contained nitrogen 3-82 = 4-64 of ammonia. In their natural state, conse- quently, 100 lbs. contained nitrogen 3-2S — 3-98 of ammonia. These sawings constituted a very fine powder, which is sold at Liverpool at the rate of £7 to £7 10s. per ton. Being prepared, in all likelihood, from the more solid bones, which always contain less organic matter than the more cartilaginous ones, we find the per-centage of nitrogen rather lower, and the proportion of phosphates rather higher, than in average samples of half-inch bones. If bones are to be used by themselves, they ought always to be apphed in the state of a fine powder, because in this state they are more easily and uniformly distributed on the land, and rendered much more readily available for the use of 432 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. plants than half-inch bones. There can be little doubt that it will l)e more advantageous to pay £1 or even £2 more per ton for finely-powdered bones, than tcr apply half-inch bones at a lower price. According to the experience of good farmers in Saxony, the total action of 1 ewt. of finely- powdered bones is estimated to be equivalent to 25 to 30 cwt. of farmyard manure. But even in this finely divided state, the full benefit which they are capable of aftbrding is not realized in the first year. Experience has shown that the action of such bones, in a soil which is neither too retentive nor too loose, lasts for about four years, and amounts in the 1st year, to 25 to 30 per cent. 2nd year, „ 25 „ 30 „ 3rd year, „ 20 „ 25 „ 4th year, „ 10 „ 15 „ Boiled bones from Magee's Bone-Works, at Runcorn, near Liverpool, Moisture , 8'06 Organic mattei's 25'45 Phosphates of lime and magnesia (bone-earth) 60'48 Carbonate of lime 3'25 Alkaline salts = . . . . 0*43 Sand 2-56 100-23 29'41 grs,, dried at 220 degs. F., burnt with soda- lime, gave 9"59 grains of bi-chloride of platinum and ammonium; or, 100 parts contain nitrogen 2*004 = 2'433 of ammonia. 100 lbs. of the commercial boiled bones, accordingly, contain nitrogen r842 = 2*236 of ammonia. The price of boiled bones at Liverpool is £4 per ton. In the preparation of glue from bones, the latter are boiled with high-pressure steam, which penetrates them, and dissolves all the fat, and the greater part of the gelatine or glue. The bones, after cooling, are so brittle that they can be reduced with great facihty to the finest powder. Practical experience has shown that in this form bones act much more rapidly; boiled bones, for this reason, are generally preferred to fresh ones by the farmers of Cheshire, who apply them largely to grasb-bind 'vith the best results. It is tiup, tneir fertilizing etifects are not so lasting as those of fresh bones ; but they are never- theless irore val'uilile, as the farmer can do with a smaller quaniity, and realizes an immediate return for the outlay of capital. Vvhilst practice points out boiled bones as the more valuable, theory would seem to mark fresh bones as the more valuable, because the latter contain at least double the quantity of nitrogen, which substance we have described as the most valuable of all fertilizers, But facts are not easily made of no avail by theories ; and it remains, there- fore, for science to ex])lain this unexpected higher fertilizing action of boiled bones. A little consideration will show that fresh bones can only be acted upon by the atmosphere and water very superficially. On the decomposition of the gelatine of the surface of pieces of bones, the greater part of the phosphate of lime remains be- hind, which being a substance almost insoluble in water, prevents both the air and the water from acting on the interior. The further decomposition of the bones thus can proceed but very slowly. By boiling l)ones with high-pressure steam, which thoroughly penetrates the whole mass, all the fat, and the greater part of the gelatine, which separate the particles of bone-earth from each other, are ex- tracted. The whole substance of the bones is thus rendered very porous, and, on account of this porosity, air and water can penetrate the interior of the bones. In consequence of the free access of water and air, a rapid decomposition ensues, whereby much ammonia is formed, which facihtates also the solution of the bone-earth. In an intelligible manner we can thus explain the superior action of boiled bones, and reconcile an apparent contradiction between practice and science. Steamed bones. — (Steamed by Mr. T. Blackhall'a process.) I. Calculated * dry. Water 7*32 — Organic matters 26*77 28.88 Inorganic matters 65*91 71'12 100*00 II. 100*00 Calculated dry. Water Organic matters (gelatine). . Phosphate of lime and mag- nesia (bone-earth) 53*74 57*73 Carbonate of lime 8*65 9*30 AUcahne salts and sand .... 4*00 4*29 6*91 26*70 28*63 100*00 100*00 27*34 grs., dried at 220 degs. F., burnt with soda- lime, gave 13*93 of bi-ch!oride of platinum and ammonium. 100 lbs. of dry steamed bones ac- cordingly contain nitrogen 3*12 ^ 3"79 of am- m.onia; or 100 lbs. of bones, in a moist state, contain nitrogen 2*90 = 3*54 of ammonia. Mr. Blackhall's process of steaming bones for agricultural purposes is described in the Highland and Agricultural Society's Transactions for January, 1850. It will be observed that these bones contain more nitrogen than the commercial boiled bones. They differ in composition but slightly from fresh THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 423 bones ; and, as they are much quicker in their ac- tion, and easily reduced -to a fine powder, Mr. Blackall's process cannot be too strongly recom- mended to farmers. Having witnessed myself the decided superiority of steamed bones, and being convinced of the great economical value of the process, 1 have little doubt Mr. Blackhall's method of reducing bones Avill be soon adopted in practice on many farms, as soon as the merits of this process shall be known more generally, and appreciated more fully. Fossil bones, or pseudo-coprolites, from Walton, in Suffolk. Hygroscopic water 1*20 Water of combination, and trace of organic matter 3" 20 Oxides of iron and alumina 4"84 Lime 39'81 Magnesia 5*68 Phosphoric acid ^^■*^{Z^oZ:S^. Carbonic acid 5'82 Insoluble siliceous matter 12*o6 Alkalies, sulphuric acid, and loss 2"41 99-00 These fossil bones, or coprolites, as they are falsely called, sometimes are the fossil remains of cetaceous animals. They are very hard, and their reduction to powder, therefore, is rather expensive. The specimens analyzed by me are sold on the spot where they are found, at the rate of 28s. per ton. With the expenses for carriage to Cirencester, and crushing, one ton of the finely-powdered material cost about £2 10s. That the composition of these fossils is tolerably uniform will appear from the subjoined partial analysis of a sample taken from several tons of the ground material : — Hygroscopic water 2' 18 Water of combination, and a little organic matter . . .^•28 Phosphoric acid 24-26 { Tftone-eartlf. Insoluble siliceous matter 11 '05 It will be observed that these pseudo-coprohtes contain mere traces of organic matters. It is for this reason that this manure, when applied alone, does not act as a farming manure like bones. This substance, further, being insoluble in v/ater, ought not to be applied in an unprepared state, but should first be rendered more soluble, and thus rendered available to plants by digestion with sulphuric acid. The want of nitrogen may then be supplied by guano, or any other artificial manure rich in am- monia. During 1851, Mr. Valentine, the manager of the college farm here, has used a mixture of dissolved coprolites and guano; and as this compound fully realized his expectations, and can be easily prepared on the farm, I would strongly recommend it to those farmers who can procure ground coprolites at a moderate price. The mixture to which I refer is best prepared in the following rr.anner ; — Eight cwt. of ground coprolites are placed in a wooden tub capable of holding at least five times this quantity of the powdered material. The dry powder next is moistened with twenty-four gallons of water, and, after the water has thoroughly moistened every particle of the substance, 160 lbs. of concentrated oil of vitriol are added gradually. On the addition of the acid, strong eflfervescence takes place, in consequence of which the mixture swells very much, and is liable to be thrown out of the tub. It is for this reason that a capacious vat is required for dissolving the substance. When the action of the acid on the powder has ceased, the pasty mass is shovelled out and kept in a heap for a couple of days. After that time it has become much drier, and can now readily be mixed with, guano. By mixing two parts of the dissolved coprohtes with one part of Peruvian guano, an almost dry powder is obtained, which can easily be sown broad- cast or with the manure drill. In point of cost, this mixture is much less expensive than com- mercial superphosphate of lime ; and in point of effect, it is even superior to dissolved bones. Dissolved bones. — A great many analyses of commercial dissolved bones, or superphosphate of lime, having been published lately by Dr. Anderson and Professor Way, it is not necessary for me to cite many analyses of commercial superphosphate. I shall, therefore, merely give the examination of one sample of superphosphate, as it affords an addi'ional proof of Dr. Anderson's observation, that this commercial article is frequently of a very inferior quality. SUPERPHOSPHATE OF LIME. Water , 6-30 Organic matters 9"32 Phosphate of lime 34-25 Phosphate of iron 6'57 Sulphate of lime 28-31 Sulphate of magnesia 2-42 Sulphate of soda, with a little sul- phate of potash 6*38 Sihceous insoluble matters 6-45 100-00 This article, which in reality did not contain any soluble phosphate of lime at all, was offered for sale at £7 IDs. per ton, — Highland Society's Journal, 424 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. REPORT OF MESSRS. JOHN ARMSTRONG AND J. J. ROWLEY, The Examiners of the Turnip Crop in Competition for Premiums offered by the Bolsover Agricultural Society, November, 1851. SWEDES.— .SIX COMPETITORS. Competitora. Weight of one perch in bulbs and tops. Weight in bulbs and acre tops. Ridges Distance apart. Time of Sowing. Number of bulbs per perch. Tillages applied per acre. Cost of tillage per acre, exclusive of labour. Thos. Hallowes, Esq., Glapwell Hall lbs. 309 31 Tns. cwts 22 1 3 12 qr3 1 3 lbs. 20 12 laches. 27 May 27 and 28 10 loads manure, 3 qrs. bones. £ 8. d. 5 4 0 Mr. T. Bailey, North Lodge 320 59 22 17 4 4 0 1 16 4 24 June 4 and 5 12 loads manure, 6 bushels dissolved bones. 3 18 0 Mr. Javvis, ScarclifFe Mill 317 86 22 12 6 2 3 3 12 12 28 May 24 and 25 10 loads manure, 30 bushels bones. 5 17 fi Mr. Taylor, South Car 268 73 19 2 0 4 3 1 12 4 24 June 13 and 14 135 4 cwt. guano, sown broadcast. 2 0 0 Capt. Welfitt, Lang. 280 with Lodge 63 20 0 4 10 0 0 0 0 26 May 28 and 29 125 10 loads manure, 3 J qrs. bones. 5 13 0 Mr. Crawshaw, The HagR 293 41 20 18 2 18 2 2 8 s 27 May 29 and 30 116 20 loads manure, no bones. 5 0 0 SWEDES.— NOT LESS THAN CNR ACRE.^TWO COMPETITORS. Mr. G. Beeley, Lang- 256 18 5 2 24 28 with i 37 I 2 12 3 12 Mr. Bond, Bolsover i 280 20 0 0 0 26 i 43 I 3 1 1 2 June June 2 and 3 12/ jl2 loads manure, I 3 J qrs. bones, 1 j cwt. guano. 138 jlo loads manure, 6 I qrs. bones, 3 cwt. i guano. 6 13 0 10 13 0 Mr. Bailey, Northj 321 I 22 18 2 8 I 24 Lodge 1 59 1 4 4 1 4 I COMMON TURNIPS. — ONE COMPETITOR. June 1 iSame as for swedes.! 3 18 0 The examiners desire to call the attention of the society to the great diflference in the cost of growing turnips, as given in by the different competitors. Mr. Taylor's were grown at a cost of only £2 per acre in guano, and though the lightest in the first class, approach near to the general average. And if the reduced cost of labour be taken into account in the use of guano sown broadcast (as compared with the application of farmyard manure in quanti- ties ranging from 10 to 20 loads per acre), it is evi- dent Mr. Taylor's turnips have been grown at much less cost than any of the other competitors. And it is probable that if they had been sown a fortnight earlier, they would have taken tbe premium. Next in order of reduced cost is Mr. Bailey's, of North Lodge ; and though grown at nearly double the cost of Mr. Taylor's, are not so heavy in the top, yet somewhat heavier in the bulb. It is evident from this inquiry, that tillages which act quickly, and nearly in a state of solution, are I more conducive to the turnip crop than the heavier i and more expensive manures ; while the difference in the labour attending one manure, as compared with the other, at a busy time of year, might lead ' the farmer to inquire, whether his farmyard manure j could not be better and more profitably appUed to I clovers or old grass land instead of the turnip crop. The nature of the soil, the climate, the time of sowing, the hoeing and thinning, and general ma- nagement, exert great influence over the crop ; but THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 425 the Jiffereace in the cost of production does not i appear to have any influence in the amount of pro- j duce. The maximum cost is five times greater than the minimum, while both are below the general average of 25 tons (nearly) per acre. It may be asked — which is the best and cheapest mode of growing turnips ? To answer this question without any reference to the future condition of the land, might lead to erroneous results. Perhaps the lighter dressings might not leave the land in the same high condition as the heavier ; while the latter, in a wet season, would damage the crop of barley and clover, and both end in loss and disappoint- ment. And it must not be forgotten, in consider- ing this question, that the difference in the cost of production, as shown in the table, would enable the farmer to purchase and consume on the land, or in the stall, a considerable quantity of artificial food, and thereby increase the wool, mutton, ma- nure, beef, or pork, &c., to be manufactured on the farm. The examiners feel it their duty to make these remarks, for future inquiry. LEASES AND TENANT-RIGHT. Sir, — Many of your agricultural readers may con- sider that the recent opinions of the Times' Commis- Bioner on the subject of tenant-right will act as a heavy blow to the resolution which was carried at the last meeting of the Trafalgar Society on this important matter, and that the opinions there expressed will be completely extinguished beneath such overpowering authority. Thus shut up to the alternative of vigorous defence or honourable capitulation, and seeing that the enemy, while he has abandoned the ground on his own account, has entrenched himself behind the Times' Com- missioner, where he fancies he is safe and secure, it is simply in the nature of things that " Trafalgar," not being convinced by the article in the Times, but rather inspired with a greater confidence in the opinions formerly expressed, is quite prepared for resistance and attack. Every one knows who the Times' Commissioner is. He is no other than Mr. Caird, author of " High Farm- ing under Liberal Covenants." The elegant and graphic manner in which he has pourtrayed the farming over Merry England, whether in its advanced or primi- tive condition, is beyond all praise. He is one of the most popular writers our agricultural literature cnn command, but I have never looked upon him as a pro- found one. His whole writings are characterised by the adoption of immature views, views hastily taken up, and as speedily thrown aside. Were I asked to give an ex- ample of this feature in his writings, I could not appeal to a better than his letter of 23rd December last, whether viewed by itself or in connexion with his former writings. He has shown the white feather on the subject of Tenant-right, and has written in direct contradiction to what he formerly blazed off in large capitals to com- mand attention and regard. But, so far as the testimony of this latest production can go, the reasons which he has there given for his change of sentiment are as frail and unsatisfactory to my mind as the surface and exaggerated views which he once entertained on this question now appear to himself. The Commissioner, in his rapid flight over the wide field of agriculture in the south, had no time to examine into the true bearings of the case. He has dwelt on the abuses of the system, but could not comprehend how the line of demarcation can be drawn between its legitimate use in Lincolnshire and its abominations in Surrey and Yorkshire. The customs of the latter in its worst features have been long before now exposed by far abler and more experienced agriculturists, who are the uncompromising advocates of a reasonable and well- defined tenant-right. Is the opinion of Mr. Caird on this question to outweigh those of Mr. Pusey, and a host of English agriculturists, who are far more competent judges of the requirements of modern agriculture ? There is little danger of that. It was noticed at the time that the Commissioner skipped the greater part of the best farmed districts in Lincolnshire. He wrote— " In Lincolnshire and North Notts we found the great improvement of agriculture of late years attributed to the system of compensation to outgoing tenants ; yet, on examining the state of agriculture itself, it seemed to us, if not inferior, certainly in no respect superior to the proficiency of the same class of farmers in West Nor- folk, whose capital is not protected by any compensation agreements, but by 21 years lease. It was certainly a very high standard by which the Lincoln and Notts farming was compared, when West Norfolk had to be taken, and when the farming of the Holkham estate was in his eye, for in the winding up of the article in question he says — " The system of yearly tenure has proved itself, in practice as in theory, inferior to that of leases with liberal covenants when fairly and judiciously tried, as in the examples of Holkham and Woburu." The Woburn estate is the property of the Duke of Bedford. Every encouragement is given to the tenantry by an enlightened and generous landlord. This answers all the ends of tenant-right, and effects through mere confidence what Lord Yarborough, in Lincolnshire, does by an equally generous and enlightened system of giving liberal allowances to his tenantry in the shape of tenant-rights — this is, no doubt, doing it more upon the commercial principle — in either case, confidence is secured between landlord and tenant. The Holkham 426 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. estates are almost too well-known to require notice. The improvements were begun on that estate upwards of 70 years ago by Mr. Coke, afterwards Lord Leicester, the efforts of one generation have been nobly seconded by another, and there is no doubt that the Holkham property is at the present moment the best farmed estate in Britain. This is ascribed to what Mr. Caird has long talked and raved about but never defined, viz., liberal covenanis, which will be shortly matter for con- sideration, as we are very glad to have it in our power to show what he means by the term. He further states — " That tenants do in many instances invest their capital largely with no othersecurity than their landlord's charac- ter, we most willingly testify. In no country, perhaps, in the world does the character of any class of men, for fair and generous dealing, stand higher than that of the great body of English landlords ; yet, there are exceptions, and they are unfortunately becoming more numerous." It would plainly appear that it does not matter what sort of tenure is in use, so long as this " generous and honourable" feeling is maintained, and when " fairly and judiciously tried." I have seen as much capital invested by tenants without leases as ever I have seen with them ; but remove this feeling, and it matters as little for agri- culture what is the nature of the tenure, as it will as- suredly suffer in the long run. It is generally admitted that there is as much capital invested by the tenantry in Lincoln as there is in Norfolk or in East Lothian ; and it speaks well for the system which can cope v.'ith the best examples under the most favourable circumstances. The Commissioner further says that " frauds were be- •^inning to creep into the system" in Lincoln ; but I maintain that the tendency is for the frauds to creep out. It is not of "late years" that the customs have arisen ; but let us hear those who are on the spot, and have had ample opportunities of learning how the system works. I shall avoid quoting the opinions of farmers, lest I should run the risk of being accused of one- sidedncss, and select as witnesses only those who are on the other side of the question, and know their true in- terests. Major Francis Brown, anestensive proprietor, in his evidence before the Select Committee in the House of Commons, on agricultural customs, in 1848, stated, " I have held property in Lincolnshire, and have ma- naged it, in a great measure myself, for upwards of 53 years. Lincolnshire was in a very bad state of cultiva- tion in my early period ; in short, one third of the whole county was uncultivated entirely, or very wretchedly and badly cultivated. After a lapse of time, when tenants had to quit their farms, valuers began to make allowances to them. It was a gradual thmg in its early progress— it was fought very stoutly against ; but it is now, I believe, universal. 1 think that the present sys- tem of valuation works well, and adapts itself to all the new improvements — gradually, I admit, but ultimately. Lincolnshire is probably as well cultivated a county as any in the kingdom ; ar.d those counties thtit a:e badly cultivated will, no doubt, gradually assume the very system of valuation that we adopt in Lincolnshire, as it answers so well there. I have no doubt other counties that are backward in cultivation will, as cultivation im- proves, adopt the same rule." Next hear the testimony of Mr. Smith, in Lincoln- shire, who has had the care of many estates in that county, and has watched the customs during 30 years, but who, like the former witness, was not in favour of any legal enactment : " The Lincolnshire tenants have no difficulty in re- covering compensation, since the customs have been more defined and recognised. Some difficulty was ex- perienced during its formation and progress. The great difficulty was loith regard to fixtures and buildings, not manures. The generality of the farmers are content with the custom as it now exists. There may be a few that do not, but certainly not those with whom I am acquainted." Notwithstanding Mr. Caird's ipse dixit, we are en- titled to a view of the sunny side of the question, even in Sussex ; and for this purpose I shall now quote the opinion of one who has a stake on both sides of the question. Mr. Jeremiah Smith, of Springfield Lodge, Rye, Sussex, who owns upwards of thirteen thousand acres, and holds in occupation over six thousand acres. That gentleman says — " The system of giving compen- sation for various manures has had a good effect on the farming of my neighbourhood ; on those estates where it has been encouraged they have improved much faster than others whose landlords have held aloof from the matter. When the right is admitted by the landlord, the settlement between the outgoing and the incoming tenant is perfectly easy ; there is not the slightest diffi. culty. The rents have improved very considerably too, in some instances almost double, and the tenant thriving too. Whenever the tenant does well, the landlord does well. W^hen the landlord is disposed to grind, the tenant does not do well, nor the landlord. I have never heard landlords complaining that their tenants would put too much manure in their lands, and saddle their properties with high and speculative charges, but I have heard complaints on the other side a thousand times. If any tenant takes a farm out of condition, it would take him four or five years to bring it round to a paying condition at all with us ; in the hop district it would take even longer. I am convinced that it is the interest of the tenant to pay a fair compensation for what is in the soil, to be adjusted by responsible gentlemen ; it is the greatest benefit to the landlords themselves, who are the most interested, and their estates would improve, and nothing would prevent it." I could quote the evidence from h dozen of other witnesses, who have the management of English pro- perties, all to the same effect ; and surely their opinions are worth a great deal more than those who have not given any symptoms of having studied the matter fur- ther than in their flight across the country. But why did Mr. Caird compare the Norfolk leases with Notts THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 427 and Lincoln ? The most neglected tract of country which he passed through was in Northumberland, where, I imagine, they have leases. Why not place Lincoln and Northumberland together for comparison? Take the agri- culture in Lincoln and North Notts as a whole at the pre- sent moment, and what a happy state of matters when con- trasted with Northumberland, where leases have entirely lost their virtue — but what is the cause of this? Simply, that " there are instances in many counties, and par- ticularly in the north and west, of the tenants' unassisted improvements during a lease having been taken very unfair advantage of at its conclusion." — Times. In fact, the system of leases has been so much be-praised, that landlords have thought that the adoption of leases absolves them from any further trouble iu the matter. The commercial system has been fairly tried in Nor- thumberland, and its agriculiure is prostrate under the billows of the new order of things. Matters are now reduced to that state in which they are ripe for tenant- right; here the force of circumstance will " Make lairds grant what love did seek." What is Mr. Caird's cure.'' Why, the old story, "liberal covenants," such as at Holkham. The ex- perience of Northumberland tenants would deter them from signing such leases as at Holkham. The success of agriculture at Holkham cannot be ascribed to its "liberal covenants," as I shall soon show to the satis- faction of every one. It is entirely to be ascribed to a steady perseverance of a system of honourable and fair dealing to the tenantry. On this question the Com- missioner writes like a school-boy. I shall allow, how- ever, a man of sense to speak to all whom it may con- cern. Hear Mr. Neville's opinions on the matter, who has a large property in the county of Nottingham, who has found it to his advantage to encourage his tenantry, and who has made the tenant-right question bis special study : — " I conceive that the custom of Lincolnshire must spread now rapidly. My own feeling is that the occu- piers will not be able to farm the land, except they get liberal agreements ; that the landlords will be obliged to give such agreements as will enable them to farm as well as they can, or otherwise they must let the land at alow rent, or not to have it farmed at all. What I mean is, that I ought to be able to give the tenant every advan- tage by an agreement that does not injure me. I be ■ lieve that what has grown up from the liberality of the land-owner, they will be obliged to do from necessity what they have in many cases done from liberality and the spirit of improvement, and I assume that the custom will extend, as it has been found beneficial both to the land-owner and the tenant. The more rapidly agricul- ture improves, the more rapidly will the custom extend in other counties." Are we to throw aside this common. sense view of the relative position of landlord and tenant, and substitute the undefined and unmeaning cry of" liberal covenants ?" "In Northumberland," says Mr. Caird, "we have given examples, which prove in the strongest manner that the injury sustained by the tenants by being induced through unfair competition to offer exorbitant rents," &c. Why are they induced to give exorbitant rents ? What good does it do to talk about " unfair competi- tion," which is just as incapable of being defined as " liberal covenants." This system of ungenerous deal- ing is going on increasing, according to this authority, and yet look at the remedies which he has provided. If the case was so desperate as he is making it, I should look upon the whole sys-tem of large farms as doomed to destruction. It is lucky that we have such substan- tial men to appeal to as Mr. Neville, and a whole host of others. "What is the nature of the "liberal covenants" at Holkham which are now given forth as the great panacea for all the difficulties of our agriculture .'' Most fortu- nately, I have lying before me the forms of leases which are adopted on that estate, and I am enabled to speak with well-grounded assurance on that matter. If Mr, Landale had had Lord Leicester's mode of dealing with his tenantry in his eye when he drew up the first resolu- tion to submit to the meeting at Trafalgar, he could not have more truthfully described the system which has been followed on the Holkham estate for the last seventy years ; and as this resolution has been so much sneered at by some parties, I shall repeat it for their good, and hope they will soon be in the position to ap- predate its force and truth : — " It is of the utmost importance to the progress of agriculture that an intelli- gent and friendly relation should subsist between land- lord and tenant, whereby confidence should be secured between the parties, so that their interests should har- monize, and every means should be taken by the prin- cipal contracting party to establish and consolidate that system which is best suited to the respective districts." It cannot be said that the covenants are liberal on the Holkham estates according to the meaning which Mr. Caird would lead us to attach to the term froja bis former writings, which, by and by, I will give for the amusement of your readers. These " covenants " of Holkham estate are as stringent in their terms towards the tenant as any that ever I saw. Leases not half so illiberal have ruined or prostrated the agriculture of Northumberland. But " an intelligent and friendly re- lation " between landlord and tenant overlies the strin- gency of the clauses, and is the whole secret of the success of leases in this instance. The splendid specimens of farm- ing at Castleacre are due to this feeling of security and confidence. Mr. Hudson has no other hold than this for the immense investment of capital in a soil which is not his own. It might be taken advantage of, and we should soon have Northumberland's miseries enacted on that field where Mr. Coke assisted in rearing the agriculture of Norfolk, both by precept and example, to its present height and perfection. Just snap one link which con- 428 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. nects the one with tbe other, and down tlie whole will tumble. The leases of Holkham, I have said, are most stringent in regard to cropping ; none could be more so. I will give one clause which is strictly an agricultural one, as distinguished from the private, or what some would coll the feudal ; it will show the farsighted cha- racter of Lord Leicester, although it may shock Mr. Caird, and amaze some nearer home, as it may jar with their own notion : — " And the tenant shall not, and will not, during the last four years of this demise, sow, or cause or permit to be sown, upon the demised farm and premises, any more oats than shall be sufficient for feed- ing the horses usually kept and used on the said farm, at the ordinary rate of allowance of oats given to such horses, and shall not, during sucli last four years, sow, or permit to be sown, on the demised premises, any oats for sale or to be sold or carried away from the farm and premises hereby demised." The Commissioner could not have appealed to a more unfortunate instance for himself than the " liberal cove- nants" at Holkham. Where in all the earth could we have got anything more opposed to what he once tried to gull us with, and excuse himself for writing his pamphlet on " High Farming under Liberal Covenants ?" It affords an excellent instance of what Carlyle, in his " Slump Orator," calls speaking to Btcn/ctan. In " High Farming Vindicated" Caird says : " The slavish adoption of fixed rules of rotation are suited only to a comparatively low state of agriculture. Nature has no rotations of crops. A fixed rotation is but a rude sub- stitute for skill ; and it is only when skill or capital are wanting that stringent regulations for cropping are ne- cessary to guide the tenant or protect the interests of the landlord. I know that this doctrine will be accounted heretical in the eyes of such a ' perfect' agriculturist as Mr. Stephens ; but entertaining an humbler notion of the existing attainments of our agriculture, and hoping to Bee a broader development of national energy directed to the important task of producing the people's food, I confess I look forward to a time when, with some legis- lative or conventional provision for unexhausted im- provements, it will be alike safe for the landlord and profitable for the tenant to rely more on the cultivator's skill than on the stringency of his lease. And this u-as one reason why I selected Mr, M'Culloch's case (Auchness) rather than others for tin example of high farmint/." Of course this is now acknowledged nonsense, and it is a good thing the acknowledgment has come of him- self. The depth and research of Mr. Caird, however, are as apparent in this extract as they are in the con- fused article on the subject in the Times, which we have just reviewed. Yet we (the Trafalgars) have been told that we must yield to his authority, and that we had a shocking bad case on hand when we passed the following resolution, which, however, cannot be overthrown so easily: "That remuneration to the tenant for unex- hausted improvements, at the end of his lease, is quite indispensable to maintain the soil in a fertile condition at its termination." But, on the other hand, we have heard a arreat deal about the interest which the outgoing tenant has in keep- ing his land in the highest state of cultivation at the ter- mination of his lease. It is said that here virtue is its own reward. Supposing this was the case, which may be so, the facts are against us on both sides of the Tweed ; but mere ignorance being the cause, knowledge should be the cure— and therefore agricultural societies should engage in the Quixotic mission of imparting information on this subject. Those who urge such pleas show their superficial knowledge of human nature, and the modus operandi of a want of security and good-feeling between landlord and tenant. Surely the advancement of agri- culture is a secondary consideration with such. They have not studied the simple elements which lie on the surface of the question, and are patent to every one. It is surely unnecessary for me to guard any one from supposing that the question has been argued on any other grounds than those of its agricultural merits. I have sedulously endeavoured to avoid cither the private or political, as I conceive agricultural societies aie on forbidden ground if tliey put a foot on either. But so long- as tliey keep on their own territory, no one is en- titled to complain. To conclude, I believe in truth and honesty, that Ihc time* demand more enlarged terms of agreement, and that It would be for the interest of landlords, ratber to anticipate the de\elopenient of agriculture like the Lincolnshire proprietors, for, as Sir James Graham said the other day to hii tenantry — " Generally spcakinj?, it is the duty of proprietors to lead the way." I must now, however, leave the matter entirely in the hands of others. I am, &c. A Member of theTuafalgar Aukic. Soc. January 23rd, 185-i. —Fife Herald. An agricultural operatiou on a gigantic scale has just been completed ia the department of the Aude. lu order to effect the irrigation of a tract of land of 2,000 hectares (nearly 5,000 acres English), the water has been brought from tbe river Aude by a tunnel about 2,150 yards long. This land is si- tuated at Marseillette, a village about twelve miles from Car- cassoune. About 50 years since it was a marsh, and was purchased by a Madame Lawless, a rich Irish lady, who had it thoroughly drained, and it has since been cultivated with great success, although at time? the crops have suffered considerably for want of water. The land now belongs to the Calsse He- pot/iecaire, by which this tunnel has been constructed. It is 2 metres 10 centimetres in height under the arch, and 1 metre 60 centimetres wide. The supply of water will be abundant at all seasons of the year. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 429 CHICHESTER FARMERS* CLUB. The half-yearly dinner of the club was held on Wednesday, March 3rd, at the Anchor Inn, the usual place of its assembly. It was well worthy the deserved reputation of the house. The liberal- ity in which the table was supplied, and the excel- lent style in which everything was served up, was a matter of general encomium. The price, too, to speak in the set phrase of the day, was " adapted to the times," so that even the depressed farmer might safely go home without the self-reproach of extravagance. The wines and spirits, also, were of the best quality, and fully sustained Mr. Coombe's reputation as a wine and spirit merchant. Amongst the company present were — Mr. H. Duke (in the chair), Mr. E. Wyatt (vice-chairman), Mr. W. Duke (secretary), Messrs. Geo, Rusbridger, A. Cheesman, A. Farndell, Edw. Duke, William Coombes, George Smith, R. Wakford, Thos. Pur- chase, Thos, Harris, Charles Hobgen, Edw. Habin, Thos, Habin, John Ewins, Edw. Coombes, C. Chitty, Walter Boniface, AVm. Kennet, Thos. Ma- den, G. T. Bailey, Wm. Field, F. Randall, Henry Cousens, A. Field (Dumford Park), Richard Cou- sens, Geo. Duke, Geo. HoUoway, and John Wyatt. On the removal of the cloth, the Chairman gave the usual loyal and patriotic toasts, which were cor- dially received. The Chairman then said, that having disposed of the usual routine of toasts, and as there was not much time to be lost, he would call upon Mr. Rus- bridger to introduce the subject of which notice had been given for discussion. Mr. Rusbridger accordingly rose and said, the subject he had to propose for discussion was one of vital importance to them as agriculturists, namely, " The utility and necessity of farmers' clubs." It was one which was intimately connected with their prosperity. He, for one, was satisfied that their welfare did not depend on this or that set of men being in power or out of power ; they must not look to one minister or another, but de- pend upon themselves ; it was therefore incumbent on every one to put his shoulder to the wheel, and and to endeavour to do all he could for the general good. He did not, by that remark, wish it to be understood that individual exertion could not effect any amount of good ; but union was strength, and they could only hope to better their condition by uniting together for one general object. The ship which traversed the mighty deep, exposed to all the perils of storm and tempest, was only enabled to resist the violence of wind and wave by the com- pactness of the timbers of which it was built (cheers). So it was with them; isolated and dis- united they were, as weak as one of the threads of a cable ; but united, they became as powerful as the cable in its perfect strength, thread was interwoven with thread, till it became sufficient for the purpose for which it was intended j and the anchor once dropped into the oozy bottom of the deep, the sailor rested securely in his hammock, amid the tossing of the ever-moving sea, and the winds singing his lullaby (cheers). If they acted at all, they must act together, for there only rested their strength (applause). The farmers had kept apart loo long, and the consequence was their present position. All the other classes of the community appeared to have understood the importance of combination with the exception of the farmers (Hear). The aristocracy had their clubs : the manufacturers had their appointed places of meeting to discuss their mutual interests ; and labourers and artizans were associated together for promoting the general weal. Why then should not farmers associate together for a similar purpose? (Hear, hear). Perhaps he might be told that a large proportion of the associa- tions amongst the labouring classes were simply benefit societies. He believed it was so j and would be very glad to adopt the term, for were they not engaged in a similar work — to endeavour to benefit the condition of the tenant farmers ? (cheers). Could any one tell him why the farmers should not have the same facilities for Ijettering their condition as any other class of the community ? Had they not been injured by unjust legislation, and were not those clubs called for to enable them to main- tain their rights, and to stand up in defence of themselves and their families ? (Hear, hear, hear, and applause). Experience had shown that those who had formerly given them support, were betray- ing them and their interests : the metropolitan press was writing them down every day, and en- deavouring to show that agricultural distress was only imaginary ; he would therefore ask, would they lie down and be trampled under foot, or stand up Uke men and defend their rights ? (loud cheers). The cultivators of the soil had hitherto been re- garded as FiHgland's strength and England's glory; and he believed their cause was inseparably con- nected with the country's weal : the cause of the tenant farmer was equally that of the labourer, and under existing circumstances both were involve 1 in one common calamity. It was their duty to do all they could to ward off the threatened ruin. 480 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, How ? By united exertions, by being true to one another (cheers). They must all pull the same waj', their interests were identical, and all minor differences must be thrown overboard and forgotten (applause). He knew no way so effectually to ac- complish that object as through the instrumentality of farmers' clubs, where they learned each other's opinions, and were enabled, without asperity of feeling, to respect each other's prejudices — the surest and safest way of removing them (cheers). Farmers' clubs were not confined, as some people might suppose, to a consideration of the best means of cultivating swedes, beet root, or mangold wurzel, nor yet to the breeding of sheep (laughter). It would be well, perhaps, in one sense, if it were so ; but they had been compelled to think and speak upon different points. In that respect they had learned a lesson from the free traders ; and though they might be at present in a minority, he would say. Do not despair, but bear in mind that the pass of Thermopylae was only defended by three hundred men (cheers). Unity of purpose would accomplish great things ; it was by that the free traders gained their victory ; and if they, as farmers, had depended on themselves instead of others, as they had too frequently done, and in the power of their own arms, he ventured to assert, that instead of being in the present position, they would still have had something like protection (loud cheers). The free traders had done their work of mischief, and done it well ; but what had they, the farmers, done r They had seen the foundation of their interests undermined by statesmen who had pretended to be their best friends : they were as a vessel tossed and tempest driven, with its canvass torn by the fierce war of the elements, its deck covered with the raging waves, and without the friendly aid of a pilot to bring it to the desired re- fuge, until at length they were wrecked (Hear, bear). If they had rehed upon themselves, they would not thus have been deceived by false friends ; they would have known when to take in canvass, and by sailing in smooth water, they might have gone quietly on their course. He hoped the bitter consequences of their past conduct would be the greatest incentive to future exertion and increased watchfulness (Hear). They could not, however, have taken a better step than in the establishment of a farmers' club (cheers) ; and having established it, let them stand by it as a stanch true-hearted captain would by his ship, while a single plank re- mained on which he could set his foot (cheers). There were men who pretended to sneer at farmers' clubs ; but it was only pretence, they sneered at what they dreaded : they read the reports of their meetings, and they saw that they were constantly increasing in strength, that they were becoming a phalanx which could not be disorganized. Those who pretended to sneer, feared the most ; and they might depend that under the curled lip, there was the coward's heart (cheers). That they might fur- ther see the necessity of looking to themselves, he would ask them to look at the tradesmen. What had they done for the farmer ? Why, they had sent free trade members to Parhament to vote away the fatmers' rights (Hear, hear), though a great num- ber of them mainly depended on the farmers for their prosperity (cheers). Some time ago, there was a motion to remove the cattle market to the outskirts of that city : the tradesmen said that such a removal would be their ruin, and the market was allowed to remain as before. How had they repaid the consideration given to their interests ? Whj', as soon as an election came, their cry was free trade for ever (Hear). These men might try to annihilate them, but he would say, never let them, the farmers, commit suicide, which was not only contrary to the laws of reason, but opposed to the spirit of Christianity (cheers). He believed their periodical meetings for discussion to be of the greatest importance to the interests of the tenant farmer ; and his advice was, that that club should be their armoury, in which to lay up, and he would also add, to keep in repair their weapons of de- fence ; so that being always prepared, they might go forth to conqueror die (loud cheers). Two new members were then pi'oposed and ad- mitted, namely, Mr. Henry Wright, and Mr. Wal- ter Wood. Mr. W. Duke begged to propose the next toast. The question for discussion that day had been brought forward in a most efficient and skilful way ; and on an occasion of that nature, the half-yearly dinner, he thought they could not do less than drink the health of Mr. Rusbridger with three times three. The cheers were heartily given. Mr. Rusbridger, in responding, said, he was sincerely obliged for the kind manner in which they had drunk his health, and he could assure them that he should be ready at all times to do all in his power to promote the welfare of that club (ap- plause). They had now a new government, and many persons, in consequence, were hoping for better timesj but he would remind them there were men in the House of Commons who were always adverse to the agricultural interest, men who took a delight in scattering the elements of discord amongst all classes ; who set the manufacturer against the agriculturist, and the agriculturist against the manufacturer, the master against the labourer, and the labourer against his employer, town against country, and the country against the town. It therefore behoved the farmers to look to them- selves, and having once made a move in the way of THE FARMER'S xMAGAZlNE. 431 progression, tbeymustnltimately bccceed in better- ing their condition, if tliey were only true to them- selves (cheers). If at the next general election the voice of the country was for free trade, he hoped the principle would be fairly and fully carried out by a free trade in everything, Mr. George Holloway proposed " Prospe- rity to the Farmer's Club " (cheers). Mr. A. Cheesman said, they had had various toasts proposed, but he was sure they would join him heartily in giving the next one, which was the " Health of the chairman" (applause). Brevity was said to be the soul of wit; the remark was ex- emplified in the speeches of their chairman, for, though generally short, they were always to the point (cheers). The Chairman, in responding, said, that pub- lic speaking was quite out of his line, but he could not but venture a few observations on the ])rospects of agriculture at the present time. He thought the period had arrived when they might at least look forward with hope (Hear). He hoped when the period for a general election arrived, the inhabi- tants of the city of Chichester would not be so blind as they had been to their own interests, but would see that their welfare was bound up with the prosperity of agriculture. It was really astonishing that towns dependent on an agricultural commu- nity should send one free trader to one protection- ist, or, which was worse still, sometimes two, as was the case at Lewes, for instance. If they, the farmers, were to withdraw from the Chichester market, the tradesmen would be ruined ; and he was convinced the farmer could do better without the shopkeeper, than the shopkeeper could do with- out him (hear). He hoped the shopkeeper, how- ever, would begin to see things difi'erently, and give the matter a serious and fair consideration (cheers). He gave "The Visitors," coupled with the name of Mr, Cousens (cheers), Mr. Cousens responded. He should, indeed, be ungrateful if he did not immediately arise at such a call, and return thanks for that further proof of their good-will towards him. In doing so, how- ever, he wished to be understood as returning thanks only for himself, leaving other visitors to do the same (laughter). On the main question which had occupied their attention I hat evening, he was too much interested in agriculture not to feel and appreciate the value of farmers' clubs. Without such associations the farmers would be a com- pletely isolated, and he might yay, a helpless body of men ; but by unity, by pulling together in one boat, they would be enabled to make progress, and to contend, with what appeared to be, conflicting interests. By meeting together in their several dibtritcs, they gained strengtii, and with that strength they gained respect (cheers). After the excellent speeches they had heard from Mr, Rus- bridger, he had no idea of entering into the subject in all its bearings, as he must necessarily tread, in some respects, on the same ground ; but as that was a business as well as a convivial meeting, he would make a few observations on the necessity of maintaining their rights and obtaining justice for themselves, in his opinion, the most injured class of the community (Hear). He complained that they did not pay that attention to business matters which their opponents did : he had no objection to conviviality in its proper place ; but under the exist- circumstances of the farmer, he was decidedly of opinion that business should have the precedence (Hear, hear). With reference to the utility of farmers' clubs, he thought they might be rendered much more so — that they were capable of great ex- pansion ; they must take their political afi'airs into their own hands, the same as they did the manage- ment of their own farms, instead of leaving them to others — to men, ndeed, whose interests were not identified with their own. He was even inclined to doubt whether the interests of landlord and tenant were strictly identical. The tenant farmer had every day to contend with the elements : he might sow, but he never knew when he might reap; and if he did reap, he was still left in doubt as to the disposal of his crops (Hear, hear) —whether he would be remunerated or not for the outlay of bis capital, his anxiety and daily toil (Hear). The men they sent to represent them in parhament, gene- rally, did not understand these things, and there- fore could not sympathise with the farmer's difH- culties. In making that observation, he wished to be understood as speaking with all due deference in respect to their present county members, who, he believed, acted to the best of their abilities (Hear), and with a view to promote their interests. But the farmers themselves had not that indepen- dence they ought to have, their vote might be con- sidered a portion of their agreement in entering on the farm ( Hear, hear) ; but if they v/ere more united, if farmers' clubs were more prevalent, they might soon bid defiance to the Manchester school and all those machinations by which they had been so much injured (cheers). He hoped better times were coming ; but as Mr. Rusbridger had justly observed, if they wished to place themselves in a more prosperous position, they must take the ma- nagement of affairs into their own hands, whoever might be at the head of the ministry (Hear), The (juestiun of free trade and protection would be de- cided by the majority at the next general election. If it was that free trade was to continue the law of the land, all he had to was, let it not be a bastard free trade, but one alike beneficial to the farmer 2 F 433 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. and manufacturer— the principle of the present sys- tem had something of Dick Tnrpinism about it. That notorious highwayman was frequently known to have given to the poor what he took from the rich ; and the system of free trade was somewhat eimilar, with the difference that it robbed the farmer to enrich the capitalist manufacturer (cheers). If free trade was right with regard to food, it was equally so with reference to articles of clothing and every description of manufactured articles, on most of which there still remained a duty of 10 percent. If, therefore, they were to be subject to foreign competition, let it extend to manufactures as much as to the produce of the soil, and then they, the farmers, might derive some advantage from it. He really could not see why they should not have the benefit of a cheap market for what they wore as well as for what they eat (cheers). Let them make out a fair case as to the injustice of the present system, and he had no doubt as to the result. Re- lief must come in some shape or other. With all the disadvantages of diminished profits, they were borne down with a tremendous burthen of taxation, partly sustained, he admitted, by the landlord as well as the tenant, but principally by the latter. Take for instance that great local burthen, the poors' rate, which he regarded peculiarly as a tenant's tax, and for this reason, the landlord was not liable for the poor tax till his land was put in a state of cultivation, and for that reason it fell upon the tenant instead of the landlord. If free trade continued, there must be an adjustment of taxation so as to relieve the land from a portion of its bur- thens. To obtain that, they must keep up their clubs, for they would have need of all their united strength to obtain even simple justice. Mr. Cou- «ens then alluded to the petitions for a different method of taking the corn averages, and for the repeal of the malt and hop duties, originated by the Arundel Farmers' Club. He stated that a de- putation from that club had waited upon Mr. Prime, who had received them in the most courteous man- ner, and promised them his support. On those questions he invited their co-operation, and hoped they would sign the petitions alluded to (cheers). Mr. Harris, with the permission of the Chair- man, begged to propose a toast. It was the health of a gentleman long known to them, and a kind friend to the tenant farmer. Placed in the unplea- sant position the farmers were, their object should be to seek a speedy and effectual remedy for their grievances. One of the best means of accomplish- ing that object was to place themselves in a proper position with regard to public opinion. The free trader.s asserted that the country generally was in a prosperous condition, and that agricultural la- bourers were never better cff ih;n jitat time. notwithstanding they had been subjected to a re- duction in their wages. Supposing such to be the case, what was the reason ? Why, that the farmers were paying theui more than they could afford, be- cause they were too open-hearted, and too well disposed to oppress them (Hear, hear). In that respect they acted widely different from the manu- facturers, who, in periods of even the slightest de- pression, left their workmen to shift for themselves as best they could (Hear). If the present system was to continue, the farmers must seek to be re- lieved from the burden of poor-rates and the rent- charge on tithes, which was above one-fourth of the actual value of their produce. Twenty-five per cent., he considered, might be taken off that charge, and the support of the i)Oor ought to betaken from the general taxation of the country. That would be one source of relief, and, in his opinion, it was a relief to which they were justly entitled (cheers). He proposed the health of " Mr. Edward Wyatt." Three times three. Mr. Wyatt, in responding, after thanking the company for the kind manner in which they had drunk his health, said, that it was not his intention to occupy much of their time on the subject more immediately before them, especially after it had been so ably and largely entered upon by other speakers. He would, however, venture upon a few observations, and in doing so, he should follow the words of the notice — by first speaking of the necessity for farmers' clubs, and then of their util- ity. As to their necessity : he thought they would agree v/ith him that the extraordinary circum- stances of the times called for a system of organi- zation. There appeared to be a clashing of interests, and each class of society was endeavouring to pro- mote its own interests, irrespective of the rights of others, A glance at recent events showed them what could be effected by organization ; and though he was decidedly of opinion, speaking nationally, that what was for the benefit of one interest was for the benefit of all, he yet held it to be possible, indeed they had felt it to be true, that a system of legislation might be adopted by which the interests of one portion of the community came into anta- gonism with the interests of another. They must, therefore, endeavour to obtain a course of legisla- tion founded on justice to all. To obtain such an object, they must be united. So much for the ne- cessity of farmers' clubs. Now as to their utility. Isolated, they were without strength, and might be made the sport of every faction. Other classes of the community had experienced the advantages of association, and if the farmers wished to put them- selves on an equality, they must adopt similar means. If they did not, they might depend upon it they would be left in the back ground, while THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 433 other interests were advancing. Tiiat was the only way of placing their position fairly before the pub- lic. After urging the necessity of taking safe ground in the advocacy of their rights, which he considered could best be accomplished by avoiding ultra opi- nions either on one side or the other, he con- cluded by proposing, in complimentary terms, the health of Mr, W. Duke, the Secretary (loud cheers). Mr. Duke was exceedingly obliged to the com- pany present for the kind manner in which his name had been received, and to Mr. Wyatt in par- ! ticular for the credit which he had given him. But j though he appreciated the motives by which they I had been influenced, he was quite aware that he ; had not been so efficient in the performance of his \ duties as he could have wished, having been placed ' in circumstances which prevented him giving to them that attention which he otherwise would have done. He concluded with proposing the health of | Mr. John Wyatt, and the gentlemen who had fa- voured the club by bringing forward subjects. Mr. Edward Wyatt said, there appeared to be some hesitation amongst the gentlemen named ; but as he was amongst them, he would reply on his own behalf. His object in doing so was to in- duce other parties to come forward in the same way : he was convinced that many of them were quite capable of bringing forward subjects, if they would only lay aside their diffidence; if they did so he was convinced they would neither want ideas, or language in which to express them. He suggested it would be an advantage if gentlemen would put down their names who were willing to bring for- ward subjects for discussion, so that they might be provided beforehand with questions for the whole year, of course allowing every one the choice of his own subject; but making it imperative to pubhsh it some time previously to the discussion being in- troduced. Mr. Harris expressed his concurrence, and was willing to enter into such an arrangement. Mr. John Wyatt thought that questions re- lating to practical farming might be discussed to much advantage. Mr. CousENS thought that in the present posi- tion of the farmers, they could not do better than adhere to those political topics in which their inter* ests were involved. A desultory conversation followed, in the course of which several members volunteered their services to bring forward subjects for discussion. The health of the chairman, Mr. Habin, and the city of Chichester, with other toasts, were also given and appropriately responded to. The following resolution was afterwards put from the chair and carried unanimously : — " That it is the opinion of the club, that under the existing state of society it is important and incumbent upon the farmers that they should combine together, not only for their own advancement, but also for the salvation of their own interest." THE MECHANICAL AND PRACTICAL EFFECTS OF WARPING. There is not a more interesting nor more neglected agricultural subject than that of warping. Con- fined necessarDy to the bounds of some tidal rivers, and hence circumscribed in their utiUty, these won- derful adaptations of natural processes are scarcely known on a scale sufficiently extensive to en- sure that degree of interest which they deserve. Hitherto their operations have almost been con- fined to the counties of York and Lincoln; and to the first county they at any rate owed their origin so late as the year 1743, scarcely a century ago, though there can be little doubt that warping was first taught by nature in the Nile overflows of the country of Egypt. The peculiarities of the counties referred to are such as quite to suggest, if not to isolate the opera- tion ; the land being below the level of the high tide, having been recovered from the overflow, and the rivers carrying a great amount of detrital, or at any rate sedimentary matter, which forms a soil on their low-lying lands of the greatest possible degree of fertility. The improvements of the Dutch adventurers in the reign of Charles I., founded on the reclamation, embankment, and drainage of land in the fens, and the recovery of some 75,000 acres of land south of Thorne, in Yorkshire, by their practically taught energies, laid doubtless the foundation of warping, said to have been first practised by Mr. Richard Jennings, of Armin, near Howden; but this ap- peared to attract little notice until the enquiries of the Board of Agriculture brought it to light some fifty years afterwards. The mechanical principles of warping appear to be these : — Supposing the tidal river to be em- banked above its high tide mark, and a proper sluice or clough provided with carrj'ing drains to the land proposed to be warped, into which other smaller branches or arteries are cut, so as speedily and readily to carry the water from the river to the 2 F 2 434 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. point where the deposit is proposed to be made, this is confined in that situation so as to be slill, and to clear of its sediment, when it is let oft' mto the river again at low water by another and lower drain. A thin coat of fine silt is deposited about an eighth to a tenth of an inch in thickness ; so that by perseverance all the year round, or nearly so, three feet of completely new soil will be de- posited, neither tenacious nor yet exactly porous, but calculated to grow crops almost illimitable for a succession of years. The kind of soil makes certainly some dift'er- ence. It seems to be the least beneficial on very porous sands or very tenacious clays ; the drainage of these being more difficult to effect in this low- lying district, from the impossibility of cutting drains deep enough to tap the land-springs. The best substratum for warping is the peat soil. This seems to be a subsoil most favourable to the after- development of crops ; and though two or three feet depth of soil may be added, the level of the land is seldom or never increased. The peat is compressed by the superincumbent mass, so as to fall to the previous level of its surface even with the addition. The principle of the deposit appears to be this : In the mouths of these sluggishly flowing tidal rivers, there is a great quantity of suspended mat- ter. The rolling river brings down matters both in solution and suspension, from the constant abra- sion of the soils through which it passes. The sea intersperses with this a vast mass of chloritic mat- ter— possibly, also, the washings of the basins of the estuaries and the chalk— the aluminous matters of the coasts, as well as its decayed vegetable and decomposed animal matter ; not to mention a most important element in the whole, the sewage of our large towns on the banks of the river. This by the constant agitation of the two opposing elements, the tide and the river's flow, keeps a vast amount of matter in suspension ; but once let out and at rest, it begins to subside ; and hence a great outlet of water makes a large deposit of the peculiar mat- ter of the warp. There is another peculiarity of the warp which is very material. It is best at the greatest distance, or at the extremity of the flow. Near the sluice though the stratum may be thicker, it is by no means so valuable and fertilizing : at the very extremity of the flow, though thinner, the deposit is much more fertile and valuable as soil. Nay, more wonderful still, the more fresh water there is in the warping current — the more muddy and thick the waters are from the influx of water in a rainy season, the less valuable is the warp. The cost of warping w\\\ vary in almost every case. It will run within a margin of £10 and £20 per acre : contingent on the safety, and success, or the insecurity and misfortune of the sluice and the carriers. The cost of these are sometimes enor- mous. Mr. Ralph Creyke erected a sluice costing £5,500, and expended as much as £7>350 in main, carriers, and embankments, and as much as £1,000 was lost by an unfortunate accident in his works, the whole of which cost some £17,000; but he covered 1,000 acres with warp, and raised land from some 8s. or 10s. per acre to be of the value of 32s. to Sfis. per acre. Another great point in warping is that the land is perfectly free from weeds : it is capable of growing crops varying from three to five in succession with- out manure. It is very easily worked, being neither loose nor tenacious ; and a little guano will soon place it, how exhausted soever it may be, in cir- cumstances immediately favourable for the growth of a crop. So much for the mechanical and practical effects of warping. But to what is all this change in tex- ture, productiveness, and value attributable ? Se- veral attempts have been made to elucidate it, but hitherto we have not met with any satisfactory ex- planation. Although the mechanical and practical operations of warping are well known to almost every person of common sense and observation in the neigh- bourhood where it is practised, still the cause of its beneficial eft'ects is involved in obscurity. Mr. Thornton J. Hei'epath made several analyses to show the chemical nature of the warp, and the re- sult of his analyses were at the time given in the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal. He found the warp to be especially rich in chlorides and al- kalies, some little phosphate and some sulphate, with some quarter per cent, of ammonia. He says, speaking of the warping water in its different states, " We see that it (the water) has experienced very little change in composition during the process, ex- cept in the proportion of the warp or insoluble matters which it held in suspension; consequently if we leave out of consideration what is owing to the sahne ingredients of the water absorbed by the soil, it is evident that the whole of the increased fertility which is conferred upon land by warping is produced by the mud or silt which is deposited by the water. Nor in fact is the proportion of de- posit so produced by any means inconsiderable ; in the specimen examined, whilst the water in iti; former state contained 233! grains per gallon of insoluble matter separable by a filter, the second specimen contained only 21 grains." 'J'hus he goes on to show that every acre had received 3^ tons of warp for every foot in depth of water that flooded it. This material when laid on successively for years THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 435 he shows to be very considerable in the elements of crop-producing materials. Taking, say, eighteen inches of warp soil to be deposited, there will be a stratum of 2829.J tons of super soil, or chemically speaking, there will be, of— Tons. Cwts, Soluble salts of river water .... 47 121 Organic matter, including 5^ tons of nitrogen 170 iGi Carbonate of lime, including 74 tons 2 cwt. of lime 103 19 Carbonate of magnesia, including 44 tons 15 cwts. cf magnesia 74 11 AlkaUes 5 j • Lime 11 2 Magnesia 48 11 Phosphoric acid 7 16 Silicic acid, sand, oxide of iron, and other comparatively marl substances lOlG lOi This is so far satisfactory : it agrees in the main with the Nile warps as given bv Lassaigue in 1 844, who thus describes it : — Water 10-70 Ulmic acid and nitrogenous organic matter 2-80 Peroxide of iron 1 3'G3 Silica 42-50 Carbonate of lime 3-85 Carbonate of magnesia 1-20 Alumina 24*25 Magnesia fOf) 100- In addition to these comparatively small propor- tions of fertilizing materials, supplied however in large quantities, Mr. Herepath contends that the mechanical improvement of the soil has also to do with the great fertilization produced by warping, and this has, no doubt, very important advantages. But he also attempts to answer the question as to the locality from whence this never-ending supply of warp is obtained. Not from the sea, he argues, for at the Humber mouth the water is perfectly clean ; not by land floods, he further contends, for they injure rather than improve the warp ; but from the action of the tidal waters, he urges, on the soft strata of shaly clay from the bottom of the Lin- colnshire marshes ; the organic matters being de- rived from cultivated land through which the rivers pass. Now we may be permitted to difFer from so great an authority, but with the greatest diffidence. We believe the cause of the fertility of the warp is due to another and entirely unsuspected agency. Mr. Charles Charnock, of Holrafield, whose prac- tical knowledge as a farmer is even surpassed by his skill as a natural historian and microscopist, completely demonstrated to us the clear cause of the fertility of the warp to be due to infusorial ani' malcula. He had specimens of the best warp col- lected, and these he put under a very powerful microscope, and nearly the whole consisted of semi- transparent animalcula, resembling light sand to the eye, having the feel of the soft phant warp ; and being, in fact, almost the entire mass of the silt. He showed us, also, specimens of less valuable warp, nearer the clough or sluice, which contained the same animalcula, but mixed in a smaller propor- tion with the sandy and aluminous matter, in a fine state of comminution, and which seemed to be completely in accordance with the theory that these infusoria being light and floating on the water, or being lightly suspended in it, will be carried to the farthest point, while the marly earthy matters will be sooner deposited ; and therefore the best crops are produced at that part of the warping the farthest from the inlets. We hope a microscopical as well as chemical ex- amination of the warp may be made, for it could scarcely be possible that Mr. Charnock's could be an isolated case ; but it is always desirable to have as much evidence as possible. It becomes an interesting question as to the ori- gin of these animalcula. Where could they come from ? — from the land, the sea, the river ? We ap- prehend the latter. The decaying matter forms the bodies of these myriads of scavengers, who revel in putrescence; whose infinitely small ova are drifted on the breeze, or carried by the stream ; and in their onward progress they die on their approach to the salt water, and thus float in the water while agitated, and are deposited in the mud and silt when it is still ; and may not the fertilizing Nile, and the alumina of rivers also be due in part to these unknown, unsought for, because unsus- pected, swarms ? The improvements of Hatfield Chase, a barren moor, by the alluvial deposit of what was once the bed of the tidal river Idle, where it had been buried for some couple of centuries, is doubtless due to the same mysterious cause — the bones, so to speak, and decayed bodies of these infusoria, another sort of guano mixed with sand and mud. The drainage of the moor left a solid bed of peat over a subsoil of sand ; and upon this a layer of 8 or 9 inches of the old warp is carted on a railroad laid down for the purpose. Four thousand acres are in course of this improvement ; and the change produced thus instantaneously is most wonderful. In the place of a barren waste, nay, of a hopeless bog, the most surprising crops of oats, wheat, and beans, are grown ; and the excavated bed of the river affords a reservoir to sub-irrigate the soil in case of necessity— an advantage in a peat subsoil of an almost illimitable kind. Now, though few farmers can have either the one 43G THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. or the other, there are few who cannot clean oxit old ditches or pondsteads, where the richest alluvial -matter is deposited, and which will not only im- prove the water, but will also afford a valuable sup- ply of the very best kind of manure. The question, too, admits of other views. May not other sources of manure be opened out by in- vestigations as to the presence of dead or live infu- soria? and is it not probable that some of our clialks and onr limestones are more abundant than others in them, or their remains?— Gardeners' and Farmers' .Journal. ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE POTATO. " Let tlie skye rain polntoes I ' BY A PRACTICAI, FARMER. said Shakespeare. " Alas! that he who conferred so great a benefit on this coniitry should lose his head on the scaffold ! ! I " The potato crop is undoubtedly the most important and most valuable root-crop knon'n to the British isles, and its proper culture and management demand the most careful attention and unrelaxing energy of the British agriculturist. No root lias yet become of BO great and universal a requisition, whether as food for man or beast — the tables of the prince and the benches of the poor are alike served with it — to the latter it may be said to be iuvaluable : it provides a vast and clieap sustenance for their families, and in its cultivation creates immense demand for their labour. It has become one of the most interesting, as well as most profitable, crops known in British husbandry, whether we look to the amazing amount of good and univer- sally approved food it produces, or to the extent of the population engaged in its cultivation; and perhaps no department of husbandry has undergone a greater im- provement, both in the cultivation of the root itself and in the introduction of new and approved varieties ; like new wheat, or new peas, every season brings out a new sort, so that we have varieties and sub varieties under names almost innumerable ; in reality, the varieties are very numerous and distinct, and many sorts are exceedingly good, and may be selected to suit with great nicety almost every kind of soil, clim.ate, and season. We have our early sorts for spring use; our best table or marketable sorts for general use; and our prolific sorts for cattle consump- tion. Its introduction has generally been ascribed to Sir Walter Raleigh, about 1586, who it is said brought the first sample from Peru or Virginia. The crop for many years obtained but very little notice, the root being small and unpalatable. It is to its improved cultivation that we owe its astonishins;ly extensive usefulness, and is a convincing proof what may be attained by the application of knowledge and industry applied to husbandry. The Soils adapted for Us Culture. — The soils best adapted for the culture of the potato are deep loams of considerable consistency, of good quality, but not too rich. Rich soils invariably cause a degree of " scabbiness " on the potato, and they will frequently turn yellow on boiling. This is generally the case on "lands broken up from grass. The potato crop of such soils should invariably be preceded by a corn crop or pulse crop — this we say is the kind of soil to produce the largest crop of potatoes of the finest quality. The next we would name are the alluvial warps : these are good in proportion to the depth and quality of the warp — the frequency of the finest crop and the weight produced are extraordinary — the best warps have been known to yield alternate crops of wheat and potatoes for fifty years in succession under appropriate culture and the application of manure, some planters expend- ing annually ;£'10 per acre in manure for their potato crop ; and it is by no means unusual for a crop to yield from 100 to 130 sacks per acre, of 2 cwt. each, exclusive of chats. Of the weaker warp lands the potato crop is sometimes taken after seeds or clover. The clover after being once mown is allowed in its second growth to get into full bloom ; it is then dressed with fold-yard manure, and ploughed in at a shallow depth ; in the autumn it receives a deep ploughing, and is thus laid up for the winter — the rotting clover, the manure, and winter's frosts, make it in admirable order for the early planting. The next we would name are the peat and moory soils : these are exceed- ingly good under proper culture and perfect drainage. Potatoes will not thrive in wet soils or in rainy seasons ; subsoil drainage is, therefore, indispensable to the most profitable culture of the crop. The next variety of soils includes all deep loams capable of deep pulverization : these, upon whatever subsoil they rest, are well adapted for potato culture, and we think the same general directions for preparing the separate varieties of soils named above will suffice. Chalky gravels, dry sandy soils, adhesive clays; indeed, almost every variety of soil will, under very liberal treatment, produce tolerable crops of potatoes ; but we cannot advise the adoption of this exhausting crop on such soils, under the disadvantages to be overcome in procuring a tilth of requisite depth and in keeping up their fertility. The Preparation of the Land. — Deep clayey loams, alluvial warps and deposits, peat and peaty fens, deep friable loams of every character— these we class together in one general system of management, though differing ia some measure in detail, which we ehall THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 437 point out. The great general rules we would lay down are first, a truly efficient subsoil drainage ; next, that all be ploughed up in the autumn at a depth of not less than seven inches, and as much deeper as possil)le, in accordance with the depth of loam or the useful nature of the subsoil — an admixture of an inferior subsoil with the surface soil is not to be discarded, it is fre- quently of great service, and ultimately becomes so incorporated as to form a deeper loam for future use ; should the winter be favourable, and the land dry, it may be advantageously cross-ploughed ('' cross- culted")', but, at all events, this must be done as early as possible in the spring, and all the power and appliances of the farm be brought to bear upon it to get it in order for early planting. We think with ordinary care and attention, and the judicious applica- tion of scarifiers, barrows, and rolls, the land may be so well worked as to produce a truly good and deep pulverisation; should, however, this fail, another ploughing must take place, and the working by scari- fiers, &c., proceed as before, till a fine deep tilth is effected. It is of very little service to plant the potato unless this is accomplished. The cleaning must of course go on simultaneously with the working —all weeds should be carefully picked off and burnt, and the ashes spread upon the heaviest parts of the field to keep it open and friable. In breaking up old pasture or seed land for the potato crop we would re- commend ploughing twice, or " two farrow deep," j. e. that the swaid be turned down and covered by the under furrow being ploughed up at great depth and tlirown or turned over it— this is done readily by a good ploughman. The first furrow drawn should be carted away ; as the plough returns back the furrow is turned upon the furrow sole of the first furi'ow, this being ploughed very thin; returning back, the furrow taken is at great depth and turned upon the first. The next is a difticult furrow to get up, as it has to be turned from a great depth over or un the top of the other two, and will most probably require tlie aid of an assistant witli spade. When this is effected the course is easy throughout : the thin sward furrow being turned down to the deep furrow- sole is covered by the deep or subsoil furrow being ploughed up and turned over it. The field should be left till the sward is well rotted, when it may either be set by spade, or worked as above, and set in the usual way, which we shall presently describe. In the fens or peaty soils it is desirable to wait till nearer spring, as generally they are more readily worked and more easily brought to a proper tilth, and injury from wet is more likely to be avoided, nor is early planting quite so requisite on these soils. Chalky gravels, clays, dry sands, and other varieties of soils — to these the same general rules apply j but as it is impossible on some of them to secure a deep fine tilth, we can only advise its being done as far as practicable J they must be broken up as deeply as possible in the autumn or during the winter, and in the early spring to receive similar working as for the better soils. The great difference we are disposed to make as respects these soils is, in the course or rotation of the crop — of v/hich presently. We always feel it a difficult task to point out these simple matters of business, as so many things present themselves as lo the details. It is very important that all adhesive or chalky soils should have the advantage of winter's frosts. It is often desirable to manure the land during the winter — it furthers the course of business. We think it most profitable to manure the land immedi- ately before planting ; but such course cannot always be pursued ; in this variable climate the judgment of the farmer must be the principal guide. If the land is kept dry and the manure is properly ploughed in before, or in the winter, it will undoubtedly be of great value to the succeeding crop. The great loss in value is from drenching rains or snows draining its best portions into the subsoil. The atmosphere will also abstract much of its choicest particles if the working of the land should be protracted and setting is late. The course or rotation of Cropping. — The soils of the best quality, as classed above, we think would yield the most profitable crops under the following rotation, and with proper care and liberal treatment their fertility may be kept up, being occasionally varied according to circumstances : — First, fallow to be well worked, highly manured, and sown with turnips or coleseed — these to be fed off on the land. Second, wheat or oats. Third, potatoes ; the land to be well worked and manured in manner as already named. Fourth, wheat. Fifth, beans, peas, or seeds (cloycr). Sixth, wheat ; and in some cases when the land is in high condition, this fifth crop may be follownl l)y potatoes, managed as before ; and lastly wheat. The inferior soils, as classed above, are certainly ill adapted for the cultivation of the potato, but it may frequently be necessary or desirable thus to npf»ro. priate them. We think the crop should invariably succeed to fallow crop : this being fed off on the land, together with the manure used to produce tlie turnip crop, will leave it in fair condition for potatoes. The course will be — first, turnips; second, potatoes ; third, tvheat ; fourth, clover or seeds, manured for; fifth, wheat. We know these are heavy courses to pursue ; but we would observe that it is of no avail to cultivate the potatoes unless the land under cropping is natur- ally or artificially prepared for it— it must be in a high state of fertility. The mode of Planting or Setting. — This must vary according to the nature and condition of the land to be planted. If it is naturally rich in quality, or is artifi- cially worked up to a highly fertile state, the planting may be at wide intervals from row to row and thin along the rows ; if the land is poor or ill-conditioned, the planting may be proportionably thinner. The 438. