\., ^i~ /o^. [i/'^j-r, * ^»-f')

AS

Regulations rai'^E Library

o,^*^ ' ARTICLE

All Books, ATAnuscripts, Drawings, Biigravings, Paintings, Models, Fur-
niture, and other articles appertaining ro the Library, shall be confined
to the special care of the Committee on the Library.
ARTICLE II.
When any books or publications are added to the Library, a list thereof
shall be posted up in the Library Room, and all such additions shall be
withheld from circulation for the term of one month.
ARTICLE III.
The following Books of Record shall be kept:—
No. 1. A Catalogue of the Books.

No. 2. A Catalogue of the Manuscripts, Drawings, Engravings, Paint-
ings, Models, and all other articles.
No. 3. A list of all Donations, Bequests, Books, or other articles pre-
sented to the Society, with the date thereof, and the name
• and residence of the donor.

ARTICLE IV.
Rare and costly books shall not be taken from the Library Room. A
list of such works as are to be withheld from circulation shall be made
out from time to time by the Library Committee, and placed in the hands
of the Librarian.

ARTICLE V.
No more than two volumes shall be taken out by any member at one
time, or retained longer than three weeks; and for each volume retained
beyond that time a fine of ten cents per week shall be paid by the person
so retaining it. And a fraction of a week shall be reckoned as a whole
week in computing fines.

ARTICLE VI.
Every Book shall be returned in good order (regard being had to the
necessary wear thereof with proper usage), and if any Book shall be lost
or injured, the person to whom it stands charged shall, at the election of
the Committee on the Library, replace it by a new volume or set, or pay
for it at its value to the Society.

ARTICLE VII.
All Books shall be returned to the Library for examination on or before
the first Saturday in July, annually, and remain uutil after the third Sat-
urday of said month, and every person neglecting to return any Book or
Books charged to him as herein required, shall pay a fine of twenty cents
per week, for every volume so retained. And if at the re-opening of the
Library, any Book shall still be unreturned, the person by whom it is
retained shall pay for the said Book or set, as provided in Article VI,
togettier with any fines which may have accumulated thereon; and a
notice to this effect shall be forthwith mailed to him by the Librarian.
ARTICLE VIII.
No member shall loan a book to any other person, under the penalty of
a tine of $1.00.

ARTICLE IX.
When a written request shall be left at the Library for a particular
Book then out, it shall be retained for the person requiring it, for one
week after it shall have been returned.

ARTICLE X.
Every book shall be numbered in the order in which it is arranged in
the Books of Record, and also have a copy of the foregoing regulations
affixed to it.

rsressssssrrmr'sr'arvraaa

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE

VOLUME THE SIXTH.

JANUARY TO JUNE, MDCCCXXXYII.

LONDON:
OFFICE, 19, OLD BOSWELL COURT, STRAND,

MAV RE HAD BY ORDER THROUnH ALL BOOKSELLERS,

CP<

er

F\/t ^
.2.25-4 ,837

LONDON:
PRINTED BY JOSEPH R0GER80N,

24, NOHFOLK-STRXBT, STRAND,

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

JANUARY, 1837.

No. 1.]

[Vol. VI.

THE PLATE.

The Hereford Ox, the subject of the Plate, was the property of the Marquis of Tavistock. It was exhibited
at the late Smithfield Show, and obtained the Gold Medal, and a Premium of Twenty Guineas, as " the best
Ox of any breed, without restriction as to feeding." A Silver Medal was also awarded to Mr. John Verney,
as the breeder.

TO THE AGRICULTURISTS OF
ENGLAND.

Gentlemen, — Mr. Shaw Lefevre's Letter to his Con-
stituents, coming from the chairman of the late agricul-
tural committee, must be considered as an address to
the agriculturists of England generally. Mr. Lefevre
has now laid his own view of the evidence, his own
opinions, wishes, and expectations before the tillage
farmers ; and as many of these are, possibly, quite as
competent as himself to form an opinion as to the cause
or causes of their depressed state, and the best remedies
for it, some of them will, it is hoped, publish the result
of their reflections. Belonging myself to that unfor-
tunate and apparently doomed class of men, I shall not
hesitate to make known my view of the subject, and to
point out whatever may seem untenable or objectionable
in Mr. Lefevre's publication. Of this gentleman I know
nothing at all, but from his letter, from which it ap-
pears to me evident enoush, that he belongs to the
free-trading school of philosophers ; a sect, whose
leaders have ever been hostile to landed property and
agricultural industry, in this country ; arising, perhaps,
from some mental obliquity, which I leave to the phre-
nologists to explain. Such, however, being the fact, it
behoves us to be very cautious how we trust to their
authority or opinions ; and even in Mr. Lefevre's case,
I think he would have acted a more manly, as well as
a more consistent, part, if he had, at once, proposed to
establish, at some fixed period, a free trade altogether
in corn, and in every other commodity, instead of trying
to take away piece-meal, the very moderate protection
afforded by the present corn laws ; leaving, at the same
time, untouched, such ample protecting duties for all
the other producing classes. Events have indeed
shown that the protection afforded to the farmer by
corn laws, has been greatly over-rated, and that the
monetary system adopted has had far greater influence
on his fate, still they give some protection ; they are a
security against importation of corn at very low prices,
which might, otherwise, sometimes occur. But per-
haps the public as consumers, are quite as much inter-
ested in corn laws as the farmer ; for although the usual
price of corn would probably be lower with open ports,
than under restriction, the average price might not ; and
considering the corn regulations of most other countries,
and thepractice among some of them , of levying duties on
their exported corn, when most in demand, there is no
certain dependence on obtaining a large foreign supply,
in a time of great and unexpected demand, which must
sometimes happen with a bad crop at home, after such
a greatly contracted breadth of tillage, as would cer-
tainly be the result of unrestricted import. Mr. Lefevre,

indeed, thinks that no considerable extent of land will
cease to be cultivated with wheat at 50s a quarter, and
he may possibly say the same thing of a free trade, but
every real farmer must know better ; and Mr. Malthus
is right in saying, " In all progressive countries the
average price of corn is never higher than what is ne-
cessary to continue the averag-e increase of produce."
The expediency of restriction, or no restriction, taken in
all its bearings, as regards the farmer and the public, is,
indeed, a very difficult question to decide, and as it will
perhaps be put to the proof, those who are friends to
the land and to agriculture, ought to insist, that all taxes
and burdens be more equally apportioned, than at pre-
sent, among the different classes of the community ; and
that if there is to be an open trade in corn, that there be
an open trade also in all the products of industry ; for
this, surely, cannot be inconsistent with the abstract
theories of perfectibility, which seem likely to prevail.

Of the savings in local burthens, noticed by Mr.
Lefevre, I shall observe that those to be made in the
county and highway rates, cannot give much relief, and
from the amended poor law I expect more moral than
pecuniary benefit ; for if less is to be paid in the rate,
more should and must be paid in the shape of wages,
otherwise the labourers will be unable to maintain their
families. Great stress is laid on the commutation of
tithe, by Mr. Lefevre, but when agriculture is in a
transition state, and land likely to go out of tillage, it
is a very hazardous measure, and may be productive of
much hardship and injustice.

Mr. Lefevre dwells much on the supposed better sys-
tem of management of the Scotch farmers, and a general
statement is given of the comparative acreahle expense
of tillage ; but this can prove nothing unless the parti-
culars were all known, viz. the proportion of arable,
pasture, and coppice land, wages of labour, and above
all, local burthens. Poor rate and tithe have always
been and doubtless now are, much lighter in Scotland
than in England. Breeding and fattening of stock may
pay more than grooving corn at the late prices, but these
things soon find their level.

The degree of importance attached to the subsoil
plough seems marvellous enough, and the opinion that
it is an improvement equal to the introduction of the
turnip system, savours strongly of the extravagant and
the ridiculous.

Mr. Sandars in his evidence before the committee,
deprecates in strong language, any departure from a
fluctuating scale ; Mr. Lefevre wishes for a fixed duty,
yet he produces Mr. Sandars as a great authority on
the corn laws.

Mr. Lefevre says ■ (page 24), " We now find it
(wheat) may be grown to a profit, accm-ding to the tes-
timony of some fersons, at 40s ; and several witnesses of

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

g'reat intelligence concur in considering- a price varying-
from SOs to 56s to be quite sufficient." This is very
uncandid ; who are the persons who fix on 40s, and
what is their opinion worth on this point ? I would ask
too, is there not a great preponderance of evidence
shewing that " a price varying from SOs to 56s ' is not'
quite sufficient." I'he question is not whether uny land
can be cultivated at SOs or 56s, but how much and what
quantity must go out of tillage at such prices? " Every
thing, however," says Mr. Lefevre, " must depend on
the skill of the farmer, the productive quality of the
soil, and the rent he binds himself to pay." This is a
very confined view of the question ; rent is an important
consideration for individual farms, but it has nothing- at
all to do with the general or market price of corn,
which is regulated by the cost of its production on the
worst class of soils in tillage at the time, and these
always pay little or no rent.

_" The existence of distress in the agricultural dis-
tricts," says Mr. Lefevre, " was in a great measure at-
tributed, by several most respectable witnesses, to the
resumption of cash payments in 1819, and to an undue
contraction of the currency; which, with the exception
of those years in which there was an extensive issue of
one pound notes, iias prevailed since that period." lAIr.
Lefevre is rather shy of entering into this subject ; but
can the above statement be disproved ? Can it be de-
nied that the average price of wheat has been falling
lower and lower from 1819, down to the end of 1835,
coincident with the contraction of the currency 1 The
average price of the three years 1817, 1818, and 1819,
(all fair average crops,) was 83s lid, and the average
of Bank of England and Country Bank paper circula-
tion, for that time was £44,419,316. The average of
the paper circulation for the next eight vears ending
with 1827, was £30,969,694, and the average price of
wheat 57s IJd, being in both a fall of more than thirty
per cent. In the following period of eight years ending
with 1835, tiie paper currency has been further reduced,
and the average price of wheat has also fallen; not, in-
deed, in proportion to the currency, because the crops
on the ichole period from 1827 to 1835, have been rather
below the average, whereas, on the whole period from
1819 to 1827, they were rather above, the average.

I know not what Mr. Lefevre means by asserting
(page 35), that " the consequences of the Act of 1819
were aggravated by the sudden transition from war to
peace," considering that the war was ended four or five
years before that " Act of confiscation" passed, and
that the price of corn, and general prices, continued
high up to that period.

" Whether any depreciation of the currency should
be attempted" now, is a grave question. Mr. Lefevre
objects to it, because he says the rents, and the cost of
cultivation would rise, and the farmer would receive no
benefit thereby. This is assuming that these have
fallen equally with the rise in the value of the currency ;
but is this the case ? have rents, the cost of cultivation^
and taxation fallen proportionally 1 Every one knows
the contrary.

Mr. Lefevre thinks, if the suggestion of Mr. Sandars
were adopted, (to reduce the duty 10s per quarter),
that an average for wheat, varying from SOs to 56s
might be sustained without difficulty, and that if half
the malt duty were repealed, this average would be
greatly augmented. But this is matter of opinion ; and
Mr. G. F. Muntz, a very intelligent witness examined
by the Lords' committee, makes it appear that before
the depreciation of the currency, and the Bank re-
striction act, when the same standard of money existed
as at present, a bushel of wheat was usually equal in
value to an ounce of silver, and that this is still its value
generally throughout Europe. From five to five
shillings and sixpence, therefore, seems to be the na-
tural price of a bushel of wheat, and this might be the
average m England were the standard strictly adhered
to, but so great is its injustice and its pressure on indus-
try, tliat continual attempts are made by Joint-stock
Banks, and other schemes, to counteract its tyranny,
and thus is introduced a new element of uncertainty into
prices.

It is true, as Mr. Lefevre observes, " that it is im-
possible for the manufacturing and trading- classes to
enjoy a long continued increase in wealth, and the agri-
cultural interest not to have its full share of the general
prosperity." But if the manufacturers have been pros-
perous it was in consequence of cheap corn and low
wages, on which their prosperity depends. The export
trade now regulates the price of every article manufac-
tured, and it is impossible for goods manufactured here
at high rates of wages, to sell in competition with the
manufacturers on the continent, where food and wages
are low. Wages here then (metallic wages) must be
low ; and if these are low, so must be corn and the pro-
duce of land generally ; but how then can heavy taxa-
tion be borne? High metallic prices can never be
sustained, high nominal prices might, and the taxes be
paid in their just value. It is here that Peel's bill
pinches ; we have seen above that after it passed, the
average reduction of currency and of price, at the end
of eight years was more than tliirty per cent. ; so much
then, at least, was added, virtually, to the public
debt and taxes, and to all private debts, rents, and other
fixed payments, by that celebrated piece of legislation,
— disprove it who can ! In conclusion, what I must
insist on is this ; first, that with the heavy taxation of
this country, neither agriculture nor the country gene-
rally, can prosper with low prices ; secondly, that low
prices are unavoidable, if the pi-esent standard of money
is strictly adhered to. I am, gentlemen, your sincere
friend, T. F.

December 12th.

Ploughing on Clay Soils. — The land-
holders of the clay soils of the Weald of Sussex, will
after the first three dry days, have an opportunity of ob-
serving the progress making with one of the subsoil
ploughs (invented by Mr. Smith of Deanston, near
Stirling, N.B.) upon clay land, recently drained with
Pearson's eflfective drain plough, at Knepp Castle farm :
a combination which, if judging from the effects pro-
duced by deep drainage, and subsoil ploughing on the
lands of Mr. Smith, at Deanston, and some of his in-
telligent and spirited agricultural neighbours must,
if applied to the clays in the Wealds of Sussex, Surrey,
and Kent, be productive of equally important advan-
tages^advantages to which the attention of the late
Parliamentary Agricultural Committee was very much
drawn, aud which have been found in no degree exagger-
ated, on a close examination by Mr. Evelyn Dennisoo,
M. P. for Nottinghamshire, and by the subsequent in-
spection of his stevpard, and of one of his tenants, who
returned from Deauston equally impressed with the
great benefits resulting from deep drainage and subsoil
ploughing-, and of which the former is essential to the
utility of the latter. The above statement will proba-
bly prove acceptable to such of our agricultural readers
as possess sufficient spirit to practice as well as to ex-
amine into a system of tillage, so very opposite to the
too generally shallow ploughing in the Weald af Sussex,
compared vvith the tilth in the Weald of Kent, as well
as in the best cultivated districts in Scotland. — (Sussea;
Advertiser.

The two premiums of five sovereigns given by the
Grantham Agricultural Association in the turnip
classes, with sovereign sweepstakes subscribed by the
competitors in each class, having been awarded for the
best crop of Swedish turnips, to Mr. Healy, of Laugh-
ton ; for the second best, to W. M. Sheild, Esq., of
Frieston. For the best crop of common turnips to Mr.
Robert Lynn, of Sapperton ; the second-best to Mr.
Sills, of Casthorpe. There were six competitors and
subscribers of one sovereign each for the Swedish, and
four for the common turnip prizes ; and the competi-
tion was well supported.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

THE GREAT AGRICULTURAL DIN-
NER AT MARKETHILL.

(abridged from the newry telegraph.)

This dinner took place on the 17th instant.

The Earl of Gosford being- now in Canada, and
Lord Acheson being detained in England, the chair
was taken, about sis o'clock, by William Blacker,
Esq., his Lordship's Land Agent. The room was
completely filled hy the successful competitors, as
well as by the principal tenants on the Gosford and
neighbouring estates, all of whom were invited, be-
sides many strangers, who, taking an interest in the
cause of agricultural improvement, had come from a
distance to attend the meeting-.

In the course of the evening- the chairman an-
nounced that he had received a letter from the Blar-
quis of Downshire, stating his Lordship's great de-
sire to have been present, atid that lie had only been
prevented by being under the necessity of attending
the Down Hunt meeting-. His Lordsbip, however,
sent his Agriculturist, Sir. Holland, and two of his
principal tenants, Mr. M'Aleavy and Mr. Westley
M'Garry, very intelligent men, who added greatly to
the pleasure and instruction of the evening. Rlr.
Poole, Agent to the Earl of Ranfurley, came also
from Dungannon, atid IMr. O'Neill, from Verner's
Bridge. The agriculturists from the Richhill and
Drumbanaghev estates, and many Gentlemen of the
town and neighbourhood connected with the Gosford
estate, were present ; as were also Captain Barker,
Mr. M'Kee, Mr. M'Anally, Mr. Simpson, Mr, Mar-
tin, Mr. Scott, from the Charlemont estate, and many
others. Altogether the room was quite full.

The cloth being removed, the chairman reminded
the company of the established rules of the meeting
that no subjects of a political or controversial nature
should be introduced, nor any toasts given except
what had been sanctioned by the chair ; and, after
having regretted the absence of his noble employers,
he proceeded to give the usual standing- loyal toasts.
Then followed — " The Lord of the Soil, his Excel-
lency the Earl of Gosford." It is almost unneces-
sary to mention the enthusiasm with which this toast
was received. The chairman then addressed the com-
pany, as follows : —

"Gentlemen. — Having now gone through our
standard toasts, I proceed to commence the busi-
ness of the evening- by reading- out the list of pre-
miums. It is, however, necessary for me to premise
that the object of these premiums being to introduce
a system worth following for its own sake, his Lord-
ship has desired, that where any person has been al-
ready three times successful, he shall merely obtain
a certificate of merit, and that the premium shall be
given to the next in succession. I am happy to see
that this change does not deter those who have been
heretofore princip-ally distinguished, from continuing
in the course in which they had commenced. I still
see the names of Messrs. Ingram and Bartley Kin-
ney, and am confident I shall again see Moses Greer,
in the list, when he gets his new farm into order. I
am happy to see, also, many new names introduced
of persons who are coming forward as competitors,
for the first time, and who will, I have no doubt,
become better known to us hereaiter.

" The premiums now to be awarded are for the
best stock, and are adjudged upon a comparison of
quality of cattle, quantity of food and size of the
farms ; and the premiums consist of rollers, ploughs,
fans for cleaning corn, h-arrows, wheel-barrows, &c.,
which it will not hereafter be necessary to enume-

rate." Mr. B . then read the names of the success-
ful competitors, in the following order : —

James Jenkins, of Drumgaw 1st prem.

Bartley Kinney had certificate for 2d do.

Robt. Beck M'Cantrim received, however, 2d do.

James M'Connell, of Cornicrew 3d do.

James Collison, of Hamilton's-bawn ,. . . . 4th do.

Samuel Parks, of Lurgyross 5th do.

Joseph Thompson, Grayhilla 6th do.

According- to the usual practice, the health of
James Jenkins was given, as having obtained the
first premium ; and he was afterwards called upon
to state what advantage he had derived from the
plan he was pursuing : this he did in a manner very
satisfactory to the company. He said —

" I am able to say. Gentlemen, that since I have
followed the plan recommended by Mr, Blacker, I
have been able to change my stock, with considerable
profit to myself, from a very bad stock to a very
good one, as my getting the first premium shows;
and though I was then pinched to feed them poorly,
I have now plenty to feed them well ; and whereas
I had only two cows, a heifer, and a poney formerly,
I have now five cows, two heifers, and one good
horse on my sixteen acres, kept on clover and vetches
in Summer, on cabbage at this season of the year,
and turnips in Winter and Spring. I prefer early
York and sugar loaf, and flat Dutch cabbage to the
curled kail, for they give more food at this season;
and if the plants are put in about three inches under
the manure, the potatoes can be dug out without in-
juring them, and as they grow into the trench they
do not overshadow or injure the potatoe as the curled
kail does. I am also happy to tell you, Gentlemen,
that I find the produce of my farm is increased, as
well as my stock. Formerly I could manure but an
acre and a halfof potatoes, and that but indifferently,
but now I have this year four acres of potatoes and
turnips manured in the very best fashion ; and you all
know the more manured land you have in the farm,
the more grain you'll get out of it. Many gentlemen,
from distant parts have come to see my farm, and I
am always glad to see them, and have always some-
thing pleasing to show them. Gentlemen, I have
nothing more to say, but that I am well content, and
determined to persevere in the plan I have now been
so much the better of."

Jenkins having sat down, Bartley Kinney, of
Ballyorgun, was called on. He said — " I have upon
former occasions mentioned, that by following the
practice of house-feeding and green crops, I have
benefitted greatly. I have added to my farm, I have
added to my stock, and I have added to my crop ;
and although I am no longer allowed to compete for
the premium, my certificate shows I am persevering
in the same course, which I know is for my advan-
tage."

Samuel Parks, of Lurgyross, being next called on,
said—" I hold 4a. 2n. 20p. of land, at a rent of 4L
9s 2d : upon this I feed two cows ; and after pro-
viding my family I have sold 71 worth of butter and
milk, being one-half more than my rent. jMy cows
are house-fed, and in capital condition, as ray getting
a premium shows."

After him, Joseph Thompson, of Grayhills, was
called on. He said — " I have 11a. 3r. Op. of land,
and on this I have three cows, a heifer, and a horse.
The half of my laud was formerly in grazing, and
my stock far inferior in number and condition. I
consider the four-course rotation as an excellent plan,
and mean to persist in it ; and I think I will be able
to increase my stock next season from the fine ap-
pearance my clover now has."

B 2

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

I should have mentioned that before calling on
any of the premium men to give any statement
as to their farms, the chairman cautioned them
not to say anything they could not prove, as,
most probably, if the day admitted of it, some
of the strangers would visit their farms. The
premiums for stock having been gone over, the
Chairman remarked, that as so much in the manage-
ment of stock depended on the females of the family,
he had formerly been in the habit of giving as a
toast, " Farmers* wives and farmers' daughters,"
but he would now make some little alteration, which,
he hoped, would not be displeasing to the company,
nor yet to the parties more immediately referred to.
He would, therefore, call on them to fill a bumper
to this toast — " May those wlio are wives be long so,
and those who are not be soon so." This the com-
pany insisted on drinking with all the honours of
tbree times three.

The Chairiiian then introduced the reading of the
premiums for the best cultivated farms, according
to the four-course rotation, by stating that the small-
ness of the quantity of land kept in grazing proved
in a great degree, the proiitable occupation of the
rest of the land, and mentioned that the certificate
had been given to Mr, Thomas Ingram, of Drum-
honev, who I have, in former accounts, had often to
mention.

The 1st premium was awarded to Michael Clarke,
Hamilton 's-bawn.

ad do., divided between Ruth M'Connell, Drum-
black, and Robert M'Cammon, Drumminis.

3d, John Hogg, Drumgaw.

4th, Edward Wallace, do.

6th, James Ralston, Drumminis.

The list being read out, the Chairman reminded
Mr. Ingram, who had got the certificate, how doubt-
ful some of the company were formerly about the
produce of his dairy, and asked him had he now the
same thing as then to say about paying his rent
thereby ?

Mr. Ingham, being thus called on, said — " Gen-
tlemen, I cannot only say the same thing, but I can
say better ; I hold twenty-three acres of land, and
nobody can say that I hold it too cheap, when I tell
them I pay 25/. a-year rent. My stock is seven cows,
two heifers, one calf, and two horses, and they are
all in good condition ; the butter has already pro-
duced 26/., which is a pound over the rent,' and I
expect to make it 30/, before the year is out, as the
price is so high. And I'll tell you more. Gentlemen,
I had nine hundred stocks of excellent oats and an
acre of flax, and all early in and well saved, so that
I could make four times' my rent off my farm."

Tljis account seemed to give the greatest pleasure
to all present, and Mr. Ingram's health was drank
most cordially. The mention of the produce of Mr.
Ingram's dairy aiforded much surprise, as he keeps
three farm servants, and must, therefore, have o-reat
consumption at home. The Chairman, however ."said
he understood there was another in the list that
would surprise them still more. He then passed a
high encomium on Michael Clark's farm, in which,
he said, there was not the space of a single foot ne-
glected ; and also noticed Ruth M'Connell, who, by
her own exertions, had made a small piece of ground
(which had merely fed a goat before, and never
yielded more potatoes than lasted until Christmas,)
now to keep a cow right well, and supply potatoes
for the whole year, and made 12 cwt. of oatmeal be-
sides, from a rood and six perches of land — addino-,
that he was glad to hear her industry had got her'a
husband. He then called on John Hogg, of Drum-
gaw, who bore the same testimony as all others

Tiz., to the increase of his stock from one cow and a
heifer to two cows, a heifer, and a horse ;, to the in-
crease, likewise, of the manure, and the increase of
his crop, and liis intention to persevere in what he
found so beneficial. After him, James Rollston, of
Drumminis, was called on, to whose profit, by but-
ter, the Chairman had alluded. He stated that " he
held 8 J acres, and that he had made, by selling milk
and butter, 16/., and by exchange of cattle, 2/.; that
he had also the produce of four bushels of flaxseed
(near two acres), and 130 stooks of oats : his stock
consisted, through the Summer, of two excellent
cows and a poney ; he had saved oflT his clover and
rye grass, four small cocks of hay, sufiicient to make
one six fathom cock, and had at present likewise two
sheep." The Chairman liere drew the attention of
the strangers, and, indeed, all the company, to this
extraordinary produce from only two cows — and
Mr. Rollston was (juestioned very closely as to how
he could realize so much by his milk and butter ;
when it was explained that he lived within about 2|
miles of Armagh, and sold his fresh butter there at
lid the pound, and his buttermilk at Jd per quart ;
and calculating at those prices it appeared that the
money might very readily be made.

Mr. Herd, Steward at Gosfovd, here observed,
that good keep the previous Winter tends greatly to
increase the milk the following Summer, which all
seemed to agree in.

Mr. William Martin, addressing the Chairman,
said that " John M'Connell, close to Gosford, had
made 61. from one cow, which was as much in pro-
portion, and that he had improved his farm as much
as any one on the estate."

Tl^e Chairman said he was fullv aware of what
had been mentioned — and, to prove the fact, he read
a portion of a letter he had received that day from
the Earl of Gosford, from Canada, in which his
Lordship writes — " Do not forget to tell Jockey
M'Connell (llie name he is known by among his
neighbours), how glad it made me to hear of his im-
provements in the management of his land." —
" Now,'' observed the Chairman, " this extract
shows you all, Gentlemen, how willing and attentive
I have been in reporting the improvement Mr.
Martin has alluded to ; and it also shows another
thing, which I alluded to in proposing his Lordship's
health, namely — that although he might, in person,
be far away, yet his heart was with us. In this
statement I am, I think, fully borne out, by the kind
interest he has shown in his humble tenant's im-
provements, at a time when he himself, as we all
know, must be vexed and disheartened by the diffi-
culties and annoyances which faction and party spirit
throw around him."

Mr. Bruce here said, that he knew John M'Con-
nell had made more by his cow than Mr. Martin
thought ; he iiaving sold two firkins of butter, and
they must come to more money than 61.

The Chairman here alluded to the great produce
Mr. Ingram had derived from his farm, and added,
" I am fully aware that this is not to be obtained by
him, or by any other persOii, without very consider-
able additional labour ; for, when the whole surface is
under a course of cropping, it must naturally take
more labour than when the half of it is in grass ; but
is it not evident that this labour is well remunerated ;
and what has been the complaint in Ireland for cen-
turies, but a want of employment, and a want of re-
muneration for such employment as did offer? Here,
then, seems to be the means of removing the com-
plaint which has so long existed ; and I must say,
that many landlords from different counties in Ire-
land, seeing the thing, I suppose, in the same light

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

in which I have represented it, have heen anxious
that I should send them persons from this, to lak-e
farms upon their estates ; but this plan of introduc-
ing better examples of industry has hitherto failed,
from the apprehensions which people here enter-
tain for their personal safety, in going among
strangers, who they may chance to iind hostilely dis-
posed towards them : but it just occurs to me that
the thing might be accomplished in another way,
vs'ithout any chance of foilure, and 1 mention it here,
in order that the idea may gain publicity. We all
know that in Scotland, farmers, who have accjuired
a reputation for skill and good management, are in
the practice of receiving apprentices, with very con-
siderable fees, for being taken into the family and
allowed to labour the farm, and learn a proper sys-
tem of cultivation ; and I really cannot help think-
ing that an}' landlord in the southern counties, who
wished to Iiave some of his tenants' sons properly
instructed, should have recourse to the Scotch plan,
and send them down as apprentices to such men as
Mr. Ingram, or to such agriculturists as Mr. Bruce,
Mr. Anderson, or Mr. Milne, where they would be
taken round an estate of, perhaps, many thousand
acres, consisting of every kind of soil, and might
thereby receive much more general instruction than
they ever could do in any agricultural school or any
single farm whatever, and become qualified to act,
on their return home, as agriculturists." This idea
seemed quite new to the company, but they all ap-
peared sensible ot its great utility if carried into
effect. Capt. Barker here said, that he knew the
interest taken in the southern counties, as to the
agricultural improvements carried on in this neigh-
bourhood, was greater than could be well imagined ;
and that a friend of his, from county of Cork, would
have been very happy to have been able to attend the
present meeting.

Mr. W. M'Garry, from Lord Downshire's estate,
also observed, " that Mr. Ingram's name had gone
farther than ever he could go himself; for he took
many English and Irish farming publications, and
in all he had seen mention of Markethill, and of
him and others who were distinguished as premium-
men."

Mr. M'ALBAVY,from the same estate, here rose a d
begged to remark, that he had an objection to the four-
course rotation, which was getting so much into use
here, and that he found the 5th-course more desirable,
as by letting the land lie under clover and grass a
second year the land got more rest.

The Chairman de anded the four-course rotation,
by showing, that if, as Mr. M'Aleavy said, the five-
course gave more rest, the four-course gave more ma-
nure ; that the same stock could not be kept on the
five-course, nor the same number of cattle would not
yield the same quantity of manure, on account of the
loss by being pastured in place of being house-fed ;
likewise, that the grain crop, after clover which had
been soiled, was always better than what was grazed.
Mr. M'Aleavy did not at first admit this ; but the
Chairman shewed that, under the four-course system,
the half of the land was under grain, but in a five-
course, one-fifth beiug always under pasture, and
another fifth applied to soiling, there could only be
three-fifths remaining for grain and fallow crops, as
potatoes, turnips, &c., in place of three-fourths,
which would remain for those crops under the four-
course. Mr. M'Garry having expressed his opinion
as to the crop, after clover which had been mowed,
being better than after it had been pastured, Mr.
M'Aleavy conceded this point, but still seemed im-
pressed in favour of the five-course rotation, in which
several of the company seemed to join, though Mr.

Bruce, Mr. Ingram, and Mr. Jenkins all agreed that
their land had greatly improved in quality since the
four-course system had been adopted.

Mr. Simpson, an experienced independent farmer,
expressed his belief that the quality of some
lands might suit one course, and that of others a dif-
ferent; and Mr. Blacker acknowledged that in Ber-
wickshire the five-course was in use ; but, in regard
to Berwickshire, the farmers, by sowing their tur-
nips which may be said to be their entire fallow
crop, on hone dust, keep their farm-yard manure for
top-dressing their clover, which makes the second
year's growth more productive; and the use of tur-
nips in fattening, by stall-feeding, in Winter, with
the quantity of bone dust, more than makes up for
what is lost in the manure by grazing, so that a Ber-
wickshire farmer had said that he manured half his
entire farm every year.

Mr. Blacker, in bis pamphlet, suggests that it is
not the turning of the land, but the scourging crops
put in where the land is turned, that does the mis-
chief: and he instances that land after being turned
five, six, or seven times in fallowing, will give a
good crop, when without this turning it would have
yielded nothing. I am inclined to be of this way of
thinking, for it is a common expression to say of a
farm that it is " as fruitful as a garden, " as desci-ib-
ing the perfection of agriculture ; but a market
gardener makes his land produce four or five crops
in the year, and is turning it perpetually, and this
near all large towns has been going on for centuries.
I therefore am inclined to believe the turning of land
is not so prejudicial as people think, and I believe
in the counties of Norfolk and Suflfolk, where the
four-course rotation has been many years practised,
the soil is improving.

Mr. M'Garry, without giving any deciced opinion
on the subject in discussion, begged to call the atten-
tion of the company to the danger of sowing clover
too often under the four-course system, and recom-
mended, from his own experience, that only part of
the manured land should be sowed in clover, and the
other half reserved for vetches, and by alternating
these two crops, the summer feeding might be kept
up, and yet the clover would not come round to the
same land in less than seven or eight years.

In this the Chairman coincided, and said it entire-
ly agreed with the instructions given by Mr. Bruce,
but he was afraid it had not been enough attended
to, as clover was, in fact, but a new crop, generally
speaking, and the four-course system had not been
long enough in use to bring the thing to the proof in
this neighbourhood. He therefore strongly recom-
mended this hint to the attention of all present; and
after thanking Mr. M'Garry for the suggestion, he
proposed as a toast " Live and learn." He then pro-
ceeded to read the list of successful competitors for
the best turnips : when it appeared that Mr. Bruce
had the certificate for the best crop. The 1st pre-
mium, however, under the new regulations went to
Robt. Mitchell, Drumbucross ; the 2d to Jonatiian
Cochran, Cabra ; the 3d to Thomas Singleton, Drum-
black ; the 4th to Joseph Forster, of Ballyorgan,
The Chairman, in giving the health of Mr. Bruce,
requested him to say how it happened that his field
of turnips was quite green, without a single yellow-
leaf, and Mr. Singleton's at the opposite side of the
road, was quite yellow with the number of leaves
that were decayed.

Mr. Bruce— "Gentlemen, this is very easily ac-
counted for. Mr. Singleton and almost all others
think, when the leaves begin to cover the ground,
that the horse-hoe or pony-plough is no longer neces-
sary, and that the horses travelling through will in-

6

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

jure the crop. Now, I think the reverse ; and I ran
the pony-plough three times through mine after they
had attained the growth that Mr. Singleton and others
stop at. The consequence is, that mine are still in
the height of their growth, and will grow on until
Christmas, whilst their's are stunted, and will not
yield within one-third of the weight they would other-
wise have done."

The Chairman heie adverted to the advantage of
turnip feeding, and expressed his surprise that so
many people would be so blind to their own interests
as not to see the advantage of it. He stated that a
rood ofwell cultivated turnips would yield fi'om 8 to
10 tons, or even much more, supposing the crop to
be part white, yellow, and Swedish. This, there-
fore, would give from 80 to lOOlbs a day for a cow
for seven months, or 210 days. Now, evena springer
will give two quarts of milk more upon turnips than
u^)on either hay or straw. A stripper might increase
four, and a new calved cow would give seven or
eight quarts more ; but taking it at two quarts, which
is the lowest, these two quarts are worth 2d per quart
all the Winter and Spring ; and Id per day for 210
days is exactly 70s gained" in extra milk by one rood
turnips, which is 141 to the acre. Thus the extra of
quantity pays 14/ per acre for the turnips, and you
have all the cow would have given without them" for
nothing, or next to nothing, and the manure besides.
This is as plain as that two and two make four, and
yet it would appear that people could not see it.

Mr. Parks here rose and said, he bad bought a
spiinger that did not give two pints, and upon giv-
ing her turnips she gave four quarts.

Robert Mitchell being next called, said his farm
formerly produced him no more than about 81 16s,
which was the rent he then paid : he now had to pay
more, but by the new system he had last year made
441 5s 4d out of it, leaving plenty of food for himself
and nine of a family. He had also encreased his
stock from one cow to three cows and a horse ; and
he saw clearly that by going on as he was doing, he
could have three times as much potatoes, oats and
flax as ever he had formerly.

" The Soiling System, cut and come again," was
then given.

The premium list for rape was then read over, by
which it appeared —

Mr. Anderson, of Drummard, got the 1st prem.

Edward Coyne, of Drumgaw, the 2d do.

Thomas Scott, of Dirlet, the 3d do.

Mr. Anderson bore testimony to the advantages he
had derived in the increase of his stock and crops. —
He stated he had sowed his rape in August, after
flax, and that he had saved this year twenty-five bu-
shels of winter vetches seed from less than an acre
of land.

The Chairman here pointed out the necessity of
early sowing both rape and winter vetches, and that
not a moment should be lost in putting them in even,
ridge by ridge, as fast as the ground could be cleared
of the crop preceding- observing that a week in Au-
gust was worth the whole month of October. He
also noticed that Mr. Anderson had made near 12/
an acre by his vetches, and recommended the more
general sowing of that crop for seed.

Mr. M'Kee, the Vice-President, here took the op-
portunity of the premium sheet being ended, to give
the health of " Lord Acheson," which was received
by the company with the strongest manifestation of
attachment. The Chairman said the dinner had been
long postponed on account of his Lordship's desire
to be present, but after the day had been fixed he
had been confined by a severe cold which prevented
him from travelling, and confined him to his room.

" The unsuccessful Candidates, and better luck
to them next yearj" and" the judges of the day,"
were given as toasts by the Chairman, after which
succeeded — " Mr. Poole, and our other Agricultural
friends who have honoured us witli their company
in such dreadful weather."

Mr. Poole returned thanks and expressed the most
anxious desire to unite in promoting the improve-
ment of agriculture by every means in his power.

The Chairman here premised that he was afraid he
might be accused of remissness in not giving at
an earlier period the health of the Marquisof Down--
shire. He certainly was entitled to every compliment
which this meeting could pay him, not only from his
wish to have honoured them with his company,
and having sent his tenants to join them, from
whom they had received such valuable sugges-
tions, but also from his personal character as a re-
sident landlord, and his early endeavours to promote
education and agriculture, when other landlords
were in most cases indifferent to both.

The "health of the Marquis of Downshire " was
then drank with three times three, and was ably re-
sponded to by Mr. M'Aleavy, who bore most satis-
factory testimony to the many good qualities of his
landlord.

"Live and let live" was then given from the
chair ; after which Mr. M'Kee gave the health of
"the Chairman, William Blacker, Esq., " introdu-
cing the toast by many compliments to that gentle-
man upon the success of his efforts in promoting the
agricultural improvement of the Gosford estate.

Mr. Blacker, in reply, said — " Gentlemen, I have
upon many former occasions endeavoured to express
the grateful sense I have always entertained of the
kind reception which the toast last drank has con-
stantly met with from this meeting ; and I may
safely say, that at no former period has this feeling
been exceeded, or my gratification higher, than at
this moment, however imperfectly I may be able to
give those feelings utterance. I see, or I think I
see, in the kindness shown towards myself, as well
as from what has fallen from my friend Mr. M'Kee,
the interest which you take in the success of that
system which I have advocated, and from the suc-
cess of which has arisen those statements of increasing
comfort and prosperity which must have afforded you
all so much sincere pleasure to hear. .1 trust there-
fore, as friends to the cause, you will allow me to
say a few words in its defence, against those charges
which are sometimes brought against it, and which
lead many to doubt of its eligibility. The charges I
allude to are these ; that by allowing these small
farms, the population will be increased, until the
country shall be overwhelmed with inhabitants; and
secondly, that the system, on this account, tends to
such minute subdivision of land, that the farms will
be at last reduced to mere pauper allotments. Many
sensible and well-meaning men liold these opinions ;
but no such consequences are, in my mind, to be appre-
hended. In alluding to the first charge, I must beg-
to have it recollected, that the population any land-
lord has now to deal with is a population alread/ in
existence, and, therefore, not chargeable against the
system we are alluding to, the operation of which
must refer solely to the future. Now you have heard
the declarations of those who have been most suc-
cessful in adopting it, as to the increased comfort
and prosperity the}^ have enjoyed thereby : and if
you examine the reports of the different poor law
commissioners, and oflicial documents, of every kind,
you will find it proved by all concurrent testimony,
that the population increases in direct proportion as
poverty exists, and that the possession of comfort in

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

in tbeir fathers' cottages deters young- people from
forming imprudent and early matrimonial connexions,
by whicli those comforts will be forfeited. If
you look round in the society yon will find that,
as the scale ascends, the more cautious and conside-
rate are the parties in forming matrimonial engage-
ments— so that, in exact proi)ortion as you increase
the comforts of their parent s home, young people are
the less disposed to forfeit them by having families
of their own, without the means of suppoiting them.
Therefore, you see, my friends, by giving people a
greater taste for comfort, you check early marriages,
and consequently check that increase of population,
which is erroneously.brought as a charge against us.
Now, let us see how the charge is met as to the sub-
division of farms ; and here I have no occasion to
enter into theories or conjectures, but merely refer
vou to facts which are perfectly well known to almost
every man present, strangers excepted. What I al-
lude to is this ; that there is not a man who has dis-
tinguished himself by his advance in the sj'stem who
has not enlarged bis faim by that means, or \i not, is
only waiting for an opportunity to do so. You all
know Moses Greer ; you know he began upon
four acres of land — he has now in his possession above
nineteen acres : the greater part of it held by an old
lease, at a low rent, and when he gets it into heart it
will be worth from 200/ to 250/. He is, in fact, re-
uniting parts, I think,of the same lease that had been
years ago divided. Within a short distance of him
is Hartley Kinney, who has added about ten acres to
his farm. Then there is RoUston of Drumminis ;
he has re-united the farm he lives upon, and has got
double what he had, and is now in treaty for more.
John Hogg, of Drumgavv, in like manner ; Thomas
Scott, also, and many others ; but these men are here
present, and ready to answer any questions that may
be asked them. It is true the landlord has assisted
their exertions, but they have repaid him, and any
landlord is blind to his own interest that lets an
honest industrious tenant want any help he can rea-
sonably ask. I mention these because they are in
company, but there are scores who are coming for-
ward, year by year, who are all upon the look out to
add to their faims. The fact is, capital will always
find a place for itself somewhere or other, and the
man who has more money than his place will employ,
will soon buy from his neighbour or fit himself else-
where. Whoever removes we may be sure it is to
benefit himself, and those who stay behind have the
opportunity of increasing their holdings by the ad-
dition of what he leaves; this is the natural effect of
the prosperity of any tenantry — as they get capital
they become quite as anxious as their landlord to have
their farms enlarged, and with the desire they have
also the means. The examples you have before you
shew this to be the case, and I would fondly hope
that landlords everywhere would be convinced that
the natural tendency of every improvement in agri-
culture, goes to the accomplishment of their wishes
for the enlargement ot their farms, and that they will
turn their minds to effect what they so much desire by
this means, and wholly abandon the clearance system
which some may have adopted, however contrary to
their feelings, in despair ofaccomplishing their object
in any other way. These facts and arguments will, I
hope, tend to do away prejudice where it may still ex-
ist; but I am happy to say, from tha number of ap-
plications I have for agriculturalists, that all prejudice
is fast declining, and I expect, before long, to see the
plan we are following, or some modification of it uni-
versally adopted. From the interest I take in its
success, I fear 1 have detained you too long, but I
trust you will pardon me, and that we shall all live to

another anniversary, and be able to congratulate our-
selves on its further extension. I think I know my-
self of between sixty and seventy Agriculturists hav-
ing come over from Scotland, and it is not too much
to suppose that I am not personally acquainted with
the one-third of those who may have been engaged
for the purpose of improving estates ; and as they
are generally placed on large properties of 10 or 15,000
acres, it is not perhaps going beyond the mark to
say that there must be in Ireland from a million and
a half to two millions of acres , upon which the system
is viore or less in progress, and I have at this moment
orders for five more agriculturists, whom I have not
yet been able to procure. The Chairman here con-
cluded by giving as a toast " The Town and Trade
of Markethill."

The Chairman then gave, as a toast — " The im-
proving tenants on the Charlemont, Eichhill, and
Drumbauagher estates" — which was replied to by
Mr. Anderson, who mentioned the encouragement
given on the Richhill estate, both by reduction of
rents, premiums for crops, and assistance in repair-
ing houses. He also mentioned that since the re-
turn made last year, the house-feeders had increased
upon the estate fully one-third.''

The Chairman said — " Let us now come to the
consideration of the subjects proposed for discus-
sion, in which list I perceivethe management of the
flax crop stands first. In regard to this, it has been
imagined that lime was prejudicial, and that ridge
potatoe ground gave the surest promise of a crop.
Now, I find Mr. Herd and Mr. Rennox can bear
testimony to good crops, where nothing but lime had
been used as a manure ; and Mr. Bruce can do the
same, and also show that turnip ground had yielded
as fine flax as any other. Mr. Rennox has given us
a statement on paper, which I beg to read — (See
letter No. 1) — it alludes both to the watering as well
as the cultivation, aed I understand from Mr. M'Kean
that upon this process the quality of the flax greatly
depends. Mr. M'K. says that he never, at any pe-
riod, has got less than 9s a stone for his flax. This
is a most important consideration ; for the Russian
flax in the English market destroys the demand here
for the low qualities, except at a price which will
not pay the grower in this country, and if we do not
improve the cultivation, so as to produce a finer de-
scription, we will lose the crop entirely. I think I
last year said the same thing, and recommended the
farmers not to go to an extreme in the cultivation,
and many now, I fancy, would be glad they had taken
my advice. The loss of an acre of straw is the loss
of half an acre of well-manured land, so that to cul-
tivate an acre of flax (which leaves no straw) to ad-
vantage, it ought to pay the price, not only of an
acre of grain crop for that year, but also the value
of the half acre of manured land, which the farm
will be deficient in the foUoTiring year," Mr. B.
having made these observations,

Mr. M'Kee rose and said, that in many farms the
water was of such bad quality, that the quality of
flax was spoiled ; both bog and marie water were
very injurious. Air. O'Neill said, that he had put
his into stooks, and had built it into a stack, intend-
ing to thresh out in Spring, and water when the
weather got warm. Everv one admitted this was
the true wny of saving the seed, but it was thought
the flax would be coarse ; but Mr. Rl'Garry said,
the best and finest crop of flax ever he had was
treated in this way. To build the flax upon a bottom
of hay was suggested as a good plan to defend the
seed from vermin.

The Chairman next introduced the subject of
butter, and said — " We now come to the considera-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

tion of the curing of butter for the English market,
so as to rival the Dutch. From the short distance
between Holland and England, the Dutch had for
many years the possession of the London mar-
ket, for butter almost fresh. The introduction
of steam has now given us the same facility of
supply that they formerly enjoyed exclusively ; but
we have not yet found out, generally, the advantages
of preparing our butter for export as fresh as it
might. A beginning, however, has been made at
Waterford, and I shall read you a letter on the sub-
ject from that place, as well as some other informa-
tion I have collected — (see letters at foot, Nos. 2 and
3.) It would be most desirable if the butter buyers
would ascertain exactly how the article would sell
best, and publish their instructions — and as the
packets sail now regularly from all the ports on the
east coast, I venture to suggest that the stewards or
owners would make handsomely, by taking it over
in small packages, which might easily be had of anv
size in wood or earthenware, they might be most
marketable."

Mr. Ingram said, that an ounce of salt to a pound,
was the quantity put into his butter, of the very finest
he could get, and that those who put in more had
often their butter marked seconds. Less salt, how-
ever, might do when the package was small and could
be made up quickly.

After this, the subject of the respective merits of
Italian rye-grass and rape, as spring feeding, was
considered ; the Chairman observing — " We have as
yet but imperfect acquaintance with the former, but
what we do know of it is highly in its favour; byway
of gaining a perfect knowledge of it, I sowed it,
upon its first introduction, in Gosford demesne —
but it is so sweet, the hares and rabbits kept it down
in such a way that no fair trial could be made. My
own opinion is, that if it got the same manure that
rape requires, it would be fit for soiling with by the
middle of April, if sowed in August, and it would
have the advantage of growing up again, to supply
tlie place of vetches for the cattle, between the cut-
tings of the clover, and again to come in after the
clover in October. These would be great advan-
tages, and would compensate for its not yielding so
heavy, and perliaps not quite so early a crop as the
rape. If sowed on good land, in February or March,
with perhaps a little lime, I have no doubt it would
cut as soil in July, and again in October. I shall
read you what information I have got respecting it
from Messrs. O'Neill and Rennox. I shall be glad
to hear if further can be supplied by any of the com-
pany. I mean to endeavour to procure some seed,
before Spring, for those to try who may be so dis-
posed."

Mr. O'Neill produced samples of it in different
stages of the growth, and gave in statement. No. 5,

The company were much surprised at the state-
ments made of its speedy growth, and several took
home samples brought by Mr. O'Neill, to transplant
and get into the seed.

The all-important subject of the means of preserv-
ing seed potatoes was then brought forward by the
Chairman saying — " We now come to the important
consideration of saving seed potatoes. As to the cause
of the failure in that crop, I look upon it being still
unknown. All that has been written upon it may be re-
plied to by saying that the practice of late years has
been the same as 100 years ago, and why should it be
attended with failure now more than then. I look
upon it, therefore, that we are still in the dark as
to the cause, but that more care is now required than
there was in old times is clear enough. Experiment
is the only sure test to go by, and seeing that pota-

toes accidentally left in the ground seem to grow
without any failure, I recommend a trial, on a small
scale, by leaving a perch or two undug, and to compare
how they grew when planted out in Spring, with other
seed that had been housed or pitted. I think it
worth mentioning, that I have heard from several,
that if the seed is cut and left for a few days there
will appear a speck, or blackish spot in the heart
of those which will not grow, being the first symp-
tom of decay ; this is, I think, fully acknowledged —
but then it is met bv Mr. Bruce, who says he
planted out of the same basket in the morning and
evening, and one planting grew and the other did
not. The only way I can reconcile this, is by sup-
posing that at one time of the day the soil was in a
better state to hurry on the growth than at the other,
and that the sets had taken root, therefore, in
one case before the rot destroyed them, when they
did not in the other. This seems to me the only
way of accounting for it, and likewise for the gene-
ral opinion that whole potatoes are more certain than
cuttings — namely, that there is a better chance of the
plant taking root, as the whole potatoe will be slower
of rotting than the cutting, and therefore leave more
chance of the shoot taking root — but I should wish
to hear others on the subject." After which a great
deal of discussion arose.

Mr. Thomas Bell stated that part of a ridge of po-
tatoes had remained all winter in the ground in his
farm, and that he had set them in spring, and they
had failed ; but he acknowledged the sets had been
left exposed to a burning sun the whole of the day,
and that the ground was also quite parched. This
appeared to the company to account for the failure ;
and six or seven persons in succession arose and
said they had known potatoes planted that had lain
all winter in the ground, and that not one bad failed ;
and the opinion of the company seemed to be that
Mr. Slacker's suggestion should be made the subject
of further experiment, and that care should be taken
to plant the sets in the soil, when moist, from being
fresh turned up, and to avoid planting upon soil dry
and parched.

It being now near twelve o'clock, the chairman
proposed to drink to their next happy meeting, and
upon his departing the company immediately sepa-
rated. The entire evening was devoted to interestmg
discussions, which created universal interest, and the
lapse of time was unnoticed.

l^The statements referred to, shall appear j/i our next,']

Islington Cattle Market. — A public meeting
was advertised to be held at the Freemasons' Tavern,
on Tuesday, at tivelve, for the purpose of taking
into consideration the best means of establishing the
Islington as the great metropolitan market. This meet-
ing was called in consequence of an alleged combina-
tion existing by persons interested in upholding Smith-
field market, to induce graziers and salesmen to decline
transacting their business at the new cattle market. At
half-past one not more than fifty persons were present,
and these gentlemen becoming impatient, a gentleman
of the name of Dawson was induced to take the chair,
who announced to the meeting- that letters had been re-
ceived from Earl Fitzwilliam and Mr. Pym, regretting
that business of importance prevented them being- pre-
sent, as also numerous other gentlemen favourable to
the new establishment. These circumstances, together
with that of a large public meeting of agriculturists hav-
ing taken place at the same hour at the Crown and An-
chor Tavern, induced the chairman to recommend that
the meeting should stand adjourned until some more
convenient opportunity should present itself, which re-
commendation was adopted, and the meeting then broke
up.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND SO-
CIETY FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT
OF AGRICULTURE, ARTS, MANU-
FACTURES, AND COMMERCE.

The adjourned November meeting of this Society
took place on Monday, Dec. 12, at Hetling House,
Sir Thomas Lethbrige, Bart., V. P., in the chair,
when the business to be brought forward at the
annual meeting was discussed and arranged. The
annual meeting took place on Tuesday morning, at
11 o'clock ; Sir T. Lethbrige, Bart, in the chair.
Walter Long, Esq., i\I.P., was elected a vice-presi-
dent, in place of the Right Hon. Earl of Kerry, de-
ceased.
After going through some ordinary business,
Capt. ScoBELL rose to propose a new premium in
class 6. It was as follows : —

" To three labourers, in the Western counties,
being above the age of 45, who shall show by full
and well authenticated written testimonials, that
during their whole lives respectively, they have not
been convicted of any breach whatever of the laws
of the land, and that during that period they have
severally been of reputed sober and moral habits, and
in all respects of good character : a premium each
of 31."

Mr. Stone seconded the motion.
The motion was put and carried unanimously.
'J'he report of the judges of live stock was read
and confirmed.

Capt. ScoBELL proposed an alteration in the new
premium placed in the society's list in 1835, on the
subject of the comparative excellence of plough and
spade husbandry. He regretted that there had been
no claimant of this premium, and he thought the
reason was that the trial was required to be made on
too large a number of acres (twelve). He would
move that the number be reduced to six.

Mr. Davis seconded this motion, which was car
ried.

Mr. Davis moved that to the premium No. 4,
class 6, relative to rewarding deserving labourers
under circumstances therein described, should be
added the words " regard being had to the weekly
wages which they have received." The proposition
was seconded by a gentleman whose name we could
not learn.

The Chairman in putting this resolution to the
meeting, made some remarks on the rate of wages
paid to labourers. He said that the rise which had
taken place in all kinds of produce — including that
kind which was required for the sustenance and
comfort of the labourer — ought to be considered in
the amount of wages paid him. The altered state
of the poor law afforded an additional reason whj'
this subject should be thought of. — The motion was
carried.

Mr. Godwin moved an alteration in the premium
ordered to be given in 1834. " To the writer of the
best Essay on English Agriculture from the intro-
duction of poor laws into Ireland." He proposed
that after " English Agriculture,'' be introduced the
words " manufactures and labour in general.''

Capt. ScoBELL said that a very important in-
gredient in the causes which kept down wages in
England consisted in the importation into this coun-
try of destitute Irish labourers, tending to bring
down to their own level the labourers of England.
While this continued to be the case, and Irish pro-
duce was brought here under present circumstances,
England would continue to suffer undue injury, and
her agriculturists would be most unfairly oppressed.

Capt. Scobell then offered some remarks on the sub-
ject of wages, which he was happy to say were ad-
vancing. As regarded a poor law for Ireland, he
would say that if opposition to such a measure were
persisted in on the ground of the vast destitution
which existed in the sister island, the population of
that country would bye-and-bye be only one great
mass of distress. The landlords' cry was, " Give
us all our rents, but no poor 'law." We had heard
a good deal about "justice to Ireland," but was it
justice to the inhabitants of that country that they
should be starved — was it justice to bid them to be
patient, when the law did not afford them the pro-
tection which they had a right to claim ? Capt.
Scobell then read some extracts from the report of
the late Government inquiry, by commissioners, into
the state of the Irish Poor, showing the horrible
destitution in which those unhappy beings are so
deeply plunged. The farmers in every parish
should get up petitions for the extension of poor
laws to Ireland ; the intelligent in the country and
the intelligent in the towns should work together for
the attainment of this most important object. Was
it not most harrowing to think of the manner in
which Irishmen were starved. We did not, to be
sure, stifle them like bees when their Iioney was
taken, but the law starved them, which was nearly
the same thing. The late Michael Thomas Sadler
had shown that out of every million of people in Ire-
land .compared with the same number in England,
132,000 more attained the age of forty in the latter
country than in the former. He (Capt. Scobell) for
his part, could see no difference between starving a
man, and putting a pistol to his head and shooting
him. He begged to second the motion.

Mr. Godwin said he was not aware that his mo-
tion would have had so much latitude given to it, or
he would have suggested that this society should
originate a petition for the establishment of poor
laws in Ireland. He had some years since set on
foot a petition on this subject, which no man laying
just claim to the titJe of patriot could regard witk
indifference. It was a most striking anomaly in the
condition of the Irish that they should be starving
at the very time that the elements of life were being
sent in such abundance out of their country before
their faces. Remedial laws had been tried, but the
evil had, nevertheless, now arrived at a most tre-
mendous pitch. Coercion had been resorted to, but
it had proved of no effect; nothing, in short, could
nfford the required reliefbuta poor law. He wondered
that so much apathy prevailed on this subject ; he was
exceedingly surprised that no steps should have
been taken to remedy the prevailing state of things.
Was it not an anomaly that we should goad men on
to crime, and then wonder that they should steal !
He was happy to see this society taking up such
questions as this — he was glad to see that it pre-
sented something more than the aristocracy of
rank — something more than the aristocracy of wealth
— something more than the aristocracy of influence ;
he was glad to find that it consisted also of the aris-
tocracy of benevolence, which flowed from the
highest and most sacred source. Mr. Godwin pro-
ceeded to say, that if he could be of any service in
promoting a petition on this subject, he should be
most happy ; and he should like to see it emanate
from this society, if such a proceeding were consis-
tent with its rules. Let every man only do all he
could in his own circle, and before this day twelve
months poor laws would be introduced into Ireland.
— (Cheers.)
The motion was agreed to.
Mr. Bailward moved resolutions, the principal

10

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

points of which were that as the object for giving
large premiums for fat stock bad been in a very great
measure attained, no premium of that kind should in
future exceed 5/, and he proposed this in order that
t'le society might have at its disposal funds to appro-
priate in other ways. He liimself would suggest
t\To objects — one, the improvement of dairy stock,
and the other for experiments with the subsoil
plough. After some discussion, Mr. Baihvard's mo-
tions not being seconded, fell to the ground.

Mr. Williams, Veterinary Surgeon, of Bath,
then explained his method of curing navicular lame-
ness in horses, on which subject the society last
3'ear offered a premium of 2/. He stated tlrat he had
given 51 for a horse which had been condemned to
the kennel, from being so afflicted with the lame-
ness, and that in consequence of his treatment, the
animal could carry him with ease twelve miles an
hour, although, when it first came into his posses-
sion, it took five hours to travel eight miles.

After some observations from Dr. Wilkinson and
other gentlemen, a premium of '-tl. was unanimously
awarded to Mr. Williams.

The proceedings of the Society's previous General
Meetings of the year were then read by the Secretary
and confirmed.

The Secretary then read the Ileport of the Com-
mittee of Superintendance, which on the motion
of Mr, Hare was unanimously adopted, with
thanks to the geutlemen bj^ whom it had been
drawn up.

A letter was read from the Mayor of Bath,
enclosing a donation of 10/. and requesting the
Secretary to insert his name in the list of sub-
scribers for one guinea annually. — The thanks of
the meeting were unanimously voted to his
Worship.

The Secretary announced that Sir W. S. R.
Cockburn, hart., had presented the Society with an
engraved likeness of his late lamented father, Sir
Wm. Cockburn, bart., which had been hung up in
the Society's large room. The thanks of the meeting
were voted for this gift.

The Secretary read a letter from W. M'Adam,
Esq., on the subject of a Scotch cart and harness,
which that gentleman had sent for exhibition.

The motion was seconded and carried unanimously.

The Secretary read a communication from Mr. F.
Spencer, of Bath, on the subject of Kyan's patent
for the prevention of dry rot in timber, &c., whicli
it appeared, is effected by steeping the timber,
&c., in a solution of corrosive sublimate, which
combines with and neutralizes the albumen of the
wood and the other substances for which the opera-
tions of the patent are intended.

Dr. Wilkinson spoke in veiy high terms of the
patent, and most warmly recommended it for general
adoption.

The CiTAiR:iiAN said that he had seen the patent
applied, and that he had been perfectly astonished at
its results. It was a plain and simple process ; in
tlie highest degree worthy of the attention of the
countiy at large.

Thanks were then unanimously voted to Mr.
Spencer for his communication.

W. Miles, Esq., M.P., detailed to the meeting
some most valuable information relative to the
fattening of cattle on potatoes and bean-meal in clay
soils, and shewed the great advantages of the pro-
cess by describing the results of some experiments
wliichhad been made in the North of England. The
statements of Mr. Miles excited very great interest,
and the cordial thanks of the Society were voted to
him. The meeting then separated.

The Dinner took place at the Guildhall, instead
of at the White Hart, as heretofore. Sir Thomas
Lethbridge, hart., presided. The several loyal and
appropriate toasts which followed the removal of the
cloth were accompanied by animated speeches, and
the evening passed off with the utmost harmony and
good feeiino-.

PREMIUMS AND BOUNTIES.

We the undersigned being appointed judges of Live
Stock exhibited for the premiums offered by the Bath
and West of England Society, Dec. the 13th, 1836, do
unanimously award the premiums and recommend
bounties as follows : —

To Jos. Neeld, Esq., Grittleton House, Wilts,
bull, cow, and offspring, short-horned breed,
Sir. Benjamin Hobhouse's premium £15 0

To Mr.Thos. Culverwell, Durieigh, Somerset,
for a fat ox, Hereford breed, breeder and
feeder, a premium of 15 0

To Mr. George Ferris, Shrivenham, Berks,
for a fat cow, short-horned breed, feeder
only, a premium of 8 0

To Mr. Aaron Pike, Miltou, Worcestershire,
for three breeding heifers, short-horned
breed, a premium of 10 0

To Mr. Francis Frankcom, Little Badminton,
Gloueestershire, for four fat wethers, im-
proved Leicester breed, a premium of 6 0

To Mr. James Kearsey, Tarlton, Gloucester-
shire, for four fat ewes, Leicester and Cots-
wold breed, a premium of 4 0

To Mr. James Kearsey, Tarlton, Gloucester-
shire, for six breeding ewes, Leicester and
Cotswold breed, a premium of 10 0

To Lord Viscount Barrington, for a boar pig,

Norfolk breed, a premium of 2 0

To Lord Viscount Bariington, for a sow pig,

Norfolk breed, a premium of 2 0

To the Marquis of I3ath, Longleat, for a cart

stallion, a premium of 10 0

To Mr. George Limbrick, Horton, Gloucester-
shire, for a fat cow, short-horned breed,
possessing great merit, (breeder and feeder)
a bounty of — 4 0

EXTRA STOCK. -

To Mr. George Ferris, Shrivenham, Berks,
for two dairy cows, short-horned breed,
(very good, ) a bounty of 4 0

To Mr. Thomas Hales, Bath, for four fat

oxen, Scotch breed, a bounty of 5 0

To Mr. Lavington, Hilperton Marsh, Wilts,
for a fat pig, 14 months old, Chinese and

Berkshire breed, a bounty of 1 0

RoBT. Hughes, Jos. Lush, Robt. Rickman.

PLOUGHING MATCH.

FIRST CLASS.

To Mr. Deacle, the owner of the best plough,

apremiumof £4 0

To John Broomfield, the manager of the best

plough, a society's coat and buttons

To Thos. Whatley, the manager of the second

best plough, a society's coat and buttons. .
To Thomas Hancock, the manager of the

third best plough, a premium of . 1 1

To Moses Dummer, the manager of the fourth

best plough, a premium of lOs. 6d.

THIRD CLASS.

To Mr. James Hall, the manager of the best

plough, a piece of plate, of the value of . . . . 3 0

To Mr. James Young, the manager of the

second best plough, a premium of 2 0

To Mr. Richard Carter, the manager of the
third best plough, a premium of 1 0

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

11

CHELMSFORD AND ESSEX AGRI-
CULTURAL SOCIETY.

The annual exhibition of Stock took place on Fri-
day Dec. 9. The judges of the rewards to deserv-
ing labourers and servants were the Eight Hon.
Lord Rayleigh, John Round, Esq., and Mr. George
Abrey. The number of competitors in the different
classes was large, and several of the cases were at-
tended with circumstances of a peculiarly merito-
rious nature. About one o'clock the various can-
didates were assembled in front of a waggon filled
with the supporters and officers of the society, and
wliich was drawn up near the marquee, in the iield
where the prize stock was exhibited. I'he Presi-
dent briefly addressed them previous to the prizes
being distributed.

Mr. GiLsoN, the Secretary, then read the award of
the prizes as follows : —

Industry — Labourers. — The first prize of 2Z, to the
labourer in husbandry who had brought up the larg'est
family without any, or with the least parochial relief,
was adjudged to John Fenn, recommended by O. Han-
bury, Esq. He had received no relief. Has a wife and
9 children.

Second prize : \l\Os to John Unwin, named by John
Bewers, had received no relief .

Long Service. — The first jirize of IZ 10s to the la-
bourer or servant who had worked the greater number
of years without intermission (except from illness, or
some sufficient cause) upon the same occupation, was
given to Joseph Hitchcock, named by Lord Rayleigh,
he having worked 53 years in the same occupation, with
three successive masters.

Second prize, 1/, to William Hart, aged 73, recom-
mended by Mr. Brown, having lived 53 years in tlie
same service.

The prize of II to the single man servant, who had
lived the greater number of years with one master not
being an agricultural servant, was given to William
Reeve, recommended by i\Ir. Larcher, having lived
14 years in the same servitude.

Benefit Club.- — The premium of II for the labourer
or servant who had subscribed the greater number of
years to a benefit or benefit societies, was awarded to
Samuel Thurgood, recommended by Lord Rayleigh, he
having subscribed to a benefit club 50 years.

The premium of 2/, to the farmer (being a member)
who had employed the greatest number of ploughboys
(under 18J on his occupation in proportion to Acreag-e,
from 1st January, 1836, up to the day of meeting, was
awarded to Mr. Isaac Belcher, of Danbury, who upon
200 acres had employed three — two of the lads have
won prizes.

Female Reapers.— The first prize, II. to the la-
bourer's wife or widow (in the employment of a mem-
ber of the society,) who earned the most money during
the last harvest, by cutting corn, was adjudged to JNIary,
wife of Abraham Smith,' of Woodham Mortimer, recom-
mended by C. Comyns Parker, Esq., having earned in
reaping 21 8s in 16 days.

^3 Second prize, 15s, to Susan, wife of Thomas Royce,
of the same parish, having earned 21 6s in the same
time.

Third prize, 10s, to Mary, wife of William Grout, in
the employ of Mr. James Christy, of Broomfield, having
earned 2/ 4s.

The other candidates were Sarah Tyler, 64 years of
age, who, in theemploy of Mr. Joslin Bulv.'er, of Rams-
den Bellhouse, had earned 2/ Is 3d ; and Kitty Guiver,
who, with six children under 12 years of age, had earned
in the employ of Mr. Cousins of Terling, 1/ lis 6d.

Each of the unsuccessful candidates present received
2s 6d.

The following are the awards of the Judges for
Stock, &c.

PRIZES FOR STOCK.
Judges : — Mr. Richard Knight, Dunton ; Mr. James
Ciiristy, Broomfield ; and Mr. Charles Matson, Great
Baddow.

Oxen — Class 1. — To the owner of the best ox of any
breed, fattened upon the premises of the person owning
the same. — First prize of 3/ to Mr. J. S. Dennis, of San-
don, for a Durham ox 4 years old, fed on hay, Swedes,
and mangel — travelled 4 miles on foot. — This animal,
which is supposed to weigh 300 stone, excited the
greatest curiosity and admiration, from its immense
bulk and beautiful symmetry. It measures 10 feet 7
inches in girth and was said to be one of the largest and
finest beasts ever exhibited. It was sold to Mr. W^m.
Giblett, the celebrated butcher of Old Bond-street,
for 80/.

Second prize of 2/ to Mr. Joseph Foster, of Blunts
Hall, Witham, for a home-bred, 4 years old, fed on tur-
nips, cake, and bean meal — travelled 8 miles in a van.
This was also a remarkably large and handsome beast,
and was much admired. Its supposed weight was above
200 stone. It has been since sold, we understand, at 5s
per stone, to Rlr. J. Wenden, of Chelmsford, who in-
tends to exhibit it, dead, at his shop on the Friday be-
fore Christmas.

Bullocks — Class 2. — Mr. T. Crooks showed a Dur-
ham steer, 32 months old, but no prize was awarded.

Heifers — Class 1. — To the ovvner of the best heifer,
not having had more than one calf, fattened, &c. and
bred by the owner. — First prize of 21 to T. VV. Bram-
ston, Esq., for a short horned heifer, two years and six
months old, not had a calf.

Second prize ot II 10s to Mr. Tom Crooks, of Broom-
field, for a half bred heifer, 25 months old.

Class 2. — No certificate.

Class 3.— A prize of U 10s to Mr. Wm. F. Hobbs, of
Marks Hall, for a Durham heifer, 4 years old, fed on
cake, bean meal, and turnips ; bred by Lord Hunting-
field, and milked till the second week in March, 1836.

Mr. T, Crooks exhibited a beautiful half-bred buffalo,
35 months old, which was highly commended by the
Judges. — Mr. John Seabrook also showed in this class
a handsome Yorkshire heifer, four years old, fed on
mangel, Swedes, and cake. — [Mr. Crooks was offered
8d a pound for the above heifers by a butcher from the
west end of London, but it was understood they were to
be killed at his sister's and exhibited at her shop.]

Sheep — Class 4. — Judges : — Mr. Thos. Seabrook,
Boreham ; Messrs. Richard Knight, James Christy,
and Charles Matson. Shearlings, without restriction
as to feeding. — 1st prize of 2/, to Mr. Tom Crooks, for
the best pen of six shearling half-bred Cotteswold and
Down, fed on grass, turnips, and cake.

2nd of 1/ Is to Mr. Thomas Bridges, of Buttsbury,
for six shearling fat wethers, Leicester and Down,
twenty months old, fed on grass, Swedes and turnips,
and cake since 1st July — travelled seven miles in a
cart. — [These were purchased, we hear, by Mr. Crooks
at 3/ 3s each, for his sister, and were shown dead
yesterday.]

The following were also shown in this class : — By T.
W. Bramston, Esq. Six shearling Down wethers,
bred by the owner, and fed without cake : five of these
were commended by the judges, and, but for the sixth,
they would have had a prize. — By Lord W' estern. Six
shearling wethers, half-bred Merino and Kent ; they
were much admired, some of them being remarkably
fat. — By C. Comyns Parker, Esq. Six shearling. Down
wethers, bred by the owner, and fed on grass,_ turnips,
and cake. — By Mr. John Cousins, offerling. Six shear-
ling Leicester and Down wethers, bred by the owner,
and fed on cake, corn, aud turnips ; travelled nine
miles on foot.

21 to Mr. ^Vm . Gale, for the best pen of four Kents,
two years old, bred by the owner, fed on grass only,
and travelled 16 miles. — Highly commended.

21 to T. W. Bramston, Esq., for the best pen of four
fat Down wethers, bred and fed by the owner.

Swine.— A prize of 20s to T. W. Bramston, Esq. for
the best fat hog- ; eleven months old, and bred by the
owner.

A prize of 10s to J. H. Haydock, Esq. of Ongar. for
the second best hog, of the Earl of Harborough's stock ;
32 weeks old.-^Both remarkably fine and fat animals,
and allowed to be the greatest curiosities in the field.

Mr. Bramston and Mr. Haydock each exhibited an-

12

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

other hog', and one, 9 months old, was also shown by
J. T. Wilson, Esq. of Althorne.

AGRICULTURAL ROOTS.

Judges :— Mr. William Crush, Chig-noU St. James ;
Mr. Joseph Coverdale, Ing-atestone Hall ; Mr. William
fisher Hobbs, Mark's Hall.

Mangel Wurzel. — First prize of 20s to Mr. R.
Baker of Writtle, for the 10 best roots, (the long
species.) lOs to M. S. Gouch, Sandon, for the second best
do. (globe species)— Sir John Tyrrell also exhibited in
this class, roots of the globe and long species ; Mr. Jas.
Grove, of Gt. Baddow, the long sort, and iNIr. R.
Baker, the orange.

Swedes. -I\lr. Tom Crooks, 203 for the 10 best roots.
— Mr. S. Gouch, 10s for the second best ditto. — Both
parcels very fine. The other competitors were Sir John
Tyrrell, Thos. Wm. Bramston, Esq. Blr. R. Tweed, of
Woodham Walter; Messrs, I. and T. Belcher, W. F.
Hobbs, John Seabrook, and James Grove.

Other Turnips. — First prize of 203 to Mr. S. Gouch :
second of 10s to Mr. Tom Crooks. — Sir John Tyrrell
and the Rev. T. Brooksby exhibited in this class some
singular plants of Co\e Arabic, or cabbage turnips ;
Messrs. I. and T. Belcher and W. F. Hobbs, were also
candidates,

Cabbages. — 20s to Mr. Jas. Grove, of Great Baddow,
for the five best plants ; lOs to Lord Western for the
second best ditto. These plants were of extraordinary
size, some of them weighing upwards of 301bs. Plants
were also shown by the Revds. J. Bramston and T.
Brooksby, and Messrs. S. Gouch, I. and 'J'. Belcher,
and Jas. Grove.

EXTRA STOCK,

The show of fat stock was not so large as on for-
mer occasions, but business was done to a pretty large
extent. The best beef fetched at least 5s a stone.

There were about 500 store beasts of different des-
criptions shown, most of which were inferior in qua-
lity, and met rather a dull sale ; some few short-
horned heifers made from 81 to 10/.

Mr. E. Kilworth of Canewdon, showedfour remark-
ably fine home-bred oxen, grazed by Mr. Mew — three
■were sold at 45Z each, one to Mr. Francis of Prittle-
well, the other two were purchased by Messrs. Wenden,
Ratcliif, and Drake, and were exhibited at their respec-
tive shops yesterday.

Sir John Tyrrell showed six fine North Wales runts,
which were consigned to Mr. Benson for sale — one was
purchased to be killed at Writtle, and two were sold to
Mr. Crooks for his sister, at 22l each.

Mr. Page of Southmiuster Hall — eight very superior
Highland Scots, consigned to Mr. Mason of Danbury,
and sold at full 5s per stone. Mr. Page also showed
four short-horned heifers, one of which Mr. Mason sold
to Mr. Duffield of Baddow, for 29Z.

Mr. Crooks — a Durham heifer and two steers, con-
signed to Mr. Steele, and sold, the heifer to Mr. Smith
of Leighs, for 20 guineas, and the steers at 24Z each, to
Mr. Webster, of Kayleigh.

Mr. Joslin of Little Baddow — two short-horned hei-
fers, sold to Mr. Brazier of Writtle.

Mr. Jas. Hedgeley of Margaretting, consigned four
Scots to Mr. Benson, some of which were sold.

Mr. Cousins of Terling, showed a bull and a heifer,
the latter sold to Mr. Newman of Rayne, for 14?.

Messrs. C. and J. Hurrell — 10 Highlands, consigned
to Mr. Mason, and forwarded to Smithfield.

Mr. John Marriage of Barns farm — eight polled
Scots, for which he refused 26/ a head.

Mr. Flory, Danbury — two steers and a heifer, pur-
chased by Mr. Davies.

Messrs. W. and H. Marriage — a Cumberland steer,
sold to Mr. R, Butcher.

Mr. Pavitt — four Hereford heifers, two sold to Mr.
Orton, and two to Mr. Milbank.

Mr. D. Polley — two Welch beasts, and Mr. H. But-
tle, three heifers, unsold.

A pen of Merino wether sheep were exhibited by Lord
Western ; they were of extraordinary fatness and were

much commended by the Judges. Two Kent wethers
shown by Mr. Gale, were also much commended, as
was a pen of four Down Wether, three- years-old, shown
by Mr. William Steele of Terling.

Mr. Tom Crooks showed a pen of 20 polled ewes, a
pen of 20 Down ewes, and a pen of 20 Down lambs.
The polled ewes were sold to Mr. Simmons of Dan-
bury, and the Down ewes to Mr. Stedman, of Gold-
hanger. Mr. Crooks also showed two single ewes,
one of which was a pure bred Hampshire and the other
a pure South Down. Mr. C. received several offers for
them, but declined selling.

Mr. Cousins, of Terling, showed two very fine two
year old Leicester and Down wethers, fed on cake and
turnips ; they are supposed to weigh 18 or 19 stone
each. They would have been shown for a prize with
two others, but being fed upon corn and cake they were
excluded.

Mr. Willsher, of Fairsted, exhibited a pen of four
fine two and three year old wethers, brought up by
hand, much admired. They were consigned to Mr. W.
Steele, for sale ; he refused 4/ 10s each for them, and
we understand that one was afterwards sold for 5l.

Mr. John IMarriage showed a pen of shearling half-
bred Gloucester sheep, for which he refused 3/ 10s a
head.

Mr. Kilworth; four Lincolns ; Mr. J. Marriage,
Moulsham Lodge, 30 Downs, part of which were sold.

Mr. Jas. Christy, 40 Downs, a portion driven out
unsold.

Mr. Cousins, of Terling — 14 sheep and a ram, con-
signed to Mr. Pavitt for sale in London.

Of store sheep about 1000 were shown, half of
which were sold ; Down ewes, fetched from 203 to 28s
each ; Down lambs from 16s to 22s ; a few wethers
were shown but were not sold.

Several ingenious and useful Agricultural imple-
ments, manufactured by Mr.Bewley, were exhibited
in the field, and attracted much attention.

Proportion of Crime to Population. — Accord-
ing to Colonel Forsell, who has recently published a
valuable work on the statistics of Sweden, the offenders
against the laws in different countries bear the following
proportions to the entire population : —

In England as one to 740

Wales 2,320

Ireland 490

Scotland 1,130

Denmark 1,700

Sweden 1,500

New South Wales 22

The United States 3,500

Curious Horse. — A French paper assures the
public that at the Castle of Voyau, near Trelon, there
is a young horse which has changed colour three times ;
at two years old he was a bright bay, he then became a
dappled grey, and soon after resumed his first colour.
At the present moment long white stripes are beginning
to form on the back and shoulders.—Athenceinn,

An exti aordinary saddle of mutton was lately exhi-
bited at Gainsbro', from a sheep bred and fed by Mr.
Thomas Holtby, on a farm belonging to Sir C. Ander-
son, on the High Wolds, in the East-Riding of York-
shire. At one year old, its weight alive was 22st 8lb,
— two years old, weight 26st — at three years old,
weight before slaughtered was 27st2lb. — Fed on grass,
turnips, rape, and oats. The saddle weighed 4st 8lb,
the fat over the whole saddle nearly five inches thick,
and equally laid on. When kilkd the quarters weighed
67lb each and upwards.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

13

REPLY TO MR. MILBURN.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE FARMEr's MAGAZINE.

Sir, — I am sorry again to trespass on j'our valuable
columns — but as there are many men, there are also
many minds, and many opinions. Mr. Milburn has
one opinion with regard to the failure of the turnip
crop, I have another ; he has a right to entertain his
opinion, I have to maintain mine. I should not
again have replied on this subject had not Mr. Mil-
burn stated that if I did not shew him that he was
wrong, he should retain his present opinion, and
conclu.le me unable to prove my theory. Now, by
the bye, I thitik that it is he who ought to prove that
I am wrong. I advanced a theory, founded on a
sufficient number of facts ; which theory he attempt-
ed to prove was erroneous ; but the arguments
which he has as yet brought forward, I consider as
mere nullities. It is not merely the turnip crop, —
has not the whole of the vegetable world suffered 1
What has been the state of the corn crops, grasses,
&c. 1 Have they not all suffered, and much more so
the turnip, being a succulent plant, and requiring for
its growth a greater degree of moisture and warmth.

My theory of the cause of the failure of the turnip
crop is, that owing to the want of sufficient moisture
during the Summer, and the cold winds and cold
rains, caused disease of the turnip-plant, and then
decomposition took place as a consequence ; that the
decompodtion was the consequence of the disease, or
unhealthy state of the plants, and not the cause. I
stated that if the flies had not been more numerous
than in former years, the same failure would have
taken place. Mr. Milburn asks — " How I can ac-
count for the fact that thousands of acres were at-
tacked, and yet survived, and are still a crop 1" He
perfectly misunderstands my statement. I stated,
the same failure would have taken place, which /ias
taken place. The whole of the plant did not neces-
sarily die from the disease, but in many cases only
parts — viz. the leaves — they being the parts most
exposed, and furthermost from the centre of support,
were, as it were, affected by disease and mortifica-
tion, similar to what takes place in the human body,
when we find that the members, and those parts
most remote from the centre of the circulation, fre-
quently die, and still the remaining part of the body
may survive, and even afterwards be perfectly
hsalthy ; as we find numerous instances recorded,
where the soldiers under the command of the immor-
tal Napoleon Buonaparte, on their retreat from Mos-
cow, lost ears, hands, and feet, from mortification
caused by the intense cold, and still those men sur-
vived, and were afterwards healthy. Now, I do not
intend to say that the cold was the sole cause of the
disease of the plants. No, my opinion is that-^
first, from a want of a sufficient degree of moisture,
the plants became unhealthy. Plants are nourished
by the absorption of food from the earth, in conse-
quence of which they grow, and produce their pecu-
liar secretions ; and that food consists of water hold-
ing various substances in solution. Now, if there
was a deficiency of water, the plants must neces-
sarily become diseased, or at all events weakly.
And secondly — the cold winds, along with cold but
partial rains, being altogether unfavorable to vegeta-
tion, destroyed the more remote parts, or the whole
of the previously weakly or diseased plants. In
proof of what I have just stated, every farmer is
aware that the driest parts of the fields, and those
most exposed to the cold winds, (which the most
elevated parts undoubtedly were) were the most
aff'ected — as were also the isolated plants.

Again — I stated that the flies attacked those plants

which were weakly and diseased, and some parts of
which were in a state of incipient decompositioa
before the flies attacked them, as shown by the slimy
mucus which was on the leaves — which mucus was
formed by the cuticle, cellular tissue, &c., which
was dead, and separating from the fibrous portion of
the leaves by decomposition. Mr. Milburn sup-
poses that the slimy mucus was the faeces voided by
the lice, but I can assure him that on examination I
found that the leaves of the unhealthy plants covered
with the slimy mucus, when not a louse or fly could
be detected ; and they are certainly of sufficient mag-
nitude, that I should have seen them, had there been
any, without having recourse to microscopic aid.

Now I think I have proved by what was evident
to every person, that the plants situated in the driest
and most exposed parts of the fields were the first
aff'ected by tlie flies. I have stated the cause of
their being so affected, viz. — that parts of the fields
being the parts where the plants first became dis-
eased, as shown by the drooping of the leaves, and
the slimy mucus covering them.

Again — Mr. Milburn states that the flies feed on
the healthy juices only. Now, if that were the case,
why did not the flies attack the plants which were
the most healthy, and which were situated on the
lower and more sheltered parts of the field ? and
why were plants, which were apparently nearly
or quite dead, those which were most infested by the
flies'! Certainly, plants in such a state could not
have their juices healthy. Supposing the flies had
been the cause of the disease in a plant, why did
they not leave the diseased plant, and attack the
healthy ones, instead of remaining on a plant in a
state of the utmost putridity 1

I stated that the ground was never perfectly satu-
rated with moisture during the Summer. Now, Mr.
Milburn states that he can conceive no state so fa-
vourable to the decomposition of the plants as to
perfectly saturate with moisture. In answer to
which, I assure him he is perfectly in the wrong ;
for if he will keep vegetable matter perfectly sub-
mersed in water, he will find decomposition go on
extremely slow ; for instance, the timbers of ships
which have been for centuries buried in ocean's
deep, are found to be perfectly sound. Whereas,
had they been exposed to the alternation of moisture
and dryness, they would years gone by have been
decomposed and resolved into their primary ele-
ments; but still I did not say, that the ground not
being- perfectly saturated with moisture was the
cause of the decomposition of the turnip plants, —
excepting being indirectly so — by the plants he-
coming unhealthy, and dying from want of moisture.

Again — I stated that the cold winds and cold rains
promoted the decomposition of the plants, which
they undoubtedly did, not only by killing the plants
or parts of plants, but also by f\ivouring the decom-
position of them when dead. I also stated that a
certain degree of heat is required for the decomposi-
tion of the plants, and that certain degree was preva-
lent during the Summer.

I again say that the drought, with the cold winds
and cold rains, was the cause of the failure. There
was never sufficient rain to saturate the ground, and
what did fall, by being accompanied by the cold
winds, perished the plants, instead of supported
them. I stated that the fly did not attack the plant till
it had arrived at a certain state of decomposition,
so as to separate the gelatinous from the fibrous mat-
ter. He asks, how I can prove that gelatine exists
in plants at all — for it will, so far as he is acquainted,
be a chemical discovery. It may be a chemical dis-
covery to him, but I can assure him there is in plants

14

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

what chemists term vegetable gelatine. Yet, I did
not use the term gelatinous with the intent that that
portion of the turnip-plant was composed of gela-
tine, but merelv as a relative term whereby to ex-
press the aggregate of all the parts of the plant, the
fibrous matter excluded.

As another fact which he supposes supports his
opinion, he states that one of his geraniums was,
by neglect, left out of doors one night, it became at-
tacked by aphides, and soon after looked very diseased.
Now, I have no doubt but his geranium became dis-
eased from being exposed to tlie influence of the
uncongenial night air, and was subsequently, from
the diseased state, attacked by the fly; or why should
that single plant be aifected by the flies in prefer-
ence to bis otlier geraniums, which had been in more
careful keeping ? It appears that alibis geraniums
had been out of doors, and still none were attacked
by the fly, except the one which remained exposed
to the severity of the night. Now, I would ask Mr.
Milburn if the flies are like bats, moving about only
by night"! and whether they are dormant during the
day "! If not so, why were not the other geraniums
as liable to be attacked by them, as the unfortunate
one"! Evidently from this cause: — that the other
geraniums had nothing to affect their health, conse-
quently the fly would not attack them.

I have already, Mr. Editor, trespassed too much.
The facts which I have adduced are so conclusive,
that I still hold my theory to be correct ; and until
more potent objections are brought forward, I shall
not again trespass on your columns, at least with
regard to this subject.

Yours respectfully,

S. P. G.

SUBSOIL PLOUGHING.

Sir,— Having' seen in the Fariner's Magazine a de-
scription of the Subsoil Ploughs of Messrs. Smith and
Drummond, and agreeing with them niost cordially in
the great benefit derived from breaking up the strata
to the depth of sixteen inches, I beg to state, that above
four years since, I invented a plough for breaking up
the hard pan, (as it is called,) which hes a few inches
from the surface of a great part of our Norfolk lands ;
and wiiich is apparently composed of cemented gravel,
containing a certain portion of iron ; and so hard as
even to resist several blows of a pick-axe. I have im-
proved much the construction of this plough from what
it was at the first. My plough now weighs only one
hundred and fifty pounds, the whole length from the
extreme end of the beam to the extreme end of the tails,
or handles, is only seven feet ; the head of the plough,
including the share is twenty-four inches ; and I can
plough easily with three horses, an acre and a quarter
a day, to the depth of eighteen, and twenty, or even
twenty-four inches. The plough breaks the pan and
soil without turning- it up ; and it is my intention to
make use of it for planting, instead of trenching the
ground for that purpose. Any person who may think
this plough worth their attention is welcome to take a
model thereof on application to mybaihff,

I am. Sir, Yours, &c.,

E. STRACEY.
llackheath Hall, Norfolk,

Dec. 12.

ExTRAORmNARY Crop OF Barley. — Thomas
Wood, Esq., of Sandwich, from a piece of his land, not
quite four acres, near Stone Cross, had the extraor-
dinary quantity of 39 quarters and 6 bushels of fine
barley, exclusive of the tithe. Upon calculation, the
whole quantity grown will be found to amount to up-
wards of 11 quarters per acre.

THE CURRENCY.

[We insert the subjoined at the request of a
sulSscriber, but cannot wholly coincide with the
sentiments of the writer. — En. F. M.]

" It behoves tlie landed, commercial, and trading in-
terests to UNITE in enforcing some measure of impartial
justice to tliemselves and to others. — State of the JVation
'in 1835.

Sir, — The threatening aspect of the money market,
and of commercial affairs, is novyf attracting universal
attention, and unless so^e measures are speedily
adopted to stay the stalking mischief, my deliberate
opinion is, that a very short period will elapse before
landoAvners, agriculturists, merchants, and manufac-
turers are all involved in one common ruin ; and from
three to four millions of the labouring population are
thrown out of employ at a time when provisions of
every description (the result of a general failure in the
harvest,) will be greatly enhanced in price beyond the
reach of the mass of the labouring population.

It is not my intention to trouble you witli a detailed
statement of the causes, which, I rejoice to say, ai-e
better understood now than at any former period, that
have produced the greatest alarm in the breast of every
man whose capital is embarked either in land, trade,
commerce, or agriculture, but rather to call the atten-
tion of the landed, agricultural, trading, commercial,
and banking classes, to the perilous position in which
they stand, from the operations of the Government and
the Bank of England ; and to implore them, if they
have any regard to their own interest or that of their
country, to lose no time in calling public and private
meetings of those parts of the community over which,
from their position in society, they necessarily exercise
considerable influence, for the purpose of agreeing on
the most effectual means of representing to the Go-
vernment the national calamity, which must inevitably
befal this country, should the Bank of England longer
be permitted to exercise its capricious and tyrannous
sway over the property of every man in the kinardom.
The commercial prosperity which this country has ex-
perienced during the last four or five years has arisen
entirely from the money put into circulation ; first, by
the facility with which the Bank of England has dis-
counted the bills of the mercantile and trading in-
terests ; and, secondly, from the liberality which has
been shown to those interests, by the Private and Joint
Stock Banks, more especially the latter, but for the
existence of which the operation of Peel's hill, had
the Government been mad enough to continue it un-
checked, would have annihilated every interest in the
State connected with trade, commerce, and agriculture.
This two-fold liberality of the Bank of England, and
the Private and Joint Stock Banks, and nothing else,
created the prosperity we have enjoyed for the last few
years, by giving the country a sufficiency of the cir-
culating medium to carry the productions of the earth
into the uses of society ; and as fast as they were pro-
duced on the one hand, they were consumed on the
other. This I take to be the most accurate definition
of legitimate trading, which is further demonstrated
by the fact, tliat till within a few weeks of the present
time, the stock of goods in the hands of the foreign and
British merchant was insufficient to meet the demand.
Had the same liberality been continued by the Bank
of England, and the Private and Joint Stock Banks,
or in other words, had the same amount of money
been kept in circulation, the same prosperity would
have continued ; but the Bank of England has di-
minished, and is still diminishing, the money in circu-
lation below the amount sufficient to carry the pro-
ductions of the country into the uses of society, a
severe check is thereby given to public ctedit and con-
fidence ; merchants are countermanding their orders,
trade stagnates, the arm of industry will shortly be
paralyzed, and no man whose property is embarked in
trade or commerce can contemplate, without alarm and
dismay, the embarrassment he may experience and the
sacrifices he may shortly be called on to make.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

15

It is not my intention here to enter upon the dispu-
table question, whether the Government or the Bank
of England be in fault. The damage to the public is the
same in either case. My object is to awaken the
trading and commercial classes, and all those whose
pecuniary interest is mixed up with them, to a proper
sense of the danger which now threatens to overwhelm
them, feeling assured, that unless they are resolved
without delay to tell the Government in language that
cannot be misunderstood, that some measure of ex-
tensive amelioration must be adopted, the frightful
scenes of 1S25 and 1826 will infallibly be repeated.

This is no question of party politics ; all are alike
interested. The danger is imminent, and every man is
bound to assist in giving effect to the public expression
of opinion. For my own part, I see no reason to be-
lieve that the present administration are one jot more
enlightened than their predecessors were in 1825, and I
believe that they are as willing now to sacrifice the
country to a pernicious and obsolete standard of value
as was Lord Liverpool at that period. The plan of
operation which I submit to my fellow- townsmen, and
which I should be glad to see followed throughout the
country, will be found at the close of this letter ; and
how imperfect soever it may be, it will, if acted upon,
show the Government that the classes of society with
which they have to deal now, are a ve:y different race
of men to those whom my Lord Liverpool remorselessly
sacrificed in 1825. One word as to the detail of the
plan. With regard to the first proposition, I appre-
hend it will be admitted that land-owners and agricul-
turists can have no permanent prosperity unless it is
participated in by the manufacturing classes. Their
assistance therefore, on this great crisis is a matter of
personal interest to themselves.

With regard to the second proposition, the private
and joint-stock bankers, they are clearly embarked in
the same boat, and knowing what they have at stake,
and recollecting the fate of the country bankers in
1825 and 1826, they are more imperatively called upon
to remonstrate with the Government to relax its grasp
upon the property of the country than any other class,
unless they chose rather to be victimised.

With respect to the third proposition, the merchants,
it beco.nes their imperative duty to show the Govern-
ment that the old senseless cry of overtrading has had
no existence, and in this there would be no difficulty.

With regard to the fourth proposition, the manufac-
turers, to whicn class I myself belong. I would im-
plore the more influential among them in the town to
lose no time in calling a meeting of the inhabitants to
take this most pressing and vital question into their
serious consideration. It has been seen that I have
abstained from suggesting any remedial measures to the
different classes whom I have called on to interfere in
this great occasion. My object is to get them to meet,
to take the subject into consideration ; and that done,
I have no doubt that proper measures will be adopted,
and proper steps will be taken to arrest the threatened
calamity.

The causes which are now operating so disastrously
on the commerce of the country, demand the most
serious consideration of every man ; and should the
plan which I have suggested be generally adopted, a
force and combination of opinion would be brought to
bear on the measures both of the Government and the
Bank of England, and with such irresistible force that
the judicial blindness of the one, and the gigantic mo-
nopoly of the other, must yield some relief. Further-
• more, my plan possesses this advantage, that the de-
putation of manufacturers would support the state-
ment of the merchant ; that of the merchants, the
statement of the bankers ; that of the bankers, the
statement of the land owner and agriculturists.

In closing these remarks I beg to say that nothing
but the deepest sense of the importance of the subject
could have induced me to intrude my opinions on my
fellow-townsmen, that wliat I have done I have from
a sense of duty with the wish not to offend or injure
any party, but to benefit and protect all parties.
The following are my propositions : —

1. That county meetings, consisting of landoioners
and agriculturists, should be held in every county in
Great Britain and Ireland, for the purpose of represent-
ing to the Government the alarming state of the money
market, and the threatening aspect of commercial
affairs ; and that a deputation, consisting of two per-
sons from each county, be appointed forthwith to lay
their complaints before His Majesty's Ministers.

2. That, for the same purpose, town and district
meetings should be held, consisting of principals and
directors of all private and joint-stock banks in Great
Britain and Ireland; and that a deputation of one
person from each bank be appointed forthwith for the
same object.

3. That, for the same purpose, town and district
meetings should be held, consisting of merchants, in
every town and district of Great Britain and Ireland
containing a population of 20,000 souls, and that one
person from each town, and two from each district be
appointed a deputation.

4. That, for the same purpose, town and district
meetings should be held, consisting of manufacturers
in every town and district in Great Britain and Ireland
containing a population of 20,000 souls, and that one
person from each town, and two from each district, be
appointed a deputation. I am. Sir,

A BIRMINGHAM MANUFACTURER.

The soil of France is estmated to contain nearly
52,030,000 of hectares, which are distributed as fol-
lows : —

Arable 22,818,000

Wood land 6,522,000

Pasture 3,525,000

Meadow 3,488,000

Waste lands 3,841,000

Vineyards 1,977,000

Lands in special cultivation 780,000

Market gardens 528,000

Plantations of chesnut trees 406,000

Lakes 213,000

Sites of chateaux, country seats,

out-building-s 213,000

Marshes 186,000

Hop- grounds 60,000

Ozier-beds 53,000

Ohve-grounds 43,000

Parks and nurseries 39,000

Mines and quarries 28,000

Bogs or turf grounds 7,000

Mountains, roads, and rivers .... 6,555,000

Canals 9,000

Total 51,291,000

The Dictionnaire dii Commerce et des Marchandises
gives the following comparative table of the annual pro-
duce of France and England : — " Great Britain, from a
surface of 13,000,000 of hectares, and by means of
5,200,000 labourers, produces 56,000,000 hectolitres of
corn, 170,000 horses, 1,250,000 oxen, Bnd 10,200,000
sheep. France, from 40,000,000 of hectares, and by the
means of between 22,000,000 and 24,000,000 of labour-
ers, produces 153,000,000 hectolitres of corn, 40,000
horses, 800,000 oxen, and 5,200,000 sheep. France,
v/ith her threefold quantity of land, and her two-thirds
of the number of labourers, ought to produce at least
three times as much as Eng-land — namely, 168,000,000
hectolitres of corn, 510,000 horses, 3,750,000 oxen, and
30,600,000 sheep.

Smoothey's, or Boishall New Red Wheat.
— This variety was discovered by Mr. Thomas
Smoothey, Boishall, near Halsted, Essex. It is a
decidedly red wheat both in grain and straw. The
straw is fine ; ears short, thick, and close set. The
sample which we have seen of it not having filled this
season, and having been raised under very unfavourable
circumstances, disables us from describing the grain
correctly. The produce has been rated as high as seven
quarters per imperial bushel.

16

THE FARMER*S MAGAZINE.

THE HACK, OR ROADSTER.

(Plate.)

This horse, Fire Away, gained the prize or
premium as a stallion for roadsters, at a meeting
of the East Riding Agricultural Association, held
at Beverley, on Wednesday, July 27, of the pre-
sent year. He is the property of Mr. Phillip
Ramsdale, of Market Weighton, Yorkshire : rising
three years old, a beautiful brown, and stands fif-
teen hands two inches high. He was got by Wild
Fire, the property of Mr. T. Kirby, of York, which
horse, after beating that celebrated black trotting
mare of Mr. Slader, for 400 guineas, challenged
all England, and found no competitor. Mr. Kir-
by's Wild Fire was got by West's Old Fire Away,
whose sire was Mr. Jenkinson's Old Fire Away,
who trotted two miles in five minutes, on the Ox-
ford road, and was afterwards sold for one thou-
sand guineas. Wild Fire's dam was got by Sky-
scraper, Fire Away was bred by Mr. Cook, of
Huggate, out of his celebrated trotting mare, who
was got by Ponteland, whose sire was Waxy, dam
Susannah by Rockingham, grandam by King Fer-
gus. Fire Away's grandam by Old Trip, whose
sire was Granby. Trip's dam by Cap-a-pee,
great-grandam by Old Jalap.

Proposals for Estimating the Rent of Land
BY THE Average Price of Wheat. — It has lately
been remarked in the public papers, that some system
of a fluctuating- scale of amount of rent, to be regu-
lated by the price of corn, was much wanted, to cre-
ate a good understanding between landlords and
tenants. Two different plans for estimating rent in
this manner, I here offer for public consideration.
The amount of rent of arable land must, of course,
be estimated by the quantity and value of the corn
which it is likely to produce with fair cultivation,
taking into consideration, also, the following parti-
culars : whether it has on it all necessary buildings ;
the annual amount that it pays for parochial rates ;
the distance the land is from the market where its
produce is to be sold ; and what price per bushel
may be reasonably expected for wheat, which, in the
long run, governs the price of all grain, and meat
too. Therefore, as the price of wheat rises or falls,
so does the actual value of the rent of land. The
value of rent for the different quahties of land will
vary from the worth of two to seven bushels per
acre, the regulating price to be annually that which
has been the average price of the market agreed
on ; or the annual average returned price of the
country for the past year. Supposing it should be
6s fid per bushel, the rent of the different qualities
of land may be thus calculated : —

Very poor land. ... 2 bushels.. I3s Od per acre.

Poor 3 ditto. ... 19s 6d

Fair quality 4 ditto 26s Od

Good 5 ditto 32s 6d

Very good 6 ditto 39s Od

Extraordinary good 7 ditto, . . . 45s 6d
The intermediate qualities may be raised by the cor-
responding fractional parts of a bushel ; thus, a me-
dium quality, between fair quality and good, 4^
bushels, 29s 3d per acre; approaching nearer to
good, 4f bushels, 3ls per acre. Some may think
this method of estimating the rent of land compli-
cated and troublesome, but in reality it is neither
the one or the other, and I believe it to be quite fair
between landlord and tenant. No one can foretel

what may be the average price of wheat for five or
seven 3rears to come. After giving this subject all
the consideration in my power, my opinion is, that
provided the country is not involved in war, 52s per qr
is the highest average price that can fairly be expected.

1 propose, therefore, to landlords, that they should
have the rents of their farms, whether all arable, or
part arable and part grass land, estimated to corres-
pond with the jirice of wheat at 52s per quarter ; but
that the amount of rent paid should, in the following
manner, depend on the price of wheat. For every
2s per quarter, which the annual average return price
of wheat, up to the 1st of March in each year, should
fall below 52s per quarter, 2^ per cent, should be
deducted from the estimated rent. For every 2s 6d
per quarter, which the annual average price should
exceed 52s, 25 per cent should be added to the esti-
mated rent. I am quite aware that numerous objec-
tions are likely to be made to this proposal ; but I
am fully persuaded that they may all of them be
fairly and reasonably answered. It is probable some
tenants may say that they get a high price for wheat,
from having a deficient quantity. That might, in
some years, possibly be the case ; but although in
other years they may have a low price from having
an abundant quantity, I make some allowance in the
scale for a deficiency of produce. The increase of
rent from a higher price of wheat would not be all
gain to the landlord, for he would have to pay more
for the food consumed in his familj^ With this plan,
the more rent tenants had to pay, the better would be
the times for them. Some may think the price of
barley ought to be taken into account. This is quite
unnecessary ; the price of wheat will alone (take one
time with another) fairly answer as to the amount of
rent. On clay-land farms, nearly the whole of the
rents must be obtained by the receipts from the sale
of wheat. As to oats, I decidedly object to the re-
turned price of them being taken into account in the
valuation of rent ; for a great portion of them is sold
by factors, who have kept them some considerable
time, at much waste and expense ; the prices, there-
fore, returned of oats are much above the price which
the grower gets." — From the Second Edition of Mr.
Hillyard's * Practical Farming.'

Makepeace's Improved Patent Drag. —
An interesting trial of this novel application of a
drag to a stage coach wheel was made on Friday morn-
ing, at Castle-hill, in this town, and afterwards at
Southern-hill. It appears, that by the action of a lever,
which can be brought to bear merely by the foot of the
coachman, the hind wheels are tightly grasped round
the nave by a chain, and a weight of from lOlbs to 10
tons imposed by the leverage. The coach was started
without horses, laden with out-side passengers, and
whilst descending at a sharp pace, was stopped with
the greatest ease. Of the inestimable value of such
an invention, in case of the pole breaking, or horses
becoming unmanageable, we cannot speak in sufficient
terms of praise. The frequency of dreadful coach acci-
dents has lately loudly called for the exertion of human
ingenuity to suggest some plan of safety. Let some
of the coach-masters try this — we will guarantee them
the ample patronage of the public ; and we would say
one word to the Patentee — lower the price of the appa-
ratus— the increased extent of sale will eventually more
than repay the first loss. — Reading Mercury.

The finest Durham Ox ever sent out of the celebrated
stock of Mrs. Strickland, of Apperly Court, Chelt-
enham, was on Wednesday slaughtered at Brunsdon's ;
the weight and size being so enormous, we are induced
to give it to our readers. Weight, alive, 1 ton 8 cwt.

2 qrs.— Rough' fat, 270 lbs.— Hide, 1261bs.— Height
of shoulders, 6 ft. 1 in. — Length from the nose to
setting on of the tail, 11 ft. 9in.-^Girth, 10 ft. 1 in.

ea

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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

17

MANAGEMENT OF THE HUNTER.

The exertions of tlie hunter are placed in a state
of requisition for a part of the year only ; and
as his services during the hunting- season are ex-
traordinarily severe, he is fairly entitled to rest or
repose during what may be called the vacation.

It is only a few years since that the question of
summering the hunter was much agitated through
the sporting periodicals ; and the point at issue
was — Which is the preferable method ? — to sum-
mer the hunter in the stable or in the field ? The
two systems were warmly defended by advocates
on either side the question ; and, in the heat of
discussion, each party supported their favourite
measure beyond the bounds of reason. The ab-
solute truth will not be found in the unqualified
adherence to either one system or the other : yet
each is to be recommended under certain circum-
stances, and to a reasonable extent.

In the first place, the constitution and tempera-
ment of the horse should be the object of considera-
tion, since, speaking broadly and generally upon
the question, it may be justly remarked, that some
horses will do better in the stable during the
summer months, while others will derive more
benefit from a run at grass.

It is but fair to presume that the hunter, during
the season, receives many bangs, bruises, &c., from
which, at its close, he may still be suffering in some
measure : he may probably be troubled with corns
also, since, from necessarily shoeing the hunter
short before, to prevent the shoes being pulled off
by the hind feet in the act of jumping, corns are
very liable to be produced : at the close of the
season, therefore, the hunter requires rest. Should
this required rest be taken in the stable or in the
field?

The hunting season closes in the month of April,
when the horse should be progressively prepared
for a change of diet. His allowance of corn
should be reduced, and a gentle dose of physic
should be administered to him. His clothing
should be gradually removed. A feed of carrots each
day, or even two, will be very serviceable, as they
will cool the horse and prepare him for his grass ;
and if ca'Tots cannot be conveniently obtained, po-
tatoes may be substituted for them. In three or
four weeks, the horse will be in a fit state to be
turned into the fields, if the weather be fine. At
first I would turn him out for a few hours only in
the middle of the day, increasing the period daily ;
but I would not allow him to remain out all night
for several weeks, unless the weather happened to
be very fine and warm. Flies are not troublesome
till the summer is advanced, and before the horse
was subjected to these tormentors, I would take
him into the stable, at least during the day, giving
him gi-ass or hay, and a feed of corn ; and, in-
deed, I would not let him remain out during the
night beyond the end of August.

When taken altogether into the stable, I would
give him a gentle dose of physic, hay and corn,
and a feed or two of carrots or potatoes during the
twenty-four hours. Carrots are preferable to po-
tatoes. The horse will also require bleeding ; but
if carrots or potatoes be given to him he will re-
quire less physic than is generally administered,
and less bleeding also than those repeated applica-

tions of the fleam or the lancet to which the horse
is generally subjected.

Exercise must be particularly attended to — slow
at first, and gradually increased according to the
progress the liorse makes towards condition.

As the horse advances in condition, his allowance
of carrots should be reduced to one moderate feed
in twenty-four hours, with four or five feeds of
corn. If the horse be a delicate feeder, I should
feel no hesitation in slicing two or three carrots in-
to each feed of corn, which will be a great induce-
ment for the animal to eat the corn — the carrots he
is sure to eat, and he cannot accomplish this with-
out eating some of the corn. I know several ex-
perienced sportsmen, gentlemen of good sound
sense, who give their hunters a small feed of carrots
every day throughout the hunting season; by
whicii means the horse will require less physic.

A horse, thus summered, will not fail to be in
excellent condition by the time his exertions are
called into action by following the hounds.

If it be not convenient to turn the hunter out to
grass, I would give him a dose of physic, carrots,
or potatoes, in the same manner as I have already
described, and, as soon as I could, I would supply
him with grass in the stable, I have found lu-
cerne a very excellent substitute for the common
grasses ; it is fit to cut at an early period, and
will cut two or three times during the summer.
The horses shoes should be taken off, and he
should be led out upon soft turf, and receive
walking exercise two hours each day. At the lat-
ter end of July, he should be treated after the
manner already described.

When the horse is turned out for a few weeks,
(his shoes having been taken off) his legs and feet
derive much benefit from the evening dews. If he
be summered in the stable, his legs and feet will
require much attention, but cannot, under any
system of management, derive benefit equal to
that whicli nature affords to the horse at grass :
yet, if the legs of the horse be fine, and if he be
be not troubled with corns, and his feet all right;
if he be not afSicted with the navicular disease
(groggy), he will not of course stand so much in
need of that softening of the horn of the foot, that
cooling of the feet and legs, so grateful and sooth-
ing to horses afflicted in the manner just men-
tioned.

It is no uncommon case for a hunter to be unfit
to turn out. If he be much given to galloping or
jumping the fences, he had much better be kept in
the stable, or he will be apt to stake himself:
there is less danger of this happening in parks and
pastures of great extent than in the common or
small inclosures ; yet the extent of the ground is
by no means a guarantee against the accident.

It is a common practice to blister and turn out.
I am not an advocate for blistering, as I have yet
to learn what benefit is to be derived from it, at
least in this case. If the legs of the animal be
puffed with windgalls or otherwise, blistering is
resorted to, the animal is put to excruciating-
pain ; rest becomes indispensable; and when the
horse has completely recovered, his legs are said
to have become fine from the application of the blis
tering ointment.' No such thing. Give the horse
the same length of time to rest, and his legs will

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18

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

become equally fine, if not more so. It is rest
which lluis, in some degree, relieves the animal
from the injuries which lie has sustained from
over-exertion, bad treatment, or other causes.
Blistering, in this, and all similar cases, is most
injudiciously applied. I have seen horses blister-
ed so severely that the hair has never grown
again — I think I may say, that I have seen their
constitutions seriously injured by it. I am of
opinion that, generally speaking, horses are bled,
physicked, and blistered too much.

Now, although I am an advocate for turning out
the horse to grass in the manner I have described, I
would rather keep him in the stable, if he were in-
clined to gallop or jump the fences ; or, in other
words, I would run no risk of injuring or losing the
horse; as, notwithstanding my preference of a run at
grass, after the manner I have described, yet the
benefit to be thence derived, I cannot consider as
an equivalent for the risk of laming or killing the
horse. When ray horse was at grass, I should be
inclined to treat him with a feed of corn daily,
which would, in some measure, retain his condition;
for, if a horse is suffered to become very low, it
sometimes becomes a difficult matter to get him
into condition again.

As to turning a highly-bred thin-skinned horse
out to grass, unreservedly, during the summer. I
consider such apian very prejudicial : he must be
exposed for a considerable period to the unrelent-
ing persecution of his insatiable tormentors, the
flies ; and while his condition, under such circum-
stances, can never improve, he is goaded, by insup
portable torment, to gallop and jump at anything,
and thus perhaps kill himself.

In turning out a horse, I should never place
tips upon his feet — I know of nothing more ri-
diculous ! it is said that the tips prevent the
horny crust of the horse's foot from being broken ;
which amounts to nothing, as it was never
known to break to an injurious extent, nor, in-
deed, can it; while the tips throw the weight on
the heels alone, where corns (if the horse have
any) are situated, and counteract their removal,
which a run at grass will frequently effect
where tips are not used.

When a horse is tender before, he will derive
much benefit from a run at grass upon the soft-
est turf possible — upon a marsh for instance :
but the relief is only temporary, as the lameness
returns as soon as the horse is brought into
work again, particularly on a hard road. I have
seen many hunters which went very well in the
field, although they were tender before ; indeed,
one of the best hunters I ever rode was thus
afflicted. She was a beavitiful grey mare, fifteen
hands three inches high ; a very safe and splen-
did performer. I turned her upon a marsh,
called Martin Mere, in Lancashire, from the
20th of May to the 15th of July, and she came
up in what might be called good grass condi-
tion ; the soft, cooling, and pliable nature of the
ground allayed the heat, irritation, and pain of
her feet, and she therefore fed well and rested.
Having taken ber into the stable, I contrived, by
exercising her upon soft elastic turf, to get her
into tolerably good condition ; and, in the month
of October, I rode her with the harriers repeatedly

and she appeared to sustain little inconvenience.
Some time after, I met Sir H. Mainwaring's fox-
hounds, at Shipbrook Bridge ; and, having found
a fox, after a beautiful run of one hour and a
quarter, the hounds run in to him. W^e tried for
a second fox, but it so happened that we had
nothing like a run afterwards. The mare went
home very well, which was not remarkable, as she
had not experienced anything like distress. The
next morning, however, she manifested unequivocal
symptoms of the effect of her exertions on tender
feet. A few days afterwards I again met these
gallant and splendid hounds, whose appearance al-
ways reminds me of those belonging to the Duke
of Rutland ; and we had a severe run over a
difficult country, with death at the end of it: — and
fifteen or sixteen miles from home. I got home
tolerably well, though the mare shewed symptoms
of distress : and, on examining her feet, after sire
had been in the stable for some time, I found them
hot, and evidently very painful. The next morn-
ing the mare was a complete cripple ; nor was it
without some trouble she could be got out of the
stable, and walked about for fifteen or twenty
minutes. It was a fortnight before I took her out
again ; she was groggy, but went well when she
got warm. From this an opinion may be formed
of all hunters which imfortunately have become
afflicted with what veterinary surgeons deno-
minate the navicular disease, but which is com-
monly known by the term, groggi/, or founder,
or tender before. A horse of this description may
go well with hounds when he has become warm ;
but he cannot come out often ; for a hackney he is
utterly unfit, as he cannot go upon hard road: he
is best adapted for the collar, — such horses may be
found active and useful to a farmer, particularly
for the plough : in such cases, they move princi-
pally on soft ground, and having no rider to sus-
tain on their back, they have only tlieir own weight
or pressure to support on their fore feet, and are
consequently employed under the most favour-
able circumstances.

Neurotomy, or nerving, is sometimes resorted
to for the cure (or rather relief, as cured it cannot
be) of this disease, and those who are anxious to
peruse the account of this operation and its
effects, I refer to Perceval's Lectures. I do not
profess to treat the diseases of the horse beyond
what may be called the comprehension of a groom
possessing good sound sense, in order to enable him
to administer a remedy without calling in the ex-
pensive assistance of a veterinary surgeon,

A shy or delicate feeding horse will occasionally
be found in the hunting stable. Many of them
are very free going animals, having good spirits,
and their stomach and intestines never overloaded,
frequently almost empty. Whatever maybe their
good qualities, they cannot endure a succession of
exertion : they are also much affected by the influ-
ence of a cold harsh atmosphere. They are horses
which require much more than ordinary attention,
and can scarcely ever be said to be in good health.
After the fatigues of a day's hunting, what can be
more vexatious than to see a horse standing in the
stable and refusing to eat ? Such a horse cannot be
kept in condition, nor yet brought regularly out as a
hunter; he will always want nursing and doctoring.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

19

In a disquisition like this, some degree of repetition
must unavoidably occur, and where such happens
to be the case, the repetition has been adopted for
the purpose of preventing any misconception, and
to render the discourse as intelligible as possible.

As to the general management of the hunter in
the stable, I must refer the reader to an article in
the last number ; but inasmuch as the hunter is
called upon for exertions far beyond the ordinary
labour of the horse, he is of course entitled to par-
ticular attention in the stable.

A hunter generally returns from the fatigues of
the day with an empty stomach, and covered with
dry sweat and dirt. In the first place, he should
have plenty of thin oatmeal gruel ; I would then
place a feed of corn in the manger, a little hay in
the rack ; and the operation of cleaning should
commence as soon as possible (for which see the
article in the last number.) The hunter's legs
should be washed with warm water, carefully exa-
mined for thorns, over-reaches. Sec, and the legs
should be rubbed dry, and well hand-rubbed, by
which means a free circulation of the blood will be
promoted. His feet should also be carefully exa-
mined. When he is thoroughly cleaned and quite
dry, he should be watered, the chill being taken off
the water, another feed of corn may be given him,
hay placed in liis rack, his bed prepared for him,
and the sooner he is left to himself the better.

It may frequently happen that the horse will re-
quire a mash, &c., which must be left to the dis-
cretion of the groom or the master.

The next morning, one hour's slow exercise will
be sufficient ; and if the horse receive proper at-
tention, he will be able, in two or three days, to go
out again. Once aweek is said to be quite sufficient
for a horse to go out with fox-hounds ; but they
will do more, if judiciously managed in the field as
well as in the stable.

The hunter should have as much corn as he
will eat, unless he be a very greedy feeder : but I
am of opinion that beans (some prefer white
peas) are not necessary till the season has com-
menced. I am always anxious to have ray hunters
come out, or commence their business with plenty
of flesh, or rather, plenty of good hard, elastic
muscle on their bones, which enables them in my
opinion, to get better through the season, than if
their previous training had reduced their flesh as
much as possible.

As the hunter is highly fed, kept in a warm
stable, and goes through a severity of exertion of
which the horse would be utterly incapable under
other circumstances, that is, without the excitement
of the chase or run, so is he subject to casualities
and disease; further, being fed for a considerable
period on dry food, he frequently experiences con-
stipation of the bowels. Therefore, whenever a
frost happens to set in, a gentle dose of physic will
generally be found serviceable. Where a feed of
carrots is given, as I have before observed, physic
will not be so often required. The administration
of physic prevents the horse from feeding properly
for a day or two, which, added to the violence of
its operation, must reduce him ; while carrots (or
potatoes) if occasionally given, will operate as a
gentle purge, but will not take the horse off his
feed. I have heard it remarked that carrots cause

an excess of perspiration, but I never found this to
be case : and I have no doubt that when this has
happened, the carrots have been too plentifully
given to the horse.

Old hay is said to be better than new hay, and
so it is ; but this is one of those general expres-
sions that requires qualification, Hay is got in
during the months of June and July; it sweats
and settles: by the month of December it has gone
through every process of fermentation, and has ac-
quired its greatest possible perfection. When it
is twelve months old it has suffered very little de-
terioration ; but, after this its nutritive qualities
evaporate more rapidly than they did prior to this
period, and it will ultimately become as destitute
of nutriment as straw. I have frequently heard it
recommended to shake the dust and seeds out of the
hay before it is given to the horse : to shake the
dust out is perfectly correct, but the seeds may
be regarded as the corn of the hay. Strictly
speaking, however, the hay ought to contain no
dust. The hay given to a hunter should be such
as has been well got in — it should be of the best
quality, it should therefore contain no dust, and
will not require sliaking.

Somewhat similar remarks may be applied to
oats ; the general opinion being that they should
not be given to the horse till they have acquired
considerable age. If oats are well housed in the
month of August or the beginning of September,
ihey will be fit to thrash in two months after-
wards ; and after having been out of the straw a
few weeks, are quite as good, perhaps better,
than at a later period. The oats have, at such a
time, completed or gone through their sweatings,
and can never be better.

In regard to hay, the fact is very striking :
it continues to lose weight after it has become six
months old ; and as this evaporation consists
entirely of the juice or nutritious quality of the
hay, it must become worse precisely in proportion
to the extent of the said evaporation. Similar
reasoning may be applied to oats, but not to the
same extent.

When beans are given to a horse, I would have
them broken ; but I would not have the oats
crushed. I tried the experiment, and it appeared
to me to render the horses dull rather than other-
wise ; the oats in this form were certainly not pre-
ferable to oats given whole. Oats, I am aware,
are very often voided whole : but it does not
thence follow that the horse has derived no benefit
from them. If the oats appear whole, the essence
has been extracted, and, if a strict examination
were to take place, it would most likely be found,
that, if they had not been absolutely macerated
they had been bruised.

A hunter should be well fed the night preceding
his going out with the hounds ; but he should not
receive a full allowance the next morning. If the
groom visits the stable at an early period of the
morning, the horse may receive a regular feed of
corn (no hay), particularly if he have to travel
from six to ten miles to the place of meeting. If
the corn be given to the horse at six o'clock in the
morning, as a fox is seldom found before eleven
(and frequently not so early), a considerable time
will elapse between the horse's feeding and the

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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

commencement of his work. Water should be
sparingly given on the morning of hunting : a few
swallows will be sufficient.

I have already observed, that, in the manage-
ment of the stable, the groom ought to be able to
attend to a number of little ailments of the horse,
for which a veterinary surgeon is generally em-
ployed. If a horse be troubled with corns, the
groom should take care that, in shoeing, all pres-
sure upon the corn is taken away ; otherwise the
horse will continue in pain, perhaps be lame, nor
can the corn be eradicated while any pressure re-
mains upon it. But by proper shoeing and par-
ing, the corn will in time disappear.

If symptoms of a thrush or frush appear, ill con-
sequences are easily prevented by timely attention.
In this disease there will be a degree of inflammation
of the sensitive frog, occasioned either by contract-
ed heels, the want of cleanliness, or bad shoeing.
The presence of thrush may be ascertained by a
tenderness felt when gressing the frog, which is
also accompanied with a discharge of matter. The
part should be well washed and dressed with the
following ointment : —

Take of Vitriol zinc,

— Armen bole,

— Alum, of each, in powder, one ounce.

— Tar, sufficient to form an ointment.
Mix.

This should be applied on lint or tow : it should
be placed in the cleft of the frog, and renewed
occasionally. On the first appearance of thrush, it
may be frequently cured by simply dipping tow
or lint in tar and applying it to the sore.

Splents are hard excresences which grow on the
bone below the knee, and present various shapes and
sizes; and to which young horses are very liable.
Few horses put out splents after they have attained
the age of seven, unless produced from accident or
a violent blow. Splents often disappear without
any means being adopted for their removal. A
splent that arises in the middle of the bone
is not dangerous ; but when splents present them-
selves on the back part of this bone, when they
grow large and press against the tendon they
produce lameness.

When splents first appear, they should l;e
bathed with vinegar, by which they will be some-
times removed. Various remedies, however, are pre-
scribed for them. Some lay on a pitch plaster, with
a little sublimate or arsenic. Others apply oil of
vitriol ; others, again, tincture of cantharides : all
of which have at times succeeded ; but all these
caustic applications are apt to leave a mark or
scar. A mild blister is, perhaps, to be prefered.
Some rub the splent with a round stick or tlie
handle of a hammer, and then anoint it with oil of
origanum. When it becomes necessary to bore
the splent, &c., (which will seldom be requisite if
timely and proper attention be paid to it), I should
call in a veterinary surgeon.

Splents in the middle of the bone, as they
neither produce lameness nor inconvenience to tiie
horse, I should never attempt to meddle witli.

Curbs are callous enlargements, situate at the
lower junction of the bones at the hind part of the
hock, and are produced by blows, kicks, sudden
turns or twists, riding too hard up hills, &c. &c.

They produce stiffness in the first instance ; and
ultimately lameness. They may generally be re-
moved by blistering on their first appearance ; but
if they do not disappear by twice blistering, the
firing iron must be applied, an instrument which
should never be placed in the hand of a groom,
but always used by a veterinary surgeon.

The capped hock, or capulet, is a swelling
which takes place on the points of the hocks, and
is sometimes seen on the point of the elbow of the
fore-legs. It is an enlargement frequently very
difficult to reduce, and is brought on by a blow,
strain, &c. I have known blistering used fre-
quently for capped hocks, but seldom with much
benefit. The method I recommend is, the moment
they are perceived by the groom, to employ a ve-
terinary surgeon. I am not aware that the horse
will sustain injury if these enlargements are al-
lowed to remain ; but, if they are large, they pre-
sent an unsightly appearance.

A wind-gall is a puffy tumour situated on both
sides the back sinew of the horse, above the fet-
lock on the fore-legs, but more frequently on the
hind-legs; but they very rarely cause much pain.
They sometimes arise from constkutional weak-
ness, but more frequently from strains, hard rid-
ing, or ill-usage. If these swellings appeared to
cause no impediment to the action of the horse, I
would not meddle with them ; on the contrary, if
they produce stiffiiess, so as to cause a liorse to
stumlale, call in the assistance of a veterinary sur-
geon. I have repeatedly applied blisters to them,
which, however, failed in removing them.

Broken knees are considered as highly disgrace-
ful to the horse. To the hackney they are justly
so, at least either to the horse or his rider ; but a
hunter is liable to break his knees from a number
of unforeseen incidents, for which the horse ought
not to be blamed. Many good hunters, however,
are very indifferent hackneys. When tliis accident
happens to be slight, the application of neat's foot
oil, or indeed any animal oil, two or three times
a day, rubbing the hair straight the way it should
lie, will effect a cure. As animal fat nourishes
and supports the hair of the creature, so animal
fat or animal oil will reproduce hair either on the
knees or other parts better than any other ap-
plication. Vegetable oils are not to be re-
commended for this purpose. I know, from
many experiments, that neat's foot oil or sheep's
feet oil, or fresh hog's hard, will reproduce
hair on the horse far superior to all other
remedies which have fallen under my notice ; but
the fat or oil of a horse would probably answer
the purpose better : — in this case, it would be ap-
plying the very same unction by which, according
to the laws of nature, the hair of the horse is nou-
rished and supported.

When the knees are severely cut or bruised,
they should be washed clean with warm water,
and a poultice applied, morning and evening, for
several days, when the inflammation will have
subsided, and they may be dressed with a solution
of blue or white vitriol. But if the wound does
not heal, a veterinary surgeon should be employed.
However, as soon as the wound begins to mend,
the oil should be applied, on account of its heal-
ing quality as well as its efficacy in the reproduc-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

21

tion of hair. I have never met with a veterinary
surgeon that v/as aware of the effect of the oil till
I dvevf his attention to the subject and explained
the nature of it.

Crib-biting and wind-sucking. — Of Yare's anti-
crib-biter, I think nothing : it is merely a muzzle,
which hinders the horse from seizing the manger
with his teeth, but does not prevent him from
sucking his wind ; and, indeed, whenever the said
muzzle is removed, the horse goes to work again
at the manger as eagerly as ever. Crib-biting is
very unpleasant to say the least of it ; and if I
had a crib-biter, otherwise a favourite, I would
place him in a loose box, without either manger,
rack, or any thing upon which he could fix his
teeth. His hay could be placed upon the floor;
and his corn given him in a smooth tin-box, edged
round with sheep-skin, and made to draw out of
the wall. I do not admire the plan so commonly
practised of buckling a strap round the neck of a
crib-biter.

Broken wind is brought on by violent exertion
during the time that the stomach is loaded, parti-
cularly with water. It is also produced by bad
hay, and other causes. A eure is out of the ques-
tion.

Roaring, whistling, and piping, are incurable ;
and although various tricks are resorted to by the
lower grade of horse dealers, such as the adminis-
tration of bacon fit, or something similar, it may
prevent the roaring for a short period, but nothing
more. I have seen many good hunters most un-
equivocal roarers. One of the best hunters I ever
rode emitted a whistling for the first few score yards
when put into a gallop, when the noise ceased.
No horse had better wind.

A slight cold may generally be removed by a
warm mash or two given at night ; but when it is
violent, and attended with inflammation, the horse
should be bled ; a veterinary surgeon should be
employed.

Grooms should be capable of bleeding, a know-
ledge of which may be easily acquired from ob-
serving the performance of the operation several
times.

Administering a ball is an operation at which
some grooms are expert ; while others manage che
business in a very clumsy manner. It is difficult
to give some horses a ball, from their determined
opposition. A horse, like a child, uniformly tes-
tifies an aversion to physic ; and I have met with
some, particularly Irish horses, where much care
and dexterity were required to get the ball down
their throats. A few years since, I had a little
Irish horse, which was very expert in the use of
his fore feet, and on this account, giving him a ball
became rather a dangerous business. On one oc-
casion, happening to call at Rothley house, on
the road between Loughborough and Leicester, I
wished to give the horse a ball. I told the ostler
that this was difficult: the man, however, took the
ball from my hand, turned the horse round,
and popped the ball down his gullet in a few
seconds. He made no preparation, and the horse
might be said to have swallowed the ball without
being aware of it. This was as it should be.
Whenever preparation is made, the horse prepares
to resist ; and on this account, I object to the use

of the twitch and the balling iron. It would ap-
pear that the twitch is an instrument much used
on the other side of St. George's Channel, as I
have never met with an Irish horse that had not a
great dislike to have his nose touched. Irish
sportsmen ride hard and unsparingly, and I am
inclined to think their grooms are harsh and severe
in their stable discipline and management.

A notion of trimming, like a knowledge of
bleeding, will be much sooner and much better
acquired from a little practical observation, than
from a volume of written description.

Docking I should not choose to perform myself,
though it is not a difficult operation. When per-
formed by grooms I have known lock-jaw to fol-
low. The only difficulty in docking is to hit the
joint, or as near the joint as possible. The late Mr.
Scarisbrick, of Scarisbrick Hall, Lancashire, used
the docking-knife with uncommon dexterity : but
he did not cauterize the wound for the purpose of
stopping the bleeding: the blood will seldom, if
ever, flow to a dangerous extent. If it becomes
necessary to stop it, the gentleman just men-
tioned applied a little flour. Searing the wound
with hot iron must produce some degree of in-
flammation.

Having pointed out these disorders and ailments
of the horse, wherein I conceive the groom may
very well act the part of the veterinarian, I wish it
to be impressed upon the mmd of the former, that,
whenever he is in doubt, to call in the assistance
of a skilful veterinary surgeon, if there should
happen to be one Wiihm forty miles! I will con-
clude the present article will a few desultory ob-
servations.

In cases of swelled legs, to which horses in high
condition are subject, there is nothing perhaps su-
perior to a few balls, made in the following man-
ner : — take

One pound of nitre,
Haifa pound of sulphur ;

Molasses sufficient to make the whole into balls of
the common size ; one to be given every day till the
swelling has completely subsided. When horses
fly at the heels, appear unkind in their coats, these
nitre and sulphur balls will be found to answer the
purpose much better than a course of physic, as
they effect the object equally well, if not better,
while their operation is milder, and the horse con-
sequently suffers less both in his constitution and
condition.

When confirmed grease appears in the heels of a
horse, a more powerful medicine must be admi-
nistered than the nitre balls. In this case, I
should give the horse two drams of calomel in the
evening, and the next morning a common purge.

When horses are eating their corn after a day's
hunting, when of course their stomachs are com-
pletely empty, they may be sometimes observed
to cease feeding, turn their heads back and look
at their flanks, and even lie down for a short pe-
riod. These symptoms are generally supposed to
be indications of the gripes ; and the animal is
treated accordingly. They are produced by worms;
the latter being as hungry as the horse, begin to
feed ; and, by moving about in the body of the
horse, make him sick. Havmg already described

22

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

the remedy for worms., the reader is referred to
the preceding number, page 190.

Horses, particularly those highly fed, are sub-
ject to inflammatory fevers, which may be known
from the appearance of the horse's eyes and coun-
tenance, but of which, however, the state of the
pulse forms a better criterion. The pulse of a
horse may be felt in the temporal artery, or just
behind the elbow of the fore-leg (the left fore-leg
is perhaps preferable). The pulse of a horse in
good bealth will be found to beat about forty
times in one minute ; and, consequently, wlien
the animal is labouring under inflammation, an
opinion may be formed of violence or otherwise
by the rate of the pulsation. In a high state of
fever, the pulse will reach as high as 75 or 80.
In such cases, bleeding is obviously the first step,
followed by the administration of three ounces
of nitre made into a ball, with plenty of water
gruel afterwards, with which the horse must be
drenched, if necessary. He may require bleeding
several times, according to the violence of the fever,
and the nitre given every day.

Malt will be found very nourishing to a horse
which has been much reduced by illness, but has
become convalescent. The malt should be steamed
for half an hour, by pouring hot water upon it, and
covering it with a cloth.

Costiveness is sometimes mistaken for the
gripes : in which case, the horse frequently endea-
vours to stale, but is unable, and evidently labour-
ing under considerable pain. In this case, the in-
testines, containing the dung, being overloaded,
press tipon the bladder and prevent the horse from
staleing. Back-raking will give him relief.

Gripes in the horse may arise from various
causes, but principally proceeds from two— from
the horse being chilled with cold water, &c. and
from inflammation of the bowels. In the first
case, a bottle of Daffy's Elixir may be given with
the best effect : it should be mixed in a pint of
warm ale, into which a little grated ginger has
been introduced. When gripes is caused by in-
flammation, the animal should be back-raked,
sweet oil given inwardly, and every four hours one
ounce of common purging salts. Bleeding will
also be found very beneficial.

A horse is seldom lamed in the shoulder, except
from a violent blow or a fall, &c. To ascertain
this, trot the horse, and if he be lame in the
shoulder, the muscles are affected so as to prevent
his stepping out so far with that leg as he will
with the other. When tl e lameness is sealed
below, he will extend the lame leg as far as the
other ; but, on the foot reaching the ground,
the lameness will be perceptible.

In bruises, sprains, &c. the following lotion will
be found very beneficial : — take

Spirit of wine 8 ounces ; dissolve one ounce of
camphor in it, add one ounce of oil of turpen-
tine, one ounce of spirit of sal ammonia ; oil of
origanum half an ounce, and one large table-
spoonful of laudanum.

It should be well rubbed in with the hand for
ten minutes or more, three limes a day.

RUTLAND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

This meeting, which was held at Oakham on the
1st Dec, and was much greater than that of any for-
mer year, and the stock generally speaking, was
considered good, although it must be admitted that
fat oxen were more scarce than on former occasions.
The meeting, took place as usual in the room which
was built by the President of this Society, Sir Gerard
Noel Noel, Bart. Among the company were the
most noble the Marquis of Exeter, Lord Willoughby
de Eresby, Mr. Pegus, H. Wilson, Esq., S. O'Brien
Esq., G. J. Heathcofe Esq., M.P., and a large body
of the important and influential gentry of Rutland,
and the neighbouring counties — together with some
of the most eminent breeders from all parts of the
kingdom.

We have above said that the fat oxen classes were
not generally good — scarcely one being equal to those
we have seen on former occasions bear the prizes.
We cannot call to mind a single beast uniting in
that nice degree size, weight, make, and fat, which
have been so lauded hitherto. The sheep, however,
— those of Lord Exeter in particular, were admirable
specimens of breed and keep. There were some
good animals shown in the extra stock, particularly
3 eight-week old pigs, bred by Mr. Chapman of
Whitwell, who, it will be remembered, took the first
prize at Oakham, in 1835. The corn was good — a
sack of old oats shown by Mr. R. Smith, of Burley,
being much admired, as was also a sack of beans,
grown by Mr. Rudkin, being of a new description.
The vegetables were rather superior to those shown
last year, and were much commended by the judges.

The principal cattle were sold to the neighbour-
ing butchers, for Christmas beef, &c. — although
many were sent forward to London, to represent this
society at the Smithfield show.

The next meeting of the Society takes place, we
understand, on the first Monday in January, 1837, at
the Crown Inn, Oakham, when the bill of premiums for
that year will be entirely gone through, and such al-
terations and additions as the subscribers may think
proper, (it being a meeting of subscribers, and not,
as generally understood, managed by committee)
made.

The Dikneu.

At about three o'clock the members and their
friends, in number about 140, adjourned to the
George Inn, and partook of a most excellent and
well-arranged dinner. — Stafford O'Brien, Esq., filled
the chair ; G. .T. Heathcote, Esq., M.P., vice ; sup-
ported by H. Wilson, J. M. Winkfield, S. Hotchkin,
C. W. Wilmot, J. Eagleton, R. W.Baker, J. Morris,
R. Cresswell, W. Sharrard, Esqrs., &c., &c.

Upon the cloth being removed, the Chairman
rose and addressed the meeting: —

He had to regret, in addressing them, the absence
for the first time since the formation of the society,
of their worthy President — first, on account of the
slight indisposition which led to that absence — and
secondly, that it transferred the duties of Chairman
to one so much less able to carry on the duties of the
evening, and support that hilarity and good humour
fur which he stood so pre-eminently conspicuous in
meetings of this description. He had been called to
the chair apparently by the unanimous voices of the
gentlemen having the arrangements of the meeting,
and whether the compliment was one paid to his
near relationship to the President, or to his endea-
vours as an agriculturist, he should as a matter of
duty and pleasure, do his best to walk in the shoes,
if he might so term it, of their excellent President.
It had been intimated to him, that, Jiowever sincerely

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

23

we wished the health of the King, or indeed the in-
terest of any toast that might be given, their cele-
bration with three times three, or nine times nine
must on this occasion be restricted, from the press
of business they had in hand— as also (and he
begged particularly to impress this upon their minds)
the introduction of any political tendency in the
speeches of any gentlemen — because politics cannot
be taken in the pure sense of practical agriculture —
and, in a meeting like the present, must lead to feel-
ings inimical to the prevalence of good fellowship.
Without farther preface, he should beg to i)ropose
" The King."

The Chairjian then gave, " the Queen and all the
Royal Family," " the Army and Navy," &c,, which
having been received with the usual enthusiasm, he
proceeded to give " Prosperity to the Rutland Ag-
ricultural Society." (Cheers.)

G. J Heathcote, Esq. rose. He had another
toast to propose to them, and he must call their at-
tention to it by a few preparatory remarks. It was
" Sir Gerard Noel Noel, I3art., President of the so-
ciety" In calling on them to do honour to this
toast, he need not revert to the disappointment oc-
casioned by the regretted absence of Sir iGerard.
None could be more missed than the president of a
society like that they were called upon this day to
celebrate — he having from its foundation acted upon
so liberal a principle, that all must feel indebted to
him, not only as their president, but as an agricultu-
rist, eager in the promotion of that branch of com-
merce, by the liberal premiums he had from time to
time offered.

The Chairman returned thanks at some length —
and in conclusion, gave " the Vice-presidents."

G. J. Heathcote, Esq., in returning thanks, fully
concurred in what had been expressed by his hon.
friend, and hoped with him that all would be strenu-
ous in the one great point, and that the society would
still progress. They had seen that day what could
be effected by unity and perseverance, and he con-
cluded by assuring them that he should be always at
his post.' (Cheers.)

H. Wilson, Esq., also returned thanks as one of
the Vice-presidents — and briefly gave " the Chair-
man."

Mr. Robert Smith, (one of the Secretaries) then
proceeded to read over the award of the prizes (which
are added at the end of our report) — and on arriv-
ing at the labourer's premiums, the several success-
ful candidates were shown into the room, and seve-
rally addressed by the Chairman in a warm and en-
couraging manner.

" The Judges," Mr. T. Chapman, Warwickshire,
Mr. W. Anderson, Bedfordshire, and Mr. V. Bar-
ford, Northampton.

Mr. Anderson briefly returned thanks.

" The Stewards."

E. W. WiLMOT, Esq. acknowledged the compli-
ment at great length, stating, on behalf of himself
and colleagues, that they deserved but one half of
the honour done them, for it was but the duty of man
to endeavour to serve his neighbour, which he trust-
ed they had done, with impartiality to all, and they
should still further persevere in the cause in which
they had embarked — that of agriculture. He had
had that day placed in his hands by one of the
secretaries evident proofs of the rising prosperity of
the society — among other items he could announce
to them with pleasure the addition of nearly forty
new subscribers, among whom were many of dis-
tinguished rank, producing a considerable surplus
to the general amount, which they intended to offer
in additional premiums at their next meeting on the

first Monday in January, when he requested the
favour of the company of all who felt themselves
interested in the Society.

" The Secretaries."

Mr. Rudkin briefly returned thanks, hoping that
he should, at no very distant day, see the society
equal, if not excel, that of Smithfield, to which
consummation it was now proceeding with rapid
strides.

" The Successful Candidates."

Mr. Bullock acknowledged the toast : he had
never, during his whole career of agricultural life,
anticipated the pleasure he now experienced — old as
he was, he was well convinced that no one felt more
anxious than himself for the prosperity of the society,
which it would always be liis pride and pleasure, as
far as his humble means extended, to promote
(cheers.)

Stafford O'Brien, Esq., also returned thanks :
he should be very ungrateful to the society were
he to remain silent to the toast just given, having
gained that day the premium for which he showed,
which he believed to be seven guineas ; but as he
did not show for profit, he begged that their society
would allow him to return it to their fund, for their
use at the next meeting. (Great Cheering.) He
also considered himself highly honoured by having
had that day presented to him a Silver Medal, as
the breeder of the best beast in the yard. In con-
clusion he must propose " The Unsuccessful
Candidates," whom he complimented highly, affirm-
ing that the society was most deeply indebted to
them, for that, without them there would be no com-
petition— without competition, no zest to conquest.
(^Applause.)

The Chairman then begged to propose " Mr.
Baker, and success fo the Cottesmore Ploughing
Meeting, the Small Allotment System, and the
Cottesmore General Friendly Institution." — In offer-
ing this toast to the notice of the company, the
Chairman observed, that he had known the county
of Rutland for many years, and was convinced that
no individual had done so much towards the improve-
ment of its agriculture as the gentleman whose
health he now proposed. He had visited him ("Mr.
Baker) at his annual Ploughing Meetings— he had
strictly inquired into his Allotment System — and,
convinced of its beneficial results, had endeavoured
to copy it ; he had also attended some meetings of
the Cottesmore Friendly Institution, and its arrange-
ments appeared to him of no small importance to
the moral happiness of the class to which it applied.
It must be evident to all, that it required a man of no
mean capacity who should be able to work out these
Institutions with so much effect. As to agricul-
ture (continued the chairman) see what he has done
— look generally, gentlemen, into liis extraordinary
exertions in the cause, and you will think as I do —
that we are all more or less indebted to him. He was
the founder of this Society, and to his attention much
of its present prosperity is owing. He exhibits his
cattle ; he either breeds or buys for your use the best
animals lie can — which you may breed from. In
conclusion, I believe, nay, I am convinced, that
he has acted upon philanthropic principles, and a
pure love for agriculture alone. (Drank with much
applause.)

Mr. Baker rose. — Gentlemen, I feel much com-
plimented by the general remarks of our worthy
Chairman, and the kind and flattering manner in
which you have received the toast of my health, and
prosperity to the Institution to which he has alluded
— and for this handsome notice of me, I beg most
sincerely to offer my best thanks ; but allow me to

24

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

observe, that I fear the worthy and really good-
hearted Chairman has coupled my name with this
Institution too strongly and too flatteringly. (No
no.) It is true that I did, in its formation, and long-
before its formation, direct my attention most par-
ticularly to ascertain the good effects capable of being
produced by the institution of a society like the one
now under our particular notice ; but for its present
unexampled prosperity I can take little or no credit
to myself — having in fact doue little, and others
having effected so much more than myself ; and of
those, none more effectually than the gentlemen now
in office as Stewards and Secretaries, and indeed,
all who have held those offices— and I think I may
add also the whole of the members, who have all
exerted themselves in bringing about and carry-
ing on one of the most useful institutions in
this country, for the encouragement of its ao-ri-
culture — the main-spring of all wealth. 1 thank
them most sincerely for those exertions, worked
by the many, but appearing in effect to be the
result of one mighty spirit : all have united as
one, and therefore, from tlie slight digression
of our worthy Chairman, I beg to escape. I am
aware that of late I have withdrawn myself greatly
from the business of this society, and have directed
my attention more earnestly to my own — and upon
this I can with much satisfaction report progress.
At ray Annual Ploughing Meeting in September,
which was honoured by the attendance of some
thousands, better work was done than upon any
former occasion, and the number of ploughs had in-
creased from nine to fifty-three. Ploughing must,
indeed, be considered as the foundation of agricul-
ture—the very vitals of all that is present, and all
that is to come— and I take the present public oppor-
tunity of thanking those gentlemen who had availed
themselves of the opportunity of sending ploughmen
and boys to compete for those premiums. I t'l-ust it
will always prove serviceable. At the last annual
meeting of this society, I announced that there would
be a meeting at Cottesmore in 1836 ; and I now,
under providence, promise one in 1837. It was true]
I had none of the Vice-presidents upon that occasion]
which would render unnecessary the remark appli-
cable to this day, that out of twelve only three
attended. In reference to my system of Small Allot-
ments, to which the Chairman has honourably
alluded, I am happy to say, that not less than 700
persons in this small and thinly-populated county
had been benefitted by this excellent arrano-ement
emanating; from Sir Gerard Noel, and under his own
particular direction. Tiie Pvutland General Friendly
Institution, I am also pleased to have to announce,
is rapidly advancing, and has now accumulated
nearly 6001., the savings of the working classes,
comprising at this time more than 200 members.
What I have done in these several branches, others
might have effected equally- but I hope, through
this medium, a means has been given for the inti-o-
troduction of improved implements of husbandry.
Indeed, it is a notorious fact, that more than 2,000
ploughs of the improved make, comprising simplicity
of construction and lightness of draught, are now
working in this district, where not one was in use
previous to the commencement of the Cottesmore
Meeting twelve years since. I trust that all agri-
culture has benefited, and will benefit, by them. I
have only to conclude by thanking you for the
patience with which you have favoured me, and
with the permission of the Chairman, I beo- to pro-
pose " Prosperity to the Labouring Classes.'''

This having been well received, the Chairman
gave " Sir Gilbert Heathcote;" which was acknow-

ledged by G. J. HEATHCorE, Esq., who proposed
" Success to the Cattle that may be sent from this
Society, to compete at the Great Smithfield Show."
" G. Finch, Esq., of Burley."
Mr. CiiEETiiAM rose. Mr. Chairman and gentle-
men, (he said), as a grateful tenant to a most excel-
lent landlord, I cannot suffer the last toast to pass
unnoticed ; I therefore, in the name and on behalf
of Mr. Finch, beg to offer you my most cordial and
heartfelt thanks for the complimentyou havejust paid
him, and to assure you that I had it from his own
lips (when speaking of this meeting,) that nothing
would have given him greater pleasure than to have
attended here to-day, but that domestic arrangements
entirely precluded the possibility ; however, of this
I am certain, that this society does not number in its
list of members the name of any robleman or gentle-
men more solicitously anxious for its prosperity.
But, gentlemen, it is not thissociety only that enjoys
his good wishes; his best energies are devoted to the
benefit of society generally, and if I were to attempt
to recount to you all his many virtues, I should
occupy too much of your time, and it might perhaps
be considered irrelevant to the objects of this meet-
ing. I shall, therefore, content myself with briefly
stating, that he discharges all the relative duties of
landlord, husband, father, friend, and neighbour,
alike hononrable to himself, and beneficial to all
around him. Gentlemen, it is extremely gratifying
to me to observe the good feeling which exists be-
tween this and other societies of a similar descrip-
tion. I attended a meeting of this kind at Waltham
a short time since, and 77as particularly pleased with
a device at the head of the room — it was the word
"unity," and, gentlemen, by " unity," and persever-
ance we have attained our piesent elevated position
in the scale oi societies. Gentlemen, our Chairman,
in alluding to the commencement of this society has
attributed its origin to Mr. Baker, which is not quite
correct, as the first idea originated with Mr. Bryan ;
Mr. Baker certainly was very instrumental in assist-
ing to carry into effect the rules and regulations of
the society with efficiency, because he was better
acquainted with the arrangements necessary on such
occasions than almost any other gentleman in the
neighbourhood, but as I before observed, the first
idea certainly did originate with Mr. Bryan. Gentle-
men, I cannot forget that on the 7th of Nov. 1830,
Mr. Baker, Mr. Painter, Mr. Baines, Mr. Bryan, a
few others, and myself, met in this room to concoct
our first bill of premiums, when I assure you that it
was matter of exultation to us to be able to offer five
sovereigns as a first prize in the class, and I entreat
you to compare that, with our present bill, assuring
you, at the same time, that our proud station has not
been attained without " unity and perseverance."
Gentlemen, I again beg to offer you my most cordial
tlianks in the name, and on behalf of Mr. Finch, for
the honour you have done him ; and with the per-
mission of our worthy Chairman, I shall conclude
with proposing to you as a toast the healtji of " Mr.
Wilson of Alexton, and prosperity to the Leicester-
shire Agricultural Society."

Mr. Wilson returned thanks in an able speech
amid general applause.

" Mr. Beasly and the Waltham Agricultural
Society."

Mr. Wii.MOT returned thanks in the absence of
Mr. Beasly.

" Lord Lonsdale and Fox-hunting." (Cheers.)
The Chairman then gave " The most noble the
Marquis of Exeter," complimenting him at some
length, as a good breeder, an excellent landlord, and
a staunch supporter of Agriculture. (Cheers.)

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

26

Chairman — " Lord Wiloughby de Eresby." G.
J. Heathcote, Esq. acknowledged this toast.

" J. M, Wingfield, Esq., and the County Magis-
trates."

The Chairman then proposed the health of " E.
W. Wilnaot, Esq." who acknowledged the compli-
ment in a brief speech;

The following- toasts were tlien drunk, with due
honour : —

" Mr. Handley, and success to the Grantham
Agricultural Society,''

" Lord Spencer, and success to the Smithfield
Agricultural Society."

Some other toasts were drunk — and many excel-
lent speeches delivered, containing sentiments hon-
ourable to the speakers as agriculturists, and, after
an evening spent in the most uninterrupted sociality,
and in which the utmost credit is due to the excel-
lent Chairman, for his successful exertions to pro-
mote concord and hilarity, the party broke up.

Class I. Oxen or Steers. First prize, Mr. Bullock,
Manton — 15 sovs. Second ditto, Lord Eexter, Burgh-
ley — 7 sovs.

Class 2. Oxen or Steers. First prize, Mr. Baker, Cot-
tesmore— 10 sovs. Second ditto, Mr. Smith, Burley
— 5 sovs.

Class 3. Oxen or Steers. Mr. Cheetham, Hambleton —
7 sovs.

Class 4. Oxen or Steers. First prize, Mr. Baines,
Brook — 10 sovs. Second ditto, Mr. Hotchkin, Eden-
ham — 5 sovs.

Class 5. Cows or Heifers. First prize, S. O'Brien, Esq.,
Blatherwycke — 7 sovs. Second ditto, Mr. Covei'ley,
Castle Bytham — 3 sovs.

Class 6. Dairy cows. First prize, Mr. Hotchkin, Eden-
ham — 7 sovs. Second ditto, Mr. Bland, Baslon — 3
sovs.

Class 7. Pair of Steers. Mr. Baker, Cottesmore — 5
sovs.

Class 8. Long-woolled Wether Sheep. First prize,
Lord Exeter, Burghley — ^7 sovs. Second ditto, Mr.
Painter, Burley, 3 sovs.

Class 9. Long-woolled Wether Sheep. First prize,
Mr. Painter, Burley — 5 sovs. Second ditto, Mr.
Rudkin, Langham Lodge— 3 sovs.

Class 10. Long-wooUed Wether Sheep. First prize,
Mr. J. Burgess, Ridlington — 7 sovs. Second ditto,
Mr. Bradshaw, Burley — 3 sovs.

Class 11. Breeding Ewes, First prize, Mr. Wilmot,
Pickwell— 5 sovs. Second ditto, Hon. H. C. Low-
ther, Cottesmore— 3 sovs.

Class 12. Pigs. First prize, Mr. W. Fryer, Pickwell
— 3 sovs. Second ditto, Mr. Lamb, Colsterworth — 1
sov.

Class 13. Pigs. First prize, Mr. Stimson, Oakham —
2 sovs. Second ditto, Mr. Barnett, Oakham— 1
sov.

Class 14. Draught Stallion. Mr, Thacker, Canwick
— 10 sovs.

BY STAFFORD o'bRIEN, ESQ.

Class 15. The best Bull. Mr. Baker, Cottesmore— 5

SOVS.

Class 16. The best Cow. Mr. Baker, Cottesmore— 5

SOVS.

Class 17. The best Heifer. Mr. St. Cheetham, Ham-
bleton— 5 sovs.

BY SIR GERARD NOEL NOEL, BART. M.P.

Class 18. Best Cow. Mr. Hibbett, Exton— 5 sovs.

BY E. WILMOT, ESQ., PICKWELL.

Prize of 3 sovs. to W. Skellett, labourer, S. Luffen-

ham.
Prize of 2 sovs. to W. Chamberlain, labourer, Burley.
Prize of 1 sov. to T. Freeman, labourer, Ketton.

BY THE REV. H. NEVILLE, COTTESMORE.

iour bushels of Wheat, Mr. Bainas, Brook— 2 sovs.
Four bushels of Barley, Mr. Chapman, Whitwell-2
sovs.

BY SIR GERARD NOEL NOEL, BART, M.P.

Four bushels of Oats, Mr. Rudkin, Langham Lodge —
2 sovs.

BY MR. H. J. RUDKIN.

Four bushels of Beans, Mr. Rudkin, Langham Lodge
— 2 sovs.

EXTRA PREMIUMS.

A silver medal to Mr. Painter, as breeder of the best

pen of sheep in Class 10.
Ditto to Mr. Burgess, as breeder of the best pen of

sheep in Class 10.
Ditto to S. O'Brien, Esq., as breeder of the best heifer

in the district.
Ditto to E. W. Wilmot, Esq., as breeder of the best

pen of ewes in Class 11.
Sweepstakes of 2 sovs to Mr. W. Fryer, as feeder of the

best pig.

The Extra Stock was much commended.

COMMUTATION OF TITHES.

In another part of this Magazine we give a very
satisfactory account of the successful working of the
Tithe Bill in an agreement which has been concluded
between the land owners and the rector of Bradwell,
a parish in Essex. We are now enabled to lay be-
fore our readers an equally satisfactory account of
the operation of that Bill, in a narration of the pro-
ceedings which took place for the same object at
Tong, a parish of Kent, a short distance from Sit-
tingbourne.

The meeting took place at the parish church on
Thursdajr the 1st inst. Nearly the whole of the land-
owners assembled, and Henry Pilkington, Esq., bar-
rister, attended as agent for the Archbishop of Can-
terbury, and Neill Malcolm, Esq., of Lamb Abbey,
in the same county, who are joint owners of the rec-
torial tithes, and the Rev. J. Timms, the vicar.

In his address to the meetingthe Learned Gentle-
man stated that he was instructed by his clients to
meet the gentlemen with whom he had to treat, in
the true spirit of conciliation and moderation, and to
say that any proposal which was made on a fair and
equitable basis would receive the most favourable
attention. This proper feeling and good judgment
on the part of his Grace and tlie gentlemen connected
with the tithes, was immediately met with corres-
ponding liberality by the landowners.

They stated that they had not the least desire to
reduce the income of the titheowners, but that, while
they thought it only fair that, in return for the great
additional security and advantage which a rent-
charge upon their estates would give to the tithe-
owners over the old and unpopular method of collec-
ting their income, some little advantage ought also
to accrue to themselves ; they were happy to observe
that owing to the very great diminution of the poor-
rates — less than one-half — this might be effected
without any loss to the owners of the tithes. They
considered that on a fair calculation, from the expe-
rience of the last year, and the future prospects of
the parish, a deduction of at least 4'iZ 10s per annum,
might be expected in the poor rates hitherto paid by
the rectorial glebe. They were only desirous of
liaviug the benefit of this reduction, which would
leave, if their calculations were correct, their full
usual income to the titheowners. The average ren-
tal of the rectorial tithes for the seven years preced-
ing Christmas, 1835, was 485/. The average amount
paid by them for poor rates to the same period was
107/ 10s. They proposed to let the rental stand as
it was, and to deduct 42/ 10s from the sum hitherto
paid for poor rates.

This appearing to Mr. Pilkington an equitable

26

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

proposal, was immediately accepted by him on the
part of the rectorial titheowners.

On the vicarial tithe tlie landowners were desirous
of making the same proposition of reduction ; but on
an appeal to their feelings by Mr. Pilkington, on the
ground of the sraallness of the vicarial income, they
with the greatest generosity abandoned all idea of
advantage to themselves, and allowed the rev. gentle-
man a rent-charge fully equal to the profits wliich
Le had hitherto received, and more than equal to his
expectations.

Thus has conciliation and moderation on the one
band been met with generosity and kind feeling on
the other ; and as this is the first instance of an
agreement for commutation having been effected in
the county of Kent, a county in which, probably,
more dissatisfaction with the measure has been
shown than in any other, we hail the result of this
meeting as an omen of the future success of the Bill
— a Bill which we firmly believe has only to be
fairly considered, to be equally appreciated by boih
parties as a benefit to two great interests of the state,
which a bad system has too long and too often set at
variance.

ON WOOD-EVIL AND MOOR-ILL, IN
REPLY TO Messrs. MAYER AND
SURGINSON.

BY MR. W. COX, OF LEE.

(From the Veterinarian.)

I feel myself called upon to make a few observa-
tions on the papers of Messrs. Rlayer and Surginson
on wood-evil and moor-ill, contained in the last
number of The Veterinarian, and to illustrate these
observations by a practical fact or two.

If Mr. Mayer will again look over my communi-
cation, be will find that I merely stated the opinion
of various farmers as to the complaint which I call
moor-ill, and which he thinks I have confounded
with a kind of rheumatism of frequent occurrence
on cold and wet ground. May I not ask him whe-
ther, out of fifty-two cases of this disease which I
have seen this year, both in the commencement and
the advanced stages of it, I should not have ob-
served the swelled joints, and other symptoms of
that complaint, described by Mr Youatt in his work
on cattle, and by other writers of minor authority,
if it bad in truth been a kind of rheumatism, whe-
ther chronic or acute 1

I was called this summer to see a cow belong-
ing to Mr. Snow, of Park- head, that had inflamma-
tion of the liver. On looking over bis dairy I found
three cows affected with what I call moor-ill. He
told me that it was a complaint produced by the
pasture on which they had fed ; but that as soon as he
put them on bis after- grass they would mend, which
they did. I observed that the first pasture and the
meadow-ground were contiguous — they were sepa-
rated by a wall. May I not here ask, would the
chilling wind of September and October, exchanged
for the warm weather of June, July, and August,
cure " a kind rljeuraatism by a mere change of her-
bage, but neither of soil nor of climate 1

'i'here is another farmer, whom I have known for
many years, who had a particular field into which
he turned all his cattle that were attacked by moor-
ill, and they almost immediately were cured. He
has been obliged to part with that field, and he la-
ments it ; for he has no longrer a remedy and certain
means of getting rid of the disease. I could adduce
many other facts of the same nature if it were ne-
cessary ; and perhaps I may be forgiven if I add,

that I ought to be, and think I am, well acquainted
with rheumatism in cattle, both in its chronic and
acute form, and from the calf in the stall to the
sturdy ox.

Mr. Mayer, in stating the causes of what he calls
moor-ill, enumerates bad food, bad water, leaves of
the black willow, and luxuriant after-grass. They,
or seme of them, may be concerned in the production
of wood-evil, or other complaints incident to cattle;
but they cannot always be adduced as the cause of
moor-ill.

As to Mr. Surginson, I agree with that gentleman
in two particulars; that the cause of moor-ill is
very obscure, and that poor land is not the sole cause
of it. I know very poor ground in various parts of
my neighbourhood where the disease is almost or al-
together unknown.

As to what I call wood-evil, I take it to be nothing
but constipation of the maniplus, and which will
arise from various causes, and differ in its symptoms
according to the difference of the cause. In this I
am, in some measure, borne out by some mo;ilern as
well as ancient authors, who use the terms wood-
evil, moor-ill, pantas, maw-cound, and fardell-
bound, indiscriminately, as indicating one and the
same disease.

I consider the disease moor-ill or wood-evil to be
a kind of garget, without the swollen udder which
will shew itself in plethoric cattle in May and June,
and sometimes in after-grass time, or any time when
the grass is luxuriant and the weather changeable.
It is known among some farmers and graziers by the
names body-garget, humours in the blood, &c. I
have seen it without constipation ; and after the in-
flammation has subsided, and the bowels have been
opened in consequence of bleeding and purgatives,
I have seen the patients remain stiff and sometimes
lame for a certain period. A few diuretics, or tonic-
diuretics, according to circumstances, constitute the
whole art and mystery of treating this stage and form
of the disease.

In conclusion, I beg to remark, that some of the
cattle that laboured under what I call moor-ill have
been cured ; and others that were not thought worth
medical treatment through the approaching winter',
have been destroyed, so that I cannot produce many
cases for inspection; but if providence should spare
me to the beginning of another August, I shall be
very happy to see any candid and well-informed bro-
ther practitioner to assist me in investigating the
real nature of this disease. I have now three cases
of moor-ill, of which I will send you the particulars,
if you will insert them in your excellent periodical.

THE QUANTITY OF MALT CONSUMED BY
THE UNDERMENTIONED BREWERS OF
LONDON AND VICINITY, from 10th Octo-
ber, 1831, to lOlh October, 1836.

This statement is official ; that ichich appeared in the
Farmer's Magazine for December is inaccurate.

Barclay & Co.
Hanbury & Co...
Wliitbread & Co

Reid& Co

Combe & Co

Calvert & Co...,

Hoaie & Co

Elliot and Cu

Meux & Co

Taylor & Co

1831.

qrs.
97198
50724
49/13
53109
346S'l
30525
24102
19444
2433H
21845

qrs.
99974
74982
49105
(4210
35438
31460
■29/96
250O9
26161
20835

[In consequenee of changes in the titles

1832.

qrs
96612
58. M 2
53541
44420
36918
32SI2
26821
20061
22062
21735

1833.

qrs.
931/5
58407
50067
40810
300/0
31433
25107
19899
20718
2U15

1834. 1835.

qrs.
100098
78087
55209
49430
36922
33263
31525
28728
24376
23885

of the

1836.

qrs.

108715
89303
53694
49831
42169
30859
?.2623
2S338
30775
19445

firms.

•THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

27

we are unable to continue the above comparative table.
We refer those of our readers, who may be desirous to
ascertain the quantities respectively used by the firms
subjoined during the years, 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834,
and 1835, to " The Mahk-Lane Express" of 7th Dec.
1835.]

1836.
qrs.
19445

Charrington & Co
Godin8-&Co.i3321|i85g5
RamsDotm.l 1o3d4 J

Gardner 15369

Thorne & Son .... 12657
Coding-, Thomas .. 11784

Biicheno 9885

Courag-e & Donaldson9239

Wood & Co 7961

Crowley 6621

Hazard 6597

Tickell 5356

More 5255

Harris 4998

Mann, James 4840

M'Leod, B 4689

Farren 4048

Hale 3768

Halford and Topham 3763
Stains and Fox .... 3738

Laxton 3573

Richmond 3551

Hodg-son 3400

M'Lead & Thompson 2991

Maynard 2832

Johnson &Wyatt.. 2809

Pag-e 2709

Griffith 2394

Sherborn & Co. . . 2358

Abbott 2305

Lambert 2254

Dugg-an & Gaskell 2201

Satchell 2177

Williamson 2117

Lament 2085

Cox, John 2018

Hill and Rice .... 1872

Masterman 1789

Soulby 1785

Hayward 1762

Gray and Dacre . 1740

Plimmer 1683

Tubb 1516

Ing 1487

Verey, W. & C. . . 1302

Colyer 1289

Collins, J 1255

Clarke, C 1249

Hume 1235

Honeyball 1103

Blogg-, B 1067

Filmer and Wall . . 1039
Buckley and Co. . . 1037
Blog-g, William .... 932

King 912

Braithwaite 894

Kerry 891

Clarke, R 853

1836.

Hood 839

Clarke, S 837

Holt 813

Mantell 807

Manvell 805

Turner 786

Jenner 772

Mann 766

Church.... 756

M'Leod 748

UffordandCo 731

Turner 716

Jones 700

Lock 620

Addison 619

Slatterie 609

Kershaw 596

Collins, W 527

Wria-ht 520

Harris 497

Woodward 490

Wicks 479

Rlattam 476

Thurlby 468

Wells 465

Higgs 455

Parker 454

Hill 424

West 406

Chapman 400

Reynolds 380

Devey 364

Verey, J 363

Todman 357

Lindsay 346

Green 341

Griffiths 327

Hucker 313

Cooper 310

West 295

Thompson 294

Pugh 293

Clark 275

Kay 250

Olley 250

Lloyd 240

Powdltch 238

Meaton 215

Stirling 209

Smith 208

Hopkins 201

Champion 193

Haviland 190

Ambler 188

Ward 187

Gower 186

1 Prosser 181

1 Easton 150

The remainder of the 192 firms enumerated having
consumed less than 150 qrs of Malt, we have not par-
ticularized them, but making' the total consumption

In 1836 734,319 qrs.

In 1835 702,533

Increase in 1836 31,786

A Hint to the Working Classes. — If a man at 21
years of age began to save 4s. a week, and put it to
interest every year, he would have— at 31 years of age,
\30l 15s l§d; at 41, 371/ 7s 7fd ; at 51, 735Z 14s ll|d ;
at 61, \,229l 5s 2f d j at 71, 2,296/ 4^d.

' AGRICOLA " AND THE FARMERS OF
ENGLAND.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

Sir,— Whoever has read the " Remarks on the
Present State of Agriculture," by C.'S. Lefevre,
Esq., in his address to the electors of North Hamp-
shire, connected with the proceedings of the late
agricultural committee, will, I think, do him the jus-
tice to admit that nothing can be more straightfor-
ward and comprehensive. It bears ample testimony
in itself that it is the production of a person who has
endeavoured to make himself acquainted with a most
complicated and perplexiug subject in all its details ;
and however the farming community may not be able
to coincide with that gentleman to the full extent of
his conclusions, in a matter, to them, of such vital
importance, and fraught with such dangerous con-
sequences as would undoubtedly arise out of an al-
teration of the corn laws, yet no one can for a mo-
ment doubt the sincerity of Mr.Lefevre's intentions.
That there are persons, however, who, from party
spirit, or a decided hostility to tlie aristocracy and
the landed interest, are ever ready to pervert the
soundest reasoning, and make it subservient to un-
worthy purposes, is evident from the intemperate
and unjustifiable language which some writers think
proper" to indulge in ; and I must needs confess that
I cannot regard the letter of " Agricola," specially
addressed to the " Farmers of England," in any
other light. This writer first denounces the Mar-
quis of'Chandos as the " great pretended friend and
stickler for the rights and interests of the farmer,"
which is too palpably absurd to require comment :
there are madmen who profess to regard the Duke of
Wellington in the same view in his relationship to
the army — but let that pass. Agricola then pro-
ceeds to cite the words of Mr. C. S. Lefevre, " that
the farmers never were told what was the true state
of the case. They had too great a dependence upon
corn laws : therefore, I said they ought in the first
instance to look to their landlords, and that when
they had fairly and properly reduced their rents, the
farmers must rely on the other sources possessed in
common by all agriculturists, by which many are en-
joying a state of comparative prosperity." Now
thereis not a single word here which either Whig or
Tory, landlord or tenant, can find to cavil at. The
farmers are simply told that the legislature dared
not attempt to aiford them any relief by interfering
with the corn laws — the existing regulations had al-
ready secured to them the monopoly of the market,
without producing the desired eflfect, and beyond
this no sort of legislation would be available — that
they must therefore first look to their landlords for
an abatement of rent, and afterwards avail them-
selves of that degree of knowledge which science
had imparted to the present age, in order to effect a
permanent amelioration in their condition. But
what are we to argue from the vituperation wliich
exhibits itself in every line of the tirade which fol-
lows"! The most scurrillous abuse is unsparingly
heaped upon the " domineering and grasping land-
lords, the huge monopolisers that sit in judgment on
their own interests, and the farmers of England are
admonished, forsooth, that although tlie exactions
of rack-renling landlords, and the plunderings of
tithe-gathering parsons may keep them poor, tlieir
own better principles must keep them honest, i. e.,
they must not seek to divide the pressure of local
and geneial taxation between themselves, the capi-
talist, and the funxlholder.

But what says the Marquis of Chandos? Why,
" that Mr. Lefevre has asserted, ' that there is evidently

28

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

no want of sympathy on thepart of thelandownersfor the
condition of their tenantry,' in which assertion he (the
Marquis) perfectly coincided, and he felt grateful to
Mr. Lefevre for having- stated this important fact;" a
fact, I apprehend, which the farmers of England.taken
as a body, will be the last to disavow. But if there are
individuals who, having- liad liber-al abatements made
upon their rents, are still dissatisfied because they
'were only abatements, and not a virtual departure
from existing- contracts, let me remind them that
what is applicable to a government is also applicable
to an individual, and therefore by a jrarity of reason-
ing, to make use of Agricola's own words, which
are put in italics, I will proceed briefly to consider lohat
relief, were they ever so wishful and disposed, it is in the
power of the l-indloi As to grant them. But before go-
ing any further into the question, I must remind tliem
that there are such things as mortgages and other
pecuniary obligations, and moreover as they cannot be
paid off ud libitum, individual credit must be kept up
by paying annually the interest thereon. Now to raise
this interest and carry on the domestic government,
rents have been instituted, first in kind, when the
wants of man were limited, but now in money, to
meet necessities incident to an improved condition
of society, and I wish merely to establish this principle
in as few words as possible, namely, that the amount of
revenue derived from capital, of whatever nature, 7nu'st
be equal to, or above the amo^mt of the interest of the
debt and other contingencies. This being the case,
and an admitted fact, they ^vill see at a glance that it is
quite impracticable, nay, completely impossible for many
landlords to reduce their rents, without having pre-
viously saved the amount by a reduction in the several
items of expenditure, that came under the head of
servants' wages, tradesmen's bills, taxable articles,
&c.

M\\ Lefevre has candidly admitted " that any re-
duction of the malt duty, which causes an increased
demand for barley, would operate most beneficially
on the interest of agriculture ;" to which statement
Agricola applies the salvo " that as there are no
taxes on which the deficit occasioned by a repeal of
the malt tax could be laid, this plaa will not answer,
and moreover it is quite convenient for him to over-
look that the payment of a tax is compulsory,
whereas the payment of rent arises out of a previous
voluntary agreement; yet because the former cannot
be conveniently dispensed with, it must be paid ;
and because the latter cannot conveniently be paid,
it must be dispensed with ! VV. N.

Dilham, Norfolk, Dec. 6.

The King- takes an active interest in the success
of the new Poor-law. When it became nceessary for
tbe Windsor Union to build a new workhouse, his
Majesty was applied to to allow a site to be sold on
the crown land. The Commissioners of Woods hesi-
tated ; and some persons -about the Court were very
urgent to prevent the request being complied with.
The King, however, sent for the assistant commis-
sioner, examined the map and plans himself, and
finally dete: mined th-at the ground required should
be applied for the building. The spot is visible from
tiie terrace at Windsor, and it was for this reason
that the objections were raised.

The new Tithe Commissioners have decided that a
rector cannot make any agreement to bind his successors
in the living- with respect to the new hop grounds.

THE NUMBER OF HORSES IN
ENGLAND AND WALES.

(From the Veterinarian.)

Having for some time been a constant sub-
scriber to that valuable journal The Veterina-
rian, I may, perhaps, be allowed to request,
through the medium of it, an answer to the
following question, which I have no doubt some
one of your very ingenious and -well informed
contributors will be able to furnish: — " What is
the fairest estimate of the total number of horses
employed in Great Britain for all the purposes of
pleasure and utility to which they are subjected ?"

If the gentleman who will oblige me by answer-
ing this will, at the same time, be so kind as to
state on what data he founds his calculation, he
will confer an additional obligation on me.

O. H. F.

I copy from M'CuUoch's Dictionary of Com-
merce (an expensive but an invaluable work, and
not half so well known as it ought to be) part of
an official statement of the number of horses of
various descriptions that paid duty in 1814, when
those that were used in husbandry were taxed, and
also of another statement, when horses used in
agriculture were exempt : —

Horses used for riding, drawing
carriages, and charged at pro-
gressive rates : —

1814. 1832.

123,668

15,337

3,580

1,461

642

356

59

Persons

keeping

1 horse

161,123

2 horses

15,921

3 do.

4,258

4 do.

1,903

5 do.

734

6 do.

510

7 and 8

9 do.

80

10 to 12

13 to 16

17

3

18

8

19

2

20 and upv^

ards

Horses let to hire

Race-horses

No. of

No. of

horses

horses

1814

1832

161,123 .

123,668

31,842 .

31,074

12,774 .

10,740

7,612 .

5,844

3,670 .

3,210

3,060 .

2,136

3,372 .

2,204

720 .

582

079 .

1,354

746 .

719

51 .

51

144 .

126

38 .

76

1,348 .

1,142

1,454 ..

2,073

560 ,

997

Other horses exempt in 1814, but

taxed when the agricultural

tax ivas withdrawn : —
Horses used for riding or

drawing carriages, and

not exceeding 13 hands .. .. 19,121
Horses rode by farming

bailiffs .. 1,251

Ditto by butchers, when one

only is kept 2,089

Ditto where two are kept

solely for trade 1,025

Horses not chargeable to any

of the foregoing duties, yet

taxed 112,989

Mules 410

367,578
Horses taxed for agriculture

in 1814 973,714

24,639

1,438

3,364

1,213

123,728
348

1,341,292
It is probable that the horses used in agriculture
increased in number when the tax was withdrawn,
and that during the agricultural tax many more

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

29

horses of small size, and for various purposes,
were kept ; and we shall not be far from the truth
if we average the whole number of horses at
about 1,340,000. But this does not include stage-
coach, mail-coach, and hackney-coach horses,
nor those used in posting : these maybe reckoned
at 125,000. To these must also be added young
horses, for they are not taxed until they are used
for drawing or riding ; and if we average the age
of the horse at eight years (and that, pei'haps, is
over the mark), they will be nearly 200,000. Then
there is roguery in all things, and a great number
of horses were not taxed at all. A glance at the
number of those which are said to be let for hire
in England and Wales, will speak volumes with
regard to this. If we suppose that there are
35,000 that are in this predicament, or that do not
rank under any of the divisions in the table, we
may safely calculate "the total number of horses
employed in Great Britain" at 1,700,000. To this
must be added the Scottish and Irish horses.

Y.

AGRICULTURAL COMMITTEE OF 1836.

A LETTER TO H. HANDLEY, ESQ.,
MP., IN ANSWER TO MR. SHAW
LEFEVRE'S PAMPHLET.

BY E. S. CAYLKY, ESQ., M.P.

Wydale, Sept. 13, 1836.

My Dear Sir, — I have, for some weeks been
anxious that the farming public, at least, should
have a faithful exposition of the cause wh^ no
report proceeded from the Commons' Committee
on Agriculture. I had left London, for good, the
morning before the discussion on this point un-
expectedly arose in the House of Commons ; but
I was in hopes that, before the session closed,
some of our friends on the committee, who hap-
pened to remain in town, and had only been
accidentally absent on that occasion, would have
taken an opportunity to have contradicted some of
the more glaring inconsistencies which were dis-
played in that most unsatisfactory discussion. In
this hope I have been disappointed ; and the letter
of our late chairman to his constituents, leaves
me no alternative but to say a few words on the
subject ; in which I shall attempt, shortly, to
describe the course of our proceedings ; making,
at the same time, some observations upon them.
And I appeal to you, in your triple character of a
constant attendant in thecommittee, — as one of the
best, if not the very best, practical farmers on the
committee, — and as also possessing a thorough
knowledge of the causes which led to the distress,
— whether I am not correct in the following
statement.

The House of Commons gave us the fullest
powers to investigate the cause of agricultural
distress. The Ministers named the committee ;
three additional members were added by the
House. Our first meeting was to choose a chair-
man, Mr. Shaw Lefevre ; who was proposed by
Lord John Russell, and unanimously elected ; and
on his excellence as a chairman, on his patience,
impartiality, and gentlemanly bearing in conduct-
ing the inquiry, there was not, I am confident, a
dissentient voice in the committee.

Our second meeting was to arrange proceedings.
An attempt was, then, made to limit the inquiry

to the period which had elapsed since the sitting
of the committee of 1833. This attempt was
overruled ; the ministers present, I am bound to
say, threw their weight into the scale in favour
of the inquiry being unlimited both as to time and
matter.

We then entered upon the examination of wit-
nesses— the first being those summoned by Lord
Chandos, who proved distress, indeed, but nothing
more ; they could speak little or nothing as to
causes. The greater part of the first volume of
evidence is taken up by witnesses of this descrip-
tion. The second volume is occupied by the
evidence of witnesses of more general informa-
tion, and affords a glimpse, at least, into the
causes of the long-continued distress in agricul-
ture which it was our principal duty to discover.

The third volume (not yet published) will con-
tain the evidence of the Scotch and Irish wit-
nesses ; and will conclude with the evidence of
Mr. Spooner, Mr. Burgess (secretary to the
Country Bankers' Society), Mr. Haggard (chief
clerk of the Bullion-office for a number of years),
Mr. Muntz (a merchant of Birmingham^, the Earl
of Radnor, and Lord Ashburton late Mr. Alexander
Baring), on the question of the currency ; which
some of the committee contended was the cause
of the fall in prices, and, consequently, the
principal cause of the distress. To give evidence
on the currency, we requested, also, the attend-
ance of the Right Honourable Edward Ellice, Sir
James Graham, Bart., and Mr. O'Connell. The
latter was only prevented by his close attendance
on an Ii'ish private committee. It is well known
that Mr. O'Connell attributes the agricultural
distress of Ireland, especially of the labourers, to
the change in the currency. The famine of 1822,
in Ireland, was a famine of money, not of bread.
It was so described by the best authorities, at the
time, to the Irish Relief Committee sitting in
London. Mr. Ellice and Sir James Graham
refused to give evidence; and their refusal pre-
vented us requesting Sir Robert Peel to attend, as
had been our intention.

You will remember that, at the outset of our
proceedings, I proposed a course something to the
following effect : — The distress being acknow-
ledged, and that its cause was lowness of price,
that we should attempt to account for this fall in
every way possible except currency, in the first
instance; that we should, then, inquire how far
the change of the currency of 1819, and its con-
comitant measures, had produced the remainder
of the fall in price, which could not be accounted
for by other means. This course, if at all, was but
imperfectly adopted in practice ; although I think
you agree with me, it would have been the legiti-
mate course for arriving at the truth ; while it
gave every advantage to those who held a contrary
opinion to my own.

The desii-e of those on the committee who
thought with us, was to test the soundness of the
opinions of witnesses by cross-examination. The
evidenee is, or will be published, to speak for
itself. I, for one, did not summon a single farm-
ing witness ; content to endeavour to elicit the
truth from such as were brought up by others,
lest it should be said that mine came to speak to
particular opinions. Few of the witnesses were
competent to speak to the general causes of the
distress. Men like Mr. Hodgson, of Liverpool,
could speak to the probable supply of corn, and to
the supply from previous harvests. Intelligent and
observing farmers could answer pretty correctly for

30

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

the crops of their own particular districts ; and by
comparing particular periods of distress with acts
of the legislature, or failure of crops, could assist
the committee in forming an opinion as it re-
spected the whole countr)^ But scarcely any wit-
nesses can he taken alone, as affording a correct
estimate of the causes of distress, although some
must be received with greater confidence than
others on particular points. Out of a mass of
evidence, such as we had before us, it is not
difficult, by detached passages, to strain the
evidence so as to favour particular opinions. I
place my reliance on the evidence as a whole.

Lowness of price had to be accounted for,
especially in wheat. When first we entered the
committee, the prevailing opinion of its members
certainly was that it was greatly owing —

1st, To increased importation from Ireland ;

2nd, To three or four successive abundant
harvests, i. e. to an over-supply.

3rd, To a greater quantity of land being brought
into cultivation; to the light land succeeding at
the expense of the heavy; or, as it was termed, a
good machine driving out a bad one.

How were these theories supported by evidence .'

1. It was proved by the returns, which, at least,
were undoubted, that, taking wheat and wheat
flour together, there had, since 1833, been a
decrease in the importation each year of about
100,000 qrs. During this decrease in the supply

from Ireland, wheat had fallen in price 20s a quarter.
Increased importation from Ireland, therefore,
would not account for the fall in price.

2. The witnesses summoned to speak to the
harvest were, Mr. Hodgson, Mr. Scott, and Mr.
Sandars, of Liverpool, and Mr. Sturge, of Birming-
ham, all eminent corn factors, and in the habit
of taking a pretty extensive survey of large dis-
tricts of the kingdom, previous to harvest with a
view to arranging their speculations in corn.

Mr. Hodgson (of the firm. Cropper, Benson,
and Hodgson) has generally been the person most
relied upon in the question of the probable supply
of wheat. For about twenty years he has estima-
ted the growing crop by a particular method. He
sends agents round the country, and, in reference
to an arbitrary figure, he is shown whether it is
an average crop, or above or below, and in what
degree.

Mr. Sandars seemed to rely on the instrument of
Mr. Hodgson. He says that Mr. Hodgson's plan is
" one that cannot by possibility err."

Mr. Scott (wholly free from any theories on the
subject) had extensive personal observation, and
corresponded with all parts of the kingdom, and
had been in business forty years.

Mr. Sturge is the writer of a valuable periodical
circular, on the subject of the supply and the
crops, and has great communication with Ireland.
It was at my suggestion that the two last gentle-
men were examined. I knew neither of thcra
personally, but had read for some years their
excellent reports in the Mark Lane Express,

What says Mr. Hodgson .' In his leading examina-
tion he tells the committee that the crop of wheat
was, in 1832, rather above an average ; 1833,
rather above an average; 1834, a very full crop ;
1835, nine per cent, more than an average : and
yet, on cross-examination, he is asked — " Your
way of judging of the crop is by a certain figure,
in comparison with some theoretical figure in your
own mind V — " Yes." " You state that you now
conceive that, in 1832, there was a good crop .'" —
"Yes, that it was a crop of supply." "Your

figure was one beneath supply ?"— " Itwas barely
an average figure, and of course below the figure
of supply." " You have stated that 1833 was
above an average ; how was your figure for that
year.'" — "The figure of that year was not
materially different from the figure of the year
preceding." "Then it was rather below an
average ?" — " It was." " How was the figure for
1834?" — "Very high." " How was your figure for
1835 ?" — " An average crop;" i, e., below the
figure of supply.

Mr. Scott gives a registered account of the crops
of wheat each year since 1809. Of the years in
question he says — 1832 was a large average ; 1833,
deficient; 1834, fair average; 1835, moderate
average. Mr. Sturge describes — 1832, as a full
average crop of wheat ; 1833, an average crop ;

1834, a large crop ; 1835, scarcely an average
crop ; short in Ireland.

Mr. Hodgson calculates that an average crop is
one-ninth short of the average consumption.
According to this view, therefore, a crop equal to
the consumption, i. e. one-ninth above an average,
only takes the place of a foreign supply ; and
would not, therefore, lower the price; if, as has
been the case the last three years, there be no
foreign corn let out of bond. Except 1834, there-
fore, there was no large crop, taking the country
as a whole, according to the above evidence, the
hest that the committee could find. If Mr. Hodg-
son had the best means of forming a judgment, it
was only because of the plan he adopted having
proved itself, for twenty years, to be a remarkably
accurate criterion. The figure derived from this
plan, I have shown, speaks a different language
from its master. Mr, Hodgson is a very intel-
ligent man, and no doubt his ingenuity would be
somewhat taxed to account for wheat falling so
low ; and this would probably lead him to modify
the deduction he formed from bis usual course of
proceeding. But there is not a tittle of data
exhibited by Mr. Hodgson to show that the great
fall of price has been caused by abundant crops.
The argument concerning abundant crops, is in-
consistently used by its advocates. They are the
parties who contend that the upland soils are, to
a great extent, supplanting the use of the lowland
soils. If this be the case, — then the crops cannot
have been, (as indeed the evidence proves them
not to have been) very abundant ; because the
dry summers of the three last years, 1833, 1834,

1835, which have been so peculiarly favourable
to the wheat of the lowland soils, have not, and
never have, the same effect on the upland soils.
What is wanted on the upland soils is straw. If
you can get straw on the upsoils, you get grain :
but dry summers are adverse to the growth of
straw. The fact seems to be, as far as the evidence
went, that the lowland soils form about three-
fourth of the wheat soils ; and the good crops on
the clays of 1833, 1834, 1835, were counter-
balanced in some degree by the lighter crops of
the uplands of those years. 1834 was a very
large crop of wheat geneially, but, owing to the
dryness of the spring and summer, much lighter
on the uplands than the clays.

Mr. Hodgson, Mr. Sandars, and some other
witnesses, especially the speculative ones, in order
to prove that low price arose from over supply,
then took refuge In the opinion that therehadbeen
a larger breadth of wheat sown of late years.
This opinion was vere agreeable to many members
of the committee, and received every encourage-
ment. But how was it supported by data, or by

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

31

tacts ? Mr. Hodgson, even, goes so far as to state
his firm conviction that the breadth of wheat sown
in the autumn of 1834, was less than the breadth
sown in 1833 ; — and yet with still less sown in
1835, the price was at its lowest in 1835. What
means has Mr. Hodgson for knowing the breadth
sown? He is asked "You stated, in 1833, that
although you had the means of ascertaining in any
one year the acreable produce, you had no accurate
means of ascertaining the breadth of land sown
with wheat; have you any better means of ascer-
taining it now than then ?" " None." Mr.
Sandars's mode of arguing was something to this
effect — the price has been low, the crops have been
good, therefore an increased supply must have
been the cause of the low price. But, if Mr.
Hodgson be the first authority on this subject of
supply, his opinion is conclusive on this point ; —
taking all the elements of the question into his
calculation, he is asked " Then your opinion
appears to be, that the home growth of the country
is less able to meet the demand of the population notv
than it ivas twenty years ago ?" " / think so,"
" Then an increased produce can hardly be said to be
the cause of a diminished price upon a series of
years?'" " / should think it cannot." " The
supply is less equal to the detnand than it was ttventy
years ago ?" '■'• ItMnk it is."

The only real data the committee had to go upon
as to any material difference between the wheat
grown at present, and ten years ago, was furnished
by a very intelligent witness, Mr. Evan David,
from Glamorganshire, who stated that, after being
summoned, and before he came up to be examined,
he sent out two tithing-men through twenty-six
parishes, to compare the quantity grown in 1825
and 1835 ; — and there was less grown in the latter
period, by 13^ per cent.

Great stress was laid by some of the committee
on the new lands brought into cultivation and
sown with wheat. They could adduce no evidence,
however, that this new cultivation had extended
to more counties than, partially to Cambridge-
shire, generally to the fens of Lincolnshire, and
the wolds of Yorkshire. They could not shew
that even these had been brought into cultivation
since the fall in price ; while the fact was notorious,
that scarcely any inclosures have taken place, com-
paratively, since 1814 ; and that an amazing
number took place during the high prices, from
1797 to 1814; and that the new lands were most
productive when first broken up. And the popula-
tion returns shew an increase in the number of the
people of upwards of 5,000,000 mouths since 1820,
which must have required a great increased supply,
if they had had the same means to purchase food
as before. Add to this, that the distress of the
farmer has, according to the evidence both of
1833 and 1836, led him of late years to overcrop,
and so render his soil productive. Even Mr.
Lefevre allows this, although arguing in favour of
over-production having caused low prices ; — but
he forgets, in ascribing distress to excessive rent,
that it sets at nought his case of over-production.
"Whenever (says he) rent begins to encroach
upon the capital of the tenant, it becomes im-
possible for him to attempt any improvement on
his farm ; nor can he employ the labour necessary
for its due cultivation ; theland, by over-cropping,
becomes gradually less productive, and is at last
reduced to such a state of exhaustion, that it will
scarcely repay the expenses of cultivation without
leaving any surplus for rent or profit." All this
is quite true ; but, wholly inconsistent with the

argument about over-production. The real fact
is, that increased production, from improvements
in husbandry, has been counteracted by decreased
production, from the source Mr. Lefevre here
describes.

Mr. Shaw Lefevre, in his pamphlet, also alludes
to a return of the number of quarters of wheat
sold in each of the 149 corn-returning markets, as
supporting his view that low pi-ice is from a
superabundant supply. I am satisfied that I am
borne out in the assertion, that the committee,
from the evidence it received on this subject,
placed no reliance tvhatever on these returns. Liver-
pool returned about 4,000 qrs. as sold in 1825 I
and 160,000 qrs. as sold in 1835 ! ! How can this
be correct ? As far as I remember (for I have not
the return by me), in a majority of places, at
least in two columns out of the three, the sales
were less in 1835 than in 1825 : the increased
quantity is made up by the large towns, chiefly,
where the returns have been more strict since the
new corn law of 1828 came into operation. But
our excellent chairman says, in his pamphlet, that,
according to these returns, in 1829, 1830, and

1831, the sales were less by 713,011 qrs. than in

1832, 1833, and 1834 ; thus showing an increased
growtli in the latter years. This comparison,
unless explained, might mislead the public. Mr.
Lefevre believes 1832, 1833, and 1834, to have
been great crops ; I think they were not more
than an average ; while 1829, 1830, and 1831, are
acknowledged to have been very deficient crops.
The comparison only could be fair in years of
average production. What are the real facts with
respect to the deficient crops, ^according to a table
which he gives in a subsequent part of his
pamphlet) ? Why, that in the three years 1829,
1830, 1831, upwards of 3,500,000 qrs. of foreign
wheat were imported to meet the scarcity ; while
comparatively none was imported in 1832, 1833,
and 1834. Do these facts prove that less wheat
was grown in England, compared with the con-
sumption, before the deficient crops of 1828, 1829,
1830, and 1831, than since? Let any one compare
the returns, from the Board of Trade, of foreign
wheat entered for home consumption from 1819 to
1827 (inclusive^ : he will find the annual average
177,575 qrs. ; whilst the annual average in the
three years 1832, 1833, and 1834, according to the
same return, is 157,478 qrs. England, therefore,
even according to this test of Air. Lefevre, supplied
itself quite as ivell (en years ago as at present ; notwith-
standing the " late very abundant crops,"

Thus the attempt to prove that superabundance
and an over-supply had been the cause of the great
fall in price, most signally failed ; and so it ap-
peared, to me, to be' felt by the committee; for
during the latter part of their sittings, they, for
the most part, abandoned these positions, and, as
a last resource, betook themselves to the two
following, viz : —

1. The distress was confined to the clays, and
was owing to a good machine (the uplands^ beat-
ing a bad machine (the lowlands).

2. That although the agriculturists might have
suffered, or be suffering, agriculture had not
retrograded.

Now, as to the first, — no evidence whatever was
received. Two or three persons, who were not
farmers, offered this as a possible solution of the
difficulty, why the lowlands were more distressed
than the high. They had no data to go on. It was
pure assumption. To have proved their point, they
should have shown that the uplands could be cultivated

32

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

chea2^er than the lowlands were before 1790; before the
burdens imposed by the war. Can the uplands be cul-
tivated with a profit at 40s. per quarter for wheat ?
The lowlands could be so cultivated before the war.
The good machine, as it is called, therefore, is no
better than the bad machine was before the war ; not
even so good. This argument cannot be sustained
without reverting to the true cause of the distress,
viz. — the greater expenses of cultivation, existing
now, compared with the expenses previous to the
war. It is these larger expenses that demand a
higher price for profitable cultivation. The low
price gentlemen, therefore, always blink the ques-
tion of rhe greater expenses. JMr. Evan David, in
his evidence, gives a most interesting account (taken
from books) of the expenses, item by item, on a large
farm in 1790, and 1834 ; and they are higher in 1834
in the following proportion : —

Expenses ef farming higher in 1834 than 1790.

Labour 62~|

Household expenses 57 )>Per cent.

Local taxes 391 J

We want no more evidence than this to prove that
it is the burden upon the land, alone, w-hich is op-
pressing it, and rendering it unprofitable — a burden
which it could sustain under higher prices — a burden
under which it has been sinking with the price of the
last few years. It is bad prices and heavy expenses,
not a bad or good machine, which has distressed the farmer.
Improvements in agriculture are of great advantage
to the farmer ; he is always the first to reap the
benefit from them.

No doubt the source of the delusion respecting
the good and bad machine, was the circumstance of
the uplands being less distressed than the lowlands.
But the advocates of this doctrine found it impos-
sible to prove that the good machines had not been,
for the most part, introduced before the fall in price,
and that they were not the most productive (as virgin
soil) when first broken up. They omitted to ask if
the uplands had not had great advantages of late
years, not possessed by the lowlands; or rather en-
joyed at the expense of the lowlands. The com-
parative prosperity of the uplands, every one knows
who is practically acquainted with the country, Jjas
been the high price of wool and sheep, — which it is
equally well known was caused by the rot in sheep
four or five years ago. Doubtless the upland sheep-
breeders have been doing well; they lost no sheep
by the rot ; and for three or four years after the rot,
the lowland farmers either durst not keep sheep
stock for fear of rot, or their capital was too much
exhausted to buy them. Could the uplands have
borne the depression in wheat, except for this acci-
dental price of wool? What does Mr. Bennett, of
Woburn, say (the agent of the Duke of Bedford) a
%ery respectable witness, but who evidently made
the best of the condition of the farmer? Indeed he
is quoted by ]\Ir. Lefevre as an authority. Pie is
asked, in his cross-examination, " Wool and mutton
have kept up very well during the last four years 1"
" They have ; lohere a farmer hasnota flock of sheep, I
cannot tell how he lives," 'J'he fact is, tliat under a
price for wheat which would not pay on four-fifths
of the soils of the kingdom, the uplands lost less
because the labour and expenses Avere so much less
heavy. Neither soils have gained by vrheat. In
1826, 1827, and 1828, before the rot in sheep took
place, and the price of mutton and wool was misera-
bly low, the uplands, with a wheat priceof 5\s,, were
the greatest sufferers. And if 1 were to give an
opinion, I would say, of the wheat crops alone in
the dry summers of 1833, 1834, and 1835, that they

paid the lowland farmer much better than the up-
land.

We then come to that extravagant proposition to
be put forth in a committee on agricultural distress,
viz , that " although the agriculturists have suffered,
agriculture has not retrograded." This question was
not frequently put, neither is it necessary for me to
say by what parties it was put ; the names of the
members of the committee are affixed to the questions
which they individually asked. No one ever pre-
tended that agriculture, as a science, had gone back.
Thank God ! no act of Parliament can accomplish
the ruin of the human intellect. I'here is a double
excitement to extraordinary exertion, — the hope of
reward under high prices, the fear of loss under
low. No one denied that individuals, who had some
capital left, or who brought fresh capital to the un-
dertaking, had theii' ingenuity stimulated by the dif-
ficulties of the times ; and that improvements in
agriculture were the result. It was equally evident
that some who, at first, in despair, scourged their
land, and cultivated worse, subsequently were led,
by degrees, to see that the best mode of cultivation
was the cheapest. What the farmers complain of is,
that, in despite of the utmost exertion of human inge-
nuitt], and of redoubled industry, to overcome the in-
fluence of acts of the legislature, they have been borne
down and crushed in the attempt, by hundreds and by
thousands. And then to have the insult added to the
injury, that agriculture is flourishing over their
graves ! The condolence of one school-boy to an-
other, under misfortune, is precisely the same in
principle : " It will be all one a hundred years
hence." It is a principle which might be used as
an apology for the most blighting despotism which
ever ground a people to the earth. Has France
retrograded since its first revolution? Imagine
Marat or Robespierre consoling their victims with
the assurance that, although Paris was weltering in
tlie blood of its best citizens, France would, in the
end be the same, or possibly improved. But we
need not resort to imagination : history affords us a
precedent precisely in point. Tacitus relates, that
Tiberius, having caused Germanicus, bis nephew,
to be poisoned, and when Rome was overwhelmed
with grief and despair at the death of that illustrious
man, who, by his virtues, had gained the affections
of the people, and was expected to succeed to the
throne, — Tiberius, that dark and malignant dissem-
bler, anxious to repress the tide of popular grief,
and, I suppose, as a comfort to their distress, (of
which he himself was the cause,) exclaims, in a
speech to the senate, " Whatever may be the fate of
noble families, the commonwealth is immortal,"

With respect to the pamphlet just published by
Mr. Shaw Lefevre, which is virtually the report he
laid before us in committee, I must say, that, al-
though no one can entertain a higher respect for Mr.
Lefevre than myself, I think the conclusions he has
come to, and the recommendations he makes, are so
far from being supported by the great body of the
evidence, tliat scarcely any one of them is supported
by ten witnesses out of, perhaps, sixty or seventy
who were examined ; and the major part of his re-
commendations, not by more than three, four, or five
in number, and in a less ratio in point of value.
Those w ho will take the trouble to read the evidence
will find it the best, and a most complete, answer to
Mr. Lefevre's pamphlet.

I have neither time nor space to touch upon all
the propositions in the pamphlet. Some of them I
have already incidentally observed upon. Before
concluding, I will glance at a few of the remainder ;
indeed all the important ones. It lays great stress

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.'

33

on the benefit conferred by the Poor Law Amend-
ment Act. The chief evidence we had upon the
operation of this act was, that parishes were bene-
fited by it in consequence of its making parish
allowance less accessible ; the effect of this was to
drive the labourers from their parishes to railroads,
and the manufacturing- districts. If there had not
been a more than usual extraneous demand for la-
bour, ready to absorb these emigrants from their
parishes, coincident with the coming- into operation
of the act, much danger would have attended it ;
and it is still a critical problem to be solved, what
turn events might take, if a reverse should, at no
distant period, overtake the manufacturing districts.
It must never be forgotten, that the main source of the
burden of the poor's rate was the poverty of the farmer,
which deprived him of the power of empl,o>jing labour.
A more remunerating state of prices would have
diminished the poor rate equally with the Poor Lavv'
Act, and in a more legitimate way, viz., from the
increased capacity of the farmer to employ labourers.
No doubt there was also an extravagant expenditure
of the rate, before the amended act, which it is cor-
recting ; but there had been greater economy prac-
tised for ten years previous to the Poor Law Amend-
ment Act, than in the ten years before that. Much
stress was laid by Sir Robert Peel, in the session of
1835, on the county rates as a cause of distress, and
Mr. Lefevre has not forgotten it in his pamphlet.
As far as I remember the evidence, we could never
make out that the county rate amounted to more than
3d. or 4d. an acre, and as a means of relief it was
treated by the witnesses with ridicule.

There has certainly been, at least an ostensible or
temporary boon granted to the farming interest, by
the remission of the statute duty in the Highway
Act of last year. It is lucky that this act passed
under the auspices of a gentleman so wedded to Mr.
Peel's bill as Mr. Lefevre. Had you or I proposed
it, who are for better prices by a slight modification
of that bill, we should have been immediately taxed
with a breach of public faith ; certainly, much more
justly so, than for any thing we have ever yet pro-
posed. The debts on the roads are somewhere about
£8,000,000. The statute labour virtually formed, I
understand, about one-third of the assets of the
turnpike trustees. The funds of the roads will no
longer suifice both to keep them in repair, and to
pay the interest of their debts. The creditors looked
to the statute labour, in part, as a security for pay-
ment. I have no objection to the statute duty being-
repealed, but public faith required that an equiva-
lent should have been provided from some other
fund.

I agree with Mr. Lefevre that the new Tithe Act
will ultimately be a great benefit to the agriculture
of this country ; but that act was wholly independent
of the proceedings of our committee. I have tlie
greater confidence in its beneficial operation, from
the excellent choice the Government have made of
a chief commissioner, in the person of Mr. Blamire,
late M.P. for Cumberland.

But, says our worthy chairman, if we could only
turn Englishmen into Scotchmen, how prosperous we
should be ! In other words, Mr. Lefevre attributes
the distress of English farmers to their want of skill
in the art of farming. What ! has English farming
gone back the last forty years'? Yet, this must
be proved before distress can be attributed to bad
farming. In no forty years since British agriculture
had its origin, have there been greater improve-
ments than within the last forty years. And yet the
British farmers were a more thriving race before the

improvements began than they are now. Do I lay
this misfortune at the door of the improvements?
God forbid ! But for these improvements we should
have been exterminated, as a race, by the double
burdens unjustly laid upon us. I give the Scotch
full credit for their share in these improvements,
but I give them no more. Mr. Lefevre says, " Read
the evidence of the Scotch witnesses, and see to
what a much greater extent they turn their attention
to the breeding, fattening, and general management
of stock than is usually done by the English farmer."
The Scotcli farmers are a very intelligent body, and
in a literary point of view, perhaps, better educated
than the generality of English farmers j and they
certainly gave a very good account of themselves to
the committee ; but it is surely no reason why they
should have the palm, in the matter of stock, over
their English brethren, because curiosity on the part
of the committee gathered from the Scotchmen their
system, and did not require it of the Englishmen.
But can Mr. Lefevre be really serious in asserting
that the stock of Scotland is, generally speaking,
comparable to English stock'! Whatever these wit-
nesses mar think, — they never were more mistaken
than in the belief (if they entertain it) that Scotland
is before England in the breeding and management
of stock. Have the examples of Lord Western, in
Essex, Mr. Coke, of Norfolk, Mr. Bennet, of Wilt-
shire, Lord Althorp, in Northamptonshire, Major
Bower, Lord Feversham, and Lord Carlisle, in
Yorkshire, and Henry Handley, in Lincolnshire,
gone for nothing '? Where are the Scotch sheep,
compared with oursl And, speaking of improve-
ments, the advance in breeding, I believe, has far
exceeded that in tillage of late years ; and, in this
particular, England has the advantage. Nay, more :
although I grant that Scotland, generally speaking,
some fifteen or twenty years ago, was in advance of
us in tillage farming, 1 am confident that the compa-
rative advance since that period has been much
greater in England. It is far easier to copy than to
orioinate. Yet in spite of these honest exertions on
the part of the English farmer, exertions which, but
for some malign counteracting cause, must have
greatly enriched him, he has been wasting away !

The real reasons why the Scotch farmer is at this
moment better off than the English, have not been
stated by Mr. Lefevre. In addition to having no
tithe, and no poor-rate, I understand that his la-
bourers' wages are very little above half what we
pay in Yorkshire: on 500 acres of tillage — this item
alone would be about 200i. a-year. Would any one
wish to lower the wages of the English labourer
down to that of the Scotch 7 Scotland has the ad-
vantage of IL notes, which England has not. Scot-
land has had all the advantage of the loss of sheep
England sustained from the rot. They have not got
rich so much from the management of their stock,
as from their bad sheep stock finding a welcome iu
the English markets, after our better si ock had fallen
victims to the rot, from which theirs escaped. The
Scotch witnesses came up to London to be examined,
in the heyday of that absorbing call in the London
market for fat stock, occasioned by the failure last
year of turnips in the south. Well might they be
happy when a moor jock sold for as much as a calf;
and a fat Highlander for -as much as a shoit-horn, in
ordinary years! But how could they have taken
advantage of this temporary demand, except for the
rapid extension of steam navigation since 1820 ;—
the period from whence is dated the great decline in
the condition of the British agriculturist '? Steam
navigation has opened London to the east of Scot-
land, and Liverpool to the west. But for these ad-

34

■The FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

vantages, what would have been the condition of
the Scotch farmers ? Even with them, what has it
been for the last l5 years ? I asked almost every
one of them this question ; " Taking the farmers as
a body in your district, are they as wealthy a body
of men as they were 15 years ago?" " No, they are
not :'' was, I think, the universal reply. What,
then ! has canny Scotland, too, been labouring for Jif teen
years, with all its thrift, and subsoil ploughs, and other
means and appliances to hoot, to he no richer at the end than
at the begin ningl Has this an example in history"!
The legislature has done ever^^ thing to cause dis-
tress ; the farmer has performed prodigies to over-
come it.

Mr. Lefevre, I think, then proceeds to a longish
disquisition on the malt duty. On this subject you
are much more at home than I am ; I leave him on
this point, therefore, in your hands, in the hope that
you will be more merciful, in this instance, than you
were to the Commissioners who sent out the fifteenth
excise report. I will only observe on the malt tax,
that the most we learnt on it in committee was, that
the witnesses summoned at the request of Lord
Chandos were all very anxious for its repeal ; but
when asked how the revenue was to be supplied,
answered, they thought the committee the best
judges of that. Mr. Lefevre imagines we could
not grow enough barley, if the duty were repealed.
It may be so : but the evidence does not tell this ;
on the contrary, I recollect your putting the question
to every witness, almost, examined on this point;
and they answered, to the best of their belief, in the
affirmative, tljat we could grow enough barley for
the consumption, if the duty were repealed, I sin-
cerely trust that Mr. Rudkin's very ingenious in-
vention, which we saw together, may assist us to
the repeal. I attended a deputation, of which I had
the honour to be spokesman, to the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, just before 1 left town in July, and
he gave us the fullest assurance that it should re-
ceive the fairest trial at the public expense; and
that Dr. Birkbeck should be allowed to be present
during the trial, as well as Mr. Rudkin, to see that
nothing was done to interfeie with the complete de-
velopement of the uses of the instrument. 1 state
tljis because I think the Chancellor of the Exchequer
has not been fairly used in this matter.

Mr. Lefevre then devotes a number of pages to
the coin laws. It is not necessary to say more than
two words on this question, on this occasion. An
attempt was made in the committee to extract evi-
dence in favour of a fixed dut)', which altogether
failed. The same attempt was made in the commit-
tee of 1833, with like success, 'J'he true history of
our corn laws is given in a late report of a committee
of Congress, on the banking question, in the United
Stales. It was an attempt, says the report, to sus-
tain, by a restriction on corn, the prices wliich
necessarily fell by the restriction on money. To
what extent it has succeeded, the prices of corn for
the last 15 years sufficiently demonstrate.

The last allusion in the pamphlet is to the cur-
rency. But it does not say liow much of the evidence
bore upon it. It is passed over in the general terms
this question ha.j been usually treated with in Par"
liamentary documents. — There are no extracts o
evidence, as in the other cases, to support the chair"
man in his views. This would have been a difficult
task where the evidence must have been, at least,
ten to one against him. " I'he opinions of the cur-
rency witnesses were met by contr;idictory testi-
mony," says Mr, Lefevre. — Yes : as to the policy of
a change in the present day ; hut not as to the fact of
Mr. Feel's bill liaving caused the distress. Every one

knows that the complaint of the farmer has been low
prices. The contradictory testimony referred to is
Lord Radnor and Lord Ashburton. Both these
noble Lords were incredulous of the distress. They
both were opposed to a change in the currency at
the present time. They were not requested to attend
to say what now should be done ; but to depose to
the effects of what had been done.

Lord Radnor is asked what effect he conceives
Mr. Peel's bill produced on prices ; — he answers
without disguise, — it caused prices to fall one-half : —
i. e. it made wheat fall from 80s. to 403., which was
the price in 1822.

Lord Ashburton's recollection is recalled to a
speech he made in the House of Commons in 1821,
wjien he said " After all the idle stories about over-
production, and under-consumption, and such like trash
had been sivept away, we should come to ' the' question
which had really to do tvith the distress, viz., the change
in the currency." 'J'his was in 1821. What was the
distress in 1820, 1821, 1822 ? Low prices : — wheat
in October, 1822, reached 38s. a quarter. Why are
we to refer 38s. a quarter in 1835 to over-production,
and not in 1822? when we have about .0,000,000
more mouths to fill, too, in 1835.

What has happened with respect to the currency
since the peace ? Cash payments were prepared for
as early as 1814. The withdrawal of the currency,
in consequence, at all events, materially assisted to
produce the distress of 1815, 1816, if we are to judge
of the effect oi' increasing the circulation in 1817, 1818 ;
when, according to the King's speeches, prosperity
was restored, in the face of a bad liarvest, and all
prices ivere raised, mamfacturing as well as agricultural.
A most important official memorandum, delivered in
to the committee, shows the transactions of the go-
vernment with respect tothe currency between 1815
and 1819.

Mr. Peel's bill passed in 1819 : — it was followed,
and necessarily f'ollowed, by a contraction of cur-
rency, la its train came the low prices of 1820,
1821, and 1822. Lord Londonderry's nerves wei-e
unequal to the distress flowing from this, and he let
out the 1/ notes ; but he forgot to alter the standard
of value. TJie prices of 1822 were the prices of the
gold standard of 31 17s lO^d per oz. : of 1819. The
11 notes and a larger currency raised prices in 1823,
1824, and 1825. Then came the struggle with the
standard. High prices (convertible into gold at 31
17s 10§d) stopped the exports ; high prices encou-
raged imports : gold was chosen by the importers,
in payment, because gold was fixed at the price of
3/ 17s 10|d ; while all other prices were high. Tbey
did, as every body else would, if they could ; tliey
sold dear, and they bought cheap. The bank was
drained of its gold. It had nothing left to pav its
notes in ; and then, and on that account, came the
panic of 1825. I'his is shown in the evidence. And
it is also shown that if the gold standard had been
fixed at a higher nominal price than 31 17s lO^d, the
ounce, say 4Z 6s or 4Z lOs, we should have kept the
prices of 1825 permanently, without diminishing our
exports. W^e should have maintained the prosperity
of 1824. And who would have objected to pros-
perity ? WIio talked of public faith then?

Prices fell generall}^ after 1825 ; tlie panic hav-
ing caused, after its immediate effects were passed,
a great contraction of the currenc\'. The 1/ notes
expired in 1829. The four wet harvests of 1828,
1829, 1830, and 1831, kept up the price of o;rain ;
the rot in sheep kept up the price of wool and stock.
After 1831 , corn began to fall ; till about Christmas,
1835, wheat was as low as 34s a quarter : lower by
6s or 8s, perhaps, than it ivould have been but for the

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

35

good harvest of 1834. The reason why wool did not
fall as rapidly as corn, is, that our long wool is pe-
culiar to ourselves. We got corn from abroad, but
the laud remained, and if the next harvest was good,
we supplied ourselves as usual ; wliereas the rot, it
is calculated, swept of 8,000,000 of sheep, which
have not yet been replaced. The dry summers of
1833 and l8o4 were very adverse to barley and oats,
and kept up their price — barley, especially, which
was also made more valuable by 4s or 6s per qr.,
in consequence of the beer duty being taken off.
Barley, under tho same circumstances, would have
been above 50s a qr. twenty years ago. This brings
us down to the present time.

But what was going on during the sitting of the
committee'! An apparently growing prosperity in
the manufacturing districts, which seemed at last,
about to reach and to alleviate the distress in agri-
culture. Some effect it did produce, no doubt, but
not near so much as was supposed. Wheat began
to rise, and reached 50s the average. The sanguine
members of the committee offered to bet that wheat
would rise to 60s before the committee rose. But
the wheat price vacillated. It was evident to a
close observer, that wheat was rising owing to an
apprehended scarcity, and that each market w;is a
weather market. i\Ir. Hodgson, I think, stated that
there was a prospect of less wheat this harvest, com-
pared with the consumption, than we had had for
thirty years. And yet, with all this apprehension
before us, wheat, on tlie average, is still less than 50s
a qr. Were it not for this apprehension, it would be
less than 40s ; and with this apprehension, twenty
years ago, the price of wheat would have been 90s
a quarter.

According to the evidence before the committee
(and it is now, I believe, the general notion,^ the
manufacturing prosperity, and the rage for specula-
tions, joint stock companies, &c., are attributable to
the increased currency issued by the joint stock
banks, which have doubled their circulation in about
two years. These issues have produced the same
effects as were produced in 1825 — so far as they have
gone. The joint stock banks have confined their
large operations mainly to the manufacturing dis-
tricts. The 11 notes caused a more general increase
in 1823, 1824, and 1825, thus causing agricultui'al
as well as manufacturing produce to rise. The rise
lately in manufactures was not a sound but a specu-
lative rise. This is proved by the rise having commenced
with the raw material of manufactures. In a sound
and permanent state of things, it is the increased demand
for the manufactured article that creates an increased
demand for the raw material. The manufacture ought
to rise first. The cause of the rise has been, that
speculators have taken advantage of the disposition
of the joint stock banks to accommodate more freely.

However, the effect produced upon the standard
are the same. Prices have risen ; gold is leaving
the country; the bank is alarmed; Professor M'
Culloch (at least so it is stated) is writing articles in
the Courier. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has
been called from Ireland. But the bank has not
the same power over the circulation it had in
1825, or we should have precisely the same
results, in a short time, as we had in 1825. The
joint stock banks are a more powerful body,
taken individually, than the private banks ; they are
not so amenable to a run ; there are thousands in
their neighbourhood interested in their safety. The
legal tender clause is in operation ; they have not now
to pay in gold ; and a joint stock bank note may be
considered as good as a bank of England note.
There will not, therefore, be such an utter and sud-

den stagnation as in 1825. But, if prices continue
to rise, the gold must go ; the bank has still great
power, and it must exercise it in self defence, unless
government help tiiem by changing the standard.
The evidence before us was clearly and universally
in favour of a change from a gold to a silver standard,
or a conjoint standard of silver and gold. We can-
not have what is called good prices with our pre-
sent gold standard, which is a harder standard for
the debtor and the productive classes than the an-
cient one which existed previous to 1797. The stan-
dard generally recommended to the committee was
silver, at 5s 6d the ounce ; which, taking into con-
sideration the repeal of the laws against melting and
exjjorting the coin, is but little, if at all, a more re-
laxed standard than the ancient standard to which
we professed to return in 1819.

But it is idle to say more of currency. Every
other country knows the bungle we committed in
1819. America, France, Russia, all know it; and
the knowledge has helped them not a little in their
foreign policy. Nineteen out of twenty of the very
men who passed the measure would rather cut their
right hands off than pass it again; and yet, though
the cause of the distress, it is to be religiously main-
tained. Neither are?te, who difler from this opinion,
for returning to such a measure as we should have
thought just in 1819. We wish (I believe we both
do) for silver at 5s 6d, and 11 notes properly se-
cured. This would not give more, I imagine, per-
manently, than a wheat price of from 50s to 60s per
quarter. Many who oppose us would rejoice at a
price like this, and yet will not pursue the means to
obtain it. They desire the end, but refuse to adopt
the means. And why? because it would arise from
a depreciation of the currency ; and a depreciation
of the currency is unjust to the public creditor.
But it can only be unjust as it raises prices ; and
this they want to do. Their exultation is excessive
at the manufacturing prosperity, which, in fact, is a
rise of prices consequent on the increased issues of
the joint stock banks ; forgetting that this is a virtual
depreciation of the currency — only a ten times worse de-
preciation than that we propose, because it is an insecure
one ; ivhilst the one we propose, is totally free from

All this, however, is in the evidence. And ivhy
did we not report it ? Or luhy did xoe not propose an
amended report ? These are questions which all the
country has been asking — questions which I will
honestly and truly answer. I ahvays expected an
adverse report ; i. e., a report founded on the pre-con-
ceived opinions of the committee, rather than on the evi-
dence actually given. What I claimed was a full op-
portunity of going fairly into the whole question of
the causes of agricultural distress — an inquiry which
had always been resisted before. I, for one, took
advantage of this opportunity. But how was the
committee formed 1 I could have made the report,
in substance, which it would have agreed to, before
we began to sit, from my knowledge of the previous
opinions of the members. The government (they
only did what all other governments did before them)
selected the committee. The opinions of its mem-
bers were well known. All but two or three (out
of above thirty members) were adverse to the cur-
rency question. Three currency men were subse-
quently added by the House. How could we ex-
pect a report which favoured the idea that the cur-
rency was at the bottom of the distress? I never
placed the slightest hope in a report. I said it from
the beginning. " All we can do for you (I said to a
body of farmers^ is to get the truth out in evidence.'*
The truth is now out in evidence, and I am confident

36

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

that an unbiassed foreigner, v/ho bud no prejudices
to mislead bim, could, after reading the whole of the
evidence, come but to one conclusion, viz., that the
long-continued distress of agiiculture has been
caused by the change of the currency. The whole
of the evidence will soon be before the country ; — •
I refer to it with the utmost confidence for a justifi-
cation of the opinions I entertain on the subject of
agricultural distress.

" Why, then, not move an amended report V it has
been asked. You remember the effect produced in
the committee by the production of Mr. Lefevre's
report. No one could agree to it. The committee
adjourned for a week, to print the draft report which
had been read to them. I immediately prepared to
draw up an amended report. In the mean time it
was discovered, by the intercommunications of its
members, that a majority of the committee would
agree to throw out the chairman's report, on the un-
derstanding that there was to be no report. We at
once "-ave up the idea of an amended report ; be-
cause we were very certain that no report, we would
carry, would embody our views of what the evidence
contained ; and we decided (and in my opinion the
farmers of England will sanction the decisiori) that no
report at all luas preferable to one which, in our opinion,
■put a strained construction upon the evidence. The evi-
dence itself could not mislead. It would tell the
truth as far as it went, and therefore we referred the
evidence alone to the judgment and consideration cf
the country, without a report, which, in our opi-
nion, would only divert it from the cause of the
truth.

If we had had a committee of nine members, four
of one opinion, and four of another, and a chairman
whose opinion was neutral, it would have been our
imperative duty to have reported. It is only by an
explanation of the circumstances, that we can be ex-
culpated for not reporting. But these circumstances,
according to my humble judgment, entirely excul-
pate us. The very discussion of the report in the com-
mittee would have been useful, if we had had an au-
dience whose minds were not made up. The specious
generalities which frequently prevail in the House
itself would have had to stand the test of close and
accurate siftins;. If the public had been admitted to
the committee-room, a discussion would have been
most useful ; but circumstanced as we were, it ap-
pears to me we had no alternative but to do as
we did. It was a heavy responsibility which
was imposed upon us. It was a long and difficult
task we had to perform ; and if we failed in our duty,
it was from error of judgment, not of intention.
Much information has been extracted. The farmers
will find the cause of tbe'r distress in the evidence.
It is their duty to study it; and if their distress
continue, they will be no longer at a loss for a
remedy.

In conclusion, the evidence we had before us, from
first to last, convinced me more than ever, that it
was an Act of Parliament (Mr. Feel's bill of 1819)
that has produced fifteen years of agricultural dis-
tress. And I have always contended that, to remedy
one Act of Parliament, another Act of Parliament ions
required. j\lr. Lefevre, however, thinks differentl_y ;
he says, " It is only to be regretted that the farmers
have been taught to look to Parliament for that re-
lief which can only be obtained by a reliance on their
own resources and by an improved cultivation."
Does Mr. Lefevre really mean to sav that the dis-
tress of the farmer has been brought about by greater
ignorance of his art, and greater negligence of his
duty in the last fifteen years, th;m he previously dis-
played ? If it had, prices would have been higher from

less being produced. Will Mr. Lefevre stake his re-
putation, as an intelligent farmer, on the opinion that
the distress of 1822 was caused by the farmers' neg-
ligence ? He knows, as a farner — he must know it
— that the farmer has had to work double tides for a
bare livelihood. Instead of paying less attention to
his business, he has paid double attention.

What is really to be regretted is, that Parliament
should have been ignorant of the cause of the fall in
price at the end of the war ; and that it should have
deluded the country with the idea that a corn law
would support the prices which a paper currency
had created, when that paper was gone. It is still
more to be regretted that Parliament, when it did be-
come acquainted with the effects of JVIr. Peel's bill
on prices, should have gone on deluding the country
with a notion that natural causes, and not an Act of
Parliament, has caused their distress. The low
|)rices of agricultural produce are the result (except
in as much as season may have caused a deficiency,)
of the same Act of Parliament which produced the
low prices of 1820, 1821, and 1822. Adverse crops
and harvests (excluding the money change of 1823,
1824, 1825) have made prices appear better than
they really were. The farmers, as a body, have not
profitted from the prices which have resulted from
scarcity. A good harvest and plenty are a blessing
to them as well as to the rest of the community.

The late rise in wheat has given no relief to the
majority of farmers. Their wheat was gone. And
if wheat be 60s or more on the average this next
year, I do not think it will repay the farmer for the
deficiency in his crop. I know the argument that
is now, not unsuccessfully used, that things are look-
ing better — that there is, even in the agricultural
districts, an aspect of improvement. I do not deny
it ; I rejoice, from the bottom of my heart, I rejoice
to see it. But I have no confidence in its perma-
nence. Why do farmers wear a more cheerful
countenance ? Why are their honest greetings more
frequent in the market place? Because there is an
appearance of better prices ; and, therefore, (for it
all hangs on this thread) a promise of better days.
But, why do I see insecurity in the present appear-
ances 1 I answer, if the agriculturists are to receive
benefit from the same source from which the manu-
facturers have derived it ; how can I believe in its
insecurity, when I see the feverish and depressed
state of the money market, which is daily reported 1
Whence this fever and depression in the money
market, but from the steps which the Iiank of Eng-
land has, in its alarm, felt itself compelled to take 1
The object of the late measures of the hank (and I
def)^ contradiction) has been to diminish the amount
of circulating money. They feared they would
shortly be drained of all their gold. This pressure
on the bank was foretold months ago, by those who
hold the opinions which we entertain ; as the panic
of 1825 was also predicted. Is any further proof re-
quired that the manufacturer's prosperity proceeds from
an increasedissue of money, than the gold going, and the
anxiety of the Bank to diminish the amount of currency ?
Without the alteration of the standard I have before
alluded to, I cannot be secure of permanent prospe-
rity based on an increased is:sue of paper.

If the higher prices of agricultural produce have
been caused by deficient supj)ly of such produce,
then, although there may be ])artial gainers by such
deficiency, prices must fall when the deficiency is
su)iplied. There is scarcely one article of agricul-
tural produce that is high, the price of which is not
attributable to scarcity, or the apprehension of scar-
city. The evidence taken before us proves this point

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

37

over and over again. High price from scarcity, I
repeat, is no benefit to the farmers as a body.

" Well, but, after all, things will wear round !"
This has always been the text and the watchword
of tlie enemies of the farmer. — The meaning of this
expression divested of all its mystery is this. Par-
liament committed a fatal error in 1819; it was the
cause of the fall in prices, and the fall in prices pro-
duced the distress. Parliament was too proud to ac-
knowledge its error. Both Whigs and Tories were par-
ties to that destructive measure. The Whigs and To-
ries have governed the country ; how then, could relief
be obtained from the source from whence the distress
originated 1 The governments of the last twenty
years liave tampered with the currency backwards
and forwards ; they have vacillated, and juggled,
and been reduced to their last shifts, with respect to
this question ; the country and all productive in-
dustry has groaned under it ; no other country, as
M. Say has well said, could have undergone the
blighting influence of that measure ; and the public
has teen deluded, -.md the sufferers beguiled, with
the notion that " things would wear round." The
parties who were implicated in this measure, trusted
to the fertility of human invention, and to the buoyant
energies of the British character, and the British
soil, to bear the farmers through the struggle. Doubt-
less the evil has been partially stemmed by the im-
provements in husbandry, and sui)erior breeding of
stock. Superior skill makes a less price necessary ;
and the trust of the parties I have referred to, has
been that the whole effect of that fatal measure might
be counteracted by improvements, before the nation
became fully aware of the gigantic fraud that had
been committed upon it, and loused itself in indigna-
tion to compel some disgorgement of the plunder.
Amid all the sacrifices that have been made, the re-
lentless ruin that has laid waste the productive
classes, — when clouds overhung the firmament, and
no gleam of light or of hope was to be seen, the same
dread comfort was administered by these parties —
" things will wear round !" The angel, Mercy,
knocked at iheir gate in vain.

No thanks to them ! new manures have helped one
class of farmers : the allotment system has alleviated
the condition of the agricultural labourer, when the
farmer could no longer employ him. Railroads,
steam navigation, joint stock banks, and other
efforts of human enterprise, have all tended to parry
the full weight of this deadly blow. Parliament has
passed poor law amendment acts, tithes commutation,
beer duty repeal acts, and reduced forty millions of
taxBtion, while the exports have doubled ; but all
has been insufficient. More must still be done or we
sink under the load. The very magnitude of the mea-
sures which have been indirectly passed, and tiie im-
provements which have taken place, without remov-
ing, although they have palliated the effects of the
act of 1819, are but so many proofs of the gigantic
enormity of tliat measure. And it should never be
forgotten, that if the bill of 1819 had not passed, these
improvements would have been so many additions to
property in the land ; instead of being, as they have
been, only a means of meeting the losses upon it_
Things will certainly " wear round," after a man
has been defrauded of half his land, if, by working
double tides, he supplies the deficiency. But it is
a new morality to advocate such a system. It is what
the older moralists used to designate by the term
" robbery." The landlord has been robbed of the
benefit of the latent properties of the soil, to which he
had a just claim; the tenant has been robbed of his
capital and skill.

If any prosperity, therefore, have hitherto attended

any portion of the farmers ; no tlianks to those whose
only assistance has been the cold and comfortless as-
surance, that things " would wear round ;" of those
whose trust has been that the towering energies of
their deoted countrymen would master every dif-
ficulty which they had to encounter ; by which
means the cause of their distresses might be for ever
hid from their eyes, and the perpetrators of it escape
the righteous indignation of an injured people ; while
personal consistency 7night be preserved. On this prin-
ciple they have proceeded with remorseless confi-
dence ; and although the pestilence has struck down
thousands on thousands in its course, still, as their
victims fell, their cry has been that of the German
general, "I have used these men, send me some
more." And all this has been executed under the
mask of public faith ! A public faith which has de-
frauded the British public and the industrious classes
of full 500,000,000i sterling !

Concealment, however, is now out of thi question,
after the evidence which was laid before us. Truth
will always in the end prevail. Whether the know-
ledge of the truth will lead the public to demand a
change of measures, it is for the public to judge. At
present, probably, the farmers will confide in appear-
ances. It is natural they should. I most earnestly
hope they may not be disappointed.

I am not ignorant of the insinuations that have been
made against those who are said to consider themselves
as peculiarly " the farmers' friends," and that they
endeavour to raise a fictitious popularity on the
basis of the distress. For myself (and I will an-
swer for you also) God is my witness, that nothing
on earth of a public nature would rejoice me more
than to see the fullest restoration to prosperity, al-
though not one single principle which I haveadvocat-
ed were adopted to obtain it. I was too alive to the
blessings of plenty, and an easy competence, and the
just returns to industry, with all their bountiful con-
sequences, when they did exist,— not to think their
restoration paramount to all other public considerations.
What were their effects'? A happy, grateful, con-
tented peasantry ; a joyous, open-hearted, and open-
handed yeomanry ; a liberal and hospitable gentry ;
each, intheir place and degree, and through all the
ramifications of society to which their influence ex-
tended, dispensing peace and exercising good will
to all around them ; and forming, in the close iden-
tity of interest which they exhibited, and in the high
honour and devotion of character which tliey dis-
played, the noblest and strongest bulwark against ex-
ternal invasion, or internal oppression, that ever
existed in any age or country. VVitnessing a state of
tbino-s which threatened to dissolve these happy bonds,
and perceiving that the mutual confidence which
used to be the pride and boast of these classes was al-
ready on the wane ; I thought it my duty, however
humble an individual, to endeavour to assist in the res-
cue of the sufferers from distress, and to avert from
the country itself the incalculable perils which must
issue from its continuance. To me it appeared that
the country generally, was ignorant of the source
whence the distress "proceeded. Our Governments,
under the control of the London money ascendancy,
which had gained so much by the fall of prices, nlways at-
tempted to gloss over the mischief, and to disguise its
causes by preventing inquiry. We have, together, la-
boured for the fullest investigation ; and thanks to
hi.3 Majesty's present advisers, we have now had a
full and fair enquiry. Its results will, shortly, be
before the public in the shape of the evidence we re-
ceived, and the documents laid before us. The pub-
lic must now do its own work . If the farmers remain
distressed they will read the evidence, and will there

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

find the origin of their fifteen years of misery and de-
pression. This is all we can do. Our part in the
business is mainly fulfilled. So long as the truth was
wilfully concealed, it was our boundenduty to unmask
it ; that done, the task was transferred to other hands.
The country alone can command redress. I will only
add, as m^' last word, that the greatest public boon
which could be bestowed on me, would be never to
hear the word distress again.

Yours, my dear Sir,

Very truly,
E. S. CAYLEY.

THE PROCESS OF RUMINATION OR
CHEWING THE CUD IN CATTLE,
EXPLAINED UPON THE EXPERI-
MENTS OF M. FLOURENS.

(From the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture.)

If a farmer were to maintain literally the vulgar
opinion that the sun rises from behind the eastern
mountains, and sets in the western sea, it might
not lead him into any practical inconvenience ;
but unless this opinion had been corrected by as-
tronomers our ships could never have been steered,
except at random, through the trackless ocean —
though the establishment of the fact of the sun
being in some degree at rest, while the earth turns
round somewhat like a grass-roller, was not, upon
its discovery, anticipated to be of so great practical
importance as it has proved to navigation. In the
same way may the correction of other popular
errors lead to unexpected results of interest and
value ; while, independent of this, it can never be
unimportant to establish truth on a sure basis.
It is on this general principle that it is here pro-
posed to correct the mistaken notions which have
hitherto prevailed respecting the process of rumi-
nation or chewing the cud in cows, sheep, goats,
and deer.

In proportion as knowledge is better than igno-
rance, it must be important for the farmer to have
a correct ilotion of the process of digestion in his
live-stock, inasmuch as it may render him better
able to bring them into and keep them in good
condition, as well as to prevent disorders, and to
cure them when they occur. Accordingly, when
we consider the singular modifying influence of
chewing the cud in the process of digestion, and
still more the influence of digestion itself on health
and disease, we must admit that the examination
of the process is highly interesting, though it is
not a little strange that the inquiries of the most
celebrated physiologists have often led to doubtful
and contradictory results, a fact which can only
be accounted for from the complication of the pro-
cess, and the difficulty of tracing its several steps.

JM. [Daubenton, the distinguished coadjutor of
Buffbnj says, that " it has been in vain attempted
to explain the mechanism of this singular opera-
tion ; ''* and John Hunter, the greatest physiolo-
gist of modern times, expressly says, " In those
animals whose stomach consists of several cavi-
ties, the precise place where digestion is carried
on has not been ascertained, "f

M. Bourgelat, also, an eminent modern French
writer, says of the authors who have preceded him
upon rumination, that " they appear to have been

* Mem. Acad, des Sciences for 1768.

t Observations on the Animal Economy, p. 212.

afraid to grapple with the difficulties connected
with the discovery of the mechanism, ....
and that the rapid glance which they have thrown
at the object seems a tacit confession of its being
to them inaccessible. " Yet M. Bourgelat himself
has made little or no progress in the discovery,
and tells us that " he only proposes his ideas upon
it as doubts or as simple conjecture?."*

Dr. Bostock, in 1828, speaking of the organs of
digestion in ruminating animals, says, " there is
some doubt as to the efitct which is produced by
the different parts of this complicated apparatus,
and as to the use which they serve in the economy
of the animal. "t

M. Flourens, again, writing so late as Septem-
ber 1832, says, that up to the present day there
has been nothing better than doubt and conjec-
ture respecting the mechanism of rumination ;
and it was this which incited him to make the
very satisfactory, though it must be confessed,
very cruel experiments, that appear to clear up the
whole mystery. Previous, however, to detailing
these important experiments, it may not be unin-
structive to take a bi'ief retrospect of the state-
ments of the older writers, and of the structure of
the organs.

Aristotle and Galen, under the notion that ru-
mination was peculiar to horned animals, were
somewhat puzzled to account for the camel and
dromedary ruminating ; and St. Jerome was cu-
rious enough, when commenting on the Levitic
law prohibiting camel's flesh, to ascertain the fact.
" I went out, " he says, " in the evening, and saw
camels roll the food previously swallowed in their
mouths, and bring up again what had passed for
nourishment. "J Without going more minutely
into the subject, they all seem to agree in the no-
tion that rumination is indispensable, in conse-
quence of hard or prickly herbage being used as
food ; yet it is not a little singular that such writers
as Galen, § Albertus Magnus, || and Aldrovand,
should not have adverted to the well-known in-
stance of tVie ass, which feeds on prickly and
woody plants without ruminating. One plain fact
will easily overturn the most ingenious theory.

There is some doubts respecting the derivation
of the word rumination, some, with Isidore,^ re-
ferring it to a bulging in the throat termed rwmen,
and others, with Nonnius Marcellus,** applying
the term rumen to the paunch, or first stomach ;
but whatever may be the origin of the term, the
process, so far as it can be externally observed,
consists, as St. Jerome describes in the camel, in
bringing up into the mouth the food previously
swallowed, remasticating it, and again swallowing
it. The interior mechanism by which this process
is performed can only be investigated and under-
stood by an examination of the organs. Except in
rare individual instances, as in man, and in the
kangaroo, the process of rumination is connected
with a complicated stomach, very different from
the simple stomachs of carnivorous or frugivorous
animals, for instead of one cavity, there are at
least four communicating cavities or chambers,
each having a peculiar structure, and no doubt a
corresponding peculiarity of function.

* Elemens de I'Art Veterin, t. ii.

f Element Syst. of Physiology, 2d ed. ii.

I Apud Aldrovand de Quodr. Bis. 905.
§ Admin. Anat. vi. 3.

II De Animal lib. iii.

^ Isid. Hispalendis, Original, xii. 1.
** Apud. Aldrov. ut Supra.

41.5,

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

39

In the cow, the sheep, and other ruminating
animals, the first cavity or chamber of the four-
parted stomach, termed the paunch or maw {In-
ffluvies) , is by far the largest of the four, is some-
what divided by ridges into several compartments
or paunches, and is lined with a rough membrane,
studded with small flat projections, two circum-
stances very important to be recollected. It is
situated towards the left side, and serves by its
heat and somewhat scanty moisture to prepare the
herbage for farther change. It is inferred to have
a rotatory motion, from the rounded masses of
hair called bezoar stones, frequently found in it,
arising from the conglutinated hairs licked off
from time to time by the animal when cleaning
itself, and said, without pi'oof, to be miraculously
medicinal. It is of a very extensile texture, and
is very frequently much stretched by over gorging
it with food, its capaciousness, indeed, appearing
to depend in some measure on the sort of food
which is given to the animal. M. Daubenton says,
that in a calf which has never eaten grass, though
not very young, the paunch is proportionably much
less than in the full grown ox, and infers that its
usual great size is caused by the great mass of
herbage daily devoured, and the fermentation
which this always more or less undergoes. To
prove this view of the matter, he tried the follow-
ing experiment : — He fed two lambs of equal ages,
and weaned at the same time, the one with bread,
and the other with grass. At the end of twelve
months he killed them, and found that the paunch
of the one fed with bread was very remarkably
smaller than that of the other. Connected with
the extensile structure of the paunch is its compa-
rative want of sensibility, inconsequence of which
the animals go on eating without being satiated,
till it is frequently over crammed, as graminivo-
rous birds will likewise do, from their crop or
craw being very similar to the paunch of ruminat-
ing animals. Now, it is obvious, that when the
paunch has thus been over crammed with succulent
herbage, such as green clover, it will speedily fer-
ment, in consequence of being subjected to animal
heat, and excluded from the air, producing an ex-
trication of more gas than can escape by the gul-
let. In such circumstances the animal is said to
be blown or hoven, and fatal consequences may
and do often ensue, from the gas increasing till the
sides of the paunch are burst through, and its
contents discharged among the intestines. But
even when this does not take place, the distension
caused by the gas impedes or suspends the process
of digestion, oy preventing rumination, which, as
will presently be made appear, it must do.

The second cavity or chamber, termed the king's-
hood or bonnet {reticulum), is situated on the
right side, on the same level with the paunch, but
hung upon it as a side pouch, or parallel sheath.
It is very much smaller than the paunch, is lined
with a rough wrinkled membrane continuous with
that which lines the paunch, and the whole inner
surface presents a net-like appearance, from a sort
of ridged projections in polygonal meshes, or shal-
low cells, similar to a honeycomb. The functions
of this cavity have given rise to the most contra-
dictory opinions among the. best physiological
writers, as we shall afterwards see.

The third cavity or chamber, termed the mani-
plies (omasum), is the smallest of the four, and of
a more complicated structure. The English name
of maniplies, has been given from this structure, the
inner surface rising up in many folds, one above
the other, amounting from about forty in the

sheep to about a hundred in the ox, forming about
half those numbers of partitions, and all covered
with a continuation of the rough membrane that
lines the two first cavities. Some of these folds
project farther than others, there being first two
long ones on each side, within these two shorter,
then two longer, and so on throughout the cham-
ber. The smallest of these folds, lying between
the opening from the second chamber or king's-
hood, are puckered so as to act as a valve between
the third chamber and the fourth.

'J'he fourth and last cavity or chamber termed
the red or rennet bag (abomasum,) and by some
the digestive stomach, is of a larger size than the
third, but less than the first, being about two feet
and a half long in the ox, is of an irregular conical
form, and communicates at its base or liroadest
part with the third by means of a valvular orifice,
rendering regurgitation or vomiting impossible.
The inner surface is furnished with a number of
simple wrinkles or irregular folds, more or less
extended, eighteen in number in the ox, begin-
ning at the upper and disappearing before they
reach the lower end. This is also studded with
projections, which take a rather serpentine or
winding direction. The rough membrane which
lines the three first cavities does not extend into
the fourth, which is lined with a soft mucous mem-
brane, similar to that of the human stomach, and
having the property of curding milk, hence the
fourth stomach of the calf is used.

So much for the four chambers or four stomachs
as they are sometimes considered; but we would
ill understand the process of rumination, were we
not to examine minutely the manner in which
they communicate with the gullet, or with each
other.

The meat pipe or gullet {(Esophagus,) is an ex-
tensile membranous tube, much more complicated
in ruminating quadrupeds than in man, the muscles
which surround it being strong, and consisting of
two rows of muscular fibres, crossing each other,
and running spirally in opposite directions. The
contractions of these muscles force the morsel of
food begun to be swallowed onwards into the in-
let {cardia) of the stomach so powerfully, that the
process once commenced cannot be stopped, even
by the will of the animal. The gullet enters the
stomach of ruminating animals just where the
three first chambers approach each other, dis-
charging itself, as M. Flourens remarks, almost
equally into the two first chambers.

We request particular attention to another part
of those digestive organs which, being indispensa-
ble to rumination, may be termed the cud-duct
(ductus ruminausJ This is sometimes a groove
and sometimes a tube, according to its action, and
runsfiom the termination of the gullet to the third
chamber with the first chamber on the left, and the
second cha.nber on the right of it, discharging itself,
according to M. Flourens, almost equally into the
second and third chambers. This cud-duct has thick
prominent margins, which can, as remarked by Blu-
menbach, be brought to meet so as to form a complete
canal, and thus constitute a continuation of the
gullet across the second into the third stomach. It
was ascertained, as we shall hereafter see, by M.
Flourens, that the cud-duct, contrary to the asser-
tion of Blumenbach, remains always open, even
when the gullet inlet (cardia) of the first chamber
is closed. " All these parts, " says M. Flourens,
" the gullet, the cud-duct, the first, the second,
and the third stomachs, not only communicate
I with each other, but they all communicate by a

40

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

common point, the point where the gullet termi-
nates, where the cud-duct commences, and toward
which the three stomachs open or end. "

Now, in whatever way we look at this anatomi-
cal structure and mechanism of the parts, we can-
not determine many questious which arise as to
their operations and functions. For example, as
the ruminating animal chews its food and swal-
lows it twice, it may be asked, into which of the
three chambers it passes at the first or at the
second swallowing, since that the gullet, either by
its inlet {cardial or through the cud-duct, com-
municates with each of the three ? According to
Duverney,* M. Perrault,t Blumenbach,+ andBos-
tock,§ the food, when first swallowed, goes ex-
clusively into the first chamber ; while according
to Daubenton,|| Camper,^ and others, it goes
equally into the first and second chambers. Ac-
cording to Haller,** the food, when swallowed
the second time, is returned into the first chamber ;
while according to Duverney, Chabert,tt and
Toggia.I J it goes into the second chamber ; and
according to Daubenton, Camper, Blumenbach,
-and Bostock, it goes exclusively into the third
chamber. Again, it may be asked, from which of the
chambers is the food first swallowed passed back
to the mouth to be remasticated ? Duverney says
from the first chamber ; Daubenton, Blumenbach,
and Bostock, say from the second chamber ; and
Perrault says from the cud-duct. These questions
then, as well as the manner in which the first
swallowed food is brought up into the mouth to be
remasticated, were all doubtful and undetermined
previous to the experimental investigations of M,
Flourens, of which we shall now [give a detailed
account.

In order to determine the first question, as to
the particular chamber or chambers into which
the food is discharged when first swallowed pre-
vious to rumination, M. Flourens caused a sheep
to eat a quantity of fresh lucern, and opened it
immediately afterwards before it had time to ru-
minate. He found the greater portion of this
herbage, easily recognisable by the leaves, almost
imbroken in the paunch or first chamber, and also
another smaller portion no less distinguishable by
its equally entire leaves in the king's-hood, or se-
cond chamber. Neither the third nor fourth
chambers contained any portion of the lucern.
He repeated this experiment a great number of
times with herbage of every description and uni-
formly with the same result, of the greater portion
of the non-ruminated food being found in the
paunch, a smaller portion in the king's-hood, in
both cases equally unchanged, and none at all in
the third and fourth chambers. M. Daubenton,
therefore, must have been deceived by some eflfects
of a previous rumination, when he says, " I re-
marked in the ox, as the aliment (hay) was passing
into that part which forms the second stomach,
that it was reduced to a kind of green paste resem-
bling boiled spinage." Blumenbach is equally
mistaken in saying that the food goes out of the

* (Euvres Anatom. ii. 434.

t (Euvres diverges, p. 430.

+ Comp. Anat. § 90. 1.

§ Element Syst. ii. 449.

II Mem. de I'Acad. Roy. des Scien, 1768.

IT QSuvres, iii. 49.

** Element. Physiol, vi.

tt Des Organes dans le Ruminans.

t\ Sur la Rumination.

reservoir of the paunch in small portions into the
second stomach.

It being necessary to determine whether the
same results would follow with other species of
food besides the herbage, M. Flourens caused a
sheep to eat oats, and opened it immediately be-
fore it had time to ruminate. He found the greater
portion of the grain unbroken in the paunch, and
a smaller portion in the king's-hood equally un-
broken ; while the third and fourth chambers did
not contain a single grain. He repeated this ex-
periment a great number of times with all sorts of
corn, rye, barley, wheat, and the like, uniformly
with the same result, the grain, like the herbage,
going exclusively into the two first chambers at
the first swallowing. Having thus ascertained
that the kind of aliment does not alter its route,
j\I. Flourens next tried what cflfect a difference of
volume would produce, and with this view caused
three sheep to swallow pieces of carrot from half
an inch to one inch in length, preventing the ani-
mals from chewing them by passing them back
into the gullet through an iron tube. In one of
the three sheep he found all the pieces of carrot
in the paunch, and none in the king's-hood ;
while in the two others, he found pieces of carrot
in the king's-hood as well as in the paunch ; but
in none of them were any pieces of carrot in the
third or fourth chambers.

It being thus proved that neither the sort of
food nor its magnitude of volume, had any effect
upon its route, it remained to ascertain whether
the diminution of its volume or its being more or
less fluid, would influence it in anyway? With
this view, a quantity of carrots were reduced by
mastication to a thin pulp, and two sheep were
made to swallow this, and immediately opened.
In both, M. Flourens found the largest portion of
the carrot pulp in the paunch and in the king's-
hood, but he also found in both a smaller portion
in the third and in the fourth chambers. It ap-
pears, therefore, that tmless aliment be reduced to
a fluid or half fluid state, it does not, upon being
first swallowed, pass beyond the king's-hood or
second chamber.

As a general remark it is important to mention,
that in all the preceding experiments, M. Flourens
always found, both in the paunch and the king's-
hood, together with the fresh swallowed and non-
ruminated food, considerable quantities of other
aliment, more or less bulky or dry, attenuated or
fluid, and consequently affected by the process of
previous digestion. He also found that there was
almost uniformly a greater proportion of the bulky
and dry digested aliment in the paunch, as there
was almost uniformly a greater proportion of the
fluid and attenuated aliment in the Jiing's-hood.

So far the inquiry was easy, and the point to be
ascertained simple, as it was only requisite to
trace the food, little changed as it is by mastica-
tion, and consequently not difficult to be recog-
nised ; but the case is very greatly different in the
instance of ruminated aliment and the second
swallowing. At first, this aliment is more or less
softened, and more or less macerated by its re-
maining in the two first chambers. It is also more
or less divided, and more or less chewed by the
second mastication, whence it is much more diffi-
cult to recognise such altered aliment, and conse-
quently to trace it in its course through its several
chambers.

It is obvious, therefore, that there are two
modes of determining this question, one by means
of some character which may certainly determine

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

41

ruminated aliment in whatever character it may
be found; or in default of such a character, an-
other, by which it can be at once determined what
aliment has just entered any of the chambers, and
to follow this aliment into each of the chambers
the moment it enters. Hitherto all authors seem
to be agreed in the supposition that ruminated ali-
ment carries with it a character distinguishing it
from every sort of aliment, and hence the most
simple and superficial experiments, all of the same
kind, have appeared to be conclusive as to its
course through the digestive organs. These ex-
periments consist in making animals eat herbage,
hay, and the like, opening them sometimes before
and sometimes after rumination, and judging from
the appearance of the aliment, ruminated or non •■
ruminated, found in each chamber, the j)art taken
by each in the process of rumination. The results
accordingly depend altogether on the supposed
certainty of the characters distinguishing rumi-
nated from non-ruminated aliment. If, however,
we examine the points upon which these experi-
menters found this distinction, it appears that
they consider all aliment which is coarse and
bulky non-ruminated, and all which is reduced to
a certain state of division or allenuation rumi-
nated. From their going upon characteristics so
very vague, it is not difficult to account for the dis-
crepancies into which they have fallen.

Taking the instance of the first two chambers
it appears, from the preceding experiments of M.
Flourens, that the paunch and the king's-hood al-
most alwa3's contain, together with the coarse and
dry aliment, other aliments more or less attenuated
or fluid, and according to the regimen of the ani-
mal it will be presently made appear that these
two chambers may contain either dry and coarse
or fluid and attenuated aliment. It will therefore
be evident, that, according to the particular case
observed by each author who follows these vague
distinctions, each will form a conclusion contra-
dictory to the others. The paunch, for instance,
frequently contains, besides the dry and coarse
aliments, other aliments reduced to a certain state
of attenuation and division ; and Baron Haller,
who particularly remarked these comminuted ali-
ments, concluded that ruminated aliment on being
re-swallowed, was discharged into the paunch.
The king's- hood likewise sometimes contains no-
thing but coarse aliment, and hence Daubenton
and Camper, who had observed this, concluded
that the king's-hood only contained non-ruminated
aliments ; but the king's-hood sometimes contains
nothing but thin and fluid aliments ; and hence
Chabert and Toggia, who had remarked this, con-
cluded that the king's-hood only contained rumi-
nated aliments.

Now it is requisite, first of all, to consider that
division or attenuation may not always be pro-
duced by rumination, since there are other forces
in operation which may attenuate and divide the
aliment. Such, for example, is the contractile
force of the paunch, more particularly where it is
crossed by the ridgy folds already described, and
grains of oats introduced artificially at first, swell
and become soft, so that their interior pulp is as
fluid as milk ; then they throw off' their envelopes,
and if these are gradually reduced to fragments or
debris, without the assistance of rumination, that
is, of a second mastication, the gullet, in M. Flou-
rens' experiments having been previously tied, to
prevent the possibility of such an occurrence. It
is therefore obvious, from this alone, that when
aliment is found in any of the chambers attenuated

or divided, that it may not always have undergone
the process of rumination ; and hence the previous
experiments of Daubenton, Haller, Chabert, Tog-
gia, and others, are all faulty, from the authors
not being aware of the attenuating action of the
organs, independent of the process of rumination.

From the experiments above detailed it is proved
that the food, on being first swallowed, goes into
the two first chambers ; but it is not proved that
it goes immediately into both, and Daubenton and
Camper suppose it to pass first into the paunch
before going into the king's-hood. None of the
experiments previously devised, how varied soever
they might be, could solve this question, because,
in all those experiments it was not immediately
during the act of swallowing, but always a certain
time after, and therefore subsequent to the possi-
ble passage of the aliment from one stomach to
another, subsequent, in a word, to the death of
the animal, that the experimenter can penetrate
to the two chambers to examine them. The im-
possibility of arriving at any certain conclusion
on the old system, suggested to M. Flourens a new
manner of experimenting, highly objectionable,
however, on tiie score of cruelty.

It is well known that animals, and even man
himself, may survive for a greater or shorter pe-
riod with artificial openings, either in the stomach
or in the intestines, and hence M. Flourens con-
ceived the idea of making such artificial openings
in each of the four chambers, so as to be permitted
to penetrate into the interior of each of the cham-
bers whenever he chose, and in this way to as-
certain the points in question by direct observa-
tion.

M. Flourens began by establishing a large arti-
ficial opening in the paunch of a sheep, that is to
say, he first made an opening through the mem-
branes of the paunch, and then drawing asunder
the edges of the wound, fixed them by suture to
the adjacent parts of the abdomen, — precautions
indispensable for preventing the escape or the pas-
sage into the abdomen of the matter contained in
the paunch, whether to bring nothing but the
mucous surface of the chamber in contact with
the exterior air, or to permit the experimenter to
penetrate more easily and more certainly into the
cavity.

When he had established the artificial openings
in this manner, he waited till the animals began
to eat. One ate the same day, and others two or
three days after the operation, all not being at
first equally affected by it, though some time later,
when the primary eff'ects have gone off", the general
effects are in all cases nearly the same. Thus
almost all the aniuials in which an artificial open-
ing is established in any of the stomach chambers
except the fourth, eat much more frequently than
in their natural state, in consequence of a portion
of the food escaping through the opening, and they
also, for the same reason, drink a great deal more,
but they ruminate less often, and become rapidly
lean, seldom surviving many weeks, and often not
more than a month.

When a sheep with an established artificial
opening begins to eat, in a few seconds a part of
the food which it swallows escapes by the opening
in proportion as it eats and swallows. Besides,
upon introducing his finger, and directing it to-
wards the gullet, M. Flourens felt the aliment
enter into the paunch, at the instant it was car-
ried thither from .the gullet. It is consequently
certain that the aliment upon being swallowed the
first time, passes directly into the paunch, but the

42

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

experiment did not determine whether any food
also passed into the king's-hood.

M. Flourens established an artificial opening in
the king's-hood of another sheep, and when the ani-
mal began to eat he observed a portion of the food
escape by the opening as it was swallo ived, and on
introducing his finger by the opening into the
king's-hood, he felt it enter into it the instant it
was carried thither from the gullet. It thence ap-
pears proved, that the aliment, upon beiiig swal-
lowed the first time, passes immediately into the
king's-hood as well as into the paunch.

In another sheep M. Flourens established a
double artificial opening, one in the paunch and a
second in the king's-hood, and by alternately in-
troducing his finger into each, he felt, as in the
two preceding experiments, the food arrive in each
of the two chambers. But besides, he observed,
even when the animal was neither eating nor ru-
minating, that the abdomen slightly contracted ;
and when, during such contractions, he introduced
his finger into the paunch, he felt that also con-
tract, and at the same time he could likewise feel
a portion of food carried from the paunch forwards
into the king's-hood. It has been already stated
that the paunch is towards the left, and the king's-
hood towards the right side of the animal ; and
M. Flourens proved, that when any substance
was introduced into the left artificial opening of
the paunch, in a certain time afterwards it came
out more or less altered by the right artificial
opening in the king's-hood. It has also been al-
ready stated that the paunch is paved by mem-
branous ridges into several partitions or pouches.
Now, if any substance be put through an artificial
opening into the pouch or partition farthest from
the king's-hood, this substance will pass gradually
and successively into the other partitions in the
direction of the'king's-hood, till it at length enters
into it. It is consequently proved, not only that
the food, on being first swallowed, goes imme-
diately into the two first chambers, but also that
this food can pass from the first into the second
chambers directly, without being subjected to the
process of rumination. In order to ascertain the
peculiar action of the paunch and of the king's-
hood, M. Flourens introduced a variety of sub-
stances, and among others he sometimes intro-
duced directly through the artificial openings small
living animals, such as frogs, grey lizards, slugs,
and earth-worms. In every instance these animals
speedily died, and their texture was soon altered
by the digestive powers of the stomach. Similar
experiments made upon rabbits were uniformly
followed by the same result, and consequently the
popular opinion that small animals being swal-
lowed and remaining alive in the human stomach
and causing disorders must be considered unten-
able. The results of these experiments in explain
ing rumination will afterwards appear.

Although the establishment of artificial openings
in the stomach causes animals to ruminate more
seldom, it does not stop rumination, which often
takes place in such circumstances several times
a-day, and during the process M. Flourens intro-
duced his finger frequently to ascertain what was
going on within the chambers. Upon the food
being swallowed the second time, he could feel
some of it enter immediately from the gullet into
the paunch, and also into the king's-hood, as oc-
curred when it was swallowed the first time. But
besides this, on separating the edges of the artificial
opening, he could see a portion of the ruminated
aliment go along the cud-duct into the third cham-

ber or maniplies ; and by means of an artificial
opening in the fourth chamber, he was able to
follow it thither. It appears certain, therefore,
that a portion of the ruminated aliment is returned
into the two first chambers, while another portion
passes immediately by the cud-duct into the third
chamber.

The preceding experiments relate only to solid
food j but as authors have all stated the rout of
liquid aliment or drink to be different in ruminant
animals, it became interesting, by the direct evi-
dence obtainable through artificial openings, to
ascertain the correctness of their statements.
According to Camper, the greater part of any
liquid swallowed is conveyed to the maniplies or
third chamber, while a portion only remains in
the paunch. " When animals, " says Dr. Bostock,
following Sir E. Home, " that possess a ruminant
stomach take in liquids, they are conveyed, in the
first instance, into the second stomach, where they
serve to macerate the food as it passes from the
paunch, so as to prepare it for the process of ru-
mination. "*

When an artificial opening is established in the
stomach of any animal, it drinks much oftener
than it does in the natural state ; and while it is
drinking, water is seen issuing from the artificial
opening, whether they may be in the first, the se-
cond, or the third chamber ; and if there be more
than one artificial opening, one being in the third
chamber, the water is seen issuing from this al-
most as soon as from the opening in the paunch.
It is therefore proved that drink passes in part
into tlie two first chambers as well as into the
the third and fourth, and that immediately in all
the instances.

Reverting to the two facts, that coarse and
bulky aliment passes exclusively into the two first
chambers, and nothing but attenuated or fluid ali-
ment into the two last, the causes appear to be
easily explicable ; for as the two last chambers
communicate with the first exclusively through
the inlet into the manipl'es, an inlet naturally nar-
row, as all writers have remarked, and which be-
sides, as M. Flourens ascertained, in many living
animals can become so completely contracted as
to exclude every substance which is coarse or of
a certain bulk.

It is not more difficult to explain why coarse
and bulky food falls always directly into the two
first chambers, while attenuated and fluid aliment
passes immediately, in part at least, into the two
last ; for upon opening the paunch and the king's-
hood of a living sheep, as was done by M. Flourens,
and making it swallow different sorts of aliment,
when this aliment is coarse or of a certain bulk it
falls partly into the paunch and partly into the
king's-hood ; while, on the contrary, if the aliment
swallowed be attenuated or liquid, it is seen pas-
sing immediately, at least in part, into the mani-
plies, and through the maniplies into the fourth
chamber.

Upon examining what takes place in the gullet
during the process of each swallowing, it is ob-
served to be dilated by the aliment, and opening
when the aliment is coarse, and then the morsel
is carried through the gullet directly into the
paunch or into the king's-hood. On the contrary,
when the aliment swallowed is thin or fluid, tha
gullet remains closed, and in that case the aliment
takes the only way open to it, which is through
the cud-duct into the maniplies, and thence into

* Element. Syst. of Physiology, ii. 462, 2d edit.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

43

the fourth chamber, or, to speak more precisely,
it follows the groove by which the cud-duct is
prolonged into the gullet, forming in the corner of
the latter a conduit always open even when the
gullet is narrowed or quite shut ; consequently
this groove of the cud-duct is very inaccurately
described by Daubenton as opening and shutting
almost like the corners of the human mouth, one
corner remaining shut while the other corner is
open,* whereas it is never shut. So surely, in-
deed, is the open or shut state of the gullet the
cause of attenuated or fluid aliment, being carried
along the cud-duct, that whenever even fluid ali-
ment is too much accumulated, or is swallowed
too quickly, or encloses a bubble of air, the gullet
being dilated thereby opens, and the aliment falls
into the two first chambers in the same way as
coarser aliment.

There are then two distinct ways of swallowing
the one by the gullet, the other by the cud -duct,
and the aliment takes the one or the other of those
ways according to its bulk and solidity, the open
or shut state of the gullet determining into which
chambers it can go. It is moreover the aliment
itself which determines the opening or shutting of
the gullet, as when coarse or bulky it opens the
naturally shut gullet, and when attenuated or fluid
it leaves the gullet shut and passes through the
always open cud-duct.

Having thus ascertained the mode in which ru-
minating animals swallow their food, and the
course it takes when swallowed, the next point of
inquiry is the mode in v/hich the aliment, after
having been swallowed the first time, is returned
into the mouth to be rechewed and swallowed the
second time. The slightest observation is suffi-
cient to show that the swallowed aliment is not
brought up again into the mouth by simple vomit-
ing similar to that of non-ruminant animals, for
ruminant animals have not only the common or-
gans of vomiting, but peculiar organs whose me-
chanism and operation shall be presently investi-
gated.

It is agreed among all authors that the organs
in question of ruminant animals are of two orders,
— mediate, such as theraiAviS (diaphrag^na), and
the muscles of the abdomen ; and immediate, such
as the several chambers of the stomach, but there
is considerable diversity of opinion as to the par-
ticular chamber which influences the process.
Acording to Duverney, the paunch is the principal
organ of communication, in which opinion Boui'-
gelat, Chabert, andToggia concur, while Dauben-
ton, who is followed by Camper and most English
physiologists, contends that the king's-hood is the
principal organ. It is obvious from the preceding
experiments, that it must be one or both of the
two first chambers which returns the food ; and in
order to ascertain whether this was accomplished
by their own or by some exterior force, M. Flou-
rens made the following experiments : —

Upon laying bare the four chambers of the sto-
mach in a living sheep, M. Flourens was aston-
ished at the small degree of reciliary and contrac-
tile energy in their tissue. He successively tried
all sorts of irritation, by pricking, incision, the
actual cautery upon the membranes of each of the
four chambers in several sheep, but he could not
in this way discover either any partial contrac-
tions in the fil)res immediately irritated, nor any
general vermicular motion, however feeble. On
the contrary, when the chambers, particularly

* \ ) i 1 d 02 ie r, Cours d'Agriculture, iii. 694.

king's-hood and the paunch, are in their natural po-
sition, that is, under the combined influence of the
midriff and the abdominal muscles, their contrac-
tile motion is very distinct, a motion which can
be well observed by means of an artificial opening
either in the paunch or in the king's-hood, they
are both found to contract with considerable force
during the efforts made to bring up the food into
the mouth.

The paunch has already been more than once
mentioned to be divided into several pouches, by
projecting membranous partitions corresponding
with furrows on the outside of the organ. Now,
on introducing the finger into the paunch through
an artificial opening, the sides, and more particu-
larly the membranous partitions, are felt forcibly
contracting, and forming as it were knots. Again,
upon raising up the superficial envelope of the
middle region of the abdomen, and leaving un-
touched only the transparent membrane (aponeu-
rosis) which covers the paunch, the exterior of
this chamber is perceived contracting, dilating,
and almost incessantly exhibiting a great vermi-
cular motion. It is therefore certain that the con-
tractile motion of these chambers of the stomach
is much greater in their natural position than
when they are laid bare.

In order to ascertain whether rumination would
take place without the aid of the abdominal mus-
cles, which all authors maintain to concur in the
process, M. Flourens deprived these muscles of
their power of action in a sheep, by cutting their
two nerves (nerfs diapJiragmatiqiies.) The animal
was immediately seized with a great wheezing,
and the chest heaving with diflSculty, breathing
appeared to be carried on solely by the contrac-
tions of the deep-seated muscles of the belly. By
degrees the wheezing diminished or disappeared ;
the animal began to eat, and next morning it ru-
minated but with difficulty, and with efforts affect-
ing the abdominal muscles, which exhibited se-
veral succ-essive contractions before the aliment
could be brought up into the mouth. The cutting
of these nerves, therefore, renders rumination
more difficult without causing it to cease. It is to
be recollected, however, that the cutting of these
nerves does not stop the motions of the midriff,
but only renders it more feeble. By other expe-
riments M. Flourens proved, that when the actions
of the abdominal muscles is entirely stopt by di-
viding the spinal marrow, rumination ceases.

So much, then, for the organs which in rumina-
ting as well as non-ruminating animals concur in
ordinary vomiting ; but the peculiar vomiting or
bringing up the food into the mouth in the pro-
cess of rumination is greatly different. The pe-
culiarity in the case of rumination is, that the
bringing up the food from the stomach is not a
confused vomiting or belching as in non-ruminant
animals, but a regular rejection of the aliment in
detached portions. Daubenton, the first author
that has given any distinct account of this peculi-
arity, which he says consists in the king's-hood
contracting, detaching from the mass of aliment
contained in it a portion thereof, forming this into
a rounded pellet or cud (a corruption of the word
" quid, ") and moistening this to render its pas-
sage up to the mouth more easy. This account
appears to be acquiesced in by Camper, by Blu-
menhach, and by most of our English writers. Dr.
Bostock says, " From the second stomach the food
is again brought up into the mouth in the form of
a rounded ball."*- On the other hand, this ac-

* Element. Syst. of Physiology, ii. 449, 2d edit.

44

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

count is circumstantially rejected by other authors
of note. M. Chabert says there is small ground
for believing those who pretend that the king's-
hood is destined to round and moisten the pellets
to be carried up into the mouth. M. Bourgelat
again concludes, first, that the king's-hood does
not detach from the mass of aliment contained in
it the portion which is to be returned into the
mouth ; secondly, that it does not p^rform^ the
office of rounding and moistening such portions,
as these naturally take the form given them by
the gullet, through which they pass, and conse-
quently he denies the existence of rounded pellets.
It will immediately appear that both of these
theories are erroneous.

M. Flourens began his experiments on the points
in question, by cutting out a portion of the king's-
hood in a living sheep, and in order to diminish
as much as possible, the contractile action of the
remaining portion, he fixed, by several points of
suture, the edges of this portion to the sides of
the abdomen. Being thus deprived of one of its
sides, while the other side was fixed so as to pre-
vent almost any motion, it was evident the king's-
hood could not contract itself into a rounded form,
so as to prepare rounded pellets. Accordingly,
therefore, if it be indispensable to rumination that
pellets be formed, and if it be the king's-hood
which forms thesepellets, as Daubenton maintains,
it would have been impossible for M. Flourens'
sheep to ruminate ; but it did ruminate, and that
frequently, and hence it is proved that the king's-
hood does not jxirform the office attributed to it
by Daubenton ; for admitting that pellets are
formed, it is not the king's-hood that forms them.
Daubenton, indeed, is the only author who men-
tions these pellets, and he had only seen them
once by accident, for nothing of the kind is dis-
coverable on opening the stomachs of ruminant
animals. M. Flourens, finding that pellets, con-
trary to Bourgelat, were actually formed, resolved
to trace them to their origin.

M. Flourens, in order to procure a pellet,
opened, by an incision made lengthways, the gul-
let of a sheep, towards the upper third of its pas-
sage along the neck, hoping that if the animal ru-
minated, the pellets, as they came up from the
stomach, on arriving at the opening of the gullet,
would fall out. The animal, however, did not
ruminate, and lost almost incessantly a prodigious
quantity of saliva through the upper end of the
incision. It frequently sought to eat, and more
particularly to drink, but all that it ate or drank
immediately escaped through the upper end of the
incision. After preserving it for three or four
days in this state, he opened it, and found the
paunch to contain no liquid whatever, all the ma-
terials in it being dry, and as it were kneaded into
com.pact and separate masses in the several parti-
tions of the chamber. What was more interest-
ing, he found towards the spot where the paunch
corresponds to the termination of the gullet, a
pellet perfectly rounded, of about an inch in di-
ameter, like the one seen by Daubenton. This
l)ellet touched on one side the shut termination of
the gullet, on another the mass of herbage con-
tained in the anterior partition of the paunch,
while the remaining portion of it was placed be-
tween the two margins of the cud-dnct. With re-
spect to the king's-hood, it contained nothii.g
whatever, either solid or liquid.

In another sheep, M. Flourens made an incision
in the gullet similar to the preceding. It ceased
to ruminate, and lost, as in the preceding experi-

ment, a prodigious quantity of saliva. After pre-
serving it for two days, he opened it, and found
the materials contained in the paunch already dry,
but not so much so as in the first experiment.
They were likewise divided into distinct compact
masses, by the interior partition of the organ.
The king's-hood was quite empty. ^Vith respect
to the cud-duct, he found it in a pellet, not as in
the first case completely formed, but beginning to
be formed, and therefore showing more distinctly
the mechanism of its formation. The half- formed
pellet corresponded on one side to the shut termi-
nation of the gullet, and on the other to the shut
inlet to the maniplies, while the rest of its surface
was placed between the edges of the cud-duct. It
was apparent from this, that the apparatus by
which it was formed consisted on the one part of
the shut termination of the gullet approaching the
shut inlet of the maniplies, and on the other the
cud-duct.

The gullet of a third sheep was operated upon
in the same way as the two first, and this animal,
contrary to what took place in the others, conti-
nued to ruminate. It ruminated, indeed, some
hours after the operation ; and M. Flourens per-
ceived the pellets which ascended along the throat
fall through the opening of the gullet, as he had
anticipated, when he contrived the first experi-
ment. The pellets thus procured were moist and
soft, but had not so perfect a round form as the
firm dry pellet found in the first sheep. The pres-
sure of the gullet had rendered them somewhat
oblong and cylindrical, though it was obvious
they had been previously round. From the morn-
ing of the operation the animal ceased to rumi-
nate, and during three or four days which it was
preserved, it ruminated no more. After this it
was opened, when the paunch was found to con-
tain nothing but dry materials moulded into dis-
tinct masses, and the king's-hood was completely
em])ty, while the cud-duct contained a pellet dry
and round, placed against the termination of the
gullet, precisely as in the first sheep.

These experiments prove, that in the rejections
of ruminating animals pellets are formed ; that
these are rounded ; and that it is the cud-duct,
together v/ith the shut termination of the gullet
approached to the shut inlet of the maniplies,
which forms the pellets.

In order to form a distinct idea of the mechanism
by which the pellets are moulded, it will be neces-
sary to recollect, first, that the cud-duct extends
from the termination of the gullet to the inlet of
the maniplies ; secondly, that when it contracts,
it approaches one or other of these apertures ;
thirdly, that of these two apertures, the termina-
tion of the gullet is habitually shut, and the inlet
of the maniplies naturally straight, can be so
narrowed as almost to close by its own contrac-
tion ; and fourthly, that when the two first cham-
bers, compressed by the abdominal muscles and
the midriff", contract, they push in consequence
the materials which they contain both against the
two apertures opposite to each other, and against
the cud-duct opposite to the two chambers. The
t vo chambers, in this manner, in proportion as
they contract, push the materials contained in
them between the margins of the cud-duct, and
the cud-duct also contracting, causes the two apei--
tures of the gullet and of the maniplies to approach,
while the two apertures being closed and brought
near together, seize upon a portion of the aliment
and detach it in the form of a pellet. The aperture
of the gullet is closed during the act of detaching

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

45

the pellet, because at that instant the midriff is
contracted, and it only opens when the midriff is
relaxed; and the aperture of the maniplies is
closed, because at that instant the maniplies, as
well as the other chambers, is contracted.

From these circumstances, it is obvious that the
pellet must be detached, as it could not otherwise
be seized by the two approaching apertures; that
the pellet must be round, for this is the form of
the cavity formed by the parts of the organs em-
ployed in the process ; and that the pellet must be
about an inch in diameter, for the cud-duct, when
contracted in the act of forming the pellet, is
about an inch in length.

There results from these experiments of M.
Fiourens another important fact respecting the
digestion of ruminant animals. Baron Cuvier long
ago showed that the salivary apparatus was un-
usually developed in such animals, and the expe-
riments just detailed show how copiously the saliva
flows along the gullet iato the stomach, and when
it escaped by the incisions, that the food in the
paunch became dry, hard, and compact, the cham-
bers becoming deprived of all liquid. Even, in-
deed, when a pellet has been properly moulded,
as without moisture it cannot ascend the gullet, it
remains placed against the aperture of the gullet.
In ordinary cases, no pellet is found on opening a
ruminant animal after death, for the instant they
are formed, they ascend the gullet into the mouth.

To secure, as far as possible, the moistening of
the pellets in rumination, there is a remarkable
provision in the structure of the king's-hood or
second chamber- AVhen much eontracted, Dau-
bentoti says its cavity is not more than an inch in
diameter, and much altered in appearance. " I
have seen, " he says, " the interior of this organ,
■without recognising it, as instead of a net-work
of large meshes, there were only small sinuosities
irregularly directed, upon examining which I found
them to be deep, and containing fluid. "While I
was making these observations, the king's-hood
relaxed from its shrunken state, the sinuosities
enlarged, and took, under my eye, the figure of
the meshes of a net such as we have seen them in
this organ, when it is not contracted. Then the
fluid disappeared, but I squeezed the meshes to
make them take their previous form, and at that
instant I perceived fluid ooze out and even run. I
repeated this compression, and the fluid reappeared
each time : it was contained in the thickness of
the organ as in a sponge. "* M. Fiourens adds,
that when the king's-hood contracts, the project-
ing membranes of the polygonal meshes are brought
close together, and formhollow cells or small tubes,
transforming the whole interior into a sort of
sponge, into the interstices of which the copious
fluids usually contained in this chamber are
squeezed at the instant of contraction, and not re-
turned to the mouth for rumination along with the
pellet.

It is apparently owing in part to this structure,
that ruminating animals can subsist longer than
non-ruminant animals without drinking. Goats
and deer, for example, drink very little, and not
to mention the camel and dromedary, whose sto-
machs are still more adapted to retain fluid. M.
Daubenton proved by experiment that sheep could
stand the want of water for a long time, and that
they would live without drinking on chaff and hay.
The French shepherds all agree in telling him,
that it was not necessary for sheep to drink every

* Rozier, Cours d'Agriculture, iii. 693.

day, but they disagreed as to the number of days
which could be passed with impunity without
water. " After so many proofs, " he concludes,
"of different kinds, it cannot be doubted that a
great deal of water taken as drink, with moist
herbage, or other watery food, is injurious to the
health of sheep and the cause of most of their dis-
orders. The effects of this may be recognised in
hydatids or vesicles full of water, which are so
very common in sheep. These adhere to the vis-
cera, and I have frequently found them in the
middle of the brain, where the}' enlarge so much
as to compress and reduce it to a small volume.
I have seen them fill three fourths of the cavity of
of the skull, and prove fatal after the animal had
languished for a very long time. These hydatids
sometimes pierce the skin and stick amongst the
flocks of the wool. In order to fill these vesicles,
the fluid portion (serositt) of the blood must be so
abundant, and must escape from the bloodvessels
so as to form deposites both within and without
the body. Sweat is also a production of the fluid
portion (serosite) of the blood, and hence is more
to be dreaded in ruminating animals than in
others, inasmuch as sweating greatly diminishes
the fluid, which ought to be employed in rumina-
tion. If sheep are sweating while they ruminate,
therefore, there will be two evacuations of fluid
at the same time, the body will be dried, and the
blood exhausted and heated by the loss, while
thirst will supervene so as to make them drink
till they are incommoded, and their temperament
altered. 'Sweating is also hurtful [to sheep in other
respects; for the fibres of their wool are thereby
deprived of a part of their nourishment, which
the sweat carries out of the body, while the heat
which occasions the sweat causes the wool to
grow too rapidly to acquire sufficient consistence.
Yet we (in France) lodge our sheep in stables,
where they sweat not only in summer but also in
winter, and by ill-managed care and at an expense
useless as well as hurtful, we affect their health
and deteriorate their wool. "*

It is obvious that on the same principles, the
proper feeding of cows to produce the greatest
quantity of milk must be regulated. If they are
fed, accordingly, on very dry food, such as hay,
the greater portion of fluids in the blood will be
spent in the process of rumination and digestion,
and the milk will be scanty ; whereas, when the
aliment abounds in liquid, such as mangold wurzel
or brewer's grains, and distillers' wash as in Hol-
land, they will ruminate much less, a less quantity
of saliva will be wanted for chewing the cud, and
a larger proportion will go to the production of
milk, though this will be thinner and not so rich
in cream as the milk produced from drier food. It
is to be questioned, indeed, by inference from the
experiments of M. Fiourens, whether cows fed
wholly on distillers' wash would ruminate at all
any more than calves, which so long as they suck
never ruminate.

It thus appears, that a correct knowledge of the
process of rumination, though a practical farmer
might, at first sight, look upon it merely as a spe-
culative curiosity, may lead to many important
facts connected with the health and the diseases of
these would extend this paper much beyond our
limits, and already more than enough has been
stated to show the interesting nature of the process
of rumination.

* Rozier, ut supra.

46

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

THE GREAT SMITHFIELD CATTLE
CLUB SHOW.

This, the thirty-eighth annual show of fat cattle,
which on all occasions produces so much interest, took
place on Friday, Dec. 9, at Sadler's Repository,
Gos-^'ell-street.

The Judges— Mr. C. Stokes, of Kingston, Leices-
tershire ; Mr. Edward Franklin, of Ascot, Oxon ; and
Mr. Hirst, of Laugdon, Warwickshire ; having been
engaged the whole of Thursday in making the awards,
adjudged to the breeders and feeders of the under-
mentioned cattle the following prizes for stock properly
qualified according to the general and particular condi-
tions of the show : —

Class l.

For oxen or steers of any breed, under five years of
age without restriction as to feeding.

A prize of 20 sovereigns to the Marquess of Tavis-
tock, for his three years and ten months old Hereford
ox, and also a gold medal.

To Mr. John Verney a silver medal, as the breeder of
the same.

To the Right Honourable Earl Spencer, a medal was
recommended for his four years and seven months old
Durham ox, bred and fed by his lordship.

A three years and six months Durham steer, fed by
the Hon. John Simpson, of Babworth, Nottingham ;
and a four years and eight months old Hereford ox, fed
by Mr. William Giblett, of New Bond-street, were
highly commended.

Class 2.

For oxen or steers of any breed, under six years of
age, weight 90 stone and upwards, that shall not have
had cake, corn, meal, &c., previous to the 1st of August,
1836.

A prize of 20 sovereigns to William Loft, Esq., of
Trusthorpe, for his five years and five months old Dur-
ham ox, bred and fed by himself ; a silver medal was
also awarded him as the breeder of the above ox.

Class 3.

For oxen or steers under five years of age, of any
breed, uader 90 stone and above 70 stone weight, that
shall not have had corn, cake, &c., before the 1st of
August, 1836.

The first prize of 15 sovereigns was adjudged to Wm.
J. Bailey, Esq., of Shenley-house, near Stoney Strat-
ford, for his three years old Hereford ox, bred by Mr.
Watkins, of Fordtown.

A silver medal was adjudged to Mr. Watkins, as the
breeder of the same.

The second premium often sovereigns was adjudged
to Mr. Joseph Bailey, of Stoney Stratford, for his three
years old Hereford ox.

Class 4.

For oxen and steers of any breed, not exceeding four
years and three months of age, under 70 stone weight,
that shall not have had corn, cake, &c., before the 1st
of August, 1836.

A premium of ten sovereigns to Wm. J.Bailey, Esq.,
of Shenley-house, for his four years old Scotch ox, bred
by Mr. M'Turk.

Class 5.

For fattened cows or heifers under five years of age ;
free-martins and spayed heifers not qualified.

A prize of 15 sovereigns was adjudged to Staiford
O'Brien, Esq., of Blatherwyke-park, Northampton-
shire, for his three years and seven months old Durham
heifer ; and also a silver medal as the breeder of the
same.

Class 6.

For fatted cows of five years old and upwards ; free-
martins and spayed heifers not qualified.

To Mr. Samuel Bennett, of Bickering-park, near
Woburn, the first prize of fifteen sovereigns in this
class was awarded for his six year old Durham cow,
bred by Mr. William Brown.

A premium of five sovereigns to the feeder of the
second-best cow in this class was adjudged to Mr.
Henry Cleave, of the Edgware-road, Middlesex, for his

seven year eight months old Durham cow,bred by Lord
Montagu.

Class 7.— Sheep.

A prize of ten sovereigns was adjudged to Mr. John
Painter, of Burley, near Oakham, for his three twenty
months old Leicester wethers, bred and fed by himself.

There were no other competitors in this class.

Class 8.

For long-woolled fat sheep, two years old, without
restriction as to feeding.

A prize of ten sovereigns was awarded to Mr. R.
Bird, of Biggleswade, for his three twenty months old
Leicester wethers.

Class 9.

For long woolled fat wethers, two years old, fed with-
out restriction, above twenty-two months and under
thirty-four months old.

A premium of ten sovereigns was adjudged to Mr.
Richard Rowland, of Creslom, for his three thirty-two
months old wethers.

A gold medal, value of five sovereigns, was adjudged
to Mr. William Bird, as showing the best pen of long-
woolled sheep of any class.

SHORT-O^OOLLED SHEEP.

For short- woolled sheep, without restriction as to
feeding.

As feeder of the best pen of three tweuty-two months
old wethers a prize of fifteen sovereigns was awarded
to Stephen Grantham, Esq., of Stoneham, Sussex, for
his twenty months old South Downs. A silver medal
was also awarded as the breeder of the same.

The second prize in this class was adjudged to his
Grace the Duke of Richmond, for his twenty months
old South Downs, bred and fed by himself.

A pen of South Downs, bred and fed by Thomas Ell-
man, Esq., of Beddingham, Sussex, were highly com-
mended.

The South Downs exhibited by the Hon. Locke
King, and also those of Mr. Jonas Webb, of Babraham,
near Cambridge, were commended.

Class 11.

For short-woolled wethers, two years old, without re-
striction as to feeding.

As feeder of the best above 22 months old, and under
34 months, a premium of 10 sovereigns was awarded to
his Grace the Duke of Richmond for his three 32 months
old South Down wethers, bred by his Lordship, and a
silver medal as breeder thereof.

The second prize in this class of five sovereigns was
adjudged to Stephen Grantham, Esq., for his three 32
months South Downs, bred by himself.

A gold medal was awarded to his Grace the Duke of
Richmond for his three 32 months old South Dow^n
wethers, and which also gained the first prize in class 11.

The first prize in class 12 was awarded to Francis
Tanner, of Hoydon-mount, for his three 20 weeks old
Essex and Neapolitan pigs, a prize of 10 sovereigns.

A silver medal, as the breeder of the above, was ad-
judged to Mr. Tanner.

The second prize of five sovereigns was awarded to
Mr. Poulton, of Hornsey, for his three 17 weeks old
Suffolk and Norfolk pigs.

EXTRA STOCK.

A silver medal was awarded to Mr. Wm. Giblett, of
Bond-street, for his four years and eleven months short-
horned ox, bred by Mr. J. Black, of Denedon, near
Hereford.

A silver medal to the exhibitor of the best long-
woolled sheep was awarded to Lord Sherborne for his
four years and eight months' old long-woolled ewe.

A silver medal was adjudged to the Hon. L. King for
his thirty-three months old South Down wether.

A silver medal was adjudged to Mr. Wm. Poulton,
of Hornsey, near London, for his Suffolk and Hert-
ford pig.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

47

THE DINNER.

This annual festival was held on IMonday, Dec. 12, at
the Freemasons' Tavern. The Earl Spencer, President.

On the noble lord's right and left we observed his
Grace the Duke of Richmond, the Hon. Capt. Spencer,
the Rev. Algernon Peyton, J. Dodd, Esq., the Mayor
of Northampton ; T. Senior, Esq., Stephen Grantham,
J.Druce, John Ellman, John Buckley, George Inskipp,
Robert Lindell, John Gwilt, Thomas Loft, Henry
Trower, and — Hildyard, Esqrs. There were about
two hundred persons interested in the breeding and
feeding of cattle and general agricultural pursuits sat
down to dinner, which was a substantial one.

The cloth having been drawn.

The Chairjian proposed " The health of the King" —
(Great cheering.) " The health of the Queen and the
rest of the Royal Family," wys next proposed, and duly
honoured.

The next toast the Noble Chairman gave was,
" Prosperity to the Smithfield Club." In proposing-
this toast, in which his lordship said he conceived they
were all so deeply interested, he thought it was neces-
sary, however good the judgment of the generality of
the farmers might be, that there should be a stimulus
to keep up the breeds of the various cattle throughout
the country ; or, for want of it, he feared a general de-
terioration would take place.

The Duke of Richmond here interrupted the noble
Chairman, and stated that he thought it would be more
satisfactory to the gentlemen assembled for him to pro-
pose " the health of the noble Earl Spencer," who had
for years paid such constant attention to the interests of
the club. (Loud applause.)

The noble Earl, in returning thanks, said that he
felt it to be a matter of duty — and a matter of pleasure
it was to fulfil that duty, inasmuch as he never felt
more comfortable than when he met the farmers and
gentlemen of the country. (Cheers.) He liked agri-
cultural pursuits, and, having tried many others —
(great laughter), no one pursuit gave him so much satis-
faction, with so little alloy as this did. (Cheers.) Al-
though he had not been so successful on this occasion
as he had been in other years, he would always endea-
vour to bring the best animals he could to the show,
and, under any circumstances, he hoped he should
never produce a bad one.

The healths of the several noblemen and gentlemen
who have obtained prizes and medals at the late show
were then proposed, and cheerfully responded to.

Upon" the health of his Grace the Duke of Richmond"
being proposed, great cheering took place ; and his Grace
in returning thanks, said he felt highly gratified at
the manner in which his name had been associated with
agricultural pursuits, and he also must express the great
pleasure which he at all times felt in meeting his brother
farmers. (Cheers.) He felt it due to himself and them
to state that great benefits arose to the community at
large through their exertions. He had stated at their
last general meeting, when he was an unsuccessful ex-
hibitor, that he would endeavour to improve his stock ;
he had made chat attempt, and had been successful.
As a candidate before them in future, he pledged him-
self that a bad South Down should never carry off a
prize. There were, no doubt, many more capable, but
none more anxious for the vvelfare and prosperity of the
farmers than himself. (Cheers. ) He felt most sincerely
grateful for the honour conferred by those around him.
(Cheers.)

The health of Mr. Hildyard, President of the North-
amptonshire Farming and Grazing Society, was next
proposed.

Mr. Hildyard, in returning thanks, said — It had
been his lot for several years past to return thanks as
an unsuccessful candidate, a situation of which he con-
fessed he was not proud. But his feelings upon the
present occasion were very different, for he did feel
some degree of pride in having been President of the
Northamptonshire Farming and Grazing Society for
near twenty years ; a society which enjoyed the power-
ful patronage and mos* liberal support of the noble lord
now occupying the chair at this meeting. That noble

lord had given a better description of the shew than it
was in his power to give ; however, as an old practi-
tioner in these matters, he might be allowed to make a
few observations. He had always told them that he
considered the Northamptonshire Society as a nursery
for the Smithfield Club. For many years past there
have been a number of the animals in the shew-yard
here, which had been previously exhibited at the North-
amptonshire shew. This year there are not more than
one or two, and this circumstance he might fairly argue
had been one cause why the show was so indifferent in
classes 2, 3, 4, and 5. Several of his friends exhibiting
in those classes shewed desperately inferior lots, com-
pared to what they had been accustomed to do. My
friend, Mr. Senior, for instance, occupies as fine land as
any in England, in the Vale of Ailesbury. I asked
him how he came to shew so indifferent an animal as
that in class 2. His excuse vvas that the animal was
lame, and tlierefore he was obliged to put him into a
boat, and, having done so, he thought he might as well
put him into the shew-yard, without entertaining any
expectation of his winning-. I believe the bullock was
lame, but I believe the excuse was lamer, for I think if
my friend had possessed a better beast, two would have
been put into the boat instead of one. Now I can make
a better excuse for my friend sending so inferior an ani-
mal. I walked over his farm in August last, and from
the long-continued drought which had then taken place,
I found his fine pastures with but little more grass upon
them than is usually seen throughout the country on
commons where geese are fed ; and it seems that this
great drought was not confined to the Vale of Ailesbury,
but that it extended to the neighbourhood of Stony Strat-
ford, and that the pastures there must also have resem-
bled a goose common ; otherwise, my friend, Mr. Bai-
ley's fat ox, which gained the prize in clause 4, would
have had a little more meat on his back and sides. Be-
fore he sat down he would make a remark upon his
lordship's observations, that the finances of the club
were in a flourishing state, and take the opportunity of
recommending- that the prize to the butcher who lays
out most money in the yard, be altered for next year.
He did not mean to say that the butchers are men more
likely to be in their cups than other men, but he thought
that they would be more pleased to exhibit to their
friends as a prize obtained at the Smithfield show, a cup
with something good in it, than in dangling- upon the
finger a bit of ribbon with a medal attached to it. jMr,
Hildyard, on sitting down, was loudly cheered from all
parts of the room.

Mr. Giblett's health being proposed, in returning
thanks he said that he was very much pleased to find
that he had been a successful candidate. Among stock
in general he expressed an opinion in favour of the
Hereford, and contended that no animal could be so
perfect as those which bore a fair proportion of lean
to fat.

On " the health of the Judges" being drunk, one of
them, Mr. Stokes, said that Mr. Giblett might be a very
good judge of fat cattle when arrived in town ; but he
had very little opinion of his judgment as a Ijreeder of
stock.

Several other toasts and sentiments having emanated
from the noble Chairman, and which were most cor-
dially responded to by the company, his Lordship, ac-
cornpanied by the Duke of Richmond, left the room,
amidst the deafening plaudits of the numerous com-
pany.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUSSEX
ADVERTISER.

Sir, — The very many Half-crown Agricultural Book
Clubs, established in the South of England, having-
made known the means by which the Scotch have been
enabled to supply the London Markets with meat, have
suggested whether it may not be worthy the consider-
ation of the subscribers to our Fat Cattle Shows in Sus-
sex, that some premiums be also offered for the stock
soonest marketable, as in North Britain.

A FRIEND TO AGRICULTURE.

48

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW
YEAR.

(From the Comic Almanack.J

Merry Christmas and happy New Year !

Here's a bundle of " little accounts :"
And their bearers left vyord they'd be glad

If you'd settle their little amounts.
They've all got " large sums" to " make up,"

And cannot wait longer, they swear ;
So I wish you the joys of the season—^

IMerry Christmas and happy New Year !

Here's the doctor's — a horrid long bill —

And he vows he's as badly as you ;
For his patients won't pay him a groat

And he's dying of Tick Doloreux.
But he says he's consulted a friend,

A lawyer that lives very near ;
So I wish you the joys of the season —

Merry Christmas and happy New Year !

The surgeon's is not a wit less ;

At its items I really shiver'd ;
A hundred for Sally's confinement ;

A hundred to " Bill delivered."
A hundred for mixtures and pills

(I think it uncommonly dear) ;
But I wish you the joys of the season^

Merry Christmas and happy New Year !

The baker has brought you a roll

Which will take you a month to digest ;
He looks most uncommonly crusty,

And says that, of all trades, he's blest
If a baker's is not the most kneady ;

And hints at John Dough ; and t fear —
But I wish you the joys of the season —

Merry Christmas and happy New Year 1

The poult'rer his " Game Bill" has brought ;

This year's — and last year's in addition.
Twelve guineas for Black-cock alone.

Which I think is a grouse imposition.
Ten guineas for pheasants and hares !

And he charges his ven'son as deer.
But I wish you the joys of the season —

Merry Christmas and happy New Year !

Here's your butcher — the city M, P. —

Begs to " ax leave to bring in his bill,"
It takes up six folio pages :

Good heavens ! it's as long as a will.
He says times are quite out oi joint ;

And he must have the cash ; so, my dear,
I wish you the joys of the season- -

Merry Christmas and happy New Year.
» « * *

And, oh dear ! here's a note from your steward !

He says your estate he's been round,
And examined your books and your papers.

And you can't pay a crown in the pound,
There's writs out against you by scores ;

You're surrounded by tipstaves and bums;
So I wish you, my love, a good Christmas !

And a happy New Year— when it comes ;

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUSSEX

ADVERTISER.

Sir, — Your paper of November 28th, having asked
whether it would not be advantageous that some of the
premiums at the various cattle shows, should be for the
stock soonest marketahle, the 32d Quarterly Journal of
Agriculture has been examined, which contains the list
of premiums amounting to upwards of l,600i, but it is
found that those| for live stock do not exceed 450/. A
sum far inferior to the aggregate of Smithfield pre-
miums, and those at various! English To\^'ns, as Hail-
sham, Battle and Lewes, in East Sussex only. But the
small comparative amount is more thaa compensated

by the additional honour from the number of competi-
tors in a struggle, where the unsuccessful candidates
maybe supposed to have good, if not the very best
stock. The competitions taking- place in the presence
of the principal landed proprietors, added no doubt to
the endeavours of the candidates, to obtain the prizes,
and the liberality of throwing them open to those who
are not subscribers, v/as rewarded by Mr. Ellman,
taking his fine sheep to Perth, and if he -brings home a
conviction of the utility of Scotch Ploughs with two
horses only, stall feeding, and rotation of crops, which
have enabled the less genial pordon of this island to
supply the South with meat, our gain icill be very great,
and add to the obligations we are already under, to Mr.
Ellman's family. I hope you will favor this with in-
sertion, in your extensively circulated Journal, as the
shows now going on recommend the speedy considera-
tion of future premiums. A. Z.

HouTicuLTURAL Society. — The ordinary meet-
ing was held on Tuesday afternoon, Henry Moue-
TON Dyer, Esq., Vice-President, in the chair. Dr.
LiNDLEY, the Secretary, read a communication from
Mr. TiiuRNsoN, one of the gardeners of the society,
being a report of some experiments on the culture of
the potatoe, which were a continuation of those pub-
lished some time since in the society's transactions.
By planting them at a greater distance, so as to ensure
a freer action of light, beneficial effects were produced,
and the results seemed to show that the crops were the
greatest when the distance was proportionate to the
height of the stems, an average of two feet being found
the be=t medium. The points of tke tubers were found
more productive than the whole root. The month of
March was found the most beneficial for planting, and
it was also ascertained that the greatest quantity of po-
tatoes was produced when the tubers were placed at a
depth of six inches, and the least at three inches. These
results had been confirmed by a great variety of ex-
periments.

Old English Fare. — The following is a din-
ner of the reign of Charles the First : —A soupe of
snayles, a powered goose, a joU of salmon, and a dish of
green fish, buttered, with eggs ; this was a first course.
Then came a Lomliard pie, a cowe's udder roasted, a
grand boyled meat, a hedge-hog- pudding-, a rabbit
stuffed with oysters, polonian sausag-es, a mallard with
cabbage, and a pair of boyled cocks. To these suc-
ceeded as entremente — a spinnage tart, a carbonated hen,
a pye of aloes, eggs in moonshine, a christal jelly, jum-
balls, quiddany, braggat and walnut suckets. Cockale,
surfeit-water, canary, sack, and Gascony wines, served
to moisten this heterogenous repast. The following is
taken from " Wrecker's Secrets of Nature," published
in the next reign, 1660 : — A live roasted goose. — The de-
tails of the process are too barbarous to repeat, but
when the roasting is accomplished the writer adds :
" Then take her up, set her before your guests, and she
will cry as you cut off any part from her, and will al-
most be eaten up before she is dead ; it is mighty plea-
sant to behold."

Simple Cure for Rheumatism. — Boil a small
pot full of potatoes, and bathe Hie parts affected
with the water in which the potatoes are boiled, as hot
as it can be applied, immediately before getting into
bed. The pains will be removed, or at least greatly
alleviated, by the next morning. The most obstinate
rheumatic pains are known to have been cured by one
application of this novel and simple remedy.

A draught-horse of the Clydesdale breed, belonging'
to Mr. Gray, of Kirkoswald, Morriston, died last week,
after having reached the 33d year of his ago. He was
15 hands high, square in the quarters, and all his life
remarkable for spirit and action

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

49

THE PATENT RETARDER, OR IM-
PROVED DR.\G.

The object that the projectors of this contrivance have
in view is to obviate the danger and risk that passen-
gers are exposed to, ■whether travelling hy stage
coaches or other vehicles, ivhen descending hills, or
in case of the horses of their carriage becoming un-
manageable, restive, or running away. On Tuesday
afternoon a number of trials were made with a view
to test the efficacy of this invention, by running a
stage coach with theretarder attaclied to it, (with and
without horses,) up and down Highgate hill, and the
result was most satisfactory. To a casual observer
there is no essential alteration in the appearance of
a coach to which the retarder is attached, and cer-
tainly it adds no great weight but to it : but by its con-
struction either the coachman or the guard, and in-
deed any person in the rear of the coach, by the pres-
sure of the foot on the spring rising from this ma-
chine, and without alighting, can retard or stop the
progress of it at pleasure. The principle of this ma-
chine, as we understand it, is that by increasing the
pressure on the boxes of each of the hinder wheels
the friction is increased to such an extent as to stop
the progress of the vehicle. This is managed by
means of of a lever with springs acting above and
below the box of each of the hind wheels, and, as we
before observed, can be applied by any person on the
top of the coach. As far as we were enabled to judge
of the merits of this invention from the trial of Tues-
day, we were perfectly satisfied of its utility. Every
person who has travelled to any extent must be aware
of the inconvenience and danger that results from
the pressure of a heavily laden coach on the horses
33 descending a steep hill; but by means of the re-
tarder the coach can be stopped, or its progress re-
gulated at pleasure, almost imperceptibly to the pas-
sengers, or the machine can be applied in a manner
to operate as an additional draft of several tons.
Again, on ascending a hill, a coach can be stopped at
pleasure by means of this invention, so as to prevent
its running back. At the same time the recurrence
of those accidents can be prevented which so often
arise from the coachman, on leaving his box, placing
the reins in charge of a passenger or horsekeeper.
The proprietors of this machine contend that the
adoption of it by coach proprietors would be attend-
ed with considerable pecuniary advantage to the lat-
ter; of this, however, we are unable to express an
opinion, but we have no hesitation in stating that the
general application of it to stage coaches would be
attended with considerable advantage to the public
both as regards the safety and convenience of travel-
lers, and at the same time much time would be saved
in a long journey which is now lost in stopping the
coach to apply the drag. The experiements are to
be repeated this day and to morrow, at the hours of
11, l,and 3 o'clock, at which times the coach, with
the retarder attached to it, will leave the Archway
Tavern, at Holloway, to ascend Highgate hill. The
patentees of this most useful machine are Messrs.
Makepeace and Pearson, of Mitcham, Surrey, and
the meric of the invention is due to the former of
these gentlemen.

The Beet-Root. — {Communicated hy John
Murray, Esq.) — As the extraction of sugar from the
beet-root is even seriously contemplated in tliis country,
though to a limited extent, it may be not unimportant
to mention, that the kind of beet-root is of paramount
interest, and that there are some kinds from which no
profitable return can be reasonably expected. Nor is

this merely interesting in reference to the present spe-
culation, but to the agi'iculturists in the fattening of
cattle ; since it is well known that saccharine matter is
one of the most nutritious principles in vegetation. The
200 acres of beet-root in Bedfordshire, said to be des-
tined for conversion into sugar, if I am correctly in-
formed, is tliat commonly known to agriculturists under
the German appellation of mangold wurzel: but this is
by no means that cultivated in France for the pui-pose
in question. That to which the decided preference is
universally given, is the White Silesian Beet-Root,
(Betterave blanche de Siltsie) ; the quantity of sugar
obtained is not only in a much greater ratio, but the
roots resist the effects of frost better than any other.
The next in order is the Blood-Red Root, which we
commonly rear in our gardens, to mix with salads.
There is besides these a yellow variety (Betterave de
Castelnandary) ; but the cultivation of this kind, though
once extensive, is now commonly abandoned. Inde-
pendent of a minimum ratio of sugar, the root is subject
to incessant change, and constant degeneration even in
the same soil and circumstances of culture. Not only
is the refuse excellent for feeding and fattening" farm
stock, so employed by the late Count Chaptral for many
years, but it is proposed to convert it into paper. Con-
sumed to ashes it yields potash.

Agricultural Production and Population
(Ireland). — In the report on the inquiry into
the state of the Irish poor, the commissioners re-
mark, that while in Great Britain the agricultural fa-
milies constituted little more than a fourth, in Ireland
they constitute about two-thirds of the whole popula-
tion ; that there were, in 1S31, 1,055,982 agricultural
labourers in Great Britain ; and in Ireland, 1,131,715,
while the cultivated land of Great Britain amounts to
about 34,250,000 acres, and that of Ireland only to
about 14,600,000. There are in Ireland, therefore,
about five agricultural labourers for every two that
there are for the same quantity of land in Great Britain.
It is staled by the commissioners, with respect to actual
produce, that the agricultural produce of Great Britain
is more than four times greater than that of Ireland ;
that agricultural wages vary from 6d to Is a-day ; that
the average of the country in general is about S^d. ;
and that the earnings of the labourers do not amount,
on an average of the whole class, to more than from 2s
to 2s 6d a-week, or thereabouts, for the year round. The
number of persons in Ireland out of work and in distress
during thirty weeks of the year is estimated by the com-
missioners at not less than 585,000, and the number of
persons dependent upon them at notlessthan 1,800,000,
making in the whole 2,385,000.

Postponement of Rents. — The following is an
extract of a letter from Lord Blantyre's Factor, re-
ceived by one of the tenants on the estate. The late-
ness of the harvest will render this timely and conside-
rate postponement an exceedingly desirable mearsue :
— " In order to give the tenants a little more leisure
than is usual to prepare for the Martinmas collection,
which the extraordinary backwardness of the season
renders necessary— I wish to let you know, tliat the day
of collection for this term will be postponed till towards
the end of December ; and I will thank you to let the
other Cardonald tenants know, at your earliest coave-
viency, that they may have any advantage arising from
the delay. — Perth Courier.

Cure for the tic Doloreux. — Take five grains
of aconitine, and rub down into an ointment with
five drachms of cerate; then apply a small portion,
on the top of the fore-finger, over the track of the pain-
ful nerve, and gently I'ub for half a minute, or longer,
according to the degree of pain, either once or twice
in the day. This prescription has been recently ap-
plied in several cases, witii the most astonishing suc-
cess. Mankind, it is said, are indebted to Dr. Turnhull
for the discovery of this important medicine.

60

THE FARMER'S xAIAGAZINE.

S. P. G.'s THEORY OF THE FAILURE
OF THE TURNIP CROP.

Sir, — Your paper of tlie 14th inst., contains a re-
ply to my observations on your Derbyshire corres-
pondent S. P. G.'s theory of the failure of the turnip
crop, and likewise some remarks on my assertion
that the lady-cows, so far from destroying the cab-
bages, were the natural destroyers of the insects
which did. With regard to the latter part of the
subject, he makes some unmeaning expressions,
which he evidentlv mistakes for wit, but as they do
not tend to overturn my observations, — nay, as he
has not even attempted to deny the facts I proved, I
shall make no observations upon them. I now come
to the part where S. P.J. and I are more immediately
concerned : his theory is, that the cause of the failure
is not the smother-fly (aphis), but the decomposition
of the plants, owing to the drought and uncongeni-
ality of the weather, and that the flies are only car-
rying off the eflTects. I contend, on the contrary,
that the insects are the cause of the failure, and that
they do not naturally feed on the diseased juices, but
on those of the healthy plant, and here we are at
issue. It is evident, that to substantiate S. P. G.'s
theory, it is necessary to prove, 1st. — that the plants
had decomposed previous to their being attacked ;
and, 2ndly — that the insects do not feed on the
healthy juices. Now, I tliink I shall have little dif-
ficulty in proving the reverse of these to be the case.
With the state of the weather in Derbyshire, I am of
course unacquainted, but he says that " the ground
was never perfectly saturated with moisture." Now,
by the way, I can conceive no case so favourable to
the decomposition of the plants, as to perfectly satu-
rated with wet, for dryness is unfavourable to de-
composition ; and undrained land generall}^ shows,
that owing to this saturation, the plants are decom-
posed and destroyed. He next states, that the cohl
winds and cold rains promoted the decomposition of
the plants; this cannot be correct, for as he after-
wards very properly states, " a certain degree o{ heat
is required." Now, I beg to ask, were, or were not,
the plants destroyed by the drougJit? If they were
not, I ask were they by the rain, or by both 1 for
destroyed they must have been by something, before
they could be subject to the laws oi inorganic matter !
If the flies attacked them before they had lost their
vitality, they could not be in a state of decomposi-
tion, though they might be in a state of disease, but
he declares that " the fly never will attack a plant,
till it has arrived at a certain state of decomposition,
so as to separate the gelatinous, from the fibrous
matter." He however, asserts, that the leaves were
covered with a slimy mucus from incipient decom-
position, and these plants were invariably first at-
tacked. This, however, proves nothing; it is well
known that the ejectamenta of the apliides, called
honey-dew, is a slimy mucus, and it is doubtless this
which he has observed, and long after the minute
aphides had commenced their attack. I should like
to know how he can show that the gelatinous portion
of the plants was decomposed, or how he can prove
that gelatine exists in plants at all. It will be, so
far as I am acquainted, a chemical discovery. Now
I would just revert to Yorkshire. After the plants
had recovered from the effects of the black caterpil-
lar, they looked pretty well, except such as were
destroyed by the wire-worm, but when the apliides
came, and not before, their leaves ceased to grow,
and assumed a shrivelled and sickly appearance.

Now, as to the second point. He says undoubt-
edly tlie flies would have attacked every part of the
field, if they had been the cause of their destruction.

This is incorrect ; the black caterpillar was un-
doubtedly the cause of the destruction of the plants,
and yet they did not attack every part of the fields,
but while the exposed situations were attacked and
carried off, some patches in the field perfectly es-
caped, and yet who would have the hardihood to
say, that they were only carrying off the effects of
another cause. He seems to cling much to the fact
that the flies attacked the exposed situations, — now
I repeat, where the plants are isolated and deprived
of moisture, they are much sooner destroyed by the
insects, owing to their juices being unsupplied by
moisture. The experiments of Bonnet, Reaumer,
&c. I think are quite conclusive that they feed on
the healthy juices only. They kept one of the in-
sects on a healthy plant for months, and it not only
lived, but propagated seven generations, which it
could not have done, had it fed only on the decom-
posed juices, any more than a horse could thrive on
manure. He states that if the flies had not been more
numerous, than in former years, the same failure
would have taken place ; bow then can he account
for the fact, that thousands of acres were attacked,
and yet survived, and are still a crop 1 I may per-
haps be allowed to state another fact; one of my
geraniums was, by neglect, left out of doors one
night in summer, and in the month of August, it be-
came attacked by aphides, and soon after looked very
diseased ; most of the insects died about the time
they left the turnips, and it recovered, and is now a
healthy plant, and yet I perceive there are two or
tliree still upon it, but not sufficiently numerous, to
affect the health of the plant materially. If the
plants in a state of decomposition only are attacked,
iiow did it happen that on those plants which were
destroyed by the wire-worm, and which in reality
did decompose, or " putrify," no flies appeared 1
S. P. G. constantly contends that the plants were
decomposed before the flies attacked them. Now he
should know that before the aphides appear as flies,
they are lice, and wingless, and so small as to elude
a mere superficial examination, and as he mentions
nothing of the lice, the probability is, that the slimy
mucus he describes was voided by the lice, before
they had attained the winged state, which accounts
for the diseased state of the plants before he discovered
the flies. I have now one before me so small as to be
nearly invisible to the naked eye, on the under side
of a leaf, and which I certainly should not have
noticed, had I not looked carefully for it. In con-
clusion, I may remark, that if he thinks I intended to
criticise his report he is mistaken, my sole object is
to elicit truth, and if he can show me I am wrong I
shall be obliged to him, if not, I shall retain my pre
sent opinion, and eonclude him unable to prove his
theory. Your's respectfully,

Thorpfleld, near Thirsk, M. M. MILBURN.

Nov. 21, 1836.

Size of Trees. — In taking the circumference or
diameter of the trunks, every forester knows that it
would give a much fairer estimate of the timber each
tree is likely to contain, to measure it at 3ft. or 4ft.
from the ground, instead of at 1 ft. ; but the latter mode
of measuring being adapted for young trees under 10
or 12 years growth, and our printed return papers hav-
ing been made out chiefly with a view to them, we have
considered it best to avoid any distinction in the mode
of taking dimensions, lest it should create confusion.

England.— i?e>-/:s—Q.uercus ? Cedar, at Ditton

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

51

Park: 80 ft. high; diameter of trunk, 5 ft. ; age, 90
years.

Hampshire — Oak, at Strathfieldsaye ; 90 ft. high ;
diameter of trunk, 6 ft., and of head 69 ft.

Cedar at Strathfieldsaye, 108 ft. high ; diameter of
trunk, 3 ft., and of head 74 ft.

Hertfordshire. — Oak, at Pashanger ; containing up-
wards of IS loads of timber.

Cedar : 45 ft. high; diameter of trunk, 2 ft., and of
head 42 ft.

Northamptonshire. — Oak at Shipley House : dia-
meter of trunk, 3ft., and of head 171 feet. The Gog
and Magog Oaks, at the Marquess of Northampton's
contain, one, 1668 cubic feet, and the other 900 cubic
feet.

Cedar at Castle Ashley : 80 years old ; has a trunk
4 ft in diameter.

Oxfordshire. — Oak at Blenheim : trunk, 10 ft. in
diameter.

Cedar, at Oxford in the Botanic Garden ; it is 30 ft.
high ; diameter of the trunk, l ft. 3 inches, and of head
27 ft.

Surrey—Oak at Claremont : 76 ft. high ; diameter
of trunk, 4§ feet, and of head 80 feet.

Cedars at Claremont ; 100 feet high ; diameter of
trunk, 16 ft. Another, with a stem clear to the height
of 100 ft.

Sussex. — Oak at Cowdrey : 60 ft high ; diameter of
trunk, 5J ft., and of head 103 ft.

Cedar, at West Dean : 64 ft. high : diameter of
trunk, 4ft., and of head 80 ft.

Wilts.— Oak at Wardour Castle : 50 ft. high ; dia-
meter of trunk, 8ft., and of head 35 ft.

Cedar at Bowood : 60 ft. high ; diameter of trunk,
3jft., and of head 62 ft.

OPERATION OF THE TITHE
MUTATION ACT.

COM-

We give the following detailed account of the pro-
ceedings which took place upon the occasion of com-
mutmg the tithes of a large parish in Essex, on Thurs-
day last, in the presence of an assistant-commissioner,
on the voluntary principle. The parish is that of Brad-
well-by-the-Sea. The rector had previously caused a
notice to be put on the church door, and twice in the
county newspaper, as required by the Act. There
were present, H. Dixon, Esq., of Oxford, assistant-com-
missioner; Mr. C. Parker, Mr. Spurgen, Mr. Dyke,
and other landowers ; Mr. Tilson, of Coleman-street,
as attorney for the master and warden of Sion college ;
Mr. Sturge, of Bristol, for the corporation of Bristol:
Mr. Druce, of Billiter-square, for the largest individual
landowner : Mr. C. Parker, of Chelmsford ; Mr. Dean,
of Tottenham, land agent and surveyor ; and others un-
der power of attorney, forming altogether, upwards of
four-fifths of the whole of the landowners. Comyns
Parker, Esq., was appointed chairman.

The Rector put in copies of the notices put upon the
church door, and copies of the newspaper in which the
same notice had been inserted. A map of the whole
parish, with a book of reference, made in 1826, was pro-
duced by the parochial authorities, who also laid upon
the table books containing the rates made for the relief
of the poor, church rates, and highway rates for the
seven years next preceding the 25th day of December
1835. From these books, &c. it appeared that the
parish contains 4,733 acres, whereof 3,158 acres are
arable, 1,071 acres grass land, 67 acres woodland, 411
acres homesteads, wastes, and saltings, and 26 acres
public roads ; that the rated amount to the poor, in-
cluding cottages under a late revision, as one of the
parishes forming the Maldon Union, appeared to be
4,135i 10s, and the average of the whole of the rates for
the seven years preceding Christmas, 1835, Mil.

The Rector in a letter to the Tithe Commissioners,

and the several landowners, dated the 5th of Novem-
ber instant, stated , —

" The composition for tithe for the last £ s. d.
seven years, with the several occupiers 1329 11 10

" Amount of poor, surveyor, and county
rates, on tithe paid by the occupiers
annually on an average of seven years
antecedent to Christmas, 1835 138 3 7|-

£1467 15 5i
" The Government and Ecclesiastical
annual charges on the tithe are — £ s. d.

Land-tax 66 4 5

Tenths 4 17 8

Visitation fees, average 1 10 0

£72 12 1
" Tiie Government and Ecclesiastical charges 1 have
paid as titheowner ; the amount I claim subject to all
these charges and outgoings is 1,600^ per annum.
(Signed^ " THOMAS SCHREIBER."

From these data tlie commissioner proceeded to as-
certain the amount of the rates, taxes, and assessments,
properly chargeable on the tithe, for the last seven
years to Christmas, 1835, and which proved to be as
stated in the rector's letter.

The commissioner announced that beyond giving his
opinion and advice upon questions before the meeting,
his occupation as commissioner under the voluntary
settlement clauses of the Act, would for the present
cease. The chairman then directed the attention of the
landowners and their agents present to consider the pro-
position made by the rector, in his cu'culars before re-
ferred to, and also what offer under the circumstances,
they were inclined to make to the rector. It was
inquired what amount of deduction had been made
from the composition of l,329nis lOd, when it appeared
that the rector in 1829 had made an abatement of 50Z
per cent., in 1830 none, in 1831 251 per cent., in 1832
none, in 1833 151 per cent., in 1834 20/ per cent., and
in 1835 15/ per cent., amounting upon the average of
the seven years to near 18/ per cent., or 240/,
leaving a clear composition of 1,090/. It was also
thought that the average of the poor, county, church,
and highway rates for the last seven years should be re-
duced for the future, since there could be no doubt that
the operation of the new poor-laws, the payment by the
Government of so large a proportion of the county rates
out of the consolidated fund, the probable abrogation of
church rate, and the total removal of statute duty on the
highways, would so much reduce the amount of the out-
goings on the tithes that two-third parts of the former
rates might be considered ample as an allowance for
the future, to say nothing of the great saving that must
arise to the rector from the not having to support ex-
tensive farm buildings and otlier accommodation, suit-
able for the taking of tithe in kind.

The Chairman having recapitulated this view of the
case to the rector, the reverend gentleman, in a manly
and eloquent appeal, contended that, although he had
from the general pressure on agriculture, and his sym-
pathy for his parishioners, declined to enforce the com-
position which had existed for nine years, it did not fol
lov/ that he should extend that feeling to the land-
owners ; liut that he might not be thought to want pro-
per feeling and respect for them, he would at once give
up 9/ per cent, for the future of the 18/ per cent which
he had heretofore allowed to the occupiers. On the
other hand it was contended on behalf of the land-
owners, that it was notoriously true that the titbes of
this parish per acre, were liigher, and the rents lower,
than in any other in tiie kingdom ; and it was also
asserted that within a few years every farmer, with the
exception of two who occupied their own estates, had
failed. It was further contended that the clauses of the
Tithe Commutation Act authorised the adoption of the
reduced composition, and that the sum actually received
by the rector, for the seven years previously to Christ-
mas, 1835, was that contemplated by the Act as the
criterion upon which the commutation was to be made.

In this stage of the business the Chairman requested

E 2

52

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

the Rector to withdraw for a short period in order that
the parties present mig-ht confer together, and the cnair-
having' been desired by a g-entleman to ask the com-
missioner his opinion upon the question at issue, said lie
thoug-ht that upon an appeal to the board of commission-
ers they might not thinic it just to visit upon tlie rector,
in perpetuity, the whole of the deductions which he had
made from the composition to the occupiers ; to which
the same g'entlemman replied that the Act appeared to
be imperative on that head — when the commissioner in-
timated that thoug-h that mig-ht be the case, still the
commissioners liad the power of employing' 20^ per
cent, to meet cases of hardship arising- from excessive
liberality or otherwise, aud he thought no one could say
that an abatement of fifty per cent, in one year, which
had actually been made in 1829, was not liberal in the
extreme.

The meeting after much deliberation, came to the re-
solution of offering' 1,300/ per annum, out of which all
rates, taxes, and assessments whatsoever, parliamentary
and parochial, should be paid ; and the chairman hav-
ing communicated the offer to the Rector, he at once
agreed to accept it.

It then became necessary to ascertain, by the last rate
made for the relief of the poor, what proportion those
present, and assenting to the proposition, bore to the
whole amount of the property rated iu the parish ; and
it appearing that the owners of more than two-third
parts of the whole were assenting, and therefore that
the remainder were concluded by the arrangement ; and
an agreement to that effect having been drawn up and
executed by all the parties present, the meeting ad-
journed to the 10th of December, to meet at the same
place and hour, in order to complete the schedules ne-
cessary to be attached to the agreement previously to
transmission to the tithe commissioners in London, and
to make arrang-ements for dividing the rent-charge
among the several proprietors, in proportion to the
quantity and quality, taken together, of their respective
estates. Thus, then, in the short space of six hours was
this important question entered upon and set at rest,
proving how much is to be done when men of business
unite in a proper feeling towards each other, and a re-
spect for the occasion that brings them together. INIay
the same good feeling and respect be united among
those who have to perform the like offices in other
parishes, and be the means of converting that into a
blessing which for ages has been a curse to this counti'y.

TAUNTON AGRICULTURAL
ASSOCL\TION.

The Annual Exhibition of Live Stock took place on
Friday, Nov. 25, in a Yard in Castle Green, Taunton,
and the Stock exhibited was of the first description.

The following extracts from the speeches delivered
after dinner will be found to contain matter possessing
considerable interest to the agriculturists.

The Chairman said he would now propose the
health of two of the most hard working servants of
the county ; he should have been pleased if he had had
to preside over an agricultural meeting of the whole
caaiity of Somerset, he shotild then have had the
picasuirr of proposing the names of four gentlemen.
He would now give " The two Knights of the Shire,
Messrs. Sanrord and Tynte."

Mr. Sanford fslt sincerely obliged for the kind
manner in which tne toast had been accepted, which
had been proposed by his worthy friend. It was highly
gratifying to him to think ne had been able to devote
himself to any service he could reader to the county to
which he felt so much pleasure to "belong. (Cheers.)
It was a subject of great regret that he did not see
his honourable colleague present ; he fully aaticipated
meeting him there. He (Mr. Tynte) had meniioned
to him two days before that he should be at the meet-
ing on the 2.5th, and his worthy father had been there
fully expecting- him ; and he (Mr. S.) could only
attribute it to some unavoidale accident that prevented

him from attending so pleasant a Society, He (Mr. S.)
heartily concurred with the worthy President in the
propriety of excluding political subjects from meetings
of that description. (Cheers.) He tliought he might
be allowed to trespass a few moments to congratulate
the agriculturistsof Somerset on the degree of improve-
ment in their present prospects as compared with those
of the last year. An investigation had taken place by
the legislature into the state of agriculture ; he would
omit the political part of it ; but he thought something
had occurred which was interesting to agriculturists ;
and which he would in some degree bring to their
notice, more particularly as the hon. Chairman had
proposed for a premium to the committee for one
particular kind of plough ; and he begged to state,
that it had come under the investigation of the com-
mittee to which he (Mr. S.) belonged, and he believed
it would prove of great advantage to agriculture if
generally known. The plough he alluded to was in-
vented by Mr. Smith, of Deanston, which had been
found very advantageous, particularly in clay soils.
The plough was called the " Sub-soil Plough." Its
object was to bring up the soil below that in which it
was usual to sow grain ; which he believed in this part
of the country was called Meter or meatuare. This
plough was for breaking the clod below the Meter,
rendering it light, and entering the surface matter ;
the surface water is not kept as it is now, in the upper
soil of clay land, but is allowed to descend, and act as
a drain on the Meter soil that is above. The object is
to render more light, and to drain the water from the
upper soil, which checks the vegetation of the seed
when sown in it. He (Mr. S.) was very much dis-
appointed in not being able to get this plough for
public inspection ; but he hoped before the general
meeting in March to be enabled to plf.ce such a plough
before them, when they would have an opportunity of
trying it. And by way of encouragement he would
say from all the investigations which had taken place,
and from the examination of Mr. Smith before the
Agricultural Committee, the advantage to persons con-
nected with clay soils who adopted this plough appeared
to liim to be beyond doubt. He should propose that in
March the plough should be exhibited, and he hoped by
that time twelve months its merits would be appre-
ciated. And if the committee had no objection to do
it, instead of his offering a premium for a fat bullock,
he would offer a premium to the person who should
bring into operation Mr. Smith's plough. There was
another subject well worthy of consideration ; that was
the cultivation of flax in this county. He was aware
that there was a considerable prejudice among land-
lords against the growth of flax. He used to think
flax was much more hurtful to land than he did at
present. It was well known that] it had always been
stated that from flax there was no return to the land
for what was taken from it. He thought that a
calculation should be made whether that defect could
not be remedied. He intended to propose to those,
with whom he was particularly connected, that they
should be allowed to grow a certain quantity of flax ;
and for the quantity they grow they should consent to
consume a certain quantity of oil cake, and he thought
the manure which would otherwise be wanting in con-
sequence of the flax, would thus be restored to the
farm. He made this observation from having ascer-
tained that an enormous quantity of flax seed was sent
from this county. There was a flax mill in the
neighbourhood, and he should be glad to learn whether
those mills were noiv employed in crushing flax or not,
as he was not aware. Flax seed had been exported from
this county, and much had been carried to Evesham, and
a great quantity of oil cake had been brought back from
Worcestershire, and consumed in this county by
the bullocks. It is a matter well worthy of considera-
tion as the land in this county was well adapted to
flax ; and not only does it produce a good crop, but it
gives a great quantity of labour during the winter
season to in-door labourers. (Cheers.) He had heard
that the manure produced from oil cake was very much
stronger and more beneficial to the land than any other

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

manui-e. That subject had come under the considera-
tioa of the committee to which he belonged. He
need not enter on the results of the committee,
because that would be considered in a degree touching
on politics, which should always be avoided as unani-
mity was greatly to be desired on such occasions as the
present. {Hear.) The hon gentleman after con-
gratulating the Association on their increasing pros-
perity, said he hoped they would still go on, to use an
old English sentiment, with a long pull, a strong pull,
and a pull altogether. He would now propose a toast
which he was certain would be very agreeable to the
feelings of the company, and would be received in a
manner equally as gratifying to their feelings as it was
to the feelings of the individual who gave the toast ;
he begged leave to propose the health of as true and
consistent a country gentleman as ever lived — "E. B.
Portman, Esq., their President." This was drunk
with three times three.

The Chairman rose and said— I can assure you it is
withnocommonfeelingof satisfaction that I offeryoumy
best thanks for thekind andhearty manner in which you
have received the toast which your worthy representa-
tive has proposed to you. I am sure, gentlemen, there
is no occasion in which I feel more happy, than when I
meet an agricultural party like this, having nothing
before us but the prosperity of the land we live in. —
{Cheers.) Gentlemen, it is the duty of the individual,
as I humbly conceive, who is president for the day, to
make himself in some small degree useful in your ser-
vice; therefore I shall take the liberty of intruding on
your time for a very few minutes upon a few agricultural
topics. {Hear.) We have been told by very high au-
thority— by the leading men of learning in the world,
and by a Committee of the House of Commons, and I
will refer you to the last sentence of that report ; Lord
Ashburton when asked what legislative measures could
be useful to the agricultural interests, replied, "The
only thing that can be useful to you is to tell you
honestly that parliament can do nothing for you.''
{Hear.) Therefore, having this authority, we must
turn to our own resources, and having been told honest-
ly and plainly, it is our duty to assist each other by the
means within our power ; and those who are well in-
formed ought to tender their instruction to those who
stand in need of it. We should endeavour to arrive at
a just knowledge of the value of the land we cultivate,
so that when the tenant comes to meet the landlord to
adjust old rents or arrange for new, they should know
something about the bargains they are about to make.
Instead of answering " I think 45/ too much, I can only
give 40Z," without being able to aduce areason, betrays
ignorance and shews the individual has not applied his
mind to the subject, and knows not wkether this sum or
that be correct, or whether he has the means of paying
it. Suppose a tithe-owner should take advantage of
the voluntary commutation of tithes within the two
years before he should be compelled to make a bargain,
both the tenant and landlord ought to know what they
are doing. The landlord, if he wishes to improve his
farm, must grant the tenant a lease for a certain time,
and encourage him, and enable him to improve his farm.
{Hear, hear, and cheers.) Thus as great fluctuations
may take place during a lease of twenty years, the safe
way I think for both parties to make their bargains is
to fix a sum of money, so that ichen the prices of the
commodity, the fair produce of the farm just adopted,
fluctuate only between a given maximum and a given mi-
nimum, that is to be the rent ; ivhen they exceed the
maximum or fall below the minimum, there ought to be
a per centage attend by both parties, {Hear.) By this
plan the landlord would protect himself, and the tenant
would also be protected. We cannot hope without some
such course to see any thing regular. After the bargain
is made you try all you can do to improve the land ;
and in order to improve the land you must drain it. I
have brought down a plough to drain hard cloggy soils,
and I propose to give a premium of lOl next year to the
man who shall make the best use of it. The next step
to draining the land to improve it is to make use of the
plough to which Mr. Sanford has alluded, invented by

Mr, Smith of Deanston. The great advantage of that
plough is to make the sub- soil more porous with air,
that the water may pass through it. These are matters
for the tiller of clay land to consider, that while they
put themselves in a position of improving the laud they
may improve their own condition also. (Cheers.) It
may be said "it is very well for clay land, but what is
to be done with the turnip land?" I will suggest to
you a simple mode of relieving the land from the great
enemy, which you all know has for the last two years
made ravages in your turnips (the Tenthredo) common-
ly called the black army ; a great many schemes have
been tried to destroy that black army which have failed.
I will take the liberty to tell you two plans which have
completely succeeded. {Cheers, and hear, hear. J These
plans are as simple as effective. The Chairman here
described the plan adopted by a friend of his, who had
discovered that the insect was deposited by a fly. In
the month of June he saw a black fly in great masses,
and they'always flew round a particular space, hovering
like the beetles you see over a brook, so easy are they
to be seen ; immediately he saw this fly he went to his
bailiff and ordered him to get some fine gauze, like a
bat net, (similar we suppose to a bird bating net J and
set two women to walk over the field, who enclosed a
vast quantity of the fly ; he promising them some re-
ward per dozen, he counted 10,000, but there were so
many that he engaged to pay for the rest by the lump.
(Laughter,) The consequence was that his field was
perfectly free from the insect, Le had a good crop,
while his neighbours were devastated by the black army.
(Cheers.) If any of you want to know the fly you may
discover it in a book on insects ; you may search there
for a sketch of it. In " Elwin's Insects" there is a
drawing of it. The observation he makes on it is
this :— " This is the fly which lays eggs, whence comes
a caterpillar, which in 1761, in the most extraordinary
manner, eat up all the turnips in the county of Middle-
sex." The second plan recommended, if the caterpillar
came into life, was to let in a large quantity of ducks
overthe field. The Chairman had successfully tried the
use of the flax seed, but instead of using oil cake, he
boiled a quantity of it with oatmeal, wheat, or barley-
meal, and gave a certain slice of this to them twice a
day, and it went twice as far that way ; and as a change
of food he found that potatoes came in as an extraordi-
nary assistant. He also recommended a more exten-
sive growth of potatoes, and instead of April or May,
to be planted early in March, and by keeping them con-
stantly earthed up and keeping the frost from the leaf,
would ensure a much more productive crop than if
planted later ; for by planting them late you allow to
pass by the most growing month. (Hear.) With re-
gard to stock, some friend of his had recommended to
him the crossing of breeds ; he, the chairman, was con-
vinced there was nothing like thoroughbreds— (cfteers)
he preferred the Devon breed. In referring to the pros-
pects of the agriculturist, the hon. gentleman said he
trusted their prospects were of a gradual rather than a
sudden increase ; and as the prices became higher, he
hoped they would become steady, and not only should we
endeavour to improve our own condition, but also that
of the labourers— (c7iee)-s)— and see that they should be
paid properly for their labour. Before he sat down he
begged to offer a toast, which he considered would be
very acceptable, it was the health of the gentleman that
was to succeed him as the president for the next year.
He (the president elect) had done more to promote the
interest of the society than any man in that room, and
he believed in the whole neighbourhood. I trust I shall
be able to come next year and support him as he has
supported me this day. I will now propose the health
of " J. Gould, Esq." This was drunk with three times
three.

Mr. Gould returned thanks.— He was greatly in-
debted to them for the honour done him, and he felt the
responsibility they had cast upon him in appointing hini
their president for the ensuing year, especially as he had
to succeed so efficient a gentleman as presided that day.
It was quite impossible ior him to compete with such a
man, either in point of the weight of influence which his

54

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

property gave him, or by his extraordinary talents : but
he (Mr. GouldJ would yield to no man in zeal for
the] prosperity of the agricultural interest Somerset.
( Clieers.) We have no party views to promote— no object
to serve but the good of the country. If popularity is
conrted by some, I do not desire it, I only desire the good
opinion of my countrymen, and the little zeal and talent I
possess shall be employed as far as is in my power to
lollow the example that has been set us this day. He
could not help thinking that this county, as a highly fa-
voured county, was exceedingly behind some others;
he thought tliey ought to take a leaf out of the book of
the Yeomanry of Northumberland, in paying greater
attention to the breed of our cattle, Tor a man that
could make two blades of grass grow where but one
S'rew before, was a gftater benefactor to his country
than one who produced a monstrous animal, that none
could desire and which gave no profit at all. In the
yard that day there were some which he thought had
cost 2s 6d per lb. Let every man have a fair chance of
obtauung the premiums of the society, and let the breed
be encouraged that was most suited to our markets, and
which would produce the greatest profit to the feeder
and the butcher ; and which was most beneficial to the
public at large. (Cheers.) That he considered the
great object ot their exertions. He thought they ought
to encourage the breed of IMr. Wood's species of ram.
He hoped a premium would be offered for the best hog
ram, and one of any age, and also for a stallion for agri"
cultural purposes. I\Ir. Gould then referred to the im-
portance of using good seed if a good crop was expected,
and not to be prejudiced to any particular mode, but to
follow the example of those occupied in trade or com-
merce, and yield to circumstances, and instead of grow-
ing more corn crops, if the farms were kept in better
heart the advantage would be apparent. It would af-
ford him sincere pleasure if he could during the ensuing
year, suggest a plan to produce better crops at less ex"^
pense. (Cheers.) He was an advocate for regulating
his rent according to the price of corn ; for if the land'^
lord ground down his tenant by exorbitant rent, he
could not keep his farm in order nor pay the rent. ' In
conclusion he begged to give as a toast—" May God
speed the Plough and the Agriculturists of Somerset."
Captain W. Pinney, M. P. returned thanks, and
concluded by proposing " the health of the Vice-Pre-
sident."

Mr. Hancock returned thanks. He was happy to see
that there was a prospect of benefitting himself and bro-
ther yeomen, and he thought they should again raise
their drooping heads. Some allusion had been made
to the flax seed oil cakes. He had tried them for two
years ; and he considered the best method was to grind
them down, because that when thus ground it would
take up all the oil, and it may be reduced down by
grinding with it some very clean wheat dust. With re-
S'ard to the quantity of flax to be grown, he did not
think, taking the average of the land in the neighbour-
hood, even the best soils, taking 100 acres, you could
sow more than six or eight acres of flax, allowing a pro-
per proportion of meadow, pasture, and arable. He
agreed with a former speaker, that it would be bene-
ficial to sow flax as it provided much labour in the most
severe season of the year. ( Cheers.)
The premiums were awarded as follows : —

FOR PLOUGHING.

1 — To the manager of the plough, drawn by any
nunaber of oxen or horses, which should best plough
halt an acre of land within a given time, two sovereigns,
hat and favour— George Webber, ploughman to Mr!
Webber.

2— To the second best manager, two sovereigns —
Thomas Birch, ploughman to Mr. Birch.

3 — To the third best manager, one sovereign and a
half— John Raspey, servant to Mr. Bult.

4— To the fourth best manager, one sovereign-
Charier Wright, servant to Mr. Bond.

5— To the best manager who has won the first pre-
mium at any former ploughing, not having before won
this premium, two sovereigns— James Hanning, ploue-h-
man to Mr. Miles.

TO LABOUREHS IN AGRICULTUnE.

1 — To the man who shall have supported the largest
family by his own industry as an agricultural labourer,
three sovereigns. — John Cross, labourer to Mr. Aker*
man, for supporting a sick wife, and five children,

2 — To the agricultural labourer who shall have sup-
ported the largest family with the least parochial assist-
ance, two sovereigns. — John Stacey, labourer to Mr.
Chard.

3 — To the man who has worked the longest period
on any farm occupied by a subscriber, one sovereign. —
James Haines, for forty years servitude with Mr. T.
Danger.

4 — To the agricultural servant man, who lived with
a subscriber the longest period with a good character,
one sovereign. — Edward Tassil, servant to ]Mr. Thomas
Danger, 16 years.

FOR CATTLE, STOCK, &C.

1 — A silver cup, given by E. A. Sanford, Esq. M.P.,
for the best fat ox, of the owner's own breed and feed.
— To Mr. Thomas Culverwell, of Durleigh, near
Bridg-ewater.

2— A silver cup, given by C. J. K. Tynte, Esq., M.P,,
for the best cow and offspring, the cow having been
bred by the owner, and the calf fallen since Nov. 27,
1835. — To Mr. Thomas Pratt, Staplegrove.

3 — A premium of five guineas, for the best fat ox, or
steer, in proportion to age and time of feeding. — To Mr.
Thomas Bond, Bishop's Lydeard,

4 — A silver cup, for the best fat cow, or heifer, in
proportion to age and time of feeding. — To Mr. Birch,
of Bradford.

5— A premium of ten guineas, for the best bull of any
age or breed, to be kept in the county of Somerset the
ensuing season. — To Mr. Hancock, of Halse.

6 — Premium of five guineas for the second best ditto,
with the same restriction. — To R. Mattock, Esq., of
Lowton House.

7 — Premium of three sovereigns for the best pair of
working beasts, owner's own breed, not exceeding five
years old. — To Mr. Turner, Enmore.

8 — A silver cup for the best breeding cow or heifer,
owner's own breed. — To the Rev. W. Wood, of Staple-
grove.

10 — A silver cup for the best pen of fat wether sheep,
not less than ten, and not more than two years old,
owner's own breed. — To Mr. James Bond of Heath-
field.

11. — A silver cup for the best pen of breeding ewes,
not less than ten, owner's own breed. — To JVIr. Babb, of
Ashbrittle.

12 — Three sovereigns for the second best ditto. — To
Mr. Fouracre, of Durston.

13 — Two sovereigns for the best heifer, not more than
22 months old. — To Mr. Thomas Pratt, Staplegrove.

14^A sovereign and a-half for the best boar. — To
the Rev. W. Wood, Staplegrove.

15 — One sovereign for the best sow. — To Mr. Charles
Gibbs, of Bishop's Lydeard.

ESTIMATE OF THE LATE HAR-
VEST, IN GREAT BRITAIN AND
IRELAND.

In submitting the result of my observations and in-
quiries relative to this year's harvest, I venture to hope,
that I shall not be deemed presumptuous, if I briefly
advert to the very striking manner the subsequent ex-
perience of the year co-incided with what was predicted
in my last report.

At the period my last report was issued, (October,
1835,) the corn trade was labouring under a depression,
unprecedented in its history. The prices of every de-
scription of grain were ruinously low, and wheat, in
particular, had fallen lower than it had ever done be-
fore, for any length of time, since the war. The current
reports founded on the luxuriant appearance of the
growing crops before, and the crowded state of the

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

oo

stack yards after harvest, favoured tlie presumption,
that corn had not reached the lowest point of deprecia-
tion.

To this view of the subject I did not subscribe, but
showed that the appearances of abundance were to a
considerable extent deceptive ; and, that an increasing-
consumption would bring down the hig-h estimate that
had been formed of the productiveness of the harvest,
within, if not under, the limits of a year of supply.

It is only necessary to appeal to the quotations
throughout the year, to prove the accuracy of this con-
clusion.

An increased connexion has this year given me the
means of obtaining correct information, from a greater
number of intelligent correspondents in various parts of
the empire; and, I avail myself of this opportunity, of
returning them my thankful acknowledgments, for the
readiness with which they acceded to my request for
information, and for the pains-taking- diligence which
they must have exerted in furnishing me with accounts,
in which accuracy of detail, and a comprehensive ac-
quaintance with the g-eneral bearings of the whole sub-
ject of the crops, are equally conspicuous.

The increasing importance of the trade with Ireland,
and the powerful effects which Irish produce has upon
the English markets, induced me this year, to undertake
a personal survey of that country during harvest. I
accordingly, made the circuit of the whole island, call-
ing at every port from which corn is exported to Eng-
land, and extending my survey into the interior,
wherever, by so doing, a prospect presented itself of ob-
taining fuller or more correct information.

A deep feeling of the responsibility incurred, in ha-
zarding a statement, that may in any degree influence
the operations of others engaged in the trade, has in-
duced me to defer issuing my report of this year, until
the close of the harvest in all parts of the empire, should
enable me, in estimating- its results, to leave as little as
possible to conjecture.

WHEAT. — The price of wheat throughout the whole
of 1834, having been disproportionately lower than that
obtained for Spring corn, the more discerning- farmers,
wherever they were not prevented by restrictions in
their leases, or by the nature of the soil, directed their
attention to the cultivation of ihe latter, in preference
to the former description of grain. There was, in con-
sequence, a reduction to a certain extent, in the num-
ber of acres sown with Wheat in the Autumn of that
year.

Barley and oats continued to maintain their relatively
high prices, and in the Autumn of 1835, the diminution
of the breadth sown with wheat, and its probable effect
on prices, began to attract the attention of the trade and
agriculturists in general. As the value of any conclu-
sions come to, respecting the productiveness of this
year's crop, must in no inconsiderable degree, depend
on an accurate estimate of this diminution, I have ex-
erted myself to obtain as correct information as possible
on the subject.

The diminution of the quantity of land sown with
wheat has, of course, varied in different counties, ac-
cording as the quality of the soil, and the estabhshed
modes of cultivation admitted of such variation.

In Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Kent, the decrease in
the wheat sown was considerable less than in other
counties. Taking in the whole of the great wheat grow-
ing counties in the South-east and South of England the
average decrease may be safely estimated as not under
one-eighth. Where wheat is less extensively cultivated
the transition to other descriptions of grain was more
easy, and a greater proportional reduction of wheat
sowing has been the consequence.

Barley and oats, though in somewhat unequal pro-
portions, shared between them the space from which
the wheat was displaced ; the former crop on account
of its being less exposed to competition with Irish and
foreign produce, having obtained the preference in most
places suited to its growth. It is probable that on some
descriptions of soil beans may have also been substituted
for wheat.

The appearance of the wheat on the ground, in the
early part of the Spring, though it could not be described

as generally bad, yet in many places was far from en-
couraging. The very wet, cold weather, during the
months of February, March, and April, succeeded by
unusually cold and dry weaiher durmg the whole ot
May, both checked the growth of the plant, and pre-
vented it from what the farmer calls stocking, that is,
throwing out several new shoots from the origmal plant.
Hence except in a few favourable situations and highly
cultivated soils, the crop was every where thin on the
ground and stunted in its growth. The weather in June
was fine and genial, and to this may be attributed the
fulness of the ear, and the consequent superiority ot the
yield cempared with the bulk of the straw. .

Harvest commenced in the earliest distncts in the last
week of July, became general about the 10th of August,
and the great bulk of the wheat crop was secured in the
principal wheat growing counties m the South, before
the 1st of September, when the cold heavy rams com-
menced. . , • 1 r 1 i .
That the harvest was hurried to a considerable extent,
both from the corn having been in some cases cut dovvn
before it was fully ripe, and in many cases, from i-s
having been carried before it was in a proper condition
for the barn or stack yard is generally allowed ; and the
raw and soft state of the samples of new wheat brought
to market at the close of the harvest, and since, tend to
confirm this opinion. This may be accounted for on
the consideration, that althougli the weather during
Auo-ust kept up remarkably well, it still, and especially
towards the close of the month, partook m some mea-
sure, of that unsettled character which induced the
farmer to embrace the earliestopportunity of withdraw-
ing his produce from the insecurity of the helds.

Within the limits above mentioned, there was little or
no damage experienced from the corn being laid. W hole
counties might have been travelled through, while har-
vest was in progress, without a single acre of laid corn
being observable. i f ^

The complaints respecting the prevalency ot smut
have been almost universal, and more wheat seems to
have been affected this year with this disease, than at
any preceding period for many years past.

Later accounts have tended to correct the very high
estimate of the yield, formed upon reports prevalent im-
mediately after the conclusion of the harvest. Itie su-
periority of the yield, though at first exaggerated, is un-
doubtedly considerable, as though the straw was short
the ear was, for the most part, both long and well

The quality of the grain is decidedly inferior to that
of the last two years, and barely equal to the average
of former years. There will be a great preponderance
of secondary and inferior qualities, and really hne sam-
ples will be very scarce. • , ^■

It may not be altogether unworthy of consideration,
whether an equal weight of this year's wheat, may not
be found on grinding to produce a less weight of Hour,
than the same weight of the wheat of either of the two
preceding years, the qualities of the wheat and flour
being respectively the same. , • ^' i

The wheat harvest did not become general in i ork-
shire, before the 23rd of August, and none of the crop
was secured before the unfavourable weather set in.
The condition and quality must necessarily fall tar short
of the more favoured districts South of the Humber.

What is here remarked concerning Yorkshire, applies
with greater force to the more Northern counties, where
the wheat may be described as not much above halt an
average, and that of inferior quahty. ,

The Scotch farmers were not behind their Soutliern
brethren in observing what crops paid them best ; and,
as their existed fewer impediments in the w-ay ot sub-
stituting the more for the less profitable article, the cul-
tivation of wheat has fallen offin a much greater degree
in Scotland than in England. . „ , ,, ^ ■,
The little wheat that was sown in Scotland has turned
out very indifferently. In some parts it suffered from
high winds in July, which lodged the heavier and
brought down the lighter descriptions. The crop upon
the whole is thin and light, its condition bad, and its
quality impaired by all the casualties that attend a pro-
tracted and inclement harvest time.

56

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

Aloiag- tlic East coast of Ireland, from Dublin to Cork,
there was about one-fourth less breadth of wlieat sown
than usual, a little more oats, and a g-ood deal more
barley. The whole breadth under corn crops, even
taking- into account the improved lands, is, in the inland
counties of the South, and South-east, much under
what it was last year. From the high prices which have
for some time past been realized for cattle, sheep, and
■wool, as well as butter, farmers found it more to their
intei-est, to allow such of their lands as were adapted for
pasture to revert to that state. An additional cause
which has tended more than any other lo reduce the
g-rowth of wheat in that part of the country, has been in
operation for the last year or two in the North of Ire-
land, where, owing- to the failure of the flax crops on the
continent, the g-rowth of that article has been revived
this year in the whole North of Ireland; in the flax
g-i'owing- country there is not the eighth part of the
wheat crop sown tliere was two years ago. In the West
of Ireland, wheat is not much grown, -which renders
it unnecessary to note any variation, which may have
occurred there in the breadth sown.

The wlieat crop in the South-eastern and Southern
parts of Ireland was, as in the corresponding- districts
of England thin on the ground, but the ear was plump,
long, and well filled. A less proportion was, however,
secured before the rains which prevailed throughout the
harvest, with even less intermission than in this country.
During the six weeks I was in Ireland, with the excep-
tion of seven clear days, it rained more or less every
day. From tbe portions harvested before the rains,
there may be selected some samples equal in quality to
the best of last year's growth, but these will be very
few ; in the great majority of cases, the utmost that can
be said is, that they may not fall much short of an ave-
rage quality. That much greater portion which had to
contend with the inclemency of the season, is unques-
tionably, greatly injured both in condition and quality.
In the West and North of Ireland there was a greater
appearance of straw, and in the North esi)ecially, owing
to the better farming-, the crop on the whole will be
more productive, but from the lateness of the season,
tlie quality will be much inferior.

BARLEY. — The barley harvest was more than a
fortnight later in commencing- than the wheat harvest,
and was protracted beyond it for a much longer period ;
so that in the eftrlier parts of the country where the
Avheat crops escaped all damage from the rains, a
greater or less proportion of the barley was injured, and
in the later parts, the barley suffered in common with
the wheat, and in a still greater degree.

This crop, with but few exceptions, came to the ear
very irregularly, and the same was observable in the
wheat, though not to such an extent. In many cases,
one-ti.ird of the seed did not vegetate till the month of
June, and the green ears springing up, both hindered
the harvest, and injured the quality of tlie grain.

Witli respect to quality, the far larger portion of even
what was cut and secured before the rains, is high-
coloured and somewhat coarse. There is, notwithstand-
ing, a fair proportion of good quality, full bodied, not
much deficient in weight, and which will malt more
kindly than many of the finer runs of last year, which,
from the great heats, were somewhat steely and intract-
able. What was not secured before the rains, is in
general black or dingy and much stained, tliough there
has been scarcely any sprouting. Even in the most
favoured spots of the great barley growing counties of
Norfolk and Suffolk, there will be no barley equal in
colour or quality of last year's. The difference between
late and early sown is considerable, the former being
both thin and poor in yield.

Barley, upon the whole, has been a more bulky crop
than that of wheat, yet it will require all tlie increased
growth to make this year's crop come up in point of
productiveness to that of the preceding year, wliich,
great as it was, experience has shown, was not gi'eater
than the wants of the country required.

Tlie barley crop in Ireland is upon tlie whole abun-
dant. Even where it has turned out worst, in this re-
spect, the deficiency will be compensated by the in-

creased growth. Though the early sown met with a
check from the severe drought in June, its quality is in
general good and the produce the same. In the AVest,
the quality is inferior with a fair produce, though there
is not much grown. In the North, there is also an ave-
rage produce, but much injured by the rains, both in
condition and quality.

The consumption of ardent spirits and malt liquors
being rapidly on the increase in Ireland, as well as in
the other two kingdoms, the home demand will be
greater than usual, so that very little barley can be ex-
pected from that quarter to meet the increasing con-
sumption in this country.

In Scotland, very little of the barley escaped re-
ceiving damage from the weather. The yield, how-
ever, has in many instances, turned out better than was
expected. Except on the best cultivated barley lands,
the yield will be below an average and the quality in-
ferior. The balance of the barley trade between Eng-
land and Scotland, being most years against the latter
country, will, in all probability, be so this season, and
to an extent greater than usual.

The merits of Chevalier barley have this season been
less generally acknowledged. Without doubt it has
suffered frosn the same deteriorating causes which have
affected the general barley crops. Wherever I have
had an opportunity of instituting- a comparison, whether
in the fields or at market, so far from any falling off
being- observable, its relative superiority, both in produc-
tiveness and fineness of sample, was never more clearly
nor more strikingly exhibited.

OATS. — The reports of the oat crops from almost all
parts of England are very unsatisfactory. In the early
districts of the South tliere was a light crop uncompen-
sated by any superiority in the yield, and even when
secured in good condition, which was not often the
case, the quality is variable, the colour indifferent, and
the weight not equal to last year's. In the north, and
in some of tlie higher and more exposed districts of the
south, the greater part of the crop was not in the ear at
the commencement of the cold, wet, and inclement
weather at tlie beginning of September, and continued
until a very advanced period of the season, with scarcely
any symptoms of ripening. Of the produce of this por-
tion of the crop, harvested at the best under very un-
favourable circumstances, the quality can neither be
good, nor the quantity any thing approaching to an
average. In some of the northern counties, the crop
was more bulky, but the yield will not correspond with
the bulk.

The earlier accounts of the oat crop in Scotland were
apparently very contradictory, but a ready key to this
was found, in the fact, that there never was so great a
diversity, both as to the time of ripening- and the quality
of the crop as there has been this season, not only in
different parts of the country, but in the same district,
and even on the same farm. Had the crop come to
maturity more seasonably, the appearances of an abun-
dant harvest were pretty general in most parts of the
country. Some early soils may not have fallen much
short of the expectations which had been formed of
them, but on the middling and the late, cold and in-
ferior soils, the quantity is deficient, and the quality
varying only between the indifferent and the utterly
worthless.

In the counties of Aberdeen, BanflF, and Kincardine,
from which from one-half to two-thirds of the whole
supply of Scotch oats to the London market is derived,
the oat crop was exposed to unfavourable weatherfrom
the time it was first deposited in the ground, to the
period of its nari'ow and most providential escape from
tlie rigours of winter, which set in with unexampled
severity at the close of a week of very fine weat'ier,
which allowed the farmers to secure almost all their
outstanding corn. The quality and condition is conse-
quently inferior. The bulk is from one-fourth to one-
fifth less than last year. There also was considerable
waste in stacking, the grain having been made free by
the continual rains, both before it was cut and while it
was in the stock — a deduction not limited to this crop,
nor to this part of the country — but common to all the
crops, in all parts of the empire, wherever they were

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

57

exposed to the rains, and not to be overlooked in any
general estimate of the productiveness of the harvest.

Thoug-h the oat stacks have in this district been gene-
rally in the form, known there by the name of, ivind-
kilns, that is, having the sheaves built round poles, so
that the stack is hollow within, and has an opening to
admit the most drying winds, very little will be in a
shipping condition before Spring, unless recourse be had
to the Irish system of kiln-drying.

In the counties of Moray, Nairn, and the more shel-
tered and fertile parts of Inverness and Ross shires, on
the borders of the JNIoray Firth, the crops were both
earlier, more productive, and of finer quality than in the
less northern counties above alluded to.

In the west of Scotland the oat crop was more back-
ward than in the east, and consequently worse in every
respect. Large tracks of oats never ripened, but were
cut down and used for fodder. In the north and west
Highlands the frost and the snow met them at the com-
mencement of their harvest, and the consequences must
be diastrous ; a large proportion of their oat crop,
which, with the exception of a little inferior barley or
bigg, is their only grain crop, and on which they chiefly
depend for subsistence, will be wholly unfit for the use
of man.

In Ireland the extent sown with oats has ^ this year
been greater than usual. The produce in different dis-
tricts is, as in Great Britain, various in the extreme.
Along the east coast, and the more so the farther south,
the oat crop was short and thin. In the west, the early
sown oats suffered much from droughts in May and
June, and the produce will not be large. In the inland
and hilly districts the crop was luxuriant, but much of
it never came to maturity. In the north a very large
proportion is in the same lamentable predicament.

In the east and south where black oats have been
cultivated in greater quantity than in former years, a
air proportion was secured in good condition. Here,
and in the early districts generally, the quality and pro-
duce of both black and white oats will reach an average,
but in the late, and, in my opinion fully one-half of the
Island may be classed under that denomination, the
straw and unfilled husks may reach an average, but the
quantity of good corn will be miserably deficient ; and,
owing to the badness of the weather, more than one
half of the whole oat crop in Ireland, exclusive of that
which never ripened, and from which no grain will be
obtained, was harvested in bad condition, and will be
dingy in colour, damp, light, and ill-filled.

In the neighbourhood of Dundalk, Newry, and Drog-
heda, winter oats were extensively sown, and have
answered well. They were all harvested before the
rains, and are productive in quantity and superior in
quahty.

BEANS, PEAS, AND VETCHES.— Beans are
upon the whole a defective crop, got in under the most
unfavourable circumstances, and in very bad condition.
The very wet weather in the spring" prevented them in
many places from being sown sufficiently early. This,
with the cold dry weather which prevailed throughout
the whole of May, retarded their growth, and rendered
this the latest crop. The consequence was that this
crop suffered more from the rain than any other, being
the only crop injured to any extent by sprouting', very
little of the others being affected in that way. Winter
beans, which are cultivated in some districts, are supe-
rior in quality, and a fair produce.

Peas, especially maple and grey, are an abundant
crop, and were carried in excellent condition. White
peas are a partial crop, having' in some places suffered
from the fly.

Both beans and peas are in Scotland deficient crops,
and on many late cold soils are a complete failure. In
Ireland they are not much cultivated, and are under an
averag'e.

Tares, which are but seldom left to stand for seed,
most part of which is obtained from the Continent, are
but a moderate crop. They are likely to be sown ex-
tensively in the spring', to compensate for the scarcity
of fodder, which without doubt will considerably en-
hance their price.
HAY, TURNIPS, AND POTATOES.— The hay

crop was vei7 light and deficient in all parts of the
empire. Rye-grass and clover was the most deficient
crop there has been for years, and in many cases below
half an average. In England, however, it was for the
most part secured in good condition. Meadow hay
turned out a heavier crop, but was not all secured in
equal condition. In Ireland, where the hay harvest
was later, in addition to the lightness and scantiness of
the crop, very little escaped receiving damage from the
rain, and the greater part is in bad condition. In Scot-
land, also, the hay was partially injured by the rain.

Clover seed being mostly taken from the second crop,
met with a very unfavourable season for harvesting,
and on this account, as well as from the scarcity of food
for stock, not allowing the farmers to let their clover
stand for seed, it is almost a total failure. Rye-grass
seed will be also scarce for the same reasons.

In addition to the depredations of the common turnip
fly, grub, &c., a new enemy, viz., the tenthredo ov black
jack- as this insect is more familiarly designated by the
farmers, has this year made very extensive ravages
among" the turnip crops in most parts of the country.
Tiie consequence is, that turnips are as much a failure
as they were last year, and the effect which this, com-
bined with the scarcity of hay, will have on the demand
for all kinds of spring- grain, must be very considerable.
Potatoes are a partial crop, having failed in many
situations and districts. The season for taking thein out
of the ground has been most unpropitious, and it is
highly probable that they will be found to have been
injured, if not destroyed, by the frost in greater quanti-
ties than is yet apparent. In Ireland, at the time I was
in that country, the potato crop presented on the whole,
with, however, many exceptions, an appearance of
abundance, which, from the unfavourable weather since,
and the severe frosts to which they have been exposed,
will in very few instances be realized. In Scotland
they are a fair crop, on fine dry lands, but on middling
soils they are a very poor crop, and in many instances a
total failure.

They are every where dear, and as good sound po-
tatoes, in all hkehhood will be very scarce before they
are relieved by next year's crop, a greater advance in
price may reasonably be expected.

There is, perhaps, no surer test of a deficient crop
than the falling off in the supplies of corn in the months
immediately succeeding the harvest, and if the defi-
ciency of this year's crop required to be established by
the application of this test, ample grounds for such an
inference have not been wanting. The supplies of
wheat, and most other descriptions of grain, not only in
the three leading markets of. London, Liverpool, and
Wakefield, but also in all the markets of the countrj^,
have been very moderate since the conclusion of the
harvest, notwithstanding the facdities which short straw
and a tolerable yield afforded the farmer to thresh out
his corn for market, and prices continued to rise, with a
demand confined till very recently within the strictest
limits of the immediate consumption of the time being,
and under a pressure for money, which checked if it did
not prevent all speculation. The trifling fall in the price
which took place on the late alarm, putting a stop for
the time to the operations of speculators, may be fairly
assumed as the measure of the speculation then going
forward, and clearly shews that it was inconsiderable.

The impression so general a short time ago that there
are large stocks of old wheat in the country is beginning
to give way, to a more rational view of this important
subject, and it is now generally allowed that there is at
the present time less than an average surplus, for the
season of the year, remaining over from last year's crop.
It is true, that there may be here and there an opulent
and extensive farmer who may hold one or even two
year's wheat. Here there issomething tostrike the eye, and
to attract the attention, while the thousands of instances
of farmers whose circumstances do not allow of such
accumulations, or who may conceive it most to their
interest to dispose of their produce at the current prices
of the time, which for a farmer is perhaps the best
policy, escape all notice and observation. Hence, the
erroneous notion of the quantity of old wheat at the
beginning of the harvest. The consideration that last

58

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

year's crop contributed nothing- to the surplus of the
two former years, which however great must have yield-
ed to the immense consumption, I may say waste of the
last two years, in cattle feeding-, distillation, &c., to say
nothing of the greatly increased legitimate consumption
arising trom the increased population, and the substitu-
tion of wheaten flour tor oatmeal in many districts
where the latter before had only been used, and that
the depressed prices prevented speculators from holding
tlieir usual stocks, might even if insufficient to prove
that the stocks of old corn were smaller than usual, at
least have caused a more rigid examination ot the
grounds on which a contrary opinion was based. The
rapid disappearance of the stocks of old wheat said to
be stored in Ireland, may afford a lesson not to build
too much on the calculations of a large surplus, lest our
own should disappear in its turn, with equal silence and
celerity. Having had some orders lately from the north
of Ireland for old wheat, the difficulty I experienced
in executing- them indicated no abundance of the article
here. The" quantity of foreign wheat in warehouses in
this country is considerably smaller than usual, and the
stocks abroad whether held on British account or the
property of foreign merchants are also very low.

The failure of the wheat crop in America, necessarily
demanding supplies for thatcountry, as well as for other
countries heretofore supplied with American flour,
added to the fact, that there has not been for many
years so great a number of European countries having
deficient crops, will create many competitors for the
wheat of the north of Europe, and render it procurable,
only at rates which will afford no inconsiderable pro-
tection to our own growth, in the event of foreign
coming into competition with it in our own markets.

Though a more economical use of corn must take the
place of the lavish waste of the two last years, still
there is no reason to apprehend a falling off in the de-
mand from a diminished consumption, but the contrary.
However paradoxical it may appear, many classes of
the labouring population, especially the agricultural
portion, consume more wheat when it is dear than when
it is cheap. Trade and manufacturers continue to
flourish. The unfinished lines of the extensive rail-
roads already in progress — the still greater number of
more recent projections which have received the sanction
of the legislature, and will be commenced in the spring
— the erection of Union Workhouses in almost all parts
of the country, hold out the promise of full employment
to a numerous description of labours.

All things considered, it may be fairly inferred, that
in the absence of pecuniary difficulties greater than any
yet experienced, tlie present prices of wheat will not
only be maintained, but a g-reater rise may be antici-
pated— which will, most undoubtedly take place, if there
is not a considerable increase in the supplies, before or
about Christmas, and if the appearances of next year's
crop are at all unfavourable in the spring-, it is not im-
probable, that wheat may reach as high a price as the
present corn laws will allow.

The immense consumption of barley i?ufficiently indi-
cated by the entire absorption of the whole of the ex-
ceedingly abundant crop of last year, of which there
was none remaining to meet the new crop, must be in-
adequately supplied by the barley crop of this year,
which though not deficient, is 'not more than a fair ave •
rage. Fine malting descriptions are scarce, and wdl
rule high, it being questionable, whether barley of a
good malting quality can be obtained in any quantity
from abroad. Middling- qualities will be in request for
distillation, and inferior qualities of all grades arc sure
to meet with a ready demand for feeding purposes,
owing to the failure of the oat crop, and the great
scarcity of every description of food for stock of all kinds.
The barley crop will also be drawn upon to a con-
siderable extent to feed the poorer classes of consumers,
in those districts in the nortli of Scotland, where tlie
crop has totally failed.

The stocks of old oats both foreign and domestic were
at the close of the harvest exceedingly low. The failure
of the oat crop in Denmark, which is not inaptly called
the oat granary of Europe, must have considerable in-
fluence on the foreign supplies ; so that with the de-

ficiency of this crop in most, and its total failure in some
parts of Great Britain and Ireland, oats at least, if not
barley, whatever rise may t-ake place in wheat, will in
all probabily, retain their relatively superior value.

The abundant crop of peas will not lower the price
of that article in the general scarcity of every thmgelse,
applied to the same uses, and they as well as beans will
be in good demand, and command high prices through-
out the seasen.

The partial failures of the three principal descriptions
of grain in different parts of the empire, will necessarily
create a greater activity in the corn trade than has
existed for several years, as many transfers and re-trans-
fers of grain will be required, to supply, not only the dis-
tricts where the crops have been deficient, but also the
places which depended on tiiese districts for their sup-
ply, whicli will this year have to come to them through
new, and in many cases, circuitous channels.

GEORGE ANTON, Corn-factor.

Xov.28, 56, Corn Exchange.

THE LATE

HARVEST.
PORT.

-ANNUAL RE-

NOVEMBER 28, 1836.

Although we have defei-red until a later period than
usual our harvest circular, still we have not been able
to collect all the information we have thought requi-
site ; and must now chiefly confine our remarks to the
country south of an imaginary line drawn across the
Island, from the mouth of the Humber on the Eastern,
to that of the Mersey on the Western coasts. Within
that line (with some exceptions, but which do not
amount to any thing of much importance in the aggre-
gate) we believe it will be found that the wheat crop
will prove a full average one as to number of quarters
per acre ; but will probably be of lib to 2lb less weight
than the two previous years. Taking the Eastern
coast, from the Humber to the Thames, and including
the adjacent inland counties, the yield per acre will
prove mMc/i above an average, and we think we feel war-
ranted in saying the largest for some years past ; for
though the bulk of straw was decidedly smaller than
either of the two last years, the ears were generally
much larger, and extremely well-corned, and of the re-
sult in quantity we can hardly doubt. In Kent, some
parts of Surrey, and some of the Southern counties,
reaping was late, the weather very unsettled, and in
consequence a good deal of corn of all sorts was par-
tially injured, and will require to remain in stack till
next Summer, when it will thrash out in better condi-
tion ; but still there must be some considerable defi-
ciency in the produce in flour : — to the westward it
was an average crop in quantity and quality. In Wales
cutting and carrying were much retarded by unfavour-
able weather. The new corn comes into market soft,
of light weight, with some sprouted ; but this injury
has every where been much less extensive than would
have been the case, had we, instead of a cold season,
had a close and warm atmosphere, Many of the mid-
land counties have produced fully average o-ops, both
as to quantity and quality ; but in other districts the
weather was unpropitious, and the result unsatisfac-
tory. Of the counties north of our imaginary line,
and of Scotland, we can at present say but little.
The weather was for a considerableperiod very change-
able and unfavourable. The harvest was much pro-
tracted ; a good deal of injury was in consequence sus-
tained, and a very considerable proportion of the crop
will be light in weight and of inferior quality and must
remain in stack till next summer. The season for get-
ting the seed into t)ie ground last Autumn was very
propitious, and the blooming season remarkably fa-
vourable over a large proportion of the kingdom— cir-
cumstances which could not fail to have produced a ge-
neral good crop, had the season for maturing and har-
vesting it been equally favourable.
The BARLEY-sowing was large ; its growth was

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

59

very much retarded by drought, and in other respects
ungenial weather at the time of its breaking ground,
but on the whole it may be termed a fairly good crop,
much-weathered in many places, whichcauses a dark
sample and some grown corn : but much of the stained
•will be fit for brown malt, and little of it but what is
very applicable for the purposes of distilling, grinding,
and cattle-feeding.

Oats are a deficient crop generally, but where they
were early and well-harvested, the quality is very fine ;
in other places they are light and stained, but no where
much sprouted ; they wiU weigh from about 3Slbs to
43lbs per bushel.

Beans at one time were thought to be a great crop,
but they much disappointed general expectation in
their progress to maturity, and though there are not
very many which were rendered unsound by wet, yet a
considerable quantity is soft, and it will require many
months before they will be hard enough for use with-
out kiln-drying.

Peas more extensively planted than usual ; the
crop every where productive, and the quality remark-
ably fine.

The produce of home grown Rapeseed forms so
small a proportion of the consumption, that it is
scarcely worth alluding to ; it was generally of fine
quality, and the produce per acre good.

White Cloverseed was housed in favourable wea-
ther ; the few samples we have yet had at market are
of fine quality, but the produce will not be equal to an
average. — The weather was so unfavourable to the
growth and harvesting of Red Seed, that only a
little was housed in good o^der, much totally lost, and
the remainder will be very unproductive in quantity,
and of very inferior quality. Trefoil not so abun-
dant as Icist year, but on the whole a fair crop, both as
to quantity and quality. Trifolium Incarnatum
did not succeed nearly so well, as a green food, last
year as previously ; the quantity of seed saved was con-
siderable, and it has sold at a very low and discourag-
ing price. Of old foreign Red Clover there was a lar-
ger stock remaining on hand at. the close of last season
than for several years past ;. of White but little, and
a good deal of trefoil.

Brown Mustard a good crop, and well secured : —
White was partially injured by wet, and the yield was
not large.

Hay around London was a good crop, and generally
secured in very fine order, but elsewhere almost uni-
versally a very short produce. There has been very
little after-grass, and in very extensive and populous
districts hay is already very scarce and dear ; and ship-
ments have been recently made of some importance
from hence to the North. The Summer crops of Po-
tatoes turned up of full size, and very good, but the
latter growth for Winter stores has been very much in-
jured by the unfavourable weather ; the produce is de-
ficient, and throughout a large extent of country of
such quality as to render it very doubtful whether
there will not be a very unusual decay in the heaps. —
In August there was a very fine prospect for Turnips,
but they were subsequently so much injured by vermin
and weather as to prove extensively unproductive ;
and Mangel Wurzel has done badly. From all
these causes there is a greater scarcity of cattle-food at
this period than we ever recollect ; and this will, by
keeping up the prices of the inferior descriptions of
corn, occasion a heavier drain from the wheat crop
than usual, and cause a constant large demand for
linseed cakes.

Wheat in Ireland is said to be very deficient both as
to quantity and quality, and the exportation must
therefore be much under an average ; but the oat crops,
except in the mountainous districts, where the harvest
was very late, are good ; the shipments of this article
will be large throughout the season. Most of what
have hitherto arrived, are of good quality and condi-
tion, though somewhat lighter than last season, but
there must be a larger consumption than usual of this
grain there, on account of the failure in the wheat and
potato crops.

As in the course of last Spring much was said about
a less quantity of land being under wheat cultivation
than usual, we took a good deal of pains to satisfy our-
selves on this point. We found the report confirmed
to some extent ; but on the aggregate we do not be-
lieve it was to such an extent as materially to aifect the
produce of the crop. When we can report with more
certainty as to the result of the harvest in the English
Northern counties and in Scotland we shall again ad-
dress you on the subject.

RICHARD HARRIS & SONS.

Importations of Foreign Grain and Flour in-
to THE United Kingdom,

From Oct. l, 182S, to Oct.

1, 1829

From Oct. 1, 1829, to Oct.

1, 1830

From Oct. 1, 1830, to Oct.

1, 1831

From Oct. 1, 1831, to Oct.

1, 1832

From Oct. 1, 1832, to Oct.

5, 1833

From Oct, 5, 1833, to Oct-

5, 1834

From Oct. 5, 1834, to Oct.

10, 1835

From Oct, 10, 1835, to Oct.
10, 1836

Wheat.
Clrs.

1962200

1432550

1879689

479738

238824

165004

67652

129659

Barley
Grs.

335667

136350

352633

144578

50868

100902

93299

35818

From Oct.

Oct. 1,
From Oct.

Oct. 1,
From Oct.

Oct. 1,
From Oct.

Oct. 1,
From Oct.

Oct. 5,
From Oct.

Oct. 5,
From Oct.

Oct. 10,
From Oct.

Oct. 10,

1, 1828, to
1829

1, 1829, to
1830

1, 1830, to
1831

1, 1831, to

1832

1, 1832, to

1833

5, 1833, to

1334

5, 1834, to

1335

10. 1835, to
1836

Rve.
Grs.

Beans

52236

Peas.
Qrs.

90390

15836

69900

41557

19239

28007

83315

19239

63301

11551

33408

28476

1616

12645

7163

55401

61647

31

37594

40421

4980

89276

55696

Oats.
Grs.

585319

490731

670910

50414

18558

179867

113429

90932

Flour.
Cwts.

461548

560429

1671428

316692

133542

177306

91153

185225

STATE OF THE CROPS.— ANNUAL
REPORT.

LIVERPOOL, 29X11 NOVEMBER.

We had prepared the annexed statement of im-
ports early in October, and expected to have written
this letter about the middle of that month, as usual
for many years past ; but the weather has been eo
very unfavourahle for the harvest in the northern
districts, and in Scotland and Ireland, during the
last two months, that we have deemed it our duty to
postpone it, for more correct and decisive informa-
tion as to the result thereof; — and even now, at this
late period, we may commence this letter as on a si-
milar occasion in 1816. dated the 4th of December, —
" although some quantity of grain is reported to be
still in the fields unsecured, in backward situations
in Scotland and Ireland, and even in England, so
little can now be expected therefrom, that the ge-
neral result of the harvest can be but little affected
thereby, and longer postponement appears unne-
cessary.

Since our annual harvest circular letter dated 20tb

60

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

October 1835, we have uninterruptedly continued
by a series of letters, every Tuesday, our best endea-
vours vO communicate to our friends, candidly and
correctly, the transactions in this and in the neigli-
bouring corn markets; making occasionally such re-
marks therein on the prospects of the corn trade ge-
nerally, as we deemed likely to be useful ; — in those
of the last four months, we have regularlv recorded
the state of the weather, and consequent progress of
harvest, the result of which, in this district, might
have been pretty correctly stated seven or eight
weeks ago, but we considered tliis of less importance
to the corn trade ; and although by careful observa-
tion of the weather, a very good judgment of the
crops generally may be formed, even if deprived of
j'ersoiial observation, experience has taught us never
to adopt icith confidence an opinion of any harvest too
soon after its completion, as xinder such circum-
stances, the popular ideas of deficiency or abundance,
as well as the theoretic investigations of those who
may be better informed on this subject, will too often
prove exaggerated and deceptive ; — we have there-
fore waited for more mature and extended infoima-
tion from correspondents in whose opinions we have
had reason to place confidence, that we might make
this latter more useful to the corn merchants, and
more worthy of being preserved for future reference.

It is much to be regretted that information on this
very important subject should be left to the capri-
cious investigations and estimates of individuals,
Avho, however intelligent and honourable, may too
frequently be misled by local prospects or by their
own interests, and that means are not adopted by the
authority of government for ascertaining the prospects,
and actual result of harvest throughout the United
Kingdom annualhj ; reports of which might be offi-
cially published in the London Gazette, with much
public benefit, in the spring, and at the conclusion of
ever};^ harvest !

During the whole of this year the weather has
been ver}' irregular and unseasonable ; — even in the
early part of the spring the appearance of wheat was
everywhere reported backward and very thin on the
ground — but the spring seed time was upon the
whole very favourable; — further on in the season
there was a prospect of a very late harvest, which
afterwards changed to that of a premature and an
early one — and it has ultimately proved a little later
in its commencement than in any of the five preced-
ing years. — In the counties of England to the south-
ward of us — partially in this district — and inthe/it)--
tcard situations throughout the whole of the United
Kingdom, it began about the second week in August,
and was completed very generally, except in the
hilly and backward situations, by the t/iiVrf week in
September, the weather having been upon the whole
propitious; but throughout the north of England —
even in the north of this county — Ireland, Scotland,
W eles, and the Isle of Man, it commenced two weeks
later, and the operations of harvest have ever since
been, with the exception of a few days now and then,
very much impeded by heavy rains — and sometimes
by frost and snow — by which (though little evil has
occurred by the crops being laid, or by the grain
being sprouted,) every description of grain has suf-
fered very considerable injury in every respect ; —
the harvest to the northward of us— and throughout
almost the whole of Scotland and Ireland, has^een
miserably completed ; it has proved to their farmers
very tantalizing and ex[)ensive, and no small por-
tion of their spring grain will never be fit for human
food, having been cut in an unripe state.

In the influential corn districts of England to t!jo
south of this — particularly in those on the south-east

coast — and in the south of Ireland, ^the weather ap-
pears to have been pretty favourable during harvest,
but although on many farms there, and also in some
of the interior counties, wheat never was better in
quality and quantity, the general reports are that
it is deficient on the whole, in both respects, from
the crops of the three last years ; and that of all
s]n-ing grain, although in some instances also of very
fine quality, the crops are deficient of a fair average
in quantity. In this district the crops of all grain
are considered nearly a fair moderate average in
quantity and quality ; — To the northward— through-
out Scotland — Ireland — Wales, and the Isle of Man,
some portion of their crops has been saved in very
good order, but a much larger part ihereot' lias heen
most seriously injured by the very bad weather they
have experienced during the whole of their harvest,
and besides, from the very ungenial season they have
experienced, being coarse, and inferior in quality from
unrij^eness, will prove very deficient in quantity —
reported in many instances to an extent hardly cre-
dible, and which it is to be hoped will prove exag-
gerated.

Considering that there has been a very great
diminution (estimated as nearly one-sixth) in the
breadth of land occupied with wheat this season, in
England, Scotland and Ireland, as certified before
the select committees on agriculture in both houses
of parliament, and that the deficiency of wheat in
the northern districts and in Ireland is likely to
prove very serious, we unite in the opinion formed
by many of our respected neighbours, that the crops
of 'wheat of the United Kingdom are under a fair
average in quantity and quality, and much deficient
of last 3'ear ; — of barley, oats, beans and peas, though
in some counties they are said to be of very gcod
quality, reports generally are not very favourable —
tliey also are under a fair average in quantity and
quality, and a great deal has been housed in very
bad order — particularly in Scotland and Ireland. —
Hay was saved in due season in very good condi-
tion, and of very good quality, but deficient almost
one-half in quantity — nor have the second crops
made up much for the deficiency — the pastures have
been very bare all through the season ; — of turnips
and mangel wurzel the crops are considered almost
a failure ; and of the very important article iwtaioes
reports are unfavourable every where, particularly
in Ireland and Scotland, and they are now almost
double their value at this time last year.

From most of the kingdoms of the European Con-
tinent— particularly from -the Northern corn Pro-
vinces, although they have been also annoyed by
bad weather, accounts are upon the whole favourable
of their crops generally, though no where are they
stated to exceed a moderate average ; — from Canada
reports are not so favourable, but all supplies from
thence will be attracted to the United States, where
a very serious deficiency in their crops of wheat is
now ascertained, and very little wheat or flour can be
expected this season from any part of North America.
Since the 1st of January last, up to this date, the im-
j)ort of wheat from foreign ports here has been about
80,000 qrs, and the exports nearly 66,000 qrs chiefly
to the United States ; — of flour the import has been
about 64,000 brls and the export about 84,000 brls.

The stocks of foreign grain and flour in bond in the
United Kingdom were (from official documents}, on
the IQlh of October lust, 575,532 qrs wheat, 36,791
qrs barley, 213,017 qrs oats, 5159 qrs rye, 44,670
qrs beans, 5649 qrs peas, 96,388 brls flour ; of
which 140,623 qrs wjieat, 2000 qrs barley, 13,280
quarters oats, 11,306 quarters beans, 2739 quarters
peas, 86,444 brls flour (exclusive of about 28,000

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

61

qvs of Canadian wheat, which we consider ns free),
were in bond in Liverpool at that date — chiefly of the
old importations, and the flour chiefly sour ; and
since that period the quantity of every article has
been considerably reduced (nearly one-fourth J, by
actual exports, and by purchases for exportation, or
for pajnng duty thereon. The increase in the value
of all grain and flour in bond has been recently vevy
great — from 60 to 70 per cent! and very sanguin3
expectations prevail that the duties will decline so
as to relieve all grain from bond, and to admit grain
from foreign ports in the spring at very moderate —
perhaps the lowest duties, even if no interference
should occur on tlie part of Government, by any
Order in Council (not very likely), or by any alter-
ation in the Corn Laws — which may now come under
discussion in the ensuing session of Parliament ; --
the averages work very slowly, and are always much

behind the real prices. Thus, at the average price

<')f 66s for wheat, the duty is 20s 8d per qr, and be-
fore this moderate medium general average, on which
the duty is almost proliibitory, be fairly attained, by
the present mode, the actual price of British wheat
will (from careful investigation into former yearsj
have been lis per 70 lbs in this market for many suc-
cessive weeks !

By the annexed Statement of Imports, made up
annually to tlie 1st of October, with every personal
care, it will be observed there is a small diminution
in the imports of wheat from Ireland, but on every
other article from thence — even on wheat and flour
conjointly, there is an increase, though to no great
extent ; — of malt and wheat coastways, the import
is considerably increased.

Until within the last three montlis the stocks of
free wheat here were rather large, but by the un-
usual delay in the arrivals of the new crop, the con-
sumption has continued almost entirely on the old,
and thus they have been materially diminished, and
may now be considered very moderate ; — they may
still however, at this date (thanks to speculators,
those invaluable granaries for the public) be estimated
at about 90,000 quarters, (including about 24,000

quarters Canadian, though in bond, as the duty
thereon is only 5s per quarter) — of oats, oatmeal,
barley, beans, peas, and flour, they never were less —
and of malt they are very small.

We liave again throughout the past year been al-
most excluded from the markets in Manchester and
in the large snrroundmg towns for the sale of wheat,
by the supplies from the east coast through Leeds
and Wakefield of a better quality, and at lower
prices ; but we expect this ensuing season to be able
to compete with the Yorkshire supplies more suc-
cessfully : the advance in prices which has occurred
here so rapidly within the last six weeks, particu-
larly in the early part of the present month, and
which, though an equally rapid decline occurred ten
days ago, has now again been almost fully recovered,
enables us to state an increase on the pi'ices at this
period last year of 3s 6d to 4s per 70 lbs on wheat, of
Is to Is 2d per 45 lbs on oats, of 10s to lis per quar-
ter on malt, barlej^, beans and peas, of 20s to 23s per
280 lbs on flour, and of 12s to 13s per 240 lbs on oat-
meal ; and althougli tlie recent advance may liave
been rcther too rapid, and by larger arrivals of grain
from Ireland we must expect some fluctuations dur-
ing the winter — from the high value of potatoes,
now about 4s per 90 lbs, — the immense population
throughout this great manufacturing district being
in full employment and with fair wages, the con-
sumption of grain must continue very great for human
food — and from the scarcity and dearth of hay, (now
Is 6d per st. of 20 lbs) and deficiency of pasture— for
cattle food also ; and as there is no hope of any sup-
plies from Canada or the United States, a very con-
fident opinion prevails that the present quotations
will be considerably increased before another har-
vest, and tliat they will prove very moderate averages
for this season.

The supplies of new grain, particularly of wheat
from Ireland, and from our own farmers, have hi-
therto been very small, and the quality appears but
1 middling — we may now exi:)ect the imports to in-
crease very considerably.

JAMES SCOTT & SON.

GENERAL IMPORTATION OF GRAIN AND FLOUR INTO LIVERPOOL FOR

TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS.

From 1st Oct.
From do.

From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From
From

do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.

1808,
1809,
1810,
1811,
1812,
1813,
1814,
1815,
1816,
1817,
1818,
1819,
1820,
1821,
1822,
1823,
1824,
1825,
1826,
1827,
1828,
1829,
1830,
1831,
1832,
1833,
1834,
1835,

to 1st Oct.
to do.

do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.

1809.
1810.
1811.
1812.
1813.
1814.
1815.
1816.
1817.
1818.
1819.
1820.
1821.
1822.
1823.
1824.
1825.
1826.
1827.
1828.
1829.
1830.
1831.
1832.
1833.
1834.
1835.
1836.

Wheat,

Qrs.
.114,000
.160,000
.137,000
.115,000
.166,000
.211,000
.261,000
.112,000
.218.000
.240,000
.238,966
.344,545
.348,371
.320,863
.332,609
. 189,947
.387,082
.325.619
.404,531
.352,298
.435,961
.466,046
.727,443
. 484,859
.528,759
.460,814
.350,584
.413,584

Oats,
Qrs.
460,000
338,000
150,000
205,000
484,000
336,000
359,000
354,000
342,000
417,000
396,720
318,505
366,834
251,081
293,802
382,846
628,992
388,277
499,169
605,968
472,147
486,739
447,319
471,857
379,411
317,062
266,049
259,294

Barley,
Qrs.
30,000
26,000
9,000
51,000
72,000
34,000
37,000
46,000
78,000
63,700
65,502
66,635
59,902
43,412
27,224
36^412
49,411
62,736
98,807
56,849
52,151
71,341
69,837
54,300
60,600
60,166
71,288
73.840

Beans,

Malt,

Qrs.

Qrs.

7,000

11,000

14,000

54,000

8,000

25,000

4,000

20,000

6,000

30,000

17,000

34,000

22,000

50,000

16,000

38,000

15,000

35,000

19,700

43,000

38,326

36,633

18,759

38,202

26,875

44,273

22,214

46,890

23,814

49,047

27,694

50,545

25,795

62,218

22,049

64,904

51,295

55,814

34,563

75,105

25,202

59,979

32,903

50,340

28s918

91,800

27,389

78,689

20,275

79,132

41,026

84,197

27,260

86,441

58,543

112,688

Flo

Bags.

13,000

12,000

21,000

27,000

52,000

60,000

59,000

37,100

4,500

3,000

35,017

37,679

80,194

71,665

115,848

55,292

97,949

91,823

93,038

163,584

100,326

96,605

82,487

173,566

293,665

270,357

304,486

368,097

VR, Oatmeal,
Brls. Sacks.

170,000 2401b.

109,000
28,000
13,000

80,000

520,000

371,000

49,606

127,429

89,975

15,031

5,568

91,776

37,101

17,736

60,914

25,881

156,112

239,458

699,910

81,662

46,639

46,437

14,916

58,867

58,000
59,000
48,000
135,920
117,000
112,000
136,000
176,800
210,000
144,100
176,820
218,692

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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

63

AGRICULTURAL REPORTS .

(from the new monthly magazine.)

Extraordinary rise of Markets — Difficulty of embracing
the whole subject — Effects of Public Opinion on Price,
and how it acts, and is acted upon — Examination of the
causes luhich led to the late rapid rise — Statement of the
probabilities with respect to Wheat maintaining high
price — Current transactions of Agriculture.

All other topics connected with agriculture mustgiv*^
precedence to the extraordinary state of the markets>
and the pnce of wheat which has obtained since our
last. They who know most of this complex and most
extensive subject will most distrust their own judg'ment,
because they can but be thoroughly convinced how im-
practicable it is to collect such multitudinous particu-
lars, depending upon so many agents, with any ap-
proach to accuracy or certainty ; and, consequently,
how impossible it must be for any one mind to grasj)
the facts. We have often remarked on this impedi-
ment, and as often cited the irrefutable instance of IMr.
Jacob's reports. No man had such facilities for amas-
sing information ; and he did amass a prodigious quan-
tity : no man set about his ta.sk with more unwearied
industry : no man drew his inferences with more disin-
terested uprightness of intention, yet there was not a
single, large, and comprehensive deduction in which
he was not absolutely wrong. Events falsified all his
calculations in the shortest possible time. After such
an example, we are warranted in pronouncing that it is
impossible to form any cei'toirt judgment with respect
to the trade in corn, prospectively. We think it pru-
dent to guard all our speculations now and for ever-
more, with this sweeping reservation, else we might en-
tail upon ourselves the character of /aZse prophets, a
stigma which we have shown it is difficult to avoid ;
but by thus protecting ourselves, we hope, at least, to
escape the imputation of icJ/fH? misleading. In truth,
we wish to argue all dependent questions fairly, and to
leave the deductions to the quiet good sense and calm
consideration of the reader.

Opinion often affects the corn trade more than facts,
for there is nothing upon which mankind at large is so
sensitive as the bread they eat. In times of scarcity, in
times of slack employment, and low wages, it forms the
greater portion of the subsistence of the labouring classes,
and no mean item in the consumption of families. An
old friend of ours in the high times, when a great cla-
mour existed for the reduction of taxation, used to say,
— " Bring down the price of bread: the taxgatherer
comes once a quarter, but the baker four times a-day."
Opinion is very much the instigator of price. If the sup-
ply is believed to be deficient, the farmer holds, the
merchant holds, the miller speculates, and, last, not
least, the banker will aid them in their honest endea-
vours to better themselves, by liberal advances — up
then runs price. Reverse the faith : let a superabundant
growth be made tolerably sure, and every one is eager
to get first into the market, no one will risk a shilling ;
they buy from hand to mouth ; the market is always
full, the banker coldly civil, and down goes price. Then
comes the inquiry, how is opinion influenced ? JMuch
by that most common of all phenomena — the weather ;
not less, perhaps, by reports from the corn buyers, and
agricultural publications.

To come then to our immediate position. This au-
tumn, the weather has been continually precarious, and
it follows, that a great incertitude does naturally grow
out of this circumstance ; and it also affords a wide
foundation to build a still greater fabric of doubt upon.
The interested are, of course, prompt in the use of these
materials and opportunities. Until the end of October,
we had seen no authorised summary of the state of the
harvest. " The Mark-Lane Express" of October 24,

contained, however a manifesto from an old-established
London firm (Giles, Son and Co., Corn-Factors), of
which we shall abstract the paragraph relating to the
crop of wheat.

" We consider wheat south of the Humber, above an
average in quantity, and the bulk secured in good
order, with a great deal of old left over from the former'
season : the quality and condition of the new crop, as
an average, may be pronounced fine, though not equal
to the growth of the two preceding years, which were
very superior. In the new whe»t this season there are
many unripe corns, perhaps from the wheat having been
cut rather prematurely, or hurried in harvesting, or
from the prevalence of an under growth of ears, by which
means, all did not ripen together ; but the yield per
acre, notwithstanding the short straw and the generally
reported thinness of the crop on the ground, has, in
numerous instances, been found gi'eat, beyond all for-
mer experience. In Yorkshire, we consider vi^heat a
full average in quantity ; but the great bulk of the crop
secured in poor condition ; north of Yorkshire, and
throughout Scotland, and all the late districts, we can-
not but believe that the crop will prove very unproduc-
tive, owing to the wet ungenial weather they have ex-
perienced for their harvest, — the last two months with
hardly a sunny day, — and that there will, in conse-
quence, be a large drain for the north on the southern
crop. In Ireland, the great bulk of their wheat was se-
cured in good, fair condition, and is superior in quality
and yield to the two former seasons ; but as applied to
Ireland, we believe there is something in the general
remark, of a very diminished breadth sown with wheat
this year, (though, as applied to England, we would not
build ui)on such nn assertion as a fact, to any extent),
add to which, the exhaustion and absence of all stocks
of old wheat in Ireland, and we think that country will
be troubled to keep its extensive mills moving this sea-
son, by its own produce. Under all the circumstances,
we now relinquish the expectation of any considerably
lower scale of prices for wheat this season."

Now, to what conclusion does this report lead ? Why,
that, in England and Ireland, the crop was good ; in
Scotland, deficient. That the old stocks in the former
country were large ; in the two latter reduced. Was
this a statement to cause any the slightest alarm, espe-
cially when it was known that of bonded foreign grain
there is not less than 500,000 quarters in warehouse 1
A quantity equal to the average importations of a long
series of years, while England did consume foreign
wheat; and, of course, a good reserve, since England
has, fort he last five years, exhibited no want of foreign
assistance in subsisting her increased, and rapidly in-
creasing population.

We must look, then, to some other cause than any
just comparison of probable demand and supply for a
rise so sudden. We should say that the interests of the
growers and holders of wheat, and public opinion, were
just in that tremulous and uncertain state to invite spec-
ulation, and an attempt to strike a great stroke. The
first object was to raise the price high enough to set free
the corn in warehouse ; the next, to take advantage of
that rise. If an elevation could once be given to the
markets, and a belief of failing crops at home and
abroad extensively propagated, the natural consequence
would be to excite the cupidity of the holder, and the
fears of the buyer, two effects having a reciprocating ac-
tion. The changeableness of the weather was highly
favourable to the design, for the provincial journals of
the north recited, from week to week, the injurious de-
lays of wet and frost upon the incomplete harvest of
that district. America became a large buyer of Euro-
pean wheat. The potato crop, especially in Ireland,
was reported to be essentially destroyed ; and thus the

64

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

deduction followed, that the consumption of wheat
must be greatly increased, with an inadequate supply
from every side but Eng-land. Price rose, and the
quantities at market slackened, inquiries for bonded
wheats were made, and some purchases effected. It
was industriously sent forth that large orders were sent
abroad for foreign wheats ; and, that, even on the
coasts of the Black Sea, Europe and America must con-
tend for the purchase of their food. Tiie provmcial
markets responded to these facts and inferences ; and,
everywhere, the reluctance to sell was in proportion to
the desire to buy. In a word, wheat was on the eve of
rising' to the pitch desired — namely, to the sum which
would free the bonded corn, and render up to the owners
the use of near a million of capital set fast for three
years; and how was this frustrated when it seemed so
certain of success? There were those in the provincial
markets who perceived that if the importation at a low
duty took place, the country would be again inundated
with foreign wheat, and the price knocked down for
years, through the displacement of the English growth,
by the contine'.tal : and let it be clearly understood,
that a very large quantity is not necessary to this end.
The last four years liave decidedly shown how nearly
equalized is demand and supply even under the con-
tinual increase of the population. Even with the re-
duced stocks which j\lr. Jaeob,in 1827-1828, concluded
must lead to almost positive scarcity, and all but im-
possible supply, long before the date vve have now
reached, there has been found not only a sufficiency,
but a superabundance. This can only be accounted
for by the superior produce of superior cultivation, for
the addition of fresh or reclaimed land has not been
large of late years. The perception of this truth among
country merchants kept down the rising price, and just
gave time for the propagation of knowledge enough to
stay the final consequence. The eagerness of the best in-
formed of the farmers to get into tlie market while the
price should remain up, brought a fair show of sample^,
and a large bulk, and down goes price. Such we conceive
to be the real origin of the disorder, the rise and the
fall. A little time will test the truth of our con-
jectures.

In the mean while let us endeavour to look into the
future probabilities of the trade in corn, by examining
the circumstances which must regulate the real and final
causes— demand and supply; and to this end we shall
place the pros and cons on each side of the account,
with a clearness which we hope will enable even the
plainest man to draw the balance. First, then, to the
causes which are supposed to support the notion of a
rise.

1. It has been strongly urged, and is partially true,
that the depression of tiie price of wheat, and the ex-
altation of that of barley, had operated to induce far-
mers to decrease the breadth of wheat sown both in the
last and present years. These causes, together with the
eifects of the weather, it is agreed must have reduced
the bulk.

2. The Continental and American harvests are defi-
cient—the latter notoriously so, as is proved by the
eagerness of the Americans to purchase wheat in
Europe.

3. The potato crop, upon which the British Isles
place so niuch greater dependence now than heretofore
for subsistence, is injured by the premature frost and
continual rains.

4. Ireland thus is likely to become an importing in-
stead of an exporting country for wheat.

_ 5. A less quantity grown in Scotland, and the quan-
tity and quality materially injured by the protracted
and unfavourable season for harvest ; and lastly, the
enormous increase of the consumption, and consequent
reduction of stocks, owing to the active state of the ma-
nufacturing districts, constant employment, and high
wages ; and the application of wheat to other objects
than ihe food of man, owing to its very low price.

Of these facts and arguments we may observe, that
they are all true in the general ; but the question is not
as to their general truth, but as to the degree to which
they prevail ; and for an answer we must refer to the
statement of IMessrs. Giles, Son, and Co., already

quoted, and other such deductions drawn by persons
of competent information. Let us now turn to the con-
tra side of the account.

1. It is ascertained beyond all question, that notwith-
standing' the increased consumption, and the harvest
commencing three weeks later than last year, thus aug-
menting the consumption of the past year about one-
seventeenth part of the whole, there were stocks beyond
what used to be considered the average of the kingdom
at no very remote periods. This fact, taken with an-
other, that no foreign corn can have been consumed in
England for the last three years, proves Incontestably
that a crop a little above tlie averag'e will produce con-
mlerabhj more than is required to subsist the population.
It also follows, that if the harvest of next year take the
natural progression of seasons, the demand during the
current year will be /ess l)y one-seventeenth part than
that of 1835-36. I'he probabilities of the stocks being
still larger are enhanced by the lowness of the price,
which of course led all to hold who were rich enough
to hold. In point of fact some farmers have now, in
granary, the whole of the last three year's growth, and
many those of the last two. It is impossible to compute
the extent to which this hoarding goes. The enormous
errors of ]Mr. Jacob's calculations, however, will show
that it is much wider than it could be, or had been pre-
viously imagi;ied. Nothing', then, but a greatly defi-
cient harvest can balance this contingency. The home
growth, then (including Ireland and the colonies) has
exceeded considerably the necessities of the buyers.

2. That, including the entire period from harvest to
the present date, the quantities sent to market are less
than during the same interval of 1835. This is rendered
probable by the supposition 'that price would rise, and
also by the preference which barley afforded, both tend-
ing to tempt the farmer to thrash the latter grain before
the former. Again, the period when the farmer requires
money for his largest payments — rent, tithes, and yearly
bills — though coming is not come, and the show of pros-
perity may also allure the banker to make advances for
short dates — all of which will enable the farmer to hold
back his wheat, and throw the supply upon the later
markets of the agricultural year. But these considera-
tions are all to be taken, with the allowance, that the
time of payment is rapidly advancing, that the farmer
will be eager to avail himself of the rise, and push for
the advantage : that country bankers must limit their
aids by the state of the money markets, and by the de-
mands for capital created by rail-roads and other com-
mercial enterprises.

3. That there are in bond 500,000 quarters of wheat —
an amount fully equal to the average demand for a long'
seines of years previous to 1818 — ready to come forth
the moment the averages shall allow : and, next, that
further purchases are already made and making in fo-
reign markets. Nor is it to be forgotten that the vir-
tual closing of the English ports for the last three years
must have tended to increase indefinitely the accumu-
lations in the granaries of the Continent. That for
these reasons, it is rather tlie interest of the English
grower to keep the price below that which admits the
foreig'n growth at a low duty, than to raise it above
that rate, since it is almost certain, that, in such case,
there would be, as in 1818, an enormus influx of foreign
corn, which would knock down and keep down price
for an indefinite but certainly a long period. Should
such an event be followed by a very abundant harvest,
the consequenee might be more ruinous than any
hitherto experienced by agriculture in its most dis-
astrous times. Another possible result of high price
might be the entire abrogation of the corn-laws — a con-
tingency only requiring some such stimulus to incline
the balance already trembling' towards free trade, to
turn directly and irresistibly in its favour.

4. That the holders of bonded corn would, in the
event of the price rising' wearthat maximum which frees
it from duty, petition to be allowed to obtain the use
of their capital so long' laid fast on a low duty ; and that
it would be but just to the merchant, as well as politic
towards the grower and consumer, to accede to their
requests on the part of the Government.

5. That a high price will necessarily lead to economy,

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

65

anu economy to diminished consumption— which is,
perliaps, more effective than all the other causes put to-
gether, for a very little saving at every meal, by so
many millions of individuals, must reduce the quantity
used incalculably.

So, in our humble judgement, stands the account ;
and we cannot hesitate to believe that the rise will be
compensated by a fall. Indeed, it has already been al-
most so compensated. The question is, whether specu-
lation will still dare to hazard any future operations.
'J'he ne^t few weeks will determine a good deal ; but
we do not believe there are many who possess the
jiower to influence the markets, who also are likely to
be tempted by the very dangeous and uncertain risk of
an adventure so full of peril.

The discussion of this moment important of all topics
to landlord, tenant, merchant, and consumer, has left us
no space forth current transactions of agriculture ; but,
in truth there is little to note. It is agreed, that on the
whole, wheat-sowing- has beer propitiously executed,
and that the appearance is promising. The prices of
stock at the fairs have not indicated any serious fears for
a deficiency of fodder or turnips. The Associations
are every where holding their meetings, with a bene-
ficial effect on the moral feeling of the country — high
and low ; for the one perceive how advantageous and
honourable it is for them to devote themselves to the af-
fections of neighbouring tenants and labourers : and the
latter, that tliey are objects of affectionate interest to
tliose whom God has more amply provided. Tithe
commutation is also in fair, if not rapid progression.

GENERAL AGRICULTURAL
FOR DECEMBER.

REPORT

This month has, in addition to our provincial cor-
respondence, afforded us a greater opportunity than
we general!}^ have bad, of ascertaining both the eco-
nomical and political feelings of the agricultural
community, which, despite of all theoretical argu-
ments, has a predominant claim to support over all
other communities in the British Empire, though it
appears to be its liberal desire to act upon the live
and let live system. As relates to agricultural meet-
ings, sheep and bullock shows, &c. common honesty
compels us to assert, that we conceive, the system of
feeding, as nearly as possible on succulent food, and
corn, is by far preferable to the Smithfield Club's
rule, of allovi-ing competitors to feed as they think
proper, provided they honestly state the time, and
jiabulum on which, they have been fed, a system
which, though it produces prodigious fatness, can-
not fail to make the meat unwholesome, by confining
fattening stock so long a time as those over-fattened
piodigies require. We know, both from our own
experience and that of a considernble number of
graziers, with whosesystems of feeding we have been
well acquainted, that even the heaviest Sussex oxen,
which come to as great a weight as those of any other
breed m the British Empire, can be as well fattened
in the^ close on hay and potatoes, hay and mangle
wurzel, and hay and Swede turnips, as wholesome
consumption can require ; some of them, so fattened,
reaching the weight, by being so fed, from the time
tliey are taken from their pastures in November to
early February, of from 170 to 200 stones of 81bs
each .

The agricultural community cannot, we are con-
fident, expect much from us this month, relative to
tillage and farm operations in general, further than
being informed, that ploughing and stirring of fal-
lows, draining clays and oiherwet soils, felling and
planting coppices and timber trees, carrying out ma-
nure for lands destined to be sown with oats in
January, destroying mole-hills, &c., are all well in
their place. We are, however, happy to state, that

the early lambing season is generally described as
having been productive of a fine fall of lambs, and to
have a nearly reached an auspicious conclusion ; as
also that the generality of live farm stock is in a
healthy and thriving state, even where it requires a
small quantity of fodder. As to green vegetation,
both as relates to the growing wheat, turnip tops,
seed grasses, pasture and sheep down herbage, &c,
the oldest and most experienced larmers consider,
that it is wearing a by far more fresh complexion
than at the corresponding season of any year, within
their recollection.

We regret to observe, that the great rcducticn
which has taken place in the duties on foreign grain,
and the overwhelming supplies of cattle markets have
been productive of a considerable depression in the
prices of both grain, flour, and fat stock; whilst
those of hops, wool, hay, straw, milch cows, and
good horses, have been about stationary. In store
sheep and beasts, as also inferior horses, but little has
been doing.

The following is a retrospective statement of the
supplies and prices of fat stock exhibited in Smith-
field and Islington markets, since the publication of
our last month's report.

SUPPLIES.

SMITHFIELD.

Beasts.

Sheep.

Calves.

Pigs

Nov. 28. ..2890

18100

165

350

Dec. 2. .. 523

2963

140

315

— 5. ..3460

21200

170

340

— 9. .. 850

2150

140

320

— 12. ..5260

21550

250

340

— 16. ..2785

2650

220

350

— 19. ,.3185

16850

160

340

— 23. .. 525

2100

150

280

— 26. ..1440

12100

16
1411

40

Total .. 20920

98663

2675

Supply ef"^

preceding >.15233

99406

1660

3364-

month. J

Hence it appears, by the foregoing statement,
that the number of beasts has increased 5,693 ; whilst
that of sheep has decreased 743; of calves 249;
and of pigs 689.

In Islington market, which closed on the 12th, the
total number of beasts exhibited, since the 25th of
Nov. was 180 ; of sheep 4,521.

About J 1,740 of the beasts which have formed the
supplies of the above dates, about a fourth of which
were short horns, the remainder in about equal
numbers of Welsh runts, Herefords, and Devons,
with about 600 Scots and Norfolk homebreds, and a
few Irish beasts, have come from Lincolnshire, Lei-
cestershire, Northamptonshire, and others of our
northern and north-western grazing districts: the num-
bers which came up the St. Alban's road being about
6880 ; up the other northern and north western roads,
about 4,860; about 1,770, in not far from equal
numbers of Herefords, Devons, Welsh runts, Scots,
Norfolk homebreds, and Irish beasts, from Norfolk,
Suffolk, Essex, and Cambridgeshire ; about 3,950,
mostly homebreds, Devons, Scots, Welsh runts,
short horns, and Herefords, from our western and
midland districts ; about 530 polled Scots, by steam
vessels, from Scotland ; about 900, chiefly prime
Sussex oxen, steers, and heifers, Devons, and Welsh
run'.s, from Kent, Sussex, and Surrey : and most of
the remainder, embracing some of all the before-
mentioned breeds, and about 150 lusty towns-end
cows, from the cattle lodges, stall feeders, cow keep-

F

66

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

ers, inarshmen, &c., near to, and within a few miles
of, London.

PRICES.

Per 81bs, to sink the offals.

Nov. 28.

Dec. 26

s.

d. s.

d.

s.

d. s.

d.

Inferior Beef . . .

. 2

2 to 2

4 .

. 2

2 to 2

4

Middling, do. .

. 2

10 to 3

6 .

. 2

8 to 3

8

Prime, do

. 3

10 to 4

10 .

. 4

0 to 4

8

Inferior Mutton.

. 2

4 to 2

6 .

, 2

4 to 2

6

Middling, do. .

. 2

8 to 3

0 .

. 2

8 to 3

4

Prime ditto.

3

8 to 4

8 .

. 4

0 to 5

0

Veal

. 4

0 to 5

6 .

. 4

0 to 5

4

Pork

, 3

2 to 4

8 .

. 3

2 to 4

8

Here follows a comparison of the supplies and
prices of fat stock exhibited and sold in Smithfield,
on Monday Dec. 28, 1835, and Monday, Dec. 26,
1836.

At per 8lbs, sinking the offals.

Dec. 28, 1835. Dec. 26, 1836.

s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d.

Coarse and inferior beasts 2 2 to 2 4... 2 2 to 2 4

Second quality do 2 8 to 3 2... 2 8 to 3 2

Prime large oxen 3 8 to 4 0 ..3 6 to 4 0

Prime Scots. &c 4 0 to 4 4... 4 4 to 4 8

Coarse and inferior sheep 2 4 to 2 6. ..2 4 to 2 6

Second quality do 2 10to3 2. ..2 8 to 3 4

Prime coarse-woolled do 3 4 to 3 8. ..3 10to4 4

Prime South Downs do 4 0 to 4 4... 4 8 to 5 0

Large coarse calves 3 6 to 4 6... 4 0 to 4 8

Prime small do... 4 8 to 5 0...6 0 to 5 4

Large hogs 2 10 to 3 10... 3 2 to 3 8

Neat small porkers 4 0 to 4 4. ..4 4to4 8

SUPPLIES.

Dec. 28, 1835. Dec. 26, 1836.

Beasts 2,340 1,440

Sheep 16,500 12.100

Calves 200 16

Pigs 450 40

By the above yearly comparison it appears that all
kinds of prime meat were producing higher prices,
on Monday, Dec. 26, 1836, than on Monday, Dec.
28, 1835; whilst the supply of the former market
dav comprised 900 beasts, 4400 sheep, 184 calves,
and 410 pigs less than that of the latter.

The business transacted in store stock, this month,
has been very inconsiderable, and even that, at con-
siderably drooping prices.

This month's supply of sheep, like those of many
preceding months, have been composed of about
equal numbers of old and new Leicesters, Kents,
Kentish half-breds, old Lincolns, and Soutli Downs,
with a few Norfolk sheep, polled Gloucesters, horned
Dorsets and Somersets, horned and polled English-
fed Scotch and Welsh sheep, &c. But few, if any,
sheep, have reached Smithfield, this month, by sea,
from Scotland.

The sheep which have formed the present month's
supplies have come, about equally from our northern
districts, Sussex, Kent, Surrey, and our western and
midland districts, with not an inconsiderable number
from the marshes in the vicinity of London.

A large quantity of slaughtered meat has arrived,
in the London carcass markets, from various parts
of England, during the month. From Scotland,
supplies of it have been but limited.

SOUTH NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.

At the commencement of the harvest here, which
was about the second week in August, the crops of
wheat in general were light, but on being carried to
the stacks were found to go a great deal nearer to-

gether than was expected ; consequently it has taken
but little time in thrashing, but has yielded a great
deal better than expected, though far below an ave-
rage crop. Barley, which was also very light and
very much stained by the unfavourable weather,
yields better to the flail than was expected, and is
considered rather over an average : the same will
apply to oats. The bean crop in general was very
badly harvested, and in consequence few have been
thrashed ; those that have, yielding very badly and
almost unsaleable by their softness. The snow which
fell the latter end of October greatly terrified the
farmer, as his crops of hay were very light, and there
being hardly any straw fit for fodder, added to the
general bad crops of Swedish turnips, which have
(where they were good) been sold as high as 131
per acre ; consequently, if we have a sharp winter,
the poor cattle will fare-very badly. The Agricul-
tural Committee that was appointed last session ter-
minated its labours much as was expected in this
part of the country, as it was not thought that Par-
liament had the means of much relieving the farmer,
though contrary to the opinions of the Marquis of
Chandos and the other would-be-thought friends of
the farmer. I entirely agree with what Mr. Hilditch
said in his speech at the late Shropshire Agricultural
Society's dinner, " that the farmers have too Inog
been deluded by their parliamentary leaders and sup-
posed friends, who have now skulked from the bat-
tle ;" and who have, it is to be hoped, found that
from their landlords, and not from parliament, the
almost ruined farmers must seek for relief. — Dec. 12.

NORFOLK.

For three successive years previous to the present,
the seasons for sowing wheat were so dry that it was
with difficulty the land could be prepared for the re-
ception of the seed ; and in 1834 the want of moisture
retarded the vegetation of the grain, even to the extent
of producing a considerable deficiency of plants ; yet
in contradiction of the old adage, which says that,

" Wheat sown in the slop.
Gets heavy at lop" —

necessarily implying a contrary tendency under reverse
circumstances. The late three crops previous to that of
the present year were universally abundant. Now, the
excels of moisture which has fallen since the conclusion
of the harvest, as well as the no small quantity of rain
which fell during that period, very much impeded the
sowing of wheat this year ; and the occasional frosty
nights and otherwise cold state of the atmosphere
which we have since experienced, tended very materi-
ally to check the progress of vegetation, consequently
there is a greater breadth of land on which the blade
has not yet made its appearance above ground, than we
have noticed at the period of Christmas for some years
past. Nevertheless, we do not intend to infer from
thence that any defalcation must necessarily arise out
of that circumstance ; for, although the plant is not so
luxuriant as we frequently see it, even where it has
made its appearance above ground, excepting that
which was sown very early, there is no actual defi-
ciency ; without, however, taking into the account such
lands as have been actually inundated, which fortu-
nately are of no very considerable extent in Norfolk,
The late advance m the price of wheat has had the
effect of bringing out much of the old stock of that
grain. Some opulent farmers in this county were till
very lately the holders of a large portion of their wheat
grown in the years 1833 4-5, either thrashed or in the
straw, but an advance of from twenty to thirty shillings
per quarter was too inviting to warrant further specu-
lation, and the result has been that very little old wheat
now remains in the hands oi^ the grower. Of the new
crop, we believe it is unquestionable that upon our first-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

67

rate soils, the average is equal to that of the three for-
mer years ; indeed, some few instances of productive-
ness have come to our knowledge which can never have
been surpassed ; and even taking the county as a whole,
we should esteem the last to be a full average crop.
Neither is there any complaint with respect to the bar-
ley or oat crops ; the former perhaps exceeds the latter
in quantity, but the dravv'back upon the stained barleys,
and the high figure to which oats have attained, have
materially altered the relative value of the two grains
in favour of the latter. Eeans and peas were more
sparingly cultivated last year than is usual in Norfolk ;
the former are but an indifferent crop, and badly har-
vested; the latter somewhat better both in acreable
productiveness and the quality of the grain. The tur-
nips which surmounted the ravages of the black -canker,
have continued to improve up to the present period ;
mangel wurzel also turns out a g^ood crop and is well
secured, consequently we have heard of no complaint
for die want of cattle food ; in short, the demand for
store beasts in the grazing department, has latterly been
so extensive, that it may be presumed no deficiency is
anticipated. It seems, however, that the use of artificial
food is now considered indispensable, and that prime
winter-fed beef cannot be procured without either com
or oilcake ; consequently, as the price of the former is
too high to be profitably employed for that purpose, the
latter is more generally resorted to. The Christmas
show of beasts at Norwich on the 17th instant, was re-
markably good ; those which attracted the greatest no-
tice were two very fine Scots, fattened by R. H. Gur-
ney, Esq. ; a pair of beautiful homebredsby Jlr.Georg'e,
of Jasborough; a capital ox, by Mr. Boult; a pair of
Durham oxen, by Mr. Gillett, of Halvergate ; and two
good homebreds, by JMr. Heath ; but a two-shear
Leicester sheep, the property of ]\Ir. Ellman, of Win-
borough, is supposed to have surpassed any thing of the
kind ever exhibited on Norwich Hill.

Some few notices of meetings for effecting a voluntary
commutation of the tithes have appeared in our pro-
vincial papers, but the business altogether proceeds very
tardily, from a mistaken notion, we presume, that some
alteration will be effected in the bill during the next
session of Parliament ; not only with i-espect to several
clauses in the bill itself, but also with regard to the
mode of taking the corn averages, and of determining
the amount of rent-charge to be adduced therefrom.
The farmers conceive that the new system will subject
them to a hig'her annual payment in the shape of rent-
charge, than they have hitherto sustained by compound-
ing v^ith the tithe-owner, independent of the bar which
it puts to their ever reducing the payment by converting
arable land into pasture ; a privilege which the culti-
vators of inferior soils consider themselves the more en-
titled to in consequence of a similar boon being granted
to the occupiers of such land as shall hereafter be trans-
ferred from hop-grounds and market gardens, to arable
or pasture. We hope and trust that if any alteration
whatever is contemplated in the bill, that the very ear-
liest notice will be taken of it after the meeting of Par-
liament ; conceiving, as we do, that no time ous'ht to
be lost in effecting a voluntary commutation ; and con-
vinced, as we are, that no proper adjustment can be
made after the commutation is effected, without putting
in force the provisions of the " Act to Regulate Paro-
chial Assessments,'' a measure so extensive in its nature,
that much time will be consumed before the whole bu-
siness can be terminated.

Xorfolk, Dec. 20, 1836.

SOMERSETSHIRE.

The publ c prints, from one end of the kingdom to
the other, have so particularly described the effects
of a long- continuance of storms and deluging- rains,
as to render it quite superfluous to say more than
that cattle labour on the fields has for weeks been
nearly quite suspended, except on the driest soils.
A considerable breadth of land intended for wheat
is conseiiuenlly yet unsown, and unless the weather
should continue dry and free from severe frost, it will

be too late for wheat, the exceedingly low [-rices of
which .or the last two venrs had induced the farmers to
cultivate it more sparingly tiiis season. Tliis, among
other causes, has doubtless ha^l some influence on
prices, which, subject almost to weekly fluctations,
have yet advanced considerably since the beginning
of October; whicli advance we think, must be main-
tained, if Somersetshire Le not le s favoured than
other parts of the kingdom. For besides the number
of acres being less than usual, the produce per acre
of the last harvest is far from abundant. A prodigal
consumption of wheat by an increased population for
eighteen months, had greatly reduced the old stock
in the beginning of August, when, according to our
limited information and observation, the rick-yards,
save of some opulent grower here and there, had a
very slender store. Add to this the general defi-
ciency of potatoes, owing to the long drought of
summer, and the severe early frosts succeeded by
heavy rains, with their bad condition when housed,
and we shall see reason why bread com cannot, for
sometime to come, be at such ruinous prices, as wo
have lately witnessed. Yet we see no reason to
apprehend extravagant prices, for in the genuine
wheat soils of the south of England, this grain was
harvested altogether in good condition, and with a
little frost will be fit for use without the addition of
any old. The advance i i price will be beneficial
even to consumers ; for wheat was less sown, and
from the certain loss attending its culture, would
have soon become so scarce as to occasion actual
want of sustenance, 'i'he average price in this
county does not exceed 7s 6d a bushel, which in
years of ordinar}^ fertility is barely r. munerative to
our farmers. Beans and Barley were partially ex-
posed to rain, though not seriously injured ; but Oats
in the backward districts were out to a very late
period, and have suffered considerably. Mangel
wurzel, turnips, and ruta baga have generally failed,
yet in some of the soils in the neighbourhood of
South Petherton, Yeovil, and Crewkerne, peculiarlv
adapted to their growth, we have seen good crops,
and also alundance of excellent potatoes. The
price of sheep have improved somewhat since
iMichaelmas. Ewes fit for slaughter may be quoted
from 4|d to5^d per lb, and good wethers at6d. Seef
of the first quality for Christmas fare has been sold
for rather more than lis per 20 pounds; fair good
beef, quite fat enough for economical housekeepers,
is sold for 9s : butter and cheese from the shortness
of the summer grass are very dear. The sale of
wool (as is usual at this season of the year,) is flat
and drooping ; the growers have little on hand.
Notwithstanding canals and railways finding employ-
ment for many hands, there is in several parishes a
superabundance of agricultural labourers to whom,
we are sorry to observe, the farmers give only six
shillings a week, with three pi >.ts of cider a dry.
Can it be iair to reduce their ^vages at this season of
the year, when they want coals, candles, iScc , in
much larger quantities than during the summer'? As
the labourers and their families must be sup] orted,
we venture to say, if their wages were now raised
two shillings a week in money, and the allowance of
cider discontinued until Lady-day, great benefit
would result both to masters and labourers. The
execrable system of paying vages of labour from
the poor rates ha> been fully exposed ! it has been
an evil inflicted both upon the poor and the rich of
such an intolerable and oppressive nature that no
right thinking person can uphold it. I'here is not
even a plausible reason for continuing this degrada-
tion of the independent labourer to a state of pauper-
ism, for depriving- him of the fair reward of his

F 2

68

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

labour, and thus furnishing him with a plea for dis-
honesty. Co-isidered as a question of peace, the
faimer is a loser when he does not give liberal wages,
for he must support his labourers whether they are
idle or kept at work. — Dec. 22.

KENT.

We may now say, that the wheat season is finish-
ed, after a ve-y tedious process, owing to the wea-
ther, and what is above ground certainly looks well,
in general, it has been laid in the earth but a very
short time, before it has made its appearance ; the
([uantity sown is much larger than last year, which
is owing to the price being somewhat nearly paying
the expenses, as every one knows that growing wheat
is the most expensive, as very little can be done
without manure. Potatoes in some fields were se-
riously injured by the frost and wet, and the crop
altogether by no means a large one, so that we may
expect a fair price for this article. The prices of
corn have made most of us very busy thrashing, and
a very great quantity has been sent to market in this
county, which will enable us to pay the bills that are
to be paid at the close of the year. Wheat yields as
well as was expected, but there ai-e complaints of
the barley and oats not answering the expectations
formed of them, particularly the oats. Our corn
markets have varied but little for some weeks; good
dry corn is much sought after, as we have a great
deal cold and rough, for which buyers are by no
means numerous, with a decline in price. The mar-
kets for live stock have, as usual at this season of
the year, been well supplied ; some very good beasts
have made their appearance, and sold at high prices ;
the same may be said of sheep, and the general run
of things have been good. VVe are sorry to say that
there are many complaints that lambs, owing to the
quantity of wet weather we have had, have done
very indifferently on turnips, and a number of losses
have taken place. We have not much doing in hops,
with prices much the same for good things, which
are scarce ; discoloured ones may be bought lower.
As the year is just expiring, and as our prospects are
more cheering than at this time last year, we may
now express a wish that the worst is past, as we
certainly have been well tried, having for many years
done business at a very heavy loss, — Dec. 22.

STIRLINGSHIRE.

This month has been extremely changeable, as the
late constant rains, and snow on the hills, with se-
veral frosty mornings, have evinced. The crops on
the high and late and inferior soils are about one half
still exposed to the weather, and in some places
partly to reap ; therefore, little benefit can be ex-
pected to either man or beast from such crops. They
must now, to all appearance, be a total loss. Little,
if any wheat, comparatively, has been cut down|
either in kerse or dryfield, from the bad state of the
ground, and what has been got down, has been done
under very unfavorable circumstances. This will be
a vv'arning to farmers to sow earlier in tima comino-,
as all the fallow grounds might have been sown had
the farmers embraced the first week of September.
No favorable time has yet occurred for sowing wheat
since the potato crop has been taken up, and little
now, it is to be presumed, will be got done till spring.
Potatoes taken up after the severe frost are not keep-
ing in the pits, and it is found now, from sad expe-
rience, that one half at least will be a total loss, and

in some cases much more. Under these circum-
stances, that valuable root is about double the price
and bad in quality. All grain, from circumstances
already stated, has been rapidly advancing in price,
but, fortunately, seems rather on the decline for
these two weeks past, particularly wheat and barley.
Hay still seems extravagantly high, so much of the
other fodder being rendered useless. Cattle rather
decline in price, as also butcher meat, from the
failure of turnips, an overstock of cattle, and other
causes. How long this may continue is doubtful.
The ground cannot be in a worse state than it is at
present for ploughing and draining, and otlier farm-
ing opeiations. Grain continues soft, <; Id, and
damp, to handle, and much inferior in <>uantily and
quality. Gloomy prospects indeed for the country.

EAST LOTHIAN.

The weather throughout November has been of
that description which invariably waits upon the
winter of northern latitudes — cold, wet, and variable.
Fresh weather prevailed at the commencement of
the month, and by the second, the snowstorm of the
29th October was completely dispelled, and the wea-
ther for some time subsequent continuing favourable,
farmers were enabled to secure the outstanding por-
tions of their corn and potatoe crops in better con-
dition than the most sanguine could have anticipated
at the date of our last, and we were induced to hope
that a portion of the bean and potatoe land would be
seeded wnh wheat, in a favourable state, and at a
proper season ; but those whose ho])es depend for
fulfilment on tlie ever varying climate of Scotland,
seldom meet with tlie wished-for consummation,
and it has been thus in our case. Since the 12th of
the month, scarce a dav has occurred in which rain
has not fallen in very considerable quantity ; the
land has been in consequence completely saturated,
and field operations totally suspended ; and the pro-
per season for sowing winter wheat having gone by,
the greater portion of the beans and potatoes must
be reserved for spring wheat or barley. The con-
sumotion of the turnip crop has begun both in the
fields by sheep and by cattle, and in most instances
is enduring very little eating. Sales of turnips have
already taken place lately, and still continue to bring-
good prices, the average price being 12i per acre
Scots.

QUEBEC AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR
OCTOBER,

The general character of this month has been wet
and unfavorable to the getting in of the crops. The
temperature has been unusually cold. There was
some degree of frost on the 3rd and 4th, and snow
appeared on the distant mountains on the 7th. On
the 11th, the first hard frost occurred ; on the 12th
there was snow, which again occurred on the 18th,
19th, 21st and 29th, but hardly sufficient at any
time to cover the ground, which is now partially
bare, and frozen hard during the cold of ihe 25th,
26th, 27th and 28th, The frost and snow of the 4th
and 12th extended so far South, as South Carolina,
and Georgia, on the Atlantic Coast, and into the
State of Missouri, in'the Valley of the Mississippi,
throughout the lake countries to Chicago in Michi-
gan and along the Ohio. In Western New York
and Pennsylvania, the snow was from one to two
feet deep. The Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia, and Prince Edward's Island, have had nearly
the same season as Lower Canada, The cold seems

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

69

to have been less severe in the countries which ex-
perienced the drought in Spring- and Sunimei-, than
in those parts Ts-here it was rainy. The getting in of
the Oat crops was very much impeded by the wet
weather; and the frosts which began on the 23th,
put a stop to ploughirtg, and injured the pastures
which are now partially covered with the snow, all
about a fortnight earlier than usual. The poorer
classes have not had a worse prospect before them
than at present, for upwards of forty years. Every
kind of food is dear, and money scarce. The evil
may be said to extend over the whole Continent as
far as New Orleans, where flour on the 22nd was
from 95 to 10 dollars per barrel. Those who have
agricultural produce for sale, will be benefitted to
some extent, but every one must be more or less in-
jured by the general misfortune. The farmers in
this part of the country will have to reduce their
live stock probably, one-third, to meet the deficiency
of fodder during the ensuing winter, and this will
be a source of diminished wealth for several years to
come. The present high prices will, however,/orce
increased economy and exertions, and a few favor-
able seasons will restore that state of ease and com-
fort which formerly distinguished the agricultural
population of Lower Canada.

With reference to the potatoe crop, it is calculated
that not a third part was secured previous to the 21st,
consequently, f very large proportion of those pota-
toes that remained in the ground subsequent to that
date, must have been greatly damaged by the severe
and continued frost. This loss is the more to be la-
mented, because it might have been prevented, if the
crop had been secured in ordinary time, which cer-
tainly should never be allowed to be later than the
20tb, or perhaps, the 15th of October, under any
circumstances of late ox early planting, or whether
perfectly ripe or nut.

The following Table will show the quantity of
ram which fell at Rlontreal in the corresponding-
months of this year and last.

Quantity of rain which fell Quantity of rain which fell
in 1835. in 1836.

1

days

days

Inches

100

rain.

Inches

1 100 '•^>"-

April 3..

..30

8

Do.

1

12 5

May 3..

..50

9

Do.

4

9 12

June 4. .

..28

14

Do.

I

41 7

July 3..

..19

10

Do.

2

70 8

Aug-ust ....6..

..21

91

Do.

2

57 9

September . .1..

..79

1]

Do.

1

80 13

October ....4..

..12

13

Do.

3

13 12

Total in 1 27
7 montbs J

11

80

Do. in

}

16

82 66

Do.

A most extraordinary and beautiful heifer, of the
short-horned breed, fed by the Rev. Basil Beridg-e, of
Algarkirke, was killed by Mr. Rog-ers, butcher, cf Bos-
ton. Numbers of graziers and butchers, who witnessed
this fine animal at the slaughter-shop of Mr. R., pro-
nounced her the most beautiful beast ever seen for her
age ; she being only two years and seven months old,
and fed on grass and hay, with the exception of half-a-
ton of cake; the following are her dimensions : — Height,
4ft. 8 in; girth, behind the shoulders, 8 ft8f in ; length,
from but end to the pole of the head, 8 ft. 1 in ; from the
shoulder top to brisket point, 4 ft. 6^ in. ; length of buck
to but end, 2 ft. 4| in. : across the bucks 2 ft. 7^ in, ;
weighing 76 st, (141bs to the stone), loose fat 11^ St.,
hide 6st. lib.

RYE CATTLE SHOW.

This show came off on Wednesday, Dec. 14, and
was attended by many of the principal agriculturists
between Canterbury and Worthing. The exhibition
stands unequalled by all former shows of this nature in
Rye. The stock was both numerous and of the finest
description.

At half past two, a party of 160 gentlemen and
farmers, amongst whom we recognised Hon. C. C.
Cavendish and H. B. Curteis, Esq. the members for this
division of Sussex, E. B. Curties, Esq., M.P. for Rye,
Messrs. Selmes, J. Smith, Boys, Darby, and many other
gentlemen well known as agriculturists of the first rank
sat down to a splendid dinner at the George Hotel, the
larg-e room of which was crowded to suffocation. On
the removal of the cloth, the chairman (William Hollo-
way, Esq.) proposed the usual loyal toasts, which were
drank with enthusiasm.

The Secretary, Mr. E.N. Dawes, then announced the
award of the judges as follows : —

FAT BEASTS,

The premium of 8/ for the best Ox worked till 1st
November, 1835, — to Mr. Samuel Selmes, of Beckley.

The premium of 51 for the second best ditto, — to Mr.
Benjamin Blackman, of Hooe.

The premium of 6L for the best Steer under four years
old, having lived with young stock till 1st November,
1835,— to Mr. Henry Smith, of Whatlington.

The premium of 4L for the second best ditto, — to Mr.
John Stonham, of Udimore.

The premium of 61 for the best Cow five years old and
upwards, that reared a calf in 1835, — Mr. Samuel
Selmes, of Beckley.

The premium of 41 for the second best ditto, — to Mr.
Richard Smith, of Breoe.

'I'he premium of 61 for the best open Heifer, under
four years old,— to Mr. John Thorpe, of Pett.

The premium of 41 for the second best ditto, — to Mr.
Jeremiah Smith, of Cadborough.

The above Stock was fed without any restriction.

LEAN BEASTS.

The premium of 41 for the best Bull two years old
and upwards, — to Mr. Jeremiah Smith, of Cadborough.

The premium of bl for the best Cow in calf, three
years old and upwards, — to Mr. Robert Turley, of Rol-
venden.

The premium of 3i for the second best ditto, — to Mr.
Robert Turley.

The premium of 3/ for the best pair of Steers under
three years old, — to Mr. Joseph Payne Fuller, of Laugh-
ton.

The premium of 21 for the two best Heifers in calf
under three years old, — to Mr. Benjamin Blackman, of
Hooe.

The premium of 21 for the two second best ditto, — to
Mr. Christopher Thorpe, of Fairlight.

The premium of 21 for the two best Heifers under two
years old, — to Mr. J. P. Fuller.

The premium of \l for the second best ditto, — to Mr.
Jeremiah Smith of Cadborough.

The feeding of the foregoing Stock was restricted to grass,
hay, and straw, after the 1st May, 1836.

The premium of 51 for the best Kent Ram under
three years old, — to Mr. Robert Turley.

The premium of 31 for the best pen of five Kent two-
lamb ewes, — to Mr. Thomas Pix of Peasmarsh.

The premium of 1/ for the second best ditto,— to Mr.
Jeremiah Smith of Cadborough.

The premium of 31 for the best pen of five Kent one-
lamb ewes, — to Mr. Robert Horton.

The premium of II for the second best ditto, — to Mr.
Thos. Pix of Peasmarsh.

The premium of 2/ for the best pen of five Kent ewe
Tags, — to Mr. Jeremiah Smith of Cadborough.

The premium of IZ for the second best ditto, — to TSIr,
Robert Horton.

The premium of 21 for the best five Kent two-year
old Wethers,— to Mr. Jeremiah Smith of Cadborough.
The above fed on grass only.

70

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

The premium of 21 for the best Down Ram under
three years old, —to Mr. Henry Boys near Canterbury.

The premium of 21 for the second ditto, — to Mr.
Henry Boys.

The premium of 2/ for the best pen of five Down we-
thers, two years old, but not three, to Mr. Tilden Smith
of Vine Hall.

The premium of 11 for the second best ditto, — to Mr.
Benjamin Blackman of Hooe.

Tlte Downs fed irithout restriction.

The premium of 2/ for the best fat Sow, two years old
or upwards, that had produced one or more farrows of
pig-s,— to Mr. Henry Freeman of Udimore .

The premium of 21 for the best fat pig- under two
yeai-s old,— to Mr. Jeremiah Smith of Cadboroug'h.

The premium of 11 for the best boar pig- under twelve
months old, — to Mr, James Edmonds of Rye.

CHIPPENHAM AGRICULTURAL
ASSOCIATION.

The annual meeting- and cattle show of this asso-
ciation were held at Chippenham on Friday se'nnig'ht.
The show was most excellent, and it was very nume-
rously and most respectably attended. The meeting-
was held at the New Hall, at one o'clock, Joseph Neeld,
Esq., M.P., President of the Association, in the chair.
The dinner took place at three o'clock at the Angel Inn,
when a most excellent entertainment was served up by
Mr. Lawes in a capital style. The company consisted
of about 120 of the g-entry, yeomen, and respectable
farmers of the neighbourhood. The premiums were
awarded as follow : —

1st Class.— JMr. Hatherell, Bradfield, for bull, cow,
and offspring, \0l.

2nd Class. — Mr. Young, Bushton,for the best fat ox,
breeder, and feeder, 9/.

Mr. Salter, Malmesbury, for 2d best fat ox, breeder
only, AL

3d Class. — Mr. Rich. Didmarton, best fat cow,
breeder and feeder, 9^.

Mr. Baker, Kingsmead, for the second best fat cow,
breeder and feeder, 61.

4th Class. — Mr. Smith, Thornhill, for two best milch
cows, bred by owner, 9/. The judges remarked that
the competition for this premium was excellent.

5th Class. — Mr. Chapman, Wick, two breedingheifers,
under 36 months — no competition ; the judges, how-
ever, took upon themselves to recommend the full pre-
mium of 6/ to be given.

Mr. Beaven, Highway, for two best heifers, under 24
months, bred by the owner, 41 10s.

6th Class. — Mr. Brown, Uffcott, for four best South-
down wether sheep, 31.

Mr. Holbrow, Knockdown, no competition for four
best fat long wool wethers ; but the judges considered
great merit due, and recommended the full premium of
31 to be given.

7th Class.— Mr. Toghill, Marshfield, for eight best
breeding Southdown ewes, 51,

8th Class. — Mr. Dark, Broughton, no competition for
best boar ; the judges, however, recommended a portion
of the premium to be given.

Mr. Budd, Wintei-bourne, for tlie best breeding-
sow, 21.

_ For Extha Stock.— Mr. Beaven, Highway, for ex-
hibiting a short horn bull, (one year and nine months)
bounty of 3/.

T he breeding sows that were exhibited for the pre-
miums were generally possessed of merit, and the
judges recommended a bounty of 10s to be given to Mr.
Painter, of Hullavington ; Mr. Fry, of Chippenham,
and Mr. Rich, of Chippenham. 'Jhe judges remarked
that the long-horn bull exhibited by Mr. Holbrow, in
class 1, was an animal possessing- great merit.

The judges congratulated the society on the improve-

ment made in the show yard, since the last exhibiiion ;
and at the same time suggested that were the sheds ex-
tended to the opposite side, it would be quite complete.

Chahtham Agricultural Association. — This
association held its first meeting on Wednesday,
Deccember 7, on which occasion a ploughing match
took place in a field at Thruxted Farm, the property of
Sir J. Fagg, Bart. The prizes, four in number, were
awarded as follow : — 1. Thomas Young, ploughman to
Mr. P. JMount, 40s; mate, 10s; 2. Jesse Coleman,
ploughman to Mr. W. Weatherley, 30s ; mate, 7s 6d ;
3. Richard Mills, ploughman to Mr. R. Lake, 20s ;
mate, 5s ; 4. W. Young-, ploughman to W. H. Baldock,
Esq., 15s ; mate, 3s 6d. At three o'clock the company
assembled at the George Inn, Shalmsford-street, and
did ample justice to the dinner, which I\Ir. Hukins had
provide d i n a superior style.

Curious Mode of Pressing Cheese. — In
Drummonds' Agricultural Museum, there is ex-
hibiting a cheese press, from the dairy of Polmaise,
which acts on the principle of the air-pump, and from
what we have heard, suits the purpose remarkably well.
As an appropriate accompaniment to this ingenious ma-
chine, a cheese, pressed by means of it, is also exhibit-
ed ; and that all may be able to judge for themselves,
visitors are invited by the donor to taste the specimen
of his produce. We have done so, and consider the
chesse of first-rate quality. — Stirling Advertiser.

Asses' Milk. — A. M. E. Peligot has laid some
interesting experiments before the French Academy of
Sciences, concerning asses' milk. He is of opinion that
the large quantity of sugar contained in this milk gives
it the medical properties for which it is celebrated ; and
he calculates that 100 parts of asses' milk will contain
as follows: — solid substance, 9.53 ; butter, 1.29 ; sugar,
6.29; caseum,].95; water, 90.47. After trying various
modes of nourishment, he found that beetroot made the
milk richer in solid substance than any other food ;
after this a mixture of lucerne and oats, then potatoes,
and lastly carrots. JM. Peligot also suceeded in impreg-
nating the milk with mineral substances or alkalis. —
AthencEum.

Wheat, Flour, and Bread. — Five quarters
of wheat will make seven sacks of flour ; conse-
quently, one quarter will make seven bushels of flour,
and a sack of flour will make 98 four-pound loaves ;
therefore an advance in the price of bread of Ijd per
loaf, allo^ving the labourer to eat two loaves per week
(and few eat so much), or an increase in the price of 3d
per head per week, is all the addition required between
a fair rent to the landlord and remuneration to the
tenant ; a difference of 3d a week to the consumer
makes the difference of rent or no rent. — From the Evi-
dence of Mr. John Rolfe before the Commons' Committee .

The Duty on Hides. — The Commissioners of
Customs have notified that they have received an an-
swer to a memorial presented to the Lords of the Trea-
sury, -who have commanded that the relief granted to the
parties importing sea cow hides, elephant's hides, and
large deer hides imported from the Cape of Good Hope, is
to be continued, and that the same rate of duty be pay-
ble as is a charged on ox and cow hides, on condition
that bond be given by the importers in case Parliament
should not sanction the reduction of the duty, to pay
the higher duty of 20 per cent.

Remarkable Pig. — On Monday last, a very
large hog pig was killed, belonging to Mr. Geo. Dar-
byshire, coal-merchant, of the Lord Mayor's Walk,
York, which weighed 39 stones. The animal was bred
by Mr. Holmes, farmer, of Bransby, near this city,
who has long been proverbial for breeding pigs which
attained enormous weights, as in the year 1834, he
bred one which weighed 37, and last year one weighing
upwards of 40 stones, both fed by Mr, Darbyshire.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

71

SWEDISH TURNIPS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

Siu, — As the time is now coming when Swedish
turnips have arrived at maturity, perhaps the under-
mentioned account will be acceptable to some portion
of )'Our numerous readers. Hearing so much oi'Mr.
Hillvard's far-famed Swedish turnips, I felt very
anxious to give his seed a trial in Yorkshire ; I
therefore applied to a friend in Northamptonshire,
to procure me -a small portion, which I drilled on
ridges 25 inches apart , with bone-dust and farm-yard
manure, in the centre of a sixteen acre field ; tlie
other part of the field with seed, raised in my own
neighbourhood, and no difference made as to manage-
ment, the soil being a stout limestone. As soon as
T,be plants made their appearance, they were attacked
with the iiy, which seemed very likely to be fatal to
them ; but by sowing quick-lime u])on them, early
in the morning, whilst moist uith dew, it quickly
drove them away, and the weather afterwards being
favorable, that part of the field sown with Yorkshire
seed, grew amazingly ; the Northamptonshire, on
the other hand, made very little progress, no kind of
weather throughout the season, seemed to suit them.
I am now busy carting them off for winter use,
but the difference appearing so great, I determined
to ascertain the weight of an acre of each kind, which
I found to be as follows : —

Tons. Cwt.

Yorkshire 22 5

Northamptonshire 13 1

Diflference 9 4

Thus it will be seen, that an acre from the Yoik-
shire seed produced 9 tons 1 cwt. more than the
other ; a difference which I am at a loss to account
for, unless the land was too cold for seed raised in
the rich county of Northampton,

Yet, Mr. Editor, if any of your numerous readers
can inform me of any other cause, I shall be greatly
obliged, for I am informed Mr. Hillyard's turnips
this present year are the best in the country.
I am, Mr. Editor, yours, &c.

AN OLD FARMER.

Near Roth erham, Dec. lOth.

PS. I ought in justice to Mr. Hillyard to have
stated, that bis turnips are the handsomest I ever
saw, but too small and delicate.

THE TITHE COMMUTATION ACT.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE EXPRESS.

Sir, — Observing in your paper of last week, some
high commendations passed on the Tithe Commutation
Act of last session ; and which was particularly stated
by Lord Darlington, and the Hon. R. H. Clive, at the
Shropslnre Agricultural Meeting, as a " most valuable
and beneficial measure to the farmer," I shall feel
myself very much obliged, if you will allow me through
the medium of yonr paper to ask my Lord Darlington,
or the Hon. R. H. Clive, or any other of your corres
pendents to poiut out in what respects the Tithe Com-
mutation Act is calculated to benefit the farmer.

It may be that I am short-sighted, or wanting in un-
derstanding on the subject ; but I cannot, after all the
consideration which I have been able to give to the
measure, see how it is to prove beneficial, either to the
farmer or land-owner. But on the contrary, I am one
of those who agree in the opinion expressed by your
correspondent, Mr. Knight, that it is altogether a
parson's bill ; and anything but a beneficial measure
either to farmers or land-owners. Both I believe, are

cajoled and deceived by it, and will ultimately find it
to be a most iniquitous, unjust, and oppressive Act of
Parliament.

1. It proceeds on a tithe in kind valuation, without
any deduction for expenses of cultivation, charge for
seed, or taxes, or outlay for improvement of land.

2. It makes no allowance for & failure or loss of crops
by adverse seasons, or otherwise.

3. It fixes the value according to an average price
of corn, which is never realized to one-tenth of the
farmers in the kingdom, if indeed it even be to a single
one amoug them all.

4. To those farmers whose land grows corn of an in-
ferior quality, and bearing a proportionately lower
price than the general average taken — it is most heavily
oppressive and unfair.

5. It converts an uncertain, precarious, and always
variable demand, into a fixed, permanent, and exorbi-
tant rent-charge, and creates a lien upon the land-owner,
unto which he was not before liable, without giving an
equivalent by way of compensation for such guarantee.

On the whole. Sir, it appears to me to be an Act,
rather to confiscate the property of the land-owner, and
the capital of the farmer, than to confer benefit to either.
I say nothing now of the injustice of such an act, im-
posing such a charge on the capital, skill, and industry
of the landed interest of the kingdom, from which
other description of property are exempt : but I, Sir,
contend that such an act ought not to have been passed
through Parliament at the time, and in the wanner in
which that act was passed ; and which, the more it is
understood, the more it will be condemned.

But if either my Lord Darhngton, or the Hon. R. H.
Clive, or yourself, or any other into whose hands this
may fall, can show the benefit of it to either farmer or
land-owner, he will confer a favour on one who stands
in the capacity of both, and who is

A CAMBRIDGESHIRE FARMER.

Nov. mh, 1836.

SMITHFIELD SHEW.

Weight of Cattle and Sheep exhibited at
the late Shew, and the names of the Butchers
by whom they were purchased.

The Marquis of Tavistock's Hereford ox, which

obtained the first prize purchased by Mr. Slater,

Kensington, weight, 2l5st 21b, rough fat 22st 31b.
Earl Spencer's Durham ox, purchased by Mr.

Strachan, Westminster, 218st, rough fat, 27st.
Mr. Loft's Durham ox, purchased by Mrs. Somers,

Somers Town, 232st, rough fat, 23st.
Mr. Bailey's Hereford ox, purchased by Mr* Cowell,

Knightsbridge, 145st 21b, rough fat, 21st.
Mr. Giblett's Hereford ox, killed by himself, 236st.
Mr, Bird's three Leicester wethers,fpurchased by Mr.

Miller, Finsbury, irst 4lb ; 20st 31b ; 21st ;

rough fat 14lb each.
Mr. Rowland's three long-wooUed wethers, pur-
chased by Mr. Dobbin, Drury Lane, 33st lib ;

29st 31b ; 28st 41b ; rough fat, 14lb each.
Duke of Richmoad's three Southdown wethers, No.

32, class 10, purchased by Mr. Hancock, 13st 3lb ;

14st ; 13st 61b.
Duke of Richmond's three Southdown wethers, No.

31, class 11, purchased by Mr. Hancock, I9st 61b;

18st 4lb ; 17s 71b. Rough fat average 3st each.
Mr. William Poulton's fat pigs, purchased by Mr,

Williamson, Lambeth, list 61b ; 14st41b; list 2lb ;

12s 61b.

There is now grovnng, and ready for cutting, in the
grounds of Mr. Hezekiah Collins, nurseryman, at Laver-
stock, near Salisbury, asparagus, measuring nearly four
four inches above the surface of the ground.

72

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

THE GORN LAWS.

The rise in the price of corn, the formation
of an Anti-Corn LawAssociation in the metro-
polis, and the observations reported to have
been made by Sir H. Parnell at Dundee, but
since contradicted have conduced to a renewal
of discussion upon the present system of corn
laws, and which will doubtless continue and
perhaps be brought under the notice of par-
liament in the next session. Having been
favoured with the sight of a portion of a pub-
lication from the pen of Mr. Hillyard, the
president of the Northamptonshire Farming
and Grazing Society which will be ready
for publication in a few days, and which will
from what we have already seen of the work
and know of the author be found replete with
information practically useful to the agri-
culturist we subjoin the following extract ex-
hibiting the writer's sentiments upon the Corn
Laws.

Having the opportunity in tliis second edition, I
make a i'ew brief observations on the able " Remarks
on the present state of Agriculture," by Charles
Sbav7 Lefevre, Esq., in a letter addressed to his
constituents in North Hampshire. In consequence of
the distress which prevailed, it was al)solutely due
to the agricultural interest to Iiave a Committee of
the House of Commons appointed, to inquire into
the causes of tbe distress, and to report, from the
evidence which came before tbem, their recommen-
dations for relief. That the Committee should not
have known what to recommend, and therefore
should have made no report, could not have sur-
prised any able-minded agriculturist, whose thoughts
had been directed to the subject. Mr. Lefevre says
he is decidedly in favour of a fixed duty on foreign
corn, instead of the present duty, which is fluctu-
ating ; but should this alteration not take place, he
yields to tlie suggestion of a gradual reduction in
the present scale of duties on importation. This
suggestion, it appears, comes from dealers in foreign
corn ; those who, till within the last few years, car-
ried on a lucrative concern in that article. May it
not reasonably be suspected, that such persons may
be desirous of regaining their now nearly lost trade 1
During the last twenty years, I have read so much
as to the price that wheat can be grown for on the
Continent — on fluctuating duties, and on fixed du-
ties, &c. &c., — tliat I mean to read no more on such
subjects. After thirty years practical pursuit of
agricultural affairs, accompanied by attentive con-
sideration of all matters relating to them— after all I
have read — after all the arguments I have heard — 1
am decidedly against any change in tlie present corn
laws, conscientiously believing them to be most
just and fair, between the growers and consumeis of
corn. British occupiers af laud, witliless protection
from foreign importation, could not support the
labouring agricultural population, pay taxes, and pay
their landlords such moderate and fair rents as they
are justified in taking. Why a reduction of the duty
on malt is to be mixed up with the corn laws, I can-
not comprehend. 'Tis true that fiirraer.s (from the
necessity of giving beer to their labourers), would
be more benefited by a reduction of the duty on malt
than shopkeepers and many otliers ; but as the bene-
fit which the farmers might derive would not be at
the cost of any other class of the people, I do not
see why any part of the protection which the present
corn laws aiford, should be taken from them, on ac-

count of any little extra advantage which they might
derive from a reduction of the duty on malt. Mr.
Lefevre says, the present corn laws have been a de-
lusion. I cannot answer for what they may have
been to others, to me they have been no delusion.
The Legislature, at the time of their enactment, con-
templated they would be a protection to 60s. per
quarter, for wheat; I then told persons of distinction,
that I calculated they were only to 56s. The late
ver}' low price was no proof of delusion ; for in all
commodities, if the supply exceeds the demand, as it
did last year in wheat, prices must fall. Many most
ingenious attacks are continually made on the corn
laws by most able writers, employed to fill up the
pages of newsj.apers, and man}^ apparently plausible
arguments are brought forward for their repeal. It
is said that our ports ought to be open, free of duty,
CO foreign corn and manufictured foreign goods. I
ask, in answer to this, v.-ill ibreign ports be thus
open to British manufactured goods '. It is well
known that England possesses such vast resources
within itself for tlie purposes of manufacture, that
all goods, of any importance, can be manufactured in
this country (with the present corn laws), at a
cheaper rate than in any other part of the world :
English manufacturers, therefore, fear no foreign
competition. When it can be proved that it is pos-
sible to produce corn at as low a price in this coun-
try as on the Continent, then, but not till then, shall
I become one of the numerous agriculturists whom
Mr. Lefevre wishes may ba convinced, " that the
best thing which the Legislature can do for them, is
to free their trade from the shackles imposed upon it
by impolitic laws." I can truly say that it is not ou
selfish grounds that 1 wish to retain tbe present corn
laws, but for the welfare of the whole rural popula-
tion, which forms so great a portion of the British
nation. As the mercantile, manufacturing, and trading
interests are most powerful in the House of Com-
mons, and united against all corn laws, it would be
the height of folly, sliould there be any disunion
amongst the supporters of the agricultural interest,
on account of a diff'erence of opinion as to which is
best, a fixed or a fluctuating duty on foreign corn.
No change in the present corn laws, in my opinion,
ought to be attempted, for I am well convinced,
should any take place, that it would be disadvan-
tageous to the agricultural interest.

Rain in October and November. — We have
heard many persons express an opinion that the pre-
sent season has been the wettest ever remembered ;
but this opinion is not quite correct, as appears from
the following account of the quantity of rain which
fell at Manchester in the months of October and No-
vember, for three different years, for which we are in-
debted to the kindness of Dr. Dalton ; — inches.
In 1824, October and November yielded 12.4

In 1825 11.6

In 1836 10.8

These are the three wettest seasons that Dr. Dalton has
ever observed at Manchester ; so that the present,
though not the worst, has only been exceeded by two
others during a period of, we believe, more than 40
years.— Mrnic/iestcr Guardian.

Very large quantities of potatoes are at present
shipped from Havre for England and Ireland. The
price there of middling potatoes is from 20d to 22d per
cwt., which is considered high ; but if the demand for
exportation should continue it is expected to be much
higher. A brisk export trade is also carrying on in ar-
ticles of luxury as well as of necessity ; turkeys are be-
ing sent off to England by hundreds at a time. The
price of a moderate-sized turkey is five francs.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

73

AGRICULTURAL INTELLIGENCE, FAIRS, &c.

OXFORD MONTHLY MARKET, held on Wed- |
uesday last. The show of stock was superior to any ;
before exhibited at this place. Many purchasers at-
tended, and nearly the whole was sold at the following- i
prices :— Beef, from 4s 4d to 5s ; Mutton, 4s to 5s per j
stone of 81bs. Among'st the cattle we noticed some very '
tine Hereford oxen, fed by Messrs. Roberts, of Patford,
Cother, of Aston, Druce, of Ensham, Turner, and '
others ; 10 Hig'hhind Scotts, fed by the Earl of Abiug'-
don, of very superior quality ; several lots of very g'ood
heifers, fed by Messrs. Miller, of Water Eaton ; Row-
land, Hutt, ikc. &c. An extraordinary heifer, of the
Durham breed, fed by Mr. Wm, INIiller, of Water
Eaton, near Asford. was shewn, which for quantity and
quality of flesh and symmetry, and lig-htnessof ofFal, lias
rarely equalled. Amongst the sheep a penn of Hamp-
shire Downs, g-razed by the Earl of Abingdon, com-
manded universal admiration, the best we have ever seen
exhibited cf that breed ; also, a penn of very choice
Downs, fed, we understood, by a ]\Ir. Edmunds, near
Farrina'don, Berks, shown by JMr. Price of Oxford.

FARINGDON MONTHLY CATTLE MAR-
KET.— The supply of oxen and sheep was abundant,
and of the very liig-hest order with respect to quality —
so much so that the bestjudg'es were at a loss to whicli
of the gentlemen graziers the palm of pre-eminence
should be awarded. Anxious as we are to avoid even
the appearance of partiality, we cannot hesitate to name
Messrs. Turner, of Kemscott ; Myers, of Langford :
Fairthorne, of Camden ; Kent, of Bourton ; and Nash,
of Buscott ; as heading the list of the many, who
exhibited beasts in the very finest condition, and of the
most perfect symmetry. For the best pen of long-
woolled sheep, Mr. Wilham Edmonds, of Kemscott,
stood decidedly without a cempetition, and that excel-
lent agriculturist, iMr. Williams, of Buckland, may
safely lay claim to superiority for Southdowns. Buyers
from every point of the compass were numerous, and
evens the Dons of Leadenhall-market have discovered,
that all the good beef of old England does not find its
way to Sjmithfield. Very few sheep or cattle were |
driven off unsold, and the prices were such as lent a j
cheering air of satisfaction to the countenance of the
grazier.

EXETER FAIR.— Tliis fair was well supplied with
fat stock, whichwent off well, there being scarcely a
beast worth looking at left unsold ; prices fetched from
10s to T2s per score, a fevv good steers brought 10s.
Calves were numerous at from 6d to 6kl per lb and
good sale. Mr, Force, of Honiton's Clist, had some
splendid cattle, grazed by himself, among which was a
beautiful ox, the largest in the fair, weighing 16 score
per quarter, which was purchased by Mr. South wood,
of Starcross, for 35/; a heifer weighing 46 score, was
purchased from JMr. Force by the same person for 35/.
Mr. John Pidsley, of Honiton Clist, had some fine oxen,
SIX of which were bought by Air. Batten— the finest of
them weighed 15 score per quarter, and was very fat ;
two of the others wei e about 13 score per quarter. Two
heifers grazed by Mr. Thomas Pidsley, of Sowton,
weighing 13 score per quarter, were purchased by Mr!
Macers, of Heavitree. jMr. ftlanley had four si)lendid
oxen, which we think were the finest shown ; indeed we
heard Mr. M. offer to bet 100 guineas that one of them
should turn out, when killed, the fattest of any in the
■fair — it was 15 score lOlbs the quarter.. There were two
fat heifers belonging to Sir H.Davie, which, with the
exception of the one shown by Mr. England, were de-
cidedly the priniest ; one was bought by iMr. Beedell,
North-street, and the other by .Mr. Brown, Crediton.
Mr. Wm. Pidsley, of Sowton, had five fine oxen, the
best of which was sold to Mr. Batten, of Newton St.
Gyres, weighing from 14 to 15 score per qr, the other
four were bought by Sirs. Berry, of St. Thomas. A fat
heifer grazed by Mr. R. Pidslev, of Sowton Barton, was
purchased by BIr. Hill. BIr. R. Brewer, of St. Tho-

mas, had a very superior heifer, (which he intends for
Christmas) fed by Mr. Hugh Underbill, of Alphington,
weighing about 12 score per qr. Two fine heifers fed
by BIr. Davy, Weir, were bought by BIr. Hodge. BIr.
England, of High-street, exhibited three beautiful
heifers, one of whic'.i was allowed l)y all butchers and
competent judges to be the best ever shown in this
county, being" extraordinary for its symmetry and
beauty. This celebrated animal was bred and fed by
BIr. North, of En more, near Bridgwater, and weighed
15 cwt gross weight, and was purchased by BIr. Eng-
land at the Taunton Agricultural Show, where she ex-
cited *^reat interest.

ASHBOURN FAIR— There was a good supply of
fat beasts at this fair.'whieh realized 6d per lb. Sheep
were scarce, but those sold fetched fuUGd per lb. Barren
cows and calves were more in demand than at the pre-
vious fair. Horses were limited in number and of an
inferior description. Several fat beasts were shown by
the Ashbourn butchers: Blessrs. Blarple exhibited two
prime fat oxen and four capital heifers. BIr. Etches
one ditto heifer and one excellent bullock. BIr. W.
Tomlinson one prime cow. Two prime fat sheep, the
one a shear and the other a two-shear, bred and fed by
BIr. Smith, of Blore, and which could not be excelled
for symmetry and fatness, were exhibited by BIr. S.
Spencer. l\lv. Bridden, of Tissington, showed an un-
common fat cow, fed by the Earl of Chesterfield.
Blessrs. Blarple also showed three fat pigs, which ex-
cited universal notice.

At NORTHABIPTON FAIR there was a tolerably
large number of store cattle, but, as is generally the
case at this fair, they were of an inferior description to
those brought to the Autumnal fairs. Blost of them
were sold at somewhat reduced prices. The show of
fat cows was much inferior in quality to the Christmas
show of beef in former years. Blost of them were sold,
but scarcely any at prices exceeding 4s a-stone. There
were not many fat sheep, and all were readily sold at
somewhat advanced prices, 'j'liere were a great num-
ber of cows and heifers of inferior quality than could be
turned into money. Inferior horses were numerous.
Forty years ago, Northampton was a great mart for
high-priced good horses, they v/ere then bought up by
country dealers in the breeding counties, and sold again
at Northampton to the London dealers, who now make
their purf^haees in the breeding counties.

NEWTOWN FAIR, BIONTGOBIERYSHIRE.
— Fat sheep were few and 'sold at from 6d to 6Jd per
lb ; stores were in little demand, and numbers re-
returned home unsold. Few fat pigs were on sale
which obtained 4d to 4id per lb ; Stores were at re-
duced prices. Fat cattle were scarce ; but bullocks in
good condition found purchasers. Stores and lean
stock were very low, yet many holders were obliged to
sell, in consequence of the scarcity of fodder.

FORTINGALL. — The great annual market in this
quarter commenced, as usual, at Cochieville, on the 5th
current. There were about seven scores three years
old Idackfaced wedders, which sold from 13s to 16s per
head; about 22 scores two years old ditto, from 8s 6d
to r2s 6d : 2,000 crock ewes, from 65 to lis ; about 400
goats, from 7s to 15s. There also appeared from 40 to
50 fat black cattle, which brought from 51 to 9/ ; about
100 six quarters old ditto, of which only about one-third
were sold, from 20s to 35s. A superior lot of two year
old queys sold for about 71, 15s per head. Sheep skins
from 2s to 2s 7d ; goat skins from Is to Is 9d. Rinded
tallow from 8> to 9s per stone of 22!bs ; unrinded ditto,
from 5s to 6s 6d.

AXBITNSTI:R.— The agriculturists of this neigh-
j bourhood having established an annual exhibition of
I stock, it was commenced on Saturday se'nnight.
j Amongst the principal was a very superior fat heifer, of
the North Devon breed, which, for beauty of symme-
try, could not be surpassed, grazed by BIr. Flood, of

74

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

Musbury. An excellent four year old heifer, of the real
Devon breed, the pro7)erty of Mr. Gill, auctioneer, of
Axminster: — this was a fine bullock, and now weig'hs
785 scorce, measuring nearly 14 feet from nose to tail,
and stands 5 feet 1 in. — Two very superior horn wether
fat sheep, twins, bred by JMr. Halse, of Buckland in
the parish of Axmouth, and grazed by !\Ir. Reed of
Musburv.

LEWES CATTLE SHOW.— This show took place
on Tuesday se'nnight. Mr. Stephen Lowdell presided.
The company at the dinner did not exceed eighty.

The Premium of 10^ given by the town of Lewes, for
the best Ox, five years old or upwards (bred in Sussex),
and worked rea"u!arly in the team until the 1st of Octo-
ber, 1835,— to Mr. J. P. Fuller of Mays.

The Pre:r.ium of 5/ given by the town of Lewes, for

the second-best ditto, — to Mr. S. Grantham of Stoneham.

The following (as to feeding) are not uUoiced any other

food than Grass, Hay, Furnips, Mangel Wnrzel, or

Potatoes.

The Premium of 10( given by Agriculturists, for the
best ox, five years old or upwards ( bred in Sussex), and
worked regularly in the team until the 1st of October,
1835, to I\lr. King Sampson.

The Premium of 5t for the second-best ditto, to Mr.
S. Grantham. The animal bred by Mr. Denman, of
"Willingdon.

The Premium of 51 given by the Proprietors of '1 he
Brighton Gazette, for the best ox or steer (bred in Sus-
sex), under five years old, to Rlr. Fuller. The animal
bred by his father.

The Premium of 8/ given by Agriculturists, for the
best cow, four years old or upwards (bred in Sussex),
that has had and reared a calf in 1835, and not turned
off fatting before 1st December, 1835, to Mv. Thomas
Childs. The animal bred by Mr. C.

The Premium of 41 given by Agriculturists, for the
second-best ditto, to Mr. John Ellman, who bred the
animal.

The Premium of 8/ given by the town of Lewes, for
the best open heifer, under four years old, (bred in
Sussex), to Mr. Gorringe.

The Premium of 41 given by the Town of Lewes, for
the second-best ditto, to Mr. Putland, who bred the
animal.

The Premium of 10/ 10s for the best pair of bullocks
which have been longest in stall without being tied up
or quitting their shelter, — no competition ; but awarded
to Mr. Gorringe who bred the animal.

The Premium of 10/ given by Agriculturists, for the
best pen of five South-down wethers, above two and
imder three vearsold, to Mr. John Ellman.

The Premium of 10/ given by the town of Lewes, for
the best pen of five South-down wethers, under two
years old, to ]Mr. John Ellman.

The premium of 5/ given by the town of Lewes, for
the second best ditto, to Mr. Wm. ArkcoU.

Mr. Ellman explained that tlie 20/ given anonymously
for the best cultivated farm in Sussex, was still in liis
hands •, and it was only for the candidates to appoint
the judfres and the premium would be awarded.

PERTH ANDREW'S MASS MARKET was well
attended. In the horse market the supply was above
an average as to numbers ; there was a brisk demand
for those for draught of ordinary quality, which
formed the great proportion of those exposed ; the cur-
rent price of those was from 25/ to 35/ ; those of first
rate quality fetched from 35/ to 42/. Of harness
horses the number was not great, and not much done :
good hacks brought from 40/ to 45/ ; and for the car-
riage so high as 5o/ was offered. The cattle market
vlas but indifferently supplied with fat, which sold
readily at advanced prices, say from 6s 6d to 7s per
stone ; there were few milchers, and those also sold
well. There was a good supply of both butter and
cheese, which sold at nearly the rates of the late au-
tumn markets; the former at from 18s to 20s fhe
stone of 22lbs, the latter from 6s to 7s. Altogether
there was a good deal of business effected at this mar-
ket

PORTAFERRY MONTHLY FAIR.— A corres-
dent, under date of Portaferry, 13st inst. writes, that

" the anticipations of the farmers, &c., in the neigh-
bourhood were fully realized this day, by the very
great show of cattle, of every description, forsale at the
first of the Portaferry monthly fairs, many of which
were of the best description. Farming horses, at ten to
fifteen pounds value, met a ready sale, as did milch
cows and beeves, the latter at 35s to 42s per cwt. sink-
ing the offal. Pig's of all sorts were numerous, and
purchased with avidity; those fit for the knife, of which
there were a great many, brought 383 to 43s per cwt.
Sheep were not so numerous ; those in g'ood order sold
readily at about 5d per lb. The numerous premiums,
as awarded, gave entire satisfaction."— £e//flst Chro-
nicle.

The Annual Sale of the Duke of Norfolk's Fat Devon
Oxen and Down Sheep on Monday last was nume-
rously attended by the agricultural gentlemen and
dealers of the neighbourhood, and also by j\Ir. Han-
cock, of Park Street, London, who purchased 3 oxen,
calculated to weigh 212 stone, for 100/ 10s ; Mr. Cook,
of Livermere, gave 80/ for two, at about 160 stone ;
Mr. I. Clarke, of Bury, gave 40/, and j\Ir. F. Nunn, ol
Bury, gave 38/ 10s for two of about 80 stone; Mr. Allen,
of Halstead, and Jlr. Gocher, of Bury, bought two
beautiful heifers of about 100 stone at 55/ 10s. A pair
of remarkably fine Down wethers were sold to Mr.
Cottingham, of Ixworth, for 9/ 14s; and none sold for
less than 3/ each. The beautiful symnetry, quantity,
and quality of these animals excited general admira-
tion.

j\lr. J. P. Fuller's ox, which obtained the first prize
in class one, at the Lewes shew, was purchased by jMr.
Henry I\Iyrttle, butcher, of Brighton, and it is supposed
will weigh from 215 to 220 stones. We have been in-
formed by competent judges that this beautiful animal
was perfect in every point.

The shew of fat stock at St. Ives Christmas market
was extremely large. A beast bred by Mr. Cook, of
Connington-house, weighing upwards of 100 stone, was
purchased by Mr. Hall and Mr. Wheaton, of Chat-
teries.

YORK CHRISTMAS HORSE FAIR. — This
annual horse fair commenced on Monday last, and has
been one of the best ever witnessed. The arrival of
horses on Saturday betokened a very great fair, and by
jMonday morning the stabling attached to all the inns
in the city were crowded, and it was with difficulty that
standings could be procured. W^e are happy to add
that this supply was amply met with a demand — dealers
from London, the Southern Counties, Nottinghamshire,
and indeed from all parts of England attended the fair
in larger numbers than was ever remembered by the
oldest inhabitants. Hunters were looked after with
great avidity, the greatest part being sold in the inn-
yards, without ever reaching the fair. Very excellent
pricss vfere given, prime hunters fetching 150 guineas
and upwards each, v/hilst those of ac inferior grade were
bought up at proportionate prices. Good coach-horses
were equally prizeable, and those who were fortunate
to possess any, found ready customers at the best prices ;
we trust that the prices which have been obtained at
our fair this year will induce our farmers to turn them-
selves to this lucrative business, and that the breeding
of coach-horses will engross more of their attention.
Amongst the purchasers was a foreign nobleman, tiie
Master of the Horse to the King of Denmark, and he
bought fifteen two-years-old coaching stallions, for
which he gave very exorbitant prices. Mr. Ellerby, a
breeder of coach horses brought two beautiful black
horses to the fair, and being a very excellent match,
they were of course very valuable — we believe they
could not have been bought for less than 200/. On
Sunday evening one of them showed symptoms of in-
flammation, which rapidly increased, and last nig'ht the
noble animal sunk under its influence and died. This
is of course a serious loss to the respected owner. —
In hack horses there was considerable business done,
and any thing worth 20/ or upwards met with a ready
customer. There was an immense show of inferior
horses, and even for this description the trade was brisk ;
many horses, which in former years would scarcely be

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

75

looked at by the dealers, were now boug'ht up at very-
respectable prices. Mr. Han-is, the Government con-
tractor, made very extensive purchases ; every young
tit likely for a trooper found in him a ready buyer, at
prices from 201 to 25/ each. We believe that his pur-
chases were principally for the 4th and the 10th resri-
ments. Of course, this demand gave the sellers a con-
siderable advantage, and the dealers were very urgent
in closing bargains. Several of them have already
purchased not less than 90 or 100 horses each. It is
utterly impossible to give any estimate of the number
of horses which have been sold at our fair — hundreds
have changed hands in the inn-yards, and the fair-
grounds this morning, from jMicklegate-bar to the top
of the JMount, presented one dense mass of men and
horses, and many sales were effected. It is with great
pleasure that we have this cheering account to give of
one branch of trade from which our farmers derive
their profit, and we trust that the present high prices
will be permanent. An intelligent gentleman,
who has had some experience in horse-dealing,
accounts for the great demand in tlie following
manner. He says that in the South the breeders of
horses were so alarmed a few years ago, that the many
projected rail-roads would deteriorate the value of
horses, that they abandoned in a great measure that
trade, and that consequently, their anticipations being
unfounde 1, and their supply being inadequate to the
demand, the dealers have had to turn their attention to
the north, and we are happy to say that our Yorkshire
breeders are now benefiting by the miscalculations of
their brethren in the south. We believe that the York
Christmas horse-show is now acknowledged as decidedly
the first in the kingdom ; it is the great mart to which
the breeder can bring his produce with the certainty of
meeting with a good customer; whilst on the other
hand the dealers know that if there are any good horses
to be bought in the country, York is the place at which
they can be met with. The accommodations at the
respective inns of the city are also of a very superior
description, and much more extensive than at any of
the other towns where horse-fairs are held. — A very
singular circum-tance occurred on Sunday evening", in
which the instinct of that noble animal, the horse, was
pourtrayed : Mr. Taylor, tobacconist, of Bridge-street,
in this city, had a hackney stolen from Knavesmire
about three yea'-s ago ; and although a reward was
offered, and every means adopted to recover the horse
and detect the thief, all was in vain. On Sunday
evening, however, much to the surprise and delight of
Mr. Taylor, his old favourite made his appearance at
the door of the building which he had formerly occu-
pied as a stable, but which was now converted into a
dwelling-house. Mr. Taylor immediately challenged
the horse and he was readily secured. Shortly after
he was claimed by a gentleman \\ho had just arrived
at Crommack's, the Wind-Mill hill, with a string of
horses, including the one in question, which he had
purchased some time ago in Nottinghamshire, and had
brought tathe York show for sale. It appeared that
the animal, on being brought out of the stable, for the
purpose of being groomed, contrived to slip his halter,
and finding himself at large, proceeded at once as fast
as his legs could carry him, to his old quarters. Of
course, Mr. Taylor will keep the horse, which he can
legally do. — York Chronicle.

HIGHLAND OF PERTHSHIRE.— Harvest.—
[We have received the following from a gentleman who
IS well acquainted with the districts to which he refers.] —
In the districts of Ranoch, Fortingal, Glenlyon, west
and of Lochtay, Glendochart, Glenlochy, and Glen-
falloch, harvest may at length be said to be almost com-
pleted, and the produce of all kinds housed, except
that a park of oats, or a few shocks here and there in
high situations, arrest the eye. It has been one of the
latest and most backward seasons, in every respect, that
has been experienced here for the last fifty-four or fifty-
five years. As nearly as I can ascertain, from the re-
lation of old people, the year 1782 was as remarkable,
in the lateness of its harvest, as the present, and in many
respects quite similar. And as the Highlanders always
distinguish any remarkable season or event by an epithet

or short description, this (1782) is designated the year
of the g-reat snow, from an exceedingly heavy fall of
snow on the night immediately preceding the March
market at Kenmore, Breadalbane. So great was the
fall, that no market was held, although it is always one
of the most numerously attended, and one where as
much business is transacted, as at any in the Highlands
of Perthshire — but, on tliis occasion, no person did or
could come from a distance. The following summer
and harvest proved very backward ; and about Doune
cattle market, in the end of October, when the harvest
was not yet half finished, a severe storm of frost and
snow came on. The potatoes, which had not been
raised or secured before the storm commenced, were
completely lost; and people, in general, were compel-
led, before any reaping could be attempted, to go
through the standing corn, fii-st treading down and
shaking oft' the snow with which it was all covered. In
the above districts, this season, it is universally allowed
that every kind of crop is short of an average one ; the
oals remaining so long out in the shock, lashed with the
wind and rain, that it is feared most ot it will be unfit
for seed. The barley, in many instances, it is allowed-
is not much better ; the pease and beans are quite use-
less for seed. The potatoes are deficient both in quality
and quantity, and in those places where they were not
secured before the severe frost in the end of harvest,
suffered considerably. But the lower situations and
districts have escaped this misfortune. In Appin, for
instance, the crops are tolerably good. One of the prin-
cipal millers there, told me that the early oats are ex-
cellent, giving always meal for corn, and, in some in-
stances seventeen and eighteen pecks to the boll of corn.
ON THE QUALITY AND GROWTH OF
WHEAT. — Colonel Le Couteur, of the 1st Regiment
Royal Jersey Militia, has recently published a little
work that proves the writer to have made, and to be
making, a most exemplary use of the happy interruption
of war, and to be promoting, like an excellent citizen,
the arts of peace and the means of internal support and
strength. The work is " On the varieties, properties,
and classification of Wheat ;" and the details are the
results of the writei-'s own experiments, on his own pro-
perty. Circumstances led him to make a collection of
wheats; and, in the course of five years' close attention
and research, it increased to upwards of 150 sorts. To
show the importance of attending to the varieties and
properties of wheat. Colonel Le Couteur mentions, that
among' these varieties there are some that will thrive
better than others, in the particular soils and situations
adapted to each, all over the kingdom ; that one ear of
a superior variety, sowed grain by gram, and suffered
to tiller apart, produced 41b. 4oz, of wheat; whereas
another ear, of an inferior sort, treated in ihe same
manner, produced only lib. lOoz. — a proof of the para-
mount importance of selecting the most productive and
farinaceous sorts for seed, the profit of sowing one sort,
and the loss resulting- from the other, being manifest.
The writer remarks that his attention was directed to
this important subject by Professor La Gasca, Curator
of the Royal Gardens at Madrid ; that five years since
he accidentally saw about 80 distinct sorts of wheat
growing in a nursery-garden in Jersey, some seven
feet high, some only four, the ears of some being three,
others six inches long- ; and that the professor explained
their nature to him. He requested the professor to
visit his crops, considering them to be as pure and un-
mixed as those of his neighbours. To the writer's dis-
may the professor drew from three fields 23 sorts — some
white wheat, some red, some liver-coloured, some spi-ing
wheat, some dead ripe, the corn shaking out, some ripe,
some half so, some in a milky state, and some green.
He thereupon became convinced that " no crop in that
state could either produce the greatest weight of corn,
g'ive the largest quantity of flour, or make the best or
lightest bread, such as would be produced from a field
in an equal and perfect state of ripeness. He then se-
lected the best and most productive sorts of wheat, and
secured 14 sorts, which he afterwards cultivated with
great care and success, showing the great profit result-
ing from this care and selection, and arguing on the
immense consequences to the country, if attention to

76

THE FARMER'S|MAGAZ1NE.

this subject could be made a national object. The
modes by whicli Colonel Le Couteur proceeded and
succeeded occupy the remaining' portions of the vo-
lume ; and the importance of the work may be esti-
mated when the author calculated that the successful
application of his views and plans would enable this
country profitably to gTow far more wheat than could
be consumed by many more millionsof inhabitants than
at present throng- its isles. The inferestaud utility of
such a publication are, therefore, too obvious to require
further comment, while the author's meritorious studies
cannot be too hig-hly praised.

MONTHLY REPORT OF THE WOOL-
LEN TRADE.

LEEDS, Dec. 1. — We shall ,surpri5e some of our
readers when we state that the past month has been
characterised by a more than ordinary share of that flat-
ness for which iSovember is proberbial. 'J'he resort of
wholesale buyers to the market has been unusually
scanty, and their purchases very small and excte.ling-ly
cautious. As to foreign orders, it is almost needless to
say they are rare ; the largest and most important of
our foreign markets, America, being, as we anticipated
it would be some months ago, glutted with British wool-
lens ; and otherwise so situated from monetary distur-
bance, that no orders of magnitude can reasonably be
expected earliei- than for the fall trade of 1837. To
other foreig-n markets less than the average business has
been done ; in one instance, the high price of the class
of goods usually sent to that market, precluding exten-
sive transactions, — aud in another, political agitation
rendering it prudent to limit mercantile enterprise.

Stocks, both of wool and woollens, have necessarily
accumulated. The foimer is pjrhaps m.ore tliaa an ave-
rage stock for the season ; the latter, probably not more
than is generally held by the trade in December. The
latter circumstance is owing to the check given to manu-
facturing operations, immediately on the decisive indi-
cations of a currency crisis — say, in September. Prior
to that montli too, and indeed for the last fifteen or
eighteen months, the manufacturers have acted with
great caution, it was in fact their only safe policy,
looking to the extraordinary advance in wools since
1832, as compared with the average price of several pre-
ceding years.

In prices great firmness has hitherto been manifested.
Coarse wools have indeed given way since August, per-
haps 3d to 4d 'per lb., but they were previously out of
all proportion to fine vv'ools ; and we repeat it, that apart
from any disturbance of the money market, they could
not have been sustained at the high level they had risen
to. Fine wools continue pretty stationary, having re-
ceded little more than they generally do in the duller
months of the year.

This firmness is to us an unquestionable evidence of
the general soundness of the trade of this district during
the last two years, and that the rise of the i)ric3 of wool,
as a whole, has not been the result of undue speculation.
We say this, admitting that the evidence of undue issues
of money is not to be denied. But that over-issue has
taken quite a contrary direction to what it did in 18"25.
Then, no article of raw material, or of Colonial pro-
duce, escaped the grasp of speculation, and prices the
most extravagant v/ere given with the most reckless
avidity. This year neither the raw materials of our
great staple trades nor manufactured commodities have
been objects of speculation. The staple article of ope-
lation has been shares, and we apprehend that the em-
barrassment of the coimtry at this moment arises from
the absorption of hankers' advances in i)ublic under-
takings, which dift'er in their influence on the national
wealth, as compared with speculation in raw materials
and manufactured ^roods, in this— that the former causes
a withdrawment of a certain amount of real capital from
mercantile and manufactuiing operations, and by sink-
ing it in canals, railroads, and buildmgs, renders it for a
time totally unproductive ; whilst the lattevj when the

bubble bursts, causes a simple transfer of property from
one hand to another. Both are accompanied with di-
minished national production during tiie agitation alarm
which accompany that crisis in monetary matters whicli
is sure to follow a rapid rise of prices, or an excessive
embarkation of capital in great national projects.

Whether we are right or wrong in this view of the
immediate cause of our present financial difficulties, is
of little importance compared with the question — How
long will those difficulties last, and what effect will the
protraction of them have on general prices ?

We apprehend tiiat there will be a permanent con-
traction of bankers' issues. The last two or three months
have afforded pretty strong evidence of the soundness
of the principle on which the Joint Stock Banks are
based ; but we have a shrewd guess that their managers
have been taught a lesson on the subject of accommo-
dation, which they will not soon forget. They will do
less, and they will do it more cautiously. "We take it as
settled, that the currency for the next twelve months, at
least, will be considerably diminished ; and as a general
rule, prices of ail connnodities must contract with it ;
but this contraction, we think, will be less felt in the
woollen than m some other trades ; and the rea-
sons for our opinions are so obvious, and we have so
often stated them, that we shall only incidentally repeat
them here. 4

The question of a reduction in the price of cloths, it
is obvious, resolves itself into a question of a reduction
in the price of wool. The stock of balk and finished
cloths is not heavy enough to compel extensive sacri-
fices— the holders, therefore, will offer strong resistance
to a fall of prices. Can the holders of wool do tiie
same? AVe think they can ; and until we hear of a
giving way in the German markets, or have better
evidence than any yet before us, as to the excess of
stock over a year's ordinary consumption, we shall hold
to our opinion expressed last month, that no great change
is likely to take place in German wools on this side of
July, 1837. Some stress has been laid on the excess of
the imports of wool, this year, as compared with 1835,
as a ground for concluding that wool will fall. We
admit the fact, but we doubt the correctness of the in-
ference from it. The only safe guide for the dealer is,
to add the quantity of wool produced at the clip to the
remaining stock of old wools, and to compare the total
amount with the average annual consumption. In this
view of the matter, the excess of imports up to July last
may be put out of the reckoning — it is well known that
the stock of wool was in no former year so completely
exhausted at the clip, as this. 'I'he clip this year too
wds. not, we apprehend, an average one. It is true we
cannot calculate on the average annual consumption.
What then? Why, we think fewer of the inferior
samples will come to this country, but the prime families
will maintain their price ; and at the clip of 1837, if the
surplus be considerable, wool will decline at the fairs.
We advance this opinion, on the belief that no more
serious derangement will occur in our currency affairs
than that which we are now experiencii g. If the Joint
Stock Banks verify the expectations of those who ad-
vocated their establisliment, they will stand their ground,
and though they will, and indeed must, contract their
acconnnodation, a month or two more will probably
suflice for the adjustment of prices and the restoration
of confidence. We are yet far from thinking- that in-
dustry will resume its proper and wonted activity in that
short period, but we confidently believe it will gradually
and surely progress to that point which is essential to
the proper comfort of the workman, and the sufficient
remuneration of the employer. To this consummation
it is our devout wish that we may soon come.

We cannot conclude this report without expessing
our satisfaction that severe as has been the pressure on
the manufacturers, there is yet no great number of work-
people out of employ. The general plan has been to
keep all employed, and to diminish the hours of daily
labour. This is as it should bo, and we hope it will
cement that good understanding betwixt the employer
and the employed, which in spite of the outrageous and
indecent imputations on the former by Factory Bill
agitators, we rejoice to think is on the increase.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

77

REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE

DURING THE MONTH OF DECEMBER.

It is a subject to which allusion has not uufre-
quently been made, to the I'esults likely to emanate
fi'om too high a range of price in the value of wheat,
ai^d that the excess beyond a fair remuneration was
far from being beneficial to the farmers or the system
of Corn Laws many are anxious to support. There
is, however, a fact attendant on high prices, which
has not been noticed in the recent discussions with
respect to the Corn Laws, but which ought to be
brought into consideration when forming a just
estimate of their operation. We refer to the stimulus
given by high prices of corn to the cultivation of
Potatoes. When there are two species of food
obtainable in a country, it is obvious that an artificial
rise in the price of the one, has really the same effect
on the other as if a bounty were given for its con-
sumption. We have been endeavouring to collect
authentic accounts with respect to the cultivation of
Potatoes in Great Britain since the year 1800, and
these, though imperfect, are sufficient to demonstrate
that it has been nearly quadru-pled during the present
century, and the annual import coastways and re-
ceipts by land carriage from the neighbouring coun-
ties into London alone may be now calculated at
nearly equal to 186,000 tons. We have every reason
to believe that the comparative low range of prices
of this valuable root is to be in a very considerable
degree ascribed to the increased consumption of the
article. In many populous districts Potatoes have
become a more important article than Corn in the
subsistence of the labouring class, and were we now
unfortunately visited with a succession of bad
harvests and high prices were to rule for four or five
years together, the stimulus they would give to the
use of the Potatoe would be so great that it is doubt-
ful whether our prices would not be in consequence
sunk below the level of those of the continent. It
is, however, we hope, unnecessary to say that these
results cannot be too much deprecated. Should our
people ever become habitually dependent on the
Potatoe for the principal part of their food they
would, it is to be apprehended, be brought into the
same miserable condition as the peasantry of Ireland.
Under such circumstances their wages being regula-
ted by the price of the cheapest kind of food hitherto
raised in Europe, would not enable them to obtain
any thing else, when it was deficient ; so that, when-
ever the Potatoe crop failed, they would be left
without the means of support ; and dearth would be
attended with all the horrors of famine, a fact too
recently exemplified in parts of Ireland to admit of
doubt. For these reasons it would seem evident.

that though foreign corn were for ever excluded from
our shores, and though it were possible to prevent
our markets from being glutted with native produce,
yet the inducement which advanced prices would
afford to the growth and consumption of Potatoes
would, in all probability, effectually prevent their
continuance for any lengthened period at a high
elevation ; a circumstance that ought to arrest the
attention of landlords, and if the fact is reflected on,
we feel confident that concurrence must be given,
that to attempt to keep up prices to an unnatural
height, is an enterprise as futile as it is dangerous
and must ultimately be alike productive of injurious
consequences, not only to agriculturists but all classes
of society.

At this season of the year dulness generally per-
vades the trade, and during later years it has been
more particularly indicative of the state of agricul-
tural distress, by the farmers being forced to press
their produce on the markets, in order to realise cash
and obliged to accept the depressed terms caused by
their own necessitous operations. These circum-
stances are, however, now influencing farmers in a
much less degree, and we rejoice in noticing, in
spite of what pseudo-friends may state to the con-
trary, not only that the incentive for keeping the
markets better supplied does not proceed from
" craving want," but from the feeling on the part of
many of the growers, that the present rates being
remunerative, they are not disposed to render them-
selves speculators, and are willing to accept the
current prices, satisfied with the return, rather than
with the expectation of obtaining a few more shil-
lings perqr, incur the chance of the reverse ; a line
of policy, under present circumstances, commend-
able and judicious.

During the month of December the following
quantities of Grain and Flour have arrived in the
port of London : —

Wheat. Barley. Malt. Oats,

qvs. qv9. qrs. qrs.

English 30,645 48,406 22,783 12,293

Scotch 30 5,145 228 16,356

Irish 1.704 .. 48,537

TotaliiiDec. 30,675 55,255 23,016 77,186

Total in Nov. 36,029 56,624 21,931 110.428

Total in Oct. 30,490 27,933 22,337 46,315

Foreign. 3,813 11,760 ..., 13,665

6

78

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

English

Scotch

Irish

Beans.

qrs.
6,888

6

Peas.

qrs.

6,247

Linseed.

qrs.

60

Flour.

sacks ,

28,888

380

Total ir. Dec.

6,894

6,247

60

201

39,268

Total in Nov.

6,737

6,701

41,414

Total in Oct ..

7,648

6,267

33,7.55

Foreign in Dec. 1,570 1,696 10,812 bris. 2,970

The weather throughout the month has been va-
riable ; a considerable quantity of rain having been
experienced, and impeding agricultural operations,
the saturation of the earth having prevented farmers
from making much progress in getting their seed
into the ground, while the completion of potatoe
digging was deferred to a very late period. At the
23rd, the wind veered to the north-east, and the wea-
ther has since exhibited all the characteristics of
an old English Christmas, with its attendants, frost
and snow ; and of the latter so heavy has been the
fall, that the metropolis was rendered almost isolated,
being cut off from nearly all home and foreign in-
telligence : the markets therefore held towards the
close of the month, M'ere in very moderate supply
and thinly attended ; operations being carried on to
a very limited extent, until the communications with
the different parts of the United Kingdom were re-
stored. The circumstance, however, has had the
effect of communicating firmness generally to the
trade, as the coldness of the temperature being an
incentive to consumjition, the appearance of frost
has always a decided tendency in enhancing the de-
mands of holders of wheat and oats ; and though the
former article has not regained the depression ex-
perienced the beginning of the month, amounting to
2s to 3s per qr on the better qualities of red wheats,
and Isto 2s on white, ordinary and inferier qualities
having sustained a still further decline of fully Is
per qr ; yet in the sales effected, an improvement of
Is to 2s per qr has been realized, and the specula-
tive feeling apparently on the eve of again rallying.

The flour trade has been extremely languid, and
bakers having got into stock at the higher range of
prices, mucli difficulty has been experienced by tlie
town millers to quit their samples, the top price of
55s becoming quite nominal, and ships' flour reced-
ing Is per sack. The trade has, however, been ren-
dered steady latterly, and the previous prices
demanded. Bonded flour has remained steady in
price.

Bonded wheat has suffered no depreciationin value,
the decline in the duties warranting holders to be
firm at their former prices, for though speculative
attention had subsided towards the article, yet its
value has been partially enhanced by the reduction
of the import duties ; the firmness likewise in the
markets of the United States and the enhanced rates
there quoted being freely realized for the shipments

made from Europe : no doubt exports will be again
made from our ports, when it is ascertained that the
duties in England are not likely at present to recede
below 26s 8d.

By the ofl^cial accounts published of the amount
of foreign grain and flour in bond in the United
Kingdom, it appears that on the 5th of December
there were 579,784 qrs of wheat, and 176,119 cwts
of flour in bond ; on the 5th of November there were
578,659 qrs and 167,440 cwts. During November
the imports of wheat have been 13,194 qrs, and of
flour 26,516 cwts. The quantity of wheat which
paid duty was 2,468 qrs, and of flour 1,689 ewts,
chiefly colonial produce _: leaving 9,601 qrs of wheat,
and 16,148 cwts of flour to be accounted for by ex-
port. The amount of barley which paid duty has
been 4,930 qrs ; of oats 731 qrs ; beans 2,593 qrs ;
and Peas 358 qis. The quantity of oats exported,
principally to the West India Islands, has been 4,642
irs.

The duties on wheat during the past month have
receded 9s per qr ; on barley Is 6d, oats Is 6d,
rye 10s 3d, beans 4s 6d, and on peas 3s per qr.

The supplies of Barley, though not so extensive
as those of the previous month, have still been con-
siderable, exceeding 48,000 qrs. in addition to which
about 12,000 qrs have been received from abroad,
and as the duty has attained its minimum range of
4s lOd, the wliole has been offering free on the mar-
ket ; these circumstances, added to the pressure con-
tinuing on the Malt trade, has rendered the market
extremely dull, at declining rates, especially for or-
dinary samples of malting, as well as distilling and
grinding sorts ; and as the bulk of the foreign sup-
plies are of fair quality and adapted for distillers'
purposes, the stained English samples have become
almost unsaleable : prices of all descriptions being
Is to 3s per qr cheaper. Malt has also remained
heavy sale at a reduction of 3s to 4s per qr. In ad-
dition to the large stock of old checking the demand
for new ma't, the larger Brewers have been expe-
riencing less sale for their beer, while, on the other
hand, the distillers are experiencing an increased de-
mand for their more deleterious article of spirits.

The supply of Oats from Scotland has rather in-
creased, but diminished from England and Ireland.
The trade, until the setting in of the cold weather,
rulfed exceedingly dull, and prices have weekly re-
ceded : dealers and consumers refraining from pur-
chasing, in expectation of the foreign qualities pay-
ing the duty of 7s 9d, and which holders have done
to the extent of a few thousand quarters, and as many
of the cargoes of new British have come to hand in-
ferior in quality and heated in condition, foreign
round parcels had commanded a preference. Scotch
and Irish having in instances been forced off at very
low rates ; while the finer descriptions have not I'e-
ceded more than 1 s to 2s per qr. Little has been done
ia free on board sales in Ireland, as shippers have

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

79

required 6d to Is per barrel more money than im-
porters were inclined to offer.

Tlie supplies of Beans having rather increased,
and the duties on the admission of foreign having
continued to recede, have contributed to depress the
trade fully 2s to 3s per qr.

White Peas had declined 3s and Grey and Maple
Is to 2s, with an extremely heavy trade, but the cold
weather setting in caused the trade to rally, and most
qualities partially regained their depression.

The Canadian markets, Quebec and Montreal, con-
tinue in limited suppi}', though the state of the roads
afforded farmers the facility of conveying their grain
by land carriage to these two principal markets. At
Montreal on the 12th ult.. Lower Canada red Wheat
was worth 6s 6d to 6s lO^d per 641bs. Flour was
saleable at 403 for Upper Canada fine, which exhibits
a decline of Is 3d per barrel since the last advices.
The prices of agricultural produce in Canada appears
likely to range high this year, but if these advanced
currencies are the consequence of deficient crops, oc-
casioned by damage or whatever other cause, and not
from an extended market demand, it will not prove
beneficial to farmers generally, though it may in some
few individual cases. Indeed, the season on the ag"
gregate, will not be favourable to the inhabitants of
Lower Canada, nor for the other British provinces
or neighbouring states, as they appear to have suffered
more from the inclemency of the weather than even in
Canada.

As the West Indies are drawing supplies of Flour
and Grain from Europe, owing to the failure of the
crops in the United States, and the currencies of the
Islands being peculiar to themselves, consisting of
an imaginary money, and varying in different colonies,
we have given the following table showing the va-
lue of iOOl sterling, and of a dollar in the separate
islands • —

sterl. cur, dol. cur.
£ £ s. d.

. . 100 140 16 6
, . 100 135 16 3

Jamaica . . . ,
Barbadoes . . .
Windward Islands
except Barbadoes
Leeward Islands .

100
100

175
200

9 0

We cannot here refrain from remarking, that a
spirit of enterprise appears reviving in the West In-
dies, which may eventually re-establish their ancient
splendour. Agriculture and manufactures are two
of the principal means of effecting this desirable re-
sult. Education is also receiving the attention of
the people. Local banks are superseding foreign
banks, and the resources of the Colonies are unfold-
ing themselves, and an interest is excited among the
planters and merchants, which promises great and
future prosperity, and it may be therefore hoped that
the time is not far distant when the inhabitants will
be dependent more on home than foreign cultiva-
tion.

A considerable enhancement took place in the

Italian markets in consequence of the advices from
England noting the advance in the value of wlieat,
and similar accounts from the United States, for
both which destinations some shipments are being
made. Beans also in brisk demand for English ac-
count. At Naples the cholera still prevailed, but
business was regaining its wonted animation. Com-
mon Barletta wheat had obtained 37s, and fine
quality held at 40s; Romanelli, 41s; oats lis to
lis 4d, and small beans 26s to 27s. A small parcel
of linseed might be collected at 44s. At Leghorn
several purchases of wheat were being made for Eng-
land. Odessa wheat obtaining 35s to 37s 3d, and
Barletta 42s 7d. Beans were in request at 25s 6d
to 26s 6d, freights ranging at about 8s per qr. At
Venice soft Odessa wheat was purchasing for Eng-
land at 34s lOd, and linseed had obtained 51s 5d to
53s 3d per qr. No beans offering fit for England.
The government had imposed a duty on the import
of cattle bones, which prevented atpi-esent any ship-
ments being made. On the arrival, however, of dull
accounts from England the speculative spirit for the
moment became dormant. At Leghorn, wheat,
though not quoted cheaper, might have been bought
on easier terms. Beans were scarce, and as the
Pacha had caused the Egyptian produce of this ar-
ticle to be transported to his army in Syria, little
supply wes expected from Egypt. Good barley was
scarce, but the Mediterranean growth is generally
unfit for malting, and only used for the feed of cat-
tle. At Naples Barletta wheat had receded in value.
At Trieste extensive purchases were being made for
Italy and the United States, at advancing prices :
good qualities of wheat were scarce, and commanded
the highest rates of 393 9d per qr, and the latter at
43s 3d to 50s 2d.

In Norway the government have adopted the same
measures which have been previously acted upon by
the Russian ministers of purchasing large quantities
of orain on account of the crown, in order to prevent
any disastrous effects to the lower orders from fail-
ure in the crops, and consequent scarcity of provi-
sions, and as it is impossible for any merchant to
compete with so powerful a rival in the market, it
has been recommended by the minister that Nor-
wegian merchants should not engage in corn specu-
lations.

At St. Petersburg Kubanka wheat for Spring de-
livery had been sold at 30s 9d, and holders were de-
manding 32s Id to 33s 5d; several thousand
tschetwerts of oats have been contracted for May
delivery at lis lid to 12s 7d. Morschansky linseed
deliverable in July and August at 39s 9d to 41s.

At Riga the demand for grain had partially sub-
sided, occasional sales of oats only being made at
l3s 4d per qr for Russian qualities for spring de-
livery, weighing about 36lbs, with 10 per cent ad-
vanced, and 12s 4d to 12s 8d, with all the money
paid before hand ; heavier samples were difiicult to
obtain. The landed proprietors in Courland were

80

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

withbolding their supplies of grain from the market
in anticipation of higher rates ; Courland wheat was
held at 31s lOd to 33s 4d ; sowing linseed was
cheaper, being noted at 26s lid to 26s 2d per barrel ;
hempseed, 24s 6d to 25s 9d. At Konigsberg nothing
was transpiring in grain, and though supplies were
expected from the country, yet prices would not it
was anticipated recede ; several purchases of beans,
peas, and tares had been made on English account,
and little supply on hand, the bad state of the roads
preventing farmers from bringing their fresh thrashed
grain and pulse to market. At Danzig the trade was
languid ; white mixed new wheat sold at 39s to 40s,
and from'granary nothing was offered, and the fresh
supplies in very bad condition. The following fact
requires the particular attention of the trade, ns
creating in future an additional value on Polish
samples of wheat. " A transit duty of 18 florins on
wheat and 12 florins on Rye, has been laid on Polish
produce, by the Prussian government, and both de-
scriptions of grain are henceforth to be kept separate
under lock, having to pay a heavy additional duty :
if entered for the home consumption the duty will be
equal to I5d per qr on wheat, and lOd on rye.

At Stettin the languor which had pervaded our
trade, had not been participated in t])at of the Lower
Baltic markets. Red IMarks and Silesian Wheats
were held at 33s ; Oderbruck barley, 18s 6d ; white
and yellow Silesian of 5llbs, 21s 6d. At Rostock
and Wismar, wheat remained at 33s, and the stocks
extremely limited, which prevented prices from re-
ceding. Mecklenburg barley, 21s to 22s: oats,
15s 6d.

At Hamburg some sales of new Upland wheat
had been made for America at 37s to 38s, and of old
fine at 38s 6d to 39s, but the arrivals from the Upper
Elbe being large, and the export demand subsidino-^
bakers and millers were cautious purchasers. Offers
were making of good Marks and Upland Wheats at
35s 6d to 36s, deliverable in spring, weighing 62lbs
to 62ilbs. Barley extremely dull at 24s 6d for fine
malting. The scarcity of vessels contributes to render
the trade heavy in preventing the execution of orders.
Oats dull. Cloverseed without demand, and prices
nominal. Though the money market had rather
improved, yet a difficulty still existed in the nego-
tiation of paper, unless at a short date on first-rate
Louses, without submitting to a heavy rate of dis-
count, say on short bills 61 to 7 per cent., and long,
6i to 6A.

At Rotterdam the arrivals of Wheat had been con-
siderable, and Rhenish qualities had receded in value
Is per qr, being noted in bond at 36s 6d to 39s,
Barley dull, and fine Nassau oiTering in vain at
24s 6d to 25s. New oats were dull sale, but old,
owing to their scarcity, supported fully the previous
rates. Rapeseed scarce, and rather higher, bemg
noted at 33/ to 34/ per last.

In the United States the prices of wheat and
flour have evinced S3'mptoms of further improve-
ment, especially at Baltimore and Philadelphia. At
New York, Western Canal flour remained at 45s,
or 10 dollars for common brands, and fancy 10 dol-
lars 25 cents ; and the foreign arrivals of wheat
realizing 2 dollars to 2 dollars 12^ cents per bushel.
At Baltimore prices of flour were firm at 47s 3d
per barrel. Little Maryland wheat in market, and
the few parcels on hand were held at reduced rates,
but foreign samples were unaltered, German and
Prussian qualities obtaining 77s to 80s 8d, foreign,
from England, 73s 4d to 75s 2d. The scaicity°of
money wag severely felt, and discount 1^ to 2^ per
cent, per month. At Philadelphia, flour had ad-
vanced to 11 dollars per barrel; foreign wheat had

brought 80s 8d to 823 6d per qr. The pressure in
the money market continued. Much curiosity has
been exhibited to know the average amount of grain
produced in the United States, and though no possi-
tive data are afforded, which would lead to an accu-
rate result, yet the following table presents as close
an approximation to the fact as circumstances will
admit : —

bushels.

Indian Corn 100,000,000

Wheat 50,000,000

Rye 20,000,000

Oats 20,000,r00

Barley 1 /J50,000

In relation to the extent of surph;:; of the pj eceding
crops in America, which may bo available towards
making up the deficiency exisiiag in the new pro-
duce of the different States, it is remarked in the
American advices, that in the Southern Section of
that extensive district in which the crops have failed,
the i^rincipal part of the wheat grown has always
been brought to market before winter, to preserve it
from the ravages of the fly, and it would be difficult
to find any saleable old wheat tliere at harvest; this
year it was quite exhausted. In the Western parts
of Virginia and Alaryland, and in Pennsylvania and
New York, some grain will always be found at
harvest among millers and farmers — such was the
case this year; and from that stock and the old
flour remaining with factors, aided by some foreign
wheat, has been drawn the supply for the consump-
tion, that has progressed since harvest ; for up to
this time the new wheat that has appeared in the
market is quite unimportant. It is estimated that
the available surplus from old crops is equal to three
and three quarter millions of bushels of wheat, which
is iiowever exceeding what much of the information
would justify, allowing also that those districts in
which the crops are good, embracing a small part of
Pennsylvania, Western New York, and the North-
western States will furnish one million of barrels of
flour, equal to five million bushels of wheat to the
Atlantic cities, allowing likewise that the new crop
is fully sufficient in the district where it has failed to
furnish seed and food to the farmers and the interior
towns, villages, and manufactories, which is very
doubtful, still there would be required five millions
of bushels of wheat from foreign jjorts before another
harvest ; — this is the account of an intelligent, but
we apprehend sanguiue, speculator.

The following is an interesting statement from the
" Albany Argus," showing the quantity of wheat and
flour which arrived at Tide Water, by the New
York canals, from the opening of the navigation to
the 1st of Nov. 1335 and 1836 : —

1835 1836

Barrels of flour 835,034 .... 834,529

Bushels of wheat 576,445 782,706

There appears a decrease in the number of barrels
of flour of only 505, and an increase in the number
of bushels of wheat over last year of 206,261
bushels. Allowing five bushels of wheat for a bar-
rel of flour, and the quantity will stand as follows
or each year, viz. :

1835 1836

Barrels of flour 950,325 .... 991,070

Increase this year over last . . . 40,745 barrels.
In 1834 the average price of flour was 5 dollars,
and in 1835 6 dollars 50 cents. At the present time
and for a considerable portion of the season, flour
has been 10 dollars per barrel. There is no foreign
demand to influence prices, any more than in the
two preceding years ; on the contrary, considerable
quantities of wheat and other grain, have been im-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

li.

ported from foreign countries. If the supply from
other sources has been kept up as well as the supply
through the canals, it is not easy to perceive how
the price of flour is maintained so enormously high,
when money is worth two per cent, a month in the
great emporium for cash and commodities — New
York.

CURRENCY PER IMPERIAI. MEASURE.

BRITISH.
Wbeat, red, Essex, Kent, Suffolk.

Dec. 1;

50 to 66

White 52

Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. .. 48

Vv'hite, do. do SO

West Conntrv Red —

White, ditto —

Northumberland and Berwickshire Red —

White, ditto —

Irish Red —

Ditto White —

Barley, Malting, new 36

Chovalier, new 38

Distilling 32

Grinding 28

Irish 26

Malt, Brown. 48

Ditto, Chevalier 64

Ditto, Norfolk and Suffolk Palo 56

Ditto Ware 64

Peas, Hog and Grey 38

Maple 34

White Boilers 38

Beans, small 4/

Harrow 45

Ticks 40

Blazagan 34 46

Oats, English feed 28 6d30

Short small 30 32

Poland 31 33

Scotch, Common 29 31

Berwick, &c 29 32

Potatoe, &c 32 34

Irish, Feed 2rts Od to !8s Od 23;

DittoPotatoe 27s 6d 30s Od 24s

Ditto Black 26s Od 2ss Od 20i

40
42
35
34
30
64
67
65
66
40
39
48
52
5D
49

Jan. 1.

6y to 64
52 66
40 58
46 62

An Account of the Quantity of Grain and Flour
imported into the United Kingdom during the
month ending the 5th Dec, 1836 ; the Quantity on
which the Duty has been paid for Home Consump-
tion, and the quantity remaining in Warehouse.

?.2

35

28

31

24

30

47

52

64

63

54

61

61

62

36

38

36

3-i

38

45

41

48

41

46

38

45

36

40

26 6i

28

27

29

29 30
23 28

28 30

29 31
Cd to 25s Od
Od 37s l!d
Od 25s Od

Jan. 1.

s. to s.
60 55

PRICES OF FLOUR,

Per Sack of 2S0 lbs. Dec. 1.

s. s.

TowTi-ma-le 50 to 55

Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent, and Essex 44 48

Sussex and Hampshire 42 46

Superfine 47 —

Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and St 'ckton. 44 46
Northumberland, Berwick, and Scotch. 42 45

Irish 42 48

Extra 50 —

Wheat,
qrs.

Quantity imported 13, 194

Do. entered for home

consumption 2,468

Do. renjaining in ware-
house 579,784

Peas .
q'S.
Quantity iniportel .... 3,611
Do. entered for home

consumption 358

Do. remaining in ware-
house 9,144

PRICES OF SEEDS.

Dec. 26.

Several fresh arrivals of foreign Clover seed have
been received during the \veek, comprising 70 hags
and 91 bales from Rotterdam, 125 casks and 207 bags
from Hamburg, and 10 bags from Antwerp. The
pressure on the money Market still appears to influ-
ence the speculative character of the market, and
thronghout the week, the trade has ruled extremely
heavy, and if sales were forced, still lower rates
must have been submitted to. Trefoil dull, and
a few purchases making at low figures. Lin-
seed, owing to the cold weather, evinced a ten-
dency to advance, being held on hig-her terms.
Rapeseed extremely dull, but unaltered in value.
Canary met wish little or no attention, and could have
been bought at Is to 2s less money, say 44s to 46s. In
Coriander and Caraway no alteration, but prices nomi-
nal. Mustard seed supports its previous rates. Tares
extremely dull at 4s 6d to 5s. In Linseed Cakes little
doing, but previous terms fully maintained. Rape cakes
nominal.

Barley,
qrs.
5,293

30,756

Oats,
qis.
10,481

731

248,525

Beans.

Maize.

qrs.
1,829

qrs.

2,593

2

24.578

20

Rye.

qrs.

6,719
Flour.

C M' I S .

26,516

1,689

176,119

IMPERIAL AVERAGES.

VYeeltf niling
11th Nov.
18th"
25th "
2nd Dec.
9t,li Dec.
16th "
AgsrregateAverf.ge
f'f tlie six weeks
which regulates

the duty

Duties payable in
London till Wed-
nesday next incln-
sivc, and at the
Outports till the
arrival of the Mail
of that day from

London

Do. on grain from
British possessions
out of Europe ....
Foreign Flour, 16s

Wheat.

27 S

Barley

38 II

39 10
39 3
37 9

37 4

38 9

Oat!^

26 10

27 6

27 0

26 10

2Ci 5

25 S

7 9

0 6

Rye

!6 4

39 0

42 6

<il 9

44 1)

Bean? I Pias

^l 4 43 11

46 4 44 10

47 10 46 6

46 7
45 9
44 10

45 4
43 2
42 11

0 6

0 6

0 0

8d per lOGlbs. British Possessions do,
3s per 196 lbs.

REVIEW OF THE HOP TRADE,

FOE THE IIONTH OF DECEMBER.

As we anticipated in our last number, the demand
for Hops has considerabl}' increased since the duty
was declared, and the consequent fall in prices, — the
best parcels are in active demand, so few fine Hops
being produced tins season, they keep their prices,
— middling sorts are now taken oft' the market with
more spirit at the present moderate rates.

The trade look for the turn of the year when the
London Brewers generally stock for six months,
more particularly when the rates are below par, —
some advance is likely to follow, as the consumers
will not risk the next year's growth, from this fact
that never before the present time, have the growers
had six crops in succession ; fortunately for all
parties concerned, the consumption, still on the
increase, is quite equal to the stock on hand, — this
will keep tlie market firm for good hops, till the
trade begin again to form opinions of the growth of
next season.

PRESENT PRICES.

£. s. £. s. £. s.

East Kent Pockets 4 10—- 5 5 fine 7 0

Bags 4 4 — 4 15 — 5 IS

Mid Kent Pockets 4 2— 4 15— 6 6

Bags 3 10 — 4 10 — 5 12

Weald of Kent Pockets 3 10—410— 52

Sussex Pockets 3 10 — 4 4 — 4 15

Yearlings 2 10— 33 — 4 4

Old olds 1 1 — 1 10 — 2 2

82

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

POTATOE MARKET.

Waterside. — Southwark, 26th Dec— The sup-
plies of Potatoes have been moderate throughout the
week, chiefly from Yorkshire, and a few from Scotland,
with 270 tons from Jersey, and the quantity coastways
on hand this morning for sale does not exceed about
350 tons of Yorkshire, 100 do. of Scotch, and about
200 do. of Jersey. The trade throughout the week,
chiefly owing to tlie mild weatlier, was by no means
brisk, though the demand keeps pace with the supply, the
fresh arrivals being principally middling and rough
samples ; the Inwer range of the currencies of York-
shire and Scotch qualities are reduced 5s per ton. As,
however, Christmas has set in wich its characteristic
coldness a more animated business in Potatoes is to
be anticipated.

CURRENCIIS.

Per toil.

Yorkshire reds SOstoSO.^

Scotcbdo 70s 80s

Devonshire do 85s 9l)s

Kidneys — s 90s

Sbaws — s — s

Per tun.
American natives. . . — sto — s

Essex Whites 65s 7''.'

Jersey& Gui-rn. blue — s 75s

Do. whites 65s 'Os

Chats 35s 45g

MIDDLINGS

Per Ton.

Jt.

s. £ 6.

Scotch Reds ..

•J

nto4 6

Rlarsb Champ. .

3

5 3 15

Common reds . .

3

0 3 15

I/ondon whites .

2

15 3 0

SliawB ,

2

10 3 0

No Irish at market.

BOROUGH AND SPITALFIELDS MARKETS.

"WARE. Per Ton. I

^ s. ^ s. 1

Scotch reds 4 6 to4 1.5

Marsh Champ... 3 15 4 5
Common reds... 3 15 4 5]
London whites .35 4 0 j
Shuws 3 0 3 15 1

Chats, 1/ Ifls to lM5srcrton.

■WOOIi MARKETS.

BRITISH.
During the last week, prices, which havebeenhitherto
only nominal, have become real, and already consider-
able business has been transacted, and, although it can-
not be conjectured from what cause, a sprightliness has
become manifest in most branches of the trade, and it
is noticed that a spirit of speculation is entertained by
some dealers already ; it is to be feared that the present
stir in the trade is not likely to prove permanent, the
only ground for expecting that it will, is the lowness of
stock of the manufacturers, but that has been fully
counterbalanced by the stocks of the woolstaplers being
larger than usual.

Dl'.CPJMBF.R 1. JaNUAR\1.

Per lb. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d.

DownlVfTs 1 ^tol 9 1 Stol 9

Half-bred do I 9? 1 !0i 1 94 1 lOi

Ewes and Wethers 1 5' 1 S 1 5"" 1 6

Leicester HngB 15 16 15 16

Do. Wethers 12 13 12 13

Blanket V.'ool 0 8 14 0 8 14

Flannel .1 2 19 12 19

SkinComldng 1 2 16 12 16

WAKEFIELD WOOL MARKET.— We have had
a brisk demand for deep combing wools. JMiddlc hogs,
which have hitherto been so much neglected, have been
ready of sale, and at an advance in price of 10s per
pack, this week ; it is difficult quoting the price of mid-
dle wethers, there are so few in the market, but not-
withstanding the previous advance on them, they would
be sold at more money.

CHESTERFIELD, Dec. 21.— The wool trade here
has assumed a new appearance — prices are on the ad-
vance, and a disposition to do business.

LIVERPOOL.

Wki^k ending Dechmber 26.

English A^■D Irish Wools have met with ready sale
during the present week. English combing wethers
have been in good repute, and have readily realized the
accompanying prices. The importation of Irish amounts
to nearly forty tons.

English Wool. — Down ewes and wethers, 18d to
19d; Down teg-s,20d to 21d; combing fleece, 18d to

19d ; combing skin, 16d to 18d ; super, ?kin, 17d t
18d ; head skin, 15d to 16d per lb.

Irish Wool. — Irish fleeces, mixed lots, IG^d to
lyjd ; Irish wethers, IS^d to 17d ; Irish hogs, IG^d to
17d ; Irish combing skin, 15d to 16d ; Irish short skin,
13d to 16d per lb. Import this week, 72 bags ; this
year, 5,365.

Scotch Wools maintain the improvement noticed
last week. There has been a considerable amount of
business transacted in Laid Ilichland, at lis to lis 6d
per stone. I'he sales in cross and cheviot have not been
so extensive as in laid Highland; but there has been,
nevertheless, a respectable demand for the former wools.

Current prices per 24 lbs. : — Laid Highland, lis 3d
to lis 7d ; white Hig-hland, 14s to 15s ; laid Galloway,
12s to 12s 6d ; white Galloway, 15s to 16s 6d ; washed
cross cheviot, 17s to 18s; unwashed cross cheviot, 14s
to 15s ; unwashed cheviot. 18s to 203 ; washed cheviot,
21s to 27s ; white cheviot, 28s to 35s ; wliite combing
skin, 20s to 21s; ditto grey, lis 6d to I63. Imports
this v.eek, 40 ; ditto this year, 21.205 bags.

FoREic^N Wools of every description have been tole-
rably brisk during the week. Good prices have been
reahzed for the numerous small lots which holders have
disposed of, as much, perhaps, as can be expected at
this season of the year.

Current Prices. —Russian wool, 8d to Sjd ; Odessa,
fine. Is 9dto 3s 3d ; Buenos Ayres, 4d to 5d ; Moga-
dore and Barbary, 4d to 6d ; washed Peruvian, 12d to
14d ; unwashed ditto, 9d to lOd ; Portugal R., Is4d
to Is 6d , ditto, low marks, ll^d to Isl^d; German
fleeces, 2s Od to 2s 3d ; ditto assorted, 2s 3d to 2s 6d ;
ditto lambs, 2s 3d ; Spanish R, 23 3d to 2s 6d ; ditto
F S, 2s to 2s 2d ; New South Wales, 2s to 2s 9d per lb.
Imports this week, 804 ; imports this year, 48,195 bales.

FOREIGN.

Dec. 26.

Supplies, since Monday last, have amounted to about
920 bales of Wool from Spain, 800 do. from Germany,
and 90 do. from Russia and Italy. Considerable sales
of Colonial Wool are expected to take place at Garra-
way's, the latter end of next month ; that which took
place on the 21st went ofl:' very heavily. Private con-
tract demand continues steady, at fully last week's
quotations.

Electoral Saxony wool, from 4s 6d to 5s 6d ; first
Austrian, Bohemian, and other German wools, 3s Od to
3s Sd ; second do., 2s Odto 2s 6d ; inferior do. in locks
and pieces. Is 6d to 2s0d; do. lamb's do., 2s 6d to 3s ;
Hungarian sheep's do., 2s to 2s 6d ; Leonesa
sheep's do., 2s 6d to 3s 4(1 ; Segovia do., 2s Od to 3s ;
Soria do., 2s 4d to 3s; Caceres do., 2s 6d to 3s;
Spanish lamb's wool, is 6d to 2s 6d ; German and
Spanish cross do., 2s 2d to 3s 4d ; Portugal sheep's
do., 2s 4d to 2s lOd ; do. lamb's do., is 4d to 2s 6d ;
Australian, fine crossed do., 2s 4d to 3s 6d; do. native
sheep's do., Is 8d to 2s 8d ; Van Diemen's Land native
sheep'sdo., Is 6d to2s8d; Cape of Good Hopedo,,ls
6d toss.

WOOL,
On which the Home Consumption Duties have been
paid at London, Liverpool, Bristol, and Hull,
durino- the last week, —

WOOL.

This Year,
previous to

last week.

Same time

in the
I.-ist i'ear.

lb.

20S9032
115012

7338314
209-5480
21)11,-089

1 57000 1

Bristol

lb.

113583

Australian

Other Sorts

U uU

.... lb.
.... !b.

.... lb.

6893892
13111164
13809438

BONES.

Since our last there have passed the Sound or
Elsinore, the Great Belt, and the Holstein
Canal, ships loaded with Bones, bound for Hull, 1 ;
and for Leith, 1,

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

^3

TURF INTELLIGENCE.

We have frequently had occasion to notice
the general bad management of York Races,
the suspicious proceedings by which they have
been too often disgraced, as well as the su-
pine indifference evinced by the inhabitants
of this celebrated city, to an establishment to
which they are eminently indebted, the ex-
tinction of which would reduce the import-
ance of Old Ebor to nothingness or annihila-
tion ; on the present occasion, however, we
are extremely glad to cliange our tone, and to
have to speak: of symptoms of racing re-invi-
goration, which cannot fail to be received
with pleasurable satisfaction by all well-
wishers of our noble and truly national esta-
blishment, the Turf. Aware of the palpable
decline already noticed, and also of the ruin
which must shortly follow, if not averted,
those who felt more deeply interested in the
subject than the bulk of the inhabitants of
York, succeeded in getting together a public
meeting on Monday, t!)e 5th ult., for the pur-
pose of considering the most eligible method
of restoring the races to their original or for-
mer popularity. At this meeting (which as-
sembled at Mr. Lockwood's hotel) it was re-
solved, tliat a committee should be imme-
diately appointed to carry the wishes of the
meeting into effect, and a subscription was
entered into for the purpose of making liberal
additions to the stakes. John Roper, Esq.,
was appointed chairman of the committee,
and Mr. J. Orton, secretary. This is as it
should be, and the effect of these proceedings
became immediately apparent, as will be per-
ceived from the following paragraph, which
we copy from the York Herald; — " We this
week have to direct the supporters of the turf
to the amended list of stakes for the ensuing
York meetings, to which the committee have
spiritedly made additions, exceeding in
amount five hundred pounds, exclusive of
his Majesty's one hundred guineas. Such
great liberality will no doubt be productive of
excellent sport, and draw a great influx of
strangers to our city, which the excelience of
our course, the superiority of the contiguous
stabling, and other conveniencfts and accom-
modations, such as no other place possesses,
aided by the additions to the several stakes,
warrant us in anticipating. We also observe
that the race weeks, among other attractions,
will each boast a dress ball, which we hear
will be patronized by the most distinguished
families of the county and neighbourhood,''

Let the friends of York races persevere in
the highly laudable undertaking of improve-
ment which they have so well begun, and they
shall have our sincere good wishes, and all
the support we are able to give them. How-
ever, let them recollect that, though York af-
fords all the requisite accommodations for
racing in a very eligible manner (as we are

well aware it does) there are other places in
all respects fully equal ; and, above all, let
them not forget that unless they continue still
further to improve their stakes, cups, &c.,
they will have to encounter an overpowering
rival in Liverpool ; where everything is well
got together, and conducted upon the most
liberal plan. As the annual meetings of York
and Liverpool take place about the same pe-
riods, it is natural enough and reasonable
enough, that the owners of horses should be
anxious to start their nags for the best prizes ;
so that it may be clearly perceived, unless the
stakes, &c., at York amount to something like
the pecuniary value of those at Liverpool,
many of the horses will be taken to the latter
place, which migh!, under other circum-
stances, have appeared at the former.

The readers of our publication will not have
forgotten the challenge issued by the Marquis
of Westminster (in 1835), his horse Touch-
stone against any other, which met with no
acceptance. Touchstono is an excellent
horse, perhaps the best racer at this moment
in existence ; in the early part of his career
doubts were entertained as to his "training
on," a circumstance common enough in large
over-grown two-year olds ; and on this ac-
count Touchstone sustained defeat several
times, though he afterwards beat his success-
ful opponents with the greatest ease ; the fact
is, when he ran unsuccessfully, he was not
" up to the mark." However, v/hen Touch-
stone reached an age sufficient to dissipate the
previously existing doubts as to his legs, his
noble owner thought him (and justly so, we
believe) the best horse on the turf ; hence the
general challenge. Many persons were of
opinion Rockingham ought to have accepted
the challenge; but his subsequent running
(particularly for the Ascot Cup, where Touch-
stone cantered away from him) has very
clearly shown that he would have proved no
match for so formidable a rival. However,
if our information be correct, Mr. Mostyn has
conveyed a hint to the Marquis of Westmin-
ster, that he will run Queen of Trumps
against Touchstone for 1000 sovereigns. The
career of this remarkably fine mare has
completely shown that her racing powers are
equal, if not superior, to those of any mare
which ever appeared on the course, not for- *
getting the celebrated Eleanor, winner of the
JDerbyand the Oaks in 1801. Had Queen of
Trumps been named and come out for the
Derby in 1835, in which year she won the
Oaks, no doubt can be entertained that she
would have carried off the prize with the
greatest ease : what could Mundig have done
against her, even though assisted with the
powerful persuasion of Will. Scott? Nothing.
Therefore, had Queen of Trumps come out for
the Derby; she would have done what was

84

THE FARMER^S MAGAZINE.

never yet accomplished by a racer — she would
have won the Derby, the Oaks, and the Great
St. Leger.

The genuine operations of the race course
ceased some time since, and thus a greater
interest to prospective or forthcoming events
is necessarily imparted, particularly in regard
to the Derby; for which a greater number of
candidates than usual has been backed, and
upon which stake, taken in the aggregate,
much more money than ordinary has been ad-
ventured, at least up to the present period.
Winter rnay alter the aspect of things, and on
the arrival of spring the betiing list may pre-
sent a very different complexion to that which
it exhibits at this 'Jioment ; we say that it may,
but we do not assert that it will, tlie season
just mentioned being inimical to the welfare
of the racer. From the suddenness and se-
verity with which winter made its unusually
early appearance, accompanied by collateral
indications of a continuance of hard weallier,
we anticipated very different atmospherical
influence than that which the humid mildness
of November and even December, till Christ-
mas, was calculated to impart, when a heav_y
fall of snow, accompanied with severe frost,
suspended the regular exercise of the racer.
However, as we are not more than half
through the dreary period mentioned above,
we shall suspend further remarks upon this
particular part of our disquisition.

Nothing very remarkable took place in the
metropolitan betting in the early part of last
month ; the individual estimate of the various
nags whose names appeared in the list of the
odds, continued much the same as our quota-
tion given last month ; indeed no very material
alterations occurred in the market prices up
to the moment of writing these observations.
On Thursday, Dec. 15, the assemblage at
the Subscription Room entered upon business
with unwonted energy, and some heavy bet-
ting took place: the proceedings of the meet-
ing were highly interesting, more however
from the spirit of enterprizc whicii was ren-
dered manifest than from the very trifling al-
terations effected in the odds : the following
presents a coup d'ceil of the business of the
afternoon : —

A variety of bets were booked upon De-
fender (to a considerable aggregate amount")
the odds against him varying- from 8 to 1, 8|
to 1, and 8| to 1.

9 to 1 agst. Jereed (in hundreds)

18 — i Pliaiitasiniacolt (in hundreds)

20 — 1 Wintonian (in fifties^

20 — 1 Mango (in hnndreds) (21 to 1 liad been pre-

145
0)

viouslv obtaini'd,
1 Mr. Walker's Glider (900 to 20)

<>■> — 1 Mr. Theobald's colt by Mameluke (1000 to lOj

1" — I Flaie-up and Pbantasima colt .' 1009 to lOQJ

1^ — 1 W'intoniaii and Clifton (-iOU to 30)

13 — 1 :^lanso and Cartoon (400 to 30)

12 — 10 The held ag'st. "Brotlicr to Bay Middleton , De-
fender. Jereed, Dardanelles, Pbantasima colt, and
Flare. up. (1200 to 1(J00_(
500 even Mimgu agst. Flare-up.
500 even Dardanelles agst. the Pbantasima colt.

The pretensions of several of the candidates
whose names appear in the betting list for
the Derby must be supported from private in-

telligence, as they have not shown in public,
Brother to Bay Middleton amongst the num-
ber, who on this occasion was scarcely men-
tioned individually. Private trial has more
than once proved fallacious, and can in fact
seldom be implicitly relied on. Frampton's
celebrious ruse in regard to private trial,
though not bearing full on the present ques-
tion, shows the little dependance to be placed
on sucii a mode of founding an opinion : we
we will briefly relate it by way of enlivening
the dry detu^il of a dull chapter, should it an-
swer no other purpose. A celebrated horse,
called Merlin, was matched for a considerable
sum of money, to run against a favourite horse
of Mr. Frampton's, at Newmarket. Imme-
diately on the match being closed there was
great betting amongst the North and South
country gentlemen. After Merlin had been
some time at Newmarket, under the care of a
person named Heseltine, Mr. Frampton's
groom endeavoured to bring him over to run
the two horses a private trial at the stated
weights and distance agreed upon in the
match ; observing, by that means they might
both make their fortunes. Heseltine refused,
but in such a manner as to give the other
hopes of bringing him over to his views. In
the mean while Heseltine took the opportuni-
ty of communicating by letter into Yorkshire,
the proposed offer to Sir W. Strickland, Bart,
who was principally concerned in making the
match. Sir William returned for answer,
that he might accept it; and instructed Hesel-
tine to be sure to deceive his competitor by
letting Merlin cany seven pounds more weight
than that agreed upon, and at the same time
laying a particular injunction to secresy.
Soon after Heseltine received this hint, he
consented to the proposal ; however, in the
mean time Mr. Frampton had given his groom
instructions precisely similar. The two horses
were prepared, started, and ran over the
course agreed upon in the articles of the
match ; when Merlin beat his antagonist
about half a length, after a severe struggle.
This being communicated to each party by
their grooms, each was flattered with certain
success: Merlin's friends observing that as
he had beaten the ot^er with seven iDounds
more weight, he would win his race easily.
On the other hand, says Mr. Frampton, as
my horse ran Merlin so near with seven pounds
extra on his back, he must win the race.
Immediately after, bets were made to an enor-
mous amount: and it has been asserted that
there was more money spoited on this event,
than had ever been previously known, many
not only risking all their cash, but their other
property also. At length the important hour
arrived for the decision of the momentous
event. The horses started, and the race was
won by Merlin by about the same length as
in the secret trial. In a short time after, it
became known, to the mortification of its in-
ventor, Tregonwell Frampton, Esq.

Printed by Joseph Rogerson, 24, Norfolk Street, Strand,
London.

''%^.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

FEBRUARY, 1837.

No. 2.]

[Vol. VI,

THE PLATE.

The subject of the Plate is a Polled Angus Bull, the property of Mr. Watson, of Keillor, in Scotland,
exhibited at the Meeting of the Highland Society, held at Perth, on the 7th October, 1836, and for which he
obtained a Premium, besides an Honorary Premium for being the breeder of the best Bull in this class. For
a description of the nature and peculiarities of the Polled Angus breed, we refer our readers to a valuable article
by Mr. Dickson, of Edinburgh, and which will be found in the Fourth Volume of The Farmers Magazine,
Page 23.

THE BLACK CATERPILLAR.

ON THE HISTORY, RAVAGES, TRANSFORMATIONS,
AND HABITS OF THE BLACK CATERPILLAR, SO
DESTRUCTIVE TO THE TURNIP CROP THE TWO
LAST YEARS, WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THE
PROBABILITIES OF ITS FUTURE ATTACKS.

BY MR. M. M. MILBURN.

Considerable sensation was produced last year in
the agricultural world, by the re-appearance of that
formidable enemy to the turnip crop, the black cater-
pillar, Black Jack, Canker, Negro, or Turnip-ten-
thredo, as it is indiscriminately called. Every far-
mer knows the value of that crop, both to the
successful fattening of his cattle, and the future
condition of the soil too well, not to be alarmed at so
sudden and unexpected an attack. Some of his fears
however might doubtless be allayed, were he perfect-
ly acquainted with the natural history of the enemy,
as it might lead him to view them in their real
character, as well as suggest some means for their
destruction, at the period of their existence when
they were the most susceptible of it, and although
the following article may not elucidate the whole of
the history of this wonderful pest, it may at least
throw some new light upon the subject, which will
perhaps not be altogether useless, and may perhaps
be somewhat interesting.

Wonderful as the work of the creation of two
hundred and thirty species of animals, one thousand
of birds, one hundred of amphibious animals, five
hundred of fishes, and two thousand of insects, it
must be manifest that their constant preservation in
their relative proportions, and relations, must be not
less stupendous, so many of these subsisting and
depending upon one another for existence. The
Omnipotent Creator, has evidently provided that
every branch of creation should furnish the greatest
possible amount of enjoyment, and while he has pro-
vided this, and assigned to every ramification of it
some peculiar degree of usefulness, he has ordained
that no one part shall so overrun the rest, as to destroy
the beautiful harmony of the whole. The moth for
instance, will lay from fifty to five hundred eggs,
and it might be conceived that this would soon

populate the air, but her brood has enemies, in pro-
portion to her productiveness ; — a single sparrow
according to Barnet, will eat five thousand cater-
pillars per day, and carnivorous birds and animals,
produce much fewer young than those designed for
their food-herbiverous ; while an abundance of the
latter, invariably secures a proportionate fertility in
the former. This is maintaining what may very
properly be called the balance of creation. When
the land of Canaan was given to the Israelites, they
were commanded to " drive out their enemies by
little and little, lest the wild beast should increase
upon them," and this is a beautiful development of
the principle on which the God of Nature governs
creation. The same proportion is necessary, and is
maintained, between the animal and vegetable king-
doms. "Carbonic-acid gas, is formed in a variety
of processes of fermentation, and combustion, and
in the respiration of animals, and yet no other pro-
cess is known in nature, by which it can be con-
sumed except vegetation. Animals produce a
substance which appears to be a necessary food of
vegetables ; vegetables evolve a principle necessary
to the existence of animals, and these different
classes of beings seem to be thus connected together
in the exercise of their living functions, and to a
certain extent made to depend on each other for
existence."* The introduction of turnips, and
subsequently their extension as a crop, has doubtless
aflforded a source of multiplication to their natural
enemies, proportionate in some degree to their own.
It may not accord with the artificial views of the
farmer or gardener, but the occasional destruction of
his turnips, his cabbages, his apples, or his beans, is
a link in the chain of the operations of nature.

The introduction of wheat into America, and its
rapid extension, and luxuriant growth, were arrested
by the appearance of an insect, the Hessian Fly,
which appeared in Long Island, in 1796, and spread
through a large extent of country, and this year
threatened to destroy the crops, and did seiious
injury, which is felt principally in Canada. The hop
and the bean are sometimes destroyed by the aphis,

* Sir Humphrey Davey's Lecture on Agricultural
Chemistry. — Lecture 1, p. 15.

H

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and it is a circumstance over wMch the cultivator
can have no control, and which he can neither foresee
nor prevent. In the land of Judea, famous for its
fertility, luxuriance, and the rapidity of its vegetation,
the voracious army of locusts " destroyed every green
herb," along with its congeners the ranke-worm, and
the palmer-worm : " your olive trees increased, and
the palmer-worm devoured them," is an expression,
which proves the correctness of our observations.
In oth<;r words, the insects were sent to prevent the
excess of vegetation, and as suddenly and as unex-
pectedly, as the locusts, the" great northern army,''
came in Palestine, do the aphis, and the caterpillar
appear in Britain, and as destructive in some respects
are their effects upon the crops.

History and Ravages. — Of all agiicultural
plants the turnip appears :o have the greatest number
of enemies, and were it not that it is the foundation of
all good husbandry, and the source of all productive-
ness to light sandy soils, which otherwise would be
comparatively worthless, it would doubtless be given
up as a field crop, but such being the case, the
farmer must cultivate it at all hazard. Its first enemy
is a small jumping beetle, well known by the name
of the turnip fl}^, (^Haltica vemorum Iltin;er) which
infest it on the first appearance of the seed leaves ;
four or five root weevils and grubs, especially the
wire worm ; two or three caterpillars, especially
those of the white butterfly, {Pcntm Brassicx),
which are green or speckled ; slugs ; the plant louse,
(aphis) ; and lastly by the insects in question, — the
caterpillar of the tm-mp-tenthredo or saw fly. The
latter insect is of the order Hymenoptera, family
TenthredindcE, and is the Athalia centifolix. Unfortu-
nately we are but little acquainted with past
visitations, which are periodical, from the want o
any system of communication amongst agriculturists
in the earlier periods of husbandry, but which was
happily supplied by the Board of Agriculture and
now by the various agricultural periodicals, — the
most valuable sources of raising- agriculture in the
scale of intelligence. Upon the authority of Mr.
Yarrel, which I oifer for the above momenclature of
the insect, it was first noticed by Pangen, The
first notice of it I have met with, was about 1762 in
Norfolk, and except that Hale mentions it in his
" Complete Body of Husbandry," published in 1756,
where it is spoken of as an insect commonly known
to turnip growers ; and at a period when turnips
were heginning to be extended as a field crop.
Again it made its appearance in vast numbers in
1782, and the succeeding year, and even to the
second year afterwards it continued to commit its
ravages. At this period a very circumstantial
account of its depredations was given by Marshall,
and thousands of acres were ploughed up, owing- to
their ravages ; indeed three-fourths of the turnips
were completely destroyed by them. 'J'he yellow
flies, the parents of the caterpillars, made their
appearance in the beginning of .Tnly, or the end of
June, and were supposed to have come over in a flight
fiomNorway. One individual describes them as coming-
in " clouds so as to darken the air," and they appeared
on the sea coasts about Cromer and Beckhithe,
where they alighted on the shore in such numbers,
" that they might be taken up by shovel fulls," at
least so said the inhabitants. Other fishermen saw
them some distance off" the coast, and upon the
water, in vast numbers. They appeared again, and
caused considerable alarm in 1806, and again in
1818, of which two visitations I happen to have no
circumstantial account, until 1835, when they
appeared in vast numbers in Norfolk, and the rest of
the southern and midland counties, and destroyed the

crop. The greatest exertions were made to eradi-
cate them, or arrest their ravages, and the experience
derived from the past years, suggested several expedi-
ents, but all were more or less ineffectual, and the
crop was all but lost. In West Sussex nearly all
were carried off" ; in Devonshire they were equally
destroyed. In Cornwall the attack commenced on the
10th of August, the second brood I presume, and
they succeeded in destroying three-fourths of the
yellow and wdjite turnips. Here the Swedes in a
great measure escaped. They disappeared here on
the 25th of August, which was attributed to the rain.
I'heir ravages in Suffolk and Bedfordshire v»-ere also
severely felt, and in the latter county whole fields
had not as many turnips as there were acres in the
field. Complaints were also made in Oxfordshire,
and the early sown ones were the best. They did not
spread so far as Yorkshire, except a few in the East
Riding, and none in Scotland.

In 1836, liowever, while the attack was slighter in
the southern and midland counties, they advanced
much farther north, and their effects were felt to a
considerable extent in Yorkshire, Durham, Cum-
berland, and in Scotland. From Norfolk we have the
most circumstantial account. The yellow fly — the
parent as will afterwards be shown of the caterpillar —
made its appearance on the 10th of June on the
eastern coast, and upon the sandbanks, which were
literally covered with them. On the l4thofJuly,
the larva3 commenced their attack at Bury, they were
said to have attacked the mangels — a circum-
stance however, which must be much better at-
tested before I can credit it. This season they at-
tacked the Swedes, and Mr. Coke, of Holkham, lost
200 acres by them. In Bedfordshire, the crop was
partially affected. They appeared in Lincolnshire
for the first time since tha attack thirty years ago,
and in Yorkshire the caterpillars were first observed
on the 15th of July. At the latter part of the same
month they appeared in Dumfrieshire, and other
parts of Scotland, but here did little damage, owing
to the early setting in of the cold. They usually
commenced their depredations on the healthiest
plants, and so completely did they prevail that they
generally succeeded in stripping- the leaves in ten or
twelve days, the period during which the first broods
remained in the caterpillar state. They eat only the
interior portions of the leaf, and left the nervures
and fibrous portions : for some plants this was too
much, and they died ; but such as had attained any
considerable degree of strength of root, or were
forced by rich manure overcame the attack, but were
interrupted in their growth by at least three weeks,
and had they continued tlieir ravages another week,
the loss would have been dreadful. Some persons
entertained the idea that they Lad dropped fi-om the
clouds, for instances occurred when a field was ex-
amined and pronounced clear, which in a few d-ays
was literally covered with them. Sometimes, at cer-
tain periods of the day, or particular states of the
weather, they seemed partly to have disappeared, but
on a second examination, they were as numerous as
ever. The first sown fields weie chiefly infested,
while the later sown ones, — such for instance as had
the seed put in about the 28th or 30th of June, ge-
nerally escaped. A field occupied by Mr. C. Yeates
of Ihorpfield, which was sown earl}^ and the plants
were particularly luxuriant, was the worst attacked
of any in the neighbourbood where I reside. I
counted as many as nineteen upon a single plant, —
the efforts to destroy them and save the crop, were
most vigorous, and it was saved. About the 1st of
August they simultaneously disappeared, and the im-
pression was, that they had " taken wing," which to

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87

the careless observer might be plausible enough,
but as usual in the case of vulgar speculators of this
nature, was quite erroneous.

From this cursory sketch it appears that their vi-
sits are periodical, — at least during- the intervals
they are not sufficiently numerous to attract obser-
vation or create alarm, that they continued for
about two or three years, diminislnng in numbers
each successive year, the most appearing the first
season, and then again appearing only in so small
numbers as to escape notice.

It becomes an interesting question, to enquire
how they happen to be so very numerous in one
season, when they are not observed in several
successive seasons, when they reappear. The
theory adopted in 1782 by Marshall, and afterwards
pretty generally received by agricultural writers,
is, that they come in ilights across the British
Channel from Norway, and Marshall observed that
a flight might come driven by the wind alone, in
ten hours. To the admission of this theory it is
necessary that a south west wind should blow, at
or near the turnip season in each " canker year."
If no exotic flights arrive, " says Marshall," the few
which survive the winter here, escape in a man-
ner unnoticed, and the plants receive no percep-
tible injury, but when to these foreign swarms
are added, their progeny becomes too powerful for
the plants, and the devastation becomes conspicious
and alarming, producing that dreadful calamity to
the country, ' a canker year.' " In support of
these views, he produces the assertions of the
fishermen above quoted. This theory is I think
quite erroneous, In the first place, we have no
evidence that the flies exist in Norway, to the
extent to warrant the belief that such immense
numbers could come across the Channel, and if
they did, it must have been a well known fact.
Besides, how upon this principle do we so soon
lose them, and if as Marshall supposed, only a
a few escape the eflfects of our winter, how have
a7iy happened to escape the severity of the Nor-
wegian winter 1 Provided they were shewn to
exist there, how are we to account for them thus
allowing themselves to face the great expanse of
waters, or are they to wait for certain favourable
gales of wind to transport them across itl The
contrary evidence seems to be, that we never
find them flying far ; — seldom more than a few
yards, one must have had accounts of such im-
mense "clouds of insects" on the opposite shores,
if they had come from Norway. The evidence
of the fishermen however does not establish much,
for they are seldom close observers of nature ; the
collection of the flies on the beach may easily be
accounted for by supposiug them emanating from
their cocoons when they might be disposed to burrow
from the looseness of the texture of the sands,
when in their caterpillar state, in preference to
the more solid cultivated fields, or the flies might have
collected together after having deposited their eggs,
and perish in the water. The locusts actuated by
some mysterious sensation invariably direct their
progress to the sea previous to their dissolution, and
even followed the course of some river, as if anxious
to find a grave in the ocean, or which is beau-
tifully described by the Prophet Joel cb. 2, v. 20.
" I will remove far off from you, the northern army,
and will drive him into a land barren and desolate,
with his face towards the east sea, and his hinder
part towards the utmost sea, and his stink shall come
up &c." It is observed by that most profound
and intelligent naturalist, Professor Rennie, that
before dissolution insects manifest a passionate de-

sire for change. Mr. Lindly observed a large
flight of butterflies in Brazil, which flew in a
straight line, and must inevitably perish in the
sea. Mr. Jonah Waites of Sowerby, a respect-
able and intelligent farmer, observed in August
last, some thousands of butterflies congregated,
and proceeding in an easterly direction, not one of
which was to be seen either before or afterwards,
so that it is nothing very extraordinary to see large
flights of insects, but it is no evidence that they are
exotic. The yellow flies (^Ashalia centifolix ) the
progenitors of the caterpillars, were noticed last
year on the sandbanks on the Norfolk coast the lOth
of June, and before any caterpillars appeared and
had doubtless just emerged from their cocoons as
before supposed.

But how are we to account for these capricious
visitations'? Have we been removing one difficulty
simply to raise another? If we admit that we are
never quite clear of the insects, the same difficulty
attaches itself to account for the abundance of
other insects of various kinds, which appear one
year in mvriads, and are again unnoticed for years
to come. Thus the aphides will appear in swarrns
one year, and destroy the hops, or other plants,
while in other years no such thing is to be seen.
Sometimes the turnip fly (altica nemorum) takes oft'
the plants, while in other seasons they comparatively
escape ; the only law which we can lay down
which approximates to a season, is that alluded
to in the outset — the maintenance of the balance
of creation, and its faij- proportions constantly main-
tained by a series of natural enemies to the diflFerent
classes of beings, ad infinitum to which we shall
allude in a subsequent part of this article. The
abundance of a plant causes an abundant production
of its enemies, — these are also assailed by their
natural enemies which so thin their ranks as to re-
quire years to regain their usual numbers, giving
time also for the reproduction of the vegetable on
which they feed. Thus animated nature, like
every portion of creation, contains within itself the
elements of its own destruction, and like inorganic
matter, decomposition and reproduction, go on and
follow each other ; — a process so astonishing and
wonderful as to stamp upon it the character of im-
mediate design and direction by the All Powerful
Creator of the whole.

Transfoiwiations and HABrxs. The general
appearance of the caterpillars at the commence-
ment, was the discovery of one in a plant, in a
few more days two or three dozen might be found,
and ultimately the plants were literally covered.
The e.u-liest sown, and most healthy plants, were first
attacked, and in some of the northern counties the
later sown ones entirely escaped. The caterpillar
when first discovered, was about three eighths of an
inch in length, and of a deep and shining black.
The head is smooth when examined by the naked eye,
but is studded with a few hairs as proved by exami-
nation by the microscope. It has five eyes— two
large ones (compound) at each side of the head and
three smaller ones (simple) placed in a triangle in
front. Like most of the saw fly (tenthreds) cater-
pillars, it has twenty legs. The three on each side
nearest the head, the part which answers to the
thorax of the perfect insect, are longer than the rest,
and barbed, to enable it to lay hold of the extremities
of the leaf, and fourteen shorter ones, calculated for
clinging to smooth surfaces; the caterpillar will
creep along a smooth glass jar with perfect ease
and facility, without spinning a ladder of silk as was
the case with a green caterpillar, which I collected
from a turnip plant. The colour of the body as was

H 2

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

observed is a jet black without hairs, (which dis-
tinguishes it from the nettle gregarious caterpillar,
for which it has sometimes been mistaken,) it is how-
ever considerably wrinkled. The shanks (tarci) at
their junction with the body, are of a transparent
jelly-like character. Just above the vent {anus),
is a protuberance from which there seems to exude
a glutinous matter. When the insect isdisturbed it
immediately drops from the plant, but being designed
to feed on plants which never grow high above the
ground, it is not furnished with its silken rope to en-
able it to let itself down with safety ; wh^n it drops it
coils itself into a circle, when it lays still for a
few moments, and is not easily detected, but if
undisturbed for a few seconds it begins to crawl
up the plant, and soon eats voraciously. One cir-
cumscance connected with the habits of these in-
sects has caused much misapprehension. Fields
have been carefully examined and scarcely a dozen
insects have been found, and the fields liave been
pronounced clear, — in a few hours they have been
again looked over and millions were visible. About
ten o'clock in the morning, if the sun shines — again
at twelve and at five in the afternoon, they were
chiefly to be seen, and after a shower of rain they
were unusually numerous. Upon close examination
the earth was found perforated by thousands of
small holes, and sometimes they might be detected
burrowing into the earth. I confined some in glass
jars for the purpose of observing their habits, and
fed tliem with fresh turnip leaves, placing a little
damp earth at the bottom of the glass, into which
they burrowed after feeding. This settled the ques-
tion, which was much disputed ; from the burrows
retaining their form when the earth was dried, I
concluded that they cemented the particles of earth
with some glutinous matter. When in the cater-
pillar state the rain made no impression on t!ie
secure and waterproof texture of their skins,
and when immersed in water, they swam with
the utmost ease, and the water glided off them as if
thev were covered with some oleaginous coating.
This of course quite exploded the popular idea
that the rain destroyed them. At one period of
their existence they change their skins. In order
to effect this they wander up some plant, genbraUy
some weed, and appear motionless. They are
however attached to the plant by means of attaching
their glutinous excresence above described, to
some portion of it which causes a ready ad-
herence to it. The skin divides nfar the head,
and the insect creeps out, leaves its old skin, and
appears of a lighter colour, it a slaty green ; in
a few more davs however it grows darker in colour,
and soon changes this skin in the same manner, and
at each change grows somewhat thicker, and rather
diminished in length. This it does at least four
times, during its existence in the larva state. Be-
fore each change it ceases to eat and looks dull and
inactive. On the 3lst of July the caterpillars
which I had collected on the 25th, all completely
disappeared, my turnip leaves were untouched, and
fifteen days from the first appearance of the insects
in Yorkshire, they all simultaneously left the plants.
New fancies were now adopted, and as in the
above case of the Norfolk fishermen, took the place
of observation and facts; — it was generally asserted,
— and generally believed, that they had flown away,
althougli not one of them had vet a wing to fly witli !
On examining my confined caterpillars I found
them beautifully enveloped in a safe waterproof
cocoon, which could only be distinguished from a
little clod of earth, by its peculiar rattle. On
opening it tlie particles of earth seemed united

by glue, and the inside was as smooth as varnish.
Here the caterpillar was imbedded, for it was
still a caterpillar, but it had somewhat altered its
form, — immediately behind the head the body was
considerably elevated, — it more resembled the
wingless fly — its extremities were grown smaller.
After twenty days imprisonment a yellow fly
made its appearance. I have never witnessed it
in the pupa state but am not certain that it does
not exist. I examined one which had been enve-
loped three or four days, and another which had
been confined eight or nine weeks, but both were in
the state above described. The Fly on emerging
somewhat resembled the dung fly, but was con-
siderably smaller, and of a brighter yellow. The
head was black, and had eyes corresponding with
those described in the caterpillar ; the ears
(anteivKz) were black and serrated, the thorax
yellow, with two triangular amber spots at the junc-
tion of the wings : the wings were four in number,
transparent, and nervous, like those of the dragon
fly ; legs, six, of a dull yellow, and some amber spots,
the abdomen is a bright yellow, but is liidden by the
wings, which are longer than the body of the fly.
These cliaracteristics apply to both the male and fe-
male, except the male is smaller. The female has a
curious apparatus, which is the distinguishing cha-
racteristic of the family to which the fly belongs —
its saw. It is concealed in a sheath, from which it
can be withdrawn at the will of the fly, or by
pressure on the under side of the abdomen : the
saw was, as may be supposed, serrated : this may
possibly by some be considered a sting, but it is
never used as an instrument of defence ; its use is to
enable it to deposit its eggs in a situation where they
will be protected, and find sufficiency of food — it is
its ovi-positnr. In three or four days after, the first
of my confined caterpillars made its appearance in
the fly (imago) form, seven of the ten followed
it, similarly transformed : the same process had
taken place in the fields, hundreds of similar files
were to be seen upon the turnips : none of my flies,
however, deposited any eggs ; they never eat any-
thing, but sipped the dew from the fresh leaves with
which they were supplied.

I attribute their failure of propagation to the
weather, which was dull, wet, and cold ; the latter
they could not bear, and were only lively when the
sun shone brightly. By the 8th of October, seven-
teen days from the appearance of the first fly, the
whole were dead, but I believe not one ego- had been
deposited either in my jar or in the fields, for the
most careful and minute search failed in discovering
any, and no subsequent brood ever appeared. So
many flies therefore as did emerge may be considered
destroy ec', and no fear need arise from their succes-
sive generations' depredations. The weather, I
repeat, was very cold, and seldom any sunshine took
place. More southward, however they were not
equally fortunate, the weather being warmer, they
had deposited their ovce, and they appeared a second
army to destroy the crop : this was the case, particu-
larly in Glamorganshire. The influence of lieat and
dryness in hastening the developenient of the perfect
insect, and of cold and damp in retarding it, is well
known in the natural liistory of insects. Reaumur
could lessen the perio.l of their confinement in the
pupa case by months, by placing them in a hot-house^
ard thus have butterflies sporting amongst his
flowers in January, whose congeners in the fields did
not appear until July, and he retarded tlie appear-
ance of others twelve months by keeping them in a
cold damp cellar. The greater warmth of the southern
counties of England might thus possibly cause a

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

greater propoition of (he inclosed caterpillai's to
emerge as flies than was the case in Yorkshiie, as
well as favour the propagation of another brood.

Artificial Methods of Destruction. — All the
inventive energies of the farmers were set to work
to discover some method for their destruction ; some
used applications of various kinds, but a slight exa-
mination of the skin of the caterpillar will show that
any application not highly caustic can be of little
avail. Lime was at first a favourite application, but
produced no impression upon them, and in the midst
of salt or saline mixtures, they were perfectly health3^
Soot did not seem at all noxious to them, nor did
any application of it to the plants deter them from
eating them. In some cases that dangerous and
expensive poison arsenic was dredged on the plants,
but subsequent experience proved, that when it was
done in suificient quantities to produce the death of
the insect, it also destroyed the plants. A very re-
spectable and intelligent observer informed me, that
a solution of oil of vitriol made no sensible impres-
sion, indeed this might be conjectured from tiieir
skins resisting the action of water. Oil certainly
did destroy them when they were completely covered
with it, by stopping breathing valves (sphinaclesj of
the insect, but it also destroyed the plants, and its
application was impracticable. Indeed any super-
ficial application must be very expensive and tedious,
besides being of doubtful utilit}'. Some strewed
elder branches over the fields, knowing that the
peculiar aroma of that shrub is much disliked by
many insects, and one person declared that they left
his field when be did it : now the jirobability is, that
this had been about the period of their burrowing
before they changed into the fly state, for experiment
decides that they eat with avidity leaves which are
strongly impregnated with elder. An enemy of whicli
advantage was taken by the farmers was ducks. 1
happened to have a considerable number at the time
they were committing their ravages, and turned them
on, but they quite neglected the caterpillars, but eat
the turnips voraciously. This was repeated several
times, and with the same results. Corn was scattered
over the ground, they eat up the corn, and speedi y
began to consume the turnips. It should, however,
be stated, that the ducks were full grown, and had
been fed partly on greens, but the most striking fact
connected with them was, that they even refused
them when they were gathered and scattered belore
them. Young ducks of, say from three to six weeks
old, were, however, found very useful. I am in-
formed by T. T. Barton, Esq., of Sowerby, that
his fields were cleared by young ducks. They
were fed with corn in the evenings, and went into
the fields in the morning hungry, and in proof
that the caterpillars knew favourit'i food they
escaped from the place in which they were confined
and during the night on one occasion went directly
to the field. I also witnessed some of the age above
mentioned, which searched for them beautifully. I
was assured however, by W. EoclifFe, Esq., M.D.,
of Eassingwold, that it was useful to scatter corn
amongst the turnips, until the birds had become ac-
quainted with the caterpillars. Fowls were also re-
commended, and may possibly pick a few, but are
not sufficiently of a rambling disposition to be of
much service. Of the natural enemies of the insects
1 know but little, but shall refer to the subject after-
wards. Piookshave been mentioned, but to the truth
of this I am notable to speak, my observations have
certainly not gone to establish the fact, but I know
that they make sad havoc in tearing up the (urnip
plants, in search of the wire worm. 'J"he caterpillars
are however different in appearance from the gene-

rality of their food, and they cannot form any re-
gular source of supply. Swallows are their greatest
enemies when in the fly state, they may be seen
skimming over the turnip fields, and the flies which
always fly up when anything approaches them, are
thus an easy prey to these beautiful birds.

We next advert to another means used for their
destruction — the mechanical, which were of various
kinds. Rolling has been a favourite operation,bothin
this and previous visitations. It is attended however
with the serious disadvantage of crushing the plants,
and bruising the foliage, and in dry weather must
be very injurious to their growth. It is also doubt-
ful whether it is of great service. On loose soils it
will destroy very few of the insects. I have stamped
upon them, and it did not seem to do them any in-
jury when the soil gave way. On more tenacious
soils it may be of most advantage, but these are the
least attacked, and on them rolling will do the most
injury to the plants. The small number destroyed
would never compensate for the injury done to the
crop. Some farmers employed persons to dash them
from the plants with twigs, or go down the furrows,
and drag a rope over the ridges three times a day ;
a plan which a moment's reference to the habits of
the insect would show to be completely useless, —
they would re-ascend the plants, and commence
eating, before the persons had proceeded two hun-
dred yards from them. This reminds me of what I
once witnessed. Two boys were employed in de-
stroying them, and after carefully dashing them from
the turnips, covered them over with soil, quite as-
sured that he had " d(me for them," never reflecting
or supposing, that he was placing them in the na-
tural element for their protection ; as well might he
have attempted to drown a fish, by putting it into
the water !

A very efficient method of destroying them was
employed by Rlr. Edward Saddler of Sowerby, but
which can only be of use when the turnips are sown
in ridges. He employed a number of work people
to dash them from the plants with green twigs, and
as they proceeded to kill as many as they could with
their feet. This was on a rather tenacious soil. They
were followed by a person with a scuffler, and by this
means the field was cleared. But decidedl}' the
most certain, safe, and perhaps all things considered,
the cheapest, though perhaps rather tedious method,
is to have them hand picked. Tor this purpose a num-
ber of boys may be employed under the superintend-
ance of an active person. Each must be furnished
with a small tin, and some covered vessel must be
kept to empty their tins into occasionally^ or they
will crawl out, for as it has been observed they crawl
easily on a smooth surface, and soon begin to stir
when they find themselves amidst a number of their
congeners, even if shaken off frequently. The most
expeditious plan is, not to examine every plant, but
take such as are visible in passing over the field, and
only two or three ridges should be taken at a time,
according to the number of the gatherers and insects.
When once gone over, they should commence where
they began a"t first, and go over it again, until no
more appear. I witnessed a field which was ter-
ribly eaten, and was cleared in this manner, and the
efficiency of the plan was proved by the fact, that
while there were abundance of the yellow flies in the
neighbouring fields, in this few or none could be
seen. The plan may seem tedious, but under ordi-
nary circumstances it may be done for 2s 6d to 4s
per acre, a very small sum in comparison to the loss
of the crop.

Probabilities of future Attacks. — This portion
of the subject comprises an interesting branch of

90

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

entomology, and one in wLich the agriculturist is
immediately concerned, but it is unfortunately one
upon which little accurate information can be ob-
tained ; and following- out my previous observations
I may remark, that little more than conjecture and
analogy, can supply us with data to reason upon.
We know that the attacks of most insects are very
capricious. Some seasons our thorn hedges, and our
gooseberry bushes, are literally covered with cater-
pillars and rendered leafless, which without any per-
ceptible cause in the weather, the next year when it
would seem the production would be enormous, not
one is to be seen. In 1827, the caterpillar of the
cabbage butterfly (Pontia Brassiroi) attacked the tur-
nips. Some are now before me, both in the butter-
fly and chrysalis form, which I collected from a tur-
nip plant and kept through all its changes, while
other years they attack the cabbages, cauliflowers,
&c. Ijome clue however to this great variation in
numbers may be obtained from the facts of their
having certain natural enemies, which deposit their
eggs in the body of the caterpillar and feed upon it,
but have instinct sufficient to avoid eating its vitals,
until it enters its chrysalis state, when they destroy
it, and instead of the butterfly comes out the parasite
flies (^Ichneumon) again to feed on the caterpillars.
So has Providence provided a destroyer to the de-
vourers, which otherwise would soon become so nu-
merous as to populate the air, and annihilate vege-
tation, and thus all creation is kept in its due and
legitimate bounds. The wheat fly appeared in 1829
in Scotland, and created the most fearful apprehen-
sion, but it was soon discovered that they were again
followed by a host of ichneumons which completely
extirpated them. Thus the aphides are always ac-
companied by cei'tain destroyers, syrphi, liernerobi,
and the Lady Bird ; in speaking of the latter, that
interesting naturalist Kirby remarks, " If we could
only discover a mode of increasing these insects at
will, we might not only as Dr. Darwin has suggested,
clear our hot-houses of aphides by their means, but
render our crops of" hops much more certain than
they now are."

Now though I have not succeeded in observing
any parasite peculiar to the black caterpillar, it is a
probability amounting almost to a certainty, that they
do follow, and the fact that they never appear more
than two or three years at one time, goes far to prove
it. I confined a black caterpillar with a beautiful red
ichneumon, and in the morning the caterpillar was
dead. I merely state the fact, and leave others either
to follow it out or deduce arguments from it. The
seasons are perhaps too much blamed for causing an
excess of these and other insects, and the absence of
severe winters is assigned by some, as a season for
their abundance, but a little reflection shows this to
be erroneous. If this was the case all insects would
be more numerous each successive year, which we
find is not the case, and it is certainly owing to no
peculiarity of season, that an abundance or scarcity
of any particular class of insects can be traced, and
knowing that any degre of cold from 2° to 20"^ below
the freezing point, does not destroy insects' eggs,
we cannot suppose that any severity of ordinary
winters would destroy them. In this case I think
there is no fear of any eggs remaining over the win-
ter ; the fly takes care to deposit them in the interior
of the leaf of the turnip, where they will be
supplied with plenty of food when they emerge,
but we know that the whole of the present turnips
will be destroyed before any more are sown, so that
the larvae must perish for want of food if so left.
Those still buried in their cocoons are too secure,
and too deep in the earth, to be affected by the win-

ter. In 1835 they were very numerous in the South
of England, and unobserved in the North ; in 1836
they were less numerous, but more generally spread ;
next year we may expect I think a still slighter at-
tack, and it is probable that in 1838 we shall be
freed from their ravages altogether for several years ;
or at least if they continue with us, will be in so
small numbers, as to do no injury, and attract not
observation. Mr. Salisbury says a gardener in
Chelsea took a nest of moths and bred them, some of
the caterpillars came out the first, some the second,
and some not until the third year. This may per-
haps account for their continuance for two or three
years, supposing their enemies to destroy the first
brood. If those in the open air entered into the fly
state in the same proportion as mine did, which I
had confined, it would be seven-tenths of the whole,
and as these in the north of England never propa-
gate 3, and are dead, we may consider ourselves rid
of so many of our dreaded enemies, especially in
Yorkshire, to which this remark moie particularly
applies, and I am sorry to say that the farmers are
not generally so observant of, and conversant with
these facts, as to note the circumstances accurately in
every county. To supply this, and perhaps excite a
spirit of inquiry, is the object of these pages, it is to
be hoped that at least they have added something to
our general stock of knowledge, and if each would
simply note his observations, compare and publish,
agriculture would soon arrive at a degree of per-
fection hitherto unknown.

Thorpjield, near Thirsk, Yorkshire.

AN ACGOUNT OF CONVERTING GRASS
LAND INTO ARABLE,

AND RELAYING IT DOWN AGAIN INTO GRASS.

Productive meadows or grass fields are such valu-
able appendages to a farm, that they are rarely broken
up for the sake of raising any other kind of crop
which would be equally profitable. But there are
many old worn out grass fields which would be vastly
improved by being taken under the plough for a few
years, and then laid down again.

This has been done most successfully by several
eminent agriculturists, and the following is a short
account of the manner in which it was executed on
one occasion.

The sward was ploughed early in December to
the depth of five or six inches, lajdng the furrows at
such an angle that the harrows might have good
hold, in order to raise the greatest possible depth of
friable mould. The furrows were thus exposed to
the frost of winter, which tended greatly to their
amelioration, and caused the harrowing to be much
more easily and eflPectually performed. The harrow-
ing took place about the first of March, and imme-
diately oats were sewn at the rate of between 4 and 5
bushels to the acre. The varieties chosen were the
potato and Poland oats, both of which succeeded ad-
mirably.

The produce was very great, the field averaging
per acre a little above nine quarters, and of excellent
quality.

Oats are generally mown with a scythe and bow,
which lays the crop in regular swathes ; these are
afterwards bound in moderate sized sheaves, and set
up in shocks of 10 or 12 sheaves each, and remain
till ready to be carted to the rick-yard.

Soon after the oat crop is off, the stubble is plough-
ed and immediately harrowed down. In this state

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

91

the land lies till the beginning of November, when
it receives a second iiloughing, laying the ridges as
rounding as possible, to throw oif the winter rains.
These operations effect a complete pulverization of
the soil, and destroy any parts of the turf which
may still be alive.

Soon as the weather is favourable the harrows are
applied to level and break the surface, and beans
are drilled at intervals of 27 inches. If the land has
a tendency to hold moisture it is a good scheme to
lay in ridges by the double-breasted plough in au-
tumn, at similar distaaces between, and at the pro-
per season in spring to sow the beans in the hollows
by means of a drill-barrow, afterwards covering the
seed by the double mould-board plough^ which splits
the ridges, then, in a week or two, to be eross-har-
rowed, which finishes the sowing.

The seed being laid in so widely apart in the drills,
allows the horse-hoe to be used with the greatest
freedom and effect ; the crop has, morever, full air,
so highly necessary for increasing and maturing the
pods. Three bushels of seed are required to the acre
in this mode of cultivating beans. Hand-hoers go
over twice, and pull up with the hand any weeds
which chance to rise in the drills. The crop is
reaped and bound in sheaves ; the produce, when
thrashed, above 40 bushels per acre.

The bean crop is succeeded by wheat, for which
the bean stubble begins to be prepared as soon as it
is cleared. The large scarifier is first put on, which
stirs the staple as deep as the common plough. It is
afterwards well harrowed, and all weeds harrowed
out are hand-picked and cleared off. The seed fur-
row is immediately given, and laid into proper sized
lands, in which state it lies till the beginning of Oc-
tober. It is then harrowed down, and the seed drilled
at twelve-inch intervals, v hich is found preferable
10 closer drilling in most situations.

The fine and kindly state of the tilth accelerated
the germination of the wheat, which came up strong
and regularly, and stood the winter well. Horse-
hoeing and rolling were carefully bestowed in the
spring ; and the crop progressed throughout the
summer as well as could be wislied, promising an
abundant yield. The season was, however, what is
called " a blighting season," and the crop did not
wholly escape ; but as the malady did not appear
until but a few days before the wheat was ready for
the sickle, the grain was not much damaged.

The wheat stubble was very soon fallowed up as
the commencement of the preparation for turnips,
and the different processes carried on as described
at the beginning of these extracts. After the turnips
follow barley and seeds. At this point of the pro-
ceedings it becomes the duty of the manager to de-
termine whether the land is to be returned to per-
manent pasture, which, if considered perfectly clean
and fit, it may be ; or whether it should undergo a
second course of cropping to prepare it still more
thoroughly for laying down again.

If the latter plan be resolved on, then broad clover
only is sowed vi'itb the barle)^ ; but if the field is to
immediately returned to its original state, a suitable
quantity of the best permanent pasture grasses must
be sown instead of broad clover. — British Farmer's
Macrazine.

Rural Policej — A mounted patrol is about to
be established in the Isle of Wight as a check upon the
nightly depredations wiiich are occurring to the property
of farmers and others.

CULTIVATION OF HOPS.

(from the NORWICH mercuhv.)

We invite the attention of our agricultural
readers, and indeed of all who are interested in
the advantageotis cultivation of our own county,
to the communication from Mr. Crawshay which
is subjoined. We have from the first had the
gratification of inspecting and attending the pro-
gress of his experiment, instituted solely for the
purpose of improving the growth of the hop by
reducing its culture to the general principles of
gardening, and with a view to recommend its in-
troduction into the Norfolk system of husbandry-
Mr. C.'s experiments have been conducted with
the generous enterprise, skill, and perseverance
which mark his undertakings ; and there remains
no doubt that he will dispel a great deal of the
mystery which has hitherto been su])posed to be-
long to hop growing. His art is indeed simple.
It consists in making the soil thoroughly per-
meable to air and moisture, and in treating the
plant with the tender care with which a sentient
existence would be treated. His success declares
itself in the superiority of his sample. But the
observations he has made must be of great value
to growers, and we can only add, we shall be
proud to make our Journal an instrument of good
in his hands.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORWICH MERCURY.

Dear Sir, — In my last letter to you on the sub-
ject of Hop growing, 1 promised you a full and true
account of the result of the year's work, as to the
weight and quality of the crop, &c. and my first
year's experiment having closed with the inching,
drying, bagging, cutting out and eihihiting my sample,
I am now able to do so, and will therefore resume the
subject from the date of my last communication, at
which time the young hop, or burr, was just making
its appearance. I believe every person, not only in
this county, but in nearly all parts of the kingdom,
will admit that a more blighting summer was never
known than the one now passed; it is therefore not
at all astonishing that the Hop, a plant so subject to
be infested by the Aphis, should have suffered to the
extent it has done in those districts where this nox-
ious insect appeared. At Honingham, it became vi-
sible about the 12th of August on a few plants in the
centre of my south garden, and so rapid was its in-
crease that it eventually spread over nearly three
fourths of the two acres planted April, 1835, and
even up to the time of picking did this insect con-
tinue Its ravages I may therefore consider my-
self fortunate in having bagged 5 cwt. 2qrs. 18 lbs.
from those parts of the two acres which escaped the
blight, because if the whole of my crop had been lost,
I should have felt the great anxiety attendant on a-
nother year's growth, to prove what I have so often
said, that as good Hops could be grown in this county,
as in any other part of England. This assertion I am
happy to say is no more than verified, my sample
having been exhibited to the first houses in the trade
in London, and being placed side by side, with the
finest growths of Farnham, East and Mid Kents, the
North Clays, Sussex and others, was pronounced
superior to any one of them. The samples from East
Kent this season nearly all exhibit the mischief done
by the Aphis ; the Mid Kents are free in most in-
stances from this injury, as are those of Farnham
and the North Clays. The Sussex grounds suffered
in many parts, and the crop of this year, throughout
almost all the Hop districts, may be considered as
anything but a perfectly healthy one. It appears

92

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

from all we can )ret ascertain relative to the history
of the Aphis, that it is a mere accident as to the spots
it will infest, my young- ;ind much exposed eight
acres having- heen entirely free from it, while the crop
on my unsheltered south and sheltered south-west
gardens was almost destroyed by it. With these
contradictory facts before us, we have as yet learnt
nothing- as to the best situation for a Hop garden. I am
thoroughly convinced that neither soil, the state of
its moisture, nor situation, has any connexion what-
ever with the choice of this insect's first abode, and
we have to discover some means of avoiding this
dire calamity. While on this branch of the subject,
I think I may assert from the experience of this
season, that all the light soils in this county, ay,
within a few shades of tbe moving sand, wi7lg?-OTy
good Hops, I think, when last you did me the fa-
vour to inspect my young eight acres, you had ample
proofs that not only the young cuitings, but the
plants then bearing hops, were the most vi
gorous and healthy in every instance on the sandy spots,
and further that the hops themselves, were tight up
at their points and firm from their fulness of condition and
closeness of leaf.

Since first commencing this new undertaking, I
have never felt the least distrust of my abilities as a
gardener to geow the Hops, but I confess I was not
vain and bold enough to venture on the drying
AND BAGGING, and therefore I hired a young man
from a distance to perform this mysterious business,
who made as complete a failure in "the work as the
most ignorant novice would have done. I dis-
charged him of course, and was then left to my own
resources with the remaining part of my crop still
hanging on their poles. I considered the matter for
two or three days, and I may say nights for you
may easily imagine the then vexed and anxious state
of my mind, and the result of my reflection upon the
art of drying Hops, I summed up at last in these few
words to my baliff, Wm. Sapey — " treat the who leaf-
fair as if you were making hay in Middlesex, for the
London market ; give the Hops all the air you can, as
much f re as the back of your hand will bear without pain
when submitted to the tile, and move them often to pre-
serve their natural colour." We picked on the 20th
of September, loaded our kiln at six in the evening
and the next morning at ten o'clock the hops were
removed from the kiln to tbe airing floor, where
they remained a sufficient time to become tough
enough to stand the operation of bagging, which
was performed by James Matthews, one of my
young hop gardeners, and thus ended the mysterious
work of drying and bagging hops, which has produced
the sample that at present stands in the proud situa-
tion I have before named to you. All the ridiculous
mystery on hop-drying being now swept away for
ever, I am truly sorry I did not treat this department
with the same contempt I felt towards all the other
arcana and old prejudices of hop gardening. Had I
done so, I should have saved my two first kilns from
the fate that awaited them. As there may be many
persons who think that " seeing is believing, but feel-
ing's the truth," I shall produce my samples at our
next Horticultural Exhibition, and I should esteem
it as a particular favor, if any person whose connex-
ions may enable him to obtain some of the best Sur-
rey and Kent growths would do so, when we may a-
gain put to the test the superior quality of the Nor-
folk hops.

I cannot leave this subject without adverting to one
point, which as a gardener I consider a most impor-
tant one. It is well known that the hop plant at
picking time is cut down at about two feet from the
earth, tbe pole raised, and delivered up to the pick-

ers. Upon this operation 1 have to remark, that all
the sap in the bind and leaf which would descend
and be condensed in the enormous spongy roots of
this plant, is entirely lost, and that the binds of the
succeeding spring must be weakened and distressd
by this unnatural treatment; to avoid which, I ga-
thered the whole of my small crop on platforms made
expressly for the purpose, affording room for sixty
women : the binds thus remain uninjured, and the
sap descends gradually as it should do, giving I have
no doubt an increase of power in the spring from this
method of picking without cutting down the plant.
Whether this system would remunerate if adopted
on an extensive scale remains to be proved. It was
my intention that this should be my last letter to you
on the subject of hop gardening ; but I have made
during this summer many entirely new and useful
discoveries relative to this branch of cultivation,
which I shall be most happy to communicate to the
public through your kind indulgence at some future
period, In the mean time believe me
Yours very truly,

RICHARD CRAWSHAY.
Honingham Hall.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE FARMER'S
MAGAZINE.

Sir, — In your paper of the 9th inst., there is a let-
ter signed C. D., from which the following is an ex-
tract— "Whereis the manure called animahzed carbon
to be purchased, and to what crop and soil is it most
beneficial V

I have to state, for the satisfaction of C. D., that I
imported last season a cargo of the said manure, and
introduced it amongst the farmers of East Lothian,
and Berwickshire ; it was applied to grain crops and
grass in top dressing, &c. to turnips, in the latter
the results I am happy to say have been most satis-
factory, it having proved fully superior to bones,
and comes much cheaper. Should C. D. wish it, I
shall be happy to hear from him, and I have no doubt
the correspondence will lead to results beneficial to
both parties, as I can give him very full information
respecting its quality and application, as well as
enter into arangements regarding the furnishing a
quantity agreeably to order.

I am Sir, your obedient Servant.

CHR. MIDDLEMASS.

Dunbar, N. B., 14th January.

The Committee appointed on Saturday, the Seventh
instant, to decide on the nature of the testimonial
of esteem to be presented to Mr. Simpson, of Lover-
sail, having met, by adjournment, on Saturday, the
Fourteenth instant, at the Rein Deer Inn, in Don-
caster, William Broughton Esquire, of Bawtry,
in the chair ; the following Requisition, bearing the
signature of ninety-eight Owners of Estates,
Tenant Farmers, Professional and other Friends of
Mr. Simpson, was read and presented to that gentle-
man after a most appropriate Address from the Chair-
man : — " We the undersigned, being desirous of
testifying our sense of the services rendered by Mr.
Simpson of Loversall, as a Land Valuer and Valuer
of Tenant-right, to the Agricultural Community in
general, — from sound practical discrimination and
the perfect independence and impartiality which
have placed him so deservedly high in his profession,
— propose to request him to sit for his Portrait, to be
taken by some Artist of eminence, and presented in
our names."

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

93

HORTICULTURE. — PEAS, BEANS,
RADISHES, LETTUCE, CABBAGE,
ONIONS.

BY MR. TOWERS, C. M. H. S. AUTHOR OF THE
DOMESTIC gardener's MANUAL.

(^Froin the Quarterly Jouriml of Agriculture.)

The Pea is one of the most delicious vegetables
which our gardens produce; it is a universal
favourite, and is grown abundantly by persons in
every station of life ; it is of ready culture, and
very hardy, but there are points which ought to
be investigated, in order to obviate certain in-
conveniences, and to promote larger crops with
less danger of failure ; these I shall shortly
allude to.

Botanically — the Pea, Pisum sativum, belongs
to the natural order Leyuminosoe, and to its first
suborder Papilionacece. In the Linneean system
we find it in Class XVII. Order IV. Biadelphia
Decandria. Stamens 10, nine of the filaments are
united for more than half their length into a
semi-cylindrial keeled tube open on one side,
but closed by the tenth filament, which is flat and
awl-shaped. The essential character is found in
the slyle, which is triangular keeled above and
downy. The two upper segments of the calyx are
wider than the three lower. It is a native of the
south of Europe, and was introduced to Britain
at a period not known, nor perhaps now to be
discovered. The species are few, but the varieties
of the garden pea are very numerous, and capable
of great extension, by hybridization. Some are
highly valuable both for garden and field culture ;
none more so than the following, which afford
ample choice for every appropriate season and
situation'

It is but candid to observe, that the succeeding
remarks apply to the climate of South Britain, a
circumstance which I regret ; nevertheless, the
experienced cultivator in the north will be able to
make the required corrections without difficulty ;
the constitution of the plant is, in fact, so hardy,
that it can adapt itself to almost any degree of
transition ; an assertion which the following
anecdote will tend to establish. Three or four
years since, I raised a few early frame peas in a
hot-house, but the weather was so cold and un-
genial, that I dared not transfer them to the open
soil The plants grew rapidly and became
' drawn :' as an experiment, I cut them over very
low, yet they sprouted vigorously afresh ; and the
season becoming much milder, I one very fine
morning removed them to an open border, with
care not to injure the .roots, also to bring the
earth in close contact with them, raising it in a
sort of ridge against the plants : two or three
inches, however, of the stems remained unpro-
. •*

* It is usual to write the plural of pease ; I object
to this orthography, as I deem the latter word to be
expressive of an " adjective" quality, as pease-
pudding, pease-soup, pease-strav\% and not of
plurality ; " •peas''' surely is correct, pea sing, peas
■plur. not pease. — Towers.

All lexicographers of authority spell the plural of
pea, peas ; and the spelling, pease, is used by them to
denote the kind of seed in contradistinction to other
seeds. Why the distinctive dift'erence is made in
the-orthography the same authorities are silent, but
it certainly exhibits the beautiful variety of our
language. — Editoh.

tected. As evening advanced the temperature
became much lower, and during night was redu-
ced to three or four degress of frost. In the
course of twenty-four hours these peas* were
subjected to a transition amounting to between
thirty and forty degrees, immediately after the
disturbance of their roots.; yet they not only
survived the severe frost, but produced a fair num-
ber of really good pods.

Approved varieties are the Early Frame and Early
Charlton, good bearers, which may be sown in
October, November, and December, in single
rows ; and if the spring be propitious, they will
produce moderate crops towards the close of May
andthe beginniugMof June; height three or four
feet'.

Early White Warwick, the new and most valu-
able pea alluded to in a former article:* it may
likewise be sown in the autumn, and will come
into bearing in a period as, short as the nature of
the season will by possibility permit. It is adapted
also to medium and late crops ; and possesses a
high and j)eculiar flavour. The plants rarely exceed
one yard in height. In the field they, of course,
are never assisted by sticks, and are planted in
rows, about a foot or sixteen inches asunder.

Bishop's Early Divarf, a neat little pea, decorated
with blossoms from the soil to the extreme point
of the stems, which rise little more than a foot
high. The pods are small, and contain but a few
seeds ; the variety indeed is more curious than
useful ; and is not so early as the'* Warwick ; I
have noticed it, because I find that it is a great
favourite with some persons.

Spanish Dwarf grows from eighteen inches, to
two feet high ; is of a close compact habit, pecu-
liarly suitable to dry seasons, and to districts fre-
quently visited by high winds ; it yields well for
its size, and the flavour of the pea is pretty good,
but it is not considered early.

Woodford's Marroto Pea, one of the most estim-
able of the new, or newly named, varieties : height
thirty inches, extremely prolific. ^'Pods of medium
size, seeds large, and full of a high •flavoured, de-
licious pulp ; none can surpass it for general
spring culture, unless it be the

Divarf Blue Imperial. This indeed is surpass-
ingly excellent. I know not its origin, but con-
ceive it to be a hybrid between the Prussian-blue,
and one of the marrow fats. Height three feet,
herbage rich, strong, and of a fine glaucous bluish
tint j. that is, in "situations and soil favourable to
it ; but some complain that it does not'prosper with
them. I believe that it requires a soft, unctuous,
and rather open loam, enriched with black veget-
able earth, and not with common mixed manures.
Season of sowing between February and June.

Prussian-blue. — A hardy and most fruitful va-
riety, suitable to any climate ; to the field as well
as the garden, for the middle crops. The fruit is
a bluish grey when quite ripe, and not so large as
that of the imperial. Of the taller growers, the
marrow-fats and rounceval claim precedence ; but
they are very inconvenient to the grower, and are
liable to injury from high winds. One variety,
however, merits particular notice, because it evinces
the importance of cross impregnation ; I allude
to

Knight's Tall Marroiv-fat, the history of which
may prove interesting to many who are not ac-
quainted with its origin.

Mr. Knight, the President of the London Horti-

Vol. vii. page 84.

94

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

cultural Society, has described his experiments in
the Philosophical Transactions of 1789. Two years
preceding (1787) he had a degenerate sort of pea
growing in his garden which was not restorable
by attention and culture. " Being thus a good
subject of experiment, the male organs of a dozen
of its immature blossoms were destroyed, and the
female organs left entire. When the blossoms
had attained their mature state, the pollen of a
very large and luxuriant pea was introduced into
the one half of them, but not into the other. The
pods of both grew equally, but the seeds of the
half that was unimpregnated withered away, with-
out having augmented beyond the size which they
had attained before the blossoms expanded. The
seeds of the other half were augmented, and ma-
tured as in the ordinary process of impregnation,
and exhibited no perceptible difference from those
of other plants, of the same variety — perhaps be-
cause the external covering of the seed was fur-
nished entirelj' by the female. But when they
were made to vegetate in the succeeding spring,
the effect of the experiment was obvious. The
plants rose with great luxuriance, indicating in
their stem, leaves, and fruit, the influence of this
impregnation ; the seeds produced were of a dark
grey. By impregnating the flowers of this variety
with the pollen of others the colour was again
changed, and new varieties obtained, superior in
every respect to the original on which the experi-
ment was first made, and attaining in some cases
a height of more than twelve feet."

The Sugar Pea is not recommended for the or-
dinary uses of the table, but as forming a most
excellent pickle. Its shell is destitute of that tough
membiane which is found in other peas ; hence
the entire pod is occasionally cooked, and eaten
with melted butter ; it is extremely sweet, and on
this account, as well as for the little resistance its
husk opposes, birds devour the seeds rapaciously.

The foregoing list contains ample materials
wherewith to form a very complete collection of
peas ; small families would require two or three
varieties only, as for example, the white Warwick
for the earliest and latest crops; because it vege-
gates speedily, and is quickly off the ground ; and
the Prussian blue, and Woodford's marrow, for
the main summer crops.

The soil for peas ought to be a mellow, rather
light, and sandy loam, enriched with vegetable
compost, wood-ashes, and perhaps by a sprinkling
of salt. In sowing the seeds, drills should be
traced an inch and a half or two inches deep, and
not less than a yard apart ; they vegetate more
perfectly, and the plants yield a better crop, when
the seed is sown in long single rows ; but space
and situation will not always permit this to be
done : the soil also becomes less contaminated
than when large beds are planted.

'i\\Q.pea affords one of the strongest evidences
of the truth of the " excretory theory ;" for not
only does the root emit a most powerful specific
odour, which fills the soil, but it produces a spe-
cies of mouldy excrescence in great abundance, —
insomuch that, in shallow land, over chalk or
marly loam, the pea refuses to vegetate, or at least
to perfect its growth after three or four reiterated
croppings. 1 have witnessed the entire failure of
pea crops in land so saturated, — and in some dis-
tricts the common people have a local term to ex-
press this specific poisoning of a soil — they say it
is " over pea d."

Not many weeks since, I had an opportunity to
converse with one of the best kitchen gardeners

in the Icingdom, and observing a peculiar mode of
cropping the borders, I made it the subject of mi-
nute inquiry. The permanent crop is the straw-
berry, planted in rows about a yard asunder, and
retained strictly within its limits ; between each
row a crop of earlg peas is succeeded by one of
Cape Broccoli; the ground is manured once a-
year, and is kept in perfect heart and condition by
this rotation. The gardener is a native of Scot-
land, a mau of acute discernment, and who duly
appreciates the facts which come under his obser-
vation. His experience had satisfied him that the
broccoli took up and cleared the land from that
peculiar matter which pervades it, when crop af-
ter crop of ])eas is sown : and hence that broccoli,
and, I may add, the brassico tribe in general, be-
come excellent successions to the pea, and perhaps
to other leguminous vegetables.

Times of Solving. — These must depend upon
climate, and the object of the cultivator. Most
persons affect an early crop of peas, and there are
several methods by which the plants may be for-
warded in their early j)rogress. If the season be
open, and October or November sowing may
succeed perfectly ; and it will not be improper to
try a few drills of frame and Warwick varieties.
The very finest crop of Peas which I saw in the
early part of the present j^ear, was sown in No-
vember 1835, in one long drill, three or four feet
in advance of a high wall, with a south aspect ;
there was scarcely a blank throughout thirty or
more yards ; the plants were closely supported and
protected by small branchy sticks of the spruce
fir ; and where this material is to be had in abund-
ance, its close, well-set and regular spray serves
equally to protect the advancing plants against
the attacks of birds and frost. But peas sown
early in the open ground. prs?ent but a very in-
secure promise of ultimate success : mice, birds,
and insects assault them ; alterations of tempera-
ture, profuse rains, swampy ground, and rigorous
frosts, all combine to thin the plants, if not to de-
stroy them all together. Nothing can be safely
effected till the end of February ; for with the best
winter treatment a very great waste of seed must
be anticipated. The most effectual remedy is
found in a hot-bed frame and lights, simply sup-
ported on four bricks — one at each corner, — and
furnished with a bed of good, light earth, six
inches deep : a bank of coal-ashes might be placed
around the frame, rising almost to the top of it,
and sloping off at a pretty considerable angle.
Seed sown thickly in such a bod, early in February,
would vegetate perfectly ; the lights, covered with
a mat in the event of a severe frosty night, would
afford ample protection, and the plants would rise
slowly, yet securely, without any loss. It is well
known that peas sown in the open ground
become, as before observed, an easy prey to field-
mice and birds ; scarcely one-third of the seed
produces perfect plants ; whereas in a glazed
frame, a quart of seed will yield an abundant crop,
and cause a real saving. One objection, however,
Of some moment, may bo started against the frame
culture of peas ; the plants must be taken up, and
transplanted one by one, and the operation requires
much time and attention. 'i"o obviate this objec-
tion, I would suggest an alteration in the mode of
raising the peas ; for as to the practice of trans-
plantation, Wis owq of real utility, which far from
retarding the growth of the plants, promotes it,
and brings them into bearing at a period compara
tively early. The plan now to be proposed was
first described to me by a young gardener who

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

95

witnessed its success at one of the first gardens in
Nottinghamshire.

A number of grass turfs, three inches thick, and
of the same breadth, must be collected : their
length, individually and collectively, determined
by that of the row or rows of plants intended to
be formed, and the convenience for bestowing the
turfs. If twenty yards ol plants be wanted, as
many turfs may be cut ; and it perhaps is desir-
able to cut them in such short lengths, as they
will be found more manageable than long turfs at
the time of final planting out. Invert each turf,
and with a sharp knife cut a groove along its
centre, about an inch and a half deep. One pint
of " Warwick," " frame," or Charlton peas, will
sow a row of twenty yards, and the same measure
is considered amply sufficient to sow thirty yards
of the imperials or marrow-fats. Drop the seeds
one by one along the groove, to the extent of two
or three in an inch, according to the variety, and
then cover them with fine earth moderately en-
riched with leal-mould, or perfectly decayed man-
nure, filling up the groove, and pressing the earth
firmly upon the seed. Place these planted turfs in
a frame, or upon the floor of a vinery, or other
convenient glazed structure. Air and moderate
moisture must be attended to ; and with these, and
a free exposure to light, the plants will rise freely
and grow rapidly, without danger of being
" drawn" up. If the peas be raised in a warm
vinery, it will be prudent to harden the plants
when grown an inch or two high, by removing the
turfs to a frame, giving air freely in the forenoon
particularly, and closing the lights in the evening,
and whenever the weather is very cold and heavy
rain falls. As soon as the ground becomes
mederately dry,andthewcather appears propitious,
small trenches should be opened rather wider than
the turfs, and an inch deeper, throwing the loose
earth to the north or east side of the trenches.
Drop the turfs into them, regulate them by the
line, press earth close to the edges, and thus a
complete row of peas will be formed at once, with-
out that trouble of arranging and fixing every
individual pea which must attend the practice of
raising the seed in pots and beds of earth.* The
loose earth from the trenches should be placed as
ridges of defence, which will ward off in a degree
the force of cold and piercing winds. Peas so
planted out cannot be too early defended by low
branchy sticks. These are of great benefit to the
plants, which they greatly protect, and, I may say,
excite ; for the pea being a climber, sends out its
tendrils very early, and thus attains that perpen-
dicular growth which nature ordains it to assume.
Without it, the plant can be productive of fruit on
one side only, to say nothing of the injury that it
must receive when its stem lies prostrate on the
cold and damp surface of ground, ahich during
the spring is irequently covered with hoarfrost.

Transplantation, I have said, accelerates the
erop, but it refers chiefly to those sowing which
are forced, or stimulated under glass. After tlie
third week of March the sowings may be made in
the open ground ; and if plenty of garden traps be
set about the beds, and the peas be closely sticked
almost as soon as they rise, or have received their
first owing, they will generally succeed perfectly.

* We dare say this convenient method of trans-
planting peas in rows may not be known to farmers,
and is worth their attention. The process was first
described soms years ago in the Memoirs of the
Caledonian Horticultural, Society.— Editor.

It only remains to observe on the cultivation of
peas generally, that, in order to have a regular
succession during the season, a fresh sowing ought
to be made, as soon as the plants of the one pre-
ceding shall be fairly above the surface of the soil :
this holds good with respect to every variety which
may be selected ; and it there be plenty of space,
an abundant supply may be secured. But the sea-
son will operate much in jjroducing success, or
the contrary ; for if it be dry and parching, peas
do very little good ; and water, unless given pro-
fusely, is applied in vain. It is advisable to pro-
vide against consequences ; and previous to sow-
ing the seed, after the end of April, to drench the
soil completely. In a day or two after this ope-
ration the surface will become sufficiently dry,and
the drill may be formed to receive the seed, which
would not be injured by another watering, betore
the earth is turned upon it. During the summer
months, if rain do not follow speedily, and at
short succeeding intervals, pea sowing is not like-
ly to be successful, unless these copious waterings
be resorted to ; but with ground thus duly pre-
pared, it has been proved that gatherings of the
finest quality have been made during September,
and even to the middle of October. At these pe-
riods, this vegetable is an extreme delicacy ; and
one which cannot be purchased in the market ;*
and, therefore, is worthy of the utmost attention.

The Bean, Vicia Faba, is another member of that
comprehensive natural order, Leguminosce,—and,
as its family name imports, it belongs to the Vetch
tribe. The flowers are papilionaceous ; their co-
lour chiefly white, or white tinted with bluish-
purple ; a black spot is on the wings of most of
the varieties, though one or two are free from it.
The flowers are peculiarly and most gratefully
fragrant : they are succeeded by pods, growing
erect from the stems, and nearly without foot-
stalks. The leaves are not furnished with tendrils.
The plant is supposed to be a native of Egypt, and
to have been introduced by the Romans. The
bean abounds with a farinaceous pulp, and there-
fore is presumed to be highly nutritive. The horse-
bean — a variety termed V. Faba equina — is found
to be excellent food for horses, when blended with
a considerable quantity of bran. A bushel of these
beans are stated to yield about fourteen pounds of
flour more than a bushel of oats. The garden va-
rieties are rather numerous, but three or four of
them are sufficient for any family. Some are es-
teemed for their precocity, others for their ferti-
lity, or excellence of flavour.

The Small Earli/ Mazagan. The seeds may be
sown for the earliest crops in October or Novem-
ber, and thence to the end of January, in a warm
and sheltered situation, open, however, to the sun ;
but as beans transplant very well, it will be a good
plan to select a small spot of ground about six feet
square, and after digging and reducing the earth
quite fine, to open small drills three inches asun-
der, and two inches deep, making them very even
and solid at the bottom. In these the seeds are to
be sown ^rather closely, that is about three inches
apart, and covered with fine soil, which is to be
pressed very firmly upon them. This small plot
can easily be protected, either by a frame and
lights, or by mats laid over hoops, placed arch-
ways over it. I have raised the larger beans in
pots of earth, in the spring, and transplanted them,
when five or six inches high, into drills, with per-

* There are plenty of peas in the vegetable mar-
kets in Scotland in October. — Editor.

96

THE FARMER'S iMAGAZINE.

feet success. Give air freely to covered and pro-
tected beds ; remove the coverings in mild wea-
ther;— in February, or early in March, if it ap-
pear settled ; — transfer the plants to the open
ground, prepared by manuring, digging, and pul-
verising. The drills should be two feet apart, and
be made sufficiently deep to' receive the mass of
roots. The earth is then to be brought into close
contact with the fibres, and raised two inches high
about the stems.

The Long-pod, — The name expresses the ap-
pearance of the pod, which abound? with seeds of
a medium size. It is a sure and prolific bearer,
though not esteemed for its flavour, and is culti-
vated everywhere on account of its hardihood and
fertility ; and as it is suitable to the cottager, by
bringing abundant crops at an early period, the
absence of high flavour is deemed a secondary
consideration. The seeds are sown in rows three
feet asunder ; the beans two or three inches deep,
and four Inches apart. Seed-time extends from
the first week of February to the end of May.

Sandwich is a fine and fertile bean.

The Broad-Windsor, thebest as respects flavour,
but it is rarely prolific ; sometimes the pod con-
tains one seed only, frequently not more than two.

With a view to retain the rich, full flavour of
this fine bean, but to render it prolific, it has oc-
curred to me, that the object might be attained by
hybridizing the two varieties ; and I have this
year attempted an experiment, on a new and rather
large scale, which has yielded me a fair crop of
seed, although the spring and early summer were
droughty to a distressing degree. What the re-
sult may be, another season must determine; and
if it be gratifying, I will not fail to describe my
simple process very particularly.

Soil, and General Culture. — Beans prefer a rather
strong, rich, and moist soil ; but they will do
pretty well in most liitchen-garden mould.

Drill- Solving is the best method : the beans
should be dropt regularly into the drills, at three,
four, or five inches distance apart, according to
the size of the seeds, and ordinary growth of the
plants. The earth should be pressed firmly upon
the beans ; and as the plants advance, they should
be moulded up a little, and the spaces between the
rows kept free from weeds. Sowing after June
must not be expected to produce much of a crop ;
those of February and March, if the season prove
rather showery, always yield the best crops. When
the plants grow large, and the blossoms expand,
it will be prudent to nip off^ the tops, as it will tend
to divert the nutritive fluids into the advancing
pods, and frequently arrest the progress, if not
wholly prevent, the attacks of the black Aphis.
When these baneful insects have obtained com-
plete possession, it will be wise to cut the plants
down to within five or six inches of the soil ; as
then, they may be expected to push two or more
healthy young stems.

The quantity of seed required for a row of
eighty feet of the smaller early varieties, is about
one i)int, according to Abercrombie ; for the main
crops, where the beans are planted further apart,
a somewhat less quantity may be sufficient. The
rule given to regulate the sowing of jJeas for
succession-crops, is applicable to the present
subject.

The vegetables which may be raised from seed,
by sowings performed in January and February
are : — Peas and Beans, as by the foregoing direc-
tions ; Radishes, at different periods ; Lettuce, a
few of the hardy Cos, Dutch and Green Cabbage ;

Cabbages, the young plants of the summer sowing
may be transplanted into open beds, if the work
were omitted in the late autumn ; Onions may
be sown or raised from bulbs ; the latter process
I mean to describe in an early article ; it is very
interesting.

HIGHLAND AND AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND.

The Anniversary Meeting of this National Society
was held on Tuesday, Jan. the 10th at which was a
very full and influential attendance of the Members,
i he Meeting excited more than usual interest among
agriculturists, from the questions raised on the appli-
cation of steam power to tillage, and on a proposal for
an experimental farm, which were to be brought un-
der discussion. The Marquis of Lothian, as Senior
Vice-President in the chair, supported by the Duke
of Buccleuch and Queensberry, the Marquis of
Tweeddale, and the Earl of Rosebery. The Duke
of Sutherland was elected President of the Society,
and thirty-eight noblemen and gentlemen admitted
ordinary Members, and nine English and Irish
noblemen and gentlemen, honorary Members.

The Secretary brought up from the Directors the
following Resolutions in reference to the Society's
Meeting at Perth, which having been read, and se-
riatim put from the Chair, were unanimously adopt-
ed :—

Resolved,

1. That the thanks of the Society be given to the
Most Noble the Marquess of Breadalbane, the offi-
ciating Vice-President at the time, and to the Most
Noble the Marquess of Tweeddale, for their attend-
ance at the late General Sliowof Live Stock at Perth,
and for the energy and zeal displayed by them in
forwarding the objects of the Society upon that
occasion.

2. That the thanks of the Society be given to the
Lords Lieutenant, Vice Lieutenants, and Conveners
of the Counties of Perth, Forfar, Fife, Clakmannan
and Kinross, and to the other Noblemen and Gen-
tlemen of the Committee who officiated at Perth, for
their active co-operation in carrying into effect the
wishes of the Society, and the purposes of the Meet-
ting.

3. That this Resolution be conveyed to the Right
Hon. Lord Kinnaird, Convener of the Local Com-
mittee ; and to John Richardson, Esq., of Pitfour,
Vice Convener, with the expression of tlie obligations
of the Society for their personal exertions, through
which the arrangements of the Meeting were follow-
ed with such complete success.

4. That the thanks of the Society are likewise due,
and are hereby given, to Archibald Turnbull, Esq.,
of Bellwood, for his very active and efficient exer-
tions.

5. That the thanks of the Society be likewise given
to the Right Hon. Lord Viscount Stormont, acting-
Chairman, and to the other Members of the Deputa-
tion of Directors who attended at Perth, for their
zealous exertions in regulating and superintending
the details of the Meeting.

6. That the Society beg- to convey the expression
of thfi high sense it entertains of the important ser-
vices rendered by the Gentlemen who acted as
Judges on thiit occasion,

7. That the particiilar thanks and acknowledgments
of the Society are presented to the Lord Provost and
Magistrates of Perth for theirhospitality and obliging
attention to the comfort and accommodation of the

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

97

Society, and for their ready assistance in all the
arrangements connected with the Show.

8. That the Society feels deeply indebted to Lieut.-
General the Right Hon. Sir Hussey Vivian, G. C.
B. Master-General, and the other Members of the
Board of Ordnance, and begs to tender the Society's
sincere thanks and acknowledgments, to the Master-
General and Board, for the use of the spacious depot
at Perth, for the exhibition in the forenoon, as well
as for the excellent accommodations afforded in the
Barracks for the comfort of the very large party wlio
attended the dinner in the afternoon. The Society's
acknowledgments are also due to Mr. Gillmore, the
officiating officer of the Banack department on the
spot, for tlie ready attention and facilities afforded
by him, in carrying into effect the wishes of the
Board.

9. That the Most Noble the Vice-President in
tlie chair, be requested to transmit a copy of these
Resolutions to the Right Hon. Lord Kinnaird, and
the Right Hon. the Master-General of the Ordnance,
and to convey to them the thanks of the Society ac-
cordingly ; and also to the Lord Provost of Perth.

STEAM PLOUGH.

Mr. Burn Murdoch, of Coldoch resumed the pro-
ceedings already had by the Society, and the Direc-
tors, in regard to the offer of a premium of 500/ for
the first successful application of steam power to
the cultivation of the soil, and as Convener of the
Committee named to adjust the terms and conditions
of the premium, he reported the revised draft for
the consideration of the Societ}'. The Marquis of
Tweeddale moved its adoption; seconded by Pro-
fessor Low,

Mr. Robison considered it objectionable to appro-
priate so large a sum to the proposed object. No
case had been made out to make it necessary, and^no
such stimulus is wanting, seeing the attention of in-
fluential persons is already directed to it. If the
principle is approved of, the reward should be con-
fined to the Gold Medal.

The Duke of Buccleugh approved of tlie offei of
a liberal premium ; if the object is to he obtained,
there must be an inducement offering something like
compensation for the expense of experiments.

Mr. Smith, of Jordanhill, Mr. Lennie, and Mr.
Fergusson, concurred in tliat opinion, and Lord
Tweeddale in reply said, that from the interest felt,
as he knew, in every part of the United Kingdom,
in the Society's proceedings on this subject, and the
cheers of 1150 gentlemen with whom he dined at the
Society's meeting at Perth, also strongly showed it,
deep disappointment would be felt if the Society did
not proceed. The station of the Society, and the po-
sition it holds, entitle the country to expect it from
them. In the result the premium was unanimously
adopted as proposed.

The Society afterwards named a deputation con-
sisting of Lord I'weeddale, Sir John Forbes, Co-
lonel Maclean of Ardgower, Mr. Home Drummond,
Professor Low, and Mr. Burn IMurdoch, accompa-
nied by the Secretary, to proceed to Lancashire, to
see an experiment made with Mr. Heatlicote's steam-
machine for cultivating moss.

EXPERIMENTAL FARM.

Mr. Nairne, of Claremont, rose, pursuant to his
notice, to move the appointment of a committee to
consider of the expediency of the Society establish-
ing an Experimental Farm. Mr. Nairne was heard
at considerable length in support of his motion ; lie
thought such a farm would be attended with many
advantages, and would he an excellent appendage to
the Professorship of Agriculture ; instead of five

hundred acres, perhaps one of one hundred, or of
fifty or sixty acres, might be sufficient in the first
instance.

Professor Low said he could not look to the pro-
ject of forming what is termed an Experimental
Farm, under the auspices of this Society, with any
hope of a favourable result. Experimental farms
had been tried in many countries in Europe ; and
experimental farms had one and all ended in disap-
pointment. Nor could any other result be antici-
pated. Good husbandly does not consist in a set of
experiments, but on the wise application of know-
ledge already acquired. Experiments were the ex-
ception and not the rule of successful tillage, and a
farm conducted on a system of experiments must be
an ill-managed farm. Our true experimental farm,
was the country, and the way to get experiments
performed with effect was to attach our landed gen-
tlemen to thoir country houses, and to make our
tenantry enlightened and prosperous.

The Duke of Buccleuch was opposed to the mea-
sure being attempted by the Society, for the reasons
assigned in the Report two years ago. Proprietors
should undertake such experiments as may be too
expensive for tenants. Lord Tweeddale observed,
with reference to what was said by Mr. Nairne, of
proprietors carrying the premiums at General Shows,
they no doubt did so in the first instance, for males
and females, of superior breeds, brought into the
country at a great expense ; but the tenants gene-
rally carried the other premiums ; and getting the
produce of the Breeding Stock thus introduced,
they, in a few years, beat the landlords in these also.

The feeling of the meeting being against an ex-
perimental farm, Mr. Nairne withdrew his motion.

IMPROVEMENT OF WASTE LAND.

Ttepori of the expense of reclaiming Land on the farm
of Wester Moy, in the parish of Contin and county
of Ross, the property of J. A. Stewart Mackensie, of
Seaforth, Esq., M. P., by Dr. James Wishart,
Dingwall.

These lands in their natural state, consisted of
an almost impenetrable copse of whins and ^
brooms, interspersed with deep gullies and patches
of rock, which could only be reduced by the
application of gunpowder. When properly cleared
and levelled, the whole ground was completely
drained, and afterwards carefully trenched to the
depth of fourteen inches. After these operations,
the whole was limed at the rate of thirty bolls per
acre, and are now subjected to the same rotatiou
of crops as the rest of the farm, and are equally
productive, — all done in the course of three years.
The land has been converted to very productive
soil.
The contents of the reclaimed land are

41 imperial acres, which, for clear-
ing of whins, levelling and removing

rocks, cost 10s per acre £ 20 10 0

Draining and ditching 41 acres, at 2Z

per acre 82 0 0

Trenching 41 acres at 4/. 16s psr acre 196 16 0
Liming 41 acres at the rate of 30 bolls

per acre, amounting to 1230 bolls at

3s per per boll, including cartage

from the port of Dingwall 184 10 0

Total expense, £ 483 16 0

98

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

POOR LAW REPORT— APPENDIX-
EXTRACTS.

J. rHILLIPS KAY, ESQ., M.D. — NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK.
OLD HOUSES OF INDUSTHY IN NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK.

One of the most prominent defects of these establish-
ments consisted in the absence of any efficient classifi-
cation of the inmates. Young- men and women, children
of both sexes, the aged and infirm, and able-bodied
married men and women, were often promiscuously
mingled in the yards and day-rooms, and the means of
classification at night were sometimes inefficient.

The provision for the accommodation of the able-
bodied married paupers at night was not calculated to
improve the moral condition of the inmates. A long-
room was usually divided into small " huts," each
capable of containing one bed. These huts were narrow
enclosures from the area of the room, created by thin
boarded partitions about six feet high, between the top
of which and the ceiling the ventilation of the apart-
ments was not obstructed by any other division. In
such apartments married people have lived thirty or
even forty years ; their children, born to them in the
house, have married, and accepted the same provisions ;
and their grandchildren have been bred within the
walls.

The directors and guardians of the Mitford and
Launditch incorporation appear to have shrunk from
this arrangement, and boldly encountered the expense
of erecting an immense building, divided into houses on
the first and second floors for the accommodation of the
married inmates. The whole structure is substantially
built of brick, the rooms of the paupers' houses are 13
feet high, and arcades, not unlike those of the streets of
Bologna, are erected along the face of the building.
Many of the cottages of the independent labourers in
the neighbourhood are built of mud or lath and plaster.
Wishing to avoid the error of herding the married people
in styes, this incorporation fell into the opposite extreme
of providing better dwellings for the paupers than were
possessed by the majority of the independent labourers
of the district.

Wherever this want of classification prevailed, the
demoralisation of the inmates was inevitable. State-
ments have repeatedly been made to me, showing the
great licentiousness which prevailed in these houses at
an earlier period of the operations of the incorporations,
when the numbers congregated in them were greater.
Though their inmates were less numerous when I visited
Suffolk and Norfolk, the corruption of manners preval-
ent in these establishments was notorious, and is too
evident a result of the arrangements to require illus-
tration.

In most of these houses the paupers were allowed
holidays, when all the inmates departed whither they
pleased. This indulgence was doubtless permitted to
enable the paupers to visit their friends and relatives ;
but the consequences were g-enerally fatal to the
discipline of the establishment, and the morals of
both sexes.

In the Heckingham House of Industry, this day of
sports recurred every week, the inmates being freed from
all restraints on Sunday. The paupers had made abund-
ant provision for the enjoyment of this license ; it was
found profitable to erect two beer-shops in the immediate
neighbourhood, which were usually crowded with pau-
pers on this day. The women had boxes in the neigh-
bouring cottages containing dresses, which, as soon as
they were released they exchanged for the workhouse
garb, and thus attired in a more attractive style, flaunted
about the neighbourhood in company with the young
men ; and Sir Edmund Bacon, whose estate at Baveing-
ham is close to the workhouse, complained to me that
his woods were infested, as though they were the groves,
and the workhouse tlie temple of Isis.

The education provided for the children sent to these
houses was valueless, and the children born and bred
there were idle and profligate. The means of promoting
good niorals were so totally wanting in most of these
establishments, the reward of idleness was so abundant,

the incentives to vice so rife, that an observer might
have been excused the inquiry, whether, on account
of the lack of employment for the governors of county
jails, it had been considered desirable to create semina-
ries for the preparation of victims of the penal code.

REFORM OF THE OLD SYSTEM.

When I arrived at the workhouse at Semer, I found
considerable breaches made in the walls of the main
building, brick floors torn up, fireplaces pulled out,
chimney breasts demolished, door-frames torn away
and burned, and window frames removed and destroyed.
The glass was broken in every direction ; there was
scarcely a whole window in the house. The windows
of the dining-hall were so much broken by the practice
of throwing- stones at the governor as he was passing-
through the hall, that the meals of the inmates could
not be served excepting- by day-light, as no candle
could be kept lighted in the room. The repairs of the
breaches and damages in the house and out-buildings
cannot have cost much less than 3001.

The insubordination of the inmates was so extreme,
that if the governor attempted to correct any disorder,
the whole of the paupers rose in a body to resist his
authority, and more than once violently assaulted him,
tearing his clothes, and subjecting him to gross personal
indignities.

The chief object to which it appeared desirable that
1 should direct my attention, in the first instance, vyas
to provide constant employment for the able-bodied
inmates. The situation of the house afforded abundant
faciHlies for effecting this object, and within three days
of my arrival they were set to work in digging and
harrowing chalk and gravel to level the ground sur-
rounding the workhouse, and afterwards to make new
roads to the house, and other improvements. In the
first fortnight twenty of the inmates left the house. I
was enabled to make the enforcement of this system of
labour the first step towards the introduction of the
Commissioners' rules and regulations within the work-
house, and acting on your recommendation to proceed
g-radually, but firmly, in the establishment of correct
discipline. By close and persevering application to this
object, I was enabled to subdue the refractory spirit
which prevailed, and, step by step, to obtain obedience
to each regulation, to classify the inmates, and to create
a deference to the authority of the master, which now
frees us from all embarrassments. Very few of those
who had, at the period of the formation of the Union,
apparently taken up their permanent abode in the house,
have remained inmates until this period. The aged and
infirm are much pleased with their treatment under the
new management : the classification is a source of
great comfort to the old ; and they often .ay, how easy
and comfortable they are compared with their former
situation. I am convinced it would have been a matter
of extreme difficulty, if not impossible, to bring the
discipline of this workhouse to its present state, un-
assisted by classification. Some of our indulgencies,
previously to the alteration of the discipline, were
curious : the women, on washing days, were allowed
five pints of strong beer each, besides the usual allow-
ance ; on the christening of any child, born in the
house, the paupers were allowed to entertain a party of
friends, and feast them within the walls at the expense
of the incorporation.
As witness my hand this 7th day of June, 1836.

T. Plum.

In the parish of Slildenhall the paupers had face-
tiously formed themselves into two bodies, which they
denominated the House of Commons, and the House of
Lords. The House of Commons was engaged at the
bottom of the pit, loosening tlie hard earth, digging the
gravel, and throwing it up to the Lords, who were
placed above them, and were occupied in sifting the re-
fuse, and throwing what was useful to the top of the
pit. Doubtless these houses of legislature agreed on
many things which conduced to the maintenance of pub-
Uc order and the promotion of the pauper weal.

In a system which offered so large a bounty on fraud,
the paupers were not backward in possessing themselves

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

99

of as large a portion of the poor rate as possible by the
practice of imposture. The plans of deception adopted
were numerous. One of the most common consisted in
the concealment of the sources of income, or of pi'o-
perty possessed by the pauper. The examination of the
applicants for relief in their own cottag'es by the re-
lieving- officers has obstructed many of these sources of
imposition.

From several similar examples I select a catalogfue of
the effects of an old couple who had been for four yea s
dependent on the poor rates of Bury St. Edmunds
(having- received 43 per week during- tliis period), and
which goods were seized by the g'uardians of the Incor-
poration, and sold at the workhouse, in order to reim-
burse them for the cost of maintaining- the paupers.
Tliis sale was not effected without considerable excite-
ment among- some humane persons, who entered with
such warmth into the defence of the paupers ag-ainst the
intended aggression of the g-uardians, as to deny the
existence of tne p'-operty claimed by the Incorporation.
These charitable gentlemen did not anticipate that as far
as tlie paupers were concerned the results of the sale of
their property would be as stated by Mr. Cobbing, viz. —
that he had " obtained for the old coupJ<e 9s per week of
their own money, instead of 4s per week from the parish ;
10/ down in cash, and a comfortable cottage in which to
spend the remainder of their days, in lieu of one of the
most miserable residences that can be well imagined."
Nor do 1 suppose they expected that as far as the in-
terests of the rate payers were concerned, the proceeds
of the sale would be, as published by Mr. Cobbing-, as
follows : —
Sale of two tenements by private tender,

reahzed an allowance, as I am now credibly

informed, equivalent to the sum of £180 0 0

Sale by auction of furniture, &c., by Mr.

Lock 11 6 9

Ditto by Mr. Hunter at the workhouse. .. . 43 0 0

£234 6 9
In addition to which, duplicates for silver at the pawn-
brokers, and the furniture restored to the paupers, are
not included in the amount.

Among the articles seized, Mr. Cobbing particularly
enumerates " six bureaus and chests of drawers. The
old woman had 10 gowns and 12 petticoats, although
she chose to remain tlie picture of misery and want.
She had also 25 pairs of stockings; yet withm a few
weeks they had wickedly received from the Rev. Mr.
Hasted two pairs of stockings, the gift of some charity.
They had 10 Bibles ; two of these Bibles, three Prayer-
books, and one Testament, they had obtained from the
Society for promoting- Christian Knowledge, quite new,
and had apparently never been opened. This shameless
and unprincipled perversion of charitable donations is
only to be paralleled by the case of a man whom I dis-
covered to have 10 charity blankets in pawn at Mr.
Haddock's, although holding a pension of 9s a week,
and at the same time receiving- charitable relief."

I was informed by Mr. Frewer, the vice 'chairman of
the Hoxne Union, that on committing to prison for mis-
demeanour a pauper of one of the parishes (who had
been in receipt of full " scale allowance"), 17 sovereigns
were found sewed in the lining of his waistcoat.

The following is the return of the supplies during
1836 of the markets of Sceaux and Poissy, the principal
markets for the consumption of Paris: — Oxen 124,534,
cows 19,287, calves 110,373, sheep 676,585. The pro-
vinces which have principally furnished this supply are,
Normandy 51,472 oxen, and 44,087 sheep ; Anjou
12,154 oxen, Berri 6,437 oxen and 86,569 sheep, Li-
mousin 13,012 oxen, Poitou 10,425 oxen and 37,828
sheep. Burgundy 4,566 oxen and 21,412 sheep, Sain-
tonge and Ang-oumois 4,802 oxen, Maine 5,583 oxen,
Artois 22,128 sheep, Orleanais 27,292 sheep : Ile-de-
France alone furnished 15,209 cows, 79,120 calves, and
210,019 sheep ; 109,866 sheep hav e been supplied by
foreign countries.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUSSEX
ADVERTISER.

Sir. — Stall feeding has for some years been suc-
ceesfully practised near Harleston, in Norfolk, as
described by an eye witness, as follows : — Stall feed-
ino- has answered so well that he he has doubled his
stock this year, and the l-atter end of August sold 20
heed, on which he had gained ten shillings each per
week since May, and they were attended only by a
woman at 7d a day, a boy of 12 years old to help to
cut their food, which w-as brought to them by another
boy, but the principal advantage arose from the qua-
lity of the manure, which was well trod without
having been washed by the rain. As these forty
heifers are kept in pairs, each pair divided from the
next by two poles, and two poles also towards the
yard ; they are not tied up, but move freely in a
space of nine and a half or ten feet square, and are
perfectly healthy ; their food bins are cleared out
three times a d-ay, and what remains are taken to the
lean stock. Their princip-al food tares, cut grass,
beet leaves, and turnip tops, cut with hay and stiaw.
The expenee of feeding these black cattle in summer
is about 6d a week per head, exclusive of a donkey and
a boy at 18d per week.

These cattle never go into the farm yard, conse-
quently there is no straw laid down, and when it has
by the treading of stock under cover been made into
manure, it is carried out and formed in ridges, like
the roof of a house, not more than three yards wide,
to prevent heating, and to prevent the rain washing
out its nutritious qualities, and after l3inginsuch
heaps three weeks it is fit to spread on the land. The
superior quality of the manure, and much less straw
required, leaves no doubt th-at land tilled under this
system produces double the quantity of manure, as
well as keeping one third more neat stock ; indepcn-
dent of having the p-asture fed by sheep, but to adopt
this plan, cleanliness and capital are essential. But
as the same capital on a third or half the number of
acres returns equal profit, the rent, tithes, rates, and
taxes of the rest may he saved.

A premium of 51 for the pair thus longest stall fed
in Sussex was given at the last Lewes Christm-as
Cattle Show, and 10^ is offered at the next Christmas
Cattle Show, 1836, for the best pair of bullocks not
tied up, and have not been from under shelter for ten
months; also there are many competitors for similar
premiums in Norfolk, and the Earl of Gosford's little
tenants have been raised from their hopeless and
wretched condition, owing to his steward impiirting
to them skill and security .—Skill by the prescribed
plan of stall feeding and rotation of crops as sold at
45 per 100 by Rod well, London, and security from
leases of 21 years at a fair rent, and in consequence
in 1835, a silver cup was given for the first oxen
stall-fed in Sussex, without boiug tied up, or suffered
to leare their shelter faom May to December-, and
another cup value lOl offered at the Lewes Show,
1836.

Those who have marshland will of course allow it
to be pastured, and not compete for the premium
other than during the winter months, but those who
have not marshl-and, may derive as much profit from
it as the account of the great agricultural dinner
shews has been obtained in the north of Ireland, and in
the eleventh edition of the letter of the chairman of
the agriculturul committee of the House of Commons,
to his constituents, 1836, he s-ays, " it will be seen
by an attentive perusal of the evidence given by all
the Scotch witnesses, that they turn their attention
to the breeding, fattening, and general management
of stock, to a much greater extent than is usually

100

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

done by the English farmer, and the productive
powers of the laud are increased by the additional
quantity of manure thus raised ; it suffers less ex-
haustion hy the less frequent recurrence of grain
crops : and to this circumstance their comparative
prosperity may in a great measure be attributed, and
■yvhere the same practice p?'eyaiisi)i England, (as may
be collected from the evidence of Messrs Burnet and
Crovvther) it is attended with a like favourable result,
Signed Charles Shaw Lefevre. " And by those who
subscribe to the half-crown agricultural book clubs,
it may be seen in the Quarterly Journals and Prize
Essays of the Agricultural Society of Scotland for
1836, that " a piece of plate of 10/ is offered for com-
parative experiments on feeding stock inclosehouses,
or open sheds or heramels ; 20/ for the most detailed
and satisfactory account of feeding farm horses on
raw and on prepared food ; and 20/ for the best ac-
count founded on experiment, on the employment of
substances other than the common produce of the
farm in feeding live stock ; " and those English farm-
ers, who like Mr. T. EUman, attended the great agri-
cultural meeting at Perth, on the 7th of November,
can judge of the effects of these premiums in North
Britain, and in the concluding words of Mr. Shaw
Lefevre, as a practical farmer, with every wish for
their prosperity.

I remain, their's most faithfully,
January 13, 1837, J. S.

Balheary Mills, 11th, January, 1837.
(Near Swords.)

Dear Siu, — Knowing the great pleasure you feel
in inserting in the columns of your interesting jour-
nal any improvements in machinery that may im-
prove manntacture, or be of service to 5'our readers,
I beg leave to inform you of a new method of build-
ing French Stones, that I have lately invented, — a
method that from its simplicity and durability will be
speedily adopted. I therefore propose, that a metol
back be cast of an inch in thickness, any diameter
that may be required, with a rim round the skirt,
and another round the eye, 3 inch deep, the rim
round the skirt to have a moulding of an inch square
round the inside of it, which the ends of the Burrs,
are to be fitted about to prevent them from shifting
towards the face of the stones, which frequently oc-
curs in the present mode of building when they are
long in use; al.^o, that 4 screw bolts, be fastened in
the centre (which should be Irish stone of the usual
shape), with lead and with nuts on the outside of the
metal back, which will prevent the centre from ever
loosing; the Burrs to be fitted as usual, and any dif-
ference in size to be substituted by plaster of Paris
between the met d and the Burrs ; also an iron hoop to
be put on each stone. Any further directions would
be useless, as the plan can be so easily conceived.
With regard to the utility it is also quite clear, for in
the lifting and laying down of stones built on the old
plan, the back is subject to many accidents, which
the metal will escape ; and with regard to the dura-
bility, the metal back will last for ages, and of course
wear out several sets of Burrs ; also iron rings can be
fastened in the metal back, to facilitate the lifting,
which can be done with the greatest ease, by the
assistance of pullies.

At my next leisure I shall send a few new inven-
tions regarding milling, which I have brought into
practice with great success.

I remain your obt. servant,

Thos. Byrne, Jmi.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORWICH
MERCURY.

Sir, — In answer to the inquiries of A. B. as to the
rate of agricultural wages, I am happy to inform him,
that in the district I reside in, and with which I have
the means of being extensively acquainted, there is
scarcely an instance in which 10s per week is not paid
for day work to an able-bodied laboarer, and in some
parishes more. As to the case he adverts to, of a man
with five or six children, I should say confidently, that
with a few illiberal exceptions, the general practice is
to put such an one to taskwork at a price which will en-
able him by industrious exertions to maintain his family .
Indeed, Sir, I know of several parties similarly situated,
who are receiving l6s per week on an average, exclu-
sive of their children's earnings, which in many cases
make the total amount 2s or 3s more. Your corres-
pondent asks if there be now a redundancy of labour
in the market. I should say in the aggregate most
certainly not : the fact is, the supposed surplus is so
dispersed that individuals who have hitherto depended
upon the fund in the parish gravel pit to supply them
with occasional hands, are obliged to employ a con-
stant establishment to carry on their business. In
more than one parish with which I am acquainted,
where a large fund was available at pleasure, the
farmers when any job has required a few extra hands,
have lately been obliged to borrow labourers of each
other. In this I most sincerely rejoice, and I do think
the moment is arrived when if kindness and liberality
go hand in hand with the checks imposed upon idleness
and imposition, our valuable race of peasantry may be
reclaimed from the effects of a vicious system, to which
they have fallen victims. The symptoms from which
I draw this conclusion are, that voluntary benefit clubs
are forming among the labourers, as a provision against
sickness and other casualties. Now, Sir, I should say —

" Be to their virtues very kind,
And to their faults a little blind."

Now let it be all wajres between master and man, and
let head money and allowance, as hitherto understood,
be blotted out of our vocabulary.

Yours, obediently,

A TENANT FARMER & A GUARDIAN.

Beet Root Sugar. — The following has just been
published by the Custom House : — " By Trea-
sury letter, dated 21st Decenaber, 1836, it is directed
that immediate measures may be adopted for protecting
the revenue in the manufacture and exportation of beet
root sugar, and that great care may be taken where
sugar is entered for drawback to require the strictest
proof that can be legally called for, that duty has been
paid thereon, and should any cases of just suspicion
arise, from which it might be fairly inferred that the
sugar so produced for drawback is of indigenous pro-
duction, that the attention of the Lords of the Treasury
should be forthwitli called to the subject, with a view to
check such a fraud on the revenue, and to punish the
perpetrators and abettors of it."

TitheCommutation— THE Averages. — Inthereturns
published in conformity with the provisions of the New
Tithe Bill, the average price of wheat per bushel for
the seven years, endingonthe Thui'sdaybeforChristraas
Day, 1835, was stated to be seven shillings and onepenny
farthing ; the Gazette now contains an official notice,
singed by Mr. Jacobs, the Comptroller of corn returns,
stating that it ought to have been seven shillings and a
farthing.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

101

[The following is ;i biicrabslractor a psper
upon tiii.s disease, wiitten Isy the Pie.sident,
Mr. Sewell. The subjoined discussion which
took place in the Veterinary Sledica! Asso-
ciation, will be found to disclose much valu-
able int'orniation, we have thercfoie extracli'd
it at ieoglli from the .Jan;!ary nnuiber of the
Veterinarian. — Ed. F. I\I.]

THE PRESENT EPIDEMIC AMONG
HORSES.

PRESENTED BY THE mCSIDENT.

(From the Veterutariau.)

A disease under tlie name of Influenza, exceed-
ingly prevalent at diiferent time.-, altli:)iig-!i having-
occasionall}' existed from time immHniorinl, vas first
described i>v some Italian pbvsicians. Th y traced
it to atmospheric agencv, but they differed as to the
nature of that agvucv. Thnt disease has been dif-
ferently described bv ditJerent writers in later times.
In truth, it had no fixed clnracter ; but it varied
with the peculiaritis's of the seasons, and with the
want or the defect of veutibiticn, -.ind with various
predisposing causes, arising out of the localitv, and
constitution, and habits of the patient. He, tiiere-
fore, entitled his paper " The present Epidemic,"
because it differed materially from all ihat had hi-
therto been described.

It differed mostly in its mode of attack. Local
circumstances seemed to have little to do with it.
It went through the best regulated and best venti-
lated stable abnost as completely as that which was
most neglected. It attacked the young and the old ;
the stabled horse; and the one at grass, and even the
foal that had not yet been stabled. Its causes were
in the earth, or the atmosphere, or both. It assumed
a more serious form in those that were previously
affected with chronic disease; and no treatment
which the animal was undergoing on account of other
disease would avert its att;ick. It stimulated almost
every disease. It was most prevalent and severe
when the thermometer was at 58 degrees of Fabren-
heit and more. It had hitherto been confined to
the horse.

At its tirst appearance there was a depressed
countenance, rough coat, slightly hurried breathing;
pulse .50 to 60, but sometimes as much as 110 small
and feeble ; frequent inflammation and enlargement
about the pharynx and larynx ; inability to sv.-allow,
the food and water rejected through the nostrils, the
eyelids swollen, much weeping, blindness. The
limbs stiff, tender, oedematous. Sometimes bloody
discharge from the mcuth or no;^triIs ; fevei- ; rapid
prostration of strength, not from visceral inflamma-
tion. Tumouis in various parts ; legs enormously
enlarged.

For such a disease there could be no specific re-
medy. He bled in large or small quantities, accord-
ing to the degree of inflammatiojr and the state of
pulse, and repeated it until the inflammation was
subdued. He inserted setons in the neck and the
chest ; gave from two to four diachms of Cape aloes,
and afterwards slight diuretics composed chiefly of
nitre, and farinaceous and succulent food of various
kinds. He availed himself, if possible, of an open
place, or change of situation, lie gave no medi-
cinal stimulants, for food was the best tonic in such
diseases.

The appearances after death were as different as
could be. Pleurisy and hydrothorax, inflammation
of the stomach and gangrene of the intestines, con-
gestion of the liver, congestion of the vessels of the

brain, effusion on the brain, and t.ometimes (otal ab-
sence of all morbid lesion.

In concli;sion, it appeared sufficiently evident
that stable malaria was not concerned in tbe pro-
duction of this disease, any further than as a predis-
posing cause, or probably aggravating the symptoms
and destructive effects of the malady. In the open,
and, apparently, ihe purest aii-, and which the animal
had breathed for manj' a week or ironth, he was oc-
casionally attacked by influenza. Fed on every pos-
sible siiecies of food, the animal did not jiossess
immunity. We must look, therefore, to the air
which they breathed, and that either being altered in
the ])roportion3 of the gases by which it was com-
posed, or empoisoned by ininsinMta received from the
earth. He Jiad not met with any authentic account
of the existence of ihe former to any considerable
amount, and he was driven to ihe latter. He might
bav9 alluded to the influence of the seasons, of lafe
so uncongenial ; but the epidemic b.ad shewn itself,
in some degree at least, before the unfavourable
weather could have produced any moibific effect.
There was another source whence pes:ilenfial va-
pours might bo derived, and when he thought of the
late frequency of earthquakes in various portions of
the globe (although not destructive in our own coun-
try)^ he could not'help thinking that from the deeper-
seated parts of the earth some vapour had esca[)ed,
not cognizable by our senses, but destructive to lile.
He gave a long and interesting account of many of
these convulsions of nature, and expressed his belief
that they were somewhat concerned with the epide-
mic which had prevailed.

The Secretary having finished the reading of the
paper, Mr. Sewell immediately observed that he
waived every jirivilege which the laws of the Asso-
ciation might give him as a practitioner and as Pre-
sident. Let his paper be treated like that of
one of bis pupils. "Here I am," said he, " and I
am ready to answer to the best of ray power any
question that may be put to me."

iVIr. TuiiNEii inquired whether cases had not oc-
curred in which the disorder was exceedingly intense,
but no vit^il organ participated ■!

Mr. Sewell.- -There were some instances in which
no vital organ participated ; but then there was ge-
neral oedema.

Mr. SiBBALD. — If t^ere was such general disturb-
ance, must it not be considered as a disease of the
nervous system i

Mr. Sewell.— Undoubtedly the great prostration
of strength must be ;tiaced to nervous affection.
There may be apoplexy, or effusion in the spinal
cavity. He had seen serous effusion within tiie spinal
membranes.

Mr. Ti'RNKH.— \Va5 there no cough 2

Mr. Sewell. — Not in many, and rarely violent.

iMr. TuiiMCK. — The disease seemed to be common
to all localities?

Mr. Sewkll. — Yes; many were brought to us who
had been turned out for the season.

-Mr. SiMONDS.— Was not the liver constitutionally
affected at first I

Mr. Sewell.— Karely. There has been occasion-
ally a slight yellow tinge. I, however, differ from
the common opinion here. I do not trace this to bile
thrown into the system, but to its not being reu'Oved
from the system by the secerning power oftbe liver*
In manv, the liver was perfectly .sound ; in others,
congesied. It was a jterfec'tly Protean disease. He
knevv' of but one viscus that had not been affected,
and that was the bladder.

Mr. King, jun.— What was the prevalent cause J
He had many cases, but not one from the fields. The

I

102

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

horses had all been regularly at work, and their sta-
bles were as clean and as well ventilated as possible,
and in good and even elevated situations.

Mr. Sewell. — We had some fouls that hud been
turned out in June and Jul}'.

Mr. Wallis. — Was it consequent on the predis-
position that liad been produced — the artificial state
of the constitution — by over-feeding — or over-work,
or any otber cause ? In many of the cases which he
had seen, the horses had been turned out during the
summer ; therefore it could not result in their over-
work, or over-feeding, or any other cause, predispos-
ing or exciting, connected with the stable. It was
some unknown atmospheric agency-
Mr. SiBBALD. — JMany horses had come under his
care that had been out at grass for months. He had
had very lew hackney-coach or cab-horses, although it
might have been thought, from the manner in which
they were fed and worked, that they would have
been the most of all predisposed to be aifected by
this disease,

Mr. Sewell. — The disease did not seem to spread
in the course of the wind. It prevailed in hot wea-
ther and in cold, but certainly most when the tem-
perature was high. It had appeared in Scotland in
the Spring, and was now raging there again.
There was not a corner in the country in vrhich
it had not prevailed. There are two breweries
in this town, on different sides of the river;
they are managed in tl)e best possible manner;
to the cleanliness and to the ventilation tbere
could not be the sliglitest exception. It broke
out in one of them. It fairly ran through the stables.
Scarcely a horse escaped. In the other brewery not
a horse was affected. Three weeks or a month
passed, and it was all quiet and right at the first
brewery ; when it suddenly broke out in the second,
and it is raging there now. In both, they took the
sick tiom the healthy as soon as they were attacked ;
and the change of situation had the best possible
effect. In the College he gives bis patients everv
possible advantage to be derived from pare air ; but
he does not quite approve of their being altogether
turned out. He has lost only four horses out of
about two hundred. From what he has heard, he
concludes that where the mortality has been consi-
derable, the patients have nearly all died from drastic
purging.

Mr. E. Braby. — In the first stage was any jjarti-
cular organ or membrane affected ? He believed
not. If it was any, it was the conjunctival, or some
portion of the respiratory membranes. Then, what
was the disease at its first stage?

Mr. Sr.wELL. — A constitutional disturbance that
increased the action of the heart, but produced
more general irritability than inflammation, projjerly
speaking.

Mr, E. BnABY. — Then inflnmmation is not a cor-
rect term. It is some mysterious energy, some ex-
treme nervous sensibility : the surfaces are generally
affected — the membianes are diseased ; but it is not
absolute inflammation. 1* is a diseased state which
he hardly knows how to describe ; but it is not pro-
per inflammation. He has examined some horses
in whom no apparent cause of death could be found.
Mr. Seweel. — Did you examine the spinal cord?
Mr. E. Braey. — No ; but I did examine the
brain.

Mr. Field. — The question of Mr. Braby had par-
ticular reference to a stage and period of the disease.
It affects the surface of the body, and a large jiortion
of membrane. You say the serous, the mucous, and
the cellular membranes. With regard to the mucous
and cellular membranes, I agree with you; but not

to any considerable extent as to the serous mem-
branes. It is inflammation of the envelope of the
body — the skin — the whole of its texture— and that
by means of which it is connected with the subjacent
[)arts. It aff'ects also the mucous membranes ; and
there, too, it penetrates to the subjacent tissue. Look-
ing at it in this view, it is essentially erysipelas, and
allied more strictly to this than to any other disease
of the same kind.

With regard to the symptoms, they are of two
kinds, or the disease is two sorts ; spontaneous or
primary, or secondary. Take the secondary, as shew-
ing its nature best. A horse meets with an accident,
or the skin is excited b}' firing, blistering, &c. — there
is a certain degree of inflammation excited. That
inflammation, under certain states of the animal,
spreads and extends itself over the skin — it spreads
deeply, it extends rapidly over the whole limb, and
over different and very distant parts, and a general
irritation is excited. It is inflammation of the skin,
commencing at the situation of the original wound or
injury, but spreading from this, and extending to
other parts, from sympathy and other causes.

The primary disease does not take place in this
manner, because it begins locally. Its first symptoms
indicate a febrile state : they are, loss of appetite,
quickend circulation, depression, local pain, the pain
shifting its seat, as indicated by a shifting of posture
and other circumstances. From all this I infer that
the disease is a species of erysipelas. This also
shews the strict sympathy which exists between the
skin and the mucous membranes. We excite the
disease to a certainty if we excite inflammation of the
skin. Thus, it follows purging, and hence the dan-
ger of purgatives in this disease. Immediately on
the cessation of the working of the physic, the ery-
sipelas appears, or, if previously existing, is strange-
ly aggravated.

If I am right in my view of this disease, there can
be no difficulty in understanding the train of symp-
toms. The skin is highly sensitive ; the skin of the
horse is peculiarly so. If there is so much iiritation
on the skin, v.-ill there not be irritation everywhere?
and must not this be speedily followed i)y prostration
of strength ? It is not at all necessary to look for
organic disease, or to the suspended influence of the
brain, in order to account for the extreme prostration
of strength which attends every case.

With regard to the duration of the disease :■— the
crisis will generally occur about the fourtli or fifth
day, if the animal has not been injudiciously treated,
I. e. if purgatives have not been administered, and he
has not been too largel}^ bled. Until we get the na-
tural serous effusion into the skin : until the skin be-
comes softened, relaxed from the state of tension pro-
duced by the inflammation, we cannot get rid of the
disease.

What are the causes of this disease ? I confess that
I am not satisfied about this matter. I am inclined
to believe that there are some miasma, and atmos-
pheric influence, acting coujointly. The exciting
cause may be wound and irritation ; but I know
not what to say satisfactorily of the predisposing
causes.

I come now to the treatment of the disease. Our
duty consists in placing the skin in an opposite state
or condition. If there is great inflammation and ten-
sion of the skin, and no particular local tumour, how
shall we obtain relaxation of the skin, and thus re-
move the pain? We soak the legs in tepid water —
we use repeated warm fomentations, and thus endea-
vour to restore the obstructed jierspiration ; and in
this state of fever, exposure to the air has a great but
most beneficial influence in abating the pain and re-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

103

ducing the temperature of the skin. Although these
two modes of treatmert appear so different, they effect
the same salutary object.

What shall I say of medical t/eatmeiit? If there
be such an utterprostration of strength, surely I can-
not advocate the cause of bleeding f la the cases in
which I have not bled, my patients have become con-
valescent much sooner than where I have had recourse
to venesection ; and vvhe.ibleeding has been employed
largely from the supposed extremity of suffering,
collapse has taken place about the fourth day, and the
annimal has sunk. As regards other means, the use
of diuretics almost to any extent is allowable.

As regards the stimulating plan, it is decidedly the
best. The nitrous ether is an admirable remedy ; it
is a stimulant and a diaphoretic. We want to excite
again the action of the skin that has been suspended,
and, according to the order of the symptoms and the
nature of the case, warm applications, and cool and
fresh air, and the spirit of nitrous ether, are our best
and most effectual means.

Mr. Sp.^rrow saw a case which was accompanied
by excessive staling of high-coloured urine ; — how
would diuretics suit here ?

Mr. SiMONDS. — Have the early symptoms occasion-
ally been those of spasmodic colic ? or have they su-
pervened in the course of the disease ?

Mr. Field. — There is often a great deal of gastric
irritation.

Mr. Richmond. — May not the disease arise from
obstructed perspiration ?

Mr. Field. — There is always a want of cutaneous
perspiration.

Mr. Cheetham. — The disease seems to arise from
or to be connected v?iih every other, colic, in-
flammation of the lungs, inflammation of the feet.
In every case that he has seen, there has been vari-
ation in the occasional and almost in the primary
symptoms. Colic has frequently been present in the
course of the disease, but he did not have recourse
to physic, for all that. The only admissible medi-
cines are, tincture of opium, the spirit of nitrous ether,
carbonate of ammonia, and nitre. The two first of
these, while they relieve the irritation of the disease,
will relieve the colic too. The disease has found its
way into the extensive brewery of which he has the
medical care. Some cases were lost at first ; but he has
now adopted the full stimulating plan, and he loses no
more ; he has given as much as half a pound each of
the nitrous ether and carbonate of ammonia in the
space of four-and-twenty hours. Wheneffusionisonce
produced, the most important object is accomplished,
and the medical attendant has little to do, except to
keep up the strength of his patient. He has occasion-
ally given as much as half a gallon of porter to a pa-
tient in the course of the day. He does not now
bleed. He did so in one case ; the pulse was full
and strong — the blood was buffy — there was every-
thing to justify the bleeding ; but the horse fell, end
be rose no more. The grand thing is to support the
strength of the animal. This is a fever of a peculiar
nature: the skin is highly diseased — the mucous
membranes of every kind are frequently diseased,
and the intestinal canal does not escape. As soon as
effusion takes place, nature tells us that she has set
up her own method of cure. In some cases he thinks
bad effects have been produced even by rowels and
setons. The cause of the disease is some peculiar
state of the atmosphere, of what kind he knows not.
If the animals have been accustomed to an impure
atmosphere, or in other respects have been misma-
naged, they will be more susceptible of the disease,
and it will appear in an aggravated form. His stables
are exctellently ventilated, and the utmost attention

is paid to cleanliness ; but he one day perceived an
unusual fog in them — he could not get rid of it. Ha
thought of the influenza. " It is surely coming to
us," said he ; and in the course of a few days it did
come.

Mr. Holmes. — So far as he has observed in the
College, or in his practice previously, if the pulse
evidently indicated bleeding, no bad effects had fol-
lowed from the use of it, but quite the contrary. The
pulse has fallen, and the horse has recovered. He
has seen them attacked in the field as well as in the
stable. In some the affaction of the mucous mem-
brane was confined to the eye, or extended slightly to
the mouth.

Mr. Cheetham. — He imagined that, if bleeding-
was ever serviceable, it was when only a small
quantity of blood was abstracted, the loss of which,
relieving the distended vessels, acted as a stimulus.
Horses at grass are attacked by this epidemic ; hut
they have the disease much more lightly than in the
confined stables of London. He now sends his five
miles away, and the symptoms immediately abate;
and the horse that, before, could scarcely move, is
soon running about and kicking.

Mr. Holmes. — There have been nearly two hun-
dred horses with this disease in the College, and the
greater part of tlieni have been bled. Two only have
been lost that have fairly undergone treatment here ;
the other two were destroyed by previous bad treat-
ment.

Mr. Carlisle- — Has practised five years in Cum-
berland. He has seen the disease, both in the stable
and the field. He always bled, and sometimes free-
ly. The horse always appeared to be relieved, and
he never experienced the collapse that has been de-
scribed.

Mr. Spooner. — It seemed to be acknowledged on
all hands that this was an epizootic disease. All
horses were liable to its attack, but some were more
predisposed to receive it than others. It attacked
them even in the open field ; but it was most preva-
lent and most dangerous in stables, and where the
horses were most highly fed. He agreed as to the two
distinct characters of the disease, symptomatic and
idiopathic. He looked upon it as decidedly an in-
tegumental disease ; but he could not view it as bear-
ing so completely the character of erysipelas. It was
more governable, and it was more local ; and the
cases in which it arises from external wound or in-
flammation are few compared with those in which it
must be traced to this obscure atmospheric influence.
He agreed with Mr. Field, that the skin was in a state
of extreme inflammation, and that the capillaries were
gorged, and could no longer perform their natural
functions. The mucous-membrane likewise partici-
pated ; but the sensorial organic system must be
previously affected, or soon implicated, in order to
account for the violence of the symptoms. If the
pulse was firm, or if it indicated great irritabilitv,
surely bleeding, cautiously applied, could not be in-
jurious : he never found it so. The pulse alone
would decide whether it was or was not warrantable.
As to purgatives he was of the same opinion as Mr.
Field. Where they are given, nine times out of ten
the animal will sink. Tiiey should he avoided, and,
generally speaking, all depletive measures. He was
surprised to hear Mr. Cheetham say tliat he should
be cautious how he gave anything to lower the sys-
tem, and afterwards acknowledge that he gave such
immense doses of nitre. Where but little medicine
has been given, and the patient lias been turned into
a loose and open box, he has usually done well ; and
with regard to bleeding he must acknowledge that,
where he did bleed, his patients were longer in get-

I 2

104

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

ting- well than some others were from wliora he had
not abstracted any blood.

Mr. Cheetham — 15y means of all the doses of
nitre which he had given, he had never increased the
discharge of urine beyond what he wished ; and
where he has given it, there has been, and it is of fre-
quent occurrence in this complaint, a tendency to
suppression of urine. He considers it to be a dis-
ease of the capillary vessels, and, if you dispose of
the effused fluid through the medium of the kidneys,
you contribute to and hasten the cure.

Mr. Spooner had no doubt of the accuracy of Mr.
Cheetham's statements, but lie only argued on the
broad principle of the tiling. He was afiaid of the
debilitating effect of too great urinary discharge.
There was another point that he wished to mention :
Inflammation of the vein — integumental inflammation
— had it not been far more frequent since the aji-
pearance of this disease? iMore horses than usual
had been sent to tlie College with phlebitis.

Mr. Field. — In his experience, tliei e had been very
few inflamed veins, becausej there had been very
little bleeding. Even pneumonia had frequently been
treated without any bleeding at all. The disease re-
quired a modified antijihilogistic treatment at the
commencement, and, where there was no prostration
of strength,, he might be induced tota'.ea little blood
from the eye-vein, but always cautiously, and re-
garding with terror the collapse that might follow.

jMr. Braby. — All depends upon the indication of
the pulse, and the kind of horse : more blood, and
with less danger, can be taken from a light than from
a heavy horse. He has thought that the danger of
purgation depended on the nature of the drug tliat
was used. He regarded aloes as a very dangerous
purgative in this case. Even three drachms of
aloes (equal parts of Cape and Barbadoes) destroyed
a horse.

Mr. Wallis has seen between three hundred and
four hundred cases of this epidemic. He has al-
most invaiiiibly taken blood in the early stage of the
diease. H'the pulse ranged from 60 to 80, and was full,
he always thought that he was justified in bleeding.
In some instances he haa taken from 8 to 16 pounds.
When the disease is fully developed, he can imagine
that bleeding may be unsafe, but not in the early
stage. He has been fortunate in his practice, for he
has not lost a single case. Ileahvaj^s found the mu-
cous membrane of the bowels very susceptible, yet
he gives a small quantity of aloes. He knew one
horse that died from four drachms of aloes, and an-
other from three drachms ; and he believes that su-
perpurgatiou is the most frequent termination of the
disease. — (Conclusion of first days discussion.)

The debate on "the present Epidemic" resumed.

Mr. Turner first addressed the president, in
nearly the following words: — "You, sir, have fa-
voured the association with an elaborate and beau-
tiful description of the influenza which has prevailed
amongst horses over the whole face of the kingdom,
during the last five or six months. Your classifica-
tion with regard to the textures of the body which
have been tlie princi]Kil seats of the malady, is, in
my opinion correct— they are the cellular mucous
and serous membranes. W'ithregard to the cellular tis-
sue, no difference of opinion seems to exist, especially
with reference to the loose cellular membrane. With
regard to the affection of the mucous membranes,
particularly the lining of the larvnx, trachea, and
bronchial tubes, I beg to sav, that' I think due stress
has not been laid on them in this discussion ; for so
intense has been theinflamation ofthem in some cases
that I have seen the lining membrane ot the respira-

tory passages throughout cxliibit a grass-green hue,
although no other part of the body has shewn any
gangrenous appearance whatever ; in other cases,
suffocation has been the immediate cause of death.
In each of these forms of the disease I have found
the trachea, as high up as the larynx, choked with a
frothy fluid.

I hope that I may be permitted particularly to di-
rect the attention of the Association to the existence
of this adventitious fluid, partially obstructing the
only known channel tlirough which the breath of life
can pass. I attach the more importance to this di-
vision of the malady, because it is the ke}' which
chiefly unfolds the mysteiT of the extreme debility
attendant on the very commencement of some of the
cases, without referring to the sensorium as being
involved in the attack, and of the absolute existence
of which we have no positive jiroof.

Mr. Field denies, or appears to doubt, that the se-
rous membranes are affected ; but some eminent
practitioners, both in town and in the cavalry, have
related to me cases in which gallons of water have
been found in the chest, in cases of pure influenza,

In the course of my experience in town and in the
country, in the army and in private practice, I never
remember an}' epidemic so distinctly marked, and so
uniform in its symptoms ; and although fatal cases
have occurred, I consider that for the most part, it
has been a manageable complaint.

The pith of the discussion upon this interesting
subject appears principally to turn on the propriety
of bloodletting. That ordinary purgatives have often
proved a certain poison in this malady, is a fact well
understood by the enlightened part of the profession :
but that we should have had a bone to pick with each
other on the propriety of copious bloodletting at the
commencement of the disorder is a startling fact ; it
does not, however, deter me frcra openly avowing,
that I have almost invariably commenced my treat-
ment with a copious bloodletting; indeed, I have
seldom stopped there, but have repeated the bleed-
ing on the following day, when I was satisfied that I
had been called in at the commencement of the com-
plaint. I have regarded it as a highly inflammatory
and continue so to do ; although its chief feature,
and the most perplexing s3'mptom, is a prostration
of strength, so early in some cases, that the malady
seems to be almost ushered in by glaring debility ;
hence the dread of bloodletting by Mr. Field and
other eminent practitioners, and the idea of husband-
ing the resources of the animal.

This :s the influenza in its most insidious and dan-
gerous form ; not when there are huge swellings of
the limbs — for the mischief is then confined to the
cellular tissue alone— but when there is a creeping
and spreading inflammation of the larynx and trachea,
and extending along the principal bronchial tubes,
and without the substance of the lungs being suflSci-
ently affected to indicate the mischief and the danger
by laborious breathing ; and yet, if it is not arrested
sufficiently early by bloodletting, it will terminate by
an effusion of frothy mucus into the principal air-
tubes, and death will ensue, an 1 sometimes suddenly
with gross horses.

By way of testing the feelings of practitioners in
this conflict of opinions as to the application of blood-
letting, I will suppose a case, and a home one, too.
The veterinarian is roused early in the morning by his
groom's tap at the door. " Master, your own riding-
horse is so ill I can hardly get him out of the stable.
His eyes run of water, and the lids are so swelled,
tfiat they seem to be turned inside out. He won't
take a mouthful of food ; his tongue is parched ; all
his limbs are set, and when he moves he is as weak

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

105

as water." The vet''s firm impression is, that, al-
though his house is not on fire his horse is, and "how
suddenly too !'' he continues, as he communes with
himself, "so gallantly as lie carried me twenty miles
yesterday or the day before, and looking in the highest
condition :" I now ask, despite of theory, if the vet.
could any more refrain from opening his favourite
horse's jugular than he could resist sending for the
fire- engines in the other case?

Although, Mr. President, we so well agree in a-
voiding purgatives, I felt alarmed at the two and
four-drachm doses of aloes you liave prescribed. I
have studiously avoided administering a single grain
of aloes ; nevertheless, I have not been unmindful of
keeping the faeces constantly in a soluble state.

1 may be reminded presently by some of the ex-
perienced band I see around me, that our patient is not
always in a state in which any satisfactory quantity
of blood can be obtained, hovve\ er well the vein maybe
opened. To meet this difficulty, I have only of late
availed myself of a resource which I deem highly im-
portant to be communicated to this society. It is
the application of one or a couple of sheepskins, reek-
ing-hot from the slaughter-house, to the loins and
abdomen of the patient. No costly vapour-bath in
which you might place the entire animal could equal
in efficacy this expedient. I have seen this, again
and again, possessing the power of equalizing the
circulation, and enabling us to bleed our patients,
and save them from destruction. There are peculiar
states of the system during the progress of some pul-
monary attacks, in which this would prove an impor-
tant auxiliary in practice.

In the treatment of these cases, I would also avail
myself of countei -irritation to the throat and the
windpipe, and occasional scarifications of the en-
gorged limbs. In other respects, my practice would
not materially differ from that which you have
described.

Mr. Youatt.— While I am permitted to discharge,
as I hope I shall long and faithfully, the duties of
reporter of the discussions of our excellent Associa-
tion, it will be impossible for me to mingle much in
your debates ; for I shall be too much occupied in re-
cording words, to follow, much less justly appreciate,
the train of reasoning. Let this be my apology for
frequent or habitual silence. I avail myself, how-
ever, of the opportunity of rising thus early in the
debate of to-night. You, sir, have wiih much pro-
priety limited our discussion to " the present Epi-
demic," thereby avoiding a great deal of loose and
general, and comparatively useless, observation on
the cause and nature and treatment of epidemics
generally. They are all, however, of a kindred
type, and by nothing more clearly marked than by
that which has been the prevailing or characteristic
feature of the present disease, namely, early and utter
prostration of strength.

A horse shall to-day be apparently well : in the
graphic language of my friend Mr. Turner, he car-
ries us " gallantly our tv/enty miles and more, and is
in prime and tip-top condition." T>morrow he
hangs his head, his eyes are closed, the eyelids are
swollen, the membrane of the nose is intensely red,
or there are ominous shades of livid purple stealing
over certain portions of it : the pulse — what shall I
say of it 1 uniformly increased, 40, 60, perchance
lOO ; and its character 1 full and bounding, small
and wiry, oppressed, or that may be annihilated by
the slightest pressure — any one of these, according
to the progress of the disease, or all of them in the
course of a few houi s. Generally a slight cough, and,
nearly always, enlargements of the parotid glands
and under ithe jaw, an'l about the throat, and over

the whole of the head, — a decided affection of the
mucous surfaces of the upper portion of the respira-
tory and digestive passages. I fully subscribe to
the doctrine of Mr. Turner here. It is decidedly
inflammation of the mucous suifVices ; and the neigh-
bourino- parts either parlicipate in the inflammatory
action, and share in the inflammatory engorgement,
or in the rapid exhaustion of the vital power, and
are the habitation of seious effusions. This is es-
sentially the primary character ; lor if proper means
are neglected, or improper ones adopted, the disease
spreads through the respiratory or the digestive f as-
sages, and the horse dies of bronchial affection or
effusion, or of superpurgation.

But other membranes frequently and rapidly in-
volved— the cellular membrane generally — not the
mere integuinental or the subcutaneous — but the
more deeply-seated — the external fasciae of the
muscles, the more internal ones — the fascial of the
very fibres of which the muscles are composed, and
thus, in some measure accounting for many of the
symptoms — the loss of power in the muscle no
longer closely compressed by its natural, essential en-
velope— the livid appearance of the muscular appa-
ratus on dissection, and also the effusion in various
parts, and particularly in the hinder extremities,
where the circulation is naturally weak, and where
it readily acquires a morbid character — the whole
tissue being weakened, the orifices of the capillaries
deprived of their natural energy and constriction,
and every ])art of the body infiltrated by a serous
effusion. I see not here, as some of our friends
imagine, a sanative process— a step towards conva-
lescence— but the natural process and effect of mor-
bid capillary action ; the affected parts, liowever,
not having undergone a disorganization that is reme-
diless, but, this mischief having been effected, these
parts are left to the sanitary resources of nature and
of art.

ftly friend, Mr. Field, of whose extensive expe-
rience I am fully aware, and whose general medical
tact and sound views of physiology and the treatment
of disease no one can admire more than I do, thinks
that " the present Epidemic" is a true erysipelas-
I confebS that I cannot agree to this ; for I have the
prostration of strength — the exhaustion — which
he accounts for as a natural and inevitable conse-
quence of this extensive inflammation actually
existing before the inflammation itself. One of the
very first symptoms of "the present Epidemic" is
weakness, indicated by a greater or less but a de-
cided staggering behind. I have not the burning
heat, which must be felt in order to be properly con-
ceived of, that charactevizes erysipelas ; and one
thing is clear as the sun at noon-day, that were I to
treat this as an erysipelatous complaint, I should
inevitably destroy my patient.

It is primarily a disease of the mucous surfaces,
but speedily involving the serous ones, and the cel-
lular texture, wliich is the basis of both. We can
readily account for the tenderness on pressure, the
tenderness on moving, the engorgements everywhere,
and particularly where the debility of the capillary
vessels and their membranes would be first and
mostly seen, the rapid and the general waste of
strength ; and we can form a shrewd guess at the
course of treatment that should be pursued.

The mucoua surfaces and the reticular tissue, and
the vessels which belong to them, are supplied di-
rectly by influence derived from the organic system
of nerves; and are only indirectly, and to a slight
degree, under cerebral" influence ; we should, there-
fore, naturally expect, that the symptoms would be
of the nature, and follow in the order in which they

106

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

present themselves. We slioulcl expect essential
change in the secretions — rapid exhaustion of vital
power, and "^et a tendency to a general return to a
state of convalescence, either from the unassisted
resources of nature, or the adoption of that mode cf
treatment wjiich is evidi-nily indicated.

As to the cause of" the jireseut Ej)idemiG," I s, e
but little good iljat can result from j)uzzliiig ourselves
much about it. Atniospiieric influence ! it is a vast,
a noble field for future research ; it will immortalize
him who traverses successfully all its putlis : but at
present it is an undiscovered country, in which we
should be cautious not to bewilder ourselves. Atmos-
pheric influence ! it is plainly connected with — it is
the main agent in the rise and progress of this
disease. The horse, in every possible situation, has
been attacked by it. He has suffered less when he
had not been predisposed and debilitated by bad
stable management, and the miasmata of bad ven-
tilation ; but he came from the field as well as from
the stable, and from a state of high condition almost
as often as from the abodes of cruelty, tilth, and
want. But what is this atmospheric influence? We
can understand how a low degree of temperature
should be productive of acute inflammatory com-
complaints — how an elevated one should very mate-
rially assist the production of gastric and biliarv
disease — how the mingled influence of warmth and
of wet shoulJ produce a thousand poisonous miasms
of animal or vegetable origin — how different degrees
of electric i'lfluence, or different degrees of dryness
or moisture in the atmosphere, by condensing or
dissipating the electric fluid — by being a conductor
or a non-conductor of it — shall brace or debilitate
the system of voluntary action, and even affect that
of involuntary or organic power, although nature
has wisely and kindly removed, in a great degree,
the principle of life from its sway : we can fancy,
we can guess at something about this ; but we have
no strict knowledge with respect to it. We see that
it influences the character and the very essence of
various diseases, distemper, pneumonia, catarrhal
disease, perhaps rabies itself; but we know nothing
of the modus operandi. This is a subject worthy of
the devotion of a whole life ; but it is unsatisfactor3',
and somewhat out of place here. I freely confess,
that I cannot bring myself to agree with the opinion
of our worthy President, that it is to be traced to
some strange convulsion of nature — some extraor-
dinary extrication of mepbitic vapours from the
bowels of the earth in one of those earthquakes that
have lately occurred with unusual frequency. The
horse alone has been the victim here ; but millions
of horses and cattle and sheep, and of human beings
too, have been swept away by epidemics that have
not been preceded or accompanied by any of these
terrestrial commotions.

And now for the most important division of our
subject, the trentment of " the present Epidemic."
Its principal characteristic is rapid prostration of
strength ; but what is the universal precursor of this?
— a state of febrile excitement, quickly indeed
passing awaj^, but distinctly recognizable in the early
stage of the disease, the medical attendant being on
the alert. And have we not here the liot mouth, and
the intensely red Scbneiderian membrane, and the
heaving flank, and the bounding and rapid pulse.
We have all of us seen these at times — we might have
uniformly seen them had we been called in at the
commencement of the disease, or could we have di-
vested ourselves of our preconceived prejudices.
But succeeded, as this stage is, and so quickly, by
fearful debility, shall we increase that by the ab-
straction of blood ] No ; but by breaking this de-

structive chain of diseased action, — by quenching
the Are before it has exhausted itself, we ma/ pre-
serve the most valuable part of the building from
being attacked. Is tliere real danger of hastening
or increasing the debility "! No ; not the least. Mr.
Braby took the bull by the horns when lie told us
thiit the bleeding and tlie extent of the bleeding, de-
pended on the stage of the disease, and the character
of tlie animal. If we will bleed ourselves, and will lay
aside all our foolish rules about certain quantities of
blood to be abstracted ; if we will place our finger on
the nrter)', and suffer the blood to flow until the fe-
brile character of the jjulse begins to change — until
the first falter is perceived — we maybe perfectly as-
sured that we never shall or can do harm, but shall
save much expenditure of vital power, and much
consetjuent exhaustion.

Purging ! one portion of the mucous membranes
being involved, there is such general and dangerous
sympathy established , that it behoves the practitioner
to be on his guard ; yet in a case of evident and vio-
lent febrile affection, he cannot permit the bowels to
remain in a constipated state. With the fever me-
dicine—digitalis, nitre, and antimonial powder —
which the state of fever indicates. 1 have been ac-
customed to combine a drachm dose of aloes. I do
not know why, if a purgative i.s indicated, there
should be objection to aloes. Each alternate ball has
contained this quantity until the fajces have become
somewhat pultaceous, The purpose has usually been
effected by the third dose, sometimes to a little
greater extent than was wished ; but there has been
no unmanageable super-purgation.

The febrile stage having passed, I confess that I
have never ranked among those who leave the rein-
vigorating of the system to the influence of nature,
assisted only by moderately nutritious food. The
constitution has received too severe a shock to lally
without some other means and appliances. I ac-
knowledge the spirit of nitrous ether to be an excel-
lent tonic in those cases. Of the effect of the carbo-
nate of ammonia I am ignorant. Of opium I should
more than doubt the beneficial influence. Nitre I
should retain as a useful diuretic, especially when
guarded by combination with tonics ; but I confess
that I was perfectly astounded when 1 heard my
friend Cheetham say that he was accustomed to give
eight ounces of the spirit of nitrous ether, and the
same quantity of the carbonate of ammonia, and six
ounces of nitre, and occasionally half a gallon of por-
ter, in the course of four-and-twenty hours. Surely,
thought I, there must be something different from
tlie common make in the horses that could bear up a-
gainst stimuli like these — were none of them lost 1
Were the stomachs of those that were lost exa-
mined"!

I have given the spirit of nitrous ether in doses of
an ounce — I have ventured on one ounce and a half;
beyond this I have not dared to go; and combined
with nitre if the legs are much engorged, and with
gentian and ginger in almost every case, it has rarely
failed of producing manifest good effect.

The food should be carefully increased in nutritive
quality, as tlie real subsidence of the fever and the
general state of the horse will bear. In the early period
of the disease counter-irritants will be indicated ia
the form of blisters and setons : and in cases of great
and obstinate engorgement of the legs, the scarifica-
tions of Mr. Turner are valuable.

I shall not, sir, often intrude on you, and I solicit
your pardon for detaining you so much longer than I
had intended.

(To be concluded in our next.)

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

io:

ON THE RELATIVE ADVANTAGES
OF THE DRILL OR BROADCAST
SYSTEMS.

FROM COL. LE COUTEUR's WORK ON THE VARITIES,
PROPERTIES, AND CLASSIFICATION OF WHEAT.

IMuch has been wiitteii on this subject which
still appears debateable. My own observations
leads me to believe, that it rests mainly on the
knowledge, skill, and long practice of the farmer.
If a skilful and intelligent farmer, has for a long
series of years, hoed, manured, and treated his
land, so as to have eradicated all the seed weeds
from it, and it remains in so clean a state, that
nothing but the intended crop will germinate ;
then indeed I should say the broadcast system
would aflbrd the greatest produce. But if the
case be with most farmers, as my own, that the
land to be cultivated, is loaded with the seeds ol
many descri[)tions of noxious weeds, then I con-
tend, the drill, or partly fallowing process, is that
which is alone likely, to enable the farmer to
obtain a compensating return from his crops. I
have observed a field of wheat sown broadcast in
very good i-ich soil, so completely overrun with
■weeds, that at the very lowest computation, two-
thirds of it was lost. In every case where the
ordinary means are adopted, whether the exjien-
sive process of hand weeding, or the much less
costly mode of hoeing broadcast, it is attended
with manifest risk if not most carefully and atten-
tively performed, as any of the young tillers that
may be brawn or cut, will reproduce fresh ones,
the ears from which, ripen a fortnight or more,
later than those which were uninjured ; and
the crop from sut^h a mode of culture, can
never be in the most fit state of ripeness for
harvesting.

By the drill process, just before, or about the
period, that the wheat is forming its coronal roots,
which, from wheat sown on the 18th January, I
found, as may be seen by the plate, to be on the
17th of April, there is ample time to have it,
lightly but carefully hoed, so that the weeds may
be completely destroyed, and the coronal roots
find a well stirred soil to work in ; moreover the
plants, being in a free atmosphere between the
drills so cleaned, which the weeds previously
to their destruction, breathed in common with
them, have the whole benefit of the soil.

Those who desire to sow clover and rye grass,
in the Spring, will find it to be good practice, to
sow them a day or two before the first hoeing is
given, as the same stroke which destroys the
weeds, mixes the grass seeds with the soil, which
then take possession of it sooner than a second
crop of weeds ; but this mode which I have found
successful, in regard to the future hay crop, is,
I consider, at the cost cf several bushels per acre
on the wheat crop.

My own practice is to put my seed wheat into
fresh water, two or three bushels at a time, then
stir it, till all the light, injured, or sickly grains,
are floated, or ski.:,medoff; thegrain thus cleaned
is put to soak twelve hours in brine, made strong
enough to float a potatoe ; it is then put to drain,
and is well dried with air slacked lime — no smutty
ears appear after srich treatment. The land is pre-
pared by two or three ploughings, and a dressing
of lime, ashes, or some suitable manure, according
to the change required in the food of the seed.
The wheat is then sown with a five row drill
machine, one of very eflicient and simple con-

struction, made by Snovvden, of Oxford Street, in
drills seven inches apart, at the rate of two, to two
and a half bushels the acre, alter potatoes, or
parsnips.

One careful hoeing in April or May, is then
sufticient to enable th« wheat to get "the upper
hand of its enemies the weeds, for which ])urpose
I use a hoe of my own invention, with a very
narrow steel blade, not wider than a table knife,
with a stout blunt back, and a very sharp edge,
the sides being rounded ofi^ like some cavalry
stirrups I ha\-e seen. The workmiui is thus
enabled to place the back of the hoe against the
very roots or tillers of the wheat, and thus scoop
out any weed from them. In hoeing straight along
the drills, the work is performed very speedily, as
the round prejecting sides of the hoe guide the
labourer, and prevent his cutting the plants, the
blade being so narrow prevents any accumulation
of earth on the hoe, v. hich glides or cuts through
the dry surface with great ease, and scarcely any
resistance to the person using it. AV'omen or even
children can handle it with facility. My gardener
has adopted it for all his drilled crops, finding it a
safe, commodious, and very powerful instrument.
The clover and grasses are sown immediately after
the crop has been harvested, which has been found
to answer remarkably well, though at the expense
of one additional ploughing, a practice I have
adopted, haying observed it to be corroborative of
l\Ir. Sinclair's experiments, who states in the
" Hortus Gramineus Woburnensis," Page 248, " I
have sown the seeds of the same grasses in every
month of the year, January excepted ; and though
much depends on the weather and state of the
ground, the results were always in favour of the
month of September, and the beginning of August ;
and the next to that, the middle or latter end of
May according as the weather was dry."

This principle is obviously in accordance with
common sense, for in the first place — the wheat
crop receives the whole benefit of the manure
which was intended for it, without being deprived
of any part of it by the grasses, the land also is as
it were, partially fallowed by the hoeing, in the
space between the drills, and is thus cleared and
prepared for the grasses, at the most propitious
season of the year, according to the high authority
just quoted— while the stubble that is lightly
turned in, is itself a manure for them, and keeps
the soil open and light, in a proper state for the
young seedlings.

Fallowing for a whole season is altogether too
expensive a mode to be adopted by those who pay
a high rent for their land, as paring and burning,
and the drill system, or a sort of half fallow will
answer the purpose equally well. From land
in a very bad state infested with couch grass in
1832, by means of paring and burning, previous
to taking a crop of potatoes, which produce thirty
four thousand eight hundred pounds of saleable
potatoes the acre, and with an after dressing of
forty bushels to the acre, of kelp or sea weed
ashes, I raised forty bushels of fine wheat to the
acre. One season I raised fifty five, and last
season fifty one bushels to the acre ; this year I
hope to have reaped as much with drill husbandry
though on land in a very bad state, which had
been much neglected.

These are not mere assertions without proof, as
a reference to my com and millers book, would
furnish all the details.

It may be seen what a perch of ground might be
made to produce, by multiplying the nineteen

108

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

rows exhibited in the tables, by the prodice of
No. 8 Koeleri ; which would give eighty pounds
weight to the ])eiTh, or iiinotj' hii^Iiels to the ncre.
Now, extraordinary as this may appear, I have no
dnul)t that land, in a jierfect state of tiltli, and with
seed suited to the soil and climate, may hereafter
he made to bear that qnantitj'.

RURAL POLICE.

AN ORGANIZKD RURAL POLICE IfirSKS TH K PRESENT
C'0UNTK\' CONSTABULARV FORCE — THE EFFI-
CIENCY OF TTTE ONE, AND THE INEFFICIENCY OF
THE OTHER.

Mr. Editor. — At a time when tlie combined
energies of that jjowerfnl organ, tlie press — Con-
servative, Ultra-\Vhig-, and Radical— are being di-
rected, with a force conunensnrate only witli tlieir
])ower, against a measure as yet in end)ryo ; a
measure which his Majesty's JVlinisters, it is un-
derstood, will lay before the Legislatnrc early in
the ensning session, and which will have for its
object the establishment of a police force through-
out the rural districts of England — allow me to
place before your readers a few plain observations,
bearing, as I consider, materially upon tlie sub-
ject. The motives to be answered by their ap-
pearance are, I must observe, neither ambition,
gain, the desire of seeing oneself in print, nor tlie
fleeting hope of a personal aggrandisement, but a
rightly-guided impulse— the welfare of the nation
at large.

Divested as ought the subject to be of anytliing
like party sinrit, our friends— or the " best i)Os-
sible instructors" — seem to think otherwise, and
would view the embryo measure as one of purely
Whig origin and design, sanctioned only by Whigs,
tlieir supporters, and their satellites. These gen-
tlemen, I dare say, will not be slow to discern
the guise under wliicli I apiiear, and in that seek
to affix other than a laudable motive to my design.
With all possible deference to them in this resjicct,
I must, then, admit what I am — What .' A Con-
servative !

Tlie county of Chester, from time immemorial,
has been strongly marked for its constitutional
feeling; this feeling, I am proud to say, not only
has existed, but yet exists, amongst the chief body
of its magistracy; and, to their credit be it spoken,
one of the most beneficial Acts of Parliament
which the inliabitants of the county have had be-
stovv-ed ni)On them is an Act passed, I lielieve, in
1827 ; mainly, mark you, through the influence of
tJiat magistracy, and called the Cheshire Consta-
bulary Act.

Of this Act it is now my province to speak.

In 1826 the county of Chester was so much in-
fested with robberies and breaches of the peace of
every description, that the magistracy, at their
quarter sessions, petitioned the then Flome Secre-
tary, Sir Robert Feel, for an Act of Parli.iment for
power to establish a police in the rural districts of
the county. On the passing of the Act jietitioned
for, and so denominated " The Cheshire Consta-
bulary Act," numerous appointments had of course
to be made ; but, as you may be aware, that how-
ever perfect an Act of Parliament of such a nature
may be, very much of the benefits to accrue there-
from must depend upon the requisite capabilities
of the persons selected to put the Act into force,
and to carry out its principles upon the manner tS.
which tlie duties assi 'ned are discharged.

Now, I must admit the benefits have not, for
the reasons I have named, been felt equally through-
out the county, as, in some of the districts, so
great an advantage has not been taken of its pro-
visions as in others. But let an unprejudiced per-
son be asked to compare the state of the county
and the eflficiency of its police in 182() with that of
18.'^6. Let him be asked what has become of that
nest of ruffians known by the name of the " Rud-
heath Gang V What also of those men, the terror
of the country for miles around, who resided in
Wilnislow and its immediate neighbouriiood "! 1
would likewise ask, where were the Cheshire far-
mers in 1831, when the farmers in the south were
suffering under the hand of the incendiary } What
for an answer .' — but that the Rudlieath and Wilm-
slow marauders have, at liis Majesty's expense,
been sent to visit a foreign lar.d, and tliat the
Cheshire farmer, during incendiary fires, remained
quiet and unmolested in tlie tenure of his posses-
sions- And to what may these results be attri-
buted } To the Tory Magistrates' Cheshire Con-
stabulary Act.

To laud our Constabulary Act is not my present
design ; but as Cheshire i^ the only county in
England where a similar Act, to what I imagine is
meant by the Government measure of a " police
Cor the rural districts," is in force, my object will
be to draw your attention to a comparison of that
county witli others during tlie period I have been
speaking of. Look how the adjoining county of
Salop sufl'ered by incendiarism ; witness the nu-
merous fires which there took place before any
clue of discovery could be ascertained. It may be
said the liand of the incendiary did show itself in
this county. I grar.t it did : and to what extent
were its ravages can-led ? Was it permitted to go
from farm to farm, as in the county just alluded
to, and where no rural police existed ? It was not.
Neither had the township nor individual injured
to be at t\\^-• expense of sending near 200 miles for
a I'ow-street officer, they had a police in their
own district ; not a distrustful one, but one upon
which they could rely; and what was the conse-
quence .■" The ends of justice were obtained, and
conviction and execution to the offender followed.

There is one very specious argument used by
our opponents, the fallacy of which the following
may show. The Cheshire Constabulary Act has
been in operation about nine years ; during this
period has it ever been employed as an organ or
spy of Government .' Has it anything of the gens
d'armie about it ? has it been an useless and waste-
ful expenditure of public money .'' been thwarted
to any bad purpose, in any one way ; or has it con-
veyed either insult to the magistrate, or oppres-
sion to the lay-payer? I do deny that it has in
any one case.

Having said tbus much in fav.nir of a specific
.'Vet, I will now state to wliat extent I would ad-
vise in making such specific Act a general one.
The hasis of my plan should be to interfere as little
as possible with the village officer, as by law now
appointed. But I would delegate to the Court
of Quarter Sessions the power of appointing, on
the aj)plic:Uion of a majority cif magistrates acting
for a division or hundred where a regular petty
sessions are held, an efficient police officer, of at
least five years' standing, with one or more assis-
tants ; tlic'which to be at the discretion of the
magistiates, paid officers out of the county or
hundred rate, who should have a jurisdiction as
constables over the whole of the comity. Their
dnty should be to attend the magistrates at their

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

109

regular peHy sessions (under whose imaiediate
commands I would place them) ; to hold them-
selves in subservience for acting upon all occa-
sions in cases of felony, or otherwise. The chief
officer to be stationed in the centre of each dis-
trict, and where both magistrate and lay-payer
might find him easy of access.

I have said I would interfere as little as possible
with the present village officer ; he may be of
much service in a case of emergency, being on the
spot ; but it would be bad policy indeed to rely
alone upon his exertions. Look at many if not all
rural villag-es ; the office of constable is served in
rotation, and families have, for ages, married imd
intemarried one with another. A most respectable
villager this year serving the office of constable
may have an uncle, cousin, or other relative, an
abandoned character ; but \\ ould he like to appre-
hend one of his own kindred, however distant that
rclationshi[), on a charge of felony ? Sure this
would almost be a \iolation of the principles of
nature. In such a case would he set out until in
a manner compelled ; and would he then, even if
he had the ability of a 13ow-strect officer, act, and
do his utmost to detect — would he make that
search either for the stolen pro])erty or the felon
as the case requires .' Would he not prefer
that the depredator should escape, he himself
spared all trouble, and his family the stigma of
<lisgrace ?

Does it, 1 would ask, seem right that the
country constable should be carried away from
his business — for a week, it may be— to attend a
sessions or assize, and where the amount of remu-
neration would leave hiin money out of pocket .'

There are yet other ways in which I view the
benefit of a rural police ; and one, not the least
important, is in the prevention of crime. A thief
at all times calculates upon the chances of detec-
tion ; in a rural district that calculation cf chance
amounts to a degree of certainty. 1 would say,
let a district police but get a reputation for acti-
vity, and crime will decrease. The terror the
idea which such a force carries over the minds of
young Sai)hath-breakers and ])oachers, will cause
a great (Mminution of those offisnces, and in some
crtses, it may he hoped, may cause an entire aban-
donment of them : in degree as sucii offences are
repressed will there be fewer of those hardened
characters to cope with, whose crimes so fre-
quently harrow up in our breast a feeling both of
horror and disgust.

To those of our readers who may live in, or have
some knowledge of, a rural district, I would put
this question. It may happen that a farmer,
amidst a company of his labourers, and perhaps in
returning home late some evening, may have seen,
or overheard from some one of them, something
very suspicious respecting a villager or other
l)erson residing within a few miles of the place,
and which it may occur to him might have the
effect of forming a clue to the discovery of a chief
depredator in a c;ise of felony recently committed.
Is the iimocent country constable the person he
would like to communicate with ? Does he not
rather keep the secret, for fear the constable
should reveal the information he has given him,
and the source from whence he obtained it, and
thus make a bad character, in all probability, his
informant's enemy.' 1 speak advisedly when I
say, that the dread of having their names men-
tioned keeps back much valuable information
until it is too late to be of use. Hut establish a
respectable and discreet person at the bead of

your police establishment, he gains the confidence
of the people, the timid know that their names
and information are sacred at his hands, and by
that means the character of all suspected jiersons
are made known to him, their haunts and habita-
tions are described, and the officer thus bectomes
possessed of a most important part of their his-
tory.

There are yet important considerations. Is any
one, whether magistrate, juryman, or other indi-
vidual, who may have been a studied observer of
our sesnons and assize — I woul.! appeal whether
they may not oft have witnessed the acquittal of
most hardened and desperate characters, from
rural districts, through the blundering and inat-
tention of the country unpaid officer (or of those
whose salaries mav be so small, though great for
the population of the township, that their atten-
tion or inattention to business would depend upon
the fees] ; whether that observance has been paid
in attending to information, or if in alacrity in the
pursuit of an offender, as would seem there might
have been ; and whether individuals who may
have suffered from robbery have not frequently
had much cause to complain of a lukewarmness
in the recovery and restoration of their property ;
and to the magistrate of the rural district, if he
has not had much information frequently con-
veyed to him, which, had he had proper officers
near him to communicate with, might have been
available to some purpose 1

Is it not a fact that the efficiency of the police
in towns will drive the offender into the rural dis-
tricts, where he may expect to commit his depreda-
tions with impunity, and with little chance, indeed,
of detection ; and where a constable is but a laugh-
ing-stock for the well- practised dupe"! A thief is
a rover, and will assuredly in his rovings take that
track which offers the best booty with the least
fear of detection. The loneliness of the gentle-
man's villa and the poor man's cottage, both
afford great facilities for his depredations. How
much property is there not left out of doors, and
totally unprotected ; devoid even of that protec-
tion, the passing and re-passing of individuals,
which, on the contrary, the mercantile district
affords. Does it not reasonably seem, then, that
the rural interest should have an equal if not
greater protection afforded it than the mercantile,
with its exclusive advantages ? This would be
but even-handed justice at our hands.

With respect to our innocent neighbours, I
would ask you, is it because a villager, on a cer-
tain day in each year, takes the oath of allegiance
to our giacious sovereign, that his whole character
and person are changed, that he becomes, in a
manner, newly enlightened .-' Does the posses-
sion of a painted staff so brighten his faculties,
that although the week before he was not able to
take his horse to the fair and return home without
being duped out of the produce money, now
enable him to hare that penetration and know-
ledge of human character, with its numerous
vices, in a sufficient degree to qualify him to be
the guardian both of his own and neighbours' pro-
pert}' .'

The felon, too, of the present day, let me here
remind you, is a character far removed from what
the Dogberrys a century ago had to cope with ;
and as he, in bis acuteness, has partaken of the
march of intellect, so ought the constable of the
I)resent day to be a character far different in intel-
lectual skill to the generality of those appointed
over rural districts.

110

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

A rural police may with much aptitude be com-
pared to a bundle of sticks ; a number of town-
ships, being rated together and acting conjointly,
are enabled to do what the expense will not en-
able any one thinly-populated district to do of
itself.

1 have for some time past been a close observer
of police affairs, and I do consider that no branch
of the adiiiiiiistratioti of justice I'cqiiires a greater
conside'radon, or looking into, by the legislature,
than does that of our police ; from its origin to
the present day it would present nothing but one
complete anomaly. With respect to the officer,
no class of men are more exposed to temptation ;
and, from its present construction, as existing in
this country, no class have suffered more from
the efi'ects of that temptation. From his ineffi-
ciency, too, the public have likewise suffered
much. At present the police is a line of life, a
refuge for the destitute. Few, very few, take to
it from choice,- it is not until an individual has
tried every other source of livelihood, and in
them having failed, that he, in fact, considers
himself an object of sufficient degradation to be-
come an officer of police. It is, then, truly a der-
nier resort. The result of my inquiries in respect
of this assumption, and they have been extensive,
informs me but of two or three instances in which
persons have been brought up from their youth to
the police business, and in these, it is some plea-
sure to add, the parties have risen, by their stu-
died ability and exercise of a strict line of conduct,
to the highest situations in their pi'ofession. I
should, therefore, most strongly recommend, were
I one whose information might be admitted, that
opportunities be afforded for qualifying respect-
able youths, whose forte the police might be, to
that profession, and, as most important, would I
inculcate the necessity of his being engrafted well
in the laws applicable to the numerous cases he
would have to deal with, varying so much as thev
do in their distinctive applications. Indeed, 1
consider that the attainment of a perfect know-
ledge in the officer of police will require as mucli
assiduous study and application as that of any
other profession ; and nothing, in my opinion,
appears so absurd as the practice of making an
individual a constable one day and the next re-
quiring him to discharge the duties of a regular
police officer.

In winding up my letter, which has grown im-
measurably long, allow me to add one word with
respect to the financial uart of my subject. There
is a division in this countj', under the Act, com-
prising forty-three townships, a division, in fact,
where, too, it is most efficient, the cost of which,
to the rate payers, is 210?. j)er annum ; a sum
which the most economic financier cannot deem
high. I am, Sir, your obliged,

MERCATOR.

At a General Meeting of the Members of the Rut-
land Agricultural Society, holden at the Crown Inn,
Oakkam, on Monday, January 2, 1837, Mr. C. Smith, of
Burley, the senior and retiring Steward, nominated
Mr. Clarke Morris, of Oakham Grange, as his Suc-
cessor, and he was uuiuumously elected. Mr. Robert
Smith, of Burley, the senior and retiring Secretary, was
unanimously re-elected. Moved by \Villiam Sharrard,
Esq., and seconded by John Morris, Esq., that a vote
of thanks be offered to the Stewards and Secretaries for
their able and impartial services of the last year.
(Signed) Richard Westbrook Baker,

Chairman.

RUTLAND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
CHRISTMAS SHOW,

(To be hoklcii by Permission of tljc President,)

In the RIDWG HOUSE, OAKHAM,

On TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28th, 1837.

President.

Sir GERARD NOEL, NOEL, Bart., i\I.P.

Vice-Presidents.

Hon. H. C. L')wthcr, M.P. T. F. Turner, Esi|.

Sir Gilbert Heathcote, Bart., G. W. W ilmot, Esq.

M.P. Stafford O'Brien, Esq.

Sir Jolin TrciUope, Bart. Thomas Hotchkin, Esq.

Sir Jobn Palmer, Hart. Henry Wilson, Esq.

(■'.J. He'.iUicotc, Esq., M P. Henry Dawon, Esq.
George Fincli, Esq., M.P.

Stewards.
E. \V. Wilmot, Esq , Pickwell.
Mr. J. Burgi'ss, llidlinglon Park,
Mr. C. Morris, Oakljam Grange.

Secretaries cuid Treasurers.
Mr. Rudkin, Lankliam Lodge. Mr. R. SmiUi, Btuley.
Mr. H. Stimson, Oakliam.

Tliis Society extends to every Parish, the Town or
Village of which is situate within fifteen miles in a direct
line from the Town of Oakham.

PREMIUMS offered for Stock duly qua-
lified and properly certified according to the Con-
ditions, and Fed within the hmits of this Society, except
in Classes 1., Mil., & Xlll.

Class I. — Oxen or Steers, of any breed or weight g

under 5 years of age, without restrictions as to feed- .op

ing, but the kind or kinds of food must be specified. £

Open to oil England >

To the Feeder of the best fat Ox or Steer, a Pre- ^

mium of 15

To the Feeder of the second best ditto, the 2d

Premium of 7

Class II.— Oxen or Steers of any breed or weight,
under 5 years of age, that shall not have had
from the 1st February, 1837, to 1st August, oil,
oil cake, corn, pulse, seeds, or meal of these —
To the Feeder of the best fat Ox or Steer, a Pre-
mium of 10

To the Feeder of the second best ditto, the 2d

Premium of 5

Class III. — Oxen or Steers of any breed oj weight,
under 5 years of age, bred and fed within the dis-
trict, that shall not have had from the 1st of Feb-
ruary, 1837, to the 1st of August, oil, oil cake, corn,
pulse, seeds, or meal of these —
To the Feeder of the best fat Ox or Steer, a

Premium of 10

I'o tlie Feeder of the second best ditto, the 2d -

Premium of 5

Class IV. — Oxen or Steers of any breed or age,that
shall not have had from the 1st February, 1837, to
the time of showing, oil, oil cake, corn, pulse,
seeds, or meal, of these^

To the Feeder of the best fat Ox or Steer, a Pre-
mium of 7

To the Feeder of the second best ditto, the 2d

Premium of 3

Class A^.— Cows or Heifei-s of any breed or weight,
under 5 years of age, without restrictions as to
feeding —

To the Feeder of the best fat Cow or Heifer, a

Premium of 7

To the Feeder of the second best ditto, the 2d

Premium of 3

Class VI. — For Fattened Dairy Cows, above 5 years
of age, that have calved twice at least at their full
tiiTie, without restrictions as to feeding —

To the Feeder of the best Fat Cow a Premium

of 7

To the Feeder of the second best ditto, the 2d

Premium of 3

Class VII. — Totiie Owner, being a Tenant Farmer,
of the best Pair of Steers, bred withiu the district,

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

Ill

and under two years of age at the time of showing-, ^
that shall not have had oil, oil cake, corn, jnilse, °^
seeds, or meal of these, for one year previous to the
time of showing- —

To the Owner of the best Pair of Steers, a Pre-
mium of 5

To the Owner of the second best ditto, the se-
cond Premium of 2

Class VIII.— Long-wooUed fat Wether Sheep, one
year old, without restriction as to feeding.
Open to all England —

To the Feeder of the best Pen of three, under

22 months old, a Premium of 7

To the Feeder of the second best ditto, the se-
cond Premium of 3

Class IX. — Long-woolled fat Wether Siieep, one
years old, bred and fed within the district, that have
not at any time eaten oil, oil cake, seeds, corn,
pulse, or meal of these —

To tlie Feeder of the best Pen of three, under

22 months old, a Premium of 7

To the feeder of the second best ditto, the second

Premium of 3

Class X. — Long-woolled fat Wether Sheep, two
years old, fed within the district, that have not at
at time eaten oil, oil cake, seeds, corn, pulse, or
meal of these—

To the Feeder of the best Pen of three, above

22 and under 34 months old, a Premium of. . 7
To the Feeder of the second best ditto, the se-
cond Premium of 3

Class XI.^Breeding Ewes,thathave suckled Lambs
up to the 1st of July, 1837, bred within the dis-
trict, and that have been fed on grass and seeds
only for six months previous to the time of showing
To the Exhtbitor of the best pen of five, a

Premium of 5

To the Exhibitor of the second best, the second

Premium of 3

(Persons who have Let six or more Tups in the Year 183/,
not to show for tliis Premium.)

Class XII. — Long-woolled Wether Lambs, bred
and fed within the district, without restrictions as
to feeding.

To the Feeder of the best Pen of Five 3

Class XIII.— Pigs of any breed or age, weight
above twenty stone. Open to all England.
To the Feeder of the best Fat Pig, a Pre-
mium of 4

To the Feeder of the second best ditto, the se-
cond Premium of 2

Class XIV. — Pigs of any breed or age, weight under
twenty stone, bred within the district.

To the Feeder of the best Fat Pig, a Pre-
mium of 3

To the Feeder of the second best ditto, the se-
cond Premium of 1

Class XV. — To the best Stallion for the general
purposes of Agriculture from any county, that
will attend at Oakham and Uppingham once a
week during the season of 1837, and cover as many
Mares as may be offered to him, (not beyond a
reasonable number,) and at a price not exceeding
25s per Mare —

To the Owner of the best Stallion, as above, a

Premium of 10

(The Premium to be awarded on the tirst Monday in April,
1S37, and paid on the first Monday in July following.)

PREMIUMS

Offered by Lord Barham.
Class XVL— To the Owner of the best bull that
has or shall serve as many Cows as have been or
may be offered to him in the district (not beyond
a reasonable number) and not exceeding 10s a
Cow.
To the Owner of the best Bull, a Premium of . 7
To the Owner of the second best ditto, the se-
cond Premium of 3

(These Premiums to be awarded on the First Monday in
Aptil,.1837.)

Offered by Stafford O'Brien, Esq.
Class XVIl. — To the Owner, being a Tenant ,A
Fanner, of the best Cow in Milk that has calved ©
within nine months of the time of showing, and ^
bred within the district.
To the Owner of the best Cow, a Premium of. . 5
To the Owner of the second best ditto, the se-
cond Premium of 2

Off^ered by the Hon. Berkeley Noel.
Class XVIII. — To the Owner, being a Tenant Far-
mer, of the best Heifer under two years and six
months old at the time of showing, and bred within
the district.
To the Owner of the best Heifer, a Premium

of. 7

To the Owner of the second best ditto, the 2d

Premium of 3

Offered by Mr. T. Standwell.
Class XIX. — To the Owner of the best Boar that
shall serve as many Sows as may be offered to him
within the district (at a reasonable price.)

To the Owner of the best Boar

[This Premium to t)e awarded on the First Monday in
April, 1837-]
Offered by Sir Gerard Noel Noel, Bart., M.P.
To the Tenant Occupiers of not more than 30 Acres

of Land in the district : —
Class XX. — To the Owner of the best Cow in IMilk,
to have calved within nine months of the time of

showing, a Premium of. 5

For the second best ditto, a Premium of 3

Class XXI. — To the Owner of the best Heifer under
two years and six months old at the time of Show-
ing-, a Premium of 4

For the second best ditto, a Premium of. 2

Class XXIL— To the Owner of the best Calf under
eight weeks old at the time of Showing, a Premium

of. 2

To the second best ditto, a Premium of 1

Class XXIII. — To the Owner of the best fat Pig, of

any weight, a Premium of. 2

Ditto to second best 1

Also by Sir Gerard Noel Noel, Bart., M.P.
To the Occupier of Land, being a Tenant Farmer,
who shall send to the Show-yard, on or before
JVIonday at noon, November 27th, the best Sample
of not less than 4 Bushels of Oats, thrashed out
from a Crop of his own growing in the district in

1837, a Premium of 2

Offered by the Rev, Henry Nevile.
To the Occupier of Land as above, for the best Sam-
ple of not less that 4 Bushels of Wheat, a Pre-
mium of 2

To the Occupier of Land as above, for the best Sam-
ple of not less than 4 Bushels of Barley, a Pre-
mium of. 2

Offered by Henry Nevile, Esq.
To the Occupier of an Allotment who shall not grow
more than Half a Rood of Wheat, for the best Sam-
ple of not less than 1 Bushel as above, a Premium

of 1

Also by Mr. Baker.

2d Premium as above 10s

3d ditto ditto 5s

Offered by E. W. Wilmot, Esq.
To the Labourer in Husbandry who has brought up
the greatest number of Children, and has never re-
ceived parochial relief excepting in Sickness (then
the amount receiveil to be stated in his certificate),
and can produce the best character from his Em-
ployer, a Premium of. 3

To the 2d best ditto, the 2d premium of 2

To the 3d best ditto, the 3d Premium of 1

(Candidaies for these premiums must produce cevtilicates,
signed by their respective blasters, and the Churchwardens
anil Overseers of tlie parish to which they belong.)
Offered by Mr. T. E. Pawlett.
A Silver Medal to tiie Breeder of the best Pen of Sheep
in Class 9.

Also by. Mr. T. E. Pawlett.
A Silver Medal to the Breeder of the best Pen of Sheep
in Class 10.

112

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

Offered by Mr. R. Smith.
A Silver Medal to the Breeder of the best Beast in the
Yard that has been bred within the district.

Also by Blr. IL Smith.
A Silver Medal to the Breeder of the best Pen of Ewes
in Class 11,

Offered hy the Society.
A Silver Medal to the exhibitor of the best Pair of
Mares, for the general purposes of Agriculture.
Also by the Society.
A Silver Medal to the exhibitor of the best yearling
Gelding Colt or Filly, for ths general purposes cf
Agriculture.

The following Sweepstakes open to all England.
A Sweepstakes of One Sovereign, for the best lieast, of

any breed, age, or weiglit.
A Sweepstakes of One Sovereign, for the best Cow or

Heifer in jMilk, that has calved within nine months of

tlie time of showing.
A Sweepstakes of One Sovereign, for the best pair of

Mares, for tlie general purposes of Agriculture.
A Sweepstakes of One Sovereign, for the best yearling

Gelding Colt or Filly for the general purposes of

Agriculture.
A Sweepstakes of One Sovereign, for the best Pen of 3

Sheep, of any kind, breed, or age.
A Sweepstakes of a Sovereign, for the best Sheep of

any kind, breed, or age.
A Sweepstakes of a Sovereign, for the best Pen of 5

Breeding Ewes, of any breed or age, that have

suckled Lambs up to the 1st .Tuly, 1837, and that

have been fed on Grass and Seeds only for 6 months

previous to llie time of showing.
A Sweepstakes of Half a Sovereign for the best Pen of

5 long-woolled Wether Lambs.
A Sweepstakes of One Sovereign, for the best Pig of

any breed, age, or weight.

*^* The above Sweepstakes to close on Monday,
November 13th ; and the same conditions and form of
certificate and instructions to the Judges to be observed
as for tlie Premiums.

Oakham, f K. J. RUDKIN

.Tan. ^th, 1837. (Signed).^ PIENllY STIMSON
L ROBt. SMITH,

Cultivation of Beet-root in England for

TOE Manifacture OF SuGAii. ThcFB has been

exhioited of late in the London Sugar Market
samples of refined sugar made from beet-root cul-
tivated in England. The quality and colour of this
novel article is said to be good, the price aiked for it is
at the rate of 5/ per cwt. It is asserted that a trial of
the cultivation of this plant for the above purpose will
take place ; that government will, it is understood, give
every facdity in its power for experiment, and not en-
cumber it, while in its infancy, v/ith the question of
duties.

Eastbourne. — Copy of circulars delivered Jan.
6th, 1837, at the workhouse Eastbourne : — " In the au-
tumn of 1835 fourteen farmers of the parish of East-
bourne|a]lowed land to be dug for them as a trial of spade
husbandry; and on the 10th of November following re-
ported to their Nicar the Rev. Thomas Pitman at his
titiie audit that the produce from the land dug was
not inferior to that from the land ploughed. Mr. John
Gedney, a tenant near Harleston, Norfolk, is employing
between tventy and thirty men to dig his land instead
of ploughing it ; giving the food formerly consumed by
his farm horses to oxen, stall fed, which he finds emi-
nently profitable ; and if the Guardians of the East-
bourne Union will each allow any one man now sup-
ported in their workhouse to dig an acre of the land
oceupied by them I am ready to pay twenty shillings
for the same, the sum for which thirty men petitioned
for this work last January at Eastbourne. Signed J. S."
—Jan. 6th, 1837.

REPORTS TO THE POOR-LAW COM-
MISSIONEUS.

TO THE POOR-LAW COMMISSIONERS FOR ENGLAND AND

WALES.

We, the guardians of the poor of the Bedford Union,
in the county of Bedford, having observed with infinite
regret the various efforts making by interested indivi-
duals, and by some of the daily prints, to render the
Poor-Law Amendment Act hateful ad odious, consi-
der it a duty we owe to the public to endeavour, by the
weight of our testimony as practical men, to counteract
the same by the following expressions of our sentiments.

The union for wiiich we are the guardians comprises
44 parishes, an area of 100,000 acres, and a population
of upwards of 30,000 souls ; and is consequently so ex-
tensive in every respect, that it is particularly desirable .
that those intrusted witli the administration of its aflfairs
should make the following facts and sentiments public.

This union was formed in September, 1835, by D. G.
Adey, Esq., Assistant Poor-Law Commissioner; and
although great relief was anticipated from an alteration
in the system of administering the Poor-Laws, the ad-
vantage resulting from the change has far exceeded the
expectations of the most sanguine. The pecuniary
statement for the first year, ending September 24, 1836,
is as follows : —

Out-Relief £6,031 10 10

Ill-Maintenance 902 12 10

Establishment 1,964 15 10

8,898 19 6
Migration and Emigration .... 238 17 1

£9,137 16 7
The average of the three years ending Lady-day,
1834, 25,716/.
Saving- per cent. 7O5.

This important reduction has not been attained by
hardship or severity to the labourers, or by causing pri-
vations of any description to the aged, the infirm, the
orphan, or helpless, or the really necessitous poor (for,
on the contrary, their interests have been attended to
with the most scrupulous care and consideration), but
it has been accomplished by economy iu the general
management, by the absence of all expence in the legal
litigation, and by the complete removal of imposition
and carelessness which unfortunately existed under the
old laws.

\^'e observe with feehngs of extreme satisfaction, that
this considerable pecuniary saving has been accompa-
nied by the most gratifying symptoms of increasing in-
dustry, civility, prudent habits, and integrity of conduct
anion;- the labouring poor, and that it is evident the
new law is quietly, but surely, working a great moral
improvement in the habits and feelings of this class of
the people. Fathers evince greater kindness and
thoughtfulness for their children ; and able-bodied and
vigorous youth, instead of, -as formerly, neglecting his
ag-ed parents, now contributes willingly to their wants
and necessities ; and the wretched and degraded pau-
per, who was formerly existing upon the miserable but
certain pittance " allowed by the parish," is now, by
the regenerating spirit of the new system, an active and
useful member of society, and supporting his family by
the honest earnings of free labour ; to which may be
added the cheering facts, that during the last year
friendly societies have rapidly increased, and commit-
ments to prison have been less by one-fifth than in the
preceding twelve months. Such are a fevv of the re-
sults of the new Poor-law, and we with greater pleasure
reflect upon them when we consider that, in the partial
evils that almost of necessity attend any general good,
the worst that can occur to the able-bodied in real ne-
cessity is the offer of a temporary residence in the work-
house, where a sufficient maintenance is aflForded, to-
g-ether with medical aid and spiritual consolation ; and
a schoolmaster and schoolmistress to the formerly-neg-
lected children, by whom they are taught a plain but
useful education, and also instructed in two or three

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

113

branches of trade which we deem may be of service to
them hereafter. We highly value the benefit resulting'
from the superintendence of a central board, not only
for the advice and assistance we receive when there
happens — which, however, seldom occurs — to be a dif-
ference of opinion amongst us ; but we also recog'nise it
as the only tribunal that is entirely divested of local
feeling's and private motives, and capable, from your
daily-increasing experience, of securing the ultimate re-
lief of the poor throughout this country on sound and
just principles.

For these reasons we express our earnest hope, that
the Legislature will not listen to the gross misrepresen-
tations and idle clamours raised against the Poor-law
Amendment Act: for whatever differences may exist in
some of the minor details in that measure, we are most
decidedly of opinion that its effects have been hig-hly ad-
vantageous to this union ; and we should hear with
great distrust and alarm of a design to make any mate-
rial alteration in its provisions; for, from the experience
we have already had of its salutary effects, we seriously
and conscientiously believe that the most beneficial re
suits to the community may be anticipated, and more
particularly to the poor themselves.

Given under our common seal this 24th day of De-
cember, in the year of our Lord 1836.

Sealed by order of the Board,

(Signed) Samuel Wino, Clerk.

Christopher Bell, Vice-Chairman.

Resolved unanimously,— Tiiat this address be for-
warded to the Poor-law Commissioners, through D. G.
Adey, Esq., Assistant Poor-law Commissioner, to whom
this board feel extremely indebted for his valuable as-
sistance and straio'htforward conduct since they have
had the satisfaction of acting with him.

Christopher Bell, Vice-Chairman.

TO the P00R-LA-\V commissioners for ENGLAND AND
WALES.

At a meeting of tlie Board of Guardians of the Ampt-
hill Union, held in the board-room of the Ampthill
Union Workhouse at Ampthill, on Thursday, the 15th
Decembei', 1836 —

It was resolved. That the Ampthill Union having'
been formed nearly two years, the Board of Guardians
have no hesitation in declaring- the peculiar satisfaction
with which they regard the operation of the new Poor-
law act.

That the guardians having heard and read of several
statements made by parties who either through igno-
rance or party spirit are obnoxious to the principles of
the new poor-law, and who have circulated reports
which upon inquiry into the facts have been found ut-
terly at variance with truth and sound principle, deem
it a duty they owe not only to themselves but also to the
numerous body of rate- payers whom they represent, thus
fearlessly to [acknowledge that the mode of administer-
ing relief to the poor by the establishment of boards of
guardians has, under the guidance of the central board,
proved one of the greatest blessings which has been
conferred upon the commuv;ity at large by any act of
the Legislature during the nineteenth c ntury. 1'hat
no less than 1,086 poor ptiv^ons have, within the last
twelve months, personally had an opportunity of stating
their situation to the board, and thereby had an unpre-
judiced tribunal to adjudicate upon each particular
case.

That a reduction in the poor-rates has been effected
to the extent of forty-five per cent., and this not by de-
priving the aged and infirm, or helpless widow, of any
comfort, but rather, as can readily be proved, by con-
ferring- upon them many import lut benefits, and, in
truth, increased allowances; while, on the other hand,
the habitual, sturdy, able-bodied pauper's habits of idle-
ness have been put to the test, by the offer of a well-
regulated workhouse, where a comfortable maintenance
is provided.

That in several of the parishes of the Union an ex-
traordinary favourable change has been made in the
morals and habits of many, who formerly appeared to
be incorrigible.

That the board have no reason to condemn the repeal
of the former bastardy laws, and can with safety state
that not a case of infanticide or desertion of spurious
issue had come to their knowledge.

That the guardians feel it to be their duty unfeignedly
to express the great advantage they have derived from
the able manner in which the poor-law commissioners
have assisted them in every point of difficulty which
has been submitted to them, and consider that they are
bound to uphold the benefits which they have derived
from appealing to the Central Board, divested as it is
of local interest and party feeling.

That a copy of the foreg'oing resolution be forwarded
to the poor-law commissioners for England and Wales,
and that they be requested to lay the same before the
Secretary of State for the Home Department,

(Signed)
Henry M. jMusgrave, Chairman, J.P.
T. W. Overman, Vice-Chairman.

James Crouch.
Benjamin Carter.
John Tresham.
William Boughton.
John Maddams.
Samuel Harradine.
George Green.
John Leabrook.
Thomas Marsiiall.
John Bosworth.
W^m. Stimson.

John Langton.
John Lines.
James Beard, J.P.
G. Musgrave, J.P,
Robert Turfe, Jun.
Samuel Bennett.
J. Eagles.
James Horn.
Thomas Kempson.
James 'J'homas.

(Copy.)

WOBURN UNION.

Tiie Board of Guardians of the Woburn Union had
the honour of transmitting to the Poor-law Commis-
sioners in January last a report of their proceedings
under the Poor-law Amendment Act, since which time
they have taken possession of the new workhouse, and
have much satisfaction in st-ating that it fully answers
the purposes for which it was designed, affoi-ding means
for a complete classification of the inmates, and of es-
tablishing a perfect state of discipline. The importance
of such objects is strikingly exemplified in the improved
condition of the inmates themselves, and in the paucity
of their numbers.

OuT-Doon Relief. — This comprises the most nume-
rous class of paupers, and v,e are not aware that any
reasonable ground of complaint exists among them.

Relief in Kind. — To the aged widows and labourers
of good report, struggling under the pressure of de-
clining years, it is the practice of the board to administer
the provisions of the Act with much kindness, indeed
with the utmost latitude that a proper interpretation of
the regulations of the commissioners referring to this
subject will admit.

In-door Relief. — The advantage of the workhouse
as an asylum for orphans and other children thrown
upon the care of the guardians is observable in their
improved appearance and conduct : they daily receive
instruction in their religious and moral duties, are
taught to read and write, and are also employed profit-
ably in the s;ime way which may lead to their future
advancement in life. The sick and aged inmates, who
might but for this asylum be exposed to severe priva-
tion, have every comfort and attention which their ne-
cessities require ; such of them as are able to do any
work are usefully and humanely employed.

Poon-RATES. — It has been observeil, that upon the
introduction of the ))resent system a very considerable
I'eduction was made in the poor-rates, amounting upon
an average, to nearly fifty per cent, throughout the
union ; this principle of reduction still continues to
operate, though of course now in a small degree. The
board think it right to observe, to a certain exent, this
reduction has been assisted by the demand for labour on
the London and Birmingham Railroad, now in pro-
gress near this district.

Labouring Class. — The change for the better in the
conduct and character of the labouring class is still
progressive, and is esteemed by the board as a benefit
of much higher value than the reduction of tlie poor-

114

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

rates: the fact is not only evident to the board, but is
confirmed by the testimony of the occupiers of land in
every part of this union. The labourers seek work more
diligently than heretofore, and having obtained employ-
ment, they show by their behaviour that they entertain
a proper sense of its value.

Bastardy. — Whatever objections may elsewhere be
raised against the bastardy clause in the Act, tlie effect
of its working in this union has obviously been to give
a check to that open licentiousness which formerly
prevailed among the lower classes. The offer of the
workhouse to women with illegitimate children has
seldom been accepted, and all relief out of it is invari-
ably refused.

Uniformity of Design. — The guardians cannot
withhold their tribute of admiration, so justly due, to
the uniformity of design with which it is proposed that
the system now formed under the provisions of the
Poor-law Amendment Act shall be hereafter conducted;
this they conceive to be the sustaining principle, calcu-
lated to give efficacy and energy to every department
of its administration.

Poor-law Amendmext Act. — We hear that much
controversy has arisen upon the subject of this Act, and
that it has been held by some to be oppressive and in-
jurious to the interests of the poor. In submitting this
report to the commissioners it is not the intention of this
board to enter into the conflicting opinions, with a view
either to depreciate the value of this Act, or to repre-
sent it as perfect. It is the province of the board, in ad-
ministering the affaire of the union, only to state the
facts which have fallen under their observation, and
the benefits resulting from them. To the arguments
used in support of the unfair statements which have
been made, and the declamatory censure employed in
order to render the statute the object of odium and un-
popularity, the board might reasonably urge their de-
cided objection; but originating, as it is believed they
do, from a spirit of opposition and factious motives, or
from an entire ignorance of the working of the measure,
it is hoped they will soon cease to have any influence on
the public mind.

Signed and sealed by order of the Board,

WILLIAM COLE, Clerk,
Wolnn-}!, December 26, 1836.

Thf Mode of Preparing Burnt Soil for
Manure, and the Manner of Applying

IT FOR Various Crops. ■ The quantity of

ashes, or burnt soil, necessary to apply to land,
will depend on the fertility and quality of the
latter, and the crops to be sown ; and must, likewise,
be regulated by the pioperties of the soil prepared by
burning for this purpose. With respect to the former
observations, it may be safely asserted that most soils
are benefited by this manure, and on light land especi-
ally, I have always found it more fertilizing than lime.
On strong clays, however, this latter stimulant may
be preferable, for correcting over-tenacity, and for
decomposing the vegetable matter it may contain ; but
ou friable or loamy soils, burnt earth will effect a more
certain improvement. It is also well ascertained,
that peat or bog derives but little benefit, by a dressing
of lime, until the surface be first gravelled or marled,
which is a heavy expense, but can be easily brought
into fertility, by paring and burning, and good crops of
rape or turnips produced the same season. The most
beneficial mode, however, of applying burnt soil, is, by
mixing with it a proportion of well-prepared dung ; as
the former will promote quick vegetation, and the
latter afford nutriment to the growing crop at the same
time. In dry seasons, especially, it will be found, that
burnt soil will attract moisture from the atmosphere ;
whereas, dung will absorb it from the soil alone, and

consequently, deprive the growing crops of this
nutriment. I have often seen farm -yard dung, after
a dry season, at the time of digging out the crop, to
which it had been applied, as cry as chaff, and the
potatoes not so good as on a part of the same field,
where no dung whatever was laid ou. Dung, to be
beneficial to the growing crop, should decompose in the
soil ; and this it will not do, unless it receives sufficient
moisture, while in the land, and is previously well
prepared. The best mode of applying burnt soil and
dung, mixed, is in drills — for potatoes, swedes, or
mangel, at the rate of 80 loads to the Irish acre —
but, on light or exhausted land, 30 or 40 additional
loads will be necessary. This compost, being first well
pulverized, should be laid in the bottom of the drill,
and the crops to be sown managed in the usual man-
ner. For Swedes, or Scotch turnips, however, it is
advisable not to mix the dung and ashes, preparatory
to carting out, but to deposit the former in the drills,
and then to turn out the latter, that they may be
scattered, indiscriminately, over the surface; and, in
covering the drills in, they will be mixed with the soil,
and concentrated on the top of the ridge, by which mode,
quicker vegetation will be promoted, and the ravages
of the fly, in a great measure, defeated. For the
Norfolk sorts, and green top turuip, 80 loads of burnt
soil, without dung, broadcast, will be sufficient, which
should be very lightly ploughed into the land, and
the seed afterwards harrowed in. I prefer sowing
those latter sorts, when with ashes only, broadcast ;
but, with the addition of dung, drills are preferable — and
when with the former manure, the sowing may be post-
poned 10 days, or a fortnight, later in the season, with
equal prospect of success, I have grown some fine
crops of Swedes, on my farm here, this year, by mixing
burnt soil and dung together in April, and putting it
out in June for this crop. Half of several drills were
manured with dairy dung alone, and that liberally ; but
no difference can be perceived in the goodness of the
plants, in these two parts of the field. The dairy dung
cost me at the rate of 16^ an acre ; but the burnt clay,
with the dung mixed, say one-fourth of the latter, about
11 an acre. I have sown four acres of the red and
white Norfolk turnip, on strong land, dressed with soil
thus prepared, and the plants promise well, although
the season is much against their bulbing freely. How-
ever, on live or six perches, sown with the same dres-
sing, a fortnight earlier, the bulbs are large, and the
tops most luxuriant. I have, also, cultivated different
sorts of potatoes this year, with this manure, and have
every reason to be satisfied with the crops. In recom-
mending soil thus prepared, as a fertilizer of the land, I
do not mean to assert that it can be applied as fre-
quently as dung, with equal benefi t; but that, as an al-
ternative, and an occasional stimulant, it is a most use-
ful preparation. Neither is it my intention to advocate
the principle of paring and burning, except in particu-
lar cases, where aquatic roots and noxious grasses, can-
not be otherwise exterminated. I think it necessary to
make this observation, in order to point out the great
difference between the two modes of improving land —
burnt soil being chiefly beneficial in its application on
exhausted land ; while paring and burning can be only
advantageously adopted on heaths, moors, or deep land,
containing a superabundance of vegetable matter. It
has been asserted that burnt soil will not produce good
corn crops; but this I have often proved to be other-
wise, from practical knowledge. 1 know it may happen
that if too great a stimulus is applied to land, white
crops will run to straw, and not be productive ; and
this is especially the case if the ashes are produced from
the decomposition of vegetable matter by fire ; conse-
quently, when an old ley is burned, this is often the case.
Such a preparation will, however, produce excellent
green crops, but the ashes must be applied with much
judgment, in tlie production of those intended to ripen
their seeds. In gardens, many years manured with
dung, burnt soil will be found highly advantageous and
economical ; and g'reen weeds converted into ashes, by
a small fire of wood or turf, is the manure possible for
raising small Seeds. — Correspondent of the Irish Farmers
Magasine.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

115

CHARLBURY LOAN FUND.

At the rirst Annual Meeting of the Subscribers to the
Charlbury Loan Fund,

Wm. Albjugiit, in the Chair,
The Manag-ers presented a very favourable Report,
of which it was resolved to request the insertion of the
following- summary in the Mark Lane Express and
county papers.

Established on the 1st January, 1836, the period when
the new poor-law was superseding' the abused provi-
sions under vvhich parochial aid had been until then ad-
ministered, this institution opportunely held out a help-
ing hand to some whose large families and pauperized
habits led them to regard the new poor law as exces-
sively stringent in its operations. To some of these thus
suddenly thrown on their own resources, the aid thus
afforded appears to have been the means of enabling
them to commence a new and improved career, in
which their industry has been turned to a profitable ac-
count jin many httle schemes to which nncessity and
ingenuity led them to resort. 'I'o others not so pinched
by poverty the fund appears to have been of essential
service by enabling them to purchase in larger quanti-
ties and at a better rate than, unaided by such means,
they could have done, various articles of food, fuel, and
clothing ; materials for handicraft trades, as timber,
leather, nails, tools, flour, lic Pigs and seed corn are
among- the most frequently recurring objects of expen-
diture. It is very satisfactory to be able to stale that
while very few applicants (coming within the intent of
the society's operations, and complying with its essential
requisition of providing themselves with a security or
securities,) have been refused, that in this poor district
the fund has not hitherto sustained the slightest loss.
The managers hope that other places induced by their
example, and encouraged by their successful experience
may form similar societies.

Any individual who could devote on the average
about two hours or one evening in the week might per-
form all the business of secretary and treasurer, or it is
even possible that the ticket money and fines paid by
the borrowers at receiving- the loan, and in default of
punctualityjin the repayment might be enough to pay
all expenses, and also to remunerate a sufficiently qua-
lified secretary, who in many places might be the school-
master of the British and Foreign or National Schools
and the office of treasurer might then be filled by some
other person. With a capital fund of 58^ 10s raised by
loans without interest, the managers have lent 224/ 10s,
in 122 loans, to 64 borrowers, of whom
1 has borrowed four times

17 three times

17 twice, and

33 including the recent borrowers, have had
one loan

68 borrowers.

The following is the division of the loans as regards
the amounts : —

£ s. d.

1 loan of 0 5 0

13 loans £0 10 0 . . 6 10 0

1 loan 0 15 0

32 loans £1 0 0 . . 32 0 0

12 ditto 110 0 . 18 0 0

28 ditto 2 0 0 .. 56 0 0

10 ditto 2 10 0 . . 25 0 0

14 ditto 3 0 0 .. 42 0 0

11 ditto 4 0 0 .. 44 0 0

Total sum lent £224 10 0

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK
LANE EXPRESS.

Sir — la consequence ofthe disappointment which
ymir correspondent " An Old Farmer," experienced
in the trial of a small quantity of my Swedish tur-

nip seed, it has been the means of bringing into
vour columns some valuable observations on the ra-
vages of the turnip fly, and the effects likely to arise
from sowing seed in a colder climate than it has
been raised in. It has also induced you to copy
from the Entomological Magazine, a detail of expe-
riments made, to endeavour to find out where the fly
is generated. Such subjects must be somewhat amus-
ing to the generality of persons residing in the coun-
try, but to such as are engaged in farming, they are also
useful, I should like to see your columns as much
occupied as those ofthe Farmer's Journal were five-
and-tweuty years ago, by original correspondence ;
such communications would be benefici-al to the farm-
ing interest, At that time I lent my aid, and was a
frequent contributor, under different signatures ;
where I ten years younger, I would willingly lend
mv feeble aid in promoting corerspondences in your
paper ; but my public writing, on any subject, ends
with the ending of my book on Practical Farming
and Grazing. Few men have given themselves
more trouble than I have, in endeavouring to find
out where the turnip fly is generated, but have not
been able to come to any satisfactory conclusions.
I have, however, discovered, and practised for eight
or ten years, without once failing, a preventive
against its ravages ; numerous crops were last year
devoured by it — mine by my process entirely es-
caped ; there was not a turnip wanting,* My
plan is in the first edition of my Summary of practi-
cal Farming, which came out in February last ;
from which I think you, last summer gave in your
columns an extract on this subject. In the second
edition, which, by permission, is dedicated to Earl
Spencer, I was promised should be out of the press
near two months since, are observations on Mr,
Lefevre's letter to his constituents of North Hamp-
shire, on the Poor law Amendment Act.recommenda-
tions of relief to be afforded to able bodied labourers
who might be thrown out of employ by the setting
in of a long frost, on the maintainence and employ-
ment of the rural population, and wliat was said to
be much wanted, to create a good understanding
between landlords and tenants — a fluctu-ating plan of
rent, depending on the price of corn, finishing
with observations on an assertion I have often heard ,
" that farming is yet in its infancy." Tlie delay
of these observations not coming out is somewhat
mortifying to me, as it is possible that from the
numberless remarks that have been made on agri-
cultural subjects at the various meetings that have
lately been held, it |may appear to some, that 1 have
borrowed from other men's thoughts Fearing that
I may have run this out to a length inconvenient to
put into your columns, and to your readers, and
begging you to excuse the haste and oft-hand man-
ner in which it is written — I remain, yours,

C. HILLYARD.
President of the Northamptonshire
Farming and Grazing Society.

Thorpelands, near Northampton,
Jan.i, 1837.

* I raise more seed than I want for my own use,
because being obliged to be at the expence of having
the birds kept from the crop for eight weeks, it would
make the cost of a small quantity of seed come high.
The Thorpelands turnips are now pretty well known
in a great many counties, from my having for several
years past given at .the dinner table of our society's
annual meeting, bags of it, 'of the size just to fit a coat
pocket, to those persons not of our county, who have
attended onr meeting.

116

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TAUNTON
COURIER.

Sir, — The dilapidated state of the Apple and Pear
Trees in the orchards around this neig'hbourhood, is an
object of astonishment, and how to account for this, is
entirely through injudicious manag-ement. This being-
a good time for preparing- the land for planting-, has in-
duced me to lay before your readers a method of plant-
ing and manag-ing an orchard which I have seen prac-
tised with great success.

I will ere long transmit you a paper on the best me-
thod of renovating those standard trees which are so
much infested with moss and lichen. But I would re-
commond that half of the old trees be taken up, and
the land properly prepared and planted with young
trees in the following- manner, and as soon as these have
got into a bearing- state, remove the other half, and pro-
ceed to trench and plant.

Daring the last Autumn, I visited a fruit garden,
(the Earl of Eg-remont's, Petworth, Sussex,) where 1
observed Apple and Pear Trees treated in a manner
which perfectly agrees with the system 1 recommend ;
the trees at the time were loaded with fruit, and of a
superior size. The very -neat and unique method of
forming and pruning the trees is the admiration of all
who see them. The trees were planted in rows alter-
nately, at the distance of about four yards from each
other, the apple trees being kept to themselves, us also
the pears : the latter were planted in the warmest situa-
tions. The soil of the garden is a strong rich loam, and
has been drained by having the whole turned over, and
several inches deep of broken stones, lime, rubbish, &c.
has been laid at the bottom, '['he soil is about two feet
deep.

The trees were all grafted on Paradise Stocks, or the
stocks of the small wild crab. The trees are selected,
having stems about half a yard high ; they are procured
when maiden plants, that is, without any side branches,
and if strong enough, one year from the time of being'
grafted. The top of the shoot is cut oft' at the heig-ht of
two feet, and the four uppermost and best placed shoots
are encouraged, all others rubbed off. As the shoots
put forth, they are tied to small stakes placed at equal
distances. At the end of the season the four shoots are
secured to stakes set about three feet apart, the stakes
leaning outwards. If the shoots be so long as to reach
half a yard up the supporter, the top is cut off to cause
the production of lateral shoots ; if not, it is allowed to
go unmolested till the next winter pruning.

As the laterals are produced, two are trained up
from the lowest jiart of the first, or original branches ;
they are trained erect, and topped at the winter
pruning.

The main and lateral branches are trained up to the
height 0*' four feet, and the inside of the bush (for so it
may properly be termed, being about the size of a good
currant bush) is kept open.

The trees arc summer pruned in July and September,
by cutting in the young shoots to about an inch from
their origin. This throws the strength of the tree into
the fruit, and produces fruitful buds upon the branches
or spurs.

The trees are thus brought into a desirable shape in a
most ready manner. 'J'he effect of this method and
treatment upon the trees is quite astonishing ; the abun-
dant crops of fine fruit being almost beyond credibility.

There are several things in this mode of treatment
which are well deserving of notice— the surface of the
soil is kept clean from weeds — luccrn is cultivated be-
tween the rows of the trees. This method is much bet-
ter tiian allowing grass to grow over the whole surface,
which is the principal reason of the trees being in ths
present unhealthy state.

JSlot only will the pruning as above described, have a
tendency to promote fruitfulness, but from the circum-
stance of the whole bush being kept near the ground,
the warmtli of the atmosphere being greater there than
at a much more elevated space, the buds and fruit are
both materially benefitted by it. The circumstance of
keeping the centre of the bush open, also contributes to
the same effect.

The dwarfness of the same affords facilities to gather-
ing the produce of fruit, also in pruning, and in keeping
the trees clean from insects.

I am fuliy persuaded that an acre of land planted
and treated in the above manner will produce double
the weight of fruit and much better in quality, than an
acre planted and treated in the ordinary manner as
standards.

I am. Sir, your obedient servant,

GEORGE HARRISON.

Bridge Nursery, Taunton, January 6tli, 1837.

Charcoal as a Material for Draining. —
Brushwood, broom, gorse, heath, and thinnings
of young plantations after they have been charred, may
be employed in filhng drains, being lighter, more
porous, and hardly susceptible of decay. All known
facts and analogies are strongly in favour of this sug-
gestion. The charring may be performed in the usual
way by the side of the drains, the brushwood, &c. being
made up into faggots of a suitable size previous to char-
ring ; and each faggot, if necess-ary, may be secured by
a single band of iron wire near each end to prevent it
from falling- to pieces in removing from the hearth to the
drain : a light cradle of wicker-work, of the length of i!
faggot, would probably be found the most convenient
machine for its conveyance. It is, however, not at all
unlikely that there would be no real necessity to pre-
serve the faggots entire ; for it is evident that a heap of
sprays of charcoal, broken into pieces two or three
inches long, and without any regularity in their ar-
rang-ement, would form a more porous material than an
equal bulk of stone.-'. A drain so filled would never be
choked except by particles of earth carried in by the
water that flov\'ed through it ; for, as the material would
always remain, the superincumbent earth would not fall
down, ;i3 it now usually does, to choke the passage,
when the bushes which supported it ha-^e decayed.
Neither is it likely that Moles would willingly cross a
drain filled with charcoal ; and if so, another very usual
cause of the destruction of drains would be avoided. In
many districts where Peat is abundant, this substance
when charred, would probably be found a most valuable
material, both for filling- drains, and for building hollow
ones. 1 he brick -like form into which Peat is usually
cut, and the hardness and jjoms/fj/ of the same when
charred in a close oven, would constitute a light and
excellent material, much cheaper, and probably better
han either bricks or tiles. — Chester Gazette.

Population. — Analysis of occupations in which-
the population of Great Britain were employed in the
years 1821 and 1831. Also the number of families in
each occupation in the same years, and the total popula-
tion in 1831.

A)d;iic'iillui-al ooc-j piers.
AjiriruiUu-al laLuufcis,

i^iiiiiiiig Inboiirers

iMillt-rs, l)al(ers, but-?

clici's i

Ai-tilii-eis, l)uil'lors, &.c.

M ami fae Hirers

Tailors, shoemakers, "t

hatters S'

Slioplceepevs

Seamen and soldieis. . .
Clerical , legal , a-ul 1

medical . . .1

Disalded panpers

Proprietiirs, annuitants

T.)tal

Total r.iiiiilier ui

lamilies in
1S2 . Ib3l.

'2500 0
7.8966
11-'(I0U

2i)()Ono
3 lOi'OO

3! 0239
SIO'OO

2511000
&00000
1200110

'100000

180000

350000
277017

911000
310487

29 J J 363 1 3303504

Total nuni-
lior of )ier-
sons, 1831.

I fiOOOOrt
4-0000-)
60!I000

'/OOOOO

650000
2100000

I OSOOOO

2100000

i.ilOi^O

45;'000

110000

lll63t)8

16^7398

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

117

HORNSEA.

(Plate.)

The plate prefixed is a portrait of the chesnut
colt, Hornsea, by Velocipede, out of Lady DeGros'
dam by Cerberus.

Hornsea is the property of tlie Earl of Chester-
field : but before he came into his Lordship's pos-
session, he belonged to Mr. Richardson, in whose
name he came out on Wednesday, June 17, 1835,
at Newcastle, and won the St. Leger Stakes of
25 sovs each, with 100 sovs added (9 subs.)
beating Mr. Dundas's Weldare, Mr. Jacques's
Burletta, Sir J. Boswell's Rosina, Lord Eglinton's
Butterfly, and Mr. Metcalf's Miss Frill. On the
following day, at the same place, he was beaten by
ihe Duke of Cleveland's Muley Moloch, for the
Cup.

On Wednesday, August 5, 1835, at York,
Hornsea won his Majesty's Purse of 100 guineas,
beating the Duke of Leeds' Zohrab, Mr. Wilson's
Winkley, and Mr. Marson's Caroline.

Hornsea came out on the 15th of the following
month (September) at Doncaster, for the Great
St. Leger, and ran second to that extraordinary
filly, Queen of Trumps. And on the next day but
one, he again came to the post at the same place,
for the Cup ; when he "an second to the Marquis
of Westminster's Touchstone, General Chasse
third.

On the 29th of July, 1836, he came out for the
Goodwood Cup, which he won very cleverly, beat-
ing Elis, Bamfylde, Lucifer, Rupert, Sepoy,
Rockingham, Alfred, Esmeralda, and Khylan.
This is a prize of more than ordinary value, as will
be perceived by the following conditions : — " The
Goodwood Cup, value 300 sovs, the rest in specie
by subscriptions of 20 sovs each, with 100 added
by the Racing Fund. The owner of the second
horse to receive 100 sovs out of the Stakes : 40
subscribers.

On Wednesday, August 24, 1836, Hornsea wort
the Surrey and Middlesex Stakes at Egham, beat-
ing Valentissimo, Pussy, and Paris. On the fol-
lowing day he came out, and won the King's
Hundred.

MANAGEMENT, &c. OF THE
HORSE.

SHOEING.

Nature never intended that the foot of the horse
should be bound with a rim of iron ; but as this
beautiful quadruped has been taken from his na-
tive wilds, reduced to subjection by man, compel-
led to receive education and has become, in fact, a
a semi-domestic ; so, it may be remarked, that this
change from the state of pristine nature to an arti-
ficial system of existence, necessarily introduced
artificial accompaniments — hence, the horse-shoe.

In some countries, where the horse is v idered
as domestic as possible, (as in Arabia for Aance)
shoes are not used ; but if these horses were brought
to this country, our hard paved roads would render
the shoe indispensable. Therefore, since shoes ate
absolutely requisite where the roads are hard, the
object of consideration is, to ascertain^ if possible,

that form of shoe best calculated for the purpose,
and the most correct mode of applying it to the
foot: — no very easy task, certainly. Various
ulterutkns have at times, been made in the form
of the shoe, which have been called improvements
by the inventors, and which have acquired
strenuous advocates ; whose utmost exertions,
however, were unable to support their evanescent
pretensions ; they have been laid aside for the most
part, if not altogether forgotten. Yet, it must be
admitted, that if the form of the shoe has ex-
perienced no very great or striking alteration of
late years, the mode of applying it to the foot is
much improved.

Without, therefore, entering into a detailed ac-
count of the various alterations of the horse-shoe,
I sliall notice the general principles of shoeing,
leaving particular cases to the reflection and good
sense of the groom and the shoeing smith.

I would lay it down as a general rule, in apply-
ing the shoe, to pare tlie foot as little as possible,
from which, however, deviations must occur : — as,
for instance, where the foot is deep and the sole
hollow, the crust is generally thick and strong, and
will, of course, allow of more paring than a broad
thin foot. But no absolute rule can be laid down,
as to how far this paring is to be carried ; each
foot should be treated according to its degree of
strength, weakness, brittleness, &c.

As in the action of the horse, the frog was in-
tended by nature to touch the ground, if it be dis-
abled by too much paring from doing this — if it
thus be deprived of its natural action, the tendon
becomes elongated, lameness perhaps produced,
and not unfrequently windgalls.

The bars should not be scooped out, as is too
commonly the practise among smiths ; because, in
conjunction with the frog, they are intended to keep
open and defend the hinder part of the foot.

Diseases of the feet are frequently caused by
improper shoeing, as many of the modern smiths
treat all kinds of feet in the same manner, and will
frequently remove more from a weak footed horse
than nature can re-supply for some months, when
lameness can scarcely fail to follow. If a strong
footed horse, with a narrow and contracted heel,
be placed in the hands of one of these men, under
the pretence of giving the horse ease, the bar is
scooped out, the frog pared, and the sole drawn as
thin as possible : — a kind of treatment calculated
to produce lameness, or confirm it if previously
contracted.

Generally speaking, the shoe should stand wider
at the points of the heel than the foot itself; or, as
the foot grows, the heel of the shoe becomes im-
bedded in the foot of the horse, which will be
likely to break the crust, produce lameness or a
corn. The foot should be kept short at the toe;
as if left too long, it becomes thin and weak,
and the heels low," whereby the flex or tendons of
the leg are strained ; whilst a short toe has a ten-
dency to strengthen the foot, and also to keep the
heels open and expansive.

In shoeing a thin footed horse, when the toe is
cut short, it is advisable to leave it nearly square,
merely rounding off the angles with the rasp. No
nails should be driven into the hoof more forward
than these angles, even in the strongest feet, nor

K

118

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

yet so far in general ; and by this method, the nou-
rishment that would proceed to the support of the
toe descends to the heels, and tends to keep them
open. This, however, applies more to the lander
than tlie fore feet, because the horn is always
thicker at the toe before than behind ; while the
quarters are even thicker of horn behind than be-
fore, by reason of the wearing of the toe being
greater behind than before. Tlie heel of the shoe,
on strong and narrow-heeled horses, should be
made straight at die extreme points ; the form of
the shoe thus assisting in the distension of the
heels of the horse.

Horses which turn out their toes are apt to cut;
and on examination this will be found to arise from
the inside heel being lower than the outside heel,
which may be remedied by paring down the out-
side heel if the foot will allow: however, as the heel
will seldom allow this sufficiently, the shoe may be
made thicker on the inside of the foot, from the
heel to the toe, than it is on the outside, taking
care that the innner heel of the shoe does not pro-
ject too much.

Hitherto the obseivations on shoeing have been
general. T now come to the exception : — horses must
be shod s/wt for hunting. If the hunter's fore
shoes be not short, he will pull them off with his
hind feet in jumping, and perhaps lame himself
also. His hind shoes should be rounded or
bevelled at the toe to prevent any seriously ill
effect which would otherwise arise from an over-
reach.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CHOICE AND
PURCHASE OF A HORSE.

When a horse is exhibited for sale, or placed
before a purchaser, the colour of the animal first
meets the eye of the inquisitor; and although I am
well aware of the truth of the old adage, that a
good horse cannot be of a bad colour, yet 1 cannot
help entertaining the opinion that the colour fre-
quently indicates Jie quality of the horse's consti-
tution and temperament. I readily admit that
there are good horses of all colours ; and what I
allude to, as indicative of the quality of the horse,
is not the peculiar colour, but the manner in
which it is defined: — thus, whatever the colour
may be, whether grey, brown, or chesnut, if it be
strong and very distinctly marked, I think it indi-
cates a good constitution. If, on the contrary, it
it be faint, or almost evanescent, (if such an ex-
pression may be allowed) 1 have generally found
the constitution of the horse to correspond, — to be
weak, feeble, and liable to disease. And, if we
reason upon this subject, the principle or hypothesis
will be found perfectly consistent with the acknow-
ledged laws of natural philosophy, and the rules of
physioloi,ical science : since the weakness of tl e
colour arises from the corresponding weakness of
the constitution of the animal, and may be conse-
quently very justly regarded as an indication of the
quality of the horse.

The principal colours of the horse are, tlie
bay, the black, the chesnut, the sorrel, the brown,
and the grey.

The bai/s are found of a variety of shades, the
most beautiful of which, however, is the bright
bay, mane and tail black, and black legs. Dark bays

have generally their knees and pasterns black ;
and there are several sorts of bays that have black
legs from the knees downwards. Bay I consider
as one of the best colours.

Black I regard as one of the worst colours. It
is true, when you meet with a horse of a shining
jet black, he looks beautiful ; but in general black
horses are coarse in their coats, a strong indica-
tion of inferiority of blood. There are few
black Arabian horses. We do not often ob-
serve a black race-horse ; and those that occa-
sionally make their appearance seldom dis-
tinguish themselves. I have had two black
hunters, both Irish horses, and both excellent
jumpers ; but evidently deficient in blood, and on
that account, a capital run distressed them very
much : it is a fact, that when you take a pinch too
much out of an inferior bred horse, he does not
come round again half so soon as a thorough-
bred. Nothing like blood — it will beat every
thing else. Some black horses have brown muz-
zles, and are brown on their flanks : these are
called black browns : some are of a lighter colour
near their muzzles, and are called mealy-mouthed
horses ; and of this sort are the pigeon-eyed
horses, which have a white circle round their eye-
lids. Those black horses that partake of the brown
will be generally found ^:he best.

The true Chesnut is of one colour, without any
shade or gradation, while the hair of others will
be found of three colours, the roots light, the mid-
dle dark, and the points of a pale brown. Many
chesnut horses have their manes and tails nearly
the colour of their bodies. Chesnut horses are of
various shades or degrees ; some are very beauti-
ful ; but I have seldom seen a dark chesnut that
pleased me. Some chesnuts have white faces ;
others have flaxen manes and tails: the latter are
anything rather than pleasing in my sight.

The Sorrel approaches the chesnut ; and differs
principally in this, that the colours of the hair are
not so distinctly marked as in the chesnut. The
hairs of the sorrel are of several colours intermixed,
in which the red, or fox colour, is predominant.
Sorrels have generally much white about their legs,
with a large blaze on the face, perhaps some bald
all over the face.