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. same rule will liold y;()od as rcsipects tlie varieties of potato to be planted, and tlic choice shuuld be made accordingly — tlio smiiUer and dwarf growing sorts for ricli soils, the larger and freer growing sorts for the poorer soils. We have no room for remarks npon varieties ; but would, in passing, say that the regents, tho pink kidneys, the tchite ruffs, the red rriffs, tha Devonshire reds, the York reds, and some others, are known to us as good general varieties for the best soils ; as are also those early varieties, the ash-leaved kidney and the Yorkshire kidney ; and we also know the ox-nohk, the xvhite -blossom, the snother- ground, the early shaic, the poor -7n an' s profit (blue), and the mangold-icurzel (this is for cattle exclusively), to be good varieties, and well adapted for inferior soils. The Sets. — These should be prepared immediately prior to planting. The smaller potatoes may be ad- vantageously planted whole, but the larger ones should be cut into proper sized sets, none being smaller than a very large walnut ; and care must be taken to see that each set has at least two perfect eyes. We think the best crops are to be obtained from planting large sets cut irom the best and finest potatoes. This, how- ever, is seldom done owing to the great difference in value between the marJietable and the cJmf or seed potato. Planting. — On soils recently broken up from pastures or seeds, where it is desirable to prevent the grassy sod from being turned up and exposed on the surface, it is customary to set by the spade or by a kind of dibbling. In setting with the common spade the usual course is to lay lines along the field ; a number of men, each attended by a setter, work ahmg the line at given distances, so that all finish at the same time, and are prepared to remove the lines for the next row ; the men make a hole with the spade by digging it into the soil, and slightly turning it so as to admit the pototo set ; and as they proceed rapidly down the line, they make the holes, the lad or setter drops in the set, upon which the man puts his foot on passing, and it is done. This mode we frequently practise ; and our sets are put in at ten-inch intervals, and about four inches in depth, in rows about twenty- seven inches apart. On the old cultivated lands the customary mode of planting is on the furrow sole made by the plough. The usual course we pursue is as follows : — The land being properly prepared, and the manure ready for spreading, two lines are drawn or points are set out about 35 to 50 yards asunder at each end of the field— from point to point the whole length of the field the spreading of the manure com- mences, being thrown out of the cart, and is well shaken about by lads, the cart being led as straight from point to point, or down the line, as possible, and the spreading is just wide enough to give roum for the next operation, and no wider; as we hold it to be of very great importance that the manure be put in fresh, the potato set upon it, and the whole covered in at once. As soon as this is done the whole busi- ness proceeds together : the ploughman draws out two ridges along these manured lines, going a round or " bout " on each, by which he will leave the edges of the furrows nearly 28 inches wide, the sellers pro- ceeding to set the one as soon as ready, whilst the ploughman is sotting out the other ; and thus the work goes on throughout the field — the setteis are setting one ridge or furrows around it whilst the ploughman is preparing the others ; our usual practice being to set on the sole of the land side of every third furrow, the width of each farrow being in accordance with the desired width between the rows. The manuring is also arranged in a similar way: each ploughman has a lad to follow and draw into the furrow the manure as equally as possible, and along the rows to be planted more parliciilarly. The sets are planted on the furrow sole with their eyes downwards if possible, and at about 10-ineh intervals, according to the condition or fertility of the field ; a light harrow is drawn over, and occasionally a light roll — either may be done without injury to the crop. Another common course is to ridge the field, as on the Northumberland plan for swedes, deposit the manure in the same manner, and plant the potato on the manure, and cover in and roll down as for turnips ; we have frequently seen this done, but never to much advantage, possibly owing to the looseness of the soil around the set^, and the larger vacuum caused by the decay of the manure, and also the set in the ridge. Subsequent Culture. — The first operation on the potato plant appearing above ground is to give the crop a light harrowing across the rows ; in a few days the first horse-hoeing may take place, taking care to pass the side coulters as near to the plants as possible ; in a day or two the ridge harrow should follow : both these operations should be repeated, if the weather is favourable, in about a fortnight afterwards; the great object is to keep up a thorough good pulverisalion, as well as to promote cleanliness. As the plants grow, the next process is to pass the mould plough between the rows, and just throw upon, or rather in amongst the plants, sufficient loose mould to keep them from exposure, and aid their growth. The next horse- hoeing may follow in a week or two, this to be followed in a few days by the ridge-harrow ; this will generally make a fine loose mould, which the mould plough in the next operation should finally throw up and around the plants sufficiently high to make one regular ridge, from the top of which the plants should appear to grow freely and unconfined, not being too closely pressed together, nor yet covered too high up their stems. Hand-weeding, filling up by sets with dibble or spade, should take place immediately after the second horse-hoeing, and hand-hoeing should im- mediately precede the last moulding up. As our paper has reached the limit we allot to ourselves, we will just say that in the autumn we may offer a few THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 439 remarks upou the storingf and preservation of the crop during winter, and the mode of preservation for sale or market. We offer with diffidence A few words upon the Potato Disease. — Amidst the various and conflicting ideas relative to the origin and nature of the potato disease put forth by the scientific world, as also the suggestions to be adopted to remedy such a singular and distressing visitation, we do not feel competf'nt to offer any well-digested opinion. We are painfully conversant with the fact, and we only profess to take a common business-like practical view of the question as it stands ; there it is — we must make the best of it. AVe are by no means partial to the adoption of nostrums of any kind ; but as it i3 a certain fact that this is a progressive disease, from some cause yet to be discovered, our desire is that pre- ventives may be attempted, and that our great assist- ants in modern agriculture — the agricultural chemists — will, as they have ever done, give us their best aid. We know what smut in wheat is — we know that smut- balls will infect the seed — we know that the same field that has been affected by smut or blacks in oats will produce smut in the wheat crop following it; we therefore dress our seed with various supposed speci- fics. We therefore venture to suggest a similar course with potato sets — something likely to retard or arrest the flow of impregnated matter from set to stem, or to destroy it in its progress either from stem to set, or vice versa. Lime, sulphur, charcoal, vitriolized solu- tions, salt, chalk, gypsum, and a hundred other things might be judiciously mingled with the sets, and possibly some might to found to destroy the pestilential virus, supposing the seat of the disease may ultimately be discovered to be in the roof. AVe merely suggest — we urge general effort — something must be attempted on a large and broad principle — discard not because you can't foresee the result — try. "When the disease has extensively prevailed in a crop, tlie best practice we have seen pursued is, early in the autumn to pull up all ihe tops or stalks, and hill up as closely as possible with the hand hoe, so as to keep the roots from atmospheric or other influpnces. ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. A Weekly Council was held at the Society's House in Hanover Square, on Wednesday, the 24th of March : present. Colonel Challoner, Trustee, in the chair; Lord Berners, Mr. B. Almack, Mn Raymond Barker, Mr, Hodgson Barrow, M.P., Mr. Brandrelh, Dr. Calvert, Captain Stanley Carr, Mr. John Church, Mr. Capel Cure, Mr, Fuller, M.P., Mr. Gadesden, Mr. A, Goddard, Mr, Fisher Hobbs, Mr, Law Hodges, M.P., Mr. Love, Mr. Maddison, Mr. Majendie, Mr. Mainwaring Paine, Mr, Rowlandson, Prof. Sewell, Prof, Simonds, Mr. Slaney, M.P., Mr. Reynolds Solly, Mr. Trench, and Prof. Way. Dairy Management and Milk Pans. — Captain Stanley Carr in the year 1839 favoured the Society with a series of valuable and interesting observations, on the Rural Economy of North Germany, and especi- ally on that of the Duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg, in the latter of which his own estate lay. These observations, founded on his own extended per- sonal experience, were printed in the first volume of the Society's Journal (pp. 124—134 and 371—387), the first series of them being honoured by the award of the Gold Medal of the Society. In those communications. Captain Carr makes the following remarks on the milk- cellars, dairy-maids, and milk-pans, which we select on this occasion, as having immediate reference to the state- ment made by Captain Carr to the Council at this fleet- ing, and to the discussion by which that statement was followed. Mill: Cdlars. The size and site of the milk cellar are esteemed by the Holsteiner as matters of first-rate importance: it ought to front the north; be shaded from the southern sun by rows of trees — elder being especially selected for this purpose, and, indeed, placed if possible near the windows, on account of their influence in keeping off the insect tribes ; and a thatched projecting roof is preferred, affording greater pro- tection from the heat : while, in choosing the site, peculiar care is taken to place the dairy beyond the reach oi every thing calculated to generate bad odours, or in anyway taint the atmosphere. The size of the milk cellar must necessarily be regulated by the number of cows, but it should always be calcu- lated to contain the produce of four milkings ; and as the milk dishes usually occupy a space of two feet square, the produce of 100 cows, giving on an average 8 quarts per day (a large average for the cows of this country throughout the year), would fill 50 milk dishes at each milking, aud would require a ground surface of 500 square feet, as the milk dishes are invariably placed on the floor, the amount of each milking a little apart ; aud there must unavoidably be spaces left, to enable the dairymaids to go through their various operations of skimmnig, sieving, aud re- moving cream, &c. The floor, though sometimes flagged, is more generally of brick, neatly fitted, so that no water may lodge iu the joints ; and always gently inclined, with a grated opening at the lower end, to facilitate the mopping aud washing of the floor, which is never omitted to be done twice a day, notwith standing that every avoidable impurity is carefully guarded against, aud every drop which may fall at the time of the milk being strained, is instantly wiped up. A great improvement has been recently made in some newly-arranged dairies, by di- viding the floor into compartments with brick ledges, from three to four inches high, between v.hich the milk dishes stand; and the compartments (the lower extremity of which is fitted with a small sluice) being filled, by means of a pump, with cold water twice a-day, the milk is preserved so cool as to prevent all approach to acidity for several hours longer than when placed on a dry floor ; thus affording, even during the summer solstice, safhcient time for a complete separation of the milk 440 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. aad cream, without which the full proportion of butter caunot be obtained. For effectuating the same deairable result, ice is frequeutly resorted to ia sultry weather, either by droppinjj a piece of pure ice m each milk pau, or by pkciiig a pailful iu the dairy, which by giving off its cold sensibly lowers the at- mospheric temperature. It is considered necessary that the milk cellar should be sunk from three to four feet iu the gromid ; be from 16 to 18 feet high (the best have an arched roof, as being more conducive to coolness than boards) ; and be fur- nished with two rows of windows (and, if possible, on three Bides, north, east, and west), to secure a thorough air. The lower range consists of wooden trellis-work, provided inside with gauze frames to exclude insects, and outside with hanging shuttcis, which can be lowered and elevated at pleasure. The upper range is furnished with glass sashes when light only is requisite, which are exchanged for gauze frames, when more coolness is desirable. Dairy Maids. The dairy-maids, besides milking, cleaning the vessels, &c., work in the garden iu summer, spin in winter, and wash, bake, brew, and cook for their own establishment, under the super- intendence of the upper dairy-woman, who is by far the most important personage in it, as on her skill, attention, and dili- gence depeud, in great measure, both the quantity and quality, and, by consequence, the profit of the produce. She must not only thoroughly understand, but accurately observe, the moment when the milk should be creamed ; the degree of acidity it must attain in the cream-barrels ; its temperature, whether requiring the addition of warm or cold water to the chum, as well as the all-important operations of kneading, beating, salting, and packing the butter. She must not only be punctiliously clean herself in person and work, but keep a strict eye over the cleanliness and order of her subordinate maidens. In very large dairies the upper woman has full employment without milking, and needs the assistance always of one, and sometimes of two, of the more experienced dairy- maids, in butter and cheese making; but in smaller establish- ments she milks a certain number, generally 10 cows, while each of her subordinates have 18 ; her wages are usually 55 to 60, that of her chief assistants 22, and that of the others 18 dollars per aunum. — During summer the dairy people must rise at three, and even two in the morning, if the weather be very hot ; for which they are indemnified by two hours' sleep, from one to three in the afternoon. At four they commeuce milking, which takes place iu the field, and generally occupies two hours. At the beginning of the season each girl marks her own cows, by tying a particular coloured ribbon round their tails ; and in some places they adopt the precaution of the milkers carrying a string, on which they cast a knot as each cow is successively milked, thus securing against one being forgotten. As the fields are large, and often at a great distance, the transport of the milk is facilitated by the very simple contrivance of a long, low, four-wheeled, one-horse waggon, in the side bars of which strong iron hooks are in- serted, at such distances that the milk-pails, containing from 30 to 40 quarts each, may swing free of each other ; and these, though filled nearly to the brim, are prevented spilling, notwithstanding many a rude jolt over the rough and often deeply-rutted road, by merely having thin pieces of wood, about the size of a dinner-plate, floating on the surface ; a practice, indeed, universal in these countries, when pails with any liquid are carried even in the hand. Milk Pans. The milk when brought to the dairy ia immediately strained through a hair-sieve into the vessels, whether of wood, earthen- ware, copper tinned, zinc, cast-irou (lined with a china-like composition), or glass, placed in rows on the floor. All these different kinds of utensils have been tried with various success, iu the hope of discovering how, in hot we.ither, more especially when a thunder-storm is gathering, the milk can be guarded against a too early acidity ; for, as it is a fi.\ed and invariable rule that the cream must be removed from the milk before the latter gets at all sour, and an equally established fact that all the oily particles cannot be obtained in a shorter period tlian 36 hours, vessels in which, during sultry aud especially damp weather, the milk could be kept the due time, are a great desi- deratum. As yet, however, there reigns much diversity of opinion on the subject ; and shallow wooden vessels, as nearly as possible equally wide at top and bottom, containing when full about eight quai-ts, but in which during summer geldom more than six quarts are poured, are in most general use. They have, however, some disadvantages, of which the chief is the great dilficiilty and the consequent labour and close atten- tion requisite to remove all acidity (which in some states of the atmosphere is almost unavoidable), and which, penetrating the pores of the wood, sometimes resists all the patient scrubbing — first with hot water and small birch scrubbers, and secondly with boiling water aud a hard round brush made of pigs' bris- tles (with which every hair's-breadth is carefully polished over), so that the despairing dairymaid is compelled to resort to wash- ing in a ley of wood ashes, or boiling, or eveu scorching over lighted chips, followed by countless rinsings in pure spring water. To diminish in some measure this labour, the plan of painting the milking paiU and dishes with a preparation of cinnabar, liuseed oil, aud litharge, has been adopted by the milk-venders iu towns, and in some country dairies Not only, however, is the expense considerable, as the vessels must be finished off with peculiar care, aud require to gee three coats of the composition at first, and one yearly afterwards, but the milk for some days after they are brought into use has a per* ceptible taste of paint. The tinned copper milk-pans are very costly, and must be carefully watched, lest they should require re-tinning. The zinc are as yet little known, and the assertion of their effect in better severing the cream from the milk not sufficiently proved. The cast iron, lined with enamel, though assuredly durable and very clean, seem too expensive ; and the glass have many opponents on account of their brittleness, aud the vague notions respecting glass and electricity inducing the idea that if the electric fluid get into the milk, it cannot get out again ! W hereas, as it is ascertained that it always attaches itself to a conductor, and, in the absence of anything more atti active, runs along the surface, it is more likely that the milk should be protected iu glass, which is a non-conductor, than in any other substance. In my dairy, which contains upwards of 180 cows, the glass vessels have been used for four years ; and I give them a decided preference over all others. Their form is good, being 16 inches broad at the top rnd 12 at the bottom : the glass is dark bottle-green, transparent, and perfectly smooth, about one-eighth of an inch thick, and pro- vided with a rounded rim at the upper edge, which makes it easy to retain a safe hold of them even when full. They con- tain eight quarts, but never receive more than six. They cost 8d. a-piece; and their durability may be estimated by the fact that, to encourage carefulness, each dairymaid is allowed one dolbr per aunum e.\.tra, as pan money, being bound at the same time to pay lOd. for each one she breaks; yet hitherto no girl has broken to the extent of her dollar. It is self- evident that acidity cannot be communicated to glass ; and the ease and rapidity with which they are cleaned, requiring merely to be first washed with lukewarm water, then rinsed in cold water and placed in a rack to dry, effect such a saving in fuel THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 441 and labour (diminishing the number of our dairymaids by at least two), that the less quantity of butter obtained, supposing (which I by no means concede) that the milk, during a few weeks in summer, does sour sooner, and consequently throws up less cream in glass than in wood, is more than compensated by the lessened expense of the establishment ; not to mention the great advantage of attaining the indispensable cleanliness and purity of the vessels with more certainty, because at a less expenditure of time and trouble. Although it is an ascer- tained and undeniable fact that the quality of butter depends much on the nature of the pasture, the locality of the dairy, the universally prevailing cleanliness of the whole management, and very essentially on the purity of the water employed, still I ascribe much of the reputation which our butter has of late years enjoyed (and which is verified by our obtaining at all seasons one penny per pound above the market price in our iieighbourhood) to the beneficial introduction of glass milk- dishes. Captaia Stanley Carr commenced his statement to the Council, by expressing bis regret at finding, that although the glass milk-pans (similar to those referred to in his communications to the Jotirnal, and which had been sent by him to the Society from Germany some years ago, at the suggestion of Sir John William Lub- bock) could be obtained on the continent at 8d. each, they had not been made in England in the first instance at less than (en times that price, nor, even after the duty on glass had been removed, could be obtained by the Eng- lish farmer at less than seven times the charge made for them by the original foreign manufacturers to the native cultivators of the soil in Germany. It was true, that in the first instance only the finest flint-glass was used in England for the purpose; while, afterwards, light green bottle-glass had been employed ; and he believed that superior quality in the glass was the plea urged by the manufacturers as a justification for the enormous dispro- portion between the English and the German charges for these respective milk- pans. But, without waiting to enquire whether the difference in the glass would make the difference in the prices demanded, he would say that the dark-green bottle-glass of Germany was quite sufficient for the purpose required, having a vitreous hardness and strength quite equal to the softer flint glass, into the composition of which a larger proportion of lead entered. The object to be attained was to get the manufacturers of England to make for the English farmer as cheap and good an article as the poorer, but not less patriotic, manufactruers in the pine-forests of Germany were so ready and rea- sonable as to make for the farmers of that country. The glass-pans, too, made in England, were cast in a different shape from the German ones Capt. Carr had sent over ; he regretted this a'so, as the dimensions adopted in Germany were the result of much trial and combined experience, and would be found to be those best suited for dairy purposes. The German pans were of a regular shape and of uniform thickness : the English ones were of the same depth and capacity, but narrower at the bottom, wider and shallower over the sides, and irre- gular in the thickness of the glass in different parts ; these circumstances in the English pans considerably affecting their strength, convenience, manipulation, and economical arrangement in the space of the dairy, as well as the equable rising of the cream from the body of the milk, and its clear detachment from the shallow fides of the pan. He had considered that this country stood the first and foremost; not only in its public spirit, but in the unrivalled skill of its manufacturers ; and that he bad only to send over from Germany a few specimens of the glass dairy pans, found there to be so economical and effective, to have them at once manufactured in England at an equal if not a lower rate for the use of the English purchaser. He did not, he must confess, expect disap- pointment in this object, in which he felt a warm desire to testify his regard to the agriculture of his native country; much less to be told, as he had been, that the English manufacturers did not think it worth their attention to make a cheap article of commoner but sufficiently good glass, while they could be justified in demanding seven times the price for a similar article in glass of a nominally higher value, though for the purpose in question not of superior quality. Captain Carr then stated to the Council the origin of his adoption of the glass milk pans. He paid a visit, about the year 1835, to a dairy situate on the borders of Mecklenburgh-Strelitz and Pomerania, and was particularly struck with the sweetness of the dairy in that bad butter-making district, so near the low sandy swamps of the Oder and the Baltic. On examina- tion and enquiry, he found that the most scrupulous cleanliness reigned in every department of the dairy, and he there saw for the first time the milk placed in glass pans. The dairy-woman informed him that they were made at a cheap rate at the glass-houses in the pine- forests of the district, and that while wooden vessels had to be boiled to thoroughly cleanse them and remove acidulated matter from every crevice, these glass pans were at once rendered sweet and clean by simple washing with a sponge. Captain Carr found that these glass pans, such as the one then placed on the Council table, being one of those originally sent by him to the society, could be purchased at sixpence sterling each, at the glass-house, and conveyed to his own dairy 180 miles distant for two-pence more, making the total price only eight-pence. He ordered in the first instance 20 of these pans for trial, and found them answer so well that he soon ordered 300 more. The usual objection to their use was their apprehended brittleness ; but glass pans of the thickness those were made of were not found to break so easily as had been supposed. At first he al- lowed a sum of money to his dairy-woman to cover this breakage ; but it was found by experience, that in a dairy of 180 cows, the actual loss by breakage never exceeded 3s. Gil. annually. He had the satisfaction to find that his neighbours gradually adopted these glass pans in their respective dairies. Being anxious not to be foiled in his attempt to place the same advantage within the reach of t'le humblest cottage farmer in Eng- land, he had determined, after finding that the English manufacturers would not think it worth their while to produce the cheap article required, to ascertain at what price the original German milk-pans could be imported 442 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. into this country ; and the result of hia inquiry was, that they could be supplied in any quantity, and, includ- ing all changes of every kind, could be sold in London at a price between one and two shillings. Until the ar- rangements and calculations were completed the exact price could not be fixed ; but it was hoped that it might be reduced to Is. Gd., or even Is. 4d., for each glass pan. Captain Carr stated that the great objects of the German dairy management was to prevent the milk turning sour, to maintain throughout the milk cellar an equable tem- perature of 60° Fahrenheit, to place the milk -pans on the floor, to allow the continuous ascent of the air from the floor to the ceiling, and out of the upper windows, and keep the milk as long as possible in the pans before skimming. It was found that the last object was mc.-c effectually attained in the glass milk-pans than in any other ; and it was supposed that the perfect state of insulation in which the milk was placed by so perfect a non- conductor as glass, prevented the passage of atmo- spheric electricity througli it, and the production of that acid matter which so constantly resulted under ordinary circumstances on changes of temperature and during thunder-storms. So rapidly indeed did milk turn sour under such circumstances, that the dairy-maids had often been obliged to get up in the middle of the night to prevent it by churning. — Colonel Challoner had been informed that the depth of the milk in the pan ought to be less in proportion to its richness in cream. — Captain Carr had found as the result of thirteen years' experience that not more than four or five quarts of ordinary milk ought to be put in a glass circularpan, such as the one then before the Council, sixteen inches in diameter at the top, and twelve at the bottom. — Mr. Raymond Barker re- marked that different cows, according to the locality, were applied by the farmer to different purposes, — Lord Ber- ners inquired how often the milk was skimmed in Ger- many, and how long it remained before skimming. — Captain Carr replied, that they never skimmed the same milk but once, and then not until it had stood at least thirty-six hours ; but the longer it could be kept before skimming, at GO degs. F., without becoming sour, the greater in proportion, to a certain extent, was the amount of cream obtained. — Mr. Law Hodges wished to know whether glazed earthenware pans would not equally answer the purpose as glass ones. — Capt. Carr remarked that in Germany they also employed glazed vessels and iron. The earthenware, however, being often badly baked, was on that account more fragile than glass, be- sides being more easily soiled and less easily cleaned ; it was also at the same time a less perfect non-conductor of electricity. — Mr. Slaney, M.P., wished to say a word in favour of the manufactures of our midland counties, and to beg leave for specimens of them to be placed in competition with wares of glass. He alluded to the Staffordshire Potteries ; and thought they would be able to furnish for half the price — at least for one shilling each — a milk pan of earthenware glazed on both s-ides, which would have all the advantages of the glass ones, as well as being cheaper and obtained in a more accessible manner than from Germany. — Col. Challoner wished to know whether Mr. Slaney meant the yellow Staffordshire ware, or the old red and black milk pans or " pan- cheons." — Mr. Slaney referred to the improved coarse Staffordshire ware ; and from the conversation he had had with Aid. Copeland on the subject, he thought that an article could be cheaply produced that would meet all the requirements proposed. — Captain Carr remarked that all his desire was to excite that competition which would best tend to the promotion of the object in view, and he should rejoice, however the selection of party or country might eventually be made, if a great boon was through liia means thus conferred on the English cottage farmer, lie had himself, however, had a long experience in the use of dairy utensils, and he had reason to believe that earthen- ware vessels would not be found to possess the advan- tages of glass ones, which were cool in summer, resisted the inroads of electricity, and produced a finer cream and butter. The real net profit of the two would be found, he thought, in favour of the glass. — Prof. Way quite agreed with Capt. Carr's ingenious theory of the electrical insulation of milk in the glass pans. The milk in them would not turn sour so soon as it would do in metal vessels. We did not, he thought, well understand the mode of action of elictricity on liquids. When elec tricity passed through the air to the earth, the freer the passage, the more harmless it was. He was disposed to attribute the influence of electricity on liquids to chemi- cal changes occasioned by electricity in the air itself, as in the well-known case of nitric acid in small quantities being produced in the atmosphere during thunder- storms, when such acidulation would at once act deter- minately on delicately poised constituents like those of milk, especially after that increased sultry temperature which usually precedes such a disturbance of the elec- trical equilibrium of the air. He quite agreed, too, with Capt. Carr, that milk should be kept cool and its tem- perature equable. Metallic vessels would in this point of view be far more liable than glassones to communicate to milk those changes of temperature which take place in the surrounding atmosphere. He would venture to suggest whether the insulation of the milk from the influence of heat or electricity would not be more complete if a cheap glass cover was also provided for the glass pans. Glass, under all circumstances, would have advantages thatearth- enware had not, unless when very well glazed ; for it was very often found in the laboratory that liquids would percolate unglazed, or but imperfectly glazed, earthen vessels ; and if the milk penetrated at all into the sub- stance of the earthenware pan, it would leave there its animal matter, which would rapidly decompose and create a taint and an acidity most injurious to the suc- ceeding operations of the dairy. — Col. Challoner en- quired the nature of the glaze on earthenware. — Capt. Carr believed the principal glaze contained lead. — Prof. Way stated that there were two glazes in ordinary use : first the common-salt glaze, of which the basis was the metallic sodium of the salt : this glaze was imperfect, but harmless ; second, the white-glaze of lead, which was liable to be dissolved by acid matter, and would prove deleterious. There was also, he believed, a white glaze made without lead. — Capt. Carr thought that a cover to the pan would not be found to answer, as it would pre- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 443 vent that spontaneous evaporation in a continuously as- cending current from the floor of the milk-cellar to a height of 14 feet above it, aud then out at the windows, which was found to have so beneficial an efl'ect in pre- serving the dairy cool and fresh. When the floors were lower the milk did not keep so long, and, as he had before said, the longer they could keep it the better. — Mr. Fisher Hobbs had been very much interested in all that he had then heard on this important subject con- nected with our dairy management. Professor Way had stated that lead was a bad material, Mr. Hobbs had known slate used with great success, and he was not aware of there being any objections to its employment ; it was a cheap material, and he had seen shallow trays that were constructed of it, and fixed in the dairies in Buckinghamshire, from which the London market de- rived some of its best butter.— Mr. Fuller, M.P., had for a long time used nothing but slate in his own dairies. He had a son residing in Anglesey who had a herd of 15 Alderneys ; and slate in that part of Wales being very plentiful, cheap, and of large size, he had fixed milk-coolers constructed, of three or four square yards' extent, which kept the milk both clean and cool. — Mr. Raymond Barker believed that farmers generally were discontinuing the use of lead. He agreed with Captain Carr, that it was desirable to place the milk-pans low down on the floor. — Mr. Slaney, M.P., thought it would be desirable to asqertain, by reference to meteo- rological registers, the diff'erence between the prevalent temperature and electrical condition of the atmosphere in Holstein, and those in the West of England. — Captain Carr remarked, that the dairy was half under- ground, being required to be dry, but not damp ; that it was always kept at 60 deg. of temperature, and its floor supplied with little channels of water. — Mr. Rowlandson agreed with every observation that had fallen from Captain Carr, particulcirly in reference to the form adopted for the glass milk-pans he had sent to the Society. Tlie shape of the English glass pan then on the table before them was most ridiculous : from its shallow, shelving sides, it could not be moved by the dairy-maid without great inconvenience to herself, much disturbance of the milk, and liability, without great care, to a portion of it washing over the rim : from its irregular shape, too, one portion of the milk would have parted with its cream before the other. Where fixed pans were adopted in a dairy, he thought that slate would be the best material if adjusted in exact me- chanical order ; but when moveable dishes were used, he thought glass ones of the German shape were supe- rior to any other. The colour of the glass was of no consequence, provided they would stand hard usage, and were liable to no chemical action. He thought it one of the wasteful facts in this country, that our manufac- turers would not attend to economy in the articles they produce. Tliere was no doubt that they could, if they felt disposed, make glass milk-pans as cheaply as the manufacturers of any other country ; but unless the article they manufacture yields a certain price and profit, they were, he feared, but too indifl'erent to its production on other and more liberal grounds. Mr. Rowlandson took that opportunity of submitting to the inspection of the Council an Italian Siphon, which was regularly in use in large acid manufactories, and which he thought might conveniently be employed as a dairy siphon to draw ofl" the milk from below the cream. It would indeed be necessary in this instrument, as Colonel Challoner remarked, to first use the mouth to draw out ihe air and promote the flow of the current of milk. When that objection was obviated, by some additional contrivance, he would again bring the siphon under their notice. — Col. Challoner remarked, that in Lord Camoy's Siphon, submitted by his Lordship to the notice of the Council a few years ago, that point, agreeably with communications which had passed be- tween Lord Camoys and himself, had been particularly attended to, and the air being removed by means of a piston-rod formed of a piece of wire with a roll of tow at its end, drawn completely out of the siphon, the milk immediately began to flow. — Prof. Way thought that the Italian Siphon would, on account of its double- curved shape, require a flexible wire to form the piston- rod in this case. In speaking of lead being decidedly objectionable in the glaze of miik-vessels, he had spoken of its oxide in mixture or chemical combina- tion, and ready for entering into new compounds on there being an acid present : he did not speak of the sheet or metallic lead to which Mr. Fisher Hobbs had referred, on which a weak acid had no action. Slate, he thought, quite miobjectionable in a chemical sense ; but unless the joints were most accurately fitted, the milk would penetrate between them, and become the source of contamination. — Capt. Carr stated, as an instance of the great advantage arising from improved methods of dairy management, the case of the Baron Biel, a gentleman connected by marriage with some of the first families in this country. He had a farm in Mecklenburg, on which was a dairy of 150 cows, badly managed, and yielding a miserable return to its owner. At Capt. Carr's suggestion, lie had expended X 1,300 on the requisite improvements of his dairy, in the erection of suitable buildings, and a mill for churning. The Baron had previously spent no less than £3,000 in purchase of horses in England ; but Capt. Carr was quite sure that he would not have expended ii'1,300 on his cows unless he had been thoroughly convinced of the judiciousness of the outlay. The result had proved the correctness of his conviction ; for the Baron now sent his butter to the London market, where it fetched him one shilling a pound. The dairy, said Capt. Carr, ought to be free from the very semblance of dirt ; the brick floor should be cemented, and hard ; the walls smooth, and white- washed, and both wood and stone free from hanging dust of Einy kind ; the air should circulate freely, and there should be no dampness in the rooms ; the pans should be placed low down on the floor, otherwise tlie milk would not yield the full quantity of cream, and the vapour rising from the milk should have an opportunity of passing off" unobstnictedly from the upper part of the dairy ; there should be no taint or bad smells ; the aspect should be to the north ; and the roof should be pent-house. Along the floor should be passages, oa 444 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. which the dairy woman could walk iu wooden slippers. In Holland, no milk was placed in pans on shelves, but always on the floor, as in Ilolstein. He could assure the Council that in tliose parts of the Continent where the dairies were managed in the scrupulous manner he had described, the object was simply profit ; and the means thus taken to secure that end were those best adapted for the purpose, however they might have the appearance in detail of being employed on grounds only of elegance, taste, or even cleanliness. — Mr. Love informed the Council that his father had lived in the neighbourhood of Glasgow, where he employed slate as the material for receiving the milk in his dairy, and had found it superior to every other he had tried. He had himself never heard of any objection to its use, and it had been adopted by others. The milk-receptacles were from 3 to 4 inches deep, 2^ feet wide, and 3 feet long, and were excavated out of the solid blocks of the slate. They were placed on shelves in the dairy, and were considered as fixtures, the milk being drawn off at the bottom, while the cream was left behind in the cavity of the slab. He had seen them after being in use for fourteen years, when he perceived no other change in the material than that which consisted in a little better polish being given to it by wear. Mr. Love considered such masses of slate as equivalent to non-conductors of sudden changes of tem- perature, and as preserving the milk, in consequence, in a state of equable coolness. His brother, who succeeded to the management of the dairy, had tried zinc, tin, and earthenware, but found the slate far superior to any other material, being as clean in its use as it was pos- sible for anything to be. — Capt. Carr enquired whether all the milk was churned .' — Mr, Love replied that near Glas- gow it was so, but at a greater distance from that city it was converted into cheese, or cream and skimmed milk. — Captain Carr was well acquainted with the dairy manage- ment in the neighbourhood of Glasgow, having thirty years ago paid a visit to Sir John Maxwell, of Nether- pollock in Renfrewshire, when he had an opportunity of inspecting (he celebrated dairies of the parish of Mearns in that county. He considered one of the great advan- tages fif these discussions to consist in the communica- tion of personal experience, and interchange of sentiments on topics of practical interest, such as had taken place at that meeting, — Colonel Challoner was glad to hear the statement Mr. Love had just made. The excavation of the slabs, he confessed, was new to him, and did away with those objections against the use of slate that were founded on the difficulty of effecting a perfect accuracy in the fitting in the joints of several separate pieces as employed by other parties who had used slate. The Council were much indebted to Mr. Love for the very practical and useful experience he had given them on that point. Colonel Challoner then expressed to Captain Carr his own thanks and those of the Council for the great in- terest he had at all times evinced in promoting the oV>jects of the Society, and in bringing before them on this occasion the interesting details he had done, with the same view. It was then arranged that on Wednesday the 2l8t of April, at noon, the subject of German glass Milk-pans would again be brought forward by Captain Carr, that of Dairy Siphons by Mr. Rowlandson, and that of Churns by Mr. Capel Cure. Clover Insect. — Mr. Murcott, of Leamington, transmitted to the Council the following communication, dated the 20th of March— I hasten to inform you, that a sample of Red Cloverseed examined by me this morning yields me the clover vibrio in the interior of the seed, as I had expected. There is now no doutt that limed land bpcomes again subject to clover sickness by re-sowing of the vibrio in the clover seed itself. I was told, on receiving the sample of seed, that it was about to be sown this spring. This will ren- der supply of sample unnecessary to determine the point, but leaves open to inquiry what sort of pickle will best ki them in the seed. Professor Simonds remarked that having a few days since received a communication of this statement, he had examined some red cloverseed under high magnify- ing powers in the microscope, but had hitherto failed to detect any vibrio, or worm in it ; he would, however, continue his research with different seed, and report the result to the Council. But Prof. Simonds thought that even the existence of an insect of this kind in the seed, would not explain the anomalies of clover failure. If the cause of clover-sickness originated in the seed, it ought to fail every year ; whereas certain soil would grow a good crop of clover one year, and would not bear a similar crop until a certain interval of time, dif- ferent according to circumstances, had elapsed. Mr. Murcott had sent to Prof. Simonds a bag of soil from land notorious for its failure of clover. Prof. Simonds had potted this earth, and sown clover seeds in it, which in due course produced plants, some of which certainly did go off; but on examination, he found the vibriones, or insects, alike infesting the plants which stood and those that went off. Again, white Dutch clover, it was known, would grow on soil where the red clover would not ; but they both grew alike, and with the same effects, in this infested soil. In fact, the insect, to which Mr. Murcott's attention had been so strongly drawn, was, in Prof. Simonds's opinion, only one instance of the pecu- liar forms of animal life which were widely diffused throughout nature wherever there existed the slow pro- cess of animal or vegetable decay. Diseased wheat was well known to swarm with peculiar insects; and this clover insect, whether found in the seed or the stem, was, he believed, only of a parasitical character, and the na- tural effect of vegetable decay. — Col. Challoner and Mr. Raymond Barker then favoured the Council with their own experience of circumstances connected with the ge- neral question of clover-sickness. Management of Pigs. — Mr. Fuller, M.P., stated that he had suffered a serious loss among his pigs by some distemper or disease, of which he was at present ignorant. He had lost six of his finest porkers before Christmas ; afterwards a fine sow in pig, containing a lurge litter ; last week, nine other pigs ; and he feared, unless some remedy was found that would effectually arrest the disorder, that he should lose bis whole stock. From the examination THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 445 that had been made, the lungs of these animals appeared to be much affected with acute inflammation or disease of some kind. — Prof. Simonds informed Mr. Fuller that, as a member of the Society, he would be privileged to send to the Royal Veterinary College for the best in- formation and assistance that institution could give him, on the same terms of charge as if he were a subscriber to the college. If he would therefore send up the dis- eased carcasses of the next pigs that died, with a history of the mode and symptoms of attack from their being first taken, the subject should have every attention paid to it. — Mr. Fisher Hobbs, about this time last year, had lost several of his most valuable breeding sows from ulceration of the throat. Without staying to inquire what privileges he might avail himself of at the Veteri- nary College, he lost no time in requesting, on his own account, that Prof. Simonds would at once repair to the spot, and favour him with his professional aid and advice. He did so, and having investigated the whole circumstances of the food and general management of these pigs, he gave those instructions, which being followed, entirely saved the remainder of Mr. Hobbs's stock. Pork and cabbage it appeared did not always agree. The animals had been fed too low. Too great a quantity of vegetables had been given to them in a raw state, as well as trimmings of mangold-wurzel and turnips which it appeared had be- come partially decayed. His breeding-sows had, in consequence, been frequently subject to abortion, and been injured in their milking properties. Mr. Fisher Hobbs particularly recommended the food of pigs to be boiled before being given to them ; and he had himself begun with great advantage to cut their straw into lengths of from four to six inches. He also strongly impressed upon all breeders of these most useful animals, the greatest attention to be paid to the mode in which they were lodged and treated, and a most scrupulous re- gard to cleanliness in every arrangement connected with them. No kind of live-stock either suffered so sensibly from a want of cleanliness, or so well n-paid attention to this essential particular. He would also include due ventilation of the houses in which they were kept, and a careful selection and assortment of their food, as among the most desirable essentials for the successful manage- ment of pigs. He had himself bred every kind of farmers' live-stock ; but pigs, he found from experience, required more attention to their management than any other kind of agricultural stock. On these points, he would only add, that with better management pigs would generally be more profitable. He had never known pigs do well either in houses with a northern or eastern aspect, or on a coarse red brick flooring, which absorbed and retained a large amount of moisture. A friend of his had expended a considerable outlay on his piggeries in Kent, but he was at a loss to discover how it was that his pigs did not do well, until it whs pointed out to him by Mr. Hobbs that the buildings had an eastern aspect, and the floors were laid down with red brick. Mr. Hobbs had ascertained the same result connected with piggeries so constructed in different parts of the country. In his own case, he found that during the progress of his farm-buildings, bis manager had removed his pigs to other piggeries, having damp floors ; the consequence of which was that the animals were at once injured by the change ; but, on removal to boarded floors, they soon recovered, and did well after- wards. In Sussex, he had seen the piggeries floored with flagstones and bricks ; and he feared that until their old buildings were all knocked down, the pigs would not do well. Mr. Fisher Hobbs, in conclusion, remarked, that, although in his own case he had by great care been enabled to maintain his breed pure and in full vigour, in no animal, generally speaking, did a judicious cross exercise a more important influence in the improvement of a breed than in the case of the pig : the system of in-and-in breeding, with a few ani- mals nearly allied to each other, could not be car- ried beyond its natural limits without a visible dete- rioration in the breed and produce. — Col. Challoner could most fully confirm what Mr. Fisher Hobbs had stated. He had imported his pigs from Naples, and they were fine specimens of the celebrated breed of that country ; but, in endeavouring to keep the race pure by breeding in-and in from the same stock, he found that he was only thwarting nature in her established lawa instead of improving or even maintaining the value of his choice Neapolitans, which became in consequence most degenerate, small in the litter, full of rheumatism ; in short, all that was bad. Thanks, however, to the cross obtained with Mr. Fisher Hobbs's breed, he could not possibly have better pigs than he had now. Retain- ing much of the Neapolitan blood, he now continued his stock by alternation of the Essex with the Berkshire breed ; and he obtained his best breeding sow by putting to Mr. Hobbs's boar the female offspring of the same boar with a Berkshire sow. His litters now consisted of never less than twelve sucking pigs of the first-rate qua- lity, still showing the predominant influence of the Nea- politan blood, sustained by the combined admirable qualities of the Essex and the Berkshire. The floors of his pig-houses were formed of bricks set on end ; but over these floors he put an oaken framework, so open in its divisions as to keep the pigs dry and warm, with- out allowing their feet to get through the separate boards of which it was composed. Having witnessed during his residence in Italy the folding of pigs in the chesnut groves of Sorrento, on the green and rocky promontory of that peninsular branch of the Apennines which separates the Bay of Naples from that of Salerno, he was led to adopt the same plan of management for his pigs in England, instead of leaving them injuriously to bake in the heat of the sun as in the summer months was so often seen to be the case in different parts of the country. Accordingly, he went into his woods, and selected the most convenient damp spots, where he formed a double-hurdle fold, into which the pigs in hot weather were driven after their morning meal, and sup- plied with cabbages and a few mangold-wurzel roots. The purifying effect of this cool and refreshing folding on the pigs was most striking. He began with porkers, which soon acquired a pure, soft, fat condition ; and the subsequent progress they made when put on barley- meal was astonishing, the animals becoming fat in half 446 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. the time they used to do. He had again to thank Mr. Fisher Hobbs for the great service he had derived from the adoption of his invaluable and well-known breed of pigs. Tlie Council then adjourned to their weekly meeting on Wednesday, the 31st of March. A WiiioKLY CouNoiL^was held at the Society's House in Hanover Square, on Wednesday, the 31st of March : present, Mr. Kaymond Barker, Vice-Prcsi- sident, in the Chair, Hon. R. H. Clive, M.P., Sir Charles Lemon, Bt., M.P., Mr. T. B. Browne, Mr. Burke, Dr. Calvert, Mr. Evelyn Denison, M.P., Mr. Dyer, Mr. Foley, M.P., Mr. Fuller, M.P., Mr. Gades- den, Mr. Fisher Hobbs, Mr. Kinder, Mr. Love, Mr. Bladdison, Mr. INIajendie, Mr. Overman, Mr. J. M. Paine, Professor Sewell, Mr. Slansfield, M.P., Mr. Trench, and Professor Way. Potatoes. — Mr. Trench, of Treehill, near South- ampton, favoured the Council with a supply of two varieties of potatoes, cultivated by himself with great success, and the following statement in reference to them:— I have cultivated the Forty-fold Potatoes for many years ; and hitherto they have been all but free from taint of disease, eveu when planted close to others of which one- half have suflfered from it. As an early as well as a late potato, I find this variety the best for the table of any I am acquainted with ; aad if planted in rich land, the most productive variety also : on account, however, of the number of the tubers (whence its name), it requires corresponding support from the soil in which it is grown. Besides being an early kind, the Forty-fold potato is'very mealy and keeps well. I also send a sample of another kind, called the Early Lemons, much in request in that part of Hampshire where I reside, chiefly on account of their being equally free from disease. I had last year and the preceding one five acres of these Early Lemon Pota- toes planted on a light sandy soil, and of the produce not five bushels were bad. The Early Lemon is a good marketable potato, but inferior to the Forty-fold for table use. The retail price of the latter in the Southampton market was, last autumn, one-third higher than that of other market potatoes. I have this year planted nine or ten acres of the Early Lemons, not having had enough of the Forty-folds to plant more than five seres. ■ — Mr. Love remarked that the diflPerent names now given in different districts to the same potatoes rendered it diffi- cult from the name alone to identify any particular variety. The Forty-folds then on the table had a great resemblance to the old Rough Reds ; but these did not yield so many tubers to each individual plant, although a greater pro- duce per acre. He had often remarked, that the pro- dace per acre was not to be inferred from the simple fact that a great number of tubers were yielded by each plant. In many instances the converse was found to hold good. He had himself grown on one occasion a crop that yielded no less than 21 tons per acre, from plants in- dividually famished with but few tubers. These were the Manton potatoes of Northamptonshire, a variety very Bimilar to Phillips's Seedlings. He had been in the habit for twelve years of growing 25 acres of potatoes, and he might state his average produce at about 12 tons per acre. This was tUe produce, he understood, of Mr- French's Forty-folds ; and it might at the present lime, when the potato crop yielded so much smaller a return of sound tubers than formerly, be regarded as a very good produce. Sii.EsiAN Bkict.— Mr. Reeve, of Randall's Park Farm, near Leatherhead, transmitted to the Council a sample of the Sugar obtained at the Mount-Millick Factory in Ireland, from the white Silesian Beet-root. The proportion in which this sugar was found to exist in this variety of Beet, was a circumstance which, in Mr. Randall's opinion, would tend to bring these roots into great repute for the purpose of feeding cattle, as well as for that of the extraction of saccharine matter for the sugar market; and he found his stock prefer the white Silesian Beet-roots to any other kind. En-gllsh Flax.— The Hon. R. H. Clive, M.P., presented a fine sample of Flax grown on his property in Worcestershire. The flax -straw had been prepared by Mr. Ludolph, and after retting yielded nearly one- fourth of its weight of flax, which in the Leeds market had been valued at i,'45 per ton. He also laid before the Council the following statement of the produce and cost of this flax, in comparison with Sir James Graham's statement on the same subject : — STATEMENT OF FLAX PRODUCED BY THE HON. R. H- CLIVE, GROWN UPON HIS lARM, " THE POLES," 1851, IROM 2 A. 3 R. 23 V. I'RODLCE. To 58| bushels seed, at 83. per bush. £23 8 0 5 tons 1 cwt. of straw, say 403. per tou 10 2 0 1 £33 10 0 EXPENSE. By ploughing, harrowmg, and sowing. 1 15 0 Rent of land, rent-charge, and rates. .330 5. V bushels seed, at 93 2 9 6 Pulling and setting up 3 18 2 Tying up, luggiug, and thatching .... 010 6 Thrashing, winnowing, &c 4 10 11 16 7 1 Profit per acre, £5 18s. 6d. £1'; 11 SIR JAMES Graham's statement. Produce from 2 a. 0 r. 20 p. of Flax, grown 1851. To 38 bushels of seed, at 63. per bush. £11 8 0 3 tons 18 cwt.of straw, at60s. perton 11 14 0 £23 2 0 C03T. By two ploughings, harrowing, sow- in?, &c., I63. per acre 1 14 0 6 bushds of seed, at lOs. per bush. . 3 0 0 Weeding cost Qs. 8d. per acre 1 0 6 Pulling, harvesting, thatching, &c., cost 2I3. per acre 2 4 6 Rent of land, rates, &c., 26a. per acre. 2 16 f> Housing and thrashicg seed, at 123. . 1 5 6 Carriage of straw to Carlisle, at 6s.. . 13 6 13 4 0 £9 18 0 Profit per acre £4 13a. The Council then adjourned to the 7th of April. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 447 A Monthly Council was held at tlie Society's House in Ifanover-square, on Wednesday, the 7th of Ajtril. The following Members of Council and Governors of the Society were present : — The Earl of Ducic, President, in the Chair, Earl of Chichester, Lord Bridport, Lord Ashburton, Sir John V, B. Johnstone, Bart., M.P., Sir Robert Price, Bart., M.P., Mr. Ray- mond Barker, Mr. S. Bennett, Mr. Brandreth, Mr. Burke, Col. Challoner, Mr. Druce, Mr. Foley, M.P., Mr. Gadesden, Mr. Gariett, Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. Grantham, Mr. Fisher Ilobbs, Mr. Hornsby, Mr. Hudson (Castleacre), Mr. Jonas, Mr. Kinder, Mr. Lawes, Mr. Pusey, M.P., Prof. Sewell, Mr. Shaw (London), Mr. Sillifant, Prof. Simonds, Mr. Simpson, Mr. C. Hampden Turner, and Prof. Way. Finances. — Mr. Raymond Barker, Chairman of the Finance Committee, laid before the Council the report on the accounts of the Society to the end of the previous month ; from which it appeared that the current cash- balance in the hands of the bankers on the 31st of Marcli was ,£'2,661. The Chairman explained to the Council the manner in which this total balance was ma up from the different balances of special accounts. At the suggestion of the Finance Committee, INIessrs. Mo- lineux, Whitfield, Dicker, and Co., of Lewes, were ap- pointed by the Council to act as the Local Bankers of the Society during the period of the ensuing Country Meeting at that place in July next. Agricultural Chkmistrv. — Mr. Pusey, M.P., Chairman of the Chemical Committee, laid before the Council the following Report agreed to by that Com- mittee on the preceding day. The Chemical Committee have received a very satisfactory statement (rem Mr. Way respecting the progress iu the labo- ratory. As this statement is now presented to the Council it is iitiiiccessary for them to enter into its details. They can- not, however, forbear from adverting to Mr. Way's paper on superphosphate of lime, published this year, which has been highly useful to the manufacturers and to the public. The in- crease of private analyses of Guano has nearly doubled, but they strongly recommend to members of the Society to avail themselves more widely of this cheap security for that and other manures. Even though the analysis be made after the purchase, there can be no doubt that if it should show adulte- ration to have taken place, security would at least be obtained against the repetition of such practices in future. Where large purchases have been contemplated, previous analysis has often prevented serious loss. The subjects recommended for inves- tigation iu the present year are— 1, The absorptive power of soils; 2, The action of lime ; 3, The action of burnt clay. The Committee recommend that Mr. Way's offer to deliver three lectures before the Society be accepted. Mr. Pusey also submitted to the Council the follow- ing Report made to the Chemical Committee by Pro- fessor Way, the Consulting-Chemist to the Society. I beg to make a report to you of the operations which have been carried on iu the laboratory during the last twelve months. The number of analyses made for Members of the Society at the reduced fees from the 1st of April, 1851, to the same date in the present year, is 141; which may be thus cla'ssitied— Limestones and marls 14, soils 14, guanos 36, superphosphate of Imie 24, waste mauutes 9, various artificial manures Id, coprolite and other phosphoric substances 15, oilcakes 12, waters 1, animal and vegetable products 2, other miscellaneous substances 4.— Total 141. It will be observed that the aualyses of guano amount to 36, a number which, although small when the importance of the manure and the facilities and economy of its examination are considered, is yet a con- siderable increase over that of the previous year. The aualyses of samples of superphosphate of lime, and of phosphoric substances employed in their mauufacture, have nlso formed an important item in the work of the laboratory. Since the last annual report two papers have beeu pub- lished in the Joitrnal of the Society. The Ist, in the midsummer number for 1851, "On the Composition of Superphosphate of Lime — the modes of making aud using it :" and the 2nd, in the last Christmas number, " On the Chemical and .VgricuUural Chararlcrs of the Chalk Strata." A short paper " On Dried Blood as Manure" was also published at the same time. The enquiry with regard to superphosphate of lime was not strictly amongst the investigations recommcuded by the Com- mittee ; but the increasing importance of the manure, and the want of any definite standard cf comparison, seemed to point it out as a subject well worthy of attention. I may be allowed to say that the paper in (niestion has, in the sphere of my own observation, had a most beneficial effect, not only iu serving as a guide to what should be the composition of good samples of this valuable manure, but in the assistance which it has afforded to those em- barking in the manufacture of superphosphate, and in stirring up the existing makers to the production of an article which should bear the test of chemical examination. Duriug the last year a few more analyses of grasses have been made, aud this investigation is iu a forward state for publication whenever it may be considered desirable. With the sanction of the Committee, 1 would propose not to carry this enquiry any further at the present time. Believing the subject of the absorptive properties of soils for manure to be one deserving the most careful attention, and promising results of the very highest im- portance to the theory and practice of agriculture, I have steadily pursued the investigation into these properties dur- ing the last year, and I am glad to be able to report to the Committee that I have succeeded in forming artificially substances possessing; the properties which had been pre- viously discovered to reside in soils, and 1 am now in a position to explain satisfactorily some of the mutual ac- tions of the soil and manure which were before sur- rounded with so much obscurity. I propose very soon to give a statement of the progress of the investigation, in a lecture before the Members of the Society, and, if the Com- mittee approve, to prepare a further account of the experi- ments, for publication in the next Journal oi the Society. The prosecution of this enquiry entails a large amount of investigation of a purely chemical character; it is therefore necessarily tedious, and the details are unsuitable for pub- lication in an agricultural journal, but the results are so interesting and important that I hope the Committee will sanction the contimiation of the enquiry so long as any part of it remains incomplete. At the same time it would seem desirable to pursue such other subjects as may seem to possess au inilepeudent interest of their own, and be at the same time more or less connected with the absorptive properties of soils. The subjects which occur to me as of this nature are, the influence of liming 2 G 448 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. on soils, and the burning of clays. All of these subjects have been at one time or another recommended by the Committee, and have been more or less entered upon by me. I would sutfgest that the Committee should still leave them open for prosecution as the progress of the main enquiry may render expedient. In addition to the enquiries already mentioned, I have, at the request of the Council, made during the last year analyses and reports to the Society on the subject of Australian guuno and American phosphate of lime, and also a report to be transmitted to the Admiralty in aid of the search after guano by officers of Her Majesty's navy. In the last spring and summer three lectures were de- livered before the Members of the Society at their vreekly meetings. The subjects selected were respectively the use in agriculture of salt, gypsum, and Hme. I propose to give also three lectures in the present season. The 1st, On the causes of the absorptive properties of soils for manure. 2nd, An examination of the agricultural principles of Jethro TuU. 3rd, Practical bearing of recent investiga- tions on Tull's views. These reports having been received and adopted, the Council agreed to the following arrangement for the de- livery of Lectures, as proposed to them by the Chemical Committee : Lectures. April 28.— Prof. Wav : On the Absorptive Power of oils. May 12.— Mr. TRuniKK : On Agricultural Geology. May 26.— Prof. Way : On Jethro Tull's Principles of Agri- culture. .Tune 9.— Prof. Way : On the Absorptive Power of Soils. Veterinary Inspection. — The follovying report was received and adopted by the Council : — The Veterinary Inspection Committee beg to recommend to the Council, that the duties of the Veterinary-Inspector of the Society at its Country Meetings be two-fold, namely : 1 . To report to the Stewards of the Yard on the pre- sence of any contagious or infectious disease in any of the animals brought to the yard. 2. To be in attendance in the Show- Yard, in order that whenever any doubt should arise in the minds of any of the Judges as to the existence of disease or imperfection in those animals which they may consider worthy of a prize or commendation, the Veterinary-Inspector may be called in to give his opinion thereon. Veterinary Grant. — The Council postponed the consideration of this subject until their next Monthly Meeting, appointing in the mean time a Special Com- mittee for its consideration, and their report to the Coun- cil on that occasion. Lewes Meeting. — The following arrangements were reported from the General Lewes Committee, and agreed to by the Council : — Tuesday, July 13. — Implement- Yard open in the evening to Members of Council and Governors of the Society, at Half-a-crown. Wednesday. — Implement- Yard open to the public from 8 in the morning till 6 in the evening, at Half-a-crown. — Cattle- Yard open in the afternoon to Members of Council and Governors of the Society at Half-a-crown, and to the public at Five Shiliings. Thursday. — The Cattle and Implement- Yards (thrown together into one general show) open to the public from 6 in the morning till 6 in the evening, at Half-a-crown. Friday. — The General Show open to the public from 6 in the morning till G in the evening, nt One Shilling. Fines for non-exhibition. — The Council decided unr.nimously, that in order to maintain a consistent and impnrtial enforcement of the established regulations of the Society, all those parties who had failed to conform with the rule of entry to which they themselves had subscribed, and of their non-compliance with which they had already been twice informed, and a claim made upon them for the amount of fines incurred, should, without any personal distinction or exception, in each case where the fine remained unpaid after the 5th of May next, be at once summoned to the Westminster County Court, to answer in person the just claims thus made upon them by the Society, Country Meeting of 1853. — Memorials were received for the holding of the Country Meeting of the Society of 1853 in the South Wales District, comprising the whole of South Wales, with the addition of the Counties of Gloucester, Hereford, Monmouth, and Worcester. These memorials and the documents with which they were accompanied were referred to a com- mittee of Personal Inspection, consisting of Mr. Ray- mond Barker, Mr. Brandreth, Mr. Druce, Mr. Bran- dreth Gibbs, Mr. Fisher Hobbs, and Mr. Shaw (of London), with a request that they would visit the pro- posed localities, and report on the subject to the Council at their next Monthly Meeting, previously to their consideration and decision of the particular place for the holding of that Country Meeting. The Council adjourned over Easter to the 21st of April. NEW MEMBERS. The Earl of Cottenbam, of Tandridge Court, Surrey, and James Gadesden, Esq., of Ewell Castle, in the same county, were elected Governors of the Society. The following new Members were elected : — Allardice, Robt. Barclay, Ury, Stonehaven, Kincardineshire Anderson, Alexander, Horsemonden, Kent Ashby, Alexander, Staines, Middlesex Bagot, Richard W., Kildare, Ireland Beam, Wilham, Handley Farm, Towcester, Northamptonshire Bowyer, Captain, Steeple- Aston, Woodstock, Oxou Catt, Henry, Westfirle, Lewes, Sussex Chadwick, David, Treasurer of the Borough of Salford, Lane. Elliott, Thomas, Scotsfloat, Blaydon, Rye, Sussex Fernandez, Albert, H., 99, Chancery-lane, London Fishwick, Henry, V.S-, Burnley, Lancashire Meeson, William Taylor, Great Doggetts, Rochford Hainworth, William, Hitchin, Hertfordshire Hodges, Basil, Vincent, Margate, Kent Holyoake, George, Neachley, Shiffual, Salop Johnson, E. H., Gravelye House, Lindfield, Sussex Jones, Fred. Robt., jun., Lane-End, Huddersfield Marychurch, Wilham, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire Ruscon, Alfred, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire Sharp, Isaac, Dairy Knowle, Middlesborough-on-Tees Stickney, William, Ridgmont, Hull Wood, George, Rochford, Essex Woodhams, W. R,, The Hammonds, Rye, Sussex. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 449 LONDON FARMER'S CLUB. THE BEST SYSTEM OF MANAGEMENT FOR LIGHT LAND. The usual monthly meetiug took plac3 at the Club rooms, Blackfriars, on Monday evening, April 5. Subject for discussion : " The best system of management for light land." Mr. Thomas occupied the chair. The Chairman, after adverting to the fact that he had been elected by the Committee to fill that post for the ensuing year, proceeded to say, that he considered the subject set down for discussion to be one of great importance to all who, like himself, were cultivators of this description of soil ; and, although he had no doubt that their friend Mr. Bennett had come armed at all points and was quite prepared to argue the question on its merits, yet there were a few circumstances to which he (the Chairman) wished to advert before he called upon Mr. Bennett, and which he considered well deserving of the attention of the meeting. Although from his long acquaintance with Mr. Bennett he was convinced that there was no man more capable of pointing out the best mode of manipulating light land and producing from it the best crop, yet he thought they must take into ac- count their altered circumstances since the year— to them the very important year— 1846. It must be re- collected that prices had been nothing like so remunera- tive since that period as they were previously. Whether the measure of 1846 was a wise and just measure, whether it was carried out with too great haste, or in a spirit of hostility to agriculturists, were not que-tions for them to consider on that occasion, the club having wisely and properly determined to exclude everything like party politics. But it would be preposterous in the highest degree for that Metropolitan Farmers' Club to enter into such a discussion as that which was about to take place, without bearing in mind the probable range of prices to which the act of 1846 would iaevitably lead. He believed there were few men of business, of any ability, who were not aware when the act was passed that the present prices of corn and beef would be the inevitable result. For his own part he had no doubt whatever on the subject, and every year strengthened his conviction, that so long as they had unrestricted im- ports they could not expect any permanent rise in the price either of meat or of grain. It was true that in consequence of famine having extended in a certain de- gree over the northern parts of Germany, wheat was now seen at 42s. ; but if there had been of late similar imports from the Baltic to those of the last two years the price of wheat in the English market could not have ranged anything like so high as it was at that moment. He trusted that these remarks would not be considered out of place. It was for them to consider whether an increase of their flocks or an increase in the production of corn would in the long run, with present prices, prove most advantageous to the farmer. They knew that for- merly the general system of Scotch farming was to make the farm self-supporting. The whole of the produce of the farm, with the exception of wheat, barley, and live- stock, was constantly consumed upon the farm ; and that man who farmed the land in a clean manner, kept it well drained, observed a judicious mode of cropping, and showed dexterity in the management of his flocks and herds, could not be considered otherwise than a good farmer. Nevertheless, so long as he made the farm self-supporting he could not be called a high farmer (Hear, hear). His friend Mr. Hutley, and some other cultivators, had perhaps been laying out more on oilcake and so on than the whole amount of their rent. Up to 1846 that method of farming was very remunerative : whether it was so now he would leave the meeting to decide (Hear, hear). For his own part he did not believe it to be so ; and if they might Judge from the balance-sheet of their quondam friend Mr. IMechi, it certainly was not (Hear, hear). In look- ing over a speech delivered lately by Sir James Graham, at Carlisle, he found that the right hon. Bart, recom- mended the tenantry to abandon to a very great degree, wit'a the present low piices, the cultivation of grain; and in looking over the work of Mr. Caird on British agriculture, he found it stated that the tenants of Sir J. Graham, adopting their landlord's advice, were laying down their land for pasture for four or five years, and looking to an increase in the value of their flocks for re- muneration. Now this was a point which should be taken into consideration that evening. That v.as the best system which in the long run, looking to a series of years, would prove most advantageous alike to the tenant and the landlord (Hear, hear). He must observe, how- ever, that if this doctrine of Sir James Graham were carried out throughout the length and breadth of Eng- land, they must look forward to an exodus of the pea- santry similar to that which had taken place in Ireland. He believed that the policy of 1846, if carried out, would leave scarcely anything in the end but sheep-farms and bullock-runs, and evidence of this tendency was not wanting. Although the gross population of this country was a little more now than it was ten years ago, the agricultural population was found to be less, numbers having been driven into the large manufacturing towns (Hear, hear). He must apologise for having troubled them at such length, but he could not help seizing the opportunity of drawing attention to these points. Mr. Bennett: Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, — The subject for discussion this evening, as many of my 2 o 2 450 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. friends around ine arc aware, is not one of my own selection. I lay no claim to originating it ; and having consented, at tlic solicitation of my friends, merely to stard si)onsor for its introduction, if my effort siiould prove uTi abortion, which I fear it will, the gentlemen of this club will, I doubt not, still extend to me their wonted indulgence. I dared not have undertaken its introduction but from the understanding that I was to be followed and supported by a very eminent ma- nager of light land from the west of England, Mr. Sainsbury (cries of Hear, hear), and our able and scien- tific friend, Mr. Nesbit, &c. I feel, therefore, much relieved, from the assurance that, although it will be but feebly introduced, the subject will be handled, in the course of the evening, in a way that cannot fail, I trust, to render it beneficial to the farming world (Hear). I hardly need premise to an intelligent au- dience of agriculturists like that before me, that no uniform system of management for all kinds even of light land can be profitably adopted, so very much de- pending on local situation and the peculiarity of the soil. The most, therefore, that I can hope to accom- plish this evening is to throw out a few general sug- gestions, the result chiefly of my own experience and observations, and tliat as a help to a better under- standing of the subject, rather than to originate any- thing new (Hear, hear). For the sake of order, and to avoid misapprehension, I shall divide what may properly be termed light arable laud into three classes : it might be divided into many more. In the first class we comprehend all those tracks either natu- rally fertile, or which have been rendered so by skilful management for a series of years, and sufficiently porous in their character to admit of the profitable depasturing of sheep in feeding ofi^" turnips. T!ie most profitable system of management of this better description of light land, all practical men well know, must depend largely upon its peculiar adaptation, and to its proximity to towns of ex- tensive population, rendering sometimes, as a matter of course, a system of partial garden cultivation more profitable than the common and ordinary system of stock farming, however judiciously carried out. I mean where the sale of straw and some of the root crops can be effected on advan- tageous terms, and good manure easily and cheaply obtained. And ] feel assured this club will agree with me, that in too many instances advantage has been taken of such local facilities to palm upon the public certain statements as to the profits of farming, which the parties must know are inapplicable pretty well to ninety-nine farms out of a hundred as found in the country (cheers). In situations where no such advan- tages present themselves, it has become a question, I know, whether on the best convertible land the four- course system of farm management is the best. It is contended that there need not be so mucli as one- fourth of the arable land in fallow, which I admit, under the judicious operation of the horse and hand hoe and hand manuring, is not always necessary; but, whether it is not better to take an extra crop alter- nately of winter beans, white peas, or tares, for soiling on a ])art of the fallows, rather than depart from the system as a general rule, should, I think, depend more or less upon the nature of the soil. Nay, I will add further, if it be good cropping land, and not so kind for turnips, or particularly favourable for sheep, then 1 think under good farming an extra white straw crop may be grown more profitably to the tenant, and without injury to the landlord, converting it into what is commonly called the five-field system. The advan- tage, however, of this extra crop is often over-esti- mated, for you lessen the . sun fi ;e (]ry 3 30. 