Brown is a colour by no means so beautiful as
either the bay or the chesnut. It also has its de-
grees or shades, some horses being dark, and others
light. Brown horses have generally black manes
and tails, and also black joints ; but they become
gradually lighter towards their bellies and flanks,
and manyare light about their muzzles. A dark dap-
pled brown is beautiful, but not often seen. I once
possessed a light dappled brown horse, his colour
was faint; and he, like all horses whose coats are
not strongly marked, which have fallen under my
notice, possessed a delicate constitution, was a bad
feeder, and incapable of enduring fatigue.

The Greys are very much diversified in colour.
The dappled greys are very handsome, and so in-
deed are tlie silver greys. The iron greys are
reckoned hardy. The light plain grey, and the
pigeon-coloured grey soon become white ; as in-
deed all greys do in process of time, the dark dap-
pled grey and the iron grey keeping their colour
longer than any of the rest. The nutmeg greys are

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119

handsome ; and the flea-bitten greys are not with-
out their admirers. I have had at various periods
several very good greys. The best hunter I ever
rode, was a flea-bitten grey mare.

The Roa7is are a mixtuie of various colours,
wherein the white predominates ; they have a ge-
neral resemblance to each other, and yets?^ mucli
diversified. Those that have a mixture ci iiie bay
or nutmeg colour are the handsomest.

Tlie Strcncberri/ resembles the roan ; and, like
the sorrel, is frequently accompanied with white on
the face and legs.

The Fallow, the Dun, and the Cream colour,
have a common resemblance. There are many
other colours of the horse produced out of the great
diversity that are to be met with, which would re-
quire endless description, and after all would
amount to nothing.

Black legs are preferred to white ; the latter
being supposed more subject to disease. A cor-
respondence will generally be found between the
face and and the legs in regard to white : — where
there happens to be much white on the legs, white
will be found to predominate on the face also.

THE HORSE CONSIDERED AS TO HIS
FORM.

Although as far as regards the elegant quadruped
under consideration, the term beauty might be ab-
stractedly applied, yet a trifling investigation of the
subject will clearly shew that its general principles
are not only applicable to, but strikingly exempli-
fied in, the form of the horse.

If we compare the horse and the cow, we in-
stantly perceive how much more beautiful the for-
mer appears, more graceful and more interesting
to the eye ; and the mind, in consequence, is im-
pressed with more pleasing sensations. Whence,
it may be asked, does this arise ? From the su-
periority of the form of the one compared with that
of the other. Very true; but such an ans»veris
very unsatisfactory to an inquiring mind ; and it
requires a more tangible, a more specific, and a
more conclusive reason before the subject is placed
in a state of satisfactory and unqualified convic-
tion.

Regarding beauty of form, therefore, on the
broad and general principle, we shall find that any
animated or inanimate form or thing presents a
pleasing appearance precisely in proportion to its
possession of what is understood among painters
by the appellation of the line of beauty : it may be
more plainly described as a serpentine line, which
may be traced by the eye upon all beautiful ani-
mals, and which some of them present in great, if
not endless variety. It will easily be perceived
that the form of the horse exhibits the serpentme,
or gently bending line in considerable variety ; while
in the cow it can scarcely be traced ; and therefore
the former is justly regarded as more beautiful in
form than the other. If two horses are placed be-
fore the spectator, the one presenting an ewe neck,
and the other with a well raised crest, can any per-
son hesitate for one moment to pronounce which is
the more beautiful ? The ewe neck may be said to
form the reverse ot theline of beauty, and is there-
fore less pleasing to contemplate than the other,
where the gently bending or serpentine line is ob-

viously and boldly defined. The most beautiful
horses exliibit the line in question very prominent-
ly, and in great variety ; while in the more ordi-
nary forms it is much less distinguishable, and in
some can scarcely be traced. Hence, therefore,
I should denominate this system of reasoning upon
forms, the philosophy of beauty. The figure of tl)e
cow, as well as the figure of many other animals,
instead of the true serpentine line, presents it ill-
defined, as well as blunt or obtuse angles ; ap-
pearances which may be regarded in a similar light
to discords in music : they afford an opportunity of
judging, of forming a decided and conclusive opi-
nion ; nor could we understand hilf so well, nor
appreciate half so highly, the beauty of fine forms,
but for the contrast.

Handsome horses will be found to differ in form,
which merely amounts to this, that beauty is not
confined, but presents itself in great variety. Horses
will be found with a great decline or slope of the
shoulder, powerful quarters, so far set in as scarcely
to leave room for the saddle between them : such
iiorses will frequently appear long upon the leg.
Others will present a greater length of carcase and
shorter legs. And, although horses exhibit one
general appearance, yet if we are to descend to mi-
nute particulars, the ramifications of form would
become infinite. It must be admitted, however,
that there is a standard of form, which, though pre-
senting trifling variations, i-5 nevertheless superior to
every other ; and if I were asked to point out one of
the finest figures of a horse (if not the very finest)
that ever camebefore me, I should instance Lottery.
This horse was bred by Mr. Watt, of Bishop Bur-
ton, Yorkshire, and was originally called Tinker.
His running could never be depended on, owing
to his vicious temper, and hence his name was
changed to Lottery. His powers as a racer, I am
of opinion, were superior to those of any other horse
that ever appeared upon the turf; but his running
was always rendered doubtful, owing to his tem-
per.

Speed may be regarded as expressive oi strength,
since all animals remai'kable for swiftness of pro-
gressive motion, are equally so for that tendonous
or sinewy developeraent which constitutes the basis
of extraordinary force. Nor can it be otherwise ;
for, if we reason by comparison, great speed can
alone be acquired from great strength. Of all
animals, there is none which exhibits so striking an
exemplification of what has been just stated as the
hare. This animal is remarkable for great decli-
nation of shoulder, for depth of chest, for breadth
of loins, for widely- spread, strong quarters, and
length of hind legs ; a conformation wliich gives
her greater speed than any other quadruped in
creation ! We must speak by comparison ; and
when the size of the hare is taken into consideration,
she far outstrips all competition. It is true, there
may be found greyhounds a trifle fleeter than the
hare ; but, then, they are three or four times lar-
ger, or more. And if we regard the greyhound, we
shall find that he possesses the low-dropping chest,
and a form similar to the hare, but not in such great
and even amazing perfection. The same obser-
vations are applicable to the antelope, the deer,
indeed to all swift quadrupeds; and if we are
anxious for speed in the horse, in selecting

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him, let us not forget the form just described;
which, it is evident, produces the greatest speed,
and the greatest strength also ; the hare being tlie
strongest, as well as the swiftest, of all quad-
rupeds.

A horse intended for hunting should be strong
and well bred, (if thorough-bred so much the bet-
ter) ; his shoulders should be well sloped: his
chest low ; his arms long and powerful, short from
the knee to the ground ; his carcase or barrel
round, deep-ribbed, strong loins, and widely-spread
powerful quarters ; low-dropping strong thighs ; if
his sinews or tendons be large, strong, and well-
defined, he can scarcely fail to have sufficient bone.

Such a form, it may justly be said, cannot fail
for any purpose ; hackneys or roadsters, liow-
ever, are preferred which exhibit more of the cob
figure, inasmuch as they are supposed to be capa-
ble of enduring more fatigue ; but the notion is
erroneous ; the form for strength and speed being
completely mechanical, it follows, as a matter of
course, that the nicest and the most complete ad-
justment of the parts cannot fail to produce the
strongest, the fleetest, and the most perfect action ;
which consequently will continue to operate for
the greatest length of time.

In the purchase of a horse, an inspection be-
comes necessary ; and if the purchaser does not
possess some knowledge of the business, I would
strongly advise him to have recource to the ad-
vice of a friend. Considerable practical expe-
rience is indispensably necessary before a good
judgment can be given of a horse. Horse dealing
in the hands of many unprincipled vagabonds, in
various parts of the country, is a regularly orga-
nized system of swindling and robbery.

In preference to having tlie horse brought out
of the stable, in the first instance, I would examine
him in the stable. Let the groom stand at his head.
Look at or into his eyes. If the pupil be consi-
derably distended, and on coming to the light con-
tracts and looks clear, so tlmt you can see into it,
or your own shadow reflected, the sight is good.
There is a disease of the eyes called gutta serena,
which causes blindness, yet the eyes look clear.
In fact, when the horse is afflicted with gutta serena,
hiseyesassumeone clearglassy appearance; the pu-
pil being much dilated, without the power of con-
traction. This may deceive an indifferent judge, or
an inexperienced person ; but on a close and judi-
cious inspection, this clearness will be found a va-
cant stare, in which the eye seems immoveable ;
and it is is probable that in some of these cases the
animal is not totally blind, though quite incapable
of distinguishing objects. Cases of trifling cata-
ract are not easily perceived unless by an old prac-
titioner. Pass your hands down his fore legs, by
which you will ascertain if there be any splents
upon them, or puffinss, or windgalls about the
lower part of them; and that the back tendon is
strong and well defined, allowing you to feel your
thumb and finger between it and the bone. Take
up his foot to see that it it is well formed, the heels
open and the wall thick, strong, and upright.
Cast your eye down his back, by which you will
be enabled to observe his loins ; then let him be
brought out. Stop him as his about to leave the
stable, just as his head is protruded, so that the

light falls into the eyes : you will thus observe if the
pupil contracts, as also if the eye is clear and tran-
sparent. When the horse is completely out of the
stable, let the groom hold him quite still, that you
ma) have a deliberate view or survey of his form ;
that you may see if his head be handsome, and
well set on ; that is, not boring out, but dropping
handsomely from his neck. You will also observe
the form of his neck and withers ; that the former is
well formed and comes handsomely from the body ;
the latter properly raised. His carcase round ; his
chest deep and broad ; his arms powerful and
long ; leg short from the knee ; knees not broken;
fetlock not too much bent. Observe his quarters ;
wide-spreading ; thighs muscular and low ; fillets
broad ; his hocks free from capulet (capped hock)
curbs or blemish ; his hind legs free from spavins,
windgalls, or other diseases or blemishes; clear and
free from gumminess. Tlien see him move or go.
If his action be quick, distinct, and good, mount
him ; ride him a mile or two, and if you become sa-
tisfied that the horse will answer your purpose,
purchase him if tlie price happen to suit. Riding
him a mile or two will enable you to ascertain if
he be affected with piping, whistling, roaring, bro-
ken wind, &c.

I have yet said nothing respecting his age. I
prefer purchasing a horse seven or eight years old
to one younger, unless I know in what manner he
has been treated from early life. If he has been
subjected to severe labour or harsh treatment, or
both, he is thus rendered much more susceptible of
disease ; and although a horse may exhibit every
appearance of soundness at four or five years old,
if he has been used in the manner just mentioned
—if he has been unreasonably and unnaturally
strained by exertion at so early a period, the ill-
eflfects of such treatment will be very likely to
show themselves — in splents, in curbs, in spavins,
founder, roaring, broken wind, &c. And on this
account the greater part of the Irish horses are to
be regarded with suspicion : few of them are
without blemish. If, on the contrary, a horse has
been well and kindly treated from early life, he
may be purchased at the age of four or five with-
out any extraordinary risk. When, however, a
horse has reached eight years old, free from any
serious disease or blemish, i is less liable to
splents, curbs, spavins, roaring, &c., than he was
before he had attained maturity ; he will also have
acquired a knowledge of his business. The age
of a horse may be ascertained by the appearance
of his teeth until he reaches his sixth or seventh
year, and those who practise it will be able to form
a satisfactory opinion for some years afterwards.
As the horse becomes older, his teeth increase in
length ; and various tricks are played to alter their
appearance to suit the sinister views of designing
horse dealers, none of which, however, can deceive
a well experienced eye.

When a horse becomes very old, it may be
ascertained that he is so by his skin becoming less
elastic to the touch, however good his condition
may be. Also if you feel the joints of his tail, a
space between each will be plainly perceptible, if
the horse be very old ; whereas in a young horse
the joints can scarcely be felt ; and an opinion may
thus be formed of the animal's age according to

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121

the closeness or otherwise of these joints or
separations.

The hoUowness above the eye is no absolute
criterion of the age of the horse, as it is found in
many horses at an early period of life.

Horse dealers resort to various stratagems for the
purpose of furthering their views. If a horse be
lame on one foot they will lame t!ie other, in order
to prevent the lameness being observed ; and by
the administration of fat bacon, they can prevent
the noise emitted by the roarer for some hours.
Figging is a disgusting practice, and wherever
you observe a horse dealer make use of it and
keep the animal prancing or in motion by the
application of the whip, you may reasonably sus-
pect deception. Horse dealers of character never
resort to such practices ; but amongst all the
lower grades of this suspicious profession, nothing
is more common.

Amongst other tricks resorted to by swindling
horse dealers is tliat of Bishopping, an operation
performed on the mouths of horses, with a view
of making them appear young when the natural
marks have become obliterated.

The front teeth in young horses meet exactly in
a line perpendicularly to each other. As the
horse grows older these teeth assume a more hori-
zontal direction, the upper teeth projecting very
considerably over the lower ; at the same time the
upper corner tooth forms a curve over the lower
corner tooth. He therefore forms an artificial
cavity in the head of the corner teeth with an en-
graving tool, and by burning it with a hot iron
gives it a black appearance, quite sufficient to de-
ceive an inexperienced person, but which is easily
detected by those who understand the business ; for,
although the dealer may make these marks in the
corner teeth, he cannot alter their horizontal direc-
tion, nor restore them to that perpendicular ap-
proximation so remarkable at an early period of
life. Neither can he re-produce the ridges of the
roof of the mouth, nor furnish the teeth with their
original concavity. But as it suits the dealer at
times to make an old horse appear young, so, at
others, he is anxious to make a young horse appear
somewhat older. It is very well known that a
horse is more saleable at five years old than at
four, and therefore the dealer attempts to produce
the mark of an additional year, by drawing the
corner teeth before the natural period of their
dropping out. The bars of the mouth are also
cut, to let the tushes protrude prematurely. But
all this is insufficient to deceive the eye of ex-
.perience, though the cheat may succeed with
others ; for, although the corner teeth are removed,
and the appearance of the tushes accelerated, yet
the animal has not attained his fifth year till the
corner teeth, both of the upper and lower jaw,
are complete, and the marks of the middle teeth
begin to fill up. The tushes also should rise con-
siderably above the jaw.

It is difficult to ascertain the precise age of
cvib-biters, and horses whose teeth are extremely
hard : the former lose the marks of their teeth be-
fore the usual period, the latter retain them long
after seven years. In examining a horse's mouth,
it is advisable to observe both sides of it, as a
considerable differenee frequently occurs from the

mastication of the food being performed on one
side of the mouth only ; in which case, the teeth
on that side will have made the greater progress in
alteration.

As a horse becomes old, grey hairs appear on
the forehead, and the lower part of the mouth ;
the lips present a lean and shrivelled appearance,
the lower lip hanging considerably below the upper
lip. The ears also droop latterly.

BRIDLES, SADDLES, &c.

The principal part of the bridle which demands
notice in this place is the bit, which varies in form,
but which only forms two complete divisions,
which are generally designated the snaffle and the
curb. Bits have at various times undergone
alteration, and hence have received the appellation
of the Pelham bit, the Pembroke bit, the Wey-
mouth bit, the Hard and Sharp, the Portsmoutli,
the Chifney, the Cannon, &c.

Strictly speaking there are but two kinds of
bits ; yet, such is their construction, that mildness
or severity may be produced in their operation.
Tiie mildest is the colt's bit, which is made large
and smooth in that part which compresses the
lip against the bars : the larger the mouthpiece of
the bit the milder its operation ; and the colt's bit
is rendered still milder by the centre of the mouth
piece being united with a ring, by which the
pressure becomes less severe. There is usually to
a coil's bit a flat triangular piece of iron fixed to
the ring, and three or four drops suspended from
it, for the purpose of stimulating the tongue to
move, by which means the mouth is kept cool and
refreshed ; if the mouth is suffered to become
dry and hot, numbness and insensibility ensues.
The cheeks to this bit, and indeed to all snafl3es,
should be six inches long , and the eye (to which
the head stall and reins are affixed) sufficiently
large to admit of strong reins working freely.

The common plain snaffle, the mouth piece of
which is generally about the thickness of one's
finger, is so well known as scarcely to require a
description. Some variation in the power of this
bit may be produced by the length and thinness of
the mouth piece, which renders it sharper ; when
thick and short it is mild. A twisted snaffle is
more severe than a smooth snaffle ; and the deeper
and thinner the twist, the sharper the operation
becomes.

The bridoon is a snaffle without the cheek
piece, and is only used witli another bit, where
cheek pieces would be an incumbrance. The bit
should be placed in the horse's mouth, so as not
to wrinkle the corners, or otherwise cause pain to
the animal : it cannot be placed too low as long as
the horse cannot get it over his tushes.

What, strictly speaking, is called the bit, may be
thus divided, the mouth-piece, curb, curb-hook,
chain cheeks, and branches. The mouth-piece is
the part which is placed in the mouth of the horse,
the length of which is usually about five inches
and round, the ends of which should rest on the
bars of the mouth, and the middle form a cavity iu
which the tongue may lie easy. The cheeks are
the parts above the mouth-piece on each side the
jaw ; the branches are the lower parts, upon
which the power of the bit mainly depends, its

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power increasing accoiding to the length of them.
The curb chain is constructed so as to lie smooth
and flat under the jaw.

The bridge of tlie raouth-piece, I would not re-
commend to he higli, as, if so, the horse must be
rendered uncomfortable. The Portsmouth bits were
invented for the purposeof forcing the horse's jaws
open, by which it was supposed a run-away horse
was more easily held.

Tlie bit and bridoon are generally used together,
and form what may be called the double bridle.

The Saddle. — This instrument may be considered
equally as convenient to the liorse as it is to his
rider : it enables the former to carry his burden
with ease and comfort to himself, while it renders
the seat of tl)e latter secure, easy, and pleasant.

The fitting of the saddle contributes greatly to
the ease of both the horse and his rider; and for a
saddle to fit well, the bearing should be equal where
it is intended it should touch; and the closer it
comes down, so that neither the weight of the rider,
nor the settling of the pannel, can bring it to injure
the withers or chine, the better.

Cruppers have, generally speaking, been laid
aside, and very properly so, except in breaking,
where they are necessary : breast-plates are rendered
necessary in hunting, as well as on the course.
Deep chested horses, in high condition, require
breast-plates, particularly in climbing hills.

The Stirrup. — I shall merely remark in this
place, that the spring or drop-stirrup renders it
impossible for the foot to be entangled in it in
case of a fall, is equally pleasant for general use,
and therefore preferable.

The Martingaleis used for the purpose ofprevent-
ing the horse from carrying his head too high. The
head of the horse may he pulled down by means of
the martingale ; but, take it off, and the horse
throws his head up immediately. To be of any
use in this respect, the horse must be constantly
ridden in it ; and should he trip or stumble, if the
rider attempt to assist him, as in ordinary cases,
he can scarcely fail to throw him down, since he
thus derprives the animal of the power of recover-
ing himself. In hunting I consider the use of the
martingale as pregnant with danger. If a horse be
deprived of the free and natural use of his head, he
cannot go through heavj ground without extraor-
dinary distress, nor can he take his jumps with
ease and freedom.

A Lady's saddle should be fitted to the horse
with the greatest exactness possible, as the manner
in which a female sits on horseback cannot fail to
give the saddle an inclination to the near side, and
the horse must consequently suffer if there be not a
correspondence in the saddle. The pommel should
come down as close to the withers as possible, so
as not to touch when pressed by the weight of the
rider ; and ladies' saddles, when properly made
and properly fitted to the horse, will not require
cruppers; hut the girths should be crossed from
the hind part of the saddle to the front, by which
the saddle will be kept more steady : or a strap
from the hind part of the saddle to the fore girth
on the off side, may prevent the saddle from twis-
ting to the near side.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON HORSES.

I have repeatedly observed, that the horse is the
most elegant quadruped in nature; with equal truth,
it may be further remarked, that he is the most use-
ful also : and although infinitely inferior to the
dog in point of sagacity, yet, like that animal, he
possesses the extraordinary faculty of findmg his
way home through a thousand intricate turnings
and windings. Ride a horse a hundred miles from
home, on a road which he has never seen before,
and he will not fail to find his road home, without
a single mistake, if allowed to obey the dictates of
his own sagacity. Some years ago, I rode from
Bowes in Yorkshire to the village of Weardale in
Durham, the distance about thirty miles, and a con-
siderable part of the way across moorlands where the
road or path was very ill-defined, to say nothing of
the endless turnings and twistings of the bye lanes
along which we passed, and which rendered al-
most continual inquiry indispensably necessary,
the road being perfectly unknown to me as well as
to the animal which carried me. I was accompa-
nied by a friend, like myself, entirely unacquainted
with the road, and both of us mounted on ponies.

Utterly strangers to the road, we had to inquire
of almost every person we met, and consequently
proceeded slowly : but we thus never mistook our
course.

After remaining for several days at Weardale,
we set out on our return for Bowes ; and trusting
to the guidance of our ponies, continued our route
without the least interruption, till we had accom-
plished about half the distance, when we came to
a crossing where several roads were presented, one
of which was unhesitatingly taken by our ponies,
which we conceived must be wrong; and we there-
fore turned them about, and took another direction.
The ponies testified reluctance, and it so happened
that we had gone three-quarters of a mile before we
had an opportunity of making the requisite inquiry
— when to our regret we found that we must re-
trace our steps, and take the very road along which
the ponies would have proceeded !

Whence the horse derives the faculty of finding
his way home through all intricacies, is not known,
though it is evident it must result from a sort of
memory — a species of recognition which Phreno-
logists would perhaps denominate ^^Individuality"
and which in fact is common to quadrupeds; but
unknown to, or not possessed by, human nature —
at least in a state of civilization ; although some-
thing of the kind seems to be demonstrated by
savages, and particularly by the Indians of North
America.

It will generally be found that horses with large
wide foreheads are good tempered; on the contrary,
where the forehead happens to be narrow and
small, the animal will manifest a vicious disposi-
tion.

Some horses are alarmed at passing over wooden
bridges, particularly those which swing across ca-
nals ; on which occasions they should be soothed
and coaxed ; and if ihey still refuse to go over, the
rider should dismount and lead the animal, as the
horse will probably follow him ; if there be another
horse in company that will pass over, the alarmed
horse will seldom fail to follow. On occasions
like these, the whip and spur should not be used :

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123

coaxing will allay the fears of the horse, and by a
little practice his alarm will subside altogether.

In cases of fire, horses become so alarmed that
it is difficult to get them out of tlie stable; and it
has sometimes happened that horses have been
burnt to death under such circumstances. Tlie
best plan on such occasions, is to place a bandage
over their eyes and back them out, if they will not
lead. If the horse happens to be in a loose box,
or in such a situation as will allow of his being
turned about, if, after the bandage be placed over
his eyes, he be turned several times round, he will
be easily led away. Where there is not time or
opportunity for bandaging the horse's eyes, let two
men place each a hand over his eyes, and back him
out.

A horse would seem to possess a sort of super-
stitious fear, which is strikingly exemplified in pas-
sing along narrow gloomy lanes amidst the dark-
ness of night ; on which occasions, they will start
at shadows, snort, and testify symptoms of a super-
natural dread, in a manner too evident to be mis-
taken.

Some horses are inclined to lie down, when rid-
den into water, for the prevention of which the fol-
lowing methods are recommended by some of those
sapient gentlemen who have written on the subject,
and amongst the rest by Berringer, who very
seriously tells us, that the rider should be provided
with a flask of water, and at the moment the horse
is about to lie down, the flask should be broken
on his head that the v^ater may run into his ears !
Or the rider may provide himself with two
bullets, with a hole drilled through each to suspend
them by a piece of twine, when the horse attempts
to lie down, to drop the bullets into his ears ! ! !
It is really astonishing how such outrageous non-
sense could enter the head of any human being ;
but, indeed, after what has appeared from the
pen of that inexhaustible scribbler, Mr. John
La\Nrence, upon the subject of horsemanship and
horses, we ought to be surprised at no absurdity
whatever : to remedy for the propensity in ques-
tion, what can be so effectual and so obvious as the
whip or the spur or both? Moreover, if I sus-
pected a horse would be likely to play such a trick,
I would hold his head well up, and apply the spur
if necessary.

In riding down a hill, let it be recollected that
the horse should assume a corresponding declivity,
and for that purpose he should be allowed tiie use
of his head to the necessary extent, or he cannot
accomplish the object. I am aware that, in such a
position, the horse's head will appear at a great
distance, a circumstance which might alarm a timid
rider, from an idea that the horse was about to fall :
he therefore pulls up the horse's head as high as
he can, and, in consequence, the horse is rendered
incapable of placing his fore feet firmly on the
ground, and is therefore very liable to fall. The
horse should have his head freely in going down
hill (as well as upon level ground) by which he
will take a corresponding declivity, the rider's body
being perpendicular ; and, if any suspicion be en-
tertained of the safety of die horse's going, a watch-
ful or ready hand may be kept upon him.

A friend, a few weeks ago, asked me what was
meant by the word Condition, as applied to the

horse ? And my reply was, that the condition must
be understood according to circumstances, since a
horse may be sufiicienlly in condition for slow
work, but yet not able to maintain the pace.
Leaving thecondition of the racer out of the ques-
tion (many of which are overtrained), a hunter, to
be in perfect condition, should have as much
muscle as possible placed on his bones by good
keep, which muscle should be quite divested of
fat, and rendered elastic, firm, and hard, by exer-
cise and friction ; or, in other words, by good
grooming. This being the state of the muscle, the
tendon cannot be wrong; on the muscle and ten-
don mainly depend the speed and strength of the
horse.

It can scarcely have escaped the notice of those
familiar with the subject, that the thorough-bred
horse,after having experienced several removes from
the original Arabian, loses that light, elastic, deer-
like action for wliich the latter is so remarkable,
and which indeed venders his mode of going so
extremely beautiful. It will be very perceptible
in the immediate descendants of the Arabian ; but,
in a few lemoves, it becoms extinct, and in its
place is substituted a tremendous length of stride,
which raises the English thorough-bred horse far
superior to every competitor. If with this length
of stride, the true Arabian action could be pre-
served, the English courser might be regarded as
the very 'perfection of the horse. The Arabian
horses which have hitherto made their appearance
in this country have been small, and therefore in
order to reach the stride of the English racer, se-
veral removes have generally been found necessary
before the requisite size and length could be ob-
tained, and in this process, as I have already ob-
served, the true Arabian action has been lost.

Let us hear what Bruce, the celebrated Abys-
sinian traveller, says upon the subject: —

" At Halfaia (says he) begins that noble race
of horses justly celebrated all over the world. They
are the breed that was introduced here at the Sa-
racen conquest, aud have been preserved unmixed
to this day. They seem to be a distinct animal
from the Arabian horse, such as I have seen in the
plains of Arabia Deserta, south of Palmryra and
Damascus, where I take the most excellent of the
Arabian breed to be, in the tribes of Mowalli and
Armecy, which is about lattitude 36? ; whilst
Dongola, and the dry country near it, seem to be
the centre of excellence for this nobler animal.

" What figure the Nubian breed of horses would
make, in point of fleetness, is very doubtful, their
make being so entirely different from that of the
Arabian ; but if beautiful and symmetrical parts,
great size and strength, the most agile, nervous,
and elastic movements, great endurance of fatigue,
docility of temper, and seeming attachment
to man beyond any other domestic animal, can
promise anything for a stallion, the Nubian is,
above all comparison, the most eligible in the
world. Few men have seen more horses, or more
of the different places where they are excellent, than
I have, and no one ever more delighted in them,
as far as the manly exercise went. What these
may produce for the turf is what I cannot so much
as guess ; as there is not, I believe in the world,
one more indiflferent to, or ignorant of, that amuse-

124

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

ment than I am. The experiment would be worth
tryuig in any point of view : the expence would
not be great.

" A\\ noble horses in Nubia are said to be de-
scended from one of the five upon which Mahomet
and his four immediate successors fled from Mecca
to Medina on the night of the Hegira. The horses
of Halfaia and Gherri are rather smaller than
those of Dongola, few of which are less than six-
teen hands."

All the Arabians which have fallen under my
observation have been little horses, and that this
is generally the case with those imported into this
country is beyond all question ; and in conse-
quence, whenever the pure original blood has been
re-introduced, it has required several removes be-
fore that length and stride could be produced for
which our racers are so very remarkable. Hence
we clearly the perceive the reason why the imme-
diate produce of the little Arab and an English
mare cannot compete with his long-striding rival ;
and on this account therefore the Arab has sunk in
the estimation of breeders.

However, I have uniformly noticed in the imme-
diate descendant of the real Arab, that light,
bounding, deer-like action, which is conspicuous,
and indeed a leading characteristic in the original
breed ; and which evidently decreases the farther
we go from the true source, till at length the mode
of going becomes clumsy and lumheiing. Even
with some of the horses which appear as racers,
this may be noticed ; but such horses are seldom
successful on the turf : nor can they be, since they
substitute strength and stretch for that elastic mo-
tion so essential to true running.

Since, then, the little Arab, or mountain horsai,
is objectionable to the breeder of this country
merely from his diminutive figure, the Nubia, or
horse of Dongola, would form an admirable sub-
stitute ; as, if we are to place confidence in the ac-
counts of those who profess to have been eye wit-
nesses, with every advantage of size, he possesses
all those essential requisites (in a superior degree)
which characterise what is called the thorough-
bred horse.

It is to the spirit of the emulation on the turf
that we are indebted for our prime hunters and
hacks ; if therefore, the horse of Nubia be intro-
duced, and our breed of racers thus improved, we
may fully expect that our hunters and hacks will
experience improvement precisely in the same
ratio.

The inhabitants of these islands are evidently
superior to those of every other country in the
treatment of the horse ; but the breeding depart-
ment is perhaps susceptible of improvement. Tlie
introduction of the horse above noticed might ef-
fect this to a certain extent ; and the judicious se-
lection of individuals would essentially assist in
furtherance of the same object. In the choice of
either stallion or mare, form should be the criterion,
since it is of no consequence what blood either may
possess if the requisite form be wanting. From
form alone, as I have already observed, results both
strength and speed.

In the rearing of foals and young horses, atten-
tion is necessary, particularly in regard to the
ground or pasture. Hilly, dry countries are fa-

vourable to young horses : flat and marshy ground,
the contrary. Horses reared upon soft, moist and
flat grounds have large (srenerally flat and diin)
feet, since moisture promotes the growth of the
horny hoof : further, reared upon ground of this
description, their shoulders become upright from
the mode in which they are compelled to feed —
bringing the head as low as possible, and thus the
shoulder necessarily comes forward. A straight
shouldered horse must be unsafe to ride, and can-
not be fleet. Horses reared in dry hilly countries
have upright hoofs, handsome and good feet ; and
in consequence of feeding princially by the sides
of the hills, their shoulders will assume the de-
clining position — so essential to superior action,to
safe going, to speed, and indeed to every thing
valuable in the horse .

OH ! REST THEE MY HUNTER.

Oh ! rest thee my Hunter, Oh ! sleep while you may,
To-morrow I ride thee, the wild Boar to slay ;
So thick are the covers, the couutry so strong,
So swift are the wild Boars, the Chase will be long.

Then rest well my hunter. Oh! sound may you sleep,
For high are the hills, and the Nullahs are deep ;
When once on thee mounted, the Hog in full view.
Then where is the country we will not get through!

So sure is thy footing, so good is thy speed,
Nor hedges, nor ditches, nor holes do I heed ;
So firm is thy courage, that nought can dismay,
But seal'd is the Boar's death, when once brought to

bay.
Then carry me swiftly, and when thou art old,
I swear not to sell thee, for silver or gold ;
But range at thy pleasure, the rest of thy days,
Thou best of all Hunters, thou brightest of Bays.

G.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE
EXPRESS.

In your paper of the 26tb, I find a person who
signs himself An Old Farmer, giving an account of
the experiment he has made with two sorts of turnip
seed, and proves the Yorkshire seed to excel the other,
and to have withstood the ravages of the fly ; and now
I will give bim my opinion upon the subject. The
reason why the Yorkshire seed was more productive
than the Northamptonshire was undoubtedly this : —
If you will transport either seed or cattle of any de-
scription out of a warm climate into a cold one you will
find the transition very unfavourable to their growth.
This I know by experience, and have paid dear for
it too. Again he says that quick lime destroyed the
aphides ; this I do not believe. My opinion is that
the fine weather has tended to keep up the healthy
state of the plant, and in proportion to the health of
the plant, more or less are they attacked by the fly,
for the fly will not attack a plant till it is become
diseased. And another reason why the Yorkshire
seed was more productive than the other was, that it
had nothing to affect its growth ; by being grown
upon the same soil and in the same climate, it was
of course hardier than the other, and so when sown
maintained its vitality. If he or any other person
will make the contrary experiment they will find
the effects to be the reverse. L. P. G.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

125

STATEMENTS READ AT THE GREAT
AGRICULTURAL DINNER AT MAR-
KETHILL.

No. 1. — Management of Flax and Patatoes, by Mr.
Rennox, Steward to the Rev. Dr. Blacker.

Management of a Flax Crop. — October. — This
ground was ploug'hed out of lea, about 10 or 12 inches
deep. March. — The ground was limed lightly at about
20 barrels per acre. This soil, before the seed was
sown, was prepared and brought to as fine a mould as
possible, and well cleaned of all weeds. After the
seed was sown (on 11th April), as soon as the weather
would allow, it was rolled. This rolling, if performed
in dry weather, in a great degree helps to keep a mois-
ture about the seed, and is of great use if the succeeding
weatker be dry. This flax had sown with it clover and
grass-seed— a greater benefit being derived to these
crops when sown with flax than with any other crop —
and this crop of flax continued growing from the first,
'i'he steeping or watering of this flax was managed in
this way : — It was wholly covered in the water, so that
none appeared above the water or bare, and it was not
pressed too close in the water, for this would spot the
flax, and injure the sale of it — it is a good way to cover
it with any kind of litter, and get a coat of mud on the
top ; this will water it much more pleasing, and will do
it 36 hours sooner. — The greatest difficulty in making
flax saleable is in the watering and grassing. When it
is ready to come out of the water the flax should leave
the bone softly, but not too softly— and if it would feel
hard it should lie 24 hours or so in the rot-heap before
it be spread on the grass — and when the shove leaves
the flax freely, it should be lifted oflfthe grass. If the
watering and grassing be performed correctly it will be
marketable and good stuff.

There was of the above-mentioned flax 71b. perperch,
which equals 70 stone per acre, and 23 stone per bushel
of seed. Allowing this to give, at 8s per stone, 28/.
Total expense per acre, for seed, labour, &c., 5/. Clear
profit, 23/.

The flax on potatoe-ground was of a finer quality
than that which grew upon the lea. The difference is,
the lea flax was a little longer and more strong than
what grew on the potatoe-ground. I would wish also
to mention that an early weeding of the flax is of great
importance before it be grown to any great length.
This potatoe-ground flax had 51b. per perch, which is
•50 stone per acre, and 16 stone per bushel. This flax
being rippled for seed, lost by rippling ^Ib. per perch,
which equals 5 stone per acre. The manner in which
the bowes were saved is as follows :— First, there was a
temporary shed erected in the open field, with lofts in
it for the bowes to be won upon ; the lofts were made
of bramble, so that the air could be admitted through
them, and the covering of the shed were tarpaulings,
fixed so that they covered it through the night, and
Could easily be removed in the day time, and the seed
was turned occasionally, or about twice each day, till
they were ready for carrying home. We kept them in
the shed 14 days, then we removed them home and put
them on a loft — it is now as good as any over-sea seed
could be. There are about 20 bushels of clean flaxseed
per acre, which if sold at 10s per bushel, is 10/. The loss
on flax, by rippling, 2/ ; expense of rippling, per acre,
8s Id ; attending ripplers, and other expenses, until it
was brought home, per acre, 17s. Clear profit, 61
14s lid.

Management of a Crop of Potatoes. — Jan 15. —
This ground was ploughed out of lea as deep as possi-
ble, and after ploughing it got a good cross harrowing,
and was then plough-trenched ; then we took the back
and whit out of the middle of the ridge and levelled up
the trench-furrow — then we put over these ridges about
forty barrels of lime, per acre. After this it was set up
by spades in ridges for potatoes, the furrow being taken
out of the middle of the former ridge — then we picked
the furrows and dug them so as to raise as much sub-
soil as possible to put over the ridges as for earthing the
potatoes. As it is evident by sinking the furrows we

rais6 some stones, and in order to clean the ground of
them we made a sewer in every sixth or seventh furrow.
By this kind of culture, which we may call winter-
fallowing, we can grow wheat on ground which before
we commenced this labour would not grow that crop
with advantage ; and, also, grass and clover with a
much greater benefit. These potatoes were set about
the latter end of April, we put them in by the back of
the spade, for as the soil being in this form it is much
drier and will favour the early setting of the potatoe
crop, as it is better to have them in early in case of a
failure, so that they might be renewed again in time.
The manner in which we keep our seed potatoes is this : —
we let them be as ripe as possible before we dig them out,
and when we dig them out we arrange them in the pits
so as not to have too many together. — We give them a
light covering with the shoves of the flax. This, in a
great measure, prevents a dampness or the sweating of
the potatoe ; then we put about eight inches of earth
over that, adding a scraw on the top.

By the foregoing management we have five bushels
per perch (Englisli), which equals 800 bushels per acre
—and this crop of potatoes was grown on lime alone
vsithout any other kind of manure. If a wheat crop
have to be put in, it may be dug in by the digging out
of the potatoes. We dig them out standing on the dug
ground, and put the spade under them ; this can be
done without cutting any of the potatoes, which is also
profitable. We had no failure in our potatoes this
year, and we had about twelve acres set. But I think
a great many people suffer injury by letting the seed lie
too long on the ground before they cover it, exposed to
both the heat of the sun and air ; but our mode of
setting does not expose them, in any manner, as the seed
is covered as sooa as it is dropped.

No. 2. — Letter from G. Meara, Esq., as to the making
up of Butter in County Waterford.

May Park, Waterford, Nov. 10, 1836.

My dear Mr. Blacker, — I have made the inquiry you
wish for in your letter, which I received yesterday.
There is a pretty good supply of fine butter at the
Waterford market, which brings within a few shillings
per cwt, of the Dutch in England ; but the quantity
made up as Dutch, packed in similar casks to Dutch, is
very trifling, those casks being large, about 1 cwt.,
whilst the usual Irish package is a firkin, about 3 qrs.
gross, or651bs to 701bs. In the make of butter the
milk or cream should not be suffered to sour, but
churned sweet, and the milk well washed out, with as
little handling as possible ; the quantity of salt to each
firkin not to exceed four pints ; and if the butter be in-
tended for early consumption, but three pints of salt
will be sufficient. The salt should be made as fine as
possible, and when the finest salt cannot be had, it
shoald be pulverized with a rolling pin ; about a tea-
spoonful of saltpetre to each firkin, is considered by
some an improvement. The Dutch casks are made of
seasoned ash, with osier hoops, twelve in number, and
peeled, which gives the cask a white, neat appearance ;
each cask contains from lOOlb^to ir21bs of butter. This
package is nearly given up here, and almost all the
butter goes in firkins, full bound ; most particular atten-
tion should be given to have the butter well packed,
and that the timber be well-seasoned, of which the
package is made.

I believe I have answered all the butter queries, and
shall be happy, at all times, to hear from you on any
subject. — Believe me your's, very truly.

George Mxara.

No. 3. — Letter from S. Carry, Esq., Netvry, on same
subject.

Newry, 15th Nov., 1836.
Dear Sir, — From the best information I can collect,
on the subject of making up butter in this country, too
much salt is used. One ounce of good Lish salt to the
pound of butter is sufficient, and butter so made up
would command a better price.

S. COHRT.

126

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

No. 4. — Statement of the quick growth of Rye Grass,
by Mr. O'Neill.

Italian Rye Grass, sown June 23d, 1836, measured
18 inches, Aug'ust 8th; 24j inches, Aug'. r2th ; 31 J-
inches, August 15th ; 33 inches August, 21st.

Rape Crop for 1835. — The rape crop highly deserves
all the applause which we can give it, as it supports our
cattle in that season of the year when there is no other
green herbage to be got. I, therefore, state the dif-
ferent quantities sown and cut at different times as fol-
lows : — First sowing, sowed 20th July ; first cutting of
do., 3d February, 'equals 2 cwt. per perch, which is 16
tons per acre : and second cutting of do., 5th April,
equals 1| cwt. per perch, which is 12 tons per acre.
Second sowing, sowed 20th August ; first cutting of
do., 20th May, equals 2| cwt. per perch, whicli is 22
tons per acre. Now, three acres of the above rape have
supplied our cattle with a sufficiency of green food for
the Spring quarter.

No. 5. — Statement of Italian Rye Grass by Mr. Rennox,
Italian Rye Grass. — This seed was sown in April
with flax, and as it grows to a great length, care must
be taken to separate the flax from it in the pulling,
some of it being from four to five feet long in August ;
and when the flax was pulled we mowed the grass to en-
courage a good sole. The pulling of the flax does not
injure it, if performed with care, for sometimes the first
joint may be pulled ofl^, but if the root be not disturbed
it does no harm ; and in better than two months it has
grown two feet long, and has a very healthy and green
blade ; and by the appearance of it now I think it will
stand the Winter's frost, and be a great assistance to
rape feeding.

No. 6. — Letter from Henry T. Higginson, Esq., Lisburn,
on the same subject,

Lisburn, Nov. 9, 1836.

I sowed two garden plots with it, one of them the
latter end of March. There was about half an English
acre in it, and I sowed :^ths of a bushel in it. I cut the
grass from it the latter end of June, and again cut it the
latter end of August, and I am cutting it a third
time, and it is good feeding, as green food, for cows.
The first time I cut it it was better than four feet three
inches long, the second was better than four feet long,
and it is now two and a half feet long. The second
plot I sowed the latter end of April, and I cut it the first
time about the 7th of July, and I have cut again since
in September, and had the weather not been so severe
I am sure I could have cut again the end ol this month.
The ground was garden-ground, and in good garden
condition. 1 am sincerely your's,

Henry T. Higginson.

P.S.— I tried to save the seed, but the grass was too
rank, and lay down.

No. 7. — Statement by C. W. Hamilton, Esq., of the pro-
gress of the Green Crop system in Westmeath.

Harewood, November 2.
My dear Sir, — 1 returned yesterday evening from a
visit with Mr. Tighe to his Westmeath estate. He
seemed to be pleased with the enthusiasm shewn by the
turnip coverts; and, indeed, although it is difficult to
prevent one-self from being too sanguine, I am a little
provoked with the tardiness of some. I do not think I
have any reason to be dissatisfied with the progress
made in our second season — and the content and grati-
tude of those who are really reaping the benefit of the
system is very inspiriting. The poor tenants are the
most improving. It is hard to move those in whom
extreme poverty does not act as an incentive to extraor-
dinary exertion. I have been obliged to lend money
to some tenants to buy cows to eat this food ; but I
hope it will be possible soon to do this through the
means of a Loan Society, when demands become more
frequent on Mr. Tighe's estate. Out of 71 tenants 48
have sown clover, which had never been in use in that
part of the country before ; 50 have sown vetches ; 32

have sown turnijK and mangel wurzel ; 15 cows have
been house-fed during the whole Summer, and the
number will now rapidly increase. I have more diffi-
culty with the tenants of Wilson's Hospital, but still
there are about 40 tenants who have come into the
system, and some upon a large scale. A few have sown
as much as an Irish acre of turnips. On Mr. Tighe's
estate one man, whose rent is 21 4s 5d per annum,
shewed us a cow and two pigs : for the pigs he had re-
fused 11; and since the first of June he had made 4/ by
the butter of liis cow : he had formerly been in the
habit of paying 31 for her Summer's grass ; he had
sown clover and vetches together in April last, and cut
it twice since then. Another man showed us a dunghill
near as high as his house — he said that, two years ago,
he had been obliged to thrash out all his oats to make
the rent, and that now he had manure enough to ma-
nure all his ground, his full rent in his pocket, and not
a sheaf touched yet. We did not hear a complaint
about the amount of rent, which, certainly, is very mo-
derate ; but on the contrary, the most exulting boasting
of their readiness to pay it. I am sure these instances
will give you pleasure, and I am sure also, that, even
if these two were all I could quote, you would bid me
not despair of seeing a great change in the comforts of
the people, after the lapse of a few years.

Charles W. Hamilton.

No. 8. — Statement of Hugh M' Sherry of the Improve-
ments in his Farm.
Dear Sir, — 1 would wish to inform your Honor in re-
spect of the improvements I have made. Sometime
back I had only i7 acres of land, and at the present I
hold 47 acres. The enlargement of the same cost me
4001, and the rebuilding of my house 160/ — which suras
were solely realized from farming. The greater part
of my land was in spent bog, which, in reclaiming the
same, necessarily occasioned the fields to be small.
Your Honor's advice to the tenants was to put down
all useless ditches. I have done so, filling up the gripes
with stones and have from four to five acres in each
field. I consider that, by following your Honor's ad-
vice, I have gained three acres of land : and should your
Honor call on me this evening I will give further ex-
planation.

I remain, truly, your most obedient servant,

Hugh M'Sherry.

No. 9. — Mr, Simpson^s Statement to prevent failure in
Potatoe Crop,

Having had a total failure in my potatoe-crop in the
year 1832, since that period I have used every means in
my power to find out the cause. As to the potato de-
generating there can be no doubt of it, but by good
cultivation there can be much done to prevent it The
ground should be ploughed early in the season, and
well limed, and made very fine before putting the ma-
nure out ; the manure when put out should be imme-
diately covered to prevent the juice from leaving it. I
have found, when the ground or manure were in a damp
or moist state, no failure whatever. In my land, this
year, there are 18 lots, set in roods to separate persons,
and the seed all different, and not a failure in the whole,
■while all my neighbours have more or less n.issed. As
regards my seed potatoes, when taken out at Novem-
ber, I have them put in their binns, and well covered
with earth alone, until I am going to plant them ; I
then have them cut 24 hours before planting. By
adopting this plan I have succeeded in my potato-crop
for the last three years.

Wm. Simpson,

Killeen, 21st Nov. 1836.

No. 10. — Mr. Bruce's Experimental Results on the
Failure of the Potatoe Crop.
I have found that all potatoes put into the ground
the same day that the drills were opened, and manure
spread, and immediately covered up and rolled, were
no failure ; if delayed till next day in the afternoon, a

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

127

complete failure. For experiment, I dried 24 potato©
sets in the sunshine for nine days, until they were com-
pletely withered and soft. I then put 12 of them into
new dug soil, and all turned out healthy plants. The
other 12 I put into dry, withered soil, in the common
way, and all failed. The sets were put in at the same
time.

All ground for potatoes should be ploughed early in
Winter, and again in March, should be ploughed, har-
rowed, and cleaned of weeds, and left down in a fine,
smooth state ; and if a drought commences in April,
let the farmer plough as much every morning as his
help can finish that day, while the soil is moist. As
potatoes are getting- more tender, they are not able to
stand such rough labour as they have done formerly.
Whenever the soil is much drier than the cut seed the
dry moulds suck the moisture from the seed sooner
than the potatoe can vegetate, which causes the dry-
rot. I have taken potatoes this season in June which
had been in the ground all winter, when they were four
and five inches long, with green tops, and cut them,
and not failed when they were planted in moist soil.

Thomas Bruce.

No. 11. — George Scott's account of his Experiment in
feeding Milch Cattte upon boiled Turnips and steamed
cut Hay.

TO WM. BLACKER, ESQ.

Sir, — By giving the following statement publicity
with the proceedings of the farmers' dinner, it may be
of use to some of its readers. I tried the experiment as
directed by you of feeding with boiled turnips and
steamed hay cut, and I find a great deal more benefit
by it in the increase of milk than feeding with the raw
turnip. I began to feed one springirg cow in the month
of Feb. : at that time she was giving about four quarts
per day with the above feeding, together with a little
bran. The increase of milk in one week was two quarts
per day. I would recommend this feeding of milk cat-
tle to persons that have plenty of firing. A springer
fed in this way in winter will give a great deal more
milk when calved in summer. 1 remain, your obedient
servant, Geo. Scott.

Lurgaboy, Nov. 18th, 1836.

No. 12. — Ejcrperiwent of Mr. Wm. Herd, Steward to
Earl of Gosford, as to feeding Milk cows on boiled Flax-
seed, and Cost of sowing Flaxseed.

Gosford, 18th Nov., 1836.
Sir, — This year I have rippled six acres of flax, and
from that I have 210 bushels of flax-boles, and according
to the experiment made, each five bushels of boles will
give one bushel of seed. According to this calculation
there will be forty two bushels of seed. Expense of
rippling is 41 2s ; kiln-drying, II Os 2d, which I think is
the cheapest way of saving- the seed — the value of the
seed at 10s per bushel will be 21/. I have made an ex-
periment of feeding one cow on flaxseed ; in the course
of four days her milk increased from 5 quarts to 7^
quarts. I have given her 3 quarts of seed each day :
the way I prepared it was this — by boiling it two hours,
adding water to it as was required, also a small quantity
of salt The value of this seed would be lljd per day.
I am, Sir, your humble servant, Wm. Herd.

I am afraid you will think the foregoing account and
documents too long for insertion ; but I have not been
able to give you half of what passed, and which would
be most instructive to tbe great body of Irish small far-
mers to hear. I hope you will consider the report as
important as I do.

In the Eastern part of this county, the snow storm
was severely felt, and great losses have in consequence
been sustained. Mr. Smitli, of Cadborough, near Rye,
had a thousand sheep, we hear, buried in the snow,
which had drifted into the dykes in Romney Marsh, of
which number, nearly 500 perished. Twenty six sheep
belonging to Mr. Tourle of Landport have also been
frozen to death. In Pensenvey Marsh likewise many
jheep were lost in a similar way.

PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURAL ANT)
GENERAL PROSPERITY.

The following- extract from a statistical work re-
cently published by J. R. M'Culloch, Esq., gives a
cheering view of the general progress of Society as
evidenced in a better and larger supply of food, in
the present day, compared with that of the " good
old days."

" Ml. Charles Smith, the well-informed author of
the tracts on the corn trade, estimated the popula-
tion of England and Wales, in 1760, at 6,000,000.,
which as we h-ave previously seen, was pretty near
the truth. He then estimated the consumers of each
sort of grain, the quantity consumed by each indi-
dual, and conrequently, the whole consumed by man,
as follows : —

Estimated
Population
of England
and \Vale:

Average consumption of each
Person.

3,750,(100 Consumersof wheat, at 1 qreacl
730,(100 — ofbarley, at 1|

888,000 — ofrye, atl4

623,000 — ofoaEs, at 2g

IConsumed by man

Consumed by
Man,

3,750,000 qrs.

i, 016,125 —

999,000 —

1,791,225 —

7,556,350 qrs.

" Now, it will be observed, that of the 6,000,000
of people in England and Wales, in 1760, Mr.
Charles- Smith tells us that no fewer than 888,000
fed on rye. But at present we are quite sure there
are not 20,000 who use that species of grain. The
rye eaters have universally almost been changed into
wheat eaters ; and, except in the couaty of Durham,
where a mixture of wheat and rye called maslin,
is grown, the culture of rye is almost unknown.
Nearly the same may be said of the consumption of
barley. In the northern counties of England, at
the middle of the last century, and for long after,
very little wheat was used. In Cumberland, the
principal families used only a small quantity about
Christmas. The crust of the goose-pie, with which
every table of the county is then supplied, was. at
the period referred to, almost uniformly made of
b-arley-meal. But no such thing- is now ever heard
of, even in the poorest houses. Almost all indivi-
duals use wheaten bread at all times of the year.
It is in fact, the only bread ever tasted by those
who live in towns and villages, and mostly, also, by
those who live in the country.

It has been tbe same every where throughout the
kingdom. In Cornwall from 30 to 40 years ago, the
small fanners, with the agricultural labourers, and
those employed in the mines, almost invariably used
barley ; but at present they do not use it to any
thing like the same extent as formerly, and in many
extensive districts it has been entirely abandoned.
The same thing has happened in Somersetshire, and
in every other county where either barley or oats
was formerly made use of. Wheat is now the all
but universal bread-corn of England ; and in some
of the manufar uring towns, within the last fevv
years, the useo' the inferior sorts of wheaten bread
has been a good deal restricted ; and is rejected
indeed by all but the very lowest and poorest
classes.

" The change that has taken place during- the last
half century in the consumption of butcher's meat,
is still more extraordinary than that which has taken
place in the consumption of corn. The quantity
made use of has been wonderfully increased,
and its quality signally improved. From 1746 to
about 1750, the population of the metropolis iluctu-

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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE

ated very little ; amounting, during the whole of
that period to about 670,000 or 675,000. Now,
during the 10 years ending with 1750, there were
at an average, about 74,000 head of cattle, and about
570,000 head of sheep sold annually in Smithfield
market. In 1831, the population had increased to
1,472,000, or in the ratio of about 218 per cent. ;
and at an average of the 3 years, ending with 1831,
156,000 head of cattle, and 1,238,000 head of sheep
were annually sold in Smithfield ; being an increase
of 212 per cent, on the cattle, and of 217 per cent.
on the sheep '.is compared with the numbers sold in
1740—50. It consequently appears that the number
of cattle and sheep consumed in London has in-
creased, since 1740, about in the same proportion
as the population. The weight of the animals has,
however, a good deal more than doubled in the in-
terval. In the earlier part of last century, the gross
weight of the cattle sold at Smithfield did not, at an
average, exceed 3701bs., and that of the sheep did
not exceed 28 lbs. ; whereas, at present, the average
weight of the cattle is estimated to about 800 lbs.,
and that of the sheep at about 80 lbs. Hence, on
the most moderate computation, it may be affirmed
that the consumption of butcher's meat in the motro-
polis, as compared with the population, is twice as
o-reat at this moment as in 1740 or 1750.

STOCK OF CORN IN FOREIGN
PORTS.

Since the rumour went forth tliat the harvest had failed
in England numerous speculations have been entered
into on the continent, in anticipation that our ports would
be opened. That grain must be imported seems to have
been taken for granted ; but it was explained some
weeks ago, that the large quantity here in bond, and the
larger quantity lying in foreign ports which had been
already paid for with British capital, rendered it proba-
ble that it would not be necessary to send much gold
out of the country for such a purpose. It, however, has
now become a question of some interest what quantity
of wheat of each quality may be obtained at those places
from which a supply may be drawn. A first-rate mer-
chant's house in the city received on Saturday the fol-
lowing detailed account of the wheat now on hand at
Leghorn. The writer dates on the 16th December : —

STOCK OF WHEAT AT LEGHORN, Dec. 16.

SACKS. lbs. LIVRES.

4,500 Soft Odessa 1st qual., 1834 167 to 168 13^ to 14
70,000 Ditto 2d ditto, 1835 161 to 164 12^ to 13

2,000 ditto, inferior 158 to 159 12

10,000 Barletta prime quality . . 170 to 172 15
25,000 Ditto, 2d quality 162 to 164 13^ to 14

8,000 Ditto, very mferior .... 159 to 160 12|

12,000 Danube, inferior 152 to 154 9 to 10

15,OOo Egypt, white and red 146 to 147 84 to 9h

4,000 Maremma 168 to 171 13 to 14

58,000 Hard Taganrog Marianop 175tol77 13^tol4

16,000 Ditto, 2d quality 172 to 174 I2| to 13

20,000 Ditto, 3rd quality 165 to 170 11| to 12

8,000 Ditto Naples and Sicily 164tol68 ll|tol2

6,500 Ditto. Meschiglie Morea 162 to 164 10 to lOi

259,000
6,000 different qualities.

265,000

2,600 Black Sea Rye 160 8^ to 9^

6,000 Tuscan Oats 110 to 112 5|to 6

2,000 Naples ditto 99 5 to 5§

PNEUMONIA— CARDITIS— HEPA-
TITIS.

By Mr. W. Dodman, Thorney Abbey, near
Peterborough.

(From the Veterinarian.)

A very beautiful grey aged cart-mare was ob-
served by the carter to have a slight cough. Two
days afterwards she refused her food : the circum-
stance was mentioned to the owner, who immediately
sent her to me.

I first saw the mare on the 24th November, 1836,
10 A.M. Pulse oppressed, 50; breathing hurried;
nostrils expanded ; schneiderian and conjunctival
membranes much reddened ; stiflhess about the fore-
quarters, and unwillingness to move them ; ears and
legs rather cold. I bled to the extent of Ibxviij,
which seemed to have a very beneficial effect. I
gave magnes. sulph. 5^iy> digitalis pulv. ^j ; and
ordered clysters of warm water, with a small quan-
tity of table salt to be frequently thrown up ; the
legs to be well rubbed and bandaged, and the mare
to be warmly clothed and placed in a cool box.

4 p. M. — Membranes continue injected ; pulse again
oppressed, 50 ; respiration worse ; ears cold. Bleed
to Ibxij ; a warm perspiration immediately followed,
and in other respects she seemed much relieved.
Blister the sides : insert rowel in chest; and give
the following in gruel every six hours : — potass
nitr. irij. digitalis, antim. tartar, aa 'zj.

9 r. M. — Pulse 76, full ; breathing better, ears and
legs warm. She has been down, and moves about
her box. I think her better on the whole, but the
state of her pulse is calculated to create alarm.

25tb, 10 A.M. — Pulse same as last night; other
symptoms the same. Rowel is beginning to take ef-
fect; the blister has not risen ; indeed, it has hardly
had time to do so ; but I am anxious to obtain speedy
counter-irritation, therefore rub in some blistering
liniment. Continue clysters and other treatment.

9 p. M. — The bowels have been kept in very regu-
lar condition by the clysters. The membranes are
still injected — that of the nose has assumed more of
a purple hue; she breathes better; there is more
of regularity and natural action at her flanks ; her
ears and legs are of the natural warmth, but she is
fidgety, her countenance is anxious, and her pulse
has increased to 100, hard and full. The action of
the heart is now distinctly audible at a short distance
from her side. Her strength is remarkably well
maintained. Bleed to Ibxij ; let the medicine be
given every four hours, blister repeated, and other
treatment continued. Her only food consists of a
few slices of carrots and a little hay. Each bleeding
was pursued until the pulse was sensibly affected, or
fainting appeared.

26th, 10 A.M. — The bleeding of last night has not
at all affected her pulse, which continues the same
in frequenc}' and character. I have now scarcely a
ray of hope of her recovery. Her strength is rapidly
declining ; depletive measui'es, therefore, must not
be carried further. The other symptoms are much
the same as last night, except that the conjunctiva
has put on a yellow tinge. Horn down some thick
gruel, and continue treatment, repeating the blister,
&c.

9 P.M. — Much worse. Ears and legs cold — deathy,
clayey cold ; pulse 100, full, intermittent ; then
small; then it would beat a few powerful strokes,
pause, again become feeble, succeeded by palpita-
tion. She has been observed to look round at her
sides two or three times during the day, and she has

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129

laid down o n her left side, but only for a moment.
Her dissolution is fast approaching. The rowel is
going on well, but the blister has not risen. A sour-
smelling froth hangs about her mouth. I did not
believe she would continue long, but was determined
to use every available means. Rub a strong stimu-
lating embrocation on her legs ; apply hot fomenta-
tions to the blister for an hour ; and let the follow-
ing medicine be given every six hours, the first dose
with 5^iy ol- lini, hydrarg. subm., digitalis, gen-
tian, aa ^j.

lO p. M. — I was sent for in great haste. The fo-
mentations had been used about half an hour, when
the mare fell down, and all present supposed she
was dying. When I arrived she had become more
tranquil, was on her legs, and drank about three
quarts of gruel. All the symptoms are aggravated.
The pulse is increased in frequency, being about
100, and maintaining its strange, irregular charac-
ter. The maie died about half past one.

Remarks. Sectio Cadaver is. — The lungs were only
slightly inflamed, by which I must suppose that, al-
though the symptons were, in the early stage, de-
cidedly those of pneumonia, and of a very urgent
character, the inflammation had by metastasis, assumed
a more serious form, viz., carditis ; probably from
constitutional diathesis, as the mare was in high
condition. The heart shewed appearances of the in-
tensest inflammation, was enlarged, and both ven-
tricles filled with blood. The liver was just begin-
ning to participate in the mischief. The abdominal
viscera were quite healthy.

This, in the beginning, was a clearly-marked case
of inflammation of the lungs, and seemed to be giving
way to the measures I adopted ; but the delusion was
transient : all the symptons speedily assumed an ex-
traordinary and fearful character, anomalous and
contradictory. The breathing improves, the animal
lies down, her extremities become warm, but the
membranes continue highly injected, and the pulse
still rises, and becomes full and hard, although the
most energetic treatment was observed. Balan-
cing the symptoms together, I concluded that the
inflammation had become transferred to the heart ; and
the inactivity of the blister proved the intensity of
that inflammation, and the little hope of recovery.
How rapidly were the organs of the circulation in -
volved, as it were, in common sympathy ; and yet a
diagnostic symptom for each. The yellowness of
the eye plainly indicated that the liver was not free
from the almost general derangement. The blood,
in all the bleedings, did not separate, but formed
speedily into a dark homogenous mass. It is an in-
structive case, and one which I consider calculated
to throw light on future practice.

Tobacco and Sheep. — Mr. M'Queen, in his
Statistics, pages 19 and 21, proves that the number of
sheep in the United Kingdom cannot be less than
48,000,000. If one great agTiculturist in Kent requii-e's
eight tons of tobacco or 16,000 lbs. for the use of his
tenantry, and which the government has permitted to
be sent from the London Docks duty free, though the
duty amounted to 2,400/, we may presume that every
farmer in the United Kingdom would require a propor-
tionate quantity for his flock, provided he could obtain
it at a moderate price. If we reckon four ounces to be
the least quantity which each sheep would require to
keep it in health, the consumption, for that purpose
only, would be 12,000,000 lbs, which, at the duty of Is
per lb, would produce a revenue of 600,000/. This is
another strong fact proving the impolicy and injustice
of the government in continuing the present enormous
duty of 3s per lb.

KENT AND CANTERBURY CATTLE
SHOW.

The show was much thinner supplied with all de-
scriptions of stock than we have of late seen it. In both
sheep and cattle, however, the quality was very supe-
rior. The following prizes were awarded : —

First premium, best cart stallion — W. Roper,

Teynham 7 7

2nd ditto, best yearling cart colt — A. Neame,

near Faversham S 0

3rd ditto, best bull not under two years old — J.

P. Plumptre, Fredville 6 0

4th ditto, best fat ox or steer — Ditto § 6

5th ditto, best fat ox or steer bred and fed in the

county— Ditto 10 10

6th ditto, best fat maiden heifer, ditto — D. Dixon,

Moldash S 0

7th ditto, best pair of heifers under three years

old — T. A, Champion, Sarre 5 0

8th ditto, best pen of 3 one-year old long-woolled

wethers — W. J. Lushington, Rodmersham . . 5 0
9th ditto, second best ditto — J. Wotton, Ford-

wich 4 0

10th ditto, best pen of 3 two year old ditto — J.

Neame, Selling 5 0

1 1th ditto, second best ditto — Ditto 4 0

12th ditto, best pen of 3 one year old ditto, bred

and fed in the county, on grass only — T. Dodd,

Throwley 5 0

13th ditto, second best ditto— John Wotton,Ford-

wich 4 0

14th ditto, best pen of 3 two year old, ditto —

Ambrose Collard, St. Nicholas S 0

15th ditto, second best ditto — W. Stunt, Seving-

ton 4 0

16th ditto, best pen of 3 long-woolled ewe tags —

W. J. Lushington, Rodmersham 4 4

17th ditto, second best ditto— Ditto 2 2

18th ditto, best one year old long-woolled ram

— Stephen Swinford, Sarre 5 5

19th ditto, best two year ditto — Edwai'd Slater,

Preston 5 0

20th ditto, best pen of 3 one year oldshort-wooll-

ed wethers— G. Eastes, Waldershare 5 0

21st ditto, best pen of 3 two year old ditto — J. P.

Plumptre, Fredville 5 0

22nd ditto, best pen of 3 short-wooUed ewe tags

— Lord Guilford, Waldershare 5 0

23rd ditto, best one year old short-woollod ram —

H. Boys, Esq,. Malmains 5 0

24th ditto, best two year old ditto — Ditto 5 0

25th ditto, to the grower of a best long-woolled

fleece— J. Oakley, Frindsbury 3 3

26th ditto, to the grower of the best south down

fleece — H, Boys, Esq., Malmains. 3 3

27th ditto, most approved lot of Swedish turnips

—T. Coleman, Ash 2 0

28th ditto, most approved lot of any other sort —

Ditto 2 0

29th ditto, most approved lot of mule turnips —

J. P. Plumptre, Fredville 2 0

30th ditto, most approved lot of mangel wurzel

roots Robinson, Preston 2 0

31st ditto, heaviest lot of ditto— S. Collard, Chis-

lett 2 0

32nd ditto, to Thomas Leonard, shepherd to Sir

Edward Dering, having reared 428 lambs from

400 ewes 3 0

33rd ditto, to William Watson, shepherd to Mrs.

Weston, Tenterden, having reared 182 lambs

from 142 ewes 3 0

34th ditto, no competition — given to Thomas

Crow,having' worked 55 years under E. Knight,

Esq., Godmersham 3 0

35th ditto, to Richard Rolfe, shepherd to Mr.

Eastes, Guston Court, having reared 155 lambs

from 120 ewes 3 0

Judges. — Horses : Wilham Petley, Ash.
Sheep : James Putland and F, Murton. Bul«

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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

locks : William Hobbs, James Bacon, and George
Bank. Roots : William Masters and Charles Leese.

Extra Stock. — Tlie Judg-es highly commended Sir
Edward Dering's Durham cow, and Mr. Solly's Sussex
cow.

Extra Sheep. — The Judges also highly commended
Mr. Gascoyne's one year old long-woolled wethers, and
one year old ram : also, Aid. H. Cooper's one year old
long-woolled wethers, grass fed ; Mr. Wotton's ewe
tag ; Mr. R. CoUard's two long-woolled lambs ; and
Mr. G. Morgan's two one year old rams.

The wool of Mr. Boy's short-wooUed tags was highly
commended.

THE TURNIP FLY.

The Turnip Fly is not always of one kind, but the
difference in them is not very important, for they
only alter in tbeir paint, their build is always alike.
The most common is the bottle-green, but in some
fields all are painted black, with a white line on each
side from stern to stern down the deck. They are
so active, that the only way in which I could ever
obtain them in newly sown fields, was by sweeping
the surface with a gauze net on an iron hoop at the
end of a strongisb stick. They jump like fleas as
soon as they see you. This insect, or rather its
grub, commences its attack on the turnip as soon as
it is up, avoiding the two catyledons and the little
heart, and sometimes in a few days leaving the field
as brown as it was on the day it was sown. Schemes
without number have been tried to get rid of, or kill
this little pest wherever it has appeared. I have
always observed the greatest quantity of grubs on
very young plants ; they are very various in size,
and it is nut before the plants are a fortnight or three
weeks old, that the beetles appear in any quantities.
Yet there are some beetles observed from the first
coming up of the plant. Now, I know from expe-
rience, that turnip fly feeds on wild mustard, and
several other hedge plants, and therefore it is not
improbable that when they smell the fragrance of the
fresh bursting catyledons of their favorite food they
would skip down from their Spring habitations, the
liedges, and make their attack. I first sowed some
seed in a flower-pot, with earth out of my garden ;
it produced the insect in abundance, ^nd : I in-
closed the jiot with pasteboard and canvass, with
the same success ; but there was still a possibility
of the enemy getting in, as I had not made the cover
sufficiently close. 3rd : I made a light frame, about
eight inches square, covering it with a very fine silk
gauze, carefully stopping the crevices of the door
with wasted paper, and round the pot where the cover
was fastened on it with putty, so that there was no
possibility of any thing coming to it from without.
Yet this experiment was attended with tlie same suc-
cess ; except that one point, that is, a negative
point, was now proved, namely, that the fly did not
come to the turnip from other plants, and this was a
point gained. 4th : I baked the earth in a cast-iron
pot over the fire, and used no other water to the seed
but such as I had boiled myself, applying it at the
bottom of the pot in a common feeder. Then I exer-
cised the same care, and took the same precautions
as before ; I did not take off the cover till the plants
were of a considerable size, and I found them all
alive with beetles. I had now made another step ;
having before found that the beetles did not come
from other plants, it was now clear that it was not in
the earth, nor in the water. 5th: With a lens I
examined the seed, and found on it a number of
white flattish substances; some of the seeds were

without any, but there were generally one, two,
three, four, and in one instance five on a single
seed ; these 1 concluded were eggs, and I thought
the only way left me was to attack them. It would
have been enough to take them off" with a needle, but
I could not see how I was to employ a needle and a
magnifying glass on a sack of turnip seed. I, there-
fore, made some pretty strong brine, and soaked the
seed in it for twenty-four hours, then dried it tho-
roughly, and, with all the precautions I have men-
tioned, I sowed it again, and I found that without
weakening the brine, if the seed was only kept in it
three hours, there were no beetles, but yet the seed
came up as well as ever. I now practised this me-
thod with the turnip seed, cabbage seed, and, in fact,
with all the cruciform plants in common cultivation,
with very satisfactory success.

The whole of these experiments were made on
Swedish turnip, which is generally more infested
by these beetles than any of our older sorts.

RUSTIC US— Ent. Mag.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE
EXPRESS.

Sir, — I beg to assure your correspondent, " An
Old Farmer'' that I am very sorry for the disappoint-
ment he has experienced in sowing some of my
Swedish turnip seed. I should have beeumuch sur-
prised at his statement of the defective weight pro-
duced from my seed, had it not been for the follow-
ing circumstances: — Atthe usual time of transplant-
ing turnips for seed, in 1835, my farming foreman
began bv taking the turnips fiom a crop that had
been sown very earl)' ; they were apparently fine,
but from the dryness of the summer, the tops had
mildewed, the general consequence in such a case
is, that the turnips if left till spring, are seldom free
from some decay at the root ; finding these were
not, I had others planted that were smaller, of crop
sown much later. The seed produced from the
large turnips ripening prematurely, I had it cut first,
and my farming man put it into a separate sack. My
house-servant weighed the seed out as it was wanted ;
but it was unknown to me till the sowing was over,
that he had made a mistake in the sack, and sent out
some part of the inferior seed, which no doubt your
correspondent had. If he will be good enough to
favour me with his address, I shall have pleasure
in begging his acceptance of half a dozen pounds of
my seed raised this year, and I flatter myself that (if
he approves of a sort that will not, if left till spring,
lun to neck and produce worthless fangs,) he will
liite the turnips.

In mentioning my sort of Swedes in my Summary
of Practical Farming, I observe that a greater weight
per acre may be obtained by a coarser kind, which I
think perhaps, for my stall feeding purpose, might
answer better. For three or four years past I have
sowed small quantities of many sorts that have been
highly spoken of, but have never yet had a sort that I
liked enough to transplant for seed. Perhaps your
correspondent will favour me with a small quantity,
(half a pound will be enough) of his seed.

I travelled through a great deal of country last
October, but certainly did not see one crop of Swe-
dish turnips superior to mine. The weight per acre
I did not know, for as there were only Lord
Spencer and myself this year in the Northampton-
shire Sweepstakes, as his Lordship's crop could not

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131

at all compete with mine, it was not weighed ; had
if been, I have no doubt but it would have been
quite equal to your correspondent's crop produced
from Yorkshire seed. — I remain. Sir, Your's, Sec,

C. HILLYARD.
Thiyrpelat}ds, near Northampton, Dec, 27, 1836.

SMITHS SUB-SOIL PLOUGH.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK-LANE EXPRESS.

Ossington Farm, Dec. 23.

Sm, — The article which you have copied from a
Sussex paper respecting the use of the sub-soil plough,
requires from me, as one of the persons referred to, a
few words by way of explanation.

It is quite true that I did visit Mr. Smith, at Dean-
ston, as well as several of his " intelligent and spirited
agricidtural neighbours," and that I, with my com-
panion, returned deeply "impressed" with the value
of the subsoil plough for strong cJay-land ivMch has
been well drained ; but the expression deep-draining
does not apply, and is calculated to mislead. Mr.
Smith has, I believe drained the whole of his farm at
the depth of about two feet, and no more ; and from
two feet to two and-a-half feet; may be said to be the
depth adopted by most of the improvers, whose farms
we visited : this is not deep-draining,

I would advise your correspondent " T. F.," to take
the earliest opportunity of visiting Mr. Smith's highly
improved farm, when he may judge for himself, as to
the comparative importance of the two "improve-
ments," of which he speaks. I venture to hazard the
opinion, that he will not after doing so, again apply the
words " extravagant," and "ridiculous," as he has
done in the letter before me.

I could adduce many reasons to show, that the in-
troduction of Mr. Smith's entire system of draining,
and subsoU ploughing en strong clay soils, is fully as
important an " improvement" to the occupiers of land
of that description, as was the introduction of the
"turnip system" to the holders of lighter lands ; but
there is nothing like ocular proof — let " T. F.," there-
fore, and all who wish to see the triumph of genius
and enterprise over great natural difficulties, pay a visit
toMr. Smith, and some of his "intelligent neighbours."
To all farmers of strong clay land, I would say very
confidently, that they cannot fail to be both gratified
and well paid for their trouble.

I have several times spoken of " strong clay land,"
but I would not be understood as considering Mr.
Smith's estate to answer that description. As far as
I could judge, it is not nearly so " strong," or tena-
cious, either in its soil, or subsoil, as much that might
be found in this county, and indeed in many other
English counties ; but it is nevertheless quite evident
that a most asiGaishing "improvement" has been ef-
fected by the application of a new principle in farming
— a principle of which no proprietor of cold clay land
should remain ignorant. I would add more, but other
engagements press, I must therefore conclude by ex-
pressing a hope that the attention of the agricultural
public may be drawn to this important subject ; and
that other large landed proprietors may be induced to
follow the example of J. E. Denison, Esq., whose agent
I have the honour to be,

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

J. WEST.

port of the Agricultural Society's great annual meet-
ing on the 7th of October, as stated in their 35th Q,uar-
terly Journal, it is said " It would be very desirable to
ascertain what breed of oxen are brought the soonest
to m.aturity, and possess the most valuable points ; and
there is no method of ascertaining facts so easily and
satisfactorily as a competition of the premium oxen
from each class ; and in judging the prize let the most
perfect animal obtain this second and highest premium
irrespective of its actual size and weight." Such a
competition would tend more than any other to distri-
bute the best breed of cattle throughout the country.

In Mr. C. Shaw Lefevre's letter to his constituents on
the subject of the agricultural committee, of which he
was chairman, it is observed : — " Nothing can be more
fruitless than to ascertain what may be considered a re-
munerating price to the farmer, every thing depends on
his skill, and let it not be supposed it is for the interest
of the farmer that the price should be very high, it is
more important that the price should be as steady as
possible, and that the labouring class should be abun-
dantly supplied with the first necessary of life, insuring-
as this must do a lower rate of wages and a better rate
of profit both to agriculturists and manufacturers,
whose interests are indissoluble. As a practical farmer
I entertain no gloomy anticipations for the future, as
the remedy is withia their own power by industry and
good management." J, S.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUSSEX ADVER-
TISER.

Sir, — At the Lewes Cattle Shew I observe that the
Earl of Chichester offered a premium of 10?, and left it
to the Judges to decide what might be the most useful
object of competition ; and at the conclusion of the re-

Reaping Machine. — As whatever tends to lessen
the cost of production of bread is worthy of at-
tention from the agriculturist, permit me to call your
attention to a reaping machine, the invention of a gen-
tleman in Stirlingshire, Scotland, and which might be
used with advantage in Devonshire, as from the mode
of farming generally practised, the fields are laid down
in a way particularly well adapted for its operation.
The machine is of a very simple construction, and the
fact of its having been used to advantage, eftecting a
corsiderable saving both of time and expense to the
farmer in the cutting down of his crops, is the best proof
of its answering the purpose. It is worked by two
horseSj'.attsched by means of a pole, similar to that of a
coach or carriage, but with this difl^'erence, that the ma-
chine goes before the horses, and wiU with ease cut
down from twelve to fourteen acres of crop in ten hours,
laying it down in a swathe as done by the scythe, and
cutting the grain much more close and evenly than can
be done by any other means. From a description of it
but a very indiflferent idea can be formed of its construc-
tion. Having been politely furnished with a drawing
by a gentleman in the county of Lanark, who has had
one erected this last harvest, I shall take pleasure in
showing it to any gentleman or agriculturist who may
wish to see it. Seeing* what astonishing eiFects have
been produced in the manufacturing world by means of
machinery, may we not suppose that wherever similar
means can be applied to the purposes of agriculture,
similar results may be expected. G. D.

The Musk-Rat.— The fiber sibethicus, or musk-
rat, builds a small conical house with a mixture of clay
and earth, which it raises on the mud of the marshes,
and frequently upon the surface of the ice. It some-
times, however, spares itself that trouble, by inhabiting-
the same lodge with the beaver, which it very much re-
sembles in many respects, but particularly in its fur. It
has a long tapering tale, flattened from side to side, with
which it steers itself. The house covers a hole in the
ice, which permits the animals to go into the water in
search of the roots on which they feed. In severe win-
ters, when the small lakes are frozen to the bottom, and
they cannot procure their usual food, they prey upon
each other. The musk-rat is very prolific, producing
three litters in a season, and breeds at a very early age.
Nearly half a million of their skins are imported an-
nually by the Hudson's Bay Company, which are
bought up by the hat-makers, and substituted for beaver
skins, although very inferior in quality." — King's Nar-
rative.

132

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

OPERATION OF THE TITHE ACT.

At a parochial meeting in the vestry-room of the
church of Addington, in Surrey, for the purpose of
commuting the tithes of Addington parish into a rent-
charge, under the late act. There were present, among
others, the Rev. John Collinson Bisset, the vicar ; his
Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury (the patron, and a
large landowner), by his agent, Mr. W. Drummond ;
Mr. S. Norman Cowley, by the same agent ; Mr. A.
F. W. Hoffman, by the same agent ; Mr. Leader, by
his agent, Mr. Walford ; Mr. Cator, by his agent, Mr.
.T. Foakes ; Mr. H. Davis, Mr. Bathe, Mr. W. Fuller,
and others.

Mr. Foakes was requested to take the chair. He
forthwith ascertained from the poor-rate that the interest
of the Archbishop of Canterbury was sufficient to enable
him to call the meeting.

The ViCAU tl^en stated, that believing the commuta-
tion of tithe to be calculated to obviate differences be-
tween a clergyman and his parishioners, he had felt a
desire to adopt it as soon as practicable.

Mr. DnustMOND said, that it appeared to him that this
was a parish in whicli a voluntary commutation could
be effected with much less expense than the compul-
sory one provided by the Tithe Act, inasmuch as the
landowners could in a voluntary commutation appoint
their own surveyors and valuers, and, if expedient,
agree with them previously as to the terms ; and they
could also avoid the expense of valuing, commuting,
and apportioning the great tithes because these (being
impropriate, and belonging to the same parties who
owned the land) might be merged in the inheritaace,
and the apportionment would have to be made of the
vicarial tithes only. It seemed, therefore, clear that it
was to the advantage of the landowners to commute
under the voluntary process. He thought, too, that the
proposal he was about to make on behalf of the vicar
would be an additional inducement to the adoption of
that plan.

Mr. Davis asked if any one was prepared to say to
what particular articles of tithe the vicar was entitled.

Mr. Drummond said he was as yet unable to specify
the particular articles accurately, since no endowment
or terrier had been as yet discovered. All he could say
was that Addington was a vicarage, and as such under
the general law would be entitled to the tithe of all the
annual increase of the land, except corn, grain, hay,
wood, and pulse ; but that he was inclined to think
that this vicarage was endowed with the tithe of wood.
Among the papers of former incumbents there appeared
traces of this. He thought this inquiry, however, not
absolutely essential, since there was another criterion
by which the rent-charge could be more easily calcu-
lated. In tlie year 1813, during the incumbency of Mr.
Todd, Mr. Bisset 's predecessor, an agreement was made
"in pursuance of the deliberation at the vestry," and
the sum of 210i per annum was agreed to be paid for
14 years, " clear of all deductions, rates, taxes, and de-
mands whatsoever." And in the year 1821, during the
present vicar's incumbency, a similar sum was made
payable by the parish for seven years in the same man-
ner, clear of all outgoings, and this agreement had never
been altered,

Mr, Walfohd asked whether the vicar had actually
received this sum per annum during the last seven
years ?

The Vicar said, he had made some deductions, but
he could say that none of them were made by him on
the ground of the composition being excessive ; that
now and then a farmer would come and request him to
take 5/ or lOHess, or that otherwise he wished him to
tai.e the tithe in kind ; he could not bear this, and so he
reduced it. Then one gentleman (Mr. Alexander, of
Wickham-park) bethought was too low, out he sub-
scribed liberally to the charity-school, and so he (the
vicar) did not like to raise him. His actual net receipts
for the last seven years, were— 1829, 198/ ; 1830, 1941
7s; 1831,189nis; 1832,191/; 1833,196/; 1834,196/;
and 1835, 186/ 12s. Average, 193/,

Mr. Davis said, he believed all the deductions were
on the score of excess in the amount of composition ;

but he wished to know the amount proposed by the
vicar.

Mr. Drummond said, that these agreements ap-
peared to him to form the simplest and fairest basis
for fixing the amount of rent-charge. If the vicarial
tithe was worth 210/ in 1813, and also in 1821, it must
undoubtedly be worth more now, for perhaps no parish
had been so much improved as Addington within that
time. Almost every house, except the cottages in the
street, had been converted from insignificant farm-
houses to splendid residences ; waste and unprofitable
land had been cultivated ; the Archbishop's residence
had been much improved, and the titheable quality of
all the property increased ; and he was sure he was
making a liberal offer when he expressed the willing-
ness of the vicar to fix the rent-charge at 210/, and to
this he (Mr. Drammond) assented on the part of the
landowners for whom he appeared.

Mr, Walford said he was concerned for Mr.
Leader, the owner of Spring-park, and Mr. Davis, the
lessee, had given him notice that he should not pay the
rent-charge commuted. The consequence was that
the landlord must pay it, and stand in the vicar's place
as to the recovery of the tithe, which, unless he knew
the particular articles titheable, would render a taking
in kind very difficult ; and he should, therefore, dissent
from the proposed rent-charge.

Mr. Davis said, that when 210/ was agreed to be
paid corn was at a much higher average than at pre-
sent ; that the actual receipt, not the agreed sum,
must be the guide, but that the received sum was in
his opinion too high ; that he had hitherto paid his
composition out of respect to the vicar, and should pro-
bably have continued to do so during the vicar's life,
but if a permanent rent-charge was to be fixed on the
land, he thought it ought to be done fairly. The parish
contained upwards of 4,000 acres, and at 200/ it was 1 s
an acre, which for a parish in which there were large
tracts of waste was twice as much as it ought to be.
He would appeal to Mr, Foakes's experience if this was
not so,

Mr. Foakes said it was too general a method of
calculating small tithe, which depended so much on the
articles grown and kept. But he should say 6d an
acre too little. In a parish in Essex, where he col-
lected the tithe, it was between 9d and Is,

Mr, Davis said, he saw his landlord, Mr, Leader,
would be outvoted, and compelled to pay the rent-
charge, for Mr, Drummond had the power of voting
for two-thirds of the parish, within 60/, but he should
certainly object to pay his apportionment. He doubted
whether Addington was a vicaruge. It having been
monastic property, and afterwards the property of one
individual, such individual was bound to pay a stipend
to the minister ; and the payments, since the parish
had been divided, were more in the nature of a sub-
scription, or stipendiary curate's pay, than vicarial
tithe ; and he thought it was by no means becoming in
the Archbishop, being patron, to vote or attend by his
agent at this meeting,

Mr, Drummond said, that it could easily be proved
that Addington was a vicarage, and not a curacy ; but
the present was not the proper opportunity ; that it
was true he had been authorised to vote for Mr. Hoff-
mann and Mr. Cowley, as well as for the Archbishop ;
but surely those landowners were as much interested
as Mr. Davis's landlord, or any other landowners.
And as to the Archbishop's not attending and not
voting, he submitted that it was his duty, as patron
and landowner, not in his own right, but acting for his
successors, as well as himself, where he thought a mo-
derate and fair sum claimed by the incumbent, and
sanctioned by the principal landowners and tithe-
payers, to give his sanction to such a claim. As, how-
ever, it appeared that one landowner, Mr. Leader, at
present objected, and as a few others were neutral, he
wished the matter to be properly considered, and he
therefore proposed a resolution, that the meeting ad-
journ for the present, according to the direction of the
act, to give the parties interested time for considera-
tion.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

133

This resolution was carried, and the chairman signed
the form of notice of adjournment for Saturday, the
28th of January, at the Greyhound Inn, Croydon, at 11
o'clock.

TITHE COMMUTATION MEETING.

On Tuesday, Dec. 20, a meeting was held in the
parish of Sawton, near Exeter, convened by the
landowners of the said parish, for the purpose of
making an agreement with their Rector, the venerable
Archdeacon Barnes, for the Commutation of Tithes.
John Garratt, Esq., of Bishop's Court, the princi-
pal landowner, John Lee Lee, Esq., M. P., and eight
other gentlemen attended ; with Mr. R. Barnes, the
Rector's solicitor, and Mr. H. James, solicitor on
their part. After it had been ascertained that the
landowners present had an interest in above nine-
tenths of the parish, the Chairman (Mr. Garratt)
proceeded to state, that they were met under the
Act of Parliament to know if their Rector was sa-
tisfied with what he had hitherto received, or would
explain his wishes as to a voluntary commutation.

The Rector then addressed the meeting in a very
lucid and temperate speech, showing, that as the
contemplated agreement was one which, when once
made, would be perpetual, he must take care not to
lose sight of the provision which this endowment
offered, not more for the benefit of the Rector than
the parishioners ; that tithes comprehended all im-
provement— but that, after this commutation, there
could be no improvement ; that although the legis-
lature had determined that at the end of two years
there should be a compulsory process, yet in the
meantime it authorised a voluntary agreement for
the commution of tithes, and till then there was no
prescribed method or rule of calculation, but that
the average amount of compositions for the last
seven years would be held as the basis for a perma-
nent commutation, with the power of increasing 20
per cent, to make it nearer the value. Since he had
been rector, which was from 1820, he had made no
valuation of the lands or tithes of the parish ; he
had made even deductions in many instances, and
very seldom an augmentation of the tithes. The
Ven. Archdeacon then entered into some calcula-
tions, to show that, taking the parish to be 1,050
acres, (it was admitted to be 1,100) the tithes would
be worth by these methods of calculation, from 300/
to 3701 per annum.

Take the parish to consist of 700 acres arable —
two-fifths annually in corn, 300 acres meadow and
pasture. — 50 acres orchard. The Tenth.

£ s. d.
140 acres wheat, 20 bushels per acre, at

7s 6d 105 0 0

140 acres barley, 28 bushels per acre, at

4s 6d 88 0 0

150 acres hay, 7 seams per acre, at 10s. . 52 10 0
20 acres potatoes, 100 bags per acre, at

2s 6d 25 0 0

1000 fleeces at 7s 35 0 0

lOOO lambs at 7s 35 0 0

Agistments, milk, calves, and all

other small tithes 50 0 0

50 acres orchards, 700 hogsheads 52 10 0

thing understating the average portion of land usually
given under inclosure Acts, in saying that they were
one-fifth of the arable, and one-eighth of the mea-
dow, pasture, and other land.
Take 700 acres of arable, one-fifth is . . 140 Acres

350 acres of pasture, one-eighth is 45
Making 185 acres at 40s per acre, which would give
a rent of 370/ a-year. Taking the tithe in another
way, the usual mode in this county, he was sure he
was not stating too high a sum when he said 3s in
the pound. He would take 1,050 acres at something
less than 40s per acre, say 2,000/, and the composi-
tion at 3s in the pound would be 300/. Thus he
had, in various ways, he thought, proved tliat the
tithes, on the most moderate mode of calculating
their value, would be equal to .300/ a-year. Now,
his first compositions had been 230/ per annum ; but
for the last seven years had averaged 220/ ; he did
not think, however, that such composition should be
taken as the basis of a permanent commutation, for it
would injure the endowment to make them so. He
did not, however, ask them to increase, but only not
to diminish the endowment of the Church. He
wished them to consider how far the contemplated
legislative enactments, with regard to pluralities
and non-residence, would diminish the income of a
future rector of this pariah ; and that as his income
would hereafter be spent amongst them, he thought
it was not their interest to ask him to take less than
the sum he was about to propose, viz., 300/.

On this request of their rector the landowners de-
liberated, the rector in the meanwhile, retiring; but
shortly afterwards, the Chairman stated that, taking
every thing into consideration, they could not accept
the offer which had been made to them by the Ven.
Archdeacon, but offered the sum of 260/ as an annual
rent-charge in lieu of tithes.

The Rector expressed his disappointment at this
proposition, and regret that the landowners did not
more nearly accord with his view, but after some
consultation, stated that if they would make it 265/,
which was just the 20 per cent, above the 220/, he
would propose it to his patron (the Bishop.)

After some discussion, the Chairman, in a com-
plimentary manner to the rector, and expressive of
his own feeling, stated that the meeting would give
264/, which the Rector said he would submit to the
approbation of the Patron, whom he must consult.

The meeting then adjourned to Friday, the 27th
of January, to receive the rector's reply, and for fur-
ther proceedings.

443 0 0
Deduct expenses of collection (besides
straw) one-fifth 89 0 0

Thus the tithes upon a moderate calculation, would
be worth clear 354/ per year.

He would then take them as they would be
reckoned for an inclosure — he believed he was some-

TITHE COMMUTATION ACT.

CORN AVERAGES.

(From Friday^s Gazette.)

Return, stating' what has been, during' seven years
ending' on the Thursday next before Christmas Day,
1836, the^ average price of an imperial bushel of British
wheat, barley, and oats, computed from the weekly
averages of the corn returns. Pubhshed pursuant to an
Act, passed in the 6th and 7th year of the reign of his
present Majesty, intituled— An Act for the Commuta-
tiou of Tithes in England and Wales .-—Wheat, 6s Bjd ;
barley, 3s ll^d; Oats, 2s 9d.

WILLIAM JACOB,
Comptroller of Corn Returns,

Board of Trade, Corn Department.

Tithe Commutation Act.— Table and rule for cal-

L

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

culating- the fixed corn rent charge and the yearly pay-
ment. TABLE.
Gross average Substituted Corn Rent Charg-e in qrs.
Value. Wheat. Barley. Oats.
£1000 .. 118-518 .. 209-973 .. 303-0303
500 .. 59-259 .. 104-986 .. 151-5151
400 .. 47-407 .. 83-989 .. 121-2121
300 .. 35-555 .. 62-992 .. 90-90
200 .. 23-703 .. 41-994 .. 60-60
100 .. 11-851 .. 20-997 .. 30-30
90 .. 10-666 .. 18-897 .. 27-27
80 .. 9-481 .. 16-798 .. 24-24
70 .. 8-296 .. 14-698 .. 21-21
60 .. 7-111 .. 12-598 .. 18-18
50 .. 5-925 .. 10-499 .. 15-15
40 .. 4-740 .. 8-399 .. 12-12
30 .. 3-555 .. 6-299 .. 9-09
20 .. 2-370 .. 4-199 .. 6-06
10 .. 1-151 .. 2-099 .. 3-03
9 .. 1-066 .. 1-889 .. 2-72
8 .. -948 .. 1-679 : 2-42
7 .. -829 .. 1-469 .. 2-12
6 .. -711 .. 1-260 .. 1-81
5 .. -592 .. 1-050 .. l-e51
4 .. -474 .. -840 .. 1-21
3 .. -355 .. -630 .. -9
2 .. -237 .. -420 . -6
1 .. -118 .. -210 .. -3
10s. . . -059 . . -105 . . -15
5s... -029 .. -025 .. -07
Rule. — The first origToss average value being- fixed
agreeably to the act; the table gives the quantity of
corn of each kind which is to be deemed in future the
corn rent charge, the value of which at the averages of
the next preceding 7 years is to be paid ; and the sum
to be paid in any future year in respect of such rent
charge, will be ascertained by multiplying each quan-
tity of corn by its respective average.

Examples. — Parochial value for the present year,
368/ ; and apportioned value for a particular farm 27/ 5s.
Average of seven yeai-s, ending Christmas, 1835 —
Wheat, 56s 3d ; barley, 31s 9d ; and oats, 22s.

By reference to the table, the quantities forming the
future fixed charge will be —

Wheat. Barley. Oats.

Parish, 300 35-555 . . 62-992 . . 90-90

60 .... 7-111 .. 12-598 ., 18-18
8 -948 .. 1-679 .. 2-42

43-614

77-268

111-5

Wheat. Barley. Oats.

Farm, £30 X £7 X 5.— 3-228 .. 5-710 .. 8-27

To calculate the amount to be paid in 1837, assume
the average of the seven years, ending Christmas, 1836,
at— Wheat, 61s ; barley, 38s ; and oats, 23s 3d.

The follovidng will then show the amount for the

Parish, 43-614 Wheat at 61s .... £133 0 5

77-268 .... Barley at 38s 146 16 2

111-5 Oats at 23s 3d.. 129 12 5

Total rent charge, 1837. . £409 9 0

In the same way, the payment of the farm will be
found 30/ 4s 0|d.

Commutation of Tithes.— On the 21 st in-
stant an adjourned meeting of the landowners and
tithe-owners of the parish of Enmore, Somerset, was
held at the vestry room in that parish, for the purpose
of entering into an engagement for payment of a rent-
charge in lieu of all the great and small tithes of the
parish, pursuant to the provisions contained in the Act
of Parliament. Nearly the whole of the landowners
were present, and Gabriel S. Poole, Esq., solicitor, of
Bridgewater attended on behalf of the Rector, and
Nicholas Broadraead, Esq., solicitor, Langport, on be-
half of the proprietors of land. Terms were agreed on
to the satisfaction of all parties, and the agreement
was finally settled by the rector and landowners
possessing considerably more than the requisite in-
terest.

ODE TO BEER.

(From the Comic Almanack for 1837.)

Hail, Beer!
In all thy forms of Porier, Stingo, Stout,
Swipes, Double-X, Ale, Heavy, Out-and-out,
Alost dear.
Hail ! thou that mak'st man's heart as big as Jove's !
Of Ceres' gifts the best !
That furnishest
A cure for all our griefs : a barm for all our — loaves !
Oh ! Sir John Barleycorn, thou glorious Knight of
jMalt-a 1
May thy fame never alter !
Great Britain's Bacchus ! pardon all our failings,
And with thy ale ease all our ailings!
I've emptied many a barrel in my time ; and may be
Shall empty many more

Before
O'er Styx I sail ;
Ev'n when an infant I was fond of Ale :

A sort of Ale-y Baby.
And still I love it, spite the jibes and jokes

Of ituMeing folks.
For Stout I've stoutly fought for many a year;
For Ale I'll fight till I'm laid on my bier.
October ! oh, intoxicating name ! no drink
That e'er was made on earth can match with thee ?
Of best French Brandy in the Palais Royal
I've emptied many a phial ;
And think
That Double-X beats 0-D-V.
On thy banks, Rhine,
I've drank such Wine
As Bacchus' self might well unsober ;
But oh, Johannisberg ! thy beams are shorn
By our John Barleycorn :
And Hock is not Hock-tober !
As for the rest. Cape, Claret, Calcavella,
They are but " leather and prunella,"
Stale, flat, and musty.
By thy side, Ale !
Imperial Tokay
Itself gives way ;
Sherry turns pale.
And Port grows crusty.
Rum, Whiskey, Hollands, seem so much sour crout ;
And Hodge's Mountain Dew turns out
A mere Hodge-
Podge.
Of bishops ev'n, godwot !
I don't much like the flavour :
Politically speaking, (but then, politics are not
My trade,)
Exception should be made
In Doctor Malt-by's favour.
In vino Veritas, they say : but that's a fable —

A most egregious blander.
I've been at many a wine-bibbing ere now ;

And vow,
For one that told the truth across the table,
I've seen a dozen lying under.
Besides, as old Sam Johnson said once, I've no patience

With men who never tell the sober truth
But when they're drunk, and a'n't to be believed, forsooth
Except in their lie-bations.
Oh ! do not think — you who these praises hear —
Don't think my muse be-mus'd with beer !
Nor that in speaking- thus my pleasure,

I go beyond beer measure.
Would I had lived in days of good Queen Bet,
And her brave dejeuners a la fourchette !
No days were e'er like hers,
At whose gay board were seen to join.
Those two surpassing sirs.
Sir John and fam'd Sir-loin.

But stay!
It's time to end this lay ;
Though I could go on rhyming for a year
(And think it sport)
In praise of Beer,
But many folks, I know, like something short.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

35

MR. MILBURN ON THE FAILURE OF
THE TURNIP CROP, IN ANSWER
TO S. P. G.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE EXPRESS.

Sir, — T was pleased with your correspondeat S. P.
G.'s reply to my last, because he has written it ia the
manner of a philosophic enquirer after truth, and as the
attainment of it is my only object, I am glad in having
an opportunity of thus further proving the correctness
of my opinions, as to the aphis being a cause of the
failure of the crop. Whatever he may say about occu-
pying your space, I feel assured that you will be glad
to otfer your columns to the discussion of a subject of
so much importance to the farmers, and in which they
are so deeply interested, as no matter how the subject
is decided, it must add to our general stock of know-
ledge.

S. P. G. enters more fully into an explanation of his
views, and states, that the incongeniality of the wea-
ther destroyed the plants ; decomposition succeeded,
and the aphides came to carry oif the putritied vegeta-
ble matter. That the plants, or part of the plants, did
decompose in the neighbourhood of Mansfiehl, we are
bound to believe, but the question is, did that decom-
position take place before the attack of th. aphides, or
after it ? Your correspondent declares that it com-
menced before, that not a fly or louse could then be
detected, and to show this, he says, "they are cer-
tainly of sufficient magnitude, that I should have seen
them had they been there." Now, I think this is quite
sufficient to prove that they were there, and unobserved
by him ; for S. P. G. is evidently unacquainted with
them in the early stages of their existence, from his
making the above declaration respecting that minute
insect, as it at first appears. The aphis when at its
largest size, is often passed over by persons when their
attention is not immediately called to them ; how small
then must their young be, when just emerged from the
eggs, or when just brought forth, the insect being both
oviparous and viviparous; it was with the utmost dif-
ficulty that I could discover some with the naked eye,
even when searching for them.

But this is not the only evidence we have that your
correspondent is mistaken in asserting that the decom
position had taken place before the insects commenced
their depredations. In his interesting article, dated
Sep. 21, he says " many fields within my observation,
that appeared as fine plants as ever nature produced,
have been attacked by the smother-fly and completely
destroyed; thus we see this year, the turnips have had
nothing but enemies to contend with." Here he men-
tions the insect as destroying the plant, and says not a
word of any decomposition. Now, that the plants were
diseased before they were infested with the aphides I
have no doubt, but their attacks would only more easily
destroy them, for if they deprived them of but a small
quantity of their juices, they must be less able to resist
the incongeniaUty of the weather, especially drought
and cold.

If, therefore, I can establish the position, that they
naturally feed on the healthy juices, it is sufficient to
prove my theory, and establish the fact that they were
a cause of the failure. S. P. G., however, mistakes my
meaning, or misquotes my words, when he declares,
" Mr. Milburn states that the flies feed on the healthy
juices on?!/ ;'' now, I asserted that they na^HraZ/z/ feed
on them, but it must be evident that so many of them
sucking the sap from a plant must soon exhaust it, and
cause it to present a sickly and drooping appearance,
and then of course they must /rom necessity, feed on the
juices more or less diseased. A sheep when deprived
of its rich pasture, may eat up moss or rushes, not be-
cause they are their natural food, but because its sup-
ply had failed. He asks, " why did they not leave the
diseased plants and attack the healthy ones ?" Simply
because of its still habits ; the leaf on which it is
brought forth, will not be quitted so long as a drop of
juice exists in it, especially in dull and cold weather,
and their frail bodies are evidently unfitted to travel

further than their native plants. In the winged state,
however, previous to dissolution they take quite an-
other character, and leaving the plants assemble in
towns, &c., but then they have ceased to feed. So still
arc their habits, that Huber found a iiumber of them
collected by ants into their nests for the purpose of ob-
taining their saccharine secretion, popularly called
" honey dew," on which they feed, and on his opening
the hill, the ants ran off^ with the aphides in their
mouths. From this circumstance Linnseus called them
the " milch cattle of the ants." I repeat that S. P. G.
has just reversed the order of things ; their eifects are
seen on sickly plants, they droop their leaves, and their
juices are soon gone. Plants in sheltered situations
are passed over by the parent insect in depositing her
eggs, and from having no insects upon them, added to
their protection from the weather, they are healthy.

In proof that they feed on the juices of the plant, and
do not naturally exist on putridity, it might only be
necessary to quote the opinions of such devoted and ac-
curate naturalists as Leeuwenhoek, Bonnet, Professor
Rennie, and Mr. Knapp, the former of which calls
them " the pest of the garden ;'' but one fact is worth
a thousand opinions. The very appearance of the in-
sect proclaims that it is intended to sip the liquid juice.
Its fine hair-like sucker, generally longer than its
body, shews that it is unfit to revel in putrescency, or
suck any " slimy mucus.'' It is a well known fact
that the aphis by sucking one side of a plant, causes it
to curl in a spiral form, and to contract the leaves to-
gether for its protection, as I have seen in scores of
instances, in the currant bushes, beautiful and healthy
as they generally were.

S. P. G. endeavours to overturn my reference to the
geranium, which became infested, by being out of doors.
He attributes its attack as the consequence of the night
air, to which it was exposed. Its happening in sum-
mer (July), however, secured it from any great chill-
ness, and the reason why my other plants were not at-
tacked, was, only because they were never exposed to
the air at all ! It was, however, never " decomposed,"
and if S. P. G. be correct, the insect is dependent on
putrescency for its existence. He, however, says no-
thing to the principal fact which I stated, that after
casting its old leaves it is now healthy and green, and
yet there are perhaps fifty aphides upon it, although
had they been more numerous, or if T allow them to re-
main sufficiently long upon it, they will doubtless affect
It. One of the leaves has particles of " slimy mucus"
(honey dew), the excrements of the insects upon it,
but there is not even the most remote traces of incipient
decomposition upon it, though had the leaf been in a
dying state, I might have mistaken it for it. In proof
that the assertion is correct respecting their ejecting
the " honey dew," I need only menti-on, that having an
apple tree, a Ribston pippin, which has been infested
for several years with this insect, vulgarly called " Ame-
rican blight,'' (aphis lunata,) I went yesterday and
removed a part of the cutis, when T discovered three
aphides, and at the same moment one ejected a minute
drop of the glutinous liquid. Probably S. P. G.'s name
of the insect " smother-fly," originated in an idea that
this liquid stopped the pores of the plant (smothered
it), an idea by no means uncommon. Now, in refer-
ring to apple trees, the insect introduces its sucker,
(haustellum), into the epidermis, and then sucks its
juices ; the sap afterwards exudes, and little excres-
cences are formed on the tree. Now will S. P. G. say
that the tree was in a state of decomposition and putres-
cency, or that they were feeding on the same " slimy
mucus," the " vegetable gelatine" of this bearing
tree, and removing it as a blessing of Providence?
The bean crop is sometimes destroyed by the same spe-
cies of insects, the " bean dolphin,'' or aphis ; and it
appears the winter tares in Derbyshire were also in-
fested, but did it ever occur to him, that these also
decomposed and putrified ?

Now, if anything can convince S. P. G., or if he caa
overturn these strong facts, he is bound to own the one
or the other, and until he does, no one can suppose
that " had no aphides appeared, the failure would not

L 2

136

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

have been less ;" or in other words, that the aphides
did no real injury to the crop ! He may call ray argu-
ments nullities, but until he overturns these facts,
the probabilities in favour of his theory are done away.
I repeat I should be thankful to be shown I am wrong,
and S. P. G. will, if he shows it, not only enlighten the
farmers and hop growers, and save a great deal of
trouble and expense in destroying the aphides, bnt
overturn the observations of the most profound na-
turalists. Your's respectfully,

M. M. MILBURN.

Thorpfield, near Thirsk, Yorkshire, Dec. 23.

BURNING THE BUSH.

On the 1st of January, in that part of Herefordshire
contig'uous to Leominster, tlie men attached to each
farm procure a long- pole, which they bind with straw
all the way up, and place on the highest ground of the
farm ; a large truss of straw is fixed on the summit,
and several trusses at the lower end ; for tiiis purpose
barley straw is generally employed, it being less com-
bustible than that of wheat. Tlie straw is then kindled,
and the men regale themselves with cider and cakes ; a
hawthorn bush is afterwards cut, which liaving singed
in the fire, they return home, taking the bush to the
farm-house, where it is given to the master, who hangs
it up in the kitchen ; more cider is distributed among
the men, and tlie bnsh remains till the following year,
when it is replaced by a new one, the old bush being-
destroyed. The early hour of five in the morning is
usually chosen for the ceremony, and the day is en-
joyed as a holiday.

On every farm on Twelfth-eve,the farmer,his friends,
and servants assemble and proceed to a field of wheat,
where twelve fires are lighted on twelve ridges of wheat
the thirteenth, and largest, being kindled on the highest
ground. The attendants, whose numbers sometimes
exceed 40, headed by the master of the family, pledge
the company in cider, which circulates very freely.
The men at intervals sliout the name of the master ,with
the addition of " for ever," and " huzzit," which is
responded to by similar shouting and hallooing, indueed
by the like occasion on other farms. It is considered
unlucky if this ceremony is omitted.

Previous to Twelfth-eve, the mistress of the liouse
prepares a nuiiiber of flat cakes about the size of two-
penny breakfast cakes, each having a hole in the centre
■ — these are taken by the servants and visitors to the
stalls where the oxen are kept ; they also provide them-
selves with a pail of cider and a number of glasses and
jugs. A cake is then placed on one of the horns of the
first or finest ox, when each man fills his glass and
says —

" Here's to thee, Brown Boy, with thy lily-white horn.
Pray God send thy master a good crop of corn ;
Both wheat, rye, and barley, and all sorts of grain,
And if I live till this time twelvemonth, I'll drink to
thee again."

A small quantity of cider is thrown from one of the
glasses up the nostrils of the ox, which makes it snort,
and throw the cake from its horn. If the cake falls in
front of the animal, it belongs to the man who drives
the ox ; but if behind, it is the perquisite of the boy
who attends the team. This is repeated with every
ox, and it is a common trick for the boy to prick the
animal with a pin just as the cider is thrown, to make
it turn round, and jerk the cake back, so that he may
obtain it.

When this is concluded with every ox, the party ad-
journ to the cow-house, where similar proceedings take
place with regard to the cows, except that tlie dairy-
maid and the cow-boy receive the cake respectively as
they fall before or behind the animal. The master and
mistress of the house are present, and the whole con-
cludes by drinking their heallhs. These ceremonies
usually succeed the 13 fires.

PERTHSHIRE AGRICULTURAL AS-
SOCIATION.

PRESENTATION OF PLATE TO THE SECRETARY.

Upwards of 60 of the msrabers of this association
dined together in the George Inn on Friday, Nov.
2,5, as a mark of respect for Archibald Turnbull,
Esq., their Honorary Secretary, and in testimony of
the estimation in which they hold his valuable ser-
vices to this useful and flourishing institution.
Viscount Storraont did the duties of the chair with
his 'usual ability and politeness, in which he was
supported on the right and left by Mr. Smythe of
Methven, Mr. Cragie of Glendoick, Mr. Wright of
Lawton, Mr. Hunter of Auchterarder, Mr. Turnbull,
the Secretary, &c., &c. Mr. Hunter of Glencarse,
and Mr. Duncan Cargill, ats.ted as croupiers.

Tlie Noble Chairman having- jiroposed as toasts —
" The King" — " The Queen" — " The Princess Vic-
toria and Royal Family" — " The Army and Navy"
" The Lord Lieutenant" — " The members for the
City and County" — which were drunk wuth all the
honours.

His Lordship again rose and spoke to the following-
effect : — Gentlemen, the toast which I am now about
to propose is the prosperity of the Agricultural As-
sociation of Perthshire. It must be gratifying to us
all to learn, from the extensive list of premiums an-
nounced for the ensuing spring- competition, the
flourishing state of the'Society's funds, and the rapid
increase of its members, that this highly useful in-
stitution is at once prosperous and progressing. That
it is eminently advantageous to the district is felt
and acknowledged by every farmer in it ; and I have
heard strangers who visited the late great cattle shovi'
in this place, attribute the superior excellence of the
district stock to the stimulus given by our associa-
tion. It gives me ple-asure also to think that the
condition of the agriculturists, whose interests the
societj' promotes, and for whose advancement it was
instituted, is in a corresponding state of improve-
ment ; for to use a familiar, but very expressive
phrase, things are decidedly looking up. Gentle-
men, I can truly say that it is my most earnest wish
that the prosperity of the society may be as con-
tinuous as its objects are patriotic ; and I now call
on you to join me in drinking to its success.

This toast having been received with all the
honours, his Lordship again addressed tlie meeting
nearly in the following terms: — Gentlemen, after
drinking- to the prosperity of our society, it now be-
comes my pleasing duty to advert to the eminent ser-
vices of one of its most active members and most effi-
cient office-bearers. In all institutions of the kind it is
necessary that they not only be well organized at the
outset, but the business of the society requires that
punctual attention in all its details without wliich
its affairs would fall into confusion, and its useful-
ness, if not destroyed, would be materially impaired.
Gentlemen, in Mr. Turnbull, your Honorary Secre-
tary and Treasurer, the society has found a gentle-
man who has fulfilled the duties of these offices in
a manner wliich commands the unanimous approba-
tion of its members. To the ability, the zeal, and
the business habits which he lias uniformly displayed
in conducting the societv's affairs, you will all join
me in saying, is, in a great measure, to be ascribed
tlie flourishing condition in which the institution
now is. Geiitlemn, that these your sentiments may
be the more emphatically and pub;icly expressed, it
falls to me as your chairman, to convey them to Mr.
Turnbull on this occasion ; and in token of the
esteem and respect with which he is regarded by

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

137

the members of this society, I have now, in their
behalf, the great pleasure to present to him this
piece of plate, of which I beg' his acceptance— with
the assurance that it is their earnest hope that lie may
long enjoy health and happiness to use it, and that
it may descend to his family for many generations,
wljo may point to it as a symbol of the esteem in
which their ancestor was held by the agriculturists
of his country.

Here his Lordship presented Mr. Turnbull with
two superb silver claret jugs, of large capacity and
elegant workmanship, richly chased and formed
from a tasteful antique model, each bearing the fol-
lowing inscription : —

PRESENTED
TO

ARCHIBALD TUENBULL, Esq.,
of Bellwood,

BY THE

PERTHSHIRE FARMING ASSOCIATION.

As a mark of their respect for him,

and of their high estimation

of his able assistance as

Honorary Secretary

of the Society.

SEPTEMBER, 1836.

The noble Chairman then called on the company
to fill their glasses to the health of " Mr. Turnbull,"
which toast was drank with nine times nine.

When the applause had subsided — Mr. Turnbull
said — My Lord and Gentlemen — I rise with feelings
completely overpowered by the expression of your
kindness. Permit me to return my warm and most
grateful thanks for this handsome gift, which I ac-
cept with the greater pleasure that it is the token of
the esteem and respect in w^hich I am held by the
members of the Agricultural Association of Perth-
shire— for allow me to assure you that, splendid as
that token is, and highly as I prize it, yet more
gratifying to my feelings is it to know that my hum-
ble services on their behalf have secured me their
friendly sentiments which have been so elaquently
tendered by our noble chairman. Gentlemen I again
beg you will accept of ray warmest thanks, and per-
mit me to drink good health and prosperity to
you all.

Mr. Murray Thrieplanu gave the health of the
noble Chairman in a very neat and complimentary
speech. Many other toasts and sentiments were given
and received with all the honours. The company
passed the evening in a very jjappy manner.

Extraordinary Fat Sheep. — A wether sheep
32 months old, bred and fed by Mr. Charles Large, of
Brodwell, Oxfordshire, was last week slaughtered by
Mr. James Cale, of Ledbury and was allowed by the
first-rate judges attending Ledbury fair to be by far the
best they ever saw. I'he weight of the four quarters
was 272 lbs; the thickness of fat down his chine did
vary the eighth of an inch from his rump to his neck.
The quality of the meat was equal to any South Down,
and the fat was as white as snow. The shoulders fairly
cut weighed 39lbs. The following is a correct state-
ment of what his otfal made : —

s. d.

The Skin sold for 10 0

Head 2 6

Caul and spread for suet, 23 lbs, at

8d 15 4

Gut Fat, I3lbs, at4d 4 4

£1 12 2
The kidney wa= not taken off but was of immense size,
more like a Scotch Ox than a Sheep. — The animal
never tasted corn or cake, bat was fed on roots, grass,
and hay.

ON THE CULTIVATION OF WINTER
AND SPRING VETCHES.

The great advantages derived by farmers from
the cultivation of winter and spring vetches, arenot,
I believe, questioned by any person. It is an ex-
cellent crop for keeping the land clean. From the
manner in which the crop oversliadovvs the land,
and, thereby secures tlie surface from the rays of the
sun, and from atmospheric influence, weeds of every
description are kept down. Vetches can be always
cultivated as a stolen crop — always admitting the
growth of another crop after them, within tlie year.
They improve, instead of deteriorating the soil —
particularly soil that is deficient of vegetable mat-
ter. They afford excellent food for cattle and
horses, at seasons when pasture is bad and hay
scarce. Farm horses can be kept in the best condi-
tions, and regularly worked, by giving them plenty
of soiled vetches during the summer months. Milch
cows also thrive well on soiled vetches, and give
more milk on them than they would on the best pas-
ture. Under all these considerations, it is evident,
every farmer should have his winter and spring vet-
ches, in regular succession, every year. Where
there is a methodical system of house-feeding cattle,
all through the year, vetches, followed in succession,
cannot be done without. But in any case, it is as
profitable a green crop as the farmer can cultivate,
particularly when soiled — and the prospect there is
of hay being very dear, the ensuing year, renders
the sowing of winter and spring vetches a very good
speculation to the farmer. It is now late for sowing-
winter vetches — although, on dry warm soils, if they
were sown the first week in November, they would
be fit for cutting (if the winter and spring prove fa-
vourable) in the middle of iMay ; and they might be
succeeded by Swedish and Aberdeen turnips. 'Fhe
projjertime for sowing winter vetches, is the middle
of September, For the soring sowing, the first
ought to be in the middle of January ; and, weather
be mild, these will be fit for cutting early in June,
and may be succeeded by globe or Norfolk turnips.
The next spring sowing ought to be early in March
— these will be fit for cutting in July, and may be
succeeded in August, by transplanted rape. The
next sowing should be in the last week in March —
or first in April, these will be fit for cutting in Au-
gust, and may be succeeded by common kale or cole-
worts, in September. Thus, if the system be ma-
naged properljr, there may be a regular succession
of green feeding kept up, all through the year.
The economy of this system in my opinion, connot be
doubted, particularly as far as regards small fanners.
But extensive farmers, who would not like to be
guided by these minute principles, can sow spring-
vetches any time from Januaiy to March ; and, if
the soil be poor, by giving it a slight dressing of
manure before the vetches, it will ensure a good
crop of vetches, and be a capital preparation for a
crop of wheat, to be sown in October, after the
vetches. If winter vetches were sown in Septem-
ber, they would be ofl'time enough to plant potatoes
in their stead, the following May. I have had, for
the last two years, potatoes after winter vetches,
globe and Norfolk turnii)s after the first so\ving of
sjaring vetches, and I could not desire more a abun-
dant crops in every case. The cultivation of vetches,
iutended for soiling, and that from which the seed
is to be saved, differs materially, i'he soil cannot be
too rich and strong for vetches that are intended for soil-
ing, whilst light dry soil answers vetches from which
seed is to be saved. From thiee to four bushels
per Irish acre, is sufficient seed on ground where

138

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

the seed is to be saved ; four and one-half bushels,
and three or fonr stone of oats, ii little enough seed,
per Irish acre, for vetches intended to be soiled.
Tbe bushel of vetches weighs 4J stones. The best
way to sow winter vetches is to plough the ground
in sets, seven or eight feet wide ; and after giving
each ridge a stroke of the harrow, to level it a little,
the seed should be sown and harrowed in ; the fur-
rows should then be cleaned with the shovels, and
spread evenly over the ridges, that the seed that fell
in the furrows when sowing, and what was drawn
into them by the harrow, might be spread equally
over the ridges: the furrow should then be cut, and
shovelled upon the ridges. The best way to sow
spring vetches, is (unless the ground be low and
wet) to plough tl)e ground in ridges, in November,
in order to keep the soil dry, and to pulverize it.
When the seed is wanted to be sown, a few scrapes
with the plough should be turned into each furrow,
and the whole sliould be then harrowed level ; the
seeds should be then sown, and ploughed in with a
light furrow, leaving no open furrows at all. When
vetches are sown in sets or ridges, the ground occu-
pied by the furrows is entirely lost, and the vetches
that grow on about a foot on each side of the furrow,
will, unavoidably, lie into the furrow; and, thus,
there upwards of a foot in length of all that lie into
the furrow, completely useless, as it becomes of a
brown colour, as if rotten. The rape to succeed the
second sowing ot vetches, should be sown in June,
and transplanted in August, in rows, three feet asun-
der, and two feet, plant from plant, in the row. —
Correspondent of Irish Farmer's and Gardener's Ma-
sazine.

THE FARMER AT CHRISTMAS.

Christmas is come with hoary locks,

To shelter cattle driving :
Woe to the farmers, with their flocks,

However rich and thriving' !

Their post is now no sinecure,

Who have to watch the fold ;
The storm and diifting snow to endure.

And winter's piercing' cold.

The farmer's province out of doors.

All weathers he must bear ;
The cold blockading- all his pores —

His lungs, the freezing air !

If corn advances, who is blamed ?

The farmer — he alone !
No sympathy for him is claim'd —

For none his plea will own !

Yet 'tis his calling, not his fault.

To deal in corn — what then ?
He sells the barley turn'd to malt.

For gain — like other men.

To other trades we are content

To give a profit fair ;
As if the farmer only meant

To take tlie largest share !

But all like passions have, and strive

To serve themselves the best ;
Tho' farmers do not always thrive,

Nor overstep the rest.

Senex.

CLEARING ROADS OF SNOW.

Of the system adopted by the royal sappers and
miners at chatham lu clearing the london and
canterbury road in that neighbourhood from

SNOW.

The sergeants, under the superintendence of the offi-
cer on duty, placed the men in extended order, at in-
tervals of 15 feet apart, over the middle of the road upon
the drifted snow, in which every man cut a hole with
his shovel until he got down to the original roadway,
throwing the snow out towards the sides of the road,
with sufficient force not to require moving a second
time. Commencing in this manner, they prolonged
their respective excavations until they all met, forming
a continued trench, at first only three or four feet wide,
along- the middle of the road, which they gradually in-
crea-^ed by digging and throwing out more snow, uniil
it attained th? width of 9 feet, after which the road thus
partially cleared became passable for carriages through-
out the whole extent originally occupied by the line of
men, each individual cutting out his own portion of 15
teet in length, 9 feet in width, and of a depth varying
almost everywliere, but not generally exceeding 7 feet.
As soon as the men had finished their portions, they
were moved forward in advance, and commenced a
new task in the same manner, always cutting out the
whole depth at once, which would not have been con-
venient had it anywhere exceeded seven feet. If the
snow lay equally deep on both sides of the road, they
threw it out to the right *and left, but if this was not the
case they threw out most of it on the lowest side. At
intervals of about 150 yards they cut broader spaces to
admit of two carriages passing each other.

The quantity of snow cleared by each man in a road
covered about five feet deep was five cubic yards per
hour, or 40 cubic yards in a day's work of eight hours ;
which they did without being tasked as to quantity,
and consequently without any extraordinary exertion.
Hence a person, superintending workmen thus em-
ployed, may safely calculate upon being able to clear a
mile of road, supposed to be covered to the average
depth of three feet vvi:h drifted snow, to the clear width
of nine feet, so as to render it practicable for carriages,
by about 140 men, in eight hours.

We considered it useful to state these details, into
which we were induced to inquire from having heard it
stated, by persons who had seen them at work, that the
sappers and miners appeared to make much more pro-
g'ress in proportion to their numbers, than either the
other troops or tlie civil labourers employed at the
same time, although all were equally well disposed.
'J'he system followed by that corps was on the same
principle on which they had been taught to throw up
parallels and approaches in a siege, which they practise
as apart of their duty on joining the Royal Engineer
Establishment at Chatham, always working in extended
order, and each man having his individual task. Since
clearing- out snow is not an every day occurrence, so
that the public has not the benefit of experience, as in
other kinds of labour, it appeared desirable to make
known the best mode of proceeding — namely, that prac-
tised by the Royal sappers and miners, which is by ex-
tension and individual task work, 'i'his is an arrange-
ment which men left to themselves will not adopt, for
being naturally gregarious, they will collect and work
together, in small parties or groups, which admits of
their conversing together, and produces confusion and
waste of labour, the same lumps of snow being moved
several times instead of being disposed of at one or two
throws of the shovel at the utmost ; hence with ap-
parently equal diligence, a much less quantity of la-
bour is executed.

Many of the farmers in the neighbourhood of Lewes
have suffered in the loss of their stock in the drifts. Mr.
R. Verrall of Swanborough, lost several sheep and a
valuable horse. Mr, Verrall ofNorlington Farm had no
less than 40 sheep dug out which had perished in the
snow.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

139

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE
EXPRESS.

In your paper of the 2cl inst., I find a person who
signs himself " Rusticus," desciibiiig a method, or
rather an experiment he has made in regard to the
turnip fl}', to know its origin and eifects, and seems,
as he thinks, to have found out a prevention, which
I think no person can admit except the most insane.
In the first place, he says he sowed some seed
in a flower pot with earth out of his garden. Did he
think that the soil out of his garden would produce
the fly in greater abundance than any otlier soils more
contiguous 1 for he says it produced them in abun-
dance. We are sure that the)' have been numerous
enough elsewhere, and whether garden soils produces
the fly in a greater or less degree than other soils I
am not able to say, I should rather think that soil
which is in the highest state of cultivation, or rather
the richest, is the most favourable to support the
plant, and while that remains liealthy, you need not
trouble yourself about the fly, for it will never attack
healthy plants. Secondly, he savs he inclosed the pot
with pasteboard and canvass with the same success,
and, as he very properly says, there was still a possibi-
lity of their getting in. And thirdly he made a frame so
perfectly close as to utterly cut off all communica-
tion between the interior and exterior ; but he still
finds, that though he may have entirely intercepted
all intercourse, yet the plants still are attacked.
This he considers as a point gained, that if the fly was
entirely shut out, and the plant still attacked, that
they must have their origin from some other source,
and this, so far, was quite right ; true they had some
other source, but not that which he describes. He
goes on to say that he found eggs deposited upon the
seed. Now he surely does not think that the world
is so silly as to believe him. Every one knows that
the turnip is a leguminous plant, and that, while the
seed is enveloped within the pod, it is impossible for
either fly or any other insect to deposit its egg upon
the seed, or to find admission. And that when
brought home and thrashed it would be i thing out of
all character to think that the fly should attack or de-
posit its egg in a place so unfavourable to future ex-
istence. But does he think that his story will be
credited? The cuticle of the turnip seed is so ex-
tremely close and smooth as not to allow the smallest
particle to adhere to it, at least while the seed is
healthy, and if there was any eggs deposited upon
the unhealthy seed, they must be great fools indeed
that would sow such seed. But I do not seethe least
foundation for such an opinion. Undoubtedly the
seed which he examined was some inferior seed which
had become mouldy. And again, as to the preven-
tive which, he says, is to steep it in good strong brine,
I should say it is like a chip in porridge, doing nei-
ther good nor harm ; but I should warn the farmers
of Old England against keeping it in too long, as
that might destroy ihe vitality of the seed, but if they
keep it in no longer than what he prescribes, they need
not be afraid. He is very right when he says that
the fly did not come to the turnip from some other
plant, that certainly was a point gained, and a great
one too, upon which dwell all the foundation of fu-
ture experiments or opinions. But when he gets so
far, he takes the wrong path, and is lost among the
mazes of uncertainties, he begins to examine the seed
instead of the plant, thereby losing himself in sup-
position, for be confesses that his preventive is not
infallible.

Now the first part of his experiment was of great
importance, by precludingthe fly he found out that the
disease of the plant, and origin of that disease, did

not originate from the ravages of the fly, as is gene-
rally supposed. But if an angel from heaven was to
tell the generality of the farmers that the fly was not
the cause of the disease in the plant, but carrying off
the effects of some other cause, they would not be-
lieve him. But heie tliey have a proof the fly was
totally excluded, and still the plant became diseased,
and afterwards attacked, showing that the evil is not
in the fly, but iuthe various causes which affects the
growth of the plant. Now, I will tell " Rusticus"
what is my opinion upon the subject : — The plant be-
came diseased from a want of a sufficient degree of
moisture, light, warmth, and air, as is necessary for
the health of the plant. After the plant became dis-
eased the gelatinous parts would beain to seperate
from the fibrous, and that mucus would transform, or
undergo a change similar to what takes place in a pu-
trid carcase, where the flesh-fly has its origin. This,
I mean to say, is the first origin of the fly, still this
is not the general method of propagation ; Providence
has so ordered it, that they multiply with an amazing-
rapidity, according to the quantity of decomposed
vegetable matter that may exist upon the face of the
earth. There is not a method that can be devised so
likely to act as a preventive as to keep the land in
the highest state of cultivation, to use everjr method
to keep up the vitality of the plant, and if thev are
then attacked it arises from the incongeniality of the
weather, which we cannot withstand. Alas 1 poor
fly, how many are thine enfrniesl Thy maker or-
dained thee to act as a friend to man, but heknoweth
it not.— Yours,

Ja?i. 3, 1837. S. P. G.

THE LANDED AND TRADING IN-
TERESTS.

By returns printed, by order of the House of Com-
mons, in Alarch, 1816, stating the number of persons
employed in agriculture, trades, and professions, as-
sessed to the property tax, it appeared that —

Schedule A land in property paid 4,297,247

Schedule B occupiers of land 2,176,228

6,473,475
Schedule D trade only 2,000,000

Making a difference in favour of agriculture 4,473,475

Per-
The occupiers of land under 50/ per annum sons.

were 114,778

From 50/ to 150/ 432,534

Above 150/ 42,0e3

589,374

Persons in trade or profession under 50/ were 100,760

Above 50/ and under 150/ 117,306

From 150/ to 1,000/ 31,128

From 1,000/ and upwards 3,692

253,686

Occupiers of land 589,374

Persons in trade or profession. .. . 253,686

Majority in favour of the occupiers 335,688

Extraordinary Crop. — Mr. William Rldsdale, of
Barnsley, has jus.t thrashed out a quantity of beans,
the produce of six acres, which was grown in a field
at Keresforth Hill, near Barnsley, which has yielded
about 120 loads, being 20 loads per acre.

140

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

AGRICULTURAL REPORTS.

[The immense importance which must attach to
a correct knowledge of the quality and quantity of
the grain, the produce of the late harvest, to the
progress of field operations through the winter and
spring, and to the appearance and promise of
the wheat plant up to the period of its becoming
fit for the sickle in the ensuing harvest will, we
feel persuaded, be at all times sufficient apology
for postponing other matter in order to supply all
possible information upon the above mentioned
interesting points. Our pages tliis month will I
be found much more filled than usual with agri- j
cultural rejjorts, from which useful information ^
may be derived, but we particularly invite atten-
tion to a series of valuable reports extracted from
the " Irish Farmer's Magazine," and in which the
state of the late crops in Ireland, and as much as j
can as yet be anticipated of future prospects, will !
be found carefully described. — Ed. F. M.] |

THE CROPS IN IRELAND.

FROM THE IRISH FARMEr's MAGAZINE FOR JANUARY. I

Perhaps at no period for the last twenty years, .
has such intense anxiety been manifested about the
results of the harvest, as within the past two or three
months — or more contradictory statements circulated,
in reference to the quantity and quality of the pro-
duce of the soil, both here and in the sister countries.

The exorbitant prices to which every article of
human food had attained at the commencement of the
winter, together with the dispiriting reports which
were received from many parts of the country of the
perilous state of the oat and potatoe crop, gave rise
to anticipations of so gloomy a character, that many
did not hesitate to predict a famine, as extensive and
disastrous as that which succeeded the year 1816.
Although it needed no argument to convince those
who recollected that dreadful season, that such anti-
cipations were pushed beyond the limit which a com-
parison between the two seasons would warrant, yet
we know that well grounded apprehensions were
abroad of a scarcity of wholesome food in several
districts of this country, which was likely to lead to
another call upon the munificence of England : and
we felt that to arrive at a correct estimate of the real
condition and resources of this country became, in
the present unsettled state of public opinion, an ob-
ject of too much importance to be overlooked. We
accordingly, early in the month, availed ourselves of
the willing and active agency of the Secretary of the
Agricultural Society of Ireland, and through this
very respectable channel we are now enabled to lay
before our readers the following well authenticated
reports from nearly every County in Ireland.

ARMAGH COUNTY.

From the seventy of last winter, and the high
price of flax, there was very little wheat sown in this
county. What was sown has been safely harvested,
and is an average crop. Barley was extensively
sown. It has been well saved, and is also an ave-
rage crop. There was not as great a breadth of oats
sown this year as usual. The produce has been
great — more than an average on good land, and has
been safely harvested. In the late districts it has
received much injury. The potatoe crop is an ave'

rage one. There are some slight failures, but the
quality is not injured by the weather. One-fourth
of the crop yet (16th December) remains undug.
On account of the severity of the present season
there has been little wheat sown. The farmers are
inclined to sow a larger breadth than last year, if the
weather will permit. Winter fodder, I am gratified
to say, is plenty. The farmers have a good supply
of turnips and other green food : and I have reason
to think fodder will not be scarce in spring.

ANTRIM COUNTY.
Our reports from this county are by no means of a
cheering nature. The loss sustained in the potato
crop is stated to be alarmingly extensive. Much
remains yet undug, and of that portion which has
been pitted, although due precaution was used to
remove the frost-bitten roots, a great deal has rotted,
and affected those which were in contact with them.
Pitted or housed potatoes should, therefore, be care-
fully looked after throughout the winter, and all
tainted roots removed, as one infected tuber will
spread contagion to all around it. Our latest infor-
mation in reference to the corn crops is equally dis-
heartening. A great portion of the grain (nearly
one-fourth), particularly in the northern districts,
then remained uncut. It is feared that the deficiency
in the hay and oat crop will occasion a serious loss
to the farmer in the keep of his cattle ; horned cattle
have, besides, been housed fully three weeks earlier
than usual, and appear in bad condition. Mangel
wurzel and turnips are abundant in tops, but very
deficient in roots. Very little wheat is yet sown ; a
great number of farmers who have their ground
ready will be obliged to postpone the operation till
the nearer approach of spring.

CORK COUNTY.
There was not so great a breadth of wheat sown
the past season as on former ones, the very low price
of last year having caused many farmers to sow their
tillage with oats ; but the crop of this season is con-
sidered a good one, and has been safely harvested.
The wheat sowing of this district cannot be consi-
dered to commence till after Christmas. Barley is
not extensively cultivated in this district ; for several
years past wheat has taken the place of this grain,
especially by the sea side, but what is grown is ge-
nerally very good, though not of very prime quality.
Oats are grown to a great extent in the inland parts,
especially on reclaimed mountain land, where
the quality and produce are always good, when pro-
perly treated ; and considering the unfavourable
weather of the past harvest, oats have been well
saved, are of good quality, and a full average crop ;
and in no instance have I seen or heard of a single
crop being lost by failing to ripen in a reasonable
time. With respect to potatoes, this is a district in
which failure beyond a trifling patch never happens;
and when the slovenly and wasteful system of grow-
ing this crop is considered, there is not perhaps in
Ireland a finer potato than this county produces.
The crop is generally the most abundant, affording
an ample supply for home consumption, and a very
large quantity for export. The crop of this year is
a very fine one, both in quantity and quality ; much
of it is yet undug, but has not sufiFered in conse-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

141

quence. The bulk of the potato digging in this dis-
trict is always done between the 14th November and
25th December : hitherto the weather has been most
unfavourable. Turnips and mangel wurzel are not
knewn among the farmers of this district yet. The
winter fodder in general use is hay, potatoes, and
chopped furze. The latter is used very generally
even among the better classes of farmers, it having
been found from experience that it is a far more nu-
tritious article of green food than any other they
know, and is even considered beyond hay for horses
that are not worked at speed. It is considered good
too for milch cattle. It is raised in abundance on
ground fit for no other purpose. Of hay, potatoes,
and forage, there is an abundance for the people's
■wants. The potatoes used for cattle are generally
the small ones picked from the heap. These observa-
tions relate to a district extending from the Mizen
Head in the West to Koss Carbery in the East, and
from the sea in the South to Bantry and Dunmanway
in the North, N. E. and N. W., being a distance of
over 40 Irish miles, one wa}^ and over 16 the other.

A valued Correspondent in another district — that
ofFermoy — has favoured us with the following com-
munication : — The usual breadth of wheat was not
sown in this district. In many instances it was
one-fourth less. The crop has bpsn thieshing much
better than could have been calculated on from the
small quantity of straw, and certainly is a fair ave-
rage of produce on the number of acres sown. In
most cases it has been harvested well ; samples, how-
ever, in many instances are soft. Barley was more
extensively sown than wheat, and is in most cases a
good crop as to produce. In some instances it was
late, and badly harvested, and the samples not of
prime colour, but may, in many cases, produce a
better quality of malt than could have leen expected,
considering the rainy season we have had. Oats
as to extent of ground cultivated, a full average. I
do not consider that it is a good crop, but the quan-
tity sown may in many instances make up for the
defieienc}% In many cases samples come to hand
of a very inferior quality; and the farmers certainly
do not do all they ought, to produce the samples
in the best order for sale. In this district I do not
know of any oats which was not reaped and saved,
but, no doubt, in many instances badly saved. Po-
tatoes are a better crop here than in many parts of the
country ; considerable damage must, however, have
arisen from the impossibility of getting them out of
the ground in proper time — and in several instances
I have heard of the frost having done much injury.
There still remains some in the ground, but not to
any extent. They were, however, all pitted in a
very wet state, and come to market covered with
wet earth. How they will keep in this manner re-
mains to be proved. I cannot call to recollection
when wheat sowing had been so much retarded as
at the present season. Farmers are endeavouring to
get it in when the least opportunity offers, but the
ground has been so saturated, that any attempt, ex-
cept in very dry soils, must be injurious. It is dif-
ficult to forai an opinion as to the proportionate
quantity of ground not sown, in comparison with
other years, but it must be very considerable. Hay
is dearer here than since the war prices, from 41 to
41 10s per ton, and is decidedly deficient — in Cork
market it is 51 per ton. Straw is extremely scarce.
The quantity of green crops in the county of Cork
although increasing, in consequence of the exertions
of the County Agricultural Society, and the numer-
ous Societies formed and forming in the county, is
by no means what it ought to be : and though seve-
ral have guarded against a deficient period, by being

supplied with them, yet the large majority are alto-
gether without assistance on this point.

CAVAN COUNTY.

The usual breadth of wheat was not sown last sea-
son in this county. The crop is nearly an average
as to quantity per acre, and was in general pretty
safey harvested. Barley was not extensively
sown on early soils, but was middlingly well saved.
In late districts a considerable portion was got well
harvested, but it will prove under an average
crop. There was fully the usual extent of oats sown
last spring, which promised an abundant crop, but
owing to the unfavourable state of the weather, a
large proportion of it did not ripen equally, nor was
it well saved. There are a few partial spots to be
seen uncut on late mountain districts, and several
remain 3'et in the stooks through the county, but not
to any great extent.

In Leitrim a considerable quantity of oats remain
in the fields — about one-sixth part — which is in a
very bad state. There are many partial failures in
the potato crop, notwithstanding, they are turning
out far better than was expected as to quantity, but
are deficient in quality. Ihey are in general soft,
and not so good for use as usual. The severe wea-
ther has, in many instances, (where the ground was
wet) injured them very much. There is about a
fourth part remaining undug — and it is feared that a
large proportion of what is dug, being taken up in a
wet state, will not keep in the potatoe houses and
pits. The want of winter fodder will be severely
felt, if the ensuing spring tui'ns out unfavourable.
There is a good deal of hay not yet saved, which
may be said to be nearly lost — and but a small num-
ber of the farmers are provided with turnips or green
feeding as a substitute, the want of which I hope
will be the means of inducing the farmers in general
to a more extensive cultivation of green crops in
future. The weather still continues rainy ; we have
scarcely one dry day. — Turf, that essential article,
is getting very scarce and dear.

CLARE COUNTY.
Our report from this county states— that the usual
breadth of wheat was not sown last year, but where
sown it may be considered an average crop. Barley
was extensively sown. It was much injured in quality
before being stacked, from the heavy rains. Oats
were also extensively sown. The early crop was
well saved, but the late crop will do little more than
pay for the expense of saving it — but little remains
uncut ; and from the great breadth sown a tolerable
supply is calculated on. The potato crop is an
abundant one, but the quality has been greatly in-
jured by the late rains, and much yet remains undug.
Sowing of wheat has been greatly retarded. Winter
fodder is very scarce.

CARLOW COUNTY.

The breadth of wheat sown in this county last year
was less by from one-third to one-fourth than that of
the two previous years — and although the crop suf-
fered much from the extreme severity of the early
part of the season, and appeared thin, yet the ear
was good and well filled, and the produce per acre
rather more than usual — but in a great many in-
stances the crop was badly harvested. The millers
complain that a great many of the samples offered for
sale contain sprouted grains. It may however, be con-
sidered an average crop. A larger breadth of barley
than usual was sown this year, which, however.

142

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

ripened unevenly, and being left to season in the
stock, when the weatlier broke was hastily put toge-
ther, and I believe has very generally suffered, from
heating in the stacks. I know many instances of
farmers, who having drawn their crops to the hag-
gards, wera compelled to take the stacks down and
re-make them in tbe open fields, to prevent the utter
destruction of the corn. The produce was fully, if
not over, an average per acre. The earlii crop was in
general well saved. Oats were more extensively
sown than the last year, but was a thin crop, and the
produce under an average. It ripened slowly and
most unevenly, and much of it remained uncut to a
late period. This crop also suifered much from fer-
mentation, both in the field stacks, and when put
together in the haggards. The potatoe crop was a
good one — but in many instances the severe frosts
whicn occurred early in November have occasioned
a partial injury, probably to the extent of a twentieth
— very little remains undug. A considerable breadth
of ley land has been broken up this season for the
growth of wheat, and which has been sown, as have
also the fallows — but this latter mode of cultivation
is not much resorted to in this county. There has
been as yet but a partial sowing of tbe potatoe land,
the extreme inclemency of the weather having retard-
ed the clearing of the ground, and the operations of the
plough. In passing through the county last week,
I perceived some farmers getting in their wheat on
the [potatoe land with the spade and shovel, on an
extensive scale. The very high price of hay (5^
per ton) and of straw {'21 10s}, indicates a scarcity
of winter fodder — and which, I fear, will be severely
felt in the spring. Very little turnips or mangel
wurzel have been sown, and the crops of the former
are in general very poor — nor is there much appear-
ance of waste grass on the hest lands for the winter
support of cattle. Upland hay in general well
saved.

[We have received a report from another valued
Correspondent in this Countv, which so fully accords
with the foregoing, that it would be but a repetition of
the facts to insert it. We feel grateful to the Gentle-
man in question for his prompt and accurate com-
munication.— CONDRS.]

DOWN COUNTY,

Scarcely the usual breadth of wheat was sown
this year. The crop has proved a good average ;
quality excellent, and all safely harvested. Barley
has been more extensively sown this year than for-
merly. It has been well saved, and is above an aver-
age crop. Oats have, I think, not been so much
grown this j^ear as in some former years ; but except-
ing a few cases, has been all well saved. Potatoes
may be reckoned in this county a good average crop.
In many cases the crop is excellent. They have not,
that I know of, been injured by the weather. Only
a patch here and there remains undug. Wheat
sowing hns been retarded considerably, as scarcely
a third part has been got in yet. I do not hear of
any want of winter fodder this vear, more than in
former y^enrs, as where there were no turnips there
was always a want ; and, as the farmers in many
parts of the county do not seem to know the value of
green crops for winter feeding, of course their cattle
must suffer for want of fodder.

DERRY COUNTY.
There was less wheat sown than usual. It has
not proved an average crop, but has been well bar-
vested. Barley was sown limitedly. It has been

well saved, but is not an average crop. There has
been a considerable quantity of Oats sown. It has
been generally well saved, except in mountain
ground. None remains uncut, but there is a good
deal unstacked. Potatoes are a considerable failure
this season, and from the coldness and wetness of the
grcund the quality has been much injured. There
still continues a good many fields undug. Neither
has the crop proved an average one, nor is the quality
good. Wheat sowing has been almost entirely
retarded by the severity of the weather. The want
of winter fodder is not yet severely felt ; but if the
weather continues severe there will be a great want.
Turnips are rather a failure this year. Mangel
Wurzel is very little cultivated in this part of the
country, and green feeding is generally scarce.

DUBLIN COUNTY.

District of Swords. — There was fully one-tliird
less of the usual breadth of whent sown last year,
in this neighbourhood. Although very thin in the
straw, the yield is good, and I think there is an
average crop. With very trifling exceptions it was
safely harvested, but with more than ordinary ex-
pense, and trouble. The farmers of this district
have not been barley growers ; more, however, has
been grown this year than usual. It was not well
saved, and is not an average crop. Tbe usual quan-
tity of oats was grown. Owing to their ripening un-
evenly, or coming badly to the hook, they were not
well saved ; and were in very many instances brought
to the stack-yard in bad order, and suffered there
materially. None remain uncut, or unstacked, to
this date, 14th December. Potatoes have experi-
enced a similar failure to that of the last few years ;
but owing to more care being taken, not to the same
extent. A considerable portion of the crop, say 5
per cent., was lost by the early and severe frost, and
by the bad weather during the digging. Very little
remains undug. The wheat sowing in fallow lands
was finished, or nearly so, before the very bad wea-
ther set in. In potatoe land it has been much re-
tarded— not yet one-half done, and the land so wet
that it is much feared a great deal must remain over
for a spring crop. 1'he want of fodder not yet felt,
except by anticipation, but except in a few instances,
the farmers are not supplied with any green crop as
a substitute. There is no grass on the pasture land,

[From inquiries which we have recently made, we are
led to conclude that the foregoing will apply in a great
measure to the circumstances of the whole county.
Wheat sowing is reported as in a particularly back-
ward state ; much of the potatoe ground intended for
that crop is so wet that many farmers have determined
upon sowing spring corn instead. This will considera-
bly diminish the breadth under wheat, which would
otherwise have exceeded that of last year. — Condrs.]

FERMANAGH COUNTY.

There was not much more than half tlie quantity
of wheat sown here last year than had been for some
previous years, owing, it may be supposed, to the
low price in 1835. This year's crop could not possi-
bly be as well saved as in former years, from the
unfavourable weather during the harvest season ;
but I cannot learn that the injury is as extensive as
might he supposed. From the almost constant rain,
combining with other causes arising therefrom, there
has been very little, if any, sown in this quarter yet.
There was less barley grown than for many years
past ; and it must necessarily have suffered in com-
mon with other grain. Oats may be said to have
been the principal crop this year, and has, in general,

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

143

been better saved tban might have been expected,
from the great attention of the farmer. I cannot
learn that there is any now to reap ; although I have
heard that in many backward and cold mountain
districts, some fields were uncut at the beginning of
this month. It is at the same time remarkable, that
some of the mountain grounds produced well, and
in time to be harvested without loss or injury. Pota-
toes although not yet very high priced here, may be
safely reckoned on as a third below an average crop ;
but if not injured by the rain at the time of digging
out, may not rise to an extravagant price, as the
farmers are using them frugally. The oper.ness of
the season has tended for so far to diminish the con-
sumption of fodder, and has rendered the scarcity
less felt than it otherwise would be. Hay is high,
but chfiaper here than in some other quarters, and
from the care taken of it, together with a good sup-
ply of straw for cows, may not rise greatly during
the approaching spring and summer. This, how-
ever, must depend on circumstances, as hay is cer-
tainly a shorl crop, in many instances badly saved,
and the old stock long since exhausted, except with
a verv few of the wealthiest gentlemen of the county.
Turnips, mangel wurzel, or other green feeding, is
yet very little cultivated by the small farmers, but
they are creeping into cultivation by that class ; yet
I cannot say there is any considerable stock to reckon
OD. The wealthier farmers have in many instances
grown turnips, and some of them pretty extensively,
for stall-feeding. Some also have mangel wurzel.
Oatmeal is very high, and almost beyond the reach
of the poor.

GALWAY COUNTY.

Wheat has not been sown to the usual exient,
prices being so low for the past years, farmers
declined sowing it. I might say that half the quan-
tity was not sown that was for the last three years.
The quantity sown returned an average crop, and is
safely secured in the haggarts. Barley was very
little sown — the quantity sown returned an average
crop, and is secured in the haggarts. Oats have been
sown this year very extensively. It is the chief
crop here, and if it could be saved, would return an
average crop. There is a great part of it unstacked,
and part in small field stacks in a bad way; — being-
made up wet it is now heating. Very little is uncut,
but few farmers have any secured in their haggarts.
Potatoes were in general an average crop, and I am
happy to say, they have suffered very little injury
from the severe weather. The greater part of them
are dug and in pits. Wheat sowing has been much
retarded from the severe weather. Persons were
inclined to sow, but must wait until after Christ-
mas, hoping the weather may change. There
is a very great deficiency in the hay crop,
and fodder is calculated to be scarce, as the
straw being badly saved cattle will hardly consume
it. The farmers are on the reserve, and are thinning
their stock very much short of the last winters.
There is no green feeding, mangel wurzel or turnips,
sown here. Mr. Clendining last year encouraged
the sowing of clover, vetches, and mangel, very ex-
tensively. Many have so'^n a large quantity of
winter vetches tliis season, and will sow- green crops,
mangel, and turnips, next season.

KILKENNY COUNTY.

In consequence of the low prices of wheat for the
previous years, the usual breadth of wheat was not
sown. I should think it was one- fourth less. It was

about an average crop and safely harvested. Barley
has scarcely at all been cultivated in this neighbour-
hood, but there was more than usual sown this year.
It was an average crop, but was indifferently saved.
The usual breadth of oats was sown. It is exten-
sively cultivated here. It was below an average
crop, and was badly saved in the lowlands. In the
mountain district it was almost all lost. The por-
tion that ripened was much damaged by the con-
tinued rain, and a large quantity was cut green.
Little or none remains uncut. There has been a
considerable failure in the potatoe crop. I should
think it one-sixlh deficient in quantity, neither is the
the quality so good as that of former years. The
complaint is very general that it is rotting in the pits,
in consequence I conclude, of its not having arrived
at maturity when vegetation ceased. About one-
fourth remains undug. Scarcely any wiieat has as
yet been sown in this neighbourhood. The want of
winter fodder has not yet been felt, owing to the
open weather : should frost or snow set in, the far-
mers in this neighbourhood have no substitute in the
nature of green crops, and the cattle will suffer
much from the scarcity and consequent high price of
hay, and for the reasons before stated. Straw, their
ordinary substitute, is also scarce. In my opinion
the great cause for alarm is the failure of the potatoe
crop, not merely from the deficiency in quantity, but
also its tendency to decay. The extent of that evil
cannot be known with certainty until spring.

KILDARE COUNTY.

Not more than half the usual breadth of wheat was
sown last season, owing to the wretched price it was
then bringing. I had 100 acres of wheat the harvest
before the last, and although I had upwards of 40
acres of highly manured potatoe and turnip land, all
well fit for wheat, I did not sow one acre in it last
season, preferring barley and oats, both of which
crops have paid latterly better than wheat, and are
not so exhausting to the land. The ground that was
sown produced a fair average crop, and was harvested
in better order than either barley or oats. Barley is
not much sown in this part of the county — the land in
in general not supposed fit for it. When it was sows
it was a good average crop, but the constant rain
made it impossible to save it properly. I should
be inclined to say, that a prime sample of malting
barley has not been shown in Dublin market this
year from this county. There was a good deal of
oats sown, but it has suffered greatly from the season,
and is much below an average crop ; however, there
is none remaining uncut or unstacked. There has
been a considerable failure in the potatoe crop — ihey
are, however, for the most part dug out — but I am
convinced they are much injured both by wet and
frost, even more than is at present suspected. I
have heard several instances of their being already
found rotting in the pits. There remains much of the
wheat land to be sown, particularly the potatoe
ground, and in its present state of mo?'f(7r it cannot
be sown with any ])rospect of success. The scarcity
of winter fodder will be much felt ; the more so, as
the farmers in this county cannot be prevailed upon
to sow turnips, or any description of green feeding —
owing partly to their dislike to change from old sys-
tems, and partly to the impossibility of securing the
crops from depredation — the latter will ever be an
insurmountable bar to the improvement of Irish
Agriculture, till some remedy be struck out to pre-
vent it, more effectual than any at present in exis-
tence.*

f* We think a remedy for this will be found in a
more general cultivation of those crops, especially the

144

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

turnip. When small farmers grow this root for their
own use, the inducement to purloin the crop of their
neighbours will of necessity cease. — Condks.]

KING'S COUNTY.

The wheat crop is turning out a full acreable ave-
rage, and has been well saved, but it must be recol-
lected that the usual breadth was not sown. There
was a greater sowing of barley than usual, the pro-
duce a full acreable average, and with few excep-
tions it bas been safely got into stack. Although the
usual breadtb of oats was sown, the produce is sbort
of an average in both corn and straw, but all is
tolerably well saved. Potatoes are a fair average
produce, but the quality is generally inferior and
wet. There has been a loss from frosts, before dig-
ging, not yet correctly ascertained. The crop is all
raised. Wheat sowing has been unusually retarded
from constant wet weather, and not one-tenth of the
breadth laid outforthat grain after potatoes has been
got seeded up to this date — lith December. There
is a more scanty supply of fodder than usual, and
which uo doubt will be severely felt, should the
winter prove hard, with a late spring. Very few of
our small farmers grow any sort of green crops, with
the exception of potatoes, of which root they have a
fair supply. To guard against rot from frost and
wet, potatoe pits ought tliis season to be carefully
examined from time to time.

LIMERICK COUNTY.

The usual breadth of wheat has not been culti-
vated ; but where sown, it has been in many places
an average crop, and in most beyond an average. It
has been nearly all safely harvested. Barley has
been sows rather extensively. As to quantity it is
an average crop — as to quality very indifferent, from
being cut late, and subject to the heavy rains before
being stacked. Oats have been extensively sown.
All that was sown early has been well saved ; but
the great quantity of late sowing will hardly have
paid for the expense of saving — however, there is
hardly any uncut, and our supply is good ; I think
fully equal to any former year, from the greater
quantity sown in place of wheat. Though some po-
tatoes have suffered from the late rain, they are here
an abundant crop. A good deal is necessaril}' un-
dug, but at this season that is not at all unusual : a
quantity of reclaimed bog land has been very pro-
duetive, (the potatoe, however, not so large as the
general average.) The wheat sowing has been much
retarded. Our weather has been so very severe as
to moke sowing quite idle work. It could not gene-
rate in the ground. Winter fodder is scarce, prin-
cipally owing to a great number of heifers and cows
having wissed breeding, and consequently the farmers
were obliged to put them into stall to fatten, or sacri-
fice them. However, a disposition is strongly
evinced to prevent a recurrence of this evil. Green
feeding will be extensively adopted next season, a
very plentiful supply of bone dust manure being
given by our Society (the Farming Society of Lime-
rick, Clare, and Tipperary,) to the farmers on low
terms, to induce them to grow turnips, mangel wur-
zel, &c., to such extent as to prevent any future
want on that head.

LONGFORD COUNTY.

In consequence of the low prices of wheat in the
year 1835, the usual breadth of wheat was not sown.
The crop is an average one, and for the season has
been well harvested. Barley has not be«n exten-

sively sown. The crop is deficient, and has not been
well got in. Oats has been extensively sown, but
ripened very unevenly, and was much injured from
heating in the stacks. None remains uncut, but there
is yet much in the fields. Potatoes, where not in-
jured by the floods, are an average crop, and, gene-
rally speaking, are as good as usual ; but the greater
part of the crop is still in the ground. \Vheat sow-
ing has been very much retarded by the season —
indeed there is scarcely any sown yet. Wheat here
is generally sown after potatoes, and the ground is
in such a state that no labour can be performed. At
present there is not much want of winter fodder,
but it is to be feared that from the very early con-
sumption of it, at the end of the season it will prove
scarce. There is no supply amongst farmers of
either mangel wurzel, turnips, or winter vetches.
The only favourable sign there is, that from the
general fear of want, persons are careful of their food
and fodder. This year has been unfavourable for
turnips and mangel. Some very early sowing of
winter vetches look well.

LOUTH COUNTY.

Not nearly the usual quantity of wheat was sown,
I think one-fourth less. It is fully an average what
was sown, and it was fairly harvested. Barley was
very extensively sown, more than any one recollects
in former years, by one-fourth, and generally proved
an immense crop, far above an average. Late barley
was got in very badly, and was greatly injured ;
early barley was put in stack too soon, and a large
proportion of it got a slight heat, which destroyed it
for malting, but for other purposes it is extremely
good. About the usual quantity of oats was sown.
In good ground and from ley it has been most pro-
ductive and of fine quality. Seeding time Avas so
dry, that the light poor lands turned out very badly,
and the quality most inferior. It has been tolerably
well saved, and is, I think, an average crop. In bad
and cold land the potatoe crop has been a most de-
cided failure; but in rich warm land, well manured,
there is an extraordinary fine crop. Late potatoes
are greatly injured by frost and rain : two-thirds
of the crop got in were housed and pitted in
bad condition, and must suffer greatly. There is yet
a tenth undug. On the whole the crop will not prove
nearly an average one. Wheat sowing has been re-
tarded beyond any thing ever known. There is not
one-fourth of potato ground wheat got in. Fallow
wheat looks well. Winter fodder is very deficient,
and the farmers are not provided with a substitute
from any description of green crops.

[W^e have been favoured with returns from two other
gentlemen in this county, for which we feel much
obliged. They fully corroborate the foregoing. —
CoNDns.]

MEATH COUNTY.
The breadth under wheat was in this county one-
third less than in former years. It may be consi-
dered a fair average crop, and was in general well
harvested : in some instances, however, there was a
little sprouting of the ear. Barley is not grown to
any extent. Oats were extensively sown last year.
The crop, as far as my observation goes, is barely an
average one. In some districts much of it has heat-
ed, but it may be generally said to have been tolera-
bly well harvested in the aggregate. Potatoes have
experienced partial failure. It is feared that the wet
weather has induced a tendency to rot, which will
show in the pit or house, if not closely examined.
The crop may be considered nearly an average in

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

145

quantity. Not much remains undug. The wheat
sowing- on potatoe ground is very backward. The
land not being in a fit state for the plough, the crop
must in some instances be covered in by the shovel.
Winter fodder is not so scarce in some districts as
might have been expected, and were it not that the
high prices induced the farmer to sell, I do not
think the deficiency would be found so great as many
anticipated.

MAYO COUNTY.

Not more than two-thirds of the usual breadth of
wheat have been sown in this neighbourhood. The
quality is a shade inferior to the previous crop, and
is rendered still worse by the inclemency of tlie sea-
son. Barley is not a favourite crop in this county :
it has been but partially sown, and is an inferior
crop. Oats were sown more extensively last spring
than I recollect to have ever seen before ; but the
unusually wet and cold harvest weather which we
have just experienced has most materially damaged the
crop. In several districts, as about Clare, Bally-
haunis, Ballind'ne, &c. entire fields of oats remain
still green aud uncut. The oat crop of this year will
be lamentably short. Potatoes have failed in some
districts, particularly in the west of this county and
about the sea shore. They are smaller in size than
last jrear. The constant rains prevent the digging of
them : scarcely a sufficiency for present consumption
can be procured. Very little wheat has been or can
be sown from the quality of the soils and state of the
weather. No inconvenience has yet been experienced
for winter fodder. I conceive there may be a suf-
ficiency until the end of January, if so far. There is
scarcely any green feeding, for although Mr. Clen-
dining, an extensive land agent, is using his utmost
exertions to encourage the growth of green crops, be
has been yet but partiall^r able to overcome the ha-
bitual prejudices of the people in that respect. One
or two seasons, such as the present, however, will
compel them to have recourse to it.

In the Newport district, however, another corres-
pondent states that the potatoe crop has turned out
much beyond the farmer's expectation. In the sum-
mer a failure was dreaded, (and there has been a
partial failure) but there is a tolerably abundant
crop. Much, however, remains undug, and it is stlil
feared that the constant rain will cause them to rot
in the earth.

ROSCOMMON.

Not near the usual breadth of wheat was sown.
The crop is a full average one, and has been well
harvested. Barley has been extensively sown — it
has been badly saved, but is a good crop. Oats has
been much grown, it is very badly saved ; there is
very little, if any, uncut ; all is stacked. The pota-
toes have proved abundant. The quality was not
injured until the present severe frost. A consider-
able quantity remains undug, which must now be
destroyed. Wheat sowing has been retarded by the
severity of the weather, but there is very little grown
in this district. There is every reason to expect
that the want of winter fodder will be severely felt.
Turnips and green feeding are never grown by the
generality of farmers here. The want of fuel is se-
verely felt, as the people were not able to drj' the
turf, and coals are too expensive for them to obtain.
These answers apply to the immediate neighbourhood
of the town of Roscommon and Elphin.

Another correspondent from this county reports
nearly to the same eftect.

SLIGO COUNTY.

In this county there was very little wheat sowu
last year. It was far below an average crop. What
was sown was not well saved, and is of an inferior
quality. Barley is not extensively sown in this
county. The crop, such as it was, suffered a good
deal from the wet. The oats generally sown would
have been a good crop hnd the weather admitted of
its ripening in time, but much of it has been left
uncut, and a good deal of what has been got in is of
a very bad quality. As a proof, it varies in our
market from 5d. to I2d. per stone. V^ery little of it
will admit of holding over for any time. The pota-
toes are not so good as usual. In the moist low
grounds many have rotted. A good deal still remains
undug : on the whole I would say the crop is a de-
ficient one. Little or no wheat has as yet been
sown, owing to the wetness of the season. Fodder
will be very scarce. The oat straw has suffered so
much that it will not be fit for cattle food. The hay
in many places cannot be got in, and is scarce and
bad. There is no artificial food, such as turnips, or
mangel vvurzel, grown in this county.

TIPPERARY COUNTY.

There was nothing like the average breadth of
wheat sown last year in our neighbourhood. The
produce per acre was above an average crop, and
has been safely harvested. Barley was extensively
sown, hut was not well harvested, and about an
average crop. Oats was much sown, but it was a
late crop, and not well saved — it is, however, all
cut. Potatoes have had no failure in quantity, but
are very inferior in quality, and, I apprehend, will
be found much deteriorated as an article of food. I
fear they will be further injured in the pits, from
the very severe weather. A large quantity remains
undug. The one-fourth part of the wheat is not in
ground in the dry soils ; and not one-tenth in the
moist soils. Fodder is decidedly scarce — many
solely feeding on straw. The turnip crop is under
an average — indeed, in some parts of this county
turnips are nearly unknown to farmers. Mangel
Wurzel has been almost a total failure.

WATERFORD COUNTY.

The usual breadth of wheat was sown in my
neighbourhood the last year. It was an average
crop, and tolerably harvested ; but cur's is not a
wheat country — it is chiefly oats that are grown.
Barley is not extensively sown — what was grown
was tolerably well saved, and is an average crop.
Oats have been much grown this year, and have
been tolerably saved. There is not much uncut.
The potatoes experienced a partial failure. The
quality is injured by the severe weather — a quantity
remains undug. The wheat sowing has been much
retarded by the state of the weather, and very little
has been sown. The want of winter fodder, it is
feared, will be severely felt in this neighbourhood,
except by such farmers as are provided with turnips
or mangel wurzel — and those are but few.

Another valued Correspondent states, in addition
to the foregoing : — I never saw grass for winter
fodder so scarce. Hay is very scarce, and straw
appears to be equally so, and of bad quality, and the
cattle are already looking impoverished. — Theie is
no such thing as turnips, mangel wurzel, or other
green feeding as a substitute. The cultivation of
these crops does not prevail here — the chief depen-
dence of our farmers js on potatoes, and I fear much
these will form but a short supply for the demand

146

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

tliere will be for them. In many instances barley
heated after having- been brought into the haggarts,
and the result has been that tLe greater part of the
crop has already been brought to market. Had not
the season for taking the potatoes out of the ground
proved so unfavourable, it might have been con-
sidered a fair crop. A great quantity, I might say a
fifth or sixth, remains yet undug, and in wet lands
there is no prospect of their being got out for some
time.

WESTMEATH COUNTY.

But little Wheat was sown in this county — it is a
fair crop. Very little Barley was sown : it did not
prove quite an average crop, nor was it well saved.
Neither did the Oat crop prove an average one. It
is a good deal injured in consequence of being ripe
so verj"- late ; none remains uncut. The potatoe
crop is excellent, both in quantity and quality — no
failure ; but there is a good deal yet undug ; no
complaint as yet about being injured by the weather.
Wheat sowing, to tbe smallest extent practised in
this county, is very backward, in consequence of
the wetness of the soil, and so much potatoes re-
maining in the ground. Fodder is both scarce and
dear, and very few larmers are provided with any
kind of green feeding.

WEXFORD COUNTY.

The breadth of wheat sown last year in this
county is stated by several Correspondents to be
considerably less than usual. The crop, however, is
reported as above an acreable average, and is well
harvested. Barley is the principal crop in some
districts, and in many of these it turned out good, in
others, a great breadth ot the Chevalier kind was
sown, but in general it has been harvested badly.
The same observations apply fully to the oat crop.
Potatoes are stated to be an abundant crop, but much
still remains undug, and in the wet stiff clay lands
along tbe coast and elsewhere are in a precarious
state. Those that are pitted may suffer severely
from their wetness when dug out. One-fourth of
the wheat is not yet sown. Hay is not one-third of
an average crop. A few farmers have turnips and
rape — they are, however, but a few. Much en-
couragement has been afforded the growth of green
crops, by the Earl of Courtown, and a few other
patriotic proprietors. Sixty-six of his Lordship's
tenantry have vetches now green. It is to be feared
that the want of fodder will be severely felt.

LIVERPOOL, Dec. 31, 1836.

The imports of wheat this month very little exceed
one-fifth, those of flour one-half, and those of oats two-
fifths of the quantities received in December last year ;
extending- the comparison to the first four months of the
two seasons, as stated in the table below, we find the
following deficiencies, namely, 62,018 qrs of wheat,
22,470 qrs of oats, 11,442 qrs of barley, 17,837 loads of
oatmeal, and 31,645 sacks of flour. With regard to
prices, those of wheat are now 3s 9d, those of oats Is Id
per bush. ; of flour 19s per sack, and of oatmeal lis per
load higher than they were on the 31st December, 1835.
The stocks at the two periods do not show any very
material variation, they consist chiefly of old wheat ;
there has been a little accumulation of flour within the last
week or two, but of most other articles of the trade they
may be considered perfectly nominal. By a recent es-
timate of the quantity of wheat in granary, including
Canadian, (some part of which is yet under lock,) it
was found to exceed 120,000 qrs ; a considerable pro-
portion of this, however, is held entirely off the market.

The business of the past month has not by any means

been so lively as that of the preceding' ; it has lacked a
great portion of the speculative character which,
during that period, pervaded the trade ; at the same
time there has been a good steady demand for wheat,
both from the millers and dealers, and, in the absence
of so large a proportion of the usual imports from Ire-
land, we have been less affected than formerly by the
supplying of Manchester and other markets in that
district being in the hands of the Yorkshire and Lincoln-
shire dealers : this they decidedly have been as regards
wheat and flour, confining our sales, as before named,
to the local millers and the few orders for shipment to
the North of Ireland and Scotland. Old wheat is 2d
to 3d per bushel cheaper than on this day month ; the
best English white is worth 10s to lOs 6d, red 9s 6d to
lOs ; Scotch and I\Ianx red 9s to 9s 3d, and Irish 8s 8d
to 9s Id per 70 lbs. English new white Wheat has been
delivered slowly at 9s 9d to 10s ; the quantity orfering
has at all times been below the actual wants of the
trade ; such also must be noted the case as regards new
wheat from Ireland, and some of the latter imports
thence have been of very inferior quality, as may be
gathered from their having' with difficulty (on an ex-
tremely bare market) brought 7s 6d to 7s9d, wiiilst
prime samples would have commanded 8s 9d to 9s 3d
per 70 lbs. There is a prevalent opinion, that the re-
cepts of Irish wheat into this country will not he on a
much larger scale than they have hitherto been during
the season,' and those of flour even less. At present,
however, there is an accumulation of flour both here
and at Manchester, which it will take some time to work
off. Since the 30th ultimo prices of this article have
rebeded 2s to 3s per sack ; indeed the value of Irish
new, of ordinary quality, is almost nominal. The best
Eng'lish superfine is held at 56s, Irish fine at 50s to 54s,
and fair runs at 463 to 50s per 280 lbs.

In the value of oats there has been little change, but
prices of oatmeal have gone down fully 2s per load ;
this will appear the more extraordinary, taking into ac-
count the circumstance of there not being a sample of
old meal left over, and that the supply of new has been
far from abundant : the latter is now selling at 34s 6d
to 35s per 240 lbs. The trade in oats has been very
limited ; a few parcels of well-dried West of Ireland
were sold in the early part of the month at 3s lOd to
3s lid, and choice parcels would still command these
rates ; a great proportion of the supply, however, has
been of inferior quality, and offering at 3s 7d to 3s 9d
per 45 lbs.

Malting Barley has been much wanted, and a few
parcels of English of fine quality have brought high
rates — 44s to 48s per imp. qr. Very little of the Scotch
and Cumberland that has yet appeared has been suitable
for malting; one or two small parcels have brought
5s 9d to 63, but the general runs have been t-aken at 5s
to 5s 4d, and the Irish at 4s lOd to 5s 2d per 60 lbs. for
feeding purposes and for distillation.

Upwards of 1,700 qrs of foreign beans have been re-
leased from bond, most of which have gone into con-
sumption with very little variation in price ; they have
sold at 48s to 52s, and English at 50s to 54s per imp. qr.
A few Irish new have arrived, and found buyers at 46s
to 48s per 480 lbs. Peas are almost without inquiry,
and may be bought on lower terms ; foreign (now all
duty-paid) may be quoted at 46s to 52s, English at 50s
to 543 per imp. qr. The whole of the bonded stocks
of beans, consisting of 5,100 qrs, may be considered on
the free market.

In the bonded market we have seldom had less pass-
ing in one entire month since the 31st ultimo ; the only
transactions reported are the sales of three or four
thousand qrs of Lower Baltic and middling Danzig red
Wheat at 7s per 70 lbs, and 2,000 brls of Hamburg
Flour at 30s to 32s per 196 lbs, all for exportation. The
quantities shipped during the month consist of 8,000 qrs
of wheat, 900 qrs of oats, and 4,600 brls of flour, and
the stocks under the King's locks this day are,

Whe:it. Oats. Beans. Flour.

125,039 qrs. 10,615 qrs. 5,097 qrs. 79,627 brls.

Since our respects of the 30th ultimo, the reports of
our local growers as to the bad state and deficiency of
the potato crop have been much more unfavourable

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

147

man before, and it is to be feared that the injury will
be severely felt. A confident opinion exists, that prices
of every description of grain must still advance inde-
pendently of any casualties to the coming- crop, respect-
ing which, the weather during' the last few months has
not been such as to warrant any sanguine expectations.
From the southern counties they write that some portion
of wheat land has not been sown ; in this district, and
more to the north, very little has been got into the
ground.

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BOOTH & WALMSLEY.

SOMERSET.

The weather during- the last month has not, on the
whole, been unfavorable to future agricultural pros-
pects ; the fine open weather which followed a lono-
rainy season was of much service to those who were
backward in their wheat sowing-, and a considerable
quantity was put in just before the commencement
of the frost; the wheat previously sown made con-
siderable progress about the middle of the month,
and enabled us to discover that in wet soils, and
where it was sown after the rain, it did not come up
kindly, the wheat having rotted, and from present
appearance that which was sown first stands the best
chance ; on the whole, the wheat in ground is not
nearly so forward as it has been at this season for
many years past. Owing to the shortness of fodder,
the straw has been much depended on to save hay,
and has consequently shortened and delayed the
quantity of corn hitherto brought to market ; at pre-
sent there is a good deal of corn under the process of
thrashing, but as yet, with the exception of barley,
it has not had the effect of materially lowering the
price ; wheat and flour have receded since the begin-
ning of the month, but the farmers are holding off
for higher prices, and the stocks in the miller's hands
have not accumulated. Prime beef re-alized high
prices for the Christmas markets, the price has since
receded to 10s per 20 lbs; mutton is also dull sale
at fid per lb, the sliortness of hay and keep forcing
both into the market sooner than it otherwise would.
The priefe of barreners for grazing do not seem as
much affected by the shortness of keep as might be
expected, there being a good deal of inquiry for those
in condition. Mutton is also a dull sale. The
lambing- season has just commenced, and considering
the severe weather, has not been hitherto unsuccess-
ful. We are now nearly clear of snow ; so much of
the grass was uncovered by the wind, that the sheep
did not suffer from that cause, but from the unusual
scarcity of feed on the sheep pastures, many flocks
will show being hardly driven. Pork maintains its
price, 7s 9d to 8s 3d per score. Tew potatoes will
be consumed this year by pigs ; there has been more
waste, in consequence of the early frost, among the
potatoes than was expected, and it is to be feared
the extent is not yet ascertained, as there is already
complaints of a great many having become rotten of
those stored away. The severity of the weather while
it lasted was felt by the working classes : at this
season a good deal of the work is t-aken by the job.
I have m-ade inquiry both here and in the southern
parts of this county, and find that 8s is the general
wages of an able bodied man, with three pints to
two quarts of cyder per day ; but in many parishes
only 7s is given ; I have in no instance heard of 6s,
In consequence of a strike for wages in Wales, coals
have risen in the south and western parts of this
county 4d to fid per ewt, this falls heavily on the poor.
In one of the Unions, during the severe weather,
3d on the Is was advanced on the pay by the Guar-
dians. Although the new poor law has no doubt
occasioned many cases of individual hardship, yet it
will be productive of much, though not unmixed,
good. Since my acquaintance with the condition of
our labourers, I have marked a decided improve-
ment, particularly within these few last years : it is
clearly the farmer's interest to give his men a fair
remuneration, and it is equally clear that it is the in-
terest of the men not to demand more than is justly
their due ; public interference either way does, I
consider, more harm than good ; indirect relief which
the master's good policy may suggest, is of much
more advantage ultimately, both to the master and
the labourer, than the relief which the law extorts

148

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

from the one in order to make np a sufficient sub-
sistence for the other. Wheat has receded from

2s to Ss per quarter this month, and flour from 5ls
to 46s per sack. Beans are held very stiffly for 6s
new and 7s old, but 5s 6d to 6s 6d are the ruling-
prices. Barley has fallen from 3s to 4s per quarter,
36s to 39s being the present priees. Oats are a
quick sale, and the supply is not large, 26s to 32s.
Flax seed has advanced Is per quarter ; flax con-
tinues a dull sale. At Yeovil Great Market, the 23d ,
there was an unprecedented supply, much left un-
sold ; the manufacturer complains of the quality ;
new flax may be quoted at 41 JOs to 5^ 5s per pack ;
old, 51 to 5/ I5s. — Jan. 7.

CUMBERLAND.

Tlie weather during the past month has been much
of the same complexion as many that preceded it, so
much rain, snow, wind, and frost, that little or no
out-door work could be performed, consequently the
sowing- of wlieat has been much retarded, and a less
quantity by fully one-fourth has been sown than is
usually done ; the deficiency in quantity may be at-
tributed partly to the impossibility in cleaning the
land during the summer, and also to the extreme wet-
ness of the land during the autumn, which made it a
difficult tusk to cart manure upon land of the driest
description, and quite impracticable to move upon
the cl;\y soils which constitute the greatest portion of
the land in this county. The samples of wheat from
last crop is in general very inferior, and the produce
on an aveiage not more than from twelve to fifteen
bushels per acre ; good seed is very scarce, which
has caused a good demand for old and the best sam-
ples of new at from 8s 6d to 1 Os per bushel. Bar-
ley turns out to be the most productive crop, but
large quantities are unfit for malting ; the produce
may be calculated to be from 15 to 25 per cent, less
than wliat was calculated upon during the reaping of
the crop, and upon some of the high districts the
crop is good for nothing. As regards grain many
farmers are foddering cattle with it as carted from
the fields. Potatoes were a very bad crop, and the
wetness of the season and severe frosts destroyed
large quantities ; the price is very high, varying from
4^d to 7d per stone. Turnips are very scarce on in-
ferior soils, and the crop was an entire failure ; they
are selling at from 7d to lOd per week for to be eat
upon tlie land by sheep. Hay is likely to be very
scarce; present price of lea hay 8d to lO^d, and
meadow from 6d to 9d per stone of 141bs.— Jan. 16.

OXFORDSHIRE.

The vicissitudes the English climate is liable to,
were never perhaps more strikingly exemplified than
in the week that preceded Christmas ; two or three
days were almost unseasonably mild ; these were
soon followed by others almost unprecedentedly cold.
The consequence of the extreme transition has been,
that very many are suffering from violent colds, sore
throats, fever, &c. Certainly the frost and snow
were seasonable, notwithstanding the inconvenience
and hindrance of business occasioned by the snow-
blocked roads. Ploughing was retarded by the rains
in December, still it is in a tolerably forward state,
and the land has broken up kindly. Wheat sowing
was not completed until the beginning of the last
month, but is mostly above ground, and looking
healthy, with the exception, however, of some plants
early sown, which appear to be set, like the late
sown turnips, and from some cause have made little
or no progress. Winter vetches are looking well,—
and trifolium likewise, and should we not have se-

vere frost to check them, those crops will be of infi-
nite value in the spring, for the hay ricks cut away
so fast this season, that many who thought themselves
well off, expecting to have a surplus to dispose of,
are alarmed, fearing they shall liave to buy, instead
of to sell. Many aged cows have been killed, as
have horses, not above half worn out, in order to
save their keeping. Hay had rather receded in price,
but since the fall of snow it has somewhat improved,
with better demand. What few turnips there were
of any size, are fast disappearing, and the approach-
ing lambing senson is looked forward to with serious
apprehensions. Our corn markets have been rather
flat, as is generally the case about Christmas ; but
best wheats maintain their price, nor do we think
they will be lower : the price in Ireland, together
with the shipments to New York, fully justify this
opinion. The only thing- that can prevent it, is the
contraction of their issues by the Court of Directors.
How much longer, we would ask, is it to be endured,
that a dozen individuals shall be allowed to meet in
their parlour in Threadneedle-street, and thus tam-
per with the fortunes -and profits of all the people of
this great commercial country, save and excepting
the monied class. The labourers have hitherto been
pretty well employed, but we are fearful that for the
next month or six weeks there will be a dearth of
employment experienced, and that many will be com-
pelled to go into " the house. " We would again
press upon our brother farmers the necessity of en-
deavouring to assist the man with a young family by
giving him piece work, as well as by doing all they
can to assist the poor man in respect of his rent ; for
how is it likely that a labourer, earning but 8s or 9s
a week, can afford to pay 41 and upwards house rent?
And here we beg to differ with the Berkshire report-
er, when he says "parish cottages are a nuisance.''
If they are so in his parish, they can only have be-
come so by mismanagement. Our cottages are,
with but few exceptions, let at moderate rents,
which are paid half-yearly, and had he been at our
last rent audit, he would have witnessed the pleasing-
sight of 24 or 25, out of 26 tenants, bringing their
rent cheerfully, and all rather in more than one hour.
It is childish to talk of their being " always ill-blood
between the officers and tradesmen respecting the
overcharge for repairs done. " Why should the
former be required or expected to pay more than a
private individual ? For our part we would ever set
our faces against any man who should dare to charge
an extravagant price because it was "church work
and parish pay. " — Jan. 11.

SUFFOLK.

The weather, during the last three months has been
unpropitious for all kinds of farming operations ;
ploughing is particularly backward ; carting manure
for beans and peas, also on young clover layers, has
made but little progress, for want of frost or a con-
tinuance of dry weather. In consequence of the un-
favourable weather, wheat sowing in many parts or
districts in this county was only just finished before
Christmas. We are of opinion a much larger breadth
of land is sown with wheat this year than last, perhaps
equal to an average breadth ; this we attribute to the
advance in the price of that article of farm produce.
Mangel Wurzel, although a fair plant, are scarcely
worth carting oif the land : we have seen a few pieces
which were planted early, uncommonly good, — equal to
any we ever saw. Swedes are also very moderate, and
common turnips (with a chance exception) are a total
failure, therefore the prospect for the grazier is not
very encouraging, at least as far as relates to his own
resources, for providing provender off his farm ; also
from the exceeding high price at which oil cake is sell-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

149

ing, it is not likely, eveu the highest price at which
beef can be expected to sell, will repay the grazier for
such au outlay. The check which the cora markets have
received during the last few weeks will not, in our
opinion, act materially against the farmer ; it will only
tend to keep the markets firm . A too rapid rise or fall
is no benefit to the community genei'ally. The Poor
Law works well, notwithstanding the violent attacks
which it has received from certain parties in this and
other counties. And we hesitate not to say, that the
condition of the industrious labourer is better than for
many years past, he has now constant employ and in-
creased wages for himself and his family ; and although,
as we before observed, the weather has been unfavor-
able, there are fewer labourers out of employ this year
hitherto, than have been the case for many many years
past. There are, it is true, a few cases of hardship ;
for instance, a man with five or six small children, un-
able to work ; but with the above exception, we never
saw a case fairly sifted or gone into, but that those
gross charges of oppression completely fell to the
ground. — Jan. 7.

YORKSHIRE AGRICULTURAL REPORT.

The weather since our last has been very variable.
Our December report was delayed by the obstructions
caused by a rapid and drifting snow. The storm con-
tinued for a full fortnight, before there was any sign of
of abatement, and although since that period we have
had several partial thaws, yet hard frosts have as
speedily succeeded, and remains of the snow still are
visible both in elevations and in sheltered situations.
The gi;ound is now quite hard frozen. The two all-
absorbing topics for agricultural reporters are — the
wheat crop and the'fodder. With respect to the former,
w« jiiuy observe, that on clay soils, on which wheat
principally is grown, the breadth sown is very small,
owing to the imposibility of coming' on them, arising-
from the incessant wet. On less tenacious soils how-
ever, the reverse is the case, and every disposition has
been evinced to lay hold of every opportunity of a little
dry weather, to plough out another clover-ley and sew
it ; on them the breadth is certainly above an average,
so far as our present information g'oes, but we will make
it a subject of minute inquiry for future reports. The
last sown has met with a very uncongenial seed bed :
there is no possibility of its germination, as it is now so-
lidified by the frost and exposed unprotected to its influ-
ence. Such as has made its appearance has begun to
assume a dark green colour, the result of the pinching
cold, and such as has any considerable strength of root,
or has been got in in good time, has begun to spread
along the ground. Upon the whole, the state of the
crop in general is backward, and the most of the land
sown with wheat, is not essentially icheat soil. The
sowing of spring' wheat may, however, be tried, for
though the produce is seldom so much, and the chances
of failure much greater, we apprehend the price of
wheat will tempt the farmers, who will any time deviate
from their regular routine to suit circumstances. The
flail is very busy, as well as the machine, as the other
farm operations, especially ploughing, are suspended,
and our markets have a large supply. The barley stacks
are fast disappearing, even amongst those farmers who
in other years scarcely began to thrash at this period of
the year, and the wheat is kept back, rather ovvdng to a
supposition of its advancing in price. Turnips still go
very fast, although generally dealt out with as sparing
a hand as the exigencies of the case will admit. They
are certainly in a very precarious situation at present ;
the partial thaws cause the wet to percolate the earth
to the root, and the succeeding frost predispose them to
rot ; should this unfortunately be the case, we do not
know what can be done for the stock. It is, however,
in the hand of that good Being, who ever gave " seed to
the sower, and bread to the eater, and " whose are the
cattle upon a thousand hills." Hay is dear, but cer-
tainly not scarce as yet ; there is a disposition to sell at
good prices, we mean 7d to 8d [per stone. In some of
the larger places it is much more ; simply arising from

the expence,s of carriage. Corn markets nearly sta-
tionary ; the supply is always good, weather permitting.
Beef and mutton are in request, and advancing in price.
Lean stock are very inferior sale. The agTicultural so-
cieties are on the look out, and preparing for an attack
upon the corn laws, the next session. It certainly will
be met in a most energetic and vigorous manner in the
country, they will take the alarm in a moment. —
Jan. 18.

NORFOLK.

A gi'eater degree of anxiety has been manifested with
regard to the effect which the late winterly weather
might have upon the plant of wheat now in the ground,
than therelseems to have been occasion for. The weather
during- the last month or six weeks, it is true, has
exhibited some peculiarities, which are of no very
frequent occurrence ; nevertheless, the frost has nei-
ther been very severe nor of that nature which is cal-
culated to produce an injurious effect upon the roots
of vegetables. It is not so much the intensity of the
frost which destroys the wheat as the circumstances
attending it ; such as the condition of the land, and
even the state of the atmosphere, which at one time
may be capable gf suspending vegetation, and at
another of destroying it ; the latter arising from the
sort of frost which is known to watermen by the
accumulation of ice at the bottom of the rivers rather
than upon their surface, and which also produces a de-
gree of frigidity in the land that is quite perceptible
even to the tread. We have experienced nothing of
this kind at present, although if we had it would not
manifest itself till the month of March or April. It is
then that the farmer frequently observes his wheats
and layers gradually disappear without his be-
ing able satisfactorily to account for it. A circum-
stance of this kind occurred last year, the mischief
arising from which was very extensive, and was very
wholly effected in one or two nights, somewhat later
than the present period, under a temperature not cal-
culated to excite tlie least suspicion.

The inland counties always encounter the heaviest
falls of snow, and although during the late influx of
that element we had in Norfolk, a sufficient quantity
to render the cross roads impassable for the time be-
ing, yet it was but a salutary Godsend to provide em-
ployment for labourers, rather than a visitation to be
severely felt by the flock-master, to the extent that is
reported of some other counties. Threatening as
the weather appeared at the commencement of the
Christmas holidays, and brief as it proved in conti-
nuance, it was quite sufficient to lay an embargo
upon inland navigation, and to interrupt the ordi-
nary proceedings of the farm ; and even the carting
of marl and clay, the laying of bottoms for the re-
ception of manure and similar business, which is
usually resorted to under such circumstances, could
only be made available in some few instances, owing
to the obstructions which the drifted snow had placed
at most of the cross-roads and hedges ; thus all work
being suspended but the operations of the thrashing
floor, a large accumiilation of grain v^as the necessary
result, which being thrown precipitately on the
market, it is not surprising- that a diminution in
value should have been the consequence thereof.
In consequence of the apprehension that a scar-
city of cattle food might be yet felt at the ap-
proach of spring, arising in some measure from the
little precaution which has been taken to preserve
tlie turnips from the effect of frost, either by store-
ing them in the homestead, or by ploughing under
in the field, a corresponding diminution has taken
place in the value of lean cattle, this has had the
efl'ect also of sending off a large number of half fat

M

150

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

beasts for slaughter, and thus the price of butcher's
meat has been made to partake of a similar reduc-
tion. Store pigs also have receded of late, although
the price is still too high to admit of any profit, be-
yond that of the excellent manure which they leave
behind for those who follow them. — Jan. 23.

SOUTH NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.

The weather since my last has been very unfavour-
able for the farmer to complete his winter ploughing,
which was in a more backward state than has been
known for many years, occasioned by the lateness of
the harvest and the prolonged wheat seed time ; the
wheat that was sown early looks well in this neigh-
bourhood, but the late sown and that which was put
in wet looks very bad, and is very much damaged by
the wire worm. Winter vetches are a very good
plant, and are more extensively sown this season
than usual here. Trifolium is very little cultivated
here this season, as it is considered very inferior to
vetches. The old wh'^at ricks which were not very
numerous in this county, are very fast disappearing,
and the new wheat in general comes very damp to
market, which greatly depresses the prices. The fairs
which have been held in this neighbourhood lately
have been over supplied with beef, and as the
farmers are obliged to sell at some price on account
of their hay and turnips getting short, the trade has
been extremely dull; mutton is also in full supply,
and is somewhat better in price, the best wether
mutton making 6^d per lb. Wool has been very much
enquired after of late, and is now selling well, 45s
per tod having been obtained in several instances for
half ewe and teg wool. Wheat 56s to 50s ; Barley,
chevalier 40s to 42s ; Oats 30s to 34s ; Beans
46s to 50s, per imperial quarter. — Jan. 21.

DERBYSHIRE.

I have not any thing of very great importance to
communicate in respect to the agricultural world,
the ground in general has as good an appearance as
the season of the year will admit. Thehuman world
seems now to be suffering the most. The influenza
is raging with the most alarming havoc in our ranks,
scarce a house but the inmates are more or less suf-
ferers by it ; some establishments have entirely sus-
pended business, and to give a minute description of
its ravages is impossible. It is not merely con-
fined to the human creation; it has attacked the
brute too, horses and cattle of every description
seem to be suffering from a similar cause. Wheat
has improved very much in its appearance, but ge-
nerally it is thin set. The farmers who are occupiers
of dry soils are beginning to break up their fallow
ground, but that is only to a partial extent. The
late frosts have allowed the farmers to carry a good
deal of their manures, compost, &c. to places as
most suited their purpose ; though, had it continued
longer, it would have been an accommodation. Hay
continues steady in price, the average being 71 per
ton. Our corn markets are rather depressed; the
average price of grain being as follows : Wheat 60s
per qr ; Barley, 38s per qr ; Oats, 1 s 2d per stone ,
Peas and Beans varying according to weight, qua-
lity and condition. Our fat stock markets are firm ;
while lean stock remains almost unsaleable, from the
scarcity of keep of every description ; the corn stacks
are disappearing exceedingly fast, and we are afraid
will be wanted nearer spring. — Jan. 26,

GENERAL AGRICULTURAL REPORT
FOR JANUARY.

The most gratifying agricultural complexion of
this month has been, the rich and not over mellow
appearance of the newly ploughed soil, very con-
siderable breadths of which we have seen in both
Kent, Essex, Surrey and Middlesex. Under the
head of " ploughing in general," the rev. author
of the " Husbandry of the Ancients," asserts —
" By it, the soil is exposed to the atmosphere, and
thereby the food of plants communicated. By this
the land is stirred and turned over, and thereby
the mould divided, and the pasture of plants en-
larged. By it, the weeds growing on its surface
are destroyed, and their lurking roots exposed to
be dried by the wind, and burnt by the sun. By
it, too — ridges being made, and furrows properly
placed — wet land is made drier, by its being opened
and rain allowed to descend : an operation which
serves many valuable purposes, is certainly very
important, and deserving of great attention."
However, as farther relates to British tillage, the
early oat seeding has already proceeded to a con-
siderable extent ; and preparing the seed furrow
for beans and peas is, with every other branch of
farm labour, in a sufficiently forward state ; and
live farm stock, both on the sheep downs, in the
pastures, stalls, and closes, is generally healthy
and doing well. So mild, indeed, has been the at-
mospheric temperature, during nearly the whole
of the month, that primroses have been exhibited
for sale in all the London vegetable markets, from
almost its commencement, whilst the most of the
forward shrubs have shown a strong disposition
to break into foliage.

As the hop poling season is not far distant, the
following extract from a homely publication may
not, perhaps, be wholly uninteresting to a portion
of our hop-growing readers — "If your hops be
sti-ong and ground rid, provide large poles, either
in bigness or length, or else you will lose the best
of them. The ash poles are the most durable.
The old roots are red, the new white, and if there
be any wild hops amongst them, the whole of the
hill must be taken up and newly planted. Dis-
perse the poles among the hills before you begin
to pole. Let the poles lean outward, that is to say,
one from the other. In the middle of every hill
make a hollow place, and force into it a pointed
stick or iron, and pour water into the holes, till
you believe the hill to be well soaked, afterward
covering it with the parings of your garden."

There is, we feel happy to assert, an increasing
good understanding between landlords and tenants,
many of the former, whose leases are for a con-
siderable term of years, unexpired, having volun-
tarily agreed to a considerable reduction in their
rent, whilst others, who conceive their farms to
be by far beyond their tenants' strength, express
themselves disposed to reduce them into such
sizes, as the different members of their — the
tenants — families shall appear capable of conduct-
ing on their own account.

There are, however, still differences of opinion
amongst both landlords and tenants, relative to
the workings of our New Poor Law, and manur-
ing with ground bones. It seems, also, by some,
both hoped and anticipated, that all lay impropri-
ations will become either Crown or Church pro-
perty.

As relates to the prices of farm produce, these,
with the exception of those of mutton and veal,
have been throughout the month considerably
drooping, and are promising to be still lower.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

151

The following is a retrospect of the supplies and
prices of fat stock exhibited and sold in Smithfield
market, in the course of the past month : —

SUPPLIES. '

SMITHFIELD.

Beasts
Jan. '2. ..2930

Sheep.
27500

Calves.
160

Pigs
230

— 6. .. 525

3200

250

335

— 9. ..3070

23500

148

332

— 13. .. 625

1955

140

280

— 16. ..3200

21000

195

372

— 20. .. 420

2035

130

212

— 23. ..2425

18050

142

220

Total .. 13195

97240

1165

1981

Supply ef"i
preceding ;>20920
month. J

9m6S

1411

2675

By the above statement it will be seen, that the
supplies of the present month have comprised
7,725 beasts, 1,423 sheep, 246 calves, and 694 pigs
less than those of last month.

About 5,370 of the beasts which have composed
the above supplies, about two-thirds of which
were Short-Horns, Devons, Herefords, and Welch
runts, the remainder, Scots, homebreds, and Irish
beasts, came from Lincolnshire, Leicestershire,
Northamptonshire, and our other northern grazing
districts ; the number up the St. Alban's road
being about 2,420 ; the other northern roads,
2,950 ; about 2,190, chiefly runts, Devons, Scots,
and Herefords, with a few homebreds and Irish
beasts, from our western and midland districts ;
about 3,080, in about equal numbers of Scot?,
AVelch runts, Herefords, and Devons, from Nor-
folk, Suffolk, Essex, and Cambridgeshire; about
555 horned and polled Scots, by steamers, from
Scotland ; about 375, chiefly prime Sussex oxen,
steers, and heifers, with a few runts and Devons,
from Kent, Sussex, and Surrey ; and most of the
remainder, including about 100 lusty towns-end
cows, from the marshmen, cowkeepers, cattle-
lodgers, stall-feeders, &c., in the neighbourhood
of London.

PRICES.

Per 81bs, to sink the offals.

Jan. 2.

Jan. 23.

s.

d. s.

d.

s.

d. s.

d.

Inferior Beef , . .

. 2

2 to 2

4

. 2

2 to 2

4

JMiddling, do. .

. 2

8 to 3

6

. 3

0 to 3

6

Prime, do

. 3

10 to 4

2

.. 4

0 to 4

4

Inferior Blutton .

. 2

4 to 2

6

, 2

10 to 3

0

Middling, do. .

. 2

8 to 3

6

. 3

6 to 4

6

Prime ditto,

3

10 to 5

0

. 5

0 to 5

6

Veal

. 4

0 to 5

4 .

. 4

4 to 5

6

Pork

3

2 to 4

8

. 3

2 to 4

6

A comparison of the supplies and prices of stock
sold in Smithfield, on Monday Jan. 25, 1836, and
Monday, Jan. 23, 1837.

At per Bibs, sinking

Jan

s.

Coarse and inferior beasts 2

Second quality do 2

Prime large oxen 3

Prime Scots, &e 4

Coarse anil inferior sheep 2

Second quality do 2

Prime coarse-wooUcddo... 3

Prime South Downs do 4

Large coarse calves 3

Pri me small do 5

Large hogs 2

Neat small porkers 4

the offals

,

.25, 1836.

Jan

d. s. d.

s

2 to 2 4.

..2

8 to 3 2.

..2

8 to I 0

.3

2 to 4 6.

.4

4 to 2 6.

..2

lOto 3 2.

..3

4 to 3 10.

.4

0 to 4 4.

..5

8 to 4 10.

..4

0 to 5 6.

..5

10 to 3 10.

.3

0 to 4 4.

.4

. 23, 1837.

d. B. d.

2 to 2 4

8 to 3 2

6 to 3 10

2 to 4 .}

10 to 3 0

6to3 10

6 to 4 10

2 to 5 6

4 to 4 10

2 to 5 a

2 to 3 8

2 to4 6

SUPPLIES.

Jan. 25, 1836. Jan. 23, 1837.

Beasts 2,760 2,425

Sheep 18,100 18.050

Calves 310 140

Pigs 380 220

The supply of Monday Jan. 25, 1836, as will be
perceived, by the above, embraced 235 beasts, 50
sheep, 170 calves, and 160 pigs more, than that of
Monday, Jan. 23, 1837.

In store stock, but little business has been tran-
sacted, this month.

The supply of sheep, this month, has consisted
of about equal numbers of old and new Leicesters,
South Downs, Rents, Kentish half-breds, and old
Lincolns, with a few Norfolk sheep, white-faced
polled Gloucesters, horned Dorsets and Somersets,
horned and polled Scotch and Welsh sheep, &c. —
The supply of sheep, from Scotland, has been but
limited.

The sheep have been derived from our northern
grazing districts, Sussex, Kent, Essex, Middlesex,
and our western and midland districts.

The quantity of slaughtered meat which has
reached London has been tolerably good, though
not so great as w:is that of last month.

The total number of beasts sold in Smithfield, in
the course of last year, was 172,533 ; of sheep,
1,336,319 ; of calves, 25,048 ; and of pigs 35,722.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE CAMBRIAN.

Sir, Since I wrote to you last on the propriety of
cultivating- the Apple-tree in the Vale of Glamorgan,
I have learnt with pleasure that the Earl of Dunraven
has commenced, by having an orchard of seven acres
planted on Lanmihangel farm. This will be a great
acquisition to that venerable pile ; and when all his
lordship's farms through the vale are supplied in propor-
tion to this, he will have very materially enhanced the
value of his estate, and deserve the gratitude of
posterity.

Every lover of his country must be proud to hear of
such an example from a Nobleman, who is at present a
non-resident. When once orchards become general,
there will be no inducement for plunder, and as I have
before observed, the tiller of the soil will have a whole-
some beverage, superior to malt liquors, for quenching-
thirst, giving a stimulus to exertion by its exhilirating
qualities, instead of water.

Coopering, as a branch of industry, would soon be-
coine a flourishing trade ; there would be a considerable
demand for oak and ash, while the malt tax would not
be felt so heavily as a burthen.

Some may fancy that there are situations too bleak
for orchards in the vale : Penline Castle gardens prove
to the contrary. The hardy fir tree would flourish for
shelter, and the hawthorn quick-set, placed in the
Scotch style, would become soon into an excellent
fence, at a moderate expense, in the most exposed parts
of our coast-land.

I have, in my possession, in excellent preservation,
an apple that measures twelve inches and a half in
circumference, which weighs nearly fourteen ounces,
off a tree at Aberthin. I mention this to show what
our fine country is capable of producing.

I beg to return you my thanks for your noticing my
previous observations, and remain, Sir,

Your most obedient Servant,

Cowbridge, Jan. 18, 1837. D. P.

M 2

152

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

THE WEEKLY AVERAGE PRICES OF
WHEAT THROUGHOUT THE UNITED
KINGDOM, AND ALSO OF LONDON,
DURING THE YEAR 1836.

UNITED KINGDOM

.

LONDON

,

l>er

ir-

per qr.

8th January. . . .

.. 36

6

5th January

. 38

4

15th " ....

.. 37

0

12th "

. 39

4

22ad "

.. 37

10

19th "

. 39

0

29th "

.. 39

3

26th •'

. 42

0

5th Feb

.. 39

7

2nd Feb.,

. 42

0

12th "

.. 39

7

9th «'

. 41

11

19th " ....

.. 40

7

16th "

. 42

11

26th <' ....

.. 42

6

23rd "

. 44

0

4th March ....

.. 44

7

1st March

47

6

nth "

.. 45

0

8th " ....

. 48

0

18th " ....

.. 44

2

15th " ....

. 46

9

25th " ....

.. 44

7

22nd "

. 46

3

1st April ....

.. 46

5

29th "

. 48

5

8th " ....

.. 47

7

5th April

. 50

7

15th " ....

.. 48

8

12th "

. 51

5

22nd "

.. 48

10

19th "

52

0

29th " ....

.. 48

3

26th " ...

. 50

9

6th May ....

.. 47

11

3rd May .....

. 49

2

13th " ....

.. 49

3

loth '<

. 49

9

20th " ...

.. 50

4

17th «

. 51

2

27th " ....

.. 49

iO

24th "

. 51

3

3rd June

.. 49

1

31st "

. 50

9

10th " ....

.. 51

0

7th June

. 52

6

17th " ...

.. 51

1

15th "

. 54

0

24th " ....

.. 50

6

21st "

. 52

11

1st July

.. 50

8

28th "

. 53

3

8th " ...

.. 50

7

5th July

. 52

2

15th •' ...

., 49

4

12th "

. 51

3

22nd "

.. 49

2

19th "

. 50

11

29th "

.. 49

6

26th "

. 51

7

5th August ....

. 50

8

2nd August.. ..

. 53

7

12th " ....

.. 50

4

9th "

. 53

8

19th " ...

.. 48

10

16th "

. 50

10

26th " ....

.. 46

11

23rd "

. 49

6

2nd Sept., .. .

.. 48

1

30th «' ....

. 30

2

9th " ...

.. 47

9

6th Sept., ....

. 50

2

16th " ...

.. 47

10

13th "

. . 50

11

23rd " ...

,. 48

5

20th '<

.. 52

2

30th " ...

.. 48

2

27th " ....

. 51

6

6th October. . .

...47

2

4th October

. 50

7

14th " ...

.. 47

0

nth "

. 49

6

21st " ...

.. 47

7

18th " ....

. 50

1

28th " ...

.. 49

7

25th "

. 51

11

4th Nov., . . .

.. 51

8

1st Nov., ....

. 53

6

11th " ...

.. 55

6

8th "

. 56

5

18lh " ...

.. 60

4

15th " ....

. 61

5

25th " ...

.. 61

9

22nd " ....

.. 63

10

2nd " ...

.. 59

7

29th "

. 62

4

9th " ...

.. 60

4

6th Dec

.. 63

10

16th '< ...

. . 60

6

13th " ....

.. 65

1

23rd "

... 59

2

20th "

.. 62

6

30th "

.. 58

9

27th "

Aggregate year's

.. 61

10

Aggregate year

.'} ^^

q

}m

1

average

average

TO THE EDITOR OF THE FARMER'S
MAGAZINE.

Sin, — A constant reader of your valuable Magazine
would be glad to have the following questions an-
swered, by some of your intellig'ent cori'cspondents : —
Where is the manure called " Animalized Carbon to be
purchased, and to what crop and soils is it most bene-
ficial ?

Is it desirable to give bullocks water that are soiling
on tares or clover, and do they lay up meat faster when
.stall fed on the above provender, or when running
loose in a yard? — Your obedient servant,

CD.

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.

The following table appears in tlie report of the Com-
missioners for Inquiring into the Condition of the Poorer
Classes in Ireland, presented to both Houses of Parlia-
ment by command of His Majesty : —

CULTIVATED AND UNCULTIVATED LAND AND AGRICUL-
TURAL PRODUCE OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.

Cultivated land of Great Britain, according
to tables laid before the Emigration Com-
mittee of the House of Commons, in 1827, Acres,
by Mr. Cowling 34,014,000

Added by subsequent Enclosure Acts* .... 240,000

Total 34,254,000

Cultivated land of Ireland, according to the
calculation of Mr. Griffith, under whom
the valuation of Ireland is now taking place 14,603,000

Uncultivated land of Great Britaia in 1827,
according to the above-mentioned tables 22,819,330

Deduct land subsequently brought into cul-
tivation, as above 240,000

Total 22,579,330

Uncultivated land of Ireland in 1831, ac-
cording to Mr. Griffith's calculation ....

5,340,736

Supposed annual value of the agricultural
produce of Great Britainf 150,000,000

Supposed annual value of the agricultural

produce of Ireland^ 36,000,000

Great Britain. Ireland.

Occupiers not employing la-
bourers and who may, there-
fore, be considered as belong-
ing to the class of labourers. . 168,815 .. 564,274

Labourers not occupying land 887,167 . . 567,441

Total 1,055,982 1,131,715

Food for Cattle. — A correspondent sends us
an extract, which we subjoin, from a communication
from the Prussian States, in the vicinity of Dantzic.
Tlie experiment detailed is one whicli every farmer can
try for himself, without any expense ; and, if it shall
succeed witli potatoes injured by frost, the discovery
may be of essential importance ,to many, in seasons
such as the last : — " Cut straw, mixed up with sliced
potatoes, and well wetted with water, placed in a box
having three sides aud a bottom, in the stable, and
trampled upon. The mass ferments, and after 68 or 70
hours, becomes so hot that the potatoes are as if they
had been boiled. If not used, the mass must be spread,
or it spoils. Food thus prepared keeps and fattens
cows and oxen, and is the most approved plan in these
provinces for keeping them in the most excellent con-
dition, at the least possible expense. Three such
boxes, each containing food sufficient for one day,
and each being filled as soon as emptied, is the plan
followed in preparing the food." — Scotsman.

* There appears to have been about 140 Enclosure
Acts passed since the year 1827, and each enclosure is
supposed to take in from 1,600 to 1,800 acres.

t The rental of Great Britain is at present considered
equal to what it was in 1810, when, according to the
Property Tax return, it amounted to about 33,000,000/
a-year, and the rental is not considered equal to two-
nintlis of the produce ; tlierefore the annual value of
tlie agricultural produce of Great Britain cannot be
taken at less than 150,lX)0,000/, whicii is more than four
times the amount of agricultural produce of Ireland.

if This is the calculation of Mr. Griffith.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

153

TO THE EDITOR OF THE FARMER'S
MAGAZINE.

Witnesham, Suffolk,
Sir, — I beg- to thank you for collecting- various useful
hints, but Rusticus is in error in supposing- that the egg-
of the turnip fly is on the seed, and the insect thus pro-
duced. The turnip fly abounds everywhere, upon every
tree, bush, and plant, during- the summer months, and
hide in the bark of old trees, &c. in the winter, and
come out to feed as soon in the spring- as the weather
permits, generally about the 10th of April, a few may
be seen earlier. They breed on succulent plants, and
mostly on such as produce oily seeds. I have repeat-
edly seen them in all stag-es of their growth on such,
hundreds, or I may say, thousands at a time, but never
could detect the grub ; at least, I took no pains to do
so, after having convinced myself that they cannot be
reduced to any extent.

The only possible mode of securing a plant is to force
llieir growth by tillage and manure, or by thick seeding,
or to save expense, to drill decoys of some other species
of seed. Steeping the seed, or dusting with lime, soot,
sulphur, or even areenic, will not prevent them from
sucking- the juice of the plant, nor will any other nos-
trum hitherto prescribed. I speak from experieacG,
having tried every means, studied the nature and habits
of this fly for a number of years, and when in doubt,
applied to the Rev. Mr. Kirby, the celebrated entomo-
logist, for information. A plant may be obtained ;
whether it is advisable to incur the expence is another
question. The failure of the turnip crop of late years,
has been a serious loss to individuals.

I am. Sir, your obedient servant,

CHAS. POPPY,

Important to JNIaltsters. — On Wednesday
Lord Denman delivered judgment in the case of Shaw v.
Roberts, which was an action on a policy of insurance,
against fire effected on a malt-kiln. The plaintiff had re-
ceived a quantity of bark which had been sunk in the
river to dry it in the kiln, which was burnt down in con-
sequence. Tliis change of employment of the kiln was
stated to be a violation of the policy, and the jury having
returned a verdict that the drying of bark was more hazar-
dous than the drying of malt, it was contended that the
plaintiff was not entitled to recovei". The Court, liow-
ever, thought that this momentry varying of the general
employment of the kiln, to perform an act of kindness,
was not such a change as required to be noticed to the
insurers, and the rule therefore for entering- a verdict for
the plaintiff must be made absolute.

Triumph of Railways. — It was matter of some
curiosity whether or not the engine could continue
to work upon the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway
during- the continuance of the snow upon the road. The
possibility of so working was fairly put to the test on the
26th ultimo, and the utility of railways demonstrated in
a most striking manner. In the deep cutting through
the Cowran Hills the snow had drifted to the depth of
four or five feet ; and when the Hercules came down on
Monday morning great numbers of country people had
assembled to see how he would act in such an emer-
gency, and to render any assistance which might be ne-
cessary. On arriving at the spot the engine made no
bones of the matter, but dashed right into the drift, clear-
ing his way through, apparently without the shghtest
difficulty, the snow at the same time flying over the top
of the engine chimney like foam from the broken waves
of a violent sea ; and notwithstanding this and othi r si-
milar obstructions, the train came down from Green-
head (twenty miles) in an hour and a quarter. The
trains have continued regularly to keep their time,
while all communication by common roads has been
more or less seriously obstructed, if not entirely cut off
for a time. — Carlisle paper.

AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS.

Ml*. Hood illustrate* the diversity of opinion on the
question of Agricultural Distress by giving the notions
of some of his country friends on the subject : one of
them, Simon, states his view as follows : —

You see, 'twas hard on Quarter-day,
And cash was wanted for the rent ;
So up to Lunnon I was sent,

To sell as prime a load of hay.

As ever dried on summer's day.

Well, standing in Whitechapel Road,

A chap comes up to buy my load.

And looks and looks about the cart.

Pretending to be 'cute and smart ;

But no great judge, as people say,

'Cause why ? he never smelt the hay.

Thinks I, as he's a simple chap.

He'll give a simple price, mayhap.

Such buyers comes but now and then,

So slap I axes nine pun' ten

" That's dear," says he, and pretty quick

He taps his feathers with his stick,

" Suppose," says he, " we wet our clay.

Just while we bargain 'bout our hay ;

So in we goes, my chap and me !

He drinks to I, and I to he ;

At last says I, a little gay,

" It's time to talk about that hay,"

" Nine pound," says he, " and I'm your man,

Live and let live, for that's my plan,"

" That's true," says I, " but still I say.

It's nine pun' ten for that 'ere hay."

And so we chaffers for a bit.

At long and last the odds we split ;

And oft' he sets to show the way.

Where, up a yard, I leaves the hay ;

Then, from the pocket of his coat,

He pulls a book, and picks a note.

" That's Ten," says he — " I hope to pay

Tens upon tens for loads of hay."

" With all my lieart, and soon," says I,

And, feeling for the change hereby ;

But all my shillings com'd to five —

Says he " No matter, man alive !

There's something in your honest phiz

I'd trust, if twice the sum it is ; —

You'll pay next time you come to town,

" As sure," says I, " as corn is brown."

" All right," says he, thinks I, " huzza!

He's got no bargain of the hay !"

AVell, home I goes with empty cart.

Whipping the horses pretty smart.

And whistling ev'ry yard o' way.

To think how well I'd sold the hay —

And just cotch'd master at his greens

And bacon— or, it might be beans.

Which did n't taste the worse, surely,

To hear his hay had gone so high.

But lord ! when I laid down the note,

It stuck the victuals in his throat.

And choked him till his face all grew

Like pickling-cabbage, red and blue ;

With such big goggle eyes, Ods nails !

They seem'd a-coming out like snails ;

" A note," says he, half mad with passion,

" Why, thou dom'd fool ! thou'st took a flash "un !"

Now, was n't that a pretty mess.

That's Hagricultural Distress.

Fat Sheep. — The pen of five pure Southdown
Shearling Sheep, bred and fed by Mr. Robert Stubbin,
which were exhibited at the South Sufl^olk Agricultural
Meeting at Clare, in November, and won the prize,
were killed, Dec. 21st, by the following persons : —

Carcase. Loose Fat.

Mr. Vince, of Whatfield, one sheep 1351bs 171bs.

Mr. Atkinson, Stratford, ditto 1301bs. ..... 141b:^.

Mr. ftlott, Hadleigh, ditto 1201bs 171bs.

Mr. Brown, Hadleigh, ditto 1121bs 161bs.

Mr. Day, Hadleigh, ditto 1121bs 211bs.

164

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

THRESHING MACHINES.

That supply and demand are the principal causes of
the hig'li and low price of an article, was never more
fully evinced than during- the last three months in the
article of wheat, — that g'rain could not be purchased in
some country markets in October and November last, at
less than IQl to 19/ per load (the best sample) ; now the
same quality may be purchased in the same markets at
15/ or 16/ per load ; to this depreciation, in a great mea-
sure, may be attributed, the use of the tlu'eshing- ma-
chines ; the great prices set the machines to work all
over the country. On this head (as well as on many
others) there are some g'ood and true observations in
Lance's " Golden Farmer," which we extract as fol-
lows : — •

" Threshing' by the flail can only be done by robust,
athletic men. If the superior strength of these men can
be employed in another way to produce corn, and the
decrepit, the women and children, and two or three old
horses, can do it as well, and it is found equally to an-
swer the purpose of the farmer, why should it not be
adopted ? Does it matter if ten persons are employed
one day, or one person ten 1

" A wet day sometimes happens, when neitlier horses
nor man can be employed in the fields : at the threshing
machine they can be usefully employed. By the want
of necessai-y supi)lies of corn at market, corn will rise ;
for it is supply and demand which regulates our markets,
and establishes prices and rents. A demand for corn
being made, the prices rise ; the threshing- machines
are set to work to obtain the then wanted grain ;
the market is supplied, the corn drops in price,
and thus the community is benefited. A wheat
stack is put into the barn ; one man, or perhaps
two, are put to thrash it out : they are months about
it ; in the meantime rats and mice are generating and
feeding upon the corn ; many quarters are destroyed,
and the community injured. Whereas, if a machine is
used, upon finding the vermin has attacked the corn,
— it is wanted at market — or the farmer wants money,
— the whole is readily done in a few days. If these
machines were not of service to the farmer, they would
not be hadrecouise to, — the evil of them would cure
itself."

The use of machinery is better understood in Scot-
land than in England, amongst the labouring class of
the community, for there, most farms have a threshing
machine, and when there is not, many good farming
men refuse to work, for fear they should he set to
threshing. To those wealthy yeomen in England,
who are able to keep their corn, over the year, the
community are under infinite obligations, but for them
the corn would have been much dearer than it has
been ; they, it is true, had kept the corn for their own
benefit, but it has very much served the country, by
bringing it to market when it was wanted there, and
prevented the foreign corn coming to our market at a
nominal duty.

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir, — I read in one of your papers the complaint
of, as I recollect, a Somersetshire farmer, that, for
" want of keep, he was under tlie necessity of sell-
ing his sheep, not ready for sale, at a dull and fall-
ing market." Now, at that very time, I liad lucerne
a foot -and upwards in height, and the circumstance,
namely, the farmer's complaint, has induced me to
recur to the cultivation of lucerne, one of the best, or
the very best, resources of a stock farmer. On this
head I have an anecdote at hand, and probably may
have given it before, but a man of your knowledge
of the woild, Mr. Editor, must be well aware that
the aged are very regular repeating watches. Some
15 or 20 years since an old Yorkshire farmer, who
had read my " New Farmer's Calend-ar," called on
me to have a little gossip on farming, and particular-

ly stock farming. It was in the Dog-days, and the
grass was universally burnt up, I took him to a
piece that had been grass, but we walked over it as
over a turnpike-road, at the end of which, however,
was about a rood of lucerne, very near a foot high,
and, the season considered, wearing a most healthy
appearance. He had heard of lucerne before, but
Iiad never till then seen it ; he expressed much plea-
sure and astonishment at its flourishing state, and the
great benefit it must be of to a live-stock farmer in
such a season. I fully expected he would have avail-
ed himself of so great an advantage, but, on inquiry,
I found he never did so to the end of his farming
days, though he has not been long dead. Ainse vali
moiide. Every considerable stock feeder should be
provided with 1/5 or 20 acres of this grass, not broad
cast, nor humbugged in narrow rows, but in rows 18
to 20 inches apart, to be regularly hoed, and not a
weed suffered to live in it. Such was the practice
of our superior cultivators 50 or 60 years past. To
rejieat, lucerne to succeed must be submitted to the
old Tulli-an culture, in wide rows, and not a weed
suffered to interfere. It is generally fed off" the first
year, but that as generally breaks and mixes the
drills, and renders fresh seeding and culture neces-
sary. At the end of about 14 years a successor to
this crop should be in preparation. It is a crop of
never failing profit where stock is kept, or where it
can be sold either in grass or hay. Lucerne hay,
from its substance is hay of the first class for stage
horses, and mwny a small farmer, in the late cheap
times, who was ruining himself by growing wheat,
might have saved himself by the culture of lucerne.
I have cultivated it to perfection on a strong clayey
loam in Middlesex.

To proceed to my small experimental rows : — The
practice of spring-sowing wheat has prevailed con-
siderably of late, and is, no doubt, preferable on
poor lands and exposed situations ; the lands there-
by getting a good winter fallow, and the opportunity
for a thorough cultivation. I sowed on the 18th and
20th of February, and my crops were as forward as
those sown in the autumn. I had four different qua-
lities of seed — best sample pure, ordinary, tail corn,
and picked kernels, perfectly sound, but having a
strong sent ot smut — unsound and decidedly smutty
— simile simili gaudet. — each produced its like. The
sound (with a scent of smut, with some improvement,
retained its original scent : the smutty rather imjiroved
upon the seed in that respect. Some of the finest
sound ears reached four score kernels each, and I
should suppose, averaged at 45 — an average, no
doubt, always of ten kernels per ear above that of the
field culture ; the grains also being- larger and moi-e
plump. Such will be the casein wide sown crops,
besides a lofty and heavy bulk of straw. Broad cast
and narrow drilled crops undoubtedly return the
greater number of ears, and kernels, for which wide
sowed crops make full amends in size and weight,
and even the quantity per acre often fully equals
that of the broad-cast crops.

OCTOGENARIUS.

Aricultural Libraries. — In a London paper we
observed the following- paragraph a short time
since: — "In East Sussex some of the principal far-
mers on the IBth joined in a half-crown annual sub-
scription for purchasing, ' Tlie Quariirhj Journal of
Agriculture, and P7'ize Essays and Tranuirlions of the
Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland,' to be
deposited at a circulating- library in the town of Lewes,
to be then delivered on the market days to the subscri-
bers in the order of their subscriptions j and to the

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

J 5;

names of these farmers are added those of large landed
proprietors and clergy, in hopes this inquiry into the
plans which have caused agriculture so to flourish in
North Britain, that the bleak north supplies a large
proportion of the fatted meat now sold in London ; and
that agriculture in South Britain may rise from the de-
pressed state which has made it petition for legislative
relief." We trust the farmers of other counties in
England wall follow the good example thus set them by
those of Sussex. In the preceding volumes of this
Journal will be found practical essays illustrative of
almost every subject of farm management, and figures
of every improved implement of husbandry used in
this country. In the Transactions are accounts of many
improvements made by proprietors and farmers through-
out the country, with the costs particularised. We
do not assert that every practice in the husbandry of
Scotland is applicable to the soil and climate of Eng-
land ; but it is evident that that practice which is safe
in the poor soil and bad climate of Scotland, may con-
fidently be pursued in the good land and much finer
climate of England. Let the experiment of Scotch
farming be fairly tried in England, in any of the
southern or midland counties, and success will as-
suredly be the result. I'he ruling principles of Scotch
farming are economy and skill, — skill in adapting the
culture to the soil and situation, and economy in ar-
riving at its completion with the least labour. What
more is requisite " to make the wilderness to blossom
as the rose?" The will, — Book-farming, we know, is
not in favour with farmers, otherwise we should find
admittance into every farmer's library, and every farmer
has a library. But although we know, and therefore
admit, that no man can be made a farmer by book, we
cannot admit that the best farmer may not at a time find
useful hints in a book. The best farmer cannot know
every article of practice which is followed in every part
of ithe country, and as most practices are discovered by
what is called chance or accklent, it is clear that the
discovery cannot generally be made known until it is
disseminated abroad. A farmer who travels appreciates
the information which he receives in conversation with
farmers, and by observation of field-labour. Such a
farmer possesses advantages over him who always re-
mains at home, that is, within the circle of his markets.
Now the object of an agricultural book, and particularly
of an agricultural periodical work, is, at stated times,
to carry hints, suggestions, and discoveries, important
or unimportant, to the home of the farmer, that he who
loves to stay at home may possess the advantagesof him
who travels at times abroad, and that he who travels
abroad may compare what he has seen with what he
reads, and decide which practice is the best suited to
his particular purpose; or perhaps when comparing
the hints of others, he may himself discover a practice
superior to them all. In this manner a good agricul-
tural periodical work is the means of disseminating
through the country practices winch would be confined
to the district which gave them birth. Its principal
aim should be to be a good work,that is replete with sug-
gestions of good sense, and with confirmation of expe-
rience. The collection and presentation of these de-
siderata is attended with much trouble and expense, and
unless the labour is appreciated and encouraged, — and
hitherto it has no*, been appreciated and encouraged as
it ought, — it is impossible to use means to collect the
most valuable kind of information for presentation. —
From the Quarterly Journal of Ap'iculture, No. xxxiii.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE DEVIZES
GAZETTE.

Sir, — In a former number of your paper, I perceive
that a meeting was held atftlalmesbury, for the purpose
of considering the project of the ministers, to introduce
a Rural Police. — It appears that the persons present ex-
pressed " suspicion and disgust" at the contemplated
alteration ; the present mode of appointing constables
having, as they state, existed for centuries. They felt
one unanimous sensation of " indignation," and " de-
nounced the projected measure as an insidious and
dangerous attack upon the liberty of the subject." Now,
Sir, if you will be good enough to read the article just
following that to which I have alluded, you will find
that " The crime of sheep stealing is become alarmingly
prevalent around the neighbourhood of Malmesbury ;
one farmer at Easton Grey, had ten fat sheep stolen in
one night ; and several others have lost two and three
each;" and all this, mind, Mr. Editor, in the neighbour-
hood of Constables, who have been appointed, " after
a fashion," for centuries past. I cannot help thinking
that the "suspicion, disgust, and indignation," would
have been better hurled at the old system, which does
not, it appears, in their own localities, prevent serious
and constant depredations, than for the good people to
vent their anger at merely a projected measure, which,
come when it may, will be the result of due deliberation
and inquiry. A little lower down, and beneath the
articles above mentioned, I find, in one week's report,
a long list of offences and offenders, and all the offences
taking place in a comparatively small space of the
county of Wilts, under the system which has existed for
centuries past. Surely the inhabitants of Malmesbury
should send with their memorial to the Secretary of
State, your paper of the 24th instant, in order that the
real value of the ancient system may be properly esti-
mated. I will thank you to oblige me with the inser-
tion hereof in your next paper, and am. Sir, your obdt.
servant. A CONSTANT READER.

The West Sussex Agricultural Association was held at
the Council Chamber, on Wednesday at 12 o'clock, the
Duke of Richmond in the Chair, when the Premiums
for the ensuing year were declared ; and it was notified
that his Majesty had consented to become Patron,
the Duke of Richmond President, the most influen-
tial Noblemen and Gentlemen in the neighbour-
hood Vice Presidents, and a Committee of manage-
ment.

TITHE COMMUTATION ACT.

The following Petition from several Landowners in
the neig-hbourhDod of Rochester, will be presented
to the House of Commons, early in the next Ses-
sion of Parliament.

To the Honorable the Commons of the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parlia-
ment assembled.

The Petition of the undersigned Land-
owners RESIDING in the COUNTY OP

Kent,

Most respectfully Sheweth,

That your Petitioners having been induced, from
the discussion which occurred in the House of Com-
mons, upon the introduction of the Tithe Commuta-
tion Bill, to expect, that, as the Landlords in Ireland
were considered to be entitled to a Bonus, for having
their estates saddled with a Rent-charge in lieu of
Tithes, the Landowners of England and Wales would
have been granted a similar allowance, though per-
haps, under existing circumstances, not to so great
an amount. It is, therefore, with considerable dis-
appointment your Petitioners find, that that principle
was abandoned, and the Rent-charge fixed according
to the value of the Tithes for the last seven 3'^ears ;
thus entirely relieving the Tithe-owners from all
future trouble and vexation, and entailing upon the
Land-owners a charge, which, probably, will here-
after, in many cases, absorb nearly all the Rent.

That your "Peritioners beg to call your attention to
the 79th clause of the Act, as it will, probably, in

156

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

its operation, place many of them in a much worse
position that heretofore ; for should tenants under
existing leases object to pay the Rent-charge, the
trouble, inconvenience, and annoyance of taking the
Tithes in kind will be transferred from the Tithe-
owners to the Landlords. In cases of this kind,
therefore, the perplexing situation of a Landlord,
without the means of collecting the Tithes, and re-
sid ing far from his property, must be obvious to every
one ; the consequence will be, that the Landlord will
be placed, particularly the small proprietors, in a
most vexatious and annoying situation, not only with
regard to the great, but in a more embarassing pre-
dicament with respect to the collection of the small
Tithes ; the result, therefore, in many cases, would
probably be productive of considerai)le loss to the
Landlords.

That about twenty-five or thirty years ago, a con-
siderable quantity of land in consequence of the then
high price of corn, was cultivated for its production ;
and as the cultivation of that species of land has al-
ways been attended with great expense, latterly with
little or no profit, and in many instances with aloss ;
and as it is very probable, from the alteration of the
Corn Laws, and other causes, producing a low price
of grain, that much land of this description would
cease to ba cultivated j the continuance of a Rent-
charge for the Commutation of Tithes, according to
the calculated average as prescribed by the Act,
would, to the Proprietors of land of this quality, be
highly injurious.

Your Petitioners, therefore, request your Honor-
able House will be pleased to revise the Act for the
Commutation of Tithes, so that before the law shall
become compulsory, it may be enacted : — 1st, That
a Bonus be given to the Land-owners, as a remuner-
ation for the risk imposed on them, 2ndly, That
the Occupiers, on the same principle as heretofore,
may be alone responsible for the payment of the
Rent-charge. And 3dly, That land ceasing to be
in tillage, may no longer be liable, as arable land,
to the payment of Tithes.

And your Petitioners as in duty hound will ever
pray,

THE TURNIP FLY.

[to the editor of the metropolitan conservative

JOURNAL.)

Sir — Having seen a notice regarding this insect
in your valuable Journal, and wishing for further in-
formation, I beg to send you the following simple
and plain facts, which, though they may be unpalate-
able to some of our theoretical agriculturists, have
been generally found strictly correct in my own ex-
perience. About nine or ten years ago I was walk-
ing over a turnip field, in which two sorts were
sown, viz., Swedes and Globe. The Swedes were
considerably grown, in fact had been hoed, the white
were just coming into broad leaf, but seemed very
much troubled with the fly. I observed the row of
white next the Swedes were in a very flourishing
condition, and considerably larger and more healthy
than the other part of the field sown with the white
turnip. After thinking about the subject some time
I could come to no other conclusion than that the fly
had been disturbed by the skuffler ofi" that row, when
hoeing the Swedes ; and the year following I tried
the following experiment, which I found to answer
evert/ year since. I began with the Swedes, which
were sown first (and likely to be injured by the fly
on making their appearance above ground,) by
shuffling them immediately very close to the plant,

and leaving the plants very loose in the rows. That
succeeded, inasmuch as the turnip flourished imme-
diately after ; but not being satisfied with that, as a
little rain followed, I considered it perhaps might be
the wet which had improved their appearance, How-
ever, I set to work with the wliite turnips, soon after
they made their appearance, and which were attacked
by the fly, the weather being very droughty. I pro-
cured a microscope, determined to watch those
thieves, if possible ; the skuffler was set to work,
and after it had gone a few times about I examined
the rows, but could make nothing out in the shape of
a fly, with the exception of finding a solitary indi-
vidual now and then, that had been covered with a
small portion of soil making his escape as fast as
possible, appearing, like all other thieves, not to re-
lish disturbance. I then followed the skuffler as
close as I could, and perceived the flies leaving the
turnips, not for the adjoining row, but apparently a
long flight. I was quite convinced that disturbance
when they make their first attack on the plant, is the
best mode of treating these gentry, and have follow-
ed it up every year with success, sending the skuffler
up the rows as soon as the turnip appears above
ground ; and I have never yet had a failing crop, al-
though sometimes my neighbours were forced to sow
their turnips over again ; it is an easy remedy, and if
you think proper to make it public in your widely-
circulated paper it is at your service, and may bene-
fit others as it has myself.

I am. Sir, your obedient servant,

THOMAS AISKELL.
Redcar, Yorkshire.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE FARMER'S
MAGAZINE.

Sir, — As a constant reader of your valuable
periodical, (though not a contributor, I mean as
regards matter,^ I hope you will not consider me as
encroaching when I ask a favour of you, which, bye
the bye, may be useful to the agricultural community
at large. Being very fond of agriculture myself, I
am wishful to advance and encourage every experi-
ment which I can for the purpose of lessening the
expenses consequent upon the occupation. I con-
ceive that steam is a power which may be rendered
of great service on the farmstead of any large
occupier ; with this view on my mind I considered
that it might be a public advantage, if you could,
by the aid of any of your Scotch correspondents,
give an account in the Farmer's Magazine, of the
sort of engine in use in the North as applied to the
thrashing machine, straw chopper, &c., the probable
expense of the engine, and the necessary kind of
buildings, and whatever other information on the
subject which you may be able to obtain, the saving
of labour as compared with horse power, &c. If it
is not in your power to obtain information on this
subject, perhaps you would be kind enough to men-
tion your inability in your next number.

Yours truly, R. F. P.

Doncaster, Jan, 23.

In Romney Marsh by the late snow, the loss is esti-
match by one sheep upon every five acres; thus cal-
culating the marsh to contain 50,000 acres of grazing
land, the loss must be at least 10,000. Mr. Smith, of
Codlay, lost 400 out of 6000. Mr. Innes, of Stamford,
lost 51 out of 148, and every statement that reaches
us gives alarming accounts of the losses sustained by
the various graziers.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

157

AGRICULTURAL INTELLIGENCE, FAIRS, &c.

WARWICK FAIR, was well supplied with beef and
mutton, which fetched from 6d to d^d per lb, sinking
the oft'al. Stores met a very heavy sale.

OSAVESTRY FAIR did not realise the expeetations
of the farmer in respect to the prices of cattle. A capital
cow and calf could be had very low. Stoi-e pig's were
very ' sharp' the first day, Tuesday. Fat pig's, 5d, 5.fd ;
a remarkably good show of butter at 11 jd per lb.

At WINCANTON MARKET two down ram lambs,
the property of Mr. R. White, of Zeal's Farm, near
the city of Wells, and Mr. Matthew Paull, of Compton
Pauncefoot, in the county of Somerset, were exhibited
in competition for 5l a-side, which was won by the
latter.

PORTAFERRY FAIR.— We have niucli pleasure
in being" able to state that this fair, which took place on
Tuesday last (being only the second of the monthly
fairs lately established in this place), went off well; it
gives promise of being equal to any of ttie old estab-
lished monthly fairs of this neighbourhood. A number
of black cattle changed hands, as well as horses ; spring-
ing cows, and those at the calving', went in considerable
demand, and brought high prices. Farming horses
were, also, much in request, and met a ready sale at
from 8/ to 12/. Fat cattle were scarce ; those fit for the
butclier sold at 38s to 42s, sinking the offal. Pigs much
looked for ; those in good order sold from 40s to to 42s
per cwt. Sheep scarce, and brought high prices. The
premiums were paid, much to the satisfaction of those
concerned. — Downpatrick Recorder.

HIGHLAND SOCIETY'S SHOW AT DUM-
FRIES IN 1837.— air. Borthwick of Crookston, from
the Committee, reported the arrangements in forward-
ness for the General Show of Live Stock and Agricul-
tural Meeting to be held in the ensuing autumn at
Dumfries. By the liberality and promptitude of the
Gentlemen of the district, the Premiums were long ago
arranged and published, on a scale befitting alike the
character which these meetings have assumed, and the
importance of the district immediately concerned.
Every thing, in short, is in the best state of forwardness,
and the progress made in the improvement of their
stock by the public spirit and intelligence of the agri-
culturists of the south-west, during the seven years
that have elapsed since the Society's last visit, the Di-
rectors are informed is of the most marked description.
The Meeting authorised the usual communication to
be made to the Conveners of the Counties of Dum-
fries, Kirkcudbright, and Wictown, in order to their
naming at their meetings on 30th April, a committee of
superintendence. Mr. Hope Johnstone, of Annandale,
as on the former occasion, was named Convener of the
Committee, and Mr. Maxwell, of Munshes, Deputy-
Convener. Mr. Borthwick hoped the Noble Duke now
present would afford the benefit of his influential co-
operation on this as he did on tlie former occasion. The
Duke of Buccleuch expressed the happiness it would
afford him to do every thing in his i)Ower to forward the
interests of the meeting at Dumfries.

Ordinary Members elected this Year rnoai Dum-
friesshire.—James Stuart Menteath, Esq. yr., of
Closeburn Hall ; Rev. John Yorstoun, Minister of Toi'-
thorwald ; John Barker, Esq., banker, Dumfries.

MONTREAL MONSTROSITY.— A Mr. Turner,
a vecerinary surgeon of JMontreal, in the paper of that
city, gives the following extraordinary naiTative : —
" Being sent for by Mr. Lilly, farmer, at the Cross, to
render assistance to a cow, which had been labouring
for some hours, and which a number of men had not
been able to relieve, I found on my examination two

breeches presenting themselves, four hind feet and legs,
two tails, &c., all of natural formation. I concluded at
first that it might be a twin birth, and that the cow might
be relieved without much trouble or suflfering; but on
making a sufficient effort I was appreliensive that some-
thing unnatural was the obstacle, and a more minute ex-
amination satisfied me that the calf was a monster, and
could not be extracted without the death of the cow.
As tiie cow was very fat, I advised Mr. Lilly to send for
a butcher, and have her killed and dressed, which was
done in a short time, when the whole mystery of the case
became explained by the extraction of a bull calf, or
rather two sucli calves united, having eight legs, two
tads, two ears, two eyes, four nostrils, one mouth, and
two bodies turned belly to belly, and completely united
at the commencement of the sternum, or breast-bone
forming only one thorax, with apparently but one set of
thoracic viscera. None of the above members are either
diminutive or imperfect in their formation.

EXTRAORDINARY PRODUCTION OF
MANGEL WURZEL POTATOES.-ln a garden
belonging to Sir. Thomas Edwards, Sen., of Lyhead
House, near Bewdley, 23 sets of Potatoes produced 18
score 81bs, and 14 Potatoes produced 14 score 81bs,
making together 32 score 161bs. Some of these Potatoes
weighed 31bs 2oz each.

RIVAL BULLS. — A few months ago, two neigh-
bouring farmers, residing in the village of JMickleby,
near Whitby, the one named Robinson, the other Stone-
house, who are botli in the habit of keeping bulls, made
a bet of 10/ each, respecting the weight of two three
year olds then in their possession, which were, accord-
ing to the articles drawn up, to be killed in the second
week in January, 1837, and each being at liberty to feed
as they chose. On Wednesday, the llth instant, they
were slaughtei'ed, and on the Friday following weighed,
when the result was as foUows-.—Stonehonse — Beef,
107st. l^lb. ; tallow, 12st. 21b.; hide, list. 31b.; total,
130st. 6|lb. Biibhi son—Beef, 102st. 4^1b. ; tallow, list.
31b.; hide, 9st, 91b.; total, 123st. 2|lb. Stonehouse
thus winning the wager by 7st. 31b. The greatest ex-
citement has prevailed during the few months the beasts
have been feeding, and the village has been visited by
many persons, both judges of stock and others, through
mere curiosity, most of whom were inclined to back the
winner. A great number of wagers were depenchng on
tlie issue, and on the day of weighing, a large concourse
of people were drawn together to learn the result, which
was received by tremendous cheers. — York Herald.

DEATH OF CATTLE.— The following casualties
occurred on the farm of Mr. Bowley, of Kingstone
Field, within one week : — Three sheep died, one being
lost in the snow ; a heifer was drowned by tlie breaking
up of the ice ; a stirk died of inflammation, and a cow
of some other disorder ; and, on proceeding to his
stable, Mr. Bowley found that a valuable mare was
dead. On Friday, his shepherd was taken ill and died ;
and on the following day the shepherd's dog shared the
fate of his master. — Loughborough Telegraph.

THE NEW IMARKET, BRIDGEND.— This desi-
deratum to the prosperous town of Bridg'end is progress-
ing rapidly, and by its neat and tasteful arrangement
reflects the highest credit on the Architect. It stands on
a plot of ground (the site of the old Tennis-court, and
nearly opposite that mart of business the Post office) in
the form of a square, about forty yards every way. The
communication to the body of the market is by two en-
trances, situate at the extremities of the front. On the
left side of the upper entranee, and on the right of the
lower, as well as along the extreme wall, are commodious
sheds for the butchers, and between the entrances,

158

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

forming a smaller square, is the corn market, supported,
like the shambles, on light and elegant cast-iron pillars.
The front when finished will be ornamented with rustic
pillars, railings, and handsome gates, and when the
whole is completed it bids fair to be the best built, as
well as the best arranged market-place in South Wales.

At the late Duke of Norfolk's annual cattle sale at
Farnham, Suffolk, two steers, bred by Mr. James
Quaitly, of Holland, in this county, of Devon, and
which gained the first prize as three-years old working
steers at the Devon November Agricultural Meeting in
1835, were sold for seventy-six pounds; another steer,
bred by JMr. Francis Quartly, of Molland, sold for
forty-three pounds. It must be highly gratifying to the
Agriculturists of this county generally, and honourable
to the first-rate breeders of cattle at Molland, that his
Grace the Duke of Norfolk entertains so high an opinion
of the Devon cattle that he is supplied every year with
a number of steers from Mr. James Quartly. We had
an opportunity last week of seeing a fat Exmoor three-
years old wetlier, and a six-years old ewe, bred and
fed on grass only by Mr. James Quartly, which sur-
passed every thing- of the kind ever exhii)ited in this
county, quality for weight. They were taken to South-
molton for the Christmas market, and slaughtered by
Mr. Coles.— Flying Post.

The general meeting of the Rutland Agricultura
Society was well attended and business gone through
■with credit to the society. The report of the Secretaries
was received with unusual warmth, it appearing that
the donations received by them (for the ensuing year)
amounted to no less than 68Z 15s, with a further dona-
tion of lOZ for 1838 ; also that thei-e were forty-six new
subscribers added to the list, which, together, amounted
to 118/ 15s. The society's bill this year contains the
unrivalled sum of 213/ 15s, with the addition of six
silver medals for the encouragement of good breeding
within its limits. The sweepstakes are open to all
England.

LINN.F:AN SOCIETY.— The ordinary mesting
was held on Tuesday evening, A. B. Lambert, Esq.,
V.P., in the chair. The Chairman exhibited some spe-
cimens of a new variety of grape, sent to him by the
Duke of Sussex from Kinmell-park, being- about 4^
inches in circumference, or nearly the size of a small
chesnut, the bunches weighing each from three to four
pounds. Another specimen was sent by the Royal
donor, which he considered to be a truffle in a state of
petrefaction, from Mr. Coke, of Holkham, but in which
opinion the Chairman differed, considering it some other
geological production. From Mr. F. Bennett was also
exhibited the produce of three plants from Takiti, one of
which was there called the Golden fruit, another being
a root, having a resemblance to our potatoe ; as also
specimens of cocoa-nuts and maple sugar, the produce
of that island.

MONTHLY REPORT OF THE WOOL-
LEN TRADE.

LEEDS, Jan. 2. — If we had to complain of Novem-
ber as more than usually dull, it will not be matter of
wonder that December was still worse. The only won-
der to us has been, that it was not even more dull and
gloomy than it has proved. So much and such intense
interest has been drawn to the subject of our currency
difficulties, that it seems almost unnecessary to name
them as the principal causes of that depression which
has now for more than three months shackled the
Woollen, in common with almost every other trade of
the country. These difficulties, however, assumed at
the commencenaent of the month a very formidable
aspect, and although the interposition of powerful aid
averted the threatened storm, consequences of a minor

kind have followed, suflficiently trying to all parties.
Of these conseqaences, tlie worst was, perhaps, the
almost entire cessation of purchases, whether retail or
wholesale. We have seldom known a more thoroughly
flat period as to sales. The market was, in fact, de-
serted, and there seemed scarcely a disposition to try
the temper, or to ascertain the difficulties of the holders
of stock, until within the last eight or ten days. Within
that period considerable sales have been eflfected, and,
as the wholesale dealers cannot much longer hold off
purchasing, there is every probability that a tolerable
amount of business will be done during- the ensuing
month.

The opinion we gave last month, as to the buoyancy
of the price of both cloths and wools, has been proved
to be correct ; indeed, the latter have rather risen than
otherwise, and show a decided tendency upwards.
Coarse wools have suffered a depression since August,
which allow of cloths being bought in at prices which
command sales ; and both coarse and fine woollens are
now at a level which it is hoped they will steadily main-
tain. We trust we shall not witness, with the return
of more animated transactions, a rise similar to that
which took place in the preceding spring, which, how-
ever profitable during its continuance, was of very
questionable benefit ultimately, since it produced that
reaction in the demand which had commenced prior to
the embarrassment of the money market. We shall be
most glad to see once more steady equable prices.

In our December report we expressed our belief that
the worst of our financial difficulties was over, — it ap-
pears that we were mistaken. Since that was written,
the Northern and Central Bank of England has met
and passed through a crisis of extraordinary peril. We
need not state afresh the facts of the case, as none of
our readers are unacquainted with them. We allude
to them in this place for the purpose of observing, that
considering the length and severity of the pressure for
money, it is surprising to see no greater defalcations
have taken place, and that, j?i this respect, the recent
monetary crisis is unparalleled in our commercial his-
tory.

Whatever defects there may be in the system of Joint
Stock Banking, it has yet one element of superiority
over that of private banking, — its comparative security
from panics. We shall not now enter at length into the
subject, — because we shall have again and again to re-
turn to it during- the ensuing session of Parliament. The
state of our currency and the principles of its manage-
ment will form questions of serious and grave delibera-
tion both in and out of Parliament, and we shall be pre-
pared to give our views on both. We would offer a re-
mark or two before dismissing the subject by way of
caution. It has become fashionable with the Editors
and Correspondents of the public prints, to abuse the
Joint Stock Banks, and to laud the Bank of England.
The one are all that is rotten and worthless — the other
all but immaculate.

This is not a safe state of mind in which to enter upon
the discussion of more stringent Banking regulations ;
and it is a state of public opinion, which, with all defer-
ence to some great authorities, is not justified by recent
facts. The Joint Stock Banks have erred ; but it is of
the utmost importance that the precise error or errors
which they have committed should be ascertained, and
that the whole system should not be condemned, and
any merit it may have be hastily overlooked. We are
in danger of rashly legislating on the subject, and of
overlooking-, in our admiration of the wise and bold
step taken by the Bank of England, the extent and the
nature of that, influence which the Bank monopoly
exercises upon our monetary affairs. Bank parlour
management is not faultless, and the constitution of the
Bank is a palpable anomaly in our commercial system —
at variance with all its analogies, and we are strongly
of opinion, very injurious to our commercial interests.
Let the whole subject be calmly considered and examin-
ed in all its bearings, and then some sound conclusion
may be come at. At present it is seen only in one as-
pect, and apparently with the wish to look at it in no
other.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

159

REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE

DURING THE MONTH OF JANUARY

In commencing a fresh era of time, the first month
of a new year, we are prone to cast our reaction s
o'er the past, and review the various incidents which
have excited or depressed our hopes and anticipa-
tions ; to the agriculturist the fickleness of the
season in our clime must ever prove the source of
anxious solicitude, and the farmers therefore of all
classes of men of business, have the most vivid
points on which their memory can dwell, and which
in their retrospective view come forth identified, in the
mind's eye, almost in the very shapes they pre-existed.
It is therefore with pleasure, that we can recall the
proceedings of the year 1836 to their recollection, con-
gratulating them on the improved aspect of the
markets at the commencement of the present,
compared with the gloomy prospects of the previous
season ; and notwithstanding the pressure of the
monetary system, which has latterly been operating
disadvantageously on the mercantile world, yet its
chilling influence has by no means been experienced
in a corresponding degree by the farming interest.
The previous activity of commerce, which had
gradually pervaded all classes, is now shedding its
cheering and benign effects on agriculture, raising
this important branch of trade from a state of great
depression to one of comparative independence, by
the increased consumption of its produce, which the
improvement in commerce and demand for manufac-
tured goods has created. The enhancement however
experienced in the value of agricultural produce is
perhaps best illustrated by a comparative view of
the averages of grain throughout the kingdom from
the commencement of each of the last seven
years.

First week

Wheat.

Barley

Oats.

Beans.

Peas.

in Jan.

per qr.

per qr.

per qr.

per qr.

per qr.

8. d.

s. d.

s. d.

s. d.

s. d.

1831 ..

68 3

38 4

24 4

37 11

42 3

1832 ..

59 1

35 6

22 0

36 6

38 2

1833 . .

52 6

28 3

18 2

32 5

39 6

1834 ..

49 2

27 11

18 11

33 6

38 5

1835 .,

40 1

31 0

21 9

36 1

41 1

1836 . .

36 0

27 4

18 7

33 4

34 3

1837 ..

59 0

35 9

24 11

41 0

40 4

It should, however, he noted, that prices the
beginning of January had materially receded from
those of the foregoing month, having the first week
in Deceu'iber ranged as follow : —

Wheat.

per qr.
s. d.
61 9

Barley. Oats.

Beans. Peas.

per qr
s. d.
39 3

qr.
s. d.
9J7 0

perqr.

s. d.

47 10

per qr.

s. d.

46 6

51 1

42

The aggregate average price of Wheat in the
United Kingdom was for the year —

s. d. s. d.

1836 ..48 9 1835 . . 39 7

On the London "I

Market j

The weather throughout the greatest portion of the
month has been gloomy in the extreme, depressing
not only the speculative, but the animal spirits to the
deepest degree, and the prevailing epidemic, so uni-
versal in its attacks, has contributed to render not
only the corn trade, but all branches of commercial
business, excessively languid and heavy. Collateral
circumstances have also conduced to increase the
dullness of trade, arising from the re-appearance of
a pressure on the Money Market in connection with
all mercantile operations, emanating from various
minor failures, which, however, have been more
detrimental to general traffic in maintaining a species
of distrust, than from the pecuniary amount of the
the liabilities, though the feeling has been much
strengthened by the temporary embarrassment of
the old established banking establishment in Lom-
bard-Street, of Messrs. Esdaile and Co. The pro-
bable effects which the inclemency of the weather
and constant state of atmospheric humidity
is likely to cause to agricultural proceedings
does not yet seem to make any impression
on the markets, though with a continuance of
wet it is a subject which will begin to force itself
into consideration. The lands generally are satura-
ted with moisture, and too cold to work : and in low
situations are so soft and swampy that they are
rendered totally unfit for preparation to receive the
spring corn. In many parts of the kingdom, and
especially northward, field labour is nearly suspen-
ded, and the attention of the farmer has been directed
to thrashing, which where the state of the roads and
water communication have allowed the markets to be
acccessible, causes the supplies to come rather freely
to hand, and prices have general))' receded, especially
of secondary descriptions and those out of condition,
indeed latterly it has been diflScult to find a sample
not handling cold or soft. Farmers however seem
still inclined to hold all their finer qualities of grain
and which they are enabled to do, not only from the
remunerative prices realised for all agricultural pro-
duce, but likewise from the fact that the monied
interest hold agriculture at present in much better
credit. The partial reduction of rent and poor rates,
the adjustment of tithes, and the rise in all produce,
convinced bankers that the trade was yielding a fair
profit J the farmer also is becoming much less lavish

160

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

in his mode of living, assuming more the cautious*
thrifty character of olden times, improved too in his
reflective powers by the rapid progress in the
education and intellect of the age, and therefore
advances of money are more readily obtained,
especially through the increased and improved
system of banking establishments ; and the agricul-
turist in many instances, has the satisfaction of
feeling that be is not compelled to sacrifice his
produce from the vs^ant of occasional pecuniary
accommodation.

From the circumstances previously adduced, it
will be evident that the trade throughout January
has ruled extremely dull, and latterly at declining
prices. The gales of wind experienced off the coast
at the close of December and early part of last month
were attended with most calamitous results, both as
to loss of property and life. Many cargoes of grain
have shared in the fate, and it is roughly computed that
upwards of 20,000 qrs of foreign grain and pulse, prin"
cipally Barley and Oats, bound to our port have been
either destroyed or so much damaged as to be lost to
the trade, which had for the moment a certain degree
of influence on the market, in communicating to it
a firmer aspect. The state of the vreather, however,
bad condition of the roads from the snow, and inter-
ruption in the water communication, caused both the
London and country markets to be very thinly at-
tended; and, in Mark-Lane, purchasers were shy of
buying Wheat by the generality of samples offering,
winch arrived by land carriage, so much uncertainty
prevailing as to the time of arrival of the bulks.
The few parcels taken realized in instances Is per qr
mort," money, if dry and fine, but secondary and in-
ferior sorts were very difficult of disposal though
offered at lower money ; as the month advanced, and
the condition of the Wheat deteriorated, a slow drag-
ging trade was experienced at a weekly reduction of
Is to 2s, and many parcels almost unsaleable at this
decline ; many millers having imported from the
coast direct, have held ofT the market, unless a su-
perior or selected sample was to be obtained ; we
must therefore note old and new fine Wheat Is to 2s
per qr lower, and other sorts 4s and even 5s, good
red Kentish runs bringing 56s to 57s, and white 58s
to 59s.

The recommendation of the President of the United
States of America at the opening of Congress in con-
sequence of the large amount of surplus revenue to
remit the duty on the necessaries of life, and conse-
quently, including the imports levied on corn, con
tributed in rendering the holders of Wheat firm in
their demands ; though it should have been recol-
lected, that prices would probably recede at the
American markets in proportion to the reduction
made in the dues. During, however, the greatest
part of the month the bonded market has remained
devoid of much speculative interest considering tlie
state of the American markets, and which leads to
the conjecture that either confidence is not reposed
in the trade of the United States, or a home demand
is still anticipated, yet with the amount of Wheat in

store at Danzig and other ports, this feeling is not
likely to pi"e dominate very considerably. We fear
the Americans have themselves to blame that their
strenuous efforts and recommendations to consign
are not attended to, as suspicion naturally attaches
to the circumstance that with such a golden return
before them as is represented,they would themselves
be induced to send orders for shipment on their ac.
count. The golden opportunity has not however
been entirely lost sight of, as remunerative profits,
to say the least, must have been cleared out of the
enormous charges in too many cases levied on the
consignees, which in instances is underrated in be-
ing calculated at 22s per qr. We have more than
once hinted at the causes operating on the minds of
cautious shi])pers, and believe the fact lo prevail now
to some extent, i'he few purchases made have been
at rates varying from 39s to 43s for red, and 44s to
48s for Danzig as ia quality.

The Flour trade has been languid throughout, and
the top prices of town made qualities, though nominally
unaltered, cannot be realized by 2s to 3s per sack; ship
qualities are 2s to 3s lower than at the beginning of
the month. The receipts of Foreign Flour into bond
consisted of nearly 9,000 barrels ; and a demand
continuing for the West Indies, purchasers have been
found at from 29s to 3ls per hrl.

Ihe receipts of English Barley, though limited
compared with the previous months, have, with the
addition of above 12,000 qrs of Foreign Wheat,
which have paid the duty of 6s 4d and 7s lOd, caused
the supj)ly far to exceed the demand. Maltsters
finding a slow sale for their manufactured article,
have bought very sparingly, quality holding out to
them no inducement to exceed their immediate
wants ; prices of the finer descriptions have receded
Is per qr ; but selected parcels of Chevalier for seed
being extremely scarce, have fully maintained their
previous quotations, and in instances brought even
more money ; distillers' sorts have met a heavy sale,
the foreign qualities, being principally available for
such purposes, have pi-essed on the market, and the
quotations have given way fully 2s ; while secondary
and inferior parcels, or those weathered and out of
conditien have been difficult to quit at a reduction of
2s to 3s per qr. Foreign samples have brought from
28s to 36s, and extra fine, 37s to 38s.

The supply of oats from our own coast, and that of
Scotland, have been limited, and from Ireland the
receipts have not exceeded 33,000 qrs. ; but of fo-
reign 33,000 qrs. entered at 7s 6d and 9s 3d
per qr. ; some of the cargoes ex ship have paid the
latter amount. At the commencement of the month
the cold weather, and consequent improved demand
for the article, had caused the trade to assume a firm
aspect at enhanced prices : on the change, however,
of the temperature, and the Irish oats arriving in a
very unsatisfactory state, the trade became heavy,
and dealers and consumers refrained from purchasing
except to meet their immediate wants, and taking
then only the fine fresh samples ; secondary and
inferior sorts of Irish becoming a complete drug on

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

161

the market, and hardly saleable at prices below their
relative value. Many cargoes have been landed, in
order to be worked into condition and rendered
available for the trade. Prices of inferior quali-
ties are likely to settle very low, as there is only a
vent for a limited quantity of such descriptions, and
the sole chance of rendering them marketable at
all is by drying- them very high, as to ship
them otherwise from Ireland, is only to sacrifice
property ; a consideration which does not appear to
have influenced the actions of some of the shippers
of late ; indeed the free on board trade has become
quite nominal, arising entirely from the disgraceful
if not nefarious conduct of some of the parties who
have had contracts to fulfil. Several individuals who
had sold towards the termination of the last year for
forward delivery at lower rates than those to which
prices afterwards advanced, have in completion of
their contracts, shipped light inferior qualities appa-
rently in instances the refuse of the markets, not even
being at the expense of having them kiln dried and
making an advance of fully 6d on the freights.
Where therefore advances had been previously made
on the faith of the shippers, serious losses have been
incurred, the difference in the stipulations and
realizations being so materially deficient. It is true
the courts of law are open for the punishment of such
chicanery, but the " cure is perhaps worse than the
disease." Prices generally of the better descriptions
of oats have suffered little depreciation in value, but
other sorts are Is to 2s per qr cheaper.

Bonded oats for spring delivery have met partial
demand, and some sales have been made of Konigs-
berg and Stettin qualities at 12s to l3s ; Danish, 13s
to I5s ; Friesland 13s to 18s as in quality.

During the month about 5000 qrs of beans and
2000 qrs of peas have paid the duties. The trade for
both articles has ruled extremely heavy at declining
prices, beans being fully 2s to 3s, and white peas 3s
to 4s lower ; grey and maple participating in the
decline to the extent of 2s.

Tlie duty on wheat has remained without alteration,
but that of barley has advanced 3s per qr ; on oats
Is 6d ; on beans 3s ; and on peas 4s 6d per qr.

During the month of January the following-
quantities of Grain and Flour have arrived in tlie
port of London : —

Oats,
qrs.

10,035
10.388
32,701

Wheat.

Barley.

Malt.

qis.

qrs.

qrs.

English

24,424

25,519

18,173

Scotch .
Irish ...

925
215

Total ii

Jan.

24,424

2 6,689

18,173

Total in

Dec.

30,675

55,255

23,010

Total in Nov.

36,029

50,0 24

21,931

Foreign

in Jan

.1,750

13,322

. . . ,

53,9-24
77,1S0
110,428
13,011

English

Scotch

Irish

Beans,
qrs.
6,611

Peas.

qrs.

5,839

Linseed,
qrs,

Flour.

.sacks.

30,590

200

Total in Jan. .

6,611

G,894

5,839

30,790

Total in Dec.

6,247
0,701

60

260

39,628

Total in Nov.

6,737

41,414

Foreign in Jan.

802

1,961

2,606

brls. 8,7-23

The advices from Montreal report the Canadian
markets firm for wlieat, and the tendency of the flour
trade was to advance ; fine Upper Canada flour had
obtained 41s 3d, and common brands free sale at 40s.
On the 28th of Nov., floating ice had appeared on
the St. Lawrence at Quebec, and the navigation was
impeded. Only one vessel, however, was left in port,
which it was not the intention to dispatch this
season.

The abundance of the crops in the neighbourhood
of Paris still seems fuUv adequate to the extensive
demands which are experienced from the Southern
Departments, a demand, however, which has latterly
rather relaxed, owing to the impediments offered
through the badness of the roads, and scarcity of ves-
sels though it has not abated in Soissons or the mar-
kets of Upper Picardy. It is thought that when the
supplies which have been retarded, arrive at Mar-
seille and Bourdeaux, that dulness is likely to per-
vade the trade ; while on the other h-and it is main-
tained that the necessities of these districts are ex-
tensive and pressing, and the imports, however
large they may be, will not cause any accumulation
of stock sufficiently large to depress the trade. A
number of losses on the coast are also re|iresented as
contributing to diminish the amount of the antici-
pated arrivals at the different places of destination.
One merchant alone at Bochefort has lost wholly or in
part, four cargoes which had departed from St. Valery
the same day. It does not, therefore, appear likely
that the surplus stocks in the circle of Paris will be
found more than equivalent to meet the wants of the
Centre and Southern Departments, At Marseille
the exclusive duties still prevailing, '-and slow ad-
vance in the averages, affording little probability at
present of tlie duties receding to a point to permit
foreign importation, had caused the currencies of
bonded corn to evince symptoms of giving way,
more particularly as the advanced period of the sea-
son prevents shipments to the United States or the
Brazils.

At Leghorn, the trade in grain remained very inani-
mate, the demand for England and America having
subsided. Some small parcels of Beans had been
received from the Southern coast and interior, and
held at 32s 7d, the quality being fine. Bones were
in request for France, purchases were making at 63s
per ton, with a freight to England of 25s. At
Trieste, the demand for Wheat, for America and
Italy having continued, prices were fully supported :
Italian and Odessa wheat being noted at 29s Id to
39s 5d. The shipment of seeds continued to Eng-
land, and as the anticipated supplies had not arrived,
prices were improving. At Odessa, Wheat of best
quality was -worth 23s 7d to 24s lid, good parcels,
19s 8d to 21s, hard Wheat of the best description,
22s 4d to 22s 7d. Oats, 9s 2d to 9s 6d. Linseed,
33s 6d to 38s lOd. The stock of wheat on hand was
estimated at 169,400 qrs of soft, and 56,400 qrs of
hard ; and about 7,000 qrs of Oats, and the same of
Linseed and Rye. At Taganrog the closing of the

162

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE

navigation had rendered the trade quite stagnant,
and not more than 21,1^0 qrs of haid Wheat on
hand, which was held at 21s 8d ; the roads, however,
were soon expected to be in a condition to ensure
supplies from the interior, when prices were ex-
pected to recede to a point sufficiently low to tempt
speculation.

St. Petersburgh being closed with ice, and the
winter set in, little business was transacting.
Kubanka wheat had realised from 31s 4d to 33s lid ;
oats for spring shipment to England lis lOd ; rye
17s ; Morschansky linseed had been contracted for
deliverance in July and August at 37s 5d per qr.
At Riga nothing was transpiring in grain from want
of supplies. Courland wheat being noted at 3ls lOd
to 33s 4d per qr. ; oats had been contrncted for at
12s to 12s 8d per qr. ; sowing linseed 26s 4d to
26s 5d per barrel. At Konigsburg the frost has set
in, but the previous damp rainy weather had rendered
the condition of the wheat very inferior, the cold
drying weather was therefore required to render the
samples more marketable. At Danzig the frost con-
tinued, and notliing of interest transacting in grain.
The land samples appearing at market were many of
them light, and much out of condition, and are to be
bought 3s to 4s cheaper ; but other descriptions are
unaltered. The want of granary room which will
prevail in spring, unless several thousand lasts are
shipped off at the first open water, a circumstance
not at present likely to ensue, granary rent must
range exorbitantly high. Quotations remain nomi-
nallv unaltered of the finer qualities. In the lower
Baltic ports prices of wheat remain without variation
and want of supplies prevent actual business from
being transacted. Barley is dull, but being scarce,
the finer qualities are held still at high rates ; oats
rather neglected, and might be bought lower. At
Hamburg the Elbe was still frozen, and prices of
wheat unaltered, with little business passing ; new
marks wheat of 62 to 625lbs, was held at 26s to
36s 6d with one-third to one-half the amount advan-
ced. The stock of wheat on the 31st of Dec, for
the last three years was —

1836 1835 1834

Qrs. Qrs. Qrs.

46,000 56,000 80,000

The quantity exported to America in 1836 did not
exceed 23,000 qrs. Barley met enquiry at 23s, for
the finest new Upland, but holders are demanding
23s 6d and 24s 6d for Saale. The stock of barley on
the 1st of January did not exceed 14,000 qrs. The
shipments from Hamburgh to America have been
large of wheat, amounting nearly to 23,000 qrs,
while to England they have been only 13,500 qrs
during the past year. Of bailey the exports to this
country have amounted to nearly 22,000 qrs.

The crop of wheat in Holland having been con-
siderably below an average both in produce and
quality, combined with the demand anticipated from
the United States, had led to the belief at Rotterdam
that prices were likely to range high ; in addition to
which the unfavavourable weather experienced since
harvest had caused much less wheat to be sown than
usual. Rhenish wheat was noted at o7s to 38s 9d,
of 62 to 631bs., but these weights were becoming
scarce, and orders for shipment could not be execu-
ted above 61 to 6I|lbs ; Rye in request for America
at 24s to 25s.

The advices fiom the United States are up to the
3lst of December. At New York the flour trade
had rallied owing it was stated to the advanced
range in the prices of wheat in the European mar-
kets, and 10 dollars 25 to 50 cents, were demanded
for Western Canal ; rye-flour scarce. The arrivals

of foreign grain had augmented, and amounted to
80,000 bushels, of which about 20,000 bushels had
been sold. 'I'he last sales effected of Danzig were
2 dollars 8 to 12 cents, per bushel, and in one in-
stance 2 dollars 17 cents. At Baltimore flour was
firm, 10 dollais 50 cents, for Howard-street qualities
and at 10 dollars city mills. Prime Maryland wheat
was worth 2 dollars per bushel, and German red 2
dollars 5 ditto, white 2 dollars 10 cents. ; eloverseed
was in request at advancing prices : 7 dollars 62^ to
88 cents, per bushel being demanded. At New
Orleans flour was meeting a fair demand, at 9 dollars
25 to 50 cents, per barrel, and little remaining either
at the landing or in store.

CURRENCY PER IMPERIAL MEASURE.

BRITISH.

Jan. I.

Feb. 1.

Wlieat, red, Essex, Kent, SuffolV 60

White .... 52

Norfolk, Liiicolnsliire and Yorkshire. . . 40

White, do. do 46

West Countrv Red —

White, ditto —

Northumberland and Berwickshire Red —

White, ditto —

Irish Red —

Ditto White —

Barley, Malting, new 36

Chevalier, new 38

Distilling 32

Grinding 28

Irish 24

Malt, Brown. 47

Ditto, Chevalier 64

Ditto, Norfolk and Suffolk Pale 54

Ditto Ware 61

Peas, Hog and Grey 36

Maple 36

White Boilers 38

Beans, small 41

Harrow 41

Ticks 38

Mazagaii 36

Oats, English feed 26

Short small 27

Poland 29

Scotch, Common 23

Berwick, &c 28

Potatoe,&c. .„ 29

Irish, Feed 23s Od to 95s Od

Ditto Potatoe 24s Od 2"s Od

Ditto Black 20s Od 26s Od

to 64

50 to 62

66

52 64

58

40 56

62

46 60

40

35

39

41

38

41

35

31

3.")

31

27

30

30

24

30

52

47

52

63

64

62

61

54

60

62

61

61

38

34

36

38

36

36

45

38

41

48

40

46

46

41

41

45

38

42

40

33

40

6(1 28

25 Or

28

29

27

29

30

28

30

28

23

28

.30

28

30

31

29

31

17s

Od to 26s Od

21s

Od

27

(Id

ISsOd

253 Od

PRICES OF FLOUR,

Per Sack of 280 lbs. Jan. 1.

s. s.

Tovvn-maile 50 to 55

Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent, and Essex 44 48

Sussex and Hampshire 42 46

Superfine 47 —

Lincolnshire, Yirkshire, and Stockton. 44 46
Northumberland. Berwick, and Scotch. 42 45

Irish „ 42 48

Extra 50 —

SO to 55

43

47

42

45

46

41

45

42

44

42

48

50

—

An Account of the Quantity of Grain and Flour
imported into the United Kingdom during the
month ending the 5th Jan., 1836 ; the Quantity on
which the Duty has been paid for Home Consump-
tion, and the quantity remaining in Warehouse.

Wheat,
qrs.
Quantity imported. .. . 5,813
Do. entered for home

ciinBuniptioii 1,403

Do. remaining in ware-
house 574,239

Peas.
qrs.
Quantity importe i ... , 17,9/1
Do. entered for home

consumption 23,954

Do. remaining in ware-
house 3,053 1

Barley.

qrs.'
37,966

66,570

5,256

Beans.

qrs.
1,589

19,571

7,338

Oatj.
qrs.

28,878

59,737

214,230

Maize,
qrs.

Rye.
qrs.

86

6,805

Flour,
cwls.
21,100

3,100

174,898

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

163

IMPERIAL AVERAGES.

Wheat.

Barley

Oats

aye

Bean

I'eas

Wcokciidiiig

9t,h Dec.

60 4

37 4

20 5

44

11

J5 9

43 2

16tli "

60 6

36 9

25 5

43

4

44 10

42 11

2ord "

59 2

35 6

24 10

43

1

13 11

t2 2

30th "

58 9

35 4

24 6

42

10

42 3

40 9

6th Jan.

59 0

35 9

24 11

44

6

41 0

40 4

13th "

59 6

36 1

24 6

38

9

41 6

40 7

Ai!!^reg;iteAveiT.ge

ot tiie six weeks

which regulates

59 6

36 1

26 1

42

11

43 3

11 8

Duties payable in

Jjondon till Wed-

nesday next incln-

sive, and at the

Outports till the

arrival of the 3Iail

of that day from

27 8

7 10

9 3

0

II

5 0

S 0

Do. on grain from

British possessions

out of Europe ....

5 0

0 6

0 6

0

6

0 6

0 6

Foreign Flour, IGs 8d per 1961bs.

Britisl)

PossPSsion do.

3s per 19(5 1

JS.

Amount of GRAIN, SEED, and FLOUR, which have |

paid Duty at the principal poi

ts of En

gland, during

the year 1836.

12 Months, ending
31st Dec. 1836.

Lon-
don.

Livei
pool

'■ Bristol

Hull. ^

totals.

Qrs.

Qrs

. Qrs.

Qrs.

Qrs.

Wheat, British Pos-

2622

116'

n ..

14299

Do. Foreign . .

634

2C

)0 30

10

964

Barley

39638

41'

22 882

8175

52817

Oats

45612
15551
16735
156621
11765

26J
144^
206t
243f

)3 ..
38 1787
.6 1135
)6 1592
J5 ..

71334
15729
10805
140435 ;
50626

49646
47558
49361
323044
62676

Peas

Cwts.

Cwt

;. Cwts,

Cwts.

Cwts.

Flour, Eastlndies .

8190

140(

)4 ..

22194

Do. Brit. Posses.

21

251

.9 ..

2610

Do. Foreign ....

22

IK

36 ..

1158

Cloverseed

'357i

n

60.

38 ^

179

1

73831

59701

PRICES OF SEEDS.
Jan. 23.
The receipts of Cloverseed during the week hav^
been 205 bags from Rotterdam, 195 bags, and 55 casks
from Hamburg, and 304 bales from Calais. The trade
•was extremely heavy, and though no alteration was
noted in the prices of English red, yet the quotations
were almost nominal. To force the sales of foreign,
lower rates must have been submitted to. White
remains unaltered. Trefoil dull. Linseed hangs on
hand at last week's quotations. In Rapeseed little doing.
Caraway, Coriander nominally unaltered. Canary
meets very limited enquiry at 42s to 44s. Mustard seed
supports previous prices. Tares heavy sale. Linseed
cakes 5s per ton lower,

PRICES OF HOPS.

Jan. 23.
Very little business has been transacted in Hops
during the past week — the dense atmosphere with the
prevailing illness, has thrown a gloom on the market —
though the prices remain unaltered.

PRESENT PRICES.

^ s ^ s £ s,

Eaat Kent, Pockets, fine 4 10 5 5 fine 7 0

Bags do 4 4 4 15 5 18

Mid Kent Pockets do 4 2 4 15 6 6

Bags 3 10 4 10 5 12

Weald of Kent Pockets 3 10 4 10 5 2

Sussex, Pockets 3 10 4 4 4 15

Yeai lings 2 10 3 3 4 4

Old olds , 1 1 1 10 2 2

POTATOE MARKET,

SouTHWARK, Waterside, Jan. 23, — The receipts of
Potatoes coastways from Scotland and Yorkshire, have
been on a very limited scale. From Jersey about 320
tons have arrived ; but by barges from Essex and Kent,
and by land carriage from neighbouring counties a great
many white Potatoes have come direct into the retailer's
hands ; in consequence of the prices at the waterside
ranging too high, several of the dealers have gone into
the country, and purchased on their own account, and
which now arriving, in addition to the mild weather,
has rendered the trade with the salesmen extremely
languid this morning, at a reduction of 5s per ton. We
have before alluded to the fact, that a change in the
weather causes material fluctuation in the Potatoe trade
and the demand is also at present partially checked by
bread being on a par with, or cheaper than Potatoes ;
and the coarser food of coarse is only taken as an alter-
native by the poorer classes.

Per ton.

Yorkshire reds 85s to 90s

Scotch do 80s S5s

Devonshire do 86s 90i

Kidneys — s 90s

American natives... — sto — s

Pert"n.

Essex Whites 60s 7:'>3

Jersey&Guern. blue — s

Do. wliites — s

Chats 30s

No Irish at market.

80s

75s
45s

BOROUGH AND SPITALFIELDS MARKETS,

WARE. Per Ton.

^ i. £ ?,.

Scotch reds 4 10 to 5 0

MarshCliamp... 4 0 4 10
Common reds... 4 0 4 10
London whites .3 10 4 0
Shuvvs 3 5 4 5

MIDDLINGS. Per Ton.

Scotch Reds ..
Marsh Champ.,
Common reds . .
London whites ,
Sliaws

4 5to4 10

3 10
3 10
3 0
2 10

Chats, \l 10s to U 15s per ton.

W^OOL MARKETS.

BRITISH.

January 1. February 1

Per lb. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d

DownTe^s 1 8 to 1 9 1 8 to i 9

Half-bred do 1 9i 1 !0i 1 9i 1 lOA

Ewes and Wethers 1 5" 1 6 1 5" 1 G

Leicester Hogs 15 16 15 16

Do. Wethers 12 13 1 2 1 3

Blanket Wool 0 8 14 0 8 1 4

Flannel 12 19 1 2 1 9

Skin Combing 1 2 16 12 16

WAKEFIELD, Jan. 20.— In long wool prices con-
tinue rather to improve, but purchases are confined to
those who are actually out of stock, and obliged to come
to market for immediate requirements. Others not so
circumstanced , not feeling confidence in the establish-
ment of the late advance, prefer waiting until they are
nearer run out of stock. Short wool fully maintains the
advance recently reported, but not much has been done
in it this week.

EXETER. — Were it our practice, like some wise-
acres, to endeavour to impose upon ourreaders theover-
flowings of sheer ignorance, if not something worse in
place of facts, we should say, there were such and such
terms offering for this article ; but as our desire is to in-
form, and not abuse that confidence which to such an
extent has been placed in us, we have to state, that 13d
per lb was on this day again given for yolk wool. It is
true this was singular rather than general, and in the
very teeth of deep complaint as to the state of the mar-
ket, or rather want of a market for piece goods. As

164

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

may be supposed, however, on lower termsbusiness was
not to be done, but at 13d the sale of several parcels
took place. Washed wools are from 15dto 16d; and
Dorset horn, 16d to 17d per lb. In sorts, the late ad-
vance is likewise maintained, and we must quote Kent
head, from llgd to 12d ; red, green, and pinions, from
12|d to 13d ; fell combing, 14Jd to 15d ; fine head,
15d to 15^d; Cornish stripe, 16Jd to 16Jd ; North
Devon stripe, 16|d to 17d ; tops, (river washed), 20d ;
ditto, (soap washed,) 202d per lb.

LEICESTER,— The wool market continues active,
and higher prices have been given to the grower. The
stocks of long wools are small in the hands of the
dealers. Short wools have not improved in price in an
equal degree with long wools, and are but little in re-
quest.

NEWTON. — Wool seems advancing ; ISjd has been
refused, though the wool staplers do not seem inclined
to give more.

LIVERPOOL.
Wrkk ending January 23.

■ English Wools have been in fair request. Fleece
and broke wools for combing have realized good prices,
and the transactions in them have been pretty exten-
sive. Tlie accompanying quotations have been well
sustained.

Current prices per lb. — Down ewes and wethers, 18gd
tol92d; Down tegs, 20d to 21d; combing fleece, 19d to
20d ; combing skin, 17d to 19d ; super, skin, 17d to
18jd; Iiead skin, 15Jd to 163d.

SooTcii Wools. — This has been a quiet week in the
Scotch Wool Rlarket. Two or three parcels of laid
Highland have been sold at full prices ; in other sorts
we have heard scarcely of any business being done.
Prices remain very firm, and some holders are sanguine
as to further improvement.

per stone of 241bs.

r-Hi<l Highland Wool, from 12s CmUoISs Od

Wliite ilo. do 15s Od 16s Od

Laid Cro'f><i'd do 15s Od 16s Od

Washed do. do 16s Od 17s Od

J.aid Cheviot do 18s Od 20s Od

Washeddo. do 26s Od 28s Od

White do. do 32s Od 36s Od

Import for the week 82 hags.

Previously this year 428 do.

InisH Wools continue in considerable request. The
prices at which wethers are selling in Dublin preclude
their being sent to this market in sufficient quantities
for the demand. The accompanying prices for that de-
scription have been therefore readily obtained.

Current prices per lb.— Irish fleeces, mixed lots,
18d to 19d ; Irish wethers, IBd to I8|d ; Irish hogs,
18id to 19^d ; Irish combing skin, 15d to ]6d ; Irish
short skin, 13d to 16d. Imports this week, 79 bags;
imports this year, 75 bags.

Foreign Wools have partaken of the improved
activity which has recently manifested itself. In
Peruvian, Russian, and Mogadore, there have been
some large sales, which have commanded good
prices. The import of the week amounts to 685
bags.

Current prices ?per lb.— Russian wool, 8d to 9d ;
Odessa, fine. Is 9d to 3s 3d ; Buenos Ayres, 4d to 5d ;
Mogadore and Barbary, 4d to 6d ; washed Peruvian,
r2dtol4d; unwashed ditto, 9d to lOd ; Portugal R.,
Is 4d to Is 6d; ditto, low marks, Il5d to Is l^d;
German fleeces, 2s to 2s 3d ; ditto assorted, 2s 3d to
2s 6d ; ditto lambs, 2s 3d to 3s 3d ; Spanish R, 2s 3d to
2s 6d ; ditto F S, 2s to 2s 2d ; New South Wales, 2s to
2s 9d. Imports this week, 685 bales ; previously this
year, 489.

SCOTCH.

Per Stone of 24 lbs.

January 1.
s. d. s. d.

February 1.

s. d. s. d,

LaidHighland Wool, from. 12 6toI3 6 12 6tol3 0

White Do. Do 16 0 17 0 15 0 16 0

LaidCrossed Do 16 0 17 0 15 0 16 0

Washed Do. Do 17 0 18 0 16 0 17 0

Laid Cheviots 19 0 21 0 18 0 20 0

Washed Do 26 0 28 0 20 0 28 0

White Do 32 0 36 0 32 0 36 0

FOREIGN.

Jan. 23.

Since Monday last, the supplies have amounted to
about 2720 bales from Germany, Spain, Russia, the
Cape of Good Hope, and Turkey. — The quantity of
Wool announced for sale this day, the 24th, 25th,
26t]i, 27th, and 28th inst. has been increased to 7,333
bales of, chieflly. Colonial, Russian, German, Spanish,
and Italian Wools. — The attention of the trade being
almost wholly confined to the approaching sales, ex-
ceedingly little business has been transacted, during-
the week, by private contract, at barely stationary
prices.

Electoral Saxony wool, from 4s 6d to 5s 6d ; first
Austrian, Bohemian, and other German wools, 3s to
4s; second do., 2s to 2s 6d; inferior do. in locks
and pieces, Is 6d to 2s ; do. lamb's do., 2s 6d to 3s ;
Hungarian sheep's do., 2s to 2s 6d ; Leonesa
sheep's do., 2s 6d to 3s 4d ; Segovia do., 2s to 3s ;
Soria do., 2s 4d to 3s; Caceres do., 2s 6d to 3s;
Spanish lamb's wool, Is 6d to 2s 6d ; German and
Spanish cross do., 2s 4d to 3s 4d ; Portugal sheep's
do., 2s 4d to 2s lOd ; do. lamb's do., Is 4d to 2s 6d ;
Australian, fine crossed do., 2s 4d to 3s 6d; do. native
sheep's do., Is 8d to 2s 8d ; Van Diemen's Land native
sheep's do., Is 6d to 2s 6d; Cape of Good Hope do. Is
6d to3s.

BONES.

Since our last there have passed the Sound or
Elsingre, the Great Belt, and the Holstein
Canal, ships loaded with Bones, bound for Hnll, l ;
and for Arbroath, 1.

Printed by Joseph Rogerson, 24, Norfolk Street, Strand,
London.

ism. ',.

^

iK

■I

THE FARMER'S MAGAEINE.

MARCH, 1837.

No. 3.]

[Vol. VI.

THE PLATE.

The Horse Champion, the subject of the Plate, is the property of Mr. Keith, of Netherthird, Aberdeenshire :
he is an entire Horse, will be six years' old in the beg-inning of June, stands I65 hands high, and is of a rich dark
brown colour. He is of the Clydesdale breed. Mr. Dick, the Veterinary Surgeon, of Edinburgh, measured his
fore leg between the knee and the fetlock joint, which proved to be 11| inches round. This gentleman stated that
he had never seen a horse which possessed such strength. His symmetry is pronounced to be altogether complete.
Most of our readers will doubtless be aware that Clydesdale is a district in the county of Lanarkshire, in the west of
Scotland, which has long been celebrated for its breed of draught horses. Mr. Keith farms upon a large scale m
Aberdeenshire, and has for many years exerted himself to obtain the purest blood and most perfect animals of this
breed, and we believe it is not saying too much to assert, that he has been eminently successful, and that none of
the most spirited breeders can surpass, and but few, if any, equal his stock. The selection of this horse affords
ample proof of his judgment, no instance having ever come under our notice in which an animal had stood com-
petition so often and vi^ith such success. In the autumn of 1834 he was exhibited at the Highland Society's shew,
at Aberdeen, and obtained a premium of 30 sovereigns as " the best three years' old entire cart colt." In the
spring of 1835 he was exhibited ^t a competition of stalUons in Kincardenshire, and again bearing away the palm,
obtained a prize of 45 sovereigns. In the spring of 1836 he gained a premium of 15 sovereigns at an Agri-
cultural shew in Lanarkshire ; and lastly, a premium of 20 sovereigns was awarded to him at the Highland
Agricultural Society's shew at Perth, in October last. Prizes, amounting to 110 sovereigns, obtained by a horse
not yet six years' old, and vrithout ever having been beaten, is a circumstance which occurs but rarely.

N. B. — We are authorised to state, that Mr. Keith would have no objection to dispose of Champion if an
eligible offer were made for him. Any Agricultural Society, or private individual, desirous of improving tlie
breed of horses in a particular district, would find this horse invaluable for such a purpose.

THE CORN LAWS.— A FIXED DUTY
CONSIDERED.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

Sir. — As the farming interest now becomes a
matter of serious consideration in consequenoe of
Mr. Clay's motion for the I6th of March, for the
repeal of the protection the agriculturist now re-
ceives, I have taken the liberty of addressing a
few of my ideas on that subject to you, being con-
vinced it is the imperative duty of every one how-
ever influential or however humble, at all con-
nected with agriculture, to use their best exertions
in a cause of such vital importance. Mr. Clay's
motion goes to the total repeal of the corn laws, I
should suppose such an extreme measure cannot
be carried, but may probably merge in a proposi-
tion for a permanent duty or a modification as it
is called of the present system. — According to the
present aspect of political affairs, should a fixed
duty be resolved upon, I cannot assume that duty
at more than 12s per quarter for wheat, — looking
at the question when wheat is dear here and a fo-
reign supply indispensable, that duty would act as
direct prohibition until all other countries should
be amply supplied. Take France for instance as
the country next to ourselves in want of foreign
wheat and changing no duty, the price of wheat
here at 80s per quarter, it appears to me that

France must be suppKed to reduce the price there
below 68s per quarter, before a single grain can
come to this market ; and if all other countries
act upon the same principle, England must be the
last country to be supplied, and if any deficiency
arises to suflFer most from that deficiency. I have
dwelt on this part of the subject to shew the evi-
dent impolicy of a fixed duty ; and that difficultj'^
cannot be got over unless you contemplate a power
somewhere — (I should suppose in the Privy Coun-
cil) to set aside the duty when they see a necessity
for it. The principle then of a fixed duty is not only
gone, but you place in the power of men, their pre-
judices, their interest, their theoretic views, or
their want of knowledge to do that which accord-
ing to the present law, the price of corn itself
does : and I am sure all those who recollect the
consequences of the privy council under the late
Mr. Canning's administration, with a fancied no-
tion of a scarcity, admitting 800,000 quarters of
foreign wheat when not at all wanted, will dread
placing in their hands any such power, for it re-
duced the price to the British farmer to a very
losing one, while it made a market to the foreign
farmer for his produce, and realized a considera-
ble profit to the speculator in foreign grain; when
the speculator in British grain acting on the faith
a law established, was subject to great loss. Look-
ing at the question when wheat is bearing a mo-
derate price, say from 55s to 60s per quarter, the

N

166

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

present law would act as a direct prohibi1;ion ;
while an imlimited importation at only 12s pei-
quai-ter, would inundate the markets of this coun-
try, reduce the price very low, and bring all the
weak farmers at least to extreme distress. It is
an argument with some that according to the pre-
sent law, the corn imported pays little or no duty,
and that by fixing 12s per quarter on wheat, you
make a great gain to the revenue. If no more corn
came in than was wanted, no one will deny that
12s per quarter would be better than 6s, the duty
now paid on the average. —Admitting the annual
supply of foreign wheat necessary to be 1,000,000
quarters, you would gain in duty 300,000/, and
that is all the safe gains you can make ; but with
ports always open who will say that 3,000,000
quarters cannot come in one year, you then gain
a duty of 900,000^ ; then taking the annual supply
of English'and Irish wheat at 18,000,000 quarters,
and the difference in price from this overwhelming
supply of foreign wheat at only 7s per qr. (which
I believe to be much under the mark) you lose
the British farmer 6,300,000/ — if this is not penny
wise and pound foolish I know not what is : and
let those who look to an advantage to the revenue
from a duty on foreign corn, remember that the
advantage thus derived is from a small part of the
supply ; while the depreciation occasioned by an
unlimited importation, acts upon the larger part
of the supply, viz., the produce of this country.
There must be assumed some price as a remune-
rating one to the British farmer on an average of
seasons ; and to make this point still clearer, I will
take a period when the supply of British wheat is
fully equal to the demand, and giving just a fair
price— then let 1,000,000 quarters of foreign wheat
be admitted, paying a duty of 12s per qr, that will
realize a sum of 600,000/, and as few people will
deny that supply and demand regulates the price,
and that an over supply will reduce the price,
therefore taking that reduction at only Is per qr
on 18,000,000 quarters, the loss to the farmers will
be 900,000/ ; thus the farmers lose what the re-
venue gains, and 300,000/, besides. I have stated
Is per qr to shew that by grasping at an advantage
from duty, how small a depreciation acts injuri-
ously to the farmer.

The same view of the case will extend to the
advantages calculated to be derived to the manu-
facturers of this country, by a more extended
importation of foreign grain, I think I have shewn
to demonstration. When that importation is
much pressed beyond the making up deficiencies
of our own growth, the loss upon the whole sup-
ply of British corn, must be such as to cramp the
home market and injure the manufacturing in-
terest, in a greater proportion than any advantage
they can derive from the introduction into this
country of foreign grain. With respect to a mo-
dification of the present system of corn laws, a
very few words will suflSce. If any one point is
given up — if these political economists are allowed
a fulcrum on which to place their levelling lever,
depend upon it they will never rest until the farm-
ing interest is laid prostrate ; and here let it be
observed, that men must have some criterion on
■which to rent lands or buy them, and on the faith
of legislative acts they do act, but if from the
theoretic schemes of political economists, or ap-
peals to popular favour, our important interests
are to be tampered with, it makes that interest
the supply of food for man, which ought to be
■upon a fixed foundation— a complete lottery ; and
let those who are disposed in trying their theo-

retic schemes to tamper with the farming interest,
remember that a farmer cannot be brought to
straightened circumstances, poverty, or ruin with-
out his land going on in something like the
same ratio of poverty and unproductiveness with
his means, and thus you not only ruin individuals
but you permanently decrease the supply of
British corn, and should this decrease, from the
cause I have stated, be met by an unproductive sea-
son here, and also from abroad, nought but famine
would stare us in the face, or at all events, ex-
treme high prices. As the object of sound and
honest legislators on this subject ought to be to
secure to the British consumers their food at a
moderate price, the principle of the present corn
laws is the best that can be adopted for that pur-
pose. As I said before, itisnot the opinions of men,
but the price of corn that acts upon the duty and the
supply, and as the price here increases allows in-
creased facilities for the foreign supply coming
in, and when the price becomes at all high, admits
the foreign wheat at a nomina,! duty, which I con-
tend is perfectly right, for though it may be a
small loss of duty, it is cheaply purchased by act-
ing as a bounty on importation, and securing an
early and prompt supply when wanted, and when
the supply of British and foreign corn so meet, as to
bring the price to a moderate degree, it leaves, or
at least ought to leave, the British farmer his mar-
ket to himself, and if that is not the case, the
fault is not in the framers of the law, but in the
executors of it. 1 was about to state that no man
in his senses could say that this country ought to
depend entirely on foreign grain for its support,
had not Mr. Hume's declaration stared me in the
face. Would a man receive great credit, if he
stated that we might safely rely on foreigners for
half our supply ? — I think not. One truth is plain,
and it is an important truth, that while the British
farmer can supply the home market at a moderate
price, scarcity and famine aie effectually guarded
against. When the present law passed, in 1828,
it was well understood that 60s per quarter was
to be considered the remunerating price to the
British farmer ; this law has been in operation
now, nine years, and it has given to the consumer
an average much below 60s, and this has been ac-
complished by the farmers acting on the faith of a
law established, laying out their capital freely, and
using the best exertions of their skill and indus-
try. Some agricultural distress-mongers may not
give me credit for what I am going to say, viz. —
that it must have been from an increased produc-
tion consequent on improvements, that the farmer
has been enabled to supply the country at the mo-
derate price it has, and keep his head above
water. As it is impossible that a great supply can
come in of foreign corn for a long period, without
displacing something like the same quantity of
Brit'sh corn out of the market, ought it not to
occur to these free trade liberalists that an extra-
ordinary pressure on the foreign market for a
large supply for this country, must enhance the
price abroad, and having weakened the home
depot (if I may so express myself) by driving out
of cultivation the inferior lands, will not the
foreigner, say, you want a large supply, — you
must have it, and we will make you pay \ery dear
for it, or starve you into compliance ? Thus the
country will find that losing sight of that' wise
maxim of endeavouring to secure their food at a
moderate price, by keeping up the supply of the
home market, they have run after that Will-o-the
Wisp of present very low prices, and ultimately

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

16!7

thrown themselves into the hands of the foreign
and British capitalists who will prove to them
hard task masters. That there is some part of the
present system liable to objections, t have no
doubt — this, at any rate is not the period to urge
them. The oft repeated remark, that if any al-
teration is made, it is sure to be worse for the far-
mer, is a sufficient answer to any objection that
may be made ; and. Sir, being firmly convinced
that a repeal or modification of the present system
of corn laws, will lead to fearful derangement of
the farmer's interest, without permanently bene-
fiting the country, I trust the utmost exertions
will be used to stop at once and for ever the agita-
tion of this question. — I am Sir, your obedient
servant— GEORGE MAW.

Walk House, Feb. U.

POOR LAWS— IRELAND.

REPORT.

TO THE RIGHT HON. LORD JOHN RUSSELL, HIS MA-
JESTY'S PRINCIPAL SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE
HOME DEPARTMENT.

London, Nov. 13, 1836.
My Lord, — 1. I proceeded to Ireland in con-
formity with your lordship's instructions, bearing
date the 22d of August, and after having had an in-
terview with his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant
and Lord Morpeth, and having carefully inspected
the House of Industry and the Mendicity Institution
in Dublin, and obtained such other information there
as seemed necessary, I proceeded to visit Car-
low, Kilijenny, Thurles, Cashell, Tipperary,
Clonmel, Cork, Killarney, Limerick, Gal-
way, Connemara, Westport, Castlebar, Ballina,
Sligo, Enniskillen, Armagh, and Newry, — every-
where examining and inquiring, in the several towns
and districts through which I passed, as to the con-
dition and habits of the people, their character and
wants ; and endeavouring to ascertain whether, and
how far, the system established in England for the
relief of the destitute is applicable to the present
state of Ireland.

2. The above route appeared to be most eligible,
with reference to this inquiry, because the inhabi-
tants of the manufacturing and commercial districts
of the north and the east approximate more nearly to
the English than those of the south, west, and central
parts of Ireland. To the latter, therefore, it seemed
advisable to direct my attention in the first instance ;
for, if the English system of poor laws should be
found applicable to them, there can be no doubt of
its applical ility to the northern and eastern parts of
the country.

3. I have not faded to attend likewise to the other
points adverted to in your lordship's instructions ;
and I have carefully considered the several reports
of Committees of Parliament on the state of Ireland,
as well as the reports of the late Commissioners of
Irish Poor Inquiry, and the evidence collected by
them. This evidence establishes so conclusively the
existence of a state of poverty throughout Ireland,
amounting in numerous cases to actual destitution,
that I feel it unnecessary to exhibit any additional
proof of the fact. • It is enough to state, as the result
of my own investigations, that the misery now pre-
valent among the labouring classes in Ireland ap-
pears to be of a nature and intensity calculated to
produce great demoralization and danger.

4. I propose to divide the observations which I
have to submit to your lordship's consideration, into
three parts : —

I. The first will exhibit the general result of my
inquiries into the condition of the country, and the
habits and feelings of the people ; together with
such observations as have occurred to me with re-
ference to the introduction of a sytem of poor laws
into Ireland.

II. The second division will have for its object to
ascertain whether the workhouse system can be safely
established in Ireland, and how far the workhouse
may be there relied upon as a test of destitution, and
a measure of the relief to be afforded ; and also,
whether the means of forming unions and creating
an efficient machinery for their management exist in
Ireland,

III. In the third place, supposing these questions
to be answered affirmatively, I shall submit to your
lordship in detail what appear to me to be the es-
sential points requiring attention, in framing enact-
ments for establishing a system of poor laws for
Ireland.

PART THE FIRST.

5. It will be convenient to consider the two por-
tions comprised in this division of the subject se-
parately, and

I,— In the first place— As to the present condUion
of the country, and the habits and feelings of the
Irish people.

I soon became satisfied that it is only by a per-
sonal inspection that the condition of the Irish people
can be accurately known. A general, and a tolera-
bly correct, notion of the state of the country may be
gained by the examination of reports and evidence ;
and deductions, pretty accurate in the main, may
be drawn therefrom ; but to arrive at definite and
practical views, a personal inspection of the country
is, I think, necessary.

6. The investigations and inquiries in which I
have now been engaged have led me to the convic-
tion that the condition of Ireland has, on the whole,
during the last thirty years, been progressively im-
proving. It is impossible to pass through the country
without being struck with the evidence of increasing
wealth which is everywhere apparent, although of
course it is more easily traced in towns than in the
open country. Great as has been the improvement
in England within the same period, that in Ireland,
I believe, has been equal. There are towns and dis-
tricts there, as there are towns and districts in
England, in which little if any improvement is visi-
ble, or which, owing to peculiar circumstances, may
even have retrograded ; but the general advance is
certain, and the improvement in the condition and
increase of the capital of the country are still, I
think, steadily progressive.

7. If it be asked how this accords with the ap-
parent increase of misery and destitution among a
large portion of the people, the answer I think is
obvions. The capital of the country has increased,
but the increase of the population has been still
greater ; and it therefore does not follow that there
is an increase of capital or comfort in the possession
of each individual, or even of the majority. The re-
verse is unhappily the fact. Towns exhibiting every
sign of increased wealth are encircled by suburbs
composed of miserable hovels, sheltering a wretched
population of mendicants. In the country, evidence
of the extreme subdivision of land everywhere ap-
pears, and, as a consequence, the soil, fertile as it
naturally is, becomes exhausted by continual crop-
ping ; for the cottier tenant, too often reduced to a
level little above tliat of the mendicant, is unable to

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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

provide manure for bis land, and has no other mode
of restoring- its vigour but by subjecting- it to a long
and profitless fallow.

8. Farmers of 300 acres, or even^of 200 or 100, ex-
cept in the grazing districts, have become almost
extinct in Ireland. A variety of circumstances seem
to have contributed to bring about this change. In
some instances the proprietor has himself subdivided
his land into small holdings of 3, 10, or 15 acres,
with the view of inci'easing his rent-roll, or adding to
his political influence. In other cases, the land has
been let on lease to a single tenant on lives, or for a
term of years, 'or both conjointly, and he has sublet
to others, who have again gone on dividing- and sub-
letting, until the original proprietor is almost lost
sight of, and the original holding is parcelled out
among a host of small occupiers.

9. The occupation of a plot of land has now gotten
to be considered by a great portion of the Irish peo-
ple, as conferring almost an interminable right of
possession. This seems in some measure to have
arisen out of the circumstances in which they have
been placed ; for there being no legal provision for
the destitute, and the sub-division of the land into
small holdings having destroyed the regular demand
for labour, the only protection against actual want,
the only means by which a man could procure food
for his family, was by getting and retaining- posses-
sion of a portion of land : for this he has struggled —
for this the peasantry have combined, and burst
through all the restraints of law and humanity. So
long as this portion of land, so acquired and so re-
tained, was kept together, it was possibly sufficient
to supply his family with a tolerable degree of com-
fort : but after a time he would have sons to provide
for, and daughters to portion olF ; and this must all
be effected out of the land, until the holding of 10
or fifteen acres became divided into holdings of two,
three or five acres. After a time, too, the same pro-
cess of subdivision is again resorted to, until the
minimum of subsistence is reached ; and this is now
the only resource of a large portion of the Irish
pe-dsantry. Land is to them the great necessary of
life. There is no hiring of servants. A man can-
not obtain his living as a day-labourer. He must get
possession of a plot of land, on which to raise pota-
toes, or starve. It need scarcely be said that a man
■will not starve, so long as the means of sustaining
life can be obtained by force or fraud ; and hence the
scenes of violence and bloodshed which have so
frequently occurred in Ireland.

10. One of the circumstances that first arrests at-
tention in Ireland, is the almost universal prevalence
of mendicanc}'. It is not perhaps the actual amount
of misery existing amongst the mendicant class,
great as that may be, which is most to be deprecated ;
but the falsehood, the trickery, and fraud, which be-
come a part of their profession, and spread by their
example. Mendicancy appeals to our sympathies
on behalf of vice, as well as wretchedness ; and en-
couragement is too often afforded to the one, by the
relief intended to be administered to the other. To
assume the semblance of misery, in all its most re-
volting varieties, is the business of the mendicant.
His success depends upon the skill with which he
exercises deception. A mass of filth, nakedness,
and misery is constantly moving about, entering
every house, addressing itself to every eye, and
soliciting- from every hand : and much of the dirty
and indolent habits observable in the cabins, clothing,
and general conduct of the peasantry, may probably be
traced to this source ; and I doubt even if those above
the class of labourers altogether escape the taint. Men-
dicancy and wretchedness have become too common

to be disgraceful. It is not disreputable to beg, or
to appear wretchedly clothed, or to be without any
of the decencies of life : and the semblance of such
misery is not unfrequently assumed for some special
object, by individuals not of the mendicant class.

11, Another characteristic of the Irish is their
intemperance. Drunkenness appears to be much
more common than in England. The use of whiskey
and tobacco appears to be excessive, although the
evident poverty of the people would seem to forbid
such indulgences. The number of spirit-shops in
every town and village (for almost every shop in
fact sells spirits^, and the extreme cheapness of the
whiskey afford facilities for drunkenness which seem
irresistible, A man may get beastly drunk for 2d ;
and I understand their potatoe diet renders the Irish
people more easily affected by the spirit than others
— it may possibly help to increase their love for it.
I have been every way assured that the vice of
drunkenness is increasing, and that many of the acts
of violence and disorder which occur in Ireland are
planned in some obscure whiskey shop, and executed
under the influence of the poison there imbibed.

12. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Kilkenny
has set an admirable example, by putting a stop to
drunkenness en Sundays throughout his diocese. It
was at first supposed to be impossible to accomplish
this, but by steady perseverance he at length suc-
ceeded, and is now rewarded by witnessing the im-
provement of the people in comfort and respectabi-
lity. The new act, prohibiting drunkenness on
penalty of certain fines, seems to be working well in
Ireland, and in some degree lessening the evil. The
public exhibition of drunkenness is an offence against
decency, from which the community is justified in
defending itself ; and the police are properly active
in enforcing the provision of the act.

13. During my progress through the country, it
was impossible not to notice the depression of feel-
ing, morally and personally, of the Irish peasantry,
and this to an extent which a stranger could not wit-
ness without very painful emotions. It shows itself
in their mode of living, in their habitations, in their
dress, in the dress of their children, and in their ge-
neral economy and conduct. They seem to feel no
pride, no emulation ; to be heedless of the present,
and reckless of the future. They do not Cspeaking
of the peasantry as a whole) strive to improve their
appearance, or add to their comforts. Their cabins
still continue slovenly, smoky, filthy, almost without
furniture or any article of convenience or decency.
On entering a cottage, the women and ohildren are
often seen seated on the floor, surrounded by pigs
and poultry in the midst of filth — the man lounging
at the door, to approach which it is necessary to
wade through mud ; yet he is too indolent to make
a dry approach to his dwelling, although there are
materials fit for the purpose close at hand ; his wife
is too slatternly to sweep the place in which they
live, or remove the dirt and offal, however offensive,
from the floor. If you point out these circumstances
to the peasantry themselves, and endeavour to reason
with and show them how easily they might improve
their condition and increase their comforts, you are
invaribly met by excuses as to their poverty. Are
a woman, and her children, and her cabin, filthy,
whilst a stream of water runs gurgling at the very
door 1 — the answer invariably is, '•' Sure, how can
we help it, we are so poor." With the man it is the
same ; you find him idly basking in the sun, or seated
by the fire, whilst his cabin is surrounded by mud,
and scarcely approachable from the accumulation of
every kind of filth ; and he too will exclaim, " Sure,
how can we help it, we are so poor," whilst, at the

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169

very time, he is smoking; tobacco, and has probably
not denied himself the enjoyment of whiskey.

14. Now poverty is not the cause, or at least not
the sole and immediate cause, of this mode of living
of the Irish peasantry. If they felt the wish to bet-
ter their condition, or to appear better, they might
do so : but they seem to have no such ambition ;
and hence the depressed tone of feeling of which I
have spoken. This may partly be attributed to the
remains of old habits, — for, bad as the circumstances
of the peasantry now are, they were yet, I am per-
suaded, worse 50 or 30 years ago. A part also must
be owing to a want of education, and of self-respect;
and a part likewise to their poverty ; to which cause
alone everything that is wrong in Ireland is invari-
bly attributed. Coupled with this assertion of their
own poverty, I everywhere found the most exagge-
rated notions of English wealth, and a vague belief
of certain great things that are by-and-byeto be done
by the influx of Englishmen and English capital.
This, perhaps, is in some respects fortunate, for al-
though it may in a certain degree indispose the Irish
themselves to present exertion, it will yet induce
them to hail with favour whatever efforts may be
made for bettering their condition, and developing
the resources of the country.

15. The desultory and idle habits of the Irish
peasantry, are very remarkable. However urgent
the demands upon them for exertion, — if, as in the
present season, their crops are rotting in the fields
from excessive wet, and every moment of sunshine
should be taken eager advantage of, — still, if there
be a market to attend, a fair, or a funeral, a horse-
race, a fight, or a wedding, all else is neglected or
forgotten : they hurry off" in search of the excite-
ments and the whiskey which abound on such occa-
sions, and with a recklessness hardly to be credited,
at the moment that they are complaining moat loudly
of distress they take the most certain steps for in-
creasing it. The fondness for ardent spirits is, I
believe, one cause of this; another, and probably
the principal cause, will be found in their general
position as part occupiers and part labourers. The
work required upon their small holdings is easily
performed, and may, as they say, " be done any
day." Their work for wages is uncertain ; hence
arises a total disregard of the value of time, a desul-
tory and sauntering habit, without industry or steadi-
ness of purpose. Under these circumstances,it will
not be matter of surprise that the heaviest share of
the work falls upon the females, who appear to do
all the drudgery, and are commonly seen without
shoes or stockings, whilst the men ai'e in general
supplied with both.

16. Such is too generally the character, and such
the habits, of the Irish peasantry at the present day ;
and it may not be uninstructive to mark the close
resemblance which these bear to the character and
habits of the English peasantry in the pauperized
districts, under the abuses of the old poor law. Men-
dicancy and indiscriminate alms-giving seem to have
produced the same results in Ireland that indis-
criminate relief produced in England ; the same
reckless disregard of the future — the same idle and
disorderly conduct — the same proneness to outrage,
and resistance to lawful authoj-ity, having then cha-
racterized the English pauper labourer .which are now
too generally the characteristics of the Irish peasant.
An abuse of a good law caused the evil in the one
case, and a removal of that abuse is now rapidly ef-
fecting a remedy. In the other case, the evil ap-
pears to have arisen rather from the want than the
abuse of a law ; but the corrective for both will, I
believe, be found to be essentially the same.

II. Secondly. — As to the introduction of asys-
tem of Poor Laws into Ireland.

17. The objections usually urged against an Irish
Poor Law, may be divided into two heads — first,
those founded on an anticipated demoralization oif
the Irish peasantry ; and, secondly, those founded on
the probable amount of the charge.

18. The first objection derives its force from the
example of England under the old law ; but the
weight of this objection is destroyed by the im-
proved administration under the new law, which is
rapidly eradicating the eff"ects of previous abuse ;
and which will, there is good reason for believing,
effectually prevent their recurrence. This belief is
founded on the experience of the effects of the new
system, in every instance in which it has been
brought fairly into operation ; and particularly in
two important parishes in ■Nottinghamshire, where
the workhouse principle was first established in its
simplicity and efficiency, l5 or 16 years ago, and
where it has continued to be equally eff"ective up to
the present time. Similar results have invaribly at-
tended its application in the new unions formed un-
der the Poor Law Amendment Act, which are con-
ducted essentially upon the same principle, but with
a superior combination of machinery and admini-
trative arrangement.

19. With respect to the second objection, founded
on the probable amount of expenditure, it may be
remarked, that the Irish population, like every other,
must be supported in some way out of the resources
of the country ; and it does not follow, therefore,
that the establishment of such a system of relief will
greatly increase the charge upon the community, if
it increase the charge at all. During the progress
of my inquiries I was often told that the recognition
of any legal claim for relief would lead to universal
pauperism, and would amount to a total confiscation
of property. Many Irish landowners appeared to
participate in this apprehension, under the influence
of which it seems to have been overlooked, that the
only legal claim for relief in England is founded on
the actual destitution of the claimant; and that as
the existence of [destitution is the ground of the
claim, so is its removal the measure o± the relief to
be afforded. This circumstance alone, if the desti-
tution be rightly tested, will afford sufficient, and
perhaps the best protection to property. At present
there is no test of destitution in Ireland ; mendicancy
is only the outward sign of it. The mendicant,
whether his distress be real or fictitious, claims and
receives his share of the produce of the soil in the
shape of charity, before the landlord can receive his
portion in the shape of rent, and before the tenant
has ascertained whether he is a gainer or a loser by
his labours and his risks. The mendicant's claim
has now precedence of every other. If the whole
property of Ireland was rated to the relief of the
poor, it would be no more ; but in this case the
charge would be fairly and equally borne ; whereas
at present it is partial and unequal in the collection,
and has, moreover, a direct tendency to evil in its
application.

20. The voluntary contributions of Scotland have
been strongly recommended as an example, rather
than the compulsory assessments of England, and
the Dublin Mendicity Association, supported on the
former principle, has been referred to, and its work-
ing described as at once effective for the suppression
of mendicancy, and the relief of the indigent within
the sphere of its operations, without in any way
lessening the sensibilities of individual benevolence.
It appears to me, however, that the feelings of
charity and gratitude, which it is delightful to con-

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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

template as the motive and the fruit of benevolent
actions, can only exist between individuals, and are
ineompatible vrith the operations of sueh associations,
It matters not whether the fund to be distributed has
been raised by voluntary contribution or by legal
assessment, or whether it has been devised for pur-
poses of general ch&rity; the application of the fund
.becomes, in each case, a trust; it is distributed as a
trust, and it is received as a right not as a gift.
Each applicant considers that he has a claim upon
the fund, and regards every refusal as an individual
injustice.

21. As regards the mode of providing relief for
the destitute which prevails in Scotland, — inter-
woven as it is with the halits and religious feelings
of the people, and made up of partly voluntary,
partly compulsory, contributions, (for a contribu-
tion may be rendered almost as compulsory by cus-
tom as if imposed by legislative enactment,) it seems
only necessary to remark, that its existence in
Scotland does not prove that it is applicable to a
country so essentially different in all respects as
Ireland, where no modification of voluntary con-
tributions can be relied upon for rendering relief,
from that source, permanent or effectual. Of this I
was satisfied after a careful examination of the Dublin
Mendicity Association, whicli has with difficulty
been kept in existence by the great exertions of
the gentlemen constituting the committee, and by
the threat of parading the mendicants through the
streets. If so much difficulty is found in supporting
such an institution in Dublin, how impracticable
must it be to provide permanent support for similar
institutions in other parts of the country 1 And if the
relief professed to be afforded on certain conJitions
is not steadily supplied, what mischief and misery
may not ensue ?

22. The practice of the Dublin Mendicity Associa-
tion is, to receive all applicants, to supply them with
sufficient food during the day, and, on dismissing
them at night, to give each individual a penny to
procure a lodging. Of the 2,047 persons who were
inmates when I visited the establishment, the far
larger portion were seated in idleness. Some of the
women and girls were occupied in spinning and
knitting, and some in stonebreaking : this last seemed
afavouriteoccupation,and thewomen could easily earn
Is. 8d. each per week at it, but they were not per-
mitted to earn more. The men who were able and
willing to work were occupied in grinding horse
corn, and in breaking limestone into gravel, and were
not permitted to earn more than 2s. 6d. per week ;
but none were compelled to work, and the men, as
well as the women, earning as above, were provided
with subsistence, for which they were charged Id.
per day by the Association. The Dublin Mendicity
Association has certainly done great good, and it
must be admitted that the sudden closing of its doors
would be productive of much suffering. It is how-
ever, I think, evident, that its tendency must be to
hold out an encouragement to vagrancy, by ensuring
a certain amount of support on which the vagrant
can fall back under favourable circumstances, or a
" run of ill luck," as it would probably be called,
thus operating, in fact, with respect to vagrancy, as
a kind of voluntary labour-rate. The Dublin Men-
dicity Association, tbefoie, affords no precedent for
general adoption as a medium of relief in Ireland ;
and the chief reasons in favour of such an institution
seem to be the absence of any general system of
relief for the destitute, and the amount of suffering
which would attend its sudden dissolution.

23. Some persons have contended, that relief for
the indigent classes in Ireland ought to be provided

in " Houses of Industry," similar to those now ex-
isting in Dublin, Clonmell, Cork, Limerick, &c.,
to be established and maintained by Government.
These institutions are in general tolerably well man-
aged in the large towns. Some degree of classifica-
tion of the inmates is enforced, and the sexes are
invariably separated. In this respect they are de-
cidedly superior to the old Gilbert's Incorporation
Houses in England, although in most other respects
they are nearly on a par with them. But they are cer-
tainly not entitled to the designation of" houses of in-
dustry;" there being little work done in any of them,
and in some none at all. They are, in fact, places
for the reception and maintenance of a certain num-
ber of poor persons, generally aged or infirm, and
idiots and lunatics. In some instances vagrants are
committed to these " houses of industry " for one day
or more; but as a means of supplying needful relief
to the destitute, and of testing that destitution, so as
to detect and repel wilful idleness, and thereby afford
a new stimulant to exertion, they are, 1 think, totally
inefficient.

24. Notwithstanding 'these objections, I found
everywhere throughout my progress, after quitting
Dublin, a strong feeling in favour of a general assess-
ment upon property, for the relief of the indigent. At
present, the burden of such relief, falls almost exclu-
sively upon what may be called the lower classes,whilst
the higher classes generally, and the absentee pro-
prietors entirely, escape from any immediate par-
ticipation in it. A system of poor laws, similar in
principle to the English system, would go far to
remedy this inequality ; the people are aware of
this, and, as the general result of my inquiries, I
have been led to the conclusion that poor laws may
be now established in Ireland, guarded by the cor-
rectives derived from experience in England, with
safety and efficiency. I think also, that such a mea-
sure would at the same time serve to connect the
interest of landlords and tenants, and so become a
means of benefitting both, and promoting the general
peace and prosperity of the country,

25. I'he desire now so generally expressed for a
full jiarticipation in English laws and English insti-
tutions, will dispose the Irish people to receive with
alacrity any measure having a tendency to put them
upon the same footing as their fellow-subjects of
England. This is a circumstance particularly favour-
able to the establishment of a safe and efficient system
of poor-laws of Ireland at this moment. At another
season, or under other circumstances, it might be
difficult to surround a legal provision of relief for the
Irish poor, with such checks and counterpoises as to
guard it affectuallv against abuse; and to prevent
that which was intended for the relief of the un-
avoidably indigent from being perverted to the sup-
port of indolence, or to the encouragement of vice
and improvidence. At present, I think little, com-
paratively of such difficulty exists; and the Legisla-
ture may now venture to entertain the subject, hav-
ing the experience of England before them, with a
reasonable confidence of being al)le so to deal with
it, as to guard against abuse, and to bring the mea-
sure to a successful issue. All circumstances appear
to be now favourable for the introduction of poor
laws into Ireland ; and if the landed proprietors and
gentry will there perform the same part which the
proprietors and gentry of England are so zealously
and beneficially performing in the administration of
the new law, the result will be neither distant nor
doubtful. That the landlords of Ireland will do this,
it seems unreasonable to doubt, every motive of
public duty and private interest impelling them to it;
and it is, I think, impossible to over-estimate the

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171

importance, morally and socially, of their thus taking
their full share of the labour, as well as the charge, of
local administration, and identifying themselves with
the other classes of the community.

26. A system of poor laws, however, if established
in Ireland, must not be expected to work miracles.
It would not immediately give emijloyment or capi-
tal ; but it would, I think, serve to help the coun-
try through what may be called its transition period ;
and in time, and with the aid of other circumstances,
would effect a material improvement ia the condi-
tion of the Irish people. The English poor laws,
in their earlier operation, contributed to the accom-
plishment of this object in England ; and there seems
nothing to prevent similar results in Ireland. Facilities
now exist in Ireland for helping forward the change,
and for shortening its duration as well as securing its
benefits, wliich England did not possess in the time
of Elizabeth, or for a century and a half afterwards.
By the term " transition period," which I have
used above, I mean to indicate that season of change
from the system of small holdings, allotments, and
subdivisions of land, which now prevails in Ireland,
to the better practice of day labour for wages, and
to that dependence on daily labour for support which
is the present condition ot the English peasantry.
This transition period is, I believe, generally beset
with difficulty and suffering. It was so in England ;
it is, and for a time will probably continee to be so,
in Ireland ; and every aid should be afforded to
shorten its duration, and lessen its pressure.

27. It has been considered that the existence of
the con-acre system in Ireland is favourable to
such a transition. I am disposed to concur in this
view ; and think that the frequent change, and an-
nual hiring of the con-acre, will help to wean the
Irish peasantry from their now eager desire for be-
coming occupiers of land, and will thus lead them
to become free labourers for wages. This eager
clinging to land, and its subdivision into small hold-
ings is, I think, at once, a cause and aconsequence of
the rapid increase of the Irish people, and of the
extreme poverty and want which prevail among them.
It is not because the potatoe alone constitutes their
food that a kind of famine, more or less intense, oc-
curs annually in Ireland, between the going out of
the old, and of the coming in of the new crops ; but
it is because the peasantry are the sole providers
for their own necessities, each out of his own small
holding, and being all alike hard pressed by poverty,
and prone, therefort), to endeavour " to pull through,"
as they call it, with the smallest amount of means,
they are very apt to under-calculate the extent of
their wants, and often squander their store so early,
as to be left without food before the new crop is
ripe. In this emergency, there is no stock provided
to which they can have recourse, even if they had
the means of purchasing ; and misery and disease
are the consequences. All the evidence bears out
this view of the subject, and it is confirmed by my
own inquiries. A poor law, if established, would
lighten the pressure under such a visitation, by pro-
viding for the relief of the aged and infirm, the widow
and the orphan, who now depend entirely upon the la-
bouring classes for subsistence. The poor law ma-
chinery, too, would probably afford the best organi-
zation for obtaining presentrelief for the able-bodied,
in their excreme need, as well as for preventing the
occurrence of such a calamity in future.

28. It is impossible to mix with the Irish people,
and not become sensible of the influence which the
clergy exercise over their flocks. It seemed import-
ant, therefore, to ascertain the views of the clergy,
and I discussed the subject with many of them, as

well Catholic as Protestant, in all parts of the coun-
try, and took all opportunities of obtaining a know-
ledge of their views and opinions ; and I found them,
with few exceptions, decidedly favourable to a poor
law. In the case where they were not so, the ad-
verse opinion appeared to be founded on some vague
notion, that their immediate influence might be les-
sened by taking from them the distribution of some
of that relief which now passes through their hands ;
but this narrow feeling was of such rare occurrence,
that I feel warranted in saying, that the clergy of
every denomination are almost unanimously in favour
of a system of poor laws for Ireland. This was,
perhaps, to be expected ; for the duties of the clergy
lead them to mix more with the people, and to see
more of the actual misery than any other class of
persons in Ireland. The shopkeepers too, and ma-
nufacturers and dealers generally, I invariably found
favourable to poor laws. They for the most part
declared that, independently of other and higher
considerations, they should be gainers at the end of
the year, whatever might be the amount legally as-
sessed upon them ; for that they could neither close
their doors, nor turn their backs upon the wretched
objects who were constantly applying to them for
aid ; whilst the landed proprietors, if resident, were
in a great measure protected from such applications,
and the non-resident proprietors were, of course,
altogether beyond their reach.

29. A legal provision for the destitute is, more-
over, I think, an indispensable preliminary to the
suppression of mendicancy. If the state offers an
alternative, it may prohibit begging : it would be in
vain to do so otherwise, for the law would be op-
posed to our natural sympathies, and would remain
inoperative. This was the course adopted in Eng-
land, where it was long endeavoured to repress
vagrancy by direct enactments, but apparently with
little advantage. At last the offer of relief was cou-
pled with the prohibition of mendicancy ; and, until
our poor law administration had become corrupt,
with perfect success. To establish a poor law, then,
is, I believe, a necessary preliminary to the suppres-
sion of mendicancy. That it will be, on the whole,
economical to do this in Ireland, it is, I think,
scarcely possible to doubt ; but the moral effect of
removing such a pestilent plague-spot from society
is, beyond calculation, important.

30. It is, I think, a circumstance favourable to the
establishment of poor laws, that there is so much
land lying waste and uncultivated in Ireland. A
large portion of this land appears to be susceptible
of profitable cultivation ; and the order and security
which the introduction of poor laws would tend to
establish, would encourage the application of capital
to such objects. If capital were to be so applied,
considerable tracts would be brought under culture,
and thus afford immediate occupation to the now un-
employed labourers. I have no experience in the re-
clamation of bog land , but the finest crops which I saw-
in Ireland were on land of this description ; and this
often very imperfectly drained. Most of the recently
reclaimed bog which I saw in the western counties,
was reclaimed by the small occupiers, who partially
drained and enclosed an acre or two at a time ; but
such operations were without system or combination,
and for the most part indifferently performed. In
this way, however, the reclamation of these wastes
will of necessity proceed, — constantly adding to the
number of small cottier tenants, and consequently
swelling the amount of poverty and wretchedness in
the country — unless proprietors and capitalists
shall be induced to take the matter in hand, and,
by enclosing and effectually draining whole tracts,

172

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

secure the means of applying' improved and

economical management on a large scale.

It appeared from what I saw, and from all that I
could learn by careful inquiry, that wherever sea-
sand, or sea-weed or lime is to be obtained, bog-land
may be cultivated to advantage — presuming always
that it is first effectually drained. Now, Ireland
abounds in limestone beyond any country that I have
ever seen, and along the western coast sand and sea-
weed are plentiful. The elements of fertility, there-
fore are at hand — all that is wanted is capital and
enterprise to call them into action. The enclosing
and draining, and the whole process of reclamation,
would afford employment to a large number of la-
bourers, who are now for a great portion of the year,
idling about without occupation j and when the land
so reclaimed becomes subjected to a regular process
of cultivation, it will continue to afford them regu-
lar employment at daily wages, instead of the often
miserably insufficient produce of their own small
holdings, to which they now are compelled to cling-
as their sole means of support.

31. With reference to the establishment of a poor
lavf, then, and to the passage of the labouring por-
tion of the community through what I have called
the " transition period," the reclamation of the bog
and waste lands in Ireland is as most important mat-
ter of consideration. Such reclamation, too, will be
perhaps equally important, as affording almost the
only unoccupied land on which farms, of sufficient
extent for securing the advantages of improved cul-
tivation and economical management, can now be
established. In farms of small extent, there is not
room for the division of labour, alternation of crops,
and scientific and economical management, which are
necessary for the profitable employment of capital
in agriculture ; and hence the striking fact stated in
the report of the Irish Poor Inquiry Commissioners,
that the average produce of the soil in Ireland is
not much above one-half the average produce in
England, whilst the number of labourers employed in
agriculture is, in proportion to the quantity of land
under cultivation, more than double, namely, as five to
two : thus ten labourers in Ireland raise only the same
quantity of produce that two labourers raise in
England; and this produce too, is generally of an
inferior quality. If the social and agricultural sys-
tem of the two countries be assimilated, the pro-
duce of Ireland will be augmented, and the cost of
ijroduction lessened. Hands and capital and enter-
prise will then be found for carrying on the fisheries,
for which the coasts of Ireland are so favourable, but
which have hitherto been almost or altogether neg-
lected. Planting, likewise, will then be attended to
by the landed proprietors of Ireland, as it has been
done by those of Scotland and England, and they
will no longer allow extensive tracts of hilly and
broken country, all capable of carrying- timber, to
remain without a tree. Ireland was evidently at one
time a thickly wooded country, — at present it is al-
most entirely stripped of wood, and every sapling- is
purloined by the people ; but let planting become
general, and such purloining will cease. It is the
scarcity of wood which now leads to the petty plun-
dering, so destructive to young plantations.

32. In here speaking of the reclamation of waste
land, as an important auxiliary to the establishment
of poor laws, I have presumed that the land is first
effectually drained, this being an indispensable pre-
liminai-y. An efficient system of drainage, would
also go far to correct the excessive humidity of the
climate in Ireland. As drainage is now conducted
the water is not carried off the surface, — it is merely
collected into pools and morasses, thence to be ab-
sorbed by evaporation, or else to stagnate and soak

through the soil. But if, instead of this, the water
was carried by effectual drainage into the great
watercourses and rivers communicating with the
sea, and the soil laid dry and warm, the climate
would also become drier, and warmer. There can
be no doubt, I think, that the climate of Ireland, and
particularly that of the western parts, was at one
time less cold and humid than it is now ; and that
the growth of the bogs, by first retaining the rain as
it fell, and then giving it back to the atmosphere by
evaporation, instead of its being carried to the sea
by the usual channels has tended to make the climate
and the soil more cold and wet. The size and cha-
racter of the timber everywhere found at the bottom
of the bogs, and over which they have grown in the
course of years, proves this. Trees will not now
grow where these have grown ; and the deteriorating
process appears to be still in operation. If the wet
and bog- lands of Ireland were effectually drained,
and properly cultivated, and the general drainage of
the country duly attended to, I am persuaded that
the climate would be improved, as well as the pro-
duce of the soil. Such drainage, however, will ge-
nerally require the co-operation of all the land-
owners of a district, to faciliate which the two bills
introduced in the last session by Mr. Lynch, if passed
into law, would, I think, be highly useful. In addi-
tion to these measures, bowevgr, it would probably
be found necessary to give large powers for the pur-
pose of enforcing drainage, and charging the adjoin-
ing property with a fair portion of the expense in
certain cases ; and also to appoint commissioners of
sewers or drainage, as in England, to superintend
the drains and watercourses, and to compel the oc-
cupiers of adjoining l-t»nds to keep them clear, with
power to fine for any neglect of this very important
duty.

33. It appears, then, I think, that a system of poor
laws is necessary for relieving the destitution to
which a 1 arge portion of the population in Ireland is
now exposed. It appears, too, that circumstances
are at present peculiarly favourable for the introduc-
tion of such a measure into Ireland. Poor laws
seem also to be necessary, as a first step, towards ef-
fecting an improvement in the character, habits, and
social condition of the people. Without such im-
provement, peace, good order, and security cannot
exist in Ireland ; and without these, it is in vain to
look for that accumulation of wealth, and influx of
capital, which are necessary for developing its re-
sources, agricultural and commercial, and for pro-
viding profitable employment for the population.
Ireland is now suffering under a circle of evils, pro-
ducing and reproducing one another. Want of capi-
tal produces want of employment — want of employ-
ment, turbulence and misery — turbulence and mi-
sery, insecurity — insecurity prevents the introduction
or accumulation of capital — and so on. Until this
circle is broken, the evils must continue, and proba-
bly augment. The first thing to be done is to give
security — that will produce or invite capital — and
capital will give employment. But security of per-
son and property cannot co-exist with general desti-
tution. So that, in truth the drainage, reclamation,
and profitable cultivation of bogs and wastes, the es-
tablishment of fisheries and manufactures, improve-
ments in agriculture, and in the general condition of
the country, and lastly, the elevation of the great
mass of the Irish people in the social scale, appear
to be all more or less contingent upon establishing-
a law providing for the relief of the destitute. How
such a law may be best formed, so as to secure the
largest amount of good with the least risk of evil, I
proceed now to consider.

(To be continued.J

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

173

•}

THE TWO HARES.

Two hares which often met to feed,

And frisk and gambol in a raead,_

Where Deva in her moodiest motion,

Rolls down her tribute to the ocean ;

Whilst vetch and clover ruminating,

Began, as hist'ry tells, a prating.

" A sorry life it is we've led

(The elder to the younger said) ;

Four long long years have well nigh gone

Over my head, and all save one

O'er yours (and that will soon have run)

Still we no other lands have seen

Save this one spot, which though so green

And tasty too, I must confess.

Will lose ere long its tastiness.

Unless we've some variety,

To hinder that satiety

Which e'en the richest grass produces,

Without some counteracting juices ;

Wilt thou with me to-morrow go

Where lucern and the fescues grow ;

Seek warmer soils and prettier places.

An (entre nous) see prettier faces ;

If so, to-morrow's earliest dawn

Shall find me at the Trysting Thorn."

" Most happily ; and proud am I

To travel with such good company :

Most happily ;" scream'd with delight ~)

The younger, at such prospects bright, )•

And so they parted for the night, J

To slumber now the young hare tries
In vain ; he cannot close his eyes ;
Though not as yet the Autumn's fall
Did his poor frighted breast appal.
Nor had as yet its sleety storm
Drenched him in his muddy form.;
But other forms and visions bright
Kept him sleepless all the night.
At length arriv'd the laggard morn.
And puss bethought him of the Thorn ;
Jump'd quickly up, stretch'd wide his jaws,
Brush'd both his whiskers with his paws;
And scarce had seconds sixty gone
Ere he had join'd his " compagnon."
Their words at meeting were but few —
* ' Good morrow," this, that, " How d'ye do ?"
Vow'd they never did remember
Such charming weather in September ;
And then without much more ado,
Set out their journey to pursue.
As trippingly along they pass.
Brushing the dew-drops off the grass ;
Through several fields they canter on
In a state of mental abstraction ;
Entering but little in conversation.
Their thougiits affording occupation.
At length the younger one suggests
That it was time to break their fasts ;
And this strong reason adds, moreover.
That they were in a field of clover.
No sooner said than 'twas agreed.
And quick they sat to work and feed :
One prais'd the cow-grass and the Dutch,
The other liked the trefoil much.
But oh ! how great was their surprise,
When two feet high before their eyes.
They saw the scarlett trefoil rise :
Electrified by admiration,
They lost all power of exclamation ;
So reared themselves upon their haunches.
And smiling snuffled at the branches.
Whenlo ! how alter'd were their feelings.
How hard, how cruel are Fate's dealings I

Two greyhounds with their armed master

Appear'd before them in the pasture !

Down droop'd their ears, their bodies cower'd

Involuntarily, overpower'd !

Loos'd were their jaws, and their starting eyes

Mutually sought his friend's advice,

But sought in vain ; their bosom's flutter

Forbad their timid lips to utter.

Near and nearer came the sound, ")

Close and closer they press'd the ground; }■

The young hare at the old hare frown'd, J

But couldn't, if she dared to, chide.

For at that moment they were spied.

" To ho ! To ho !" exclaimed the man.

Up jump'd the elder puss, and ran ;

Bang, bang, the shots flew past his head,

One his left ear entered ;

But stopt he not to assuage the pain

Till he had reach'd his home again.

(Oh, home, dear home, how fresh a flame

Lies hid within that little name.

To cheer a heart and warm a breast.

Which fears and dangers have oppressed.)

Not so his friend, his luckless fate

Had sealed him breathless to his seat,

Until the hounds at one fell bound

Laid him a corsed hare, on the ground.

MOnAL.

Ye who arel^ent upon your travels,
Will learn the truth my tale unravels.
When ye in distant lands may roam.
You'll find the sweetest spot is " Home."

J. M.

TURNPIKE TRUSTS AND TOLLS.

[Evidence of the Duke of Richmond before the select
Committee of the House of Commons, June 30th,
1826.]

Suppose that the tolls in the county of Sussex were
entirely done away with, and that there was some other
means of raising the revenue of 42,700Z. Let us as-
sume that you require in Sussex 42,000Z a-year ; that
some means are devised of raising this revenue either
by tax on horses and carriages kept for pleasure, or
some other means, as by a rate on houses ; that this
42,000Z a-year is raised by the county, and all the tolls
are done away ; that the consolidation of the trusts
take place, and that in proportion as their income now
is, in the several trusts, in that proportion should this
42,000Z a-year be divided among them; that the
management of the roads, the superintendence, the al-
teration and the improvements should be placed entirely
in the hands of those gentlemen who would have it, if a
consolidation were brought into operation ; that the
board of control in London should be established to
superintend the financial department to see that these
particular trusts which were consolidated should not be
allowed to go beyond the means given them, and also
that they were not allowed to undertake or expend
money in an improper manner ; would not your objection
to country gentlemen be obviated, and would there not
be much less inconvenience, and all the annoyance of
the tolls taken away, and the landed and all interests
be benefited ? — I think that great and expensive im-
provements ought not to be paid by the occupiers alone ;
a portion of the expense ought to be paid by the
owners. It is quite just to keep the road in repair,
which is of great benefit to the occupiers, at their
charge ; but extensive improvements, which are a per-
manent benefit to the owners' estates, ought at least
to be paid for to a certain extent by a rate on the
owners.

Colonel Rushbrooke.— You Avill put the whole charge
of the roads on the lauded interest ? — I do not recom-

174

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

mend the plan, but if you can get rid of the debt, the
counties can, I think, keep their roads in repair ; I
agree with the Report of the Committee of the House
of Lords, that the trusts should be consolidated, and
that efficient means should be taken to secure economy
and to prevent the increase of the debt ; I do not re-
commend the plan of abolishing tolls, bnt I am of
opinion that if it is practicable, that it would be de-
sirable.

Supposing it to be as you state, if the tolls were
done away with, the landlords would be the parties to
keep these roads in repair ? — I think the owners ought
to pay a portion for the improvements, and the oc-
cupiers for the repairs.

Chairman. — Tn the Report made from the Lords'
Committee, it states something like a recommendation
of the milemen being turned into a public force ; and I
think you stated, in the evidence given now, such a
measure would perhaps be desirable ; has your Grace
turned your attention to the probability of the difference
of expense that would occur, were such a police force
established ? — No, I have not ; there are but few
milemen employed at present ; the expense would not
be greater, for you would only pay them as yon now
pay special constables when they are employed, but you
would have men of good character at hand, on whom you
could depend.

Mr. Long.— With regard to the farmers, they pay the
most ; where a person who keeps a horse pays only a
few halfpence, the farmer pays 4s 6d for a waggon of
four horses ; would it not be a very great advantage to
the agricultural interest to get rid of tolls altogether ?
— I think it would.

Your Grace has never made any calculation as to
what a farmer may pay in the course of a year for tolls .'
— No, I have not ; but I know they are anxious to
evade turnpike- gates, and frequently go a great dis-
tance I'ound ; they dislike in my neighbourhood the
turnpike roads, and I believe that nothing would be
more unpopular with the farmers than to propose to
make the road turnpike between Chichester and
Arundel, which is now a highway, and repaired by the
several parishes.

DEVIZES WOOL MARKET ORDINARY.

After the wool market on Thursday se'nnight,
about 160 of substantial and respectable farmers,
and others, partook of a most excellent dinner, pro-
vided by Mr. John Neate, with his usual skill and
comfort, in the Assembly-room ; Walter Long, Esq.,
in the chair, supported by Capt. Dundas, Mr. Pbipps,
Mr. Salmon, Mr. Sloper, Lieut. Hill, &c. &c.— Mr,
W. Brown fwho officiated for Capt. Budd, Mr. W.
Ferris, Mr. Jonathan Grant, and Mr. T. Lavington,
very efficiently discharged the duties of Vice-Presi-
dents. On the removal of the cloth, the chairman
proposed, " The King ; '' " The Queen ; " " The
Princess Victoria ; " and the rest of the Royal Fa-
mily " " The Army and Navy; " "The Lord Lieu-
tenant of the County ; " " Prosperity to the Devizes
Wool Market ; (cheers) " and a variety of other
toasts ; the chairman having left,

Mr. Salmon, at the earnest request of several
friends, succeeded Mr. Long in the chair, and a
great part of the company continued for some time
-longer. In jiroposing as a toast, " The members of
the Northern Division of the County, " Mr. Salmon
said, although there was no express rule prohibiting
politics, yet there appeared to be a tacit agreement
to that effect ; and he would endeavour not to violate
that agreement — at all events, he would do nothing
offensively. Thus much, however, he might say of
Mr. Long, and he thought the company would agree
with him — that as a member of parliament, in all
public matters, he exercised his judgment fearlessly

and honestly — that he paid the most assiduous atten-
tion to the local interests of the county — that during
the recess he resided on his estate, diffusing his
wealth, for the benefit of those around him ; that,
being a practical agriculturist himself, and knowing
well the disadvantages under which the farmers
laboured, he was a sincere friend to the farmers ; and
that he was, as had been before stated, a considerate
and liberal landlord. Mr. Salmon also passed some
compliments on Mr. Methuen, the other member for
the division (the terms of which we could not catch,)
and the toast was drank with cheers.

Mr, T. Lavington said, that he was a tenant
of Mr. Long's, and the tenant that was ashamed to
acknowledge he had a liberal landlord, when that was
the fact, was undeserving of a liberal landlord. Mr.
Long, then, was in every sense of the word, a good
landlord ; and he believed he had a grateful and a
good tenantry. He was not one of those fashionable
advertising landlords, who shewed their casual bene-
volence by returning 10 or 20 per cent, according to
the exigencies of the times, and then letting all the
world know it, by publishing it in the papers. No !
He required no such means to rectify the balance.
"Live and let live" was his motto; and betook
care in he first place to let his farms at a fair and
moderate rent, so that the farmer one year with
another might reap a remunn'ration for his capital and
skill : and to this (as Mr, Long himself had that day
observed) the farmer was undeniably entitled. — Mr.
Lavington said, he could not help admiring the man-
liness and generosity with which Mr, Salmon
had spoken of the Northern members. It was
but too common, now a day, wlien most men thought
they were capable of governing the nation, to
attribute every bad feeling to those who were politi-
cally opposed to them ; and few people had the can-
dour to say a word in favour of a public man, if
there was the slightest shade of difference in their po-
litics. On behalf of Mr. Long, then, he sincerely
thanked Mr. Salmon for the very handsome manner
in which he had proposed the toast : and before he
concluded, he would say one word with regard to
the funds of the society, — He believed that Mr. Long-
was too well known for any one to suppose, that what
he had said on this subject, was an unmeaning com-
pliment. He (Mr. Lavington) assured the company,
that when he called upon Mr. Long to solicit a sub-
scription, (Mr. Long having previously ascertained
that it was the desire of a large portion of the farm-
ers of the county to establish a wool and cattle mar-
ket at Devizes,^ he would readily have contributed
50/ ; and that he (Mr. Lavington) was the means of
restricting him to a subscription of 10/. — submitting
to him that that was as much as would be required.
This, the company would concede to him, was a
pretty strong proof, that from the first Mr. Long was
ready to uphold the funds of the societj'. Mr. La-
vington made a few more observations, and then sat
down, cheered by the whole company.

A New Oleaginous Plant. — The celebrated
botanist CandoUa has called the attention of European
agriculturists to a plant cultivated in Abyssinia and
India, from the seeds of which an oil is extracted,
which is used not only in the preparation of food, but
various other necessary and domestic purposes. It is
an annual herb, named Mam-tilla in Bengal ; and, as
all the plants of that tribe readily habituate themselves
to our clime, it is capable of being made a valuable ad-
dition to our oleaginous seeds.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

175

TIMBER DUTIES.

With the exception of food, there is no article
consumed in this country of greater importance than
timber. It is usid in the formation and creation of
almost every thing necessary to mankind. In the
implements of agriculture, in the machinery of manu-
factures, in house-building, and ship-building, the
consumption of this article is extensive beyond all cal-
culation. To obtain an article of such general utility
at the cheapest rates, therefore, common feeling
would say, is one of the first objects of a well-regu-
lated system of society ; and yet the British govern-
ment have imposed on its importation into this coun-
try from foreign nations most oppressive duties, and
still more oppressive preferences. The present ex-
traordinary system was one of the wise acts of that
m.ost extraordinary minister of finance, Mr. Van-
sittart.

Previous to 1809, the duty on timber imported
from Prussia, Russia, Norway, Sweden, and all
foreign nations, was 16s, and in the port of Memel
alone upwards of 1,000 cargoes were annually
shipped to this country at this moderate duty. In
that year, however, and 1810, political events oc-
curred in the North of Europe which created some
anxiety respecting the future supply of timber from
abroad being equal to the usual consumpcion. Mr.
Vansittart, therefore, by one of those acts, in those
-* days no doubt, of true wisdom, but which is now
unintelligible, adopted a novel plan for the remedy
of an anticipated evil. He resolved (to render the
supply of timber here certain) to advance the duty
on it from all foreign countries to 31 5s instead of
16s ; and the first and present consequence is that
the supply of timber has been reduced by three
quarters of its previous amount. To obtain, liow-
erer, this great deficiency, lie applied his fertile
imagination to the Canadas, and to our other colo-
nies producing timber, and imposed a duty of 10s
only on colonial timber.

The effects of this alteration in the timber trade
have been most injurious, and have not conferred
one solitary benefit on any interest in this country.
To our manufacturers it has done much injury, for,
with the decrease of the timber trade has decreased,
in a still greater degree, our export trade to those
northern nations, with whom we had previously ex-
changed many articles of home manufacture and of
home production for their timber. The quantity and
value of our exports now to Memel, for instance,
is not one-fifth of what they were in 1809, and pre-
vious to that date ; in fact, at that and many other
places, the only pa3'ment the inhabitants can make
us in timber, and by the quantity we take of this
article must be regulated the amount of our exports
to them. To the inhabitants of our American pos-
sessions the encouragement given them in the timber
trade has likewise been in every way disadvan-
tageous. It has increased the number of lumberers,
who are the pest of society in every young state ;
and by so doing it has introduced, particularly in
the Canadas, a disinclination to tillage, and to every
description of agricultural pursuits. It debases their
minds, and generally leads to a state of idleness and
crime. So far from the real wealth of the Canadas
being improved by the preference given them by our
timber duties, the fact is positively the reverse ; and
to remove that preference now given them in the
supply of the IJnited Kingdom, would confer on
these colonies themselves almost as great a favour as
an open trade would confer on his Majesty's sub-
jects at home, whose interests are most powerfully
affected by these almost insane acts of legislation.

These laws likewise encourage a considerable de-
gree of fraud in the evasion of the foreign duties.
It is notorious, for instance, that foreign mahogany
is frequently first imported into one of our colonies,
and aftewards imported into this country on payment
of the colonial duties.

Some few years ago a government contract for
Baltic timber was supplied by the contractor on the
payment of the colonial duty. He shipped his tim-
ber in the Baltic for a port in Nova Scotia, from
whence he imported it to Portsmouth, and landed it
in his ftlajesty's dock-^yard there as foreign timber,
paying only the colonial duty. This, however, we
believe, cannot again occur, the law having been
lately amended. These long voyages undoubtedly
procured for ship-owners better freights, but this
improvement was obtained at the expense of the re-
venue, and it is as just to insist on all timber intended
for use being first sent to Australia for the benefit of
the shipping interest, as it is to afford this most un-
wise preference in duties to the colonies. One of the
arguments now used against any alteration in the pre-
sent system is the great injury the change would
inflict on shipping.

Now, nothing can be clearer than that the public
should not be charged immoderately for the benefit
of any particular interest whatever, and therefore
tliis defence of a bad system is perfectly groundless ;
but we deny that the shipping interest could even-
tually receive any damage by the proper arrange-
ment of these duties, for by the reduced value of
timber, which an equalization of the foreign and co-
lonial would create, ships would be much cheaper
constructed, and what would be lost to them in the
long voyages, would be fully restored to them in the
frequency of short ones. The increased quantity of
timber which low duties would cause to be con-
sumed, and the reduced price of ship-building, would
do far more than remunerate the present trade for
anything which it could suffer by an alteration in the
existing system.

There is, however, another interest in this coun-
try, far more important than those of colonies and
ships, which ought to be consulted. We allude to
that of the great body of timber consumers in these
kingdoms. Colonial timber, it is notorious, has none
of the good qualities to be found in foreign timber:
it is much softer, less durable, and is very generally
subji'ct to the dry rot. The British ministers are so
much impressed with this truth, that the use of colo-
nial timber is not permitted in his Majesty's dock
yards ; and it is certainly the more extraordinary on
this account that private individuals should be en-
couraged by legislative enactments to consume a
descrqjtion of timber which is not considered fit for
building his Majesty's ships. To throw out induce-
ments to the people to deal in commodities of which
the quality is known to be inferior, in preference to
the same commodities of superior qualities, is an act
which could only originate in minds so very capa-
cious as those were, who, in 1809, were the
ministers of this country. The effects are already
visible in the state of the ships built with colonial
timber, and we strongly suspect that many of the
towns and houses which have been raised during
the period we now mention will be found
very deficient from similar causes. It is to be hoped,
however, that this important subject will soon re-
ceive that attention from the legislature which it de-
mands. About twelve years ago the duty on foreign
timber was reduced to ^l l5s, but still it is far too
high for the public interest, and for the revenue.
Gradually to raise the duty on colonial timber, and
in an equal ratio to reduce that on foreign timber un-

176

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

til it became the same, will soon double the amount
of duty on timber now ] aid into the Treasury, will
increase the number and quality of ships employed
in the timber trade, will be of high advantage to the
agricultural prosperity f f our American colonies, and
will only be doing justice to the overburdened peo-
ple of the United Kingdom. An increase of two
millions sterling on timber duties would enable the
Chancellor of the Exchequer to reduce several very
oppressive taxes, and tliis he may obtain within two
or three years hence by equalizing the present duty
on foreign and colonirl timber imported into this
country. — The Globe.

HOLBORN UNION.

Much has been said ,and with great truth, with
respect to the savings under the management of
the guardians of different unions formed by the
poor law commissioners.

The much abused guardians of the Holborn
Uiiion, notwithstanding all the difficulties thrown
in their way by those inclined to support the for-
mer iniquitous mode of relieving the poor, may
safely challenge the most 'rigid inquiry whether
their measures have opei-ated with injustice or
unmerited severity towards the poor of the union
under their control ; the result must be, that so
far from that being t'le case, the really deserving
poor have been more considered, better fed, better
clothed, and better lodced since the formation of the
union, than at any former period ; and notwith-
standingsuchresiiltjthe followingstatement, which
applies to the three first weeks of the years 1830
and 1837, will show that the measures of the
guardians have been equally advantageous to the
rate-payers : —

HOLBORN UNION — OUT-DOOR RELIEF.

Diminution in

1836. 1837.

1837.

Jan. 7..

.. 82

12 61 .. 33 12 6J

... 49 0 0

—14,,

.. 80

2 9 .. 33 2 5

..47 0 4

21..

.. 84

13 6 .. 34 1 1^

.. 50 12 4i

£247

8 9i £100 16 1
IN-DOOR RELIEF,

£146 12 8j

Diminution in
1837.

Jan. 7.

702 . . 528

.. 174

14.

688 .. 528

160

21.

686 . . 525

161

2076 1581 495

Expenditure, 2s 6^ per head per week.

Diminution in three weeks of 1837, 621 17s 9cl.

Total diminution in three weeks, 209? 10s 5^d.

For the whole of the previous quarter, the
saving is on the same scale, and it may with great
truth be said that, as regards the whole of the
union the principle of relief for the period, 1836,
was on a very reduced scale as compared with for-
mer periods ; and the parish accounts of St. An-
drew and St. George the Martyr show that at one
time, namely, in 1833, the average of iveehly out-
door relief for those parishes alone was 129/ ys.

If it be asked in what manner this saving lias
been eft'ected, the answer is very plain and very
simple — by a determination on the part of the
guardians to attend strictly to their duty, in car-
rying the measure of the poor-law amendment act
into effect— by throwing the able, but idle and dis-
solute, entirely on their own resources — by enter-
ing into beneficial and equitable contracts for the
various necessary supplies, and by the strictest
economy in all the details of the union.

BONE MANURE.

(from a correspondent.)

The attention of the purchasers of crushed
bones is called to the fact, that at this present mo-
ment the whole of the refuse from the glue yards
of Scotland and Newcastle is imported into Hull
for the purpose of grinding up with bones ; it is
a manure, I admit, but of very inferior value to
bones, usually bought at Is per bushel ; the pre-
sent price of bones, 2s 6d a bushel, holds out
great inducemeut to adulterate. When you pur-
chase crushed bones, let the merchant be asked
the question (on oath) whether they are mixed
with sawdust, scrapings of warehouses, refuse of
glue yards, &c. The farmers of Lincolnshire, con-
vinced of the facts above stated, are this year buy-
ing the bones uncrushed, and hiring portable mills
for the breaking of them. It is intended to pub-
lish the names of the parties to whom vessels are
consigned for the purpose of cheating the farmer.

ON THE CULTURE OF ASPARAGUS

There is, perhaps, no article in the culture of which
more unnecessary forms are gone through than with
this. We see the plant (a native of Britain) covered
with 7 in., or perhaps 1 ft., of soil or litter, in winter,
to keep the frost from it, or to mulch it when it is in
a dormant state ; though we may as well mulch a
layer of seed potatoes at Michaelmas, to benefit their
buds for the succeeding summer.

But to come to the point, and that is, to cultivate
asparagus to the highest state of perfection at the
lowest charges. Let a heap of manure, equal to a
layer of 9 in. deep all over the ground intended for
asparagus, be prepared of the following materials : —
One-third good loamy turf, or turf of sandy peat;
and two-thirds of the best dung from the stables and
cattle layers ; with about two bushels of drill bones
to every pole of ground. The turf ought to be pared
off, and piled up, a year previous to its being wanted;
and the dung properly mixed and fermented at least
six weeks before. The bone manure may be spread
over the rest before they are trenched into the quar-
ter. In the process of trenching, let the manure be
equally incorporated with every part. In planting,
let one-year-old plants be inserted 1 in. below the
level of tlie surface, in lines alternately 9 in. and 3 ft.
apart, in the same way as peas are generally planted.
If the plot be extensive, paths, 3§ ft. wide, may be
run across the rows, at the distance of 16 ft. apart, to
prevent wheeling, and, as much as possible, walking,
between the lines. The plants may be from 4 in. to
6 in. apart in the row, bedded and covered with leaf
soil, or dung reduced to a soil ; and, as mulching
with half-rotten dung, and extensive waterings in
dry weather, are the principal features of culture, it
is indispensably necessary that the ground be effec-
tually drained, summer drought and winter satura-
tion being the grand evils to be guarded against.
From the latter end of May till Michaelmas is the
time that asparagus is generally left without any
culture, except routine weeding, &e. Now, this is
almost the only season that any culture can he of
much service to the ])lant ; for it is evident, that, if
we encourage the plants whilst they are in a state of
active developement, that is, when they are shooting
up to seed, by forking, frequent hoeing, mulching,
and watering between the rows, as if flowers and
seed were all we wanted, we shall invigorate the
plants, and enable them to form fine plump crowns

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE*

177

for next season ; but I cannot see how banking tbe
beds up with soil, or mulching them with strawy
litter before winter (the roots being then in a state
of rest), can be of any great service to the plants.
A short time before the buds appear in spring, a
little fine soil may be drawn over the crowns, in
order to blanch the lower halves of the buds.

In cutting, let the earth be first scraped away from
the bud, that the gatherer may see where and what he
is about to cut. Two or three years must elapse, after
planting, before any buds can be profitably gathered
for use ; after which term, the lines may be allowed
to remain until they bscome straggling and unpro-
ductive. In most gardens, however, they are gene-
rally wanted for forcing after six or seven years'
bearing ; in which case only a very slight hot-bed is
necessar}% (say 80° bottom heat), with two inches or
three inches of any soil under and &bout the roots ;
and five inches or six inches of old tan, or any light
soil, over them: atmospheric temperature about 55°.

Roots, placed between two layers of soil in pots
or boxes may be introduced into any early forcing-
house at work ; or trenches may be cut between the
lines in the open ground, and hot dung or leaves
introduced under hoops and mats. Beds for forcing
asparagus, with trenches between cased with brick-
work, I consider as expensive and unprofitable. —
Gardener's Mamzine.

Paper Money. — High Prices. — This has by
some been ascribed to combination, but The Vin-
dicator, an American paper, traces it to the paper
money of the banks. It says—

" What was remarked by Cobbett in 1810, and
admitted by the bullion committee, is now coming to
pass in the neighbouring states. Flour, which sold
at D5, is now up to DlO. Wheat, which was D4,
is now D2. Cord wood, which sold at D5, is now
D9. Butter, cheese, and * almost every article,' are
in common language, equally ' dear,' or have ad-
vanced in price equally high. But it is not these ar-
ticles which have positively risen. The increase of
banks, and of paper issues, have had the efiiect of
scattering more bank notes through the country.
These representatives of money being more ' plenty,'
as it is called, than the other articles, have brought
an increased number of speculators into the market,
and the bank notes or paper money, have depreciated
or fallen in value, in consequence, just as apples fall
in value the larger the quantity of them in market.
Paper dollars are more ' plenty ' in the market than
wheat, or cord wood, or butter, or cheese, or ' almost
any other article.' Now what is not as ' plenty' as
paper dollars is more valuable than paper dollars, and
consequently more of the latter must be given in ex-
change for the article which is not in such a large
quantity in the market. Thus two of these paper
dollars are now given for a bushel of wheat, for
which only one was given before. Hence it is evi-
dent, that it is not the articles purchased, such as
wheat, labour, &c., that have become dearer, but the
paper money which has depreciated in value, and is
not worth so much as it used to be, in consequence
of the greater quantity of it issued by the banks.

" The above observations," the writer adds, "will
show the people of Upper Canada what they have to
expect from the increase of banks by which that pro-
vince is threatened by their representatives. In re-
turn for their produce they will get paper much de-
preciated in value. Prices will appear nominally to

advance. The present corrupt Assembly will there-
upon sound their own pi aise, and persuade their
dupes that they receive a greater quantity of bona
fide value for the produce of their farms than they
really do, whilst merchandize ' rising' in proportion,
their profits will in truth b ) diminished. The con-
sequence to the tradesma i, the clerk, and others,
who receive a stipulated price per month for their la-
bour, will be pregnant with evil. Wages being the
last thing that is affected by a rise of prices, and then
only after the cause has been at work, they will re-
ceive in a depreciated currency the price of their la-
bour. They will have to pay more of their wages
for the necessaries of lifetlan they were previously
in the habit of doing."

Ploughing Match. — The annual ploughing
match of the parishes of D anbarney and Rhynd took
place on the farm of Kin'uouth, occupied by Mr.
John Isdale, on Wednesday, 1st Feb., when thirty-
one ploughs started precisely at nine o'clock. Each
man having his exact time allowed him to plough
his lot, it is but justice to state that all the compe-
titors performed their task in a most superior man-
ner. The judges were, Messrs. Andrew Bennet,
farmer. Upper Friarton ; J imes Harris, farmer, Dun-
barney ; and Peter Scott.farmer, Mill of Gask ; who
awarded, to the satisfaction of all parties, the prizes
as follows : —

1. To William Storrer, sei vant to Mr. Johnston, Bal-
hepburn.

2. To Robert Currie, servant to Mr. Jolly, Grange of
Elcho.

3. To Alexander Storrer, servant to Mr. Kinnear,
Efcho.

4. To David Christie, serv ant to Mr, Jolly, Grange
of Elcho.

5. To John Green, servant to Mr. Clark, Oudenard,

6. To Charles Thomson, sjrvant to Murray,Buckhall.

7. To David Proudet, sen ant to Mr. Stocks, Mains
of Kilgraston.

8. To Dd. Nicol, servant t o Mr.Thomson, Horse mill.
After the proceedings ot the day were over, the

farmers connected, along with the judges and a few
friends, dined at the briilge of Earn, and spent a
most agreeable evening.

Ploughing Match. — I y'oiiTURE, February 4. —
A ploughing match took place this day on two fields
of lea at Millhill, one oft he farms which the Right
Hon, Lord Kinnaird has retained in his own posses-
sion. The day being very favourable, there was a
good turn out of both farmers and others to witness
a scene so novel and int cresting in this district of
the country. The work, t aking it altogether, was
uncommonly well done — fo" when the judges, Messrs.
Wm. Constable, farmer, Uj\thank ; Alex. Drummond,
Polgavie, and Chas. Playfair, Easter Inchmichael,
were called to inspect the work performed, they ac-
knowledged the difficulty of the task. A fter a most
careful and minute examination of the work done,
they awarded the prizes, five in number, (and two
extra ones recommended by the judges for being
nearly on a par with him who gained the fifth prize),
as follow : —

1. To James M'Donald, servant to Mr. Robert Con-
stable, Baledg'arno.

2. To Wilham Doig, servant to Mr. James Boyd,
brewer, Inchture.

3. To John Henderson, also servant to Mr, Robert
Constable, Baledgarno. '

4. To Peter Strachan, servant to Mr. Edmund Dodds,
BuUian.

178

THE FARMER*S MAGAZINE.

5. To John Miller, servant to Mr, Smith, West Mains
of Inchture ; and the two extra prizes— the fijst to
Francis Sime, Millhill, and the second to John Bruce
(a deaf and dumb lad), servant to Mr. Alexander
Drummond, Polgavie.

The ploughmen, before starting home, were plen-
tifully supplied with bread, beef, beer, and whiskey,
on the occasion ; and the judges, farmers, and others,
in all about a hundred, sat down to an excellent din-
ner at Millhill, Mr. M'Laren, chairman, and Mr.
Wm. Smith, croupier, where they spent a most
happy and pleasant evening.

TURNIP CABBAGE.

SiK, — Knowing you to be at all times willing to
publish useful information on any subject connected
with agriculture, I forward you a few observations on
the use and cultivation of the turnip cabbage, (not the
great Waterloo cow cabbage, which has been repre-
sented to grow 20 feet high, and to produce a sufficient
quantity of food to support 6 cows for 12 months, and
the stems to be used as timber for building ! No,
this turnip cabbage is not of so gigantic a growth).
It has a bulb, or apple, growing on a stem from 2 to 4
inches from the ground, with considerable top, or leaf
resembling those of the brocoli ; the bulb frequently
measures from 20 to 24 inches in circumference, and 6
or 8 inches in diameter ; is very sound, and of good qua-
lity, particularly for ewes and lambs, and milch cows.
For this description of stock they are preferable to
Swede or any other variety of turnips, cabbages, or man-
gel wurzel, for the following reasons : — 1st. The Swede
turnip will not force so much milk, and it is generally
acknowledged lambs do not do well when the ewes are
feeding on them , and at the time of year they are most
wanted for this purpose they become hard and sticky,
the lambs cannot eat them, and the ewes have great
difficulty in doing so unless they have excellent mouths.
2ndly. Every other description of turnip is less hardy ;
and after Christmas the quality is very much deterio-
rated, and in a severe winter a great portion becomes
rotten and useless. Independent of these objections a
considerable part of all turnips grow under ground,
consequently, in wet weather particularly, the sheep
must eat a considerable quantity of dirt with them,
which from some soils does great injury. 3rdly. The
drumhead, and all other cabbages, are frequently much
injured by frost, the outside leaves become rotten and
unfit for food, and that portion which is sound is not
of so good a quality as the plant above alluded to, nor
will it force so mnch milk. 4thly. They are preferable
to mangel wurzel, as they can be obtained at consider-
able less expence, and may be fed on the land on
which they grow, which is not the case with the man-
gel, that must be taken up, and carefully housed (or
clamped) to protect it from frost ; but the turnip cabbage
will stand perfectly sound through the most severe win-
ter. Tliis plant maybe successfully cultivated on that
description of land which will not grow good turnips as,
a proof of which, Mr. Denton of Madingley, Cam-
bridgeshire, has two years successively gTown them to-
gether, (that is, in the same field and on exactly the same
soil,) each year he has had a very great weight of the
turnip cabbage, but the turnips have proved nearly a
failure ; not producing one-sixth of the weight per acre,
although the seed grew well and the plants were thick
enough on the ground, but they did not grow to any size
although manured very highly, for some of them drdled
on the ridge and some on the flat. Mr. D. has several
years tried to grow turnips on this soil, (which Is strong
black land) but not iu one instance has he succeeded.
In 1835 he planted two acres ot the turnip cabbage,
about two acres of the drumhead, and about two acres,
of the thousand head cabbages, in the same field he had
some Swede turnips and rye ; early in the spring he
turned his couples (ewes and lambs) into this field, and
let them ramble were they pleased, and partake of that
food they liked best; after walking about some time.

tasting first one and then the other, they at last fixed
on the turnip cabbages, and eat the whole of them, even
a portion of the stem, before they began to feed on
either the drumheads, thousand heads, turnips, or rye ;
(this was done as an experiment to ascertain which of
the five sorts of food they preferred.) Mr. D. is confi-
dc-nt be never knew his ewes do so well, nor lambs
thrive so fast, as they did when feeding on them. This
year he has got a very fine piece at least from 27 to 28
tons per acre. I make my calculation of the weight as
follows : they are planted three feet between the rows and
two feet apart in the rows, consequently, if they had all
grown, there would have been in number 6,969 plants
per acre, but as near as I could jutige about one in 100
had missed, thus reducing the number to 6,899 per
acre ; I weighed 12 of the largest and 12 of the smallest
I could find ; and the average was 8lbs per plant, (after
being freed from the root and dirt) ; thus the weight
amounts to 55,1921bs, or 27 tons, 10 cwt, 2 qrs, 161bs
per acre. I am certain I have not estimated the weight
beyond the mark. There are several other excellent
crops of this plant in the neighbourhood, from 18 to 22
or 23 tons per acre. All those who have grown them
two or three years speak very highly of them, particu-
larly as early feed for ewes and lambs, all asserting that
the ewes produce more milk, and the lambs thrive faster
than when feeding on any other vegetable.

The best method of cultivating this plant is to pre-
pare the land as for a turnip crop, then to draw furrows
with a double busted plough three feet apart, deposit
the dung in the furrows and close it in, which -will form
ridges the same as on the Northumberland system of
growing turnips. The plants to be raised on seed beds,
and when they are about four inches high should be
planted on the ridges (jTepared for them) 20 or 24
inches between each plant, and if the land is not tolera-
bly moist it is advisable to water them at the time of
planting', and again in three or four days after. The
seed to be sown on the beds the beginning of May, the
plants will then be ready to put out by the middle or
latter end of June. The after culture the same as for
mangel wurzel, or any other description of cabbage.
Trusting these observations may induce your agricul-
tural readers to try them,

I am. Sir, your obedient servant,

An Agricultural Tourist.

Cambridge, Jan. 10, 1837.

The promenade of the celebrated bceuf gras, which
weighs 3,980lb., and is just seven feet six inches in
height, will commence to-morrow (Sunday) in the fol-
lowing order : — At 1 1 o'clock the animal will leave the
abattoir in the Faubourg du Roule, by the rue Miro-
menil, and the Faubourg St. Honore, proceeding to
the residence of the owner, M. Rolland, No. 363, rue
St. Honore, (who has for three successive years had
the honour of providing the bceuf gras, and who on the
present occasion paid 2,750 francs for his purchase.)
The procession will proceed thence to the hotels of the
Minister of Justice, rue Ncuve du Luxembourg, the
Minister of the Marine, rue Royale, St. Honors ; the
Minister of Finance, rue Rivoli, and the Chamber of
Deputies. Afterwards it will proceed by the rue de
l'Universit6, rue du Bac, rue des Saints Peres, rue du
Dragon, rue de Seine, and to the Chamber of Peers.
From the Luxembourg the procession will take the rue
de Vaugirard, Place St. Michel, Place de I'Estrapade,
to the Gobelins, whence it will return to the abattoir
by the rue du Jardin-du-Roi, rue Saint- Victor, Place
Maubert, rue Galande, Pont Notre-Dame, rue Saint-
Martin, Boulevards Saint-Martin, Saint-Denis, Bonne-
Nouvelle, Poissonniere, Montmartre, des Italieos, des
Capucines, and the rue de la Madeleine. On Tuesday
the procession will leave the abattoirs also at 11 o'clock,
and will take the rue St. Honore, and the rue d' Alger
to the Tuileries. Thence it will proceed by the Place
du Carrousel, the Q,uai du Louvre, and the Pont Neuf
to the Prefecture of Police, and, by the Qnai des Au-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

179

gustins, to the Hotel de Ville, where, after its recep-
tion with all due civic houours, the gay cavalcade will
return by the rue du Mouton, des Lombards, rue St.
Denis, Marche des Innoceas, Point St. Eustache, rue
Montmartre, des Fosse-Montmartre, Place des Vic-
toires, rue Neuve-des-Petits- Champs, Marche St.
Honore, to the residence of M. Rolland the proprietor,
thence to the abattoirs. The dresses and decorations
to be displayed during the procession will be extremely
varied and much more splendid than on former occa-
sions ; the cavalcade will be more numerous, and the
music, which has hitherto been furnished by the Na-
tional Guards, will be replaced by a band of one of the
cavEilry regiments. — Galig7ia7ii's Messenger of Satur-
day.

TIMBER.

The following statement we find in the Bytown
Gazette : —

Statement of Red Pine Timber, in transitu, from the
Ottawa River, at the close of the navigation, 1836 :

Laid wp between the Roche Fondeau and the Chaudiere
Falls.

David Moore, Roche Fondeau 180,000 ft.

A. H. M'Donald, do 48,000

W. & J. Thomson, River Du Chene 72,000

F. Bearman, do 80,000

N. Sparks, do 88,OoO

J. Egan, do 32,000

Wells & M'Crea, Gathneau pt 48,000

Atkinson and Co., do 88,000

Below the Chaudiere Falls,

Wells and M'Crea 100,000

S. Adams 40,000

W. M'Bean 24,000

Peter Aylen (Little River) 32,000

D.Moore, do 48,000

Total 840,000 ft.

" The above statement has been furnished by a
friend, (yea, an independent one,) and per perhaps will
be found to come as near accuracy as it is attainable
upon such a subject, where conflicting interests step in
so forcibly to mystify facts. We are, however, war-
ranted in stating, that from the exorbitant prices of
provisions for man and beast, the quantity of lumber
intending to he got out this season will fall far short of
what was originally expected. — Montreal Herald, Jan.
10.

ABSCESS IN THE THIGH OF A
HEIFER.

BY MR. POPE, TARVES, ABERDEENSHIRE.

(From the Veterinarian.)

I was sent for on the 30th August, 1834, by Mr.
Pirie, miller, of Toirie, to see a quay which was
taken badly the day before. When I saw her she
was down, and unable to rise ; pulse 97, and mouth
very dry. I commenced feeling for the part aifected,
when I found the disease seated in one of the thighs,
which crackled when I handled it from the pelvis all
the way down to the hock joint. I bled her freely
from the neck, and gave a cathartic (magnes. sulph.) ;
I then took my lancet, and made several pretty large
punctures in the swelled parts ; inserted a seton ;
got some warm water (as warm as could be admitted
of) and commenced fomentations, and continued
them for four hours, after which I rubbed her dry,
and gave injections, &c.

I continued laxatives, injections, and fomentations
for a week ; at the expiration of which time, matter
formed, and was freely discharged, and I rested sa-
tisfied that my patient was doing well. At the ex-
pii-ation, however, of three weeks, I was somewhat
surprised that the swelling continued, the parts hav-
ing discharged so well. 1 made a deep incision
about three inches in length, and introduced my fin-
gers ; when, to n.y no small astonishment, I found
the fleshy fibres completely detached from the femur.
I immediately enlarged the orifice, and extracted
five pounds weight of the deadened mass, and cleansed
the parts well with warm water and soap, after which
I applied astringent washes. At this time the poor
animal could not stand, her frame being so much
debilitated ; but at the end of a week she contrived
to support herself when helped up, and after that
she gradually recovered, and is now a fine thriving
cow.

The Magazine of Domestic Economy contains
many useful hints. From the number for the present
month we take the following extract : —

" Bread for Cattle and Horses. — Experience has
proved in Sweden that one ton of oats make 480 loaves,
on which a horse may be better kept (at the rate of two
loaves a day) for 240 days, than if he had had six tons or
even more of raw oats. The husk of the oat remains
mixed with the flour ; the weight of the water used in
making the dough is gained, and a great deal of water
is necessary. With a given quantity of wheat flour,
without the hush, a quantity of bread is made for the use
of man, weighing more than the raw grain ivith the husk.
On the other hand, a less weight of bread than of oats
should be given to horses, because the bread is more
nourishing, especially if rye be mixed with the oats. It
has been calculated in Sweden, that after all expenses
have been taken into consideration, a great saving- is ef-
fected by feeding the horses on bread made of oats and
rye. They never give them hay, without mixing it with
two-thirds of chopped straw, and adding bread broken
up. The better to preserve this bread, it should be made
in the shape of cakes ; and if it be prepared like biscuit,
it will keep very long without losing its nutritive quali-
ties."

Law of Settlement. — The decision of the Court
of King's Bench last week, in the case " Rex y.
Stoke Damerell," will open a new ground for determi-
ning the settlement of a pauper. The point of law was
raised nearly two years ago by one of the parishes of the
city of London ; but the Recorder, before whom the
appeal was argued, was so clearly of opinion that the
ground was untenable, that he refused to grant a case
for the opinion of the judges. The country magistrates,
it seems, took the same view of the law as the Recorder,
but they allowed the parish authorities of Stoke Damerell
to appeal against that view, and they have appealed with
success. In the city case a person named Wall occu-
pied a house in Gravel-lane, St. Saviour's Southwark, at
24/ a-year,fortwo years. He paid more than one year's
rent, and all the parochial rates and taxes. Falling into
distress in the parish of St. Faith-by-St. Paul, he was,
under the opinion of Mr. Payne, their legal adviser,
passed to St. Saviour's, on the ground that although the
pauper did not gain a settlement by renting only, inas-
much as he let a part of the house to lodgers, yet he did
gain one by paying taxes and parochial rates for that
house. St. Saviour's appealed against the removal, and
Mr. Payne, the barrister, contended at the London Ses-
sions that the removal was good. An act, 3 William
and Alary, cap. 11, enacted, that any person chargad
with and paying public taxes or levies of a town or
parish should be deemed to have a settlement there.
The statute 6 George IV., cap. 57, declared that no per-
son should gain a settlement by renting or paying paro-
chial rates, unless the- party actually occupied and
rented a house of 10/. a-year for the whole term of one
year. This act, therefore, recognises the gaining a settle-

180

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

ment by paying taxes as a mode distinct from that by
paying rent. A law was subsequently passed to explain
the above statute, but in the enacting part its terms are
clearly restrained to settlements by renting, and so the
Court of King's Bench have just decided. A person,
therefore, who occupies a house above the value of lOl
a-year for one whole year, and duly pays the rent and
rates, would gain a settlement by the payment of those
rates, even though he should let a part of the premises
to lodgers, which would extinguish his settlement by
renting.

FARINGDON.

At a numerous and respectable meeting held at the
Crown Inn, on Tuesday, the 7th of February, to consider
the propriety of establishing a Regular Monthly
Market for the Sale of Cheese,

Mr. John Williams in the chair.

The following resolutions were put, and unanimously
carried : —

1st. That the establisiiment of a regular monthly mar-
ket, for the public sale of cheese, in the town of Faring-
don, has, not only by the dairymen in the adjoining dis-
tricts, but also by several persons connected with the
cheese trade, been long and anxiously desired, as ensur-
ing to the former a fair current price according to the
quality of the article, and to the latter the certainty of an
ample and varied supply.

2nd. That Faringdon, situate in the midst of a tract of
pasture land, unrivalled in extent and fertility, and
commanding the greatest advantage for the conveyance
of goods both by land and water-carriage, is peculiarly
well adapted for the successful establishment of the
proposed object, affording to the cheesefactors and
dealers not only of Cirencester, Witney, Oxford, Abing-
don, Reading and Newbury, but also of London and
Birmingham, a knuivn and central market, whence they
may monthly derive as large and iL-ell-sorted a supply as
the extent of their business may demand.

3i'd. That the first market be held ;on Tuesday, the
7th of March, and the succeeding markets on the first
Tuesday in every month reg'ularly.— 1 hat to defray the
expences attending the establishment, and support of
the market, a subscription be entered into, and that
Messrs. Williams, ]\Iedley, Bennett, Bennett Thomas,
Coster, Dyke, Edmonds William, Fereman, Gerring
William, James George, Myers Charles, Rickards Wm.
Henry, and Sargeant, with power to add to their num-
ber, form a Committee, any three of whom have power
to act.

4th. That Charles Medley, Esq., be authorized to re-
ceive subscriptions and to act as Treasurer to the Com-
mittee.

5th. That the foregoing resolutions be inserted in the
journals of this and adjacent counties.

That the thanks of this meeting be given to Mr. Wil-
liams, for his able and impartial conduct in the chair.

Herefordshire Agricultural Show. — On
Monday, February 6, the Annual Show of our Agricul-
tural Society took place, in a piece of land belonging
to Charles Bulmer, Esq., at the Portfields, between
Widemarsh and Eign Gates, admirably adapted for the
exhibition, and which he has several times kindly per-
mitted the Society to use gratuitously for the purpose.
The show of Bulls was the finest we ever witnessed ;
about 40 superb animals, all of them of our celebrated
county breed, and belying the old adage " as savage as
a bull, for they were remarkably gentle and obedient to
those who had the care of them, were in the enclosure ;
and without it, about Eign -gate, were between 40 and
50 more, mostly young, but promising candidates for
prizes on future occasions. The Judge, Mr. A. D.
Jones, appeared to take great care in the examination
of the different animals, and was some time in deter-
mining the award of the prizes. An aged Bull, and a

yearling, bred by Miss Tomkins, of King's Pion, at-
tracted general attention, and were much admired.
The first premium for aged Bulls, and the second pre-
mium for yearling Bulls, were awarded to these animals
by the Judge, but unfortunately for Miss Tomkins,
they did not arrive at the show meadow before the
Judge had entered on the ground, and both the bviUs
were disqualified from taking the prizes. A bull, bred
at Croft Castle, an immense size for his age, also ex-
cited the admiration of all who saw the animal. Of
the stallions, a two-year-old cart, belonging to Mr.
Price, of Upperton, shown as extra, was greatly
praised by competent judges. The prizes were awarded
as follow : —

For Best Yearling Bull, a silver goblet, to Mr. Jones

of Breinton. i

Second-best Bull, a purse of three sovereigns, Mr. J.

Walker, of Burton.
Best two-year old Bull, a goblet, to Mr. Jeffries, of

Rose Cottage.
Best three-year old Bull, a goblet, to Sir Robert Price,

Bart. M. P.
Best aged Bull, a goblet, to Mr. J. Moi-ris, Stockton.
Best cart Stallion, a goblet, to Mr. Handcocks.
A Horse of Mr. Davies, of Kenchester, was much ad-

mn-ed.
Best thorough-bred Stallion, a goblet, (Gift of the

Rev. L. Penoyre) to Mr. Devereux's Dandelion, of

Bromyard.

There were 20 competitors for the prize for yearling
bulls — six for the two-year-old — eight for the three-
year-old — and five for the aged Bulls' prizes. Four
for cart, and three for thorough-bred stallions.
Amongst the exhibitors of stock were — Mrs. Davies,
Croft Castle, the Misses Tomkins, Sir R. Price, Mr.
Bate, Mr. Galliers, Mr. Morris, Mr. Perry, Mr.
Walker, Mr. T. Tully, Mr. West, Mr. Lewis, Mr.
Roberts, Mr. J. H. Apperley, Mr. J. Turner, Mr. J.
Jones, Mr. Matty, Mr. C. A. Mason, Mr. Jefferies,
jun., Mr. Bluck, &c. The Dinner at the Hotel was
very well attended, P. Jones, of Sugwas, presiding,
and supported by Sir J. G. Cotterell, Sir R. Price,
James Phillips, Esq., J. H. Burr, Esq., Fowler Price,
Esq., Capt. Johnson, J. H. Johnson, Esq., Rev. L.
Penoyre, &c. ; and the evening was passed in the
social and pleasing enjoyments which always distin-
guish these meetings.

Rent of Land. — The average rent of the several
counties of England and Wales is said to be — Westmor-
land, 9s Id, Cumberlan d,9s 7|d, Cornwall 10s 3|d,
Hants lls5d, Sussex lis 8^d, Monmouth 12s 9|d, Suf-
folk 14s 3|d, Norfolk 14s ^d, Durham 14 5d, Devon-
shire 14s Sjd, Dorsetsliire 15s 25d, Surrey 15s 2|d,
Northumberland 15s Ifd, Cambridgshire 16s Sjd, Berk-
shire 16s lOd, Hertfordshire 16s lljd, Huntingdon 16s
ll^d, Herefordshire 16s 5d, Yorksliire 16s 8d, Shrop-
shire 17s 2d, Kent 17s 5d, Bedford 18s 4|d, Essex 18s
5|d, Wiltshire 18s bjd, Derbysliire I83 lOfd, Notting-
hamshire 19s ll^d, Staffordshire 20s, Gloucesterfihire
20s, Cheshire 20s Ud, Rutland 20s 9id, Lincolnshire
20s to 21s, Oxford 20s 6fd, Buckinghamshire 21s l^d,
Northamptonsiiire 21s 5d, Worcestershire 22s 4d, War-
wick 22s 5|d, Lancashire 22s 5|d Somersetshire 25s 9d,
Leicestershire 27s 2|d, Middlesex 38s SJd, Wales 6s 8d.

Tni^GOE Union. — The Guardians of the Thingoe
Union have forwarded an Address to Lord John Russell,
expressing their satisfaction with the working of the
New Poor Law. They also inform his Lordship, that a
saving of 4,000L has been accomplished in the space of
three-quarters of a year, as compared with the averages
of the same time taken three years previous to the for-
mation of the Union. — In a statement published by tlie
Board of the Hartismere Union, a saving is also shown
of 7,642<., or 40^ per cent., in the first year of the
Union.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

181

THE PRESENT EPIDEMIC AMONG
HORSES.

PKESENTED BY THE PnESIDENT.

(From The Veterinarian.)

[Concluded from page 106.]

Mr. Harvey had under his care at least 200
horses affected by this epidemic. He always, if
called in an early stage of the disease, bled ance, oft-
en twice, and he has bled as frequently as three or
four times. He also gave from two to three drachms
of aloes. He had not experienced any bad conse-
quence from either the one or tlie other, but quite
the reverse.

Mr. SiRBALD likewise felt astounded when he heard
the detail of the practice of JMr. Cheetham, and he
feared for his young friends. For his own part, he
was satisfied with about a drachm at a dose, repeat-
ing it every two or three hours. As to blood-letting,
he was quite of opinion, that, speaking practically,
the course recommended by Mr. Turner, was the
right one in cases of febrile affection ; }'et this was a
peculiar febrile affection, and some caution was re-
quired. Bloodletting under the immediate eye of
the practitioner, and not going too far, would be use-
ful ; but when he heard of 161bs. of blood being ab-
stracted, he must strongly protest his dissent — four
or iive pounds might be taken away with advantage.
He is not sure that this is a purely erysipelatous dis-
ease ; the first inflamation was that of the bronchial
tubes ; nevertheless, of two dangers, the greater one
must be avoided. He would certainly bleed if the
pulse was full and frequent ; but so far as his prac-
tice went, there was not often great derangement of
the pulse at the commencement of the attack. Two
horses that came under his treatment died. One of
them had lost seven or eight quarts of blood, and had
walked a mile or two afterwards. He died in about
twelve hours. The other lost his life after being-
bled. He then thought that he would abstract no
more blood, but Jio soon found that there were circum-
stances in which common sense and duty compelled
him to bleed. Hehad seen the mouth and nostrils com-
pletely livid. He would not bleed then ; there was
not a drop of blood to be lost then. These, however
were cases of relapse, and required stimulants. If,
the faeces were hard or slimy that state of them must
be altered ; he gave in such cases half scruple doses
of the farina of the croton nut, and generally found
that in twelve or thirteen hours the bowels were mo-
derately opened. If he had given more, he should
have injured the animal. Mr. Clieetham gave por-
ter. He acknowledged that he had done so, and with
very good effect : he had given a pint of mild beer
twice or thrice a-day. There is another point against
which the practitioner sheuld be on his guard, — when
the appetite is returning, the groom is too apt to over-
load the horse with food. The food which in that
state is safest and best is carrots.

Mr. Wahis. — In the cases in which he had carried
depletion to a considerable extent, the respiration
was laborious and the pulse was frequent and bound-
ing.

Mr. Spooner said that every one must be sensible
of the useful and important character which the de-
bate had assumed. He moved that it should be ad-
journed until the next meeting, in order to give
those whose opinions and practice had been impugn-
ed the opportunity to defend themselves.

Mr. Sewell perfectly concurred with Mr. Turner in
his view of the present epidemic, and the treatment
of it : as to the cause of the malady, until some bet-

ter one was assigned, he must adhere to his express-
ed opinion, that it was connected with the escape of
some mephitic g'ases i'rom the earth in the late con-
vulsions that had taken place. Even Mr. Yeuatt,
who had doubted that this was the cause of the epi-
demic had assigned no other, and had acknowledged
his inability to point out any definite cause. At
Paisley, and other parts of Scotland, the inhabitants
had been terrified by these terrestrial commotions,
and the influenza had again broken out, as here, in
full violence. He acknowledged that the subject of
meteorology deserved far more attention than the
veterinarian was accustomed to pay to it ; but he did
not see that, as yet, any light had been thrown on
the present question. — (Conclusion of second day's
discussion .)

The President announced die renewal of the de-
bate on " The present Epidemic," stating that he
had received accounts that it was still prevailing- in
different parts of the country, and that, on the whole,
the depletory system was adopted.

Mr. SiBBALD begged one moment's attention, be-
fore the adjourned debate was resumed. He had
been astounded, at the meeting before the last, at
the quantity of certain drugs administered by some
individuals: he thought the Association would be
equally astonished at the bulk or weight of medicine,
of whatever nature it might be, which a practitioner
had thrown into the stomach of an unfortunate horse
labouring under this complaint. He was not willing
to injure or to condemn any individual, and therefore
he would mention no names ; but he had obtained
the contents of the stomach of a horse, in which not
a particle of food had been found ; but as much
medicine as perhaps was ever accumulated in the
stomach of a poor patient since the veterinary art
beg.in to be practised. He would not say that the
horse was poisoned, but the mere specific gravity of
the mass would go no little way towards the destruc-
tion of the animal. He then produced a mass of
partially dissolved horse-balls, weighing, as he said,
2ib. He supposed that this practitioner was not
paid for his attendance; he would be quite, and
some would say more than enough, paid by the ball.
He was no Homoeopathist — no infinitesimal-dose man ;
but a straightforward energetic practitioner.

(There must have been more than a dozen balls
partially dissolved by the fluid of the stomach. The
smell indicated ammonia, and some thought asafoetida;
and the burning betrayed both nitre and camphor.)

Mr. Spooner rose to explain some observations
which had fallen from him on a former evening, and
which might not be then understood in the same ex-
tended meaning which he intended to affix to them.
When speaking of the nature of this disease, he con-
sidered it as an integumental one — not only of the
outer tunic, but of the internal or mucous membrane,
and principally of that. He listened with pleasure
to the opinions of Mr. Youatt on that point, with
most or all of which he fully agreed. To some things
asserted by Mr. Turner he could not so readily give
his consent. He said that this disease was considered
to be an affection of the cellular and mucous mem-
branes ; and then, that the serous membranes were
considered' by himself and BIr. Field as little or not
at all imijlicated. He was of opinion that the serous
membranes are also involved ; but this more as a
consequpnee of an extension of inflammation, which,
by inducing debility in the capillary vessels, causes
them to throw out a serous effusion. He was also
surprised that Mr. Turner, when speaking of the
early symptoms of tiie disease — the swelling of the
eye-lids— the loss of appetite— the parched tongue—

182

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

the set limbs — the complete prostration of strength,
said nothing- of the pulse ; for himself, he regarded
the pulse as the first indication of treatment, and the
surest guide. He agreed with Mr. Turner in con-
sidering the disease as primarily of an inflammatory
character ; but he had almost invariably found that
this fever soon passed away, and was succeeded by
a loathing of food, and a marked debility of pulse
that did not, in his mind, warrant him in abstracting
blood largely from the system. His treatment was
always governed by the pulse, not solely or, perhaps,
principally by the frequency, but by the type, the
peculiarity of the pulse ; liJcewise taking into ac-
count the probable causes ef the peculiarity which
he observed. In quitter there is a quick and full
pulse, and one that would in other circumstances in-
dicate considerable depletion ; but the cause of that
pulse was evident — it was a pulse of irritation, and
would be most quickly and safely brought to its
healthy standard by attention to the local seat of
disease. He was a little surprised to find that al-
though Rfr. Turner described great prostration of
strength as one of the earliest symptoms of " the
present epidemic," the pulse being " as weak as
water," he not only bled largely at first, but fre-
quently repeated the depletion. It struck him that
there was a little inconsistency of practice here ; and
no little doubt arose as to the propriety of the
strenuous practice recommended. If I detract blood
from an animal 1-bouring under inflammation, mj
attention is or ought to be occupied, not by the deter-
mined abstraction of a certain quantity ot blood, bu
by the accomplishment of a certain purpose by the
abstraction of blood. I wish to produce a salutary
effect on the nervous system. If the pulse is one of
inflammation, I can lessen the power, or the power-
ful working of the machine, by abstracting a portion
of that which is the vital principle of action. If it
is a pulse of irritation — if there is an irregular work-
ing of the machine, rather than a more powerful one
— I may reduce it to its proper and useful motion by
the same means. I am guided by the effect I mean
to produce ; and I am anxiously watching the pro-
gress I am making in the accomplishment of that
eflFect. It is time to have done with the too-prevail-
ing practice of abstracting definite quantities, and
especially definite large quantities. We are attempt-
ing to produce an eflect, and we should be watching
the accomplishment of that effect. It is very easy
to abstract too much moving power, and to render it
difficult to set the machine vigorously at work again.
Mr. Abernethy used to caution his pupils against the
practice of detracting blood largely from the system
in eases of local inflammation. " You are taking
away from your patient," said ne, " a fluid which
can only be supplied again from the absorbent or
digestive system ; but, perhaps, from the local pain
and the constitutional irritation which is the conse-
quence of it, his appetite has already failed, and you
deprive him of that energy of system which is neces-
saiy to give effect to the local means which you are
employing." All this while, perhaps, the state of
the patient evidently demanded bloodletting; but it
was against the inconsiderate and reckless abstrac-
tion of it that he was contending.

He confessed, that in many cases in which he had
taken blood, the animal was longer in recovering
han in others in which he had refrained ; yet, were
he again placed under the same circumstances, he
should again act in the same manner. The cases
were not alike. In the one, the powers ot nature
were sufficient to effect a cure, and little more than
patience was required from the practitioner ; in the
other, there was a weight by which nature was op-

pressed, which it was imperative to remove, and her
powers had been impaired by that struggle. It is
necessary in some of these cases to tranquillize the
system before the recovery can commence, much less
be completed ; and he knows not of the drug which
has that soothing sanative power. He is, therefore,
driven to the lancet. If he had not bled, the powers
of nature would have been quite exhausted ; the
structure would have been altogether consumed.

Bleeding is occasionally or generally indispen-
sable ; yet the disease may be ushered in by symp-
toms that will not warrant bleeding ; and even where
the abstraction of blood is most clearly indicated,
we must be on our guard. We cannot do as we
would in pneumonia. We must abate irritation, but
we must not undermine strength.

Mr. Sewell. — Since the last meeting two cases
had occurred in the College ; one in a horse in the
open sheds, and the other standing in the stable.
The one in the sheds was a heavy cart-horse. It
commenced with oedema of the legs, drowsiness,
closing of the eyes, oedema of the lids. He bled to a
considerable extent. He abstracted five quarts of
blood at first : there were two bleedings on the
second day, and one on each of the two following-
evenings. There was great embarrassment of the
system ; the horse hung his head to a more than usual
degree. He had the full weight of it when he at-
tempted to lift it up. Every bleeding afforded im-
mediate but transitory relief. He kept tiis finger on
the pulse while the blood was flowing, and stopped
as soon as the pulse began to falter. He believed
that the horse would have been lost had it not been
for these bleedings. He seldom, or almost never,
saw so thick a huffy coat as the abstracted blood
presented ; full three inches out of five consisted of
this yellow supernatant substance. There was but
little serum. He gave three drachms of Cape -aloes
as an aperient ; administered nitre in the water, to
the extent of half an ounce daily ; and threw up
frequent clysters.

The other was a four year old colt, without this
decided cerebral affection. He was bled, but not so
copiously or frequently. In other respects the treat-
ment was the same. Both are doing- well.

He h-dd likewise the he-ad, and the contents of the
thorax and abdomen, of a horse that had died of in-
fluenza sent to him. The membranes of the brain
were most highly injected ; there was extravasation
of blood under the dura mater, and in the fissure be-
tween the hemispheres, and also at the base of the
brain. The substance of the brain exhibited evident
symptoms of inflammation; and the lateral ventricles
were distended with serum. The membrane of the
frontal sinuses was highly injected ; the nasal cavity
almost livid, and highly engorged with blood. There
was great cedema of the lids — they were everted —
the coi-nea was obscured— the fluids of the eye were
of a bloody tinge — there was an inflammatory blush
on the retina, and every vess-el going to the eye was
gorged with blood. The membranes of the larynx,
trachea, and bronchi of one lung were of a green
colour : it was in a perfectly gangrenous state, and
horribly fetid. In the lungs was some appearance of
previous tubercular disease. The stomach was com-
paratively little affected. I'he small intestines ex-
hibited few or no appearances of active inflammation.
The caecum and colon presented more inflammation,
and were, in a manner, distended with food ; while
the rectum was actually clogged with dry and hard
fscces, which it was utterly impossible for him to
have got rid of without the aid of clysters. The
kidneys were in the highest state of inflammation, or
rather of disorganization. If he had been shewn the

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

183

different parts of the horse separately, he should
hare said there was quite sufficient cause of death in
the head, and in the trachea and bronchi, in the
larger intestines, and in the kidneys. lie knew
nothing of the treatment ; but it was a ease that
plainly indicated the occasional use of bleeding.
Here was an illustration of the extensive ravages
which it occasionally committed, and of its Protean
character. There was some doubt in the minds of
practitioners generally, and there had been in his
own, as to the contagiousness of the complaint. The
inclination of his opinion had always been that it
'was contagious ; and he had heard of a case to-day
which much confirmed himi n that opinion. A horse
was bought in London with a cough on him. The
cough was pointed out lo the dealer, who said that it
was a matter of no consequence, and, indeed, tlie
horse appeared to be otherwise well. No sooner,
however, had he arrived at the stable of liis new
master in the countr}-, than he sickened with in-
fluenza, and every horse in the stable eventually had
the same complaint. He had previously heard of
similar instances, in which it had been thus brought
into healthy stables. He was sorry that he had not
had the opportunity of trying this point. One of
the horses in a brewery at which he had attended had
pus in the cavities of the turbinated bones, and other
neighbouring cavities. He had inoculated an ass
with this matter, and it died eight days afterwards
of inflammation and serous eflFusion, both in the
pericardium and peritoneum, but principally in the
former. He had not mucli faith in these experiments
on asses ; for they came from the abodes of cruelty
and want, and were generally in a very debilitated
state. He would take an early opportunity of putting
the subject of infection to the test. He would make
a living horse stand over one that died of influenza
and had been opened, and would compel him to
inhale the vapour which arose from the parts; or he
would place certain portions in the manger ; or he
would shut up the sound horse with another that had
infection strong upon him.

Mr. Dickens. — It is generally the case with the
country practitioner, that something is done to the
patient before he is called in. In all cases of this
kind which he had seen, venesection had been prac-
tised, and occasionally to considerable extent. He
never found that harm had been done by it. Some
of them he bled again, always paying attention to
and having his finger on the pulse. If he found
constipation, he gave small doses of Barbadoes aloes,
never more than two drachms ; and, after that, nitre,

Mr. TiTMARSH. — The symptoms that had most
usually occurred in his practice, were harshness of
the coat, refusal of food, embarrassed respiration,
irritable pulse. To these followed, or sometimes
were seen at first, effusion in the extremities — swel-
ling of the eyelids, lips, and head generally — coma
— constipated or relaxed bowels. Bleeding! — the
question of discussion and dispute — he had seldom
had recourse to it; he gave no purgative. He gave
nitrous ether, and, occasionally, other medicines to
keep up the action of the kidneys ; he clothed well,
and lightly bandaged the legs. When the horse
began to eat, he allowed him almost liberally succu-
lent and farinaceous food. If the bowels were con-
fined he administered injections, but no purgative
by the mouth. If the throat was sore, and there was
cough, he used stimulants, extending, if necessary,
down the trachea.

There was one case in which the serous membranes
were evidently and violently affected, A mare
breathed most laboriously, lay down and started up,
and turned her head continually to her sides. He |

abstracted three quarts of blood. Three hours after-
wards he took away two quarts more. He would
have taken more, but was afraid. He had influenza
in the yard, and he did not know what character this
disease might afterwards assume. He gave nitrous
ether and digitalis, and blistered the sides well. On
the next morning the blister had not had effect : he
blistered again, and in the evening the blister rose.
Then came a little swelling in one of the legs — Ah !
said he, this is influenza at last. The swelling ex-
tended— it reached to the groin — it was very painful.
Both legs were 3 welled, and then the neck and the
head. He had nine other cases in the same yard that
he did not bleed; yet he bled her; but she became
more debilitated than they in proportion to that
bleeding. He gave tonic medicine, and then tonic
food, namely, infusion of malt. Out of forty-seven
patients under influenza he did not lose one. When
the angular veins were distended, he did open them,
in three of his patients, and suffered the blood to flow
freely. He wished to know whiit state of pulse Mr.
Dickens found, when he felt himself warranted in
bleeding.

Mr. Dickens. — He did not always bleed, but he
generally did ; and when the pulse was from 50 to 70,
and full.

Mr. TiT.MARSH had not met with a full pulse in
influenza.

Mr. Brough asked, what then was the character
of the pulse?

Mr. TiTMARSii. — -One quicker than usual, hut
weak, tremulous ; shrinking under the finger. He
knew not how to describe the peculiarity of it, but
it plainly spoke of debility.

Mr. Brough. — What, then, would induce you to
bleed 1

Mr. TiTMARSH. — When the respiration was em-
barrassed, and the nasal membrane florid, and not
beginning to suppurate. If he saw discharge from
the eyes or nose, he would be cautious how he bled.
Is it usual to see spontaneous purgation in these
cases 1

Mr. SiBBALD. — I have seen many.

Mr. Dickens. — I have had many cases, but they
were weak horses.

Mr. TiTMARSH. — In the farmer's yard to which he
before alluded, out of his nine patients, the greater
part of them had spontaneous purgation.

Mr. Dickens. — The fsecal matter in these cases
has a very peculiar smell.

Mr. Field. — There is, and there always will he, a
great variety of opinion as to the nature and treat-
ment of this influenza : it is, however, fortunate for
practitioners and their patients that every variety of
treatment seems to be equally successful. As regards
the seat of this disease we are agreed ; but we differ
in regard to its exact nature, and therefore cannot
agree upon the name which should be applied ta it,
or its mode of treatment. He formerly stated that
he believed its seat to be in the skin and its involu-
tions ; — by the involutions he meant the mucous
membranes. The body was enveloped by a cuticular
membrane without, and a mucous membrane within.
Disease attacking the mucous membranes has a low
(jphoid character. This is the case with catarrh and
bronchitis, in whicli there is an eff'usion of mucous
into the bronchial tubes and air-cells : where that
liad taken place, and depletion is had recourse to,
the evil is increased, and the animal dies. If the
skin is inflamed, there is also effusion into the sub-
cutaneous tissue ; and the skin being the seat of
sensibility, and liable to great inflammatory action,
the symptoms are relieved by a proportionate local
efiusion which general depletion does not facilitate

o 2

184

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

in tliis disease, but induces a state of debility, which
either terminates fatally, or is succeeded by jjrotract-
ed convalescence; therefore I cannot think that Mr-
Turner's practice is one that can be advantageously
allowed. " My horse," says he, " is on fire, and 1
must endeavour to extinguish the flames so effectu-
ally and as quickly as I can. 1 will have recourse
to bloodletting-, as the most ready means I have of
extinguishing- the fire." But are there no diseases
but these of an inflammatory kind 1 Are there not
also stages of inflammatory disease in which deple-
tion may prove irjurious 1 Must every aliment be
treated on the Sangrado system ■? There are diseases
which are not essentially of an inflammatory cha-
racter. This year has avowedly afforded more
instances than any before known of alimeants of
typhoid nature, and those of a low type, and formerly
recognised under the term synochus. Even pneu-
monia has assumed this character. I have been
informed tliat, some years ago, there were many
cases of undoubted pneumonia in a large county
town. They were treated in the usual manner, and
almost every patient died. The medical men became
wise by experience : they abstained from deple-
tives ; they made use of stimulants, and the mortality
ceased. The disease, from its effects and from the
nature of its treatment, was named pneumonia
typhoides. They applied blisters to the chest, as
we have. Bleed they could not, as we cannot or
should not. They had recourse to vesications, and
to tonics ; and they found the disease, as we do,
a telerably manageable one. If such things have
occurred from some peculiar state of atmospheric
influence, it is worthy of inquiry and of trial, whe-
ther we too may not succeed without depletive mea-
sures. In a case where there was a great degree of
irritative fever, where the pulse was hard and full,
and there was evidently acute inflammation in the
skin of the hind legs, he thought that he was justi-
fied in bleeding : he bled — he bled to five quarts :
and he repeated the bleeding. On the third day
came on the serous effusion, and, with it, the sinking
of every vital power ; and, on the fourth day, the
horse died. Had he endeavoured to relieve the
state of the skin by other means, the patient might
have been saved. In the next case of a similar
character, he wrote in his note-book, " bleeding-
doubtful ;" and he did not bleed. On the following
day came on the same kind of collapse : he imme-
diately had recourse, as in the former instance, to
stimulants, and the horse, not having been debili-
tated by loss of blood, was saved.

I understand that a gentleman, when I was not
present on the last evening, after doing me the ho-
nour to compliment me on my supposed veterinary
acquirements — and a compliment from him I esteem
an honour — expressed some surprise at my aversion
to laxatives in this disease. I must confess, and to
him I will confess it without reserve, that we differ
in toto on this point. In this fever, in some cases,
even on its first or second day, the fasces are voided
in the state of scybalaj, and coated with mucous, as
in fevers ushered in by rigour. This is erythema, a
condition of the mucous membrane which establishes
the true nature of tliis disease and its er3'sipelatous
character. Two or three gentlemen, this evening,
have stated cases of spontaneous jmrging in this
disease. If practitioners will wait patiently, even
in the condition of the feculent matter which I have
described, they will have the faeces pultaceous -all in
good time, and even purging will spontaneously take
place. It, is the hastening or the -aggravating of this
that causes the fatal cases of super-purgation of
which we have heard. Four days ago I saw a case

in which there had been sloughing in the heel • the
slough had been thrown off some days before. In-
flammation returned ; it spread over the leg ; it
produced dreadful constitutional disturbance ; the
ej-es were inflamed ; there was the beautiful ring of
serum beneath the conjunctiva, upon and around the
edge of the cornea. There had been prostration of
strength from the very commencement. Forty-eight
hours after this came on profuse purging. The pulse
was peculiarly soft ; it was soft and vacill-ating ; it
could scarcely be felt at the jaw or the arm, and
could be counted only at the side. If you pressed
on it too much, you stopped it quite : if you pressed
too lightly, you could not feel it at all. Now what
would have become of this horse if a purgative had
been administered, or if he had been bled 1

There are cases in which, at the commencement
at least, the pulse is diislinct. The horse may here,
perhaps, be bled with impunity — but no more; with
no possible benefit, -and the cure is protracted. If
thei-e is not the peculiar character of pulse th-at has
been described, you might bleed without mischief,
were it not for the circumstance of spontaneous
purging so often taking place. I hold it in the
highest degree reprehensible to give laxative medi-
cine in any stage of this disease.

Other conditions of the body have been referred
to as existing, occasionally at least, in this disease ;
but we are wandering from the true point in question,
when we pay much attention to them. You, sir,
have referred to a case which we have as the sequel
of many diseases, namely. Purpura Hcemorrhagica,
in which there is a tendency to hemorrhage in al-
most every external and internal part; in which
every minute vessel, and almost every organ, is re-
plete with blood. This disease, or this consequence
of disease, has been more than usually prevalent du-
ring almost the whole of the present year.

Another case, that we should not confound with
influenza, is the peculiar bronchial aflfection, which
has been so frequent during the last six or eight
weeks. It is accompanied by fever of a low type,
but not one and the same with influenza.

Mr. Field related a case of influenza that had some-
time ago ('in June^ occurred to him. He had fired
a horse. Three days afterwards erysipelas came on
— he described the characters of it, agreeing- with
the usual external appearance of that disease. It
then extended inwardly — croup came on- — the horse
was threatened with suffocation, and he opened the
windpipe. This horse was bled when the disorder
was at its height — doubtingly bled — bled three times,
but not the slightest remission of the symptoms was
obtained, until the trachea was opened, and then the
animal rallied all at once. He did not know that he
could properly speak of this bronchial affection as
pure inflamma(ion: it had too much of a typheid
character. So influenza, do whatever you will, suc-
ceeds to previous disease : but we must not class
under the term influenza all the diseases to which the
animal is liable, yet they are predisposed to be af-
fected by an unknown atmospheric agency, and in-
liuenza supervenes.

I hinted that there was a peculiar condition of
coma in seme cases of influenza. He would relate one.
If, said Mr. Field, it had been at any other season, or
had been the first case of the kind I had seen, I should
have adopted some active treatment. It was a heavy
cart-horse. These horses having a great quantity of
cellular membrane, are prone to this disease, and
suffer much from it, and soon sink under its debi-
litating influence. All four legs -^'ere suddenly af-
fected : the disease was confined to the skin, but of
an acute character, and the slightest motion gave in-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

85

tense pain, and the four legs became so many im-
moveable supporters. I differ therefore from the
gentlemau to whom I have before alluded, and who
looks for the inability to move to the deep-seated
fascife of the muscles: it is quite sufficient that the
skin sfjall be highly inflamed in order to account for
all loss of motion. Here was most extensive swelling
of the extremities — tlie skin painful, tense — the
pulse 108 — the eyelids closed — coma — stertorous
breathing. It was a case threatening enough. An
important organ was involved in great disease, and a
fatal termination seemed to be not far distant. But
the pulse had the peculiar vacillating feeling to which
I have again alluded — and it was difficult or impossi-
ble to count it, except at the thorax. The horse was
purging profusely from some medicine that had been
administered. VVhat did I, what could I do on the
principles that I have professed ? I ordered cold
lotions to the head, and warm fomentations to the
extremities, and I gave opium. On the next morn-
ing the purging lessened — then the swelling of the
legs diminished ; and in forty- eight hours there was
a change from coma to comparative health. Here
was a case which would, in the opinion of many,
have justified bleeding; but if I had bled, I should
have lost my patient. If in this disease, we, and to
a verv great -extent, leave the case to nature, it will
generally turn out well ; but if we act promptly and
vigorously as it is sometimes called, we shall onh-
embarrass nature in her prof^eedings, and induce that
collapse from which our patient will not recover,

Mr, AiNSLiE. — We have heard of the great success
that has attended the mast ojiposite plans of treat-
ment. I can only inform you, from personal obser-
vation, that the number of dead horses at the knack-
ers' yards in London increased considerably while
the influenza prevailed, and that the price of a worn-
out or dead horse was much lessened in consequence
of the large supply.

In the autumn of 1831, I had an opportunity of
seeing a great number of horses affected with in-
fluenza, presenting the same, or nearly the same,
symptoms which it now does ; and many of the
cases were considerably aggravated by the hard work
to which the animal had been subjected, and to his
travelling ten or twelve miles after the attack had
commenced. The treatment pursued was the ab-
straction of blood, according to the state of the pulse,
and the administration of small doses of Barbadoes
aloes. The sound horses were soon restored to their
work again, but some of those with only half a lung,
the other half being either emphysematous or hepa-
tized, died ; and on examination, the mucous mem-
brane of the air-passages was of a grass green colour,
and the air-cells filled with grey pus. In some cases
the kidneys were enlarged and softened ; in other in-
stances lesions of the brain were found, and the
symptoms before death were coma, stertorous breath-
ing, and, in one patient, paral3^sis of the extremities.
At a farm situated eight miles from Edinburgh,
some cases occurred. The first, a saddle horse, ap-
peared to be very bad, but was not bled : he had a
fever ball morning and evening, with mild but nu-
tritious diet, and he was well in a few days. The
second was bled to six quarts, and had three drachms
of aloes. Symptoms of pleurisy came on, and the
animal died on the tenth day from the first attack :
the pericardium and thorax contained a large quan-
tity'of pus and serum. Three others were affected ;
one was bled : thej' had fever medicine, but no aloes,
and they were at work in six days.

I have seen several cases in London, The treat-
ment I have adopted has been to take blood, if the
breathing was much affected; to give fever medi-

cine without the aloes, and to allow the horse as
much tepid water or thin gruel as he would drink,
I have seen one drink from three to four pailfuls in
twelve hours : I have obtamed by it a diaphoretic,
a diuretic, and a laxative action, and my patient's
speedy recovery, without the system being much
disturbed.

ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW MARKET
AT CRICKLADE, WILTS.

The following resolutions were unanimously passed
at a numerous and highly respectable meeting of the
land-owners, graziers, farmers, and others of the town
of Cricklade and neighbourhood, held at the White
Hart Inn, on Saturday, the 21st ult., for the purpose of
taking into consideration the best means to be adopted
for establishing- a Monthly Great Cattle Market and
Corn Market at Cricklade, Thomas Taylor, Esq., in
the chair: —

1st, That, in the opinion of this meeting, the establish-
ment of a Monthly Great Cattle and Corn Market
within the town of Cricklade, would, from its local situa-
tion, and the great advantages it possesses by reason of
its extensive grazing and dairy district, be highly bene-
ficial to the agriculturists in the neighbourhood, and
tend greatly to promote their interests in general, as
well as afford material accommodation to dealers from
all quarters,

2nd, — That the establishment of such a market be forth-
with attempted, and every endeavour used for the attain-
ment of so desirable an object. That as the third Tuesday
in the month appears to be the most suitable and proper,
such day be adopted as the day for holding such Market,
and that the first Market be held on the third Tuesday in
the next month, viz., the 2Ist day of February next ;
and that the market which would be held in the months
of March, April, August, and October, be denominated
Fairs,

3rd. — That a subscription be entered into for the
purpose of defraying the expences attending' the esta-
blishment and support of the markets ; and that im-
mediate application bo made to the Landowners and
others, interested in the success of the undertaking,
for their support by subscription and otherwise,

4th. — That a proper handbill, announcing- the fixture
of the market-days, enumerating the advantages accru-
ing, and urging the attendance and support of farmers
graziers, butchers, and dealers in general, be forthwith
prepared, printed, and extensively circulated ; and that
the resolutions of this meeting be inserted in some of the
papers of this and adjoining- counties.

5th, — That a committee of the under named g-entle-
men (with power to add to their numbers) be appointed
for the purpose of carrying- the foregoing resolutions
into effect, and to take such other steps as in their judg-
ment will be calculated to ensure the convenience,
and meet the wishes of the farmers, grazier?, and
dealers, and conduce to the success of the market, and
that five be empowered to act : — viz., Thomas Taylor,
Esq., John Archer, Jun. Esq., I\Ir, George Akeman,
Mr. .Tohn Ruck, Mr. James Tyler, IMr, Thos. Norris,
Mr, Wm. Poulton. Mr. Chas, Wells, Mr, J, B. Jordan,
Mr. G. F, Coleman, Mr. Wra, Haines, air. J. Packer,
Mr, J, P. Fawkes, and Mr. Richard Stratton,

6th. — That Thos, Taylor, Esq,, be appointed Trea-
surer,

7th. — That Mr. Lovett, Solicitor, be requested to act
as Secretary to the committee.

8th. — That the cordial thanks of this meeting- be given
to Thos. Taylo?, Esq., for his able and impartial con-
duct in the chair.

186

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

POOR-LAW AMENDMENT ACT.

STRAND UNION AUDIT.

The second quarterly audit of the accounts of the
Strand Union took place at the board-room in Carey-
street, before James Hales Mitchiner, Esq., on Thursday
and Friday last.

The auditor entered upon the examination of the
accounts of the board of g-uardlans, upon which he was
, eng-ag'ed until past nine o'clock. He resumed his
labours on the following- morning, and completed the
same about eig-ht o'clock on Friday evening. It is
due to that gentleman to state that he bestowed great
care and pains in the performance of his important
duty.

Upon comparison of the quarterly abstract of the
expenses of the union, which was publicly exhibited,
with the abstract of the previous quarter, the following'
result appeared : —

111 Maiiitenanoe . . . .

Out Relief

Establishment ?

Charges J

Collector's Pound-"]
age arid other ^
Expenses J

Loans to Paupers . . .
Total Expenditure

Michaelmas
Quarter

Christmas
Quarter.

Diminution.

1,147 10
320 17

10

977 U 5

291 18 5J

IGS 19 5

28 19 2^

1,890 9

7

877 3 5

1,013 G 2

88 14

6

82 13 8

6 0 10

3,44/ 12
16

7
(1

2,229 6 11 J
4 6 6

1,218 5 74

3,448 7

7

2,233 12 5^

It is satisfactory to observe that there is a dimunition
under every br;;nch of expenditure, with the exception
of a small aug-nientation in the relief advanced by way
of loan.

The total diminution exceeds £1,200, but it is right to
state that the expenditure of the former quarter was
much increased by repairs and other expenses, unavoid-
able in making the necessary preparations for the
carrying out the rules and orders of the poor law
commissioners in this populous metropolitan union : and
it is right also to state, that a share of these expenses
extended over a portion of the preceding quarter. It is,
however, a remarkable and striking^ fact, that, not-
withstanding an increase in the number of pauper
lunatics, the cost of whom is included in out-relief, and
notwdthstanding- the season of the year, and the late
inclemency of the weather, there is a diminution in the
amount of out-relief, and this fact appears more remark-
able when we find that there is a considerable diminution
in the cost for the in-door poor likewise ; and we have
much pleasure in accompanying this fact with our
conviction that the board of guardians of this union
have been actuated throughout with a desire to put tlie
rules of the commissioners into force with as much
kindness and humanity to the aged and deserving poor
as possible.

The following is a statement of the quarter's ex-
penditure, compared with the former expenditure
under the old system, taken upon an average of that
expenditure for three years before the formation
of the union, as settled and declared by the poor-law
commissioners : —

St. Clenient Danes. .
St. Paul. Coveiit-\

garden J

St. Mary-le-Strand .
Liberty of the Rolls
Precinct of the Savoy

Total .

Average
Quarterly

Expeni'iturc
before the

Formation of
the Union.

Total Exi)en-
diture under]
the Union forlDiniinution.

the past

Quarter.

2,312 10 0

9/8 5 0

388 5 0

530 10 0

69 5 0

1 ,309 2 3

481 11 10

179 3 9J
224 17 8?
38 16 10|

2,233 12 r4,

1,003 7 9

496 13 2

209 1 2*

306 12 3i

30 8 Is

2,0-15 2 6J

expenditure of upwards of £2,000, or nearly 100 per
cent. — that too, in the most trying quarter of the year,
and within a few months after the formation of the
union. It is true, as regards the parish of St. Paul,
Goyent-garden, some of the parishioners contend that
their average is fixed at too high a sum by the commis-
sioners. But supposing the commissioners to have
actually been in error, and that, instead of the average
expenditure of that parish for the three years ending'
Lady-day, 1835, having been, as the commissioners
have declared it to have been, £3,913, let the
£913 be deducted, and reduce the amount to £3,000,
wliich is much below what is claimed as the correct
amount, the comparative expenditure will tlten stand
thus: —

ST. PAUL, COVENT-GAnDEN.

Average quarterly expenditure before the

union £750 0 0

Expenditure under the union 481 11 10

Thus tliere appears a total quarterly diminution of

Saving 268 8 2

Thus it is quite obvious, that even the economical and
well-manag-ed parish of St. Paul, Covent-garden, in
which many of the provisions of the Poor-law Amend-
ment Act had been anticipated, and in which it was
thoug-ht, with apparent justice, that the expenditure had
been reduced to the lowest ebb, derives a considerable
saving- from the union. We observe that this parish has
a balance in its favour, at the terminaiion of the quarter,
of 304/ 18s 4d.

The diminution in the calls by the board of guardians
upon the several parishes, shows likewise a gradual and
progressive diminution. In the first quarter the calls
were at the rate of 25 per cent., and the accounts were
closed with a balance in hand of 341/ 8s 7d. In the
second quarter the calls were reduced to 15 per cent.,
and the accounts are closed with a balance in hand of
1,050/ 9s lid ; and we understand that the orders upon
the parishes for the present quarter will not exceed 10
per cent.

It is to be regretted that the parish of St. Clement
Danes, which, it will be seen, constitutes the larger
portion of the union, has not derived the advantage to
which it was entitled from this state of things, and this
from the overseers' unnecessarily calling upon tlie
vestry to make a rate before the accounts of the union
had been made up or audited. It now appears that,
after the payment of all the claims on the poor-rate in
last quarter, there was a balance in the hands of the
treasurers of 421/ in favour of St. Clement Danes, and
in addition to this, the collector's books showed a list of
rates uncollected amounting to 999/, making a total, if
these rates were collected, of 1,420/, which, according-
to the expenditure of the last quarter, would more than
liquidate the expenses of the present quarter.

It may be proper to state a fact which the abstract
showed, that in three workhouses of the union, contain-
ing between five and six hundred inmates, the majority
of whom are aged and infirm, there have been but fifteen
deaths during- the quarter. And another fact struck us
as very remark.able, that in this unioQ, comprising five
parishes, containing a population of nearly 30,000 souls,
there has been only one illegitimate child born in the
workhouse during- the quarter.

The accounts had been publicly exhibited in the board
room for several days previous to the audit, for the in-
spection of the owners of property and rate-p-ayers,
several of whom attended and took copious extracts ;
and it is satisfactory to state that not a single objection
was offered to any items in the accounts, all of which
were duly passed and allowed by the auditor.

It is due to the guardians to state what we know to be
true, that they are unremitting in their attention to their
duties, and that not only are they engaged for several
hours at the weekly meetings of the board, but that
much of the intervening time is occupied in visiting the
workhouses (three in number) and attending commit-
tees.

During the past week the influenza has made its ap-
pearance very generally among the in-door poor, in con-
sequence of which, by the advice of the medical offi-
cers, all labour has been suspended, the allowance of

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

187

firing increased, and every care and attention, both as
regards proper diet and medical treatment, bestowed,
and we are happy testate that the disorder is already de-
cidedly on the decline.

JMr. JMitchiner completed his audit after two days'
laborious and incessant application, and expressed Iris
satisfaction at the state in which he found the accounts.
He proceeded to Brentford on Saturday to audit the
accounts of that union, and will enter upon the accounts
of the Holborn Union in the course of the week. The
parish of St. Pancras has not been visited by him this
quarter, any further attempt to audit the accounts of
that extensive parish being deferred until the question
now pending between the directors of the poor and the
poor-law commissioners is finally settled. This important
decision is expected to be pronounced by the King's
Bench to-morrow.

THE BLACK SEA.

The little German work on the Russian ports of
the Black Sea, the Sea of Asoph, and the Danube,
has been translated by M. Schloss, who has im-
proved upon the original by adding a map and an
appendix containing an abstract of the latest official
accounts of Russian commerce. Rluch of the infor-
mation given respecting- the ports of the Black Sea,
the g-eographical as well as the meicantile, will be
found at once novel and impoxtant. The translation
is correct and well executed throughout. The fol-
lowing passages are extracted trom the account given
of the commerce of Odessa :

" ARTICLES OF EXPORTATION.

" Grain. — Odessa is the grand magazine for the grain
(principally wheat) of the provinces Kherson, Podolia,
Volhynia, the Ukraine, and Jekaterinoslaw. The prin-
cipal markets to which it is sent hence are Constanti-
nople, Syra, Zante, Leghorn, Genoa, and Marseilles.*

" Tallow. — The principal manufactories are in the
neighbourhood of Odessa, Nikolaey, Kischenew, and
other places of the province Bessarabia. The greatest
quantity is exported to England, a few cargoes to Con-
stantinople and U'rieste,

" Leather — Is sent to Leghorn, Trieste, Marseilles,
and England j also to Austria, by land-carriage, through
Brodi.

" Wool. — This is, at present, a very important ar-
ticle, and promises to be a still more so. The coarser
kinds are sent to Trieste, Leghorn, and Marseilles.
In the Crimea and in Bessarabia are several excellent
breeds of Merino sheep. There wool was formerly
bought by the English, but is now sent to Moscow,
where it is used for the manufacture of cloth, a branch of
trade which has lately increased in that city.

" Wax from Ukraine, and Iron, are at present no
great articles of commerce. They are sent to the Italian
ports, and to Marseilles.

" Ropes, Salt Butter, Caviare, and Tallow
Candles. — These articles are principally exported to
Constantinople and Smyrna.

" Lixseed. — The exportation of this article com-
menced in 1830. It is sent, for the most part, to Eng-
land and Holland. (After the expression of the oil,
the substance which remains is used for the feeding of
cattle.)

" ARTICLES OF IMPORTATION.

" The quantity of articles imported does not generally
amount to more than half of those exported. The cause

* " In the year 1830, 382 Sardinian ships brought
1,110,000 sacks of corn from the Black Sea to Genoa;
in 1832, 227 vessels (of which 94 were Austrian, 65
Russian, 33 Grecian, and 30 English), carried 1,073,000
sacks to Leghorn.

of this lies partly in the system of prohibiting duties, and
partly in the limited consumption of foreign goods by
the middle and lower classes of the population in the
southern provinces.

" The articles of importation are colonial products and
drugs, wines, olive oil, rum, dried fruits, such as al-
monds, dates, figs, grapes, orange and lemon peel,
saffron, tobacco, gum, lead, tin, sulpher, incense,
sponge, pearls, coral, silk, corks, and, finally, manu-
factured goods, which usually come by way of Brodi.
The Colonial products are imported from England,
Genoa, Leghorn, Malta, and Trieste. The ships
are chiefly English, Maltese, Austrian, Sardinian, and
Russian.

" England exports to Odessa colonial products, re-
fined sugar, porter, tin, Madeira and port wines, coals,
woollen and cotton goods.

" France exports wines in casks and bottles, Dutch
cheese, colonial products, corks, fine oil, aromatic
vinegar, sweet almonds, woollen, cotton, and silk
goods.

" Sardinia, colonial products, olive oil, Parmesan
cheese, corks, and lead.

" Tuscany, colonial products, olive oil, marble, ala-
baster, and straw hats.

" JMalta, colonial products, Spanisli lead, fresh oranges
and lemons.

" The two Sicilies, olive oil, citric acid, orange and
lemon peel, sweet and bitter almonds, manna, sulphur,
Marsala wine, fresh oranges and lemons.

" The Archipelago, Smyrna, and Constantinople, the
red wine of the Islands, Cyprus wine, common olive
oil, bath sponges, dried fruits from Smyrna, cotton, silk
from Brussa, tobacco, dates, gum, and incense.

" Vessels arrived, 85-5; left, 94-5.

" There are always a great number of coasting-vessels
in this harbour. On the 31st of December, 1829. there
were 121 barks lying in it ; of these small vessels, 617
entered this port during the year 1830.

" The value of the exports and imports of Odessa
during- the year 1830 is as follows : —

" 1. Value of goods arrived by land-carriage by way
of Brodi— 1,872,675 paper roubles,

" 2. Value of goods arrived by sea — 15,357 ,464 paper
roubles.

" On these goods, the duty paid was to the amount of
1,217,825 roubles ; the chief of them were as follows :—

Paper Roubles.
"Articles of manufacture .... 1,919,686

" Money 3,564,641

" Wine 1,829,472

" Raw and manufactured silk . . 1,048,087
"Olive oil 728,198

" 3. Value ofgoods exported trom Odessa— 27,031,000
paper roubles. Duty, 516,268 roubles. Amongst these
were —

Roubles.
" Corn, 1,215,738 tschetwert.. .20.662,886
" Tallow, 245.038 pud 2,196,832

" 4. Value of goods exported from Odessa into
Georgia by sea— 121,683 paper roubles.

"In the year 1835, 430 ships arrived at this port ; the
imports were to the value of 23,000,000 roubles, and the
exports to 27,000,000.

" In the year 1832 the number of ships were 636 ;
the imports were to the amount of 14,900,000 paper
roubles ; the exports 28,000,000.t

" The quantity of corn annually exported, on an ave-
rage, from Odessa, has generally amounted from 800,000
to 1,000,000 tschet. The trade through Brodi is to
the amount of 2,500,000 roubles annually ; it supplies

" t In the year 1835, 378,000 tchet. of wheat, to
the value of 6,673,091 roubles were exported principally
to Turkey, Greece, the Adriatic, Leghorn, Genoa, and
a small quantity to Marseilles. Rye is chiefly ex-
ported to the Adriatic, and Barley to Turkey ; these,
with 7,464 sacks of wheat Flour, amount to 29,946
sacks, and are of the value of 392,985 roubles." .

188

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

the Russian provinces beyond the Caucasus. From
Odessa to Moscow goods are generally from 30 to 35
days on the road. The expense of carriag-e is from 1
rouble 50 copecs, to 3 roubles per 40 lb., according to
the time of the year.

•' From 1803 to 1829 there were 115 bankruptcies in
Odessa."

THE NEW POOR LAW.

(from the mark lane express.)

The persons who array themselves in hostility
to the New Poor Law may be divided into three
classes. First, those who from their station in
society, and from the advantages of education
possess sufficient information upon the subject to
enable them to discriminate upon its operation,
yet, from personal motives embrace every oppor-
tunity of denouncing its provisions and maligning
those whose duty it is to carry the law into effect.
Secondly, those who, from praiseworthy but mis-
taken feelings of humanity, would enforce a supply
of necessaries indiscriminately to all who are in
want ; and Thirdly, those who, from utter ignorance
of the mode in which it has grown up, and the
consequences to which it leads, not only advocate
the right of those wlio are in need to participate in
the goods of others, but also insist upon it as the
duty of the government to provide for those who
do not possess the means of procuring subsist-
ence. To the first of these classes it is useless to
offer any observations. Actuated by wicked mo-
tives, they, in common with other kindred evil
spirits can only be restrained by the strong arm
of the law. The second class, although more
numerous than the first, is comparatively harm-
less, and not calculated to throw any serious
impediment in the way of the improved sys-
tem. Both these classes having their opinions
founded in prejudice, will gradually decrease,
as the beneficial operation of the new law
shall develops itself. It is from the third class,
by far the most numerous, and in consequence of
their want of information, the most difficult to
convince, that the most serious obstacles to the
ready and cheerful adoption of the new system is
experienced. To the persons in this class, there-
fore, embracing a considerable proportion of those
who are themselves in a situation to anticipate the
necessity of requiring parochial relief, we are
most anxious that every information should be
afforded. With some few exceptions we do not
expect that the sentiments of the labourers them-
selves in respect to the absolute riglit to relief will
be much altered by argument, oral or written.
LTnfortimately sucli has been the neglect of the
government in that most important matter, the
education of the people, that nine-tenths of ihe
labouring and operative classes are unable to read.
To those who are capable of deriving informa-
tion from books, and desire to obtain sound
information upon the effect of "Poor Laws" in
general, we recommend the perusal of a small
brochure, published in a cheap form, and entitled,
" Fallacies on Poor Laws." As legards the work-
ing of the New Poor Law, in a pamphlet entitled,
" An Article on the Prmciples and Progress of

the New Poor Law Amendment Act, and also ou
the nature of the Central Control and Improved
Local Administration," the leading features of the
old and new systems will be found so clearly
pointed out, and a comparison so highly favour-
able to the latter instituted as to leave no doubt
upon any mind open to conviction, that the effect,
when completely carried out, will be equally be-
neficial to the working class as to the rate-payers.
One of the " Fallacies " noticed in the first-named
pamphlet, and which has been repeatedly ad-
vanced is,—" That government should employ
able-bodied labourers on public works as a pre-
ventive of pauperism." It is admitted that such
a course would be beneficial to a very limited ex-
tent. Namely, " the making of roads and drain-
ing of bogs, when works of this kind are obviously
required. The reason why government should
undertake them is, that although they would
greatly improve the country, and cause it ulti-
mately to be much better cultivated than at pre-
sent, the immediate return to capital would not
be sufficient to induce any private individuals to
embark in the enterprise."

In respect to the direct interference of govern-
ment, the following observations are made.

" The people of this country say, government must do
this and that ; but they never say, we, who constitute
the only strength of government, must do this and that.
Hence it does not strike the advocates of the line of
policy we are now discussing, that, before government
can expend money in wages, government must first take
that money from those by whom it is a,lready so ex-
pended. Government cannot create capital to be em-
ployed upon public works. The capital for such a pur-
pose must be raised by taxation. Suppose the amount
raised only to a million per annum ; what then is the
state of the case ? Farmers, landowners, and mauufac-
turers are deprived of the power of employing labour to
the extent conferred by the possession of one million per
annum, and that power is given to government. One
class of labourers is deprived of employment in order
that another class may be employed on public works.
Now, whether is it better that the one million per annum
should remain in the hands of farmers, landowners, and
manufacturers, by whom it will be profitably employed
in production, or placed in the hands of jobbing public
functionaries, by whom the greater part is certain to be
uselessly and wastefully administered"

The soundness of these remarks will, we appre-
hend, be admitted by every man of observation
and experience. Upon another, and in the present
unenlightened state of the minds of the poor, a
more delicate subject " the right of the poor man
to depend upon a parish for subsistence," an
appeal is made to the parties themselves, wliich is
calculated to produce a sensible effect upon every
man in whose bosom there yet remains a latent
spark of that English feeling called independence.

" And what, if it be his right ? What, if every shilling
of the four miUions saved by the Poor-Law Bill, were a
property to which the title of the poor man was as good
as that of freeholders to their estates 1 Let it pass. Are
the people so fallen, and so destitute of leaders having
in their veins the spirit which used to be considered
characteristic of Englishmen, that there are none to tell
them it is better to trust to the labour of their own hands
for bread, and to their own providence for a provision
for old age, than to the wealth wrung with difficulty
from the reluctant grasp of its present possessors ?
Operatives of England, if any echo of our voice should
reach you through these pages, spurn the degrading
counsel of your present leaders. Be not tempted to look

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

189

with longing'^eyes upon the spoil of the Egyptians— not
even thoug'h it should appear, as by a righteous retribu-
tion, ready to be delivered into your hands. Touch it
not ; it is tlie accursed thing-. I'he gold that you have
not earned will eat as a canker into your soul. The
sight of your pauperized old age, though faring not as
Lazarus, but as Dives, 'sumptuously every day,' vsdll
wither up the energies of your cliildren. And listen
now to the libel pronounced upon you by the very per-
sons claiming to be your only real friends. They insist
upon your rig'ht to the aid of pubhc charity (and a poor-
rate is but a part of the machinery of compulsory alms-
giving) on one of two grounds : either that you are the
slaves of intemperance and improvidence, and if so, you
deserve to sutler ; or that you are frequently plunged
into distress through the pressure of unavoidable mis-
fortunes. Let us take the latter case. Your leaders
then tell the world that, although there are among you
trade-societies capable of supporting thousands and tens
of thousands out of work for months tog-ether during- a
strike, you are not capable of forming benefit-societies
for sickness and old age ; that you have no corner at
your fire-side for a widowed mother — no half-loaf to
divide with a broken-down sliopmate— no shilling saved
ready as a subscription for his coffin — no sympathy for
his orphan child ; to save hun from becoming a thief
you would not teach him your own trade. You think
the workhouse schoolmaster, chosen from among the
paupers, is good enough for him.

And is it indeed so 1 Then away for ever with the
delusion that you are fitted to enjoy the right of uni-
vei-sal suffrage, or that for you it is necessary that the
elective franchise of the Reform Bill should be extend-
ed. Be paupers if vou vvill, but clamour not for the
rights of freedom. Liberty turns with contempt from
those who eat the bread of dependence with delight, and
hug- the chains of their disgraceful bondage."

The rapid progress which has been made in
forming unions, clearly shows" that opposition on
the part of the rate payers is confined to a few
isolated cases, in which the motives of the oppo-
sing parties are sufficiently apparent. A union of
all the parishes in the City of London has just
been completed, and in less than three months
the whole country will be formed into unions.
The new system will then be in general operation.
The vast saving in expenditure, an instance of
which may be seen in the report of the audit of
the Strand Union in another part of this paper,
vvill insure its favourable reception with the
rate payers. The more important business of
rendering it palateable to the poor themselves,
although a work of longer time is perfectly
certain. The New Poor Law is unquestionably a
measure that will " call into action tlie moral ener-
gies of the people," and which can in no way be
better awakened than by addressing them in
language so perspicuous and replete with good
sense as that which is contained in the extract
last quoted from 'The Fallacies on Poor Laws.'

A letter fi'om Medina County, Ohio, dated Nov. 17,
gives the following list of prices : — "A good pair of
horses, 125 dol. ; a pair of oxen, 50 dol. to 80 dol. ; a
fat sheep, 3 dol. ; flour, per barrel of 89 lbs, 6 dol. ;
wheat, per bushel (Winchester), 1 dol. to Ig dol. ; oats,
ditto, 28 cents ; tallow, per lb, 10 cents ; butter, ditto,
18 cents ; beef, ditto, not very good, 3 to 5 cents ; a
good low-wlieeled waggon, 65 dol. ; a good plough,
1 1 dol. ; a pane of glass, eight inches by ten, 10 cents.
Crockery is very dear. It is imported from England,
and pays a duty of 28 per cent. A jug that will hardly
hold a Scots pint cost 30 cents."

TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES.

The advancement of our species in intellectual en-
j.)yment, is themainobject of philosophy and science.
It is only by a larger developement of the faculties,
that we preserve our prerogative and superiority in
animal creation. The powers within us are suffi-
cient to promote the end, provided they are not
weakened and eventually destro3'ed by artifisial
meens. The most fat-al resource for the excitement
of the nervous system, is the use of ardent spirits,
and the misery, pauperism, and demoralization of a
country is more dependent on the use or abstinence
from this deleterious beverage, than from any other
influence, moral or political. It is true the advance
of intellect within the few last years, has been most
rapid, having- with eagle's flight soared above ig-
norance and prejudice, but though endowed with
the power of wing of the imperial bird, yet is its
ascent too often impeded, its functions scathed, by
the vivid lightning- as it were, of ardent spirits.
The friends of temperance in England, and particu-
larly Scotland, have effected much good, but their
associates in America have obtained a victory more
deserving the bays of immortality, than those of the
renowned heroes of old, as he that " conquers him-
self, has achieved more than Csesar." That the
prosperity of every branch of industry and human
enterprize must be beneficially promoted, by the ex-
clusion of spirituous liquors from the consumption
of those employed, becomes a moral certainty. Any
illustration therefore, which verifies the principle,
should be sought after and welcomed. The appeal
which such facts make to the interest, not less to the
mor-dl sense of the community, is irresistible. It is
therefore with pleasure we insert an address from
the " Temperance Societtj at Albany , America," merely
observing that the following table will exhibit the
diminution of spirits from the commencement of the
Society, at the same time remarking, that the con-
sumption of coffee has augmented in more than a com-
mensurate degree.

Account of ardent spirits imported into the United
States.
1824. 1825. 1826. 1827.

Galls. Galls. Galls. Galls.

5,385,047 4,114,046 3,322,380 3,465,302
1828. 1829. 1830.

Galls. Galls. Galls.

4,445,692 2,462,308 1,095,400

Circular to the Proprietors or Superintendents of Ma-
nufacturing establishments in the United States and
the British Provinces.

Gentlemen. — There are two classes of facts which
ought to come before the eye of the whole world. — The
statistics of intemperance and of abstinence — though
thus far but partially presented, have produced surpris-
ing revolutions and improvements in public sentiment
andpractice. The facts already developed have been as-
tounding ; while others of immense interest and im-
portance, remain yet to be collected and exhibited. In
prosecuting this great enterprize we have called upon
gentlemen occupying various stations of responsibility
and influence, and enjoying ample opportunities of ob-
servation, among all the difi'erent classes of commu-
nity.— Their answers present two glowing pictures.
In the one we behold individual degradation and ruin,
social distress and public loss. We behold the mon-
ster revelling in the miseries of the human family.
Under his paralyzing touch, commerce declines, and
the sturdy arm of industry withers ; health, intellect,
virtue, liope, happiness, life, with its fondest endear-
ments, its most tender attachments ; in a word, all
that is sacred, and lovely, and valualjle to man as a
mortal or an immortal, lie bleeding beneath the horrid
smile of this bloated demon. This, we have found is

190

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

no sketch of fancy. Sober facts, rigid statistics, ve-
rify it witli too horrible authenticity. But the other
picture is as bright and cheering, as this is painful.
And it carries constantly with it the delightful reflec-
tion, that the half cannot be told.— The streams of this
peaceful, healthful river have gone coursing around
the scorched and blighted plants of many a desolate
hearth. And oh, how many drooping plants, the
sweetest and best of earth's production, have begun to
revive. We speak, gentlemen, without exaggeration ;
tens of millions of dollars have been saved to this nation,
by the Temperance Reform. Tiie palsied arm has been
touched as by a miraculous power. The pauper who
was bringing his family to burden the town, is now the
respectable, thriving mechanic ; the family that used
to eat with trembling anxiety, the last stale crust, lest it
should prove the last indeed, are now living in the well
furnished house, with the bounteously supplied table,
surrounded by the well clothed, well educated group of
children. Disease is attacking the human frame with
diminished power. Pauperism is actually known now
in some towns, only in the annals of former days.
Unfriendly litigation is decreasing. The class of profit-
less consumers and idlers, the drones of our civil hive is
diminishing ; while the class of producers is increasing.
But it is impossible for us to convey, by general state-
ments, without a view of the facts which justify them,
any adequate conception of the animating results which
have actually followed past efforts. And these efforts,
we repeat, have been, the collecting and publishing
facts. "We desire to gather the remaining facts. There
is yet a vast number, scattered in individual or local
experience and observation. The best interests of an
oppressed world demand that they be concentrated,
like the sun's rays, with local power. We acknowledge
that our hopes are sangidne. Give us these facts.
They ivill furnish unquestionable evidence to the under-
standing of the truth of our fundamental propositions.
'J'hey urge a resistless appeal to all the better feelings,
the noble ingenuous sentiments of the human heart.
These appeals must prevail ; and the good sense, the
conscience and the humanity of our citizens will yet
triumph over the sordid propensities of avarice and
appetite.

The call has been made upon physicians for facts.
With a magnanimity the most creditable, estimating the
public good far more than professional interests ; more
than five thousand of them in Great Britain and
America, have confirmed this great temperance proposi-
tion— " Alcohol used as a beverage, by persons in health,
is never useful, but always hurtful."

The commanders of vessels have responded to our
appeal distinctly and impressively. They declare tliat
the majority of those awful disasters at sea, in which
so much property and so many human lives are
destroyed, are directly owing to the intoxication of
seamen. And from the combined motives of interest
and philanthropy, they have extensively signed our
pledge.

More than four thousand of the clergy in this country
alone, have publicly confirmed our principles by their
testimony, and given their names to our list of pledged
supporters.

The insurance companies, not as reformers, but as
business men, looking for pecuniary profit, have taken a
stand which ought to attract the attention of thinking
men. Some of them have long been in the habit of
returning five per cent of the premium on vessels which
made their voyage wishout using any alcoholic bever-
age. What more practical and powerful testimony
could these sagicious, skilful merchants give concerning
the value of total abstinence to commerce ? And facts
have shown that they did not miscalculate. The value
of the stocks and the dividends of those companies, has
greatly increased, for the risk is actually diminishing
much more than five per cent, by this cause. Twelve
hundred ships are now sailing under American colors,
in which no alcohol is drunk. But the beneficial effects
have been more than pecuniary. It has done more than
any one other cause to command for our commercial
navy the respect of the world. See the flattering and
generous testimony of the British nation.

During the last session of Parliament, an able com-
mittee was appointed to inquire into the " Cause of
Shipwrecks in the British Merchant service." — Their
testimony is as honourable to their candour and liberal-
ity as it is gratifying' to our patriotic feelings. It is a
testimony which we should think, would make every
lover of America a warm and efficient friend of the
Temperance lleformation.

'" The committee cannot conclude its labours with-
out calling attention to the fact, that the ships of the
United States of America, frequenting the ports of
England, are stated by several witnesses to be superior
to those of a similar class amongst the ships of Great
Britain, the commanders and officers being generally
considered to be more competent as seamen and nafi-
gators, and more uniformly persons of education than
the commanders and officers of British ships of a simi-
lar size and class trading from England and America :
while the seamen of the United States are considered
to be more carefully selected, and to be more efficient ;
that American ships sailing from Liverpool to New
York have a preference over English vessels sailing to
the same port, both as to freight and to rate of insur-
ance ; and higher wages being given, their whole equip-
ment is maintained in a higher state of perfection, so
that fewer losses occur ; and as the American shipping
have increased of late years in the proportion of 12 3-4
per annum, while the British shipping have increased,
within the same period, only 11-2 per cent, per annum,
the constantly increasing demand for seamen, by the
increasing marine service of the whole world, the num-
bers cut off by shipwreck, and the temptations offered
by the superior wages of American vessels, cause a
large number of British seaaien every year to leave the
services of their own country, and to embark in that
of the United States ; and these, comprising chiefly the
most skilful and competent of our mariners, produce
the double effect of improving the efficiency of the Ame-
rican crews, and, in the same ratio, diminishing the ef-
ficiency of the British merchant service."

The /a?-wers have been called upon to aid in extin-
guishing the fires of the distillery and brewery, by with-
holding the coarse grains from these manufactories of
paupers and criminals. They have nobly responded to
the appeal. Tfey have helped to close nearly one
thousand distilleries in the State of New York alone.
The farmers have found it better policy to feed their
cattle with their grains and fruits, than to take them
to the brewer or distiller. They have also extensively
come to the conclusion, that it is as immoral to furnish
the materials for making the destructive substance, as
it is to make and vend it. The diminution which has
thus been made in this most unprofitable and hurtful
employment of the bounties of Providence is truly won-
derful.

Ita-ppears, fo7- instance, by the collector's returns on the
Erie canal, last year, up to 3d October there ivere 285,288
bushels of barley received in Albany ; up to the same pe-
riod this year, only 72,663 bushels ; shoiving a falling off
of 21^,280 bushels. We believe there has been a full
crop of barley in the State, so that the inference is that
the farmers are feeding it to their cattle instead of fur-
nishing the brewery to some extent at least.

In New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and
other states, the habit of feeding the cider mill with
the fruits of the earth, is almost universally giving
place to the more patriotic and politic custom of feed-
ing those animals who, instead of poison, make a return
of wholesome and nutritious food to man. The shame-
ful and cruel practice of filling the farm-house cellar
with the most besotting of all beverages, to drown the
mind and quench the heart of a whole family during a
long winter, is giving way to wiser and kinder ex-
penditures of the same money in furnishing the library
with the instructions of wisdom and piety.

We have called upon the merchant and the mechanic
for the results of their observation and experience. The
facts which they present are alike appalling on the one
side, and heart cheering on the other. In a word, the
whole business oi making, importing, vending, using,
and furaishing alcoholic beverages, is an unqualified

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

191

evil. It lias furnished some of the darkest chapters in
the record of human crime and wretchedness. The im-
policy, injustice, and cruelty of this branch of manu-
factures and commerce, are standing before the public
eye in bold relief.

We now wish to make an appeal to you. It is our
belief, that should all the manufacturing establishments
adopt the principles or practice of total abstinence, they
would require no protecting duty. They could then
compete with the world under great advantages. We
have already ascertained enough to satisfy ourselves.
We want the world to see ; we want the manufactu-
rers to see the combined testimony of the whole. We
know manufactories, once flou.rishing, reduced to bank-
ruptcy by the general use of intoxicating drinks. We
know others whose success is astonishing under the
total abstinence system. The advantage is not to one
party in the establishment to the disadvantage of the
other ; but proprietors and workmen rejoice alike in its
benign and profitable efi'ects. Our object in this circu-
lar is to propose the following questions, to which, for
the benefit of mankind, we respectfully request an an-
swer as soou as it can conveniently be transmitted.

If you have not adopted any regulations on the use of
intoxicating- drinks in your establishment,

1. What are the practices of your workmen on this
subject ?

2. Have any deaths occurred among your hands,
whicti can be traced to the use of intoxicating liquors?

3. How many days, or parts of days, in a year have
they lost from the same cause?

4. Are there any contentions or difficulties between
the workmen and superintendents, or among the work-
men themselves ?

5. Have you had any difficulty from the want of
care in the workmen, such as losing tools, marring'
work, &c. ?

6. What is the condition of your workmen's families
in regard to comfortable clothing, food and fuel, edu-
cation, neatness, kindness?

7. Do your unmarried men spend their leisure even-
ings in mental improvement, or in dissipation?

8. Are your workmen, or any of them, in debt to the
establishment of the grocer, tailor, &c., at the end of
the year ?

9. Where ardent spirit alone has been abandoned,
and beer, wine and cider substituted, has the change
been much or any for the better? We wish particular
information on this head.

If you have adopted any regulations on this subject,

1. What are those regulations, and when adopted?

2. What has been the effect on the general appear-
ance, cheerfulness, activity, care, temper and manners
of the men?

3. Do your mechanics appear to have more self-
respect than they had before, or than others have, who
use intoxicating drinks ?

4. Is their time more profitably employed?

5. What is the condition of their families as to clean-
liness, cheerfulness, attendance on religious services and
education ?

6. Have your hands any surplus money at the end
of the year, how much, what disposition do they make
of it?

If you have made a change, then you can contrast
the present and former condition of your establishment.
If you have always acted on this principle, you may
contrast yours with some institution which acts on the
old plan.

State what you suppose to be the pecuniary gain
from abandoning the old practice of using alcoholic
beverages, and the better one of abandoning such use.
In a word, we earnestly request you to state all the
facts which you think calculated to enlighten the public
rnind, on the connexion between the prosperity of ma-
nufacturing establishments, and the use of intoxicating
drinks. These facts the Executive Committee of the
American Temperance Union intend to embody. We
believe that the facts when fully obtained and presented
to the world, will settle conclusively this important pro-
position, that every consideration of humanity, and of
pecuniary interest to the employer and the employed,

calls for the immediate abandonment of intoxicating

drinks.

We are, gentlemen, very respectfully, your obedient

servants,

E. C. Delavan,
J. W. Leavitt,
Isaac Collins,
Isaac S. Loyd,
John Tappan,
Christian Keeneh,
John T. Norton,

Ex. Com. American Temp. Union.

Note. — Address for the present, Edward C. Delavan,
Albany. Editors of papers throughout the Union are
respectfully requested to give this circular one insertion.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE
EXPRESS.

Sir. — I should feel obliged if any of your corres-
pondents would favour, me " through the medium
of your Journal," with answers to the following-
questions, upon Lucern and Rags.

When is the proper ("or best) time to sow lucern,
what is the usual quantity per acre, which is the
easiest way of drilling it, by common corn drill, or is
there a drill for the purpose, or is there any other
plan ; is it generally sown upon tilth, or may it be
sown after tares or any other green crop ; what is
about the price of the seed, and where can it be
procured ; what is the best manure for it, farm yard
dung or light compost, such as bone dust, oil dust,
&c. ? Where is the cheapest and best place to pur-
chase rags, (either in London or within 15 miles of
it on the Middlesex side,) for manure ; is thpre any
sort best for the purpose, what is the present
price in town, what is the usual quantity put
upon an acre, for what crops are they most suit-
able, will they last for more than one crop, are tbey
put on the land as you purchase them, or is it
necessary to do any thing to them first ; are they
considered as good as other light composts, supj»o-
sing the same amount be expended (in cash) per
acre, (for that is in my opinion the test, how to do
the most good to the erops at the least cost)? Should
you, Mr. Editor, be kind enough to favour me by
inserting the above, you will oblige

Your Obedient Servant, JEMS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK
LANE EXPRESS.

Sir, — In your paper of the 23d, I find an article upon
the turnip fly, by a Mr. Thomas Askell, wherein he en-
deavours to tell us how to drive the smother Jiy (aphis) by
means of a scuffler. Astonishmg ! It is most sing-ular
that of all the scufflers previously used, that none has
frightened thetn before ; it must be one of a more rigly
description than others. If he had set an old woman un-
der the hedge, that was speechless, I should think it would
have frightened them as much. He is perfectly mis-
taken; they never were frightened. By scuffling the
ground, it would earth up the plants, and the space be-
tween the rows would be lightened, and thereby give a
stimulus to the growth of the plants ; and so long as the
plants can be kept healthy the fly will not attack them.

SAMUEL GILL.

South Normanton, Alfreton, Derbyshire.

192

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

BEET SUGAR IN MASSACHUSETTS.

It would appear from tke from the following' extrect
from a New York paper that the cultivation of the beet
for makiag sug'ar is now to be pursued in earnest in
Massachusetts. Mr. Apthorp (not Althorp) of North-
ampton, has raised at the rate of 40 tons of beets to the
acre. The people of the place fell to calculating' that
40 tons of beets would produce 5,400 pounds of sug'ar ;
and that 30 bushels of wheat, which was all that an acre
of land could be expected to produce, would weigh but
1,800 pounds, so that the same land whicii would pro-
duce but one pound of wheat would produce three
pounds of sugar. They took into calculation also the
fact, that by the new method of chrystalizing the sirup
in France, sugar is made in that country for
three or four cents a pound. Several citizens of
the place have therefore formed a company for the
manufacture of beet sugar, and have engaged the ser-
vices of Mr. Isnard, the French Vice-Consul at Boston,
and the first person who extracted sugar from the beet-
root. Mr. Isnai'd is to proceed immediately to France,
as the agent of the company, and on his return next
spring is to devote his whole time to giving directions
and instructions respecting the manufacture. It is pro-
posed that the shares of the company's stock be sold to
cultivators, and the pay be taken in beets. We gather
these facts from the Hampshire Republican. i\Ir.
Isnard visited Northampton, and made a statement at a
public meeting, of which the following is a summary : —
The business of manufacturing- sugar from the beet was
commenced by himself, under Napoleon, in 1811. In
the first experiments only I5 lb. or 21b. of sugar were
made from 1001b of beet. The business is carried to such
perfection now, that they obtain 71b. and even 81b. By
chymical tests it is ascertained that the beet-root contains
10 per cent, of sugar. 70,000,0001b. are now made an-
nually in France. The cost of the sugar is 4J to 5 cents.
per lb., and they are confident they shall be able to
make it at 2 and 2J cents, per lb. He thinks it can be
made in this country at from 5 to 6 cents. The price of
beet in France is from 3 dol. to 3 dol. 50c. per ton. The
pumice is considered worth more by the pound to fatten
cattle than|the beet. 30,0001b. to 35,0001b. of beet-root
is considered in France an average crop to the acre
About 80 per cent, of the beet is juice, and about 20 per
cent" is pumice. An engine of 10 horse power will rasp
about 15 tons of beetin 12 hours, which produce 1,8001b.
of sugar. The expense of manufacturing 50,0001b. of
sugar is 60 dol., exclusive of the raw material. Land in
the district where the beet is cultivated in France rents
for 100 francs, while land equally good in other districts
rents for only 15 francs. From good land 21b. of sugar
to lib. of wheat can be obtained.

ON THE RECENT REGULATIONS
RELATIVE TO TWO-WHEEL CAR-
RIAGES.

There is a measure recently put in force relative to
carriages with two wheels of that description, which is
commonly used by farmers and respectable people re-
siding in the country, that formerly came under the
denomination of " taxed-carts" — which ought not to be
passed by without observation. No duty has been
charged upon this description of carriage for some
years past, provided they were constructed in confor-
mity with certain prescribed regulations : very recdntly,
however, the conditions here alluded to have been mo-
dified,—particularly those which related to metallic
springs and stuffing in the back of the carriage ; — and
the vehicle as it may now be used is sufHcientlj easy
lor the purpose of travelhng, and sufficiently respect-
able not to disturb the harmony which ought to exist
(to use the artist's expression) in order that the picture
may be every where in good keeping. But one of the
provisions under wliich this indulgence can be made
available, is of so questionable a character, that it

would be difficult to determine what could have been
the object for introducing it ; and, which equally ap-
plies to all carriages, whether used with metallic
springs or not, namely, that " the owner's Christian
and sir-name, his place of abode and occupation, shall
be painted on the back panoel of every such vehicle in
letters tifon!c/!esi)i/eng-f/i and of a proportionate breadth."
Now the General Highway Act, 5th and 6th William
I v., has a provision for the discovery of offenders, (s.76,)
by which it is enacted, " that the owner of every waggon,
cart, or other carriage, shall cause his name, &c., to be
painted on the offside thereofF in letters not less than
one inch in length ;" and most assuredly nine-tenths
of the heavy carriages we meet on the road are marked
with letters not more than one inch in length ; thus, if
the public safety is not endangered by the employment
of such letters on heavy carriages, while under the
direction of a clod-pole of a waggoner, it is perfectly
absurd to imagine that it would be less secure in the
hands of the master of that waggon, himself conduct-
ing a lighter vehicle and less dangerous turn-out ; and
who often is frequently as respectable in his appearance,
and as gentlemanly in his demeanour as the man who
sports his Stanhope or his Tandem. If, on the other
hand, it is intended to guard against evasion on the part
of those whose vehicles so nearly approximate in ap-
pearance ; security might be had by requi'ring all such
carriages to be numbered after the manner of the public
conveyances, such numbers being furnished by the
surveyor of taxes for the district in which they are
made use of. Among the many respectable individuals
belonging to the class of society to which this unpa-
latable regulation is applicable, there are no few that
regard it as a personal insult ; and although there are
some who from party feeling would soften it down to a
sort of ruse de finance, the majority are disposed to de-
signate it as an unworthy subterfuge to induce people
to pay the tax rather than subject themselves to the ex-
posure— a sort of badge of disgrace equally intolerable
as that which according to 8th and 9th of William III.,
clapped the T.P., (town poor), upon t\m backs of all
persons who were receiving parochial relief. The mea-
sure was as unwise as it was uncalled for ; nor could
the worst enemies of the present ministry have sug-
gested a surer method to lower them in the estimation
of the many who feel tliemselves deg'raded by it. A
moderate duty would be infinitely less objectionable
than this show-board regulation ; and which, if it did
not subject the parties to the further charge for a riding
horse and livery servant, would be acceded to without
a murmur.

Entomological Society. — The general meeting
of this society, for the election of council and officers,
took place on Tuesday, Jan. 24, the Rev. F, W. Hope,
F. R. S., president, in the chair. Mr. Stephens was
elected president for the ensuing year ; Mr. Westwood
secretary ; and Messrs Shockard and Westwood, cura-
tors. The president congratulated the meeting ui>on
the success of the society, and expressed his conviction
that it would produce important practical advantages to
the public. The society proposed giving a prize for the
best essay on the mode of preventing the ravages of the
Analethd Ce)itifolia, whose grub is found largely upon
turnip plants, and is known under the name of blacks.

Crewkerne. — ExTRAORDiNARv EwE. — There is
now in the possession of Mr. Joseph Bicknell, of
Hinton St. George, an ewe, thirteen years old, wliich
has had the incredible number of twenty-five lambs,
the last of which was exposed for sale in our market on
the 14th instant. She produced at four births thirteen
lambs, and the increase of the whole has been upwards
of 200, She is still as he.althy as ever, and supposed to
l)e breeding again. At tlie last season she yeaned three
lambs, which were slaughtered by Mr. Simon Good-
land, and each weighed 21 lbs per qr.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

198

AN ARTICLE FROM " THE VETERl-

N ART A In,"

FEBRUARY 1, 1837.
BY MR. VOUATT.

Ne quid falsi dicere audeat, ne quid veri non audeat.
Cicero.

There is no part of tlie duty of the veterinary sur-
geon more connected with the comfort and the in-
terest of his employer, than the examination of
liorses previous to purchase. As to the general cha-
racter and capabilit}- of the animal, perhaps the opi-
nion of a thorough sportsman would be more valu-
able. He sees at a glance wliat kind of horse will
carry him pleasantly on the road, and gallantly in
the field : but the anatomy of the animal — the con-
nexions and relations of the different parts of his
frame — the deviations which may not interfere with
usefulness and with health, and those with which
neither the one noi the other can permanently con-
sist— the early indications of disease — the connexions
and the progress of the various maladies to which the
borse is subject — these have not, and could not be
the objects of the sportsman's close and laborious
study. And the veterinarian ought here to stand on
his proper ground, and to render good service to his
employer. \A hy is not that system of instruction
adopted, and those habits, even within the collegiate
walls, encouraged, and afterwards followed up, with
all due regard to his respectability, his means, and
his professional duty, which would enable the pupil
to compete with the sportsman on his own ground,
and to beat him on every other? Why is not the
riding-school an essential appendage to every seat of
veterinary instruction, and the knowledge of the ex-
ternal structure of the horse, and the art of riding
and managing him, and bringing fairly out all his
excellencies and capabilities and defects, an integral
and indispensable part of the veterinary surgeon's
education? Then he would be at home in his pro-
fession, and useful, and duly appreciated.

It is difficult to say why it should have been so,
except that the veterinarian, or the instructor of the
veterinarian, conscious of his deficiency in that
which regards a material part of his duty, has been
anxious and systematically worked to cramp and
limit its bounds and scope, so that the public may
not detect that want of due preparation which ought
never to have existed ; but what is the veterinary
surgeon now called upon to give his opinion about 1
What is he anxious to confine his examination to?
The ])owers and qualities, and probable adaptation of
the horse for certain uses? No: but his mere free-
dom from disease — his soundness or unsoundness.

If we alter our relative situations in life, is this all
that we, becoming purchasers of horses, should like
to get out of our veterinary friend ? No, no! We
should be a little disappointed, and somewhat angry
too, if, being asked whether he thought the horse
would suit us for certain purposes for which we
wanted him, he were to turn upoii his heel, and say,
" Why, really, I must decline to answer that ques-
tion—that is not my province — I see no unsoundness
about the horse, and I have nothing more to say.''
That is the course which many veterinarians pursue,
and they argue stoutly that they are right. It was
deficient veterinary education — it was the conscious-
ness of not having added the knowledge of the horse-
man to the science of the veterinary surgeon, that
first led to this ; and they will be more useful, and
more esteemed, and more employed, when the root of
this evil is removed.

This, however, is not the point immediately pres-
sing. It is ignorance and incapability of discharg-
ing that part of his duty, for which the veterinary
surgeon must acknowledge that he ought to be in
every point prepared, that is the crying sin now im-
periously forced upon our attention. Disease he
ought to be able to recognize in all its forms and in
all its bearings, and particularly its bearing on the
usefulness of the horse. Generally speaking, no ap-
peal should be able to lie against his opinion on these
points. There should not be the possibility of a tan-
gible point of unsoundness being overlooked, or of a
disease which has no existence being conjured up to
the annoyance of the intended purchaser, or to the
injury of the seller.

Now, in the present state of veterinary practice,
has the person who consults the veterinary surgeon
this security ? has the seller this defence? or, rather,
are not the prepossessions, the prejudices, the theo-
ries of different practitioners, with regard to certain
points about the soundness of the horse, so notorious,
that to take an animal for examination to two different
veterinary surgeons, is to ensure two almost utterly
different opinions ?

There has been a lamentable case of this lately.
In the action Wolfe v. Ellmore, the most strangely
discordant opinions were given as to the soundness
or unsoundness of a certain horse. The present
article would be too much lengthened if the whole
history of this business were entered into. Professor
Sewell's first examination of him in September pre-
sents a long list of very serious defects. There is
not the detail of slight alterations of structure, and
petty defects, which the eye of that gentleman is so
quick in discovering, and which sometimes should
not be dwelt upon when every thing else is right.
Most of those which he mentions in his certificate, if
existing, were real defects, and the existence of
which could not consist with soundness.

The object of the writer will be too well answered,
if the attention of the reader is limited to the exHini-
nation of the same horse three months afterwards,
and on the same day, by Messrs. Field and Turner.
These gentlemen stand deservedly high in the opi-
nion of their professional brethren, and of the public.
The writer of tliis essay has long associated with
them both, and will yield to no one in high estima-
tion of their veterinary acquirements, and deep feel-
ing of their pe/sonal worth.

These are their certificates, and the horse was
examined by both of them on the same day : —

224, Oxford Street, Dec. 1.
1 hereby certify that I have this day examined a grey
gelding, sent here for Mr. Yates, and observe that he
has a slight defect in the off eye, which prevents him
from being considered perfectly sound ; a splent on each
fore leg ; enlargement of the spavin place of both hocks,
particularly the near, and a thrush in the near hind foot ;
but these do not at present occasion inconvenience in
his action. He is about nine years old.

J. Field, Vet. Surgeon.

311, Regent Street, Dec, 1.
I hereby certify that I have this day examined a grey
gelding, sent here by Mr. Elmore, particularly with re-
gard to his hocks, and am of opinion that the said geld-
ing is perfectly free from spavins, and from lameness :
but I observe a very considerable splent on the inside
of his near fore leg, close to the knee joint, and his off
fore foot is slightly contracted. The latter defects, I
am of opinion render him unsound.

J. TuKN'ER, Veterinary Surgeon.

Would or could anyone suppose that these gentle-
men had been examining the same horse ? " He has

194

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

a slight defect in the off eye, which prevents him
from being- considered perfectly sound," says Mr.
Field. He describes not tlie nature of that defect,
but he pronounces him unsound in consequence of
it. It is the only cause of unsoundness in Mr.
Field's estimation. Mr. Turner sees nothing of the
Ymd, nor do Messrs. Mavor, Langworthy, or
Henderson, who examined the horse on the two fol-
lowing days. " He has enlargement of the spavin
place of both hocks, particularly the near," says Air.
Field. " He is perfectly free from spavins," says
Mr. Turner, whose attention had been particularly
directed to this point. Neitlier of the other gentle-
men says one word of tl)e spavins. " He has a
thrush in the near liind foot." Neither of the other
four examiners have the least notion of this ; but
"he has a splent on each fore leg;" so says Mr.
Turner, who condemns him as unsound, principally
on this account. The existence of the splent is re-
cognized by Messrs, Mavor and Henderson ; but it
is declared to be of a very trifling nature by the
latter of these gentlemen.

" I find him," says Mr. Turner, " perfectly free
from spavins ; but he has a very considerable splent
on his near fore leg, and his off fore foot is slightly
contracted, and on both of these accounts he is un-
sound," Neither Messrs, Field, Mavor, Lang-
worthy, nor Henderson, recognize the existence of
this contraction, or the harm done by the splent,
Mr. Turner, when questioned as to the splent, made
his stand upon it, and regarded it as a fine specimen
of the kind of splent which must be injurious ;
neither of the other gentlemen could see anything
injurious in it.

Now what shall we say of all this 1 Could this
have been the same horse, examined on the same day
by the first tw© gentlemen, and within three days by
all of them ?

Can such things be.
And overcome us like a summer's cloud
^Vithout our special wonder ?

We will not adopt, to its full extent, the strong
lang-uage of a highly talented junior member of our
profession, whose letter shall certainly have a place
in our next number, and should have appeared in
this, had it arrived in time:— "As to Veterinary
Jurisprudence, a part of veterinary knowledge which
it is of ihe utmost importance we should excel in,
what is it 1 A by-word among the legal profession—
a laughing-stock for the sensible portion of society —

a blank in the pages of the veterinary dictionary a

stain on the character of the profession." This is
strong language, not, we trust, yet applicable in its
full extent. But this is certain — it is as clear as the
sun at noonday— that it needs but a few more exhi-
bitions of this kind to make the examination of
horses by veterinary surgeons a perfect laughing-
stock among horsemen.

Do we mean to impugn the judgment of these
gentlemen ? No, no !— their reputation as veteri-
nary practitioners, and as judges of the horse, is
sufficiently established in the opinion of every one
that has to do with that animal ; and, perhaps, we
are not quite sorry that this expose involves such men
as these, and not others of less repute. It is the
inevitable consequence of the system of veterinary
education that has been hitherto pursued. The
human surgeon is probably a few times, and a very
few times in his life, called upon to give evidence in
cases of medical jurisprudence ; and that he should
not then compromise his own reputation and that of
the profession to which he belongs, he is compelled
to attend a course of lectures of considerable length

on this particular subject. The veterinary surgeon
every day of his life, if he has much practice, is
called on to give his opinion of the soundness or un-
soundness of the horse, or of some other domesti-
cated animal, and that opinion may be the subject of
judicinl investigation; and what instruction does he
receive 1 Is he compelled to attend a course of pro-
portionably greater length on the subject of veteri-
nary jurisprudence? — or, considering tlie greater
mystery which hangs over the examination of a
dumb patient, compared with one who can answer
our questions and dispel many a doubt, is the course
still more lengthened 1

Tell it not in Gath ! When we were students at
the Veterinary College, tlie w-hole course of instruc-
tion with respect to this subject was comprised in
half a lecture ; — now we believe that a lecture is
devoted to it. Has no one seen the difference be-
tween regular systematic instruction, and snatches
of knowledge hastily caught and imperfectly under-
stood "! Has no one watched the different progress
of two persons, one of whom was slowly and care-
fully and cautiously grounded in the principles
which he studied ; while the other received only a
few and irregular and confused gleams of light ?
Here is the root of the evil, and it has existed far
too long.

It would have taken some two or three lectures to
have well grounded the pupil in the basis — the prin-
ciple of soundness ; and it would have occupied
many more to have applied this principle to the va-
rious organs and parts and diseases of our domesti-
cated animals, and to have enabled the student to
understand, in a general way, how far a deviation
from natural structure and function involved un-
soundness of constitution or unsoundness of action,
and necessarily, or probably, or possibly, led to an
incapability of performing the work, or arriving at
tlie condition which we liave a right to expect from
tliem. The student is, in a manner, left to form his
own o])inion of what soundness or unsoundness ac-
tually is, and the application of the principls to the
every-day affairs of his profession ; and then, instead
of a comprehensive view of the subject, and a com-
prehensive examination, if we may use tne phrase,
of the animal submitted to his judgment, he acquires,
or thinks that he acquires, a knowledge somewhat
above his brethren on certain points and diseases.
In consequence of this, his attention is not exclu-
sively, but somewhat too much, directed to these
points ; and he sees, actually sees, certain minute
defects which escape the observation of others ; and
he magnifies the molehill into a mountain ; or, he
fancies that he sees that which exists only in his per-
verted fancy. Hence our discrepancies of opinion
on the soundness or unsoundness of our patients —
hence the woful exhibition wliich we sometimes make
in a court of justice — hence the disgrace which we
occasionally bring on the profession to which we be-
long.

Another cause of the compromise which is so often
made of the reputation, we had almost said the
honour, of our profession, is the difference of opi-
nion whicli is not only well known to exist between
the heads of the College on the principle of sound-
ness, but the almost systematic eagerness with which
that difference of opinion is forced on the pupil and
tiie public. Mr. Coleman regards unsoundness to
consist in that alteration of structure and function
\vhicli interferes, or is likely so to do, with the duty
and usefulness of the animal. Mr. Sewell considers
aliiK st every alteration of structure as unsoundness.
To such extent is this carried, that the advocates of
these respective doctrines often cannot agree as to

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

195

the plainest matter of fact. A mare was returned on
a certificate of Mr. Sewell that she wns lame in the
fetlock — she had ossification there. JMessrs. James
Turner, and Cliarles Turner, and Mavor,aud Howard,
said that nothing was the matter with the fetlock,
but that she was perfectly sound. So contradictory
was the evidence, that the judge ordered Messrs.
Sewell, and Alavor, and Turner, to go into the court-
3'ard and examine her again. On tlieir return Mr.
Sewell affirmed that the fetlock joint was still en-
larged. Mr. Turner said that in his opinion the fet-
lock joint was not enlarged ; and Mr. Mavor ex-
claimed, in a pet, that there was no enlargement at
all. The whole court was convulsed with laughter.

So here, " the grey gelding," says Mr. Field,
" has splents and spavins, and a thrush, hut tliey
don't hurt him. He is unsound in the eye." " I
beg your pardon," says Mr, Turner, " there is no-
thing tlie matter with his eye, nor has he any thing
at all like spavins ; but he presents a beautiful si)e-
cimen of unsoundness from splent, and he has a con-
tracted heel." " You are both wrong, gentlemen,"
says Mr. Mavor ; " I acknowledge that he has
sjjlents, but they are of no consequence, and in my
opinion he is quite sound." " The splents are mere
trifles," says Mr. Henderson ; " he is sound enough."
" There is nothing at all the matter with him,'' ex-
claims Mr. Langworthy ; " he is as sound as a
roach."

How long shall these lamentable, tliese disgrace-
ful exhibitions continue 1 How long shall the opi-
nion of a veterinary surgeon with regard to the
soundness of a horse be regarded as a by-word and
a proverb 1 What will ere long become of this va-
luable portion of our practice, if our nonsense, our
inconsistencies, and our incompetence, are thus
blazoned to the world ? There wants, and there
must be, a radical reform here. If our teachers will
not effect it, the public soon will, and in a way not
very pleasant to our feelings and our interest. The
reform must commence with the education of tlie
student. The most important part of that education
must no longer be systematically, unaccountably,
abandoned ; and, ere long, by a better division of
labour, by a more distinct classification of duty,
those discrepancies of opinion which are not reputa-
ble to tlie masters, but most annoying and injurious
to the pupils, must cease to be so often obtruded.
We will return to this subject, unless it should soon
employ a better pen. Y.

[from JOHN MURRAY, ESQ,]

Spontaneous Combustion, — 1 think the cotton ma-
nufacturer should be apprized of the imminent danger
and risk he incurs from the contact of Cotton and
Linseed Oil, To this cause alone, I am inclined to
refer the origin of many of the destructive conflag-
rations which bave occured not only in cotton manu-
factories, but the warehouses of Liverpool, From
facts 1 might refer to, conjoined with my own expe-
riments, this conclusion may be clearly substan-
tiated and confirmed. A small portion of linseed
oil sprinkled in a bale of cotton will certainlv occasion
spontaneous combustion.

Laburnum Seed. — The fact of tlie highly poison-
ous nature of the seeds of the Laburnum cannot be
(especially about this season of the year,) too gene-
rally known, as children are apt to eat them from
their pea-like forms and the appearance of the pods.
Serious accidents have occurred from this circum-

stance, and, if I remember right, death has super-
vened in more cases than one. I know no better re-
medy than an emetic, followed by a solution of
chloride in water, or chloride of soda or of lime, as
strong as can be taken. This is the most effective
remedy I have ever seen in cases when coma, &c,,
had followed the action of poisons in the case of ac-
cidents from vegetable poisons.

Mechanique. — I see that a serious coach accident
has taken place in the case of the London and Hull
Express when descending- a hill. Such accidents
are generally occasioned by^ the non-application of
the drag or slipper, arising from laziness, and the
time lest by the coachman leaving his seat, or arising
from the short delay that must necessarily take place.
I have heard of the adaptation of a substitute for
this, not altogether efficient, and certainly incon-
venient plan, for retarding the velocity of the coach,
consisting in the same means being accomplished
by the pressure of the foot on a spring. This ap-
pears still worse, because, if the coachman is dis-
turbed by any means, the spring may be relieved or
set at liberty on the aclivity, and the impetus increase
the usual velocity. The mechanique now applied to
the French Diligences, and so successfully efficient,
is worthy of adaptation in this country. By means
of a screw and winch, under the immediate and
complete controul of the conductevr, and even the
postillion, the velocity is retarded or instantaneously
checked, and may be modified according to the de-
gree of inclination of the plane of descent ; both the
hind wheels are operated on by the mechanique.

The Cultivation of Bog is every day becoming a
matter of more importance ; but, although it has en-
gaged the attention of the most eminent agricultu-
rists, for many years back, there does not appear to
have been lately, any new or very important im-
provement made in it. The use of clay, sand, and
gravel, to bog soil was thought of, as far back as the
middle of last century ; and their application, when
they can be conveniently had, along with putrescent
manures, after drainage, &c., is still the plan of re-
clamation generally adopted. Yet, this method has
been found unsuccessful upon flow bogs, except at
an unremunerating outlay : the crops seldom come
up to expectation, and the soil shows a tendency to
revert to its former state. The main cause of this is,
undoubtedly, the want of a proper subsoil — in
speaking of a subsoil, allusion is not made to the
earthy stratum under the bog, but to that part of the
bog which is immediately in contact with the im-
pioved soil, and which may be stated to be, on an
average, about nine to ten inches under t':e surface^
— a circumstance which appears to have been over-
looked by bog-improvers and engineers. We know,
that moory soils, of eight or ten inches in depth,
aud having only a very small proportion of earth in
their composition, when well decomposed, and rest-
ing upon subsoils of fine gravelly clay, are often of
gri at value ; the principal cause of difference, then,
between their fertility, and that of well-decomposed
bog, which has received a supply of earthy material,
must be in the subsoils— the one subsoil beino- bog,
and the other earth. The value of all soils, as it is well
known, depends, in a great measure, upon the na-
ture of their subsoils ; and bog, being an inert, dead,
antiseptic, astringent, and imperfectly decomposed
mass of vegetable matter, nearly destitute of earthy
material, adverse to a circulation of air, and charged
with moisture of the most pernicious quality to use-

196

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

ful vegetation, in the state in which it therein exists,
maj justly be considered the worst kind of subsoil.
Enrich the soil, ihen, as we may, still, rain water
passing through it, will become more or less delete-
rious, as soon as it comes in contact with the bog
below, and all moisture rising up from the bog, will
injure both the soil and the crop ; and hence, we
see, that the best improved flow bogs, when let alone,
soon show by their natural vegetation a tendency to
return to their former state. On this account, it
appears probable, that by laying an earthy subsoil,
about three inches thick (the thicker the better,) and
nine or ten inches under the surface, so as to sepa-
rate the soil and the lower portion of tiie bog, we
would have made a successful step towards its im-
provement. Mixing a few inches of the bog subsoil
with the same material, and then pressing them down,
might perhaps have a similar effect, and be cheaper ;
and, certainly notlnng could be better adapted for
these purposes, than the most of the limestone debris,
which abound so much in this country, and fortu-
nately, in the immediate vicinity of most of the great
bogs themselves. By this means, a certain degree
of circulation of air and moisture, so necessary to
vegetation, would be promoted, and the pernicious
moisture rising from lielow, might lose the most of
its deleterious principle, in its passage through the
artificial subsoil. The soil would decompose more
freely ; and, with a due admixture of clay and gravel,
would b3'-and-b3'e, be converted into rich moorv
loam, fit for the cultivation of either white or green
crops. There would be a few pounds per acre, of
additional expense, attending this method — more
earthy material and labour being required ; but, if the
operation of applying the earth to the soil (and cer-
tainly less would suffice in this way), and forming
the subsoil were carried on, at the same time the ex-
pense vv'ould not be so great as, at first sight, might
appear, especially if steam power were in use ; and,
it would certainly be a permanent, and might turn
out to be a profitable mode of improvement. These
views, the subscriber oifers with considerable diflS-
dence, especially, as the subject of bog reclamation
is one of the most difficult within the range of agri-
culture, and one about which scientific men, and the
most enterprising improvers, are widely at issue, in
their opinions ; but, if it only has the effect of draw-
ing the attention of others to the subject, it will not
be without its use. The cultivation of the flow bogs
of Ireland, if they can at all be made remunerative,
is a matter of too much importance in a national
point of view, to be much longer neglected ; and any
new idea relating to the subject, may be valuable,
by leading to investigation and experiment. — By
Mr. S. Nicholson.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE CAMBRIAN.

Sir : — Nothing, in my opinion, could be more
judicious than the observations of D. P., relative
to the propagation of the apple in this county,
which have appeared in the Cambrian. That his let-
ters may receive their proper meed of attention, and
that they may be followed up by practical appli-
cation, so as to secure beneficial results, is my
most sincere and earnest wish. It is unquestion-
able, that there has been a great decrease in the
cultivation of the apple in the extensive neigh-
bourhood from where I write. The causes of this
decrease may form the pubject of a future letter.
Attached to St- Donats Castle, there have jeen no
less than from seven to eight acres of orchard land.

Between the years 1776 and 1780, one Griffiths, a
tenant of the Castle, was in the habit of making
from 25 to 30 hogsheads of cider annually. People
from all parts of the county were accustomed to
purchase this celebrated beverage; and now the
miserable remnants of the decayed trees alone re-
main. In the parish of Llantwit Major, there were
from 25 to 30 acres of orchard land. It has now
the ruins of four cider mills, which are by no
means likely to be rebuilt ; though there is one
gentleman in this parish who is a strong advocate
for the apple. Llantwit was distinguished for a
number of years, par excellence, by the name of
"Apple Town." Penmark parish averaged the
yearly manufacture of 20 hogsheads of cider, until
of late years. Near Penmark place there is a very
large cider mill. 'J'he parish of Llantrithid culti-
vated the fruit extensively at one time ; but there,
as in the places previously mentioned, it is now
ruinously neglected. At Llansanor, there is a verj'
good cidei mill in rejjair, and in this parish a large
quantity of apples is produced. Llanmihangel was
a noted place for apples, but unfortunately has
been doomed to experience the same apathy and
inattention tnat has brought the other orchards
into their present deplorable state. It is, however,
cheering to observe, that by the orders of the
Right Hon. Earl of Dunraven, there is now in
course of planting at Llanminhangel about GOO
apple trees, and nearly 100 pear trees, which in
addition to tVie old trees, will make nearly 800. It
is to be hoped that this praiseworthy example will
be followed by our county landlords. From the
above facts, and a great many others which might
be easily adduced, it is evident how much tlie cul-
ture of the apple tree has fallen oif. The influence
of those who are the " Lords of the Land, " may
bring about the desired renovation.

Among the multifarious advantageous uses to
which cider may be applied is one which I believe
is not very generally known. " One gallon of
brandy added to six of new cider, after it has been
racked off", makes Pomona wine. This, when
eight or twelve months old, is a very good sub-
stitute for wine for the use of the poor or sick,
and is beyond all comparison more wholesome
than the wretched mixtures sold so cheap under
the name of " Lisbon wine. " That the apple may
rise to its former notoriety in the vale of Glamor-
gan, and especially in the romantic neighbourhood
of Cowbridge, is the hope of, Sir, yours, &c.,

Cowbridge, Jan. 19, 1837. T. L.

Honey Taker. — A large swarm of bees had
fixed their abode on the ceiling of a verandah, and, in
due time, when their honey was deposited, we wished to
collect it, but were for some time at a loss for the means.
Hearing, however, that there was a gai'dener who pos-
sessed a peculiar art of doing it unhurt, he was sent for
and desired to bring down the honey. I watched him
closely through the whole process, and was told by him
and believe, that he used no other precaution than the
following. He took some of the plant called tooisy,and
rubbed it over his body, face, arms, and hands ; he then
chewed a little, and held a sprig of it in his mouth.
With no other than this apparently slight defence, he
mounted a ladder, a large dish in one hand, and a sharp
knife in the other ; and though as thinly clad as his class
usually are, with thousands of bees swarming about his
naked body, he, vidth the greatest sang froid, cut imme-
diately through the upper part of the comb, where it
was suspended to the roof, and receiving the whole of
it in his dish, brought it down, without having suffered
from a single sting, — Indian Reminiscences in the Bengal
Moofussue.

^

^J

t

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

]97

ELIS.—CPlate,J

Elis was bred by Mr. Ward, an innkeeper
of Stockport: got bj' Langar out of Olympia
(bred by Lord Stamford in 1815) by Sir Oli-
ver, her dam Scotilla by Anvil, out of Scota
by Eclipse — Harmony by Herod out of Ru-
tilia. Elis is a bright chesnut, with white
face and white hind legs ; neat head, small
ears, and good eyes; neck light, large shoul-
ders, and capacious breast; chest deep, good
arms, and clean legs, but stands rather over ;
well and deep ribbed, back straight, tail well
set on; widely spread quarter, thighs well
let down and muscular; good temper; stands
fifteen hands three inches.

In 183.3, Elis won the Chesterfield Stakes
of 30 sovs each, 20 ft. half a mile, 30 subs,
beating the vithenian, Corunna, Tom Beaz
ley, Oberou, Alfred, Sister to Zulima, St.
Luke, Kitty of Coleraine, Ethiopian, The
Professor, El Pastor, and Menas.

In the same year, he carried off the Mole-
comb Stakes of 50 sovs. each, h. ft. at Good-
wood, (19 subs.) beating, with 5 lb. extra on
his back, Haveldar and Skirmisher.

Won the Clearwell Stakes of 30 sovs. eacli,
20 ft. .35 subs, beating Marmalade, Slane,
Alfred, Rattle, Saltator, Arbaces, Toga, Er-
mine, St. Luke, and Retlshank. Same Meet-
ing, he ran second to Alumnus for the Pren-
dergast Stakes.

In the Houghton Meeting, he won the Cri-
terion Stakes of 30 sovs. each, 20 ft, 46 subs,
beating Slane, Mr. Wags, Galliard, Vanden-
hoff, c. by Albany, and the Athenian. Same
Meeting, walked over for a Sweepstakes of
50 sovs. h. ft. 20 subs.

In 1836, he was beaten by Bay Middleton,
by half a head, for the Two Thousand Guineas
Stake, at the Newmarket First Spring Meet-
ing.

At Goodwood, he came out for the Drawing
Room Stakes of 25 sovs. each, with a bonus
of 10 sovs. for each, (two miles and a half)
beating Magician, Esmeralda, Sepoy, Toga.
The Drummer, Haveldar, and Helga. At the
same Meeting, he ran second to Hornsea for
the Cup ; the latter being allowed 5 lb, while
Elis carried 51b. extra. Same Meeting, he
won the Racing Stakes of 50 sovs. each, h. f(.
6 subs, beating the Drummer and Taglioni.

At Lewes, he won the Lewes Stakes of 25
sovs. each, 15 ft. &c. with 100 added, 48
subs, beating Hock, Olympic, Rockingham,
Luek's-AII, Oak Apple, Tiber, Trape's Geld-
ing, and Aristocrat.

At Doncaster, he won the St. Leger very
cleverly, beating Scroggins, Bee's Wing, and
a good field. His aggregate winnings amount
to £6,950.

From Doncaster, he proceeded to Newmar-
ket, where he met Bay Middleton for the
Champagne Stakes, and was beaten.

In temper, as well as in the form of his car-
case, (his deep ribs in particular) Elis re-
minds us of the celebrated Dr. Syntax. How-
ever, while the late Mr. Riddell was very

careful not to allow the Doctor to come out
too often, the Earl of Lichfield has made a
prodigal use of the powers of Elis, even at
the early age of two and three years: Dr.
Syntax continued eminently successful on
the Course till he had attained his fourteenth
year : Elis, with good running, may come
out this year, and prove successful for some
of the Cups; but, as "too much has been
taken out of him" at so early a period of life,
it cannot be expected that his racing career
will extend to the unusual length we have
just mentioned.

EAST-RIDING AGRICULTURAL
ASSOCIATION.

PREMIUMS INTENDED TO BE GIVEN AT THE
AGRICULTURAL SHOW, TO BE HELD AT BEVER-
LEY, ON WEDNESDAY, THE 26tH DAY OF JULY,
1837.

£ s. d.
To the Labourer in Husbandry (who has
not occupied more than half an Acre of
Land,) who has brought up and placed
out to Service the greatest number of
Children, without receiving Parochical
Relief, Certificates of which to he

produced .5 0 0

To the second approved Candidate 3 0 0

To the Third ditto 2 0 0

To the Fourth ditto 1 0 0

The Premium to Servants in Husbandry,
(being unmarried persons,) will be ex-
tended to those who have lived in
several places, provided they have lived
not less than Four Years in each service ;
to produce certificates from their masters
or families, or in case of their death or
removal, from two respectable persons
of each service.

To the First Candidate 4 0 0

To the Second ditto 3 0 0

To the Third ditto 2 0 0

To the Fourth ditto 10 0

The same regulation to apply to Female
Servants in farming service, and the
following rewards given ; —

To the First Candidate ., 3 0 0

To the Second ditto (not living in service

as housekeeper) ; 2 6 0

To the Third ditto 1 0 0

To the Labourer in Husbandry, who has

worked the longest time upon one farm 3 0 0

To the Second ditto 1 0 0

To the Shepherd (being an annual servant)
who has reared the greatest proportion-
ate number of Lambs, from not less than

100 Ewes 3 0 0

To the Shepherd who has lived the longest

time in one service 3 0 0

To the best Agricultural Labourer ; given
by Mr. Joseph Beaumont, of Brantiug-

hara-Thorpe 1 0 0

All Competitors must be living with
families resident in the East-Riding, or
Town and County of Kington-upon-
Hull, during the. periods of their
servitude.
The second Premium will not be given

V

198

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

unless there are three competitors ; the £
third unless four ; aud the fourth unless
five
The Committee reserve the power of with-
holding the Premiums, should they con-
sider the applicants not sufficiently
commendahle.
Certificates to be sent to the Secretary,
not later than the Saturday preceding
the show.
For the best Bull, of any age, from any

part of tlie Kingdom 10

For the best aged Bull 5

For the best two-year old Bull 4

For the best Yearling Bull 3

For the best Cow in milk or in a breeding-
state 5

For the Second best 3

For the best two-year old Heifer, in calf. 3
For the best two-year old Heifer, in calf,
bred by, and the bona fide property of,

the shower 3

For tlie best Yearling Heifer 3

For the best Tup of any age, from any
part of the Kingdom, (£5 by the Asso-
ciation, and £o added by J. Greame,

Esq., of SewerbyJ 10

For the best aged Tup 5

For the best Shearling Tup 5

For the best Pen of Five Breeding Ewes,
that have suckled Lambs up to the time
of the show, the Lambs to be shown

with the Ewes - . - 3

For the Second best ditto 2

For the best Pen of Five Shearling

Wethers 3

For the best Pen of Five Shearling

Gimmers 3

For the Second best ditto 1

For the best Mare for Breeding Coach

Horses 5

For the Second ditto 2

For the best Mare for Breeding Hunters . . 5

For the Second best ditto 2

For the best Mare for Breeding Roadsters 5

For tlie Second best ditto 2

For the best Mare for Breeding Cart

Horses 3

For the Second best ditto 2

For the best Boar of the large species. . . 2

For the Second best ditto 1

For the best Boar of the small species. . . 2
For the Second best ditto (given by D.

Sykes, Esq., of Willerby) 1

I'or the best Sow of the large species. ... 2

For the Second best ditto 1

For the best Sow of the small species ... 2

For the Second best ditto 1

For the best Three-year old Coaching

Gelding 3

For the best Two-3'ear old ditto 3

For the best Yearling Coaching Gelding 2
For the best three-year old Coaching Filly 3
For the best three-year old Hunting-
Gelding 3

For the best Stallion for getting Coach

Horses 5

For the best Stallion for getting Hunters. 5
For the best Stallion for getting Roadsters 5
For the best Stallion for getting Cart

Horses 3

For the best Yearling Stallion Colt, by
Merry Legs, (given by Robert Deni-
son, Esq., of Kilnwick Percy) 5

s. d.

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0 0
0 0
0 0

0 0
0 0

0 0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

9

0

0

0

0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

For the best Agricultural Implement, £ s. d.
(given by R. F. Shawe, Esq., of Bran-
tingham-Thorpe) 10 0 0

To the person who shall invent, or intro-
duce into practice, the most useful
Plough or other Implement, for perform-
ing the excavations in the process of
hollow draining ; such sum as in the
opinion of the judges, on proof by
certificate, trial, or otherwise, they may
think the merit of the implement entitled
I0, not exceeding. . 10 0 0

The second premium will not be given for cattle,
unless there are three shown.

The Bulls to be kept in the East-Riding, and to
serve the cows of the members, at not more than
one pound each, for six months.

The Tup obtaining the premium, " for the best Tup
of any age from any part of the kingdom," to be
let on the ground to the highest bidder, immedi-
ately after the premium is adjudged.

The premium to the Cows, best two-year old Heifers,
the Breeding Ewes, and Shearling Gimmers, will
not be granted to any cattle fed on any other than
green food for three calendar months previous to
the show. Certificates to that effect to be pro-
duced, signed by two neighbouring farmers.

All stock must be the property of persons resident
within the East-Riding, or Town and County of
Kingston-upon-Hull, (except the Bulls and Tups
hired for 12 months) : and no St-allion will be
considered qualified unless he has served exclu-
sively within the same limits during the preced-
ing season, certificates of which must be produced
to the satisfaction of the secretary.

The Committee reserve the power of withholding
any of the premiums, should the Judges consider
tliere is not sufficient merit, or not in adherence to
the preceding rules.

The entry for the premiums to close on the Saturday
previous to the show.

SWEEPSTAKES,

Of ten shillings each for the best Bull.

Of ten shillings each for the best Cow.

Of ten shillings each for the best Yearling Heifer.

Of ten shillings each for the best fat Steer under
four years old.

Of ten shillings each for the best Aged Tup.

Of ten shillings each for the best Shearling Tup.

Of ten shillings each for the best pen of five Suck-
ling Ewes.

Of ten shillings each for the best pen of five Shear-
ling- Gimmers for breeding.

Of ten shillings each for the best pen of five
Wethers.

Of ten shillings each for the best pen of five Shear-
ling Wethers.

Of ten shillings each, with £3 added by Mr. William
Lee, of Gardham, for the best fat Wether, Rwe,
or Gimmer, from any part of the kingdom.

Of ten shillings each for the best Boar.

Of ten shillings each for the best Sow.

Of ten shillings each for the best two-year old
Coaching Colt.

Of ten shillings each, with £10 added by James
Hall, Esq., of Scorborough, for the best threa-
year old Cooching Gelding, bred by, er the bona
fide property of, the shower, 12 calendar months
previous to the show. N.B. — This premium will
not be given unless there are three shown.

Of ten shillings each for the best two-year old
Coaching Filly.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

199

Of ten sliillings each for tbe best three-year old
Coacliing Filly.

Of ten shillings each for the best two-year old
Hunting- Colt.

Of ten shillings each for the best three-year old
Hnnting Colt.

Of ten shillings each for the best Coaching- Mare.

Of ten sliillings each for the best Hunting iVIare.

Of ten shillings each for the best Mare for breeding-
Roadsters.

Of ten shillings each with, £3 added by Mr. Henry
Edwards, of Market-Weighton, for the best Nag-
Mare from any part of the kingdom.

Of ten shillings each for the best Cart Mare.

Of ten shillings each for the best Stallion ror getting
Coach Horses.

Of ten shillings each for the best Stallion forgetting
Hunters.

Of ten shillings each for the best Stallion forgetting
Roadsters.

Of ten shillings each for the best Stallion for getting
Cart Horses.

Of ten shillings each for the best Yearling- Stallion
Coaching Colt.

The entries will be made by the secretary, to whom
the money shall be paid, aad to close on the
Saturday previous to the show.

All female stock shown to be the bona fide property
of the shower.

All stock intended to be shown to be on the ground
by ten o'clock, and a fine of 2s 6d if after that
time. At half-past ten no stock will be admitted,
exce])t Stallions, which will come on the ground
at twelve o'clock.

No stock to be removed from the show ground before
one o'clock, except Stallions, which may be
removed after they have been shown,

N.B. — By the General Rule, No. 12, " Any
Labourer or Servant, or any Animal obtaining the
first prize in any class of premiums, given in any
one year, shall not be eligible to compete in the
same class the succeeding year.

J. B. BAINTON,

Beverley, January, 1837. hon. secretary.

COMMUTATION OF TITHES— CAM-
BERWELL.

On the 1st February, a numerous and highly respect-
able meeting- of the tithe owners and rate-payers of the
districts of Camberwell, Peckham, and Dulwich was
held at the Grove House Tavern, Camberwell, pursuant
to the following- requisition: — " We, the undersigned,
being duly authorised agents of tithe owners within the
parish of Camberwell, in the county of Surrey, whose
interest is not less than one quarter of the whole value of
tithes of the said parish, do, by this notice in wriung-
under our hands, call a parochial meeting- of land-
owners and tithe-owners within the limits of the said
parish, for the purpose of making an agreement for the
general commutation of tithes, pursuant to the provi-
sions of an act passed in the sixth and seventh years of
the reign of his present ilajesty, intituled an ' Act for
the Commutation ©f Tithes in England and Wales,'
given under our hands, this 4th day oi January, 1837."
Signed Robert Cantwell, on the part of the impropria-
tors, and Martin Nokolds on the part of the vicar.

On the motion of Mr. Druce,

Thomas Moore, Esq., was unanimously called on to
preside, and on his taking the chair briefly opened the
business of the day by reading the notice convening the
meeting, and also a letter received from the Tithe
Commission-office, confirming the legality of the requi-
sition.

The names of the tithe-owners and land-owners pre-
sent were then taken down, when there appeared for Sir
John Small, Mr. Cantwell, andMr.Uenton (solicitors),
for Dulwich College estate, Mr. Druce, Mr. Ewbank,
Mr. Moore ; and Mr. Law, as agent of Sir C. de Cres-
pigny, &c.

The Chairman then called upon Mr. Cantwell, as
the representative of the impropriator, to state if he had
any and what proposition to make to this meeting, con-
stituted as it now was under the terms of the statute, for
the purpose of making nn arrangement with respect to
the commutation of his tithes.

Mr. Cantwell said thathe had attended the meeting
for the specific purpose of making the following proposal,
but he would first beg leave to observe, that he could
not state the exact amount of the tithe received in 1829,
in consequence of its being mixed up with a rent paid
under a lease of another property, the owner of wliich
was that year abroad, and no information could be ob-
tained ; but the receipts were as follows : — In 18-29 to
1830, 1001 lis Id ; from 1830 to 1831, Q21 3s 6d ; from
1831 to 1832, 65/ 2s 6d ; from 1832 to 1833, 651 7s 9d ;
from 1833 to 1834, 65/ 13s 9d ; and from 1834 to 1835,
60/ 9s, making a total of 521/ lis 3d, that sum including
82/ 3s 6d as a fair rate for 1829. He had also to add to
this the cus'omary payment of 6/ 4s for the Woodlands
at Dulwich. He had only further to observe that Sir
John Smith had every disposition to deal in the most
liberal manner, with the rate-payers. Then taking the
gross amount of tithes received during the above men-
tioned seven years to be as he had stated, it would give,
when divided" by seven years, an annual average of
74/ 10s 2d, which was the amount he proposed receiving
for the next yeai-, in lieu of tithes.

Mr. Druce said, that the payment for the Woodlands,
at Dulwich, ought not to be included in the average, as
it was a separate payment, invariably made by the Col-
lege.

Mr. Cantwell observed, that exclusive of that sum,
the average amounted to the sum he had stated.

The Chairman— Then I take it for granted that the
proprietor is satisfied to take 74/ lOs 2d in lieu of his
tithes.

Mr. Cantwell replied in the affirmative.

The Chairman then called upon Mr. Nokolds, as the
representative of the vicar (the Rev. G. Storey) to state
the amount of tithes received by hun in each of the last
seven years, and also to hear from him any proposition
which he was inchned to make as to a commutation for
the ensuing year.

Mr. Nokolds then stated the receipts to be as follows :
—In 1829 the amount received was 1,296/ 10s lOd; in
1830, 1,281/ Is; in 1831, 1,232/ 2s 4d ; in 1832,
1,182/ 17s 6d; in 1833, 1,183/ 13s 4d : in 1834,
1,104/ 17s 5^d ; and in 1835, 1,100/ 16s 2d. The dimi-
nution in,the last four years was to be accounted for by
the vicar having made allowances to certain payers,
with a view to induce them to make some payments,
rather than remain in arrear of the whole amount, and it
might be also necessary for him to state that in all these
cases a receipt as for the whole payment had been given
to each of the parties who received the benefit of this al-
lowance. The amount of these allowances were, in
1832, 46/ 5s 9d ; in 1833, 50/ 6s 3d ; in 1834, 45/ T2s Id ;
and in 1835, 35/ 6s; making aUogether the sum of
177/ 9s lid, which sum he thought should now be added
to the corresponding years in which the deci-ease of re-
ceipts had taken place.

The Chairman asked if the sum stated by Mr. No-
kolds were made with the necessary deduction for the
expense of collecting the tithes 1

IMr. Nokolds said it certainly was not, nor was it ne-
cessary, as the meeting would at once perceive by re-
ferring to the 37th section of the Tithe Commutation
Act, which was in the following terms :—

" Provided, that if during the said period of seven
years, or any part thereof, the said tithes, or any part
thereof, shall have been compounded for, or demised to
the owner, or accupier of any of the said lands, in
consideration of any rent or payment instead of tithes,
the amount of such composition, or rent, or sum agreed
to be paid instead of tithes, shall be taken as the clear

P 2

200

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

value of the tithss included in such composition, demise,
or agreement, during' the time for which the same shall
have been made ; and the value shall be awarded on the
average annual value of the said seven years, so ascer-
tained, as the sum to be taken for calculating- the rent-
charge to be paid as a permanent commutation of the
said tithes.

" Provided, that whenever it shall appear to the com-
missioners that the party entitled to any such rent or
composition, shall, in any one or more of the said seven
years, have allowed and made an abatement from the
amount of such rent or composition, on the ground of
the same having- in any such year or years been hig-her
than the sum fairly payable by way of composition for
the tithe, but not otherwise, then and in every such case,
such diminished amount, after making- such abatement
as aforesaid, shall be deemed and taken to have been
the sum agreed to be paid for any such year or years,
without making- any deduction therefrom, on account of
any Parliamentary, parochial, county, and other rates, to
which the said tithes are liable."

Mr. LiLLiE observed that if Mr. Nokolds would refer
to a few hnes earlier in the section, he would also find
the following words : " After making all just deductions
on account of the expenses of collecting, preparing- for
sale, and marketing-, when such tithes have been taken in
kind."

Mr. Nokolds — But we have not taken our tithes in
kind,

Mr. LiLLiE — Do these large sums you have mentioned
nclude the Easter Offerings ?

Mr. Nokolds— No, they do not ; but the Easter Of-
fering's are very small in their amount. With respect to
the general accuracy of the statement which I have sub-
mitted to this respectable meeting-, I can safely make
affidavit in any court or before any authority that they
are correct.

The CHAiiniAN begg-ed to assure the g-entlemanthat
no such course was at all necessary.

Mr. Nokolds felt gratified that his accuracy was un-
questioned, and begged to state, that adding together the
sums he had stated as actually received by the vicar, to-
gether with the amount remitted as allowances, it would
give an annual average of 1,2-22/ 15s 5d, the sum on
which he proposed that the rent-charge should be cal-
culated for the vicar's tithes for the future.

Mr. Druce— Why add the sum of 177/ to the actual
receipts. I really doubt much the propriety of doing so.

Mr. Nokolds — These allowances were only made to
induce parties to pay something, who otherwise would
have paid nothing, or been unable to pay, as was the
case with several of the tenants.

Mr, Druce— I'll name one tenant to whom you made
no reduction ; I allude to Mr. Hennings. Thwe is also
another,

Mr, Thomas — Is his name in your list 1

Mr, Nokolds, jun,, said the remission was made in the
shajje of a bonus for payment.

Mr, Druce — With respect to the Dulwich people, I
am satisfied that the reduction was not made to the poor ;
but in the cases where it was done, as I understand, it
was made as a positive reduction to secure the payment
of the sum actually received,

Mr. Bradley (the present collector of the vicar)
said that the allowances referred to were given for pay-
ments made within a certain specified time, but he had
not the list of persons with him to whom the allowances
were made.

The Chairman observed it would be much more sa-
tisfactory to the meeting if he had come prepared with it,
as it had now become a matter of considerable import-
ance to ascertain the persons to whom these allow-
ances had been made,

Mr. Druce — I am really unwilling to make any un-
necessary objections in this case. We are here met to
carry the provisions of the act of Parliament into effect
in a quiet and gentlemanlike manner if we c;in, or, at
all events, in a compulsory manner, which it is highly
desirable should be avoided.

Mr. Nokolds could have no wish to do anything illi-
beral on the part of the vicar; he would therefore, as it
appeared to be the general wish of the meeting, strike

out the amount of allowances, which would then leave
the annual average at 1,197/ 8s 4d, and with which sum
the vicar would be satisfied.

The Chairman — We are now, I think, in a condition,
under the authority of the " act" to come to a conclusion
upon this subject ; but, looking at the variety and im-
portance of the interests with which it is connected, it
occurs to me that it would be proper to take a little time
longer to consider, and afford an opportunity to land-
lords and tenants to'consult with each other respecting
it,

Mr, LiLLiE and Mr, Nokolds approved of the sug-
gestion.

The Chairman — The difficulty wdth me at present is,
that it will not be easy for us to explain the matter to
the tenants ; for, in point of fact, they will be rather
worse oft' than they have been for the last three or four
years, as far as the payment to the impropriator is con-
cerned, inasmuch as they all would have to pay 74/ 10s,
in place of the 65/ which has been just stated to us,

Mr, Druce asked Mr. Nokolds what was done as to
the payments of tithes in case a man had a quarter of an
acre of garden-ground attached to his house 1

Mr, Nosolds — An acre of garden- ground pays 15s,
and the quarter of an acre would be charged in that
proportion.

The Chairman — Suppose I have a few cocks and
hens, what then?

Mr, Nokolds — Then a trifle is paid. But, if a man
taking a house and garden which is now paid at a cer-
tain rate, and he should afterwards erect a building on
part of that garden, then no additional rate would be
demanded,

Mr, Druce — I think we are scarcely prepared to
jump to an ag-reement upon the present state of our in-
formation, and therefore I shall move that a commtttee
be appointed, consisting- of two g-entlemen from each of
the three districts, to examine the statements made on
the part of the impropriator and the vicar, and then
come prepared with a report, which can be discussed at
another meeting.

Here a gentleman (Mr, Wallie) from the office of the
Tithe Commissioners entered the room, and stated that
he attended the meeting in consequence of a request
made yesterday to the office, that an assistant-commis-
sioner might be present, in order if necessary to assist in
their deliberations,

Mr. Druce — To answer questions, I presume, should
you be asked any, but not otherwise to interfere?

I\Ir. Wallie said, certainly so,

iMr, Druce then moved, that Mr. Lillie, Mr. Law,
Mr, Ewbank, and Mr. Moore, together with Mr. Druce,
should form the Committee for Peckham, Camberwell,
and Dulwich, to consult with Mr. Cantwell and Mr.
Nokolds, and report the result of their inquiry to a ge-
neral meeting on a future day.

The resolution being seconded was agreed to, and the
meeting separated.

COMMUTATION OF TITHES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE EXPRESS.

Sir, — As the Commutation of Tithes is a subject that
deserves more attention from landed proprietors than I
conceive has hitherto been given to it, I venture to forward
to you the following letter, which has already appeared
in the Norfolk Chronicle. I also transmit to you the
copy of a letter I had the honour to receive from Mr.
Simpson on the same subject, which, as it embraces a
subject of great legal importance to all persons inte-
rested in the Commutation of Tithes, and I have the
permission of that gentleman to make what use of it I
may think proper, I do not hesitate to request that you
will insert the same in your very useful and widely cir-
culated Paper.

I am, Sir, your very obedient humble servant,
W. NORFOR.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

20 J

TO MR. W. NORFOR.

7, New Sqtiare, Lincoln's Inn,
January 23, 1837.

Sir, — I have this moment read your letter in the
]\orfolk Chronicle in which, after a very clear and prac-
tical elucidation of the operation of the Tithe Commu-
tation Bill, you remark upon the different returns of
prices of corn made in the Gazette, and incidentally on
some tables published by me. It is true, as you have
stated, that the Comptroller of Corn Returns was in
error in the return of 7s l^d made in Aug'ust last; but
you are yourself in error when you state that return to
have been in conformity with an order of the House of
Commons ; it was made, as it is expressed to be "pur-
suant to an Act passed. &c., intituled — an Act for the
Commutation of Tithes in Eng-land and Wales." And
herein is the difficulty, for, had it been in return to an
order of the House of Commons, it mig'ht have been
amended, but, as pursuant to, and in short thus rendered
part of the Act, the error can only be remedied by an-
other Act for that purpose. Have the g-oodness to turn
to the Act itself, and you will see that this is the case.
Clause 56 enacts that " The Comptroller of Corn Re-
turns shall, immediately after the passing' of the Act,
cause an advertisement to be inserted in the London
Gazette stating the average price, &c." And the next
clause provides — " That the rent charge shall be the
value of so many bushels as the same would have pur-
chased at the prices so ascenained by the advertisement
to be published immediately after the passing of this Act."
The advertisement therefore pubhshed in Aug'ust, pur-
suant to, and immediately after the passing of the Act,
became, however erroneous, actually a jiart of the Law
upon which the co-nimutation is to proceed, and the re-
turn of wheat at 7s l^d ascertained thei'eby, is, however,
much of a blunder, the only leg'al return ; for the re-
turn of quarters in February was in return to an order
of the House of Commons, and was long- prior, and had
no relation to the enactments above mentioned : and
the advertisement in December last, stating' that the
price of wheat oug'ht to have been 7s Of d, cannot le-
g-ally amend the error ; for, not having' itself the au-
thority of law, it cannot correct that which is actually
a part of the law. The return of 7s l|d is, therefore,
at present the only legal and binding- average of the
price of wheat for the purpose of Tithe Commutation ;
but it is to be presumed that Parliament will, in the
next session, amend the error by a bill for the purpose.
It is not impossible, however, that this course may be
resisted by those whose interest it is that the commuta-
tion should proceed on the basis of the higher average.
Meanwhile, to meet every possible case, a second edi-
tion of my little book will be published in a few days,
containing' both the averages adapted to all the tables ;
so that parties will be enabled to calculate upon the
legal return of August; until a new bill shall have
passed the legislature, iwd upon the price 7s 0|d after
that period. I am| mu«l» flattered by the belief you
express that a new edition will be found useful, and I
have the honour to be. Sir, your obedient humble ser-
vant, W. PALGRAVE SIMPSON.

Plomesgate Union. — The Guardians of this
union have published a statement of the comparative
expenditure in relief of the poor, for one year before,
and one year since, the formation of the union:— The
average expenditure before the union was, 19,802/, on
an average of three years ending the 25th of Marcli,
1835 ; and the expenditure since the union, from the 25th
of Dec. 1835, to the 25th Dec. 1836, was ll,7Bin8s
lOd ; showing a saving of 8,020i lis 2d, being 40J- per
cent. In the expenditure ofsome parishes, considerable
sums for migration of labourers to the north of England,
and for emigration to the Canadas, are comprised. Some
parishes have raised money for those purposes, which
being charged on the rates, does not appear in the above
account.

PLANTING POTATOES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE EXPRESS.

Sir, — You have below the general result of a crop
of potatoes planted in April last year, with a view to
ascertain what difference, if any, might occur — 1st,
where the potntoe was planted whole, except the
crown ; 2d, where planted whole with one eye only.

Soil, sandy loam ; within a very few years past,
furze-land. Previous crop wheat, stubble turned in
late in the autumn , manure from the yard, chiefly
cow-dung ; a tolerably good dressing, ploughed in,
nine bouts to the rod ; sort, Kentish kidney, dibbled
with a large blunt dibble upon every other plit, and
well covered.

Forty-five rods planted with a view to the first,
and other forty-five rods with a view to the second
question. The distance in the rows, about fifteen
inches ; depth of holes, full six inches. The roller
was passed over after planting, and then harrowed
with a hand-harrow ; edge-boed once, and earthed
up once by the common one-horse break.

During the growth of the haulm, appearances were
much in favour of No. 2 ; and, as to weight, when
taken up it retained its superiority over No. 1, by
a yield of full one quarter more ; but the potatoe
was knobby, large, irregular, and ungaiii ; No. 1,
very uniform in shape, somewhat exceeding in size
ordinary ware ; a good table potatoe.

The general produce, when taken up late in No-
vember, not to be complained of, and boiling re-
markably mealy, if properly boiled.

Doubtless such experiments have been often made,
and a better or more detailed account of them has
as often been given, but such as mine were, you are
heartily welcome to make public through your use-
ful paper. You are the best judge of their worth,
whether to insert them or not.

I am, respectfully your's,

THOS. LEE.

Bexley Heath, Feb. 1, 1837.

P. S. — Were the experiment to be repeated, the
distances, both as to plit and in the rows, might, I
think, most usefully be enlarged. I may just ob-
serve, that some of my neighbours, who had planted
sets or cuttings, had very indifferent crops.

DREADFUL EFFECTS OF THE NEW
POOR LAW,

OR, AN EMETIC FOR THE TIMES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MORNING CHRONICLE.

Sir, — A pauper in the Uxbridge Union met with a
serious accident, and having a large family, the Board
of Guardians allowed eight shillings a week during his
illness, besides which the medical man has ordered him
to have one ounce of arrow-root, half-a-pound of mut-
ton, and six ounces and a half of port wine daily, making
a total out relief of twenty shillings weekly, and this
the guardians feel themselves fully authorised in allow,
ing. What after this can be said by the editore of those
papers who are so constantly writing upon the oppres-
sive working' of the new law? What can be said!
Why any thing ; because all they write is in total igno-
rance of the poor or the poor-laws.

^Uxbridge, Feb. 2. A GUARDIAN.^

202

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE
EXPRESS.

In your last week's paper I find an article upon
Temperance, sliowing the amazing' benefit that is
likely to accrue from Temperance Societies being
established throughout the kingdom, and what Ame-
rica is doing by the abstinence from ardent spirits.
Far be it from me to declaim against any man or
set of men whose object is nothing more than mere
morality, we ought to admire morality as being- the
forerunner of virtue ; the design of the members
or leaders of Temperance Societies may be good,
but still it is mistaken zeal, they beg-in at the last
part of their business. The first, as far as I am ac-
quainted, the members of the Temperance Societies
pledge themselves not to drink any kind of fermented
liquors. Well now, who are chiefly the members of
the Temperance Societies'! To this, I think, most
of them will answer, those who either were drunkards
or entered that society with an idea of setting an
example to drunkards. But, however the object of
that society or societies is to reclaim the drunkard,
but as to the most effective means of doing that ?
They call a meeting, dilate tipon the dire effects of
drunkenness, which truly is a most abominable crime.
They produce, and very properly too, the disgrace
the individual brings upon himself, family, friends,
and country, by such a degrading vice. And un-
doubtedly, tlie audience may partly become converts
to their cause ; but wbyl because they have just
heard such a lecture rung in their ears, and for the
moment resolve never to indulge any more in those
cursed liquors. One may compare those resolutions
to a blind man who had been stumbling along for
years, and being told of a smootlier path, resolves
for the future to walk in it, but unfortunately, from
his blindness, he still stumbles, and will stumble
till his eyes are opened, so that he can see his path
clearl)^ Just so it is with a drunkard, he will uever
walk along- the virtuous path of life till his spiritual
eyes are opened, and then he will be able to see the
delightful of all paths, a virtuous life : it reminds
me of the immortal Socrates, who when brought
before a certain physiognomist, wlio pretended to
discover the disposition of the mind by the cast of
the countenance, told Socrates that he had a most
morose disposition, at which the bystanders wondered
who knew him to be quite the contrary ; but Socrates
silenced them by the following- expression; " True
I was so, but philosophy lias cured me." Just so
it is with mankind in general ; we are all bad, base,
depraved, fall^^n creatures — naturally so, but that
philosophy which has been applied to the mind has
raised us to what we now are. Here then we see
what is the cause of drunkenness, namely, ignoiance.
And to know the cause of a disease is half its cure ;
so, to know the cause of drunkenness will be a
grand step towards removing- the evil. According-
to the present system, they take a man's vow who
scarce knows right from wrong, and how can they
expect hiin to perform a vow of wliich he has so
imperfect an idea"? I would ask why are the)' re-
formed characters'? Because pliilosophy has cured
them, and not because they are naturally better than
the drunkard ; apply the same or a similar remedy
to the mind of a drunkard that has been applied to
theirs, and they will find that man is very much alike,
under the same circumstances. It is just as absurd
to attempt to remove drunkenness by a mere pledge,
as to attempt to remove one of the greatest mountains
in the world. Supposing the whole world were
assembled together, what a mixture of character
and mind we should have, we should find a train of

minds from the immortal creature dovrn to the beg-
gar on the dunghill, and from what cause'? It
would not be because we or others were more natu-
rally enlightened than those beneath us, though I
admit natural talent assists and displays itself more
in one subject than another, still that should not be
our general guide because our lot had accident-ally
been cast in a more fertile soil; and then again
amongst this great concourse we should find some
whose characters were, to the world, good, but
still great drunkards ; and if we closely examine
those persons, we should find those men very ig-
norant, but admired or flattered by the world be-
cause of their wealth, family or station in life, and
I defy any person in the world to produce me an
instance where there is such a thing- existing- as a
wise drunkard. A man may he a great drunkard,
but it is a thing impossible for a man to be wise and
be a drunkard; only apply philosophy, the great
guide to the morals, and when th-at has taken root men
need not trouble themselves about drunkards ; re-
move the cause, and then the effects will die away.
But now and then a great obstacle may present
itself; how are all men to have or get the same
knowledge? This I admit is impossible, just as
much so as to think that all men may as well be
sober; but still we have the means of endeavouring
as far as human endeavours can succeed of attaining
to that perfection. True, all men cannot be mathema-
ticians, but still all men may be sensible men. All
men cannot be versed in science generally, but they
may be conversant with their Bibles and works of
general knowledge, according to their sphere in life;
the very poorest and depraved may become moral-
ized, when the proper means are used for so doing.
But now another question naturally arises in the
mind, how are all men to have the means of getting-
general knowledge 1 To this I answer, by unity and
combination. In a village not far distant from
where I reside, ten years ago, the inhabitants were
a low, depraved, ignorant set of beings, as ever
existed. A few enlightened individuals, whoso
hearts could feel for those around them, entered into
a private subscription amongst themselves, and pro-
cured books for the benefit of the lowest order of
society. After a short time, the demand for books
became greater, and they then entered into a more
extensive system ; every occupier of a poor-house
subscribes a penny per week, -and others to a greater
amount. Books suited to their infant minds went
regularly round, and then at tbe end of the year was
deposited on a place appointed by the Managing-
Committee ; after a few years it became evident
that works of a higher class were wanted, and of
course procured ; they had their circuhating library,
and their permanent one too ; so that knowledge be-
came then within their reach. It is now one of the
most enlightened villages in the neighbourhood.
Those who were the most ignorant are now able to
discuss thegeneral affairs of life, and many who were
ignorant, and used to assemble together in the bars
and public-houses, for want of belter employment, are
now little pliilosophers, and an honour to society ;
drunkenness is now vanishing away, and their now
delighted minds needs not a pledge to keep them in
the path of rectitude. Behold how gre-at a matter
a little fire kindleth ! Let the iNIembers of Tempe-
rance Societies go and do likewise. If you think
this article worthy insertion, you will oblige by so
doing. Yours,

S. GILL.

South Normanbury , Alfreione, Derbyshire.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

203

BANK OF ENGLAND.

An Account of the Amount of Issues, Securities,
AND Bullion of the Bank of England, as pub-
lished IN the " Gazette," from the commence-
ment of the publication to the present time,
distinguishing gold from silver.

Averag'e

In the Quarter

Circulation

Deposits.

Securities.

ending'

£.

£.

£.

July 29, 1834

19110000

15675000

28502000

Aug-usf26,1834....

19147000

15384000

28679000

September 23, 1834.

19126000

14754000

28691000

October 21, 1834 ..

18914000

13514000

27840000

November 18, 1834.

18694000

12669000

27138000

December 16, 1834.

18304000

12256000

26362000

January 13, 1835 . .

18012000

12585000

26390000

February 10, 1835. .

18099000

12535000

26482000

March, 10, 1835. ..

18311000

12281000

26657000

April 7, 1835

18591000

11289000

26228000

Mayo, 1835

18542000

10726000

25764000

June 2, 1835

18460000

10568000

25562000

June 30, 1835

18315000

10954000

25678000

July 28, 1835

18322000

11561000

26244000

Aug-ust 25, 1835 . . .

18340000

12308000

26964000

September 22, 1835.

18240000

13230000

27888000

October 20, 1835 . .

17930000

14227000

28661000

November 17, 1835 .

17549000

16180000

30069000

December 15, 1835 .

17321000

17729000

31048000

January 12, 1836 . .

17262000

19169000

31954000

February 9, 1836 . .

17427000

18366000

31022000

M. JMARSHALL, Chief Cashier,
Bank of Eng-Iand, jMarch 2, 1836.

[Bullion, in g-old (1834) 8,147,000/.; silver, 451,000/.
In February, 1836 ; gold, 6,957,000/. ; silver, 514,000/.]

RELATIVE CONDITION OF THE

AGRICULTURAL POPULATION

CONSIDERED.

The alterations which have taken place in the
habits and condition of all classes of society during
the last sixty or seventy years, both in Town and
Country, cannot have escaped the notice even of
those persons who have no better evidence of the
fact, than such as tradition has handed down to
them ; nevertheless it is in the country that the
altered condition of the people is most perceptible,
if not the most substantial. But whether the
amelioration which appears upon the surface of
society is uniformly distributed, and whether in
every rank there exists a due participation in the
comforts and conveniences of life, which science
and the march of intellect have scattered over the
land, is a subject which requires to be examined
with a different feeling to that which but too
frequently accompanies the researches of the
statistical philosopher, and the political econo-
mist.

That the day is gone by in which the epithets of
clown and countryman can be indiscriminately
applied to every one engaged in farming and the
culture of the soil, is quite certain : but whether
the new race which has sprung up since the com-
mencement of the last war, — the present yeoman-
ry, distinguished from the magistracy and the
aristocracy, — are as well educated and as well in-
formed as their compeers, the money-making
merchants and manufacturers, is not my object

now to determine ; the relative condition of the
country population compared within its own
limits, is the subject to which I would now
exclusively confine myself. I am not one of those
who are disposed to regard every departure from
long established rules as innovations upon the
rights of society, or to assume as a principle that
exploded customs must necessarily have apper-
tained to " good old times," which probably never
existed. It Is quite certain that the sort of family
compact which formerly united the village circle,
is entirely dissolved ; at least with the exception
of some few counties, where improvement has not
kept pace with the progress of the age. The
farmer no longer associates with the wheelwright
and the blacksmith, nor does the master place
himself at the head of the old oak table, to par-
take in common with his servants of the homely
fare which the farm itself supplies, — the bowl of
milk, the meal dumpling and the slice of bacon,
served up with a few boiled turnips, upon the
peu'ter platter, or more homely trencher. He no
longer shares with them the labour of the fields,
nor allays his thirst from the same horn of home-
brewed beer, which was never grudgingly bestowed.
He no longer quails with them the harvest nut-
brown-ale, till a scene of uproarious merriment
ensues, which beggars all description, save that
in the words of the poet, t'was " thus they rejoiced,
nor thought that with the morrow's sun, their
annual toil began again its never ceasing sound."
If intellectual enjoyment has superseded these
ancient customs, and the modern race of farmers
leave their hinds and their labourers to regale
themselves in their own way, — if the spinning
wheel and the distaff, which the mistress of a
farm-house formerly used in common with her
female servants, have given place to the more
dexterous employment of the needle, or even to
the elegant accomplishments of the drawing-room,
— if the unsightly pillion and clumsy market cart,
which, with " back erect, distressed the weary
loins that felt no ease," have been superseded by a
neater and more commodious vehicle, far be it for
me to question the propriety of the exchange.
These and such like alterations have only been ef-
fected by the application of skill in other depart-
ments, and the community at large reaps the full
benefit of the improvement. It is from motives
of philanthropy that I now proceed to institute
the inquiry — not whether the poor man's condition
is ameliorated since those days when " ignorance
was bliss," but whether Ms comforts have kept
pace with the alterations of the age ; and whether
his understanding has not been partially yet suffi-
ciently enlightened to enable him the more keenly
to feel and to deprecate his himiiliated condition.
I may be told that the peasantry of England are
better off now than they formerly were, and that
at the present moment they only want to be put
in juxta position with the peasantry on the conti-
nent to make them sensible of the advantages they
possess. 1 shall at once admit the fact ; but this
will in no way divert me from my present pur-
pose, or overturn the principle I would endeavour
to inculcate. It is a proud feature in our political
economy, but it must not therefore be taken as a
line of demarkation, beyond which no advances ai-e
to be made. I have myself travelled apiedovev
many leagues of France, Belgium, Germany, Savoy,
and Switzerland. I have penetrated into the chau'
miere of the yaysan, the grange of the cultivaseur,
and the domain of the vigneron. I have partaken
of their homely fare, their pam de seigle (rye bread

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as black as shoe leather), and meagre potage, little
better than bread and water. I have seen them
labouring under a scorching sim, women as well
as men, till by constant exposure, the distinctive
character of the former is so nearly assimilated
to that of the latter, that the small portion of fe-
male attire, which is still retained, scarcely enables
one to determine to which sex they actually be-
long. What a contrast to the women of England !
Poor they may be, but seldom despicable. Re-
gard the village throng collected in the harvest
field : can any country — nay, can our own, under
any other circumstance, produce a scene of rural
industry half so picturesque, or half so engaging,
as this assemblage of primeval health and goodly
countenances; of women busily engaged in col-
lecting- the remnants of the harvest field, and
chubby children sprawling on the stubble ?

The neat and orderly household arrangements
of most of our cottages, and the cleanly appear-
ance of their inmates, might well induce any fo-
reigner to inquire, as did the Emperor of Russia —
" But where are your poor ?'' I admit the prin-
ciple to its full extent, nor do I deny that the re-
finements of the age have found their way even to
the hearth of the cottage, where the sea-coal fire
now supplies the place of suffocating peat and
heather, and the rush-bottomed chair and three-
legged stool of clumsy workmanship, have been
exchanged for neat and useful furniture. These
are improvements worthy of the age in which we
live : but another and a greater still, which,
through the instrumentality of the British fair —
the guardian angels of the Sunday school — has
conveyed a real blessing to the poor man's fire-
side. His leisure hours no longer present to him
the cheerless void of dull inanity ; he reads — the
treasures of the Bible are spread before him, and
whether he ponders over the sacred volume him-
self, or assists his lisping offspring to spell their
way through the lessons cf morality it inculcates,
he feels himself exalted as a man — he endeavours
to malce himself respected as a father. This it
■was, and this only, which to a given extent coun-
teracted the demoralizing tendency of the former
parochial administration of the poor laws ; and
although I may hereafter incidentally allude to the
measures recently introduced in lieu thereof, it
will not be to afford them unqualified approbation.

That the " Bill for the better administration of
the laws relating to the Poor" will eventually effect
its object, I readily admit ; but that it has already
effected all that is so vauntingly ascribed to it, I
feel very, very much disposed to doubt. To bring
down ni}' argument to this point, it is necessary
to go back to the connnencement of the last war,
and before the inclosure of the waste lands ; to
that period when the pecuniary advautages which
accrued to the husbandman from the right of pas-
turage, &c., over the extensive commons and open
fields which then existed, amounted to nearly as
much as his labour would procure for him; —
namely, the keeping of a cow, the rearing of pigs
and poultry, the provis'on of fuel in the shape of
peat and heather, and the quantity of rushes and
fodder which the low grounds afforded him, cither
for sale or winter provender for his donkey and his
cow ; all of which cost him no more than so much
time as his wife and family could afford to bestow
upon them, together with the few exti-a hours that
he could spare from his own labour. These, upon
the average, rarely amounted to less than five shil-
lings per week ; but there were instances, and
that within the compass of my own knowledge,

where they amounted to double that sum. Let us
now compare the mices of grain at the two pe-
riods of 1792 and 1835, which at the former was,
wheat 42s lid per quarter, and barley 27s 9d ;
whereas, at the latter, the price of wheat tor the
year was 46s 2d per quarter, and barley 29s, thus
producing 69s 8d for a quarter of wheat and a
quarter of barley in 1792, and 75s 2d for the same
quantity of grain in 1835. It is rather more diffi-
cult to afford a very accurate statement of the
prices of labour at these several periods, because
it varies very materially in different counties at
the same time ; but I will venture to assert, there
was no material difference in the money rate of
wages for agricultural labourers in Norfolk at the
period of 1792 and 1835, namely, day labourers Is
to Is 2d, women 6d ; threshing wheat Is per
coomb, barley 8d, and oats 6d ; to which was
added in the former period, two pints of home-
brewed beer per day in summer, and one pint in
winter, but at the latter date none at all ! Harvest
wages were, in 1792, for a good workman, from 21
to 45s, with board and lodging, and in 1835,
4Z 10s, or perhaps hi, with neither board or beer :
consequently it is clearly shown that the money
rate of wages was quite as high (and with the
extra allowance of beer) in 1792, as it was in
1835, when corn realized more money, and house-
rent, and various small articles of which the hus-
bandman stands in need, have materially risen in
value. It must be admitted, however, that the
latter period, in consequence of the distressed con-
dition of the tenantry, was one in which the very
lowest rate of wages was afforded to the husband-
man ; so low that it could not " be diminished
without lessening the power of labour and its use-
fulness."

If there is any truth in these data, it cannot be
denied that the condition of the labouring poor
was infinitely worse in 1835 than it was in 1792,
even without taking into account the privileges
which they at that time enjoyed in the auxiliary
of common rights. The extraordinary rise which
took place in the value of grain soon after the first
mentioned period, induced many persons to turn
their attention to agricultural pursuits, who had
never before dreamt of such a measure, and thus
the demand for land was so great, that (if policy had
not dictated the measure) the cupidity of some
overcame the scruples of others, and by dint of
example afforded a colourable pretext for consent-
ing to a measure which had heretofore been re-
gai'ded as downright robbery. Such was the aver-
sion with which many people at that time of day
regarded, what was termed the taking away the
commons from the poor, that it was stated in evi-
dence before the " Select Committee of the House
of Commons" on the subject of the corn laws, in
1814, that in the early part of the practice of one
of the witnesses (George iVl ax well, Esq.) " an in-
closure was considered as a most odious thing,
and the two first inclosures that he was concerned
in wore in Cambridgeshire ; the whole of the two
parishes was without occupiers for several years,
there was such a spirit ■ against the inclosures."
The ])owerful pecuniary considerations which
seemed to urge, if not to countenance, this indi-
rect species of robbery, soon overcame the feeble
twitterings of the conscience, for we find that
during the period of ten years previous to 1792,
the number of inclosure bills which had received
the Royal assent amounted to no more than 271,
whereas in the ten following years, the number
had increased to 693, and subsequently, in the

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

205

next series of ten years, to 1078, making the
aggregate number in those two periods amount to
no less than 1771 ; and as each of which comprised
not fewer than two parishes, or less than one
thousand acres of lancl, it follows that, at a mode-
rate calculation nearly two millions of acres of
land were abstracted from the labourers in hus-
bandry in the space of twenty years ; the conse-
quence of which was that the poor man being dis-
severed from the soil on which he grew, with no-
thing left but the labour of his hands, had no al-
ternative when that failed, to procure sustenance
for his increasing family, but to resort to those
funds which were set apart for the aged and in-
firm ; and of which the sturdy husbandman would
once have been ashamed to have partaken. Where
is the wonder, then, that abuses should have crept
in ; that imposition and extortion should have
succeeded to a measure which his .altered condi-
tion and incomprehensivc reasoning induced him
to regard as that species of right which the stronger
party thinks proper to exercise over him, who has
not the power to I'esist ? Thus the evil continued
to increase, till if it had not been for the timely
interfei-ence of the legislature, not only the small
accession of property which remained to the
landed proprietors, after satisfying " those sinful
men in the flesh, commonly called solicitors,"
would have been swallowed iip, but even the
whole patrimony of our ancestors might have
fallen into the same capacious bag. It must not
be understood by these remarks that I condemn
the policy which led to the inclosure of waste
lands, on thecontrary,! esteem itto havebeenawise
and salutary measure, dictated by the soundest
principles; and moreover I would add, that not
one individual ought to have been invited to turn
his back upon his own country, so long as a single
rod of land continued to be uncultivated 1 It is
not the taking from the poor man the inheritance
which had descended down to him through many
generations, which is to be regretted, but the not
giving him any reasonable equivalent in return,

I have thus far endeavoured to show that it was
the deprivation of those privileges before enume-
rated, which the poor man hitherto enjoyed, that
first reduced him to a state of dependence ; and
the pernicious principle of the poor laws, that no
man should have even temporary relief or assist-
ance so long as he had a cow or a pig that he
could call his own, consummated the evil, inas-
mucli as no possible exertion on his part could
raise him one step above a pauper. A new era
now advances upon him ; does it dawn with bet-
ter prospects } Truly I see no reason to answer
in the affirmative ; not so much because the new
law is defective in itself, as that the old one has
engendered pernicious principles that will not
easily be got rid of. Charity is an obsolete word,
almost banished from our vocabulary. Let me
not be misunderstood ; we have noble institutions,
amply endowed with funds to be expended in cha-
ritable purposes, which we may as justly refer to
with pride and satisfaction, as the foreigner must
regard with wonder and admiration ; but this is
too much like the giving of alms "to be seen of
men." It is hidden, unobtrusive charity — charity
disposed to seek for cases of distress, and in the
hour of necessity to spread its blessings on the
peasant's humble couch, Vi'hich alone can soften
down the asperities, perhaps the unavoidable as-
perities, of the new poor laws.

Since the evil tendency which the former mal-
administration of the poor laws had to foster im-

position, and to blunt our charitable sympathies,
is now removed ; and since the moral torpitude
which they engendered was more to be ascribed
to the law itself, than to the depravity of the un-
fortunate wretches who sought to relieve their
necessities through its enactments, let us forget
the past — let us not insult the industrious man by
representing to him the policy and necessity of
creating for himself a fund, which will be avail-
able under age or infirmity ; whilst in the pleni-
tude of his ability, we calculate the very minimum
of subsistence necessary for himself and family
under the cruel reasoning, " that nothing is more
difficult than for a gentleman to form a correct
estimate of the means of living of a labouring
man. Let any scheme be devised for his mainte-
nance, and you will always find that the labouring
man will live at a cheaper rate than that esti-
mated."* You have taken from the husbandman
his right in the soil — you have closed the door of
the parish exciiequer against him — and you have
instituted a law which makes no distinction be-
tween the unfortunate and the undeserving. Let
us encourage, therefore, the saving principle we
would inculcate — let us establish a scale of wages
commensurate with the necessities of the labourer,
and a bonus for the reward of industry ; and let a
portion of their saving, the 40 and 50 per cent, of
which we boast, be set apart for the purpose of
administering relief where it is most required.
So shall we bring down a blessing on our pos-
terity, and incur a debt of gratitude from those in
whose situation we may one day be placed our-
selves. W. NORFOR.
Delham, Jan. 28, 1837.

THE POTATO.

The potato has become an all-important article in
the produce of the farm, drawing large sums to the
industrious and skilful cultivator. Whether sold in
quantities, or producing pork, it enables him to dis-
charge his rent, with comparatively less dependence
on his grain crop for that purpose. The potato has,
also, become a necessary ingredient in the general
disposition of household economy, from the higher to
the more humble classes of the population. It forms
the uniform basis of food to man, as well as to the do-
mestic animals which he keeps for his use ; and its
presence is sought for among the choicest viands that
aie placed upon our table. On a good or bad crop
of this valuable root, much general comfort or pri-
vation follows, and, to millions of human beings,
comes home to their very existence. The numerous
and distressing cases of failure in its production,
experienced during some late years, have excited a
deep interest, and a corresponding anxiety, on the
subject of its future success, and a desire to arrest,
if possible, the growing deterioration of the potato,
which, in some districts, has been so alarmingly ex-
tensive, as to excite apprehensions of its utter anni-
hilation. These failures have been attributed to
various causes, and, perhaps, like many other re-
sults, may be set down to a combination of circum-
stances acting together, and, in their joint influence,
producing the evil consec|uences here complained of.
The opinions which I am now about to express on
the cause of failure, are the results of some expe-
rience and deep reflection. In every case of failure,

* Vide Mr. Chacjwicke's Report to the Poor Law
Commissioners.

206

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

the misfortune must be attributed to one or other of
two causes, or to both conjointly — that is, either to
unsound seed or unskilful labour, or to both, the
latter of which, I am persuaded, often occurs. Where
a field is planted with potatoes, and, with ordinary
care, fails to produce a crop, either by sending up
weak, unhealthy plants, or, perhaps, none at all, —
in this case, the fault must be in the seed ; and, it
may be fairly assumed, that, in every case of con-
siderable failure, the cause is in the imperfection of
the seed. But, the reader may naturally say, " How
come those extensive failures of the potato, of which
we have had such sad experience latterly, and that
complaints of unsound seed were unknown to our
fathers 1" The answer to this query is, that the mode
of cultivation practised in olden times, was different
from that pursued in the present day. Our fathers
planted the potato for themselves and their house-
bold — quality, and not quantity, was their chief ob-
ject. Hence, they planted early in the season, and
dug theni out late, compared with the modern system,
and very frequently planted them on old lea, be-
tween the middle aud latter end of March. But, the
prevailing mode now. and for some years past, forms
a decided contrast. The farmer now cultivates them
with the view of feeding his horses, his cows, his
pigs, and, after this, to load vessels for export to
distant markets ; and the consideration of preparing
the land for wheat, is kept steadily in view. Hence,
a partiality has been created for late planting, even
on the ground of obtaining a greater quantity than
might be expected from early planting. As the po-
tato became extensively cultivated, and the quan-
tity immensely increased, its relative value became
less ; then a growing disregard to its quality, either
as food, or as affecting its keeping virtue, and a reck-
lessness of the season of planting, as well as the pre-
paration of the soil, the choice of seed, and the time
of raising them out of the ground. For many years
past, the potato has been unduly treated. In the
month of May, when all the other farm labour was
completed, the potato, being last in receiving the
attention of the farmer, was committed to the earth,
under a combination of unfavorable circumstances.
Taken up from the ground, and housed, or covered
up in bins, in the beginning of October, it was suf-
fered to remain until May, being about seven
months, the latter two months of which it has been
sprouting, and sending forth shoots from six to
twelve inches in length. The heat of the sun, and
returning Spring, acting upon the natural succulence
of the root itself, forces on a premature growth, and
the vegetative powers of the seed are, thereby, di-
minished or exhausted. Then are those potatoes,
after suffering this diminution of their natural vigour,
taken up, and the sprouts which they had set forth
rudely broken off, cut into numerous sets, often ex-
posed to the drying atmosphere, planted in a soil
parched by the burning of an April, or perhaps a
May sun, and the scorching winds of that arid sea-
son, intermixed with a scanty portion of rough, dry
manure ; and to perfect the climax of mismanage-
ment, the operation of planting performed on a dry
day. Another great injury is done to the potato, in
cutting it into many sets, thereby exposing a wound-
ed surface, much larger than that encompassed by
the skin, to the drying influence of the soil and at-
mosphere ; and, being planted in May, has often to
endure several weeks of the driest season of the
whole year, before a chance of vegetation. In the
mean time, its natural juices are exhausted, and its
vegetative powers impaired or annihilated. Now,
when this course of injudicious treatment is prac-
tised through a succession of years, the potato de-

clines in vigour, its constitution is weakened, and it
is then reduced to the condition of a sickly, feeble
root, incapable of resisting the effects of a long-con-
tinued drought, after the season of planting. The
potato, being a very succulent root, must retain a
sufficient quantity of its juice, until it sends forth
new roots, whereby it draws its supply from the soil
in wliich it is embedded; but, if, by any process, its
juices are wasted before its roots are extended, the
seed then declines in what is termed the dry rot, or,
in other words, the deprivation of those juices in
which consist its vegetable life. Having detailed
what I consider the evils connected with the modern
system of cultivating the potato, I will shorth^ state
the mode wliich I believe ought to be observed, and
which, I feel persuaded, would insure the farmer
against the misfortune of general or partial failure.
First, then, in the due preparation of the soil, by
thorough ploughing and pulverizing as much as pos-
sible ; next, the application of old dung in as moist
a condition as possible, and in proper quantities,
such as may give reasonable expectations of good
produce, in place of the scanty portions of dry rub-
bish too often observed on occasions of planting ; if
manure is scarce with the farmer, it would be more
for his interest to plant but one acre, where he would
be disposed to have two. By taking the lesser por-
tion of land, he could reap the advantage in his po-
tato, as well as in his succeeding crops. Then, to
be provided with the seed as sound and as healthy as
possible, and which has not been growing in bins or
the potato-house. IIow is it possible, that this root
can first send forth its sprouts, extending a conside-
rable length, and not be exhausted'? — These shoots
are rubbed off, and the same root is required to give
out new sprouts, which cannot, of course, have their
proper and natural strength. Further, I would, in
no case, cut any potato into more sets than two, by
dividing it with a knife ; I should even prefer this
to planting the whole root. I have, for some sea-
sons, mixed the sets immediately when cut, with a
little dry, newly-slaked lime, which, probably, formed
a coat over the wound, and prevented the escape of
moisture; and, above all other considerations, early
planting, namely, from the middle of March to the
middle of April, and not later. The good effects of
early planting are two-fold. Four, five, or six weeks
of active vegetation are going forward in the ground,
its natural place, instead of the same process in the
bin or house. The strength of the potato is se-
cured, and the first buds destined to fructify in the
earth, in place of being torn off before planting. Se-
condly, by planting in the middle or latter end of
March, the soil then retaining much of the moisture
of the previous Winter, a portion of which pre-
serves the seed, and promotes its vegetation. But,
in the late planting, the soil is dried up, and divested
of those advantages. By the early mode, the po-
tato has put forth roots, and laid hold of the soil,
which enables it to endure tlie parching months of
May and June following and, further, where it is
practicable, 1 would recommend planting in lea, as
old as possible, or in land which had been under
clover, as being best calculated to insure the largest
quantity, as well as an improved quality of the po-
tato.— Correspondent of The Downpatrick Recorder.

Extraordinary Preservation. — A Ewe be-
longing to Mr. John Steel, of Warcop, was over
blown on Warcop Fell, on the 23rd of December, and
on the 11th of January, the poor animal was discover-
ed, having been nineteen days under the snow. It was
very weak, but comfortable restoratives being giving
it, it recovered and is now &s well as ever.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

207

ON HEDGE-BIRDS WHICH ARE
ALLEGED TO BE MORE OR LESS
DESTRUCTIVE TO FIELD AND
GARDEN CROPS.

(From the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture.)

DECIDEDLY DESTRUCTIVE HEDGE-BIRDS.

Amongst the birds which fall to be considered
under this division, some are so wild and wary as
rarely to approach gardens, but all of them do
more or less injury to crops in the open fields. I
shall begin with those birds which are exclusively
grain-eaters, and make no return for their depre-
dations by destroying insects, though they no
doubt contribute to keep down the diffusion of
weeds by the quantity of their seeds which they
devour, as will be adverted to in the sequel.

The goldfinch, goudspink, or gooldie (Fringilla
carduelis, Linn.), is a comnion and well-known,
though not a very numerous species, probably be-
cause its peculiar food is rather scanty, and the sup-
ply precarious, particularly in the spring and early
summer months. It is well and elegantly said by M.
Mantbeillard, that beauty of plumage, sweetness of
voice, quickness of instinct, remarkable cleverness,
proved docility, and tender aifection, are all united
in this little bird ; and if it were rare, or came from
a foreign country, it would ha valued as it deserves.
Like the gold-crested wren and the tits, it is the
habit of the goldfinch to associate in single families
of five or six during the autumn and winter, sepa-
rating into pairs early in summer to build. The fa-
vourite spot for rearing the young is an espalier in
the garden, or an apple-tree in the orchard, where
the birds construct a neat and elegant nest with the
softest down, and fenced round with lichens and
moss.

The food of the goldfinch being almost exclusively
confined to the seeds of plants with compound flow-
ers {Syngenesia), the birds become useful during
their breeding season, by devouiing the seeds of
groundsel, colt's-foot, dandelion, nipplewort, and
the like, which may have escaped the hand or the
hoe in any corner of the garden. At the same time,
there are no garden-seeds ripe to which they can do
injury, and they never resort, so far as my observa-
tion goes, to the seed-bed for plunder, having an
aversion, at least in a wild state, to eat from the
ground, and preferring to pick the seeds from the
receptacle before they are scattered. In the cage,
a goldfinch will eat the green heads of groundsel or
chickweed : hut whether we may infer from this that
it may also eat seedling lettuce and endive, or dis-
bud fruit trees, is more than I can venture to affirm,
as I have never observed the fact. During the pro-
gress of the later broods, (they breed twice or thrice
in the season) , they can procure a much more
abundant supply of syngenesious seeds, inasmuch as
the greater number of plants of this sort flower and
seed late in the summer. Then it is, indeed, that
goldfinches commit the only depredations in gardens
which are worthy of notice, by attacking the ripe and
ripening seeus of lettuce, and endive, as well as
those of China asters and similar flowering plants.
It would not he very difficult in any given district to
prevent this, by extirpating the goldfinches, for they
are very easily entrapped or shot ; but few who
delight in the lively song or the merry tinkling call-
note of this pretty bird would wish to take the
trouble, while the benefits conferred well counter-
balance all the injuries done. The best way is to
scare these birds from the vicinity of choice seeds

when ripening, by a bit of netting or a stuffed owl,
or even a few feathers tied along a thread.

One of the chief benefits conferred by the gold-
finch on the gardener and the farmer is the destruc-
tion of thistle-seed. It is almost impossible, as is
well known, to grub up every thistle in a district so
as to allow none of them to run to seed, and the
winged down attached to these seeds serves to spread
them about to considerable distances. It is about
this period that the old goldfinches and their young
families examine every ripe head of thistle-seed
which they can find, and banquet on the contents.
These, however, are sometimes scanty enough, for
much of the thistle-seed seldom never ripens, parti-
cularly if the weather be very dry to prevent its fil-
ling, or very wet to cause it to rot ; while, in more
favourable seasons, neither too dry nor too wet, cer-
tain small fly-grubs eat almost every seed in a dis-
trict, as if Providence, by means of the birds and
the insects, had created a check to the diffusion of
these troublesome weeds. Any one who chooses
may verify the fact respecting the grubs, by trying,
as I have done, to collect the seeds of the several
species of the thistle, some of which, such as the
musk and the milk-thistle, are by no means to be de-
spised as ornamental plants. I never could find a
single head of good seed on the musk-thistle (Car-
duus nutans), though it abounds in some places, as
around Glasgow, in Mid-Lothian, and at Kew, on
the banks of the Thames.

Dr. Bechstein is probably mistaken in saying that
the goldfinch, in a wild state, feeds on radish seed ;
and Buftbn still more in saying that it feeds its young
with caterpillars.

Passing over the siskin or aberdevine, which much
resembles the goldfinch in habits, but is only a winter
visitant in England, and does little if any injury, I
shall next advert to the green-bird, or green linnet
(Lox/a chloris, Linn.), a very common bird in every
hedge in the empire, and at once distinguished from
all our native birds by its greenish-yellow plumage
and thick bill. Its harsh notes, which serve for a
song in the spring, may be heard on the borders of
woods, copses, and hedges, where it builds, rearing
more than one brood in a season ; and notwithstand-
ing its large moss-built nest, is conspicuous enough,
even in a" thick thorn bush, to expose it to the dis-
covery and plunder of the school-boy ; a sufficient
number of the species is always reared to render it
a formidable depredator at particular seasons.

The green-bird does not, like the chaffinch, feed
its j^oung upon insects, but upon vegetable food ;
and, during the breeding season, if near gardens, it
will bite ofl:' the heads of seedling lettuces and cab-
bage plants ; and, being a bold fearless bird, it is not
soeasily scared as the span-ow, which unites the
most wary caution with all its intrusive impudence.
Netting over the beds will he the surest protection ;
but if this is not convenient, recourse must be had
to bird-lime or the gun.

In the seed season, again, the old green-birds, ac-
companied by their young broods, will attack almost
every sort of seed 'that is ripe or ripening, but are
more particularly destructive to cabbage, cauliflower,
radish, and turnip-seed or flax, where that is grown.
Oats and wheat, also, near woods and hedges, suffer
considerably, the green-bird being a great eater, and
its bill seldom idle, shelling and munching from sun-
rise till sun-set.

In the later part of autumn, winter, and early
spring, green-birds assemble in flocks not quite so
numerous as linnets or larks, and pickup what seeds
they can find, either in the pods or scattered on the
ground. When wheat is sown, accordingly, they

208

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

devour great quantities of seed in the fields, though
in many cases this may be rather an advantage (at
least as some agriculturists might think) in thinning
out the crop. The worst of it is, that the pictings
are not regular, but in patches, vrhere the flocks "of
green-birds chance to alight. It must not be con-
cealed, however, that, along with its decided depre-
dations on seeds and seedling plants, the green-bird
also destroys many weeds in the same way ; for when
it dos not meet with seedlings, lettuces, or cabbages
in a garden, it will, as a make-shift, attack the chick-
weeds and groundsel, which it never touches when
the garden- crops are to be had.

One of the worst depredations committed by the
green-bird is, its disbudding of trees and shrubs. It
particularly prefers tie buds of currant and apple
trees, but will often also strip all the blossom-buds
of the lilacs and other flowering shrubs. There is no
protection against these injuries except netting, or
shooting the green-birds. I believe also, though I
am not quite certain of the fact, that the green-birds
do not make a daily round like the tits or the bul-
finches, but are irregular in their visits, which ren-
ders them the more annoying. They are not, how-
ever, so apt as bultinches to come into gardens near
houses, being more partial to hedge-rows, orchards,
and copses, for, though by no means wild or shy,
they are not familiar, and seem to careless than most
birds for human neiglibourhood.

The yellow-hammer, yoyt, or yoldren, (Emberiza
Citrinelta, Linn.) is universally known as a hedge-
bird, more gay and gaudy than the preceding, and
very much disliked in certain districts, for some
mysterious or superstitious notions unconnected
with its destructive habits. It is a much more
abundant species than the green bird, and breeds at
least twice, and sometimes thrice, a-year, placing its
nest most commonly in a tuft of grass or herbage at
the side of a hedge or copse, sometimes as early as
the month of March. Although the yellow-hammers
feed their young exclusively on insects and cater
pillars, they prefer, for their own eating, grain and
seeds, particularly oats, and, in new sown fields of
oats, as well as wheat, the yellow-hammers may be
seen very busily picking up the grain, from the mo-
ment it is sown till the period of its sprouting or
brairding. To the earlier sown crops, as these birds
continue in small flocks till they pair and separate,
they accordingly do no little injury ; bur, after pair-
ing, as there is seldom more than a pair or two in the
neigbbourhood of one field, the damage which they
efi'ect cannot be great, and is partly compensated by
the insects which they destroy to feed their young.

When the broods are reared, however, and the
corn crop begin to ripen, the one or two pairs become
considerably increased in number, and add to the
assemblage of sparrows, buntings, and other plunder-
ers, which leave little alongside the hedges but
empty husks on the standing corn.

After this period, the yellow-hammers subsist by
frequenting stubble fields ; and, when the wheat is
sown, they live for some weeks on the seed which
they find not sufficiently buried, though they are bv
no means so fond of wheat as of oats.

The yellow-hammer does little or no damage to
gardens, inasmuch as it rarely visits these, unless
when they are in some very secluded place, or in
the wilder parts of the country, where there are few
hedges except the farm-house garden hedge. In the
moorish parts of Scotland and Cumberland, I have
not unfrequently seen the yellow-hammer on the
same garden hedge with the corn-bunting, which is
a much more familar bird.

TJie cirl-bunting (Emberiza Cirlus, Linn.) is very

similar in appearance to the yellow-hammer, as well
as in hatits ; but, being by no means a common bird,
it requires little notice here. It is known at first
sight by the black streaks about the head, which are
wanting in the yellow-hammer : besides, from its
having less yellow on those parts, it looks less gaudy
and more sober.

The reed-bunting, or black-bonnet (Emberiza
Schaniculus, Linn.), is often confounded by young
naturalists and general readers in the north with the
black. cap (Sylvia Atricapilla), which it resembles in
almost no particular, except the provincial name. It
can scarcely be termed a hedge-bird, for the moorish
and marshy places which it frequents have sel-
dom any hedges, though it is found often sitting
on such low bushes as grow in these localities, where
the male will sit for hours and repeat his unmusical
and monotonous notes, though often the only bird-
music (if music it may be called) which is to be
heard for miles, except that of the sky-lark. The
bird in question, in size and form, is very like the
yellow-hammer, but has its head marked with
black where the other is ornamented with golden-
5'ellow. The female has brown marks where the
male is black.

The natural food is very similar to that of the
yellow-hammer, though, from the black-bonnet being
more partial to moors and marshy places, it has re-
course more to the seeds of the plants that grow there
than to any sown crops. The small patches of oats,
however, occasionally sown by upland farmers after
potatoes, are almost certain to attract the notice of
all the black-bonnets, young and old, in the vicinity ;
and I have observed small flocks of them devouring
the half-ripened oats on moorland crofts as late as
October and November, when they are sometimes
joined by flocks of the saow-bunting, when these
chance to be driven thither by the early severity of
the northern winter. As the black-bonnet is by no
means shy, allowing one to approach very near it
before it becomes alarmed, it will not be easy to scare
the bird from the oats in such cases, and I know of
nothing like to save the crop, except shooting or en-
snaring the birds.

The black-bonnet is by no means so common in
England, at least in the parts where I have been, as
in Scotland, Near London, I have only seen one at
large in fifteen years, though it is no doubt common
in the fen districts, as I have observed it to be in
similar parts in Holland, where it must be as destruc-
tive as the yellow-hammer. M. Montbeillard tells
us, that, on the continent, these birds resort to high
grounds in rainy seasons, and assemble in the corn-
fields in August, seeking their food in cultivated
spots. Cramer says they are fondest of millet,
though I never observed them myself in any of the
numerous patches of millet which I have passed
through in Germany. It is worthy of remark, how-
ever, that Buftbn, and many of the continental
writers, as well as some of our own naturalists, con-
found this bird with the reed bird (Salvia
arundinacia, Latham), and the sedge-bird ( S,
salicaria, Latham), as is evident from their descrip-
tion of the nest, which is not, as they allege, inge-
niously suspended overv/ater by attaching it to the
stems of reeds, but is uniformly built in the side of
a bank beneatb some slightly projecting turf or stone,
and is of slender materials, more like that of the
lark's than any other species. Neither does the
black-bonnet, as they describe, sing in the night,
though the sedge-bird, an inhabitant of similar lo-
calities, does.

The corn-bunting [Emhiriza miliaria, Linn.) or,
as it is sometimes termed, the stocking-weaver, from

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

209

its notes resembling the sound of a stocking-frame,
is universally diffused over tlie countrj^, though not
in very great numbers, not being so plentiful as the
j'^ellow-hammer, but more so than the black-bonnet.
It is larger in size but very similar in colour to the
sky -lark, vs-hich it also resembles in spreading out
its wings horizontally as it flies, at least during the
breeding season, though M. ]\Iontbeillard says, that,
at other times, it flies equably and swiftly, mounting
to a considerable height. Mr. Knapp is much mis-
taken in representing it as frequenting lonely and
solitary places, for, thougli it is common on the trees
and hedges of meadows, it may also be seen about
every farm-house garden, perched on the summit of
an old elder, or the highest bush it can find, trilling
out its harsh stocking-frame notes, for hours toge-
ther. According to M. Belon du Mans, it is never
found far from water, which it follows, he says, like
a woodcock ; but this remark does not accord with
what I have observed of the habits of the bird in
Britain, no more than its winter migration, as it re-
mains with us all the year like the redbreast and
thrush, while, on the continent, all these species mi-
grate in winter, a little later than the swallows.

The bunting feeds wholly on grain, as is proved
by its strong muscular gizzard, and its remarkable
bill, both the mandibles of which are moveable, like
those of a parrot, while the edges are re-entrant, the
joining being made in a crooked line, and ^he edge
of the under mandible on each side nearly one-third
of its length, makes a blunt projecting angle, and is
received by a corresponding re-entrant angle in the
upper mandible, for the purpose of crushing seeds.

In the early spring these buntings, together with
the yellow-hammer and other species, devour consi-
derable quantities of the newly sown seed-corn, par-
ticularly oats and barley, and ought to be watched
and scared away, or ensnared, or shot. After the
breeding-season, they feed on the ripening seeds of
beans, peas, wheat, oats, and other crops, while,
during the winter, they feed on the stubble lands.
They do not omit to visit the newly sown fields of
wheat, and levy a contribution on the seed. The
following passage from Mr. Knapp's interesting work
with exception of the mistake already pointed out,
is of interest, as detailing a serious species of injury
committed by the bunting : — "lam neither," he says,
" inclined to seek after nor desirous of detailing
the little annoyances that these wildings of nature,
in their hard struggles for existence, may occasion-
ally produce ; being fully persuaded that the petty
injuries we sometimes sustain from birds are at
others fully compensated by their service. We too
often, perhaps, notice the former, while the latter
are remote or not obtrusive. I was this day fJa-
nuary 25th) led to reflect upon the extensive injury
that might be produced by the agency of a very in-
significant instrument, in observing the operations
of the common bunting (E. miliaria), a bird that
seems to live principally, if not entirely, on seeds,
and has its mandibles constructed in a very peculiar
manner, to aid this established appointment of its life.
In the winter season it frequents stacks in the farm-
yard, in company with others, to feed upon any corn
that may be scattered about ; but, little inclined to
any association with man, it prefers those situations
which are most lonely and distant from the village.
It could hardly be supposed that this bird, not larger
than a lark, is capable of doing serious injury ; yet
I this morning witnessed a rick of barley, standing
on a detached field, entirely stripped of its thatching,
which this bunting eiFected by seizing the end of the
straw, and deliberately drawing it out, to search for
any grain the ear might yet contain ; the base of the

rick being entirely surrounded by the straw, one end
resting on the ground and the other against the snow
as it slid down from the summit, and regularly
placed, as if by the hand ; and so completely was the
thatching pulled off", that the immediate removal of
the corn became necessary. The sparrow and other
birds burrow into the stack and pilfer the corn, but
the deliberate operation of unroofing the edifice ap-
pears to be the habit of this bunting alone."

The tomtit, oxeye, and some other birds, have
been frequently observed to draw out the straws of
thatch, but more probably when seeking for cursory
insects than grain.

The skylark or laverock (Alauda arvensis, Linn.),
though in no sense of the word a hedge-bird, as it
does not and cannot, from the structure of its feet,
perch on bushes, may be mentioned here as much
more destructive than the bunting, both to the newly
sown seed corn and to the ripening crops, inasmuch
as the species is greatly more numerous. But few
farmers who have any taste for the sweet music
of nature, cheering them in their labours and delight-
ing them in their summer walks, when

" Invisible, in flecket sky.
The lark sends down his revelry,"

would grudge even more of the produce of their
crops than is ever actually devoured by this interest-
ing species. There is little question but they might
find other food in the seeds of wild plants and weeds,
could they be conveniently scared from the corn
crops at the seasons when they do most damage ; but
unfortunately this cannot be easily done, larks being
less afraid than most other birds of the usual means
resorted to for such purposes.

The woodlark (Alauda arborea, Linn.) is not, like
the skylark, incapable of perching, and frequents
hedges as well as heaths and commons. It is by no
means a plentiful bird, in consequence, possibly, of
being more delicate than the skylark, and liable to
the peculiar accident of having its legs frequently
broken from the extreme brittleness of the bones,
" a peculiarity," says Dr. Bechstein, " which I have
remarked in no other species of bird." As it does
not congregate in flocks, like the skylark, the sown
fields of wheat in autumn, and of oats in spring, are
not so liable to be injured by this species. Indeed,
it is more apt to purloin a few grains from the stand-
ing corn, particularly when the fields are near its
breeding haunts, such as the skirts of woods, copses,
or patches of heath, furze or juniper. It is much
more timid and easily scared than the skylark ; but
it is so little obtrusive that it will seldom attract atten-
tion. Even its beautiful notes, which are only sur-
passed by those of the nightingale, are so soft and
fluty, that they are seldom noticed, though an atten-
tive listener may distinguish them clearly when the
little songster, high in the air, repeats by the hour
what Burns most happily calls its " soothing, fond
complaining."

The linnets or Unties, more particularly the grey
species {Fringilla cannahina, Linn.), are very com-
mon in most parts of the empire, notwithstanding
the numbers entrapped by bird-catchers, and the
nests of young taken by schoolboys for rearing cage-
birds. Their natural hardiness, the abundance of
food which they can generally find, and the wild
places in which they breed, are all circumstances
favourable to the increase of the species. Ti;ey do
much more damage than is generally supposed.
During the breeding season, indeed, they are not
so much in the fields, and the injuries they do are
confined to occasional excursions to the patches of
turnips left to ripen seed, and, at a later period, to the

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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

newly sown turnip g-rounds; but when the young
families begin to wander in small companies as the
grain becomes ripe, they devour great quantities of
standing corn, attacking it voraciously from the mo-
ment it begins to whiten in the ear till the sheaves
are laid in the farm carts. After this period the
small family companies associate in larger flocks,
frequently uniting with green-birds, and subsist on
the corn scattered on stubbles, as well as on the
seeds of weeds, till the autumn wheat is sown, at
which time their numerous bands make the rounds
of the newly sown fields, and frequently thin the
the seed-corn so much, that the braird is scarcely
worth preserving. In such cases, however, the
farmer seldom dreams that the linnets Jiave done
him this injury, but accuses wire worms, grubs, or
rooks, though none of these may have destroyed a
single grain. It is thus thnt mistakes are always
committed by those who are not accustomed to na-
tural history, of which se\-eral examples have already
been given in the course of this paper.

The linnet, from being rather wild in its habits, is
not a very common visitant of gardens, excejDt when
these are somewhat secluded, or the more extensive
market gardens near larger towns. In sucli cases it
is a very unwelcome intruder, as it not only strips
the heads of lettuce when the seed is ripening, but
is as bad almost as the sparrow or chaffincli in plun-
dering the seed-beds of the newly sown seeds, par-
ticularly cabbage, turnip, and radish.

In consequence of its wary timidity, the linnet is
fortunately easy to scare, and in gardens this may be
done by means of a stuffed owl or cat, threads with
feathers suspended over the beds, and similar de-
vices ; but in corn-fields recourse must be had to the
less effectual method of employing boys at particular
seasons to frighten the flocks from alighting where
they would do injury.

The twite or mountain linnet (^Fri7igilla montium,
Linn.^, distinguished b}^ the rump being of a red
colour, is by no means so common as the other, but
is of not very dissimilar habits, feeding much in the
same way, and requiring the precautions to prevent
its depredations which have just been detailed. This
bird is not much known except amongst naturalists,
being popularly confounded with the common linnet.
(^To be continued.)

PLOUGHING AND DRAINING.

Extracts from the Evidenck of Mr. Smith,
or Deanston, given before the Agricul-
tural Committee of the House of Com-
mons LAST Sessions.

Have you used your sub-soil plough without any
auxiliary permanent drains? — I have, and it is the
worst thing possible to deep plough land without
having it first drained, and it is upon that ground
that in England the shallow ploughing is so much
resorted to ; the deeper stiff clay is ploughed the
worse ; it is because there is thereby a greater re-
servoir formed to hold water.

Supposing the instance of a msrsh where you
have no fall for the water, and you have about
eight or nine inches of soil upon the surface that
is marl, and underneath you come to a stiff sub-
stratum of clay, and it is almost impossible to get
the water off, the fields are separated by drains,
and scarcely any fall for the water, would you
there recommend your sub- soil plough ? — Cer-
tainly not ; I think it would just make a reservoir
for more water to lodge.

Would this sub-soil ploughing be applicable to
dry land?— Most decidedly; I have done it in
gravel and sand,' to great advantage.

After a few years you can plough it up and
make a greater depth of soil ? — Yes, it is a great
advantage to get a great depth of soil, even if it
is gravel.

Would you drain in dryland ? — I have seen very
little land that I would not drain, because, even in
gravel and in sand, there is a dilatory subsidence
of water, which is injurious to crops in some sea-
sons.

And that description of soil is liable to spring
water.' — It is.

What is the extent of the farm in Cheshire of
which yon have spoken ? — I think it must be about
500 acres.

Have your experiments been applied to the
whole of the 500 acres ? — No ; he has only got
two fields done, but he is going on with the rest.

Can you state any experiments upon any other
farm within your knowledge ? — I can state many,
and one especially that I saw the other day upon
Admiral Fleming's property ; he has been very
partial to this mode of draining for some years,
but his overseer did not so soon come to see the
propriety of it, but he began two years ago, and
he has made very considerable progress, and with
great success ; he showed me one field where he
had it; thoroughly drained and sub-soil ploughed,
and after a crop of potatoes he had it sown down
in grass ; it had been in grass about 20 years be-
fore, and let for 11 an acre ; he has now let it for
three years in grass at 56s.

Was that a favourable soil .' — It was a very close
bottom soil, not a stiff soil, but that sort of close
soil with a very thin active soil upon it.

What sort of climate ? — It is about the average
of Scotland, moistish.

Was not it worse than the average ? — I dare
say it is ; it lies in the great hollow between the
Frith of Clyde and Firth of Forth.

Has not the admiral or his bailiff taken a good
deal to spade husbandry lately ? — They have done
a great deal, but it is owing to particular circum-
stances ; the land is full of very large whin blocks,
boulder stones, and it is more difficult to manage
the plough in such circumstances.

After you have used your sub-soil plough, when
you come to plough 16 inches deep, with what sort
of plough are you able to plough the land 16 inches
deep ? — Always in breaking up for a fallow I take
a 16 inch furrow, but after the 16 inch furrow has
been done, and the ground allowed to lie in that
slate during the winter, then in the spring I cross-
plough it a depth of 12 inches.

When you have to plough for your fallow 16
inches deep, what sort of plough do you use for
that purpose ? — I use a plough of the form of the
old Scotch plough, but double the size.

How many horses ? — Six horses.

What is the width of the sole? — It is rather nar-
row, the Scotch plough has a very narrow sole.

Do you find that, after having got the 16 inches
for your fallow, that you stir your fallows less fre-
quently than in the old system ? — It saves a
ploughing.

How many ploughings do you give to the fal-
low ?— I gave it one ploughing with a 16 inch fur-
row, and then another with 12, and then I drill it.

Do you conceive that the plough you are now
describing of 16 inches deep, is preferable to
ploughing with two ploughs, one following the
other ? — I do not know that it is.

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211

What is the width of the furrow ?— About 12 I
inches in width.

Is that the width of the sole ?■ — The sole is nar-
row, but there is a protecting bar of wood, which
throws off the furrow ; and the great thing that
we want to do in these furrows is, not to turn
them over, but to set them on edge, by which the
atmosphere is allowed to get more freely into the
furrow.

When you plough 12 inches, how many horses
do you use ? — Three horses abreast, and that is
becoming very general in my neighbourhood.

With your own horses, which are well trained
to the sub-soil plough, when you work it with
four horses, how much can you do in a day ? —
About three quarters of an acre.

The gentleman you spoke of in Cheshire would
do considerably less ? — He must have done less.
I may observe, that I have invariably found that
when any person has had a sub-soil plough for the
first time, he generally got defeated in conse-
quence of the restiveness of the horses, being
yoked in a manner ditferent from what they had
been accustomed to, and that the ploughmen were
awkward in the managemet of the implement.
When I first began the sub-soil plough upon my
own farm, I had a much lighter plough, but I
found that it was apt to be thrown out of the
ground when it came in contact with a large stone.
I have had a heavier plough constructed, of the
weight of 400 pounds ; the ploughman objected
at first very much to using this plough, and said
that it was so heavy that] he could not manage it
in turning. I persuaded him to try it for one day ;
he complained very much that he was greatly fa-
tigued. I then said that he might throw it aside,
and use the lighter one if he chose. He did so,
but I found very soon after that he was using the
heavy plough, and that the lighter plough was laid
aside. I asked him the reason why ; he said that
the light plough was more apt to get out of oi'der,
and more apt to be thrown from the ground, and
that now he had got into the mode of balancing
the heavy plough at the turnings, he found it
much easier to manage than the lighter one ; that
he did not think it more heavy for the horses.

In yoking the horses three abreast, one goes in
the furrow and the other two on the left ? — Yes.

Is it in breaking up land or in stirring that you
use the three abreast? — I use the three abreast in
all my common ploughing.

Do you find that three abreast do as much work
as four at length ? — I think not quite so much ;
indeed we had an experiment of three horses pull-
ing the sub-soil plough, but they did not seem to
be so able for it as the four horses.

Are you obliged to have a driver when you work
three horses ? — No ; that is the advantage of the
three horses, that the ploughman is able to manage
them.

Do you do more work with the three horses
than with a pair ? — Certainly.

About in proportion to the additional horse? —
Yes.

Do you speak of this as applied to the sub-soil
plough, or as applied to common ploughing ? —
As applied to common ploughing.

What would be the effect upon the heavy soils
not drained ? — I should think that when two
horses go upon the unploughed land it would do
no harm.

Much less than when they go in line ? — Yes ; I
consider going in line upon a furrow very in-
jurious.

Does not going in line upon strong clay land
prevent a considerable degree of poaching ? — It
prevents you from seeing the poaching, but it is
doing more harm below the surface ; it is an ab-
solute injury to the soil.

The question refers to land not sub-soiled ? — I
understood it so.

Generally speaking, is not the land under the
furrow much firmer than that upon the surface ?
—It is.

Do you not think that the horse treads it less
going upon the furrow than if he went upon the
land ?— He certainly does ; but as he goes upon
the land that is afterwards to be turned over, there
is no harm done. Mr. Sterling, of Glenburn, a
proprietor in Stirlingshire, has contrived a mode
of making three horses go upon the unmoved
ground, keeping out of the furrow altogether,
which is a very good thing, of course it will take
more power.

Do not you find that the effect of ploughing
three abreast is to make more land with the plough ?
— It makes more land.

Is that always good ?— It is always good, except
in ploughing from grass ; then it is better to use
two horses in the old way.

What is your reason for thinking when land
has been properly drained, and the sub-soil moved,
that there ought to be no furrows, but that it ought
to be laid quite flat?— The reason for having a
field laid down without furrows is to prevent the
water frorti accumulating in any quantity, so as to
run with force. When the ground is laid down
perfectly flat, being previously thoroughly drained,
the rain that falls upon the surface perforates
through the soil ; but if furrows were made, there
would be a collection of a body of water, which
would accumulate and carry the soil along with it.

Do you find it quite unnecessary, after your sys-
tem of drainage, to cut surface drains ? — Quite un-
necessary ; I carefully avoid all furrows.

Have you ditches round your fields ? — No
ditches.

Where do your drains go to ? — I have large main
drains down the main hollows of my farm, and I
bring all my water into those drains.

How do you get into the drains ? — I get into the
drains under tiie fences.

That land which is against the fence, or which
has underwood upon it, and which is not mowed
like the rest, how is it done there ? — I make a
catch drain, and conduct this catch drain round
the underwood.

In the event of one of your drains becoming
stopped, what is your guide in order to ascertain
the evil ? — I have executed about 70 miles of
drains, and I have never yet had a stopped drain
upon the whole 70 miles.

All the drains were stone ? — All the drains were
stone, excepting the sub-mains, which are of tiles.
I have opened them in many parts to see how they
were getting on, and I found them invariably
open.

Did your friend in Cheshire drain with tiles ? —
He drains with tiles ; he has done some with
stone, but he found it so expensive, from the dis-
tance he had to carry the material, that he has
taken to tiles.

Do you know the depth at which he lays his
tiles ? — Two feet and a half; I prefer laying even
tiles two feet and a half deep.

Does he fill up with anything .' — In some cases
he has filled up with gravel, in comes cases he has
put straw.

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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

Is not it running a great risk to take tlie sub-
soil plough over tile draining ? — Not if tlie tiles
are sufficiently deep.

Within what distance of the tile would you think
it safe for the plough to go ? — I should like to have
six inches over the tile.

You great object is not to let the water get in by
the top of the drain ? — No, all to get in by filtra-
tion through the fissures in the sub-soil.

PLOUGHING MATCH.

Tbe Killileagh, Killinchy, Kilmood, and TuUyna-
kiln, branch of the north-east farming society, held
their annual ploughing match on tho 20th January,
in the fields of Messrs. James Kenning and Andrew
Coff"@y, corporation of Killileagh. Thirty-five well
appointed ploughs started at a given signal, twenty
in the first class, and fifteen in the second ; and the
work was all so admirably executed, as to cause much
difficulty in awarding the premiums. The judges
were: — Messrs. Wm. Chambers, Lecale ; Robert
Ferguson, Newtownerds ; and I. Staff'ord, Ballynah-
iach ; who, with a large number of the society, sat
down to dinner at Mr. Freeman's hotel. James
Bailie, Esq., of Ringdufifeiin, took the chair, and
Robert Johnston, Esq., Redemon-house, acted as
croupier.

After the cloth was removed, the following toasts
were given: — " The King. " — The Queen. '' — " The
Princess Victoria, and the rest of the Royal Family, "
— " The Lord Lieutenant, and prosperity to Ireland. "
— The memory of the late Lord Dufferin." — "The
present Lord Duff"erin, president of the society."
After which, the judges were called on for their de-
cision, when the secretary, Mr. Alex. Lowry, an-
nounced the premiums, as below. The health of
the judges was then given. Mr. Chambers returned
thanks, and complimented tbe society on the rapid
progress of improvement resulting from its exertions
The next toasts were, " The successful candidates. "
— " The chairman."—" The Rev. Mr. Breakey. " —
" The vice-president, Mr. Robert Johnston." — " Mr.
Taylor, of Ballygoskin, late secretary." All of
whom returned thanks, in brief and 'appropriate
terms, particularly Mr. Taylor, who returned thanks
in a speech replete with instruction upon agricultu-
ral subjects, derived from a very extensive tour
through tbe Lothians of Scotland. The farmers of
these districts are much indebted to this gentleman
for the introduction amongst them of the most modern
and approved implements of husbandry. He men-
tioned the great advantages he was reaping, from a
new two-horse threshing machine, with which he
can thresh a ton of wheat in an hour and a quarter !
"Mr. Martin, and the cotton trade of Killileagh."
Mr. Alex. Lowry returned thanks.—" The county
of Down steam-boat company, and prosperity attend
it. " Mr. Bryden was called upon, to speak to this
toast ; when he entered into a statement of the pros-
pects of the company, which were of the most cheer-
ing description ; he dwelt on the advantages, likely
to accrue, in the opening up of so speedy a commu-
nication with fhe port of Liverpool ; and announced,
that the subscribed capital of the company was now
large, and receiving, gradually, much augmentation,
owing to the very general popularity of the project ;
which he further described, as being certain, under
proper management, of being a good speculation, in-
dependent of the public benefits contemplated. This
statement was received with much interest and grati-
fiGation.— " The town and trade of Killileagh. "" Mr.

James Davison spoke to this toast, at some length ;
and expressed his hope, that all the landed gentry,
in the neighbourhood of Killileagh, would now come
forward, and assist the steam-boat undertaking, by
which they were likely to be so much personally
benefited.

After a pleasant evening, spent in tbe most con-
vivial manner, the company separated, at an early
hour.

The following is the order in which the premiums
were awarded : —

First Class. — 1st premium It 5s, to Robert
Stewart, ploughman for self, Ballymecuran ; 2d, 1/
2s to David Cleland, ploughman to Mr. James Cle-
land, BallywooUen ; 3d, 19s to Rowland Savage,
ploughman to Mrs. Lindsay, Derryboy ; 4th, 16s to
James Gibson, plouglunan to Mr. John Gibson,
BallywooUen ; 5th, 13s to William M'Ewen, plough-
man for self, Ballydorn ; 6th, 10s to James M'Anally,
ploughman to Mr. Adam Kenning, Corporation ; 7th,
7s to William Downy, ploughman to Mr. John
Downy, RingdufFerin ; 8th, 5s to Henry Irvin,
ploughman to Mr. John Howe, Ballytrim.

Second Class. — 1st premium 1/, to A. Magam-
phery, ploughman to Mr, John Johnston, Bally-
wooUen; 2d, 16s to Daniel Megrady, ploughman
for self, Cluntagh ; 3d, I4s to James Wigton, plough-
man to Mr. James Lawther, Ballytrim : 4th, lis to
William White, ploughman to Mr, John Harper,
Maymore ; 5th, 8s to William Donnan, ploughman
to Mr. Alexander Lowry, Killileagh; 6th, 6s to
Wm. Ferguson, ploughman to Mr. John Carr,
Corporation.

Mr. Robert Johnston, of Redemon's, premiums.
— For the beat and neatest harnessed horses, 1st pre-
mium, 10s to Mr. John Harpe, Maymore ; 2d, 5s to
Mr. Alexander Lowry, Killileagh.

To the ploughman not being awarded one of the
branch premiums, who shall have his work finished,
and being certified by the judges, as executed in a
workmanlike manner.

FinsT Class. — 1st premium, 43 to John Lawther,
ploughman to A. H. Read, Esq., Grocean.

Second Class. — 4st premium, 4s to Hugh Carlin,
ploughman to Mr. Andrew Coff'ey, Tullymacknows ;
2d, 2s 6d to Charles Finlay, ploughman to Mr. Samuel
M'Ewen, Ballydorn.

COMMERCE OF SCOTLAND IN 1656
AND 1835.

The Shipping of Scotland consisted in 1656 of 137
vessels, carrying- 5,736 tons ; in 1760 of 999 vessels,
carrying 53,913 tons ; in 1800 of 2,412 vessels, carrying
171,728 tons ; in 1820 of 3,133 vessels, can-ying- 288,770
tons; in 1835 of 3,287 vessels, carrying 335,820 tons.

The vessels built and registered in 1835 were 156,
tonnage 21,261.

The tonnage of Arbroath in 1835 exceeded that of all
Scotland in 1656 ; and the tonnage of Aberdeen in 1820
was alinost equal to that of all Scotland in 1760.

The gross receipt of the revenue of Customs in Scot-
land amounted in 1656 to 5,847/. ; in 1707 to 34,000/.;
in 1801 to 578,000/. ; in 1835 to 1,529,966/.

The Customs collected on Tea and Coffee in 1835
exceeded the whole public revenue of Scotland in 1706.

The gross receipt of the revenue of Excise in Scotland
amounted in 1656 to 43,197/. ; in 1727 to 62,758/. ; in
1801 to 833,000/. ; in 1835 to 2,456,705/.

The Excise collected on Glass in 1835 exceeded the
whole public revenue of Scotland in 1656.

The gross receipt of the Post Office revenue of Scot-
land amounted in 1706 to 1,194/. ; in 1835 to 209,206/.
— From Oliver and Boyd's New Edinburgh Almanack
for 1837.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

213

POOR LAWS— IRELAND.

We know not any subject which would liave
induced us to devote so much of our columns to
it, to the exclusion of useful practical matter, ex-
cept the all-important one of Poor Laws for Ire-
land. The manner in which Lord John Russell's
speech, in introducing tlie measure, was received,
and the profound attention paid to his develope-
ment of the Ministerial plan, is an earnest of its
success, and furnishes proof of the anxiety of
men of all parties to legislate for the benefit of
the sister country. We have given the speeches
of Lord John Russell, Sir R. Peel, and Lord
Stanley, at length, — the first, as being a full
expose of the proposed plan ; and the two last, as
conveying some valuable observations and sugges-
tions upon parts of it, the practicability of which
may seem doubtful. We shall also give the re-
port of Mr. Nicholls, one of the Poor Law Com-
missioners, who was sent to Ireland for the pur-
pose of making the necessary inquiries, as it not
only shews the foundation upon which the Minis-
terial measure is framed, but also contains a mass
of valuable statistical information upon the con-
dition of the Irish labourers. We know that the
English Agriculturists are deeply interested in the
question, and we, therefore, feel no further apology
necessary for devoting so much space to it.

Monday, February 13.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL : I beg to move the order
of the day for the House resolving itself into a com-
mittee of the whole House on so much of the King's
Speech as relates to the establishing of poor-laws in
Ireland.

The House having gone into committee, the follow-
ing passages in the King's Speech were read by the
clerk : —

" My lords and gentlemen, his Majesty has more
especially commaaded us to bring under your notice
the state of Ireland, and the wisdom of adopting all
such measures as may improve the condition of that
part of the United Kingdom. His Majesty recom-
mends to your early consideration the present consti-
tution of the municipal corporations of that country,
the collection of tithes, and the difficult but pressing
question of establishing some legal provision for the
poor, guarded by prudent regulations, and by such pre-
cautions against abuse as your experience and know-
ledge of the subject enable you to suggest. His Ma-
jesty commits these great interests into your hands in
the confidence that you will be able to frame laws in
accordance with the wishes of his Majesty and the ex-
pectation of his people. His Majesty is persuaded
that, should this hope be fulfilled, you will not only
contribute to the welfare of Ireland, but strengthen the
law and constitution of these realms by securing their
benefits to all classes of his Majesty's subjects."

Lord JOHN RUSSELL then rose and spoke to the
following effect : I feel, sir, the extreme importance
of the subject which I am about to bring under the
consideration of the House ; at the same time I feel it
is one which, while it has received much discussion,
while it has been the subject of a report made by com-
missioners appointed by his Majesty, who collected a
great deal of information in relation to it, is likewise
a matter which I can rely confidently the House thus
prepared will come to the consideration of, not only
with the necessary information at its command, but
with a desire to form a safe and dispassionate conclu-
sion. I will preface what I have to say on the subject
of poor-laws for Ireland'with some few observations as
to the advantages which may be derived from poor-laws
in general, the manner in which a poor-law should be

applied, and the abuses to which it is subject. These
are matters which are illustrated, I think, very fully
and sufficiently in the history of this country. It ap-
pears from the testimony both of theory and of ex-
perience that when a country is in such a state that it
is overrun by numbers, both of marauders and of men-
dicants having no proper means of subsistence, a prey
on the industry of the country, and relying on the in-
dulgent charity of others, the introduction of poor-
laws serves several very important objects. (Hear,
hear.) In the first place a poor-law acts as a measure
of peace, (hear, hear,) enabling tlie country to pro-
hibit vagrancy and to prohibit thos 2 vagrant occupa-
tions which are so often connected with outrage. It
acts in this way by the very simple process of offering
a subterfuge to those who rely on such means for sub-
sistence. It is an injustice to the common sense of
mankind when a single person or family are unable to
obtain the means of subsistence, when they are alto-
gether without the means of livelihood from day to
day, to say they shall not go about the country to en-
deavour to obtain from the charity of those who are
affluent that which circumstances have denied to them.
But when once you can say. Here are the means of
subsistence so -far as subsistence is concerned — that is
offered to you ; when you can say this, you can say on
the other hand, you are not entitled to demand charity,
you shall no longer infest the country in a manner in-
jurious to its peace, and which is favourable to the im-
poster. (Hear, hear, hear.) Another way in which a
poor-law is beneficial is, that it is of itself a great pro-
moter of social concoi'd, showing a disposition in the
state and in the community at large to attend to the
welfare of all classes. It is of use, also, inasmuch as
it interests more especially the landowner and persons
of property in the country in the welfare of their
tenants and their neighbours. (Cheers.) A person
possessed of considerable property, who looks only to
receive the rents of his estate, may be careless as to
the number of persons who may be found in a btate of
destitution, in a state of mendicancy, or ready to com-
mit crime and act as marauders in the neighbourhood
of his estates ; but if he is compelled to furnish means
for the subsistence of those who are destitute, it then
becomes as well his interest as his natural occupation
to see that all persens around him are well provided
for, that thev are not in want of employment, and that
his immediate tenants can live in a state of comfort.
(Hear, hear.) I conceive that those objects, and
several others which are collateral to those, were ob-
tained by this country by the acts passed in the reign
of Elizabeth. When we look to the state of the country
immediately preceding and during the greater portion
of that reign, we should be inclined to think, if we
viewed it as a matter of not so remote a time, but
nearer to our own time and to our own neighbourhood,
that it must be very difficult to bring the country into
that condition of peace, order, and civilization which it
now enjoys. We are told with respect to crime in the
reign of Henry VIII., that no less than 70,000 persons
were executed in this country for theft and various
crimes. We are also told by a magistrate of the county
of Somerset, who wrote in the reign of Elizabeth, that
in that county alone 40 persons were executed in the
year for theft and other lawless practices ; and the
county was in such a state of insecurity that the culti-
vators of the soil found great difficulty in protectmg
their herds and flocks and crops from robbery. Gangs,
comprising no less than 60 persons, sometimes attacked
them, such was the state— not of tlie county alone- •
but of most of the counties in England. The wTiter
adds that the 40 persons whe were executed in one year
did not constitute more than a fifth of all those w-ho
were guilty of similar offences, but the remainder
escaped prosecution altogether. A number of other
instances mig-ht be furnished of the deplorable state of
the country at that period. Even in London such was
the extent of crime that a commission was issued em-
powering a certain high officer to execute martial law
in the streets, and persons found committing depreda-
tions in the street were taken up under Kiat commission
and hanged without trial. Now that was a barbarous

214

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

state of society which it was most difficult to remodel ;
but the means taken were many combined tog'ether.
Various chang'es were made, both with respect to the
law and tiie police, into which I need not enter on the
present occasion ; but there was one in particular which
I think tended to the improvement of the country, to
the establishment of peace, and to the creation of that
which I consider almost the greatest benefit that can
be conferred on any country, namely, a high standard
of comfortable subsistence for the labouring classes.
(Cheers.) That much was effected by the act of the
14th, and others, and chiefly by the great act of the 43d
of Elizabeth. The principle of that act was, that the
infirm, the cripples, the orphans, and impotent persons
should be relieved by the public, and that able-bodied
persons unable to procure employment whereby they
might obtain their living should be set to work. The
act in question was founded on principles adapted to
that time, and which I have no doubt were applied with
ffreat effect. That, then, I conceive to be the use of a
poor-law. I may here mention that a short time after
the passing of the 14th of Elizabeth an act was passed
in Scotland enacting a system of relief for the poor, but
leaving out that part of the law which pi'ovided that
able-bodied persons should be set to work. The Scotch
act provided compulsory relief for those who were un-
able or incompetent to work. It was a long time before
any considerable mischief was found to arise from the
English poor-law. No doubt many abuses arose in
particular parts of the country. There were abuses
stated by a writer at the beginning of the last century,
but it was not till towards the end of the century that
some very fatal abuses prevailed. I conceive it was the
object of the poor-law of Elizabeth to provide in the
first place for the relief of those persons who were in-
firm and unable to work ; and in the next place, by
compulsory m asures, to set able-bodied persons to
work — to set tliem to hard labour, which was distaste-
ful to them, and, in fact, to place them in a situation
inferior to that of the able-bodied independent labourer.
But there arose about the end of the last century, from
circumstances which occasioned a great scarcity of pro-
visions, the cause of which I need not go into now —
there arose a notion that the principle of the poor-law
was that all persons, whether industrious cr idle, whether
deserving or undeserving-, were entitled to be maintain-
ed by the parish funds. The evil of this system soon
began to be felt. It was impossible such a notion of the
law could be carried into effect without occasioning
the greatest evils. For a long time the idle and profligate
found it more to their interest to live on the parish
funds than to obtain their livelihood by the regular
course of employment ; they found that they possessed
greater advantages living in that way tlian if they had
sought regular employment, and had relied for the
means of subsistence on their character and industry. I
am alluding now to facts that are so notorious that I
need not [go into them. I will only refer to one case
which is mentioned in the report of the commissioners.
It is the case of Soulbury, where the poor increased to
such an extent that the landlords gave up their land,
the farmers gave up the occupation of their farms, the
clergyman gave up liis tithes ; and the whole parish
was left in the undisputed possession of the paupers. It
was after many inquiries into these abuses that the Poor-
Law Amendment Act was introduced into Parliament
and became law. The principle of that bill, as I con-
ceive, is to act fully and fairly on tlie principle of the
43d of Elizabeth ; is to place the pauper labourer, the
pauper who cannot find work, and the infirm who
apply for support, in a situation more irksome than that
of the independent, industrious, and successful labourer.
(Hear, hear, hear.) Now the means by which this is
accomplished are by offering all such persons a resi-
dence in the workhouse ; by giving them, as the poor-
law commissioners state— and I will not enter into the
dispute whether tiiat is the case or not— a sufficiency of
food, warm clothing, and a comfortable warm residence ;
but at the same time placing them under a certain de-
gree of confinement ; so that while they have the ne-
cessary clothing, the means of subsistence, and often a
wanner residence iu the winter than the independent

labourer possesses, yet the restraint is so irksome to them
they are not willing to subject themselves to it except
when really in a state of destitution. This has been
proved clearly by the assistant commissioners to be the
mannerin which the poor-law works. I have consulted
two of the commissioners, with whom I happen to be
acquainted, on the subject, and they both say the food is
wholesome, and the workhouse accommodation is better
than that possessed by the independent poor, but the
confinement renders it irksome, and in that way the
workhouse becomes a place that the poor would gladly
avoid the necessity of having recourse to. It is to these
principles, and to this experience, that we must look
very much as a guide in any poor-law that we shall in-
troduce for Ireland. We ought to be unwilling on the
one hand to introduce a system which will generate the
abuses which have resulted from the English poor-law ;
we ought to be very willing, on the other hand, if we
can, to introduce some of those g'ood effects which have
resulted to England from her system whde it was at-
tended with beneficial consequence?. The poor-law
commissioners for Ireland, in the course of last session,
made a report which was laid before this House, in which
they recommended many measure^ of improvement for
Ireland, and in which they suggested certain measures
with regard to the indigent. It is this measure with
regard to the relief of the indigent to which I would
call the attention of the House, as the principal object
of the bill I am now about to introduce. The other
suggestions for the general improvement of Ireland,
thoug'h I may touch on them this evening, 1 propose to
leave for future consideration. The poor-law commis-
sioners, with regard to this question of immediate relief
of the destitute, propose in the first place that a large
class of persons should be provided for at the public ex-
pense by means of a national and local rate. They ad-
vise also that there should be money afforded for emi-
gration, and that depots should be provided for persons
preparing to emigrate. In considering that report
great doubts occurred to his Majesty's Ministers whe-
ther it was a good principle to provide only for certain
classes, and whether those depots for emigration could
be safely and advantageously adopted. It appears
from every reflection on the subject that there can be
no reason for saying why there are to be only certain
classes to which relief is to be extended, that is, pro-
vided we are prepared to administer relief. The
different classes to whom it is proposed to give relief are
here enumerated : — The noble lord here read an ex-
tract from the last report of the commissioners for in-
quiring into the state of Ireland, and stating that in
tlieir opinion relief ouglit to be given to lunatics, to per-
sons who were deaf, blind, and all the labouring poor
that were infirm ; that they should be supported within
the walls of public institutions ; that for the sick who
remained at home there ought also to be institutions to
supply them with medicines ; that helpless widows
with children ought to be supplied, as well as other
persons similarly situated ; and also suggesting the
support of persons intending to emigrate. The noble
lord then continued by saying. Now this enumeration
contains so many persons, there are so many classes of
persons embraced in it, that you could not, if you
undertook to provide for so many classes, exclude
others. Including these, I certainly cannot see what
objection there can be to provide for the destitute and
able-bodied man. (Hear. J There are some persons in
this list, such as the incurable lunatic, the helpless widow
with young children, or the sick man — now these are
persons in such circumstances as it is recommended that
relief should be afl^orded to ; and which circumstances
seemed to us calculated to excite individual compassion,
and not circumstances to which exclusive national re-
gard ought to be had. (Hear.) If a person in the
25th year of his age, in the full possession of his health
and strength, and unable by his industry to obtain
a livelihood, or who had not the means of support, were
to stand at the doors of one of those public institutions
starving, in want of support, and who was likely, if
not relieved, to die in a few days, I cannot understand
the principle that would distinguish a person in that case
as one to whom you would not give relief, when you

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE/

215

give relief to the young and the infirm. (Hear.') The
real principle to be adopted on this subject is, to afford
relief to the destitute — to the destitute, and nothing else
(hear, hear) ; and it would, in my opinion, be quite as
wrong to refuse relief to the able-bodied person in that
situation, as to afford relief to the cripple, to the widow,
to a deaf or a dumb person, wlio was in a state of afflu-
ence, and had other means of support. (Hear, hear.)
It is not, then, the peculiar cu'cumstances which excite
public or individual compassion that we are to regard,
but, if we have a poor-law at all, it ought to be grounded
on destitution, as affording a plain guide to relief. ( Hear,
hear.) Then, with respect to the other proposition, that
there ought to be a penitentiary to which the paupers
ought to be sent, and that there ought to be depots for
those mtending to emigrate, if you are willing to adopt
a plan to that extent, of having a penitentiary for
vagrants and depots for emigrants, it is, I say, far better
for you to adopt the workhouse system at once ; because,
if you have a depot for emigrants, it will afford, as it
appears to me, great ground for abuses. (Hear, hear,
hear.J Suppose you get 500 or 600 persons in a depot
for emigration, it will be difficult to apply to them that
restriction and enforce that discipline which you could
do if they were in a workhouse. It may be said that
they are merely passengers — that they are in a sort of
public inn or hotel until they take their passage, and
they are not, therefore, to be treated as paupers entirely
dependent for support upon the public. Thus, then,
they cannot be restricted nor placed under the same dis-
cipline as if they were in a workhouse ; and besides,
there is no security that they will avail themselves of
emigration, for supposing 300 out of 5000 who have
been for two or three months in one of those workhouses
are told that the ship is ready m which they were to have
embarked, and they refuse to go, what means have you
to compel them, unless you resort to that which would
be so odious as to be impossible to be carried into effect,
that is, oblige men to emigrated Thus, then, after sup-
porting them in the depot you must let them go at large,
and they would only go to persevere in their usual
habits of vagrancy. (Hear, hear, hear.J It appears,
therefore, to us that you could not adopt that part of
the subject without a great deal more of consideration
than the plan proposed by the commissioners appears to
us to have received. And deeply impressed, as we have
been, with the responsiblity that attaches to a Govern-
ment which proposes a law upon this subject, it occur
red to us that the best method of forming a judgment on
the subject was seeing whether that law which has been
applied to England could, as we understood the noble
lord, be enforced in Ireland with advantage to that
country. For this purpose Mr. Nicholls, one of the
poor-law commissioners, and who is so well known for
his worth, abihties, and intelligence (hear), I re-
quested to go over to Ireland, and ascertain on the spot
whether any thing resembling the machinery of the
English poor-law could be applied there. I should
mention here that Mr. Nicholls, who has had great ex-
perience upon this subject, even before the amended
poor-law came into operation, had in one district of this
country adopted an improved method in the working- of
those laws, even before the amended law was carried ;
but this also ought to be stated, that in the early part of
last year he drew my attention to the subject of a poor-
law for Ireland, and I have been in constant commu-
nication with him on this matter since the commence-
ment of the session of 1836. As I was sure that he was
qualified by abilities and experience, so was I also aware
that he would carry into the examination of this subject
equal caution and zeal. Mr. Nicholls, then, proceeded
to Ireland, and the result of his inquiries was, that, sup-
posing it was expedient to extend a poor-law to Ireland,
there was no effectual obstacle, no sufficient objection
to the establishment of a poor-law in many respects re-
sembling the amended poor-law in England. (Hear,
hear.) The reasons of that opinion are given at con-
siderable length in the report which I have the honour
of laying this day upon the table ; and I will now state
generally what are the reasons given in that report, and
why I think it is expedient to establish a poor-law in
Ireland, and to describe what is the nature of the poor-

law that I mean to propose. (Hear.) I think there
can be no doubt of its expediency, if the House will
bear in mind the description which I gave of this
country in the reign of Queen EUzabeth— there can be
no doubt that there has prevailed in Ireland many out-
rages consequent upon vagrancy and destitution and
the people being left without a remedy or relief. It has
happened in Ireland (I do not now inquire as to the
causes, but the fact cannot be disputed,) that while the
people themselves — unlike the population here — have
not improved in their condition, that the population has
increased very much in numbers, that there has been
this increase in population while there has scarcely been
an increase in the means of subsistence, or what I call
the standard of subsistence raised. (Hear.) So that
after a long period of time it is found that there prevails
in Ireland, according to the jeport of the Poor-law
Commissioners of Ireland, such an overplus of labour
that four agricultural labourers in Ireland only produced
as much as one agricultural labourer produces in
England. That, it is to be observed, cannot fairly be
attributed to a want of industry amongst the Irish peo-
ple ; on the contrary, wo have it in the evidence of
those examined by Mr. Lewis, and particularly from
one gentleman of Birmingham, that he never found the
Irish labourer to refuse work, or fail to perform it to the
utmost of his industry and capability. There is not,
then, a want of industry amongst the people. It is the
country that has been allowed to be in such a state that
industry cannot operate upon it. It is admitted that the
only subsistence of the peasant is derived from the land
which he has— it is taken from his small holding — it is not
from the gain of regular wages ; and where there are
regular wages received in particular districts these wages
are received only by a part, and not by the whole, of the
labouring population. The peasant gets his subsistence
out of his small holding ; the labourers live upon the
potatoes raised by themselves out of that small portion
of land they get ; and it is by means of its possession
and the use of their industry, often very ill-directed, and
not by the application of wages from labour, that they
are able to maintain existence. The result of this is
stated by the poor-law commissioners (though that is a
statement of which I doubt the accuracy,) that there are
nearer to three than two millions of people, for a certain
portion of the year, in an entire state of destitution. (Hear.)
There is no doubt whatever of this, that a large portion
of the people of Ireland, especially those not having
land, do practice mendicancy for a great portion of the
year. (Hear.) I have made some inquiry with respect
to the amount and extent of the relief thus afl^orded to
that mendicancy, because it is to be considered that
when we say we will adopt a pooi'-law (and that we
should adopt such a proposition is my opinion,) it is to
be remembered that a very considerable tax is now raised
on the farmers of that country by mendicants (hear),
and which, I may say, is now raised as a compulsory
rate. With this view I asked of my noble friend who
sits near me, the noble lord the Secretary for Ireland,
to obtain as accurate an account as possible of the
amount paid in this way from two or three farmers in
ten or twelve districts— the amount that was paid
for rent, the amount paid for tithes, the amount
paid to the Roman Catholic priests, and the amount
paid to mendicants. The result is, I should say,
that in most cases Is. an acre is paid in the course
of the year by the farmers for the support of mendi-
cants. In some cases it has been 6d. an acre, in others
9d.anacre ; but in one case, where a person had a farm
not very considerable in size, it was more than 2s. an
acre. That person paid lOl a-year, not in money cer-
tainly, but in food. There was more than 2s an acre
paid for mendicity. Now, this is in itself a very heavy
tax, and which cannot be assumed upon the whole to
amount to less than between 700,000i and 800,000^,
perhaps a million, in the year. (Hear, hear.) And let
it be observed that this practice of mendicancy whicU
raises so vast a sum in the country is not like a well-
constituted poor-law, which affords relief to the really
indigent. (Hear, and cheers.) It is the practice in
Ireland for the farmer to afford relief to the mendicant
who asks for it — the potatoes are there ready for him —

Q 2

216

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

there is no inquiry into the circumstances of the men-
dicant: generally it is not near home that he begs, and
the farmer has no means of knowing him. But that
which seems to afford relief to the distressed also pro-
motes and keeps up imposters. (Hear, hear.') We
have a statement witli respect to England which shows
the advantage that mendicancy obtains from imposture.
A medical gentleman has stated with respect to Suffolk,
that he has during the continuance of the old poor-law
discovered every species of the simulation of disease.
Those who pretended to be affected with catalepsy,
those who shammed cripples.and the shamming of some
of the most agonizing and excruciating diseases, and all
this for the purpose of receiving relief from the parish.
(Hear.) It cannot, then, be supposed that in Ireland,
where mendicancy is so general, and where relief is so
freely given, but that the number of imposters must be
enormous. (Hear.} But there is another evil to which
a poor-law would peculiarly apply, and which is, in
truth, one of the greatest evils to which the country is
subject — it is that the usual manner of livelihood with
what I call the labouring classes should be derived
from their small holdings of land. (Hear, hear.) If
you deprive the poor labourer of his small holding of
land he is immediately driven into a state of destitution
(hear), and he becomes a man ready for the commission
of any outrage, in order that he may supply by outrage
vs^hat mendicancy may be unable to procure for him.
(Hear, hear, hear.) I put the case without referring to
tne question whether the landlord or the tenant has acted
badly or not ; but in either case, where the labourer is
turned out of his holding, it leads to the commission of
outrage. If you suppose a number of persons in pos-
session of their small holdings, and that they are driven
suddenly out of them by their landlord, you can then
suppose the combinations that are formed — that they
return in numbers, — that they come in arms, and en-
deavour to deprive the tenant succeeding them, and thus
repossess themselves by force of the land. But put the
case the other way. A tenant is in possession of a holding
for three or four years, and this without paying any rent,
and the landlord is compelled to get rid of him. That
bad tenant, such is the state of the labouring classes,
collects the sympathy of that class, and they arm them-
selves against the landlord. A band is formed for the
commission of crime and the crime finds an excuse, and,
I willsay, a justification in the sympathyof the peasantry
of the country. (Hear.) Let me advert to one case, for
there are many cases of outrage, all arising from this
source in Ireland. The case occurred about two years
since, and I noticed it in the police report ; it shows the
sympathy of the peasantry for a person in the condition
I have described. A tenant was dispossessed from his
holding ; a person had taken possession, and lie came
upon the land, with a farm servant, to cultivate it ; the
farmer who had been in possession came near to them
with a gun in his hand ; he immediately aimed at the
new tenant — it missed ; he cocked the gun again, fired
at the servant, and shot him dead on the spot. There
could not be a more unprovoked homicide than that.
( Hear, hear.) It was evident that the farm-servant,
who had nothing to do with the holding, and who went
there to earn his wages as a labourer, was thus basely
murdered ; and yet the police, who were in an hour
aftervvards at the place, could not find persons to give
them information as to who committed the murder. In-
formation was refused because the sympathy was for the
person who was driven from his holding. This state of
society has been produced by the absence of any legal
provision for the poor. It has produced on the one
hand the most extensive mendicancy, and on the other
the most extensive crime. (Hear, hear.) It has pro-
duced, too, a third consequence, namely, the indifference
or neglect, the want of care on the part of landlords as
to the manner in which their property is cultivated and
their tenants live. In a great part of Ireland the same
indifference prevails as to the comfort of the tenants on
the part of the landlords. In this country the state of
the labourers is looked to, and even in what repair the
farm-houses may be. A great amelioration, I believe,
in this respect is taking place in Ireland ; but generally
Mdth the landlords in Ireland they regard the connection

as matter of bargain between them and the tenant, and
merely to obtain a certain rent from him. They no more
care for the welfare of the tenantry than if they had to
do with an indifferent or third person, and that there the
transactions are to end. The competition for land in
Ireland likewise gives rise to very high rents, to very
high nominal rents, and which no unfortunate tenants
can pay. The extreme competition for land, too, leads
to most injurious consequences, and of course it leads,
too, to the extremely bad cultivation of the land.
(Hear.) There are parts of Ireland in which tenants
would be glad to improve the land, but will not do so
because there is an extreme competition for land, and
also from extensive vagrancy they find it impossible to
do so. (Hear, hear.) I will take the liberty of reading
a sentence from the report of Mr. NichoUs, in which he
deals with the evils that arise from this source. They
are thus disposed of in a very few words: — "Ireland
is now suffering under a circle of evils producing andre-
producing one another. Want of capital produces want
of employment — want of employment, turbulence and
misery— turbulence and misery, insecurity — insecurity
prevents the introduction or accumulation of capital — and
so on. Until this circle isbroken, the evils must continue,
and probably augment. The first thing to be done is
to give security — that will produce or invite capital —
and capital will give employment. But security of
person and property cannot co-exist with general
destitution. So that, in truth, the drainage, reclama-
tion, and profitable cultivation of bogs and wastes — the
establishment of fisheries and manufactures — improve-
ments in agriculture, and in the general condition of
the country — and, lastly, the elevation of the great
mass of the Irish people in the social scale, appear to be
all more or less contingent upon establishing a law
providing for the relief of the destitute." (Hear, and
cheers.) Now, with respect to that part of the case,
we have come to the opinion that it is expedient and
right to introduce a law for the relief of the destitute.
(Hear.) The next question is, in what manner is that
relief to be given, and to whom is it to be given ? I
have already stated that I do not think that we ought
to limit relief to certain classes. (Hear.) You must
give relief on the ground of destitution, and to every
class and person who is destitute. (Hear, hear.) The
next question arises, whether you are to afford relief
in any other manner than it is now given in some of
the improved districts in England — that is, by in-door
relief to the paupers. (Hear.) The poor-law commis-
sioners have expressed a very strong opinion upon this
subject, and they give reasons which I think conclusive
on the subject. They are of opinion, and I think so
with them, that the administration of out-door relief
would lead to a most pernicious system, mixing up
mendicancy and charity with labour — a system of per-
sons partly obtaining support by labour and partly re-
lief from the public purse ; and if we were at once to
adopt this system, I certainly do think that not only
would those evils take place in Ireland that existed in
England, but I believe that those evils would be very much
greater, and that out-door relief in Ireland would ab-
sorb a much greater part of the profits of the land.
(Hear, hear.) I am confirmed in this opinion by a re-
port which I lately received containing resolutions
bearing very much on this subject. It is a report from
the Mendicity Institution of Dublin. They " declare
that they do not think it wise to administer out-door
relief to any person not labouring in the Institution
itself." I will next come to the question whether, if
we adopt the present system of workhouse, that system
of workhouse can be rendered effectual to any purpose.
There is one objection to them stated on this ground,
and it is urged very strongly by the commissioners.
I know it was felt very strongly by some individuals
in that commission that the workhouses would not be
safe — that there would be too much violence — that
there would be such an indisposition to the restraints
that those restraints could not be enforced. Mr.
Nicholls, for the purpose of establishing this fact,
made a full inquiry into all the various houses of in-
dustry, the mendicity institution, and the other insti-
tutions that exist ia Ireland, and he says that the con-

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217

duct of those persons in these institutions gave no rea-
son to apprehend anything of the sort. He observed
that in some of these houses of industry they have car-
ried the system of restraint farther than in some of the
old English workhouses ; they have established the
separation of the sexes and of the members of families,
such as were established in the new union workhouses
in England ; and he did not find any regulation pro-
posed to be made which did not now exist ; on the
contrary, every regulation is submitted to by the in-
mates of those houses of industry. T should think,
therefore, as far as the question of settlement is con-
cerned, there need not be any fear that there will be
any violence used, or that we cannot protect the work-
houses in Ireland as well and as securely as in England,
for the object of obtaining the result we desire, of
maintaioing good order and industry in those houses.
(Hear, hear.) The next difficulty, or rather another
objection, has been stated, which lies at the bottom of
the whole question. It is, whether this species of relief
will not be so much sought after that the workhouses
will be altogether crowded with applicants, and that
there will be no means of affording relief to those who
will come in such numbers to ask to be supported in the
workhouses. But, sir, while I am ready to admit that
that portion of the population which consists of persons
decrepid and infirm will seek refuge in workhouses,
it is in my opinion, very doubtful that any person who
can obtain any sort of subsistance by his individual
labour will crowd into the workhouses, where they
will be subject to confinement and labour. The evi-
dence goes to show that the objection which has been
taken to workhouses in England cannot be taken as a
test in Ireland ; and nothing is more unlikely than
that labourers who can obtain any sort of employment,
or who have any other means of livelihood than by con-
finement within workhouses, will crowd into the work-
house either because the quality of the food or the
habitation is very much superior. (Hear, hear.) It
remains to be considered how far a law so constituted
can be carried into offect. And on this part of the
subject Mr. Nicholls has made various suggestions, to
which I shall shortly advert, as containing the plan
which he proposes to adopt on this subject. In the
first place, with respect to the mode of administering
relief, and the question of vagrancy. To every destitute
and decrepid person the authorities having the superin-
tendence of the administration of relief shall order re-
lief to be given ; that is to say, we do not propose to
give them an absolute right, which in fact I do not think
exists in England ; we do not propose to give an abso-
lute right to destitute and decrepid persons to secure re-
lief in the workhouses. The reasons for this are, that
not only would it be found difficult to create work-
houses, and very unsafe to establish at once, in the
whole of Ireland, that every person should be at once
relieved, but there is also the difficulty of introducing a
sound general principle of relief at once into the coun-
try. We do not therefore propose to establish at first
more than four or five, or ten or fifteen, workhouses in
Ireland. If we say that all persons in Ireland shall be
allowed to have relief in these workhouses, then these
workhouses will certainly be ovei-flovved in the begin-
ning, and the experiment may be said to have failed,
when in fact it had only failed because it was not esta-
blished throughout the whole of the country, but only
in a portion. It is impossible to have evidence of the
true working of the system until the whole is hereafter
established ; and in order to give effect to it, it must
afford relief to all that require it. But then it may
be said, and it has been very much insisted upon, that
the way of preventing such numbers from flocking into
the workhouses is to establish the law of settlement, and to
say that a residence of three years in the district, or some
other qualification, should be established, by which cer-
tain persons only should be entitled to rehef. But, sir, on
reflecting on the course of legislation that has been pur-
sued in England, I have not made up my mind to propose
any regular law of settlement in Ireland. (Loud cries of
" Hear, hear.") I am quite convinced that the law of
settlement is one of the greatest evils of the poor-laws of
England. It circumscribes the market for industry, it

confines it, owing to divisions in parishes, in many cases
to a small extent of country: it confines the market for
industry to a very great and injurious extent. (Hear,
hear.) It likewise led to immense litigation ; and any
person who had attended the quarter sessions and seen
the disputes that arise there between one parish and an-
other as to whether a person had been hired for a year
and a day, whether he had been ordered to go home on
the day before the expiration of that term, so as to de-
stroy the settlement, or whether he had served a full
year and a day, and various other similar questions —
any person who had attended to this litigation and those
disputes, will not have any wish that I should in this bill
introduce the question of settlement. ( Hear, hear.) If
I were to introduce the question of settlement I think it
would have these two consequences — one because we
cannot immediately say that we will give relief, or in-
directly a claim to relief at all to the destitute poor
of Ireland ; neither can we say, in the second place,
what is certainly greatly to be desired, that we will at
once prohibit altogether and put an end to vagrancy.
When the whole of the workhouses are in operation,
and when we are enabled to relieve at them all such as
are fairly entitled to have relief in the workhouses, then
you may say we will not permit vagrancy. First, then,
to all destitute persons who seek nothing but subsistence
that subsistence we give, and tell them that we vrill not
allow them to disturb the peace and order of society by
seeking subsistence by other means. But until you can
say this it is not just altogether to prohibit vagrancy,
and I therefore do not propose to prohibit persons seek-
ing alms, if they can show that they have been to the
workhouse or have applied to the guardians of the
union and have been refused relief. This, I think, is a
necessary step in the transition from one state to another.
If the scheme succeeds we will be hereafter and finally
able to prohibit vagrancy. The next question that
arises is that with respect to the local machinery. I pro-
pose, with regard to this point, that there shall be a
board of guardians, to be elected once a year, as in
England. I propose that the county cess payers shall
have the first election, and afterwards, the rate being-
imposed, any person properly described as a rate-payer
shall have the power of voting in the election of the
board of guardians. Mr. Nicholls has entered very
minutely into the question whether or not we ought to
have ex-officio guardians in the same manner as in Eng-
land. The opinion I have come to is, that it is not
advisable to introduce a similar provision. (Hear, hear.)
In the first place, by the proportion which the ex-officio
guardians bear to the number elected the character of
the board of guardians is altogether destroyed. I there-
fore propose that there shall be a smaller number of
ex-officio guardians, and that they shall not exceed one-
third of the number of elected guardians. Mr. Nicholls
has likewise examined another question, viz., whether
clergymen should be admitted as members of the board
of guardians ? He states, and, as I think, truly, that
you cannot have the ministers of one profession without
the ministers of the other ; and, in the present state of
Ireland, the presence of different ministers of religion
on the board of guardians might raise many questions of
dispute ; and I think it would be better if the board of
guardians were confined altogether to_ laymen (cheers) ;
and from clergymen of all denominations, from Protest-
ants, Roman Catholics, and Presbyterians, he had re-
ceived assurances of their willingness and anxiety to co-
operate with the board, while some of them stated that
they would rather be in the position ot mediators be-
tween the board of guardians and the destitute poor, be-
tween the administrators of the law and those whom it
would affect, where their exertions would be more effi-
cacious in reconciling the poor to the law, and to those
who would be exposed to their angry denunciations. I
do think that for these reasons it were belter that they
should not be members of the board, but rather remain
in that position in which they would be better enabled
to use all fair argument in favour of the law than if they
aided in its administration. {Hear, hear.) Now, sir,
with respect to the question of rating, it is proposed that
the board of guardians being once constituted, and un-
der the direction of the commissioners whom I shall

218

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afterwards describe, shall impose rates according- to the
net annual value of the hereditament. The question
then arises, and it will be found fully treated by the
poor-law commissioners, how much of this rate shall be
imposed on the owner, and how much on the occupier ?
It is proposed by the bill which I hope to be allowed to
introduce, that of the full net annual value taken from
the tenant, one-half shall be paid by the tenant and the
other half of the rate by the owner of the land, (hear,
hear, hear) ; that this provision shall be carried through
in all gradations, and that when there are many tenants
holding, some under others, such tenant who is the low-
est occupier shall deduct one-half, and the person to
whom he pays it shall have the power of deducting- a
certain proportion of the half as rate, and shall pay the
rate which he received from the occupier. So that, in
point of fact, all owners liable to be rated, and paying a
sufficient amount, shall be entitled to vote for the "board
of guardians. But with respect to others who hold pro-
perty under 5/, it is proposed that property of the annual
value of 5/ shall not be liable to the rate, and shall not
have the povver of voting for the board of guardians. ]t
is proposed likewise, according to the report, that those
owners and occupiers shall have a plurality of votes in
cases where the property exceeds a certain amount.
With respect to the other questions which are treated of
in the Enghsh poor-laws, it is not necessary in any poor-
law for Ireland to introduce provisions on these subjects.
For instance, bastardy need not be introduced, and ap-
prenticeship is not proposed to be introduced, as in the
law relating to England. With respect to the cases of
the Mendicity Institution and other charitable institu-
tions It is proposed that they shall be under the direc-
tion of the commissioners, who are to have the conduct
and management of the whole administration of the
law. With respect to the commissioners, I think that
the safest manner of introducing such a law as I have
described is the simple machinery which has been found
so advantageous in England, and through the aid of
persons fully acquainted with the principles of the law
of England, and who have been employed in carrying
It into operation. We therefore propose that, instead of
forming a separate commission for Ireland, the poor-
law commissioners for England shall have the power of
entrusting to one or two of the commissioners, and if
there is only one, to any of the assistant-commissioners,
the power of sitting in Ireland as a board of guardians,
in order to carry the law into operation there. It is pro-
posed that in case it should be necessary to add to the
strength of the present board of commissioners, if the
present number shall not be found equal to the task,
then the board shall have the power of adding one com-
missioner, thus making four. When there are four
commissioners there will be found very probably one or
two m Ireland and the others in England. I think this
a better mode of proceeding than by estabhshing a new
board of guardians. (Hear, hear, hear.) It is far safer
that we should have persons already intimately ac-
quainted with the operation of the law. (Hear, hear.)
It IS far better that they should have the power of com-
municatmg from time to time with England, because
if we establish a separate board of commissioners in Ire-
land, a totally separate board, we shall probably, in the
course of a few years, find the commissioners of Eng-
land and Ireland acting upon totally different principles.
According to the testimony of the gentleman at the head
of the commission in England, he believes that three
commissioners only will be able to conduct all the ope-
rations required both here and in Ireland. These com-
missioners wdl be entrusted with the power of putting
the law into operation from time to time, according a"s
they may see opportunity, in the different districts which
they may thmk most favourable, and then they would
proceed to other districts. They would form unions
either of parishes or of any other divisions, or, without
attending to the present divisions, they may form unions
and having formed an union they will proceed to adapt
any building that may be standing for the purpose of a
workhouse, or they may build a new workhouse if ne-
cessary. I'here is a considerable difference of opinion
between some of the persons who have considered this
subject with respect to the size of the workhouses and

the unions. A gentleman who has published a pam-
phlet on the subject, written with very great talent,
proposed that there should be 500 unions, and that the
number of inmates in the workhouses should be limited
to 200 in each workhouse. Mr. Nicholls proposes that
the unions should be more extensive, that there should
not be above 100 unions, and that each should be capa-
ble of containing 800 inmates. This calculation is made
according to the circuits of Kent, Sussex, Oxford, and
Bath. The amount of pauperism in Suffolk is one per
cent, of the population. I can mention an instance in
East Kent of a place where the able-bodied persons are
16,000, but there are not more than 24 in the work-
house. But suppose in Ireland the workhouses are to
be fully occupied, Mr. Nicholls calculates that the
whole expense for each person, including lodging, fuel,
clothing, and diet, is Is 6d per week. We have calcu-
lations made by various persons, and several calcula-
tions made by order of the poor-law commissioners, and
the calculation of the expense of the workhouses in
England by Dr. Way, and they all come to very much
the same conclusion on the subject, viz., that Is 6d per
week is quite sufficient. If, then, you take 100 unions,
the whole expense will be 312,000/ ; if you occupy only
three-fourths, the expense will be 250,000/ ; and if only
one-half, the expense will be 208,000/. Of course, as
an original outlay, we must calculate the expense of
workhouses at 700,000/. This would be the amount of
the whole expense according to this plan. But, sir,
while T consider that this plan is one of great importance,
while I consider that it will in many respects improve
the condition of the people of Ireland, while I consider
that it will have many collateral advantages, as, for in-
stance, accustoming the people to see examples of clean-
liness and regularity, order and peace in the work-
houses, and likewise, if the board of guardians are well
formed, of seeing the different classes of the people act-
ing tog-ether with cordiality and confidence, from the
magistrates to the lowest of the rate-payers ; while I
calculate that this plan will have these advantages, I
must say that to suppose that merely by machinery of
this sort the people are to be saved at once from the
state of destitution in which they now are, is too un-
reasonable to be supposed. In order to do this, I think,
we must look forward to having the means of employ-
ment in Ireland, and we must look forward to having
some vent in emigration, in order to relieve the country
during her state of transition. Let it not be supposed
that I believe, when I speak of emigration, that the pre-
sent eight millions of inhabitants living in Ireland may
not be very well sustained, and sustained with good and
sufficient means by the soil of Ireland {hear, hear, hear) ;
but I do believe that hitherto, with the means of so do-
ing, a practice has prevailed, and still prevails, which
will render it unlikely that this operation should have a
successful result without some collateral sources for
easing the country of her superabundant labour. As
to the nature of the public works to be engaged upon,
this is a point which I will not discuss now. It ap-
pears to me that there are various means open for
the application of the labour of the poorer classes
which might lead to the happiest result; but at
the same time they should be adopted with great
judgment and sound discretion. I think that with
care and good judgment we may find materials for
public works of such a nature, which, whilst they serve
the temporary means of employing the time of the in-
dig-ent, may be the means of opening new sources of
industry, and for the profitable investment of capital in
Ireland. The opening of improved communications
between different districts, for instance, and the impro-
ving of bogs and ditches, are subjects well worthy of
the application of labour and the investment of capital.
This, however, as I said before, is a branch of the sub-
ject upon which I will not enter at present. It may be
remarked that there is no great quantity of capital in
Ireland available for such purposes as I have mentioned
— but it should be recollected that, if we provide means
by which a feeling of security, which does not exist at
present, may be promoted amongst the owners of pro-
perty, capital will immediately begin to flow in for in-
vestment in that way. (Hear, hear.) I have now to

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219

say a few words in reference to emigration, in connec-
tion with the subject before the House. 1 know there
are some who entertain notions upon this subject far
beyond those which 1 am inclined to adopt, in favour of
an enlarged system of emigration. It is a scheme en-
tertained by some that one or two millions of our poor
population might be exported to our colonies, and im-
mediately find means of support in the new field of em-
ployment there opened to them. Now, putting aside
all other difficulties which may be in the way of this

adoption. It is proper, however, that the House should
understand that what I liave stated in regard to public
works and emigration bears no direct reference to the
measure which I now hope to introduce. These sub-
jects form no part of my present object, which is strictly
to carry a poor-law act for Ireland ; they are subjects,
therefore, which I merely touch upon now, as worthy of
consideration as future resources, in co-operation with
the measure I now propose. I would observe also, that
I do not consider that these are branches of the subject
in which the poor-law guardians could properly be em-

desired result, and viewing the attempt merely in re . „ . . -

spect to the effect of such a proceeding upon the colo- ployed ; I do not think it would be safe to entrust them

nists, I think that the ferment created amongst them with the management of public works and emigration,

would be so ffreat as to throw hopeless impediments in in addition to the labour and duties of their immediate

the way. ItVould be at once supposed by them that department, although at the same time I think they may
we were sending in amongst them a vast quantity of be made very useful in diffusing information on the sub-
our useless population; paupers, who conferred no | ject. There is one other question collateral to this mat-

benefit on the country they were exported from, and,
therefore, as they would argue, likely to prove an evil,
instead of a source of benefit and productiveness to the
new soil in which they were about to be placed. I know
that there is a very great feeling of this kind already
prevalent in our colonies, and in some even it has been
thought desirable to exercise a sort of control as to the
class of emigrants which should be admitted. It is a
plan which has recently recommended itself to the Co-
lonial-office, and which I hope will be persevered in,
not to give large tracts of land indiscriminately to par-
ties proposing to emigrate, at the imminent risk of their
not being propei'ly cultivated, and the parties them-
selves not being benefited by their possession ; but to
sell the land at what might be considered a fair and
good price, to persons who, by showing themselves
ready to advance a little money upon it, gave the best
possible earnest of their intention and ability to improve
and render it productive. (Hear.) In one colony
alone, that of New South Wales, the sale of lands in
this way, during the past year, has amounted to 100,000^
— and this sum might be employed with success in the
conveyance of emigrants. I am aware, also, that a
notion used to be prevalent that persons sent out in this
way from amongst the poorer classes of Irish, were not
of a description to be very desirable or useful to em-
ployers; but I am convinced that this feeling of preju-
dice or jealousy will not long interfere in the way of
their employment, when it is found that there are many
emigrants from Ireland willing and able to cultivate
the lands of those who may hire them. (Hear, hear.)
With regard to this subject I may state, therefore, that
it will be proposed that there shall be an emigration
station at the different seaports of Ireland, and that the
persons proposing to emigrate, having raised a sufficient
sum for that purpose, should inform the agent, who
would send them to the seaport, where a ship, to be
provided by the agent, should be ready to convey
them. The government would pay the expenses of the
agent, and also provide some proper officer for the
command of them. By means of these precautions the
colonists will be certified that the persons brought
amongst them are proper persons for the purpose, and
not merely paupers driven away to prevent them from
starving in their native land. This is a plan which, if
adopted, vvill of course, not contemplate any vast quan-
tity of persons being sent away together ; but it will at
the same time afford a vent by which a redundant popu-
lation— and particularly those who cannot find ade-
quate employment at home — may seek it with facility
elsewhere. (Hear, hear.) In establishing a system of

ter which, before I sit down, I wish very briefly to touch
upon. The poor-law commissioners for England, in
the end of their report, make use of the following ob-
servations :—" It will be observed that the measures
which we have suggested are intended to produce ra-
ther negative than positive effects ; rather to remove
the debasing influences to which a large portion of the
labouring population is now subject, than to afford new
means of prosperity and virtue. We are perfectly
aware, that, for the general diffusion of right principles
and habits we are to look, not so much to any economic
arrangement and regulations, as to the influence of a
moral and religious education ; and important evidence
on the subject will be found throughout our appendix.
But one great advantage of any measure which shall
remove or diminish the evils of the present system is,
that it will in the same degree remove the obstacles
which now impede the progress of instruction and in-
tercept its results, and will afford a great scope to the
operation of every instrument which may be employed
for elevating the intellectual and moral condition of the
poorer classes. AVe believe that if the funds now des-
tined to the purposes of education, many of which are
applied in a manner unsuited to the present wants of
society, were wisely and economically employed, they
would be sufficient to give all the assistance which can
be prudently afforded by the state. As the subject is
not within our commission we will not dwell on it fur-
ther, and we have ventured on these few remarks only
for the purpose of recording our conviction that as soon
as a good administration of the poor-laws shall have
rendered further improvement possible, the most im-
portant duty of the legislature is to take measures to
promote the religious and moral education of the la-
bouring classes." (Hear.) These are the words with
which the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Chester,
and Mr. Sturges Bourne conclude their valuable ob-
servations on the poor-laws of England and Wales;
and if the remark is true in regard to Ensrland, it is
doubly so in my opinion in respect to Ireland. (Hear,
hear.) I do not wish to enter now upon disputed points
connected with this subject, but I have always heard it
admitted, even by those who disapprove in general of
the present system of national education pursued in
Ireland, that it is proper and expedient that the Roman
Catholics of Ireland should be educated ; and whatever
means are to be adopted for so doing, I think it should
be such a system of education that the great mass of
the people may look to it for improvement and instruc-
tion. (Hear, hear.) In administering poor-laws to
Ireland Parliament should keep this in view, that what-

poor-laws for Ireland, it appears to me that we must I ever is good for the moral condition of that country
look upon these two subjects — public works and emi- I they should endeavour to promote, to extend, and to

gration — as means for co-operating with, and perfecting
any, such an enactment. We should look also to the
general improvement which, we are informed on all
hands, is going on in Ireland, and we shall find much
to hope for in the accomplishment of these objects. If,
on the other hand, the whole state and condition of the
country were going backward — if the whole revenues
of the country were diminishing — there would then,
indeed, be some difficulty in such a plan as that I now
suggest ; but considering, as I do, the whole country to
be in the way of improvement, I think there is much
to hope for from the plan, and every reason for its

mature. (Cheers.) Not only should we employ our-
selves in relieving the indigent, in repressing^ outrage,
and in establishing a feeling of general confidence in
rich and poor by so doing, but we should endeavour
also to sow the future seeds of virtuous habits, and
heighten the character of the poorer classes of Ireland.
We should endeavour to give them that wholesome edu-
cation which will enable them to do their duty to their
God and to man; which shall furnish them with mo-
tives and incitements to do so ; which shall eradicate
and destroy the false notions and views of morality
which they had formerly entertained, as respects their

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state as subjects to the state, and as responsible and im-
mortal creatures. (Cheers.) Provided we are all
agreed upon the advantages of such an education, and
that all should have the benefit of it, let us endeavour
to afford it by such means as shall not interfere with
their religious opinions. (Hear, hear.) I shall con-
clude, therefore, by observing that whilst I look, upon
the law which I now propose to introduce as one likely
to effect very great benefits for Ireland, I look still more
strongly hereafter to the fruits of such a system of legisla-
tion as that I have briefly hinted at ; and I am confident
that legislators who shall accomplish such good for Ire-
land will receive the reward their own good opinion,
and the good opinion of the whole of the inhabitants of
that country. (Tlte noble lord sat doiun amidst loud
cheers from both sides of the House.)

Sir ROBERT PEEL said it was exceedingly agree-
able to discuss a question connected with the best inter-
ests of Ireland in which there was no party feeling pre-
sent. He thought the House and the country were under
great obligations to his J\Iajesty's Government for making
a definite proposal. So much time, indeed, had been
expended in inquiry into the subject, that a proposal for
any new inquiry would be tantamount to the admissiom
that that inquiry was of no avail, and that the prosecution
of a scheme of poor-laws for Ireland was hopeless. He
believed that the extent of public feeling with respect to
the justice and expediency of introducing a system of
poor-laws into Ireland, without entailing upon them the
evils which had pervaded our own system, but intro-
ducing a modified code, was so strong, that it was im-
possible for the legislature to refuse to consider the
question. He thought, therefore, that they were bound
to labour for this purpose. At the same time, if they did
feel an interest, as he believed all did, in the welfare of
Ireland, they were equally bound to take every precau-
tion that, in acting on a principle of benevolence, they
should not visit Ireland with the grievances which they
had originally suffered from the former system of poor-
laws in this country. The noble lord (Lord John Rus-
sell) had referred to those measures which he considered
auxiliary to the introduction of a system of poor-laws in
Ireland, and from which he anticipated considerable aid ;
such, for instance, as the affording facilitieK to emigra-
tion, and the undertaking- of public works by means ad-
vanced from the public funds, for the purpose of creating
employment for the able-bodied poor. He (Sir R. Peel)
was bound to say that he thought they ought not to be
too sanguine in their expectations of relief to be obtained
from these sources. He entirely concurred with the no-
ble lord in the opinion that evei-y facility ought to be
given to voluntary emigration ; but, at the same time, he
thought it of the utmost importance that the disposal of
lands in the colonies should be put on a totally new foot-
ing ; and that the Government ought not so much to seek
a revenue from the disposal of those lands as to enable
parties disposed to purchase to do so on very reasonable
terms. (jyear,/)[Yi7-,/!ear.) In the next place,he thought that
considering that the lands to be disposed of were situated
within some particular colony, the first and chief object
the Government should have in view should be the be-
nefit of that colony. When that was secured, they might
adopt any measure that seemed most expedient or most
practicable to produce improvement at home. But he
very much doubted whether any benefit derived from
the best conducted system of emigration would materially
aid in the great object of finding employment for the
poor ot Ireland, or of diminishing in any sensible degree
the excess of the supply over the demand for labour.
The honourable and learned gentleman, the member for
Dubhn, had asked m the course of his speech why the
Government, in the case of Ireland, did not follow tlie
example of the United States. " See," said the hon. and
learned gentleman, " how widely extensive and wonder-
fully beneficial is the system of emigration acted upon
in the United States of America.' No doubt manv and
great benefits resulted from the system in that country ;
but It must never be forgotten that the question of emi-
gTation was here vastly different to what it was in Ame-
rica. There the emigration consisted only of a removal
from one part of a great continent to another ; here no
emigration could take place except by a long passage

over sea, attended with many expenses, much inconve -
nienee, and the depressing notion of a complete separa-
tion and alienation from the land of one's fathers. Ob-
serve, too, in our colonies the difference of language,
manners, climate, and quality of the soil. All these
afforded, in England and Ireland, obstructions to exten-
sive emigration — obstructions not known in the United
States. At the same time he thought that every en-
couragement should be given to voluntary emigration
{hear, hear) ; he did not believe that any forced emigra-
tion would be found of service. (Hear, hear.) Forced
emigration to be advantageous, could only be applied
on this principle — that no man should obtain relief or
assistance unless he consented to leave his country and
to settle in one of the colonies. (Hear, hear.) He did
not think that a fit principle to be adopted. At the same
time he entirely concurred with those who were for
giving every facility to voluntary emigration. (Hear,
hear.) He came next to the subject of public works. It
was customary for them all in that House to hail with
the utmost satisfaction any proposal for the undertaking
of public works in Ireland ; and yet the hon. gentleman
who spoke so much in favour of public works was one
of those who, in the course of the same speech, would
protest against providing in any way for the relief of the
poor by the introducing" of a system of poor-laws. In
both cases what was the main principle involved? The
principle of an interference with the natural demand for
labour (hear, hear) — the principle of taking money out
of a man's pocket for the purpose of employing it in a
manner and for objects in which he felt no interest, in-
stead of leaving it in his pocket to be employed in such
a manner as to him should seem to be most advanta-
geous, and for objects in which he felt a direct interest.
He (Sir Robert Peel), therefore, was notmuch disposed
to vote millions of the public money for the mere pur-
pose of giving employment in public works, because in
a tranquil country, and in a well-organized state of so-
ciety, he believed all the employment that could be use-
fully apphed would be given by means of private
enterprise and exertion. At the same time, if it could
be shown that by the employment of public money in
public works the foundation of great public improve-
ments would be laid, which could never be obtained
without it, then he admitted that a case would be made
out for the interference of the Government, and for
taxing the people to give employment to the poor. But
he was strongly of opinion that public works, under-
taken only for the purpose of affording temporary relief
to a people suffering from general want of employment,
tended only to aggravate the evil they were intended to
obviate. It was, besides, unfair to the people employed,
because it held out to them that the employment would
be permanent, while it was only intended that it should
be temporary. (Hear, hear, hear.) Upon the question
of public works there were always two important points
to be considered — first, that the work proposed to be
undertaken could not be accomplished by individual
enterprise— second, that great public benefit would be
derived from it. {Hear, hear.) Any aid that the noble
lord (Lord John Russell) expected to derive from the
undertaking of public works ought to rest upon those
considerations. With respect to the measure at large,
as proposed to be introduced by the noble lord, he should
be sorry to say a word that could imply an objection to
it, because, upon the first stage of a measure as impor-
tant as any ever submitted to Parliament as regarded its
ultimate results on the interest and happiness of Ireland,
nothing- he conceived could be so unwise, perhaps so
unpardonable, as for any man to pledge himself precipi-
tately as to the course he would pursue. (Hear, hear.)
If, therefore, he said a word upon the subject on that
occasion, he trusted the noble lord and the Government
would believe that it was not with the slightest hostility
against them or remotest disposition to oppose the measure,
but merely as a friend having every wish to facilitate the
carrying of a measure of the kind, and to make it in
every respect as perfect as possible. (Hear, hear.) The
hon. and learned gentlemen the member for Kilkenny
(Mr. O'Connell) had stated that the legislature had now
no option upon the subject— that having- once been in-
troduced, the measure mu.st of necessity be carried. He

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221

(Sir Robert Peel) certainly thought that the leg'islature
was bound to consider the question of poor-laws for Ire-
land ; but if he were told because the matter had been
broached , that therefore it must at once be proceeded with,
and that the exercise of no discretion was to be left to the
House, he begrg'ed to reply, that he totally dissented from
that doctrine. {Hear, hear.) He did not believe that by
the mere proposal of the measure any such expectation
of undoubted relief would be excited in the minds of the
people of Ireland as to take from the leg'islature all
discretion upon the subject. {Hear, hear.) A
part of the noble lord's proposal was the buildrngr of
workhouses. If a hundred workhouses were built, he
(Sir Robert Peel) begged to ask what would be the
averag'e area of square miles over which each district in
which such workhouse was situated would extend?

Lord J. RUSSELL : Twenty miles square.

Sir R. PEEL resumed : That would comprise a space
of four hundred square miles. Then ag'ain, did the noble
lord propose that one portion of a family seeking- relief
should be admitted into the vvorkhouse.and that other por-
tions should be permitted to work, or beg', or do as they
pleased ; or, as a condition to relief, must the whole of
the family be admitted at once ?

Lord J. RUSSELL ; It is proprosed that no relief
shall be afforded to one member of a family unless the
whole be at the same time admitted to the workhouse.

Sir ROBERT PEEL thought the noble lord would
find that that system would not adapt itself to the other
provisions of the bill. This proposition, of course, was
founded on the success which was supposed to have at-
tended the workhouse system in Eng'land. He felt that
in the present condition of Ireland there was no time
for delay ; but he thought it much to be regretted that
greater experience of the practical working of the sys-
tem in England had not been obtained. As regarded
the introduction of poor-laws into Ireland, too, it must
be remembered that the situation of that country, as
compared with England, was widely different. Eng-
land was a country which had been subject to a system
of poor-laws for 300 years, in the course of which time
many grievous abuses had crept in, and much difficulty
had existed in removing them. Ireland was a country
in which as yet no system of poor-laws had ever existed.
It was inferred from the partial experience of the last
two years that the new workhouse system had worked
well in England ; but he (Sir Robert Peel) did not
think the last two years a fair test by which to judge of
the operation of the system. During the whole of that
time there had been a great demand for labour in con-
sequence of the great works undertaken in this country
by the enterprise of private individuals. The system,
therefore, had come into operation under very great ad-
vantages {hear !). The noble lord stated that he would
make no distinction in Ireland between claims that arose
from impotency and those which arose from destitution,
and he added that he thought no valid distinction could
be drawn between the two. He (Sir R. Peel) was
willing to give the point every consideration ; but,
speaking from the present impression of his mind, he
must say that he thought there was a most material dis-
tinction to be drawn between claims arising from lame»
ness, blindness, disease, and extreme old age, where it
was evident there were few opportunities of fraud, and
claims arising from destitution, which in many cases
might be real, but in others might be feigned, or the re-
sult of indolence or improvidence. If the system of an
extensive dispensary were established, at which the
blind, the lame, and the extremely old should be the
only claimants for relief, there would be no risk of false
claims ; and any system adopted in Ireland ought un-
doubtedly to afford instant and substantial relief to all
that class of persons. But the moment the claims of
the able-bodied man were admitted on account of des-
titution, from inability to find work, from that instant all
test was abandoned by which to ascertain wliether the
claims were vaUd or not. The noble lord (Lord John
Russell) was very confident that the workhouse system
would afford an effectual check to false claims ; and
upon that point lie had quoted the testimony and opi-
nion of Mr. Nicholls. He (Sir Robert Peel) was as
fully disposed as the noble lord to attach great weiglit

to the opinion of that gentleman ; but at the same time
be thought his experience of the working of the English
bill must be too brief to enable him to speak wdth any
certainty as to what the probable operation of a similar
system would be in Ireland. But consider what these
workhouses would be in the centre of an area of 400
square miles. The advantage of the workhouse system
in England was, tiiat it afforded an immediate test of the
validity of the claimants. How, embracing so vast a
district, could it afford a similar test in Ireland ? He
feared, too, if the workhouses should become popular in
Ireland, that those who lived in the immediate neigh-
bourhood would have the prior claim, so as to prevent
those who lived at the greater distance of ten or twenty
miles, from any chance of admission at all. Therefore
if a rigid law were laid down that no relief should be
given except an admission to the workhouse, he vi^as
afraid the remedy proposed would be found in practice
to ie a very partial one. The noble lord had stated that
all those who could not obtain relief within the work-
houses would be at liberty to wander about and beg.
Was it impossible — had the government determined in
their own thoughts upon the impossibility of mixing up
with the workhouse system some system of domiciliary
relief I ( Hear, hear .') The great disadvantage of the
workhouse system was its inflexibihty. Might not that
disadvantage be obviated in some degree by the esta-
blishment of a system of domiciliary relief combined
with it ? As he had stated before he wished to give this
measure his cordial support, and he should undoubtedly
do so, if, in the course of the further discussions upon it,
he should feel convinced that the workhouse system was
inseparable from the introduction of poor-laws into
Ireland. All that he v>'as afraid of was, that by the
rigid rule of excluding every claim to relief un-
less administered within the walls of the workhouse,
and of allowing vagrancy to be sanctioned by the
law, very little practical good would be ef-
fected. Tiie noble lord stated that the workhouses
would not be filled, because the natural affection
of the Irish people would induce them to support
their poorer and more destitute relatives. In that
ease, he (Sir Robert Peel) thought they would not re-
lieve the class of persons who stood most in need of it.
If that feeling obtained generally in Ireland, and if this
system were adopted, he feared that the pressure of
charity would fall most heavily on those who were least
capable of bearing it. But at that time, and in that
early stage of the proceedings, he would not extend his
observations. He gave every credit to the government
for bringing the matter forward. {Hear, hear, hear !)
As far as he was personally concerned, he was disposed
in every way to labour towards, he would not say the
literal adoption of the measure as it was then proposed
to them, but towards the introduction of a sound system
of poor-laws into Ireland, by which the suffering poor
of that country might be relieved, without entailing-
upon them and upon the richer classes such heavy evils
as had arisen in England from an indiscriminate appli-
cation of relief. {Hear, hear.) With that feeling he
should address himself to this measure with exactly the
same zeal as if it had been introduced by his own
friends {cheers.)

Lord STANLEY cordially agreed with the honour-
able gentleman who last addressed the House that it
was an important question, and the all-important ques-
tion as regarded Ireland, to adopt such measures as
would compel the absentee proprietors who had estates
in that country to take upon themselves— he would not
say to supply by a pecuniary aid (for it would be im-
possible by any merely pecuniary assistance to remedy
the evils resulting from the absence of the proprietors of
estates) — the performance of such duties, and of giving
such assistance, for which, in his conscience, he believed
they were responsible. {Hear, hear.) He came for-
ward to express his opinion on the subject as a landlord
and as a proprietor of land in Ireland, necessarily at
times hable to the name of an absentee ; but it had been
his earnest endeavour since he had been connected with
property in Ireland to supply that duty which was in-
cumbent on him {hear), and he could fairly say that he
had never shrunk from the performance of that oblige-

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tion which was imposed on him. He would at once
say, disregarding- any short-sighted view of the question,
that with reg-ard to this question he was perfectly ready
to take his full share, as an Irish landlord, of the burden
which it was proposed to impose on him. ( Hear, hear.)
The noble lord who had introduced the measure said
that he had two objects in view : in the first place, giving-
the landlords an interest in the good management of
their estates ; and in the next place, which was the most
important part of it, making such provision as would
put a stop to the frightful system of vagTancy and men-
dicity that prevailed in the country. With regard to
the second of these points, it was impossible for any man
having the least experience of Ireland to lessen the im-
portance of that most general and far-spread pest of so-
ciety in Ireland. (Hear, hear.) It was impossible to
speak in terms too strong of the evils resulting from tlie
state of vagrancy wiiich prevailed generally throughout
the country. With reference to the means to be adopted
to get rid of this system was relief to be afforded with-
out distinction in all cases of vagrancy, whether caused
by idleness, or resulting from misfortune and circum-
stances over which the parties had no control. (Hear,
hear) ? The mischievous poison of the system had dis-
tilled evil itself into the bosom of society in Ireland ; it
had led to the most baneful consequences ; it had en-
gendered a system of utter disregard to consequences;
it had removed the strongest checks to improvidence ; it
had thus tended more than anything else to impoverish
and deteriorate the condition of the people ; and there-
fore to get rid of an evil of such magnitude, if it were
necessary to impose a tax— whether it amounted to half
a million, a million, or even two millions — was a matter
of little or no consequence. (Hear, hear.) On all oc-
casions when mere abstract resolutions had been moved
in that House similar to that which had been proposed
that night, namely, that it was expedient that a poor-law
should be introduced into Ireland, he had felt, whether
sitting as a member of the government or on the oppo-
site side of the House, that they were liable to objections
on the ground of their vagueness, and at the same time
pledging the House to principles which, at the time,
were not fully felt and appreciated. He thought also
that by pursuing this course they were creating expec-
tations yvhich could not be fulfilled, and they were ex-
aggerating evils which ought not to be excited on such
a question as this, and thus evil had been done when
they were most anxious to do good. He admitted, how-
ever, that the circumstances of the case were altered,
when there was a specific plan brought into view by the
governmeut, on its responsibility, and grounded on a
mature consideration of the subject. (Hear, hear.)
He, as a landlord, felt grateful to the government for
having taken upon themselves the trouble and responsi-
bility of introducing this important subject. (Hear
hear.) His noble friend (Lord John Russell) and his
colleagues were fully sensible of the difficulties they had
brought upon themselves by taking up the matter (hear,
hear, hear) ; and he trusted that the subject would be
followed out to a satisfactory termination. For his own
part It would be his duty, as well as pleasure, to give
all his exertions to carry out this measure, without
pledging himself to all its details, to a successful result.
(Hear, hear.) He had alluded to the state of vagrancy
in Ireland, and was anxious to oflTer some observations
on the subject to the House. It had been argued by
gentlemen who spoke against allowing compulsory re-
lief, that by doing so you would check the flow of pri-
vate benevolence in Ireland. He would speak as an
Englishman who had lived in Ireland, and had seen
much of the people and country. He could say with-
out hesitation, that he had seen instances of self-devotion
on the part of the peasantry of that country which he
was sure could not be met with elsewhere ; he had re-
peatedly met with sacrifices, for the purposes of bene-
volence and charity, of all the little comforts they pos-
sessed without reflection or 'hesitation, which reflected
the highest credit on the humblest classes in Ireland.
(Loud cries of " hear, hear, hear.") They considered
that untortunate vagrants were entitled to command re-
lief at their hands, and without hesitation they brought
them to their own houses to share the same humble

shelter and food as the owner was enabled to afford to
his family. (Hear, hear.) He would tell honourable
members that this was not a rare occurrence in Ireland
(hear, hear) — it was not a casual event, but it was a
matter of daily and constant occurrence (hear, hear) —
and be it recollected that the persons who aflforded this
aid were themselves steeped to the lips in poverty.
(Hear, hear.) Let the House suppose the case of a poor
widow left deserted, with a large family, and surrounded
with those who hardly knew hovi' to get their bread from
day to day, yet in such a district there could not be found
a house in which the widow would not find a refuge —
nay, more, he would venture to say that there was not
a poor family who would refuse to charge themselves
with a permanent share of expence towards the support
of this family, and this even to an extent beyond their
means. (Hear, hear.) Would he check this system of
benevolence 1 He honoured too highly the benevolence
tkius manifested— he felt too much as a Christian the na-
ture of the feelings from whence it emanated — to en-
deavour to check the sacred flow of it, (Hear, hear.')
But looking at the matter as a statesman, reg-arding also
the state of the country, and looking to the habits of the
people, and recollecting- also the necessity of engender-
ing habits of foresight, he felt satisfied that the Legisla-
ture must not force on the poor peasantry of the coun-
try such a share of the charge of supporting those who
were absolutely destitute. (Hear, hear.) High and
exalted virtues undoubtedly they were ; and the more
high and exalted because unseen and unknown. (Hear,
hear.) But, while admitting this, it was the duty of the
House to recollect that the practice of those virtues pro-
duced in the minds of the popidation a sense that it was
not necessary to look to the future, or to make provision
beyond the present moment. No doubt this state of
thing's resulted from feelings of a high origin, but if it
were not checked by law it produced abuses in the law,
and led to the existence of the greatest evils in the coun-
try. (Hear, hear, hear.) It led to the most pernicious
system of imprudence in the habits of the peasantry,
and it induced them to give away their last halfpenny,
or potato, without knowing where they could supply
their own wants and those of their families. (Hear,
hear.) This overstrained and exaggerated character of
benevolence arose from the peculiar circumstances of
the country ; for they could not tell they might not
themselves fall into this state of destitution. He saw in
this the strongest reason not to strain those feelings, but
by doing so the exercise of them might prove injurious
to the social system. Therefore he was prepared to say,
let us adopt some system of relief for the utterly desti-
tute. (Hear, hear, hear.) He contended that in such
a state of things as at present existed in Ireland the state
should interfere, and say to the struggling cottagers of
Ireland, " You shall not share beyond your means ;
your richer neighbours shall also contribute their share
towards the rehef of the most destitute." (Cheers.)
He ag'reed also with his Majesty's government, that the
utterly destitute should alone be relieved. He was aware
that the most exaggerated anticipations, as well as the
most extravagant feelings of alarm, were held by diffe-
rent parties as to what would be the result of the adop-
tion of poor-laws in Ireland. One party looked upon
it as imposing a burden which would swallow up all the
property in Ireland, It possibly might do so, if they
did not look carefully to the operation of the working
of the system. On the other hand, they were told that
a system of poor-laws would at once lead to the invest-
ment of capital in Ireland, to the general employment
of the poor, and to a higher rate of wages ; it was the
duly of that House to do all that could be done by legis-
lation to promote these ends. (Hear, hear, hear.) He
could not, however, help observing that these exagge-
rated feelings held on one hand and the other had been
attended wilh the most injurious effects. He had no
such strong feelings of anticipation as to its benefits ; he
participated in no such feelings of alarm as had been
described. (Hear, hear.) He thought that much good
might be effected by the adoption of a judicious and
sound system. He was persuaded that the destitution
to command relief must be absolute, entire, and hope-
less—such destitution must be alone the limit of the

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

223

law. (Hear, hear.) They must on no account hold
out expectations of relievmg- the man vvlio with a few
acres of land was distressed beca,use he had agreed to
pay an a-.nount for rent which he was not able
to pay. (Hear, hear.) The adoption of a plan
by which rehef would be afforded to this class
would indeed be a confiscation of all the landed
property in Ireland. Such a system would be as
relief to the individual hmiself ; it would not
lead to a g-reater degree of providence for the future, but
it would hold out a similar and even a stronger induce-
ment than at present to this class to make the most im-
provident and absurd bargains ; at the same time it
would ruin the landlords, and make the conduct of the
peasantry still more thoughtless than at present (hear,
hearlj. Now widi respect to the dangers which they
had to look to. The danger wlaich resulted from the late
poor-laws in England was, that there was a systematic
laxity in their administration beyond all example, which
produced scenes of evil of which all men were witnesses,
and which necessarily led to the adoption of a check in
their administration, which, by a gradual and a careful
mode of proceeding, would no doubt lead to a great im-
provement. In Ireland, however, they had to proceed
from opposite series of change. In this country it had
been found necessary to contract as much as possible the
system of relief ; so in Ireland it was necessary to set
out from the other end of the series, and they must make
rules and regulations which they would be able to en-
large (hear, hear !). He said this not from any wish to
take from the peasantry or pauper population of Ireland
any advantage enjoyed by the pauper population of
England. The House must see how far it was necessary
to make restrictions in the one country in the system al-
ready in force, and how far they were enabled to relax
in the other country (hear, hear .'). In adopting, there-
fore, poor-laws for Ireland, care must be taken that they
did not go on the opposite line to that which he had just
alluded to. Thus they should have a narrow system of
relief in the first instance, which could be enlarged af-
terwards. His noble friend proposed to limit relief to
the workhouse system. In principle he was induced lo
agree wth his noble friend ; but he thought it necessary
to see what this system should be. He did not think
that any great inconvenience would result from having
these large workhouses in large towns ; but he did not
think that this would be altogether the case in agricul-
tural districts. In the first instance many persons might
be induced to subject themselves to the confinement and
restraint which necessarily existed in a workhouse, with
a view of obtaming a sufficiency of food and clothing,
but the feelings of restraint and confinement were so ad-
verse to any thing like Irish feelings and habits, that if
the workhouse was found to be a great check in Eng-
land in inducing the poorer classes to depend on their
own exertions instead of resorting to the parish, it would
be found to be a still more powerful check in Ireland
(hear, hear !J. Those great inducements in the shape
of good living, clothing, and lodging would not have
near the same effect in Ireland as in England (hear,
hear.'j. In speaking of a workhouse system, it is ne-
nessary to examine how the workhouses are to be dis-
tributed. He did not wish to trouble the House at such
length ; but when a great measure was introduced, in
which no party feelings were involved on one side or
the other, he thought that it would be advisable to throw
out at once such suggestions as occurred to him as to
any difficulties that might appear in the v/orking of it.
He confessed that he had doubts and hesitations as to
some parts of the proposed plan, and therefore what he
then stated were observations which he trusted would
not be considered as binding upon him. His noble
friend had told the House that one of the chief objects
of the bill was the making provision for the relief of de-
stitute vagrants. Unless they meant completely and
decidedly to put a stop to and prevent vagrancy, they
could not be successful in effecting their object. To
attain this end it would be absolutely necessary that
there should be workhouses within such a distance of
each other that the infirm and aged could readily reach
the workhouse without having to pass a great distance
through the country (hear, hear !). If you do not get

rid of this system of vagrancy you do not get rid of the
great evil which now exists in Ireland ; and to effect
this object it was absolutely necessary that the work-
houses should not be at too great distances apart. If
he understood his noble friend correctly, the workhouses
were to be twenty miles apart ; that was, that each
workhouse should be in the centre of a square, the ra-
dius of which, if he might use the expression, was ten
miles. He did not speak mathematically, but he be-
lieved that he was correct.

Lords J. RUSSELL and HOWICK severally made
some observations across the table which were not
audible.

Lord STANLEY proceeded to state that he believed
tliat his noble friend had two objects in view in the erec-
tion of these large workhouses. By having them on a
large scale, his noble friend believed that by a system
of contract the paupers would be supported at a less ex-
pense, and, also, tliat the cost of superintendence would
be diminished. But his noble friend had, at the same
time, kept out of view what, in his (Lord Stanley's)
opinion , could not but prove to be a great evil — he meant
the difficulty of getting in Ireland proper persons to act
on the board of guardians. His noble friend might re-
ply that even by reducing the distance between the
workhouses to five miles, they would still have to con-
tend with the same difficulties in finding fit persons to
act. But the difficulty was not diminished by increas-
ing the size of the district ; for it did not follow that be-
cause you could not get ten persons in half the distance,
that you could get twenty persons in the proposed dis-
tance. His noble friend must be aware that the very
extent of some of the unions in England was productive
of a great deal of mischief. Some persons, the most pro-
per to act as guardians of the poor, would not go out
day after day and week after week to a considerable dis-
tance to attend the meetings of the board. This would
more especially be the case in a country in a distracted
state I and he was satisfied that in many parts of Ireland,
on this ground, many gentlemen would decline going to
a distance from their homes to attend board meetings.
There were also diflferent motives operating to induce
gentlemen to take upon themselves these offices in the
two countries. The object in England was to reduce
a great burden, but in Ireland, by carrying outthe pro-
posed system, they would entaU a great burden on them-
selves. He was satisfied that they would not get the
persons of the same class in Ireland to attend, day after
day, week after week, as was the case in England. He
repeated, if the difficulty to procure the services of pro-
per persons on the boards of guardians here was found
to be great, it would be still more so in Ireland. He
also was satisfied that the more they extended the size
of each workhouse district the greater the diffi-
culties that would be felt. He was of opinion
that the proposed workhouse district was too large
for the practical working of the system. It should
also be recollected that there was a great want of
a proper parochial machinery in Ireland, and therefore
he thought that they would have to give greater power
to the commissioners in Ireland than was given to them
in England. There was another part of the plan with
respect to which he wished to say a few words, and which
was suggested to him by what had fallen from the noble
lord. It was proposed that utter and entire destitution
should be the only ground of relief. Did not this sup-
pose as a corollary that entire destitution gave an abso-
lute right to relief? How could they tell a man that he
should not go a begging, and at the same time say that
the case was not one of destitution, and relief, therefore,
should not be given ? Upon whom would they throw
the responsibility to say who had and who had not a
right to relief (/lea?-, hear .')? His noble friend, he be-
lieved, went further, and said that destitution was the
sole condition of relief. He said that he would give no
absolute right, and the reason was, that he could not do
so without having a law of settlement. He would not
pledge himself upon the subject, but would wait to hear
whether the government could show the possibility or
practicabihty of introducing any measure— whether it
gave to the pauper an absolute right, or not an absolute
right, to relief— which should not carry with it the ne-

224

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

cessity of soiue law of settlement. Let them not shrink
from the tlifficulty of the case. He knew it was a diffi-
culty. His noble friend had said, " Look at the law of
settlement in England, and see what trouble, what liti-
g'ation, what expense it occasions ; therefore (said his
noble friend) simply let us have no law of settlement at
all." Suppose his noble friend were to be met with this
sort of argument — " See what abuses have prevailed
under the old poor-law system in this country; see what
ruin in every direction it has occasioned ; therefore let
us have no poor-law at all ;" would it not be precisely
the doctrine which his noble friend now advanced
against the law of settlement 1 If the House recognized
the principle that destitution should be the test of relief,
and that that relief should be limited to the workhouse,
and if they meant as a general measure that it should
prevent vagrancy — vagrancy being the greatest evil in
Ireland— then they must give to destitution an absolute
right and claim upon some fund ; and if they gave to
destitution an absolute right and claim upon some fund,
then they must by some law of settlement say upon what
fund that claim should be. From this chain of reasoning
he could not see how they could escape. How was it
that his noble friend proposed to begin this system in
Ireland? Why, by establishing at first fifteen work-
houses in that country. Now it was admitted that there
would be a great rush of paupers upon those fifteen
workhouses, and that it would be impossible to resist
their claims. But that was an argument in favour of a
law of settlement, when they were about to give to pau-
pers a claim throughout Ireland, the same as in England,
upon every on-e of those workhouses. But if in Ireland
the authorities should not choose to admit the paupers
claiming, then, according to the proposition of his noble
friend, those paupers should have a right of begging.
See how, adopting, as it was proposed to do, the same
law and the same administration in Ireland as in Eng-
land, such a plan would operate. At present there was
no poor law in Ireland ; consequently from the coasts
of Cumberland, Westmoreland, or the western coast of
England, they could ship off any number of Irish pau-
pers they thought proper, and turn them loose on Irish
ground, and tell them to beg their way home.
Was it intended by the noble lord that these should be
thrown upon Belfast, Dublin, or Waterford, an absolute
and compulsory, though not a legal, burden of this de-
scription ; or to say to them, " Though there is a poor-
law throughout Ireland, and an universal system of re-
lief, yet these persons must be maintained by you in
Dublin, Waterford, or Belfast, or else they must be
allowed to beg their way through the country ? Was
that the way they did in England? If, then, they wished
to introduce the same system of relief into Ireland as
prevailed in England, they must carry the same system
throughout. They must make the county of Dublin
bear the same relation to the county of Lancaster, as
the county of Cornwall or the county of York bore to it
at the present moment. But this they could not do
without establishing a law of settlement. Without a
law of settlement, therefore, and without giving paupers
an absolute title to rebef, he could not see how it was
practicable, that the present measure could prevail.
He would not at the present moment enter into a con-
sideration of the several very important questions of
detail involved in this measure. He entirely agreed
with his noble friend in the propriety and expediency
of the provision for excluding clergymen of all
denominations from the administration of these
funds. Their interference might lead to heart-burn-
ings, and to suspicions of partiality, if not to partiality
itself ; while it would to a great extent be mixing them
up with a vast number of circumstances from which they
had much better be excluded. They would then be
better able to perform their proper functions, as a sort
of mediator between the guardians and the paupers. It
was perfectly consistent with their saored office to advo-
cate the claims of charity, but not to administer paro-
chial or district relief. The question of rating was one
of great importance, and to which he was aware the
government had given very serious attention. He could
not, however, say that he altogether agreed with them
jn the conclusion at which they had arrived. He should

have been most desirous of seeing a system introduced
by which the poor-rates levy might have acted as an
absolute and positive check upon that which he held to
be one of the greatest evils of Ireland, as between land-
lord and tenant, namely, the exorbitant rents fixed upon,
which one party never expected to receive, and which
the other party knew he could never pay. He should
have been glad to see the amount of rate taken and es-
timated upon the covenanted rent as between landlord
and tenant. That would have acted, in his opinion, as
a very important check to the evil that so greatly pre-
vailed in Ireland. For now the landlord imposed a rent
of 50s. an acre, knowing at the same time that he should
never get 40s., but, trusting to what he could screw out
of the tenant, willing to take everything if he could get
it ; while the poor tenant, from the great competition for
land, undertook to give 50s., knowing also at the same
time that he could not pay auy such sum. Now, if they
could introduce a system by which the amount fixed as
the rent were made the basis of the amount of tax-
ation— to which there could be no objection, that being
the valuation imposed by the parties themselves —
there would be at once a check upon the exorbitant
avarice of the landlord, and also upon the impro-
vident want of foresight on the part of the tenant
in promising an amount of rent which he was not
able to pay. He hoped it would not be impossible
to introduce some such provision in the bill. It
was also a question to be considered, when they came
to the details of the bill, as to the amount to be charged
upon tiie landlord, and the manner in which it was to
be distributed among the landlord and tenants ; and
also as to the means by which they were to pay it — whe-
ther they should deduct it from the whole of the land-
lord's rent, or whether the amount charged upon the
landlord should be first paid by the tenant and allowed
as a part consideration of the rent — which he should
think the most desirable coarse. But these were ques-
tions to be considered by them in committee, and dis-
cussed by them as members of the House of Commons,
who, whatever their opinions mig-ht be upon theoretical
questions, he hoped when they came to deal with a
great question of this kind, concerning which there was
but one sole and only interest on both sides of the House,
would equally endeavour to carry it through perfectly
by friendly argument, and by discussing it, warmly if
necessary, but at the same time candidly ; and by bow-
ing to the opinion of the majority, and to expediency,
when their mutual object was ascertained to be the
same. He would say that was the course the House of
Commons ought to pursue on a question of this kind.
" That is (said the noble lord) the course which I mean
to pursue, nay, in the name of every member on either
side of the House, without distinction of party, may I
not say that that is the course which we shall pursue ?"
(Loud cheers.) With regard to extending the right of
relief not only to the impotent but to the able-bodied
pauper, he confessed he himself saw no means by which
they could draw a line of distinction between the two ;
limiting, as it was proposed to do, that relief altogether ;
at all events in the first instance, to that which should be
given in workhouses, and workhouses alone. With no
exaggerated expectations that this measure would pro-
duce unlimited prosperity in Ireland — with no exagge-
rated expectations that it would entirely relieve even
partial, local, much less general distress — while, on the
other hand, with no exaggerated apprehensions that it
would endanger the rights of the landlord, he, as an
Irish landowner, thanked his Majesty's government for
having introduced the measure, and, as an Irish land-
lord, he would give his aid to bring the measure to as
perfect a conclusion as possible. He had omitted to
mention one question, which was with respect to the
number of vagrants. He hoped, in considering the
question of destitution, his noble friend would make it
understood that no person renting and occupying land
should be considered in such a state of destitution as to
give him a right to relief. (Hear, hear.) It had been
said that there would be a great influx of paupers at
particular times of the year in the workhouses. Un-
doubtedly this would be the case if they admitted this
class of persons ; because the small landholdei-s at cer-

THE FAl,jMER'S MAGAZINE.

225

tain periods of the year suffer ^'eat distress, generally
in the months of May, June, and July, between the
consumption of one crop and the gathering of the other.
Now if men thoug-h holding four or five acres of land,
were at those periods to be considered in such a state of
destitution (as was no doubt often actually the fact) as
to entitle them to come into the workhouse, the work-
houses would be inundated and overwhelmed, and the
effect would be that every farthing so paid and expended
would be paid into the pockets of the landlord. He did
not wish to raise the rent of the Irish landlord, though
he believed it was capable of being raised. First, it
might be raised by superior cultivation, by a greater
extension of the farms, by increased application of capital
to those farms, and by a greater conversion of that class
of the population who now depended partly upon let-
ting four or five acres as landlords, and partly upon
holding- three or four acres themselves, into active la-
bourers. He believed that if these changes could be
introduced, the rents of Ireland, under a good system of
poor-laws, were capable of beingmaterially and honestly
raised to the benefit of the landlord, but no less also to
the benefit of the tenant. What he wanted to prevent
was, the dishonest and fraudulent raising of rents ; that
system of nominally raising rents to an amount which
was never intended by the landlords to be levied, but
wliich was intended to screw down the tenantry, and to
force from them the last penny their impoverished con-
dition could spare. He thought that to a certain extent
the measure introduced by his noble friend to night,
might have the effect of mitigating this great prevailing
evil ; and whatever should have that effect would be an
unmixed good. Feeling confident that the House would
seek sedulously to guard the measure by such salutary
provisions as should not allow it to impose an undue
charge upon the property of Ireland, and believing also
that it would not be attended with those dangers which
some persons had anticipated from it, he should give it
his cordial support, and in every stage of its progress
lend the government his humble assistance, not, how-
ever, concealing any objections which he might conceive
from time to time applicable to it. (Cheers.)

Fat Cattle. — We have just seen two splendid
animals of the Galloway breed, killed by our towns-
man Mr. Howat. They were fed by Mr. Marshall,
Kirkcudbright, and bought by Mr. Howat in the Li-
verpool market, on terms as low as he could have got
them for at Kirkcudbright. They will weigh about 70
stones, and are of rare quality. Nothing can show the
caprice of the market more, than the fact that before
these animals left Kirkcudbright, per steamer, as high
a price was offered for them as they were bought for in
the Liverpool market and brought to Dumfries per
steamer by Mr. Howat. Mr. H. says he has two otlier
bullocks coming from Liverpool as good as these. Let
any man examine the two animals now hanging up, and
he will be satisfied that the true-hred Galloway will
feed most kindly and profitably. — Dumfries Times.

Use of Human Bones, — Many tons of human
bones are every year sent from London to the north,
where they are crushed in mills, contrived for the pur-
pose, and used as manure. Yet, with all this clearance,
the number of the dead increases in such frightful dis-
proportion to the space wMch we allot for them, that
the question has been started, whether a sexton may not
refuse to admit iron coffins into a burial-place ; because,
by this means, the deceased take a fee simple in the
ground, which was only granted for a term of years. A
curious expedient has been found to answer at Shields
and Sunderland. The ships which return to these ports
with ballast were at a loss where to discliarge it, and had
of late years, been compelled to pay for the use of the
ground on which they threw it out. The burial grounds
were full : it was recollected that the ballast would be
useful there, and accordingly it has been laid upon one
layer of dead to such a depth that graves for a second
time are now dug in the new soil. — Architectural Maga-
zine.

THE NEW POOR LAW.

TheWellington (Somersetshire) Union saved £ s. d.

in the quarter ending 25th Dec, 1836 228 14 11

The Taunton Union has saved from Mid-
summer to Christmas, 1836 963 2 05

The Churd, Yeovil, Langport, Williton, and Dal-
verton Unions have all made corresponding savings, al-
though called on by the boards to pay no more than
four-fifths of their average expenditure for the last three
years. Of the remaining one-fifth much less than half
wdl suffice to pay the county rate and all the minor ex-
penses to which parishes are liable, and therefore the
savings are much greater than here represented, whilst
tlie aged and virtuous poor are better provided for than
at any former period. Still it cannot be denied the poor
law amendment act has many enemies, among such
however, chiefly, as have profited by their peculations,
and who therefore cordially hate the scrutinizing eyes of
the auditors before whom all parish expenditure is
brought every quarter. There is not yet through the
whole of West Somerset one union workhouse, in which
there is either classification or labour ; if without these
essentials of the new system much good has already re-
sulted, we may confidently anticipate far more beneficial
results when the new houses are built, and the whole
machinery put in motion.

The Nkw Poor Law. — To prove how vain and
unfounded are the fears of those who imagine that
the new Workhouses are " Bastiles," where the
poor inhabitants are starved, we select from a
multitude of testimonials to the contrary the fol-
fowing extract from a letter of Mr. George Ste-
phen, a gentleman who has paid great attention to
the subject, with reference to the state of thepooi-
in the Workhouse.of Great Bledlow, Buckingham-
shire : —

" Three weeks ago, in company with a beneficed
clergyman of high character, I visited one of the
workhouses in the Wycombe Union. We gave no
notice of our intention, that we might have a better
chance of coirect observation. It is the Bledlow
workhouse, appropriated to the reception of tlieaged
and infirm of the union ; we found the paupers just
rising from their dinners ; we examined minutely
into every part of the domestic ceremony : Ave went
through the dormitories, the infirmary, the kitchen,
and the eating room ; we examined and tasted the
food ; we inspected its quality and its quantity ;
we inquired into the habits and employment of the
inmates ; we investigated the discipline ; and we
both arrived at the same conclusion, that nothing-
could exceed the neatness, the cleanliness, the
order, and (allowing- for the difference of class as
regards their habits of life) the apparent comfort of
the wliole establishment. The meat and bread were
excellent; the beer was good table beer ; the vege-
tables were well dressed ; and that the whole was
abundanr was proved by the many fragments that
remained.

" So easy was the discipline, that the severest pu-
nishment hitherto inflicted has been the deprivation
of a dinner; and even that penalty has only been
exacted in one or two instances for contumacy.
The appearance of the paupers themselves was clean
and cheerful."

226

THE FARMER'S Mi^OAZINE.

AGRICULTURAL REPORTS.

BIRMINGHAM, 1st Month, 25th, 1837.

In our review of the years 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834, and
1835 we had to notice a progressive reduction in the
value of wheat : during- the past year on tiie contrary,
it advanced from 36s 5d, the averag-e of r2th month
(December) 1835, to 59s lid, the rate for the same pe-
riod in 1836 ; yet this rise is not relatively greater than
in many of the leading' f^uropean markets, and our prices
are still 10s to 123 per quarter below New York. The
crop of wheat in the southern and midland counties of
England last harvest was undoubtedly a full average
per acre, but we think the opinion is well founded, that
this will not be sufficient, including the large stocks of
old lield by the growers, to supply the deficiency in the
growth of Ireland, Scotland, and some of the norlhern
counties of England, without a liberation of foreign, al-
though the advance in price has materially lessened the
consumption. There is literally no wheat in the granaries
in this part of the country, the farmers being the only
holders. It will be perceived on reference to the an-
nexed tables, that the import of wheat from Ireland,
was about 120,000 quarters in 1835 short of the previous
year. It is calculated that 1836 was still less than 1835,
and since harvest considerable shipments have been
made from this country to Dublin, &c. It therefore
does not seem probable that our stocks and crops are
equal to these additional calls upon them, which will be
felt the more in consequence of our having received no
wheat or flour worth notice from British colonies during
the last two years ; thoug'h the money crisis may pre-
vent any advance for awhile. Present price of English
red 7s 2d to 7s 8d.— White 7s 6d to 8s per 62 lbs at Bir-
mingham. No Irish on the market. Considerable
shipments of wheat are still making from the Mediter-
ranean to the United States, but they have nearly ceased
for the present, from this country, Hamburg, &c.

Although prices have declinod since the commence-
ment of the season about 4s per quarter, we have no rea-
son to suppose that our estimate of the barley crop at the
time of harvest was loo unfavourable, but the relatively
high price, added to the decreased activity in our manu-
facturing districts (owing to the state of the money mar-
ket) has much lessened the consumption, and still more
the make of malt. Itis now also understood that the
stocks of old in the brewer's hands at autumn, were
much greater than then supposed. Our barleys are of
various qualities this year, a few samples being equal to
the growth of 1835, but the greater part are more or less
stained, or injured by the wet weather, and some quan-
tity fit only for grinding. The average price of malting
samples is about 83 per quarter hig-her than last year.
The few cargoes of Devonshire and Cornish arrived at
Gloucester this season were not fine, and the working
complained of ; whilst we never remember the Irish to
have grown so badly, indeed it has been almost impos-
sible to sell the best of it for malting purposes. Grind-
ing qualities opened at 32s, advanced to 38s per 3921bs,
and were at one time not to be had ; this with the high
price of all articles for feedmg, caused a premature
slaughter of pig-s, &c., and it has since receded to 32s,
at which rate only retail sales can be effected. Itis now
we consider the cheapest food for cattle, and we antici-
pate an improved demand before long. Oxfordshire
malting sells from 41s to 43s, Devonshire and Cornish
39s to 41s.— Irish 36s to 38s per imperial quarter at Bir-
mingham. Early in the season some old foreign of fine
quality, sold at 44s to 46s here, and since at 41s to 42s,
which is the present value of both old and new. The
quantity of foreign which has arrived at Gloucester, is
less than was expected ; and what is now on the way,
will, itis believed, go into bond to wait a lower duty.
Our import of Oats since harvest, until the last month

was very light, and the few which came early were fully
equal to the average of last year ; but recently the arri-
vals from Ireland have been very heavy, consisting al-
most entirely of secondary qualities, out of condition,
with which description the market is glutted ; and as
few could be forced off ex-ship, our stocks are heavier
in Gloucester than for sometime past — yet fine dry ones
are scarce ; they are about 5s per qr higher than at this
time last year ; and though the difference in price has
lessened their consumption for horses, they are in conse-
quence of the failure of the Turnip crop, being used to
some extent, for feeding sheep, &c. ; and as the quan-
tity of foreign yet liberated is trifling, we are still of opi-
nion that a considerable further supply from abroad will
be required before next harvest ; and at the present
prices, in many of the European ports, we consider
them a safer article for investment than any other kind
of foreign corn. Irish are offering from 23s to 28s per
3121bs, at Gloucester ; English, from 243 to 32s per im-
perial quarter ; Welsh, black and white, 24s to 26s per
312Ibs, which is relatively lower than hay, or any other
horse food.

Beans, for some months were extremely scarce and
dear, ranging at the highest point, from 48s to 58s per
qr ; they have within the last few weeks receded about
4s per qr : and all descriptions are now plentiful. The
condition of the new is much complained of ; but some
time back, when old were so difficult to procure, a good
many were kiln-dried, and split for horses. The prices
of this article abroad are too high to leave a fair pros-
pect of renumeration to importers, the same remark ap-
plies to peas, the crop of which, in this country was
very good ; they have recently been abundant, and few
wanted , nominal value for grinding, 16s 6d to IQs per
l961bs ; boiling, 6s 6d to 57s 6d per imperial bushel at
Birmingham.

Coarse flour, like all other articles for feeding, has
been in great demand, and it advanced 10s per 2801bs
in the whole.

By the following account of imports into Gloucester,
since the opening of the canal, it will be seen that the
increase in the quantity of most kinds of grain in 1836, is
less than previous years, whilst oats exhibit a falling off.

Wheat.

Barley.

Yrs.

Foreign.

Irish.

Foreign.

Irish.

qrs.

qrs.

qrs.

qrs.

1828

2,035

667

1829

10,926

2,599

1830

23,849

20,986

36

13,219

1831

69,706

30,870

1098

23,880

1832

1,871

32,144

275

24,990

1833

600

30,950

7,948

1834

28,573

549

15,544

1835

623

8,348

641

22,340

1836

3,571

12,635

7441

27,208

Oats.

Peas.

Flour.

Yrs.

Foreign.

Irish. jForgn.

Foreign.

Irish.

qrs.

qrs.

qrs.

C. q.

C q.

1828

12,561

1829

492

19,888

425 0

1830

1981

39,868 ■ 269

7,532 2

6,279 2

1831

2521

44,978 :

4,326 1

4,744 2

1832

61,687 1 61

1,517 3

1833

57,417

3,172 0

1834

76,959 ' 546

4,042 0

1835

108,319 1

17,560 0

1836

2665

104,919

3796

26,284 0

JOSEPH AND CHARLES STURGE.

TIIF FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

227

Corn, Meal, and Flour imported, entered for home con-
sumption, and duty paid since 1823, inclusive, the first
year it was levied on Corn.

Qis.

Qrs. for

Dut>

Paid,

Imported.

flome Cons.

.£

s. d.

1823

53,866

12,362

10.310

4 3

1824

612,694

677,195

176383

15 6

1825

1,060,837

834,425

304919

15 5

1826

2,252,2/1

2,098,944

442755

14 9

1827

2,622,283

2,998,866

792934

15 8

1828

1,294,378

1,237,494

196834

0 2

1S29

2,694, 4:!2

1,959,355

907320

5 5

1830

2,691,884

2,649,348

790877

0 0

1831

3,570,569

2,'265,:i92

547809

0 0

1832

868,422

475,680

309676

0 0

1833

481.506

112,403

36252

0 0

1934

560,056

236,902

99416

0 0

1835

321,206

439,988

201673

0 0

1836

*543,739

* 12t

■*235,483
1 Month, Sth.

152791

4 0

PRICES OF GRAIN IN FOREIGN PARTS,

ss

ft ft

Per Qr, i7i 1835 and 1836, mostly taken in
December.

S^P'

ooo)Oooa)00oa>oo500oo>*«^ioiooa>5C

*»,;icn*-ooajtoto03if>-*-toiotob3WtototototatotN3iL

*.*.K-oiooi(^wojO)Qotocn4^a)toooivrtOH-oicotScc

en

oocoooooiocoo50o>oooo5^ia>0)tomo5*

w to w o: 05 w
H- to to o » o

I O ►-' O O Oi o W

. IX a- Hb p. Cb p. ^
: : : H

CnM-aOOll<iba4^*->(i0i*>.Wt0WWW05WWCJii^C0i-'
*-05Oi>f'00tO*-H-,^t0OO^*»C0-J00W<O01'»J*'OJ00

ooooooooc<o«ooooa)0(Oi

ocfiffia;33

&» SB g p
<?6 r*- B C3 to

53 WW
p B o

ri 2 m

t>oo«

t> 5 ° §

o »s <i> S S
^B SS-g.

(K5 P

O P

►t^'<roo"<r'<r f-^oi «0"<i^to

ootocio woo oowo o^wcooo'

'^ '^ "(o i- U ;:g '^ '« i- t?j i- ' '- '^ o-^ '^ "„ i- L

cnuicoc/3c/i^u}UiU9{;|L<ntACAtn^cntAcnt/iiA

H-(OIObOlO (OtOtO -^ H-i-- i_.>_.h-i_.»-.

ui Ui tii U3 vi ui m tu Vi i/j in en ui ui ui in en

o o o o no

1— >0 to 1>3 to

•^r Oi ^j o^ Oi
«/ ce m CO ui

u to to

o CO ^i
u! to m

to to to CO

^ to to to '►-

to w o >- o>

o o to o o

Q^ Pu p^ Cu Pl,

o o o
c^ c- a-

to o o o

C' Cb CLi CL

0 0 0 0 05

a. a- pu pi^pu

Amount of duties received at the Gloucester Custom
House for the last Twelve years.

1825... ^12,767 1
1826... 19.805 I
1827... 28,540
1828... 45,427

1829....;f 57,399
1830... 90,281
1831.. 94,291
1832.. 109,657

1833.. .f 106,751
1S34.. 131,117
1835.. 160,484
1S36., 166,000

A Comparative Statement of the Monthly Average price
of Grain, in the years 1836 and 1835.

WHEAT

BARLEY

•

OATS.

1836.

1835.

1836.

1835.

1836.

1835.

s. d.

s.

d.

s.

d.

s.

d.

s.

d.

s. d.

1st Month

37 7

40

9

28

4

31

8

18

11

21 10

2ad

40 6

40

8

29

0

32

S

20

2

22 4

3rd

44 7

39

10

29

8

32

4'

21

3

22 5

4tli

47 11

39

0

33

9

32

3

22

0

23 4

Sth

49 4

39

7

32

8

31

0

23

3

23 9

6th

50 4

40

0

32

6

29

8

23

8

24 0

7th

49 10

41

10

32

2

28

7 23

8

23 U

Sth

49 2

41

9

32

0

27

7

23

6

24 1

9th

48 0

38

5

36

0

27

9

23

3

20 7

10th

47 10

37

0

36

0

28

5

24

3

19 8

11th

57 3

36

9

38

11

29

1

26

9

19 0

12th

57 8

36

5

36

6

28

1

25

7

18 8

BEANS

PEAS.

RYE.

1836.

1835.

11836.

1835.

1836.

1835.

s. d.

s.

d.

s.

d.

s.

d.

s.

d.

S. d.

1st Month

33 9

36

1

34

0

40

1

34

0

31 7

2nd

34 5

36

2

34

5

38

3

33

7

30 10

3rd

35 0

36

4

35

0

36

10

33

9

29 5

4th

36 0

36

5

36

0

35

0

37

7

30 U

5th

38 11

37

11

38

11

35

8

39

8

31 4

6th

39 11

39

9

39

11

37

6

40

8

31 1

7th

39 7

40

4

39

7

40

6

41

6

31 5

Sth

40 6

39

7

40

6

33

0

35

3

30 1

9th

41 0

36

2

41

0

35

11

36

7

30 3

10th

42 2

34

5

42

2

35

7

39

4

29 1

nth

45 1

35

9

45

0

36

0

44

3

28 9

12th

44 8

34

6

44

8

35

0

42

10

28 6

LIVERPOOL, Jan. 31, 1837.

Comparing the supplies of the last five months with
those of the corresponding period of the previous season
(^ as specified in the above statement,) we find the follow-
ing' deficiencies, namely, of wheat nearly 50 per cent.,
of oats 13 per cent., and of flour and oatmeal 23 per
cent. each. These deficiencies must be accounted for
by the decreased exportation from Ireland, the deliveries
from the English coast having been fully as large as
they were last year ; during this month more than three-
fourths of the wheat, nearly all the barley, and a con-
siderable portion of the flour have been brought round-
land.

Notwithstanding the falling off in the aggregate sup-
plies, so confined has been the circuit of our sale that
the stocks of wheat and flour are very little decreased •
we cannot estimate them, collectively at less than
115,000 qrs, — as nearly as possible the quantity held
twelve months ago. A comparison of prices presents a
very different aspect; on the 30th January, 1836, — the
highest quotations were, for Irish red wheat, 6s 2d per
70 lbs ; for oats, 3s per 45 lbs ; for flour, 37s per sack ;
and for oatmeal, 26s per load ; whilst the last sales of
these articles were at — wheat, 8s 8d per 70 lbs ; for oats,
3s lOd per 45 lbs ; for flour, 50s per sack, and for oat-
meal, 33s per load for the best qualities, showing an
advance of 2s 6d on wheat, lOd on oats, 13s on flour,
and 7s on oatmeal. A similar improvement has taken
place in the value of bonded grain and flour ; wheat
which was then offering at 4s is now worth 7s per VOlbs,
and flour is 10s to 12s per barrel dearer, being tlien sold
at 18s to 20s, and now held at 28s to 32s per 196 lbs.
Duty has been paid upon the whole of the foriegn peas
and barley, upon nearly all the beans and upon 7,000
qrs of oats, and the stocks in bond may now be said to
consist of 118,780 qrs of wheat, 85,000 ban-els of flour,
with 9,000 qrs of oats.

The business of the month has been on a much more
restricted scale than at any preceding period since
harvest ; old wheats have been taken to a limited extent
by our local millers, and some few parcels have been
purchased for shipment to Scotland, Ireland, and the
Isle of Man, but the trade on the whole has been very
much in retail, and prices of all qualities must be noted

228

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

4d to 6d per bushel lower than on the 31st ultimo : a
reduction which has not been confined to this locality,
most of the leading' corn markets of the kingdom having
suffered a similar depression. The Irish new wheats
that have appeared, have, for the most part, been of in-
ferior quality, shrivelled, soft, and scarcely sound ; for
such there has been scarcely any demand, and even
the better descriptions have been difficult to dispose of—
prices varying from 6s 9d to 8s 6d per 70 lbs. Good
English old white is worth 9s 4d to 9s 9d, red 9s to 9s 3d,
new red 8s 9d to 9s 3d, and the farmers in our district
have latterly been obtaining for new white 9s 4d to 9s 9d
per 70]bs. Flour has seldom been more difficult to dis-
pose of than during the past month, and the difficulty
has recently been increased by the ordinary quality of
some portion of the imports from Ireland ; indeed,
throughout the season, the manufacture of the inland
millers has had a more decided preference than usual.
The stocks both here and at ]\Ianchester have latterly
been accumulating. The choicest English is held at
52s, the best brands of Irish are offering at 48s to 50s,
•down to 40s to 46s for ordinary and fair runs, — quota-
tions which are fully 3s per 280 lbs below the currency
noted on the 31st December.

The quality of the Irish oats (which have constituted
seven-eighths of the supply) has been quite as bad as
that of wheat ; not one sample in twenty could be called
fine, and few only would come under the denomination
of fair ; the market, however, being almost bare of old,
and the importers being disposed to submit to low rates
rather than store, most of the import has gone into con-
sumption at prices varying from 3s 3d to 3s lid ; Welsh
common, which are also chiefly soft and discoloured,
have brought 3s 3d to 3s 6d, a few Scotch have sold at
3s lOd to 4s, and old are worth 3s 9d to 4s 3d per 451bs.
The supply of oatmeal has exceeded the wants of the
trade, and, although a few thousand loads have been
stored on speculation, prices have receded 2s 6d to 3s
per load ; the best Irish is at this moment not worth
more than 32s 6d per 240 lbs.

As we have before named nearly the whole of the
month's import of barley has been from the English
coast, and up to the last fourteen days a considerable
proportion of the supply had found buyers at 42s to 47s
per qr ; the sale has since been dull, at Is to 2s below
these rates, making the decline since the 31st ult. fully
4s per qr. Grinding descriptions must also be noted 4d
to 6d per bushel cheaper ; a little Irish of inferior qua-
lity has been sold as low as 4s to 4s 4d., the general run
of samples at 4s 6d to 4s 9d per 60 lbs. Malt has re-
ceded in value 2s per qr, 66s is now the top quotation
for Roundland, and the sale dull.

Most of the released foreign beans having gone into
consumption, there are now few samples of any descrip-
tion on the market ; choice English old are worth 50s
to 54s, foreign 48s to 52s per qr ; some parcels of Irish
kiln-dried new have been sold at 45s to 47s per 480 lbs.
The demand for peas seems to have entirely fallen ofl^;
scarcely a sale has been effected for the last two months
altliough they are offered 65 to 8s per qr cheaper than
at one period of the season ; grinding qualities may be
bouglit at 42s to 46s, and breakers at 48s to 50s per qr.

The exports of foreign wheat have been to the extent
of 8,000 qrs, exceeding the imports by 6,000 qrs ; but
of flour, after deducting 4,700 barrels exported, there is
an increase of stock of 5,400 barrels. Most of the ship-
ments of wheat have either been old purchases or on
importers' account, scarcely a transaction has occurred
though all descriptions might be bought on much better
terms. The best Baltic red wheat may be quoted at
6s 6d to 7s per 70 lbs, Baltic sweet flour at 28s to 31s,
and United States' sour at about the same rates, but
very little demand exists for either. Notwithstanding
the continued dulness and depression pervading tlie
trade generally, there seems to be a confident opinion
that we cannot be long without an improved demand
for every article, and that prices, even with the most
favourable circumstances for the coming crops, will
again rally. The stocks in most of the great corn depots
have, for some time, been decreasing, and the trade is
more than usually dependent on the resources of the
British farmer.

STATEILJNT OF THE IMPORTS OF GRAIN,
&€., INTO LIVERPOOL

For Five Months ending January, 1836, and January,
1837, respectively.

c; oj o o IS
? p <i r r

CO CO CD 00 03

CO CO CO CO CO

03

003 ~J co^

cocn 04i. 5
CO — CO ►— CO

to

to to 1—1 CO to

— CD cog O

en Cj) CD — CO
O O-JO *.

>

•

^

■ ' ' i'

03 P

^D • CO —

O • CD — ' Cf<

g gS£2

to

: : co: !g

?3

hf^

^^ H- ^o^s ^-'

CO O CJi lO CO
Oi ^J O) O CO
coco *. C0 03
CD — C0 4i-*0

to

to 4^ 1— to —
*. toco .-I CO

OOM§0>

O
>

i
§

03^ CO
— OiOi COi-"
COQQ^ to
Ui OOOOi

4^
CO

o

. • • >b. '

eo
o

en

CD
O

CO aiCD<!
^J 1— . CO Oi Oi
■<( CO <I >t^ ^
^JCn -^ 63 O

o

CO

to

05 OO I— to
CO CD J^ O O

en eo ^ co-vi
oojo o *^ eo

fl

bd

i»0

CD CO

O H-

: : : : :

CO "-5

CO

CO CO Ol 05 6S

• to H- •

§1

2

' * — ' *

W

^1

lO

CO
CO

00 to cb >4i. ^

C0 4^ CClCDCO

oc;i CDCO^

OS

— eo CO co-
co en h-' — en

C» ►-■ ^ 1— ■ CD

— 05 CD toco

>

en

en

g" ■ "■ '

to

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o

.'.'.'. l^

S5^

s

O I— en 4^ CO
CD CO Co to O)

to

to <!

CO to (SCO 4^

en oiocDCD

g
§?

o • to c;i

CO CO ^ICO

C04^
4a. CO

Y'3

>

^

g

cococo cno

to CO en H- —
CO i^p4^ <1C0

cdSoico to

e;i

OiCD *. 05 <J
to 03 — CO 1—1

toe;n en o*^

en CDCD^OO

>

CD
4^

►^ >-/ to ►-
*» CO CO — en
^ *. o^ ►&.

1— CO to lO CD

CD — CO -^l o

CD

— 1 to i-i to

CXI CO crj coco

C3^ Q C3 ^- 03
03 S — CO to
4^ ^ Oj — CO

oS;

>

CO
CD

to toco 1— —
*. — to oi ~a
^JCO ^1 ooc»
^ coco to Oi

tOCDOen02

00

i

to h(^ eo CO

•^ CO CO Oi CO

CO en to to ^t

CO CO en eo en

— 4^^enCO

^

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to

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O CDOO

CO wo

CO

CO

-W9

m'p

o

pi

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CO

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— to 03 0) <1
CO en *. Q >|:^

rfi. lo *. Si >ii

eo

• CDCn oio
CO oen -J

BOOTH & WALMSLEY.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

229

SOMERSETSHIRE.

Since my last communication, this county in common
with other parts of the king'dom has been visited with
the prevaihng disorder to such an extent that compara-
tively few have escaped ; and a great number, mostly
among the infirm and aged, have been carried off. The
attendance of our corn markets have been so affected
by it that it has been a serious impediment to business ;
and even now its effects are so apparent on those who
do attend, that we do not find the usual business tran-
sacted : the consumption of bread and meat fell off
during" two weeks to a considerable amount, but at pre-
sent the consumption is getting into its usual channel.
The weather about the middle and latter end of last
month was very damp and unhealthy, there is now a
change for the better. The wheatin ground as yet is look-
ing far from well, in my opinion it cannot wholly recover
so as to produce an average crop. We have just com-
menced bean planting, and before the last week the
land was not in condition to receive the seed. Beans
that are planted this month or the latter end of the last,
generally turn out the best crops. Hay is getting short,
even on our low lands, of which we have a good deal
in this part of the county, the crops were very light, and
old hay by no means a large stock on hand, if we have
not an early spring I fear the consequence will be much
more serious than has been anticipated : we have had
abundant supplies of all kind of grain tne last month,
which has brought down the price of almost every
article, — to begin with wheat, the millers are now large
holders, and the farmers are pressing sales, which has
had the effect of reducing wheat from 8s to 7s 3d new,
old 8s 3d to 7s 6d, these prices of course are the highest
given for the best article ; barley, from 38s to 44s, and
453 ; old beans, 6s 3d to 6s, new 5s 9d to 5s 4d, for
seed these are selling from 5s to 6s per bushel higher ;
oats are also rather lower, farmer's 26s to 38s, ship oats
24s to 26s, 36 lbs. to 39 lbs. per bushel. Fat stock have
been forced out, and there is now but few in the grazier's
hands ; the same may be said of sheep ; hith erto our m arkets
have been well supplied, both with beef and mutton,
but it is easily to be accounted for from the want of
feed. Veal, which has been 8d to 9d per lb., from an
increased supply is now lower, say, 6d to 75d. Pork is
abundant, 7s to 7s 6d per 20 lbs. Butter has kept up its
price 13d to 14d per lb., which is nearly an average of
2d per lb. higher than for many years past. There is
very little doing in the wool market, what is kept is
mostly in the hands of the growers in the stapler's hands.
There is by no means a large stock,and holders among the
farmers at present will not submit to the prices at which
the manufacturers have recently been purchasing it of
the stapler. Our manufacturers have these two last
years been proving that their trade does not depend on
an importation of foreign corn, and it has been shown
that an average crop for two or three years has proved
sufficient for our own consumption, and has clearly de-
monstrated that the protection by duties has enabled us to
grow sufficient corn at a low price for our own con-
sumption without injuring the demand for our manu-
factured goods ; it is evident that the fears of the anti-
corn I law party, and their conclusion, have not been
borne out by facts, or by the experience of the two last
years. I do not think the protecting duty sufficient to
induce the cultivation of land that will not yield a pro-
fit under 8s per bushel, if the corn laws made such a
cultivation necessary, I would acknowledge their na-
tional impolicy. — Feb. 8.

DEVON.

If with a Tiew to give an account of the growing
crops, two persons equally competent to form a right
judgment were to travel over the same line of coun-
try, at the interval of only a few days, in this change-
able season, it is more than probable, two very diffe-
rent reports would be the result. But they would,
we think, concur in one point, that the breadth of
land in wheat does not warrant the belief that the
farmers of Devonshire have as yet become converts
to the opinion of a certain member of parliament.

viz., that the price of that grain during the last year
was never so low, as to induce a belief that it might
not be profitably cultivated at a less price. What
the effect of future improvements may be would be
presumptuous in us to say ; but we dare vouch for a
truth, that were all the lands under wheat culture,
rent free and tithe free, 5s a bushel would hardly suf-
fice to keep the agriculturist from loss at the present
time in this country, composed as it is of every gra-
dation of soil. From a more judicious rotation of
crops during the last 20 years, particularly on the in-
creased growth of vetches, and from the breaking up
of downs, furze lands, &c., (frequently of doubtful
benefit to the enterpriser), we readily admit there has
been a greater produce on the whole, without sub-
scribing to the doctrine that all lands have become
more fruitful, and will be so progressively hereafter.
During the last generation, many farms yielded even
more bushels of wheat and barley per acre than now ;
and many a veteran's expericence for the last half
century or more will corroborate our assertion. The
knowledge of good husbandry is not of recent date
here. Many farmers justly celebrated for the excel-
lence of their cattle, sheep, and horses, were to be
found in the earliest days of Bakewell throughout
Devonshire, where it is doubted whether the improve-
ment in sheep and pigs has not been counter-balanced
by the greater delicacy of the cattle, and the near ex-
tinction of our old pack horses, strong, active, and
full of courage. The corn markets are so much in-
fluenced by the state of the weather, and its effect
on wheat, that it is not easy correctly to quote the
prices : 7s to 7s 6d we think quite high enough for
a fair average of the part of the year already elapsed,
although the returning markets make it higher.
Barley may be taken from 3s 9d to 4s 3d, and oats
at 2s 4d to 3s for very superior samples ofpotatoe,
Scotch and Essex ; and we conscientiously believe
the prices of grain should not be respectively below
these quotations to afford even a slender profit. The
deficiency of hay, turnips, and other winter food, has
forced into the market a great proportion of half-fed
bullocks and sheep, which have barely fetched 4§d
per lb ; but heifers or oxen thoroughly fat, and good
wether sheep, have been sold for 6Jd. So little has
been lately done in wool, and so trifling its amount
in the growers' hands, that the somewhat reduced
prices of this article affect but few. The scantiness
of keep, we apprehend, must appear at the next
shearing. — Feb. 18.

OXFORDSHIRE.
We have to report a very unpleasant and most
unhealthy month, at least so it has proved in our
county, having experienced a succession of rain,
snow, and fog. The prevailing epidemic has be-
come much more general since the date of the last re-
port, it being quite rare to meet with a house that
has not been visited with the disease in a greater or
less degree ; still we have to be thankful to the Great
Disposer of all events that the deaths have been fewer
than in many other parts of the kingdom. It has
alike visited the mansions of the great as well as the
humble cottages of the poor ; nor do we believe that
it has proved more fatal among the latter than the
former. The victims in both cases have been chiefly
the aged, or those constitutions weakened by previous
disease. We hope we may add that it is rather on
the deeline, although some thousands are still labour-
ing beneath its debilitating effects. We are happy
to say, hitherto the brute creation has been free from
it. Although the weather has been most unfavour-
able to cattle and sheep, especially the latter, as tur-
nips, vrhen the lair on the greensward happened to

230

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

be sound, and a plentiful supplv was afforded, sbeep
have done better than could have been expected,
•while those feeding on turnips must have o:onebac!5,
however well they may have been attended. The
effects of the weather will be both seen and felt in
the wool at shear day. We may here notice that in the
early part of the month the wool trade was lively,
and many lots changed hands at about 44s or4.5s per
tod ; but within the last fortnight the gloom that
hangs over the county, occasioned by our monetary
systf-'m, has spread its baneful influence over this ar-
ticle, though not in anything the same proportion it
Las done in tlie corn and other trades. Our markets
hare been gradually lowering, but our last day was
particularly dull ; very few dealers attended, and
those who did so were principally to settle for pre-
vious bargains ; nobody would buy, as there appeared
but one determination to prevail, namely, to stand
aloof and see their wa}' more clear before they ven-
tured to lay out their money. Should this resolntion
be acted upon long, it must prove (as it now does
very inconvenient) most disartrous to the farmers,
who had just began lo reckon on a return fperhaps
not of prosperity), but at any rate of something like
remunerating prices ; but their expectations appear
to be frustrated, and we would repeat what we said
in our last report, there must be something
wrong, and we think it is incumbent on the legisla-
ture, without delay, to probe the matter thoroughly,
and devise some mode of remedying an evil now so
loudly and so justly complained of. We are sorry that
in the remarks, we took occasion to make in our last
report, respecting the utility of having parish cot-
tages to let at an easy rent to the industrious la-
bourer, that your respected correspondent, the Berks
reporter should for one moment suppose we intended
anylhing like personal disrespect : and we beg to
assure him, that we entertain too deep a sense of the
valuable services he has for many years rendered to
the cause of agriculture, in another situation, as well
as inthat of the reporter, willingly to insult, or to give
offence of any kind to him, and thougli in most points
respecting' rural affairs we are agreed, yet on this one
I hope and trust, " ive shall agree to differ." — Feb. 11,

KENT.

We have for some time had very cloudy and wet
weather, but not so as to stop the ploughing in of
land that had not been moved since harvest, but it
has been impossible, with very few exceptions, to do
much in getting the land in a fit state to receive the
forthcoming spring crops. Few have began getting
in their beans and grey peas ; if we could get a few
dry days we should all be busy, as tlie time is come
when we should get our crops in on our poor chalky
soils, for on such lands early sowing is very often
best, on our best soils March is soon enough. Our
•wheats in general look a good colour but backward ;
in some places where too wet it has lost plant, and is
looking anything but well. The clovers, rye, and
tares, are looking well, having suffered bjr the
frost but little. 'J'he corn markets with us are in a
very dull state, and nothing but good and dry wheat
will find a buyer, and at reduced price. Barley,
malting and grinding, are much reduced in price, but
oats, good and dry, are much sought after and at
higher prices. The cattle markets have been plen
tifuUy supplied with beasts, some very good, but
numbers are more fit for the stall than the butcher ;
prices very dull. Sheep have been sparingly brought
to market, and prices have advanced ; the late snow
storm and wet weather have occasioned some heavy
losses, which will affect the markets for some time to

come. The marshes in some levels have not had so
much water over them for some years ; all kinds of
cattle have been obliged to be taken from them, and
in some instances great difficulty has been expe-
rienced to save them. — Feb. l6.

NORFOLK.

(original.)

Since our last, the weather having become more
settled, some disposition has been manifested to-
wards the commencing of active operations for the
sowing of pulse. With regard to the more friable
soils not readily acted upon by moisture, the peas
and vetches were put in somewhere about the first
week in February, but a large breadth of land still
remains to be planted with both peas and beans, in
situations where the land is yet too wet to bear the
tread of horses. The fallows also intended for man-
gel wurzel have had a second ploughing where it has
been practicable ; but as this is chiefly confined to
the lighter soils, the extent is not very considerable ;
in short, the usual routine of business at this season
of the year is altogether backward, and the prospect
not particularly inviting. Our report on the appear-
ance of the wheat crop last month was somewhat of
a favourable tendency ; nor is there at the present
moment, we presume, much occasion for us to alter
our opinion: nevertheless, it must be admitted that
the prospect is less satisfactory now than it was at
that time, to the extent, at least, that the then healthy
looking plant has exchanged its green hue for russet
brown, or even but in too many cases has, to a casual
observer, disappeared altogether. At present, bow-
ever, it is the blade only which has suffered ; and
whether or not that circumstance will eventually
be productive of a radical injury to the crop, wholly
depends upon future contingencies — dry weather,
with a due proportion of sun, would restore the
plant; whereas a continuance of cold nights, with a
humid atmosphere for any length of time, must
inevitably prove fatal to the weakly portion of the
crop. Neither can we make a very favourable re-
port of the sets of grass, which are almost univer-
sally pronounced to be thin and unpromising. The
failure of the clover layers does not always depend
upon the season, but is sometimes attributed to a
too frequent repetition of the sowings succeeding
each other at short intervals ; to obviate which, tre-
foil and other grasses are taken alternately with
clover, and although the hay arising from the one
is less valuable than that of the other, the farmer is
satisfied that his object is attained. Certain seasons,
however, may render even this precaution abortive,
as either the want of moisture in the summer may
prevent the vegetation of the seed, or an excess
thereof may superinduce too great a luxuriance in the
crop of barley or oats with which it is sown ; in all
probability the failure of the present crop, which is
not confined to clover only, is attributable to the for-
mer circumstance. From the present time to the
beginning of June may not inaptly be termed the
period of harvest to the Norfolk grazier, as very few
beasts fattened in this county appear in Smithfield
before the beginning of February, or after the middle
of May; and taking a cursory view of the market
for the last few weeks, we should say, the season
has commenced under no very propitious circum-
stances for his interest. It should be borne in mind,
that the store beasts were bought in at i^ather a high
figure, and owing to the great advance upon oil-cake
over the price of last year, they have been prepared
for the sJiambles at a cost too great to remunerate

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

231

the feeder; add to which, the supply of Smithfield
Market is so fluctuating and uncertain, that, although
dead meats may be uniformly sold at high prices to
the consumer, yet the value of live cattle is so en-
tirely dependent upon the weekly supply, that it not
only tends to the discomfiture of the grazier, but in-
volves a character of speculation on the part of the
cattle-dealer, more approaching to gambling than to
fair dealing. The losses incurred by this description
of persons on the 13th instant will sufficiently bear
me out in this assertion.

We are glad to find that Lord John Russell has
stated most explicitly, in the House of Commons,
that Ministers do not intend to propose any alteration
whatever in the " Tithe Commutation Act." The
communication is a most important one to the landed
interest, and we trust will rouse the proprietors from
the unaccountable indifference with which they seem
to regard the measure. The process of effecting an
arrangement with the titheowner is but the business
of a week or two ; but the fair adjustment of the
gross amount, so as to meet the approbation of the
individual proprietors, is not only more complicated,
but, in nine cases out of ten, cannot be effected with-
out the aid of the " Parochial Assessment Bill ;"
and, consequently, more time will be required to
complete the business than may be at first anticipated.
—Feb. 23.

SOUTH NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.

Cgiiiginai,)

There is little, at this season, for an agricultural
reporter to dilate on, the farmer not being at present
able to commence sowing his spring corn, owing to
the wetness of the soil, occasioned by the late heavy
rains, which has also very much retarded the carting
of manure, and we are afraid it has greatly injured
the late sown wheats, which are assuming a yellow
and very sickly appearance on the wet and clay land,
which we hope will fully prove the necessity of
under-draining, as, in a season like the present, the
crop would fully pay the expence the first year.

The corn markets are now in a very dull state,
which, in a great measure, may be attributed to over
supply, occasioned by the incessant working of the
threshing mills, as the horses cannot be employed in
the field ; but it is generally thought here, that good
wheat will be very scarce before another harvest,
as the wheat ricks are disappearing very fast.

The new Poor law has been in operation nearly
twelvemonths here, and has quite exceeded the most
sanguine wishes of its numerous supporters ; we have
not heard of one case of the horrible grinding down
of the industrious and aged poor, as reported in some
of the calumnious Tory journals ; the reports to the
Commissioners of the several Chairmen of the dif-
ferent Boards of Guardians in this county, would, we
should think, carry conviction to the minds of its
most obdurate opposers : we, who were not of its
first supporters, are now so thoroughly convinced of
its general utility in relieving the aged and those
really in want and preventing the imposition of the
idle and disorderly, that we now view it as a great
boon conferred on the agriculturists, the poor rates
having been reduced nearly one half their usual
amount. — Feb. 22.

YORKSHIRE.

(original.)
_ The weather has been remarkably changeable du-
ring the month. For the first week, it was of a
bright and drying character; the western and north

west breezes played, accompanied by a bright atmo-
sphere. Wet fell during the second week, with
several and rapid changes of temperature, and now
the air is colder and frequent showers of sleet pass
over. The Cravens, in the West Riding of this
county, were covered with snow on the 22nd.
Vegetation has suffered from the extreme mutability
of the weather. A fine day occasionally excites the
activity of the sap, and the extreme change of tem-
perature the next, withers and blasts the tender
shoot. The breadth and prospects of the wheat
crop we understood from your letter, were, and
would continue to be a subject of stirring interest as
the spring approached, and we have taken some
pains to ascertain as correctly as possible, the real
state of the case. The Vale of Cleveland is the
most celebrated wheat growing district in the county,
and furnishes some of the finest samples of grain for
shipments to London, either as grain or flour, by the
port of Stockton on Tees. In speaking of this dis-
trict we may be understood as referring to all the ar-
gillaceous soils in the county. The continual wet for
the four autumnal months, not only prevented by
far the greatest part of the fallows from being sown,
but many from even receiving their dressing, or
being ridged up. There is but few clover lays in
this district, owing to its being generally conducted
on the three course system. Such as is sown is very
inferior in appearance, owing to its being " daubed
in " in the first instance, and afterwards starved
by the wet. Its general appearance is certainly in-
different. On the lighter soils, however, its charac-
ter is different. Owing to the very prevalent notion
of the small breadth sown last year, and the proba-
bility of the same occurring this, many farmers were
induced to plough out clover lays intended for oats
and barley and sow them with wheat; and this, even
as late as December. In other cases, where the
turnips failed, and were soon eaten off, it was seeded
with wheat ; but with all these circumstances, —
taking into accou-it the deficiency on the best wheat
soils, we believe the breadth to be under, rather
than over, an average. With respect to the appear-
ance,— all depends upon the time of sowing, and
state and character of the soil. The early sown is
decidedly the best, as the strength it had attained
before the cold rains of December, prevented it from
suffering so very much. We have seen some fields
luxuriant, — curly, and flat, nearly covering the
soil, but certainly there is no fear of the best of it
being " winter proud." It is probable, that efforts
will be made to sow a larger quantity than usual of
spring wheat, as the country has been filled with
oats grown upon the clay fallows of last year in lieu
of wheat. Bean sowing is just about commencing,
and tares are beginning to be put in. They are
selling at various prices, from 3s. to 7s. per bushel.
Turnips are fast consuming; — there is certainly fewer
in the country at this period, than ever we remem-
bered. Persons are still disposed to eke them out as
far as possible, and the fat stock are kept week after
week, in expectation of prices rising, to the de-
triment of their holding stock ; but the supplies
come gradiially to market, and the prices being cer-
tainly high, generally speaking, the consumption is
steadily supplied, and the fat stock on hand must come
to market. Should the spring be forward, and grass
follow the consumption of turnips, we apprehend
prices will never be very high; but if the reverse,
recourse must be had to corn and hay, and then
prices must advance. There has been a great deal
of oats copsumed for fattening stock this year, owing
to the scar^'ty of turiiips and potatoes ; and, indeed,
it seems ciful dispensation of Divine Provi-

r2

232

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

dence that the superabundance of oats has, in some
degree, made up for that deficiency ; and had not
such an extra call been made upon them, they would
scarcely have met a market. Thrashing is still
going- on at a rapid rate ; — there never was less Lent
corn, especially barley, in the country at this season.
Chevalier is in better demand, and it will sell briskly
for seed this year. Its principal fault is its early
" lodging," or laying ; but as this was but little seen
last season, in consequence of the very dry spring,
its force is not felt so much by those who are dis-
posed to give it a first trial. Corn markets are kept
dull by the very heavy supplies of grain brought into
them. Beans and wheat are the steadiest sale, and
the barley trade seems rather to rally ; indeed most
of the Yorkshire markets seem to improve, though
slowly. Farm work in general is in a state of for-
wardness— the winter upon the whole has been
favourable to it; and, despite of thrashing machines,
there is scarcely a labourer out of employment in the
county. This, however, must be attributed partly
to so many of them being required for the rail-roads
and public works now in course of formation. The
plough is actively engaged, and follows the sheep
fast, having previously turned over the leys.
Hedge cutting is going on very rapidly. Manure
is at the mixen soon after made by the cattle, but the
allowance of fodder has been generally scanty. Very
little trifolium is sown, and it is looking unfavour-
ably. Clover is beginning to vegetate, and turnips
to strike their wollets afresh, and the seed stems are
beginning to grow. The poor law amendment act
is rapidly coming into operation, and much opposi-
tion is manifested to it at York, Huddersfield, and
other places. While we think it is capable of im-
provements, and while we deprecate the bastardy
clause, we would have it fairly tried as a principle.
Now that it is the law of the land, and the compli-
cated machinery attending it has been so generally
set to work, the old system can never be returned to.
—Feb. 23.

SOUTH HAMS.

Very small progress has been made in any kind of
labour on the farm, with the exception of thrashing,
and carting manure. The Wheat Tillage in several
parishes, is scarcely yet completed ; several farmers
have from 10 to 25 acres to till for corn, whilst one
of them had as many as 38 acres not tilled, and in
fact, much that was intended for wheat, is left to be
put to barley and oats. This season is much later
than we have known the wheat tillage for several
years past, and if we have a wet and uncongenial
spring, it is likely to be very prejudicial to the crop
already in the ground. It has been usual for us to
commence ploughing for barley by this time, but as
yet, in consequence of the wet state of the land,
scarcely any preparation has been made for it. Corn
of all kinds come to hand in bad condition, and tlie
markets are in a very depressed state, and probably
will continue so for a time. The very best white
wheat is now selling at 16s per bag (123lbs.) and
red at 15s; barley, which a few weeks ago was
sellingfieely at 9s and 9s6d perb:ig (2 imp. bushels)
is now extremely dull, and selling at 7s and7s fid per
bag, and in no instance, we believe, does it exceed
8s. Oats, 8s to 8s 6d per bag (20 gallons). There
is but little demand for wool at present; it may be
quoted at Is per lb. 'i he few turnips we have are
nearly all consumed, and grass is very scarce. Store
bullocks, and cows, and calves, come to market in
very poor condition. The stock of bay holds out
full as well as could be expected ; this we attribute

mainly to the extreme caution with which it has
been used; it is now rather declining in price. Thus
far we have had a pretty good fall of lambs, but
many are lost in consequence of the Ewes not hav-
ing a sufficient quantity of milk to support them, and
many are kept alive by giving them milk from the
cows. — Plymouth Journal.

GENERAL AGRICULTURAL REPORT
FOR FEBRUARY.

The weather of this month has in every respect
fully supported its fill-ditch notoriety, whilst the
atmospheric temperature has been very changeable
and dilapidatory to the thatch of corn and hay stacks,
&c. The progress of ploughing the land, destined
to be sown with spring corn, has been in many pans
greatly impeded by the prevailing heavy rains, which
have in many low situations completely flooded the
soil. However, with these exceptions, most other
field labours common to this month have proceeded
favourably, and are well in their place. The grow-
ing wheat plants are looking, generally speaking —
except where the land has been flooded, and thereby
caused them to become sickly — strong and healthy,
and manifest a promising appearance, whilst the
whole range of green vegetation is displaying, for
the time of year, an animated appearance ; and the
soil in many parts covered with primroses and
daisies.

Depastured stock is, we are happy to assert,
thriving well in the pastures, though not without
the aid of fodder.

In our markets for the sale of all kinds of farm
produce, trade has been, throughout the month, in-
clining to be dull. With good wheat and veal at fully,
with other kinds of corn and fat stock, as also milch
cows and dairy produce, with hay and straw, at
barely last month's quotations.

The following is a monthly retrospect of the sup-
plies and prices of fat stock, sold in Smithfield Cattle
market : —

SUPPLIES.

Beasts.

Sheep.

Calves.

Pigs

Jan. 27,

.. 440

2050

140

220

— 30,

..2495

25300

110

195

Feb, 3.

.. 421

2132

85

205

— 6.

,.2750

25500

196

382

— 10.

,. 692

3781

102

323

— 13.

..3364

27200

180

327

— 17.

., 631

2023

110

332

— 20.

..2965

18500

113

345

— 24.

.. 697

2015

56

231

Total ..

14455

108501

1092

2560

Supply ef^

preceding

^13195

97240

1165

1981

month. J

It appears, by the above statement, that the pre-
sent month's supplies have comprised 1,260 beasts,
11,261 sheep, and 579 pigsmore : 73 calves less, than
those of last month.

About 1,490 of the beasts noticed above, fully
half of which were short horns, and Herefords, the
remainder chiefly Scots, Homebreds, Devons, and
Irish beasts, have come from Leicestershire, North-
amptonshire, and our other Northern districts ; about
1,855, mostly Scots, short-horns, and Herefords,
from Lincolnshire : about 3,250, two-thirds of which
were Scots, the remainder Herefords, Devons,
Welsh-runts, and home-breds, from Norfolk; about

THE FARMEB/S MAGAZINE,

233

955, in about equal numbers of Herefords, runts,
Scots, and Derons, from Suffolk, Essex, and Cam-
bridgeshire j about 690, horned and polled Scots, by
steam-vessels, from Scotland ; about 1,930, consist-
ing of Devons, Herefords, Scots, home-breds, and
Irish beasts, from our Western and midland districts ;
about 600, mostly prime Sussex oxen, steers, and
heifers, with a lew Devons, runts, and Herefords,
from Kent, Sussex and Surry ; and the remainder
including- about 130 lusty towns-end, with a con-
siderable number of milch cows, from the cattle-
lodgers, cow-keepers, stall -feeders, marshmen, &c.,
near to, and within a few miles of, London,

PRICES.
Per 81bs, to sink the offals.

Jan. 27. Feb. 24.

s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d.

Inferior Beef 2 2 to 2 4 . . 2 2 to 2 4

Middling, do. ..2 8 to 3 10 .. 2 8 to 3 8

Prime, do 4 0 to 4 4 . . 3 10 to 4 2

Inferior Mutton .. 2 10 to 3 0 . . 2 10 to 3 0
Middling, do. . . 3 6 to 4 10 . . 3 6 to 4 8
Prime ditto, . . 5 2 to 5 6 . , 4 10 to 5 0

Veal 4 4 to 5 6 .. 4 4 to 5 4

Pork 3 6 to 4 10 . , 3 6 to 4 10

Here follows a comparison of Smitbfield's supplies
and prices on the two market days beneath men-
tioned.

At per 8lbs, sinking the offals.

Feb. 22, 1836. Feb. 20,1837.
s. '

Coarse and inferier beasts 2

Second quality de 2

Prime large oxen 3

Prime Scots, &c 4

Coarse and inferior sheep 2

Second quality do 3

Prime coarse- woollcd do 4

Prime South Downs do 4

Large coarse calves 4

Prime small do 4

Large hogs 3

Neat small porkers,.... 4

SUPPLIES.

Feb. 22, 1836. Feb. 20, 1837.

Beasts 2,680 2,965

Sheep 20,700.... 18,500

Calves 265 113

Pigs 450 345

By the above comparison of supplies, it appears,
that there were in the market, on Monday, Feb. 22,
1836, 285 beasts less, 2,200 sheep, 152 calves, and
105 pigs more, than on Monday, Feb. 20, 1837.

The quality of the stock exhibited this month, has
been tolerably prime — particularly that of the Scots
which have formed the Norfolk droves, as also those
which have come from Scotland.

Since the publication of our last month's report,
nearly 800 large hogs, by steamers, from Ireland,
have been exhibited for sale, in Smithfield ; but, the
quality of them not being very prime, they were
mostly slaughtered in the Smithfield Inn yards, and
sent into Newgate and Leadenhall carcass markets,
where they were disposed of, at prices varying from
3s. 6d, to 4s. per 8 lb.

There has been, this month, an immense quantity
of slaughtered meat — greater, perhaps, than was
ever before witnessed (the number of carcasses of
sheep and pigs being nearly, or quite, 5,000) brought
to London, by steamers, from Scotland and the north
of England, which has tended to greatly depiess the
prices of fat stock not only in the London, but in
ome of the provincial, cattle markets.

The sheep supplies have been composed of about

d. s. d

4 to 2 6

1 0 to 3 2

10 to 4 2,

4 to 4 8.
8 to 3 0
4to 3 8
0 to 4

5 to 5
0 to 4

10 to 5

6 to 4
4 to 4

s. d

.2 2 to 2 4

2. ..2 8to3 2

2. ..3 4to3 8

8. ..3 lU to 4 2

0...2 10to3 0

8. ..3 6to3 10

4... 4 6 to 4 8

0...4 10 to 5 0

8. .,4 4to4 8

2... 5 0to5 4

2. ..3 6to4 0

8. ..4 4to4 8

equal numbers of South Downs, old and new Lei-
cesters, old Lincolns, Kents, and Kentish half-breds,
with about 1,000 Norfolk sheep, 1,500 polled Glou-
cesters, 3,000 horned Dorsets and Somersets, 1,100
Welsh sheep, and 580, by sea, from Scotland. — The
principal part of the sheep supplies have been de-
rived from Sussex, Middlesex, our northern, western
and midland districts, Kent, and Essex.

The business transacted, in store sheep and beasts,
and milch cows, has been by no means great.

Newtownakds and Comber Farming Society.
—We have lately received the report of the pro-
ceedings during the thirteenth year of the existence of
this very useful society. By means of the premiums
which this society, in its early stages offered for plough-
ing, so general had been the improvement, that it ap-
peared unnecessary, at the commencement of this year,
to direct any further attention to this department of
farming ; they consequently determined to devote a
greater portion of their funds to encourage the im-
proved system of alternate husbandry, including- a due
proportion of green crops, which has proved so emi-
nently successful in all those districts of Great Britain,
where it has been fully introduced. It was, therefore,
resolved to offer, for 1836, three premiums for the best
cultivated farms in each of the ten districts. First pre-
mium, 1/ 5s; second ditto, 1/; third ditto, 15s; being
31 for each district, and, for the ten districts, 30/.
Twenty-tliree candidates, a number greatly exceeding
that of former years, came forward, and we have gi-eat
pleasure in giving the following list of the suc-
cessful candidates, namely, in District No. 1, Mr.
Andrew M'Cutcheon, Baljywitticock, 1st premium;
Mr. James Cooper, Cunuingburn, 2nd premium ; Mr.
Wm. Cooper, Ballyavary, 3rd. — No. 2, Mr. Thomas
M'Kee, Drumawhy, 1st premium ; Mr. John Paisley,
Ballyblack, 2nd.— No. 3, IMr. Robert Ferguson, Ben-
town, 1st jiremium ; iMr, David Jamison, Morilla, 2nd ;
Mr. Wm. Ditty, Ballyailiack, 3rd,— No. 4, Mr. Samuel
White, Bal'.yskeagh, 1st premium ; Mr. James Miliken,
Ballyskeagh, 2nd,— No. 5, Mr. John White, Killarn,
1st premium. — No. 6, Mr. John Lanktree, Newtownard,
1st premium ; Mr. Wm. Creighton, Greengraves, 2nd.
—No. 7, Mr, James M'Kibbin, Ballyhenry, and Mr.
John Martin, Ballyaton, 2nd premium ; Mr. Thomas
Innis, Ballyhenry, 3rd. — No. 8, Mr. Wm. Davison,
Ballystockard, 1st premium ; Mr. Samuel M'Morran,
Ballystockard, 2nd,— No. 9, Mr. Robert Boyd, Ball-
nickle, 1st premium. — No. 10, Mr. David Boyd, Bally-
william, 1st premium ; Mr. John M'Master, Bally-
malady, 2nd. To those who obtained as above, the first
premium in their respective districts, a further and higher
object of ambition was offered, in the splendid silver cup
presented to the society by Lord Castlereagh ,on the terms
that it should be held by the successful candidate for
one year, and become the property of the person who
might hold it three years in succession, on condition
that he should have growing on his farm at least one
iood. of turnips or mangel wurzel for every five acres
in his farm. Fhe cup judges were particularly requested
to direct their attention to scientific rotation, propor-
tion of green crops, stock of cattle, and all considera-
tions of general management, whereby the really
skilful farmer is signalized ; it being desirable that the
distinguished honour of possessing this valuable cup,
should be conferred upon the person who might present
in all respects, the example most worthy of imitation.
The very intelligent judges who acceded to the wishes
of the society, by undertaking to decide in the compe-
tition for this cup, were Mr. Thomas Skillen, of Craw-
fordsburn, Hugh White, of Ballyholme, and Henry W.
Douglass, of Ballymacashan. After a careful investi-
gation of all the cases that came before them, keeping
strictly in view the intentions and objects of the
society, as contained in their instructions, their well-
considered and unanimous decision was, that Mr.
Robert Boyd, of Ballynickle, was entitled to hold the
cup of this year.

234

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

AGRICULTURAL INTELLIGENCE, FAIRS, &c.

THE FAMNGDON MONTHLY CATTLE
MARKET, held on Tuesday the 7th, was the largest
we have witnessed since the first establishment of the
Market, and though the trade was not so brisk as on
some former occasions, a very fair proportion of business
was transacted. Beasts went off' at much lower prices
than at either of the two markets immediately preceding,
as did sheep also, of the coarser descriptions, but good-
conditioned Southdowns maintained the quotation of
the January market. Considering that our Candlemas-
fair takes place on Monday next, and that a fair occurs
at Abingdon on the same day, it was a matter of great
surprise to many, that our town should present on a
mere market day, a supply of sheep and cattle so abun-
dant in quantity, and of such superior quality.
But when the situation of Faringdon is considered,
with the Wilts and Berks canal on one side, and
the queen of -rivers winding her majestic course
on the (other — when from the summit of our far-
famed hill, the eye casts an attentive glance around
the wide horizon, and sees no terminus to a region
teeming in its fertility with all that life can require,
the mind is at once impressed with the conviction, that
every possible advantage exists for the extension of its
trade, and for rendering Faringdon of greater import-
ance than it has hitherto attained in the scale of inland
towns. To call its resources into greater play, and to
give further developement to the unrivalled productive-
ness of the surrounding country, it will be seen in the
resolutions advertised in this day's Mercury, that a
Market for the public sale of Cheese, is appointed to
be held on the first Tuesday in March, and on the first
Tuesday of every succeeding month, and no doubt can
reasonably be entertained, that it will not prove as suc-
cessful and beneficial, as our cattle market has done.
It has afforded much pleasure to inhabitants of the
town and neighbourhood to learn, that it is also in con-
templation to open a weekly market, for the sale of
butter, poultry, eggs, &c., a convenience long desired,
. and the want of which has been a contant theme of
complaint since we have been acquainted with the
place. — Reading Mercury.

The WOOTTON BASSETT GREAT MONTHLY
MARKET, held on Tuesday last, was abundantly sup-
plied with cattle of every description. Beef and mutton
were of a superior quality. Like all other markets and
fairs, sales were rather dull ; and in consequence of the
Devizes and Bath fairs being on the same day, we did
not get so full an attendance of butchers and dealers, yet
a great many sales were effected. There were of beasts,
567 ; sheep, 272 ; pigs, 187. A great quantity of corn
met with ready sale: — Prices as follow :^wheat from
27s 30s per sack ; beans, from 20s to 26s ; barley from
29s to 35s per qr ; oats from 21s to 28s. Beef from 8s
to 9s 6d per score ; mutton from 6d to 7d per lb ; bacon,
6§d. Cheese from 50s to 63s percv^t; butter from Is to
Is Id per lb ; eggs, 14 for Is ; ducks and fowls, from
2s 6d to 3s per couple. The next great Monthly Mar-
ket, will be held on Tuesday the 14th day of March,
when the premiums and prizes will be awarded to those
persons who have done the most business, according to
the rules and regulations of the Committee.

At DREWSTEIGNTON FAIR there was a good
supply of fat bullocks, but on which sales could not be
considered brisk, at a quotation of from 8s 6d to 10s per
score. The number of poor bullocks was large, but these
were on dull sale, at low prices. The supply of sheep
was not large, and the best fat wethers sold at 62d, and
rather beyond that price per lb.

EXETER FAIR.- Our Shrove Tide Fair has pre-
sented one of the poorest shows of Oxen on record.
Upon the whole also briskness cannot be said to have
been its leading feature. Of fat Oxen but few have
been presented, and even of these a small number only

can be said to have been brought to a state deserving the
denomination of proof, and these have fetched 10s per
score ; the quotation in this respect being from 9s to IDs
per score. Of Heifer Beef the show has been large,
but then most varied have the gradations, and much
that is so termed will not be sold, the best articles being
picked out at a quotation of from 8s 6d to 10s per score.
Plough Oxen have not been numerous, and these have
sold at from 2QI to 33Z the pair. Plough Steers also
have fallen off in point of numbers, and are a descrip-
tion of stock that have been rather looking for, those
sold being at a quotation of from 20/ to 24i the pair.
As regards attendance, there have been many strangers
from the East in the fair, and some from the Metropolis,
but the visits of these appeared to be more for the pur-
pose of observation ; of informing themselves with re-
spect to the general state of stock in the country, than
that of the more cheering and evident intention to pur-
chase. Half fat stock then, and stock out of condition
have lain on hand ; the former from the prices now asked,
joined to the heavy additional expense that must be in-
curred to put them in a state fit for the stall, and for
which there does not seem to be a prospect of adequate
return ; but most of the barreners that have freshness
about them have been sold at a quotation of Irom 5s to
6s per score. There has been pretty many cows and
calves, but without any change in price from our mar-
ket quotation. There has also been a pen or two of
sheep, for which 7d per lb has been asked. — Exeter
Flying Post,

At LIFTON FAIR there was a good show of fat
bullocks in which business was done at from 8s 6d to
10s per score. The show of store cattle, however, as
well Oxen as steers, was not of the usual magnitude.

At SILVERTON FAIR there was a a good show
of fat bullocks, which sold at from 9s to 10s per score.
There were few poor bullocks, nor was any thing in this
way in request. It was the smallest show of sheep ever
known at this fair, and the best of these sold at full 7d
per lb.

DEVIZES CANDLEMAS FAIR.— The supply of
beef and graziers was small ; dulness was the order of
the day, but the prices were not much altered. Mr. G.
Raddle sold some fine fat beasts at good prices.

DORCHESTER FAIR.— Our Candlemas fair, was
very well attended, and the town was more full than for
several past fairs. There was a tolerable supply of stock.
A great number of barreners were offered, but chiefly
of the coarse kind. Those of the better sort were speed-
picked up, at from 61 to 81, and in some instances higher
prices were realized. The stock exhibited bore evidence
of the scarcity of keep for some few seasons past, being-
below the average size. Prices did not, on the whole,
exhibit any tendency to advance, as it was the general
impression that an improvement of prices can hardly
be expected until the existing pressure shall be
removed from the money market. In the horse fair,
there were very few nags of a good description, and the
business was throughout dull at low prices.

CROSTON SHROVE TIDE CATTLE FAIR.—
The supply of cattle at this fair was inconsiderable, and
the beasts exhibited for sale were mostly of an inferior
quality, — drapes and rough-haired stirks forming the ge-
neral influx. There were a few calvers, but they were
" raroe nantes : " kine any ways fat were readily bought
up. The Hibernian swine herds in attendance made up
for the paucity of horned cattle by introducing into the
fair more numerous droves of pigs than have been wit-
nessed at Croston fair for some years.

BATH FAIR was abundantly supplied with every
description of cattle. There was a good attendance of
dealers ; and the fair is considered to be much above
the usual average as regards quantity of stock. Be<|

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

235

is fetching- from 5jd to 6d per lb, *nd mutton from 6d
to7d.

At STIRLING CANDLEMAS FAIR, there was a
great show of black cattle. New calved cows, or those
near the calving, where in request, and brought from
10s to 15s a head above last year ; queys, do. brought
from 61 to 71 7s, lean stock were in little request, and a
good number left unsold. The Horse market was also
well attended. Sale^ were brisk, and good draught
horses also higher than at this time last year. The best
was 42/ ; g'ood animals were from 25Z to 35/. A greatt^r
number of all descriptions were sold than usual.

MARKET DEEPING CATTLE MEETING was
well attended by all the principal dealers. There was
a good show of beasts, of which three-fourths were
sold ; the sale of fat stock was heavy.

At DOUNE CANDLEMAS FAIR about half the
usual number of cattle were brought forward. Sales
were dull, and prices looking downwards. Fat cattle
brought from 6s to 6s 9d per Dutch stone sinking the
offal. Calvers from 6/ to 7/ 7s.

DUNKELD CANDLEMAS MARKET.— This

market was unusually well attended. Numerous
dealers appeared from all parts of the district, but sales
were not particularly brisk, and corn prices in particu-
lar were thought to have suffered a diminution of at
least five or six per cent. Servants were rather in re-
quest, and wages still remain high.

At PRESTEIGN FAIR on Saturday, fat cows were
sold at about 5d per lb ; and fat sheep from 6d to 6M.

LOUGHBOROUGH VALENTINE FAIR was
well attended, fat stock at 7s per stone, store cattle were
in great demand ; there were few unsold horses, and
good ones were in demand.

At LEOMINSTER FAIR there was a scanty sup-
ply of stock, and the sale flat ; fat cattle 5d to SJd ;
sheep, 6d to 7d ; and pigs 5d to 6d.

TIVERTON GREAT MARKET.— The supply of
fat and half fed cattle was abundant, the best fetched
about 9s per score; many did not find customers, and
the general opinion that fat beef would be very scarce
seems to be wrong. Cows and calves were tolerably
plentiful, and dull of sale, at from 8/ to 12/ each. There
was a fair show of barreners, with a dull sale at about 5s
to SsSdpei score. The sheep market tolerably well sup-
plied, with a brisk sale at d^d per lb, and in several in-
stances rather more was obtained.

BIDEFORD FAIR. -There was but a sorry show of
cattle ; fat cattle fetched from 9s to 9s 6d, and store
ditto 9s to 10s 6d per score.

NORTHALLERTON CANDLEMAS FAIR.—

This great fair finished on Tuesday last, old Candlemas-
day. Horses of all kinds during the fair were in great
plenty and dealers numerous, and, though great num-
bers were sold, yet the owners did not get such high
prices for them as they anticipated at the commence-
ment of the fair, during the first two days great prices
having been given. It is understood that a great many
of the horses which were bought by the London dealers
at the York Christmas Fair (owing to the late bad wea-
ther), are still on hand, which may have been the cause
of the decline in prices at this fair. The show of cattle
on the last day was abundant. Fat Beasts were in de-
mand, and sold from 6s 3d to 7s per stone. In-calvers
sold well, but for young lean stock, owing to the scarc-
of fodder, there was little demand.

CASTLE-DOUGLAS CANDLEMAS HORSE
FAIR. —At this fair the show of horses was nothing
short of what we anticipated. The dealers from a dis-
tance were numerous, and were not disappointed of what
they were in search of. Good roadsters brought from
25/ to 40/ ; coachers from 40/ to 50/, and in one instance
we are informed that 54/ was offered and refused to be ac-
cepted. Every thing taken into consideration, we are now
fully satisfied that this market is so far established that it
prognosticates to become one of the first for horses in the
south of Scotland.

WIND YGATES.— Ploughing :Match.— The Win-
dygates Agricultural Ploughing Match was held on the
7th current, on Mr. Haig's farm, of Metliil Hill, when
sixty-four ploughs started in competition for the pre-
miums, which were awarded as follow by the judges-
Mr. David Watt, Clentrie; Mr. Wilson, Firthfield ;
Mr. Clerk, Ardit ; and Mr. Morgan. Coats :—

1st— The Highland Society's plough medal, to Wil-
liam Dow, servant to Mr. Dickson, Bowhouse of
Weemss.

2d— 1/. to William M'Kay, servant to Mr. John
Crichton, Balfour Mains.

3d— 15s. to D. Haxton, servant to Mr. Wilson,
Blacketvside.

4th— i2s. 6d. to Alexander Oliphant, servant to Mr.
Imrie, Haug'hmill.

5th— 10s. to Francis Philp, servant to Mr. Crichton,
Langside.

6th— 7s. 6d. to Charles Hoy, servant to Mr. Russel,
Balfarg.

At the recommendation of the judges, the following
additional ploughmen were thought worthy of notice :

D. Patrick, Sythrum, servant to Mr. Hutchison.

Peter Dow, servant to JNIr. Dickson, Bowhouse.

Andrew Gib, servant to Mr. Johnston, Percival.

Peter Findlay, Hayfield, servant to Mr. Spears.

W. Tod, servant to Miss Wallace, of Newton Hall.

James Elder, Scoonie.

The judges were also of opinion, that Alexander
Mitchell deserved a recompense from the society for his
superior workmanship ; but that his plough, although
broue-ht from a distant part of the country, was not
an implement that they, as practical farmers, could
recommend for general use.