2S 30.26 28 47 37 S. East ively cloudy sun fine dry 4 30.17 30.13 30 51 35 E. or by North ively cloudy .sun fine diy 5 30. ' 3 30.10 1 34 56 41 E. or by Norili .Iveiy cloudy sun cloudy dry 6 30.11 30.12 36 5 3 46 N. East lively liazy cloudy cloudy dry 7 30.16 30.20 40 48 41 East iveiy cloudy fine cloudy dry 8 30.21 30.24 39 49 38 E. by South ively fine sun fine dry 9 30.26 30.29 32 50 33 Easterly iveiy cloudy sun fine dry 10 3X27 30.21 27 55 45 E. or by Soutb .{encle fine sun fine dry 11 30.20 30.20 35 51 40 East )risk fine sun fine dry 12 30.20 30.26 40 — 40 E. by South fentle cloudy sun fine dry 13 30.32 30.26 35 61 47 E. by South ;entle cloudy sun fine dry 14 30.27 30.19 35 63 60 N. hast re.sh haze sun fine dry 15 .30.19 30.10 37 — . 47 E. by North irisk fine sun cloudy diy IG 30.05 30.— 1 42 47 36 E. by North )risk cloudy cloudy fine dry 17 30.- 29.83 29 54 45 N. East lively fine sun cloudy dry IS 29.79 29.96 37 44 36 N. E. by North \-ar. cloudy cloudy c'cudy showers 19 30.06 30.03 33 45 38 Easterly /entle fine fine fine dry 20 30.09 30.11 28 52 38 S.S.W. rresh fine sun fine d>y 21 30.11 29.98 32 54 41 Sly., E, by N. i)risk fine sun fine dry 22 29.90 29.84 3S 63 50 S. East lively fine sun ' * * estimated averages of APRIL. Barometer. i Thermometer. ! HiQ:h. I Low. | High, j Low., I Mean. 3o!^54 I 29.200 I 7t j 29 I 49-9 real, average temperature of the period. Highest. I Lowest. j Mean. About 50 I 34.4 I 42.2 Weather and Phenomena. j March 24 — Cutting wind, changing to N.E. ! 25— Cold and gloomy. 26 — Clouds in masses, ])reparatory to the only rains of the month. 31 — , Cold, drying wind ; aiittje dri^.zle. j Lunation.— First quarter, 28th day, 8 h. 50 m. morn. It may be here remarked that the baro- meter was below 30 inches till the 31st; and during that period, the small supply of spring rain oc- curred. Aoril 1 to 17 scarcely furnish any remarks, offering a uniform aridity of weather, of which we trace few examples. Several night-frosts are re- gistered, but with little injury, in consequence of the dry state of the atmosphere. On the 18th a smart shower lell at noon ; but the wind became fresh from the east, and the mercury again rose. As we close this table, a degree of fluctuation ap- pears to e.xist ; but the weather has been and is bright, and the sun powerful. Lunations. — Full moon, 4th day, 2 h. 24 ra. afternoon. Last quarter, 1 1th day, 8 h. 59 m. morning. New moon, 19th day, 11 h. 45 m. be- fore noon. REMARKS referring TO AGRICUr.TURE. Progress sloA', but steady. Everything appears to be in health, whether it be vegetable or animal. The meadows, however, certainly are in want of rain, and so v. ill be the spring crops, ere long. The season of 1847 was certainly more dry, and far more backward, as the first genial rain did not fall till the 7ih of May; but in that protracted winter much snow had covered the ground. J. Towers. Croydon. * I regret that two blanks appear, which could not be obviated. 2 H 2 466 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. CALENDAR OP HORTICULTURE. PLANT HOUSES. Conservatory. — The extirpation of insects in this and other plant houses is at all times aft important operation ; but at this season more particularly so because they are now starting into existence by thousands, and if not nipped in the bud will do irre- parable injury to the present and future display of bloom. In large erections it is often both very incon- venient and expensive to fumigate in an effectual manner, and by a little extra care it will not be necessary to do so very often ; because if carefully watched it will be found that the vermin will make their appearance on a very few plants at first. Acting, therefore, on the principle of " taking time by the forelock," every gardener who has an extensive collection of plants to manage should endeavour to secure a small lean-to house capable of containing two or three dozen fair-sized plants, and retain it especially for fumigating purposes. The laps of the glass should be puttied, and the woodwork made as air-tight as possible. Into this erection let every plant infected ■with thrips or aphides be removed as soon as dis- covered, and if once fumigating is not enough apply it again, syringe the plants well afterwards, and stand in a shady, airy place to dry before returning them to their places. The white and brown scale are better kept in check by frequent spongings with warm soap- suds, or if the leaves are small and much infested syringe them forcibly with water heated to 120 degrees; but observe that this must not be done when there is any young and tender growth on the plants. Look well to the advancing stock of plants intended to succeed the Azeleas and other hardwooded flower- ing plants, such are Fuchsias, Scarlet Geraniums, Petunias, Salpiglossis, Balsams, Cockscombs, Ama- ranths, Brachycoma, &c., all of which should now be in a progressive state, and as there will be plenty of pit room when the bedding plants are removed to some temporary protection they may all be accommodated with liberal shifts and plenty of room to grow out well. It is not advisable to aim at growing more than can be conveniently accommodated. Kalosanthes, shifted according to previous directions, sliould now be making a nice growth, and must have plenty of light and air, and towards the end of the month place them out of doors in a sheltered place, but exposed to the full rays of the sun. Erytbrina crista galli should also have a light airy situation near the glass, but no artificial heat. The beautiful varieties of Japan Lilies will require attention — a light and airy situation near the glass will suit them well ; they should be kept moderately well supplied with water, and it will much assist the future growth to place some rough lumps of rotte 1 fibry turf around the base of the stems, where they will throw out fresh roots ; place a neat stake to each shoot as they advance. Chrysanthemum cuttings should be put in this week ; our plan is to pluce about six round the edge of a four-inch pot, and place the pots on a gentle botton heat in a dung-bed frame, and keep them shaded until rooted, often giving air to dispel damp. Heathery. — Many of these plants will now be in flower or advancing fast thereto, and will require a considerable attention to afi'ording them a good s-.ipply of air and root moisture, water freely when necessary, but only then. A slight shading will be of great ad- vantage when the sun is very hot and bright. Main- tain the temperature of the house as cool as possible, by keeping the paths and floors moist, taking care also that there is sufficient ventilation to obviate the ill effects likely to arise from a close moist atmosphere. This sprinkling with water will also keep down the dust, which if not attended to, is apt to adhere to the glutinous kinds and injure their beauty. Such as arc past blooming should be removed from the house to make more room, the flowers picked off, and the branches cut well in ; they may then be placed in a cold pit. Attend well to young plants advancing into specimens : shift when necessary in order to keep them gradually progressing, but by no means endeavour to grow them too fast, as it will render the plants consti- tutionally tender. I have indeed seen instances in which plants that had been hard pushed were entirely deprived of tiieir leaves and rendered useless when submitted to harder treatment. Give them plenty of light and air, and if shaded at all it should only be from the midday sun. A little weak clarified manure- water may be applied now and then to such as are well rooted and growing freely. FORCING HOUSES. Pineries. — The principal crops of summer fruiters will now be advancing fast, and must have no check from want of bottom heat and atmospheric moisture to assist in swelling the fruit. Keep them well sup- plied with liquid manure, and syringe well over the surface of the bed and about the wall and floors two or three times a day, and close early. Bottom heat 85 to 90 degrees, top 80 to 85 degrees, with a good supply of air. Succession plants should also be kept progressing, by the necessary shiftings according to the room there is to devote to them ; they should be classified according to your requirements. The for- wardest will be required for autumn fruiting, and must be most encouraged. The Black Jamaica, and other sorts required for winter purposes, must have a due share of attention ; in tact in pine culture it is abso- lutely imperative to look forward to the state you would have your plants six months hence, and regu- late the operations accordintjly. Vineries. — Where the fruit is ripening off do not fail to keep the atmosphere comfortably dry, but not arid ; therefore moderate the application of fire heat THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 467 as much as possible, and take every advantage of solai- influences. Air must be freely admitted, avoiding cold draughts by only opening the top ventilators when such prevail. Thinning, stopping, and tying in, are the principal operations in the successional houses. Where new erections have to be planted, this month is the best for doing so. The plants grown from single eyes should have been previously excited into growth both at root and branch on bottom heat. A good plan is to have some shallow, open-work, osier baskets made for them, and plant the young vines in them when dormant, and plunge the baskets into a bed of leaves and dung with a heat of between 60 and 70 degrees, and let them have sufficient air to keep the top heat from 5 to 10 degrees lower; by the time they have grown trom 18 inches to 2 feet the roots should have radiated out plentifully through the soil ; they should then be carefully lifted, baskets and all, and transferred to their destinations in the border, cover the roots from two to three inches, and apply tepid water, and they will receive no check at all. I should observe that these directions are only applicable to houses built expressly for vines and arranged for inside planting. Where they must be planted outside (a practice to be avoided if possible) they sliould be in a dormant state when planted, and early in April is a good time to do so. Pits and Frames. — Keep up a good supply of fer- menting materials for successional beds and for linings, as a good bottom heat cannot by any means be dis- pensed with, although the sun may have great power; admit plenty of air, and see that the shoots do not get crowded together. Both Melons and Cucumbers should be slightly fumigated at times to keep down insects. The main crop of ridge Cucumbers may now be planted in the prepared beds under hand-glasses ; keep them shaded for a time. A few hand-glasses may also be sown at the same time. Melons for the latest crops should be sown immediately. Sow also more Vegetable Marrows, and attend to advancing plants, by giving plenty of air and moderate watering, FLOWER GARDEN. If the former directions with regard to giving a little extra encouragement to plants intended for orna- mental vases were carried out, they will now be in a fine state, and if there is any convenience for a tempo- rary protection they may be planted at once, and thoroughly exposed all day, but covered at night. Look well to the state of the beds intended for bedding plants : if any are occupied with spring flowerino- plants they must shortly be transferred to the reserve garden, and the beds dressed with fresh compost and prepared for summer plants. Bulbous plants, used for spring decoration, may be taken up next week and laid in on a warm border to ripen. The present is the proper time to secure a good stock of the Viola arborea for another season : prepare a large bed in the reserve garden, in a situation if possible which does not get the midday sun ; the beds which were planted in the autumn in the flower garden will furnish hundreds of rooted runners ; these should be planted singly at from 6 to 8 inches square, and kept well watered. For extensive gardens a thousand of these useful plants will not be too many. HARDY FRtriTS. Do not forget to plant out the forced pots of Keen's Seedling Strawberries, as recommended in a former Calendar, to be reserved for that purpose ; also pick oflT the blooms from a portion of the slock of Alpines to induce autumn bearing. c. AGRICULTURAL REPORTS. GENERAL AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR APRIL. During nearly, or quite, the whole of the month, we have had a succession of easterly winds, and an almost total absence of moisture ; indeed, it has been one of the most extraordinary months on re- cord, its position in the calendar considered. The want of rain has, we need scarcely observe, been severely felt in all parts of England, and more par- ticularly in the grazing districts, in which the pas- tures are remarkably bare of keep ; hence, most of the graziers have been compelled to get rid of large numbers of both beasts and sheep, under the impression that dry food will become scarce and dear, and, further, that the stock of hay now on hand wiU become exhausted ere anything like a supply of grass can be obtained. The consequence is, that our cattle markets have exhibited heavy supplies of stock, and prices have ruled extremely low. It is somewhat difficult for us to determine the result of this state of things ; but it is tolerably clear, that a few showers of rain, with a change in the wind to the southward, would speedily produce a sufficient quantity of food. This would enable the graziers to withhold a large portion of their suppUes, and have the effect of raising the value of fat stock, notwithstanding that we might have increased im- portations from abroad. All out-door farm labours are very forward, and the whole of the spring corn has been sown under the most favourable auspices ; nevertheless, our accounts from various parts of the country cannot be considered very satisfactory. It is true that the wheats— though extremely short — are looking toler- ably well ; but barley has come up very irregularly, and exhibits most unmistakeable signs of the effects of a dry temperature. Oats, beans, and peas, have made scarcely any progress ; whilst the night frosts, up to quite the 20th of the month, have materially assisted in checking their growth. As regards pota- 4G8 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. toes, we cannot write withany deffiee of certainty; yet our correspondents agree in statins: that the breadth of land planted with that esculent is even larp;er than was that of last season. That the jjroduce of 1851 was unusually extensive, and of very fine quality, is evident from the immense quantities which are daily received in the various markets, and the low- range of value which they have borne during the past eight nionihs. We may further observe that consumption has been almost wholly met by the home growers, as the crop on the continent was a decided failure. In France, Holland, and Belgium, including a large portion of Germany, very little rain has fallen ; and some writers appear to be of opinion that light crops of spring corn will be gathered this season. Present appearances certainly do not indicate a large return of the soils' produc- tion J but it is yet by far too early to form anything approaching to a correct estimate of the aggregate yield. The scarcity of food, already alluded to, has been productive of an improvement in the value ot both hay and straw. Many of the large growers of the former, residing in the neighbourhood of large towns, are not forwarding sup])lies at present ; yet it would be advisable for them to consider the ad- vantages held out to those living in distant localities by tlie railway companies, and the great competi- tion for traffic, the charges for which are now un- usually low, and, we may add, unremunerative. Very limited quantities of green vegetables have appeared on sale ; nevertheless, the quotations have not materially improved, arising from the great abundance of potatoes. Considering the falling-off in the imports of grain and flour from abroad, the corn trade has been in a very inactive state. In the early part of the month prices tended downwards ; Ijut a slight improvement in them was observed towards its clo!-e, Nolwiihstanding that a very brge and fine crop of wheat was produced in England in 1S51, it is admitted on all hands that the supply now in the hands of the farmers, arising from tlie un- usually large quantities which have passed into consumpiion since the close of last harvest, is much reduced. The question of an advance in the quo- tations has, of course, occupied much of the atten- tion of both sellers and buyer?', as well as of con- sumers; but the extreme caution manifested by all parlies in effecting purchases, and the want of all speculation, render it tolerably clear that, in a general point of view, confidence in the future is much shaken. We may pretty safely affirm that barley, oats, beans, and peas have seen their lowest range for the season, because it is placed beyond a d»iul)t that heavy imports will ba necebsary to meet the consumptive demand. The supply of foreiga linseed has continued very small; but we learn that upwards of 190,000 quarters are still on passage to England. The trade has been by no means active ; yet prices have ruled steady. There has been more inquiry for both English and foreign cakes, the value of which is well supported. The guano market has been firm, and it is calculated that upwards of 7,000 tons of that article have been disposed of on conti- nental account. The stock held in London, and at the outports, is very extensive. The imports, since our last, have exceeded 20,000 tons, chiefly from South America. The seed trade has been somewhat dull, and the quotations have been by no ir.eans high. On the whole, the wool trade has ruled steady; but the next auctions are expected to be somewhat small, from the fact that the shipments from Australia have been very moderate, compared with those of last year. The scarcity of labour in the above colony is calculated to have considerable effect upon the value of wool in this country. The tallow trade has become somewhat firm, and the currencies have had an upward tendency. Large quantities of talluw — upwards of 30,000 casks- are still held in London by Russian houses. In Ireland and Scotland only moderate supplies of grain have been brought forward ; yet the general demand has ruled inactive, and very little change has taken place in prices of any article. The shipments of grain to England have not ma- terially increased. REVIEW OF THE CATTLE TRADE DURLNG THE PAST MONTH. The unusually large supplies of stock on sale in the leading cattle markets — portions of which have been forced from the land, owing to the shortness of keep in the whole of our large districts — have been productive of great depression in the trade. Prices have, therefore, suffered a somewhat serious decline, although the imijorts from abroad have been on a very moderate scale ; hence great losses have resulted to both graziers and feeders. It ia gratifying to observe, however, that both beasts and sheep have been exhibited in first-rate condition, especially those from Norfolk and Scotland ; yet we fear that, unless we have a speedy change in the weather, with a somewhat abundant supply of rain, a recourse must be had to expensive kinds of food, and that hay will be selling at unusually high quo- tations. The fall in the prices has been quite 4d. per 8lbs.; yet it is pretty generally considered, should the pastures speedily exhibit their wonted appearance, that a m.aterial rise will take place in them during the summer months. The lambing season has passed off remarkably well; but the de- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 469 mand for lamb hitherto has been heavy, at very low figures. The following are the imports of stock from abroad into London : — Head. Beasts 923 Sheep 3,247 Calves 1,264 Total 5,444 During the corresponding month in 1851 the total arrivals amounted to 10,259; in 1850, 4,667 ; in 1849, 3,810; in 1848, 5,391; and in 1847, 5,826 head. The annexed supplies were exhibited in Smith- field :— Head. Beasts 18,089 Cows 418 Sheep and lambs 101,374 Calves 1,500 Pigs 2,580 coMPARiso:: of supplies. April, April, April, 1849. 1850 1851. Beasts 16,678 16,765 16,674 Cows 520 414 304 Sheep and lambs.. 110,070 97,920 108,824 Calves 1,178 1,299 1,152 Pigs 1,840 1,900 2,510 The past month's home supplies have been thus derived:— Head. Norfolk, Suffolk, &c 9,l60 Other parts of England 2,800 Scotland 2,140 The average quotations have ruled thus : — Per 8lbs., to sink the offal. s. d. s. d. Beef, from 2 2 to 3 6 Mutton 2 6 to 4 2 Lamb 4 4 to 5 6 Veal 3 0 to 4 2 Pork 2 6 to 3 10 COMPARISON OF PRICES. April, 1849. April, 1850. April, 1851. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Beef ..2 0to3 6 2 4 to 3 6 2 2 to 3 8 Mutton 2 4 to 4 2 3 0to4 6 3 2 to 4 6 Lamb.. 5 Oto6 4 3 8 to 5 8 4 10 to 6 0 Veal 3 2 to 4 2 3 0to3 8 3 0to4 0 Pork ..3 Oto4 2 3 2 to 4 0 3 0 to 3 10 Newgate 'and Leadenhall markets have been heavily supplied with meat killed in the provinces ; but the sup}ilies on offer slaughtered m the me- tropohs have been very moderate. The general demand has ruled very inactive, and the quotations have fallen from 2d. to 4d. per Bibs. CHESTER FAIR was the largest ever known in April, there he'utg about 300 tons of cheese offered for »ale. The average of former years was from 100 to 200 tons. We be- lieve ihe cause of tliia is attributable to the duluess of the London market, and to factors not beinsr anxious to increase their stocks, until there is au improvemeut. Prices weie from 303. to 48s. per cwt. When everything else is so cheap, iheie is no p'a'.isible pretext for keeping up the price of cheese, and Dieat is to be had so reasoiiable tiiat people prefer it to dairy produce. There was rather a greater demand for lean stock. Milking cows much the sanic price as last fair. No increase ia the price of fat stock, which ranged from 4^d. to 5d. per lb. Not many horses shown, aud those of an indifferent quality. CHIPPENHAM GREAT MONTHLY MARKET.— Our supply of cheese (upwards of 160 tons pitched) for tlse Ecason of the year was great, varying from loa. to BOs. per cwt. ; and a great quantity of heifers and calves", being the nearest nar- kc-t to Devizes (air. Although the Basingstoke cheese market was the day before ours, it did not prevent our usual nu;nbcr of factors from attending. The quality of the cheese was nothing to boast of, it being the clearing out of the cheese lofts; but nearly the whole cliangi d hands. Broad doubles, 42*. to SOa. per cwt.; prime Cheddar, 523. to 60s. ; thiu, 30s. tj 4.is. ; loaves, 44s. to SOs ; tkini, 15s. to 21s. LIN COLN FAIR.— For horses of the better kinl, of which there is a great scarcity, almost any amownt of money was piven, buveis henig far more numerous than horses to supply their wauts. There were a great number of foreign buyers in attendance, especially Frenchmen, aud they, as well as several eminent London dealers, bought everything worth their mcuey. It is said that many of the best horses were bought fov mili- tary purposes. For the best nag horses the demand was great, and all were readily bought up at prices varying' from 60 to 130 iiuineaj, and in one instance a splendid marc, the property of Mr. P. Suaith, of Bos'.oii, fetched 150 guiness. The best kind of carriage-horses aud hunters fetched hi^h rales, .tnd had a brisk sale, while inferior aninials di.l ii: t readdy find purchasers. Some very large and spUndid animaU of the cart kind were shown, ai\d such realized good price.-; good cart celts and tillies also sold well, hut the uieatier soiti were scare, ly looked at. The sheep fair was one of the largest known for many years, upwards of 40,000 shrep beinsr peni.id. The trade was in consecpieiiie remarkably dull. Up to elc\eii o'clock very few lots indeed changed liauds, ana it was very evident tl at lower prices must be submitted to before buriiiess to any extent could be transacted. A pen of 110 hogs be» longing to T. Winn, Esq., ol Lincoln, were the chief attraction in the fair, but tlie high prices asked in the early part of the day prevented them changing bauds. Inferior hogs made from 273. to 33s. ; and good fat hogs ranged from 34s. to 4 Is. ; (r.t ewes fetched 4d. to 4id. per lb. The prize cup, given by Messrs Smith, E'lison, and Co., for the {)est pen ol 2'J hog--, to be exhibited and sold at Lincoln April (air, was awarded to Mr Charles Battersby, of Scothern, who has previously carried off the palm of victory. The other competitors were \Ir. Hay- wood, of WcUiogore, Mr. Abrahams, of Knaith, Mr. N. Gilf?, of Branston, and Mr. Walker, of Bigsby by Brigsr. 'J'i.e whole of the sheep exhibitpd were really splendid animal?, and were inspected with great interest by the Hon. A. L. Melville and a very large nuuiber of the leading agriculturists of the neighbourhood. The judges were Mr. Joseph Kukhaiu, of Aucleby, Mr. David Briggs, ot Oxcombe, and Mr. Robert Maitin, of Asterby. There was but one opinion as to the justice of the award. At the same time, Mr. Thomas Smitli, late of the Horse and Groom Inn, Liucolu, but now of Hani- hleton House, Market Rasen, exhibited (not for competiiioii) a pen of 40 magnificent hogs, which he had purchiised, and which were allowed, by competent judges, both fur \tool and mutton, to be unsurpassed by anychiug of the kind exhibited in this part of the kingdom. They were universally admired. LOCKERBY SPRING MARKET.— There would be nearly 4U00 hoggs, chiefly half-breds, but with a proponion of cheviots. The lots were mostly in the hands of dealers, and had been laid in at high prices, which their owners were of course anxious to maintain. This, with the scarcity of grass and other keep, and the dull account from the House of Muir, made the market a slow one. There was no lack of pur- chasers, but they were unwilling to give the prices asked. The following lots may be mentioned :— A large one, half-bred, at 293., being about the top price; another, 253.; Cheviots, at IBs., 20s., aud 23s., the latter the top price we belie\e, for this description. A good many were unsold. There was a very small show of catile, and, with the exception of cows and queys, very little business was done. u> s: 1^ u M^i^ S "1 ui 0 c c 5 0 •a .» a! tf i t£ '^ •/ oi • • ^ • _"'--^ • i^ ^ •=■ ■= ^ i •= ^ -^ t£ tic 5 ^ U Sc Si 5» u> tt :o CI n A .3 r .- it ei) ■c — to ao to .3 to n .3 to to To £ a^ « S « "> ^ J^S^'S3-=3^ _^ to Mi ^ a, 3, S iJj 3; 5l S; to 01 to ■^ ct 1 ^ 1 o b o £ I.-; o o -* 0 3 ;i >n "> '' 0 ic c) 0 i^ — 0 0 t^ 0 0 ■* 0 J i : .o : ; i : :£ : l^.g : : :S '=3 rt o'jjs r^-S .2 -^ ^ ,; ''s Is " J a tn S; _.eq 5> s .■ .• i; .J 3 1: *- ti o "a. 0 2 a "S" 0 5 "2 J! 0 11 X M •3 0 Ii is ■3 s Has •_ •- '5 u ^ u u. ss - *^. ^. Ct, > ^ r". << — < -^ .i r' *< "^ ^. 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Spcf ,^ & Ss , boot . / 5 ^ J S & ' 6 S •^ >»t-.0**^>»^'00>^00 • > >. 0 fe ^ fe fe fe 0 >;> 0 0 0 ^fe> 0 a :£ ^ Ct b 1. 0 5 c:3:-c3sc3-fc-C(-t- t- ;? ;- L. *. CC C3 4) ~ ~ ~ XI SI tl 3 ~ J5 .= .3 .0 0 J5 i > J3 ^ .C j: ^ J= J3 J= J5 ^ -3 j ^ i .0 -= ^ .0 x>.a X • • ■ B I : S « . - ..;-... e E ; I • 2 c-=Q til's a ■3 0; ! 0 • I :o : : Ilil 0000 .2 ° . ■ :c Oj 0 S : or""? = .a :.'■:::::; : a s^..;....^.. J w ■ • ^ . . s . . S • • : : * : Q- ; •£■ • oJr:^ ^r2 -S B £ = 0 p2 ^l^^^ C ■ £ ■ II a 0 ta ^K P i« 'X '/ 1 wr, Tj 'J. m J. m Ti^ v> r' The FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 473 REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL. The Derby Ministry have now been two months in office ; but, as yet, the Government have mani- fested no intention of proposing any measures for the relief of the agricultural interest. That this may have been caused by a want of power rather than a want of desire is quite possible j but the fact is undeniable, that since the accession to office, the diflferent members of the Government have been particularly guarded in their expression of opinion whenever the subject of Protection has been under discussion. Before what we are nmv writing shall have met tl:e eyes of our readers, Mr. Disraeli will probably have brought forward his budget, which may, perhaps, afford matter for forming a judgment as to the intentions of Ministers, and show whether the attempt will be made to lighten the burdens bearing on the land. We must acknowledge that v/e are by no means sanguine on the suljject. The j)revailing felling appears to be that even after a dissolution shall have taken place, no attempt will be made to put a duty on corn if a decided majority of Prctactionist members be not returned. Very little excitement is shown at present on either side: the farmers appear apathetic, and the Free-traders, after their grand display at Manchester, have re- mained quiet. This being the case, the possibility or pro- bability of any alteration in the laws regulating the importation of corn into this counry has had no influence on the grain trade, and the changes which have taken place in prices cannot be attri- buted in any way to doubts, fears, or hopes on that subject. When we last addressed our readers wheat was drooping in value in all parts of the kingdom, and the downward movement was not checked until about the middle of the present mont':; since then, however, a small rally has taken juace, and present appearances indicate a further moderate improve- ment. The somewhat improved tone has not been caused by speculation — buyers having, in general, acted with much caution ; but, after prices had fallen about 4s. per qr. from the highest jioint at- tained in February, farmers showed evident signs of unwillingn:ss to continue their sales. The de- liveries from the growers consequently began to fall off, and as the supplies from abroad did not increase, purchasers ceased to have it all their own way. The exact fluctuations which the value of wheat has undergone will be given more fully when we treat of the operations which have taken place at Mark-lane. We must now say a few words about the weather, which has certainly been of a very extraordinary character. Scarcely any rain has fallen in any part of the kingdom during the month, and the drought has now continued for nine or ten weeks. Under these circumstances, it is scarcely necessary to say that the pastures have long since become very bare, and that all kinds of green food is exceeding scarce. What may be the ultimate effect of so protracted a period of dry weather on the spring-sown crops we are unable to conjecture : hitherto, there is much less appearance of injury than might be expected ; the seed has generally come up, and, though vege- tation is backward, there are no unhealthy symp- toms. There can, however, be no doubt that spring corn and pulse would suffer beverely should we be much longer without rain. The wheat plant is rarely injured by drought, and we consider that the weather, however trying for the other crops, has proved beneficial to the autumn-sown wheat, the aspect of which is, with few exceptions, promising. As regards the probable future value of wheat, we see no reason to calculate on any very important change, unless circumstances should hereafter arise of a nature to cause uneasiness to be felt relative to tlie growing crop. Prices are too low to allow of any further depression of consequence; and, on the other hand, we are inclined to think that if any improvement of moment on present rates should take place, the farmers would be inclined to meet it freely, as they still fear—and with good reason- that later in the year the importations from abroad may increase. Even now, with good English wheat of 63 lbs. weight at 40s. per qr., supplies to some extent reach us. During the month, ending the 5th inst., the total quantity of grain and pulse im- ported into the United Kingdom exceeded half of a miUion of quarters, and of this quantity 180,000 qrs. consisted of wheat, in addition to which 330,000 cwts. of foreign-manufactured flour were received. This having been the case with prices relatively higher abroad than in the British markets, it may be readily understood that a small rise here would suffice to encourage increased shipments. The much-talked-of scarcity in the north of Europe would seem to have been a good deal ex- aggerated J at all events, there can be no doubt that prices were driven up much higher in the Baltic by 474 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, speculation than the real position of affairs war- ranted. This seems to be now generally allowed, and is, to a certain extent, proved by the great fall which has taken place at some of the ports where the rise was most important. The foreign merchants having, however, paid dearly forthe stocks they hold, are likely to speculate on the chapter of accidents for bringing them out, and will probably retain their property until later in the year, trusting to an inauspicious summer, or some other unforeseen circumstance to afford them a more favourable o]>portunity for realizing. The weather appears to have been similar to that experienced here over the greater part of northern Europe; and some of the letters from the Baltic express fears as to the rye crop, which it is appre- hended may have suffered from the severity of the night frosts. The very high prices, which have prevailed throughout the past winter on the continent for wheat and rye, has naturally caused an increased consumption of all articles suitable for substitutes, and as the spring' sown crops of 1851 did not yield largely, the stocks of barley, oats, beans, and peas are generally reduced into a very narrow compass in those countries from which England usually draws supplies. This is also, we are inclined to think, the case at home ; and it would appear therefore that our markets are not likely to be over supplied with spring corn. Under these circumstances, any de- cline from present prices can scarcely be calculated on, and should we be much longer without rain, a rise would be very likely to take i^lace. Barley and oats have ever since harvest commanded re- latively higher prices than wheat ; and this must, we think, have led to free deliveries of the former articles; indeed, oats have become so scarce in many parts of the kingdom, that higher prices have actually been paid in the agricultural districts than have been obtainable in the consuming markets, the few foreign, which have from time to time come to hand, having assisted to keep the large towns better siipplied than those places which have had to depend entirely on the growers for supplies. Considering the abundance of capital, and the cheapness of money (the Bank Directors having on the 22nd inst. reduced the rate of interest to 2 per cent, per annum), some surprise is felt that the corn trade should have remained in so very quiet a state; there has thus far been no disposition to enter into speculative investments, and merchants and millers have, in general, been content to confine their operations to purchasing just suffi- cient to supply their immediate wants. The operations at Mark Lane will afford a very fair sample of what has been done elsewhere, and we cannot therefore do better than take a retrospect of the ))roceedings of the month. There has been no pressure of wheat on the market at any period, the weekly arrivals coastwise into the port of Lon- don have not much exceeded 4,000 qrs., and the receipts per railway have likewise been moderate. Notwithstanding the moderate nature of the suji- plies the millers managed to buy English wheat on rather easier terms on the 5th inst. than on that day se'nnight, and on the following Monday a fur- ther decline of Is. per qr. was pretty generally sub- mitted to, the value of good red Kent and Essex wheat being then 40s. to 41s. ; and 50s. per qr. being an extreme quotation for white, excellent samples of the latter having on that occasion been sold for 4Ss. per qr. Since then factors have de- clined to make any further concession, and though buyers have acted with great caution they have found it necessary to pay rather enhanced rates. For the best runs of red wheat 42s. per qr. was paid on the 19th, and on Monday last that price was, in partial instances, exceeded by Is. per qr., making the top quotation nearly the same as it was at the close of March, the decline which took place the first fortnight in April having since been reco- vered. This has also been the case in most of the country markets, and wheat cannot at present be purchased cheaper at any of the principal shipping ports on the east coast than when we last addressed our readers. The arrivals of foreign wheat into London have been very small, only 20,000 qrs. having been re- ported, and of this quantity a considerable propor- tion has consisted of Egyptian, a quality not suited for the use of our millers. The insignificance of the supply has tended to render holders of granaried wheat confident; and though some slight reduction took place the first fortnight in the month, the fall was not equal to that submitted to on English. We must, however, report a very dull sale, the excel- lent quality of the English having prevented foreign meeting with attention, more especially as the prices asked for the latter have been relatively higher than those at which the former has been of- fered. Thus far the home supplies have sufficed to meet the wants of the local millers, and as yet but very few country purchasers have visited Mark Lane ; as, however, the deliveries from the growers have within the last two or three weeks fallen off materially, it is not improbable that the inquiry for foreign may improve, and holders have latterly shown more disposition to raise than to lower their pretensions. The quantity hitherto shipped from the Baltic and other northern ports is quite incon- siderable, and we believe that there is less on pas- sage from the Black Sea and Mediterranean than was the case at this period last year. The arrivals off the coast from ports lying east of Gibraltar have THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 475 not been very lar^e during the month, and nearly the whole of the cargoes which have come forward have been placed, the major part to go to Ireland, and a portion for the continent of Europe. The foreign demand has, however, now ceased, and the transactions in floating cargoes have, during the last week or two, been unimportant. A large cargo of Pohsh Odessa wheat arrived, and in the first in- stance held at 38s., was ultimately sold at 34s. 6d. per qr,, cost, freight, and insurance. White Polish Odessa is still held at 40s., and Ghirka at 3Ss. per qr., but there are at present no purchasers at those rates. Egyptian Saide wheat off" the coast would not bring more than 23s. ; one cargo of very good quality was sold about a week ago at 2Ss. 6d. per qr., cost, freight, and insurance. The dispo- sition to purchase cargoes on passage has in a great measure subsided, and those only which are believed to be close at hand have met with any at- tention. The top quotation of town-manufactured flour has undergone no change since our last ; the sale was slow during the first three weeks in April, but within the last eight days the bakers have bought somewhat more freely, owing probably to the im- proved tone of the wheat trade. Water having be- come exceedingly scarce in most parts of the country, many of the mills have been brought to a stand, and the arrivals of country flour into Lon- don have been small of late. Norfolk households are bringing better prices at Manchester and other northern markets than in the metropolis, and we are therefore not likely to receive any supplies of importance. The receipts of flour from France were tolerably good in thebeginning of the month, but the arrivals have since fallen off", nor have we received any quantity of importance from America ; holders have consequently become firm, and good qualities have recovered a portion of the decline - which took place about the close of March and early in April. The quantity of flour on passage from America is variously estimated at from 70,000 to 100,000 barrels. The greater part will probably go to Liverpool, and we question whether the Lon- don market will receive over 20,000 to 30,000 bar- rels of what is on the way. Prices range at present from 20s. to 23s. per brl. Barley of home growth has not come to hand freely, but the malting season being nearly over, and many of the distillers having ceased to operate, the supplies have proved quite adequate to the de- mand. The finer quahties suitable for malting have gradually given way in value in proportion as the demand has slackened, and capital samples might now be had at 30s. to 31s., whilst 33s. per qr. may be regarded as an extreme rate for picked parcels. Distillers' barley has not fallen to the same extent, still the turn has been decidedly in favour of the purchaser. Feeding kinds have, on the other hand, been in good request, and have commanded quite as much money as before. The arrivals ofbarley from abroad from the 1st to the 25th inst. have amounted to about 22,000 qrs., and of this quantity a considerable part has been from Egypt. Good qualities from the Danish islands, &c., have met with a fair share of attention, and have realized 26s. 6d. up to 28s. per qr., whilst Egj'ptian has been off^ered freely at 21s. per qr. Of the latter a cargo or two on passage found buyers about a week ago at IQs. 6d. per qr. cost, freight, and insurance ; since then we have heard of no sales. The downward movement in the value of barley has naturally influenced malt more or less, and the operations in the latter article have for several con- secutive weeks been on quite a retail scale. Quo- tations have not in general been altered, but the turn has certainly been against the seller. The quantity of oats received at this port, inclu- ding the late arrivals from abroad, have not amounted altogether to what has been needed for the consumption of the metropolis, which, at this period of the year, is estimated to amount to at least 20,000 qrs. per week. The English supplies are more likely to fall oft than increase, and the quantity on passage from Scotland is not, we believe, large. From Ireland, we may calculate on receiving some quantity with the first shift of wind to the westward ; for though the shipments from thence have not, at any time, been important, the long prevalence of east wind must have caused an accumulation. From the north of Europe, there is not, we think, much on passage, the wind having been favourable for vessels coming from Germany, Holland, &c. Notwithstanding the smallness of the supply, the reduced state of the stocks in the hands of the dealers, and last, though not least, the extreme drought, great difficulty has been experienced in obtaining any advance on oats. During the first fortnight in April, prices re- mained nearly stationary. On the third Monday, a rise of 6d. per qr. was, in partial cases, realized, and a further improvement to about the same ex- tent during the following week; but there has been nothing like activity in the demand, and the dealers have manifested a decided disinclination to purchas- ing beyond what they have needed for immediate wants. The present value of good EngUsh feed oats, of 38lbs. to 40lbs., is 21s. to 21s. 6d.j Scotch, of 411bs. to 42lbs., 22s. to 23s. ; Irish, 20s. to 22s., according to quality; and the value of foreign ranges from 19s. to 22s. per qr. Whether any further immediate improvement will take place. 476 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. may be questioned ; hut we are certainlj' of opinion that prices will rise in May and June, as the con- tracts entered into at Kiga and St. Petersburg on British account are not nearly so large as they were last year ; and the other foreign ports do not ap- pear to be in a position to furnish very large sup- plies. English beans have within the last week or two excited rather more attention than previously, with- out, however, leading to any important sales or rise in quotations. Egyptian beans were sold, about a fortnight ago, at 21s. per qr., cost, freight, and insurance; sellers have since raised their pre- tensions, and are not willing to accept below 22s. at present. 'Ihe operations in peas have been on a retail scale, but holders have been induced by the long protracted droupht to ask rather higher terms, more especially for feeding qualities, which will, it is believed, become in more request later in the season. The weather is certainly very trying for the growing crop of peas, and a lise in the value of the article must follow, should we be much longer without rain. Little or nothing has been done in Indian corn on the spot ; indeed, hardly any comes to this port, the sole purpose for which it finds favour here being cattle-feeding. A good deal of business is, however, done in the London market in free-on-board cargoes, and this branch of business is rapidly increasing in import- ance. By far the greater part of the Indian corn imported is consumed in Ireland ; the captains of vessels from, the Black Sea and Mediterranean generally receive directions to call at Falmouth or Cork for orders as to their ultimate destination. The Greek houses principally engaged in this trade have their establishments in London, and the pur- chases for Irish account are, therefore, for the most part, made through London factors and agents. There was not much doing in the early part of tbe month, but latterly the Irish demand has again revived, and prices are now quite as high as they were at the close of March. Galatz could not, at present, be bought below 30s. 6d. to Sis. 6d. ; and for Ibrail, 25s. to 29s. 6d. per qr., cost, freight, and insurance, has been demanded. The various foreign grain markets have been in- fluenced by the tone of the advices from hence. The fall which took place in the value of wheat in March and the beginning of April produced some effect in the Baltic, and also in ihe Butch, Belgian, and French markets ; but confidence has since been partially restored, and the latest continental advices are less desponding. At Dantzig, holders have all along shown much firmness, and the value of wheat has not at any time fallen there in the same ratio as here. Su])plies of new wheat from Lower Poland had be- gun to arrive ; the quality is described as very various, the greater part inferior, but some good. Ordinary parcels, of 58lbs. to sglbs. weight, had been held at equal to 35s. to 38s. ; good mixed, of COlbs. weight, at -lOs. ; and the fine descrijitions of high mixed, at 42s. to 43s. per qr., free on board. Really fine high mixed old, in granary, had been held at such high rates as to check business. A few lots of Upper Polish wheat had come to hand, but had not been offered for sale. Of spring corn, hardly any stock was held, and rye was scarce. There being little demand for ships, the vessels which had arrived out seeking had been offered at low freights— say 2s. 4d. to 2s. 6d. for wheat for London. At Konigsberg, business appears to have become quiet, but there can be no doubt that rerl scarcity exists in that quarter j and it is not likely that ship- ments will be made from thence, unless prices rise materially here. From Stettin, we learn that after a period of ex- treme depression, the inquiry for wheat had revived, and qualities which had at one time been firmly offered at 36s. to 37s., were then held at 38s. per qr. free on board ; and for old Ukermark, of 62lbs. weight, 38s. 6d. per qr., free on board, was asked. Vessels were ])lentiful, and freights low, charters having been closed for London at 2s. id., and to Leith at Is. 9d. per qr., for wheat. Bye, after having been sold at 27s. to 28s. per qr., had rallied, and good 58lb. parcels were then held at 31s. to 32s. per qr., free on beard. At Rostock, prices have fluctuated less than at some of the other Baltic ports — speculation not having been so active there during the winter as at Stettin, &c. The stock at that port appears to be in very firm hands, and holders do not seem, to de- spair of an English demand later in the year. The latest quotation from thence for Glilbs. wheat, in good shipping condition, is 39s. 6d. to 40s. per qr., free onboard. Barley had, we are informed, come forward sparingly, and had not been sold below 24s. per qr., free on board. At some of the Ilolstein ports, moderately good qualities of wheat might be bought at about 37s. to 38s. per qr. ; when, however, we add freight and other expenses, it brings the cost considerably above the value of the article here. The ungenial weather — the temperature having been very low on the continent as well as with us — was, it appears, beginning to create uneasiness; and the latest accounts from Hamburg state that holders of wheat had, since the previous post-day, rather raised their pretensions ; fair Wahren, of 61 Jibs, weight, on the spot, was then held at equal to 41 8. 6d. per qr., free on board. Danish barley THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 477 was quoted 25s. Qd. to 26s. 3cL ; and oats, weigh- ing 38lbs, per bushel, l6s. 9d. to 17s. 6d, per qr., free on board. In most of the Dutch markets, prices of wheat and rye receded materially in the early part of the month, owin^^r to a cessation of demand from the interior of Germany. Subsequenth', business im- proved, but only a portion of the fall was recovered. In France, the tendency of prices has, on the whole, been downwards, but it would not pay to im- port either wheat or flour from thence. From the Mediterranean ports, we have nothing fresh to communicate. Polish Odessa wheat was, according to the most recent accounts from thence, still worth 32s. up to 35s. per qr., free on board, according to quality, port, &c. At Odessa, the de- mand for wheat had, we learn, slackened ; the best qualities were quoted 31s. to 31s. 8d.; and inferior to good, 23s. 8d. up to 30s. per qr., free on board. The stock was estimated at about 70,000 qrs. By the most recent advices from the United States, we learn that the supplies of flour had quite kept pace with the demand, and, though rather im- portant purchases had from time to time been made for Great Britain, the tendency of prices had been downwards at all the principal j^orts. CURRENCY PER IMPERIAL MEASURE. S^iUiiJtJ^s per Quarter WH'SAT.Essex and Kent, white 41 to 43 fineup to 51 Ditto ditto old ..41 45 „ 51 Ditto ditto red, new. .. . S9 41 „ 43 Ditto ditto Old .... 39 41 „ 44 Norfolk, Lincoln, & Yorksh., red. . 40 42 „ 43 Ditto ditto old, none „ — Ditto ditto white new 42 44 „ 46 Ditto ditto old, none „ — Bakley, malting, new 28 32 Chevalier 32 34 Distilling 26 29 Grinding 26 28 Malt. Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk, new 53 55 extra 60 Ditto ditto old 45 48 „ 51 KiiiK^ton.Ware.and townmade,new60 61 „ 64 Ditto ditto old 50 53 „ 55 Irish feed, white 19 20 fine 22 Ditto, black 18 19 fine 21 Oats, Eiiplish feed 19 20 fine 22 Ditto Potato 21 24 extra 26 Scotch feed = . . . , 21 23 fine 25 Ditto Potato 23 25 fine 26 Kyk 26 28 old 26 28 Bbans, Mazagan 27 28 „ 27 29 Ticks 26 28 „ 28 32 Harrow 29 30 „ 30 32 Pigeon. 32 34 „ 32 34 Peas, white boilers 34 35 „ 32 35 Maple SO 31 „ 30 32 Grey 29 30 „ 29 31 Flour, town made, per ?ack of 280 lbs. — — „ 35 40 Country Households — — „ 33 35 Norfolk and Suffolk, ex-ship — — „ 29 32 FOREIGN GRAIN. Wheat, Dantzic, mixed. . 42 to44 high mixed 46 43 extra54 Koiiisrsberg 42 44 „ 45 46 „ 48 Rostock, new 41 42 fine old 44 46 „ 48 Pomera.,Meckbg.,andUckermk.,red 40 41 extra 43 46 Bilesian „ 40 41white43 45 SliUlings per Quarter Barley, grinding 26 28 Distilling 28 29 Malting none — — Oats, Dutch, brew, and Polands 20 22 Feed 18 19 Danish and Swedish feed 19 22 Strilsund 20 22 Russian 20 21 French 19 20 Beans, Friesland and Holstein 26 23 Konigsberg 30 32 Peas, feeding . 28 30 fine boilers 32 34 Indian Corn, white 28 29 yellow 28 29 Flour, French, per sack . . , 28 32 fine 33 35 American, sour per barrel 20 21 sweet 22 24 IMPERIAL AVERAGES. For the last Stx Weeks. Week Ending : March 20, 1852.. March27.l852.. April 3,1852.. ApnllO, 1852.. April 17.1852.. April 24, 1852.. Ai!gregate average of last six weeks 41 Comparative avge. s.'.me time last year 33 DlTTES ... Wheat. Barley. Oats. R.V e. IJeaii.^ a. d. s. J. s. d. s. -1. s. d 42 8 30 3 19 9 31 11 30 4 42 2 30 2 19 6 30 5 30 3 41 7 29 9 19 4 i2 3 30 0 41 4 29 4 19 7 32 8 29 11 40 10 29 1 19 4 33 6 29 10 40 4 27 8 19 3 31 7 30 3 41 6 29 4 19 6 32 1 30 1 33 7 23 11 17 2 24 5 26 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 Peas. a. '1. 29 10 .'9 8 29 7 9 2 29 U 30 2 29 d 25 3 1 0 COMPARATIVE PRICES AND QUANTl'l'lES OF CORN. Averages from last Friday's Averages from the eorrespond* Gazette. Av. ing Gazelle in 1851 Av. Qrs. B. d. Qrs. B. d. Wheat . 71,027 . . 40 4 ■WTieat .. 72.383 .. 39 3 Barley. . .. 25,221 . . 27 8 Barley.... 26,370 .. 24 4 Oats . . .. 16,667 . . 19 3 Oats .... 15,939 .. 17 10 Rye 100 . . 31 7 Rye 210 .. 24 2 Beans . . .. 4,806 . , 30 3 fieans .... 4,908 . . 26 9 Peas .. 574 . . 30 2 Peas 521 .. 25 S DIAGRAM SHOWING THE FLUCTUATIONS IN THE AVERAGE PRICE OF WHEAT during the six WEEKS E.VDING APRIL 21, 1852. Price. March 20 423. till. "7\ 4v!s. 2d. 41s. 7d. 4:s. 4d. 4i:s. IG.I. 406. 4d. llarch -^7 April 3 April 10. April 17. "~ri 1 PRICES OF SEEDS. BRITISH SEEDS. Linseed (per qr.j. . sowing 58s. to tiOi. ; crushing 45s. to 43s, Linseed Cakes (per ton) £8 Os. to £8 Ifla, CoA Grass (per qr.) COs. to 703. Trefoil (per cwt.) 21s. to 26s. Rapeseed, (per last) new £21 to £23 old JL21 to i22 Ditto Cake (per ton) £4 5s. to £4 lOa. Mustard (per bushel) white Ss. to 63. ; . . brown, 73. to 98. Coriander (per cwt,^ new 17s. to 19s., old 15s. to I63. Canary (per qr.) new 373. tc 399. ; old 383. to 398. Taies, Winter, per bush., 4s. 6J. to 53. ; Spring, 43. 6d to 5s, Cavraway (per cwt.) new, 33s. to 343. ; fine 363. Turnip, white (per bush.). . 8s. to lis.; do. Swede. lOs. to 128. Oloverseed, (per cwt.).. ..red 408. to 543.. fine 543. to 568. FOREIGN SEEDS, &c. Clover, red (duty Ss.per cwt.) per cwt. 44s. to 503,, super. 5''?. Ditto, white (duty 5s. per cwt.) per cwt 40s. to 58s, Linseed (per qr.) . . Baltic 443. to 473.; Odessa, 46s. to 4 8s, Linseed Cake (per ton) £7 lOs. to £9 Os. Rape Cake (per ton) £4 5s. to £4 ] Os. Hempseed, small, (per qr.) 323. to 343., Do. Dutch, 363. to 37s, Tares, (per qr.) small 323. to 363., large 36s. to 408. Rye Grass (per qr.) 28s. to 35s. Coriander (per cwt) 15s. to 16a, 478 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. HOP MARKET. BOROUGH, Monday, April 26. The best descriptions of old Hops continue to find purchasers at about last week's rates. In other sorts there is not much business doing. Per cwt. Mid and East Kent 140s. to 250s. Weald of Kent do 126s. to 145s. Sussex pockets 108s. to 126s. WORCESTER, (Saturday last.)— We have more Hops offering from planters than for some weeks past, which are freely taken by the trade at about former rates. Fiae old ones are more inquired for at full prices. COVENT GARDEN MARKET. Thursday, April 29. FRUITS. s. d. s. d. Pine-apples,Euglish,per lb 4 0 to 8 0 Hothouse Grapes, do 12 0 18 0 Lisbon Grapes 20 26 Apple8, per bushel 20 36 Pears (dessert), per dozen 20 60 Strawberries, per oz 06 16 Cobnuts, per 100 lbs 0 0 lOU 0 Lemons, per dozeu 10 20 Oranges, per 100 4 0 12 0 Alaionds,perpeck 0 0 5 0 Spanish Nuts, do 40 50 Spanish Chesuuts, do 30 50 Brazil Nuts, per bushel 12 0 14 0 Barcelona Nuts, do 20 0 22 0 VEGETABLES. Rhubarb, per bundle 03 09 Horseradish, per bundle 10 40 Asparagus, do 30 90 Mushrooms, per pottle 08 10 Parsley, per dozen bunches 2 0 3 0 Spinach, per sieve 10 16 Greens per dozen bunches 26 39 French Beans, per 100 16 2 0 Savovs, per dozen 0 10 18 Red Cabbages, do 2 0 4 0 RedBeet,do 10 20 Sage, per dozen bunches 1 0 16 Watercress, per dozen bunches 0 6 0 0 Mint, do 16 20 Turnips, per dozen bunches 2 6 3 6 Carrots, do 4 0 7 0 Potatoes, English, per ton .. .. ., . . 50 0 90 0 „ per cwt 20 50 „ Cornwall, new, per lb OH 0 2i Sorrel, per half sieve 13 16 Shallots, per lb 0 8 0 lO Onions, per half sieve .. 0 2 0 4 Celery, per bundle 06 16 Marjoram, do 03 04 Fennel, do 02 03 Savory, do 02 03 Thyme,do 0 2 0 3 Garlic, per lb 08 lO Leeks, per bunch 02 03 Radishes, per dozeu hands 0 6 0 lO Brussels Sprouts, per half sieve 10 1 6 Broccoli, per bundle 05 lO Parsnips, per dozen 04 lO Sea Kail, per basket 09 20 Endive, per score 09 l6 Jerusalem Artichokes, per half sieve . . . . 0 9 1 0 Cucumbers, each 06 26 HAY MARKETS. Thursday, April 29. At per load of 36 trusses. Smithfield. Cumberland. Whltcchapel. 603.to80s. 65s.to843. 603.to803. 75s. 903. 723. 86s. 703. 94s. POTATO MARKET. SOUTHWARK, Waterside, April 26. During the past week the supply, both coastwise and by rail, has been mederate ; and our trade continues languid, except for best samples of Regents. The fol- lowing are this day's quotations — Per Ton. "York Regents SOs. to OOs. Scotch do 708. to SOs. Fifeshire Cups SOs. to 55s. Kent and Essex 70s. to SOs. Cambridge and Wisbeach 65s. to 703. COUNTRY POTATO MARKETS. — Manchester, Tuesday.— Potatoes, 5s. 6d. to Os. 6d. per 2521bs. Shef- field, Tuesday. — Ss. 6d. to 63. 6d. per 18 stone. Leeds, April 20. — There was only a moderate supply ; prices, from 6^d. to 7^d. per score of 211b3. PRICES OF BUTTER, CHEESE, HAMS, &c. Friesland, per cwt, Kiel Dorset new Carlow old Waterford .... „ Cork „ Limerick .... „ Sligo „ FreshButter,perdoz. Cheshire Cheese, per cwt., Chedder do 8. S. 80 to 84 50 70 56 68 Double Gloucester, per cwt 46 to 56 Single do 42 48 York Ilaras CO 66 Westmoreland do. 60 66 Irish do 52 f.8 American do 28 36 Wiltshire Bacon, green, 50 54 Waterford Bacon . . 49 51 Hamburgh do 42 48 American — — BELFAST, (Friday last.)— Butter : Shipping price, 743. to 78s. per cwt. ; firkins and crocks, 8d. to S^d. per lb. Bacon, 423. 463.; Hams, prime, 56s. to 60s. ; second quality, 50s. to 52s per cwt. ; mess Pork, 673. 6d. to 70s. per brl.; refined Ame- rican Lsrd, in bladders, 50s. to 52s.; kegs and firkins, 483.; Irish Lard, in bladders, 523. to 553. ; kegs or firkins, 50s. per cwt. Meidow Hay. Clover Hay . Straw 233. 29a. 26s. 303. 248. SOs. Butter. Bacon. Dried Hams. Mess Pork. April Tier cwt. per cwt. per cwt. per brl. 21. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. 1848 96 0 98 0 58 0 6-2 0 68 0 72 0 80 0 84 0 1849 7lt 0 85 0 48 0 50 0 68 0 75 0 77 6 80 0 185(1 70 0 82 0 38 0 40 0 68 0 70 0 76 0 77 0 1851 8G 0 90 0 4.3 0 41 0 60 0 62 0 60 0 62 0 1852 74 0 78 0 4-2 0 46 0 5S 0 60 0 67 6 70 0 Foreign root (d. p.) .£ s. _ Harlingen . . 27 0 28 0 tnglish root (free) Guernsey .. 10 0 10 10 Kent&SuffolIv none. CHICORY. Per ton. £ s. iEn£;lishroot(free)£ s. £ s. York .... 8 10 9 10 Roasted and ground English .. 30 0 40 0 Foreign .. 40 0 50 0 Duty on all Coffee and roasted Chicory imported, 3d. per lb. on Chicory Root £21 per ton. OILS. Linseed, 26s. per cwt. ; Rapeseed, English refined, SOs. ; do. foreign, SOs. 9d. ; brown, 283. 6d. ; GaHpoli, pertun, 44Z.; Spanish, 41?. ; sperm, 85L to 87?. ; do. bagged, 84Z.; South Sea, 33Z.; Seal, pale, 30?.; do., coloured, 30?. 10s.; Cod, 32?. to 33?, ; Pilchard, 28?. to 30?. ; Cocoa Nut, per ton, 38?. to 40?. ; Palm, 29?. 6s. WOOL MARKET. BRITISH. LEEDS, April 23. — There has been rather more inquiry for combing wools this week, for the immediate wants of the manufacturers, and the sales effected are at last week's rates. LIVERPOOL, April 24. Scotch. — There is no improvement to notice in the demand for Laid Highland Wool : consumers only take for immediate wants at late rate s. White is scarce, and inquired for ; Crossed and Ciieviot are still only in sluggish demand at moderate prices. Printed by Rogerson and Tuxford., 246, Strand, London. THE FAEMEK'S MAGAZIT^E. JUNE, 1S52, PLATE I. A NORTH DEVON OX. The subject of our first plate, a North Devon Ox, the property of the Right Hon. the Earl of Leicester, obtained the first prize of Twenty Sovereigns and the Silver Medal in Class 4, at the Smithfield Club Cattle Show in December last. This animal was purchased by Mr. Collingwood, of Lamb's Conduit Street. PLATE II. RUSSBOROUGH. Russborough, bred by Lord Miltown in 1847, was got by Tearaway, out of Cruiskeen, by Sir Hercules ; her dam. Brandy Bet, by Canteen— Biggotinni by Thunderbolt. Tearaway, bred by Mr. Wittle in 1838, was got by Voltaire, out of the Irish Taglioni. At two and three years old he took quite his share of the good things at the Curragh ; while as a stallion. King of Kildare, Dough, The Darter, Tancred, and others, in addition to the Leger horse, already speak to his renown. Cruiskeen, bred by Lord Miltown in 1834, made her name a household word on this side the Channel as a Chester Cup winner; she was yet more fortunate at home, and a terrible teazer for the Royal Plates and most other things worth entering for. The Stud Book reports her as having thrown two colts by Verulam, previous to the first Tearaway Cup, with another colt by the latter, now rising two years old. Cruiskeen died in 1849. Russborough is a dark chesnut horse, standing fifteen bands three inches high ; he has a good, blood-like, lean head, cleanly set into the jowl, with tapering nose and nicely pointed ears ; he has a well- defined neck, beautifully oblique shoulder, good depth of girth, but is a little flat-sided and slack in his back ; he has fine quarters, with very muscular thighs, and excellent hocks and knees, being short from the hock to the ground. Russborough is altogether a " telling looking" horse, of a beautiful colour, and with a very quiet and docile temper, though perhaps the very critical observer may fancy when out he goes a little tender before. It will be gathered from the above pedigree that Russborougb is all through of " Irish extraction," as the Hibernian gentlemen say of themselves when th«y don't wish to be copfounded with their English friends. OLD SERIES.] 3 I No. 6.-V0L XXXVl. 460 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THOUGHTS ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLAX BY J. TOWERS, MEMBER R.A.S., H.S. OF LONDON, ETC. The great and increasing importance of this sub- ject claims of me the following suggestions, and par- ticularly as the discoveries by M. Claussen have rendered it peculiarly interesting to the analytic chemist. Admiring the physical structure and graceful beauty of the plant and its flower, it might be presumption in one not practically experienced in its culture on the farm, to offer any strong opi- nion in this place ; and indeed, after so much has been written therLon, it would be superfluous to add anything to the facts stated before the weekly council of the R. A. S., as published at pages 300 et seq. of the April number of the Farmer's Mag. Flax has been deemed an exhausting crop, one which impoverishes land by rapidly absorbing cer- tain substances which constitute its own peculiar elements. This charge has been repudiated by many trustworthy authorities, to some of which we may refer the readers of the article above alluded to. But what is exhaustion of land, and what its remedy ? And now, so far as the question applies to flax individually, I appeal first to Liebig, the great originator of the present fashionable in- organic theory, in order to ascertain from his book the elements which are found in the ashes of the entire plant — its stem, foliage, and seeds. The total per-centage of these stand at 0.05, or 5 parts only in the 100. One hundred parts of such ash gave, of potass, 0.57, soda 9.82, magnesia 7.79, lime 12.33, phosphoric acid 10.84, sulphuric acid 2.65, sihca or flint 21.35, chloride of potas- sium 5.07. If the analysis be trustworthy, it is evident that phosphoric acid and lime are the ele- ments which the flax plant chiefly attracts from land, and these (for the silica or sand is unworthy of no- tice as being always abundantly present) can be restored by a very moderate dressing of bone phosphate. While admitting this fact, we must not be content to entertain so restricted a view of the whole theory of manuring. Philosophers are but too prone to let one governing idea " take the judgment prisoner;" and thus, I think, the mo- dem doctrine of mineral or inorganic manures has been carried much too far, and by being so uni- versally impressed in the lecture-room, and in the columns of agricultural publications, has tended to mystify and perplex those practical men who have been taught to consider the mixed substances from the fold and farmyard the pabula of vegetable life. It has been shown, on the authority of Liebig, as above — that 100 parts of the entire flax plant yield only 5 parts of mineral ash; thus 95 percent, of organic matter has been dissipated in the form of gas by the agency of fire. A very serious con- sideration this, and one which leads the mind to attach more importance to the organic portions of plants than chemists of the new school are wiUing to allow them to possess. The question of all others that ajjpears most essential is this — if 95 per cent, of organic matter be lost by combustion of the flax plant, by what law of nature have the com- bination of all its elements been effected ? In order to obtam something like a rational answer, let us take a glance at the said elements ; and com- mencing with those of the ash, we find the two mineral alkalies, potash and soda — substances that are not present as such in a soil, and therefore re- quiring for their development a powerful decom- posing force ; magnesia and lime are in the same predicament, and require also specific decomposing agents ; sulphuric and phosphoric acids are soluble in water, but were they ever detected in soils as such, free and uncombined ? Silica, sand, or flint, is perfectly insoluble in the water of a soil, and yet no less than 21 plus per cent, are found in the ash of the flax plant. Chloride of potassium, for- merly known as the salt of Silvius, must be the product of refined disturbing forces. The organic elements — those which form the living and growing structure of every vegetable — are found to consist, or properly speaking, to develop the elements called oxygen, hydrogen, carbonic acid, and occasionally nitrogen. Hence, in dung-mixens a fermentation takes place, which gradually pro- gresses till the whole heap is finally reduced to a comparatively small bulk of the vegetable earth called humus ; while, during this progress, are evolved ammoniacal gas, in consequence of the union of three volumes of hydrogen with one volume of azote (nitrogen), carbonic acid, and cer- tain hydro-carbon gases. But this fermentation and all its products are effects resulting from some undiscerned, but powerful agent. It is customary to refer the phenomena of fermentation, decom- position, and combinations, to chemical action; but what is chemical action itself but an effect pro- duced by the play of elementary electric affinities ? If in lieu of placing farm and stable manure in masses, they be deposited deeply in the ground, the same fermentation, &c., will be established, though with less rapidity, and the earth will be en- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 4BI rjched with humic matter. Here, at this point, we come again in contact with Dr. Liebig, who says, that "humus is soluble only when combined Avith oxygen ; it can be taken up by water, therefore, only as carbonic acid. When moisture is absent, humus may be jireserved for centuries ; but when moistened with water, it converts the surrounding oxygen into carbonic acid" [Chemistnj, 4th ed., p. ^Q). Again — " Humus supplies young plants ^^'ith nourishment in the form of carbonic acid, by the roots, until their leaves are matured sufficiently to act as exterior organs of nutrition. Vegetable mould contains invariably carbonate of ammonia, besides the salts and alkalies left behind by the putrefaction of former vegetables " {idem, p. 100) I am not disposed to contest the theory of Liebig, especially because he admits that the carbonic acid derived from humus supplies nourishment to young (seedling) plants by the roots, until the leaves are matured. But the admission that organic matter is decomposed in the soil, and that " its decay proceeds only when plants grow in a soil con- taining it," is quite sufficient for the purpose I have in view, which is to elucidate the operation of manure by referring all its phenomena to the agency of that great principle which is termed electricity. I presume that few persons who are acquainted with Dr. Faraday's researches will be inclined to doubt the universal presence of electricity, or its direct agency in every phenomenon of chemical de- compositions and combinations. That putrescent or organic manures are decomposed is a certain fact; but the vast and comprehensive energy of the great principle is not sufficiently contemplated. As a subject for deep reflection, I suggest that every portion of matter, if in any degree compound, retains its atomic elements in a quiescent state, by a peculiar and specific etherial fluid, so long as they remain undisturbed by the attraction of some other matter which exists or is brought into a disturbing condition, one that by a play of new affinities leads to the production of new compounds. The subject is too immense to admit of much inquiry in a fugi- tive article ; but I venture to hope that some light may dawn therefrom by which the predominate im- portance of organic matter may be shown, its eflft- ciency in producing electro-chemical changes proved, and a veracious theory of fertilization and renovation of soils established. THE BEET ROOT. BY CUTHBERT W. JOHNSON, ESQ., F.R.B. The cultivation of the beet-root, which recently formed the subject of a weekly discussion of the Royal Agricultural Society, is certainly extending in many districts of the United Kingdom. This increasing attention to the growth of mangold- wurzel will, there is little reason to doubt, long continue to produce profitable results. For as the superior advantages of stock farms, in this time of lowering corn markets, are more and more clearly understood, so will more care be bestowed on those root crops which can be profit- ably raised on a different class of soils than those on which the turni,) prospers. A few notices, then, as to the chemical composi- tion and cultivation of the plant may, at this season, be useful to many of my readers ; since the more we understand the nature of the crop, the better shall we be enabled to derive the greatest advantage from its employment. It has been long cultivated in France, Germany, and Switzerland, partly as food for cattle, and partly to be used in distillation, and in the extrac- tion of sugar. L-^ofar back as the year 1811, General Beatson, then Governor of St. Helena, writing to the English Board of Agriculture, and describing the extraordinary produce of some beet plants, the leaves of which had been repeatedly cut to serve as a substitute for spinach, says : — " It certainly pos- sesses advantages over every other plant hitherto introduced in field culture. Its produce is immense ; and I have found it to grow, with considerable luxuriance, upon land where no other vegetation was ever seen. It has also the singular property of being unmolested by the dolphin-fly, which is here extremely destructive to cabbages, turnips, and radishes. I have very often observed, where alternate plants of cabbage and mangold-wurtzel were growing in the same rows, and touching each other, that whilst the former were al'solutely anni- hilated by the destructive insect, not one was to be seen on the mangold-wurtzel leaves.'" — {Com. to Board of Ayr. vol. vii. p. 241). During tlie wars of the French revolution, the high price which colonial sugar obtained on the continent induced the manufacture of sugar in large quantities from beet-root. This has become so large in France, that, since the restoration of peace, the French Government have felt compelled to protect the beet-root sugar makers by the impo- sition of prohibitory duties on colonial sugars. Some years since, the manufacture of sugar from beet-root began to be at'cmpted, and not without 482 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. success, in England. The absence of any excise duties, and an existing considerable import duty on colonial sugars, .seemed to ofl'er a kind of premium to the English makeis. The government naturally took the alarm; a revenue on imported sugars, which in 1850 yielded about £4,130,000, could not oe allowed to be endangered. Parliament therefore interfered; and by the 1st Vict. c. 57(1837), adutyof 24s. per cwt. was imposed on all sugar made from beet-roots in the United Kingdom. The manufac- ture was placed under the management of the com- missioners of excise, and the entire process must now be carried on under the regular survey of their officers. Four hours' notice must be given before any maker can begin to rasp, or grind, or mash any beet-root for the purpose of sugar- making, and other restrictions are directed. In 1840— by the 3rd and 4th Vict., c. 57— the same duty was imposed upon sugar made from potatoes, rice, and other materials, in the United Kingdom. In 1845, however, by the 8th Vict. c. 1 3, the amount of this duty was reduced to 14s. As I have in the Fanner^ s Almanac had occa- sion to remark, from the beginning of April till the middle of May is a good time for sowing man- gold-wurzel. " Its different varieties," observes Mr. R. Pringell, of Strangford {Trans. High. Soc, 1850, p. 178), " are the long red, the orange globe, and the red globe ; the former thrives best in deep soils, and the latter or globe varieties on such as are of a hghter nature. In procuring seed, care must be taken that the seed of the common garden beet-root is not used, instead of the larger field variety. It is necessary to steep the seed for at least 48 hours before they are sown ; if this is omitted, the seed will lie for a considerable time before it vegetates. Five or six pounds are re- quu-ed for an acre. As a food this root has consi- derable advantages ; it does not impart a flavour to milk, and for fattening cattle it is at least as pro- ductive of beef as an equal weight of Swedish tur- nips." " The great advantage of beet over other roots," observes Mr. G. E. Raynbird {Jour. Roy. Ag. Soc. vol. vii., p. 222), "is the ease with which it may be kept in a sound state throughout the winter and spring, and even through the summer. It is suited to strong land, where the turnip will not succeed." I quite agree with Mr. Hugh Raynbird ( 7V««s. Bighl. Soc, 1851, p. 534) in his observations upon the value of the field beet. In the eastern counties of England it flourishes well upon the well-manured retentive soils, having a clay subsoil, as well as upon the highly farmed, light, sandy, and gravelly loams. It flourishes also upon the peat soils of the Fens of Cambridgeshire. It does not answer so well upon poor thin clays : upon alluvial soils, on the banks of river.-i, and in nutritime situations, it flourishes well. The presence in its mineral ingredients of a large portion of common salt (about Sjper cent.) will account for its love of the sea breezes. The root of the mangold wurzel was examined by Professor J. F.Johnston; he found in 100 parts of three varieties {Quar. Jour. Ag., 1847, p: 605) — Water Gum Sugar Casein Albumen Fibre, Pectic acid,&c. Long Short Orange red. red. Globe. 85-11 84-68 86-52 0-67 0-50 0-13 979 11-96 10-24 0'39 0-26 0-33 009 0-18 0-03 3-08 3-31 2-45 Professor Way ascertained the average amount of the mineral matters contained in one ton of the bulbs of the turnip, mangold-wurzel, and carrot to be in lbs. {Jour. Roy. Ag. Soc, vol. viii., p. 199.)— __ Carrot. Silica Phosphoric Acid. Sulphuric Acid . Lime Magnesia Peroxide of Iron. Potash Soda Common Salt. . . Turnip. Mangel. 0-34 0-54 1-77 0-66 2.33 0-65 1-76 0-41 0-47 0-43 0-07 0-12 6-07 4-99 1-46 3-62 1-49 5-29 0-24 1-73 1-31 1-77 0-80 0-22 6-59 2-71 1-42 Salt abounds even in its seeds. Mr. Way {Jour. Roy. Ag. Soc, vol. xi., p. 516) has given the analysis of 100 parts of the ashes of the^seeds (I.) of mangold wurzel, (II.) of turnip, ( III.) ^of carrot seeds — Ash per cent, in Seeds. I. 5-83 n. 3-67 in. 8-73 Sihca Phosphoric acid .... Sulphuric acid .... Carbonic acid Lime 1-86 13-35 3-64 13-85 13-42 15-22 0-40 16-08 6-86 15-30 0-67 40-17 7-10 0-82 17'40 874 1-95 21-91 1-23 4'50 13-38 4-80 15-30 32-96 5-70 0-84 16-21 Magnesia Peroxide of iron .... Potash Soda 1-23 Common salt 5-24 " The two great properties," continues Mr. Rayn- bird, " which recommend the beet as a field crop, are, that it will succeed upon soils too heavy and retentive for the turnip, and that its early maturity and the absolute necessity for its early removal from the soil, to be stored for use, render it a better pre- paration than the turnip upon those soils for the following grain crop. Another recommendation is that it improves by storing, and that it does not THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 483 come to its full perfection for feeding until late in the season : when turnips and swedes are either consumed or become unpalatable and almost use- less for fatting cattle, the beet root has arrived at its greatest perfection. Some of the most expe- rienced graziers in the eastern counties use white turnips till Christmas, then swedes till February or March, keeping the mangold in reserve for feed- ing in March, April, or May ; indeed we have fre- quently reserved mangold for beasts as late as July. In spring our fatting sheep have mangold cut for them when feeding off clover and rye-grass, and the box-fed beasts have a supply in the same manner, in addition to grass, clover, or tares, which are daily brought to them from the field." The plan recommended by Mr. Raynbird, on free-working soils, is the ridge, or common drill system. Farm- yard manure, and 1 or 2 cwt. per acre of guano, or superphosphate of lime, sown broad-cast, previously to splitting the drills, upon the dung, the seed drilled about 4lbs. in April or May, covered in rather deeper than turnip seed, by a small roller following the drill : the plants set out by the hoe rather wider than for turnips. Gaps may be filled up with transplanted cabbages or swedes. The roots should be stored before the frost sets in, and in dry weather, in October or early in November. The average cost of cultivation is thus given by Mr. Ravnbird — £ 8. d. Rent and charges upon land 115 0 Cleaning, harrowing, &c 0 15 0 Three ploughings 1 4 0 Ridf^ing 0 4 0 Drilling and rolling , 0 1 6 Carting and spreading manure 0 8 0 Hand hoeing 0 7 6 Horse hoeing three times 0 6 0 Storing the crop 1 0 0 12 loads of farm-yard dung, at 53 3 0 0 H cwt. of guano 0 15 0 4lbs. ofseed 0 4 0 Per acre . 10 0 o PRODUCK PEK ACRE. 20 tons of roots, at 12s £12 0 0 Value of leaves 1 0 0 £13 0 0 In 1851, two eminent French chemists, MM. Payen and Richard, thus give the results of the most recent experience of the French farmers as to the cultivation of beet-root — for the food of stock and for the manufacture of sugar. The breadth of its cultivation in France is 142,500 English acres, being much less than that of the potato. The departments in which beet culture is carried on to the greatest extent are those of the north, of the Pas-de-Calais, of the Somme, of the Aisne, &c., which furnish the greater part of the roots required for the sugar manufactories. The following are its principal varieties: — 1. Field- Beet : long, rose-colour, growing above the earth ; fleshy part veined with rose-colour. It offers two sub-varieties : the one flat-bulbed, short, and half sunk into the earth ; the other long, and growing more above the ground. This variety of beet con- tains in general less nutritive principles than -the other varieties, and especially less saccharine matter. In deep, wet, land, the crop is very abundant ; it cjin therefore be only grown as food for cattle. A sub-variety has, however, been found by M. Payen and M. Vilmorin to yield greater proportions of sugar and and other proximate principles than even white varieties grown on the same soil. 2. The Sugar Beet : white, short, growing in the earth ; flesh white. Two sub-varieties have been distin- guished ; the one with the neck green, is the Sile- sian beet ; the other, with the neck of a rose colour, is in general richer in sugar. 3. The Yellow Ger- man Beet : long, yellow, grows above ground ; flesh white, or lightly veined with yellow. 4. The Yellow Globe Beet : round shape, growing almost com- pletely out of the earth ; flesh white, or lightly veined with yellow ; contains only a small propor- tion of sugar. 5. White-Yellow Beet: middle length, grows in the earth, flesh white, skin of a pale yellow colour. 6. The Long or Great Yellow Beet of Castelnaudary : long, grows much out of the ground ; flesh and leaf-stalks deep yellow. This is the variety especially cultivated in the neighbourhood of Paris. 