Mr. Haig, in compliance with tiie above recommen-
dations, gave 5s each to the first named six ploughmen,
and 20s to Alexander Rlitchel.

The whole field of 27 Scotch acres was finished in
excellent style in 4$ hours; and the general appearance
of the horses and harness did their owners very great
credit : their value, with implements, was computed at
nearly 4000/. sterling.

In the eveaing many important sweepstakes were
entered into, to be decided at the annual meeting in
March next.

PLOUGHING MATCH.— On Saturday the 11th
inst. twenty ploughs started for competition, at Mid
Lethenty, on one of the parks of James M. Patton,
Esq. The judges were Mr. Wylie, Jun., farmer. Bus-
by, and Mr. Mdler, farmer. The spectators amounted
to nearly 200, but the day was very unfavourable. The
ploughmen in general did their work in a work-
manlike manner, although the rain and snow fell
thick and heavy. The prizes were awarded as follows ; —
1st. John Anderson, farmer, Easter Buchanty. £1 0
2d. Alexr. Comrie, farmer. West Buchanty . . 0 15
3d. Andrew Moir, farmer, Drumm, Logie-

almond 0 10

4th. Henry •-, servant to Mr. Young,

Newbigging, Methven 0 8

5th. James Halley, farmer, Millhole 0 5

There would have been about as many more ploughs,
but owing to the inclemency of the weather, proper
notice could not be sent to those at a distance.

PLOUGHING MATCH IN EAST LOTHIAN.
— On the 4th inst. a scene which, although of no un-
common occurrence, yet never before witnessed to such
an extent in this county, took place on the farm of
Moreham Mains, to which a new tenant, Mr. Ronald-
son, from Linthill, Berwickshire, was welcomed by the
ever-generous cultivators of the soil for upwards of 12
miles round. At break of day, 196 ploughs started in
beautiful array, and aided by the unusual fineness of
the weather, not less than 150 acres were turned over.
The ploughmen were cheered on by the hospitality of
]Mr. Ronaldson, who is allowed to be a farmer of the
first class, not only as regards the complete knowledge
of the art of farming and draining, but as possessed of
that gentlemanly spirit which characterises the East
Lothian farmers. He was welcomed by his neighbours

236

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

in a style which did unspeakable service to him, and
conferred lasting honour on themselves. The evening-
was spent in the hig^hest g'lee by a few of Mr, Ronald-
son's nearest neig^hbours, Mr. Robertson of Biel Grang-e
in the chair. 'J'he company separated at an early hour,
equally delig-hted by the labours of the day and the
joys of the evening'. From the excellent condition of
the horses, their estimated value exceeded 11,000L

FECUNDITY OF SHEEP.— An ewe the property
of Mr. Oare, of Wotherton, near Ciiirbury, Shropshire,
on Tuesday last lambed 6 lambs all alive, 4 of which are
now doing- well. Last year (1836) five of the same
breed of ewes lambed twenty lambs, all of whom lived
and did well ; the year before ( 1835) six of them
lambed 23 lambs, and they also lived and did well.

On Wednesday week in the pig- market, Chichester,
a sow and her litter of ten pigs were offered for sale,
for which the owner, Mr. C. Farndell, asked 651, Sixty
guineas were offered more than once, but refused, and
at the close of the market they were driven home again.
Crowds of admiring spectators thronged the pens
throughout the day to gaze on this extraordinary family.
The weight of the sow was supposed to be about 50
nail, and the pigs to average 30 nail each.

A PROFITABLE COW.— A short time since, a
gentleman at Kingsclere, Hants, was possessed of a
cow, which, in her time, produced 21 calves, 300 hogs-
heads of milk, and four tons of butter. The fat of the
cow, when killed, weighed more than the lean and bone.
It lived to be twenty one years old, and produced the
gentleman altogether upwards of 500/.

ENGLISH CHEESE.— In our last annual circular
we stated, that owing to the advance in price, the con-
sumption was very limited, and that it would probably
take the whole winter to realize what remained on
hand from the fall import. In this opinion we were
perfectly correct, as in the winter mouths the retailers
found difficulty in disposing of what they had purchased
at the advanced rates in November ; whilst that
which then remained in first hands was still unsold at
the opening of the navigation. It was then offered at
auction, and not having improved by keeping, was dis-
posed of— Double Gloster at lOd to Ud, and King's
Arms and Dolphin's at lid to Is per lb. Several fresh
parcels arrived about this time, and to prevent loss by
spoiling in the hot weather, they were closed at about
the following prices : — King's Arms, Is to Is Id,
Chedder, Is, Dolphins' and Double Gloster, lid to
Is. The market is now bare of Cheese, little or none
having arrived by the fall vessels ; what little there is
in the market is held by the retailers. — Montreal
Herald, Jan. 10.

BONE MANURE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE FARMEr's MAGAZINE.

Sir, — In looking over some of the late numbers of
your valuable publication (of which I am a constant
reader), 1 find that several of your correspondents
have written on the good effects of bone dust as a
manure ; but, as they treat principally on raw bones,
allow me to offer a few remarks on those which are
boiled.

My farm lies in a cold and exposed situation, in
the neiglibourhood of the far-famed Buxton Waters ;
it is entirely of limestone, and has obtained from
nature but a very scanty covering of sward. At the
time I entered upon it (in theyearl831)butfew of the
neighbouring farmers made use of bones, although
there are two mills for grinding them within a mo-
derate distance. The same year in preparing a field
for turnips, I drilled one half of it with raw, bones
and the other with boiled ; the former produced a
very fair crop, but the latter far surpassed it. Since
that time I have used both kinds, but always find
the boiled ones to answer best, both for the turnips
and the succeeding crops of seed.

Having one quarter of the boiled bone dust for
which I had no immediate use, I was determined to
try its effects upon meadow land, and accordingly
had a small patch sown in the proportion of four and
a half to five quarters per acre ; that part of my
meadow the year round is much greener and fuller
of herbage than where it is manured with dung from
the yards. The next year I followed the same plan,
but upon a larger scale, manuring two adjoining
meadows with bones. No. 1, with raw, and No. 2,
with boiled, using for each twenty-five strikes per
acre ; the result was what I had anticipated, and I
was assured by competent judges, that the produce
of No. 2, exceeded, not only in quality, but by se-
veral cwts. per acre in quantity, that of No. 1.
Upon ploughed lands the raw bones answer tolei'ably
well : but I never found their good effects upon
grass : not only do the boiled bones bring a quicker
and fuller return to the agriculturist, but they are
much cheaper, which is a consideration but few far-
mers will be inclined to overlook. Perhaps some
of your numerous correspondents who may be more
deeply versed in the mysteries of chemistry than I
(who am but a humble farmer), will, through the
medium of your publication, favour me with their
opinion as to the probable cause of the difference in
the two kinds of bone manure.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

PEVERIL OF THE PEAK.

Crongstone, Grange.

BONE MANURE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE YORK CHRONICLE.

Sir, — The turnip crop during the past year has been
the victim of a series of attacks from a great variety of
insects, and so destructive have they been, that in many
counties the crop has been lost, and in this county it is
little more than half a crop. We may truly say in the
language of inspiration " That which the palmer-worm
hath left, hath the locust eaten ; and that which the
locust haih left, hath the canker-worm eaten ; and that
which the canker-worm hath left, hath the caterpillar
eaten." — Joel i. 4, 5. Indeed, the attacks first of the
turnip-fly ( Hatica nemorum), of the black caterpdlar
(athaiia cejitJ/o//a),theroot-weavil (nedigus contractus),
the plant-louse (aph is hrassiccej , and the green caterpillar
of the butterfly (Pon//a hrassicir), as well as slugs and
snails, are so destructive and so baffle every art of de-
struction, that was not that crop the mainstay of good
farming, it must cease to be cultivated.

It must be admitted that these enemies are much more
numerous than they were some years ago, and to what
can this be attributed 1 We should perhaps be wrong
in referring it to any one cause, but it becomes an in-
teresting inquiry, whether the introduction of bone
manure had antj effect in extending the eci/, by favouring
the propagation of insects, or by introducing new species
from foreign countries ? When we reflect how many
cargoes of foreign bones are annually imported from
nearly every country of Europe, and many of these
perhaps have been buried in the ground for some time,
it must be obvious, that nothing is more likely for a nidus
for the various burying insects. The fact of the skull
of Hampden having a number of wire-worms attached
to it, seems to shew that that g:rub has a peculiar liking
for decomposing bone. I believe they are especially
favourable to that disease produced by insects, known
provincially by the name of " fingers and toes."

A farmer in Lincolnshire has recently observed the
larv(B of some insects amongst bone manure. The sub-
ject is well worthy minute investigation.
Yours respectfully,

A YORKSHIRE FARMER,

Yorhshire, Feb. 2, 1837.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

237

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE
EXPRESS.

Sir, — Having derived much information through
the medium of your publication, I venture to in-
quire of its numerous readers the best and cheapest
mode of improving- grass land, whether lime, bone
dust, soot, &c., might not be used to advantage ; if
a compost with soil, &;c., be recommended, what
proportions are necessary, and when to be applied ;
also the different eii'ects produced, and of what du-
ration 1

As I live in a neighbourhood where lime is of
easy access, I wish to know its effects if applied
alone, and what quantity would be considered a pro-
per dressing ; the soil being of a red loam, with a
slight mixture of small stones.

A hint as to a top dressing for young clovers
would prove acceptable, stating the effect of differ-
ent manures, whether alone or in compost ; being
convinced that the slightest particle of manure
tends to their luxuriant growth, I trust that some
practical agriculturist will give an opinion on so im-
portant a point of the grazing department, which
appears only in its infancy, when compared with the
unrivalled tillage of our soil. By inserting the
above in your next you will much oblige your con-
stant reader, R. S.

Feb. 14, 1837.

IMPORTANT TO LANDLORDS.

A case of great importance to landlords, has lately
been decided in the Court of Session, and, so far as
we can judge of the report in the Scottish Jurist, it
not only unsettles, but in a great measure destroys,
the right of hypothec in urban tenements. It ap-
pears that a gentleman of the name of .[affray, set a
dwelling-house and garden, &g., in Stirlingshire, to
one Thomas Carrick, for a year, at 27/ of rent. The
tenant entered to the possession at the flitting term
of Whitsunday, bringing with him several cart-loads
of furniture, which the landlord believed, and had
no reason to doubt, was the tenant's own furniture.
He possessed the premises till the following term of
Whitsunday, but having failed in payment of the
first half year's rent, the landlord, in the month of
December, found it necessary to sequestrate the ef-
fects on the premises, in common form, and having
applied to the Sheriff for a warrant to sell as many
of the sequestrated effects as would cover the half-
year's-rent past due, he was met by a caveat at the
instance of a young woman of the name of .Tean Car-
rick, a sister of the bankrupt tenant, and in a relafive
process of interdict, she maintained that the whole
furniture in the house, with some trifling exceptions,
belonged to her, and that she had never given her
consent to its removal to Mr. Jaffray's premises. In
this action, the Sheriff found that as her consent was
not instructed, the effects were not liable to the land-
lord's hypothec, — and to this judgment, the Second
Division of the Court of Session (affirming the Lord
Ordinary's interlocutor,) adhered. There was a dif-
ference of opinion among the .Judges at the advising,
Lord Medwyn maintaining, that Jean Carrick was
bound to have given some notice to the landlord, of
her latent claims of ownership over the furniture,
and that having failed to do so, for seven months af-
ter she saw it removed into the premises — she was
barred personali exceptione from afterwards pleading
such latent right. But the Lord Justice Clerk and

Lords Glenlee and Meadowbank held, that she was
not under any legal obligation \o give such notice ! —
so that th^tenant's sister, in this case, had been per-
mitted to carry away the whole sequestrated furni-
ture, and the landlord has not only lost his year's
rent, (because forsooth he could not show tliat the
sister had expressly consented to her brother's taking
the furniture along with him), but he has been found
liable in all expenses ! We confess, this is a most
alarming decision to landlords, and if it be suffered
to remain in the books, as a precedent, — no landlord
in Scotland, can in future place any reliance on fur-
niture or effects brought into the premises ; for
wherever a tenant is unable or unwilling to pay his
rent, he will have no great difficulty in procuring
some convenient sister or brother, or other conjunct
or confident person, or even some friendly stranger,
to step forward, with real or pretended claims of
ownership over the furniture, and thereby, as in the
present, defraud the landlord of his rent. We are
informed that several proprietors of house- property
in this city, have it in contemplation to promote a
subscription for carrying the case to the House of
Lords, where a reversal is confidently anticipated.
In the meantime, and until the judgment be actually
reversed, it will regulate the law of Scotland in all
similar cases. — Edinburgh Paper.

STEAM PLOUGH.

The Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland
has offered the undermentioned premium to be given
by the Society in the year 1837-

A Premium of Five Hundred Sovereigns will be awarded
for the first successful Application of Steam Power
to the cultivation of the soil.

By the cultivation of the soil are to be understood
the operations of ploughing and harrowing, or preparing
the soil in an equally efficient manner, and the other
purposes for which animal power is now used ; and
success of the invention will be judged of in relation to
its applicability to the above purposes in the ordinary
situations of farms in this country, and to the saving
of time, labour, and outlay, which it may possess over
animal power as now generally employed in the culti-
vation of the soil.

The merits of the invention, with reference to the
conditions enumerated, will be judged of by a Commit-
tee of the Society specially appointed, and the inventor
will be required to exhibit the machinery and modes of
applying it in Scotland. The Secretary of the Society,
on application of intending competitors, will furnish
any information which may be required.

The Society in offering this premium, does not feel it
to be necessary to express opinions as to the probabi-
lities of a successful application of steam to tillage, as
to the means by which the object may be attained, or
as to the effects which might be supposed to result from
the application of such a power. But it has felt it to
be a duty imposed upon it by its situation, to bring the
subject in a proper manner before the country, to en-
courage those Avho are now engaged in this class of
experiments, and to stimulate future invention by the
offer of premiums corresponding, in some measure, to
the interest and importance of the subject. Looking
to the vastly extended application which has recently
been made of steam as a locomotive power, and seeing
that the difficulties which are opposed to its application
to the purposes of the farm have been at least partially
overcome by the efforts of indi\iduals, it has appeared
to the Society, that without exciting expectations
which may not be realized, a strong ground exists for
having this possible application of steam power made
the subject of fair and satisfactory experiment.

238

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

RURAL POLICE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE HEREFORD TIMES.

Sir, — I trust the Melbourne Government will dis-
regard factious clamour, and establish a Rural Police,
for the protection of the peace and property of the
Agriculturists. Scarcely a week passes but we hear of
some miscreants, under cover of the veil of night,
either committing thefts or doing wanton and cruel
mischief to the live and dead stock of the inhabitants
of the country. The greater number of these depre-
dations are never made public ; and the few that are,
shew the character of the whole.— A short time since,
through the activity of your City Police, Mr. Cran-
ston detected, prosecuted, and transported, a fellow
who had stolen one of his sheep out of a meadow near
the city; a few weeks ago Mr. Cranston suffered a
similar loss. A midnight marauder killed one of his
sheep in its pasture, cut off the hind-quarters, and
threw the remainder of the carcase into a ditch. Last
week, a sheep belonging to Mr. Charles Bulmer was
served in exactly the same manner. Also, a young
heifer was forced into the brook, and there kept until
drowned ; this was no very difficult task, as the brook
was much swollen from the heavy lains. It is scarcely
a month since a valuable cart mare, the property of Mr.
Pateshall, of Allensmore, was wantonly injured by some
savage wretch. In fact, I could give a long list of
malicious acts committed at night during the present
winter, ths perpetrators of which have entirely escaped
detection. I trust, therefore, our patriotic Ministry
will adopt some means, by which the peace and pro-
perty of the " country folk" may be protected from
the ways of the evil doer. RUS.

Hundred of Grimsworth, Feb. 14, 1837.

PARIS STATISTICS.

(From the Annuaire die Bureau des Longitudes
for 1837.)

CONSUMPTION OF THE CITY OF PARIS DURING THE
YEAR 1835.

Wines 932,402 hectolitres.

Brandy 36,910 —

Cider and Perry 17,024 —

Vinegar 18,575 —

Beer 110,621 —

Grapes 727,129 kilogrammes.

Oxen 71,634 heads.

Cows 16,439 —

Calves 73,947 —

Sheep 364,875 —

Pigs and wild boars . . 86,904 —
Pastry, pickled and pre-
served meats, lobsters,

&c 242,466 kilogrammes.

Country-butchers' meat 783,024 —

Pork-butchers' meat .. 2,351,191 —

Giblets, &c 1,107,943 —

Dry cheese 1,180,421 —

Sea-fish, amount of the

sale 4,469,096 francs.

Oysters, do 1,120,562 —

Fresh-water fish, do 510,939 —

Poultry, and game, do. 7,993,800 —

Butter, do 10,677,873 —

Eggs, do 4,592,424 —

Hay 7,814,377 bundles.

Straw 11,903,606 —

Oats 987,885 hectolitres.

Flour, 1,580 bags of 159 kilogrammes each, per day.

PooE in Ireland. — The managing committee
if the Dublin Mendicity Institution have published an
onteresting paper on the state of the Irish Poor, which

presents a less gloomy view of the subject than the
public have lately been accustomed to contemplate. It
says :— " The number of agricultural labourers in Ire-
land is computed by the commissioners at 1,170,000,
and they assume that one-half of these, being- precisely
585,000, are out of employment for thirty weeks in each
year; and as they have 1,800,000 persons dependent
on them, the two numbers make 2,385,000 persons to
be provided for, for thirty weeks in the year. Obviously,
it is a great violence to the use made by the commis-
sioners of these facts (if facts they may be called) to de-
duce from this statement, as many do, that there are
2,385,000 paupers from this class to be provided for
during the whole year round, when, in fact, though
their calculation should be strained to the utmost to sup-
port the extreme distress existing in Ireland, in only
means that this number will require support for thirty
weeks." We are then shown, by a statement of facts,
that the number to be supported through the year does
not exceed 1,150,000. This materially alters the cha-
racter of the evil with which Ministers are about to
deal.

Abuse of the Poor Laws. — A most extra-
ordinary circumstance has come to our knowledge la
the north of this county, not very far from the Wolds.
An able-bodied laboure.- in full wages — a turbulent
pauper of the old school — insisted upon his parish pay-
ing his rent, 12/. Having obtained this, he subse-
quently insisted upon the payment of his tithe, IZ, in
which he also succeeded. He then lent the parish 40/ ;
and to this day they pay him I2l rent, and IZ tithe, and
11 interest for his money. He was visited a fortnight
since by the assistant-commissioner. He has a house
and land, two cows, and many sheep. In point of fact,
he may be regarded as having had the money to pay his
own rent ; and some excitement prevailing about it
among the rate-payers, the parish authorities have ap-
plied to the commissioner, to know how to proceed to
raise the 40Z to pay the loan. — Hertford Reformer.

We beg to call the attention of our country
contemporaries to a paragraph, entitled " The
Horrible Working of the Poor Law Amend-
ment Act,'' which is now going the round of the
newspapers, purporting to be extracted from the
Agriculturi&t. This is the same paragraph to
wliich we adverted a fortnight since as having ap-
peared in the Herald of the 17th instant, and
which that Journal afterwards, under threat of a
prosecution acknowledged to be a fabrication.
Notwithstanding that avowal it was transferred to
the columns of the Agriculturist xoithout acknow-
ledgement, thence to the Times as an extract from
the Agriculturist, and has since appeared in several
country papers. The wilful fabrication of such a
story for the purpose of prejudicing a system
which was passed into a law with the almost
unanimous consent of both Houses of Parliament,
and to the beneficial working of which, the Duke
of Wellington and most of the leading men of all
parties throughout the country, have borne testi
mony, exhibits a dereliction of principle which we
Jiad hoped never to have seen displayed by the
so-called legitimate portion of the press. The
reduction of the Stamp Duty seems to have sunk
the character of the old-established Journals rather
than to have raised up new and unprincipled pub-
lications. Our sole object in again caUing attention
to the subject is, to prevent those who might not
be aware of the facts from being misled and un-
intentionally giving circulation to a grossly false
and mischievous statement.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

239

REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE

DURING THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY.

Throughout the past month, dulness has been the
characterising feature of all proceedings connected
with grain, not only in Mark Lane, but at all the
leading markets in England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Notwithstanding, the state of the weather has been
extremely unfavourable for all agricultural opera-
tions, that much of the land intended to be sown
with wheat has remained in fallow, owing to the
impossibility of preparing it for seed, that now
Spring sowing continues to be impeded by wet,
many of the low lands being entirely or partially
covered with water, and the probable injury the
growing crops may derive from the heavy falls of
rain, with alternate sunshine by day, and hoar frost at
night, causes,which, when speculation was rife, would
have induced considerable investment in wheat, and
money would have flowed into the trade, and a ma-
terial enhancement ensued in the value of wheat;
but, at the present moment, all feeling, all power,
has been crushed by the total disorganization which
the proceedings of the Bank of England have created
in monetary engagements, and mercantile confidence
has been and is weekly shaken by failures or pecu-
niary embarrassments. Purchasers, in consequence,
hold back from buying, unless at a depreciated price,
taking advantage of nervous holders, or those, who,
with limited capital, and unjustly curtailed accommo-
dation are forced to realize. It is therefore, futile in
men of wealth and influence, who have great opera-
tions in the London market, to say that there has
never been any pressure for money, there has never
been any scarcity, that money was always available
to those who had unquestionable securities to ofi'er;
that this is a fallacious representation is known to
every man of the slightest experience, who has the
capacity and the opportunity to examine the relative
degrees of relaxation and expansion during the two
equal portions of the last year. It is, therefore, we
repeat, futile to pretend there has not been, and is no
pressure ; the presure has been severe and long con-
tinued, and if it has been less sudden and calamitous
in its immediate effects than the pressure of 1825^
that is to be ascribed to the greater skill which ex-
perience has taught the Bank Directors, in applying
the restrictive force, and to the increased power to
bear or resist it, possessed by the public; though,
at the same time, it is a subject of deep lament, that
such power, such restrictive force should be vested
in the hands of any private body of individuals,
having, as it were, the commercial interests of this
mighty mercantile kingdom at their disposal.

It seems apparent, that the farmers are, however.

holding for higher rates, the returns of the quantity
of wheat sold during the month not having exceeded
273,700 qrs throughout England and Wales; whereas,
in January, the deliveries amounted to 339,900 qrs,
and in December 326,600 qrs, a circumstance, not
originating entirely from decreased demand, though,
no doubt, the prevalence of the influenza has latterly
diminished the consumption, but the positive quan-
tity offering has been very limited. The millers,
from the difficulty of obtaining cash, refrain from
laying in stocks, and continue, therefore, to buy
fiom " hand to mouth," and the article, finding no
vent beyond a demand for manufacture, and that
contracted unusually small, is realizing prices some
shillings lower than current events would authorize
under ordinary occasions; but, as the consumptive
demand must proceed, though it may be slowly, until
the money market is relieved, yet, the finer qualities
of wheat are likely, under even the disadvantage of
want of money and condition, rather to advance, while
inferior, ill-conditioned samples, as is usual in a de-
pressed state of trade, can be forced off only at rates
below their relative value. Towards the close of the
month these facts were being more particularly exem-
plified and the consumptive demand pressing against
the supply, the fine parcels of wheat available for im-
mediate manufacture were improving in value, and
obtained fully 2s. per qr more money, but all se-
condary and inferior sorts have receded 2s. to 3s. per
qr and extremely difficult of disposal at this decline.

The encouraging advices from the United States
especially Baltimore, where a large cargo of fine
Konigsberg wheat realized 2 dollars 22 cents per-
bushel, which, even deducting the usually enormous
charges and a freight of 10s, and 15 per cent, would
leave a profit of J 3s per qr, has induced the contem-
plation of several shipments of bonded corn ; but the
difficulty of procuring vessels, checks to a certain
extent the fulfilment of the speculations : most of the
shipments making, are on owners' account. Prices
remaining the same as noted last month.

The Flour trade has participated fully in the
heaviness of wheat, and though the nominal quota-
tions of 53s have been maintained, yet sales of town
made qualities have been making at from 48s, 50s to
32s, and latterly the last quotation has been rarely
exceeded ; ship qualities have been in moderate sup-
ply, and moved oft' slowly at a reduction of 2s to 3s
per sack. Bended Flour has met occasional sale for
export, chiefly to the West Indies, at 278 to 28s for
Danzig and Hamburg, and superfine 29s to 30s per
barrel. A sample of very superior flour was offering

240

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

from Silesia, the quality exceeding the best Danzig
marks, and competing with the produce of the United
States, and held at 31s per barrel.

Though the receipts of barley have been moderate,
both of British and Foreign, yet so great has been
the apathy of the malt trade, that great difficulty has
been weekly experienced in quitting samples, though
factors, in many instances, for secondary qualities,
have depended for price more on the offers of pur-
chasers than any fixed quotations, the finer descrip-
tions not realizing by 2s per qr so much money as
they did at the commencement of the month ; dis-
tillers have bought also sparingly at a reduction of
fully 2s, and grinding lias hung on hand at the same
decline. Fine Chevalier for seed has nearly main-
tained its previous rates. Several parcels of foreign
barley have paid the prevailing duties of 9s 4d per
qr ; and which being pressed on the market for sale
ex-ship has contributed in giving additional dulness
to the trade. Malt has been almost unsaleable, ex-
cept the finest parcels, owing in part to the diminu-
tion in the consumption, and partly to the unusually
large amount of old male held by the principal
brewers; good samples are obtainable at 60s.

During the month of February the following
quantities of Grain and Flour have ariived in the
port of London : —

Wheat.

Barley.

Malt.

Oats.

English

Scotch

Irish

qrs.
21,9/5
402

qrs.
26,012
305
1,257

27,575

qrs.
29,211

qrs.
35.449

4,412
75,631

Total in Feb.

22,077

29,211
18,173

115,492

Total in Jan.

24,42t

26,689

53,924

Total in Dec.

30,675

55,265

23,016

77,186

■ —

«^-^^

-

Foreign in Feb.

6,380

2,060

....

12,072

Beans.

Peas.

Linseed.

Flour.

English

Scotch

Irish

qis.
6,989

qrs.

4,803

qrs.

sacks.

35.000

180

Total in Feb. .

6,989

4,863
5,839

35,180

Total in Jan.

6,611

30,790

Total in Dec.

6,894

6,247
1,833

60
15,277

39,628

Foreign in Feb.

2,118

brls. 3,615

The arrival of oats from Ireland has been large,
compared with the previous month, and have proved
much more than adequate to the demand. The same
complaints are being made against the shippers on
the other side, to which we had cause to refer the
last month. The quality of many of the bulks being
extremely inferior, and so little attention paid to
their preparation previous to shipment, that they
have arrived much out of condition, varying from
warm to heated and smoking hot ; where fine colored
well prepared, heavy oats have been contracted for,
a sample has appeared, colored it is true, but with
every shade of brown, chaffy and unsaleable, and it
is calculated that full 30,000 qrs are in granary of
this kind of stuff, for which it is difficult to get any
price, though sales are even making at 12s, 14s to
17s per qr. From Scotland the supply has been

very moderate, indeed the demand at most of the
more northern markets in Scotland for oats, to grind
into meal to meet the demand from the Highlands,
renders the shippers much more than usually inde-
pendent on the metropolitan trade, and the ship-
ments are therefore likely to be this season on a very
contracted scale. The cause of this demand we are
sorry to learn from the tenor of the following letter :
" I am sorry to see it is now ascertained beyond a
doubt that a large portion of the Highlands, &c., are
in a most deplorable state of destitution, insomuch
that tho landed proprietors are quite alarmed as well
as others interested in quarters, for absolute famine.
To prevent such a direful calamity, subscriptions
are opened in all the large cities, &c., and I observe
a deputation has gone from Edinburgh to London
at the solicitation of a public meeting held at Edin-
burgh, to plead the cause of the poor people, and
unless a very large sum is raised in this way, or a
grant from government, it is much to be feared many
a one will be starved to death for want of food, to
say nothing of seeds which they will be required to
be provided with."

At the commencement of the month the finer qua-
lities of Oats maintained their quotations, but other
descriptions met little attention, and towards the
close even the better sorts gave way in price, and
must be noted Is to 2s lower, and secondary, inferior
stale, and out of condition qualities dependent en-
tirely on the offers made. But an opinion is gaining
ground that parcels of oats in fine condition have
seen their lowest for some time to come, because the
exceeding bad quality of the bulk of Irish, so far as
canbejudged from what have lately comeforward,will
keep down the averages, and, therefore, prevent fine
foreign oats being admitted for consumption at a
moderate duty. The best and heaviest of the Irish
oats are always sent to the Glasgow market, where
they find a better demand for mealing purposes ; be-
side that, being there sold by weight, mistakes in
their delivery are less likely to occur than according
to the usance of London, where the deliveries are
by measure ; further, the late advices from Limerick
quote this article at nearly Is a stone to the growers,
a price which our sales here at present cannot war-
rant, and either we must rise, or they must fall, be-
fore a remunerating trade can take place.

The following account may prove interesting, as
exhibiting at one view the quantity of British oats
which have arrived in London during the last seven
years, together with the annual quantity of foreign
which have paid duty for consumption at our port,
the gross total, furnishing the amount .required to
meet the demands in Mark Lane : —

OATS.

Years

English.

Scotch.

Irish.

Total.

ForeifH paying
Duty in London

Qrs.

Qrs.

Qrs.

Qis.

Qrs.

1830

186265

1 39440

2, 66/0

60'2381

493467

1831

269118

144631

3:j2099

715848

266713

1832

20/944

12/883

081957

1 007784

131

1833

2(132(17

176979

573349

953533

671

1834

1 6.-^6; 1

326402

488822

978895

46771

1835

101641

217049

721494

1040184

125575

1836

206006

169239

616560

991805

45612

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

241

Making the gross total annual supply of English and
free foreiarn oats —

1830

1831

1832

1833

qrs.
1,095,848

qrs.
1,012,561

qrs.
1,007,915

qrs.
954,204

1834

1835

1836

qrs.
1,025,660

q

1,16

rs.

5,759

qrs.
1,037,417

giving a septennial average of 1,042,767 qrs.

Beans have come to hand much out of condition,
and met a slow dragging trade at a reduction of 3s to
4s per qr. White peas have been also difficult of
disposal at a decline of 2s to^3s, and grey and maple
Is to 2s lower.

By advices from Montreal, dated the 27th Jan-
uary, we find that the supplies of wheat had become
limited, owing to the bad state of the roads, and that
the continued advance in the markets of the United
States had had a corresponding effect both in wheat
and flour. Lower Canada red wheat had realised as
much as 8s 3d to 8s 6d per minot. Superfine flour
was held as high as 60s per barrel, being extremely
scarce, 55s to 57s 6d having been paid, and for fine,
52s 6d per barrel.

Comparative statement of arrivals, tonnage, and
emigrants at the Port of Quebec, for the last fif-
teen years.

Vessels.

Tonnage.

Emigrants.

1822

586

146188

10468

1823

542

131862

10258

1824

603

148581

6515

1825

762

191614

9079

1826

794

178792

10731

1827

600

152764

16862

1828

701

183255

11697

1829

861

234301

13356

1830

855

225138

24391

1831

1009

259878

49250

1832

941

248038

51422

1833

1007

271147

22062

1834

1122

315863

30217

1835

1132

323305

11580

1836

1183

353505

27513

At Sydney, New South Wales, the large arrival of
22,000 bushels of British wheat had had no eflPect
on the prices, which remained at from 7s to 9s per
bushel. Flour steady at 18s to 23s. At Launces-
ton, on tlie 11th August, wheat had receded in value,
and was then quoted at 6s to 63 6d per bushel, and
at Hobart Town the article was noted at 6s to 8s. At
Jamaica the imports of the past year have been 6,260
barrels less than the imports of 1835, but the stock
remaining was rather considerable, owing to the fact
of the imports during November and December
having been much larger than the average of the
year ; the range of prices has been also I6s 8d to
20s 4d per barrel higher than those of the previous
year, in consequence of which the consumption has
materially fallen off. The supplies latterly have con-
sisted of German flour shipped from London and
Liverpool, and as it is neglected by the bakers, the
only vent for it was for the country trade or for re-

export, and the demand consequently limited ; the
last price was 60s duty paid, or 50s for export.

At Bilboa the scarcity of flour and grain has in.
duced the government to open the port for the ad-
mission of these articles from abroad under the fol-
lowing restrictions : the permission to remain in
force for two months after the date of the order of
the 20th of January.

Grain. Measure or Rate of Duties in either

weight. Spanish or Foreign vessels.

Wheat per fanega

Indian Corn do.

Barley do.

Oats do.

Wheat Flour per quintal
Indian corn meal do.

4 reals vellon

3 ditto
2 ditto

2 ditto

4 ditto

3 ditto

It may be noted that at the above city 100 fanegas
are equal to 20 qrs 7 bushels imperial measure, and
8 reals vellon equal to 1 dollar, or about 4s 6d.

At Paris and the environs purchases are still being
made for export, principally to Bordeaux, deliver-
able on board at Rouen at 17 francs per hectolitre,
or about 38s 9d per qr ; this continued demand,
notwithstanding the abundance of stock, causes
prices of wheat to be maintained though those of
flour are receding. At Bordeaux, wheat obtains 47s
8d to 53s per qr, the currencies having further im-
proved, both of wheat and flour, owing to the de-
mand being experienced from many important points
of Upper Languedoc, and the firmness of the prices
on the coast of Brittany, owing to the demand in
that country to satisfy its own internal wants, forces
purchasers to draw resources from those districts
usually supplying the demand of the metropolis.
At Marseille the trade was ruling extremely dull,
and the demand almost confined to the local con-
sumption, the department of the Var, whose neces-
sities the merchants at Marseille had calculated upon
supplying, is receiving imports direct from Brittany
at most of even the smaller ports. Bonded wheat is
quite neglected, and only meets sale to be ground
into flour for export. Barletta wheat free was noted
at 58s 6d to 59s 3d. Lower Loire, 52s 3d.

The Italian markets remain very languid. At
Naples the best samples of Barletta wheat were noted
at 35s 8d, but the rates would not be maintained un-
less a foreign demand was experienced.

At Trieste the receipts of wheat being unusually
heavy, prices had receded, Italian, Banata, and
Odessa, noted at 25s 8d to 36s per qr.

At Genoa, the currencies were expected to be
maintained, and several thousand minas were being-
shipped to America. At Leghorn, Tuscan white
wheat was held at 51s lOd, red 40s Id; Odessa, 36s
to 4O3 4d. At Venice, owing to the anticipated
large supplies of wheat from the Black Sea, the trade
was dull, and prices nominally 34s 4d.

In Russia the grain trade remains in a dull state.
At St. Petersburg, Kubanka wheat was noted at 32s
Id for May delivery ; oats, 12s 7d to 12s lid ; rye,
17s, and Morsctansky linseed at 38s 5d ; other de-
scriptions nominally at 353 9d to 37s Id per qr.

242

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

From Riga it is Stated that the crops of wheat in the
interior having been favourable, supplies will be
coming forward for export the ensuing season ; but
that the culture of wheat in Courland had been much
diminished, and the stock was not calculated to ex-
ceed 30,000 qrs. The exports to America had com-
prised 1,930 lasts of wheat, and of rye i^,720 lasts.
Of crushing linseed the exports the past year had
exceeded those of 1835, by 90,000 barrels, England
having received more than half of the total shipments.
Wheat was noted at 31s 8d ; crushing linseed, 38s
7d to 40s 7d. At Konigsberg the trade was dull,
with a limited extent of business transacting. The
communications with the interior were much im-
peded by bad roads and the want of snow, when the
obstacles were removed a plentiful supply of grain
was expected.

At Memel, there are stated to be several parcels of
linseed in warehouse ; and in the interior of Poland
considerable stocks, owing to the early frost in No-
vember having suddenly closed the river navigation,
and suspended purchases ; good crushing quality is
quoted at 45s ; and good seed might be contracted
for in Poland at 40s. The wheat trade had become
much depressed by the continued dull accounts from
England, speculators having for some time buoyed
up their hopes that the decline in our markets was
only temporary ; but until positive oifers are made,
it is difficult to ascertain at what rates purchases
might be made, as in the small towns and among the
landholders, there is during the winter season a
great want of money, which facilitates materially im-
mediate purchases. High mixed Volhyuian wheat
of 61 to 6!<ilbs was nominally quoted at 37s to 38s.

At Danzig the latest accounts intimate that the
thaw had set in, and as soon as the navigation of the
Vistula had recommenced, large supplies were ex-
pected from Poland. Some sales of high mixed
wheat had been making for Scotch account at 35s to
37s. Rye remained at 18s to 18s 6d per qr, and for
delivery in May and June, 17s 6d to I8s. Flour,
first quality, 24s per brl. Biscuits, A, 12s per cwt.
At Stett'n good Silesian Wheat was to be obtained
at 30s to 3ls ; but UKermark qualities were difficult
to procure, as farmers were obtaining better prices
at Berlin for the consumption. Peas, 24s. Oder-
bruck Barley, 193. Vessels were readily to be ob-
tained, but it was feared Danzig Houses would offer
high freights to induce them to load at their port.
The frost still continued. At Rostock prices of
Wheat had receded to 32s and 33s, and orders exe-
cuting at these rates. Rye, 21s to 22s ; Barley, 19s
to 20s ; freights to London, 4s 3d to 4s 6d per qr ;
Liverpool, 4s 9d, New York, lOs.

At Lubeck and Kiel, prices of Wheat were ex-
tremely firm at 32s for best Holstein quality, owing
to the sanguine opinion in favour of the article on
the part of many speculators and farmers ; the latter
of whom having now paid their rents, are not anxious
to quit. Several purchases had been previously
made on Liverpool account at from 32s to 33s 6d,
and the favourable reports from America combined

to keep up the currencies ; barley, 19s to 19s 6d ;
no new oats to be had, being used for feeding; rape-
seed, 27/ to 28^ free on board. At Hamburg, the
navigation of the Elbe being again free, more busi-
ness was being transacted ; several parcels of old
Upland, Brunswick, Marks, and Saale qualities of
wheat had been taken for export, and grinding into
flour for shipment at rather improving prices, and
purchases of new had been made at fully former
rates. New Marks wheat of 6llbs had sold at 36s,
and fine old at 40s ; but with part of the purchase-
money advanced it was expected that good qualities
would be even obtainable at 35s 6d to 35s 8d per qr.
Saale barley had been sold at 20s for English account-
Large tares were offering at 30s per qr. Danish,
20s 6d to 21s 6d per qr.

At Rotterdam the receipts of Wheat having been
considerable prices had given way Is pet qr ; fine
old Zealand had obtained 37s to 39s j new, 27s to
34s ; red Rhenish, 61 to 621bs, 35s, for shipment to
America, but at these prices more sellers were coming
forward than purchasers. Oats inquired after, and
good Polands of 411bs had realized 16s 6d. Tick
beans, 20s to 22s.

Letters, dated New York, 2nd Feb. state that
the flour market was extremely dull at the ad-
vanced rates of 11 dollars 87§ cents to 12 dollars
per brl for Western Canal brands, and could
be only realized in small parcels for imme-
diate consumption. German red wheat con-
tinued selling at 2 dollars 12^ cents, and Dan-
zig at the same terms. No rye at market, and 1
dollar 50 cents still quoted. Cloverseed, fine, 12 to
12^ cent per lbs. Flaxseed much cheaper. At Bal-
timore, notwithstanding the extent of the imports a
free sale was being experienced for foreign wheats
at even improving prices. Some parcels realising 2
dollars 15 cents and a fine cargo of Konigsberg
wheat of 2,300 qrs, brought 2 dollars 22 cents, and
extra fine white 2 dollars 25 cents. Howard Street
Flour was rather dearer, having brought 10 dollars
75 cents ; European rye had been sold as high as 1
dollar 50 to 70 cents. No Maryland wheat offering.
At New Orleans prices had materially declined, and
superfine flour bought a week before at 12 dollars to
12 dollars 50 cents was to be obtained at 9 dollars
50 cents to 10 dollars per brl.

CURRENCY PER IMPERIAI. MEASURE.

BRITISH. Feb. 1. March 1.

Wlicat, red, Essex, Kdit, Suffolk 60 10 62 69 to 62

White 52 64 62 66

Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire... 40 66 40 68

White, do. do 46 60 46 62

West Country Red — — — —

White, ditto — — — —

Northumberland and Berwickshire Red — — 52 56

White.ditto — — 52 56

Irish Red — — 48 SO

DittoWhite — — 60 62

Barley, Malting, new 35 39 35 38

Chevalier, new .38 41 37 40

Distilling 31 35 31 34

Grinding 27 30 26 28

Irish 24 30 24 28

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

243

Feb.], March].

s. s. s. s,

.Malt, Brown 47 S2 46 50

Ditto, Cbevalier 61 62 60 61

Ditto, Norfolk and Suffolk Pale 54 60 54 59

Ditto Ware 69 61 58 60

Peas, Hog and Grey 34 36 32 35

Maple 36 36 32 35

White Boilers 38 41 36 38

Beans, sniiill •10 46 40 42

Harrow 41 44 38 40

Ticks 38 42 36 38

Mazasan 36 40 34 38

Oats, ExGLisH feed 25 Od 28 23 2/

Short small 27 29 26 SO

Polan.i , 28 30 27 30

Scotch, Common 23 28 23 29

Berwick, &e 28 SO 25 30

Potatoe, &c. ., 29 31 26 3')

Irish. Feed 173 Od to 26s Od 12s0dto23s0d

Ditto Potatoe 21s Od 27s Od 203 Od 2Ss Od

Ditto Black ISs Od 25s Od 1/3 Od 24s Od

PRICES OF FLOUR,

Per Sack of 280 lbs. Feb. 1. March 1.

s. s. s. s.

Town-made 50 to 55 48to55

Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent, and Essex 43 46 43 44

Sussex and Hampshire 42 45 42 43

Superfine 46 — 44 —

Lincolnshire, Y.rkshire, and St >ckton. 41 45 41 43

Northumberland, Berwick, and Scotch. 42 44 42 43

Irish 42 48 42 45

Extra 50 — 47 —

An Account of tbe Quantity of Grain and Flour
imported into the United Kingdom during tbe
month ending the 5th Feb., 1836 ; the Quantity on
which the Duty has been paid for Home Consump-
tion, and the quantity remaining in Warehouse

Wheat,
qrs.
Quantity imported. .. . 4,831
Do. entered for home

consumption 1,934

Do. remaining in ware-
house 578,828

Peas,
qrs.
Quantity iuiporte i ... . 12,655
Do. entered for home

consumption 13,896

Do. remaining in ware-
house 2,166

Barley. I Oats
qrs.
18,341

1,934

5,537
Beans,
qrs.
7,64 6

H,581

457

qrs.
14,279

11,363

216,953

Maize.

qrs.

117

117

18

Rye.

qrs.
3,830

10,595

5S
Flour,
cwts.
11,039

194

174,258

IMPERIAL AVERAGES.

59 0
59 6

i^'HekiMiiliiig
6th Jan.
13th "
20lh "
27th "
3rd Feb,
10th '■
AsiiresiiteAveniife
f'f the six weeki-
whiih regulates

the duty

Duties payable in
London till Wed-
nesday next incln-
sive, and at the
Outports till the
arrival of the Mail
of that day from

Dondon

Do. on giiiin from
British possessions
out of Europe ....
Foreign Flour, 17s 3d per
3s 1

Wheat

56

58

28 8

5 0

Barlev

35 9

36 1
36 0
36 11
35 2
34 2

35 6

(>.it>

24 11

24 6

2t 3

24 2

24 4

23 10

24 4

0 G
19Glbs. Britis
erl96 lbs.

Ry.

44 6

38 9
41 10
II
41

S 0

41 0
41 6

"eas.

40 4

40 7

39 6

39 3

38 7

■17 9

39 4

0 6

3 0

0 6
1 Possessions do,

PRICES OF SEEDS.
Feb. 23.
The supplies of Cloverseed from abroad, without be-
ing large, are still liberal, and contribute in keeping the
trade m Foreign qualities dull. From Hull we have
received coastways 43 casks and 123 bags, from Rotter-

dam 40 bales ; Havre 295 bags ; Antwerp, 24 do ;
Trieste, 48 casks. The fresh samples of English were
moderate, and though there were several parties from
the country at inarket, yet the actual business
transacting was limited, and no demand for the
moment being experienced from Ireland, prices of red
sustained no improvement, while white samples hung
ori hand with a tendency in quotations to recede. Tre-
foil extremely dull. Linseed meets little attention,
though to be obtained on lower terms. Rapeseed
quite nominal. Fine Coriander is scarce, and fully
as dear ; in other qualities little doing. Caraway
neglected. Canary is only saleable at lower terms,
say 38s to 40s, fine 42s to 43s. Mustard meets
occasional purchases at former prices, lares move
off at 6s for good samples, and large fine foreign
or English have obtained 9s. Rape Cakes steady. In
Linseed little doing. The supplies of foreign have been
limited and amount only to 76 tons of Linseed Cake
from Dunkirk.

VrOOIi MARKETS.

9
1 lOi
1 6

2

March 1.

. d. s. d

8 to 1 8;

1 bi
I 6
I 3
1 2
1 7
I 4

BRITISH.

February 1.
Per lb. s. d. s. d.

DownTeps 1 8 to I

Half-bred do 1

Ewes and Wethers 1

Leicester Hogg 1

Do. Wethers 1

Blanket Wool o

Flannel |

Skin Combing 1

EXETER, — The state of the money market, with us,
no where so completely developes itself as with reference
to this article, in which operations appear to be no longer
carried on in that broad and confidential way they were
vfont, but to be guided sold> by momentary necessity.
The pulsations consequently evince nothing like re-
gularity ; indeed, on the contrary, but too plainly give
evidence of something wrong in the system. The manu-
facturers complain of the great depression under which
they labour, and assert the necessity of proceeding with
circumspection and more than ordinary caution; as
also, that the difficulties in the way of obtaining any
thing like a fair return for piece goods has rarely ex-
ceeded what is experienced at present. Influenced then
in this way, the price of yolk wool has again receded ;
indeed, at the opening of the market, 12d per lb. was
the sum oflfered, nor from this were the usual frequenters
of it for purchase moved : in truth, some of them were
careless of purchase on those terms. As the afternoon,
however, progessed, an agent from the South made his
appearance, and offered 12Jd ; yet, still, little business
was done, and we have to quote yolk wool from 12d to
12§dperlb. Washed wool also, is gone back tol5d; and
Dorset horn to 16d per lb. In sorts, things are extremely
dull ; indeed, it is not easy to tempt to business, and we
have to quote Kent head from ll^d to llfd; red,
green, and pinions, 12^d to 12|d ; fell combing, 14id
to I4fd; fine head, 14|(l to IS^d ; Cornish stripe,
16d ; North Devon stripe, 16|d to 16*d ; tops, (river
washed), 20d to 20^d ; ditto, (soap washed,) 20Jd to
21d per lb.

WAKEFIELD, Feb. 17.— We have again to report
an exceedingly dull sale for Wool, and what few sales
have been made of both long and short Wool are at
about M per lb below the prices that were realized a
month ago*

MODBURY, Feb. 14,— Wool was on the decline and
few buyers on the market, it made from 12^d to 12fd
per lb.

PODBROOK, Feb. 15.— Wool was also on the de-
cline and very few purchasers in attendance, it made at
from 12id to 12fd per lb.

LIVERPOOL.
Week ending February 20.
English Wools, in which there has been very little
doing, may be bought on more advantageous terms than

244

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

formerly ; short wools may be quoted at ^d, and comb-
ing- wools jd to Id per lb lower. The demand for every
description of English wools has of late been extremely
meagre.

Current prices per lb. — Down ewes and wethers, 18d
to 19d ; Down tegs, IQ^d to 20^ ; combing- fleece, 18d
to 19d ; combing skin, 17d to 19d; super skin, 17d
to 19d; head skin, 15^d to 16Jd.

Scotch Wool. — We have to notice a very dull week
in Cheviot, cross and white Highland wools. The tran-
sactions have been very trifling, and prices barely sup-
ported. In laid Highland about an average business
has been done, and prices continue firm.

perstoneof 241bs.
Laid Highland Wool, from 12s 6d to 13s Od

Wliite do. do I5s Od 16s Od

Laid Crossed do 15s Od 16s Od

Washed do. do 16s Od l/s Od

r.aidCbeviot do 18s Od 20s Od

Washeddo. do 26s Od 28s Od

White do. do 32s Od 36s Od

fmport for tlie week 60 bags.

Previously this year 868 do.

Irish Wools have been iu ratlier more request during
the present week than for some time previously. One
large parcel, containing- a proportion of hog, was bought
a day or two back at ISId, which in the existing
state of the market, may be considered a fair price.
Some small lots of Irish combing have been sold at
16^d,

Current prices per lb. — Irish fleece, mixed lots,
18d to 19d ; Irish wethers, IBd to IS^d; Irish hogs,
18|d to IQ^d ; Irish combing skin, 15d to 16d ; Irish
short skm, 13d to 16d. Imports this week, 85 bags ;
previously this year, 342 bags.

Foreign Wools have been bought with some free-
dom during the week. On Monday 100 bales of Italian
were sold at 9d. The stock of foreign wool here is large;
and it has been considerably increased by a recent arri-
val, the Elizabeth, from Sydney. A i)ublic sale will,
probably, take place in the course of a week or two, the
announcement of which will be made immediately. Un-
til then, there will be little, if any, business transacted
by private hand, as parties wishing to buy will reserve
themselves for that occasion.

Current prices per lb. — Russian wool, 8d to 9d ;
Odessa, fine, Is 9d to 3s 3d ; Buenos Ayres, 4d to 5d ;
Mogadore and Barbary, 4d to 6d ; washed Peruvian,
12dtol4d; unwashed ditto, 9d to lOd ; Portugal R.,
Is 4d to Is 6d ; ditto, low marks, ll^d to Is l|d;
German fleeces, 2s to 2s 3d ; ditto assorted, 2s 3d to
3s 6d ; ditto lambs, 2s 3d to 3s 3d ; Spanish R, 2s 3d to
2s 6d ; ditto E S, 2s to 2s 2d ; New South Wales, 2s to
23 9d. Imports this week, 654 bales ; previously this
year, 3,219 bales.

SCOTCH.
Per stone of 24 lbs. KebruAry 1. March 1.

s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d.

Laid Highland Wool, from, 12 6tol3 0 12 6tol3 0

White Do. Do 15 0 16 0 15 0 16 0

Laid Crossed Do 16 0 16 0 15 0 16 0

Washed Do. Do 16 0 17 0 16 0 17 0

Laid Cheviots 18 0 20 0 18 0 20 0

Washed Do 26 0 28 0 26 0 28 0

White Do 32 0 36 0 32 0 36 0

FOREIGN.

Feb. 20.

The past week's supplies have consisted of 200 bales
from Spain ; 280 do from Germany ; and 120 do from
the Cape of Good Hope. Since the conclusion of the
late sales, the prices of wool have shown a disposition to
decline, chiefly on account of the scarcity of money.
Most of the provincial markets are, at this time, heavily
stocked with woollen goods, and a general dulness is
complained of. A general depression of about 2d per
lb has been submitted to. Private contract demand,
since day se'nnight, has been chiefly confined to a few
limited sales of German and Spanisli wools, at barely
the above-mentioned depression.

Electoral Saxony wool, from 4s 4d to 5s 4d ; first
Austrian, Bohemian, and other German wools, 2s 8d to
4s ; second do., 2s to 2s 6d ; inferior do. in locks

and pieces, Is 6d to 2s ; do. lamb's do., 2s 6d to 3s ;
Hungarian sheep's do., 2s to 2s 6d ; Leonesa
sheep's do., 2s 6d to 3s 2d ; Segovia do., 2s to 2s 4d ;
Soria do., 2s 2d to 3s; Caceres do., 2s 6d to 3s;
Spanish lamb's wool, is 6d to 2s 6d ; German and
Spanish cross do., 2s 2d to 3s 4d ; Portugal sheep's
do., 2s 4d to 2s lOd ; do. lamb's do., la 2d to 2s 6d;
Australian, fine crossed do., 2s 4d to 3s 6d; do. native
sheep's do., is 6d to 2s 6d ; Van Diemen's Land native
sheep's do., Is 6d to 2s 6d; Cape of Good Hope do. Is
6d to3s.

REVIEW OF THE HOP TRADE,

FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY.

A considerable heaviness has prevailed in the Hop
market throughout the month, and prices have rather
declined, except for the very choicest descriptions. This
market has been seriously acted upon by the difficulty
experienced by the merchants and dealers in obtaining
cash, and a discount for their acceptances in trade.
Many of the planters, still holding their growths, will
sell for cash only : the factors find much difliculty in
eft«cting sales, the demand being very limited, pi-inci-
pally occasioned by the general scarcity of money.

The low quotations of prices, and the wet state of the
land, which must be injurious to the plant, has induced
some few speculators to come on the market ; and, un-
less the weather changes soon for the better, it is most
probable their operations will be attended with success,
by an advance of prices.

PRESENT PRICES.

£. «. £. s. £. s.

East Kent Pockets 4 10— 5 5 fine 6 15

Bags 4 4 — 4 15 — 5 12

Mid Kent Pockets 4 2— 4 15— 6 6

Bags 3 10 — 4 10 — 5 12

Weald of Kent Pockets 3 10 — 4 10 — 5 10

Sussex Pockets 3 10 — 4 4 — 4 15

Yearlings 2 10 — 33 — 44

Old olds 1 1— 110 — 2 2

N. B. The growers of Kent applied to Mr. Hodges,
their County Member, to get the first instalment of
duty upon last year's growth (which is usually payable
in March) put off", till a more convenient period. This
gentleman, jointly with the trade made application to
that effect, and succeeded in getting the duty deferred
till the 1st May next, which is a considerable relief to
the planters, who have not succeeded in selling their
hops.

POTATOE MARKET.

SOUTHWARK, Waterside, Feb. 20.— A change
of wind having taken place, several of the expected
cargoes of potatoes have been received ; from York-
shire about 1,500 tons ; Scotland, 300 do. ; Devon-
shire, 800 do. ; Essex and Kent, 300 do. ; and from
Guernsey and Jersey, 600 do. ; but none from Ireland.
The limited receipts of Yorkshire and Scotch reds
which have latterly come to hand, causes the demand
for these qualities to continue tolerably good, Devon-
shire parcels, however, being taken at 10s per ton less
money than this day se'nnight. Some buyers are, how-
ever, still holding off in anticipation of a reduction in
the currencies, and as the consumption is materially
influenced by the weather at this season of the year,
we are likely with a mild temperature to see lower
rates by 10s per ton, as soon as the immediate demand
has been met.

Per ton or 40 bushels.

Yorkshire reds 90s to 100s | Es'ex Whites 80s 90s

Scotch do SOs 908 Jersey&Guern. blue 65s 90s

Dftvonshiredo 96s 100s Do. whites — s SOs

Kidneys — s 100s | Kent Kidneys — s SOs

American natives... — s 90s | Chats 40s SOs

Printed by Joseph Rogerson, 24, Norfolk Street, Strand,
London.

Jh

THE FARMER^S MAGAZINE.

APRIL, 1837.

No. 4.]

[Vol. VI.

THE PLATE.

The animal which forms the subject of the Plate is of the mixed breed, being a
cross between the Angus and short-horn. It was the property of Mr. A. Dalgairns,
of Ingliston, Scotland ; was exhibited by him at the Highland and Agricultural
Society's Shew, at Perth, in October last ; and obtained a premium as being " the
best fat ox of any breed, pure or cross, except the short-horn ;" calved after 1st
January, 1832.

SYSTEM OF CULTIVATING THE
MANGEL WURZEL, AS PRACTISED
ON THE FARM OF PRESTON
MAINS, IN EAST LOTHIAN.

BY G. KIRK, RESIDING AT PRESTON MAINS, N. B-

From the circumstance of the mangel wurzel
having been under cultivation in this country for
a great number of years, and its properties so well,
and so generally, understood, it will be no news to
the great majority of farmers of the present day to
be told, that it is a vegetable possessed of qualities
of the greatest utility to every one, at all interested
in the management of live stock, but more espe-
cially so to the dairy farmer, as its laxative ten-
dency will in all probability prevent its being ex-
tensively used in the fattening of live stock ; but
although a vast proportion of the agricultural
couimunity may have been made aware of its qua-
lities, through the medium of the agricultural and
other periodicals of the day, which now daily ema-
nate from every city in the empire, and carry to
every corner of the land a knowledge of the arts
and usages of civilized life, and steadily dissemi-
nate that seed, the fruit of which will at no distant
day be reaped, in the shape of a universally civi-
lized intellectual Britain ; yet it may be, that a
knowledge of the most pioi)er way of cultivating
it, is not so generally diffused. Be it our task then
to supply this information.

Before entering more immediately upon a de-
scription of its tillage, it may be proper to remark,
that the mangel wurzel seems to thrive best, and
to attain the greatest degree of perfection on that
description of soil, generally known in Scotland
as '■ 'good turnip land" ; that is, a rich mellow
loam ; soils of an extremely cohesive or light de-
scription, are unfit for this root ; but, good crops
have, nevertheless, been raised on soils of medium

quality, but it is in general grown on the superior
portions of the faini.

The soil on which this sort is intended to be cul-
tivated, should be turned over if the season
admit, towai'ds the conclusion of autitmn, or as
early in winter as possible, in order that the soil
may be subjected fov a? long a period as possible,
to the subduing influence of winter frost. About
the end of April, or beginning of May, prepara-
tions should be made for seed time, the seed being
in general put in about the middle of the month ;
and, here no expense should be spared, and no ef-
fort unexerted, by repeated ploughing, harrowing,
rolling, and hand-picking, to effect a complete-
pulverization of the soil, and a thorough eradica-
tion of root weeds, as the fate of the future crop,
in a great measure, depends on the perfect per-
formance of these processes.

Alter the soil has been completely pulverized and
cleaned, the drills or ridgelets are di-awn off by a
double turn of the plough, or what in farming
phraseology is styled a " bout", to about 27 in-
ches apart. The manure (which is administered
to this, in a somewhat greater proportion than to
the generality of green crops) is then carted in,
and spread by boys or women in the intervals of
the drills, and covered in by reversing the ridge-
lets. The common turnip-sowing machine (the
hind roller being tied up or removed) is then sent
over the drills, the spouts of which make a slight
excavation in their centre, which serves as a guide
to the planters, who having received a quantity of
seed, which is carried in an apron or bag sus-
pended before them, proceed as follows: being
provided witii a piece of wood ten inches in length,
which is the distance generally kept between the
plants in the drills, and which is placed in the ex-
cavation made by the spouts of the turnip-sowing
machine, three of what are generally called seeds
are placed at both its ends in the ground, by press-
ing them down with the finger or thumb, but (fe

s

246

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

facto, what is generally called a seed, is just a clus-
ter of capsules or seed-vessels, each containing
one seed, and each enveloped with its particular
calyx or flower cup ; to this circumstance in a great
measure is to be attributed, the frequent failures
of this crop, moisture being precluded from reach-
ing the seed, on account of the hardness of the
calyx or capsule, and for this reason, seeds should
never he placed more thanone inch belotv the surface,
in order that they may have the full benefit of the
midnight dews, and genial showers of early sum-
mer. When placed in the ground, as already de-
scribed, the piece of wood is pushed forward, un-
til the end next the planter is immediately above
the seeds last planted, and a similar number of
seeds are put in at the further end, and so on till
the process of planting is completed, after which
the land should receive a slight rolling to level
and consolidate the drills. After the pjants have
been about four weeks above ground, they
should be singled out with the hand, in which
case the strongest plants should be left in the soil,
and the weaker ones removed, and blanks (should
any appear) may be made up with the extra plants. ;
and during the season the intervals betv/een the
drills and plants should be carefully kept free from
weeds, by repeated horse and hand-hoeing.*, till
the leaves of the plants begin to approximate in
the drills, and to form a leafy canopy over the in-
tervening space, after which they will of them-
selves, by intercepting the light, effectually exclude
all rival vegetation : and, before leaving this part
of our subject, we beg to impress the farmer with
a sense of the necessity of his performing these
hoeings, whenever weeds ajipear, a? the condition
of the crop of mangel wurzel, and the wheat one
by which it is in general followed, in a great
measure depend on their frequent and effectual
execution ; for every farmer must know, that by
frequent stirrings of the soil, and by extirpating
weeds, the growth of plants is promoted in a great
degree, for by keeping the soil around plants in a
loose state, we increase as it were the sphere of
action of their roots, and thereby enable them to
obtain their food in greater quantity, and by ex-
tirpating tlie natural occupants of the earth", we
give the cultivated crop the benefit of that nourish-
ment, which would fall to support the sponta-
neous products of the soil ; in consonance with
this theory, we invariably find, that crops growing
on a soil which is kept free from weeds, and well
wrought, are always superior to those which may
be placed in opposite circumstances. But to return
from this digression.

When arrived at maturity, which in ordinary
seasons will be about the end of October, the leaves
should be cut off as close to the body of the root
as possible, without touching the body of the root
itself, as if the part from which the leaves shoot
out be entirely removed and the root laid bare, a
night's frost will entirely ruin the crop ; making
an incision into the body of the root, therefore,
should be studiously guarded against. But pre-
viously to removing the leaves altogether, the
lower ones for a considerable time previous to re-
moving the crop from the ground, may be wrenched
off with the hand, and given to cows in the house ;
and here, a great benefit is derived from the mangel
wurzel coming in at that period, when the chil'-
ness of evening usually renders it necessary to
house milch cows for the night, for which (and
the same description applies to the roots) they
form a superior species of food, as they increase
the milk, without imparting to it that acid taste

which turnips do, and when at last it becomes ne-
cessary to remove the leaves of the whole crop,
with a view of having the roots stored, they may
be carted home, and deposited in any convenient
spot out of doors, and in this state, unprotected
from storms, they will keep without sustaining
any material injury for weeks, nay months, and
arc devoured to the last by milch cows, even when
almost putrid, with the greatest avidity. We think
it right to warn the farmer against beginning too
early to remove the leaves, as we have invariably
found that the roots never increase in size after
the bulk of their leaves are removed.

We come now to the consideration of a very im-
portant portion of our subject, and that is the
manner oF preserving the roots throughout the
winter ; and for this purpose the longitudinal form
of the mangel wurzel, affords considerable facili-
ties. The system of storing uniformly practised
by us, is much the same as that pursued by gar-
deners in the storing of carrots. We form them
into huge heajis, about six feet wide at bottom,
gradually tapering as they ascend, till a width of
from two to three feet is attained at top and a
height of fi ve, and the heaps of course made of any
convenient length. Perhaps, the following figure
will convey a better idea ot the shape of the heaps,
than the most laboured verbal description.

After the heap is finished, it is thatched with
straw to about six inches in thickness, and roped
down, which is found sufficient to prevent injury
from the severest frost, and to preserve the roots
fresh and JLUcy, till an advanced period of the sum-
mer season. We have likewise stored them in
houses, and have found this system to answer
equally as well as the first ; but when stored in
any quantity in-doors, the heap should be inter-
sected with air passages (which are easily formed
with the roots themselves) to prevent heating.

As hinted in a preceding paragraph of this paper
the mangel wurzel has a tendency when given in
any considerable quantity, to produce laxity in
cattle : in using it, therefore, in the fattening of
live stock, we studiously avoid giving in large
quantities or by itself; and, aware that cattle after
accustomed to it will forsake every other descrip-
tion of food for its sake, it is never allowed them
till the spring months, and they are well nigh fit
for the shambles ; it is then given in conjunction
with one or other of the common varieties of tur-
nip, and we have invariably witnessed a rapid im-
provement in the condition of the animals after re-
ceiving it; and so fond do they appear of it, that,
although mixed indiscriminately with other de-
scriptions of food, it is carefully picked out, and
when given at stated periods, they seem to be
aware either through instinct, or by the cravings
of appetite, of the arrival of the period of feeding,
and invariably at the wonted time, collect in a
group and fix and eager, anxious gaze, on the spot
from whence they expect to be supplied with their
darling sustenance.

But it is chiefly as food for dairy cows that
the mangel wurzel is adapted, and as such is supe-
rior to every other description of winter food, of
which we are aware. It is a material point with
the dairy farmer, to procure food for his cows that
will not impart acidity to the milk ; and mangel
wurzel is the only succulent winter vegetable,
which possesses this quality, and doing so consti-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

247

tutes a most valuable species of food for cows at
that season when succulent food possessing the
above very essential quality can never be obtained.
The foregoing remarks being a description
of a system of cultivating the mangel wurzel, and
using it as food for live stock, which has been at-
tended with eminent success, we can confidently
submit them to be acted on by all who feel desirous
of cultivating this valuable vegetable.

HILLYARDS PRACTICAL FARMING.

It has often been a source of regret to us, that
so few publications upon agricultural subjects ap-
peared from the pens of practical agriculturists.
When tliti hrst edition of Mr. Hillyard's " Prac-
tical Farming" was announced, we hailed it with
much satisfaction. A perusal convinced us that
our anticipations were by no means too sanguine.
We have now lying before us a second edition of
that vakiable little work, which we can recommend
to our agricultural readers as a work purely prac-
tical. The reputation of the author as a practical
farmer and grazier is highly appreciated in his
own county, (Northamptonshire) and he is well
known to all tlie leading agriculturists in the king-
dom. As the New Poor Laws form the subject of
such fierce discussion at the present moment, we
cannot do better tlian give an extract, setting forth
Mr. Hillyard's views on the effect of that measure.

If landlords would request their tenants to take
farming men and boys into their families as they for-
merly used, it would bring up the rising generation of
the peasantry to more orderly habits., and in a very
great degree prevent that great sourcs of evil amongst
them, improvident early marriagts. The youth ®f agri-
cultural parishes have of late years been under no con-
troul after six o'clock in the evening ; consequently
from an unrestricted intercourse with the young fe-
males of the parish, the greater part of them have
been obliged to marry ; and thus, in the agricultural
population, the chief part of the marriages, of late
years, has not been of men and women, but of boys and
girls, who, relying on their parish funds, never had one
thought how themselves, and the children they might
have -were to be maintained. The Poor Law Amend-
ment Act, which, in its operation has exceeded the
most sanguine expectations, will greatly correct this
evil, without pressing in any mannerhard on the really
indigent poor. The poor-rates of the populous agri-
cultural parish in which I reside, have been reduced
nearly one-half. My opinions on poor laws are the
same I publicly expressed more than twenty years
ago : whieh were, that all persons in the kingdom who
possessed property should he answerable to those who
had none ; that if, from age or infirmity, they were in-
capable oif working for their .livelihood, they should
have relief from their parishes ; and that those who
were capable — if they could satisfy the overseers that
it had not been in their power to procure work — their
parish should he bound to find it for them, or to give
them such relief as would keep them from starving ;
that if the laws did not afford them this protection,
they could not be justly called upon to uphold the laws
by serving in the militia, or in any other manner. The
act of Elizabeth gave them this protection. The
Poor Law Amendment Act has not in any way les-
sened it ; its enactment was only for the purpose of
correcting the abuses which had crept into the poor
laws, ancl thus preventing idle and improvident la-
bourers from being as well off as" the hard-working and
provident. So ill-managed have been the affairs of the
parish I reside in, that, in some parts of the year,

from five, to fifteen, or more, pounds weekly, have been
paid to labourers doing no work whatever ; for whe-
ther they had, or had not, endeavoured to obtain work,
they had only to go to the Assistant Overseer by seven
o'clock in ths morning, to have their names entered,
to receive the Justices' allowance for labourers out of
employ. Many, therefore, who seldom worked but
when they could get high wages by working by the
great, had more money coming in, during the course of
the year than those who worked every day.

Previous to the Poor Law Amendment Act, I was
a strenuous advocate for the labour rate system, which
appears not now needed, but possibly may be when all
the contemplated public works are executed, and the
demand for labour lessened, or should a case like the
following occur. The time may probably come, although
at a distant period, that in some long frost, large
bodies of agricultural labourers, of different parishes
may apply to their respective boards of Guardians for
employment or relief. It would therefore be advisa-
hle previously to deliberate on what it would be riarht
to do in such a case, instead of leaving the cansidera-
tion of it to the emergency of the occasion, when it is
doubtful whether the wisest measures would be adopt-
ed ; besides which, each hoard might be liable to act
differently.

Men who have been receiving more than ordinary
wages, ought, we know, to have put by enough to pro-
vide themselves and their families with necessaries for
for any short time that they may be out of work ; but
should they not have been so provident as they ought
to have been, means must be provided to keep them
from starving. The best arrangement that could be
made on such an occasion, Avould be for the occupiers
of the land of the different parishes, each to take into
his (employ perhaps at something under the wages that
he gives to his other men,) his share of those men be-
longing to the parish, according to the number of acres
of his farm. But this, probably, in most cases, would
not be agreed to, many occupiers never having, in the
short days of winter, one labourer more than they can
possibly do without, whiht others employ the same
number throughout the year, those having their full
share of the labourers of the parish, would not be will-
ing to increase their number.

It seems to be thought that out-door relief to able-
bodied labourers should no longer be given ; but it
surely never could have been contemplated to put such
a number of them as I have alluded to, in the work-
house, from a temporary want of employment. From
the distance that some would have to go, they could
not be set to work, all at the same place, under the su-
perintendence of a person appointed by the board of
Guardians. Nor could those belonging to Moulton
(and probably in other parishes), b3 employed in rais-
ing stones and repairing the parish roads, for there are
always in winter many more so employed than are ne-
cessary, consisting of mea beyond the age of what is
called able-bodied. Were the board of Guardians au-
thorized to allow, for the necessary time, the establish-
ment of the labour rate, every man would get into em-
ployment at such wages as his labour was worth.

I am a Guardian in one of the Unions in this county,
and can bear testimony to the extraordinary well work-
ing of the Poor Law Amendment Act. When attend-
ing the meetings it has often struck my mind with sur-
prise, that the act should, without the necessity of al-
teration, appear fully to meet most of the various cases
brought before us, and I can, as a practical farmer,
contradict in the most positive terms, the assertion
that has so often been made, that it tends to lessen the
wages of agricultural labouiers. This is only one of
the many unfounded assertions against the measure.
Such affirmations it is easy to make, but, though they
have no foundation in fact, it is not so easy to remove
the impressions they may have made on the minds of
those who are not thoroughly acquainted with the sub-
ject. The decisions of a Board of Guardians are much
more likely to be respected by the applicants for reUef
than the decisions of a parish vestry ; they come with
greater authority, and from those who, it must be well

s 2

'48

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

known, cannot be biassed either by motives of parsi-
mony, or by feelings of personal favour or dislike to-
wards those who apply. The greater part of the ap-
plicants to justices for relief, where those least deserv-
ing of it. Such now well know that it will not answer
their purpose to go to a Board of Guardians with a
fabricated tale.

I cannot, as a guardian, see how a temporary system
of labour rate could interfere with any of the provisions
of the act, or could in any way be a clog to its well
working ; but believe it would be, as was said, a
" safety-valve" to the act.

In the Assistant Poor Law Commissioner's Report
of the progress and effects of the Poor Law Amend-
ment Act, in the county of Northampton, there is, in
a letter brought into the report, this assertion :—
" None but the occupiers of land could understand the
nuisance of roundsmen, and the labour rate system was
worse." I have to say, in answer, that none but the
occupiers of land in populous agricultural parishes, can
have a just idea of the difficulties and perplexities that
arose in the management of the poor before the passing
of the Amendment Act. I am free to admit that living
in a parish where it was necessary to establish the
labour rate was a nuisance ; but I must also say that
it was a certain remedy for one of the greatest nui-
sances that could exist in a parish ; that of having, as
Moulton had, always some, and at certain times of the
year as many as 40 men, paid out of the parish funds
without doing any work, at least without doing any for
the parish. I, in common with the other rate-payers,
should have considered that person sent as a blessing,
who could have instructed us how to put in practice
some better system than the labour-rate, to put these
men into work, and to be paid wages by their em-
ployers, instead of being paid out of the parish funds.
Had I conceived that so effective a measure as the
Poor Law Amendment Act was likely to be brought
mto practice, I should not have put mvself to such
trouble and expense as I did to further that object,
which I then conscientiously believed would render
most important servicFs to many populous agricultural
parishes. Besides going to London on purpose, when
the Labourers' Employment Bill was to be brought
forward, I had printed about a tkousand letters, which
I directed, and sent to members of both Houses of
Parliament. Although the labour rate system was
rejected in the House of Commons, from the mistaken
prevailing idea, that all plans of it mixed up relief with
wages, I have the gratification to find that all the time
and trouble I bestowed on it was not entirely thrown
away ; for I have received the thanks of a person, a
stranger to me, who, from having seen my plan of la-
bour rate, and thinking it preferable to all others, got
it established in a parish in which he occupied a large
farm, before the Poor Law Amendment Act came into
operation, and thus, he said, the amount of his poor-
rates was lessened nearly one-half. As his Grace the
Duke of Richmond, and many other noble lords of the
upper House, and Sir Charles Merrick Burrell, and
many honourable members of the lower House of Par-
liament, were most strenuous advocates for the lawful
esta-blishmefit of the system, during certain parts of
the year, I cannot refrain from making these remarks
on the assertion, that the system of roundsmen was a
great nuisance, but that the labour rate system was
worse.

None but those who have occupied land in populous
agricultural parishes, can be aware of the disagreeable
matters which used to be common at parish vestries ;
there being no uniformity of opinion, it was seldom
tnat a,nv thing effective was agreed on. and when there
was, It was only adhered to for a short time. Many
years of such vestry meetings have I attended in the
paiish of Moulton; often have I left them, regretting
that I had made a purchase in the parish. Such dis-
agreeable and ineffective meetings are now happily at
an end ; and, as few persons have for a greater length
or time, given themselves more trouble about their pa-
rish poor, few have greater reason to rejoice in the
a mendment of the poor laws.

REMARKS ON THE CAUSE OF FAIL-
URE IN THE POTATOE CROP.

TO THE FARMING SOCIETIES OF IRELAND.

Gentlemen, — Although much has been said and
written on the culture and failure of this most valua-
ble root, it does not appear that the evil complained
of has been rendered less extensive. I am, therefore,
after a careful investigation, induced to offer my re-
marks, with some confidence that they may prove
useful. From various circumstances, which I shall
state as I proceed, I am strongly impressed with the
idea, that over ripeness in the seed we plant is inju-
rious, and renders the crop more hazardous — for
good potatoes, in a perfectly ripe state, and when the
juices have been converted into flour, are more liable
to fail as seed than those that retain more moisture,
either from being- planted too late to come to matu-
rity, or from being taken up before perfectly ripe.
After maturity, the next change is an approach to
decay ; and although you take the potatoe from the
ground before it is rijie, may it not, like the pear, the
apple, or the orange, become so by keeping, and re-
main longer in a safe state for seed than if ripeness
liad been permitted to take place before taking up
tlie crop. We know that after potatoes are taken
from the ground, a great change takes place ; some
kinds are then good at the table, others thatare not
become so afterwards, and some are not good after a
certain period — this is a proof ot progressive change ;
and should this last arise from over-ripeness, I am
strongly disposed to conclude, that the vegetating-
power of the root is rendered more doubtful : and it
is reasonable to believe, that the mild temperature of
our winters, for some years past, has had an unfa-
vourable and jorcing influence on potatoes intended
for seed,, however carefully kept.

Many years ago I was well acquainted with an old
and very intelligent farmer, who was in the habit of
taking up his crop while the stalk and leaf wore per-
fectly green; and he assured me, that by this prac-
tice he had completely prevented the disease called
curl in his future crops : I believe it is generally ad-
mitted, that where this ])revails, it nearly amounts
to a failure.

I have myself frequently observed, that potatoes
not much larger than peas separated from the stem,
when digging the earliest crop in June, if left in the
ground and excluded from the air and winter frost,
will be good and sound seed the following spring; —
another proof that maturity or ripeness is only essen-
tial when required for wholesome food.

I observe in the Irish Farmers' Calendar, a valua-
ble work lately published by Edv^ard Burroughs,
Esq., the following remarii, in page 338 : — " I have
often dug out cups and apple potatoes when the
greater part of the stalks were green, but on examin-
ing the roots found the skin both firm and set, and
no bad consequences followed. I have had tliem
buried in a dry place the same day the crop was dug
out, and the potatoes were uniformly sweet and
sound, and kept in many instancas better than those
of my neighbours, which were not got out till the end
of November, although both crops were planted at
the same time." I have, in two different seasons, cut
down the potatoe stalks with the scythe, while they
were perfectly green, and carted them off for manure,
that I might sow wheat on the surface, and cover the
seed while digging up the crop. These potatoes
kept well, and, planted out the following years, pro-
duced crops without any appearance of failure. I
may also notice here, that the successful grower of
the potatoe prefers taking seed from late planted

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

249

crops, wbich are generally in a watery state ; or from
those that are g-rown on the hills, which from their
very exposed situation, and from being early cut oiF
by the first slight frost, seldom come to maturity, or
at least to perfect ripeness, but there is no doubt a
change of soil is also desirable. To insure a good
crop, the ground must be well prejjared, the drills
not too long exposed after being opened, before the
manure is put in, then plant as quickly as possible,
and cover up closely from the sun and air. I think
injury often arises from using fresh cuts in a dry
season; the moisture that should be retained to sup-
ply the bud is absorbed by the soil and air, and in
wet weather they will be most liable to rot. In either
of these extremes, the seed would certainly ba safer
if cut ten days or a fortnight before being planted, so
as to give time for a film or skin to cover the cut
surface ; this would be the nearest approach lo that
certainty that attends planting whole potatoes, which,
however, is objectionable, owing to the clusier of
stems, the quantity of small potatoes produced, and
the extra seed required. If it can be accomplished,
the potatoe should go into the ground with its first
vigorous buds ; but, owing to the lateness of plant-
ing, these are generally rubbed off, and it is allowed
to exhaust itself in the formation of new shoots, when
otherwise it would have been extending its fibres in
the ground. On a careful examination of the inside
of a potatoe that has been treated in this unnatural
way, and in an advanced stage of vegetation, there
will be found a quantity of fine fibres; these are
connected with the buds, and through tliem the sap
is drawn from the pulp to nourish the shoots, and if
the sap has been so far exhausted by repeated eflibrts,
as not to give an adequate supply until roots are
formed to take it from the ground, there will cer-
tainly be a failur 3 of the crop, or in other words, we
may say, the parent has failed in her supply of nou-
rishment before her offspring is prepared to help
itself, and to the food that is provided for in the soil.
On boiling the potatoe that has arrived at this stage,
the fibres will be easily discovered in the pulp, and
it will be found to have lost much of its original fla-
vour. The potatoe, however, may be said to have
performed all its functions, but under our bad treat-
ment we have rendered them abortive.

We should certainly act more wisely if we would
take the trouble of turning over all our potatoes
oftener than is usually done, and particularly those
intended for seed, which would retard the growth of
the buds considerably.

It cannot be doubted, that the infinite power and
wisdom that has given such beauty and order to the
animal and vegetable creation, has, to every species,
fixed a standard period of age, which may, in some
degree, be rendered shorter or longer by treatment,
and the eflPects of soil and climate ; and such as are
indigenous, or not foreign to the climate they are
placed in, will, in a state of nature, propagate their
kinds, and prevent extinction. This cannot be ex-
pected from the potatoe.

All our choice fruit trees are accidental varieties
procured from seed, and when the period of old age
arrives, in such as are propagated by ingrafting, it is
vain to expect to perpetuate them by removing a
portion of the aged tree to the most health)^ stalk —
we carry the infirmities of the old to the intended
young tree ; and ho v\ ever excellent the former may
have been, it can only be replaced by some of the
varieties obtained through persevering in experi-
ments from seed, when something resembling the
lost variety may be procured, or even a superior
kind may possibly be produced, but the same is not
to be found ; we may as well attempt to restore a

dead animal to life — an entirely new race must take
place.

The seed of the potatoe apple is the source from
which all the varieties of this root have been de-
rived ; and as many kinds have become extinct from
their cultivation being no longer profitable, may this
not be attributed to age .' Is it not reasonable to
conclude, that, as time advances, many of the kinds
now under cultivation have become degenerate from
this cause, combined with over-ripeness, rendering the
germinating principle so extremely delicate as to be
easily extinguished, and oily succeeding under some
favourable circumstances not easily accounted for,
while the same seed, probably under some slight at-
mospheric change, will prove a total failure.

1 sh dl now attempt, from the impression these
considerations have made on my mind, to account for
a partial failure from the same seed, that has, in
every respect, been treated in a uniform manner. We
know that a single stalk produces a number of pota-
toes ; some of these have arrived at nearly full size,
while there is a succession of others forming. Thereis
a difference of some weeks in the age of this family,
and all that are large enough are, if required, used
for seed ; those of the late growth containing most
moisture mav grow when the others fail from being
more fully matured. I ndmit that potatoes, in a
delicate and critical state, may keep better if nursed
all winter in the ground where they were grown, and
not deprived of any of the moisture, they would thus
retain, until planted out the following year, biit this
on many accounts will be found very inconvenient.

In consequence of these observations, I am in-
duced to believe also that much of the failure in our
crops may have been owing to continuing the culti-
vation of many of the old kinds beyond the period of
that health and vigour that is to be found in new
seedlings, and, under that impression, I commenced
in 1833 to raise new sorts from the seed of the pota-
toe-apple, which produced an almost endless variety
in form and colour; from these I havo carefully se-
lected such as proved very productive as a crop, and
were found good at the table. They have, in conse-
quence, been reduced to twenty-four varieties, in
none of which the least appearance of failure could
be observed, although I have, like my neighbours,
suffered in some of the old kinds forming my gene-
ral crop, and planted under similar circumstances.
Owing to the unavoidable delay in preparing my
ground last season, they were planted late with the
plough in a heavy soil, and were kept out in pits all
winter.

It is mv intention early next month to ofl^er about
500 bushels of these seedlings to the public, which
will be announced by advertisement, and I feel great
confidence that the introduction of so many new
kinds will prove valuable when dispersed over the
various soils of the country.

The potatoe crop is of such great importance to
this country, that every person who has the oppor-
tunity, from practice or observation, should be
prompt in contributing to our .stock of information,
and if any remarks have a tendency to clear up the
prevailing mystery, I shall consider myself highly
rewarded! ' EDMD. GRIMSHAW.

Mosslen, near Belfast, Feb. 24, 1837.

Extraordinary Monster. — There is now to be
seen at Uffington, nailed to a barn-door, an asto-
nishing instance of nature's vagaries, a little pig — or
rather two pigs— for it has two perfect bodies, eight legs,
and but one head, which was lately littered by a sow in
the possession of Mr. Elderkin.of Uffington. This lusus
natiim lived some hours after birth.

250

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

POOR LAWS— IRELAND.

(^Continued from page 172. J)
REPORT OF MR. NICHOLLS.

PART THE SECON'D.

34. The two points which I propose to consider
under this division of the subject nre of primary
importance, — the whole question of a j)oor law for
Ireland turning-, I think, upon the conclusions to
which they will lead.

These points are —

I. Whether the workhouso system can be safely
established in Ireland ; and if so, whether the work-
house can be there relied upon as a test of (destitu-
tion, and a measure of the relief to be afforded.

II Whether tlie means exist generally or partially
of forming- unions, and creating such a local ma-
chinery for their government, as has been established
iu the English unions under the provisions of the
Poor Law Amendment Act.

In my inquiries with reference to these two points,
in the several districts of Ireland through which I
passed, I endeavoured to exercise a care and vi-
gilance proportioned to the importance of the object.
I do not give — indeed I did not collect — detailed
evidence on these and the other questions referred
to me, a sufficienc}'^ of such evidence being already
accessible, in the appendices to the report of the late
commission of Irish poor inquiry, and your Lord-
ship having- required from me only practical con-
clusions, with a view to early legislation.
I. First, then, As to the establishment of a work-
house as a test of destitution, and a measure of
relief, in Ireland.

35. I entered upon this inquiry under great ap-
prehension that the workhouse -would be found to be
less efficient as a test in Ireland than experience has
proved it to be in England ; and that it would, pro-
bably, be there applicable to the ablebodied, in a li-
mited degree only, if applicable to them at all. This
impression had been somewhat weakened before
my departure from London, by inquiries among the
several workhouse-masters and parish-officers of
St. Giles, Whitechapel, Stepney, and Shadwell, in
each of which parishes great numbers of the Irish
reside. All these officers assured me, as the result
of their experience, that the Irish had just as much
dislike to the discipline and regularity of a workhouse
as the English, and would be as little likely to re-
main in the house if they could obtain the means of
support out of it. Notwithstanding these assurances,
however, I arrived in Ireland with considerable mis-
giving on this point;

36. I felt very doubtful also, I confess, whether
it would be practicable to control any considerable
number of the ablebodied in a workhouse, — -whether,
in fact, the proneness of the Irish peasantry to
outrage and insurbordination was not, as had often
been represented, such as would lead them to break
through all restraint, and probably demolish the build-
ing and commit other acts of violence. The pro-
b-ability of outrage thus occurring amongst a people
so excitable as the Irish, is strongly insisted upon
by the commissioners of inquiry in their report,
and the same argument was urged upon me by some
of the individuals with whom I communicated in
Dublin ; so that my apprehensions as to the appli-
cability of the workhouse system, as well as the
security of the workhouse itself, were rendered ex-
tremely sensitive when I commenced my investiga-
tions in Ireland .

37. I shortly found, however, in the progress of
my inquiries amongst men most competent from

experience to form a judgment, that there was no
real ground of apprehension, either as to the ap-
plicability and efficiency of the workhouse for the
purposes of relief, or as to any danger of resistance
to the establishment of such a system of disci-
pline within it, as should constitute it an adequate
test of destitution. Indeed, if relief be limited
to the house — if no outdoor relief whatever be al-
lowed— it evidently becomes the interest of parties
relieved, or seeking or expecting relief therein,
to protect the premises, not to destroy them,
by which they would, in fact, deprive themselves of
the only means of relief provided for them by
law. It is true that when congregated in large
numbers, and excited by whiskey, the Irish pe-a-
santry are prone to outrage and insubordination ;
but this is not their invariable, nore-.en their habitual
character. I speak on the testimony of experienced
w tnesses when I state that the Irish are easily
governed, and easily led ; and as in the workhouse
they would be free from the influence of ardent spirits
and other excitements, I anticipate no difficulty in
establishing an efficient system of discipline and
classification : and I consider, moreover, that
there will be little danger of injury to the premises,
or of violence against the functionaries.

38. In the several "houses of industry" estab-
lished iu Ireland, a strict separation of the sexes is
enforced, and a discipline more or less approxima-
ting to our workhouse discipline is established. No
spirits are admitted, but tobacco is generally allowed.
On the whole, however, there is enough in these in-
situtions to render them in some measure distaste-
ful, as places of partial restiaint, the inmates being-
subjected to privations calculated, perhaps, more
than any other, to excite them to resistance ; yet
from no governor of a house of industry could I
learn that resistance had ever been made to their
regulations, and a degree of surprise was even ex-
pressed at m}' tliinking it necessary to make such an
inquiry. I received the same opinion from the go-
vernors of gaols. In short, every man whom I con-
versed with, who had any knowledge or experience
of the habits of the people, declared that the pea-
santry are perfectly tractable, and never think of
opposing authority, unless stimul-ated by drink, or
u ged on by that species of combination for securing
the occupancy of land, which has become so common
in certain districts, and which is most generally
formed and acted upon under the influence of whis-
key. Neither of these influences are opposed to the
establishment of a workhouse, or the regulation of
its inmates ; all of whom will have sought refuge in
it voluntarily, and may quit it at any moment. Let
the condition on which the inmates are received into
the workhouse be clearly understood then, and I
think that there will be no resistance to the regula-
tions by which it is governed.

39. As regards the securit}^ of the workhouse,
therefore, and the establishment of a system of as
strict discipline as that maintained in our English
workhouses, I believe that there will be neither
danger nor difficulty. How far the workhouse, if
established, may be relied upon as test of destitution
and a measure of the reliefto be afforded, —how far it
will be effectual for the prevention of pauperism,
and for stimulating the people to exertion for their
own support, instead of seeking that support within
its walls, — how far, in short, the workhouse system,
which has been snfely and effectually applied to dis-
pauperizp England, may be applied with safety and
efficiency to prevent p-auperism in Ireland, is a ques-
tion now remaining for inquiry.

40. The governing principle of the workhouse

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251

system is this ; — That the support wJiich is afforded
at the public charge in the workliouse shall be, oa
the whole, less desirable than the support to be ob-
tained by independent exertion. To carry out this
principle to its full extent, it might seem, at first
sight to be necessary that the inmates of a work-
lioiise should be in all resf^ects worse situated, worse
clothed, worse lodged, and worse fed, than the inde-
pendent labourers of the district. In fact, however,
the inmates of our English workhouses are as well
clothed, and generally better lodged and better lod
than the agricultural labourer and his family ; yet
the irksomeness of the labour, discipline, and con-
finemement, and the privation of certain enjoyments
which the independent labourer possesses, produce
such disinclination to enter the workhouse, that ex-
perience warrants the fullest assurance that nothing
short of absolute necessity, of that necessity wliich
the law contemplates as the ground for affording
relief, will induce the able-bodied labourers to seek
refuge therein ; and tliat, if driven thither by their
necessities, they will quit it again as speedily as pos-
sible, and strive (generally with increased energy
and consequent success) to obtain their subsistence
by their own efforts.

41. This has been invariably the result in England,
and hf nee the conviction as to the perfect sufficiency
of the workhouse test. If the part}^ is actually and
unavoidably destitute, the workhouse affords relief
to his necessities ; if not absolutely destitute — if
sustenance is in any way attainable by his own eff"orts
— workhouse relief does not lessen the stimulus to
exertion in search of it ; and there are instances
without number of individuals so circumstanced
being successful in their endeavours, and thus se-
curing an independent support for themselves and
their families ; whereas, under the old system, they
would have become confirmed paupers ever after
dependent upon the parish for their daily subsist-
ence.

42. Let these facts be now applied to Ireland. It
would, perhaps, be in vain, even if it were desirable,
to seek to make the lodging, the clothing, the diet,
of the inmates of an Irish workhouse inferior to that
of the Irish peasantry. 1 he standard of their mode
of living is unhappily so low, that the establishment
of one still lower is difBcult, and would, I think,
under any circumstances, be inexpedient. In Ire-
land, then, there would not, I believe, be found this
security for the efficiency of the workhouse test,
which is in some, although in a very slight degree,
operative in England. There are countervailing
circumstances in favour of Ireland, however, which
appear to more than balance this circumstance, even
if it were weightier than it really is. The Irish are
naturally, or b}^ habit, a migrg,tory people, fond of
change, full of hope, eager f(>r experiment. Thej
have never been tied down to one confined spot, to
one limited settlement, as has been the case with the
English peasmtry. They have never been enervated
by a dependence upon a misapplied system of parish
relief. Rather than bear the discipline and the re-
strictions of a workhouse, the Irishman, if in posses-
sion of health and strength, would wander the world
over in search of employment. All the opinions
which I have collected from ])ersons most conversant
with the Irish character confirm this statement.
Confinement of any kind is more irksome to an Irish-
man than it is even to an Englishman. Hence,
although he might be lodged, fed, and clothed in a
workhouse better than be could lodge, feed, and
clothe himself by his own exertions, he will yet, like
the Englishman, never enter the workhoase, unless
driven there for refuge by actual necessity ; and he

will not then remain one moment longer than that
necessity exists.

43. The test of the workhouse is then, I think,
likely to be to the full as efficient in Ireland as expe-
rience proves it to have been in England ; and if
relief be there restricted to the workhouse, it w'U be
at once a test of destitution, and a measure of the
amount of the relief necessary to be afforded ; and
will serve to protect the administration of a legal
provision for the destitute poor in Ireland from those
evils and abuses which followed the establishment,
and led to the perversion of the old poor-laws in
England. In giving this as my deliberate opinion,
I assume that the country is to be formed into unions
as in England, and that each union is to be provided
with a workhouse, adequate to the circumstances and
wants of its population, and having a competent es-
tablishment of paid officers.

44. I hare spoken of the workhouse as a test of
destitution generally, without limiting its operation
to age, infirmity, or other circumstance ; for, inde-
pendently of the difficulty of discriminating between
those who may fairly beconsidered as aged and infirm,
and those v^ho are not — as well as certain other diffi-
culties, practical and theoretical, in the way of ma-
king any such distinction, I have found in the state
of Ireland no sufficient reason for departing from
the principle of the English poor-law, which rec og
nises destitution alone as the ground of relief, or for
establishing a distinction in the one country.which-
does not exist in the other. I propose, therefore,
to empower the presiding authority to admit the
claims of all alike, able-bodied as well as infirm,
young as well as old, male and female, to relief
within the workhouse, on the ground of actual desti-
tution, and I found gthis proposition, upon a careful
consideration of the present state of Ireland, as well
as upon the experience of poor-law administration
in England.

45. The discipline, mode of employment in, and
general management of the workhouses in Ireland,
should, I think, be as nearly as possible assimilated
to the practice in England. In one respect, hovv'-
ever, it will probably be found expedient to depart
somewhat from this. In England it has been found
that land, beyond an acre or two for a garden, is not
a desirable appendage to a workhouse. Out-door
labour on the land is not found to be so efficient for
workhouse purposes as the labour which may be
provided in the house, by means of hand corn-mills,
stone breaking, &c. Looking at the circumstances
of Ireland, however, and the possible influx of in-
mates at certain seasons, especially at the commence-
ment of the system, I am disposed to think that a
plot of land, varying from six to twelve acres, should
be attached to each workhouse. This would he pru-
dent as a first provision, and if it should afterwards
be found that it can be dispensed with, the land
might be readily let off, or sold.

46. The expense necessary to be incurred for pro-
viding workhouses will not, I apprehend, be so con-
siderable as might have been anticipated. If the
surface of Ireland be divided into squares of twenty
miles each, so that a workhouse placed in the centre
would he distant about ten miles from the extremi-
ties in all directions— this would give about eighty
workhouses for the whole of Ireland. A diameter of
twenty miles was the limit prescribed for the size of
unions by Gilbert's act, but it was often exceeded
in practice ; it may, however, be assumed as a con-
venient size on the present occasion. In some cases,
owing to the position of the towns to be taken as the
centres of unions; or other local causes, the unions
will probably be smaller ; in others, especially in

252

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

the thinly peopled districts of the west, they will,
in all likelihood, be larger; but still there is, I thinli,
every probability that the number of workhouses
required %vill not materially, if at all, exceed eight}'.
In aid of this number, the houses of industry, and
mendicity, and other establishments, which will be
unnecessary as soon as a legal provision is made for
the relief of the destitute, will become available at
probably a small expense, or at no expense whatever.
In some instances, moreover, barracks, factories, or
other buildings suitable for conversion info work-
houses, will not improbably be obtainable on easy
terms ; but, excluding all these favourable considera-
tions, which are calculated to lessen the estimated
expense, and even admitting that, instead of eighty
workhouses 100 will be required, and that the cost
of erecting each will be about tbe same as for the
largest class of our English workhouses, namely,
about 7,000i, this would give a gross outlay of 700,000^
for the whole of Ireland — a sum surely not large,
when the nature of the object is taken into conside-
tion.

47. If Government were to advance this sum, or
so much as might be necessary for providing the
workhouses, by way of loan, as has been done to the
unions in England, requiring an instalment of five
per cent, of the principal to be paid off annually out
of the rates, it would make the whole charge so easy
that it would scarcely be felt. With such an object
in view, it will scarcely be contended that a payment
of 35,000/ per annum for twenty years, with tlie in-
terest on the constantly decreasing principal, would
be considered as a hardship on Ireland ; and this is,
in fact, the whole of the new or additional outlay
proposed ; for, as regards the relief of the destitute,
that, as I have said before, would not be a new
charge, the destitute classes being now supported out
of the produce of property, although in a manner
calculated to lessen the amount of production, and
consequently, in the long run, to lessen the income
of the proprietors, as well as to injure and depress the
general character of the people. No objection can
therefore, I think, be raised in Ireland, on account
of this proposed outlay for the provision of work-
houses.

48. It appears, then, from the foregoing state-
ments, that the workhouse system, which has been
successfully applied to dispauperize England, may
may be safely and efficiently applied, as medium of
rehef, to diminish the amount of misery in Ireland.
It appears, moreover, that the expense of providing
the necessary buildings will not be so large, havino-
reference to the importance of the object, as to cause
any serious impediment to the measure; and that this
expense may, with the consent of the legislature, be
so spread over a period of years, that its pressure
will scarcely be felt.

II. Secondly — As to the means of obtaining the
benefits of combined management, and of creating
a local machinery for the government of unions in
Ireland.

49. If it was desirable to establish, in the several
parishes of Ireland, a parochial machinery similar to
that which exists in England, I believe the attempt
would fail, for the description of persons requisite
for constituting such a machinery will not be found
in the great majority of Irish parishes. In some
parts of Ireland, however, and especially in the
north and east, competent individuals would be found
in many, if not in most parishes. If an Irish poor
law be established, the uniting of parishes for the
purpose of securing the benefits of combined manage-
ment is, therefore, I think, more necessary, even
than it was for England ; and by making the unions

sufficiently large, there can be no doubt that in almost
evei-y instance a board of guardians may be obtained
by way of election, of such intelligence and efficiency
as to insure the orderly working of the union, under
the system of strict supervision and controul, which
it would be necessary for a time to exercise over
their proceedings.

50. In the first instance, and until a rate for the
relief of the destitute is established, the contributors
to the county cess might be empowered to elect the
guardians ; but in some cases an efficient board of
guardians may not be obtainable by election, and
this is most likely to occur at the commencement of
a new system, when individuals will be ill instructed
as to their duties, and when tbe public will, perhaps,
have formed exaggerated and erroneous notions of
what is intended to be done. To meet this contin-
gency it seems essential tliat large general powers
should be vested in some competent authority, to
controul and direct the proceedings of boards of
guardians, and even to supersede their functions al-
together, when such supersession shall appear to be
necessary. Power should also, I think, be given to
declare unions, and to appoint paid and other officers
to conduct the business, under the direction of the
central authority, without the intervention of aboard
of guardians ; and, in order to guard against the con-
fusion and mistakes to be expected in some districts,
on the first introduction of an entirely new ord>ir of
things, and to prevent the mischief that might ensue
from failure or misconduct on tbe part of the local
authorities at the outset, the central authority should
also be emjiowered to dispense with the election of
the first board of guardians, and to appoint such per-
sons as may appear most fit and competent to act as
guardians of the union, either until the Lady-day next
ensuing after such appointment, or to the Lady-day
twelve-months, as the central authority may decide.
The number and selection of such specially appointed
guardians to be entirely at the discretion of the cen-
tral authority.

5J. These powers are greater than those that
were given to the English commissioners by the
Poor Law Amendment Act : but they are, in my
opinion, necessary in the present state oiflreland ; and
as they will be openly exercised upon the responsi-
bility of the central authority, whose governing
motive must be the success of the measure, there is
the best guarantee for their proper application.
With these powers confided to tlie central authority,
no difficulty will arise for which it will not be pre-
pared, and it will, I think, be enabled to establish
the unions, and to constitute an adequate machinery
for their government throughout the whole of Ire-
land with certaintj' and efficiency.

52. In England all the count}- magistrates residing
and acting within the limits of the respective unions
are ex-officio members of the several boards of guar-
dians. The number and position of the magistracy
in Ireland seem to require a modification of this rule
in its application to tliat country. The principle of
poor-law administration established in England by
ihe Poor Law Amendment Act, is based essentially
upon popular representation. The guardians are
elected by the actual occupiers and owners of the
property rated, and in the hands of the guardians
the administrative power is vested. The county
magistrates, it is true, are admitted in virtue of tlieir
office to sit and act as members of the board, liaving
equal powers with the elected guardians ; but this
does not destroy the strictly elective character of the
administrative body, for in every union the number
of elected guardians so far exceed that of the ex-officio
guardians, tliat the popular and elective character of

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253

the board is maintained, whilst at the same time, by
the infusion of a portion of the magistracy, who be-
come, in virtue of their office, permanent members,
and therefore connecting- links be*ween the succes-
sive boards of guardians, the whole machinery is
greatly improved, and a degree of stability and con-
tinuity of action is imparted to it, which, if based en-
tirely upon election, and changeable annually, it
would not possess,

53. This is the constitution of the boards of guar-
dians in the English unions, and nothing can work
better ; but in Ireland I have found, upon enquiry,
that the number of magistrates who would be en-
titled to act as ex-ofpcio guardians, would in general
greatly exceed the number usually found qualified in
England, and in some cases wouid, in fact, probably
outnumber the elected guardians. If this should
occur the elective character of the board would of
course be destroyed ; but even if this should not be
the case, yet any undue preponderance of the perma-
nentex-officio guardians would detract from the popu-
lar character of the governing body, and lower it in the
confidence and estimation of the people. On these
grounds, and wiih a view of keeping as nearly as
possible to the practical constitution of the English
boards of guardians, I propose, in the Irish unions —
1st, That the number of ex- officio guardians shall
never exceed one-third the number of elected guar-
dians .- 2dly, That immediately on the declaration of
a union, the county magistrates residing and acting
within its limits, shall nominate from among them-
selves a number nearest to, but not exceeding, one-
third of the elected guardians — which magistrates so
nominated by their compeers, shall be entitled to act
as ex-officio guardians of the union, until the Michael-
mas twelve-month after such nomination : and a list
of their names, duly certified bv the clerk of the peace
of the county or division in which the union is situ-
ated, shall be inserted twice in the county news-
papers ; and odly. That at each succeeding Michael-
mas, the magistrates entitled as aforesaid shall pro-
ceed to a new election. These regulations will, I
think, not only preserve a due proportion in the con-
stitution of the boards of guardians, but also ensure
the co-operation of the most efficient portion of the
magistracy in the government of the unions ; as the
magistrates will, of course, nominate those members
of their body who are resident, and most active and
able.

54. A different practice from that established in
England seems also to be necessary for Ireland with
respect to the clergy. Under the provisions of the
Poor Law Amendment Act, ministers of religion of
every denomination are eligible to fill the office of
guardian elected or ex-officio. In the present condi-
tion of Ireland, I fear that this would be attended
with serious inconvenience, and might perhaps alto-
gether destroy the efficiency of the board of guardians.
I therefore propose that no clergyman, or minister
of any religious denomination, shall be eligible to act
either as elected or ex-officio guardian. This exclusion
is not proposed from any notion of the general unfit-
ness of the clergy to fill the office of guardian ; but
with reference solely to tlie present state of religion
in Ireland, and to the importance of keeping the
functions of the boards of guardians totally free
from even the suspicion of any kind of bias. If the
ministers of one persuasion were to be admitted, the
ministers of every persuasion must be admitted ; and
then the deliberations of the boards of guardians
would too probably, in some cases, be affected by re-
ligious differences. Many of the clergy of the esta-
blished church, moreover, being in the commission
of the peace would be entitled to act as ex-officio

members of the board of guardians, if no such gene-
ral ineligibility was to be established ; and this would
probably be considered by many, as giving them an
undue preponderance in districts where the bulk of the
people are Catholics. Ireland in this respect diflfers
greatly fiom England, and seems to require the ap-
plication of a different rule.

55. In the course of my very anxious enquiries on this
point, it was several times suggested to me, that the
clergy and ministers of religion generally ought to be
members of the boards of guardians in virtue of their
office, on the ground that they knew more of the
wants and necessities of the poor than any other de-
scription of persons ; and this was stated to be more
particularly the case with the Catholic clergy. It
might, perhaps, be sufficient to state, with reference
to this suggestion, that any such admission of the
clergy, as a body, would be directly at variance with
the principle of popular election established in Eng-
land, under which the boards of guardians are con-
stituted, and to which they continue amenable, the
several members having to be elected annually ;
whereas the clergy, if they were to be admitted as
suggested, would be permanent and irresponsible
members of the board. In addition to this objection,
however — which, as it involves a principle, must be
considered as final, — it may be remarked, that if the
above suggestion was to be adopted, and all the
ministers of religion within a union were, as such,
to become members of the board of guardians, it
would make the board far too numerous for the orderly
and efficient despatch of business. There would pro-
bably be much debate and contention, with but little
progress in the affairs of the union. The experience
alread)'^ obtained in the working of the unions in
England is decisive upon this point. The most nu-
merous boards of guardians are invariably the least
efficient, and the most open to be acted upon by par-
tial and party views. If this be the case in England,
how much more likely is it to occur in Ireland,
where the incentives to party bias, religious and
jjolitical, are so much stronger ? In Ireland, there-
fore, it seems most important to extend the size of
the unions, for the purpose of obtaining an impartial
board of guardians ; and to limit the number of its
members, in order to secure its efficiency.

56. The duty of a guardian will be altogether of
a civil character, to be fulfilled in conformity with
strict legal enactments, and having nothing in com-
mon with religious functions. If a clergyman were
to become a guardian, he would be bound to act in
that capacity as if he were a lay member ; and the
clergy of all persuasions, it appears to me, would be
enabled to exercise a more legitimate influence
within their districts, if they were not members of
the boards of guardians, than if they were. As
guardians, their course of action would be strictly
prescribed ; but if not guardians, they may be
guided by what they consider to be their general or
peculiar "duties : and they will be enabled, as
teacijers to whom the people look up for advice and
instruction, to render most important service to the
union.

57. The board of guardians, in the faithful per-
formance of its duties, will often have to refuse ap-
plications for relief, and to act with strictness, per-
Ijaps at times even with apparent rigour. If any
minister of religion was to be a member of the
board, a part of the odium which would attend such
acts, however necessary and proper they might be,
would attach to him, and possibly affect his ministiy.
If clergymen are restricted from acting as guardians,
no such consequences can ensue. They may then
moderate as well as inform, and become mediators

254

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

between the poor on the one side, and the union au-
thorities on the other. The funds, too, which as
clergymen they have to administer for charitable
and religious purposes, must generally be distri-
buted by them on a different orinciple from that
which governs the relief administered by the board
of guardians. This circumstance, if thev were mem-
bers of the board, and party to its proceedings,
would probably embarrass their conduct in one or the
other capacity. On no point have 1 taken more
pains to arrive at a sound conclusion than on this,
being fully sensible of the objections, on principle,
to the exclusion of anv class of men from office ;
but the great majority of the clergy themselves with
whom I have conversed, Catholic, Presbyterian, and
Protestant, have agreed in thinking that it will be,
on the whole, inexpedient to admit any of the mi-
nisters of religion to a:t as guardians. After tlie
fullest consideration and most anxious inquir)!-,
therefore, I recommend, that they should be declared
altogether ineligible.

58. The clergy, both Catholic and Protestant,
may, however, by their influence and exhortations,
greatly facilitate the introduction, and help the work-
ing of a system of relief for the destitute classes ;
and this they will be enabled to do far more effectu-
ally if they are not guardians. I rely upon the
clergy, and upon the intelligent portion of the com-
munity in Ireland, for explaining the real objects of
the new law to the people, and thus preventing ex-
aggerated notions as to what is intended. The Irish
peasantry may otherwise be led to consider it as
framed for tlieir entire support, and be apt to look to
the rates instead of their own exertions. The ap-
plication of the workhouse test will, it is true, cor-
rect this alter a time ; but in the interim, and esjieci-
ally at the outset, inconvenience may be created if
this very possible evil is not guarded against by ex-
plaining to tlie people that the relief which the new
law provides is intended solely for the destitute,
and not for those v. ho have ability to support them-
selves. Such explanations have bean necessary even
in England, where certain evil-disposed persons
have occasionally laboured to persuade the people,
that they were entitled to be supported in idleness
out of the rates : and similar practices may not im-
possibl)^ be atteraj.'ted in Ireland.

59. With a central authority possessing such
powers as are before indicated, I see nothing, pre-
sent or prospective, to prevent the establishment of
unions in Ireland similar to, and in all respects as
effective as, the unions established in England under
the Poor Law Amendment Act. In the less popu-
lous parts of the country, it might be desirable to
have the chief police-station near to the workhouse.
1 he school would be close, if not attached, to the
workhouse. The dispensary would there be esta-
blished, and medical and surgical aid, if required,
would there be found. The union establishment
would thus become a kind of colony, a kind of
centre of civilization, and the unions collectively
might be made important engines for effecting im-
provements in the condition and habits of the Irish
people, in whose clothing, cottages, and domestic
economy, as well as in tiieir agricultural and other
management, there now appears a lamentable defi-
ciency of the faculty happily so common in England
— namely, the faculty of making the best of every
thing.

60. In passing through Ireland, no person can
fail to notice the several police-stations, nor can
doubt that the order and neatness which these gene-
rally exhibit, will operate in the way of example
upon the neighbouring cottages. It may require

time to produce any very sensible effect; but some
effect will assuredly be produced. Man imitates
good, as veil as evil ; and if examples of the i'ormer
are placed before him, they will not be altogether
lost, even under ordinary circumstances ; but the
example set to a district by a union establishment,
such as is above described, exhibiting neatness,
order, and comfort, with probably a portion of laud
foi faraiing and gardening attached, must be of far
greater influence than any insulated example could
be. Such an establishment would be the centre of
resort of the whole district; and might become the
nursery and source of every kind of improvement
in the moral and social habits, the domestic economjs
and general operations of the suri-ounding peasantry,
and occupiers of land.

61, \Vhen thero shall be a provision for the desti-
tute, at the common charge, the community will have
acquired a right so far to interfere with the proceed-
ings of individuals, as to prevent the spread of des-
titution, and to guard itself from loss or damage by
the negligence, obstinacy, or supineness of any of
its members. Under the old civil institutions in
England, this interference was largely exercised, to
the benefit of the community at the time, although
in the present advanced state of society it has be-
come unnecessary, and would now scarcely be
tolerated. In Ireland, the siate of the rural com-
munity is in many respects similar to that; which
prevailed in England when the local headman of the
village or parish was looked up to as an authority in
advising and directing to what was right, as well as
in restraining from what was wrong ; but in the ma-
jority of Irish parishes the whole population is
nearly on the same level — there is no gradation — no
man or class of men suffici'-ntly prominent to possess
control, or even to exercise influence ; there is not
the least approach to self-government observable.
To select from among the inhabitants of a parish one
or more of the most intelligent individuals, and to
array them on the side of the law, good order, and
improvement, and to clothe them with a certain ex-
tent of authority and local importance, as was the
ease vvith the headborough or local headman, and as
is now the case with the parish-officers collectively,
in England, would therefore, I consider, be pro-
ductive of benefit as well as convenience in Ire-
land ; and I recommend that the central authority
should be empowered to appoint, or to direct the
board of guardians to appoint, one or more wardens
or officers for every parish, or for such districts of
the union as may be deemed most convenient.

62. The central authority should have power to
define the duties of these officers or wardens, which
would be to superintend generally the affairs of the
district, to assist and observe the instructions of the
board of guardians, especially with reference to
measures intended to operate upon the habits of the
labouring population. Parochial or districts officers
of this description might be made extremely useful
in connecting the board of guardians with the seve-
ral portions of the union, thus extending its in-
fluence, and rendering it effective for the purposes of
general improvement, as well as for the administra-
tion of relief. These officers should, I think, be
armed with the authority of constables or head-
boroughs, iiud should be second in local importance
to the guardians, to which office theirs would proba-
bly often become preliminary. I propose to vest
their appointments (subject to the controul of the
central authorit}') in the board of guardians, for the
|iurpose of giving importance to that body within
the district of which it is the head, an object obvi-
ously desirable. The appointment should be for a.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

255

year, but tbe same persons might be re-eligible.
Such officers would probably be found useful for
oiher local purposes, with reference to the functions
of magistrates and grand juries, to which end it
might be necessary to have one or more for every
civil [parish, according to its size, population, or
other circumstances. This would be the first step
towards self-government in tbe Irish parishes. It
has been said that the Poor Law Amendment Act
has destroyed local self-government in England :
, but this is not the fact. It has not destroyed, it has
on the contrary improved it, bv centralizing and com-
bining the best elements existing in a large district,
in lieu of the scattered, desultory, and imperfect
old parochial administrations. Such will also, I be-
lieve, be tbe etfect of unions in Ireland.

63. There are some other points cornected witli
the creation of a machinery for union government,
to which it appears necessary to advert. In Eng-
land, under tbe provisions of the Poor Law Amend-
ment Act, everv parish or township rated for the
maintenance of its poor, and included in a union, is
entitled to return a guardian. In Ireland, it will
1 think be essential that the central authority should
be empowered to fix the boundaries of a union,
without being restricted to parish boundaries. It
should be empowered to divide parishes, either for
the purpose of electing guardians, or for joining a
portion of a parish to one union, and another portion
of the same parish to another union. It should also
be empowered to consolidate parishes for the pur-
pose of electing one or moie guardians, and likewise
to form election districts for this purpose, without
reference to parochial boundaries. And lastly the
central authority should be empowered to add to,
take froDi, and remodel unions, with or without con-
sent, at any time that such change might be deemed
to be necessarv. These powers have been much
wanted bv the English poor-law commissioners,
and would have enabled them to make their unions
more compact and convenient than they are at pre-
sent; local prejudice and local interests having fre-
quently compelled tbe commissioners to abandon the
arrangement which, with reference to the general
interest, they deemed the best. In Ireland full
powers in this respect are, I think, indispensable,
not only on account of the size and uncertain boun-
daries of some parishes, but also to enable tlie
central authority to deal with the various circum-
stances under which the unions will there have to
be formed.

64. I consider, then, that with adequate powers
confided to a responsible authority, and with such
modifications as are hereinbefore described, the
principle of union for the purposes of systematic
and combined management, which has been esta-
blished in England by the Poor Law Amendment
Act, mr.y be advantageously extended to Ireland ;
and that, as it has been shown that no insurmount-
able difficulty exists to impede tbe introduction of
the workhouse as a test of destitution, and a mea-
sure of relief, so neither will there be any insur-
mountable difficulty in establishing an adequate ma-
chinery for the government of the unions when
formed.

(To be continued.)

The Subsoil Plocch. — The subsoil plough was
designed, some nine or ten years ago, by James
Smith, Esq., of Deanston Cotton Works, Stirlingshire,
for the purpose of opening up the close subsoil ot the

farm of Deanston. In the design, two essential points
were kept in view — first, the construction of an instru-
ment that would effectually open up the subsoil, with-
out throwing any of it to the surface, or mixing it with
the active or surface soil ; second, to have an imple-
ment of the easiest possible draught for the horses, while
it was of sufficient strength and weight to penetrate the
firmest ground, to a depth varying from fifteen to
eighteen inches, and resist the shocks on the largest
stones. This plough is, therefore, on a gigantic scale,
in comparison with the light ploughs in ordinary use.
Its extreme length is fifteen feet. From the socket at
the point of the beam, to the first stile or upright, six
feet ; from thence to the back of the second style, nine-
teen inches ; from thence to the outer end of holding
handles, seven feet ; from the sole to the bottom of beam
at stiles, nineteen inches ; length of head or sole bar,
thirty inches ; from heel of sole to point of sock, forty-
six inches ; broadest part of sock, eight inches. The
coulter is curved ; and, in order to prevent its point
from being driven from its place by stones, it is inserted
to to depth of an inch in a socket. The laternal dimen-
sions of the sole-piece are two inches square, this is
covered on the bottom and land side with a cast-iron
sole-piece, to prevent wear. The sock goes on to
the head in the usual way, and from its feather rises the
spur-piece, for the purpose of breaking the subsoil fur-
row. When the subsoil consists of very firm clay, or
other hard and compact earth, the feather and spur-
piece may be dispensed with, and a plain wedge or
spear-pointed sock, such as those of the old Scotch
plough, may be used. The draught bar, of one and a
quarter inch round iron, is attached to the beam at the
strong eye, and, passing through an eye in the upright
needle, is adjustable to any height or lateral direction,
being moveable in the socket, at the point of the beam,
and can be made fast at any point by a pincing screw,
wrought by the lever. 13y the proper setting- of the
draught rod, the direction of the power of the horses is
so regulated, as to render the guiding of the plough
easy at any depth or width of furrow. The beam is
about five inches deep at the middle, and one and a
quarter inches in thickness ; towards the draught end,
it tapers to three inches deep, and one inch thick ; at
the holding end, where the handles branch off. it is two
inches by one. The whole, being iron, weighs four
hundred and forty pounds, imperial. This appears an
enormous weight, and most people are alarmed at the
strength and weight of the implement ; but, after re-
peated trials with lighter ploughs, those of the dimen-
sions and weight now described, have been found to be
at once the most efficient, the most easy of draught, and
the easiest for the ploughman to manage. Fourordinary
farm horses are generally sufficient to draw this plough,
in breaking up subsoil of ordinary firmness ; but, on
very tough clays, or in hard till, it may found neces-
sary to use six horses. When four are used, they are
yoked two and two, by draught bars and chains. When
six are used, they are yoked three and three, by draught
bars and chains. The main chain, or the leading horses
to pull by, is hung', in both cases, by links from the
collars of the rear horses, to keep it up from their legs,
and the trace bars of the leaders are kept close up to
their hams, by cross-straps on their quarters. — Chambers's
Journal.

Farmers and breeders of horses in this part of the
county will be glad to learn that Mr. William Allen, of
VVampool, has purchased at a great expense that cele-
brated stallion, Young Muley, late the property of i\Ir.
James Harrison, of Lowfield, near Kirby Londsdale,
whose stock has been the admiration of the best judges in
Yorkshire. The enterprising spirit of such a man as
Mr. Allen, cannot be too much appreciated by our nor-
thern breeders, as a cross by a horse like Young- Muley
must tend considerably to the improvement of the breed
of horses in this county. It gives ns great pleasure to
stale that Young Muley, and that well known Scotch
cart stallion Colossus are intended to ,_^travel in the
north of Cumberland.

256

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

MR. MILBURN'S REPLY TO MR. GILL.

Sir, — S. P. G., or as he has now signed himself, S.
Gill, has replied to my last letter, on the aphis, being-
a cause of the failure of the turnip crop ; and after
reading his letter carefully over, I must confess that
I cannot find any thing advanced to overturn the
strong facts I adduced, or any thing new in favour of
his views. There is, however, one thing which I beg
leave to correct ; he now seems to insinuate that a
disease of the plants produced the flies, or rather
caused them to commence their attacks, whereas in
his previous letters he stated, that the plants decom-
posed before the aphides appeared, and they simply
acted in carrying off the putrid vegetable matter.
Now, we iinow that there is a great difference be-
tween disease and decomposition; — the one is an
unhealthy state of the plant, the other a dissolution
of its particles when dead. He contended that the
insects did no real injury to the crop, declaring that
" it will never attack a plant till it has arrived at a
certain state of decomposition." I replied, that the
insect naturally fed on the healthy juices of the plant,
but then it miglit be in a state of disease from other
causes, cold, or drought, or both ; but however
diseased it might be, so that it was not dead, it could
never establish a theory winch maintains that the in-
sects feed only on putrescency . To prove my views I
adduced, 1st., the opinions of the most celebrated
naturalists of the age; 2nd., the evidence of the
formation of the insects themselves ; and 3rd., that
of several facts, and much like repetition, as this may
appear, it is necessary to state our different lines of
arguments, in order show that Mr. G. has not over-
turned my theory. It appears from his letter, that
some of the plants were in a state of disease, and
others in a state of decomposition, before the aphides
attacked thewi. Now I am bound to believe this,
but if this were the case, does it not d'sprove his
position, that they feed only on putrifying vegetable
matter? and if they feed on the living plant at all,
however diseased it may be, they must hasten its
destruction, and thus be a cause of the failure ; and
this is all I ccntend for. I repeat, that in Yorkshire
the plants generally were pretty healthy before the
aphides commenced their rav.iges. On a field of
beautiful plants, very near the jdace where I am now
writing, the aphides literally swarmed, especialli/ on
the Ji nest plants ; they were followed by numbers of
their destroyers, lady-birds, ( coccinelUdoi ) , which
considerably thinned their ranks, and the crop sur-
vived ; but mark, those plants which were destroyed
by the wire-worms, and which manifestly deca3'ed,
not an aphis could be seen. He asks why do I refer
to the weather at all? — simply because it may hasten
the effects of the insects upon the plant, as 1 before
explained.

With respect to my geranium, to which my friend
Mr. Gill, attaches so much importance as a proof of
his principle, I think it proves mine in the most ir-
refragible manner. The simple fact, that it iiad
aphides upon it for months, and continued perfectly
healthy to all appearance, quite overturns, as much
as any fact can, Mr. Gill's theory. I showed it to a
friend of mine, and he declared that he never saw a
healthier plant at that season ; the fact was, I re-
moved part of the ai'hides as they augmented, so as
to keep but a small number upon it, or the reverse
would soon have been tlie case. He says nothing of
the attacks of the apple trees, which are certainly
neither unhealthy, nor decoinposed, without the
number be very large, but asks how it happens that
some plants are gone over by the parent insect?
In reply, I beg to say, that I will answer his question

if he will tell me how it happens that the saw-ily,
(athalia centifolia), of the black caterpillar does the
same, or scores of other insects which might be
named? Respecting tliat wonderful fact in natural
history, the insect being both oviparous, and vivipa-
rous, I have nothing more to say, than that during
the first part of the insect's existence, it deposits its
eggs, (oL'iz), and towards the latter stages, drops its
young alive. For more information on this subject,
I would rerer to an article on •' British Plant-lice,"
in The Quarterly Journal of Ao^riculture, number fl
believe,) 28, N. S., Ly Professor Renuie, which is
one of the best things I have read on the subject
generall}^.

Air. Gill finds fault with the Latin terms 1 use.
Perhaps, I am less of a Latinist than himself, but in
speaking of different kinds of insects, he will see
the propriety of giving the scientific, as well as the
vulgar name, as the latter is generally provincial, —
the former known by all who take the trouble to
examine authorities ; besides, be may perceive, that
I merely append the scientific to the vulgar name ;
thus giving both the plain reader and the student,
an opportunity of understanding the insect I allude
to. As au example of the necessity of using the
systematic, as well as vulgar nomenclature, I need
only remark, tiiat there are three distinct kinds of
insects called the " turnip-fly,'' and which belong to
three different orders! The jumping beetle, which
attacks the seed leaves, (order coleoptera) ; the saw-
fly of the black caterpillar, (order hymenoptera) ; and
the insect in question, the plant louse, (order her-
niptera). Mr. Gill evidently confounded the first
and last named, in his reply to Rusticus, a few weeks
ago. As to my sarcastic language, he must be con-
vinced that his first letters laid him open to it, and I
am sure his good sense will perceive that it is some-
what excuseable when ojiposing an anonymous writer.
Now, that he has avowed his name, I should be sorry
to use it, and he may be assured, that I did not wish
in the least to oflend.

Youi''s respectuUy,

M. M. MILBURN.
Thorpefield, near Thirsk, Yorhshire,
March 18.

An Extraordinary Mode of Hatching
Chickens. — No one, whilst at Ghizeh, should omit
seeing the chicken manufactory , where two old men
perform the maternal duties of as many thousands of
the gallinaceous tribe. The eggs are spread out on a
flat surface of clay, in ovens, kept of course night and
day, at a uniform degree of heat. The old men visit
their charge constantly, tnrning the eggs with long
poles, so as to bring every part of their surfaces in oc-
casional contact ^vith the clay bottom of the oven,
which is somewhat warmer than the atm.osphere. It is
an extraordinary sight 1 Every instant some little
animal, in his struggles to enter this world of troubles,
bursts its shell, and starts into life (an orphan from
his birth !) keeping the surface in a constant state of
agitation. They are immediately taken out of the oven,
placed in baskets, and sold by measure — every old wo-
man in the neighbourhood buying a pottle of the miser-
able little creatures to take home and dry-nurse, until
they are of an age to shift for themselves. I believe
this method of hatching chickens is common through-
out Egypt, although I cannot state on my own au-
thority, that such is the case ; if so, it may account
for the degeneracy of the breed of fowls, for they are
invariably small, though the eggs are not much less
than those usually met with in other countries. — Capt.
Scoffs Rambles in Egypt and Candia.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

257

CHURCH-RATES, CROYDON,
SURREY.

We subjoin a petition to the legislature, which has
received the signatures of the owners and farmers of
many thousands of acres of land in Surrey, praying' for
the abolition of this impost, which is the best answer to
the pretended all-but-one unanimous petition of the
rector and inhabitants of Croydon, and to the speech
of his Grace of Canterbury : —

" To the honourable the Commons of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in Parliament
assembled. The humble petition of the undersigned
farmers and agriculturists, residing- in the parish of
Croydon and near thereto, in the county of Surrey,
sheweth,

"That your petitioners are members of the united
church established in this kingdom, and either hold in
their own right, or occupy as tenants, various farms in
the parish of Croydon and in the parts adjacent, in the
county of Surrey, containing the number of acres spe-
cified and set opposite their respective names.

" That your petitioners are called upon to pay an-
nually very large sums of money, in some cases as much
as between 20/ and 30/, for church and chapel rates in
respect of their farms, and although in many ca=:es, in
the p.irish of Croydon, they are not only obliged to con-
tribute to maintenance of their parish church, in which
they have no accommodation, but they are compelled
to contribute to the building and sustentation of chapels
of ease in the paiish, and to pay for sittings in such
chapels of ease.

" That in October last, a church-rate of five pence in
the pound was made for the parish of Croydon, and at
the same time a chapel-rate of five pence in the pound,
the former rate being applicable to the maintenance of
the fabric of the mother church and other incidental ex-
penses, and the latter to repay to the commissioners
the amount borrowed for building the chapels of ease
within the parish, with the mterest thereon, which has
been suffered to run into arrear.

" Thatmanyof your petitioners purchased their estates
and took their farms on lease previously to the of Par-
liament for budding new churches, and, consequently,
without any notice or expectation of being charged with
any such chapel-rates for a period of at least 20 years,
in order to raise a competent sum of money to repay
the amount borrowed for building two chapels of ease
within the parish, and the interest thereon : and your
petitioners, therefore, submit thatthey neither purchased
their lands nor took leases of their farms under any
such liability.

" That with regard to the propriety of applying any
surplus of the church revenues in exclusively providing
i ncreased church room , yourpetiUoners venture to suggest
that in many parishes the public accommodation might
be doubled by adopting the plan followed in other
countries, where consecutive services are held in the
same church by different ministers many times every
Sabbath-day ; and your petitioners see no reason why
the first service might notcommence at ten and close be-
fore noon, when the second service might commence
and so on during the remainder of the Sabbath as might
be found convenient; and your petitioners are of opinion
that such an arrang'cment would be productive of much
benefit to the establishment and to the parishioners, pro-
vided they were allowed to choose their own ministers
for such additional services.

" That although your petitioners are advised that it is
incumbent on the owners of land within the parish to
repair the fabric of the church, except as regards the
chancel, and that the occupiers are only liable to be
rated under a separate assessment for the ornaments and
other cutlay connected therewith ; yet such of your
petitioners as are occupants only are rated for the entire
charges on both accounts, which your petitioners submit
is contrary to law.

"That your petitioners believing that the proposed
abolition of church-rates is neither dangerous to the
established church nor prejudicial to its interests,
inasmuch as in ancient times, when the bishops received

the whole tithes of the diocese, a fourth part thereof, in
every parish, was applicable to the repairs of the fabric,
and upon the diocesan's releasing their interest to the
rectors they were acquitted of such repairs, which it
became thenceforth thedutyof the rectors to discharge ;
and considering that by the canon law the repairs of the
church belonged to the rectors in right of such fourth
part, and not to the parishioners ; and as the rectors
became by custom ultimately released from the burden
by throwing' the repairs on the parish, no immemorial
usag'e can have existed thst the church should be
maintained at the charge of the inhabitants at large,
whose supinenss and neglect alone have from time to
time doubtless in a great measure contributed to their
present liability.

" That your petitioners feel themselves much ag-
grieved in being compelled to pay such heavy charges
for church and chapel-rates, and humbly conceive
that if they were abolished, and the property of the
church rendered available towards the maintenance of
its fabric, it would not only be a very considerable relief
to agriculturists in general, and to your petitioners in
particular, but would tend to restore peace and harmony
to the church, and very n.aterially to consolidate and
uphold the national establishment.

•' Your petitioners, therefore, most humbly pray that
church-rates may be abolished, and that your peti-
tioners may be relieved fram an impost which they
never contemplated when they became the pur-
chasers or tenants of their respective farms.

" And your petitioners will ever pray, &c."

The Necessity of Weeding. — An observation I
have made, in going through your farms, is, the
very little care taken to prevent the spreading of the
destructive weed called coltsfoot ; this is the first plant
that comes into flower in Spring : you will see the blos-
som, in the land where it grows, in the month of March,
before a leaf is visible, and, and in the course of a
month or six week«, whilst the ground is still red, it
appears with a white tuft of down, on examining which,
you will find a seed attached to each particle, by which
it is carried for miles over the country, at that season,
when the ground is ready prepared for its reception. It
is by the sowing of the seed in this way, that this weed
is propagated ; for it makes but slow progress by the
root, however difficult it may be to eradicate it, when it
has once got hold of the ground. This weed, also, ap-
pears to me to grow spontaneously, where the practice
of overwhelming, or burning the surface to make ashes,
prevails. There is another weed, whicii I, likewise, see
doing a great deal of mischief — I mean ragweed. The
quantity of nourishment it draws from the ground, is
she'vvn by this, that it will not g'row upon bad land. In
regard to it, a most ridiculous notion prevails, which I
have frequently found people possessed of, who ought
to know better, namely, that all the nourishment it has
extracted from the soil in its growth, is again returned
to it in its decay, or in other words, that, after ripening
the seed, the sap descends and enriches the earth, vi'hich
is, therefore, left nothing the worse. I see, also, the
cutting down thistles wholly unattended to, and the seed
allowed to scatter, with the most perfect indifference.
In England, a farmer has been known to bring an action
against his neighbour, for not cutting down the thistles
on hisfarm,and herecovereddamages without difficulty.
I wish most sincerely, that here, where people seem to
be as litigious as in any part of the world, some one
wauld set an example of punishing "juch wanton neglect
as takes place, with reg'ard to all the weeds I have al-
luded to. Thi-tles are only biennial plants, and, there-
fore, if cut down for two successive years, the supply of
seed would be destroyed. I see people employed for
whole days pulling' up these out of their crops, when half
an hour's labour in cutting down the parent stocks,
would have prevented the young from ever having
come into existence.— B /a c/ce?' on the Cultivation of
Small Farms.

258

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

BEET ROOT SUGAR.

Subjoined is a more full report than we were
enabled to give last week, of the speech of the Rev.
Mr. GwiLT upon this subject, delivered at the
dinner of the members of the Central Agricultural

Society.

The Rev. Gentleman expressed liimself hig'lily g'rati-
fied by the flattering- manner in which his health had
been drunk. Before he proceeded to lay before the
meeting- the result of his inquiries on the subject of beet-
root, the culuvation of whi<!h had providentially opened
a new field for the relief of agriculturists, it v^as proper
to remind the meeting- that bard necessity had already
given birth to various experiments, with a view to assist
the farmer in bearing- up against the burthens with
which he had been so long oppressed. Ploughs of
various descriptions had been introduced, till manual
and animal power were not unlikely to be superseded in
the end by mechanical power. A discovery, however,
had been at last made by the cultivation of beet-root,
which promised to rev/ard the farmer for some of his
past suiierings, and to enable him to afford the agricul-
tural labourer a new field for employment, should the
introduction of mechanical power interfere in other re-
spect to reduce it. A body of public spirited individuals
have lately establi-died a *'actory for the manufacture of
sugar from beet-root — the experiment has been made,
and the result has most satisfactorily proved that the
finest sugar can be extracted irom that description of
produce in our own country. It is neither attempted
nor intended to depreciate the interests of the colonies,
but the fact is, nevertheless, unquestionably established,
that sugar manufactured in tliis country from beet-root,
is fully equal in quality and flavour to that produced
from the sugar cane. 1'his fact, therefore, is much too
important to be neglected or passed over in silence by
the agricultural classes, who are undeniably admitted
to be in a very distressed state, and whose interests
ought to be held, at least equal to, if not paramount to
all others. Our agriculturists reasonably complain that
government encourage capitalists to desert their native
soil and invest their property in other countries, when it
has been clearly demonstrated that the means can be
readdy obtained to encourage industry and the employ-
ment of capital at home, by producing sugar from our
own soil, if government does not prohibit or check it in
its infancy by an injudicious tax. Government ought,
at least in the commencement of an enterprise, offering
such advantages to the agriculturists, to allow the fact
to be proved, whet'uer or not such advantage can be
realised to ameliorate and improve their condition, and
not prematurely destroy the prospect of relief at the
moment a gleam of hope appears. In consequence of
the emancipation of the neg-roes, the quantity of sugar
grown in the West Indies, has now considerably di-
minished— it has been stated to be upwards of 16,000
tons ; supposing this statement to be correct, and the
deficiency were supplied by the produce of our own
country, it would i-equire the cultivation of many
thousand acres of land, and thus afford additional nieans
of employment for the agricultural population, who
might otherwise be in comparative want. Is this there-
fore a subject to be lightly treated, or passed by as un-
important? Every agriculturist, indeed the community
at large, must feel too deeply interes'ed to let it rest. — ■
If the Government would allow and encourage beet-
root sugar to be manufactured, instead of taxing it in its
infancy — if they would allow it even to reach maturity,
it would create an increased demand for land, and con-
sequently prove of great service to the landed interest.
There is neither desire nor occasion to export the beet-
root sugar, it will sufficiently recommend itself to our
own countrymen. The Association repel the suspicion
of an attempt to obtain the drawback allowed on the
exportation of crushed sugar, which is totally ground-
less, and can only have been insinuated by some in-
terested and not over-scrupulous persons. And as the
manufacture 01 sugar from beet-root must occupy veiy
many years before it can be at all calculated that the

supply will be, if -ever, equal to the deficiency from the
Colonies, no reasonable or just argument can really be
urged why we should not manufacture sugar in our own
country, encourage our capitalists to invest their money '
in it, thereby confer an immense benefit on their brother
agriculturists — give occupation to numbers of their fel-
low-creatures as labourers, who might otherwise be
paupers in their respective parishes, and thus render
them useful as well as valuable members of society.
From a statistical account which has been taken, it is
proved that nearly fifty millions sterling is and about to
be invested in railroads throughout Eng-land, several of
which are now near completion. The Liverpool and
i\Ianchester railroad has been upwards of six years com-
pleted, and was the means of putting out of employment
two thousand horses,and the distance is little more than
thirty miles ; it may, therefore, be easily imagined what
the decrease in horses will be, when the numerous rail-
roads now in progress and completion become in general
use throughout the kingdom : the consumption of oats,
hay, and grazing land will, as a natural result, decrease
in proportion. This is another and very powerful reason
why Government should encourage the manufacture of
sugar and induce the growth of beet-root ; and seriously
pause before they discourage the same by a premature
:.nd injudicious impost ; the establishment of which im-
post would operate so materially to the injury of the
agriculturist — annihilate the prospect of relief held out
by depriving him of the opportunity to supply the loss
sustained in the deficiencies of oats, hay, &c. In the
northern parts of France, where beet-root is cultivated
to a very great extent, tlie price of land has become
treble in value, and rents proportionably increased. The
French Government seeing the necessity of encouraging
the production of indigenous sugar, has recently aban-
doned the intention of imposing a tax which would
operate so seriously against the agricultural and landed
interests. In Ireland where so much land still continues
uncultivated, and where the population so much need
employment — the culture of beet-i"oot and manufacture
of sugar would, it is conceived, very essentially benefit
that country ; the strongest reasons can therefore be
urged for encouraging such manufacture, even if there
were no other argument than a sens.j of common justice
to that portion of the United Kingdom ; it is therefore
quite evident, should Government not interfere to dis-
courage it, that the manufacture of sugar from beet-
root in Ireland would immediately encourage the culti-
vation of a vast extent of land now useless, and give
employment to the starving peasantry and the mechanic ;
besides, in proportion as the ^growth of the beet-root
progressed, the price of sugar would diminish, the con-
sumption increase, and the consumers, through the new
source of employment, would acquire more means to go
to market to buy their sugar and other necessaries ; —
and lastly, the people generally would be rendered more
happy and comfortable in their circumstances than they
now are. The reverend gentleman then exhibited to
the meeting the actual results of the first operations of
the beet-root establishment to which he had adverted,
by producing some of the finest samples, not only of the
beet-root itself, but of the sugar made from it, in a re-
fined state. These samples were minutely examined,
and made a very strong' and animating impression on
the numerous and highly respectable body of gentlemen
and farmers assembled. It is a very material fact to
notice, that the sugar manufactured from beet-root by
the patented principle adopted by the association, is en-
tirely free from any disagreeable taste or smell, which
have been hitherto the great objection urged against
beet-root sugar.

High Rents for Poor Land. — All the land
for some miles south, east, and west of Dunkirk
(Downechurch), in Fsanee, consists naturally of downs
of loose sand, blown up from a gainiug sea-shore on to
a deep subsoil of saud, without water, and as sterile as
the most naked rock. Yet in this district the rent of
land is considerably higher than in the very fertile dis-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

259

trict which^on the opposite coast of England, divides
the Isle of T^'anet from the rest of Kent. Why ? . .
. This is the way in which the people about Dunkirk
account for the high rents yielded by their naturally
sterile land. Time was when the district was uninha-
bited, and then, of course no rent was paid. But a
church having been built on the barren downs, and its
patron saint, Eloi, being in great repute, pilgrims
flocked thither fro;.u all parts of France and the lov?
coun'^ries. By this means a tov\n was established. In
time the inhabitants of the town constructed a port —
roads were next made from the port across the downs
to the populous high lands, whicli had once formed the
sea shore ; — and afterwards canals in various direc-
tions, the flatness and softness of the sandy districts
offering great facilities for canal cutting. In the end,
the means of communication became more abundant in
this district than in any other part of France, a* they
are still ; and the result was, that the population of the
district became very great, towns and villages being
built at a short distance from each other ; that, by
means of canals, clay and other manures were easily
obtained, and being applied to the sand, rendered it
more productive than the ancient highlands of chalk ;
•while those canals, again, afforded great facilities for
taking produce to market. In this way, the cost of
production becomiog less and less by means of art, the
natural sterile downs about Dunkirk, which have never
been used except for producing food, became more va-
luable, subject to a higher degree of competition than
the rich marsh lands between Sandwich and Reculver,
on which the population was scanty, and of which every
acre, in comparison with any market in the French
low countries, is distant from market. — WakefieUrs
Popular Politics.

the law approve of it ; the disapprovers are, without
exception, among those who know it not.

" I cannot help suspecting that I he genius of the
measure is entirely misconceived in the West Riding —
the real and important change, the change from which
the new law derives almost all its efficacy, consists in
the substitution of the board of guardians for the ma-
gistrates in petty sessions ; that is to say, of a body of
representatives, popularly elected and responsible to
constituents, for two or three irremoveable and irre-
sponsible gentlemen.

" This is a change, which, I am sure, will not be dis-
appnjved in the West Riding ; and yet as this is the
great practical alteration that has been made, this is
what makes me suspect that the very genius and spirit
of the measure are misunderstood amoung you,

'• Willing- as I am to present the petition, but feeling
a great interest in the wisdom, or otherwise, of ihe course
pursued in the AVest Riding, I could not refrain from
making you acquainted with the opinions of one who
has devoted a great deal of his time to the administration
and observation of the measure. If they should induce
you to withdraw the petition I shall rejoice ; if you per-
sist in it, I shall still hope to be allowed to present it.
" I remain". Sir, your most faith ml servant,

" FITZ WILLIAM.

" Mr. Edw. Jackson, Toothill, Rastrick,
Huddersfield."

EARL FITZWILLIAM, 01
POOR-LAW.

THE NEW

(from the LEEDS MERCURY.)

The following letter from Earl Fitzwilliam, in ac-
knowledgment of a petition against the new poor-law,
sent to him from Rastrick. will be read with great in-
terest, as proceeding from one who has practical know-
ledge of the subject, and whose kindness of heart and
feeling for the poor are beyond all possible doubt : —

" Milton, March 16, 1837.
" Sir — I shall be very willing to present the petition
from Rastrick for the repeal of the poor-law amend-
ment act, or any other petition which my old and
early friends may entrust to my care. Whatever
reminds me of the long connection that bound us
together is grateful. I hope, however, they are not
impatient for its presentation, as I shall not be in town
for some time. Still more do I hope that they will
not expect me to support its prayer ; for of all the
measures that the British legislature ever passed, I
am inclined to think this is the most beneficial, as
I am sure it is the most successful. Upwards
of a year has now elapsed since I have been en-
gaged very assiduously in the administration of the new-
law, and, from constant and minute observation of its
effects, I can bear the most confident testimony to its
beneficial tendency, I affirm this, not merely with re-
spect to the interests of the rate-payers, which I deem
the least important consideration, but more especially
with respect to those of the labouring classes, whose
habits, characters, and comforts are of far more value
in my estimation ; and it is in this point of view that I
more particularly prize and admire the operation of the
measure. In addition to my own testimony, I can say
with truth I know of no man, endued with a kind heart

New Bee-Hive. — An inhabitant of Connecticut,^
Ml". Judd, has invented a contrivance, by means of
which bi es are made to build their cells, and deposit
their honey in the chamber of a dwelling-house in neat
little drawers, from which it may be taken fresh by the
owner, without killing the insect. The New York Ga-
zette describes it as follows :— " The hive has the ap-
pearance of, and is in part, a mahogany bureau or side-
board, with drawers above and a closet below, with
glass doors. The case or bureau is designed to be
placed in a chamber of the house, or any other suitable
building, and connected with the open air or out iJe of
the house by a tube passing through the wall. The
bees work and deposit their honey in drawers. When
these or any of them are full, or it is desired to obtain
honey, one or more of them may be taken out, the bees
allowed to escape into the other part of the hive, and
the honey taken away," The glass doors allow the
working of the bees to be observed ; and it is added
that the spaciousness, cleanliness, and the even tem-
perature of the habitations provided for them in this
manner, render them the more industrious.

The PoisosED Valley of Java.— The usual
meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society took place
on Saturday se'nnight ; the Right Hon. W. W. Wynn
in the chair. A paper was read by Colonel Sykes on
the poisoned Upas Valley at lietur, in Java, extracted
from a letter by Mr. Loudon, contaimng a description
of his visit to the place in July, 1830. According to the
statement of Mr. Loudon, this valley is twenty miles in
extent, and of a considerable width, it presents a most
desolate appearance, the surface being- sterile and with-
out vegetation. The valley contains numerous SKele-
tons of mammalia and birds. In one case the skeleton
of a human being was seen with the head resting upon
the right hand ; according to tradition it is said that the
neighbouring tribes were in the habit of driving their
criminals into the valley to expiate their crimes. Mr.
Loudon tried the experiment of lowering some dogs and
fowls into the valley, and in every case animation be-
came quickly suspended, altliough life was prolonged
in some instances for ten minutes. The valley proved
to be the crater of an extinguished volcano, in which
carbonic acid gas is generated, like the Grotto del Cane,
at Naples, The fabulous influence imputed to the Lpas

and a sound head, who has witnessed its effects, who tree is, therefore, without foundation, the mortality be.
does not disagree with the petitioners. All who know | ing c-aused solely by the deleterious ag-ency ot the gas

260

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

ON STATISTICS.

M. Moreau de Jonnis, member of the Institute of
France, published, some years ag'o, in the Review of
Paris, Statistical Researches upon the Pasturag'e of
Europe, in which he states the comparative consumption
of animal food in London, Paris, and Brussels annually.

LONDON.

Weight in lbs.

110,000 Oxen 60,940,000

250,000 Calves 26,250,000

770,000 Sheep 58,520,000

250,000 Lambs 12,000,000

200,000 Pigs 32,000,000

1,580,000 Number of animals. 189,710,000 Total weight

in lbs.
The population of London being 1,225,000 inhabi-
tants, gives nearly 155 lbs. of meat annually for each
person, which is a far higher proportion of consumption
than is to be found in any other part of the world.

PARIS.

Weight in lbs.

85,725 Oxen 42,433,875

74,385 Calves 7,364,115

337,697 Sheep 1 ] ,886,934

88,640 Pigs 1,560,064

586,447 Number of animals. 63,244,988 French lbs., or
68,005,363 English lbs.
The population of Paris being 715,000, gives nealy 93
lbs. of animal food for each person annually.

BRUSSELS.

Weight in lbs.

9,190 Oxen 5,600,392

17,172 Calves 1,983,366

26,933 Sheep and Lambs 142,062

3,362 Pigs 624,712

56,657 Number of animals. 9,630,532 Total Belgic lbs,
or 9,928,388 English lbs.
The population of Brussels being 100,000, gives nearly
97 lbs. of animal food for each person annually.

ORIGIN OF TITHE IN ENGLAND.

The following is a copy of the charter of King Ethel-
wolf granting the tithe : —

I, Ethelwolf, by the grace of God, King of the AVest
Saxons at the Holy Solemnity of Easter, for the health
of my soul and prosperity of ray kingdom, and the peo-
ple committed by God Almighty to my charge, have,
with the advice of the bishops, earls, and all the persons
of condition in my dominions, fixed upon the prudent
and serviceable resolution of granting the tenth of the
lands throughout our whole kingdom to the holy
churches and ministers of religion, our subjectss offi-
ciated and settled in them, to be perpetually enjoyed
by them with all the advantages of a free tenure and
estate ; it being likewise our will and pleasure that the
unalterable and indefeasible grant shall for ever remain
discharged from service due, to the Crown, and all
other incumbrances incidental to lay fees, which grant
has been made by us in honour of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the blessed Virgin, and all Saints, and out of re-
gard to the paschal solemnity, and that God Almighty
may vouchsafe his blessings upon us and our posterity.
This charter is engrossed and signed in the year of the
incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, DCCCLIV., in-
diction 11. dated at Easter at our Palace called Wilton.
Now, whoever shall be disposed to make any aug-men-
tation to our grant may God Almighty reward him in
the increase of his posterity, but if any person shall
presume to allienate the donation, or make suffer in
any kind, let him expect to give an account of it before
the tribunal of Christ, unless he repents of his injustice
and makes timely restitution."

THE TURNIP FLY. ,

TO THE AGRICULTURISTS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM.

Gentlemen, — After much time and study I have
discovered a most effectual invention for the preserva-
tion of turnip crops from the ravages of the fly, (or
other insects,^ its destructiveness of the young plants of
this crop having I believe hitherto baffled all means yet
tried to prevent it. However, I am now prepared to
present you with an effectual remedy, (another deside-
ratum of which is, it will come at a trifling expense,)
and only wait a demonstration from the agricultural in-
terest, to make me some reasonable adequate remunera-
tion, to make the thing' generally known.

I am, Gentlemen, your obedient servant,

W. STEPHENS.

Feeding Cattle on Flaxseed. — System of Mr.
Wm. Taylor, Agriculturist to Lord Viscount
Bangor. — Bruise the seed at a mill, or make it into
meal ; then take as much cut hay, or straw, or chaff,
as will make a sufficient feed for your cow, or horse,
&c., and put it into a pail or tub, and mix your linseed
meal with it, and pour on boiling water sufficient to
wet it well; cover it up closely, so as to prevent the
steam escaping, and let it stand until cold, or nearly
so (I have alvva^^s found hot food injurious to cat-
tle^ ; two quarts of linseed meal, given daily to cow
or hoise, will add very much indeed to their fatten-
ing, and, of course, both to the quantity and quality
of the cow's milk, but jiarticularly to the quality. I
have fed and fattened cattle both on linseed meal and
linseed cake, mixed with cut bay, &c., and a little cold
water sprinkled over it so as to make the meal stick
to the hay, &c.; and always found the cattle thrive,
and fatten uncommonly well on it. Linseed gruel is
an excellent food for calves ; and I have always
found them thrive better with a little of it in their
milk, than when fed solely on milk : and I seldom
or never found a diseased calf that was partly fed
on linseed gruel. I generally allowed one quart to
each calf, at each end of the day, in lieu of as much
milk, until they were six weeks old ; after which I
gave them, by degrees, four quarts daily, deducting
the milk as I added the gruel. One quarter linseed
menl when boiled about an hour, will make three
quarts of excellent gruel. The calves got so fond
of it, after getting it for some time, that they won't
take their milk without it, except when very hungry
indeed. Linseed should alw jys be bruised, or made
into meal, before it is given to any sort of cattle,
otherwise they will void more or less of it whole,
which is of little or no use to them.

Gigantic Size of the My'rtle in Van Die-
men's Land. — Those who have merely seen the
stunted and puny myrtle of northern climates, can
have but a poor conception of the gigantic size of that
tree in southern latitudes. It forms the principal portion
of thetimberof VanDiemen'sLand; andBischoff,in his
History of New South Wales, states that its appearance
in regard to I'ough bark and thick foliage, very much
resembles our elm ; but there are no elms in this or any
other country, by any means equal in size to the myrtle
of Van Dieman's Land, the same being generally from
one huudred and fifty to two hundred feet in height, and
from thirty to forty feet in circumference. The wood,
in quality and appearance, is very like cedar.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

261

ON HEDGE-BIRDS WHICH ARE
ALLEGED TO BE MORE OR LESS
DESTRUCTIVE TO FIELD AND
GARDEN CROPS,

(From the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture.)

DECIDEDLY DESTRUCTIVE HEDGE-BIRDS.

(Concluded from page 210.)

The chaffinch or shilfa [Fringilla spiza) is one of
our prettiest and best known native birds, not so
bright and gay indeed as the goldfinch, but taste-
fully dressed (if I may use the expression) in a
party-coloured suit of pale blue, olive, wine red,
and white. These colours also are much set off
by the sprightly movements of the bird as it flits
about with great activity from the tree to the
hedge, and from the hedge to the ground, in per-
severing pursuit of food, being a most voracious
feeder, and not easily satisfied. It is one of the
commonest of our hedge-birds, being very hardy,
and breeding twice or more during the summer.
The nest being the neatest of all our British birds*
nests, invites the plundering schoolboy, though
the bird is not very frequently kept in cages here ;
while, on the continent, it is as great a favourite
as the canary, and the species is so hunted by bird-
catchers as to render them by no means plentiful
in a wild state. Dr. Bechstein says, that " the
passion for this bird is carried to such an extent in
Thuringia, and those which sing well are sought
for with so much activity, that scarcely a single
chaffinch that warbles tolerably can be found
throughout the province. As soon as one arrives
from a neighbouring country whose notes appear
good, all the bird-catchers are after it, and do not
give up the pursuit till they have taken it. In
Ruhl, a large manufacturing town in Thuringia,
the inhabitants, who are mostly cutlers, have such
a passion for chaffinches, that some have gone
ninety miles from home to take with bird-lime one
of those birds distinguished by its song, and have
given one of their cows for a fine songster ; from
which has arisen their usual proverb, such a chaf-
finch is ivorth a cotv. A common, workman will
give as much as sixteen shillings for a chaffinch he
admires, and will willingly live on bread and water
to save the money for this purpose."*

It would be well for our gardeners and farmers
if this fancy for chaffinches were carried a little
farther here, for a more destructive bird to grow-
ing crops and sown seeds could scarcely be named.
The chaffinch seems to be most partial to hedges
and orchards, but it may be found in all parts of
the country wherever there is a bush or a tree ; in
the more open country as well as in the largest
woods, varying some of its habits with the circum-
stances of the localities around it ; for it will build
its pretty nest in a low thorn bush about four feet
from the ground, or in the fork of a tall elm five
times that height ; while it will sometimes place
it on the face of a bare stump or branch, and at
others conceal it in the thickest and leafiest i)art of
a hawthorn.

The food of the chaffinch, however, is what re-
quires our chief attention here, and on this subject
there is some difference of opinion. When wild,
according to Dr. Bechstein, the food of these birds
in spring consists of all sorts of insects, which
they carry to their young in their beaks ; while

* Bechstein's Cage Birds, p. 183, note.

later in the season they eat various kinds of seeds,
such as pine and fir seeds, when they inhabit
forests that contain these ; and in the fields, lin-
seed, oats, rape, cabbage and lettuce. M. Mont-
belliard is more correct when he says the parents
feed their brood with caterpillars and insects, and
also eat these themselves, though their ordinary
subsistence is small seeds, such as those of the
white thorn, poppy, burdock, the hips of roses,
and especially beech, musk, hemp and rape seed.
They feed also, he says, on wheat, and even on
oats, and are expert at shelling the grain, to obtain
the mealy substance. A recent periodical writer
affirms that the chaffinch is " during summer en-
tirely insectivorous, " a palpable mistake ; for
though it feeds its young, as we have seen from M.
Montbelliard, almost wholly on insects, the old
birds always prefer vegetable food. Accordingly,
in the earlier part of the year they look out for the
seeds that are first ripe, such as those of groundsel,
chick-weed, nail-wort {Draba vertiaj, and the
speedwells and dead nettles ; and, when they can-
not procure the seeds, eat the young shoots of
these plants. The mistaken statement, that they
are wholly insectivorous in summer, may have
arisen from their being prolific breeders, and re-
quiring, of course, a large supply of insects for their
young. I recollect that when I was a school-boy
I reared a young chaffinch from the nest, and,
previous to its first moult, it eagerly devoured flies
and other insects ; but afterwards, though it re-
tained its habit of snapping at every fly that came
near it, and even of killing them, it always dropped
them in the cage ; and I never observed it to swal-
low any insect after this period.

The following observations by an excellent ob-
server, the Rev. Mr. Bree, are worthy of attention
on the point in question. He tells us, that in the
early part of summer his attention was attracted
by a chaffinch, which, as he sat in his room, he
remarked to pay repeated visits to a broom bush
immediately in front of his window. The bird re-
mained a considerable time in the bush at each
visit, and appeared exceedingly busy about some-
thing, hopping from spray to spray, searching and
rummaging among the branches, and evidently
using his bill. This gave rise to the suspicion that
the object of plunder was the young soft seeds of
the broom, which were at the time much in the
same state as green peas when they are fit to ga-
ther ; but, upon examination, every pod was found
to be whole and untouched. The bush, however.
was smothered with plant lice (Aphides), and these
insects were ascertained to be what had attracted
the chaffinch, and not the seeds, as had been con-
jectured. There is little doubt that these plant-lice
were canied off to feed a young brood, and not
eaten by the bird itself.

During winter, it is probable, when seeds are
scarce or covered with snow, that the chaffinch is
compelled to become omnivorous like the tits, and
to put up with whatever food it can most readily
procure : and accordingly, in severe weather, these
birds may be observed in numbers, crowding about
compost heaps in the fields, where little can be
found except the maggots of flies, or an occasional
beetle. It may likewise be in pursuit of similar
prey that chaffinches may be seen resorting to the
tops of moss-grown walls, since even during cold
frosty weather, particularly when the sun shines
out, we may at times in such places see a lady-bird
peep out from its drowsy retreat to ascertain whe-
ther the sunshine is really the announcement of
spring.

T

262

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

These visits of the chaffinches in winter to the
tops of mossy walls, however, have been differently
explained. Mr. Knapp tells us he has often thought
that the chaffinch and some other birds obtain
much of their suppport in winter, and more espe-
cially when the ground is covered with snow, by
feeding upon the capsules or fertile heads of various
mosses, having frequently noticed them pecking
and masticating something upon the walls, and in
such places where these plants abound, and nothing
besides that could afford sustenance to any ani-
mated creature. The varioiis species of screw moss
(Tortula) perfect their capsules principally during
those periods in which other seeds, at least in the
pod, could sparingly be found. The object, he
adds, of many of these early plants, has been con-
sidered as obscure, and their profusion a general
subject of admiration; but if the preceding con-
jecture be coi'rect, that they afford nourishment to
these poor little birds in a season of destitution, it
affords us another instance of the benevolence of
the Creator, extending as far as we can perceive,
through every department of creation.

Now all this may undoubtedly be true, though
to me it ajjpears somewhat doubtful, inas-
much as the contents of the capsules of
mosses are so very small as to afford little
nourishment ; but on the walls and other
places where such mosses grow, small phane-
rogamous plants, such as vernal nail-wort,
often abound ; and, though the plants may have
died and disappeared, being annuals, the seeds for
a future crop must be scattered about, and these
the chaffinch knows well how to find, as, unfortu-
nately, it does those which are sown in fields and
gardens. This bird is indeed a most destructive
pest in newly sown grounds^to most sorts of seeds.
In the nurseries, for example, the chaffinches
search for and devour most sorts of the seeds of
trees and shrubs the moment they are sown, such
as those of the mountain-ash, or rowan tree, the
hawthorn, the fir, beech, and many others ; and
the beds must either be protected from their de-
predations by netting, or by some of the usual
means of scaring birds, otherwise there will be
little or no braird, and the seedsman may suffer
seiious reproach for furnishing bad seed when he
is not in the least to blame. In the garden, the
chaffinch is no less destructive to newly sown beds,
both in the autumn and spring, particularly those
of lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, brocoli, turnips,
and radishes. These birds will also nip off the
seed-leaves as soon as the braird appears, after
which they will not touch the plants till the seeds
begin to ripen, when their depredations are re-
newed. How Mr. Jessee could rank the chaffinch
among " harmless" birds, I cannot conjecture, as
its pertinacity in plunderingis well known to every
gardener. It is, however, very easily scared by
any of the usual means, and no garden crop will
be touched by it if proper precautions be timely
taken.

Amongst other injuries done by chaffinches, I
must not omit that these birds, as Mr. Knapp cor-
rectly states, make sad havoc with some of our
spring flowers ; and the polyanthus in March, in
our sheltered borders, is very commonly stripped
of all its blossoms by these little plunderers, pro-
bably to obtain the immature seeds at the base of
their tubes. They often also deflorate the spikes
or whorls of that common weed, red dead nettle
or archangel (^Lamiumfurinierum) ; and they may
be seen in spring with their bills filled with the
green seeds of this early flowering plant.

The mountain finch, or brambling {Fringilia
montifringilla), is so very similar in general appear-
ance to the chaffinch, as to be readily confounded
with it by those who have little knowledge of orni-
thology. Its call- notes also are so like, that it may
be taken with a chaffinch for a call bird. It is
stated to be pretty common in Yorkshire during
winter, associating in flocks with the chaffinches.
It is much less common here, however, than on the
continent. In Thuringia, Dr. Bechstein says they
assemble in flocks, reckoned at about one hundred
thousand, to feed on beach-mast; and, in 1765,
more than six hundred dozen were killed daily
near Sarburg.

The bullfinch {Loxia pyrrhula, Linn.), though a
favourite cage-bird, and, when taught to whistle
tunes, sold at a high price, has no claims to regard
in its wild state, and may rank as a decidedly de-
structive bird. Bewick, indeed, tells us, that it
frequents gardens in the spring, where it is use-
fully busy in destroying the worms which are
lodged in the tender buds. The bulfinch, however,
does not destroy worms nor any species of insect,
as it does not eat any food of this sort ; and if it
did destroy the worms lodged in the buds, it must
destroy the buds before it could get at them. Con-
jectures of this kind (for this is mere conjecture,)
are almost certain to be incorrect, and are easily
disproved by investigation. Dr. Townson, not
contented with the mere observation of the actions
of the birds, opened the stomachs of two bulfinches
which had been shot in a cherry-tree, in the month
of February, and, exclusively of a few grains of
sand, and some small pebbles, found nothing but
the cores of flower-buds, consisting of embryo
flowers, and, with the assistance of a magnifying
glass, he could ascertain all the parts of the blos-
soms. ''The mischief, "he says, "these little
epicures had done, and probably at one breakfast,
is incredible. From the quantity of buds I found
in their stomachs, each of which buds was com-
posed of four or five flowers, I think they had not
eaten less than a thousand apiece. " Even at half
this rate of eating, a few hundred bulfinches would
disbud the largest orchards to a most injurious
extent.

The ingenious journalist, whom I have so often
referred to, without apparently being aware of the
explicit facts just stated, gives a most minute and
accurate account of the proceedings of the bulfinch
in disbudding trees. The notion, he tells us, that
the bulfinch attacks only such buds as contain the
embryo of an insect, is certainly not correct, or if
such a benefit is conferred, it is not with the in-
tention of eating the insect. The injuries done by
these birds, indeed, are more than is commonly
supposed, for on looking beneath the trees or
bushes where they have been feeding, the ground
will be seen to be strewed with the envelopes of
the buds, which they shell off as they do the husks
of seeds.

In severe snowy weather the bullfinch feeds
chiefly on the hips of the wild roses ; but when
these are exhausted or destroyed, it resorts to
orchards and gardens, to feed on the blossom buds
of trees, and, in selecting these, we are told by
the same author, that it is very choice and dainty,
seldom feeding upoc two kinds at the same time.
For the most part it begins with the swelling buds
of the largest and most early gooseberries. A
small flock of about half a dozen may thus be seen
going regularly over every gooseberry bush in a
garden once a-day for a week or so, till few of the
best formed buds escape them, and, of course, the

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

26^

crop is destroyed for that season. When the
gooseherry buds are finished, they next attaclc the
cherries, with which they make treinenduous
havoc. Our author has an early wall cherry, that
has for years been a great favourite with tlie bul-
finch family, and its excellence seems to be com-
municated to each successive generation. It buds
profusely, but is annually stripped of its promise
by the spring visits of the bulfinches, before the
blossoms expand. These birds next attaclc the
blossoms of the plumb-trees, but not those of the
peaches or apricots, and, when theseare exhausted,
they go to the sloe trees in the hedges.

Another writer says, "I saw a bullfinch alight
on a cherry-tree, and before I could charge a gun,
he had completely stripped every blossom bud
from one long branch." This branch bore no fruit,
of course, but all the rest of the branches on the
the same tree bore plentifully. More distinct
proof could not be adduced.

The attacks of these destructive birds are not al-
ways confined to fruit-trees, for they will frequently
run over every bush in the shrubbery, and de-
vour thousands of the blossom buds of flowering
shrubs, particularly the lilac, the Tartarian honey-
suckle, and the Japan corchorus. They will also
eat off, particularly in severe weather, the leaves
of carnations, though they are not so fond of
alighting low down, like the sparrow. Dr. Bech-
stein says they relish the pips of apples, but it is
doubtful whether, in a wild state, they peck into
the fruit to get at these.

I am not aware whether the bullfinches can be
easily scared by any of the usual means ; but in
places exposed to their depi-edations, if none of
these succeed upon trial, recourse must be had to
the gun, and, in this way, they may easily be kept
under, as they are nowhere in very great numbers.
I have observed that in Scotland they increase
rapidly, where plantations of fir have been made,
as they are fond of the seeds, and prefer the broad
platform of a silver fir branch for their nest.

The house-sparrow {Passer domesticus, Ray), is
by far the most mischievous of the smaller birds
which have hitherto come under our notice, and,
from its being an exceedingly prolific breeder, and
omnivorous as to food, its numbers, in most parts
of the country, are very great- One pair of birds
will often rear no fewer than fifteen young ones in
the course of a season, and as they build out of the
reach of danger, these seldom meet with accidents
in the earlier stage of their existence. It is thus,
accordingly, that the numerous flocks are pro-
duced, which we see collect in the hedges and trees,
to make their descent into fields and gardens,
which they plunder without mercy, often to a
most ruinous extent, than most previous observers
have been aware of, as I hope I shall be able satis-
factorily to prove. It is rather a singular circum-
stance that the greater number of writers on na-
tural history undertake the defence of the sparrow
against what they term popular prejudices, but,
like most partizans for a particular side of a ques-
tion, they are apt to prove too much, or to over-
rate supposed benefits, and underrate supposed
damage. It may be as well to state one or two of
the arguments usually adduced in favour of the
sparrow, and point out their fallacy.

The basis of the usual arguments of the advocates
for sparrows are such as the following, which I take
from a common work on ornithology : " The igno-
rant," says the writer, " ever ready to judge from
superficial observation, have condemned the spar-
row, because it feeds on the produce of the farmer,

as a most noxious bird, fit only to be extirpated.
It is to be recollected, however, that insects form
no inconsiderable part of the food of these birds.
Bradley, in his Treatise on Husbandry and Gar-
dening, has ])roved by actual observation, that a
pair of sparrows, during the time they had young,
carried to the nest forty caterpillars in one hour ;
and supposing them employed with equal diligence
for twelve hours a-day, they will in one week con-
sume the astonishing number of 3360 caterpillars.
Thus an all-wise Providence checks the inordinate
increase of insects ; which, however useful in
themselves, would, if left unmolested, propagate
with such rapidity, as to consume the vegetable
productions of the earth, and leave it a desert
waste."

Another writer, who is more partial to imagin-
ing facts than proving them from obs'ervation, is
pleased to inform us, that " the house-sparrow
does more good by destroying the house-fly and
the cabbage butterfly, than it does injury to gardens
or to field crops. " ^Ve might very safely, I think,
offer to pay a sovereign for every house-fly or
cabbage butterfly proved to be caught by sparrows ;
for though they will carry off to their young the
smooth caterpillars, but not the hairy ones of the
cabbage butterfly (Pontia Brassicx), as well as the
grubs and pupaj of the flies, they will not touch
the full-grown insects. His proof is, that sparrows
are said to be trained to catch butterflies in Per-
sia ; but though some bird called a sparrow may
be thus trained, it does not follow that it is the
house-sparrow.

In this third series of Gleanings, Mr. Jesse says,
" that there is a custom in the village in which I
at present reside, and, I believe, in most othei's in
England, for the churchwardens to give a certain
sum of money for every dozen heads of sparrows
which are brought to them. I verily believe, how-
ever, that the worthy churchwardens are grievously
imposed upon, as I hear of the heads of chaflftnches,
tomtits, and other harmless birds, being substituted
for them. Be this as it may, my object now is to
endeavour to rescue the sparrow from the odium it
has long been under of doing great injury to the
farmer. That it will feed on corn and peas there
can be no doubt ; but this may be in a great mea-
sure prevented by setting boys to watch during
the short space the corn is ripe. With this ex-
ception, 1 believe sparrows are of the greatest uti-
lity to the farmer, devouring myriads of insects,
which would otherwise do him infinite injury :
this is particularly the case when they have young
ones, all of which are fed with insects and cater-
pillars ; and I feel convinced that they would not
have been so generally distributed, over most
parts of the world, had they not been intended for
some useful purpose ; indeed, many observant
persons are now aware, that, in places where
sparrows have been destroyed, some sorts of fruit-
trees have been stript of their leaves by cater-
pillars."

Dr. Bechstein, in the same spirit says, " if, un-
fortunately, it is true that sparrows cause great
injury in ripe fields of wheat, barley, and peas, it
must be acknowledged that they are very useful
in our orchards and gardens, by destroying in the
spring thousands of insects on which they feed
their young." His French translator adds, that
" the destruction of sparrows has been so great an
evil in the countries where the government had
ordered it, that it has been found necessary to re-
scind the order. "

Mr. Knapp again tells us, " sparrows soem to be

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264

THE FARMER^S MAGAZINE.

appointed by nature as one of the agents, for keep-
ing from undue increase another race of creatures,
and by their prolificacy they accomplish it. In
the spring and early part of the summer, before
the corn becomes ripe, they are insectivorous, and
their constantly increasing families require an un-
ceasing supply of food. We see them every mi-
nute of the day in continual progress, flying from
the nest for a supply, and returning with rapid
wing with a grub, a caterpillar, or some reptile ;
and the numbers captured by them in the course
of these travels are incredibly numerous, keeping
under the increase of these races, and making a;r-
ple restitution for their plunderings and thefts. "

This account, though by much too favourable to
the sparrow, is nearer the truth than any of the
preceding; but the following which not only ex-
culpates the sparrow by a gross misstatement, but
attacks the redbreast, contains as many errors as
lines.

" Country gentlemen," says the writer, "com-
plain of their fruit being devoured by birds, and
orders are given for an indiscriminate destruction
of birds' nests ; sparrows more especially, are
persecuted without mercy, as being the chief ag-
gressors ; while the robin redbreast, conceived to
be the most innocent inhabitant of the garden, is
fostered and protected. Now a little acquaintance
■with the natural history of these two birds would
set their characters in opposite lights. The spar-
rows, more especially in country situations, very
rarely frequent the garden ; because, grain being
their chief food, they search for it round the farm-
yard, the rick, and the stable ; they resort to such
situations accordingly. The robins, on the other
hand, are the great devourers of the small fruits ;
they come from the nest just before the currants
are ripe ; and they immediately spread themselves
over the adjacent gardens, which they do not quit
so long as there is any thing to pillage. It may
appear strange that no writers on our native birds
should have been aware of these facts ; but it is
only a proof how little those persons who are,
nevertheless, interested in knowing such things,
attend to the habits and economy of beings con-
tinually before their eyes. " Our former paper sets
the character of the redbreast in its true light :
this gentleman, however, is noted for his errors
on practical subjects.

Another theory has been recently broached in
defence of the sparrow and other seed-eating birds,
by a fanciful writer who says, "that each bird
(finch) eats 100 seeds every day, by no means an
extravagant calculation; which, however, gives
to each the prevention of 36,500 weeds every
year. The birds cannot be numbered ; but when
the vast flocks which are seen every where are
considered, a hundred millions must be greatly
below the actual number. That would give the
immense prevention of weeds by the finches alone
at the astonishing number of 3,650,000,000,000.
Say that each weed would, upon an average, occupy
a square inch (and many of them occupy 100 square
inches) and the quantity of land which the finches
annually prevent from being overrun, is little short
of 600,000 acres, or more than one-seventh part of
the total surface of England and Wales, whether
cultivated or uncultivated. "

" Countries, " he adds, " where the weeds get
the better of the little birds, are in a sure progress
ot sterility. The settlers on the northern shores
of Lake Ontario in Canada, know what it is to
have fields overrun with the Canadian thistle ; and
in many parts of the north of Scotland where there

were no bushes for birds, were sadly infested with
the common field marigold, before belts and copses
began to be planted. "

A very easy method of settling these points
would be, to leave the sparrows and the other birds
unmolested to free the cabbages from caterpillars,
the houses from the plague of flies, and the fields
and gardens from weeds ; but every body who
ever had a garden knows that in certain seasons
favourable to their breeding, the cabbages and
other growing crops will be devoured by catei'-
pillars, and without careful weeding the beds will
be overgrown with weeds where the sparrows and
other birds are even unusually numerous. In a
garden, for example, adjacent to where I am now
writing, daily visited by hundreds of sparrows,
while extensive damage is done by them to many
of the crops, the cabbages in summer were very
much eaten by caterpillars, and above all the
groimdsel and other weeds grew as closely as if
they had been sown on jjurpose. In my own gar-
den, it required great care and assiduity to keep
down the weeds, and to clear away the caterpillars
by hand picking -. the sparrows would never have
kept them under, and every practical man must
laugh at the utter absurdity of such a fancy which
could only have been devised in the closet. Mr.
Bradley's calculation indeed looks something like
fact ; but instead of giving the sparrows twelve
hours, he would have been nearer the truth if he
had limited it to half the number, and this would
very greatly reduce his estimate. Buffbn, so often
improperly blamed for his inaccuracy, would have
set those fanciers right respecting the sparrow, had
they taken the trouble to consult him. " Persons,"
he says, " who had kept them in cages assured him,
that a single pair of sparrows consume nearly
twenty pounds weight of corn every year ; and
taking this and their prodigious numbers into con-
sideration, what enormous destruction must they
makeover our fields; for though they feed their
young with insects, they chiefly subsist on the
best grain. They follow the sower in seed time,
and the reaper in harvest; they attend the thrash-
ers at the barns, and the poulterer when he scat-
ters grain to his fowls ; they visit the pigeon-houses
and pierce the craw of the young pigeons to extract
the food ; they also eat bees and are thus disposed
to destroy the only insects useful to man."

A practical writer says jusfly, that " small as
these birds appear to be, their consumption of
grain in the fields both in seed time and harvest,
is very great ; they, very often, taking almost
every grain all round the field to the breadth of
eight or ten feet, and frequently to as many yards,
while their destruction of the roofs of thatched
buildings is perceptible to every one. " It is no
trifling loss to a corn grower, to lose the quantity
of grain which these birds consume in the corn
stacks in the farm- yard ; and he is of opinion that
each bird will eat its own weight of corn daily.
He has known, he says, as many as 3,000 caught
in a single day on one farm with a net, and sup-
pose we allow two ounces for the average weight
of each bird, the consumption daily would be
about ten bushels of corn for that number of
birds.

A periodical writer says that a few years ago he
was surprised to see the snow under a May-duke
cherry, covered with the husks of buds which he
ascertained to have been done by the sparrows,
and, had they not been prevented, they would
have taken the whole. The birds, says the same
writar, uniformly take off all my plumb crop, as

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

265

•well as the gooseberries and currants, and fre-
quently the cherries. He remarked for several
years, that he scarcely got a green gage from two
trees at the lower part of his garden, while he
usually had some in a favourable season on a tree
near the house : he also observed, that all the
fruit buds were regularly taken off the finer sorts
of gooseberries, while the smaller and common
kinds escaped, no doubt from the larger buds
proving more tempting than the smaller.

I find, indeed, that even in the mildest winters,
the sparrows extensively disbud the trees and
shrubs in my garden, more particularly the red or
white currant buds, though they seldom if ever
touch the black currant. The blossom buds of
the lilac are occasionally attacked. A pair of
sparrows, indeed, will do more damage in this
way in an hour than all the caterpillars hatched
on these trees in the most prolific years will do in
a whole season. Miller remarks, long ago, that
the sparrows also disbud the carnations, picotees,
and pinks, and I observed, last spring, that they
not only devoured the buds, but the younger
leaves of carnations, leaving on some plants little
besides the naked stumps. At first, on observing
the circumstance, I imagined the leaves had been
eaten by cats, as they had eaten down a clump of
garden grass near at hand, till I repeatedly saw
the sparrows nibbling at the carnations with their
sharp-edged bills, that cut like a pair of scissars,
and whether it is buds or grain, they can with
such an instrument readily get at the core, which
alone they eat.

But though all these are serious depredations,
they appear to me not to be so injurious as an-
other which is little noticed — the destruction of
the braid of field and garden plants, by cutting off
the seed-leaves the instant they come through the
ground. Every gardener and farmer knows that
sparrows destroy great quantities of seed after it
has been sown, particularly spinage, lettuce, radish,
turnip, and cabbage ; but when these plants come
up, the depredations of the sparrows are increased
rather than diminished, though the snails, slugs,
and caterpillars usually get credit for the damage.
It was, indeed, some lime before I could convince
myself it was the sparrows that ate off whole rows
of my peas and spinnage, and beds of radishes and
seedling cabbage, being rather pleased to see them
alighting on the brairds, thinking the opinion
right that they were clearing away insects. A single
experiment proved that the sparrows were indu-
bitably the aggressors. Threads studded with
feathers were stretched across the beds, which so
effectually scared the sparrows, that they never
ventured again to alight upon them, and the seed-
ling plants grew undisturbed, while other beds
left unprotected were as before entirely stript of
the plants. Pigeons will do the same both with
peas, lettuce, and spinnage, but they are not worse
than the spari-ows.

The turnip-fly, it is but too well known, does
extensive damage to the turnip crops in the seed
leaf; but I have not a doubt that the fly is fre-
quently accused when there is no fly to be found,
in the same way as I accused the slugs and cater-
pillars of eating my young cabbages, lettuce, and
radishes. The field crops of turnips, indeed, ap-
pear in their seed-leaf just about the time when
the sparrows begin to collect in numerous flocks
in the hedges, and as one sparrow will nip off se-
veral dozen seedling turnips at a meal, the damage
done by a flock of fifty or a hundred resorting
every day to a turnip field must be immense. I

do not speak from conjecture ; I had a bed of tur-
nips in my garden the last spring entirely eaten
off by the sparrows, before I was aware of the
cause, and I recollect that a year or two ago a
neighbour had a similar loss, which he attributed
to the fly, but though I myself carefully looked
over this bed two or three times a day to discover
the fly, I never observed one. I have not the
slightest doubt that it was the sparrows alone. I
cannot too strongly impress this upon the attention
of turnip growers.

Taking the preceding details into considei'ation,
it is much to be wished that some efi"ectual method
could be devised for preventing the depredations
of sparrows. One effectual mode of diminishing
their numbers is to catch them in a net at night
when they roost by whole companies in ricks and
stacks, or in a large trap net with a decoy bird, in
both which ways I have known hundreds taken in
a few hours. Many may be killed at a single shot
by scattering corn in a long train, and firing at
them while feeding.

Count Buffon having been told that if sulphur
were smoked under trees where the sparrows sleep
at night they would be suffocated and drop dead ;
he tried the experiment, but without success,
though he took much pains and was interested in
the issue, as he could not get them driven from
the neighbourhood of his voleries. He placed on
a wall covered with great Indian chesnuts, where
the sparrows assembled every evening in great
numbers, pots filled with sulphur, mixed with a
little charcoal and rosin, and these substances
being set on fire, caused a thick smoke, which had
no other effect than to awaken the birds. As the
volume ascended, they removed to the tops of the
trees, and then retired to the neighbouring houses,
but not one dropped.

Imagining that the sparrows might readily be
poisoned, I mixed some arsenic with oatmeal, and
strewed it in thepaths between the beds of seedlings
which they were daily devouring, but they never
touched the poison, and my experiment was as
unsuccessful as that of Buffbn's with the sulphur.
Others, however, have used arsenic successfully,
in particular, Mr. Stafford, gardener to R. Ark-
wright, Esq. of Crawford, Derbyshire. His ac-
count is too interesting to suffer abridgement.

"About twenty-six years ago, " he says, "I
went to live at Swinfin House, near Lichfield; it
was surrounded by a rookery, containing many
thousand nests, under which the sparrows built
their nests, or rather formed habitations amongst
the inequalities of the small wood that formed the
foundations of the rooks' nests. Such were the
numbers of the sparrows, that I soon found, both
from reports and by my own experience, that no-
thing upon which they feed escape destruction. I
mentioned to a relation of mine the havoc which
these birds made on my crops of peas, particularly
when in a green state, and fit for the table, and
he recommended me to make use of the following
method for their extirpation :

"Take a flat earthern dish (a flowerpot-feeder
will do) , in which put a quantity of soaked bread,
and place it on the garden wall, or in some place
where no domestic animal will be likely to get at
it. By paying attention to keeping up a supply,
the sparrows will attend quite regularly to be fed ;
then about the sixth or eighth day, mix a small
quantity of white arsenic with the bread. This, as
well as their other food, should be given early in
the morning, and before night its effects will be
visible both on the old and the young ones.

266

TJIE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

"The first time I tried it, " Mr. StafiFord con-
tinues, "every part of the garden and buildings
exhibited its power, in the number of dead and
dying birds ; and, before three days had elapsed,
their destruction was so complete that I could
scarcely hear one about the premises. JMy curio-
sity led me to examine the ground under the rooks'
nests, which I found thickly strewed with the young
sparrows, thrown out of the nests as soon as life
had become extinct. This method I practised for
the five years I was with the Swinfin family, and
always with the same success. I likewise recom-
mended many farmers to try its effects, who all
found it to exceed their expectations. A neigh-
bouring clergyman applied to me, one morning,
for a little of the mixture, and, before the evening,
he desired me to go and witness the destruction it
had made. I have since felt warranted in recom-
mending it whenever I had an opportunity ; and,
after twenty-five years' experience, I feel anxious
to communicate it to the public, well knowing
that., in many instances, the loss occasioned by
these birds is more than equal to a tenth of the
crop, and I think that most practical men who
have made observations on the corn-fields at the
time of harvest, will be of the same opinion. If
the whole of a parish were to put the above plan
into operation in the month of June, I make no
doubt that almost every sparrow might be de-
stroyed ; and, when we take into consideration the
great sums paid annually in some parishes to per-
sons who undertake to destroy these birds, I think
the method here explained will be found to be not
only the best, but likewise the cheapest."

It is but right to mention, that some who have
tried Mr. Stafford's method of poisoning the spar-
rows, have not found it succeed; and one gentle-
man who was disappointed in it, and having a
large kitchen garden much infested with sparrows
and chaffinches, was induced to go to considerable
trouble and expense to prevent their ravages. He
caused his labourers, when not otherwise em-
ployed, to prepare rods of wood about two inches
broad, an inch and a half thick, and ten or twelve
feet long, joining them together at the ends with
similar rods, nine feet long, and, in the centre of
the same, a similar rod to strengthen it. This
frame is then wired with copper wire, close enough
to prevent the birds getting through. The frame
thus prepared is raised over the beds upon pieces
of wood six inches long — one piece at each corner
of the frame, and one in the centre. Wire is like-
wise passed around these pieces of wood to pie-
vent the birds getting in at the sides. He says it
is much cheaper than netting, and more sightly
than matting.

These wire-frames must prove effectual, but few
would like the expense and trouble who could
avoid it, and I am convinced, from my own expe-
rience, that threads with feathers or bits of paper
tied along, and suspended so as to dangle over the
beds, will prove effective in scaring both sparrows
and chaffinches, which, with all their pert impu-
dence, are exceedingly wary and fearful of danger.
A coat and hat stuffed with straw so as to have
some resemblance to a man, will not intimidate
them so effectually as the thread and feathers. A
neighbour of mine once set up such a man of straw
in a cherry-tree to scare the sparrows from the
ripe cherries, among which they were making- sad
havoc, but, after the first day or two, when the
novelty wore off, they alighted close to it, and de-
voured the cherries as before. Netting, in such
cases, is the only eff"ectual preventive, and unless

threads and feathers, which 1 have not tried, might
do, netting, or tying up the bunches in gauze, or
thin muslin bags, is the only way of protecting
ripe grapes on the open walls, of which sparrows
are very fond, and devour great quantities, always
selecting the largest and the ripest, and sadly dis-
figuring the bunches. Should any person choose
to try the thread and feathers, it ought to be fixed
at some little distance from the fruit on the wall,
so as to allow the feathers to move freely, as it
appears to be their motion which intimidates the
sparrows. White worsted threads, without fea-
thers or ])aper, will scare them from peas or spi-
nage, for a short time in spring, though they soon
become familiar with this, but I have never found
that they venture near when feathers or paper are
used.

The tree-sparrow (Passer montana, Ray) is
somewhat similar in appearance to the house-
sparrow ; sufficiently so to be popularly con-
founded therewith, but very different in habits.
I do not mean by the tree-sparrows those which
build large nests high on the branches of trees ;
these are only house-sparrows. The tree-sparrow
always builds in the holes of trees, at a little dis-
tance from the ground, which the house-sparrow
rarely, if ever, does. The tree-sparrow has the
throat, and a spot behind the eyes, black, and the
sides of the head white, while the house-sparrow
is black all round the eyes. The wings again in
the tree- sparrow, have two white cross-bands,
while the house-sparrow has only one. The tree-
sparrow is by no means common, though it is
plentiful in Yorkshire and some other localities.
It never comes near houses, but frequents gardens,
orchards, and fields abounding with trees and
hedges. It is very lively, and is in continual mo-
tion, but does not hop so awkwardly as the house-
sparrow, fluttering along, and jerking its tail,
somewhat like a wagtail. It is not so pert as the
house-sparrow, though it is not very shy, but will
follow travellers on the roads, flying low, with a
sort of wheeling motion. It is chiefly destructive
in seed time and harvest, when considerable flocks
assemble and plunder the farm-fields, more after
the fashion of the linnets. Its depredations may
be prevented by one or other of the plans already
pointed out.

I have now gone over all the British hedge-birds
which I think can be alleged to be injurious to
field and garden crops ; but, besides these, there
are several other birds which commit depredations,
but do not well come under the designation which
stands at the head of this paper. Partridges, for
example, and other game birds, never settle on
hedges, and cannot be termed hedge-birds ; and
the magpie, though partly a hedge-bird, does little
injury to crops, though it is otherwise injurious.
The raven and the rook also merit especial notice ;
but, for the present, I have extended my remarks
much farther than 1 had any idea of when I com-
menced, and must leave the croivs and the game for
another communication.

J. R.

LxTsus Nathr.t.— A lamb was taken last week
from a beautiful ewe belonging to Mr, Philip Francis,
of Moor, which had two perfect bodies, eight legs, one
head, and a cleft tongue. The same may be seen at
Read's Veterinary Establishment, Crediton.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

267

TO CLARK HILLYARD, Esq.

Sir, — In a late number of the Nortbampton Chro-
nicle, I took the liberty of addressing to you a few
words on turnip culture, with the view of tracing
hew far the mode of rearing this crop, as at present
practised, is susceptible of the attacks of insects,
and whether a little variation from the practice of
this mode, would not in some degree, palliate, if not
altogether cure the evil complained of. In my pre-
vious letter I pointed out, what I conceived to be,
deficiencies in the system of turnip cultivation in
this vicinity ; first, 1 deprecated the neglect of a
proper selection of clean, well kept seed ; I next
noticed the baneful practice of using seed which has
been continuously raised on the same land, and of the
current year's growth ; lastly, I allude to the uneco-
nomical practice of sowing broad cast in preference
to drilling, and concluded by alluding to other de-
fects, to which I now beg to re-call your attention —
first, as regards the quantity of seed generally allowed
in this country for an acre. I do not pretend to
speak from experience, but have been told that many
farmers content themselves with two pounds to an
acre; now I willinglyconcede, tbatif the seeds were
equally disposed of over the surface of an acj-e, a
much smaller quantity would suffice, provided that
the arrival of every plant to maturity were ensured ;
but to show thnt this very limited quantity of seed per
acre is inadequate to realisethe expectations of the sow-
er, even by the drilling system, which should require
less seed per acre than that of the broad cast does,
I shall just take the liberty of giving one quotation
from Mr. Loudon on the insects and diseases of turnips
— " there are no less (saysthisPrince ofvvritersonru-
ral economy ) than six different insects which feed upon
the turnip — from the moment the seed is committed
to the ground, it is exposed to the attacks of the
wire worm, which frequently destroys one-fourth of
the crop. — On the appearance of the Cotyledon
leaves, the small jumping beetle (Hattica nemorum)
makes its appearance ; ivi the meantime another beetle
enemy (Curcidio contractus) deposits its eggs in the
Cuticle, the grub hatches, and decay follows ; when
the rough leaves appear, they furnish food to the
black caterpillar of a tenth redo or saw fly, the ma-
ture leaves are next devoured by the caterpillar of
the turnip butterfly ( Pontiarapce). Lastly, the grub
ofanother small weevilproduces knobs and tubercles."
Now, Sir, since we see that the turnip is assailed by
such a host of enemies, the first of which is supposed
to destroy one-fourth of the crop alone, aui I not
justified in calling in question the prudence of those
who make use of such a limited quantity of seed as
two pounds per acre. 1 may just mention that the
farmers of Perthshire, than whom there are no bet-
ter turnip growers in the kingdom, by the drilling-
system usually sow from three to four pounds the
acre, by which practice they are protected from man v
contingencies to which the scanty sower is liable,
the advantage of having abundance of strong healthy
plants, at the thinning season, to select from, being
of the first importance. There is one advantage
arising out of thick sowing to which I beg to call
the Northamptonshire farmer's particular attention,
which is, that by adding to the quantity of the seed
sown, the power of resistance is proportionally in-
creased, so that by the united vegetative pressure of
the plants upwards, they are enabled to force their
way through the adhesive crust, which always forms
in the surface of stiff soils. An opinion seems to
prevail amongst those agricultural gentlemen with
whom I have the pleasure of being acquainted, that
clay land is any thing but calculated for turnip grow-

ing, they say that it is impossible to feed off turnip
on clay land ; an objection is also offered on account
of the stiffness of the soil, preventing the regular
springing of the seeds; now any one who has had the
.opportunity of witnessing farming operations in the
Carse of Gourie, will admit that tract of land to be
as strong clay as any in Northamptonshire, and there
they might have seen the accumulated power of ve-
getative motion produced by liberal sowing, raise
the surface crust of the drill from one end to the
other. With regard to the former objection, I must
admit, that under the present system of tillage, it
may hold good, yet, if instead of ploughing four to
six inches deep, the subsoil were well broken up to
a proper depth, and the surface become pulverized
so as to admit the surface moisture to find its way to
lower level, this, together with judicious draining,
would in a great measure meet the objection. I am
aware, Sir, of the prejudice that exists here against
deep ploughing, and like yourself, may " get well
smoked for my pains, '' but let those who dread the
effects of deep ploughing, consult the works of the
day devoted to agricultural literature, and there see
what is effecting in Stirlingshire by Smith's subsoil
plough ; but to proceed, if there is one thing con-
nected with turnip rearing of importance above an-
other, it is as regards the time of sowing, this, I ob-
served in my former letter, may be made subservient
in a high degree for evading the attacks of the in-
sect; but to avail ourselves of its advantages, much
careful investigation is necessary ; in the first place,
we must endeavour to ascertain the period which
turnip seed of a certain age requires to be in the
ground, before the cotyledons or seed leaves are pro-
duced; we must also calculate the periodical return
of the insect, which requires a certain amount of
warmth, to bring it into an active state of existence ;
thus, if turnip seed sown on the 2oth of May, shall
require ten days to come into the seed leaf, and then
be attacked, I think it pretty evident that, had that
seed been sown six or eight days earlier, escape
should be next to certain, and that without much
risk of the plants running to seed. There is, how-
ever, another circumstance connected with this in-
vestigation which requires special consideration,
namely, the degree of forwardness or backwardness
of the season, this will affect the state of the insect
considerably — will advance, or retard its maturation
accordingly ; in other words, the insect will appear
sooner in an early season, than in a late one — here
again the farmer must fall back on his calculating
powers; to gain his object let him for this purpose,
pitch on some particular tree, or species of tree, on
the farm — say the elm, as being the most prevailing
sort here, let him observe the date at whicli this tree
comes into full leaf, and then mark the interval be-
tween this and the appearance of the enemy, thus,
sbould the tree come into leaf a given number of days
sooner than it did the previous year, let him sow as
many days sooner, so as to keep the enemy ten days'
march behind him.

TJie only other observation which I shall trouble
you with, is the very simple and effective mode of
preventing the attack of the turnip insect (I mean
the common beetle or fly,) and which I have been in
the habit of recommending to my agriculturul friends
for these last seven years. Having spent a consider-
able portion of my years as a seedsman, I, of course,
was aware that if properly kept, the seeds of all the
Brassica family will vegetate at any age, I therefore
recommended taking two, three, and four years old
seed, in equal proportions for sowing, having pre-
viously been properly mixed : by this plan there
are a few days between the coming up of each year's

68

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

seed; so that it' the tirst crop is taken, the beetle,
having accomplished the work of destruction, leaves
the ground, when the second and third seed spring
has the chance of being unmolested. Mr. Loudon,
I find not only recommends this practice, but pro-
poses a process which is a decided improvement,
which is, after having mixed the seed, he divides the
quantity and steeps one half of it twenty-four hours
in water, which, being dried the following day in the
sun, is then mixed with the other half, by which the
chances of escape are doubled.

I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,

A FRIEND TO FARMING,

TITHE COMMUTATION BILL.

TO THE LANDOWNERS OF ENGLAND AND WALES.

The following is the copy of a petition which has
recently been presented to the House of Commons
from several landowners in the county of Kent, re-
lative to the Tithe Commutation Bill. Your at-
tention is particularly called to it, and it is hoped
you will give it that consideration which the im-
portance of the subject demands.

It has excited much surprise that that portion of
the members in the two Houses of Parliament
having landed property, but no interest in tithes,
should have suffered such a bill to pass ; it having
an obvious tendency to militate against their own
interest, and to place them in a worse position
than heretofore. To the clergy and titheowners,
however, the bill will be of invaluable benefit; for
instead of a precarious, it will secure to them a
permanent income, estimated according to the
highest rate of produce which possibly, under any
circumstance, the soil of England is capable of
yielding; and this income is secured to them,
divested of all the difficulty, risk, inconvenience,
and annoyance to which they have heretofore been
subjected. The bill has been styled, " a great
and healing measure,*' but it will require a micro-
scopic eye to discover any benefit which can pos-
sibly accrue to the tithepayers. Well may those
who will be benefited by it hail the bill with un-
mingled satisfaction, as it is beyond what they
could have hoped for in the existing state of
society.

The Bishop of Exeter (the only prelate who
offered any opposition to the bill,) admits that
" the measure is harmless to the clergy of the pre-
sent generation ;" but with a provident concern for
those yet unborn, he objects to it— because the es-
timate of the value of the tithes being made ac-
cording to the rate of produce for seven years end-
ing at Christmas, 1835, will not insure to them a
participation in the future increase of the produce
of the land, which his Lordship assumes is to go
on for ever augmenting. The assumption is, how-
ever, most fallacious ; for a considerable quantity
of land which had been brought into cultivation
for the growth of corn, owing to the great demand
and high prices during the war, is now, in conse-
quence of the reduced price of grain, in progress of
conversion to pasture ; and a still greater quantity
will, no doubt, be withdrawn from cultivation, when-
ever an alteration shall take place in the corn laws

— an event, probably, not very remote, as they are
becoming, in the opinion of a great and powerful
portion of the community, more and more in-
tolerable.

Now is therefore the time for the landowners
duly to consider, what upon their property will be
the operation and effect of the Tithe Commutation
Bill ; and whether, while it secures to the clergy
and titheowners a permanent income under an in-
finitely more advantageous arrangement than here-
tofore, it will not eventually be productive of a
diminished one to them.

To the Honourable the Commons of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, in Parliament assembled.

The Petition of the undersigned landowners, re-
siding in the county of Kent,
Most respectfully sheweth —

That your Petitioners having been induced, from
the discussion which occurred in the House of Com-
mons upon the introduction of the Tithe-Commuta-
tion Bill, to expect, that as it was admitted the land-
lords in Ireland were entitled to a bonus for having
their estates saddled with a rent-charge in lieu of
tithes, the landowners in England and Wales would
have been granted a similar allowance, though, per-
haps, under existing circumstances, not to so great
an amount ; it is, therefore, with considerable dis-
appointment your petitioners find, that that principle
was abandoned, and the rent-charge fixed according
to the value of the tithes for the last seven years —
thus entirely relieving the tithe-owners from all
future risk and vexation, and entailing upon the
landowners a charge, whicli, probably, will hereafter
in many cases absorb nearly all the rent.

That your petitioners beg to call your attention to
the 79th clause of the act, as it will probably, in its
operation, place many of them in a much worse po-
sition than heretofore ; for should tenants under
existing leases object to pay the rent-charge, the
trouble, inconvenience, and annoyance of taking the
tithes in kind will be transferred from the tithe-
owners to the landlords. In cases of this kind,
therefore, the perplexing situation of a landlord, re-
siding far away from his property, must be obvious
to every one ; the consequence will be, that the
landlords, particularly the small proprietors, without
the means of collecting the tithes, will be placed in
a most vexatious situation, not only with regard to
the great, but, in a more embarrassing predicament,
with respect to the collection of the small tithes : —
the result, therefore, in many cases, would probably
be productive of considerable loss to the landlords.

That, about twenty-five or thirty years ago, a great
quantity of poor land — in consequence of the in-
creased demand for corn during the war, and its then
remunerating price — was cultivated for its produc-
tion ; and as the cultivation of that species of land
has always been attended with considerable expense,
latterly with little or no profit, and in many instances
with a loss ; and as it is very probable, from the al-
teration of the corn-laws, and other causes, pro-
ducing a low price of grain, that much land of this
description would cease to be cultivated, the continu-
ance of a rent-charge for the commutation of tithes,
according to the average produce of the last seven
years, would, to the proprietors of land of this qua-
lity, be highly injurious. It must, therefore, appear
obvious to your honourable House, that to fix the
proprietor of the soil with a rent-charge for the com-
mutation of tithes, under every circumstance that
may hereafter occur, according to the quantity of

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

269

corn grown during the period prescribed by the act>
will not be a just basis for the calculation of a per-
manent titheable produce of the land.

That, to obviate these difficulties and to simplify
the measure, your petitioners submit to your honour-
able House the propi'iety of enacting, That the land
be valued in the several parishes of England and
Wales, by two surveyors ; one to be appointed by
the titheowner, and the other by the landed proprie-
tors ; who shall be instructed to fix an amount of the
value of the corn, &c., which tley shall consider the
land capable of producing, under the ordinary sys-
tem of farming : and after making a deduction for the
expences to w-hich the titheowner would be subjected
for collecting, preparing for sale, and marketing his
tithes, then to award the sum to be annually paid for
the commutation thereof. Your petitioners trust you
will consider this a fair and equitable arrangement ;
for it will surely be an act of injustice permanently
to fix the proprietor of the soil with a payment in lieu
of tithes, calculated on the capital which may chance
to have been employed on it during the last seven
years, and that too, in many instances, by a person
not under his control. And with respect to the act
which passed iu the last session of Parliament, your
petitioners are confident, that when it becomes com-
pulsory, particularly in cases where tithes have been
taken in kind, much dissatisfaction will exist ; and
that, consequently, numerous petitions will be sent
to Parliament, praying for its repeal, or a revision of
some of its most important clauses ; for although
your petitioners approve of the principle of the bill,
viz., that of abolishing the custom of taking tithes in
kind, j^et the detail of it is such, that in many in-
stances, they are persuaded, it cannot be carried
fairly and equitably into execution.

Your petitioners, therefore, request your honour-
able House will be pleased to revise the Act for the
Commutation of Tithes, so that, before the law shall
become compulsory, it may be enacted: — 1st, That a
bonus be given to the landowners, as a remuneration
for the risk imposed on them. 2cllv, That the occu-
piers under eiisting leases may, as heretofore, be
alone responsible for the payment of the rent-charge.
3dly, That land ceasing to be in tillage may no
longer be liable as arable land to the payment of
tithes. And 4thly, That the value of the tithe shall
be estimated only from the produce of the corn, &c.,
to be obtained by the ordinary mode of farming, and
not from what may have been produced by the out-
lay of a large capital.

And your petitioners will ever pray.

Combination of the Farm Servants in East
Lothian. — At a meeting of the hinds, farm-servants,
and labourers held in the Town-hall Haddington,
on Wednesday evening, the 25th ult., the follow-
ing resolutions were agreed to, viz : — " 10/ sterling
in money ; a cow's keep, or 61 allowed instead : 1| qrs.
of barley ; ^ ditto of pease ; 65 bolls of oatmeal, Dutch
weight; 6 bolls of potatoes, 4 cwt. per boll ; permission
to keep a pig ; five weeks meat in harvest ; free house and
garden : coals driven ; no bondager ; labourer's wages,
12s per week ; farm servants, 14^ per year ; also, that
no undue advantage should be taken of the hours of
labour expected from the servants." What may be the
result of these resolutions, we know not ; but it is un-
doubtedly a new position which that class of the com-
munity have assumed. In Berwickshire, meetings of a
similar nature, and for the same objects, have been re-
cently held among the farm-servants of that county.

POINTS IN CHEMISTRY APPLIED
TO AGRICULTURE.— SOILS.

" Nunc, quo quamque mode possis cognoscere, dicam."
Virgil's Georgics, Lib. II.

" Til teach thee now moulds different to discern."

Of all the departments of Agricultural Chemistry,
not one is superior in importance to that which em-
braces the nature and management of soils. Colla-
teral knowledge is certainly not to be despised, but
it is here that the business of the farmer peculiarly
lies, and to this, therefore, his mind ought more par-
ticularly to be directed.

Soils serve two important ends — they give a firm
support to plants, and serve as the medium in which
their food is fitted for their use, and through which
their spongioles, or digestive organs may ramify to
obtain it. Every thing, then, may be considered a
soil which possesses such characters, from the scab-
rous oxidated surface of the whin-dyke, affording
nourishment for the closely-adhering lichen, to the
deep and loamy mould supporting a forest. Soils
originate from the destruction of rocks, a pheno-
menon constantly progressing, and owing to the
action of surrounding agents. Chemical and me-
chanical means are continually at work, disintegrat-
ing the most stubborn inorganic masses, and causing
them to crumble to dust. Lightning, showers of
rain, streams of running water, tides, gravity, frost,
even winds and the affiaity of various elementary
bodies for the constituents of the stone, all tend in
a shorter or longer period to reduce the proudest
pinnacle to a soil. " The granite of some parts of
Finland," says Mr. Strangways, " is so liable to de-
composition, that a great boulder of it may often be
seen with a hole cut in it large enough to admit a
cart and horse ; and the stone, though at a small dis-
tance it seems calculated to last for ages, is cut down
and shaped away with the same ease, and much in
the same manner as a hay rick." Much assistance
is rendered, in the breaking up of rocks, by the
lower ranks of vegetables which take possession of
the surface, and tend to destroy the coherence of the
particles by the action of their roots, and the sapping
influence of the water which they are sure to accu-
mulate. Into the mode, however, in which these
powers operate, it is not our intention to enter ;
a mere enumeration of the agents and the effects
which they produce, being all on which we can at
present be detained. Suffice it to say that no matter
how the stony bodies are pulverised, they present
themselves at last under a number of forms which,
for the sake of convenience, are generally grouped,
and named according to the predominance of a par-
ticular ingredient. They may, therefore, be primarily
divided into clayey, sandy, gravelly, alluvial, and
peatty.

Clayey sods are so named from clay or alumina
being their principal constituent. They are charac-
terized as being stiff, heavy, strong, or cohesive,
these terms denoting the greater or less prevalence
of their main ingredient. The distinctive features
of clay — its easy solution and suspension in water,
its becoming an impalpable powder on being slowly
dried, and the peculiar plasticity which fits it for so
many works of ornament and utility, are known to
almost every one, and therefore need not at present
be enlarged upon. Being, when pure, almost im-
pervious to water, it has much influence on the fer-
tility of the soil, and determines to a great extent the
character of the vegetation, the latter being, when
clay is in excess, either scanty, or wholly awanting.

2T0

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

Sandy and gravelly soils owe their name to the si-
licious or flinty particles of which they are princi-
pally made up, the fragments of stony matter being
comparatively large in the latter, while in the for-
mer they are comminuted. They are in general the
result of attrition, long continued by the agency of
rapid streams, along whose channels they have been
hurried from some distant source, and depend for
their properties to a great extent on the nature of
the rocks from which they have been torn. Though
possessing some properties in common, they are in
several respects essentially different. Sandy soils
hold water in their interstices, only by cohesive at-
traction, retaining it for a longer or shorter period
in proportion to the tenuity of their particles, and
parting with it readily by evaporation, still mors
quickly by filtration. Owing to the last circum-
stance they are quite unfitted of themselves to sustain
plants, unless in situations where a proximity to
water ensures a constant percolation of moisture.
In moderate quantities sand is indispensable for
soils, dividing them minutely, and allowing by its
mechanical effects, the free access of air and water
to the fibrils of the plants. According to the quantity
of this ingredient, soils are spoken of as being loose,
liglit, porous, or friable. Gravelly soils are in a
manner, a distinct class, being in general more easily
rendered productive than sandy soils ; though this,
in some instances, is a difficult task, owing to their
loose and porous texture preventing the accumulation
of such ingredients as can be turned to account on the
application of manure. When, however, their po-
rosity has been properly corrected, they always yield
a profitable return, being highly productive in corn
and pasture, and bearing crops which ripen early.

Alluvial soils are formed by the deposition of
earthy matters, which have been suspended in the
water of tides and rivers. Tliey consist, therefore,
of a variety of ingredients, though tlieir bulk is com-
posed chieHy of what has already been described,
and are therefore, with few exceptions, naturally
ferule or capable of being rendered so at a small ex-
pense. Occasionally, as in the instance of the Ni-
lotic mud, they are the regular dispensers of fertility.
They are the best of all natural soils, their compo
nent parts having been not only minutely divided,
and intimately blended together, but also freely ex-
posed, during their transits from place to place, to
the ameliorating action of air and water. From these
results, and the mode of their production, useful
lessons cannot but be drawn, and additional incen-
tives given to the farmer to make him attend closely
to that frequent stirring, shifting, and pulverization
of the ground, so conducive to its improvement and
his own permanent advantage.

Peatty soils are formed by successive and often
considerable layers of vegetable matter, such as
branches, twigs, leaves, and roots of trees, together
with herbaceous plants of every description, which,
from long exposure to humidity at particular tem-
peratures, have undergone alterations not as yet tho-
roughly understood. In general peat accumulates
but slowly, requiring centuries for the attainment
even of moderate accessions ; but in wet and hill}^
localities, which are congenial to the growth of mosses,
the process goes on with considerable rapidity. Crop
after crop of the Sphagnum, the most common moss
in this country, springs, and dies, and adds, in no long
time, considerably to the thickness of the soil. Few
specimens of peat, however, are found free from mix-
ture with what may be termed foreign ingredients,
and to these from their known hostility to vegetation
may be ascribed the difficulty so frequently expe-
rienced of bringing mosses under profitable cultiva-

tion. A yellowish, brown, or blackish peat, found
in moorish grounds in Scotland, Holland, and Ger-
many, yields, according to the analysis of Rirwan,
clay mixed with calcareous matter, pyrites, common
salt, and an acid matter of a very unkindly nature,
most of them no doubt owing to the percolation of
river water through the stratum during, and subse-
quent to its deposition. Till of late years, peat soils
were the most irreclaimable of all, but recent investi-
gation has shown how easily land of this kind may
be improved with benefit to the undertaker, espe-
cially where proprietors in common of extensive
tracts, go to work under a combined plan of opera-
tion. Draining, paring, burning, and top-dressing
with calcareous matter, so as to destroy the coarse
heathy herbage on the surface, and neutralize or al-
ter for the better the combination of ferruginous and
acid matters already noticed ; or (where the plan of
the ground and its proximity to water afford en-
couragement) to float away the mossy surface to the
neighbouring sea, in this way at once uncovering a
firm carse soil ready for immediate cultivation, will
bs found most effective.

In addition to the bodies already mentioned, cal-
careous matter, as lime, chalk, or marl, must enter
into the composition of every soil having pretensions
to fertility, for though it may, in some cases, be dis-
pensed with, it is found impossible to bring most
crops to perfection without it. With its history and
properties, however, we need not now proceed, as a
better niche will be afforded to it in our " Points"
when treating, as we propose to do, in our next, on
the proximate analysis of soils.

FRANK SYLVAN.

Mode of Preventing Beer from Becoming
Acid. — A patent has been taken out in America,
for preserving beer from becoming acid in hot weather,
or between the temperatures of 74 deg. and 94 deg.
To every 174 gallons of liquor, the patentee, Mr.
Storewell, directs, the use of one pound of
raisins, in the following rranner : — " Put the raisins
into a linen or cotton bag, and then put the bag con-
taining the raisins into the liquor before fermentation ;
the liquor may then be let down at 65 deg. or as high
as 70 deg. The bag containing the raisins must re-
main in the vat until the process of fermentation has so
far advanced as to produce a white appearance or scum
all over the surface of the liquor, which will probably
take place in about twenty-four hours. The bag con-
taining the raisins mu=t then be taken out, and the
liquor left until fermentation ceases. The degree of
heat in the place where the vat is situated, should not
exceed 66 deg. nor less than 60 deg." To prevent dis-
tillers' wash from becoming acid, two pounds of raisins
should be put into 150 gallons of the wash, the raisins
being chopped and put in without a bag, and 106 of
hops should be put into wash for every eight bushels of
malt at the time of washing, and three-quarters of a
pound of hops for every bushel of malt brewed, to be
boiled in the liquor in the copper. — Journal of the
Franklin Institute.

Curious Tenure. — There is an estate in
Chingford parish holden of the rector, and called
Scott's Mayhews, or Brindwoods, respecting the tenure
of which Mr. Morant says, " the owner on every
alienation, with his wife, man servant, or maid-ser-
vant, each single on a horse, come to the parsonage,
where the owner does him homage, and pays bis relief.
He blows three blasts with his horn ; carries a hawk
on his fist ; and his servant has a greyhound in a slip,
both for the use of the rector. He receives a chicken
for a hawk, a peck of oats for a horse, and a loaf of
bread for his greyhound. They all dine ; after which
the master blows three blasts with liis horn, and they
all depart."

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

271

KIRKALDY AGRICULTURAL AS-
SOCIATION.

The Spring- Meeting- of this Society was lield on Fri-
day, February 17. The show of cattle, which took place
on the occasion, in the opinion of the Judg-es, ]Mr. Ding--
wall, Ramoruie; Mr. Wilson, Foodie ; and Mr. Craw-
furd, Balbeg-ie, was somewhat inferior to some simihir
exhibitions of this description which have been lately
made in the county. This, however, is to be accounted
for not from any faUing- off of zeal or want of skill on
the part of the members of the society in the cultivation
of this important department of husbandry, but from
the extremely unfavourable nature of the season in re-
gard to the turnip crop, which, of course, supplies the
main material for the manufacture of tlie ■f rime fat. In
other respects the show maintained the high reputation
of the society as the leading- ag-ricuhural association of
Fife. Several specimens of barley and oats were gene-
rally admired. After the out-of-door business of the as-
sociation had been gone through, upwards of eig-hty
g-entlemen sat down in the Town Hall to a sumptuous
entertainment, prepared by IMr. Bendelow of the Com-
mercial Inn for the occasion. Tiie Preses, Lord Ross-
lyn, was in the chaii', supported on the right by Sir John
Oswald of Dunikier, and Mr. Stocks of Abden, and on
the left by Provost Anderson of Kircaldy, and the Rev,
]Mr. Sorley. Mr. Thomas Stocks and IMr. George Beve-
ridg-e, merchants, occupied the croupier's chair.

Lord RossLYN, in proposing- the toast of the evening-,
said, that it would be useless to occupy their time by
descanting on the manifold advantages which such asso-
ciations possessed — that numerous and highly respecta-
ble meeting was the best practical proof of the high es-
timation in which societies of this kind were held by the
public, and of the favourable opinions, in particular, of
those present as to the benefits which they were calcu-
lated to confer upon the profession of agriculture. But
he could not allow the present occasion to pass over
without congratulating them upon the improved state of
their present prospects as agriculturists. He did not
know that these had been more promising for a long
series of years, and he must say that he attributed this
happy change in a great measure to the activity, indus-
try, skill, and enterprise, which now distinguished their
body, and to the greater amount of capital which had
been embarked in their peculiar pursuit. If they had
borne the pressure of adverse times, not, perhaps, alto-
gether without murmuring, but still with fortitude, he
trusted that it would now be their happy lot to reap the
fruits of their labours — the harvest of those seeds per-
severingly sown amidst privations and endurance.
(Cheers.) They were all aware that a committee had
been appointed in the course of last session of Parlia-
ment for investigating whether any legislative measures
of relief could be applied to the case of the agriculturists,
and that that committee dissolved without coming to
any specific conclusion on the subject, thus affording
the most unobjectional proof that men with the best
means of judging before them, could devise no legisla-
tive remedy whatever, nor could any remedy now be
fairly expected from the legislalure. Gentlemen, the
remedy is entirely in your own hands. It is to your own
exertions to which in future you must look. The com-
mercial and agricultural prosperity of the country have
both happily greatly improved, and with the increase of
profits and of wages there has lieen a corresponding in-
crease m the consumption of agricultural produce, and
this in the natural course of things has afforded you
better prices. (Cheers.) All, therefore, which the agri-
culturists have now to ask or to expect from the legisla-
ture is that there shall be no unwise tampering with the
present system— that the present laws, be they bad or
good, shall be permitted to remain as they are. (Hear,
hear.) I say, gentlemen, that the capital of agricul-
turists ought not to be thrown away and wasted by any
undue tampering with the present system. All that we
ask for is that we shall be permitted to lay out our capi-
tals upon a sure and lasting foundation, and be enabled
to look forward without misgiving to more abundant
harvests for our reward. (Cheers.) You have seen
small wages and small profits to the commercialist con-

joined with a corresponding state of hardship to the
agriculturist ; as the prospei'ity of the one class has in-
creased, however, so has the other, and in truth these
great interests are always found to be inseparably con-
nected. (Cheers.) I need not detain you longer — no
gontleman can traverse the country without finding its
face everywhere greatly improved. I would trust,
therefore, that the da^'s of agricultural distress are now
gone by, never more to return ; and I feel assured that
so long as you continue your laudable exertions, and so
long as the laws affecting your interests remain untani-
pered with, your prosperity will advance. He gave
" The Kirkaldy Agricultural Society, and success to
it." (Received ivith great cheering.)

Sir John Oswald called upon them to dedicate a
bumber to the health of their noble chairman. (Great
cheering.) As a member of the Association, and ad-
dressing- chiefly members, he would say that they owed
that nobleman a debt of the deepest gratitude. This
was the fifth meeting of the society, and at three of these
his lordship has most happily and judiciously presided,
and upon all other occasions had ever evinced the most
praiseworthy anxiety to promote the interests of the agri-
cultural profession. A great writer had said that there
was no greater benefactor to his country then he who
taught the art of growing two blades of grass where one
only was formerly produced, and this sentiment was
really at the root of all agricultural as well as commer-
cial prosperity. It was by abundant crops that they
could aflbrd to sell food cheaply, and it was through
cheap food that manufactures prospered. He required
not to say how much Lord Rosslyn had done in this
way — he had take n a large farm into his own hands —
an experimental farm he might call it — and had spared
no pains in turning theoretical knowledge to practical
account. This was the proper method of procedure, in
order to do a real service to agriculture. It was not by
throwing- away money profusely without discrimination,
that good was to be effected. His friend Lord Rosslyn
had himself as it were put his hand to the plough, and
had not turned back. He was not only an enthusiastic
but a laborious and persevering agriculturist, and he
need not tell them how much he was doing in making
his farm a pattern to the neighbourhood. ( Cheers.) It
was true his lordship now and then set them examples,
which more frugal agriculturists perhaps might not
deem it altogether safe to follow, such as elevating his
bullocks to the condition of coach travellers. (Great
laughter.) Still even this was a laudable ambition, as
it was certainly pleasing to observe what Fife could be
made to produce, and under the excellent management
of his lordship, the despised Fife breed had fairly dis-
tanced all competitors. (Cheers.) Sir John next ad-
verted to the domestic affliction which their chairman
had lately sustained, and after passing a glowing eulo-
gium upon the character of the late Earl of Rosslyn,
concluded by proposing his toast, which was drunk
with tremendous applause.
Lord Rosslyn briefly returned thanks.
RoBEHT Stocks, Esq., of Abden, had much pleasure
in proposing- the Vice Presidents and Members of the
Committee of the Society. General Balfour, he was
sorry to say, was absent throuo-h indisposition ; and Mr.
Fergus had high duties to perform in parliament, which
he trusted he would well discharge. (Drunk loith all
the honours.)

Mr. John Haig returned thanks. He assured them
that the labeurs of their committee were comparatively
light in consequence of the activity and assiduity of their
excellent and worthy Secretary, whose health in return
he would beg leave to pi-opose to them. (Received ivith
great cheering.)

Mr. Hutchison returned thanks for the very flatter-
ing- manner in which his name had been received. He
assured them that at all times he had felt their appro-
bation as an ample reward for the labours of office.
There was a sentiment in regard of which, although a
few might difter with him, he felt assured that the great
Ijody of them would entirely and cordially agree to. It
was this, that such meetings as the present, while of
course their convivial nature was not to be overlooked,
should at the same time be turned as much as possible

970

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

to Hseful account. (Cheering.) One gentleman, a
meraber of that society, who he hoped was present— he
referred to Mr. Lewis, of Bog-HUie,— had lately favoured
the world with some excellent sug'gestions on the sub-
ject of agricultural improvement, shewing them in what
manner and by what organization an intimate know-
ledge of the art of farming as it stood, could not only be
most successfully acquired and diffused, but that know-
ledge wth the smallest amount of individual sacrifice
rendered as rapidly as possible progressive. The sub-
ject of experimental farming was a most important one.
It was equally important to know of the failures as of
the successes attending it. He merely, however,
broached the subject for discussion, and he trusted all
who like their excellent chairman. Lord Rosslyn, had
manfully encountered its difficulties, would not with-
hold from them whatever information their particular
experiences in this department had enabled them to ob-
tain. In a dangerous channel it was of vasLconsequence
to know the rocks to be avoided. He had heard a re-
mark made by some very intelligent farmers in whose
judgment he reposed much confidence, and, when he
mentioned the names of Mr. Fergus and Mr. Watt, he
knew he gave authority to his statement — that all that
was required for the tillage of certain soils, once pro-
perly civilized by means of draining, cleaning, &c., was
simply one good winter furrow. {Hear, hear.) Any
farther use of the plough for the succeeding crop might
be safely and beneficially dispensed with, and the pro-
cess completed by means of the grubber. Hq knew
that this was not applicable to all soils, but it was ob-
viously most important that its limits should be ascer-
tained. There was another matter which he would sug-
gest for their consideration, and that was the establish-
ment in Kirkaldy of a market for shearers. He was one
of those who believed with my Lord Rosslyn, that the
agricultural class must now rely entirely on their own
exertions, and he had no doubt that by taking advan-
tage of all the circumstances in their power, they would
be enabled with profit to themselves, to supply the
country abundantly with cheap food. For this purpose,
however, they must have all their processes as far as
possible improved, and it was certainly of great conse-
quence that their crops, after having been laboriously
matured, should be harvested as cheaply, and with as
little risk from the weather as possible. He regarded
the usual practice of employing a set band of shearers
as capable of being superseded in numerous instances
with the greatest advantage. It was a great hardship
to the farmer to keep, as by the present practice he was
.generally compelled to do, a number of unemployed
hands about him, wliile by means of a hiring market for
shearers continuous employment could be procured to a
great extent, either in or out of doors, and the farmer by
being enabled to command on the instant as many
hands as he required, would thus have his crops brought
under the sickle in a much more perfect condition.
These subjects he merely threw out, however, in the
way of hints, and again begged to return them his sin-
cere thanks.

Lord Rosslyn approved much of the suggestion of
Mr. Hutchison in regard to the establishment of a
hiring market for shearers m Kirkaldy. With regard to
one winter furrow, however, he could not say a great
deal. He had got a machine from the south which run
on wheels, and was calculated to cut up weeds which
had not a very deep root. However, he had not yet
been able advantageously to use it. He was afraid he
had too many stones on his farm ; and notwithstanding
all his efforts to bury them, the more he put down the
more seemed to come up. (Laughter.) At all events,
the wheeled machine of the south — and it was wheeled
in front — generally found the blow of a good Scotch
stone somewhat too much for it. Perhaps if the wheels
were left at home it might get on better. With him,
somehow or other, there was a prejudice against front
wheels ; but he would be happy to give any other gen-
tleman a trial of the machine. (Great laugliter.) He
was sorry that Mr. Dingwall and the other judges had
that day found so little to attract their attention. How-
ever much he (Lord Rosslyn) might have done in the
way of making two blades of grass grow, on which sub-

ject his friend Sir John Oswald had so eloquently com-
plimented him (laughter), he must confess that with all
his zeal he could not manage to make his turnips look
respectable this season ; and without turnips, the cattle
they knew were but too apt to cut rather a sorry figure.
(Renewed laughter.) He proposed to drink to the health
of the Judges.

Mr. Wilson, of Foodie, as the junior judge, returned
thanks. He regretted that the animals in some of the
cliisses did not certainly show any very great superiority.
The dams appeared to be of the best description ; but
the same remark he thought did not hold equally with
the other gender ; and he was inclined to think that the
members of the Kirkaldy Association were committing
an error in this respect.

The Secretauy said, he had now a pleasant duly to
perform in reading a list of the premiums which the
judges had that day awarded. They were as follows :—

For the best bull of the Fife breed, to serve in the dis-
trict, 3/.— Earl of Rothes.

For the second best bull, ditto ditto, II 10s.— R,
Hutchinson.

For the best bull of the shorn horn, or Teeswater
breed, ditto, 21. — Thomas Stocks.

For the best year old bull, Fife breed, 1/ — Earl of
Rothes.

For the best breeding cow, of the Fife breed, in milk
or in calf at the time, 21. — S. Anderson .

For the second best cow, Fife breed, ditto, ditto, 1/. —
R. Hutchison.

For the best pair of two-year-old Queys, \l. — H.
Fergus.

For the best pair of three-year-old Queys, Fife breed,
in milk or in calf, 1/. — Mr. Kilgour.

For the best brood mare, for agricultural purposes, in
foal, or at her foot, 21 — Mr. Kilgour.

For the best ten quarters of Chevalier barley forseed,
H— W. Veitch.

For the best ten quarters of Scotch barley, ditto, II —
W. Veitch.

For the best ten quarters of potato oats, ditto, II —
R. Carstairs.

For the best ten quarters of evergeen perennial rye
grass seed, II — James Birrell.

For the best kept dozen Rutabaga turnip roots, stored in
November, accompanied with an account of the method
of keeping, 10s— Earl of Rothes.

For the best kept dozen yellow turnip roots, ditto, ditto ,
10s — Earl of Rothes.

The Rutabaga roots had beenkeptin adry open shade,
those of the yellow turnip had been laid closely together
in a deep drawn dry furrow, and covered up by a turn
of the plough. In this way they were found to be pre-
served in a much better state than others which had
been put together in small heaps. The following is a
list of the sweepstakes of half a sovereign each, which
were also decided : —

For the best cow of the Fife breed, in milk or in calf
• — Samuel Anderson.

For the best cow of any breed, in milk or in calf-
John Stocks.

For the best pair of four-year-old cattle, Fife breed —
Andrew Watt.

For the best six year-old cattle of any breed — Robert
Hutchison.

For the best six two-year old cattle of any breed— James
Prentice.

For the best two-year-old Teeswater bull — John Bos-
wall.

For the best colt or filly for agricultural purposes,
foaled in 1836— George Beveridge.

Foi- the best colt or gelding for agricultural purposes,
foaled in 1835 — George Beveridge.

For the best four colts or fillies, foaled in 1835 —
Walter Veitch.

For the best gelding or filly for road or field, foaled
in 1834— William Hutchison.

For the best gelding or filly for road or field, foaled
in 1836 — James Kinninmonth.

For the best bacon ham cooked for table — John Reid.

The healths of the successful competitors were then
given, to which Mr. Veitch replied.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

273

The Chairman said, that tliere was a custom among-
associations in tlie south, which he thought it mig'ht not
be amiss to copy, if not on this, perhaps on some future
occasion. It consisted in making', after dinner, sales of
superior descriptions of seed corn. It stood to reason,
that when they were in the spirit good prices would be
obtained. (Laughter.) They had two objects in view-
glory and profit ; but he held profit to be the main
chance. (Renewed laughter.)

The Secretary read a letter from Mr. Ainslie, apo-
logizing for his absence, and requesting' their acceptance
of 10/ 10s, to be awarded in two 5/ 5s prizes for the best
feats performed by tenants in the way of thorough
draining and laying down grass. In the meantime, the
Committee had resolved to communicate further with
Mr.Ainslie on the conditions on which the Ainslie prizes
should be awarded ; and it was resolved that these, as
early as possible should be made public.

Mr. Ainslie's health was drunk, and a vote of thanks
to him for his generous donation proposed and carried
with great acclamation.

Mr. John Haig proposed the health of General Sir
John Oswald, and particularly alluded to the enconium
paid by Sir John to the character of the late Earl of
Rossyln.

Sir John Oswald assured them that he always felt
peculiarly gratified when he could say or do any thing-
deserving of their approbation, and he would be most
happy if, in concluding his career, he should be enabled
to carry with him the esteem and respect of those among
whom he had lived. That esteem and respect he valued
exceedingly ; and he always held it to be the highest
reward that an individual could receive next to the ap-
probation of his own conscience. There was no species
of fame which, in his opinion, rested on a better or surer
foundation. He could assure them that so long as Pro-
vidence gave him health and strength, his services
would always be at their disposal. He would always
take an active part in the performance of those duties
which he conceived he owed to society. He had been
entrusted on the present occasion with a toast ; and he
now called upon them to fill a bumper to the manufac-
turing and commercial interests of the country. Situated
as he was, he would be blind indeed if he did not per-
ceive the vast importance of these interests, which were
so much amalgamated with his own. He had always
considered those not wise, not honest men, who endea-
voured to draw a line of distinction between them.
Situated, he said, as he was, in the immediate vicinity
of an important and thriving commercial community,
where his ancestors had long lived, and participated
equally with himself in those advantages which an in-
telligent and enterprising commercial people had
created, it would be most ungrateful in him did he not
wish permanence to their commercial and manufacturing-
interests. His ardent wish was that these interests should
be permanent, and that the shuttle, the plough, and the
sail, may long continue to prosper in this his native land.
(^Cheering.)

Robert Stocks, Esq., of Abden, had much pleasure
in returning thanks on behalf of the commercial interests
of Kirkaldy. He would be very unworthy indeed did
he not feel the honour and value of the sentiments which
had been expressed, coming- from a class on whom the
manufacturers so much depended for a market for their
goods. Far be it from him to say, however, that tlie
foreign trade of the country was not a most important
matter to be attended to. He meant to say that it was
of the greatest consequence to the general prosperity of
the country ; and that a well employed manufacturing
and commercial people would ever be found the sure
forerunners of agricultural prosperity. He witnessed
with much pleasure the improvements which were
making in agriculture, and the spirit now abroad on the
subject. Mr. Ainslie had set a noble example, which
it would be for the interest of every landed proprietor
individually to follow up.

Mr. Ballingall of Treaton proposed as a toast •' Mr.
Coke of Norfolk and the Agriculturists of England."
The gentleman whose name was coupled in his toast
with the English agriculturists might well be termed tho
most magnificent of landlords. Thi-ough his own im-

mediate exertions, and the encouragement afforded by
him to his tenantry, an immense tract of country, former-
ly waste, had been brought under profitable cultivation.
So barren, indeed, was the gravelly soil of Norfolk
formerly deemed to be, that, in Charles the Second's
time, it was remarked that the entire county was fit for
nothing, unless it were possible to cut the whole of it up
into roads for the supply of Great Britain. Nothing-
daunted, however, by this aspect of sterility Mr. Coke
had set to work, and by the introduction of drill hus-
bandry and other improvements, had so changed it that
its agriculture had become a pattern for general imita-
tion, and the North Devons a practical example to the
whole country. He hoped to live to see the day when
their English agricultural brethren would be freed like
themselves from tlie bondage of tithes. If this im-
portant question were once amicably settled, there could
be little doubt but that it would add greatly to the pros-
perity of their southern brethren, and tend materially
to make the country, in its supply of agricutural produce,
keep pace with its rapidly advancing population.
(Drank witli all the honours.)

The Chairman proposed the Strangers.

Mr. Sy ME replied. He was exceedingly delighted,
he said, to find that there was a feeling of gradual
coming-down, as it were, now begining- to display itself
among the respectable party of commercialists towards
the landed interest. He held that as man was not
created for woman, but woman for man — so the mer-
cantile interest was made for the advantage of the
agricultural. fMr. Syme's philosophy of course
excited pretty general laughter.)

Mr. HuTcnEsoN in a neat speech proposed the election
of Colonel Wemyss as an honorary member of the asso-
ciation, which motion being duly seconded by Mr.
Liddel, was carried with great acclaim,

Mr. Thomas Stocks proposed " The Highland Society
of Scotland," and Mr J. Rcid, " The Sister Societies of
the County." That latter gentleman observed that he
spoke the sentiments of the judges, when he said that a
worse shew of cattle had not for a long period been ex-
hibited in the county, than thdt they had that day wit-
nessed. It had been generally acknowledged that some
excellent specimens of grain had been brought forward,
but these they owed perhaps as much to the superiority
of the soil in the neighbourhond, as to their own skill.
He conjured them, therefore, to exert themselves if they
desired to escape disgrace. (Cheers and laughter.)

In the course of the evening a number of excellent
songs were sung, and a due mixture of the jocose with
the grave was pretty well sustained. Lord Rosslyn's
hint of after dinner marketing was acted upon, and
several sales of Barley and Oats effected ; the former
bringing 40s, the latter 36s per quarter.

HoxNE Union. — At a specially convened meet-
ing- of the board of guardians of the Hoxne Union on
Monday, the 13th instant, petitions to Parliament in
favour of the new poor law, and praying that the Legis-
lature will assent to no alterations, either in principle or
detail, which may tend in the smallest degree to impair
the efficiency of a measure fraught with such good and
important results, not only to the community at large,
but especially to the poor themselves, were carried by a
very large majority. The petitions were signed by 30
guardians out of the 36.

The shipment at Banft' of cattle for the London mar-
ket, has commenced for the season, and the Glenalia
sailed on the 5th current, with a cargo of very superior
animals, among which were two, for which the shipper
paid 28/ each, and ten others which averaged 25/ each .
The whole were a fine specimen of Banft'shire cattle,
such as are not to be seen every day, and we hope they
will come to a good market. The Medora has taken
another cargo of superior cattle for the same destina-
tion.

274

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

REPLY TO MR. MILBURN.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE EXPRESS.

Sir, — I must beg leave to trespass again upon
your valuable columns. Till Mr. Wilburn advances
something- more forcible than he has clone, I shall
feel it my duty to defend what I liave advanced.
He seems admirably attached to satire and Italics.
I shall feel obliged by discussing the subject with-
out any ill feeling towards either him or any other
person Who may think well to engage as long as pru-
dence shall dictate to me the propriety of so doing,
Mr. Milburn says, that I have said, that the iucon-
geniality of the weather destroyed the plants: I said
that the incongeniality of the weather brouglit on a
disease in the plants, and that that was amongst some
of the first causes of the destruction of the crop. The
plants would become diseased from causes which I
have before stated, and those which were so severely
injured from those causes as not to be able to resus-
citate, would then of course decompose ; still they
might not all die, they would decompose in propor-
tion as their vitality was affected. Again, he asks,
did decomposition take place before the attack of the
fly or afterwards ? I answer, before the attack of the
fly, though this should be taken in a restricted sense ;
those whose vitality were so severely affected as not
to have the power to resuscitate, those we may say
did decompose, otherwise they were onlv diseased
previous to their being attacked, which some of my
former letters will prove; and if he thinks that I am
unacquainted with their early stage of existence, be-
cause I said they were of sufficient magnitude to be
discovered without having recourse to a microscope,
he is perfectly mistaken ; they are to be discovered in
their earliest stage of existence by the naked eye,
though, undoubtedly, the aid of a microscope would
expose them more fully to view, and thereby give
any person a better idea of their form and situation.
But microscopic aid will neither plant nor remove
the cause, it is the cause which wants finding out,
and then we may expect some part of the affected to
die away. Again, IMr. Milburn says, the fly when
at its largest size is often passed over by persons
when their attention is not immediately directed to
them ; to this I say, and so are many of our moun-
tains. Wlien^ they visited towns,- I almost imagine
they would not have passed unobserved, in fact I
know that if Mr. Milburn had been in the neigh-
bourhood of jMansfield last summer, he would have
both seen and felt, and would have had his eyes filled
with them too. But if, as I have before observed,
they do inspect the plants, thev may be observed with-
out having recourse to microscopic aid. Again Mr.
Milburn states, that they are both oviparous and vivi-
parous. He would have'obliged the public had hebeen
a little more elaborate upon this part of his subject.

Again, he wishes to know, why my present opinions
and those of September the twenty-fiist, are so op-
posite 1 To this I answer, that my opinions at that
period were decidedly the same as they are at the pre-
sent ; but I thought that in stating the loss or havoc
that was taking place in the county, the most effec-
tive method of describing that destruction was to
use the phrase or phrases or opinions that was gene-
rally entertained ; though what I then said is not
at all paradoxical to what I now advance. I know
that at that period I said nothing about disease, de-
composition, causes and effects ; I merely stated that
the crop was carried off by the fly. It was not my
design to expatiate upon any particular subject, but
merely to state that such a thing had taken place.
Again, in one of Mr, MiJburn'sformerreplies, dated
21st of November, he quotes the opinions of Bonnet

and Reaumer, whose opinions (they being natural
historians^) he said was conclusive, and their opinion
he said was tliis, that the ajDhides feed on the heal thy
juices only ; but now, he says, that the plants were
diseased before they were attacked, he has no doubt.
Now, Mr. Editor, is not this a decided paradoxica
assertion to what has been before advanced ; and I
believe neither myself or the public is mistaken in
what was then advanced, at least I was not. Facts
are stubborn things, and there it is. Again, he says,
that the plants became sickly and diseased from the
ravages of the fly, and that the reason why they did
not leave those plants and attack others, was simply
because of their still habits ; but, he does not tell us
why they select one plant from another, nor why
they selected one part of the field in preference to
another, which he ought to have done. All he says,
is this, that where the plants were sheltered, there
they maintained their health and vitality ; thus de-
cidedly confirming my opinion. But he ought to have
told us why the parent insect passed over the shel-
tered situations, and attacked the exposed ones (but
that is too evident to need an extensive definition).
^Ve find further that lie has included the weather
amongst some of the causes affecting the growth of
the plant, or rather the loss of the plant, which is
decidedly inimical to what he has before asserted,
where he attempts to make it appear that the wea-
ther has nothing to do with the havoc which has taken
place, but to rest solely with the fly. Again, Mr.
Milburn says, or endeavours to substantiate his opinion
in regard to his geraniums, and to substantiate that
opinion, ho sa3'S, that the plant could not become
diseased from the severity or incongeniality of the
night air, for it occurred in the month of July. Did
Mr. Milburn never know the month of July to pro-
duce a most severe frosty night? And I suppose
that the other geraniums had not been exposed to an
external atmosphere. But why mention the weather
at all, for if IMr.Milburn's opinion be correct, the flies
will attack those plants that are the most sheltered the
first, for we are sure that those plants are the health-
iest, so that those geraniums which were kept in a
warmer atmosphere would have been attacked the
first, they containing more juices than the unhealthy
ones ; but it appears it was not the case, thus
proving his opinion erroneous. Ai;d according to
Mr, Milburn's account, the weather has nothing to
do with the loss of the crop ; if I were to bring for-
ward ten thousand arguments, I could not bring one
so powerful as these geraniums of his.

They were all healthy plants, unaffected by the
fly ; but this unfortunate one that remained out
during the niglu was afterwards affected, while the
others remained healthy ; they being secure from
the chilling blast; thus showing that the chief cause is
in the weather. Though superior management may
enable the plant to contend with the severities of
tlie weather I ask, what argument in the world
could be adduced, so powerful as this, of his gera-
niums ? If I, or any other person in the world, were to
write a thousand volumes upon the subject, we could
not elucidate the subject more than what these gera-
niums have done. In regard to the plant casting its
leaves, that has nothing to do with the question. The
subject in dispute is, what is the first cause, which the
geraniums will prove. He states that it is now
healthy, so it may be ; hundreds of plants were af-
fected and still survived. They resuscitated in pro-
portion as their growth was affected. Again, Mr.
Milburn supposes that I am ignorant in regard to
the fly, because I do not call it aphis ; to this I an-
swer, that I wish to descend into the vale of com-
mon sense, that I may be the easier understood.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

275

Why use Latin terms, when not oae thousandth part
of the world are Latinists ?

The church of Rome has preached Latin enough.
If we wish the public to he benefitted by what we
advance, we must speak in a language they can un-
derstand. Again, in regard to the bean and other
crops being attacked bv a similar species. If Mr.
Milburn knew more of the first origin of the fly and
less of Latin, he would throw more light upon the
agricultural world than he now does. In conclusion
he states, what strong facts lie has produced, which
really I do notperceive, except his geraniums, which
I would advise him to study more, for if any thing
in the world can convince him, tliey will ; except
he be blinded by prejudice. But as to all the rest
I still say that they are nullities ; he, like numerous
others in the world, looking more to effects than
causes. He clings much to the opinion of natural
historians, which I would not be said to decidedly
oppose, still it is the duty of every man to have an
opinion of his own, or rather a mind guided by theory
and practice, if he intend to steer clear of plagia-
rism, and let the public be benefitted by what he ad-
vances. And I shall feel obliged to Mr. Milburn if
he can convince me that I am wrong, and let him do
it without so much sarcasm. I wish fully to discuss
the question and not to fight, for let the matter end
how it will, some will be benefitted by it. I should
have replied sooner, but that terrible disease the in-
fluenza has had hold of me, together with press of
business, which has made it unavoidable. 1 beg to
remain with may best wishes to yourself and Mr.
Milburn, and ma)^ he and I in friendship be as faith-
ful as the magnet is to the pole

South NfirmantoH, Alfretou, Yours,

Derbyshire, Feb. 23rd, 183^. S. GILL,

[We are assured by the Lady who forwarded us the
following- verses, that they were written in her Album,
at her own request, by Mr. Bayley, the popular lyrist,
the subject being- of her own choosing.]

BALLAD OF REAL LIFE.

They laid her, beautiful and young-.

Upon a bed of pain ;
Mad accents ruslied upon the tongue.

And fever to the brain ;
The light forsook the swimming eyes.

The tresses fell away ;
Or where they stayed, g-ave up their gold

For silver shades of gray.
' Oh ! she is changed, sweet sister dear,

' And he will alter too ;
' The summer-heaven, he called her eye,

' Is mourning for its blue ;
' To praise the tresses that he loved,

' How vainly he must speak ;
' They're gone ! the crown upon her brow.

' The curtain to her cheek.
' Oh, g-o ! and fetch her, sister dear,

' An ointment, rich and rare ;
' Bring- back the sunny tress of gold,

' Bring back the flowing hair ;
' Once more among its folds of silk,

' Let happy zephyrs play ;
' Her eyes will then resume their blue,

' Her voice again be gay.'
'Tis brought;— and, lo ! its ruby tints

The milky pillows soil ;
They dew her head with liquid drops

Of prized Macassar * Oil.
Oh ! round her bi-ow fresh trasses flow.

In all their golden pride ;
And he who glories as they grow,

Is waiting for his Bride.

* Rowland's,

TURNPIKE ROADS.

TO TUE EDITOR OF THE FARMEr's MAGAZINE.

Sir, — I was glad to see, in your valuable paper of
'<;Oth inst., an extract from the Evidence given on the
Report of the Select Committee of the House of
Commons on Turnpike Tolls and Trusts — (Session
1886.) The re-appointment of that Committee, under
their zealous and able Chairm-an, W. A. Mackinnon,
Esq., gives good ground to hope for a favorable issue
of their labours, whereb/ the ^^-hole System of Man-
agement may be remodelled, and produce a relief to
all classes, in particular the Agriculturist.

Among the witnesses examined, no one, for prac-
tical knowledge of the working- of this machinery,
was more deserving of attention than the individual
you selected (His Grace the Duke of Richmond)
wliose Evidence, as well as former labours when
Chairman of the Committee of Lords in 1833, most
clearly pointed out the primary object to be, '' the
consideration of means for arresting the existing
overwhelming- Debt," which sooner or later must be
wrestled with, to prevent still further accumulating-
burthens.

Having been practically conversant with the duties
of a Commissioner on a pretty extended Trust, I
will offer to your readers a few leading points for
their consideration, as in a statistical view of the
whole of the subject, it would be plainly shown that
the expenditure has been uncontrolled, and conse-
quently subjected to very many unnecessary outlays,
which b)' consolidating into districts the numerous
Trusts, (1100 in England and Wales) and placing
a controlling power either in County Boards, or a
Central one in the Metropolis, can alone afford any
prospect of relief by effective management.

The Report of the Commissioners very naturally
expresses doubts as to the exact mode to be recom-
mended, on the primary object which forms the bur-
den of their inquiry, that is — a Stibstitttte for Tolls,
the expediency being- admitted, as the disease is at
present visible to all, and equally pestilential to tlie
whole of the community ; but when once the core of
the disorder is in view, and capable of being- eradi-
cated, the subsequent care to restore the whole to a
healthy state by administering- the palliatives to effect
such a restoration, it may, by skilful management
and restorative prescriptions, be eflFectually attained ;
so, in a metaphorical sense, all State evils may he
reformed by applying the knife to the very root of
the sore.

The origin of Turnpike Roads, their constitution,
powers, and management, are too well known to
need a repetition. There is, however, one point to
which particular attention should be paid ; it is tliis,
— That each Trust is a private fund, placed by the
Legislature under Commissioners, who are selected
by the original promoters of the Road, for which the
leasehold is granted for the term of years, (21 to 35)
which is adjudged by the Constitutional Government
of the Kingdom to be sufficient in duration for the
liquidation of the debt incurred by the outlay, in
purchase of land, formation of road, and its yearly
maintenance and support ; — all such provisions being-
made by a Sinking Fund, assisted by an increased
rate of interest ; and, in case of failure, the Road
reverts to the public, under the care of the parish
wherein it is situated.

This view is ably exposed by Mr. Bateman, in
his Digest of Turnpike Acts, by the following ex-
tracts ; —

EXTRACT FROM BATEMAN'S COMPILATION
OF THE TURNPIKE ACTS.
Highways are converted into turnpike roads tln-ough
the application of a new principle, and that one of the

276

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE

points of this innovation upon the old law consists in the
suspension " of the liability of the parish to the repairs
of the I'oad except by the performance of their statute
labour." This latter obligation is now abolished
(from March, 1835) by the provision of a composition
in money, not to exceed 2s 6d in the pound, unless four-
fifths of the rate-payers consent to a further assessment.
There is, however, no absolute legal suspension of this
liability, which by the 7 & 8 Geo. 4, c. 34, sec. 17, ap-
pears expressly to continue the liability to repairs, upon
the parish or party previously liable, leaving the parish
to seek their remedy upon the trustees of the turnpike
roads or others, and making it incumbent on the parish
to see the roads are kept in repair. It being clearly
shewn that by the common law, the freehold of the
roads (subject to the King's highway) is held to be
vested in the owners of the soil, who may convey water
under it, and maintain actions of trespass, &c. The
chief distinction between parish highways and turnpike
roads is the imposition of a toll upon the latter, to be
applied to its maintenance and repairs ; without this
there would be no necessity for keeping up the separate
establishments created by the turnpike laws, and all
highways in the kingdom might be made subject to the
same regulations, the amount of tolls payable being
regulated by the local acts, but is subject to the restric-
tions and modifications of the general laws, comprised
in 17 existing acts, containing' 332 clauses, enacted from
the year 1822, when the anticipated panacea was
brought forward by 3 Geo. IV^, c.326, 1822.

Let this tenure be well considered before other
legislative acts be enacted, and the difficulties may
be met, providing the means for maintaining the
roads, or their being placed under responsible agency,
and not as-at present, uncontrolled. It is not my
view to disturb the present system of the executive
power vested in local trustees, but to improve it by
an extended selection, embracing those gentlemen
who are more intimately connected with the roads
by locality of residence and interests in their limited
districts.

I shall at present conclude with the observation
of a scientific and practical road-maker, the late Mr.
Edgeworth, who states the origin of the obstacles to
be " the want of an economical application of the
Trust Funds, as nothing relative to the construction
or modes of drawing can avail much towards the
improvement of the roads." For it is an axiom ad-
mitted by all parties that facility of communication
in every country is one of the causes, and also a
result of national prosperity, and that whatever
charge or tax has a tendency to check this facility
ought to be avoided. Now, if the subject finds an
interest among your friends, I shall very probably
enlarge on it in a more comprehensive view by sta-
tistical details, with a proposed remedy for the evils
of the present irresponsible system of management of
the Turnpike Roads.

Your's truly, E. F,

Devon., Feb. 23, 1837.

SMITHFIELD FOR EVER ! — LONG
LIVE THE COMMON COUNCIL ! !

[from the morning herald.]

The Common Council have again stood forward
nobly in defence of their own congenial Smithfield.
They have treated with a becoming and characteristic
disdain the petitions of the petitioners who have again
presumed to petition for some abatement of the sangui-
nary and stercoraceous glories of their own, their
ancient Smithfield— some mollification of that slaughter-
loving giant who wieldelh, night and day, the pole-axe
and the knife in the very centre of civilized intellectual

London ; who causeth its conduits to be ruddy with
the blood of bullocks and of sheep ; and even changeth
the complexion of old Father Thames himself — '• mak-
ing the brown one red !'' — as the immortal bard of
Avon somewhere observeth.

What would the petitioners have! What do they
want 1 — or, in the expressive and characteristic query
of one of the Common Council, " What am they up
to ?" As Alderman Lucas, very aldermanly, remarked,
"Is there one of these petitioners who would object to
put his knife into a smoking sirloini Cei'tainly not ;
and I have no patience with their maudlin humanity ;
^a humanity that throws them into hysterics at the
sight of a honest butcher in a red nightcap knocking
down a bullock !" This is the opinion of Alderman
Lucas ; and though he is a lighter man than many we
could name, there is no man whose opinion ought to
have more weight in all matters relating to the beauties
of butchery ; nor can the great corporation of London
boast of a greater ornament than the worthy and car-
nivorous alderman— by reason of that magnificent
personal corporation of his own, which he buttoneth
up in bufl^' kerseymere so bravely every morning", and
which precedeth him so dignifiedly wheresoever he
goelh. JMay his shadow never be less ; and may his
body tailor look well to his waistcoat buttons.

Smithfield aboundeth in stercoraceous squash ; and
this is another of its virtues — another reason why the
great and enlightened corporation of the first and finest
city in the world should stick close by it. For what is
stercoraceous squash ? — what is it but a valuable com-
modity, producing (as was well observed by his worthy
worsiiip) much money to the corporation; and though
some carping- maudlinists may say such money is pecu-
liarly "filthy lucre," yet, as the fine old Roman Em-
peror said, it has much the same smell as other money.
And shall tlie corpoxation of London let money slip
through their fine fat fingers ? No^ we say firmly, fiercely,
and emphatically, no, no, no ! Rather let Smithfield
become chin deep in gold-producing squash ; let us
revel in its dai-k green delights ; and let the Herald's
College enrich the civic arms by quartering with its
bloody dagger a shovel and broom saltierwise ; and
amplify its motto, by placing Aurume Stercm'e before
its Domine dirige nos !

But it is not for gold alone that Smithfield and its
stercoraciousness is to be prized. Gold is a great — a
grand thing ; for, as the aforesaid Bard of Avon sayeth
— " ' Twill make black, white ;" — and therein it closely
resembleth that cast-iron patriot and true totter- up of
tottles whom wicked Toiies denominate A Middlesex
Goose. But the bottle-g-recH stercoraciousness of Smith-
field has a still higher quality ; — it is absolutely neces-
sary to the public health ; — the salus populi is inti-
mately incorporated with it ! There is nothing more
wholesome than that bottle-green squash ; — and this is
the reason that the patients in St. Bartholomew's hospital
get well so much sooner than they do in any other hos-
pital. They inhale the odour of Smithfield and live ;
whilst every where else they dwindle and die. — All
which was clearly proved, not only by the aforesaid
very worthy Alderman, but by those enlightened and
common councillors, Mr. Stevens the gin-palace pro-
prietor, and his patriotic colleague, Mr. Wilson.

How grateful then ought all the inhabitants of this
great metropolis — from the King on his gilded throne
to the cobler in his stall — how grateful ought they to be
to the Common Council for so pertinaciously perpetuat-
ing this prime source of health in the very midst of 'em !
— from which source, as that shining prototype of the
renowned Talg-ol (Mr. Deputy Ilicks) once pic-
turesquely exclaimed — " from which source health and
fat beef irradiate all around !"

What should the Common Council say then to the
maudlin humanists who are continually pestering them
with petitions for its removal? — should they not say
" Petition us no petition? — It is our will and pleasure
to uphold Smithfield in all its sanguinary and stercora-
ceous immunities ; and when this metropolis is ten times
as large as it is Smithfield shall still be its only mart for
that great physical relief which walks in oxen, and is
carried out beef !"

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

277

SHEET ANCHOR.

CPlale.J

Animals in a state of nature arc little sub-
ject to change ; there arc distinct varieties,
resulting principally from tlie influence of
climate ; but these varieties, individually
considered, continue much the same from one
generation to another ; thus, the lion of
Southern Africa, distinguished for his supe-
rior size, his darker colour, particularly in
regard to his mane, i» precisely similar, be-
yond all question, to the lion of the same
part of the globe which existed a thousand
years ago. The Asiatic lion is a lighter co-
loured animal, and smaller than his South
African brother ; but, like the latter, has un-
dergone no alteration from the earliest periods
to the present time. However, if we direct
our attention to those creatures which man
has reclaimed, and reduced to servitude and
subjection, we shall find that, from the suc-
cessive changes which they have undergone,
they can scarcely be identified with their pro-
totype or pristine original : for instance, the
rabbit, from a grey animal, weighing scarcely
three pounds, has not only changed its colour
to almost every hue, but has, by the persever-
ing attention of man, attained a size and
weight seven times more than it is found to
reach, in a state of freedom and indispensa-
ble activity. If we look at the origin of our
sheep, the moufflon, and compare it with the
coarse large Lincolnshire, or the heavy Lei-
cestershire animal, we shall find that the lat-
ter are four times as heavy as their remote
progenitor^ The urus (wild bull) would
dwindle into a dwarf by the side of his do-
mesticated fraternity. In fact, it may be very
correctly remarked that whenever animals
are induced to propagate in a state of sub-
jection, they become susceptible of almost
incredible alterations in form, colour, and size
— precisely, as it may be said, in proportion
to that degree of domestication which they
are capable of attaining. If this be not ex-
actly an axiom or first principle, the truth of
the proposition is evinced in several ways,
but in none perhaps so strikingly and so in-
contestibiy as in the instance of the dog. We
are not about to enter into a disquisition as
to whether the countless varieties of this ani-
mal have descended from the same primeval
individual : we believe that climate alters the
complexion or aspect of the animals of the
same kind ; and as to the existence of one
original dog, and one only, inasmuch as the
question is beyond the reach of human inves-
tigation, it appears to us time worse than
idly spent to pursue a problem that admits cf
no satisfactory solution. But, wherever the
dog has besn found in a genuine wild state,
he has uniformly presented the erect ear, the
long brushy tail, and all those characteristics
observed in the jackal: therefore, keeping
this animal steadily in view, what endless
variety may we not trace fronj the large Irish
wolf-dog, the enormous English mastiff, the

noble talbot, to the delicate Italian greyhound,
the ugly Dutch pug, or the beautiful little
lapdog spaniel; resulting entirely from that
intimate domestication which this interesting
animal has attained.

To come to our immediate subject, the
horse. This animal, so fleet, so powerful,
and so essentially important to man, is not
nearly so sagacious as the dog ; which, added
to what may be called his physiology or ani-
mal economy, render his attainment of that
degree of domestication acquired by the dog
utterly impossible ; and therefore we clearly
perceive, notwithstanding the various forms
under which he appears, that he is insuscep-
tible of that almost infinite variety which
every where presents itself in the canine race.
However, the various classes of horses which
meet the eye of the inquisitive observer, must
be regarded as a proof of what we have
stated, and very forcibly exhibits the success-
ful efiorts of human genius and human per-
severance. Without going into an examina-
tion of the varieties of this noble quadruped,
from the large elephant-like animal of Flan-
ders to the Icelandic dwarf (as we have thus
noticed the subject in previous numbers of
our publication) we may correctly enough
state that, even amongst racers, very consi-
derable variety will be found : if we are
anxious for what is called a compact horse.
The Colonel may be regarded as an excellent
specimen ; if we wish for the opposite of this
conformation, Longwaist (who died some
time since) alTorded an admirable sample :
The Colonel and Longwaist were both distin-
quishcd racers ; but as from the animal or-
ganization of the former he would naturally
become a more lofty goer than the latter, his
action would be necessarily more round, and
therefore he could not get over the ground so
speedily as Longwaist, where a less compact
(and better) form enabled him to go more
closely, or, in the language of the school, to
become " a daisy cutter." A compact horse
is generally supposed (and correctly so too)
to be better calculated for the hunting field
than the race course ; because, having in the
former case to cross uneven ground, for the
most part, lofty action becomes necessary to
a safe or sure mode of going : but it does not
result that, because a horse is not made in a
compact form, he is not therefore calculat-
ed for following hounds ; the action of a
horse, or his mode of going, if found de-
fective or inappropriate, may be very
much altered and improved by education,
and those nags which, like Longwaist,
would become daisy cutters on the course,
may be easily taught to lift their feet suffi-
ciently high when following hounds. Much
may be effected by education ; in this case,
however, it is necessary to observe, that
though it is no difficult matter to teach a
horse where form is the reverse of compact,
(but otherwise unobjectionable) to go suffi-
ciently high, it is almost impossible to ren-
der a compact horse a daisy cutter, though

u

278

THE FARMEirS IMAOAZINC.

Iiis arlion inaj and is iiiucli lowered wlicn
thrown forward in liis traiiiinj^ for llic course.

Ainonf^st our ra(;eis will also bo found the
deep ribbed horse, and the opposite eonfor-
niation, or what may be ealled a falling? oil
in the posterior ribs : of the former we may
take I>r. Syntax and Elis as specimens,
wliile Orthodox, I*elops, and Aindcrby, may
be rej^ardcd as samples of the latter. J)eep-
rlbbed horses are better calculated for oft re-
peated exertion than tlie lighter eareascd ani-
fnals, tiiou}i;h perhaps not (|uite sodeetfora
short distance. Had not Elis been well
made up for his year, and deep-ribbed withal,
he must have sunk under the fretjuent and
very severe exertion to which lie was subject-
ed durinj;; the late racing- season.

Theie is also to be seen anionf^yt our
coursers what is well understood by the term
" lieavy-topped ;" or horses where superin-
cumbcntbulk appears toolieavy fortheir limbs,
of which Plenipo allbrds a forcible illustra-
tion : but we are not aware of any form tliat
can be regarded as the opposite of the heavy-
topped ; the legs of a racer to be large must
have plenty of bone, and a superabundance
of this fundamental substance is never com-
plained of or considered a defect.

Wc rarely, if ever, meet with a horse pcr-
feclly formed : Long^waist, though a charming
goer, was rather too loose in the loin to be ex-
actly consistent (in his conformation) with
the acknowledged rules of beauty ; Lottery
always appeared to us a very handsome horse,
but on account of his vicious disposition, it
was not an easy matter (or altogether free
Iroin danger,) to look him over satisfactorily.
Mameluke appears a very beautiful liorse on
first or immediate approach, and, were it not
lor the defect in bis thigh (just above the
Jioek) wc should regard him as one of the
finest horses that ever stood before us. And
so we might n.ultiply these observations al-
most u(l infiniluni.

Recurring to tiie heavy-topped horse, we
are inclined to think that this defect generally
results from the modern .system of treating
the racer in what may be called the first part
of his life. For instance, from the moment he
comes Into the world he is fed to repletion ;
ho is tempted in every form with the most
enticing food, (as we have more than
once bad occasion to observe at former pe-
riods) in order to produce si/e and enable
him to be ready to meet the earliest engage-
ments: thus an animal with a good appetite,
or what is called a greedy feeder, will na-
turally acquire great bulk, and become heavy-
topped in some instances, particularly where
a dclicien(;y of bone is observable.

Sheet Anchor, whose portrait we have
given, is a large horse for his year,
and we decidedly prefer a large stallion ;
in our opinion, indeed, a stallion cainiot be
too large. II' a small stallion were found to
answer the purpose, the little mountain liorse,
the genuine Arabian, would be preferable to
all others ; because Ids action is superior to

that of bis moic bulky and much larger de-
scendant, fn the progress of breeding, it has
not been found possible (or at least it has not
yet been accomplished) exactly to continue
that light elastic action, so remarkable in the
horse of the desert, in our large striding ra-
cers. Strength must beconsidercd as the basis
of speed, as constituting in fact its most essen-
tial principle; but while we admit this in-
contestible axiom, we feel no hesitation in
asserting, that activity also is indispensable
to the perfection of progressive inotion.
When our most powerful racers exhibit the
activity of the Arabian horse, their speed will
become perfect, and not till then.

We have sometimes, thougli not often, seen
a heavy going horse win a very secondary
sort of race, but it has been irksome, if not
painful, to observe him lundjcring along till
by mere dint of strength he has reached the
winning post : a horse who goes by what may
be called force, unaccompanied by the requi-
site lightness and elasticity, can never mani-
fest very superior speed

Sheet Anchor is very large, very powerful,
and very handsome ; he is particularly line
in the shoulders; his legs and feet are ex-
cellent : and, liad we the opportunity of
breeding our own hunters, we arc scarcely
acijuainted with a nag wc should prefer for
the purpose. He is U> hands 1 inch high, of
a very dark brown colour. Sheet Anchor is
by Lottery, out of Morgiana by Muley out of
Miss Stephenson by Scud or Sorcerer. He
came out at York (in 183.''>) for the Colt Sap-
ling, which he won ; he appeared at the start-
ing post for the Doncaster St. Leger, and sus-
tained no disgrace in running unsuccessfully
against that extraordinary filly. Queen of
Trumps. From Doncaster he went to Lin-
coln, where he won a Gold Cup or Piece of
Plate ; and came out only once afterwards, for
the Portland Handicap, which he won in a
canter, beatingHornsea, IJirdlime, and several
others. He was bred by a Mr. Golden. He
will cover 40 mares, at 20 guineas each.

TAi-r, Worm in the Pointeii and Spaniel.
^Ou an estate where a ffrcat quantity of rabbits
are annually destroyed in the month of November,
1 have observed that several dogs who were pre-
viously in pood liealtli and condition, soon became
wcnk, listless, and exeessivcly emaciated, frequently
passinj? larpe portions of the tape-worm : this induced
me to examine the intestines of .several hares and rabbits,
and, witli very few exceptions, I found each to contain
a perfect tape-worm, from three to four feet in Icnfj^tli.
1 then caused two of the dogs whose cases ai)i)Cftred the
worst, to be separated from tlie. others, foedinp thcin on
potatoes, &c. ; and in sight or ten days, after voidinK'
several feet of the worm, they were perfectly restored to
their former strenfftli and ai)penrancc. Tlie vermicular
disease, hitiiertoso forniiihthle to tlie spaniel and pointer,
may therefon^ in n f.vivat measure lie fairly attriltuted to
tiie custom of fc'iviiii.;- them tlie intestines of tlicir jfame,
under the technical ai))iellalion of " the pauncli." Tiie
facts above .stated, in explaining: tiie cause of the disease,
at the same time suurffosts the remedy.— 7'. M. liagiwld.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

•J 79

TFTR CORN CUAKi:.

A bird ol" piis.saj;o, known nlso l»y (lie iianio
of llic liiiiid Kail, and Dakir Ihn. 'I'luiConi
Crake may bo ro};ar(k'(l as Ibo barbinf;<r of
siininH-r : it is nonorally lirsl beard abonl Ibe
middle of May, and coiilinues its note diirin;;-
the I)rccdin<:; st-iison, and mif;rates on (Ik; ap-
proaeb of winter. Tbe leni;tb ol' tbe bird is
nine inebes ; tia; bill is oik; ineb lon^, slroii;;,
and tbiek, and of a ^^rt^yisli brown, foinied
exactly like tbat of Ibc water ben, and makes
a {•cnerie dislinelion. Tbe eyes iia/el, tiu;
featbers on tbe n()per parts of a ruins
brown, eaeb daslied down tlie middle willi
bla(rk ; tiie under parts tbe same, but paler
and not spotted, and «ulne(l witb pale r'lst
colour ; (!bin very pab; ; bolb winj; <M»ver(s
and (juills aie of a li;;iitisb (;b<\snut ; (Ik; for(;
part of tbe neek arul br(;as( is of a pale asli
cob)ur ; a slrc^ak of tbe same eoloui extcMids
over ca( li eye, from tbe bill to tbe sicb^ of (be
neck; tiie belly is of a yellowisli wbite ; tbe
sides, tbi;:,lis, and verd ar(t faintly marked
witb rusty-eoloiired streaks ; tbe tail issiiort,
and of a deep bay ; tin; 1( ;;s ar(! of tbe colour
of tbe bill. II is foumi anion;;' ;;rass, corn,
broom, and furze ; and leeds on wcnnis, slu;^s,
inseets, and seeds of various kinds.

In meadows, from tin; time tbe ;;rass is
^rovvn uniil e'.it, tluMt; issu(\s IVom tb<; tbiekesi
part of tb<; berba^c! a sound, expr(^ssin^ tbe
wor<l oili, crik ; as w(; approaeb tbe sound
retires, and is beard (illy p,ie(^s olf: it is (lie
land rail tbat emits tbis cry. A<;eordin;; to
Pennant tbis i)ird lays from tvvtdve to tw( iity
cg};s, of a dull wbite, marked witb a few
yellow si)ots. Tbe nest is nes;lif:;eidly (-on-
striK^ted of a little moss or dry ^rass, and
placed usually in some; bollow of tbe turf
wboro tbe j^rass is tbiekest. Tbe youn;;- are
covered witb a blaek down, and run as soon
as they cpiit tin; sb(dl, following; tlu; parc^nt
bird, but (|uit not tbe meadow till tb(; seytlu;
sweeps away tli(;ir babitation. Tbe late batebes
are plundered by tlu^ mower; all tbe eaily
broods tben sbcdter tluimselves anionj^st «;orn,
in waste };;rounds overspread witb bro(tm,iv(!.
It is easily known wliin a <lo;;' S(;eiits a
land rail from bis k(;en search, and tbe obsti-
nacy witb whieli the bii<l keeps tbe ^^roiind :
it oft(;n stops short and scpjats ; tin: do;;, piisli-
in^ eagerly forward, overshoots tin; spot, and
Itjsos the track ; the rail, it is said, prodts by
bis blunder, and retraces its path ; nor will
it sprin;; till driv<;n to the last extr»!iiii(y,
wlifiii it Hies heavily and ^-eiKirally witb its
legs banging <lown, but iievcsr far at a (light:
wh(;n it alights it runs oil', nor is it sprung a
second tinii! without great dilli(;iilty. It is,
however, veiy easily shot, as it iis(is li<;avily,
Hies slow, and generally gets up within gun
shot. When upon the wing, if it (lies to a
hedge, it will pereb and sit till it is almost
touched before it will move; indeed, it fre-
•prently (iseapes by this maiuriivre, as sp(trts-
inen seldom think of looking in a lie(lg«;
for it.

Corn crakes aru iiunieruiis un the banks of

tbe river Trent, in StaHordsliiru and Derby-
shire, ami ill other |)arts of tbe kingdom ; in
Irtdand, they arc; partit^ilarly s(», wb(iie, it
has be(;/i (hoiigld, many of tb<-ni pass the
winter. 'V\ny are in the greatesl i)len(y in
dm isle of Angb\sea, vvlit:re they appear a(
tbe lat((;r vnd of April, sii|)pos<'d (o <Minie
there (roni licland ; at (heir lirs( arrival i( is
common (o shoot seven <u eight in a morning.
They abound in (be eouidy of ('aidiness in
Scotland, and are (oiiiid in most of (be lit;-
biid(\sand (heOiknies. b'ew places in Eng-
land are destitute of them in summer, but
they iiev(!r winter here. It is observed wbeie>
(piails are in plenty, tbe crake abounds. < hi
their (list appearance in Mngland they are so
lean as to weigh less than sixouiuMS; but
b(;l()ic tlxMi de|)ar(un; have been known (o
<-\eeed eigbl, and at (bis period they a|>peai'
a mere mass of fa(.

Itudon states (bat wbeii tbe land rail r(;-
tuins to odier countries (he (light commene(^s
during tin; night, and aidc^d by a lavouiable.
wind i( atteiKjds tin- passage of (he Mtjdilei-
laneaii, where, no doubt, many perish, as it
is rimiarked that (heir numbers dt^cKtase on
their redirn ; (bat migia(ions <d (his bird c\-
(end moK; (o the; north than (Im; south, and,
notwithslandiiig (be slowiu^ss of i(s (light, it
penetrates into Poland, Sweden, henmark,
and «!ven Norway. 'J'o tbe north Im (h»ii-
eeivcs tin; land rail re(>airs, as inu<di for <'ool
sidiation as to obtain i(s proper food ; for aN
(hoiigli it cats (be set^ls of broom, trefoil,
groundsel, and fattens in a cage on millet and
grain, and, when grown up, <;very sort of
aliment siiKs it, yet it i)ref'is inst:c(s, slugs,
worms, and (best^ whieb are iKM^i^ssaiy (or its
young, can be lound only in shady wet
giounds: tluHiumidity ol (hose cd' li(dand i.s
also (Mingenial (o ils nature.

\ (;t, after all, (he m(»st extraordinary part
of the bird's history is bow it (um(liv(^s (o
cross the sea ; and that (be craki; does ubso-
liilely (;ross it, is a fact whieb cannot for a
monieid. be doub((Ml. Tbe biid, wlnwi seen in
(his country, is never known to ily more (ban
a((;w hundred yards, witb tbe ulniost dilli -
<d(y, and witb the wind in its (avour. K.s
body is heavy; while (lie wings are sboi(, and
tbe pinion bones unlike those ol (be ijuail, aie,
appai(;ntly weak and in(Hlieien( ; aiul (berefore,
as ali(!ady observed, it is most <;x(raoi(linaiy
(hat a bird, which, in ils ordinary functions
or avocations is unable to Ily lor a single mile
sboubl ii(;vertbel(iss cross (be M«<li(« i raneaii.
It is OIK! of those astonisbiog scc,ie(s in na-
tiiie, which in all probability will lor ever re-
main ins(nutabl(^

On Mriniliiy liwl. ii Ciiiir ycMirs old wcllicr Nlmcp, lic-
ioriH'iliK lo IVIr. Shrplicrd, of IVI iM'loii-liiill, iiciir Ap-
pleby, wiiH (liHcovi^rcil iiiidt!!' lliii Hiiovv. I Ik; uiiiiiiitl
iiiiil lii:t',ti inlHHinK' mu'X'. llu; 2'llli wi I )(M-(!iiil)cr, and iiiiul
Imvc. HiisliiiiiiMl cxiMtcrncd ini(l(;r (lio himiw lor wivcii
wrrkw und llirt'd (liiyH. A ll.liou(^li vtry weak and
linn, hopes lire ciitcrtnincd ol prcsirvinj'; il, ('((ilisli-
Jiiiiniui.

11 2

280

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

THE MONETARY SYSTEM.

(from a C0KRESP0ND£NT.)

[We insert the enclosed from the pen of a valued
correspondent, with a view to invite discussion ;
but we must distinctly state, that we widely differ
from the writer in many respects. — Ed. M. L. E.]

It is useless to open the channels of commerce to
to an enterprising people, if the means to embark in
it to its widest extent be withheld, as is the case at
present in this country. A circulating- medium is
the means, but the circulating medium must be equal
to the amount required to be useful, nay it should be
rather in excess, than under. Gold is not equal to
the task, by reason of its scarcity, and, also because,
being by common consent the medium of barter all
over the commercial world, and fluctuating con-
tinually in its value, it is constantly on the flight to
the market where tlie value is highest ; there is no
fixing it to any locality. All that is requisite for the
purposes of trade is a circulating money, fixed in
value, which will not leave the country, and that is
to be Ibund in paper. Let the misnomered Bank of
England be a national bank so far as to give to its
notes the fixed value of being a legal tender through-
out the empire, in payment of all debts, taxes, &c. ;
let it issue one pound notes and be restricted from
paying its notes in gold j let all the joint-stock banks
issue notes, subject to be paid on demand in Bank
of England paper, and the country at once possesses
the requisite to extend its trade securely with-
out fear of the circulating medium being sub-
jected to sudden contraction : this is no new scheme,
it answered well during the war and will work as
well, nay better, for the trading community in peace.
But its advocates are met by the senseless yell of
" high prices. " Repeal the odious corn laws, and
high prices is a bugbear of no meaning ; but the
agriculturists are in agony at the idea : open ports
for the admission of corn, would benefit tliem in this
way, corn would maintain a more fixed value than at
present. It is a fact well known at Liverpool that
foreign grown corn finds its wa)' from Ireland, to
the full extent of the quantity wanted to supply the
deficiency of our own growth. All the diflference in
opening the ports to the free importation of corn,
would be, to open the trade and take it out of the
fraudulent smugglers' hands. The effect of a free
importation of corn would be prodigious on our
manufactories. If foreign countries could pay for
our goods in corn, they would increase their con-
sumption of our loom'- and anvils to an immense ex-
tent ; and there is another correlative circumstance
wholly kept out of sight, or unknown to our own
corn growers, which is, that a great increase in our
manufactories would create a great increase in our
population ; the increased population -would eat all
the extra foreign grown corn imported, and keep the
price of corn up to a remunerating one to the home
growers, and no fear of over supply for corn has ne-
ver yet been produced in any country, on an averao-e of
seven years, to an"excess much beyond its consump-
tion; nay, it is a fact, that all countries experience
not only one, but occasionally a succession, of bad
har-v^ests, and are dependent at such periods on
foreign markets for supplies ; as witness at this pre-
sent time, America, and some parts of Russia, have
taken from this country all the foreign bonded corn
that was in it. There is another set of false alarm-
ists to be dealt with, and their clamour is to be met
with equalsuccess, theover production alarmists; "the
markets will be glutted, no demand, the mills must

shut up, furnaces blown out, operatives discharged!'*
Starving, ruin, and all the pretty iancies of diseased
im-agination poured out, to alarm and terrify the cau-
tious and timid. Let the case of a free and full
issue of paper currency — being subsituted for the
metallic one — be looked at fairly and its effects
traced, and the result will be found to be indisputa-
bly beneficial to all ranks ; consequently to the coun-
try a paper currency being established on a firm, solid,
and permanent basis, the Bank of England would
issue their notes freely, the local banks would do
the same, and money would be easily obtained by
manufacturers and merchants to any extent required ;
and just now these classes require this accom-
modation ; the trade to the East Indies, China,
and parts unknown in the Pacific Ocean, to
which our productions find their -way, is crippled for
want of means to enter on it. The opening of those
countries is almost a mockery, for at the time of the
opening, the means to trade, to the full extent, is
withheld ; and this means does not lay in the bot-
tom of the ocean, exists only in some country yet to
be discovered, but is actually to be found at home,
being the substitution of a paper currency for the
ruinous one of gold.

But, the over-productionists are not to be satis-
fied with this prosperous state of things ; — well let it
be granted, that goods will be manufactured to a
greater extent than required, and that distress will
follow, merchants and manufacturers fail and the
operatives thrown out of work. Over-production
does not create a less consumption, like a disease on
the animal stomach, the regular consumption will go
on, and the effects of the over-production wear off by
lessening the production for a season, and the de-
mand for more follows actively the deficient supply,
activity again pervades all classes. Granted that this
revulsion and distress occur once in every seven or
eight \ears ; in the six years of successful run, the
population of the country lias been greatly increased,
and the permanent wealth of the country, in build-
ings, rail-roads, engines, plate, linen, furniture, and
domestic comfort, greatly increased, and at the re-
vival of trade the country starts again with an in-
creased population of some five per cent, and near to
fifty in all the other things for another run of seven or
eight years, and so on, and the wealth and population
of the country, continually augmenting at each recur-
ring period of distress. This would be the state of the
country by the means of a proper currency. VVJiat
is its state at present? Is it a golden one? Is not
distress overwhelming all the trading classes 1 And
if gold is to be continued as the circulating medium,
it requires no conjuror to foretell the probable con-
sequences ; it will be absolute ruin to all, no caution
can obviate the effects of a constantly recurring fluc-
tuation, and that gradually effected in the amount and
value of the circulating medium, no safety valve to
prevent explosion, the passion to obtain gold leads
individuals to the commission of murder, and it will
lead this country to a suicidal end. W.

A sale of cSttle, of the pure North Devon breed, took
place at North Molton, on Friday, the 17th inst., at the
farm of Mr. W. Davy, of Flitton. Our readers will
judge of the importance of the sale, and appreciate the
superiority of the stock, by a quotation of the prices: —
a bull, 3 years old, 80 guineas; ditto, 10 months old,
28 guineas; cow, 30 guineas ; calf, 1 week, 6 guineas.
The number of lots, 29, and all sold at similarly hig-h
prices.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

281

PLOUGHING MATCH AT HAILSHAM.

A lady in this county, who is well known for the in-
terest she takes in every thing connected with ag'ricul-
ture, and the practical means by which she strives to
induce the adoption of any improvements in the art,
having- offered premiums to the amount of 20/, to be
contended for by ploughs, with not more than two
horses abreast, driven with reins ; — the match came off
on Wednesday, INIarch 1, at Hailsliam. The principal
object was not so much to test the skill of the plough-
men, as to try the relative merits of different descrip-
tions of ploughs, and especially to afford a practical de-
monstration of the advantages possessed by the iron
plf (ig-h lately sent into this part of the country by Mr.
Blacker, of Armagh. The ground selected was a field
near the town of Hailsham, belonging to Mr. Lade.
The natural peculiarities of the soil, and the state in
which it was on this occasion from the incidental effects
of the weatlier, were favourable for the operation of pair-
horse ploughs. A great number of persons, including
the most influential agriculturists in this part of the
country, attended to witness the trial, which commenced
at half-past eleven o'clock, under the direction of the
stewards, Mr. Putland, of Firle; Mr. W. Rason, of
Meads ; and Mr. E. Boys, of the Gildridge farm.

After the land had been ploughed, a party of about
forty agriculturists, including the judges and stewards,
dined together at the George Inn. Mr. Putland offi-
ciated as Chairman and Mr. Boys as Deputy. After
the cloth had been removed.

The Chairman, having proposed the usual routine of
loyal toasts, proceeded to propose the health of a noble-
man to whom, he observed, the agriculturists were
deeply indebted for the staunch support which he had
invanably given to their interests — "the Duke of Rich-
mond, Lord Lieutenant of Sussex." (Cheers.) He
next gave, the Earl of Egremont," and this toast was
also greeted with great applause.

The Chairman said, he would next refer to the more
immediate cause which had brought them together on
this occasion — the kindness of a truly excellent and re-
spected lady, whose goodness of heart, whose constant
and well directed endeavours to the advancement of
agricultural science and the prosperity of the farmers
and labouring classes, must be duly appreciated by
every person present. (Cheers.) By her generous do-
nation, a spirit of emulation had that day been called
into action, which, he was satisfied would not be without
its good effects. At all events, he was confident that
those who came from a distance to view the match,
would allow that good ploughing might be seen in
Sussex, as well as in other counties. Mr. Putland pro-
posed, in conclusion, the health of IMrs. Gilbert, which
was drank with three times three hearty cheers.
The premiums were then awarded as follow : —
First Premium, 10/, to Mr. T. Hall, of Hellingly, for
an old Sussex turn-rist foot-plough, held by John Akers.
Second Premium, 5/, to Mr. John Putland, of Firle,
for the same description of plough, held by Richard
Wood, of Willingdon.

Third Premium, 3/, to Lady Webster, for a SutFolk
plough, held by Samuel Sinden.

Fourth Premium, 21, to Mrs. Gilbert, for the Armagh
plough, held by Mr. Hutchinson, (a small farmer from
Ireland.)

Fifth Premium, (Italian rye-grass seed for an acre.)
to Mr. T. Hurst, of Rodmill, for a Tickel-plough.

The CHAiRMAxthen proposed the health of the judges,
Messrs. W. Lamb, of Wilmington ; TfPagden, of Ar-
lington ; and B. Waters, of Motcombe.
Mr. Waters briefly returned thanks.
Mr. Pagden said, he thought the mode of competition
was hardly fair. Mr. Lade's man (whose ploughing
was deservedly commended) had greater difficulties to
contend with than Mr. Hall's ; since where the land was
•' slit" it was much less difficult to lay it so that the
harrows might get a good hold. Upon future occasions,
lie trusted the men would all be obliged to work in the
same manner. Mr. P. concluded by thanking the com-
pany for the honour they had done him.
Mr. Lamb, in returning thanks, observed Jthat the

work done by the last plough in the field (Mr. Lade's}
was very superior, and proposed that the ploughman
should receive some encouragement for his skill. [A
good sum was immediately subscribed and presented
to him. J

The Chairman then gave " the health of Lady Web-
ster, and thanks to her for sending her plough." — " The
Earl of Chichester and the Magistrates of the Eastern
Division." — Mr. Lade_, who had given the use of his
field, and had also sent his ploughman to contend for
the premiums."

Mr. Denman proposed the health of Mr. Putland,
and the other Stewards.

The Chairman returned thanks and observed, that
he was under great obligations to his brother Stewards,
for the manner in which the business of the day had
been conducted, and especially to Mr. Boys, in setting
out the land. He trusted that the match would be pro-
ductive of good effects.

Mr. Boys in returning thanks, observed, that al-
though the match had been projected witli the most
praiseworthy motives, having for their object the stimu-
lation of a desire to investigate, and adopt if applica-
ble, an improvement in the mode of Agriculture, yet he
felt satisfied that Mrs. Gilbert had now good grounds
for conviction that Mr. Blacker's plough could not su-
persede the Sussex ploughs ; for it was observable on
this occasion that heavy ploughs were required to work
on heavy soils. There was great merit due to the
Scotch plough, which had done its work better than
some of the other ploughs that day ; but it certainly was
not adapted for general use in this country.

IMr. King, of Berwick, said, it appeared to him that
Lady Webster's plough had done its work well. The
workmanship of another person too, who had ploughed
with strangehorses was very creditable tohim. Any Sussex
farmer would be enabled to decide, from experience, on
the relative merit of the heavy and light ploughs on
their soils. A heavy plough, he contended was abso-
lutely necessary for heavy lands. Mr. King proposed
the health of Mr. Hutchinson, and thanks to him for
competing on this occasion. — This toast was drunk with
three times three.

Mr. Hutchinson returned thanks. He said, his ob-
ject as a stranger was not to carry oflf their principal
prize ; but to endeavour to prove to the Sussex farmers
that it was possible for them to work with only two
horses where they now had four. Mr. Blacker, who had
done much good for Ireland by the improvements which
he had introduced in the general system of cultivation,
had sent him here to ascertain if this plough could be
adapted to work in this country to advantage ; and he
did not see why it should not answer generally ; for
they all saw with how little drausrht his horses ploughed.
He did not intend to throw the slightest imputation on
the judges, who he was sure had done their duty con-
scientiously ; but if the lots which had been placed be-
fore his had been judged in Ireland they would have
been judged to be inferior ; because in that country the
rule of ploughing is, that the soil should be turned
square,— as broad as high in the furrow, in order to offer
the best facilities for sowing. Mr. H. concluded by
expressing his acknowledgments for the honour done
him.

Mr. Waters said he thought that it was not fully un-
derstood whether these premiums were intended for the
masters or the men.

The Chairman said, although the premiums were
originally given to the masters, it was pretty well un-
derstood that they would go to the men. He and Mr.
Hall had both promised their premiums to the plough-
man. (Applause.) However he thought that 10/ was
perhaps too large a sum to be given in one premium to
a labourer, and he should therefore propose that on any
future occasion, if the premiums were to be given to the
men they should be divided into smaller sums ; —begin-
ning at 6/ for instance. After some furtherobservations
on this head, the Chairman proposed the health of J.D.
Gilbert, Esq., which was drunk witii due honours.

Mr. King said the principal object of their meeting
was more for the purpose of testing the difl?erent de-
scriptions of ploughs, than for trying the skill of the

282

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

men ; and on future occasions he thoiig'ht that it would
be more prudent, since it was necessary to hold out some
inducement to persons to send their ploug-hs, to divide
the premium in a fixgd proportion between the master
and the servant.

Mr. Paodex observed that Mr. Hutchinson had cer-
tainly exhibited some good workmanship ; but in his
opinion the error was that the furrows had been set
right on edge so that vegetation had not been destroyed
in the sod, and the grass would spring up between
th^n.

Mr. Hutchinson said his chief object was to get his
work as upright ns possible, in order to form a good
comb to cover the seed when sown. He had laid his
land on a proper angle, to prevent the seed from getting
throug'h between the furrows.

Mr. Pagdkn said one-third of the seed would go
under the furrow and not come up at all. He would
not have his land ])loughed with the Scotch plough,
even if it were done for nothing.

Mr. KixG said that opinions of ploughing were
doubtless influenced by prejudice, as much as on
other subjects. He would himself, rather have his
land ploughed after his own notion, than have it done,
even gratuitously, in any other mode. But he must
own that Mr. Hutchinson's ploughing was " not so
bad." He agreed too with Mr. Hutchinson, that the
sharper the angle could be got after the land was
turned, the more easily and effectually would the
harrow catch it. (Hear.) For his own part, he would
certainly sooner sow corn upon the land ploughed by
the iron plough that day, than he would upon that done
by Lady Webster's. There was 3 to 4 more grit ( as we
undertood ) upon the former— This he would willingly
allow ; but he could not subscribe to the notion that
the Sussex farmers, had in all cases been keeping four
horses where two would have sufficed, Where stony
lands and hills occurred, it was imposible that the Scotch
plough, orany ploughwithout wheels would be efficient,
in some soils it would not even make a furrow. The
land to-day had been favourable to the Scotch plough,
and was any thing but a specimen of the difficulties of
soil which Sussex farmers had to contend with. If Mr.
Hutchinson would come over to his farm, he would en-
tertain him as hospitably as he could, and prove to hmi
moreover that there was land which his plough could
not touch.

The CHAinMAN then proposed " The health of Mr.
Hall," also " Agriculture and Commerce," and "The
Press."— To the last toast the reporters present returned
suitable acknowledgments.

In the course of the evening Mr. Hurst accepted the
challenge of ]\Ir. Blacker, to plough with the Armagh
plough and two horses, against any other plough and
four horses.

Mr. Denman, with the concurrence of Messrs.
Putlandand Ade, offered to produce six men, parishioners
of Willingdon, who should compete with any six men
from Eastbourne, to plough half an acre each with oxen
or horses, with the turn-rist wheel plough. — This chal-
lenge was not accepted.

Mr. Joseph Filder also challenged any gentleman
present to plough an acre of ground, and sow the same
for five pounds. The challenge was accepted by Mr.
Thomas Pagden ot Chilver bridge, and the parties are
to plough and sow an acre each upon each farm. The
first trial will take place on Thursday the 23rd instant,
at Mr. Pagden's and the second on Thursday the 30th
at Mr. Filder's, The j udges are to be IMessrs. T. Hurst
of Eastbourne ; Mr. J. King, of Berwick ; and Mr. B.
Waters, of Eastbourne.

The Turnip Cabbage has a bulb, or apple, grow-
ing on a stem, from two to four inches from the
ground, with considerable top, or leaf, resembling
those of brocoli ; the bulb, frequently, measures from
20 to 24 inches in circumference, and six or eight
inches in diameter; is very sound, and of

quality, particularly for ewes and lambs, and milch
cows. For this description of stock, they are pre-
ferable to Swedes, or any other variety of turnips,
cabbages, or mangel wurzel, for the following rea-
sons : — 1st. The Swede turnip will not force so much
milk ; and, it is generally acknowledged, lambs do
not do well when the ewes are feeding on them ; and,
at the time of year they are most wanted for this
purpose, they become hard and sticky ; tlie lambs
cannot ent them, and the ewes have great difficulty
in doing so, unless they have excellent mouths. 2dly.
Every other description of turnip is less hardy ; after
Christmas, the quality is very much deteriorated ;
and, in a severe Winter, a great portion becomes
rotten and useless. Independentof these objections,
a considerable part of all turnips grow underground ;
consequently, in wet weather, particularly, the sheep
must eat a considerable quantity of dirt with them,
which, from some soils, does great injury. 3dly. The
drum-head, and all other cabbages, are, frequently,
much injured by frost ; the outside leaves beeome
rotten, and unfit for food; and that portion which is
sound, is not of so good a quality as the plant above
alluded to, nor will it force so much milk. 4thly.
They are preferable to mangel wurzel, as they can
be obtained at considerably less expense, and may be
fed on the land on which they grow. This is not
the case with the mangel, which must be taken up,
and carefully housed ('or clamped,) to protect it from
frost ; but the turnip cabbage will stand pei-fectly
sound, through the most severe Winter. This plant
may be successfully cultivated on that description
of land which will not grow good turnips ; as a
proof of which, Mr. Denton, of Madingley, Cam-
bridgeshire, has, two years successively, grown them
together (that is, in the same field, and on exactly
the same soil ; ) each year, he has had a very great
weight of the turnip cabbage ; but the turnips have
proved nearly a failure, not producing one-sixth of the
weight per acre, although the seed grew well, and
the plants were tliick enough on the ground ; but
they did not grow to any size, although manured very
highly. Mr. D. has, several years, tried to grow
turnips on this soil C which is strong, black ground,)
but not in one instance has he succeeded. In 1835,
he planted two acres of the drumhead, and about two
acres of the thousand-headed cabbages, in the same
field, with some Swede turnips and rye ; early in
the Spring, he turned his couples (ewes and lambsj
into this field, and let them ramble where they
pleased, and partake of that food tliey liked best ;
after walking about some time, tasting first one, and
then the other, they, at last, fixed on the turnip cab-
bages, and eat the whole of them, even a portion of
the stem, before they began to feed on either the
drumheads, thousand-heads, turnips, or rye — (this
was done as an experiment, to ascertain which ot the
five sorts of food they preferred.) Mr. D. is confi-
dent, he never knew his ewes do so well, nor lambs
thrive so fast, as they did when feeding on them.
This year, he has got a very fine piece, at least from
27 to 28 tons per acre. I make my calculation of
the weight as follows : — They are planted three feet
between the rows, and two feet apart in the rows ;
consequently, if they had all grown, there would
have been in number, 6,969 plants per acre ; but, as
near as I could judge, about one in 100 had missed —
thus reducing the number to 6,899 per acre. I
weighed twelve of the largest, and twelve of the
smallest, I could find; and the average was eight
pounds per plant (after being freed from the root and
dirt ; ) thus, the nett weight amounts to 55,1921bs.,
or 27 tons, 10 cwt., 2 qrs., and 161bs per acre. I am
certain, I have not estimated the weight beyond

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283

the mark. There are several other excellent crops
of this plant in the neighbourhood, from 18 to 22, or
~S, tons per acre. All those who have grown them
two or three years, speak verv highly of them, par-
ticularly as early food for ewes and lambs ; all as-
serting, that the ewes produce more milk, and the
lambs thrive faster, than when feeding- on any other
vegetable. The best method of cultivating this plant
is, to prepare the land as for a turnip crop; then
to draw fuiroTTS with a double bushed plough,
three feet apart ; deposit the dung in the fur-
rows, and close it in, which will form ridges the same
as on the Northumberland system of growing tur-
nips. The plants to be raised on seedbeds ; and,
when they are about four inches high, should be
planted on the ridges (prepared for them,) 20 or 2-i
inches between each plant; and, if the land is not
tolerably moist, it is advisable to water them at the
time of planting, and again in three or four days
after. The seed to be sown, on the beds, the begin-
ning of May ; the plants will then be ready to put
out, by the middle or latter end of June. The after-
culture, the same as for mangel wurzel, or any other
description of cabbage. — Correspondent of Newry
Telegraph.

ON SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUND-
NESS, AND THE DUTY OF THE
VETERINARY SURGEON.

Bj' Mr. W. C. Spooxer, Southampton.

(From The Veterinarian,)

TO THE EDITOR.

Dear Sir, — In your able leading article of last
month on " The Examination of Horses," you con-
clude with the remark, " we will return to this sub-
ject, unless it should soon employ a better pen."
Now, disclaiming every — the slightest — idea of de-
priving your readers of the advantage of your addi-
tional notice, I would yet venture to offer a few
general observations on the matter in question ; and
if in so doing I should, in some degree, differ from
you, I am sure you will regard such difference with
your usual fairness and candour.

The horse trial that has led to your remarks pre-
sents, certainly, a singular discrepancy in the opi-
nions of the practitioners who were concerned
thereon, and a discrepancy, in many respects, to be
regretted ; the more particularly as the public are
altogether unacquainted with those shades and sha-
dows which often separate health from disease ; but
imagine, on the contrary, that the soundness and un-
soundness of a horse must be as distinctly marked
as the directing notice on a sign-post. I agree with
you, that there is a great deficiency in the education
of the student with regard to medical jurisprudence;
but if this were obviated by longer attention to the
subject, both on the part of the student and the lec-
turer, still it would not reconcile the present dif-
ferences, nor afford a sufficient remedy for the evil
complained of: for if there is much difference of
opinion amongt the professors on this subject, they
would, of course, make use of their opportunities in
promulgating their own peculiar ideas ; and thus
would the mind of the student be bewildered in ex-
change for the ignorance which now so frequently
prevails. Besides, however appropriate such ob-
servations on deficiency in the education may be to
the obscure or newly-fledged practitioner, I cannot

think they would justly apply to those more eminent
surgeons whose fate it has been to differ so much on
the matter in (|uestioa ; for, supposing that they had
received every instruction on medical jurisprudence
that could be wished during their pupillage, yet it
is not likely that, after some years' practice, they
would still allow themselves to be tied to the apron-
strings of their Alma Mater, but would, on the con-
trary, rather think and act for themselves.

With regard to the trial alluded to, let us endea-
vour, if we can, to account, in some degree, for the
variation that appears in the certificates of the diffe-
rent practitioners. We will put Mr. Sewell's out
of the question, as many of the defects which he
points out might have got well in the course oF three
montlis ; but with regard to Messrs. Field and Tur-
ner, we find that they both agree in one particular,
that the horse was unsound. Now this is what we all
endeavour to look for in examining a horse — some
cause of \insoundness ; and this being discovered, we
may or may not mention other defects that may ex-
ist ; and it is undoubtedly the fact, that the slightest
alteration in structure may strike in a moment the eye
of one practitioner, and escape that of another, par-
ticularly if the latter has already found sufficient to
induce him to pronounce the horse unsound.

Some time since a mare was brought to rae to be pro-
fessionally examined, chiefly on account of a thorough-
pin on the off-hock. 'J'his thorough-pin, however, did
not interfere with her action, or injure her in the slight-
est degree, and on this account I could not pronounce
her unsound ; but I could perceive some degree of
enlargement on the spavin-place of both hocks, par-
ticularly on the near one, but attended with no lame-
ness whatever. In addition to this I discovered de-
cided contraction of the off fore foot, accompanied
with indisputable pointing. Putting these facts toge-
ther, I did not hesitate to give a certificate of un-
soundness, and in consequence the seller took her
back ; hut 1 afterwards found that she had been
passed by a veterinary surgeon.

" There is only one step," remarked Buonaparte,
" between the sublime and the ridiculous ;" and we
may with equal truth apply the same observation to
the terms soundness and unsoundness ; for although
they differ as much from each other as a negative
and a positive can do, yet there is but the slightest
step actually existing between them. And thus I
take it there ever will be, as there ever has been, a
great variation in the opinions of practitioners with
regard to them.

To take up a particular case, let us see how it
bears on the matter in question. An exostosis on
the hock, for instance. This enlargement may have
come on very gradually, and if unattended with
lameness it is impossible for any one to detect it at
the very onset. Some time afterwards its appear-
ance is such as to strike the eye of the examiner,
and he pronounces the horse unsound in conse-
quence ; whilst another practitioner might fail in de-
tecting it, or might consider it as only the natural
formation of the hock : and certainly there are many
hocks much larger than others at the spavin-place.
If the horse is actually unsound, yet he is not more
so than he has, perhaps, been for a long time pre-
vious, although it is only now just discovered.

While on this subject, I should allude to the very
useful and practical communication from Nimrod, in
your last number, in which he gives us an account
of his experience on the subject of spavin, which he
thinks ought not to be considered unsoundness, un-
less attended with lameness. But Nimrod should
bear in mind, that, when a horse is brought to a ve-
terinary surgeon for examination, he knows nothing

284

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

of his previous history ; the aaiinal appears, perha; s,
with a spavin which does not render him at present
lame. Now this enlargement might possibly have
been there for years, during which time the horse
might not have been lame ; but, on the other hand,
it is equally possible that it may be only a few mouths
old, and it might have produced lameness at first,
which, perhaps, has been removed b}^ rest and treat-
ment, but will return with a renewal of his former
work. These being the possibilites and probabilities
of the case, the veterinary suigeon must act upon
the safe side, and he does so when he pronounces
the horse unsound. The purchaser may (if he knows
the history of the horse) still be justified in giving a
good price for him ; and the opinion of the practi-
tioner may rather dispose I'im to do so, although
condemnatoi y with regard to soundness.

There are, doubth ss, as Nimrod shews, many
cases of spavin unattended with lameness, and many
likewise that have been accompanied b)^ lameness
at first, but which has been permanently removed
by rest and treatment; but, then, there are probably
a greater number still that are attended with lame-
ness which no treatment is able to relieve. How
can we account for this fact ? We see two spavins
on two separate horses, each similar in size, situa-
tion, and appearance, to each other, and yet the one
is attended with lameness and the other is not.

In order to explain this circumstance, I take it we
must go deeper than the surfaces on which the exos-
tosis appears ; and we shall find, I would venture to
assert, in seven cases out of ten, both inflammation
and ulceration on the articular surfaces of the tibia
and the astragalus (where the prominence of the
former fits into the depression in the latter.) I
should also observe, there are as n^any, or nearly as
many, cases of hock lameness unattended with spavin,
as with it ; and I am not too bold when I state, that
of these, nineteen cases out of twenty are owing to
this disease in the upper articulation «f the hock just
spoken of, and which may, therefore, be accompaniad
with enlargement or not.

I had a horse, about twelve months since, brought
to me for examination, he having been warranted
sound ; and the seller had assured the purchaser
that the horse was only six years old, fresh on his
legs, and quiet in harness. On looking him over, I
instantly detected a spavin circumscribed and dis-
tinctly visible on the ofi" hock — his fore legs too
were extremely shaky and knuckling, rendering him
very unsafe — he would not go in harness : and, to
complete the catalogue of deceptions, on looking into
his mouth I found he had been bishoped. The two
front lower incisors were smooth, but marks were in
the other four, thus presenting the appearance of a
six-year old.

I immediately (to show the nature of the decep-
tion) erased with a small file the marks from the
forner tooth on one side, and the middle tooth on the
other ; and desired the owner, when he presented
the certificate of unsoundness (which I gave him on
account of the spavin), to ask the horsedealer to ac-
count, if he could, for the very singular appearance
of the teeth. The gentleman was fortunate to re-
cover his money, withjbut little expense. Now here was
a case, in which out of four serious faults the spavin
was the least, for it was not likely to occasion lame-
ness ; yet it was this least of faults that alone enabled
me to certify unsoundness, and the purchaser to
return the horse.

On the subject of splents there are but shades of
difference between soundness and unsoundness, and
no one, I think, can venture to draw the line of de-
marcation with his pen, A moiety of our horses,

perhaps, possess splents in some degree, and it is
only from our judgment and experience that we are
able to tell whether they are likely to occasion lame-
ness. I should say that, if they are large or near
the knee, they ought to be considered as constituting
unsoundness.

Then, with regard to corns, one practitioner may
not discover any, but another, having the shoes re-
moved, spies them out. But do they necessarily
constitute unsoundness 1 They may be so slight
and ir significant that we may at once decide that
they are not likely to affect the horse, or injure
him in anj* degree ; and therefore we may consider
him as sound. But, then, there are corns of every
shade and degree, from the slightest speck of ecchy-
mosis to the most serious evil ; and diflScult mdeed
is it to decide the exact line which forms the barrier
between soundness and unsoundness in many of these
cases. I mention these illustrations, in order to
show that there are many cases in which the dis-
tinction between health and disease is so slight, that
difference of opinion must almost necessarily occur ;
and it unfortunately happens that these are the
species of cases that are most likely to come before
a court of justice, while numbers of others, in which
several veterinary surgeons entirely agree, occasions
no notoriety whatever. But is cur profession sin-
gular in this respect ? Are there not numerous in-
stances of the most remarkable discrepancies in the
opinions of learned judges in their explication of the
laws of warranty ? After all, my dear sir, I agree
with you. that there is far too much difference in the
opinions and statements of practitioners with regard
to soundness; and those professio'ial (qy. unprofes-
sional) encounters should, as much as possible, be
avoided. The only plan that I can think of, as likely
to conduce towards this purpose, would be for some
veterinary surgeon to bring the subject fairly before
the medical association, and for its members to meet
together with the wish and desire to agree as much us
possible; they should then draw up the general prin-
ciples on which all or the great majority might coin-
cide : and should endeavour to bring under the same
head as many points of detail as possible, but men-
tioning those points and details on which a difference
might be unavoidable. If this were done, and paities
would, in some degree, merge a few differences on
minor points, and try to agree as much as possible, then
certain data might be obtained, which would be of
the greatest service to practitioners in genersl ; and
those professional tournaments might be avoided,
which are now so frequently witnessed in a court of
justice, by which all are alike injured in the end,
the victors and the vanquished, whichever for the
time may prove triumphant.

"With regard to another branch of the subject
which you have taken up, I must confess my opinion
that a veterinary surgeon has nothing to do with the
price of a horse, nor is he competent to judge of his
merits, unless he gives him an extensive trial, of
which neither his time will admit, nor the usual fee
afford a sufficient remuneration. If a carriage-horse
be the subject of examination, he had need to see
him perform a journey before he can judge of his
value; and if a hunter is the object, the practitioner
must witneas his performance through a good day's
hunting before he is able to judge of his merits, or
tell whether he is worth 50Z or 200/. If a veterinary
surgeon decides as to soundness, discovers the faults,
and jioints out the blemishes, he has, I think, done
liis duty, and fairly earned his lialf guinea fee. Of
course, if he is employed by a friend, he will give
such advice in addition as one friend may be ex-
pected to give another, but this will be a sacrifice to

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

286

riendship, and not lo professional duty; an.l I cer-
tainly think that we ought not to run the lisk of
taking' the bread out of tlie horsedealer's mouth
by advancing an opinion which we have no oppor-
tunity of deciding correctly, and which therefore may
be erroneous.

My letter has swelled much beyond its intended
limits, but I hope these vague and hurried observa-
tions may not be entirely useli^ss, and that the sub-
ject may receive the benefit of other abler and more
practised pens.

ON CROSSING THE SHORT-HORN
WITH OTHER CATTLE.

BY Sir. JAMES DICKSON, CATTLE-DEALER, EDINBURGH.

(From the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture.)

I shall now adduce numerous instances of im-
provement in breeding, by crossing the short-horn bull
with the cows of other breeds, in order to shew the
value of the short-horn bull as an improver of breeds.
1st, The Cross of Short-horxed Bulls avith
Shetland Cows. — I have seen several specimens of
this cross, which, with common feeding, have at-
tained the weight of forty-five stones, and of rare
quality, commanding the highest price in the mar-
ket. The fine quality of the Shetland beef is not
deteriorated by the cross, while the weight, symme-
try, and substance, are much increased and im-
proved. The most remarkable instance of this cross
I am acquainted with, was an ox out of a cow weigh-
ing only about eighteen stones, and when thick-fat
was one of the handsomest and complelest animals I
ever saw of any breed. He was bred and fed by
Mr. Baillie, of Jerviswood : I purchased him when
three years old, at Earlstoun fair, for 25/, and after
feeding him one year on ordinary food, sold him, at
four years old, to Mr. Thomas Taylor, flesher in
Edinburgh, for 40/ ; and when slaughtered he weighed
upwards of eighty stones. He was considered by
judges as the finest animal, in point of qualitjr, ever
slaughtered in Edinburgh ; and that an ox out of so
small a cow should attain to the weight of ten cwt.,
with common feeding — for he got no extraordinary
kind of food — should certainly surprise any who had
not either tried or had seen the experiment tried.
This is altogether a commendable cross, for its value
is comparatively gieat to the original breed, and it
is hardy and easily kept ; and its prime quality will
always insure a ready and high market for the pro-
duce. Another remarkable instance of the supe-
riority of this cross was produced by Mr. Dudgeon,
of Spylaw,at the Highland Society's Show at Kelso,
in 1832. This instance consisted of two heifers,
prime fat, and of first-rate quality, and they were
much admired by every body who saw them. Their
portraits were drawn by Mr. Shiel, S. A. an artist of
first-rate excellence as a painter of domestic animals.
His qualifications for the art are founded on a know-
ledge which we suspect few artists will condescend
to acquire, — a thorough knowledge of the points of
animals. He is, in fact, a first-rate judge of stock,
and, knowing the points which peculiarly charac-
terize the different breeds, he cannot fail, as an ar-
tist, to produce portraits which are not only good
pictures, but which exhibitthose points which judges
delight to appreciate. Mrs. Boswell, of lllackadder,
Berwickshire, has a small Shetland cow which has
produced an ox of 70 st. and a heifer of 60 St., botl]
fine animals.

The Shetland breed might be made a valuable

means of improving the breed which inliabit our up-
per mountainous regions. I would recommend a
cross with it, which has never been perhaps tried at
all, or, at all events, has never been known in our
markets. As 1 have already described, the West
Highlanders are remarkable for many valuable
points, such as thick coats of hair, hardy constitu-
tions, fine symmetry, aptitude to fatten, and of great
substance. In these points they are much superior
to the Shetlanders, which chiefly possess one supe-
riority,— fine quality of beef. Now, were a cross in-
stituted between first-rate West Highland bulls and
Shetland cows, a breed would be produced possessing
points much superior to the Shetlanders, and supe-
rior to the West Highlanders in quality of beef.
Such a cross would be admirably adapted to fill the
place which is at present occupied by what is called
the North Highland breed. After the establishment
of this cross, which would be valuable for the higher
districts, it migjit be still farther improved and
adapted to the lower districts, by crossing the first-
rate short-horn bulls. I have no doubt that this im-
proved cross would exhibit cattle with proportions
and qualities superior to any breed at present in ex-
istence. It would possess the fine quality of the
Shetland beef, with the hardy constitution and
shaggy coat of the West Highlander, conjoined with
the size, substance, great aptitude to fatten, fine sym-
metry, rich colours, and beauty of the short-horn.
This improved cross, with all the valuable j)roper-
ties, would ensure the highest piice in any market.

I am aware that many breeders, and breeders too
wlio are favourable to crossing, would condemn the
pursuance of a second or more crosses ; because they
injudiciously believe that every cross after the first
must deteriorate. I am of an opposite opinion. I
believe that crossing cannot be to© far promoted,
provided the male parent possesses that high tone of
blood which I have attempted to describe in former
papers, and which it is necessary to preserve to
maintain judicious crossing. There is a judicious,
and there is an injudicious mode of crossing. If the
males of the first or subsequent crosses are kept for
bulls, then the cross obtained from these bulls will
be highly injudicious, and the deterioration in the
breed which the breeders alluded to dread from all
crossing after the first, will certainl3r be realized ;
but were bulls only of the best blood always used to
promote a cross, the cross will certainly be an
improved animal.

2nd, The Cross of Sxiort-horned Bulls with
North Highland Cows.— This cross would cer-
tainly improve the breed of this part of the country;
and although the native stock is not so favourable for
the experiment as that of Shetland, owing to the
great inferiority of the quality of the breed, still this
cross, like all crosses in the same way, would be
much better liked by feeders than the native cattle ;
and were the smaller tenants of these northern coun-
ties to raise a few turnips, the condition thereby
surely acquired by the cross would commend them
favourably to dealers and feeders. Mr. Darling,
manager for Mr. Home of Stirkoke, about twelve
years ago, purchased a short-horn bull bred by the
late Mr. Thomson, of Laws, in Berwickshire, for the
verv purpose of crossing with the native breed.
By such a proceeding, in the course of time the whole
cattle in the district would generally assume an im-
proved aspect. Mr. Darling's experience will prove
tliis. He has sold three-year-olds of this cross at
nearly double the price of liis neighbours, who still
j)ersist in keeping the native breed. Of late years,
Mr. John Wilson of Simprim, has supplied Mr. Dar-
ling with short-horn bulls ; and to shew the value

28a,

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

which Mr. Wilson puis on tliis cross, lie has pur-
chaseil the three-3'ear-olds from Mr. Darling, and fed
them anotlier year in Berwicksliiie. Of tliese lie lias
shown some extraordinary animals, and particularly
a lot of twenty-six at the June fair at Dunse in 1836,
which fetched nearly 25/, and would have averaged
ahout seventy stones each. They were after-
wards shipped at Leith for Smithfield, where they
were considered the best beasts in the market of the
day.

Much of the land in Sutherland and Ross shires
could support short-horns ; but the cross, 1 conceive,
would be more commendable, not only as being-
hardier, but that part of the country being far from
the fat market, it would be better adapted to travel-
ling to the south country markets than short-horns.
What noble cattle, both stots and queys, would not
the cross with Dunrobinsmake ! They are naturally
fine cattle, particularly upon such a pasture as
at Dunrobin, but they would certainly be improved
in substance, and be more profitable by crossing.

3d, The Cross of Shout-horned Bulls with
Aberdeenshire Cows. — Both the Buchan doddies
and the large-horned Aberdeenshire breed are well
adapted for crossing with the short-horn. Their
rougher points and plain skins would be smoothed
down and ameliorated. When attending the cattle
show at Castle Ilaugh, near Old Deer, one season,
I recommended to breeders to try the cross, and I
was happy to hear that some trials hiid already been
made in that way, and successfully. Lord Kintore
shewed an extraordinaiy ox at the Highland Society's
Show at Aberdeen in 1834, a cross with a large-
horned Aberdeenshire cow, and which obtained the
first prize for fat, symmetry, and weight. He was
sent to London to the Christmas Show of the Smith-
field Club in 1833, and was brought back again to
Aberdeenshire, with the view, no doubt, of being
shown at Aberdeen. He was seven years and six
months old, of extraordinary fatness on most of the
best points, and scarcely able to walk. He was sold
for 1001, and slaughtered a few days after the show-
by Mr. Roger, Aberdeen. His live weight was 224
stones ; dead weight 173 stones 4 lb. His tallow
was only 16 st. 7 lb. ; hide 8 st. 3 lb., which was a
small weight for an ox which girthed 10 feet 3 inches ;
entrails 126 lb. ; blood 84 lb. ; head and feet 64 lb ;
heart and liver 43 lb. ; tongue 14 lb.; and kidney
collop 5 lb.

Mr. Boswell of Kingcausie, shewed a three-year-
old cross at the same show. He was, -without excep-
tion, one of the most perfect oxen ever seen. His
general symmetry was heautifnl, the points all pro-
minent and well covered, and in the highest hard-fat
condition. He was slaughtered by Messrs. Reid
and Sparks, Aberdeen. His dead weight was 89 st.
10 lb. : hide 6 st, 2 lb ; and tallow 14 st. 4 lb. One
of four oxen shewn by Messrs. Reid and Sparks,
Aberdeen, was a cross, and although a year younger
than the reit, he was not much less in weight. J
once saw a lot of crosses, about fifteen, shipping at
Aberdeen for London, which would weigh about 65
stones, and had been sold for 20/. a-piece.

Aberdeenshire is admirably circumstanced for car-
rying on the crossing system. Naturally possessing
a breed of strong characters, generally inclining to
coarseness, the cross would fine down the asperities,
induce a disposition to early maturity, and improve
the -weight and quality of the carcass, while the con-
-venience of steam navigation invites to the advan-
tages of the London market. This county is in the
vicinity of Captain Barclay's stock, from which could
be supplied bulls of pure blood and sure pedigrees,
which had been bred and inured to the climate of

that part of the country ; and this is an advantage
of no mean consideration for breeders. Indeed, cross-
ing is now j)ursned with ardour in this county.
Captain Barcla}-, who was not long ago under the
necessity of disposing of his young bulls in Edin-
burgh, can now find a ready market for them in the
county at higli prices ; and this yenr, although he
had a large lot of bull calves, which sold at high
prices, averaging 37/. 10s. each, the breeders could
not be supplied, but were obliged to import young
bulls from the border.

4th, The Cross of Short-horned Bulls with
Angus Cows. — This cross has been much attempted,
and attended with complete success. Mr. Anderson
of Balunie pursues this system, and Mr. Hood of
the Hatton of Eassie, has shewn some very superior
stock of this kind. About tliree years ago, he
shewed a lot of ten three-year-olds, some of vi-hich
were crosses and pure Angus. They were sold for
17/. 10s. a-head, as prices were then rather dull ;
but what induces me to notice this lot particularly,
is, that the crosses were fully 8 stones each heavier
than the Angus, and worth SI. a-head more. I saw
some superior cows at Mr. Hood's, which were of
the second and third crosses with short-horn bulls,
which I much admired, shewing good symmetry and
fine coats of hair, and in very high condition for
breeding cows, some of them being- 60 stones, and
fit for the butcher. Before Mr, Stephens got into
the pure stock of short-horns at Balmadies, he pur-
sued the crossing with Angus cows. The cross
queys and stots were fed off at three years old, and
though prices were at that time very dull, they were
sold from 17/. to 23/. a-piece, some of them above
80 stones. As a proof of extraordinary growth in a
cross, he purchased a two-year-old stot from a tenant
for 6/. It had been more than half starved all its
days, and was exceedingly lean, but it exhibited
good bone, and a loose kindly skin. It was grazed
and fed next summer and winter, and sold in April
after, just a year after it was bought, weighing about
70 stones, for 17/ 17s. He sold a pair of roaned
polled queys (twins) at three years old, of 70 stones
each. They were so like each other, that few peo-
ple could recognize the difference ; and when slaugh-
tered by INIr. W' alter Maclean, flesher, Forfar, more
perfectly ripe animals of their kind could not be
found. Many people kept cross queys for cows,
which turned out uncommon milkers. Mr. Stephens
also tried the second and third crosses, and found
them superior to the first. Mr. ,(ohn W^ilson of
Edington Mains, in Berwickshire, a shorthorn
breeder, has adopted a system of crossing with An-
gus que3s which has hitherto proved successful.
He purchases every year a lot of two-year-old Angus
heifers at June Trinity-Muir market, at Brechin, in
Forfarshire, for 5/, or 61. a-piece, which are laid on
to coarseland grass with a short-horn bull. They
are wintered in the straw-yard on straw and turnip
tops, and beiir calves the following spring, which
they suckle. They are grazed on the same kind of
land the following- summer, till about August, when
the calves are weaned, and both cows and calves are
put on the best keep. The cows are fed the following-
winter, and generally realize 13/. or 13Z. a-piece.
The calves are fully fed in winter and summer, and
sold at twenty-four months old, when they are worth,
on an average, 16/. a-piece. In 1836, the price
realized for such was 20/. a-piece. This plan is
abundantly profitable for those who have some coarse
pasture on their farm. The graz-'ng on it is not
costly, and the turnip tops, -which would be thrown
away on feeding beasts, are consumed and become
useful to the queys in calf in winter. The calf, when

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287

weaned, is vvoitb nearly as much money as the cost
of the keep of the cow till that time ; and there are
61. or 7/. left for feeding- her sis or seven months,
besides the saving of the trouble of keeping the
cows, and milking them, and feeding- the calves by
band. All the stock continues quite healthy. This
is a system well worthy of imitation by breeders,
particularly by breeders in Angus and the northern
counties, who have land adapted for it. Mr. John
Wilson of Cockburn, in Berwickshire, also pursues
the same system of crossing. He sold a lot of this
cross in March 1836, rising two-year-olds, at 16/.
10s. each, averaging about 52 stones. Mr. Wilson
also tries the second cross, the calves of which are
much superior to those of the first cross. Ilere is a
another instance of pushing the cross beyond the
first attempt with advantage. JMr. Robert Black-
adder, JNinewell Mains, in Berwickshire, keeps a re-
gular stock of Angus cows, from which he j-ears a
cross of a most excellent kind.

5th, The Cross of Short-horn Bulls with Fife
Cows. — I understand that some breeders in Fife,
among the rest Messrs. Thomson of Pusk and Ra-
thillet, have excellent crosses, but as I am not suffi-
ciently acquainted with the facts I cannot detail
them. The Fife breed are well adapted to cross
with ; their gauntv figure would be improved, and
their disposition to fatten would be greatly increased.
Fife has great inducements for the improvement of
her cattle. The Edinburgh fat market is quite at
hand; and that at Glasgow is not farther off than is
Morpeth from the breeders on Tweedside ; and when
steam vessels can be found both at Leith and Dun-
dee, the London market is also thus brought within
the reach of every one in the county. But before
the Fife breed of cattle realize the top price at Smith-
field, and pay the expenses of conveyance by steam,
it will require to be considerably ameliorated in its
rougher points, and no treatment could effect this
amelioration more speedily and effectually than
crossing.

6th, The Cross of Short-horn Buns with West
Highland Cows.— I have already said that the West
Highlanders approach in external characters nearer to
the short-horns than any other native breed ; indeed,
in regard to form and substance, they are just short-
horns in miniature. The cross has been frequently
tried by Lowland breeders, and succeeded admirably.
I should not recommend the cross to be universally
introduced into the Western Highlands and islands;
because, from the wetness of the climate in many
parts, the shaggy coats and hardy constitutions of the
pure breed are alone able to defend them from its
effects. The Isle of Skye, for instance, which pos-
sesses the native breed in uncontaminated purity,
could not be better appropriated than it is at present
in raising the pure breed for the supply of other parts
of the country. But there are many parts of the
Western Highlands which might be more profitable
to the tenants, and of course through them to the pro-
prietors, occupied with this cross. Yew crosses ex-
ceed this in beauty and value ; and under less fa-
vourable circumstances, as inferior land and inferior
herbage, none is more profitable. I shall mention
a fact or two to shew the superiority of the cross
over the pure breed. I purchased twenty West
Highland heifers at Dumbarton fair for 41. 10s.
a-head, and put a short-horn bull among them. This
bull proving defective, another was put, a white one
by Diamond, out of the roan cow Darnly, bred by
Mr. Compton of Carham. Having thus been served
late in the season, the queys did not calve till the
beginning of July in the following year. Being all
roan, Dr. David Skirving of Garleton in East Lo-

thian, took a fancy to them and bought them in the
following spring for 71. a-pieco. Having in his pos-
session at the time two dun West Highland stots,
the dams of which were purchased from Mr. Peter
M'Intvre of Glenartney, on the Drummond estate,
as already mentioned, when treating of West High-
land cattle, Mr. Skirving thought of trying an ex-
periment on the comparative feeding powers of
crosses and pure breeds. He accordingly selected
two of the crosses, then ten months old, to experi-
ment with the two \A'est Highlanders, which were
at the same time twenty-four months old. The lat-
ter had thus a start of fourteen months in the age, and
they were forty stones a-piece, while the former were
perhaps not half that weight. The four stots were
fed together rather more than two years and a half,
when the)' were shown at the Highland Society's
Show in 1827. To prove that the West Highlanders
were superior of their kind, they obtained the pre-
miums for that class ; but one of the crosses ob-
tained the premium in the class shewing the most
fat, symmetry, and weight of any age and breed.
This ox was only three 3^ears and four months old,
and he beat six or seven others which were not less
than five years old. He was considered by the
judges, and all who saw liiin, to be the most perfect
animal of his age ever shown in Edinburgh. The
four oxen were purchased by Mr. Thomas Taylor,
flesher in Edinburgh, for 170/. The two crosses
were resold before they left the show-yard to Messrs.
Duncan and Cowan, fleshers in Glasgow, for lOOL
When slaughtered tlie West Highlanders were both
nearly of one weight, 74 stones each, and had 12^
stones tallow ; the crosses were, one 82J stones, the
other 77J stones ; average 80 stones, and 14 stones
of tallow each : thus yielding 6 stonesof beef and IJ
stone of tallow each more, and fourteen months
younger than the pure breed. Mr. Brodie of North -
field tried this crossing, about fifteen years ago, and
realized 15/. and 16/. a-piece for two-year-olds,
though they had sucked their dams on Coldingham
Common, on the Larnmermoor Hills, on very coarse
land. His successor on the farm, Mr. Alexander
Heriot, follows the same system, and shews excellent
fat beasts at two years old, and obtains the highest
market price for them. Mr. Bates, late of Halton
Castle, an eminent breeder, pursued this system with
success. Mr. John Blackadder, Blanerne, East-side,
Berwickshire, has pursued the same cross for ten
years, with great success.

7th, The Cross of Short-horn Bulls with Ayr-
shire Cows. — Comparatively few oxen being brought
up to slaughter, and this having established itself as
a decided dairy breed in Ayrshire, I would not re-
commend their being crossed at all. In other si-
tuations, however, where gentlemen choose to have
their dairies supplied from the Ayrshire cows, their
cross progeny might be fed off, and the cow stock
replenished direct from Ayrshire more profitably than
by breeding them on the spot.

8th, The Cross of Shorthorn Bulls with
Irish Cows. — Many people imagine that all the Irish
cattle are coarse, but they are mistaken. Most of
those indeed, which are brought from the north of
Ireland, are coarse enough, and very inferior in
shapes, points, and quality ; but the cattle from the
southern and midland counties of Ireland are excel-
lent, and will feed to great weights. They would be,
no doubt, much improved by crossing, and for that
purpose I understand many short-horn bulls have
been imported into that country, in order to suit their
fattening disposition for the English markets, which
are now the great marts for the sale of their cattle,
I have seen as well-fed beef in the Smithfield market

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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

of Dublin as ia that of Londou. I once saw in Dub-
lin a lot of four-j'ear-old cross heifers from a bull
from the stock of the late Mr. Alexander Thom-
son of Laws, in Berwickshire, out of Irish cows.
It was a very superior lot of cattle ; and sold for 26Z.
a-head. I saw them slaughtered, and their average
weight was 80 stones, some of them 90 stones. The
beef was of very fine quality, and thick upon the
surloins and backs. There were other lots of crosses
in the market, and (he butchers and dealers seemed
to like the crosses very well.

9th, The Cross of Short-iiorn Bulls with
Guernsey Cows. — One of this cross from the stock
of Sir John Hepburn of Smeaton, in East Lothian,
came into the possession of Mr. James Howden, of
Spittalrig, in the same county, which was kept for a
bull, and became a very fine animal. I saw him
when fat, and he was, without exception, the fattest
bull I ever handled. He was fed on distillery offals,
and sold for twenty guineas, and when slaughtered
in Edinburgh, the four quarters weighed 104 stones,
and the tallow 22 stones.

10th, The Cross of Short-horn Bulls with In-
dian Cows. — A heifer of this cross belonging to
Sir Anthony Maitland, was shewn at the Higliland
Society's Show at Kelso in 1832, and was admired
by every one for its fatness and extreme beauty, the
back and surloins being well covered with beef.
It was afterwards slaughtered in Edinburgh by Mr.
James Shaw.

11th, The Cross of Short-horn Bulls with
Galloway Cows. — The remarks which I have made
on the cross with the Angus and Buchan doddies,
will apply to that with Galloway cows.

The facts v.'hich I have adduced in regard to the
results of crossing, unquestionably prove that, in all
situations where the pure bred short-horns cannot be
most profitably maintained, such as in the upland
districts, and coarse pasturage on inferior soils in
the lowland districts, the cross between the pure
bred short-horn bull, and the cow of any native
breed, will yield more profit to the breeder than the
continuation in the cultivation of the native breeds.
There are one or two exceptions which I would
make to this i-ecoramendation ; but before these
exceptions, and the working of the general sytem
recommended can be fully understood, a few pre-
liminary remarks are requisite,

la the first place, when we look at the general
features of this country (Scotland) all the pasture
may be classed into throe great subdivisions, viz.,
the highest or natural heathy pasture ; the middling
or natural green pasture, and the lowest or artificial
pasture of the })lains. These three kinds of pasture
are situate on different geological formations. The
heathy natural pasture is situate on the primitive
rocks or formation ; the natural green pasture on the
transition or secondary formation ; and the artificial
grass of the plain is situate on the alluvial or tertiarv
formation. Now these three different situations for
food are suitable to three different breeds of cattle
having properties and liabitsand constitution in con-
formity with the respective situations. As we have
taken a review of all the principal breeds of cattle
in this country, we are enabled to indicate what
breed or breeds should be placed in these different
situations Reason teaches us it would be impro-
per to place a large breed on high scanty herbage.
The uppermost or heathy pasture is generally
scanty, and can only be plentiful for a few months
m summer. We have seen that small black-coloured
hardy breeds exist in the north of Scotland, com-
monly called North Highlanders. Shetland, Island
of Lowis, and Rossshire present such cattle, and on

examining them we have found that the small
Ross-shire cattle possess points nearest to the rule
we have explained, by which to judge of the good or
bad properties of cattle ; and they are sufficiently
hardy in their constitution for the situation. But
the best race of cattle for the upper region I conceive
would be the cross between the West Highland bull
and the Shetland cow, as recommended above. In
winter when these elevated pastures are covered
with snovs% the cattle must of course be brought
down to a lower situation, and cared for as all other
cattle are, for it is only in summer that the natural
heathy pastures are generally available to cattle in
Scotland.

I he natural green pastures, at a less elevation
than the former, can be used for the greater part of
the \ ear, their greenness arising from warmth and
humidity, both encouragements to vegetation. We
have seen, that of all the breeds of cattle which fre-
quent these green pastures, there is not one compa-
rable in good points to the West Highlanders. Their
shaggy coats, and hardy constitutions, are quite
suited to the elevation and humidity of these green
pastures. The West Highlanders have not 3^et
found their way to the green natural pastures of the
east coast, where the small horned brae cattle oc-
cupy the same region as the former do on the west
coast. But, in point of quality, there is no compa-
rison between the two breeds. .The east coast hav-
ing a drier climate than the west, the West High-
landers might perhaps lose a little ot the shagginesa
of their coats by a ti-ansplantation to the east coast ;
but there cannot be a doubt that, in hardiness of con-
stitution, they could withstand the test with the brae
cattle, while their other points of superiority would
ensure greater profit to the breeder.

All the plains could support pure short-horns, if
they were bred and fed on their respective plains or
situations. They could thrive as well in Caithness,
Cromarty, Buchan, Kincardine, Angus, Fife, and
Galloway, as in East-Lothian, and the Border
counties, and be much more profitable to the breeder
than any of the breeds of the plain at present in ex-
istence. I conceive no farther proof than has al-
ready been given of the feeding properties of short-
horns, is requisite to establish this point. Like the
multiplicity in tlie varieties of the potato, there are
too many varieties of breeds of cattle in this countr)'.
Were those only which are proved tobemostprofitable
cultivated and encouraged, the agricultural interest
would never feel so severely the depression in the
prices of corn ; nor in that case need breeders be
under any apprehension of a foreign competition,
even were the importation of foreign meat per-
mitted duty free. Could I have my desire fulfilled,
I should have only the three breeds which I have
recommended for their respective situations through-
out the whole country, namely, the cross recom-
mended between the West Highlnnd and Shetland
for tl'.e upper pastures, the West Highlanders
or Kyloes for the middle pastures, and the short-
horns for the plains, for purposes of feeding ; and the
Ayrshire might continue as they are, or rather as
they might be improved by judicious cultivation for
the purposes of the dairy, although I am not of the
opinion that the Ayrshire make the best dairy cows.
Could such a desideratum be consummated, breeders
would then derive the greatest profit from their pas-
tures with the least exertion, and they could always
depend on their cattle acciuiring the greatest weigiit
in a given time on a given quantity of food, and this
invariable result would stimulale their exertions to
raise a greater quantity of food. Indeed, the ability
of the ground to produce the largest quantity of ani-

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289

tnal food could then only be the limit to the greatest
profit. What, (hen, would bo the degree of per-
fection which our agriculture would attain, for it is
only by the extension and improvement of live stock
that the fertility of land can not only be maintained,
but increased !

The accomplishment of such a wish as I have ex-
pressed, namely, that only the breeds of cattle were
cultivated which I have now lecommended may be im-
probable, but it is not impossible. Were all breeders
imbued with a sense of the importance of sucli an
arrangement, the result could be attained in the
course of a few years. Indeed, were plans simul-
taneously adopted for the attainment of this dc'^ira-
ble end ia different parts of the country, the enlarg-
ing circles of improvement would meet in their cir-
cumference much sooner than most people might an-
ticipate. It might, in short, be done by a system of
judicious crossing ; and to the elucidation of this sub-
ject I shall now direct the attention of the breeder.

I am well aware that many breeders object to
crossing at all. They conceive that it is much bet-
ter to allow the breeds to remain as they are without
mixture, than to introduce numerous mongrel races
the origin of which it would be ultimately impossible
to trace. I object to promiscuous crossing as much as
any man. It is to this injudicious system that may be
traced the existence of so many miserable breeds of
cattle in the countrj^ Any one who takes a leisurely
survey of the breeds ia Scotland through the midland
and northern counties must be satisfied, that many
of them are inferior to the best kinds, and that to cul-
tivate them is just to bestow labour on that which is
unprofitable. It is surely not sufficient for a far-
mer that he has merely a lot of cattle so called, to
trample down his straw and eat his turnips, regard-
less of the return in flesh which thesa cattle may
give for the meat which they consume, and the care
which they require. It is requisite that these cattle
leave an adequate profit, otherwise how can tlie far-
mer pretend to disburse the rent which he has
undertaken to pay 1 Can he expect the same mar-
ket price for an inferior kind of wheat and barley
which he may obstinately choose to cultivate, instead
of the ordinary and superior kinds which are in
every farmer's hands t If not, by a parity of rea-
soning, how can he expect the highest market price
for the rubbish of cattle which he pertinaciously per-
severes in breeding or purchasing 1 Were cattle
of no better quality to be obtained in the country,
a reasonable excuse might be urged for such negli-
gent management ; but when more profitable, nay
the most profitable stock can be obtained, what rea-
sonable excuse can be tendered for the cultivation
of inferior descriptions 1 It is true that the best
breeds of cattle could not be obtained to supply a
general and simultaneous demand ; but were a
general desire expressed for theni, breeders would
not be awanting to raise the necessary supply.

I cannot too frequently or too earnestly urge
breeders to cultivate only the best breeds of cattle.
Look around the country and see the numbers of
sbarp-backed, flat-ribbed, and coarse-boned beasts
which are every where to be seen. Such cattle have
very appropriately been termed " razor-hacks."
These razor-backs, after they have devoured more
good food than the better sorts, present nothing but
masses of coarse beef. There is not a joint of meat
in them to suit the customers of respectable but-
chers. Besides, when they are brought, say to Smith-
field, to be sold, instead of drawing 4s 6d or 5s the
Smithfield stone, they are bought only by butchers
who take on low contracts at probably not more tlian
2s 6d or 3s per stone. Here, tlien, is a decided loss

of 2s per stone, besides having fewer stones to dis-
pose of. This lojs, it is evi<lent, arises from breed-
iug and feeding a bad breed, for it is impossible to
feed these razor-backs with any quantity of food,
and of any (juality. Now, is this not a grievous loss
which these breeders inflict upon themselves? and
the disappointment which they incur to butchers is
not less grievous. These breeders stand all day
without a customer in a declining market, and have
to return home with their despised cattle, or dispose
them at a decided loss at the end of the market ; and
even in a brisk market they will be the last to be
sold, and when sold they will only be purchased by
unwilling butchers at reduced prices. Should such
cattle return any profit at all, it will be to the
dealer, and not to the breeder. The dealer may buy
them at a low price in a dull, and sell them at a pro-
fit at another time in a brisk market. Such chances
do sometimes happen, but they are neither safe for
the buyer nor the seller. On the other hand, good
beasts will improve in value as they improve in condi-
tion— and improvement of condition is a certain result
on good food. But after having sold his razor-backs
the breeder is probably a decided loser on them at
the liighest price which they can fetch. How often
do we see coarse yearliugs and six-quarter old cattle
sold for 20s, 30s, and -ios a-piece. Now the calf
was worth 5s to start with, and a calf cannot be kept
alive on milk at less than 2s 6d per week, which at
the end of ten weeks is 25s ; and if the calf be even
then sold, the wliole keep will be lost ; but should
it be kept till it is six-quarters old and sold for 40s,
this is only 10s for eighteen months' keep, however
miserable the keep may have been. Can rent be
paid under such wretched management 1 But if the
rent is thus lost, and the trouble only repaid, the ob-
ject of the tenant in entering into the covenants of a
lease with his landlord is of course frustrated. How
liberally soever the landlord may be disposed to act
towards his tenant, yet, under such circumstances
his liberality would be abused, for the tenant has it
in his power to cultivate a profitable stock, which
would enable him to pay the rent which he had
agreed to pay.

It is obviously the interest of the landlord to com-
pel the cultivation of the best breeds on his property,
by the power which he possesses in forming the
clauses of the lease. He may insert whatever condi-
tion he pleases in the lease, provided it is not con-
trary to the rules of good husbandry, and it is in the
free option of tlie tenant to acceptor reject that condi-
tion. If one tenant reject it another will accept it ;
and in this manner, under a general system, the tenants
would be compelled to attend to the general interests
of the country, by attending in the first instance to
his own and the landlord's interest. The interest of
landlord, tenant, and the country are thus insepara-
bly hound up together. But it is a matter of regret
that too many landlords attend more to the mere re-
ception of the rent, than to the improving condition
of their estates. Many live abroad ; others are con-
stantly employed in the gaieties of a metropolis,
while some onlv pay an occasional visit to their pa-
ternal homes. 'Such a course of conduct would be
well, provided it did not injure the best and most
vital interest of the country, namely the agricultur.d.
It is dangerous no doubt to prescribe in the least de-
gree how a man ought to spend his income; but I
conceive that a landed proprietor has as little right

to injure the interest of the state, by neglecting the
progressive improvement of his estate, as the tenant
to injure the same interests, by perseverance in the
cultivation of a profitless breed of cattle. Both are
drones in the national hive of industry. It is true

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most large proprietors have resident factors or agents
on their estates, ev^en though they themselves should
be resident. Most of these factors, when they have
been regularly bred to the agricultural profession,
perform their duties in a becoming manner ; but too
many of them are lawyers, who cannot jjossibly know-
farm management, and whose appointment has most
probably been recommended from only a knowledge
of the subtleties of law ; and most of such factors
only visit the tenantry on rent-days.

The objectors to crossing recommend the main-
tenance of the purity of every breed, whatever pre-
tensions the breed may have ; and should a better be
desired to be introduced into any particular part of
the country from another quarter, instead of impiov-
ing the existing breed by crossing, they recommend
the transplanting of the desired breed to the situation
unsuited, perhaps, to its habits and constitution.
Such a horror have they at crossing, that they would
transplant an existing breed rather tlian cross at all.
Now I have stated that I would introduce the best
breeds to the situations suited to their liabits and
constitution ; and for this reason have recommeded
the new cross to the highest, the West Highland ky-
loes for the middling, and the short- horns for the
pastures of the plains. It miglit be possible by de-
grees to institute the two former breeds in their re-
spective situations by transplanting them bodily ;
but I conceive that the vast herds of the plains could
never be substituted by short-horns by the process
of transplantation. Were this slow process attempted
as a general measure, the substitution could not be
realized during many geaerations of men, instead of
generations of animals. A sufficient number of short-
horns could not be obtained from the districts in
which they are bred for that period of time, and at
the same time the natural demands of these districts
be maintained. But crossing could accomplish the
object in a calculated period of time. Numbers of
well bred short-horn bulls could be distributed over
the districts among breeders ; and as one bull can
servo many cows, the very first year would produce
many hundreds of crosses. More bulls could be ob-
tained for the use of tlie rising female stock, and by
such a procedure the country would soon be fur-
nished by females for breeding from, while the cross
males could be fattened and soldoif at two years old,
or at most three.

Many I know entertain a doubt of the possibility
of continuing the crossing after the first attem;)t.
They allow that the first cross between a well bred
short-horn bull and a cow of any other breed is excel-
lent. I have enumerated too many good instances of this
cross to admit of doubt on that point ; but I enter-
tain no doubt wljatever of the successful issue of a
continuation in the cross in tlie subsequent genera-
tions for the obtainment of a good short-horn
stock. For, in what other way than by crossing wns
the yiresent pure stock of sliort-horns obtained t The
old Teeswater breed formed the basis upon which
the pure short-horns were reared ; but how reared ?
Not surely by any attemjited refinement of the Tees-
water breed itself, — for it was probably as good as
could he ; but by crossing them with the Holstein
breed imported on purpose from Holland : and while
attending to this subject in one of my former papers,
we have reason to believe ihat not many generations of
this cross had existed before the appearance of Hub-
back, the progenitor of the present race of short-
horns. Having this palpable and well authenticated
fact to revert to ,what reasonable grounds have we
to doubt that good short-horn bulls will establisli a
good stock of that breed every where ? Were only
the best females of the breed intended to be changed

selected, the conversion would soon be lealized ; but,
even under limited circumstances, with good bulls,
tlje conversion would be effected in time. In this
sort of crossing, it is to be observed, that a pure
bred male is always employed to improve the pro-
geny of the female.

There is yet another consideration whicli holds out
an encouragement to crossing. A good female of the
breed intended to be substituted may be introduced
to a good bull of the breed to be dispensed with ;
that is, a well bred short-horn cow may be put to a
bull of another breed, and the y)rogeny will display
an improvement in many points over the bull. I
once saw a remarkable instance of this kind of cross-
ing, which was successful, and which I shall relate.
About twenty years ago, Mr. Charles Heriot of Kel-
loe Mains, in Berwickshire, tried an experiment of
crossing short-horn cows with a pure West High-
land bull, of a dun colour, which be had purchased
from I\Ir. Campbell of Islaj', an eminent breeder of
kyloes. The produce were most excellent cattle. I
was at a sale of Mr. Heriot's stock some years after
when I saw about sixty of this cross sold. The four-
year-olds fetched 301 a-piece, and they would have
weighed 70 stones each. The three-year-olds 20^
a-piece and 55 stones in weight. He had a five-
vear-old ox of the same cross some time before,
which he sold for 501, vireighing 100 stones. I shall
give one other instance of crossing different from
this. Colonel O'Callaghan's bull, called " O'Cal-
laglian's Sou of Bolingbroke," was got by Mr.
Charles Colling's bull of Bolingbroke, out of a polled
Galloway cow. This cow and another of the same
breed were purchased of Mr. David Smurthwaite,
near Northallerton, by Mr. George Coates, who sold
them to Colonel O'Callaghan. O'Callaghan's son of
Bolingbroke when a few days old became the pro-
perty of Mr. Charles Ceilings, and was the sire of
Grandson of Bolingbroke. O'Callaghan's Son and
Grandson of Bolingbroke, were good bulls, and got
good stock; and, indeed, had they not done so, they
would not have been used by Mr. C. CoUings.
Here, then, are instances of good stock in the one
case out of short-horn cows by a kyloe bull ; and in
the other by a short-horn bull out of a Galloway cow.
These facts prove that crosses will succeed in any
wa}^ provided the animals crossed are good of their
kind. But this species of wliatmay be called wrong
crossing, 1 would not recommend to be persevered
in. Riany mistakes have been made by less expe-
rienced breeders than Mr. C. CoUings in using a bull
bred as O'Callaghan's Son of Bolingbroke was;
many disappointments have occurred by pursuing so
ambiguous a course. I call it ambiguous, because
no one can foretell the natuie of the progeny of such
a cross ; but the nature of the progeny of a well bred
short-horn bull, from a cow of any breed, can be
easily foretold ; it is sure to be better than the dam.
In the case of the West Highland bull, it is to be ob-
served that no two breeds of cattle approach in
character so near one another as the kyloe and short-
horn ; but still the other way of breeding, namely,
the short-horn bull with the kjdoe cow% is to be pre-
ferred on account of the certainty of the result. This
always makes a dashing cross and good feeders. The
aptitude to fatten of the short-horn, is combined with
the shaggy coat and hardy constitution for exposed
situations of the kyloe. Any of the modes of cross-
ing may do merely for feeding, but not for a breeding
stock. Another im])ortant consideration is, that the
cross of a .short-horn hull never being equal to the
sire, and the qualities of the sire being more im-
pressed on the i)rogeny than those of the dam, it is
indubitable that the use of the short-horn bull may be

TflE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

291

confidently persevered in, till the progeny, in a suc-
cession of generations, shall become equal to the
sire. This kind of crossing with the short-horn bull
is what I mean by judicious crossing ; and were this
system generally pursued throughout Scotland with
the lowland black breeds of cattle, they would be
in time transformed to good, useful short-horns pro-
fitable alike to the breeder and the feeder. The gene-
rality of cattle could then be fed oft' at two years old,
giving a quicker return of capital to the breeder.

Towards the accomplishment of this improved state
of things, no confusion need be experienced. All
that the breeder would require would be to secure
the use of well bred short-horn bulls, and to select
the best females he lias to put to him. Pursuing
this course steadily there is no danger of commit-
ting any serious mistakes. He must not permit
himself to keep this calf or the other for a bull, as
long as his stock is only in an improving state.
His time will be sufficiently occupied in rearing for
breeding stock the best of his cross queys. He must
curb his ambition to become a successful breeder of
bulls, till he has acquired a stock of pure and high-
toKed blood.

There might be some danger of maintaining the
purity of blood in a district after the improved stock
had been generally established. The cupidity of
some might impose inferior bulls upon the ignorance
of others. It is in such circumstances that proprie-
tors have it in their power to enhance the improve-
ment of stock. Every large proprietor in the dis-
trict miglit keep a stock of high bred short-horn cows,
to breed bulls for the use of the tenants. Such bulls
might be let for some years, either to be used solely
by one breeder, or conjointly with others, according
as breeders bad sufficient stocks to employ him ; and
they could be returned when they became aged, and
exchanged among the tenantry as their progeny be-
came nearly related to them in blood. Terras could
be made in the leases of proprietors who thus bred
bulls, to oblige the tenants to use their bulls, or
none worse ; and even small neighbouring proprie-
tors, who could not conveniently become breeders
themselves, might be accommodated with the use of
bulls for their tenants, on condition of paying a sum
for hire. In short, were the desire for possessing
the most profitable stock generally expressed by the
tenantr}--, means would soon be adopted by landlords
and others to satisfy the demand. The sooner the
tenantry express that desire the sooner will they
reach that state of independence for which they arc
at present daily struggling.

CHURCH RATES BILL,

RETURN TO AN ORDER OF THE HOUSE
OF COMMONS,

Dated 10th March, 1837;— for
A COPY of the answers given by Mr. Finl^aison,
Actuary of the National Debt Office, to Questions on
the subject of Ecclesiastical Leases ; with a further
Memorandum on the subject ; also a Note on Eccle-
siastical Leases, by Mr. Drinkwater Bethune.

(Confidential.)
Sir — I am directed to request your written opinion on
the following questions, on the subject of Ecclesiastical
Leases, for the information of thn Chancellor of the
Exchequer.

The fines received on renewals of leases by tlie Bishops,
Chapters, and Dig'nitaries in Cathedral, and Collegiate
Churches, are stated in the Reportof the Commissioners
appointed to inquire into Ecclesiastical Revenues, at

£74,812 received by the Archbishops and Bishops

164,059 Deans and Chapters

21,760 Prebendaries

£260,631

It is also known that, of the Bishops' outstanding leases,
1,336 are granted for terms of years,

2,559 for lives.

You are requested, upon the best consideration you
can give to the subject, to state your opinion on the two
following points : —

1st. What, according to your experience and the
best information you have procured on the sub-
ject, is the usual rate of interest on which such
fines are calculated 1
2ndly. From these data, and from any other infor-
mation you may possess, what is your estimate
of the probable rental of the Church lands, and
the reversionary interest of the Church therein !
You will have the goodness to send your answer to
me, under cover to tlie Chancellor of the Exchequer.
I have tlie honour to be. Sir,

Your obedient servant,
John Finlaison, Esq. Arthur Helps.

National Debt Office.
ANSWERS by Mr. Finlaison, Actuary of the National
Debt Office, on the subject of Ecclesiastical Leases.
Question I. — What, according to your experience, and
the best information you can procure on the subject, is
the usual rate of interest on which such fines are calcu-
lated ?

Answer.— 1 have no doubt that, upon the average,
7 per cent, is below the rate of interest allowed to
tenants of Church leases on renewals. A material dis-
tinction exists in this respect between leases for years
and leases for lives ; also in the rates allowed by Bishops
and by Deans and Chapters : — 7 per cent., or two years'
purchase for renewing from 14 to 21 years, may be
safely assumed as below the average.

Question 2. — From tliese data, and any other informa-
tion you may possess, what is your estimate of the pro-
bable rental of the Church lands, and the reversionary
interest of the Church therein ?

Answer. — I have formed such an estimate from ex-
amining the particulars of a great number of leases in
various parts of England, and applying' the results of
that examination to the whole, I have satisfied myself
that the following results cannot vary much from the
truth : —

1st. The sum of £260,631, assumed as the total amount
of fines, consist of £109,960 received from renewals
of leases on years.

150,671 ditto ditto .. lives

£260,631

2nd. The fines received from renewals of leases for
years are in respect of lands of which the rental is not
less than £370,081

So the lands now under lease for three lives
are of the annual value not less than 881,973

Those in lease for two lives 155,818

Ditto one life 197,874

Making a total rental of £1,514,746

The value of the reversions of the Church in this
rental, interest being assumed at 41 per cent, is.

In the estate for years £4,917,291

Ditto — lives 7,700,152

£12,617,443

The interest of which, at 4L per cent., is equal
to a perpetual annuity of. £504,698

Deduct the yearly income now received in
shape of fines 260,631

Perpetual surplus Income £244,067

JOHN FINLAISON, Actuary of the
National Debt, and Government Calculator,

292

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

FURTHER MEMORANDUM from the Acituary of
the National Debt Office on Ecclesiastical- Leases.

In ray answers to the questions sent to me by the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, on the subject of Ecclesi-
astical Leases, 1 assumed 7 per cent, as the rate of inte-
rest, for the purpose of estimating' the rental from the
fines annually received by the Bishops and other Eccle-
siastical Dignitaries, which I had no doubt was mate-
rially under the average rate. Not knowing how much
of the whole £74,812, which the Bishops yearly receive
as fines, was paid in respect of leases for terms, and how
much in respect of lives, I was further obliged to esti-
mate, by the method of probabilities that the fines re-
ceived in respect of renewals for terms, were. . £31,563

And of those on lives 43,249

£74,812

Those two points formed the whole basis of my rea-
soning.

The conclusion of the whole was that the Church has,
at this moment, a property in its estate equal to the

yearly value of £504,698

in perpetuity from henceforward of which it
receives only in the shape of iines 260,631

Difference £244,067

I have been since supplied with a most important do-
cument, being the particulars of all the leases in the see
of Durham, with the estimated yearly rental of each
tenure, and the fine paid when each lease was actually
granted.

We have now the means of examining, in a very sim-
ple manner, the accuracy of my former estimate of the
property of the Church in its present estate, on the as-
sumption that Durham is a fair sample of the whole.
One-eighth part of the fines received by the Bishops is
9,35H. and in the see of Durham alone, those which
yearly arise are 8,746/. so that it is nearly an eighth of
the whole episcopal estate.

But as the Bishops, by means of concurrent leases,
are invested with the power of enforcing a larger amount
of fines than Deans and Chapters who have no such
means, it follows, that if the whole estate of the Church
(including that of the Deans and Chapters) be taken as
proportionate to Durham, the yearly rental so inferred
will be still less than the actual one.

Among the leases in Durham, there are thirty for
terms ot years, and nine on lives, concerning which no
report is made of the yearly value of the tenement when
the lease was granted. These, with all their particulars,
are omitted from the sums which I am about to mention.
In all other cases the gross annual value being stated,
together with the reserved rent and land-tax, I have de-
ducted the two latter items, to show the net rental, in
respect of which fines were paid. The result is as fol-
lows : —

Net Rent.
£. s. d.
29,166 8 2h

Fines.
£. s. d.
41,401 18 6

There are,
For terms of years,

277 leases

And on three lives,

275 leases 29,220 0 0 55,670 1 7

Thus the total sum of the fines
in respect of all present leases is 97,072 0 0

The fines returned from the Bishops as an-
nually paid, were £74,812

Then, if they were in the same pro-
portion as Durham, there would be in

respect of terms £31,938

And of lives 42',904

But, as I have just mentioned, the proportion which I
had assumed as probable, and on which my former an-
swers were grounded, was, for terms.. 31,563

And for lives 43,429

So that it happens, that 1 only differ from the result
shown by the leases of the Bishop of Durham, by giving
the fines for terms too low, and those for lives too high,
by 345/. ; which is certainly very little, in the distribu-
tion of 74,812/.

Including the Chapters, 1 had by proportion assumed

for the whole estate of the Church that the fines for

terms are, 109,960

And for lives 150,671

Total 260,631

But in proportion to Durham they

would be for terms 1 11,161

And for lives 149,470

Now the Bishops' leases, stated to be now outstanding
are : —

For terms of years 1,336 in number.

A ud on lives 2,559

Then, as in Durham, 277 leases for

terms had a net rental of £ 29,166 8 2

1,336 should l)e under a rental of . . 140,672 13 0
And as 275 leases on the lives are

found to be in respect of a rent of. . 29,220 0 0
So 2,559 such leases would be under

a rental of. 271,905 7 8

And those two items should, if all the Bishops' rental
were similar to Durham, be the yearly net rent of the
episcopal estate, viz. : —

I YearlyFines. 1 In respect of a
I now payable. | Rental.

For renewing leases
for terms

For renewing those
on lives

£31,908 i £140,672 13 0

42,904 _ I
So that, in-
I eluding the

Chapters,
I when the
I fines are
For leases on terms | £111,161
And on leases for |

lives I 149,470

Total present rental, if the whole be
similar to Durham

271,905 7 8

The net rental

will, by

proportion,

be

£490,075

947,270

1,437,345

The rental which I had inferred, by the method of
probabilities, was 1,514,646/.

It will appear below, that the excess in my estimate
of the rental is more than compensated by an excess in
the estimate of tlie value of the tenants' interest therein,
by taking the average term of the subsisting leases too
high.

I valued the interest of the tenants and church re-
spectively, in their present leases for years, on the basis
that land in fee-simple is worth only 25 years' purchase.
It is almost certain that the Church has a property in
this class of leases worth 1,328,707 years' purchase of the
rental.

In like manner I valued the interest of the tenants
and Church respectively, in the leases for lives, on the
same basis, and found the property of the Church to be
6,726,991 years' purchase of the rental which respects
that class of leases.

Then the present value of the property which the
Church now has in a rental let for years

Of 490,075/. isequal to 6,511,655/

And in that under lives, of 947,270/ 6,372,177/

Total 12,883,832/

The interest of which at 4 per cent is 51 5,353/

Then deducting the income now received

as fines 260,631/

The surplus is equal to a perpetual an-
nuity of 254,722/

I have above stated that, by my previous investiga-
tions, this surplus was calculated at 244,067/.

This close coincidence, like that already noticed in
the distribution of the fines between the two classes of
leases, is very remarkable.

All this reasoning is exceedingly simple ; there is no
one proposition which is at all questionable, except the
single point whether the Church has so much property
in the rental of the estate for lives as 6.726921 years'
purchase, which infers the tenants' property, one with
another, to be worth 18,273009 years' purchase.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

293

I will show immediately that in Durham the lives are
older than in any of the leases used in the former calcu-
lation, and that the Church has therefore a greater pro-
perty in the estate leased for lives thau is above set
forth.

The ag'es of the lives in eacli lease in Durham being-
given, a" calculation has been very carefully made of
the probable number of renewals, which, according- to
the law of mortality of the Government tables would be
necessary in the course of one year, that number out of
275 leases is 2-328965.

Then the averag-e probability of each lease being- sub-
ject to a fine in the course of one year at Durham, is the
fraction -0848696.

The corresponding- probability in the 191 leases on
which I had grounded my former calculation, is the
fraction -0610133.

So that 275 of these leases vv^ould produce in the first
year 16-77866 renewals, that is to say, not so many as
seventeen fines, whilst in Durham there would be more
than 23. Thus it is evident that the lives in the Durham
leases are older than those of the others ^■'hich I have
examined; and, therefore, tlie property of the Church
in the rental subject to this class of leases, is greater
than 6.727 years' purchase, which was the result de-
duced from an examination of those others.

In the next place, it is to be observed, tliat the leases
in Durham were, in many instances, granted a long-
time ag-o, and there is little room for doubt that the ren-
tal on which the tenant in those days confessed himself
liable to pay a fine, is much below the true rental at
present.

The 275 Durham leases were granted in the follow-
ing- order : — 1 year ag-o, 15 leases; 2 years ago, 21
leases ; 3 years ag-o, 11 leases ; 4 years ag-o, 12 leases ;
5 years ag-o, 22 leases ; 6 years ag-o, 15 leases ; 7 yea-s
ago, 2 leases ; 8 years ag-o, 12 leases ; 9 years ag-o, 12
leases ; 10 years ag-o, 13 leases ; 11 years ag-o, 16 leases ;
12 years ago, 21 leases; 13 years ago, 15 leases; 14
years ago, 8 leases , 15 and under 20 years ago, 16
leases ; 20 and under 25 years ago, 23 leases ; 25 and
under 30 years ago, 16 leases ; 30 and under 35 years
ago, 8 leases ; 35 and under 40 years ago, 7 leases ; 40
and under 47 years ago, 10 leases ; total, 275 leases.

But in the foregoing- calculation of the rental from
the Durham leases, no allowance is made for any sup-
pressed rental. That whicli was stated as the annual
•value of each .tenure, when the lease was granted, has
been treated as the rack rent at the present day.

Lastly, when from among the whole of ^the leases for
terms of years at Durham, we select those only which
were renewed from a term of fourteen years to a term of
twenty-one years.

£ s. d.
We find that for all such leases the fines

were 38,745 13 9

And that the net rental in respect of which

such fines were paid is stated at 25,289 7 1

Therefore, the average fine received was 1-53209
years' purchase of the rent.

Now, when the interest of money is 9 per cent., the
proper fine to be allowed for such a renewal is 1-506
years purchase.

Therefore, without going into the question of sup-
pressed rental, the leases in Durham have been renewed
on the principle of raising money at very nearly 9 per
cent. In my former answers I assumed the rate of 7
per cent, as below the average.

JOHN FINLAISON,
Actuary of the National Debt, and Government

Calculator.

NOTE ON ECCLESIASTICAL LEASES,

BY MR. DRINKWATER BETHUNE.

"The ingenious calculations submitted to the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer, on the subject of Ecclesiastical
Leases, by Mr. Finlaison, rest upon principles the truth
of which -will not be easily appreciated by those who
are not familiar with such considerations. I have en-
deavoured, in the following remarks, to reduce the cal-

culation to the simplest possible form, in which accuracy
of assumption has been unavoidably sacrificed in some
degree to ensure facility of explanation.

" The average yearly amount of fines received by the
Archbishops, Bishops, and Chapters, is about 261,000^.
These arise partly from renewals of leases on lives,
partly from renewals of leases on years. In order to
calculate thence accurately, the value of the interest
vfhich the church has in the lands comprised in these
leases (beyond the reserved rents) it would be neces-
sary to know the actual term consisting in each lease,
the fine separately received on each renewal of it, and
the rate of interest on which that renewal was calcu-
lated. These three data would enable us to calculate
the rack-rent of the lands comprised in each lease, and
deducting from that the value of the tenant's interest,
the remainder would show the interest possessed by the
church. The same thing may be done with tolerable
accuracy by assuming an average term of all the leases,
and an uniform rate of interest.

" From the best information which has yet been pro-
cured on the subject, we shall make a supposition less
favourable to the proposed plan than the truth, by as-
suming the common term to be of 24 years, and the rate
of interest 7 per cent, which rate is equivalent to taking
two years' purcliase for the renewal of a lease from
14 to 21 years.

" Calculations have been made in much greater detail
than this, and this term of 24 years has been fixed on
for facility of explanation, from knowing beforehand
the results of those more accurate estimates.

" Assuming these numbers, it is plain that, if this
supposed lease of twenty-four years were |suffered
to expire, the church would receive no fines in the in-
terval, but would, at the end of that term, come into
possession of the whole estate, which it would possess
thenceforward in perpetuity.

" The average annual amount of fine received, which,
on the system of perpetual renewal now practised, is, in
fact, a perpetual annuity equal to the rental of the estate,
deferred for twenty-four years, the rate of interest being-
taken at 7 per cent.

" The first question, therefore, is, — ' What perpetual
annuity, deferred for twenty-four years, is of the same
value as a perpetual annuity in possession of 261,000/,
the rate of interest being taken at 7 percent?'
Log. 1.07=.02938
24

.70.512=:Log. 5.07
That is to say : 1/ in hand is of the same value, at 7 per
cent, rs 5/ Is 5d, twenty-four years hence. 1'he same
proportion holds true of each successive annual payment
of both annuities. Therefore, an annuity of 261,000 in
hand is of the same value, at 7 per cent, as an annuity
of 1,323,000 deferred for twenty-four years. This,
therefore, is the rental of the Church Lands, on the
foregoing- suppositions.

" The second question is, ' What would be the value
of the mterest of the church in these estates, if their re-
version could be turned into possession at 4 per cent in-
stead of 7 per cent?' For this, it is only necessary to
reverse the process just gone tlirough, at the altered rate
of interest.

1
Log. 1.04=1.98297
24

1.591-28=:LoG. 39.
That is to say, 1/ to be received 24 years hence, is wortii
7s 95d in hand, the rate of interest being 4 per cent.
Therefore, an annuity of 1,3'23,000/ deferred for 24
years, is of the same value, at 4 per cent, as an annuity

of £516,000

in present possession. The fines now re-
ceived are 261,000

Which leaves an available surplus of. £255,000

"J. E. DRINKWATER BETHUNE.

"Home OfHce Chambers, 25th February, 1837."

X

00 d

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

CONDITION OF THE HUNTER-
WINTERING.

Mr. Editor, — The management of the horse,
Tinlike the problems of Euclid, being insuscep-
tible of mathematical demonstration, has ex-
perienced all those changes which fancy sug-
gested, or which incident or adventitious cir-
cumstances presented to the whim, the caprice,
or the reasoning faculties of human nature ;
and, strange as it may appear, the very oppo-
sites of each other, have been employed for
the attainment of the same purpose, means
adopted for the removal of the same com-
plaint as much at variance as possible — as
adverse or contrary as the antipodes. Thus,
at one period a " summer's run"' was recom-
mended as the best method of re-invigorating
the constitution of a horse, which had be-
come debilitated from acute or lingering dis-
ease, or from overstrained exertion, accom-
panied, perhaps, by indiflFerent or bad food ;
while, at another time, a " winter's run" was
regarded as the sovereign specific, or the most
eligible and the best mode of attaining the
same object. Abstractedly considered, they
are both wrong.

The influence of warmth on organic life,
generally speaking, has an evident tendency
to encourage growth, and consequently to
increase bulk, as may be perceived in nume-
rous individual instances, as well as in the
general aspect of nature presented and con-
trasted in warm and cold latitudes ; and it is
only an excess of heat which produces a de-
gree of debilitating relaxation ; which we see
exemplified when the European, lemoved
from his native abode, languishes beneath the
intense heat of the torrid zone ; but we see,
at the same time, that, while the white man
is thus oppressed by the overpowering pre-
ponderance of the solar rays, the negro ex-
periences not the least inconvenience
from it.

If, therefore, warmth tends to the growth of
organic life, it follows that it contributes to
its invigoratiou also. This throws again in
my way, the inconsiderately received no-
tion, that " heat certainly relaxes muscular
fibre; a cool atmosphere gives tone." This
doctrine, founded upon thoughtless and pre-
sumptuous ignorance, is directly opposed to
the unerring principles of nature, as well as
to the infinity of incontestible facts which are
.scattered around us, and which uniformly
present themselves in every part of the known
world. Warmth is indispensable to the growth
and beautiful proportions of animal life; or,
why does not the short, squat, deformed, and
dwarfish Laplander, and the almost equally
small and ugly inhabitant of the icy regions
of America, attain the pre-eminent altitude,
elegant symmetry, and beautiful harmony of
proportion, which are so conspicuous in tlie
Patagonian ! And, as a further proof that
the greatest degree of solar warmth is infi-
nitely moic congenial to animated nature

than the chilling operation of the frigid zone,
we find that the almost scorching heat of the
line, so far from being inimical to organic
life, affords the most stupendous specimens
of its genial influence upon it : while, if we
turn our attention to the poles, not only does
the position become reversed, but we find that
the atmosphere of these parts, gloomy and ter-
rific beyond comparison, is incompatible with
animal existence. Place a native of the
British Isles beneath the solar rays of the
Island of St. Thomas, and he will not only exist,
but enjoy good health : subject him to the
operation of the frigid zone, and he will ex-
pire. Further, if we take a peep at the ve-
getable kingdom, we shall find, that, while the
greatest degree of heat experienced on the sur-
face of the globe produces the most luxuriant,
the most ponderous, and the largest specimens
of vegetative life, noplant can exist in the drear
and icy atmosphere of the poles. Since, then,
warmth cherishes life, and cold destroys it (a
fact too evident to admit of dispute) what
can be more ridiculous, more preposterously
absurd, than to assert, that " heat certainly
relaxes muscular fibre ; a cool atmosphere gives
tone !"

Having proceeded to a greater extent than
I originally intended in collateral elucidation,
I will return to the more immediate subject
of the present communication. If I had a
horse reduced to tlie state of debility noticed
in the early part of this article, inasmuch as
warmth is more congenial to his nature than
cold, I should give a decided preference to a
" summer's run," compared with turning out
for the winter. But, neither the one nor the
other will answer the object in view, unless
assisted by the requisite food, and that degree
of human attention which the domestication
of the animal, and the peculiar nature of the
case, may render necessary. i?€«< constitutes
the essential clement in the curative com-
pound; and, when assisted in the manner
already noticed, will not fail to effect that re-
invigoration which the debilitated state of the
animal imperiously demands :^ — infinitely bet-
ter in summer, however, than when the crea-
ture is subjected to the hunud, cold, and
freezing atmosphere of the opposite period of
the year.

Let us examine the nature and quality of
that " t07ie which a cool atmosphere gives to
muscular Jibre." Muscular fibre shrinks from
the contact of cold ; and if by tone, we are to
understand contraction, I have nothing to urge
against it, but the clumsy manner in which
tlie idea (crude enough certainly is attempt-
ed to be imaged to the mind : but, if
by tone, strength is meant to be implied, I
hesitate not to dissent from such an incongru-
ous association. Not only will the " mus-
cular fibre" shrink from the contact of cold,
but the tendon also: and to assert that this
shrinking gives tone, if we are to understand
the word to imply strength, is too great an ab-
surdity to need further refutation.

Yet, has a " winter's run" been a favourite

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

295

idea ; and though the notion may have become
less prevalent than what it was a few years
ago, it is not altogether exploded. Eight
years since, I journeyed to the mountains of
the north of England in the month of August,
for the purpose of enjoying the most interest-
ing diversion which the dog and gun are ca-
pable of imparting, grousa shooting. I had
with me a fine grey mare, something more
than fifteen hands three inches in height, a
splendid creature across a country, and per-
haps the best timber jumper I ever possessed.
I took up my temporary abode at a farm
house on the Newsham side of Stainmoor, on
the 11th of the month just mentioned, and on
the following day met several Yorkshire gen-
tlemen at the same place, amongst whom was
a Mr. Thompson (a military officer on half-
pay) who, like his countrymen, was a great
admirer of horse-flesh. My mare attracted
his attention, particularly from the following
circumstance: — she had been turned into a
small inciosure near the house ; and, either
alarmed at the flashing of the guns, or from
dislike to her accommodations, she altered
her situation by jumping a very tall narrow
gate (nearly if not quite six feet in height)
placed in a high stone wall, separating one
inciosure from another. The animal did not
exhibit that blooming appearance of health
so pleasingly satisfactory to a sportsman ; for
having been overmarked several times during
the preceding winter, she had not completely
recovered the requisite vigorous tone, though
some months had elapsed. The mischief
principally arose from a distressing day with
the Badsworth hounds. On this occasion, the
fox was found in a wood called Acton Pas-
ture, three miles from Pontefract. Renard
Lung to the cover as long as he could, and
when he went away he gave us as pretty and
as interesting a run as I ever witnessed, for
three quarters of an hour: — for this period,
indeed, it was brilliant; when the hounds
were brought to hunting, and ultimately
picked a cool scent to Stapylton Park (the
residence of Mr. Petre, celebrated as the win-
ner of the Doncaster St. Leger three years in
succession); as we approached this place.
Sir Edward Smith Dodsworth observed, " he's
going for a country to save himself:" and so
it proved : we changed : and as it generally
happens under such circumstances, a fresh
fox experiences little difficulty in beating
half-tired hounds. He gave us a slow run,
however, through a heavy, laborious country ;
yet the huntsman (Jack Richards*, and a
superior huntsman is, perhaps, not to be
found in the King's dominions) persevered till
by the near approach of night, he was con-
strained to call off.

* Jack Richards and Will. Staples, unquestion-
ably two of the best huntsmen in England, are also
two of the heaviest: they ride about thirteen stone
each. The former still hunts the Badsworth, the
latter the Shropshire, they both whipped-in to Sir
Bellingham Graham. — Richards died several years
since. Ed.

My mare, though in a state of progressive
improvement when she fell under the obser-
vation of Mr. Thompson, was far from the
mark of condition, nor indeed was her ap-
pearance indicative of that progressive state
which seems to promise its attainment by the
arrival of the hunting season. My very
worthy and well-meaning friend, Mr. Thomp-
son, strenuously recommended a " winter's
run," either in the park, the paddock, or the
straw-yard. Having already given my opi-
nion of the influence of the atmosphere upon
the animal system, it is only necessary further
to state, that place the debilitated creature in
either of the three situations just mentioned,
and you expose her, destitute of nutritious
food, to the chilling and highly injurious in-
fluence of frost and snow, frequently accom-
panied with the " pitiless pelting" of the
hyperborean storm. There are some diseases
of the legs and feet to which this " winter's
run," might perhaps be beneficial (which,
however, would derive greater benefit from
different treatment) ; but, constitutionally,
the animal would come up worse than it went
out.

If, however, a " winter's run" should be
resorted to, if a field be chosen for the pur-
pose, there ought to be provided the shelter
of a well-thatched shed, in which the horse
might find protection from the very severe
inclemencies of the weather, and in which he
might eat two or three good feeds of corn
daily.

I should prefer the straw-yard to the field,
on account of its being less exposed to the
weather, never forgetting, however, that good
food, and plenty of it, are as essential to re-
invigoration as rest ; and, therefore, although
the horse might amuse himself for hours with
pea-straw, he should not lack a judicious sup-
ply of good beans and oats.

I know not upon what principle the an-
cients selected the serpetit as the emblem of
wisdom, since mental power or animal saga-
city will be uniformly found analogous to
form ; and, therefore, where we find superior
organization, we may confidently anticipate a
degree of intellect or cunning in precise pro-
portion; or, as a phrenologist would express
it, where cerebral developement is large,
mental manifestation will be commensurate :
and it is an incontrovertible fact, that the
more elaborately beautiful the animal ma-
chine, the greater the intellectual capacity
will be found. Therefore, at that period of
the world, when a grovelling reptile was un-
derstood as a personification of extraordinary
cunning or mental perfection, it evinced the
gross ignorance of the time as to the true
elements and correct principles of natural
philosophy; since the serpent, as in its form
or organization, it presents one of the lowest
(as well as one of the most hideous) grades
of animated nature, so is it destitute, or as
nearly so as possible, of any quality approach-
ing to sagacity ; it is merely actuated by

X 2

296

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

those direct and simple impulses, the calls of
hunger, and procreative approximation.
What in human nature is impressively under-
stood by the term iiitellectual capacUy, in the
brute creation is designated by the much
more humble appellation instinct; and cor-
rectly so too ; foi, notwithstanding the extra-
ordinary sagacity which we sometimes wit-
ness in the quadrumanous and the quadru-
pedal tribes, it sinks into nothingness com-
pared with the almost divine intelligence of
the loftiest specimen of creation.

On the score of animal sagacity, the hoise,
though inferior to the elephant and the ca-
nine tribe, is, nevertheless remarkable for
his susceptibility of education, as well as for
his unparalleled utility ; and, in consequence
of this interesting pliability of disposition, he
has, by the ingenuity and invincible persever-
ance of his human protector, experienced a
greater degree of alteration or improvement
than any other animal. Therefore, in
whatever relates tD this most elegant and most
noble ouadruped, we should steadily keep in
UJind, not his original simplicity, or pristine
purity, but the state to which he has been
gradually impelled by the superior art and
multifarious contrivances of man.

Stable management is simple enough as re-
gards horses used for agricultural purposes,
but where the pace is required, the business
assumes a very different aspect. Moreover,
the view which I purpose to take of this sub-
ject, will be found much more comprehensive
than what a superficial glance at it might
seem to indicate ; for, as ! consider the busi-
ness of the groom to include, not only a mere
routine of labour, but the general adminis-
tration of physic, bleeding, and the manage-
ment of a number of well understood and ob-
vious diseases incident to the horse, a detailed
elucidatory notice of them becomes legiti-
mately necessary in this place. Exercise, as
essential as food to the condition of the hun-
ter, I have never seen explained with suffi-
cient dissective or analagous illustration to
satisfy the inquiring mind, or with that phi-
losophical demonstration which so highly an
important subject imperiously demands.
These matters, as well as several minor con-
siderations, which will be presented in the
course of proceeding under this head, will
most likely swell the whole beyond the limit
of a .single letter or communication ; and
therefore, in order to place my ideas in the
clearest light possible before the eyes of the
reader, I have adopted a simple sectional ar-
rangement, in order to avoid that complexity,
if not confusion, which could scarcely fail to
arise from any attempt at aggregate descrip-
tion.

The preliminary subject which presents it-
self for consideration is, that as the horse is
remarkable for cleanliness, as well as for the
acuteness of his olfactory organs or powers
of smell, every thing approaching to filthiness
should be assiduously prevented ; the man-
ger regularly washed with soap and water.

and wiped perfectly dry, to prevent any un-
pleasant smell in or near the animal's corn,
by which a delicate or shy feeder in particu-
lar will be more likely to eat. Let it never
be forgotten that cleanliness is as essential to
the health of the horse as to that of his r*)as-
ter : and I will here candidly acknowledge
that I scarcely ever entered a hunting stable
with which I had not every reason to be per-
fectly satisfied in this respect.

One of the first objects of the groom's at-
tention should be to make himselfacquainted
with the temper, disposition, and constitu-
tion of the horses placed under his care, and
vary his treatment accordingly,

The stable should be visited at six o'clock
in the morning — in summer rather earlier,
The first operation should be to feed, after
having of course ascertained that none of the
horses are loose, cast, &c. The horse should
have but little hay* given him at a time, in
order that he may eat it clean up. If a horse
be abundantly supplied with corn, he will
not eat much hay ; and a hunter can scarcely
receive too much of the former so long as he
eats it with a good appetite.

The stable should be cleaned up, the
horses merely brushed over, and taken cut
for exercise. The most open and airy places
are the best calculated for the purpose just
mentioned, on turf, and if upon that descrip-
tion of elastic turf met with on the dry parts
of the moorlands, nothing can be better.

The horse may be watered on his way home
if convenient, care being taken, however
that he is perfectly cool ; when he may bt
trotted to the stable. He should now be
thoroughly cleaned, another feed of corn
given him, the stable set fair and locked up.

At noon the horse should receive another
good feed of corn, as well as a little hay, set
the stable fair and leave it till about four
o'clock, when the horse should be allowed
as much water as he will drink, after having
been brushed over for the purpose of clearing
away the dust from his coat, which is con-
tinually arising from insensible perspiration,
as well as to quicken the circulation of the
blood, and consequently to refresh the ani-
mal. Give him another feed of corn, and
leave him till about eight o'clock, when the
business of theday should conclude. Heshould
be made comfortable for the night : his
rack replenished, his litter put in proper
form, and another feed of corn given him.

The above sketch of the general routine of
the businessof the stable, though substantially
correct, must be varied according to circum-
stances, hereafter to be noticed. For instance,
it will often happen during the hunting sea-
son, that the horses do not reach home till too
late a period to enable the grcom to finish the

* Hay continues to lose weight after it has be-
come six months old ; and as this evaporation con-
sists entirel)' of the candied succulency or nutritious
quality of the haj', it must become worse precisely in
proportion to the extent of the said evaporation.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

297

day in the regular systematic manner de-
scribed above; delicate or shy feeders, as
well as a variety of unforseen incidents, will
necessarily cause digressions.

A hunter generally returns from the fatigues
of the day covered with sweat and dry dirt, and
also with an empty stomach : upon arriving
at the stable, therefore, plenty of thin oatmeal
gruel should be given him, when I would
place before him a feed of corn in the manger,
and a little hay in the rack; the operation of
cleaning should commence as soon as possi-
ble. His legs should be well washed in warm
water, carefully examined for thorns, over-
reaches, &,c., rubbed dry, and well hand
rubbed for the purpose of promoting a free
circulation of the blood in those parts so far
removed from the heart ; and I can scarcely
help thinking that, where the legs have been
brought to a proper state by the means just
described, bandaging them (so prevalent a
custom of late years) is injurious rather than
otherwise ; that, in fact, it rather retards than
accelerates the circulation of the blood. Let
us consider the philosophy of the matter.
The hunter returns from the chase in a state
of weariness or perhaps exhaustion ; and, as
he becomes cool the circulation of the blood
becomes slower, particularly in the extremi-
ties (being furthest from the fountain, the
heart) where it would ultimately cease to cir-
culate, were means nut taken to prevent the
cessation of this indispensable motion of the
vital fluid ; in which case the animal's legs
would swell, and very serious consequences
could scarcely fail to ensue. Now, theobject
is to prevent a languid circulation ; and the
only moot or debateable point is, the most
eligible and the best method of accomplishing
it ; and I am of opinion, that when, by the
warm friction of the human hand, the
horse's legs have attained the requisite degree
of heat (the animal being already made com-
fortable in every other respect) flannel liga-
tures must tend rather to retard the circula
tion than to promote it. The bandaging sys-
tem is very likely to be a favourite with
grooms and stable helpers, as considerable
laborious exertion is avoided by it — by mak-
ing the flannel ligaturesa substitute for hand
rubbing.

As soon as the horse has been made com-
fortable, in every respect, he should be allowed
to drink as much water as he chooses, after it
has so far received the influence of heat as to be
what is called chilled. Another feed of corn
should be giverx him, hay put in his rack, he
should be plentifully littered, and locked
up for the night.

It may frequently happen that the horse
will require a warm mash, on account of a
trifling cold perhaps ; a circumstance which
must be left to the discretion of the groom or
the master. The next morning an hour's
slow exercise will besuflicient for him ;.and,
if all be right, and the animal constitutionally
vigorous, he will be ready to go out again in
three days, though no absolute rule can be

laid down in this respect, owing to a yaiiety
of incidental circumstances upon which no
calculation can be formed.

T. B. J.

P. S. When the horse goes out with the
hounds, he should receive a small feed only
of corn early in the morning, and afterwards
be allowed a few swallows of water.

FERRET.

This animal, which is a sort of domestic in
Europe, was said to be originally brought
from Africa into Spain, which being a country
abounding in rabbits, required an animal of
this kind more than any other : however this
be, it is not to be found, except in a domestic
state, and it is chiefly kept tame for the pur-
poses of the warren.

The ferret is about one foot long, being
four inches longer than the weasel. It re-
sembles that animal in the slenderness of its
body, an.i the shortness of its legs, but its
nose is sharper, and its body more slender in
proportion to its length. The ferret is com-
monly of a cream cdlour, but there are others
of a dark chocolate, which ignorant people
assert are the offspring of the polecat and the
ferret.

As this animal is a native of the torrid zone
so it cannot bear the rigours of our climate
without care and shelter, and it generally re-
pays the trouble of its keeping by its great
utility in the warren. It is naturally such an
enemy of the rabbit kind, that if a dead rabbit
be presented to a young ferret, although it
has never seen one before, it instantly attacks
and bites it with an appearance of rapacity.
If the rabbit be living, the ferret is still more
eager, seizes it by the neck, winds itself
round it, and continues to suck its blood till
it be satiated.

The female of the species is usually less
than the male, whom she seeks with great
ardour. They are usually kept in boxes or
pens, and plentifully supplied with straw or
other materials of which to make themselves
a warm bed, which serves to defend them from
the rigour of the climate. They sleep almost
continually, and the instant they are awake
they seem eager for food. They are usually
fed with bread and milk. They breed twice
a year, and some of them devour their young
as soon as brought forth. Their number is
usually from five to six in a litter.

Upon the whole, this is an useful, but a dis-
agreeable and offensive animal ; its scent is
fetid, its nature voracious ; it is tame, without
any attachment, and such is its appetite for
blood that it has been known to attack and
kill children in the cradle. It is easily irri-
tated, and although at all times its smell is
very oftensive, it then is much more so, and
its bite is very difficult of cure.

The ferret is principally bred by warreners
and rat catchers, and in the pursuit of rats

298

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

and rabbits it will encounter any difficulty
or danger when once put upon the scent. It
has a natural and instinctive propensity for
burrowing, and wherever the head can enter
the body will follow. Whenever the ferret
has secured the prey he is in pursuit of, he ex-
tracts the blood with uncoramon eagerness by
suction, but seems indifferent to the flesh.
When used in warrens their mouths are
sewed up, that they may alarm the rabbits,
and drive them from the burrows to the nets,
without being able to seize them ; as, if they
were enabled to seize them under ground,
they would with difficulty be got again from
the burrows. When they are used for the
purpose of rat catching they are put into the
holes, and If there are any rats in the neigh-
bourhood they will soon be seen scamper-
ing away from their most dreaded enemy.
Terriers are stationed at the mouth of the
holes to receive the rats, and the latter will
sooner encounter every danger, and face dogs
or men or both than wait for the ferret. If
the ferret happens to seize one in the hole it
immediately sucks the blood, goes to sleep,
and the owner will have many hours to wait
before he is able again to obtain his ferret.

Experienced warreners, however, seldom
make use of a ferret, but prefer taking the
rabbits with hay nets ; as where tlie ferret is
used, it gives the rabbits a dislike to the
burrows for a long time afterwards.

Value of a Willow. — The importance of the
willow to man has been recog'nised from the earliest
ages ; and ropes and baskets made from willow twig's
were probably among: the very first of human manufac-
tures, in countries where these trees abound. The
Romans used their twigs for binding their vines and
tying their reeds in bundles, and made all sorts of
baskets of them. A crop of willows was considered so
valuable in the time of Cato, that he ranks the salictum,
or willow field, next in value to the vineyard and the
garden. In France the leaves, whether in a green or
dried state, are considered the very best food for cows
and goats ; and horses, in some places, are fed entirely
on them, from the end of August till November. Horses
so fed, it is stated, will travel 20 leagues a day without
being fatigued. In the north of Sweden and Norway,
and in Lapland, the inner bark is kiln-dried and ground
for the purpose of mixing with oatmeal in years of
scarcity. The bark of the willow, and also the leaves,
are astringent ; and the bark of most sorts may be em-
ployed in tanning. — Arboretum Britaimicum.

Spade Husbandry. — M». John Gedney, near
Harleston, Norfolk, has all this winter, except
whilst the land was covered with snow, employed
seven men in digging 100 acres, which is even now too
wet to plough, but by digging, it is ready to be sown,
which he anticipates will prove very advantageous to
him. The price he pays for digging is 2|d per rod, 12
inches deep ; and the men can earn at this rate 2s 4d a
day, even in these short days ; when the wages of able
bodied men by the week, are 9s ; other farmers are
also trying digging in the same neighbourhood. Mr.
James Pagden, tenant of the Earl of Burlington, has
also kindly employed men at spade husbandry, and
stated in note, Feb. 3d, that the " work is performed
very much to his satisfaction."

THE NEW POOR LAW.

Subjoined are the opinions of some of the guar-
dians who have assiduously attended to the adminis-
tration of the new law : —

Mr. AUnutt, of Sutton Courtney, says —

" Since the introduction of the new system of
Poor Laws, a most beneficial change has taken place
in our parish. Before, we had a heavy surplus popu-
lation ; this has nearly disappeared ; the labourers
\vill not accept relief in the workhouse, and will
strain every nerve to keep out. Generally the cha-
lacter of the labourers is greatly improved. I think
the masters, too, are more considerate to the men
than they used to be."

The Rev. C. Dodson, Chairman of the Andover
Union, says —

" The old and infirm are equally as well taken
care of as under the previous system. But, in addi-
tion to the advantages which it has conferred upon
the poor, it has been equally advantageous to the
moral feeling of those who are more fortunately cir-
cumstanced. I hear from all quarters that the cur-
rent of private charity never ran so clear and unob-
structed,"

Mr. Love, Chairman of the Sevenoaks Union,
says —

"The New Poor Law has been productive of a
greater degree of moral as well as pecuniary benefit
than the most sanguiruJ among us anticipated ; in
fact, such is the judgment of those who in the first
instance evinced the greattgt hostility to the mea-
sure."

Langham Rokeby, Esq., Chairman of the Mar-
ket Harborough Union says —

" There is a very general increase in the habits of
industry among the labouring classes. In most
parishes the moral character of the poor is improving.
Cases of bastardy are on the decline."

Mr. Thos. Godrich, farmer and tanner, Brad-
field, says —

" Since the foundation of the Union, good labour-
ers have been better off than the inferior ; it never
used to be so. The eflfect of this must be to raise
the moral character of the whole of the agricultural
population. The labourers are certainly more indus-
trious, and a very different race of people from what
they were altogether."

Mr. G. Godfrey, of Basildon, says —

"The whole agricultural population is improving
now."

The Chairman of the Eastry Union, says —

" The law is rising in estimation, more particu-
larly among the working classes. As it regards the
real poor, their condition under the new workhouse
regulations is improved ; their diet, their comforts,
and accommodations are better ; they are more ro-
bust and healthy."

John Duffell, publican, Long Crendon, says —

" I do not draw half so much beer as I did before
the Union ; but I have 16 acres of land, and I last
year paid but 6s instead of 20s poor-rate per acre."

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

299

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE
EXPRESS.

Sir,— In the year 1834 I tried tlie Italian Rye grass
upon my farm, upon a moderate soil by tlie side of
Pacey 's Rye grass ; these were both sown in the latter
part of March, each upon two acres of land, and as per-
haps the value of the former is not g-enerally known to
the agricultural world, I have only , a few remarks to
make if you consider them worth insertion in your pub-
lication. In the year 1835, I let |them both remain for
hay, and commenced making- as early as May; they
were both excellent crops and well got up, and to my
astonishment, as well as my men, the Italian Rye grass
yielded over and above the Parey's 15cwt per acre, and
produced most excellent hay. I then continued to feed
it until the end of October, and the following- summer I
again let it remain for hay, and the produce was just
double that of any other which I cut during thut season,
I have also tried several experiments with the Fescues,
Foxtail, and other better kinds of grasses, that I would
recommend in every instance where you are laying
down for permanent pastures, that a good selection of
the better kinds should be used ; the advantage to the
gra2der I am convinced is equivalent to fully fifty per
cent, in quality of the pastures as well as quantity.
I am, your most obedient servant,

A KENT FARMER.

TITHE COMMUTATION.

The large and important suburban parish of Camber-
well agreed, on the 5th inst., to commute its tithes under
the new act, at a meeting which did not last an hour
and a half. As the proceedings of this parish were con-
ducted with much judgment, they will probably serve
as a useful model in other cases.

At a preliminary meeting held on the 1st of February
statements were made of the average amount of vicarial
and rectorial tithe during the seven years preceding
1835, and a small committee of the parishioners was ap-
pointed to examine, and, if necessary, to correct those
statements.

At the meeting held yesterday the report of that com-
mittee was presented. It appeared that the average re-
ceipts of the vicarial tithes were 1,188/ ; the average re-
ceipts for rectorial tithe 80/. It was proposed by the
agent of the vicar that his future rent-charge should be
1,168/; on the part of the rector that his future rent-
charge should be 80/. The offer of the rector was at
once accepted ; but the committee formally appointed
were called on to express to the meeting their opinion
as to the sum which should be offered to the vicar.
They stated their opinion to be that 1,100/ a year should
be offered to him. The agent of the vicar requested
that they would state the grounds on which they pro-
posed a rent-charge less by 68/ than the average receipts
of the seven years preceding 1835. Those gentlemen
stated their reason for the proposed deduction to be that
the vicar's income had been gradually decreasing- during
the whole of that seven years; that 1,100/ was more
than the average of the last two years' receipts. They
further stated that Camberwell was a parish in which
extensive building operations were likely to take place,
and that the result of these, if the commutation were
now effected, would be that the vicar would hereafter
receive tithe from land covered with houses, as well a»
fees and other dues from the inhabitants of those houses.
The agent of the vicar still urged that the average re-
ceipts of the seven years preceding 1835 ought to deter-
mine the amount of the rent-charge, and appealed to
one of the chief tithe commissioners, who was present,
to know if the commissioners would not adopt that
amount if the commutation were left to be settled under
the compulsory operation of the tithe act.

The commiasioner (the Rev. R. Jones) stated that this
would be the case in the first instance ; but reminded |

the parties that the tithe-payera would have a right to
appeal, and that on appeal the rent-charge might be
either increased or decreased by one-fifth of the amount
of the previous compositions.

The meeting then unanimously resolved, that the sum
of 1,100/ a year should be offered to the vicar as a rent-
charge, and the agent of the vicar at once accepted that
offer.

The commissioner expressed his entire approbation of
the arrangement, and the meeting, after signing minutes
which recorded their acquiescence in it, adjourned for
a few weeks, during which time it was understood that
a more formal instrument of agreement should be pre-
pared, and likewise the schedules which the act requires
to be annexed — a document which it was stated it would
take some little time and trouble to complete.

fllr. Moore, of Basing-lane, Bread-street, was in the
chair, and thanks were voted to him by the meeting.

Mr. Driver, the eminent land-surveyor, was present ;
and Messrs, Druce, of Billiter-square, who represented
the impoi tant interest of Dulwich-college. Mr. Maitin
Nockolds represented the vicar, the Rev. J. G. Storie ;
and Mr. Robert Cantwell, the lay-rector. Sir John
Smythe.

Several highly respectable parties were present, who
stated they had no direct interest in the transaction, but
came solely that they might observe and be instructed
by the proceedings.

The Cup Potato. — It will not be denied that this
is a matter of considerable importance to the public
— since this species of potato occupies both field and
market, to the almost total exclusion of other sorts.
Its good qualities have thus gradually brought it into
general use ; while it is to be lamented that few
farmers have taken pains to correct the bad proper-
ties that belong to it. It is not liable to be injured
by the vicissitudes of an uncertain season. It has
a stout strong stalk, which, in a great measure pro-
tects it from high winds; and the early frosts, in
Autumn, do not seize hold on it as soon as other
kinds. It is also, generally speaking, a dry potato,
and firm, keeping well till late in the ensuing season.
But, to counterbalance these advantages, it is strong,
coarse, and rank in its flavour, so that many people
much dislike it. The following mode of cultivation
will entirely remove this, and make this useful spe-
cies still more valuable : — The careful farmer must
begin with the selection of the seed. Let him re-
ject all those potatoes that are oblong, mis-shapen
in any way, over large, or rough and scabby on the
skin. Let him choose those that are round, and of
a plump appearance. The long and mis-shapen ones
are invariably rank, and strong Id the taste. The
selected seed should then be planted, whether in
beds or drills, on a compost of lime and soil. The
Cup Potuto should never be planted on stable or
bvre manure, as it renders it so rank as to be nearly
unfit to eat. If the farmer has neither a bank from
which to draw soil, nor time to make one, a little
lime, sprinkled along the bottom of the drill, before
planting the seed, will do nearly as well. 'J'he stable
manure will thus be spared fer other kinds of potato,
with which it will better agree ; or for the rearing
of winter green crops— a part of good farming- ma-
nagement too much neglected. This method, if
carefully followed for two or three seasons, will (as
I can testify from experience) produce so great an
improvement in quality and flavour, as to make this
species as acceptable on the table as the apple, or
any other potato in use. — Cnr'-eupmident of the Neury
Telegraph

300

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

THE CORN LAWS.

[Tlie debate upon Mr. Clay's motion for an
alteration of the Corn Laws, containing much
useful information, we have given it at length ;
moreover, it is highly desirable that the agricultu-
rists should be put in possession of the arguments
upon which a change, which would so materially
affect their interests, is based.— Ed. F. M.l

Mr. CLAY, on presenting bis petition, spoke as fol-
lows:—Sir, in rising- to make the motion of which 1 gave
notice, I venture to remind the house that I have at least
thisclaim on its indulgence— viz., that I have twice post-
poned my motion from motives of respect for the House,
and regard for its convenience. First, in 1835, in order
that I might not impede the progress of the English mu-
nicipal corporation reform bill— and secondly, last ses-
sion, in consequence of the appointment of a committee
to inquire into the state of agriculture. It appeared to
me that I sliould be wanting in the respect due both to
this House and to the large classes of the community
interested in the result of that inquiry, if, during the sit-
ting ot the committee, I had pressed my motion. I feel
that T have been rewarded for this forbearance by the
valuable illustrations which the evidence given to that
committee affords of the working of our present system.
I shall only further premise that it will be my endeavour
to treat the great question which mv motion raises— a
question, second, assuredly, in importance, to none
which can occupy the attention of the House— calmly
and dispassionately. I wish to bring to the discussion
of It no weapons but those which reason or facts can
supply. The history of our legislation with respect to
coi'n, must, ot course, be so familiar to every gentleman
who hears me, that it is only necessary for me to allude
very briefly to its leading features and more remarkable
epochs. From the Conquest until nearly the middle of
the fifteenth century the exportation of corn was wholly
prohibited. At that period, the reign of Henry VI., the
exportaUon of wheat was permitted when the price did
not exceed 6s 8d per quarter ;— from the reign of Honry
VI. to the reign of Charles 11. little other change was
made in the corn laws than a gradual extension of the
price at which corn was exportable. In the reign of
Charles II. a duty was laid on the importation of corn
and in 1688, 1st of W. III., the famous statute giving a
bounty on exportation was passed. By that act a bounty
ot 5s per quarter was given on the exportation of wheat
when the market price did not exceed 48s per quarter—
whilst on importation the duty, as fixed in the reign of
Charles IT., was 21s 9d per quarter until the market
price was 44s, 17s until the price was 53s 4d, and 8s
until the price was 80s, then Is 4d. By this act the
trade in corn was regulated until 1766, when the duties
on importation were suspended by proclamation, on ac-
count of the high prices, and in 1773, by act of Parlia-
ment, importation of wheat was permitted when the
market price reached 48s, at 6d per quarter, whilst with
a market price of 44s, exportation and bounty were to
cease. Of the act of 1773, Adam Smith says-" With
all Its imperfections, however, we may, perhaps say of
It what was said of the laws of Solon, that though not
the best in itsel f, it is yet the best which the interests pre-
judices, and temper of the times would admit of. It
may, perhaps in due time, prepare the way for a better."
VVhat would that great man, who so strongly urges the
advantage ot a free trade in corn, have said to our sub-
sequent legislation on this matter? In 1791, it was en-
acted that when wheat was under 50s, the duty should
be 24s 3d; and in 1804, that when under 63s, there
should be the same duty of 24s 3d ; but both these en-
actments vvere inoperative, from the high prices that
prevailed during the war, and subsequently the trade
m corn was free, from 1773 until 1815. In that year
was passed the never-to-be-forgotten act, by which the
importation of wheat was prohibited until the price
reached 80s per quarter. (Hear, hear.) Of that act!
dare not trust myself to sjieak-it no longer disgraces
tlie statute book, and it is needless to characterise the
spirit in which it was conceived. Signalised in it« pro-

gress through the legislature, by liots and tumults,
which seriously endangered the safety of the metropolis,
and rendered it necessary to protect by an armed force
the members of either house of Parliament in the dis-
charge of their duties— passed amidst the execrations of
the people— thrice suspended to avert famine— wheat,
during its existence, having been at 112s per quarter at
one time, and 38s per quarter at another, it was finally
repealed in 1828, without one single voice being raised
in its defence. By the act of 1828 (9 George IV., c. 60)
the act which now regulates the corn trade, wheat is im-
portable at all times, but when it is at 62s per quarter,
the duty is 24s 8d ; as the price rises, the duty dimin-
ishes, until at 73s it is only Is per quarter ; on the other
hand, below 62s there is an addition of Is per quarter
duty, for every Is fall in price. Now the first conside-
ration which suggests itfelf, on a review of our legisla-
tion in respect to corn is this, that its constant aim (and
more especially of our recent legislation) has been to
reg'ulate the price. Sir, I ask by what right we make
any such attempt? An attempt, the less justifiable as it
is directly opposed to the whole spirit of our legislation
on all analogous questions. Our system of corn laws
presents to us the startling anomaly, that whilst the
prices of all other commodities are left to the operation
of the various causes which influence prices, with re-
spect to corn alone, it is decided by the legislature that
the price shall not, so far as laws can secure that object,
fall below such rate as to the makers of those laws may
seem fit. Every thing else may fall — the produce of
the loom — the wages of labour— but the price of the
great necessary of life — bread— is by act of Parliament
to remain unaltered. With respect to all ether articles,
we recognize two principles in the imposition of duties ;
the one, the raising revenue for the exigencies of the
state ; the other, the affording protection against foreign
competition to some article of native produce. With
respect to corn alone, we recognise a third, viz. the fix-
ing by a peculiar mode of levying the import duties, a
price below which it shall not fall, a principle widely
differing irom and going far beyond the mere imposi-
tion of protecting duties in all other cases. A protect-
ing duty, in the ordinary sense, is of fixed amount, pro-
ceeding upon some calculation of the greater cost of the
home trade, than of the simi'ar foreign commodity, but
it has no reference to the price in the home market of
the article so protected. An illustration drawn from our
practice with regard to any other commodity, will at
once render clear this distinction, so important in its
effects. Silk goods, for instance, are an article of home
maniafacture protected by a very high duty, the legisla-
ture has assumed thirty per cent, to be the amount of
duty which will enable the British manufacturer to
compete with his foreign rival — it imjioses that duty, but
it goes no further. There is no attempt to uphold the
price in the home market, by enacting that the duty on
foreign silk goods shall vary inversely as the price of
British piece goods— that if the price of gros dc Naples
fall 20 per cent, the duty shall rise 20 per cent. The
protection considered adequate to the different cost of
production being once given, the price of the commodity
is left to the natural effect of supply and demand, and
the public enjoys the full benefitof that diminished price
which cither competition or diminished cost of produc-
duction may occasion. What would be said to a pro-
position from the cotton manufacturers, the silk-weavers,
or the clothiers, that the duties on the silks and cloths of
France, or the printed cottons of Switzerland, should be
regulated from time to time by the average prices of
British silks, cloths and printed cottons, and yet it would
not be easy, I suspect, to show what better claim the
producer of 100 quarters of corn has, to have the price
of his commodity kept " steady," as the phrase is, than
the producer of 100 pieces of broad cloth. Sir, we have
recently given a signal proof how steadily, in respect of
everything but corn, we mean to adhere to the salutary
principle of abstaining from any intefei'encffl with prices.
The hand-loom ivcavers, engaged in a hopeless contest
with the giant powers of steam, finding their wages in-
cessantly falling from causes which they can neither
comprehend nor contend with, turned in their despair to
Parliament, and entreated of this House to regulate the

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

301

price at which the capitalist may avail himself of that
labour, which is their only property. They asked of
you that their wages should be fixed precisely as you
attempt to regulate the price of corn, by averages of die
prices of labour taken at stated periods, and with the
sanction of law. jS'ow, if ever there were a case in
which one might be tempted to depart from sound prin-
ciple, assuredly it is the case of the had-loom weavers,
from peculiar circumstances : first, from the increase of
their own numbers adding to the amount of labour in
the market, and next from the increasing use of steam
in weaving', which tends to render that labour of less
value. They are wholly in the power of their masters,
who, again, from the force of competition, arc ahr.ost
compelled to use their power pitdessly ; whilst in many
articles in which we have notto fearforeign competition,
it would appear as if the home competition, which de-
presses perpetually the price of the manufactured article,
and with it the wages of the operatives, were without an
object. (Hear.) The question, too, to them is not one
of greater or less enjoyment, but of the means of sub-
sistence—not of comfort or luxuries — but of life and
death. (Hear, hear.) A select committee sat for two
sessions on the petitions of these unhappy men, and
heard from themselves the statement of their case. So
impressed were that committee with the evidence which
the petitioners brought forward of their depressed con-
dition, that they recommended to the House the adop-
tion of a bill introduced by the hon. member for Old-
ham, for regulating', agreeably to averages to be taken,
after the fashion of the corn averages, the wages of hand-
loom weavers. You rejected that bill : in my opinion
you did wisely : you would only by interference have
created evils ten-fold greater, and more widely spread-
ing, than those you sought to remedy ; but then for the
sake of justice and mercy, be consistent — do not say to
these supplicants, we will take no steps to prevent your
wages falling ; but we will endeavour as much as in us
lies to keep up the price of ccrn. We will enjoy the
advantages to be derived from your increased toil and
diminished remuneration. We are content that the
cloth, the linen, and the silk, which clothe our families
or deck our chambers, shall fall to half or a third of their
former price ; but we will not permit that bread which
constitutes your hnmble meal to fall in price, although
such a reduction might compensate for your diminished
means. Is this language which it is becoming in us to
use? And yet it is the language of our statute-book,
which equally in the abundance of its devices to uphold
the price of the produce of land, and in the absence of
all such affectionate care as to any other commodities,
speaks a language clear and significant as to the mate-
rials of those legislative bodies from wliich it has ema-
nated. It is no answer to the charge which I have
brought against Parliament of manifesting an unfair
preference for the interests of the agricultual classes, to
say that the laws to which I have been referring have
not kept up the price of corn— that we have been guilty
of a profitless wrong — their intention is undoubted ; and
it is with their spirit and intention alone tliat I am at
this moment dealing. I do not wish, however, to press
this argument for more than it is worth, still less to
charge the members of this or of the other House of Par-
liament with merely sordid views in their legislating on
this matter. But, whilst it would display an absurd ig-
norance of human nature not to suspect that legislative
bodies composed of landholders should have some bias
towards an undue protection of the landed interest, I am
quite ready to allow that they may have been so biassed
unconsciously to themselves, and may have been per-
suaded that a course of legislation which seemed so con-
venient for themselves, was also conducive to the wel-
fare of the whole community. I admit, too, tliat it is
possible,' or atleast fairly open to discussion, that they
may be right in such persuasion ; and in that case it
would be no good argument against the corn laws tliat
they were enacteil chiefly with a view to the benefit of
one class if they proved to be of advantage to the wliole
coramunity. On the other hand, it mun also be ad
mitted that the burden of this proof fairly rests upon the
advocates of the present system, and that they are bound
clearly to show a benefit arising to tlie whole commu-

nity from laws at least ai)parently so partial and unjust.
Of the g'reat, the paramount importance of all laws re-
lating- to the physical well-being of the people, there
cannot be two opinions — it is beyond all doubt the most
important branch of legislation ; for, with a people
steeped in misery, the best devised laws for the security
of life and property, will — as we have the melancholy
proof in Ireland — be found inefficacious, and education
itself will be in vain. What should be the aim of all
legislation on this matter? — to secure to the people the
g'reatest command over the necessaries and comforts of
existence ; and first, among these an abundance of nu-
tritious and agreeable food— that this should be our ob-
ject there can be no doubt ; the only difterence of opi-
nion will be how to arrive at it. The corn laws are our
practical solution of this problem. Any restriction on
the free importation of corn in a densely peopled coun-
try, must of course have the effect of raising the price in
such country to a higher level than it obtains in coun-
tries where the population bears a smaller raUo to the
extent of fertile soil. This must necessarily be the ope-
ration of the corn laws in England, as it was, indeed,
the effect avowedly intended by the framers of them.
A further result of the corn laws, but which,
although flowing from their operation by a neces-
sary and inevitable process, was not foreseen or in-
tended by their framers, is a tendency to extreme fluc-
tuations of price. Both of the foregoing results of the
corn laws are, in their elTects upon the community,
eminently disastrous. We will consider them succes-
sively. I do not know that in arguing this question
there is anything which, beforehand, I should have
thought less necessary than the attempt to prove that
a high price of food is disadvantageous, or cheap food
a blessing to the people ; but so many idle fallacies are
afloat on this subject— such, for instance, as that price
is merely relative — and that " it is no matterhow dear
corn is if the people have money to buy it" — (hear,
hear,) — that it may be as well, perhaps, to state this
question as to the effect of high or low-priced food in
its essential and abstract shape, and in the simplest
terms. (Hear.) This question may, when dis-em-
barassed of extraneous considerations, be stated in
terms so short and clear, as almost to amount to a
self-e\ident proposition — a proposition which ought,
by this time, to have ranked among those elementary
truths — no longer open to discussion. (Hear.) All
that mankind possess of value is the produce of labour,
— in exact proportion to the labour required to produce
any commodity will be its exchangeable value. When
any portion of the earth's surface becomes so densely
peopled that all the best soil is occupied, recourse must
l3e had to inferior soil— or more labour be bestowed on
the good soils with a diminishing result. In such a
country, therefore, any given quantity of food will re-
quire a continually increasing amount of labour for its
production ; in other words, will become dearer. But
labour, however engaged, is of equal value ; in such a
country, therefore, the manufacturer, the mechanic,
and the artisan, would be compelled to give a continually
increasing amount of labour for their daily food. Can
there be a doubt, then, that the state of a country of
limited extent, and rapidly increasing in population —
yet confined to its own resources for food, must be one
of decreasing comfort ? Circumstances may arrest or
delay the process, but the tendency is certain. If such
be the character of the corn laws, unjust in principle
and dangerous in tendency, there should be some es-
pecial reasons of overpowering weight and cogency, for
maintaining them. Let us see how far the arguments
commonly urged in their defence deserve that character.
Sir, we are first told of the value of the home market
to the manufacturer — but by whom are we told this —
by those who would, by their own showing, keep the
price of corn here 100 per cent, above the price abroad.
Their attempt to alarm the manufacturer by the pro-
spect of losing a market in which Ms one hundred
pieces of broad cloth produce him one hundred quarters
of wheat, when he is to get in exchange, a customer
who will gladly give him 200 quarters, is reckoning, as
it appears to me, not in inconsiderably on his credulity.
Akin to these assertions of the value of the home

302

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

market, are the professions of anxiety for the welfare
of the manufactuiing classes, by the same parties, and
the earnest declarations of their belief that the in-
terests of those classes and of the landholder, are iden-
tical. These professions have been reiterated 1 had
almost said ad nausiem, both within and without these
walls, and had served as the introduction to every mea-
sure for keeping up the price of corn. It is high time
that this talk should be put an end to, the landholder
and the manufacturer have a community of interest
under a system of free trade in corn, they have not a
communty of interest under our present system ; on
the contrary, their interests are in direct opposition ;
our present system renders high prices necessary to
the prosperity of the agricultural classes, whilst low
prices, at least prices on a level with those of other
countries, are essential to the manfacturer. These re-
spective classes, accordingly, have never prospered at
the same time since 1815 ; have never even appeared to
prosper together, except at rare intervals, and from
particular circumstances. I hold in my hand documents
which completely prove this assertion, but I shall not
trouble the house by referring to them, unless this
assertion be disiiuted. But then it is a*ked, how should
■we employ our agricultural labourers, if we eat cheap
foreign corn, instead of dear English corn ; If their
labour be at present wasted, we had better maintain
them in absolute idleness, than employ them in wasting
capital as well as their own time ; but in truth there
would be employment for tliem in the thousand chan-
nels which in a thriving community, and with rapidly
increasing wealth, are open to industry ; independently
of the consideration that the repeal of the corn laws
would change the nature rather than alter the amount
of the demand for agricultural labour. Again it is
said, that high prices of agricultural produce are ne-
cessary to enable us to bear the burthen of taxation,
and that the corn laws therefore are wise and just
laws as producing that effect. Never was there a mis-
take so gross — I had almost said so ludicrous as this.
The power to support taxation depends wholly and
solely on the net income of the community — on profits ;
that is, after defraying the cost of subsistence of the
labourer and replacing the funds of the capitalist. A
net surplus of income is the only fund on which an
individual can permanently rely to endure any burden
on his finances, and as the cost of his subsistence is
lower so will his surplus be larger. That which is true
of one man is true of a nation, and if we could with a
free trade in corn procure the amount of bread now
consumed in the empire, by the labour of 500,000 fewer
men, we should add annually to the national resources,
the whole produce of their labour (a produce little short
probably, of the interest on the national debt^ now on
that supposition utterly wasted. But does this propo-
sition rest on theory alone ? On the contrary ; it is
supported by the unanswerable logic of facts. If it
be true that high prices of agricultural produce are
necessary to enable us to support taxation, then the
revenue would be flourishing when the prices of that
produce were high, and decay when they were low.
How do the facts for the last twenty- nine years agree
•with this hypothesis ? The revenue of 1815, from the
four great sources of income of the state, viz., customs,
excise, stamps, and assessed taxes, was . . £75,045,882
The revenue of 1819 from the same sources 54,257,060

Being- a diminution of 20,788 822

But in the years 1816, 1817, 1818, and 1819,
Taxes were repealed amount-

ingto £17,862,848

Taxes wereimposed amounting to 3,486,707 14,376,141

Actual falling- off of revenue £6,412,681

Now, during- the period in which the defalcation oc-
curred, what were the prices of corn? Low of course,
if the hypothesis to which I have alluded be sound.
They were, on the contrary, by very far the highest
which have occurred since the peace, and almost equal
during- a portion of the time to the hig-hest price of the
war.

The m«ftn price of 1816 was 7t5s 2d par qr.

1817 .. 94s Od

1818 .. 83s 8d

1819 .. 7-2s3d

Mean price of the whole series. ... 81s 6d per qr.
The prices of the next four years were as remarkably
low, viz :

18-20.. 65s lOd.. 1821.. 54s 5d? ,o im

1822. .43s 3d. .18-23. .51s 9d \ ^^^^^ ^'^^ ^'-"^
And during this period the condition of the revenue was
as follows :

Revenue of 1819, as above stated £54,257,060

of 1823 54,465,845

Being an increase of 209,785

But in the four years there had 1 ^ qao ^A^.

been taxes repealed / ^.«00.145

'Less ditto imposed 183,040 6,617,105

Real increase of revenue £6,826,890

So that whilst with a price of 81s 6d, (the price be it re-
collected, at which it was hoped, expected, and intended,
that wheat should remain under the law of 1815), the
revenue fell off 6,400,000/ in four years ; with a price of
53s lOd, it improved in a [period of similar dui-ation,
6,800,000/. A comparison of the state of the revenue
with the prices of wheat during the years since 1823,
does not present results so striking as those I have al-
ready stated ; but it yet affords results well worthy of
the attention of the House. Still taking periods of four
years, the results are as follows :

Revenue of 1823, as above £54,466,845

Ditto of 1827 52,036,343

Apparent diminution £ 2,430,005

Price of
18-24, 62s OdT Taxes repealed £7,528,8-25

1825, 66s 6d (.Less imposed 307,8.32 7,220,993

1 826,56s 1 Id f ■

1827, 56s 9d J Real increase of revenue . . £4,790,988
Mean 60s 6d.

Revenue of 1827, as above £52,036,840

Ditto of 1831 48,041,966

Apparent diminution £3,994,874

Price of

1828, 60s 5dT Taxes repealed £5,837,188

18-29, 66s 3d 1 Less imposed 1,325,556 4,510,632

1830, 64s 3d f

1831, 66s 4d J Real increase of revenue £ 516,758
Mean, 64s 4d

Revenue of 1831, as above £48,041,966

Ditto 1835 47,646,920

Apparent diminuton £ .395,046

Price of

1832, 585 8d-l Taxes repealed £4,335,339
1833,52slld I Lessimposed 198,469 3,940,293

1834, 46s 2d f

1 835, 39s 4d J Real increase of revenue £3,940,293
Mean, 49s 3d.

It will be observed how invariably the revenue fluc-
tuated inversely as the price of wheat, rising as tlie
price fell, and falling as that rose. 'I'he house will, I
think, agree with me that the results of the foregoing-
comparison are as instructive as they are striking-. We
sliall not hear again, I trnst, of the necessity of high
prices to enable us to support taxation, or endure the .
burthen of the national dc bt. The advocates of the ex-
isting corn-laws have mainly relied on their tendency
(of the act of 1828, that is) to produce steadiness of
price ; their beneficial effects in this respect was
brought prominently forward in the report of the com-
mittee on agricultural distress in 1833. Sir, the com-
mittee congratulated themselvessomewhat prematurely ;
the fluctuations since 1828 having been from 75s 3d in
November, 1828, to 36s in January, 1836. I shall pre-
gently show that great fluctuations are the demonstrably
certain consequence of restrictions on the trade in corn.
I will only now observe that thtj slightest variation in

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303

the price of wheat, which this country has known for a
Ijeriod of 140 years, was from 1773 to 1791, the only
time during- that period in which we have had a free
trade. The favourite argument, however, of the ad-
vocates of restrictions on the importation of corn is, that
we may be independent of foreign nations for our supply
of food. Now, if this independence have reference only
to natural causes — if it be intended to assert that we
shall be more secure ag-ainst the defects of deficient
harvests by growing' all the corn we consume, than by
drawing a portion of it from other countries, the pro-
position is false, almost by its very terms. You insure
the regularity of any result precisely in the degree that
you multiply the instances from which your induction
is drawn— one field will yield a less certain annual pro-
duce than a whole farm, a farm than a county, a county
than a kingdom, a kingdom than a continent, a conti-
nent than the world. But if by independence be rather
meant an independence of the caprices of foreign
governments, the position, although not capable of so
strictly logical a refutation, is to the full as untenable.
Under a system of free trade some portions of many
nations, with every possible variety of situation and of
interests, would be engaged in growing corn for our
use ; it would not be wantonly, nor lightly that the
government of any one such nation would distress its
subjects by depriving them of a commerce so important
to them — is it conceivable that all would do so simul-
taneously ? The very supposition is an absurdity. But,
Sir, this talk of independency is unworthy of us, eithei
as philosophers or legislators. So far from wishing to
make a nation independent, as it is called, the aim of
wise statesmen should be to render a nation as depen-
dant as possible on its neighbours, in the clear convic-
tion that such dependence must be mutual. As amongst
individuals and families, so among the greater families
of the human race mutual dependence, which is the very
basis of the social compact, is the prolific source of the
feelings which elevate and the enjoyments which
sweeten existence, and precisely in proportion as nations
are dependent on each other will the happiness of all be
i-.icreased, and the unspeakable calamities of war be
rendered of less probable occurrence. But, Sir, if the
corn-laws do not conduce to the welfare of the whole
community, what has been their operation upon that
portion of the community for the benefit of which they
were expressly enacted — how have they worked for the
protection of the landed interest? Why they have
signally and notoriously failed. Taking the three
great classes into which the agricultural interest, as it
is called, may.be divided, viz., the owners of the soil, the
farmers or capitalists, and the labourers, the only class
to which they have not recently worked injury are the
labourers, and the labourers they have not injui'ed pre-
cisely because they have failed in producing the effect
which was designed and expected by the framers of
them. That it is because the corn-laws have been lately
inoperative in producing their designed effect on prices,
that they have failed to injure the labourer, we are
furnished with decisive testimony by both the committees
of 1833, and of the last session, on the state of agricul-
ture. The committee of 1833, in the report says, " It is
a consolation to your committee to find that tho general
condition of the agricultural labourers, in fidl employ-
ment, is better now than at any former period — his
money-wages givmg a greater command over the ne-
cessaries and conveniences of life." The committee
of last session made no report, but I am sure that I shall
meet with the concurrence of every member of that
committee, and indeed of every one who has read the
evidence, in stating that, if there be one single point
placed by that evidence beyond dispute, it is the greatly
improved condition of agricultural labourers. More
than fifty witnesses, occupiers of land, from all parts
of England, Wales, and Scotland, were examined, and
anaong them, scarcely one expressed even a hesitating
opinion as to the state of comparative ease and comfort
of the labouring classes. All, or nearly all, said in the
strongst language, that the condition of those classes
was better than at any j)eriod within their recollection,
and all attributed it to the cause assigned in the report
of the committee of 1833, viz., that the money- wages of

the labourer gave him an unprecedented command
over the necessaries and conveniences of life. This
effect is precisely what reasoning and experience would
lead us to anticipate, the labourer is directly and deep-
ly interested in the cheapness of the necessaries of life,
and all history shows tliat the rate of his wages follows
but slowly and inadequately arise in the price of those
necessaries. With respect to the farmer these laws have
not only faded to confer on iiiin the advantage it was
asserted he would have derived from them — ♦hat he
would not have received had the corn-laws been effec-
tual for the attainment of their object— ^but they have,
in many cases, worked his entire ruin, in all have been
prejudicial to his interests, and must in the long-run, by
a progress demonstrably inevitable, cause the entire de-
struction of the farming capital of the country. So far
from the framers of those laws being entitled to call
th^emselves the farmer's friends they are, unintentionally,
no doubt, his bitterest and crudest enemies. The
farmer has no intei'est in high prices, even could they
be steadily maintained, as in the compeittion which a
limited quantity of land produces, the landlord is sure to
get, in the shape of rent, all the produce of those high
prices which are beyond the ordinary profits of capital .
(Hear, hear, hear.) The corn-laws would be valueless
to the farmer, even could they keep up tiie price of
corn; but what is their effect ? When, as is now, or
has been recently the case, they fail to keep it up 1
Why, that they are the cause of his utter ruin ; the
temporary rise of price they produce, induces him to
engage in a farm, in which his rent, his mode of culture,
his expenses are all calculated on anticipations of a
price of corn which he finds to be delusive ; and, a^teF
a few years' struggle, in which part of his capital goea
to the landlord, and part is utterly wasted, he throw*
up his farm a ruined and brokenhearted man. The
farmer is merely a capitalist. That which is alone
really interestiagtohimis, thatthe priceof corn should
be steady. That system is best for him which has the
greatest tendency to produce steadiness of price. A
free trade must demonstrably produce the greatest
steadiness ; and I assert, therefore, as an axiom not to
be controverted, that the farmer has a deep and vital
interest in the abrogation of the corn-laws, and iu
rendering the trade in corn completely free. But the
landholders— surely these laws, framed by them, and
with a direct view to their advantage — must to them,
at least, be highly beneficial. Sir, I am satisfied that
if there be one class of the community more deeply
than all others interested in the abrogation of the pre-
sent system, the landholders are that class. I rest
this assertion mainly on two propositions, both capable
of complete demonstration ; first, that it is impossible,
by any legislative enactments, permanently to keep up
the price of agricultural produce in this country, con-
siderably above its level in other countries, all that
you can effect is to produce a ruinous fluctuation; but,
secondly, that the attempt so to keep it up involves the
risk, not only of depriving the English landholders of
the great advantages which they at present possess,
but of depressing their condition as much below as it
is now above, the condition of the owners of the soil in
any other part of the world. The whole scheme of
keeping up the price of native grown corn by legisla-
tive restrictions on the importation of foreign corn—
whether those restrictions take the shape of absolute
prohibition under a certain price, as by the act of 1816,
or of virtual exclusion, by duties so high as |to be
prohibitory, under the present law the whole scheme
rests on the assumption that we shall always be an im-
porting country, that we shall always grow less than
we consume, that there shall always be a tendency to
dearth. It is quite demonstrable, by a priori reasoning,
that this is a state which cannot be permanent. Iu
order that dearth may not become famine, it is neces-
sary that such an amount of capital should be devoted
to the cultivatiou of the soil as, iu ordinary years, shall
produce a supply equal to the consumption of the king-
dom. This tendency of capital to flow towards the
cultivation of the soil is certain : it will be attracted
to that employment preferably to all others, because
the demand for the necessaries of life is of all demands

304

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

the least checked by high prices ; the consumption of
articles of luxury very speedily diminishes ■with advan-
cing cost, but the demand for food must be satisfied,
and until, therefore, the ordinary piofits of capital
cannot be obtained in raising corn, capital will be ap-
plied to its production, whatever be its cost. What is
the inevitable result ? The supply which in ordinary
years was about equal to your wants, with an abundant
harvest exceeds them, and the portion which is snrplas
to the national consumption must fall not only to the
price which it will fetchin foreign markets, but as much
below that price as will defray the cost of its transport.
In the liorae maiket you cannot have two prices, the
price of the surplus you have to send abroad must re-
gulate the price of the whole, and you place yourselves
therefore in the most disastrous of all conditions, viz.,
that your whole system of culture being calculated upon
a price of corn, far above the average prices of other
countries, you must of necessity have at given intervals
a price far below that average. The effect of so violent
a revulsion is of course to check cultivation — some
farmers are ruined — some struggle on, sowing a less
breadth of corn ; the supply again falls below the de-
mand, your laws then come into operation, and cause
the price to rise beyond the level of other countries, if
a short harvester two intervene, corn ri£es to a famine
price, and whilst distress occurs among the manufac-
turing classes, wild hopes fire again excited among the
farmers, the growth of corn is again improvidently ex-
tended, and you recommence your miserable cycle. Are
these only speculative evils .■' Do they exist only in
the imagination of theorists ? At this moment they
oppress us — twice since the act of 1815 has this succes-
sion of cause and effect, this ruinous alternation taken
place. The framers of the act of 1815, and the persons
engaged in the pursuits of agriculture, almost univer-
sally anticipated, as the consequence of that measure, a
price of corn not averaging less than 80s ; in 1822 it
was 38s. Mr. Canning, in 1827, said, when intioducing
his resolutions similar, or nearly so, to the provisions
of the existing law — "The market will assume such
a steadiness, that instead of a fluctuation between 112s
atone time and 38s at another, the vibrations will pro-
bably be found to be limited within the small circle from
about 55s to 65s." Now has this prophecy been fulfilled ?
In 1S28 the price of wheat was 75s, in 1836,36s. What
begomes now of your grave discussions as to the de-
gree of protection to which the landed interest is
entitled, of your laborious inquiries as to a remune-
rating price, that phantom which has always mocked
your research .' of your elaborate scale of ascending
and descending duties.'' Providence blesses us with
abundant harvests, and sweeps away the puny effects
of that legislation which would obstruct the equal dis-
tribution of its blessings. The real and permanent in-
terest of the landholder of this or any other country
must be that the community of which they form a part
should always import corn. You have so legislated as
to render it absolutely certain that at given intervals
we shall be an exporting country, and an exporting
country, too, without a market. The evidence given
before the committee of last year, affords proof clear
and indisputable, that the corn laws have in this
respect ; viz. the tendency to produce great fluctua-
tion— the effect I have ascribed to them. There
was a remarkable concurrence of opinion among
almost all the witnesses as to two most important
points. First, that for some years, up to 1834, there
had been a perpetually increasing tendency to enlarge
the g-rowtli of v/heat ; and, secondly, tliat in 1835 there
had occurred a strikinp; revulsion in this tendency. The
decrease in the breadth of wheat sown in the autumn of
that year was, by almost all the witnesses, stated as
considerable, and by some, rated as high as 25 per
cent, and even higher. The reason of this change is
clear. Wheat has been the especial favourite of our
legislation ; it was supposed in old times to be the great
reliance of the farmer. " Wheat paid the rent," it was
said, and accordingly it has been in a yet higlier de-
gree than other grain, the object of parliamentary pro-
tection. We have chosen to assume that 73s, 41s, and

31s, are the prices that express the fair relation of the
cost of gTowth of wheat, of barley, and of oats re-
spectively— and the result shews how eminently absurd
is any legislative interference in such matters. These
prices did at no time perhaps express accurately that
relation — but, since the introduction of the four-course
system of husbandry, which dispenses with fallow, and
those improvements in cultivation whicli have rendered
I he lighter soils as applicable to wheat as to barley and
oats, this assumed relation of cost has become utterly
erroneous and devoid of foundation. What has been
the consequence? Why — that whereas by your laws,
you say that wheat shall be 78s i)er cent, dearer than
barley, and 135s per cent, dearer than oats ; it has been
during no inconsiderable period about, or very little
above the price of oats, and actually below the price
of barley. It has been during the past year cheaper,
than at any period within half a century in England,
cheaper even than the mean price of the countries from
which chiefly we import it. The very article which it
has been tlie darling object of your policy to keep not
only high in price, but steady— which you will not per-
mit the people of England to eat unless they will pay
dearly for it — has fallen to a rate which has madeitan
economical food for pigs. But this is a temporary
evil, it may be said, and will cure itself. No doubt.
It is in a rapid process of cure. Your admirable sys-
tem, having wasted an enormous portion of the capital
of the producers of corn, is now about to show how suc-
cessfully it can afflict the consumers. Capital has been
abstracted to so great an extent from the growth of
wheat, that unless we have a harvest this year of un-
usual productiveness, we shall see prices before the
crop of 1838 can be reaped, which will, I suspect pro-
duce remonstrances from the manufacturing districts
very different in tone from the language in which they
now address you. But, setting aside the effect of mo-
nopoly to produce the fluctuations I have described —
conceding that our harvests are always to be of uniform
produce— admitting that we can succeed m maintaining
a state of partial dearth— which is never to rise into
abundance on the one hand, or to sink into famine on
the other. Admitting for a moment all these impossi-
bilities, could you then keep up the price of corn consi-
derably above the level of other countries 1 Even then.
Sir, it would be impossible. One of two things must
happen ; either your manufacturing capital w^ould de-
part to other shores, and the population which it at pre-
sent supports, must be reduced by emigration, or the
more dreadful process of misery ; and the home mar-
ket for corn being thus limited, the price of course re-
duced, or you would drive your labourers to cheaper
food, and thus equally diminish the demand for wheat.
It is an absolute condition of the existence of our ma-
nufactures, that the rate of w-ages should not be greatly
above the rate in other manufacturing countries, and if
the price of bread be such that it is not within the reach
of the operative, he will betake himself to potatoes.
Where will then be your market for corn 1 What the
condition of the humbler classes'! What their re-
sources against famine 1 What will the chances of the
preservation of order, or the stability of property be
worth? I repeat you cannot maintain permanently a
price of grain much above the average price of other
countries, the utmost you can achieve by legislative in-
terference is to produce a miserable fluctuatiou, alter-
nately crushing into rum the farmer or the manufac-
turer, and always injuring both. But can this state of
thing-s be really and permanently for the beneflt of the
landlord?— (//ear .^ Can rents nominally higher, but
oiten unpaid, compensate to him for the ruin of his te-
nants, the impoverishment of his land, and the slow
but sure destruction of that manufacturing and com-
mercial greatness, to which alone he owes the superiority
of liis condition over the landholders of any other coun-
try under Heaven ? By grasping at the shadow will
he not lose the substance? The overflowing wealth
which commerce and manufactures have poured into
the lap of England, and the demand which the crowded
cities, which have grown up at their bidding, afford for
every production of the soil, confer upon land in this

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

305

country a value absolutely unknown in any other
country, and until comparatively a recent period, un-
known in our own. Ample proof of this fact is to be
found in the report of jMr. Jacob, wlio in the years 1826
and 1827 visited, by dii'ection of government, the g-reat
corn-growing' countries of Europe. Throughout Den-
mark, Prussia, Poland, Gallicia, and Hanover — through
out the wide regions watered by the A^istula, the Weser,
and the Elbe — either rent does not exist at all, the pro-
prietor being under the necessity of cultivating- his own
estate — or it varies from 5s per acre to ISd per acre.
By the testimony of Locke, it appears that 5s per acre
was a rack-rent in his time in England, Not the
smallest additional development can be given to the
operation of the steam-engine — not the least improve-
ment can be effected in the loom, which does not add
to the value of every landed estate in the kingdom. It
is not in the higher price of corn alone that the advan-
tages of the English landholder consist. — (Hear, hear.).
The admirable roads, the means of transport by canals
and railroads, the abundance of capital, the facillity of
credit, the demand for those articles in which he never
can be rivalled by the foreig'n agriculturist — for animal
food, for milk, for butter, for esculents, for hay, for
straw — all these are advantages of which it is not easy
to over-estimate the value. The English landholder
possesses a natural monopoly in being- proprietor of the
soil in the richest and most densely-peopled country in
the world ; by attemping to add to it an artificial mono-
poly, he may lose some of his present but can gain
no additional advantages. The precise degree in which
we can afford to pay more for the necessaries of life
than is paid by other nations, is the degree to which by
our greater capital and s'iill, and the possession of coal
and iron, we can underwork those nations in manu-
factures. The only mode by which we can be assured
of not over-stepping those limits, is by leaving- the trade
in the necessaries of life free. To preserve that commer-
cial and manufacturing- superiority which gives to the
British landholder his present pre-eminence, vnll de-
mand in any case an arduous struggle ; by permitting a
free trade in the necessaries of life — thus raising- the
price in those countries which are our manufacturing-
rivals, and depressing it in our own — you take the best
means in your power to render us successful in that
struggle. But I repeat that under any circumstances,
success will be of difficult attainment — without an al-
teration in our present system it will be impossible.
Sir, I well know the answer that will be made to this as-
sertion. I shall be referred to the increasing amount of
our exports as proof that our corn-laws are not incon-
sistent with the prosperity of our manufacturing- in-
terests. It is with the full knowledge of the facts on
which such an argument may be grounded, that I re-
peat my deliberate conviction that our manufactui-ing
and commercial supremacy trembles in the balance.
Our corn-laws affect 'our manufacturing interests by
a double process — first by depriving our manufactures
of extensive markets which would be otherwise open to
them, and secondly, by disabling them from success-
fully competing with their foreign rivals in those mar-
kets to which both have access. You have already lost
or are rapidly losing your European markets. How
long will you retain those of the other portions of the
world? On this point 1 beg to call the attention of the
House to a document recently circulated by the " Cotton
Association of Glasgow and the West of Scotland," re-
lating to the cotton manufacture, by far the most im-
portant of all the branches of our n-ational industiy. I
find it there stated, that the consumption on the con-
tinent of Europe of raw cotton was 1-ast year upwards
of 600,000 bales— that the cotton manufacture of France
has increased in ten years 58 per cent., whilst ours has
mcreased only 50 per cent. ; but in the same time that
of the United States of America has increased 121 per
cent. I find it stated that cotton hosiery is manufactured
in Germany so cheap, that it is imported into this coun-
try, notvyithstanding an import duty — that of cotton
yarn theinnportation is gradually confining itself to the
finer qualities cle-arly proving that even in spinning,
that especial branch of the manufacture in which we
have been accustomed to consider ourselves secure from

competition, the exertions of our continental rivals are
daily becoming more formidable ; that in every market
of the world, in Mexico, in the Brazils, in China, in
India, at Malta, at Smyrna, and Constantinople, the
heavy cotton cloths of the United States of America
enter into successfal competition with the produce of
the English looms. I find it asserted that in America
the manufacturer gets his raw material cheaper, that on
the continent of Europe wages are lower than in Eng-
land, whilst in both water power supplies at a cheaper
rate the ag-ency of steam. Now, I intreat of the House
to weigh attentively the object with which these repre-
sentations are made ; it is to induce the legislature to
take off the small tax yet levied on the importation of
cotton wool, five-eighths of one penny per pound,
amounting on the whole of the goods manufactured to
only 2 per cent. ; and it is the deliberate opinion of the
association that the removal of even this amount of
pressure is essential to enable the British manufacturer
to endure the competition of his foreign rivals. I he-
sitate not to say that the association is right, and that
the duty must be taken off. But I say further, that
this relief will not suffice— that wages, which form so
much larger a component part of the cost of manu-
factured goods, cannot in England permanently
remain much above the wages paid in similar
branches of manufacture in other countries, and
that such approximation of the rate of wages here
and abroad can only take place without a con-
vulsion by an -approximation also in the prices of the
necessaries of life. Of the amount of risk we should
incur by seriously endangering the loss of the foreign
market for our cotton goods, the House will judge when
I state that of the cotton manufacture, which leaves for
piofit on capital and wages of labour not less than
25,000,000/ per annum, and employs or supports from
two to three millions of individuals, two-thirds, or per-
haps three-fourths, find a vent in foreign markets. That
under our present system these, the chief sources of our
national wealth and greatness, will be dried up ; that if
we do not abrogate the corn-laws — those laws v/hich,
whilst they exclude us from one-half of the markets of
the world, will render us unable to support competition
in the other. We shall sooner or later lose our manu-
facturing supremacy, I hold to be certain. ]\Iy own
opinion is, that the epoch of that loss will not be long
delayed — but, be its occurrence nearer or more remote
— if there be truth in reasoning-, or certain anticipations
to be drawn from experience — come assuredly it will.
In the issue of this great experiment, the landowners
are more deeply interested than any other class of the
British people. (There was here some indication of
counting the House.) The hon. member observed that
it was a most unworthy mode of getting- rid of the ques-
tion without the cognizance of government. (Hear,
hear.) Ha continued, I repeat that the landowners are
more interested in the issue of the question than any
other class of the community. If England retain her
present commercial and manufacturing superiority — if
she be, by the enjoyment of a free trade in the necessa-
ries of life permitted to advance in ker career of pros-
perity— if, as her population increases, her wealth in-
creases in a yet greater ratio. If her people acquire an
increasing command over the comforts and enjoyments
of existence, there will be a safe and extending market
for every various produce of the soil, and land will im-
prove in value by a sure and rapid process. If, on the
other hand, our commerce should decay, if our manu-
facturers— excluded from the continent of Europe —
should be undersold in transatlantic markets, and the
niiillons who depend on them should be left without
employment, what would then be the condition of Eng-
land 1 I will not dwell upon a prospect appalling- to
contemplate, I will only remind the House that should
such ever be our condition, the wealthy capitalist — the
skilful artisan would quit our shores; leaving an un-
employed and desperate population as a burden on the
landholder, who must perforce remain a witness and a
victim of the ruin he would have caused. Having now.
Sir, stated to the House,- however inadequately, the
amount and nature of the risk we incur by a prolonged
existence of the present corn-laws, and the deep in-

306

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

terest which all classes of the community have in
their immediate abrosration, it remains for me to point
out what regulations I would substitute in their place.
I would propose to sweep wholly away the system of
average and fluctuating- duties, and to leave the impor-
tation of every species of grain perfectly free, subject
only to a moderate fixed duty. I would abolish the
fluctuating duties, because in whatever degree reduced,
they would still be destructive of the most essentia] ele-
ment of a free trade ; viz., a certainty as to the amount
of the charges on the importation of foreign corn. 1
would have the fixed duty of moderate amount as a
higli fixed duty would, of course, in proportion as it ope-
rated to the exclusion of foreign corn, produce all, or
nearly all, the evils I have ascribed to the present sys-
tem. The duty should be in amount an exact equiva-
lent for the burthens vi'hich the agricultural capitalist
has to sustain beyond what is borne by the rest of his
fellow citizens, and which enhance the cost at which his
produce can be brought to market. The amount of
those burthens is clearly the exact measure of the
protection to which the agricultural interest is entitled ;
for whilst on the one hand it is both just and expedient
that the weight of taxation should be diffused equally
over the whole community, and not be permitted to
press more heavily on one branch of the national indus-
try than another ; on the other it cannot be ^contended
that the taxation which is raised from the agTicultural
classes in their character, not of producers, but of con-
sumers, that taxation which falls only on the rent of the
landlord, or the profits cf the farmer, can give a claim
for yjecvdiar protection. Having defined tlie rule by
which the new duty should be calculated, I might
fairly, perhaps, leave my motion in the hands of tlie
House, and devolve on the committee the task of apply-
ing that rule. I feel, however, that the more open and
candid course, although not the best adapted for secur-
ing support to my motion, is to state whatin my opinion
should be the amount of the permanent duty. I should
propose, if the House accede to my motion, that the new
law should come into operation on the 1st of June of
this year. That from that time to the 1st of June, 1838,
the duties should be lOs jier quarter on wheat, Rs on
barley, and 6s on oats; to the 1st of June, 1839, 8s on
wheat, 6s on barley, and 4s on oats ; and from that
time permanently 5s per quarter on wheat, 4s per quar-
ter on barley, and 3s per/quarter on oats. The ground
on which I fix the relation between the different kinds
of grain I have named; the duties to be fixed on the
less important sort I have not named will be matter of
discussion in the committee. T will now merely say that
the duties I have mentioned are more than a full equi-
valent for the whole of those charg-es which press exclu-
sively on the landed interest, or enhance the cost of
growing corn. Sir, it may perhaps be expected that I
should express some opinion as to what would be the
price of corn in England under such a law as 1 have
proposed. My own complete conviction is, that with a
free trade and a duty of 5s wheat could not to the extc;nt
of one fortnight's consumption of the kingdom be im-
ported under 40s to 45s per qr, that would of course be
the mean price of this country, and minus the duty and
cost of transport the price of every country with which
we have intercourse. I am aware that this conclusion
is at variance equally with the opinions of the most
cag-er advocates and strongestopponents of the abolition
of the corn laws ; but I am, on full investigation, satis-
fied of its cori'ectness, and I state it, because whilst I
believe the benefits and blessings which a free trade
in corn would confer on every class of the community
are scarcely to be calculated ; but I am anxious that
the true nature of those benefits and blessings should
not be misunderstood on the one hand, nor the sacrifice
at which they are to be obtained, overrated on the other.
A free trade in corn would restore those friendly and
intimate commercial relations with the nations of the
world, which our corn laws have interrupted— relations
not to be shaken, because they would rest upon the na-
tural wants and ca])abilities of twery country, and be
cemented by the interchange of mutual benefits. A
free trade in corn, whilst it would re-open to our manu-
facturers the markets of Europe, would, by ensuring to

them a moderate and steady price of the necessaries of
life, enable them to support competition in those of the
nevy world. Nor is there any sufficient ground for
believing that these most important national objects
would be gained at the price of any considerable de-
rangement in British Agriculture. I have already
sho\vn, on grounds which cannot, as I think, be im-
pugned, of wliat deep, what vital importance to the per-
manent well-being of all the classes concerned in the
cultivation of the soil is a free trade in corn. That ob-
ject should be steadily pursued by the agricultural in-
terests, whatever be the amount of temporary inconve-
nience by which the return to a sound system should be
accompanied. But the amount of that inconvenience
habeen g'reatly overrated. It is impossible, I think,
attentively to weigh the evidence given to the committee
of last session, without perceiving' that the protection
hitherto given to agriculture has had the same effect in
that instance as in all trades to which it has been ap-
plied, viz., that it has paralyzed exertion and caused the
misapplication of capital. I do not believe that more
than a very moderate quantity of foreign grown wheat
could be laid down here at less than from 40s to 45s per
quarter, and I am altogether sceptical as to the British
agriculturist being unable to grow it at that price. He
has enormous advantages over his foreign competitor,
and with the improved culture and more judicious ap-
plication of capital, which would follow on the estab-
lishment of free trade, I doubt whether more than a
very small portion of the land of England would be
found incapable of producing corn at a price to compete
with the foreign growth. If, instead of persisting in the
absurd and unjustifiable attempt to keep up the price
at which corn shall be sold, we apply the vast resources
at our command to cheapen the cost of its production,
I believe that not only the present, but a much larger
quantity might be grown, and grown with a profit at a
rate to defy foreign competition. This is the palh which
has led to our triumphant success in manufactures, and,
I believe, tliat in agriculture it would lead to a like re-
sult. No doubt, with an increasing population, a pe-
riod must arrive when this process could be carried no
further. Even the vast advantages possessed by the
British agriculturist would not enablel him indefinitely
to augment the produce of the soil of England. The
great value of a free trade in corn is, that it would indi-
cate the precise point at which the aidstobe derived from
a dense population, and the application of capital and
science would cease to counterbalance the effect of the
mere' fertility of soil in 'countries not possessing such ad-
vantages. I b«lieve that period to be yet remote. Ample
support for this opinion might be drawn from the evi-
dence given to the committee of last session, but I feel
that it is totally unnecessary that I should trespass on
the indulgence of the House for this purpose— all such
considerations merg-e in the wider conclusion — the
grounds for which it has been my main object clearly to
lay before the House, viz., that an equality, or nearly
an equality, in the price of the necessaries of life in this
country, and those which are our manufacturing rivals,
is the absolute condition, 1 will not say of our prospe-
rity, but of the security, almost of the existence of
our social system. It it be really true that wheat can
be grown in other countries at a cost which would ad-
mit of its being laid down here at a price much lower
than I have named, that fact only renders more certain
the advent of the ruin which I have predicted as a con-
SGouence of a perseverance in our present system. In
conclusion, Sir, I would implore of the members of this
House, more especially of that large portion connected
with the agricultural interests, to weigh calmly and dis-
passionately that whicii I have laid before them. Mine
has been little more than the humble merit of bringing
into one view the overwhelming arguments which bear
upon this great question ; but to those arguments can
there be a reply ? I call on them as men of honoura-
ble fueling, to free themselves from the suspicion of le-
gislating with sordid views and for their own immediate
benefit. 1 call ofiliiem as statesmen to expunge from our
ovvn statute-book those laws which are a disgrace to the
intelligence of the age — which furnish an excuse for every
ling'ering: error, for every absurd restriction in our com-

^\

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

307

mercml code. I call on them as lovers ot their country
to avert the dreadful calamities which a perseverance in
our present system will at no distant period, entail on
England. I warn them as prudent men, to delay no
long-er the solving^ a question — on the wise solution of
which depends, I venture to assure them, not the value
only, but perhaps the very tenure of their estates.
(Cheers.)

Mr. VILLIERS seconded the motion.

The Marquis of CH ANDOS said that this question
now came before the House, in a way that he must con-
gratulate his countrymen upon, it was now no longer a
question of protection to the farmer or the agricultural
interest, but it was free trade. The agricultural interest
wanted no monopoly, all that they wanted was arig'htto
ask for protection against the foreigner, which the manu-
facturer at present had. He must confess tliat he did
hope that some member of the g'overnment of the country
would have expressed an opinion early in the debate,
upon this important subject, but when he looked at the
Treasury Benches, he was at a.loss to conceive what
course his Majesty's Ministers meant to take. He con-
sidered it the bounden duty of the Government of the
country to take some steps in the question, and to state
whether they intended to support the proposition of the
hon. member for the Tower Hamlets, for free trade or
not ; because, if it went to the country that free trade was
the object, and that object was backed by ministers, he
would venture to say that the greatest alarm would be
created throughout the country. He knew that he had
laid himself open to much blame and censure in that
House for advocating the interests of that class to which
he belonged ; in doing so, however, he felt the g'ratifi-
cation of knowing that he had no object to serve but to
protect the interests of the agriculturists, and if protec-
tion was not afforded to them the greatest act of injustice
was committed. ^ — (Cheers.) With the hon. member
who had opened the debate he differed entirely ; he had
foi'gotten if the free trade system he had advocated was
introduced and became law, that it would, to a gTeat
extent, ruin the labourers of the country. — (Cheers.)
Would he advocate a diminution of wages, and see the
poor man starving. " Live and let live," was a motto
well known in the country, but it was not followed by
the hon. member for the Tower Hamlets. — (Cheers.)
He took protection to himself, but he would not grant it
to the farmers.— (C/ieers.) He (Lord Chandos) knew
that for many years the corn-laws had been a subject of
great jealousy and clamour in the country ; but that
arose from the attempt on the part of certain individuals
to mislead their fellow -subjects. They had attempted
to show that the farmer was a monopolist, and that so
long as he could take of his own interest, it mattered not
to him what became of that of others. — ( Cheers.) Were
the farmer and landowner to be thus stigmatised, were
they to be denominated as a set of men that lived only
for themselves ^—fC/ieers.^ Monopoly the farmers had
not, neither did they desire ; all they wanted was fair
remuneration, and protection such as the hon. gentleman
and manufacturer already had. Was the hon. member
prepared to support the foreigner at the expense of the
English farmer 7 he, (Lord Chandos) felt no doubt if
he was, that a British House of Commons would not go
along with him. — (Cheers.) Would the House tolerate
the proposition that there should be a free trade in corn
but not in manufactures ? The farmer required protec-
tion as well as the manufacturer, that was all he asked
for, and all he required. They wanted equal justice
and equal protection, and he (Lord Chandos), on their
behalf, would not consent to give up that which was
their undoubted right upon tiny notion of free trade. —
(Clieers.) When associations were formed for the pur-
pose of exciting feelings of distrust towards the agricul-
turists, it was time to take the question in hand boldly
and manfully and resist associations of such descriptions.
— (Clieers.) They had been told in the course of the
hon. gentleman's speech, that he owed everything to the
manufactunng' interests. How, he would ask, did Eng-
land maintain itself during the war 1 Would the hon.
gentleman state, that the landed proprietors did nothing-
then; did they not pay heavy debts, did they not find
arms ?— ( Cfteers.) — and if it had not been for that interest

during the war, he had no hesitation in saying that many
whovvere now settingin that House never would have sat
there. — (C'leers) He would admit that much benefit
might arise to the agricultural interest by an alteration
of the averages, fraudulent ones had no doubt existed,
and great difficulty had arisen; but he felt confident
that the House would do no good but much mischief to
the land-owners and agnculturists if they acceded to
the proposition of the hon. member's. If they depended
upon foreigners in the hour of distress, God help them !
— ( Clieers.) He would not sacrifice the interests of the
country to the interests of the foreigner, and he should
therefore oppose the proposition of the hon. member. In
his opinion, the present system of corn-laws, notwith-
standing all that had been said against them, had been
more satisfactory to the country than any other measure.
Lord DARLINGTON said he felt his incapacity to
discuss the question with proper ability, but he should
feel that he neglected his station, and the interest he re-
presented in that House, if he did not offer his senti-
ments on the subject. He was devoted to the landed
interest, but he would never advance an argument in
favour of that interest which had the tendency to pre-
judice another interest. The corn-laws were framed to
protect the English growers from the inundation of corn
from foreign countries, in particular from the Baltic ;
and since the period of their formation, the outcry had
never ceased against, what was called, an undue pro-
tection to the English farmer. With regard to free trade,
he considered the principles of free trade to be incom-
patible with the commercial situation of this country.
The policy of the corn-laws had been so often discussed,
that it was impossible to add anything new. The sub-
ject resolved itself into a very narrow compass. In his
judgment, the question was whether the agricultural
interest, with all its large dependencies^ and the large
proportion of the population employed directly and in-
directly in it, ought to be protected? (Hear.) It had
been argued that the manufacturing interest ought to
be considered the paramount interest, and that the agri-
cultural interest was inferior to the manu*'acturing inte-
rest. He (Lord Darlington) considered that the agri-
cultural interest was the primary interest, and that to
that interest the country owed the proud eminence
which she at present possessed. (Hear.) Ho was no
advocate for free trade ; the country had been too long
misled by free-trade theories ; but if free trade was es-
tablished he would not be the member to stand out for
an exclusive protection to agriculture. (Hear.) What
had been the effect in foreign countries with respect to
our free trade 1 Why the more we had relaxed our pro-
hibitions, and the further we had pushed the principles
of free trade, the greater was the imposition and advan-
tage taken by the continental powers. Look at France
for instance, that country had relaxed some of its pro-
hibitions, and yet it had taken the most unceasing ad-
vantage of our free trade vagaries. He did not blame
the foreign powers for looking at their own interests, he
blamed those only, v/ho relaxed their hold of those
strong positions, by which the country had acquired so
flourishing a condition. He was not so prejudiced in
favour of the laws as to say, they were the very best
which could be framed for the purpose ; buthe did con-
sider while they existed, that they formed a necessary
protection to the farmers. (Hear.)

Mr. HANDLEY congratulated the House on the
absence of all party feeling from the discussion. He
could have wished that the member for Wolverhampton
had followed the example set by all other hon. gentle-
men. He was willing to abandon the corn-laws as soon
as it could be shown that it was essential for the interests
of the community. But he did not think that period
had arrived, and it should be recollected that they were
only now recovermg from great agricultural distress,
and that but three years had elapsed since a large ma-
jority of the House had decided against interfering
with the laws as they now existed. He thought the
hon. gentleman who introduced the subject was bound
to show that some great evds had resulted from
the corn-laws. He was free to confess that he felt well
satisfied with the present sliding scale of duties. To ob-
viate fluctuation in the prices of articles in the market

308

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

affected by circumstances, was altogether impossible.
Poverty was greatest, and consumption least in those
countries where corn is cheapest. He asked, was the
Chaneelbr of the Exchequer prepared to abandon I he
taxes on malt, on spirits, tScc. ; was bread alone to be
the only commodity not subject to pay duty to the
state? He always remarked, that when bread was
cheapest the quantity consumed was diminished because
the g-reater amount of wages could be laid out in the
purchase of tea, sugar, and other luxuries. Some
observation was made early in debate, upon an anti-
corn-law society ; he beheved the hon. member for
London was at the head of it. And a notion was put
forward by them that no disadvantage would result
from a quantity of land being thrown out of cultivation,
for they need only turn it to the growing of beef. It
was his firm conviction that, loaded as this eountry was
with debt, it was quite Utopian for them to expect that
they could arrive at the plan submitted by the member
for the Tower Hamlets.

Mr. G. HEATHCOTE regretted that this subject
was brought forward at all. The agriculturists required
nothing from Parliament but to be let alone, and it was
perfectly well known that tlie intention was to g'et rid of
all duties whatsoever. Did the hon. gentleman believe
that if this change were now effected there would not
next year be an attempt at farther alteration? Until
they could find means of regulating the sunshine and
the showers, they could not prevent fluctuation in
prices. He believed England grew quite sufficient corn
for the support of its inhabitants, and that it was quite
unnecessary to resort to tlie continent or to the United
Ststes unless in case of a war. It should be remarked
that this question was always argued as if the agricul-
turists were a small and insignificant body, whereas,
they were a most numerous and influential class. He
had the honour to represent a large constituency, a
great many of vv-hom depended entirely for support on
their crops, and he trusted the House would not inter-
fere with their interests, which would have the effect of
destroying their fortunes and injuring their conditions.
Connected as he was with large landed proprietors, he
should ever stand up for the small farmers, and he hoped
the House would not by adopting the plan of legislation
now proposed, drive them to the workhouse instead of
leaving them in their present condition. He also should
notice that much of the discontent on this subject was
more in reference to the price of bread than to the price
of corn. He thought bread was much dearer in Lon-
don than it ought to be, and this was proved by the
letter of Mr. Chadwick to the poor-law guardians of
Bermondsey.
Mr. CLAY shortly replied, and the House divided —

For the motion 89

Against it 223

Majority —134

and if quarterly, as a yearly. It is clearly necessary
that a rule of this kind should be prescribed ; if it be
not, the justices will be often puzzled, and the law be-
come inoperative. With respect to tenancies above 20/
a-year value, which the bill proposes to leave to the
jurisdiction of the superior courts, witii power to the
judge to require the defendant to give security for costs,
we are disposed to think the measure too narrow. It is
a little hard that tlie owner of a 2H a-year house should
be denied the cheaper remedy which is given to the
owner of a 20/ a-year house ; nor for that matter, while
we would deny no facilities to comparatively small
people, do we think that greater folks should be de-
prived of any which can be afforded them. We think
the poor are by this contrivance deprived of a protection
which they would have on the resort of richer people to
same tribunal. These are the people who wiil_ appeal
if an injustice be done — or will apply to the Legislature
for the improvement of the tribunal, if it be inadequate.
At present the bill squints.

Agricultural Experiment. — The following
simple but very important experiment, which has
been communicated to us by an extensive and intel-
ligent farmer in the neighbourhood, demonstrates, we
think, the necessity or propriety of proving- the different
kind,-; of spring corn intended for seed before sowing. It
may be proper to state that the trial, of \yhich the result
is subjoined, was made by planting a given number of
oorns in pots, within doors ; and as this may have as-
c'".5ted the germination, a certain allowance ought to be
made on that account; at all events, we think great
care should be taken not to sow any of the very light
grain. — Montrose Review.
Of 40 corns of Scotch barlev, 541b per bush. 40 sprouted.

40 „

English „

52ib

38

40 „

Scotch ,,

511b ,

40

40 „

Chevalier ,,

501b

23

40 „

Chevalier „

491b ,

11

40 „

Eng-lish „

461b ,

27

40 „

Scotch „

461b ,

23

60 „

Common oats

381b ,

58

Landlord and Tenant. — I\Ir. Aglionby's R.e-
covery of Tenements Bill consists of two sets of pro-
visions : the first applicable to tenements under the
value of 20/ a-year, and the other set to tenements above
that value. We doubt whether the bill is extensive
enough, because the i)rovision seems to be made to
hang upon the condition that the tenancy shall have ex-
pired, or been determined by a notice to quit ; but owing
to the peculiar manner in which the small landlords
(and in many parts of the country this body of persons
is happily very numerous) let their little house*, there is
neither a stipulated tenancy nor a computable com
mencement of any defined term. The provision will
fail on that account ; and this is a chief class of cases
which require the aid of the law. The difficulty might
be obviated by taking the payment of rent to be the
criterion of the term of tenancy : thus if the rent were
payable weekly, it might be regarded as a monthly
tenancy, and on the expiration of a month's notice the
provision should apply ; so if the rent were payable
monthly, it miglit be regarded as a quarterly tenancy ;

The "J'ree Cabbage. — The ordinary meeting of the
LinuiBan Society was held on Tuesday evening, A.
B. Lambert, Esq., V.P., in the chair. The chair-
man exhibited a specimen of the tree cabbage of Jersey,
from Sir Wm. Symmonds, the stem of which was nine
feet four inches long, the diameter at 18 inches from the
root being nearly two inches. The writer also stated
that one had been grown by Lord Lauderdale which
was 13 feet 6 inches in length. A description was also
given of the courie of Australia, the circumference of
one of which lately measured was found to be about 42
feet 10 inches at about eight feet from the ground,
whilst the height was about 64 feet. Several specimens
were exhibited from Air. Bennett, collected by him in
the South Seas, amongst which was some native arrow
root, which has recently become a considerable article
of trade from the islands of the Indian Archipelago ;
yellow nankin cotton, mountain plantain, &c., copious
descriptions of wliich were read.

Herculean Peat. — On IMonday last, the 29th
ult,, the little villag-e of Northlew, in this county, was
the scene of much gaiety and amusement, by the accom-
phshment of the following extraordinary feat, by Mr.
Henry Evely, of that place. A bet of 5/ having
been previously made between him and I\Ir. Robert
Leach, of Blacktorrington, that he would, within the
short space of one hour, in his threshing' machine,
thresh 100 bushels of oats, and bind the straw into bun-
dles, the performance came off on this day, witnessed
by almost all the yeomanry in the neighbourhood — and,
extraordinary to relate, that within 47 minutes Mr. Evely
thrashed V3'3^ bushels, and bound the straw into 240
bundles — a feat unparalelled in the annals of agricul-
tural labour. The machine was erected by Mr. John
Lavis, of Crowden Mills, Northlew.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

309

ON MANURE FOR WHEAT.

We can strongly recommend the following paper,
on the choice of manure, to the notice of our readers.
It is from an able work on the varieties, properties,
and classification of wheat, bv Colonel Le Couteur : —
"The effect of different manures on wheat is very
remarkable ; it will not be necessary to say much on
the subject, as it is almost exhausted, having been
fully treated by far more able pens; but having
made some experiments on the subject, I may be ex-
cused from publishing their results.

" I confine my observations to those manures which
are within the reach of most farmers, with one or
two exceptions.

" Stable manure will, in ordinary good soils have
the effect of causing the plants to tiller much, or to
make straw and grass, thereby diminishing the pro-
duce in grain and meal considerably.

" Liquid manure, one third stable drainings, and
two-thirds water, which I caused to be poured once
over wheat that wa« just tillering, made the straw
grow rank and coarse, the grain of every variety of
wheat was dark and thick-skinned, hence containing
less meal. The same quantity and mixture of liquid
manure poured a second time over another portion
of wheat, caused it to grow so rank and full of leaves,
rather than straw, that only a few of the plants pro-
duced ears of wheat, some having run up into sharp
points, with merely the rudiments of ears indicated.
The few ears that produced corn, displayed in its
worst form, hardly in the sliapeofmeal, of adoughey
soft texture, evidently unfit for the food of man ;
besides, some of them were smutty. Thus, an over
application of manure, excellent, when judiciously
applied, becomes a poison, precisely in the same
manner as in the human constitution, a surfeit is
usually the parent of some disease.

" The wheat on either side of these experiments,
which had only been manured with the ashes of kelp,
or sea-weed, was health v, productive, and farina-
ceous in the highest degree.

" My attention was particularly called to the pro-
per application of manures by an old and experienced
farmer, who considered kelp or the ashes of rock sea
weed, that which is cut, the best of all. I am con-
vinced by subsequent experience, that two or three
pounds worth of it per acre, spread at the proper
period, about two months before sowing time, would
always more than repay itself.

" it attracts moisture from the atmosphere, it
materially increases the volume of the grain, and
fineness of the sample ; but does not add to the
weight of the straw, though rendering it whiter and
more nourishing to cattle. It causes the wheat
to assume a rich healthy appearance, and is an excel-
lent application after a crop of potatoes or parsnips,
bdth of which require land to be richly dressed with
stable or other strong manures, and has not the
effect of decomposing them, as lime does.

" It is also destructive to insects and their eggs,
which lie in tlie soil or turf ; it forces the earth-
worms and wire-worms from their lurking places to
come to the surface and die ; particularly when
laid on in a larger quantity than I have named,
some farmers being in the habit of putting on double,
even treble the quantity above stated — but I believe
without having produced proportionably larger
crops from inferior land ; though it has been as-
serted that its effect is very permanent, being espe-
cially apparent on the succeeding clover crops.

" I am inclined to believe that paring and burning
an old ley will almost produce an equally good
effect where the land is suited for it ; for although
the ashes may not be of that superior quality, or

possessing all those virtues peculiar to kelp ashes,
and the much greater portion of ashes that can by
this means be spread on the land may make amends
in quantity for quality.

" An additional circumstance in favour of paring
and burning is, that all the seeds or weeds, or the
eggs and insects which lie concealed in the turf,
are thereby destroyed more effectually than by any
repeated ploughings.

" The careful experience of five years on this
head has convinced me of the propriety of this prac-
tice occasionally, especially on ground infested with
couch or knot-grass. From three acres of land that
had been pared and burned, which produced five
hundred and forty single horse loads of ashes, I ob-
tained a very heavy crop of turnips ; the following
year I raised ninety-one thousand pounds of potatoes,
and by an application of about forty-five bushels of
lime per acre, I have since reaped fifty-one imperial
bushels of wheat per acre ; the straw also was of
very fine growth, five feet high, and exceedingly
white and bright.

" Kelp ashes should lay on the surface of the soil
a month or two previous to sowing time, in order to
weaken their caustic power, or they are otherwise
apt to burn the young and tender shoots of the corn,
as well as the larvae of insects ; but by laying a cer-
tain length of time on the surface exposed to the ac-
tion of the atmosphere, or perhaps, what would be
better practice, merely lightly turned into the soil,
they become eminently beneficial.

" I am so partial to the use of ashes, that I should
recommend those who have large woods or forests to
employ women and children to collect the dry and
broken boughs and under shrubs to be burned for
the sake of the ashes, which would be found nearly
equal to those of sea-weed, and could thus be pro-
cured at a much cheaper rate ; besides gaining the
advantage of converting what is now wasted, or neg-
lected, into a most valuable and permanent manure,
perfectly free from weeds, and destructive to insects
and worms.

" Ashes are further beneficial, in as much as they
attract the moisture from fogs and dews, and retain
it a considerable length of time.

" Lime is so well understood as a manure for
wheat, that it would be a mere waste of time to say
more on the subject than as far as my own experience
goes ; it appears to impart a greater degree of white-
ness to the straw than any other manure. Its other
excellent qualities of absorbing moisture from the
atmosphere in dry weather, on light or gravelly soils,
and increasing the weight of the grain, are well
understood ; it is to be lamented that some general
rule for its application is not made known, as, in the
best books I have consulted on the subject, it varies
in the extraordinary proportion from fifty-six to
five hundred bushels per acre, which last appears to
me to be an absurd quantity.

" I have found it to answer perfectly at the rate of
forty or fifty bushels an acre on a good loam, and I
should apprehend that double that quantity ought to
be sufficient for the poorest land, unless it be to de-
stroy moss, when a still larger top dressing is required,
which, if well harrowed in, does it effectually. This
commixture of turf and lime, if soon after ploughed
in, in turn becomes itself a manure for the very soil
the turf previously rendered barren.

"Soot is said to be an excellent top-dressing. I
have tried it but once, without having perceived the
advantageous results that are said to be derivable
from it ; it is only in the environs of towns or villages
that it can be obtained in sufficient quantity to be
available to a large farmer.

Y

310

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

CASTLE-DOUGLAS ANNUAL
SHOW.

SEED

This exhibition took place on Monday, March 27,
and notwithstanding the unpropitious nature of har-
vest 1836, the several kinds of grain that were pre-
sented for examination, were, in regard to quality,
really excellent. The following is a copy of the re-
port which was submitted by the judges, after they
had examined the lots that were brought forward : —
Messrs. Alexander Sproat, Brighouse ; Anthony
Rigg, Torrkatrine ; Robert M'Knight, Airyland,
having been appointed judges of the Seeds exhibited
here this day, after a careful examination of the lots
brought forward, came to the following decisions ; —

POTATOE OATS.

1st Prize, Mr, M'Guffog, Nethertown, Kirkpatrick-

Durham.
2d Do., Mr. M'Myn, Arkland, Kelton.
3d Do., Mr. Herries, Haugh of Urr Mill.

HOPETOWN OATS.

1st Prize, Mr. Herries, Haugh of Urr Mill.
'2d Do., Mr. Green, Castle-Douglas.

COMMON BARLEY.

1st Prize, Mr. Biggar, King's Grange, Urr.
2d Do., J. Muirhead, Esq., of Logan, Buittle.
3d Do., Mr. Turnbull, Whitepark, Kelton.

CHEVALIER BARLEY.

1st Prize, Mr. Biggar, King's Grange, Urr.
2d Do., Mr. Hutton, Ingleston, Kelton.
3d Do., Mr. Aitken, Auchlane, Kelton.

RYEGRASS SEED.

1st Prize, Mr. Biggar, King's Grange, Urr.

2d Do. Mr. M'Guffog, Nethertown, Kirkpatrick-

Durham.

The judges considered the imported oats exhibited
entitled to a premium, although inferior to the lots
exhibited for the stewartry. The judges have no
hesitation in saying that the lots exhibited, consider-
ing the extremely unfavourable season, are of much
better quality than might have been expected.

As regards the imported oats exhibited, there was
only one sample belonging toMr. Kissockof Meikle-
Richorn, and grown by Mr. Hepburn of Cumrue.
It was evident, on examination of them, that not
much pains had been bestowed in cleaning and pre-
paring them for exhibition ; but, independent of this,
they were decidedly inferior in real quality ; and,
in comparison of the sample of potatoe oats, belong-
ing to Mr. M'Guffog, were as four shillings are to
five.

The attendance of farmers, to witness this inter-
esting sight, was very great ; and it was astonishing
to see how eagerly eveiy sample was in its turn by
them examined — no doubt with the prospect, by
another season, of carrying off the first premium.

The landed proprietors, who so kindly, from year
to year, contribute to the laudable object of improvino'
the growth of grain seeds in the stewartry, merit the
thanks of every agriculturist. Their names will be
seen in the subscription lists. The farmers, too, in
liberality of subscription, set a good example.

The general good feeling that prevails among all
parties who take an interest in the exhibition, is a
sure token of its usefulness, and almost afford a
guarantee of its long continuance. To Provost
Heweston, for his continued perseverance in this
matter since its first establishment, all parties are
much indebted — all acknowledge this ; and it must
be a source of pleasure for him to know, that his
services meet the approbation and receive the thanks
of all the friends of improvement.

We had almost omitted to notice a quantity of
potatoe seed shown by Mr. Andrew Duff, Danevale

Park, which he seems to have taken in excellent
condition ; and we are astonished how he could have
collected so large a quantity in so indifferent a sea-
son. We trust his exertions will lead him to the
discovery of a potatoe that will prove permanent and
useful.

SHOOTING DOG.

The following decision at nisi prius is of some in-
terest : —

Trespass for shooting the plaintiff's dog. — Plea —
That the said dog was of a mischievous disposition,
and unfit to be at large, whereof the plaintiff had
notice ; th-at the dog attacked the defendant, and
would have bitten him, had he not defended himself;
wherefore, in self-defence, and to protect himself
from being bitten, he killed him. Replication — de
injuria. On the part of the defendant evidence was
tendered to show that the dog was of a mischievous
disposition, and had bitten others. It was objected
that such evidence was inadmissible, as being irre-
levant to the issue.

Lord Denman, C. J. — I think it was unnecessary
to state in the plea, either that the dog was of a mis-
chievous disposition, or that the plaintiff knew it ;
for the fact of the dog having attacked the defendant
would be a sufficient justification for shooting him
in self-defence, whether the dog was of a mischie-
vous disposition or not ; but you ought to have de-
murred to the plea for setting out irrelevant facts ;
having taken issue upon the plea, I cannot say that
the evidence is immaterial.

It appeared that as the defendant was passing the
plaintiff's house, the dog ran out and bit the defen-
dant's gaiter, and that, ou defendant's turning round
and raising a gun, which he had in his hand, the dog
ran away, and that, as he was running away, and
before he had got more than five yards o&', the de-
fendant shot and killed him. And it was contended
that the above evidence did not support the plea ;
that it ought to have been proved that, at the time
the defendant shot the dog, he was in the act of at-
tacking him ; whereas here it appeared that he was
running away ; and Vere v. Lord Cawder, 11 East.
568, and Wright v. Ramscott, 1 Saund. 84, were
cited.

Lord Denman, C. J. — I think that the plea has
not been proved, and the only question, therefore,
for the jury will be one of damages. The circum-
stance of a dog being of a ferocious disposition, and
being at large, is not sufficient to justify shooting
him; to justify such a course, the animal must be
actually attacking tha party at the time. Verdict
for the plaintiff — Damages Is. Morris v. Nugent,
7 C. & P. 572.

The late Major Aubrey, of sporting' notoriety, thus
speaks of that valuable medicine, Harvey's Restorative
Cordial : — " I attribute shattered nerves and general
debility to the morning club and the evening- rubber.
I was oblig-ed to discontinue the amusement, and after
consulting' half the medical men m London, I tried in
despair Harvey's Restorative Cordial, which set me
on my leg's again, and enabled me to undergo the fa-
tigue of writing these pages, which will 1 hope be ser-
viceable as a warning to youth against play, and to age,
debility, or premature decay, as pointing out a means
of relief." — Short Whist by Major A*****

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

311

TO THE EDITOR OF THE BRISTOL
MERCURY.

Sir, — As our legislators are passing act after act
of parliament for intersecting tlie country and ap-
proahing our principal cities and towns with rail-
roads, I consider I shall be rendering the public a
service by putting them in possession of means by
which many a valuable house may be saved from de-
struction ; and, however novel the attempt may ap-
pear to an English mind, I hereby state 1 have wit-
nessed the removal of 10 brick-built houses in the
United States of America, seven of which were 3
stories high, adjoining each other, and were removed
back 7 feet; the other three were separate buildings
4 stories in height, '25 feet in width by 40 feet in
depth. So safe was the operation that the furniture
■was not removed, while the inhabitants re-
sided in each house during the whole of the process,
and upon placing a basin of water on a table in one
of the rooms there was not the least vibration visible
upon the water. I shall feel pleasure in shewing
any gentleman my plans, sections, and specifications,
explaining the method by which the undertaking is
accomplished, on his calling at my residence, Mon-
days and Wednesdays, between the hours of eleven
and three o'clock. — I remain, sir, yours, respectfully,
JOSEPH HARTLAND.
Castle-Green, March 20,

Centrifugal Water Machine, — A number of
gentlemen lately availed themselves of the invita-
tion of Mr. W. Hodson, of Upwell, to witness the
working of a water machine, lately erected on his farm,
by Mr. Whinfield,of Wisbeach. The machine being on
an entirely new principle, considerable curiosity was felt
to witness its powers, for though several that were there
had seen the effect of the model, they were struck with
the quantity of water thrown up by this enlarged ma-
chine. The quantity raised, three feet six inches per
hour, with six horses, was estimated at about 40,000
cubic feet; but it was the opinion of the scientific men
present, that its powers might be almost indefinitely in-
creased. This might be effected by enlarging the aperture
at the bottom by which the water is admitted, and in-
creasing the velocity of the machine. It requires, how-
ever, a few more experiments to ascertain the extent of
its power : and it is hoped enough public spirit will be
found to perfect a machine which promises to be so use-
ful in a district so dependent on artificial drainage. The
company were highly gratified by the exhibition, and
felt much indebted to Mr. Hodson and others who had,
with so much trouble and expence, provided so rich a
treat. It is understood that it will remain for some time
in its present situation, that other gentlemen may have
an opportunity of witnessing its powers. The novelty
of the principle — the singularity of the machine — and
the flowing of the water, form altogether a scene so
striking, that to be appreciated it must be seen. The
principle is not only diflferent, but essentially different
from either the pump or the water wheel, and were there
nothing else it would amply repay a journey to Upwell,
to witness so strange a phenomenon. To see water
rushing up without the aid of valves or buckets, appears
truly surprising, not merely to the vulgar, but also to the
man of science, who, struck with the simplicity of the
principle, is surprised how it could have so long escaped
his notice. Another recommendation of the above ma-
chine is, the small expense at which it can be erected,
yvhich -with, some may operate in its favour. Great praise
is due to Mr. Brewin, the inventor, who has spared no
pains or expense to bring the machine to perfection, and
who at his sole cost erected one on his own premises,
capable of raising ten barrels of water per minute, by
means of a ci'ank and two men.

ALE AND SACK.

(From Mr. Ainsworth's " Crichton."

Your Gaul may tipple his thin, thin wine.
And prate of its hue, and its fragrance fine,
Shall never a drop pass throat of mine
Again — again !

His claret is meagre (but let that pass,^
I can't say much for his hippocrass.
And never more will I fill my glass

With cold champaign.

But froth me a flaggon of English ale.
Stout, and old, and as amber pale,
Which heart and head will like assail —
Ale — ale be mine !

Or brew me a pottle of sturdy sack.
Sherries and spice, with a toast to its back,
And need shall be none to bid me attack
That drink divine !

SONG OF THE MONTH.

March, March ! why the deil don't you march

Faster than other months out of your order ?
You're a horrible beast, with the wind from the East,

And high-hopping hail and slight sleet on your border :
Now, our umbrellas spread, flutter above our head.

And will not stand to our arms in good order :
While, flapping and tearing, ihey set a man swearing.

Round tlie corner, where blasts blow away half the
border !

March, March ! I am ready to faint.

That St. Patrick had not his nativity's casting ;
I am sure, if he had, such a peaceable lad

Would have never been born amid blowing and
blasting :
But as it was his fate. Irishmen should emulate

Doing what Doom, or St. Paddy may order ;
And if they're forced to fight through their wrongs for
their right.

They'll stick to their flag while a thread's in its border.

March, March! have you no feeling.

E'en for the fair sex who make us knock under !
You cold-blooded divil, you're far more uncivil

Than Summer himself with his terrible thunder !
Every day we meet ladies down Regent-street,

Holding their handkerchiefs up in good order ;
But, do all that we can, the most merciful man

Must see the blue noses peep over the border.
— Bentley's Miscellany.

Caution to Ostlers, Carmen, and Others.
— Some time ago a person in the village of
Polmont, in Stirlingshire, purchased a horse for a tri-
fling sum, and went about with it in a cart selling gar-
vies. It seems that the beast had been sold while af-
fected with glanders, and the young man who had
boughtj it became, by contact with the virulent matter,
inoculated with the disease, and last week died in a
shocking state. — Scotsman.

Commutation of Tithes. — The tota number
notices under the English Tithe Composition Act re-
ceived by the commissioners is 753.

Y 2

312

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

AGRICULTURAL REPORTS.

GENERAL AGRICULTURAL REPORT
FOR MARCH.

The atmospheric temperature of this mouth has
been the most March-like we ever recollect to have
witnessed, and, consequently, very favourable to
ploughing the land for Lent corn. The sharp frosts
have tended much to fertilize the soil and break the
clods, as also to bring the cold clays and other wet
lands into fine condition for the reception of the
seed. Though the heavy falls of snow which took
place on the 20th, 21stj and 22nd, in some degree
retarded the progress of field labour, yet the usual
work of the month was mostly brought to a con-
clusion some time before its close. A few patches
of wheat, which were inundated in February from
the eifects of the heavy rains which then prevailed,
are looking somewhat sickly ; but, with these ex-
ceptions, the plants are strong, and promising an
abundant growth.

We have heard of but few ravages having been
committed by the insects this month.

The yeaning of the ewe flocks on the South-Downs
of Sussex is now at its height, and has been pro-
ductive hitherto of a strong and healthy fall of lambs,
though much care has been required on account of
the severity of the weather.

We rejoice to be enabled to state, that but few, if
any, cases of sheep rot have occurred during the
whole of the month.

Owing to there being but little grass in the pastures
this month a considerable quantity of dry fodder has
been given to live farm stock, which has been
healthy.

Mr. Clay's motion on the Corn Laws — which was
debated on the 16th — met with that fate which every
person of rational sense previously anticipated, il
having been defeated by a majority of 134. The
alteration proposed by the hon. member in the pre-
sent laws — which alteration, no doubt, appeared to
him very feasible — was a fixed, instead of the pre-
sent fluctuating, duties. What, we will ask any
person who is acquainted with the subject, can be
more equitable, not only to the farmer, landowner,
but to the community at large, than the present
Corn Laws, which afford protection to all parties 1
Cheap bread is, we grant, very desirable, but sure
we are, that no true Englishman would for a moment
wish to ruin a nation's strength and wealth for the
purpose of obtaining it. Those who practically
understand the subject will, we conceive, coincide
with our observations. Every man, who has the
good of his country at heart, ought to rejoice, that a
proper protection 'is afforded to the tillers of Eng-
land's soil, by whose industry and skill the inhabi-
tants of this mighty empire are principally sup-
ported.

Both the London and provincial markets in the
course of the month have been moderately supplied
with most descriptions of produce, the best of which
has been disposed of at fully the prices of last
month ; but in the inferior kinds trade has been ex-
ceedingly dull, and a trifling depression has been
submitted to in extensive transactions.

The following is a retrospective statement of the
supplies and prices of fat stock exhibited and sold in
Smithfield Cattle Market in the course of the
month : —

SUPPLIES.

Beasts. Sheep & Lambs. Calves. Pigs.

210
286
340
212
384
250
396
210
330

25300

2650
22500

1996
23000

3570
22900

3962
18600

124478
108501

150
152
162

49
102

52
130

70
110

Total ,. 16586 124478 977 2618

Supply ©f^

preceding ^14455 108501 1092 2560

month. J

By the above comparison it appears, that the sup-
plies of the present month have been composed of
2,131 beasts, 15,977 sheep, and 58 pigs more ; 115
calves less than those of that which immediately
preceded it.

That portion of the above supplies which has
arrived from Norfolk in the before-mentioned period
has consisted of 5,710 Scots andhomebreds ; whilst
from Suffolk, the number has been 610 Herefords,
Devons, and Scots ; from Essex, 285 Devons,
runts, Scots, and Herefords ; from Cambridgeshire,
19") runts, Devons, Scots, and Irish beasts ; from
Lincolnshire, 1,750 short-horns and runts ; from
Leicestershire, 635 short-horns ; from Northampton-
shire, 620 short-horns, Devons, and runts ; from
Derbyshire, 145 Herefords, short-horns, runts, and
Scots ; from Staffordshire, 170 runts, homebreds,
short-horns, and Staftbrds ; from Warwickshire, 140
short-horns, Irish beasts, Herefords, and Devons;
from Oxfordshire, 77 short-horns, and Irish beasts ;
from Buckinghamshire, 87 runts, Herefords, Scots,
and homebreds ; from Worcestershire, 76 runts and
homebreds ; from Shropshire, 58 Scots and Devons :
from various parts of Wales, 90 exceedingly prime
Pembroke runts and Devons ; from Monmouthshire,
51 Herefords and Irish beasts ; from Gloucester-
shire, 130 runts; from Somersetshire, 155 Herefords
and runts; from Devonshire, 500 North Devons,
and Devonshire steers, cows, and heifers ; from
Dorsetshire, 92 Devons and runts ; from Hampshire,
114 Scots, runts, Devons, and Devonshire steers and
heifers ; from Wiltshire, 87 runts ; from Berkshire,
215 Scots, Hereibrds, runts, and Irish beasts ; from
Sussex, 200 oxen, steers, and Devons ; from Surrey,
170 Scots, Devons, and runts ; from Kent, 120
Devons, cows, and heifers ; and from Dundee,
Perth, and Leith, 970 Aberdeen, West Island, and
Fifeshire Scots. The remainder of the bullock supply,
embracing about 500 town's-end, and as many milch,
cows, was derived from the cattle-lodgers, stall-
feeders, cow- keepers, marshmen, &c., residing a few
miles from the metropolis.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

313

PRICES.

Per Slbs, to sink the offals.

Feb. 27. iMarch 27.

s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d.

Inferior Beef 8 4 to 26.. 2 4 to 2 6

Middling, do. . . 2 10 to S 6 . . 2 10 to 3 6

Prime, do 3 8 to 4 4 . . o 8 to 4 2

Inferior Mutton.. 2 10 to 3 0 ., 2 10 to 3 0
Middling, do. . . 3 6 to 4 4 , . 3 6 to 4 4
Prime ditto, ..4 8 to 5 0 .. 4 8 to 5 0

Lamb . . 7 6 to 8 0

Veal 4 6 to 5 8., 4 6 to 5 8

Pork 3 6 to 4 10 . . 3 6 to 5 0

Here Ibllows a comparison of the supplies and
prices in Smitbfield on the dates beneath stated.
At per 81bs, sinking the offals.

March 28, 1836. March 27, 1837-
s. d. s. d. 9. d. 8. d.

Coarse and inferior beasts 2 6 to 2 8... 2 4 to 2 6

Second quality de 3 0 to 3 8...2 10to3 4

Prime large oxen 3 10 to 4 2. .3 6 to 3 10

Prime Scots, &e 4 4 to 4 8... 4 0 to 4 2

Coarse and inferior sheep 3 6 to 3 10. . .2 10 to 3 0

Second quality do 4 6to5 0...3 6to3I0

Prime coarse-woolled do 5 6 to 5 8. ..4 6to4 4

Prime South Downs de 5 10 to 6 2... 4 tJto5 0

Lamb 6 4to6 10...7 6 to 8 0

Large coarse calves 4 4 to 4 10. . .4 6 to 4 10

Primesmalldo 5 0 to 5 4. ..5 2to5 8

Large hogs 3 6 to 4 2... 3 6 to 4 2

Neat small porkers 4 4 to 4 S..4 8to5 0

SUPPLIES.

March 28, 1836, March 27, 1837.

Beasts 2,580 2,700

Sheep & Lambs 14,420 18.600

Calves 185 110

Pigs 320 330

The supply of the first market-day above-mentioned
was composed — as is perceived by the above com-
parison— of 120 beasts, 4,180 sheep and lambs,
and 10 pigs less ; 75 calves more than that of the
latter.

More prime Scots have appeared in Smitbfield this
month from Norfolk than we ever recollect to have
witnessed at a similar period of the year ; whilst the
stock, generally speaking, has been of fair average
time of year quality.

The number of pigs which has reached London
from Ireland in the course of the month has been
about 720.

The supplies of sheep which have come from Es-
sex, Sussex, Kent, Surrey, Hampshire, Devonshire,
Berkshire, Wiltshire, Somersetshire, Bedfordshire,
and our great northern districts, have consisted of
south-downs, old and new Leicesters, Kents, Kentish
half-breds, old Lincolns, Dorsets, horned Somersets,
white-faced Gloucesters, and English-fed Scotch and
Welsh sheep, with 1,025 by steam vessels, from
Scotland ; those of lambs, of JDorsets.

In store stock, as also milch cows, but few trans-
actions have tiken place.

The following are the quantities of slaughtered meat
brought to Newgate and Leadenhall Markets from the
undermentioned quarters during the month, nearly the
whole of which, except the sheep and pigs from Scot-
land and Yorkshire, have arrived in hampers.

Beasts. Shkf.p. Calves. Pigs.

Number of Number of Number of Number of
Carcasses. Carcasses. Carcasses. Carcasses.
Scotland... 135 3800 — 425

Yorkshiie.. 75 3070 — 1540

Essex 55 490 890 830

Berkshire . . 98 670 665 386

Wiltshire... 92 5/4 1370 470

Gloucester. 61 512 880 436

Hampshire 78 700 1520 730

Sussex 40 500 320 400

Total .. 63; 10310 56to 6217

In addition to the above heavy supplies, about 630

packages of prime roasting and boiling pieces of beef
have arrived.

SOMERSETSHIRE.

After many bitter cold nights and days yve had a
heavy fall of snow, such as we have rarely seen so
late in March. Previous to this the spring sowing was
backward, and now the land will, when the snow
has melted, become so thoroughly drenched with wet,
as to require a full fortnight on the retentive soils before
it is fit to bear the tread of working cattle. All this is
against the crops of beans and barley which remain
to be sown, and of the latter very little is yet in the
ground. Although the month of March, has on
the whole been favourable to wheat, it does not look
well, being thin and rather weak ; this however is
but of little consequence, appearances at this stage of
its growth being often illusory. What will tell at
harvest is the great breadth intended last autumn for
wheat, which owing to the heavy rains in November
and December has not been sown. The ricks of hay on
the stock farms have become exceedinglv small, and
this second winter is quite appalling to those who from
want of turnips have been obliged to support their
flocks in great part on this and other kinds of dry
food. Store sheep are, as might be expected, generally
in low condition, and on many farms the losses both
in ewes and lambs have been heavy. During the
last three months, the butchers' shambles have ex-
hibited a pretty extensive supply of all articles
rather under the usual degree of fatness. We have,
however, within a few days, seen some superb fat
beasts, one a Durham heifer, the estimated weight
of the four quarters 1,360 pounds, intended to grace
the assize tables. Articles of this extraordinary de-
scription may find a customer at probably more than
lis a score; but good beef, quite ripe, is to be
bought and were for 10s, and inferior at 2s a score
under that price. Very complete Down wethers
command 7d a pound, while the prime long wools,
of from 231bs to 28lbs per qr, hardly exceed 6d.
Store cattle differ very much in price. Prime
heifers, with their calves, are both scarce and dear,
and readily bring 7s 6d a score, according to the
estimated weight when fat, while old cows, not
boasting any merit of breeding, do not so easily
attain to two-thirds of that price. The same ob-
servation applies to cattle intended for grazing.
Good plough steers are among the things best sold,
and will fairly repay the breeders this spring. The
state of the wheat markets may be learnt from the
fact that the unions for the quarter ending at Mid-
summer have contracted for the four pound loaf at
from 6d to 7d. The numerous public works going
on in this county, together with the usual farm
operations, have supplied abundance of labour du-
ring the winter, and all honest industrious persons
may readily get employment, fhere is indeed a
tendency in wages to advance, and if the vicious
practice of paying so much of them in cider were to
be discontinued, wages would immediately be raised,
and as we cannot but believe, the labourers and
their families proportionably benefitted. It is ge-
nerally admitted that great good has resulted from
the formation of poor law unions in Somersetshire.
Numerous abuses are being removed, expensive law
proceedings prevented, the aged and helpless better
provided for, and the healthy labourer taught to re-
spect his own independence. The long prevalence
of influenza has greatly increased the amount of re-
lief during the present quarter ; but after all, a grea

314

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

saving will be effected, with benefit both to the
payers and receivers of poor rates. — March 24.

SOUTH HAMS.

During the last fortnight the weather has been
very favourable for field labour, and considerable
progress has been made in preparing the land, and
ploughing for barley, and we consider that nearly
two-thirds of the land intended for barley is now
(20th March) actually ploughed, and many farmers
have commenced sowing ; rather more than the usual
breadth will be sown with barley in consequence of
the very wet state of the land during the preceding
three months, so much so as to prevent its being tilled
to wheat ; many who have sown a great deal of
Chevalier barley for the last two or three years, do
not intend to venture with much of it again, but to
sow chiefly the American and early Hampshire, as
the yield of the latter this season has been so much
better, as to more than counterbalance the superior
worth of the Chevalier, which generally fetches from
S!s to 3s per qr more than any other sort. Our mar-
kets for barley still remain exceedingly dull, 3s 9d
per bushel being the top price given, and a great
quantity of rather inferior quality has lately been
sold at 3s 3d and 3s 6d. The early sown wheat
looks well, but a considerable quantity of the latest
is not yet above ground ; the markets for wheat have,
for the last two or three weeks, been a little more
animated, the millers have been bu^^ing freely at 8s
3d per bushel, for wheat, and 7s lOJd for red. As
we anticipated in the autumn, the price of hay is now
rather declining, which can be attributed only to the
very great caution with which it has been used. A
respectable farmer near Kingsbridge, who tills up-
wards of one hundred acres of corn annually, and
must of course, in fact we know he does, keep an
excellent team of horses, told us last week, that all
his horses had not eaten one cwt. of hay since
Christmas ; we never recollected a season when so
many substitutes have been used for hay as during
the present winter — chaff, Swede turnips, boiled
potatoes, bran, malt dust, offal barley, and oats, have
been the principal provender which farmers' horses
have consumed ; indeed, now there is scarcely any
sale for hay, except at Plymouth, which after paying
the freight (for it is generally sent by water,) will
not fetch more than from 4/ 10s to 51 per ton, and
there is a considerable quantity left unsold here, and
the holders are greatly disappointed in not making?/
per ton, as they expected to have done. The lamb-
ing season is just now over, and on the whole, it
may be considered a good fall of lambs, and have
generally been well saved; there was a large share
of couples at Dodbrook market, which were mostly
sold at from 35s to 42s per couple. There was also
an excellent show of fat bullocks, even more than
equal to the demand (although a great many were sold)
and this we attribute again to the same cause which
we have assigned for the hay holding out as it does,
viz., the idea which prevailed at Michaelmas last,
that from the great scarcity of winter keep, it would
be next to impossible that many bullocks could be
fed during the winter, and an enormous price was
expected for beef in the spring ; and it was precisely
the same with regard to mutton, but now our markets
are all well glutted, and scarcely 7d per lb ^sinking the
offal) can be realised, notwithstanding the high price
of wool, G. ;.ss is very scarce ; and the few turnips
we had are all but done ; the vetches are very thin
and backward, consequently the store sheep are now
suffering much from want of keep, and which we
fear will cause a deficiency in the next clip of wool,

if not injure its quality. There does not appear to
be any want of potatoes as yet ; our dealers at Kings-
bridge are still well supplied at about 3s 4d per cwt
which are chiefly sent to the London and Portsmouth
markets. — Plymouth and Devonport Journal.

YORKSHIRE

AGRICULTURAL
FOR MARCH.

REPORT

Since our last report, until the first week in March
had expired, the prevailing character of the weather
V7as wet. On the 13th there was a covering of
snow, which, however, did not last long. ' The suc-
ceeding week was drying, and warm, caused by the
heat of the sun, but the air was sharp, and the nights
frosty. On the 20th there was another covering of
snow, wliich soon disappeared, and the general
character of the month inclines to cold. A N. or
N.E. wind has prevailed throughout the month.
The effects of the weather on vegetation, as might
have been expected has been most unfavourable.
The wheat crops have gone back in appearance, even
on the best and dryest soils to a great degree, and
though they rather seemed to revive during the few
warm days about the 15th, still they are below what
they were at the date of our last report. Rye looks
rather more promising. It is however, amazing how
much a few days will alter the appearance of the
autumnal crops at this season of the year ; probably
before this report is read in Yorkshire, the above
observations may be inapplicable. The seed time is
going on very slowly. No barley, — very few oats,
and not the regular quantity of beans, are put in.
The frost, the v^et, and the general ungenialityof the
season, puts a stop to all sowing, though the plough
is actively engaged, and nearly every thing is done
that the season will admit of. Turnips are very fast
consuming awav, and Swedes, yellow Aberdeens,
and Dale's hybrids, ai-e now nearly the whole stay of
the flock-master. The fall of himbs certainly seems
better than was anticipated. Many of the ewes are
somewhat weak from the scarcity of food, and some
little deficiency of milk occurs ; but there are few
losses. Perhaps there are more single lambs than
occurs in an average of years. Hay has rather re-
ceded in price, but will be in request if the present
bleak weather, and prospects of a backward spring
continue. Farm-work, with the above-mentioned
exceptions, is in a state of forwardness. Markets
are rather sluggish. The quantity of fat brought
into market keep prices down, and as regards corn,
we find that many of those who thrashed out early,
and had small stackyards, are now pulling their corn
out of the granaries. Our markets are overstocked
with seed. — March 2t.

NORFOLK.

The present is a most important season of the year to
the husbandman, and one which determines with some
degree of precision tho probable amount of productive-
ness in the forthcoming harvest. Inasmuch as a dry
March is proverbially the precursor of a fruitful year it
is satisfactory to record that the present month has been
of that description, and as far as regards the sowing of
spring corn, the farmer has been able to appreciate the
value of " March dust." The heavy land farmers have
availed themselves of the opportunity, which the late
dry weather has afforded them for tilling their land, and
for getting in their barley and oats, which operation is
already completed in a very satisfactory manner to a
considerable extent ; and even in those districts where
it is customary to give the land three ploughings before
it is seeded, that work has partially commenced with
every prospect of being in full operation in a few days.
To this extent at least the aspect of rural afl^airs may be

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE;

315

deemed satisfactory ; the farmer, however, is looking to
his wheat fields with much solicitude, but with no very
flattering- anticipations as to their ultimate productiveness.
The early sown wheats have maintained their ground
and although unusually backward, are still looking' re-
markably well ; but all those which were put in after
the third week in October, are lamentably deficient of
plants, even to the extent that in many instances it has
been deemed advisable to plough the land and take a
crop of oats. The layers also are nearly in the same pre-
dicament ; some of the sets are g'ood, but held in check
by the lonsr continuance of cold weather, but a larg-e
portion is defieient in plant, and can never produce
much grass if fed, or more than half a crop of rye-g-rass
hay of inferior quality, if suffered to come to the scythe.
The season is altog'ether unusually backward, and were
it not that the last crop of hay was somewhat plentiful,
the want of keepingr would be most severely felt, and
even as it is, expedients are resorted to which necessarily
involve an additional expence, in order to supply the
deficiency of natural provender. The reports from the
lambing' districts are upon the whole somewhat favour-
able, although exeept'ons might be adduced in which
serious losses had occurred previous to the commence-
ment of the season, in consequence of the unhealthy
condition of the ewes, arising' out of bad lodging- from
the great excess of moisture. The number of sheep
which were penned for sale at (Norwich) Tombland
Fair, 23rd instant, exceeded anything we almost ever
remember to have witnessed, but owing to the universal
complaint of the scarcity of keeping, very few indeed
found purchasers. A pen or two of extraordinarily fine
hoggetts, in their wool, fetched something like 60/ a
score, but generally speaking, the trade was dull, and
lower prices were reluctantly submitted to. There was
also a good show of lean cattle the greater number of
which were driven off the ground unsold. Cows and
calves, or springing heifers, met a readier sale, as the
supply was very limited. Horses about the usual num-
ber, but very few above what may be reckoned of a se-
condary description, either in roadsters or of the cart-
kind. The former are in demand, and seem to be in-
creasing in value. We have now had four nights in
succession of extraordinary severity, which after a
winter so protracted in duration, cannot do otherwise
than prolong the inconvenience which the holders of
lean stock experience from the deficiency of cattle food.
— Dilham, March 24.

SUFFOLK.

This month hitherto has been very cold, but dry,
planting beans and peas and sowing Lent corns have
proceeded rapidly ; indeed the week now closed will
generally bring it to a terminatien. In the heavy land
districts of this county the lands are not in first-rate
condition for the reception of the seed, from the almost
continued rain during the autumn and winter months.
The turnip lands which were not cleared of turnips nor
ploughed up before Christmas, will, with but few ex-
ceptions, work miserably bad, and unless very genial
weather ensue, the prospect for the crop is by no means
flattering. The wheats are looking tolerably well, ex-
cept spots where the snow was drilled to a great depth,
and consequently laid a considerable time, it appears
nearly all perished. We hear complaints of the failure
of the young clover layers ; however, some are strong,
healthy, and promising. Winter vetches and rve are
looking well, and if the weather be propitious will pro-
duce early feed. From the quantity of rain but httle
has been done in forwarding lands intended for mangel
wurzel and Swedes. From the like cause, sheep in par-
ticular, but indeed all kinds of stock have not done
well. But few turnips remain, and the want of keep
for stock during the next month will be, it is feared,
much felt. Graziers complain loudly of the bad return
they are making for the outlay of their capital ; first from
the scarcity of provisions which they ought to produce
off their farm, also from the extraordinary high price at
which oil cake has been selling- during- the autumn and
winter. Many meetings have been, and are bemg held,
for the purpose of effecting- a voluntary agreement for

the commutation of the tithe, and from what we caa
learn (and we have made very many inquiries, being
somewhat interested ourselves), all are satisfied they
shall have more money to pay than heretofore, and we
doubt many will find to their cost that they are com-
pletely deceived, for want of giving the working of the
bill proper attention before they entered into an agree-
ment for the rent-charge. We are sorry thus to dilfer
from what you have frequently advanced as to the be-
neficial working of the bill ; but we see at present no
reason to alter our former opinion, that it matters little
to the farmer whether tithes are called tithes or rent-
charge ; yet if rent-charge takes more money out of his
pocket than tithes, which it assuredly will, it does so far
matter to him. — March 18.

SOUTH NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.

Since my last the weather has been very propitious
for getting in the spring corn, which is now progressing
very rapidly, with the exception of a few of those term-
ed afternoon-farmers, who, let the season be ever so
favourable, are always behind hand. We think the
breadth of barley that will be sown this season will be
quite as large as was sown last year. The sharp frosts
which we have lately had (though contributing very
much to the drying of the land) have gi'eatly retarded
the growth of the young wheats, which, we think, were
never known more backward at this season of the year ;
the same will apply to the seeds and clover, the best
having been obliged to be hard stocked, on account of
the shortness of keep, and in consequence we are afraid
will greatly diminish the weight of hay, unless we have
a very favourable spnng. We never saw the meadow
land look better at this season than at the present time,
occasioned by the large floods rendering it impossible
to stock them. The lambing season is now about half
over here, and considering the low condition in which the
ewes are, we have not heard of such large losses as we
expected, thoug'h great complaint is made of the scar-
city of milk and weakness of the lambs, notwithstand-
ing most farmers having given them corn. Our meat
markets of late have been rather scantily supplied,
and the ti-ade, consequently, is rather better for both
beef and mutton, the former bemg worth from 6d to
6id ; and the latter 7d to 7|d per lb. The markets
for store stock are very dull, the graziers not being
able to purchase at present on account of their hay
being nearly gone, and keep very short ; we are afraid
they will be very dear as the spring advances, as we
shall all want to buy together, and thus afford but
very little chance of paying for their keep. — March 18.

EAST LOTHIAN.
For some days previous to the 10th inst., the wea-
ther has assumed a mild and favourable aspect for the
advancement of farm operations, which was eagerly-
embraced by every industrious tenant in the neighbour-
hood ; when, all at once, a stop was put to their
anxious proceedings, by a sudden change of the wea-
ther ; for, on the evening of the above-mentioned day,
it began to blow hard from the North East, with a
light fall of snow, which, however, continued to in-
crease until it assumed the appearance of what is
sometimes termed in Scotland " a feeding storm," and
on the following day, the whole face of the country
was covered to the depth of six or seven inches, -with
the snow still falling at intervals until the evening,
when the frost set in with more keenness than it had
ever done during the past winter, and wliich has con-
tinued with encreasing intensity ever since ; this morn-
ing (Thursday), however, there is a freshness in the
air, with every appearance of another fall of snow, of
which we have already more than enough to do us any
good for the season. The store farmers in the Lam-
muir Hills and| other high parts of the country, are
suffering severely in consequence of the present snow
storm. The scarcity of hay and turnips during the
past winter, has left them without fodder of any de-
scription, and we understand that a very great number
of sheep are sickly and in a dying state. — March 16.

316

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

AGRICULTURAL INTELLIGENCE, FAIRS, &c.

CRICKLADE FAIR, Tuesday, March 21st, was
very numerously and respectably attended, and, as was
anticipated, the supply of fat cattle, particularly as to
quality, surpassed even that of the first market, and ex-
cited g'eneral admiration ; the greater portion met with
a ready sale at from 9s to lOs per score ; the supply of
sheep was equally good, with a brisk sale at rather an
advance of price. Owing' to the severity of the weather,
there was rather a short supply of heifers, which were
much in request ; these sold at rather high prices. Store
pigs also sold well. There were several capital draught
horses, which reahzed good prices. In the Hiring Fair
there was a good attendance of neatly dressed and re-
spectable looking females, all of whom, who possessed
characters to recommend them, had the good fortune to
be quickly engaged at fair wages, which would have
been the case with as many more, had they been in at-
tendance, as many an inquiring master was unable to
suit himself. The result of the fair was highly satisfac-
tory, and little doubt can exist as to the next, which will
be held on the 18th of April, proving equally the same.
The numbers were— beasts 495, sheep 634, pigs 120.

LOCHMABEN PORK MARKET, AND FOR
SEED CORN AND RYE-GRASS SEED, March,
14. — The markets for the season having concluded to-
day, the supply was comparatively small, but quickly
disposed of, at prices from 5s 8d to 6s 3d per stone. To
those respectable farmers and dealers in the district, who
have so regularly attended and given such steady and
efficient support to these markets, it may not be unac-
ceptable to present a short abstract of the business done
during the season ; on comparing the g'eneral result of
which, the committee of management have much reason
to be satisfied with their yearly increasing success. The
total quantity sold amounts to 11,700 imperial stones^ —
the number of carcasses, 1,120— averaging nearly 10^
stones each ; the average prices may be taken at 5s Sd
per stone, and the amount of cash paid about 3,320/ stg.
Owing to the liberality of friends subscribers to the fund,
and well-wishers for the prosperity of the ancient burgh,
the committee have been enabled fully to meet and pay
the different premiums, as offered, each market day, as
well as those due to Mr. .Tohns:one, Thorniethvvaite, for
producing the greatest quantity during the season, and
to Mr. Carlyle of Waierbeck, as the most extensive
buyer, he having purchased no less than 4,188 stones ;
indeed to this highly respectable gentleman, for his
zealous and uniform support, the success attending- these
markets since their establishment, may be considered as
mainly attributable. The premium was awarded to Mr.
Roddick, Geenhill-head, for the best 18 imperial bushels
of seed oats, and that for rye-grass-seed, to Mr. Pater-
son, Hightae.

DEVIZES NEW MARKET,— On Saturday, se'n-
night the committee of farmers and dealers met the
committee appointed by the town council, in the council
chamber, to confer respecting the covered corn market,
when a plan of a building was agreed upon, and it was
believed by all present that a spirited subscription
would be raised amongst the farmers and dealers, as
soon as the town council had determined to erect such
building. It was at first thought the site proposed by
the town council, viz., the house and premises now oc-
cupied by Mr. Fowler, would not be large enough, but
on measuring the ground, it was found to contain 1,600
feet more than the present corn market, in addition to
the advantage rrising from arranging the sacks in a
straight line. — Wilt's Independent.

BRIDGNORTH FAIR was but indifferently at-
tended by purchasers — prevented, no doubt, by Ludlow
fair being on the same day. Fat cows sold at full 6d ;

sheep, of which there was a tolerable good show,
fetched 7id ; few good horses in the fair.

NORWICH FAIR was fully attended. The best lot
of hoggets was exhibited bv Mr. West, of St. Faith's.
They were sold for 60s. Of Scots there was a very
large show, and some very excellent cattle among
them. The prices were high, some reaching 4s 6d per
stone. There was aUn a lai ge show of fat beasts ;
prime articles fetched 7s, but heavy oxen were not so
much in request. There were very few good horses,
and among the stallions a few were good.

WORCESTER FAIR was well supplied with good
beasts, but buyers were scarce, and many were driven
home unsold. There were also a good supply of sheep,
which met with rather a better sale than the beasts, at
prices a shade under those of our last fair. Prices may
be quoted about as follows— beef, 5|d to 6d ; Mutton,
7d to 75d.

DERBY FAIR.— There was but a small exhibition
of stock, particularly fat stock. Very good barren
cows sold at high prices, as did also in-calvers. In lean
stores very little was done, and prices low. The horse
fair was not worth notice.

DERBY CHEESE FAIR, Wednesday, March 22.
— There was a smaller quantity of cheese than usual.
Latter makes averaged about 60s per cwt, though some
dry and well-kept cheese fetched a couple of shillings
more money. Year's makes sold from 63s to 67s.
Coloured was scarce, and sold briskly at Is more than
plain.

SUPERIOR OX.— We understand that Mr. Mil-
ner, of Spofforth, near Wetherby, has purchased of
Mr. Wiley his celebrated three years old short-horned
ox, (calculated to weigh upwards of 100 stone) which
■was exhibited at the York fair on Thursday week, and
excited the admiration of all judges, who pronounced
him to possess the greatest weight of prime beef, with
the least offal that has been shown for some time. Mr.
Wiley sold him by weight for 9s per stone.

FAT OX. — A correspondent mentions a remarkably
fine short-horned ox, bred and fed by Mr. Wiley, of
Brandsby. The girth of this noble specimen of short-
horns is 103 inches, and from the shoulder-blade to the
rump 63j inches. His supposed weight is upwards of
120 stones. — York Chronicle.

A PROLIFIC SHEEP.— At Waltham Bury five
lambs were lately taken from one ewe.

SOUTH HAMS.— The present appearance of the
buds on the apple trees, warrants the expectation of
an abundant crop of apples. The price of wool has
much declined, it being but ll;Jd per pound. — Western
Times.

BLACK CATTLE. — As anticipated there has been
a demand for three-year old cattle for Norfolk; and
this description of winterings are nearly all sold. Al-
though the Norwich markets seem yet dull, the prices
given have exceeded those of last year by 8 or 10. per
cent., and have left a fair return of from 30s to i 35s
each since the end of October, no turnips being g'^ven
this year. Wdile our drove cattle are thus a ittle
higher than last year, it is to be remarked that fat Scots
bullocks in Norwich and London have been, during
February, 10 per cent, below February 1836. This
may be attributed partly to the crop of turnips in that
part of England not being so deficient as in the former
year, and probably, also, to the increasing deficiency in
this description of lean stock kept in Dumfriesshire and

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

317

Galloway. Sheep — Cheviot great ewes for lambing- have
been in good demand, and have left fair keep, Highland
Cheviots giving from 2ls to 25s. Few sales of half-bred
hogs are yet made. The supply of fed sheep in London
being smaller, and the prices high compared to beef,
leads to the conclusion that the stock of sheep is not
over abundant, notwithstanding the great impulse given
to breeding several years back. At present the flocks
of the higher sheep farms are in great distress from the
heavy load of snow on them ; and in general, for the
last fortnight, the hill stocks have been falling off much
in condition, owing to the state of the weather, and the
unusually bare condition of the pastures. Hogs, espe-
cially on those farms, were seldom seen smaller and
leaner, and unless the spring is very fine, considerable
loss of stock may be anticipated. Sheep on turnips
have done tolerably well where the crop was good.
Fewer wetliers than usual now remain, and the nume-
rous lots of hogs scattered over the arable farms, from
the deficiency of turnip, are, in most cases, partly kept
on sown grasses, which they will injure much during
the ensuing month. Fodder of all sorts is scarce and
dear, and the barn yards are now smaller than usual at
this season. — Perth Courier.

STALLION SHOW AT KILMARNOCK.— The

Stranraer and Rhyns of Galloway Agricultural Society
in offering a premium of 21 sovereigns, for an approved
draught stallion to serve within the bounds of the so-
ciety, had selected Kilmarnock as the most central
situation for the attendance of horses from the best
districts. Friday last was the day appointed, and the
great interest excited on the occasion was apparent in
the numerous assemblage of farmers, dealers, and
others from the adjacent and other parts of the coun-
try. The society's deputation, Messrs. Robert Ander-
son, William M'Camon, and John Agne\\', headed by
Mr. Murdoch, factor, Dunskey, appointed ro select the
horse and award the premium, entered theshow-ground
at 12 o'clock, and soon thereafter 14 horses from va-
rious parts of the country followed. The inspection
occupied the deputation upwards of two hours, when
they decided in favour of the eight-years old brown
horse " Farmer," belonging to Mr. Fulton, of Sproul-
stone ; and it must have been gratifying to the depu-
tation afterwards to learn that their decision
was very generally approved of by the dealers
and other judges present. " Farmer" is a Lan-
arkshire horse, bred near Carnwath, and is of the
highest character for the superior quality of ttie nume-
rous stock he has produced. He has travelled two
years in Lanarkshire, and one year each in Dumbarton
and Peebles-shires, at both of which last mentioned
plsces, he had awarded to him premiums, and in each
of the four years has averaged about 100 foals ; five of
these, about 16 months old, were sold in last Lammas
fair of Lanark, at upwards of 25ieach. There were also
exhibited on this occasion several very fine young stal-
lions, and the one belonging to Mr. Reid, Balgray;
near Irvine, which had awarded to him the two-year-
old premium at the Ayr show in Autumn last, although
not considered by the deputation as the best present,
was on Friday, immediately after the show, sold atabout
85/. We have much pleasure in mentioning that the
deputation of this spirited society received every mark
of respect and attention from the Kilmarnock authori-
ties, who handsomely appointed the superintendent of
police and those under him to preserve order, and to af-
ford facility to the inspection on the show-ground ; and
Bailie Paxton and other influential members of the
Kilmarnock Agricultural Association met them at din-
ner in the evening at the Black Bull Inn. — Ayr Ob-
server.

PLOUGHING MATCH.— In the townland of
Aghandunvarran and parish of Hillsborough, Mr.
Kelly, a respectable farmer, having purchased a farm
of land adjoining- his own, his neighbours and friends,
bearing in high estimation their worthy friend, assem-
bled on the 8th inst. on his new farm, at the hour of
nine o'clock. Nineteen ploughs then started, and du-
ring the time of labour, Mr. Kelly regaled both plough-
men and spectators. Before four o'clock in the after-

noon the work was completely finished, and the inspec-
tors said it surpassed anything- of the same kind they
had ever seen. At half-past four, upwards of forty
persons sat down in Mr. Kelly's to an excellent dinner,
after which a number of appropriate toasts were drank,
viz. " The Most Noble the Marquis of Downshire, the
best of Landlords." — " The Marchioness of Downshire."
" The Earl of Hillsborough,"—" Mr. Reilly, the best
of Agents," and " the Hills, Kills, and Mills," &c., after
which Mr. Kelly's health was drank with applause. He
then returned thanks in suitable terms, and the company
separated, highly gratified with the proceedings of the
day. — Belfast ]S!ews Letter.

PLOUGHING.— Mr. John Magill, of Islandmagee,
purchased a farm of land known by the appellation of
Knowhead, in the latter end of February last. The
season being advanced, and he being much respected,
to show th "ir -appioval of his character, on Tuesday, the
7th inst. 248 well harnessed horses started with 84
ploughs, and in the course of the day ploughed about
40 Irish acres in a masterly style. The people engaged
were copiously regaled by the spirited purchaser, and
the day being favourable, a numerous assembly was in
attendance to witness so highly gratifying a scene.

PLOUGHING AT TINWALD MAINS.— On

Tuesday last, the friends of Mr. Jardine in Muirhouse
head, parish of Applegarth, who is about to enter to the
farm of Tinwald Mains, mustered, from almost all the
parishes around, to the number of nearly 130, upon the
latter farm, either in propria persona, or by proxy, in
the character of their ploughmen, each accompanied by
two prancing- nags, richly accoutred, and, before five
in the afternoon, turned over not less than 70 acres of
ground. The scene was perhaps the grandest of the
kind that has been witnessed in this quarter for many
years, and strongly testifies the esteem in which Mr.
Jardine is held by a wide circle of friends. Ample
refreshments were provided by Mr. Jardine for both
men and horses: the latter leaving the field scarcely
less playful from the labours of the day — the former
even njore joyous than when they entered upon their
task — having, ere they parted, dashed a bottle, v^ith the
inspiring- liquid, against the inclosure of the ground, in
imitation of the custom observed in launching a vessel
into the watery element, as if to say, " success to Mr.
Jardine through the course of his lease."

BLACK ISLE FARMERS' SOCIETY. — This

society held their first meeting at Fortrose, for the ex-
hibition of seed corn, and for awarding premiums. The
preses and a very respectable number of the members
were pi-esent, and the exhibition of grain by difl^erent
individuals was very considerable and highly creditable
to the growers. Messrs. Mackay and France were
appointed judges, and they having inspected the differ-
ent parcels exhibited, awarded the society's premiums
as follows, viz. : — For the best 4 quarters of common
barley, to Mr. Murray, Kilcoy Mains ; 4 quarters che-
valier barley, 571bs per bushel, Mr. Trotter, Redcastle ;
second best, 4 qrs do., 551b per do.. Provost Tullock,
Fortrose ; the best 4 qrs potato oats, 452lb. per do., Mr.
Sheriff', Barnyards ; second, 4 quarters do., 445lb per
do., ]\Ir. i\lurray, Kilcoy J\Iains ; 1st. 4 qrs Hopeton
do., 425lb per bushel, Mr. Trotter, Redcastle; 2d, 4
qrs do. do., 4l3lb per bushel, Sir James Mackenzie,
Bart. ; 1st, 4 qrs Angus oats, 44 do., Capt. Sutherland,
Udale; 2d, 4 qrs do., 42 do., Sir James Mackenzie,
Bart. ; 1st, 3 qrs beans, 63jlb per bushel, Mr. IMackay,
Kessock. — About 30 menibers sat down to dinner in
Mackintosh's inn, Capt. Sutherland, of Udale, in the
chair; Mr. Middleton, of Davieston, croupier.

DINNER AND PRESENTATION OF PIECE
OF PLATE TO WM. WILSON, ESQ., OF
NETHER CROY.— The tenants and feuars on the
estates of Nether Pollok, Upper PoUok, and Torrance,
having resolved to invite Mr. Wilson to a public dinner,
and to present him with a peice of plate, value 150
guineas, as a testimony of their approbation of his con-
duct as 1 actor on said estates, and of his integrity,
usefulness, and sterling worth during the long period
tjiat he has held these situations, on Friday, March 10,

318

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

about 100 of the tenantry and feuars, with a few of Mr.
Wilson's intimate friends and relations specially invited
along with him, sat down to dinner in the I'own Hall of
Pollockshaws. Walter Crura, Esq. of Thornliebank.in
the chair, supported on the right by Mr. Wilson, the Rev.
Mr. Mackellar of Mearns, and John Wilson, Esq. of
Aucheniden. On the left by Robert Herrington, Esq.
of Torrance, John Wilson, Esq. of Thornly, and John
Crum, Esq. of Thornliebank. Messrs. Willam Findlay,
Posthead, Arthur Mather, Nether Place, and James
Wallace, Mains, Croupiers. After the usual loyal and
patriotic toasts, the health of Mr. William Wilson was
proposed by the Chairman in appropriate terms. On
concluding, he presented the plate to Mr. Wilson,
whose health was drank with the most enthusiastic
cheering. Mr. W. briefly returned thanks, saying,
that his feelings completely overpowered him, and pre-
vented his fulfiUing an intention to address the tenan-
try at some length on an occasion so deeply interesting
and gratifying to him. The health of Sir John Max-
well, Sir Robert Crawford, Lady Pulteney, and Miss
Stewart of Torrance, Sir Thomas Brisbane, and Mrs.
Brown of Capelrig-, proprietors of estates on which Mr.
Wilson has long acted as confidential agent and factor,
were severally given and drank an)idst loud cheering.
These were followed by the healths of Mrs. Wilson, Mr.
Wilson of Thornly, iVIr. Harrington of Torrance, Mr.
Maxwell, M. P., Mr. Tennant of St. Rollox, Mr. Hew
Crawford of Upper Pollok, the Rev. Mr. Makellar, and
the other clergymen present, the heritors, feuars, and te-
nantry of the various estates, and many other appropriate
toasts. I'he party separated about 9 o'clock, after
having spent a most happy evening in the enjoyment of
uninterrupted sociality, and amidst a display by the
tenantry of grateful and kindly feeling towards their
worthy guest.

METHVEN^.— On Monday night anumber of farmers
and dealers at Methven and its neighbourhood, and also
a few gentlemen from Perth, in testimony of their re-
spect for Rlr. James Young, Flesher and Cattle Dealer
in Methven, on his arriving at the advanced age of 80,
invited him to a public dinner on Wednesday last in the
Mason's Hall there. Tlie number that sat down was
about 60, Mr. Burns, writer in Perth, was in the chair.
The Croupiers were Mr. Dickie, Keillour, Mr. Johnston
of Tippermalloch, and Mr. Wilson, Schoolmaster,
Methven. After the cloth was removed, Mr. Young's
health was proposed in a neat and appropriated speech
by the chairman, and heartily responded to.

CHEESE.— The stock of cheese among the Derby-
shire farmers was never known so low as at this present
time. The dairies are nearly empty, and the cause is
attributed to the late unfavourable summer, which
proved nearly fatal to the hay crop in that quarter, and
the consequent bareness of the pastures. There will be
no cheese scarcely fit for use until the next season,
which will be about next September.

EARLY OAT SOWING.— On the 27th February,
Mr. Hugh Spear, farmer in Fairliewood, Largs, sowed
a field of oats. — Dumfries Times.

There were exhibited on Norwich Hill, on Saturday
se'nnight, by Mr. Crome, of Horsford, for sale, between
ten and eleven score of superior fat sheep, grazed by
Mr. William Ireland, farmer, of Cawston, and were
allowed by competent judges to weigh rather more
than six stone and a half each, the average weight of
the whole lot.

"Wm. Tamlyn, Esq., of Porlock, has in his possession
a ewe, of the Exmoor breed, which is now 21 years old,
and which has produced altogether the extraordinary
Humber of 38 lambs.

Last week, a cow, the property of Mr. Watkeys,
Tymawr, Llanwern, calved three calves, which are all
fine strong animals. The cow is nine years old, and
has produced nine calves.

On Tuesday week last at the Wootton Basset Market
Mr. George Haggard of Swindon, pig-dealer, sold four
sow pigs, whose litters amounted to 47 pigs.

Straw is both scarce and dear in the Potteries. A
few days ago, a farmer sold a waggon load at 71 a ton,
or upwards, which he replaced, being short of fodder,
by purchasing hay at the rate of 61 10s per ton.

J'iRE Hunting. — Fire hunting was unknown in this
country until within some 50 or 60 years, when it was
introduced by Mr. Burnie, who lived among the Choc-
taw Indians ! In Virginia it was practised before this,
but not with the same success. The facility with which
Mr. Burnie killed deer at night infused into the super-
stitious Indians a belief that he was some superior per-
sonage, and that he effected it by means of physic,
which is their fo kalnn, and solves all their mysteries.
He delighted for some time in practising' upon the fears,
and literally astonished the natives. However, it was
revealed, and is now generally practised, though pro-
hibited by law. To prepare for a fire hunt, it is neces-
sary to get a common frying-pan, the handle of which
is lashed to a board, three or four inches in width, and
five or six feet long, which is placed on the shoulder,
and the arm thrown over it, to keep it in a horizontal
position. The handle being lengthened, throws the pan
several feet behind the hunter, in which there is a light
wood fire kindled, and he is then ready for a hunt. The
light from the fire illuminates a circle, save where the
shadow from the head falls, which, diverging as it goes
off, is in size considerable. Within this shadow the
huntsman sees and shoots his g'ame, which manifests
itself alone by its eyes, which are red and fiery, from the
reflection of the light, and visible at some distance. The
huntsman either walks or rides, shoots with the pan on
his shoulder, and seeks the highland or svv'amp, or any
place where he will probably meet with deer. To in-
crease the shadow, or range of vision, it is only neces-
sary to move the handle horizontally to the right or left,
which causes the shadow, to sweep the segment of a
circle, in any direction you please. The danger arising
from this species ot hunting is, that dogs, sheep, horses,
and cows, are liable to be shot — their eyes presenting
an appearance similar to that of the deer. The most
experienced hunter may be deceived by the eyes of a
dog or sheep. Horses and cows, from the fact that
their eyes are further apart, may be distinguished, yet
many of them have been sacrificed to a knowledge of
this pursuit. There is something very striking in view-
ing a walking light, meandering through the woods,
while shooting upwards it throws around a broad lurid
glare, and lends to the woods, wherever a shadow falls,
a gloom far greater than that of the night. The sight
is calculated to have much effect upon a human being ;
and I cannot reconcile it to myself to see even a deer
fall by a treacherous plan — treacherous it seems to me,
for having lain concealed all day in swamps to avoid
man — having rid themselves of dogs, perhaps by a long
and weary chase, they move out under cover of night
to pick their scanty subsistence, or to glean nutiiment
for their tender young. Little do they suppose, when
all nature is wrapped in sleep, that there is an enemy in
search of them, so captivating- in appearance as to lull
asleep all fear, all suspicion of injury. They feed —
their beautiful leopard-hke young sport in gambols near
them — occasionally drawing the flowing teat; a flam-
beau is seen approaching, shedding far and wide its
bioad lurid glare. This is the only object seen by them.
As the hunter sweeps his circle, it flits about, reminding
them only of a " marsh's meteor lamp," by the light of
which so often they have cropped the tender herbage,
while sporting o'er some grassy meadow. Nearer still
it approaches — and they gaze with rapture at the beau-
tiful sight; a redder light bursts forth, and the dread
crack of a rifle rings through the forest. The mother
falls, and lies weltering in her blood. Her tender infants
lick from her wound the crimson fluid as it exudes.
They look about, they see nothing to alarm them.
Tears fill their eyes, which only make them a more pro-
minent mark for the huntsman, and, chained to the spot

by the magic effects of the light, they there remain, until
they are offered up as a sacrifice to filial affection. —

Sketches of Colonel Crockett,

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

319

REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE

DURING THE MONTH OF MARCH.

The weather throughout the month has been cold,
accompanied with drying winds from the East and
North East, and in some localities the thermometer has
been five degrees lower than during an)^ other period
of the winter. The cold low lands have been brought
into good condition, and though the frost at night has
partially impeded sowing, yet considerable progress
has been made in bringing the eventful period of the
season to a satisfactory conclusion. The young
wheats in those counties, on which the metropoh's is
more dependent for supply, are assuming a healthy
and vigorous appearance, and though backward, are
tillering out and covering richly the land. Germina-
tion or vegetation have, however, lately made little
progress, but neither plant nor blossom were suifi-
ciently advanced to sustain any radical injury from
the ungenial temperature. In Ireland considerable
progress has been also made in field operations, and
the markets consequently less plentifully supplied
by the farmers, who are busily engaged in out-door
labour ; the same remarks are nearly applicable in
this respect to Scotland as well as England. Fine
wheats have supported fully the previous quotations ;
seed barley and oats obtaining higher rates, but se-
condary sorts have receded fully Is to 2s per brl,
and soft inferior parcels extremely difficult of dis-
posal at even a greater reduction. Barley generally
slow sale and secondary and inferior sorts extremely
depressed in value. Oats have experienced a heavy
trade, at a reduction of 6d to Is per brl, all free on
board sales with the sister kingdom having ceased,
owino- to the inferiority of the shipments, from the
want of due attention to quality, condition, and pre-
paration, as we have had occasion previously to no-
tice. In Scotland, the markets, particularly within
the range of those parts of the Highlands where the
distress from failure in the crops is more severely
felt, experiencing an active demand for seed oats,
as well as oat and pea-meal, and from the people
being habituated to these kinds of food, oatmeal is
bearing a higher relative v^lue than flour ; so diffi-
cult is it to eradicate the force of habit, even though
starvation is apparent ; and it is to be feared that the
propositions made to apply to government, to allow
a portion of the foreign wheat now remaining in the
bonded warehouses, to be released at the current
market rates of 36s to 38s for red Baltic qualities
and shipped free of duty to the points most avail-
able for the distressed Scottish population, would
not be attended with the same beneficial results as
if good mealing oats and peas were transported to

the scene of famine, and for which purpose some of
the bonded oats and peas might be taken out of bond,
as there are upwards of 59,000 qrs of the former,
and 3,000 qrs of the latter, under lock ; oats being
held at from I3s to 18s, and peas at 23s to 27s.

I'he state of the money market has had a control-
ling influence on the grain and seed trade throughout
the United Kingdom, and though during the middle
of the month rather more facility was experienced
in procuring discounts, yet towards the close the
pressure for money was again severe, and which
though relieved by the determination of the bank to
grant an extension of accommodation to the larger
houses connected with America, yet considerable
difficulties appear to have arisen in making the ne-
cessary arrangement, owing to the extent, not only
of the liabilities in amount, but the ramifications of
the transactions, the bank directors on examining the
intricacy and magnitude of tho operation, learnt
sufficient to convince them, that if they refused assist-
ance, the derangement, or rather mercantile convul-
sion, which would have ensued, would have been in
all probability unparalleled in the history of manu-
facturing industry, and it must be also borne in mind
that the bank itself is in no very palmy condition to
meet a general state of discredit, which must have
inevitably ensued, with little more than four millions
of specie in their coff'ers to stem the consequent
paralyzation of trade.

No doubt the scarcity of money has prevented
wheat from attaining a higher range of price than
at present prevails, and which the state ol the wea-
ther, previous to the setting in of the cold, would
have contributed to promote, but all speculative
spirit has been curbed, and the demand has been
strictly confined to the local necessaries, millers only
purchasing to the extent of their immediate wants.
The supplies into Mark Lane have been liberal for
the season of the year, exceeding 30,000 qrs, and
have proved fully adequate to the demand; the
samples in their improved condition, exhibiting the
good eff'ects of an altered state of temperature and
atmosphere. Fine samples have maintained the pre-
vious quotations, but inferior cold parcels have suf-
fered a depreciation in value of Is to 2s per qr as in
quantity and have experienced a slow dragging
trade.

The advices which have continued to arrive from
the United States were sufficiently favourable to
have induced holders of bonde<l wheat to have in-
creased their shipments, but the difficulty of pro-

320

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

curing American vessels, or Danish, Austrian, or
Prussian has materiall)' checked the extent of busi-
ness, though 8s to 8s 6d per qr would have been
granted readily could freights have been obtained.
The advances also which have taken place in our
American colonies has attracted speculative atten-
tion, freights offering as low as os per (jr, many of
the timber vessels readily accejjtmg such a freight in
prefei ence to returning in ballast and a few thousand
qrs have been exported to Quebec and Montreal,
and some parcels to St. John's, Halifax, Miramichi,
&c. Few purchases have, however, been effected,
the shipment being almost entirely on owners' ac-
count ; and as some holders during the middle of
the month showed more disposition to realize, a de-
cline of lb to 2s took place, at which prices continue
dull and with a tendency on honujide offers further
to recede. Mecklenburg, Pomeranian, and Dauzio-
•wheats have sold at from 36s to 38s and 40s. Liberal
advances have been offered by American houses to
induce consignments, in instances 2.5s i)er qr on
wheat, and 15s j)er qr on rye.

The flour trade in London has experienced no
alteration in the currencies; best marks remaining-
nominally at 55s, but the bulk of the sales being
made at from 50s to o3s per sack ; dulnesshas, how-
ever, pervaded the trpde, which is attributed to the
country qualities, not in the best condition, pressing
on the market ; good marks have been selling at from
40s to -ISs and 43s. Bonded flour has continued to
meet sale at from 25s to 30s per bri for export prin-
cipally to the West Indies.

The arrivals of barley have amounted to 34,500
qrs, besides nearly 10,000 qrs from abroad, part of
which has paid the prevailing duties. The heavy
character of the malt trade has continued to operate
disadvantageously on tlie prices of barley, and the
depression the article gradually sustained, having
brought it nearly to a par with the decreased value
of the manufactured article, good Chevalier parcels
being obtainable at 34s to 35s, and Norfolk and Suf-
folk 32s, maltsters began to evince more inclination
to take off the finer samples, and prices therefore
towards the close of the month have remained firm,
and fine Chevalier for seed, held at Is to 2s more
money. Distillers having been full of stock have
refrained from coming to market and little demand
existing for grinding sorts ; the intermediate and in-
ferior so.ts have been very difficult of disposal, but
are now being held rather firmer ; a few small ship-
ments have been made of bonded barley which is
noted at from 18s to 203.

Malt at the depreciated currencies has met rather
more attention, and factors therefore have become
firmer al the reduction.

The import of oats has been considerable, espe-
cially from iMigland and Ireland, and large also from
Scotland ; in one week the united supplies having
exceeded 47,000 qrs, and comprising during the
mouth, 147,540 qrs, viz., 45,949 qrs English, 22,295
qrs Scotch, and 79,296 (jrs Irish. The trade, which
was previously ruling heavy, was rendered extremely
dull, and prices receded on all descriptions, 2s to 3s
per qr, and the stale, weathered, and foxy samples
almost unsaleable at this reduction ; the bulk of the
Irish continuing- to prove light and inferior, induced
holders to submit to still lower rates, and Galways
were offering at from 16s to l7s, which at length
tempted speculators to come forward, and consider-
able sales were effected at these rates, which enabled
holders to obtain for these sorts rather more money,
say from 16s 6d to 18s ; and the cold weather keep-
ing- up the ratio of consumption, dealers and con-
sumers have taken oft' the better qualities at these

reduced rates, so that considerable progress has
been made towards a clearance, and the trade has
assumed again a more healthy appearance, prices
being thought to have seen, for the present, their
minimum range, as the shipping accounts from the
leading Irish ports shew few cargoes destined for
the time to our market. Bonded oats have been
selling in retail for export, chiefly to the West
Indies, feed qualities beuig noted at iSs to 14s, and
brew at 16s to 18s.

Beans during the early part of the month, met a
slow dull sale at declining prices, but the demand
latterly having rather exceeded the supply, quota-
tions have rallied, being noted Is higher.

Peas of all descriptions, especially blue, were at
one time very difficult of disposal at low rates, but
the prevalence of frost has caused an improved sale
and the article generally has been sold on better
terms.

The alteration in the duties consist of an advance
on wheat of 2s per qr., the duty being now 30s 8d ;
on b-arley of 4s 6d, duty being I3s lOd ; on oats of
Is 6d, duty being I2s 3d ; on rye of 6s, duty being
I4s Id ; on beans of 4s 6d, duty being 14s ; and on
Peas 4s 6d, duty being 15s 6d.

During- the month of March the following-
quantities of Grain and Flour have ariived in the
port of London : —

Wheat.

Barley.

Malt.

Oats

English

Scotch]

Irish

qrs.

30,486
95

qrs.
34,502
3,732

210

qrs.
45,431

qrs. •
45,949
2-2,295
79,i96

Total in Mar.

30,581

38,444

46,431

147,640

Total in Feh.

22.077

27,575

29,2:1

115,492

Total in Jan.

24,421

26,689

18,173

53,924

Foreign in Mar

3,507

9,26G

....

9,346

Beans.

Peas.

Linseed.

Flour.

English

Scotch

Irish

qrs.
7,893

6

qrs.

3,957

2

qrs.

sacks.

43, --90
12
67

Total ii, Mar.

7. 899

3,959

•53,369

Total in Feb..

6,989
6,611

4,863

35,180

Total in Jan.

O.S39

30,790

Foreign in Mar. 218

5,046

8,210 bris. 8,154

The accounts received from New South Wales are
dated the 22nd and from Van Diemen's Land the
28th October. It appears that the prospects of the
forthcoming- crops were most favourable, which in
little more than two months froai the date of the last
advices, would be fit for the sickle, and with the
comparativelyimmense importations already pressing
on the market, not only from Great Britain, but from
the East Indies, Cape of Good Hope, Singapore, &c.,
and advices of shipments still on their voyage, had
forced the prices of wheat to recede much below
its usual market value, having declined to 7s 6d,
then rapidly to 5s, and at the departure of the last ship
was quoted as low as 3s to 3s 6d per bushel. Mr. Bar-
ker, the extensive miller, at Sydney, had entered into a
contract to supply 300 tons of fine flour at 8/ 10s per
ton, and in order to profit by the bargain, he must
purchase the wheat at 2s 6d per bushel. Flour was
noted at 8s lOd to 13s per 1001 bs, as in quality.
Some of the vessels with cargoes of wheat newly
arrived were proceeding with the corn to the Mau-
ritius, King George's Sound &c., owing to the de-
pressed st-dte of the market. In Van Diemen's Land

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

321

wheats were noted at 3s 6d, 5s 9d, to 6s per bushel, J
but the trade heavy, and oats worth more than 10 to
20 per cent, more than the best samples of the more
staple commodity ; wheat being also cheaper than
barley. These accounts have created some degree
of surprise in the London market; had however,
the opinions we ventured to suggest at the time the
shipments were being eflfected, been more attended
to, less cause for astonishment and consternation
would have been excited, and less loss sustained by
shipments to so distant a part of the world, whore
the consumption is limited to a very contracted
circle.

The latest accounts from Jamaica, dated the 28th
January, reports the flour trade as dull, and bakers
still evincing little disposition to purchase German
samples ; prices had receded, sales of limited quanti-
ties having been made at oOs 8d currency per bar-
rel ; a small parcel of superfine Quebec had brought
83s 4d, and some flour direct from Stettin 66s 4d ;
and Baltimore and Philadelphia 85s to 93s 4d per
barrel. Little biscuit in hand ; crackers were worth
60s, and pilot bread, 53s 4d. During the month of
January the imports of flour had been 575 barrels
less than last year.

In Canada the prices of wheat continued to ad-
vance, and the better qualities at Montreal were ob-
taining 9s 2d per minot for Lower Canada red, and
in Upper Canada as high as lis 2d per bushel, flour
being firm at 60s for fine marks, and 65s per barrel
for super. In Upper Canada the drain on the markets
for the supply of the United States, had caused a seri-
ous advance in the value of grain, provisions, &c ,
and much distress is represented as likely to ensue,
without some legislative restrictions on the transport
of grain were enacted. We are, however, inclined
to believe that the diSerent statements are rnther
highly coloured, and though no doubt quotations are
ruling high, yet the advanced lates obtained by the
population, chiefly agriculturists, will equalize the
burdens without having recourse to the objectionable
system of fiscal regulations, interfering with the re-
gular course of commercial transactions.

By letters from Halifax, we learn from the Gover-
nor's speeoh, that though the harvest had not been
productive, yet no serious evils were expected to
emanate from that circumstance; but the failure in
the potatoe crop, had threatened the new settlers in
Cape Breton with extreme distress, which had been
partially relieved by assistance from Halifax, and if
further means should be required, the Governor ap-
pealed to the charity and humanity of the inhabitants
for contributions. Flour was in demand, but the
prices are not stated.

It appears by late advices from Lisbon, that by the
newtariflf, the entry of all grain and flour is to be
permited after the 10th of April, on payment of du-
ties regulated by the average prices of the Kingdom,
on the same principle as our averages are now con-
stituted.

In France, the weather is of the same character
as that which we have been experiencing, and the
cold drying winds had brought the land into a good
condition to receive the summer corn ; the sowing
of which was rapidly proceeding, and as the wheat
plant was backward, the weather was not considered
by any means disadvantageous for the crop, which
presented generally a satisfactory appearance. At
Paris the dull accounts from the southern markets
and absence of orders, had depressed the rates 50
cents to 1 franc per I5 hectolitre, which the farmers
were most unwilling to submit to. At Marseille and
Mediterranean ports, notwithstanding the cold wea-
ther which prevailed throughout Catalonia, yet the

markets were dull, and prices almost nominal. At
Toulouse on the 11th inst. snow had fallen, and the
navigation of the canal partially impeded. At Bor-
deaux the continued supplies and momentary cessa-
tion of demand bad rendered the trade quitt stagnant
for the home consumption at a decline of 1 franc per
hectolitre on Normandy wheats, the general quota-
tions being nominal at 46s 6d to 52s per qr. Ex-
ports however of flour continued to be made to Bil-
boa and St. Sebastian, and it was stated that 20 ves-
sels had been already chartered to these ports. The
epidemic, la grippe, was assigned as a partial cause
for the extra dulness of the market.

At St. Petersburgh, the grain trade remained dull,
but the prices in the interior were supported, and
the market scantily supplied. Linseed of the best
qualit}' might be bought at 36s lOd per qr. ; and
15ro per tschtwert advanced. At Riga the grain
trade was in a languid state ; — Courish wheat nomi-
nally at 31s 2d to'32s8d ; oats, lis 2d to lis lOd ;
crushing linseed on delivery, 38s Id, all cash ad-
vanced and with only ten per cent, 40s : Rye, 17s 8d.
At Konigsberg, the wheat trade remained firm, and
speculative feeling alive ; the prevailing opinion at
that market being, that shipments to America are
safe until May, as the prices of wheat in the United
States are not likely to recede bslow 2 dollars, and
Rye 1 dollar 50 cents per bushel, until the month of
July, when the new growth will be coming to hand.
New rye remained at 17s to 18s, and old 20s to 21s
per quarter. At Danzig, the re-appearance of frost
had checked all the progress of business ; liigh mixed
wheat remained at 36s to 38s, and mixed .'-)3sto35s,
and for delivery in May, free on bo'.ird, good high
mixed wheat had been sold at 34s. Vessels liow-
ever destined for America, were in the meantime
being loaded overland, in order to be dispatched
with the least possible delay. Several saies of rye
had been eflfected in loco at l8s, and for April delivery
at 17s 4d. At Stettin, rye was experiencing a de-
mand for shipment to America, but in \\ heat little
was transpiring, prices remaining unaltered. At
Rostock, tlie demand for shipment to America hav-
ing continued brisk, holders of wheat ami rye bad
been enabled to realize an advance on each article,
the former having been sold at 33s to 33s 6d for new
quality of 62 lbs; and 34s to 35s old. Rye was
fully is to 2s dearer, being noted at 23s to 24s 9d,
and captiiins were demanding 14s per qr freight to
the United States, with few vessels remaining suita-
ble for the voyage.

At Hamburg the receipts of wheat from the upper
districts of the Elbe had continued large, and, during
the three weeks preceding the 21st of March, the ar-
rivals had amounted to nearly 46,000 qrs, and 18,000
of rye ; and as the demand was confined to the local
necessities of the millers and bakers, wheat had re-
ceded 3s 6d to 4s, and Rye 6s to 7s. Fine old red
upland Wheat being noted at 36s to 36s 6(i, weigh-
ing 62 to 631bs, ditto 61 to 62lbs, 35s to 35s 6d,
new, 32s to 33s 6d ; fine new rye, 20s6dto21s; good
Bohemian barley, 17s 6d to 18s, ditto, Saale, l7s to
18s ; u])land tares selling as low as 16s 6d to 17s per
qr ; Holstein Rapeseed, 23/ 10s per last. Freights
to London 2s per qr and 10 per cent., to the United
States, 26 dollars per last and 15 per cent.

At Rotterdam the inquiry was continued for
wheat and rye to ship to America ; fine Rhine
wheat of 62 to 63 lbs had obtained 34s to 35s, and
fine lieavy r3'e 23s 6d to 24s ; but the arrivals from
the Rhine and other quarters being considerable,
lower off"ers would have been accepted. A public
sale of 1,200 lasts of wheat was announced at Am-
sterdam on the 31st inst, which tended also to de-

322

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

press the currencies, though it was expected good
rates would be realised, as it seemed a prevailing-
opinion that the stocks of grain in Europe were very
much reduced, and that the consumption principally
depended on the last crops ; which, with not very
favourable reports of the young plant, Jiad excited
rather a speculative feeling in favour of the article.

The advices from New York state, that Western
Canal flour remained dull at 11 dollars 87^ cents to
12 dollars per barrel. The accounts adduced of the
probable amount of ihe supplies differ in their tenor,
but we cannot help suggesting the precaution against
placing too implicit confidence in statements coin-
ciding with the pre-conceived opinions of sanguine
speculators. It appears from Cincinnati that large
supplies are on the Ohio waiting open weather, and
the prices of wheat and flour at that market receding,
in addition to which it is to be recollected that ex-
tensive shipments are preparing at all the leading
markets of the Baltic to the different ports in the
United States, besides shipments from the Elbe,
"Weser, Holland, Belgium, Mediterranean, and Black
Sea. Rye was selling at 1 dollar 37^ to 60 cents,
per bushel ; cloverseed fi.rm, at 12 to 12| cents, per
lb. Wheat dull, at 2 dols 8 to 15 cents per bushel.
At Baltimore foreign wheat had obtained rather more
money, fine white having realised 2 dollars 28 cents,
and red German firm at 2 dollars 25 cents per bushel.
Plour, however, was heavy, at 10 dollars 37^ to 75
cents per barrel.

At New Orleans flour remained at 10 dollars 30
cents to 11 dollars, with a demand limited to home
consumption, and high prices were expected until
the navigation of the rivers was free from ice.

From Philadelphia some statements have been put
forth respecting- the production and consumption of
grain in the United States, aiid which, though inte-
resting at this period, are ilevoid of much practical
utility, no deductions being- made in reference to
the main question, whether Ameirica will require
all the European shipments of grain now making,
or about to be made, to meet the actual consumption
until the new crops are a (bailable. The prevailing-
opinion is represented to be, that the advanced
prices of flour do not entirely emanate from the defi-
ciency in the crops, but in combination with the
immense consumption of grain in the distilleries.

The annual average ]iroduction throughout the
States is estimated at 10,000,000 quarters of vvhdat,
13,750,000 of Indian corn, 7,500,000 of rye,
6,250,000 of oats, and 625,000 of Barley. About
half of the Indian corn, the greatest proportion of the
wheat, and half to three-fourths of the rye, are used
for bread and biscuits ; the remainder of the rye and
most of that of the Indian corn, is distilled, and the
barley is principally employed in the breweries, the
oats, with the residue of the Indian corn, being-taken
for feeding horses and fattening pigs. The deficiency
of the three leading- articles of wheat, rye, -and In-
dian corn, is estimated at one-third, or about
10,000,000 quarters, leaving from 20.000,000 to
21,000,000 qrs. to meet the consumption for flour
and distilleries. I'he po[)ulation of the United
States is calculated at 14,000,000, and taking the
average annual consumption of each individual at a
sack of flour per bead, as in England, 8,750,000 qrs.
of corn would be required to feed them. Assuming
these data to be correct, and which we have endea-
voured to simplify, the original being very confused,
and wanting exemplification, the produce, it would
appear, of the past season, is more than sufficient to
supply the nation witb bre-ad, if the whole could be
distributed through the country in equal portions,
according to the wants of e-ach state, and the failure

would consequently occasion no suffering ; this,
however, is intimated as impracticable besides that
large quantities will be still used by the distillers,
and from 500,000 to 600,000 quarters required
for export, to fulfil the contracts for the delivery
of flour in the West Indies and South American
markets, which amount, however, it is estimated, the
foreign imports may cover.

CURRBNCY P£R IMPERIAI. MEASURE.

BRITISH. March 1. April 1.

Wheat, red, Essex, Ktiit, Suffolk 60

VFhite 52

Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. . , 40

White, do. do 46

VVest Country Red —

White, ditto —

Northumberland and Berwickshire Red —

White, ditto —

Irish Red 48

Ditto White ;'.0

Barley, Maltinjf, new 35

Chevalier, new 37

Distilling 31

Grinding 26

Irish 24

Malt, Brown. 47

Ditto, Chevalier 61

Ditto, Norfolk and Suffolk Pale 54

Ditto Ware 59

Peas, Hog and Orcy 34

Maple 36

White Boilers 38

Beans, small 38

H arrow 36

Ticks 34

.Mazagan 34

Oats, English feed 23

Short small 26

Polanil , 27

Scotch, Common 23

Herwick, &c 25

Potatoe, &c . . o 26

Irish, Feed 12s 6d to 23s Od

Ditto Potatoe 20s Od 28s Od

Ditto Black 17s Od 24s0d

to 62 50 to 62

64 52 64

56 40 56

60 46 60

50

48

50

52

50

52

38

32

35

40

31

31?

34

31

34

28

24

28

30

24

28

62

46

50

62

58

60

60

54

58

61

57

59

36

31

34

36

32

3ft

41

36

38

42

34

42

40

36

40

38

34

38

38

34

38

27

22

26

30

24

28

30

25

28

28

22

27

80

24

29

30

25

30

ISsOdto CI

sOd

20s Od

26

S(id

16s0d

23s Ud

PRICES OF FLOUR,

Per Sack of 280 lbs. March 1.

s. s.

Tovvn-nia le 48 to 55

Norfolk, yulfolk, Kent, and Essex 43 44

Sussex and Hampshire 42 43

Superfine 44 —

Lincolnshire, Yirkshire, and St'cktoii. 41 43
Northumberland, Berwick, and Scotch. 42 43

Irish 42 45

Extra 47 —

50 to 55

43

44

42

43

44

41

4,'J

42

43

42

45

IMPERIAL AVERAGES.

W-.'i" 11(11 ng
10th Feb.
1 7th '
24th "
3rd March
Iflth "
17lh "
AHuregareAveri.iit
■t ttie six weeii;
which regulates

till' duty

Duties payable in
Lwndon till Wed-
nesdiiy next inclu-
sive, and at the
Outports till the
arrival of the Mail
of that day from

London

Po. on gi;iin Ikum
British possessions
oHt ol Europe ....

Wheat,

66 5

56 2

55 9
66 II
66 7

56 9

Barley

34 2
33 7
32 10
32 5
32 2
31 7

JS 10

l):.t>

23 10

23 3

23 3

23 4

i23 !

22 8

Ryf

37 3

Beam

39 4
37 H

37 7

38 8
37 0
36 8

37 10

<as.

37 9

37 7
37 8
36 6
35 U
35 8

3 0

Forsign Flour, 18s 5d per ISeiba. British Possessions do,
38 per 196 lb«.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

323

STOCK or GRAIN, FLOUR AND CLOVER-
SEED IN BOND IN THE PORT OF LON-
DON ON THE 5th march.

Wheat. Bailey, Oats. Beans. Peas. Flouv. Cloversd.
qrs. qrs. qrs. qrs. qrs. cwts. cwts^

233,363 2,247 59,267 925 3,371 21,881 43,051
Rye, — qrs

PRICES OF SEEDS,

March 27.

The arrivals of foreig'n Cloverseed have been on a more
moderate scale the past week, consisting' of 222 bags
from Rotterdam, 187 bales from Harlingen, 48 baffs
from Antwerp, 22 casks and 74 bag-s from Altona, and
124 casks and 528 bag-s from Hamburg-. The consump-
tive demand since this day week has been lanpruid, ow-
ing to the frosty weather checking sowing'; and as some
foreign parcels have been pressing on the market, a re-
duction of 2s per cwt has been submitted to. The
limited quantity, however, of English prevents any
depreciation in the value of the finer qualities. A
few parcels of foreign white seed having been received
and holders have given way in their demands, the ar-
ticle being noted 2s per cwt lower. Trefoil dull, but
unaltered in value. Linseed continues dull at declin-
ing prices, distrust being felt as to the correctness of the
advices, from the East Indies, intimating a deficiency of
two-thirds of the produce. Rapeseed dull, and prices
barely maintained. Caraway steady. In Coriander no
variation. New Canary seed was dull, at lower prices,
samples being noted at 32s to 38s, and old 40s. Tares
in good supply, but very heavy sale at 4s 6d to 5s. The
cold weather causes Linseed Cake to meet enquiry, and
prices steady. In Rapecake little doing. The sup-
plies from abroad have amounted to 71 tons of Linseed-
cake from Bremen ; 84 do., from Cliristiania ; 33,640
do. from Leer ; and 60 tons of Rapecake from Kohl-
brandt.

ENGLISH SEED.

Closer, percwt. new red, 40s to 80». , prime oW 100s to 108s

white 60s to 54s, extra, 70s to 76s

Rapeseed, per last 30/ to 3'2/

Canary, do ,32s to 40s

Turnip Seed, new Swedes, 10s to lis — other

qualities 14s to 208

Mustard Seed, perhushel, white 8s 6d to 10s

Uo. Brown 10s fid to ISa

Trefoil, per cwt 15s to 20s

Coriander, do old. Us to 14s, new, 10s to ISs

Caraway 48s to 52s

Tares, per bush.. Spring new ...... 5s to 5s 6d

Li.mseed Cakes, per 1000, 13/. ; Rape, per ton.. 6/ to 5/ 5s

FOREIGN SEED.

Clover, red, per cwt, French 60s to 74s

Hutch and Brabant, red . . .(30s to 74s
Do. white, 50s te55s ; extra, 68s to 703

American , 60s to 76s

German, Silesian,"! red. 51s,65s, 7,'is
and Bohemian.'/ white. .'iOs to 729

Caraway, per cwt 42s to 48s

Hemp, per qr, small, 38s to43 ; large 44s to 46s

Rape>ebd, per last 26/ to 29/

Linseed, per qr. Crushing, 40s to 62s ; Eniflish. .54s to 56s

Tares, per qr, old, — - to — s ; new. . ,42s to 44-;

Linseed Cakes, per ton, 8/; .. French and extra. . 8/ lOs
R A PE Cakes —/to 6/

HOP INTELLIGENCE.

.March 27.

present prices.

£ s.

East Kent, Pockets, fine.. 4 10

Bags do 4 4

MidKent Pocksts do 4 2

Bags 3 10

Weald of Kent Pockets 3 10

Sussex, Pockets 3 10

Yeai lings 2 10

Oldolds 1 1

'. s.

j£ s.

5 5

fine 7 0

4 16

5 18

4 15

6 6

4 10

3 12

4 10

5 2

4 4

4 16

3 3

4 4

1 10

2 -2

DUTIES. — Hemp, Isperqr; Linseed and Rapo, Isper qr
Tares, 10s per qr ; Mustard, 88 per bushel ; Clover, 20s per
cwt ; Caraway, 30s ; Coriander, ISs ; Trefoil, 20s ; Ott
Cakes, 3s 4d per ton.

POTATOE MARKET.

SOUTHWARK— Waterside, March 27.— The
supitlies of Potatioes have been moderate, comprising
300 tons of Yorkshire reds, TOO ditto kidney ; 300 ditto
Wisbeach; 110 ditto Suff'olk whites; 120 ditto Kent
kidneys, and 300 ditto whites ; 100 ditto from Scotland ;
none from Devon, and only 61 tons from Guernsey ;
but, as the wind lias now become more favourable, ar-
rivals may be expected from Devon and the Channel
Islands. Though the weather has been conducive to
the consumption, yet the high prices still required have
partially checked the demand, and the trade, both to-
day and throughout the week, has ruled heavy ; the
only reduction, however, being 5s in Scotch qualities.
As the continuance of frost is retarding materially vege-
tation, salesmen are anticipating for the present being
enabled to maintain the existing currencies ; but should
any sudden and material change take place in the tem-
perature, no doubt they must then submit to a reduction.
Per ton or 40 bushels,
reds... 90s to 110s

Yorksliii

Do. Kidneys — s

Scotch reds S5»

Devonshire reds . . . . — s

Do. Kidneys — s

Wisbeach 80s

100s
905
100s
lOds
85s

Lynn Kidneys

Suffolk Whites

Kent Kidneys .

Do. whites

Jersey&Guern.bhie>95
Do. whites 86

8Ss 90s
80i 86s
956 — s
85s 90s
lOOs
90s

Chats 40s SSs

BOROUGH AND SPITALFIELDS MARKETS.

WARE

. Per

Ton.

MIDDLINGS

. Per

Ton.

£ s.

£ s.

£ s.

.f s.

Scotch reds

5 Oto6 10

Scotch Reds ..

4 l.'it(

1 5 0

Marsli Chamfi. . .

4 5

4 15

Alarsh Champ..

3 IS

4 5

Common reds...

4 5

5 0

Common reds . .

3 15

4 5

London whites .

3 10

4 5

London whites .

3 5

3 15

Sh:\ws

3 5

4 0

.Sl-iaws

2 15

3 5

York kidneys. . .

4 15

5 5

Ywrk kidneys, , ,

4 0

4 10

•wool. MARKETS.

BRITISH.

March 27,

During the 'past week there has been rather more
business doing in British Wools. Confidence, which
was, during the late pressure for money much shaken,
is, at length, restored, and higher prices are confidently
anticipated, though, at present, we can quote no en-
hancement on last week's currencies.

March 1. April 1.

Per lb. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d.

DownTeifs 1 8 to 1 Sj I 7^ to J S^

Half-bred do 1 8J 1 9i 18 19^

Ewes and Wethers 15 15^ 1516

Leicester Hogs 15 16 i -ij 1 6

Do. Wethers 1 2 13 12 13

Blanket M^ool 0 8 12 0 8 12

Flannel 12 17 1117

Skin Combing 1 2 14 12 14

324

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

EXETER. — With respect to this market we regret
to say that we have not a sing'le cheering- circumstance to
record. It is not merely dull, we might almost call it
stag^nant, and further and almost general decline in price
has taken place. We have accordingly to quote, yolk
wool at Ud ; washed wool, 14d ; and Dorset horn, 15d
per lb. In sorts, Kent head, is lid; and red, green, and
pinions, down to Is. Fell combing, is 14d ; fine head,
14d to 14^d ; Cornish stripe, 15^d ; North Devon
stripe, 16d; tops, (river washed), IQjd ; ditto, (soap
washed,) 20d per lb.

LIVERPOOL.

Week ending March 2".

English and Irish Wools, the business in which
duriug the present dull week has been too trifling to
require notice, have not been, able to sustain former
prices, and the annexed quotations are therefore re-
duced. The import of Irish during the week has been
limited to 95 bags.

Current prices per lb.— Down ewes and wethers, 17d
to 18d; down tegs, 19d to 20d; combing fleece, 18d
to 19d ; combing skin, 16d to 18d ; super skin, 16d to
18d ; head ^kin, ISd to 16d.

Current prices per lb.— Irish fleece, mixed lots, 17^d to
I8|d ; Irish wethers, IVdto 18d ; Irish hogs, 18d to 19d ;
Irish combing skin, 14d to 15d ; Irish short skin, ]2d
to I5d. Imports this week, 95 bags ; previously this
year, 722 bags.

Scotch Wools. — The business this week has been
very unimportant. A few small parcels of laid High-
land,and a small lot of Cheviot is all we have heard of.
The pressure of the times is now beginning to be
seriously felt in the manufacturing districts. Stocks
of yarns and goods are accumulating in. makers' hands,
and as a necessary consequence, the demand for the
raw material is much diminished

SCOTCH.

per stoneof 241bs.
Laid Highland Wool, from l3s OdtolSg 6d

White do. do 15s Od Ifis

LHid Crossed do 15s Od 163

Washed do. do 16s Od l/s

liaid Cheviot, do 189 Od 20s

\V;islieddo. do .24b Od 26b

Wiiite do. do , 32s Od 34s

Import for the week 479 bags

i'revionslv this veav IS-I do.

Foreign Wools. — The transactions in foreign wool
in the latter part of last and the commencement of the
present week, have been principally confined to the de-
scriptions which were withdrawn at the late public sale
here, a considerable portion of which have been dis-
posed of on terms, generally speaking, much in favour
of the buyer. The amount of importation is confined
to 143 bags.

Current prices per lb. — Russian wool, 8d to 9d ;
Odessa, hne. Is 9d to 3s 6d ; Euenos Ayres, 4d to 5d ;
Mogadore and Barbary, 4d to 6d ; washed Peruvian,
12dtol4d; unwashed ditto, 9d to lOd ; Portugal R.,
Is 4d to is 6d ; ditto, low marks, ll^d to Is l^d;
German fleeces, 2s to 2s 3d ; ditto assorted, 2s 3d to
2s 6d 1 ditto lambs, 2s 3d to 3s 3d ; Spanish R, 2s 3d to
2s 6d ; ditto F S, 2s to 2s 2d ; New South Wales, Is 9d
to 2s 6d. Imports this week, 143 bags ; previously this
year, 6,044 bags.

Per Stone of 24 lbs. I

Laid Highland Wool, from. 12

White Do. Do 15

Laid Crossed Do 16

Washed Do. Do 16

Laid Cheviots 18

Washed Do 26

White Do 32

d. B.
6 to 13
0 16

April 1,

d. s. d
0 to 13
0 16

FOREIGN.

March 27.

We have received from Germany since our last re-
port, 350 bales of wool; from Turkey 330 do.; and
from Holland, 150 do. Last Thursday's sales were
well attended by buyers, and the whole of the wool dis-
posed of, at the following rates : — German, from 2s 2d to
2s4^d ; and Cape of Good Hope, Is 6d to Is lO^d per lb.
Though there has been rather more business transacted,
by private contract, we cannot alter our former cur-
rency.

Electoral Saxony wool, from 4s 4d to 5s 4d ; first
Austrian, Bohemian, and other German wools, 2s 8d to
4s; second do., 2s to 2s 6d ; inferior do. in locks
and pieces, Is 6d to 2s ; do. lamb's do., 2s 4d to 3s ;
Hungarian sheep's do., 2s to 2s 6d ; Leonesa
sheep's do., 2s 6d to 3s 2d ; Segovia do., 2s 2d to 3s ;
Caceres do., 2s 6d to 3s ; Spanish lamb's wool, Is 6d
to 2s 6d ; German and Spanish cross do., 2s 2d to
3s 4d ; Portugal sheep's do., Os Od to Os Od ; do.
lamb's do., 2s to 2s 6d ; Australian, fine crossed do.,
2s 4d to 3s 6d ; do. native sheep's do., Is 6d to 2s 6d ;
Van Diemen's Land native sheep's do., Is 6d to2s6d;
Cape of Good Hope do. is 6d to 3s per lb.

OflScial account of Sheep's Wool entered at London,
Bristol, and Hull, for Home Consumption.
Duty paid.
In 1837 to last Same time last
week. year.

Spanish 495,885 534,885

Bristol ■ — - 5,826

Australian 23,961 284,227

Other sorts 3,260,380 4,082,434

Hull 1 ,209,686 2,830,052

4,989,912 7,737,394

BONES.

Since our last there have passed the Sound or
Elsinore, the Great Belt, and the Holstein
Canal, ships loaded with Bones, bound for England,
1 ; with patent mist for England, 1.

Printed by Joseph Rogerson, 24, Norfolk Street, Strand, London.

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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

MAY, 1837.

No. 5.]

[Vol. VI.

THE PLATE.

The animal which forms the subject of the Plate, is a five years and five months old
Durham Ox, bred and fed by William Loft, Esq., of Trusthorpe, Lincolnshire. It was
exhibited at the last Smithfield show, and obtained a premium of twenty sovereigns, as
the best ox in class 2, for " oxen or steers of any breed under six years old, weight 90
stone and upwards, that shall not have had cake, corn, meal, &c., previous to the 1st of
August, 1836." A silver medal was also awarded to Mr. Loft, as the breeder of this
animal. This ox was got by Mina, dam by Mr, Ostler's Comus. Mina was bred by
Mr. W. Harrison, of Holderness, and was got by Snowball, his dam by a son of
Patriot, which was sold for 500 guineas. Snowball was by North Star, her dam by
Favorite, both bred by Mr. Colling. This ox, when slaughtered, weighed 232 stone,
and produced 23 stone of rough fat.

POINTS IN CHEMISTRY APPLIED
TO AGRICULTURE.— SOILS.

Plants are mainly indebted for support to tbe de-
composed remains ot" things at one time possessed of
life, and with which the surface of the earth is found
to be impregnated. The decay of vegetables and
animals is thus contrived to minister to the susten-
ance of organization. Life is produced by dissolu-
tion. By one of the most beautitul, yet simple, of
processes, the adult plant calls the germ into exist-
ence, and afterwards furnishes the supplies which
are to bring it to maturity. Nothing is wasted —
nothinc^ is misapplied. The produce of one year
goes to form tbe harvest of the next. 1 he herb re-
turns to tl e dust from which it was derived, only to
rise iu renewed beauty when the appointed season
shall call it from its tomb. Hence the words of
Pope—

" See dying vegetables life sustain,
See life dissolving vegetate again."

" Ever changeful, ever new,'* the plant is always
in perfection. So soon as it has attained the limit
assigned to it by nature, it ceases to cumber a soil
tljat it can no longer adorn. It then becomes sub-
ject to the laws of chemistry ; its elements separate
and slowly form the combinations already mentioned,
which, in no long time, become constituents of suc-
ceeding crops.

" All, to re-flourish, fades :

As in a wheel, all sinks, to re-ascend.''

The value of a soil for the purposes of agriculture,
may be judged of in one of three ways — by the

quantity and quality or the crop which it affords on
being subjected for a series of years to cultivation ;
by the nature of the herbages, which is spontane-
ously yielded by the ground ; or by the quantity of
requisites for the support of vegetation, which it may
be found, on chemical analysis, to afford. With tbe
first method we have, for obvious reasons, nothing
to do in an article like the present. The second is
apparently a mode devoid of difficulty, and easily
had recourse to on all occasions ; and, as the ques-
tion as to the extent of its utility is interesting, from
the attention that has of late been turned to it, we
shall, for the moment, confine ourselves to an exa-
mination of its excellencies and defects. Though it
is a test that has been resorted to by agriculturists
from the earliest ages, little of any constquence was
known by the ancient tillers of the ground, regard-
ing the connection between the prevailing material
of a soil and its spontaneous produce, further than
that, in the words of Virgil, —

" All grounds not all things bear ; "

and their ob.«ervations were limited to the almost re-
gular occurrence of plants of a larger growth, such
as the alder, the ash, the myrtle, and the vine, on
soils of particular texture and composition.

Of late years, considerable attention has been
drawn to the subject in this country, owing to the
premiums offered by the Highland Society for com-
munications on the nature of soils, as indicated by
plants ; and, as was expected, much interesting ia-
formation has been obtained. Several of these essays
have been published by the Society. AH are good,
and form the vehicles of something valuable ; but
two are, in particularj worthy of consideration, as

z

326

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

containing- the result of much patient observations,
and being- tolerably free from defects, in the group-
ing- and arrangement of the materials. The authors
of these articles, are — Mr. Macgillivray, conservator
in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons,
in Edinburgh, and Mr. Archibald Gorrie, Annat
Garden, Perthshire, both gentlemen admijably qua-
lified, by the nature of their pursuits, to furnish re-
marks of no mean value to botanical science ; while
the former, from his extensive excursions in the
Northern Counties, and in the Western Islands, is
enabled to improve our ideas on tlie subject, by re-
ferences to the soils of particular localities.

Soils, in general, only give rise to plants, for the
rearing of which they appear, owing to the posses-
sion of some ingredient, to be peculiarly adapted.
The well-known (act, as to the ashes of burnt fir trees
affording a congenial soil to the seeds of the wild
rasp, and being usually covered by such bushes,
may be taken as a familiar illustration. Not only is
the nature of the plant occasionallj^ determined by
the composition of the soil, or, in other words, not
only are individual soils restricted, owing to some

{)eculiarity in their construction, to the growth of a
imited number of genera, but the pai-ts of the plant
are also liable, from similar causes, to considerable
variety. When tulips, for example, are planted in
too rich a soil, the colours sjjread ; or if they have
steadily remained of one colour in some particular
soil, they will, on being removed to another, break
into a variety of colours. A blue tinge may be given
to the p6t-als of hydrangeas, by placing them in the
red earth which borders on chalybeate springs, and
which (or that reason is well imprej;nated with iron.
The blossom of a common primrose, whose root has
been taken up and planted in another soil, loses its
yellow hue, and becomes of a pale-brown or choco-
late colour.

Many plants delight only in soils of a peculiar na-
ture, luxuriating- so long as they are adherent to
ground of a particular constitution, but rapidly losing
in vigour and appearaace when deprived, by any
means, of the food to which they appear to be na-
turally adapted. " The Scotch rlr, Pinus sylvestris,
thrives well, but does not grow fast on the soil over
the sandstone. Its wood, however, is tough, and
very durable. But when this same tree is planted
on the greywacke, though it grows more rapidly,
and arrives sooner at maturity, yet, being- softer, and
fuller of white wood than that grown upon the sand-
stone, the builder, to his cost, finds that it is soon
attacked by the worm, and decays. 1'he reverse of
this happens with the larch, Pinus larii, when grow-
ing on the greywacke. Its wood is sound and good,
and, when cut down, is at heart quite perfect. But
on the sandstone and gravels of this basin (Close-
burn) , it seems to be at maturity at an earlier age
than that growing- on the greywacke, and in many
instances, when cut down on the soils, the larch pre-
sents a tubed decayed heart."* Plants, however,
are seldom in error as to the choice of a locality, for
the simple reason, that the soil, whicli will not yield
to them the nutriment they require, either allows the
sprout to peribh befoie it meets the light, or, at best,
affords so grudgingly the elements of life, that the
sickly vegetable is fain to bow before the sun and
wind, which, in more favourable circumstances,
would have served to ripen and rock it to maturity.
When trees are planted by man, they are, in num-
berless instances, placed in soils and situations which,
if not inimical to the continuance of their lives, are
at least adverse to their attaining health and com-

* J. S. Monteath, Esq. in Edin. Phil. Journal, No. 9.

mon-place proportions. Man is in this way per-
petually at war with physical circumstances, which
a closer inspection of natural phenomena would
show him that it is -dlraost impossible to overcome.
Doubtless he may, in many cases, undesignedly con-
tend with powers whose workings cannot be op-
posed, because they are beyond the ken of his know-
ledge and experience, and his strivings may even be
attended, in spite of such uutowaid operations, with
a fair run of success ; hut surely that is not to justify
him in proceeding contrary to what is dictated by
tl e more or less perfect adaptation exhibited in the
conjunction of every stone and bush, and in neglect-
ing to profit, as he would do, by making his designs
the counterijart of those upheld to him by nature,
^Ve constantly see trees occupying- ground, the fea-
tures of which tell us at once that there they are
completelv oul of place, and that human interfer-
ence must have been at work to entice them so far
from their usual habit and locality. Pines are in-
digenous to sandy regions, and only come to their
native wire-drawn scragginess in the vicinity of sand-
stone ; the cak, the elm, and the ash, delight in rich
thick loams, and only acquire perfection when
spreading their ample and stalwart arms over a deep
and fertile mould ; the pensile willow is redolent of
health and beauty, only when reclining over the
margin of the stream : and the birch and alder are
indifferent, indeed, unless in connection with the
bleak moist sides of the northern mountains, to
which we might almost s-ay they love to cling ; yet
we hourly find that their peculiarities, in the choice
of soil and situ-ation, are set at nought, and this even
in places where their planter has had every facility
for placing- them in their respective and approjjriate
abodes. When the dispersion of seeds is left to for-
tuitous interference, to be transported through the
medium of air, of water, or of anim-als, how seldom
have we cause to fault the bed which they discover
(if we may so speak) for themselves 1 Rarely do
we light upon a shrub or tree, sprung from a soil un-
suited by temperature or composition to bring it to
perfection. This may, however, be accounted for
by tlie fact, that the greater number of plants attach
themselves indiscriminately to any of a wide range
of soils, and thrive upon them with the same accom-
modating facility ; but there are, on the other hand,
several pbants restrained by some unknown pecu-
liarity to certain limits, beyond which ordinary
causes fail to carry them. For example, to quote
from the author to whom I am already indebted for
an illustration — " The larch grows naturally only on
the primitive nountains, as the granite, gneiss, and
the like rocks of that class, of the Alps in Switzer-
land. And it is most curious to observe, that, on
the whole range of the Juta mountains, separating
that country from France, and, being a limestone
fermation, rising- to an elevation of several thousand
feet, not a single self-souni larch can he discovered. Ad-
vancing, however, from this range into Switzerland,
it may be observed, that in those places, as at Cha-
mounie. Mount Cenis, the Simplon, and the lofty
Alps, which partly enclose the beautiful laKe of
Thun, in the Canton of Berne, where the primitive
formation, consisting of granite, gneiss, mica-slate,
and similar rocks, abounds, the larch is indigenous,
growing luxuiiantly, and attaining to a great size."

Clay, sand, gravel, and peat, combined in vaiious
proportions, form a base or soil, in the interstices of
which materials capable of aftbrding nourishmimt to
plants are rendered fit to be turned to account in
their econom)-. Plants, as well as animals, require
for their support a due supply of the elements of
which they are composed, and these they obtain

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

327

from amongst the earthy particles in which their
fibres are imbedded. 'J'he soil, in fact, is to a plant
what the stomach and intestines are to animals. It
is the laboratory in which a variety of substances are
so altered and prepared by mechanical and chemical
agency, as to be capable of entering into ihe compo-
sition of vegetables, and conducing to their growtli.
All organized bodies are resolved after death by thf
chemical p:ocess termed puirefaction, into a number
of simpler forms, six of which — water, nitrogen, car-
bonic acid, humic acid, lime, and potass — are essen-
tially necessary for the constitution of plants, and
are, therefore, to be found in greater or less abun-
dance in every soil which is capable of sujiporting
them. The first three substances are imbibed bv
plants from the surrounding atmosphere, besides
being furnished by the soil ; but the quantity so ab-
sorbed bv the leaves is trifling when compared with
that which is continually assimilated bv the roots.
Humic acid, on the other hand, is peculiar to vege-
table and animal matters, and is indispensable to
soils, for apart from its properties as a nutriment for
plants, it is invaluable as being the solvent which
enables lime and potass to enter into their composi-
tion. Though the agricultural chemistry of these
bodies is, to a certain extent, a dull and stale sub-
ject, it is necessary that it should be pretty well un-
derstood, in order to facilitate the explanation and
comprehension of other departments, and therefore
our time will not be badly spent in taking a short
survey of the points most worthy of attention.

The moisture of soils is derived from several
sources : it may be formed by the decomposition of
organized substances, into an explanation of which
proce-s, however, we need not enter; or it may be
conveyed to the surface of the earth, either by de-
position from the air, as in the case of fogs, dews,
and showers, or by filtration through lower strata,
as is usual in sjjrings. In whatever way it origi-
nates, it serves the important end of hilding in so-
lution the other requisites for vegetation : without
it, in fact, the other ingredients of soils could not be
available. It is not only an indispensable constituent
of a soil, but also a principal component of every
plant, — 23 out of every 2.5 tons of globe turnirs, for
example, being calculated to consist entirely of
water. The experiments of Du llamel and Bonnet,
who reared plants on moss and sponges moistened
with water only, led to the conclusion, that simple
water is all that is necessary for their growth ; but
in these investigations they forgot that the materials
of which they had constr'jcted their mimic soil, con-
tained many things whicli would, unknown to them,
be taken up by tlie fluid, and carried to the plant.
A salad can certainly be grown and brought to tole-
rable perfeetion in a wetted blanket, and bulbous
roots will sprout, and even flower, when aided only
by a supply of water ; but growth proceeds just so
long as the nutritive matter which is contained in
every seed and bulb remains unexhausted, and can-
not, therefore, be owing entirely to the moisture.

Water that has been much in contact with the air,
is always superior in fertilizing properties to such as
has not been incor|jorated with it. This is owing to
water being of itself incapable of serving as food for
plants, and only acting as a pron^oter of fertility in
proportion as it contains less or mure of other sub-
stances. Atmospheric air, together with carbonic
acid (a gas which that air alwavs holds in limited
quantity,) are of great utility in the economy of
plants, and are usually found in combination with
water. But the proportions in which these gases
unite with water, vary according to their facilities
for intermixture ; and as agitation is fayourable to

their intimate contact, the water of rivers which have
run a long and rapid course, is much more oeneficial
to vegetation, than that which has remained for some
time stagnant. Hence tiie profits to be derived from
irrigation a-e enhinced by causing the water to tlow,
in preference to allowing it to stagnate on the soil.
In addition to these gases, water which has passed
through a lengthy chsinnel, holds in suspension va-
rious earthy and organic particles, frequently calcu-
lated to ameliorate a soil, and to become a source of
nourishment to plants. According to Sir H. D ivy,
(Elements of Agricultural Chemistry, 2 Edit. p. 3.32,)
it may be taken as a general principle, that wnter con-
taining salts of iron, though possessed of fertilizing
effects vrhen ap])lied to soils iiiipi-egnated with lime,
is always injurious to soils which do not effervesce
with acids, and that calcareous waters, which -.ire
known by the earthy deposit they afford when boiled,
are of most use on s.mdy soils, or other soils con-
taining no remarkable quantity of chalk.

Nitrogen and carbonic acid, though combined with
many ingredients of soils, are only found in ([uantity
in the compound termed hunic acid. '1 his iicid,
when resolved by the operatioris of the chemist into
its ultimate elements, is found to be composed of
oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen, besides a
few saline and earthy matters, which are not consi-
dered essential to it. Primarily, it may be viewed
as made up of a base Cidled humin, united to the
great acidifying principle, oxygen. Humin, or as it
is occasionally termed, vegetable mould, is a dark-
coloured unctuous substance, without either t;iste or
smell, which has been found by several French che-
mists of celebrity to constitute the leading principle in
soils and manures. It is formed bv the slow decom-
position of vegetable and animal matter, and varies
slightly in qualitv according to the nature of the
sources trom which it has been derived. To it is
owing the fertility of soils, and theretore, as we
would naturally expect, it is met with in greatest
abundance in the earth of garden.^, and old well rotted
dung hills. Chemistry can avail rothing in the for-
mation of humin, for it is a product only obtainable
from bodies that have been at one time possessed of
life, and therefore it cannot be imitated by the dex-
terity of man. Everything gifted with an organized
formation is converted, so soon as it bus ceased to
live, and has been deposited in a suitable locality,
into this ] eculiar matter, 'i he exposure to the at-
mosphere of dead animal or vegetable matter, toge-
ther with fre(]uent stirring or agitation of any kind,
retards, and sometimes altogether prevents, the
change which would under ojipositj circumstances
graduilly ensue. So long as humm is kept from
contact with the air, it continues insoluble and anii-
septic. It is consequently almost indestructible
when situated a few feet below the surface of the
ground, and at that depth is not only found, as in the
instance of church-yards, in large quantities, but
m;iy also be retained unimpaired fur an unlimiied
period. In such situations, too, it cannot undergo
certain chvinges necessary to ensure its solubility,
and it is therefore inert, and totally unfit for the pur-
poses of vegetation. No sooner, however, is it
brought by the plough or spade to tli3 surface of the
earth, than it begins to alter. Part of its c n'l oa
uniting wi'h the oxygen of the atmos])here, forms
carbonic acid, which is re;uiily absorbed bv the green
parts of plants; while its hydrogen, combining with
another jiortion of oxygen, produces water. " The
residue becomes a soluble eitract, and in that state is
taken up readily by the fibres of the roots. But the
changes still go on ; the extract absorbs more oxy-
gen, and becomes once more insoluble in the form of

z 2

328

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

a film, which Fourcroy calls vegetable albumen, and
wliich contains a small portion of nitrogen readily
accounted for. By bringing fresh portions of bumin
to the suiface, and permitting the access of air to it,
more carbonic acid, water, extract, and albumen are
formed, and give a regular supply to the plants. * *
Hence we see the great importance of frequently
stirring the surface of the eartii." * * — (Penny
Cyclopedia, article Arable, which contains an excel-
lent condensation of the views of Thaer of Berlin,
and Theodore de Saussure of Paris.)

This compound of humin and oxygen (hiimic acid)
readily combines with many of the earthy and saline
substances found in manures, and renders them of
eiisy solubility in water. Humates (as they are term-
ed by chemists) of lime and jiotass are in this way
formed in the soil, and from the facility with which
they are dissolved in water gain a ready access to
the interior of plants. Of this action the old writers
were completely ignorant, and therefore puzzled
themselves to no purpose in endeavouring to account
for the presence of so insoluble a body as lime in any
quantity in plants. They had, however, a glimpse
of the truth, as we cannot but identify the substances
which they so vaguely treat of under the names of
regeuible extract, extractive, and mucilaginous mutter,
as exactly similar to humin and humic acid, so ably
described by the modern chemists of France and
Germany.

The importance of humin to a soil, or rather to the
plants which it supports, can hardly be over-rated.
It is the chief supporter of vegetation, as well as an
indispensable solvent of several earths and salts from
which plants derive much aid in the progress of
their growth. Its mechanical action on a soil is also
of considerable moment, serving, as it does, two ex-
trfmely opposite purposes, that of binding together
and consolidating loose sands, and that of breaking
up and rendering porous stiff clays. The effects
produced in this way by rich manures, capable of
afFurding a large supply of bumin, are superior to
those resulting from the application of any of the
otiier repairers of a soil. It secures, too, when pre-
sent in any quantity, a constant supply of moisture to
thy earth ; and as the chemical action detailed above,
by which the water is produced, always goes on with
increased rapidity in warm weather, it follows that
richly manured lands are almost safe from the bad
effects of long-continued drought. Too great a
quantity of water is, on the other hand, highly detri-
mental to ground containing much humin or organic
matter from which it can be formed, as fermentation
is encouraged, and a compound of an acid and astrin-
gent nature produced, which is exceedingly inju-
rious to vegetation. Mosses, for example, are a kind
of soil in which this process is constantly progress-
ing. Hence the correct popular opinion that such
land is sour, aud hence the equilly correct and well
known mode of removing the astringency by drain-
ing the land and neutralizing it with lime.

FRANK SYLVAN.

TITHES COMMUTATION.

A Return to the House of Commons of the number of
Notices of Commutation received by the Tithe Com-
missioners from the date of their appointment to the
1st iMarch ; stating what number of such notices have
been received during each calendar month, and the
names of the counties in which the parishes or dis-
tricts are situated, for which such notices have given :
— Also, Return of the number of Agreements re-
by the Commissioners up to the same period ; stating
what number of such agreements have been confirmed ,

and what number rejected, together with the grounds
for such rejection ; also, what number of such agree-
ments are at present under the consideration of the
different diocesans, or otherwise waiting confirmation.

^-
§.>
o o

5
3

4

9

30

14

12

6

44

16

6

26

19

8

15

9

31

18

3

30

1

7

51

3

6

2

7

8

19

63

34

J2

41

13

25

10

4

19

9

9

20

8

4
3

13
7

10
6
6
6

17
3

753

AGREEMENTS.

>

0)

«3

S

o
U

■a

0
a>

Under con-
sideration
of diocesan,
or otherwise
waitingcon-
firmation.

ENGLAND :
Bedford

2
6

2

2
5
4

3
1

1
2
2
2

2

1

6
2
3

5
11
5
2
12
1
5
2
1
5

1
6

3
1

1
1

1

1
2

2
1
2

2

1

"l

2

"i

1

2
3

"4

i'

Combridge

Chester

Cornwall

Cumberland

1
3

2

Devon , . .

Dorset

Durham

Essex

Gloucester

Hereford

Hertford

4
2

1

I
1

HunUngdon

Kent

2

Loncaster

Lincoln

2

Middlesex

Monmouth

Norfolk

5

Northampton

Northumberland . .

Nottingham

Oxford

2

1

Rutland

Salop

2

Somerset

4

Sauthompton

Stafford

4
1

Suffolk

11

Surrey

Sussex

4

Warwick

2

Westmoreland ....
Wilts

1
4

Worcester

York, East Riding
„ North Riding
,, West Riding
WALES :

Brecon

1

2

Cardigan

Carmarthen

Denbigh

3
1
1

Flint

1

Glamorgan

Merioneth

Montgomery

Pembroke

Radnor

1

109

38

1

70

N. B.— In addition to the notices for commutation re-
ceived by the tithe commissioners, as above stated, they
have good reason to believe that a great number of
notices have been given, of which they have not received
copies, but which are intended to be sent up with the
agreements for commutation, if such agreements are
completed.

The agreement not confirmed was rejected, because
it contemplated only a partial commutation of tithes,
and because the patron's consent was defective.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

329

EXPERIMENTAL FARMS.

^Vhatever difference of opinion may exist as to
the advantages vvliich might be derived fiom the
establishment of"' experi.nental farms," there can
be but one opinion as to the merit of the " Ob-
servations" upon the subject, from the pen of
Mr. George Lewis, of Boglilie, Kirkaldy, N.B.
There are, we believe, very few publications upon
agricultural subjects of which we do not possess
ourselves, and to all of which we give a diligent
perusal ; and we can state with perfect sincerity,
that scarcely excepting " Mr. Hillyard's Practical
farming," there is not one publication which we
have read with so much delight, and to which we
give such unqualified approbation as to Mr.
Lewis's^ " Observations upon Experimental
Farms." Not having ever had the practical
arguments in favour of the establishment of " Ex-
perimental Farms," so clearly, forcibly, and me-
thodically placed before us as has been done by
Mr. Lewis, we were, after the perusal of Professor
Lowe s speech, delivered at the meeting of the
Highland Agricultural Society, rather disposed to
coincide in his view of the subject ; we now, how-
ever, plainly confess, that our doubts are altogether
dispelled, and we no longer entertain any doubt
of the benefit which "agriculture" would derive
trom such establishments. To those who have
not read the pamphlet to which we allude, it would
seem impossible that arguments, abounding in
such valuable practical information, could be^'ad-
vanced upon the question. The subject has been
very judiciously divided into separate heads, each
embracing some important topic, the desiderata
upon which are pointed out in a manner which
cannot fail to strike tlie reader. We have before
stated that we entirely agree with Mr. Lewis in
the beneficial effects which would be derived from
the adoption of his scheme; but we differ very
materially in the manner in which he proposes to
carry it into practice. Mr. Lewis says, " The
farm should contain from 500 to 1,000 acres, and
be fitted to carry all kinds of grain, roots, &,c.,
common to the country. Now we hold it to be
impossible that any farm can be selected upon
which effectual experiments upon all subjects can
be tried, the results of which sliall be applicable
to the whole country. It is quite true, that upon
cev{am general questions, the results of experi-
ments, upon whatever soil, and in whatever
situation, may be generally useful. Experiments
upon the best and cheapest mode of feeding
cattle and horses, the most economical system of
reaping and harvesting grain, the improvement of
the thrashing machine, or the advantages of
sowing the most productive and early varieties of
grain, can as well be made on a sand as on a clay,
on a chalk, as on a loam, and the results will
be equally useful to the occupiers of every species
of soil. But in order to ascertain the particular
species of grain, pulse, seed, or root, best calcu-
lated for cultivation in any particular soil,~to
^^^^^"^^"e'^'nd of manure, the application of which
shall be most efficient in anygiven soil,— the experi-
ment must be made upon that particular soil. Mr
Lewis foresaw the objection, and has anticipated
« Dyan answer which we do not think satisfactory.

He says, " the objection would be obviated by a
committee being appointed in every county, who
would communicate to the manager of the (experi-
mental) farm anything worthy of remark ; and on
the other hand, this committee would be entrusted
by the manager, to try the results of seeds, roots,
&c. on the different soils, and under the different
climates of Scotland, which could not be tested
on the experimental farm ; thereby turning
the whole country into one wide field of ex-
periment through the exertion of tlie manager
and the different committees."

Now, we are far from saying, that because
we cannot arrive at perfection, we should not
improve as much as we can ; and therefore it is,
that we hope to see Mr. Lewis's plan carried out;
but, at the same time, we must give it as our
opinion, that the scheme cannot be complete, un-
less by the establishment of "experimental farms"
upon the different leading soils, as clay, sand,
chalk, loam peats, &c. ^ There are, of course,
many olher kinds of soil, but they may be consi-
dered as differing from the leading ones only in
certain degrees, and therefore the experiment,
which would apply to (he genus clay or sand,
would, with a trifling variation, be suited to the
different species. Independent of the sound
practical knowledge which Mi . Lewis displays in
every page of his work, we are happy to find
that his opinions are no less sound as regards the
means whereby the situation of the agriculturalist
can and must be improved. Speaking of agricul-
ture, he says—" It becomes all who are interested
in the future welfare of the country to adopt
those measures which may be best fitted to ad-
vance this fundamental source of industry and
wealth. We wish for no artificial prop or leois-
lative restriction. This would only be bettering'the
state of agriculture for a time, by an unjust de-
pression of some other department of industry
more or less connected with it. All that we wish
is, the developement of the inherent and native
energies of the soil, being fully convinced that
nothing more is required to place it in a prosper-
ous and a permanently improving condition."
Setting the question of " Experimental farms"
entirely aside, and simply looking to the valuable
information which is contained in Mr. Lewis's
pamphlet, and which no practical farmer can
peruse without advantage, we most earnestly
recommend it to all our agricultural friends.

Bone Manure. — A Correspondent solicits an
an answer to the following query. We shall feel
obliged by information from any of our readers
who may have turned their attention to the sub-
ject:—

Query,- Is it possible to form a fictitious bone dust,
by impreg-nating- lime with phosphoric acid, so as to
form a cheaper manure to the farmer than the pre-ent
expensive bone dust, which is often not to be got in
sufficient quantity? It is granted that phosphoric acid
is procured from bones, but whore does nature procure
it to form those bones ?

530

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

THE ARMAGH PLOUGH
SUSSEX PLOUHING.

AND

The Newry Telegraph has recently contained a re-
Tien- of tbe reports and opinions expressed by us,
upon the late Hailsham ploug-hino; match. Whether
from mistake, or otherwise, the person named
Hutchinson, who c^mie from Ireland with the Armagh
plough, has led the writer of that paj)pr, and even
r>]r. Blaclier, his patron, into considerable error,
both as to the husbandry of this county and the
opinions wiiich Sussex farmers entertain upon the
subject of filo:ighing. The writer alluded to states,
that at the Hailsham dinner, " fi'om the account jj'iven
in the Sussex Agricultural Express, it appears that a
verv considerable discussion took place as to the
c»rrectness of the principle upon which the pre-
miums were awa deii, in which IMr. Hutchinson en-
deivoured to show the superiority of what is called
square ploughing, viz., when the furrow is inclined at
an angle of 4) degrees, by wbich means each suc-
ceeding furrow rests one half on that which precedes
it." Under the supposition, no donbt, that this
Opinion was not entertained by the Sussex I'armer,
Mr. Blacker published a letter from Mr. Henry Ste-
phens, who states that this ojiiiiion is grounded ujion
a just principle. If the Sussex farmers ever enter-
tained a difference of opinion upon this subject, they
would indeed be placed under great oblii;ations to
these gentlemen ; but as the case stands, there is not
a Sussex farmer but who has for years considered
the square ploughing best, and it is" invariably prac-
tised throughout, as far as it can be accomplished ;
but there are some lands on -which the laving of the
furrow, iVom '.he nature of the soil, where the plough-
man is less successful ; but the nearer the furrow
can be turned to this aniile the more perfect and
business-1'ke is the plougliing admitted to be on all
sides; and the reason why Hutchinson did not gain
a better premium was that, " the one furrow was not
pressed sufficiency against the other to prevent the
seed falling down betwen." Having disposed ol
the erroni-oiis ideas entertained in Ireland about
Susses opinions of good ploughing, little remains for
us to discuss upon the subject of the comparative
merits of the Scotch and the ploughs used in our
county. Mr. King, as will be seen by the letter
subjoined, has met all the points so faithfully as to
ralieve us from entering upon them. Eut in con-
clud ng our remarks, we beg to observe we shall be
psrlectly justified in stating that, from what we know
of the characterof the agriculturists in Sussex, they
are not iron bound to their system of farming, or to
the emjiloymi nt of their plouohs, but are open to
conviction, and would n.ost willingly and energeti-
cally adopt any rational improvement, with which
they had received facts and ])roofs, such as enlighten-
ed men reipiire; but we commend them strongly in
keeping to that which thev know does succeed, rather
than to adopt plans and principles of which they are
uncertain. The writer to the Kewry Telegraph seems
to entertain the idea that the farmers in'^Sussex are
iiolared in thdr habits, and scarcely, if ever, move
out of ihv-ir homesteads. This view' is incorrect and
unjust towards them, f.ir among them are men of
scientific attainments and of great practical know-
ledge, who have watched all the systems of farming
practised, and do introduce into the county such im*^
provements as are adapted to its soil. Fo'r instance,
the Armagh plough is no novelty, it was used fifteen
years ago in Sussex, and the larid upon which it was
employed, by practice, that stern schoolmaster, it was
proved to be no improvement over the ploughs of the
district. In stating this, we wish not to be under-

stood as rejoicing in tbe triumph of the Sussex
ploughs over the Scotch, but merely to vindicate the
character of the Sussex farmers from the reflection
of being incapable of entertaining any improvement
not introduced by themselves, nor do we wish to in-
fer that the Scotch plough would not be an improve-
ment, if introduced upon some ioils in Sussex. We
entertain the homely opinion that ploughs of different
construction are necessary for different soils, and do
not encourage the o|)inion that one plough is alike
adopted to the stiff as well as the light soils of our
county, or that two horses on heavy soil will not
be less fatigued than upon a light soil, no more than
we do in the Morrisonea rage for the uiriveisd medi-
cine ; and these views lead us to s eak higidy of
ploughing matches, which we believ?; are caiculated
greatly to increase the spirit of ini.j;:iry, and to fur-
nish proofs of the relative value of the respective
ploughs.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUSSEX AGRICULTURAL
EXPRESS.

Sir, — May I request you to insert in your next
number the following contradiction, which I feel it is
mv duty to make, to a statement contained in an ex-
tract from the Newry Telegraph, presented to the
readers of the Sussex Advertiser, on Monday, the 3rd
ult., respecting Mr. Hutchinson's (the Armagh
Farmer's) performance with his plough and two horses,
at Berwick Court. I should have noticed it last week,
but it is very seldom I see the latter paper, and am in
this instance indebted to a friend for making me ac-
quainted that such a paragraph had been published,
since then, however, I have had an opportunity to
peruse the Newry paper itself.

It is quite true. Sir, that Mr. Hutchinson came to
my farm with his plough, and that he first essayed upon
a piece of very heavy red land, which the Newry paper
reports was encumbered uith heaps of stones. I beg
to remark that the stones, (of which however there
were but few) being collected, was an advantage in-
stead of an annoyance to Mr. H., as he had not to con-
tend against them ; and his ploughing a few perches
only, arose from the little time he had to spare, and if
he had extended his furrow in length, he would have
gone down a hill which would have made it very diffi-
cult for the horses to have drawn the plough up again,
in which opinion Mr. H. then coincided, as upon the
level part of the field and in a short furrow it was by
great exertion that the plough could be moved, and
they were glad of the opportunity to turn. I have no
hesitation in giving it as my opinion, that if two good
horses were called upon to plough half an acre per day
upon such a soil, that in a very short time they would
be so worn as to be quite unequal to that taS'k ; so that
six horses in three ploutjhs would accomplish less work,
be more exhausted, and require three men to hold,
which with the Armagh plough is no boy's work,
whereas, the same strength applied to turn the Sussex
wheel-ploughs vvould accomplish more labour, and do
it better, be less wearing to the cattle, and prove alto-
gether more economical, as two men and two boys to
drive, would do instead of thtee men.

The next thing alluded to, is Mr. H. testing his plough
by the side of my man with four horses. Now, Sir, it
is at all times particidarl) unpleasant to charge any
person with wilful misrepresentation, but in this in-
stance, I have no alteinative, as the Newry paper has
reported Mr. H. to have stated a positive falsehood,
as in applying the machine, the ditference of djaiight
between the two ploughs was only half a cwt.,or about
one quarter. My neighbour, Mr. Stace, brought the
machine, and watched it with Mr. Star, Mrs. Gilbert's
ste<vard, and another servant, who came with him.
Mr. H. is quite aware that Mr. Stace pronounced such
to be the fact, and which was not at the time contra-
dicted ; as to the string breaking, it is too frivolous to
notice, although in this instance it was accounted for
by the ring through which it passed being so worn as to

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

331

cut nearly as sharply as a knife. I should observe that
Mr. Stace very seldom uses the old \vheel-plough, and
is certainly above any suspicion of prejudice in its
favour. Mr. Hutchinson says, that I did not dispute
that he made as good a furrow as my own man. I was
silent because I considered the imperfect manner in
■which his plough, comparatively with my own, per-
formed, was so obvious that it did not require me to
inform a pupil of Mr. Blacker, and one too who boasts
of a mathematical knowledge upon the subject, that
such was the fact,

"^'■e Xewry paper charges the Sussex farmers with
being bigoted, and slow to improve, and states, that if
a ploughing match had taken place in Ireland, the com-
petition would have been much greater. It is, how-
ever, to be remarked, that the premiums offered upon
this occasion were confined to two horses, to be driven
with reins, which is not at all practised in the neigh-
bourhood of llailsham, which of itself accounts for the
ploughs not being more numerous.

That Mr. H. had to contend with some annoyance
from the curiosty of those assembled at Hailsham, no
one can dispute ; but it is quite a mistake to suppose
that the premium was withheld because he laid his
ground at an angle of 45, but because he did not do so,
as his furrow in too many instances was not sufficiently
turned to form that angle. The editor of the Nexvry
Telegraph remarks that Mr. Pagden wished the furrow
to be laid as flat as a card player lays his tricks, which
induces me to think that the editor knows more of
card playing than ploughing, as nothing Mr. Pagden
said upon the occasion can admit of such a construc-
tion.

I really believe from the pains taken to disseminate
the circumstance, that it is believed in distant counties
that the farmers in Sussex generally use four horses
and a pair of oxen to a plough. That, at any rate, is
such a team as I never saw, and must have been used
for the purpose of heaping ridicule upon the farmers of
the county. Now the fact is, there will be found as
great a variety of ploughs in Sussex as in any county
iu the united empire, and I should think more land is
ploughed with two than four horses ; and surely the
charge of bigotry or prejudice is rather applicable to
those who would fain persuade us that the heavy black
soil at Beddiiigham, Alciston, and Berwick, can be
ploughed Vv'ilh two horses as easily as the sandy land
at Midhurst or Pulborotigh. I should imagine that the
practical knowledge of the Sussex farmer is best exem-
plified by his suiting his plough to his soil ; and until
the Newry Telegraph can prove one soil is as easily
ploughed as another, he will have some difficulty in
proving one plough eligible for every part of the
kingdom.

I am ready to run the risk of being charged with too
much presumption or conceit, but I have no hesitation
in stating that I believe ploughing to be as scientifically
understood, and as well practised in Sussex, as in any
county in England. I have omitted to notice the exul-
tation displayed when the first premium veas awarded
to the old Sussex plough. Surely such feeling was ex-
cusable, after the severe reflections which had been cast
upon Sussex ploughs and men.

Scotch ploughs are no novelty in Sussex, as they
were tried at Berwick Court twenty years ago, by Mr.
Jenner ; likewise at Clapham, by Mr. Hitchins. The
latter had ploughmen from Scotland, in order that the
prejudice of the servant might be no obstacle ; but
after two or three years trial they were discarded, and
fell into disuse.

I am sorry to have intruded so much upon your
columns, but as the Sussex Advertiser has favoured the
public with such copious extracts reflecting upon the
intelligence of the Sussex agriculturists, you, as a
friend to their interests, will I am sure see the necessity
of a reply to them. With that apology only, I beg to
subscribe myself, Your constant reader,

April 12, 1837. JOITN KING.

AGRICULTURE.

(FROM THE farmer's ADVOCATE.)

The following extracts from American Agricul-
tural publications will not be uninteresting to
English readers.

The scarcity of every kind of grain in a coun-
try considered to be essentially agricultural, and
affording an easy and unlimited field for the ope-
rations of husbandry is a circumstance so very
extraordinary, as to render an investigation of
the causes highly important, as well to prevent a
recurrence of the evil as to ascertain whether the
vicissitudes of our climate are such as to render
man's utmost efforts unavailing ; or whether the
evil is occasioned by an imperfect system of farm-
ing, and a habit of placing unlimited confidence in
the unassisted operations of nature. The most
obvious way of accounting for the short crop of
the present j^ear is by attributing its partial de-
struction to the unusually early and unseasonable
frost. While this may be true, it warns us to be
prepared always for the worst rather than for the
best ; and teaches us the propriety of cultivating
only such grains and roots as are least likely to be
affected by early frosts, and which arrive at ma-
turity in the shortest space of time.

Of the different kinds of grain and roots there
are infinite varieties. The earliest kinds answer
our climate best, and although the late kinds may
also be cultivated with success in favourable sea-
sons, they cannot in all years be depended upon.
The cultivation of the early kinds also afford more
time for the operations of spring and harvest. Of
oats, wheat, and peas, there are varieties of early
and late. Barley comes to maturity in a shorter
time than any of these, and consequently is per-
haps better adapted than any other grain for ex-
tensive cultivation in this country, always com-
manding a ready market, and capable of being
converted into an excellent substitute for flour in
scarce years. Yet with all these obvious and un-
doubted advantages there is no quantity of barley
worth naming raised in the townships. Of pota-
toes there are late and early varieties. Some
which are very prolific and fit for long keeping,
others which have all the worst qualities of the
root combined, and yet this excites little attention
amongst our farmers. A potatoe is a potatoe and
that is all the majority of them look for. Much
maybe done to obviate all chances of short crops
by bestowing greater care on the soil and reducing
the tillage land within a smaller compass. There
is no advantage in half cultivating large tracts —
the returns seldom repay the labour necessarily
bestowed on them. An acre well cultivated and
well manured, will yield as much as three acres
under the ordinary tillage of the country, and the
labour required is much less, but even good till-
age will avail very little, if the seed is bad. It is
not enough that a farmer does one thing well —
neglect in any one particular, may ruin the
whole.

The extensive cultivation of the Swedish turnip
is one of the gi'eatest improvements of modern
English farming. The returns per acre taking the
proportion of nutritive matter contained, are
greater than those of any other known root ; they
are easily cultivated — exceedingly hardy and not
liable to be injured by frost— they admit of being
transplanted, and tlvus afford plenty of time for
the preparation of the land — and whether for the

332

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

stall or the dairy— whether for feeding oxen,
sheep, or pigs, they are equally valuable ; for man
also they are an excellent vegetable.

The efforts of agricultural societies in England
have been chieQy instrumental in forwarding agri-
cultural improvements. The application of prin-
ciples purely scientific to practical farming, has
operated a change which has, at least, increased
the produce of the country fourfold. We want
agricultural societies in this country ; and when
such properly constituted societies do exist, the
first great benefit which they can confer on the
country, is to introduce from other countries seeds
suited to our climate, and discourage the cultiva-
tion of such grains and plants as are adapted only
for longer seasons and milder climates.

As the township farmers are beginning to turn
their attention to the growing of wool, (the Land
Company having created a market for it,) the fol-
lowing information — being the result of well es-
tablished facts — respecting the most profitable food
for sheep, will be of great importance if properly
attended to. We recommend every farmer to pre-
serve this number of the Advocate, if not in the
habit of keeping a regular file, which, by the way
every man should do. One word as to the profit
of growing wool. A friend of ours in Brompton,
informed us that about a year since, he purchased
fourteen sheep, and after wintering them, he sold
their wool to the Land Company, for money
enough to 2) ay for their keeping and the first cost of
the sheep.

Winter Food for Sheep. — Every farmer is
aware, that one of the chief difficulties in the
raising and management of sheep consist in pre-
serving them through winter, without disease or
loss. Hence every fact or hint in relation to their
winter management becomes of the first import-
ance. It is indispensably necessary that sheep
should be kept in condition in order to prevent di-
sease ; and it is a secondary point, yet one to
which much attention should be paid, to make use
of the cheapest kinds of food.

With regard to the quality and nature of food,
it should be such as to keep them in a strong
healthy state, and rather full of flesh, yet not par-
taking too much of fatness. Thi? good condition,
even if maintained at considerably greater imme-
diate cost, will be found by far the most profitable
in the end ; for independently of the constant
danger of loss by death, when are ill kept, they
shear much less wool, and the future progeny is
much weaker, in consequence of such imperfect
management.

One of the most necessary requisites to be ob-
served is constant and regular feeding. Sudden
changes from scanty to plentiful food, are highly
detrimental, as is also the reverse. Perhaps the
only exception to this remark, is the case of ewes
rearing lambs, which require better feeding than
in ordinary times.

The quality of the food is a thing of much con-
sequence, and the quantity must be adapted to the
quality. It is satisfactorily ascertained, that hay
alone is not adapted to keeping sheep in the best
condition. Still less is it if they are not allowed a
constant supply of water. But the intermixture
of roots, and particularly mangel wurtzel, is found
to produce an excellent effect. A verj successful
manager of sheep, whenever he feeds any kind
of roots or grain, first gives them a foddering of
straw in order to fill them, as he does not consider
the roots digest so well on an empty stomach.

lbs.

lbs.

6*

12i

6i

lU

bk

6k

14

59i

10

42

lU

60

14i

41

14

35

121

42

ISi

m

10

33

7*

13

In order to be able to proportion the different kinds
of roots, grain, &c. according to their nutritive
qualities, it is necessary to know in what po-
poriions those qualities exist in them respectively.
The following table exhibits the results of the
experiment of the distinguished agriculturist De
Raumer, on the effects produced by an equal
quantity of several substances in increasing the
flesh, tallow, and wool of sheep.

1000 lbs. potatoes, raw, lbs.

with salt, 46i

do without salt, 44

do mangel wurtzel raw, .... 38

do wheat , 155

do oats, 146

do barley, 136

do peas, 134

do rye, with salt, 133

do do without salt, 90

do meal, wet, , . . 129

do buckwheat, 120

do good Lav, 58

do hay with straw without

other fodder 31 ISJ 6^

These results agree nearly with those of De
Dombale, and with those of number of other
agriculturists.

It has also been ascertained by the experiments
of some eminent agriculturists, that,

One lb. of oil cake is as nutritious as two pounds
of hay.

200 lbs. of good sound straw of peas vetches are
equal to 100 pounds of hay.

300 lbs. barley and oat straw are equal to 100
lbs of hay.

400 lbs. of wheat straw are equal to 100 pounds
of hay.

It will be perceived by the above table, that
wheat produces the greatest increase in the flesh
of the living animal, though but little greater than
oats ; that peas, wheat, rye, and hay mixed with
straiv, produce the greatest increase of wool ; and
that barley and wheat causes the greatest increase
of tallow. — That as an average, grain generally
give about three times the increase in the flesh,
that roots and hay do when in equal weight ; that
grain produces about t^ice as much wool as is
caused by an equal weight of roots, and several
times the amount of tallow, that is produced either
by roots or hay. But as an equal weight of man-
gel wurtzel may be raised at an expense of one-
tenth of what is required for the production of
most kinds of grain, the vastly superior economy
of its use as food for sheep for everything except
fattening, will be at once perceived.

De Raumer found, that sheep ate with avidity
eight pounds per head of mangel wurtzel a day,
intermixed with straw; during which time they
drank one quart of water, and I'emained in good
and healthy condition.

That of raw sliced potatoes, they ate with good
appetite at the rate of seven pounds per day, also
with straw, and drank three pints of water in
twenty-four hours. Also remained healthy.

That they ate two pounds of peas per head daily,
drank from two to three quarts of water, and re-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

333

Biained fine and healthy. It was necessary to soak
the peas to prevent injury to their teeth.

That wheat produced nearly the same results as
peas.

That they do not eat rye readily, and it appears
not well arlapted for their food.

That of oats and barley, they ate about two and
a half pounds per head daily, with avidity, did ex-
tremely well on it, and drank about three quarts of
water in twenty-four hours.

That buck wheat produced excellent efiects upon
them, which they ate with avidity.

And that of good hay they ate four and a half
pounds daily, and drank from two and a half to
three quarts of water.

As a large number of fine woolled sheep have
heen introduced into the country within a few
years, it is absolutely necessary, in order to ren-
der them most profitable, that they be well sheltered
during winter. In those countries in Europe
which are most famous for the giovvth of fine wool,
strict attention is given to this subject, and sheep
are not only sheltered in the night but whenever
the weather demands it during the day. It is said
that on this depends in a great degree the fineness
and quality of the wool. Sheds, at least, should
always be provided for the most hardy breeds of
sheep ; much more so then, ought they to be for
the more tender, fine woolled varieties.

We conclude these observations with the re-
marks relative to the importance of water and
succulent food to sheep during winter, of J. Bar
ney, Esq., of Philadelphia, whose experience ajid
skill on this subject are well known. To a gentle-
man who visited him, he showed from fifty ewes,
upwards of sixty lambs, all lively and brisk, with
a loss of perhaps three or four. The gentleman
observed to him that he had his shed covered witli
dead lambs, and asked wherein ihe secret of breed-
ing lay. He answered " you stuff your sheep with
dry food .' " " Yes as much good clover and hay
as they will eat, " was the reply. " You give them
no water, but suffer them to go out in the time of
snow and eat as they are disposed to do ? " "Yes."
"Then there lies the secret. Your sheep fill
themselves with hay; they get no water; and
they have not a supply of gastric juice to promote
digestion of the hay in the stomach ; they cannot
raise to chew the cud; they lose their appetite ;
are thrown into a fever; and cannot bring forth
their young ; or they bring a feeble, starved lamb
that often dies on the first exposure to the cold and
rain. On the contrary I take care to provide my
sheep with good clear water in summer and win-
ter. I feed them regularly with hay through the
winter and give them ruta baga and mangel wurt-
zel every day. The ewes produce me 120 per cent.
in lambs. You cannot get along without ruta baga
and mangel wurtzel. — Genese Farmer.

During the last gale a larch tree, 49 feet long and
17 J inches average girt, free from arms, was blown down
near the Hall at Melton Constable. It is supposed to
have been planted by Sir Edward Astley about 70 years
ago. There were three Scotch firs lately cut down on
Sir Jacob Astley's estate, which contained three loadd
of timber each ; and it is conjectured, that there are
finer silver, Scotch, and larch firs at M elton than on
any other estate in the kingdom.

SWEDISH TURNIPS.

There are three most essential requisites to ob-
tain a good crop. First, the land must be con-
genial to their growth— clean, full of mould, and
not very clotty. Secondly, a proper quantity of
good manure, well covered in the land, and not
exposed to the atmosphere so as to lose its nutri-
tious qualities. Thirdly, seed raised from a sort
proved to be good, drilled at the proper depth and
distance and at the proper season. With these indis-
pensable requisites, with favourable weather, and, if
the plants are not injured by the fly, and well hoed
(twice or thrice if necessary) , a good crop of
Swedish turnips (which is of greater value than is
generally supposed,) is almost sure of being ob-
tained ; but if there is a deficiency of any of these
requisites, it will be advisable to sow common tur-
nips, and if there should be a deficiency of most of
them, not to sow any ; for half a crop of turnips
with a full crop of weeds, puts the land into a bad
state, and by expenses takes money out of the far-
mer's pocket for as wasteful a purpose as if he
ploughed his cash into the land. It is unneces-
sary, and in my opinion injudicious, to consume
on the land by sheep the whole of a full crop of
Swedish turnips : it is making most land too rich
for a good crop of barley ; very heavy crops al-
ways produce corn of inferior quality ; and gene-
rally speaking, in all descriptions of grain, when
the quality is inferior, the quantity seldom turns
out so much as expected. The consequence aris-
ing from a layered crop of barley is generally a
half, or perhaps a quarter of a crop of clover ; and
nothing can be worse, for the land will be covered ;
if crops do not come weeds will, and thus injury
is sustained in future crops. If half of a good
crop of Swedes is consumed on the land, it is
quite as much as it requires, the remaining half
may be carted off to improve the quality of the
manure in the yards, or to be consumed by
sheep on other parts of the farm that may want
enriching. Swedes wanted for stall feeding be-
fore Christmas should be sown the latter end of
May ; but for that purpose only, the tops being
likely to mildew in September, and the bottoms
to rot in the spring. For sheep feed they may be
sown as late as Midsummer; common turnips
from Midsummer to the middle of July. The
greatest weight of Swedes is to be got drilled on
ridges, 27 inches asunder, and the plants left
twelve or fourteen inches apart. But drilled on a
flat surface, in rows fourteen inches asunder,
(care being taken that the manure is well covered)
answers as well for spring sheep keep as on ridges,
the turnips not being so liable to be injured as
Swedes on ridges sometimes are, during a winter
with a repetition of frosts and thaws. It is best
to form the ridges, and sow the seed, when the
land is moist, the plant then coming up earlier
and stronger, and of course sooner getting out of
the power of the fly. It is much better to have
moist mould thrown on the dung than dry. I do not
like however to have the ridges formed when the
land is very wet, for then they are apt to become so
hard and crusty at the top, that the seed plant
(particularly mangel wurzel,) cannot work its way
out of the ground. Most Swedish turnips run too
much to top, and produce many worthless fangs
at the root. By getting, a few years ago, seed from
Sweden, 1 have got a kind that produces a small
top, with a tap root only ; and having widely cir-
culated my seed, the Thorpeland Swedes are well
known in many distant counties. Each year I
sow a small quantity of any sort well spoken of,

334

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

but have not yet met with any I like so well as
my own ; the tops of which coming up weaker,
they do not seem at first to promise so well for a
crop as the coarser kind, and besides which the fly
has more I'ower on them. The fly is not one-tenth
part so troublesome in some parts of England as
it is in others. 1 am informed that in the north
they are not so much troubled with it; and from
personal observation I know they are not on the
coast of Norfolk and Suffolk ; the cold blasts from
the great Northern Ocean do not suit them. I
am inclined to believe that the sea fogs, so com-
mon on those coasts, are a benefit to the turnijis
grown there. There are few persons take the
t ouble of being so ])articidar as I am in raiding
Swedish Turnip seed. I suj'erintend the selection,
and see that not one turnip is planted that has run
out of shape. And to prevent any inoculation by
bees when they are in flower, I will not suffer any
thing of the turnip or cabbage tril)e to run to seed
in my kitchen garden, although it is 500 yards
from where my seed is growing. When it is
raised near a village, there is no security against
inoculation. My ridged crop of Swedish turnips
is this 3'ear unusually small, but 1 think I may
without presumption say, I believe, that there is
not to be seen at this time (August .31), a finer
or cleaner crop. To show the diflerence between
the crops, I had some drilled on a flat surface, and
as I well knew, the ridges will certaiidy produce
much the greatest weight per acre. By having
nearly twice as many turnijis en the flat as on the
ridgea, it might be supposed that a greater weight
might be produced. I have tried the two ways,
both sown at the same time, and found the ridged
turnips so much larger, that they produced the
greatest weight jjcr acre. A Swedish turnip is
doubled in weight by a small increase of its girth.*
I have often been somewhat incredulous as to
some of the reported weights per acre of Swedish
turnips ; for having been for some years past in a
sweepstakes with Lord Spencer, I consider, from
the weights we have produced, five and twenty
tons per acre a good crop for regular tillage land
that has, the previous year, borne a crop of white
grain. Around Manchester, \Ahere they can ob-
tain such immense quantities of sood maniire, and
have, during the summer, three times the quantity
of rain that we ha\'e in this county, they can pro-
duce a greater weight per acre of Swedish turnips
than we can ; for turnips cannot have too much
rain. I recommend that land intended for turnips
("but think it not so necessary for corn) should he
ploughed uj) at the beginning of winter ; and if it
is free from couch, and intended for Swedes a
small quantity of dung ploufjhed in, (not too
deeply,) will produce good eff'ccts, by causing the
infant plant to grow stronger and quicker, and
therefore sooner free from the attacks of the fly.

After numberless tri;ds to prevent the ravages
of the turnip fly, the only way which 1 found at

* With Northumberland ridges a certain degree
of fallowing is carried on during- the growth of the
turnips. As to a bi-o;id-cnst crop of Swedes, I tjiink
that quite out of the question with a good system of
farming, Tlu-ee pounds of seed per acre is my usual
quantity. Swede turnips will keep stacked in
the field very well, in not too large heaps ; and I
think it a good plan to have a re.serve of unfrozfin
turnips there for slieej), in a hard frost. They will
keep iLrough a long frost by being placed in' rows
close to each other, with the roots cut off, the tops
thus forming a pretty secure covering.

all successful is, to collect all the weeds I can on
the farm, and lay them in hea] s all round the field
sown with turnijis; on the plants coming up, and
showing the least appearance of being attacked by
the fly, the heaps to windward are set on lire,
brimstone is put in the fire, and thus the strong
smoke which is very oftensive to the insect, is
wafted over the crop. If this is continued till the
turnips get into rough leaf, they will be safe ; but
if before this the process is stopped for five or six
hours together, in a fly working day, the crop
most likely will he lost ; therefore I have not
scru])led on a Sunday to have the fires lighted be-
forj the morning, and also before the afternoon
fervice. When, si)me years ago, I mentioned my
smoking-fly jjrcventive schema, after dinner at
our Society's Annual Meeting, I got a little smoked
myself; but having had, last year, a full crop of
Swedes, which was a very rare sight, I have had
the satisfaction this year (1836",) to see my plan
adopted on the Farm of the Noble Patron of our
S-'ociety, and on many other farms in the county. I
think my smoking plan might be serviceable to
protect hops from the insects which attack them,
'i'he fly commences, and ceases to commit its de-
predations, at such diff"erent times, in different sea-
sons, that no one can with any degree of certainty
fix the time for sowing, when the crop shall be
least likely to be injured. The fly likes only the
smooth seed leaf of the turnip, if that is eaten, the
plant dies. 'When they cannot meet with seed
leaves they will eat holes in the rough leaf, but
they cannot thus destroy the plant. When corn
crops are mowed, they will then prey on the young
clover plants. No one ha'^ yet been able to prove
where the fly is prodriced. Some assert that it
comes from the earth ; others that it is bred in
the seed. I made an experiment two years ago,
which satisfied me and all those I sliowed it to,
that it comes out of neither. When my turnips
were sown, I covered a piece of land with a large
square of thin gauze, which I so fastened down
that no insect could creep under it. Under the
gauze, the turnips were not touched by the fly ;
ail round it they were eaten and destroyed by it.
Where the insect is generated, is not known, it
flies in the air like other insects, and although it
may appear strange to us, it has the power to dis-
cover that there is food for it as soon as the turnip
leaf ap[)ears above ground. I have dwelt long on
the ciiltivation of mangel wuizel and turnips ; but
I trust that the generality of my readers will so
agree with me as to the great value of these crops
as not to think me tedious. — Hillyard's Practical
Farming.

Western Austhalia. — (From the Second
llrroRT OF THE Westirn Australian Association.)
— The following- vegetables thrive in this Colony most
abundantly, turnips, cabbages, cauliflowers, raddishes,
lettuce, carrots, onions, potatoes, peas, kidney beans,
beet, &c. I'hese vegetables are highly productive,
equal in size, and generally superior in flavour, to those
crown in England. Long-pod and Windsor beans,
are not productive. The various kinds of pot-herbs,
such as thyme, parsley, &c., thrive extremely well.
The various kinds of melons, such as the rock, cannc-
lope, romana, and water, beiir fruit abundantly, and
are of the finest quality, as to size and flavour. Cu-
cumijers grow remarkably fine and good ; and pump-
kins and gourds are of large size, and very productive
* * * The fruits most plentiful, at present,
are peaches, figs, and grapes ; it is not possible for any
fruits to be doing better than these are, as regards theii'

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

335

productiveness, quality of fruit, and healthy ^owlh.
The almond hitherto has not done well ; the walnut
tree thrives well. Within the last year or two, a con-
s'derable number of apple, pear, plum, oran;?©, lemon,
g-uava, and other trees, have been introduced, these
are in a healthy and thriving' state. The price of ve-
getables, at the time of their first production, after the
settlement of the Colony, was very hig-h. The tirst
cabbagres were sold at 2s 6d each ; they are now worth
one penny or one penny halfpenny each, of larg:e size,
full hearted, and of excellent quality. Potatoes were
fii-st sold at Is 8d per lb ; the price is now one penny
halfpenny. Peas were sold '2s per quart (unshelled) ;
they were sold during- the present season, at Is 6d per
peck. Oniou'^, three years ag-o, were worth 's 6d per
lb ; thev are now one penny. The first water melons
sold as hisrh as 10s 6d each ; they may now be pur-
chased for 2d or 3d each. Rock melons were 5s each ;
their present price is 6d. Cucumbers, that at one time
produced 9d, are now sold at one penny each. T^' o
years ag-o, the crapes were sold at 2s 6d each lb ; their
present price is 9d. Peaches, two years asro, (the first
offered for sale,) were one shilling' each ; they are now
sold for 2d each. Figs were tour for a shilling- ; tiiey
are now sixpence per dozen. You will see, by the
few instances I have staled, in the former part of my
letter, how greatly vegetables and fruits havc; fallen in
price, since the first settlement of the Colony ; they
will still continue to fall in price, as we have soils and
climate so well adapted to their g-rowth ; a clima'e dur-
ing- the winter season, sufficiently cool to bring- the
greater part of those vegetables common to E:igland,
to the greatest perfection ; and, during the summer
season, sufficiently warm to bring to the greatest ma-
turity fruits common to the south of Europe, and, like-
wise, some of a tropical character.

It appears by the tables laid by jMr. Couling before
the Eniigrution Committee, that the arable and pasture
land of P^ng-land and Wales amounts to 28,749,000
acres, of which sum he supposes the arable land and
gardens to amount to 11,143,730 acres, leaving
17,605,630 as meadows, pastures, and marshes. In 1812
Mr. Stevenson estimated the arable land at 11,500,000
acres ; and, it is believed, it may be now estimated at
12,000,000 acres.— Accord ng to 'Mr. JMiddleton, sup-
posing- it to amount to 12,000,000 acres, the arable land
of England and Wales would be appropriated as fol-
lows: ACRES.

Wheat 3,300,000

Oats and Beans 3,000,000

Barley and Rye 900,000

Roots 1,200,000

Clover 1,200,000

Fallows 2,400,000

Total 12,000,000

The following account, deduced from the Agricul-
tural Report published by the Board of Agriculture,
shews the productiveness of the different species of crops
in the follo-.ving counties ;

Counties. IWlieat

Berks

Gloucester.
Ht-reforJ. . .
Monmouth.

Oitford

Somerset . .
Wiifs

Qr. b.

4

'ir. i)

qr. b.
4 0

2 4
4 0

3 1

4 4
4 0

0

Rye. j Peas.

Qr. b Qr. b.

3 0 3 0

0 0 0 0

0 0 3 0

0 0 I 3 1

0 0 12 4

3 0 12 4

3 0 12 6

■Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard.

Beans. 1

Qr

b.

4

0

0

0

3

6

3

1

4

0

3

0

3

2

Pota-
foi's.
Bush.

15
28
240
240

Bones. — The Brussels papers state that in the
Chamber of Representatives the project of law on the
importation and exportation of bones has been adopted,
after a pretty long debate. Bones of all descriptions,
except sheep's trotters, whether they contain gelatine or
not, are to pay per 1,000 kilogrammes —

IMPORT. EXPORT. TRANSIT.

fO -200 fO 30c 12 Oc
Sheep's trotters . . fO 20c Prohibited. f2 Oc

EAST LOTHIAN > AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY— REPORTS.

PREMIUM FOR EXPERIMENTAL FEEDING.

No. 1.

East Fortune, March 21, 1836.

Sir, — Incompliance with the request contained in
vour note of the 16th instant, I send you the follow-
ing report of a comparative experiment in feeding
cattle, conducted by me in competition for the pre-
mium oftered by the East Lothian Agricultural
Society.

The committee of nianag-ement having approved of
the scheme sulimitted to them., as required by the
conditions contained in their advertisement, the
cattle experimented upon, were, on the 17th October
last, chosen from my winter fatting stock, and
divided into four lots, each lot consisting of seven
Oxen, by the sub-committee appointed to superintend
experiments of this kind.

The cattle are of the common breed of the coun-
ties of Durham and Northumberland, are at present
four years old, and have been fed in the following
manner : —

Lot 1 has been fed on turnips alone, getting- as
many ;is the cattle could consume.

Lot 'i has had potatoes at the rate of about 34 lbs
per day for each Ox, besides as many turnips as
they could eat.

Lot 3 has had, along with an unlimited quantity
of turnijjs, an allow-ance to each Ox, of 5 lbs linseed
cake per dav ; and

Lot 4 has been fed on draft" and drfg from Linton
Grain Distillery, and latterly a mixtui-e of peas and
oats coarsely ground, h-,ts been given v>-ith the draft.

Regarding the quality of the different kinds of
food, I may state, — I'hatthe White Globe and Dale's
Hybrid turnips, were grown on dry gravelly soil of
good quality, the manure' a mixture of bones and
rape cakes ; they were sown rather late, were of
small size, and very firm and juicy. The Swedish
turnips grew on a more clayev soil, of very good
quality, were manured with farm-yard dung and
bones; and when lifted, the smaller roots were kept
out.

The potatoes given to lot 2 were of the variety
called Dons, and of a quality that would be con-
sidered gooil in any season. I mention this because
although cattle, when they have a choice, prefer the
larger and coarser varieties, these contain a much
less proportion of nutritive matter than the table
sorts.

The linseed cakeemployed, was of the best Dutch,
and probably not much inferior to English made
cake. For the most profitable employment of this
expensive food, the present experiment has been
continued too long ; for even admitting that the cattle
fed on it have increased in weight of beef consider-
ably more during the last half of the time, than they
did during the first, yet as their beef, at the enri of
the first three months, would have brought about
the highest price in the market, the food since con-
sumed by them, it appears to me, might have been
more profitably used in feeding another such lot ;
for in this way twice- the number of lean carcasses
would have been converted into valuable beef.

336

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

Ficding that the cattle on distillery offal were
making very little improvement, I began, in the be-
ginning of February, to give them some meal mixed
with their draff; before this, when the draff was
new and sweet, tliey did rery well, but as it grew
stale, they ate gradually less and less of it, and more
straw, with which, in common with the three other
lots, they were always liberally supplied : since that
time, by increasing the quantity of meal as the draff
became sour, the mixture is always eaten with relish,
and the cattle have been improving very rapidly.
The expense of feeding, also, is at the same time
greatly increased ; the meal, at the rate they have
been allowed it, costing for each Ox fully 3s per
week ; given at a smaller daily rate, continued dur-
ing a longer period, the same quantity of meal would
probably have produced a better effect ; but from
what I have observed while conducting this experi-
ment, I am convinced that if distillery offal, at its
present price, can in any way be profitably used in
years when not more than ordinary profit on feeding
is obtained, it must be by giving along with it some
other better food.

An account has been kept of the number of carts
of turnips given to each lot, and a cart-load occa-
sionally weighed, in order that the whole quantities
consumed might be approximated to with sufficient
accuracy ; — the whole of the other food has been
weighed or measured.

The experiment commenced on the 19th October
last, and from that date to this, a period of twenty-
two weeks, the quantities of food that the four lots
have severally consumed, are as follows : —

Lot 1, Fed on Turnips alone, has consumed : —
36 tons White Globe.
27 ditto Dale's Hybrid.
33 ditto Swedish.

96 tons.

Lot 2, Fed on Turnips and Potatoes : —
22 tons White Globe.
17 ditto Dale's Hybrid.
19 ditto Swedish.

58 tons.

16|^ ditto Potatoes.

Lot 3, Fed on Turnips and Linseed Cake: —
35 tons White Globe.
25 ditto Dale's Hybrid.
33 ditto Swedish.

93 tons.
2 tons, 5 cwt, 56 lbs. Linseed Cake, at 71 I5s per
ton.

Lot 4, Fed on Distillery Grains, S^c.
115 qrs Draff, at 4s per qr.
83 puncheons Dre^, at 2s per puncheon of 125 im-
perial gallons.
16 bushels Salt, at 11 Is 3d, cost price.
4 qrs Peas coarsely ground.
14 qrs Oats, ditto ditto.

Trusting that these notes contain all necessary in-
formation.— I am, &c. A. BRODIE.

The following is the valuation put upon the several
lots when inspected ly the Judges on the 1st day of
April, viz. : —

Lot 1.— Valued at £21 10s each.
2.— Ditto, £22 10s ditto.
3.— Ditto, £25 ditto.
4.— Ditto, £21 ditto.

Tallow, and Hides,

F Ushers' Note of Weight of Beef,
of each lot: —

Beef,
lbs.
Lot 1.— Fed on Turnips.. . . 6314
2. — Fed on Turnips and

Potatoes 6405

3, — Fed on Turnipsand

Linseed Cake. . 6930
4. — Fed on Distillery

Grains, &c 6118

Beef.

lbs.

Lot 2 was superior to lot 1 91

and was inferior —

3 was superior to lot 1. 616

4 was inferior to lot 1. . 196

Table shewing difference arising from feeding on Turnips
alone, and Mixed Food.

Tallow.

Hi'des

lbs.

lbs.

728

579

784

561

924

605

728

b7^

Tallow.

Hides

lbs.

lbs.

56

—

18

196

26

—

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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

337

No. 2,

Lawhead, March 24, 1836.

Dear Sir, — After receiving your letter of the
18th October, I was induced to commence the ex-
periment which I had previously signified my wish
fo conduct, in the hope of its leading to an import-
ant result. The object was to ascertain whether
beans and potatoes, raised upon certain kinds of
soil, might not be made available in fattening
cattle, where turnips could not be raised without
doing great injury to the land.

In the presence, and with the concurrence of a
sub-comniitee of the society, the produce of 14 im-
perial acres of land was set apart for fattening 20
young cattle of my own rearing, and which that com-
mittee also gave me their assistance in dividing into
four lota of five in each, of as nearly equal value as
possible, each lot having the exact produce of 3\
imperial acres of land as under.

Lot No. 1. — For this lot of five cattle, oj imperial
acres of Swedish turnip, weighing 14 tons, 3 cwts
per acre, say 49^ tons; whereof 12 cwts. were
unconsumed at the period of removal, being at the
rate of 133 lbs. per day to each beast, for 166
days.

Lot No. 2. — This lot bad only one half of the tur-
nips which were allowed to No. 1, with the addi-
tion of the produce of If acres of Yam potatoes,
weighing 12 tons per acre, so that the allowance
for the five cattle was 2-lf tons of Swedish tur-
nips, and 21 tens of potatoes ; 5 tons of the pota-
toes were unconsumed at removal, vrhich leaves
67 lbs. of turnips, and 40lbs. of potatoes, as the
average consumption of each beast per day.

Lot No. 3. — This lot had also 24| toi.s of Swedish
turnips, and the produce of If acres of peas and
beans, amounting to 8f quarters, weighing 641bs.
per bushel ; whereof 6 cwts. of turnips, and 7
bushels of beans, stored for this lot, were not used
at the period of removal, making the average con-
sumption 661bs. of turnips, and 4§lbs. of bean
meal, per dav to each beast.

Lot No. 4. — This lot was allowed the produce of If
acres of Yam potatoes, being 21 tons : and also
bad the produce of If acres of peas and beans,
being S\ quarters, weighing 64lbs per bushel ;
whereof 5 tons of the potatoes were unconsumed,
and 7 bushels of the benns, making the average
consumption 40lbs of potatoes, and 4|- lbs of bean
meal, to each beast per day. This lot got about
ten Scotch pints of water daily, and straw in
common with the three other lots, which got no
water.

I conclude by mentioning, that the land which
produced the different descriptions of food, was of
equal quality and got the same quantity of manure,
otdy that the turnips had, in addition, a small al-
lowance of compost in the drills ; this experiment
warrants the impression, that our stiffer soils may
in future vie with the turnip land in the butcher
market. Below is a note of the aggregate girths
of each lot. ANDREW HOWDEN.

Lot. 1, Lot 2. Lot 3. Lot 4.

ft. in. ft in.

On 10th Nov., 27 llj 28 8

On 24th March, 30 1^ 31 IJ

ft.

in.

ft. in.

28

3

27 IH

31

4

31 0

Improvement, 2 2

ij 3 1 3 OJ

The following it the valuation put upon the several

lots when inspected hy the Judges, on Ihe 1st of

April, viz: —

Lot I. — Valued at £12 4s each.
2.— Ditto £13 12s ditto

3.— Ditto £14 16s ditto

4.— Ditto £14 Os ditto.

Fleshers' Note of weight of Beef, Tallow, and Hides,

of each Lot: —

Beef.

Tallow.

Hides.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

Lot 1.— Fed on Turnips , . 3005

314

315

2. — Fed on Turnips

and Potatoes . . 3213

437

318

3. — Fed on Turnips

and Bean Meal 3353

366

333

4. — Fed on Potatoes

and Bean Meal 3194

355

334

Beef.

Tallow.

Hides.

lbs.

lbs.

lbs.

Lot 2 was superior to lot 1 208

123

3

3 ditto ditto 348

52

18

4 ditto ditto 189

41

19

745

216

40

Table showing the difference arising from Feeding on
Turnips alone, and Mixed Food : —

o

a>

— . "o

on
•r- tin

5 °

o
S ^

II

>

o

a

Consumption.

1 -o
.=> E

t^ CO

>.£-
a

o .

of

>

'3

1

£35
35

35
35

£61

68

74
70
273

£26
33

39
35

3J ac. turnips,"^
at n, 8s 7d y
per acre, .... J

If ac. turnips, "1
at do J

l^ac.potatoes,'^
at 15/. per >
acre, J

1^ ac. turnips,. .

Ij acres beansjl
yielding, per
report,59bus. {
the profit be- '
ing 26/, or 8s
9^dper bus.._

Potatoes as p.l
No. 2, /

1^ acres beans^
yielding 59
bus. the pro-
fit on the y
whole being
15/, is 5s Id
per lb _

£26

26
33

39

35

2

13
13

52

£20

3

26

4

20
15

140

133

81

£133

7 acres turnips, and 6 acres potatoes and beans.
On calculating the value according to the girths at
the commencement of the experiment, the diffe-
rence between tlia highest and lowest, was found
not to exceed 3s 6d on each beast, it was there-
fore considered unnecessary to take the difference
into consideration, in stating tbeoriginal valuations.

338

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

IRRIGATION AND DRAINING.

In the Black Forest and in Switzerland, every
mountain stream is conducted in a main run or
feeder, along the upper part of a sloping field, or
along the middle and the edges of a level one
raised on the summits of low ridges, to give a fall ;
while from these main streams innumerable smaller
streams branch off in the most convenient direc-
tions, to carry the water in eveiy direction over
the surface, small slucies or stops being placed at
])roper distances, to economise the wafer, and regu-
late its equal distribution. \Vhen passing through
these countries in Autumn, they will be found
cutting their bay, in many instances their second
crop ; and as soon as it is off the ground the whole
of the fresh mown field will be laid under water,
rarely so deep as to appeal' above the short grass,
and no ivhere allowed to stagnate, but moving
slowly to the lower parts of the field, where it is
collected into a main stream, in the same way as
it had been distributed. It is indeed an indispen-
sable part of this system, that the fields subjected
to it may be as effectually and speedily laid dry as
they may be laid under water.

Irrigation, though apparently opposite in means
is similar in effect to draining — both render the
fertilisation of land easy. The universal effect of
flowing water over the surface of the ground is the
promotion of healthy vegetation. Whether it is
effected by the natural inundation of the Ganges
and the Nile, or the artificial inundation of the
plains of Lorn hardy, l)y the Tagliamento and Po,
the promotion of vegetation is striking. Irrigation
is an attempt of art to imitate the beneficence of
nature and to extend that beneficence over a larger
portion of the globe than nature seems disposed to
do. Flowing water, in whatever state, refreshes,
invigorates, and renders natural herbage finer —
stagnant water destroys it, and leaves a rank and
unwholesome vegetation in its stead.

The crops on water meadows are produced at
the least exiiense, and with the greatest certainty
of an early return. On watery meadows that are
well managed, the grass is the earliest and of a
superior quality, well adapted to the feeding of
ewes and lambs ; and the hay, when properly made
is equal to the best clover-hay, and superior to
any other kind for milch cows. When the her-
bage of dry porous soils is impoverished for the
want of moisture, and the rich spongy land, by
its remaining too long stagnant, both of these
evils are remedied. Another great advantage at-
tending irrigation, is the extra sujjply of manure
it yields to the arable part of a farm, especially
when the lands are lying (which is often the case)
at so great distance that it is almost impossible to
procure it for money. The success of im-^noviiig
land by irrigation, perfectly warrants an experi-
ment in the most unfavourable situation. The
result will invaiiably triumph over every preju-
dice.

There is, perhaps, no circumstance which so
ohstrusively forces itself on the attention of the
at;riculturist as he travels along the highways of
the Principality as the neglect of draining. la
arable as vvell as in pastoral districts among moun-
tains as well as on the plains, this neglect is very
striking. Perhaps it would be too strong to assert
that there is not a thoroughly drained /arm in all
Wales, but there is no hazard in the assertion that
a thoroughly drained parish &oei not exist in it.
Startling as this intelligence must be to the agri-
culturist, it is no news to many farmers in the best
cultivated districts. Full wall they know that

much improvement has yet to be effected by drain-
ing, and that in its train alone follows every other
improvement. Though silent and secret in its
ojjerations, like wholesome medicine, draining has
renovated the constitution of the soil, and suf-
fused a beautiful bloom over the face of the coun-
try. Were draining extended to the utmost pitch
ot abilitj^ it is impossible to anticipate the exact
degree of favourable change which the climate
would experience ; although the obvious connexion
existing between the climate and the soil, would
warrant the anticijjation of aii imi)ortant change.
Look into every one of the countries of Wales, and
see the many thousands of acres which require
draining on every hand, and which are lying of
little vaUie for wan: of it. The cost would no doubt
he considerable, but if it were executed in a substan-
tial manner, we maintain that the increase to the first
crop would rei)ay the whole expense to the farmer,
be that what it nia}'. But the tenant ought not, in
justice, to bear the expense of such a fundamental
improvement of the land. The lamllord should at
least share alike with him, and lessen the burthen
to each. The depth and the distance between the
drains depend entirel y on the imperveabiiity of the
subsoil. But it is easy to fix the miniynum de[)th.
No kind of drain, on any pretext, ought to have a
smaller depth of stones than 18 inches, nor a
smaller depth of earth above them than one foot ;
so that no drain should be less than 36 inches in
depth, nor need the maximum of shallow drains
exceed 3 feet. The width should allow a man to
work freely in them. The distance between the
drains has been fixed at the breadth of a ridge, that
is, in every furrow. Small round stones, or broken
stones, should in every case be preferred to tiles,
and they should be carefn.lly placed by the hand. It
is only where stone can be obtained, Wut at greater
labour and expense, that tiles should be used.
VVe have seen a night's frost break the whole tiles
laid down for a drain. Luckily they were broken
before they were used ; but why are such sjiongy
tiles sold to deceive the public ? Were the soil
thus fertilised, the produce of the Principality,
whether in corn, straw, green-crops, or pasturage,
would be increased mauyfold. Wheat and live-
stock would then be so abundant, and of cojirse
cheap, that every labourer would be enabled to
consume wheaten-bread and butcher-meat ; and
constant employment be provided for agricultural
labourers for many years. One sheep additional
kept, or one quarter of corn more raised on an
acre, would add millions a year to the wealth of the
country.

It is truly mortifying to all good rational feeling,
to witness the deplorable state of our farm labour-
ers' cottages and gardens, with their appendages
of filth and dirt ; more conspicuously so, when
compared with those in England. Now, shoidd
this be } They have far less appearance of tidiness
and comfort in and about their dwellings than their
English brethren. Blame attaches somewhere,
but not with these otherwise deserving people,
for they have not had the advantage of seeing im-
provements elsewhere. They surely ought then
to be stimulated by j)atronage, precept, and exam-
ple at home, and by those who have the means.
AN AGRICULTURIST.

Llanassa.

Prizes for Draining. — (From a Corres-
pondent.)— On Friday last the three prizes advertized
to be given by Loid St. John, of Melchburn, Beds, to
the best drainers with turf were competed for in a
grass field on his Lordship's farm ia the parish of

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

339

Riseley, Beds : there were 49 competitors from the
couuties of HnQtingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Bucking-
hamshire, and Noithamptonshire, and some excelleut
workmanship -was exhibited : the length to be drained
by each was 33 yards, the time allowed 4; hours. The
first prize of 6/ was awarded to William Denton, of
Hartwell, Northamptonshire ; the second of 4/ to
David Dentoa, of Hanslop^, Bucks; and the third of
2/ to Stephen Dickens, of Riseley, Beds ; and many
others were very highly commended by the Judges,
namely, Mr. Anderson, of Oakley, Mr. Hine, of
Knotting, and Mr. Rogers, of Melchburn, who after-
wards adjourned to his Lordship's mansion, where
with several other gentlemen they were hospitably
entertained. The proceedings of the day excited great
interest among the labouiiiig community of the sur-
rounding parishes, upwards of 1,000 of whom were in
attend;inee during the day attentively examining the
progress of the work, and the priuciples on which this
improved system of druiaing is founded. — W.A,

ISLINGTON MARKET r. SMITHFIELD.

fFROM A PAMPHLET Rr.CENTIA" PUBLISHED.)

It would be almost a work of superorog"atiou to dilate
upon the inconveniences a market, situated in a very
circumscribed space in the centre of the metropolis, for
the sale of upwards of a million and a half of animals
per annum, must in the very natura ef tilings occasion.
If we had sought for the means of fixing a plague-spot
upon a civilized people, we could not have succeeded
so well ; if v/e had looked.

" For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble,"

we could not have compounded a caldron more full of
mischievoas ingredients than Smithfield Cattle JMarket;
it is the anomaly of all civilized anomaliss, and our
proud City must purge itself of the foul reproach."

"Smithfield jMnrket wns established above 700 years
ago, then called Smooeh-field, in which horse-races,
tournaments, and the execution of criminals took place
at the Elm Trees (afterwards at Tyburn). It was
then witliout the walls of the City. The legalized area
of the marliet is at this period under four acres and a
half ; out of which cattle cannot be sold without sub-
jecting all parties to a prosecution,

******

"The present market will not contain more than
1,500 bullocks, and about 15,000 sheep ; there is then
room wanted for calves and pigs. Very commonly,
however, space for 3,000 bullocks is wanted, frequently
for 3.500, and at some seasons 4 or 5,000, besides several
hundred calves, and from 20,000 to 35,000 sheep. The
number at all times brought into the market, while the
remainder are waiting- in the adjacent streets for room,
are very inconveniently packed ; yes, packed — no other
term is applicable, unless we say compressed ; leaving
few or no regular ways by which the drovers may draw
out the sheep when sold, to make room for others yet to
be brought in.

"The sheep for want of room, frequently lie upon
each either, steaming like a new dung heap when wetted
by the rain, while the drovers are clambering over their
backs, breaking legs and putting out eyes, as they deal
out recklessly their blows on the heads of the sheep
over which the others are to pass.

"In Smithfield there are strong posts and r^dls, to
which as many oxen are tied up as the space will allow ,
that is to say, about 1,200 out of the average of 3,000 of
the number brought for sale on the Monday ; the others
are kept for view in ofF-droves, the manner of accom-
plishing which will be explained when I come to speak
more particularly of cruel treatment. As regards
merely the inconvenience of the market, it is in evidence,
before a Committee of Parliiimeat, that much of the

butcher's time, when in the market, is taken up in pro-
viding for his own safety. But what is this to the an-
noyances such a number of cattle, compressed into a
space comparatively so small, entails on the inhabitants
of the immediate neighbourhood, and all the ramifying
avenues for a mile or two distant? On Sunday night,
at the time when persons are returning to their homes
from different places of worship, through numerous
streets, the scene of uproar and confusion commences ;
the driving from 20,000 to 30,000 head of cattle through
crowded streets — the drovers, cattle, and dogs all in-
termixed, the latter barking-, the former uttering horrid
oaths and impious execrations, re-echoing- from one ex-
tremity of the market and immediate streets to the other
— forms a scene no language can adequately describe ;
nor can it be conceived, except by those who repair
to the spot for the purpose of forming a true j udge-
ment."

Bones as a Manure, and Bone Dust
Sowing Manures. — The following are extracts
from a communication just received by the Messrs.
Di'ummond of the Agricultural Museum, our towns-
men, from an extensive landed proprietor, and zealous
Agriculturists in Aberdeenshire, in reply to inquiries
made by them respecting the important subject to
which the extracts refer, and we have g:reat pleasure

in giving them a place. — Stirling Journal. " As to

the manner of putting in bones by any machine, it is
humbug, and nothing but humbug. Bones were first
used as a manure in Yorkshire, particularly around
Doncaster ; and one or two mills were quickly set to
work for the purpose of crushing them at Hull and
elsewhere ; as soon as I heard of it, the great saving
of carriage to me, who was at that time driving hun-
dreds of tons of dung from Aberdean, struck me. I
tried it, and from that time till this day, have derived
the benefit which is so well known ; I am talking of
twenty years ago ; there was not then a bone mill in
Scotland, or a single bone made use of in agriculture
from the Tv^-eed to John O'Gioats — nay, bones were
at that time exported from Aberdeen to Newcastle in
small quantities. I used to buy them at 25s to 30s a
ton, in the rough state, and broke them at home by
manual labour, and a rude plan I fell upon, with a
heavy stone, at the cost of 12s to 15s a ton : at this
early period, I was so well aware of the value of them
as a substitute for manure to the turnip crop, that I
drove them from gentlemen's dog keunds at twenty
miles distance. In fact, I was the laughing- stock of
my neighbours, who were perfectly incredulous of the
virtue they contained; aud some of them even told me
to ray face, that I might as vTell put the new-fashioned
road metal (Mr. M'Adam having just then come into
vogue) into my drills as that stuff ; and it was not un-
til I liad repeatedly measured off separate acres, and
manured one with farm-yard dung, and the other with
bones, alongside of each other, and desired them to
look and say which was the best, that I could get
people to believe they would produce a crop, far less
a good crop. I have mentioned these facts to show
you I am no tyro in bone manure ; and, in short, from
the time it became known m Yorkshire, I have tried
it in all manner of ways, used and seen used, all sorts
of machines ; by far the best way is to open the drills
in the usual way, and give the drills " a straik''
(lengthways of course) with the harrows, and then a
man sows the bones at the rate of 25 bushels per Scotch
acre, or 20 bushels per imperial acre, into the half ob-
literated drill; then cover, as if farm-yard dune- had
been used, and instantly sow the turnip seed. There is
no cheaper or better plan. If bones are very difficult
to be got, or high priced, dry house or coal ashes,
mixed and turned, can be added to the bones, and so
make 12 to 15 br>shels per Scotch acre, or 9 to 12
buihels per imperial acre, produce a good crop. More
than 25 bushels per Scotch acre is of no use. You are
to understand that the bones are to be sown out of a
sowing sheet, up the drill, just as if a garoener were
sowing a drill of spinage. No machine can perform

340

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

the work so well or so quickly, because if you set any
machine wide enough to insure no blanks, and enable
you to drive on with celerity and no misgivings of mind,
then you are wasting the bones ; if you set the machine
close, now and then the bones will hitch across the
mouth, in the very best constructed machine, and then,
of course, there is along blank till the mistake is found
out. As to dibbling, it is far from a good plan in any
shape. I have tried it several times, but never shall
again. My space will not allow me to detaU all the
reasons agaiast it ; one is, when the ground is dry, the
earth runs into the hole, and with machine or hand, it
is rare to see them properly deposited."

MANGEL WURZEL.

BY MARTIN DOYLE.

Mangel Wurzel is a kind of red beet, not liable to
be injured by disease or insects, and proof against the
change of seasons. It requires loamy loose soil, and
abundance of shnrt and rich manure. It gives no unplea-
sant taste to milk or butter, (an objection which may be
urged against turnips and most kinds of cabbage) —
quite the reverse. Pigs, as well as milch cows, are
fond both of its leaves and roots. Sixteen or twenty
perches under it, will support a cow, allowing her
sixty pounds weight per day, for the five winder
mouths ; and half a pound of seed, which will cost
about Is 6d, will sow these twenty perches. From
the 20th to the end of April, is the best time for sow-
ing the seed ; and those of you who are not likely to
have your ground at that time ready, should sow in a
seedling bed, in order to transplant when the ground
is prepared ; and in this case you should not put out
the plants until they are about an inch in diameter,
else they will not arrive at full size. The best way,
however, is to sow the seed where it is to remain, and
the process is as follows : —

Prepare your land as if for drilling potatoes — open
the drills eighteen inches or two feet distant, the
deeper the better, unless there is yellow clay at the
bottom — fill them with short manure — cover them
with four or five inches of earth— roll them length-
ways, and then on the smooth and level top make
holes with a dibbling stick, two inches in depth and
about twelve inches apart, and into every hnle drop two
seeds, which are to be covered as the work proceeds.
When the plants arc about two inches high, you are to
draw out from each hole the extra plant or plants,
leaving of course the strongest and healthiest plant
behind. Keep them clear from weeds, but do not
earth them. If any of the plants appear to run to
seed, pull them out, and transplant into their room,
after stirring up the earth, and applying a little fresh
THanure, (and to the want of attention to this point
the comparative failure of transplanted crops is to be
attributed) other plants of mangel wurzel, rape, cab-
bages, or Swedish turnips, which should always be in a
reserved seedling bed, in case of failure in any crop.
In September pull the leaves— [cutting them close to
the crown will cau-e the root to rot if left in the field
during the winter] — and give them to your cows,
sheep, and pigs. You will also find that they make a
good substitute for greens or spinach.

The following is Mr. Meadow's calculation of pro-
duce : —

Drills 2 feet distant, 1

Plants 2 feet distant, J

Drills 2 feet distant, \

Plants 18 inches distant, J

Drills 18 inches distant, I

Plants 1 foot distant, J

Drills 18 inches distant, 1

Plants 11 inches distant, J

Drills 18 inches distant, 7

Plants 18 inches distant, I
You may safely calculate

220 plauts per perch

23,280 per acre.
147 plants per perch ■

23.580 per acre.
* 294 plants per perch

47,040 per acre.
252 plants per perch

40,320 per acre.
196 plants per perch

31,360 per acre,
on 30,000 plants per acre.

If you average the plants at 3llbs. each, which is
much too low, you will have 90,000lbs. or about 40
tons, not a watery substance like turnips, but a firm
nutritious food.

THE TURNIP FLY.

FOR TPIE SHREWSBURY CHRONICLE.

Few things have more puzzled and put the invention
of the AgTtculturist on the rack, than the endeavour to
find out a certain method of destroying that destructive
insect, commonly called the Turnip Fly.

In the arardens of Sir W. W. Wynn, Bart.atLlan-
gedwin, which I have now cultivated tor thirty-one
years, the Turnip Fly has been remarkably destructive,
not only to the whole of the Brassica, or Cabbage, tribe,
but to the Radishes also. I tried every expedient that
appeared in the newspapers, and every other that I
could hear of, but in vain, till about twenty-five years
since, 1 discovered that a proper mixture of lime and
soot have the desired effect.

I now lay it down for the benefit of Farmers and
Gardenersin general, which I am certain, from the very
long experience I have had, if given a fair trial, will
never fail. One bushel of soot and two of quick lime,
well incoporated, are nearly sufficient for an acre, it
the turnips are sown in the usual way, in drills. Let it
be sown with the hand out a hopper, as soon as the seed
leaf appears. This mixture is the most innocent that
can be in regard to the plants.

I am, Sir, yours, &c.

JOHN HAYNES.

Llangedwin Gardens, April lOth, 1837.

The Lessees of Ecclesiastical Lands and
Church Rates. — The Lessees of Church lands,
though they have no legal rights beyond what their
leases give, have yet a prescriptive interest and pre-
ference in the renewal of those leases ; and it is pro-
posed, that the Lessees shall have power to purchase the
fee-simple of the lands, reserving a corn-rent, or to take
a lease for 31 years, at 5 per cent below the rack-rent.

Thus the plan proceeds upon the principle of preserv-
ing* all existing interests, so fat as they are compatible
with the interests of the public.

This financial operation hinges upon the assumplion
that men will be ready to give a larger sum for the use
of land under the tenure to be created by the Act of
Parliament, than under the existing system ofmanaging
Church lands. And it is clear not only that men will be
willing to do this, but also that they will be able, with-
out which their willingness would not be worth much.

Reason and experience alike show, that under a sys-
tem of low rents and successive fines, land is improvi-
dently manag'ed ; the receipts of the landlord are much
below the natural rent, while the produce obtained by
tiie tenant is nol the utmost which the land is capable of
yielding, it being nobody's direct interest to lay out capi-
tal in improvements. The contingencies which attach
to land thus circumstanced are all against its most pro-
fitableuse,and the tenant takes care to be on the safe side.

The Northumberland Dhovers in 1792. —
The inhabitants of this country speak an odd
dialect of the Saxon, approaching nearly that of Chau-
cer, and have retained some customs peculiar to them-
selves. They are the descendants of the ancient Danes,
chased into the fastnefses of Northumberland by the
severity of William the Conquerer. Their ignorance is
surprising to a Scotchman. Itis common for the traders
in cattle, which business is carried on to a great extent,
to carry all letters received in course of trade to the parish
church, where the clerk reads them aloud after service,
and answers them according to cu'cumstances. — Life of
Sir Walter Scott.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

341

ON THE PRINCIPLES AND PRAC-
TICES OF SHOEING HORSES.

(Frani the Veterinarian.}

" HORSES SHOD ON THE MOST APPROVED PRINCIPLES. "

"horses shod on the EXPANSION PRINCIPLE."

I Lave noticed this over many forges in and about
the metropolis, and allude to them now, not with the
intention of inquiring into the principles of either, for
the very plain reason, that I have never yet known
of horses having been shod upon principle, i. e. agree-
able to the laws of nature, and aJmiuing of no de-
viation. The perfection of this art, like others,
would of necessity be that which came nearest to
nature, or, strictl)' speaking, it would not be art.

I long ago discovered, for myself at least, the so-
phism that has misled the veterinary profession upon
the subject of shoeing, to be the making principles out
of their practice ; and if we onl)- go back to the pe-
riod of the foundation of the college, we have had
systems of shoeing enough, every one knows, but
net one upon principle ; and, we believe, no one «'ill
attempt to deny the definition of a principle ; the
resulthas been, that these systems, or, more jiroperly
speaking, modifications, have never come into gene-
ral use. The ordinary method of shoeing is still
practised throughout the country; the only differ-
ence I have observed, is more or less superiority of
workmanship, for which diiferencc in price is
charged. It is not, therefore, altogether true, that
the low price paid for shoeing is the ca-.se that these
modifications have not come into use. Do the
smiths of Newmarket never get 20^ for plating a
winner'? and is this not sufficient stimulus to pro-
duce something practically useful, to save the feet
and legs of racers over the hard heath in summer and
frost from the effects of percussion"?

Do not sportsmen pay high prices for shoeing
hunters 1 Are coach-proprietors and others so blind
to their own interests, that, if any of these modifica-
tions had been as advantageous as their proposers
thought, they would not have used (hem also ? The
style in which some of them do business is a suffi-
cient answer that jirice would not be studied by
them. I will not sa}- it is a disgrace to the veteri-
nary profession ; for many of its members have
shown an ardent desire, and this, too, at some sacri-
fice of time and money, to bring what they indivi-
dually thought advantageous into general use : all
have, however, more or less failed. I will endeavour
to explain the causes of failure upon the ground of
principle, or, rather the want of principle, upon which
the whole profession, with few exceptions, seem to
have been influenced. Most of them have made
principles matter of inference from their practice,
few from direct inquiry ; and these have always
been bev.ildered by practice also ; having no princi-
ple to go upon, they could never fairly emancipate
themselves ; they were slaves of the forge — with
ideas tied down by so much per set of shoes, leather
soles, stopping and all.

Mr. Moorcroft was well aware of the cause of the
degradation of this art, and, with the intention of
striking at the root of the evil, I had constructed by
machinery his modification, with whicla I have no-
thing to do at present ; but had he been able to
make shoes, of any form, at fourpence each, instead
of eightpence, he would have succeeded : but, con-
fining himself to modification, he failed, and, I once
heard him say, at the sacrifice of a greater sum than
would now, in the present state of machinery, fully
accomplish the object. Who will attempt any thing

in the present state of the trade ? — -art it cannot be
called.

The next attempt was accidental, originating in
Mr. Goodwin having pattern shoes cast by Mr. Dud-
ley : but he would not listen to the profession which
applied to him for the shoes in ordinary use, and
fullered. I thought at the time how it would end.
Mr. Goodwin's modifications began, and the panic of
1825-26 put an end to the use of cast shoes. I was
sorry for Mr. Dudley, and wished he had not com-
mitted the same error as Mr. Moorcroft and others ;
for I know, from practical experience, that the shoes
might have been in use still. With the forms of
the ordinary shoes, the patent is nearly out ; and, if
Mr. Dudley does not get a renewal, by application
to parliament, some one else will attempt its intro-
duction again ; as a discovery, probably, — we have
so many of them now-a-days. The shoes must be
those in ordinary use ; for I think it improbable to
reconcile the conflicting opinions that exist on this
subject in one shoe. I will attempt to explain this.

The common slices have a flat surface next the
ground ; that next the hoof more or less concave,
except at the heels, where they are flat, varying in
substance, and oftener thicker at the heel than at the
toe. The web is broader, according as the shoe is
larger in size, and fullered in heavy shoes, some-
times counter-sunk nail holes, and nailed to the
crust while the hoof is raised from the ground.
There is no space between the hoof and the shoe,
and, to prevent the percussion which of necessity
occurs from the weight of the horse upon the hoof
when the shoe thus applied bears on the ground,
the sole is pared, so as to allow of its descent. This
acts as a spring, and the percussion is prevented in
some degree. But percussion still happens opposite
the heels and quarters, which cannot overcome the
resistance opposed to the action of the hoof by the
close application of the shoe. Now this is, we sup-
pose, what is meint by " shoeing on the most ap-
proved principles, " i. e. the practice approved by
those who follow the trade of shoeing horses through-
out the country. It was therefore inferred, that the
principles of shoeing were, that the crust only should
bear on the shoe.

Mr. JMoorcroft recommended the sole to have a
bearing on the shoe also, as it was found the sole
could bear on the shoe without injury. This upset
the inferred principles ; but an endeavour was made
to reconcile this inconsistency, by explaining that
the reason was, that the sole at the toe was not op-
posed to sensible parts ; that the principles were the
same, notwithstanding the exception ; and practice
showing that no bearing could be allowed of the sole
on the shoe opposite the quarters and heels (the
corn place, as it is called.) Now it so happens, that
the crust at the heels is as much opposite sensible
parts as the sole at those parts, and, for the same
reason, should not bear on the shoe : it cuts both
ways. The frog, too, is opposite sensible parts, and
yet it was especially recommended for pressure by
its bearing on the bar-shoe, where the aforementioned
sensible parts, opposite sole and heels, could have
no bearing and pressure.

I was strangely puzzled to understand such logic
as was attempted by these inferences from practice,
and resolved, on the first opportunity, to institute
direct inquiry into the matter. What was the re-
sult?— that the sole, frog, bars, crust, whether or
not opposed to sensible parts, were bearing on the
ground without injury being produced in horses with-
out slioes, just in proportion to the substance, the
unrestrained action of the hoof preventing all per-
cussion ; and that the same held good where horses

2 A

342

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

were shod in tbose countries where great substance
of hoof is left, and little substance of shoe is re-
quired, percussion and injury to sensible parts not
happening there also. It is quite a mistaken notion
to suppose that Englishmen do not go the pace in
any other country but England ; yet, although ex-
posed to all that has been considered as the predis-
jjosing causes in greater degree, and the proximate
cause in the rate and continuance of progression
being equally as much, lameness does not often hap-
pen. In England, in the metropolis, and large
town3,'wherehigherprices are paid forshoeing, where
the workmen are most skilful, where horses aie what
is called neater shod, where most substance of hoof
is removed, agreeable to the supposed principles of
shoeing, there are more lame horses than in the
countr\% where the worknianslnp is rougher. I
would rather have our horse shod in the ordinary
Avay by the latter than the former, to go over the
stones of the metropolis, where percussion is most
likely to happen.

"The expansion principle" is a strange mis-
nomer : it seems to imply that the hoof expanded ;
that hard and soft parts within it expanded also,
which the anatomy and physiology of the foot deny.
The superincumbent weight of the animal, not sup-
ported by the springs within the hoof, must ultimately
fall perpendicularly on the last spring, that formed
by the buses of the hoof on the sole, bars, crust, and
frog. We did not copy this pufling announcement
from any particular forge; hut in every part of the
country, and the metropolis too, we have this " shoe-
ing on improved, " and on " new, " and " tlie new-
est, " and " the most approved, " and " patent, " and
" Professor Coleman's, " and '•' college, " and " vete-
rinarian, " and " expansion principles : " and, added
to this, and in perfect keeping, " Veterinary surgeon,
smiths' work in genera), and hell-hanging in all its
branches ; " wliile Mr. Coleman's patent, and other
shoes gilt, occupy the upper corners of tlie board,
and a fiying-pan and a gridiron ornament the lower
ones, and a goodly row of pots, pans, and kettles,
fill the window. Out upon it ! Are we come to
this"? The man who has a sign-board just over
Bow Bridge, "all kinds of heasts gelt," is more a
veterinary surgeon, and to him we recommend the
public.

" Principles most approved " and " Expansion " ap-
pear to be distinct : there is a division as to tJie mode
of receiving the weight from tlie last spring to the
shoe, and ultimately conveying it from the shoe to
the ground : the prevailing party believing that the
structure and physiology of the foot and hoof con-
sist of springs ; that there is a depression of the sole,
bars, crust, and frog, when the hoof is on the ground,
and a recession of these parts when the foot is in the
air ; the substance of the sole is sacrificed to effect
this depressioH of the sole, but no space is left be-
tween the heels and shoe to admit of the depression
of the crust at the heels, which are opposite to sensible
parts, as much as any portion of the sole. Both in
light and heavy horses the consequence is percussion
and alteration of form, often incurable lameness.

The inferred principle has been carried on more
by the college and its students than by others, tlie
niodificr.tions of Mi-. Coleman having allthistendency,
extrinsic to the form of the shoe. We were in-
structed to pare the soles of light horses, in some
cases, as thin as paper, till they were pliable under
the thumb, and to be particular in making the sole
concave opposite the seat of corn ; the effect of which
was, to give this depression of the sole ; but in
fceavy horses it increased the predisposing cause of
corns, by destroying the substance of the sole ; and

the crust at the heels was sooner destroyed by con-
cussion against the shoe, which then bore on the
sole also. The bar-shoe was then had recourse to,
and, to carry out the principles, it was said, that, as
the public required one shoe to do for all horses, the
bar-shoe was the only one applicable ; but having
been used only in extraordinary circumstances, the
public will not use it as an ordinary shoe. Mr.
Powis "ised it witliout the bar; but the Levarian
shoe, r we believe he called it, though having a
space litween it and the heels at the time of appli-
cation, 30 as to admit of the action of the hoof; yet,
after a few days, bjf the closer approximntion of the
shoe to the hoof, that space became Ic.i.i ;ind less,
and, before it was necessary to ren.ove it, the hoof
bore on it as in the ordinary shoe.

But the bar-shoe, or used without, the bar, or the
frog bar-shoe, clearly and distinctly upsets the infer-
red principle, that crust should bear on the shoe, and
sole should not. Let us tlierefore Iiear no more of
such nonsense from any one professing to have the
least practical knowledge of shoeing horses. Tliere
is no principle that can be uniformly practised wiili-
out injury. The predisposino- and exciting causes
of injury of the foot are not acting upon all horses.

I have got rid of all technicalities, to enable us to
come to some conclusion as to wliat really are the
principles of shoeing horses. I have shewn clearly
enough, from genernl practice, tliat the crust only is
allowed, or part of the sole also, at the toe to bear on
the shoe, till it can bear no longer at the heels: the
weight is then thrown on the frog, if in a sound
state to bear on the shoe, until you can get the
heels in condition to bear on the shoe again. If we
are to infer principles fi'om all this, what is the re-
sult?—That depression of the sole, bars, crust at
the heels, and frog should be allowed in the sound
state of hoof that is used for its relief when diseased.
I am aware that the subject is full of difficulty ; it
all hinges upon practical utility, ;. e. whether the
ordinary shoes can be sujierseded by tliose upon prin-
ciple at the same price. Independently of tliis, it is
easily accomplished, as I shall hereafter show, but
not upon tlie theory of expansion, which is not the
principle of action in the hoof, but that of the
spring.

" It would be a very easy matter to give instances
of the advantage derived from springs, by calcula-
ting assumed cases ; but tliey seem to be quite un-
necessary, since tlie general principle of changing
percussion into increase of pressure, must, by its
very annunciation, give evidence of its immense im-
portance. " — D. Gilbayt, Esq. M.P.on the Construction
of Mail Coaches.

"So great is the advantage of springs, that tjiey
almost annihilate the resistance which that part of
the load which rests on thera would encounter with-
out them, upon stony roads or rough pavement.
From the whole of these ex[)eriments, it appears tliat
the advantage of springs increases with the increased
velocity of carriages." — R. L. Edgcwnrth. Esq.F. It..
S.M. R. I. A. Essay on the Construction of Roads ami
Carriages. 2d edit. p. 118.

Sjnings. — They convert all percussion into mere
increase of pressure ; that is, the collision of two
hard bodies is changed, by the interposition of one
that is elastic, into a mere accession of weight. Thus
the carriage is preserved from injury, and the mate-
rials of the road are not broken ; and in surmounting
obstacles, instead of the whole carriage with its load
being lifted over them, the springs allow the wheels
to rise, wliile the weights suspended upon them aie
scarcely moved from their horizontal level, so that
the whole of the weight could be supported on the

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.'

343

springs, and all the other paits supposed devoid of
inertia, Avhile the springs themselves are very lono-
and extremely flexible. This consequence would
clearly follow, jiowever much it may wear the ap-
pearance of a paradox, tliat such a carriage niaj' be
drawn over a road abounding- in small obstacles,
without ag-itation, and without any material addition
being- made to the nioring- power or draught. " —
Gilbert.

" A carriage without springs, moving over a rough
road, has to be lifted over obstacles, or out of depres-
:;-(!iis, and all the power expended in overcoming
inertia is puie loss : but the force exerted in eleva-
ting- tlie weight is in a great measure by the prece-
ding or subsequent descent. Now, under the sup-
position in my paragraph, inertia would be destroyed ;
and it already is so by springs now at present used,
and by the smooth roads." — Gilbert.

It would be useless to nuiltiply quotations on the
]>rinciple of springs. The i)rinciple of springs is
acknowledged and taught in our veterinary school
as the principle of action of the hoof and part within
it. The seceders go upon a supposed expansion
horizontally : they have failed, as others before them,
in not being- able to bring- the modification of expan-
sion into general use. Springs, too, have failed ;
and for the same reason, — their application to pre-
vent contraction. For springs to be brought into
general use instead of tlie ordinary shoes, they must
have the ordin-ar}' shoes ibr their basis. It must pro-
duce as much profit to tlie tradi-' ', not forgetting- that
intellect in its march has, as yet, forgotten to go
the i-ounds of the vcteriimry forges, tlie new name for
the blacksmith's shop, in contradistinction, I suppose,
to that of the whitesmith.

(To be continned.)

EVIDENCE BEFORE THE COM-
MONS' AGRICULTURAL COMMIT-
TEE OF 1836.

parties will commend. I am quite prepared, however,
to justify the step I have adopted. A great deal of the
time of the Committee was taken up in exaniinlng-
farmers on the subject of the currency, and frequently
in constraining- mem to express an opinion respecting- it
when they had frankly declared it was a matter they did
not understand. I have made no extracts from such
evidence. Tlie subject is a difficult one, and I do not
consider farmers very g-reat authority upon it. I have,
however, g-one further. I have passed over all that
Messrs. Spooner, Muntz.and Burg-ess delivered respect-
ing- the currency. Those g-entlemen take so romantic a
view of the matter, that on examining- their statements
one cannot help deploring- that eccentricity of mind to
which g-reat talent and even g-enius are proverbially
allied.. The hope of tampering- with the currency could
not, recently, have been very high among the more
sober of those who approve of such a policy. Its allies
have found but a feeble band in the House of Commons,
comprising- few men of g-reat abilities, and not one of
much political importance. Out of doors the proposition
has been very little more successful. The intelligence
and the jiroperty of the country equally repudiate it.
Many farmers, indeed, have declared in its favour, not
because they pretend to understand the question, but
because they have been constantly assured that it would
make them rich and prosperous by persons who have
known better, and whose sincerity, when they are sin-
cere, is so like dishonesty that it deserves to be con-
founded with it. On the whole the currency question is
on the decline, and the determination of the evidence
taken before the Committee on Agriculture is not cal-
culated to prop it up. I earnestly recommend to those
who entert-ain doubts upon this subject to read with
attention the information elicited from Lord Ashburton,
Lord Radnor, and I\Ir. Saunders, especially that portion
of it given in reply to the questions of Sir J. Graham,
and Sir R.Peel. Lord Ashburton, who, since the deatii
of JMr. Ricardo appears to me to understand the nature
and operation of money better than any other man in
public life, and who was expressly cited before the
Committee with the hope of bolstering- up the case of
" the currency party," scouted as the most idle of all
delusions— the jidea that the ag-riculturists could derive
any peculiar benefit from the lowering- the standard of
value. On the contrary, he reprobated such a proceed-
ing- as not only incapable of affording any special ad-
vantage to the landed interest, but as certain to in-
volve all interests in suffering and confusion."

It is abundantly manifest that the generality of
farmers cannot spare llie time even, if they possess-
ed the inclination, to wade througli the three large
folio volumes of evidence given before the Com-
mons Parliamentary Committee upon Agricultural
Distress, which sat last Session. To provide for
this difficulty, so far as it is practicable, a volume
has just been published, by Ridgeway, entitled
" Slate and Prospects of British Agriculture, being
a Compendium of the Evidence given before the
Committee of the House of Commons appointed
to inquire into Agricultural Distress, with prefatory
observations" by a Member of Parliament. It
does not appear whether the "Member of Par-
liament" was a Member of the Agricultural Com-
mittee. Be that as it may the agriculturists are
much indebted to him for compressing the pith and
marrow of three folio volumes into one octavo
volume at the small cost of two shillings and six-
pence. The prefatory observations are temperate
and sound, and the selections from the evidence
made with good judgement. The " currency
men" will disapprove of his course as he does of
theirs. In adverting to that subject, he says —

" It is with respect to the currency that I have ex-

ercised a discretion, which I can hardly expect all agricultural readers.

For the benefit of those who may not have the
" evidence'' within reach we will give Lord Asii-
burton's answers upon the subject of " depre-
ciation."

Q. "Although you consider that a silver standard or
a joint standard might abstractedly be preferable to one
of gold, should you advise in case a new arrang-ement
were made with respect to the metals constituting- the
standard of value, that there should be any depreciation
ia the existing- standard 1—A. Surely not.

Q. Do you think that the ag-riculturist has any special
interest in the depreciation oithe standard? — A. I
tliink he cannot possibly . I do not see any interest that
any person can have in the depreciation of the standard,
except that a debtor may be said to have an interest ni
defrauding- his creditor. Nobody can uonestly have
any interest in the depreciation of the standard."

If Lord Ashburton be an authority upon this
subject it is impossible that terms of reprobation
can be stronger than those in which he expresses
himself in reference to the " depreciation" scheme.
A perusal of tlie evidence contained in this volume,
disencumbered as it is of ail the less useful part, is
perfectly within the compass of the practical far-
mer, and will amply repay the trouble. We re-
commend it earnestly to the attention of all our

2 A 2

344

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

THE SCOTCH IRON PLOUGH versus
THE SUSSEX TURN-RIST PLOUGH.

(From the Neivry Telegraph.)

Not very long since we alluded to the rather
novel occurrence of a small farmer of the name of
Robert Hutchinson having gone to attend a plough-
ing-match in Sussex, and we have awaited his re-
turn with considerable impatience, wishing to know
what account he would give of his visit. A few-
days ago he arrived, and we have obtained two
Sussex newspapers. [A report of the meeting, taken
from the Stissex Advertiser, will be found in the Mark
Lane Express of the 13th March. Ed. M. L. E.]

The Sussex paper, by its account, leads us to
think that a considerable local excitement seemed to
have been felt in favour of the old Sussex plough,
as the announcement of the first prize being given
to one of that description was received with great
cheers, and it was particularly requested that tlie
fact of the first prize being given to the old Sussex
turn-rist plough should be particularly noted. This
is quite pardonable if kept within proper bounds ;
but nothing can be more senseless if it should be
carried to such an extent as to reject any valuable
improvement, come from where it may. From the
account given in The Sussex Paper, it appears
that a very considerable discussion took place as to
the correctness of the principle upon which the pre-
miums were awarded in which Mr. Hutchinson en-
deavoured to shew the superiority of what is called
square ploughing, viz. — when the furrow is inclined
at an angle of 45 degrees, by which means each
succeeding furrow rests one-half on that which
precedes it, shewing at the surface of each furrow
slice, a right angle, resembling the ridge-stone of
the roof of a house ; by this means the one furrow is
pressed sufficiently against the other to prevent the
seed from falling down between ; and a comb, or,
as Mr. King expresses it, a sufiicient grit is pro-
vided to roll over upon the seed and cover it effec-
tually ; so that the braird ought to come up as if the
seed had been sowed by a drilling machine. We
give an extract, from the account in the other news-
paper, on this pai't of the discussion:

" Mr. Hutchinson said that it was g:ratifying' to him,
as a stranger, to have so many expressions of kindness
bestowed upon him. His object in visiting this part was
more to see the country and its agriculture than with
any desire to carry away the prize, and to see if the
ploug-h which had been sent there could be made to
plough the Sussex land, and he had not been convinced
to the contrary. The manner of judging the merits of
ploughing in this country differed from that in Ireland;
there, the nearer the ridges were left square the better
was the ploughing considered. He should feel obliged
to the Stewards to inform him where he had failed ; he
asked this merely for information, for he did not impugn
the judgment of the Judges, who, he felt satisfied, had
decided with great correctness as regards their system
of ploughing.

" This question was answered by Mr. Pagden, who
stated that he objected altogether to Mr. Hutchinson's
setting the edge, for if it stands six weeks it will be a
complete meadow, and three harrows upon the other
lands would do more than five would upon his ; he
would not have the Scotch plough upon his land if it
were worked gratuitously.

" Mr. Hutchinson said the object in his country was
to throw the ridges up in such a manner that both sides
should slope alike.

" Mr. Pagdin said the grand fault in ploughing was
not completely turning the land.

" Mr. Hutchinson. — On the other hand, does not
the square furrow form a cover for the seed ?

" Mr. Pagden. — Certainly, if you turn the land pre-
cisely so that the seed cannot get away, but nearly a
third of the seed would go down between the furrows
and never come up.

" Mr. Hutchinson. — Not if they are properly turned
and close.

" Mr. Pagden. — But that is not the case.

" Mr. King stated that he did not think jMr. Pagden's
objection was so great as he stated, for he thought that
four of the ploughs used to-day did their work very
much worse than the Armagh plough. He (Rlr. King)
understood Mr. Hutchinson to say that the sharper the
angle of the ridge, the more grit was obtained by the
harrow; and he (INlr. King) would rather sow corn
after Mr, Hutchinson's plan, than after land ploughed
by Lady Webster's plough.

" Mr. Pagden.— That is not my opinion.

" Mr. King thought that with strong land they could
not with the Scotch plough get a furrow at all. There
was land which they could not do justice to without the
wheel -plough and four horses."

By this it appears that Mr. King went so far as to
say he would rather take chance of a crop after Mr,
Hutchinson's ploughing than after that which had
got a higher prize. In answer to this, Mr. Pagden,
one of the Judges, contended that one-third of the
seed would be lost by laying the furrow as Mr,
Hutchinson had done, and that it would leave the
field covered with grass. According to the account
given by Mr. H., the kind of ploughing which was
most approved of, was that in which the land •' was
completely turned," as Mr. Pagden expressed it,
and the furrows laid quite flat, as practicable; the
reest, or that part of the mould bo;ud of the plough
projecting over the furrow slice, so as to press it
close down, and the furrows left, as a slater does his
slates in slating, only that they did not do more than
merely overlap, and thus leave three-fourths, or per-
haps four-fifths of the furrow a flat surface, being
merely a sod turned upside down, perhaps eight
inches broad from the one overlap to the other. It
is, if this be the case, quite clear that the seed
spread over so broad a space may indeed be mixed
with the mould raised by the furrows, but cannot be
said to be covered, as in the other case ; and there-
fore it is that the angle of 45 degrees is universally
approved of in this country, and we believe every
where else where the subject has been duly con-
sidered, and we doubt not when tlie subject has been
brought into notice the same judgment will very soon
be formed by our Sussex fellow-subjects.

Mr. Hutchinson speaks with the greatest gratitude
of the kind treatment he met with, and the attention
shewn to him during the whole time he stayed ; and,
never having been from home before, he seems to
have conducted himself with great propriety in sub-
mitting, with a good grace, to a judgment which he
thought, and which we believe, to have been deci-
dedly in opposition to the most fundamental prin-
ciples of good ploughing : when challenged by Mr.
Hurst, he, with very great tact, gave his reason pri-
vately, that he thought it useless to accept it where
a decision was to be made on such principles. He,
however, expressed his readiness to go and plough
anywhere he was required, stating that he had been
merely sent by Mr. Blacker to try whether the
plough he had recommended would plough the stiff
soil of Sussex with a pair of horses. He accordingly
accepted Mr. King's invitation and went to his farm.
He states, that on going to where Mr. K.'s ploughs
were at work, that gentleman said they would pass
through the field of stift" clay he had alluded to at
the dinner, and when they came into it he asked him
if he had a mind to try what he could do witli it —
the field was encumbered with heaps of stones, col-
lected at different intervals, which left open spaces

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

345

of only a few perches — upon one of which he made
a trial, and found the pair of horses could plough it
without difficulty. They then went to where Mr.
King's ploughs were going with four horses in each,
and Mr. K. desired him to try whnt kind of a furrow
he could make alongside, and ha asserts that Mr. King
would not then say but his furrow was just as deep
and as good as the others in every particular. The
machine for trying the draft was then applied, and
was attached to his plough, being tied by a string,
and he ploughed for some time, the index shewing a
steady draft of, as near as possible, 4 cwt. But
when the machine was tied with the same string to
the other plough it broke immediately; and when it
was afterwards secured to the plough, the index
pointed to 8 cwt., which was the utmost the index
was calculated for, or it might perhaps have been
more. He, therefore, thinks he has a right to take
credit for having shewn that the Armagh plough
could work in the very stiifest soil shown to him,
and that he had made good what Mr. Blacker had
conjectured — that a good pair of horses might plough
where four horses and two bullocks were employed.
He complains much of the crowd which followed
him when ploughing for the premiums, as they
trampled down and spoiled the look ©f his work ;
but it arose from curiosity, and from no wish to
injure him. He says he believes there were people
at the dinner from a great distance, and the greatest
interest seemed to be felt, there being short-hand
writers from three newspapers. It shews, however,
that the attention of the farmers had not been pre-
viously turned to the importance of good ploughing,
when there were only nine ploughs started ; whereas
in this country, at a common ploughing match, unat-
tended with any circumstances of particular interest,
it is not uncommon to have fivis-and-twenty ploughs
start.

Mr, H. also mentions what the Newspapers are
silent upon — that he had finished his work in much
less time than some of those who got the higher pre-
miums, having had time to take his horses to the
stable and come back, and was at least a quarter of
an hour in the field before the ploughing was all con-
cluded.

In regard to the preliminary observations of the
Editor of the Sussex Paper, after talking to a most
experienced ploughman, well acquainted with every
kind of plough, we feel ourselves authorized to re-
mark that the weight of the plough and the draught
of a plough are totally difiFerent things. He states
that the wheel-plough is obliged to be drawn with
the draught from too high a point, by which means
the povrer of the horse is expended in pulling down
the beam upon the wheel, which seems justified by
a letter we have seen from Sussex, stating that it
was sometimes the case that in stony ground 1 or 2
cwt. was hung on the beam, to keep the plough from
starting out of the ground, and, notwithstanding,
the ploughman we allude to has held a wheel-plough
for ten years ; he states he would take the swing-
plough in preference in the most stony soils, and had
used it when the land had been formerly under the
sea, and was nothing but round stones, with scarce
any soil whatever.

Good ploughing being the very foundation of all
Agriculture, we have gone into a more minute ac-
count of this than any other subject would have in-
duced us to do, but we have no doubt our readers
will not think the pains we have taken to give all the
details, to hare heen ill-bestowed ; and we cannot
conclude this article without testifying our high re-
spect for the liberality and public spirit of the Sus-
sex landed proprietor, at whose expense this trial has

been made. We confidently predict that a few more
ploughing-matches of the same kind would banish
from England the heavy implement which now ap-
pears to be such a favorite there. It is but doing-
justice to say, that the plough sent by Mr. Blacker,
and which it appears was drawn by a draft of 4 cwt.
when the large Sussex plough, required 8 cwt., was
made by Mr. James Scott, of Lurgybuoy, within
about a mile and a half of Markethill. The plan is
originally taken from the Scotch model, with Kippy's
mould board ; but there is some alteration in the
latter which makes it run lighter and wear more
evenly.

Being much interested for our countryman, Mr.
Hutchinson, as an Armagh small farmer, we hare
applied to Mr. Blacker, who has most readily al-
lowed us to state his entire approbation of his con-
duct throughout, and that it was likewise very highly
approved of by the landed proprietor at whose appli-
cation he had been sent. He also entirely approved
of his refusing to accept of any challenge from Mr.
Hurst, when the decision was to be made on Mr.
Pagden's principles. Mr. Blacker expressed the
most implicit confidence in the correct intentions of
the Judges — but he must consider them not to have
been entirely qualified for that office, as, if it were
the merits of the ploughmen they decided on, they
went upon what are generally considered to be er-
roneous principles, and left out the time taken by
each — and if it were the merits of the different kinds
of ploughs (as some had stated), they were equally
astray, for they had not tried the draught required
by each to make it do its work — a point which was
evidently indispensable to forming a right judgment.
He also stated that he had merely sent Hutchinson
at the desire of the landed proprietor alluded to, and
had no idea of any competition except what the
ploughing-match afforded — and that if anything of
the kind took place again, he would recommend that
successive trials should be made in all the different
soils the country afforded ; so that if the plough now
in use was absolutely necessary for any particular
soil, the use of it should be confined to that, and not
waste power on other soils where it was unneces-
sary. In a point of such importance as the establish-
ing what good ploughing consists in, we anticipate
all our Agricultural Contemporaries will take a part,
in doing which they will do a public service. If we
understand the matter right, j\Ir. Pagden wished the
furrow laid as flat as a card-player lays his tricks —
only by Mr. Hutchinson's account they were scarcely
at all overlapped.

Since writing the foregoing, we hare received
from Mr. Blacker a letter, addressed by him to Mr.
Stephens, (Editor of the Highland Society's Peri-
odical, The Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, and who
is himself a practical Agriculturist) upon the subject
above alluded to, which, together with the answer of
that Gentleman annexed thereto, we now subjoin.
Mr. Stephens' own opinion would generally be con-
sidered decisive of the point at issue, but the autho-
rities he refers to must be considered to set the mat-
ter completely at rest, and to establish the principle
contended for by our countryman, Mr. Hutchinson,
and which is indeed so universally admitted in these
counties, that we never heard of the opposite doc-
trine being contended for until the present occasion.
The following is the letter of.Mr. Blacker : —

" INIarch 10, 1837.
" My Dear Sir, — T have a difference of opinion \vith
some Ag-riculturists in the South of Engrland, in reg'ard
to the precise angde at which the furrow should be laid
over in ploughing- out of lea ; and I want you to g-ive
me your opinion on the subject, and if you can procure

346

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

also llie opinion of Professor Low, Mr, Smith, of I wanted ; then to g'o to the pit or heap where they have

Deanston, or any one whose name is known to the
world, and also the reasons upon which the decision is
formed, you will oblig-e me much by sending- me this, if
you can, annexed to this statement.

" Your's most truly, " Wji. Blaskeu.

" Henry Stephens, Esq., Editor of the!
Hig-hland Society's Journal, The >
Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. J
Edinburgh, Redbrae Cottage, 18th March, 1837.

" My Dear Sir,— The furrow slice should always
be laid over at an angle ot forty-five degrees ;
and the mould board of the plough is made ex-
pressly for that purpose. This angle is desirable in
every state of land, but it is most easily observed in
ploughing up lea. There are several reasons for prefer-
ring this angle to every other. The furrow slice in lea
if laid on at a higher angle tlian 45 would stand too
ujyright for one slice to clap close to another, and thereby
bury much of the seed between the slices ; besides the
opening formed by the removal of such a furrow slice
would be too narrow for the plough to pass through
without much friction ; if laid over at a smaller angle
than 45 the furrow slices would be too /ot, and not suffi-
ciently cover each other, so as to attbrd the harrows
enough of soil to cover the seed. Besides flat furrow
slices being too broad, and too much drawn down the
sides of each other, afford unequal resistance to the foot
of the horse, which, when dragging the harrow over
such plougliing, will walk with labour and inconve-
nience to himself. The plough in turning over too broad
a slice will leave a portion of the bottom of the furrow
to the right hand untouched by the feather of the sock,
and hence the ploughing in that case cannot be clean.
Too upright a furrow gives easy access to drought to its
bottom ; and too flat a one retains surface water. The
angle of 45 not only avoids «;Z these inconveniences,
but ensures the opposite properties. Besides it can be
easily demonstrated, mathematically, that that angle
exposes the greatest extent of surface to the su7i and air.
" All these properties of ploughing are so well under-
stood in this country, that reference to the opinion of
particular individuals is not requisite ; nevertheless 1
may mention that the opinion of Professor Low may be
perused in his Elements of Practical Agriculture, in
which the demonstration of the problem alluded to
above will be found ; as also in Brown's Treatise on
Rural Affairs, which latter is just the article on agricul-
ture, in Brewster's Edinburgh EncyclopiEdia, in a sepa-
rate form.

" Hoping that what I have stated is comprehensible,
I remain your's ever truly,

" Henry Stephens."

ON THE POTATO.

Great complaints have of late been made of the
crops of potatoes in many parts of the kingdom, and it
is said by many the crops are not generally so good as
they used to be. This in many cases is notsurprising :
if the growers of this valuable root will not be careful
to iiave good seed, they must not expect a good crop.
How careful, generally speaking, is the farmer to pro-
cure good seed for his crops ; how particular the florist
in having the most perfect seeds and plants he can pro-
cure ; but with the potato, one of the most valuable ve-
getables in the universe, not one in six is sufficiently
cureful in procuring good seed. How often we see, in
a flat of potatoes, some spring up with two or three
weakly shoots, which soon die down and produce no
tubers ; in another part of the same flat no tops at all
are produced. There can be no doubt this is owing to a
deficiency in the seed, being in tliat exhausted state it
cannot support tlie top, and in some instances cannot
l)roduce one at all, tliough if the potato be dug up it will
be found to have made an effort to do so. It is a very
connnon practice, but a very bad one. to take little or
no notice of seed potatoes until just before they are

lain all winter {or to the market), and take out what are
wanted. Now, in three cases out offour, it is certain
these cannot be fit for seed, for in a pit or heap it is im-
posible for the jjowersof the potato to be atrest;any one
who has used his eyes would perceive how the potato
has been exhausting itself by putting out numerous
shoots, frequently many inches long. These are gene-
rally so tender, they break off immediately, anotlier
effort has then to be made when planted to produce
others ; this of course must make against the crop, for
how is it possible to have a good crop when the pro-
ductive powers of the seed are inj ured or decayed t
This is not tiie worst, for they are often laid up again to
produce other shoots before planting, which are so
tender they are not unfrequently broken off a second
time. Allow me to sugc'est a few directions with regard
to the seed and planting of this most valuable root. In
the first place, I should advise every one to save their
own seed. When the first crop of early ones are ready,
throw out upon the bed as many middle-sized ones
as i-,re likely to be wanted for next year's seed ; there
let them lie till autumn, by which time they will become
a green colour. Let them then be taken up and laid
by for the winter in a cool dry place, protected from
frost but not put in a heap. Previous to setting tliem,
bring them out and expose them to the air for ten days
or a fortnight ; tlien let them be set whole. As you
cannot giye your late potatoes the same exposure to the
sun ])revious to laying up for the winter, bring them out
as soon as you can in the spring, and let them be ex-
posed to the sun till the time of planting. I particularly
recommend every one to sow tlieir own seed, as tliey
cannot tell what they are buying if they go to the market
for them.

It has been said by a celebrated individual in the
horticultural world, that the early potato may be planted
at almost any period of the year, and a crop ensured.
The same person maintains, that if the top of the plant
be cut off' by frost, it is of little or no consequence, as
there always remains sufficient productive powf;r in the
potato to produce others. This opinion I must beg
leave to controvert. For everything there is a season ;
and even granting it matters little at what time potatoes
are planted, yet it must follow, as a matter of course,
that if the top of the plant is cut off, it must weaken the
powers of the same in producing tubers, as an extra
effort has to be made.

It is absolutely necessary, from the time the seed-
potatoes come out the ground, that they should be as
much as possible at rest, to ensure what I should call a
good crop. This is only to be done by being particular
as to where and how your seed is laid by for the winter.
So tenatious is the potato as to heat, that a very low
degree will immediately set its powers at work.

Slucli has been said with respect to setting the potato
whole or cut. I was well acquainted with a scientific
horticulturist, who, for twenty years, was trying ex-
periments on the potato. After that period, — indeed
long before the expiration of that term, he hail come to
the conclusion that the best crop was obtained by seltinfr
whole. Indeed, strange as it may appear to some, I
knew an individual who, by setting a single potato ivhoi c,
produced, by great pains in cultvation, the extraordi-
nary number of seventy pecks in one season. This s
a fact that I am aware will be disputed by many ; b .t
all who do so, I refer to my friend, Mr. Stafibrd Wt!-
lesley, whose authority wijl, I imagine, be sufficient •,
indeed, I am convinced it is possible to produce mm e.
So much for its productivepowers if properly managed.
I should recommend early potatoes to be set about two
inches deep, and only to be earthed up once slightly.
With regard to the later crops, I should say, do vci-y
little more : allow all the sun that you can to get to tl:e
rootlets. I think, th.ree times out of four, harm is done
by injudicious earthing up. JMost early potatoes produre
tlieir tubers as near as they can to the surface ; iuileed
they often lie above the ground. Seeing tliis is the
nature of the plant, wljy earth them up as most do,
making either a tiencli for the wet to drain into and
scab the potato, or exclude the sun from the tubers^ in
spite of all their efforls to get to it ? Tlie winter potato

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

347

I would plant a little deeper, and earth up slightly. 1
feel convinced much of it does no good. To cottagers,
small gardeners, &., I would recommend saving all th.e
refusj of their gardens, such as leaves, cabbage-stalks,
and everything of that sort, to lay up to rot through the
winter : it they have moss near, get that also. 'J'his
will answer every purpose of stable manure,and will cost
nothing but a little trouble. — G. Dale, Cor, of H, Ri-
s:hter.

ON FARM-YARD MANURE.

On a particular Mode of applying Farm-yard
Manure. By Mr. John Baker, Nassau Cottage,
Leeds. — The present depressed state of agiiculture
through the kingdon, invites the serious attention of all
connected with that important branch of industry ; it
being' a lamentable fact that, whilst the most splendid
discoveries in science are daily applied to the improve-
ment of our trade and commerce, agriculture, as a
science, remains almost stationary, notwithstanding in-
ilividual and nadonal prosperity are so deeply interested
in promoting its welfare. For more than twenty-five
years I farmed from 500 to 1,000 acres in the county of
Norfolk, during" which time my attention was carefully
directed to the consideraUon of evei'y method or system
ef farming which was calculated to increase the pro-
ductiveness of tlie soil, and to improve the condition of
that numerous and industrious class of persons who are
dependent upon it. The proper use of manure is
amongst the most material improvements which I have
discovered. By the common, I may say general, mode
of managing' it, only half the benefit which ought to be
conferred on the crops is given, whilst the system which
I have adopted doubles the value of all the manure
made, and at the same time it really lessens the expense ;
and it is to this point that I will confine myself in this
paper. That " the muck-cart is the best farmer, "
is a maxim as fully acknowledged as it is oft-repeated,
and believing' that upon the proper use and application
of it the success of the farm mainly depends, I have never
failed to aitend to this important branch of husbandry.
Having experienced the practical adgantages of my
system, as well upon land under my own cultivation in
Norfolk, as upon farms belonging to my relations and
friends in that county, where it had been introduced at
my suggestion, I am induced, at the earnest recom-
mendation of many gentlemen who have also witnessed
its beneficial effects in Yorkshire, to invite the attention
of agriculturists generally to the subject. Manure of
almost every description is carried from the place where
it is made, and deposited on a heap for four, six, or
eight months, where it ferments and becomes a soft,
black, cohesive mass ; it is then put on the land and
ploughed down, after which the crop is sown ; this may
not always be done, but something resembling it is the
prevailing and general practice in every part of tlie
country. My method, the success of which has been
proved by numerous experiments, is to spread the dung
on the land as soon as convenient after it is made, ex-
cept in winter ; the manure made at that period of the
year remains in the fold-yard till the spring, where it
does not ferment. The whole is taken in the spring,
summer, and autumn, fresh to the land : if in fallow it is
ploughed in with a thin furrow : the land is harrowed
and ploughed again in a fortnight, and in a fortnight
after harrowed and ploughed a third time ; after which
the muck, however long it may have been, is reduced,
and the soil will be in as fine and friable a state as the
land is capable of. From the time the dung is put on
to the last mentioned ploughing, nothing can be more
unsightly than its appearance. If it is to be applied to
pasture, I spread it over the surface of the ground from
the beginning of spring to the end of autumn. Three
essential points are to be observed : First, to apply the
manure to the soil as soon as convenient after it is made
(except in the depth of winter ;) secondly, to keep it as
near the surface as possible ; and, thirdly, to mix it well
with the soil. These being observed, I confidently as-
sert, that advantages equal to double those now derived

from manure are communicated to the land by an in-
crease in the fertility of the soil, exhibited in healthier
and more abundant crops ; so that a farm of '200 acres
of arable land of medium quality, producing 400 loads
of dung or two load for every acre, worth five shillings
per load, will be benefited to the extent of ten shillings
per acre annually, and where more manure is made,
which on every well managed farm is done, the advan-
tages will be greater. This result has been produced
upon the farni now in my occupation, belonging to
Lord Cowper, in the neighbourliood of Leeds, to which
I entered at Candlemas 1831 ; it was then in the most
deplorable condition ; so deplorable was it, indeed, as
to lead many of my friends and neig-hl)ours to predict
the impossibility of my procuring a tolerable crop upon
one of the fields for seven years to come : but this field,
from the application of manure according to my method,
has become exceedingly productive. I fallowed it for
turnips, and in May (l&Sl,) I put on about twelve and
a half tons of good fresh-made stable-dung- per acre ; as
much as possible was taken from the stables and car-
ried to the land the day it was made. My proceedings
greatly amused my agricultural neighbours. The pre-
ceding' tenant ob^:erved, that however such a system
might have answered in other parts of the country, here
it would be a useless expenditure both of time and money
and a g-reat waste of manure. To convince him ofthe be-
nefit to be derived from such manureing, I directed one
piece in the middle of the field to be left without cover-
ing'. With the exception of the land upon which no
manure had been laid, the field produced a very fine
crop of turnips, worth at least six pounds per acre,
whilst the crop raised upon the land not manured was
not worth six shillings per acre. After the turnips the
field produced a very heavy crop of barley, averaging
not less than seven quarters per acre, and in 1833 I ob-
tained a most abundant crop of clover without any ma-
nure except on the land omitted in the first year. I also
covered a field of pasture the same summer with the
same kind of manure, half of it in June and the rest in
August. Six weeks after the first part was done I
shewed it to a very shrewd and scientific gentleman,
well acquainted with country affairs, who expressed
his astonishment at the improvement. In October, the
farmer whose land adjoins my own, said he had never be-
fore seensuch extraordinary improvement in anyground.
Knowing that he was one of those who had ridiculed
my system, I hinted to him that the propriety of it had
been much doubted. He acknowledged ha had con-
demned it, and said he now saw that which he would
not have believed had he not witnessed it, and that he
thought the manure must have contained a large portion
of white clover and other g'rass seeds, otherwise, in his
opinion, such an effect could not have been produced.
In the hottest part of last summer, I covered, in the same
manner, the only field on my farm wliich had not been
previously dressed in a similar way, leaving two ridges
in the middle unmanured. I removed all the cattle
from this field for six weeks, at the end of which the
two ridges had scarcely grass to sustain a goose, whilst
the rest of the field looked like a field of fog or after-
math. Many gentlemen examined it. Some seemed
satisfied that much benefit was derived at very little
cost ; others expressed their convictien that it was the
greatest improvement they had ever seen, and it is my
firm belief that, from the time the dung was put on to
the end of summer, I had at least three times as much
grass from the huid manured as from the other. I must
mention another fact. The man who spread the dung
had farmed many years for himself, he might be con-
sidered a clever man ; he said to me, you would not
thus waste manure, if you had not the means of getting
plenty more. I asked him to wait a month before he
decided ; he then declared that he had never been so
much mistaken. I mention these things, knowing that
my plan has much to contend against, and hoping' that
noblemen and gentlemen, who try my method, may not
be laughed out of it before they have applied it to the
test of due experience. It may be said diat, in these
experiments, I did not compare different sorts of ma-
nure. I have done so repeatedly, but, in truth, I had
then no rotten dung by me. I would propose, to any

348

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

one who doubts the propriety of my plan, to put a
given weight; of fresh dung' on a heap, to remain
(turning it over or not) for twelve months, at which
time spread it over the land, and at the same time take
a similar weight of fresh dung of the same kind, and
spread it over double the space, and I doubt not the re-
sult. Hitherto I have confined the recommendation of
my plan to practical experience alone, but 1 am not
without scientific and chemical authorities to support
me. Mr. Joseph Hayward's Treatise on the Science of
Agriculture is worth reading by the agriculturist who
searches after truth. Being aware of tiie great difficul-
ties with which the farmer has to contend, 1 should re-
commend any new system with great diffidence, if
attended with additional expence ; but as the plan I am
desirous to introduce is alike recommended by its sim-
plicity and economy, and also eminently calculated to
promote the fertility of the soil, and to secure, by that
means, a more adequate remuneration to the farmer, I
cannot doubt of its being' generally adopted whenever
its practical advantages are more generally knovi'u and
appreciated. With a view to facilitate its introduction, it
will give me greatpleasure to correspond with, or to wait
upon, any nobleman or gentleman, and to explain more
fully the details of my method of applying manure, or to
assist in introducing the practice upon any farm in hand,
either under my own superintendence, or that of my son,
who is at this time disengaged, and who is abundantly
qualified for such purpose, he for several years having-
had almost the entire management of a farm of 800 acres
in the county of Norfolk, belong-ing to myself, upon
which, as I have before observed, the system was proved
to be highly beneficial. My subject has drawn me on
to 8'reater length than I expected ; I cannot, however,
conclude without saying, that if, by the system I re-
commend, ten or fifteen shillings worth of manure can
be added annually to every acre of land of moderate
quality, at no greater expence than by the old method, I
think the landlord, the tenant, and the public, will be
great gainers. — Quarterly Jouriial of Agriculture for
March, 1837.

THE CULTIVATION OF STIFF CLAYS.

Sir, — I will vrillingly comply with your request in
forwarding' to you all the information 1 can collect on
agriculture, which I think will be interesting to your
readers ; and after perusing it, if you think it worthy a
space in your valuable journal, you have my consent to
publish it ; as I am every day more convinced it is for
want of a general communication on the subject, one
county with another, that greater improvements are not
made in that important branch of business. 1 will en-
deavour to make public the result of every experiment
tried in the various counties I pass through, that all may
derive benefit therefrom ; and shall likewise give you
the general system pursued in cultivating the soil in the
different districts I go into, also the management of
stock, &c. I know there are but few farmers who
either travel ar read to gain information ; and why they
do neither one or the other, no doubt arises frem various
causes. But there are some who have an idea, were
they to see all the land in England, and read every
book published on the subject, they could learn nothmg ;
as I have frequently been told by them it was impos-
sible any one could tell or show them how to farm their
land better than they knew, having been on the farm all
their lives. I have often gone over a farm occupied by
such a man, and invariably found it in a very bad state
of cultivation ; he continuing to farm it on the same sys-
tem his father and grandfather did before him, and the
only reason he can assign for not making a change is,
that they did very well, and why shouldn't he? But he
ought to recollect he docs not live in the times his fore-
fathers did— the expenses are mucli greater on the land
than they were in their time, consequently a change in
the system must be made to meet them ;' as under the
old system of farming, it would be impossible for the
land to raise sufficient to meet the demands upon it.

And I trust 1 shall not give oflPence in telling such men
they may, by occasionally taking a tour into various
counties, to see the different systems pursued in cultiva-
ting the soil, cropping the land, and management of
stock, and reading books written on the subject by prac-
tical men, who thus labour for them, learn a very great
deal to their advantage.

1 will now name a circumstance, to show that it is
not that man who has from his cradle been brought up
on a farm that always makes the best farmer, or culti-
vates the soil to the greatest advantage, although he
ought so to do. A short time since I called on a gen-
tleman on the southern side of Norfolk, who had served
an apprenticeship to a draper, and carried on that busi-
ness till about twelve years since, when he got tired of
the shop, and took a farm between 400 and 500 acres,
naturally a poor, stiff, clay soil. He very politely asked
me to walk over his farm ; this invitation I readily ac-
cepted, having been told he was a most excellent
farmer; and 1 must candidly confess I never saw a
heavy land farm in so fine a state of cultivation ; and
it was brought into this state by a man who had gained
his information by general observation and reading, —
not by practice alone. This farm had for several years
before been in the occupation of a regularly brought
up farmer, one of the old school, who had pursued the
same system his father and grandfather did, in plough-
ing and cropping, &c., till he could scarcely raise the
seed again, and eventually was compelled to leave it,
which he did in a most deplorable state — full of rubbish ,
and completely exhausted. The present occupier (and
apron-string farmer, as his neighbours choose to call
him) was sure nothing could be done with it, unless
thoroughly drained and cleaned ; this he set about to
accomplish in right earnest. The first thing he did was
to clean out all the ditches and water-courses, that the
water which would flow from the land drains might be
freely and quickly carried off; these he put in from 20
to 36 inches deep, and some deeper, as necessity re-
quired ; by this means he got rid of all that water which
was injurious to the soil. His next object was to free
it from rubbish, then to grow all the green crops, such
as tares, rape, &c., he possibly could, some of which he
ploug'hed in as a veg'etable manure, and the remainder
were cut for soiling stock in the yards ; and the manure
made there he placed on the land in a raw coarse state,
that is, before it had undci-g-one any great degree of fer.
mentation : this he did before he attempted to grow any
kind of corn, except a few oats for his horses. By
draining, ploughing in these vegetable crops, and ap-
plying the dung as before stated, he has caused that
land to work so pliable and easy, that it can now be
ploughed with two horses, which before was considered
very hard work for three to accomplish ; and it is also
brought into such a state as to produce excellent crops
of turnips and barley, both of superior quality. These
were crops his predecessor had an idea could not be
grown on this farm with any kind of advantage; nor
could they, in the state it was in at the time he occupied
it. The fourth year he had got the farm fully cropped
on the fourth course ; viz., turnips and tares, barley,
seeds, and wheat, and continues to pursue the same
system of cropping.

I will give the average produce of corn grown per
acre on this farm, when in the hands of the former oc-
cupier, who farmed it on a sixth course, viz.: — 1st year,
clean fallow ; •2nd, wheat; average produce per acre,
20 bushels; 3rd, beans; produce, 24 bushels; 4th,
oats; produce, 32 bushels; 5th and 6th, seeds. 'J'he
average now obtained by the present occupier on the
fourth course, viz.: — 1st year, turnips and tares; 2nd,
barley; average produce per acre, 40 bushels; 3rd,
seeds; 4th, wheat ; produce, 34 bushels per acre. Set-
ting the price of wheat at 7s. per bushel, oats at 3s.,
beans at 4s., and barley at 4s,, it will be seen the former
occupier did not make so much of his three crops of
corn in six years, on three acres of land, as the present
occupier does in four years, on two acres, by 3/. 6i'.
This on the whole farm amounts to a very considerable
sum of money, and proves what may be done on heavy
land by good management. I have lately seen many
farms composed of this description of soil, which have

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

349

within these tew years been clianged from a fifth and
sixth course to a fourth, by a system similar to the
above; much to the advantage of the occupiers.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant.

An Agricultukai, Touuist.
Peterboroug-h, Maroli 4th, 1837.

N. B.— I shall say more on the cultivation of heavy
land in my next.

ON THE PAST AND PRESENT STATE
OF HORSES.

(from the quarterly journal of agriculture.)

A Comparative View of the Form and Character of
the Encrlisli Racer and Saddle Horse, during the
last and present centuries. Illustrated, hii eighteen
Plates of Hovses. London: Thomas Hoolcham,
15, Okf Bond Street. 1836.

We owe an apology for our apparent neglect of
the author of tliis elegant volume. Tliis explana-
tion will convey it: — We expected a knowing ar-
ticle from the pen of a correspondent conversant
m the history of the English racer, but were dis-
appointed till we could no longer delay when about
to conclude our volume.

The main object of his work, the author informs
us in the intioduction to his handsome volume, is
to investigate the results of that structural enlarge-
ment of animals which is unnatural, and to point
out those properties which may be acquired by
certain of them when fully reclaimed, and those
which they are likely to lose when in this condi-
tion. The investigation becomes of vast import-
ance when the character of our race-horse, and of
this country as the nursery of the finest horses in
the world, is involved in the question. That such
an investigation is required, not only at the hands
of our author, but of Parliament, we may be con-
vinced from the melancholy fact, that our once
noble and matchless race of race-horses, the boast
of tlie country and the envy of the civilized world,
is degenerating, and will degenerate still farther if
some immediate and efficient means, such as those
pointed out by the author, be not adopted to
arrest the progress of the evil ; and what consti-
tutes an aggravation of the evil, is, that it originates
in the avarice and cupidity of our own countrymen,
and in that portion too, who, of all others, in their
conduct ought to be actuated by higher and purer
motives. Instead, as in years bygone, of emulut-
ing with generous rivalry and prosecuting with
laudable zeal the running and breeding of race-
horses for their own noble qualities, the sole object
of the "turf" now-a-days seems to be to win
heavy stakes, regardless of the animals which are
used as the instruments of avarice. The race of
the day is run, and the successful competitor is
perhaps never more heard of. This is a serious
but not rash accusation ; it is completely proved
and amply illustrated by our author, by examples
which cannot be controverted. A comparison of
the racers of the last century with those now in
vogue display a superior fulness of form, and just
that which we might expect to tind at a time when
the tasks performed demanded a fine union of
speed, stoutness, and structural powers. The

race-horses of the middle of the last century, such
as Sedbury, Old Partner, possessed compact
bodies, capacious chests, powerful stifles, fine
limbs, and general bearing. The racers of a later
date, such as Mambrino, Sweetbrier, Sweet-
Will iam, acquired properties even more valuable
than their predecessors. To a capacious chest and
compactness of body, they united strong loins,
well inclined and long shoulder-blades, covered
with a great mass of fine muscle, muscular arms,
and strong joints. The speed of the later horses
were increased whilst the muscles escaped coarse-
ness, and the constitution maintained its vigour.
Approaching towards the termination of thelastcen-
tury, the properties indicative of increased speed
were evolved in such horses as Sharke, .Johnny,
and Gimcrack. Their chests were capacious, ribs
finely iiooped, shoulder-blades had a good inclina-
tion and great length, having a mass of muscles on
the a-ms and wi'.her.s, and the quarters, the placing
of the hind feet, large pastern joints, and back
sinews, all admirable. Approaching still nearer to
our own times, at ihacommencementof the present
century to the days of Muly Moloch, Selim, and
Pericles, we find a form still more favourable to
speed, by a decided elongation of the skeleton. In
form, however, these horses were superior to those
who succeeded, but inferior to those who preceded
them. They displayed longer backs, longer and
heavier limbs, less muscle, smaller sinews, and
sharper withers. They came too late in the period
of the turf to perform the tremendous work of
their predecessors, who used to run six miles car-
rying eight stones, and heats of four carryino-
twelve stones. The tasks had been much dimin-
ished ere they appeared to public view. From
tliat period to the present, racers have lost much
of their vigour and stoutness, and their structural
development has been entirely promoted for one
object — speed. Heavy stakes, and lowering the
standard of running from heats to a single run of
short distance, hare been tite consequences of un-
fortunate changes ; whilst the continuance of these
conditions has been the cause of perpetuating
them. Tl)e result has been exceedingly unfavour-
able to the character of our racers and saddle-
horses, producing weediness and disposing them
to coarsene.ss. The long back, flat sides, lono-
limbs, weak loins, delicate constitutions, and
strong disposition to local and hereditary disease
of the modern racer and saddle-horse, are inade-
quate substitutes for the short back, short limbs,
capacious chests, full sides, and muscular charac-
ter of the old racer and hunter. Speed and weak-
ness are no compensation for loss of vigour and
stoutness.

But the degeneracy of the race-horse is an evil
not alone aflTecting itself— it is permitted greatly to
influence the character of our saddle-horses.
Farmers cannot breed saddle-horses without the
aid of the racer, and yet over the quality of this
animal they have no control. As may be expected,
the offspring displays many of the bad character-
istics of the parents. Hence farmers will not
largely enter into the breeding of saddle-horses ;
they consider it subordinate to every other business
of the farm, because they have no reliance on the
excellence of the racers' offspring ; and they pay

350

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

little attention to a matter which produces a pre-
carious return. Besides, they least understand a
branch of their profession which reqnires the great-
est science in its management. Need we, there-
fore, wonder that such hunters as Spankavvay and
Mr. Mickleshvvaite's are not to be obtained for love
or money at the present day !

The author's eulogiums on the figure and cha-
racter of the old racers are fully supported by the
well-executed figures which lie lias given from tlie
portraits of those celebrated animal painters of
their day — Seymour, Stubbs, and Marshall. They
ai'e all apparently good drawings from the origi-
nals, and beautifully lithographed. Not to appear
hypercritical, we should say the portrait of Pro-
tector is out of drawing. When so much of the
counter and face are seen at a side view, it is im-
possible, in perspective, that tlie hind legs could
be so near the lower edge of the plate as is repre-
sented. This, of course is not the error of old
Stubbs, whose acute eye could trace so minutely
the lineaments of the face of the horse. Interest-
ing as is the consideration of the past and present
condition of the race-horse, we have not space to
devote to the investigation of the rationale of the
subject as treated by our author. We must con-
tent ourselves in giving an extract from the author's
recapitulation of his own arguments.

" Tlie reader has seen that a change of form in
our racers was quicklv followed by a corresponding
change in the nature of the running ; tliat when the
forms of the animals liad ceased to be compact, the
distances were shortened, and tlie weights lightened.
It has boen shown by what expedients the breeders
for the turf have maintained a good quality of mus-
cle in tlie modern race-horse ; the accompanying
]dates prove, liowever, that tlie older horses had
more muscle on a specific surface of bone than the
modern ones ; this fact is farther corroborated by
the inability of the modern racer to carrv the old
weights. It is obvious that tlie interest taken in the
turf by those who breed for it, in no degree depends
upon the nature of the tasks performed, or on the
merit of tlie horses as a race. The sole object of
every individual breeding for the turf is to win
races, be the nature of them what it may ; each of
these breeders, therefore, looks to the present ra-
ther than tlie future. There can be little doubt that
the tasks performed by the old race-horses were ad-
justed to their strength, and that tlie change in the
running was the consequence of diminished power
in the breed. It has been said that the modern
racers are equal to running the okl distances; but
the intense distress they exhibit wlien occasionally
made to run a single heat of four miles, with a light
weight on their backs, leaves no doubt that their
stoutness is diminished. Their inability to cari'y
weight is yfet more sensible ; it is not only shown by
tlie change in the running, but by the want of mus-
cular i^ower in the greater portion of our saddle
liorses, which have enough of racing blood to secure
R-ood action. While it is admitted that the form of
thfi saddle-horse should be compact and powerful,
this class has become so rare as to obtain in the mar-
ket an extravagant price. It is impossible to sup-
pose, whilst the racer exercises its present influence
over the character of our saddle-horses, that these
can be powerful and compact whUe the former is the
reverse.

" If the reader agree with us in concludiug, that
it is the natural qualities of the racer, such as his

form and vigour, which have become defective, and
not any acquired property, like that of speed, he
has now to determine whether the remedy we pro-
pose be the proper one. It rests on this foundation,
— that, as the properties which have become defec-
tive are natural ones, we must recur to the source
where those properties are found in perfection.
The intelligent reader must perceive that the great
size so mucli admired by the public in brood mares
has been acquired. If these large mares produce
the animals we want, they suit our purpose ; if they
fail to do this, they must labour under some defect
which is not altogether of a material character ; some
higher property has become defective, which can
only be repaired by recurring to more natural ani-
maLs. These we can alvva3's render large, by means
of richer food than nature affords ; but natural pro-
perties can only be renovated by recurring to their

source VVe find the symmetry

of the skeleton in the enlarged horse bcsl adapted
for useful ]nirposes, when it diverges least from that
wiiich is natural, from that form which we call com-
pact. Hoi'ses which are able to traverse a great dis-
tance rapidly and frequently, with a considerable
weight on their backs, display this form. This, like
stoutness, is an ellect, and one which nature only can
produce. Large horses can only be reared on very
unnatural food ; they are less stout than small ones
under exertion, take more time to recover from this,
and do not carry weight so well ; in other words
stoutness, and the power of carrying much weight
for a long distance at a rapid rate, are not dependent
on the comparative weight or surface of the muscles ;
but on a sufficiency of muscles ; united with that
distribution of the skeleton, which, while it denotes
vigour, is mechanically adapted for fine action, and
for carrying weiglit. The reader has seen how de-
pendent are our saddle-horses upon our racediorse,
and why no private individual breeding for the
" turf" has recourse to fresh blood. This, to be of
permanent service, must be in great amount ; in
other words, the number of the animals must be great
to admit of sufficient choice, and to avoid too close
alliances of blood. No individual can long maintain
a breed of horses in anything like perfection, if, after
taking some years to form a new race, he is to be
sufficiently remunerated by letting out or selling-
stallions at a high price ; the breed becomes ruined
by its numbers being too small, A fine race of
horses may be formed, but it cannot be long main-
tained, unless its number be great, and fresh blood

often had recourse to The English

racer, we cannot doubt, acquired his enlarged struc-
ture by rich food, and his unnatural speed under the
operation of continued selection for that property.
If our ancestois were able to exercise this power
over nature, and if we have the same power, is it
not worth our while, now that our horses have be-
come so much deteriorated for useful purposes, to
try if we cannot farther carry out the system of those
who originated the ' turf,' by making the principle
of continued selection applicable to a union of pro-
jterties, rather than to one property ? If the standard
be discreetly chosen for testing a race of horses,
being such as they can go through without distress,
should this standard be afterwards lowered because
the power of the racer becomes afterwards dimi-
nished .•' If not, and if experience proves tliat pri-
vate individuals do lower the standard by which
their horses arc tested, rather than put themselves to
trouble and expense incompatible with individuaj
interest, ought we not to endeavour, in this speciaj
case, to eft'ect, by means of a national, establishment ,
that which experience shows is not likely to be ef-

THE FAraiER'S MAGAZINE.

351

tecteJ by individuals'? Nothing, it is clear, can
long' maintain a fair union ot properties in these
animals, but a test discreetly chosen and steadily
maintained. Tliat selected by our ancestors, and
continued down to the middle of the last century,
was sufficiently searching-, it only required to be
fixed. The long time t]\e earlier liorses remained on
the turf, proves the greatness of their vigour, and the
fine condition of their limbs. It is notorious how
quickly tlie limbs of the modern racer give wa}' : a
single race, nay a preparation for one, often makes
them break down. Had the old standard been stea-
dily maintained bv -which our early racers were
tested, the modern ones wcjuld not have been per-
mitted to deteriorate in respect to qualities vvliich,
being- naiural, could lie renovated by a recurrence to
nature. Tlie modern rncer has not lost speed ; he
is swifter than tie earlier horses, but lie has no
longer that form and those qualities which denote
sufficient vio-our. If -we once ascertain the full ex-

tent of vigour belonging to horses of the best race,
in an almost natural condition, if in engrafting gra-
dually on such a race tlie acquired projierties we
want, we observe nariowly the minutest loss of vi-
gour which m.iv from time to time he developed, we
shall Soon ascertani bv a mass of facts carefully re-
cordfd, how much of this animal's natural vigour
can be united with ihe necessary amount of artihci-al
speeder artilicial structure. 'Ihe moment a new
race of horses, formed after this manner, has acquired
sufficient speed and structure, while maintaining
sufficient vigour, our standard for testing this union
of natural and acquired properties should be at once
erejted, and ever afterwards steadily maintained.
This at least should be the course pursued with the
horses bred within the precincts of a national estab-
lishment. Here, tlje animals which did not come up
to the standard once fixed upon for testing the race,
should be drafted, and if the evil pervaded the whole
of the enlarged stock, tliis should be renovated by
a cross with the smaller animals kept in reserve for
the purpose. We have been led to suggest a plan
for the management of some of our native ponies, by
the small number of tlie animals left now to choose
from. If frequent recurrence to horses nearly in a
state of nature be beneficial, the quality of them
should not be allowed to deteriorate. In keeping a
considerable number of well-selected native ])onies
in a pure state, as respects race, while submitting
them to the influence of continued selection, we
should place them in the situation of our moor slieep
and hardy Scotch cattle, which, though nearly in a
state of nature, and living on the poorest pasturage
are yet subjected to a system of continued selection.
To these small but admirable animals we are com-
pelled to recur, when our more factitious sheep and
c-attle have become too delicate. Under the plan
now proposed, none of our native ponies would be
enlarged, or withdrawn from their miserable pas-
turage, unless their form and -action were good, the
only change then effected would be a pasturage a
little better. Any farther enlargement would be
made to depend upon the manner in which they had
been found to bear the preceding one. This plan,
though simple and cheap, would, after a few years,
be followed by consequences highly beneficial ; we
should derive from it practical information which
cannot be procured by any system less comprehen-
sive ; and if nature be the source to recur to, when
the natural propensities of factitious horses are de-
teriorated, those who breed our saddle horses would
find that done for them, which we have reason to
conclude they will never do for themselves. The
reader is called on practically to determine whether

our race- horses are deteriorated in respect to useful
and national objects, and if so, whether the proper-
ties which have beconie defective are natural or ar-
tificial ones. If he conclude that their natural pro-
perties are deteriorated, he will probably admit tu-.it
Nature is the only source to recur to for a remedy,"

Our author instances the practice of the breeders
of llei'efords and Devons, wlio have contituied so
long 10 produce large oxen from small cows witli
little loss of either hardness or activity ; and con-
demns the theory of Mr. Cline, who maintained the
necessity of breeding from large cows. Mr. Cliue's
theory is not founded on fact, for ordinary- sized
cows of every breed, meaning ordinary to be rel-a-
tive to the natural size of the breed, produce the
finest stock, and large bulls are not requisite for
producing fine stock, provided they are of fine
quality. But it should be borne in mind lliat Mr.
Cline lived at a period wlien it was generally be-
lieved by breeders that tlie female had the greatest
share in imprinting properties on the oft'spring,
and of course he naturally wished to support tlie
prevailing opinion by tlieory ; whereas it is now
universally admitted that the male exercises the
greatest influence on the offspring. It should also
be remembered that castration lias a considerable
influence in enlarging the structure of animals, so
that whatever may be the size of the parents, the
emasculated progeny will always be larger on the
same kind of food. In his remarks on breeding
cattle, our author inscribes two paragraphs which
we cannot reconcile. At page 10, he says, " The
ricJicst pasiurcuie in Entjland 071 which cattle are
reared lies oti vur north-eastern coast. Here the
old short-horns, so many of which came annually
to supply London witli milk, were bred. They
were large, long, and coarse in the limbs, delicate
and ill-shapen, requiring at all times expensive
food, and fattening slowly; they gave a large
quantity of milk, but this yielded little of either
curd or butler. This race has been renovated
within a few years by a cross with a hardier breed
■ — with one in a more natural condition, and the
produce is known by the name of the ' netv shori-
horns.' This race is a great improvement u{!on
the old one, and lius spread itselj through nearly
all our dairy counties ;" whilst, at page 16, he
says, " With one exception, every breed of grazing
cattle in the three kingdoms is reared on either bad
or indifferent pasturage. The Durhams are the
only grazers we possess which are reared on rich
pasture. This is a new variety inferior to the
Ilerefords, though more costly to rear. It is hand-
some, and, when supplied with rich food, the ani-
mals become very fat. This race is confined to a
small portion of the kingdom, and there is no
prospect of its extendhig furlher.^^ We have
italicised the words in the two sentencesjnstquoted
which to us appear contradictory. What are the
Durhams but new short-horns? Did not Mr.
Charles Collings originate the new short-horns,
and did he not originate them in the county of
Durham ?

Our author devotes three chapters to the mount-
ing and arming of our cavalry, and military punish-
ments. These are subjects foreign to us, yet,
having lieen a cavalry officer, as he himself informs
us, our author's opinion on them are entitled to

352

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

consideration. Indeed, this is the portion of the
work which he has evidently written con amove.
It is entirely free from that quaintness which ob-
scures, and sententiousness which disjoins, the
sentiments of the former part of the treatise on
the horse. His sentiments on military punish-
ments are expressions of the most rationally hu-
maiie feelings.

We cannot resist copying extracts from a highly
interesting private letter of that accomplished
traveller, Burckhardt, to Mr. Sewell, of the Veteri-
nary College, London, wliich is given in an appen-
dix by our author. It will correct many popular
notions respecting tlie numbers and character of the
Arabian horse. Here it is, and with it here an
end of the article.

" It is a mistaken belief that Arabia is very rich
in horses. The breed of horses in that country is
limited to the extent of its fertile pasturing- districts,
and it is in these parts only that breed prospers,
while the Bedouins, who are in possession of poor
ground, seldom do possess any horses. AVe there-
fore see that the tribes richest in horses are those who
dwell comparatively in the fertile plain of Mesopo-
tamia, on the borders of the Euphrates, and in the
Syrian deserts. It is there that the horses can feed
for several spring months upon tlie green grass and
herbs of the valleys and plains, produced bj the
rains, which seem to be an absolute requisite for its
reaching to its full vigour and growth. Horses are
much less numerous in Redjed, than in the afore-
mentioned parts, and become scarce the more we
proceed to the south. In the Kedjat, in the moun-
tain of that country, and from thence towards
Yemen, few horses are seen, and those few are im-
ported from the north. Tlie Atenne tribes of the
frontiers of Syria have from 8,000 to 10,000 horses,
and half that number belongs to other small tribes
roving about in the same province. The single
tribe of Arabs Montefek, in the desert watered by
the Euphrates, between Bagdat and Bassora, has, at
a moderate calculation, 8,000 horses ; the tribes of
Dhefye and Beni Thamer, in those quarters, are rich
in horses in proportion ; while the aggregate number
of horses of Redjed, Diebel, Hamac, and Rasyne,
viz., irom near the Persian Gulf, as far as Medina,
is at most 10,000. The large tribes on the Red Sea,
between Akaba and Mekka, and south and south-east
ofMekkaasfar as Yemen, have very few horses,
especially those of the mountains. In the eastern
plains, beyond Beeche and Redjan, more horses
are met with. The tribe of Rantan, who live in that
quarter, is celebrated for its studs, and so are the
Dowasen. The inhabitants of R^edjan and Yemen
themselves are seldom in the habit of keeping any ;
and I believe, not from truth to err, in admitting
5,000 or 6,000, are the farthest number in the coun-
try, from Akaba, on the north point of the Red Sea,
southwards to the shores of the ocean at Nadrament,
comprising tlie great chain of mountains and the
level ground on the west of it towards the sea. The
hot climes of Oinar are likewise said to be little fa-
vourable to the race, and horses are still there scarcer
than they are in Yemen. In affirming, therefore,
that the aggregate number of horses in Arabia, as
bounded by the Euphrates and Syria, amounts to
almost 50,000, a number much inferior to that found
in Europe or any other parts of Asia upon an equal
extent of ground, I am confident I have not under-
rated them.

" The richest country in this part of the East ap-
pears to be Mesopotamia : the tribes of Curdes and

Bedouins, in that quarter, very likely possess more
horses than all the Arabian Bedouins together, for
the richness of tlieir pastures easily propagates their
studs. The best pasturing places of Arabia not only
produce the greatest quantity of horses, but likewise
the best and most chosen breeds. The finest Koheyls
of the Khomb are met with in Medjid, on the
Euphrates, and in the Syrian deserts ; while in the
southern parts of Arabia, and especially Yemen, no
good breed of horses exist but those imported from
the north. The Bedouins up the Redjan have very
few horses, their strength consisting in camel riders
and foot soldiers armed with matchlocks only. In
the tract between Mekka and Medina, between the
mountains and the sea, a distance of at least 260
miles, I do not believe that 200 horses can be found,
and the same proportion of numbers is to be remarked
all along the Red Sea from Yemba up to Akaba.
The united army of all the southern Wahabee chiefs
who attacked Mahomed Ali in 1815, at Byssel, con-
sisting of 25,000 men, had only 5O0 horsemen with
them, mostly belonging to Redjed and the followers
of Faisal, one of Sauvris' sons, who was present in
the arm}-. The climate and pasture of Yemen is said
to be prejudicial to the health of horses, many of
them die there of disease ; their breed never thrives,
and it degenerates in the first generation. The
Imam of Sauias, and all the governors of Yemen,
raise a yearly supply of horses from Nedjid, and
those of the sea-coast receive considerable supplies
by Sowakin from the Nile countries.

" During the Watabee government, horses yearly
became scarcer among the Arabs. They are sold by
their masters to foreign purchasers, Avho carry them
to Yemen, Syria, and Bassora, which latter place
supplies India with Arabian horses, because they
are afraid to have them seized by Saono or his suc-
cessors, it being become the custom, upon every
slight pretext of disobedience and unlawful conduct,
to declare a Bedouin mare forfeited to the public
treasury. The possession of her besides obliges her
master to attend continually his chief in war. Many-
Arabs thus prefer keeping no horse at all. In the
district of Ujibel Shamar many encampments were
seen of late without a single horse, and it was known
that the Arabs Meteyr, between Mednich and Kasym,
had reduced their horses within a few years from
2,000 to 1,200. The late sheriff of Mekka kept an
excellent stud of horses. The best stallions of
Medjed were carried to Mekka for sale, and it was
become a fashion among Bedouin women, going a
pilgrimage to Mekka, to bring the sheriff the stal-
lions of their husbands as a present, for which they
took in return presents of silk, ear-rings, &c.

" As far as my knowledge goes, Syria is the best
place to purchase true Arabian blood horses, and no
district is more convenient for that purpose than the
Nauran, where the horse may be purchased from the
first hand, and be chosen in the encampments them-
selves of the Arabs who fill these plains in spring-
time. The horses bought up at Bassora for the
Indian market are purchased second-handed from Be-
douin dealers, and an Arab will seldom undertake
to send a good horse far off to the market with the
uncertainty of selling it. True blood horses of the
Khomza;, as I am credibly informed, seldom find
therefore their way to J5assora, and most of the
horses purchased there for the Indian market are be-
longing to the Montefek Arabs, who are not careful
in maintaining a pure breed. It might perhaps be
worth while for the great European powers to keep
persons on purpose constantly employed in Syria in
purchasing horses for them, as the best means to
cross and improve their own stud, Damascus

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

353

would be the best position for sucli persons to reside
in. I fancy tbu very few true Arabians of the best
breeds, and still less any tirst-rate horses of them,
have ever been imported into England, although
many Sj^rian, Barbary, and Egyptian horses have
gone by that name.*

" The Bedouins say that the Egyptian mare, if
coupled with a blood Arabian, produced a good
breed, much better than the indigenate Syrian mares,
whose breed is not worth any thing even if crossed
with the Koheyl. The Bedouins of Nedjau are in
the habit of purchasing raares from the Egyptian
pilgrim caravans, which they cover by good stallions,
and which the}^ sell afterv.'nrds tiie fillies to the
Arabs of Yemen. In Egypt itself, on the borders
of the Nile, no particular breed of horses is distin-
guished ; the best horses in this country are pro-
duced in those parts wliere the best clover grows,
which is in Upper Egypt about Tahsa, Armimia,
and Tarrivoust, and in Lower Egypt, in the district
of INleuzaleh. Extreme)}'' few blood horses come to
Egypt, which is less to be wondered at, as this emi-
nent quality of bearing fatigue is little wanted iu
the fertile Nile borders. The Egj'ptian horse is
ugly, of coarse shape, and looking more like a
coach horse than a racer ; thin legs and knees,
short and thick neck, are their greatest defects. The
head is sometimes fine, but I never saw fine legs in
an Egyptian horse. The}' are not able to bear any
great fatigue, but when fed their action is much
more brilliant than that of the Arabian; their im-
petuosity renders them peculiarly desirable for heavy
cavalry, and it is upon this quality of the liorse
which the celebrity of Egyptian cavalry has ever
been founded. In their first onset it is much sujje-
rior to the Arabian, but where long marches become
necessary, and the duties of light horse are required,
the Egyptian yields infinitely to the Koheyl. The
Lybian Bedouins draw their supply of horses from
their own breeds as well as from Egypt. In the in-
terior of the Desert and towards Barbary they are
said to have conserved the ancient races of Aiabian
horses, but this is not the case in the vicinity of
Egypt, where they distinguisli as littls any peculiar
races as the Egyptians do.t ''

* " I have never met with einy geldings in the in-
terior of the desert. It would be erroneous to suppose
that the horses of the Rhouse or noble breed are aJl of
very perfect and distinguished quality and beauty.
Amongst the descendants of Eclipse may be found
mere hacks, and thus I have seen many Koheys that
have little more than this name to recommend them,
although the strength of bearing fatigue seems to be
common to all the desert race. The fine horses, ho\v-
ever, of the Rhouse are iu far greater number than the
common horses belonging to the same breed, but
amongst these fine hordes few only are found that may
be called first-rate horses, in either bone, beauty, or
action ; among a whole tribe, five or six only, and in
the Syrian desert there are perhaps not more than 200
of that description, each of which may be worth in the
desert itself from 1501 to 200Z ; of these latter very few
if any have ever found their way to Europe, although
it is through them alone that successful attempts conM
be made to ennoble the European race, while the usually
imported horses are all of a second or third quality."

■f "About the pedigrse of Arabian horses, I mu:>t
here add, that in the interior of the Desert the Be-
douins never made use of any, as among themsehej
they as well know the genealogy of their horses as they
do that of their masters ; but if they carry their horses
to market to any town, as Bassora, Bagdat, AhppG,
Damascus, Medina, Mekka, they then take care to
have a pedigree written out, in order to present it to
the buyer, and only in that case will a Bedouin be found |

" The Arabs of Naazy and Noteyn, Upper Egypt,
in the desert between the Nile and the Red Sea,
have continued the breed of the Rhouse among
them. As in Arabia, horses are possessed by them
in partnership ; they divide each horse into twenty-
four shares or kerats (according to the division of
landed property in Egypt, which is always divided
into kerats), and such a one buys three or four or
eiglit kerets of tlie mare, and shares in proportion in
the benefits arising from the sale of the young breed.
So little is known in Egj^pt among the soldiers of
the true breed, that when in 1812 Ibrahim Pasha's
troops took ten Koheyl horses belonging to Neteyn,
the soldiers sold them among themselves like com-
mon Egyptian horses, while their former owners
valued them at least three times tiiat price. For 100
Spanish dollars a good cavalry horse can at all times
be got in Egypt ; the highest price paid for an
Egyptian horse is 300 dollars, a Bedouin would
never give fifty dollars for the same. The Mame-
lukes formerly esteemed the Kolieyl of the desert,
and went to considerable expense in propagating
thei-; breed in Egypt. The present masters of this
country have not the same passion for fine horses as
their predecessors, who had in many respects
adopted Arab notions, and liad made it a fashion
among them to acquire a complete knowledge of
horses, and to keep their stable upon a most ex-
travagant establishment.* ''

" The Bedouins use the horses of the Rhouse ex-
clusively as stallions. The finest horse born of a
mare belonging to a race which is not comprised
within the Rhouse, would, notwithstanding its
beauty and perhaps suy)erior qualities, never be ad-
mitted as a breeder. Savud, the Wahabee's chief
favourite mare,-f which he constantly rode on his
expeditions, and whose name, Reraye, was become
famous all over Arabia, brought a horse of very su-
perior beauty and excellence ; the mother, however,
being not of the Rhouse, Savud would never permit
his people to use that horse as a stallion, and not
knowing what to do with it, as Bedouins, like the
Lybians, never ride horses, he sent it as a present to
tli'e sherifi".+

" Ihe Bedouins generally do not permit their
mares to be covered until the completion of the fifth
year ; poor people who look anxiouslv forward to
the profits to be derived from foaling, often liave
them covered after the completion of the fourth
year. The price paid for the use of a stallion

possessed of his horse's pedigree ; while on the other
hand, in the interior itself, he would laugh at being
asked for his marc's pedigree."