7. The Great Red Beet: long, grows much out of the soil ; flesh and leaf- stalks red. In general, even for the food of animals, we should less consider the bulb of the roots, or even the quantity of their produce, than the amount of nutritive matter they contain. There is obviously every advantage in cultivating a variety which in the same bulb will contain more nutritive princi- ples. On this account the generality of farmers agree in giving the preference to the Silesian beet, which contains more sugar and less foreign matters than the field-beet; and has also the great advan- tage of being one of those varieties that best resist the action of frost. If all rearers of stock are agreed as to the nutritive qualities of the beet, they are not equally so as to the influence it exercises on the production of milk in dairy cows. According to some authors, beet favours the secretion of milk ; while others, on the contrary, think that it is very unfavourable for that purpose. Schwerz consi- dered that feeding for two days only on this root was s ifficient to diminish the amount of milk in a very striking degree. It maintained animals in flesh and good condition, a circumstance highly favourable in severe seasons. Potatoes and turnips 484 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. forced the milk, and beet the flesh ; the latter being more favourable for fattening stock than potatoes and raw turnips are. This opinion on the but little favourable influence of beet on lactation is not par- ticipated in by all farmers. The Baron Crud re- marks : — "After an experiment which I have con- ducted with the greatest care, and after the infer- ences which I have deduced from the results I have obfained in the employment of this root for the food of cattle, and particularly for that of dairy stock, I consider it to be wholesome, fattening, and milk- secreting ; the milk given by the cows, partly fed upon it, being of an agreeable taste and flavour." We might here cite other parties in favour of the milk-yielding properties of the beet, of whose roots the rearers of stock, who may be regarded as ex- cellent judges on this point, require an enormous supply for consumption by the dairy-stock which they rear. Horses in particular appear to be the animals to which the diet of the beet is most favourable. There are districts, as in the Palatinate for instance, where the horses fed almost exclu- sively on this root during seven or eight months of the year, and are maintained by it in a perfect con- dition even while employed in the roughest kind of work." Upon the whole, then, there is, 1 think, every reason to induce the extensive cultivation of the beet root as food for stock. There is not, per- haps, so much encouragement to regard it for the sugar which it is capable of yielding; since, in this age of non-protection, the government rather dis- courage than otherwise the manufacture of home- grown sugar. That beet-root may be made into beer, and into wine, is generally known ; for which purpose, as long as it is not made in quantities larger than is sufficient for the domestic use of the maker's family, there is no danger of the inter- ference of the Excise. The hearth of an EngUsh- man has fortunately been long sacredly preserved from the visits of the exciseman ; and this state of freedom from his surveillance will ever, I trust, attend the difficult, but still free, operations of the EngUsh farmer. THE SCIENCE OF MANURING. BY THOS. ROWLANDSON, C.E., F.G.8. It will be well, prior to entering into a disserta- tion on manures, to take a brief review of the opinions, past and present, which have more or less been held on the actions of those substances which, when apphed by the husbandman to the soil in order to induce extra fertility, are known under the generic name of manures ; in doing so it will not be out of place to notice briefly their his- torical progress, as well as the physiological cir- cumstances attendant on their use, and other natural phenomena connected therewith, previously to entering on a more detailed explanation under separate heads. Although we have no historical account as to when or how extraneous substances were first used in order to induce greater or renew the fertility of soils, it may fairly be supposed that the excrements of domestic animals were first app'ied to that pur- pose ; the fact of a greater luxuriance of herbage being invariably found surrounding the spots occu- pied by the droppmgs of animals, would naturally be suggestive of their use on tillage lands, espe- cially when such became exhausted by repeated cropping (the most probable routine) in primitive arable husbandry. It may be questionable whether irrigation or manure, in the common acceptation of the word, was first used as a fertihzer in eastern aad warmer climates; natural causes, moisture, and cold, would long retard the introduction of the former mode of manuring into northern and colder countries. The greater exuberance of vegetation developed in the vicinity of springs or rills of water in tropical countries would naturally be suggestive of the utility of water as a fertilizer whenever hus- bandry had advanced so far with the eastern nations as to render arable cultivalion an object of attention in conjunction with their prior and more primitive pastoral employment. Tha non-necesMty for housing domestic animals throughout the greater part, if not the whole of the year, in warm countries, would at the same time prevent that accumulation of litter and excrements which are constantly found in and about the buildings erected by the northern farmer to protect his stock from the severity of the winter's blast ; in the latter case such accumulations would gradually become a nuisance, and might pro- bably, as in the virgin soils of America, be carried away to pollute the nearest stream, instead of being applied to its legitimate purpose, viz., the fertilization of the soil. The primative practice in tillage was, and is still, in rude countries the same as that adopted at the present day in the more backward distiicts of our own country, viz., breaking up old grass land and drawing crops therefrom until it ceased to repay the husbandman for the labour and seed expended. Such a practice is still to be found itt THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 485 Wales, the west of England, Ireland, the Highland crofters, and, I am sorry to add, often to be met with in counties whose general character for farming is of higher standing in public estimation than the more backward districts here pointed out by name. Ac- cident, or probably, as previously noticed, observa- tion on the effects produced on herbage by the droppings of cattle, would probably be first sug- gestive of the use of the manure heaps for the re- storation of fertility to an exhausted soil ; in a primitive state of society the use of such heaps would be more or less modified, according to cir- cumstances. If the homestead was situated amidst a great extent of virgin land of convenient access and easy tillage, it is most probable that the farmer would prefer, as the easiest mode of obtaining a crop, to break up new land rather than be at the trouble of restoring fertility to a previously ex- hausted field by the laborious process of carting thereon his manure heap. Wherever only. a small amount of arable land was at the farmer's disposal in his immediate vicinity, the use of his manure heap would sooner or later be enforced upon him ; for, even if he had a considerable quantity of arable soil at his disposal but situated at a distance, it would then only become a matter of calculation whether it took a greater amount of labour to draw the crop from a remote part, or to expend the same in spread- ing out the manure heap on his nearer but exhausted fields. With the wants of an increasing population, the manure heap would be more carefully attended to, and in the course of time, from its inadequacy in maintaining arable lands in constant fertility, there gradually became superadded thereto the use of certain earths and minerals, such as lime, marl, &c., the use of which is extremely ancient. Reasons will be subsequently given to show that it is very probable that the recently discovered phosphorite strata of the green-sand formation was used by British farmers whilst the Romans were in posses- sion of the country. Farm-yard manure, including urine, marl, chalk, and Hme, were the only substances used as manures up to a very recent • period. The introduction of bones not being a century old, whilst they can scarcely be said to have come into general use more than thirty years ; with advancing chemical know- ledge, added to the high price which bones at one time obtained, a mode of economising them was, and has since been, extensively and advantageously adopted, viz., by partially dissolving them in muriatic or sulphuric acid, and known generally under the denomination of superphosphate of lime. At a sub- sequent period the nature of the advantages derived from dissolving bones in acid will be taken into consideration. Almost concurrently with the in- fpoduction of the use of bones into husbandry, saltpetre, as a top-dressing, became prevalent, but has been for some time, without any good reason being assigned for its discontinuance, fallen some- what into desuetude ; probably the true reason is to be found in the fact, that nitrate of soda, from its cheapness, became substituted for nitrate of potash (saltpetre). Within a very few years guano, or the dried excrements of tropical marine birds, obtained from islands on the coast of Peru, Chili, Patagonia, &c., has become extensively im- ported as a manure, so much so that the annual importation now exceeds 100,000 tons; added to which there are sold about 100,000 tons of a spuri- ous substance, manufactured for the purpose of vending in imitation of, or mixing with, the genuine article. As three hundred weights are generally ap- phed to the acre, it is not an unfair calculation to assume that upwards of a million acres of land in the United Kingdom are annually dressed with real, mixed, or spurious guano, for which the agricultural community pay not less than one mil- hon and a half sterling per annum, and probably half a million more for bones, superphosphate of lime, various manufactured and mixed manures, to- gether with salts of ammonia prepared from the liquor obtained from the gasworks ; from the latter sources perhaps a quarter of a million of acres of land are annually manured. Nightsoil from towns has been wholly left out of the preceding calcu- lation, though it is to be hoped that at no very dis- tant period that substance, as well as the sewage of all large towns, will be profitably applied to pur- poses of husbandry, instead of, as at present, pol- luting our streams, and making them a constant re- ceptacle of filth ; thus perverting rivers, intended by nature to assist in renewing a fresh and in- vigorating atmosphere to our close and pent-up towns, into sources of disease, and disseminators of pestiferous miasma. That the sewage-water of towns could be most profitably used for purposes of husbandry has long been the opinion of the writer. In advocating the subject some years ago the difficulty occurred to him, how far, if the sewage water of our large towns were applied to irrigating purposes, would the salubrity of the sur- rounding country be affected ; would it be calcu- lated to engender a miasmatic influence similar to that found in " the Campagna," on the banks of the Po, in Italy, the low, swampy ground about the mouths of the Nigra, in Africa, and other marsh lands in tropical countries ? That we are not in this country likely to be attacked with such terrible fevers from living near marsh lands, where vegetable matter is undergoing decomposition, as prevail in warmer chmates, I am prepared to admit ; but that we are entirely free from such attacks, though, in a much more modified form, is disproved 480 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. by the exibtence of agues in the fens of our eastern counties. It may be asserted that drainage has greatly lessened the frequency and intensity of agues in those counties where it formerly existed ; and that, therefore, a perfect system of drainage, carried on in connexion with irrigation by means of sewage water, would be free from noxious influences. Such reasoning might probably be found correct liacUwe only to do with ordinary vegetable matters, such as are held in solution, suspension, or carried down with the water which finds its way into low, marshy districts. Of a much more complex na- ture are the matters carried off in the sewage water of towns, containing as it does so large an amount of animal and vegetable matters, more or less in a state of decomposition. Could it, however, be ca- pable of proof (which I much doubt) that, on the score of health, sewage water may be used with impunity, there would still remain the serious drawback of its offensiveness to the olfactory organs — an objection which alone would, in a great majority of cases, entirely prevent its use. It would, therefore, be a great desideratum if some means could be devised by which sewage water could be rendered free from offensive smell both during and after use, and also innoxious in a sa- natory point. That there are many deodorizing and disinfecting substances that will accomplish these ends, I am quite aware, several of which are patented. To all practical purposes they are, how- ever, useless, in consequence of their high price. What is wanted is something that will cost only a small sum, be a perfect disinfectant and deodorant, and, at the same time, will not be detrimental, but, if possible, add to the fertihzing properties of the fluids, &c., to which it is applied.* Seeing that, when a plant was burned in a close vessel, the great bulk of the residue left consisted of carbon, it was by no means an unnatural in- ference to conclude that, by some unknown means, the growth of plants was aided by absorption of the carbonaceous parts of pre-existing plants, held in solution whilst in a state of decay ; and although it was known that pure charcoal was insoluble, yet it was found that certain black-coloured substances, principally composed of carbon, existed in soils which, though insoluble of themselves, were so- luble in alkalis, in which soluble form the carbon was supposed to be absorbed through the spon- gioles of the roots, and subsequently became assi- milated into the vegetable organism. These car- bonaceous substances in soils, which were found * Pxperiments making by Mr. Mechi and others in sub-irrigation, and the important investigations of Professor Way on the absortive power of soils, will probably soon lead to results of a practical character. to be soluble in alkalis, were known under the varied titles of humus, humic acid, geine, geic acid, apotheme, crenic acid, &c.. &c. The striking action of lime on soils abounding in decayed and decaying vegetable substances, such as peat, &c., was constantly referred to the circumstance that the lime combined with the insoluble vegetable substances in the soil, thus rendering them soluble, and, consequently, into the most favourable condi- tion for absorption by plants. No theory, however, was ever raised on so baseless a foundation. If this theory had been correct, all soils abounding in vegetable matter such as described ought to have been of inexhaustible fertility ; yet in practice this is not found to be the case. It is true, the friends of the humus theory may state that, in order to convert inert vegetable substances in soils into an active state — in other words, to produce fertility — some alkali must be present to render the otherwise inert carbonaceous matter soluble. Conceding, for argument, the justness of this conclusion, it must be clear that, if this were the true theory of the mode by which plants are fed, it ought to be found, as a natural sequence, that a fresh application of lime on a vegetable soil should be succeeded by a luxuriant crop, in consequence of the supposed ad- ditional solubility of the vegetable substances existing therein, when that alkali was present in abundance ; yet such is found by experience not to be the fact : for, although it is well known that excellent crops are frequently obtained by a first liming from soils abounding in vegetable matter, more particularly if at the same time the surface has been pared and burned, a second liming im- mediately succeeding the first is not attended with any striking fertilizing effects, but, on the contrary, presents all the aspects of an ex- hausted, overwrought soil. If this theory was tenable, there exists no rational argument why as good crops should not be obtained at the second application of hme as by the first, as will be shown when I come to the consideration of the use of lime in agriculture. The humus theory is entirely op- posed to facts, as a slight examination would easily have shown. It is well observed by Liebig that, if the humus theory had been correct, bogs and barren morasses ought to form the most fertile soils ; instead of which, they are the most barren, not being capable of yielding a crop of the most ordinary kind, that mil repay cultivation (if we except rye and buckwheat — perhaps also oats), until it has been limed, which converts these so- luble vegetable substances into insoluble com- pounds, in place of soluble ones, as will be shown subsequently. It was originally con- tended by the humus theorists that all the alkalis converted inert and insoluble vegetable sub- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 487 stances in the soil into soluble ones. It may here, however, be mentioned that in this opinion they were widely wrong. In chemistry, potash, soda, lime, and magnesia are termed alkalis ; yet, for the sake of convenience, and also for some general properties connected with each class, the two former substances are more empha- tically termed alkalis, whilst the two latter are classed amongst earths, or as they are sometimes called, alkaline earths. With humic acid, the action of these two sets of alkalis is diametrically opposite. With one set — potash, soda, ammonia, &c. — humic acid forms exceedingly soluble com- pounds, of a deep brown colour ; with the alkaline earths — such as lime, magnesia, barytes, &c. — it forms very insoluble compounds. The absorption of carbon in a soluble form, by means of alkalis, through the roots of plants, is rendered to a great degree improbable. It remains to be shown how the carbon which forms in so eminent a degree the bulk of the solid portions of plants becomes assi- milated. This can only be done by means of the roots and leaves. Plants acquire their food by means of their roots and leaves. Whatever difference of opinions may exist with respect to the relative degree of import- ance played by the respective parts, as regards the absorption and assimilation of the carbonaceous parts of plants, there can only be one with respect 10 the manner in which the inorganic constituents are absorbed — viz., by means of their roots, and that in a soluble form only. The function of the root consists in absorbing water, and soluble substances contained therein, adapted for assimilation by the plant. There can be little doubt but at the same time an equal vo- lume of carbonic acid accompanies the absorption of wa'ter. This water is subsequently drawn through the plant, and exhaled by the leaves ; so that, in a moist soil, and in the presence of sunshine, a constant circulation is kept up from the root to the leaves, during which the living organism of the plant assimilates a portion of the water, carbonic acid, and earthy matter necessary for its full deve- lopment. It is not, however, by means of the whole surface of the root that this absorption of moisture takes place, this office being, perhaps, ex- clusively confined to those delicate terminations termed spongioles ; in order to prove which, Senebier took a radish, and placed it in such a po- sition that the extremity only of the root was plunged in water. It remained fresh for several days. He then bent back the root, so that its ex- tremity was curved up to the leaves. He plunged the bent part in water, after which the plant soon withered, but recovered its former freshness upon relaxing the curvature, and again plunging the ex- tremity of the root into water. It may be well to remark that the delicate terminals of roots termed spongioles contain a greater proportion of azotized matter, as compared with its other solid consti- tuents than any other part of the plant, in conse- quence of which it has been supposed, and pro- bably correctly so, that one of the causes of infertility of bog earth arises from the chemical action which takes place between the humic acid of the soil and the azotized substance of the spongioles, thus in a great degree paralyzing its most important function. As a corroborative proof of such an action taking place, it may be mentioned that, if bones containing gelatine are dissolved in sulphuric or muriatic acid, sufficiently diluted so as not to decompose the gelatine, on de- canting the fluid containing the gelatine into a so- lution of humic acid in an alkali, it will be found that the mixed fluids will become converted into a mass of jelly. By cultivation, the humic acid in bogs is gradually changed into insoluble mould. It was first shown by Priestley that when a branch of a shrub was carefully placed in a pneu- matic glass vessel containing atmospheric air and carbonic acid, that carbonic acid was absorbed by the leaves during the presence of sunshine, whilst at the same time an equal amount of oxygen was evolved. This experiment has been repeatedly performed by many naturalists, and all agree as to the fact, though a difference of opinion exists with regard to the medium by which it is accomplished ; it is, however, generally attributed to the minute pores of the leaf, termed stomates ; there are some, however, who consider that office is performed by the hairs which are found, more or less, to exist on leaves. Many circumstances occur which serve to show that some of the most important functions of vege- table economy are principally dependent on the leaves ; in fact, it may with safety be averred that the development of fresh woody fibre, the fruit, &c., cannot proceed without the aid of leaves ; amongst other examples, it may be stated that if the leaves arc stripped from a plant before the fruit has commenced ripening, the fruit will fall oflT and not ripen ; if a branch be deprived of leaves for a whole summer, it will either die, or not increase in size perceptibly; any increase of size may pro- bably be attributed to the fact that the delicate green bark found on young shoots performs the functions of the leaf in a minor degree ; in this respect some plants, such as many of the cactus tribe, may be termed all leaf, or, at all events, such portions as are above ground, this part of the plant being frequently composed of one continuous mass of green fleshy substance. The general phenomena of the growth of vegetables from the seed to the 488 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. fruit is well described by Professor Lindley, in his excellent work, entitled " The Introduction to Bo- tany," which I shall here take the liberty of ex- tracting at length : — " I. If we place a seed (that of an apple, for in- stance,) in the earth, at the temperature of 32 deg. Fahr., it will remain inactive till it finally decays ; but if it is placed in moist earth, some degrees above 32 deg., and screened from the action of light, its integument gradually imbibes moisture and swells ; the tissue is softened, and acquires the ca- pability of stretching; water is decomposed, and a part of its oxygen, combining with the carbon of the seed, forms carbonic acid, which is expelled; nutritious food for the young plants is prepared by the conversion of starch into sugar;* and the vital action of the embryo commences ; it lengthens downwards by the radicle, and upwards by the coty- ledons,f the former penetrating the soil, the latter elevating themselves above it, acquiring a green colour by the decomposition of the carbonic acid they absorb from the earth and atmosphere, and unfolding in the form of two opposite roundish leaves. This is the first stage of vegetation ; the young plant consists of little more than cellular tissue, only an imperfect development of vascular and fibrous tissue being discoverable, in the form of a sort of cylinder lying just in the centre ; the part within the cylinder at its upper end is now the pith, without it the bark, while the cylinder itself is the preparation for the medullary sheath, and con- sists of vertical tubes passing through and sepa- rated by cellular tissue. "The young root is now lengthening at its point, and absorbing from the earth its nutriment, which passes up to the summit of the plant by the cellular substance, and is in part impelled into the cotyle- dons, where it is aerated and evaporated, but chiefly urged upwards against the growing point or plumule. " 11. Forced upwards by the current of sap, which is continually impelled upwards from the root, the plumale next ascends in the form of a little twig, at the same time sending downwards, in the centre of the radicle, the earliest portion of wood that is deposited, and compeUing the root to emit little ramifications; simultaneously the pro- cess of lignification is going on in all the tissues, by the deposit of a peculiar secretion in layers within the cells and tubes. " Previously to the elongation of the plumule, its point has acquired the rudimentary state of a * It is scarcely to be supposed that the conver- sion of starch into sugar terminates here; it is more probable that the grape sugar thus formed is converted subsequently into carbonic acid. t beed leaves. leaf ; this latter continues to develope as the plu- mule elongates, until, when the first internode of the latter ceases to lengthen, the leaf has actually arrived at its complete formation ; when fully grown, it repeats in a much more perfect manner the functions previously performed by the cotyle- dons ; it aerates the sap that it receives, and returns the superfluous portion of it downwards through the bark to the root, tubular tissue at the same time appears between the medullary sheath and the bark, thus forming the first ligneous stratum, a part of which is incorporated with the bark, the remainder forming wood. " During these operations, while the plumule is ascending, its leaf forming and acting, and the woody matter created by it descending, the cellular tissue of the stem is forming, and expanding hori- zontally, to make room for the new matter forced into it, so that development is going on simulta- neously both in a horizontal and perpendicular di- rection. This process may not inaptly be compared to that of weaving, the warp being the perpendicu- lar, and the waft the horizontal formation. In order to enable the leaf to perform its functions of aeration completely, it is traversed by veins origi- nating in the medullary sheath, and has delicate pores (stomates), which communicate with a highly complex pneumatic system extending to almost every part of the plant. " Simultaneously with the appearance of woody matter, the emission of young roots, and their in- crease by addition to the cellular substance of their points, take jjlace. They thus are made to bear something hke a definite proportion to the leaves they have to support, and with which they must of necessity be in direct communication. " After the production of its first leaf by the plumule, others successively appear in a spiral di- rection around the axis at its growing point, all constructed alike, connected with the stem or axis in the same manner, and performing precisely the same functions as have been just described ; at last the axis ceases to lengthen, the old leaves gra- dually fall off, the new leaves, instead of expanding after their formation, retain their rudimentary con- dition, harden, and fold over one another, so as to be a protection to the delicate point of growth, or, in other words, become the scales of a bud. We have now a shoot with a woody axis, and a distinct pith and bark, and of a more or less conical figure. At the axil of every leaf a new growing point has been generated during the growth of the axis, so that the shoot, when deprived of its leaves, is co- vered from end to end, with little symmetrically arranged projecting bodies, which are the buds. " The cause of the figure of the perfect shoot being conical is, that as the wood originates in thv THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 489 base of the leaves, the lower end of the shoot, which has the greatest number of strata, because it has the greatest number of leaves about it, will be the thickest ; and the upper end, which has had the fewest leaves to distend it by their deposit, will have the least diameter. Thus, that part of the stem which has two leaves above it will have wood formed by two successive deposits, that which has nine leaves above it will have wood formed by nine successive deposits, and so on, while the grow- ing point, as it can have no deposit of matter from above, will have no wood, the extremity being merely covered by the rudiments of leaves hereafter to be developed. " If at this time a cross section be examined, it will be found that the interior is no longer imper- fectly divided into two portions, namely, pith and skin, as it was when first examined in the same way, but that it has distinctly two internal perfect concentric lines, the outer indicating a separation of the bark from the wood, and the inner a separa- tion of the wood from the pith ; the latter, too, which in the first observation was fleshy, and sa- turated with humidity, is become distinctly cellular, and altogether or nearly dry. " III. With the spring of the second year and the return of warm weather vegetation recommences. "The uppermost, and perhaps some of the other, buds which were formed the previous year gradually unfold, and pump up sap from the stock remaining in the store about them ; the place of the sap so removed is instantly supplied by that which is next it, and an impulse is thus given to the fluids from the summit to the root; new sap is absorbed from the earth, and sent upwards through the wood of last year; and the phenomenon called the flow of the sap is fully completed, to continue with greater or less velocity till the return of winter. The growing point lengthens upwards, forming leaves and buds in the same way as the parent shoot; a horizontal increase of the whole of the cellular sys- tem of the stem takes place, and each bud sends down organizable matter vv'ithin the bark and above the wood of the shoot from which it sjirang, thus forming on the one hand a new layer of wood, and on the other a fresh deposit of liber. " In order to facilitate the last operation, the old bark and wood are separated in the spring by the exudation from both of them of the glutinous, shmy substance called cambium, which appears to be expressly intended, in the first instance, to facihtate the development of the subcortecal tubular tissue ; and, in the second place, to assist in generating the cellular tissue by which the hori- zontal dilation of the axis is caused, and which maintains a commuication between the bark and the centre of the stem. This communication has. by the second year, become suflBciently developed to be readily discovered, and is effected by the medullary rays. It will be remembered that there was a time when that which is now bark constituted a homogenous body with the pith ; and that it was after the leaves began to come into action that the separation which now exists between the bark and pith took place. At the time when the latter was indissolubly united they both consisted of cellular tissue, with a few spiral vessels upon the line in- dicative of future separation. When a deposit of wood was formed from above between them, they were not wholly divided the one from the other, but the deposit was effected in such a way as to leave a communication by means of cellular tissue between the bark and the pith ; and, as this forma- tion, or medullary ray is at all times coetaneous with that of the wood, the communication so effec- ted between the pith and bark is quite as perfect at the end of any number of years as it was at the beginning of the first, and so it continues to the end of the growth of the plant. " The sap which is drawn from the earth into circulation by the unfolding leaves is exposed, as in the previous year, to the effect of air and light, is then returned through the petiole* to the stem, and sent downwards through the bark, to be from it either conveyed to the root or distributed hori- zontally by the medullary rays to the centre of the stem. " At the end of the year the same phenomena occur as took place the first season ; wood is gradually deposited by slower degrees, whence the last portion is dens^er than the first, and gives rise to the appearance called the annual zones. The new shoot or shoots are pi'epared for winter, and are again elongated cones, and the original stem has acquired an increase in diameter proportioned to the quantity of new shoots which it produced, new shoots being to it now what young leaves were to it before. " IV. The third year all that took place the year before is repeated ; more roots appear, sap ia again absorbed by the unfolding leaves, and its loss is made good by neu' fluids introduced by the roots and transmitted by the alburnum or wood of the year before ; new wood and liber are formed from matter sent downward by the buds; cambium is exuded ; the horizontal development of cellular tissue is repeated, but more extensively ; wood to- wards the end of the year is formed more slowly, and has a more compact character ; and another ring appears, indicative of this year's increase. " In precisely the same manner as in the second and third years of its existence will the plant con- * The stem of the leaf. 490 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, tinue to vegetate till the period of its decay, each successive year being a repetition of the phenomena of that which preceded it. " V. After a certain number of years the tree arrives at the age of puberty. The period at which this occurs is very uncertain, depending in some measure on adventitious circumstances, but more upon the idiosyncrasy, or penliar constitution, of the individual. About the time when this altera- tion of habit is induced, by the influence of which the sap or blood of the plant is to be partially di- verted from its former course into channels in which its force is to be applied to the production of new individuals rather than to the extension of itself; about this time it will be remarked that certain of the young branches do not lengthen, as had hereto- fore been the wont of others, but assume a new short stunted appearance, probably not growing two inches in the time which had been previously suf- ficient to produDe twenty inches of increase. Of these little stunted branches, called spurs, the terminal bud acquires a swollen appearance, and at length, instead of giving birth to a new shoot, pro- duces from its bosom a cluster of twigs, in the form of pedicles, each terminated by a bud, the leaves of which are modified, for the pmposes of reproduc- tion, grow firmly to each other, assume peculiar forms and colours, and form a fiower, which had been enwrapped and protected from injury during the previous winter by several layers of imperfect leaves, now brought forth as bracts. Sap is impelled into the calyx through the pedicle by gentle degrees, is taken up by it, and exposed by the surface of its tube and segments to air and light; but having very imperfect means of returning, all that cannot be consumed by the calyx is forced onwards into the circulation of the petals, stamens, and pistils. The petals unfold themselves of a dazzHng white, tinged with pink, and expose the stamens ; at the same time the disc changes into a sacharine sub- stance, which is supposed to nourish the stamens and pistil, and give them energy to discharge their functions. " At a fitting time, the stigmatic surface of the pistil being ready to receive the pollen, the latter is cast upon it from the anthers, which have remained near for that particular purpose. When the pollen touches the stigma, the grains adhere by means of its viscid surface, emitting a delicate membraneous tube, which pierces into the stigmatic tissue, lengthens there, and conveys the matter cotitained in the pollen towards the ovules, which the tube finally enters by means of their foramina. " This has no sooner occurred than the petals and stamens fade and fall away, their ephemeral but important functions being accomphshed. The sap which is afterwards impelled through the peduncle can only be disposed of to the calyx and avary, where it lodges. These two swell and form a young fruit, which continues to grow as long aa any new matter of growth is supplied from the parent plant. At this time the surface of the fruit performs the functions of leaves in exposing the juice to light and air. At a subsequent period it ceases to decompose carbonic acid, gains oxygen, loses its green colour, assumes the rich ruddy glow of maturity ; and the peduncle, no longer a passage for fluids, dries up and becomes unequal to supporting the fruit, which at last falls to the earth. Here, if not destroyed by animals, it lies and decays. In the succeeding spring its seeds are stimulated into life, strike root into the mass of decayed matter which surrounds them, and spring forth as new plants, to undergo all the viscissitudes of their parent. " Such are the progressive phenomena in the vegetation, not only of the apple, but of all trees which are natives of northern climates, and of a large part of the herbage of the same countries, modified, of course, by peculiarities of structure and constitution, as in annual and herbaceous plants, and in those the leaves of which are op- posite and not alternate ; but all the more essential circumstances of their growth are the same as those of the apple tree. " In hot latitudes there exists another race of trees, of which palms are the representatives; and in the north there are many herbs in which growth by addition to the outside is wholly departed from, the reverse taking place ; that is to say, their di- ameter increasing by addition to the inside. As the seeds of such plants are formed with only one cotyledon, they are called mono cotyledonous ; and their growth being from the inside, they are also named endogens. In these plants the functions of theleaves,'flowers, and fruit are in no wise diflferent from those ofihe apple; their peculiarity consisting only in the mode of forming their stems." Such are some of the physiological phenomena attending the growth of vegetables ; and it is pre- sumed that the reader will be prepared by the above extract and the preceding observations, to understand that the nutriment of plants can only be conveyed through the roots and leaves, it now remains to be seen whether as much inorganic mat- ter can be conveyed in a soluble state (for all ex- periments show that the spongioles of roots reject everything presented to them in insoluble forms) into plants as are required for their perfect de- velopment. Upwaids of a century ago Hales proved that plants evolved moisture from the leaves, which property has frequently and appropriately been termed " vegetable perspiration." In order fully THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 491 to satisfy himself on this subject, this accurate ob- server took, on the 3rd July, 1 724, a sunflower, in order to ascertain the quantity of moisture imbibed and perspired. For this object he experimented on a plant Sj feet high, which had been planted in a garden-pot for this express purpose whilst young. In his own words it is stated : " I covered the pot with a plate of thin milled lead, and cemented all the joints fast, so as no vapour could pass, but only air through a small glass tube nine inches long, which was fixed purposely near the stem of the plant, to make a free communication with the out- ward air and that under the leaden plate. I ce- mented also another short glass tube into the plate, two inches long and one inch in diameter. Through this tube I watered the plant, and then stopped it up with, a cork. I stopped up also the holes at the bottom of the pot with corks. I weighed this pot and plant morning and evening for fifteen several days, from July 3rd to August 8th, after which I cut off the plant close to the leaden plate, and then covered the stump well with cement ; and upon weighing found there perspired through the un- glazed porous pot two ounces ' eveiy twelve hours* day, which being allowed in the daily weighing of the plant and pot, I found the greatest perspiration of twelve hours in a very warm dry day to be one pound fourteen ounces ; the middle rate of perspi- ration one pound four ounces. The perspiration of a dry warm night without any sensible dew, was about three ounces ; but when any sensible though small dew, then the perspiration was nothing ; and when a large dew or some little rain in the night, the plant and pot were increased in weight two or three ounces. N.B. — The weights I made use of were avoirdupois weights. I cut off all the leaves of this plant, and laid them in five several parcels, according to their several sizes, and then measured the surface of a leaf in each parcel by laying over it a large lattice made with threads, in which the little squares were half of an inch each ; by num- bering of v/hich I had the surface of the leaves in square inches, which, multiplied by the number of the leaves in the corresponding parcels, gave me the area of all the leaves, by which means I found the surface of the whole plant, above ground, to be equal to 5,6 1 6 square inches, or 39 square feet. I dug up another sunflower, nearly of the same size, which had eight main roots, reaching fifteen inches deep and sideways from the stem. It had besides a very thick bush of lateral roots from the eight main roots, which extended every way in a hemisphere about 9 inches from the stem and main roots. In order to get an estimate of the length of all the roots, I took one of the main roots with its laterals and measured and weighed them, and then weighed the other seven roots with their laterals ; by which means I found the sum of the length of all the roots to be no less than 1,448 feet." And supposing the periphery of these roots at a medium to be jg of an inch, then their surface will be 2,286 square inches, or 15-8 square feet; that is, equal to f of the surface of the plant above ground. If, as above, twenty ounces of water at a medium, perspired in a twelve hours' day, i. e., thirty-four cubic inches of water (a cubic inch of water weighing 254 grains), then the thirty-four cubic inches, divided by the surface of all the roots, is=2,286 square inches ; i. e., jj^-g is=g-^; this gives the depth of water imbibed by the whole sur- face of the roots, viz., ^^ part of an inch. And the surface of the plant above ground being 5,616 square inches, by which, dividing the thirty-four cubic inches, viz., —^ = ,^, this gives the depth perspired by the whole surface of the plant above ground, viz., j^j part of an inch. Hence the velocity with which water enters the surface of the roots to supply the expense of perspiration is, to the velocity with which the sap perspires, as 165:67, or as Ij'^i or nearly as 5 to 2. The area of the transverse cut of the middle of the stem is a square inch ; therefore the areas on the surface of the leaves, the roots, and stem, are 5,616, 2,286.1. The velocities in the surface of the leaves, roots, and transverse cut of the stem, are gained by a reciprocal proportion of the surfaces. Area of A'elocity. Or as Leaves 5,616 Roots 2,286 Stem 1 Now their perspiring thirty-four cubic inches in a twelve hours' day, there must so much pass through the stem in that time ; and the velocity would be at the rate of thirty-four inches in twelve hours, if the stem were quite hollow. In order, therefore, to find out the quantity of solid matter in the stem, July 27th, at 7 am., I cut up even with ths ground a sunflower; it weighed three pounds. In thurty days it was very dry, and had wasted in all two pounds four ounces ; that is, f of its whole weight. So here is a fourth part left for solid parts in the stem — (by throwing a piece of green sunflower-stem into water, I found it very nearly the same specific gravity wth water)— which filling up so much of the stem, the velocity of the sap must be increased proportionally, viz., i more (by reason of the reci- procal proportion), that thirty-four cubic inches may pass the stem in twelve hours ; whence its velocity in the stem will be 45^ inches in twelve hours, supposing there be no circulation nor return of the sap downwards. If there be added to 34 1 5616 1 165 ■Fm 67 1 34 4M THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 1 (which is the least velocity) i of it= 1 li, this gives I the f;;ieatest velocity, viz., 45 J. The spaces being as 3:4, the velocities will be as 4:3 : : 453:34. But if we suppose the jiores in the surface of the leaves to bear the same proportion as the area of the saj) vessels in the stem do to the area of the stem, then the velocity, both in the leaves, root, and stem, will be increased in the same proportion. " From July 3rd to August 3rd I weighed, for nine several mornings and evenings, a middle-sized cabbage plant, which grew in a garden pot, and was prepared with a leaden cover, as the sunflower. Experiment 1st : Its greatest perspiration, a twelve hours' day, was 1 lb. 9 oz. ; its middle perspiration lib. 3oz.=32 cubic inches; its surface 2,736 square inches, or 19 square feet; whence, dividing the 32 cubic inches by 2,736 square inches, it will be found that a little more than the gg of an inch deptli perspires off its surface in twelve hours' day. The area of the middle of the cabbage stem is J^ of a square inch ; hence the velocity of the sap in the stem is, to the velocity of the perspiring sap on the surface of the leaves, as 2,736 : j^^ : : 4,268 : 1, for — ,1 ' =4268. But if an allowance is to be made for the solid parts of the stem (by which the passage is narrowed) the velocity will be proportionably in- creased. The length of all its roots 470 feet, their periphery at a medium ^ of an inch, hence their area will be 256 square inches nearly; which being so small, in proportion to the area of the leaves, the sap must go with near eleven times the velocity through the surface of the roots that it does through the surface of the leaves. And setting the roots at a medium :,t 12 inches long, they must occupy a he- misphere of earth 2 feet diameter ; that is, 2.1 cubic feet of earth. By comparing the surfaces of the roots of plants with the surface of the same plant above ground, we see the necessity* of cutting oflf many branches from a transp'anted tree; for, if 256 square inches of root surface was necessary to maintain this cabbage in a healthy natural state, and upon digging it up, in order to transplant, * The necessity here alluded to by Hales must appear a still more important one to the ])lanter of the present day, now that it is known that plants only receive their radicle nutriment by means of the delicate terminations known as '" spongioles ;" which, from their fragile nature, are generally in- jured or destroyed in transplanting. It may be well to point out here also the beautiful adaptation of means to the end in the greater evaporating sur- face displayed by the leaves in proportion to the absorbing surface of the roots, by which means, a partial vacuum being thus created in the body of the plant, the moisture surrounding the spongioles is forced forward through the roots by the pressure of the atmosphere. half the roots be cut oft' (which is the case of most young transjilanted trees), then it is plain that but half the usual nourishment can be carried up through the roots ; which will also be very much diminished on account of the small hemisphere of earth the newly-planted shortened roots occupy; as well as the loose position of the newly-turned earth, which touches the roots at first but in few points. This (as exemplified by experience) strongly shows the great necessity of well watering new plantations. " July 27th I fixed an apple branch (3 feet long, ^-incli diameter), full of leaves and lateral shoots, to a tube 7 feet long, I diameter. I filled the tube with water, and then immersed the whole branch as far as over the lower end of the tube into a vessel full of water. The water subsided 6 inches the first two hours (being the first filling of the sap vessels), and 6 inches the following night; 4 inches the next day, and 2i inches the following night. The third day, in the morning, I took the branch out of the water and hung it, with the tube aflBxed to it, in the open air; it imbibed this day 27i inches in twelve hours. This experiment shows the great powers of per8])iration ; since, when the branch was immersed in the vessel of water, the 7-feet column of water in the tube, above the sur- face of the water, could drive very little through the leaves till the branch was exposed to the open air. This also proves that the perspiring matter of trees is rather actuated by warmth and so exhaled, than protruded by the force of the sap upwards*." It now remains to be shown whether the evapo- ration through the leaves is adequate to account for the admission of a sufficient amount of inorganic substances indispensably necessary for the due de- velopment of a plant. If we take the illustration of the cabbage plant, it will be seen that its average daily evaporation of twelve hours to the day amounted to 1 lb. 6 oz. avoirdupoise, or 9,625 grains ; which, if continued at the same rate for ninety days, 866,250 grains of water would be evaporated. If this water only con- tained so small a quantity of inorganic matter in solution as 0.2 per cent., it would be equivalent to the absorption of 1,7325 grains of mineral sub- stances ; which would be about equal to the mineral matter found in a cabbage weighing 10 lbs. — assuming the inorganic materials found in the cabbage to form 23 per cent, of its entire weight, according to this proportion its inorganic ash would weigh 1,750 grains. There is, however, every reason to presume that on fertile soils, such as would be capable of raising single cabbages of 10 lbs. weight, there would be found in solution in the water conveyed from the soil to the plant a greater per centage of inorganic substances than is * As observed in a previous note, the flow of the sap upwards must follow as a natural sequence, the evaporation of moisture from the plant through the leaves in a similar manner to the ascent of water by an ordinary pump. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 493 here assumed, viz., 0.2 per cent., in which case the surplus would serve to engender a more expanded growth, or possibly be excreted*. Having shown the mode by which the inorganic constituents of plants are obtained, it will be well once more to glance at a few experiments made for the purpose of illustrating the mode in which car- bonic acid is absorbed. Dr. Gilly found that grass leaves exposed to the sun in a jar for four hours produced the following effect : — At the beginning of the experiment there were in the jar — Of nitrogen 10507 Of carbonic acid 57 Of oxygen 2-793 At the close of the ex- periment there were — Of nitrogen .... Of carbonic Hcitl Of oxygen .... 10-507 •37 7-79 19 000 18-667 By this it will be seen that the carbonic acid was replaced by oxygen, the latter being formed by the decomposition of carbonic acid, which is composed of carbon 1, oxygen 2 parts, or by weight in the projjortion of 6 carbon to 16 oxygen. The difterence of the quantities in the above experiment may be accounted for by the assimilation of a portion of oxygen into the vegetable organism. The decomposition of car- bonic acid here noticed is ])rincipally to be attri- buted to the presence of light; for " If," says De CandoUe, " two plants are exposed, one to dark- ness and the other to the sun, in close vessels, and in an atmosphere containing a known quantity of carbonic acid, and are removed at the end of twelve hours, we shall find that the first has diminished neither the quantity of oxygen nor of carbonic acid; and that in the second, on the contrary, the quan- tity of carbonic acid has diminished, while the quantity of free oxygen has increased in the same proportion. Or, if we place two similar plants in closed vessels in the sun, the one in a vessel con- taining no carbonic acid, and the other in air which contains a known quantity of it, we shall find that the air in the first vessel has undergone no change, while that in the second will indicate an increase of oxygen, proportioned to the quantity of carbonic acid which has disappeared; and, if the experiment is conducted with suflRcient care, we shall discover that the plant in question has gained a propor- tionable quantity of carbon. Therefore, the carbonic acid which has disappeared has given its oxygen to the air and its carbon to the plant ; and this has been produced solely by the action of the solar light." In order to show that the green parts of plants when exposed to the sun decomposed carbonic acid, De Candolle placed in the same cistern two inverted glasses, of which one ^a), as well as the cistern itself, was filled with distilled water, and had a plant of water mint floating in it ; the other glass (b) was filled with carbonic acid. The water of the cistern was protected from the action of the at- mosphere by a deep layer of oil. The apparatus * For an account of experiments on the radicle excretions of plants, see Mr. Gyde's, of Painswick, prize eesay in the " Highland Transactions." was exposed to the sun. The carbonic acid in the glass B diminished daily, as was obvious from the water rising in it ; and at the same time there rose to the top of the glass A a quantity of oxygen, sensibly equal to the quantity of carbonic acid absorbed. During the twelve days that the ex- periment was continued, the mint plant remained in good health ; while, on the contrary, a similar plant, placed under a glass, filled with distilled water only,had disengaged no oxygen, and exhibited manifest signs of decomposition. The same ex- periment having been tried, only employing oxygen in the place of carbonic acid, no gas was disengaged in the glass that contained the mint plant. Seeing that the presence of carbonic acid is in- dispensable to the growth of plants, it has been thought plants would grow more luxuriantly in an atmosphere containing a larger per centage of this gas than that found in common atmospheric air. To the supposed greater abundance of carbonic acid in the atmosphere has been attributed the gigantic growth of the equisitse, ferns, &c. of the coal period, experiments made by Dr. Daubeny and Mr. Hunt, with the object of ascertaining whether an increased amount of carbonic acid in the atmosphere sur- rounding plants tended to their more luxuriant de- velopment have been rather negative than other- wise. Great difficulties, however, occur in making such experiments, it being almost impossible to maintain all the conditions which ought naturslly to exist, such as a free circulation, &c. Saussure found that in the sun, an atmosphere of pure car- bonic acid gas, or even air containing as much as sixty per cent., was destructive of vegetable life; that fifty per cent, was highly prejudicial ; and that the doses became gradually less prejudicial as they were diminished. From eight to nine per cent, of carbonic acid gas was found more favourable to growth than common air. This, however, was only in the sun : any addition, however small, to the quantity of carbonic acid naturally found in the air was prejudicial to plants placed in the shade. There are other physiological circumstances con- nected with the growth of plants to which only a passing allusion can here he made, as they are not of great economical importance to the farmer, such as the decomposition of water and assimilation of hydrogen. Also, whether nitrogen is absorbed and assimilated from the atmosphere in any other form than that of ammonia, the latter point is settled for all practical purposes by the facts daily it^en, viz., that increased fertility invariably follows an appli- cation of nitrogenized substances; and it is only with the practical part of the matter that we have to deal. The preceding somewhat lengthened introductory observations will prepare the reader more fully to understand the rationale of the application of manures, whether they are procured from the farm- yard or by the use of extraneo'is substances — such as guano, gypsum, &c., &c. Before leaving the subject, it may be mentioned that some experiments have been made which show that light may be divided into calorific and chemical rays ; that the blue rays produce a chemical whilst the red rays produce a calorific influence ; for a full account of which, the reader must be referred to Mr. Hunt's Poetry of Science, 494 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ON SOWING TURNIPS. There is not a more difficult subject in the whole range of agricultural science than the critical seasons for sowing crojjs. We may read over volume after volume and calendar after calendar and we shall find very little rational information. A writer under the head " Crops " may give certain dates for sowing the seed ; or a calendar may say, Francis Moore like, " On or about this time sow Swede turnips ;" but there is nothing like any tan- gible information to be obtained as to the exact time in each locality for sowing any particular crop, nor the consequences of any violation of the rule. We say in eacli locality ; for it is an anomaly with which the agriculturist has often to contend, that a good season in one district of our island is a bad one in another— a good period of the year on one of our soils, and the reverse on some neighbour's soil in the same parish. In Scotland, for instance, you may sow turnips, it appears to us, almost as soon as the winter frosts have left the soil, and the spring seed time is over; swedes maybe sown even in April, and with decided advantage ; but sow them in Yorkshire before May-day, and they will be mildewed and covered with insects and filth in September : while the first week in June is a favourite and common season in the midland and southern counties. At the last meeting of the Bolsover Agricultural Society a report was pre- sented on the turnip competitions. There were four competitors in swedes ; the earliest were sown the 24th of May, the latest the 14th of June; the weight of the first sown was however the greatest. Again, in white turnips there is a vast range. In Scotland white turnips are often sown in May. Mr. Logan, who opened a discussion on turnip growing before the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, sows them in the second week in May ; whereas, if sown in Yorkshire, say before the third week in June, they become prematurely ripe and turn sticky and yellow in September, pricking up red small leaves as if in a dying state. Thus much may be said for seasons in general ; but there is undiscovered knowledge far in advance of this. It is not yet attained; but the indications of its existence are too palpable to be mistaken. Who has not seen a full fortnight's difterence in the stage of^ plant between a Saturday's turnip sowing and that of the following Monday ? Nay, who that has paid ordinary attention to farming matters cannot often mark the place where the morning's sowing ended, and that of the afternoon began, a month after either ? We believe there are other circumstances than the mere day of the month which ought to deter- mine nearly the whole question — we mean the temperature and consistency of the soil. We all know that wheat requires a different temperature to turnips— that even barley and wheat are not in this respect in equal physical circumstances ; but who knows the proper one for either ? We have often seen a half field of turnips sown before a ahower, beautiful, healthy, and luxuriant ; while after one they have been small and stunted, and grew slowly, although all treated otherwise in exactly tht; same manner. Did not the rain by evaporation reduce the temperature of the soil i and might not the thermometer sometimes help the farmer as much as the barometer in hay-time ? We want the subject investigated. It should be done by many farmers at once, and in different localities. Let the date of sowing each crop be entered, the state of the soil as regards moisture, friability, &c., and including temperature; let this apply to every kind of crop sown on a farm, say for ten years. Then let all be compiled by some person of mental capabilities and practical knowledge adequate to the task, and some very valuable and striking, not to say astonishing, results we are persuaded would follow. We have made our observations as if the whole question had reference to turnips alone; not because it is so, but because turnip growing is now occupying the attention of some one-half of our farmers, and therefore it is likely to be more im- pressed and more intelligible ; but who does not know that there are critical periods in the sowing of wheat, of barley, of oats — nay, of every culti- vated crop ? If wheat is sown before October it will look better, indeed, than that sown later ; but it will become winter proud, will exhaust its vital powers before winter, will receive from it a pro- portionally greater shock, and will be a faihng crop to a greater or less extent. Thus we know how barley may be influenced both in fineness of sample and quality of produce. Taking the 21st of March as the best seed time for, say the centre of this island, a fortnight later will take off in ordinary seasons fully a quarter (8 bushels) per acre; whilst instead of the pure, bright, mellow sample, it will show one coarse, dull, flinty, and high coloured. It has had to struggle with circumstances opposed to the development of those qualities sought for in barley by the maltster. But circumstances will often arise to defy a farmer always sowing at the very best time. He cannot, moreover, sow all in one day ; and the best precaution he can take is simply to have all his work in that state of forwardness to enable him at the fittest moment to lay hold on the opportunity. What plans are available ? We have been told by a highly creditable farmer that he once had barley in the sack, grown, and in the sack again in three months. It was sown in pared and burnt grass land some time in June, first thoroughly steeped in water almost to germination ; a very hot summer followed ; but it was reaped and thrashed (partially) in September, within three months of its being in the sack. When the difficulties of the season are to be over- come we always find it best accomplished by an extra dose of manure : a slight dressing of guano, Ij to 2 cwt. per acre of ihe best Peruvian, will generally compensate for a bad season ; and when a late, unfavourable, or difficult season occurs, it should never be neglected. — Gardeners' and Farmers' Journal. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 495 LONDON FARMER'S CLUB. "the i.njurious effects of copyhold tenure on the cultivation of the soil." The usual monthly meeting of the members took place on Monday evening, May 3, at the Club Rooms, Bridge Street, Blackfiiars : subject for discussion, introduced by Mr. W, Fisher Hobbs, " The Injurious Effects of Copyhold Tenure on the Cultivation of the Soil." In the absence of Mr. Thomas, the chairman for the current year, the chair was taken by Mr. II. Baker, of Writtle. The Chairman said the question for discussion was one which, of course, concerned them as farmers. All persons who had money which they desired to invest in land, or the improvement of the soil, must feel that most beneficial effects would result from the emancipation of copyholds. The investment of money in copyhold land might be described as the sinking of it, seeing that the remuneration was so inadequate. The chief benefit was derived by the lord of the manor or the steward. He would not enter into the subject further, feeling con- vinced that it would be amply illustrated by their friend who had undertaken to introduce it. Mr. Hobbs then proceeded as follows. — Mr. Chair- man and Gentlemen : It has been from the first one of the chief objects of this Club to remove any impedi- ments to the improved cultivation of the soil. The sub- ject which we have so long advocated here — I allude to that of Tenant-right — is now, I believe, generally ad- mitted to tend much to that result. Notwithstanding the little support given to us elsewhere, I am convinced the discussion alone of that question has been attended with much advantage, as I believe there are few practical men who now deny the utility of its object, and few wise ones who would go to work without some such security en- sured to them. I hope you will not consider me start- ing quite wide of my subject ; for the one I am about to introduce this evening I consider in many respects very similar to the one I have already referred to ; and I should wish them to become, by our efforts, still bet- ter understood. The want of a proper and general te- nant-right has, and does still in many districts, retard the progress of improved cultivation — the want of a general enfranchisement of copyholds does the same. Both seek that same security, freedom of action and sense of justice, without which few of us will be inclined to make the best use of his " talent." Like the tenant- right, the copyhold question has long been before the House of Commons. Evidence equally ample and sa- tisfactory has been taken on both subjects ; measures have been proposed to meet their objects, but at present little has come of them. Let us then here, by fully dis- cussing this question of copyholds, show up the great im- pediment it causes to the improvement of agriculture, as well as the absurdity of maintaining any longer so gross a relic of a bygone age. Within the last few years much good has been done for agriculture through the agency of evidence taken by parliamentary committees. Men of cha- racter, ability,and long experience, have so afforded infor- mation which otherwise might never have been madepub- lic. Most of you, I am sure, must be acquainted with that collected on " agricultural customs," and supplied mainly through the agency of this club. That given on the proposed enfranchisement of copyholds is equally valuable, and I propose availing myself of it to-night, in my endeavour to demonstrate to you " the injurious effects of copyhold tenure on the cultivation of the soil." I do not consider it within the province of my subject to go into the history or origin of this kind of tribute ; my duty rather being to attack the evil as it exists. It is evident enough, however, from what we gather of some of them, that these customs belong to an age and a state of society long since passed away. If you come, indeed, to examine very closely into them, you will find that certain of these fealties approached very nearly on actual barbarism ; an exercise of revolt- ing brutality on the one hand, and of most humiliating and pitiful submission on the other. Look, for instance, to what is now — in Wales more particularly, I believe — compounded for under the title of " boot money,'' a charge, that is, which buys off the lord's privilege to put his booted-leg in the tenant's bed with his wife on the night of their marriage. But many of these grosser claims have gradually been allowed to elapse. As it is, you are no doubt all aware that this tenure depends on the payment of certain fines or the performance of certain services to the lord, as well as in the observance of certain rules and regulations, varying in different localities ; the effect of which is directly to prevent the best use being made of the property. I will, however, with your permission, read some extracts from the evidence I have referred to, which may give you a better idea of the obnoxious character of these fines, fees, and services, as well as of their injurious effects on the cul- tivation of the soil. The first I will call your attention to is the examination of W. Blamire, Esq., a commissioner under the Tythe Commutation Act, as well as being one of the enclosure and drainage commissioners. This gentleman, as you will see, has had considerable expe- rience in matters connected with copyhold tenure, though his observation of its effect has been, I believe, chiefly confined to the north of England. The first question put to him which I shall take is — l)o you know whether arbitrary fines are asse3sable on the death of the lord as well as of the tenaut ? — Generally on both. Are you aware that there is also a fine of oue year's value 2 K 406 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. very commonMn those manors on a temporary alienation by way of mortgagre ? — Certainly. And tw o years' value on tlic death of a tenant or an aUcna- tiou ? — Yes. Do you know that in many of those manors there are pay- ments of lords' rents, and smaller sums ?— In all the manors that I know of, annually. Do you know that in many manors there are also ser^-ices performed ; for example, so many loads of coals taken to the lord's house, so many pecks of oats for his horses, and so many days' reaping ? — They are various ; but there are services in all manors subject to arbitrary fine, that I know any- thing of. Are they of the description that I have mentioned ?— Yes, and of other descriptions, such as mowhig; they are very general. And in many manors payments of geese and cocks and hens exist, do they not ? — I do not know that tliose are enforced now ; they were enforced at one time. Are those ser\ices very troublesome to the tenant to pay, and very unprofitable to the lord to receive ? — Unquestionably. The tenant is bomid to appwir to render his service at a moment's notice. He is sent to overnight, and however pressing his own work may be, he must leave it, and go to work his boon-day. In working his boon-day, reaping com, for instance, does he do it ma way that is very profitable to the lord ?— No, certaiidy not. But it is very painful and annoj-ing to himself, is it not ? — It is a great inconvenience to liimself, and the value of the lahour given to the lord is of very little consideration. In most of the manors does the timber belong to the lord ? — Generally ; I think invariably. Tliere are generally heriots payable on the death of a tenant, are they not ? — Generally. The best chattel or the best beast ?— Often the best live heriot. Do they follow them off manors generally ? — Yes, always. To yoiu- knowledge, does not the pajiiient of those senices, and the other matters which you have mentioned, fonn a great impediment to improvements ? — They are verj' annoying to a tenant, without being of a proportionate value to the lord. Do not you find that they prevent drainage and several other improvements which might be carried on if the lands were en- franchised ? — No tenant of copyhold land subject to arbitrary fine can reasonably be expected to drain or improve his laud, not ha\-ing the entirety of the soil to himself. Do you not think it would be a great advantage, not only to the tenant but to the public, if the means were given for the tenant to lay out his skill and capital on the land, without being siibject to the tax of a fine ?— :Most unquestionably. Are you enabled to state, from your position as a drainage commissioner, that the applications for drainage loans are very few in districts where the copyhold tenure and arbitrary fines prevail,.compared with those where the lands are enfranchised ? —We have no certain knowledge of the extent of the copyhold lands in the kingdom, and therefore I can only answer that question by stating that I believe some coimties contain a greater quantity of copyhold land subject to arbitrary fines than other coimties. Numbers of people come to me to con- sider and negotiate as to a loan for the purpose of the drainage of their lands. They all object to borrowing money for the drainage of their copyhold land, on the ground that it "would be idle to expect them to improve it for the benefit of the lord ; and that has been the objection taken ; not now, but ever since I recoUect anvthing about copyhold land, that no man wo-old improve it, unless uiuler peculiar circumstances, seeing that the lord would be Ijenefited upon a renewal, and his fine increased by the extent of the improvement. Of late a great many pro- prietors have stated to me their unwillingness to borrow money for the drainage of their lands on those grounds ; and 1 am disposed to believe, from the small number of applications which have been made from particular counties in England, which I believe to be full of copyhold lands, subject to arbitrary fines, that that is really so. I took out of our drainage list a few counties, showing the munbcr of applications received from each county, and the sums that have been asked for, and showing also the larger number of applications that have been received, and the amount of money asked for from counties where I believe that the same impediment does not exist. I do not know that it is of any value, because the extent of arbi- trary copyhold in each county is luiknown. There is a great deal of copyhold land m Suffolk, and from that county we have only had one application for a loan, and that a smaU one. From the county of Rutland, in which I believe there is a great extent of copyhold land, we have not had a single application ; from the coimty of Essex very few ; from the county of Nor- folk very few ; from the coimty of Cambridge scarcely any ; whilst from Northumberland we have had a great number, and from Yorkshire also. I do not know that there is any force in that obsen-ation, for I am not fully aware of the relative extent of copyhold lands in the different counties in England ; but coupling that stiiking difference in the number of applications vrith the statements that are continually made to me as to the imwillinguess to drain any lands excepting freehold, I should fancy that there must be some force in it, though I am not prepared to say that there is. Do you think that if the copyholders were in a position to lay out money in draining, that the increased value per acre would be very large ? — Very large indeed ; assuming that the lands require draining, the expense woidd amount to about £5 an acre, and the charge upon a terminable annuity to repay that woidd amount to 6s. 6d. per acre ; whereas it is quite clear that hi very few cases woidd the return be less than from 12 to 20 per cent. I am sure that I know a great number of estates at the present moment of which the rental is supported solely from the increase in the value resulting from the drain- age of the lands beyond the sum required to pay the annual instalment. Do you, on the whole, think that both the lord and the tenant of the land would be materially benefited by the enfran- chisement contributing to the improvement of the land ? — Most unquestionably ; the tenant would be very largely bene- fited, and the lord would not be damnified, if the enfranchise- ment was calciUated upon an equitable and fair pruiciple ; and the public would be amazingly benefited, if it be the fact that the copyhold lands of England are very much worse aUtivated, strikmgly so, than the freehold lands of the kingdom. Do not you know, from your knowledge of districts where the arbitrary fine prevails, that the lands are worse cultivated ? — Formerly they were ; I have not been iu the habit of seeing many lands of late years ; but I have every reason to believe that the cultivation has not improved, and of ray own know- ledge I know that some years ago they were very much less well cultivated. Have you any reason to believe that a change has taken place ? — Quite the contrary ; I believe that the difference be- comes more marked than it ever was. Yoa may gather from the evidence of Mr. Blamire alone how little likely the due progress of agriculture promises to be where copyhold tennre is found to exist. Look; for THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 497 instance, at the most common mode of estimating the fine. The more capital you expend, the more labour you employ, the more skill you display — in short, the more you improve the estate, and the greater benefit you con- fer on the neighbourhood and the public, the more I fine you. A "fine" inducement certainly in these hard times for any man wishing to do his best in the labour of his vocation. In the southern parts of the country, I believe, the services mentioned, the ploughings, work at harvest time, and so forth, are not very com- mon. Had they, indeed, been more generally required, I think the whole system must have long ere this been abolished. I do not wonder, however, at their not being often called for, as one may very easily imagine the style in which such work would be performed — the natu- rally unwilling spirit in which it would be set about— and the slovenly manner in which it would be got over. The same, in fact, may be said of many kinds of copy- hold fines or service, frequently not worth enforcing, and tending only to create ill-feeling amongst those who are unfortunate enough to come within its action. It is now generally admitted that you can have no proper foundation for good farming without efficient drainage ; and yet only notice how great an obstruction to this most necessary operation copyhold tenure is found to be. See what a Drainage Commissioner says, in the evidence I have just read to you. Numbers of people come to me, to consider and negotiate as to a loan for the purpose of drainage of their lands. They all object to borrowing money for drainage of their copyhold land, on the ground that it would be idle to expect them to improve it for the benefit of the lord. Take the evidence of Mr. Stewart, again, the Secre- tary to the Commission, and equally high authority: Do not you koow that, in many cases, even agricultural land is allowed to remain in a comparatively valueless state on account of being copyhold tenure, where the tenant cannot lay out money without being taxed, and where an arbitrary fine is demanded of him ? — There ia no question of that. And here, more especially as to the drainage, he says : I may say that, ouly this morning, I had a particular in- stance brought to my notice, showiug the way iu which agri- cultural improvements are obstructed. A person came to me to ask what the state of the bill was ; and he said that he was positively deterred from draining and from making use of the lands that he has, because he could procure no enfranchise- ment ; and he stated that he believed that feeliug to exist to a very great extent. I have no hesitation in saying, that en- franchisement is one mode by which the value of the real pro- perty of this country may be greatly increased ; and that ap- pears to me, with great submission, to be a legitimate exercise of the legislative power. The impediment, indeed, goes beyond this ; for, Rt a subsequent examination, Mr. Stewart mentions the case of a gentleman who could not drain his freehold, from its being so mixed up with copyhold. Considering the nature of his tenure, he did not think it advisable to improve one, and was thereby prevented from touching the other. This brings me to the consideration of an- other of the improvements in husbandry, and the bar that copyhold property offers to its adoption. I shall take my case here from the evidence of Mr. Aglionby, the zealous promoter of the present bill. He states : For instance, I know in my own case that the lands held under a freehold tenure, and under a copyhold tenure, ad- joining to each other, being frequently in very small strips, with not room enough for a plough to turn, the tenants in former days levelled the fences ; and between the two it is now very common, wheu the lord has to assess a fine, on death or alienation, for the person who is admitted and has to pay the fine to set him at defiance, and say, " Show me the land : I will not pay your fine." The result is very often either that the lord has to come to some compromise, and so to reduce that which he is fairly entitled to rather than go to law, or to inflict upon the tenant all the disadvantages and expense of a bill of discovery in Chancery, to find out the land that the lord is entitled to. In recent days I felt that so strongly that, before I came to the manors, I recommended my father to bring au action against a tenant who had re- moved a fence of that description, for a forfeiture. It was tried at the assizes at Carlisle, and a verdict was immediately obtained, on the ground that, by the ancient law, it is a for- feiture to remove a fence on copyhold laud. I had no wish or iQclination to enforce the forfeiture. I only did it to prevent that which the tenants had almost claimed as a right — namely, to mix their lands for the purpose of creating diliicul- ties to the lord ; and when it came up to the court for judg- ment, I appeared and said, " We have no wish to enforce the verdict, and to proceed to judgment." That was only for the sake of an example ; and provided landmarks were put up to distinguish in future, judgment would never be demanded. I elTccted that which I desired, in order to show the tenants that they could not arbitrarily mis their lands, to the detri- ment of the lord ; and at the same time I did not wish to en- force the forfeiture. They had the land marked out : but the difficulty still remains — that a tenant is not allowed to remove a fence ; and this is a very great impediment to cultivating the laud to any great advantage. Again, with timber the customs are very variable, though in many districts, it appears, a claim for the whole is made by the lord ; so that a tenant may render himself liable to action or ejectment even by cutting down a tree for a gate-post, without a license. Then the removal of an old building and the erection of a new one, however sirpcrior in value or utility, is " waste j" in other words, an infringement of the fealty — an offence which may subject the tenant to an action at law, just as the evidence I have quoted shows he may be for grubbing up a hedge-row. It is hardly necessary for me to tell you how great an impediment this is to improved cultivation. For good farming it is necessary to have good buildings, adapted to the uses of machinery, as well as for the economical feeding of stock, and production of manure. On copyhold pro- perty this is next to impossible. I have felt, and still feel, the serious effects of this myself, and I am sure there are many in this room who can also vouch for the existence of the evil. It is not sufficient that the tenant is denied the power of bringing his land into the best state of cul- tivation, but he may not even keep the best stock on it — I allude of course here to the " hei'iofs " taken on 2 K 2 499 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. death, the lord having the power to take any animal he chooses to select ! There are many instances on record of the gross injustice and fearful loss sustained by this system. Some of you no doubt recollect a notorious case, in which the Heriot seized— a celebrated race- horse— far exceeded the value of the estate he stood on. Mr. Muskett mentions it in his evidence, and as he also advises a means of enfranchisement, I shall here read one or two questions and answers from him, on this point, to you:— You recommeud, whatever else is done, that heriots and other things, timber for instance, should be immediately en- franchised, and freehold quit-reuts ?— The free rents. What interest has a mun, who has a life interest, in enfran- ckising a heriot ? — I am now speaking not from experience, because we have no heriots ; but I apprehend that a man would have some interest in enfranchising a heriot : supposing it is the best animal or the best horse, and £20 would be the fair value, if that man held a horse worth £1,700 or £1,800, which was the case with Smolensko, I apprehend he would be very glad to enfranchise it, because the man who dies pays the heriot, and therefore it is of more importance for them to be got rid of by those who live ; the heriot in the case I am al- luding to was far beyond the value of the whole estate, yet he could not forfeit the estate. In some manors I am told the heriots are compounded for at a certain fixed sum ; while in the majority they yet remain for the selection of the lord. The heriots in some cases not being confined to live stock, but ex- tending to any piece of furniture, or even plate, he may choose to fancy. Any memorial of past services — any token of esteem— presented to the late tenant, and that his family may have a natural wish to preserve, perhaps, above everything else, may be taken from them, under the sanction of this arbitrary law. Mr. Cuddon gives so striking an instance of this that I shall make no apology for here reading it to you : — Is there any other point upon which you would make any suggestions ? — I do not remember that there is any other poiut now. I have to observe as regards heriots, that in my experience gentlemen of respectability will not buy heriotable property ; it is well known that such is the case ; or if they do, they put it into the name of a trustee. " Supposing a person of property wishes to buy a copyhold estate which is heriotable, is it a common thing to have re- course to evasion? — Sometimes. Speaking of heriots, a case happened to myself as a trustee, having also a very small per- sonal interest ; I am a trustee for infants, as the lord of the manor, in which manor a copyhold estate is subject to render to the lord on the death of the tenant the best chattel. The copyhold tenant himself was but a trustee ; but he happened to be a county magistrate, and a gentleman of considerable property ; a few weeks ago he died, and I, as trustee only, am entitled for the heriot to a handsome piece of plate presented to him for some public services rendered to the county. I am but a trustee for mfants, and what am I to do? I have no right to give away the money of my infants ; the heriot has fallen due, though he himself was a trustee, and what am I to do in such a case as that ? Supposing I give him up his heriot for £30. It is well known that this heriot is due, and what right have I to allow him to pay £30 when he ought to pay £70 ? It remains unsettled to this moment, and I have suggested that a professional man should say what should be done between both parties as the only means of settling the matter. Within a recent period great efforts have been made to improve the dwellings of the poor, and duties have been taken off materials to facilitate that object; while a laudable example has been set, us in the highest quarter as to what might be done. But here again copyhold de- clares that within its precincts there shall be no such im- provements— no such step to bettering the social and moral condition, the comfort and value of the labouring man : — wretched clay-walled hovels or boarded cottages, badly thatched and inconveniently placed, too com- monly designate the nature of the tenure on which they stand. I can speak from experience myself on this point, for I have now several of these cottages most awkwardly situated, and that from their very appearance, as well as inconvenience, I am anxious to remove ; such, however, is the condition of the manor in which these small properties are situated that I cannot enfranchise. Mine, though, is not a solitary case ; for in many dis- tricts you may easily ascertain, in passing through vil- lages, where the copyhold exists. It has been said you may know an estate in chancery by the look of it : generally speaking, you may identify copyhold buildings quite as readily. The inferior condition of these dwel- lings, and the evident want of comfort about them, tells forcibly enough with how little persuasion a man may be induced to leave such a home for the neighbouring beer- shop — a nuisance which I had the honour some months since of seeking your aid to abolish. On the general expenditure of capital I shall take one extract more. The Committee, referring to enfranchise- ment, ask Mr. Cuddon if It would afford great facilities to a tenant for improving his land by the outlay of skill and capital ? — No question about it ? but now if he lays out £500 upon a piece of fine arbitrary land he ^ives about £100 to the lord, and consequently can expect but little profit for himself. I really think, gentlemen, I need not go further into this evidence to prove my case, " The injurious effects of copyhold tenure on the cultivation of the soil." To make the land thoroughly productive, we are expected to do a variety of things, many of which our own expe- rience shows us to be indispensable to profitable farm- ing. An increased outlay of capital to begin with ; but no outlay on copyholds, says Mr. Cuddo-, — you would not be justified in expending it, with fines that would eat up all the profits. Thorough drainage of the land, as the foundation of what you are going to do ; but there is no drainage on copyholds, says the evi- dence of the Drainage Commissioners. The removal of licdgc-roics and all waste on the land ; but you must not remove hedge-rows on copyholds, says the law. Here "waste" means just the reverse; and so prefers old tumble-down buildings to new ones, and any old stand- still system to improvement in any shape whatever. In the words of Mr. Aglionby, I think, and I believe you THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 499 will agree with hina, "That it is monstrous in these days of improvement and civilization that such customs should be allowed to continue." An evil of this kind is, of course, an injury to all. The lord gains nothing by the exercise of a right (allowed him in a bygone age, when he had the power of a tyrant, and the tenant the position of a serf), but which enfrachisement would fully secure to him. The cultivator of the land, I think I have shown you, has nothing to (jaln but all to lose by it, and the labourer stands by idle when he might be profitably employed in bringing the land to its best uses. Everybody, in fact, suffers but the steioard, whose fees, with contingent expenses, frequently amount to a large per centage of the fine itself ; indeed, in some cases, to considerably more. I must do these gentle- men, however, the justice to say, that many of them appear as anxious as any of us to assist in facilitating a system of general enfranchisement. Confining my re- marks to the question as it stands on the card, I think my task ends with proving the evil. With permission of the Chairman, however, I would suggest that mem- bers be encouraged to speak to the remedy as well as the disease. For my own part, from all I have observed, I think enfranchisement mast be more or less compul- sory— always, I should say, on the lord (of course under proper valuation) when demanded by the tenant ; and with the latter on death or alienation. In intro- ducing this subject to you, I have had a double induce- ment to do so. Knowing the extent of the evil, I con- sidered we should only be doing our duty in giving all the support we could to the advocates of the measure now before Parliament. Further than this I have had the promise of assistance from several members of the Club, some of whom I have the pleasure of seeing here this evening ; they, I am sure, from their extensive expe- rience in the management of landed property, will be able to speak intimately to the injurious working of copyhold tenure in their several districts ; while in in- troducing the subject to you I have thought it better to confine myself to a general outline of the evils of the system. In their report the members of the Parlia- mentary Committee agreed to the following suggestions, which, in conclusion, I beg to submit might come not altogether inapplicable as resolutions on the same subject from this Club. I here offer them for your consideration : — That copyhold aud customary tenures are frequently a bar to the application of skill and capital, an impediment to the improvement of the land, injurious to the public, and incon- venient to the lord as well as the tenant. That it is highly desirable for the interests of lord, tenant, and pubUo that the entire enfranchisement of these tenures should be effected as soon as practicable on equitable terms, due regard being had to the rights and just claims of all parties. The Secretary, Mr. Corbet, said he had received the following paper from Mr. T.W.Grainger, of Stretham Grange, Ely, which, in compliance with the rules of the club, he would read to the meeting :— Copyholds are distinguished, as far as my experience goes, in the following ways, viz. — Manors — Fine arbitrary. Manors — Fine certain. In manors fine arbitrary the lord takes upon death, or alienation, a fine of the value of a year-and-a-half or two years' rent, and in cases where heriots belong to the manor, the lord claims a right to seize any chattel belonging to the tenant, whether in or out of the manor. In some cases, there is an understood price, which the heriots will be compounded for, Heriots are only taken at a death. In manors fine certain the lord only takes a fine of the amount of a year's quit rent upon death or alienation — in fact, fine certain manors are nearly equal to freehold. Fines arbitrary have a great tendency to check improve- ments in agriculture ; for the lords of manors, although very careful to find out and make their tenants pay for dilapidations or waste, never think of assisting their tenants in making per- manent improvements ; but, on the other hand, anxiously take advantage of any improvement their tenants may make. This, consequently, has a tendency to check all improvements in claying, underdraining, and other things of an expensive character. But it acts more unfairly in the Isle of Ely, where copyhold tenants have improved their lands by permanent Parliamentary taxes (in some cases of eleven shillings per acre per annum for embanking and artificial draining), the lord not contributing one shilling towards the improvement, although the rental of the land is increased from 15s. per acre to 403. per acre, and which increased value they take advantage of at the first opportunity. Fines arbitrary are in a great measure the reason why there are not better cottages for the labouring poor, every one having a great objection to build upon land with such a tenure, and very often freehold land cannot be obtained for the purpose. As in all other bad cases, one evil brings on another. So it is with the stewards' fees, which in small copies are very heavy, often being double or treble the lord's fine ; and in fine certain manors, the lord will take his fine of sixpence or ninepence, whilst the steward will take for his fees from four to six pounds. There is another evU : the stewards are trying to establish the splitting of copies. For instance, if a man leaves a copyhold estate of fifty acres to five children, the steward does not charge one set of fees, hut five sets of fees ; and if, at a future time, one of the children should buy up the four shares of his brothers, the stewards try to charge five sets of fees, although all the fifty acres are held by one person, as they originally were. This unsatisfactory state of things might be remedied by the lord receiving the value of his interest in the shape of a rent-charge ; and it would, I should think, be more con- venient to both parties (it would at least be to the tenant) than a money payment as an enfranchisement. I am aware that a contrary view was taken by some of the witnesses before the Copyhold Commissioners ; but, it must be borne in mind, they were lords or stewards of manors, and would therefore be somewhat ex parte, as nearly all of them were. Mr. Beadel said he had perhaps seen as much of the working of the copyhold system as almost any gentle- man in that room. There could be no doubt of the truth of Mr. Hobbs' remark that it was a gross relic of a by- gone age, and one of the strongest evidences of that was to be found in the fact that lords of manors had ceased to urge many of their grosser rights. The great complaint was that the lord of the manor differed from any other individual in this country ; he was the only man who 60O THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. had right without corresponding duties. He had a right to prevent the cairying; out of improvements, although lie himself was not beucfsted by such a course. He had no right of his own to discharge, and without in- creasing the value of (he property himself, he took care on the first opportunity to interfere with improvements made by others. He should be sorry to make any remark which might be construed into a declaration that the lord of the manor ought not to be compensated for giving up his undoubted right ; all he desired was that the legislature should step in and remove the obstacles to enfranchisement which might be done without injury to the land (Hear, hear). As regarded the operation of the law, he might mention that he was himself interested in some copyhold property, for which three trustees had been admitted, and whenever any change was made he had to pay three sets of fines (Hear, hear). Lords of manors bowed to no authority but custom ; whatever happened to have been the custom was law. That was a strange state of things, under which the lord could seize what was thirty or forty times the value of the estate itself (Hear, hear). One would have supposed that the common law would have prevented him from seizing a heriot worth more than the fee simple of the property from which it arose ; and indeed the judges had now decided that a fine at the will of the lord should be limited to two years' improved value of the property. He had known cases in which, from death or alienation, the lord had received, within 10 years, more than double the value of the property. Surely that was a state of things which required a remedy. Wise and good legislation would repeal a law which pressed so heavily on a great number of indivi- duals, and which was, moreover, injurious to society generally. There was one remarkable peculiarity. In most cases a master paid his own servants. The lord of the manor, however, was an exception to this rule. Not only did he make the tenants pay the fine which was due, but he also made them pay his own lawyer in all the legal proceedings connected with it (ITear, hear). The tenant had frequently to pay from £b to £6 in fees to the steward ; and that was an additional reason for seeking to get rid of the copyhold law. Of course that qceestio vexata, how the stewards were to be compen- sated if the present system were abolished, would have to be settled ; but they might rely upon it that those gentlemen were able to protect themselves (cheers). Mr. Shaw said he felt that the Club was greatly in- debted to Mr. Hobbs for bringing this subject forward ; for although it had been discussed for the last twenty years, and had been under the consideration of many parliamentary committees, that progress had not been made which they must all desire to see. The evils of the copyhold system were, he thought, pretty well un- derstood ; and the only reason why a remedy had not been provided was, he really believed, that there •was a vast and inherent difficulty in dealing with the subject (Hear, hear). Those who had an in- terest in receiving fees might well be expected to oppose any alteration, but on the part of numbers there was a general and earnest desire that the mischiefs arising from copyholds might be remedied. The great difficulty was to lay down anything like a general rule with regard to copyhold estates. He would put it to his friend, Mr. Beadel, with all his knowledge of the subject, whether, if he was called upon to frame an act of Parliament which v/ould apply to the whole country, and to the vast variety of tenures which prevailed, he would not feel some hesitation in undertaking the task (Hear, hear). The great reason why the copyhold system operated to the prejudice of agricultural improvements was this, that not only was there an absence, in a great degree, of that security which was essential to a successful course of improvements, but a man might be called upon every now and then to pay for effecting improvements. (Hear, hear.) That evil, however, was not confined to copyholds. Only the other day, while he was going over a large farm in Gloucestershire, the tenant told him that he unfortu- nately held under a Dean and Chapter, and that the tenure under which he held operated as a discouragement to improvement ; inasmuch that when the lease was periodically renewed, the fine would be increased in pro- portion to the improvement, thereby making him pay upon the capital expended. It was true that the evils of copyhold were very great, but he believed that evils equally great were to be found under other kinds of tenure. In the case of church lands, of corporate lands, he would go further, and say, in the case of entailed es- tates (Hear, hear) the evil was almost as great as in that of copyhold (Hear, hear). It was not so arbitrary; but in other respects there was little difference. As they were told that the whip of free trade was to sti- mulate the tenant farmer, he hoped it would stimulate the parties who had a voice in this question, and that the object which their friend Mr. Hobbs had in view would speedily be attained. Mr. Tatters ALL said there could be no doubt in the mind of any one at all conversant with the subject tliat the present state of the copyhold tenure produced most injurious effects, but the settlement of the question was not more diffi- cult than that which had already been effected with respect to tithes. It was only necessary that the question should be discussed by bodies hkc that, and when every one saw the nuisance there could be no doubt that it would be removed. He was inclined to think that the most effectual weapon against such a system was ridicule ; argument there could be none, and he hoped that some eminent literary roan would take up the subject of copyhold tenure as Mr. Dickens had dealt with that of the Court of Chancery (Hear, hear). With regard to heriots, he might mention that at Epsom, only last year. Sir Gilbert Heathcote had two valuable race-horses seized under the present law ; a corapromi.se was proposed, and the matter eventually settled. He trusted that the present state of the law would not much longer remain a blot on the social system. Mr. Sidney said the origin of copyhold tenure was not without interest, and might be traced back to times when, the land being of very little value, the owner was happy to let it in exchange for some such services as were still found in Ger- many and other parts of the continent. By degrees the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 501 tenure, which was at firat from year to year, became con- firmed!, aud the payments were settled by law. In order to obtain an amelioration of the system, it was absolutely neces- sary that there should be discussion and uuion. It would not do for farmers to allege that they had no personal interest in the matter. In his opinion, agriculturists would obtain a settlement of the question, if they applied themselves to the work practically. Mr. Trethewy thought it must be self-evident that any property under an uncertain tenure was cultivated to a great disadvantage. He was of the opinion of those who thought the subject a difficult one, and he was supported in that view by reference to the bill to which Mr. Hobbs had alluded. He was struck with the fact that there were no specific duties to be fulfilled by those who conducted the valuation. There was no system whatever. The valuers were simply to ascertain the interest of each party, and to make their award accordingly. The difficulty was greatly increased by the different classes of tenures. He did not, perhaps, take the same view of the subject of copyhold land which came under the description of fine certain, as some of those who had spoken. He was iurlined to think that copyhold property, with fine certain, was aoout as good property as any that could be mentioned. It had been said the steward's charges were in some instances very excessive. The paper read by Mr. Grainger, in condemnation of the system, put those charges at something like four or six pounds. The charges would be the same, or very nearly the same, upon a large property as upon a small one ; it would be much more expensive to resort to a lawyer. He was not disposed to think that copyhold property under fine certain was a very great evil ; on the contrary, he thought it a desirable kind of property. Allusion had been made by Mr. Shaw to some church lands in Gloucestershire. He did not know the tenure of those lands, but some of the property was held on exceedingly favourable terms ; aud held under the description of copyhold. Now those gentlemen offered the advantages of a lease, to say the least; and he would put it to them, if a tenant occupying lands under a lease of that description was not in a better po- sition than a man holding a lease of seven or fourteen years. There had been an act for some time to enable a person upon application to obtain enfranchisement. A Voice : If they could both agree. Mr. Trethewy: Certainly; if they could both agree. The Chairman said he had made twenty applications, and had invariably met with refusals. Mr. Trethewy had known two or three lords of manors who had been willing to enfranchise, and the tenants, to a large extent, had not availed themselves of the opportunity. Mr. B. Webster said he would just mention one circum- stance which appeared to him worthy of notice. When the en- closures of the New Forest lately came before the government there was found immense difficulty in regard to settling the different claims. This difficulty, contrary to all expectation, had been removed, and in a very easy and surprising manner, namely, by simply carrying the question to a county court. If that could be done so readily, he thought it inconsistent that when assembled together they should say this question presented insurmountable difficulties. The Chairman said — As a practical man of business, be- like a great many more — had subjects of this nature often coming before him ; and whether a property were leasehold, or whether it were held in reversion for life, or whatever might be its description, gentlemen could calculate to a very nice cer- tainty, and find little difliculty in reducing them to any other description of property. Compensation was to be assessed and settled upon every description of property, and it had always been done in a very satisfactory manner. In an ordi- nary estate, held upon the ordinary system of copyhold, about five years' purchase compensated. A rate was afforded at what it was worth : if a live rate, at one sum ; if a dead one, at another. There were many circumstances tending to the con- tinuance of the copyhold system, but, in a period of civilizatien like the present, it could not be permitted. Copyhold enfran- chisements would tend much to thebenefitof all classes. Where a parish was copyhold and freehold, the latter was invariably taken for building purposes, whilst the copyhold remained un- sold. Great injury arose to the tenants in the manor of the parish in which he lived, although it was held in what was called ancient domain. If a shovel of earth were removed from the waste land, the tenants of the manor were mulcted with very heavy fines. There was a species of marsh, of which he took a small portion, not half the size of that room, for which he was fined £25 ; rather than expose himself to the chances of a law-suit with a foe so formidable, he paid the money. He would put it to all present, whether if a new arrangement could be made upon such matters as these, it would not be better for all parties. The rights of the public were injured by the difficulty in solving the question ; but the matter was before them, and Mr. Shaw had summed it up in a resolution, which would be placed before them. Jilr. HoBBS replied. He said he was quite sure they woiUd haU the day when the bill now in contemplation should pass, as it undoubtedly would ; because they all felt, and felt with him, that it would confer great benefits not only on tenants, but also on landlords, not only on themselves individually, but on the whole commiuiity (cheers). He had endeavoured to confine himself to a general outliuc of the e\-ils of the system, and lie was happy to fmd that the suggestions he had made had brought forward some very practical remarks. If he might be allowed to do so, he would read two letters which he had that day received, and which bore directly upon the subject. Tlie first was from a very experienced friend of his, who has had a great deal to do with the management of copyhold pro- perty, in which he says — " If the value of the lessee's interest in any copyhold pro- perty is valued and added to the value of the lessor's interest, the two valuations added together woidd not amount to the value of the property if taken as freehold ; and no tenant woidd expend on leasehold property, or endeavour to improve it, as he would if the freehold belonged to liim." Tlie second was from a solicitor of the highest respecta- bility— Dear Sir, — The case of which we were yesterday speaking, in reference to the injustice aud amioyance of copyhold tenure was tliis : — A man died, leaving a small estate, consisting of two small tenements and about five acres of land, to his wife for her life, and at her death to his nephew absolutely. The estate is situate in a remote part of this comity ; the and is of fair average quality, and the whole of the property is freehold, except one rood of the land, aud this small piece of copyhold camiot be identified by either lord, steward, owner, or any body else. The tenant for life died recently, and before she had been called upon to be admitted to this small piece of copyhold, and the nephew, succeeding to this among other pro- pei-ty, was anxious to sell the estate to a near member of liis family, and with the amount he realized under the will to emigrate to Australia. Li this stage of matters, I was con- sulted on behalf of the brother, who was the prospective pur- chaser, and seeing the difficulty likely to arise from this small piece of copyhold, and that if the parties connected with the manor insisted on their rights, two fines and two sets of fees 602 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. couKl he (lemaiulod, I adviseil him to lot luc at once and fully explain the whole facts to the steward of the manor, and offer him the entire value (£10), of the rood of laud, to perfect the title of my purchaser on tlie rolls of the manor. Please bear in mind here tliat the extieme value of the land per acre, as freehold, would be £40. 1 doubt whether it would reach that siun. llaviufc obtained the authority of my client, I waited on the steward of the manor, and having explained the facts, he asked >ue — £ 8. d. Two sets of fees, £7 73. each 14 14 0 IVo fines, 30s. each 3 0 0 £17 14 0 I altogether refused these terms, and urged on him the value of the land as sufficient reason for such refusal. This was met by poiaitiug me to the difficulty that might arise in my client's title to the whole estate, and the obstruction in the way of its conveyance at some future day, if the copyhold part were not taken up. Well knowing the force of this objection, I ad- mitted it at once, but pleaded that such ground ought never to be taken in a case where the party was willing to give the lord and steward (for you see the steward's was the lion's share here) the whole value of the copyhold, and that it was indeed too bad to attempt to extort actually beyond that value by such means. I offered ten pounds, but it was in vain. Twelve guineas was the lowest to which I could bring down their demand, and as this exceeded the value of the copyhold, I advised my client to take the conveyance of the freehold part of the estate oidy, which he has done, and must, therefore, run the risk of the seisiure of the copyhold part — if the lord can find out which it is— and be is left in this happy position because he will not consent to \)»y for perfecting this copyhold title more than the whole copyhold is worth if the title were perfect ! Well uniy tiie country cry out for an alteration of the law. And depend on it there is nothing to be remedied that would afford more substantial relief to the agricultural interest, and to the country at large, than the sweeping away of copyhold tenure, uidess, indeed, it be the destruction of that greater monster, the Coiu't of Chancery. He was happy to say he did not tlunk there wouhl be any diffi- culty in settling this question. The bill had passed the House of Commons with scarcely any difference of opinion. He be- lieved there was a determination on the part of some of the law lords, with the assistance of the present Lord Chancellor, to investigate the subject very narrowly, and he hoped they would soon see the copyhold law blotted out from the statute book. He concluded by moving a resolution in the terms of the conclusion of the report of the committee, appended tohia introductory speech. Mr. SiiAW thought it was not desirable for that club to adopt tlie resolution of any other body, however excellent it might be. lie would propose the following as a sub- stitute : — "That the effect of copyhold tenure is prejudicial to the cultivation of the soil generally, and it is higldy desirable for the interests of the landlord, the tenant, and the public, that entire enfranchisement may be effected as speedily as possible." He left open the question of compulsion, because he did not very much approve of the word, and he thought it would not advance their object to insist upon the word being used. Both the original resolution and the amendment having been seconded, after some conversation the former was carried by a majority of one, and a vote of thanks to Mr. Hobbs and to the Chairman respectively, terminated the proceedings. THE CULTIVATION OF FLAX. BY A PRACTICAL FARMER. The cultivation of flax lias within the past few j ears become a subject of great interest to British agricul- turists. It has excited much attention in every part of the country as one of those crops likely to beneBt the cultivator under the adverse system with which he has to contend in the cultivation of liis ordinary corn crops. We highly commend our brother farmers on this point, and think they do well to keep on the watch; and we judge them to be in readiness to seize every favourable opportunity to secure a pro- fitable crop of whatever kind. But, whilst we say this, we would also urge caution. It is very speculative 1o relinquish a common corn crop which is almost certain in its production, for one of which we know com- paratively nothing, be its prospective advantages never 80 great. Times of great and long depression are sure to call forth speculations of this character : the result has been disastrous to thousands. It pains us to know that the cultivators of cliicory, canaryseed, and turnip- seed, and like small seeds, have suffered most severely during this season, and that the cultivators of potatoes and flax have not as a class been remunerated. The price of the dried ch'cory-root has fallen from £27 10s. to £6 lOs, per ton ; canary-seed from about £5 10s. to £l 15s. per qr. ; and turnip and other seeds, in all their varieties, in equal proportion. This is owing to speculative growth within a very short period. Potatoes and flax are of more general utility, and in consequent demand ; but we fear the continued extension of their culture may ultimately prove very unprofitable. We entertain a high opinion of flax culture, and we believe that the efforts now making to bring into full develoj)- ment all its powers will end in its becoming one of the most general and most profitable of our cultivated crops. In accordance therefore with our original de- sign, we, at this season (being the proper one for sow- ing) bring before our readers such information as we possess upon its culture and management as a crop ; and in its preparation by the cultivator for the manu- facturer. We would first remind our readers that nearly all the raw material used in our linen manufacture is the pro- duce of foreign countries, as is also the linseed crushed for its oil and oilcake. The Government returns show THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 508 that about ^8,000,000 is annually paid to foreigners for flax, linseed, and oilcake, almost the whole of which is brought into home consumption ; the exportation of linen and linen yarn being about two-thirds of the quantity produced, all the oilcake and oil being wholly consumed at home. Now, as we have a climate con- genial to the growth of the flax crop, and a soil well- adapted to its culture, we think the employment of a large portion of our agricultural population in the cultivation and preparation of this crop for the manu- facturer and the oil crusher, can be regarded in no other light than as a national blessing. The amount of expense incurred in manual labour alone, upon an acre of flax of average growth, taking it through all ils stages, i. c, sowing, weeding, pulling, watering, and grassing, lifting, and carting, and scutching will not fall far short of £G ; the rent, rates, and seed to about ^4 more. This appears a heavy outlay, but if sucli a large cost in labour can be abundantly repaid in the crop, no one will demur to it; beside?, we have greater facilities for its culture than formerly, both in the diminution in the price of labour and the scientific appliances brought to bear upon it. In the latter, we have full confidence ; we augur much from Mr. Dickson's m-cUine, and otticr inventions and discoveries both in the preparation and manufacture of this valuable crop. The produce of the flax crop in money value, if we are to credit the accounts given us by many respect- able cultivators (and we see no reason to doubt their correctness), is very great. Many instances are given showing a uett profit varying from £12 to £30 per acre. We think the average yield of an acre of flax will be about 7 cwt., and the produce of seed about 20 bushels. This we think a rather low average. The price of good useful flax per ton is about 60s., and the seed about 6s. per bushel. At these prices the flax will be worth £-21 per acre, and the seed £G; total, £27 ; thus leaving a nett profit of £17 per acre, tak- ing the costs at £10 per acre, as stated. Now, it must be borne in mind that to produce this profit the cultivator must be provided with every convenience ; otherwise he must sell his flax straw to the " retter," or waterer and scutcher ; and herein lies the difficulty. We trust that in every district parties will be found to undertake these departments upon reasonable and equitable terms, and thus encourage the culture of this most valuable and much-required crop. Scutch- ing mills are required in every district suited to flax culture, and will form a profitable business. Soil, and ils preparation for the seed. — The soils best adapted for the growth of flax are the strong alluvial loams, the light clayey loams, and the free and open loams of every kind ; but it may be advantage- ously grown on all soils of open texture and of mode- rate fertility, under suitable pi eparation and rotation of cropping. The finest barley land is admirably adapted to its culture, but the strong and adhesive clays are unsuitable, as are also dry gravels, or lands liable to drought, or being "burnt up." The lighter marly soils, or those having a mixture of sand, appear to agree best with the habit of its growth, and to pro- duce the finest texture in its fibre. The preparation of the land, and the course in the rotation best suited to the flax crop, will mainly depend upon the quality of the soil. On soils of inferior quality we would take the flax crop, first, in any stage of culture or rotation. On the thinner soils — immediately after grass ; this to be broken Hp in the autumn or winter, to allow time for the decomposition of the grassy sods. On soils of stronger texture — after clover, seeds, turnips, or other green crops. And on all good soils — after a corn crop succeeding a green crop, fed ofi". Our object is to secure a good flax crop of such a kind as will yield a fibre of the finest texture and quality. For this pur- pose it must not be allowed to grow too coarse, nor must the crop be too luxuriant. The finest flax will make occasionally £160 per ton, the coarse not more than a third of that price. This is worthy of every consideration in its management, and the soil and mode of culture must be arranged in such manner as to produce, if possible, this satisfactory result. The usual ploughing having taken place, the only object is to produce a fine and higlily-pulverized tilth of nioile- rate depth (on thin soils the deeper the better) ; prior to sowing it should be rolled down with a common field roller ; the seed should then be sown broadcast by a careful seedsman, so as to scatter it most evenly over the surface, and then to be well harrowed in to about one inch in depth, taking care to leave no clods. Drilling is not considered so good as broadcast, but we think a more equal distribution of the seed might be made with the drill, by taking out the coulters, and raising the spouts so as to allow a distribution under the frame-work, the wheels indicating the next line to be taken, or a marker might be attached to denote it. Seed. — It is desirable, if not necessary, to give at- tention to the choice of seed. We know that in every other department of farm practice much depends upon the choice of seed. We also know that varieties do ex- ist in the flax-plant. Von Thaer says, "There are two sorts of flax; one bearing seed-vessels which burst with a report, when, after ripening they are powerfully dried by the sun's rays ; its thread is fine, short, and pliant : and another, which requires thrashing to sepa- rate the seed. In Germany the latter variety alone is cultivated, the former not being considered profi- table." He also names perennial flax, which he kept " growing for six years in full vigour," and produces much longer and firmer stems ; but its thread is coarse brown, and not easily separated, hence this species of flax has never continued long in favour with any one." We can merely suggest that care be taken to select the seed from a stock known to have produced a crop of requisite quality and fineness of growth. The quanlitt/ per acre.— This will vary according to 604 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. the soil. If sown thill it will put forth branches at about one foot in height of its growth; this will cause it to produce more seed, but very seriously detract from its value as a flax crop. Every seed ought to have but one planter stem, and that to grow perpendicularly, so as to produce the greatest quantity of fine long fibre ; if heavy or laid it will be coarse and strong. About two-and-a-half bushels is generally thought sufficient. This again must depend upon the peculiar state of the soil at the period of sowing ; if in beautiful order we think it would suffice, if otherwise add a cor- responding quantity. It should be sufficiently thick to prevent branching — sufficiently thin to prevent its becoming laid, or even if possible bending downward to any extent. We hope the Judgment of our readers will achieve the happy medium. The proper time for sowing is about the middle of April, or it may be done from March to middle of May. Subsequent management and preparation. — There is no crop which will better repay the most careful at- tention of the cultivator, and few that in reality require such constant and undeviating care. The Flemish farmers are admirable patterns in this respect ; their skilful attention to the management of this most valua- ble plant is beyond all praise; and the price they realise in the market is far beyond that attained by others; indeed, we depend upon them for the fine sorts of fia.K ; and it is their management alone that produces it so fine in quality, their soil and climate being in no peculiar way adapted to its culture. The crop requires the most careful hand-weeding and cleanly culture, and on the first weeding it may be very advantageously sown with clover or grass- seeds, which arc seldom known to fail under this course, and is but little injured by the pulling, which will now shortly take place. This season must be carefully attended to, as the quality of the flax very much depends upon the time of pulling. The dif- ficulty is to decide upon the relative state of the iped-balls and the flax-stalks. If it is pulled too early, much seed is consequently lost; but if delayed for only a short time too long, the quality of the fibre is greatly deteriorated. The seed must give way to the fibre. Perhaps the best way is to let the flax be fully out of flower, the seed-balls well formed or set, and seed turning brown, and the flax-stalks yellow beneath, though green at top; it is thus in a good stage for pulling, and, as we think, with the greatest profit to the grower. The process of pulling should now be carried on as rapidly as circumstances will admit, and is done by the puller taking hold of a moderate quantity, near the top, as it stands, and carefully drawing it up so as to keep the root ends even ; it is then tied by a few straws of flax into con- venient sheaves or bundles, and set upright in the field like corn. If tied securely, and the root ends kept even, it is in a proper state for the next process, which is that of rippling, and also for subsequent scutching— though most probably the rippling process will require it to be untied. This had better be avoided if practicable. llie Rippling should always take place in a barn or shed, as the bolls sho ild be kept dry, and on being taken otT should be cart ied to a loft or granary, and spread thinly out; the green or unripe bolls will thus have an opportunity of further ripening their seeds without fermentation. T he rippling is thus performed : The machine contains a row of upright teeth so ad- justed as to take off the seed, leaving the fibre un- injured. The rippler takes a handful ; he spreads the top out like a fan, and gently throws it over the teeth, at the same time drawing it through. The seed-balls being thus separated from the straw, it is re-adjusted for the next process, which is that oi steeping, and the seed-bolls are taken to the loft, to be there winnowed or partially cleaned, to promote their drying more readily and equally, and thus prevent the necessity of kiln-drying. The slower it is in drying without injury, the better, as the seed will imbibe more juices from the husk. The Flax Improvement Society of Ireland say, that the rippling should take place in the field simultaneously with the pulling, and " that the flax ought not to be allowed to stand in the field, if pos- sible, even the second day : it should be rippled as soon as pulled, and carried to the water as soon as possible that it may not harden. The next process is that of watering or retting. This process requires great care. Clear river-water should be used — spring water will not do so well, if at all. Pools should be made of convenient size and shape— the oblong shape is best. The flax is so placed that the root-ends should be lowest, and all in regular layers — the whole covered and pressed so as to be kept under water, and as the fermentation proceeds additional weights may be required, just to keep all down till it ceases; it should not sink to the bottom, and is best kept from light and air. A favourite plan in Flanders is to set the sheaves or bundles upright in the water, so par- ticular are they to preserve purity ; and they take every precaution to arrange their tanks in such a manner that no earth can ba worked into them by rain ; nor do they think it quite right to use the same tank twice in the season, their aim being to give a beautiful colour to their flax, and they are well paid for their attention. The common or ordinary mode of steeping or watering flax is, to place it at once upon pulling and rippling in a neighbouring ditch, and cover it with grass sods ; and much as we prefer the best practice in all cases, yet we do not hesitate to recommend the adoption of this ordinary mode, if no better is at hand, or readily attained. In about ten days, or from eight to fourteen days, it will be sufficiently steeped, according to the state of the weather and water. This requires great attention, as a few hours makes a great difference, and the change is frequently very rapid ; it must be often examined, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 505 and so soon as the woody part will freely pull from the fibre without injury it is considered to be suffi- ciently " retted," and must not remain in steep any longer, or it will speedily pass into decomposition. The lifting from the jiools or steeping-places must be done as quickly as possible, and should be done by hand, and not with fork. The sheaves or bundles, when taken out of the water, should be set up to dry in convenient rows or stooks, or, if the weather is fine and settled, may be untied and spread on grass lands to dry, being occasionally turned with a long rod or fork-shaft. When well dried it is again very carefully tied up and brought into the barn, or other- wise secured for future operation. It should never be kiln-dried — it destroys the rich oily properly of the flax. There will be no injury from repeated turnings, if properly performed. The last operation, to prepare it for the manufacturer, is that of scutching or break- ing— and as this, in fact, is a part of its manufacture, we recommend every grower to take his produce to the nearest scutching-mill, where he will get it better prepared for sale, and at less cost than in all pro- bability he can possibly do on his own premises. We fear wc have too much condensed our observa- tions ui)on this subject; but we hope the outlines of culture and management we have given will be of service to many of our readers in preventing needless outlay, and in leading them to make further and more minute enquiries. More information will thus be gained than can be given in an ordinary paper of this kind. We commend to their reading the Report of the Committee of the Royal Society for the Promotion and Improvement of the growth of Flax in Ireland, and the articles in Morion's Cyclopcedia of Agriculture, entitled, "Flax Culture," and "The Agriculture of Flanders." ON THE BENEFICIAL INVESTMENT OF CAPITAL. England is now entering on one of its periodical fits of moneyed plethora. Consols are touching par, and the Bank has reduced the rate of discount to two per cent. Perhaps, before long, the Three per Cents, will be "paid off." In plain English, some 10s. per cent, will be deducted from the dividends. Capitalists are anxiously looking about for new channels of invest- ment, and the projectors of schemes are preparing bait for that king of the gudgeons, honest John Bull. Rail- ways will take no longer. The country is so closely reticulated with them, that there is scarcely room for more ; and were it otherwise, speculators have been pricked with the hook too recently and too severely, to rise at that fly again, for the present. Where shall a portly, respectable, middle-aged gen- tleman, who has more money than he knows what to do with — and yet wishes to make more — find a safe and profitable investment ? Shares in established, dividend- paying railways are recoveiing from that portion of the late depression which arose from panic consequent on the bursting of the bubble. We know those who bought then, and have sold now at a handsome profit, who regret that they have sold, for they are still rising. The rise, however, will soon attain the limits of safety. Railway debentures are now put, in many trust-Heeds, in the same category withconsols and mort- gages. They were yielding a snug five per cent., but the companies are availing themselves of the present abundance of money to reduce it to three-and-a-half per cent. Which way shall our moneyed friend turn ? Shall he dabble a little in mines ? Mining has some rich prizes and many blanks ; and if a general debtor and creditor account were opened, to mining operations in the aggregate, the profit would be found to be a minus quantity. If, moreover, the history of some of these tempting " wheals," whose prospectuses are now before us, could be traced for the last half century, it would be found to be this: — They have come out pe- riodically, like the swallows, in the sunshine of abun- dance of money ; they have always come out with the most brilliant prospects — an extensive and valuable set secured, lode cut, rich stones broken — nothing wanting but more powerful engines and additional capital, to rea- lize magnificent profits. Like the swallows they depart when winter makes his appearance in the form of tight- ness in the money market, or a panic. They depart without having made a dividend, reserving all their brilliant prospects for more prosperous times. But gold mines. Surely they must pay I Here is a new field for enterprise ! Not less than thirty gold companies for Australia and California ; some to work the wet diggings ; some to bring water to the dr;^ig- gings ; some to wash gold ; some to amalgamate gold ; some to buy gold ; some to work the quartz veins ; some to purchase the auriferous quartz of those who work it, but cannot make a profit of it themselves ; some to stamp it, and separate the gold on the spot ; some to bring it to this country to be separated where labour is cheaper. There was a farrier, or horse leach — it was before the days of veterinary surgery — who concocted his favourite drench, which was a cure, according to his own statement, for every malady which horse-flesh and cow-flesh is heir to, by putting into it all the " jimcracks as ever he could think of," on the principle that " some of them must do good." So amidst all this variety of projects for rendering gold a still greater drug than it is, some of them, it is argued, must pay. But when jou inform your broker that you wish to invest, and ask his advice which to select amidst this perplexing variety, he shakes his 506 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 1 head ; and when a broker shakes his head at shares, wc may be certain that, as in the celebrated case of Lord Burleigh, there is something in it. So perhaps, after all, we may buy gold too dear. Foreign loans are invariably in the market when it is difficult to make good interest at home. At the present time there are many of the monarchies and republics of the world whose finances are in that state in which the loan of a few millions would be very acceptable. But with Spanish, Pennsyl- vanian, and other non-dividend paying bonds in their desks, and with continental Europe in its present un- settled state, capitalists, we should think, will look twice before they take a slice of a foreign loan. There remain only those joint-stock companies which are formed for commercial or manufacturing objects. They are gene- rally in disfavour, though there are some objects to which we think that they might be legitimately and safely applied. Where then shall poor persecuted capital find a resting place for the sole of her foot ? We do not hesitate to reply in the purchase and improved ment of land. While the purchase of land pays but 3^ per cent., the purchase and improvement of unimproved land, if the land bejudiciously|selected,and the improve- ments properly conducted, pays more than 5 per cent. There is a host of evidence to this efi"ect. Our present Premier declared, at the meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society, at Liverpool, in 1841, that there is no bank in the whole country— no investment so safe or so profitable, as that in which even borrowed money may be invested underground in our own soil. He has repeated similar opinions since at other agricul- tural meetings. A large farmer in Berwickshire re- marked to Professor Johnston — " I drain a certain number of acres every year, and I find myself always repaid at the end of the third year. If I have spare capital, therefore, to go on for three years, I can gra- dually drain any quantity of land by the repeated use of the same money." Mr. Pusey, than whom there is no higher authority in practical and scientific agriculture, published, about a year ago, a pamphlet with the title of " What ought Farmers and Landlords to do ?" It might also have been entitled " What ought Capitalists to do?" " Nothing struck me so much," he says, " as the varied means possessed by the owners of land in England for raising the productiveness of their estates. In no country are those means so various. Scotland and Flanders are monotonous in contrast with England. In none has so much been eflfected ; and, after ten years' labour, the same thing still strikes me as forcibly. I know no other safe investment in which moderate ex- pense produces so large a result of profit as many of those permanent improvements of land." The improvements which Mr. Pusey recommends to his brother-landlords as so profitable are the following : Draining, the removal of useless fences, the diminution of four-footed game, the application of burnt clay to stifi" land, that of marl or clay to light land ; boning of pastures, chalking, irrigation, the breaking up of grass land, the improvement of farm-buildings, warping, and the management of manure. The expense of draining, which will add from one sack to one quarter per acre to the produce of much of our wheat land, Mr. Pusey does not estimate at more than £3 the acre. We give the preference to an outlay of ^£"5 or £6, having no great faith in the permanency of very cheap draining. At present prices, this outlay will add from 20s. to 40s. to the annual returns, with no additional expenses than the mere trifle for harvesting, thrashing, and marketing the additional produce. The removal of useless fences, he proves to be equal, in many districts, to an addition of 10 per cent, to the area of the farm, and he urges the removal of hedgerow timber, even at the present low price of timber, as affording the sinews of war for carrying on other improvements. The diminution of four-footed game he very properly designates as per- fectly costless ; and with regard to its money value to the tenant he considers it equivalent to more than 5s. an acre, or 25 per cent, on land rented at 20s. the acre. Burnt clay is shown, on the authority of Mr. Baker, of Writtle, and by numerous other witnesses, to cost, on the strong lands of Essex, about 40s. the acre ; and to improve the first grain crop 20 to 25 per cent. In Bedfordshire it increased the produce by ten bushels the acre, or in money, at the present price of wheat, £2 10s. But the most successful instance was in Worcester- shire, where the cost of burning was 423. an acre, and the produce — first, a crop of vetches, fed ofTj and then, 45 bushels per acre of wheat. This, at 7s. 5d. the bushel, for which it was then sold, amounted to more than the fee-simple of the land on which the improve- ment was effected, and which had previously been va- lued at 7s. 6d. the acre. With wheat at 40s., this crop was equal in value to 30 years' purchase of the land. We must pass by the wonders wrought by Mr. Blake, in Somersetshire, by draining and liming, and hasten to the boning of pasture land in Cheshire, "by which many a poor and honest, but half-broken, farmer has been raised from poverty, and many a sinking family saved from ruin:" the cost, £7 to ^8 the acre; the profit, "at least 300 per cent., enabling three cows to be kept where one fed before, and making land cheaper at 30s. than at 10s. in its native state." Chalking costs less than £3 the acre, adds greatly to the quantity and quality of the produce, is practised extensively in Dorsetshire, Hampshire, and on the Lincolnshire Wolds, but not on those of Yorkshire or on the South Downs, where Mr. Pusey thinks that it is much needed. We may add, that the claying and marl- ing of Norfolk, which, in conjunction with high-farming, has raised its poor soils from a rye-growing to a wheat- growing district, and increased their rental tenfold un- der equal conditions as regards the price of produce, is in many cases nothing more than chalking, either with chalk from the solid rock, under the name of marl, or with transported and fragmentary chalk from the super- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 507 ficial deposits, under the name sometimes of marl, sometimes of clay. Permission to break up poor pas- ture is regarded, Mr. Pusey says, by occupiers as a boon even with the present prices of grain ; and, under proper after-management, he thinks it a boon which may be safely conceded. Warping, though an admirable process, is only practised with much success on two rivers— the Ouse and the Trent ; but the formation of catch-water meadows is of more general application. It costs £3 an acre, and the profit attending the outlay varies from thirty to fifty per cent. The farm -build- ings are in many counties grossly deficient, and to build them anew is beyond the means of most landlords. Here then is a chance for men who have capital to invest. Let them sell out of the funds, and pur- chase, under good advice, land capable of improvement wherever they can find it. Such land is letting now at 8s. to 12s. the acre, and in many cases at lower rents. It requires an outlay in draining, chalking, marling, or claying, and improved buildings, of about ten pounds the acre. To a tenant possessing skill and capital to give effect, by good cultivation, to these permanent improve- ments, it may be made worth from 20s. to 25s. an acre at once. This is one mode in which the present glut of capital may be turned away from bubble schemes into agricultural channels with equal advantage to the moneyed and agricultural classes. There are others to be considered hereafter. T. BEET-ROOT SUGAR. Root, fibrous, and oleaginous crops form a succession in the open country, where the immediate vicinity of markets is not an element in the calculation. Amongst these, in connection wilh wheat, the farmer can choose where the demand is insured. In order, however, to have a sure basis before he changes his system of crops, the farmer requires to have all doubts removed as to the cer- tainty of the demand for the more expensive products. Of late years the value of the fibrous crops has become better appreciated than it formerly was. The consump- tion of linen has very much increased : both as an ar- ticle of luxury and of common use flaxen textures have multiplied, and yet there is room for further supplies. Our foreign importations increase from year to year. They were for flax — 1841 66,910 tons. 1845 70,916 „ 1849 90,333 „ 1850 91,145 „ If the average value be taken at but £iO per ton, there is an opening for the home farmer to the extent of £3,600,000 in this article alone, which, at the rate of half a ton per acre, would occupy nearly 200,000 acres at a most remunerating price. No crop is, however, so dependent on the nature of the rotations in which it is grown as flax ; and where it becomes, as in Belgium and Holland, the dominant crop of the system, it restricts seriously the choice of crops. It so happens that no crop is a better preparation for flax than beet-root, since it leaves no stubble behind it, the imperfect decay of which is injurious to the flax. Respecting the cost of growing flax, and the average yield, much valuable information is annually circulated by the Royal Society for promoting the Growth of Flax in Ireland. It would appear to be the custom in Ireland to grow flax on the wheat or other corn stubble, without manuring afresh. Under such circumstances, the yield will not prove very heavy. The following results of actual cultivation give only 9601bs to the Irish acre; consequently much below half a ton. After a late, wet crop, with the precautions usual in flax-growing coun- tries, half a ton per acre is not a heavy crop. AFTER POTATOES IN 1849, FOLLOWED BY WHEAT IN 1850. "o S3 ^ Ploughed in Autumn. Ploughed in Spring. Price. Total Amount. *J CO 'C s. d. £ s. d. Once. Once. 70 7 6 26 5 0 Once. Once. 50 6 6 16 5 0 Twice 73^ 7 0 25 14 6 Once. 70 7 0 24 10 0 Once. Once. sn 8 3 22 9 7i Once. Once. 53 8 0 21 4 0 Once. Once. 66| 6 9 22 8 10^ Ouce. Once. 49 6 6 15 18 6 Ouce. 52i 7 9 20 6 105 195 2 4i Average, nearly 60 stones to the acre. The cost per acre is shown by the following statement, drawn from the same valuable publication. "In spring, 1851, having well pulverized and cleaned the land, I proceeded, in the month of April, to sow it with one barrel (of 3^ bushels) of Riga seed to the acre, according to the instructions of the Royal Flax Society ; and the h*vest- ing of the crop was performed under the directions of a prac- tical instructor from the north, sent down especially for this district. Its intermediate culture only consisted in carefully weeding it, which was rather a tedious operation ; and, in August, it was pulled and stacked on the Courtrai system : part I sold in the unthrashed straw, seed and all ; and from part I took the seed, with flat mallets made for the purpose, and disposed of the seed to the Messrs. Drummond, seeds- men, Dublin. The straw was sold to Mr. Carleton, of Wa- terford, to whose fair dealing and prompt payment I bear a willing testimony. I subjoin an account of the expenditure and receipts ; — To ploughing and harrowing an Irish acre twice . . £1 Picking, 4 girls, at 5d. 0 Rolling before and after sowing, and harrowing after 0 Cost of one brl. of seed 2 Sowing, I of a day 0 Weeding, per acre 0 Pulling, binding, and stacking ditto 0 10 Housing ditto 0 1 Rent, poor rate, and county cess 2 5 £6 16 6 508 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Whicli, for 5a. 3k. (omitting odd perdics), is ..£35 16 7^ Tliraahiiigj, rebindinjr, winnowing, and sifting seed 2 10 Cost of delivering straw in Waterford 3 11 8 Cost of carriiige cf seed by rail to Dublin, and cartage , 1 15 4 Total expenditure ou 5a. 3r £43 4 7i RKCKIPTS. By 8 ton 7 cwt. lllbs. of uuthrashed straw, at £4 per ton £33 8 6 By 8 ton 12 cwt. of thrashed straw, at £2 10s. per ton 21 12 6 By 81i bushels of seed, at 73. 6d. per bushel . . 30 11 3 £85 12 Deduct expenditure 43 4 Balance to profit on 5a. 3r £42 7 7^ Or nett profit, per acre, of 7 7 4 " In contrasting this profit with that of any corn crop, it must be borne in mind that it was grown on a whcaten stubble ; and I would ask, what second crop, at i)re^eat prices, would bring out so good result, after all expenses ?" Into the cost of growing wheat it is here needless to enter : the subject has been exhausted for every situation and for every soil. An average crop of 40 bushels will be considered by all farmers a good return even in fa- voured localities, and as prices now do not exceed 5s. per bushel, the maximum return for wheat at the nearest market is £10 per acre, the straw of course going into the stable and cattle yard. But it is well known that more than half the kingdom is below this estimate as to the yield. Wheat is upon this calculation less remunerating on the average than flax. But there is a crop, beet, which surpasses both in the quantity as well as in the profit it returns, and which is adapted to alternate with the other two in a manner which causes each of the three to pro- mote the success of the others. The place in the rotations of crops which is commonly ascribed to beet, is after the grain crops. Mangold- wurtzel was originally grown as a supplementary crop on the fallow, and its surprising yield first attracted notice in that capacity. With the increased demand for meat and dairy produce, consequent on the growth of population, the beet has ceased to be a leading crop in the njcinity of large towns. Yet from the various causes that have been mentioned, meat is so low in price as to cause an apprehension with regard to the value of this crop. The cost of growing beet has been estimated as amount- ing to £6 2s. 2d. per acre, without rent. MAXGOLp WURZEL CROP ON A WHEAT STUBBLE, Rent £2 0 o Tythe, poor rate, &c 0 10 0 30 27-bu8hel carts of manure — carted, filled, and spread -. 1 0 0 One 12-inch digging, at 2d. ler rod 16 8 Or, one trench ploughing with two ploughs, 1 4s. Two scarifyings in spring 0 4 0 Two harrowings and rollings 0 3 6 3 cwt. superphosphate of lime 1 4 0 Seed and drilling 0 3 3 Three deep horse hoeings, with Garrett's horse hoe 0 3 0 Two hand hoeings, singling, &c., at Ss. 6d 0 7 0 Pulling, topping, filling into carts, stacking, thatch- ing, and earthing 30 tons (by contract) 0 9 0 Catting 0 12 0 £8 2 2 The return for this outlay is stated to be 30 tons per acre, valued at 9s. 6d. per ton, and leaves a loss at that price which has to be charged against manure. It is therefore clrar that if the manure could be pro- duced without stock, and Os. per ton secured for the beet root, a profit instead of a loss would accrue, amounting to the saving effected in diminished capital invested, risk of life and of markets, cattle sheds, atten- dance, &c. This profit the manufacture of sugar promises to ensure to the farmer in the following manner : — Accord- ing to the most improved method of heating the beet for the manufacture of sugar, the process of extracting the saccharine matter can be spread over the whole year, whereas it was formerly compressed (like the cane sugar) into some months following the harvest. The benefit which the manufacturer derives from the change, is in his requiring less plant than formerly. In this improve- ment the prodncer participates, for every facility renders the market more accessible than befctre. The seed has hitherto been drawn from Silesia for the production of the white or sugar beet ; a flattering tes- timonial to the farmers of that country, who first de- voted themselves to the perfecting of what has proved so profitable a product. The seed is either sown broadcast, in drills, or in beds for transplanting ; the last method being most in use in severe climates, where the spring is retarded by heavy snows. But the most important por- tion of the farming process consists in the fact, that the factory returns nine-tenths of the weight raised to the soil in refuse, which consists almost entirely of fibrine and albumen. The scientific farmer will not be long in divining that a rotation of crops which allows of the re- turn of these elements to the soil, is one which protects him against exhaustion, and which ensures his power of raising his soil to the highest capabilities. The sugar beet neither attains the size nor is so hardy as the mangold-wurtzel ; it may therefore be safer to calculate on 20 tons to the acre than on 30 tons, which is the yield of the mangold-wurtzel on the best farms. We are thus brought to the following calculation :— 20 tons of sugar beet, at ISs. 4d. per ton £13 6 8 Cost of production as above, less £2 43. for manure 3 18 2 £9 8 8 The ground which needs no manure but the refuse from the factory for the beet, ought to be manured for flax with turf ashes if possible, and should of course be manured for the wheat. With liquid manure turnips can, as usual, be taken off as stubble crop, and the chances being that on well formed grounds the produce of beet will average more than 20 tons, there is little boasting in assuming the sugar beet to be a crop yielding j^^lO per acre. But now comes the serious part of the ques- tion. How is this market to be secured to the grower — a market which makes him master of his rotation, empowering him to select the choice of crops .' The former calculations have shown that our conti- nental neighbours have had the start of us in this inte- resting field. The manufacture as well as the cultivation of the root comes (as the name of the root, mangel THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 309 wurzel, or root of scarcity, indicates) from Germany. The name should denote that the root prevents scarcity (lucusa non lucendo), and it is amusing that tlie French farmer terms it " Disette," or " famine," meaning of course thereby, that it puts an actual famine out of the question. We are happy to state that the manufacture has at length followed the plant which, we believe, was first introduced by the celebrated Count Rumford. A German gentleman, the head of an establishment which last year produced three thousand tons of sugar of remarkable quality, has patented the improved pro- cess by which this great return has been obtained, and is now in treaty with a company to carry out the ma- nufacture on a very extensive scale in England and in Ireland. The undertaking is no longer a speculation, for it is proposed to erect & facsimile of the successful German factory, and to work it precisely in the same manner. A capital of ^£"60,000 is considered sufficient to produce 3,000 tons per annum. Hence, if ,£50,000 be invested in buildiogs, machinery, &c., the actual cost of manufacturing becomes a small item , probably not exceed ing £& lOs. per ton. The duty will make this £16 10s., but as the quality now made is equal to white Havannah, for which £36 10s. is the market price, a remainder of £20 is left to purchase the beet and pay a dividend. If the quality of saccharine matter extracted and crystallized did not exceed 5 per cent., or l-20th of the weight of the root, the price of 13s. 4d. per ton would be equivalent to £13 6s, 8d. per ton of sugar stuff. The manufacturer's profit would, in that case, be £& 13s. 4d. per ton ; but the improved processes for extraction bring out more than 8 per cent. ; hence the manufac turer, after paying a good price for the root, and re- turning the refuse to the soil, may look forward to a profit of nearly iflO per ton of sugar. The remunera- tion is sufficiently high to ensure the success of the pro- ject with the English public, especially as we are told that it will appear under the auspices of influential par- ties. PERIODICAL RAVAGES OF INSECTS ON GROWING CROPS. It is one of the utterly inexplicable circumstances which often so puzzle those who have to do with life, that, without apparent cause or warning, in some years, the turnip, the wheat, the hop, or tlic bean crop becomes the victim of some devastating insect. The gardener finds the same difficulty. His most flourishing plants in a few days wither and die : the root, the stem, the leaf, or the flower suffers, he knows not why nor wherefore, beyond that some insect has, for some reason or another, commenced an attack. And what is more remarkable, it is an insect pe- culiar to the plant he cultivates. To all others in his greenhouse it is perfectly innocuous. He is perfectly startled to see his gooseberry-bushes stripped of their foliage in a few days, and his pro- mising crop annihilated, while not one of these caterpillars will injure a flourishing currant-bush, surrounded by destruction. How comes this visitation ? how tliis fine, minute, and sensitive discrimination ? A florist imports an African or West Indian plant. He places it in his green- house. It is fine and healthy; but one day he discerns on it an aphis never before seen in Eng- land. How did it come ? Or a hop-planter sees his hop-bines grow with unusual promise and vigour : in a night, they are covered with the terrific smother-fly. The past season has been one of east winds ; and we have been told more than once that we might expect to see a vast quantity of insects — " the east wind always does bring them." This idea mayeasily have originated from the once miraculous visitation of locusts being so induced: "And the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts" (Ex. x. 13). Could an east v/ind bring the West Indian aphis? Im- possible. Lost as many theorists are in these difficulties, they found it easier to invent a theory — to weave a frail spider's web — than investigate na- ture ; and here they set U]) a convenient system of equivalent generation, as if life could clotheinanimate matter spontaneously, to serve a purpose, by some accidental or ordained law ! And yet, where would that man be consigned who would even urge that a cow or a sheep, a horse or a pig, had sprung up spontaneously, because there was too much grass. They would startle at one animal growing up M'ith- out a parent, but would not scruple to assert it of a myriad ! But the Jamaica aphis, the hop smother-fly, and the black caterpillar are due to no such causes. They all had parents. In some years, their pro- geny might find a congenial season ; and in that or the next, they might be found abounding in countless and irresistible numbers, spreading dis- may and devastation over thousands of broad acres, and setting at defiance the best efforts of man. We know not whether the east winds of 1852 may or may not be followed by any special insect visitation; but we are certain of this — that the bean-plant is now suffering from the ravages of the bean-weevil in a very serious degree. We have entered few fields where they are altogether absent. The insect is the curculio crinata, or bean-weevil ; 610 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. and though the havoc it commits is very easily visible in the shattered and perforated boles of the bean-plant, when — say some two to four inches above ground, the insect itself is very difficult to detect; for, though it contrasts sufficiently with the green verdure of the beans, it shrinks and drops rather than jumps to the ground, and upon the grey soil it is almost impossible to discern it, for it lies completely still. Hence in the mornings and evenings, just at sun-rise and before its mid-day activity is attained, or on a cold and cloudy day, when it is sluggish, it may be detected on the leaf; but in bright sunshine it is almost impossible to find one visible in a field ever so infested. If, how- ever, the observer will stand perfectly still, they re- cover in a few moments, and make for the plants. On them they can be readily seen, and when they leave, as they will do on the least movement, the eye may follow their stealthy concealment, and thus they may be detected. Is'ow, though entomologists seem utterly puzzled to attempt any cure, or, at any rate, any means of arresting the ravages of the insect, we do not think the farmer need utterly despair. In 1830 they committed sad ravages on the beans, in 1844 they did the same, and in 1852 they seem to be again at work with very determined vigour. They seem, therefore, to have something like a range of ten or eleven years, on an average. Though the insect itself is uninjured by almost any application — their hard boring cases being a very important defence — they are often starved by a very efficient dusting of the plants with hmej especially when the sun is on the plants, so as to make it adhere. It has two good effects : it con- denses the wounds of the plant, and so prevents its utter destruction from the loss of its juice ; and it also renders the plant so unpalatable as to induce the insects to ssek at once a place suitable for depo- siting their eggs, and dying. "NVe have always found it to be a rule, that when an insect's food was with- drawn, its remaining stages of existence were in- variably hastened ; and if this is the case with the bean-weevil, as is very probable, a dusting of lime may very easily save a crop, as we believe it has frequently done. But we are not without evidence of means of pre- vention. The insect always eats the bean plant when the latter is young. Like the turnip flea- beetle, which only attacks the cotelydon leaves, or the aphis, which sucks only the juice of the tender and recent shoots, the bean-weevil will only injure the beans when they are so small as we have de- scribed. Hence their ravages commence with the month of March, and usually end with that of April. Beyond that time they usually do little damage, if they are at all visible ; and here the great resource of the farmer is winter beans, ^\e lately went over the farm of Mr. iSmith, of llumburton, and while his spring beans were suffering most fearfully from the weevils, his winter beans were entirely unhurt. They were too old for the weevils at the time they were afloat, and in the autumn the weevils were not there to injure them. Now, considering that the winter bean is also generally free from the bean- aphis or "dolphin," it is very desirable to culti- vate that plant. Nor let it be forgotten to sow it in ridges. They deepen the soil for the bean or deep-feeder ; they faciUtate the horse-hoe, and so make a sort of fal- low. They should be sown twenty-five to twenty- seven inches apart, and the constant operations of horse-hoeing would generally stave off the attacks of any insects, as not only would some be buried, but the rest would be so disturbed and annoyed as probably one way or other to promote their flight or destruction. — Gardeners' and Farmers' Journal. 1 VEGETATION IN THE ARCTIC REGION.— " It was in a patch of burnt woods in this vicinity that, in the year 1820, I discovered the beautiful Eutoca Franklinii, now so common an ornament of our gar- dens." On the 6th of July, at the Pine Portage on Clear Water River, they found " Lonicera parviflora showing a profusion of rich yellow, tinged with red, and fragrant flowers, and gathered ripe Strawberries for the first time in the season." "At Fort Simpson," Sir J. Richardson says, " Barley is usually sown from the 20th to the 25th of May, and is expected to be ripe on the 20th of August, after an interval of 92 days. In some seasons it has ripened on the 15th. Oats, which take longer time, do not thrive quite so well ; and Wheat does not come to maturity. Potatoes yield well, and no disease has as yet affected them, though the early frost sometimes hurt the crop. Barley, in favour- able seasons, gives a good return at Fort Norman, further down the river ; and Potatoes and various gar- den vegetables are also raised there. The 65th parallel of latitude may, therefore, be considered as the northern limit of corn- crops in this meridian. Wheat does not reach beyond the 60th." It is curious to find that in October, 1836, a pit sunk in a heavy mixture of sand and clay, to the depth of 16ft. lOin., revealed 10ft. 7in. of thawed soil on the surface, and 6ft. Sin. of a perma- nently frozen layer, beneath which the ground was not frozen. At length, at Fort Good Hope, on the Mac- kenzie River, Sir John Richardson reached, in parallel about 67 deg., the latitude in which even the hardiest garden vegetables could not be productive. " A few turnips, radishes, and some other culinary vegetables, grow in a warm corner, under the stockades ; but no corn is cultivated there, nor do potatoes repay the labour of planting." Some of our garden inhabitants, however, struggle on as far as latitude 68 deg. 37 min. ; for there, in the valley of the Mackenzie River, Sir J. Ri- chardson found the Red Currant, Rosa blanda, Kalmia glauca, Nardosmia palmata, and Lupinus perennis. — Compiled from Sir J. Richardson's Arctic Searchint/ Expedition, THE FARMER'S MAGAZLNE. 511 CULTIVATION OF TURNIPS. We last month alluded to the quantities and weights of turnips per acre, and showed what a vast mass of misconception existed as to the bulk per acre of a crop of turnips, because it was a crop less usually tested by the scale than one of wheat, of oats, or of barley ; in which cases, the result was generally accin-ately ascertained. But howveiy much further will the quality of a turnip crop be influenced than its quantity, and at what a distance is the majority of farmers from even approximating towards this fact! They have neither the power nor the ojjpor- tunity. They see a crop of turnips or corn : it is good, or bad, or middling. If the latter, it will be so many bushels per acre ; but, how much food- producing or fat-producing matter it has, is a matter of utter conjecture. An acre of turnips of the same size and weight goes generally for an acre, and is so reckoned by fanners and valuers ; but experience has long ago taught us that there is all the difference in the worll between one crop and another as regards the production of absolute food in the animals fed upon them. We happen to have two classes of land : one worth 40s. per acre, and another worth 20s. — the one a fine siliceous soil on a gravelly subsoil ; the other, a blowing sand on a grey or yellow sand subsoil. And we find that sheep fattened on the one class of soils — of the same calibre and character— always exceed those in weight fed on the other. The turnips are better. Now, the difference between rich and poor soils is simply this : the former contain more in number or greater in quantity of the elements necessary to grow crops, either by existing more abundantly in the soil itself, or in the soil being deeper, and hence having a larger supply per acre for the use of the plant. Hence manures also may affect the proportions of certain elements in which the real agricultural value of a plant consists. Thus, Boussingault found a great difference in the different kinds of manure on wheat grown at Hermstadt. Unmanuredsoil produced 1 „ ,. e i ^ wheat containincr.... I" ^ ^'^^ '='"^- «f S^^^^"- J) nearly. Manured withcows'dnng , . 12 „ sheep's do. . . 23 „ bullocks' blood 35 ,, urine........ 36 Mr. Lawes' more recent experiments on beans gave a similar result j not, indeed, between any kind of manure as compared with no manure at all, but mineral as compared with ammoniacal. The per-centage of nitrogen in the dry matter of beans was thus found : — Ceans grown by mineral manure.. 4'77 per cent. „ amnioniacul do . . 5' 11 „ His researches on turnips subsequently made are more in point, and on these he says — " The per-centage of nitrogen in the dry sub- stance of the produced bulb by mineral manures alone is l'o2 ; by the addition of rape-cake, which contains, besides a large amount of carbon, a con- siderable quantity of nitrogen, we have ]"91 per cent. ; by ammoniacal salts, supplying abundance of nitrogen but no carbon, 2"S6 per cent., and when to this exclusive nitrogenous supply rape- cake is superadded, we have 2'33 per cent." This was about the amount of our knowledge as to actual experiment. Professor Johnston, indeed, had showed that the oil, for instance, in a quantity of flour might vary according to the manure, as far as from 1.4 per cent, to 2.7 per cent, from the wheat grown by Mr. Burnett, of Glenarm; but Lord Blantyre has tested the application of ma- nures and their effects on crops by the scale as to \)ae\x fattening results. He manured some land for turnips in the following proportions per acre : — No. 1 had 20 tons of farm -yard manure. No. 2 had 4 cwt. of Peruvian guano. No. 3 had 10 tons of dung and 2 cwt. of guano. The turnips were Skirving's purple top yellow, and the turnips with guano alone showed during the season somewhat more luxuriance than the rest ; but little or no difference could be perceived when the crops came to maturity. A number of two- year-old cattle — being a cross between short-horns and Caithness— were selected and divided into three lots of seven each, and were weighed to begin with, being supplied with turnips ad libitum, and afterwards hay and a decreased supply of turnips, but ultimately a small allowance (2lbs.) of oilcake was added. The quantity of turnips consumed was as follows : — Tons cwt. qr. Lot No. 1. — Fed on the turnips grown witli dung alone consumed 3 acres 2 roods and 27 perches, weighing 9G 14 1 Lot No. 2. — Fed on turnips grown with guano alone consumed 3 acres 2 roods and 4 perches, weighing 96 13 I Lot No. 3. — Fed on the turnips grown with guano and dung consumed 3 acres 2 roods and 11 perches, weighing 90 10 0 The experiment commenced on the 21st of Oct. and continued till the 10th of March, and the re- 2 L 612 THE I'AllMKR'S MAGAZINE. biilts gave the fuUowii)^' live wciylits ol' the ani- mals : — Lot 1 increased . t 2,5381b8. Lot 2 increased 2,3181bs. Lot 3 increased 2,4351bs. Showing an increase on the lot fed on turnips grown with farm-yard diuig alone of 2-2()lbs. of live weight. Lord Blantyre says, by his agent, in the essay to which the prize was awarded by the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, "Assuming G-lOths as equal to the dead weight, we have 132lbs., estimated at 5d. per lb., equal to 55s. as the increase in money value on the lot, or an average of 7s. l().id. for each beast, and there being 3 acres 2 roods and 27 perches of turnips consumed by this lot, the advantage in favour of the dung-grown turnips is equal to about 15s. 7d, per acre." But there is another element— ^Ae cost. This is the real agricultural criterion after all. On this he yays, " Aiouming llic other exjionsts of the turnip crop grown with the diflcrent manures to be equal, the cost for dung in this exi)eriment is, at 5s. per ton, £5 per acre, for guano £2 per acre, and for half dung and guano £3 lOs. ; so that unless the subsequent crop made up the difference of cost, a loss of £3 per acre minus the 15s. 7d. per acre gained in feeding, as shown above, will give the results of growing turnips with dung instead of guano for feeding cattle." Our own impression is, that as the difference between the cattle fed on the turnips half dung and half guano was but 103lbs. live weight, or I7lll.