* " In Redjed, the Nadaba and Dahma are much
esteemed. The breed of the Messena of the Koheyl
races serves in Redjed never as a stallion."

t " Savud bought her from a Bedouin of the Arabs
Kahtan for 1500 dollars."

:j: " A troop of Druves on horseback attacked iu ths
summer of 1815 a party of Bedouins in the Homrau,
and pursued them to their encampment, when they
were in their turn assisted by a superior force, and all
killed, excepting one, who fled. He was pursued by
one of the best mounted Bedouins, but his mare, al-
though fatigued, kept up the run for several hours, but
could not be overtaken. Before his pursuer gave up
the chase, he cried out to him, promisina: him safe con-
duct, to beg to be permitted to kiss his excellent mare
upon her front. Upon his refusing, he at last left the
close pursuit, and in blessing the generous beast,
cried out to the fugitive, "Go and wash the feet of
your mare and drink off the water." This last ex-
pression is much used by the Bedouins to show the
great love they bear to their mares, and the obligation
under which they are to them.''

354

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

covering a mave is one Spanish dollar. The master
of the horse has a right to waive the payment of the
dollar, and may take his chance to wait until the
mare foals ; if she throws a filly, he is entitled to a
young female lamb of one year of age ; if she brings a
foal, he takes a simiicir male camel in payment of
the use of his horse. When a horse is born, the
Bedouins never let it drop down to the ground, but
receive it upon their arms out of tlie womb of the
mother, and keeping it for several hours upon their
arms, occupied in washing it, in stretching and
strengthening its limbs, and hugging it like a baby.
After which they put it down and watch its feeble
steps with particular attention, prognosticating irom
tJiat movement the virtues or defects of their future
companions. The people of .Aledjid feed their
horses regularly on dates. At Deyrach, in the
countr_7 of the Flassse, dates are mixed with the
dried clover (birseem,') and given them in food.
Barley, however, is the most usual food ia all parts
of Arabia.

" The wealthy people of Medjid frequently give
flesh to their horses, raw as well as boiled, together
with all the oflfals of their table. I knew a man at
Ilamah, in Syria, who assured me that he had fre-
quently given his horses washed meat before a
fatiguing journey, to malce them endure the journev
witij greater facility. The same person related to
me, that heing appr(-'liensive of the governor of the
town taking a liking to his favourite horse he fed it
for a foitnight exclusively on roasted poik, v.-liidi
increased its mettle to such a height, that it
became absolutely Tingovernable, and could be no
longer an object of desire to the governor. 1 have
seen vicious horses in Egypt which were apt to
bite, cured of this vice in presenting to them, while
in the act of doing so, a leg of mutton just taken oft'
the fire, the pains the horse felt in biting througii the
liot meat, made it give up that trick after a few re-
peated lessons. Egyptian horses are much less soft
in their tempers than Arabian ;* they are often vici-
ous, while the latter almost never are, and require
to be constantly tied, while the Arabians freely walk
about the encampment like camels,

" Egyptian grooms are famous all over the East
for the treatment of horses, so much so that the
Pashas and grandees all over Asiatic Turkey make
it a rule to have always a couple of them in their
service. They curry a horse three or four times a-
day, and make themselves so busy about it, that it is
against law in Egypt to have as many grooms as
horses in the stable, every one of the former having
the care of one horse. The Wahabee chief, who has
no doubt the finest stud of horses in the whole East,
never allows his n;ares to be mounted until they
Imve completed their fourth year.f The common
Bedouins frequently ride their own before they have
completed the third. The Wahabee chief has pro-
hibited his Arabs the selling of one-third of a mare,
as is frequently practised among the northern Arabs,
alleging that the custom loads often to unlawful and
cheating tricks. He permits the selling of one-half
of the mare."

* '■ The Arabs have ths Prophet's saying continually
in their mouths, ' Good fortune rests upon our noble
horses.' "

t " The tail is never left to grow at full length until
the horse or mare has completed the back teeth. The
hack teeth are corinted with the mare up to the fifteenth
year."

ON THE EXPEDIENCY AND EFFECTS
OF GRAFTING.

Grafting is a very ancient custom, as we read of
it in very early writings. It is more than probable
that it was first practised in the cultivation of fruit-
trees, to perpetuate a favourite kind which could
not be propagated with certainty by sowing the
seed. All the wild originals of our gardens and or-
chard fruits have been, by accident or continued
ctilture, changed from comparative worthlessiiess to
V ihiahle ])roducts, in size as well as in (juality. In
the accomplishment of these results, the art of graft-
ing has been mainly instrumental ; for by transferring
a shoot of an improved variety to the young stem of
a kiudred seedling, the true kind was thereb}' ob-
tained, and in any desired number.

The advantages of grafting are manifest, and its
effects upon the constitutional habit of both graft
and stock are various, and form a valuable portion
of the cultivator's knowledge. It is a subject well
worth inquiring into, as it may lead to a right un-
derstanding of the operation itself, as well as to the
attainment of those advantages which may he de-
rived fi-om a proper choice of the graft and stock.

We may first premise, that experience has taught
us that a perfect union by grafting can only take
place between congenial natures. Two individuals
of the same genus of plants, and in some instances
two individuals of the same natural order, which the
improved science of botany hath associated, will
unite by siafting, and become one tree. We may
next jiremise, that almost all plants, and certainly all
fruit-trees, have to pass through a season or stage of
adolescence, during which the}' are naturally barren. If
a cultivator intend to raise a fruit-tree from seed, he
must wait with patience until a stripling arrives at
a mature age, before he can expect it to bear fruit.
In this case, the advantage of grafting a mature part
of the head of an old tree upon the vigorous stem of
a young one, is very obvious ; because its period of
youth is much curtailed, or wholly disappears, as
grafts have been known to bear fruit in the first year.
This, however, but seldom happens, nor indeed is it
to be wished, as no fruit-tree should be allowed to
beai- before it has acquired a reasonable size of head.

Besides the advantage of transferring aged and
mature wood to young stocks, the operation has
another effect, which is equally' serviceable to the
cultivator, and that is, its tendency to check luxu-
riant growth — a circumstance which rende s the
grafted tree at once more dwarfish and more fruitful ;
and as these circumstances are usually consequences
of eacii other, it is an improvement clearly attribu-
table to the Ojieration of grafting.

The practicabilitv of grafting, as well as budding,
depends on the readiness witli which the elements
of the scion and stock unite ; the living members of
both being placed in close contact at the season when
both have begun, or are about to begin, to swell un-
der the flowing sap, instantly coalesce. If the scion
and stock be nearly of a size, the junction becomes so
complete, that in a few years it is scarcely discerni-
ble, more especially if both are equal in habit of
growth or membranous structure ; but if one be of a
gro^5ser habit and ranker growth than the otlier, they
increase in diameter unequally. If an apple scion
be grafted on a white-thorn, or a pear on quince
stork, the grafts in both cases are engrossed much
faster than the dwarfer-growing stocks: of course
the junction is always apparent, and sometimes ex-
tremely unequal ; fov though there is a free inter-
communication of the sa]), the specific difference of
tlie woody struoiure or vascular fabric being unlike,
cfiuses the differonce in the diametric bulk.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

355

On examination of tlie grafted part of a stem of
several vears' growth, by cleaving it. perpendicularlj^
or cutting througli the graft transverseU^ we see
that there is an intimate union between the layers of
wood whicli were about to be formed wiien the opera-
tion was performed, and of all the subsequently
formed layers of both ; but between the wood of the
graft and stock wliich was formed before the per-
formance, though closely and soundly adhering to
each other, there is a visible division, marked by a
brown line, where the two surfaces made by the
knife were ioined. The union of these is, liowever,
no more than a simple adherence by means of se-
creted sap acting as a cement, but not certainly by
any interjunction of the woody fibres.

Another advantage arising from the prnctice of
grafting, is the certainty of perpetuating the true
kind of fruit ; for although it has been affirmed that
the qualities of pears are deteriorated by being grafted
on tiie quince, and that some sorts of apples are im-
paired in quality, and altered in colour, b}^ being-
worked on certain stocks, such reports have not
hitherto been confirmed ; and, therefore, it appears
that whatever may be the state or quality of the sap,
as supplied b}^ the roots of the stock, it very soon
becomes assimilated to that of the graft, if indeed
any assimilation at all be necessary.

A good deal of skill is, however, necessary in
adapting the scions to ])roper stocks, in order to as-
sist diminutive growth, by placing on strong-growing
stocks, or the reverse. The habit or manner of
growth of the tree whence the graft is taken, is con-
veyed along with it ; and not only the permanent
habic, as is exemplified by the weeping-ash, but acci-
dental flexures which sometimes occur in upright-
growing trees, if tliese bowed shoots are used for
grafts, and it is very likely the future slioots from
that graft will be also drooping, or unusually bent.
We have elsewhere remarked that this circumstance
happens sometimes in working- the Jargonelly pear.
This tree, in favourable situations, is sometimes apt
to produce very strong summer shoots, which, from
the weight of their foliage, or some other cause,
droop downward in a waving direction. These, if
used for grafts, make very unsightly maiden plants,
and afterwards require much training to get them
into shape and moderate growth.

An}^ other peculiarity of grov.-th or Irabit of the
mother-tree is certainly conveyed along with grafts
produced by]it : and, moreover, it has been said that,
not only disease, but even the age and decrepitude
of the parent, are conveyed to the young trees raised
from its shoots.

This idea was first promulgated by T. A. Knight,
_ Esq., President of the Horticultural Society o*" Lon-
don, and from a belief that young trees actually in-
herited the infirmities of their aged parents, which
accounted for the general failure of apple-trees that
happened about the time that gentleman wrote Ids
" Treatise on the Apple and Pear" (about 1795). —
To stregthen his opinion, he argued that, as these
fruit-trees are only varieties, they had, as such, only
a limited period of life ; and when that period had
elapsed, the whole of any given variety, old, and
young, and middle aged, dropped to decay together.
These new doctrines produced a strong sensation,
particularly among niirservmen who happened to
have large stocks of the proscribed varieties ; and so
feasible were Mr. Knight's representations, that
many acted upon tliem in so far, that they preferred
to plant the newest sorts rather than liie old ones.
The circumstance which suggested the idea to t!ie
worthy president was not only apparent in Hereford-
shire, but, at that time, all over ihe kingdom. The

old golden pippin, the styre, and fox-whelp, were
failing in all directions around IMr. Knight's resi-
dence, in Herefordshire, and adjoining cider coun-
tries ; and the first of these, a great favourite every-
where, became almost barren, and was visibly fail-
ing all over the kingdom.

We well remember discarding and throwing out
a good many Golden Pippin trees about that time,
which had been pk^nted for five or six years, witliout
making the least progress in growth, but rather de-
clining. Two of these outcasts being planted in anew
shrubbery then making, (the ground having- been
deeply trenclied,) grew away surprisingly in tlieiruew
place, became -abundantly fruitfid, and are now large
and healthy trees.

This result showed that there was no constitu-
tion-al decrepitude or irrcoverable decay in this va-
liety of apple ; and the same results having happened
to other planters who had planted the proscribed
sorts on properly prepared ground in dilierent parts
of the kingdom, theimpression against them wore off,
and now it is almost forgotten.

It is quite true that nurserymen have no credit, nor
the trees they sell approved, if the buyers only stick
them into a round deep hole in an old orchard or
garden without other preparation. This mode of
forming or replenishing orchards was very common,
both before and since the period alluded to. A per-
son resolves to moke an orchard of one of his mea-
dows ; he digs ranks of holes, buys standard trees,
puts them in, relays the turf, stakes and bushes the
stems to keep off sheep, and bids " God speed."
The consequence of such a proceeding is, that the
trees, from being so carelessly treated, become
stunted, and at the end of five or six years, perhaps,
are less than they were when planted. We make
this observation because we know that tlie failure of
new orchards so planted, was accounted for, and the
mismanagement excused, on jMr. Knight's principle
— viz. that the kinds were " worn out.''

But we know well that ilr. Knight's ideas respect-
ing new varieties of plants, herbs as well as trees,
are not altogether erroneous, AVe have written
something on this subject in our last number, at page
322 ; and we are quite convinced that, in the first
years of the existence of a new variety of a plant,
it grows with greater vigour than it continues to do
after it has become an old inhabitant of any one [)lace.
In this opinion IMr. Knight was perfectly right ; and
it may have happened that many of the favourite va-
rieties of apples being aged trees, presented a simul-
taneous decay, and so confirmed, while it sanctioned,
the suggestion of the President.

Although it is our own opinion that disease, as the
canker, and insects, as the American blight, may be
carried by the graft from old to nunden plants; j^et
we believe that, if a perfectly mature and healthy
scion, cut from the top of an old tree, be inserted on
a suitable and healty stock, the future expansion of
the graft will be as free from decrepitude (except
only from theeftect of working) as the first shoot
which rose from the original seed.

We may now -allude to other effects of grafting. If
a strong and rampant-growing kind of tree be en-
grafted upon a weakly growing- stock, the latter will
be much engrossed in the structure of its roots ; and
if a tree having numerous and attenuated spray, be
placed on the same kind of stock, the future roots of
the stock will be proportionably subdivided and un-
usually fibrous — a proof that there is an intimate
connexion between the blanches and roots of trees,
and that tlie demands of the former impose their man-
ner of expansion upon the latter.

We may also notice a remarkable circumstaace

356

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

which accrues from the kindred operations of graft-
ing or budding, viz., a variegated species worked on
an unvariegafed one, will be accompanied by varie-
gated suckers rising from the unvariegated root.
This shows to a certainty that there must be a sub-
sidence of somewhat from the graft to the stock ; but
what that may be, is not so easily explained. Mr.
Knight, and several other very eminent vegetable
physiologists, maintain that no part of the graft ever
extends itself down from the point of junction with
the stock : indeed, this is evident to any one taking-
the trouble to dissect the parts at any time after the
operation is performed. But then the question re-
curs— What else can convey the discolouration of
the leaves and bark of the graft, to those of the suckers
so far below? If (he variegation of leaves and bark
be what it is considered to be — namely, an accidental
inherent disease — the malady may be extended or
communicated by the admixture of the sapj-^r by a
downward contamination of the cellular membrane;
but whether by the one means or the other, is a doubt-
ful question, although the fact itself is unquestion-
able.

As fruit trees are rarely fertile till the vigour of
youth is moderated, and some varieties are always too
luxuriant to be good bearers, working them upon
others of more diminutive habit may effect valuable
improvements, whether the strong be inserted on the
weak, or vice versa. Double-working fruit trees cer-
tainly induces moderate growth and consequent
fruitfulness ; and it is an expedient which is not so
much had recourse to as its importance to cultivators
deserves.

Root-grafting is often practised, and is, or may be,
of great service to the propagator of choice exotics,
for which proper stocks cannot be had. A small
twig of the bead, placed on a spare root of the same,
may raise anothfr plant, which cannot be done per-
haps b\ any other mode of propagation.

Jo show how necessary it is to be acquainted with
the most suitable stocks for working fruit trees on, we
subjoin a list of the proper stocks for the finer varie-
ties of peaches, viz: —

Early Anne, Purple Alberge, White Magdalen,
Millet's Mignon, Late Admirable, Incomparable,
Scarlet Admirable, Smith's Earl}- Newington, Red
Magdalen, Montaubiin, Noblesse, Early Admirable,
Old Newington, Old Royal George, Rambouillet,
and Catherine, are all sorts which take and grow
best on the Mvscle Plum ; and the following do best
on the Brampton Stock, viz : —

Avant Rouge, Pourpre llative, Belle Bauce, l',arly
Galland, Belle Chevereuse, French Mignon, Grim-
wood's Royal George, Kensington, Double Rlon-
tagne, Superb Royal, Barrington, Bourdine,
Bellegard, Chancellor, Late Purple, and the Titon
de Venus.

Mam^other kinds of fine plums, pears, apples, &c.,
require peculiar stocks, to which we shall have oc-
casion to revert at some future opportunity. — Horti-
cultural Register.

ducing such a manufacture upon an extensive scale,
and unless extensively cultivated it could be pro-
ductive of no material benefit will be seen by the
subjoined paragraph. The duty on colonial sugar
foims a large item in our revenue, and there is no
doubt but that a diminution of that branch of the
revenue would lead to the same results as are here
apprehended.

" Prague, March 20. — Reports are in circulation,
which make a great sensation among the merchants
and landowners. It is affirmed that the Chamber of
Finance suffers very severely from the diminution of
the receipts of customs, which here, as in France, is
the natural result of the manufacture of sugar from
beetroot, and it has resolved to reduce the import
duty on foreign sugar from twenty florins to four
florins per cwt. As such a measure would be a de-ath
blow to all the manufactories of beetroot sugar,
which even in the present state of things Jind it difficult
to support the competition, we scarcely give great
credit to such a report."

When a plan for forming a company for manu-
facturing sugar fiom Beet-root was submitted to
the agriculturists about twelve months since we
cautioned them against expending their capital
upon any such scheme. Many -well-intentioned
individuals have since been and slill are urgent in
recommending it as calculated to produce great
benefit to the landed interest. The dane,er of intro-

A Correspondent points out the following errors
in the system of management in tlie county of
Sussex, and solicits answers to the queries at-
tached : —

1. It is usual to broadcast the wheat, by which
two bushels per acre more are used than if dibbled,
which two bushels at the present prices would give
for labour 15s per acre, a sum frequently' equal to
the whole rent of much of the land, and this grain
not being -well covered feeds hedge birds, which prey
on the following- crop, and to destroy which pre-
miums have been offered in Scotland. Qy. How
much do these birds destroy ?

2. Keeping a third or half more horses than are
wanted, each of which consumes -as much as a la-
bourer and his family.

3. Neglect of weeding the land as is apparent
by the quantity of weeds found in the straw. Qy.
How much do the weeds lessen the crop 1

4. Waste of mauure in open farm-yards, where
its nutritious pi'operties are washed away by the
rain.

5. Paying any labour by the day, which can be
paid by measure.

6. Letting- cattle in wet weather eat with five
mouths, that is, poach the land.

7. Qy. How much miglit be gained by giving the
food now raised for useless farm horses to oxen
stall-fed as in Scotland, Holland, and Germany,
and wliich would cause a great increase of work for
laboureis 1

The most extraordinary and complete five-year-old
real Down wether sheep, for smallness of bone and
thickness of fat, ever remembered in Bury market, was
shown for sale on Saturday se'nnight, by Mr. Woollard,
butcher of Pakenhani. It was grazed by Mr. Roper,
of West Dereham, Norfolk, and was rafHed for at the
Fox Inn, Honing-ton, on Thursday last, in twenty-four
shares, and won by ]\Ir. Digg-on, jun., of Thetford. The
sheep weig-hed 401bs per quarter, and the fat measured
on the neck 6^ inches, and on the loin 6 inches. The
shoulder weighed 203lbs.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

35T

GREYHOUND.— CP/a^e.;

We feel extremely happy in being able to place
before our readers a remarkably well engraved
and very correct likeness of a very beautiful grey-
hound bitch, Marcia, belonging to that genuine
sportsman, W. Loft, Esq., of 'frusthorpe, near
Alford, Lincolnshire. We must embrace the pre-
sent opportunity of acknowledging our obligation
to that distinguished artist, Mr. Strafford, from
whose admirable painting our present embellish-
ment has been taken.

The form of Marcia, as our readers will per-
ceive, is as nearly perfect as possible ; colour
white, with a black ear : she unites the very best
blood the world ever saw, being got by the cele-
brated Lochinvar out of a daughter of the still
more celebrated Snowball. — " Can Bourbon or
Nassau go higher?" Yet, notwithstanding the
symmetrical beauty of her form, and her very
high breeding, Marcia is more remarkable as the
dam of superior greyhounds, than for her own
individual performances. Amongst her produce
may be enumerated eight very distinguished
public winners : — namely, Mr. Best's Tibby, Lu-
bin, Wasp, and Venus ; Mr. Loft's Mantle, Mack,
Madge, and Marquis : being four winners of Cups,
two of St. Leger Stakes of 65 sovs. each, five of
Sweepstakes, and two of second prizes : at the
following meetings — Louth, Malton, Isley, Let-
combe Bowers, and Barlon.

In speaking of the Greyhound, coursing natu-
rally enough presents itself to the mind; and we
cannot refrain from observing, that coursing has
become general from one end of Great Britain to the
other ; and such has been the emulation of sports-
men in breeding dogs for this pursuit, that the
greyhound of this country may be said to have
attained perfection. The rough wire-haired
animal of this name, so common some years
since, if he has not entirely disappeared, is very
rarely seen, even in those parts of the kingdom
where he continued to be held in estimation long
after the fame of his improved competitor had
been established. Lancashire might be regarded
as his last hold ; but here he has faded into no-
thingness, and a breed of greyhounds has been
introduced inferior to none in the world. The
modern greyhound is the most elegant of the ca-
nine race ; but at the same time it must be ad-
mitted that, on the score of sagacity, he is inferior
to every variety of his tribe.

Frost upon Fruit Trees. — A correspon-
dent of the Gardener^s Gazette says : — " At this sea-
son of the year, when the young blossoms of wall fruit
and standard fruit trees are liable to be cut ofif by what
is commonly denominated white or hoar frost, perhaps
the knowledge uf the French method of protecting
trees from such injury may prove acceptable : — If a
thick rope be intermixed among the branches of a
fruit tree in blossom, the end of which is directed
downward so as to terminate in a pail of water, should
a slight frost take place during the night, it will not in
the slightest degree affect the tree, while the surface
of the water in the pail which receives the rope will be
covered with thin ice, though the water placed in ano-
ther pail by the side of it, by way of experiment, may
not, from the slightness of the frost, have any ice on
it at all.

AGRICULTURAL PREMIUMS,

OFFERED BY THE HIGHLAND SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND
IN 1837, AND OPEN TO THE WHOLE OF THE UNITED
KINGDOM.

Class 1.«»500Z for the first successful application
of steam to the cultivation of the soil, viz: — The
operations of ploughing and harrowing as well as
now performed by animal labour. — A silver medal
for any improvement or invention applicable to hus-
bandry or rural economy; a model to be sent to the
society.

Class 2. — 501, or plate to the value, for the best
geological survey of any district in Scotland, ("ex-
cept Berwick, Lower Moray, Renfrew, and North
Ayrshire) being a surface of not less than 200 square
miles. — 301 for the best geological report on any
coal district in Scotland; secondary premiums of
medals for the same. — The gold medal for the best
report of metals which might be profitably worked,
to be sent in by Oct. 20.— Gold or silver medal for best
account of remains discovered in peat moss in Scot-
land.— 20/ for best essay on the threshing machine.
— 20/ for best account of comparative merits of keep-
ing farm horses on usual food, or on that differently
prepared. — 20/ for best practical essay on manage-
ment of sheep with a view to improvement of the
fleece. — Silver medal for best account of experiments
on the employment of fibres of cheap indigenous
vegetables in paper making. — 20/ for best account of
insects injurious to vegetation. — Gold medal for the
best essay on the constrnction of water reservoirs for
agricultural purposes. — Gold medal for the results of
most extensive experiments to ascertain whether
there be any anatomical peculiarity which renders
some neat cattle disposed to fatten early. — Gold
medal for an exhibition in 1838, at Society's show,
of three oxen with short and three with long feet
fed in the same manner. — 10/ for the best" essay on
the most successful mode of preserving potatoes. —
10^ for the best essay on domestic dyeing. — Gold
medal for the best essay on effects of woods or cli-
mates.— Gold medal for the best essay on subsoil
and trench ploughing. — 10/ for best practical report
on irrigation. — 20/ for best essay on forest planting.
— Gold medal for the most satisfactory account of
the herbage on mountainous sheep pastures of Scot-
land.— 20/ for the most approved specimen of sheep
salve. — 15/ for best account of extirpating farms
from pastures. — Gold or silver medal for best ac-
counts of useful practices in rural or domestic eco-
nomy, adopted in foreign countries.

Class 3. — Gold medal to proprietor or tenant for
most satisfactory report of improvement of waste
land by tillage, not less than 100 acres, within five
years, before Oct. 10. — Gold medal, ditto, for pas-
ture.— Silver medal, for having reclaimed not less
than five acres from the sea within five years. — Sil-
ver medal, for best report of river embankment in
Scotland.

Class 4. — Silver medal for best account of any
new plants adapted to field culture. — 71, 31, and 2/,
for heaviest early Angus oats not less than 401bs per
bushel, crop 1837, district Strathspey. — Silver medal
to the successful candidate at any ploughing match
(provided 1.5 ploughs start), upon certificate of one
or more members of the society attending- the match.

Class 6. — Nine premiums for bulls and quays,
from certain districts in Scotland, amounting to 46/.
— 251 for best stallion, 10/ for best mare, and 10/ for
best native colt from certain Scotch districts. — 61 for
6 best tups (blackfaced breed), 4/ for 2nd best ditto,
61 for best pen of 18 ewes or gimmers (blackfaced),

2b

358

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

4:1 second best ditto, from certain districts in Scot-
land.

Class 7. — Four premiums (amounting to 161) for
best specimens of improvement in breed of swine. —
15/ (in 4 premiums) for best specimens of butter,
from certain Scotch districts. — 151 for specimens of
improved cheese making.

Class 8. — '21 for best kept cottage in each of the
districts of Lanark, Fife, Mid-lothian,and Selkirk. —
ll second best ditto. — li best kept cottage garden in
each parish, — 10/ (in 4 premiums) to cottagers rais-
ing greatest number of hives of bees, in Orknay,
Zetland, Selkirk, and Peebles,

Class 9. — Gold medal to proprietor who shall
have planted trees in five years to greatest extent,
not less than 500 acres. — Gold medal to any pro-
prietor for best practical report on the planting and
fencing of land. — Silver medals for best accounts of
native Scotch fir woods. — Gold medal for having
sown in five years greatest quantity of seeds of the
Scotch fir, not less than I5001bs. — Gold and silver
medals for other improvements in Scotch planting.

Class 10 — General show of Stock at Dumfries
in 1837. — 20/ best bull calved since Jan. 1, 1832. — 10/
2nd ditto, 10/ best bull siirk calved since Jan. 1, 1834;
2nd ditto 51; 71 best fat ox calved since Jan. 1, 1833 ;
10/ best 2 spayed heifers calved since Jan. 1, 1834;
71 best single ditto, calved since Jan. 1833; 10/
best breeding cow, calved before Jan. 1835 ; 2nd
ditto, 5/ ; best 2 queys, calved after Jan. 1, 1835,
10/; 2nd ditto, 71; 3d ditto, 5/; 10/ best lot of
stirks calved after 1st Jan. 1836, not fewer than 4 ;
2nd ditto, 5/ ; all of tbe above to be of the Galloway
breed. — 10/ for best fat ox calved since Jan. 1833 ;
2nd ditto, 7/ ; to be of the Aberdeen breed. — 20/ for
best bull calved between Jan, 1, 1832, and Jan. 1,
1835; ("silver medal to breeder): 2nd ditto, 10/;
best bull stirk calved since Jan. 1, 1836, 7/; best
cow, any age, 10/ ; best fat ox, calved after Jan. 1,
1835, 71 ; best heifer calved after Jan. 1, 1835, 71;
best heifer ditto, 71 ; all of the short-horn breed. —
Best bull calved between Jan. 1, 1832, and Jan. 1,
1835, 15/; (medal to the breeder); best bull stirk
calved since Jan. 1, 1836, 5/ ; best milch cow, calved
before Jan. 1, 1834, 10/ ; 2nd ditto, 5/; best 2 quays,
calved since Jan. 1,1825, 7/; 2nd ditto, 5Z; allofthe
Ayrshire breed. — 10/ best fat ox, and 5/ second best
of^West Highland breed. — Best fat ox, any breed,
calved since Jan. 1, 1833, 10/ ; breed and age to be
specified.

Horses. — 20/ for best stallion, for improvino-
breed of draught horses: 20/ for best ditto for breed"
ing coach or chariot horses : 10/ fcr best mare for
breeding draught horses : 5/ for best three years old
draught gelding : 51 for best three years old filly.

Sheep. — 10/ best tup not above five years old, of
the new Leicester breed ; 2nd ditto, 5/ ; 5/ best
pen of 3 ewes not exceeding four years old ; 3/
best pen of 3 fat wethers, not more than 20 months
old ; all Leicester breed. Best 3 tups not more than
43 months old, 10/ ; 2nd ditto, 5/ ; best 10 ewes,
not more than 6 years old, from a breeding stock of
not less than 200 rearing lambs of that season, 10/ ;
2nd ditto, 5/ ; best pen of 10/ gimmers, 51 ; best 5
fat wethers, not exceeding 56 months old, 5/ ; ditto,
ditto, 32 months, 51 ; all cheviot breed. Best 3
tups (black faced; no more than 43 months old, 10/ ;
2nd ditto, 5/ ; best 10 ewes not exceeding 6 years
old (black faced) 10/; 2nd ditto, 5/; best 10 gim-
mers ditto, 61 ; best 5 fat wethers not exceeding 56
months old, 51; best 5 ditto not exceeding 32 months,
51. The following for tbe cross-breed .-—best 5 fat
wethers between cheviot ewes and Leicester tups,
5/; 2nd ditto, 3/ ; best 5 fat wethers, between black

faced ewes and cheviot tups, not exceeding 20
months old, 5/ ; best 5 fat wethers (any cross) 5/ ;
best 10 lambs (cheviot ewes by Leicester rams),
dropt since March 1837, and shown by breeder, 5/;
best 10 lambs (black faced ewes by Leicester rams,)
dropt since March 1837, shown by breeder, 5/ ; best
10 lambs (from cheviot or black faced ewes by any
other than Leicester rams) dropt since March 1837,
the ram to be shown, 5/.

Swine. — Best boar, 1 to 4 years old, 8/ ; 2nd do,
5/ ; best breeding sow ditto, 5/ ; 2nd ditto, 4/ ; best
two pigs not exceeding 40 weeks old, 5/,

For extra stock of any kind, not shown for any of
the above and not exceeding in one lot 5 cattle or 10
sheep, and for implements of husbandry, roots, ckc,
medals or money will be awarded to the amount
of 70/,

Wool, — Best 7 fleeces of combing wool, 5/ , best
ditto (short wool Cheviot breed) 5/ ; best ditto
(black faced breed) 51. Competitors to state num-
ber of sheep from which sample is taken and the
price obtained if sold, and must have bred the sheep.

General Regulations. — The competition will
take place at Dumfries in September or October ;
the particular day to be hereafter intimated, and
to be open to stock from any part of the United
Kingdom.

CONSULTATION RESPECTING
SHEEP.

(From the Veterinarian.)

Dear Sir, — A friend of mine, a very extensive
farmer and grazier, residing on the banks of the
Ouse, a low and marshy district, has had tbe mis-
fortune to lose many of his sheep for some years
past, in the spring and autumn, from some fatal
disease. By examining two or three after death,
I found it be Pleuritis. There was nearly a quarter
of an inch thickness of coagulable lymph on the
whole surface of the pleura, and between its layers
more or less serous fluid. The substance of the
lungs was free from disease, as were all the other
viscera.

This disease has been confined to the well-bred

sheep, and Mr. never saw it in his coarser

skinned sheep : so fatal, however, has it been in the
pure Leceister, that he cannot any longer breed
thempui-e; he now mixes them with Half-Lincoln.
These do not escape ; within the past week many

have died. Mr. has observed, that the

malady has been more prevalent when the sheep
have been placed upon rich food, such as cabbage
and turnips : it is seldom seen when they are kept
on grass or dry food. The treatment that has been
adopted from time to time has been attended with no
good effect ; in fact, it has been directed by no very
defined indication, except that of bleeding the whole
flock when any case has been suspected ; and, when
the animal is actually seized, bleeding again. Only
one sheep ever recovered, and that was kept in a
constant state of faintness for two or three days by
repeated bleedings.

We feel very anxious th;it a more effectual mode
of treatment should be adopted, for many of the
sheep are of the greatest value. I occasionally bad
the pleasure of hearing your lectures at the Uni-
versity, and therefore feel desirous of having your
opinion, especially as I find from my friend Mr.
, of this town, tliat you are about to pub-

lish on the diseases of the sheep. He saw two or

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

359

three of the sheep this morning-, and can therefore
better describe to you the symptoms.

Symptoms as described by Mr. ■

Pulse very quick and hard; breathing difficult;
countenance dull ; the head in a declining position,
with the nose forced against the ground ; bowels
more than usually constipated ; the membranes of
the eyes and nose red ; low and short cough ;
almost always lying down ; when moved, indicating
much pain, and making a grunting noise. In one
of the sheep there was a discharge streaked with
blood from the nose.

EXTRACT FROM REPLY.
My dear Sir,

Do you not see at a glance the wliole histor)'
and mystery of the matter 1 Your friend is an ardent
admirer of the Leceister breed of sheep ; I can for-
give him that. He has fully developed that pro-
pensity to accumulate flesh and fat which is the
distinguishing, the invaluable propert}' of that breed:
but he is not satisfied with developing this so far as
it is necessary for any useful purpose ; he must outdo
all his neighbours. He must urge his flock on to
that condition in which, indeed, they look beautiful
to the eye, and add, I have always maintained un-
deservedly add, to the reputation of the breeder;
but in which he forgets, or is not aware that he
places them in a state of dangerous plethora, where
there is but a step between them and death. There
needs but a little increase of nutritious food — there
needs perhaps but the addition of a quarter of a
mile's walk — there needs but some unknown atmos-
pheric agency to derange the labouring circulation,
and the weak point is found out in a moment. The
blood is determined to or congested in the head, or
the lungs, or the pleura, or the peritoneum, and the
animal dies without the possibility of reprieve.

" No, "says your friend, " I do not do this either. "
Yes he does, and too often ; and then he attributes
it to the very convenient term Inflammation. There
is scarcely a year that at the Smithfield prize-show I
do not hear a dozen farmers, at least, complain that
they have not been able to compete in this sweep-
stake, or for that prize, because they have lost many
sheep from Inflammation. " Pshaw !" I always in-
terfere when I have any previous acquaintance with
them, " you murdered them, and I do not pity you
a bit ; you half deserve hanging yourselves." — This
is a bitter pill, and they do not like the doctor for
administering it.

" No, no, " says your friend, " I do not do this ;
Mr. Y. is quite mistaken ; " and " so say all of
them."

Then I will tell him what he does; he diligently
cultivates a breed of sheep that has a faculty almost
beyond conception of turning nutritious food into
blood. Put a Leceister sheep on good or too good
pasture, at least as compared with that from which
he is taken, and I dare not say in what small a space
of time, and before his appearance of condition is
much altered, the quantity of blood which flowed
through his veins is in a manner doubled. What is
the natural, the frequent, the almost necessary con-
sequence of this 1 He thinks that it is the fat sheep
alone that can die plethoric ; but I will tell him there
is equal, perhaps greater, danger with regard to these
fast blood-makiu g sheep , if the pasture is incautiously
and too rapidly changed, when they are in common
store conditioi, than when they are somewhat op-
pressed with fatness. In the latter case, they die of

apoplexy ; in the former, of inflammation, of every
kind.

Therefore, as to your friend I have scarcely a
word to say to him about medicines. If he has been
in a little too great a hurry, the lancet and the
Epsom salts are very good things, and I can add
nothing to them. Let him go back again to his
half-breds ; let him go back again, if he pleases,
to his pure Leceisters ; and if he, although perhaps
an experienced breeder, will take the advice of a
poor veterinary surgeon who has hitherto been sup-
posed to know nothing about the matter — Cwhat do
not our established veterinary instructors deserve
when this is the case? and shame on the agricultural
interest generally tliat suffers such a state of things
to be) — I will promise him that his losses, if not
quite arrested, shall be very much limited.

Let him abate a little of his emulation on points of
no practical importance. Let him give greater scope
to that which is connected with his own and with
the national prosperity. Let him diligently cultivate
that breed of sheep which on his land he can most
quickly and most cheaply bring into marketable
condition. When he changes his pasture from a
tolerable to a forcing one, let him be more cautious
than farmers generally are — let them first go on their
cabbages or their turnips for not more than two or
three hours a- day — let the time be very gradually
extended : and, when the day is spent on them,
let it be a short one — the opening of tiie fold a little
later, and the return to it a little sooner than usual.

If, still, he is making more haste than good speed,
the lancet and the Epsom salts are, I repeat, very
good things, and so is old John Lawrence's digesting
ground — a pasture tolerably bare, and where the
sheep must work somewhat hard for a belly -full.
He may depend upon it, that food, too much and too
good food, lies at the bottom of the whole. As to
the pleurisy which you so accurately described, there
may be something in your friend's " low and marshy
ground " which predispose to pulmonary complaints,
oftener however to hepatic ones. Where cough is
perceived, the lancet may be had recourse to if that
cough is violent, and Epsom salts (the dose two
ounces) and followed by doses of pulv. digital. 3ss,
potassjE nit. 3i, flor. sulph. 9j mixed up with a
little gruel, and given daily, or twice in the day, in
bad cases; but I have far more faith in the pre-
ventive which I have pointed out.

And now, my dear Sir, I have seemed to neglect
you, and perhaps I have added to the offence by lec-
turing your friend at some length. I cannot help
it. 1 have the pleasure of recollecting you at the
University ; and I trust that you will believe me
to be — Very faithfully your's,

W. YOUATT.

Beet-Root Sugar. — A new process has been dis-
covered at Strasburg by means of which a white
crystallised sugar is produced in twelve hours from beet-
root, and which does not require any further refining".
This invention is the more curious, as neither any acids
or chemical agency is employed in this remarkable ope-
ration, and the use of animal blood is entirely dispensed
with. It has also the advantage of saving 25 per cent.
in the consumption of fuel. Tlie new process is appli-
cable in all the present manufactories of sugar, with the
exception of those upon the principle of dessication of
the beet-root. The inventor is M. Edward Stolle, who
though not more than 34 years of age, is already highly
distinguished for his experiments in chemistry, and his
works in polite literature.

2 B 2

360

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

THE CURRENCY.

TO THE EDITOR OF " THE MARK-LANE EXPRESS."

Sir, — The object of my letter inserted in your pa-
per 27 ult., was to express regret that in alluding to
the subject of currency,, you sometimes used lan-
o-uage not quite consistent with the acknowledged
right of individual formation, and expression of
opinion, which is, indeed, the birthright of English-
men. I quoted a passage or two, wherein you speak
of fallacious theories propounded by political parti-
zans — of " the sophistry of self-interested indivi-
duals," etc., &c.; and I could not help stating the
impression on my mind, that you wished to stifle the
subject of currency. In your remarks on my letter,
you allude to the latter, and blame me for "indulging
in the same strain of imputation," as that of which
you had complained in others. You think me un-
just, but I appeal to the whole tenour of your obser-
vations on the subject of currency. In your remarks
on the Central Agricultural Society (27 ult.) you
observe " the state and welfare of agriculture is un-
worthily represented in London' by that society —
because, you say, they ring the changes on " cur-
rency,"— " substituting a silver for a gold currency"
— " prices above the level of the standard of value."
You say, " it would be difficult to find much analogy
between the interests of agriculture, and the topics
which are the constant theme of the London Asso-
ciation." This, however, is matter of opinion, and
if such be their themes, I must beg leave to differ from
you on this point entirely, as many others will do. —
Further, you assert that " many (of them) must know
that they are giving vent to fallacies." I ask, is not
this " indulging in a strain of imputation?" You
say, " the members of the London Association rest
the salvation of the tenant farmers" on the " crude
absurdities of the currency". Now what " crude ab-
surdities of the currency", the society may hold, I
know not, having no connexion or communication
with them ; but I rejoice that they discuss the sub-
ject, because, I think it of vital importance to farmers,
and to the productive classes generally.

I assure you, Sir, that I am no " free trade theorist
in disguise ;" and that I do not wish to abolish the
corn laws, byattempting to pu.auade farmers that no
benefit is derived from thera.' To abolish them,
without an equivalent by a change in the standard of
money, would, in my opinion, be the ruin of agricul-
ture, as I have uniform. ly maintained ; particularly
in a letter, in reply to Earl Fitzwilliam's Second Ad-
dress to the Landowners, inserted in the Morning
Chronicle, 24t,h of Nov., 1835, under the signature
of Terre Filius, and in two letters to Mr. Hume,
published a little before that time, in Bell's Weekly
Messenger, with the same signature. The first of
these, if not the others, you did me the honour to
copy into your paper ; and the Editor of the Farmer's
Magazine did the same. But although I think the
corn laws necessary under the present standard, it
does not follow that they mightnot be dispensed with
altogether, if a more just and suitable system of
money were established. Free trade in corn and in
every thing else, being the natural order of things,
it is very desirable, could it be obtained with safety.
If the corn laws should raise the average price of
corn considerably, without any increase in the means
of paying for it, it would be a great evil to the con-
sumers. I cannot help thinking, however, that all
parties attach too much importance to corn laws —
experience and reflection combine to convince me
that tney will not influence the average price much,
situated as this country now is — with so great a
portion of the population dependent on the export

trade, and the wages (the means of consumption)
which that will afford them. These wages must al-
ways below, as measured by gold or silver ; they will
exceed those of foreigners, only in the ratio, of our
superior skill and other advantages. Mr. G. F.
Muntz, of Birmingham, Las thrown much light on
this subject, by his evidence before the Lords' Agri-
cultural Committee ; he has there embodied ideas
which bad long been floating (" dimly seen") in my
own mind.

Being, myself a " tenant farmer," I can have no
objection to a rent adjusting itself to the amount of
money the farmer is actually receiving ; and if all
things would adjust themselves in the same way, there
would be no cause of complaint.

Your remedies seem to be a reduction of rent, and
" superabundant produce" from the " redundant fer-
tility of the soil," that the farmer may be " enabled
to compete with low prices." But have we not had
(through the bounty of providence) " superabundant
produce," for several years past ; during which time
the distress was so great, that the cessation af all
rent would not have cured if? And " superabundant
produce" being accompanied so long by severe dis-
tress, the Central Society was instituted to seek the
cause of the anomaly. They think that they have found
it in the monetary system ; and no wonder ; for it is
well known that for many years past, " money in the
aggregate, had been I'apidly decreasing in quantity,
whilst the demand for it, represented by the quantity
of goods in the market, has been rapidly increasing.
Could any thing else follow from this, but a continu-
ous increase in the value of money, compared with
goods, that is a continued fall of prices — such as is
proved in fact, by the price currents, to have really
taken place Producers have, all this time, been
struggling to make up for their diminished profits,
hy increased ■production, unaware, that from the limited
stock of the medium of exchange, every addition to the
stock of exchangeable articles must lower vrices, and
occasion a farther fall of prices. Thus the reward
of industry has been lessened by every increase of
its exertions." (Plain statement of the cause of, and
remedies for, the prevailing distress, by G. P, Scrope,

The above quotation at the time (1833) applied
generally — of late years, it has been peculiarly appli-
cuble to corn, because the produce of it has been in-
creased by greater exertions, and by favourable sea-
sons, and because the withdrawal of the one pound
notes injured farmers more than any other class — con-
sidering all this, I ask, what benefit can the farmer
expect, from increased exertions — from " superabun-
dant produce" — or " redundant fertility of the soil,"
should he obtain a less aggregate quantity of money
(as he has done) for his greater aggregate quantity
of corn ? Under such circumstances I must look to
the Central Society for relief, rather than to any
other. I, too, think that the issues of Joint Stock Banks
did, for a time, " raise prices above the level of the
standard of value" (of manufactured goods) but
there is now a re-action. I hope you will yet redeem
your promise (March 20th) of" exposing the fallacy"
of this notion.

lamnotforthe "uncontrollable manufacture of
paper, whether by private or Joint Stock Banks ;"
but I cannot imagine why " the adoption of the sil-
ver standard alone," should not " counteract the im-
prudence of Banking Establishments" here, as well
as in the rest of Europe, But we might have a con-
joint standard of gold and silver, as formerly. Any
law, however, " which needlessly interferes with the
supply of a suflicient circulation of paper — that is of
credit, and which actually prevents the formation of

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

361

Banks on sound principles," should be revised. An
instance of this is the law preventing the issue of
notes of less value than 51., although one pound
notes are permitted in Scotland, with safety and ad-
Tantage. You are " aware'' (you say) that neither
the agricultural, commercial, nor manufacturing-
classes, can carry on business with advantage unless
the circulating medium shall continue to expand in pro-
portion to the demand fnv it." But you " hold it an
axiom, that business should stimulate the increase
of paper, not paper stimulate business," Now, I
ask whether the population, " business," and pro-
duce of all kinds, have not vastl}' increased during
the last seventeen years 1 and whether the circulating
medium (instead of " expanding in proportion") has
not been continually decreasing ? As for the at-
tempted " expansion" by Joint Stock Banks, that
has ended in panic and re-action, as might have been
foreseen. I am, Sir, your obdt. servant,

April 'kth, 1837. T. F.

Puzzle for the Curious. — If a person were
to take a sing-le wheat-corn in his pocket to market
on New Year's day, and double the same every week
for 52 weeks, or till New Year's day again, it would
amount to more loads ot wheat, 20 bags each, three
bushels to a bag, than it would take bank notes to build
a stack 25 times higher than the top of St. Paul's, Lon-
don (supposing a stack could be built), reckoning the
building 144 yards, and allowdng 190 notes to an inch.
— 2d. After this was deducted there would be more
loads left, 20 bags each, than any ten millers ever
bought bags of wheat in their lives, allowing each to buy
weekly 2,000 bags for 80 years.— 3d. After this deduction
there would be more loads, 20 bags each, remaining
than it would take bank notes to cover 100 square acres
of ground, allowing each note to measure 6 inches by
4. — 4th. After this deduction there would be more loads
left than the wheel of a coach would turn round times
in a distance of 1,200 miles, supposing the wheel to
measure 17 feet in circumference. — 5th. This would
leave more loads than it would take barleycorns to
reach from Worcester to Alcester, a distance of 17
rriles, allowing three barleycorns to an inch. — 6th, This
would leave more loads than it would i take tons of coal
to supply the city of Worcester for 30 years, allowing
83 barge or boat loading to be brought every week for
30 years, and allowing each barge or boat to carry 60
tons, which would load 137,280 boats or barges 60 tons
each. — 7th. After these deductions there would be more
loads left, 20 bags each, than it would take pounds to
build sixteen County Courts, allowing each to cost
50,000Z.— 8th. There would be more loads remaining
then than it would take bags, three bushels each, to load
3,000 barges, allowing each barge to carry 500 bags.—
9th. After all these deductions there would be wheat
enough left to find 2,500 persons in bread for 66 years,
allowing each person to eat annually nine bags. All
the quantity of corn together would load 1,125,899
ships, 1,000 quarters each. The amount of all the
number of corns is 4,503,599,627,370,495. Reckoning
500,000 corns to fill a bushel, is 9,007,199,254 bushels
Number of bags, 3 bushels each, 3,002,399,751. Num-
of loads, 20 bags each, 150,119,987.— If orcesfer Jowr-
nal.

Agricultural Stock, — At a sale of stock, the
property of Mr. Cavill, farmer, at Anlaby, on Mon-
day week, an ox, four years old, and supposed to weigh
130 stones, was purchased by Mr. Denton, of Beverley,
for the sum of 60l. A second bullock sold for 43Z. ; a
twelvemonth's old calf for lOZ. 12s. ; store pigs, all of
which were exceedingly fine, fetched very high prices,
as also did the horses. The whole of the stock was of
a yery superior description.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE
EXPRESS.

" Sir, — I think you made a bit of a mistake in
January last, or were misinformed, when you stated
the snow was five feet thick in this neighbourhood —
six inches would have been nearer the mark. I rode
from hence to Sunderland, when we had the worst
of it, about fifteen miles, in an hour and a half, nearly
before day-break. I believe we have had more snow
within the last fourteen days than we had at any
time during the winter. From here to Edinburgh
the country is all covered. The loss of sheep is very
great ; nothing can travel on the hills ; one farmer
near Dunbar lost 40 score of sheep in driving them
from the high to the low ground, they were so weak
they could not travel ; and nearly all the sheep
farmers are out of forage. The hills, commencing
from the sea, running west, passing Edinburgh
about sixteen miles south, are one mass of snow ;
Cheviot and the border hills are the same. In this
county the loss of sheep must be very great ; some
farmers that had four to six years crop of hay, are
now nearly done with it. To-day we have had a
great deal of snow fallen. You may think my above
six inches too little, but I can assure you it is not
The roads were a little blown up, where the adjoining-
fields were level, and the wind blew across the road,
but when the wind was straight an end there was not
the least stoppage.

I would not have noticed the snow storm,
but I think you will do the country a great good,
as well as the farmers themselves, if you will
give them some good advice in your paper to sow
good seed this spring (if we are to have any spring^.
Barley, for instance, in Scotland, Northumberland,
and I)urham, was a good crop, but did not ripen,
and would you believe it, many farmers whom I know
in the two counties above-mentioned, as vcell as the
highly talked of agriculturists in P^ast and Mid-
Lothi-an, are going to sow barley grown in their own
neighbourhoods ; not half, and in many samples not
one-third ot it would vegetate for malting, how then
will it answer for seed ? Two years ago, Mr. Copar,
a farmer in East Lothian, residing at Dunbar, had
four bushels of very fine Chevalier barley from
Hertford ; he sowed one bushel upon three-quarters
of an English acre — produce 60 bushels, weighing
60 lbs each, besides small corn. Strange to say,
many of his wealthy intelligent neighbours have not
a quart to try it (a Scotch quart is half an English
gallon) ; and although many of these gentlemen have
had very fine Chevalier barley offered them at 44s,
for seed, they think the price too high, and intend to
sow what has been grown in their district. I am not
a corn merchant, but having some acquaintai ce in
Hertford, Ipswich, Norwich, Yarmouth, and other
smaller towns, I have had down for the last four or
five years, some of their best barley for seed — but it
will not do at all. A Subscrieer.

Sandiford, near Newcastle-on-Tyne, April 3.

Bone Dust. — Upwards of 10,000 bushels of bone
dust were sold at Maduff, Invernessshire, on Monday
se'nnight, many people having come upwards of 30
miles for it. It is supposed that there could not have
been fewer than 300 carts in town ; and a greater
bustle was never witnessed by the oldest inhabitant.

362

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

MR. GALLY KNIGHT ON THE POOR
LAWS.

The anti-poor law petitioners at Radford, Not-
tinghamsLire, have received the following letter from
H. G. Knight, Esq., one of the members of that di-
vision of the county, and to whom the petition was
sent for presentation to the Commons' House of Par-
liament. Mr. Knight is a staunch conservative.

" Loicer Grosvenor-slreet, March 21,18^7.
" Gentlemen, — I have received the Radford peti-
tion against the poor law amendment act, and shall
not fail to present it at the earliest opportunity, and
endeavour to obtain for it the attention of the house.
At the same time, I must candidly confess to you
that my own opinion is the other way. From the
beginning I have supported the poor law amend-
ment act, and every day am confirmed in the opinion
that it is calculated to be of great service to the
working classes.

" You must excuse me for saying, that you ap-
pear to labour under a misapprehension of the real
nature and effect of the measure in question— that
you entertain groundless alarms — and that 1 am per-
suaded you will be of another mind when you see
the law in operaiioc.

" In the first place, let me remind you, that with
the exception of the bastard) clause, and the altera-
tion in the settlement, which is manifestly for the
advantage of the operative, the amended law con-
tains nothing new — nothing which could not have
been enforced under the o'd law, and which had not
been enforced, for years, at several places — in South-
well, for instance, in Nottinghamshire, and in the
parish from which I am writing in London. With-
out the introduction of the amended law, I have been
engaged, for the last five years, in assisting to carry
into effect, in this parish, the exact system and re-
gulations which the amended law requires. The
parish contains a population of 70,000 persons, and
is partly inhabited by the most necessitous. We
have reduced our expenditure 25,000Z. a year, and,
at the same time, we have increased the comforts of
the poor, and have given, I may say, general satis-
fiiction.

" What is the real object and tendency of the
amended law ? Not to !^ave the money of the aris-
tocracy— not to neglect the aged and infirm ; but by
improving the morals and correcting the habits of
the working classes, to make them more happy, more
prosperous — more happy in this world and better
prepared for the next.

" What was the tendency of the old system ? To
encourage indolence, improvidence, incontinence,
and all the vices and the miseiies that follow in their
train. When there was always the parish to fly to,
the able-bodied man took less pains to find work,
and cared less how he performed it. The idle man
was paid as much as the industrious man. He felt
no obligation, no attachment, to his employer. He
too often carried to the gin-shop what should have
relieved the necessities of his wife and children. He
was dissatisfied with himself, and too often a terror
to his neighbours.

" In many parts of England the evil had got to
such an excess, that whilst the labourers were in the
condition which I describe, the farmers were so
weighed down by the rates as to be unable to employ
the hands which a proper cultivation of their lands
would have required. The wages of all were re-
duced, and still the evil went on increasing. In one
parish (Cholesberg, in Bucks), the rates became so
heavy, that the proprietors gave up their estates, the

farmers threw up their lands, and the parish was
abandoned to the paupers, who were soon in a state
of destitution, because nobody with any capital was
left to employ them. Such would have eventually
been the state of all England if nothing had been
done ; and would that have been advantageous to
the people 1

" The only means of arresting the evil was to teach
the able-bodied to cherish that independence which
arises from honest industiy — not to live upon others,
bnt to exert themselves — and the only means of in-
culcating this lesson was by making them perceive
that, in future, the idle would not be so well off as
the industrious. Is there anything ir.i.uid in this ■!
Is there anything unkind in the par- :it who, by re-
straining his son, implants in him il e habits which,
afterwards, make the happiness an^i the success of
his life"?

" No man in this country must perish of destitu-
tion ; but as I have already "said, the man who throws
himself on the parish must not be quite so well off
as the industrious labourer. The relief is, therefore,
afforded in a workhouse, in which wholesome food
is provided, but restraints and regulations are im-
posed. This will induce the able-bodied to keep out
of the workhouse as long as they can, and remain in
as short a time as possible. The workhouse must
not be considered as a permanent habitation of any
but the aged and infirm— it is only the temporary
asylum of the able-bodied.

" I hope I have made myself understood. I hope
I have made it clear that the intention and tendency
of the amended law is not merely to save money, but
to elevate the moral and social character of the work-
ing classes. Depend upon it, however, that what-
ever money is saved, will be spent in a more bene-
ficial manner, and that wages will always rise as the
poor rates are reduced.

" You complain of the separation of man and wife.
I don't mean to say that it is not a misfortune ; but,
on the other hand, both are relieved from destitution.
Are not soldiers and sailors subject to the same tem-
porary privation ? How would it be possible to build
workhouses on such a scale as to provide family
apartments '! How could order and morality be pre-
served in workhouses except by a separation of the
sexes ? It is nothing new. In' all the metropolitan
workhouses, and all the well-regulated workhouses
with which I am acquainted, the men and women
have always been kept separate, and no complaint
has ever been made on this subject till now.

" With regard to the bastardy clause, its object
is not so much to indemnify the parish, as to pre-
serve the virtue and integrity of the female poor in
England. But the parish will be rewarded in the
end ; for, under the old law, it was an advantage to
women to have two or more illegitimate children ;
whilst, under the new law, au illegitimate child be-
comes so great a burthen that unmarried females will
much more rarely expose themselves to such a cala-
mity. Is it unkind to teach our females to be chaste'?
Is it cruel to preserve them from all the demoraliza-
tion and the misery which is the usual consequence
of oivin"- way ? By the authentic returns, it is al-
ready in proof, that in the parishes where the amend-
ed law has been introduced, the number of illegiti-
mate births is decidedly diminished. In this parish
we commenced the new system in 1833, and in the
course of the first year after the adoption of tlie new
regulanon, the illegitimate births fell down from 47
to"27 ; and have diminished ever since.

" The poor law amendment act has now been in
operation two years ; and in the course of that tmie,
7,915 parishes have been placed under its operation;

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

303

and in all of them, without a single exception, it has
produced the most beneficial effects to the working
classes. They are in full employment, hetter paid,
more sober, more provident, more cheerful.

" You object to the three commissioners. By
what other means would an uniform system have
been introduced throughout England ? They are
only authorities to carry the law into effect. They
cannot make a single new regulation without refer-
ence to the Secretary of State. They are obliged,
annually, to report what they have done to parlia-
ment. They are constantly over-looked, and, at this
moment, a committee of the House of Commons is
sitting to inquire whether they have faithfully and
usefully discharged their trust. As far as the inquiry
has gone, the evidence is in their favour.

" I could say much more on this subject. It is
toe copious a one to be well discussed in a letter ;
but I hope I may have succeeded in removing some
of your apprehensions, and that, at least, you will do
me the justice to believe that, far from being actuated
by a culpable indifference to the welfare of the poor,
I am actuated by nothing but an anxious wish to pro-
mote their best interests. — 1 remain, gentlemen, your
obedient humble servant.

" H. GALLY KNIGHT."

THE SCOTCH PLOUGH.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUSSEX ADVERTISER.

Sir, — Having seen in your paper of the 3rd and
lOlh instant, incorrect statements of the result of the
application of Braby's draught machine to two
ploughs on Mr. King's farm, I feel it my duty to at-
tempt to correct, through the medium of your paper,
the false impressions which those statements are cal-
culated to make on that part of the public which is
interested in the improvement of agriculture ; I can
but regret that Mr. Blacker and the agricultural
world have been led (o believe, that ploughing in
Sussex is usually performed with four horses and
two oxen ; so uncommon is such a team that I do not
recollect ever having seen one ; I believe there are
more acres ploughed in Sussex with only two horses
to a plough than there are with so many as four, but
perhaps the greatest number is ploughed with three
horses.

A force of traction of 1251bs. is considered equi-
valent to the power of a horse working 6 or 7 hours
a day, and although a powerful horse may be equal
to a greater resistance on a good road, yet I believe
the above will be found quite enough for our best
horses when walking on arable land; if I might
hazard an opinion on the subject, I should say the
average traction of ploughs in Sussex is about 3 cwt.
I have seen the turn-wrist wheel plough require u
force of traction of 6 cwt., and I have seen the same
plough drawn in another field by the traction of 2
cwt., so different in tenacity are the soils of Sussex.
When I heard that Mr. Hutchinson was ploughing
on Mr. King's farm with the improved Scotch iron
plough, which, from its superior construction, was
reported to reduce the labour of ploughing three-
fifths, I went immediately to meet him, but on affix-
ing Braby's draught-machine to the implement I was
disappointed at finding itrequired a force of traction
of 4 cwt. When we were all satisfied that the above
was the draught of the new plough, I affixed the
machine to Mr. King's old turn-wrist wheel-plough,
and the force of traction was 4f cwt., not 8 cwt., as
has been erroneously stated. I ought to add, that there
were five persons present, beside the holders of the
respective ploughs, to whom I believe it was equally

evident that the above was the result of the experi-
ment; which result I hope will not tend to lower in
the estimation of any farmer the real merits of the
Scotch plough, for it is an excellent implement, and
well adapted to many soils ; but such exorbitant ex-
aggerations of its good properties, when compared
wSh the turn-wrist wheel-plough, which have lately
been heaped upon it, and which are so liable to be
discredited, andean be so easily disproved, would I
fear have a tendency to bring its real merits into
neglect where the turn-wrist wheel-plough is known,
and known to be indispensable in some situations, or
even where it is considered by no means a bad im-
plement, if the Scotch iron plough were not so well
known and frequently used as it has been in Sussex.
I remember its being used on Mr. King's farm nearly
twenty years ago, when it was sometimes found ne-
cessary to attach four horses to it ; in its improved
state it does not appear to be much altered with re-
spect to draught.

No one will deny that the construction of a plough
will affect its draught much more than the weight of
the implement will do : but I think all must admit
that the nature and state of the soil will have a much
greater effect than either.

With regard to the inclination of the furrow slice,
in this neighbourhood land is considered to be
ploughed well when it is difficult to see which way
the furrow slice has been turned. This effect I
think cannot be produced unless the furrow slice in-
cline at an angle of 45 degrees, when the junction of
two furrow slices forms a right angle.

The Newry Telegraph states, " that the Sussex
wheel-plough is obliged to be drawn from a draught
from a point too high, by which means the power of
the horse is expended in pulling down the beam on
the wheel, so that in strong ground in Sussex some-
times one or two cwt. are hung on the beam to keep
the plough from starting from the ground." — If the
Editor of the Telegraph would take the trouble to
consult Mr. Stephens (from whom he has copied au
excellent letter) on this subject, I think he would
learn that the horses drawing down on the beam
would not have a tendency to draw the plough out
of the ground. But the horses do not draw down on
the beam of the plough ; the line of traction cannot
be ever parallel to the direction of motion, for as the
point of resistance is under ground the draught of
the horses must bean uplifting power, which is over-
come only by the weight of the plough and the incli-
nation of the point of the share downwards, and it is
this inclination of the share which causes the beam
to press upon the wheels ; in the swing plough these
two powers are so nearly balanced that the man at the
handles of the plough is able to prevent the prepon-
derance of either, and to keep the plough at an even
depth on most soils ; but we find on some of our
stiff soils that the upper surface of the share is so
constantly meeting with unequal resistances that the
man at the handles has not sufficient power to keep
the plough at an even depth ; therefore the cultiva-
tors of such soils incline their share sufficiently
downwards to insure the plough's keeping deep
enough ; and introduce wheels under the beam to
prevent its going too deep ; thus lessening materially
the labour of the man by increasing very slightly, if
at all, that of the horses, and insuring the work
being better performed.

The question whether the heavy soils of Sussex
should be ploughed with a pair of horses resolves
itself into this :— Is a train of 224lbs., together with
heavy walking, too much for a horse to endure seven
hours a day 1 I am. Sir, your obliged Servant,
Berwick, April Uth. WM. STAGE.

364

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

NEW MANURE.

SHORT NOTICE OF A NEW MANURE MUCH USED IN
FRANCE, AND A PROPOSAL FOR ITS INTRODUCTION
INTO ENGLAND.

Messrs. Payen and Buran, of Paris, having dis-
covered a composition which disinfects human ex-
crement, and all animal substances, and renders them
the most fertilizing manure, perfectly free from any
obnoxious odour, and in a pulverized state^ now ma-
nufacture it on a large scale in France, where it is
generally used. Some individuals who have pur-
chased the right and taken out a patent for the in-
vention in the British Empire, purpose manufactur-
ing it in this country, to effect which object they are
desirous that a few capitalists, more particularly
those who are interested in agriculture, should join
them in raising the small sum which will be required
for that purpose.

Allowing amply for all contingencies, it is esti-
mated by competent persons that 6,0001. will be re-
quired for establishing a manufactory for the above
manure, 4,O00L of which has been already subscribed,
and on which it can be shewn, by a moderate calcu-
lation, that 50 per cent, annual profit can safely be
anticipated.

The following tables show the comparative ex-
pense and advantges of the old and new systems of
manure, as tried upon two separate arpents (1 acre
2 roods oOfg perches) ; of the same soil in the neigh-
bourhood of Paris, by an experienced practical agri-
culturist, one being manured according to the usual
custom of the country, and the other with the im-
proved manure.

OLD SYSTEM.

EXPENSE OF MANURE.

1st Year. 20 cart loads stable dung, at

6frs. (4s 9d^d) a load which lasts £ s. d.

for 3 years 120f. 4 1.5 2|

2nd Year Of. 0 0 0

3rd Year Of. 0 0 0

I20f. 4 15 2f

PRODUCE OF CROPS.

1st Year 7 setiers (30 busb.) of corn,

at 20f. (15s lOid) 140f. oil ii

2nd Year 5 setiers oats 21 bush. J

pk. at 18f. (14s 33d) 90f. 3 11 5^

3rd Year green crops 90f. 3 11 5^

320f. 12 13 llif
NEW SYSTEM.

EXPENSE OF MANURE.

1st Year 8 hectolitres (15 cwt. 2 qrs

161b, at 5f. (3s ll|f) 40f. 1 11 9

2nd Year do 40f. 1119

3rd do. no manure Of. 0 0 0

80f. 3 3 6

PRODUCE OF CROPS.

1st Year 7 setiers of corn (30 bush.)

at20f. (15s 10|d) 140f. 5 11 1^

2nd Year 7 setiers (30 bush.) of do. I40f. 5 11 1§
3rd Year 5 setiers (21 bush, i pk)

of Oats at 18f, (14s S^d) 90f. 3 11 5^

370f. 14 13 71^

From which it appears that with a reduced expen-
diture of 40frs. (i;. lis. 9d), an increase of 50
frs. (11. 19s. 8d.) in the value of the crop was ob-
tained, thereby giving a gross total advantage in

three years of 90 frs (31. lis. 5|d.) in the new sys-
tem over the old system, or at the rate of 30 franca
(per French arpent), or 28s. per English acre per
annum.

We are also informed by the same individual, that
the new manure possesses the following desirable
qualities, viz. the decided improvement of the land,
economy in the conveyance, cleanliness in the crops,
freedom from weeds, the production of a stronger
ear of corn, and, lastly, that long-sought for desidera-
tum by the farmer, the destruction of the fly.

Extracts from reports of the different learned socie-
ties and the public journals in France, which have ex-
pressed the highest opinion of this successful disco-
very, for which the inventor received from the Aca-
demy of Sciences in France on the 8th September,
1834, a prize of's.OOO francs : —

Agricultural Societ}' of the Seine and L'Oise.

Extracts from Remarks on different sorts of Ma-
nure, by M. de Cauville. This Society- has voted
the insertion of this paper amongst its Memoirs,
with the hope by this means of inducing agricul-
turalists to repeat the experiments of Mr. Decau-
vile.

" Amongst manures there are several new ones,
but many farmers, not knowing their value, hesitate
to use them, and thus deprive themselves of valuable
resources. Having this year tried some experiments
upon several of them, 1 have now the honour to com-
municate to you the result.

" In a piece of clayey and chalky ground of the
extent of 13 French acres (nearly 11 English) which
did not possess much fertility, I had some barley
sown after two ploughings, and, at the same time, I
spread the following manures. On the first part the
blood manure made by Mr.Derosne ; on the second,
the animalized black (made by Messrs. Payen and
Buran; on the third, the disinfected soil of Messrs.
Payen and Buran ; on the fourth, the Laine ma-
nure ; on the fifth, the Boulogne soil.

" In order to ascertain the duration of the diffe-
rent manures, I sowed some lucerne amongst the
barley, and the following crops served to show those
which act the longest on the soil ; three farmers
were chosen as judges, one a member of this Society,
who were ignorant of the manure which bad been
employed, and the following is their decision. All
the manures produced some effect, compared with
that part which had no manure, the most efficacious
was the disinfected soil ; the second, the animalized
black ; the third, the blood manure ; the fourth, the
soil of Boulogne ; the fifth, the Laine manure."

Extract from a Report of Mr. C. Brianne, Director
of the Model Farm of Grignon, 20th Sept., 1834 :—

" In a course of experiments, I manured about
100 acres of rye and wheat with animalized black in
the Department de I'Aube, at 40 leagues from Grig-
non ; although the season was not favourable, one
can inquire of the people of the country, if they
have ever seen a finer crop in the world."

Extract from a Report made to the Horticultural
Society of Paris, by the Viscount Debonnaire de
Gif.

" The result of my examination of the effect pro-
duced by this new manure in horticultural proceed-
ings is this : that this pulverized compound appears
to hasten the development of vegetables, and conse-
quently accelerates their fructification, that it does
not possess the bad quality of containing the seeds
of weeds, that it improves by degrees the soil, and
produces more abundant crops, and it can, conse-
quently, be applied to garden plants, which exhaust
the soil, nor does it impart any disagreeable flavour
to fruits or vegetables. It likewise adds considera-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

366

bly to die growth and beauty of the dahlia and other
bulbous roots. The facility of its conveyance is also
a great recommendation."

Several attestations of persons, who have wit-
nessed the disinfecting process both in France and
England, are in possession of the individuals who
propose to introduce this manure in England, and
may be seen at T. G. JMargary's, Esq., Solicitor to
the Patentees, Quality-court, Chancery-lane, from
whom any further information can be obtained.

N. B. Alany preparations of night-soil have been
used for some years, both in Eiighmd and France,
but none of them are allovi'ed to possess the superior
qualities of the one which it is now proposed to offer
to the British public.

REMARKS ON THE CULTURE AND
TREATMENT OF FLAX.

TO THE FARMING SOCIETIES OF IRELAND.

Gentlemen, — The very unfortunate results of the
last year will, I fear, determine many to give up the
cultivation of flax. But the great increase of mills
in this country, for consuming this produce, forming
our staple manufacture, independent of the English
and Scotch markets, should be a sufficient guarantee
that it will, in our usual seasons, average profitably
to the grower ; and, although the last has been re-
markably discouragino-, as regards flax, has it not
been so, in a high degree, to the grower of grain and
potatoes ; and should we, on this account, give up
our interest in any of these crops ? On the contrary,
we should, by greater attention, endeavour to pre-
pare ourselves to succeed better, under such unfor-
tunate circumstances as the uncertainty of our cli-
mate may render us liable to.

It is the practice of the Dutch, to sow their flax
on deep, rich soil ; but the frequency of rain, during
our summer months, renders the crop, on such soil,
so luxuriant, that, if once laid down, it is unable to
recover ; and, unless it be then ready for pulling,
great loss must arise. I have experienced this, and
have found that potato land, in good condition, is, in
our usually moist seasons, too rich, and renders the
crop very hazardous from the great length to which
it will grow. This ground, after a crop of wheat or
oats, will be the safest for flax ; but, while bearing
the former crops, it must be kept free from weeds of
every description, and, before sowing the flax, the
soil must be reduced to as fine a mould as possible.
If there be not a sufficiency of seed used, the plants
will make an effort to fill up the vacant space, by
branching a little above the root, and also near the
head of each stalk. This renders the flax strong and
coarse in its fibres, and liable to much greater waste
at the scutching-mill ; the produce must be sold at
a low price, and, in appearance, it resembles hemp
more than flax. To produce fine and profitable flax,
I have found it necessary to use 4| bushels of seed
to the Irish acre. I have saved the seed, and this
flax has been mill-spun to five or six hank-j^arns
(or " sixties" and " seventies.") From the experi
ence of the flax-spinners, it is well known, that there
is but a very small portion of Irish growth that
can be manufactured so fine. To insure, as far as
possible, the growth of fine flax, the crop must stand
so close on the ground, that there will be but one
stalk from each seed, without any of the branches
before alluded to, and with very few seed-pods or
feows on the top. This, with proper after treatment,

is the most certain to give a valuable fibre, and will
go less to waste at the scrutching-mill.

From my observations, during the very late and
dry spring of last year, I feel convinced, that flax-
seed will come up with much more regularity, and
be less liable to have its growth retarded in parching
weather, if we would give the seed a deeper cover
than is the usual practice. Owing to the dry state
of the ground last year, my crops came up in a very
straggling way ; and when a portion of the plants had
attained the height of four to six inches, I found, on
examining the ground, three weeks after sowing,
the greater portion of the seed as dry and glossy as
when taken from the cask : — that which had grown
was found to be deeply covered, and had been sup-
plied with moisture from the sub-soil ; and that
which failed until heavy rain came lay near the sur-
face, and was too late to be of much value. About
this period, I examined a fine field of one of my
neighbours, who was fortunate enough to sow while
the ground retained some moisture. The crop was
regular, and three to four inches high ; but owing to
the very dry state of the weather, had been for some
time nearly stationary. I observed at one side of this
field some curved lines of beautiful flax, double the
length of the general crop; and, on inquiry, found
that, before sowing, a few loads of stones had been
carted over that part of the ground ; the seed fell
into the wheel-tracks, and these were filled up by the
harrow to the level of the general surface. With a
view to the future, I lost no time in making accurate
experiments on a small scale, with covers of fine
mould, one, two, three, and four inches deep ; the
seed all came up well, that under four inches re-
quiring three days more than that under one inch.

From these results I think there can be no danger
in giving a cover of one to two inches, when it is
evident that seed falling into a horse-track, four
inches deep, will not be lost. Using the roller to
press down the surface, will be found of great im-
portance ; in a dry season it will prevent sudden
evaporation, and the ground will retain in a greater
degree the moisture that rises from the under-soil to
support vegetation ; it will also be left in a fit state
for the scythe when clover is used.

I believe it is generally known, that the produce
from an early seed-time is superior, both in quality
and quantity, to that which is grown late in the sea-
son ; and the crop will be found much more valuable
if it be grassed before the breaking up of the fine
weather ; for in this process, if exposed much to
rain and cloudy weather, it will be very inferior to
that which has had the influence of the sun; and it
is liable to great injury from the uncertainty of being
able to take it up at the proper time, in a perfectly
dry state.

It was my intention, in the year 1835, to have
saved the seed from the whole of my crop, and to
have held it over to be steeped in the spring of
1836 ; but the difficulty of having it safe in so wet
a season induced me to steep a part of it. It was
then so far advanced that it was late in November
before it was lifted from the grass; and, while
spread out, the weather, with the exception of two
or three days at the last, was wet and cloudy. This
flax, when perfectly dry and prepared for the scutch,
was weighed, and the average produce from 100 lbs.
was only 10 lbs. 9 oz. I had succeeded, in the mean
time, in getting the remaining part of the crop sufii-
ciently safe for the hovel ; and in April, 1836, it was
steeped, and grassed in fine clear weather, 100 lbs.
of this produced 15 lbs. 3 oz. ; which, although from
the same seed and crop, was worth fully two shil-
lings a-ston© more than the first; and, in cons«-

366

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

quence, I have held over the produce of eight acres
from last year, to be steeped and grassed in the same
manner. Notwithstanding the last cold and wet
season, I have succeeded in saving a considerable
quantity of good soiitid seed. I mention this, to shew
what may be done under the most unfavourable cir-
cumstances. My crops of the last two years have
been chiefly from my own seed, having a portion of
Riga and Dutch in the same fields, with the view of
putting the Irish seed to a fair test; and, I can safely
say, that the crops from the home-saved seed were
not, in any resjiect, inferior to the others. As a
more severe trial, I sowed a portion of this seed,
the following year, on the same field that produced
it, and again iound it equal to the imported tried
against it. A shorter summer will briiig flaxseed to
ripeness than is required for our grain crops ; and I
think we have certainly, in this country, a sufficient
vai-iety of soil and elevation to give the changes that
are found necessary to prevent degeneracy ; and that
well saved flaxseed may be used with as much s?fety
as the wheat or oats we buy from a neighboui-ing
farm, and sow with confidence. We must, however,
all agree, that it is the worst of management to throw
away this valuable seed ; it is well worth saving, if
notrequired for sowing. Healthy calves can be reared
from it; it is excellent food for cows, pigs, and
horses ; it will be bought for making oil; and 1 have
no doubt but gas for combustion might be made from
it to advantage.

From my own observation, I do not think tlje de-
gree of ripeness required for the seed is injurious to
the flax if the crop be of close and fine growth, but
on the contrary will give strength rather than coarse-
ness to the fibre ; and it will be brought more to the
quality of the Dutch, from which we know the seed
is saved. This I have had satisfactorily proved, in
observing it through the various operations of mill-
spinning.

One acre of good flax carefully saved, will produce
seed for five or six acres tlie following year ; and if
we were to admit the necessity of some change of
seed, a very small importation would be sufficient.
I find, if the flax has to remain long in the field after
it is pulled, with a view to saving the seed, it is
liable, when steeped in pure water, to be of a yellow-
ish buff colour, resembling the French ; but any ob-
jection to this is from prejudice. If the same flax be
steeped in water that contains the slightest infusion
of iron (such as is seen in a spa spring), the colour
will be blae, resembling the Dutch. Some of the
fairest coloured Irish flax, even after being scutched
and hackled, still contains some of its astringent
colouring matter, and will be tuined to blae in the
weakest solution of iron ; and this, prevailing, more
or less, in springs and stagnant water, accounts for
the various shades of colour in our Irish flax. The
presence of this iron is, however, injurious when tlie
manufacture is to be bleached ; and, unless early re-
moved in this operation by the use of acids, it will
become a more fixed oxide, and retard the api^ronch
to whiteness. I have remarked that the flax, when
made perfectly dry before it is steeped, is much
more evenly acted on by the water, and that the
fermentation is more equal, than in that which is par-
tially tried, and in the grassing the fibre is not liable
to burst from the stalk, even if exposed on tlie
grass double the time that is necessary ; the shove is
at the same time easily and more regularly cleaned
off. tlie reed is Ipss broken, and, in consequence,
much less waste takes place.

Before I conclude I must say, the generality of
our mill-scutchers handle flax in a most slovenly
way, and cause much unnecessary loss to the owner,

owing to the rough and entangled state in which it
comes to market. We have yet ample room for im-
provement ; but it is proper that the opinions of
every man should be received with caution, and more
than this I am not entitled to expect.

Amongst the various manufactures that have been
introduced into this country, none appears more likely
to have a peramnentroot lh2i,n our long-celebrated Irish
linen. Much of its prosperity and enlargement may
depend on the successful cultivation of the raw ma-
terial ; and none exists at present, giving such varied
and extensive employment to both the old aud young
of our needy population.

EDMUiND GRIMSHAW.

Mossley, March 28, 1837.

SuG.^R FROM THE CiiESNUT. — The oxtract of
sugar from chesnuts being a subject occupj'ing some
attention at present in France, a few practical observa-
tions may not prove uninteresting : the inventor states
that the saccharine he produces is more pure, and much
more abundant than that extracted from mangel wurzel,
or, as it is called in France, heet-root. That the cul-
ture of mangel wurzel wdl be now superseded, as the
root only yielding five to six per cent, of sugar, while
from chesnuts he can procure 14 per cent.; we will,
however, try by the test of figures, the probalities of the
adoption of the one to tho exclusion of the other : —

Chesnuts at the lowest calculation will cost
7 francs per 100 kilogs., or 220^ lbs.
English, thus 1000 kilogs. are worth ... . 70 francs.

Will produce 140 kilograms of sugar at I
franc, per kilog 140

Nett produce 70

From which must be deducted the cost of
manufacture.
The beet-root is bought at 18 francs the

1000 kilogs 18

Usually producing 60 kilogs. of sugar at 1

franc 60

Nett produce 42

From which must be made similar deductions. Thus
18 francs expended in beet root will produce 42 francs
nett, against an outlay of 70 francs in chesnuts, pro-
ducing the same sum ; then we must take into con-
sideration the diflTerence of the expense in manufacture,
also of cultivation, including the cost of planting the
young chesnut tree, and the time which must elapse
before it produces the nuts ; and that in all probability,
the price of the chesnut would be doubled from the very
day the inventor attempted to operate in any other way
than in his laboratory. M. Pallas has also presented to
the king some sugar extracted from the farina of Indian
corn, by a process very ingenious, but impracticable as
a substitute for general use, at least if the manufacturer
wishes to avoid the article he produces costing more than
he is able to sell it for in the market.

Pyrenean Shepherds. — The celerity with which
the shepherds of the Pyrenees draw their scat-
tered flocks around them is not more astonishing than
the process by which they effect it is simple and beauti-
ful. If they are at no great distance from him, he
whistles upon them, and they leave off feeding and
obey the call : if they are far off and scattered, he ut-
ters a shrill cry, and instantly the flock are seen leap-
ing down the rocks and scampering towards him.
Having waited until they have mustered round him,
the shepherd then sets off on his return to his cabin or
resting-place, his flock following behind like so many

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

367

well-trained hounds. Their fine-looking dogs, a couple
of which are generally attached to each flock, have
nobler duties to perform than that of chasing the flock
together, and biting the legs of stragglers ; they pro-
tect it from the attacks of the wolves and bears, against
whose approach they arc continually on the watch, and
to whom they at once offer battle. So well aware are
the sheep of the fatherly care of these dogs, and that
they themselves have nothing to fear from them, that
they crowd around them, as if they really sought their
protection ; and dogs and sheep may be seen resting
together, or trotting after the shepherd, in the most
perfect harmony. There is no such sight to be wit-
nessed in these mountains as "sheep-driving;" no
"knowing little collies" used in collecting the flocks
or keeping them from wandering. The Pyrenean shep-
herd, his dog, and his flock seem to understand each
others duties ; mutual security and afi^ection are the
bonds which unite them. The same confidence sub-
sists between between the Pyrenean shepherd and his
flock, as that between the shepherd of Palestine and
his, described in the parable of the good shepherd, of
whom it is said, " he goeth before them, and the sheep
follow him, for they konw his voice.''- — Murrai/'' s Sum-
mer ill the Pyrenees.

THE GREEN CROP SYSTEM.

PROJI THE " -AGRICULTURAL PAPERS'' OF AGRICOLA,
IN THE DOWNPATRICK RECORDER.

" The farmer's life displays in every part,
A moral lesson to the sensual heart."

Bloomfield.

To prevent a long digression in my last paper, I
was obliged to assume, that, though there are some
crops which impoverish the soil very much, there are
others " which are more grateful to it, and which,
instead of impoverishing it, afford a leciprocal ad-
vantage, by imparting to it richness." But as this
statement contains the fundamental principle of the
important system which I am advocating, it should
not be taken on trust ; and, accordingly, the object
of my present paper is to show, that the Green Crop
system is not founded on a false assumption, but on
an important truth. The whole crops of the farmer
may be divided into two classes — the grain crops,
and the green crops. The former are sometimes
called cidmifernus or straw-bearing ; and the latter,
leguminous, from their seeds or leaves being of a
much larger kind. Clover, beans, turnips, potatoes,
&c., are leguminous plants, or belong to the class
called green crops. Now, it has been proved, by
experiments made for the express purpose of ascer-
taining, and is, therefore, beyond a doubt, that plants
are not nourished by the soil alone in which they
grow, but that much of their sustenance is drawn
from the atmosphere ; of course, thay do not derive
the same degree of support from either of these
causes— some are nourished more by the earth, and
others more by tlie air. Grain crops are of the for-
mer kind. As they have but small leaves, and few
of them, and thus present but a small surface to the
action of the atmosphere, it is plain that little of their
nourishment can be derived from it : they must,
therefore, be supported almost entirely by tlie soil.
This is particularly the case when the crops have
nearly ripened, when the few leaves tliey have are
withered and dead, or have fallen off ; they can then
draw, perhaps, no nourishment from the air, but
must be supported almost entirely by tl)e soil. But
the fact is not so extensively known as it deserves
to be, that, at this period, wheq the seed is forming,

the plants require an extraordinary quantity of nou-
rishment ; and hence it is that grain crops are so par-
ticularly exhausting to the soil. In proof of tliis, I
may refer, with confidence, to the experience of any
intelligent practical farmer. He knows, that if the
grain be allowed to stand uncut after it has ripened,
it exhausts the soil exceedingly ; but that if cut
green, the impoverishing efiects have not been so ex-
tensively produced. Now the green crops or legu-
minous plants, on the contrary, present an extensive
surface to the action of the atmosphere, and, there-
i'ore, can draw much of their nourishment from it,
without requiring to draw so extensively from the
soil. A familiar proof of this may be had from the
common cabbage. Its numerous broad leaves enable
it to draw most of all its nourishment from the at-
mosphere, and hence it is that cabbages can be pre-
served for a long time in a fresh state, if cut and
hung up in a damp place. Houseleek is another
plant which has broad succulent leaves ; and who
does not know that it will grow in the most unfa-
vourable situations'? — if hoisted on a pole, or laid on
a slab of marble, it will flourish most luxuriantly.
But this is not all ; some plants have been proved to
exist, and thrive, and come to maturity, when nou-
rished by the atmosphere alone — growing in pounded
quartz, (a substance resembling flint) and supplied
with distilled water, to prevent the presence of the
smallest particle of earthy matter ! Another im-
portant fact is, that all the seed of a grain crop comes
forward at the same time. Whenever it has pro-
perly " shot," the plant stops growing — its seeds
begin to form, its leaves wither, its roots cease to
act in the ground, and, when cut down it is dr}' and
hard. The green crops, on the contrary, bear blos-
soms and seed at the same time; the roots are con-
tinually pushing forward in the ground, and the
leaves are green and sappy as before, so that the
plant never exerts itself to impoverish the soil.
Every one knows, for example, that beans and peas
mav be pulled from the lower part of the stalk while
the top is bearing blossoms and embryo fruit ; that
one branch of a stalk of clover will be in flower and
another in seed ; and that the top of a potatoe stalk
will wave in verdure and bloom, when the crabs and
leaves have fallen off the lower part. It may not
be out of place to mention here a serious error in
which many farmers fall. They allow their rye-grass
to remain uncut long after it has come to maturity,
alledging as a reason, that " unless it is ' dead ripe,'
it will never do for seed." They forget that it is cul-
tivated chiefly for the hay, and not for the seed ; and
that by allowing it to become ripe, they are disap-
pointed of theii object, as much of the seed is lost
in the necessary operation of saving the hay. Be-
sides, the quantity or weight of the hay is diminished
by the parching and withering it has undergone ;
its quality is deteriorated, as it is rendered less
palatable and less nutritious to cattle ; and the ier-
tility of the soil is greatly injured. To prevent these
consequences, a small spot should be kept to furnish
seed, but all the rest should certainly be cut green ;
the pasture produced as an aftergrowth would of it-
self be a sufficient remuneration for the loss of seed.
A remarkable difference between the grain crops and
green crops, is, that the former tend to bind the
ground and harden it, the latter to open and pulve-
rize it. This is partly to be accounted for from the
difference of their roots. Those of the one kind be-
ing numerous and fibrous, unite the different j)arts
of the soil firmly together, without being large enough
to produce such an action as would loosen it, those
of the other kind being larger, and more of an opening
nature, cause an action in t]he soil, during the process

368

THE FARMER^S MAGAZINE.

of growing, that reduces it to a soft and mouldy
state. Another cause is the diflFerence of their fitness
to admit moisture. When dew or rain falls upon a
grain crop, nearly ripe, it glides down its hard, dry,
bare stalk, and settles on the ground ; but as this
presents a hard, bound surface, it remains there un-
til the greater part of it is carried off again by the
heat of the sun. When it falls on a green crop, it
receives a shelter under the broad leaves, and, trick-
ling down the stalk to a soil softened and prepared
to receive it, it contributes to moisten it, and render
it softer. Of all grain crops, wheat is by far the
most severe upon the soil. It is, in the first place,
exceedingly binding, and always leaves the ground in
a hard state. Then it occupies the ground so long,
that it requires an extraordinary degree of nourish-
ment from its sowing till its reaping ; the weight of
the grain besides, requires a strong stalk and much
earthy matter to bring it to perfection. Of green
crops, again, potatoes are the most loosening, They
sink deep into the soil, and by the spreading of
their roots ill ever}' direction, and the swelling of
several bulbs, loosen it most effectually. It is said
that a crop of potatoes is more effectual in this re-
spect, than a good ploughing would be : one thing,
however, is certain that no matter what may be the
colour of the soil when the potatoes are planted,
when they are turned up their beneficial effects are
apparent ; for the soil is uniformly of a rich blackish
colour. If I were asked, which of the various kinds
of potatoes is most pulverizing and beneficial to the
soil ? I should answer — notwithstanding the foolish
prejudices which prevail respecting them — the
" cups," or " west reds." Besides sinking much
deeper into the soil, they are more numerous than
other kinds, and therefore give it a more thorough
turning up. Now, from these facts, wbat inference
can we draw 1 That a wheat crop should be pre-
ceded by the most loosening and fertilizing crop that
can be had, viz. potatoes. They clean the ground,
and, as is evident from the parallel I have drawn,
they put it in a state of complete preparation for the
wheat. It is absurd, then, to expect, that as good
crops of wheat will be produced on fallow ground,
on which there have been no potatoes. — Another con-
clusion, which is almost self-evident from the facts
I have stated, is, that a green crop should succeed
wheat, to compensate for the injury which the ground
has sustained. This shows how utterly ruinous and
unreasonable is the practice of taking several oat
crops off the ground, immediately after wheat. In-
stead of nursing the soil, already too much exhausted,
the very vitals are torn from it, and then, forsooth,
it is permitted to " rest itself," until the omnipotence
of idleness has completely restored it ! ! Turnips
are very good for the soil but certainly not as good
as potatoes. They derive perhaps, more of their
nourishment from the atmosphere, but their roots do
no not penetrate so far into the ground to loosen it.
They are besides too late of being laised, to admit
of being followed by a wheat crop ; but they can be
advantageously followed up by barley, which also
suits a clean dry soil. Clover, too, is particularly
fertilizing to the soil in which it is produced. Its
lower leaves becoming withered, fall off, and rot
about its roots, and thus produce a valuable manure
— decayed vegetable matter. Its slimy succulent
nature keeps the ground always in a stale of fertility,
and its numerous dense leaves are particularly
adapted for retaining the moisture that has
been deposited for rains and dews. Who has
not observed the rich unctuous appearance of ground
where clover has been cut shortly after the deposition
of the moisture ? I hope, and believe, that I have

now proved my assertion, to the satisfaction of all
who may honour this paper with their perusal. Let
it be remembered too, that, in referring to the reci-
procal advantages which arise from a proper rotation
of crops, I have not once alluded to manures. If
proper changes from grain crops to green crops, and
vice versa, would almost of themselves, sufliceto keep
the land " in heart," what might we not expect, when,
in addition to this, one fourth of it would be well
manured annually ? This part of the subject brings
me now to the important question already noticed.
How is the manure to be produced.

March 29. AGRICOLA.

Important TO Farmers. — Cultivation of Flax,
— The cultivator of the soil often defeats his purpose by
adhering to old-established and contracted principles ;
these, whether right or wrong (in too many instances,
equally the same), continue to be the guide in rural
affairs, generally, always acting as if " one woodcock
should make a winter," Hence it is, that, when one
solitary crop has failed to come up to their expectations,
then — oh ! there is no good in that — there is no use in
striving with it ; and a general despondency is the sure
consequence. Now, as it is with one thing, so it is
with another ; and so it is with flax : — when one or
more summers happen to be unfavourable to its growth,
then, with one consent, it is almost totally abandoned.
This apathy continues, until consumption has nearly
absorbed what little may have been grown, in this
country, together with the always too large importa-
tions from the continent. The ever active " tear and
wear" throughout the world, in the end, so raises the
price, that flax again becomes a matter of interest;
and then, as if aroused from a lethargy, away, again,
to the sowing of flax, is the order of the day ; but, too
generally, without the least discrimination as to whe-
ther the soil be at all suitable or not ; — so, then, oj
course, some hit, and some miss. A may have cause
to rejoice at the good return from his flax ; whilst B,
less fortunate, may shake his head, and say, that, for
his part, he had a perfect " mountain of labour, and
yet, but a mouse brought forth." The last summer,
certainly, was very unfavoui able to the growth of flax ;
but, it may be, that the like we may never see again.
If so, and the ensuing season be at all favourable, what
a stupidity will prevail, on the part of the farmer,— for,
likely, most of them will not sow any this Spring, But,
the very fact of the failure of the preceding year, the
bad quality of what was grown, and the consequent
bad price, ought to be a hint, broad enough, indeed, to
sow with discrimination, and, most likely, with suc-
cess ; for, oftentimes, it has been found exceedingly
beneficial to proceed on a path different from the mul-
titude, or to take up what all lay down. Excellent
materials the people of Ireland have to work upon ;
for, as a flax country, there is not any one better than
this — and why not have it so ? — but the farmers are in-
attentive as to its proper management. This is con-
firmed by the present prices, which, certainly, are low,
and that, too, in proportion to its inferiority of quality
— bad enough, certainly; and, in consequence, cheap
enough. But, if one individual has, and more than one
have, sold their flax at about 20s per stone, grown in
this very neighbourhood, and in the now past very un-
favourable season, — the fact is established, that flax
might be grown here, both of such quality, and, also,
in such quantity, as to rival the foreign ; and, at the
same time, to prevent that immense importation, which
is still permitted to continue to these, in this respect,
infatuated countries. Immense, indeed, it may be
freely called ; for, from the printed returns of the con-
tinental sales, it appears, that so far as about 30,000
tons had, this last year, been sent over ; and for what ?
Why, our (seemingly too much) hard cash, to be sure.
Well, now, were tlus mass of flax sold at but a frac-
tional part of what we, the other day, witnessed, the

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

369

thing, if understood, would be a bait, somewhat tempt- 1
ing, indeed ; for, in the common way of business, a
gentleman of this town bargained for, and actually
gave so far as 175/ for only two tons of Flemish flax ;
and, in another case, althought right well versed in
these matters, he had to give for French flax, so far
as the enormous rate of lOOZ per ton, each of the com-
mon standard weight ! ! Countrymen I what are you
about ? Do grow flax of a good quality, and let these
endless thousands be retained at home. — From a Cor-
respondent. We earnestly recommend the attention

of farmers to the above observations of our correspon-
dent, on matters in the flax line ; for, we have ever
found it the case, that the only way of reasoning with
the public is, the downright pounds, shillings, and
pence matters of fact. We, certainly do think, that
those who may be so discerning as to see where their
own interest lies, will not be influenced by public opi-
nion— will not do as the multitude does, but will sow
flax where convenient, and that, more especially, as
some of our respectable merchants have got seed of
the very first-rate quality, that might, in all probabi-
lity, be turned to right good account, by farmers to
whom this memento may find its way. — Belfast Re
former.

ALLEN'S

TREATISE ON
CUMBER.

THE CU-

The following extracts from this publication may
prove useful to our readers : —

" To Prevent the Runners being in a crowded
State. — When the bed is nearly level by the repeated
application of fresh mould, and the plants begin to
send forth their runners, with your finger and thumb
clear them nearly of all false or male blossoms, and
rub out every other eye in each runner; those eyes
which are left, will break out amazingly strong, and
grow very fast, their leaves become a tremendous
size, and when fruit appears, it will, in the first in-
stance, be much finer than by any other system.
I have very often had them them three inches and a
half before the blossom is expanded ; by the repe-
tition of this mode of culture, as the plants advance
in growth, they will never be in so crowded a state
as to require the aid of a pruning knife; but those
who put more faith in the following, let them prac-
tice it, and I wish them joy of their choice, which
is, ' Let your plants run wild for a certain time,
and then to make your runners lay thin and uniform,
use the pruning knife freely in cutting out those su-
perfluous shoots which have been allowed to grow.'
Instead of destroying them in their infancy, and di-
recting the virtue of the plant to the fruit, allowing
only as many runners as the frame can conveniently
accommodate.

" Producing Heat without Linings. — In March
and April the bottom heat will be but very little in
the air of the frame ; if the bed has been established
six or eight weeks, a considerable quantity of hot
manure is generally applied in lining the bed, to
produce the heat required ; but under my mode, I
consider that neither lining or covering is requisite
only in the months of January, February, March, and
April. In the latter month the sun will bear a great
power ; shut the lights down by two o'clock, and in
tine bright days it will increase the heat in the air
of the frame to one hundred degrees in the course of
one hour, and by its being so confined the entire bed
will absorb that heat, which will rise in the course
of the night, and through the dampness of the mould,
diffuse a beautiful steam, to the great advantage of
the plants.

" To Conduct a Race for Unitsual Purposes.
— We all know that cucumbers are not grown to the
length of twenty or thirty inches long at Christmas
time, but in the spring, say April or May, if a brace
is required for a particular purpose, they may be ob-
tained with an addition to the treatment before
spoken of. I need not state that the plants at this
season are very strong, the infant fruit of unusual
size, and may be made to travel at an extraordinary
pace, as much as two inches in six hours ; fourteen
inches in three days, and to perfection of twenty-
seven inches long,, in eight days from their being
set. — After a fruit has been impregnated two days
(for I have proved that to be the best and most pro-
per age to direct all virtue lo the fruitj), by pinching
out the eye at the fruit, the one before and after, and
stopping the runner, is the Avay in which my fruit
has been made to run so far before my neighbours. —
N.B. If this operation is performed before the fruit
is two days old, it is not of proper age torec-ive the
virtue which is directed to it, consequentlv it will
make large atone end and grow ugly.

" Straightening. — If any fruit should offer symp-
toms of being bent, they should be put in the right
path in the following manner : when they have been
set four days, in the middle of the day, or when the
heat is at the highest degree, is the best time to per-
form tliis operation, as in the morning the fruit will
be found quite stiff and brittle ; but when the sun has
acted upon the plants, and the fruit warmed through,
it will (at this age) bend like leather ; you may put
it into any position you please, or -pull it out half an
inch occasionally ; lay it on a strip of glass, and with
three pieces of stick, one at each end of the fruit,
and one in the middle, with a piece of list between
the fruit and the stick, to prevent its being marked ;
it is better than a trough or cylinder, as it is not con-
fined, the colour will remain very green.

" Canker. — I have eflectually cured this disease
in the month of May, by applying fresh mould from
the pasture about one inch deep, giving but little
air, and exposing them to the sun."

Mangel Wurzel. — At Hohenheim an experi-
ment has been made the past summer to ascertain
comparatively the best plan to be pursued with the
cultivation of Mangel Wurzel — whether it was more
profitable to pluck off the leaves about a month pre~
vious to the cle aring the roots from the ground, or
allowing them to retain their leafy honors until the
period of their being taken up ; and the following is
the result of two equal portions of a field on which the
systems were tried : —

On the 11th Oct., by leaves 756 lbs.

5th Nov. ditto, at time of secur-
ing the roots 272

Ditto, weight of roots 4472

Total 5500

The other portion of the field yielded, at the time of
securing the roots

5th of Nov., by leaves 894 lbs.

Ditto, weight of roots 4948

Total 5842

On that moiety of the field where the roots had been
untouched, there was a diminution in the produce of
leaves of 134 lbs,, but an increase of 476 lbs. in the
roots ; and even supposing that the leaves have equally
nutritious properties with that of the roots, yet there
is a superiority in favor of the system of permitting
the root to come to maturity before depriving it of
leaves of 342 lbs., or about 6 per cent.

370

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

APHTH.E IN SHEEP.

BY MR. HAWLINGS, OF BRISTOL.

(From the Veterinarian.)

The following is a novel, interesting, antl severe
disease in a flock of ewes and lambs, and the mode
of treatment used in its cure, as communicated to
the Bristol Agricultural Society, at its annual meeting
and exhibition in December last.

In the month of May, 1836, I was sent for to see
the above flock, at Mr. Charles Marshall's, Snows-
hill, near Broadway, Worcestesbire, who had lost
several ewes and lambs previous to my seeing
them.

I found seventy lambs in a most emaciated state,
scarcely able to move : their mouths presented a
mass of disease, being one complete ulcer.

On examination, I found a large fungus issuing
from all around the lower gum, enveloping the teeth,
and protruding over the lip to a very considerable ex-
tent.

There were about thirty still more or less affected.
The disease clearly originated in the lower gum, and,
when ii was matured to any extent, the ewes refused
to allow the lamb to suck, and it gradually pined
away.

At this stage of the disease the lamb communi-
cates it to the ewe's udder. As soon as she is af-
fected, she begins to lose flesh most rapidly ; the
udder becomes tumefied. In some of the extreme
cases the udder suppurated, and parts of it, with one
or both teats, sloughed, and the ewe was rendered
useless for a stock ewe.

My first object was to get the flock separated ;
those severely affected, both ewes and lambs, from
those less so ; and to keep the sound ones in a
distant field.

The disease being contagious, by carefully attend-
ing to this plan, and examining tl;e flock, and re-
moving those that became affected, and using the
following detergent dressing, I succeded in curing
the whole. R Mel acetat. Ibss., aluminis ust. 3vj,
cupr, vitriol 3ij : apply it every morning to the af-
fected part.

Mr. Hyatt, at the adjoining farm, had liis flock
also affected, but did not allow it to progress ; and
by using the same means, his flock soon got well.

I have made every enquiry on the Cotswold Hills,
and find no one ever saw in ewes and lambs any
disease like it before.

One farmer at Radstock, in Somersetshire, said
that, many years ago, in their neighbourhood he
knew a similar disease, and it proved very fatal,

I have lately been at Mr. Charles Marshall's,
Snowshill. I examined the whole of the flock. The
lambs were quite well, but much less in size than
those that had not been affected.

The ewes, about twenty in number, wliose udders
sloughed, were most of them fatted and gone to the
butcher.

Effect of the New Poor Law. — A g-entle-
man, whilst travelling the other day in the neigh-
bourhood of Bristol, went into a beer-shop by the road
side to wait the passing of a coach. Observing symp-
toms of confusion in the " establishment," and inquiring
the cause, the landlord explained by stating that lie was
about to quit " the concern" at Lady-day— the business
was all gone— he took nothing now — no poor man now
had any money to spend—" and all entirely out of that
d — d new poor law." The delighted listener, unknown
to the complaining landlord, was the Chairman of a
Board of Guardians of an adjoining Union.

SCHOOLS FOR AGRICULTURISTS.

Britain abounds in societies for advancing the in-
terests of agriculture and rural economy in all their
branches ; almost every county has its agric'ltural
association, or fanner's club. The endeavours of
these excellent institutions do not, as far as we are
aware, embrace the improvement of the moral and
intellectual condition of the husbandman. This is a
])oint to which liardly tlie smallest attention has
hitherto been directed in this country. And yet a
great deal of good might be done by a systematic
course of education, suitable for giving the young-
farmer a knowledge of his profession, scientific as
well as practical. At present, no correctly defined
system of this nature prevails. The education of all
is left to chance. From any thing which we have
heard or seen, riding on horseback, wearing jockey
boots, drinking freely, and, if possible, being a mem-
ber of a veomaniy cavalry corps, constitute a pretty
large share of the elementary training of young far-
mers, in many parts of the country. We should like
much to know how many of our tillers of the soil
liave read Professor Low's Treatise on Agriculture,
or studied Sir Humpliry Davy's Agricultural Che-
mistry— a careful perusal of the latter work, or some
one to the same purpose, being essentially requisite
in the education of a person whose business it is to
cultivate soils. AVe believe a few young men attend
the lectures of the Professor of Agriculture in the
University of Edinburgh, and we know that some
are taken into training by those who have the reputa-
tion of being skilful agriculturists. But all that is
done in these ways is little in comparison to what
ought to be done. We should wish to see an uni-
fo'-ra, well digested process of instruction established
in application to every member of the farming classes,
without exception. It is very certain, that, from
the great advance in agriculture which has already
been made in some parts of tlie country, there is
much less need for schools of this description in
Britain, than in America, Switzerland, France, and
Prussia. Nevertheless, much benefit would arise
from such institutions, provided they were diffused
over the country, and rendered readily and easily
accessible to the sons and assistants of landed gentry
and farmers.

The first object to which directors of these agricul-
tural seminaries should direct their attention, is the
cultivation of the minds of the pupils, in relation to
their future pursuits. For example, every one
ought to be made acquainted with physical sciences
generally, and with mechanics and chemistry in par-
ticular. The pupil should, at least, be rendered
competent to define the principles or laws which
govern nature in her operations connected with the
structure and character of the soil, the climate, the
production of vegetation, and the animal economy.
To these elements of knowledge, might be added
mathematics and drawing. So much for oue class
of subjects of instruction. To render the process
complete, a knowledge of the elements of political
economy and civil arrangements of society would
require to be given, but it is not likely that these
would he generally sanctioned, and therefore it is
needless to do any more than allude to tliem. A
course of tuition in those branches which are
adopted, if accompanied, as it ought to be, with
]iractical lessons, might be gone through in three or
four seasons, of perhaps three or four months each.

We are aware that at present there is little or no
chance of any suggestion like that which we now
make, being attended to. The realisation of such
a scheme is not to be expected for many years to

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

371

come, and only at last after a long- series of party
wranglings. But as every thing requires a begin-
ning, vve have thought it worth wliile to propound
the subject, which has already been spoken of in
various ways, leaving the hint we have given to
work its wav. We may be wrong in our conjec-
tures ; we may be speaking too lightly of the pre
sent mode of bringing up the young farmer, whicli is
no doubt verj"^ captivating to tlie young men them-
selves ; still we cannot help thinking that the man
who brings a judiciously cultivated mind to the im-
provement and practice of the all-important labours
of the field, is much more likely to be successful in
his operations, than he who knows little else than
how to ride on horseback, drink punch, and swagger
in a laced jacket. — Chambers' Journal.

THE BASTARDY LAW.

TO THE EDITOR OF Till'. YORK CIIRONICLF.

Sir, — Whatever delicacy there may be in discus-
sing the bastardy law as formerly, or at present, con-
stituted, the time is come when we must speak out ;
and that delicacy is false, which sits silent when the
order, welfare, and, above all, the morality of society
are at stake.

Before the general operations of the Poor Law
Amendment Act, so far as regards the union of
parishes, &c., were enforced, this obnoxious part of
it was put in operation : it has been working now two
years, and therefore it cannot be said that we are
exciting pnjudices against it before it is fairly tried.
Whatever may be the ostensible principles upon
which it originated, it has evidently failed of its ob-
ject, and entailed many serious evils on society.

In the first place, it incurs serious expenses on
parishes. Instead of having the order of mainte-
nance made by the nearest magistrate, the mother,
overseer, and witnesses must be dragged to quarter
sessions, besides giving every facility to heavy law
expenses, and litigation generally. Now it requires
no great force of reasoning to shew the inexpediency
of this course, which can serve no advantageous pur-
pose whatever. Cases frequently occur, where the
parties are to be carried from Malton to Northaller-
ton quarter sessions, besides incurring a heavy law-
bill ; and thus many pounds are laid to the parish
accounts, — and after all, perhaps, can never secure
one penny from the father. But this may be taken
in another view. The trial of cases of this nature
in a crowded court is a source of the greatest demo-
ralization to those who attend, and no scene can be
conceived more likely to excite the passions than
those which are witnessed on such occasions. Be-
sides, how degrading to the poor female I After such
an exposure, can she be expected ever to look up
again in society to regain her character ; and is it
not lor ever poisoning her morals, and banishing
from her any hope of reinstation to society ? How
contrary this to the spirit of Christianity !

But there is another odious feature of the law, and
one which all the farmers, as a man, should stand
forward to oppose. If the father has no visible pro-
perty, he can, whatever may be his earnings, evade
all payment towards the maintenance of the child. —
It is mere banter to say, that they can seize upon his
wages in the hand of his master ; he will take care
to prevent any such appropriation, and what a boon
is this to journeymen operatives, who hire by week.
Thus the seducer, always the person to blame, escapes,
while the poor deluded victim of his vile passions is

either to drag out a life of misery and want, of de-
gradation and confinement in the parish workhouse,
or destroy her innocent oflFspring, and thus add to
her sin that of wilful murder. Surely, all who are in
any way desirous to prevent crime, and foster high
moral principles, must resist this detestable system.

It will not do for the advocates of the measure to
sa)^ that this severe punishment of the female will
prevent crime. It ma}' occasion concealment of the
consequences, and thus present an apparent dimi-
nution ; but this sin is generally committed without
a thought of the results, and therefore it will not ope-
rate to prevent it. If we do anything by way of
prevention, nothing will be so useful as to close all
public-houses and beer-shops at eight o'clock in the
evening in winter, and nine in summer, and secure
the obseivanceby heavy penalties, and loss of licence
for the second offence.

I observed in your paper, a few weeks ago, that a
petition had been sent from Husthwaite, in this
county, for the amendment of the law, and I hope it
will be followed by others from ever}' city, town,
and parish in the country; — not to return to the old
system, which was but a premium to bastardy, but
to amend the obnoxious parts of the new law. What
is done should be done quickly.

W. E. N.

The following is a comparative table of the amounl. of
Oxen, Cows, Calves, and Sheep consumed in
Paris, and the quantity of Melted Fat delivered
to the tallow chandlers during the first three months
of 1836 and 1837 :—

1836 Oxen.

Cows.

1,372
1,250
1,216

Caive?

Sheep

Melted Fat.

Jannary 6,557
February 6,855

March 5.92G

6,034
5,477
5,6/4

32,019
29,279
27,323

610,375 kilogrammes*
542,668 J)o.
592,552 Co.

19,338

3,838

17,185

88,621

1,745,595 kilogrammes, or
3,849,051 lbs. English.

183/-
Jaiiuary 6,702
February 5,978
March 6,656

1,624
1,239
1,490

5,793
5,451
6,916

34,119
27,075
31,668

582 081 kilojrammes
531.9.35 ' Do.
586,970 1)0.

19,336

4,356

18,205

92,862

1,700,986 kilogramme ^ or
3,750,6721bs. Engii-h.

ThelOOkilogrammesbeing eiua'. to 220* lbs. English.

Planting of Timber Trees. — There are
thousands of acres of waste land in Ireland which are
of little value, but which, if planted with suitable kinds
of forest trees, would bring in several pounds per acre
annually ; many kinds of trees, as the Scotch pine,
larch, alder, willow, and several others, will flourish
on soils fit for no purposes of husbandry what-
ever. The following- statement will show the advantage
to be derived from planting an acre of poor soil with
black Italian poplars, popuhis acladesca, Lin. : —
Digging-, trenching, and planting poplar cuttings. 15^ ;
Compound interest on 15/ for 30 years, at 5 per cent.,
63/ 16s ; Rent, 30 years, at 20s per acre, with interest
at 5 per cent., 66/ 18s 6d ; total, 145/ 14s 6d. At the
end of 30 years, there will remain, allowing for thin-
nings, 500 trees, containing, on an average, 20 feet of
timber each, which is worth, at least. Is 6d per foot,
making the value of the trees 30s each ; but, suppose
them worth only 20s each, there remains 354/ 5s 6d
profit, or nearly seven times the value of the land,
reckoning it worth 60/ per acre. The Lombardy
poplar is the more valuable for timber, but the black
Italian is the quicker grower: either sort will grow
I freely from cuttings of one year old shoots.

372

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

FARM OF BOGLILLIE.

Sjr^ — When on my way lately to visit the sys-
tem of husbandry pursued by Mr. Smith of Dean-
ston, in praise of which it is impossible to speak
in terms too high, I stoptin the lang town of Kir-
caldy. Having learned that the farm of Mr.
Lewis, of Boglillie, was in the immediate neigh-
bourhood, I forthwith resolved to have a peep of
his operations, to ascertain if his practice was
consistent with the recommendations given in his
work on the expediency of establishing an ex-
perimental farm. On my way oat, my attention
was arrested by the appearance of extensive
draining in a large field near his worthy pro-
prietor's approach, which the boy from the Inn
gave me to understand belonged to Mr. Lewis.
I repaired to the spot, and after a thorough exa-
mination of his system, and the manner in which
his drains were cast and filled, my anticipations
were most amply realized. It is not too much
to say that nothing can be more complete, or more
adapted to ameliorate the lands — secure him a
handsome return for his capital, and raise him in
the estimation of his fellow agriculturists. I am
not ashamed to confess that 1 was for some time
backward to adopt this modern system of draining,
and sceptical as to the probability of its remune-
rating the tenant : but now I entertain no doubt
on these points ; indeed, I am satisfied that if not
thoroughly done, it were better for the tenant to
pursue that beaten path which agriculturistsare
too apt to continue in, as, by a partial draining,
he will ultimately be certain to meet with disap-
pointment and loss, and be forced to confess that
his capital had been injudiciously expended. To
those, therefore, desirous to keep pace with the
improved modern system of agriculture — and
every agriculturist should be inspired \yith this
desire— I would recommend an early visit to Mr.
Mr. Smith and Mr. Lewis.

Before leaving the latter gentleman, with whom
I have not the pleasure of being acquainted, I
must state, that my curiosity carried me to his
farm-steading, which I examined with no small
degree of satisfaction. It is fitted up with great
taste, without being liable to the charge of extra-
vagance, and, from the many conveniences, there
cannot fail to be a considerable decrease of manual
labour, and saving to the tenant. The stables and
byres are so constructed, as to ensure health and
comfort to his stock. There is one part which I
particularly admired and approved of, namely —
the hemmels which he has erected for feeding
cattle in. Mr. Lewis being absent, I made some
inquiry at a young gentleman, whom I found very
communicative, as to the price of the cattle when
put in, and their condition from which I was con-
vinced they had made rapid progress. The feed-
ing in hemmels is now, beyond controversy, a
most decided improvement, and in proof of which
I cannot appeal to higher authority than Mr. Bos-
wall, of Kincausie. Mr. Lewis is evidently, judg-
ing from what I have seen, a man of great spirit
and enterprise, and cannot fail to be rewarded for
his meritorious exertions.

Before concluding my remarks, I take leave to
observe, that, in the erection of farm-steadings,
the advantages in Mr. Lewis's, to which I have
alluded, are too much disregarded. In fact, large
sums of money are often expended in the
erection of what are termed modern steadings,
without any consideration being bestowed in their
formation as to convenience for the tenant and his
servants, or the health and comfort of his stock.

To some, the expression of comfort to stock may
appear strange ; but by many, if not all, who
have paid attention to the rearing and feeding of
stock, this is a most important point, and worthy
of the strictest attention in the construction of
steadings.

By inserting these observations will oblige, sir,
your most obedient,

A NORTH COUNTRY FARMER.

TO AGRICULTURISTS, &c.

In the Aberdeen Journal of 29th March last, there is
an account of a Shaker for a Thrashinp^ Machine, said
there to be the invention of Mr. G. Ritchie, Mill of
Melrose.

The parag-raph above alluded to, (and which is sub-
joined,) is not, so far as I can learn, either written or
authorised by Mr. G. Ritchie, who is there said to be
the inventor of the new Shaker.

I have seen the Shaker at work, and am far from
wishing' to detract from the merits of Mr. Ritchie as a
Mill Wright, hut it is a duty I owe to myself to state
that the Shaker is neither a new invention, nor of the in-
vention of Mr. Ritchie, the same Shaker having been in-
vented by me in April 1829, for the purpose of being- at-
tached to the Thrashing Machine of Andrew Long-
more, Esq., at Rattie,in this neighbourhood, and a mo-
del thereof furnished to the Mill Wright, then improv-
ing the shaking of his Thrashing Machine, as I can es-
tablish to the satisfaction of the public at large, if that
shall he found necessary.

WM. DOCKAR, Farmer, Findon.

Findon, 3d April, 1837.

Improvement in Thrashing Machines. — It has
long been a desideratum that a more efficient mode
could be discovered than that hitherto in use, for
shaking the grain from the straw in thrashing-
mills ; and we are glad to say that Mr. George Ritchie,
millwright at Mill of Melrose, hasinvented a shaker, on
an entirely new principle, which does its work so per-
fectly as scarcely to leave room for a desire of further
improvement. Although the machine is simple in its
construction, it might be difficult to convey a correct
idea of it in writing. Suffice it to say, that its operation
very much resembles hand-shaking, that its cost is little
more than that of the old shakers, that its friction being
trivial, it is not liable to break or become disorganized,
and lastly, thcd it is actuallij at loork on the Farm of
Awvals, or Yavals, occupied by Mr. Anderson, in the
parish of Gamrie, where a number of those interested in
such improvements have seen it ; all of whom have
been much gratified with the beautiful, easy, and almost
natural appearance of its motion, resembling as it does,
not a single pair of human arms, but any requisite num-
ber, in proportion to the size of the mill. The one at
Awvals has sixteen arms, each about seven feet long,
placed side by side, and the whole extending in breadth
about 4^ feet. The eye-witnesses above alluded to are
the parties who desire the insertion of this notice, as of a
valuable boon to the agriculturist. Mr. Ritchie is al-
ready well known in the district as an accomplished
machinist, and an honest tradesman ; and it is but jus-
tice to say that, although the invention is individually
his own, yet, from tiie innate modesty which so often
acc(mipanies sterhng talent, he would not of his own
accord spread the account of his discovery so speedily
as the public interest undoubtedly demands. In con-
clusion we would i-emark that after the public are as
well convinced of the value of this invention, as are those
who have already seen it, we have no doubt that a spon-
taneous desire will manifest itself to devise some mode
of rewarding- its autlior. Mr. Anderson's is an old mill,
but he took out his old shaker to make atrial of the new
invention, and is much pleased that he has done so.
One extensive farmer says its adoption will save him
231 a year in grain, — Aberdeen Journal.

THE FARMERS MAGAZINE.

373

TO THE EDITOR OF THE FARMER'S
MAGAZINE.

Sir, — I was somewhat surprised at Mr. Mil-
burn's last reply. He has not advanced a sen-
tence in refutation of" what I have before ad
vanced. I begin to think that either he or myself
must advance something more than we have done
to satisfy your patience by so much occupying
your columns. We are just where we were at the
commencement — each party has advanced a
something — which, it appears, is not convincing —
both of us lay claim to certain facts without pi'o-
ducing conviction. Mr. Milburn clings to the
Old School, and that native pride which is so in-
herent in Englishmen will not allow him to suc-
cumb to the most evident facts, and until he
will allow that pride to yield to the most convinc-
ing arguments — arguments founded on the best
foundation — what can possibly accrue from what
either party may advance .' I will, however,
endeavour to bring forward the most ample and
convincing proofs in connection with what may
otherwise be advanced. As I have before ob-
served, the question in dispute is whether the fly
was the cause of the failure — or whether it was
the various causes which nffected the growth of
the plant. To the latter opinion of course I ad-
here, and shall endeavour to defend until a more
elaborate definition of the subject shall convince
me to the eontiary. I assure the honourable
gentleman, (Mr. Milburn), with whom I have
the honour to dispute the subject, thrt if he can
produce any convincing facts, founded upon a
rational basis, that I am not prejudiced to my
opinion so much as to exclude the more enlivening
rays of philosophical disquisition founded upon
self-evident facts. In regard to the weather and
its concomitant evils being the cause of the failure
of the turnip or other crops, I will first advance
the simplest arguments in its favour — and as those
are generally more potent in themselves than the
most elaborate jjhilosophical arguments, or facts
that can be advanced, they may have a tendency
to cast a more brilliant ray of light upon the sub-
ject in dispute than any thing either party may as
yet have brought forward. Suppose a company of
farmers assembled together in the month of May,
June, or July, (those being the three most
important months in which we expect the tur-
nip crop to rise or fall), what is generally the
first observation '! ^Vhy, the common adage —
" Good morning, sir — what fine or bad weather
for turnips ! " fas the case may be) . They then ob-
serve to each other if the weather be fine that
turnips grow best under the influence of warm
showery weather, or, " how do your turnips
stand V " Quite well" (if the weather be fine) is the
reply. Scarcely a word do you hear about the de-
vastations of the fly. Again, should the weather be
dry and unfavourable to the growth of plants —
what is then the common observation ? Whjr,
the following : — " Good morning, sir, what bad
weather for turnips. How do yours look ?" " Oh !
very badly indeed— we want rain — (or they want
a something which will give a stimulus to the
growth of plants) — the plants are quite filthy —
the fly is taking mine — I am afraid unless we have
a change in the weather that I shall have to sow
again — turnips like warm showery weather." Thus
we find that the most ordinary remarks used by
common farmers, whose souls proud science
never taught to stray or search into the great la-
boratory confirm me in my opinion, that is to say,
that the cause of the failure or the loss of the

turnip or other crops was in the weather, with its
concomitant evils, and not in the fly. Again, from
these and such like common-place observations,
which in themselves to a careless observer appear
insignificant, will to a more philosophical mind
appear more potent than the most elaborate eluci-
dations uj)on the subject — these men — common
observers of nature, though they never pry into
her, furnish us with more convincing proofs than
the most exact and minute philosopher is able to
extract from Nature's laboratory. Thus we find
that these common observations all concur in
confirming my opinion, that unfavourable weather
always precedes the ravages of the fly — they ia
every instance make mention of a degree of un-
congenial weather before ever mentioning the fly
or its ravages.

Having noticed the most ordinary observations
in confirmation of what I have before advanced, I
will now proceed to show, or at least endeavour
to show, how far otherwise my opinion may be
correct.

Having taken a survey of common sense let us
now ascend into the region of that intricate laby-
rinth— philosophical disquisition. Mr. Milburn
seems at a loss to know why the fly selects one
plant in preference to another. Upon this subject
I will endeavour to inform him. Plants require a
certain degree of moisture, air, and warmth to
support or maintain their vitality ; and whenever
there is a deficiency of those requisites, plants of
every description become diseased. During this
state of disease the cuticle of the plants form a
nidus or matrix for the suscitation and germina-
tion of the infant insect peculiar to the plant. An
all-wise Providence has so ordained that whenever
the scale of nature is broken up a vacuum is im-
mediately obtained ; and no sooner obtained than
occupied ; the parent insect immediately pounces
down, and almost immediately fills up the space
that was obtained by the diversified causes which
had affected the vitality of the plant.

Some of the various causes which have a
tendency to promote disease in plants may be
enumerated amongst the following. For instance,
we may mention the drilling system, which has
evils peculiar to itself; by ridging up the ground
a greater surface is exposed to the parching rays
of the sun during the summer months, thereby
promoting evaporation, which it ought to be the
endeavour of every husbandman as much as pos-
sible to prevent (except upon fallow ground, or
under peculiar circumstances where he wishes to
kill the plants or weeds instead of preserving
them) for by keeping the ground covered a certain
degree of moisture is stored against an unforeseen
drought. Another evil which attends the drilling
system is this :— The plants only form a cover to
the ground in a longitudinal direction — trans-
versely, they are exposed to the deleterious effects
of a hot summer's sun — evaporation goes on too
rapid — or at least more rapid that it otherwise
would do were the interstices between the rows
filled up by the leaves of plants. Again, another
evil attending the drilling system : — When the
ground is ridged up, the rain which falls during
the summer months drains off" too rapid into the
grooves, thus leaving the plants without that sup-
port which Providence intended they should have
had. Thus we find that the evils peculiar to the
drilling system tend to deprive the plants of sup-
port. First, by being ridged up and exposing a
greater surface to the sun. Secondly, by being in
one direct line, thereby allowing evaporation to go

2 C

374

THE FARMEIl'S MAGAZINE.

on more rapid than it otherwise would do were the
seed thrown in a desultory manner. And thirdly,
by the ridges tending to conduct the water into
tlie grooves. So that these are causes why the
drilling system or land that was drilled failed in a
greater degree than the broad cast did. Again
confiiming my opinion, that the cause of the
failure of the turnip crop was not in the fly or in-
sect, but in the various causes affecting the vitality
of the plant. So that Mr. Milburne may easily
perceive why the insect passes or attacks one
plant in preference to another. The healthy plant
does not present or offer a matrix or nidus for the
reception of the ovum or young of the insect. As
soon as ever a nidus is forreied it is immediately
occupied, for we perceive that there is not a chasm
in Nature, however small, that it is immediately
filled by animated beings, thus keeping creation
upon a perfect balance. From what I have ad-
vanced I would not be thought to advocate the
extermination of drill husbandry : it has its good
properties and its bad ones, it will always be the
most successful during wet summers, but injurious
in dry ones from the causes before mentioned, and
from other causes which the limits of a letter will
not allow me to elucidate.

Another fact, which I may be allowed to men-
tion in confirmation of my opinion, is this ; — Mr.
Hou'^eley, of Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottingham-
shire, a very enlightened and enterprising agricul-
turist, had a very fine firld of turnips that was
sown broad cast and extremely fine plants ; before
hoeing he sent his men to hoe, and in a few days
after the plants which were left became covered
with a|)hides : the reason why they were so attack-
ed is obvious. So long as the plants formed a
cover to the ground and prevented rapid evapora-
tion, they (the plants) were supported by the
n:oisture which lay near the surface ; but as soon
as the field was hoed the plants being then sepa-
rated from each other admitted the piercing rays
of the sun, evaporation would then go on rapidly
and ultimately leave the plants without any snp-
P'lt ; then, as it actually was, the plants became
diseased from a want of a sufficient degree of
moisture, and a matrix or nidus was then formed
from the diseased state of the plant, and as a
necessary consequence the insect peculiar to the
plant attacked it.

Another system which is pursued, and which
probably has given rise to that fallacious opinion,
that various manures produce the fly, the system
I am alluding to, is, where the raw manures are
used in drilling or other systems of husbandry,
but more particularly in the drilling, (though the
same causes do produce the same effects in a
greater or less degree in proportion to the manner
in which they are applied) it is a well known fact
raw or long manures are more vital and powerful
than prepared ones, and that the foundation of
agriculture rests upon this basis — how to create
manures and how to apply them. Perhaps it may
be thought that I am swerving too much from the
point in question, but I express myself thus la-
conically because it is connected with what I am
about to advance, as will be perceived in the
sequel.

For instance, if in the drilling system you take
your long manures, those manures when in-
corporated with the soil keep it light and porous,
and when fei'mentation commences, the heat pro-
duced during that fermentation in conjunction
with the caloric from the sun's rays carries off"
the moisture from the soil. Suppose those hot,
vital manures, which thus keep the ground light

and porous were embedded in the month of June,
and the envelope exposed to the deleterious, fiery
rays of a summer's sun — what are the effects ?
It is obvious. I ask will any enlightened mind tell
me that such a matrix is a proper one for the sus-
citation and germination of the seed, which may
be deposited on the top of those ridges — the am-
moniacal and other gases produced from the
fermentation passing perpetually through the soil
in conjunction with a hot and burning sun darting
his rays perpetually upon the surface — I ask under
such circumstances where is the moisture to give
succour to a plant ? Why, it is evident that what-
ever moisture might be incorporated with the soil
is almost immediately driven off by the caloric,
thus leaving the plant void of its most essential
support, it (the turnip) being a succulent plant,
and requiring for its support a greater degree of
moisture than almost any other which Nature has
to prod':ce. Thus the farmer by the worst of
systems destroys his crop, or rather uses the most
potent means to do so, and then his efforts proving
abortive from his own inadvertence, the cause is
immediately cast upon the poor, innocent fly,
which as a friend to man is sent to carry off the
injurious effects which otherwise might be pro-
duced by so great a quantity of vegetable matter
sndergoing decomposition.

Thus in the drilling system, and in numerous
others I could mention would time and space allow
me, we may perceive the innumerable causes
which always precede the fly in its ravages. What
I have so far advanced will, I hope, in some mea-
sure contribute to the removal of that most erro-
neous opinion, that various manures produce the
insect which feed upon plants in the vicinity of
such manures.

Returning to the subject-matter of our contro-
versy, Mr. Milburn makes mention of his apple-
tree as being attacked by the insect. Would he
say that that tree was as healthy as any other in
his garden or orchard 1 Further, he says it was a
fruit-bearing tree ; so it might be, but was it as
fruitful as the other trees which were not at-
tacked ?

In regard to the geranium, he mentions that he
got his friend to examine it, who, as he says, pro-
nounced it perfectly healthy ; but will Mr. Mil-
burn say that it always had been healthy .' It
might be healthy when his friend examined it, but
that does not say that it had never been diseased.
Its health might have been affected, and it might
have been attacked by the fly, and still have had
the power of resuscitation. Will he say positively
that that geranium was not affected in its health
by the incongenial night air to which it was ex-
posed, or by some other cause? lam sure his
good sense will not allow him to deny such self-
evident facts.

To recapitulate. — I have endeavoured to show
how far the application of manures in a certain
state may have a tendency to promote disease in
jdants, and the various systems, particularly the
drilling, which tend to deprive the plant of mois-
ture ; consequently from those causes and various
others, which time and space will not allow me to
enumerate, the plant becomes diseased, and then
the fly feeds upon it. This much, I hope that what
I have advanced will in some measure be con-
vincing, that before the fly commences its ravages
those ravages arc always preceded by a variety of
causes all tending to deprive the plant of its
vitality.

To conclude. — If Mr. Milburn can overthrow
these potent facts, which all tend to show that the

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

375

cause of the failure was not in the fly but in the
various causes affecting the health of the plants I
should be obliged— otherwise, I must consider
what he has so far advanced as a mere nullity. — 1
remain. Sir, yours most respectfully,

South Norinanton, Derbyshire, S. P. GILL.
April 17, 1837.

FARMERS AS THEY WERE, OR WERE
TAUGHT TO BE, 300 YEARS AGO.

Extracts from the " Ryghte profutable boke of
Husbandry, compyled sometyme by Mayster
Fitzherbai'de, of ch'^rytie and good zele, that he
bare to the weale of this raooste noble realme,
which he dydde not in his youthe, but after he
had exercysed husbandry with greate expery-
ence 40 yeres.

Imprynted at London, in Flete-strete, in the house
of Ihoinas Berlbelet, nere to the Condite, at the
sygne of Lucrece Cum privilegio.

A SuoBTE Informatiox for a Yonge Gentylman
THAT ENTENDETH TO Thryve. — I wil adulse him to
ryse betime in the morning, according- to the verse
before spoke of: Sanat, sanctijirat, et ditat surgere
mane: and to go about his closes, pastures, fieldes,
and specially b}'^ the hedges, and to hnue in his
purse a payre of tables, and when he seeth any thing
that wolde he amended to wrvte it in his tables, as
if he fj'nde any horses, mares, heastes, shepe,
swyne, or geese in his pastures, that be not his
owne ; and peradueniure thoughe they he his
owne, he wolde not haue him goo there, or to fynde
a gap, or a sherde in his hedge, or any water stan-
dvnge in his pastures uppon his grasse. wherby he
maye take double hurte, botlie losse of his grasse,
and rotting of his shepe and calves, and also of
standynge water in his corne fieldes, at the landes
endes or sydes, and howe he wolde haue Jiis landes
plowed, donged, sturred, or sowen ; and his corne
weded or shorne, or his cattell shifted out of one pas-
ture into another, and to loke what dyehevng, quic-
settyng, or splashing is necessary to be had, and to
ouersee his shepeheid, how he liandleth and ordereth
his shepe, and his seiuants how they plowe and do
theyr warkes ; or if any gate be broken down, or
want any staues, and go not lyghtly to open tyne,
and thiit it do not traise, and that the windes blowe
it not open, with many mo necessary thynges that
are to be loked upon. For a man alwaye wanderynge
or goinge aboute somewhat, fyndeth or seeth that is
amysse, and wolde be amended, And as soon as he
seeth any such defautes, then let hym take oute his
tables and wryte the defautes ; and when he commeth
home to diner, supper, or at nyght, then let hym call
his baylv, or his heed seruante, and soo shewe hym
the defautes, that they may be shortly amended : and
when it is amended then let hvm put it out of his
tables. For this used I to do X or XII yeres and
more ; and thus let him use dayley, and in shorte
space he will sette moche thynges in good order, but
dayley it wyll haue mendynge. And if he canne not
wryte, let hym nycke the deflates uppon a stycke,
and to shewe his bayly as I sayde before. Also take
heed bothe erly and late at all tymes, what manner
of people resorte and comine to thy house, and the
cause of theyr comm3'nge, and specially if they
brynge with them pytchers, rannes, tancardes, bot-
telles, bagges, walletts, or bushell pokes. For if the
seruantes he not true they maye doo the great hurte,

and themselfe lyttle auantage ; wherefore they
wolde be well loked uppon, and he that hath II true
seruantes, a man seruaunte, and another a woman
seruaunte, he hath a great treasure ; for a trewe ser-
uaunte wyll do justly hymselfe, and if he se his fe-
lowes do amysse, he wyll byd them doo so no more,
for if they do he wyll shewe his master thereof; and
if he do not this he is not a trewe seruaunt.

A Lesson for the Wife. — First in a raornyng
when thou arte waked, and purposeste to ryse, lyfte
up thy hande, and blesse the, and make a sygne of
the holy crosse : hi nomine 'pat>'is, etjilii, et spiritus
sancti, amen ; in the name of the Father, the Sonne,
and the Holy Gooste. And if thou say a pater-noster,
an Ave, and a Crede, and remember'thy maker, thou
shalt spede moche the better. And when thou arte
vp and redy, then first swepe thy house, dress vp
thy dysheborde, and sette all thynges in good order
within thy bouse ; milk thy kye, selle thycalves, sye
vp thy mylke, take up thy chyldren, and araye
theym, and prouyde for thy husbandes brekefaste,
dyner, souper, and for thy chyldren and seruauutes,
and take thy parte with theym, and to ordeyne corne
and make to the myll, to bake and brue withall
whanne nede is, and" mete it to the myll, and fro the
myll, and se that thou haue thy measure agayne be-
syde the tolle, or elles the myller dealeth not trvely
with the, or els thy corne is not drye as itshoulde be.
Thou must make butter and chese when thou maist,
serue thy swyne bothe moinyng and evenynge, and
gyve thy jjoleyn meate in the niornynge, and whan
tymeof yere commeth thou must take hede howe thy
hennes.'duckes, and geese do ley, and to gather up
theyr eggs, and when they waxe hrodye, to sette them
there as "no beastes, swyne, nor other vermyn hurte
them ; .and tliou must knowe that all hole fowles
wyll sitte a month, and all clouen footed fowles
wyll sitte but three weeks, excepte a pey-henne, and
greate fowles, as cranes, bustards and suche other;
and when they haue broughte forthe theyr byrdes, to
see that they be well kepte from the glevd, crowes,
fully-mattes, and other vermynne ; and in the be-
gynnynge of March, or a lyttell afore, is tyme
for a wyfe to make her garden, and to gette as many
good sedes and herbes as she canne, and specially
suche as be good for the potte and to eate ; and as
ofte as nede shall requyre it must be weded, or els
the wedes wyll ouergrowe the herbes. And also in
March is tyiiie to sowe flaxe, and hempe ; for I haue
harde old houswy ves save that better is March hurdes,
than Apryll flaxe, the reason appeareth ; but howe
it shulde be sowen, weded, repyled, watred,
washen, dried, beaten, braked, tawed, hecheled,
spon, wounden, wrapped and wouen, it nedeth not
for me to shewe, for they be wise ynough, and
therof may they make shetes, bord clotlies, towels,
shertes, smockes, and such other necessaryes,
and therefore let thy distaffe be alwaye redye for
a pastyme that thou be not ydle; and vndoubted
a woman canne not gette her lyuynge honestely
with spynnynge, but it stoppeth a ga;; and must
nedes be had. The holies of flaxe, whan they be
ripeled of, must be rideled from ih*? wedes, and made
drye with the son to gette out the sedes ; howe be
it one maner of linsede, called loken sede, wyll not
open by the son ; and therefore when they be drye
they must be sore bruised and broken, the wiues
knowe howe, and then winowed and kepte drye, tyll
yere tyme come agayn. Thy female hempe must be
pulled from the churle hempe, for that beareth no
sede, and thou must do by it as thou dydest by the
flaxe. The churle hempe beareth sede, and beware
that byrdes eate it not as it groweth : the hempe
thereof is not so good as the female hempe, but yet

2 C 2

376

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

it wyll do good seruyce. May fortune sometyme,
tbat ihou shalt baue so many thynges to do, that thou
shalt not well knowe wliere is best to begyn. Tben
talce hede which thynge should be the greattest losse,
and there begyn. But in case tbat thynge which is
of the greatlest losse wyll be longe in doynge, and
thou mvghteste do thre or foure otlier thynges
in the meane whyle, then loke well if all these
thynges were sette together, which of them were
the greattest losse, and if all these thynges be of
greater losse, and may be all done in as shorte a
space as tbe other, than doo thy many thy ages
fyrste.

It is conuenye-.te for a husbande to haue shepe
of his owne for many causes, and than may bis wyfe
liave pait of the woll, to make her hiishande and her
selfe some clothes ; and at the leaste waye she maye
haue the lockes of the shepe, eytber to make clothes,
or blankeites, or courlettes, or bothe : and if she
haue no woU of her owne, she maye take woll to
spynne of clothe maUers, and by that means she may
haue a conuenyent lyuvnge, and many tymes do other
warkes. It is a wyues occupation to wynowe all
maner of comes to make malte, to wash and wrynge,
to make heye, s-here corne, and in time of nede to
helpe her huhbande to f\ll the mucke wayne or
dounge carte, drvue theploughe, to lode heye, corne,
and such other, and to go or ride to the market, to
sel butter, chese, mylke, eggs, chekyns, capons,
Lennes, pygges, gese, and all mnner of cornes ; and
also to bye all maner of necessarye thynges be-
longynge to housholde, and to makeatrue rekenynge
and accorapte to her husbande what she bad re-
ceyued, and what she hatli payed. And yf the hus-
bande go to market to bye or sel, as they ofte do, he
is than to shewe his wyfe in lyke manner ; for if one
of them shoulde vse to deceyue the other, he de-
ceyueth hymselfe, and be is not lyke to thryue, and
therfore they must be trewe eyther to other.

To KEEP Measure in Spendynge. — Nov/e thou
husbande and huswyfe that haue done your dili-
gence, and cure accordynge to the fyrste artycle of
the j)hilosopher, ti-atis to say, Adhibe curam, and also
haue well remembered the old sayeng of wyse Solo-
mon ; Quod ociosus noil gaudebit, cum electisin celo : sed
lugehit in eternum cum repmbis in inferno : Thnnne ye
must remembre, observe, and kepe in mind the
seconde artycle of the sayeng of the philosopher,
that is to say, Tene mensuram ; that is to saye in Eng-
lyfhe, holde and kepe measure; and accoi'dynge to
that sayeng I lerned two verses at grammer schole,
•and they be these: Qui plus expendit, quam rerurn
copia teudn, : non admiretur, si pauper tare gruiietur :
He that dothe more espende thanne his goodes wyll
extend e, meruayle wjdl it be, thoughe he be greued
with poueitee : and also acordynge to that sayenge
speketh Sn3'nte Paule, and snyllie — Juita facnltates
Jacieitdi sunt sumptus, ni lortgi temporis victum breuis
Jwra consumat, that is to saye, Alter thy faculty or
thvne honoure make thyne expenoes, leste thou
spende in shorte space, that thynge which thou
shouldest lyue bv longe. This texte toucheth every
n:anne, from the hyest degree to the lovveste ; wher-
iore it is necessarye to euery raanne and womane
to remembre and taAC good hede there vnto, for to
obsei've, kepe, and t'olowe the same ; butbycause this
texte of Saynte Paule is in lutyn, and husbandes
commonly can but littell laten, I fere, lenste they
can not vnderstande it, and thoughe it were declared
cnce or twige to them, that they wolde forgetce it :
wherefore I shall shewe to them a texte in Englyshe,
and that they maye well understande, <!nd that is
this, eate within thy tedure.

To Eate within the Teduef.— Thou husbande

and huswyfe that intend to folowe the sayinge of the
philosopher, tbat is to say kepe measure, you muste
spare at the brynke, and not at the bottom that is to
vnderstande in the begynnynge of the yere sellynge
of thy comes, or the spendynge in tliy house vnto
the time that thou haue sowen agayne thy winter
corne, and thy lente corne, and tben se what remayn-
eth to serue thy house, and of the ouerplus thou
mayste sell and bye suche other necessaryes, as thou
muste needs occupie. And if thou spende it in the
begynnynge of the year, and shall want in the hynd-
er ende, than thou dost not eate within thy tedure,
and at the laste thou shake be punyshe;!, a? T shal
proue the by ensample. Take thy liorse, and go
tedure him vpon thyne owne lees, flvlie him as ofte
as thou wylte, no manne shalle sa- o wronge thou
doste ; but make thy horse so longe a tedure, that
whan thou haste tyed hym vppon t'lyne owne lees,
his tedure is so longe that it recheth to the middles
of an other mans lees or corne : nowe haste thou
gyuen hym to moche lybert3e aud that man whose
corne or grasse thy horse hath eaten wyll be greued
at the, and wyll cause the to be amerced in the court,
or elles to make hym amendes or bothe. And if thy
horse breake his tedure and go at large in euerv
mans corne and grasse, than commeth the pynder,
and taketli hym and ])utteth hym in the pynfolde, and
ti^ere sballe he stande in prison, without any meate,
vnto the tyme thou haste payde his raunsome to the
pynder, and also make amendes to thy neyghbours
for distroyenge of thevre corne. Ryghte so, as long-
as thou eatest within thy tedure, tbat thou nedest not
to begge nor borowe of noo man, soo longe shake thou
encrease and growe in rychesse, and euery man wyll
be content with the. And if thou make thy tedure
to longe, that thyne owne porcyon wyll not serue
the, but tbat thou shake begge, borone, or bye, of
other : that wyll not longe endure but thou shrike
fall into pouertye. And if thou breake tby tedure,
and ren ryot at large, and knowe not other mennes
goods from thyne owne, than shall the pynder, that
is to saye the sheryfFe and the baydy areste the, and
put the in the pynfolde, that is to say in prison, there
to abyde tyll the truth be knowen: and it is mer-
uayle if thou scape with thy lyfe ; and therfore eate
within thy tedure,

A SiioRTE Lesson FOE THE Husbande. — Onethinge
I wyl aduise the to remembre, and specially in wyn-
ter tyme, whan thou sitteste by the fyre, and hast
supped, to consyder in thy mynde whether the
workes that thou, thy wyfe and thy seruauntes shall
do, be more auauntage to the, than the fyre and can-
dell lyghte, meate and drynke that they shall spende,
ami if it be more auauntage, than syt styll : and if it
be not, than go to thv bedde and slepe, and be vppe
betyme, and breake thy faste before day% that thou
mayste be all the shorte wynters day about thy busy-
ness. At grammer scole I lerned a verse, that is
this, Sauat, sanclijicat, et ditat surgere mane. That is
to saye, eriy rysyng maketh a man hole in body,
holer in soule, and rycher in goodes, and this me
semeth shuld be sufficient instruction for the hus-
bande to kepe measure.

Abolition of Tithes in one of the Swiss
Cantons. — Advices from Solcure (Switzerland),
dated the 10th ult., announce that the Grand Council
of that Canton had decreed the abolition of tithes.
This decision, taken by si.\ty-four against thirty-
three, had excited a great enthusiasm in the country.
— Moniteur,

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

377

MANGEL WURZEL.

Having^ for many years been a grower of this
root, I havefiften been asked which I preferred —
this, or Swedish turnips. My answer has inva
riably been that for some purposes I prefer one,
and for some the other. For stall-feeding till
the spring, turnips are the best ; but at that season,
the turnips having lost a great portion of their nu-
tritive quality, and the mangel wurzel from keep-
ing having lost much ol its watery particles, and
thus improved, I then prefer the latter. It ought
in fact to be kept till the turnijisare all consumed.
Had our winters of late been as severe as
they used to be in former times, mangel wnrzel
would have been thought more valuable than it
hitherto has been. It must in any winter be worth
at least seven shillings per ton^ — to be consumed
on the farm — a crop of thirty tons, ten guineas
per acre. Admitting expenses to be in most sea-
sons (not in all) oOs an acre more than Swedish
turnips, it leaves nine pounds an acre, which is
more than Swedish turnips are scarcely ever va-
lued at. Should it be unquestionably proved
(which I think it might,) that a given weight of
mangel wurzel will produce as great or a greater
weight in the animal which consumes it, than
the like will of Swedish turnips, the cultivation of
it would be of course much increased. All herba-
ceous animals are fond of it ; and game, and
poultry. Those who have not a good depth of
mould, free from couch, and a good supply of ma-
nure, had better not attempt the cultivation of
mangel wurzel. If the land can be made tolerably
fine, it will grow on stronger soils than is gene-
rally supposed it will, and w'here Swedish turnips
will not grow to be of any worth. Turnips will
keep stacked and buried all winter, but they do
not improve by keeping as the mangel wurzel
does ; it is not the general custom to take turnips
up, as it is for the mangel wurzel, which, in case
of a long and severe winter, supplies the demand
for succulent food in the highest perfection for
beasts — -and for kmbing ewes in the spring, filling
them with more milk than turnips will, besides
which, when sheep have been used to it, they like
it better than any other root, or cabbages. It
should be dibbled or drilled, less than an inch
deep, on Northumberland ridges, twenty-seven in-
ches asunder, the latter end of April or first week
in May ; and left when hoed, each plant about
fourteen inches apart. Any deficiency in the croj)
to be made up by plants (not too small), put in
when the land is wet, with the roots not doubled
up, and an inch or more of the top part of the
root left out of the ground; if the whole of the
root is put in (as planters are apt to do,) a good
root will not be obtained, shoots will come from
the top, and on taking the root up in the autumn,
it will be found with a great deal of top, and a poor
root, full of fibres.* My practice has been to soak

* I have the ridges for mangel wurzel set up as
high as possible, that full two-thirds of the root, w hen
at its full growth, should, alter being pulled down
with the hoe, be out of the ground, I have a very
light wooden roller run over the ridge to flatten the
trips of them a little before putting in the seed. I do
not want the ridges so high for turnips ; drought
has more effect on them. In hoeing mangel wurzel
or turnips, the ridges may be much pulled down, but
afterwards set up with a double mould-board horse
hoe, which will not — as it ought not — push the
mould up again to the roots, but will well cover the

the seed till it sprouts a little, not too much, for
should the weather prove to be dry, there is dan-
ger of the shoots dying, and the plants being lost.
Drilling takes treble the quantity of seed that
dibbling does, but as drilling is the surest way of
getting a crop, it is prudent not to let the extra
quantity of seed he a consideration. Dibbling in
single seeds, 3J inches apart, and thinning the
plants when the size of a radish, which are then
useful for pigs, is a goo'l plan. After trying many
various ways of cultivating it, I have this season
(May 11th, 1836), dibbled the seed in holes made
by a boy, pressing down by a handle about four
feet long, on the centre of the ridge, a piece of
wood, 16 inches long, and about 4 broad, with
three pegs in it, seven inches asunder, to make
three hoFes, about an inch deep ; one seed put in
each hole, (two, if the seed does not appear very
good) ; the top of the ridge being made fine with
a small rake, the plant which is at first very fee-
ble, is thus enabled soon to get its head above
ground. All under-ground grubs will, from its
sweetness, attack it fiom the time the seed vege-
tates, till the plant becomes the size of a radish ;
and many plants are frequently eaten off, just at
the top of the ground, when they have become as
thick as a carrot. I never before failed in my
mangel wurzel crop as I have failed this year.
That part of it sown about the middle of April will
be a fair crop, but the rest sown in May oidy came
up after the rain on the 22d June, and then agreat
patt of it was eaten off" in ihe ground by a grub,
orsoitof worm, which is found coiled up, but
when scraightened out is of this length and thick-
ness By letting the plants that have

not been eaten stand at half the usual distance,
and filling up the failing ridges with transplanted
mangel, and turnip seed, I do not despair of hav-
ing a fair crop of useful green food. It is the
usual custom to manure at the time of sowing; and
so it is likely to continue, because the land is not
till then in proper order to have the manure ap-
plied to it; but mangel wurzel will do the best
when the manure is "incorporated with the soil ;
the ridges then can be better formed, the mould
does not so run down from them ; besides which
they then lie on a loosened subsoil, instead of one
trodden hard by the horses. The best crop I ever
had was after a carted-off crop of Swedish turnips,
without any other manure than was given to the
turnips. I, and all others who saw the crop,
thought it as fine a one as could possibly have been
seen; still, however, it did not come near the re-
ported weight of some crops, being onhj fifty tons
per acre. The marble kind will produce the
greatest weight, but I cultivate the bloof'-red,
which is more like beet ; it as a less proportion
of water in it, and therefore must possess more
fattening qualities. The yellow, from an experi-
ment made for me by the celebrated Andrew
Knight Esq., is the most nutritious of all. Mr.
Knight found it to possess five and twenty percent,
more saccharine and nutritious matter in it than
the marble kind. Any person putting a bit of it
in his mouth will find it, although sweet of very
acrid flavour. But as it will not grow to a large
size, and as many of the plants are apt to run all
to top, I do not continue to cultivate it. All the
side leaves of a crop may be stripped off, after
August, without doing any injury, if wanted for

dung, and thuskeep it moist; the fine fibrous roofs,
being thus cut off in" hoeing, will shoot again, and
gala nourishment from fresh earth.

378

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

sheep or ; iL;---. Hoots arc often exhibited of the
marble kind as very fine ones, but which in my
opinion arc not ; they are large, but generally a
very greai part of the weight of the ro.it consists
of a neck, which is hard, and has little, if any
nourishment in it. My blood -red kind, which
does not produce the quantity of leaves as other
sorts do, and therefore may stand nearer together,
is nearly as good at the very top of the root as it is
at the bottom. Information has lately run the
round of the newspapers, that steamed mangel
wurzel leaves are good for sheep. Ever since I
have been a grower of mangel wnrzel my sheep
have Ctiten the leaves with such great avidity,
■without any cookery, that I have found it neces-
sary on thidir first having them, to give them a li-
mited quantity, for the leaves being of a very suc-
culent nature, they are apt at first to make them
scour. It is best to give them the leaves in a field
where there is good fair keep, lor as sheep like va-
riety in their food, they will not then eat too
many. Steamed potatoes are certainly much bet-
ter than raw ones for feeding cattle or pigs, but
useful as a steam apparatus at times may be, the
practice of steaming may be carried too far. A
late breeder, and amateur farmer of this county,
tlie year before he died, had his hay so spoiled by
continual rains (flooded I believe), that liis cattle
would not eat it till it had been steamed; in this
manner the unwholesome food for all cattle, but
particularly for the young, was consumed , the
consequences were that the purchasers of the cat-
tle (of vihom I was one,) found on their being
slaughtered, that they had ulcers in their insides;
I have no doubt this was the consequence of their
having eaten the bad steamed hay. My practice
in getting up mangel wurzel is thus : — two men
or boys take a row each ; by placing their hands
on the crovvn of each root, and at once pulling
down, they strip off every leaf, which they throw
into the furrow between them : two more go on
each side of them, and throw the leaves into the
same furrow. The roots of the two rows are
pulled up by hand, to prevent dirt going amongst
the leaves ; all the other rows are got up with tlie
double mould-board plough, with the shell-board
off, and thrown into rows convenient to be carted
off. If the land is not wanted for wheat, the
leaves will keep, as they have been laid in rows,
a long time without rotting; if it is wanted, they
will keep by being put between a hedge and a row
of hurdles set up about a yard from a hedge. The
leaves may be most usefully disposed of by being
thrown on land, for sheep, immediately after it has
been sown with wheat ; the solidity of the land,
from the treading of the sheep, is good for the
crop. Or thrown on the wheat when it has been
up some time, and got firm hold in the land : but
not when it first comes up, for then the treading of
the sheep will bring theroots above ground. I think
if a stack was made of layers of good sweet straw
and layers of leaves, they would keep well so, and
that the whole stack would be most useful winter
fodder for beasts in the fold-yard. I mean there-
fore this autumn to try this method. After having
finished sowing mangel wurzel this year (1836), I
find I could still improve the preparation of the
ridges by again loosening the subsoil by a grubber
drawn by one horse after the manure has been
spread in each furrow, the bottoms of which have
been hardened by the tieading of the horses and
the cartwheels. It is not safe, on account of the
risk of a sharp frost, to let the roots remain lon-
ger in the earth than the latter end of October.
For fear of a severe winter they are better pitted

than boused, for if once frozen they are injured in
their quality, atid very likely to rot in the pit
or stack tlieV are kept in. My pits are dug two
or three feet deep, and about twelve wide. In
these the roots :.re stacked and ridged, up to the
height of about ten or twehe feet from the surface
of the eaith ; faggots should be set upright about
every two yards in the centre of the pit, and con-
tinued up to the roof of it, all along which faggots
should lie. By this contrivance all the heat or
effervesectice which may arise from the roots will
be carried off, and rotting be prevented. The
stack then must be covered with dry straw or
haulm ; then covered with mould, allowing a lit-
tle time for heat to escape before completely co-
vering the top for the winter store. It will thus
keep in perfection till May, when it is often as
much wanted as at any other time, or it will keep
till June. It is proper for milking cows, but must
not be given in too large quantities ; it does not
give any unpleasant taste to the butter, as turnips
do ; this, however, may be prevented by the fol-
lowing management. The week previous to giv-
ing cows turnips, when churning save a couple or
three quarts of buttermilk. The earthen pot in
which the cream is usually collected, should be
scalded, dried, and put before the fire to make it
quite hot ; when hot put the buttermilk into it in
order to make it sour; the morning and evening
cream to be put to it, and then kept till churning.
A small quantity of saltpetre is put into the
cream. The small quantity of buttermilk to be
saved every time after churning, and the same
process repeated. J he turnips to be well cleaned,
tops and roots cut off, and no decayed turnips to
be used on any account. The introduction of this
valuable root has been the means of wonderfully
increasing the quantity of animal food produced
in this country, and of keeping the price of wheat
more equal throughout the year, which is proved
by its unusually high price at this time (April,
1836,) after nearly a failure of the last year's crop
of Swedes. — Hillyard's Practical Farming.

A V.ALUABLE Ghass. — There has been recentlv
presented to Messrs. Druiumond's Agricultural
Museum, Stirling, (in whose neighbourhood it is
undergoing trials on a small scale,) by a friend ii;
Glasgow, a sample of grass seed, under the name of
Franc Join, which has arrived from Canada, with the
following particulars: — "The Franc foin is a pe-
rennial grass, and, with our connoisseurs, is consi-
dered a superior grass to the 'I'imothy, being more
nutritious, retaining its verdure and moisture much
longer than the Timothy, and is less searching or
deteriorating to the soil. Without attempting to de-
cide this point, I have only to say that our Canada
farmers consider a mixed crop of these grasses
(Timothy and Franc foin) preferable to either sepa-
rately, as it furnishes an excellent, healthy, and nu-
tritious provender, whether for horses or oxen ; they
are sown together in the propoition of lib. of Franc
foin to every 4lbs of Timothy. Such is the value set
upon this hay, tliat, in 1835, a premium of ,*)/, was
offered by the district of Quebec Agricultural Society
to thj farmer who raised on his farm 50lbs. of this
■eed, besides taking the seed at 2s. per lb. I would
therefore recommend it to the particular attention of
our Scotch fanners, persuaded that it requires only
to be known to be brought into general use.--Que-
bec, 17th Nov. 1336,"— Stirling Journal,

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

379

STATE OF AGRICULTURE.

(Delivered before the Commons' Committee on Agricul-
ture, 1836.)

Evidence of Mr. Thomas Bowyer.

Is a farmer — Condition of Farmers about the same as
three Years ago — Wheat Produce has increased —
Prices have diminished in consequence — Removing
Local Taxes and the JMalt Tax would benefit
Farmers — In Huntingdonshire the Farmers are
badly off— Very much in Arrear— The best Turnip
Land would pay at 5s a bushel, but no other— The
Condition of the Farmer much better twenty Years
ago — Draining has increased and will inert ase the
Supply of Wheat — The Commodities necessary for
the Labourer have much fallen in Price.

What quantity of land do you occupy ? — Two
hundred acres of arable land, and about the same
quantity of grass land.

Do you consider the condition of the farmer
improved since 1833 ? — No : I think it is much the
same as in 1833.

Has there been any increase in the produce of
wheat upon your own farm .' — There has been a
great increase in the last three years.

Should you say, then, that the low price of
wheat might be attributed partly to the increased
production of wheat, and partly to the quality of
the wheat producing an increased quantity of
flour ? — The low price of wheat I consider to arise
partly from the increased production and partly
from the extra quantity sown ; there has been a
greater breadth considerably the last three years
than in any year since I have been in trade.

Should you say that there was any diminution
in the demand for \\hcat? — None.

Have the expences of your farm been reduced
with the last three years .' — Yes, rent considerably.
Have there been many farms out of occupation in
your neighbourhood .' — A great many have changed
hands, and there are several now out of occu-
pation.

When they have changed hands, have the suc-
ceeding tenants been men of capital ? — No, not in
all cases.

Do you consider that agriculture in your neigh-
bourhood is not carried on by men of capital 1 —
No, in a number of instances it is not.

Can you suggest any mdde by which the condi-
tion of the farmer could be improved i — Except
by removing the local taxes, or assisting him in
the malt tax ; I know of no other mode.

Mr. Handley. — Can you speak to the quantity
and quality produced upon that land ? — Yes, the
strong clay lands of Huntingdon are now nearly
all drained, and in a mueh better preparation to
grow barley ; the great proportion is drained with
tiles, and the custom is to sow it much earlier ;
nearly half the barley for this year I should think
is now sown, a thing I never before knew, and the
increased breadth of the barley will be extraordi-
nary.

Mr. Heathcote. — You say that at present there
is a considerable demand for malt, but do you
think under common circumstances, the cold clay
land you speak of would be suitable for growing
barley ? — Yes, I do not say that it would grow so
much barley as the best turnip land, but it would
be equal in quality.

Mr. Miles. — What quantity of barley have you
averaged in the last three years upon the clay
'land ? — I should think four quarters and a half.
Has that been remunerative to the farmer ? —

It has to farmers who have had their rents re-
duced, CD that portion of their farms.

Mr. Caylev — What is the condition of the
tenantry generally of Huntingdonshire ?— They
are at a very low ebb indeed ; I think nearly half
of them almost have nothing.

They are in arrear very much ? — Very much.
Can they pay their bills better now than in
1833 ?— No, they cannot.
How are the rents paid ? — Badly.
Are rents, or bills paid the best?— Rents I
think.

Is it your opinion that in order to pay his rent
the farmer neglects to pay his bills ?— If a farmer
is under a gentleman that he wants to continue
under he will pay his rent and leave his bills, but
if he has made up his mind to leave, he will pay
his bills and leave his rent.

How much land is there in Huntingdonshire
that would pay a rent at 5s a bushel for wheat ? —
I think the best turnip land would pay a rent at
5s a bushel ; but the light wood land would not pay
a shilling, and I question whether the clay land
would.

What proportion do the different classes bear to
each other ?— The strong clay is the larger
proportion, and the turnip land is nearly one-
third.

Comparing the present time with twenty years
ago, which is the best for the farmer .' — Twenty
years ago, considerably.

Do you think it was better for all parties con-
nected with the land .>— Certainly, twenty years
ago was far superior to the present time.

Sir James Graham.— You mentioned tile drain-
ing, has it lat: ly been introduced into those coun-
ties ? — It has been introduced some years, but not
to the extent it has been the last three years ; it is
now very great.

Since 1833 a very great breadth of these strong
lands has been drained .' — Yes.

Does that affect the produce of those lands ? —
Yes, it produces more from being kept drier in the
winter.

Does it render you less dependent upon the va-
riation of seasons ? — Not much.

Then, in a series of years this extensive draining
will add materially to the average produce .'—Yes
and improve the quality also.

And consequently it will diminish somewhat th»
cost of production ? — It will.

And it will render a less price, a remunerating
price, whether it be for barley or for wheat ? — In
proportion it will ; the cost of pr iduction must
be very little less, but still it will be less, inasmuch
as it will produce more per acre at the same ex-
pense.

If you take a farai upon lease, yon calculate
upon the variation of the seasons, and anything
which shall render t'ae produce more certain and
less variable is, in a series of years, equal to an
increase of production ? — It is.

Mr. WoDEtJoi'SE.— Has the breadth of Wheat
increased in other parts of Huntingdonshire be-
sides the fen land ?— Yes.

Has that been the case in Cambridgeshire ?—
Yes.

In Northamptonshire ? — Yes.
And in Bedfordshire .' — Yes.
Mr. Miles.— Have the diflerent commodities
necessary for the labourer fallen very much in
price?— Bread is the principal one, and that hai
fallen.

Articles of clothing ?— They are much lower.

880

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

Mr. Evans. — Has there been any economy in
agricultural labour by the introduction of thresh-
ing machines .'— The're is a great deal of corn
threshed by machine, which certainly supersedes
manual labour very much.

And so far it is economical ? — Where all the
bands can be employed, it is econoa ical ; but
■where there is a surplus of hands, it is not eco-
nomy, because they must be maintained by the
parish.

Statistical Account of Scotland. — No. XIII., Fe-
bruary, 1837-. Blackwood & Son, Edinburgh;
Cadeli, London.

This is a most valuable publication, and should
find a place in every well-regulated library. The
present number contains part of the County of Had-
dington, and part of the County of Fife, with a beau-
tiful map, engraved by Lizars, of the Counties of
Fife and Kinross. We give the following quotation
as a specimen of the mode in which the work is con-
ducted : —

" The late Lord Minto introduced over his whole
property an improved state of husbandry, from Rox-
burgshire, about twenty years ago. Duvid Wemyss,
Esq., of Pitkenny, when he became possessed of his
property in this parish, found it in a very rugged
and unproductive condition, yet capable of rprht
culture, and of producing good crops. With other
proprietors, he took an active part in deepening and
straighting a burn, which obstructed the agriculture
of a large district, and affected the north side of his
property. Here he succeeded completely, by drain-
ing eifectually the parts contiguous to the burn, and
also by providing sufiicient'^levels for all the other
arrangements. The chief ingredient of the soil is
clay. The surface was a gooddeal encumbered with
stones, many of them of an unwieldy size, but all
obstacles have been surmounted, and by a liberal
encouragement to Ijis tenants, and by a judicious su-
perintendence, the farms are well drained, well en-
closed, and well cultivated. Upwards of twenty
years ago, the late J. Reddie, Esq., of Redhouse,
planted a large piece of peatmoss, of about fifteen
Scotch acres with Scotch firs. The ground was pre-
viously drained and levelled ; and although the moss
be in several places upwards of seven feet deep, of a
substance entirely moss, yet the trees have thriven,
and now the place formerly so gloomy and uoly'
presents a pleasant prospect of verdure and utilfty •
and the surrounding grounds, formerlv marshy and'
insalubrious, are become wholesome.

" A good many years ago, Robert Ferguson, Esq.,
of Raitli, took under his management a tract of
ground, at that time remarkably ugly, almost waste,
and very unproductive. This he has converted into
an arable farm, and adorned with thriving planta-
tions. The farm itself is well enclosed, well culti-
vated, and very productive. It rents, I understand
at the rate of tl. 5s. the acre. The extent is 200
acres ; and it is pleasant to learn, that while the
country is hereby improved, the orioinal improver
has already been indemnified for outlays, and conti-
nues to draw very good interest for his money. The
name of the farm is East Cardon. What a benefit to
a country are resident proprietors!"

ON THE PURIFICATION AND CLAS-
SIFICATION OF SEEDS, ROOTS, &c.

(from

LEWIS s observations

FARMING.)

ON EXPERIMENTAL

It has been already stated that farmers are ex-
tremely cautious, and even backward, in the adop-
tion of anything new. Potatoes, for instance, al-
though brought into England about the end of the
16th century, were long confined to the gardens of
the nobility and gentry ; and in Scotland were not
planted in the open fields until the year 1792, up-
wards of 200 years after their first introduction. So
prejudiced, indeed, were the Scottish peasantry
against thtir admission, that they attributed the
origin of every disease, no matter of what nature, to
the influence of this vegetable. Turnips, also, al-
though known in Britain before tlie potatoe, did not
come into general cultivation until long after the
daysofTull, a Berkshire agriculturist, who intro-
duced the system of drill husbandry in tlie year
1701. He obtained very few followers for more
than 30 years, and Scotland was tlie first to reduce
his system to practice. In 1760 it was there in
pretty general adoption. Hence it was introduced
into Northumberland in 1780 ; and it has since
slowly found its way into the more southern parts of
the island. Such has been tiie introduction of two
of the most valuable roots that are now in cultiva-
tion ; and assuredly we could not have well adduced
a stronger practical illustration of the probable use-
fulness of an experimental farm fcr promulgating a
knowledge, and expediting the culture of those
vegetables whose qualities and merits have been
previously untested, or partially ascertained.

The introduction of potatoes and turnips, it may
be said, took place when education was at a very low
ebb, and when the supineness of our agriculturists
was at its heiglit, and therefore that any deductions
drawn from this subject are inajjplicable now. But
we shall shortly make it more ihtin probable that,
even with all the science n:id enterprise of modern
times, there is yet a wide field of discovery lying
before us, and which hitheito has been almost wholly
neglected.

We allude more particularly to the classification
and i)urification of seeds. Individuals no doubt have
at different times directed their attention to this sub-
ject, but tlieir labours, instead ol remedying the ex-
isting defects, have only tended to shew the almost
unlimited extent to which improvement in this de-
partment might be carried. They have failed, not
from the unfruitfulness of the subject, but from the
inadequacy of individual exertion for the task, and
their failure is a powerful practical argument in
favour of a combined and collected effort for the full
development of the latent and hitherto dormant sus-
ceptibilities of the vegetable kingdom.

'J'ho grand distinguishing characte. istic of plants
over inorganic matter — that which characterises their
latent powers and living functions — is their suscep-
tibility of improvement ; animals have it to a certain
degiee, but not nearly to such an extent as plants,
for the productive faculty of the former cannot be
increased like that of the latter. As is well re-
marked by Mr. Sliaron Turner, most agreeable and
surprising transformations have arisen from this pro-
pf^rty. The rose is the product of cultivation ; (he
original plant from which all our beautiful varieties
have proceeded is considered by botanists to be tl e
common wild briar. Our plum's are cultivated de-
scendants of the sloe : the peach and nectarines of
the common almond tree ; filberts are the improve-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

381

ments of the wild hazel : the delicious apples, wliose
species may now be reckoned by hundreds, are the
cultivated successors of the small austere crabs and
wildings which svvine will scarcely eat ; the original
pear is a pettv fruit as hard and crude as the for-
mer ; our cauliflowers, cabbages, and other domestic
vegetables, mav be regarded as almo.-t artifici-.d pro-
ducts, so much has human skill had to do in their
production.

If, then, so great a susceptibilit)' of improvement
exists in the productions of horticulture, it becomes
a question of great interest an 1 niomentous impor-
tance to ascertain whetlier or not the different spe-
cies of grain, roots, and gv.'.sses, employed in agii-
culture are possessed of a like inherent susceptibility.
It is a well known fact that grain, if allowed to de-
generate, returns into a state very similar to that of
some of our coarser grasses, whieh of itself is a very
strong argument for the point at issue. }3ut we
liave still more unequivocal evidence that, even in
what mav be denominated its present improved state
when compared with the inferiority of its supposed
original, it is p.issessed of tue principle of produc-
tiveness to an extent fully as great as tlie vegetables
mentioned in the abov,i quotation. To prove this
we shall insert the following statement, being the re-
sult of the experience of Colonel Le Couteur, one
of the deputies from the island of Jersey. Three
j-ears ago this gentleman became acquainted with
Professor Le Gasc-a, one of the most celebrated bo-
tanists of Europe, who had been curator of the
Royal Gardens at iNIadrid, and obliged to leave
Spain, where he is now again restored to his friends
and former situation. TLe Professor wrs then grow-
ing about eighty sorts of wheat in the garden of Mr.
Saunders, nurseryman in Jersey. The variety, clas-
sification, and beauty, struck Colonel Le Couteur,
who sought to procure all tae information he could
from Professor Le Gasca. The latter told him that
for the last twenty-five years he had been employed
in studying the properties and characters of wheat,
pnd had collected in the Roval Gardens nine hun-
dred varieties and subvarieties. He came to Colo-
nel lie Couteur's farm and picked more than twenty
sorts out of three fields then (in August) growing,
and gave daily all the instruction and information
wanted by Colonel Le Couteur, who resolved to
profit by such an opportunity, and began seriously to
cultivate the important plant of wheat, so as to pro-
cure the several sorts distinct from each other, aid
keep notes of the experiments made on the culture,
produce, weight of the giain, and qualities of tlie
corn, flour, and straw.

Colonel Le Couteur has kept a most minute ac-
count of his experiments, and taken the greatest care
to preserve the best sorts in ilieir purity. He has in
London nineteen varieties of the greatest beauty,
and such as the frequenters of Mark Lane say could
not be matched in England for purity.

The Colonel, after three years' experience, has
arrived at this conclusion — that the proper mode of
cultivation of wheat is yet unknovv'n or unpractised.
'That it is of consequence to keep the seveial sorts
to grow apart, because they all ripen at different
periods, and that bread made of ripe and unripe
corn could neither be so wholesome nor nutritious
as when made of ripe corn without the mixture of
that which had not been well ripened.

That each sort will thrive best on a particular soil
and situation adapted to it.

That one ear of a particular variety, sown grain
by grain, and suffered to tiller apart, produced 4 lb.
9 oz. of wheat ; whereas another ear of an inferior
sort, treated in the same manner, produced only 1 lb.

13 oz. Hence it is of importance to select the sorts
that are the most farinaceous and productive.

That by sowing each sort apart, they might he
easier saved and harvested in rotation, some sons
ripening a fortnight before the others. That the
same quantity of wheat of a farinaceous kind may
maintain a family of fifteen persons twelve months,
where the same quantity of another kind, though
apparently fine corn, will maintain them only nine
months.

The following extract from an article by Mr.
Gorrie, in Messrs. Drummond's third report, will
show that nature has been equally profuse in pre-
senting to the attention of the farmer an ample va-
riety of plants wnerewith to improve his meadows
and pastures: — " Out of more than two hundred
grasses suitable to our climate, it may be said that
only one genus, the rye-grass, has as yet received
general culture. From among sixty species of
clover, only three or four species receive general at-
tention. Of the genus lotus, sixteen species are
hardy, and in waste lands two species contribute to
enhance the value of the pasture, but in agriculture
they are seldom noticed. The species of raelilot
are as numerous, many of which vie with our com-
mon clover, and form excellent substitutes when
land is clover sick, yet that genus is almost quite
npolected. The same may be said of many species
of vicia, lathyrus, orobus, medicago, and other dia-
delphou's plants, which point out the apathy and re-
missness of the farmer. Hence it is obvious that
agricultural societies, as hitherto conducted, how-
ever efficient in other departments, have failed in
exciting sufhcient attention to the nature of vege-
tables."

These statements demonstrate most satisfactorily
the vast capabilities which exist in the living func-
tions of srain and grasses, and the successful results
of horticulture go far to establish the existence of a
like suscejjtibility in the roots available for agricid-
lural purposes. Indeed, the selection and propa-
gation of improved agricultural seeds has till lately
been v^ry little attended to. But the subject has been
taken up by Mr. Sinclair, of New Cross, Mr. Sher-
rifT, of i\Iungoswells, Mr. Gorrie, of Rait, and others ;
and we have little doubt some greatly improved
varieties of our more useful field plants will be the
result. Mr. Sherriff mentions (Quar. Jour. Ag., vol.
i. page 366) that the variety of the Swedish turnip
cultivated in East Lothian 'had, by judicious selec-
tion of roots from which seed was saved, been im-
proved in nutritious value upwards of 300 per cent.
" Potatoes and Swedish turnip," Mr. Sherriff says,
" appear to be susceptible of farther improvement
by iudicious selection, as well as the different grains
so lono- cultivated in this country, and \vhich in al-
most every instance have become spurious. But
whatever mav be the degree of improvement of
which the agricultural produce of the country is
susceptible, by the propagation of genuine seeds of
the best varieties of plants, one remarkable feature
of such an improvement is, that it could be carried
into effect without any additional investment of capi-
tal, or destruction of that already employed.

The facUitii of propagating genuine seeds will become
manifest from "a statement of my practice. In the
spring of 1823 a vigorous wheat plant, near the
centre of a field, was marked out, which produced
63 ears, that yielded 2,473 grains. These were
dibbled in the autumn of the same year, the produce
of the second and third seasons sown broadcast in
the ordinary way ; and the fourth harvest put me in
possession of nearly forty quarters of sound grain.
In the spring of this year I planted a fine purple top

382

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

Swedish turnip that yielded (exclusively of the seeds
picked by birds and those lost in thrashing and
cleaning the produce) 100,296 grains, a number
capable of furnishing- plants for upwards of five im-
perial acres. One-tenth of an acre was sown with
the produce in the end of July for a seed crop, part
of which it is in contemplation to sow for the same
purpose in July 1829. In short, if tlie produce of
the turnip in question bad been carefully cultivated
to the utmost extent, the third year's produce of seed
would have more than supplied tJie demand of Great
Britain for a season.

Plants and animals equally helong to the class of
org-wnic beings — both are endowed with sexual or-
gans, from whose germs an offspring proceeds,
which in its turn exercises a propagating power •
so that in taking a comprehensive view of the sub-
ject of agricultural improvement, and especially of
what may be effected through the agency of seeds,
we find the same laws to a considerable extent act-
ing in both cases. However important w^e may deem
a knowledge of the subject of the propagation of
live stock, attention to the selection of the seeds of
plants is no less so, but, on the contrary, is of still
greater moment, in as far as it embraces the im-
provement not only of the herbage which supports
the inferior animals, but of those plants part of
which forms the direct ingredients of human suste-
nance. The analogy just adverted to, existino- be-
tween animal and vegetable life, is exemplified in
the sexual union which, under certain favourable
circumstances, takes place between varieties of the
same speci'^s of plant, giving rise to a new race par-
taking of tha properties of both parents, and which
is termed hybrid. New hybrid varieties of agricul-
tural plants when suffered to intermingle with the
original kind, disseminate their influence around
them like cross-bred animals, unrestrained in their
intercourse with the general herd, till the character
of the stock becomes changed, and consequently
deteriorated or improved. In either case, propaga-
tion from the best variety alone would be attended
with good effects. 'I'he principles of propagation
in vegetable and animal life are, as has just been
hinted, nearly the same; but the propagation of
vegetables must exceed that of animals in impor-
tance in an economical point of view, as much as the
vegetable produce of the country surpasses that of
its animals in value. Indeed, animals may justly be
considered mere machines for convertino- our infe-
rior herbage into a higher species of nutriment ;
grasses and roots being likened to the raw material,
butchers' meat to the manufactured commodity.

The importance of attending to varieties of culti-
vated plants has been sbly pointed out by Mr.
Bishop, at once a scientific botanist and an expe-
rienced practical gardener. " By means of varie-
ties," he says, ' ' the produce of our gardens and fields
are not only inci eased in a tenfold degree, but the
qualify of the produce is improved in a still greater
proportion. In them we perceive the labour and
assiduity of man triumphing over the sterility of un-
assisted nature, and succeeding in giving birth to a
race of beings calculated to supply his wants in a
manner that original species never could have done.
The differencd between varieties that have sprung
from the same species fits them for different pur-
poses, and for different soils, situations, and cli-
mates. Some, by reason of their robust nature, are
winter vegetables ; and others, by being early, are
spring vegetables ; while some are in perfection in
summer, and others in autumn. The fruit produced
by some is fit to eat when pulled off the tree ; while
the fruit of others is valuable by reason of it's keep-

ing till that season when nature rests to recruit her
strength. Thus, in edible plants and fruits, we are
supplied with an agreeable change throughout the
year, from a difference in varieties that have sprung
from the same species. In the earlier ages of the
world, no idea could have been entertained of the
excellence some vaiieties have attainei over their
originals. Who, upon viewing the wild cabbage
that grows along our sea-coast, would ever imagine
that cauliflower orbrocoli would have been produced
by the s; me .' Or who would exj ect the well-
foriced apple of a pound weight from the verjuice
plant in our hedges ? Many instances might be no-
ticed of original species that are scarcely tit to be
eaten by the beasts of the field, the varieties of
which afford a nutiitious and wholesome food for
man. Upon comparing the original variety of the
Daucas carota, the Pastinaca satira, and some others
indigenous to our climate, with their varieties pro-
duced by culture, we are struck with their great in-
feriority, and cannot help reflecting on the hapless
condition of that hungry savage who first taught us
their use ; for nothing short of the greatest privation
could ever have led to that discovery. Indeed, no-
thing is more obvious, upon comparing original spe-
cies with their varieties produced by culture, than
that we, by means of the latter, enjoy a vegetable
food farpreferable to our forefathers — a circumstance,
from which it may be inferred that posterity is des-
tined to enjoy a better than that which we do now.
For although it is reasonable to bel-eve that there
exists a degree of excellence attainable by varieties
over the species whence they have sprung, yet as
that degree is unknown, and as it is probably beyond
the power of man, of cultivation, or of time, to de-
termine the same, we are justified in regarding it as
progressive, and in considering the production of a
good variety as the sign or harbinger of a better.

'J'he power of distinguishing varieties, and of form-
ing some idea of their worth at sight, is an attain-
ment much to be desired, because valuable varieties
may sometimes appear to those who have it not in
their power to prove by trial ; and if they have, the
probability is, that the means to be employed require
more care, time, and attention., than they are dis-
posed to bestow on plants, the merits of which a'e
doubtful ; whereas, were such persons capable of
forming an estimate of the worth of varieties from
their appearance, then would they use meiius for
their preservation, whenever their appearance was
found to indicate superiority. That this is an at-
tainment of considerable importance will be readily
allowed ; yet, that it, in some cases, requires the
most strict attention, appears from the circumstances
of varieties being oftentimes valuable, though not
conspicuously so. Let us suppose, for instance, that
in a field of wheat there exists a plant, a new variety,
having two more fertile joints in its spike, and equal
to the surrounding wheat in every other respect: a
man accustomed to make the most minute observa-
tions would scarcely observe such a variety, unless
otherwise distinguished by some peculiar badge ;
nor would any but a person versed in plants know
that it was of a superior value if placed before him.
How many varieties answering this description may
have existed and escaped observation, which, had
they been observed and carefully treated, would
have proved an invaluable acquisition to the com-
munity! The number of fertile joints in the spike
of the wheat generally cultivated, varies from 18 to
22; and the inhabitants of Great Britain and Ire-
land amount to nearly the same number of millions :
therefore, as the wheat produced in those islands has
been of Iste years uufficient, or nearly suflBcient, to

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

383

supply tbo inbabitauts ibereot' with bread, it is evi-
dent that a vui-ietv with two additional fertile joints,
and equal in other respects to the varieties at present
in cultivation, would, when it became an object of
general culture, nftord a supply of bread to at least
two millions of souls, without even another acre
being- brought into cultivation, or one additional
drop of sweat from the brow of the husbandman.

The same varieties are ]iot repeatedly produced
by culture ; if they uere tliere would not exist that
necessity for strict observation and skill on the part
of the observers, because, if a variety be lost or de-
stroyed we might look forward to its reappearance ;
or did we possess the power of producing varieties,
and of producing them late or early, tall or dwarf,
sweet or sour, or just ;'s we might wish to have
them, then might we plead an excuse for inattention.
But experienco shows, th;it when a variety is lost it
is for ever lost, and tlie slightest reflection cannot
fail of convincing us that our power of producing
them is most limited. Indeed, our knowledge only
enables us to produce those of the intermediate kind,
while varieties that confer extension or excellence
are as likely to be produced from the seed sown by
the humble labourer, as from that sown and treated
by the ablest horticulturist, the most skilful botanist,
or most profound philosopher of the age. From
these remarks it is obvious that the benefits mankind
derive from the varieties produced by culture are
numerous and important, and that the discovery of
those of merit is an object highly deserving- of our
attention. They also prove more especially that
of Colonel Le Couteur, that tiie developu;ent of these
is a matter attended with no small difficult}', from
the delicac}', the minuteness, and the science with
which the experiments require to be conducted,
and here the immense superiority of an experimental
establishment for the accomplishment of these ends,
will appear in a very prominent point of view. Not
only could the observations of such men as Colonel
Le Couteur, Mv. Gorrie, JMr. Bishop, and Mr.
Sherriff be most carefully attended to and practically
applied ; but by means of the subsidiary associations
the whole would be conducted on a scale commen-
surate to the wants of an extensive country.

By assigning- to each variety a distinct space, the
different sorts would be kept apart while grow'ng,
and a series of accurate observations instituted as
each successive development took place during their
growth, as well as after they had arrived at matu-
rity, which could not fail to be attended with the
most successful and beneficial results. And not
only so ; by mesns of the local institutions the situa-
tion and the soil best adapted to each might be dis-
covered, and the different varieties would thus not
only be purified, but, what is perhaps of equal im-
portance, characterized. In this way the uncer-
tainty at present inseparable from the practical re-
sults of every agricultural operation would be re-
moved, for the farmer could select with the most
unerring- accuracy the particular sorts best adapted
to his climate, soil, &c.

It has been objected by some that no single es-
tablishment could be made applicable to the variety
of soils, climates, &c. of Scotland. This objection,
however, may be completely obviated by attending
to what may be termed the working machinery of an
experimental farm, as fully detailed in the original
suggestions. It is there stated that a connected line
of communication, by means of lateral branches in
every county, is essentially necessary to the success,
and, indeed, forms part of the scheme ; and we
would here farther suggest, that the ground set
apart for experiments by these local associations,

and the different museums in connection with them,
should be entrusted to the management of an ex-
perienced nurseryman or gardener. We have no
doub„ that many among this numerous and intelli-
gent class might be found both competent and wil-
ling to undertake the task, more especially as the
details they would be called upon to superintend are
so intimately connected with the subject-matter of
their own profession : and, if so, those scientific at-
tainments which have hitherto been confined to a
comp;iiatively circumscribed sphere, would be
brought to bear upon the rural economy of the coun-
try, and the co-operation of individuals would be se-
cured who were in every way qualified both to act
as a check and an assistance to the parent establish-
ment— as a check, by testing- and verifying the re-
port of the chief manager — as an assistance, by fur-
nishing accurate nnd scientific statements of the se-
veral matters intrusted to their care.

It has been also objected that from the richness
and highly pulverized nature of nursery and garden
grounds, no just estimate could be formed of a spe-
cimen from the grain produced on them. Now, were
the method of preparing the soil which we have de-
tailed so fully in a preceding article generally prac-
tised and properly executed, it is not too chimerical
to expect that the whole arable land of the country
would eventually become almost as rich and as high-
ly pulverized as any garden or nursery grounds can
well be. As a considerable time, however, even
undeif the most favourable circumstances, must elapse
before this can be accomplished, the uncertainty
arising from the above cause might in the meantime
be easily removed. Suppose, for example, 1 hat some
particular v-ariety has been discovered, evincing a
decided superiority in its apparent productiveness,
&c. over the rest, the manager has only to obtain
permission from some of the neighbouring farmers
(which we are certain would be most cheerfully
granted) to allow it a place for trial, on such soils
and in such situations as may be deemed best adapt-
ed to bring its virtues to the test. By this simple
arrangement the peculiar qualities of every variety
would be practically certified before it received the
recommendation of the establishment, and the nur-
serymen or gardeners, while they operated as a
check and an assistance to the parent establishment,
would themselves be operated upon in like manner
by those individual farmers with whom they found
it necessary to bold communication.

The whole country would thus be converted into
one wide field of experimental inquiry, which could
not fhdl most effectually to correct at the true source
all those evils which arise from the sudden and fre-
quently injudicious introduction of any new variety
of seed. For at present it often happens, as every
agriculturist knows, that a newly discovered variety
is approved of or condemned not from its own in-
trinsic qualities or merits, but from the treatment it
receives, or the accidental state of the weather dur-
ing the season in which it might have been intro-
duced. This has been the case with several varie-
ties of oats since the commencement of the present
century ; and who can tell -whether or not the Che-
valier barley, which has been lately introduced into
this country so rapidly and to so great an extent,
would maintain its vaunted superiority over the
other varieties if subjected to the ordeal of a series
of late seasons.

We shall now briefly advert to the national advan-
tages which might reasonably be anticipated from
the operation of such an eslablisLment. In order to
perceive these, the annual amount of grain, potatoes,

384

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

turnips, grasses, &c,, would require to be ascer-
tained.

According to M'Culloch the annual consump-
tion of o-rain in the United Kingdom amounts to
52,000,000 quarters, and the imports of foreign corn
in 1831 airounted to 3,541,809 quarters, being the
largest quantity ever brought into Great Britain in
any one year.

Now assuming that the annual consumption is
52,000,000 quarters, inclusive of seed, and that
the annual average of native growth amounts to
50,000,000 quarters, let us advert to the results of
Colonel Le Couteur's (sxperiments. There we find
one variety of wheat 250 per cent, more productive
than another, and it will certainly not be thought
unreasonable to assume that the produce might be
increased to the extent of 10 per cent., not only on
grain, but also on roots, grasses, &c.

We thus perceive that in a national point of view
the scheme is pregnant with the mot important ad-
vantages to the 13ritish empire, and therefore well
worth)'- the attention of the enlightened and philan-
thropic statesman. It may also serve to show how
chimerical and crude the theories of those alarmists
are, who would terrify us with the dread of a super-
abundant population. In the language of the elo-
c[uent author whom we have already had occasion to
quote, " Cultivated produce has liitherto outrun
population, and to all appearance will always do so.
From the increasing enterprise and science of agri-
culturists, not only the merits of many of the va-
rieties of grain, roots, and grasses, &c., now in ex-
istence and as yet very little known, vvill be more
fully elicited, but new varieties, and even genera
possessed of more useful properties than any of those
now cultivated, will continue to be discovered.
From the i'acts we have adduced, and the extraordi-
nary phenomena constantly occurring in the vegeta-
ble kingdom, this is by no means improbable. Be
this, however, as it may, two laws are visibly ope-
rating in. nature — one that its produce shall always
be increasable by human labour and skill. Ordi-
nary but diligent exertions of these have hitherto
abundantly sufficed for all that has been needed.
Local distress, indeed, may arise from temporary
seasons, but never from a failure of the powers of
vegetable nature."

USEFUL HINTS TO FARMERS.

(From the John o'Ghoat Jourxal.)

Lime. — The vast mountains of calcareous earth,
which occur in various parts of the world, owe their
origin, it is supposed, to the desii'uclion of marine testa-
ceous animals, which, in long processes of time, formed
these hug'e heaps. Lime is never found pure, it is
always in combination with some other substance, more
generally with an acid, but it also enters into the com-
position of vegetables and animal bones. It has been
remarked by some, that the inhabitants of towns or
houses built on limestone or chalky foundations are
less liable to infectious diseases than those in other
situations. The use of lime in agriculture may be at-
tributed to the property it possesses of hastenmg the
dissolution and putrefaction of all animal and vegetable
matters, and of imparting to the soil the power of re-
taining a quantity of moisture necessary for the nourish-
ment and vigorous growth of tlie plants, hence lime
and chalk are found to be particularly useful on sandy
soils. Marl is a mixture of lime and clay. The nature
of soils may be inferred from their possessing the fol-
lowing properties: — Soils containing much silix are
rough to the touch, and scratch glass ; those containing'

iron have a red, brovrn, or yellow appearance; those
containing a large portion of alumina are unctuous to
feel, emit an earthy smell, and adhere to the tongue ;
and those containing much lime are soft to the touch,
and less adhesive than those containing alumina. Every
farmer should ascertain tlie nature of his lime before
he uses it in agriculture, as limestone often contains a
large proportion of magnesia, which is not only not ser-
viceable to the lands, but is hig'iily prejudicial to vege-
tation, and that lime ought never to be used in which
any large proportion of magnesia is found. 'J'here is no
good soil that does not contain a certain ])ortion of
lime, although it is always combined with carbonic
acid. ]Marls are useful in agriculture only in propor-
tion to the quantity of calcareous earth they contain, and
unless they contain more than thirty percent, of lime
they are of no value to the farmer, and he had better
pay five times as much for a load of lime, at the same
distance, than for a load of such marl. The bones of
all kinds of animals are formed of lime and phosphoric
acid, in the proportion of 48"4 parts of lime and 51'5
phosphoric acid.

Severity of the

Weather.—

-A comparison of the

emperature of twenty-four day

s, ending the 11th of

pril in the present year, w

th the corresponding

ays in successive

years during the preceding quar-

er of a century .■—

Avei-age minimum No. of

1812

temperature. frosty n'glit?.
34.21— 24 ths .. 7

1813

40.11

3

1814

40.14

5

3815

44.9

0

1816

32.23

13

1817

34. 3

10

1818

34.17

9

1819

40.23

f

1820

S7. 3

3

1821

38.

4

1822

38.13

3

1823

36.18

5

1824

31.22

. . 13

1825
1826

register

lost.

1

1827

36. 1—

24th . . 8

1828

30.14

18

1829

3

1830

5

1831

2

1832

2

1833

11

1834

10

1835

5

1836

12

1837

25. 5-

-24ths . . 24

A glance at the above columns will show how very
much below the average temperature of the corres-
ponding period in a series of preceding years, is that
of the twenty-four days ending the 11th inst. ; and
it is further remarkable that there has been frost every
night of this latter period, a circumstance unprece-
dented in the long series of years included within
our calculations. — York CIrronicle.

In a letter, dated the 15th of April, an intelligent
friend thus writes us from the head of Tweed : —
" This has been the most severe and protracted win-
ter I ever witnessed ; and our flocks are falling
daily. Three-fourths of our hill pasture are en-
tombed in deep wreaths of snow. Hill lambing has
commenced ; but one-third of the ewes are not in a
state to bring lambs. I learn from old shepherds
that nothing has occurred like it since 1784."

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

385

SALE OF SHORT-HORNED CATTLE.

On Tuesday, the day of the Union Ag-ricultural
Society's Show, Mr, Grey, Milfield-hill, exposed a
number of short-horned cattle for sale. The number
disposed of was 22, consisting of nine cows of different
ages, seven one-year-old heifers, and two of nine and
eig-ht months respectively, and four bulls, which brought
upwards of fiOO/. Of the cows the highest priced one
sold at 40/ 10s, and tlie lowest at 18/ 10s. 'I'he year olds
fetched from 33/ to 24/ ; but the heifers of nine and
eight months, sold, the former at 14/, and the latter at
9/. Of the four bulls, the first, four years old, sold at
29/, the second, two years old, at 40/, the third, one
year old, at 43/ 10s, and the fourth, eleven months, at
28/ 10s. As this sale excited very considerable interest
among the breeders present, we subjoin a fhort account
of the pedigree of the stock extracted from the sale
bills.

The stock sold by Mr. Grey was as follows : —

cows AND HEIFERS.

1. Josephine, red and white, by Castor (853,) dam
Jane, by Rhadamanthus (652), &c. eight years old.

2. Britannia, roan, by Kirkharle (2178), dam by Duke
of Wellington (231), &c., eight years old.

3. Oriflamme, roan, by Albion (731), dam by Hybla
Slrius (598), nine years old.

4. Sarah, white, by Fabius (1989), dam Snowdrop by
Jocelyne (1141), four yetsrs old.

5. Florence, red and white, by Carlos (1788), dam
Fairy by Bonaparte (1762), four years old.

6. Beetroot, red, by Fabius (1989), dam Buttercup
by Hector (1104), four years old.

7. Fleur-De-Lis, red and white, by Premier (2449),
dam Fatima by Sir Francis (2635), two years eleven
months old.

8. Lizette, red, bred by Mr. Booth at Studley, by
Ambo (1636), dam Janet i,by Burley (1766), two years
nine months old.

9. Beaufronte, roan, by Tonio, dam by Morning Star
(2338), &c., two years ten months old.

10. Strawberry, roan, by Archibald (1652), dam
Snowdrop (see Lot 4), one year old.

11. Lilla, roan, by do., dam sister to Britannia (see
Lot 2), one year old.

12. Florid, red and white, by do., dam Fairy (see Lot
5), one year old.

13. Sister Anne, light rcan, by do., dam Sarah (see
Lot 4), one year old.

14. Florentina, roan, by do., dam Florence (see Lot
5), one year old.

15. Queen Bess, roan, by do., dam Britannia (see
Lot 2), eleven months old.

16. Medusa, roan, by do., dam by Premier (2449),
g. d. by Copeland (1871), by a sou of Comet, eleven
months old.

17. Dolly, roan, by do., dam, pedigree unknown,
nine months old.

18. Ellen, roan, by ditto, dam, ditto, eight months
old.

Bl'LLS.

1. Archibald, roan (1652), bred by Lord Althorp, by
Firby (1040), dam Theresa, by Yorkshireman. g. d. by
Sir Peter, g. g. d. by Mr. Matthew Hutton's bull, g. g.
g. d. by Cleasby, four years old.

2. Camillus,"rGan, by Tonio, dam Cowslip, the pro-
perty of IMr. Bainbridge, near Durham, by Mmer
(2317), g.d. by Duke of Wellington (231), g. g. d. by
Alevander (21), g. g. g. d. by Bolingbroke (86), two
years old.

3. Heart of Oak, roan, by Archibald, dam Oriflamme
(Lot 3), one year old.

4. John Bull, red and white, by do., dam Josephine
(Lot 1), eleven months old.

The Ahoyne and Cromar AgricuUural Association's
competition for se^jd oats, and rye grass, took p' ace at
Tarlaud on the 21st iMai;ch,when a great many samples
of very superior quality were exhibited— the 1st pre-
mium lot of sandy oats weighing 45 lb 5 oz ; of early
Angus, 44 lb 10 oz ; and oi' KUdrummy oats, 43 lb 8 oz
par bushel. The Judges— Messrs. VV. Smith, James
Morton, S, Innes, and James Robertson — after a very

minute and careful inspection of the samples, awarded

the premiums as follows, viz. : —

For sandy oats 1. Mr. ColinCameion, Melguni.

2. Mr. James Donaldson, Bog.

3. ]Mrs. M'Combie, East-town.
For early Angus 1. Mr. Colin Cameron, Melgum

2. Mrs. ]\rCombie, East-town.

3. Mr. David Cook, Parks of
Coldstone.

For KUdrummy 1. Mr. Colin Cameron, Melgum.

2. Mr. Jas. ftl'Combie, Kinaldy.
For perenniairye grass 1. Rev. Mr. Watson, Tarland.

2. Mr. Chas. Forbes, Pitellachy.

3. Do. do.

4. Mr. Colin Cameron, Melgum.

ON MANURES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE FARMEu's MAGAZINE.

Sir, — Having long been a subscriber to your Far-
mer's Magazine, I should be glad to receive information
through it or direct on the following subject ; a subject
of moment to all farmers of turnip soil. 1 have used
bones for the last five years pretty freely, but the high
price asked this season by the merchant induces me to
try a substitute. I am about to drill in for turnips
lime and ashes, vvith a small quantity of half inch bones
and rape dust ; lime and ashes I procure at an easy rate,
bones and rape dust are very expensive, particularly the
former; those, therefore, I wish to use spanngly. I
apprehend my drill will drop on the land about six
quarters the acre. Li what proportion, therefore, should
the admixture be? Will the four mix beneficially ? If
not which of them will ? I shall apply quick lime, and
intend adding a portion of vii'gin earth. What portion
will be best! Should the lime have become effected,
will the earth be tlien useful ! In addition to the above,
I intend before splitting the ridges to spread on 'ilout
five cart loads of muck per acre. 'J'he soil I cultivate
varies from light sand to strong loom, but all good sheep
lair.

Any other instructions on the above topic will benefit
and oblig'e your, obedient servant.

East Retford, AGRICOLA.

April 17t/i,1837.

Squirrels — The Duke of Beaufort's For-
resters.— It is a curijus circumstance, and not ge-
nerally known, that most of those oaks which ^ are
called spontaneous are planted by the squn-rel. This
little animal has performed the most essential service to
the British navy. A gentleman walking one day in the
woods belonging to the Duke of Beaufort, ntar'J'roy
House, in the county of Monmouth, his attention was
diverted by a squirrel, which sat very compo^edy on
the ground. He stopped to observe his motions ; in a
[e\v minutes the squirrel darted to the top of a tree, be-
neath which he had been sitting. In an instant he was
down with an acorn in his month, and after digging a
small hole, he stooped down and deposited the acorn ;
then covering it, he darted up the tree again. In a
moment he was down again with another, which he
buried in the same mauner. This he continued to do as
long as the observer thought proper to watch him. This
industry of the little animal is directed to the purpose of
securing him against want in the winter ; and it is pro-
bable his memory is not sufficiently retentive to enable
him to remember the spot in which he deposited every
acorn. The industrious little fellow, no doubt, loses a
fev*' every year, these few spring up, and are destined to
supply the place of the parenttrce. Thus is Britain in
some "measure indebted to the industry and bad memory
of a squirrel for her pride, her glory, and her very ex-
istence.

386

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

STATE OF AGRICULTURE.

EVIDENCE OF MR. JOHN HOUGHTON,

Delivered before the Commons' Committee on
Agriculture, 1836.

Receives Rents for many Gentlemen in several Coun-
ties— Rents are much reduced— Distress is very
great on clay Lands — It would be a Relief to allow
Farmers to use Malt free of Duty — Price of Wool is
owing to the late Rot and Prosperity of Manufac-
tures—Many Farmers were ruined by the paper
Money— They have done better since 1S2S — A Far-
mer with good Security can obtain Accommodation
to any Extent — Light Soil not in as great Distress
as heavy— Both improved lately by Draining— Chief
Complaint in Price of Wheat— Other Produce toler-
able-lmprovementin Scotland considerable — Wheat
grown on Lands waste but few Years ago — No per-
manent Benefit from Alteration in Currency — Mort-
gage foreclosed in consequence of low Wheat Price.

Marquis of Chandos. — Do you receive rents for
many gentlemen "! — I do.

In difl'erent counties "! — \'es.

Name them? — In the counties of Lincoln, Buck-
ingham, Middlesex, Surrey, Berks, Sussex, North-
ampton, and Suffolk ; and value lands also in other
counties.

How many years have you been employed in tliis
vi-ay? — I commenced farming in the year 1822.

What is the state of the farms on tliose properties
now, as comi)ared with a few years ago? — Rents are
much reduced, and particularly in the county of
Buckingham. An instance I would prove of ii farm,
reduced from 1,300/ a-year to 870/.

Within what period ? — From the year 1814 to the
present period.

What is the description of that land ? — Principally
grass of the best description.

It is one of the best grass farms in the county of
Buckingham ?— Yes.

At how many j'ears' purchase was that farm sold ?
At 29 ; rather over, but under 30 years' purchase.

That is one of the finest farms in the county ? —
It is.

Have you not arable farms, in the county of Buck-
ino-ham, over which you are the steward ?— Yes, I
have.

What is their state now compared with the state
of the grazing farms to which you allude? — On the
heavy clay lands the distress is very great, more
than it is on the turnip and barley lands, or grass
land.

How do you account for that distress upon the
clay lands? — From the low price of wheat.

Do you find that the capital of the farmers lias
been diminishing ! — Certainly, I think the great dis-
tress has been on the heavy land fi^rms.

Have the farmers been paying their rents out of
their produce, or out of their capital ? — If you take
the lieavy clay land, certainly out of their capital.

Have the goodness to state to the committee what
your opinion is as lo the mode of relief which could
be brought to bear on the present distress ? — The
commutation of tithe would be a very great thing ;
another, to allow us the use of barley for our own
use on our farms exclusively.

What besides ? — I should also consider that we are
entitled to a reductionof the county rates, and also
a reduction in the assessed taxes ; I apprehend the
assessed taxes, in point of amount, are very small ;
from not knowing the laws, many illiterate farmers
get into all sorts of scrapes by using a horse or car-
rier's cart.

Taking ten or twelve years together, when was it

a very prosperous time for farmers ? — If there has
been benefit any where, there has been none on heavy
land.

Is there any land producing 30 bushels an acre?
-Yes. ^ _

Wh'it is the condition of those that farm that
land ? — They are badly off.

Wool lias borne a higher price within the last five
year ? — It has.

To what do you attribute that? — J'o our manufac-
tures being so prosperous.

Would not you attribute the rise in the wool to
tlie rot in sheep ? — Yes, in part ; but 1 also attribute
it in part to there being such a good trade for the
commodity.

Though the effect of the rot has been got over,
the deficiency caused by the rot has not been sup-
plied, therefore the effect of the rot would still be
felt on prices ? — The effect of the rot would now be
got over ; and unless the manufacturers were in a
very prosperous state we could not keep up the
price of wool to what it is now.

You s'ated, that a great many farmers were ruined
in consequence of the paper system ? — Yes, a great
many in my opinion were ruined who had borrowed
money of bankers.

Can you state whether more have been ruined
since or before 1825 ? — I think we have had great
ruin since that time ; but how we are getting over
the effects of returning from a paper currency, and
I think it would be better not to go back again.

Do you think the farmers can go on much longer,
as things now are ? — Not without relief, but that can
be given without paper currency :— I can point out
another plan, by allowing corn to be distilled for
spirits, and the spirits exported ; that would be a
very great relief for this country, and not any injury
whatever to the revenue.

Mr. Sanford. — Are you to be understood to say,
that a farmer at the present moment having a good
security to offer, can without any difficulty ohtain
money ? — To any amount.

Is the system of corn rents acted on in the coun-
ties with wliich you are acquainted ? — We have part
in corn rent and part in money payment, but the corn
rent I do not consider a good way of adjusting rent
myself.

Are you acquainted with what is supposed to have
been the origin of corn rents? — We have them in
our leases from the earliest ages, but I am not able
to speak to the origin of them.

Do you find by means of draining and manuring
with bone-dust you can cultivate the soil with a
profit? — Wherever tlie oxide of iron does not pre-
dominate I can.

Chairman. — Is it your opinion that the consump-
tion of potatoes by tlie poor has had any effect upon
the jirice of wheat? — 1 am quite satisfied it has not,
for the price of wheat has been so low it has put it
into the power of persons to have that, in fact, as a
substitute for other things.

Mr. Sanford. — To what purpose is rye straw ap-
plied ? — For thatch, for horses' collars, and for brick-
makers.

Mr. Cayley. — You think the land is deteriorating
in cultivation from the want of sufficient labour upon
it?— Yes.

Had the farmers any difficulty in finding security
when they were better off ? — They would not have
so much difficulty as they have now.

To wliat do you attribute the greater difficulty
they now feel in finding security ? — Because they as
a class of men are not so gcod to lend money to, as
they were formerly ; the men to whom 1 allude are

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

387

the men on the cold clay lands, they are much dis-
tressed.

Supposing' the price of produce were to rise, and
the farmers to get a remuneraiion for their capital,
and there was to be a stead)"- state of things for the
agricultural interest, do 3'ou tliink that the banker
then would be more ready to advance money to the
firmer? — My opinion is exactly the same about that,
that the prudent bankers would not advance except
to those men who they saw would probably pay
them again.

Do you conceive persons of good character and
good ability as farmers, can obtain money as easily
as they used to do 1 — Quite ; I am certain of it ; I
am speaking of bankers where I am connected.

Mr. Clive. — Do not you think it would be a better
plan for the tenant to come to the landlord ! — I think
it would, but many landlords who are needy would
say they must have the mone}'.

Me. WoDEiiorsE. — Should you not say that that
covenant which forbids the carrying away the hay
from the premises is a wise covenant? — 1 do not, if
I see a man who is anxious and siriving to get on
and imi^roving his farm, and I think it to his benefit
to allow him to sell hay and straw, all I say is, take
care to lay it out in bone-dust or other manure ; if
he was going to quit the farm I should prohibit his
doing it,

Mn. Cayley. — You have spoken of farmers paying
their bills less punctually in adverse circumstances ;
does it come within the scope of your knowledge,
that while the farmers are paving their rents punc-
tually to their landlords, they are running bills with
their tradesmen 7 — I have known that, because I have
been paying workmen in provincial towns they have
said, you have all the money out of the place for
rents, and the tenants cannot pay me.

That is a general complaint among the tradesmen 1
— Generally, I believe.

Mr. Clay. — You have spoken of the change of
times for farmers, they are less able to pay rent and
less able to pay tradesmen 1 — Yes ; there is not that
quantity of improvement carried on, and the farmer
has not had so much work done during the depres-
sion of agriculture, as formerly.

Since what period 1 — I should say it has never
been carried on with so much spirit as since the
year 18'i5, just before the panic, that was when the
thing was going on most swimmingly ; then farmers
■were doing well. The panic happened in December,
J 825, but then we were selling wheat at the best
price, and every thing going on well.

Mr. Cayley. — From time immemorial it has been
the custom, even before the war, to grow wheat upon
wet and heavy land with a profit? — Yes, and that
land, owing to the depressed state of agriculture, has
been over-cropped and mismanaged, and tint has
made it much worse.

Mr. DuNLOP, — Are you acquainted with the tur-
nip and clover lands ? — Yes.

Has the cultivation of that species of land im-
proved within the last l5 years ? — Very much.

Is there mere wheat grown upon that class of land
than there used to be? — Much more.

Do you consider the relative value which used to
exist between the light and heavy soils to be altered ?
— It has been.

In favour of which? — Of the light soils.

Do you consider the light soil now to be in as
great distress as the heavy ? — Certainly not.

It is your opinion that wheat can be grown in
England at a much lower price now than it used to
be when it was grown on the heavy soils? — Yes.

Mr. Robert Clive, — Hare there been great im-
provements in Lincolnshire? — Very great, indeed.

Mr. Cayley. — Are you acquainted with the nature
of those improvements ? — Not particularly.

They have added to the growth of wheat? — Very
much on the whole of the lands from Louth to Bar-
ton, where I should say, thirty or forty years ago,
wheat was scarcely known, the land was, generally
srjeaking, uncultivated, as far as the best system of
farming goes.

Mr. DuNLOP. — Are you acquainted with any heavy
clay lands which have been drained lately? — Yes, I
have drained thousands of chains.

Has not a great improvement taken place upon
that land ? — It is vastly improved.

Has not a great deal of money been laid out in im-
proving light soils ? — Yes ; there has been more
money laid out on the light lands than on the heavy.

Is it j'our opinion that if the same scale of im-
provement had been carried forward in the heavy as
upon the light Ir.nds, they would have been more
productive ? — It is not possible to carry on the same
improvements on those as on the light soils, because
the sub-soil is tenacious, and we cannot grow tur-
nips upon them ; if we could feed sheep, we could
improve them.

In your opinion the light soils have come into use,
and the heavy soils have been depreciated ? —
Decidedly.

Sir Robert Peel. — Sjieaking of the heavy lands,
as compared with twenty years since, do you think
it will be found that the cultivation is better now
than it was twenty j^ears since ? — I think that the
cultivation of clay lands is nearly stationary; there
have been large sums laid out on part in under-
draining, while others have gone back from the want
of attention, and from the want of capital.

In respect of the light lands, has therc^ been a
decided improvement? — I am certain of that.

Within the last twenty years? — Yes.

The productive quality of that land has much in-
creased?— Yes.

There is more wheat grown upon it ? — Yes,

Supposing there should not be a corresponding de-
mand for wheat in proportion as that class of land in-
creases, it must make the heavy clay land less pro-
fitable ?— Yes.

You do not complain of the price of mutton now 1
—No,

Of wool? — No.

Of barley, you cannot expect much increase in
that? — No, not much.

Oats? — Oats, we should wish for a little increase.

Beans ? — If we had 4s a quarter more, we should
not have much fault to find.

The chief complaint is on account of the depres-
sion in the price of wheat ? — Yes, that is where the
farmer is suffering- most ; that is where he looks for
his rent in the spring of the year, when he should
have the price of his wheat to raise the money for his
rent : when he is looking for a large sum of money
to meet his payments ; when he comes to thresh out
and carry to market, his expenses take almost the
whole price.

His interest must be affected if wheat is poured
in from Ireland, and the improved cultivation in
Ireland occasions more to be sent in from that coun-
try ? — Yes.

Take the case of other land, in which the recent
improvement in agriculture has taken place ; first,
where there is a fair proportion of light soil, and
then, secondly, a case of almost exclusively light
soil, and where the turnip and barley system can be
introduced ; is there any difficulty in letting that at

388

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

a fair reotal? — There is no difficulty in letting a good
turnip fiirm.

Do not you think, in some parts of the country
there is a good deal of competiiion where land is to
be let? — We have no difficulty in letting some de-
sciiptions of farms ; the difficulty we have id in let-
ling the heavy clay lands ; the farmers will not take
them.

Have you any remedy for tlie heary clay land ;
supposing you were enabled to carry into effect any
plan which you have for increasing the prospei-ity
of the heavy clay lands, what would ^'ou suggest 1 —
1 have been frying that very much myself, by advis-
ing landlords to lay out money in permanent im-
provements ; and v\'here the tenant is poor, instead
of making an abatement of 10 per cent,, to improve
the farm.

Mr. Saxdiokd.— With reference to the cjuestions
which have been put to you, do you think lljere has
been an equal quantity of labour and capital em-
ploj-ed upon the clay lands, under your observa-
tion, as there has upon the light 1 — Certainly not.

Mr. Cayley. — Who are the competitors for tliose
farm.s which fyou say are unoccupied 1 — Men with-
out money ; for a man who has got money will not
take tbem.

Do you think the price of wheat has fallen for
want of that 1— I have no hesitation in saying, that
if 3'o;i let out more paper, there would be men found
wliO would have that paper, and would speculate
and so on, and for a tine that would raise prices,
but then the remedy would be worse than the
disease.

Was it the raw wool that was exported !— Yes,
there was a good deal of wool exported to France.

You have spoken of the iraportacion from Ireland
and the improved system of cultivation in Scotland ;
do you knosv any thing personally of the importa-
tions from Ireland, or the improved system of culti-
vation in Scotland ? — During the last summer I
went to both Scotland and Ireland too.

You said that you have been to Scotland ; will
you speak with respect to the cultivation there ? —
From my own observation upon the estates thai I
saw and the information gained from what I met in
the neighbourhood, they pointed out to me estates
thei-e under the finest state of cultivation that they
said 30 years ago were mere waste.

Has this increase in the groivth of wheat in Lin-
colnshire taken jilace within the last five or six
y.'ars l — Within about ten yearg : there is much more
wheat grown now than there was ten years aoo, and
I have rode with men whom I am acquainted with in
the county of Lincoln, and they have said that the
district tbat we have rode ever within ten years
never used to grow anything.

Mr. Loch. — Is noi there a large district of Lin-
colnshire under culfivalion now with wheat, which
was not under culture a few years ago 1 — "^'es.

Sir Robert Peel. — As a man who Las had very
extensive acquaintance with agriculture, and who
has paid some attention to the question of currency,
do you think tliat it would be an advantage to far-
mers, either upon the heavy or light soil, to have an
increase of prices arising solely from an action ui)on
the currency ? — I am sure it would not ; my opinion
is this, that, if we were to have an alteration in the
currency, prices would rise for the time, but that we
should siift'er for it afteriv.irds.

Speaking generally, notwitlistamiing that the
tenant contracted an ohlin,-aiion to pay under a lease,
yet the landlord has taken his circumstances into
consideration and has made a reduction of rent ? —
That very much depends upon circumstances, I

have known instances where landlords have acted
very liberally towards their tenants, and I have also
known instances where there have been acts of
great o[)pression. Where I have complained most,
and where I shall always complain, are instances
where I have let farms to tenants at low rates, and
they have very much improved them, and the
clergyman has come in and taken his tithe. I could
name instances wliere that has been done, where the
tithe used to be ^bout a couple of shillings an acre,
and an improved system of husbandry has been
carried on, and he has taken advantage of it ; and
the tenant, rather than let the crops go from his old
land has suffered imposition.

Mr. Caylev. — Can you assign in your mind any
particular reason for the estate alluded to becoming
so much diminished in value as to f.dl within the
grasp of the mortgagee? — My opinion is this, that it
is that descrijition of soil that will grow nothing in
its present state but wheat, and wheat has been so
\ery low in price that persons have not been found
to purchase it.

Sir RoEEirr Peel. — The mortgage of which you
Sfoke was entered into about i!2 years ago 1 — Yes ;
or if the mortgage was not entered into, the effect
of that mortgage was by the will.

Do not you think that the paity calculated upon a
continuance of war prices 1 — I should say he did.

Supposing the price of wheat to have been mate-
rially reduced by any other cause besides the cur-
rency, or by any causes acting in conjunction with
the currency, would it have a prejudicial effect upon
the interest of the owner of the estate ; would a low
price of wheat, procv-eding from any cause, have a
prejudicial effect upon that land 1 — Yes, it would.

FoiiciNCi Broccoli. — In a gentleman's family
where much company is kept, this vegetable is iu
continued use, and the gardener, at some seasons
will find it rather difficult to meet the demand; the
following is the most certain plan with which I am
acquainted; I have practised it several years most
successfully. Sow the seed in the middle of April
in any open situation, which I never water ; use as
many as are wanted for planting out from the edges
of the seed bed, leaving the remainder for next year ;
if the land is very hard through drought, do not let that
hinder your planting, for the land wants no digging ;
take a common farming foulding drift to make holes
vv-ith ; slough the roots of the plants; plant the rows
two feet and a half from eacli other, and each plant
two feet apart in the rows ; water them well, neither
the sun nor the snails will injure them after this, as
they arc, (through age) ofsuchawoody substance,
and will come in earlier than those of one year's
orowth. In January, February, and iMarch, if very
sharp frosts, and a dish of white Broccoli is wanted
for table, it will bfi necessary to force a few for tliat
purpose, which is very easily done as follows: —
Take a little rotten dung and place next to the stalks
of as many as are intended to be forced (selecting
the tallest,) lay hot manure round the outside of
that, which will cause the sap to rise to the flower ;
and if any spare hand-lights, use them by covering
the plants which have been ]n-eviously tied up, if
none, straw will answer the ])nrpos'.'. My brother
gardeners will not find this lost labour, as the ma-
nure will be already on the land for the succeeding
crop. For successive years I have obtained the first
prize, at spring shows, for white Broccoli, culti-
vated exactly as above stated. — Allen.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

389

AGRICULTURAL REPORTS.

ESSEX.

We have nothing particular to communicate this
week. The same celd weather, with the absence of
all sun till within the last day or two, has characte-
rised the last fortnio;ht,andtheappearan';eof our fields
is little altered. On good lands the wheats have
grown more than might have been expected in such
an unfavourable atmosphere, and our opinion is the
crop will in no way whatever be injured to the ex-
tent some suppose ("if any at all) by the coldness
and lateness of the season. From the mildness of
the last day or two the grasses appear to be slowlj^
recovering from their severe and protracted check ;
and if we have a continuation of warmth, we shall
shortly get a good bite for our sheep, which, with
their lambs, have a miserable starved appearance.
Our county during the last fortnight has stood con-
spicuous in the awful blaze of incendiary crime —
the flames of five after fire have been seen lighting
up the darkness of midnight, and that fiendish spirit
which we had hoped was driven from our county by
increased employment and industry, has again re-
turned, and, undiscovered, fills with alarm and terror
the minds of those on whose industry and enterprise
the poor man alone depends for employment and the
comfortable necessaries of life. Much has been said
against the introduction of a rural police, and, with-
out sufficient cause being shown, we should question
the policy of such an establishment ; but we should
like much to see it partially adopted in districts where
this daring yet coward incendiarism and crime holds
so fearful a preponderance. The Eastern Counties
Railway Company have commenced operations at
Warley Common, near Brentwood, in this county,
and a considerable number of men are already em-
ployed— several have left our neighbourhood to ap-
ply for work upon the line, but we fear they will be
unable to obtain it, as the severe pressure upon the
money market must exceedingly limit the capabili-
ties of the Company entering upon a very extensive
operation. We had hoped it would have gone on
more rapidly this spring, and found the teeming po-
pulation of the more northern districts of our county
that employment which the straitened resources of
the farmers could not comfortably supply. We have
heard of laborers in its vicinity taunting their masters
with the limited number of laborers who would stay
at home, demanding a greater price for their labor ;.
but we ourselves fear no great rise, as many farmers
must limit the number of his laborers considerably,
from his want of means to pay them extravagant
prices, and higher prices would induce many la-
borers who are now, we regret to state, only earning
their 7s. and 8s. per week, to leave their own homes,
and supply the places of those who in the vicinity of
the Company's operation are now earning at agricul-
tural labor their lOs. or 12s. per week. That it will
in some degree cripple and inconvenience for a time
the farmers in the neighbourhood, we do not dispute ;
but thousands will be 'found ready to supply the
wants of the contractors from a distance, drawn by
the lure of 15s. or 18s. per week being offered them,
on which, nevertheless, in lodgings they will be in a
worse situation than the regular man at home by Lis
own comfortable fireside, with his family, though
only earning 10s or 123. We look upon these rail-

road operations as any thing but calculated to im-
prove the morality and good behaviour of our pea-
santry— considering the characters of ihose who are
generally employed on them. We have heard much
of the actual necessity of compelling the Company's
protecting property from plunder, and persons from
violence, and we heartily wish government would
adopt the petition presented the other day in regard
to it, and teach a set of lawless miscreants that
though they, are away from the restraints of home,
they are not free from the penalties of violated law.

From the claims made this quarter by the Board
of Guardians upon the overseers of different parishes,
we observe little or no difference from those of the
coriespondingyear ; and we assume from this, taking
into consideration the few unemployed men we have
had during the last year, that we must not expect
any very great diminution of our future poor rates .
We have heard great complaints made by overseers,
in being disallowed by the auditor the payment made
by them for precepts, charged with the county rate,
and their having to lose it themselves, if they had
previously paid the item. Surely something should
be explicit from the Commissioners upon this point,
and prevent inconvenience and pecuniary loss to
those officers who have to bear the burthen of gather-
ing and paying as well. We would recommend
overseers to pay no doubtful charges upon their
parishes previous to his submitting them to the
auditor of his district. The only measure before
Parliament for the relief of agriculture appears to be,
the abolition of Church Rates. Much has been cir-
culated on either side contrary to truth ; but the real
fact is, agriculture would be glad to rid itself of all
taxation bearing oppressively on its energies, should
conscience not interpose. We believe there are
many good and conscientious men among the farmers,
who, rather than see our churches crumbling into
decay, by no state provision being made for their
repair, would like to see the law stand as it does,
but many, contrary to the declaration made the other
day in a high quarter, are far from believing the
ministerial measure to be subversive of the church ;
but would rather tend to secure a provision, which
unless some concession he made, will eventually be
swept away without any substitute, and leave the
church (not to say the hierarchy itself) dependent
upon the voluntary system. Demonstrations, as
they are called, have been got up on either side.
Bigoted intolerance and party spirit seemed the pre-
siding influences of the day, but we fear nothing for
true religion, conscious that her safety is in the hands
of One who holds and preserves his true church even
as the apple of his eye. That the combination of so
much opposition in both Houses of Parliament will
shortly throw back the constituency (however much
to be regretted) upon the country, we have no doubt,
but then we shall have an opportunity (and we sin-
cerely trust it may not be abused) of returning those
men to settle the question whose lives and conduct
prove they have received that benefit from religion
which shall enable them to come to a fair and impar-
tial decision on all these momentous questions. The
presumption of our northern traders in sending a
deputation to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to
grant them pecuniary relief from their present much
to be lamented difiiculties, is only a specimen of their

2 D

sm

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

as&umed superiority over the agricultural interests
of this kingdom. But four or five years ago, the
farmers, in the midst of very great and general suf-
fering, proposed to government the buying up of
their produce, vrhen the average of wheat was below
40s. per quarter ; and let the manufacturers remem-
ber that proposition was met bv them with utter
contempt. We wish either interests fostered and
encouraged by the state, and if a starving manufac-
turing population is worthy of relief, why surely so
is an agricultural one. Agriculture and manufacture
are intimately blended, and the benefit of one, to
the injury of the other, will always be attended by
injurious jealousy and unsatisfactory consequences.
The manufacturing interests have till lately had a
rich and almost unexampled prosperity, and we
think two or three months of reverse offers little apo-
logy for adopting a course which was so much scout-
ed when proposed by the agricultural interest.
April '20th. W. C.

DURHAM.

The month of March came in with tolerable fine
weather for the season, which continued until the
11th, when it set in a hard frost, with snow. The
frost has been most intense ever since, and more or
less snow has fallen every day since ; and to-day it
is most tempestuous and stormy, and will very soon
be a foot thick of snow upon the ground. This has
been a very long, trying, and dreary winter for the
farmer ; indeed it has been two winters together, for
it pleased the Almighty to visit this country last
autumn with the most inclement and backward sea-
sons that had ever happened in the memory of man,
consequently in the higher and later districts, corn
never ripened, or if it did approach to any thing to-
wards maturity, it was dashed out by the winds.
Winter set in about the middle of last October, and
on the 29th we had a deep and awful snow storm,
when thousands of acres ot corn were out, cut and
uncut. Many farmers were obliged to cut the snow
in the lanes six or eight feet deep before they could
get their corn carried into their stack-yards. Their
hay crop was entirely spoiled by the wet weather.
Since the 29th October, the moors have never been
free from snow. Stock could never get to the ground,
consequently they were all to hand-feed. Fodder is
quite exhausted ; hay is selling at 8/. to lOZ. per ton.
The result will be, that moor stock will nearly all
perish for want of food. The loss of lambs has been
immense owing to the severe weather, and the ewes
having no milk. The deficiency in the clip of wool
will be great, and of bad qualit)^ as where sheep
are poor the wool is always tender and light. We
never remember of agricultural labour being so far
in arrear as it is at this period. Very few farmers
have begun to sow their spring corn, fi om the severe
frosts, and land being in such a raw state ; but
should the weather become once more fine, land will
work well, being so well pulverised by the long and
severe frosts. From the extreme wet weather last
autumn, thousands of acres of fallow land did not
get sown with wheat in this county ; it will now
have to be sown with either oats or barley, and wet,
clayey, retentive sub-soils, such as the greatest part
of unsown fallows is composed of, is adapted to the
growth of neither, consequently the prospect is but
gloomy under these circumstances. The prospect of
the next wheat crop is the reverse of good — the
wheats have the appearance of fallow fields. Our
markets for wheat have been steady of late. Oats
are advancing, from the great consumption of that
article for sheep. Fat cattle and sheep are rather

upon the advance : beef from 6s 6d to 7s per stone,
and sheep 7d to rjdper lb. We consider that fat
cattle must be very dear before grass fed cattle can
come to market, for they are miserably poor, and
there are no half fat cattle, owing to the failure of
the turnip crop. That useful and valuable root had
a great many enemies last year ; first they were at-
tacked by the fly, then came lor the first time in this
county, the black caterpillar, and last of all the grub.
It was very difiicult for any crop to stand against
such repeated attacks. Potatoes were also a very
failing crop. We are of opinion the best remedy is
to plant them early, for wherever there is a want o
moisture they are sure to take the diy rot; but this
is not always a preventive. They are very scarce
and dear. At our Hinds hiring ;)t, Durham, on the
1st inst., considerabl}' higher wag rs were given, in
consequence of the number of i nilvrays and other
public works that are going on i.i this county. We
anticipate in a short time that farm servants will not
be met with, as they all wish to go to the railways,
where they can earn exorbitant wages, such as no
farmer can give, and where they can be their own
masters, and get drunk two or three days in the
week. When they once take up this line of life they
become useless hereafter for farm servants — it is a
school for vice. — April 16.

OXFORDSHIRE.

The last two months have proved so dreary,
that there was but little to communicate that was
likely to interest your readers ; ^or we expect the
intense cold was felt throughout the kingdom in
pretty much the same proportion as here. Perhaps
the oldest person living never remembers such a
season taken altogether. It is now becoming every
day more serious, for the davs are so lengthening,
that the cattle require a larger proportion of food,
and the haj^ ricks (especially the last year's, cut)
are so hollow, that they do not produce half the
quantity of provender that they were supposed to
contain ; the consequence is, that rick after rick, and
stump after stump, disappear like snow beneath a
warm sun, so that in a very short time a stump of
hay will be a rarity. About a month past there was
a fall in the price, but of late it has advanced with
a rapidity truly alarming. Nothing that is at all
fit for use can be bought under 7/ per ton, and some
holders are demanding seven guineas. Straw is
also a scarce article, and worth about double its
usual price. In several places cattle, especially
young heifers and stirks, have been reported to have
died for want of sufficient food to nourish and sup-
port nature. The coming season will probably prove
fatal to many that now are in a weak and worn-down
state. There has been in this and the adjoining-
counties a sad mortality among the tegs ; we have
beard of some who have lost 100 and upwards, —
others who have had from 30 to 70, or 80, carried
ofiF, mostly from a scour ; but in some instances,
where extraordinary pains have been taken in cutting
Swedes for them, and forcing them along, it appears
to have occasioned a fulness of blood, and many
have dropped, supposed from that cause alone.
The lambing season is now over, and we believe
the fall of lambs to be about equal to that of former
years, nor have we heard of more casualties than
usual, nor perhaps so many as might have been ex-
pected, particularly when the hay was not spared in
the winter. The ewes have but seldom yeaned with
less trouble to the shepherd, or less danger to them-
selves ; but it is now a trying time for both ewes
and lambs, — people are obliged to spread them over

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

391

all the land they occupy, and shutting up for mow-
ing- is at present out of the question. The barley
tilths, ploughed the end of February, or beginning
of Maich, turned up exceedingly raw and livery,
and where intended to have had another ploughing,
the perpetual frosty nights we have had, have so
pulverised the soil, that once harrowing and tilling
3S found quite sufficient for the drill, and an im-
mense deal of labour has been saved, consequently
seeding is in a very forward state. Some apprehen-
sion h;is been felt for the bean crop, as well as the
t-i'.i'ly sown oats and barley; but we hope they are
not materially injured. The wheat crop is looking
bleak, and in manv fields appears to be deficient in
plant, but it is too soon to form a correct judgment
of the crop. The seed layers are sadly cut, and the
plants are thin and weak, and on the whole we think
but a small produce must be expected. Corn
markets have been bad, and barley has kept uni-
formly getting lower from week to week ; indeed
every thing has been heavv and dull of sale. Fat
stock much the same ; store stock dull. Butter
very low considering the season and the price of
Iiay, — April 15.

KENT.
Tbelong continuance of cold winds, with frost and
snow, has had a very serious effect on vegetation in
general. As respects the wheats, there is very little
difference in the look of them now and some months
back ; but the}' have no doubt been stocked beneath
the surface, and when the change of weather comes,
they will rise with renewed strength, and make up
in a measure for the lost time ; but we may make up
our minds to a backward harvest, unless we should
have some warm growing weather, which may great-
ly improve things in a very short time. Of the early
sown spring corn very little is yet above ground :
a few fields of barley and oats, with a kw forward
peas is all that are yet to be seen, but a warm shower
and a little sun will bring up a very great quantity
in a very short time. With few exceptions the
spring corn is in with us, the weather being very
suitable in some respects, and the land in most in-
stances has worked w(^ll. Those people who grow
potatoes are very busy ploughing and dressing their
laud planting ; the potatoes with us at the jDresent
time are selling at 7s the sack, so that those who
have to buy their seed make it come very expensive,
as it generally takes from nine to ten sacks to plant
an acre. The corn markets with us, for a length of
time, have been very flat, and gradually falling, but
not with being over supplied ; for in general the
wheat markets have been short, particularly for dry
prime samples; but the want of money has caused
the stagnation, and we hope before the season finishes
they will be better. In the stock markets the sup-
ply has been on an extensive scale, numbers having
been obliged to send to market what they intended
to keep forward ; but the very backward state of
the grass lands compelled them for want of food to
part witli them. We have little doing amongst wool
at the present moment, and not much in the growers'
hands, but what is on the sheep's back. — ^^April 19.

only say that pumps have been frequently frozen
up, even in the present month, a circumstance quite
without precedent in oui- recollection. Three weeks
since we intimated that the farmers began to feel great
alarm from the scarcity of food for their stock , and
every succeeding day only increases it. Twenty pounds
an acre have been offered in vain for turnips, and if the
severe weather should continue only a very short time
longer, some of our farmers will not have an atom left,
either of hay or turnips. These articles are now doled
out upon the most stingy scale, and every means re-
sorted to which ingenuity can invent, in order to eke
tliera out. In addition to these circumstances our grass
lands in general, would not furnish a bite for a goose,
while it is not saying too much when we say, that the
young seeds present a more sombre appearance than at
Christmas, and there is evidently much less upon the
ground of anything that is green, than at that period.
Of late the wind has been generally blowing froai the
north and north-west, though occasionally it has veered
to the south-west, but even then the cold has scarcely
abated an atom. To all, therefore, who are the least
acquainted with rural affairs, we need hardly say, that
things are beginning to wear a very serious aspect. It
is always, however, by far the most pleasing part of
our task to turn to the more favourable parts of the
picture, and we are very glad to be able to state, that
the spring sowing has generally been performed under
very propitious circumstances, and the soil must be con-
sidered to be left in a very excellent condition ; and if the
repeated frosts shall not have proved injurious to the
newly planted beans (of which we are not without our
fears), and especially if the present harsh weather
should be speedily succeeded by warm and gentle
showers, it is not too late yet to hope, as far as these
crops are concerned, for the most favourable results.
And even as regards the severity of the weather, though
great inconvenience must be sustained, still it would be
highly presumptuous in short-sighted erring man to
say that upon the whole even this were not for the best.
For it is not only possible, but highly probable, that
occasionally the laws of nature may require at parti-
cular seasons of the year the most astonishing varia-
tions of temperature. And who is wise enough among
us to say, that these chilling and apparently untimely
frosts, are not ridding us every day of myriads upon
myriads of those destructive insects, which for the last
few years have so grievously annoyed the husbandman,
which, in fact have been the main cause of the present
deficiency of animal food. — April 7.

BEDFORDSHIRE.

Subsequent to our last report, the month of March
(we may safely say), without the least intermission,
was a complete winter month ; and up to the present
period, excepting the lengthening of the days, there is
scarcely any sign of spring. Frost every night ; the
hills almost constantly covered with snow or hail ; and
to give a just idea of the intensity of the frost, we need

EAST LOTHIAN.

As yet the trembling year is unconfirmed.
And winter oft at eve resumes the breeze,
Chills the pale morn, and bids his driving sleets
Deform the day delightless. — Thomson.

The weather of March is proverbially variable, and
the by-gone month has formed no exception to the ge-
neral rule of its predecessors in ages gone by. For a
few days at the commencement of the month the wea-
ther proved highly favourable to the forwarding of the
various operations incident to the season, and in spme
solitary instances both wheat and oats were committed
to the soil, and " Marcli dust," ever a welcome sight
to the farmer, was by no means rare. But the weather
of oui northern latitude is ever liable to changes, both
sudden and severe, and the spring-like aspect which the
weather had assumed, was destined to be dissipated in
the frowns of winter. On the eleventh of the month we
experienced a severe snow storm, and the weather sub-
sequently having proved untoward and unfavourable,
the soil is not yet in a state fit for undergoiner the ope-
rations peculiar to seed time. The excessively low tem-
perature which has obtained througliout the month
being highly unfavourable to rapid vegetation, the young
wheats and seedling grasses are by no means forward ;
indeed, few of the members of the vegetable kingdom,
with the exception of- those in sheltered situations, as
yet exhibit symptoms of active vitality. The autumn-
2 D 2

39-2

THE FARMEK'S AIAr;AZINE.

sown fallow wheat, on superior soils, llioug-h not for-
ward, IS well planted and healthy ; but on cIo>e -'DOt-
tomed inferior clays the case is altog-ether different, the
plants being' exceeding-ly backward and sickly, indeed,
to such an extent is this the case, that on many fields of
this description the most eagle-eyed observer would
scarcely discover vegetation on their surface, and unless
the weather soon assumes a more genial aspect, tiiere is
a great probability of the crop being both late and infe-
rior. The little spring wheat which has been sown, has
not yet brairded, so that nothing can as yet be said of it.
The lambing season can scarcely be said to be begun,
excepting in a few instances ; and report in these cases
does not speak favourably of the fall. Stackyards are
getting thin, partly on account of the farmer having- to
thrash out his grain for seed, and to have the straw made
into manure, and partly owmg to his having more time
to attend to indoor matters, the late storm preventing
the prosecution of field operations. A dulness has per-
vaded the county corn markets during the month, and
prices cannot bo said to be improving. At GifFord fair
on Tuesday last there was a poor supply of both Cheviot
and black -faced ewes, and owing to the severity of the
past winter in the Lammermuirs, the stock exhibited
appeared in very poor condition. Cheviot ewes ranged
from 16s to 20s a head, and black-faced from lOs to 14s,
and half-bred hogs which had received turnips through-
out the winter, sold from 18s to 20s. In the cattle and
horse markets the animals shown were very inferior,
and business was in consequence dull. As the welfare
of the farmer, and prosperity of agriculture, in a great
measure depend on the superiority of the cultivated va-
rieties of domestic animals and plants, every one who
desires to see the farmer, and those connected with him,
prosperous and happy, and his art progressing steadily
in the path of improvement, must hail with delight the
introduction to notice of any species of animal or plant
which experience has proved to be possessed of proper-
ties superior to those of other members of the same king ■
dom under general cultivation. For by improving our
system of husbandry, and by cultivating only the supe-
rior descriptions of plants and animals, our land and
labour are rendered more productive, and all classes of
society essentially and permanently benefitted: it is
through this path that the acme of agricultural great-
ness is to be most surely and most quickly attained ;
from this quarter will the much talked-of " agricultural
distress" receive its surest death blow, and the calum-
niated corn laws be rendered null and nugatory. We
have been induced to make these remarks, partly from
the circumstance of our believing them to point out the
surest and shortest path to prosperity to the farmer and
his profession, and partly from the circumstance of our
havmg seen in the seventeenth report of the agricultural
society of this county, just published, several reports of
experiments ; one conducted with a view of ascertain-
ing the merits of the Italian rye grass, as compared
with the common perennial variety ; and three others,
with a view of discovering the merits of the Chevalier'
as compared with the common varieties of barley. We
shall discuss these reports in their proper order. The
first experiment appears to have been entered into with
a view of satisfying its conductor of the comparative
merits of the two above-mentioned varieties of ryegrass,
whether cultivated as pasture grasses, or with a view of
being manufactured into hay. In the spring of the year
1835, a spot in a field in wheat after fallow, was seeded
with two pecks of Italian rye grass, mixed with eight
pounds of red and four pounds of white clover, the rest
of the field being treated in the same way, but sown with
the common perennial rye grass. This field was depas-
tured m the summer of tiie ensuing year, and through-
out the whole of the season, the Italian maintained a
superior appearance, except when sheep were allowed
access to the field, when it was more closely eaten
doubtless from the circumstance of its being more pa-
latable to the woolly denizens of the fields, A spot in
another field, also in wheat after fallow, was sown at the
same time, with two pecks of Italian rye grass, and ten
pounds of red clover, the rest of the field being sown
with the like quantities of perennial rye grass and clover,
the produce of this field was made into hay, and the

produce of an acre of each in hay and seed ascertained,
and found to be as follows : —

Stones, Seed, Weight,
tron. bush. Per bush.
Hay of perennial rye grass,

per acre 72 .. 5^ .. 201bs.

Ditto, Italian 71 . . 3| . 20.Ubs.

During the month of September the second crop over
both varieties was cut. Not a stalk of the perennial
had risen a second time, while the Italian was shooting
into ear, as vigorous and promising as the first crop
showed at tlie same stage of its growth, and the crop of
aftermath over the Italian variety, was found as mea-
sured in the cart to be double that of the other. We re-
gard the abova experiment, as well as others which have
come under our personal observation, as decisive of the
character of the Italian rye grass, and we hail its intro-
duction to cultivation as of the greatest importance to
British husbandry. It is the prominent characteristic of
this grass, that it yields at least three good crops in a
season, whereas, the common rye grass seldom yields
more than one, mv if two, the second is ever late and in-
ferior, and all things considered not worth taking into
account. From the circumstance of the Italian not
tillering ©r sending out side shoots, ^it does not, (cir-
cumstances as to seed being equal,) stand so thick on
the ground as the common variety, but this defect of
course admits of an easy remedy, either (as is observed
by the enterprising author of the I'eport above quoted )
by improving the quality, or encreasing the quantity of
seed per acre. The following " observations," which
are annexed to the report of the first detailed experi-
ments with the common and Chevalier varieties of bar-
ley, and which in substance are not different from the
others, will serve to convey all necessary information as
to their qualities and nature of growth.

Observations. — "In brairding there was no per-
ceptible difference, after which the Chevalier assumed
the most vig'orous growth, and had the appearance of
eight or ten days earlier, but in ripening, the common
came forward earliest, for although cut nine days before
the Chevalier, it was more fully ripe. The common
barley made the finest malt, as almost every pickle
sprung, whereas in the Chevalier a good many did not.
This I think in a measure proceeded from the common
being more fully ripe when cut."

The report to which the above observations are append-
ed, gives a superior value to the Chevalier over the com-
mon variety of 3/ Os 4d per acre, which, when exten-
sively cultivated, is certainly a matter of very consider-
able importance. — March 31.

SOUTH NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.

Since our last, the weather has been ver}' severe,
the sharp frosts which we had the beginning of the
month, quite checked all progress of vegetation, and
the snow on the 16th of April lying from eight in-
ches to a foot thick, and the air quite as keen as in
the midst of winter, made the country assume
more the appearance of that dreary season of the
year, than the spring fast advancing ; if we do not
soon have a favourable change of weather, we
tremble for the consequences as there are numbers
of cattle daily perishing for want, and there being
hardly one farmer in ten who has any hay left,
and arc unable to buy on account of its enormous
price, it being worth from 8/ to 10/ per ton ; we
fear when the grass comes the loss of young cattle
will be very great. Sheep have been doing very
badly at turnips this winter, the weather being
very much against them and their supply of tur-
nips short we fear will contribute very much to
the deterioration of the fleece, and we have heard
of great losses amongst the tegs from the influenza.
The young wheats have very much improved in
appearance these last few days, and are now look-
ing healthy tbut are very backward, and we are
very much afraid if we do not soon have warm

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

393

weather must be very short in the straw. The land
was never known to work better than this spring
and the corn has been all put in well, so that with
the blessing of providence we may expect a fruitful
harvest. Our cattle markets have been very scan-
tily supplied of late, the price accordingly has ma-
terially advanced, and we think is likely still to ad-
vance, as the greatest part of the stall fed beast are
gone and there not being at present much prospect
of any grass fed beef, the best beef being now
worth from 6fd. to 7§d. per lb. and mutton in the
wool from 8d. to 9d. per lb. Our Corn markets
remain in the same inactive state in which they
have been for some time, the best wheat however
has been more called for of late and realizes a
somewhat better price, but barley is not much
sought after, and is almost unsaleable at any price ;
oats meet with a steady demand at fully late prices
a great many are giving them to their cattle they
being considered cheaper than hay. — April 22.

NORFOLK.

The procrastination of winterly weather, even to
the third week in April, with scarcely a gleam of
sunshine to soften the asperity of the atmosphere,
is a circumstance of such rare occurrence and
attended with such embarrassing consequences to
the holders of live stock, that it may well be re-
garded as a calamity which could neither have been
foreseen or provided against, by those persons
who have now the mortification to witness the
starving condition of their flocks, and lambs drop-
ping oft' for the want of nourishment. It is true
that since the rain has fallen, vegetation has made
some progress, although the temperature of the
atmosphere has been very unlike that which we
usually e.xperience in the month of April after a
shower, nevertheless backward as the season un-
questionably is, and difficult as it really has been
to dole out a scanty allowance of provender to the
sheep and cattle, yet we do not apprehend that the
prospect of rural affairs can upon the whole be
pronounced unsatisfactory. With regard to the
crops, it cannot be denied that a portion of the
wheat is deficient in plant even to an extent which
may render its productiveness very questionable;
nevertheless taken as a whole, there does not ap-
pear any reason to apprehend that much danger
will accrue from the growth of the plant having
been retarded by the inclemency of the weather;
on the contrary it is already pronounced to be in
an improving and satisfactory condition. Peas
and Beans, which have now been planted seven or
eight weeks, are scarcely perceptible above ground,
a remark which will equally apply to sjn-ing tares
and almost to the winter ones ; the latter will cer-
tainly not come to the scythe sooner than a month
after the usual period, whereas the rye which was
intended for spring feeding previous to the land
being sown with turnips, will necessarily be
ploughed under without having iti any way con-
tributed to the purpose for which it was intended.
The sowing of spring corn was nearly completed
before the late fall of rain, and unquestionably in
as fine order, as we ever remember to have wit-
nessed it, and that with the smallest possible quan-
tum of labour owing to the lands having been so
effectually mellowed and pulverized by a long suc-
cession of gentle frost. The same circumstance has
also facilitated the preparation of the soil for the
reception of mangle wurzel, the cultivation where-
of is annually increasing and of which a large
breadth is already sown. The last has been a

pinching winter for the labourers in husbandry,
nevertheless we do not hear much complaint : it
is true the tide of emigration has set in with sweep-
ing rapidity across the Atlantic, but this arises
more from the mania which has seized the people,
than from actual necessity — indeed we are fully
convinced that ere long it vvill be as necessary to
check the measure as it has hitherto been deemed
expedient to promote it : for ourselves it has always
been our decided opinion that not one individual
of the labouring population ought to have been in-
vited to leave his country till furze, gorse, and
rushes had wholly given place to corn and her-
barge, and " wastes and commons," as terms appli-
cable to land, had become obsolete and forgotten.
—April 24.

IRELAND.

(from the BELFAST STANDARD.)

The third week of April is nearly past, and the
mountains of Mourne and Iveagh are still clad to
the snowy vesture of mid winter. Vegetation has
slumbered in torpid inaction for the last five
weeks ; — the meadows and pastures presenting to
the eye a scathed and sapless surface. Wheat is
wretchedly backward for the season ; and clover,
and the other grasses, have a most unprora'sing
appearance, even hardy evergreens have changed
their dark foliage to a sickly yellow — early fruit
trees which gave so favourable promise have
suffered to a considerable extent, the points of the
buds which apjjcared just ready to burst into full
flower, look as if scorched by fire ; and cabbage
[)lants, set out in February and March, are red
as those intended for pickle. Every night brought
frosts unusually keen for the season, which,
though latterly followed by clear sunny days were
sufficient to cVieck the vigorous efforts of nature,
and keep the spring in abeyance. Notwithstanding
these apparent disadvantages seldom has labour
at this period of the year been farther advanced ;
scarce any oats remain to be sown ; large quan-
tities of potatoes are planted — by some farmers to
the extent of thirty or forty bushels — the greater
part of the ground is cross-ploughed for the gene-
ral crop ; and ne\er, in any year, was this labour
more easily performed, as from the extreme mel-
lowness of the ground, it pidverises almost without
effort. Little land appears laid out for flax in this
district. Many causes have combined to deter the
farmer from sowing in larger quantities than may
be necessary for the employment of his own family.
The additional expense for seed — the labour in
preparing the ground— the number of hands neces-
sary for v;eeding, pulling, watering, and grassing ;
the uncertainty i;f this process, the success of
which depends so much upon the state of the
weather and quality of the water, and in which a
slight error may be ruin to the best crop ; suppos-
ing all these to have been judiciously managed,
the still greater risk of the scutching being skill-
fully awd honestly performed ; but if, by great good
fortune, the owner has been hitherto favoured,
still the fineness of the texture must deter-
mine the question of a remunerating price. When
we add to all this, that from the closeness of the
stems, its bringing no manure, and leaving no
stubble, flax leaves the ground more exhausted
than, perhaps, any other crop, for the length of
its continuance in it ; indeed, unless clover or a
potato crop intervene, good wheat, oats, or barley
need scarcely be expected after flax. It is not to

394

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

be wondered that it is no longer a favourite crop.
Owners of scutch mills, with a view to their own
interest, as well as the public, should be careful
in the selection of their workmen, a circumstance
in too many instances neglected ; to save high
wages, two or three experienced hands are often
deemed sufficient, while the greater number are
unskilled and have their trade to learn, at the
heavy expense of the farmer, whose frequently
small returns from, perhaps, redundant crops,
astonish and disgust him, with an article upon
which he cannot with any certainty calculate,
how promising soever the appearance ; and thus,
the production of the raw material, that great
desideratum in all manufacturing countries, is dis-
couraged by a short-sighted policy or a culpable
neglect. Besides, the practice of tippling prevails
in some of these concerns to a great extent. The
scutchers, whose understanding with each other
is complete and confidential, and many of whom
declare drinking necessary to counteract the
eifect of the dry dust inhaled, if ardent spirits can
be supplied, will, in too many instances, be little
scrupulous of the means. This dram drinking
induces carelessness, waste from the hurry to
make up lost time, and tooliish betting which
party shall perform most work in a given period.
I would be sorry to add actual dishonesty ; but
surely the proprietors cannot be too careful in
looking after their workmen. A large farmer
in this neighbourhood, who has tried this crop on
a liberal scale for three years past, declares he
will not again attempt it, though in each season
his flax on foot was deemed remarkably good.
He sowed the last year about five acres and a half,
statute measure, for which, before the first weed-
ing, he could have had 50/. He pulled an abun-
dant crop, saved alargc quantity of seed, and after
the usual processes brought it to the mill, expect-
ing a good ritnrn. The gross proceeds of the flax
was \bl., that of the seed 10/., a sum which did
not leave a farthing after paying seed, labour, and
the other necessary et ceteras, while off" the very
same land he has cleared 351. in one year from bar-
ley. Another farmer reared 200 stooks of appar-
ently excellent quality, and reckoned upon receiv-
ing from the mill, at a moderate calculation,
eighty stones. His return was thirty stones and
a few pounds — barely sufficient to pay seed and
labour. In both these instances grievous mis-
management must have taken place in some of the
stages. On the other hand, I have known an acre
and a rood, statute measure, of ground lately 5roZ-e?»
up, produce 40 stones, which sold at 12s. 6d. per
stone, and left the owner a large remuneration for
his trouble. It would appear, however, that, to
induce farmers to cultivate flax on an extensive
scale, encouragement should be held out by liberal
landlords and Farming Societies ; and surely it
would be a prudent policy in those possessing
lai'ge spinning establishments, to give as much pre-
ference as possible to the home growth ; while
owners of scutch mills, who are prevented from
superintending their own concerns, should secure
overseers and labourers of approved sobriety, ex-
perience, and honesty ; and thus give a confidence
to the farmer, without which, he can scarce be
expected to risk the hazards of an uncertain crop.
One of the most successful modes of rearing flax
and which in fitting soils, has seldom failed, is, to
lay out the ground in ridges of not more than ten
feet wide ; give an additional ploughing, plough-
trenching the hintings pretty deep, and finishing

will fill the furrows ; roll well, up and down, then
sow your seed and cover it neatly, with shovels,
out of the furrows. Flax sown in this way, comes
up beautiful and evenly, none of the seed being too
deeply buried, and none lelt uncovered ; and thus,
sprouting simultaneously, it will ripen together
without the usual quantity of after-growth.

Mangel Wurzel is not likely to be sown this
year in quantities equal to the last. The large
manuring necessary — the number of hands required
for sowing and weeding — the crop itself an exhaust-
ing one — bearing frost much worse than turnips —
requiring to be washed before sold — and bringing,
after all, but indiff'erent remuneration. All these
concur to deter farmers from sowing more than
is necessary for their own consumption. — April 19.

the operation of harrowing by cross strokes, which rencies

GENERAL AGRICULTURAL REPORT
FOR APRIL.

The weather during thegreatest part of this month
has embraced, nearly all the varieties of the last
winter. Owing to the long continuance of cold
northerly winds, and the want of sufficient moisture,
a great scarcity of pasture heibage has been com-
plained of; whilst, in many counties, particularly in
our great grazing districts, the stocks of winter fod-
der have been nearly, or quite exhausted, and for
that which remains, very high prices are demanded.
Indeed, in several parts of England, scarcely a tur-
nip is to met with. Ths sowing of oats and barley,
as also spring seeds, generally, has not as yet, been
completed. The wheat plants had assumed, about
the middle of the month, a very sickly appearance ;
but, since the late genial rains have fallen, and the
pleasant change in the weather, they have become
strong and healthy.

The lambing- season of our great flock districts, is
for the most pnrt concluded, 'i'he ewes have with-
stood the intensity of the weather remarkably well,
but we regret to observe, that a large number of
lambs have unavoidably perished. We are, how-
ever, glad to be enabled to state, that we have been
informed by many flock masters, that both their ewes
and newly yeaned lambs appear to be fast recovering
from their sufferings.

The whole range of vegetation is now beginning
to wear a cheerful complexion.

As is to be expected, we have not heard of any
cases of sheep rot, this month.

Many farmers appear to be somewhat alarmed, at
tlie bill now under the consideration of the legisla-
ture, and which has been introduced into the House
of Commons by Mr. Robinson, for the purpose of
allowing the holders of bonded corn to convert their
wheat into flour in this country, for exportation ; un-
der proper restrictions, we rather consider, it will
be beneficial to them. For instance — it is well
known, that nearly or quite the whole of the flour
which has been shipped of late, to various parts of
the world, has been of very superior quality, it
not answering the purpose of speculators to export
that of inferior quality — consequently, there would
be (were the bill passed) at least, according to the
almost universally admitted axiom of supply and de-
mand, an increased sale for the finest wheat, and
higher piices would, doubtless, be realized.

in our markets, for the sale of most kinds of farm
produce, trade has been in a sluggish state, at but
little variation from the preceding month's cur-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

395

A retrospective statement of the
prices of fat stock exhibited for sale,
Cattle Market on the following dates

SUPPLIES.

Sheep & Lambs.

2915

19300

2845

22650

4212

19184

8140

16000

March 31
April 3.

supplies and
in Sraithfield

Pigs.

236

332

324

396

239

386

390

454

A comparison of the supplies and prices of stock
sold, in Smithfield on Monday, April 25, 1836, and
Monday, April 24, 1837.

Total .. 12829 95246 1310 2757

Supply of")

preceding |>16586 124478 977 2618

month. J

It appears, by the above comparison of supplies
that those of fast month embraced, 3,657 beasts,
and 29,332 sheep and lambs more ; 333 calves, and
39 pigs less than those of the present month.

The number of beasts, which has arrived from
Norfolk, and formed part of the above supplies, has
consisted of 6,943 Scots, Norfolk home breds, and
runts ; from Suffolk, there have been received, 165
home-breds, Devons, Herefords, runts, and Scots ;
from Essex, 148 Scots, Devons, runts, and Here-
fords ; from Cambridgeshire, 95 short-horns,
Herefords, and Devons; from Lincolnshire, 265
short-horns ; from Leicestershire, 163 short-horns,
Herefords, runts, and Devons , from Northampton-
shire, 105 short-horns, and runts ; from Derbyshire,
78 short-horns, and runts ; from Staffordshire, 86
Staffords, short-horns, runts, and Devons ; from
Warwickshire, 90 short-horns, and Herefords ; from
Oxfordshire 74 Devons and Staffords ; from Shrop-
shire 45 Devons and runts ; from Durham 44
Devons and runts ; from Buckinghamshire 58
Devons, Herefords, runts, and Irish beasts ; from
Herefordshire 80 Herefords ; from Worcestershire,
75 runts, Devons, and Herefords, from diffe-
rent parts of Wales, 73 very prime Pembroke
runts ; from Gloucestershire, 67 runts, Herefords,
and Irish beasts ; from Somersetshire, 67 Devons,
and Irish beasts ; from Devonsliire, 95 Devons ;
from Dorsetshire, 70 Devons and Irish beasts ;
from Hampshire 81 Devons ; from Wiltshire, 49
Devons, runts, and Herefords ; from Berkshire, 80
Herefords, runts, Devons, and Irish beasts ;
from Dundee, Leith, and Perth, 1,301 West Island,
Banfshire Aberdeen, and Fifeshire Scots, by steam
vessels ; from Sussex, 105 Devons, Sussex beasts,
runts, and Herefords,; from Surrey, 110 cows,
Scots and runts ; and from Kent, 75 Devons, runts,
and cows. The remainder of the supplies of beasts,
embracing about 520 lusty and fat town's-end, and
as many milch cows, was sent into the market, by
the cattle-lodgers, cow-keepers, stallfeeders, &c.,
who reside within a few miles of London.

PRICES.

Per 81bs, to sink the offals.

March 31. April 24.

s. d. s, d. 3. d. s. d.

Inferior Beef 2 6 to 2 8.. 2 6 to 2 8

Middling, do. . . 3 0 to 3 8 . . 3 0 to 3 8

Prime, do 3 10 to 4 2 . , 3 10 to 4 4

Inferior Mutton .. 2 10 to 3 0 . , 2 10 to 3 0

Middling do. ..3 6 to 4 4 .. 3 6 to 4 4

Prime ditto, ..4 6 to 5 0 .. 4 6 to 5 0

Lamb 6 4 to 7 0 .. 6 0to7 0

Veal 4 2 to 5 4.. 4 2 to 5 4

Pork 3 6 to 5 0 .. 3 6 to 5 P

At per 81bs, sinking the offals.

A'jril 25, 1836.
s. d. 8.

Coarse and inferior beasts 2 6 to 2

Second quality do 3 0 to 3

Prime large oxen 3 8 to 4

Prime Scots. &c 4 2 to 4

Coarse and inferior sheep 3 2 to 3

Second quality do 4 0 to 4

Prime coarse-woolled do 4 6 to 4

Prime South Down do 5 0 to 5

Lamb 5 10 to 6

Large coarse calves .... 4 6 to 5

Prime small do 5 2 to 5

Large hogs 3 6 to 4

Neat small porkers 4 4 to 4

April 24, 1837

i. s. d. 8. d.

8. ,.2 Gto2 8

6. ..3 0to3 4

0 ..3 6t©3 8

6. ..4 0to4 4

6... 2 10 to 3 0

4. ..3 6to3 10

0...3 6to3 10

4... 4 6 to 5 0

6. ..6 0to7 0

0...4 2to4 C

6. ..4 8to5 4

2... 3 6 to 4 2
8 ..4 8 to 5 0

SUPPLIES.

April 25, 1836. April 24, 1837.

Beasts 2,550 2,792

Sheep & Lambs 16,050 16.000

Calves 220 102

40O 454

By the above comparison, it appears, that the
supply of Monday, April 25, 1836, consisted of 242
beasts, and 54 pigs less ; 50 sheep, and 18 calves
more, than that of Monday, April 24, 1837.

Fully three-fourths of the supplies of sheep —
which have been chiefly derived from Sussex, Kent,
Surrey, Essex, Hampshire, Dorsetshire,Devonshire,
Wiltshire, Somersetshire, Lincolnshire, Leicester-
shire, Northamptonshire, and Middlesex — have con-
sisted of about equal numbers of South-downs, old
Lincolns, old and new Leicesters, and Kents, and
Kentish half-breds : the remainder, for the most part,
polled Gloucesters, horned Dorsets, and Somersets ;
and a few Norfolk,and English-fed Scotch and Welsh
sheep. We have, also, received, from Scotland, by
steam packets, 1,250; and from Hull, 1,000.

Little, or nothing, has been doing, in store stock,
or milch cows, at drooping prices.

The quality of the beasts exhibited this month —
particularly that of those which have arrived from
Norfolk and Scotland — as also of sheep and lambs
has been, for the time of year, tolerably prime ;
whilst that of calves and pigs has been somewhat
inferior— especially the latter which have reached
the market, from Ireland, by steamers— the number
of which is about 500.

Annexed, are the quantities of all kinds of slaugh-
tered meat which have been sent, for sale, in the
course ot the month, to Newgate and Leadenhall
markets, from the quarters beneath stated.

Scotland . . .
Yorkshire . .

Essex

Berkshire . .
Wiltshire...
Sussex,. . ..

Surrey

Hampshire
Devonshire.
Gloucester .

Beasts.
Numberef
Carcasses.
, 72

49

33

45

27

28
. 70

47

50
13

Total
Supply of
preceding
month.

434

I 637

Sherp.

Number of

Carcasses.

4005

2705

286

359

540

249

317

606

580

428

100/5

10316

241 less.

CALVES.

Number of
Carcasses .

515
965

2455
158
540

1974
725

2650

9982
5645

Pigs,
Number of
Carcasses.

508
1287

549

187

213

116

811

183

112

210

4176
521/

4337 more. 1041 less,
than last month.

There have also arrived, in addition to the above,
364 packages of roasting and boiling beef, from

396

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

various parts of England aud Scotland, each package
weighing, from 200 to 250lbs.

From Scotland and Yorkshire, the meat came, by
steamers ; from other parts of England, by vans and
waggons.

LIVERPOOL, April 11.
In our annual circular letter, delayed unusuaUy to
the 29th November last, we made statements of the
imports of grain into this port for a long series of
years, as usual ending 1st October of each year, with
a report of the last harvest, from the best information
we had then been able to obtain ; — also on the 3rd
day of January last we stated the quarterly imports
to the 31st December last — witli our estimate of the
stocks free and in bond here at those respective
periods, to both which we beg reference ; — from com-
munications made to us since from various quarters,
we have the satisfaction to believe the observations
therein made have proved generally correct, and we
have nothing to add thereto, except to express our
fears that the crops throughout Ireland and Scotland
will prove more deficient in quality and quantity than
our worst anticipations ; — We now deem it useful to
make comparative statements of the imports of the six
months ending 3lst March, 1837, (including those
which pass up this river to Runcorn and Manches-
ter,) with those in the same period of the five pre-
ceding years.

WHEAT.

OATS.

Qrs.

Qrs.

Ireland. Coast. Foreign.

1 ^

Ireland. Coast. Foreign.

1832,

245,500 26,250

9,740

278,500 18,200 . .

1833.

279,663 19,782

177

184,031 14,548 ..

1834.

203,084 16,224

19,612

149,085 18,581 35

1835.

140,750 15,500

133,508 18,929 . .

1836.

156,722 36,869

321

167,249 20,925 430

1837.

40,950 37,488 23,530

163,420 20,910 14,576

BARLEY.

BEANS.

Qrs.

Qrs.

Ireland. Coast.

Foreign

Ireland. Coast. For.

1833.

. 14,804 30,800

2,400

5,640 4,271 4,800

1833.

. 14,108 33,697

6,930 3,750 . .

1834.

. 16,355 29,202

2,600

6,351 4,322 2,781

1835.

. 18,880 36,800

9,360 1,816 610

1836.

. 20,360 34,808

,.

14,251 6,900 ..

1837.

. 27,200 33,940

9,100

6,655 5,510 7,800
OAT-

MALT.

FLOUR. MEAL.

Qrs.

Sac
Irl.i

ks. Brls. 2401bs.

Ireland. Coast.

kC. Foreign. Ireland.

1832

. 2,487 33,500

97,200 15,700 110,800

1833

. 3,233 33,283

154,746 7,054 119,135

1834.

. 1,202 42,948

159,435 3,929 92,482

1835.

. 2,840 34,500

187,300 3,860 130,120

1836

. 3,500 46,576

236,097 3,967 153,652

1837

.3,370 42,140

142,050 35,200 128,406

of all other grain except wheat our stocks here at
present free for home use are ver)' small — of wheat
estimated 65 to 70,000 qrs, being about half the
quantity at this time last year ; — prices have recently
been declining in every article in the corn trade, —
chiefly owing to the pressure in pecuniary matters,
and a general want of confidence — but from the very
bad winter seed time — the severe irregular winter —
spring seed time far from favourable, and the very
backward season hitherto, (although from this circum-
stance, which may soon be totally changed, no deci-
sive opinion as to future prospects ought now to be
adopted) a material advance in the value of all grain
— for human food, as well as for provender— is very
confidently anticipated, long before the result of the
next harvest be ascertainable.

The stocks of grnin here in bond on the 1st April,
inst., are about 96,000 qrs of wheat, (exclusive of
Canadian, which we consider free) 14,000 of oats,
5,000 qrs barley, 4,000 qrs beans, 2,000 qrs peas,
and 76,500 brls flour. In the United Kingdom m
bond on the 5th March last, 553,495 qrs wheat, 9,407
qrs barley, 226,884 qrs oats, 1,909 qrs beans, 4,760
qrs peas, and about 96,264 brls of flour.

During the past week the imports of grain have
been again moderate, owing in some degree to a con-
tinuance of easterly winds, and sales have been very
languid and limited here and in all the corn markets
around, for every article in the corn trade, at about
the prices of last Tuesday ; — the weather has con-
tinued very cold and unseasonable, and the appear-
ance of the country is very backward in every re-
spect.

The only alteration in the duty on grain from
foreign ports this week is an increase of Is 6d per qr
on oats ; — some sales of flour in bond for export have
been made at a small decline, but for bonded grain
there has been little demand, and prices remain no-
minally as last noted ; — tbe exports stated are chiefly
of previous purchases, or consignments to Canada.
JAMES SCOTT & SON.

It will be observed there is a most extraordinary de-
ficiency in the imports of wheat and flour from Ire-
land this half year — the former article hardly
amounts to one-third — the latter about one-half at the
corresponding period last year ! The quality of the
former is very bad in every respect, so much so that
a considerable portion is hardly saleable at our late
lowest quotations, and the quality of the latter has
been very dubious, and too generally unsound ; thus
our chief consumption has been running on the
British and old Irish wheat, and if it had not been
for the confined circle of our demand, by the con-
tinued large supplies into the Yorkshire markets, our
stocks here must have been completely exhausted, and
we would certainly have had much higher prices ! —

Strathmore Agricultural Associatisn. — On
Thursday, April 13, the Spring- show of this
Association took place on the Market Muir of Cou-
par Angus. The stock exhibited were of the most
select description. The premiums awarded by the
judges are as follows: —

BULLS.

For the best aged dodded bull, not exceeding six years
of age — Mr. D. Halket, Dunkenny.

For the best aged horned bull, not exceeding six years
of age — Mr. Hood, at Hatton.

For the best two-year-old bull — Mr. Geekie, of Rose-
mount.

For the best one-year-old bull — Mr. Anderson, at
Newton.

FAT STOCK.

For the best pair of fat [stots, reared and fed by the

shower — Mr. Hood, at Hatton.
For the best pair of fat cows or queys, do. — Mr. Hood.
For the best pair of fat stots, at least six months fed by

and in possession of, the shower — Mr. Hood.
For the best pair of fat cows or queys, do. — Mr. C.
Playfair, Easter Banchory.

Two four-year-old oxen, of the aboriginal Scotch
breed, exhibited by Sir J. M. Mackenzie, Bart., were
much admired, and called forth the highest commenda-
tion from the judges.

The members dined together after the show, in the
Defiance Hotel, Coupar Angus, — P. W. Ogilvy, Esq.,
of Ruthven, in the cliair, and James Wright, Esq., of
Lawton, croupier. The evening was spent in the most
agreeable manner, and a number of sweepstakes were
entered into for the current year.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

397

AGRICULTURAL INTELLIGENCE, FAIRS, &c.

HOWDEN SPRING FAIR— This fair commenced
on Saturday, the 15th instant ; the attendance of dealers
was both numerous and respectable — from London
were observed Messrs. Dyson, Harri*, Burfort, Fairburn,
&c. Good horses of all descriptions fetched high
prices. This fair may now be considered as permanently
established, sufficiently as to render it advantageous for
the breeders, both from the eastern parts and also from
Holderness, and will, we hope, soon be preferred to the
risk of crossing the Humber, and the expense necessa-
rily incurred in taking them to Lincoln. On IMonday
the cattle fair was held, but there was only a moderate
supply of lean beasts. Fresh drape cows wei e nearly
ten per cent, lower than this time twelve months,
owing', no doubt, to the extreme backwardness of the
season. Of fat beasts the show was small, realising
from 7s 6d to 8s per stone, but none that was particularly
attractive. Of in-calvers, orcows and calves, the num-
ber was small, and anything that possessed breeding
was soon bought up at from 10/ to 13/ according to age :
and condition. The show of sheep was not very large, al-
though the quantity kept in ihe neighbourhood has
much increased of late years, yet the prospect for the
price of wool at clip-day being favourable has induced
numbers to hold. On Monday, at twelve o'clock, in a
close aiijojiingthe cattle fair, the show of stock for the
premiums given by the Howdenshire Agricultural So-
ciety took place : the judges on the occasion were IMr.
Thos. Fowler, Kirton Grange, Lincolnshire ; Mr.
Wiley, Jun., Brandsby, North Riding of Yorkshire ;
and Mr. Thomas Johnson, Ousefieet, West Riding of
Yorkshire, who adjudged the following premiums : — To
Mr.John Scolfield, of Faxfleet,foi the best coachingstal-
lion. Sir Henry, 5sovs. — To Mr. J.Burtonof Saltemarshe,
for the best coaching brood mare, 2 sovs. — to Mr. John
Leek, of Hotham Carr, for the best hunting brood mare,
2 sovs. — to Mr. Bowser, of Faxfleet, for the best coach-
ing gelding, 3 sovs. — To Mr. Hairsine, ©f Bellasize, for
the best c;irting stallion. Royal Oak, 2 sovs. — to Mr.
John Bowman, of Howden, for the best yearling colt
by Paulinus (given by Mr. Wm. Burton, of Water Ful-
ford), 5 sovs. — to T. Clark, Esq., of Knedlington. for
the best bull, 3 sovs, — to Mr. H. Edwards, of Market
Weighton, for the best breeding cow, 2 sovs. — to Mr.
Wells, of Booth Ferry, for the best two-year old heifer,
2 sovs. — to Mr. H. Edwards, of Market Weighton, for
the best yearling heifer, 2 sovs. — to Mr. Wells, of Booth
Ferry, for the best fat ox 2 sovs. — to Mr. G. Galtress,
of Howden, for the best boar (bred by John Hall, Esq.,
of Scorbro', 1 sov. — to Mr. G. Wilson, of Hive, for the
best sow, 1 sov. — to James Holmes, of Armin, agricul-
tural labourer, he having brought up twelve children
solely by his industry, I5 sov. — to Geo. Walker, of
Holme on Spalding-moor, ditto, ten children ditio, 1 5
sov. — three other aged claimants were rewarded with
7s each. A sweepstakes of 20s each, for the best three-
year old coaching gelding, 3 subscribers, to Mr. Bowser
of Faxfleet ; ditto of 10s each for the best yearling colt 3
subscribers, to Mr. Burton, of Saltemarshe ; ditto of 10s
each, for the best milch cow, 2 subscribers, Mr. H. Ed-
wards, of Market Weighton. The show of horses was
numerous, and the emulation forthe premiums displayed
most of the first horses in the East Riding. The show
of Beasts not equal to former years ; nevertheless from
the immense concouree of farmers and others present, it
is evident that the advantages deriving and to be de-
rived from such institutions are operating powerfully
upon the minds of agriculturists ; and a more general
disposition is becoming manifest to unite for the attain-
ment of those objects, which constitute their interests,
and which can only be attained by a union of iiieling
and exertion. We hope next year to have the pleasure
of enrolling the name of every respectable and extensive

proprietor of lands in the neighbourhood as members
of the society, the object of which is to promote the in-
terests of the tenant farmers, by a general improvement
of the stocK, and to encourage and reward industry
and frugality amongst the labouring classes. At two
o'clock, a respectable party of the supporters of the
above institution and their friends dined at the Half
Moon Inn; T. Clark, Esq., the president presided as
chairman, supported by Mr. Wm. Carter, honorary sec-
retary as vice ; and during- the festive enjoyment, the
prosperity of this institution, with others of the like
nature, and of the agriculturists, with many loyal and
patriotic toasts and sentiments were given by the chair-
man and his freinds. One general good feeling of
friendship and harmony continued to prevail in this
meeting until a late hour ; and a number of names were
enrolled as members of the Howdenshire Agricultural
Association for 1838. We understand several of the
most eminent graziers in the neighbourhood have en-
tered into an agreement, and pledged themselves, to
bring forward all their horses at the next spring fair.
The weather tbroug'hout was exceedingly cold.

At the DEVIZES SPRING FAIR, on Thursday,
there was, perhaps, rather more than an average supply
of horned cattle. The shew of fat beef was small, but
fetched higher prices than have been obtained for some
time. Cows and calves, and lean stock, which, on ac-
count of the scarcity of feed, were numerous, had a
dull sale, and but little business transacted among them.
The number of sheep penned was small, the teggs ge-
nerally were in very low condition, the prices Irom 15s
to 25s per head, and but little business done. There
were but few ewes and lambs, which met with a slow
sale, althougl) the rain which has fallen this morning
operated rather in favour of the market. The horses
exhibited, with the exception of a few fine ones of the
cart kind, were few in number, of an inferior descrip-
tion, and did not readily meet with purchasers. In
cheese a few tons only were pitched, which sold at
prices, as at the previous market.

BARNSTAPLE GREAT MARKET, April 14.—
Our market was well attended by buyers, but the quan-
tity or quality of the beasts were not equal to former oc-
casions. Fat heifers met a brisk sale at full 10s per
score ; really good barren heifers were scarce, and sold
for 6s per score ; inferior ones from 53 to 5s 6d. Good
cows and calves were also scarce, at from 10/ to 14/
each ; inferior ones from 8/ to 9/ 10s each. Fat sheep
are much inquired for, and readily purchased at 8d per
lb ; poor ones almost unsaleable for want of keep. We
never recollect such a cold barren spring ; even in our
best marshes there is scarcely any sign of vegetation.
Hay and corn is getting scarce and dear, and we hear
of cattle dying for want ; we tear it will much injure, if
not ruin, many farmers, and must be the means of rais-
ing the prices of the necessaries of life without benefitting
any one.

TIVERTON MARKET, April 18.— This was our
great market, at which a good supply of cattle was
shown. There were not many prime fat heifers, such
readily fetched 10s per score, inferior ones from 6d to
Is below that price, with a good sale. Cows ani calves
were plentiful, but most of them of a very inferior de-
scription ; sale rather dull at from 8/ to 11/ each ; bar-
reners dull sale at from 5s to 6s per score. There was a
good supply of sheep ; fat ewes and wethers a quick
sale at from 7d to 8d per lb ; poor sheep almost unsale-
able at low 'prices. We must not forget to notice ten
beautiful weather hogs (shown by IMr. Henry Gale, of
Mare Farm, Tiverton,) which were genera ly admired
and considered equal, if not superior to any that can be
produced this disastrous season ; they were judged at 23
pounds per qr, and fetched 2/ 19s each. The weather

398

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

still continues cold, and vegetation at a stand ; we fear
the most disastrous consequences, if a favourable change
does not soon take place. Many, very many farmers,
have scarcely any hay or straw left, and we know one
person in our neighbourhood having lost five bullocks
from actual starvation, and another that has six or seven
so weak that they are obliged daily to assist them in
getting on their legs.

CHESTER. — We are sorry to say tliat in conse-
quence of the backward state of the season, there is
scarcely any appearance of grass on the land for miles
around this city, and we have heard, but hope our in-
formation is not correct, that in some places cattle have
died for want of food. Hay has risen so an enormous
price ; vast numbers of loads have been carried through
Chesier this week for which eight or nine sovereigns
per ton was paid. It is to be hoped that the landed
proprietors will take the depressed state of the farmers
into their serious consideration, and grant them that
assistance which they so much need under the present
trying dispensation of Providence.

PERTHSHIRE FARMING SOCIETY, April 14.
— Show of stallioxs and bulls. — On Friday the an-
nual competition in stallions and bulls, for the premiums
awarded by the Perthshire Farming Society, took place
on the South Inch here, when a number of very supe-
rior horses came forward ; and although on some for-
mer occasions we have seen a greater number, we have
seen a greater number, we have never at any previous
competition observed so fine a selection of animals. The
premiums for the stallions were gained by " Champion,"
the property of iVIr. Keith, Netherthird, Aberdeenshire,
and " Strathearn Star," belonging to Mr. Dron at
CrieflTvichter. There were also some very handsome
bulls of the short-horn breed exhibited. The first pre-
mium for which was gained by Captain Hunter, of
Auchterarder. The second by Wm. S. Turnbull,
Esq., Huntingtower. The first premium for one year
old short-horned bulls was gained by the Right Hon.
Lord Hollo. The second by Wm. S. Turnbull, Esq.,
Huntingtower. After the competition, upwards of
forty of the members of the Society dined together in
the Salutation Hotel. Sir J. P. M'Kenzie, Bart., of
Delvine, in the chair. Captain Hunter, of Auch-
terarder, croupier.

SCARCITY OF FODDER.— In consequence of
the failure of the hay crops last year, the sheep in the
mountain districts are in a state of starvation. The
whole country is covered with snow. So great is the
scarcity of food, that several carts laden with ivy, from
the vicinity of Keswick, have been carried up the moun-
tains in the hope of keeping the poor animals from
famishing. Some sheep farmers are losing from ten to
twelve sheep a-day. — Cumberland Pacquet.

THE WEATHER AND FLOCKS.— The severity
of the weather had somewhat moderated during the
last week, although the nights were still very cold with
hoar frost like mid-winter, but on Tuesday evening the
wind shifted to the south-east, and during the night a
thick dew fell, followed next day by a high temperature,
the effects of which are already visible on our Inches.
The change, however, has come too late to save the
flocks in the higher districts ; many of the ewes have
perished from want of food during the last fortnight,
and it is not possible to avert a very extensive loss of
lambs. Except, however, among the Leicesters on the
home farms, the lambing season can hardly be said to
be yet commenced ; but the proportion of deaths among
the latter, indicate the extent to wliich loss may be ap-
prehended among the common stock. — Perth Courier.

The loss to farmers, from want of keep for their cat-
tle, is seriously great tliroughout this and the adjoining
counties. Thousands of sheep and lambs have perished
from the two-fold mischief, of hunger, and the malady
to which it leads. The price of hay is in this town,
8/ 8s per ton, and stdl higher as our agents report in
tlie various towns in this county. — Taunton Courier,
April 19.

LUSUS NATUR/E.— A ewe, belonging to Mr. T.
Pape, of Helmsley, last week, lambed two lambs, one
of which has five legs. Both are doing well, and likely
to live. — York Herald,

THE HIGHLAND POOR.

Our sympathies have been considerably excited,
and our feelings powerfully appealed to, in relieving
the distress prevailing amongst the " Highland Poor"
in Scotland ; it seems that many thousands of the
Highlanders have for some time been in a state of
almost perfect starvation. Means have very pro-
perly and humanely been taken to ameliorate this
dreadful state of suffering, by the contributions of
the charitably disposed. But the administration of
alms is at the best a miserable mode of relief, and
the benefits which arise from it are only temporary.
The crust that is given is soon eaten — and what
nextl It is obvious that quite a different plan must be
pursued to eradicate, or permanently ameliorate the
evil. When we are told that there are a hundred
thousand people, less or more, starving in wretched
mud-hovels on the barren sea-shores of the High-
lands and Islands, we naturally put the question —
what business have these people there? Why, we
ask, are a hundred thousand human beings quartered
in such a sterile, hopeless locality 1 Perhaps we
may be told that they have been born and bred
there. But that is no answer. Men are not vege-
tables : thev have the power of locomotion ; they
have been designed to spread abroad over the earth,
and not grow to it like plants. In this, as in a thou-
sand of similar instances, the unhappy love of place,
a prepossession for a particular locality, is the grand
obstacle to social advancement. It is the fatal at-
tachment to local situation, which produces this
state of things. Many families would rather starve
than remove a distance of twenty miles. Sometimes
rather than go over the hill to the next town, where
comfort predominates. The excuse that they are
uncertain of getting employment, is always ready in
these cases. The truth is they are averse to the
trouble of removing, or of forming new habits.
Hence, the curious fact in statistics, that, although
hand-loom weaving was finished as a profession
twenty years since, still numbers of young men con-
tinue to enter it. They voluntarily embrace a line of
life which yields them only about a shilling a day,
rather than leave the place of their birth to enter
other professions, which would yield them three
shillings a day. Such is human nature. It has
always appeared to us that in regard to the Scottish
Hiohlanders, we are too much under the influence of
feeling, and too little under that of reason, 'i'he ro-
mantic circumstances of the people in former, and
even in present times, seems to unfit us for forming
cool judgments respecting what is best for their in-
terests. In a late Number of the Statistical Account
of Scotland, the inhabitants of large tracts are de-
scribed as to the last degree poor and miserable, and
to the last degree (with few exceptions) pious and
contented. We have then the most incontestible
evidence that a large population clings to a country
in which there is no use for their services, (being
now chiefly devoted to pasture) and which refuses
them even in ordinary seasons, a proper sustenance ;
being, in fact, ignorant of any thing better, and per-
haps unable of themselves to accomplish a removal.
Surely a part of the machinery now at work for edu-
cating this forlorn people, might be well employed
in enlightening them as to the absurdity of their
growing up to idleness and misery on their native
soil, when they might do better elsewhere. We
would also press upon the attention of persons in
authority the propriety of forming some regular sys-
tem for the gradual removal, under humane regula-
tions, of the Highlanders to the great seats of indus-
try. In the hands of a few active committees, com-
posed of persons engaged in manufacturing pursuits,
the process would neither be difficult nor tedious.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

399

EVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE

DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL.

Tbe past month has been one of considerable trial
to the anxious hopes and fears of the farmers ; few
gleams of sunshine have appeared before nearly the
close of the monlh to cheer their prospects, nor have
nature's powerful agents, heat and moisture, been
apparently in operation to jrumote the necessary ad-
vances of the vegetable kingdom ; the apprehensions
however, entertained by the growers, have been
chiefly founded on the present aspect of the fields,
compared witii similar periods of later seasons, and
it is true that the conclusions thus momentarily come
to, could not be fraught with any very favourable
results. But it is to be remembered, that the cur-
rent year, from its peculiarly iinseasonablo charac-
ter, forms no fair criterion for judgment, and the causes
and effects must have a more extended range for de-
ducing an opinion /'rorajthan the few ])ast prolific and
favoured seasons, as it is with them the comparison is
generally made. We forget not that at this period du-
ring the last five years the young wheats had tillered
out, their curling blades covering the land with a
rich bed of deep luxuriant green, and that now the
eye wanders over fields almost bare of verdure ;
yet we have no reason for imagining that the root of the
wheat plant is affected, or that the germ of vitality is
destroyed, therefore with a return of mild temj)era-
ture and genial showers, as we are now experienc-
ing, the vegetative powers may soon evince they
have been only lying dormant, and are fully cajjable
of ultimately gratifying the sight of the agriculturists
with the ripe harvest of a full average return. The
loots of the wheat plant strike so deep, and draw
their nourishment from so extended a penetration
into the earth, that experience proves, it matters
little the injury the blade may receive before the
spring growth. Had vegetation received any ma-
terial check, had all the vitality of the plants been
ready to burst forth into " open day" and the cir-
culation of the juices had become paralyzed by any
sudden prevalence of intense cold, then might we be
fearful of the future consequences ; but the weather,
previous even to the germination of winter corn, hav-
ing been ungenial, not at any one time having af-
forded a stimulus in expediting the growth, all vege-
tative action has been, as it were, in embryo, and
well therefore, it may be sanguinely expected, on
feeling the beneficial effects of spring, to come into
being with redoubled vigor ; but it must be allowed,
that the retarding of the seed time, in the more
northern districts, renders the securing of the crops
more precarious ; from these combined circum-
stances, of unpropitious weather for the winter as
well as the spring sown corn, farmers have been in-
duced to speculate, and retain their stocks in antici-
pation of realizing a much higher range of price ; so
much so, that though the country markets have not
exhibited any diminution of supply, yet farmers rather
than part with their wheat at the current rates, have
taken their samples home, and the opinion prevailing
is, that before the result of the next harvest is ascer-
tainable, that a material advance in the value of all
grain for human food as well as provender will be
experienced. But we would here remark that while
the present pressure for money remains, and mercan-
tile confidence is shaking to its very foundation,
little hope can be, in possibility entertained iu the

reaction of any commodity, until it can be ascertained
who are, and who are not able to stand their ground.
In all convulsions of the monetary system it follows
as a sequence, that purchases and sales are regulated
by the necessities of individuals, and not by any
generally recognised standard of value as in ordinarj'
times; consequently the prices of those articles
whose consumption is pressing on the power of
production, recede the slowest in value, though they
cannot long maintain any great disproportionate
range of value ; but where the reverse is the case,
articles are precipitated even below the cost of pro-
duction. During, therefoie, the transitory stage in
this value of commodities, nobody purchasing beyond
what is necessary for the supply of immediate wants,
the disengaged capital accumulates nearly in pro-
portion to tbe increase of commercial difficulties,
and becomes conctntrated in the metropolis : as at
the present moment, instead of being diffused over
the provinces for the support of industry. Country
bankers are stating they have no dearth of gold, and
among London discount houses and banking bouses
there is no scarcity of money, but there is an in-
creased degree of circumspection, or rather fastidi-
ousness, as to the character of paper, which renders
it entirely unavailing to the smaller, but probably
not the less secure operators both as merciiants and
manufacturers. Everything militates, therefore,
more in favour of the reputed large capitalist, than
in ordinary times, and for want of the usual ac-
commodation the minor class of opeiators are com-
pelled to dispose of their property to meet the claims
against them, under every disadvantage.

As therefore it is evident, that for a considerable
time the demand for all articles will be very nearly
measured by the actual consumption, it is equdl}'
evident that, under, all these contingencies, it is
highly improbable that the value of grain can be en-
hanced, more especially as it has continued to bear
a high relative value compared with other commodi-
ties, and that it must eventually share in the gene-
ral depression ; which, taking together the profits of
manufacturers and wages of the operatives, has ex-
ceeded in too many instances 30 per cent ; unless,
then, positive scarcity is experienced, or the grow-
ing crops ascertained to be decidedly injured, no re-
action in tbe markets can be anticipated ; yet as the
stGcks are reported to he considerably diminished in
all the principal corn depots of the kingdom, prices
must be necessarily more dependent on the above
circumstances, as well as on tne speculative inclina-
tion and capability of growers to withhold their sup-
plies. It ought, however, to be observed, that
though there are perliaps throughout the country
less wheat ricks than usual at this period of the sea-
son, yet it is generally supposed that farmers hold a
large' quantity of this grain in the cliaflf, &c., as they
have threshed out freely from the want of straw for
the cattle, the long continuance of winter having
generally exhausted the stocks of fodder.

The remitigation in the severity of the weather
has enabled the farmers in Ireland to make consi-
derable progress in sowing, owing to the high state
of jireparation the ground has arrived at from the
cold drying weather, and perhaps in no former year
was field labor more easily performed than at pre-

400

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE

sent, owing to the extreme mellowness and friability
of the ground, which really pulverises without effort.
The supplies have on the whole been limited, partly
in consequence of farmers holding for better prices,
and partly from their being engaged in out- door
labour, the currencies are therefore generally steady
for all the finer qualities of wheat and oats ; tie lat-
ter ai tide continues to meet demand, and in many
instances at improving prices, as well as tlie article
of oatmeal and barley, since the intelligence has been
received from our country, that in several districts
the farmers had recourse to oats to feed their cattle,
from the extreme dearth of all other natural and arti-
ficial feed.

In Scotland the currencies of wheat and oats are
maintained with extreme firmness, and peas much
required. In the neighbourhood of the Highlands
the alarm is so great on the part of the farmers from
the deplorable distress and destitution of the High-
landers, tliat they will scarcely sell their grain at any
price ; ; nd at most of the Northern markets the
cuirencies are ruling firm owing to the short sup-
plies of the farmers, who are speculating on higher
prices. Field labor is extremely backward, snow
having been laving on the ground scarcely a week
since. In some places not a furrow has been hardly
turned over for more than a month, and little seed
committed to the ground. Horses have been in very
low condition, owing to the inferior quality of the
general runs of feed oats, and cattle have been suf-
fering severely from the want of fodder, and consi-
derable sacrifices being made in their immediate dis-
posal, rather than incur the chance of their entire loss
by starvation. Sheep and lambs have been dying from
cold and want of food, and the failure in the turnip
crop having created a material source of privation
for the stock. In Shetland, in order to save the re-
sidue of their cattle, they have been forced to
encroach on their stock of grain reserved for
seed. From Glasgow it is stated that the ship-
ments of potatoes from Ireland, the Western High-
lands, and Ayrshire, to the ports in the Clyde, are
so extensive that prices are fast receding, and the
larger holders, who have been keeping back for en-
hanced rates, are likely to be losers by outstanding
the market. We are glad to find that the fisheries
off the Scotch coast have been extremely productive
this season, which may partially mitigate the dis-
tress of the Highlanders and Islanders. While re-
verting to this topic we would refer our readers to
some philosophic remarks on this imjjortant and in-
teresting subject, which will be found at page 398,
under ihe head of The Highland Poor."

The supplies of wheat from those counties usually
supplying the London market have been during the
montli on rather a liberal scale, considering the sea-
son of the year, and have proved more than adequate
to the demand, which, owing to the reasons we have
previously assigned, has been confined to the actual
wants of the millers, the market having been totally
unrelieved by any speculative sales ; towards the
middle of March and prior to the favourable change
of the weather, the improved character beginning to
be apparent of the country markets induced more
fiimness on the pait of holders, and the better i-uns
rallied and obtained Is per qr more money; millers
who had been working up their stocks, buying witJi
more freedom ; but the appearance of mild Vieafher
and plentiful showers of rain checked all disposition
to speculate, and acted rather as an incentive to mil-
lers to endeavour to quit their stock of flour than
run any hazard of suffering loss fi'om its turning
sour; the demand therefore slackening, prices re-
ceded, the finer wheats being fully 2s per qr cheaper

than at the commencement of the month, and inferior
descriptions 3s to 4s.

The dull accounts received from the United States
have created a considerable degree of heaviness in
the bonded market, and purchases could be made at
a reduction of 2s to 3s per qr. Purchasers have
latterly appeared, but they are only bidding such
low prices that holders are not at present at all in-
clined to listen to the offers, though it is not impro-
bable that a favourable conjunciw may arise for spe-
culative investment, as the severe and ruinous pres-
sure in America on the money market must not only
operate heavily in depressing the prices of grain,
but the currencies are also likely to receive an addi-
tional cause of reduction from the quantity of foreign
corn, which is being directed to the different ports
from all parts of the world, and as there are likely
to be large imports into England from the Baltic,
and principally of the finer qualities of Volhynian,
and other Polish wheats, Jiolders, from the want of
an immediate vent by re-export, as previously anti-
cipated,may be induced more readily to realize in loco,
besides that a good assortment will be afforded the
party wishing to invest in the article. Some good
Danzig, recently arrived, has been sold at 37s to 38s,
and red held at 33s to 35s per qr. The exports have
been principally of wheat and flour in bond to the
North American settlements, to which destination
about 15,000 qrs and about 9,500 cwts have been
entered ; besides 6,600 qrs to the United States, and
5,000 cwts of flour to the West Indies. Bonded
flour meeting sale at from 25s to 27s per brl of 196lbs.
which is an enormously high relative value com-
pared with the price of foreign wheat.

Barley has come freely to hand and suffered the
most depression in value of any article in the trade.
Malt, from the causes we have more than once re-
ferred lo, has remained in a dull inactive state, even
at the low currencies, holder were inclined to ac-
cept; and as many maltsters from the advanced pe-
riod of the season have desisted from working, the
finer descriptions of Barley have become almost un-
saleable even at a reduction of 2s to 3s ; distilling
qualities have also met a limited demand, and are Is
to 2s per ([r lower, but grinding descriptions having
attracted more attention for feed, owing to the scarcity
of fodder, haye sustained little depreciation. Bonded
barley extremely dull at 17s to 19s, fine, 20s,

The accumulated steck of inferior oats which
pressed on the market at the beginning of the month,
being relieved by a speculative demand induced by
the lowness of the currency^ caused the market to
assume a firmer appearance, which, however, was
checked by a large arrival of English and Irish, but
being met by an extensive country demand for feeding
cattle, the trade rallied, and fresh feed corn of all de-
scriptions obtained Is per qr more money ; and as
vegetation continued backward, and difficulty found
to keep stock, prices were maintained until the long
expected appearance of spring weather gave fresh
elasticity to the hopes of consumers, who curtailing
their purchases, in expectation also of increased arri-
vals, caused tlie market to become languid, and the
imports augmenting from Ireland, prices receded
fully 6d to Is per qr on Irish qualities, and English
light feed declined, but good stout qualities, and es-
pecially Scotch, being comparatively scarce, main-
tained full currencies, and Scotch potatoe tending
upwards in value. Bonded oats have exi)erienced
a retail demand for export to the West Indies, at
from 14s to l!!s per (jr.

Beans having come less (rofly to market, and meet-
ing an improved demand, must be noted 2s \>er qr
higher; peas hare been in very limited sliow, and

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

401

orders having beeu received ironi Scotland, with some
speculative shipments also to the north, has enahled
owners to realize fully 2s to os per qr more money.

The flour trade has sustained no alteration in the
top price of town-made flour, but it is expected to
become nominall}- oSs ; Ship's flour has receded Is
to '2s per sack, holders having- latterly become anx-
ious to rid the wharfs on the approach of the warm
weather.

The alteration in ihe duties consist of an advance
of Is 6d per qr on barley. Is 6'd on oats, and 2s 9d
on rye.

During the month of April the following quantities
of grain and flour have arrived in the port of Lon-
don : —

Wheat. Barlky. Malt. Oats-

qrs. qrs. qrs. qrs.

English 27791 32528 33289 2/457

Scotch 220 85 3032

Irish 30 .. 64701

Total in April.... 27791 32778 333/4 9,5290

Total in March... 30581 38444 46431 147540

Total in Feb 22077 27575 29211 115492

Foreign in April.. 6603 3647 .. 6701

Beans. Peas. Linseed. Flour.

qrs. qrs. qrs. sacks,

English 6550 1901 243 41533

Scotch 8

Irish .. .. 1230

Total in April... 6558 1901 243 42763

Total in March... 7S99 3959 243 43369

Total in Feb 6989 4863 .. 35180

Foreign in April.. 827 1110 6638 7409

Advices have been received from Hobart Town
and Launceston, Van Diemen's Land, dated the 1st
and 3rd of November, which contain little informa-
tion satisfactory to the shippers to the Antipodes.
The increase of arrivals, favourable prospects of the
harvest, and anticipated additional supplies had de-
pressed the currencies of Wheat to 4s. 6d. and 5s.
per bushel ; Flour being noted at 25s. to 27s. per
lOOlbs. The quantity of acres under cultivation
had increased from 1828 to 1836, from 34,033 to
87,823 ; the population of the Island was estimated
at 40,000.

In Canada, on the 28th of March, the prices of
Grain and Flour were still ruling high, owing to the
want of supply, and the drought which had been
sustained by the stocks in Upper Canada, in order
to meet the demand, and advanced offers of the pur-
chasers from the United States. Wheat at Montreal
was noted at 7s 6d to 8s 5d per minot, good quali-
ties averaging about 8s per minot, a measure 3 per
cent larger than the imperial bushel. Superfine
flour was noted at 60s, fine 55s, middlings dOs to
52s 6d ; and by the moving of the ice in different
parts of the country, and a freshet having been ex-
perienced in the Hudson river, the approacli of
spring was being indicated. Prices of flour at King-
ston, Upper Canada, were noted at 45s to 50s per
brl ; but farmers were not placing much reliance on
the currencies, as they found they were flucluating
from day to da}^ entirely as the supply or demand
happened to prevail.

At Halifax, on the 3rd of April, the prices of flour
were maintained, Quebec fine being noted at 60s
per brl ; Hamburg 50s to 55s ; oatmeal 24s per cwt.
Owing to the extreme distress experienced bv the
Colonists, especially the small farmers, and those in
the newly settled parts of the province, from the

failure in the crops and the positive scarcity of seed
both of grain and potatoes, strong representations
had been made to the " Legislative Assembly," im-
ploring assistance ; and the Assembly had in con-
sequence been induced to pass a bill prohibiting the
export of wheat, oats, and potatoes from the pro-
vince until the 10th of .Tune, and from the Island
of Cape Breton until the 1st of July next. The
manufacture of flour in Nova Scotia was so much
improved, that a few brls produced by Mr.
M'Donald and sent to New York, had been marked
by the Inspector of flour at that city as superfine.

From Kingston, .Taraaica, we learn that the mar-
ket being bare of American flour, the bakers had
been ultimately obliged to resort to the better de-
scriptions of English and German flour, and a par-
cel of the former, per Clio from London, had been
in part sold at 80s per brl currency, and good Stet-
tin at 66s 8d ; but the market was largely supplied
with inferior qualities of German, which were held
at 53s 4d for the consumption, that is including the
duty of 10s per brl. Danzig flour for export had
sold at 50s, equal to 60s for the consumption. The
seasons have not been favourable for ground provi-
sions, and it is therefore probable that a good con-
sumptive demand will be experienced not only for
the German flour, but also Indian corn, meal, and
rice. The imports of flour during the current year
ending 11th March, had exceeded those for a simi-
lar period in 1836, by 4,500 brls.

At Port Louis, Mauritius, Danzig flour per brl
of 1801bs was quoted at 26s to 28s sterling ; Cape
of Good Hope ditto, 26s to 28s per lOOlbs. Wheat,
European, 10s to 12s per lOOlbs; oats, ditto, per
lOOlbs, 9s to 9s 9did. Grain in British bottoms
being free, and on flour a duty of 1 per cent ad
valorem imposed.

The accounts received from France exhibit a firm-
ness generally in the prices of wheat in all the mar-
kets except those situated in the more Southern De-
partments, where the influence of the cold, ungenial
and moist unseasonable weather had not extended.
Fine wheats are held at full rates or improving
prices ; and though no material detriment is yet an-
ticipated to have resulted to the young wheat plant,
yet every day of frost at this advanced period ren-
ders the crop in a more precarious state ; rye, how-
ever, is reported as having suffered severely in the
light lands of Sologne, Berry, and the centre de-
partments. Oats are backward, but not much ap-
prehension yet entertained for the produce, except in
Brittany, wheie the winter oats are more particularly
cultivated. At Bayonne tlie prices of all provisions
are ranging exoi-bitantly high ; bakei's complaining,
and the poor uttering murmurs " deep and loud" at
the scarcity of bread and all the necessaries of life.
Wheat is noted at 49s lOd to 54s ; rye, 31s lOd.
]\Iore unfavourable weather had not been expe-
rienced io the memory of man ; hail, snow and rain
alternately prevailing. At Bordeaux the continued
influx of wheat had further depressed prices. At
Marseille the supplies of wheat were liberal, both
of native and foreign growth ; holders were endea-
vouring to realize more money, which purchasers
not acceding to, caused the trade to rule dull. The
stock of free wheat was estimated at 50,600 qrs and
10,000 bales of flour, and 22,500 qrs in Bond.

At St. Petersburg sales of Rye have been making
at 19s per qr for May delivery, and Oats at 10s 6d.
Linseed deliverable in August, had obtained 34s
lid per qr. At Riga the demand for grain had sub-
sided ; good Oats were ofl^ering at 10s lid to 1 Is 3d
per qr, all the money advanced, or I2s 3d with only
10 percent. Rye, i6s-8d and 17s 9d, according to

402

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

contract of payment. Crushing- Linseed, 33s 8d to
34s 7cl, but any increased demand would enhance
these prices. At Konigsberg the trade has con-
tinued heavy, owing- to the pressure on the moupy
market, and the shipping- season not having- com-
menced. Rye has been selling for Norway and
Denmark, at 16s to 16s 3d new, and 18s to 19s olu.
Wheat quite nominal in value. At Danzig the river
floodgates had been openea, and several vessels
arrived at the city, and great bustle in slipping
business consequently prevailing, but the ])rogress
in shipments had been comp-arativel}' limited, owing-
to tbe unfavourable character of tlie weather ; sup-
plies were coming to hand freely down the Vistula,
which from the absence of dem-and and unwilling-
ness, on the port of holders to force sales, -were
going into warehouse, a.;d the granary rents con-
sequently advancing, and no engai;ements would be
enteied into, at even 2s per month per last; good
high mixed Wheat was stated as having been offered
underhand at 30s, and trade quite nominal, whicli
exhibits a decline, of fully os to 6s per qr during
the previous month. It was expected that the long
continuance of the cold and changes experienced in
the weather during the season, would ])rove in-
jurious to all winter sown corn, as well as Rape
plants. In Pomerania also, the weather has been
extremely unfavourable for vegetation, but the
prices of grain at Stettin had sustained no variation
in price. The red Silesian ^Vheats were in excellent
condition, and capable of sustaining a lengthened
voyage ; the currencies quoted were 30s. Kye had
been shijiping to tlie United States at a freight of
lis and 7^ percent, and to Quebec at lis to l'2s.
At Rostock grain generally was advancing in value,
as the farmers owing to tbe unfavourable weather,
were holdin» for better prices. Granaried Wheat
was quoted at 32s to 33s ; Rye, 23s to 24s. A'essels
were loaded ready for sea. In Holstein tbe inquiry
for shipment continued only partial, but as the finest
quality and condition were required for export to
the United States, such samples were held at 30s to
31s for the consumption, to which sales were
principally confined, quotations ruled lower. Though
the weather since the commencement of the year
had been extremely trying for the Rape plant, yet it
was not apprehended that any serious injury had
been sustained, and if partial loss was experienced,
it was likely to be made up by tbe extended cultiva-
tion of the article.

By a Royal ordonnance at Stockholm, dated ths
7th of April, the export of all kinds of grain is per-
mitted from Sweden, duty iree, during- the current
year.

At Hamburg rather mere animation has been lat-
terly prevailing- in the Wheat trade, and an advance
of 6dper qrhad been realized, a speculative demand
having arisen, and a few sliipments again making to
America; prices were noted at 32s for best qualities
of new red Upland. Summer grain was also im-
proving, in consequence of the increased demand for
fodder in the country. The weather had been most
unseasonable, with heavy ialls of snow, whicli was
impeding the usual course of internal communication,
and endangering tbe lives of many cottagers in
remote iilaces, whose dwellings were quite enveloped
in tbe " fleecy cloud." Tbe stock of Barley had
been diminished by the dem-and for Norway &c ,
and the granaried stocks having become limited,
Silesian and Bohemian Barley was being held at
19s to 19s 3d per qr. Reports state from some pa'ts
of the country that the Rape plant bad sustained
serious injury from tbe recent weather, others con-
tradict them, therefore, notwithstanding the im-

proved accounts from Holland, -and the execution of
several orders thence, the prices had not ranged
higher than 22Z 10s to 24Z 10s per last.

Ovving- to the influx oi foreign corn into New York,
and tbe bulk proving- inferior in quality, tbe trade has
become extremely dull and prices materially lower.

Sales of flour have been made of very handsomeOhio
via New Orleans, at 9 dollars 50 cents, and superfine
new Orleans 10 dollars. Quotations are almost no-
minal, as the transactions taking place were insufficient
to give stability to prices. New York, superfine, 10
dollars to 10 dollars 50 cents. ; Western Canal, fancy,
11 dollars per barrel. Rye Flour vv'as coming to hand
more freely, and bad declined to 8 dollars in small par-
cels. The slock of foreign wheat, though excessive,
be'ng estimated at 500,000 busbels, was constantly
augmenting, and holders, in their anxiety to ef-
fect sales, show an increasing disposition to accede to
reduced prices. White wheat, in auction, has sold at
I dollar 50 to 70 cents, and red at 1 dollar 30 to 38
cents ; this wheat was stopped selling a few weeks ago
at '2 dollars 3 cents. Foreign Rye has been appearing
in trreater quantities, and has rapidly declined in value.
Dutch, lor milling-, has been sold at 1 dollar I25 cents.,
but now the article is offering at a dollar without
realizing it, and has been sold on time at 90 cents. Oats
are plentiful, northern selling at 68 to 70 cents, southern
50 to 55.

The flour market at Baltimore was in a very un-
settled state ; Howard Street qualities noted at 10
dollars from store, and 9 dollars to 9 dollars 50
cents from wagfron ; city mills flour, 9 dollars, ordi-
nary brands. There were large quantities of German
wheat offering, but dealers unwilling to buy ; prices
therefore nominal at declining rates.

Superfine flour at New Orleans had receded to Bdol-
lai's 50 cents, with a moderate stock.

At Cincinnati the market was dull, flour had declined
to 7 dollars, wheat, 1 dollar 25 cents.

CURRENCY PSR IMPERIAL MEASURE.

May 1.

BRITISH. Av

s.

Wheat, red, Essex, Knit, Suffolk 50

White 52

Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Yorfcshire. . . 40

White, do. do 46

Irish Red 48

Ditto White 50

Barley, M altinfj. new ,32

Clu'Viilier, new 34

Distilling 31

Grinding 24

Irish 24

Malt, Brown 46

Ditto, Chevalier 58

Ditto, Nort'olfc and Suffolk Pale 54

Ditto Wave 57

Peas, Hog and Grey 31

Maple 32

White Boilers 36

Beans, small 34

Harrow 36

Tliks ,34

.>1 azagan 34

Oats, English feed 22

Short small 24

Poland 25

Scotch, Common 22

C.erwick, &c 24

Potatoe, &c 25

Dish, Feed I, 33 Od to 23s Od

Ditto Potatoe 20s Od 2fis Od

Ditto Black Ifis Od 23s Od

PRICES OF FLOUR,

Per Sack of 280 lbs. April I. May I.

S. S. S. s.

Town-made 50 to

Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent, and Essex .... 43

Sussex and Hampshire 42

S u pertine 44

Dincolnshire, Y( rkshiie, and Stockton. 41
Northumberland, Berwick, and Scotch. 42

Irish 42

Extra 46

to 62

50 to 60

64

52

62

56

40

54

60

46

58

52

48

50

52

48

52

35

30

32

38

32

.34

34

30

32

28

24

28

29

24

27

50

46

50

60

58

fiO

58

54

58

59

57

Sf)

34

33

.36

35

35

.38

38

38

40

42

.34

44

40

36

42

38

.34

40

38

34

40

26

22

25

28

24

28

28

25

29

27

22

27

29

24

29

30

25

30

ISsOdto 23s Od

20s Od

25s Od

18s Od

23s Od

55

50 to 55

44

41 42

43

40 41

—

42 —

43

40 42

43

40 42

45

41 43

—

44 —

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

403

IMPERIAL AVERAGES.

Wheat,

56 7
56 9
56 8
56 2
55 11
55 5

Barley

32 2
31 7
31 6
31 11
31 5
31 0

33 11

35 3

36 11

37 1

Week ending:

lOtb Match

17th

24th

31st

7tb April
14th ..
Aitsreg:ilcAverage
of tlie six weeks
whieli regulates

the duty

Duties payable in
Lendon till Wed-
nesday next incln-
sivc, and at the
Outports till tlie
arrival of the Mail
of that day from

London

Po. on grnin flora
British possessions
out of Europe .. . .

Foreign Flour, ISs Sd per 1961hs. Bran 20 per cent ad
valorem. Britisli Possessions Flour, 3s per 196 lbs.

STOCK OF GRAIN, FLOUR AND CLOVER-
SEED IN BOND IN THE PORT OF LON-
DON ON THE 5th APRIL.

Wheat. Barley, Oats. Beans. Peas. Flour. Cloversd.
qrs. qrs. qrs. qrs. qrs. cwts. cvvts.

216,239 4,93r 62,646 1,680 5,758 29,341 31,068
Rye, — qrs

Rye I Beans

34 537 0

36 10 36 8

36 7|36 10

36 7|37 2

33 2 37 11

Peas-

35 11

35 8
35 8

35 3

36 11

37 0

15 6

An Account of the quantity of Foreig-n Grain and Flour
imported into the United Kingdom during- ths month
ending- the 5th April 1837 ; the Quantity on which
the r)uty has been paid for Home Consumption, and
the quantity remaining- in Warehouse.

Foreign Grain and

" Flour.

Wheat from British

Possessions

Ditto Foreign

Barlev

Oats

R ye

Beans

Peas ". ...

Flour from British

Possessions

Ditto Foreign

Quantity
iinported.

Quantity en-

tei-e;l for
consumption

Quantity in
VVareliousc.

qrs. bush.

9319' 5
19730 0
11557 2

3-221 2
10626 2

9041 6

qrs. bush.

1804 2
169 5
6770 0
678 3
2820 2
2003 3
1917 5

qrs. bush.

26539 7

484319 6

20427 3

232687 6

415 6

9596 7

11306 7

cwts.qrs.lbs,

1914 3 0
36184 0 11

cwts.qrs.lbs.

1470 1 10
118 0 21

cwts.qrs.lbs,

6406 3 12
168225 3 27

PRICES OF SEEDS.
April 24.
The arrivals of Cloverseed from abroad have been
limited, not exceeding 24 casks and 101 bags from
Hamburg, 26 bags fiom Rotterdam, and 5 bales from
Harlingen. The amount which has paid duty since
this day week, shows a considerable falling off in the
quantity, -which is now being brought into the con-
sumption, not being more than 2,600 cwts. Paces
having attained a point of reduction which is inducing
speculation, and holders of several parcels withdrawing
their samples from market, preferring to keep it over,
than accept the prevailing currencies, quotations are
not likely to sustain further depression ; but as the
consumptive demand, though protracted, is not yet en-
tirely satisfied, a slight fluctuation maj be expe-
rienced favourable to the seller. \Thite Seed
remains also unaltered from last Monday with a very
limited business doing in both red and white. Trefoil
firm, and rather more money demanded. Linseed,

which has been held at improving* prices, was to-day,
owing to the change in the weather, difficult of disposal
and prices barely maintained. The unfavourable reports
of the state of the Rap« plant in France, Holland, parts
of Germany, and in Denmark, h-as given more firmness to
holders ; and tlie higher relative prices in Belgium have
caused the shipment of 15D0 qrs to Ostend and Antwerp
the past week. In Caraway and Coriander little doing ;
Mustard meets less attention, but prices unaltered ;
Canary hangs on hand at the previously reduced prices.
Tares extremely difficult to quit at 4s 6d per bushel.
The arrivals of Oil Cakes comprised 15 tons from New
York of Rape Cakes, 47 do. from Hamburg with 33
ons of Linseed do. from the same port. A fair de-
mand has been experienced for Linseed Cake the past
week at fully former prices, but to-day it was dull. In
Rape little doing.

HOP INTELLIGENCE.

April 24.
The demand for Hops continues very limited, without
the slightest alteration in prices.

PUESKNT PRICES.

East Kent, Pockets, fine.. 4 10* 5 5 fine 7 0

t5ags do 4 4 4 15 5 18

MidKent Pockets do 4 2 4 15 6 6

Bags 3 10 4 13 5 10

Weald of Kent Pockets 3 10 4 10 5 4

Sussex, Pocket? 3 19 4 4 4 12

Yeai lings 2 10 3 3 4 2

Oldolds 11 1 10 2 2

POTATOE MARKET.

SO UTHWARK— Waterside, April 24.— The sup-
plies on the whole have been moderate, though large in
proportion from Yorl<shire, consisting of 787 tons of red,
2-00 ditto kidneys, and 70 ditto Shaws. From Devon-
shire the receipts have been 115 tons ; Suffolk 209 ditto ;
VVisbeach 193 ditto ; Scotland 317 ditto ; Guernsey and
Jersey 225 ditto; and Antwerp 250 sacks and 60 bags.
The weather continuing cold during the early part of the
week encouraged the consumptive demand ; but since
Friday the tall of rain, with milder temperature, proving-
advantageous for the progress of vegetation, is likely to
check further advance. The salesmen having, however,
succeeded in realiring since this day week an improve-
ment of 5s per ton, and 10s on Yorkshire reds, and as
the demand is keeping commensurate with the supply,
these rates are likely to be maintained at present, as
potatoes having got into less hands, any influx of the
article isnot expected.

Per ton of 40 bushels.

Yorksliiie reds. .100s to 110a

Do. Kidneys — s lOOs

Do. Shaws, forseedlOOs — s

Devonshire reds 95s 105s

Scotch reds 80s 90s

Essex VVhites — 5 — s

Wisbeach 70s SOs

Lynn Kidneys .... — s

Suffolk Whites 75b

Kent Kidneys — s

Do. whites ,.— s

Jersey&Guern.blHes90s
Do. whites — s

— B

85s
— s
— s
94s
— s

Chats 35s 55s.

BOROUGH AND SPITALFIELDS MARKETS.

WARE. Per Ton.

.£ s. .£ s.

Scotch reds 5 0 to 5 10

York kidneys. . . 4 15
Common reds... 4 5
.Miirsli Cliainii. . . 4 5
f-ondon whites . 3 10

Shaws 3 5

Chats..

5 5

5 0
4 15
4 5
4 0

MIDDLINGS. Per Ton.

Scotch Reds ..
York kidneys. .
Common reds .
iMarsh Chan'p..
London whites

Shaws

. . . .45s to 55s

.£ s. .£
, 4 15 to 5

4 0 4

3 15 4

, 3 15 4

3 5 3

2 15 3

WOOL MARKETS.

BRITISH.

April 21.

The pressure for money being still severely felt, but
little business has been doing, in British wools, during-
the past week. However, the quotations, though a

404

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

slight depression has been submitted to, in a few tran-
sactions, may be considered stationary. The trade in
our provincial districts, continues, in a very dull state.

April 1.

Per lb.

s. d.

s. d.

May 1.

s. d. s.

1 7 to 1

1 7h 1

1 4 1

1 41 1

1 1 1

0 7 1

1 0 1

Down Teirs . 1 7s to 1

Half-bred do 1 8 1 9i

Ewes and Wethers 15 1 6J

Leicester Hogs 1 45 I 6

Do. Wethers 12 13

Blanket Wool 0 8 1 2

Flannel 1 1 1 7

Skin Comljing 12 14 1113

EXETEE. — So far from any thing like brightness
being discoverable here, even to an extent still greater
than before, the horizon is obscured v^^ith gloom, several
of our manufactories being working only half time, and
some scarcely even doing that. No further depression,
hovrever, has taken place in the price of yolk wool,
■which we are still enabled to continue to quote at from
10§d to lid per lb. Washed wool also, is 14d ; and
Dorset horn, 15d per lb. In sorts, it can scarcely be
said there is any thing doing, and furthermore, there is
no disguising the fact, that for some descriptions, if sales
could thereby be effected, a reduction from the terms
we shall set down would beyond all doubt be submitted
to We quote then, Kent head, from lOjd to lid ;
and red, gre?n, and pinions, ll|d ; but the latter are
almost unsaleable. Upon fell combing there has been
a further, and not inconsiderable drop, this description
not only having been sold for \2l the pack, or 12d per
lb, but even some sales have been done at 11/ the pack,
or lid per lb ; our quotation, therefore, in this respect,
is from lid to 12d per lb. Fine head, is from 122d to
13§d ; stripes, as well North Devon as Cornish, 15d ;
and Tops, whether river or soap washed, IS^d to 19d
per lb. In connexion with this article also, it should be
mentioned, that foreign wools were offering in the
market.

WAKEFIELD, Thursday-— The dulness noted in
our late reports increases, and so great is the want of
confidence in the trade, that we can report few if any
sales in either long or short wools this week ; in this
state of things it is impossible to quote the value of
wools, but it is evident that holders must submit to a
further reduction when buyers again come to market.

LIVERPOOL.

Week ending April 24.

Current'prices of English wools per lb. — Down ewes
and wethers, 16d to 17d ; down tegs, 18d to 19d;
combing fleece, 17d to 18d ; combing skin, 14d to 16d ;
super skin, 15d to 17d ; head skin, 14d to 15d.

Scotch Wool. — We continue without alteration from
last week. We are not aware of a single transaction in
any of the qualities of Scotch wool. The account we
receive from the Highland districts of the serious loss of
sheep from the severity of the season, would in ordinary
times have occasioned an impulse in the market, but
hitherto they have produced no effect. Of course our
quotations are nominal.

per stoneof 241bs.
Laid Highland Wool, fiom

White do. do

Laid Crossed do

Washed do. do -...

I-iaid Clievior, do

Washed do. do

White do. do

Import for the week none hags.

Previously this year 2513 do.

Current prices of Irish wools, per lb. — Irish fleece,
mixed lots, 15.|d to 16d ; Irish wethers, 15d to IS^d;
Irish hogs, 16dtol7d ; Irish combing skin, 12|d to 132d ;
Irish short skin, 1 Id to 14d. Imports this week, 102 bags ;
previously this year, 1,127 bags.

There has been very little business transacted in any
description of wool during tlie week which has now

s.

d.

8.

d.

12

6 tola

0

15

0

15

6

15

0

16

0

16

0

17

0

18

0

20

0

24

0

26

0

32

0

34

0

terminated. The principal business has been confined
to the inferior qualities of foreign wool. The imports of
foreign wool amount to 787 bales. The import of Irish
is 102 bags, the demand for which has been limited in
the extreme.

Current prices per lb. — Russian wool, 7d to 8d ;
Odessa, fine. Is 6d to 3s Od ; Buenos Ayres, 3d to 4d ;
Mogadore and Barbary, 4d to 5d ; washed Peruvian,
lldtol2d; unwashed ditto, 8d to 9d ; Portugal R.,
Is 2d to Is 4d ; ditto, low marks, lOd to lUd;
German fleeces, Is 9d to 2s ; ditto assorted, 2s to 2s
3d ; ditto lambs, 2s to 3s ; Spanish R, 2s to 2s 3d ;
ditto F S, ls9dto2s: New South Wales, Is 9d to 2s 3d.
Imports this week, 787 bales; previously this year,
553 bales.

SCOTCH.

Per Stone of 24 lbs.

April 1. May 1.

s. d. s. d. s. d. s d.

Laid Highland Wool, from. 13 0 to 13 6 12 6 to 13 0

White Do. Do IS 0 16 0 15 0 15 6 .

Laid Crossed Do 15 0 16 0 15 0 16 0

Washed Do. Do 16 0 17 0 16 0 1/0

Laid Cheviots 18 0 20 0 18 0 20 0

Washed Do 26 0 26 0 24 0 26 0

White Do 32 0 34 0 32 0 34 0

FOREIGN.
April 24.

The arrivals, in the Port of London, in the course of
the week, ending on Saturday last, consisted of 186
bales of German, 40 do. of Spanish, and 260 do. of
Turkish, wools. The sale, of 1,342 bales of Peruvian,
and 70 do. of Italian wools, was very thinly attended by
buyers, and nearly the whole of the wool bought in.
However, the few packages that were sold — which were
of very inferior quality, produced, from 3d to lid per
lb. We have to notice, a vei-y heavy sale, by private
contract, at barely stationary prices.

Electoral Saxony wool, from 4s 2d to 5s 2d ; first
Austrian, Bohemian, and other German wools, 2s 8d to
4s; second do., 2s to 2s 6d ; inferior do. in locks
and pieces, Is 6d to 2s ; inferior lamb's do., 2s 4d to
.3s; Hungarian sheep's do., 2s to 2s 6d ; Leouesa
sheep's do., 2s 6d to 3s Od ; Segovia do., 2s 2d to 3s ;
Soria do., 2s to 3s; Caceres do., 2s 2d to 3s;
Spanish lamb's wool, Is 6d to 2s 6d ; German and
Spanish cross do., 2s 2d to 3s 4d ; Portugal sheep's
do., 2s 4d to 3s Od; do. lamb's do., 2s to 2s 8d ;
Australian, fine crossed do., 2s 4d to 3s 6d; do. native
sheep's do., Is 6d to 2s 8d ; Van Diemen's Land native
sheep's do., Is6d to 2s6d; and Cape of Good Hope
do. Is 6d to 3s per lb.

WOOL,

On which the Home Consumption Duties Lave been
paid at London, Liverpool, Bristol, and Hull,
during- the last week.— -

This Year,

WOOL.

previous to
last week.

.,,. lb.

590640

Bris'.oi

.... lb.

Australian

.... lb.

121461

Other Sorts

....lb.

4107153

UaU

.... lb.

1991326

Same lime

in the
last Year.

897871
7

350161
5675207
4115205

BONES.

Since our last there have passed the Sound or
Elsinort!;, the Great Belt, and the Holstein
Canal, ships loaded with Bones, bound for Bridling-
ton, 1 ; Hull, 1 ; other parts of England, 1 ; Berwick,
1 ; — with patent mist for England, 2 ; for Scotland, 1.

Printer! by Joseph Rogerson, 24, Norfolk Street, Strand,
LondoD,

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

JUNE, 1837.

No. 6.]

[Vol. VI,

THE PLATE.

The subject of the Plate is an Ayrshire Bull, the property of Sir John Muir
Mackenzie, of Delvine, N. B. The animal was six years and ten months old when
exhibited at the meeting of the Highland Agricultural Society at Perth in October
last, and obtained a Premium of Fifteen Sovereigns, as the *' best bull of the
Ayrshire breed." There were twenty competitors in this class. The honorary medal
was also awarded to his owner, as the breeder of the best bull. For a description of
the natiire and properties of the Ayrshire breed of cattle, we refer our readers to a
valuable article by Mr. Dickson, of Edinburgh, and which will be found in the fourth
volume of The Farmer's Magazine, -page 280.

POINTS IN CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO
AGRIC tJLTURE.— SOILS.

Those who undertake to investigate the re-
lations of plants to soils, are embariassed by
peculiar difficulties. They are entering upon
a field, the »ange and boundariesof which are
unknown to them, because the confines are, as
yet, un passed: they are groping for deductions,
from observations that are as variable and un-
certain as the occurrences to which they re-
late, and which the framers of these remarks
would have us to regard as regular and fixed.
A store of facts, collected from every quarter
of the world, has yet to be amassed. Here
and there, doubtless, an incidental observa-
tion of considerable value is to be found in
the records of our agriculturists and travellers,
which is serving as a kernel, round which
other fragments will be gathered ; but much
straggling information has still to be contri-
buted, and much careful reasoning has yet to
be expended upon it, and devoted to its ar-
rangement, before these isolated occurrences
can be connected and consolidated, so as to
serve the' important purposes which have been
assigned to this species of knowledge, and
meet the sanguine expectations which men of
talent have, doubtless, been correct in forming
regarding it. *' In tact," says Mr. Macgilli-
vray, " before any such results could be at-

tained, we should require for data, accurate
and perspicuous accounts of all the different
countries and climates of the world, viewed
with reference to their soils and plants. But
of such data do we yet possess even one ?
The botanist has gone forth by himself, and
discovered the vegetation of an unknown re-
gion ; the geologist has followed in his steps,
but he has noted the rocks, and their mutual
relations only. None has yet been able to
look upon nature with an eye capable of seiz-
ing all her features. Humboldt may perhaps
be said to have made the attempt, but many
Humboldts must run their career before the
complicated organization of mundane nature
can begin to become intelligible."

Few things would appear, atfirst sight, easier
to be judged of, than the value of a soil, as
evidenced by the vegetation on its surface. A
particular combination of earths might be
supposed to be capable of producing only
certain plants, and therefore the latter might
be viewed as affording a pretty correct index
to the composition of the former. Nothing,
howevei, as will immediately be seen, can be
more fallacious, as a test of the nature and
qualities of a soil, than the herbage it gives
rise to. Many plants certainly have each a
particular soil, in which alone they appear
fitted by structure and habit to attain perfec-
tion, and they either thrive or languish, ac=

'i E

406

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

cording to the wholesome or hurtful nature of
the ingredients which supply their wants ; but
there are several material circumstances to be
taken into consideration, besides the chemi-
cal and mechanical constitution of the earths
to which they adhere, before we can arrive at
anything like conclusions as to the regularity
with which particular compositions become
the abode of certain species. " The number
of plants," says Mr. A. Gorrie, " which may
serve as a test for pointing out the peculiari-
ties of soil, is comparatively small ; many are
found to prosper equally on diflferent soils,
and the means which nature employs to cover
the surface of our globe with verdure, are so
well adapted for accomplishing that purpose,
that it affords matter of astonishment to find,
in the vegetable creation, an approximation
to locality in certain plants, which may enable
us to assign to each its favourite nidus in cul-
tivation, or to distinguish that nidus by their
spontaneous growth." It is, therefore, not to be
wondered that difiSculties of no ordinary kind
should be experienced in attempting to fix
with certainty the circumstances under which
a given plant may be expected to show itself
on a particular soil, or that an almost insur-
mountable barrier should be presented to our
progress in endeavouring to discover even a
few plants, that will only grow upon one va-
riety of ground. In the vegetable kingdom,
we have evidence to prove that certain effects
can only, in some instances, owe their occur-
rence to one, or, at most, two proximate
causes — as, for example, where heath inva-
riably indicates the existence or a peat, and
where the common whin as regularly points
either to a bed of clay, or to one of loam, on
a gravelly subsoil ; but instances of the jiind
are rare, compared with the frequency with
which plants in general appear to be the re-
sult,-indiscriminately, of many causes, and to
E&assiuned to no particular soil. Thus, alders
• and willows seem indifferent as to what may
be the mixture in which they fix their roots,
provided that a copious supply of water be
constantly afforded them, nnd hence they are
fouDd to denote rather the proximity of a lake
or stream, than the presence of anyone in
particulaFof the usual constituents of a soil.
Tire limits of vegetables are never so ab-
ruptly defined, as to admit of iheir being
spoken of with certainty. Nature does not
distribute her productions with undeviating
regularity, or with the rigid adheience to
boundaries of a practised gardener. We
never see one order of plants ranked side by
side, over an extensive surface, with another
of dissimilar character, yet kept entirely apart
from the ground appropriated to its fellow. If
soils possessed of peculiar ingredients afforded
a hospitable bed for certain plants, but formed,
at the same time, an unapproachable barrier
to others, we might certainly expect to see
their limits at least as well defined as those
of the rocks of which these soils are formed;
but as plants do not bear unexceptionable re-
lations to particular soils, and flourish, in

many cases, on any of a vast variety of mix-
tures, without apparently evincing a prefer-
ence, so it is impossible to tie them to a lo-
cality, or to assign a distinct limit, beyond
which they will not prosper. " From what
we know," says Mr. Macgillivray, at the com-
mencement of his Inferences, " of the consti-
tution of the world in general, and from what
we have observed of Scotland in particular,
we are led to infer, in the first place, that soil
has little influence upon the nature of the ve-
getation,— this being determined chiefly by
climate, and modified by various circum-
stances, having no connection with the nature
of the soil ; but that soil has a very consider-
able influence upon the quality of this vege-
tation, this influence depending more upon
its degree of fixedness, tenacity, and capa-
bility of imbibing and retaining moisture,
than upon its chemical properties." Chemi-
cal constitution, however, must exercise con-
siderable power in determining the nature of
the vegetation, as we have already informed
the reader, when explaining the character and
relations of humin, that a soil depends very
much for the continuance of its dampness on
the quantity of decomposed vegetable and ani-
mal matters which it may contain. Those
most retentive of moisture, at ordinary sea-
sons, owing to the closeness of their texture,
are yet speedily deprived of it on the acces-
sion of warm weather, unless they contain
within themselves materials, from whose de-
composition water can always be produced,
and, therefore, such plants as afford a key to
the quantity of fluid in a soil, may, with cer-
tain restrictions, be looked upon as offering a
means of guessing at the nature of its consti-
tuents. In another part of his essay, Mr.
Macgillivray thus expresses his opinion on
this subject:^-" The great mass of vegeta-
tion, or, as it may be called, the standard ve-
getation of the country, being diffused over
every sort of soil, sandy, gravelly, gritty,
clayey, or vegetable, no particular indica-
tions are afforded by it of the nature of the
soil, unless with respect to its luxuriance,
whiclj yet depends upon other circumstances,
more than upon the quality of the soil. * * *
With respect to luxuriance, the matter is
simply thus: Neither the chemical nor me-
chanical nature of the soil influences the de-
> elopement of plants further than as they
contain -the quantity of moisture favourable
to particular species or genera; and it can
only be by a very complex view of nature
that one can attain a knowledge of the suit-
ableness of a soil for a particular species of
vegetable."

" Some striking indications," continues Mr.
Macgillivray, " nevertheless, present them-
selves to us in nature. Thus, if, while tra-
versing an extended heath, we observe at a
distance a spot covered with fresh verdure,
we infer that the soil there is certainly not
peat; and if, on approaching it, we see poae
{meadow grasses), viciae (vetches)-, and other
plants, usually found in rich pasture, we in-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

407

fer that the soil is vegetable, and so of other
soils. If, on the other hand, in a rich coun-
try, we see tracts, whether of hill or plain,
covered with a brown vegetation which we
know to be heath, we infer that the soil is peat.
Still even among these general appearances,
there are few that have direct reference to
soil. Thus, on seeing a long line of trees
which we know, by their physiognomy, to be
alders or willows, we infer that a river flows
beside them ; but we can make no inference
with respect to the soil. And thus, were it
possible that we should be led blind-folded to
a spot in which we should open our eyes upon
a rivulet margined with bright green moss,
among which Saxifraga stellaris (Starry saxi-
frage) Alcliemilla Alpina (Alpine lady's man-
tle), Silene acaulis (Moss campion), appeared
here and there, we might assuredly pronounce
ourselves in an Alpine region ; but what the
peculiar soil of the spot might be, we would
require to remove the turf to discover, and
thus trust to the colour, texture, adhesion,
and other qualities of the soil itself for a dis-
closure of its nature, rather than to anything
growing upon its surface."

Little reliance can, at best, be placed on a
mode of determining the nature of a soil
which involves a consideration of so many
elements, all calculated fully more than the
soil itself to controul the vegetation on its
surface. All that the most sanguine advocate
for the possibility of determining the composi-
tion of the soil by the plants which it gives
rise to can advance in its favour, may be
shortly summoned up from the labours of
Messrs. Macgillivray and Gorrie, and even
the little that those gentlemen have, after
much labour, managed to adduce in proof of
its utility, tends to diminish the value of the
method. As already shown by the extracts
we have furnished from their essays, neither
of them regard the criteria, which they have
afforded as certain in their indications, and
therefore look upon the opinions which they
have given to the public, rather as incentives
to a further examination of the subject, than
as observations of occurrences that are unde-
viating in their course. Any part of their
papers might be selected, in order to afford
the reader a knowledge of the connection be-
tween certain plants and soils, as what has
occurred once, may occur again, and what has
fallen under their notice, may at some period
or another come under the observation of
others ; but, as the extent to which the far-
mer may be warranted in making use of their
deductions ought obviously to be determined
by the points in which they coincide, we shall
only select, in our analysis, those parts in
which they have arrived at nearly parallel
conclusions. Both Mr. Macgillivray and
Mr. Gorrie have seen fit to class the soils to
which they refer, under a greater number of
heads than is usually thought advisable, and
doubtless with a view of giving a precision
to their remarks, which would not be other-
wise obtainable ; but the majority of readers

are averse to a prolixity of detail, which some
would condemn as a piece of useless straw-
spliting, and therefore we shall be content to
build our remarks on the classification that
we have already adopted in our primary divi-
sion of soils. A tabular arrangement of the
plant is employed by Mr. Gorrie, who is by
that means enabled to give the maximum and
minimum height, in feet, at which each plant
is found above the level of the sea, so as to
insure a degree of accuracy ; but he is very
far wrong in assigning so high an altitude to
the lowest elevation of several of the plants.
He justly observes that—" In ascertaining
the elevation, anything like mathematical ac-
curacy cannot be attained ;" but be might
have made a nearer approximation to the mi-
nimum altitude than he has done. He makes
the lowest level of some of the plants as fol-
lows. The measurement is given in feet.
Common whin, 40; wild mustard, 100; blad-
der campion, 100; common rest-harrow, 100;
scarlet pimpernel, 100 ; eye-bright, 300 ;
purple dead nettle, 200. Now, those who are
in the habit of looking about them while ia
the fields, even without having had their at-
tention much directed to botanical pursuits,
will agree with us that all these come closer
to the level of the sea than what is here stated,
and that twenty feet, though still not low
enough for most of them, would yet be a
nearer approach to the mark. Forty feet is
also given as the lowest elevation of *' Shep-
herd's purse," a plant that is frequently
found growing upon the shore. These re-
marks are certainly a slight departure from
our subject, but worth attention, as they af-
fect the general harmony of Mr. Gorrie's
conclusions.

Clay is scarcely worthy of notice in an
agricultural point of view, as it rarely exists in
a state of purity at the surface, and even
where it does occur tolerably free from mix-
ture with other earths, is rather to be known
by the peculiar scantiness, or entire absence
of vegetation, than by any plants which can
be shown to be indigenous to it. Mr. Mac-
gillivray and Mr. Gorrie differ more in re-
gard to the indications of clay, than they do
in respect to those of any other soil,— the lat-
ter enumerating no less than twenty-three
plants capable of affording an index to this
earth ; while the former contents himself with
allusions to a few varieties of grasses. Both
place some reliance on the indications afforded
by common colt's foot (Tussilago farfara) ;
but Mr. Macgillivray, though he admits that
it may be depended upon when existing in
great profusion by streams, (on whose banks
surface-clay is most generally found, ( quali-
fies the observation, by adding, in another part
of his Essay " I know no plant peculiar to
clay-soil; nor is even Tussilago farfara, for I
have often seen it in its natural situation, by
running water in every variety of soil except-
ing peat, although it is certainly more abun-
dant in clayey, or rather in gravelly soil
mixed with clay, than any other."

2e 2

408

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

Sand, when loose and shifting, is devoid of
vegetation : but when so situated as to remain
for a length of time at rest, it slowly becomes
impregnated with vegetable matter, and fic-
quires, in ordinary circumsianccs, a luxuriant
heibage. Along the west coast of Scotland,
according to Mr. Macgiliivray, this soil gives
rise to some ol our n;ost valuable grasses and
leguminous plants (plantsresemblingvetches),
on the abundance of which pastures are al-
ways dependant for their riches ; but in the
east ol Scotland, tliere is a decided inferiority
in its productions, the whin appearing to
choke up and supplant more useful vege-
taides. " On sandy and gravelly soils," ac-
cording to Mr. Gurrie, " the broom, as a
shrub, is found to pjeponderate, particularly
above free-stone rock ;" and " wheie the sand
or gravel is of a calcareous nature, the wh'n
acquires an establishment." In this district,
sand, combined with gravel, is usually covered
near pools of water, with species of the wil-
low-tribe, and the yellow water-tris or corn-
flag. The gravel mounds in the bendings of
the Nith above Dumfries, furnishes examplss
of this combination. " Of the soils which oc-
cur in Scotland," says Mr. Macgiliivray,
" sand and peat are those whicli are the most
distinctly characterized by the plants that
grow upon them ;" and yet ihe plants which
he speaks of as in a manner peculiar to sand,
— sea-bent, hollow bed-straw, and common
yarrow, — are not so much as alluded to by Mr.
Gorrie. Broom, in fact, is the only plant
agreed upon by both, and therefore is the
only one that can be looked upon as affording
satisfactory indications; but it is. unfor-
tunately, not peculiar to sandy soil, being also
placed by Mr. Gorrie at the head of his list
of those which grow upon light black loam
on an open sub-soil.

Peat is, in reality, the only soil that carries
plants peculiar to itself, — its presence being
invariably indicated by common ling, fine-
leaved heath, and cross-leaved heath ; and,
though not absolutely essential to the growth
of cotton grasses, a proportion of it may be
looked for in soils on which they are found.

Loam. — " On taking a general view of ve-
getable soil," says Mr. Macgiliivray, " one
would be apt to inferthat it assuredly possesses
a multitude of plants peculiar to itself. * * *
But, on more minute examination, we find that
many, or most of these are rather plants of
peculiar siiuations, than plants of vegetable
soil, growing in certain places or stations,
whatever the soil of those places may be.
And, in reality, 1 do not find a single species
that I could name as peculiar to this soil."
Both Mr, Macgiliivray and Mr. Gorrie bring
forward a long catalogue of plants which are
found on this soil ; and yet Artemisia vuh/aris
(mugwort) is the only one that they unite in
naming !

The fact is, there is a poverty of informa-
tion on matters of the kind, which must for a
time prevent the drawing of conclusions other-
wise than unfavourable to this method of ar-

riving at a knowledge of the main ingredients
of a soil. At best, too, the plan promises to
be but a rough one, and likely rather to be-
wilder than to put those anxious to gain an
inkling of the chemical constitution of the
gioundon the road to obtain it. The farmer
is certainly not usually desirous of making a
very nice or searching examination, nor is it
in general required; but when a soil is sus-
pected, from a failure in the quantity or
quality of the crop, to be wanting in some-
ti'iin^ which is essential to the production of
a vigorous plant, it becomes a matter of im-
portance to ascertain even by a coarse analy-
sis, the nature and extent of the deficiency.
When such is the case, a better mode of pro-
cedure than that just detailed, will be to test
the soil by a seiies of mechanical and che-
mical trials, and having thus found the gene-
ral nature of its contents, to compare the re-
sult with some soil of acknowledged excel-
lence, so as to determine by the contrast the
particular ingredients which it wants.

Lengthy processes for the analysis of soils,
are described by chemists, with the view of
facilitating their acquisition ; but the^simplest
of them require, in their performance, appa-
ratus which few can procure, and a degree of
consent between the head and hands that does
not fall to the lot of twenty in the hundred.
Fortunately, however, these tedious manipu-
lations can be dispensed with in the ordinary
run of cases, where the exact quantity in
which a particular earth or salt exists in the
matter to be tested is not required, all that is
necessary to be known being merely — " is
this or that ingredient present, or is it ab-
sent?" and where, accordingly, a process, as
devoid of prolixity as the information fsought
for is better suited to the purpose, and much
more likely to be put in practice. On obtain-
ing, then, a sample of earth, the contents of
which we wish to estimate, we may ujake our
inquiries in the following manner: —

lias it an earthy smell when breathed upon ;
or, having adhesive properties, does it retain
for any time the form into which we knead
or press it ? Then it contains clay.

Does it scratch glass when rubbed upon it?
Then it contains sand.

Does it effervesce,— that is to say, are bub-
bles of air extricated from it, when a few
drops of vinegar are poured upon it ? Then
it contains chalk.

Does it, when exposed to heat in small
quantity in a shovel or tobacco pipe, exhale
an odour similar to that of burnt feathers, or
does it catch fire and burn with a pale feeble
flame ? Then it contains animal and vegeta-
ble matters.

Two or three trials with different earths will
soon enable the experimenter to obtain, even
by this rough method, a tolerable idea of the
proportion in which each ingredient exists,
and by then comparing the indications he has
obtained with the results which professed che-
mists have arrived at, from the analysis of
soils of known fertility, he can form a good

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

409

notion of the valae of his ground, and be in
the fair way of remedying its defects. Talce
for guides the following : —

An excellent wheat soil, from the neigh-
bourhood of West Drayton, Middlesex, gave,
(according to SirH. Davy, 2(1 edit., p 176,) —
Alumina, (claj',) - - 29
Silicious sand, - - - 32
Carbonate of lime, ('chalk,) - 28
Animal and vegetable matter » 11
A good turnip soil, from Holkham, Norfolk,
afforded, when examined by the same chemist,
(2d edit., p. 175)—

Alumina, (clay,) - - 11
Silicious sand, - - - 15
Carbonate of lime, (chalk,) - 63
Vegetable and saline matter, - 8
The fertility of a great many soils of known
qualities, subjected to analysis by Thaer, of
Berlin, was always in proportion to the quan-
tity of clay, chalk, and humin (vegetable and
animal matter,) which they contained ; and
thcefore, according to the coherence when
pressed, the eflervcscence when tested wiih
vinegar, and the odour when burned, will be
the value of any soil we may undertake to
analyse. This is the sum and substance of
the business, and all, in fact, that is applica-
ble under ordinary circumstances. Minute
directions for the furtherance of the object
mi>,ht be given, and in a few instances wculd
doubtless prove of service ; but the number
of cases in which they could be brought to
bear upon the subject, would be few indeed,
compared with those in which they would
serve only to perplex. The benefits that might
be derived from the union of chemical skill
with the observation of agricultural facts, are
perhaps incalculable; but how seldom do we
find individuals capable from early training
of reaping advantage from chemical experi-
ments. That the present hints may aid in
directing the attention of the rising agricul-
tural population to the utility of chemistry,
as applied to agriculture, is the wish of

FRANK SYLVAN.

Steam Plough.— Our readers have heard of the
steam ploug^h which has been performing' such mar-
vels among the mosses at Bolton. Well, the said ma-
chine has been inspected by a committee of the High-
land Society of Scotland, accompanied by an engineer,
and as their report is exceedingly favourable, it is not
improbable that it will be exhibited here at the great
meeting which takes place in October next. But if you
plough by steam, what, it will be said, is to becoiwe of
the ploughmen? — Goldsmith's

" Bold peasantry, their country's pride.

When once destroyed, can never be supplied."
But the change from animal to steam-power, happen
when it may, will be extremely gradual, even were we
to suppose, which we are far from domg, that the inven-
tion is alike practicable in all situations. Locomotive
engine', which succeed so well on railways, seem to be
of little value oh common roads, and, wondei ful as is
the progress of the mechanic art, the period must still
be distant, should it ever arrive, when a power which
stops not, nor readily turns aside, can, by possibility
exert the same supremacy over precipitous or stony
heights, that it has done, and still is doing, over im-
provable moss, and other descriptions of land of the
same level. — Dumfries Courier.

LEASES.

Those who become tenants of poor land, out of
condition, consequently needing capital being ex-
pended on it, would be unwise if they did not re-
quire a lease: for although they might have full
confidence in their landlord, yet as life is uncertain,
tenants ought, under any change of the ownership
of the land, to be secured reaping the benefit ari:<ing
from their expenditure of capital, iiut of farms of
good land, in good condition, and therefore only
wanting the common expenses of cultivation, tenants
cannot reasonably expect to have leases. Those
entered into a great many years ago, proved very
advantageous to the tenants; those entered into
about twenty years ago mostly proved ruinous
to them. Leases now entered into, accord-
ing to my proposition, with a variable amount of
rent, regulated by the price of wheat, could not
prove injurious to either landlord or tenant, were
the term either long or short. Were leases entered
into on the terms I propose, it probably would not
be an uncommon occurrence to hear, as I heard a
tenant who had recently entered on a large farm of
poor land, say to his landlord, Mr. Coke, " My best
bank. Sir, for the capital 1 possess, is my farm, a
part of your estate."

Some years ago, a great portion of the stewards
of landed proprietors were composed of lawyers,
hind-surveyors, and others, who knew little or no-
thino- of the real quality of land, or the proper culti-
vation of it. All the object in view of such stewards
was to increase the rental of their employers, on
which increase it was then a common practice for
them to receive a commission ; so that industrious
tenants under their controul, whose farms appeared
neat, were li>ible to have their rents raisetl ; and the
criftv or negligent, whose farms appeared unsightly,
theirs not raised, but perhaps lowered, which is ex-
actly the reverse of what just stewards between
landlords and tenants, ought at all times to do.

My proposition for a commutation of tithes was
in the same mode as in estimating rents, by the value
of a determinate number of bushels of wheat, and I
still think that a fairer plan could not have been
adopted ; every farm in the parish being valued ac-
cording to the quality of the land, and not accord-
ing to its state of cultivation. Nor were the valuers
to be influenced by any amount that might have been
paid as compensation. Not to disturb any existing
agreement, but an estimate io be given to the land-
owner and tithe-owner of the value to be paid for
commutation, when such agreement ceases; the
amount fluctuating with the average price of wheat.
With this plan of commutation, it would not have
been necessary to have a permanent Board of Com-
missioners.

It has often been asserted in the Horse of Com-
mons, and elsewhere, that permanent low prices of
corn would not aftect the farmers — that landlords
(mly would be affected by it, for they must lower
their rents. This I trust I shall be able to prove,
by the following statement, to be a most mistaken
notion.

A summary calculation of the value of the produce of
Farms, of different descriptions of land, with Wheat
at seven, six, and fiveshillings per bushel; the prices
of other grain in proporcioD ; the profit arising from
Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, a»d Poultry ; the amount of
Rents and Expenses; *o4 tfce Occupiers' Incomes.
Also supposing that eacli faim was titheable, the
amount to be paid per acre and per annum according
to my mode of estimating the value of Tithes, which
proves to be, on arable land, about one-fifth of the
amount of a fair reut^ As I believe that my way of

410

THE FARMER*S MAGAZINE.

estimating the value of tithes brings them to a ra-
ther less amount than they justly ought to be, I
think five per cent, might be added to my estimation
on good arable land.

ta to fcs to

§000
000

to to to to to to

o o o o ►- o
o 00000

No. of acres
tithe-free.

1

i

B S

i

O) 00 03 0 en

00000

Arable.

i^

to

0

to

0

•(• to to M en

00000

Pasture.

Superior \
turnip laud J
Both good!
turnip land/
Good quality.

liood lur- 1
nip land /

(4-course 1
system) /

Poor Clay
Poor Sand

Clay

Sand
Good Clay

Quality.

to

0

w
01

0

CO
en

0

CO to to 1- H- o>
1-.1 en en en i4^ •

05 © 0 0 0 P'

Rent per
acre.

^

to

0

0

w
en

0

0

CO

en

0

0

£ s.
140 0
157 10
250 0
250 0
315 0

Whole Rent.

n

i

c
to

0 0 CO ^^0^
■>ot 0 en en ot+5
to 05 00 01 CO

Value of pro-
duce and pro-
fit of stock.

IB

a
<-*

in
en

01

0

cn
tn

©

en
to
en

0

en en if>- 4^ 4^ .
to CO ^ •- cn>+j
0 0 0 en 0 "^

0 0 © 0 © "

Amount of
Expense.

a-

B

1

CO

w

4^

to

00

to

to to H- H- ^0.

4^ to CO OO — f+5

4i. O) on CO CO

Occupier's
Income.

oeo CO CO cotoi-'>-i-> m

to 0> 0 0^*CDOOO«0»

© 0 0 © 0 ©«o«oo*.P'

Rent per
Acre.

^

4>'CO CO CO COlO»-B-i—

0 <0 0^ 0 0 ^00000«0>4s

00000 0 ^J -^i en Cfti ^ ■'

© 0 © 0 © © 0 0 0 ■^ "

Amount of
Rent.

«0<0 1— 0 tO<O00«Jff> OJj_^

ocn CO CO o54i'<i*-en>-'c+5

00 00 -I tOCO^lOOi^tO

Value of pro-
duce and pro-
fit of stock.

»oto en en *'*-4^*'C04'
0 to ^ 0 03 00 CD to CB 0 J-K

0 0 to to CO oMooiovr^^
0© 0 0 ©©ooo©"

Expenses.

1

coco to to ►-►-t3>-'H- i—i^
00 0> CO CDeOOCOO>H-ff5

S 0 o» en ►- t« to CO ^ ►-

Occupier's
Income.

to to t- i-< I

en to to to en 4^ '

O « K5 0> O 00 !

en cn en to Oi

O O© © O CO .

o o 00 10 to cn*^

O o © o o © :

ifk 4k 4^ CO CO CO,

Rent per
acre.

Amount of
rent.

Value of pro-
duce and pro-
fit of stock.

Expenses.

Occupier's
Income.

Occupier's loss

of income, with

.K

4^

0

►- cn to W 1-1 »^

reductionofrent,

|(^

ta

-J

4>> 0>(0 09 COt+»

wheat being re-
duced from 7s.
to 5s. per bush.

<n

O)

o>

cn

cn

4» 4k 4k to to to •-«

If the farms

0

4^

0

to

to

^ 0 0 4k H- (xo

were titheablc,
tod wheat 6s.

^

CO

00

cn

en

i^ 4^ 4k b3 tOUs-O
to 0 0 4k »-f^ t

per bushel, the

e

-T

en

0

0

4k 0 © 0 cn p

tithe would be

In the above statement, the whole amount of value
of the produce of each farm is calculated ; therefore,
if the occupiera consume in their families, com or
meat, gr corn by any other horses, than one to ride

tomai'ket, or cart-horses the falue of such cotn or meat
must be considered as part of their incomes ; whiih,
according to my calculations, will be, on poor clay
farms (with my lowest valuation of produce) not
more than sufficient to feed, and plainly clothe, their
families, or to give their children any thing beyond
the most homely education. The occupiers of good
turnip, or good grazing land, need not despair of
getting, with iadustry and good management, and
good judgment of stock, a comfortable maintenance ;
for the demand for corn and meat (both of which
they can produce at less expense than the occupiers
ef poor land) , must increase with our increasing
population. If a farmer were to ask his sons what
line of life they would like best, the chance is, even
if there werehalf a dozen, or more, that they would
all answer, farming. It is, however, the duty of the
fathers to be satisfied in their minds that their sons
are likely to turn out steady and industrious, before
they consent to their being brought up in that line,
for to those who do not turn out so, there is, in the
life of a farmer, too many temptations to pleasure.
Farmers should also consider what prospect they
have of getting farms for their sons, before they
bring them up as farmers.

Rail-roads will certainly cause a change in the
value of land in different parts of the kingdom. The
gross value of the land, five miles round London,
will, I conceive, be lessened, and the land, fifteen or
twenty miles from it, that lies near a rail-road, in-
creased in value, not only from the facility of get-
ting its produce to market, but for its convenience
of residence for persons who have daily business to
transact in London. Good feeding grass land, from
forty to sixty miles from London, has hitherto been
of much greater value than the same description of
land, a hundred and twenty miles from it : but if
the sheep and cattle fed on it can be conveyed there
at the small expense it is said they will be, the dis-
tant land will be increased in value, and conse-
quently the nearer, somewhat lessened.

The produce of a poor clay arable land farm, and
the profit of the stock kept upon it, ought to amount
to seven rents, as thus : — one for the landlord ; four
and a quarter, expenses ; and one and three quar-
ters for the tenant's maintenance. On a poor sand
farm, where the expenses are less, six and a quarter
will do. On fair clay land, four and a quarter : one,
landlord ; two and a quarter, expenses ; one, tenant.
On good turnip land, three and a half; one, land-
lord; one and three quarters, expenses ; three quai--
ters, tenant. Superior grazing land, two and a
quarter : one, landlord ; half, expenses ; three quar-
ters, tenant. There is a difference of opinion as to
the size that farms ought to be : most, who consider
the question as it regards the public interest, are
against large farms ; believing that there is not a
proportionably equal number of labourers kept on
large farms as there is on moderate-sized ones ; be-
sides which, it is argued that two farmers' families
might be maintained where there is only one. Per-
haps there are not, on the generality of farms of five
hundred acres, double the number of labourers em-
ployed as there are on farms of two hundred and
fifty acres. It is certainly in the power of a good
farmer to well manage, at less expense per acre,
two hundred and fifty acres of good arable land, than
he could one hundred and fifty acres, of the same
quality. As the question regards landlords and te-
nants, the size of farms must depend on the nature
of the soils, the parts of the country in which the
farms are situated, and the competency of the te-
nants ; for landlords cannot be expected to let large
farms to tena^ta with small capital. When wlieat.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

411

the chief dependence of clay land farmers to pay
their rents, was selling at eight-and-thirty shillings
per quarter, as it had been for a considerable time
previous to about the middle of February, 1836,
such farmers were then in a truly distressed state :
but not so the turnip-land farmers, for barley, oats,
mutton, find wool, were then selling at fair prices. —
Hillyard's Practical Farming.

THE IMPROVEMENT OF HEATH.

Is it not unpleasant to see an easy-lying sheep-
walk totally neglected, and overrun with a dense,
dark, useless heath, and the name of the neglected
hill is, perhaps, that from which the family derive
their l.ereditary honours'! It is the mismanagement
or rather total neglect of those spontaneous produc-
tions which remote and elevate regions yield. Though
the soil itself cannot be altered, so as to give exist-
ence to more succulent herbage, yet, the productions
themselves may be so reclaimed as to render them
more nutritious, more mild, and grateful to the pas-
turing stock. All distant and Alpine productions are
apt to be disregarded, but heath is cerainly most ne-
glected. At no great distance of time, this will en-
gage the attention of both landlord and tenant, and
when their exertions have been successful, they will
be astonished at the indolence of former generations
who allowed their extensive sheep-walks to be un-
der the dominion of a witheral, worthless, unprofitable
heath, and it susceptible of such easy improvement.
The Celtic tribes had a method of preparing an
intoxicating drink fro.n a decoction of heath. This,
mixed with wild honey, was their common drink at
their feasts ; and upon account of the cheerfulness
it imparted to their spirits, Ossian calls it, " the
joy of the shell."

Sheep, who are natives of a heathy pasture, are in
no danger of feeding to excess ; they only satisfy,
but do not overburden nature, and though the animal
is here smaller in the bone, and the viscera much
less, the constitution is sound and hardy, and is in no
danger of those maladies which arise from repletion.
Grouse have their residence only where heath
prevails. It is a hardy fowl, well known to the
sportsman, and is often seen feeding on the young
sprigs of heath in the shock of the tempest and amid
the darkest night.

Again, when the blossoms of trees and plants are
faded, or have given place to the fruit, the heath
offers inexhaustible stores of honey to the wild and
domestic bee, and in this liquid, extracted by these
diligent purveyors, resides that spirit which inspired
the Celtic bards to sing of the deeds of other times
then long gone by.

To the heaths, also, sundry other species of mi-
gratory birds resort through the summer months,
for hatching and rearing their tender young. Here,
in these solitudes, far from the disturbance of man,
they enjoy, unmolested, those compassionate feelings
which every creature fondly cherishes, as it contri-
butes to the wants of its helpless offspring.

Heath is a plant which shoots wild and free, and
any alteration of the soil on which it stands, or in the
structuro of the plant itself, dwarfs its size, and di-
rectly checks its growth ; yet it has this peculiarity,
that, if the roots be left untouched, it will by no
means relinquish the soil, if, previous to the destruc-
tion of the plant, they have been in a living state ;
and, destroy the old heath by what method you will,
if the roots have been undisturbed, a succulent crop
of young heath will immediately cover the ground ;
and to accomplish this necessary purpose, burning
is the easiest, the most effectual, and the most expe<

ditious. The young shoots, after proper burning,
protrude from the old stock, forming a fine sward of
young heath, and by the branches of different roots
intersecting each other, meets at the top, covering
over all the ground. This is juicy and sweet, and is
eaten greedily by sheep about the month of Septem-
ber, and this burning has, as yet, been gone aLout
in a random manner, often altogether neglected. But
the husbandman doth not piove his arable land by a
certain rotation of crops with greater exactness than
a heathy pasture should be regularly laid out in
heaths of different ages, the oldfist spaces annually
renewed by burning, when the nest in seniority are
in their last year. By this means, this shrub is kept
eatable through all the season, and even when other
herbage is scarce in the spring months, a browse on
young heath is far from being unacceptable. How
can it be of service when it is allowed to stand till
it is useless? When old, it doth not vegetate till
about the middleof June ; but when young, its spring
is little later than the softer grasses. In the f rmer
state, there is scarcely a return of verdure through
all the season. When young it shoots more than an
inch for several seasons, and at all times its germs
are eagerly sought for, and eaten by the depasturing

stock.

Manure of Farms.— Not any thing connected with
agriculture is so material to production as the economy
of manure : and in proportion to the quantity and
quality of this necessary article, are the returns ob-
tained from the lands in all situations. The pres-nt
system, generally practised (if it can be so termed),
has been much censured by scientific and practical
men of experience and known abilities ; and the
most able chemist (Sir Humphrey Davy) of our day
has gone so far as to estimate the loss of the stimu-
lating properties in dung, by the present process, at
from one-half to one-third of what manure should pos-
sess when put into the land. This art is almost
coeval with man — is practised in every situation —
and in all countries where the inhabitants are nume-
rous it is not only the most important, but indispen-
sably necessary for their subsistence ; and yet, even
in Britain, so far as is known, it is the only process
that is conducted in opposition to scientific princi-
ples, notwithstanding that other branches of hus-
bandry are prosecuted, perhaps, with more skill than
elsewhere in any instance. Draining must, necessa-
rily, have been practised at a very early period, but
the immense utility of this was not generally known,
nor was it extensively adopted with effect until
within the last twenty years.

Every reflecting and intelligent individual must
admit the waste occasioned by the mixture and escape
of dung with rain water; but were the farmer told
that there is more virtue in what is lost in this man-
ner than in all the straw that can be used, he would
not credit the fact. The evil in this case is sufficiently
apparent to induce occasional attempts to collect
these wastings from the dung heap, and to apply
them separately to the lands ; but the only means to
avert and strike at the root of the evil, is to exclude
air and excess of moisture. Thus, the whole are acted
upon by every degree of variation in the weather, at
every stage, and "can it be imagined that these
changes take place without the induction of some and
the escape of other volatile principles, or is this irre-
gularity of action consistent with any other syste-
matic process V

It might be found more conveiiient to separate the

urine from the dung and litter, and to allow it to pass

from the stock to a recess under cover, where it may

be mixed with moss or mould. „.t.t,tt.x»

Dymerehim. AN UPLAND FARMEE.

4i#

f HE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

EXPERIMENTS ON FEEDING.

(from the gOARTERLY JOURNAL OF AGRICUL-
TURE.)

Some of the most instructive experimenta upon
the feeding of farm-stoclc with different materials.
were made by an intelligent foreign agriculturist,
M. Mathieu de Dombasles, and published in a
work little known in this country, the Annates de
Roville. The experiments usually made on this
subject have been conducted upon the principle of
continuing one species of food, such as hay or
carrots, for a given time; but M. de Dombasles
reflecting that it is neither natural nor agreeable
to any animal to be confined for a length of time
to the same species of food, adopted a different
method. He separated into several groups the
cattle on which he designed to experiment, and
brought thofe in each group as nearly as possible
to a given weight, by feeding them with an exactly
•weighed proportion of common articles of food,
diversified to suit their taste. When he had pro-
ceeded so far, he then began to take away from
their diversified food a known portion of one of
them, such as lucern bay (iuzcrwcs^cAe), replacing
it by some sort of root, such as carrots, gradually
increased or diminished, so that each individual in
the group came up to and sustained the weight it
bad stood at before the change. The comparison
of the quantities thus ascertained by trial to be
equivalent, gave the practical proportions of their
nutritive properties, under the conditions thus
associated.

The results thus obtained by M. de Dombasles
by trials with sheep, appeared to place carrots
very far below the rank usually assigned to them
as food for sheep by farmers on the Continent, and
even as food for horses when substituted for grain.
But it is important to remark, that M. de Dom-
basles gave the carrots in a raw state to his sheep,
and consequently from their stomachs being unable
in the process of digestion to cause the globules in
the carrot containing the dextrine to burst, they
derived little nutriment from a substance which is
undoubtedly very nutritive when the dextrine is
developed by boiling. The intelligent farmers in
Belgium, who seem to be almost a century before
other parts of Europe in improvement, never, it is
said, give any roots to their live-stock without
boiling.

The digestion of food is in all animals partly a
chemical and partly a mechanical process, and
varies much in different animals, even when they
feed on similar aliment ; for example, the rabbit,
the horse, and the game-cock, when fed upon oats
or barley. The horse, and even the rabbit, when
fed on oats, swallow many grains without crush-
ing them with their teeth, and their stomachs not
being endowed with the power of digesting solid
uncrushed grain, it is voided whole, and so little
changed as frequently to be capable of germinating.
In the case of the game-cock, again, and all galli-
naceous fowls which feed on grain, it is uniformly
swallowed whole, their bills not being adapted for
bruising it like the teeth of the horse, nor for
shelling it like the linnet and sparrows. But the
gizzard of these fowls has not only sufficient
power to crush oats and barley, but even, as Spal-
lanzani proved, to reduce glass to powder ; yet,
with all this power, so very much greater than the
digestive powers of the horse, poultry cannot, as
will be immediately proved, completely extract
the dextrine from grain, unless assisted to do so
by artificial means, besides their powers of diges-
tion. The celebrated M. Reaumur undertook a

series of experiments on raw and on boiled graiii
in feeding, which, though made long before the
discovery of dextrine, strongly corroborate the
views of IVIM. Raspail and Biot, the more io, in-
deed, from M. Reaumur's non-acquaintance with
the principle.

The farmers in France who keep poultry, have
long been in the habit of cooking the grain given
to fowls which they intend to fatten, boiling it in
water till it is soft enough to be easily bruised be-
tween the fingers, the heat causing it to s>well till
the mealy ]>ortion of the grain splits the chaffy en-
velope, and this they term bursting. It is there-
fore the popular opinion, that boiled grain is more
nutritive and fattening than raw grain, an opinion
founded, however, upon vague notions, which M.
Reaumur endeavoured to base upon precise cal-
culation.

Boiling of Grain. — For this purpose M. Reau-
mur c;iused about four measures (each IJ pint
English, or |t,hs. of a chopin Scotch) of each of
the six common sorts of grain, to be boiled till
they were well burst, (which may be fairly taken
to mean that two-thirds of the dextrine was set
free), and he found that the increase of bulk in
each sort was as under: —
Four measures of oats, after being

boiled to bursting, filled 7 measures.

Four measures of bailey, after being

boiled to bursting, filled 10

Four measures of buckwheat or brank,

after being boiled to bursting, filled 14

Four measures of maize, after being

boiled to bursting, filled above ....13

Four measures of wheat, after being

boiled to bursting, filled little moie

tban 10

Four measures of rye, after being

boiled to bursting, filled nearly .... 15

Rice swells considerably more than any of the
preceding, but was not measured.

In order to ascertain whether the boiling altered
the preference of poultry for any of the particular
sorts, M. Reaumur made experiments, varied in
every possible way. The fowls were furnished
with two, three, four, five, and six different sorts,
sometimes all the compartments of a feeding-box
being filled with burst grain, each division different
from another, and sometimes each sort of grain
filled two of the divisions, one having nothing but
boiled, and another nothing but dry, unboiled
grain.

All that could be inferred from these repeated
experiments was, that the greater number of fowls
prefer boiled to raw grain, though there are many
of them which show a preference to the raw grain
on certain days, and no permanency could be dis
covered in the preference shjwn for any sort of
burst grain. Some fowls, for instance, which one
day preferred boiled wheat, would, on other days,
make choice of buckwheat or maize, oats or bar-
ley, and sometimes, though more seldom, even of
rye ; but rye, either boiled or raw, is their least
favourite sort of grain.

It follows, as an important practical conclusion
from such experiments, that we may make choice
of the sort of grain which happens to be cheapest
to feed poultry, without much if any disadvantage,
always excepting rye, when other sorts are to be
had on reasonable terms.

It required experiments of a different kind to
prove whether there is any economy or the con-
trary in feeding poultry with boiled grain, and
this was readily ascertained by finding first how

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

413

much dry grain sufficed one or more fowls, and
then boiling the same quantity, and trying how
much of that would in J il<e manner be sufficient.
The experiments which, for this purpose, M. Reau-
mur made with the different sorts of grain were as
follows: —

Rye. — Although, as we have seen, rye is very
considerably increased in bulk by boiling, so far
from being more sufficing, it becomes less so ; for
fowls will eat rather more of it when it is boiled
than when it is raw and dry. Seven hens and a
cock, which consumed only three-fourths of a mea-
sure of dry rye in one day, ate in the same time
three measures of the boiled grain. Consequently,
as three measures of boiled rye are equivalent to
four-fifths of dry, it would cost one-twentieth
more to feed fowls with boiled than with dry rye,
four-filths being one-twentieth more than three-
fourths. The globules of rye are almost the same
size, according to M. Raspail, with the globules
of wheat

Oats — It appears, that although oats are in-
creased by boiling nearly one-half, they are not,
any more than rye, rendered more sufficing as
food ; for the fowls, which, in two days, would
have eaten four measures of dry oats, consumed in
the same time several measures of the boiled
grain. Consequently, so far as fowls are con-
cerned, it is no saving to boil oats ; though this
does not prove that the same holds with regard to
horses whose powers of digestion are so inferior
to those of fowls.

Buckwheat or Brank— This grain is increased
by boiling still more than oats, since four measures
when well boiled, swell to fourteen. Notwith-
standing, there is little advantage obtained by
boiling it for fowls, as they will consume the four-
teen measures of the boiled grain nearly in the
same time which the four measures of the dry
grain would have sufficed them.