>s. of meat, and as they consumed 4 cwt. 1 qr. less turnips, wc should always prefer the addition, and spreading the manure over as much land as pos- sible, and adding a small quantity of guano rather than manuring with either alone. — Gardeners' and Farmers' Journal. LOUGHBOROUGH AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY The usual quarterly discussion of this Society was held at the Bull's Head Assembly-room, Loughborough, oa Thursday, the 25th of March last. The subject for discussion was—" The present relations of Landlord and Tenant, and how they may be improved for their mutual benefit and the public good." The Vice-Presi- dent of the Society, S. B, Wild, Esq., presided, and was supported on the right and left by Messrs. G. Kilby, G. B. Paget, C. Stokes, T. B. Miller, J. Buck- ley, M. Shield, R. Burrows (Ruddington) , J. Henson, W. J. Ward, W. F. Ella, C. Bosworth, C. W. Wood, W. Lee (Barrow), J. Ashby, — Carver, jun. (Ingarsby), W. Whattoff, H. Humphrey, &c., &c. The cloth having been removed, and the healths of " The Queen," " Prince Albert, and other members of the Royal Family," and " The President of the Society" (C. W. Packe, Esq., M.P.), drunk with the usual ho- nours, the Chairman called upon Mr. Allen, of Thur- maston, to open the discussion. Mr. Allex, in doing this, observed that, at present, a tenant in this part of the country was not entitled, on quitting his farm, to any compensation, after having reaped a crop, for those expensive improvements which were available for a course of years — for instance, for liming, marling, &c., and also for those temporary im- provements of more limited duration, such as the use of artificial food, which were not expected to be repaid in the feeding and fattening of stock, but from the future enrichment of the soil in co-operation with artificial ma- nures, there being increased crops in a course of tillage ordinarily extending over a period of four years. It was evident that no farmer would think himself safe in in- curring this outlay in those materials, and finding him- self liable to instant ejectment, without remuneration for those disappointed expectations which had induced him to incur so heavy an expense. Any interruption to this necessary confidence on the part of the farmer in bringing out the most productive powers of the soil, must be a loss to the owner, inasmuch as the capabilities of his estate were not properly developed by the tenant, whose skill, industry, and employment of capital were cramped, while the public in general suffered from the national loss which resulted from individual short- com- ings, particularly to the good of the people. The addi- tional advantage from an improved relationship between landlord and tenant would necessarily result in the em- ployment of more labour, and the consequently increased comforts of the poor would diminish local taxation. All, therefore, that was wanted was, that the law should establish, in the absence of agreement to the contrary, that unexhausted improvements should be paid for to the outgoing tenant according to fair valuation, instead of being, as they now were, forfeited. In the present state of the law, the landlord, who was tenant for life, had it not in his power, however much he might wish it, to indemnify an enterprising tenant for the improve- ments he might think it desirable to make. This placed the tenantry in this country certainly in a mitigated de- gree, but still something in the position of the tenants of the encumbered estates in Ireland, which Parliament had been called upon to redress. Again, as the law now stood, the proprietor sued the tenant (and properly) for dilapidations ; was it not therefore fair that the tenant should also sue for his unexhausted improvements ? And he (Mr. A.) knew of no means better calculated to promote and preserve that harmony which should exist between landlord and tenant, as the fair and well-under- stood pretensions of both. In conclusion, the speaker hoped that those who succeeded hiin, and who were practised in the rights between outgoing and incoming THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 513 tcniuif.t, would state the diiiicuUies thej had to encounter for wantof a more equitable system of tenant-right (Hear, and applause). Mr. C. Stokes expressed the pleasure he had in once more meeting bis fellow-members at their quarterly dis- cussion, and his conviction that no object was more de- sirable to be accomplished than a just and equitable tenant-right. lie then spoke of the security given to the capital of the tenant-farmer in Norfolk and the Wolds of Lincolnshire, and the consequently improved culture of the soil in those districts ; contrasted that security with the yearly tenancy system of the Midland Counties, where, for instance, if a tenant-farmer put five tons of lime upon his land, and reaped one crop, he received no return for his lime, which it was well known did not cease to benefit the land for eight or ten years after (Hear, hear). Though the bargain between land- lord and tenant was a private transaction, and no man had a riglit to interfere, he strongly recommended ten- ants, when they took a farm, to be well satisfied that it was worth the money they were taking it for ; but if they did take it for more m.oney than it was worth, not to grumble about it for ever afterwards (cheers and laughter). Mr. G. KiLBY said he was glad their subject for that d;iy was framed in the manner it was on the card — being convinced that none of them (though they might be only tenant-farmers) wiihed to consider their own side only (Hear, hear) ; in the long run it would be found that their interests were identical, and that they must work together. lie believed that they had but little to expect from any others but themselves (Hear, hear) ; and they must look to themselves. In taking farms, they must look to their ov.n interests, and try to make as good bargains as they could. The relations between landlord and tenant were very defective indeed, particularly where capital had been expended which the tenant had not received the benefit from. It was this that kept many tenants in their farms, and prevented their farms being returned upon the hands of the landlords (Hear, hear). The custom in this neighbourhood of taking farms from year to year, without the tenant having the right of compensation for unexhausted improvements, had a ten- dency to prevent improved cultivation of their farms and the making of those improvements they otherwise would make (Hear, hear). The object of tenants had been to get hold of all the land they could, without sufficiently thinking of the conditions ; but it behoved them now to secure perfect remuneration for unexhausted improvements on leaving their farms (cheers). They found the laws respecting these things were generally on one side — that of the Landlord — which was very na- tural, considering tvho made those laws, and that they were made at a time when the tenants were little better than slaves, while their landlords were like tyrants ; and, even now, the tenants were not entirely free men. But let them show their landlords that the tenants were free men as much as they were free gentlemen (Hear, hear). He could not say he had very great faith in getting legislative enactments. He doubted whether they would gain anything from that source ; and his advice was, to look to theu'selves (Hoar, hear). After can- vassing the merits of leases and a system of corn-rents, Mr. K. declared his opinion to be in favour of a just and equitable tenant-right. He then alluded to the Landlord and Tenant Act passed in July, 1851, and read some of the clauses : that Act, though a very trifling one, yet granted the principle which they had not before — that buildings, machinery, &c., erected by a tenant on his farm could be removed, providing he had erected them with the written consent of his landlord. Thus if a tenant, by the written consent of his landlord, erected a pig- stye, he would be at liberty to take it away (laughter). But in this Act the landlords had not for- gotten their own interest : they [carried the law of dis- traint a little further, and secured to the landlord the power of seizing upon the crops of the tenant before his rent became due, if other parties were making seizures. They must agitate — as other parties did — and if they did not agitate now, they would not get justice as long as they lived (Hear). The occupiers of land were all suffering now from the alteration in the laws of import duties ; but that suffering was not general throughout the agricultural interest, for where the landlords did not reduce their rents, they were benefited by Free- trade (Hear, hear). They must have a general system of tenant-right, for without it the tenant-farmers could not produce more than they did now ; and with the popula- tion of our little sea-girt isle increasing by thousands and thousands, they would become more and more de- pendent for their bread upon foreigners (applause). — Mr. K. concluded, amid loud cheers, by glancing at the history of their quarterly discussions since they were established just ten years ago. Mr. G. B. Paget observed that it was just eight years since he had introduced thepresent subject to their notice, and it was a matter of congratulation that the subject had been since attracting such increasing attention; evidencing that the shoe was pinching somewhere. It was exceedingly difficult to ascertain what remedy to apply to the evils of which they complained, yet they were certain that there was great wrong somewhere, and that some remedy must be applied to that wrong. The Act of Parliament mentioned by Mr. Kilby had done something in laying down the principle that an executor might give compensation to an out-going tenant for im- provements ; a right which executors had not before, however they might wish to give such compensation (Hear, hear). If tenants made bad terms it was their own fault : he was convinced that in these times, where the landlords had the power, they were willing to grant tcnant-rigfit. What they wanted from Parliament was an Act whicli should enable landlords (who were the tenants for life) to bind their successors to those arrange- ments which they made with their tenants, whereby the tenant got security for those improvements that were for their mutual benefit (Hear, hear). He saw great diffi- culties in a legal enactment going further than that, owing to the different customs prevailing in different counties ; and had they gone to Parliament twenty years ago for an Act such as some now wanted, it would bind them to all the old fashioned modes of agriculture. 2 L 2 514 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Mr. W. WuKJUT, of Barton, tlien made a few re- marks upon the different customs of Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, to show that tlie tenant-farmers of the former county had overcome many of the difficulties under which their brethren of Leicestershire now laboured. Mr. R. Burrows, of lluddington, contended that the law might go further in tenant-right than Mr. Paget liad mentioned, tftul yet leave it sufficiently indefinite as to allow for the peculiar customs of diflerent counties. He considered the late Act referred to as childish, and objected to the tenant having to get the written consent of the landlord for what he wished to erect on his land. The tenant ought to be at liberty to erect any foolish thing he liked, and ought to be able to claim compensa- tion for what his buildings and improvements were worth to the land, and for no more; that would be the proper check upon him, as he would not then lavish his money upon useless things (Hear, hear). Mr. Burrows humorously concluded his speech by remarking that the natural effect of the law of distraint was to make people believe that landlords were not capable of looking after their property like the rest of the world (although they were naturally secured by land being more difficult to run away with), but must be protected by speciil Act of Parliament ; and (quoting our quaint friend Tom Ilealey, of Ashwell), by observing that " landlords were receiving commercial rents, but retained feudal 710- iions," which they must get rid of, and lei commercial notions go hand-in-hand icith commercial rents {lledx, hear.) Mr. G. B. Paget then proposed the health of the Chairman, which was drunk in a most _^hearty manner. The Chairman replied at some length, stating his hearty concurrence in that modern axiom, worthy to be added to the wise sayings of antiquity — " Property has its duties as well as its rights." He also expressed him- self in favour of tenant-right, though it wou'd be diffi- cult to make a general enactment on the subject which would not in some cases injuriously affect the landlord ; but if that were accomplished, he thought a well-di- gested system of tenant-right would be preferable to leases (Hear). The worthy Chairman concluded with some allusions to the Model Farm, which we omit as not bearing very closely on the topic of tlic day, and being short of room. Mr. C. W. Wood observed that the longer and further they carried their retrospect of what the law had done between landlord and tenant, the more convinced would they be of its being one-sided legislation, throw- j ing all power into the hands of the landlords, totally j regardless of the interests of the tenants ; and this con- I tinned until the Reform Bill gave a little power to the other side. Since the year 1815, the rent-roll of this country had been increased to the amount of between £10,000,000 and ^'12,000,000, which had come out of the pockets of the tenants. If only half of that sum had been distributed amongst the tenants — ;£'5,000,000 a year— he reckoned they would be in a rather different position to what they were naw. It was an absolute right — a strict principle of justice— that the out-going tenant should be remunerated for his unexhausted im- provements. But this they would not get while they played at shuttle-cock and battledore with their candi- dates as they did — making speeches in favour of tenant- right at their meetings, and then going and shaking hands at the hustings with candidates who would not carry out their wishes in the least (Hear, hear, hear). If a man went into a house which wanted draining— which let the wind and water in over his head — what would he say to the landlord who told him he might go to Swith- land, and get some slates to repair it himself? Yet the tenant-farmer was told he might have a few tiles to drain his land ; and he must do it well — must make a good job of it. And then, what did he get for his good job ? Why, perhaps, notice to quit at the end of six months ; the landlord forgetting to reimburse him for his outlay, but not forgetting to raise the rent of the next tenant for that very outlay (Hear, hear). If they submitted to this, they deserved all they received. He thanked God he was not a tenant-farmer : if he were, he would not submit to it for one hour (Hear, hear). The business part of the meeting concluded with the adoption of the following resolution: "That it is the opinion of this meeting that a legal tenant-right, which would secure to the occupier an equivalent for the unex- hausted improvements he has made upon his land, would be for the mutual benefit of the landlord, tenant, and the public." THE CULTURE OF MANGOLD-WURTZEL, OR BEET-ROOT; OR, ''ROOT OF SCARCITY"—" MANGEL-WURZEL." BY A PRACTICAL FARMER. " He giveth his mind to make furrows, and is diligent to give the kine fodder." — EccLUS. xxxviii. 26. The "root of scarcity" — wo like this name, this German designation of this invaluable root; it is very characteristic. If the cultivation of any one particular root more than another will tend to prevent scarcity, it must be this root, this root of plenteousncss rather than scarcity; for there is no root-crop cultivated for the use of live stock of equal weight and value, or managed at so little expense. It is with much plea- sure we offer a few observations on its culture and management. THE VARIETIES OF MANGOLD-WURTZEL. There are several varieties of this excellent and J THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 515 liighJy-productive ©ot now brought into common cultivation. Those known to us are the long red mangold-wurtzel, the long bugle mangold, the long yellow mangold, the long red white mangold, the long red garden beet, the red globe mangold, the yellow or orange globe mangold, the white globe. We shall offer a descriptive remark or two on each variety. The Comvion Long Bed Mangold. — This is a very good prolific variety, and under proper culture will yield a crop of great weight per acre, possessing much nutritive value. It grows npright to the height of 20 to 22 inches, and of proportionate girth, and is of very hardy growth. The objection to this variety is that the roots throw out many smaller roots, but strong and fibrous fangs, which take firm hold upon the soil, and cause much difficulty in taking them up ; and it also produces a superabundance of leaves. Its colour U a bright red, with a marble interior. The Long Red Bugle Mangold. — This is a variety obtained by careful selection from the above-named sort, and is a vast improvement upon it ; it produces a crop of greater weight per acre and of more nu- tritive value. It is much less exhausting to the soil; having but one tap root, it takes but little hold of the ground, and is readily taken up by the hand witli- out the aid of any implement, so slight is its hold. It grows to the height of 20 to 22 inches, from one single root without fangs, of a proportionate girth, and in shape something like a cow's horn, of the breed called " long-horns." It is of a deep red colour, and beauti- fully marbled interior. The leaves are longer tlian the common variety, but far less abundant. The Long Yellow, or Orange Mangold. — This is a very excellent variety. Its nutritive qualities are quite equal if not superior to the above-noticed varieties. Its growth is very similar to the first-named, but it does not produce equal weight per acre, and it is less hardy. The Long White Mangold, or Sugar Beet. — Tiiis is chiefly grown from its more abundantly po'ssessing those saccharine qualities necessary to the profitable production of sugar. It is not so well adapted to common culture. The produce is not equal to the other varieties, nor is it so hardy. Tlie slightest frost in the field or fermentation in the heap will take away much of its saccharine principle or value. Its growth is very similar to the long yellow kind. The Garden or small {long) Bed Beet. — This is never grown for farm service or in field cultuie. It appears, however, to be the species from which all the other varieties have emanated, and has been long known ; but the cultivated sorts of the present day can- ndt dale beyond some 50 or GO years. Von Thaer says : "It ai>pcars to me that the crossing of the deep red coloured garden beet and the white beet has given rise to all the existing varieties of this plant — some ap- proaching to the former, and others to the latter spe- cies; and that from these, again, new varieties are con- tinually produced, among which we now and then meet with individuals belonging to one or other of the original species." It is a small variety, growing about 12 inches in height, of proportionate girth, and is chiefly used fur table or for pickling. The colour of the flesh is a deep red or lake, almost approaching purple, and the leaves partake much of red and purple. Tlie Bed Globe Mangold. — This, from careful selec- tion and good culture, has become a very superior va- riety, frequently yielding a greater weight of food, of equally nutritive value, than any other sort, hardy in its growth and nature; indeed so muca so as to keep its quality for nearly a whole year in the heap or grave, if properly secured when taken up, and afterwards kept free from air and moisture. It has but one root without fangs, and produces much leaf. The Orange, or Yelloio Globe Mangold. — This is in every respect very similar in its growth and habits to the red globe. It is not so productive, but possesses more saccharine principle, and it is less hardy in its nature. The bulbs bury themselves deeply in the soil, are more fibrous than the red globe, and yield a still greater abundance of leaves. We do not think it alto- gether so well adapted for field culture. The White Globe Mangold. — 'This variety is very similar in growth and character to the above kind, but is in every respect less productive, and therefore still less adapted for field culture. Their Cultivation, Preservation, and Consunij}' tion. — The culture and preservation of this most valuable of root crops, and its subsequent mode rif consumption, arc of the highest importance to every stock farmer. It is to its proper and cnreful management that we desire to call especial at- tention, as upon this its principal vahie and utility de- pend. It is unlike most other root crops grown in this country — the vicissitudes of climate affect it much, and frequently the most careful attention can neither secure a crop nor guarantee its safety when obtained. If a good crop is fortunately obtained, and still further fortuitously secured against the winter froits, its value to the grower cannot be too highly ap- preciated. The produce, under first-rate culture, u beyond that of any other root crop with which we are acquainted ; and if carefully husbanded, and subse- quently given into consumption with correct judg- ment, this vast amount of food is made of immense value, being equal in nutritive value to swedes, and superior to most varieties of turnips and other similar food. The crop ought to be so secured in the late autumn as to prevent or avoid fermentation in the pile or grave, and be given to stock only when the weather is becoming warm and genial, or in moderate quantity if warmly housed. The most fitting time for general consumption is from the beginning of iMarch to the end of May. THE CULTUUE OF MANGOLD-WOUTZEL. The Soil. — The soils best adapted to the culture of mangolds are mild, open, friable loams. This root thrives best in all soils made to approach this cha- racter; and having as it were fixed a standard of profitable growth for itself, the aim of every cultivator should be to make the particular soil he cultivates 51G THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. nssimiliile to that stamlard as nearly as possible. Bo it a tenacious clay, he need not (le$\nur—iii(tiujol(ls n-i/l. tjrow well amlfrccUj on anij soil properly prepared for their recepfion. lie must, by repeated workings and tlic application of every adventitious aid, aim to reach tlie standard. lie it loose or sandy, he innst, by close working and compression, aided by (idhcsivc claying and mannring, aim at tliia standard ; for such it really is. We never saw a good crop of mangolds on any soil improperly prepared. We repeat, the stan- dard to aim at is a mild open loain—ihc richer the better. The Preimration of the Soil.— The land intended for a mangold crop should be in a fair state of cultiva- tion and moderate fertility, not "out of root " or con- dition, or the quality of root will be bad as well as the crop. It should be ploughed as deeply as possible in the autumn, well worked or pulverized and cleansed, and then be laid np or ploughed up in trenches (the land, of course, being previously subsoil-drained). In the early spring, if the weather is dry and suitable, It should again be M'cll worked, as judgment dictates, the aim being to bring it in, and keep it in, as open, mouldy, and highly-pulverized a state as possible till the period of sowing approaches j to this end, much care is required, aa heavy rains may defeat the whole process. On the best loams it is customary to plough in the winter, and wait till any suitable time in the spring before proceeding to work and prepare it for the crop, which need not to be put in till late in the season. It must, however, be prepared as before stated. On poorer soils this course would be very injudicious. The mode of planting, manure, seed, and subsequent management. — When the time of sowing has arrived — which on all the poorer soils will be about the middle of Apiil, extending onward to other varieties of soils so far as tlie end of IMay — the whole power and appli- ances of the farm must be brought to bear upon this particular crop, as so very much depends upon the quickness and promptitude e.xercised in getting it in. Should the season prove dry and unsuitable, every prudent farmer will wait awhile for rain j but if favour- able he will make all speed. We are favoured to occupy our open loamy soil of medium fertility, and our mode of putting in our mangolds is as follows : — The land being prepared by thorough pulverization, we proceed in about the second week in May to ridge it at about 25-inch intervals. This can best be done, and the whole process of ridging and manuring be car- ried on simultaneously, and most expeditiously, by adopting the following simple practice : — Set out about a dozen ridges ; this may be done with any common plough having a sufficiently high mould- board or turner to throw up the soil to about ten inches in height, and it will only require one passage of the plough to each ridge to do tliis ; the suil thus thrown out will rest on tiie unploughed land next to it, and after it is manured the ridge is completed by ploughing this back at such a deptli as to insure a perfect ridge of requisite height ; when these dozen ridges are thus prepared, the manure carts may com- mence their deposit Iiy taking the four outermost rows or spaces, and the manuring to lake place as rapidly as possible in order to give the ploughs a start; all the remaining rows should be taken or manured by seven.", i. c, one row for the horses' road-way, one for each wheel, and two on each side of the carts ; the men stand ill the carts and spread the manure as equally as they can all over the rows, followed by lads to shnko and distribute it carefully along the bottom of each row or riing. The rotation on this field liad been clover-ley dunged, then oats, and last year beans ; and the beet would now be put in without any manure. Mr. Reeve expected from that field, thus cultivated, a crop as large ns he had derived last year ; and should that be obtained, it would THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 519 in Mr. Gadesden's opinion be evident that no root deserves the attention of agriculturists more than the beet. The amount of saccharine matter in this variety was stated to be nearly seven per cent. ; and since Mr. Reeve l>ad raised the root in sufficient supply for his cattle he had found no need of resorting to the use of oil-calie. Mr. Gadesden found the live stock at Randall's Park Farm in fine condition. The beet was drilled in rows from 24 to 27 inches apart, and left 12 inches apart in the rows ; and he thought the superiority in value per ton of the White Silesian Beet over the Mangold-Wurzel must be manifest to every one who, like himself, had personally inspected these results. — INIr. Fisher Hobbs wished the Council to understand that there was no novelty in this vaiiety of Beet. It had been common in tlie Eastern Counties some few years ago, when experiments were in progress for the establishment of a bett-sugar manufactory until the Government put in its inter- diction ; and it bore a higher price per ton at that time than other varieties. The orange-globe beet, however, was found to yield a greater quantity per acre than the Silesian. lie had himself tried various experiments on the subject, and derived one-quarter more in weight from the orange-globe than from the Silesian ; and having had a visit from some distinguished French cultivators of Beet, they con- firmed this superioiity of the orange-globe, which they stilted yielded a larger bulk of root, and in hot summers a greater proportion of sugar. Ou examining the bulbs then placed before the Council, it might easily be in- ferred that they had been grown in land containing much vegetable matter, from the great number of tap-roots formed at their base, a circumstance which it was well known led to great exhaustion of the land. No rule could be laid down for the exact manuring required by Sugar-Beetor Mangold under difi'erent circumstances. — The noble Chairman stated that at Mount Millick, in Ire- land, a small red beet was preferred, of a more lusciously Bweet nature than he had ever tasted in any other vegetable production. The ground for Mangold or Carrots was pre- pared in November, the long or short manure laid on it in winter, and the whole ploughed in or dug in the spring. — Capt. Stanley Carr remarked that it would give him pleasure to procure supplies of the small beet seed from Magdeburg for any of the Members of the Society residing in Ireland. — Colonel Challoner could grow on poor land, that would bear nothing else, as good carrots as any body could ; but if the Silesian Beet, which had been grown by Mr. Ileeve without ma- nure, could be raised on such poor soils, it would be a great assistance to all sandy lands. He asked Mr. llobbs his opinion on this point, being so well acquainted as he was with the difterent characters of the beet and carrot roots, and the conditions re- quired for their successful cultivation. — Mr. Fisher Hobbs replied, that the Silesian Beet was liable to form tap-roots that would run into the earth like carrots ; but the great object in the cuUivaliou of the beet was to keep them from forming those tap-roots, which ab- stracted the chief amount of nourishment from the soil. Formerly it was common to take up beet with forks, on account of the attachment to the land which the penetration of these roots occasioned. His beets had now only one bulb, with a single tap-root to each — a circumstance which enabled the plant to gain little sup- port from the soil, but enabled it, on the contrary, to derive its chief nourishment through its leaves from the evaporation of the soil and the atmosphere, and at the same time yield a more valuable produce in the crop. Continental Statements on Beet Cultiva- tion.— At the present moment, when Beet-culture is engaging so much attention, it may be interesting to know the opinions of distinguished French and German writers on those points connected with this crop to which reference has been made in this discussion. With this view, the following passages have been selected and translated into English, from the original languages of their respective authors : — DoMBASLE. — Among those plants which are cultivated under the name of forage roots, or root plauts, the beet is undenia- bly the most valuable ; and it may be said wiih truth, that it liolJa among these plants the same position that lucerne docs among forage plants. Generally speaking, it produces on an equal space of laud double the weight of crop that can be obtained from potatoes, to which it is very little inferior in amount of nutritive matter. Beet has, however, over potatoes the very important advantage of being able to be given in considerable quantities to live stock iu its raw state without producing any injurious effects or satiating the animals. It succeeds in every kind of soil, even iu those of very uioilerate fertility, provided they have but sufficient depth of culture. The frequent re- turn of the crop over the same ground does not diminish the amount of its produce; and it adapts itself with admirable facility to the eificiency aud economy that attend on the em- ployment of improved implements. Finally, the facility with which the roots are stored and preserved for future use, ena- bles the rearer of stock to depend upon it, as upon a well assured basis, for the nourishment of his animals during eight months of the year. The introduction of beet culture into farm husbandry will accordingly soon produce that two-fold result towards which every well-directed effort of cultivation ought to tend, namely, to the increase of the live stock them- selves, as well as to that of their manure. TiiAEE (1810). — Mangold Wiuzel, Biu-gimdy Beet, Thick Beet, &c., of the Germans ; Racine de disette, or root of scarcity or dearth (by a misconception of the word Mangold for Mangel) of the French ; and Mangel Vv'urzel, or root of want (through a similar laisappreheusion) by the Eugli.sh ; is derived, with all its \ aricties, either from the Beta vidgaris (red field Beet) alone, or from admixture with the Beta cicla (white sugar Beet). For I regard the difference made by botanists between the two species, as too unimportant, and in my opinion too indefinite, to lead to the establishment of a specific distinction between them. I believe all the varieties to have arisen by ad- mixture of the pollen or seed-dust from the dark red garden Beet and the white JMangold, and individual varieties so established to have themselves again varied according to the predominating influence of the one or other of the original species. These different kmds of Beet, therefore, as is the case with so many other cidti\ated plants, are not to be determi- nately characterised, but they pass over one uito the other 520 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, with ail almost imi^rccptible crvailatiou. The two varieties that stand at each oml vl I lie scale, arc the dark red 15eet-root so luueh earlier c\dtivated in our kitchen gardens, and the entirely white sugar Ueet. Between these extremes, we have already tlic great long red Beet, the flesh-coloured, or mai-ked with concentric flesh-coloured rings, the externally red and internally wholly white, the yellow, and the yellow and red mixed. The colour of the root often con-esponds with that of the plant, or more frequently with that of the nerves of the lea\es, which are more or less red or wholly green. Erom the seeds of any one single plant, varieties will result in the plants produced ; but the wholly red, or tlie wholly white or yellow, are the most constant. The pale red Beet, under the same circumstances, grows to the largest size and gives the greatest amount of produce ; on which account it is the one most fre- cpicntly cidtivatcd for cattle feeduig. Tliis variety, however, is divided into two sub-varieties : — 1. That which grows with its bulb entirely in the ground ; and 2. That which has a tendency in the course of its growth to drav/ its bulb out of the gi-oiuid. I have reason, indeed, to believe, from my own experiments, that this tendency rests partly w ith the kind of Beet grown ; but I have also found that the soil itself has certainly a con- siderable influence in producing the effect ; for, en one occa- sion, I divided with a friend a portion of seed which I con- sidered to be that of Beet growing above gi'omid, but wliich in my case gave plants whose bidbs remained entirely iu the ground ; while my friend's, on the contrary, aU grew out of the ground. My omi laud, however, was ploughed 10 inches deep, wliile my friend's was only ploughed shallow. The Beet that grows out of the ground will undoubtedly be Ijctter adapted for shallow soil, and be grown more profitably imder such cir- cumstances than the one that remains iu the ground ; but I prefer cidtivating the latter kind in deep sod, chiefly for the reason that in such a position it vnll be less injm*ed by autumnal frosts. The yellow and white sugar Beets have the advantage of beuig more solid, and in some degTee more hardy in resisting frost ; but especially, however, on accomit of the greater proportion of sugar which they coutain, as we are assured by aU those who have been engaged in experiments on the subject is fomul to be the case, lliey are, accordnigly, now imiversaUy prefen'cd for the maiuifacture of sugar and s}Tup, and perhaps also for the distillation of brandy ; but for economical purposes they are not, on account of those qualities, to be placed iu competition w ith those red varieties which yield so much greater a bulk of root. The Beet may be gTown in every moderately moist soil which is strongly seasoned with manuring matter; but m sandy soils, when much rain has not fallen during the period of vegetation, the bulbs will remain small ; and in light hmuus soils, lying low and moist, they will be watery and bulky, but inwardly hollow, and scarcely capable of bemg rescued from rapid decomposition. The soil, therefore, most generally adapted for the cultivation of Beet is a tolerably compact loam, m which, almost without exception, it thrives and attains much solitlity. Accordingly, I make it a nde, that when I practise hoe husbandry on the heavier soils, I gi'ow more Beet, and on the more sandy sods more Swedes. The Beet, to attain any considerable strength, requires a strongly manured soil, whether the manure be specially applied for the purjiose, or left sufficiently rich in the soil, after taking off a previous crop. Fresh maniu-e must be well incorporated with the soil by at least a double ploughing. The deeper the sod the better ; and on shallow sod, if planted or sown on ridges, it w ill yield a great produce. Sprexgel (1S32). — Tire component parts of the Beet-root vary very much according to the mistiu-e of sod in which it is grown ; those bulbs, for instance, that are raised with street manure, often contain twenty tl)nc3 as much nitre as those eultixatcd inuler ordinary circiunstanccs. The bulbs grown in loamy soils which have not been freshly mamucd are generally found to yield the greatest proportion of saccharine matter. 1)e Canuolle (1832). — With the exception of some fruits in which sugar cflloresces in a crystallized state, this substance is present in the cells of plants iu a litpiid form ; and it is even worthy of remark, that iu them it develops or destroys itself with singidar facility. Tlius many seeds, such, fur instance, as the Tea, include within them before maturity a saccharine nuittcr, v^hich, on their beconung ripe, is transformed into starch, and this starch again becomes saccharine matter on the gcrmhiation of the seeds. Many other kinds of germinating graui are suliject to similar transformations, and chemists themsehes have at length succeeded ui changing starch into sugar, but have not yet been able from sugar to re-produce starch ; a circumstance w hich furnishes an argument hi favour of those w ho think that the covering of the fecula is an organic membrane, 'llie ripening of fruits oilers analogous transfor- mations. The stalks of the sugar-cane, which contain so large an amoimt of sugar before the flowering of the plant, contain much less as soon as that process has commenced ; and in the cidiivaticn of the Beet, we know that the quantity of sac- charine matter varies m-.u-h according to the particular time when it is drawn out of the ground in which it had been gi-own. We knov.' that when removed too late it gives scarcely any sugar at aE, and it is on this accoiuit that when we only draw the Beet bidbs in the south of France at the same date as hi the north, we obtain from iheiu scarcely any profit; but that when drawn two mouths earlier, we obtain from 3^ to 4 per cent, of their weight. ScHEUBLKR (1838). — It 13 remarkable that th.c amouat of sugar in the Beet-root indicates, according to the composition of the soil and the nature of the manure applied, great varia- tions, to which iu Beet cult'.ireparticu'ar regard shoiddhc had. Very rich clay soils are not adapted fcr the cultivation of the Beet, when the olject is to obtain the largest amount of sar- cliarine matter ; the buliis in such soil become watery, aLd yield but httle sugar. Moderate clay soils, containing 50 per cent, of saud, were found by Hermbataedt the best suited for this crop. Richly manured soils give a great produce fcr sere, but the roots in this case coutain but little sugar. Beit strongly manured with horse or sheep dung often yiclis bulbs which do net contain a trace of sugar; but whose jidce, on the contrary, is strongly imprcgiiatod with nitre. Moderate mauuring with vegetable compost, and particularly with cow- dang, produces Beet-rools containing the largest amcusit of saccharii.e matter ; these yield, under favourable circum- stances, from 5 to 6 per cent, of crystallized 8i:gar, besides syrup ; at the sugar manufactory at AUhaltensleben, tlie general average produces of sugar was found to be 5.58 jitr cent. Not less remarkable is it, that the saccharine properties of the Beet-root become considerably diminished when it is kept too \ohg in store. The saiae bulbs which in October, No- vember, and December gave a rich yield of crystallized sugar, when worked up in January were found to contain 30 percent, less of sugar, in February J.0 per cent, less, and in March scarcely a single remaining trace of that substance ; aa ob- vious proof tliat during the period of devtlopment in ad- vanciiig spring a change goes on in their elementary conUitu- tion. The rapidity, too, with which the juice is worked up has likewise an influence on the amount of sugar it will furnish ; for if the Beet pulp remains only two hours without being put into the press, though it may produce much syrup, it will \ icld very little crystallizable sugar. Dumas (1313). — There exists a great number of varieties of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 521 the Beet ; but it is only from a few of those that sugar can be economically obtained. The following are the principal varie- ties cultivated in France, and they are here placed in the order of their richness iu saccharine matter. 1. The v/hitc Beet of Silesia, pear-shaped, elongated. It is the best of all. It generally gives a juice, which is at the same time the purest and the densest, and consequently the easiest to work. There is a sub-variety of this Beet, of a rose-colour ; this is very much appreciated in Prussia. 2. The yellow Beet of Castclnaiadary. This variety can only be cultivated in deep soils ; but when raised under favourable circumstances, it gives quite as much sugar as the preceding. 3. The red-juiced Beet. This variety ought to be discarded. It gives less sugar than the former ; and its colouring matter both depreciates the character of the juice, and, towards the end of the season especially, can only with diftlculty be removed from it. 4. Mangold Wurzel. These roots, which become enormous in size, and which give produce that weigh double and triple that of the preceding varieties, ought to be rejected ; the great quautity of water they contain iu proportion to the sugar would render the extraction of the latter too costly. The culture of the Beet is the object of the most minute attention of the growers, who, in Flanders, give the laud from three to five ploughings, between each of which they pass the roller and the harrow, until the soil has become perfectly broken. Care also is taken that the manuring shall not immediately precede the sowing ; for it has been ascer- tained that if land is to be well manured, the manure itself must at least have been fully prepared and well worked. We have equally acquired the assurance that Beet roots forced on folded land or soil too highly manured, are very ill adapted for the purposes of sugar manufacture. At a manufactory near Douai, more nitre than sugar was on one occasion obtained from the Beet roots, in consequence of their having been stored in a room containing much old plaster on the walls and ceiling. The seed germinates in eight days or three weeks, according to the moisture of the laud or bcason. The young plant is at- tacked by an insect which devours the young leaves, and is very destructive in the middle of the day ; the root also suffers from the ravages of white worms. Many farmers have grown Beet on the same land for five years successively, without any apparent injury ; it would nevertheless be better to alternate its cultivation with that of Barley, for the purpose of avoiding the inconvenience of too recent manurings, which force the size of tlie bulbs, and cause them to become watery and soon liable to spoil in keeping. The preservation of the bulbs ought to constitute a part of the opeiations employed for the manufac- ture of sugar from this vegetable. In spite, however, of the minutest precautions which may be taken with this view, the Beet root is always found to be subject to alterations more or less considerable, and to lose its saccharine matter, both in quantity and quality, in proportion as the season advances. One process only can prevent these serious inconveniences ; and it is that of immediately drying the bulbs as soon as the crop is taken up. Many experiments already made on this point by MM. Schutzenbach, do Lirac, Pelouze, and Ptligot, lead to the hope that agriculture will some day enjoy immense advantages that have hitherto only been realized in part ; and that Beet-root dried at little expense to the grower, and deli- vered into the markets like corn, may become the subject of an extended branch of industrial commerce at convenient times and places, and thus lead to the production of sugars at very low prices. If the age of the roots exercises a sensible influence over the proportion of saccharine matter which they contain, the circumstances of dryness or moisture in the land occasion on their part very consideiable difi'erenccs in this proportion. It results, indeed, from the observations of M, Mathieu de Dombasle, that the density of the juice of the Beet from the same piece of land increases seusibly up to the periods of dryness, and on the other hand decreases in a few days when the soil has become sodden by heavy rains. The difference ia less considerable in fiesh clay soils, than in light gravelly ones, which easily lose their humidity ; but the differences are con stant for all particular soils at corresponding periods. These fijcts ought not to surprise us ; for it is evident that the evapora- tion taking place at the surface of the leaves under the influence of the sun's rays, must necessarily produce au actual concen- tration of the liquids contained iu the whole plant, when its radicles do not find in the soil sufiicient moisture to repair the loss occasioned by the evaporation proceeding from the kaves. When therefore the soil is moistened by a heavy fall of rain, the plant absorbs in a short time a great amount of wafer, and the size of the bulb increases considerably in a few days ; but the bulb in this state is raoie watery than it was when under the influence of extreme dryness. KoppE (18-15). — There are many varieties of the Beta cicla altissiraa, distuiguished by their colour, the shape of their root, and their size. For cattle feeding we choose the clear red, the yellow, or the white Beet ; which gi'ow high out of the ground, and attain a considerable weight when gi'owii on a soil adapted for them. For sugar extraction, we cultivate only the white Beet, or that with a reddish external skm, which grows only a little out of the gToimd, and in recent times is known as the sugar Beet. This Beet, as far as my experience has gone, is attacked by no insect. It is, therefore, advisable to grow Cabbages and Kolil-Rabi (Turnip-Cabbages) at the same time along with it, in order that v.hcn these suffer from insects, and iu consequence yield but an inferior produce, the Beet may compensate for the loss sustained. Tlie Beet re- quires a deep, rich, clay soil. It may, too, be gi-own on middle class soils when deeply and well cultivated. Inferior soils, however, should not be appropriated to Beet, as other kinds of hoed crops are better suited to them. If the double moidd- board plough is well adapted for other crops requiring the hoe, when the land has a good subsoil, it is especially to be recommended for preparatory tillage in the case of the cultiva- tion of Beet ; and it is indispensable that the earth shoxdd be removed to the depth of from 8 to 10 inches, in order to pro- duce a full crop. On my own farm the land is ploughed be- fore winter from 10 to 12 inches deep, experience having proved to me that this deep loosening of the soil is one of the first conditions in the cultivation of the Beet-root. My adjoiniug neighbours on small holdings, with only a few exceptions, have not at present decided to adopt this plan ; I have, however, not yet seen any good Beet-roots on their land. Tlie Beets that sometimes stand from 12 to IS inches out of the ground are easily injured by the frost. They do not, however, on that accoimt, become, like Potatoes, v\holly useless, but only lose their keeping properties. Tlie crop of this kind of Beet should therefore be taken up hmnediately after the Potato crop. The White Beets, which are cultivated for sugar manu- facture, have not the same tendency, as some of the red varie- ties gi-own for cattle feeding, to grow out of the soil. The upper portions, even of the sugar Beet, which have been ex- posed above gTound duruig the period of their gTowi:li, are scarcely of any value for sugar exti-action. Such plants, there- fore, are only retained to yield seed for future crops as have shown little or no disposition to grow with their bulbs exposed. As the bulb of the white Beet is decidedly richer in sugar, and has a firmer fleshy substance, it accordingly suffers less fi-om frost than the watery tall-topped kinds, especially while it retains its full foliage. Tlie same plants that had stood a severe frost in my fields without being affected while theiv 522 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. leaves were on them, were at once injured liy a frost of only half the intensity after tliey hail been deprived of their leaves. The leaves of tlio Beet are indeed but a jioor ^\■atery foossible, and it appeared that if it could be proved that the soil was entrusted with the duty of changing the various salts and compounds resulting from the decay of animal life into one general and uniform state, suited to the delicate organs of plants, and releas- ing them from the necessity of dealing with the hete- rogeneous materials which they might otherwise have to encounter and make use of, a certain and not unim- portant step had been made in the perception of that unity and simplicity which cannot but obtain in all the great outlines of nature. Henceforth we should con- sider the soil not as a dead, inert mass, but endowed by virtue of chemical laws with a species of activity, sub- ordinate and inferior, but somewhat more nearly ap- proaching than we have been in the habit of thinking, to that of the plants that live on it. To return, however, to the history of these discoveries : whilst the state of knowledge was such as he had described it, observations were made by the Reverend Mr. Huxtable and Mr. H. S.Thompson, but more especially by the latter, which threw a new light upon the subject. Solutions of dif- ferent salts of ammonia, and the drainage of manure- heaps, were found, when filtered through beds of ordi- nary soil, to be entirely altered in character : the co- louring matter and smell of the manure were removed, and in the case of ammoniacal salts, the ammonia was arrested and retained by the soil. This was a curious and most interesting result : it indicated a power in the soil to combine with certain organic substances and salts, and to render them insoluble— a power which pre- viously had never been supposed to exist. When he (Mr. Way) took up the subject, he soon found that this property was not confined to the salts of ammonia, but extended more or less to all the different alkaline com- pounds of manure— that it was shared by salts of pot- ash, magnesia, lime, &c., and that phosphoric acid and soluble phosphates were included. He also observed that the power of the soil— its tendency to retain the compounds — only applied to the base, and not to the whole salt ; that is to say, that if a solution of sulphate of ammonia were filtered through a soil, the sulphuric acid was found in the liquid, not indeed in the free or uncombined state, but as sulphate of lime, or in combi- nation with some other earthy or akalliue substance. The filtration process, too, did not appear to be neces- sary. A salt when in solution had only to be incor- porated with the soil, and could not afterwards be washed out of it. This action was instantaneous, or almost so : no length of time was needed for its occur- rence. With regard to the extent of the action, it was found that 100 parts of an ordinary loamy soil would unite with 2-IOths or 3-lOths of ammonia, and a larger quantity of potash ; or in other words, 1,000 lbs. of soil would unite with from 2 to 3 lbs. of ammonia. This quantity might at first seem small, but it was not so when taken in connection with the vast mass of the soil which in agriculture we have to deal with. Every inch in depth of a soil over an acre of land was calcu- lated to weigh 100 tons; and if 6 inches of the soil were cultivated, that quantity would weigh 600 tons, and would be found equal to unite with nearly H tons of THE FARMER'S MAGAZL\E. 620 ammonia— a quantity which would be furnished by about 7^ tons of sulphate of ammonia, or 10 tons of Peruvian guano. It was plain, therefore, that the power of ab- sorption was fully twenty times as much as was neces- sary, or likely to be ever put in force ; so that allowing for a very large portion of the soil not being brought into contact with the manures, the power in question was practically ample for all purposes. He had endea- voured to show how important the property was in rela- tion to many details of agriculture ; for instance, in the preservation of manure, since it was plain that alkaline salts did not remain in the soil in such a state that they might be washed away by the first shower into the drains —that manure consequently might with safety be en- trusted to the soil, and that the manuring for a rotation of crops was not so wasteful a process (with due al- lowance for the nature of the soil) as might otherwise have been supposed. It was important, also, as re- moving any fear of the effects of drainage, and indeed threw an additional light on the benefit of drainage as a means of bringing the manure into contact with a depth and quantity of the soil which would ensure its retention. It had been shown, too, that this discovery bad given a new feature to irrigation, and to the use of liquid manure, since water might, and did, carry into the soil in solution substances which it would leave there in the most available form for the uses of vegetation. Thus a solution of carbonate of lime as it was met with in hard water would leave in the soil a dressing of chalk, which although perhaps not large by absolute weight, was, on account of its more perfect and equal distribution, more than equal in effect to a mechanical addition of the same manure. Liquid manure might have been — he might say had been — supposed only so far available for vegetation as it could be at once taken up by the plants : if it were used in such quantity as that any liquid were to escape into the drains, that liquid was supposed to be the manure itself. Now, however, we saw that liquid manure might be applied to the soil, without reference to whether plants were or were not growing on it ; and that manure was even more safe when so laid on than if applied in the solid state. All these conclusions, and many more which time would not allow of his dwelling on, had re- suited from the discovery of the power of soils to unite with manure. But two important questions had now naturally presented themselves : — 1st. What is the cause and nature of the change which the different salts of manure undergo by mixture with the soil ? 2ndly. How, supposing these fertilizing ingredients to be rendered in- soluble in the soil, do plants ultimately get at them for their nourishment ? It was in respect to these two questions that he hoped to give the members of this Society some further information ; but he would remark that he did not pretend at present to give more than a report of the progress that had been made. The subject was still, and would probably remain for a long time, unfler investigation, and as he hoped to have the pleasure to publish a paper on it in the midsummer number of the Society's Journal, he should content himself in the present instance with a brief outline of the principal results. And first, as to the cause of these changes. In the last paper it had been shown partly what were not the causes — that it was not a surface-aitraction, such as, ac- cording to Lord Bacon and others, sand possessed, enabling it to remove common salt from sea-water— for in that case the whole fait was removed ; whereas, in the case of the soil, it was only the base of the salt that was detained. It had been supposed to be due to car., bonate of lime in soils ; but independent of the fact that the change of a salt such as sulphite of ammonia into carbonate of the same base by the influence of carbonate of lime would still leave it soluble and capable of re. moval by water, clay, absolutely free from chalk, had been found to possess the absorptive property to a large extent, and the addition of chalk to it did not increase that power. Again, it was supposed to be due to cer- tain organic compounds capable of forming insoluble combinations with ammonia ; but although he did not deny that such compounds might exist, the property in question was clearly not referrible to them, fur not only did a clay dug from a pit, white and free altogetlicr from organic compounds, absorb ammonia, but a soil when burnt so as to destroy its vegetable contents, still in a great measure retained its power. The power therefore did not reside in sand, nor in carbonate of lime, neither did it belong to the organic bodies of the soil, and it could only therefore pertain to the clay or some substance in the clay. That it was not shared by the whole clay he was early con- vinced ; because, if so, the amount of the power would have been far greater than it really was. He (Mr. Way) had eaily believed that it was connected wiih the existence of some double class of silicates ; and he had mentioned this belief fully twelve months ago, when lecturing to them on the use of lime. And knowing that clay contained portions of the felspar, and other minerals which had existed in the rocks from which the clay was originally formed, he was induced to try whether they were the substances of which he was in quest. Felspar is a double silicate of alumina and potash ; it might be supposed capable of yielding its potash up to certain acids and taking ammonia from them instead. Ac- cordingly, powdered felspar was digested in sulphate of ammonia, but no kind of result was obtained. He had observed that wherever a solution of a salt of ammonia was poured upon a soil, although this soil contained no soluble salt of lime, yet the resulting liquid always con- tained lime in solution. It was thought, therefore, that soils might contain an insoluble silicate of lime capable of uniting with ammonia in place of lime, and so giving rise to the results observed. Silicate of lime was therefore prepared by adding to a solution of a salt of lime a solution of silicate of soda, or soluble glass, as it was sometimes called ; but the resulting silicate, after being collected and washed, had not the requisite action on salts of ammonia. It was, therefore, necessary to look further ; and an attempt was made to produce artificially, and without the aid of heat, a class of com- pounds similar to felspar and other natural silicates ex- isting in granitic rocks. Such a class of compounds had hardly been known to chemists, or, if known, had 2 M 2 530 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. been but little studied, and certainly not with re- ference to their agricultural bearings. The present attempt to form tliem had been eminently successful, and had, as he hoped to show, served to clear up the ditliculty in regard to the absorptive powers of soils. Mr. Way here showed to the meeting the way in which these silicates were formed. A solution of common alum gave, with a solution of silicate of soda, a bulky precipitate, which was not silicate of alumina only, but a compound of silicate of alumina and silicate of soda. Mr. Way explained that the best plan to get this com- pound of definite composition, and containing the high- est proportion of alkali, was to dissolve pure precipitated alumina in caustic soda, and to add to this a solution of silicate of soda in which the silica was in relation to the soda in the proportion of rather less than one equivalent. The resulting silicate might be washed with distilled water, and dried. Mr. Way went on to say that this double silicate of soda and alumina was the type of several others which could be formed from it. He re- presented it in a diagram, thus — Silicate f r Sihca "> of Soda J 1 Alumina I vir»u * r _t ■ *• and 1 r Silica i " '''* water of combinatiou ; Ahimina L I Soda J and stated that, when the water was driven oflF by heat, its composition in 100 parts was^ SUica 52-40 Alumina 2968 Soda 17 91 or in the relation of two equivalents of silica to one of soda and one of alumina. This silicate was chiefly of interest as the source of others ; thus, when digested in a solution of a salt of ammonia, soda dissolved out in the shape of a muriate or sulphate, as the case might be, whilst the silicate, when washed and dried, would now be found to contain ammonia. On the table were several of these silicates, which were white powders. He would, on the present occasion, direct their attention principally to the silicate of alumina and ammonia. He had not yet succeeded in obtaining it with the full theoretical proportion of ammonia ; but it was found with as much as 6 or 7 per cent, of ammonia. It was a salt only very slightly soluble in plain water ; indeed, it was hardly to be said to be dissolved by water, for water did not dissolve the whole compound, but left the silicate of alumina undis- solved. The solubility was such that one part of am- monia dissolved in 70,000 parts of water, or, in other words, an imperial gallon of water would dissolve out from the silicate one grain of ammonia. Upon consi- deration, this would be seen to be an excessively slight degree of solubility ; for an equal quantity of water, quite free from carbonic acid, would dissolve twice as much (or two grains) of carbonate of lime, which was usually reckoned an insoluble substance. One of the great questions — namely, as to how plants got their ammonia from the new compounds — was, therefore, partly answered. These compounds were not absolutely in- soluble, although water dissolved so little of them that he might be pardoned for having believed at first that no portion of ammonia passed through the soil. But the silicate of ammonia was much more soluble in water containing carbonic acid gas, as all natural water did. It had been found that one gallon of a saturated solu- tion of carbonic acid dissolved about two grains and a half of ammonia from the double silicate, or more than twice as much as pure water. If the quantity of water that annually fell on an acre of land, and which was as much as from 2,000 to 3,000 tons, was taken into con- sideration, and that part of the water was always in the soil, and might be engaged over and over again in dissolving the ammonia and presenting it to the plant, there was no difficulty in understanding how the few pounds of ammonia required by the wheat crop might be supplied to it with sufficient rapidity for its ordinary growth. But still it was possible that under certain cir- cumstances the slight solubility of the silicate of ammo- nia might somewhat retard vegetation, and that this might explain the action of common salt. He had found that a solution of common salt dissolved the ammonia in much larger quantity than even carbonic acid water : thus, one gallon of water, containing two grains of com- mon salt, would dissolve twenty grains of ammonia from the silicate, or twenty times as much as plain water. How very likely it was that this was the real explanation of the action of common salt I but .in order that they might fully understand this part of the subject, he must explain to them an idea which he had taken in reference to this double silicate of ammonia and alumina. He had already stated that water did not dissolve the whole salt, but that the silicate of alumina remained undissolved, whilst the silicate of ammonia was dissolved in small quantity. Now he had found that this solution of sili- cate of ammonia, when carefully evaporated, dried up on the sides of the dish into thin transparent scales, like very thin glass, and these scales were found upon exami- nation to be silica ; the ammonia having evaporated with the water, and leaving the silica as a transparent varnish on the dish. Was it not likely that this fact formed the true explanation of the manner in which silica was depo- sited on the straw of wheat ? He thought it might be. Chemists had always had a difficulty in accounting for this deposition of silica on the straw of cereal plants by reference to the soluble silicates of potash and soda ; and the solubility of silica in ammonia had not been before observed. By the easiest and simplest process a weak solution of silicate of ammonia, in passing through the plant, might leave its silica behind ; and the probability of this explanation was increased by Mr. Lawes' obser- vation of the loss of ammonia from the soil in the growth of corn crops. Mr. Lawes had found that for every pound of ammonia of which the nitrogen was 6xed in the wheat, in the shape of aluminous constituents, other 41bs. were lost to the soil in the growth of the crop — that is to say, that 51bs. of ammonia were required to produce a quantity of wheat containing nitrogen equal to lib. of ammonia. This loss would at once be accounted for, and would inevitably result, if the deposition of the silica were due to the action to which he had referred. This argument might seem opposed to the general experience that ammoniacal salts, whilst I THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 531 they rendered wheat very luxuriant, and increased the produce, were attended with the objection of fre- quently causing the crop to lodge from want of strength in the straw. But this difficulty he could meet. If, as he had shown the power of the soil to convert salts of ammonia into an all but insoluble double sili- cate were twenty times more than was usually called into play, it followed as a necessary consequence that in soils containing a fair proportion of clay, all ammoniacal compounds, when fairly incorporated with the soil, would pass into that state. It further followed that in ordinary and natural circumstances, the form of silicate of ammonia or of carbonate, formed by the decomposition of the silicate by carbonic acid water, would be the only one in which the ammonia could be presented to the plant. In other words, that silicate and carbonate of ammonia were the only compounds of ammonia natu- rally available to supply that important substance to ve- getation. He might mention, by the way, how probable this view became when the mild and harmless nature of these acids (the silicic and carbonic) was considered, as fitting them for the nutrition of the delicate organs of plants. Now, in the case of manuring with ammoniacal salts, especially in the form of top-dressings, which was the mode usually adopted, it was quite possible that a portion of the salts were taken up by the wheat in their unchanged condition, without having undergone the ne- cessary elaboration and conversion into the true form of food, the silicate or carbonate ; the ammoniacal salts might therefore make the wheat unhealthily gross, with- out affording it the necessary silica. Such an explana- tion was consistent with experience, which proved that all highly forcing and stimulating manures, such as guano and ammoniacal salts, soot, and animal matters, should be brought into thorough incorporation with the soil by being used before the time of sowing : then there was never any fear of the result ; the maxim of never manuring for the wheat crop was evidently founded on this principle. If this reasoning were correct, every pains should be taken to form compounds of the ma- nure with the soil ; and the use of compost heaps of manure and soil had, since he commenced these experi- ments, always appeared to him by far the most philoso- phical mode of employing manure. He would even suggest for trial the mixing of guano and other concen- trated manures with dry loamy soil some months before it was needed, watering and turning over the heap occasionally in a shed , or if sufficient earth were employed it might be done uncovered in the corner of the field where the manure was to be used. When eventually this compost was used, it would no longer be guano, but ready formed compounds, after the model of nature, and such as plants delight in. Mr. Way observed that he had a great deal more to gay on these various silicates, but he must now call their attention to another character which the silicates of lime and soda possessed, namely, that of abstracting ammonia from the air. This would be seen to be of the highest importance. When silicate of ammonia and soda, or the corresponding silicate of lime, was placed under ft bell-jar or glass shade, upon the bottom of which a few lumps of carbonate of ammonia were strewed, it was found that in two or three days the silicate would have absorbed three per cent, of ammonia or upwards. Here the volatile carbonate of ammonia, being diffused through the atmosphere, came in contact with the silicate, and the ammoniacal silicate was produced, whilst carbonate of soda remained mixed with it. The action would go on till the silicate was saturated with ammonia. Here then was one explanation of the fertility produced by cultivating the soil. The presence of these silicates in clay, enabled the soil to abstract ammonia from the at- mosphere, and this abstraction would of course be in proportion to the extent of surface of the soil that is ex- posed. It had always, indeed, been understood that clay possessed this power of acquiring fertility by exposure, and that it was on its collecting ammonia that the ad- vantage depended. But the power had been referred to a wrong cause, namely, the free alumina or oxide of iron in the soil. It had usually, also, been supposed that rain or dews were necessary to bring down the riches of the air to the earth ; but it would be plain that at all times a good soil, freely opened to the air, would be getting richer in ammoniacal compounds. The power of clay to absorb ammonia from the air was most marked. If air saturated with carbonate of ammonia were passed through a tube'containing dry clay in fine fragments, it would be found to issue quite free from ammonia ; whereas, passed through a tube similarly filled with sand, the ammoniacal gas was in no degree removed. Mr. Way then exhibited to the meeting the experiment above described, and showed from the absence of any action of the air which had passed the tube on reddened solution of litmus, that the ammoniacal vapours were retained by the clay ; the air passing through the sand, however, immediately turned the solution blue. He stated his intention of repeating the experiment at his next lecture with a tube containing some of the double silicate of alumina and soda, instead of clay. The subject was of the highest interest, but he should have another opportunity of enlarging upon it. He should now only further add, that these various silicates were convertible, one into the other, under given cir- cumstances, which were being carefully studied, and that a knowledge of these was necessary for the under- standing of the real action of many salts used as manure. Thus sulphate of ammonia, when added to the soil, pro- duced sulphate of lime or gypsum, and this gypsum would be capable of effecting all that it usually does when added as manure. Manuring with sulphate of ammonia is also then indirectly manuring with gypsum as well, and so on. Mr. Way had speculated on the possibihty of making these double silicates for agricul- tural use. If they could be made cheaply enough, they would undoubtedly be beneficial to light lands, which, owing to their position, it was impossible to dress with clay ; and a few cwts. of the artificial compound might serve much of the purposes of a heavy coat of clay. Again, they might be used to abstract potash, and, more importantly, ammonia, from tank-water or sewage ; and the liquids might be thus deprived of their valuable parts and allowed to run away. No known substance was 632 THli FARMER'S MAGAZINE. capable of dointt this, and it miglt prove of great uso; but at present he did not wish to raise such expectations, for, independently of the question of cost, there were man}' other points »bich could not ihen be entered into which would have to be taken into consideration. Mr. Way concluded his lecture by apologizing for its desul- tory character. He hid more rauterials than he knew what to do with, and could easily have occupied their attention for several hours instead of one. He should have the pleasure of again addressing them on this and kindred subjects, when he would endeavour to fill up any gap which he might have left. On the motion of Col. Challoner, seconded by Lord Lovaine, the best thanks of the meeting were expressed to Professor Way, for the valuable and interesting lecture he had then delivered before the members, as the opening of a course during the present season, which would not fail to advance the objects of the society. A Monthly Council was held at the Society's House in Hanover Square, on Wednesday, the 5th of May. The following Members of Council and Gover- nors of the Society were present: — The Earl of Ducie, President ; Lord Camoys ; Lord Berners ; Lord South- ampton ; Lord Portman ; The Hon. R. H. Clivc, M.P.; Sir John Villiers Shelley, Bart. ; Sir Matthew White Kidley, Bart. ; Sir Charles Lemon, Bart., MP.; Sir John V. B. Johnstone, Bart., M.P. ; Colonel Austen; Mr. Bailward ; Mr. Raymond Barker ; IMr. Barnett ; Mr. Bramston, M.P. ; Mr. Brandreth ; Rev. Thomas Cator; Mr. W. G. Cavendish, M.P. ; Colonel Challo- ner; Mr. Druce; Mr. Foley, M.P. ; Mr. Garrett; iVIr. Gadesden ; Mr. Brandreth Gibbs ; Mr. Grantham ; Mr. Hamond ; Mr. Fisher Hobbs ; Mr. Hornsby; Mr. Hudson (Caslleacre) ; Mr. Jonas ; Rev. C. E. Keene j Mr. Langston, M.P. ; Mr. Lawes; ?>Ir. Walter Long, M.P. ; Mr. Miles, M.P. (Leigh Court) ; Mr. Milward; Mr. Sanford (Nynehead Court); Prof. Sewell; Mr. Shaw (London) ; Mr. Sillifant ; Prof. Simonds ; Mr. Simpson; Mr. Slaney, M.P. ; Mr. Smith (Exmoor) ; Mr. Stansfield, M.P. ; Mr. Turner (Barton) ; and Prof. Way. Finances. — Mr. Raymond Barker, Chairman of the Finance Committee, laid before the Council the monthly report on the accounts of the Society ; from which it appeared that the current cash- balance in the hands of the Bankers was ^2,732. He explained the various special balances of accounts included in this general Sim ; and laid on the table, for the information of the members, the quarterly statements of income and ex- psnditure, invested capital and life compositions, assets and liabilities. Country Meeting of 185.'?.— The Report of the Inspection Committee having been read, the Council weie favoured by Deputations comprising the following gentlemen :— The Hon. Admiral Berkeley C.B., M.P., the Hon. and Rev. W. W. Chetwynd Talbot, M.A., the Hon. General Lygon,M.P., Sir C.W.Codrington, Bart., M.P., Sir T. E. Winnington, Bart., Sir John B. Walsh, Bart., M,P., Captain Rushout, M.P., Colonel CliflFord, M.P., Mr. Booker, M.P., Mr. Drown, M.P., Mr. A. Bubb, Mr. Clutterbuck (Mayor of Gloucester), Mr. Hill (Towu-Clerk of Worcester), Mr. II. Hudson, Mr. Jenkins (Town- Clerkof Gloucester), Mr. A. G. Jones, Mr. W. Jones, Mr. H. Kerr, Mr. Knight, M.P., Mr. Laslett, M.P., Mr. Cornewall Lewis, M.P., IMr. Lucy, (Mayor of Worcester), Mr. R. Potter, Mr. Ricardo, M.P., Mr. C. H. Saunders, Mr. John SoUey, Mr. Joseph Stallard, Mr. James Trebb, Mr. Alderman Walker, Jlr. J. W. Walters, Mr. Gregory Watkins, Mr. Wegg Prosser, M.P., Mr. Westhead, M.P., and Mr. F. Woodward. These gentlemen having communicated to the Council the fullest local information connected with the South Wales district, derived irom their respective personal knowledge, and answered aatig- factorily every enquiry made of them by the Council ; the President expressed to them the best thanks of him- self and the Council for their kindness in having attended the meeting of that day, and for the deep interest they had evinced in promoting the objects of the society. The Deputations then withdrew ; when the Council pro- ceeded to the consideration of the particular locality best suited, underall circumstances, for theholding of the Coun- try Meeting next year ; and, after a lengthened discussionof the respective advantages of each position to which their attention had been called, it was finally carried, on the motion of Lord Portman, seconded by Mr. Brandreth, that the City of Gloucest£k should be the place of such JNleeting. District of 1856. — The Council appointed a Com* mittee, consisting of Sir John Shelley, Mr. Raymond Barker, Col. Challoner, Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr, Miles, M.P., and Mr. Shaw, to take into consideration the subject of the District for the Country Meeting of 1856. Essay Prizes. — Mr. Pusey, M.P., Chairman of the Journal Committee, transmitted to the Council Mot« toes of Essays to which prizes had been awarded by the Judges. The sealed motto-papers being opened by the President, the following successful candidates were announced : — I. To William Dickinson, of North Mosses, near Cockermouth, the Society's Prize of £50, for the best Report on the Farming of Cumberland. II. To Hugh Raynbird, of Laverstoke, near Audover Road, Hampshire, the Society's Prize of £20, for the best Essay ou the Maaagemeut of the Clovers, Rye-grass, &c., with the best remedy for Clover Sickness. Life-Compositions.— On the motion of Mr. Ray. mond Barker, the consideration of the general question of the principle on which the Life Compositions of the Society are founded, as connected with any alterations it may be thought desirable or otherwise to make in the bye-laws affecting them, was referred to the special consideration of a committee, consisting of the Finance Committee and the Trustees, with the addition of Sir John Shelley, Sir Matthew Ridley, and Mr. Shaw, General Meeting. — The Council decided on the arrangements connected with the General Meeting to be held on Saturday the 22nd of May, at eleven o'chick io the forenoon ; and agreed, by ballot, to the House Libt THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 533 required by the bye-laws to be recommeuded by the Council to the Members on that occasion. LECT0RE3. — Mr. Gadesden's suggestion that Prof. Way's lecture " On Jethro TuU's Principles of Agri- culture," fixed for Wednesday, the 26th of May, at 12 o'clock, should be delivered in the previous week, on account of that date falling on the " Derby-day" at Epsom, having been brought under consideration ; the Council, being desirous that no disappointment should take place among those members who might wish to be present, decided that an adjournment should take place over the Derby-day, and that Prof. Way's lecture should be delivered on Wednesday, the 19th of May, at noon, in the Council-room of the Society. VfiTERiXARY Committee. — On the motion of Mr. Shaw, and with the concurrence of Col. Challoner,Xthe Chairman of the Veterinary Grant Committee, the Re- port of that Committee, then laid on the table, and about to be read, was withdrawn for another month, for the purpose of enabling the Committee to take the subject into further consiieration before presenting their final recommendations. Fines for Nok-Exhibition. — The names of those parties who still refused to pay the fines incurred by them at the Windsor meeting were read ; when orders were given by the Council that legal steps should at once be taken to enforce their payment in the West- minster County Court. JcDGEs' Committees. — Lord Portman, Chairn.an of the Past President and Stewards' Committee, re- ported the names of the Committee nominated by them for the Selection of the Judges of Stock at the Lewes meeting. The Council adopted this list, and proceeded to appoint, as usual, the Committee for the Selection of the Judges of Implements on that occasion. Stewards or Implements. — On the motion of Sir John Shelley, seconded by Colonel Challoner, Mr. Miles, M.P. (the senior-steward of Implements of the Society), was requested by the Council to supply the place at the Lewes Meeting which would have been filled by the late Hon. Captain Pelham had his life been spared ; a request to which Mr. Miles (willing to lend bis aid on all occasions to promote the good of the So- ciety) cheerfully assented. On the motion of Mr. Shaw, seconded by Mr. Jonas, Mr. Fisher Hobbs was appointed the Steward-Elect of Implements on the same occasion. Poultry Entries. — The Council adopted the sug- gestion of Mr. Davey, of Lewes, that the non-members' fee for entering Poultry for exhibition at the Lewes Meeting should be reduced from 10s. to 2s. 6d., in order to enable cottagers to compete in that department. Farmers' Flax Mill.— The Hon. R. H. Clive, M.P., informed the Council that he had paid a visit by invitation to the works of Mr. Donlan, in the Warwick Road, Kensington, where he had inspected the construc- tion and operation of the Farmers' Flax Machines in- vented by that gentleman. Having taken with him a sheaf of his own flax straw, from which the seed had been removed, this straw was divided into four equal portions; and three of these being subjected to the action of Mr. Doalan's machines, the result was then submitted by Mr. Clive to the Council. The first por- tion was the original straw, on which no operation had been performed; the second was the next portion, which had gone through the first, or beating process ; the third portion had gone through the beating process, and had also been passed through the double roller press, and undergone the rolling process ; the fourth portion had been subjected to all the three processes— namely, those of beating, rolling, and scraping, and gave the final results of about 25 per rent, of marketable far- mers'.flax, and about 12i per cent, of tow. The whole of these machines were constructed in the simplest man- ner, but with the most exact adaptation of mechanical means for effecting the separation of the woody matter contained in the flax-stalk from the fibre required by the manufacturer ; all the weak, imperfect fibres beiig re- tained, and only the strong and perfect ones being allowed to pass through. They were not of an expensive character ; and could be worked either by men, women, or children, and by one person singly, or by several at the same time ; horse, water, or steam-power might also be used, according to circumstances. The whole of the results, then submitted to the Council, had been attained by one man in the course of twenty minutes. This farmera'-flax, produced under favourable conditions of the straw, was valued at £o2 per ton, and the tow at about ^■'12 per ton; and for the marketable article thus obtained, the farmer, who under present circumstances could only dispose of his flax- straw at about £2 or £Z per ton, or not at all, would find in this country and on the continent a ready sale, the ton of straw, by this mechanical operation, yielding farmers' flax of commerce and tow, which together might be estimated at nearly £\i)\ a sum from which would have to be deducted only the very small proportional part of the cost, rent, and wear and tear of the machines employed, and the labour required to work them. The flax, when dry, might be taken at once from the field without stacking, and, after the removal of the seed, was ready, without any other preparation, for this mechanical process, which was alike available to the smallest cottager or the largest occupier, and adapted either for manual labour or the application of machinery worked by any motive-power. He could not but regard this subject as one of great importance to the English farmer ; and, as it had often engaged the atten- tion of the Council, whose members had long considered such mechanical aid as this now referred to as a great desideratum, he felt that he was only discharging his duty as one of their body in calling their particular notice to the machines in question ; at the same time, as the Council could not collectively deviate from their usual course, by giving any opinion themselves on an in- vention like the present, he would request a few of the members in their private capacity to accompany him to Mr. Donlan's works at an early convenient day, in order that they might inspect his operations more accu- rately in detail, and inform themselves of the full bear- ings of the question in a practical point of view. Lewes Meeting.— Mr. Manning, of High Holbom, -)34 THE FARMERS MAGAZINE. the Society's Conlractor of Works, reported the favour- able progress of his operation.'* connected with the erec- (ion of the Receiving, Exliibition, and Trial Yards, at Lewes, agreeably with the plans approved by the CouQcil. Poultry Show. — Mr. Miles, M.P., laid before the Council a letter addressed to the Earl of March by Mr. Baily, of JMount- street, suggesting tliat a distinct class of prizes should be offered by the Society, for " Chickens," at the Lewes meeting, and that the classi- fication of some of the prizes should be altered. The Council directed information to be sent to Mr. Baily that Poultry of any age might be exhibited under the present schedule ; bnt no alteration could now be made iu any of the prizes, which were settled for each country meeting at a given date, agreeably with the bye- laws of the Society : his suggestions would, however, be re- served for consideration when the prizes of another year came under the notice of the Council. IIOR.SEs' Fket. — Mr. Turner, of Barton, submitted to the inspection of the Council various inventions of Mr. Popj, of Bridge-street, Exeter, for protecting the foot of the horse from injury. The chief of these was a compact felt, pressed into proper shape to adapt it as a covering for the outer hoof, and a protective shield for the bottom of the foot inside the shoe. Mr. Turner had found the felt in these cases infinitely superior to leather, as it was cheaper in the first instance, and very durable in wear; much softer in i(B substance, which never became hard or cracked, like that of leather ; and when mois- tened with water, it retained its flexibility and damp- ness for a considerable time, to the great benefit of the horses' feet, which were thus maintained cool and moist, and prevented from cracking, while the horse? were kept standing in the stable : the protective part of the felt, for the inside of the shoe, being well adapted for tender- footed horses. Mr. Pope's mode of shoeing also super- seded the necessity of more than a very few nails being driven into the hoof to effect that object. Beet-root Beek.— Mr. Baker of Writtle presented fo the Council a Paper on the Preparation of a Strong- bodied Bitter Beer or Stout from the Beet-root; and submitted to their inspection a sample of this proposed new branch of domestic economy for the adoption of farmers. The Council then adjourned to Wednesday, the 12th of May, at noon, when Mr. Trimmer would deliver before the Council, and such other members of the Society as would favour them with their attendance, his lecture " On Agricultural Geology in its practical bearings." The May general meeting of this Society took place on Saturday,May22,attheSociety'soffices,Hanover-square. The chair was taken at 11 o'clock by the Earl of Ducie, the president for the past year. There were present — Lord Camoys, Mr, R. Barker, Col. Challoner, Sir P. Booth, Mr. Shaw, &c. The first business being that of electing a president for the ensuing year, Mr. R. Barker, Chairman of the Finance Committee, said lie felt great pleasure in proposing a nobleman x\ho had shown his attachment to the Society by constant at- tendance, and who had been lestored to that position in the Council which he lost during a period when he could not give his attention to the Society's affairs in the man- ner that he had done recently. Of late that nobleman had shown as much zeal for the society's interests as during the time of his earliest connection with it ; and though he might not possess in so eminent a degree as their present chairman, the qualification of uniting science with practice, he had shown, by the ability which he had displayed, by the speeches which he had made, and by his general devotion to the pursuits of agriculture, that lie was quite capable of conducting the affairs of the society successfully, and was fully adequate to all the requirements of the office. Without detaining the meeting longer, he begged to propose Lord Ashbur- ton for the office of President, convinced that they would do themselves credit by electing his lordship to fill that important post during the ensuing year. Mr. H. Blanshard seconded the motion, and ex- pressed his conviction that the selection was an exceed- ingly good one. The motion was put and carried. Mr. Shaw moved that the following noblemen and gentlemen should be the trustees for the ensuing year : — Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bart., M.P. ; Lord Brady- brooke ; Colonel Challoner ; Hon. Robert Henry Clivc, M.P. ; Right. Hon. Sir James Graham, Bart., M.P. : Joseph Neeld, M.P. ; Lord Portman ; Philip Pusey, M.P. ; Duke of Richmond; Duke of Rutland; Earl Spencer ; and Duke of Sutherland. Sir Peter Pole seconded the motion, which was adopted unanimously. Mr. Blanshard moved that the following gentlemen should be the Vice-Presidents, observing that they were so well known that it was quite unnecessary for him to dilate on their qualifications or character : — Thomas Raymond Barker, Earl of Chichester, Marquis of Down- shire, Earl of Ducie, Earlof Egmont, Marquis of Exeter, Earl Fitzwilliam, Earl of Hardwicke, Viscount Hill, William Miles, M.P., Duke of Wellington, and Earl of Yarborough. The motion having been seconded by Mr. Bramston, M.P., and agreed to, Mr. R. Barker said he could not help individually expressing his sense of the compliment which had just been paid to the vice-presidents by their re-election. The meeting then proceeded to elect 25 General Members of Council, and for that purpose the list re- commended by the Council was handed to the members present. Col. Challoner observed that if any person wished to scratch out a name, and to substitute for it another, it was competent to him to do so. The Council were required by the bye-laws to recommend a list, but the meeting was not bound to adopt it without alteration. After the lapse of a few minutes, it was announced by the Chairman that the Council had been re-elected with- out any change. The Secretary, Mr. Hudson, read the following re- port— THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 535 REPORT. Since the last General Meeting in December, 37 mem- bers have died, and the names of 120 been removed from the list; while 104 candidates have during the same period been elected : so that the Society now consists of— 93 Life Governors 156 Annual Governors 711 Life Members 4,002 Annual Members, and 19 Honorary Members — making a total of 4,981 members on the list of the So- ciety at the present time : a census which shows a slight decrease, since the last general meeting, in the governors and members paying annual subscriptions, but an in- crease in those who have connected themselves more permanently with the Society by payment of the com- positions for life. — The Council have appointed Mr. Miles, M.P,, of Leigh Court, one of the Vice-Presidents of the Society, in the place of Sir Thomas Gooch, Bart., deceased ; and have elected the Earl of March a general Member of the Council, to supply the vacancy thus created in that list, by the transfer of Mr. Miles's name to the list of the Vice-Presidents. The Council have the satisfaction of stating, that at no former period in the history of the Society, have its finances been in a more favourable condition than at the present time. The arrangements for the Country Meeting at Lewes, in the middle of July next, are nearly completed. The entries of implements for exhibition and trial at this meeting exceed in amount those made for any former occasion; and the entries of live-stock, although not yet closed, promise to be equally numerous. The Council have adopted this year new regulations for the nomina- tion and selection of the Judges of Stock ; and they have limited the duties of the Veterinary Inspector to a general examination of the animals in reference to con- tagious or infectious disease, and to such special inves- tigation on doubtful points, as the Judges in considering their awards may think proper to direct his attention. They have concluded their arrangements in the show- yard at Lewes for such an exhibition of Poultry as may, in their opinion, best promote competition among those varieties of breed which have been found by experience to be most profitable in an agricultural point of view ; and for the purpose of enabling cottagers to compete for the prizes in this department the Council have reduced the non-members' exhibition-fee from ten shillings to half-a-crown.— The Council have accepted the invitation of the Authorities of Gloucester to hold the Country Meeting of ne.^t year for the South-Wales District in that city. The Chemical Investigations instituted by the Society are in a state of active and favourable progress in the laboratory of Professor Way, the Consulting Chemist to the Society ; who has already this season delivered before the members two interesting lectures on the peculiar agency of certain soils in promoting the supply of manur- ing matter as food to plants, and on the light thrown by the agrisultural principles established more than a century ago by the celebrated Jethio Tull, on practical results obtained at the present day under certain conditions of soil and culture. Mr. Trimmer, the author of the Society's prize essay on agricultural geology, has also favoured the members with a lecture on the geological distribution of soils throughout the country ; a subject of much practical importance to the farmer who is desirous at any time of transferring analogically the system of one district to another locality identical with it in the circum- stance of soil ; a result not always to be inferred from the ordinary geological maps, in which the rocks or subsoils are represented in their denuded state, and irrespectively of the actual drift or soil that may happen, from various causes, to rest upon their strata. The Council are aware of the great caution required in the application of science to the practice of agriculture ; and of the guarded manner in which any new or striking facts of cultivation ought to be enunciated, in order that the particular circumstances of their occurrence may be most clearly defined. These circumstances they con- ceive must be accurately understood by the farmer before h3 can safely transfer to his own locality a mode of ma- nagement that may have been adopted with success elsewhere. Science, so called, can only mislead, when its quality is unsound, or its application erroneous : sound science, indeed, consisting only of principles derived immediately from facts; which principles, when duly applied to practice, constitute an art of any kind ; and this art, whether that of agri- culture or any other branch of industry, is only to be perfected by the application of improved principles, whe- ther these be accidentally discovered or ascertained by direct investigation. The Council feel how much the mo- dification or establishment of such principles of improve- ment depend on the extended practical observation and actual test of their members ; and while they are most de- sirous on the one hand to aid in their legitimate develop- ment, they are most anxious on the other to pre- vent their hasty adoption. The really best practice in agriculture always includes as its prime mover the best science ; but it is only by obtaining the distinct knowledge of such included science that the conditions can be ascertained under which the practice itself may be transferred successfully to other circumstances : and the Council, in endeavouring to carry out that union of " practice with science," which has become the well- known motto of the Society, invite from its members such communications of successful instances of manage- ment or cultivation, as will either at once become models for adoption, or serve by comparison with other results, to modify the character and extent of the deductions to be drawn from them. With such practical aid, the Council feel assured that the Society will continue to proceed in its steady course of public usefulness, gradually developing those national objects for which it wag originally established. By order of the Council, James Hudson, Secretary. Sir Peter Pole said from the report which had been just read, it was evident that the Council had done their duty in relatioa to the iivterests of agriculture generally, 536 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. and though there might be a few members less, he thought, on the whole, the Society was in an improved position (Hear, hear). He was very glad to have that opportunity of thanking the Council for having deter- miner! tb'\t the next show to that which was approaching should be held in his own county. There had been a strong feeling in the county of Gloucester that it would be a great advantage to that part of the country, and even to Wales, if a Show were held there ; and he re- joiced exceedingly at the resolution which bad been adopted on tliat subject. Mr. Hercy seconded the motion ; which was then put, and carried. ]Mr. R. Baiiker, as Chairman of the Finance Com- mittee, then read the following balance-sheet:-— HALF-YEARLY ACCOUNT ENDING 31st DEC, 1851, Eeceipts. £ 8. d. Balance in the hands of the Bankers, Ist July, 1851 2,584 9 5 Balance in the hands of the Secretary, Ist July, 1851 0 1 Dividends on Stock • 160 6 Life-Compositions of Members 179 0 Annual Subscriptions of Governors 144 0 Annual Subscriptions of Members 1,570 5 Eeceipts on account of Journal 201 0 3,144 10 Receipts on account of Country Meetings Payments. Purchase of £1,029 Stock in the 3^ per cents. . Permanent Charges Taxes and Hates Establishment Postage and Carriage Ailverlisements Payments on account of Journal Chemical Grant : two quarters Chemical Investigations Prizes of the Society Paymeiits on account of the Country Meetings. . Transfers of Subscriptions Sundry items of petty cash Balance in the hands of the Bankers, 31st Dec. 1851 Balance in the ha.ads of the Secretary, 31st Dec, 1851 £7,983 12 2 Examined, Audited, and found correct, this 21st day of May, 1852— Thos. Raymond Barker, Chairman, C. B. Challoner, Henry Blanshard, Thos. Kntgut, George I. Kaymond Barker, £7,983 12 2 1,010 0 0 178 12 6 13 19 5 422 16 9 • 19 11 0 2 16 6 303 3 2 100 0 0 200 0 0 1,820 0 0 2,850 4 2 7 0 0 5 5 10 1,020 8 11 29 13 11 'Finance Committee. [ Auditors on the George Dyer, J part of the Society. Mr. RowLANDSON" said that, in rising to move a vote of thanks to the auditors for their care in auditing the accounts, he was happy to be able to congratulate the Society on the very favourable position in which it was placed in a financial point of view (Hear, hear). He felt quita certain that the onerous duties which had fallen upon the auditors had been much lightened by the care and attention which had been bestowed upon that department by the talented Secretary and his assistants ; but at the same time the mass of accounts which neces- sarily accumulated in that Society must require much care and attention in the auditors, and all present would feel that they were entitled to the cordial thanks of the meeting. The names of the auditors were alone a suffi- cient guarantee for the ability and skill which had been exerted in the supervision of the accounts. Sir P. Pole said he could not feel a moment's hesita- tion in seconding the motion. That all parties con- cerned in the management bad done their duty, was proved by the exceedingly favourable statement to which they had listened. The Chairman formally conveyed to Mr. Dyer, as one of the auditors, the thanks of the meeting, and de- clared his belief that there was no society in England whose finances were better attended to than those of the Royal Agricultural Society. Mr. DvER, in returning thinks, said be had never seen any accounts which manifested more care than those of the society. The books were so plain and clear that a person of the humblest capacity might under- stand them ; and he felt, with a preceding speaker, that the Society was greatly indebted to the secretary and his assistants. As regarded the motion, it was to the finance committee that thanks were most due : the la- bours of the auditors were comparatively light. Mr. Sillifant said, that amongst the many ways in which the Society sought to promote its objects, he could see none more important than that of encouraging and providing weekly lectures. They all knew that the motto of the Society was " Practice with Science." The prac- tice of agriculture could only be pursued in the fields of the country, but the science required the quietness of study ; and science was, hs believed, greatly promoted by the lectures given in that building by the gentlemen to whom he had risen to move a vote of thanks. The two names which he would especially mention were those of Professor Way and Mr. Trimmer. Those only who had been sufficiently fortunate to hear those gen- tlemen during the past year could fully appreciate the value of their lectures ; but he was sure the cordial thanks of the meeting would be given to those gentlemen, for the deep attention which they had paid to the science of agriculture, and for the admirable manner in which they had illustrated it in that room. Mr. Grantham, of Sussex, seconded the motion, which was then adopted. The Chairman said it was the practice on that occa. sion for the Chairman to put one general question to the Members before the meeting terminated ; but before he did that, he wished to call the attention of the meeting to one or two points. One point had respect to an alteration which had been made in the mode of selecting judges ; and he would first read the resolution which the Council had agreed to on that subject. He then read the resolution ; the efTect of which was to allow Members of the Society to challenge the competency of the judges selected, and to communicate in writing any remwkfl THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 537 which they might wish to make in reference to the merits of the respective candidates. As this was a new rule (continued the Chairman), he had thought it right to direct attention to it (Hear, hear). The list was hanging up, aad if any gentleman objected to either of the names he could state his objection in writing, and it would be laid befpre the Committee of Selection. He then stated that the usual Weekly Meeting would not be held on the following Wednesday ; and concluded by observing that his chief reason for rising was this, that It was usual on that occasion for the Chairman to ask the Members generally, who were present, if they had any remark to make on any matter connected with the Society. He now put that question. After tbe lapse of a few seconds, Lord Camoys said he had no remark to make in the sense which was intended by the noble lord in the chair ; but he rose for the purpose of proposing a vote of thanks to the noble lord, not only for bis conduct in the chair that day , but also for his conduct as President of the Society during the whole of the past year (cheers). He was sure that, though many persons might do greater justice to that motion than himself, no person could feel more sincerely than he did that the noble lord was entitled to their best acknowledgments. Colonel Challoner said, as having tlie honour to hold the situation of one of the trustees of that Society, lie trusted he might be allowed to express his sense of how due the thanks of the Society were to its president, Lord Ducie (cheers). Whether it were in the small finance room— whether it were in the Show Yard — whe- ther it were in the Implement Yard — or whether it were in promoting the general good of the Society — Lord Ducie had, ever since the Society's formation, made himself eminently useful (cheers). His name as an agriculturist, his name as one of those who first opened the door, he might say, to the adaptation of science to agriculture, was, he thought, a sufficient gua- rantee that they acted wisely in electing the noble earl as their president (Hear, hear), and he was happy to say that up to that moment he had fully answered the ex- pectations of those who proposed him. He had, there- fore, great pleasure in seconding the motion proposed by Lord Camoys ; and he thought it was due from that Society to give not a mere cold and formal vote of thanks, but its real heartfelt acknosvledgments to the nobleman who occupied the chair. Colonel Challoner put the motion, which was cor- dially adopted. The Chairman said it was always very difficult, even for a man who felt that he deserved approbation, to re- turn thanks for such a compliment in appropriate terms. But on the present occasion the difficulty was increased by the circumstance that the difficulties of his office were really none, and that he had positively received the thanks of the Society for doing nothing (a laugh). He should be most ungrateful if he were not to acknowledge that, owing to the kind and continuous attention of many old members of that Society, he had become in- structed on points on which he was previously ignorant, ELod that his path bad been made smooth and easy. He should also be most ungrateful if he did not allude to a gentleman who had been already referred to by Mr, Dyer— if he did not say, not only that he himself had found everything made easy and plain before him, but that he was sure the noble lord who had been elected to succeed him for the ensuing year would also find every- thing made smooth and easy to him by the continued and able exertions of their secretary, Mr. Hudson (cheers). He was quite sure that he should not have done his duty if he had not alluded to the exertions of that gentleman, and he would never have forgiven him- self if he had not mentioned in the strongest terms the benefits which the Society had received from that gen- tleman. As Mr. Dyer had stated, the accounts were laid before the auditors in the plainest and clearest man- ner, and being ignorant to an extent which he ought not perhaps to own, of the proceedings of the Society, he (Earl Ducie) h?.d found no difficulty in transacting what little business he had to perform. The meeting then separated. NEW MEMBERS. TlieEarlof Darnley,of Cobham Hall, Kent; and John Mainwaring Paine, of Farnham, Surrey ; were elected Governors of the Society. The following new Members were elected :— Bale, Johu, South Creake, Fakenham, Norfolk Bottiug, William, Westmeston, Lewea Clarke, John, Ipswich, Suffolk Daw3, Walter William, Lordine, Ewhurat, Hurstgreen Frceland, H. W., The Albany, London Hardwick, Arthur, Hanglcton, Shoreham, Saasex Hillraan, John, juu., Lewes, Sussex Holmes, Williaai, Borovere Cottage, Alton, Haute Hutchinson, William, Ipswich, Suffolk King, John, Thorpe-Abbots, Scole, Norfolk Magens, John Dorien, Hammerwcod, East-Grinstead Oliver, Thomas, jun., Sunderland, Durham Ranelagh, Viscount, Park Place, St. James'a Richardson, James M., Wilton Place, Tonbridge Wells Sexton, George, Wherstead, Ipswich Tatchell, John T., Sydling House, Dorchester, Dorset Tucker, John, Abbey Print Works, West Ham, Essex Young, Charles D., North-Bridge. Edinburgh, PATENT TILE AND PIPE MAKING MACHINE.— We were invited yesterday to witness the working of one of Mr. Hart's Tile Machines, at the Aths Works, Eorough-road, Southwark. This machine is one of a series intended for Italy, and its construction and principle have attracted a good deal of attention. It makes pipes, tiles, hollow and solid bricks, cor- nice work, and is capable of being readily adjusted to some 1200 different patterns. It is worked by a screw, and is sim. pie to singularity throughout, and is, indeed, the very Quaker- ism of mechanics. A man and a boy are capable of giving it a pressure of ten tons ; and by a curious reversing or self- acting movement, no time is lost in the working of both ends, one man being continually at work while the boy is carrying away. Thus, and with only moderate exertion, we saw tdes produced at the rate of eight miles per ten hours, and hollow and sohd bricks, &c,, with like rapidity,— iHor?jin^ Paper, 638 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. AGRICULTUK\L EDUCATION.-REPLY TO "A FARMER."-VALUE OF GEOLOGY. " Truths would you teach, or save a sinkiug land, All fear, none aid you, and few understand." — Pope. « It formed no part of our expectation, on com- mencing tliis series of articles on agricultural educa- tion, nor indeed any part of our desire, that our opinions, which we knew to be at variance with those of the class to whom our remarks are addressed, should pass unopposed and unnoticed. A medicine may generally be said to be ineffectual if, in Its con- tention with the malady, it does not give some visible sign of its operation. It is unpleasant to stroke a porcupine the wrong way. The (ffect is much the same when one attacks a prejudice. We are glad, however, to have aroused an apparently earnest thinker to life upon this subject, and to the resolute expres- sion of his thoughts. Would that more mi^tht be stirred from their indiffcrentism to join him. The number of the Farmer's Maffazine containing the animadversions of " A Farmer," was handed to ns not long ago with the following exclamation : — " See ! you are opposed in this letter : you had better read it, for it may require a reply." " No reply is requisite," we answered, after having run our eye over its con- tents; '"'and had the writer been more careful in his perusal, both of the article on the R. A. College and others, he would have been spared the trouble of moistening his pen. Had he but given a due con- sideration to the detinilion of the term education, that occurs in the article he particularly refers to — a dili- nition we were careful to furnish, in order that mis- understanding might not ensue — he would find that we were pretty well agreed. Had he thought for a moment, also, he would have come to the most sen- sible conclusion that no one part of a series of articles upon any subject would be likely to contain the specific treatment of that subject in all its bearings. The reason that one writes a letter on both sides of a sheet is because the news to be communicated cannot be compressed into the space afforded by one. Our in- troductory paper will furnish our impatient corres- pondent with a general notion of our intended line of remark. We were just in process of proving, to the best of our ability, that education was wanting to the agri- culturist, when up comes our " Farmer" to say that education is of little or no use — that, indeed, the edu- cation of farmers is as sound and suitable for their calling as it need be. Some men there are who answer a question and settle a subject before they have heard the one pro- posed, or the other witnessed. In this art our " Farmer" stands not in a minority; for were every man banished from this land who decides upon the stability of a subject before he has seen its foundation, the small county of Rutland would contain and feed Ihc remaining population of the three kingdoms and all their dependencies. We are reminded, in speaking of those who form conclusions before they see, of the caution which M. Sauguin gave to Louis XIV., with respect to the Princess of Bavaria — " Sire, be not dis- gusted with her at the first glance, and you will after- wards be pleased with her!" and so it happened. And we venture to affirm that it will so happen that if our " Farmer " follows us to the close of our remarks, he will find himself thinking of men and things much in the same way as ourselves. We are In a position to form an independent judg • men t of the agriculturists individually and collectively, and we see no reason to alter any one conclusion to which we have arrived with respect to them as a body, either as to their incaioacity to manage their own business, to perform their social duties, or to use their political rights. This is strong language, we own; but associate with them in their own homes, meet them at the market-tables, and their public vestries, and there shall be found a very sufficient verification of it. There is evidence enough in favour of our assertion in the very statistics of literature and jour- nalism. The intelligence of a people is ascertained by the activity of its press ; and from what class, we should like to know, docs the press receive its greatest encouragement? Fact says, certainly not from the agricultural class. We do indeed know " one man in the neighbourhood of the R. A. College, " who can express himself in " sharp trenchant sentences;" and we have the misfortune to know 999 others, within a circuit of 50 miles, who cannot get rid of two sentences grammatically — who are ignorant of their geographical position — and who know, perhaps, less than their labourers, upon questions of political economy. We see this miserable condition of things in no spirit of rejoicing; nor, indeed, do we point to it in any such spirit. The first step to the remedy of an evil is to discover it. When it is found, then comes a search for its source : naturally enough, everybody looks away from himself in such a search — as is the case with our correspondent, who points now to the landlord, now to the squire, then to the government, as the blameworthy parties — never to the farmers themselves. This course is essentially false- The greatness, the prosperity, and the freedom of a nation depend on the moral and intellectual stature of its people. The wealth of a nation consists, not in the fertility of its land, the variety and extent of its mines, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 539 nor in its exhaustless beds of coal, but in the ability to turn these to the best accounts This ability — eco- nomic ability — depends upon the exercise of reason ; on the use of those mental qualities with which man has been gifted purposely that he may subdue the elements to his uses ; in other words, upon intelligence. Intelligence admit? of culture; and that nation which cultivates it in the highest degree to subserve the pur- poses of life, and possesses it in combination with moral excellence — the sole base of true greatness — carries the palm of superiority amongst her rivals. But national superiority depends upon individual superiority. Here, then, lies the source of disease — not oviy amongst farmers, but amongst all classes; and it is, therefore, to this radically diseased point or centre that we direct attention. The higher classes exert an influence upon the middle; the middle upon lower; the lower again upon the lowest — all for better or for worse — and all are responsible for the influence Ihey exert. The whole framework of society is so hung together, thiit it is well-nigh impossible to ele-- vate or depress any portion without extending the movement to the whole. We know well enough that the landlords and squires are below the position their advantages are designed to secure for them. They have no very powerful incentive to any vigorous putting forth of their faculties in the struggle for daily bread. But surely this is no reason why the farmers should be contented to be beneath them, having urgent need enough of all the intelligence and practical skill they can acquire to help them through in the great struggle that is coming. The struggle that is coming ! yes, we repeat it. Rumours and warnings of armed foreign invasion have been plentiful enough ; but there has been only one solitary cry raised to warn us of an invasion far more to be feared — an invasion induced by our own supincness and reliance on our natural resources. It is a bloodless, but deadly struggle for industrial su- periority; and if we do not bestir ourselves to meet our foe, defeat is inevitable. Dr. Lyon Play fair, than whom no man can be better fitted to judge of our scientific and industrial status amongst civilized nations, by reason of his official relation with the Exhibition, gives utterance to the following remarks, in a lecture On the national importance of studying abstract science with a view to the healthy progress of industry : — " The result of the Exhibition was one that England may well be startled at. Wherever — and that implies in almost every manufacture — science or art was in- volved as an element of progress, we saw as an inevi- table law, that the nation which most cultivated them was in the ascendant." After mentioning many articles of manufacture in which England is beaten, and many others in the production of which hitherto almost unknown competitors approach her, he con- tinues—" Our nation has acquired a proud position among the industrial states of the world, partly by the discoveries of her philosophers, partly by the practical powers and common sense of the people ; but chiefly by the abundance and richness of her national re- sources. These local advantages gave to our country enormous powers of production ; and under the favouring influences of an accidental combination, it supplied its produce to the rest of the world. Cir- cumstances remaining the same, our industrial posi- tion was secured, and we have thus been lulled into a fatal apathy ; for conditions were, in fact, varying with great rapidity, and the world at large was passing through a state of remarkable transition. " As civilization advances, the value of the raw ma- terial as an element of manufacture diminishes, while that of the intellectual element is much enhanced. Improvements in locomotion, both by sea and land, spread over the world the raw material, formerly con- fined to one locality ; and a time arrived when a com- petition of industry became a competition, not of local advantage, but of intellect. It was obvious that when improved locomotion gave to all countries raw mate- rials at slight difierences of cost, that any superiority in the intellectual element would more than balance the diflercnce. The continental states, acting on a perception of this truth, saw that they could only compete with English industry by instructing their populations in the principles of science. Hence have arisen in their capitals, in their towns, and even in their villages, institutions for affording a systematic training in science; and industry has been raised from the rank of an empirical art to that of a learned pro- fession. The result is seen in the fact that we now meet most European nations as competitors in all the markets of the world. The result is palpably forced tipon us by our actual displacement from markets in which we enjoyed a practical monopoly. Tlie teach- ing of the Exhibition was to impress me with the conviction that England, by relying too much on her local advantagfs, was rapidly losing her former proud position among manufacturing nations ; and unless she speedily adopts measures to cultivate the intel- lectual element of production, by instructing her population in the scientific principles of the arts which they profess, that she must inevitably lose those sources of power which, in spite of the small- ness of her territory, have given to her so exalted a rank among nations." Tills reasoning is as unanswerable as the allegations are undoubted ; and the fact is patent enough, being verified in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Glasgow, &c., that the English merchant is better paid by purchasing foreign supplies, say of hardware, glass, cotton, silks, and woollens, Sec, for resliipment here to the various European establish- ments, than he is by obtaining them of the home producer. And if the populations of the manufac- turing towns are found to be so deficient, what can 640 THE FARMER'S MAGAZLXE. wo say of tlic population of the rural district?, where men work distitnto of the thinking faeulty, like nin- chinos ? "Nature," stiys Goolhe, " knows no panse hi ever increasing movement, development, and pro- duction— a curse still c^eavinj^ to standing still." It is precisely so with notions. If anyone doubtful on 'this subject would be at the pains to read the evidence taken by Mr. Chadwick on the hifluencc of training and education on the value of workmen, and on the comparative eligibility of educated and uneducated workmen for employment, given by manufacturers and artizans from different countries, their scepticism would be much modifiul, if not annihilated. When we come to touch more pnr- ticularly on this part of our subject, we will give our readers some extracts from it. It appears from it that England is the only European state that is not tho- roughly awakened to the importance of giving an intellectual training to those intrusted with its manu- factures. There is no good in looking everlastingly to government, whose proper function is to- protect — not to create. The government is comparatively un- interested in the affair : those that feel their interests at stake must create the movement. The main thing is to penetrate the entire body of society with one quickening spirit of advancement. Each class must then v.-ork steadily, courageously, and independently, and the whole of the interests of t!ie country be lifted at once, with bmcfit to all, and detriment to none. One class cannot lag behind another with impunity ; for, as Goethe says, " there is a curse cleaving to standing still.'' To the farmers we cry with a loud voice, Educate ! Educate! Educate! But alas ! alas! there are some men who never will see, till others are almost blind with looking. In our ardour to put this subject in its tiua light, we have allowed but little space for the consideration of the value of geology in its relation to agriculture. If, however, our readers will give us their attention, we will not keep them many minutes. The value of any science is to be estimated accor- ding to its tendency to promote improvement, and to subserve the purposes of life. And if men are guided in their judgments by this principle, we do not wonder that the Farmer*' Club, when the question was pro- posed— " Whether a knowledge of geology is of any advantage to the farmer?'' should have decided in the negative. Geology has been so much the theme of arm-chair speculation, with but few exceptions, that it has proved of little practical use. These exceptions have occurred within t!;c last lialf century. An enthusiast named William Smith gave his researches a practical application to agriculture and civil engineering. He devoted his attention to the oolitic districts in which soils prevail that have been derived exclusively from the subjacent rock, and from local phenomena educed generalizations, that, of course, failed to hold good. lie gained the name of " Strata Smith" fiom the fact of his exa'/gerated notions of the connexion of the soil with the underlying strata — a connexion the great erratic deposits that have sn'cpt athwart the face of our country constantly di-prove. Sir Henry de lil Beche, at the head of the commissioii of inquiry re- specting the stone to be used in flic construction of Westminster New Palace, showed the application that might be made of geology in directing his search for the best and cheapest building material. Its applica- tion to mining has been tested with great benefit, both by Werner, by Smith, and by Mushet, who dis- covered the black band iron stone, to the enrichment of the Scottish iron-masters. Geological surveys of Great Britain for various purposes have frequently been proposed, and some have been executed. Several maps have resulted from these surveys ; but none have been of any extensive service to the farmer, because the principle upon which they have been planned has led the authors of them to neglect the superficial deposits (covering ex- tensive areas, and varying in depth from one foot to some hundreds of feet), and so to make it appear that all soils are characteristic of the strata they overlie. To be of any value to agriculture, geological inves- tigation should embrace two classes of facta — the com- position and distribution of the strata, and the com- position and distribution o{ the superficial deposits. " The true method, then, of ascertaining the respec- tive influence which the rock formations and the superficial deposits exercise on the character of the soil, is to map them — laying down the latter with as much minuteness as possible, together with the mine- ral characters of the strata on which they rest, and which are grouped on ordinary geological maps under one colour, as representing a common assemblage of organic remains. The true method of investigating the nature of the operations by which the superficial deposits were formed, consists likewisa in mapping them. Not only should the areas covered by drifts be laid down generally, but the varying depth and composition of those deposits should be shown. By no other method than by such a minute examination can we learn whit portion of them was formed be- neath the sea, and what on the surface of dry Innd ; whether disconnected masses of them are separate drifts, or fragmentary portions of a once continuous sheet ; whether after their desiccation they were ex- posed to any subsequent aqueous operations, and If 80, of what kind, whether marine or atmospheric.'' In order to form some estimate of the importance of these supcrficinl deposits, it may be well to remind our readers that the great northern drift of some, and the drifts of other geologists, extended from the White Sea to the German Ocean, beyond this over nearly the whole of Britain, excepting the steep escarpments of some ranges of hills ; — to North, and some portion of South America. The evidence of this great erratic THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 641 movement exists in the beds of clay, sand, and gravel, accompanied by large boulders, traced from their parent rocks in Laj^land; and these ia the northern hemisphere are spread over an area more than two thousand miles long, varying in breadth from four hundred to eight hundred miles. These beds cover the whole of Belgium, Holland, north of Prussia, and occupy large tracts of Poland and Eastern Russia. The northern drift appears, from the two deposits that mark it — namely, the hill or boulder clay beneath, and the gravel and sand above — to have been the work of two distinct periods. Much that is interesting might be said about the action and course of this drift, were it within the range of our remarks. Then there are the detrltal deposits, of comparatively recent date ; and about these — that is, about their origin, there is considerable dis|)utation. So that we may see, from the extensive nature of the erratic deposits, how im- portant it is that accurate information should be sup- plied concerning them. To affect to teach agricul- tural geology from maps that suppress these deposits, and deal only with a subsoil which, in very few agri- cultural operations, is of any value at a greater depth than seven feet, is manifestly absurd. A well directed investigation of the geological struc- ture of our country, made with reference to the two distinct species of inquiry urged above, would prove of the utmost value to all classes interested in the land. From such an inquiry we might expect a know- ledge of the laws regulating the distribution of soils ; we might anticipate a solution to the " vexed ques- tions of the proper depth and distance of drains, and how superfluous moisture may best be removed, or water obtained when deficient," from the data thus supplied of the depth and composition of soils and subsoils. There are few who in the present day under- stand the use of mineral manures, save such as marl and lime; but there will come a time when, more at- tention being given to the study of geology, greater re- gard will be paid to the distribution of such aids, and to the generous use of them as a means of improving poor soils. The knowledge secured by such an in- quiry would be of great service to the farmer, &c,, in searching for building material, and materials for draining and road-making; for they often lie beneath feet when he is expending money in their purchase and transport from other parts. And there are other and manifold bond fide advantages arising from the study of geology, that should tend to raise its impor- tance in the eyes of owners, managers, and cultivators of the soil. If the government has thou2;ht it worth while to institute a school of mines, which promises to raise a race of future superintendents of mining operations, who will make a practical use of the science they acquire, how much more should some provision (not governmental — it smells of the insinuating abo- mination, the pernicious opiate to a nation's industry — centralization) be made to diffuse amongst the agricultural community a species of information operating to the production of a new economy in the expenditure of capital and labour ! O ye farmers! are we to wait as long in patient expectation of the coming race of scientific, clear- headed, intelligent, practical sons of the soil, as wc have done for the "coming man"? With little hope of causing them to augmental effort, one clever writer, who has exhausted himself in putting forth the claims of geology to their notice, exclaims most mournfully as he closes his essay — " And till the agricultural class shall have somewhat more largely imbibed the streams of science, we cannot expect much progress to be made in agricultural geology." What! doeS not the yearning pathos of tliis writer move ye to some burning sense of tears? Are ye less indifferent to the voice of science than the earth ye cultivate ? If, then, your ears are deaf to inducement, toentreatj', to persuasion, let them be stunned with the stern waking trumpet-lilast of Play fair :—*' As surely as darkness follows the setting of the sun, so surely will England recede as a manufacturing nation, unless her industrial population become much more conversant with science than they now are. " Have regard, therefore, to the intellectual element. F. R. S. ON THE BENEFICIAL INVESTMENT OF CAPITAL IN LAND. With the hope of preventing our monied friends from Durning their fingers with some of the numerous bubble schemes which make their appearance whenever capital accumulates and a low rate of interest prevails, we en- deavoured, in a former article, to draw their attention to the safe and profitable investment which experience has proved to attend the purchase and improvement of poor land. We resume the subject now in order to illustrate it by a few details. The scene of operations shall be laid in that wooded tract of poor clay which runs through the counties of Kent, Sussex, and Surrey ; between the chalk ridges of the North and South Downs, and which is known by the name of the Weald. Our capitalist has seen a pro« perty of 500 acres advertised for sale in that district, and he runs down to look at it by the Dover Railway, which traverses the centre of the Weald. He takes with him a professional agricultural adviser. Of these there are two clasess. The one look only at things as they are, and think that under the circumstances in which this property is placed, and which will be described here- after, nothing can save the owners and occupiers from utter ruin but such an advance of prices as they are not likely to obtain. If one of this class were consulted, he would of course give his advice against such an invest- ment, declaring that it is better to pay a high price for 54-2 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Iind of the first quality, which will always be in demaiid, than to have such land as this for nothing. The otlier class of agricultural advisers is not so numerous as the last, but is daily increasing. They look at things not only as they are, but as they may be ; directing their attention to the capabilities for improvement which land possesses, the best means of effecting it, and the profit likely to result from it. Our friend is accompanied on his expedition by cue of this class. They find the soil to be of the prevalent character of the Weald clay — close, adhesive, and difficult to cultivate, either in wet or very dry weather. The property is divided into three farms. The buildings are in bad repair, and ill-managed ; built apparently witli reference to the form of the plot of ground selected for their site, or, rather, on which they have been accidentally pitched, rather than upon any general principle as to the best situation for the farm- stead, and the most suitable distribution of its several parts, so as to secure economy in the housing and con- version of the crops, and the distribution of the manure. The fields do not average more than five acres each ; and they are surrounded with broad, coppice-like hedges or " shaws," which in many instances diminish the nominal area by 20 to 25 per cent. The system of culti- vation is such as would impoverish a much better soil. The rotation of crops is : 1st, fallow ; 2nd, wheat ; 3rd, oats, beaus, or vetches, or clover — the vetclies not fed off, but harvested for the seed ; 4th, wheat, and then fallow again. Little stock is kept, little made, and that of inferior quality ; and the only dressing which the land receives is in the form of an occasional liming. No plough could be devised less adapted to such a soil than the turnwrest plough ; but that venerable imple- ment, rejoicing in its four, and even six horses, is more firmly established, at least in the Kentish portion of the Weald, than its large and ancient oaks have been, for they have nearly all fallen before the axe of modern in- novation and the great demand for ship -timber which the last century has witnessed. The produce does not ex- ceed, on on average, wheat 20 bushs., oats 30 bushs., beans 28 bushs. The present rent is 12s. an acre ; but the tenants owe two years' rent. They demand a re- duction to 8s., and as the large landowners are making tbis reduction, the smaller fry must follow their ex- ample. This does not appear a very desirable property for an investment, and yet the adviser whom our capi- talist consults recommends him to purchase it — and he gives sound advice. In 1841 this property was valued at j£,'ll,000 exclusive of the timber. The owner has been advised of its capabilities for improvement, but he cannot be brought to believe that money can be profita- bly sunk on the soil. He considers, to use his own ex- pression, that the game is up with land, and he has determined to get rid of so troublesome a property for whatever it will realize. He will have difficulty in ob- taining £6,500. In fact we know an estate, similarly situated in all respects to the one just described, which has lately changed hands for somewhat less than that sum. The means of improvement are obvious. The great defect of the soil consists in the impalpable state of division of the particles of clay and sand of which it is composed. This causes it to run into a paste when wet, and to harden when dry into a mass which the roots of the plants can scarcely penetrate. To correct this fault recourse must be had to chalk or burnt clay, in order to separate the particles, and render it more friable. The chalk, which is now carted nine miles, to be burnt into lime upon the farm, would answer a better purpose ap- plied unburnt. Burnt clay may be used for the same object. Some of the strata of the Weald Clay are cal- careous, and were formerly applied in the raw state under the name of marl — before they were superseded by lime. There are several marl pits on the property in question. Their clay is well adapted for burning, and the roots obtained in grubbing the fences will supply abundance of fuel with which to burn it all. Useless expenses must be curtailed, and the turnwrest plough must be abandoned. There is no reason on earth, except inveterate habit, why this land should not be ploughed with two horses. Green crops must be gradually substituted for bare fallows. Tares and rape may be consumed on the land in the summer ; swedes and mangold- wurtzel may be drawn in the autumn, and stored for consumption in the yard. Some of the land should also be sown down with grass, clean and in good condition, to be fed with sheep. All these are improvements pertaining to the tenant. There are other preliminary improvements required on the part of the landlord to give effect to them. The shaws must be grubbed ; and the average size of the fields increased to ten or fifteen acres. The land must be drained, and the present homesteads pulled down, and rebuilt in a more central situation, and with arrangements more adapted to the improved farming of modern times. The estate should be laid into one or, at the most, two occupations. The collective cost of these operations will amount to £8 an acre, or £4,000. Should the purchase- money amount to jt'7,000 (an extreme price), this will make a total of £11,000. With the permanent improvements, and the improved systffm of cultivation indicated above, the land will be better worth 20s. an acre than it is now worth 8s. But, as the tenant will not derive much benefit from the improvements while they are in progress, he ought not to pay an increased rent till the end of that time. We will therefore add £500 for loss of interest to the cost and purchase, bringing it up to £11,500. From this outlay an annual income will arise of ^500 a- year, or more than 4 per cent. This is regarding it as a permanent investment. But should the capitalist be desirous of reselling the estate after the lapse of five or six years when in good condition, and let to a thriving tenant at ^500 a-year, he might reasonably calculate on obtaining 28 years' purchase or ^'14,000, which would giveanadditionalprofit of full 20 percent, on his original outlay of ^11,500. Compare this with the investment of ^"12,600 at 28 years' purchase for a farm of 300 acres of good land, in a high state of cultivation, let for ^£■450, with no prospect of an advance, but much grumbling every rent-day about prices. It is true, that bubble schemes hold out the temptation of greater in- terest than 4 per cent., and speedy profit by the shares selling at a premium. But what do they realize on the average, is it profit or loss ? Let the experience of those who have engaged in such speculations answer this question. Why, then, with such profits attending the improvement of our poor soils, is so advantageous a mode of employing capital neglected by our monied men ? Simply, because they have been kept too much in igno- rance of it ; and, because they have he^rd during the last thirty years little else respecting agriculture but its losses, and the impossibility of cultivating land in Eng- land with any better result. Agriculture has too long been connected with party politics. Let us hope that the warfare of class interests is drawing rapidly to a close. The capital required for landlords' improvements, on an estate of 500 acres of such land as that of the Weald, has been pointed out, and also the increased value which the land will derive from such an outlay. But these permanent improvements will be useless unless followed up by a better system of cultivation than that which now prevails in the district in question. For that the majority of the present race of occupiers will require additional tenants' capital. Where is that to come from ? That is a most important part of the inquiry, the discus- sion of which must be reserved for a future occasion. T. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 543 A U S T R A L I A — W 0 O L AND GOLD. It ie very probable that the discoveries of ^old in Australia will be pregnant with far more con- sequences than the depreciation of specie, and the superabundance of the circulating medium. The internal and economical effects on the Australian colony will be far more important to that country than any monetary revolution which its auriferous riches will accorapUsh. On wool, on tallow, on wine, on our antipodal agriculture, it will have the most wonderful effects. Gold itself is not riches ; it is their representative : it cannot be eaten, nor burnt; nor can it to any great extent afford warmth or shelter. And yet the agrarian Anglo- Australian will leave his sheep, his cattle, his vineyards, and his fields, to pursue after the great medium of exchange of the civilized world, and almost of the barbarians. Men's minds are not now improperly turned to the management of sheep in Australia. The last October clip was accom- plished before any great or general defection of shepherds to the mines of Bathurst was contem- plated. Now it is the reverse. The tending of sheep is little to the clip. The icool rather than the carcase is the great object of the Australian farmer; and it is just that part of his flock's pro- duce which requires the most speedy and deter- mined labour. Who for 2s. 6d. to 4s. per hundred — the price paid for sheep-shearing — will continue the operation for a month or so, clipping from 50 to SO sheep per day, when he can earn as many pounds all the year round day by day at the mines ? How is a farmer to get two tons of wool — the product of many a farm — clipped, and folded, and packed ? and how will he be certain that the mes- sengers sent nearly twice one hundred miles will ever return; or will not be intoxicated by the golden dreams he hears ; or leave his bullocks, his waggon, and his duty, in pursuit— not of an ignis fatuus, but a golden vision beyond all doubt a reality ? There are certainly in Austraha at least twelve millions of sheep, and only a population of some 246,299. Assuming each clipper to manage 1,500 sheep in a season, it would require 8,000 clippers who should be tempted to remain for the purpose. Wages will hardly tempt them. We heard of a case where a farmer was endeavouring to bargain with a man to attend to the clipping in October next. The man said he would engage to clip them for the wool. The bush-farmers of Australia are likely to suffer beggary from neglect of the riches Providence has given, when govern- ment officers, customs, military and excise leave their posts, and scamper off to the diggings. So alarmed are they, that they have sent an agent to the .vooUen districts of \orkshire to explain their position to their Britannic customers. He met on Wednesday last the wool-staplers and manufactu- rers of Leeds. If no remedy is found, one-half of all our foreign supplies of wool will fall off; our manufacturers will be denuded of some twenty- five per cent, of their supplies ; the raw material will rise to a very great extent, and they will be crippled and cramped in their operations. In these times of depression thousands of far- mers are directing their thoughts to Australia as a field of emigration. When everybody is gold- hunting, the farmer may live— for food they must have if they get ever so much gold. The " Austra- lia" packet has just sailed from Liverpool with a large number of agricultural emigrants of a highly respectable class. The " Merlin," one of the finest ships ever afloat on the Mersey, of 1,800 tons burden, will sail ere the month closes ; but the British farmers know little what they have to en- counter in their journey. We cannot do better than devote a few sentences to the outline of what they have to brave, and the difficulties they have to meet with as flockmasters — in a word, on the management of sheep in Australia. They have much to un-learn. To some over- lander they will have to be indebted for a flock of sheep worth about as much as they are worth in England. They will cost from 30s. to 33s. per head. They must then either purchase a tract of occupied land, or pursue the footprints of the kangaroo and wild dog, where human beings have never trod, to find a settlement and get possession, for which they will pay the government. The former would be the best course ; but they must then have a native shepherd. He only is capable of keeping and watching the flock from the bush- man, the wild dog, or from straying over the ill- defined landmark of his neighbour. One shepherd and one watchman — the former for the day-strays, and the latter for the night — will be necessary to every 1,8C0 to 2,000 sheep. These will be ample, \vitQ colly-dogs to tend them ; but they must be kept away from the lowland fens or morasses, or rot will follow. In the very dry seasons wl ich often succeed the rainy periods in Australia, great skill and prudence will be required to prevent their straying on this forbidden ground. Leaves of trees will have to be furnished to the flock when all around is dry and withered, like the mown hay; and sometimes the want of water will cause the death of thousands, both of flocks and herds. 2 N 544 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Nor will an European at first become easily accus- tomed to the heat. A dry heat of 70' or SO" in the shade in England is spoken of as terrific : some die from exposure to the sun under circum- stances so dreadful. But not unfrequently the temperature ranges 100'^, 110", and even us high as 130*^ in that country — not refreshed by night dews, but burnt by hot and parching winds, blown, perhaps, over the desert sands of the vast unexplored interior. The most formidable of all enemies to the flock- master, however, is the dreaded " catarrh :" it is either epidemic or endemic ; but it is one of the most dreadful disasters of a flockmaster. It com- mences usually in dry seasons, and is probably owing to a want of water. Its symptoms are a running of a dark mucus matter from the nostrils ; the head droops ; the ears fall; the animal singles off or stands inactive, and as if unfit to move. The stomach and liver seem to inflame and dis- organize. It sjjreads from sheep to sheep ; from flock to flock. The only business is to skin the animals, and boil the carcass : it is of no use what- ever besides. This is a doleful and melancholy harvest to the flockmasters ; but rain is at once a stoppage to the ravages of the disease. But the loss is great : the wool falls off the survivors, and they are enfeebled and poor. The English settler would do well, whatever may be his capital, to apprentice himself first to the native flockmaster. The latter will be glad lo engage him ; will pay him, Jacob-like, of the fruits of the flock and the herd ; will keep him, and will give him practical lessons which the best wolds- man or fens-man of Lincolnshire or Yorkshire may be glad to learn. We cannot help thinking, however, that Aus- tralia is one of the best fields for agricultu emigration. — Gardeners' and Farmers' Journal. THE GREAT EXHIBITION. [^Concluding Paper. ^ REMARKS ON SOMB OF THE PRIZE AND FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. The last part of the Journal of the Royal Agri- cultural Society of England contains a very in- teresting paper, by Mr. Pusey, on the prize awards. It is not my intention to quote very largely from this, the matter being in so condensed a form in the " Report to Prince Albert" that it would be impossible, and would, from my having alluded to various machines before, tend to much repetition. I shall, however, mention various articles that were too briefly alluded to in former papers, with engravings as more explanatory than descriptions, and add some remarks on the foreign agricultural implements. A table of awards, as ultimately decided on, is contained at page 420 of the last volume of this magazine. I have taken some trouble to compare this with the original juror awards as printed in the Journal, and I find that 5 Council medals and 77 common ones were originally awarded in Class IX., but that eventually only 5 of the former and 38 of the latter were allotted. Let us make another division, and we find that 70 medals were originally awarded to the English exhibitors, and 13 to the foreign, but that finally the En ish were cut down to 32, while the foreigner still retained 11 of theirs. This diminution is effected by deducting al- together the prizes awarded to Howard for an ex- panding harrow, Raneome for Biddle'8 scarifier. Bentall for subsoil plough, and Garrett for chaff- cutter ; by taking away the common medals from some of the larger manufacturers, and bestowing a Council medal, not in addition, but in place of them ; and when a firm gained several medals for various implements, awarding one medal for them all. That the eminent agriculturists who originally decided the prizes are not to blame for this is plain ; their former experience, as members of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, led them to decide fairly on competition principles, and not by any pretended standard of merit. Every machine to which a medal was awarded was to receive it, al- though the manufacturer might thus sometimes gain half-a-dozen. The Council medals (like the gold ones of the R. A. S.) were awarded as addi- tions, to mark superior merit, workmanship, and excellence as a whole ; it was never intended that gaining the Council medal should cause the minor medals to be lost. To make this plainer, I will put a case. Let it be supposed that His Royal Highness, the President of the Exhibition, on showing largely, as usual, at Smithfield, gained several prizes in various classes, would it be considered fair that he should only re- ceive one small prize, equal in amount to the lowest given ? or, suppose the Prince unfortunate enough to gain the gold medal, would it be right that this THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 5-4-5 should occasion a forfeiture of all minor money prizes ? The gold medal would then tend to pecuniary loss, instead of gain. I make these re- marks because the few medals awarded in the large class of agricultural implements, in which Englishmen were confessedly unrivalled, naturally occasioned considerable surprise. It is now clear that the original jurors did their duty, and some ulterior influence was used to deny the medals which, even in the reduced number, are not yet distributed to Englishmen (they are to the French, &c.) ; the only thing talked of being payments and testimonials to commissioners. The trial of ploughs took place on the 29th of July last, on Mr. Mechi's farm ; a rather unfor- tunate choice, as the frequency and manner in which this farm comes before the public, and the rather " shop" style in which that gentleman states his experiments, leads to a doubtful feeling with many farmers, even when no reason exists for it. English, American, French, and Belgian ploughs entered into competition. Eleven ploughs started. A Belgian and American appearing rather lighter in work than the English ; the three lightest being Odem's, Belgian, 527 in dynanometer. Hale and Spear's American, 530, and Busby's English, 540. Of the three judges, two were foreigners, i. e., Belgian and American. We hear nothing of the style of work, or depth and width of farrow ; and, as Mi\ Pusey justly observed, " no inference can be drawn from a single summer trial, even as to the lightness of a plough in ordinary work. When land is hard and dry, cleavage is the prin- cipal element of resistance, the friction is limited, and cohesion of course null. Hence our English ploughs, which seemed the lightest, were brought in a former trial to a dead stand in moist clay. The American ploughs are very elegant and light, but seem hardly steady enough for breaking up an English clover ley." Why the Belgian and American should be slightly lightest in work arises, I should think, from the use of wrought-iron ploughshares by them, and of cast-iron by us : the wrought-iron are sharp when new, and wear blunt ; the cast-iron comparatively blunt when new, wear sharp. The ground being clay, was easily divided (the dryness prevented cohesion to the mould-board), and Odem's, from what I saw of it in the Exhibition, appears better calculated for clearing than turning over the soil. That the Belgian ploughs made very bad work is clear, from the ridiculous complaint of the Belgian judge. Baron Martens, that there was " no ploughman to use them well ;" ridiculous in Essex, where the labourers would work any plough that had any 'go in it. A more complete and satisfactory trial followed at Pusey, chiefly for English and Scotch ploughs, but the prizes appear to have been awarded prin- cipally from the trial at Mr. Mechi's. Ball, Busby, Howard, Hensman, and Bentall (subsoil) gained prizes among the English, as did Deltouche and Odem (Belgian), Talbot (French), and Jenkin (Dutch). In harrows, no novelties were shewn, the well- known iron harrows of Coleman, Williams, and Howard gaining prizes. In common roUers, the greatest novelty was M. Claes', of Belgium, for narrow ridges, where four separate rollers work on a spindle much too small for them. This, Mr. Pusey says, possesses the germ of the very squeezing motion we require, as distinguished from the pressing one of English iron ones. Our English treble cylinder rolls, when from age their spindles and axle-holes get worn, and the roll acquires what we may call a " wobbly" motion, will be M. Claes' in perfection gained, like that, at the expense of occasional dragging over the soil instead of rolling it, and a waste of horse power, from the spindle never working in the actual centre of the roller. Among clod-crushers and press-rolls, Croskill's most deservedly gained a medal, but why all notice of Cambridge's was omitted, which is confessedly less liable to clog, and more suitable on certain soils, it is difficult to imagine. Mr. Pusey ob- serves that, " Mr. Gibson's clod-crusher, now first brought out, is formed of two rows of very narrow wheels, alternating with each other. Mr. Cross- kill's has the defect of clogging when the ground is moist; Mr. Gibson's, of pressing the ground rather tightly. It is between these two weak points that choice rhust be made in selecting a clod-crusher." This clod-crusher covers 4 feet 9 inches of ground, and has 20 wheels in one row and 19 in the other. Price £15. Prince Albert, it is stated, has since purchased one of them. Gibson's Clod-crusher. Among wide cultivators, Ransome's and Cole- man's obtained prizes ; the former is well known. Coleman's, as will be seen from the engraving, is less wide than Ransome's. This less 2 N 2 546 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. width (5 feet to Ransome's 6J), and the fact that it i Mr. Pusey states that his experience of Coleman's raises only a light uj)per frame with the teeth, and i«, that it is superior to all others he has tried, in leaves the lower main frame in its place, renders a never rising partially out of the ground, nor less powerful leverage necessary than in Ransome's. ' swerving in its course. The price also is cheaper. Coleman's Prize Cultivator. Bentall's narrow cultivator is, as Mr. Pusey [ it be a good rule that no implement should do says, "excellent for paring a very tight surface. | more than one thing, an exception must clearly be made here." Its long snout, like a swordfish's horn, is an ingenious device, by which it is enabled to adhere to the land. This cheap implement has also Bentall's as a most useful implement for many purposes, is, we are glad to see, coming into general received a prize as a subsoil plough ; and though use in most parts of England. Bentall's Subsoil Plough and Broadshar?. Drills. Nearly twenty of these were sent down for trial to Pusey. Messrs. Garrett and Homsby, as usual, divided most of the prizes between them. Their drills are too well known to need description. I may just mention Hornsby's improvements, in substituting india-rubber for tin in the seed tubes, and an ingenious contrivance for drilling corn on sides of hills, by extending or contracting, by means of a screw, two legs, similar to the governor of a steam-en Tine, attached to the side of the drill, and by which (the drill being hung by, or supported on the centre) it can be regulated while in motion. Messrs. Ransomeand May, of Ipswich, exhibited a very well-constructed drop-drill, which did its work very well, and was of a very different con- struction from any of the other drop-drills. A medal was awarded for ingenuity of contrivance ana excellence of workmanship. Having described this implement before, I shall now only add an engraving. 1 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 547 Eansome's Drop Drill. M. Claes, of Belgium, obtained a prize for the simplicity and cheapness of his drill. It sows nine rows, and is, the inventor says, much lighter in work than any English drill, being applicable for one horse. It appears he was ignorant of Messrs. Garrett's one-horse drill for small farmers, which is superior in every respect. The Belgian improve- ments all tend to increased heaviness in work, as: it is not the machine itself, but the dragging the coulters through the soil which occasions the labour. Thus the Belgian seed coulters make a wider seam, and are fixed instead of on levers; both these improvements evidently increase labour, the latter (which also tends to imperfect work) es- pecially on stony soils. Small coulters, on levers, follow the fixed seed coulters, to cover in the seed, and this adds a little in increasing the horse labour. The water drill, invented by Mr. Chandler, of Market Lavington, Wilts, I have described before. The annexed engraving will make its construction plain. Chandler's Water Drill. Here the manures are mixed with water, instead of ashes or other substances ; thus, as Mr. Pusey observes, bringing up the plant from a mere bed of dust. " Only last July, when my baihfF had ceased turnip sowing, on account of the drought, by di- recting the use of the water drill, I obtained from this late sowing an earlier and better show of young plants than from the former one with the dust drill." Excellent as this drill is, yet it must not be for- gotten that the water costs something, and pro- bably, before the work is concluded, as much as ashes. The weight of water is so much more than ashes (about double), the quantity of water used so much greater, and on the soils where water is most wanted it is often so distant, and often difficult to be obtained, that the actual cost probably exceeds that of ashes. Water cer- tainly is a better mixer than ashes for perfectly dis- solvable manures, or when they are so divided and ■>i^ THE FAHMER'S MAGAZINE. near the same specific gravity tliat a (flight agitation keeps them suspended. But when the specific ^jravity is much lighter or heavier the water drill would probably distribute irregularly. Nor must we forget that the ashes act as a manure as well as a dilutant, and that substances might be chosen that absorb moisture from the atmosphere, and the effects of drought be thus obviated even by a " dust drill." Still the success of Chandler's liquid ma- nure drill has been so great that it may be consi- dered one of the few real inventions of the day, as combining great usefulness with complete novelty. 300 gallons of water are used per acre. A com- mon oil-pipe, costing about 10s., containing from 150 to -200 gallons, is used to convey water to the drill, being placed so high on a cart, that by means of a tin pipe it may be discharged into the drill as wanted. A small tub at the end of the furrow, is filled with a solution of superphosphate, &c., and a bucket of this mixture poured into the drill. The inventor adds, "three water barrels, two on the road and one filling (which may be accomplished with two horses), will convey sufficient liquid for a one-horse drill to put in from 6 to 7 acres per day. Holmes's sowing machine (see engraving) is used in West Norfolk both as a top-dresser for wheat, and for manuring turnips. Holmes's Manure Sowing Machine. The manure, either with or without ashes, falls into the furrows of the ridged turnip land at 24 or 27 inches apart. The ridges are then turned over on to the manure by the double-breasted plough, and the manure covered sufficiently out of the way of the seed, so that instead of striking immediately into the whole bojjy of manure, it catches it gra- dually at the different stages of growth. The ma- nure distributor covers 3 or 4 furrows at 27 inches apart, and is worked with one horse. Ii is followed by a light drill, expressly for turnips and mangold wurtzel, also worked by one horse. As Mr. Pusey observes, "The saving of horse ])Ower is indeed great; but it must not be disguised that there is inconsistency between the principle of general dif- fusion here recommended, and the concentration which is the aim of the drop drill. Each method in fact has its merit for different purposes — con- centration for pushing the young plant, extension for feeding it in the latter stages ." It is unnecessary to do more than allude to the horse-hoes, among which Garrett's was, ;\s usual, pre-eminent. I ])roceed to those implements used in harvesting, and first as as to the celebrated reaping machines. I shall not reopen the questions of origin, whe- ther British or American, disputes between makers, or description of each machine, such being already fully known to readers of this magazine. I shall merely compare horse with hand labour, taking the data as set forth in the Journal. Mr. Thompson says that Hussey's machine cut from 4 to 4 J feet at a bout, with ordinary driving, which was quite as much as was cleared by M'Cor- mick's at the Ormesby trial — 4^ feet being taken as an average width, and the rate of progression 2 miles an hour, 1 acre of wheat would be cut down in 55 minutes, or 13 acres in 12 hours. Mr. Pusey says that M'Cormick'scut at the rate of 15 acres a day, and gives the following table : — Average cost of reaping 15 acres at 9s. . £G 15 0 Horses and men for reaper 0 10 0 Binding 15 acres at 2s. 6d. 1 17 0 ' — 2 7 G £4 7 G Besides often saving the croj) in bad seasons and late districts. This account, I think, requires various deduc- tions to suit the experience of other districts. The mowing and tying up of good crops of wheat is fre- quently ])erformed at from Gs. to 7s. per acre. The inventor himself states (see advertisement in Exhi- bition Cntaloc/ue) that four horses are often re- quired in stout crops. Good workmen to attend the machine would require from 3s. to 3s. Gd. a day in harvest time. The 15 acres assumed would not probably be done in a common day's work — 12, or even 1 0 would be a good average. The interest on the machine at 10 per cent., divided over the harvest month would amount to 2s. a day, or if 50 acres of wheat were mown by it, which is as much as it would do on many farms, to Is. an acre; and incidental expenses, as breaking knives, &c., may be put down at Is. The sheaves would take longer to tie up, and be worse for thrashing, &c., on account of the slovenly method of delivering the corn from the machine. Taking these points into consideration, we may state — Mowing 12 acres at 6s. Gd £3 18 0 4 horses and men for reaper 0 16 0 Tying up 12 acres at 3s. 6d. (the cutting is not half the work) 2 2 0 Interest on mach ; . 0 3 0 3 1 0 £0 17 0 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 540 Now in mowing barley, which is often done at 2s. per acre by hand, would the machine effect any saving ? Still the machine would possess the ad- vantages of despatch of work, and the employment of the farmers horses, otherwise perhaps standing idle in the stable. Is it to be wished that the Scotch machine of Bell was not exhibited ? as from its more perfect delivering apparatus it would probably have been considered superior even to Hussey's. One-horse Carts. Mr. Busby's cart obtained a prize for its better adaptation to the purpose of a harvest cart. The fact that raised ends in the harvest frame have a tendency to condense the load, was first pointed out by the judges in 1849, at the Norwich show, and in this cart these suggestions have not only been followed, but improved upon, by raising the sides as well as ends. Mr. Busby's cart is also lower than others, which not only diminishes the labour of loading, but lowers the centre of gravity, and thus lessens the likelihood of an upset ; this is done by affixing the shafts to the side, and not making them, as in others, a prolongation of fhe sole. Busby's Harvest Cart. Gray's, of Uddington, Scotch cart, deservedly obtained a prize for excellent workmanship. Al- though, as Mr. Thompson says, it is too high, the naves unnecessarily loaded with iron, and the wheels too much out of the perpendicular, yet "the Scotch iron work is notoriously excellent, and in Mr. Gray's case it is just what it should be, substantial and well finished, and (with the slight exception above mentioned) with nothing redundant." The excellence of the wood work is also shown by the cart being unpainted. Preparation of Produce for Market. Mr. Carr's report on the prize steam engines is too long for extract, though it is well worth perusal. Certainly, whoever in his respective district should purchase any one of the prize portable engines, either Garrett's, Hornsby's, Tuxford's, Barrett and Exall's, or Clayton and Shuttleworth's, would have no reason to regret his choice ; and the nearer his residence was to the original makers, the cheaper those unavoidable repairs would be, which, in so complicated a machine, would be far beyond the village blacksmith, or even the town mechanic. Much stress is laid upon a slight difference in coal consumed, in many instances the expense of fetching water will amount to as much as the whole price of the coal, and so will any trifling dis- arrangement which may occasion only half an hours' delay. A break down, or accident, which causes work to be altogether discontinued, is of course of far greater consequence ; therefore lightness, strength, simplicity, and safety from fire, are, in the choice of an engine, of far more importance than a cwt. or two of coals saved daily. Tabular Statement of Steam Engines. I Nominal Names of Manufacturers.! Horse Power. Tuxford and Sons, No. 1 Ditto ditto No. 2 . . Hensmanand Son. . Hornsby and Son . . Butlin Garrett and Son* . . Caborn Clayton, Shuttle- worth, & Co., No. 1 Ditto ditto No. 2 . . Barrett, Exall, & Co. Burrell Ransomesand May... Roe and Hanson . . 6 4 4 6 4J- 5 9 6 6 6 5 4 Time getting up steam minutes. 53 4U 33 4ft 50 42 44 32 42 26 28 70 83 Coal used in getting up steam lbs. 56.68 35.60 29.00 35.23 42.00 26.50 52.00 35.40 With 25.56 35.00 With 75.20 Coal burnt per horse- power per hour. lbs. 7.46 10.80 18.75 6.79 14.71 11.65 12.48 8.63 drawn. 9.20 13.10 drawn. 25.80 * Garrett and Son's slide was ^vronginthis trial ; but in a second experiment tried with Newcastle coal, this engine worked out what would equal, . . . • 1 1 • 1 1 • < • • • t 8.63 650 THK FARMER'S MAG.\ZINE. TABCLAn Statkment ok Thiai, of 'riiKASuiNG Macuines Firat Trial. — I Vheat, 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Nomioal Horse Power. Horse power required while thresh- ing. Revohi- tions of driving pulley as sliown on coun- ter. Minutes in threshing Net pres- 12^ cwts. of sure of wheat- steam in sheaves at pouuds. the specified Horse power re- quired to thresh 2^ cwts. of wheat sheaves in one minute. Quality op Work. 20 repre- sents perfect work. 12 repre- sents perfect work. 8 repre- sent perfect work Total, • speed of drum. Clean threshed Broken State of grain. straw. 1. Hornsby 2. Blythe 3. Garrett 4. Crosskill 5. Hensman .... G. Caborn 7. Barrett and Co. . 8. Ransome 9. Holmes 10. Smith . . 4 4 G 4 4 6 6 4 G 3 4 4 6 4 4 6 G 6 6 6 GIG 407 260 305 358 417 33G 3G8 248 595 15.76 15.50 32.00 19.00 17.50 26.00 26.00 26.00 28.50 24.00 min. sec. 4 13 2 41^ 2 21 2 27 2 40 3 5 2 58 2 44 2 0 4 0 16.88 11.76 13.96 9.84 10.67 18.48 17.88 16.44 12.06 24.00 18 10 18 16 20 20 16 18 20 20 9 12 12 12 12 8 10 6 12 11 4 7 8 8 8 4 8 6 7 1 7 31 29 38 36 40 32 34 30 39 38 1. Garrett . 2. Crosskill 3. Holmes . 4. Hensman Second Trial. — Barley, 160 32.00 1 27 8.72 20 10 8 346 19.00 2 47 11. IG 20 11 8 168 28.50 1 20 8.19 20 12 8 195 17.50 1 27 6.62 15 12 8 38 39 40 35 Of the three prize thrashing machines I notice Holmes's, as not having come so prominently be- fore the public as Garrett's and Hensman's. Holmes' has a certain and easy method of regu- lating the concave, the want of which is a frequent cause of accident and bad work, from the concave being set closer at one end than the other, or from its getting closer to the drum, from the giving way of the regulating apparatus. Holmes' concave consists of an open wire, alter- nating with toothed iron bars — the beaters are plain and smooth. His shaker acts also as a sieve, from its consisting of four frames upon which are fixed iron plates mlh circular nobs, the shaking motion given by the altecjiating rise and fall of the plates. This shaker was especially commended by the judges as being very efficient, and yet adding little to the draught of the machine. There is no blower to this machine, but it admits of one being attached. Mr. Holmes considers a blower objectionable in a portable machine, from the chafFbeing blown about by the wind, and the additional machinery adds considerably to the weight and height of the ma- chine. Among the winnowing machines Hornsby's ob- tained a medal. The judges at York stated of this machine, that—" It does its work well, parting the whole into best corn, good tail, whites, screenings, and chaff, at the rate of above 15 quarters ])er hour, and dressing over the second time at the rate of above 20 quaiters per. hour, parting the whole into si.x parts as before." At the Exhibition trial, the judges state "Messrs. Hornsby and Son are above all others the most sucessful in these machines, dressing more than double as much corn as any other in a roiigh state. Theirs is fitted with a spike roller, working through a grating, and forms a sort of hopper, separating the corn from the chaff in a ruugh pulsy state, as it comes from the thrashing machine, without being previously riddled; and can be adjusted to suit corn either in rough chaff or in any other slate ; the second time over, a slideboard is adjusted in front of the grating, and is excellent for finishing the corn for market." We now come to machines for preparing food for stock. The machines that gained prizes in their departments being all so well known, I shall make a selection of the most novel, as Burgess and Key's turnip-cutter, Crosskill's American meal-mill, Harwood's mill, and Burrell's gorse-bruiser. Although I do not think that Burgess's turnip- cutter will by any means supersede Gardiner's, yet, after the reaping machines, it is the best importation from America in this class of implements, and de- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 551 servedly attracted great notice. The judges', at the Exhibition, report on this implement is, that— "It is on a different principle to those generally in use: it cuts a very large amount of roots for beasts and sheep at the same time exceedingly well, and re- quires a very small amount of jjower. There is a great facility of changing any of the knives that may become blunt or broken ; and there is a very simple and ingenious method of letting stones or gravel escape before coming in contact with the knives. The medal was awarded for novelty and usefulness." Price £3. Burgess and Key's Turnip Cutter. Still I may notice one or two objections to this machine. From the shape and divided form of the hopper large roots would often not reach the knives, and the reciprocal motion is not so con- ducive to the steady cutting of roots, and to diminishing the machine's wear and tear, as the continuous one of Gardener's. Mills for Grinding Fine Meal. The Exhibition judges state that "the best metal mills that have been produced for this operation are those of Messrs. Hurwood of Ipswich, and Messrs. Crosskill, of Beverley.* That of Messrs. Hurwood, which is composed of a series of cutting rings, screwed upon a cast iron plate, having the dress somewhat resembling the common millstone ; the drift increased from the centre to enable it to clear itself. The rings appear to be easily replaced by new ones when worn out, and which is a great advantage over the old mills. This mill did 6 bushels of barley per hour, with a power of little more than three horses, and is applicable to beans barley, and oats. " Messrs. Crosskill's is an American invention 552 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. consisting of a number of cast iron plates turned up in circular c^rooves, either fine or coarse, de- pendent upon tlie work required, and fixed eccentric, which gives them a sort of clip. 'J'lic mill requires s^reat j)(>wer, and should be driven at great speed. By changing the plates it will grind anything from linseed to Hint stones. In the trials at Kensington it ground linseed, barley, beans, and oats, very well." Ilavino- previously given an engraving of Cross- kill's, we now add one of Ilurwood's mill. Harwood'3 Ipswich Meal Mill. Detached Rings. Burrell's gorse-bruiser, the judges state, "did the most and the best work, and although it con- sumed rather more power than some others in bruising the gorse, it did oats and linseed at a moderate amount of power. The price is £27." This machine first cuts the gorse as chaff, and then passes it through one pair of rollers, one of which has a pressure by means of a leverage, of four tons weight. It is fitted with an extra hopper when used for crushing. Rings shown as in use for grinding. Churns. It is rather remarkable that in this, as well as in the reaping machines, the decision of the public should have entirely reversed that of the judges. Drummond's, which is set down as not making the butter at all in the trial, has proved itself the best on other occasions, and was certainly far the most popular in the Exhibition. Of the four prize churns (divided between the four competing countries), Wilkinson, Enghsh ; Burgess and Key, American ; I THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 553 Du Chene, Belgian; and Lavoisie, French — it may be fairly stated that not one for completeness and novelty was equal to Drummond's. Wilkinson's was well made, but is merely the common box churn. Du Chene's is also very well made, but contains nothing new; it has the con- tinental plan of a fixed barrel with moveable beaters. Lavoisie's was a toy ; it could churn only two quarts of cream — was made of tin in the fixed 1)arrel form, with movealjle wooden beaters ; the speed of these beaters was increased by a cogged wheel and pinion — an outer tin case held warm or cold water according to the season. The method of increasing the speed is the only novelty, the use of metal being a decided disadvantage; in fact, I consider this inferior to t'le " original glass chum " plan of a quart bottle, to be put into hot or cold water as required, before shaking the cream con- tained in it into butter. The American churn has been much praised, but it has many defects ; it requires to be exactly half-filled, the cream must be diluted before using or the hollow unperfora.ed beaters will not work well. It is called atmospheric, but at most it only drives the same air backwards and forwards through the cream — it supplies no fresh oxygen : it is badly made as compared with Wilkinson's or Drum- mond's, and it is sold at a very high rate. Drummond's churn " is in form an elliptic or oblong square, or nearly so, divided in the middle, forming two chambers or compartments, but which communicate with each other by a series of round holes perforated in this division, or at top and bot- tom. To each of these chambers belongs a lid or cover, and a staff' and dasher similar to those in the ordinary plunge churns, but the staves of which are peculiarly but simply constructed to secure an infusion of pure air through the whole body of cream at every stroke. At the outside of the churn is a portable iron bracket supporting a fly wheel and an eccentric, which latter acts between the upper ends of the two staves, and is simply at- tached by means of two common cords. To the fly-wheel is a handle by which it is driven round, acting on the eccentric by a connecting rod, effecting 200 strokes a minute with considerable ease, "The one staff", as it is propelled downwards, forces the cream through its dasher, and likewise through the division at the bottom into the other compartment, the other simultaneously forcing itself through the cream upwards, and in the same manner causing a cross action through th« holes perforated at the top, and vice versa." This con- stitutes the merit of its action. Its advantages are that the same churn can make from one pound of butter to twenty. No metal being in contact with the cream, there is no gal- vanic action as when zinc or tin are used, and no injurious matters impregnating the cream as when iron spindles work in iron, or, worse, in brass, as in the box-churns. Fresh air from the outside is forced in and through the cream at every stroke of the plungers, and the foul air, "contained in all cream 24 hours off" the milk, is forced out of the cream." Good butter appears to have been produced from this churn in from 3 to 10 minutes. Mr. Drummond is, however, wrong in saying no other churn is entirely free from the cream coming in contact with metal, for the common English barrel churn is, and also allows by means of a vent peg the occasional introduction of fresh air ; but neither this nor any other forces the outside air through the cream as Drummond's. Exhibition Trial of Churns. First Trial. Exhibitors. Wilkinson . . . . Tytherchief . . . . Destrey Destroy Patrick Burgess and Key Drummond . . . . Lavoisie Dalphin Allen De Pourquet . . . . Duchene Smith Cream, quarts. 4 10 4 9 10 4 6 2 6 6 3 9 5 Time. mm. sec. 11 0 Butter. lbs. oz. 3 8 18 0 9 2 16 0 3 12 11 0 8 12 20 0 9 4 10 0 3 12 9 0 5 2 2 0 1 13 8 0 5 0 7 30 4 2 9 0 2 6 19 0 7 9 22 0 4 10 Quality. best soft soft soft soft second best not made third best soft soft soft not all made indifferent Form of Churn. Thermometer, wood tin box wood tin centrifugal au". 70 72 77 71 74 654 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Second Trio^, With Jersey cream previously half-churned (as Mr. Pusey says) in the steam-packet. Exhibitors. Wilkinson Burgess and Key . . Lavoisie, French . Clare, French . . . . Duchene, Belgium Cream, quarts. 4 4 2 1 30 Time. niio. sec. 1 45 45 45 45 30 Butter, lbs. 4 4 2 1 27 oz. 0^ 2 2 01 0 Quality. best very (Sfood third best good second best Form of Churn. Thermometer. wood box wood box tin tin barrel wood 79 cream. The prize tile machines of Messrs. Clayton, Scragg, and Whitehead, have been often described before ; and I have in a former paper mentioned the " commended " draining plough of Mr. Fowler, which, as Mr. Pusey says, "but for the American reapers would have formed the most remarkable feature in the agricultural department." I cannot, however, avoid mentioning two machines in Class VI., which if they could be adapted to private use, and brought within the pecuniary reach of most farmers, would be of great service. They both at- tracted considerable notice at the Exhibition, and were decided novelties. The first is No. 442, W. Westrup's conical flour mill, which has been fre- quently alluded to in this magazine ; the other No. 630, W. L. Tizzard's apparatus for brewing with barley, using a very small admixture of malt. In concluding the report of the English imple- ments, I cannot do better than use the words of Mr. Pusey : — " It seems proved, then, that within the last twelve years, since annual country shows of imple- ments were established by Lord Spencer, Mr. Handlej-, and others yet living, old implements have been improved, and new ones devised, whose performances stand the necessary inquiry as to the amount of saving they can effect. To ascertain that amount precisely is difficult; but, looking through the successive stages of management, and seeing that the owner of a stock farm is enabled in the preparation of his land, by using lighter ploughs, to cast off one horse in three, and by adopting other simple tools to dispense altogether with a great part of his ploughing — that in the culture of crops by the various drills horse-labour can be partly reduced, the seed otherwise wanted partly saved, or the use of manures greatly economized, while the horse-hoe replaces the hoe at one-half the expense — that at harvest the American reaper can effect 30 men's work, while the Scotch cart replaces the old English waggon with exactly half the num- ber of horses — that in preparing corn for man's food, the steam threshing machine saves two-thirds of our former expense— and in preparing food for stock, the turnip-cutter, at the outlay of Is., adds Ss. a head in one winter to the value of sheep — lastly, that in the indispensable but costly operation of draining, the materials have been reduced from 80s. to 15s. — to one fifth, namely, of their former cost — it seems to be proved that the efforts of agricultural mechanists have been so far successful as in all these main branches of farming labour, taken together, to effect a saving on outgoings of little less than one-half. " There is a further effect of machinery upon agriculture which has hitherto been overlooked. The main difficulty of farming has always laid on its uncertainty. Though machinery has not alto- gether cured, it certainly has much mitigated this evil. On undrained clays a wet winter may destroy half the yield of the wheat. On the same land drained the wheat may escape altogether unhurt ; and you may also plough heavy land in wet weather when drained, though you could not before. Upon any land wheat may suffer in winter, but in spring the presser settles it in its bed, and the manure dis- tributor with a cheap sprinkling restores it to vigour. In sowing barley earliness may save the crop ; but the ground is often too cloddy, though the season is wearing away and May-drought approaching. This cloddiness may be prevented, as has been said, by the paring plough, or, if it could not be pre- vented, may be remedied by the clod-crusher or Norwegian harrow ; and besides these implements, the cultivator does the plough's work in one-fourth of the former time, thus enabling the farmer to profit by the auspicious hour of seed time. And so too with the turnip, the land being prepared for it in the previous autumn and winter, is moist to receive the seed ; the dry drill, supplying it with super- phosphate, saves it almost certainly from the fly ; or yet more, the water drill, anticipating the clouds, makes its seed time independent of weather, while the horse-hoe afterwards preserves it from neglect in the busiest harvest time. Again, while machinery remedies the absence, it also guards against the in- convenient arrival of rain, by making our hay, and now even reaping our corn, while the sun shines. It may be further said then, that machinery has given to farming what it inost wanted — not absolute, indeed, but comparative certainty." In the foreign implements I shall be very brief, and shall describe those not previously mentioned, under the heads of America, Belgium, France, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 555 Minor States, Austria, India, Tunis, which I con- sider the rank they ought, to be placed in, according to merit, 1. — America. Most of the celebrated implements of this class, as the reaping machines, the American meal mill, churn, and turnip cutter, have been noticed in previous papers. The American ploughs attracted great notice, from their elegant appearance and superior lightness to any others. An intelligent American informed me that English makers would probably think them too slightly made, and so they would be, if constructed of Enghsh wood ; but the American second growth white oak, which is used, is of so tough a nature that it allows of this apparent lightness. Pronty and Mear's self-sharpening American plough took the prize in the Exhibition. I was informed that Starbuck's (No. 9) was considered superior in the United States, and that this lost through sending a plough calculated to turn a furrow twelves inches wide instead of nine, as ap- proved by the judges. At all events, both these appear neat ploughs ; perhaps rather too short and too much like toys to suit Enghsh taste, but much better calculated for ploughing between stumps. The very light ploughs that may be carried in one hand are horse-hoes, used to plough Ijetween the rows of Indian corn while in growth. A. B. Allen shows an American horse-power. This may be considered as a sort of tread-wheel for a horse, only that, instead of treading on a large wheel, as in the common treadmill, this is an in- clined plane of pieces of wood (Georgian pine) fastened to two endless chains, and then passing over and turning two polygonal wheels. A spindle affixed to either of these wheels turns the machinery. The horse is fastened between two rails, and by continually stepping on this inclined and endless web of boards, uses his weight, as well as his strength, in moving whatever machinery is attached. Purkis's new system of agricultural tillage, by stationary steam and atmospheric motive power, shews great ingenuity, but probably is of little prac- tical value at present. Hermetically sealed metal tubes, six-inch diameter, are laid one-third of a mile apart, parallel, all over the farm ; flexible tubes, each 350 yards long, are fastened, where required, to these metal tubes ; these flexible tubes are fastened to a drum on an engine, and the air being exhausted from the metal tubes and the flexible ones, this works two pistons on the engine, and these pistons two large wheels ; these wheels work ten spades, turning over the soil to a depth of four inches, of — if circular scythes are affixed, cut — 26 acres a- day, at the rate of four miles an hour. Lombard and Hall (428) exhibit a grindstone, with the inscription, " Presented to Lord Stanley." Is this a sly joke of Uncle Sam's ? It is a highly finished implement, worked with a treadle, and having its axle running upon two small anti- friction wheels, in a similar manner to those fre- quently seen in England. The celebrated American broad axe and cradle scythe were also exhibited. 2. — Belgium. The Belgian ploughs are strongly and heavily made, and are perhaps more suitable for hard work than those shown by any other foreign nation. They resemble the ploughs in use in the east of England, in their having but a single handle, showing in this particular, as in some others, a re- semblance in the construction of the implements of farmers residing on the opposite shores of the German Ocean, which late improvements have not entirely superseded on our side. The ploughs on the east coast of England are, however, larger in the handle, and the plough- staff can be used to guide the plough, and are altogether superior to the Belgian. (510) A plough, to which a medal was awarded, by P. Deltouche (Brabant), has a skim coulter ; a subsoiler is fixed in the hinder part of the beam, with an apparatus to raise or lower it at the pleasure of the ploughman ; the length of beam 4 feet, of the single handle 2\ feet. J. M. Odeurs (Marlinne), No. 169, exhibits double and single ploughs. He obtains a prize for a plough that professes to be made for one horse, but, except on the lightest sand (such as in Belgium), we fear its weight, clumsy mould-board, and general make would prevent its being so used. The length of beam in this is 3^ feet, of the single handle 3 feet; the mould-board and share are combined, and made in nearly two equal parts, and fixed together by hinges, so as to admit of altera- tion. Had these ploughs been English, and shewn in the English department, they would not have obtained prizes in competition with Messrs. Howard and Busby. We suppose the rewards were given on account of their merits in their own class. They are certainly strongly made; but if the prize was given to the first plough for the skim coulter, or for the subsoiler fixed behind, or, if in the second, for the power of altering the position of the mould-board, a slight acquaintance with imple- ments described in the catalogues of the Royal Agricultural Society would have shewn that long ago similar contrivances, yet of far superior work- manship, had been in use in England. D'Omalius (of Liege), No. 171, shows a rough and strong subsoil plough, with short handles. E. Verbist, No. 162, shows a plough called 656 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. •'touineroille," which is a very simple, aiul pro- bably effective form of turnwrcst, or one way j)lou gelher, and keep the fruit turned round now and then. Growing plants must have water if they need it; but I think the reason why so many melons are so tasteless is b>.'cause flavour is sacrificed to size ; and, in order to attain it, water and liquid manure are too plentifully given during swelling off. 1 think a small, compact melon, grown with regard to flavour, in a strong heat and less water, infinitely preferable to an overgrown one which has only size to recommend it. Let Cucumbers be frequently thinned out, and not permitted to bear too many at a time. With these the reverse is the case wiih regard to the application of water and air-moisture. A tender crispness is with them a desideratum, to at- tain which they should be grown quick, with plenty of heat and moisture. Flower-garden. Proceed with planting out the bedding- plants of all sorts as fast as possible, and bring the operation to a close speedily. When finished, rake and level the beds neatly, and afterwards peg down everything requiring it, whether liable to be injured by the wind, or to keep them dwarf in the beds. Commence planting out the tender annuals as soon as they are large enough. It is not advisable to plant them out too small, as they are then more liable to the attacks of slugs. Persevere in syringing Roses, and also in the application of liquid manure to the roots, as it not only strengthens the bloom, but very much assists the growth for a future season. A light hoe should now be kept constantly at work when the sun is powerful, to keep down the myriads of small weeds which are sure to spring up with such favourable weather as now prevails. Hardy Fruit Garden. The recent close, warm weather has brought out in- sects in great abundance. It will, therefore, be neces- sary to ply the engine incessantly, using soapsuds and tobacco-water, where it is not possible to dislodge them with water alone. I have, however, found that un- ceasing perseverance in the use of water will answer every purpose. Apricots, Plums, Pears, and Cherries are peculiarly liable to the attacks of the leaf- roller, which can only be kept under by a diligent hand- picking. Most sorts may now have a final removal of superfluous wood ; and commence nailing in the strong- est of tho young wood. Look out for the gooseberry caterpillar : the safest remedy is hand-picking. Kitchen-garden. The most important operation here is that of thinning out the young growing crops of onions, carrots, parsnips, red beet, spinach, and turnips ; after doing which, let the surface be well stirred with small hoes. The hoe must also be kept constantly at work amongst all growing crops. Remember to keep up a succession of salading by frequent sowings. Sow another breadth of turnips and spinach. This week is the latest in which to sow summer Peas with certainty of a crop : the next succession must be of early sorts. C. AGRICULTURAL REPORTS GENERAL AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR MAY. The long drought to which we alluded in our last month's report, and which, at one period, was calculated to have a most injurious effect upon the growth of spring com, as well as upon the crop of hay, has, happily, been followed by a somewhat plenti- ful supply of moisture. Of late, a most extraordinary and, we may add, beneficial change has taken place in the general appearance of vegetation in all parts of the United Kingdom. The improvement is of a character calculated to inspire confidence as re- spects the future ; but, at the same time, it has had the usual efiect of checking any upward movement in the value of agricultural produce. Still, how- ever, we perceive that most of the wealthier holders of wheat have evinced no anxiety to realize ; whilst, in many instances, they have withdrawn their sam- ples from the various markets, under the impression that prices will rise between this and the close of harvest. It is very possible that we shall not be so overwhelmed with foreign grain as we were two or three years since; yet experience teaches us that our additional wants will be freely met from abroad. On the subject of the stocks of old wheats now on hand, opinions of a most opposite character have been expressed — some parties contending that they are unusually small ; others, that they are season- ably extensive. Admitting that the produce of 1851 was remarkably good, both as to quantity and quality, it is clear, when we consider the enormous supplies which have passed into consumption, that the supply must be materially diminished ; and we have no hesitation in saying that at least two-thirds of it are now in the hands of the leading growers. Very little spring corn is now to be met with in any quarter; hence, the value of that article may be considered tolerably safe. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 065 The pasture lands are now well covered ; yet we fear that the first-cut of hay will be a comparatively light one, especially in some of those counties from whence the metropolis is chiefly supplied. Should this prove to be the case, we may anticipate rather a high value for old quaUties, notwithstanding that the supplies continue comparatively large. The fine condition of the soil during the months of March and April produced a fine tilth for barley. Although that grain has come up somewhat irre- gularly, there is evidence of a fair average crop. This remark applies more particularly to Norfolk and Suffolk. In some quarters peas have appeared in full blossom ; whilst both oats and beans are looking remarkably strong and healthy. We never recollect a finer lambing season than the past. Even in the most exposed situations, the losses have been trifling \:\ the extreme, and our markets have exhibited more than the usual average number, for which, however, the demand — owing in a great measure, to the late long-prevailing cold weather — has been by no means active. Many of the graziers in the Isle of Wight, as well as in the west of England, were compelled to withhold a large portion of their lamb supplies from market, from the circumstance to which we have just alluded. The lambs, therefore, in many instances, became too heavy for general consumption, and materially interfered with the value of the ewes. Very few complaints have reached us on the sub- ject of disease. In most quarters the stock has been chiefly fed upon dry food, yet it has fared well. During the early part of the month, oil-cake was in good demand, on rather higher terms ; but, as grass has since become more plentiful, the sale for it has fallen off, and the quotations have receded to nearly their former level. The extraordinary position in which we are hkely to be placed as regards our future supphes of colonial wool has invested the public sales now in progress in London with more than usual im- portance. All connected with the trade, or ac- quainted with the value of the article, are aware of the comparative cheapness and value of the produce of our colonies, because it combines the essential qualities of fineness with a lengthy staple, conse- quently weU suited for general clothing purposes. Immediate scarcity is not anticipated ; yet it is too evident that so long as hostilities continue at the Cape, and so long as labour is diverted from its natural element in Australia, agriculture, and with it the breeding and rearing of sheep, must decline. It might be unnecessary for us to dwell upon the wonderful metalUc discoveries in Australia ; but we may observe that they are calculated to engross the attention not only of the labourer but the man of wealth, and, to an extent, seriously interrupt the usual business of life. The buyers of wool— both home and foreign — at these sales, then, has been numerous in the extreme, and every lot offered has changed hands at an advance of from l^d. to 2d., in some instances 2id. to 3d. per lb. But even this advance wiU not compensate the growers, be- cause they are suffering from the effects of a great scarcity of labour, which when obtained is com- manding an extravagant amount of remuneration. Hitherto, the total shipments from Sydney, Port Philip, and Geelong, including Van Diemen's Land, have fallen short of those to the corresponding period in 1851, by upwards of 8,000 bales; and we much fear that the forthcoming season's supply will be by no means equal to our wants. An in- creased value of woollen goods will doubtless be the result, although it is fair to presume that every effort will be made by our manufacturers to obtain a supply of the raw material from other sources. The stock of wool in London is now unusually small. As might be expected, British wools have been in increased request, on rather higher terms ; but the actual business doing up to this time has not been extensive. Several large parcels have been taken by foreigners since the commencement of the year; but the home-dealers have greatly outbid them at the auctions. During the whole of the sowing-season, and indeed up the present time, a very active business has been doing in guano. The price fixed by the Peruvian Government — £9 5s. to £9 10s. per ton — has continued to be paid, and at those figure at least 100,000 tons have changed hands — nearly 20,000 having been forwarded to Holland, France, and Belgium. The " contract" has, indeed, worked well for the bondholders, whose property has been greatly benefited thereby; whilst not a few of them have been sufficiently fortunate to obtain the full payment of their nominal demands. It is greatly to be regretted that no positive movement has yet been made by those whose interests are so much at stake in this matter — the agricultural body— to obtain an open market for the sale of this com- modity. The market is a close one— and for what? That a few individuals who have invested money in certain speculative bonds may derive all the ad- vantages from an article which in purity and strength happens to be procured only in the neigh- bourhood of Peru ! Surely something might be done to break down a system of monopoly unjust and oppressive in its bearings, besides being pro- ductive of heavy pecuniary losses to our farmers. Generally speaking, the accounts respecting the appearance of the potato- fields are very satisfactory. Should the acreable yield prove a good one, we may reasonably calculate upon an immense crop, for the important reason that a much greater breadth of 560 THE FARMER'S MAGxVZINE. land is under cultivation than for a series of years past, even including that of last season. The sup- plies of old qualities are now nearly exhausted ; hence, those on sale of late have commanded much higher — though irregular — quotations. Very few new ones have as yet been brought forward. The imports of foreign stock have not been equal to those of last year, and we have noticed very little improvement in its condition. Prices of all kinds of English have steadily advanced, with a good consumptive demand. In Ireland and Scotland the corn trade has con- tinued very inactive ; yet the quotations of most articles have been supported. The shipments of grain to England have been by no means large. REVIEW OF THE CATTLE TRADE DURING THE PAST MONTH. In the early part of the month just concluded, arising from the limited quantities of grass in the whole of our grazing districts, the leading markets were somewhat extensively supplied with each kind of fat stock ; hence, the demand was in a depressed state, at droopihg currencies. The fine rains which have fallen subsequently having been productive of a fair average supply of pasture food, the receipts of both beasts and sheep have declined, and the trade has assumed considerable firmness, at an im- provement in the quotations of from 2d. to 4d. per 8lbs. From most quarters, our accounts in refer- ence to the health of the stock are very satisfactory — scarcely an instance having occurred in which the feeders have sustained any serious losses. The lambing season has passed off remarkably well. The fall has been an extremely good one ; yet we fear that the returns hitherto, owing to the change- able state of the weather, have not been remunera- tive. From abroad, the imports of stock into London and at the outports have been but moderate ; whilst their quality has not exhibited any signs of im- provement. Two arrivals have taken place from the westward, viz., 130 oxen from Oporto, and 80 from Spain. The former were in good condition; but the latter were in a wretched state, and worth only from £5 to £6 each. It is clear that no profit can result from such importations ; although we learn that the Spanish beasts were brought over on speculation by a steam-boat company. The total imports from abroad into London have been as under : — Head. Beasts 1,219 Sheep 5,418 Lambs 65 Calves 1,781 Pigs 23 Total 8,506 Head. Same month in 1851 9,214 „ 1850 6,060 „ 1849 5,465 „ 1848 7,904 1847 6,275 The aggregate supplies of English and foreign stock exhibited in Smithfield have been : — Head. Beasts 17,839 Cows 476 Sheep and lambs 1 18,034 Calves 2,393 Pigs 2,655 COMPARATIVE SUPPLIES. May, May, May, May, 1848. 1849. 1850. 1851. Beasts 16,541 16,320 16,468 19,464 Cows 491 450 456 460 Sheep & lambs 102,230 ll.'>,340 128,910 133,362 Calves 2,087 1,555 1,740 1,855 Pigs 2,581 2,193 2,258 2,780 The arrivals of beasts from Norfolk, &c., have been extensive, viz., learly 9,000 head ; from other parts of England they amounted to 2,500, do. ; and from Scotland 2,051, do. — about one-half of the latter being per railway. About 60 oxen came to hand from Ireland by sea ; and nearly 3,700 lambs from the Isle of Wight — the latter in excellent condition. COMPARATIVE PRICES IN SMITHFIELD. May, 1849. May, 1850. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Beef . . from, 24 to 38 26 to 36 Mutton .... 3 4 to 4 0 2 10 to 4 0 Lamb 4 10 to 6 0 4 0 to 5 4 Veal 3 4 to 4 0 3 0 to 3 6 Pork 3 2 to 4 2 3 2 to 4 0 May, 1851. May, 1852. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Beef . . from, 2 4 to 3 6 2 4 to 3 10 Mutton 2 6 to 4 0 2 6 to 3 10 Lamb 4 8 to 5 10 4 2 to 5 4 Veal 30 to 38 30 to 44 Pork 2 8 to 3 8 2 4 to 3 6 On the whole, Newgate and Leadenhall markets have been fairly supplied. The general demand has continued steady, and prices have improved fully 2d. per Slbs. Beef has sold at from 28. to 3s. 4d.; mutton, 2s. 4d. to 3s. 8d.; lamb, 4s. to 5s. 2d. ; veal, 3s. to 4s. 2d.; pork 2s. 4d. to 3g. 6d. per Bibs., by the carcass. HEREFORDSHIRE. The prevailing remark in all the agricultural reports of this quarter must be the unprecedented dryness of the season. What is termed " a soaking of rain" has not occurred for several months, although we have had the highest flood at the commencement of this year upon our rivers that has been known for a long period. The wheat plant, taking the averages THE FARxMER'S MAGAZINE. 567 of the county, looks well, strong, and a good colour, parti- cularly the autumn planted ; but the spring wheats are not so promising, from lack of moisture. There have been few ravages of that destructive insect, the wire-worm, this season. The autumn-planted beans, which are now much in favour in this county, are very short, from the excessive drought, in most instances not exceeding eight inches in heigth, and are at this time in blossom. Should raiu come now, it will be too late to ensure a crop; but the spring-planted beans may still recover. The barley sown last month came up par- tially : a large portion did not vegetate for some time. The crop (in those instances) will, therefore, not arrive at maturity evenly, and produce a good maltiug sample. Oats, of which there is a considerable breadth sown on the poor lauds of this county, are suffering from the same cause as the other crops ; but, being situated on the more undulated portions of the district, they have received the benefit of the partial storms with which, " few and far between," we have been visited. The land was never prepared for the turnip and other roots earlier or better than in the present season ; and a farmer must be an inveterate sloven who has not his land perfectly clean. The price of guano still forms a considerable item in producing this crop, and we wait anxiously the steps that should be taken by our county members to urge the Govern- ment to break up the exacting monopoly of the Peruvian authorities ; at the same time, we cannot shut our eyes to the extravagant manner in which we throw away into the next brook or river the first-rate manures of our own cities, and even of a great proportion of our farm-yards. This locality now puts forth its loveliest appearance. The beautiful and variegated bloom of the fruit trees has been seldom surpassed ; and, although the price of thb description of produce has hitherto been remarkably low, we hope when we get our rail- ways (now in progress), that the value of cider and perry will much improve. Of the hop plant little can yet be said : at present, the bine is generally backward, but looks healthy. There has been a considerable iucrease to the plantation this season, in consequence of the favourable results of last year : the extent cultivated varies more than any other description of produce, in consequence of the uncertainty attending the return. The quantity of hay that has been consumed this spring, owing to the lateness of the season, is greater than ever before known. It has not hitherto affected the price; but should the present drought continue, the hay crop must inevitably be light, and also late. Our markets have been over-supplied with fat cattle ; and it is remarked, that the difference in value between the store and the fat beasts has been very little : all store stock, considering the scarcity of keep, has been bringing good prices. The lambing season has been a good one, and the losses few. — May 17. AGRICULTURAL INTELLIGENCE, FAIRS, &c. ABERYSTWITH FAIR.— The show of cattle was, on the whole, inferior, and what were sold were at low prices ; cows with calves 81. to 8/. lOj. ; bullocks, three year olds, from 6/. to 5^, barreners 5^. The horses were better and more numerous than ordinary, but did not command good prices. BEDALE FORTNIGHT FAIR.— "We had a thin supply of cattle [and sheep, which were readily sold at higher rates, although the quotation for mutton appears lower than usual, owing to all the fat sheep being now clipped. Beef, Ss. 6d. to 6s. 6d. per stone ; mutton, 4id. to 5 Jd. per lb. BEVERLEY FAIR.— W'e had a good supply of first-rate horses, with an abundant number of very distinguished and extensive horse-dealers, who were eager to buy good animals, consequently nearly the whole of the horses were sold at re- munerating prices. BRECHIN— DUN'S MUIR CATTLE TRYST.— There were fewer cattle than ordinary, and buyers being numerous Bales were more readily effected than in Edzell on the previous week, and at rates five per cent, higher. There were few north country cattle on the ground, and all the best lots of beeves fit for grass soon exchanged owners at enhanced prices. Best fat, 6s. 6d., inferior Ss. 6d. to 63. per stone, and all sold. Two- year-old Slots and Queys sold from 7'. to \0l. 10s. ; year-olds, 41. to 51. Mr. Adamsou, Morphie, sold a lot of capital two- year-old Stols to Mr. John Mollison at 101. 43. Mr. Scott, West Mains of Rossie, sold three-year-old bullocks at lOl. lOs. Calving cows of the best sorts brought 81. to III. On the whole, the market was considered the best selling one held in the district this season. BRIDGEND FAIR.— A large number of horses, cattle, sheep, aud a good number of buyers were also in attendance. The price realized for the different kinds of stock was good, and gave general satisfaction. BUNGAY F-\IR. — There was the largest show of neat stock, in good condition, that has been exhibited for a con- siderable time, and we believe that a tolerable amount of business was transacted. Good horses were in demand, but the supply was very limited. CHELMSFORD FAIR.— Tlie supply of stock of all descrip- tions was very moderate, particularly in that of a fat descrip- tion, and although there was a thin attendance of buyers, a middling business was done. Few beasts were shown, but the supply was quite equal to the demand, and some left the field unsold. Mr. Simpson had some lots of very superior Welsh beasts, nine of which were purchased by Mr. Wendon, of this town. There was also a supply of small store beasts. Some very fine runts belonging to Mr. Byford, of Halstead, were sold, and estimated to weigh about 90 stone each, for which £12 10s. each was asked. In sheep there was considerably more business doing. A pen of hoggets, fed by Mr. W. Yell, of Great Baddow, were sold at 41s. each, the prices varying from 36s. to 483. Down tegs, from 23s. to 363. In stock the principal exhibitors were ^Messrs. Crooks, Howard, Simpson, Ratcliffe, and Byford. There was a good show of horses, par- ticularly of the cart kind, for which the demand was exceed- ingly dull, and few found buyers. CHIPPENHAM FAIR was well supplied with cattle The supply of young stock was unusually large, several herds of Irish yeariings and heifers being on sale in addition to the usual numbers of English heifers and calves. The trade ruled brisker in consequence of the late falls of rain, but a complete clearance was not made. Horses were very inferior in qua- lity, and the trade dull. COCKERMOUTH FAIR.— The show of stock was some- what linsited, but for good bullocks or grazing heifeis there was plenty of demand at paying prices. The fair, taking into consideration the inferior quality of the stock shown, was fully as good as the previous. DORKING FAIR was one of the largest at Dorking since the year 1843. The trade was brisk, and a good clearance ^^ as effected, especially of things of good quality. Beef ranged from 33. to Ss. 4d. ; mutton, out of wool, 3s. 6d. to 3s. lOd.; lamb , 5s. to 5s. 4d. ; stock pigs, 24s. 6d. to 353. There was a good show of suckling calves, aud a great many store pigs, but the demand for them was rather tame. GLOUCESTER MONTHLY MARKET.— The supply of beasts was unusually large, but their condition was anything but good. The attendance of dealers was good, but the trade ruled heavy. A few of the best quality of beasts reached 5d per lb., but the general figure for beef did not exceed i^d. Of sheep there was a good supply, which sold readily at 5d. per lb. Of lambs a few only were penned, and were disposed of at about 7d. per lb. HENLEY-ON-THAMES.— There were more sheep than 668 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. usual ; high prices were asked, and the trade was dull early, but towards the close most of the lots were sold. There was a limited number of cow cattle, with little demand for them. Lambs, 168. to 2l8. ; tegs, 27s. to 353. each ; fat sheep, 3s. 6d. to Ss. 8d. per stone. HEKErOKU FAIR.— Owing to the long droughts, very dull sales were anticipated ; but we are happy to say that the fine rains of Tuesday last inspirited everybody, for their beue- 6cial effect, especially in the pasturage, could not be well over- estimated; the consequence was a brisker fair than we have seen in Hereford for many a day. The stock was not more niiraerous tlun it is generally at this fair ; cows with calves, e-ipccially good milkers, sold briskly at advanced values ; and also fresh barrens anil steers ; of lean stock, too, the turn was iu favour of the seller. In the sheep market hog wethers sold readily at from 30s. to 323. ; ewes, with lambs, 40s. to 44s. ; fat sheep, shorn G^^d. per lb., unshorn fully 6:jd. per lb. There wtre but few store pigs ; no alteration in vslue. In the horse fair a considerable stroke of business was done ; there were more good roadsters than usual, and nearly every useful animal for the road or for agricultural purposes found a purchaser. Altogether, it was a good fair. HERTFORD FAIR.— The supply was good, and there was a fair attendance of buyers. The wetness of the day gave an impulse to trade, by holding out a promise of fodder for the cattle, and produced an unexpectejj advance in prices. Mr. E. D. Rayment, of this to\ni, exhibited some tine long-woolled tups and some tup tegs, which excited great attention, and were sold at fair prices. They were admitted to be the best long-woolled sheep ever brought to the fair in this coimty. The wool on some of them was estimated at from 16 to 181bs. the fleece. — Hertford Mercury. HOWDEN FORTNIGHTLY MARKET.— There was a short supply of beasts, but a good supply of sheep ; the at- tendance of buyers was numerous, and all the sheep were sold up. Beef, 5s. 6d. to Gs. per stone ; mutton, 5d. to 6d. per lb. KELSO FORTNIGHTLY MARKET.— The supply of fat cattle, as might be expected, was much smaller than for some time past, and there being plenty of buyers, with a brisk deaiand, the whole were quickly bought up at au advance iu price from last market. Fat cattle brought from Ss. 6d. to 53. 9d. per stone. There were a good many grazing cattle, which were selling at from £4 IDs. to £6 IO3., according to condition. A number of cows selling at from £5 lOs. to £12. The sheep market was largely supplied, and the demand good. Clipped sheep, light weights, brought 5d., and large sheep a little less per lb. Numbers shown : — Fat cattle, 92 ; grazing do, 91; cows, 63 ; sheep, 1,150. Numbers in corresponding week last year : — Fat cattle, 233 ; lean do., 103 ; cows, 59 ; sheep, 1,230. KENDAL FORTNIGHTLY FAIR.— There was but a thin attendance, and business was by no means brisk. Of the cattle a large portion was only of an inferior description. Prices varied considerably ; a few good cows were offering at from £13 to £14; inferior and aged ones from £7 10s. to £10; heifers at from £8 lOs. to £10 ; calves at from 30a. to 35s. ; sheep iu the wool were selling at for cross breeds from 263. 6d. to 30s ; black-faced sheep at from 223. to 23s. 6d. ; lambs were rather numerous, and were selling at from 16s. to 2l8. Lean stock — milk cows were being disposed of at from £6 to £9 103.; black-faced sheep at from IGs. to I83. Tlie transac- tions of the day were not extensive, buyers not meeting with suitable cattle were very chary iu their offers ; consequently, though the number of stock was only limited, a good mauy were driven away unsold. Average price per pound — beef, 4^d.; mutton, Sjd.; veal, 4id. ; lamb, 7id. LEEDS FORTNIGHT FAIR.- There has been a fair show of horned cattle, and a full attendance of buyers. They were brought chiefly from the north, were generally iu good condition, and a good clearance was effected. Beef, 6s, 63. 4d., to 63. 6d. per 16 lbs.; mutton, 5d. per lb.; lambs, 20$. to 23s. each, or about 7d. per lb., and a few pens of excellent quality 7^d. — all sold. Number of beasts, 650; sheep and lambs, 4,000. LOUGHBOROUGH FAIR was well attended by dealers and farmers of the neighbourhood. Store cattle and fat stock realized tolerably good prices, but amongst iucalvers and other kinds of stock very little business was done. Iu the horse fair but few good animals were shown, and only a few sales were effected. MUIR OF ORD MAY MARKET.— There was a con- siderable, though not large, attendance of dealers. The market was slow, and rather stiff throughout. The best beasts were diflicult to sell at past prices, and some lots were from 5s. to 10s. back from last market, whilst the month's keep was aho lost to the sellers. Small beasts were, as ex- pected, rather dillic\ilt to sell, at prices also somewliat down. The show of heavy stock was very limited, only some three or four lots appearing suitable for the purposes of the east coun- try buyers. The show of the smaller crosses was large, but they were almost neglected by the dealers from a distance, and the scarcity of grass contributes to depreciate them iu the estimation of buyers. NEWARK FAIR— Only a moderate supply both of beasts and sheep; buyers somewhat scarce; beef, 63. i)er stone ; muttou, 5d. to S^d. per lb. Iu the horse fair souse good nags changed hands at high prices; of heavy or draught horses there were plenty ; many good ones were dispoied of, and commanded very great prices. We had plenty of the in- ferior class. NEWBURY FAIR.— The show of horses was larger than it has been for some years. The demand was dull, and on the whole but few purchases were made, mostly at a rather lower figure. The cow fair was also largely supplied, aud like the horse trade, a large number were driven away unsold ; milch cows with calf sold from £8 to £14 ; good grazing o.ven, from £10 to £13; barrentrs, from £G to £10; inferior sorts were difficult to dispose of at any price. WYMONDHAM FAIR was well attended with farmers and dealers. There was a t( lerable supply of most descrip- tions of stock, but business was not very brisk, except for sheep and lambs, for which there was a very good inquiry, aud nearly all were sold at improving figures. YORK FORTNIGHT MARKET.— Prime fed first-class beef, 63. to 6s. 3d. per stone; clipped muttou sheep, 5d. per lb. Very few in wool shown, except for grazing ; and which sold at good prices. In lean cattle (being Beverley fair) we had only a moderate show of good-bred short horns, which were well sold. Lean Irish were in abundance, but fewer were sold in proportion. Calving cows were iu good supply, hut had slow sale. We had some prime good-bred Irisli colts and fillies, many of which were sold. CHEESE FAIRS. BISHOPSTOKE CHEESE MARKET.— There was a numerous attendance of purchasers. Upwards of 150 tons were pitched, of which about 100 tons were sold at a small advance on last quotations. CHIPPENHAM.— We had upwards of 100 tons of cheese pitched. Prices as follows : — Broad doubles, 40s. to 47^. per cwt. ; prime Cheddar, 54s. to 6O3. ; thin, 25s. to 35g. ; loaves, 4O3. to 46s. ; skim, 18s. to 21s. GLOUCESTER was almost deserted, the attendance of buyers being few, and the quantity of cheese pitched not ex- ceeding five tons. Prices were about the same as at last market. SALISBURY. — Owing to Lymington fair and other obvious causes, the quantity pitched was little more than 100 tons. Nevertheless the quantity on the whole was very good, and the sale was better than anticipated by many. Skims ranged from 208. to 268. ; best Somersets, 56s. to 633. ; seconds, 50s. to 543. ; North Wilts, 403. to 44s. ; cowards, 34s. to 428. per cwt. PERUVIAN GUANO. A very valuable little brochure, by Mr. Nesbitt, principal of the Chemical and Agricultural Academy at Kennington, entitled " On Peruvian Guano ; its History, Composition, and Fertihzing Qualities : with the Best Mode of its Application to the Soil," has just been published. Mr. Nesbitt has most clearly and intelligibly performed what the title of his pamphlet promises, with the addition of some important remarks upon the adulteration of the ar- ticle. We cannot better express our opinion of this little essay than by saying that every farmer wishing to use guano should first peruse this pamphlet. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 669 METEOROLOGICAL DIARY. Barometer. Day. 8 a.m. 10p.m. Apl. 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 May 1\ 2| 3, 4 6' 7! S| 9: lOJ 11 12 13 14j 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Thermometer. I Wind and State. in. cts. 29.84 29.91 29.90 29.90 30.10 30.17 29.86 29.62 29.80 29.98 30.09 30.17 30.19 30.28 ' 30.14 30,04 30.07 29.99 29.87 29.75 29.77 29.63 i 30.10 j 29.88 ! ■29.87 I 29.67 I 29.81 I 29.98 I 29.99 30.— I 30.02 ' I in. els. I 29.90 29.88 29.90 30.06 30.15 30.02 29.8O 29.55 29.85 30.08 30.16 30.17 30.21 30.18 30.04 30.06 30.06 29.87 29.90 29.75 29.77 29.94 30.03 29.87 29.80 29.67 29.93 29.99 30.0 30.01 30.02 Mill. I Max. j lOp.m'l Direction. 39 42 34 34 31 30 44 49 45 36 27 28 30 33 38 44 48 47 41 47 49 48 42 48 52 49 48 47 48 48 48 63 48 48 57 48 63 64 65 55 48 48 50 53 58 67 72 69 56 61 60 56 62 62 70 62 70 65 68 58 62 57 49 40 40 43 37 45 52 50 45 37 38 39 42 45 47 52 54 46 47 51 52 49 48 55 55 56 52 54 50 52 52 IJE. by South i'East East East N. Westerly ; S.S.W. i S. Westerly ' Westerly North North i N. by East i E. by North 'N. East I North iS.E., S.W. W. to N.W. S. West I S. Westerly ■ S. West S. West ! S. West I Westerly ,S. West ,W. by South Every way E. by South E. by South S. East N. East N. by E. N.N.E. Force. I strong strong brisk brisk gentle breezy ditto ditto lively gentle gentle gentle gentle gentle gentle gentle var. lively strong brisk ■ising \ strong lively calmer calm lively entle lively gentle gentle lively Atmosphere. 8 a.m. 2 p.m. lOp.m fine fine fine fine ;fin3 cloudy cloudy cloudy cloudy cloudy fine.. .fine fine |fine fine jfine fine cloudy cloudy cloudy cloudy fine fine fine cloudy cloudy fine fine gloom cloudy cloudy sun cloudy sun fine sun fine sun fine cloudy fine sun cloudy cloudy cloudy cloudy cloudy sun fine cloudy fine sun fine fine fine fine fine fine fine fine fine cloudy Weath. sun sun sun sun sun sun fine fine fine sun sun sun cloudy cloudy fine fine fine cloudy cloudy fine j cloudy sun fine sun cloudy gloom cloudy fine Icloudy cloudy cloudy dry dry dry dry diy rain rain rain dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry rain rain rain rain dry dry dry rain dry dry rain rain dry dry ESTIMATED Barometer. High, I Low. 30738 29.16 AVERAGES OF MAY. Thermometer. High. I Low I Mean. 70 33 54-0 REAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF THE PERIOD. Highest. I Lowest. I Mean. 59.55 j 41.74 I 50.80 Weather and Phenomena. April 23 — Crossing cirrus. 24 — Oppressive cold wind, 25 — partial lunar halo 10 p.m. 26 — clear, hot sun. 27 — Overcast day, clear evening. 28 — Rain commenced at 7 p.m. 29 — Soft rain all night. 30 — a little more rain ; overcast. Lunation. — First quarter, 27th day, 8 h. 3 m. morn. May 1 — Change of wind : the northerly current bringing that settled, clear, and cold weather which continued nine days. 10— Changeable, rain com- mencing. 11 — Showers, hail. 12 — Rainy morn- ing; heavy showers at 1 p.m. 13 — Rain in last night. 14— Clearing, with stiflF westerly breeze. 15 — Very fine; some light cirro-stratus. 16 — Superb ; blue of the sky intense. 17— Much rain ; repeated distant thunder. 18 and 19 — Fine. 20 — Rainy evening, and in the night. 21 — Smoky gloom all day. 22 — Much finer, evening overcast. 23 — Cold, overcast. Lunations.— Full moon, 3rd day, 10 h. 23 m. night. Last quarter, 10th day, 11 h. 23 m. night. New moon, 19th day, 3 h. 15 m. morning. REMARKS referring TO AGRICULTURE. The critical and seasonable rain at the close of April prepared the land for the future ; but the im- provement in its temperament was not immediately manifest, in consequence of the drought and frosts which occurred during the early part of May. So soon, however, as the more copious rains of May fell, the succeeding genial temperature operated like a charm, growth l)ecame rapid, and all nature was decked with verdant lu.xuriance. Croydon. J. Towers. 570 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE DURING THE MONTH OF MAY. Those who expected that something definite would have been proposed for the relief of the agricultural interest when the Derby Ministry should come into power have met with disappointment. The work of the sessions is drawing to a close, and a general election is close at hand ; yet not only has no attempt been made by the Government to mitigate the hardships under which the owners and occupiers of land are labouring in consequence of the permanent de- pression caused by the repeal of the corn-laws in the value of all kinds of agricultural produce, but the subject seems to have been altogether abandoned. Whether the new House of Commons will have the will and the power to bring forward measures calculated to benefit that interest which has been so long neglected remains to be seen. Much will de- pend on the electors themselves ; the struggle is at hand — let them ponder well on their choice of candidates. If the idea of protection is to be aban- doned, relief must be aflforded in some other way ; and to obtain this, practical men, feeling and knowing the imperative necessity that exists for putting the farmers of Great Britain on a fair foot- ing to enable them to obtain a living by their in- dustry and capital, alone should be returned. Past experience must now have satisfied all who are open to conviction that the continental growers can produce wheat at a price which enables them to undersell the English farmer in his own market. Since the repeal of the corn-laws, we have had a variety of seasons, good crops, and deficient har- vests ; but the supplies from abroad have at all times been in excess of the demand. When mil- lions of quarters have been wanted — as was the case in 1850and 1851— they have been readily furnished. When our own harvest exceeded an average, and prices were consequently moderate, importations have nevertheless taken place ; and it must now have become clear to the least reflecting, that un- less the British farmer is put in a position to grow wheat at a less cost than he can at present, he will be wholly unable in the long run to compete successfully with the continental and American grow- ers. This, in our opinion, is so self-evident that it would be vain to dwell longer on the subject. Wheat at 40s. per qr., with present rents, &c., cannot pay ; and so long as we admit the surplus growth of the rest of the world, a higher price can- not, on the average of years, be reckoned upon. When we last addressed our readers, some un- easiness was beginning to be felt in regard to the weather; during nearly the whole of March and April we were without rain, and the wind having all the while been from the eastward, vegetation was exceedingly backward. The autumn-sown wheat even then looked well, but the spring corn crops were backward ; indeed, in many instances, the seeds, deprived of the requisite heat and mois- ture, had not germinated, whilst the grass lands were bare and brown. With the commencement of May, however, a complete change of weather took place — the wind shifted to the westward, the temperature rose, and copious rains refreshed and invigorated the crops. Under these circumstances, a most wonderful im- provement has taken place in the appearance of the country ; and, notwithstanding the extreme back- wardness of the spring, the promise for the future is very encouraging. The wheat plant is quite as forward at present as desirable, and its aspect is healthy and lunuriant ; the spring-sown crops have come up evenly and strong, and, though less forward than usual at the close of May, are in every other respect promising. Grass has grown amazingly within the last three weeks, and we shall most probably have a better produce of hay than could have been well antici- pated a month ago. The effect of the auspicious alteration in the wea- ther was, in the first instance, to cause a depression in the grain trade, and in the early part of the month prices tended downwards in all parts of the kingdom ; latterly, however, holders have regained confidence — owing, principally, to the belief that the importations from abroad will not be on so overwhelming a scale for some time to come as seriously to influence prices. The failure of the rye and potato crops in the north of Europe last autumn has certainly caused wheat to be more extensively consumed in Ger- many, Holland, &c., than in ordinary years, and prices have therefore been kept up relatively above our quotations in most of the continental markets during the past winter and spring. The shipments to Great Britain have, consequently, been compa- ratively light, and this alone has saved our markets from being swamped by foreign supplies. Had the importations been as large as in former seasons, the consequence must have been a still lower range of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 571 prices than what we have had ; this will be readily understood by reference to the following comparative table of the importations during the three months in 1852 and 1851, ending each year respectively on the 5 th of May ; — Feb. 5.. March 5 April 5. Wheat Barley Oats Rye Peas Beans Maize 126354 117614 187438 27413 44928 50043 20404 68265 69978 58 1588 5700 2863 65993 23951 47248 58135 7i987 144782 Flour cwt. 102102 172709 334792 1851. Feb. 5.. March 6 April 5 Wheat Barley Oals Rye Pea8| Beans Maize Flour 323482 283416 493954 70742 41917 65907 S6829 49017 31644 354 2868 2259 89.561 20123 3737 17759 3656 44775 56007 82644 139162 cwt. 411979 446803 180227 Notwithstanding this great decrease in the sup- plies, we have had a constant pressure of foreign wheat on the different markets, which, added to good deliveries from our own growers, has kept down the value at a point which, after making full allowance for the large yield, ^vill, we fear, scarcely remunerate our farmers ; fortunately, they have been in some measure compensated for the lowness of the price of wheat by the comparatively high value which spring corn has borne — barley, oats, &c,, having realized good prices throughout the year. With respect to the probable future course of the trade, nothing can be said very definitely, as this must depend mainly on the character of the sum- mer. We are, however, inclined to think that the same cause which has prevented large foreign sup- plies reaching us thus far — namely, the scarcity of food in the north of Europe — will continue to operate and that the shipments from the Baltic, of wheat as well as spring corn, will, during the summer, be on a less liberal scale than usual. Should we be right in this conjecture, present quotations would probably be maintained, even if nothing of an unfavourable nature should occur to create un- easiness in regard to the growing crops ; and threatening weather at any period between this and harvest would be very likely to lead to speculation and a higher range of prices, more especially as money is so abundant that capitalists experience the utmost difficulty in finding profitable employ- ment for their capital. Hitherto, however, the corn trade has been quite neglected, and grain is certainly not in favour as an article for investment. The only symptom which has yet manifested itself of a disposition to buy, ex- cept for immediate consumption, has been the pur- chase of American flour, to hold over. The large arrivals of this article at this port and at Liverpool reduced the fprice and tempted buyers ; but there have been no takers of wheat beyond those who have bought to supply their actual and immediate wants. The arrivals of wheat coastwise into the port of London have not been large at any period of the month, nor has the quantity brought forward by land-carriage samples from the home counties in- creased ; still prices have been less firmly sustained at Mark Lane than in the markets in the agricul- tural districts. This we are inclined to attribute partly to the fact that American flour has been selling at rates lower than those at which our millers could have manufactured an article of equally good quality. They have consequently ground less wheat than usual, finding it more to their advantage to purchase American Flour and re-sell it to their customers. This state of affairs affords a fair example of how British industry is affected by free trade. The wheat exhibited on the Essex and Kent stands, the first Monday in the month (3rd inst.), was placed with great difficulty, a few picked lots of white brought the rates of that day week; but after the best samples had been selected factors were compelled to give way, and a decline of 1 s. per qr. was submitted to on the general runs. During the succeeding week the depression increased, and on the 10th a further reduction of Is, to 2s. per qr. took place, very good qualities of red being on that occasion parted with at 40s., and superior lots at 41s, per qr. The somewhat firmer tone which far- mers have since assumed, and the consequent belief that the deliveries are likely to be small if our prices do not improve, have tended to restore some degree of confidence, and the Essex and Kent stands were cleared on the I7th, without any fur- ther abatement being acceded to. The foUowng Monday a disposition was shown to demand rather higher rates, and in partial instances a trifle more money was made for fine white wheat. Thus far the home supphes (assisted by the re- ceipts of flour from the other side of the Atlantic) have proved amply sufficient to satisfy the con- sumptive inquiry, and the transactions in foreign wheat have, therefore, been on a very restricted retail scale. Importers have, however, manifested less anxiety to realize than might under the cir- cumstances have been expected, which has no doubt been caused in the first place by the reduced state of the stocks of fine wheat in granary, further by the moderate character of the arrivals from abroad, and lastly by the conviction that the im- portations will not increase materially so long as quotations here remain as low as they now are. The fall which took place in the value of English wheat, the first fortnight in May, failed to cause a corresponding reduction in foreign, and the finer kinds, such as Danzig, Rostock, &c., have scarcely 572 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. varied in price since we last addressed our readers. We have lately received a few thousand quarters of new and old mi.xed Danzig, of only moderate quality, which the receivers have been rather anxious to sell from on board ship, and have there- fore consented to accept relatively lower terms than have been insisted on for granaried parcels. By this means they have succeeded in ]>lacing some quantity ; but a part will have to be landed on ac- count of the shippers, the millers having declined to take more than they could immediately employ. There has been less doing this month in floating cargoes than in April, owing no doubt, in some measure, to the paucity of arrivals oflT the coast ; but more, we think, to the unwillingness of sellers to accommodate themselves to the altered position of affairs. Notwithstanding the decline which took place in the early part of the month of nearly 3s. per qr. on English wheat, the parties having Black Sea cargoes on passage to this country have asked nearly the same rates as those demanded at the close of April, viz., 35s. for red Polish Odessa, 38s. to 40s. for white ditto, and 29s. to 30s. per qr., cost, freight, and insurance, for Egyptian. The conti- nental inquiry has wholly ceased, and the Irish de- mand has slackened, which, with the absence of all disposition to enter into speculative investments, accounts for the difficulty which sellers have expe- rienced in obtaining offers. The nominal top price of town-made flour has not varied ; the sale has been slow throughout the month, the bakers having been enabled to supply themselves cheaper with foreign than with that of home manufacture. Norfolk and other kinds of country flour receded in value more or less in the beginning of the month ; but within the last week or two the decline has been partly recovered, and good Norfolk households cannot at present be bought below 28s. 6d. to 29s. per sack. The arri- vals of flour into the port of London from the United States have, during the month, exceeded 100,000 barrels, and at Liverpool about 150,000 barrels have been received. This supply being much larger than was generally calculated on, something hke a panic was temporarily created thereby. At Liverpool very good brands were, we believe, at one time sold below 20s., and in London rather a large parcel of excellent quality was forced off at 20s. 6d. per barrel. Since then, buyers have come forward more freely, and sellers have displayed much less eagerness to reahze. At present we quote good Genessee and similar sorts 21s., and superior Baltimore 22s. per barrel, with more pur- chasers than sellers at the rates named. Both here and at Liverpool considerable quantities have been bought to hold over, which will be brought forward on the first favourable opportunity which may offer for the resale, and though there is probably little now on passage from America, the May and June shipments from the United States will be rather considerable ; hence any material rise in prices can hardly be reckoned on, except in case of bad wea- ther. The receipts of barley of home growth have been very scanty for some time past, but the maltsters having generally left off work, the quantity which has appeared at market has proved sufficient to satisfy the inquiry. The value of malting sorts has become almost nominal, and there has not been much doing in distilling qualities. The turn has, on the whole, been rather in favour of the buyer, but not so decidedly so as to warrant alteration in quotations. The arrivals of barley from abroad have been quite moderate, and nearly one-half of the entire quantity received has been from Egypt. The value of the latter has not changed, but the quality is not hked for feeding, and the sale has consequently been dull. Good European barley has met a steady inquiry : for the lighter kinds rather less money has in some cases been accepted ; but sweet heavy Baltic sorts have commanded former rates : at present, quotations range from 26s. to 28s. per qr. Malt has moved off very tardily throughout the month ; the brewers are, we believe, well stocked, and the dealers do not seem disposed to buy ; we have, therefore, had a dragging dull trade in this article, and the turn has been decidedly in favour of the purchaser. Oats of home growth have come forward spar- ingly—during an interval of westerly wind about the middle of the month, a few thousand quarters arrived from Ireland ; but including this supply the receipts have been so small that the dealers would have found it difficult to have kept their regular customers supphed, had they not been as- sisted by arrivals from the Danish islands and some of the Dutch ports. The foreign supply has been larger than calculated on, and this has checked the advance in prices generally anticipated. The de- mand has not at any period of the month been active, and prices have scarcely varied : at first the tendency was upwards, but subsequently the re- ceipts from abroad brought prices down to precisely the same point as before, and there is no quotable difference between present rates and those current a month ago. EngUsh feed, of 37 to 38 lbs. weight, are obtainable at 20s. to 21s., heavier weight at at proportionate prices ; good Scotch may be had 22s. to 23s.; Irish at 20s. to 22s. j whilst prices for foreign ranged between 18s. to 22s. per qr., according to quahty, weight, and condition. Opinion is still in favour of a rise in the value THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 573 of this grain. The home stoclcs are unquestionably short, and we have no great quantity of foreign on hand, either here or at outports. The purchases made at Riga for spring shipment during the winter were less than in ordinary seasons, in consequence of the high prices there ; and what was purchased at Archangel cannot come forward for at least two months. Meanwhile, the shipments from the near continental ports have not hitherto been extensive ; and as a very large consumption is going on, the probabilities are certainly in favour of a moderate improvement on present rates. Beans have excited a moderate degree of atten- tion, and have rather crept up in value. The sup- plies of English have been small, and the receipts from abroad not by any means abundant. Quota- tions of English range wide, according to quality, say from 28s. up to 35s. per qr. Egyptian beans, on the spot, have sold in retail at 22s. per qr. ; and for parcels on passage, 21s. per qr., cost, freight, and insurance, has been demanded. The supplies of peas have about kept pace with the demand, aud very little change has taken place in prices. Towards the close of the month, the government contract for 1,000 qrs. of white boilers imparted increased activity to the demand, but former rates were not easily exceeded. For Indian corn arrived off the coast, as well as for cargoes close at hand, a good inquiry has been experienced (principally on Irish account), and previous prices have been well maintained. Distant cargoes have, on the other hand, been neglected, as the consumptive demand for this article decreases towards the close of the summer, when i)Otatoe8 begin to come to market. The growing crop of potatoes in Ireland, as well as on this side of the channel, is very well spoken of, and a larger breadth has, we believe, been planted than in any previous season for several years past. The discouraging tone of the English advices in regard to the wheat trade has had less influence on the continental markets than usual, still the ten- dency of prices has been downwards as well at the near as at the more distant ports. The weather has been very similar all over the north of Europe to that experienced here— the winter mild and open, the spring unusually dry, and since the commencement of May a higher range of temperature, with occasional showers. The autumn-sown wheat is generally well spoken of. Rye is not so promising in appearance, and the spring corn crops are represented to be back- ward. On the whole, the seasons have been favour- able for everything except grass ; and should the summer prove tolerably auspicious, the next har- vest would probably be exceedingly productive in this country as well as abroad. Holders in the Baltic seem inclined to speculate on the chapter of accidents rather than consent to incur immediate and certain loss, which they would have to submit to if they consigned largely at pre- sent to the British markets. The shipments in progress are, consequently, comparatively small. A letter from Danzig, dated 21st instant, states that not a single vessel had been chartered to load for London during a period of nearly a fortnight, though freights were temptingly low; the last charter had been closed at Is. lid. per qr. for wheat to London. The supplies from Poland had been smaller than calculated on, and the greater part of what had come to hand had consisted of inferior quality. Holders of granaried parcels had therefore re- mained very firm, and fine parcels had not been offered below 44s. to 45s. per qr., free on board. Inferior to fair qualities of new had been taken, partly for shipment to Holland and partly for the interior, at equal to 38s. to 40s. per qr., free on board. At the Lower Baltic ports, from which we are in the habit of drawing our supplies of fine red wheat, the quality of last year's produce is much complained of; and stocks of old having become nearly exhausted, the latter had been held at com- paratively high prices. The best new Ukermark and Pommeranian wheat, weighing 6llbs. to 62lbs. per bushel., might now be purchased at 40s. per qr., cost, freight, and insurance ; and 'some purchases have, we believe, been made at that price at Rostock, &c., on Eng- lish account. Generally, however, buyers have acted cautiously, as there is little or no margin for profit in our markets. At the near ports, quotations have also continued too high, thus far, to allow of business being done with this country with advantage. At Hamburgh, 40s. per qr., free on board, has been asked for GOjlbs. red Wahren ; and in the Dutch and Belgian markets, quotations are too near on a par with our own to admit of shipments being made from hence there, or from the other side to this, except at a loss to the parties concerned. In the French markets, prices of wheat and flour have lately given way ; and it is not improbable that consignments of the last-named article, on a moderate scale, may later in the summer be made to England, if our prices should at all improve. From the Mediterrannean we have nothing of much interest to communicate ; in some of the southern counties vegetation is said to have suffered from drought, but the reports, on the whole, speak well of the crops. 674 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Letters from Odessa and Il>raila, of recent dales, represent the prospects for the next harvest as highly promising ; but owing to a good many ves- sels having arrived out, all requiring cargoes, prices had rather risen than receded. The latest advices from America state that the supplies expected at the different ports on the coast from the interior had not come forward, owing to the canal navigation having remained closed longer than usual. Stocks on the sea-board had, mean- while, become much reduced, and prices of wheat and flour had, consequently, risen more or less at New York, Baltimore, &c. It may, however, be looked upon as certain that considerable shipments of flour and Indian corn will be made this month and in June for Great Britain, in fulfilment of con- tracts previously entered into. CURRENCY PER IMPERIAL MEASURE. ShilUnjfS per Quarter. Wheat, Essex and Kent/white 39 to 43 fine up to 49 Ditto ditto old ..39 43 „ 49 Ditto ditto red, new 37 39 „ 41 Ditto ditto old 37 39 „ 42 Norfolk, Lincoln.&Yorksh., red.. 38 40 „ 41 Ditto ditto old, none „ — Ditto ditto white new 40 42 „ 44 Ditto ditto old none „ — Barley, malting, new 28 32 Chevalier 32 33 Distilling 26 29 Grinding 26 28 MALT,Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk, new 51 53 extra 58 Ditto ditto _ old 43 46 „ 49 Kingston,AVare,and to\wi'made,new58 59 „ 62 Oats, English feed .' 19 20 fine 22 Ditto Potato 21 24 extra 26 Scotchfeed 21 23 fine 25 Ditto Potato 23 25 fine 26 Rye 26 28old26 28 Beans, Mazagan 27 28 „ 27 29 Ticks 26 28 „ 28 32 Harrow 29 30 „ 30 32 Pigeon 32 34 „ 32 34 Peas, white boilers 34 35 „ 32 35 Maple 30 31 „ 30 32 Grey 29 30 „ 29 31 Flour, toT\'n made, per sack of 280 lbs. — — „ 35 40 Country Households — — „ 33 35 Norfolk and Suffolk, ex-ship — — „ 28 31 FOREIGN GRAIN. Sliillingfs per Qaarter. Whe at, Dantzic, mixed. . 41 to 43 high mixed 45 47extra53 T^onigsberg 41 43 „ 44 45 „ 47 Rostock, new 40 41 fine old 43 45 „ 47 I'omera.,Meckbg.,audUckermk.,red 39 40 extra 42 45 Barley, grinding 26 28 Distilling 28 29 Malting none — — O VTS, Dutch, brew, and Polands 20 22 Feed 18 20 Danish and Swedish feed 19 22 Beans, Friesland and Holstein 26 28 Konigsberg 30 32 Peas, feeding 28 30 fine boilers 32 34 I.VDIAN Corn, white 28 29 yellow 28 29 Flour, French, per sack 28 32 fine 33 35 American, sour per barrel 18 19 sweet 20 22 SEED MARKET. Friday, May 28. Both on the spot and for arrival the demand for Linseed has become inactive, at barely last week's quo- tations. Cakes are very dull, and the turn lower. In other articles next to nothing doing. BOROUGH HOP MARKET. Friday, May 28. Since our last report the general demand has slightly improved, but no advance can be noticed in prices. The show of samples is limited. From most of the planta- tions in Kent and Sussex we have accounts to the effect that the bine is growing rapidly, and is tolerably free from vermin. Sussex pockets, per cwt. lOSs. to 1268. Weald of Kents 1208. to 1458. Mid and East Kents . . 1408. to 250s. Yearlings 70s. to 11 Os. Old olds 22s. to 50s. POTATO MARKETS. Borough and Spitalfiblds, Friday, May 28. Old Potatoes have come rather more freely to hand ; but they are now selling at very irregular and uncertain prices- The following are present rates : — York Regents, per ton 95s. to 125s. Scotch do 808. to 105s. Cambridge and Wisbeach 80s. to 105s. Essex and Kent 85s. to 1058. ENGLISH BUTTER MARKET. Monday, May 24. The market is steady, and a fair amount of business was transacted since our last. Dorset, fine weekly 768. to 808. per cwt. Do. middling 60s. to 70s. ,, Fresh 6s. to 10s. 6d. per doz. HAY MARKETS. Thursday, May 27. Meadow Hay and Straw met a dull inquiry, on lower terms; but Clover Hay changed hands at full currencies. The pre- sent heaviness in the demand is the result of increased sup- plies of green food. At perload of 36 trusses. Smithfield. Cumberland. "Whitechapel. Meadow Hay. . 65s. to 84s. 70s. to 883. 65s. to 84s. Clover Hay .. 75s. 97s. 72s. 963. 758. lOOs. Straw 23s. 28s. 25s. 30s. 233. 29b. WOOL MARKET. Friday, May 28. A very large number of both bome and foreign buyers has been in attendance at the public sales of colonial Wool held this week ; and the whole of the parcels offered up to this time, about 14,000 bales, have changed hands, at an advance in the quotations of from Id. to in some instances, 3d. per lb. British Wools are held for more money. The imports are under 2,000 bales, chiefly from Germany and South America ; but several ships are close at hand from Australia. BARK. Per load of 45 cwt. English, Tree £12 0 0 Coppice..... 13 0 0 Mimosa per ton 10 0 0 Valonia H 0 0 £13 0 0 U ID 0 11 0 0 16 0 0 END OF VOLUME XXXVI. Printed by Rogerson and Tujiford, 246, Strand, London. ■i'^ •e^' j^ > %*^ <^ ./ •^ A >^> >*^f'' 4' ^■r ;'.