Maize or Indian Corn. — This grain is more
profitable as food for poultry when boiled than
when raw ; for the fowls, which would have eaten
a measure and a quarter of dry maize, consumed
only three measures of the boiled grain, and these
three are not equivalent to one measure of dry
maize. But it is worth remarking, that the fowls
experimented upon continued only for two days
able to get through three measures a-day of the
boiled maize. After this time, they either lost
their appetite or came to dislike the food, since
they could not then eat quite two measures of the
boiled grain. Now, calculating that they had con-
tinued to eat even as much as three measures of
boiled maize a-day, there would be a saving of
more than one-fifth ; and if they were satisfied
with two measures, the advantage would be much
more considerable, inasmuch as this would not be
equivalent to two thirds of a measure of the dry
grain. The saving in this case would be one-third
and one-fifth, that is eight-fifteenths or more than
one-half.

Barley. — This grain also was found, upon trial,
to be much more economical when given to poul-
try boiled than raw. Fowls, which would have
consumed two measures of the dry barley a day,
got through only three measures daily of the
boiled grain. Now, as ten measures of boiled
barley are produced from four measures of dry,
three measures are, therefore, equivalent to no
more than six-fifths of a measure of dry. The ex-
pense, consequently, in dry barley is to that of
boiled as ten-fifths to six-fifths, that is, as ten to
six or as five to three, showing a saving of two-

fifths by feeding poultry with boiled Instead of dry
barley. This result is, no doubt, owing to the
more effectual bursting of the grains of fecula,
and setting free the dextrine contained in them.

Wheat. — The results of the experiments on
boiling grain given above, shew that wheat in-
creases in bulk about the same as barley ; but the
experiments made on feeding poultry were consi-
derably different in their results, the saving not
being near so much with boiled wheat as with
boiled barley ; for the same fowls which consumed
three measures of boiled barley in one day ate
three measures of boiled wheat. Now, three
measures of boiled wheat are not equivalent to
two measures of dry wheat, but only to a measure
and a half of dry wheat, the quantity consumed in
one day by the same fowls. But as a measure of
boiled wheat is equivalent to no more than two-
fifths of the measure of the dry grain, the three
measures eaten in one day are equivalent only to
six-fifths of dry wheat, and therefore the propor-
tion of what they consumed of dry wheat, was to
what th '.y consumed of the boiled as fifteen-tenths
to twelve-tenths, or as five to four ; hence there
is a saving of one-fifth by feeding with boiled
wheat, as the;e is of two-fifths with boiled barley.

It is clearly proved, then, by these interesting
experiments, that there is in most cases a consi-
derable saving by feeding with boiled grain. It
would be well if some intelligent gentleman would
undertake similar experiments on feeding horses
and cattle with boiled or steamed grain or meal.
The advantage of feeding with crushed grain in-
stead of given it unbroken has been very satisfac-
torily proved and acted upon by Captain Cheyne
(Quarterly/ Journal of Agriculture, iii. 1024, and
iv.378;, and recommended by Mr. Dick and others.
The steaming of potatoes is well known to be ad-
vantageous in feeding both horses and cows,* and
more particularly in causing hens to lay, and in
fattening pigs. Why should not the various sorts
of grain, such as peas and beans, and meal, such
as barley meal, given for similar purposes, not be
advantageously increased in their nutritive proper-
ties by the same means? The expense oftuel,
though it ought to be taken into account, must be
small in comparison with the advantage, at least
in districts where coal or other fuel is reasonable
in price. In large concerns, also, the expense of
fuel would of course be proportionally less when
compared with the saving in food.

Bread-making. — The most complete method
hitherto discovered for bursting all the globules of
fecula, is the usual process of making bread, or,
as chemists term it, panification. This arises from
the presence in wheat flour of a substance termed
gluten, associated with the globules of fecula, and
constituting in the unbroken grain its cellular tex-
ture or frame work. It would lead us too far from
our present object to go into the history of this
important substance minutely, but it may be ne-
cessary to state, that the gluten may be procured
by kneading and washing a piece of dough, made
with wheat flour, in a stream of water, till all the
globules of fecula are washed out. The gluten
thus obtained is a greyish mass, elastic, like Indian

* According to the experiments fully related iu
the 10th and 11th volume, pages 253 and 52, of the
Transactions of the Highland Society, it would ap-
pear that cattle thrive as well on raw turnips and
potatoes as on prepared, and yield more profit. The
point has not yet been suflSciently experimented on.
But we have no doubt that boiled corn would fatten
cattle better than raw. — Editob.

414

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

rubber, when moist, and incapable of being dis-
solved in water. It is these two properties which
render it so important in bread making.

When a loaf is put into the hot oven, the steam
and gases expand within it, and raise up the elas-
tic gluten into bladder like vesicles ; and by this
means expose the globules of fecula in the dough
more uniformly to the heat than could be effected
without such agency. In consequence of this they
burst ; and in a well-baked loaf of bread not a sin-
gle unburst globule of fecula can be found. On the
continent this is practically understood in the dis-
tricts where they feed their horses chiefly on
bread, as in most parts of Belgium, Prussia, and
Switzerland. The bread thus given to horses is
coarse, dark-coloured, and rather sour, from lea-
ven being employed instead of yeast ; but the par-
tial fermentation caused by the leaven must assist
in bursting the globules and setting free the dex-
trine from the action of the acid thus developed.

According to M. Raspail, and the fact has been
stated by others, the more of other fecula we mix
with good wheat flour, containing its due propor-
tion of gluten, the less increase of weight does the
bread acquire. For example, six pounds of flour
will produce eight pounds of bread ; but if three
pounds of potatoe-starch be mixed with three
pounds of wheat-flour, instead of eight pounds of
bread there will only be six pounds. He explains
the circumstance from the globules of fecula while
unbroken, not imbibing water, but being only
moistened by its adhering to them ; while the
gluten sucks in water like a sponge, and the more
it is kneaded, the more water it will take up. The
mixture, therefore, of other flour with that of
wheat diminishes not only the weight but the nu-
tritive materials in the bread.

REMINISCENCES OF AN IRISH
FARMER.

[from a correspondent.]

The year 1799 was a remarkable one in our
family ; my poor father, peace to his honoured
manes, had been, with many upright but simple
men, seduced to take an active part in the troubles
of the preceding year ; but after the route at Bally-
nahinch, he turned over, once and for aye, a new
leaf in his political creed, and if at any time he
reverted to the subject, he always classed the con-
fraternity with whom he had previously cast his
lot, under three denominations — " The rascally
republican head-plotters, who saved themselves by
keeping aloof, or by an early emigration to the
dear land of the ' Sans Culottes ;' " — " the dupes,"
amongst whom he reckoned himself, " who fought
for a camera-obscura phantom, tricked out by the
former in gaudy colours, and paraded as a beauti-
ful reality." He had, to use a mercantile phrase,
speculated too largely in a falling concern, and
found himself in the spring of 1799, safe indeed
in person, and in the midst of his rising family,
but with his farm curtailed by half, his stock gone,
and, superadded to reduced means, a subdued
spirit. He had contrived, however, to get his oats
sown by the 1st of April, as he approved the trite
old proverb, that " an early seeding is generally a
good one;" but on the 5th, fell a snow, unex-
ampled in Ireland, at almost any period of the year.
The wind, which was as boisterous as if the family
of ^olu3 had been puffing through all their pipes,

blew it into drifts many feet deep on low and
sheltered lands, of which ours was a specimen,
and sufficiently deep in others to reduce the coun-
try to the appearance of a white unbroken plain,
and render the roads impassable. The snow lay
in many places till the end of the month, and
when at last it disappeared, our crop, and that of
hundreds beside, was spoiled by the superabundant
moisture bursting the seed ; many sowed the
ground a second time, and others from the state of
the land were forced to postpone their oat sowing
till the first or second week in May. The harvest
was extremely late, unfavourable, and unpro-
ductive ; the growth of a small farm was insuffi-
cient to support a middling family, with the most
prudent economy, without leaving any thing for
seed or the landlord. In the succeeding spring of
1800, we bought Poland oats for seed, at 1^. per
cwt., and seed potatoes at Is. 2d. per stone. This
year also was a most distressing one, potatoes were
not larger than crab apples, and in the early season
had strings similar to what appears in those of a
former season whenever grown in the bin, and
those who were forced to eat them without flour
were all more or less injured in health, and ap-
peared, poor souls, like so many Indian fortune-
hunters returned after a twenty years' baking in
the salubrious verticality of Bengal. Oatmeal
that year reached 50s. per cwt. ; a farmer actually
refused 50s. with the observation that " at 56s.
both buyer and seller might live," he was punished,
however, by the plenty of the succeeding year,
having to sell the same stock for 10s. 6d. No flour
but that imported could be used by the weavers as
paste, and this was sold at 8d. per lb. ; in short,
the years 1799 and 1800 were long remembered as
eras in which distress in Ireland had attained its
acme ; but my poor father looked upon them as
just retributions for the sin of rebellion, of which
he laboured so successfully to instil a hatred into
his family, that, warned by his deep contritions,
and honouring his memory, his children have con-
tinued uncompromising loyalists ever since, though
I am not quite sure that the advocacy of revolu-
tionary principles would be at all likely to thwart
our prospects in life, under existing circum-
stances.

Baking Bread by Steam. — About twelve
months ago we inserted a paragraph, stating that a
machine had been invented in America, which could
manufacture a ton weight of flour biscuits in au hour.
This gave rise to muck conversation at the time ; and
we must confess we were ourselves, though somewhat
fond of the marvellous in mechanical powers, amongst
those who doubted the authenticity of the statement.
This paragraph, however, was not without its efi'ect.
Amongst others it caught the eye of Mr. Dodgson
Carr, of this city, who being a practical man, deter-
mined to inquire into the real facts of the case. He
soon found that the statement was true in all its parts,
and, like a sensible man, he determined to profit by his
knowledge. A machine was ordered ; and in a very
short time large and commodious premises were erected
in Caldewgate ; and in that once neglected part of our
city there is now actually at work a machine fully ca-
pable of performing the wonders ascribed to it in our
paragraph. We had the curiosity to visit the place the
other day, and must confess that on seeing the machine
all our doubts vanished. It is fully capable of doing
the work named, and the ingenuity of the invention is
no less striking than its cleanliness, neatness and
portability. The dough or paste is kneaded by ma-
chinery, rolled by machinery, and cut into form by ma-
chinery ; and by and by it will be baked by the same
steam which carries that m»ehincry .—CarHsJc Journal.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

415

DEVON AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The tenth exhibition of this society took place on
Tuesday, May 16, in the Castle Yard, Exeter, and
if proof had been wanting of the great utility and
general advantages that hare arisen from the estab-
lishment of it, which there is not, this exhibition
would have most amply furnished it. The show was
not large, but evidence of improvement in the stock
of this county was most manifold. The bulls were
most of them extraordinary animals ; the oxen sent
by Mr. George Turner, most splendid of their kind :
there were also several good dairy cows. The rams,
as well old as hog rams were superior to anything in
this way that has heretofore been shown here ; as
also were the couples, and the ewe hogs, and wether
hogs. In the same terms the show of pigs must
likewise be spoken of, a boar and sow pig, sent by
Mr. John Hooper, jun. Chagford ; and a sow and
her family, sent by Mr. Robert Rookes, Topsham
Road, exciting general admiration. Of perfect
horses one only was shown, and that a very superior
cqrt stallion, sent by Mr. Edward Elliott, of Shavp-
ham, Totnes. This animal was a remarkable horse,
17 hands high, strong^ built, but handsome with a
clean leg, and exceedingly active. There were also
several colts of the horse Elephant. Of old bulls, the
superiority of which has been already spoken of, No.
1, nearly 4 years old, was the property of John
Gould, Esq. Ambard House, Pitminster, near Taun-
ton ; No. 2, was a two year old the property of Mr.
John Upham, Coombe Lancey, Sandford ; No. 3'
rising 5 years, the property of Mr. George Turner,
Barton, Exminster ; No. 4, rising 3 years, the pro-
perty of Mr. John Bodley, Stockleigh Pomeroy ;
No. 5, rising 4 years, the property of Mr. Wm.
Gater, Cadbury ; No. 6, a 2 year old, the property
of John Henry Ley, Esq. Trehill ; No. 7, a 2 year
old, the property of Mr. Wm. Milton, Ide. For the
Acland premium of a piece of plate, or lOl. ; there
were exhibited. No. 1, a yearling bull, 12 months
old, the 28th of March last, the property of Mr.
James Hellings, Hockworth}' ; No. 2. 12 months old
at Christmas last, a beautiful animal, the property of
Mr. George Turner, Barton, Exminster. There was
also in this part of the Castle Yard, a fine bull, rising
3 years, not entered for a premium, the property of
Mr. Thomas Townsend, of Upton Pyne. Among
the extra stock likewise, were the four oxen, the.
property of Mr. George Turner, already spoken of.
These are all North Devon's ; were bred and fed by
Mr. Turner, and were the theme of general praise,
for their perfect symmetry and beauty. They were
estimated at 16 score the quarter. Of dairy cows,
there were two pair, the property of Mr. Thomas
Reynolds jun., Uton Barton, Crediton ; and
a pair the property of Mr. Thomas Cleeve,
Rewe ; a« also single dairy cows from the
farms of Mr. George Turner ; Mr. Thos. Reynolds,
senr. Raddon Court, Thorverton; Mr. John Wippell,
Lower Brentan, Exminster; and Mr. John Bodley,
Stockleigh Pomeroy. No. 1, of 3 year old heifers
was the property of Mr. George Turner ; No. 1, of
2 year old heifers, of Mr. Thos. Reynolds, senr. ;
No. 2, of Mr. John Wippell. Of the fancy cows en-
tered for premiums, were two, a 3 and 4 year old,
very beautiful animals, the property of Thomas Snow,
Esq. of Franklyn, and bred on that gentleman's farm.
There was also among the extra stock of this descrip-
tion, a Guernsey cow, with her calf, got by a Birman
bull, that excited much curiosity. T. F. Bidgood,
Esq. Rockbeare, sent in 9 yearlings of the Durham
breed, all dropped in the month of May, as also the
farther of this progeny. In the splendid show of
sheep, No, 3, of old sheep (rams^, is the property of G.

S. FursdoD, Esq.; No. 4, of that celebrated breeder,
Mr. Thos. Reynolds, 'senr. ; No.5,Mr. Thos. Reynolds,
junr.; No. 7, Mr. Samuel Drew, Pengilly, Alphing-
ton ; No. l^ Mr. Hellings, Kentisbeare ; Nos.
10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, Mr. John Bodley; Nos.
16 and 17, Mr.Wm. Wippell, Rudway, Rewe; No.
18, Mr. Richard Gibbings, Higher I3renton, Ex-
minster ; No. 19, Capt. Adney, Rympstone. Of
hog rams, Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, were the pro-
perty of Blr. Samuel I3rew ; Nos. II, 12 and 13, of
Mr. George Turner; Nos. 14, 15, 16 and 17, of G.
S. Fursdon, Esq. ; Nos. 18 and 19,Mr.T. Reynolds,
sen. ; Ncs. 20 and 21, Mr. Jolin Wippell ; Nos. 23,
24, 25 and 26, of Mr. Philip Francis, Moor,
Crediton ; Nos. 28, 29 and 30, Mr. John Upham ;
Nos. 32, 33, 34 and 35, of Mr. Wm. Wippell. Of
ewes and lambs, Nos. 1 and 2, were the property of
Mr. Samuel Drew; No. 3, of Mr. Wm. Prowse,
Thorverton, Ncs. 4 and 5, of Mr. George Turner.
Of ewe hogs, No. 1, was the property of Mr. William
Prowse; No. 2, Mr. John Wippell. No. 3, G. S. Furs-
den, Esq. ;No.4, Mr. John Upham. Offat wether hogs
No. 1, was the property of Mr. S. Drew; No. 2, James
W. BuUer, Esq. Downes; No. 3, Mr. Richard Gib-
bings. In the supeiior display of pigs, of boars. No.
1, is the property of Capt. Adnoy ; No. 2, Mr. John
Wippell; No. 3, Mr. John Hooper, jun. Chagford.
Sows: — No. 1, the property of John Hooper, jun.;
No. 4, (if Mr. Richard Gibbings; No. 5, Mr. Robert
Rookes ; Nos. 6, and 7, Mr. John Bear, Kenton.

The fudges were ; —

For Horses and Agricultural Implements. — Capt.
Thomas Locke Lewis, R. E. Fxeter; Mr. John
Drew, St. Thomas. — For Sheep and Sheep Shearers. —
Mr. George Gater, Cadbury; Mr. G. G. Bulmer,
Tregair, Newlyn, near Truro, Cornwall ; Mr. Ro-
bert Cbapple, Ottery St. Mary. For Cattle and Pigs.
— Mr. Thomas Hole, Great Gutton, Shobrooke ; Mr.
Henry Tretheway, Grampound, Cornwall ; Mr.
Amos Parsons, Lifton.

A large and most highly respectable company of
gentlemen and agriculturists were in the Castle Yard,
and aa tvell as the stock, the process of sheep shear-
ing, carrying on under the piazza of the session
house, drew much attention.

THE DINNER.

This took place at Cockram's New London Inn, where
about 114 sat down, and the company subsequently in-
creased to upwards of 150. John Sillifant, jnn., Esq.,
was in the chair ; and the vice-presidents were James
Wentworth Buller, Esq., and Edward Simcoe Drewe,
Esq.

The cloth being removed, the Chairman gave " The
King," which was drank with three times three. To
this followed "The Queen," which was similarly
honoured.

The Chairman then said, that on the next toast he
should have the honour to introduce to their notice, he
desired to make a few observations. ( Hear.) He had
to propose t© them the health of a noble individual, in-
timately connected with that institution, which it was
his desire to call noble also. He meant the Devon Agri-
cultural Society. (Applause.) It would be almost im-
pertinent ui one so young as he was to descant before
that company on the many excellencies, as well in his
private as in his public conduct,ofthenobleEarl Fortes-
cue; (cheers) — but holding the situation he did among-
them, they would permit him to say that it was age
alone which had prevented him (Earl FortescueJ from
presiding at any of the meetings of that society. (Hear,
hear.) The honour, however, they had done him (Mr.
Silhfant) that day, in placing him in that chair, called
upon him to perform those duties which naturally de-
volved on the person filling that situation, and to address
them generally on the prospects and state of the society.
(Hear, hear,) With respect th«n to its condition, he

416

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

was most happy in bein^ enabled to inform that meeting-,
that the societj' was never more flourishing' than it was
at that moment. (Cheers.) At first, like many young
establishments and young- persons, they begin at too
rapid a pace, but having timely discovered their error,
by plans of well regulated economy, and cutting off
some things which it was felt might be dispensed with,
it was his hope the j'ermanence of the society was se-
cured without imparing any thing of its usefulness or its
energy -, and what he had witnessed that day, confirmed
him ia the opinion that at the end of a year in which
this system of economy had been bringing into opera-
tion, their finances were not only improving, but that
the society itself was more stable, and more useful than
it had even before been. {CIteers.) With respect to
the exhibition they had that morning witnessed, there
might have been larger he would admit, but never since
the formation of the society had there been one alto-
gether so superior in its character as the exhibition of
that day. {Great cheering.) He took it that their ob-
ject had been, not to bring together a mass of mferior
stock, but that if their exhiuitions were small in amount
they should be such as the county of Devon might well
pride itself upon, and in all respects superior in their
character, and in that way he felt he was entitled to
speak of the exhibition of that day. (Great cheering.)
With regard to the state and the prospects of agricul-
ture itself, he could only repeat an opinion which he
had hazarded in their presence before, and that was,
that they must not look to legislatien for assistance, but
look to, and trust to themselves. (C-^ies of hear.) He
thought he had the best ground for saying this, be-
cause it was a doctrine in which he could be clearly
borne out by refereace to the past. (Hear, hear.) He
had recently read some remarks on this subject in a
very interesting paper, which went most fully to sub-
stantiate what he had asserted, that there was a field
open for them, and the extent of which was continually
receiving increase, that requn'ed only exertion on their
part to enable them to draw from it most profitable re-
turn. (Hear, hear.) This paper showed this amount
of stock exhibited at Smithfield market from the year
1750 to 1831. The average number of head of cattle
in ten years from 1750, was 74,000. The average
number of head of cattle in ten years to 1831, was
156,000. In like manner the number of sheep in the
first period was 570,000 ; in the latter 1 ,238,000. ( Cries of
hear.) Butthis, great asit undoubtedly was, was far from
being- all,^as in 1750, the average weight of each bullock
slaughtered, was 37ulbs. ; in 1831 the average weight
was SOOlbs. each. So also of sheep, in the first period
the average weight was only 281bs. each ; in the latter
they were 801bs. each. (Hear, hear.) In order, how-
ever, that they might be aware of the practical im
portance of information such as this, and the improve-
ments to which it should urge them on, they must not
consider that the increase in the number of head of
cattle, or of sheep was all — they must not consider that
the increase in weight was all — but they must take this
fact also atong with them, that looking to the state of
the population, there was an average increase of 248,000
souls per annum. (Cries of hear.) With such an in-
crease then in the number of consumers — with such a
number of mouths tha*. must he fed — with such a mar-
ket for all produce before them, what could undermine
the agricultural interests, if it exerted its proper energies
and were true to itself? {Cries of heccr.) Surely no-
thing could injure it ; vicissitudes it might experience,
but these must ever be caussd by circumstances that
were temporary in their nature, and for which it could
not be long without a remedy being found. (Hear, hear.)
In the article of wool, which was yearly becoming of
more and more importance to the farmer, great increase
in weight was taking place ; he found thai the produce
of the country in this way in 1800, was 384,000 packs ;
in 1830, it was 463,000 packs, being an increase of 20
percent. (Cries of hear.) Thus they would see that
■while on the one hand the increased population im-
parted new energies to agriculture, and opened to it a
market for whatever amount the land could sustain, or
be caused to produce, so did this great increase of
fleeces enable the farmer to render back to the popu-

lation the means of warmth and comfort, by which th«
pleasures of life were increased. (Hear.) Where then
should agriculturists kok for help, but to themselves, —
in the improvement of their stock, and in the improve-
ment of their farms, so th-dt while the former were in-
creased iia weight, and rendered more valuable in the
market, a greater amount of produce tl'.an before was
drawn from any given quantity of land also. (Hear,
hear.) And how could they see stock as had been
brought together that day, without feeling a conviction
that this ready market that was opened from tho large
populations of our towns did operate as a stimulus ; did
lead to improvements in all things relating to agricul-
ture ; and he doubted not in the end would be found to
be a sustaining and recompen-ing means for all that
were engaged in such pursuits also. (Hear, hear.) He
called on them, then, to zealously go on in seeking the im-
provement of their stock: to go on in the improvement
of their farms, assured as he felt, that this industry and
these exertions would not be without their reward.
{Hear, hear.) To improvement in both these respects
he thought it would be admitted that society had con-
duced, and he, therefore, hoped they would unite with
him in doing all due honour to its President, by drink-
ing the health of Earl Fortescue, aad prosperity to the
Society over which he presides. This proposition was
received with great enthusiasm and drank with three
times three.

Premiums for Agricultural Labourers. — These were
called in, and the premiums adjudged as follows, read
by Mr. Dymond, the Secretary.

AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS, &c.

To the agricultural labourer who has lived the longest
either on the same farm, or under one master, and who
can bring the best testimonials for honesty, sobriety,
and general good conduct from his empleyer, 41.
Awarded to Richard Heywood, aged 71, who has
worked 53 years without intermission, on Abbotsham
Farm, in the parish of Brushford, with Mr. Robert Lux-
ton and his predecessors, has brought up eight children
without parochial relief, and has been throughout an
honest and industrious labourer.

'i'o the agricultural labourer who has lived as above,
and whose testimonials are in the next degree satisfac-
tory, 21. To John Kentisheer, aged 63, who has lived
53 years, inclu'ling his apprenticeship vith Mr. Joseph
Cheriton and his father, in the parish of Dcwn St.
Mary, and has always borne an excellent character.

To the agricultural labourer, who has lived as above,
and whose testimonials are highly satisfactory, 1/. 10s.
Presented by Capt. Lewis, R. E. to William Hill, 73
years old, who has worked with Mrs. Harris and her
predecessors on Aller farm, in Kentisbeer, for a period
of 53 years, and has conducted himself with great pro-
priety during the whole time.

To the agricultural labourer, who has brought up the
largest family without parochial aid, and who can bring
the best testimonials as to character, 4^. To John Knight,
aged 51 years, who has brought up 1 1 children without
parochial relief, . has worked 25 years without intermis-
sion with Mr. William Arnold, of Park farm, Iddesleigh,
and has always conducted himself as a highly respecta-
ble and industrious labourer.

To the agricultural labourer, who has brouarht up a
family as above, and whose testimonials are in the next
degree satisfactory, 21. To Simon Alford, aged 72 years,
who has brought up eight children without parochial
relief, has worked 51 years, with Mr. Arnold and his
father, in Iddesleigh, and has always conducted himself
in a respectable and becoming manner.

To the agricultural servant, who has lived the longest
under his or her master's roof, ]/. 10s. To Sarah Gar-
dener, aged 52 years, who hrts lived as an apprentice
and an in-door servant, with Mr. James Loosemore, of
Molland, 41 years, and has always conducted herself
as an excellent servant.

To the servant who having lived out his ®r her ap-
prenticeship, has remained the longest period with the
same master, since the expiration of such apprentice-
ship, 2^. lOs. To Samuel Turner, who has livud as ap-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

417

prentice and worked as in and out-door servant with
Messrs. Norris, of Howell farm in Colebroke, 46 years ;
has lived 31 years in the same cottage— has 10 children
now living', and has served his master faithfully and
honestly.

To the servant under sirai ar conditions, the leng'th of
whose servitude has been of the next degree satisfactoi-y,
I^. lOs. To Thomas Sobey, who has lived a< an ap-
prentice and worlced with Mr. Baker, Colebrooke, 42
y«ars ; has broug-ht up six children without assistance,
and borne an excellent character.

To the servant under similar conditions, the leHgth
of whose servitude is of the third degree, 1/. To Joseph
Roberts, who has lived as an apprentice, servant and
labourer, in all 39 years, with Mr. Moxey, of Exwick,
St. Thomas, has always been an honest and industrious
man.

The sums beingr delivered to each present, the Chair-
man addressed them, saying he was glad indeed for
their sakes, and of society at large, of which they lormed
a valuable part, that they had found the lessons they
were taught in their youth to be founded in wisdom and
in truth, that honesty to their masters, and industry was
Hot without its reward. And turning- to the company
the Chairman said, he could not suffer these honest men
to leave the room, and such a company, without pro-
posing a toast having reference to them, or without ob-
serving, tiiat these worthy members of society were a
proof, that where there i« industry there is also the
means of support. (Heur,\hea)\J There was likewise
an incident with respect to these deserving labourers,
that he could not forbear to mention : it was the diffi-
culty the committe« had been in with respect to the ad-
judgment of the first premiuni. The three candidates
whose names now stood first on the list, had each
served 53 years, and at length they determined to give
their award in favour of Richard Heywood, who had
brought up eight children without parochial relief.
{Cheers.) He would give them a toast he was sure
would come as near their feelings as it did to his own.
An honest Peasantry, their Countrifs pride. Drank
with great applause.

Mr. BuLLER now rose, and having pronounced a
warm eulogy on him, and his (tlie chairman's) highly
respected lather ; and also spoke of the great import-
ance of agriculture, which he most truly denominated
the most ancient interests in the country, proposed the
health of their worthy Chairman, J.SiUifantJun,, Esq,
Drank with nine times nine.

Mr. SiLLiFANT rose to acknowlege the toast, assuring
the company he cared little for himself, if he could only
help the great cause he had at heart — an increase of the
comforts and happiness of all classes, and a desire to see
agriculture flourish. To assist the cause of the plough
and the fleece did indeed give him sincere pleasure, and
to meet such a body as ke had that day, was one of the
most delightful things possible. Mr. Sillifaat then
stated how it was he had been called to the Chair that
day : an application in the first instance had been made
by the Secretary to the Earl of Devon, who is in Lon-
don, and from whom an answer had been received,
stating his regret that his engagements at this time pre-
vented his leaving it, and joining the meeting of a So-
ciety in which he felt really and deeply interested ; in-
closing also a 5/. note, to be appropriated hereafter as
the Secretary shall deem best for the promotion of the
objects for which it was instituted. (Cheers.) The
Chairman also explained ho.v it was that a larger num-
ber of landowners were not then with them, stating the
change which had taken place in the Society's exhibi-
tions, which were now limited to one in the year, and
that it had been decided should be at this period of it,
when, from the sitting of Parliament, the nobility and
many of the gentry of the county were necessardy in
London. He thanked them for the manner in which his
name had been received, and begged to propose the
healths of the Vice-Presidents, Mr. Bulkr and Mr.
Drewe.

Drank ^vith three times three, and one cheer more.

Mr. BuLLER,in acknowledging it, said, he felt deeply
such a compliment from such a body of men, whoso
gocd opinion he highly valued, and whose interests he

felt it his duty to promote. {Chee'^s.) His name haviny
been alluded to by his hon. friend the Chairman, ia
connexion with the exhibition that day, he would
honestly say, that he was not at all sanguine as to any
results from this that might be flattering to liimself,
his object in causing these Sheep to be driven here,
being not personal honour, but to show how much he
valued the Society. (C/ieers.)

Mr. Drewe also acknowledged the compliment
which had been paid him, apologizing lor any thing of
imperfectness of manner, from having just arisen from a
sick bed, to which he had been for two months confined.
From the formation of that Society, he had felt the
deepest interest in its concerns, having heard of the in-
tention to establish it with the greatest satisfaction, and
this because he was convinced that others having also
the promotion of pursuits connected with agriculture
for their object would spring from it, and this had
proved the case. {Cheers.) As breeders of cattle, he
could not too earnestly recommend to all who heard
him, to look to the original — the parent stock of this
county : to improve it to the utmost ; but to be most
careful that nothing was done that would lead to its
deterioration. (Hear, hear.) He could not claim for
himself the character of a practical agriculturist, but
no one more ardently desired that such pursuits should
be crowned with success, for all his interest in this
county lay in agriculture. He, therefore, had felt proud
of the exhibition of that day, in whica there had been
visible great improvement, and in no department any
thing of falling off", except indeed, in milch cowf, for
which the nature of the season most fully accounted.
(Hear, hear.) He again thanked them for the notice
they had taken of himself, and hoped always to see the
Society receive the general support of the county.

The Sheep-Shearers were now introduced, and the
premiums awarded them read as follows by Mr. Dy-
mond : —
TO THE SHEEP SHEARERS ON THE GROUND.

MEN.
Best sheep shearer, 1/. No. 14, Hog Ram, to James

Garrey, shearer to Mr. Vicary.
Second, 15s. No. 1, old do., to Richard Griffin, shearer

to Mr. T. Hole.
Third, 10s. No. 27, Hog do., to James Bowden, shearer

to do.
Fourth, 5s. No. 26, Hog do., to Thomas Fouracres,

shearer to do.

BOYS UNDER TWENTY.
Best, 15s. No. 3, Hog do., to John Reynolds, shearer to

Mr. Thomas Reynolds.

The Chairman spoke of the great improvement
which had been observable that day in the performance
of this process ; and of the value, whether with relation
to personal comfort, or in a commercial point of view,
of the fleece itself, making some exceedingly pertinent
remarks on this subject, and urging them to look to the
quality and weight of the fleece, as well as the carcase.
Concluding by giving "The Fleece" with three times
three, which was literally complied with.

The Chairman now spoke of the plan which had
been devised and acted upon in this instance for the
selection of Judges ; concluding by giving' the healths
of ihe Judges, with thanks to them for their attendance,
and lOr the manner in which they had discharged their
duties that day. This was drank with three times three ;
and the toast acknowledged by Mr. Bulmer.

The Secretary now announced the premium for

HORSES.
Best cart stallion, 5/., Mr. Edward Elliott, Sharpham,

near Totnes.

And delivered in thefollowingreportfrom the Judges
for agricultural implements : — " The Judges for agri-
cultural implements beg to report that they consider the
improved turnip cutter exhibited by John Phillips, ot
Cruwys Merchard, deserving of notice and encourage-
misnt, and they accordingly award him the sum of two
pounds. Signed, "Thos. Locke Lewis, John Drew."

The successful candidates were drank, and Mr»
Elliott acknowledged the toast.

418

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

The Secretary then proceeded to announce the pre-
miums awarded for sheep, the announcement of the
name of Mr. Buller among the successful candidates,
being' received with bursts of the heartiest cheering,
which lasted for several minutes.

SHEEP.

Best old ram, 51., No. 4, the property of JMr. Thomas

Reynolds, Thorverton.
Second best ditto, 3/., Ne. 6, the property of Mr. Geo.

Turner, Exminster.
Thnd best ditto, 2/., No. 12, the property of Mr. Joh

Bodley, Stock leigh.
Best hog ditto, 5L, No. 13, the property of Mr. George

Turner. Exminster.
Second best ditto, 31., No. 32, the property of Mr. Wm.

Wippell, Thorverton.
Thn-d best ditto, 21., No. 28, the property of Mr. John

Upham, Sandford.
Best pen of not less than 10 e«es and lambs, in their

wool, 4/., No. 4, the property of Mr. George Turner,

Exminster.
Second best ditto, 31., No. 1, the property of Mr. Samuel

Drew, Exminster.
Third best ditto, 21., No. 5, the property of Mr. George

'1 urner, Exminster.
Best pen of not less than ten ewe hogs, in their wool,

but to have been shorn as lambs, 3L, No. 2, the pro-
perty of Mr. John AVippell, Exminster.
Second best ditto, ditto, ditto, 21., No. 4, the property of

Mr. John Upham, Sandford.
Third best ditto, ditto, ditto, II. , No. 3, the property of

George S. Fursdon, Esq., Thorverton.
Best pen of not less than ten fat wether hogs, in their

wool, but to have been shorn as lambs, 21., No.l, the

property of Mr. Samuel Drew, Exminster.
Second best ditto, ditto, ditto, 1/., No. 2, the property of

James W. Buller, Esq., Downes.
Silver medals to No. 2, old sheep, and Nos. 14 and 15,

hogs, in consideration of their superior fleeces.

No. 2, old sheep, was stated to be the property of Mr.
Philip Francis ; and Nos. 14 and 15, hogs, before men-
tioned as the late Mr. Fursdon's, to be the property of
Mr. Vicary, the lessee, as was understood, of an estate
of the Fursdon family.

The Chairman gave the healths of the successful
candidates. Which was drank with nine times nine.
And acknowledged ])y ]\Ir. Buller, and by I\Ir. George
Turner, in exceedingly just and pertinent remarks.

The Chairman next in an appropriate manner intro-
duced, and gave '' The manufacturing and commercial
interest of the country, and may they ever flourish to-
gether," which was drank with three times three.

Mr. Dymond now read the premiums awarded for

CAITLE.
Best bull of any age, 8L, No. 4, the property of IVIr.

John Bodley, Stockleigh,
Second best ditto, 4/., No. 2, the property of Mr. John

Upham, Sandford.
Thn-d best ditto, 21., No. 3, the property of Mr. George

Turner, Exminster; — No. 5, a silver medal, property

of Mr. Wm. Gater, Cadbury.

PREMIUM OFFERED BY Sir T.D.ACLAND, Bt.

Best bull, the property of, and exhibited by, the breeder
thereof, not to exceed two years old, on the 24th June,
1837, a piece of plate, or 10/., No. 2, the property of
IMr. George Turner, Exminster.

Best two dairy cows, 4Z., No. 2, the property of Mr.

Thomas Reynolds, jun., Crediton.
Second best ditto, 21., No. 1, ditto, ditto.
Best single dairy cow, 2/., No. 4, the property of Mr.

John Bodley, Stockleigh.
Second best dittto, K., No. 2, the property of Mr. Thos.

Reynolds, Crediton ;— No. 1, a silver medal, the pro-

perty of Mr. Turner, Exminster.
Best three-year old heifer, in milk, 21., No. 1, the pro-

perty of Mr. Georye Turner, Exminster.
Second best ditte, 1/., none.

Best two-year old heifer, 21., No. 2, the property of Mr.

John Wippell, Exminster.
Second best ditto, II., No. 1, the property of Mr. Thomas

Reynolds, Thorverton.
Best milch cow, of any breed except the Devon, 2i.,

No. 1, the property of Thomas Snow, Esq., Franklyn.

And also on this subject delivered in the following
report :— " The Judges for Cattle beg to recommend
that a silver medal be given to the owner of the Old
Ball, No. 5, (^Mr. William Gater's, ) and another to
the owner of the single dairy cow, No. 1. They also
wish to state their opinion, that four fat oxen (Mr. G.
Turner's,) shown as extra stock, are highly deserving
of notice."

The health of the successful candidates was drank
with three times three. And acknowledged by Mr.
Bodley, Mr. T. Reynolds, jun ; and Mr. George
Turner, who stated as a complaint on the part of his
neighbour and friend Mr. John Wippell, doubts as to
some part of the stock, to which premiums had been
awarded, having been in possession of l!he exhibitor six
months, and moved that it be referred to a committee.
The Chairman said this was a proper subject to men-
tion there, but certainly the persons to examine into
and decide upon it, were the committee.

The Chairman now introduced, amidst thunders of
applause, the donor of the premium for the yearling
bull, Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, who had been in the
Castle that morning, and was most desirous to have
been present that afternoon, but he (the Chairman),
supposed circumstances had prevented the hon. baronet
from returning in time from a previous engagement. —
This was drank with the most lively enthusiasm, and
followed by nine times nine hearty cheers.

The Chairman now announced that the premium
for the yearling bull, would next year be taken up by
Sir Humphrey Davie. (Great cheering.) And had
further happiness in stating, that this premium was in
store fer bulls yet unborn. {Cheers.)

The Secretary then announced the premiums
awarded for

PIGS.

Best boar, 3/. No. 1, the property of John Adney,
Esq., Lympstone.

Second best ditto, ll. No. 3, the property of Mr.
J. Hooper, Chagford.

Third best ditto, 10s. No. 2, the property of Mr. J.
Wippell, Exminister.

Best sow, 21. No. 4, the property of Mr. Richard
Gibbings, Exminster.

Second best ditto, ll. No. 1, the property of Mr. J.

Hooper, Chagford.

Third best ditto, 10s. No. 5, the property of Mr. R.
Rookes, Topsham Road.

times successful candidates were drank, with three
which three. As also the unsuccessful candidates ;

The was acknowledged by Mr. John Bear.

The Chairman now rose and spoke of the valuable
services, in committee and otherwise, but most paiti-
cularly in the former, rendered to the Society by Capt.
Lewis, a man of science and of great talents, (cheers) —
and whom he had hoped to have seen there, but sup-
posed some circumstances had prevented him. One
circumstance relating to Capt. Lewes, he could not
forbear mention. (Hear, hear.) At the last meeting
of the committee, there was a very deserving man,
Wm. Hill, for whom the committee could not find a
reward, when Capt. Lewis, generously, and because
the finances of the Society should not in any degree be
trenched upon, gave a premium of one pound ten shil-
lings out of his own pocket. (Great cheering.J They
would therefore, recollect that one of the deserving la-
bourers they had seen just now, had been rewarded not
by them ; was not indebted to that Society for what
he had received, but to Capt. Lewis. (Great cheer-
ing.) He would ask them then to join him in drinking
the health of Capt. Locke Lewis, with three times
three. This was fulfilled with great enthusiasm, and
followed by one cheer more.

The Chairman gave prosperity to the county of
Devon ; and to the city of Exeter ; as also '• Their

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

419

B«xt merry meeting."— Which was drank with three
times three.

The Chairman gave the health of the Secretary.
Which was drank, with three times three. And ac-
knowledged by Mr. Dymond : who in speaking of the
future prospects of the society, and calling on each
member for individual exertion, mentioned as a sin-
smlar fact, that in the parish of Exminster, to which
14 premiams had that day been awarded, there were
only 9 subscribers ; and in Crediton, to which many
pfemiums had also been awarded, only 6 subscribers ;
while in Exeter, not having that direct interest in it,
there were 35 subscribers.

Mr. W. U. Tripp announced the great desire Capt.
Wyndham had that the financial affairs of the society
should be put upon a more stable footing, and his readi-
ness, as a commencement in order to the accomplish-
ment of this by having a fund in hand, to give a dona-
tion of twenty guineas, besides an annual subscription
of three guineas. (Great cheering.)

This terminated the business of the meeting, and at
half past eight o'clock, the Chairman, Mr. Buller, Mr.
Drewe, &c. &e., left the room.

PREMIUMS

AWARDED AT THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE
CHIPPENHAM MARKET.

FOR WOOL. £

Messrs. Salter, for buying the greatest quantity of

wool pitched in the market 25

Mr. Geo. Bailey, for buying the second greatest

ditto 20

Mr. Jno. W. Brown, for selling- the greatest quan-
tity of Southdown wool, pitched in the market. . 10
H. H. Budd, Esq., for selling the greatest quantity

of mixed wool 10

Mr. Moses Toghill, for selling the second greatest

quantity of any sort 8

Mr. Thomas Hulbert, for selling the third greatest

quantity of any sort 7

IMr, E. L. Baldwin, for selling the fourth greatest

quantity of any sort 5

GENERAL MARKET.

Mr. David Bowley, for purchasingthe greatestquan-
tity of cheese, pitched in the market 10

Mr. William Spackman, for selling the greatest
quantity of cheese, pitched in the market 5

Mr. J. Brydges, for selling the second greatest quan-
tity of ditto 5

Miss Ghey, for purchasing the greatest quantity of
butter publicly offered in the market g

Mr. J. Brydges, for selling the greatest quantity of
ditto 5

Mr. John Little, for selling the greatest number of
fat cattle 5

Mr. Joseph Whale, for purchasing the greatest num-
ber of fat sheep and lambs 5

Mr. W. Priddy,for purchasing the greatest quantity
of poultry, pigeons, and eggs 4

Mr. Chas. Rich, for selling the greatest quantity of
poultry, pigeons, and eggs 4

Mr. William Matthews, for selling the second
greatest quantity of ditto f 3

Mrs. Susannah Tanner, as a cottager, for selling the
greatest quantity of ditto 2

The Green Crop System. — 1st. The old
plan of grazing requires, for each cow, in the
Summer months alone, two acres. 2d. By this
system, three cows can be maintained all the year
round, on two acres. 3d. The crops with which
this is done are. clover and rye-grass, 1 acre ;
vetches (with a crop of rape, on the same ground,

after they are cut), 1 rood ; turnips, 3 roods ; —
total, 2 acres. 4th. The order in which these
green crops are to be used, is the following : — 1st.
House-feeding with clover and rye-grass, from the
middle of May till the middle of October. 2d.
Rape, from the middle of October till the middle
of November. 3d. Turnips, from the middle of
November till the middle of May. A moment's
attention will show, that the statements in the last
paragraph are perfectly correct- It is a well-known
fact, that an acre of clover and rye-grass will be
ample provision for three cows during the entire
Summer months ; and even this need not all be
used ; for, if the rape be sown after the vetches
have been reaped, nearly half the first cutting may
be saved for Winter fodder. The rape should be
put into the ground regularly, ridge by ridge, as
the vetches are taken off; and, if this be done in
a proper time, say, previous to the middle of July,
it will be quite ready to furnish food as a connect-
ing link between the clover and the turnips. That
the latter will afford food enough for consumption
during the Winter half-year, is apparent from the
following considerations : — " An acre of the white
globe and yellow Aberdeen turnip, ought to pro-
duce from thirty-five to forty tons per acre ; but
supposing one-half to be of the Swedish kind, let
us calculate only on twenty- eight tons to the acre."
Now, from this it will appear, that the three roods
of turnips ought to produce twenty-one tons, or
420 cwt., or forty-seven thousand and forty pounds,
for the consumption of the three cows, trora No-
vember till May. This will give fifteen thousand
six hundred and eighty pounds to each, or about
eighty-three pounds for each day's use. When
hay, straw, &c., are added to this, we will surely
find, that the two acres have been most profitably
employed in raising stock, when cultivated on the
Green Crop system. — Downpatrick Recorder,

The Norwegian Farmers. — If there be a
happy class of people in Europe, it is the Norwegian
bonder. He is the owner of his little estate ; he has no
feu-duty or feudal service to pay to any superior. He
is the king of his own land, and landlord as well as
king. His poor-rate and tithes are too inconsiderable
to be mentioned. His scat or land-tax is heavy, but
every thing he uses is in consequence so much cheaper ;
and he has that which renders the heaviest tax light —
the management of it by his own representatives, and
the satisfaction of publicity and economy in its applica-
tion. He has the satisfaction of seeing, from Storthing
to Storthing, that the taxes are diminishing, and the
public debt paying off. He is well lodged ; has abun-
dance of fuel ; and that quantity of land, in general,
which does not place him above the necessity of pgrsonal
labour, but far above want or privation, if sickness or
age should prevent hina from working. He has also
no class above him ; nobody who can look down upon
him, or whom he or his family look up to either to ob-
tain objects of a false ambition, or to imitate out of a
spirit of vanity. He has a greater variety of food than
the same class in other countries ; for besides what his
farm produces, which is mostly consumed in his house-
keeping, the fjelde, the lakes and rivers, and the fiords,
afford g-ame, fish, and other articles. He has also a va-'
riety of labour, which is perhaps, among the greatest
enJGyments in the life of a labouring man : for there is
recreation in change. He has no cares for his family,
because he knows what their condition will be after his
death. He knows that his wife succeeds to him, and as
long as she lives unmamed the only difference made by
his death is, that there is one less in the family. On her
death or second marriage, he knows that each of his
children has a right to a share of his property ; and ac-

420

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

cording' to their number he makes his arrang-ement for
their either living on the land as before, or dividing it,
er for being settled in other occupations, and taking a
share of the value when it comes to be divided. — Laing's
NorvMV.

FLY IN TURNIPS,

TO THE EDITOR OF THE CARLISLE PATRIOT.

Dalston, May 8.

Sir, — As the season is fast approaching for sowing*
Turnips I beg to offer the following receipt, as an ef-
fectual protection from the ravages of the fly, or, black
grub, which I have proved by frequent trial. I will
feel happy if any of the farmers will call upon me this
summer, when I hope to prove to them the efficacy of my
receipt. Your Obedient Servant,

JOHN BIRKETT.

To a quart of turnip seed add one ounce of brim-
stone finely powdered, putting both into a bottle large
enough to afford room to shake them well together, for
four or five days previous to sowiag ; keep the bottle
well corked.

TITHE ON HOPS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE EXPRESS.

Sir, — I observed in your paper a few weeks back,some
observations from a correspondent relative to the church
rates at Farnham, and that 5/. was not an unusual de-
mand for tithe on an acre of hops ; I must inform your
readers, as a tithe payer, that 8/. is not an unusual col-
lection, and demand on an acre of hops 'at this place,
including the labour of picking, for the tithe is taken
from the pickers' binns. This amount arises from the ex-
pences and improved culture of the planters, they had
already given a tenth of the poles in the wood, a tenth
of the straw and corn had been taken, the remaining
nine tenths is put into the hop ground in the shape of
dung and poles for the hops to climb upon, a portion
of this remaining ninth is also taken away, as a return
upon the hops— so that this ecclessastical tax is si\ allow-
ing in large doses, a return from the cultivation of the
soil, exceeding beyond measure anything contemplated
by our ancestors, who established this iniquitous impost.
But T have been the more struck at tfe disparagement
between the exactions of the clergy, and their unwil-
lingness to contribute their tenth to their poorer brethren,
the motion of Mr. Baines, the other day in the House
of Commons, on the first fruits and tenths of the clergy,
man's income, has fully shown this want of feeling in
its true light; they have skreened themselves under a
quibble, a special pleading twistmg of the words,
" should he paid aecording to such rates and proportions
only as the same were usually rated and paid." Instead
of putting the most liberal construction on these words
and allowing a tenth to be a tenth of every early in-
come, or the first fruits to be in reality, the first year's
receipt of a Bishop or Clergyman's benefice, they have
taken unfair advantage of the ambiguous words, and
have decided that a rate and proportion does not mean
as now received, but as they were received 130 years
ago; thus then, there remains livings for a clergyman
and his family, of under \0L per annum under 20/. 30/.
40/. 50/.— making an aggregate of 297 livings,under 50/.
a year, yet Queen Anne's bounty has been in operation
for the number of years above stated ! A tenth of a
clergyman's income seems to have a different meaning
to a tenth of the farmers' income ! 1 No, a tenth is not
a tenth when applied to the clergy, I suppose in the
same way, that, ons is three, or three is one, of which
only the gifted can understand. By the scale exhibited

by Mr. Baines, it would appearthatif the richer livings,
those exceeding 10,000/. per annum, a tithe of the in-
come is equal to the first fruits, and a tithe of the tenth
is equal to the whole tenth, that is, one is equal to ten ;
thus whilst the rich and luxurious clergy are fleecing
the farmers of their full tenth income, they themselves,
will scarce suffer a tithe of their tenth fleece to pass
from them, but return their wool to keep their conscience
warm,— indeed they have thus taught us a new axiom in
mathematics, viz., that a tenth means a tenth of a tenth,
in the same way, that one is three, and this mode of ex-
pounding, saves much trouble of demonstration, which
in Euclid gave us so much trouble in understanding. —
Farnham, May 1837.

TRIO VERSUS UNIXX,/

The Marquis of Waterford's Stud. — The Marquis
of Waterford's stud of steeple chace horses and hunters
were put up to auction, on Monday last, at Tattersall's
as follows : —

BOUGHT IN. GS.

Haycock 160

Saladin 290

Tulip 90

The Crow 100

Conrad 250

Jerry 67

Tipsey 45

Chesnut horse, by
Comus 205

SOLD. GS.

Yellow Dwarf. 250

Hallaton 150

Salt-fish 280

Priam 230

Cock Robin 270

Sir Gilbert 360

Zoe 100

Sammivel 60

Carrickshock 135

Rolla 71

Bay Horse, by Young

Phantom 125

Gray Horse,by Comus
out of Revolution's
dam 150

The Weather. — In a work published in 1832,
entitled Mackenzie's Manual of Weather the following
remarkable passage occurs : — "The years correspond-
ing with the 1782 and 83 are the 1836 and 87. In the
former pair of years, the first summer and the last win-
ter had by far the greatest proportions of the falls, the
cold exceeding upon the first summer : on the contrary,
in the last pair of years, the greatest falls are upon the
first winter and the last summer ; the cold being exces-
sive upon both the summers of the pair, but more par-
ticularly severe upon the last, or summer of 1837, a
season which promises to exceed in cold, rain, snow,
frost, any summer within the last 500 years. It will,
therefore, behove the ru!ers of the land, of all ranks, as
well as the public at large, to be as well prepared for
this severe visitation of nature as circumstanecs will
permit, — for not only are these years exceedingly unfa-
vourable, but the 1838 is equally unpromising : conse-
quently this, and the following- year of 1839, will form
a period of distressing privation, since upon these two
last the deficiency of the 1837 and 38 will fall with
greatest effect."

Tenacity of Life in Tench. — In September
last four tench were taken out of a mere, at Playford,
in Suffolk, in the morning-, and were packed in dry
straw. They arrived in London on the same evening,
and two of them showing- strong signs of life, they were
put into river water and soon came round. At half-past
ten on the following morning they were packed again,
with the dead ones, in dry straw, slung- to the lamp iron
ot a coach, and so carried to Sudbury, whence they
were wheeled in a barrow, with other luggage, to Up-
per Hallitbrd, Middlesex. On their arrival, about two
p. m., one only was living. It was put into a tub of
rain water, recovered in the course of the day, and on
the next morning- was turned into a pond quite lively
and well. The four tench were much of a size, and
weighed together about five pounds, but the survivor
WEB rather the smallest. — Quarterly Review,

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

421

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422

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

The preceding- tables sliow —

1. That during- tbe 21 years, ending' with 1835,
the population of Great Britain has increased at least
four millions.

2. That for the consumption of these four millions
of people, and for seed, there is required an addi-
tioual quantity of nearly four million quarters of
wheat.

3. That notwithstanding this ne^v demand on the
soil of this country for wheat, which might be ex-
pected to raise its price, it has had a progressive
tendency to decrease in nominal value, during the
rv-hoie period, until it has at length fallen near 50 per
cent., as shown bv the columns of prices, Nos. 3
and 4, although the external supply has, on the
■\vhole, been very moder--ite.

4. Th-at this continued fall of price h-as not been
confined to com, or the produce of land, but lias ex-
tended equally to almost all the products of British
industry, as proved by the " ratio of the deprecia-
tion of British produce and manufactures exported,"
(see column o).

5. That the common notion, that war raises prices,
and peace depresses them, is :'bunded in error, as
shown Dy the t-able of war and peace prices. No. 9.

6. That there is a remarkable coincidence between
the amount of Bank paper in circulation, and the
price of wheat, as shown by the columns of prices,
jSTos. 3 and 4, compared with the amount ol Bank
paper, column 5.

7. That. as the contraction of the currency has, in
g-enaral, been proceeding with accelerated progiess,
during the last seventeen years, so the price of
whe-at has been descending- with equal pace.

8. That this is strikingly apparent, on comparing
the " average of Bank of England and country Bank
paper" for periods of five years, (column 5), with
the " price of wheat for periods or five years," (co-
lumn 4), and if the fourth of these averages is ra-
ther higher than the third, it may be observed, not
only that it contains three deficient years in the five;
but that the average amount of paper currency is
higher.

9. That as between the year 1797, when the me-
tallic standard was suspended by the Bank Restric-
tion Act, and tbe vear 1819, v.-hen it was in a great
me;isure restored, by the Act called Peel's Bill*, a
very great increase of Bank of England and couctry
Bank paper took place — so

10. Also, during this interval, the price of corn,
as well as of all commodities, rose greatly in EniJ-
land — so that for the average of the 25 years, ending
with 1821, wheat was 80s. lOjd. per quarter (as may
be proved by table, No. 10.)

11. That during this period l''rance, having pre-
served her metallic standard, experienced no mate-
rial rise of price— that of wheat being, on the aver-
age, only 52s. 7d. per quarter, (see jNo. lO).

12. 'i hat the price of wheat in England and in
Trance did not differ much, so long- as tlie same sys-
tems of currency was preserved by both, (see No.
10, 1786 to the end of 1791.]

13. That high average prices were confined to the
period of unlimited issues, and consequent deprecia-
tion of the paper mone3^

14. That with regard to wheat, the deficient crops
of 1828, 1829, 1830, and even 1831, kept up the
price, and disguised the silent operation of Peel's

Bill ; but the final withdrawal of the one pound
notes, and a succession of favourable harvests, have,
at length, removed the delusion, and discovered
plainly that average prices cannot be much higher in
England than in France and the continent in gene-
ral t, when measured in a currency of, at least, equal
value with theirs J:.

Extract from a letter to Mr. James, from Mons.
J. B. Say, which appeared in Tlie Morijing Chronicle
on the 21st of August, 1822, as quoted by iVlr.
Thomas Tooke, "high and low prices," partl-^',
page 179, and \vhich was also inserted in a pampi;!oi,
published about that time by Mr. Western, (now
Lord ^Vestern). JMons. J. B. Say is, perhaps, the
ablest writer on political economy, nov/ living.

" We can state that things, generally, have not
fallen in price in France since the depreciation and
the restoration of the paper money of England, ex-
cept as far as particul-dr circumstances may have
contributed; as the introduction cf cheaper and more
expeditious processes of fabrication ; and I do not
believe, therefore, that there is anif ground for raying
tltat the fall of price in England has its analogy on the
continent. It appears to me that it proceeds entirely
from the alterations in the value of your money."

* Bank of Eng'land issues (averag'e of

5 years, ending with 1796) . . £11,544,994

Do. do. clo. end-
ing- with 1818 27,457,868

(From Sir James Groham'tt " Corn and Currency.")

ON CASTRATION.

March 21, 1837.

(From the Veterinarian .J

A paper was introduced by Mr. Goodwin on
Castration. He observed that the object of this
operation was two-fold — to render the animal more
subservient, and to prevent the too rapid inulipli-
cation of the species. The latter would be the in-
evitable result of the domestication of certain ani-
mals, on account of their being protected from
many a foe that preys upon them in their wild
state, and the stimulus to procreation being in-
creased by their more nutritious food, and the

t " In a. series of years, since the legislature has re-
stored the ancient standard of value, wheat also must
fall to its ancient price — to the price which it bore in a
currency of the same intrinsic worth." — (Sir James Gra-
ham's " Corn and Currency," page 19.)

" The Report of the Connnittee of 1813 established
the fact, that the highest ])rice cf wheat, which in the
century prior to 1792, had taken place, for any averag-e
period of five years, was 49s. Pd. a quarter; and this
range of prices is found at the commencement, as well
as at the close of the century ; that is to say, that the
price of wheat, with no great average variation, re-
mained uniformly under 50s. a quarter, from the first
commencement of the present standard of value, until
our departure from it. (Corn and Ctirrency, ibid.)

:j: " 1 he Act of 1819, which professed only to restore
the ancient standard of England, did, in fact, consider-
ably more; until 1793, silver was a legal tender by

by weight, and to any amount, at 5s. 2d. per ounce

]\Ir. Peel's Bill made ^^fi/rfrt/cie our standard ; the market
price of silver is somewhat less than its mint price, and
its conjunction with gold as a standard, such as it was
until 1793, would at once have effected a depreciation
approaching to five per cent., would have enabled us to
remit taxes to the extent of two millions and a half ; and
would have raised money prices exactly in the same
proportion. Thus, not satisfied with a return to the
ancient standard, regardless of all difficulties, we even
ventured to rai'^e its value." (Cor)i and Currency,"
p. 46.)_

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

423

quietude and idleness in which they live. Young
and unbroken horses are the most frequent sub-
jects of this operation. The age which he would
prefer is about twelve months, the animal evi-
dently appearing to be in good health at the time,
and having been examined as to the actual descent
of the testicles into the scrotum.

Having described at considerable length, the most
secure way of casting and properly securing the
auirn )1, '.ir. Goodwin proceeded to speak of the dif-
fers.>. steps of the operation. Many of his remarks
were valuable; but his plfin of operation differed
so little from that in usual practice, that it is un-
necessary to state it at length. He recommended
the division of the cord by means of the actual
cautery ; and after the haemorrhage had been ar-
rested by renewed application of the cautery, the
pouring of a small quantity of melted digestive
ointment into the wounds. The after treatment
would be regulated by the degree of inflammation
which supervened. The slightest appearance of
peritoneal inflammation was to be met by the
most decisive antiphlogistic measures.

In answer to a question from Mr. Brough, Mr.
Goodwin said that he was in the habit of prepar-
ing the colt by gentle physic and restricted diet.

The President observed, that many practitioners,
the weather being favourable, suflered the colt to go
at large immediately after the operation, and that it
was very rare that any bad consequences ensued.

Mr. Goodwin was quite aware of this ; but be
had been in the habit of keeping the celt up for a
short time after the operation. He regarded the
spring of the year as the most favourable season :
that, however, depending much on the state of the
weather.

The President remarked, that Mr. Goodwin had
advocated the old system of castration : other, and
as some conceived better, modes of operating had
been introduced. Had the author of the thesis, or
any member then present, any remark to make on
these novel methods of operating.

A pause ensuing, the President and Treasurer
urged the members fearlessly to deliver their
opinious. Mr. Spooner having for the purpose of
exciting discussion, alluded to the practice of some
surgeons of performing the operation far within the
twel vem onth —

Mr, Dauber first responded to the call, and advo-
cated the postponement of the operation to the lime
selected by Mr. Goodwin. The general muscular
power of the nnimal would be more fully developed.
To a horse that was inclined to be poor, this was of
material advantage as giving an arched form and
more development to the neck. After the twelve-
month, the entire colt would become somewhat
dangerous.

j\Ir. A KMSTRONG imagined that the advantages of
castration were somewhat over-rated. He had seen
hundreds of entire horses together on a field day in
India, and there was no tendency to vice among
them, unless they had been with mares. It was a
very common thing, even in this metropolis, for
several entire horses to be kept together, separated
only by the usual bails.

Mr. Holmes could not think that this was appli-
cable to the common English horse. When our en-
tire horses became two or three years old, a great
deal of caution was sometimes necessary in order to
keep them from injuring each other. Thorough-
bred horses are seldom castrated until they are four
years old, in order that their value as racers may
ba fairly put to the test. Would Mr. Goodwin
make any difference in the operation depending on

the age of the horse? for his part he should use the
actual cautery in old animals, and probably the
caustic clams for young ones.

The discussion then turned on the use of the
hobbles or the rope, in castrating young horses.

Mr. Spooner was somewhat adverse to the use of
the hobbles for colts. It was often difficult to get a
colt to stand still, even while a halter was put ou
him, and sometimes no power would induce him to
submit to the hobbles. The hobbles were on many
occasions exceedingly useful, but they were inferior
to the collar rope, and especially to young horses,
when either castration or littotomy was to be per-
formed.

The President imagined that the gentlemen who
advocated the use of the hobbles in the castration of
colts referred to those that had been handled, and,
as it were, domesticated from their birth. Great
difficulty would be found in using the hobbles in
castrating the cart colt.

Mr. GoDBOLD stated, that he had extensively used
the caustic clams, and with marked success — some-
times removing the testicles at once, but oftener al-
lowing them to remain until the follow ing day. The
caustic which he used was a paste composed of cor-
rosive sublimate.

Mr. Hausman (son to the veterinary professor at
Munich) stated, that in Germany they preferred the
sulphate of copper, as being less irritating, and leave-
ing the parts better disposed to heal.

The President stated, that on some parts of the
continent the horses were brought to certain fairs in
strings of twenty or thirty, in order to be operated
on, and they returned home with the clams upon
them, but which were removed the next day. He
much questioned whether a horse that had never
covered would bleed to death from castration if no
means were taken to arrest the hsemorrh ige,

Mr. Goodwin had seen some fatal cases in the cas-
tration of rams, when the artery was tied to prevent
hemorrhage, but never when the clams were used,
and suffered to remain on two days.

Mr. Plumley had successfully castrated many
rams by means of a simple ligiiture tied round the
scrotum. In the castration of the horse he had ob-
served, that when the inflammation extended along
the perineum, danger was to be apprehended, but
none when it was confined to the scrotum.

Mr. Spooner did not understand the principle of
this. I'he structure of the perineum was merely cel-
lular. He had seen many cases in which inflamma-
tion had extended up the perineum, and yet the pa-
tients had done well ; it was only when, from con-
tinuity of membrane, the peritoneal tunic was in-
volved, that we had reason to dread the result.

Adverting to the method of casting a horse with a
rope he preferred the placing the noose over the
withers to between the fore legs.

Some difterence of opinion existed as to the quan-
tity of blood that should be suffered to be lost in
castration. That operator was usually considered
the most expert who only lost a small quantity of
blood. For his part he had no objection to the loss
ofblood in castration, when it did not go to the ex-
tent of debilitating the colt ; for inflammation was
in that proportion less likely to be set up. For what
reason were precautions, with reference to diet and
laxative medicine, taken before the performance of
the operation? A great deal of unfounded fear had
been expressed of horses bleeding to death under
the operation ; but this could rarely or never be from
the spermatic arteries alone, their peculiar tortuosity
offering an insuperable obstacle to any fatal hemor-
rhage. He had put this to the test. He selected

2 F 2

424

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

an old horse that had been given up for experiment.
Ho cut the testicles away, and left the animal bleed-
In;?. Syncope after a while ensued ; but the ani-
mal rallied and did well. In the young animal from
the increased vascuhirity of the system, the result
might possibly be different •, and therefore the expe-
riment was worth repetition.

He was favourable to the use of the clams, as the
operation w;is less dangerous and more easily per-
formed. After dividing the integument with a scal-
pel, and before placing the clams over the cord, he
used to cut through the vas deferens ; but he was
then occasionally annoyed by the protrusion of the
cord after the clams were removed. Mr. Baker, of
Sudbury, suggested to him the propriety of embrac-
ing the whole of the cord in the clams. He adopted
this method, and found it to answer well. Some
persons imag'ned that the simple pressure of the
clams was sufBcient ; but so far as his experience
and that of some of his scientific friends went, the
cut edges did not heal so readily, nor did the case
altogether go on so well as when the caustic was
auded. He did not, however, think that it mattered
much what caustic was used — he was accustomed
to apply the corrosive sublimate made into a paste
with meal and water, or with lard.

Mr. Dauber said, that in two cases that had oc-
curred in his practice, a considerable loss of blood
had followed the incision through the integuments,
and he was compelled to take che vessels up. He
imagined that this must have arisen from some un-
usual distribution of the arteries.

Mr. Spooner, in ansvvev to a question with regard
to the use of torsion in this operation, replied, that it
might be useful in smaller animals, but be thought
it could not be depended upon in the horse. As for
that perversion of it, the twisting of the scrotum, the
arterv, and all together, he regarded it as the ex-
treme of brutality.

Mr. Dauber had found the ligature, occasionally
at least, to cause peritonitis in the bull ; he there-
fore preferred the use of the actual cautery for
cattle, and also for the horse.

Many testimonies were then adduced in favour of
the actual cautery, both by the President and Mr.
Spooner, after which the meeting was adjourned.

ON AN EXPEDITIOUS AND ECONO-
MICAL METHOD OF IMPROVING
GRASS LAND IN SCOTLAND.

(^From the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture.)

The improvement of grass land is a subject on
which much has already been written by various au-
thors, and it may be thought superfluous to say more
upon it. Yet I'will add a few remarks, applicable
to the present times, which has been termed " the
commencement of anew era in agriculture," I allude
to tlie prevalent practice in using bone-dust, in the
cultivation of turnips generally, but more particu-
larly, upon acclivities inaccessible to the dung cart,
at elevations where corn does not ripen well in an
average year, the avowed object of such aration
being, to ultimatety improve the sheep pasture. That
tlieorv is unexceptionable, but I mean to show, that
where the practice is carried to excess, and conducted
upon erroneous principles, as it frequently is, the
result will assuredly be injurious to both landlord
•,ind tenant. My object in the present communica-
tion is, to cautioa farmers against the improvident

use of the plough under such circumstances ; to
point out the causes of failure, so frequently com-
plained of, in obtaining good permanent pasture alter
a rotation of arable culture, upon cold high land ;
and to describe a process by which that desirable ob-
ject may be attained with greater certainty, than by
the methods usually practised for that purpose.

In elucidation of my object, I will first take a re-
trospective view of former extensions of arable cul-
ture upon our high cold lauds, and the results thei'eot.
It is evident, from the almost obsolete tr:.ces of
the plough at very considerable elevn'i ns upon many
of our hills, that arable culture had -^stendet! there in
remote ages. But whether the .l)jects of tliat ara-
tion was the improvement of prsture or growth of
coin, we have no means of asceri uining. It probably
was for the latter object, as is indicated by the re-
mains of regularly formed ridges. We may suppose
the f irmers of those days, having been stimulated,
either by a succession of early harvests, or high
price of corn, perhaps by both, to so extend their
culture, would again restrict it, when their specula-
tion proved adverse. The growth ot corn on such
land mtist have been still more hazardous in former
times than at present, because, underground draining,
so necessary for the improvement of cold land, was
not then practised.

We do not know whether grass seeds were sown
upon the land in question, when tl rown out of culti-
vation, probably not ; and even supposing the in-
digenous grasses, roots, &c. had been extirpated by
a long course of clean culture, as in that case
they would be, tlie beautiful hand of Nature has
in the course ot ages which have since elapsed,
supplied herbage suitable to the soil and climate, as
we now see those lands clothed in the same manner
as tlie lauds adjoining, where no traces of the plough
are visible.

In drawing nearer to the present age, I next note
the period about the commencement, and in the early
part of the American war of independence. At that
time, Scottish agriculture made rapid progress in va-
rious improvements, such as the use of a pair of
horse ploughs ; the proper application of manures ;
superior culture of turnips ; more general culti-
vation of clover and rye grass, and in proper ro-
tations of alternate white and green crops. These
beneficial improvements were in a great measure ef-
fected by the spirited precept and example of the late
Mr. Dawson, of Frogden, Roxburghshire ;— a man
who deserved well of his country, and whose name
should be held in remembrance by Scotch Agricultu-
rists. The admirable system of Scotch banking, having
been perfected about the same period, liberally sup-
plied the main spring to the enterprising industry of
farmers. Mr. Dawson's practice in improved hus-
bandry was judiciou.-:ly confined to land suitable for
the growth of corn, and it would have been well for
many of his countrymen had they followed his ex-
ample in that respect, but they unfortunately exceed-
ed the bounds of prudence, in carrying their arable
culture to excess. A great extent of hill pasture
land was then broken up, and marl and lime freely
applied for the purpose of stimulating it to the
growth of corn ; and although under-draining was
but imperfectly understood at that time, and less
practised than at present, yet tiiat corn growivg mania
was prosperous for a time, so long as seasons were
favourable, and prices of corn kept up. But a sad
reverse soon followed. For, towards the conclusion
of that unfortunate war, seasons proved adverse, and
on the return of peace, trade was thrown open,
speculation in home produce ceased, bankers re-
stricted their credits, and corn fell greatly below re-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

425

manerating prices. The results were such as might
Lave been anticipated, hundreds of farmers were
totally ruined, and many landlords sustained serious
loss from those ill judged projects. The cold high
lands which had been so imprudently broken up,
were returned upon the landlord's hands, and were
thrown out of cultivation in an impoverished state.
In some instances tlie seeds of cultivated grasses
were sown, which nroduced a scanty herbage in the
first instance, and soon after died away, and the
native grasses having been destroyed by the prolonged
arable culture, the land became little better than a
barren waste, requiring the efforts of nature in the
succeeding half century, to restore it to as good pas-
turage for sheep, as before it had been denuded in
the manner here stated. In some instances, the bad
effects are seen at the present day, for where those
lands have since remained uncultivated, the pasture
they jjroduce is generally not so valuable as that
upon the lands adjoining, which had not been broken
upon.

The severe penalty on imprudence, inflicted as here
detailed, ought to have served as a beacon, to guard
both landlords andteuants against again entering in-
to such hazardous speculations ; but it appears to
have been either neglected or forgotten in the time of
the French Revolutionary war, when corn, from
causes here necessary to mention, rose to unprece-
dented high prices. At that time, a great many,
otherwise prudent men, miscalculating upon the per-
manency of high prices, were induced to hire farms at
exorbitant high rents, on having permission to break
up old grass land ; and a great extent of high cold
land useful as sheep pasture, but not adapted to the
growth of corn in our cold variable climate, was
consequently broken up and converted into arable.
The results of this second mania were still more fatal
than the first, the French war lasting much longer
than the American, and the prices of produce being
maintained at a much higher rate, both landlords and
tenants miscalculated upon the permanency of their
prosperity. They increased their establishments
and general expenditure in various ways, both present
and prospective, and in such a manner as could not be
well reduced to the former standard, when the de-
pression consequent upon the return of peace with
its contingencies, ultimately took place. In that
dilenma the landed interest struggled long and hard
against thei'- impending fate. The laud was crossed
cropped and exhausted, and debts deep and lasting
were contracted in the vain hope of a re-action in
prices of produce. Hence difficulties arose, from
which many worthy men never recovered, and are
by others severely felt to the present day. Painful
as this view of the subject is, still it does not go to
the extent of the calamity. For the cold high lands
of which I treat, having been deserted and thrown
out of cultivation, as formerlj'^, were generally re-
duced to a complete state of exhaustion in the man-
ner I have mentioned ; and the roots and seeds of the
indigenous plants having been extirpated by extended
courses of aration, much of that misused land still re-
mains in an unprofitable state, and many more years
must yet elapse, before it can be again recovered by
profitable natural herbage. There are, of course,
some exceptions to the general result, but these are
unfortunately thin strewed.

Having thus commented upon the errors of culti-
vation of cold highlands in former times, I will now
consider the present, which, as I have before said,
has been termed " a new era in agriculture," from
the prevalent system of using bone-dust in the culti-
vation of turnips, and breaking up high pasture land
for that purpose 5 a practice which I assert, if per-

severed in, as in the two last seasons, will soon
amount to a t/uVd ma?n'a in attempting to grow corn
in sil nations where the laws of nature do not admit of
its profitable culture in an average of years ; and
that within the memory of man, for there are many
others besides myself, now alive, who will vemember
the two former failures in that vain and ruinous at'
tempt.

Let it not be supposed I mean to condemn the use
of bone-dust as a manure for turnips. On the con-
trary, I highly approve of its use, when and where
properly applied. My only object is to endeavour to
dissuade occupiers from going to an excess in break-
ing up cold high land for the purpose of growing
corn in the first instance, although I admit it mav now
be attempted witfi greater hopes of success than for-
merly, as under-ground draining is now so much bet-
ter understood ; and secondly for the purpose of grow-
ing turnips by the aid of bone-dust upon acclivities
inaccessible to the dung cart, andultimately for the
purpose of returning ths land to pasture with an im-
proved permanent herbage.

On my communicating verbally with some intelli-
gent farmers on this subject, they told me their object
was not so much to grow corn and turnips on those
lands as to improve the pasture, and for that reason
they only put a tem]iorary fence round such land to
protect the crops upon it while under arable culture,
and removed those fences when the land was seeded
down, so that the sheep may have no obstruction in
ranging over it at pleasure. With this view they
first take a crop or two of oats after breaking up, for
the purpose of rotting the turj, then bone-dust turnips
eaten upon the ground by sheep, and in the following-
year, barley or oats with grass seeds, after which the
land is thrown out to the hill pasture. The system
is plausible enough, but in answer, I say, if the real
object of the aration is the improvement of pasture
it should not be attempted without permanent en-
closure, because sheep ranging over unimproved na-
tural pasture, having access at pleasure to herbage
upon land which had been limed or bone-dusted un-
der previous arable culture, starve themselves by
nibbling upon that scanty pasture, to the neglect of
their usual abundant supply of food upon the ad-
joining uncultivated land ; and surelyimproved pas-
ture witliin permanent enclosures can be more pro.^
fitablv grazed by feeding, than by store stock of any
kind.*

When cold high land is broken up with the inten-
tion of improving the pasture, corn should not be
sown upon it, as is usually done in the first, and
sometimes second year, for the purpose of rotting the
old turf, consequently destroying the natural her-
bage. On the contrary, that couise of husbandry
should be as brief as possible, /or the express purpose
of preserving the roots and seeds of the native plants.
The turf should not be thoroughly rotted, it sbould
only be broken and thinned, or, as it may be termed,
" transplanted." Lime or bone-dust should be
spread overthe surface ; lime in prefenmce, where it
can be had at a reasonable rate, and white clover and
perennial rye-grass sown upon it. The succeeding
pasturage will then be renovated, and greatly im-
proved. I particularize those two grasses, as white
clover and perennial rye-grass, of whic'i there are
many varieties, are indigenous in most places in our
cold climate, and their seeds are readily procured
from seedsmen, and generally at reasonable prices.

* The habit of the sheep on fresh pasture is here
truly described ; but we are not sure that such grass
would be more profitably devoted to feeding, tiian to
the support of store stock. — Ed,

42a

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE,

In cases where it is desirable to g-row turnips
upon the land in question, that object may be at-
tained without growing- corn in the first instance.
The land should be ploughed in the autumn of the
first year. In the spring of the second, it should
be cross-ploughed and cultivated in the usual way
then limed or bone-dusted, and tlie turnip-seed sown,
and although the crop will not generally be so good
as if the turf had been completely rotted by previous
corn cropping, the native grasses are not extirpated,
which should be the principal consideration in the
process. The turnip crop, be it great or small,
sliould be eaten upon the ground by sheep. And in
the spring of the third year the grass-seed, as before
mentioned, should be sown either with or without a
corn-crop, according to local circumstances. By
this short course of culture, the roots of the natural
grasses are not entirely destroyed, while the greater
part of tlieir seeds are preserved, and these, with
the seeds sown, soon produce a thick permanent
pasture.

I have been told that cold hill land, even after
having been severely corn-cropped, may be clothed
with good permanent herbage, by means of sowing-
it thick with well-selected grass-seeds, suited to the
soil and climate. I much doubt it. I have never
seen it effected under such circumstances, though I
have seen many failures in the attempt. That suit-
able seeds may be selected, and may be sown, I ad-
mit; but I answer, in the words of Hotspur Percy,
" Will they come?" and I will add, even suppose
they do come, "Will they stay?'' We know that
theory is not borne out in practice, and it is idle to
argue upon it. It is even with great difficulty good
permanent pasture can be obtained in a i'ew years,
by sowing the best selection of grass-seeds upon old
tilled land of the first quality, and in the most fa-
voured situations. But good pasture may be ob-
tained in one year upon old tilled land, though of
inferior quality, by the process called " inoculation,"
that is, by transplanting good old turf in small pieces
over tlie land. That practice, with many otlier im-
provements in husbandry, emanated from JMr. Coke's
estate in Norfolk. The system which I here lecom-
mend for improving hill-pasture, is similar in effect
to transplanting or inoculating, though upon a
broader, ruder, and less expensive scale.

In autumn last I visited Moffat, Dumfrieshire,
and in the vicinity of that place I observed a great
extent of improved pasture-land reaching high up
the sides of the hills, effected, as I was informed,
by methods similar to what I have here before re-
commended. Part of those pastures had beea im-
proved several years ago. Others more recently,
and some were then in progress. In the latter, so
far as I saw, there did not appear to be any attempt
at growing either corn or tursips. The fields are
enclosed by stone-walls, as tliorn hedges would not
drive in such situations. The dry spots of land
within the new enclosures v\-ere broken up, and cul-
tivated in the usual wa}^. The land was then limed,
and grass seeds sown upon it, which completed
the improving process. I was told the lime used
was brought thirty miles, land-carriage, and the
heavy expense of it, with that of the cultivation and
seeding, incurred by (he spirited and judicious oc-
cupiers, for the sole object of improving their pas-
tures, without regard to corn-growing ; I trust they
live under liberal landlords, and have long leases.
I was, however, happy to see their speculations, in
so far as regards their improvement of pasture, com-
pletely answered that purpose. For within the en-
closures I saw fine Galloway bullocks, and Lei-
cesters crossed with Cheviot sheep feeding, while,

upon the unimproved land outside, tho black-faced
heath sheep were barely existing. That is an example
worthy of imitation, and similar improvements may
be eflected in many other places, by the joint efforts
of liberal landlords and spirited tenants. But no
man is justified in laying out money in improving
another person's estate, unless he is secured by a
compensating lease, or remunerated in some other
way.

The iMoffat enclosures are generally laid out in
squares, and with their stone-v.alls have a stiff un-
sightly appearance, in the landscape, being more
unpleasant to the eve in picturesque scenery of un-
dulating hill and dide. I, however, observed the
woods and plantations in that district have been
designed with better taste than in many otjer pai ts
of Scotland. I there saw but few of those ill-judged
and useless straight lines of fir plantations called
"belts," dividing fields. Their timber is princi-
pally deciduous forest-trees, and those projierly dis-
posed for use and ornament. I -svas also delighted
in that I there saw no vestiges of that horrid syster^
of haggling, mangling, and lopphig the branches o»
trees erroneously called " pruning." Consequently
the timber is not only ornamental, but in a vigorous
thriving state, and when arrived at maturity, felled
for use, such trees will be found proportionally more
valuable to the proprietor, because they will be
sound timber ; whereas the mangled trees, with the
st^m bark healed over their wounds, prove deceptive
when taken down, and when cut up and converted,
are found of little value.

From this digression I again revert to the enclo-
sures, and remark that it is not necessary the fences
of fields should be carried in straight lines, nor the
fields formed in squares, when not intended for
arable culture. The princip-al considerations in en-
closing land for ) ermanent pasture, should be a
regular and plentiful supply of water, shelter, and
shade; to these may be added picturesque beauty.
These desired objects should be attained where prac-
ticable, without regard to the lines the fences may
take in the accomplishment ; and regard should be
paid to not interrupting the sheep range on tlie
hills.

Man}' sheep farms are quite destitute of perma-
nant enclosures and improved pasture, and others
have none worthy of notice, though upon most there
is a cai)ability of forming extensive improvements of
the Moffat principles here described. I was quite
surprised on seeing so little enclosed pasture in
some of the pastoral districts in tlie south of Scot-
land ; the more so as the verdant hills and Vnlleys,
with the classic streams of those districts, are quite
calculated for such improvement, and the land gene-
rally occupied by a most respectable, intelligent, and
enterprising- body of fai'mers. On making inquiry
on the subject, I was informed, the stock farms there
are frequently let upon nine years' leases, or some
other short term ; and the tenants, although they had
great confidence in their landlords, did not think
themselves justit ed in expending much money in
such necessary improvements under their short
tenures. But all with whom I conversed on that
matter, appeared cxtremelj^ desirous of obtaining an
extension of improved permanent pasture. In such
cases, the expenses sliould si.rely be borne by the
landlords, who would of course fix the rents propor-
tionate to their outlay, and they could not possibly
make a more profitable investment. But, unfortu-
nately, in the districts to which I allude, the great
and necessary stimulant in such improvements can
only be obtained at present at an extravagant ex-
pense. Lime is there brought a great distance by

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

427

land-carriage, sometiines over hilly bad roads. One
highly respectable farmer told me, he brought his
lime tor laying on his lands thirty-three or thirty-
four miles, and that his horses and carts were three
days in completing their journeys. The expense
which occupiers are thus put to, for an article indis-
pensably necessary in good cultivation, is tanta-
mount to a prohibition to improvement in places so
situated ; yet there is great facility in laying a rail-
road from the centre ot the district to which 1 allude,
to communicate from thence through the lime and
coal fields to Edinburgh and the port of Leith, by
which the transit would be greatly expedited, and
expense of carriage much reduced, in corn, wool,
coal, lime, bone-dust, iron, timber, slate, and various
other heavy articles of produce and commerce. It
surely would be greatly to the advantage of the
great landholders in this district to promote that
undertaking, and, in so doing, th^y would not only
benefit themselves and their tenantry, but confer an
indelible boon upon their country.

This is no chimerical scheme ; the advantages to
be derived are so obvious, there can be no doubt it
will be carried into etfect by some means, and that
at no distant period. But it is most desirable the
landed interest should take the lead in this instance.
It would appear the members of that great interest
are either over remiss, or less clear-sighted in their
own concerns, if not biassed by erroneous prin-
ciples, than the manufacturing and commercial in-
terests. For nearly all great national improvements
are effected when these two interests preponderate;
and, let it be observed, those two are now flou-
rishing while agriculture languishes, all parties
having now free scope for exertion. It is true, we
have seen the reverse, but, let it be borne in mind,
farming prosperity was only temporary ; it arose
from fictitious causes, and soon vanished, as I have
shewn. It ought in future to be founded upon
sounder principles. F. B.

SALE OF STOCK, AT FIRBY, NEAR
MALTON.

The sale of the valuable short-horned stock of the
Rev. Thomas Harrison, of Firby, near Malton, ac-
cording to announcement, took place on Wednesday
last, April 26, under the able conducting of Mr.
Boulton, of Doncaster. From the acknowdged su-
periority of the stock, considerable interest WhS
created ; and the day fortunately being favourable,
there was a very numerous attendance of gentlemen
and breeders, many of whom had come from a consi-
derable distance. The following is the result of the
sale : —

cows, &c. gs.

Bobtail, roan, by Kirkharle, dam by Baronet,
grandam by Duke, — Traveller, 7 yrs. old

(bought by Mr. Allen) 24

Beppo, roan, by Kirkharle, dam by Cleveland,
grand'^m by Duke of Yarborough, 6 yrs. old

(Mr. Thompson) 21

Cremona, red and white, by Merrington, dam
Jby Fitz-Pvemus, grandam by Cato, 6 yrs. old

(Mr. Allen) 16

Dahlia, roan, bought at the sale of Mr. Deigh-
ton, of Thickly, near Darlington, 6 yrs. old

(Mr. Edge; 19

Chauntress, red and white, by Miracle, out of
Cremona, by Merrington, 5 yrs old (Lord

Huntingfield) 45

Cassandra, roan, by Miracle, out of Garland,
by Matchem, grandam by Fitz-Remus, 5 yrs.
old (Mr. Edge) "... 50

Catalani, red and white, by Miracle, out of Cre- gs.
mona, by Merrington, 4 yrs. old (Mr Went-

worth) » 47

Belissima, roan, by Sir Charles, dam by Kirk-
harle, grandam by Cleveland, 4 yrs. old (Mr.

Childers) 31

Daffodil, yellow and white, by a son of Cheviot,
out of a Guernsey cow, 4 yrs. old (Mr. Jack-
son) 12

Beatrice, roan, by Sir Charles, out of Bobtail,

by Kirkharle, 3 yrs. old (Mr. G. Svvann) 18

Ruby, red, by a son of Cheviot, dam by Morti-
mer, 3 yrs. old (Mr. Jackson) 18

Angelica, red and white, by a son of Shylock,
dim by Cheviot, out of a sister to Don Juan,

3 yrs old (Lord Huntingfield) 16

Cascarella, roan, by a son of Cheviot, out of
Cassandra, by Miracle, 3 yrs. old (Mr. W ent-

worth) _ _. 20

Caradori, red and white, own sister to Catalani,
by Miracle, out of Cremona, 3 yrs. old (Mr.

Wentworth) 19

Dryad, roan, by Algernon, out of Dahlia (lot 4)

2 yrs. old (Mr. Edge) 50

Calvpso, red and white, by Algernon, out of
Chauntress, by Miracle, 2 yrs. old (Earl

Spencer) 10

Nerissa, roan, by the Chief, out ol Netherby, by
Cupid, grandam Moss Rose, by Barmpton, 2

yrs. old (Mr. Edge) 37

Calista, roan, sister to Calypso, by Algernon, out
of Chauntress, by Miracle, 1 yr. old (Capt.

Shaw) 50

Cinderella, red and white, by Algernon out of

Catalani, by Miracle, 1 yi". old (Earl Spencer) 15|-
Clara, white, by Algernon, out of Cassandra, by

Miracle, 1 yr. old, (Mr. Henderson) 2i

Bella, white, by Boldon, dam by Sir Charles,

out of a Kirkliarle cow, 1 yr. olJ (Mr. Carter) 20
Red Rose, red, by Premium, out of Beppo, by

Kirkharle. 1 yr. old (Mr. Thompson) 12

Rosebud, red, by Algernon, out of Piuby, by a

son of Cheviot, 11 months old, (Earl Spencer) 13
Roan Heifer Calf, by Algernon, out of Cassan-
dra, by Miracle, 6 months old (Capt. Shaw) 19
Roan Heifer Calf, by Algernon, out of Bellis-
sima, by Sir Charles, 6 months old (Capt.

Shaw) 25

Roan Heifer Calf, by Algernon, out of Catalani,

by Miracle, 4 months old (Capt. Shawj) 36

Roan Heifer Calf, by Algernon, out of Beppo,
by Kirkharle, 4 months old, (Mr.Wentworth) 22

BULLS.

Alo-ernon, roan, by Cheviot, out of Larkspur,
by Hotspur, grandam own sister to the sire
of Lord Spencer's celebrated bull, Firby, 6
yrs. old (Lord Exeter) 65

Druid, roan, by Algernon, out of Dahlia (lot 4),
1 yr. old (Lord Huntingfield) 34

Harry, roan, bv Algernon, out of Bobtail, b};-
Kirkharle, lo' months old (iMr. Allen) fS

Chaucer, red and white, bred by Lord Spencer,
by Wiseton, out of Poetry, by Firby, 9 months
old, (Mr. Thompson) 15

Corelli, red and white, b}'- Algernon, out of
Chauntress, by Miracle, 5 months old (Lord
Huntingfield) o^i

Roan, by Algernon, out of Angelica, bv a son
of Shylock, S months old (Mr. Childersj) 20

Roan, by Algernon, out of Cascarella, by a son
of Cheviot, 6 weeks old (Mr. Wentworth). . 16

Red and White, by Algernon, out of Camdori,
by Miracle, calved March 7 (Mr. Went-
worth) '. , , 5

428

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

PHOSPHORie ACID— BONE MANURE.

Dear Sir,— A Gorresj'ondeDt in tfee Mark Lane-
Express of last week, requires information with re-
spect to the obtaining- phosphoric acid at a cheap
price, so as to supersede the use of bones as a ma-
nure. Should you not receive an answer more to
the purpose than this, I will thank you to insert it.
Phosphoric acid can only be obtained by buruing
phosphorus in oxygen gas, and the cheapest mode of
making phosphorus is by the combustion of bones ;
100 parts of which contain 80 of earth and 20 of
acid, so that nothing can be gained. Phosphate of
lime, if it could be found so as to be available to
the farmer, would be invaluable. Whether it exists
in England I know not, but in Spain there are entire
mountains of it .• it it is compounded of phosphoric
acid 41 parts, lime 59. When animal bones are
divested of their oil and jelly, the earth which re-
mains is chiefly lime united with phosphoric acid.
It is worthy of notice, that phosphate of lime is
found in abundance also in milk. This seems to
indicate, as Fourcroy beautifully remarks, " that na-
ture thought fit to place in the iirst nourishment of
animals, a quantity of osseous matter, vrith a view to
the necessary celerity of the formation and growth
of the bones in the earliest stage of their lives. "
This fact is probably unknown to some who study
natural historv, and is one of the numerous instances
of the beneficence of the Creator, exemplified by the
science of chemistry. The more we know of the
minutioe of the matter, and of the laws by which it
is governed, the greater occasion shall we have to
admire the excellence of contrivance, and the bene-
volence of intention of the Omnipotent Artificer. Let
the advocates for chance consider the aforesaid fact,
and sav, if they can, that phosphate of lime is found
in animal milk, in consequence of fatality , ana that
it occurs by accident where it performs so important
an office in the animal economy. For the above re-
mark I am indebted to Parkes's Chemical Catchism,
a work, which I recommend to the perusal of every
gentUman, farmer, manufacturer, and mechanic. I
remain Sir, your friend,

PHILALETHES.

THE DISEASE OF THE LARCH.

It has been found by experience that elerated situ-
ations are better for the larch than low, that declivities
were better than _/Zafs; thai 15 or 16 feet was the best
distance at which larch plants should be allowed to
remain asunder, and that they should be planted in
autumn in preference to spring.

All observations incline us to think that the cause
of the diseases which attack the larches must be
sought for in some diflFerence existing in the physi-
cal nature or in the culture of our trees. We do not
think that the nature of the soil should have a very
marked influence, for the larch is not particular about
the soil where it grows, and seems only to fear ex-
tremes, which are fortunately rare. Marshy grounds
are the only ones it essentially dreads, and it is
never found in that kind of soil. It may grow in a
soil composed of stones ana "-avel, but it does not
flourish in too strong a soil, and amongst too hard
pebbles. Its roots find too little room for expansion
in them, an 'Ithe trunk is always stunted. The ele-
vation above the level of the sea may have more in-
fluence on th'-i phenomena than the soil, but only in
an indirect manner. Thus we might mention the
existence of beautiful plantations of larches, at very
different heights, provided other circumstances com-

pensated for these. Monsieur de Charpenter (the
illustrious Geologist, who has so well described the
Pyrenees) mentions with admiration the larch forests
of Moritzbourg and of Tharanz, near Dresden, which
are only 238 feet above the level of the sea, and
which, at 40 or 50 years old, rival in size the most
beautiful forests in the Valais. There may be seen
in the Vosges, and in some villages of Daupheny
forests of larches (sown in the Vosges, but sponta-
neous in Daupheny), flourishing at very trifling-
heights ; but larches, there can be no doubt, can
be grown at a lower height in those climates where
the air is pure and the atmosphere less damp than in
England.

Amongst all the general circumstances which have
an effect on vegetation, that which appears most ne-
cessary to the larch is, that it have at the same time
its roots in a soil habitually damp, and its top exposed
to the direst rays of the sun, so that the evaporation
of water and the decomposition of carbonic acid may
go on with activity.

Larches generally thrive on the declivities of moun-
tains, seldom on jiat places, because on declivities
there is always a little dampness in the earth coming
from the summit, and at the same time the trees, on
account of the inequality of their bases, have more
space at their tops, and are better exposed to the
light ; whereas flat places are often too dry, and
the trees, being all of the same height, overshadow
each other. Amongst declivities, those which are
connected with summits covered with perpetual snow
are those where laiches grow best, because there
they grow slightly, and continually watered, and at
the same time their top well exposed to the sun.
Declivities, and, in general, elevated countries, suit
larches best, because the action of the light is more
intense than in low countries, yet the larch succeeds
well enough in countries only a little elevated above
the level of the sea, provided the atmosphere be not
obscured by fogs and constant cloudiness.

If the larch seems to like to have its root in a soil
moderately damp, it likes also to avoid the dampness
of the atmosphere. On that account it grows ill in
valleys, particularly near lakes and the rivers. The
constant dryness of the air of the Alps is also one of
the causes which makes it prosper there, 'i'he damp-
ness of the air tends to diminish the evaporation of
the leaves so necessary to that tree.

The want of a sufficiently intense light, owing to
the obliquity of the solar rays and to the opacity of
the atmosphere, and the over damp state of the
latter, — all appear permanent causes which in our
climate must predispose the larches to a state of
watery plethora, which is probably the cause of the
destruction remarked in the heart of the wood.
This cause has little or no effect during the youth
of the tree, because then its vegetation is vigorous;
but it goes on increasing until the tree arrives at the
age when all trees begin to be feebler. It is well
known that the larch grows better in those parts ex-
posed to the north than to the south. This probably
arises from the irregularity of our spring, which causes
the buds of the larches to be precocious in the
southern declivities, and consequently they are
frequently frozen : this happens to our walnut
trees, which, although they are affected by the
frost, grow better on the northern declivities than
on the southern, where their being too forward
are frozen. It is also too probable that our plantations
of larches are too close. Air and light would penetrate
better into the forests, and would correct the defects
which may be attributed to the want of evaporation,
and the decomposition of the carbonic acid. We
should not certainly place the young and yet small

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

429

larches at the distance often feet, but we should fol-
low the method employed in the forests of pitch
pines, to keep them close in their youth, then to
thin them annually and gradually so as to bring
them to the distance of ten feet when twenty years
old. This thinning of the trees appears to be a most
important point; possibly, considering our atmos-
pherical circumstances, the trees should he at greater
distance, though they are generally at considerably
less. This may be easily tried on a small scale, and
experience will shew if the theory be just or not.
There is a disease in the larch where you will find the
whole folivige covered with a lehitish substance even
to the very points of the leares, or needles, as they
are commonly termed. When the trees infected shed
their foliage, they appear in winter all covered with
blackish strands, both on the trunk and branches,
especiallt^ on tke scuih side, as the rains are more se-
vere from that quarter than any other. Now, whe-
ther this is a disease in the sap of the tree, or an in-
sect, is not yet decided. Our opinion is, and has
long been, that it is an insect of tlie Aphis tribe.
These insects on the foliage, by obstructing the due
performance-of the ordinary functions of vegetation,
must induce the stinted growtli and narrowness of
annual deposit; but we have not found that such a
partial obstruction of growth as proceeds from the
attacks of insects on the foliage has been so produc-
tive of that very alarming and hidden disease or
decay which takes pl;-ce in the interior of the tree ;
nor is it certain whether such insects abounding are
not more the effects of locality, than symptomatic of
approaching decaj^ in the plant. The rot in larch
may he considered the most i'atal to which that tree
is liable in this country.

From long experience and observation, strength-
ened by the results of numerous inquires, we are
justified in offering as our decided opinion, that the
decayed roots of the Scots Jirs in the soil, communicates
something deadly to the absorbent root-vessels of the larch,
of whatever nature the soil or subsoil may be, and
that that substance, whatever it is. is infinitely
more pernicious i?t a state of decay than -when fresh
and performing their ordinary functions. The pri-
mary cause of the rot no doubt exists in the soil.
Other diseases to which this tree is liable with us, as
Mens, de Condolle, of Geneva, the most eminent
physiologist in Europe, very justly observes, pro-
ceeds from the nature of our climate.

AN ARBORICULTURIST.
Hafod.

FAILURE OF THE POTATO CROP.

[The following paper was transmitted last au-
tumn to the Highland and Agricultural Society of
Scotland, and has been so far approved as to pro-
cure the author the best thanks of the Directors,
•with an intimation that it will be noticed in the
Society's Records. It is now presented to the
public, in the hope that it may promote discussion
among practical farmers, and lead some who have
belter opportunities of observation to turn their
attention more closely than they have yet done,
to a subject that involves so deeply the public
interest.] — Perth Courier.

ON THE CAUSES OF THE FAILUHE OF THE POTATO
CHOP, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR ITS REMEDY.

The causes in general assigned for the failure of
the potatoe crop, are so various and contradictory,
that little confidence can he placed in them as an

esplanatiou of the phenomena. They rest upon no
fixed and admitted principles, and are at variance
with eyer}'- thing that is known of the laws of vege-
tation.

But, without pointing out and exposing those
errors, into which both practical men and mere theo-
rists have fallen in this matter, it will be better
perhaps to state shortly and simply, the causes which,
in our opinion, have occasioned the late failure,
which, if they are admitted to be well founded, will
the more clearly point out the means by which the
evil may in future be prevented.

These causes I would reduce to three : —
1 . Unripe, or ill-preserved Seed ;
SJ. Late Planting;
3. Bad JNIanure.
To these three causes operating singly or con-
joined, which is generally the case, I would ascribe
the failure complained of. Unripe seed will, under
all circumstances, produce a weak and sickly plant,
and in many cases fail altogether. Late planting is
injudicious, in as much as the potatoe is an early
plant, and is liable to spontaneous germination in
the house or pit, and is thus injured or greatly ex-
hausted before the late period of the season when
they are now generally planted. And, under the
last head, I hold that dung, not previously prepared
by fermentation, but in a wet state and fresh from
the straw-yard sheds — if put into the ground in a hot
season of the year, when the mould iss also warm, is
apt to ferment in the drill, and thereby destroy the
seed plant ; and this cause has a still more powerful
eflTect upon seed that was not ripe, or that has been
exhausted and softened by spontaneous germination
in the house or pit.

I shall now support these suppositions by a few
facts and arguments.

It may be proper to admit that there may be other
causes concurring with these. There may have been
something in the character of the seasons for the last
few years, whicli were unusually hot and dry at the
period when the greater portion of the potatoe crop
were planted.

1. Uniupe, or Ill-preserved Seed. — I believe it
will be admitted by practical men, that for some
years past, I may say from the period when
this remarkable and general failure has been felt,
that the seed planted was a shorter time in the
ground before it was reaped, and consequently
could not be so ripe as it was in former years. Po-
tatoes, instead of being planted as formerly about the
end of April, or beginning of May, have of late not
been put into the ground till the beginning or even
the middle of June.

Several causes, especially in the east coast of Scot-
land, have led to this change of system. It was
found at first, that late planting increased both the
size of the potatoe and the weight of the crop ; and
though the quality was generally allowed to he de-
teriorated, for they were softer, or more watery and
waxy, yet their size and even waxiness recommend-
ed ihem to the London market, for which they were
principally raised. The delay in planting was there-
fore, at first, encouraged by the hope of greater pro-
fit, and also by affording them more time for prepar-
ing the ground, and for planting a greater breadth of
crop, than they could have done, with the same
means, at an earlier period of the season. This feel-
ing and practice was also not a little strengthened by
an opinion very generally entertained, that potatoes
lifted rather green, or before they were fully ripe,
forrped the best seed.

But not only have potatoes been later in being
planted than they were 26 years ago, but they hate

430

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

also beeil much earlier taken from tlie ground. —
Whenever wheat is to be sown after potatoes, it is
desirable that they should be lifted as early as possi-
ble, that the wheat seed ma}' be put into the j^round
in proper time, before the rains, snows, and frosts of
winter set in. Accordingly, every one must have
seen potatoes raised and put into the pits for the
winter, when the shairs or stalks were still green,
and the roots were still in a vigorous state of vege-
tation. In former times, nobody thought of lifting
their potatoes till the shaws were completely withered
and dead, by natural decay or frost, and thereby gave
evidence that all vegetation had ceased.

]S"ow from these causes, wliich, so far as we can
learn, have been very general, we maintain tha<- the
])otatoes used as seed have not been allowed suffi-
cient time in the ground for ripening, and therefore
were unfit for seed. Notliing can be more erroneous
than to suppose that any fruit not fully ripe, is fit
for seed. How does nature act in such a case 1 Does
she sow unripe or green seed ? Never. It is allowed
to drop from the tree, or from the parent stem, fully
ripe ; and her roots are preserved in the ground
without being taken up, and consequently are not
prevented from germinating at the season appointed
for them. Accordingly they never fail, except in
seasons of extraordinary severity, that occur only at
the distance of centuries.

It may be alleged that the cerealia — that is wheat,
barley, and oats, if allowed to be too ripe, before
they are cut and housed, lose both in quality and
quantit}'. But this, though admitted, does not affect
the position I maintain. Tliese grains, in particular
calm seasons, will, if allowed, remain on tlie stalk
till thej lose both in quality and weight : yet the
first autumnal wind will scatter tliem, or the rains
will cause them to drop from the stalk : and when
so sown upon the ground, do they ever fail to ger-
minate, even though no covering of earth be thrown
over them. But suppose you were to strip the same
kind of grain in a green or half green state, by some
mechanical process, would they germinate in the
same number and with the same vigour 1 Not one
in ten thousand would do so ; but those that do ger-
minate will, if examined, be found to have been ripe.
We bold, therefore, that unripe seed will not ger-
minate ; and that if half-ripe only, that it is more
liable to be injured in the ground, and will produce
only a weak and sickly plant.

Now, corn is no more a native of this country than
the potato ; and both have been long enough fami-
liarized to the soil and climate, and have flourished
in so vigorous a state, as to warrant us in holding
them to be perfectly naturalized, and requiring only
the same treatment as indigenous plants that require
culture for their full developement and produce. It
is idle, therefore, to talk of going to the countries
where they are indigenous, to get new plants for
seed in order to restore their fruitfulness, as if our
present potatoes were worn out and exhausted. A
change of seed from one district and soil to another,
has been found to be attended with beneficial results.
But the plants that have been long naturalized to
the soil and climate of this country, have been im-
proved instead of being deteriorated, and are the best
for seed that can be procured.

This position will, I suppose, be called in ques-
tion by m-jny. It seems to be an opinion more gene-
rally entertained than I was once aware of, that the
late failure has arisen from a natural and general
decay of the potato, throughout the country ; and
that its prcductive power can be restored only by
procuring seed from those countries where the plant
is indigenous, or by raising it from the plum or apple

of the potato, which is its natural seed. This opi-
nion I hold to be ill grounded. Good potatoes may
indeed be produced by these methods, which, after
liaving been improved during three years in this
country, will form excellent seed. But if they are
subjected to late planting, and to the other causes
that have been mentioned as operating in producing
the late failure, they will in a year or two be reduced
to the same state, and produce the same results. Ac-
cordingly seed raised from the plum within these
few years, has, in Galloway and other parts, been
found to fail as signally as any other. Plad the late
failure, indeed, been occasioned by a general and
gr.idual decay of the potato, to which some maintain
that all bulbs or tubers are liable as seed, unless re-
newed by raising them from the natural seed pro»
duced by the flower of the plant, then the failure also
would liave been gradual and general, and the qua-
lity of the potato would have been deteriorating from
yeiir to year. But this has not been the case. The
i'ailuie has been only partial ; and nothing can be
discovered on examining the potatoes now reared
that indicate any deterioration. They are as firn.
and good every way, as tliey ever were at any for-
mer period. If ripe, and planted at the proper sea-
son, and with good manure, the}' will germinate as
certainly and as vigorously, and be as productive as
ever.

As far as regards the seed, therefore, all that is
required is that it be f'ully ripe and jjroperly pre-
served. Now if it can be shown, that throughout
the country, and especially in Perthshire and those
districts, where the failure has been most extensively
and deeply felt, that the crop has been allowed as
long a time in the ground, at the proper season for
growing and ripening, as in former years when a
failure in the produce was unknown, then we admit
that all our objections and reasonings on this point
fall to the ground. But can this be maintained 1 1
appeal to all practical men, and call upon them to
say, whether the potato crop has not been both later
in being put into the ground, and also taken up at an
earlier period, and consequently could not have the
same time for arriving at that state of full maturity,
which it reached in former years, when a failure in
this crop was unknown. But unripe seed I consider
to be only one of the causes of the late fulure.
(To be continued i»i our next.)

TO THE EDITOR OF THE COUNTY
NEWSPAPER.

Sin, — In December last the higliest weekly ave-
rage price of wheat was 61s. 9d. ; in the week end-
ing the Ikh April inst. the average is 55s. 5d. — a
difference of 6s. 4d, per quarter, or 31s. 8d. per load,
of 40 bushels ; add (a very moderate claim) at least
2s. per quarter more for quality, after the drying and
searching winds of March, the rea; difference is 8s.
4d. per quarter, or 41s. 8d. per load. Yet it is a
fact, disgraceful to our authorities, that bread was at
16d. per gallon only at the first named period, and
16d. at the last named ! I will not mince the mat-
ter, but declare this to be as gross an imposition as
ever practised on the public, and the most cruel ex-
tortion on the "honoured starveling" who obtains
from the poor law commissioners, the enviable appel-
lation of "independent labourer," by endeavouring
to keep the terrestrial and celestial attributes of seven
or eight human beings together on 93. per week !

Let the following be taken as a true sample of the

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

431

Jiflference paid by the consumer I'or the proJuce of
40bushels of whoat, and the price realized by the
grower : —

A load (40 bushels) of wheat will make 7
bags, or 35 bushels, or 280 gallons of
bread, which, at 16d. per gallon, is .. £18 13 4

Cost price of wheat at 56s. 5d. per qr. . 13 17 1

Difference 4 1(J o

But will you allow notliing- for expenses of grind-
ing, bakinj-, &c., cries the miller and baker ? Not
one far thing, I answer ; for I will prove the offal of
a load of wheat, and the increase in wetting the
flour, to pay v%ell both the grinding and baking it
into bread. So that here is considerably luore than
" one-third " c/mi- ■profit: this comes up pretty near
to the nr.iik of the profit Peel's bill made upon the
old rags — is it any wonder then, screwed bet«-een
both, there exists so much distress in the middle
classes, and fsuch misery in the cottagel I know
the millers and bakers will j)lead " had debts " as an
excuse ; but " bad debts " weie as liable to be con-
tracted in December last as now, and were then
equally ridiculous to plead in siq^port of imposition.
If I sell to two millers a load of wheat each at 13/.,
what would the one think if I charged him 26/., be-
cause the other had run away] Such trash ought
not, and, I trust, will not weigh with the public. I
could say much more, but as some of the cloth m.a}'
take up the gauntlet, 1 shall reserve a little ammuni-
tion for a second fire, should it be provoked. Suffice
it to say at present, that if parish unions can be sup-
plied with bread, ;!S supplied in this union, at 13|d.
per gallon, and that drawn long distances at con-
siderable expense, rt is a shame that the man, en-
deavouring under the severest privations to keep
aloof from the parish and the v,'orkhouse, should be
so extravagantly charged. I am, &c.

Live and Li:t Live.
WhitchurcJi, April 27.

VEGETABLE MANURE.

The principal vegetable substances, employed as
a manure, in their separate state, are, rape-cake, oil-
cake, malt-dust, sea-weed, peat, or turf, in a decom-
posing state, and the ashes of several plants. Rape-
cake is the husk and refuse of the rape, after the
oil has been expressed. It is reduced to a coarse
powder, and in this state it is scattered upon the
surface, and lightly covered, v.hen it attracts mois-
ture, and readily decomposes. It is sometimes
strewed upon young- clovers, or it is sown with
turnips, and similar plants, at tiie same time with
the seeds, or it is spread upon the tilled surface of
the land, before the seeds are sown. The quantity
applied is ten or twelve cvvt. to tha acre, and some-
times a smaller quantity is used. As it readily at-
tracts moisture, and is decomjiosed, it should be
kept dry, and used in its recent state. It is better
suited to land that is clayey, and somewhat moist,
than to that which is very dry and light. With the
Flemings, this substance is a favourite manure ; and
they use, also, for the same purpose, the refuse of
the poppy-seed, after the oil has been expressed
from it. They apply these substances in larger
quantity than is practised in England. They dis-
solve, also, the rape-cake in urine, and thus form a
manure of the richest kind. Oil-cake is a similar
substance, but is the produce of the seed of the flax,
after the expression of the oil. It forms, likewise,
a very rich manure 5 but it is too valuable to be

much used for that jiurpose. It is employed, as we
shall afterwards see, for the feeding of animals.
Rlalt-dust is used for feeding: but it is employed,
also, as a manure. It consists of the radicale of the
seed, rubbed from the grain, after malting. It is
employed at the rate of from 40 to 60 bushels to the
acre. Sea-weed, consisting of different species of
fucus, and other marine plants, is greatly used upon
the sea- coasts of Great Britain and Ireland, as a
manure. It is very transient in its effects ; but it
is, nevertheless, of much value, in situations where
it can be obtained. The most common method of
using it is, to convey it directly to the land, and ap-
ply it fresh, as a top-dressing to the growing crops.
If let't in a heap by itself, its moie soluble parts are
exhaled, and a dry, fibrous matter, alone, remains.
If it is not applied, therefore, in its recent state, it
should be formed into a compost with dung, or with
a mixture of dung and earth. Sea-weed is chiefly
valuable for light and dry soils. It is of less com-
parative value Ibr the stiffer clays ; and, hence, when
a farm has access to it, it is better to apply the sea-
weed to the lighter, and the dung to the stiffer, soils
upon the farm. Peat is a substance which may be
used as a manure ; but, unless freed of its acid prin-
ciple, it may remain for years, exposed to water and
air, without undergoing decomposition, in whicli
state it can afford no nourishment to plants. Pure
peat, therefore, should be made to undergo decom-
position before it is applied to the soil. This may
be done by long exposure to the air, or by mixing it
with quick-lime, which decomposes its woody fibre,
and forms a kind of compost, which, however, is
not greatly valued. The woody fibre of peat may be
better decomposed by mixing it with dung, or any
animal matter. For this purpose, the peat may be
led directly to the farm-yard, and spread upon the
heap of dung, so as to be mixed equally with it.
This is the most easy method of decomposing peat ;
but care is to be taken, not to supply it in so large a
quantity as to injure the quality of the manure.
Peat, too, may be decomposed, by mixing it in alter-
nate layers with fresh dung in a fermenting state, the
peat being first partially freed of its moisture, by
being for some time exposed to the air. The quan-
tity of dung should be nearly equal to that of the
peat ; and when the fermentation has arrived at the
degree of blood-heat, the mass should be turned over
and formed into another heap ; and this should, in
like manner, be turned before being used. This
species of compost, however, often disappoints ex-
pectation, perhaps, from the peat still retaining some
principles unfavourable to vegetation. The ashes of
wood, and all vegetables, may be used as manure ;
but the effects of these are, for the most part, not very
great. By burning the plants, the carbonaceous
matter, indeed, remains, but the other enriching-
parts of the substance are expelled. In Holland and
the low countries, the ashes of peat are extensively
employed; but the peculiar value of these ashes ap-
pears to be derived from mineral impregnation. The
most valued of them are taken ^rom the low marshes
of Holland, which are covered during the winter sea-
sou with brackish water, and they are accordingly
much impregnated with saline matter. They are
sown upon the surface of growing crops of different
kinds ; but they are found of peculiar efficacy in
promoting the growth of clover, upon the leaves of
which they are strewed. They are carried far into
the interior for this purpose. Some ashes, too, in
in England, possess similar properties ; but, from
the effects being evidently due to the saline matters
with which they are mixed, they are rather to be re-
garded as mineral than as vegetable manures. Of

432

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

animal substances employed as manures, mention has
bpen miide of dung and urine. The first is generally
mixed with ligneous fibre, and so, also, in tbe com-
mon practice of this country, is the latter, though
urine, it has been said, maybe rpplied in its separate
state. Taking into account, however, the general
economy of stock, and the farm yard, in this country,
it is not perhaps expedient, that we should adopt the
practice to any great extent; j-et, R-hen any liquid
manure, the excess of the cow-houses and the stables,
is obtained, it may be conveniently applied to grass
land, which is to be cut for hay or green forage.
Of excrementitious animal matter, applied in its un-
mixed state, one of the most useful is night-soil, a
substance which is ver}- liable to decompose. It
abounds in matters composed of carbon, hydrogen,
oxygen, and nitrogen, and, whether recent or fer-
mented, supplies abundantly the food of plants. In
Flanders, and all parts of the low countries, the at-
tention paid to night-soil, as a manure, is very great,
and it is employed in different states of fermentation,
according to the crops to which it is to be applied.
The disagreeable odour of this substance may be de-
stroyed by mixing it with quick-lime. When it is
exposed to the atmosphere, and the layers are strewed
over with lime, it soon dries, and in this state is
easilj' jiulverized. It then forms one of that valuable
class of manures, which may be deposited in the
ground at the same time with the seed. Of ex-
crementitious animal matter, too, the dung of birds
is a powerful manure, though usually obtained in
quantities too small to render it an object of much
importance. The most generally employed is that
of pigeons and domestic fowls. It should bespread
upon the surface of land in tillage, and slightly
covered. It may be reduced, also, to powder, and
applied in this state in different ways, — Irish Farm-
er's and Gardener's Magazine.

THE FLINTSHIRE AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

Landlords are mentally blind to thsir duty and in-
terest who are lukewarm to such objects as tbe im-
provement of our soil and its productions as must
prove beneficial to all classes alike. On the score
of interest they ought to support agriculture, for
■what a pleasant prospect it is for a man to see his
property improving, and to transmit an impi-ovod
inheritance to his children ! Tenants do not seem
to be aware of the benefits that arise from frequent
intercourse -with each other, and the good results
that follow the inspection of each other's stock.
Our annual vast-increasing population also requires
the cultivators of the soil to exert their energies,
and by the union of talent and industry to cultivate
the lind on the best system. Manufacturers labour
hard to pre djce cheap wares, therefore the}' have a
right to expect in return the utuiost improvement of
the soil and its productions, to produce the neces-
saries of life in abundance ; thus, the interest and
duty of the landlord, the tenant, and the public run
t3gether.

Cattle Shows are productive of a spirit of emu-
lation which leads to the best results. The objects
of sucli societies iire to draw together the best breeds
of cattle, thus enabling the practical farmer to see
at one view the various breeds, and to select that
' stock best adapted to his farm; at home he fancies
his own stock to be perfect, he goes abroad and his
errors are set right. Another object of such societies
is to assemble large bodies of practical farmers to

discuss agricultural matters in a plain and friendly
manner. On these occasions all classes are brought
together, and an enlightened interchange of senti-
ment takes place, pointing out defects in our ma-
nagement, and hinting improvements. Such assem-
blages draw the tie of friendship closer between
landlord and tenant, and the labourer, and show
each class how much the}' depend on each other's
prosperity.

The intercourse of farmers at agricultural meetings
would not only be the means of improvin;- the va-
rious kinds of stock and promoting more correct
views of rural economy, but it would also subdue
those prejudices wh'ch are entertained by many in
relation to every thing new, or with which they are
unacquainted. It is to be lamented that while those
engaged in the arts and manufactures are prompt to
avail themselves of every intention and device that
will facilitate their labours or promote their inter-
est, the cultivators of the soil are too apt to be jealous
ir/' innovations upon old pvuciices, and are remarkable
for the reluctance loith which they adopt improvements.
This is unquestionably owing, in a great measure,
to their retired habits, and to tbe want of that liberal
intercourse with each other which agricultural meet-
ings are so well calculated to produce. It will be
found that a proper culture is as beneficial to the
intellect as it is to the farm, and that the prosperity
as well as the respectability of the farmer will be in
a direct ratio with his intelligence.

Many landowners have stood aloof from this so-
ciety, whilst others have been very negligent in the
payment of their subscriptions; extensive land agents
have withdrawn their subscriptions — thus throwing
a damper on agricultural improvement which most
rational people consider it the particular duty of such
men to promote, whilst many of the substantial farmers
have not afforded that support that might be ex-
pected— poor narrow-minded men! These facts com-
bined do not promise that agriculture in Wales will
be brought to that perfection, that union and talent,
combined with a fertile soil advantageously situated,
are capable of producing. However, the exhibitions
that have for years taken place will not be without
their use — the domiant energies of the cultivators of
the soil are beginning to appear, which a little en-
couragement and emulation at public meetings would
soon bring into full play. The grand requisite is to
induce farmers to examine and reflect on their neigh-
bour's stock and management, to compare notes, and
converse frequently and familiarly on rural subjects ;
any means that will effect that object will answer
the end as well as Agricultural Societies, and will
amply repay the exertions of the intelligent and in-
dustrious farmer. CYMRO.

Mold.

PoTATOE Crop in Scotland. — We regret to find
that some very ominous indications have already ap-
peared of the return of that disease in the young
plants which destroyed so great a portion ol the
potatoe crop last year ; and farmers and gardeners
should therefore be taking vigorous measures to
arrest its progress, or prevent its continuance in
future years. In the beginning of February a gen-
tleman commenced planting some of the early kind
in the neighbourhood of Ayr, and has since continued
planting a few each week when the weather jjer-
miited, but a few days since he discovered that all
the different sorts of cut seed were in a disordered
state, and the greater part of them totally destroyed.
This appeared in all the different situations in which
they were deposited — moss, clay, and sand. But

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

433

none of the uncut seeds were diseased, except those
of which the skins had heen injured previously to
being planted. It would be advisable, therefore,
to plant whole potatoes to prevent the spread of this
disease. The settings have been discovered to be in
the same sad state in the neighbourhood of Kirkcud-
bright and Brogue. To obviate these serious evils,
it is recommended to avoid cutting altogether, and
plaat whole potatoes, ard whether cut or not, to
sprinkle a little lime upon them at the time of plant-
ing. It will be necessary also to cultivate the po-
tatoe in future more from seed than from settings, and
with this view the potatoe apple should be gathered
and preserved. — Abridged /'rom the Scotsman.

THE PORK TRADE AT CINCINNATI-
UNITED STATES.

Much has been said about the pork market of Cin-
cinnati, and the mode of carrying on the business.
Few, however, are aware of the aggregate value of
the pork exported from this city. The amount
slaughtered here, although very great, is not more
than two-thirds of the total amount exported. Some
view of this trade may be gathered from the follow-
ing facts : —

In the winter of 1833 and 1834, 123,000 hogs
were slaughtered in Cincinnati ; in J834 and 1835,
about 160,000; in 1835 and 1836, not more than
80,000 or 90,000. Comparing the amount of the
last two seasons, it will be perceived that the Ligh
price of pork in 1836 was not fictitious, but arose out
of the actual diminution of supply.

In the present winter the number of hogs slaughtered
at Cmcinnati is 105,000

The number brought in waggons estimated

at 20,000

From information, as to various points on
the canal, it is supposed there cannot be
less than 55,000 put up in other places,
which must be exported from Cincinnati. 55,000

Totali;hogs) 180,000

The average weight of the hogs this season is sup-
posed to be 2201bs., and the average price 7 cents.
per lb., making 15 dollars 40 cents, for each hog.

The first cost of the hogs is 2,772,000 dollars.

To this must be added, for cooperage, salt, and
packing, 300,000 dollars for barrelled pork, and
100,000 for lard. 'I'he total prime cost of pork, lard,
and hams, exported from Cincinnati, exceeds tliree
millions of dollars.

It is worth while to look for a moment at the mode
in which the proceeds are distributed in the commu-
nity. In the first instance, four-fifths of the prime
cost of pork are paid to the farmers. Among the
raisers of pork, however, there are generally two
classes of persons — the grower and the latter. With
wealthy farmers these classes are often united, but
they are also frequently separated. Thus, a small
larmer raises a few hogs, which, while j-oung and
poor, are sold to one who fats them for the market.
Both processess are profitable. Another portion of
the proceeds, near 200,000 dollars, goes to the
coopers, another to the salt manufacturers, and an-
other to the packers. The merchants' profits are the
excess of price paid in a .foreign market, and is made
upon the employment of his capital, united to his
skill and enterprise.

BONE MANURE,

As some of your readers may be desirous, person-
ally, to test the efficacy of Bone Manure, and yet be
hindered by not being provided with the requisite
drill, I have thrown a few hints together — the result
of my own experience, and of information derived
from good practical men — which may tend to encou-
rage them in proving the utility of this valuable
manure.

Bone manure should be placed within about two
inches of the surface ; and owing to the small quan-
tity used per acre, the seed should be brought as
near to it as possible, without immediate contact,
which it is better to avoid. There is, of course, no
mode so eligible to eflect this, as a drill, working
clean and well, and depositing from separate hop-
pers, the dust and the seed : but experience has
proved, that a result closely approximating to this,
may be obtained by very simple means.

The soil being iirst reduced to its proper state for
the reception of the turnip crop, in lieu of a last
ploughing, let the land be laid up in banks ; the
bone manure cast on by the land broad- casts, fol-
lowed by the roller, which will, of course, crumble
in sufficient earth to cover the manure, without, by
any means obliterating the furrow : then run a single
chep- drill, with the turnip-seed in the furrow, and
cover the whole with a light harrow.

Some recommend depositing the bone-dust with a
shake-box ; and one farmer, of much experience in
the use of bone manure, recommended me simply
to sow dust and seed broad-cast, and then cover the
seeds, and lay the whole into furrow by the oper-
ation of the plough afterwards : but wherever it is
intended to use bones extensively, nothing is so well
as to have a projier drill for the purpose, which will
repay its first cost again and again. My observa-
tions, therefore, are intended for those only who
wish to make a first trial, and ai-e unprovided with
more efficacious means.

The value of an article can aUvays be found by its
extended use : and if we take this as our criterion, I
know not where we can find any article, the use of
which has become so extensive, or that has so in-
creased in price, within the last twenty years. Be-
fore that time, bones were comparatively valueless ;
being used only in the manufacture of porcelain,
smelling salts, ivory black, &c., and brought onl}^ a
trifling price per ton. They are now imported from
all quarters ; in many places, prohibitions and duties
are levied, to prevent their export; (see France
and Belgium :) and they obtain about four times the
price they did formerly ; and yet, at the enhanced
value, the use and manufacture of bone manure has
increased, and continues to increase in all quarters.

Its price at present in the north, where its use is
chiefly known, is, I believe, 26s. per quarter the
fine, and 23s. the coarse : and it is still the cheapest
manure for turnips that can be found, as it bears
mixing, in moderate proportions, with good vege-
table mould, denshan ashes, soot, fine cinders, Sec.
Care should, however, he taken, that this admixture
is not already done to your hand ; for which your
best, and indeed only, security, is the respectability
of the merchant.

I'o this cause is frequently to be attributed the
cases of failure we sometimes meet with, although
this again may be caused by the soil not being suit-
able, putting- the manure too deep, or uncongenial
seasons. /

Frequently, bones are used too sparingly, to allow
us to expect to see much of their eft'ects after the
first year ; but even 16 bushels per acre have been
evident not only in the turnip, but as well in the

434

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

fettrley, and seeds succeeding ; and if the price did
aot prevent the application in large quantities, as
was the case in the first introduction of this manure
(40 and 50 bushels ])er acre and upwards), we
should perceive a lasting benefit derived to the land
from a liberal use of this tlie most laasting manure
known. — Canterhurif Journal. ,,

Rarasg^ate, 2jth April.

WHARFDALE AGR1CULTURA.L

MEETING.

This society held its annual meeting- :it Otley, on
Friday the 14th April ; and gratifying as other meetings
of this society have been to the numerous speetatoss
generally assembled ou such occasions, the present, in
point of respectability and numbers, in regard to stock
shewn, and the increased number of competitors for
the ploughing matciies, was rever equalled at any ])re-
vious period. T!ie day, contrary to expectation, was
very fine, and early in the morning thousands of per-ons
■were seen entering the town in all directions. The
ploughing fields were in the township of Menston,
nearly two miles from Otley, a greater distance than
was desirable ; but r.t this time oftlie year good plough-
ing fields near the town cannot be obtai; ed without the
greatest difficulty. There were four ploughing matches
and tliirty-eight competitors, 'i'iic ploughing was ex-
cellent, and it required great judgment and skill to
award the prizes satisfactorily. But the patient inves-
tigation and minute attention of the judges, much to
their credit, enabled them, in every decision they gave,
as far as we have been informed, to give entire satis-
faction. The stock was shown in the White Horse
Yard, and although every eflTort was made to accom-
modate the spectators, it is to be regretted that it is too
much confined to afford complete satisfaction to the
annually increasing- number of gentlemen and others
whoattend tlr.smceting. Mr. Whitaker,of Greenholme,
who does not contend for the premiums, sent a great num-
ber of extra stock, which was much commended by the
judges, and contributed greatly to the pleasure of the
spectators. Mr. Fawkes, of Farnley Hall, likewise ex-
hibited his celebrated bull Noi folk, which was much
admired.

On aceonnt of the ploughing matcTres bTing- at such
a distance, and from other causes, it was six o'clock
before the gentlemen sat down to dinner. Godfrey
Wentworth Wentwcrth, Esq., of Woolley Park, pre-
sided with great ability, supported by Captain Shaw,
of North Cave, near JMarket Weighton, and the Rev.
Geo. Fenton, Vicar of Royston, as lyice-presidents.
jMany interesting speeches were made; Init no ae v>'ent
more to the heart, or met with more cordial sympathy,
than the tribute of afiection and respect paid by Sir.
Fawkes when proposing the better health of the Rev.
James Armitage Rhodes, who, we regret to say, has
for some time been very unwell ; a gentleman who,
along with JMr. Whitaker, has for many years been the
great support of tlie society.

In the course of the evening I\Ir. Fawkes stated that
it was in contemplation to liave two meetings in the
year, and which announcement was received with great
cheering. Amongst the numerous party present, we
noticed Sir Edward \'avasour, Baronet, the Ilcnour-
ables Edwin Lascelles, Legard, Marsham ; Francis
Billam, Jonas Whittaker, Joshua Ingham, Timothy
Horsefall, F. Gibbes, John ^Vhitaker, — Foulds, Thos.
Rawson, Woodhead, — Pvobson. — Hodgson, John
Spence, W. F. Paley, I'homas .lohnslon. B. JMarriner,
M. Nicholson, — Carforth, — Stigden, Thos. Clifton
Wilkinson, — Carr. J. Milthorp, Esquires, and many
others of the greatest respectability, but whoso names
we are unacquainted with.

It is calculated that from 15,000 to '20,000 strangers
were at this meeting.

HIGHLAND AND AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND.

We observe with pleasure that Mr. Charles Gordon,
of Drimniu, Secretary to this great national associ-
ation, was on Wednesday introduced to his Majesty by
Lord John Russell, Secretary of State for the Home
Department, and had the honour of kuighthood con-
ferred on him by his Majesty. This is a merited mark
of Royal favour due to the Society as well as to its
indefatigable Secretary.

The Highland Society was instituted more than half
a century ago, chiefly with a view to the improvement
of the Highlands of Scotland, but the happy manage-
ment of its gieac funds led to the extension of the ori-
ginal purposes of the institution, and to its obtaining
a Royal Charter, by the name of the Highland and
Agricultural Society of Scotland. It is composed of
above two thousand of the chief landholders and farm-
ers of Scotland, and annually distributes about 1,500Z.
in premiums.

One distinguishing feature in the proceedings of this
Society, and which has contributed essentially to its
prosperity, is its having confined itself to the proper
objects of the Institution, and in the appointment of
Boards and selection of Oflicers, having abstained en-
tirely from acting on political or party views, or being
influenced by any consideration, excepting the fitness
of individuals for the situations to which they are ap-
pointed.

Sir Charles Gordon, tlie Secretary, has filled the most
important office in the Society for above twenty years,
and has conducted their proceedings with great ability,
assiduity, and attf ntion. No compensation which the
Society has had it in its power to make him could in
any degree compensate for his devotion of time, for so
long a period, to the duties of his situation. There is
not, therefore, we are confident, a member of the So-
ciety, acquainted with their proceedings, who will not
view the honour conferred on this unobtrusive and
most useful gentleman as a favour conferred on him-
self.

HonsE-itAciNG IN Hindustan. — A large quantity of
Aralnan and other foreign horses are annually imported
into Industan. About the months of July and August,
merchants marcli across the peninsula of India from
Bombay, at which place they arrive by sea, with strings
or batches, as they are sometimes called, of Arabs, and
from these the Anglo-Indian officers make their selection.
It is amusing to remark the sensation occasioned at a
station by the arrival of Shaick Ibrim, or Ibn Hassan,
with a batch of horses. No time is lost, whatever the
weather may be, but vehicles, hacks, and tats, are in-
discriminately put in reqiiisition to visit and examine
the new arrivals. Now it is that that the knowing ones
look hig-h ; steal visits at unusual hours, in order that
they may pursue their search unmolested ; and, when
questioned, restrict their replies as much as possible to
monosyllable answers. What can be more natural?
J'hey feel that they are at a premium, and therefore in-
dulge in their self-complacency at the expenee of the
uninitiated. At first enormous sums are demanded by
the dealer, to which, of course, no one thinks of listen-
ing. Indeed, the merchant himself never means him-
self to make his price an ultimatum ; like the first paral-
lel in a siege, it is an approach merely. Arab horse-
dealers never bargain in the presence of a third per-
son ; and they require to be humoured and petted for
days in order to bring down the price to a consistent
sum. A fir»t-rate Arab, fit ibr the turf cannot be pro-
cured for less than 1,.500 rupees, (]!JOI.) ; and rarely at
so low a price as that. The nag- enters upon liis walk-
ing- exercise some time in September, and from this time
as I before mentioned, takes daily exercise ; the paces
being increased aptiie race dravvs near, until the arrival
of the portentous day itself, 'j'hcn wiiat flurry and
hurry-sccrry pi-evail over the whole station ! Young-
ladies go out with their mammas at peep ol' dawn, she^v-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

435

ing', by their early arrival on the ground, how little
sleep they had enjoyed during the preceding- nig'ht ;
their brig'ht eyes g-Hsten with animation as the different
bits of blood, decked out in sporting- habiliments, which
afford a novel contrast to the usual military g-arb, dash
up and 1 ay their devoirs of compliment and adulation.
la another direction, big- with tlie importance of their
office, the stewards may ba seen bustling- and authorita-
tive ; each clad in shorts, jockey-boots, a bird's eye
cravat, black hat, and slashed coat. The hope of re-
ward sweetens labour ; and it is fortunate that the
worthies last mentioned, namely, the stewards — possess
the ladies' smiles-eye and the approbation of the-ir own
conscieneies to reward them ; for all posts of honour
next to being- the manager of a mess, the most thank-
less is that of a steward to a race-course. Disputes are
certain to occur; and, as sure as a decision is arrived
at it g-ives offence to the disappointed party. The most
agreeable office, after the amusements are at an end, is
that of dispatching- gloves and perfumery to the ladies,
who are expected to pay their losses in the most recherche
manner the station can afford ; the value of their coniri-
butions being- enhanced by the elegant billets which
usually accompany them. — Dr.S])ry's " Modern India,"

VARIOUS BREEDS OF CATTLE AND
bHEEP.

Such is the tenacij;y with which breeders retain
the breeds of the district, as they are emphatically
called, that a stranger would prob-ably give great
offence were he out to suggest that a much superior
breed to their's might be introduced into their dis-
trict. It is this overweening partiality which
breeders exhibit for cattle of particular districts,
instead o£ pariicular breeds, which we call prejudice ;
and which materi-all}' prevents the extension of im-
provement in cattle.

In these times. Agriculturists and farmers, as well
as breeders, have to struggle for existence, and if it
can be shewn that one breed of cattle will leave
more projit than another under the same circum-
stances, thSn that breeder is wilfully culpable, and
instrumental to his own hurt, who neglects or re-
fuses to adopt it. The notion that an ox, to attain
weight and fatness in a short time, must consume as
much more food, is prevalent in many breeding dis-
tricts in the Principalitj' ; but no notion can be more
erroneous; for it is not the quantity or quality of food
alone ihat causes the ox to attain weight in a short time.
The nature of the animal must be of that kind which
is favourable to the acquirement of flesh before the
food can exhibit its feeding properties. There must
exist in the ox a disposition to fatten. This property
can only be found conjoined to symmetry of ibrm.
Both together super-induce early maturity. All
these jjroperties are produced only by judicious
breeding. It follows as a matter of course, that the
ox which possesses a symmetry of form and dispo-
sition to come early to maturity, will lay on a larger
quantity of flesh and fat, uilh the same quantity of
food than another possessing opposite qualities.

Now do all the vast varieties of breeds of cattle
in Wales possesss svmmetr}^ of form, disposition to
fatten, and come to early maturit)''! If they do,
why are they kept on land by breeders, feeders, and
graziers, till tliey are at least four and mostly rising-
five years old 1 Why keep an ox till he is four,
when he may be fattened at two? If they do not,
why cling with so much tenacity to dull fVeding
breeds, when kindly feeding ones can lie obtained 1

Experience shews that the short hflrns of Ber-
wickshire and the Lammermuirs are capable of filling
any situation of soil and climate. '1 hev v»ill not, it
is true, thrive on foul land out of condition, or w-hen

exposed day and night to wet and cold weather ; but
what animals can thrive under such treatment !
None that we are acquainted with, although we
have seen too many cattle exposed to the elements,
as if they had been formed of materials as obdurate
as rocks ; but a better practice is happily obtained
possession in Wales, and a little longer time will
soon shew breeders, that kindness, in every respect,
as to food and shelter, is a better nurse for their cattle
than tbe cow leech, and a better -amplifier of the
purse than neglect and starvation.

The black-faced Cheviot, and the new Leicester
sheep, also may be considered to possess the essential
properties of symmetry of form, disposition to fatten,
and early maturity in the greatest degree, in their
respective situations ; and as a necessary conse-
quence, they will prove the most profitable to the
breeder.

The Ayrshire breed of cows should also be encou-
raged, as being the best for the dairj'.

'i'here can be no doubt that, in the course of events
which are progressing towards a perfection in agii-
culture, which it has never yet attained, only those
cattle and sheep, grains, roots, and grasses, will be
cultivated, which will yield the largest possible
produce, and the greatest profit, along with the most
perfect field-culture. A CATTLE BREEDER.

near Rutliin.

WALLFLOWERS.

By Tmos. H. Bayly.

They call us wallflowers, my dear.

Because we spend the evening- here,

All in a row against the w-all,

Ne'er noticed by the men at all !

I'm sure it is no fault ot ours ;

^Ve do not wish to be wallflowers ;

A'ot one of us that lias not wanted

To be by somebody transplanted :

It never was our choice at all.

To sit here, ranged against the wall ;

But, if the men, devoid of taste,

Will leave us here our sweets to waste.

Selecting silly Pinks and Roses,

I'o make their Hymeneal posies,

Tis very fit that here we sit.

And innocently chat a bit.

Look at Miss lElose, — she's just come in ;

Some people rave about her skin !

Her clear complexion ! (how absurd !)

You know I never say a word ;

But this I icill say — (how she's scented !) —

I always thought the Roses painted.

And here I vow's Miss Violet;

I ne'er could find her beauty yet!

And how they praise her! — what a fuss ! —

I'hink of preferring her to us !

A little, dingy, paUry fright!

And what a gown for candle light I

Do see the Miss Carnations, there —

iNot two alike, I do declare —

They're showy ; but my sistei" thinks

'Ihey are so like those little Pinks ;

You see the likeness 1 — to be sure ;

The Pinks we never could endure.

See, from the valley comes Miss Lilly !

Another Beaulijl — Oh, how silly !

White as a sheet, and so petite,

No wonder we are absolete!

For Wallflowers, truly, she's no fellow —

Men once were fond of brown and yellow.

Weeds (jf" Witchery.

436

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

ASSESSING PAUPERS.

TO THE EDITOR OF ' THE MARK LANE EXPRESS."

Sir, — Having attended meetings of Magistrates in
Petty Sessions for some weeks past, I liave been
distressed to witness tlie situation in wliioli both the
Magistrates, and great numbers of poor persons who
attended to appeal against these rates, were placed.
If it be tlie law, that all property in the parish should
be rated to the poor, such a law should, in my
opinion, be altered. It is quite absurd, that men
■who are themselves little above paupers, should be
rated to the Poor. 'I'he custom, I believe, is to as-
sess all persons who rent above forty shillings per
annum. So that a labourer having five children, and
experiencing the greatest difficulty to live, if he rents
a cottage at more than two pounds a-year, must con-
tribute to the poor-rate, and the magistrates are
obliged to enforce payment. Now, Sir, I propose
that the rates upon all tenements let under 5/. per
annum, should be paid by the landlord ; and in order
to prevent evasion of the law, should contrary ar-
rangements be entered into, the tenant should have
the power of recovering back payments so made at any
distance of time, in addition to a penalty upon the
landlord. With respect to the Poor Law Amend-
ment Act I entirely agree with Earl Fitzwilliam.that
it is only those w lio do not know the real working of
it, wiio are hostile to the measure ; and at the same
time it would be very extraordinary if a measure so
comfilicated should not require some alteration. I
entertained a doubt, from the first, whether that part
of the bill which directs that no out-door relief
should be given to able-bodied labourers, could be
fully carried into effect ; and my experience as a
guardian has not relieved that doubt, 1 think it
would be good policy to give the guardians more
discretionary power upon that point than they nov;
possess. There are many cases of able-bodied la-
bourers having so many children under ten years of
age as to render it impossible for them to maintain
their families upon the usual earnings of sn agricul-
tural laborer, but who, with a very trifling assistance,
would be enabled to go on. I am aware of the ob-
jections to granting discretionary power. I know that
it would be injudicious to give such discretion to a
parish vestry, or to the justices in Petty Sessions;
but a Board of Guardians is so differently consti-
tuted, that I think such power might be safely en-
trusted to them. I confess that 1 have long been an
advocate for a labour-rate, and thougli I have given
it up as a part of tlie Poor Law system, I still am of
opinion that it would be advisable to give the Board
of Guardians the power of putting it into operation
in some particular localities, and on some peculiar
occasions, I am, yours,

N. L,, NoRTHAMTONSniRE.

April 25th, 1837.

ON THE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL
FARMS.

The ground must first be thoroughly drained ;
weeds must be destroyed ; all cattle must be fed in
the house or straw yard upon good food. Two suc-
cessive crops of the same kind not to be taken.

It is evident, that a system of over-cropping with
grain will extract I'lei'ii Mud of nourishment from the
soil, and leave it so that it will, iwt even yield i^rass.
This is the case with land which is left to rest, as it is
called, by those who take three or four grain crops
in succession, and the phrase is well .supplied, for
the land is really not (it to do ami thing. The error
of this class of persons is, that tjjoy turn the land to

grass at the end in place of the beginning of their
course. Had grass-seed been sown with the Jirst crop
of grain, there would have been a good crop of hay,
and good after-grass, and the second crop of grain
would have been as good as the first ; and this is
vihat ought to have been done by those whose land
is not suited to clover, or who from poverty are not
able to buy clover-seed ; and even where iico grain
crops have been taken, it would be better to sow it
with rye-grass, which will yield a crop on very
poor land, rather than to leave the ground to be pos-
sessed by weeds and such herbage as may naturally
rise. The tact is, the last exhausting crop should
only be put in upon that portion of the farm which
is intended for potatoes, and other green crops, the
succeeding year, which crops then give the manure to
restore it to a productive state ; and by this means
there is no land at all lost by what is called resting it.

The place for jnanure should be so contrived as
not to be exposed to any accumulation of rain water ;
but should receive the contributions from the sewers
of the house, stable, cow-house, &c. &c.

Great advantage of straight fences — the absui'dity
of keeping horses on small farms, and the superi-
ority of spade husbandry ; the formation of ridges ;
impropriety of selling straw off the farm. When
you put tea into a tea-pot, and pour water on it three
or four times, the strength all is gone, and your tea
becomes dead useless matter. It is just so with your
manure; It is too often placed in such situations
that the rain water from the house and offices, and
the drippings from the higher grounds, all run
through if ; thus every shower floods it day after
day, carrying off always some part of the strength,
until at length it is left as dead and as useless as the
leaves thrown out of the tea-pot. Surely no man in
his senses will persist any longer in such gross mis-
management !

A combined and systematic plan on the part of
that most influential class —that of bailiffs or land-
agents for promoting a taste for good farming and
cottage gardening, including orchards, would be of
immense benefit to the Principality at large.

near Coru-en. A MOUNTAINEER.

Ijiportant Improvement in Beams for Building.
— A beam of very extensive dimensions, without
pillar or prop, has been erected at the Pottery Gas
Works, across the whole span of the new retort
house, which is fifty feet. There are few objects,
perhaps, connected with mechanism more worthy of
inspection as a matter of curiosity, or of the stupen-
dous power of mechanical skill and contrivance.
Hitherto the plan for erecting beams has been, with-
out recourse to the aid of mechanism, but in this
beam there is brought to a practical result the whole
power and ability that the materials are capable of,
at a great saving of expense. The whole is fire
proof, supporting an iron roof of twenty tons, whilst
the beam itself weighs only two tons. It is made
upon Witty and Co.'s patent principle. AVe are
informed that two such beams as this would be quite
sufficient to support a bridge of fifty feet span. We
have often thought that a very great saving might be
made in bridge building by something of this kind,
whereby objects which usually cost thousands might
bo accomplished for as many hundreds. AVe would
recommend this invention strongly to the notice of
railway companies ; for it appears to exhibit the very
thing wonting in viaducts for railways, and would
cost but a lithe f)r the expensoof those massive struc-
tures. No proof can be more convincing as to its
practicability and application to viaducts than this
beam and roof. — North Slafj'ordshire Mercury.

■**

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

437

NONPAREIL.— ri'/^^ej

Nonpareil is a chestnut mare, the property of
Mr. John Dixon of Kniohtsbridge. She is eight
years old, fifteen hanJs higii, and celebrated for
her extraordinary power as a trotter. Tlie engraving
has bee:: taken from a very spirited and faithful
sketch furnished for the purpose, by that deservedly
eminent artist, W. H. Davis, Esq., Animal Painter
to tlie Queen ; which has been very accurately
transferred by the burine.

A match was made for this mare, wherein her
ownier backed her to trot one hundred miles in ten
successive hours and a half, for one hundred
pounds; and Mr. Dixon took a bet of 200 to 100,
that she would accomplish the distance within ten
hours. The match came off on Sunbury Com-
mon, on Wednesday, the 27th of April of the pre-
ceding year. The day was very fine. Nonpareil
started at 6 o'clock in the morning, and performed
this extraordinary undertaking, apparently with
ease, in nine hours, fifiy-six min,ute=, and three
seconds. She was trained and driven by Mr. W.
Stacey of Hook, near Kingston-upon -Thames.

The inhabitants of the United States of America
seem to have inherited from their oriainal progeni-
tors that attachment to the horse, the most elegant
and the noblest quadruped in the circle of creation,
for which the English have always been pre-emi-
nently distinguished ; and, it may be remarked
that, as these transatlantic possessions were in their
infancy, as a civilized state, so tlie Americans com-
menced their racing career with trotters. In the
course of our existence, it has fallen to our lot to
be possessed of a good trotter : we had once an
excellent hunter that trotted eight miles with us in
a few seconds under half an hour; we had occa-
sionly seen very superior trotters also ; but when
Tom Thumb and Rattler appeared in this country
from America, their mode of going excited our
astonishment : these horses could trnt faster than
any of those reputed trotters which we had previ-
ously seen, and they performed the pace boldly
and fairly : it was the genuine trot, a pace which,
Ave thought at that moment, had been carried in
those two horses to the greatest perfection of which
it is susceptible : in this respect, however, we were
mistaken; nor have we the least doubt that all
those persons who were acquainted with Tom
Thumb and Rattler, and who have since had an
opportunity of witnessing the performances of
Nonpareil, and the manner in which those per-
formances were accomplished, will readily admit
that, while her action, or mode of going, is as
smooth and as beautifid as possible, her speed is
superior to that of any other trotter which ever
appeared in pL^blic.

No quadruped can be very fleet without being
very powerful also ; since superior speed must be
the result of superior strength ; and, accordingly,
although the American trotters mentioned above,
were little more than Galloways in height, their
animal organization was not only in beautiful cor-
respondence, but manifested extraordinary strength
also : nor was this all : although they did not ap-
pear exactly thorough-breds, yet the form and
character of the genuine Arabian were sufficiently
conspicuous to prove the preponderance of the

true blood ; while the impress or feel of their bone,
and the superior development of tendon, incon-
testibly corroborated the same idea. Indeed every
person acquainted with horses must be well aware
that such performances as those of Tom Thumb
and Rattler, could only be accomplislied by an
animal as nearly thorough-bred as possible. Btit,
hov/ the Americans became possessed of such a
class or description of horses did not strike us at
the moment, though a little reflection brought the
matter clearly before our mind's eye, or dissipated
the mystery which, at the first blush of the caso,
seemed to " envelope it. Columbus, and those
Spaniards who visited the American Continent
shortly after its discovery^ amongst other impor-
tations, or rather perhaps exportations, took over
a considerable number of horses, having very soon
discovered that the unfortunate natives Avere greatly
alarmed at cavalry ; and hence it is fair to presume
tiiaf the horse is not indigenous to this vast quarter
of the globe, as it was unknown to the natives of
both South and North America prior to this
period.

When Spain was invaded and partially con-
quered by the Moors, the latter brought with them
a great number of horses from their own country,
of that variety distinguished by the appellation of
Barb, and which may be regarded as next to the
genuine horse of the desert, or an Arabian of the
second degree. Hence the breed of horses in
Spain became very much improved; and from
this highly improved stock, large dra\ights found
their way to America in the manner vve have al-
ready noticed, increased very rapidly, and spread
themseh'es over both Continents of this very ex-
tensive country. The discovery of America by
Columbus took place in the reign of Ferdinand
and Isabella, who, after the expulsion of the Moors,
had succeeded in uniting the whole provinces of
which Spain is composed under their authority.
Many of the horses taken by the Spaniards to
America were allowed to run wild, and we know
that in the almost boundless plains of the Southern
Continent these anim;!ls may be seen at the present
moment, in vast herds, in a state of unlimited free-
dom ; while something of the same kind is ob-
servable in the prairies or savannahs of the North.

It is theiefore abund;inlly evident that the cele-
brated American trotters already noticed, were
descendants from Spanish importations, (the latter
bred immediately from the Barb) and consequently
as nearly, full blood as possible. If, however, tiie
trotters of America owe much to breeding, they
may be said to be still more indebted to the in-
fluence of education, as will presently appear.

Trotting matches and trotting races have been
long common enough in the United States; and
in order to enable their trotters to acquire the
areatest perfection of which the pace is susceptible,
the Americans accustom these nags to the trot, and
the trot only, from early life : so that, these ani-
mals, acquainted, as it were, with no other pace,
when uiged to increased speed, never break into
tlie gallop.

The action of the horse in the trot varies very
much from that brought into operation in the gallop ;
the former being morelateral than the latter : thus, in
the trot, a fore leg and a hind leg on the same side

2 G

438

THE FARMER^S MAGAZINE.

may be said to move at the same time, indicating
that rise in the rider so essential to an easy and
corresponding position. The beats of the horse's
feet in the gallop are very different, they create a
more undulating motion, and although the offside
of the animal is a trifle in advance, the pace is
more smooth and even. However, as far as relates
to the draughts made upon the animal system by
these two mc.des of progressive motion ; or, in
other words, as respects the degree of fatigue oc-
casioned by them, the balance is greatly in favour
of the trot. When it becomes necessary to per-
form a long journey, to fravel a number of succes-
sive days, for instance, the trot must be adopted, as
the gallop, under such circumstances, would very
soon bring the horse to a stand. The gallop is
the fleeter pace of the two for a short distance,
but cannot be maintained like the trot ; because,
in the motion of the gallop, the horse is united and
extended every stride, and thus the operation on
the system, and on the lungs in particular, becomes
verj distressing, if at least it be continued for any
considerable length of time.

Now, it may naturally enough be asked, are not
our racers, seeing they manifest such superior
speed in the gallop, calculated to excel in the trot?
which we feel no hesitation to answer in the af-
firmative. Superior progressive motion is the
result of superior animal conformation; and the
form best calcHlated for the trot will be found su-
perior for the gallop also. Were our splendid
racers taught from early life the trot, and the trot
only, and steadily kejit to this pace, in as much as
they are larger, and their stride much greater than
the class of horses generally used for trotting, they
vvoi Id excel precisely in proportion ; and, how-
ever we may be surprised at trotting performances
which have been already accomplished, they would
be far surpassed under the circumstances just
pointed out.

In riding a trotting match or race, it is the cus-
tom to sit down on the saddle, lean back, and thus
drive the animal forward ; yet, notwithstanding
the general concurrence in favour of this mode of
managing or riding the trotter, we are by no means
convinced of its superiority. The true principles
of equitation or horsemanship consist of, or are
based upon, the rider assuming a corresponding
position to the motion of the animal which carries
him, whether in the walk, trot, or gallop. Those
acquainted with the subject, or who possess prac-
tical experience as horsemen, are well aware that
to sit down in the saddle when the horse trots i>;
not the easiest position which may be assumed,
because it forms no correspondence, at least no
correct correspondence, with the motion of the
horse. On the contrary, if when the horse begins
to trot out, his rider will take the hint, which will
be impressively given, and rise with the motion,
he will experience none of that unpleasant shaking,
or concussion which must result from the opposite
system ; moreover, while the rider thus becomes
placed in an easy position, the horse will go more
at his ease in the same proportion.

Nonpareil, it will be perceived from the engrav-
ing, performed her extraordinary feats in harness,
and the draught for the purpose was placed on the
lowest part of her shoulders or breast, in preference

to round the shoulders. It would appear that
those who prefer the former method adopt it from
the supposition that the animal thus breathes more
freely, that the passage of the air up and down the
windpipe is thus less impeded. We feel rather
sceptical on the subject : a light collar, which fits
the horse in a proper manner, does not interfere,
in the most trifling degree, with the passage, or
operation of the windpide, while it spreads the
weight round, or places it upon the shoulders, and
thus adjusts it much more correctly; at the same
time, it offers not the least interruption to the pro-
gressive motion of the horse, which, we think, the
breast strap must effect even though perhaps but
in a trifling degree. From a very light vehicle,
such as that drawn by Nonpareil, little draught will
be felt when going at the requisite speed ; yet, if
we study the anatomy of the horse, and take the
nature of draught into consideration, it will be
found, we are inclined to think, that the collar is
preferable to the broad strap, and, therefore, ought
to be used on all future similar occasions.

A few words on Condition, and we have done.
To irot one hundred miles in ten successive hours
and a half requires not only speed, but a degree of
perseverance beyond the animal powers of the
horse, unless he has previously attained the best
possible condition, which can only be brought
about by food, physic, and exercise. — Now, no
greater proof can be given of the superior breed-
ing of Nonpareil than her capacity to attain condi-
tion. It is well known, particularly m the train-
ing stable, that none but a thorough bred horse can
eat sufficient corn, and go through the requisite
exercise, for the purpose in question ; or, in othei
words, if a horse not thorough bred, be supplied
with corn in the same manner as the genuine
courser, he soon refuses to eat, and becomes terri-
fied at the sight of the exercise ground ; in short,
inasmuch as his vigor, strength, and spirit, are infe-
rior to those of the genuine thorough-bred horse
he quickly sinks under the labour required from
the racer to prepare him for the course. That laige
development, elasticity, and hardness of the ten-
don and muscle, which tits the thorough-bred for
his struggle on the course, cannot be placed on the
bones or frame of what is called a half-bred horse,
whatever pains may be taken for the purpose; a
tolerable opinion, therefore, may be formed of a
horse by the degree of condition which he is capa-
ble of acquiring ; and when we hear of such ex-
traordinary feats as those accomplished by Non-
pareil, we may rest assured the animal by whom
they were performed is remarkably well bred.

The following account of the temperature of the
weather is taken from the thermometer at the doorway
of Messrs. Swain and Co., Fleet-street, during: one
week in May, 18.36, and the corresponding week this
year, at noon : —

1836.

8th May 60

9th 59

10th 58

llih 63

12th 65i

13th .,..,...65

1837.

8th May 54

9th 49

10th 49

11th 51

12th 47i

13th 56i

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

439

THE CURRENCY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE EXPRESS.

Sir, — The first column of your paper of April
10th, contains a disquisition on the subject of cur-
rency, to my mind much more ingenious than con-
vincing. Tlie passage at the beginning, about
"simple ideas," " Locke," "reflective powers,"
'* complex ideas," &c., has no very clear connexion
with the subject, but seemsbetter adapted to astound
and mystify, than to convince the understandings of
the farmers. The writer of the article seems to have
got into a confusion of ideas, about nominal value
■andreal value, and argues throughout as if we were
in a state of barter ; every body knows that nominal
prices of commodities cannot affect their relative or
exchangeable value. What, then, shall we infer
th It prices nominally high or low, are indifferent ?
Certainly not, in our artificial state. I proceed to ex-
plain what is, no doubt, the meaning of those who
assert, " that 7io permanent relief can be afforded the
agriculturiit, tintil prices are raised ahove the standard
ofvalue.'^ As we are not in a state of barter, but
make use of money as the medium of exchange, it
follows that the nominal price of all commodities
must depend (other circumstances being the same)
on the quantity of money, vihether metallic or paper,
in circulation at the time ; and when the paper money
issued is exchangeable on demand, for a certain
fixed, and known quantity of gold, its value must
be uniform, and its quantity determined and limited
by the quantity of gold obtainable. We have now
returned to the standard of 3/. 17s. lO^d. fcr the
ounce of gold ; the same as before the Bank Restric-
tion act of 1797 ; therefore the value of the medium of
exchange must be the same, and corn and commodi-
ties, can only be exchanged against the same quan-
tity of it; in other words sell for the same price;
the supply of gold from the mines not having at all
increased. Sir James Graham says, " In a series
of years, since the legislature has restored the ancient
standard of value, wheat also must fall to its ancient
price — to the price which it bore in a currency of
the same intrinsic worth." — Corn and Currency
page 19.

And this price (as he shows) was, on the average
between 40 and 50 shillings the quarter. It is a
fact also, thiit before the depreciation of the cur-
reny by the Bank Reslrictien in 1797, when the same
standard of money existed as at present, a bushel of
wheat was usually equal in value to an ounce of sil-
ver, and that isusuallv its value throughout Europe ;
therefore as the ounce of silver is uniformly between
5s. and 3s. 6d., the bushel of wheat, on the average
must be so too. Your writer does not deny this —
he seems to expect low prices, but he considers it
ef no importance, and thinks the farmer may pros-
per notwithstanding. But in estimating the real ex-
changeable value of agricultural labour and produce,
I am of opinion with Mr. Malthus, that " a high
money price of corn would give the labourer (and
farmer) a very great advantage in the purchase of
the conveniences of life ;" and if this be so, the con
Terse also is true, viz., that a low money price vsould
be a great disadvantage.

Your writer anticipating low prices for agricultu-
ral produce, expects the landowner, tithe-owner,
farmer, and labourer, to be satisfied with incomes
proportionably reduced ; and as a compensation, he
expects commodities of all sorts to become low in
proportion. But he forgets what a large portion of
the price of commodities consists of taxation, direct
or indirect, which must make such a result impossi-

ble. If it could be so — if all the products ©f in-
dustry as well as the produce of land, were to be sold
always at low prices, the incomesofthe greatmajority
of the people must below, nominally ; then we should
feel the aggravated effect,^— the increased pressure of
taxation. What says Mr. Malthus on this point?
" In the course of these 20 years (1794-1813)
government borrowed near 500 millions of real capital,
for which on a rough average, exclusive of the sink-
ing fund, it engaged to pay about five per cent. But
if corn should fall to SOs. a quarter, and other com-
medities in proportion, the government would really
pay an interest of seven, eight, nine, and for the
last 200 hundred millions.. 10 per cent ;--and a mo-
ment's reflection will .how that it can only be paid by
the industrious clas.ses of society and the landlords,
that is, by all those whose nominal incomes will vary
with tie variations in the measure of value." —
Grounds of an Opinion, &{c., &;c., vage 39.

Taxation has long been sufficiently oppressive,
but if (through the enhancement of the currency)
the pressure of it is to be so unjustly increased, and
" the people be compelled to pay over such a laro-e
per centage of the gross returns of their industry to
the tax-gatherer, there is indeed a sufficient cause to
account for a falling off, both of profits and of
wages."

To show the comparative pressure of the taxes,
I will take from Mr. Marshall's " Digest of Parlia-
mentary Papers," (a work of authority) the average
amount of taxation for the three years previous to the
adoption of the gold standard, "(1816, 1817, 1818,)
also the amount of quarters of wheat — also the
amount of manufactured goods, required to pay it —
I will compare these witn the average taxation of the
three years ending with 1832, and the amount of
wheat and of manufactured goods then requisite.

Three years average
ending' with 1818

1 hree do. endina:
with 1832

Amount of
Taxation.

55,494,689
47,983,892

Equivalent of Taxes in

Quarters ef
Wheat.

14,688,207
16,621,999

Official
value of
Manufac-
tures.

55,822,188
37,761,527

From this it appears, that with taxation reduced
more than seven millions, the actual pressure on the
people is vastly increased, and there is reason to
think that it has been much worse since 1832, but I
have not at hand the means of proving it.

Your writer seems apprehensive that any change
would subject us to great inconvenience in our tride
with foreign nations ; but such fear is certainly ground-
less— " men bargain for the intrinsic value," and so
long as our paper money is referable to some fixed
and known standard, it matters not to them whether
gold be fixed at 31. or 5i. per ounce, as there is no-
thing magical in 31. 17s. 10-J-d.

Your writer considers Lord Ashburton the highest
practical authority en tlie subject in discussion ;
but his evidence, like a two-edged sword cuts both
ways, taken altogether, for he says ©ur present sj-s-
tem will fail us, if put to any severe proof, such as a
large importation of corn for a year or two ; and he
thinks it cannot stand a war. On the other hand he
talks about the dishonesty of altering the present
standard ; but this language wou d have applied
much better in 1792 than now ; when having sus-
pended that standard for 20 years, and added 500
millions to the public debt .borrowed in depieciated.

2 G 2

440

THE FARMEIVS MAGAZINE.

paper, and contracted a much larger amount ef pri-
rate engagements in the same way, an arbitrary' re-
turn has been made to the oM standard. After two
such instances of injustice we cannot boast much of
honesty. The last change was not complete until the
withdrawal of the one pound notes, but that was
now some years ago, and therefore strict justice can-
not be rendered ; but I think a nearer approach to
it might be made by a middle course.

A great deal has been said about " good faith," but
good faith only demands justice, it does not require
that 30s. or 40s. in the pound should be paid to the
stockholder and mortgagee.

In vain mjiy the farmer " rise early, and late take
rest,'' — in vain may he increase his produce and eco-
nomise in his expenses under a continued rise in the
value of money ; and to show that this is no un-
founded apprehension, I refer to the decreased and
decreasing supply of gold, frem the mines, which
your writer notices ; a fact which shows clearly the
folly, as well as injustice of binding us down to an
antiquated, unjust, and unsuitable standard of value,
considering the immense amount of fixed engage-
ments (contracted in a different currency) to wliich
the people of this country are pledged. Unless some
scheme be adopted to lessen, greatly, our burdens,
or to give the people the means of supporting them,
the wisest course will be, for all who can, to remove
to some other country, where their capital and indus-
try will have, at least a chance of remuneration.
I am. Sir, your most obedient servant,

T. F.

The Endless Ladder. — A patent has re-
cently been obtained for a most ingenious and useful
machine, adapted to mining and many other purposes,
where the main object is to raise or lower weights and
packages in constant succession. This simple, but very
effectual contrivance, consists of an endless ladder,
made either of chain or rope, which passes over and un-
der two revolving drums or cylinders, mounted upon
horizontal axes ; one placed at the bottom, and the other
at the top, of a shaft or plain, to or from which the lad-
der is intended to reach. A continuous motion being
given to either of the cylinders by the power of steamer
animal force, the endless ropes or chains, furnished with
horizontal staves, like those of a common ladder, are
made to circulate over the revolving cylinders by which
they are extended, so that one part of this endless lad-
der is continually ascending with a slow but uniform
motion from the lowei -most of the cylinders to the up-
permost, vvhilst, vice versa, the other part of the ladder
is descending to the lowermost in an uninterrupted cir-
culation. A vast deal of labour is thus unremittingly
performed, with the important result of great economy
in time and power. The invention also provides a safe
and easy conveyance for men ; the accomplishment of
which, in a philanthrophic, as well as any other point of
view, has long been a desideratum in mining- operations.
For this purpose, a small moveable step or footboard,
furnished wath a handrail, is applied, which, if desired'
can be made wide enough to admit of several persons
standing abreast, who are, by this means, passed up and
down without fatigue, and in perfect security. Inde-
pendently of the certain advantages that would result
from the application of such machinery to the purposes
for which it appears to us so admirably adapted, we
consider Dr. Spurgin, of London, the inventor of this
apparatus, to have thus planned a most admirable con-
trivance for the poor miners, a numerous class of our
fellow citizens, who, from the pecuhar nature of their
occupation, are exposed to fearful risks of life and limb,
and whose casualties would be materially diminished by
the adoption of this machine.

THE IRON PLOUGH, AND THE TURN
WREST PLOUGH.

(FROM THE NEWRY TELEGRAPH.)

We are sorry to observe that our account of the
Hailsham Ploughing Match in Sussex, has given um-
brage to Mr. Stace and Mr. King, of Berwick, to
neither of whom we had the slightest idea of giving
offence. From their letters, published in the Sussex
Advertiser and Sussex Express, and from them copied
into the Mark Lane Express, they appear to enter with
considersble warmth into a refutation of what Mr.
Hutchinson stated respecting the draught of Mr.
King's plough, and also respecting the principle upon
which the judges determined the merits of the diffe-
rent specimens of ploughing.

Mr. Stace confines his observations upon Mr.
Hutchinson to a description of what he (Mr. S)
considered constituted good ploughing, and to a denial
of the accuracy of Mr. Hutchinson's report of the
double draught required by Mr. King's plough ; and
from what Mr. Stace says, and the remark made by
Hutchinson to us, viz., that the index moved in jerks
or by sudden starts, we think it quite possible that
Mr. H. may have formed a wrong estimate of the
medium force of traction required, but he re-asserts
most positively that the index upon different occasions
actually passed the 8-cwt mark. But in making this
admission, that Mr. H. may have been mistaken, we
by no means intend to countenance the assertion of
Mr. King, that Mr. H. wilfully misrepresented the
matter. He could have no object in doing so, nor,
if he had, could he hope to succeed in effecting any
false impression either in that or any other particular,
as every point in dispute may be still ascertained by a
reference to facts. For instance, the same ploughs
can be again tried, with the draught machine, upon
the same ground. The crop sown on the land ploughed
by Hutchinson and on that ploughed by his competi-
tors most likely has been sown by the same person and
with the same seed, and the braird will shew whether
the seed on H's portion has been lost or not. Besides
there were, we are sure, too many fair unprejudiced
men at the Hailsham Ploughing Match not to make it
pefectly well understood all over the district whether
it was square ploughing or flat ploughing to which the
prizes were awarded.

These modes of arriving at the truth of the matter
are open to those in the neighbourhood of Hailsham ;
but we can only form our decision from our knowledge
of Mr. Hutchinson's general character for good sense,
propriety, and veracity, and by collating the accounts
given, at the time of the transaction, of what took place,
by the Sussex Newspapers, with the assertions now
put forward. The Sussex Advertiser, in its original
report of the dinner, states that Mr. Hutchinson (on
begging for information as to the principle upon which
the Judges made their decisions) said that the principle
in Ireland was "to turn the fuirow square;" and
again, "that his chief object was to get his work as
upright as possible, in order to form a good comb to
cover the seed." This is not denied by Mr. Pagden in
any one particular, and he merely gives it as his opinion
that Mr. Hutchinson had not given the furrow slice a
sufficient inclination to prevent a loss of the seed, one-
third of which he asserted would fall down between
the slices and never come up. But what is Mr. King
himself (who now attacks Mr Hutchinsob) then re-
ported to have said ? Why, that " he agreed, too, with
Mr. Hutchinson that the sharper the angle could be
got after the land was turned, the more easily and
effectually, would the harrow catch it ; and, for his
own part, he would certainly sooner sow corn upon the
land ploughed by the iron plough that day, than he loould
upon that ploughed by Lady Webster's" — (Lady Web-
ster's plough got the higher prize.)

Now this declaration seems, to us at least, in direct
opposition to the charge then made by Mr. Pagden,
that the inclination of the furrow slice was not suffi-
cient; for it shows that Mr. King thought the seed

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

441

would not be lost, otherwise he could not have expect-
ed to reap a better crop — and if the seed could not be
lost, it is tantamount to saying that the inclination of
the furrow slice was at least equal to an angle of 45
degrees, without which the seed could not have been
prevented from falling between the furrows. There-
fore, by the declaration alluded to, Mr. King not only
contradicts Mr. Pagden, but he also contradicts what
he now says himself, as to Mr. Hutchinson's plough-
ing not being what is termed square ploughing. But
the case admits of still further illustration ; for the
expressions, " square ploughing'' — " vrork upright as
possible, " and " good comb obtained thereby to cover
the seed '' — expressions used by Mr. Hutchinson as
applying to his own work, and not contradicted ; and
the expression, " sharp angle, " and " additional grit"
thereby obtained, used by Mr. King, evidently corres-
pond exactly with the criterion of good ploughing
stated by Mr. Stace in his letter— viz., " not being
able to see which way the furrow slice had been
turned " — because it is quite evident that this criterion
of Mr. Stace secures the right angle at top, which
produces the square ploughing, the upright work and
the high comb, and therefore proves Mr. Hutchinson's
manner of ploughing to have been identical with that
which Mr. Stace describes and of which he approves.

Let us now see what the Agricultural Express,
the other Sussex Paper, says on the subjeet. This
Paper reports Mr. Hutchmson to have also said, the
object in his country was to throw the ridges in such
a manner " as that both sides " should slope alike,"
Here is again, incontrovertiblv, Mr. Stace's description
of square ploughing-, thoug'h under a different form of
words ; and we contend that it is mathematically im-
possible to leave the furrows in such a position as to
correspond with either form of words, unless the in-
clination of the furrow slice was turned at an angle of
45 degrees. We ask any unprejudiced person, would
Mr. Hutchinson (who will not be supposed to be
either a/ooi or ignorant of what he was talking about,)
by any one who heard him argue his pointat the Hailsham
dinner) — would Mr. Hutchinson, we repeat, have
thus advocated a rule of judging of the naerits of the
ploughing, by which his own ploughing would have
been condemned ? It is quite evident that the rule he
proposed must have told in his own favour, or he
would not have allu ded to it, or else he must have
been a fool or an ignoramus, or both. But Mr. H.'s
description of " sloping alike " on both sides" is not
contradicted by Mr. Pagden, who merely replies — "
The grand fault in ploughing was in not " completely
turning the ground." This is the expression used at
the time by Mr. Pagden , on the part of the Judges,
and will any one contend that this means, or was in-
tended to mean, square ploughing? Nevertheless,
the Sussex Agricultural Express and Mr. King reflect
on us for supposing that square ploughing was not
fully appreciated by the Sussex farmers, and Mr.
King asserts that " it is quite a mistake to" suppose
the premium was withiield from Mr. Hutchinson be-
cause he laidhis ground at an angle of 45 (this issynony-
raous with square ploughing), but because he did not
do so ;" which is, in other words, asserting that square
ploughing was the rule the Judges adopted in their
decisions. Now it is on record, by the report of the Sus-
sex Papers, that Mr. Hutchinson, at the dinner, asserted
that, " the ploughing which got the higher premiums,
if ploughed in Ireland, icould have been judged inferior,
because, in that country, the rule of ploughing is, that
the soil should be turned square," and we ask, is it
reasonable to believe(considering the warm manner
in which the point had been argued) that if this same
rule of square ploughing had been acted on at Hailsham,
as Mr. King reports, there would not have been an in-
dividual in the whole company to get up and say so, in
reply to Mr. Hutchinson's observations.

We have been led to this analysis of what passed by
the gross charge brought against Mr. Hutchinson by
Mr. King ; and we think what we have said not only
justifies him from any such charge of positive falsehood
or wilful misrepresentation, but makes it incumbent on
Mr. King to reco7icile his late assertions with the

publishtd accounts of the meeting, which we confess it
is, in our opinion, impossible for him to do.

Having now justified Mr. Hutchinson from the
charge of wilful misrepresentation, and shewn, by
collating the Newspaper statements, that his ploughing
must have been square ploughing, and that the rule
with the Judges could not have been so, we can only
again express our regret that any observations of oui-s
should have given offence to Mr. King or any one else ;
and we drop the subject, hoping that the very interest
which has been thus excited may, in itself, by drawing
more attention to the matter, still farther promote the
praiseworthy endeavours for the improvement of
Sussex agriculture by which the Landed Proprietor we
have formerly alluded to has been so much dis-
tinguished.

Since writing- the foregoing, we hear from Mr.
Hutchinson tl at Mr. King had five horses in his
plough when the draught machine was applied but he
only stated four, as Mr. King told him the fifth was
put in merely for exercise. This does not, however,
look niuch like wishing to exaggerate his own merits in
following with only a pair, and must, in itself, acquit
him of any such intention. He begs us to add that
he had no wish to hurt the feelings of Mr. King or any
other person, being then, and still, grateful for the
kind treatment he received, both from that Gentleman
and every on^ else during his stay in Sussex,

PARALYSIS IN LAMBS.

A Letter from

{From the Veterinarian. J

I have for the last two or three years been experi-
menting- on crossing the Cheviot sheep of this coun-
try with the Russian breed of sheep ; and the result
has been, that I have produced an animal of a large
size and rapid growth, but which is subject to a dis-
ease uncommon to the breeds of sheep in this coun-
try. The lambs, when about five or six weeks old,
are frequently affected with paralysis in the hind
legs, from which I have never been able to recover
them. If they pass the age I have mentioned with-
out an attack of this disease, they grow strong and
healthy ; and I have killed them when two years
old, weighing twenty-six pounds per quarter. From
the interest which I know you take in these matters,
I have sent you, by the bearer, one of the lambs
about five weeks old, and affected in the manner I
have described, which you may experiment upon,
and perhaps discover the cause of the disease, and
the means by which it may be cured. The lamb I
hiive sent you was a twin, which its mother would
not take to, and has been brought up in a cotter's
house : it is, on that account, not so large as the
other lambs of the same age. You will observe that
both in shape and wool it partakes of the peculiari-
ties of the father's breed. He has no tail, but a large
mass of fat instead. The Cheviots, you are aware,
have a long tail : their representative in this part
shews the union of the two. The lamb which you
will receive is black ; but they are not all so, the
majority being white, and some spotted black and
white. The ram is of a brownish colour. I shall
be happy to be favoured with an account of any ex-
periments which you may think of making upon the
subject sent.

[A variety of remedies were tried, but without
eflfect. After death' an effusion of serum was found
in the lateral ventricles of the brain. — D.]

442

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

COMMUTATION OF TITHES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORFOLK CHRONICLE.

Sir, — The remarkable silence which has prevailed in
most counties, but more especially in this, the first Agri-
cultural county in ihe king-dom, on the subject of the
tithes, since the passing of the bill for the commutation
thereof, may be reg-arded as somewhat of an anomaly.
If it should be construed into an approval of the mea-
sure, the period that is suffered to elapse, which mig-ht
have been employed in carrying a most important pro-
vision into effect — namely, that of a voluntary commu-
tation— can only be received as conclusive evidence to
the contrary. And on the other hand, if it is not palat-
able to the landed interest, it is the more extraordinary
that not only no means sliould have been employed to
make the legislature acquainted with any exceptions
that may be taken to its enactments, but even tliat no
one should have deemed it of sufficient importance to
offer any remarks upon the subject, through the medium
of the public journals. That the bill is not intended to
remain a dead letter on the statute books, we know full
well ; since, however dilatory landed proprietors may
be in subscribing to its provisions, the period is fixed
when it will no longer be in their power to act for them-
selves—and we all know how to appreciate the maxim
which says," Celui-la test le mieiix servi, qui n'a pas
besoin de mettre les mains des autres au bout de ses
bras." Or in plain English, that man is the best served,
who can effect his own business without the interven-
tion of other people.

The reasons assigned by some persons for not pro-
ceeding to a voluntary commutation ai's either that they
do not suflSciently understand the bill to be convinced
of the utility ot so doing, or that they apprehend the
probability of some of its clauses being modified or cor-
rected in the approaching session of parliament. Of the
latter we shall very soon be apprized, since if no notice
be given to that efifect by any of the members in the
early part of the session, it may be presumed that no
such measure is in contemplation ; and with respect to
the former, no better plan can be adopted in order to
arrive at a just conclusion than that of discussion ; and
with this view, Mr. Editor, with your permission, I will
venture to break silence, under the impression that the
remarks which I have to offer, may have the effect of
calling forth the observations of other persons better
qualified than myself to elucidate the subject.

That the bill is in favour of the tithe-owner I presume
is unquestionable; but that it is fraught with conse-
quences which may eventually prove inimical to the
established church ; and even m the first instance, that
it may be less calculated to effect a salutary adjustment
of the claims of two partieswhose interests are opposed
to each other,are questions which already present them-
selves to many a conscientious pastor of the church.
The objections urged ag-ainst the bill by those who have
given it a serious consideration are— first, that it will
place the owners and occupiers of inferior soils now
under cultivation in a much worse situation than here-
tofore, since if corn is permanently so low that such
lands can no longer be cultivated to a profit, no relief
can be had by laying them down to pasture ; and se-
condly, that in the event of high prices, arising from de-
fective crops, tlie evil to them would increase in an in-
verse ratio to tlieir means of meeting it, since the num-
ber of bushels of grain assigned to the tithe-holder as
his share of the produce might expunge the whole of
the crop. Another objection, and one indeed which re-
quires serious consideration, is that of the parochial
rates, which it would appear are to be converted into so
many additional bushels of corn, and fixed in perpetuity
as a rent-charge upon the land. That the poor-rates
formerly mcluded all the " scrip" and " omnium" of
parochial mismanagement is unquestionable ; but as
the poor law amendment act is to effect a diversion in
the financial department of parochial affairs, by turning
off a portion of the turbid stream into other channels, it
wpuld be manifestly unjust to deprive the farmer of a
due participation in the benefit thereof. In point of

fairness it is somewhat questionable whether any addi-
tion ought to be made to the rent-charge, in considera-
tion of the parochial and other rates being hereafter
chargeable upon the tithe owner instead of the tithe
payers ; because as the tithes will in future be paid to
the incumbent half-yearly instead of annually as here-
tofore, the interest upon the first half-year's instalment,
together with the saving that must arise from his not
being subjected to any outlay for the taking of the tithes
in kind, and the certainty that he will always receive
his share of the produce of the land without risk, or ile-
duction, ought to be esteemed nearly equivalent to for-
mer charges and present liabilities.

As to the process of carrying the provisions of the
bill into execution, as far as regards a voluntary com-
mutation, it is so simple and well defined, that with a
few exceptions, which have scarcely any reference to a
county so purely agricultural as that of Norfolk, there
are comparatively no obstacles to surmount ; nor indeed,
are there any which cannflt be overcome in the next
stage of the business, although there are circumstances
attending the adjustment of the rent-charge with
which the occupiers ought to make themselves fully
acquainted ; otherwise there will arise much bicker-
ing and dissatisfaction in those parishes where due
precaution is not taken to put the valuers upon a right
footing.

I am induced to offer these observations, because
amongst the many persons with whom I have con-
versed upon the subject, very few appear to clearly
comprehend the whole principle of the bill, which is
simply this : —

Au agreement is made in the first instance between
the tithe-owner and the tithe- payers, the principle of
which is, that so many bushels of wheat, barley, and
oats, in the proportion of one-third in value of each
grain, shall be for ever set apart for the former as his
share of the whole produce of the land, in lieu of all
other description of tithes whatever — thus, having pre-
viously determined what amount would be due to the
incumbent in money (which, by way of data, I will as-
sume to be 600L a-year), it remains to be ascertained
what quantity of corn 600/. will purchase, wheat being
7s. Ojd. per bushel, barley 3s. ll^d. per bushel, and
oats 2s. 9d. per bushel, one-third being laid out in each
description of grain ; and the product will be the
amount in bushels of corn annually due to the tithe-
owner. Thus, in point of fact, the tithes in future are
to be paid in kind ; but as it would not only be very
inconveniet for the tithe-owner to receive his quota iu
grain, but also to the tithe-payer to deliver the specific
quantity of such grain of an equable quality, it has
been determined by the legislature that the farmer
shall pay the same amount in money which such corn
would come to, if sold at the average prices of those
grains respectively, as computed from the weekly re-
turns " for the seven years ending the Thursday next
before Christmas" in each successive year.

I fear, Mr. Editor, I have alre^tdy extended my re-
marks to a length which will occupy too much space
in your valuable columns ; but there is still another
poini to which it is very important to allude. Two
gentlemen have already favoured the public with
" Tables,'' which were intended to facilitate the con-
verting of the money rent- charge into a corn-rent ; and
also for calculating the amount payable upon the same,
as determined by the price of corn ; both the one and
the other, from certain causes over which the gentle-
men alluded to had no controul, are, to a given extent,
rendered nugatory ; nevertheless I will endeavour to
follow those gentlemen in their calculations, in order
to show the principle upon which the money rent-
charge is reducible to a corn rent : conceiving, as I
do, that it is of the greatest importance that valuers
should clearly understand each other upon this subject.
The first return made by Mr. Jacob having been in
quarters, Mr. Reynolds, of Yarmouth, published a set
of tables founded upon the principle, it is to be pre-.
sumed, that

100^. laid out in wheat, at 56s. 3d. per quarter, would
produce 35*56 quarters.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

443-^

lOOZ. laid out in barley, at 318. 9d. per quarter, would

produce 62'98 quarters.
100/. laid out in oats, at 22s per quarter, would pro-
duce 90-9 quarters.
Therefore, as I understand the principle, I should say,
lOOl. or 2,000s.— 56-25 X 8 — 3 = 94-814 bus. of wheat.
2,000s.— 31-75 X 8— 3 = 67 079 bus. of barley.
2,000s. — 22 X 8-0 = 42-424 bus. of oats,
the two former agreeing with Mr. Reynolds — the latter
not exactly.

Then again it should be observed, that in conformity
with an order of the House of Commons, Mr. Jacob
made a subsequent return of the average prices of
grainin bushels; and although (every body knew
that if the former returns by the quarter were cor-
rect on the several averages of the seven preceding
years, the sum would only amount to 7s. O^d., for
wheat, yet Mr. Jacob chose to make it 7s. l|d.,
upon which price Mr. Simpson calculated h:s
tables. It appears, however, that the Comptroller of
Corn Returns was actually in error, and that he has
now gone back to the former price of 7s. 0|d. for
wheat, the barley and oats remaining the same, viz.
3s. lljd. and 2s. 9d ; upon which prices it is, we pi-e-
surae, finally determined that the principle of the Com-
mutation is to proceed. Thus 1 am as-ain brought back
to Mr. Reynolds, because, at 7s. O^d. and 3s. ll^d.
are the nearest approximations to 56s. 3d. and 31s. 9d.
that can be had without the employment of decimals, it
might be imagined that Mr. R.'s calculations are cor-
rect ; but as they happen to be only an approximation,
I fear il will be found in the sequel that Mr. Reynolds'
tables cannot be received in practice.

I will now proceed to investigate Mr. Simpson's
tables by the same mode of caicul-ation heretofore em-
ployed, which will also show tiie difference that will
accrue from the last return of Mr. Jacob. Thus, 100/.
or 2,000s.— 7-104166, and the quotient divided by
3=93-841651 bushels of wheat, which agrees with Mr.
Simpson ; but unfortunately we have now to employ a
division equivalent to 7s. 0|d. instead of 7s. Ijd., i. e.
7-020833, which will produce 94-955494 bushels of
wheat, instead of the quantity stated above — thus creat-
ing a difference compare I with the tables of Mr. Simp-
son, for which that gentleman is no way accountable :
nor is it to bedoubted that a new edition thereof, adapt-
ed to the last return, would be received by the public
in a manner sufficiently flattering to indicate a due
sense of their utility.

I will now briefly revert to my former position, in or-
der to investigate the double process, first of converting
the money rent-charge into a corn-rent, and afterwards
of fixing the annual variation in the amount, according
to the fluctuating prices of grain. Thus, supposing the
tithes of a parish to be commuted at the sum of 600/., it
follows that 12,000s.— 7-020833, and that quotient by
3=569-732964 bustiels, the quantity of wheat which is
annually to be paid to the incumbent, and again the
same number of shillings— 3-958332, and the quotient
by 3=1010-526656 bushels of barley : also 12,000s.—
2-75, and the quotient by 3=1454-545454 bushels of
oats. Then again, supposing that wheat in any one
year, upon the average of seven years, should be 5s. 6d.
per bushel, barley 3s. 8d., and oats 2s. 6d. (which were
about the average prices in Norwich market to Michael-
mas last), the amount due to the incumbent for that
year would stand as follows : —

s. d. £. s. d.
569-732964 bushels of wheat at 5 6. . 15f 13 6i
1010-526656 bushels of barley at 3 8.. 185 5 3
1454-545454 bushels of oats at... 2 6.. 181 16 ^

Total...... 523 15 IJ

I remain, Sir, your very obedient Servant,
Dilham, Jan. I3th, 1837. W. NORFOR,

the gooseberries, currants, and raspberries begin to
ripen, a small stake is driven into the ground or bed,
near the trees to be protected, leaving about a yard and
a half of the stake above ground ; the ring is slipped
over the head of the stake, and the cat, thus tethered
in sight of the trees, no birds will approach them.
Cherry trees and wall-fruit trees are protected in the
same manner as they successively ripen. Each cat,
by way of a shed, has one of the largest-sized flower
pots laid on its side, within the reach of its chain, with
a little hay or straw iu bad weather, and her food and
water placed near her. In confirmation of the above
statement it may be added, that a wall of vines, be-
tween two hundred and three hundred yards long, in
the nursery of Mr. Kirke, at Brompton, the fruit of
which, in all previous seasons, had been very much in-
jured by birds, was, in 1831, completely protected, in
consequence of a cat having voluntarily posted himself
sentry upon it. — Trans. Hor. Society.

ON MANURES.

Sentry C.a.ts. — Robert Brook, Esq., of Melton
Lodge, near Woodbridge, has four or five cats, each
with a collar, and light chain and swivel, about a yard
long, with a large iron ring at the end. Aseooaas

(tOthe editor of the mark lane express.)

Sir. — A correspondent in your last week's paper, asks
the question, " Is it possible to form a fictitious bone
dust, by impregnating lime with phosphoric acid, so as
to form a cheaper manure to the farmer, than the pre-
sent expensive bone dust, and which is often not to be
got in sufficient quantities V To this query I decidedly
answer yes ; it is now done and selling in large quanti-
ties in London ; prepared somewhere in the neighbour-
hood of the Regent's Park, and known as Lance's Ani-
malized C-nrbon. The article was first prepared in Paris,
the Agricultural Society of that city having awarded the
inventor aconsiderablesum, and subsequently at Copen-
hagen, from whence Scotland has hitherto supplied, and
where its use has given the fullest 'Satisfaction.

I have procured Lance's preparation from an agent
at Basingstoke, and like it as well as bone dust, much
better indeed than the coarser sort. That it is composed
of phosphoric acid with lime, any chemist may convince
himself; but when it is known that human urine and
foeces are considerable ingredients in the compound,
those who have read will be satisfied that phosphoric
acid may bfe extracted from these matters ; but to preve
its similiarity to bones, I have mixed about one-fourth
quantity of lime in the state of dust, and am quite satis-
fied with the results. With respect to price, mine cost
me little more than half what I have paid for bones. As
to the second question, " It is granted that phosphoric
acid is procured from bones, but where does nature pro-
cure it to form these bones?" To answer this question
fully, would lead too much into scieclific inquiries, for
a newspaper p-aragraph, and not be interesting to the
general reader, but I will briefly say, that the acid in
question is found in the earth, and pervading many
vegetables, and all animals as well as their excrementi-
tious matters; that it is taken up by all corn, particu-
larly wheat, as has been proved ; which gives out the
acid in union with lime for the formation of bone. The
milk of the mother is found to yield the largest quantity
of phosphate of lime at the period of bringing forth the
offspring. The chick in the egg receives the bony sub-
stance from the shell, hence it is thinnest at the latter
period of incubation. Your correspon lent may with
equal propriety ask why this is so, as to inquire where
did nature procure the acid. All I recommend is, that
he tries some of Lance's Animalized Carbon, as a sub-
stitute for bone dust, and if not satisfFed with that an-
swer, let him say so, and he will be further informed by

April 27, 1837. A Surrey Farmer.

Our correspondents are referred to an advertisement
in this day's Paper, of Lance's Animalised Carbon and
other manures. — Ed. M. L. E.

444

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

ON BONE MANURE.

Silt, — In your paper of the 24th of April, is a
letter from a correspondent respecting the posibility
of manufacturing a fictitious Bone Dust, by impreg
nating Lime with Phorphosic Acid, so a", to form a
che.iper manure than that procured from bones. In
answer to that (juestion, 1 beg to say, that there is
not any means by which lime can be impregnated
with pho«pl)oric acid, for the jiurpose he intends it
for, as there are not any cheaper or readier means of
obtaining the acid than from that ot bones. In proof of
that it is only necessary to state, that it is the source
always applied to by such chemists and manufac-
turers as require its agency. There is a natural
phosphate of lime which is known under the name
of assatise and asparragus stone, which is only found
in any quantity in Sweden and Spain. As to the
question, where does nature procure it to form these
bones I cannot afford any informution, as it is one
of the many physiological facts that has long puzzled
the scientific. True it is that many vegetable sub-
tances contain a small quantity of phosphoric acid
in combination with lime, magnesia, and iron, but
nothing in proportion to the mass required by the
animal frame for duly impregnaiing the bone, — for
the bone you are aware is a frame-work of gelatine,
rendered firm by a deposition of phosphate and car-
bonate of lime. Vauquelin and others by their ex-
periments have proved that there is an insufficiency
of the phosphate taken into the system to supply the
required quantity ; and this has led many to assume
that phosphorus is not a simple body but that it is
generated out of other materials in the body ; it is
inoi'eover well established that animals give out
more phosphates than they have taken in, and that
after having supplied the system with what it ie in
need of for the support of the bones. VVliile on this
subject, allow me to observe, that I think there has
been some error ia ascribing the benefit derived
from bones as proceeding from the phosphate of lime
they contain ; that it may have beneficial effect is
very possible, but requires direct exjjeriment to
prove it, for it is to be borne in mind that bones as
they are now applied are not entirely phosphate of
lime — no, nor yet one-half of it, for in every 100
parts of tone there is

Solid Gelatine . . 51
Phospate of Lime . . 37 .7
Ditto Magnesia . . 1.3
Carbonate of Lime 10

100
Giving little more than ^ of phosphate of lime.
Now from the circumstance that all decouiposing
aiiivial matter has a most determinate effect on the
accelerating of vegetation, 1 am strongly inclined to
believe that it is the Gelatine that plays so very
conspicuous a part in the bone dust ; this view is
supported from the fact of *he length of time a dress-
ing of bone dust lasts ; for bones that have been long
buried in the earth have been found after many years
to still retain a portion of the gelatine, at the same
time hardly any of the phosphate has disappeared ;
now as vegetation is always affected by an active
principle, one would be led to assume that the
manure liad been derived from the gelatine which
had disapi)eared more than from the phosphate which
had remained, it is, in my opnion, this property of
slowLij parting with its gelatine tliat renders bone
dust cap;.ble of ^effecting the crop so long after it
has been applied ; whether I am light or not, direct
elxperiment can alone decide ; if I am, then it is cer-
tain that the dealers in bones deprive them of a great

deal of their nutritive properties by first boiling
them, as they are accustomed to do, to obtain the
fat and in some instances part of the gelatine.

I cannot close this communication without ad-
verting to a letter in your paper of the 1st instant,
signed, a Surrey Farmer. — A Surrey farmer he may
be, but I am strongly inclined to think he is Mr.
Lance himself from the tenor of his letter. If he is
acquainted with chemistry as he would lead one to
believe, he must know that " animalized carbon ''
is pure nonsense, and the term can only have been
invented to beguile the innocent.

Tliat excrementitious matter is highly beneficial
«hen applied as mimure, no one can deny ; there is
none perhaps equal to it for the generality of land ;
but to say that animalized carbon, provided it is
composed as he sets forth, is the same as phosphate
of lime is a most gratuitous assertion, for in the in-
gredients he mainly depends upon for constituting
its identity with bone dust there is in urine only
294 in 1000 parts, and that only from adults, as
young persons do not give" it off, and in faeces there
is scarcely a trace ; neither is it any answer to your
correspondent, for if I do not mistake his meaning,
he wishes for a substitute that can be made at home.
I know nothing of Lance's compost, never having
seen any one who has tried it, but this I know, that
if its princijjle ingredients are such as stated by the
Surrey farmer — Lr.nce could not sell it at Is. 6d.
a bushel, nor at anv thing like the price of bone
dust.

As to his observations respecting the sources from
whence jihosphoric acid is procired by nature, I
have by anticipation in part answered them, and
therefore will onl}' briefly ask him to point out
where phosphoric acid exists in the earth ; particu-
larly in the southern and south eastern parts of Eng-
land ; as to the other sources, I will mention the pro-
portions of the principle of them, and then leave
your readers to judge whether it is possible to obtain
38 per cent from them of phosphate of lime : wheat
can contain only a slight quantity, fur there is from
94 to 97 of gluten and starch; milk contains about
0-30 in 1000 parts, so that an infant drinking 1000
pounds of milk takes in the 30th part of a pound, or
about 2 an ounce, and even that it never gives off
again, and ega^ shells contain one per cent, and that a
combination of phosphate of lime and magnesia; if
therefore it is on such data as the above that the
" animalized carbon " as oflered as a substitute for
bone dust, I distinctly assert that it will disappoint
the users of it ; nevertheless it may be a very good
manure in other respects. Should any further expla-
nation as to phosphate of lime be deemed requisite,
I shall be happy to afford it your correspondent.

London, 13th May, 1837. Yours, T. R. F.

Graysmore, near March.

Mr. Editor, — Will any of your numerous corres-
pondents oblige me by answering- the following ques-
tion:—Which is the best manure for oats on well
drained, black fen land of good quality, which has
hien clayed two years, ground bones or rape dust ? and
what quantity of either would it be requisite to drill
either mixed or unmixed with burnt twitch ashes, or is
there any other artificial manure better adapted to the

purpose ;

J. M.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

445

IMPERIAL ESTABLISHMENT FOR
BREEDING HORSES IN AUSTRIA.

" From Dere Kegytaza I went to pass the nig-bt
at Mezohegyes. Tbis is the finest establishment in
the Austrian monarchy for the breeding of liorses,
and their improvement. I have examined it vrith
care, and will give a detailed account of it. The
stud of Mezohegyes is on 40,000 acres of land, of
the best quality, and in one piece. This immense
space is surrounded by a broad and deep ditch,
which completely isolates it. It is environed by
fine plantations, sixty feetbroad, in its whole extent,
which is fifteen leagues. A thousand acres, planted
with walled groups of trees, break the uuilormity of
the plain : it is carefully cultivated, and its produce
serves for the support of the establishment. Three
hundred and sixty ploughs are employed on it; half
of whicli are drawn by oxen, and half by horses.
Formerly this stud had to supply horses to recruit
the cavalry ; 20,000 horses were kept there. But
the horses were not good, and diseases shewed the
defects of this system. At present, the object of
the government here, as well as at Bablona, is only
to obtain stallions of a good breed, which are sent
to the depots in the prorinces for the service of
private persons, and in order to keep up the number,
2000, which has been judged to be necessary. In
the annual supply of 400, the contingent of Mezo-
hegyes is 139. To produce them, there are kept
1000 brood-mares and forty-eight stallions. Two
hundred mares and 600 oxen are employed in cultiva-
ting the ground. The plain is divided into four equal
parts ; each of these four is subdivided into por-
tions, which are like so many farms. An ofl^cer, and
two subaltern officers, are placed at tliehead of each
great division, to direct and superintend it. All the
persons, the implements, and the teams necessary
for the cultivation, are then collected, as well as the
young animals, which are classed according to their
age and sex. At the age of four years the young
horses are all collected in the centre of the establish-
ment, which is amply provided with all the neces
sary buildings. The best animals are selected to
supply the deficiencies in the establishment, in
order to keep it always on the same footing. A
selection is then made of what may be wanted by the
other studs ; then, when the stallions have attained
the age of five years, a hundred and forty, or a hun-
dred and fifty, are sent to thu principal depots. The
remainder are sold bv auction, or given to the army
to remount the cavalry. At present, the whole
number of horses hei'e, including the stallions, the
brood-mares, colts, and fillies, is 3000. The persons
employed in the direction, the cultivation, and the
care of the young animals, consist of a major-di-
rector, twelve subaltern officers, and 1170 soldiers,
keepers, cultivators, &c. &c. Never was so vast
an establishment conducted with more order and
economy, 'i'he present director is Major Blockberg,
an officer who appeared to me to be very capable,
and worthy of the post whicli is confided to him.
The imperial treasui y advances to this establishment
every year, the sum of 118,000 florins; it is reim-
bursed by the sale of the 150 stallions which the es-
tablishment sends every year to the provinces, at
the price 1000 florins each, and bv the value of the
horses supplied to the cavalry. All the other ex-
penses, of everv description, are paid for by the
produce of the establishment, which is required to
defray, and does defray all. The consumption of
oats is 72,000 bushels. The cultivation of wheat
being extremely advantageous on this soil, it is
carried on here, and the wheat is sold to provide for

other wants. 150,000 quintals of forage are con-
sumed, besides straw. Tlie results of this system
are, therefore, marvellous ; and especially in the
eyes of a Frenchman, whose country has nothing
analagous to it. It is an immense estate; a farm on
a colossal scale ; a stud in proportion, managed for
the account of the sovereign, which produces a con-
siderable revenue, independently of the principal
object which is attained, and which consists in the
propagation of the best breeds, and the multiplication
of horses. Thanks to tiiis system, *the success of
which is complete, the Emperor of Austria can
purchase, at a moderate price, a number of horses,
always sufficient for the wants of his army. He
pays for horses for the light cavalry, 110 florins;
for the dragoons, 120; for the cuirassiers 140; for
the train, 160; and for the artillery, 180. It is a
great element of power to possess at home such an
immense resource against a time of war, at an ex-
pense so far below that which the powers of the
west and south of Europe are obliged to incur. " —
Duke of Bagusa,

Pork Establishment of Mexico. — There exists
in Mexico a very fine race of hogs, which are re-
garded as an important article of commerce, and
the care which is taken of these animals so far sur-
passes that which I have seen elesewhere, I think it
may bo very useful to our farmers, brewers, and
distillers, to be made acquainted with the principal
details. 'I'he buildings of these establishments
include a house for the manager and the workmen,
a shop, a slaughter house, a place for singeing, rooms
and vessels for the fat and lard, (articles which
often supply in IMexico, the place of butter) other
rooms where black pudding is made and sold to the
poor, and a soap manufiictory, in which all the offals
are used. The stables which contain about 800
hogs, are behind these buildings. They consist of
out-houses, well made, thirty feet deep, with over-
hanging roofs. The entrance is by a low vault, in
front of which is an open Sj^ace twenty-four feet
wide, extending the whole length of the yard. In
the centre of this is a stone aqueduct, through which
flows clear water from a well or spring, the hogs
being allowed to pass their snouts only into the
stream, through openings in a wall, which prevents
their soiling the beverage. It is the only liquid
they are allowed to take. They are fed with Indian
corn, slightly moistened, and spread upon the floor.
The pens and the space on which the animals walk
are kept in great cleanliness. The hogs are in the
immediate eharge of a number of Indians, attached
to the establishment, and who oitsn give them a
cold bath, for it is thought that cleanliness contri-
butes to that prodigious increase of fat which consti-
tutes their principal value. It is the business also
of these care takers to keep them in good humour.
Two persons are employed from morning to night in
adjusting their quarrels, and in singing to induce
them to sleep. These persons are chosen on account
of the strength of their lungs and ability to charm
the ears of their amiable associates, which is deemed
an affair of no inconsiderable merit. The proprietor
of one of these establishments assured us that the
expense of it amounted to 300,000 francs, and that
the sales rose to 10,000 a week : the luxury of his
equipage indicated, in fact, the possessor of a large
fortune.

446

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

THE CORN EXCHANGE, MARK
LfVNE.

Mark Lane! resort of factors and of millers !

Merchants and bakers, thrifty sons of g-ain,
Contractors, farmers, mealmen, and distillers ;

Dealers they are, although not rngues in grain :
Here smile hale faces, for your true care-killers

Are they who follow in fair Ceres' train ;
E'en here, though smoke surrounds us, there seems born
A rustic sunshine from the yellow corn !

II.
Here s*and flour-factors, laughing in their souls,

Because, perchance, they've " cauarht" the wily bakers,
While they are planning how their next new rolls

May make more business for the undertakers !
Astringent alum in its grasp controuls

The little puffy loaf — the cheerful makers
See round them rise high pyramids ot wealth,
And gain their bread, while others lose their health.

III.
I love to see a miller in MARK LANE !

To hear him slily ask a factor's " price ;"
And, while he handles the plump rattling grain.

Declares it hingled, only fit for mice !
Then will he turn, yet soon j-e-turn again,

Pronounce it " dear," yet buy it in a trice ;
While, though his honest brow is somewhat loweiT^,
His eye is sparkling, and his speech is flowery !

IV.

Did not lair Ceres make a slight mistake
When she first patronised a mart like this?

Do they who sell, and buy, and grind, and bake,
Ne'er vex the goddess wisen they act amiss 1

And does she not, poor Ceres, oftimes quake,
When rapid keels, in mingling discord hiss

In ocean's tide 1 while on the billows borne,

The very ship-holds groan forth—" foreign corn!"

V.

It comes — is sold, or placed " in durance vile,"
In bond — while here the farmer's teeming land

Rewards him not for tillage and for toil.
Nor throws its wonted profit in his hand ;

He grows dis-spirited, neglects the soil.

While hapless peasants mournful round him stand,

And, murmuring, feel a strange foreboding dread —

Though corn be cheap, they cannot purchase bread !—

VI.

Not that we deem " cheap bread" an evil. — No !

But when through long and heavy-burthened years
A man has tilled the earth, and tilled it too

And sowed in joy— yet often reaped in tears,
With much to bear, and something to forego,

Ere a bright speck upon his fate appears —
Say, is it justice thus, that alien lands
Should snatch the profit from his toiling hands !

VII.

Why is earth's produce in Britannia's isle
Not raised as cheaply as in foreign climes'!

What cloud has dimmed prosperity's sweet smile 1
Whence gloomed the darkness that enwraps our
times ?

I dare not hint that statesmen might beguile
Wrong by their errors, — ruin by their crimes, —

I tax no mortal — am no vain alarmer,

I only guess they've crushed the British Farmer!

VIII.

Yet the bold farmers bear the evil well ! —
I love to see them, and their rosy daughters,

Who, while their fathers of their losses tell.

Shoot from their eyes a hundred thousand slaughters ;

Ye rustic swains ! how many a country belle
With her own sweet simplicity has caught us !

When once a youth is cai,ght, 'tis vain to strive

To get from love's drag-net again alive I

IX.

Sweet is the fragrance of the fertile farm,
When Spring comes sporting in her garb of green.

On hill, in vale, in budding woods, a charm
Is felt in all that there is heard and seen ;

And Summer glides upon us soft as balm,
And Autumn marches with her solemn mien.

And waving corn-fields bid the heart aspire

To social joys around the Winter fire !

X.

MARK LANE !— MARK LANE ! farewell to thee
and thine !
Disburse thy favours to the cits of London,
Indeed 'tis true (as is this lay of mine)

That, without thee, the cockneys might be undone I
Soon might they waste, for wheaten bread repine.

Hot rolls ! fat aldermen ! there mig-ht be none done !
And therefore, all who would not life's thread sever,
Shout long and loud—" Hurrah! MARK LANE for
ever!"

From Metropolitan Sketches, 8^c,
By James Bird.

AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENT—
ROSS-SHIRE.

For the information of turnip-growers, and to en-
able them to regulate their supplies of artificial ma-
nure in the ensuing season, we are authorised by
Sir F. A. Mackenzie, to insert the following experi-
ments, made on his Ross-shire farms in 1836.
Having appropriated the greater part of his farm-
yard manure to the cultivation of newly reclaimed
lands. Sir F. laid down one field of sixteen acres
Scots, with bones, half drilled, half dust, dibbled in
at about the rate of about twelve bushels per acre ;
the soil, a sandy loam, long cultivated, and one half
of which had been limed four years previously,
rhe whole produced a most luxuriant crop, but if
any difference appeared, it was in favour of the part
unlimed. Another field of fourteen acres had in
part been reclaimed from heath about four years, the
soil gravelly ; the rest was old, light, earthy, croft
land, in separate patches, the whole limed four years
previously, and laid down with bones dibbled at the
same rate per acre ; the crop was excellent, but on
the old croft land superior to where it had been
lately reclaimed. Both the above fields were sown
with gi'een top and Aberdeen yellow turnips. A
third field, of sixteen acres, was laid down as follows :
— five acres with Swedes, and best farm yard dung,
as usually done ; three acres with white globes, bone
dust dibbled, sown at the same time as the Swedes
(for early eating^ ; four acres with best common farm
yard dung, green tops, sown three weeks later than the
globes ; four acres green tops, in alternate patches
of six drills each, first, dibbled bone dust, second,
dibbled animalized carbon, and third, dibbled pul-
verized farm manure ; the bones at the rate of twelve
bushels per acre ; the carbon nearly double that
quantity ; the prepared dung about a small handful
to each dibble hole, and all sown in the same day.
Soil of upper end of the field a goodish dry loam,
lower part poor, wet, cold, gravelly loam, the whole
limed some years previously. Swedes a good crop,
excepting a small part of lower end of field. Early
globes, heavy crop upper, and good crop lower end.
Green tops, farm-yard dung, poor crop generally.
Bones excellent every where, carbon middling crop,
and rather worse at lower end, pulverized dung ex-
cellent in upper end, very inferior in the lower. The
difference was so marked, that even an inexperienced
eye might perceive it, as each case was repeated three

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

447

or four times, and the inference therefore is as follows.
— Carbon is not to be in any case recommended,
excepting where the fly is destructiv-e, in which
case a small quantity might be advantag-eous, as for
the first ten days it forces on the voung plants in a
surprising- manner. Bones are most advisable as a
general manure for all kinds of soil, and produce
first-rate crops of turnips, where they could not be
grown by anjr other means. But if the soil be a
good dry loam, there can be no necessity for the
outlay upon an artificial substitute, when a pul-
verized manure can be prepared at home by any
farmer, witliout any cost, and equally efficacious as
the best bone dust. Sir F. likewise tried the carbon
and bones on another farm, in alternate drills, on a
small scale, on a light, poor, gravelly soil, and on a
third farm in pure raw moss, all with the same re-
sults. The carbon for the first fortnight appeared
by far the most promising, but in November the
crop from bones was double the weight of the other.
His pulverized farm-yard manure is formed from
weeds completely rotted by repeated turning and
fermentation, and then saturated with liquid from
the folds, collected and carried in drains for tl)at
purpose into a covered tank, wliere it is kept till
wanted — to this is added some old trenched manure,
the whole well pulverized by repeated turning. —
Inverness Courier,

ON THE NATURE AND APPLICATION
OF MANURES.

FROM lewis's observations ON EXPEHIJIE^'TAL FARM-
ING.

As no department of agriculture would be more
under the immediate controul of the manager of
an experimental farm than that which includes
the composition and appl'cation of manures, it
might be reasonably expected that he would be
able to confer advantages proportionally great up-
on the agricultural community. It may be said
that in no branch of the profession is there more
unnecessary waste incurred. Indeed, one of the
greatest chemists of modern times has not scrupled
to assert, that the dead loss occasioned by the pre-
sent system of preparing manures varies from
one-half to two-thirds on the whole amount, and
when we consider that the annual value of manure
in great Britain and Ireland is estimated at the
gross sum of 20,000,000Z., we may form some idea
of the saving that would ensue were the process
conducted on more sound and scientific principles.
At present, we would conclude that there is a loss
at least of one-fourth by the system generally
pursued.

On surveying the manner in which manures are
at present prepared and applied, we are at a lossto
detect the slightest approximation to system in the
whole process. Whatever may be the rules and
axioms to which farmers consider themselves
bound to adhere in other departments of their
profession, one and all of them seem to think
themselves entitled to take their own way in this.
The consequence of such an indiscriminate mode
of procedure is, that in the general, and (as they
think) justifiable negligence, which, if not openly
advocated, is at least most sedulously persisted
in, the true principles and proper practice are en-
tirely overlooked.

It must be well known to oui- agricultural
readerB that it was the opinion of the late Sir

Humphrey Davy, founded upon a series of minute
experiments, that manures suffered much loss in
their nutritious properties from the decomposition
being allowed to proceed too far : and that in order
to pi'event this, only a very slight degree of fer-
mentation should be permitted.

It is not our intention to defend all the con-
clusions to which this talented chemist was led.
On the contrary we are of opinion that he perhaps
carried his favourite principles too far, and that a
greater degree of decomposition than what he
contemplated is necessary to reduce the fibrous
substance of vegetables so far as to afford nutri-
ment to the plants. This, however, is a matter of
no great consequence in the present discussion.
If his theory be true in the main we can be at no
loss to perceive that the present mode of prepar-
ing manures so generally followed by farmers, is
as much opposed to it as any two extremes can
well be. By throwing the dung and litter loosely
together into one general mass, as a natural con-
sequence a constant fermentation is kept up, and
the gases, which, according to Sir H. Davy, form
the only valuable properties of the manure, are ex-
hausted and dissipated in the atmosphere. The
soluble, and therefore the richest particles are also
carried down to the bottom of the heap by the
rain, and thus escape at the lowest point of the
area. And it is certainly by no means difficult to
conceive that the remaining mass must consist
in a great measure of the coarser and least nou-
rishing ])arts of the deposit. Unnecessary fer-
mentation, however, might be easily prevented by
having the heap compressed. This may be done
by allowing animals to tread constantly upon it,
when suffered to remain in a court. When re-
moved the generation of the gases might be pre-
vented by covering the heap with a sufficiently
thick coating of mould-
It is also evident, in a case where there are so
many and opposite chemical agencies in operation
that the utmjst delicacy and attention are requi-
site to prevent injury. Were the distiller and
brewer to allow the fermentation of their worts
to proceed beyond a certain fixed period, instead
of having a nutritive and palatable liquid, vinegar
would be produced ; and were they to prolong the
fermentation still farther, the residue would be-
come putrid. Similar chemical changes are going
on in the dunghill ; the vinous, acetous, and pu-
trefactive fermentations successively recur; and
according to the common mode in which dunghills
are prepared, where fresh stimulants are daily
added to the old matter, these three diverse
agencies are all in operation at the same time.
What, then, must be the nature of that hetero-
geneous and mongrel product which is finally
applied to the nourishment of vegetable life ?
VVe are aware that a theory, in all respects opposed
to that of Sir H. Davy, has lately been laid before
the public, the principle of which is, that the de-
composition of vegetables cannot be carried too
far, in as much as the product which is thus
evolved is an elementary substance, in which all
nutrition is centered. Without pretending to de-
cide upon the comparative merits of these two
theories, we would only observe, that whether the
one or the other be true, the great majority of far-
mers do not act in accordance with eithrr, conse-
quently in the event of any of them being proved
right, their practice must be proclaimed wrong ;
and when the dictates of science are thus directly
opposed^to each other, and the opinions of practi-
cal men at variance with both, does it not show in

448

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

a very strong point of view, the necessity of liav-
ing an experimental farm, that the whole matter
might be submitted to the best of all practicable
tests, that of direct experiment.

At present, as Mr. Cleghorn observes, no rule of
universal application can be laid down on this sub-
ject. The degree of decomposition at which farm-
yard dung should arrive before it can be deemed a
profitable manure, must probably depend on the
texture of the soil, the nature of the plants, and
the time of its application.

In general, clay soils, more tenacious of mois-
ture and more benefitted by being rendered inco-
hesive and porous, may receive manure less de-
composed than well pulverized turnip soils require.
Some plants, too, seem to thrive better with fresh
dung than others, potatoes in particular ; but all
the small seeded plants, such as turnips, clover,
carrots, &c., which are extremely tender in the
early stage of their growth, require to be pushed
forward into luxuriant vegetation with the least
possible delay by means of short dung. The sea-
son when manure is applied is also a material cir-
cumstance. In spring or summer, whether it be
used for corn or green crops, the object is to pro-
duce an immediate effect, and it should therefore
be more completely decomposed than may be ne-
cessary when it is laid on in autumn, for a crop
whose condition will be almost stationary for
several months.

We may be permitted to remark, that amid the
many unsatisfactory hypotheses that are daily pro-
mulgated regarding this subject in works on agri-
culture, there is one fact which appears to be most
clearly established, although too generally over-
looked. We allude to the benefits that result from
the application of manure in a liquid state. It has
been verified by experience that the liquid essence
of the dunghill, when applied to grass during the
winter, but more especially in the spring months,
has the eff"ect of not only adding to the weight of
the ensuing crop, but of making it from three to
four weeks earlier than it otherwise would have
been. In Holland, where perhaps the action of
manures is best understood, they are invariably
applied in this state in raising every species of
crop.^ But how stands the case in this country ?
Liquid manure is almost uniformly regarded as a
nuisance, and in order to dispose of it with the
least possible trouble, it is allowed to evaporate by
the sun, or it is directed to the nearest channel by
which it may be conveyed to the ocean. This takes
place, with very few exceptions, on almost every
farm in Scotland ; and when we consider the vast
amount of rich and nuritive matter that is per-
mitted to escape in the very same way from our
populous towns and cities, the loss sustained is al-
most incalculable.

It may, pci-haps, be said, that the beneficial
effects of liquid manure are so well known as not
to require any additional exemplication by means
of an experimental farm. We have elsewhere ob-
served, that farmers in general are so slow of
heart to believe, so tremulously sensitive with re-
spect to every innovation, as to resist all the plau-
sibilities of theory, however fascinating and invit-
ing they may be. In the present instance, although
they may not verbally deny that certain advan-
tages may result from the application of liquid
manures in certain cases, they excuse their own
apathy and neglect by attempting to show that
these advantages are more than counterbalanced
by the trouble and expense attending the process.
Although nothing can be more unfounded, no

mere theorists will convince them of the reverse.
Therefore, the very fact of an agricultural truth
being so well established, and yet so generally and
practically belied, instead of proving against the
establishment of an experimental farm, is a very
strong argument in its favour, inasmuch as it
shows that improvements — real and radical im-
provements— will not meet with a ready or favour-
able reception from practical men unless they be
promulgated in a practical way.

But further, the operation of an experimental
establishment regards not merely the composition,
but also the application of manures ; and here a
new and hitherto untried field of investigation lies
ready to be explored. Apart altogether from the
preparation of them, it is sufficiently apparent
that little or no certainty can be attained in their
application, unless the constituent parts of which
they are composed, as well as those of the soil to
which they are to be applied, and the vegetables to
be raised, be accurately ascertained by chemical
analysis. The decay of animal and vegetable sub-
stances is nothing more than the resolution of
organized forms into chemical constituents ; and
it is a well-established fact, that vegetables when
decomposed afford many earthy and elementary
particles, which it is more than probable could
have been derived only from the soil, or the
manm-es incorporated with it. It is therefore an
essential preliminary to successful cultivation that
the various elementary ingredients of the soil, and
the manures to be applied to it, be ascertained, to-
gether with the relative pi-oportions in which they
exist, and that those plants only should be raised
from it in which the same substances are found in
similar quantities, and whose habits are best suited
to its texture. For example, clover, when chemi-
cally analysed, is found to contain gypsum, or sul-
phate of lime. When sown successively on cei-tain
descriptions of soil, in a four or five years rota-
tion, and carried, it very soon fails.

This of itself affords a presumption that the
failure of the clover is attributable to the exhaus-
tion of that substance from the soil by the previous
crops. But when it is also established that the
cereal crops are altogether destitute of it, and con-
sequently do not take it up from the soil, and that
those soils on which the clovers fail are to a
greater or less extent deficient in gypsum, the con-
firmation of the previous conclusion becomes so
strong as only to be exceeded by the direct exhibi-
tion of gypsum, when applied to such soils, restor-
ing them to their original fertility. This scientific
mode, therefore, of applying manures is far from
being chimerical, as many of those who plume
themselves on being ji;/'ac^ica^ would have little he-
sitation in stigmatising it. Independent of the
many direct jjroofs that might be adduced in
support of it, we have only to survey the pro-
cesses of nature in daily operation around us.
There we see certain soils better adapted for the
production of certain plants than others, solely
because of their texture and constituent parts. So
uniformly, indeed, is this the case, that in many
instances the nature of the .soil can be at once in-
ferred from a knowledge of the plant it produces.
Thus no one at all acquainted A'ith the subject
would hesitate to pronounce that soil argillaceous
in which tussilago abounded — that featy which
was distinguished for the bilberry and heath — that
ferruginous where the common or sheep sorrel was
eminent — and so on with aquatic, calcareous, and
saline soils — all of them being almost everywhere
indicated by their appropriate plants ; deraonstrat-

THE FARMERS MAGAZINE.

449

ing most unequivocally that every plant naturally
flourishes most luxuriantly and in the greatest
abundance in those soils which supply them most
plentifully with the chemical substances that enter
into their composition.

Now, if this opinion be correct (and the present
state of chemical science in relation to the vege-
table kingdom goes far to prove that it is so) it is
evident that many of the soils at present devoted
to the production of those crops which are more
common to the agriculture of this country, would
receive more permanent benefit from an alteration
in their constitution and texture, than from the
most abundant supply of the richest manures.
The materials necessary for this purpose are gene-
rally within the reach of every farmer, being sel-
dom far distant ; and although the original outlay
may in the first instance be considerable, it will
be amply and speedily repaid by great permanent
advantages. For, in supplying organic matter, a
temporary food only is provided, and on many de-
scriptions of soil much waste is necessarily in-
curred by doing so ; but in altering the composi-
tion of a soil, for example in rendering clays fri-
able by a mixture of sand and the reverse — in over-
coming a superabundance of calcareous matter, by
inducing a stratum of peat — in neutralizing the
effects of the salts of iron or any acid matter, by
the application of quick lime, &c. — the ferility of
the soil may be considered as permanently
established. Less labour will be required to pre-
pare it — less manure to enrich it. It becomes
capable of attracting a larger proportion of vege-
table nourishment from the atmosphere, of sup-
plying the plants with a greater proportion of ap-
propriate food, or if this should be exhausted it is
possessed of a greater capacity for receiving and
retaining such foreign organic substances as may
be incorporated with it, and thus of producing its
crops with comparatively less expense.

But what is the present practice .-' Almost all
that is yet known upon the subject is, that the
application of manures is necessary to the continu-
ance of production. The farmer no doubt, can
tell generally the nature of the soils of which his
farm may be composed, but to show how very
little importance he attaches to this sort of know-
ledge, it may be sufficient to mention that, in the
great majority of cases, no distinction whatever is
made in the mode of cultivating them. Acre for
acre — all of them successively receive about an
equal quantity of manure, of a similar kind, and
almost the same treatment. Can it be doubted
then that much of the manure is thus thrown away .'
and is it to be wondered at that a return propor-
tioned to the expense of cultivation is so seldom
received ?

It may be asked how an experimental farm is to
remedy these evils, since every farmer has it in
his power to obtain an analysis of any soils, ma-
nures, &c. he may choose, there being many indi-
viduals in every county well qualified for the task.
We do not indeed expect that the various soils in
Scotland are to be analysed and registered by an
experimental establishment ; but manures may,
and all the products of agriculture may. This, how-
ever, is not the mode of operation which, in the
present instance we would deem the most effective.
It is not, however, so much from the individual
analysis which the manager of such an establish-
ment might find it his duty to institute and pro-
mulgate, that the most substantial benefits would
be secured to the country, but from the practical
example which would thus be exhibited of the di-

rect advantages to be derived from following out
the principles upon which it was founded ; and by
consequence from the inducements which would
thus be held out to every farmer to embark in the
same course. Were such the case we have no
doubt that the time will soon come when the dif-
ferent species of soil will be so nicely discrimi-
nated and classed, and the action of different ma-
nures, compound and simple, so accurately ascer-
tained, in so far as it affects any given description
of soil, that the farmer will know what particular
quantity, and what particular species of manure
he ought to apply in every circumstance on each
acre of his farm, in order to insure the greatest
possible production, and that chiefly by means of
authenticated and accurate experiments. Any effort
that has yet been made has been directed chiefly
to ascertain the relative effects of different kinds
of manures, without taking into account the varie-
ties of soil to which they may have been applied ;
and although the experiments have been conducted
on so limited a scale that no great dependence can
be placed on the results obtained, still they may
give some idea of the importance of the subject,
and of how much remains to be done. In an ex-
periment recorded in Messrs. Drummond's Third
Report, ot the efficacy of various manures in rais-
ing potatoes, we note a difference of more than a
half between the greatest and least quantities pro-
duced ; in other words, while one manure raised
a weight of 221bs., another produced only9^1bs.
Novir, were such experiments conducted on dif-
ferent soils, the component parts of which were
acurately understood, and the results faithfully
noted and compared, it will be found that the ad-
vantages likely to be conferred by such a mode of
procedure on the practical agriculture of the coun-
try, have been rather under than overrated.

MANGEL WURZEL.

TO THE EDITOR OF TU E MARK LANE EXPRESS.

Sir, — Perusingr your Paper this afternoon of Mon-
day last, I hit upon Martin Doyle's paragraph on Man-
g-el Wurzel, and was more than astounded when I saw
Mr. Meadows's calculation of the produce of plants per
acre ; with due deference to Mr. M., I must heg leave
to correct the error, as it is now about the time for
planting, some one may be induced to cultivate it that
does not understand multiplication, and when he dis-
covers the mistake may attach the blame to your valu-
able Paper. It is stated by Mr. M.'s calculation that
the Produce should be

Drills 2 feet dist. I 220 pits, per perch 1 *68 p. perch
Pits. 2 feet do. | 23280 per acre | 10890 p. acre

Drills 2 feet do. | 147 pits, per perch I *90p. perch
Pits. 18 inch. do. | 23580 per acre \ 14520 p. acre

Drls.l8inch.do. I 294 pits, per perch I *181 p. perch

47040 per aero | 29040 p. acre

252 pits, per perch I 198 p. perch

40320 per acre | 31680 p. acre

196 pits, per perch 1 121 p. perch

31360 per acre | 1 9360 p. acre

Those marked thus * are within a fraction per perch.
Mr.M. says, you may safely calculate on 30,000 plants
per acre, at 311bs each, which evidently means 3Ibs.
would produce about 40 tons per acre. I think it would
be better for the grower to calculate on 14,520 plants,
at 61bs per root, which would produce about the same
weight. JOHN FRIEND.

Newington, April 29, 1837.
Where Mangel Wurzel Seed may be had, at Is, 6d.
per lb.

Pits. 1 foot do.
Drls.l8inch.do.
Pits. 11 inch. do.
Drls.l8inch.do.
Pits. 18 inch. do.

4i5D

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

THE ACTUAL CAUTERY & SETONS.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE VETERINARY MEDICAL
ASSOCIATION.

The President confessed that he had not heard any
thing to alter his opinion. Twenty or iive-and-
twenty years ago, he, in common with his brother
practitioners, had recourse to the firing-iron in the
various diseases of the limbs of the iiorse, but with-
out the uniform success which was desirable, and
therefore, he began to look out lor another remedy.
It was not a new one, but it was new in its applica-
tion. If any credit was due to him, it was for the
application of an old remedy to a new and useful
purijose — to the cure of those diseases for which
there was before no adequate remedy. If we look to
our modern authors, they all unite in the recom-
mendation of the cautery in one form or another. —
He does not say that it is a cruel and barbarous
operalion — these are expressions which he never
uses. They are like various other operations — like
lithotomy — they inflict a great deal of pain, but in
the opinion of those that practise them they are ne-
cessary, and then the cruelty and barbarity of them
disappear. Nicking and cropping are cruel opera-
tions, and they should be abolished, b}' being
brought under Mr. Martin's Act. The manner in
which Mr. Turner operates seems to be highly dis-
approved of by some of his brethren — they do not
go the same length with him — they do not fire so
deeply, and where they do, where they cut down
into the newly formed os^eous deposit, they ouly do
that which he accomplishes by a less severe applica-
tion— the knife, employed in that most useful and
Bim|ile operation, subcutaneous periosteotomy. He
would take a rapid sketch of the different parts and
the different diseases to which the seton and the
firing-iron are applied. Who does not recollect the
firing of the hip and the shoulder; the catharine-
■wheel on the former, and the lines or pencilling on
the latter, have given way to the milder and more
eff'ectual seton. The same with the stifle-joint ; the
most ardent supporter of the cautery would now
pause ere he blemished this joint with it. The hock,
and the knee, contusions and ligamentous injuries
of — he had hoped to have had the pleasure ot listen-
ing to a profound demonstration of the former joint
by Mr. Cheetham. He trusted that it was only plea-
sure postponed lor a little while. The actual cautery
was more frequently applied to this than to any other
joint, and, indeed, than to all of them together. In
these joints the cautery had failed to effect that which
was daily accomplished by the seton. To sprains
from every cause and in every part, the firing had
been applied with doubtful success, or with no suc-
cess at all, both in the superficial and the severe
way. To ossifications on the legs, splints from con-
tusions or any other cause, the actual cautery and
blisters had been applied, and, up to this very day,
without decided success ; but they often immediately
yield to the new operation which he had had the
honour to introduce. The fetlock was a complicated
joint, in itself and its various connexions. To inju-
ries of it the blister and the cautery had often been
employed in vain ; but the seton and the subcuta-
neous periosteotomy had performed cures without
the severity and suffering inflicted by the cautery ;
and, indeed, without any sufl['ering at all. He had
been mistaken by Mr. Sibbald as to ossification of
the lateral cartilages; he did not apply the seton to
them ; he divided the nerves, but in a very different
way from that wnich he should adopt if operatino-
for foot-joint- capsule lameness, called the navicular
disease.

The opposers of the seton could not agree among
themselves ; some advocated the deep and others
the superficial firing. Instances could be adduced
of death being caused by both of them ; but is there
the case on record in which the application of the
seton has been attended by this fatal consequence 1
A degree of counter-irritation had been set up by
the firing-iron which had baffled all restraint ; it had
been the same with the blister ; colts had been fired
for some trifling lameness, or for no lameness at all,
and either the former disease had been aggravated,
or a new and fatal one set up — ring-bones have in-
creased and inflammation of the joints have ensued.
Injudicious treatment may have had something to do
with it ; but the fact was, that many colts had died
after, if not in consequence of, the application of
the iron. The custom of firing the colt, for the pur-
pose of strengthening his limbs, is now literally
abandoned in the northern counties. The applica-
tion of the cautery is extensively practised in France
and Germany ; but if they knew our way of pro-
ceeding, they would soon abandon the use of it.
They seton much for visceral diseases, but not so
much for joints, tendons, and ligaments, as they
would do if they knew the benefit of it as practised
in this country.

He had of late availed himself of every opportunity
that presented itself to ascertain the opinion of
sportsmen as to the efficacy of firing their colts and
their hunters. He particularly applied to one gen-
tleman whose opinion has gieat weight in the sport-
ing world. He acknowledged that it used to be the
practice to fire the weaklv colt, and the hunter at
the close of the season, in order to refresh his legs.
He had had it done, but fee never knew any benefit
to accrue from it. He also made the same inquiry
of old cavalry officers. It was done in their regi-
ments at the instigation of the farriers, and often
since the appointment of veterinary surgeons ; bijt
he never knew any good to arise from it, except
that the horse had a long rest after so severe an ap-
plication. He was rather surprised to hear Mr.
Youatt, when expounding the law of humanity in a
society where it was certainly a little out of place to
decry a practice on that ground, avow himself the
advocate of superficial firing. Is he not aware that
the skin is the most sensitive part of the frame — that
its nerves are the guards placed by nature to warn
the animal of danger 1 The chief suffering accom-
panying the operation is referrible to the surface of
the skin, and not to the deeper parts afl^ected by the
cautery lesions. He was somewhat surprised at this.
For his part, he would abandon the operation of
firing altogether — he would abolish it by Act of
Parliament if he could. Twenty-five years ago he
fired a horse for spavin — the last horse he ever fired.
It was as fine a horse as any in the world. The
cautery had not the slightest good effect. Some
cavalry veterinary surgeons do without it.

In India it is now scarcely ever practised. Many
veterinary surgeons there never fire. It was intro-
duced by our barbarian aacestors, and it is mainly
practised in all parts of the world by those who had
not the advantages of medical and surgical skill and
science.

The best authors altogether deprecate deep firing
— he alluded particularly to Mr. White, Mr. Blaine,
and Mr. Percivall — except for ring-bone; but he
does not consider that disease to be so desperate as
some do, for it has no communication with the cap-
sular ligament near the coffin joint, or with the other
ligaments in the neighbourhood, he may employ his
periosteotomy knife with safety and success. The
fatal cases of firing are numerous ; but he does not

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

451

know a case in which the seton had left the horse
worse than it found him. Even in hot weather, when
the blister and the cautery sometimes inflict so much
additional suii'ering;, no bad effect had resulted from
the application of the seton.

In every case in which the cautery is used, the
seton would be equally or more effectual. He does
not, indeed, use it in curb ; yet a seton introduced
between the place of spavin and that of curb is
highly useful. In injuries and sprains of the sus-
pensory ligament, he has found the seton more effec-
tual than the cautery. In opened joints, and where,
afterwards, the joint had lost much of its suppleness,
setons are of admirable use ; so they are in thethecw
of the legs, after the inflammation is allayed. — Vete-
rinarian.

THE QUESTION OF A SUPERABUN-
DANT POPULATION IN IRELAND
CONSIDERED, AND REASONS
GIVEN FOR DECIDING IN THE
NEGATIVE.

(from MR. blacker's prize essay.)

I have already extended this treatise to a length
much beyond my original intention, but I cannot
conclude without endtavouring to answer one ob-
jectio 1, which may Le made to the opinions I have
supported in the foregoing ; I allude to my objecting
to the expulsion of small holders tor the purpose of
consolidating farms, in regard to which it may be
asked, if this is not done, the population is increas-
ing so rapidly, that as families grow up, subaivision
must go on, until at length the whole community
will become paupei-s ? I might fairly ask in return,
bow the plan of turning out these families will pre-
vent pauperism ? It seems to me that the latter plan
is by much the surest way to produce such a result.
But the most satisfactory answer to the question
will perhaps be arrived at. by endeavouring to as-
certain how far the apprehensions of a superabun-
dant population, at present so generally entertained,
may or may not be justified by facts ; for if it should
appear that there was land eneugh in tlie kingdom
for all its inhabicants, now existing, and for as many
more as could be anticipated in any reasonable time,
and that nothing more was wanting but proper regu-
lations to make it available for their wants, then the
objection may be fairly considered to be set aside.
In a late publication entituled " Ireland as it was,
is, and ought to be," a table is given of the acreabie
contents and population of each county in Ireland,
which may be supposed, at least, so far relatively
accurate, as to afford data for the following calcu-
lations. From this table it appears that tbe county
of Armagh contains 212,755 acres, and a population
of 220,653 souls, and that the entire kingdom con-
tains 17,190,726 acres, and 7,839,469 souls ; now,
in the county of Armagh, by a recent survey, more
than one-seventh of the surface is taken up by lakes
and unprofitable land, and the remainder is, for the
greater part, but indifferently cultivated, and yet the
peasantry are belter clothed, lodged, and fed than
thej- are in most other countries in Ireland. I can-
not, therefore, be accused of taking away from the
comforts of the rest of the kingdom, by taking the
county of Armagh as a standard, and its proportioa
of unprofitable surface is not very remote, I believe,
from the average of others ; if, then, 212,755, the
number of acres in Armagh, give a population of

220,653 souls, 17,190,726 acres, the entire con-
tents of the kingdom, ought to give a population ef
17,828,888, in place of 7,839,469, the population at
present. It therefore, appears, that supposing the
other parts of Ireland to be as well cultivated as
Armagh, it would support about two and a half
times the number of its present inhabitants, and be
able to export provisions largely besides, for Ar-
magh, notwithstanding its popuhatien, exports pork,
butter, and grain in great quantities. But before
deciding finally upon the population which the king-
dom could support, it ought to he examined how far
the county cf Armagii (the standard taken) has ar-
rived at its full complement ; and in regard to this,
I would say, from a pretty general knowledge of it,
that under an improved system of agriculture, and
a regular rotation of crops, the produce would be
treble of what it yields at present, and I think this
may be considered as practically proved, if I can
shew farmers posse-sing land of average quality,
who being induced to change their manner of culti-
vation in the way already described, are now re-
ceiving fully treble produce ftom the identical same
farm to what it formerly yielded ; but supposing it
only to yield double as much, it would follow, that
the popiilation of Armagh, if that beneficial change
became general, might be doubled also, without in
any degree lessening the comforts of the inhabitants;
which increase being taken as the basis of the cal-
culation, and applying it to the whole of Ireland,
would make it adequate to the support of better than
thirty-five million of souls. When, therefore, it is
considered what unexhausted, I might say unex-
plored, resources remain for the maintenance of any
increase of inhabitants that can be expected in any
definite period, it must, I think, be evident to every
reflecting person, that all fears as to a surplus popula-
tion are perfectly ideal, and that it is its unequal
distribution, and not its aggregate amount, which is
to be deplored. It may be said that the quantity of
waste land in the county of Armargh is below the
average of the kingdom, and this I have not the ne-
cessary returns, exactly to ascertain, but the pro-
portion in Armagh would give an amount of
3,000,000 of acres of unprofitable land in the whole
of Ireland, which cannot be so far from the truth, as
in any material degree to afl'ect the result of the fore-
going calculation.* If then such be the real state of
the question, what, it will be demanded, can prevent
the population now in existence from seizing upon
comforts so completely within their reach, and
applying themselves at once to the cultivation of
these immense tracts of improvable land, at present
lying useless 1 The answer to this will lead me to
the point I wish to arrive at, and the reply I should
give would be, that the c/iie/' reason was, the want of
security for person and property, which deters the
working classes from attempting to settle in any
place remote from their own connexions, and thereby
prevents the population from extending itself to the
more uncultivated parts of the country, and being
thus pent up in particular districts, it occa-
sions land to be almost unattainable, where there
is the greatest wish to cultivate it, and leaves it
lying idle, where it exists in the greatest abundance.
Any one, who knows anything of the state of Ire-
land, knows that it is not safe in a farmer to emigrate
even to an adjoining parish, without paying largely
for what is called the good will of the person to

* The commissioners of bogs, in their fourth Report,
calculate the extent of waste land that might be re-
claimed at 2,830,000 acres, which coincides pretty
nearly with the calculation here made.

452

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

whom he succeeds, which explains fully the reason
why a sum of money, nearly equal to the value of
the fee simple oi the land, is often given to get into
possession of a farm under a respectable landlord,
in a quiet neighbourhood, although the land may be
subject to its full value in rent ; but to the want of
security for person and property may also be added,
the want of skill and capital in tlie working popula-
tion, and the consequent incapacity of those who
have neither, to attempt the business of reclaiming,
which requires both, and thus (even wliere land
might be acquired) they cannot proceed, witliout
meeting that support and assistance from the land-
lords which theif are, generally speaking, unwilling
or unable to afford ; and thus things have bjen left
to take their own course irom century to century,
the local improvement creeping on by degrees, as it
happens to be pushed forward by the advancing tide
of population in each particular district, without
almost an instance of any tiling being undertaken
upon an extended scale, to bring into cultivation the
numerous tracts of country, wliich would so well re-
pay the sums that might be judiciously expended on
them ; and the land is left waste, which alone is ca-
pable of affording the necessary employment, and
the people are left turbulent, discontented, and dis-
affected, and will always remain so, until employment
is provided for them. The existing state of things,
therefore, operates as cause and effect : the land lying
waste leaves the people lawless and turbulent ; and
again, the lawlessnes and tuibulence of the people
is the cause of the land being left so.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ABERDEEN
JOURNAL.

Mill of Melrose, May 1.

.Sir, — I observed a notice in your Journal of the
5th. ult. signed by Mr. Wm. Dockar of Findon,
in which my invention of shakers for threshing
mills is claimed by him. The same paper also
contains an intimation that Mr. Adam Gray of
Peterhead had written you on the subject, and
that his communication would appear the follow-
ing week. To the latter gentleman I desire to re-
turn my best thanks for the manly and candid
manner in which he has expressed himself, and
for the flattering terms in which he speaks of my
machine.

A report next got into circulation that James
Andrew, millwright, had written a long article on
the subject, which he intended to publish, and I
have waited till now in order that I might have the
whole communications before me, so as to answer
them in one letter.

The matter is of considerable moment to me, as
a practical millwright ; and what is still more im-
portant, I should consider myself disgraced as a
member of society, were I capable of attempting
to filch the merit of an invention from any one.
The first notice of the matter, although not sent to
your Journal at my request, was certainly sent with
my knowledge and concurrence ; and now that I
am compelled to come forward in self defence, I
declare, in the most unequivocal manner, that I
never received the slightest hint, either directly
from Mr. Dockar, or indirectly through any chan-
nel, regarding an improvement in shakers by him,
until after the whole parts of my machine were made
and ready to be put up, when Mr. Dockar (after he

had seen them,) told me that he had before mad^
a model for the same purpose, but by the defini-
tion he then gave of it, I confess I did not under-
stand it, nor do I yet do so.

Having made this avowal, I shall now proceed
to substantiate it. Mr. Dockar says he furnished
the model of a shaker in April, 1829, to Mr. Long-
more of Rattie', millwright, for the purpose of
being attached to that gentleman's mill. But was
it ever so attached ? No ! the fact is, it was given
up by Mr. .James Andrew (the millwright alluded
to,) as impracticable. Enquiry has been made of
Mr. Longmore, and he says he considered it too
comjilex. It is rather a curious fact too, that Mr.
Longmore is the very gentleman aJluded to in your
paper of the 29th March, as "an extensive farm-
er, who had declared that my shaker would save
him 20/. a- vear. " Is it not, therefore, passing
strange, if he had it in his power to put such a
one to his mill in 1829, that he did not do so, and
thereby save himself 160/., in the eight years that
have since elapsed^? But has Mr. D's invention
been put in practice anywhere ? The answer to
this question ought surely to clear up the point. I
say, with unaffected sincerity, that Mr. Dockar is,
to my knowledge, a gentleman of very great in-
genuity and knowledge in mechanics, and he has
consequently been employed as the sole adviser
and director in putting up threshing machines for
several of his friends, since 1829. I ask him,
therefore, to say explicitly whether bis improved
shaker has been attached to any one of these ; and
I should hope that the answer, which I know he
must give, will clear up the matter quite satisfac-
torily to me. Finally Mr. D. has a very ingenious
mill of his own, which goes either with horses or
water. Has his own invention been attached to
his own mill ?

I must apologize for having trespassed to such
an extent on your columns, and as I have neither
inclination nor talent for carrying on a paper war,
I shall not obtrude upon you again, but shall con-
clude by earnest requesting every body who may be
pleased to take an interest in this matter, to en-
quire and satisfy themselves whether any little
merit that attaches to it is in justice due to Mr.
Dockar, or to me, or any one else. With the re-
sult of such enquir}', whatever it may be, I shall
be perfectly satisfied. I Ovvn no partner eitlier by
word or deed m the concern.

I am, very respectfully, &c.

GEORGE RITCHIE.

New Method of Feeding Calves. — M. Labb6,
member of the council of administration of the Agri-
cultural Society, finding that the carrot is one of
the most nutritious kinds of food for cows, greatly
increasing the quantity of milk, and furnishing a
richer cream, he reduced half a pound of carrots to
a pulp, boiled it four or five minutes in half a pint
of water, and added the wliole, in two portions, to
tlie noon and evening mess of a calf five days old.
The same food, as a substitute for milk, was in-
creased daily, so that on the eleven*h day the boiled
carrots were given as the entire food, except that
after the eighth day a boiled potatoe was added to
each of the three daily messes. The calf not only
thrived finely, but grew so fat, that on the twentieth
day, not intending it for the butcher, they were
obliged to moderate the food.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

463

EXTRACTS FROM A JOURNAL OF A
TOUR IN HOLSTEIN.

(rnOM THE QUARTERLV JOURNAI. OF AGUICTJLTUnE.)

11th August, 1835. Breakfasted veith Mr. B. and
family, and at 11 set off in Mr. B's carriage, accom-
panied by Mr. Hector, to Clorensick, near Kiel,
where we arrived at 2 p. m., and were received witli
the greatest politeness by Mr. Hirschfield.

About balf-way, the day being very warm, we
refreshed our horses with a loaf of black bread and
water; the driver and ourselves had each a small
glass of Cogniac and water, and the charge for tlie
whole was only eightnence, which, I think, would
have been about three shillings in England.

After dinner, walked out with Mr. Hirschfield,
and visited the stables. The first contained six car-
riage and two riding horses, beautiful bays, docked
in the English style. Also a long-failed black horse
for the use of the dragoons, every gentleman being
obliged to keep a horse subject to the King's or-
der.

This stahle is 126 feet long, 44 broad, aid 55 feet
high ; at the end is a carriage, waggon, and harness
room. The next stahle, under the same roof, was
for thirty horses ; they stand in pairs. The whole
is causewayed, and a space of 20 feet in the middle
for thrashing the grain. At the end are rooms (or
the men, corn-chests, &c., and a space above for
about eighty carts of hay, and two tier of grain
lofts.

We next visited the cow-houses ; the first was 198
feet long, 70 broad, and 60 feet high, with four tier
of stalls for 240 cows. The standards were ten
inches thick, and between each, a space of nine feet,
stood three cows. A trough of solid masonry ran
from end to end of the cow-house, about a foot deep
and two feet broad at the top, for the food and water.
All these houses have doors large enough to admit of
a cart of hay passing through. There was a stork's
nest on the top of the cow house, with two young-
ones just ready to fly ; this is considered an omen of
good

The next cow-house is 96 feet long, 24 broad, and
30 feet high, with fifty-eight stalls, and a large space
to feed young cattle. The space above these two
houses, when filled with hay, holds about 400 cart
loads. Next, the great barn, 180 feet long, 70 broad,
and 65 feet higli.

The crops in this countiy are all housed and
thrashed at convenience ; and a space of 24 feet
broad runs through the whole of the building for this
purpose.

The new barn is 152 feet long, 64 broad, and 50
feet high. The dairy-house is 125 feet long, 36
broad, and 50 feet high ; and t'le floor is laid with
brick on edge, with a slope toward the centre, through
which a small stream ot water runs. On the right
is a store-house, and a dining-room for the servants,
twenty-six in number. The fire-place or chimney
ia 12 feet broad ; on one side is a fixed boiler, on the
other large sways for hanging coppers on for dress-
ing victuals, &c.

Next, a neatly furnished room for the head dairy-
maid, and behind her's a room for a respectable old
man, who superintends the whole of that department.
On the opposite side is a large bed-rcom for twelve
females. Returning back to the left is the milk
cellar, down a few steps, all brick, but kept very
clean. At the foot of the stair stand the salt barrels ;
that used for the butter is from Lunenburg in Han-
over, that for the cheese from Liverpool.

The butter-room is on the left «ide of the stair,

and is railed round. There were eighty-four casks
of butter in it, containing lOOlb. each, about half an
inch of salt on the top, and the heads laid loosely on
— the whole covered with a clean white sheet. There
were 500 milk tubs made of oak, twenty inches in
diameter and six deep, with four willow hoops.
They are washed after being used by six servants,
with warm and cold water, ashes and coarse cloths,
scrubbers and brushes, and then piled out to dry ; if
they got the least sour in summer, they were boiled,
and underwent th3 same process. That morning
there was on the floor 269 tubs, the produce of three
milkings.

A few steps up, on the right of the milk-room, was
a cheese-room, in which were deposited 800 cheeses
of 221b. each, all made of skim milk, and very infe-
rior in quality.

On the left of the entrance-door stands the churn,
holding about 140 gallons, turned by a mill with a
horse from the outside. All the refuse runs through
a wooden channel into a trough in the pig-slied,
where there were about sixty pigs fattening. Next
was the dairy barn, 69 feet long, 28 broad, and 30
feet high, in which stood some English sheep, deer,
ai d a growing stock of young pigs, of the English
breed.

The mansion-house is not modern, but very hand-
some and commodious, 104 ieet long, 44 deep, and
40 feet high, and excellent vaulted wine cellars be-
low. Spacious gardens, hot-houses, melon-beds,
&c.

The poultry-yard is well stocked ; 105 geese, as
many turkeys, and other poultry in proportion. The
fowl-houses are regularly sparred, about sixteen
inches above each other, ana ling to keep the soil
from the lower tiers. In a small room behind were
the nests, which were a foot in diameter, and a foot
above the ground, and the hist laid egg was always
left in the nest. This department was in charge of
an old woman and boy, and was kept remarkably
clean. There was an egg table, with three tier of
holes for diiferent eggs, and their dates. The house-
keeper had packed a cask with fourteen dozen, in
fine ashes, that day for winter use ; peacock, turkey,
geese, duck, and iien eggs.

12t'i August. At 5 A. M., walking toward tlie
dairy, I saw ten women employed plucking the fine
feathers or down off' the breast and upper part of the
loins of the geese, with which they filled two large
tubs.

The following is the process of the dairy: — In
summer one servant rises at 2 a. m. to make fires ;
the others half an hour later. They skim th 3 cream,
and run it through a sieve into the churn ; the skim-
milk is then thrown into a large tub to make cheese ;
they then wash the tubs. They have half an hour
to sort themselves, and then proceed to the field to
milk the cows. Iwery female has twenty cows to
milk ; and when her pail is full, which holds about
nine gallons, it is emptied into a larger one of twenty-
five gallons, which is hooked to a cart that carries it
down to the dairy. The milk is then put through a
sieve into the tubs holding two gallons each. These
large milk buckets, twenty-eight in number, are
then washed, and put out to dry, ready for next
milking. The churn is broader at the bottom than
above, and five of the staves project inward about
three inches; the churn-staff works in a socket with
an iron spindle. When the butter is churned, it is
carried into the butter cellar, and put into a trough
of solid wood, with holes in the bottom, where it is
wrought a considerable time to work out tlie milk ;
after which it is salted, and lies several hours, then
it is sprinkled over with salt again, wrought with

454

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

the hands, and lies again twenty-four hours, when it
is put into tlie casks.

J'his process is finished about eight o'clock, %vhen
the servants go to breakfast, after which they wash
and clean the house, and assist in the garden till
noon, when they dine, and rest till two o'clock,
when they continue the same operations is in the
morning. On Saturday and Sunday they have from
eight till Hvo o'clock to themselves.

In winter the same operations go on, with this
difference, the cows are kept in the house, and as
they do not require so much attendance, the fe-
males spin all the wool and flax used for the house
and dair}^.

A book is kept of every cow's name and number,
and the quantity of milk produced from each cow,
which is marked four different times in summer, and
the calves cf the best are kept for the increase of
stock, which at present consists of about '^40 be-
sides tiiose not giving milk ; fcrty-one young ones
in sheds, one and two years old, and two Ena-lish
bulls.

Tliere are twenty-six farm and six carriage-liorses
(maresj, two breeding mares, thirteen young, one (o
two and tbiee years old, md the stallions Goiiah and
Sampson, which Mr. Huschfield has jointly with his
brothers and others. In Holstein there are thirteen
English stallions, and in Sleswick sixteen, besides
the Duke of Austenberg's stud, which is the best in
this country, vvljere they are making every exertion
to improve the breed of horses and cattle.

The produce of this farm in grain : — Hapeseed.
oOO q-s. ; wheat and rye, 400 qrs. ; barley, 330 qrs. ;
oats, 1,000 qrs. ; potatoes, 700 qrs.; turnips, 700
qrs.; bay, 600 cartloads; bjck-wheat, 100 qrs. ;
peas, 90 qrs. ; butter. 27 S'^Olhs. (EnglislO ; cheese,
34,5;391bs. CEuiilish). Aveiage of (^achcow, 126lbs.
butter, and l591bs. cheese. The butter is sent .o
England, and sells from 41. 10s. to 51. per cask of
lOOlbs., on which is a duty of l/.

A number of pigs are reared annually from the
whev and sour-milk, the pork salted and sold to the
Hamburg merchants.

Visited Mr. Hirsclifield's brother, and met with a
very kind reception. Walked throu.ah the gardens,
and had a very interesting view of Rendsburoh on
the river Elder, which leads to the North Sea. About
half a mile distant from where we stood is the en-
trance of the canal which unites the North and East
Sen.

13th August. — Drove through Mr. H.'s wood, about
150 acres of fine young oak, beech, &c. Returned
through Ostererred, belonging to an English lady,
the widow of a Russian merchant. There are Sio
cows on the estate, besides other stock. The estate
is let to a fanner, who has sublet the dairy to ano-
ther person, who pays fourteen dollars for each cow,
about 1/. 16s. annually; they belong to the estate,
and must be returned in number and quality at the
end of the lease, which is nine years.

Drove about four miles further east to Mr. W.
Hirschfield's estate, Grossnordzee. We walked
through very extensive gardens in which were laroe
hof-houses, a hop plantation, and 10,000 f uit-trees,
all raised from the seed of 1833—4 ; each had a jiole
about seven feet high, and as clean and regular as
possible.

There is also a small brandy distillery on this
estate, chiefly from potatoes, barley, rye, &c.

There were 180 cows in the byre, and 70 fine
oxen fattening for the knife, and a number of young
stock.

At ten, returned home, after a most pleasant day's
ride. My host, Mr. Gustave Hirschfield, is one of

the most accomplished, mild, and gentlemanly per-
sons I have ever met with ; he had travelled through
Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, and Poland.
Mr. H. speaks very fair English. His wife is a
daughter of ray friend Mr. Birch, who is a respecta-
ble merchant in Kiel ; she is a pretty, agreeable,
accomplished woman, worthy of her mother, who is
a most amiable, delightful person.

Besides the domestic seivants, there were two
young men who acted as overseers, one of whom
was so police as to make out for me a plan of all the
buildings on tlie farm.

I cannot forbear mentioning here the neat manner
in which the females of the dairy, twelve in num-
ber, are dressed, and so perfectly clean ; a great
contrast indeed to most of them in our own country.
Their dressconsists of a short gown, wiih full fashion-
able sleeves wliicli do not nearly reach the elbow, a
yellow, black and scarlet, linseywoolsey petticoat,
blue stockings and sandals, and not a single hole to
be seen in any of their stockings. Their hair is
neatly braided under a low-crowned cap, and as
smooth as possible, not a hair out of place. In the
field, when milking, they wear straw bats. The
head dairy-maid might have gone to any assembly,
she was so pretty, clean and neat; yet she worked
more than her appearance bespoke.

I was partly led to visit this farm from an idea I
had formed in early life, that the inhabitants of this
country were like the Russian vassals, who went in
some measure along with the soil. I was delighted
to find this was not the case, for whatever restraints
were once on the [leople, they are now removed, for
which thev are greatly indebted to that amiable man
the late Count Barnstoff, to whom an elegant pillar
is erected in the neighbourhood of Copenhagen.

Mr. Hirschfield informed me that, when studying
at the Agricultural and Veterinary Academy at M6-
glin, in Prussia, they had 800 acres of ground, on
which were 1,000 sheep, for the students to practice
on. They vaccinated 400 lambs in one year, and
did not lose one, whereas in some neighbouring-
farms the whole flock was lost. The lambs in Prus-
sia are vaccinated under the lail when about three
months old, and fed coolly for some time. Mr. H.
afterwards w^nt to the Agncultural and Forester
Academy, Holienheim, in Saxony, where they had
1,000 sheen and 110 cows to j)ractice upon.

The law of Denmark is, that every subject must
be vaccinated, and a man cannot be confirmed nor
married unless he carries a certificate of being vac-
cinated, and can read the Bible ; nor can a soldier
be enlisted without a certificate of vaccination.

14th August. — The clergyman calling yesterday
to pav his respects, induced me to inquire how the
clergy were situated. I bad the following account :
The church is placed as near as possible in the cen-
ti-e of the estates or parishes ; the clergyman has a
salary of 1,000 dollars, about loOZ. per annum. The
projirietors aro the patrons, and take the management
of the affairs alternately ; the clergyman is secre-
tary. When a vacancy occurs, the patrons each
present a candidate, and all the candidates preach
on the same day before the inbabitanis. The election
is managed by each of the four patrons collecting the
inhabitants of their respective districts, the majority
of whom makes one head voice or vote. Every
farmer has a vote, and agriculturists and farm-ser-
vants have each half a vote; artificers of every de-
scription have a vote. The patrons hwve each eight
votes, but they are the last to give them, that the
people may not be in the least biassed. In the event
of the votes being equal, the proprietor of another
estate is called in, and he has the casting vote.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

456

In Holstein there are three insurance offices. In
the first, all buildings on the properties and in the
villagpes are covered, and the tradespeople and poor
may have their moveables included at a fair valua-
tion. In the second office, all the grain thrashed or
onthrashed, implements of husbandry, and live-stock,
may be covered. In the third office, all the growing
grain of the estates and small farmers, under a gua-
rantee of the proprietor, may be covered. After a
heavy fall of hail, the surveyors examine the crops
and n;ake their report ; they also examine them again
fourteen days before harvest. The proprietors and
farmers are themselves managers of these insurance
offices.

IMPORTANT TO FL\X-GROWERS.

The following important directions have been
widely circulated in Fermanah. They are from the
pen of i\ir. W. G. Andrews : — The rapid march of
improvement, in every art and pursuit which sig-
nalizes the age in which we live, has, of late years,
been conspicuous in the staple manufacture of
Ireland. Our linen fabrics have extended in va-
riety, and risen in quality and estimation, and do
not now require the protection of duties, or the aid
of bounties, to enable them to compete with those
of the Continent of Europe, either in our own or
in foreign markets. Much of this improvement is
fairly attributable to the skill and industry which
have been brought to bear upon this manufacture,
in the construction of spinning mills ; and, how-
ever we may regret, that the social and moral ad-
vantages resulting from the cottage manufacture
of linen, which, till lately brought the comforts
and blessings of domestic employment to the fire-
sides of our peasantry, cannot be so fully realised,
under the new system, we must admit the necessity
of conforming to the improvements of the age,
lest this branch of manufacture should, likeotheis
which preceded it, be absorbed by the superior en-
terprise and capital of our eldest sister, even should
we not be overpowered by the superior material
and cheaper labour of the Continent. The skill
and industry of the manufacturer have, however,
unhappily, far outrun those of the farmer, who is
content to jog on in the paths of his remotest an-
cestor. We have got mills to spin the finest yarns ;
but, to the disgrace and heavy loss of the flax
grower, the spinner must go to the Continent for
the material, and the irregular, ill-matiaged Irish
flax is consigned to the secondary purposes, at
low prices. This fact has, for some time, forced
itself upon the observation of the public. The
public prints, as the organ of the public voice,
have called upon all who could render any informa-
tion upon the subject, to aid in the amelioration of
this fatal defect. Having, for some years, devoted
much attention to the subject at home, and much
anxious inquiry in the flax countries on the Con-
tinent, I shall venture to respond to this call ; and
as I feel considerable confidence in the soundness
of the observations which, I trust, I shall be able
to submit to you, and do not fear the task of de-
lendmg them, I shall not hesitate to attach my sig-
nature to this essay. 1 shall arrange my observa-
tions under distinct heads, and shall endeavour to
be as brief as I can.

Soil. — The best soil for flax is a deep, friable,
vegetable loam, or a good deep, sandy loam, on a
clay subsoil ; but, in Flanders, where sand pre-
dominates, by good management, superior flax is
produced. It may be assumed, that every soil on

which wheat succeeds, is well adapted to the
growth of flax ; but many soils containing peat,
in which wheat cannot be raised with advantage,
will yield a tolerable crop of flax, though, in such,
the produce will not be commensurate with its
promise, when growing. It should not he sown
on a dry hill, or on a soil incumbent on gravel or
rock, unless there be a deep surface. It is not ne-
cessary that the land be over rich ; but, of all
things, it should be clean and free from every
weed. The j)roduce on a rich soil will be greater,
but the quality, in most cases coarser. The cha-
racteristic of every good soil is, the power to con-
tain a laige portion of moisture, without being
wet, and to impart that moisture, gradually to the
roots of plants. This cannot be attained without
depth: and every attempt at the improvement of
any soil, should include some mode of deepening
it. To effect this, various methods have been
adopted, but certainly, none so successfully, as the
use oCthe spade, aid the soil must be bad, indeed,
which will not admit of gradual improvement by
that means. In Flanders it has long been in use,
at least once in each rotation, with decided bene-
fit to flax and every other crop in the course. The
advantages need scarcely be mentioned. Every
one who has observed the superior fertility of a
well trenched garden, must be aware of them ;
and the adoption of so manifest an improvement
seems to be prevented, merely by the unwillingness
to move out of the beaten track, and by an ex-
aggerated idea cf the actual cost of the operation.
It is stated by Dr. Radcliif, that land can, on the
average, be digged sixteen inches deep, for thirty-
two shillings per English acre, taking wages at
fifteen pence a-day. I believe this estimate even
exceeds the reality, as is i)roved in the county Ar-
magh and other districts, where spade husbandry
has been extensively used, and, I am happy to say,
that, in the neighbourhood of Newtownards and
Comber, a beginning has been made, with the
most encouraging success. Let it only be con-
sidered, that by doubling the depth of cultivated
soil, you must assuredly double the powers of the
soil; and at the beginning of a new rotation, by
bringing up with the spaiie that which may have
lain, for some years, unstirred, and putting down
that which may have been overlooked, you secure
all the advantages which are gained by laying out
land, of ordinary depth, to restin pasture, without
incurring the sacrifice, and can proceed upon a
much more lengthened and profitable rotation.
That the powers of the soil are doubled by doubling
the depth, has been abundantly proved, by the ex-
periments of Mr. Falla of Gateshead, in the growth
of wheat. Some timid farmers may allege, that,
by turning up the barren subsoil, the fertility of
the soil is impaired for a time. Let such com-
mence with caution, deepening by an inch or two
at one time. Let this be done when the land is in
preparation for green crop. Let lime be spread
upon the surface, after digging, and brought into
immediate contact with the new soil ; and the use
of a reasonable quantity of farm-yard manure,
with the action of the summer sun, will abundantly
fertilize it, and by the undoubted success of the
first experiment, encourage the observing and in-
dustrious man to proceed with boldness and energy.
I am earnest on this point, which I conceive of
vital importance. Do hearken to the statement,
from the best authority, that the produce of land
ha^, been doubled by the method recommended ;
and do not remain supine in a matter of such mo-
ment, nor discredit the evidence without a trial ;
and, be assured, a fair trial will prove that more

2 H 2

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

can be accomplished by one digging than three
ploughings, and that the cost is actually less.
Even under the most favourable circumstances, it
is wrong to attempt to grow flax too frequently on
the same soil. The attempts to do so have proved
the source of faihire too frequently in Ireland. The
very best and deepest soil will not bear flax more
frequently than once in seven years; and, on in-
ferior shallow soil, a larger interval must be al-
lowed. The finest crops have always been raised
on land but recentlj- bioken up from old pasture.
In the Netherlands flax is sown after various crops
— potatoes, rape, madder, wheat, and oats; but
more frequently after wheat than any other ; and,
on the poorer soils, they frequently apply 2,500
gallons of liquid manure, per Cunningham acre. It
generally succeeds best after a white crop, which
has immediately succeeded a green crop. The soil
is then rich enough, and, by good management,
may he made perfectly clean. Some persons have
imagined that the use of lime is injurious to the
growth of flax ; but I think experience will prove,
that if lime be applied with a green crop, and fol-
lowed by a white crop, succeeded by flax, the flax
will derive benefit from it rather than the con
trary.

Preparation of the Soil. — To prepare ground
for flax, where wheat or oats has been the previous
crop, it should be ploughed, about three inches
deep, very early in the autumn ; and, at the end of
a month, when all seeds of weeds shall have ve-
getated, it should be well harrowed and well
cleaned, and then ploughed very deep, to remain
during the winter cxpi^sed to the atmosphere,
which produces a fine pulverised mould upon the
surface, so desirable for the seed bed. In Flanders,
the approved method is, to trench the furrows one
spit deep, throwing it evenly over the suiface of
the ridge, which ])revents water from lying upon
the land, and furnishes a larger snpjjly of mould.
It is necessary that the ridges should he very little
raised in the centre, wlien the ground is ready for
the seed ; and the easiest mode of obtaining this is
to plough it round in sets. If the surface be '^ot
level, the crop will not ripen evenly, the evil of
which will be pointed out under the head of pull-
ing. Before sowing, the ground should be well
harrowed, with six or eight rounds cf a hea\y
harrow; and, if the soil be light, it should then he
rolled across. The seed should then be sown, and
harrowed with two or three rounds of a light har-
row, having teeth three inches long; and, on
light ground, it may be well to finish by rolling
again.

Choice of Seed. — Great caution should be ob-
served in the choice of seed. That which is sound
and fit for sowing, should be quite sweet, of a clear
rich colour, plump, and free from impurity. The
heavier it may weigh by the bushel, the more
prime the seed. Before sowing the very best and
cleanest should be carefully sifted. Almost all
seeds, which are found in it, will pass through a
coarse oarmeal sieve, which wil' retain the flax-
seed. Farmers are very much divided in this dis-
trict as to the superiority of Riga or Dutch seed,
but all have agreed to reject American, which is
more branched at the top, and therefore loses the
more in scutching, as all the fibre on the branches
is taken off" by that process. Why the American
should be pieferred in some counties, I am unable
to determine. Experience has shown, that a
change of soil is, at least, necessary, as no seed is
found so quickly to degenerate upon the same
soil. The Dutch import Riga seed, and on the

third year export the produce. The first year the
produce is very great, but the quality somewhat
coarse ; the second year it is much finer ; and,
after the third year, they conceive it begins to de-
generate. It would surely be a great acquisition,
if we could, by proper management, produce seed
at home adapted for our own growth ; and an in-
terchange by persons residing at some distance
from each oth^r, whose soils are different, might,
assuredly maintain it in a state of vigour. Every
plant of seed which we cultivate is liable to degene-
rate in tVie same soil ; and it is only by such inter"
change that we produce fine samples of grain, or
good and productive potatoes. Could we thus
succeed in producing flaxseed at home we would
certainly have it pure ami less mixed. Imported
seed must be collected abroad from many growers,
as oiu" wheat and other corn are by the dealers
here ; and no farmers would w'llinaly buy such
mixed wheat or barley for sowing. I would
strongly recommend, that every grower should
save a little good sowing seed. I shall speak of
the mode of saving it, under the proper head.

Quantity of Seed. — I recommend a large
quantity of seed to be sovn upon the ground. In
a thick crop the stalks will be longer, less branch-
ed, and of finer quality. The better the condition
of the land the less the quantity of seed will be
requisite. Two and a half Winchester bushels per
Cunningham acre mny be stated as an average
large quantit)'. The finsst fla.x in the world is pro-
duced in France, and converted into lace and
cambric. To produce this extraordinary degree
of fineness it is sown so thick that it becomes
necessary to cover the ground, when sown, with
branches of trees, supported on forked sticks, at
the height of nine or ten inches from the ground,
and the stalks, supported by the branches, will
remain erect in the most unfavourable season.
fhe cr.ltivator is amply repaid for all his care and
attention : he will frequently obtain si.x to eight
fran<'s per pound ; and from a mere hand-breadth
of ground will often derive the means of support
for his family for a » hole year. Flax should be
sown as early as the weather will [)ermit, when
severe frosts have passed away : the sooner after
the middle of March the better.

Weeding should be carefully performed by the
hand, pidling out every weed by the roots ; and it
should be done while the plants are small, as the
injury will then be less.

Pulling. — The proper time for pulling flax is
pretty generally known, but the operation is care-
lessly i)erlormed ; and, at this point, the irregu-
larity commences, which pervades the whole
management of the crop, and has brought dis-
ci-edit upon the character of Irish flax. When the
leaf on the stalks, one-third from the ground,
shall not only have become black, but fallen off,
and when the colour of the seed in the bolls shall
be partially changed from white to brown, the crop
is in a fit state for pulling, both as respects the
fibre and the maturity of the seed. But (he crop,
in many cases, ripens partially ; and, in such
cases, it should be pulled as it ripens, as great loss
and injury arise either from permitting any part
to remain too long, or from pulling any before it
has attained the proper degree of firmness. That
which grows on the edges of the furrows is,
generally, the latest in ripening. It will,, also, be
of great importance, that in pulling flax of coarse
stem it should be kept separate from that of
smaller, as the coarse will require less time in the
steeping pool, and on the grass. It should never

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457

be pulled but when perfectly dry, as the fibre is
easily injured by rubbing when wet. The Du^ch
are accustomed to lay it on the ground when
pulled, for some time. In binding the sheaves,
the side which was on the ground is kept out.
They afterwards exposed it in the stook before
rippling, which improves the seed ; but I am
afraid to recommend this practice, as the quality
might in some cases suffer. Let the flax be pulled
in handfulls, of a size convenient for rippling ; and
lay them on the strap a liftJe crossed upon each
other, that they may be easily separated for the
ripplers. Be careful to keep the root end of the
sheaf very even. If any weeds should be still
growing, let them be avoided, and the flax only be
pulled.

Rippling. — Rippling in fine weather is perform-
ed cr.ost conveniently in the fields ; and I recom-
mend that it be performed as quickly as possible
after pulling-. The Dutch Rijjple is an excellent
implement, and very good specimens were made
and distributed by the Linen Board. The process
is simple : a slight twist given to each handful at
the root with both hands grasping it firmly will
spread the tops like a fan, and two pulls through
the ripple will complete the work. This process
should not be omitted, even if the seed were to
be thrown away. By breaking off the seed bolls
the water is admitted into the tub composing the
stalk, which facilitaf^s the decomposition of the
woody part and the separation of the fibre ; but it
is surprising that so valuable an article as flaxseed
should for so long a time have been thrown away.
Even where il is determined to pay little respect
to the maturity of the seed, in order to ensure the
greatest degree of fineness in the fibre, the seed
will be valuable, either for feeding cattle or
crushing for oil. It is found that, given in small
quantities, it is nutritive beyond any other food
for cattle, and that it tends in an extraordinary
degree to promote their health and vigour, and
check any inflammatory tendency, and for crush-
ing it can be sold at five shillings the bushel. Mr.
M'Adam, of Belfast, is now erecting an oil mill,
and oflFers that price. Nine bushels from an acre
is a very low rate of produce, and the expense of
preparation is moderate. The loss of such a
quantity of seed, both to the nation and to indivi-
duals, is most serious ; and ihe carelessness which
permits it unpardonable. The estimated breadth
of land sown on the average, in Ireland, for ten
years, was 87,106 acres. The seed, at 45s. per
acre, would, therefore, be worth 195,988/. Surely,
such wanton waste of property will not be con-
tinued. When the bolls are separated frojn the
stalk by the ripple they are so green as to have a
tendency to heat. They should not, therefore, be
allowed to accumulate, but riddled, and spread
upon a winnow cloth, and soon after passed
through fanners, which will blow off" the green
leaves, and facilitate the preservation of the bolls.
If spread not deeper than three or four inches on
a boarded floor, a free current of air being ad-
mitted, and turned tor a time twice, and after-
wards once in the day, they will soon become quite
dry, and if the weather be fine it will be useful to
spread them during the day upon a winnow-cloth
in the sun, returning them at night to the loft.
Small farmers who have not a boarded floor may
with attention dry them sufficiently on a cloth in
the sun, carrying them in the cloth into a house at
night. The less the bolls are broken the better the
seed will keep. By breaking the bolls w'th a
wooden mallett, and passing them when broken

through barn fanners, the seed will be separated
from the chaff ; and even the chaff will be found
a wholesome and nutritious nnxture in the food
of cattle. So great is the benefit to the flax by
taking off the seed before steeping, and so valu-
able is the seed, even for feeding or crushing, that
even in a very wet season it should be taken off,
though it might be necessary to resort to a corn
kiln in order to dry the bolls. If such an alter-
native become necessary, let the heat be very
gentle. To obtain seed in the highest perfection
for sowing, a small portion of the crop should be
permitted to stand on the foot till the seed shall
have nearly all changed to a brown colour. It
should then be stooked till dry, and stacked or
housed till Spring, when very gentle lashing will
beat off the seed, which will then be in superior
condition. The flax should then be kept till the
season of steeping the new crop, when it should
be put into a pool by itself, as it will require
longer time in the water than green flax. The
deterioration in the quality of this portion of the
crop will be more than Gornj)ensated by obtaining
seed of prime quality for sowing.

Steeping.— In every stage of the management
of this crop, the most minute regularity is neces-
sary, and in this, more than any other. The
water should be soft, and fiee trom any mineral
solution ; and the pool should be stagnant, with
a clay bottom, or lined with clay, that the wnter
may be retained. It should, if possible, be situated
ne;ir to a stream, from which it can be filled, some
time bcfoie use, and an additional supply derived
in case of exhaustion. It being of importance
that the pool should be well filled ; but no cur-
rent should be permitted to pass through it, the
effect ot which is hurtful, by destroying the rich-
ness of the flax. It is said, that the whiteness and
the hardness of the Russian flax arise from much
of it being steeped in running water. The Dutch
are so careful in procuring proper water, that they
will send their flax to any distance to obtain it.
The flax plant contains a large quantity of
resinous gum, which it is necessary to dis-
solve and to discharge by fermentation and wash-
ing. The rind, before fermentation adheres like
the skin of an ozier. By steeping, the fibres are
disengaged, and the object is to effect this, so that
they shall separate and split finely on the hackle,
without impairing their strength. Much of the
vegetable dye is also disengaged by the fermenta-
tion. In so delicate a process, the necessity of
skill and attention must be obvious. The plan
pursued by the Dutch seems, in most particulars,
to be completely efficient. They recommend that
the pool be eight or nine feet wide, and not less
than three-and-a-half in depth; and of these di-
mensions, fifty feet in length is expected to contain
the pi'oduce of an acre. To secure an equal fer-
mentation throughout, the flax should all be in the
same state as to ripeness and dryness, and that
which is of a coarse stem should be kept separate
from, that which is fine, as recommended under
the head of pulling, i he exposure ni)on the
ground, for some days, and afterwards in the
stock, which the Dutch practice, in order to im-
pr)ve the seed, is, I fear, dangerous to the fibre.
From experience, I have found it very difficult to
secure so uniform a state of dryness as is necessary
to preserve perfect uniformity of colour, and equal
strength of fibre throughout; and if one part be
tender while another is firm, the loss in cleaning
will be serious, -and the value of the whole greatly
impaired. If this plan of exposure be adopted,

458

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

the greatest care should be taken in binding the
sheaves and stocking, that the side which lay upon
the ground should, in the stook, be exposed to the
■weather ; and, if by good management, the plan
can be made to answer, the seed will certainly be
much improved, and will he saved with little diffi-
culty. The bundles of flax, when prepared for
the pool, should be small, about six inches in dia-
meter, exactly equal in size, and tied very loosely,
about six inches from the root end, with a single
band of a few rushes, properly prepared by beat
ing. The filling of the pool should be commenced,
at one end, by laying a row of bundles across,
with the top downwards. The butts of each suc-
ceeding row should reach to the bands of the pre-
ceding ; and, when the pool is filled in this regu-
lar manner, there is every chance of equal fermen-
tation, the top of the bundles being at the bottom
of the pf-ol, where the fermentation is least strong
from the temperature being lower. Were the tops
exposed to a strong fermentation, they would be-
come tender. I do not approve of covering the
flax in the pool with mud, from the bottom, as
practised in Holland, as I have found that it injures
the colour ; but it is highly important that it should
be covered with straw or dried weeds to exclude
the light, and that some kind of boards shou'd
then be laid on, and equally loaded with stone, or
sods, so as to sink it regularly in the water. Dur-
ing the fermentation, the whole mass becomes
buoyant, and a considerable escape of air bubbles
is observable. When the escape of air ceases, the
flax loses its buoyancy, and begins to sink, which
is a good indication of the fermentation being com-
plete, and of the proper time to take it from the
pool. The length of time required for steeping,
varies from six to ten or tw-elve days. In warm
weather, it shoidd be examined every day after the
fifth, by taking a few stalks from the inside of a
bundle, in several parts of the pool, and breaking
them Irom top to bottom. The wood should break
short, and separate easily from the rind, but the
rind must not be allowed to become tender. A
two-pronged fork should be used in throwing it
upon the bank. Care should be taken not to
handle it roughly ; and it should remain sometirne
upon the bank, to drain, before spreading. The
same water should never be used for a second par-
cel ; but weeds, and every matter susceptible of
fermentation, may, with advantage, be thrown into
the pool, after the flax is taken out, in order to
ab,-orb ttie vegetable matter and be converted into
manure.

Spreading on the Grass. — A meadow lately
cut is the most desirable spread- ground for flax.
When the seed has been taken off" by the ripple,
the spreading can be done with much Tnore ease
and regularity, as it separates more easily ; and it
is of great importance that this operation should
be accurately performed. It will generally require
a week upon the grass ; and occasional showers
are useful. The effect of si)readiug is, to improve
the colour and complete the separation of the
fibres. In Holland it is customary to turn it upnn
the grass, which is easily and quickly performed
by women with poles, of about eight feet in length,
which they run under the tops, in lengths of five
feet at a time, and lay it over with one turn of the
hand. This operation, certainly tends to equalize
the colour ; but, in blowing weather, if the situa-
tion be exposed, it is afterwards more liable to be
tossed. When it is ready for lifting", some of the
etalks will frequently appear like a bow, the fibre
having separated from the wooody part, and con-

tracted. A good test of its being ready to lift is
to rub a few stalks from the top to the bottom,
and when the wood breaks easily and separates
from the fibre, leaving it sound, it has had enough
of the grass ; but the most certain test is, to prove
a small quantity, with a hand brake or scutcher oi'
in a flax-mill. It should only be lifted when per-
fectly dry ; and, if the weather be fine, it will be
better to leave it a day or two in the stock, before
housing or stacking it. In some districts the per-
nicious practice of drying flax upon kilns, before
breaking, is still in use. The rich oily property of
the flax, which is its first quality, is hereby greatly
impaired ; and such drying is wholly unnecessary,
if due attention be paid to housing or stacking the
flax, perfectly dry, and keeping it well thatched,
and raised from the ground.

Rolling is generally performed in this country
by mills, the expedition of which is a great recom-
mendation to the extensive grawer ; but, in my
mind, the work is neither so efficiently nor so eco-
nomically performed by the mill as by the Dutch
brake, by which 28lbs. in the hour can be well
prepared. The instrument costs, perhaps, seven
shillings, and will last for a lifetime. I strongly
recommend small farmers to make a trial of this
implement. It is worked with the hand, and will
furnish employment in wet weather ; and the flax
can be completely prepared for scutching in th*
premises of the farmer.

ScLiTCHiNG,in Holland, is also performed in the
most perfect manner, by the hand, the staple of
the flax being less injured, and better prepared
for the hacklcr than by any other n:ethod I have
seen. The mills in general used in this country
are on a bad principle, and the mode of payment
for cleaning, by the stone, is most objectionable.
The owners of mills, and the workmen, are more
intent upon finishing a large quantity than upon
executing the work well or preventing waste.
Every arrangement is calculated to expedite the
work ; and, unfortunately, such expedition neces-
sarily produces waste. Rough flax, which has
been well managed, should yield, when cleaned in
the most perfect maimer, a fifth part of its weight;
and, in many of our mills, not more than a
seventh will be returned. The mills are driven
much too quickly, and the scutching arms are ge-
nerally too long. Little injury is done at the first
or second scutching stands, the blade being kept
blunt and round in the edge, and at considerable
length from the stock ; bur at the third, or finish-
ing stand, they are kept sharp, and are worked
very close to the stock, and the destruction of the
fibre is uenerally very great. Having observed th^s
defect many years ago I made many experiments
with a view to remedy it ; and satisfactorily proved
that if the axle, on which the finishing blades are
fixed, be driven by a belt, and at a speed of a 150
revolutions in the minute, instead of 220, which is
common, the produce will approach mure nearly
to that of hand scutching. I found also, that five
blades are much less wasteful than lour. This
point is of great imi)ortance. In cleaning 10 cwts.
of rough flax, the diff'erence between the produce
of a fifth, which is quite attainable, and a seventh,
which is common, will be sixty-four pounds.

I have thus endeavoured to submit to you the
results of my experience upon this important sub-
ject, with as much distinctness and as much bre-
vity as I could. I am not without the hope, that
what I have written may promote attention an d
inquiry, and lead to still further improvements
than I have yet been able to effect. The field

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

459

is ample, and the prospect encouraging. The
increasing wants of a world, advancing in civili-
zation and wealth, cannot fail to reward all the
industry and enterprise which may he brought
to the improvement of a manufacture which
produces the most useful, the most durable, and
the most beautiful fabrics. Ireland possesses many
advantages and facilities for maintaining and
advancing her superiority. I am not aware tiiat
we are novv surpassed in any branch of this manu-
facture, line cambric ar.d lace excepted, by any
country in the world. Even our damask now equals,
if it does not surpass, that of Silesia, as will be
seen, hy comparing the manufacture of my rela
tion, at Ardoyne, with the most perfect specimens
that have ever been imported. But I must, in
conclusion, repeat the lamentation uttered at the
commencement of this address, that we are forced
to go to the Continent for the material for our
finest yarn, though our own soil and climate are
so well adapted for its production. I trust the day
is not far distant when this shall cease to be a re
proach to the Irish farmers.

THE PRACTICE
EXPLAINED ON
PRINCIPLES.

OF FALLOWING
NEW SCIENTIFIC

By James Rennie, A. M.

PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY, KINg's COLLEGE, LONDON.

It is little to be wondered at that the practical
farmer, more perhaps than any other practical man,
is in the habit of laughing at book knowledge and
book theory. \Vhen I was a lad, being a great
reader, I soon got through the scanty supply ot
amusing books within my reach, and not nufre-
quently had recourse to others which are seldom
opened, either by the youns: or old. Amongst
the books of the latter sort which came in my way
were Lord Kames' Gentleman Farmer, Mortimer's
Husbandrv, and the Bath Society's Transactions ;
and out of these books I had the impertinence to
speak with an air of authority to the Ayrshire
farmers, who only laughed at me, as rri^ht have
been expected, for my pains. In some things, in-
deed, such as the levelling of the old high-crowned
ridges, they allowed my books to be right; l>ut as
a general jjrinciple, they disclaimed all confidence
in book authority, inasmuch as it was for the most
part opposed to their own experience, and 1o the
traditionary practice inherited from their grand-
fathers.

I am sorry to say. though we are certainly
making great improvements in book knowledge,
and in scientific explanation, that the prejudices
which I encountered in Ayrshire between twenty
and thirty years ago, and v^hich at this moment
are widely sprend not only over this country, l)ut
over all Europe, are too well founded. What
is commonly called the theory of agriculture, such
as it is treated in professed treatises and in Ency-
cloi'sediac articles, is, with a few e.xceptions, a
miserable tissue of absurd reasoning, the most
contradictory principles, and floundering about in
the dark.

Some little light, however, has begun te break
in upon what has so long been mysterious ; and
we only want a few such experimenters as Poly-
dore Boullay, Macaire, Biot, and Girou de
Buzareingues, to render the theory of agriculture

as consistent, at least, if not so lucid, i^a the well-
known practical results. Among our own inquirers,
Darwin, Knight, and Keith, have stood almost
alone in this department; for though Sir Hum-
phrey Davy exerted his splendid talents in the in-
vestigation of the chemical principles applicable to
tillage, he was, there can be no doubt, far from
successful, and jiropagated very serious errors,
which his deservedly high authority in other mat-
ters tended to diffuse. These errors of theory,
when unfortunately applied lo practice, led, as was
unavoidable, to considerable losses, and gave prac-
tical men so deep-rooted a prejudice against
science, that it is not easy to persuade many of
them to look into a book connected with their
pursuits. As things have hitherto stood they are
quite justified; but if all men were to abide by
the prejudices of practical farm.ers against the sci-
en:.'e and the theory of agiiculture, improvement
would be at a stand-still, and no advance would be
made in giving fair and good reasons for following
the practice which experience tells them is the
best they can adopt.

Next, indeed, to the knowledge of what is best
to be done in practice, is the knowledge of the
reasons why one mode is better than another
mode. Now, these reasons are in fad the science,
and the farmer who does not know a good and
satisfactory reason beyond use-and-wont or hap-
hazard ex[)erience, for adopting a certain rotaiiou
of crops — for liming one sort of soil ar.d not
liming another sort — for planting or sowing thinly
rather than closely — and, in short, for all his va-
lious processes and operations, must he pro-
noimced to know little more than half his own
business. Ask any farmer prejudiced against
theory, and scienc°, and books, what has spread
the red-rnst over his wheat, and he will tell you,
with the utmost confidence, that it came from a
barberry bush in the he<lge though it is scientifi-
cally demonstrable that the barberry bush has no
more to do with it than if it had been growing at
Botany Bay. Ask him, why wide sowing produces
heavier crops than close sowing, and he will toll
you it is because the plants have more room and
more air — good things in their way assuredly, but
only secondary to the powerful influence of the
sun's light in pre;)aring the pnlp in the leaves — a
principle of which the unscientific and non-reading
farmer would never dream, but without which all
the air a^cl room in the world wuuld not make the
plants grow healthily for one week.

Looking at the matter in this lii;ht, I think no
more im[)nitant object could occupy the attention
ot the agricultural reader, than an inquiry into the
reasons w by the chief processes in agriculture are
more successful in some circumstames than in
others ; for if these reasons are oncediscovered, and
the facts connected with them established beyond
controversy, like many of the facts in practical
chemistry and practical mechanics, then the far-
mer will have a sure guide in his opeilt^tions, and
will be as superior to the old taimer of hap-hazard
experience, as the modern mariner with his com-
pass is to the mariner of the olden lime, who dared
not advance out of sight of land for fear of losing
himself in the pathless ocean.

Preliminary Facts. — Before coming to the
subject announced at the head of this paper, I
must presume the reader to be aware of the fol-
lowing facts : —

1st. That plants, as well as animals, can live
and grow only when they are supplied with appro-
priate food, and that in due quantUy ; for, all

460

THE FARMEP.'3 MAGAZINE.

other things considered, quantity is both to ani-
mals and plants always more important than
quality.

2dly. That the food of plants naust all be dis-
solved in the water or moisture of the soil, before
it can enter the tips of the root fibres, where the
mouths, if I may call them so, are situated ; and
when the water of the soil is too scanty to dissolve
the food, the crops must be famished ; when the
water is rendered too thick by rich manure, they
must be choked or gorged ; when it contains too
little of the common air, or any deleterious sub-
stances, such as the ammonia of fermenting dung,
they will become sickly ; and when it stagnates
about the roots, they will be macerated and
rot'ed.

3dly. That the food of plants, like that of ani-
mals, must, before it can afford nourishment, be
properly digested.

4thly. That the digestion of plant food can only
be effected by the sun's light falling on the leaves
or other green parts : I might have said, in free
air, bi:t there is little danger of agricultural crops
not having free air, provided they have free expo-
sure to the sun's light, which is quite indispen-
sable.

5thly. That in plants, as in animals, there are
portions of the food taken quite indigestible, as
well as portions of the body deteriorated by use,
which portions are excrementitious, and are
thrown out as refuse into the air around, and into
the earth beneath.

6thly. That these excrementitious matters in the
case of plants injure the air and the soil in which
they become diffused ; and hence it is as indispen-
sable to good cultivation to have the air purified
by promoting its free circulation, and the soil pu-
rified by other processes, as it is to supply a suffi-
cient quantity of appropriate food by means of
manure and of moving (not stagnant) moisture.

These facts being premised, we shall have a firm
basis to travel upon in following out the import-
ant piocess of fallowinsj, which I now propose to
discuss, both with reference to the preceding facts
and to what appear to be the grossly erroneous
explanations and contradictory statements to be
found in works on agriculture.

Fallowing. — A fallow, according to the descrip-
tion of M. De CandoUe, "consists in this,- that
every three or four years, a certain portion of
land is left completely vacant, or, as it is said,
at rest. 1 his year of rest is devoted to labours
more or less multiplied.'' By others, it is more
narrowly described as "the clearing of lands from
weeds, that the future crop, whatever may be
sown on it, may possess the whole energy and
strength of the soil." " lie it known unto all men,"
says Marshall, " the main purport of fallowing is
to destroy weeds." Sir H. Davy describes fallowing
as a " very ancient practice still much employed,
in which the soil is exposed to the air, and sub-
jected to processes which are purely mechanical.'
Ancient the practice certainly is, for it is recom-
mended by Virgil : —

" Alternate too thou shalt permit to rest
The late shorn fallows, and the idle mould
To harden."

And again, —
" That tilth at last rewards the greedy hind,
And answers all his hopes, which twice had felt
The sun and twice the frost : by this manure
Harvests immense shall burst his crowded barns."
Trapp's Virg. Georg.
All these dejicriptioijs of fallowing, except De

Candolle's, involves theoretical notions respecting
its effects, which in this stage of the inquiry I wish
if possible to avoid, till a clear notion be come to
as to what process the term fallowing is applica-
ble. So far as I understand the term, then, it is
applied to land kept out of crop from the au-
tumn, through the succeeding winter and summer,
till autumn again ; during which time, it is
ploughed more or less frequently, both lengthwise
and across, and sometimes harrowed with the
view of breaking the surface clods, and of col-
lecting the surface weeds, particularly couch-
grass or quickens.

Effects of Fallowing. — This, then, being un-
derstood to be the process of fallowing, we have now
to look to the efl'ects produced by repeatedly turn-
ing over the soil with the plough, breaking it with
the harrow, and of course exposing it to the in-
fluence of the sun's light, and of the passing air,
from which it is unshaded by n growing crop.

A great deal too little attention has been hitherto
paid by practical cultivators to the influence of the
sun's light. In our preliminary facts, we have seen
that it is the principal agent in the digestion of the
food of plants ; and I have now to show that it
seems to be the principal agent in benefiting land
during the process of fallowing. In bleaching
linen, it is well known that no artificial process
will produce the sa i e effects as exposure of the
moistened goods to the summer sun ; and, in the
case of coloured prints, the sun will frequently dis-
charge the colours without any other apparent
agency. At Shanes Castle, near Antrim, I ob-
served, several years, that some chintz furniture
in a room, exposed both to the direct light of the
sun, and to reflected light from Loch Neagh, was
rendered nearly white, though parts of the same
furniture, not thus exposed, had the colours as
bright as they probably ever had been. It is also
known to chemists, that, by exposing moistened
horn silver ('white chloride formerly muriate of
silver) to the sun's light, it becomes blackish in two
or three minutes, while it takes along time to pro-
duce the same eff'ect in the day-light, out of the
direct rays of the sun. Numerous similar in-
stances of the chemical eff'ect of the sun's light
might be adduced, from all which, it is fairly to be
inferred, that it acts by decomposing or otherwise
changing the nature of the substances it acts
upon.

As the sun-light, then, acts upon the dark-
coloured and vegetable substances diff'used through
unbleached linen, and causes it to disappear from
the goods in the same way it acts on the dark
excrementitious matter turned up to the surface in
the process of summer fallowing, decomposes it,
and renders the soil lighter in colour, and more
wholesome in quality for the succeeding crop.
This effect of the sun upon the colour of a dug-up
soil may have been remarked by almost every
reader, though the inference i)robably has now
been made for the first time, that this paling of the
colour of the soil is, in fact, caused by the light de-
composing the dark excrementiftous matterthrown
into the soil by previous crops, which could not
otherwise, than by fallowing, be easily got rid of,
as no other decomposing agent could be brought
to bear so extensively on a ploughed surface as the
sun's liglit.

The agency of the air appears, next to light, to
be the most important in clearing the soil of ex-
crementitious matter ; for, even when decom-
posed, this matter might remain and prove injuri-
ous were it not raised into the air by evaporation,
and carried away by the wind. Professor Dani^U

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461

tells us, that the same surface which, in a calm
state of the air, would give off 100 pai-ts of mois-
ture, would yield 125 in a moderate breeze, and
150 in a high wind ; but what is of more impor-
tance to be remarked here, with regard to fallow-
ing, is that, according to the experiments of Mr.
Curwen, there is only a very small evaporation
from an unploughed or undng surface, while, from
an acre well ploughed and harrowed, no less than
950 pints of moisture (containing, of course, a
portion of excrementitious matter) were carried
off into the air in the space of one hour.

Indeed, it does not appear that it is in all cases
requisite for the excrementitious matter to be de-
composed by the sun's light, inasmuch as the
watery portions thereof may be evaporated with-
out being separated into the gases that compose
them ; but decomposition will be indispensable
before the solid portions of the excrementitious
matter can be cleared away from the soil.

In the latter case, namely, where solid excre-
mentitious matter must be decomposed in order
that it may be exjjelled, water or moisture will be
indispensable in the process, for as the grass-
bleacher must keep his linen wetted or moist, to
ensure the fidl effects of the sun's light in whiten-
ing his cloth, so must the fallowing farmer have
his ploughed land somewhat moist, to ensure the
full effects of the sun's light in rendering the soil
paler by decomposing the dark excrementitious
matter.

Some may here object that a dark colour is one
of the best marks of a rich loamy soil ; but the
dark colour of a soil loaded with excrementitious
matter, is as totally distinct from the dark colour
of a rich loam as a black barren peat-bog is from
the colour of leaf-mould. The barren peat, in-
deed, is much of the nature of the excrementitious
matter, and those gardeners who know not how to
distinguish this barren peat from the sort of fertile
peat soil, which is in some respects like leaf-
mould, will be certain to injure, instead of bene-
fiting, the American or other plants for which they
may use it.

Soils Adapted or not Adapted fou Fallow-
ing.— From these pi inciples, then, the effects offal-
lowing may be plainly and unequivocally deduced,
and it may thence likewise be inferred what sorts
of lands will be mo«t benefited by the process.
" It is now admitted," says Sir John Sinclair,
" that on all light soils, where the turnip culture
can be practised, fallows are unnecessary ; and
that on strong lands, under a judicious system,
they are not essentially necessary more than once
in the course of a rotation." " However neces-
sary," says Cleghorn, '• the periodical recurrence
of fallows may be on retentive clays, its warmest
advocates do not recommend it on turnip soils, or
on any friable loams incumbent on a porous sub-
soil ; nor is it in any case necessaiy every third
year, according to tVie practice of some districts.
On the best cultivated lands it seldom returns
oftener than once in six or eight years."

This docti'ine agrees with the agricultural re-
port of Mid-Lothian, where it is said, that on light
dry soils it is seldom found necessary to fallow ;
but heavy or wet lands are not so pliable under
green crops, and although it is possible to labour
them also without fallowing, yet it is found to be
more profitable to have recourse from time to
time to this process, and its operation is generally
more effective and lasting on such soils, so that it
is seldom necessary to be repeated more than once
in seven yeai's. In the reports of Staffordshire

and Kent, we are told that fallowing for wheat on
cold, wet, or strong lands, and on all such as are
unfit for turnips, is absolutely necessary ; and who-
ever may attempt to manage such lands without
fallowing, will have occasion to repent his mis-
take. In mixed soils, indeed, it is added, too
moist for turiups, summer fallowing becomes ab-
solutely necessary, and every attempt to crop with-
out it for any length of time on such land, has
terminated in the injury of the land, and the loss
of the faimer.

According to the Rev. Mr. Headrick, in the
communications to theboaid of agriculture, strong
clays reqiure a more frequent repetition of fallow
than those soils that are dry and friable, from con-
taining a greater proportion of sand. In those
districts where excessive rains abound during sum-
mer, it is seldnm convenient for the farmer to be
encumbered with too great a portion of fallow, as
it is often impossible to get it properly wrought,
before the land be turned into mire, if the finest
parts of the soil be not washed away.

Among practical men, therefore, it appears that
there are scarcely two opinions about the sorts of
soil requiring to be fallowed, and it will be found
to agree precisely with the explanation of the ef-
fects of the process, that in light friable soils the
excrementitious matter will readily escape by
evaporation, or where the under soil is j)orous,
may be carried down into it by the descending
moisture; while in stiff and heavy soils the ex-
crementitious matter is lodged and imprisoned in
every clod turned up by the plough, and will
require to be broken by the roller and the harrow,
to set it free and expose it to the sun's light, and
the process of evaporation.

From this it will also be obvious, that it is sum-
mer fallowing which is the efficient process, — not
winter fallowing, when the sun's light has little
power, when evaporation goes on but slowly, and
when the greater moisture over the soil holds the
clods more tenaciously together, and consequently
prevents the escape of the excrementitious matter
with which they are charged.

I trust that these principles have now been put
with sufficient clearness, not to require my fol-
lowing them out into more minute detail, — a thing
which every practical man may readily do for him-
self, when once he understands the facts upon
which the explanations I have here attempted
must rest. It may be well, however, to see in what
manner my principles will aflect the theoretical,
and in many cases principal, explanations hitherto
given of the effects of fallowing.

Previous Theories of Fallowing. — The most
ancient explanations of fallowing, such as that of
Virgil, refer to the repose or rest of the land.
"Those," says Kent in his report of Norfolk, "who
talk of resting land, seem to consider it of the na-
ture of an animal, which undoubtedly must have
rest as well as food, to go through labour; but
surely this does not hold good when applied to the
nature of land. " " The ground," said his Majesty
King George III., " like man, was never intended
to be idle."

Unless, indeed, we should fancifully endow the
soil with nerves and muscles, whose energy might
be exhausted by exertion, this doctrine of rest
would never account in the slightest degree fortbe
well-ascertained effects of fallowing.

The other most prevalent theories of fallowing
are, that it destroys weeds both in the root and
the seed ; that it kills insects by starving them ;
that it opens andpulverizes the soil ; that it gives

462

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

time for the decomposition of vegetable matter left
in tlie soil ; and that it husbands this with'-rut
expending it on the nutrition of a crop. Most of
these, it is obvious, are very secondary matters,
and some of them so wholly imaginary, as ajjplied
to fallows, that several writers of high reputation,
such as M. De Candolle and Sir H. Davy, seem to
hold fallowing to be an unnecessary and uselessly
expensive process.

" The advantages obtained,'' says M. De Can-
dolle, " are the moving of the soil, rendering- it
more favourable to vegetation, and the destruction
of injurious weeds ; but it is evident that it leaves
a considerable tract of land entirely vacant ; that
it requires a multiplicity of labour to destroy the
weeds, whose growth is more fostered than check-
ed ; that it gives little encouragement to the cul-
ture of pasture lauj ; and, while it produces no
sort of manure, it requires as much as unfallowed
lands ; and, to conclude, in proportion as popula-
tion increases, land becomes more valuable, and it
is therefore desirable to make it yield, if possible,
a crop every year." True ; but if M. De Candolle
were to recommend feeding pigs or horses on food
mixed with a proportion of the cleanings of the
stye or the stable, he would get no practical man
to try such a method of theoretical economy ; and
this 1 conceive to be a case not very dissimilar to
culture without fallowing, at least on retentive
soils. To use the words of Cleghorn, " all the
crops, and all the modes of management which
have been proposed as a substitute for fallow, are
well known to such men, and would unquestion-
ably have been adopted long ago, if, upon a care-
ful '^'xamination of the advantages and disadvan-
tages on both sides, a bare fallow was found to he
unprofitable in a course of years." A practical
correspondent of Sir John Sinclair goes even so
far as to state, that, upon strong clays, with a re-
tentive under soil, " naked fallows every fourth
year can alone enable the farmer to pay a high
rent," — a statement which I firmly beleve to be
correct on the principles already explained.

I may be permitted now to quote, in more de-
tail, the theory of Sir H. Davy, whose erroneous
views in this, as well as in other instances, have,
I fear, done no little injury, particularly among
scientific and gentlemen farmers, who may have
regulated their practice on his high authority. We
have already seen that Sir H. Davy considers the
process of tallowing to be " purely mechanical."
He el'^evvhere says, " the chemical theory of fal-
lowing is very simple. Fallowing affords no new
source of liches to the soil. It merely tends to
produce an accumulatiou of decom])osing matier,
whi.h, in the common course of crops, would be
employed as it is formed. And it is scarce!} pos-
sible to imagine a single instance of a cultivated
soil which can be supposed to remai.i fallow for a
year with advantage to the farmer. The only cases
•where this practice is beneficial, seems to be in
the destruction of weeds, and for cleaning foul
soils.

" The benefits," he goes on to say, " arising
from fallowing, have been much overrated ; a
sjimmer fallow, or a clean fallow, may be some-
times necessary in lands overgrown with weeds,
paiticularly if they are lands which cannot be
pared and burnt with advantage, but is certainly
unprofitable as a part of the general system of
husbandry.

" It has been supposed by some writers, that
certain principles necessary to fertility are derived
from the atmosphere, which are exhausted by a

succession of crops, and that these are again sup-
plied during the repose of the land, and the ex-
posure of the jxdverized soil to the influence of
the air; but this, in truth, is not the case. The
earths commonly found in soils cannot be conti-
nued with more oxygen ; some of them unite with
azote ; and such of them as are capable of attract-
ing carbonic acid, are always saturated with it on
those soils in v.hich the practice of fallowing is
adopted. The vague ancient opinion of the use of
nitre, and of nitrous salts, in vegetation, seems to
have been one of the principal speculative reasons
for the defence of summer fallows.

" Nitrous salts are produced during the expo-
sure of soils containing vegetal)le and animal re-
mains, and in greatest abundance in hot weather;
but it is probably by the combination of azote from
these remains, with oxygen in the atmosphere,
that the acid is formed, and at the expence of an
element which otherwise would have formed
ammonia, the compounds of which are much more
eflScacious than the nitrous compounds in assist-
ing vegetation.

" V/hen weeds are buried in the soil, by their
gradual decomposition they furnish a certain quan-
tity of soluble matter, but it may be doubted whe-
ther there is much useful manure in the land at
the end of a clean fallow, as at the time the veget-
ables clothing the surface were first ploughed in.
Carbonic acid gas is formed during the whole
time by the action of the vegetable matter upon
the oxygen of the air, and the greater pait of it is
lost to the sc.il in which it is formed, and dissi-
pated in the atmosphere."

The principles which I have been anxious to
press upon the attention of the reader in the pre-
ceding pages, will show the vagueness and fallacy
of most of these remarks, obviously derived from
very partial views, and too narrow a!i acquaint-
ance with practical results. The reasoning of the
author, however, as Hay ward well remarks, proves
the possibility of staggering even truth itself by a
plausible theory, when [)ractical observation is not
brought to aid the judgment; but though Hay-
ward perceived great defects in Sir H. Davy's
theory, he did not himself hit on the true explana-
tion, though he comes as near it as was perhaps
possible from his not being aware of the excre-
mentiiious tjection of plants. It will be unne-
cessary to go into any more of the speculative
views either ol' the modern or more ancientgche-
inical philosophers, who, for the most part, show
only a smattering of practical knowledge to direct
them. I shall therefore direct attention now to
the theoretical views of more practical writers,
which are scarcely more correct than those of the
closet or laboratory speculators ; and here it is
that the controversy to fallow or not to fallow has
raged most keenly, I might rather say virulently.
The disciples of Tull and the drill system discard
all fallowing as a useless loss, while others are no
less positive of its being advantageous and profit-
able.

Marshall, and Brown of Markle, are two of the
keenest advocates for fallowing, though not by any
means for the same reasons. ."Marshall is of opi-
nion, that the chief benefit of fallowing is " to
destroy weeds," and its secondary benefit " to
meliorate the soil." " By an eighteen months'
fdllow," says Marshall, (" by which only one
year's rent and taxes are sunk, and one crop no-
minally lost,) assiduously conducted through
tolerable seasons, and followed by a spring crop
(or no grain crop) and cultivated herbage — the

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

463

most foul, degenerate, churlish, sluggish soil, may
be cleansed, pulverized, ventilated, rarified. and
roused into profitable action fi)r some length of
time. By the help of beans and cabDages in rows,
with wide intervals, duly cultivated, strong lands,
that are suitable for those crops, may aftjrwards
be kept sufficiently clean, and in sufficient tillage,
for many years ; as ten fifteen, or twenty,* ac-
cording to seasons, and the attention of the culti-
vator. But whenever a state of foulness, or a
want of tillage returns, he must be an ignorant or
an improvident husbandman, and unfit to partake
in the cultivation of a circumscribed territory, who
neglects to repeat the operation of fallowing : —
not by merely " summer fallowing," but by con-
tinuing a course of tillage, through every season
of the year. The great and prevalent error of fal-
lowing, is that of closing the operation when it is
barely beginning to produce the required effect.
The roDt-weeds having broken into sets and the
seeds of weeds released from their confinement,
they are left alive in the soil, to propagate their
respective species, and contend with the crop to
be placed in conflict with them. One ploughing
toward the finishing of a fallow, may be more
radically efficacious in regard to the complete ex-
tirpation of weeds, than three or four at the com-
mencement : a regenerating process this, which,
in a course of years, will do more tor the occupier,
the proprietor, and the community, tnan all the
plausible schemes of amateurs, listeners, and
superficial observers, added to all the quackery of
interested individuals, that has so long been
poisoning the minds and debasing the practice of
inexperienced occupiers."

Brown of Markle, on the other hand, though
equally an advocate for fallowing, shews most un-
equivocally that fallowing with the view of destroy-
ing weeds, which is Marshall's main principle, is in
a great measure lost labour and time ; for " more
root-weeds," be justly says, *' are taken off by one
gathering (hand-picking,) than can ba destroyed by
a ecu lie of ploughings, allowing the season to be
ever so favourable; and if hand-gathering will save
one single ploughing (which cannot be stated at less
than I2s. an acre,) the expense is amply repaid."
Here, then, is the weed tlieory of fallowing de-
molished bv a plain calculation.

Mr. Lawrence, the author of the " New Faraier's
Calendar," stdl more strongly appe.ds to experience,
and affirms (truly, as I believe,) that he has never
observed couch to be eradicated by falllowing ; a
portion only being destroyed, and a suflScient quan-
tity of roots left to produce a crop which will
speedily demand another fallow, and so on for ever.
Nay, regular periodical fallows, he hesitates not to
style the nurseries and hot-beds of couch, since on
lands subject to fallowing the greatest quantity of
couch is always met with. This author's remarks
are the more to be trusted, that he is not a thorough-
going disciple of Tull, and does not believe the hoe
to be much more effectu-al in eradicating couch than
fallowing, and recommends hoeing only after drag-
ging and burning. It is worth remarking here, that
the same a;!thor seems, like Dr. Home, not to have
been far from discovering the principle of plant ex-
cretions, when he shrewdly says, it is singular to ad-
rait that fallowing may be superseded by turnip cul-
ture, and yet not by cabbage and beans, the appro-
priate crop* for strong landi. Had he followed up
this view, he might have arrived at the rationale

* This statement of Marshall's is evidently quite gra-
tuitous and conjectural.— J. R.

of the rotation of crops, which had indeed been
published bv de Candolle some years before, namely,
in 1805, but was, probably owing to the war, not
then known in I3ritain.

I would further remark, that, if it be the chief
benefit of a fallow to destroy weeds, why is not win-
ter as good for this, or better, than summer 1 The
seeds of animals may then, by bringing them to the
surface, be killed by frost ; and still more, couch
and other root-weeds may be destroyed in the same
way, or carried off by hand-picking. The answer,
howevpr, to this is, that winter fallowing produces
very little effect, notwithstanding the supposed theo-
retical influence of frost, compared with summer fal-
lowing ; because in winter the sun"s light is not
powerful enough to decompose the excrementitious
matter in the soil, and carry it oft' by evaporation.

Substitutes for Fallowing. — In order to make
up for the great loss of a year's rent and taxps of
land under a bare fallow, those who are opposed to
the practice have proposed various crops as substi-
tutes ; and, according to the narrow and erroneous
notions entertained of the effects of fallowing in de-
stroying weeds and pulverizing the soil, it would ap-
pear most evident that several sorts of crops might
completely answer these purposes, almost any sort
of crop, inde'^d, under TuU's drill system of hus-
bandry. " Clover," says the Earl ot Dundonald,
" sainfoin, cabbages, turnips, leguminous crops,
hemp, and those plants which overshadow the
ground, and cnuse a stc-.gnation of air, prevent there-
by a putrefaction or decomposition of vegetable
matters contained in the soil ; such crops will there-
fore prove more economical and beneficial to sub-
sequent crops than the present system of fallowing.''
The question, however, is not one of arguifient,
but experience and espeiiment ; for, as Cleghorn
well remarks, " no reasons, however ingenuous, for
the omission of fallowing, can bring conviction to
the mind of the farmer, who in spite of all his exer-
tions, finds, and at the end of six or eight years, that
his land is full of weeds, sour, and comp^uatively
unproduc'ive. Drilled and horse-hoed green crops,
though cultivated with advantage on almost every
soil, are probably in general unprofitable as a sub-
stitute for fallow, and, a''ter a time, altogether in-
efficient. It is not because turnips, cabbages, &c.
will not grow on such soils, that a fallow is resorted
to; but because, taking a course of years, the value
of successive crops is found to be so much greater,
even though an un[)roductive year is interposed, as
to induce a preference to fallowing. Horse-hoed
crops of beans, in particular, postpone the recurrence
of fallow, bat in few situations can they ever exclude
it altogether."

This I consider to be sound practical doctrine,
unbiassed by fanciful speculation. An additional
circumstance occurs to me, bearing directly on the
weed theory of fallowing. Were it for the destruc-
tion of weeds chiefly that fallows are resorted to, a
orop ;of flax would he much more efficient than
either turnips or any other green crop ; for I have
uniformly remarked, both in Scotland, Irdand, and
on the Continent, that the ground from which a crop
of flax has just been removed, is more hare and free
of weeds than after any other crop. Yet I need not
tell the practic-.d reader, that flax would be one of
the worst possible substitutes for fallow, and unless
the land were miraculous in quality, a crop of wheat
sown after flax would be almost certain to fail, ©r at
least to be a very indifferent crop.

No crop as a substitute, indeed, could ever an-
swer the same purpose as exposing the soil to the
sun-light, by repeatedly turning it up with the

TH^E FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

plough and the harrow ; and even if the drilling- of
green crops would do this, " the process of drilling,"
as Brown of Markle justly says, " cannot be exe-
cuted upon clay soils with the slightest prospect of
advantage." Mr. Brown, of Cononsyth, Angus-
shiie, even recomnaends fallowing u on dry soils.
" One-seventJi," he says, " of the land of his farm is
in fallow or turnips," but in general he only sows
about ten acres of turnips, as he finds that he has
much better grass when sown among wheat after
fallow, than with oats after turnips ; and when broice
up from pasture, the difference of the oat crop in
favour of a bare fallow is also discernible."

As theorists unacquainted with practice often pro-
mulgate the most erroneous views, so practical men
who set themselves to theorise, are exceedingly apt
to stumble ujjon what is fanciful or wrong. Mr.
Main, in his " Thysiology," says : — " As to the idea
that land is benefitted by exposure to the sun and
air, except for the purposes of dessication and more
perfect comminution, no greater error was ever con-
ceived ; because it is well known that the nutritive
qualities of the soil are fugitive under the notion of
the sun aiid air." Yet Mr. Main just before this
recommends fallowing as " absolutely necessary" to
destroy weeds. What ! and thereby send all the
nutritive parts of the soil into the air 1

If I have nat much deceived myself, then, the
principles which I have above advocated are fully
borne out by the best ascertained practical results,
and this, so far as I know, cannot be said of any
theory of fallowing hitherto proposed.

ON THE CAUSES OF THE FAILURE
OF THE POTATOE CROP, AND SUG-
GESTIONS FOR ITS REMEDY.

(Continued from page 430.)

2. Late Planting. — This I consider to have been
fhe principal cause of the failure. The cause already
assigned is produced chiefly by this circumstance,
and the last owes to it its cliief influence.

The potatoe is an earl\' plant, and should accord-
ingly be planted early. The earliness of the plant is
proved by the early period of the season, and the low
te nperature at which it s])ontaneously germinates.
Under the most unfavounible circumstances, without
being imbedded in any kind of mould, it begins to
sprout in March, or early in April ; and as the season
advances, it is diflScult, if not impossible, to prevent
this entirely. The period and temperature, therefore,
when the plant begins spontaneously to germinate,
would seem to be tlie period pointed out by nature
for its being put into the ground. Accordingly, from
everything I can learn, there is scarcely — I may
boldly assert there is not — an instance of failure in
gardens, where this root is planted early in April,
.under whatever mode it may have been planted.
Such a result is precisely what might have been ex-
pected ; the seed is put into the ground in a fresh
and firm state, before any of its suhstance, or pioduc-
tive power has been withdrawn from it by spontane-
ous germination. The sprout, or chu7i, which it puts
fortb, is its first sprout, which is always the most
healthy and vigorous ; and it is su])ported by the
choicest or most productive part of the seed ; and it
is put into the ground when neither the seed nor
dung is in any danger of fermentation from the heat
of the season, or warmth of the soil ; and the low
temperature at that early season of the year, seems,
by the spontaneous germination of the seed, to be

most favourable for the first stages of vegetation in
this plant.

This last circumstance deserves particular notice.
The potiitoe, though a native of South America, which
is a hot climate, does not reach the same perfection
there which it lias reached in our climate and soil.
It has, for some years past, been rrised in India ;
but the produce, according to iiishop Heber, from
the too great heat of the climate, is soft and watery,
Bnd fur inferior in point of qualit}' to what is raised in
Europe. Even in this country, arising no doubt from
too late planting, crops on the lower and warmer
soils, which are also under a hotter temperature, are
mora apt to fail than those on higher and colder, but
dry grounds. Too gr at heat seems, therefore, un-
fav(-urable to this plant, but especially in its first
stages of vegetation.

The advantages arising from early planting are thus
all reversed in late planting. By the beginning of
June the potatoe has been drained and exhausted by
spontaneous germination, which it was entirely to
jirevent. The sprouts or chuns which the potatoe puts
forth in the house or pit, early in the season, were
broken off to check their growth ; and this process of
cliecking vegetation, by chunning or b eaking ofFthe
young sprout, I have known to have been repeated
during the season twice or thrice upon the same po-
tatoe. Is a potatoe that has been treated iu this
m mner in a fit state for vegetation 1 or, rather, is it
not greatly exhausted or injured"! It will, indeed,
even after such treatment, still put forth sprouts; but
the second or third attempt at germination is not in
one vigorous shoot, as the first always is, but in two
or more puny shoots which are sure to produce a
weak and sickly stalk, and consequently a poor crop.

No potatoe that has been subjected to this process
of chunning is fit for seed. Take any bulb or tuber,
cr seed whatever, and subject it to this process twice
or thrice, and delay putting it into the ground for two
or three months after the period which rature points
out for its germinating, and what would be the result.
If a grain of corn is allowed to spring, and the
young sprout broken off, and then sown, would it, if
it grew at all, produce a vigorous stalk 1 Or take the
bulb of a daffodil, which, like the potatoe, is an early
plant, keep it warm and let it germinate, and break
off twice or thrice its young sprouts, then plant it in
tliis state long after the period of the season that
nature assigns for its vegetation, say about the end
of May or beginning- of June ; and if it grow at all
after such treatment, continue this practice for a few
years, and I have no doubt but you would have as
poor a crop of dafl'odils as 30U now have of potatoes.
But is not this the very system you have been pur-
suing- with the potatoe. It is an attempt to force it to
grow at a season of the year different from that
which nature has assigned to it, and that too with
seed that is exhausted by pi evious spontaneous ger-
mination. The result is precisely what might have
been expected.

But still more. A potatoe that has been exhausted
by spontaneous germination, and this I hold it im-
possible entirely to jirevent till so late a period of
the season as the end of May or middle of June, be-
comes soft and spongy, and when cut, is more apt
to bleed. Its jiores are thereby so opened and re-
laxed, that the remaining moisture or nuiritive power
is more easily withdrawn from it, by its being ab-
soihed either by the dry and hot dung, or the dry
and warm mould, with which it comes in contact.
Examine any of these which have not germinated,
and you will find them either as soft as a piece of
new cheese, or afterwards as light, dry, and fashion-
less as a fungus. Iii this state, indeed, they some=

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

465

times contain small worms or insects, which some
have affirmed to be the cause of the disease. Some
writers, indeed, have represented these insects as
an entirely new species, furnished with a hundred
legs or heads, I forget which, bj whom the seed is
devoured. I shall leave this new species of insect
to those more skilled in entomology than I am. But
does not every vegetable substance in a state of de-
composition, swarm with insects, just because they
found the substance when in such a state of decom-
position, the most proper nidus for their eggs, and
for rearing their young- brood 1 These insects, there-
fore, 1 hold to be, not the cause, but the consequence
of the diseased stale of the seed, induced by the
circumstances which 1 have mentioned.

The evil arising from the soft and spongy state of
the seed, produced by exhaustion from spontaneous
germination, is greatly increased by late planting. —
'J'he sun's heat is then powerful enough to warm and
dry the soil, and to heat and ferment the dung even
after it is covered in the drill. By either of these
causes, but especially by them both, when con-
joined, the remaining moisture of the soft and spongy
seed is soon absorbed or dissipated, and the cutting
made a " caput mortuum." A fresh and firm seed,
especially if preserved entire, may partly resist the
operation of these causes ; but they are sure to pre-
vail over unripe seed, which is always softer and
more porous than that which is fully ripe. And if
unripe seed has been still farther injured by sponta-
neous germination, long before it is put into the
groi nd, it falls a still easier prey to the causes of
disease operating during the hottest season of the
year.

This will fully explain the difference arising from
planting in the morning, mid day, and evening. —
The heat of the mid-day sun at such a season of the
year, operates with immediate and powerful effect
upon seed in such a soft and diseased state. It is
dried up and withered in a few hours. The same
will explain why there is a difference arising from
planting in moist and cool weather, and hot, bright,
and dry weather. In the one case the moisture or
nutritive power is retained in the seed, in the other
it is absorbed or dissipated : in the one c;ise the dung
gradually incorporates with the soil, in the other it
ferments and destroys the seed.

To remedy this evil it has been proposed to plant
the potato entire without cutting it. This will re-
medy the evil to a certain extent. The skin being
preserved whole, will help the seed to retain its
moisture, and thus ))reserve its substance for germi-
nating and supporting the young plant. But if the
seed has not been ripe or injured by the causes
which I have assigned, it will still put forth a weak
and sickly stalk, and the produce will be defective.

3. Bad Manure. — A third cause is the dung not
having bsen properly prepared by fermentation.
The agency of the two causes which I have already
assigned, though either of them singly is sufficient
to account for the failure, is powerfully encreased,
when they are combined with this last. No seed,
however firm and healthy, can long- resist its in-
fluence without injury or destruction ; and unripe
seed, or seed that is soft and spongy by havinf;- been
exhausted by spontaneous germination previous to
planting, is sure to be instantly destroyed. If it is
admitted that dung may, and sometimes actually
does, ferment in the drill, this we suppose will be
universally allowed to be a sufficient cause for de-
strojing the seed, and for the consequent failure of
the crop.

Some affirm that dung will not ferment in so small
a quantity as that which is put into a drill ; others,

who have examined it, affirm as decidedly that it will.
But all agree that dung, if put into the drill before
having been fermented, or while in a wet unprepared
state, in mould that is dry and warm, and under a
hot sun, afterwards subsides ; that the seed is there-
by withdrawn from the soil, and thnt a kind of
gazeous air is produced that is injurious to vege-
tation.

Some may maintain that dung has of late years
been as well prepared as in former times. This po-
sition is more than doubtful. Formerly a dry and
rather hiijh piece of ground was chosen as the stance
of the dung- hill, and straw yard sheds were used
only on the larger farms, where the dung was gene-
rally carried out from, to the field, during the frosts
of winter. Straw yard sheds are now almost uni-
versal, and a greater attention to the means of pro-
curing manure for a more extended green crop, has
induced most farmers to keep their manure in a deep
sunk pit, by which the wash is retained, which
keeps it always wet, and prevents it from fermenting.
Some, indeed, affirm that they have always the best
crop, after using dung in a wet or green state.
When the soil is cool and moist, and the temperature
low, this will generally be the case ; and in this
state it goes farther. But the case is altered, when
it is in this state put into hot dry mould, under
a hot sun, in an advanced state of the season. It
then Jire fangs, or ferments, and destroys the seed in
contact with it.

So convinced are many of this being the result of
dung used in such a state, that they have attempted
to guard against it, bj incoporating the dung with
the soil daring the winter. This will obviate the
evil from unprepared dung, but it will not remove
the other causes of the failure. If the dung is pro-
perly prepared, and the seed good and put into the
ground at an early period of the season, the old
method of planting on the dung put into the drill, is
decidedly the best, as it will bring away the plant
more early and in a more vigorous state, than by
any other practice.

As some of the positions here advanced may be
questioned, I beg to support them by a few facts
furnished mo by practical agriculturists. In Dum-
friesshire last autumn, when conversing, with a
farmer who superintends personally a small farm, he
informed me that half of his potatoe crop had entirely
failed, while the other half was remarkably produc-
tive— that the field was equally good in point of soil
— that it had been all planted with the same seed — ■
that the seed was all cut on the same day — and that
all the field was planted on the same day. What
then could be the cause of so great a diflference in
point of produce ? The cause assigned, which I
have no doubt was the true one, was in the dung.
Part of it had been carried out to the field during-
winter and properly fermented ; the other portion
used was fresh from the straw yard. The season
was advanced and very hot. The part planted with
the prepared dung was a remarkably good crop ;
that planted with the fresh green dung was a com-
plete failure. Could this failure then be
ascribed to anything but to a fermentation in the
dung 1 I have since heard of many simil-ar fields,
or partial failures, (that is, one part of a field turning
out a good crop, and the other part of it a very bad
oiie,) from precisely a similar diff"erence in the dung-
employed.

On mentioning these circumstances to a friend of
mine, a farmer in Mid Lothian, he mentioned that
his next neighbour had that season a field of potatoes,
which he regarded as an illustration of the truth of
my remarks. The field having formed part of a

466

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

nobleman's policy and lain long in grass, was in
high condition. One crop of oats only had been
taken from it, and it is doubtful whether it hvid ever
bore a crop of potatoes before. It lav in a sloping
position, and the drills ran from top to bottom of the
field. — The lower portion of the drills being the
richest portion of the field, received no manure ; the
other portion of the same drills were well dunged.
The portion that was dunged is a complete failure.
The other promised to be an excellent cro[).

I remember also on surveying a field, about 15
vears ago, belonging to a triend of mine in Galloway,
a great difference in point of vigour and advance-
ment of vegetation, in diffeient spots of the field,
though the field was a perfect plain, and all equally
good in point of soil. On inquiring into the cause
of this difference, I was informed that the square
spots that were vigorous an 1 so much more advanced,
had been manured with horse and cow dung that had
been d-.iily carried out and properly made, and that
the portions of the field that were later and not so
vigorous, were dressed with dung fresh from the
straw yard sheds, which had never been lifted or
turned from the time when the cattle had been put
into the sheds at the beginning of winter, till it was
carried to the field and put into the drills. The
field, however, had been planted in the month of
April, the seed was fully ripe, and neither the tem-
perature of the air nor soil was such as to produce
fermentation. The crop turned out eventually a good
one, though the field ripened very unequally. My
friend has lately informed me, that the same appear-
ances from the same causes were observed by
him during the whole currency of his lease.

In addition, theiefore, to the danger arising to the
seed from fermentation in the drill, the injurious ef-
fects of unprepared dung will be more sensibly felt
under the present system of late planting, as it re-
tards vegetation and thereby prevents the crop from
ripening at the proper season, and exposes it to be
nipt by early frosts.

The remedy for the evil complained of, is pointed
out by the causes that have produced it. Let the
seed be fully ripe and properly preserved till it is
planted. Let it not be injured by fermentation in
the pit, or after it is cut, and let it if possible be
prevented from exhausting itself by spontaneous
germination. Heating, sweating or fermentation,
even in the slightest degree will destroy all kinds
of seed. — Potatoes ought to be kept as cool as pos-
sible, which also prevents too early germination.
Covering potato pits with dung, which is often practi-
sed to keep oat the frost, or with any covering that
keeps them too warm, which causes them to sweat or
to germinate too early, is most injurious. And all these
causes operate with double force upon potatoes that
have been lifted in a half green state, or before they
were fully ripe.

Were potatoes left in the drill all winter, with an
additional covering of mould thrown over them with
the plough at the season, I am convinced they would
be preserved better by that method than by any
other. I have this season planted some potatoes in
my garden, that were preserved in that manner, and
were in an escelleit state of preservation, thouoh
the last season has been one of unusual s'evuritv.

The cuttings should not be small but of a consi-
derable size, that they may afford nourishment and
support to the young plant till it catches the soil. —
On this head a friend of mine last year made the
following experiment. He picked a hundred weight
of good large potatoes, and another hundred weight
of a smaller size, and planted them both entire in
the midst of a field, planted with seed cut in the

common way. The larger ones were planted 1§ feet
distant from each other — the smaller ones at one
foot. The crop from the larger potatoes displayed
the strongest stems and most vigorous vegetation.
That from the smaller ones was also more vigorous
than the rest of the field. The difference in point of
produce I have not yet learned as it was not then
ascertained.

2. Let the potatoe seed be planted in the month of
April, or early in May. when the seed is still fresh
and firm ; and the dung in little danger of fermenta-
tion.

3. Let the dung be properly prepared, by being
turned and fermented before it is put into the drill.

If these plans and simple rules be observed I am
bold to say not one field in a thousand will fail. It
is in short only a return to the good old practice,
when a failure in this crop was unknown.

Dunheld. D, HENNING.

IMPROVEMENTS IN AGRICULTURE.

We have received a long list of queries upon
agricultural subjects, which we propose to insert
from time to time, and shall feel obliged to any of
our readers who will favour us with their opinions
upon them-

1. Hedge birds are considered so injurious to the
crops that the Highland Agricultural Society has
offered premiums for the best mode of destroying
them. How much do iveeds lessen crops more than
birds .'

2. Would there be any saving to the country, by
drilling or dibbling grain instead of broad-casting,
and to what amount?

3. Dibbling or drilling corn admits of effectual
weeding ; how much can labourers and their families
earn by weeding, and how much more than that cost
will the farmer gain in his crops .'

4. The competition of the Iron Plough worked
by two horses, a d sent by Mr. Blacker to the
ploughing match at Hailsham in March last, seems to
have proved that two horses abreast with the Iron
Plough will do as much work as four horses with
the turn-wrist plough, the horses being harnessed at
length. Assuming thea that the saving of two horses
will be effected, does not each farm horse cost as
much as will maintain a labourer his wife and at least
two children ?

5. If so, how much would the saving amount to
upon a farm of 500 acres t

6. What would be the amount of saving per cent
in the renf

7. What would be the amount of saving to the
whole country .'

8. How mnch would be gained by the farmer if he
g'ave the food to the cattle stall fed, as in Holland and
Germany ?

9. How much human food would be thus gained to
the community'!

10. What is the difference in value between the ma-
nure of oxen and horses?

11. It is stated in the Qtiarterhj Journal of Agricul-
ture, that manure carried out fresh is doubly efficacious
as compared with that which has been worked the
usual time m open yards. Is this statement borne out
by experience ?

12. How much food is wasted by cattle treading it
under foot in wet weather, which would be saved by
stall feeding-; and would not the saving- much more
than compensate the expense of attendance ?

13. What is the probable loss of paying for labour by
the day whioh may be performed by the piece ?

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

467

14. Is not the system of doing' task work equally pro-
fitable to the employer as to the employed ?

15. What is the cost to 'andlords of large barns for
the purpose of housing grain ?

16. Is there any loss to tenants from the use of such
barns ; and particularly what loss from vermin?

17. Would not the cost of corn-rick steads be less
than barns to house in, and how much ?

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE—

Session 1836.

EXTRACT FROM EVIDENCE OF MR. JOHN HANCOCK.

State of Ag'riculture worse than in 1833 — Flax grown
instead of Wheal durinsr the last three years — Suited
only to best soils — Chief Remedy for Farmers lies
between Landlord and Tenant — But Farmers on their
own Land badly off — Malt Tax miaj'ht be taken off —
Other Taxes unimportant — Irish Produce has kept
down Prices in Ensfland — Clover Seed —A ?reat
Disadvantage to take off Foreign Duty — Low Price
of Corn occasioned by increased Consumption of Po-
tatoes.

JVfr. Sanford.'] You were examined before the
committee in 1833, were not you 1 — I was.

Are you still in the occupation of the same land
you were at that time? — Yes.

Have you any observations to mate with regard
to the state of agriculture in the neighbourhood with
which you are acquainted which you would wish to
add to the evidence which you gave in 1833? — Yes,
certainly it is worse than it was. Wheat has gone
down from Is. 6d. to ^is. a busliel.

In consequence of the low price of wheat has
there been much less land sown to wheat the last
year ? — I should think much, one-faurth, and from
that toon -fith.

What have the farmers done with that land which
ought to hiive been sown with wheat in the regular
course? — In consequence of the failure of turnips
the}"- were obliged to let the leyland remain in grass
a year longer, and more is sown to barley and flax.

H is there been any new crop introduced into the
country to supply the place of the wheat crop ? — The
last three years flax has increased veiy much in our
neighbourhood, where the land is good and calculated
for flax.

Do you think that a beneflcial crop to the farmer ?
— He can sow few acres a year ; I do not think a
farmer on 100 acres of mixed land can sow more
than from six to eight acres out of 60 of arable, to do
himself much good, for the flax must be sown on
the best of the land, and it must be clean and put
in a very good state as to manure, or the crop is not
certain.

It is not a crop which can be adopted on the poor
land ? — No, it must be the very best of the arable
land.

Can it be adopted on the heavy clay lands ? — Not
so much to advantage; there is some of the heavy
land will do very well when it is in a good state,
and in a good season ; but the best loam soils and
sands are best adapted for the growth of flax.

To what extent do you apply those observations,
in point of district ? — I should think from Welling-
ton, or in fact all the way from Tiverton up to the
end of our county, close to Yeovil and Sherhorne.

An extent of 40 or 50 miles ? — Yes, the growth
of flax has increased ; it had almost got out of use,
from the very low price, when corn came down so
low it induced persons to grow more flax ; the price
of flax increased the last two or three years.

What is the general character of the soil of that
county? — The general character of the soil of that
county is rich sand, 5tone, brush, and loamy soils ;
they sow turnips and wheat after flax, and wheat is
generally prosperous after that crop ; and turnips
after flax is generally very good, where it is not too
heavy a soil.

The persons occupying that land you consider to
be in a worse state than they were in 1833 ?— Cer-
tainly.

Can you suggest to the committee any remedies
which you think would give them relief? — I do not
know that I can ; the principal remedies, I think,
must be between landlord and tenant, in a great
measure. I do not think we can be benefited much,
as to taxes, unless the malt tax were taken off, that
would ease our farmers and cause them to grow
much more barley; ours being a ccunr.y for sheep,
I think it would benefit the farmers a great deal,
and would cause a grent consumption of barley.

You are unable to suggest any remedy that could
give relief, except a remedy between bmdlord and
tenant? — Yes, I think the Irish produce has k^pt
down for the last two or three years our produce
rather lower ; but I think that if Ireland is to be
considered as an integral part of our country, the
same as Devonshire to Somerset, or Somerset to
Dorset, they ought to bear the same burthens as we
do with regard te poor rates and taxes, and every-
thing of that kind.

Mr. Heathcote.'\ Are there many small proprietors
in your part of the country ? — Yes, there are.

Then a reduction of rent would be no advantage
to those that cultivate their own ground ? — No, not
to persons on their own estates.

What is the condition of those small proprietors ?
— They can just move along.

Are many estates mortgaged? — Yes, a great many
of them, no doubt.

They find great difficulty in paying the interest of
the mortgage \yith the falling price of corn? — Yes,
and many elder branches of families have had the
estate given them, subject to annuities.

Is there any idea in that part of the country that
the price of bread is too high for the price of corn?
— I think that the baker has nearly the same profit
on baking a sack of flour at this time as he had when
the price of corn was much liigher.

Are you to be understood to say that the county
rate is 30/., on a rental of 2,000/.? — Yes, from
1,800/. to 2,000/. ; the county rate is about 30/,

Have you ever turned your attention to the
means of relieving the farmer?— I think that the
prineipal relief must be between the landlord and
the tenant, and what can be saved from the poor-
rates ; what little taxes we pay do net affect us
much, for on farm houses and windows, and on the
riding norse it is very small.

Do you save any cloverseed in Somersetshire ? —
We do a great deal after the first mowing the after-
grass seed.

Are vou aware that it has been proposed to take
oflf the protecting duty of 1/. a cwt. on clover-seed ;
do you think that would be an aHvantago or a great
disadvantage to the farmer? — A great disadvantage.

You are aware that those who buy their seed
would gain an advantage ? — Perhaps they would.

You think, that though a great advantage in some
cases, it would be a great local injury ? — Yes, it
would to our county and some part of Devon. We
generally grow clover-seed after the first sowing,
notwithstanding the seasons have been so favour-
able the last two or three years, the clover-seed ge-
nerally has been a very bad crop, although the ap=

4m

THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE.

pearance of it was rery good. There is a small fly, i
that lays its eg^gs when the seed is in a glutinous
state, and the insect destroys the seed ; I recollect
the last season it had every appearance of a c^ood
crop, but I cut it for hay, and put seme salt with it,
about a quarter of a hundred to every load of livxy ;
two or three days afterwards this clover hay began
to ferment, and that brought out these insects innu-
merable, it was very near the barn door, and the
barn door and lintels were covered with the insects.

You think that the growing of clover-seed, though
an advantage to the agriculturist, in your part of the
country, is attended with uncertainty 1 — It is at-
tended with uncpitainty in some seasons, but we
have generally, in two or three years, a good crop.

Mr, Sunford.'] Is net there a prejudice in that
part of the country that frequently clover seed im-
ported fails ? — Yes ; the seed by not being kept
well will not [succeed. The turnip-seed and flax-
seed, and all sorts of grass seed, should undergo a
certain heat in some kiln or in the sun ; if kept over
a year it will vegetate in part, a'';d it will not grow
well. We sometimes get some of that mixed up by
the factors with the other bright seed, and sent down
to the country, and a great part will not grow.

Contrary to the usual experience of f irmers that
the foreign is better, the farmers in that part of the
country prefer their home grown seed 1 — Yes ;
sometimes they will buv a few pounds for change of
seed.

Chairman.'] Taking off the duty on clover-seed
would not check the price of English clover-seed,
would itl — I should think it would.

Mr. Cavley.'] What has the low price of wheat
come from? — From the number of potatoes in a
great measure among the lower classes, which they
prefer eating to bread, and I believe tne higher
classes too get fried potatoes for breakfast, and
many prefer them to bread.

When did this change in taste begin ? — More so
from 1829 to 1830.

Was there any fall in the price before 1830 ? —
Yes ; we had a fall in the price in 1822.

Did they not eat potatoes formerly ? — Yes ; they
have been grown to a considerable extent for the
last 30 vears, hut I think they have been increasing
much of late, and since the allotment system came
in, the poor people grow much more than they did
before, and many small farmers let out potatoe
ground, to make up their rental ; they can make by
that more than by anything else.

BREADTH OF WHEAT ON THE
GROUND.

TO THE EDITOR OE THE FARMEk's MAGAZINH.

Sir, — I see you are anxious for information as to
the breadth of wheat sown this year, and as I have
a pretty good opportunity of judging, I should say
it was one-third deficient in this county, and perhaps
one-fourth upon the average of the kingdom. Last
season wheat yielded badly in the north of Ireland,
and everywhere the potatoe crop (after which most of
the wheat in Ireland is gown) was so late thnt from
the wetness of the season combined, it was not pos-
sible to sow any large quantity at the usual season,
and it was only in very dry soils the sowing could
be accomplished. What has been sown in spring is
only but just appearing, and even the winter «own
doBsnot yet cover the ground, so that there is every

appearance of a late harvest. The oat crop except
in the very north of the island was exceedingly good,
and the prices very good, so that notwithstanding
the advance on wheat, the oat crop paid the farmer
better, and made him lesa anxious to put in wheat
under such obstacles as the weather presented.
There is no wheat, or, I might add, any other grain
in the flirmers' bands of anv consequence throughout
the kingdom, and but little in store for shipment
except in the south western ports, where some oats
still remain. The millers have not iialf the stock
they had this time last year, which may be seen by
the firmness of our markets when yours were falling,
and I should imagine the north will have to be sup-
plied to d certain extent, either from Liverpool or
the sourfhern ports of this country.

Should we have a favourable season, we may ex-
pect immense crops of oats, and very low prices, if
a good crop in England. Fodder of all kinds very
scarce, and hay 5s. per cwt., in thip country an un-
heard-of price. Potatoes and oatmeal are also dear,
and nothing but the prospect of an early and abundant
harvest can keep down prices. We have bad a
little time back a few days of fine growing weather,
and the crops look healthy though late, but the most
of this week has been cloudy and very cold, and
still continues so as greatly to check vegetation.

This is the most particular account I can give of
the present appearance of things, and the impression
on ray mind is, tiiat we must almost, under the best
appearance of the coming crop, have a decided ad-
vance, particularly in wheat, and the consequence
will be, from the depressed state of the manufactur-
ing interest, that the greatest exertions will be made
to suspend the 0| oration of the corn laws, which
would have a most ruinous effect upon the agricul-
tural interest, just coming into the market as the new
crop beC'ime ripe. I am. Sir, your obedient servant,

Armagh, Ireland. A Subscriber.

BREADTH OF WHEAT ON THE
GROUND.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE FARMEe's MAGAZINE.

Sir, — With respect to the breadth of whtat sown
this last se-.ison, I can only speak regarding Scot-
land, "J'he quantity sown is not over half an average
at utmost ; from the very wet autumn last year, it
was impossible to sow wheat in this country, conse-
quently the bulk of it is spring sown, and with the
exception of a very trifling quantity sown last autumn,
all the spring wheats will be nearly a total failure
this season. The fact is, if the season had not been
so far advanced as to preclude the sowing of spring
corn, a great bulk of it would yet be ploughed down.
It is quite evident Scotland aiust import large quan-
tities to supply the consumption for at least the
forthcoming eighteen months. The weather as 5'et
is anything but encouraging for the crops, being very
cold, with strong north-easterly winds whieh re-
tard vegetation very much. If the present severe
weather should continue a week longer, it will make
a very had hay crop. I am, Sir, yours most respect-
fully, A Constant Reader.

BiLmfrits, May 22.

Celebrated Millers. — It was stated that
the great painter Claude Lorraine was apprenticed to
a dealer in flour and pastry ; that Rembrandt was a
miller; that the late Mr. Constable, R.A., was also a
miller, and that Wm. Etty, R.A.; is a miller's son,
from Yorkshire.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.
PROPORTIONATE GRAIN FREIGHT TABLE.

469

Pkas, Bka-ws

RVE,

Linseed,

Bari.ky.

Oats,

IF WHEAT PAY

and Tahks.
lOperCt. nioif

7k per Ct.less

lOper Ct. lets.

15 per Ct. less.

22^ per Ct.less.

«.

d.

«. d.

s. d.

i. d.

*. cZ.

s. d.

Fkeight pir Quarter.

1

0

1 1^

0 11^

0 10§

0 Ki

0 9fi5

,, „

1

3

1 4i

1 1|

1 ll

1 Of

0 lit

» i>

1

6

1 7|

1 4i

1 4i

1 S^i,

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9 3f

ON BONE MANURE, PHOSPHATE OF
LIME.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE EXPRESS.

Sir, — 1 attempted a short answer to a query, in
your paper of April 24th, on the possibility of form-
ing fictitious bone-dust, since whi*;h I have seen
soine observations of your correspondent T. R. F., i
who, not content with shewing his chemical know-
ledge of what bones consist, attempts to impugn the
knowledge of a " Surrey Farmer," whom he knows
not, but whom he fancies he does know. I will not
attempt to say who T. R. F. is, or think the less of
him, or his chemical knowledge if I did know ; but,
unlike him, will confine myself to the subject, and
say something on the query, of " where does Nature
procure this phosphoric acid tofm-m bones?" for I con-
sider, on a scientific question, personal remarks
ought to he avoided, as beneath any great mind that
can contemplate the beauties of the creation. I have
asserted that Lance and Co.'s animalized carbon

assimilates the nearest to bone-dust; that it is
cheaper, and will answer nearly the same purposes ;
this I will endeaveur to shw, and hope to do so to
the satisfaction of your readers and practical men, if
not to that of your correspondent ; and if you will
allow me more space in your valuable Express, than
I occupied on the former occasion, I will call in the
did of those authors who will have more weight with
your correspondent than the plain opinion or expe-
rience of a " Suney Farmer." We have to consi-
der, what is faeces? Mr. Brandc, a chemist of no
mean celebrity, found 3-lOOths of pho-.phat of lime
in urine ; by other experiments he found the car-
bonate of lime as well as the phosphate- Human
urine differs in composition, according to the more
or less healthy state of the body, and the nature of
the food made use of, when the body is in a morbid
state, much sugar is emitted. Pa'rkes, in his Che-
mistry, says — " It is remarkuble, that though phosphate
oj lime is alwaiisfowid in the urine of aduUii this salt

2 1

470

THK TARMER'S MAC;AZTNE.

('•; nut evacuated by infants. The rapid formation of
the hones in the first period of Ufe requires that there
should he no waste of anil of the phoipltoric salts, and
nature, ever provident, has vrovided accordinglti.'' Tliis
acid is found in boues, in milk and slif^lls, and was
first exnncted from urine bv Mr. Ho^'le, in 1680;
he made ii for sale in England, and took it with him
for sale on the continent; it has since heen used ;'.s
a medicine. What is now made is principally ob-
tained from bones ; it is very soluble in water, ther<?-
fore soon becomes fit food for legetables. Sir H.
Davey, in liis Agricultural Chemistry, has shewn
us the quantity of iihosphate of lime in wheat an i
other grain. Saussure's tables o*" the ashes of dif-
ferent plants, shew that earthy phosphates are found
in all grain,— ill wheat 44, barley 32, oats 2'i parts in
100 of ashes ; this matter is found in the leaves, the
bark, and the wood of all vegetables that have been
examined ; soa>e plants, when in flower, have yieUIud
60 per cent, of the phosphate f>f lime from their
fishes. We have, also, an account in chemical works
of La Grange's calculation, that a person who eats a
pound of wheat farina per day will swallow 3 lbs.
4 drachms, and 44 grains of phosphate of lime in the
year ; whilst the ])hosphate goes princi]ialiy into the
grain, the carbonate of lime remains in the straw
with the silicious miterial, which gives form and
roughness to the epidermis ; the straw of wheit
yields 61, barley 57, oats tiO parts in a 100 of silica.
With the above inform.ation, we cannot wonder that
Lance'e nnimalized carbon contains so much of phos-
phoric acid, and carbonic acid, in union with liine,
and that it should be nearly equal in its stimulating
qualities to the London bone-dust, knowing as wd
do that the bones have the principal part of the olea-
ginous and gelatinous matters boiled out before they
are crushed.

We will now see what Sir H. ])avey says on this
subject, in his Agricultural Chemistry, page ii69 :
" i\'ight soil, it is leell known, is a pouerful manure,
and very ready to decompose with water, it differs in its
composition, but always abounds in substances composed
^f carbon, hydrogen, azote, and oxygen, and in whatever
state it is used, whether recent or fermented it svpplies
abundance of food to vegetables. The Chinese, who have
more practical knowledge of the use and application of
manures than any other people existing, mir their night
soil with one third of Its weight of fat marie, and make
tt into cakes, these have no disagreeable smell, and form
a common article of commerce of the empire." In page
303, " Phosphate of lime forms the greatest part of

bones, IT EXISTS also in most ANIMAI, VXCREMENTITtOUS

SUBSTANCES, and. is fo^md in the grain of wheat, barleu,
oats, rye, 6(c. It exists in some parts of these islands
native, but only in very small quantities: phosphate of
lime is generally conveyed to the land in the composition of
other manures, and it is probably necessarif to corn crops,"
Now, Mr. Editor, your correspondent, T. R. F.
seems most put out because he does not receive in-
formation of where in the earth the vegetable and
animal nature finds the phosphoric acid to form
bones, and su[iply the wants of vegetables, and con-
. fines his ideas to the appetite, or asparagus tstone ; 1
answer, it is. Sir, diffused throughout nature, as is
oxygen, or iron, it is found in the anin^al and vege-
table kingdom, and in very many mineral substances
on, the surface, in union with potash, and is desig-
nated vegetable matter. Your corresjiondent might
with propriety ask, whence comes the potash, or how
g;ets th? vegetable the silex to form its substance,
seeing that man knows not bow to difFnse, dissipafe,
OT volatilize it or even to liquidize- it, at a lef s
degree of heat tljau melting glass. I am not going
to demonstrate where this phosphoric acid is locked

up amongst the trr-asures of nature, but if your en-
quirer would lijok into Phillips's Mineralogy, he will
find many other substances described, besides aspa-
ragus stone, containing this acid ; and I am going to
venture something beyond what this work informs
us, but as I said before, 1 do not demonstrate, my
data is small, but yet I will hazard an idea on the
S!il)ject, in hopes of being corrected. 1 his acid is
considered to be as scarce in the earth as carbonic
acid is in the air, although they both play such con-
spicuous parts in the formation of vegetables. Earthy
[jhosphafes occur abundantly in Sjiain, where lime
and phosphoric acid combine, in nearly equal pro-
portions, to form whole mountiiins. Tha bog iron
ore of L'eland contains 8, blue iron ore 32, phos-
phate of m^mganese, '27. Lead will combine with,
10, cop]ier 30 per cent, of this acid. The primitive,
and transition rocks of this country yield the acid in
cotnbination witn \arious eartb>; and metals, in the
same way that pitash is yielded from the same
source, to all secondary and tertiary formations, and
the soils reposing on their surfaces ; that is, by the
decomposition of the face of the rock. Hence, we
have in all soils more or less of potash and phos-
phoric a^id, as well as iron in its various states, and
if your correspondent asks where all these come
from, I must refer him to tiie great God of Nature,

the cheat FIRST CAUSE.

Earthy phosphate of iron ias found of various
colours, grev, yellow, green, white, blue, of various
shades, it is found disseminating in, and covering
the surfaces of variotis subrtances, it is found loose
and also cohering, always having an earthy fracture,
it is dull, meagro; to the touch, light, and soils the
fingers. This article is found in clay, alluvial de-
posits, of various soils, in the bog iron ore, it is
very common, awd in some argillaceous deposits it is
found in large masses.

Mr. Phillijjs, in his mineralogy says, this article
has been found in England in various muddy de-
posits ; in the Isle of Do^s, opposite Deptford ; near
Liverpool, under similar circumstances ; in the Isle
of Man, it has been ^ound in a light coloured marie;
and in the peats of the Shetland Isles in masses.

Now, whi<t I have to advance, is, that this acid is
more diffused than is generally' supposed, that ani-
mals and vegetables obtain it without <my miracu-
lous formation. I view it (this phosphoric acid) as
one of the ingredients which gives colour to vegeta-
bles as Well as earth, together with manganese and
iron, united with carbon and hydrogen ; then it will
be said, why cannot we detect if! I answer, for the
same reason that we cannot detect by analysis scents
or odours in the air, although we know them to
exist ; the divisibility of matter goes far beyond the
conception of man ; the animal and vegetable eco-
nomy is a laboratory beyond man's puny means.

Now, Mr. Editor, I have shewn, without writing
a volume, that a prepared faces is the nearest
assimilation to bone-dust that can be had at present
for the farmer's purpose, and if T. R. F. knows of a
better let him state it.

Of the misapplied term, animalized carbon, I have
nothing to say, I believe it to be incorrect ; the term
was copied from the maker at Copenhagen, who first
supplied the article to the Scotch agriculturists. I
have known in the practice of my early youth, an
animal have carbonaceous tubercles formed on a
diseased lungs, they would be properly called, car6ort
animalized ; as the diamond is carbon bright, and
charcoal is carbon black. If your correspondent is
nut now satisfied, let him come forward again, and
I will endeavour to answer him, if you will find us
room, A SURREY FARMER.

Tlir. rARMKH/S MAGAZINE.

471

AGRICULTURAL [NTELLIGENCE, FAIRS, &c.

STOCKBRIDGE,— Ouv cattle market show, not-
withstanding the backwardness of the season, was well
attended, and the stock of a very superior class. The
premiums to those considered best entitled, were thus
awarded : — For the 10 best wethers, Mr. Pain, Hough-
ton— second best ditto, Mr. Budd, Winchester — ten
best South Down lambs, Mr. Pain, of Houghton —
second best ditto, Mr. Penton, Bransbury— ten best
ewes, Mr. Penton, Bransbury — ten best store pigs,
Mr. W. Russell, Longstock — the best calf, Mr. Pen-
ton, Bransbury.

A party of upwards of 50 sat down to an excellent
dinner, prepared by Sherry, at the Grosvenor Arms, at
which Peter Green, Esq. presided, and Mr. Busigny
was vice president.

After the usual loyal and patriotic toasts, the Chair-
man proposed success to Stockbridge market, observing
that in the present advanced state of agriculture it be-
hoved the farmer to avoid expenses, and to support
local markets ; that from his experience in and con-
nection with Stockbridge, he was satisfied that it was
particularly adapted for a market ; and that every en-
deavour should be made by the neighbouring agricul-
turists to support the market, thereby supporting
themselves, and introducing an improved breed of
stock. Alluding to the lambs shown, he observed that
an improvement in stock was progressing. With re-
sp-ct to rams, exhibited by Mr. John Twynam, and
for which no prize was offered, it appeared certain that
the march of intellect was progressing, and that this
neighbourhood would not be behind others in stock.
The chairman, after recapitulating other advantages
of the market, such as the promotion of n friendly in-
tercourse between landlord and tenant, &c, sat down
amidst loud cheers.

The healths of Messrs. Pain, Twynam, Attwood,
Ilussell, Charles Penton, Godwin, and Baily, supporters
of the market, were received with due honours.

i\Ir. Busigny proposed the health of a long, sincere,
and well-tried friend of the agricultural interest- a man
of (^he old school, who not merely wished to live, but let
liv — one who had sacrificed comfort and fortune to
fur her the ends of agriculture — Mr. Green. — (imtneiise
cheering.) The enthusiastic reception of the toast pre-
cluded his entering further on the subject; but in jus-
tice to themselves, in justice to the chair, and in justice
to himself, he must be permitted to say that their worthy
chairman was one of a class unfortunately now nearly
extinct ; and that happy ivould it be for the country
were there more of his class still in existence — a class
justly England's pride and glory — the old English coun-
try gentleman.

The healths of Lord Chandos, R. Ettwall, Esq., B.
Wall, Esq., and the Members of South Hants, who
ever supported the agncultural interest were remarkably
well received.

Sweepstakes for Rams, Ewes, and Lambs, to a very
large extent, and open to all England, were entered on,
and as a spring show for stock, we may look forward to
tiiis market, not merely as an indication of price, but
as a surety of an improvement in breed. Many leading
agriculturists have promised their support, and the next
spring meeting is looked forward to with intense interest.

ROWELLorROTHWELLFAIR, on account of
the late severe weather, was but thinly attended by
buyers, who formerly came a long distance to purchase
store beasts. There was a large supply of all descrip-
tions of bullock beasts. T'ne owners asked high prices,
which were readily obtained for those that were in good
condition. The show of short-horned cows and heifers
was not so good, and the trade was exceedingly flat,
and very little done. We never obierved so many
sheep, especially teg*, as were exhibited for sale on
Monday last, and the sellers in most instances had to
turn them out unsold. The horse fair was as ba(^ as

could be, and consisted of animals of an inferior
description.

The first of the CASTLE BELLINGHAM NEW
FAIRS was held on Friday, and the results more than
realized the most sanguine expectations of the inhabit-
ants of that town. 'J here was a vast number of very
fine stall-fed cattle, that sold from 10/. to 20/. ; also a
great many springing cows disposed of at from 11, to
14/. A good number of dry beasts sold from 6/. to 10/.
Lambs brought 20s. to 22s. The show of pigs was very
great, but prices for fat ones not so good. Stores sold
better, and were in greater demand. — Cork Standard.

DUNDALK ANNUAL FA1R.-There was an ex-
ceJlent supply of dry cows, yearlings, and two-year-
olds ; all of which were in good demand and breught
fair prices. Dry cows from 6/- to 10/. ; yearlings from
1/. 10s. to 3/. ; two-year-olds, from 3/. to 8/. The sup.
ply of beef cows, ewes and wethers was very deficient,
while the demand was brisk ; those in the market went
off" at 6d. per lb. ; fat pigs, 3t)s. per cwt. ; stores in good
demand, but a scanty supply. — Ibid.

The FAIR OF CLARE was very good, but with
very little demand for pigs. The fair of TuUa was of a
similar kind. At the fair of Ennistymcn there was a
brisk demand for every description of stock.

DERBY WHITSUN FAIR was, a^ to number,
well supplied with stock of all sorts, but in point of
value and condition, by far inferior to any exhibition of
former years within our recollection. Fresh milkin))r
cows and stores of any description were in demand, and
high prices were obtained for them, as well as for sliuep
and lambs in good condition ; but owing to the scarcity
of hay and g"ass, lean stock was not in demand. There
were a few useful horses on sale, particularly draught
horses, for which there were buyers, and many others
of an inferior grade, which were not saleable.

ELSTOW FAIR was most abundantly supplied with
stock, particularly of the lean sort, A few fat beasts
met with a ready sale, and some business was also done
in horses. The sheep pens, which were well filled, were
not visited by many buyers.

At ILSLEV FAIR there were ©ne hundred fine
southdown tegs, fourteen months old, bred and fed by
Mr. Humphery, of Boxford, for which he asked three
guineas per head ; they were afterwards purchased by
Mr. Munt, of Streatly, at 50s. out of their wool.

NEWARK F.\IR.— There was the, largest show of
sheep at this fair known for many years, but those sold
obtained very scanty prices, and more than one-half
were driven away unsold. Good hogs fetched 23s, to
30s. per head. The show of beasts was small, and fat
ones fetched 8s. to 8s. 6d. per stone : lean stock was
very low. The horse f lir was decent ; there were many
good horses, chiefly of the cart kind, which sold readily.

At MARKET DEEPING iM AY FAIR there was
a large show of store bertsts, which met with a dull sale.
There was also a good supply of fat stock, which fetched
very high prices. Tiie sheep fair was small.

BIGGLESWADE WHIT-MONDAY FAIR was
better attended than usual ; good things sold well, fOr
inferior descriptions there was not much call.

SWINDON, May 22.— At our fair a stagnation pre-
vailed in the heifer trade, owing to the general scarcity
of keep, and the continued ungenialness of the weather,
vet, notwithstanding, for once strong prices were de-
manded and obtained in many instances- A great quan-
tity of Devon oxen were exhibited, many of which, a$
well as heifers remained on the dealer's hands at the
close. There was a brisk demand for beef, and the
whole was cleared off at from 10s. to 1 Is. per score, and
a few prime ones may be quoted at lis. 6d. Muttoil
realized from 6d. to 7d., and lamb 8d. to 9d. per lb., of
which there was rather a sparing supply. The horse
show was inferior and not much business done.

FORFAR.— A more than usual supply of cattle, of
aH sorts, ^vas exhibited in the May market here. Priroe

2 T ?

472

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

fat brought the ordinary price ; but the cattle for the
grass, which formed the great bulk of the stock, sold
heavily throughout, and declined in price in the after-
noon. Milk cows were in demand, but at low prices
when sales were effected.

ELGIN CATFLE flIARKET.— There was a great
number of cattle on the green, but owing, as is supposed,
to the backwardness of the season, and the want of pas-
ture, scarcely a purchase was made. There could not
have been a worse market.

CULM STOCK FAIR was very largely supplied
with stock, the greater part of which consisted of poor
bullocks, of which there was double the number ever
seen in the fair before it is supposed. Nothing met
with any thing like a ready sale, except fat bullocks,
•which was caught up at from lis. to 12s. per score.
Poor cattle were remarkably low — in fact there were
no purchasers. The scarcity nf grass is most ois-
tressing.

OTTERY FAIR was well supplied ; there was a
large stock of poor bullocks, which met with just such
a reception as they did at Culmstock, and there was
the same readiness to buy fat beef.

DREWSTEIGNTON FAIR was plentifully sup-
plied, but very little doing. There were some good fat
bullocks, but mostly remained unsold. Scarcely any
sales effected on store cattle. Good cows and calves
were picked up early. A fair supply of sheep with
nothing doing. Lambs pretty good sold readily. The
eomplaint of a scarcity of ketp is pi'evailiug from all
quarters. The apple trees look well, and are showiog
a healthy bud, so that cider is looked for, especially
from the orchards that produced little last year.

At SWINDON FAIR a stagnation prevailed in the
heifer trade, owing to the general scarcity of keep, and
the continued ungenialness of the weather, yet, notwitti-
standing-. for once stronp' prices were demanded and ob-
tained in many instances. A great quantity of Devon
oxen were exhibited, many of which, as well as heifers
remained on the dealers' hands at the close. There was
a brisk demand for besf, and the whole was cleared off
at from 10?. to 1 Is. per score, and a few prime ones may
be quoted at lis. 6d. Mutton realized from 6d. to 7(1.,
and lamb 8d. to 9d. per lb., of which there was rather a
sparing supply. The horse show was inferior and not
much business done.

CUPAR MAY MARKET.— There was a very full
supply of fat, stock, which were all bought up, at from
5s. 9d. to 66. 6d. per imperial stone. Owing to the
backwardness of the season, the sale of lean stock was
dull, bat those in fair condition were disposed of at
high prices. There were few calving cows in market,
and those of superior quality brought good piices.
There were some horses in the market, but the busi-
ness transacted is not worth noticing.

WHITSUNBANK FAIR.— At this fair there was a
good show of hogs, best giving fi om 30s. to 383. ;
Cheviot ditto, from 15s. to 17s., with very dull sale.
There were a great many grazing cattle, which met a
very dull sale ; two-year olds from 5/. to 8Z. a-head.
A very small show nf fat cattle, which brought from
6s. to 6s. 6d. per stone. Upon the whole it was a very
dull market.

RENFREW MAY FAIR was well attended. The
number of cows in the market amounted to between
500 and 600, chiefly of an inferior quality, for which
comparatively high prices were demanded. Sales were
tolerably brisk in the early part of the day, but towards
the conclusion they beg'an to slacken— beasts for which
8i. 8s. was refused at twelve o'clock being sold at three
o'clock at 7/. 10s., with little disposition to buy. The
extreme prices may be taken at 5/. and 15/. The me-
dium prices of inferior animals were from 6/. to 71. 10s.,
and superior and good milchers, 8/. to 12/. and 12/. 10s.
At DUN'S MUIR TRYST there was a fair show
of cattle. Dealing was remarkably dull for all kinds
of cattle except prime fat, which sold briskly at im-
proved rates, the best quality being worth 6s. 8d. per
imperial stone, sinking offals. A large number of
scnll beasts unsold.

At PAISLEY MAY FAIR there was a good at-
tundanc«. In the cattle mar'iet the show of milch

cows was tolerable, but sales very dull, and prices
low, running from 8/. to 12/.

ASHFORD FAIR.— The supply of beasts was un-
usually large ; few purchasers, however, were to be
found, owing to the present scarcity of keep.

THE YOUNG CROPS.— A Herefordshire corres-
pondent writes : — " The pear trees throughout the
orchards in this county now represent a finer appear-
ance as to blossom than is remembered for years ; it is
probable there will be an immense quantity both of
cider and perry made this season. In other respects the
gardens look wretched, vegetation being at least a
month later tiian usual. The wheat upon the poorer
soils is looking dreadfully bad, whilst barley is coming
on well, so that from the singular state of the season, it
is not improbable barley will be mown before the sickle
is put to the wheat, and we shall have the grain and hay-
harvest at the same time !"

THE OAT CROP.— We are extremely sorry to hear
that the oat crop on >he forest, in the neigiibourhood of
Retford is looking verv indifferently, owim, in a great
measure, to the ravages made by the wireworm. Some
fields have already been ploughed up again, and
several others are so injured, as ultimately to take
away full one-third of the crop. — Doncaster Gazette.

A Leicester Hog Ram bred by Mr. Thomas Prick -
man, of Broadnymett Barton, North Tawton, was on
Friday, the 12th inst., shorn, the Staple of the Wool
being fifteen inches long, of excellent quality, and the
fleece weighing 23|, exclusive of the tail-docking,
which had been previously taken off. The ram was the
ame day sold to IMr. Norrish, of Zeal, and is considered
sy competent iudges to be more than thirty pounds per
buarter.

The loss of cattle to the farmers on the Glamorgan-
shire coast, owing to want of keep, has been dreadfully
severe. One farmer, near Lantwit Major has already
lost 55 head. The loss in the parishes bordering on
the coa-t, is, we fear, almost general. It has been
stated as a fact, that in some parts of the kingdom, out-
houses have been unthatched for provender. Can we
do better than again remind farmers of that useful but
neglected vegetable provender — furze bruised. Two
seasons of scarcity and loss we hope will induce them
not to despise so simple a provision for times of need.
Furze is a good substitute for hay. — Shrewsbury Chro-
nicle.

MR. HEATHCOAT'S STEAM PLOUGH.— A

deputation named by the Highland and Agricultural
Society of Scotland met at Red Moss near Bolton on
Thursday se'nnight, according to appointment, to in-
spect the steam-plough invented by Mr. Heathcoat,
M.P. for Tiverton, and working under the direc-
tion of Mr. Parkes, engineer. The deputation was
composed of the Marquis of Tweeddale, Vice-Pre-
sident, Sir John S. Forbes, Mr. 01iphant,iM.P., and
other Members, with Mr. Gordon, the Secretary.
The machine, as many of our readers are no doubt
aware, has been made by Mr. Heathcoat to operate in
the first instance on moss, in which it is very effi-
cient. The engine is of 15-horse power, and the
plough is attached by an iron band of the width of
about two inches. The length of the furrow in the
ground operated upon was 304 yards, breadth 18
inches, and depth 9 inches. The furrows were cut
on an average in four minutes and a half, which is
equal to about half an acre turned over by the hour.
The deputation, and many other gentlemen present,
from different parts of the United Kingdom, expressed
themselves highly gratified by the efficiency of the
machinery, and with the exertions made by Mr.
Heathcoat to bring to a practical result the applica-
tion of steam as a power for one of the most impor-
tant processes in the production of the first necessa-
ries of life. Mr. Price, agent on the Marquis of
Lansdowne's estates in Ireland, expressed a hope that
the machine might be usefully applied on the reola-
matioB of the bogs of that country.

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

473

AGRICULTURAL REPORTS.

GENERAL AGRICULTURAL REPORT
FOR MAY.

The unpropitious and unseasonable state of the
weather during nearly the whole of this month,
caused vegetation to be much backyarder than is
usual at this j)eriod of the year. The Spring- months
have passed awav without our having been, for any
lengthened period together, favoured with that mild
and pleasant weather usually anticipated at this sea-
son. However, there is an old adage, in the agri-
agricultural community, which says, that " A cold
May air for the barn bids fair ;" and we most sin-
cerely hope that this year it will be fulfilled to the
very letter.

Although the whrat, oat. and barley plants are ex-
ceedingly short, farmers intimate that they do not
entertain aiiy doubts — should the weather he favour-
able— but that the harvest will prove abundant.

Great ex[)ense is incurred in all parts of (he king-
dom in providing a sufficient quantity of dry food,
which is scarce, and selling at high prices, for the
consumption of the stock, there not being a suffi-
cient quantity of grass in the pastures and on the
sheep downs for that purpose.

Owing to the limited state of the supplies of corn
exhibited in most of the leading markets, and the
backwardness of the crops, a consider. ible enhance-
ment in the prices has taken place, with a brisk de-
mand ; but the currencies of fat stock have been
about stationary, whilst the supplies have been
moderately good.

Those ftrin operations usual at this period are all
well in t'leir place.

The late favourable change in the weather has had
a most beneficial effect upon vegetation, and has
impirted to it a healthy appearance : indeed, the
whole (ace of the vegetable creation has assumed a
most delightful and enchanting appearance.

The following is a retrospective statement of the

numbers of fat stock wliich have appeared in Smith

field Cattle Market since our last month's report,

and prices at which they have been disposed of : —

SUPPLIES.

Beasts.

Sheep & Lambs.

Calves.

Pigs.

pril

28

.. 672

3476

110

322

[ay

1

..2561.

16020

200

421

5.

.. 7.-55

5100

210

396

—

8.

..2562

17700

210

425

—

12.

.. 872

5940

252

386

15.

. . 2520

19020

300

398

—

19.

.. 768

5762

234

372

22.

..2865

22030

252

396

—

26.

.. 764

9100

285

292

Total ., 14322 104348 2053 3408

Su()ply 9f^

preceding U2829 95246 1310 2757

month. J

It will be seen by the above comparison, that
the supplies have been considerably larger of all
kinds of stock than were those of the preceding-
month, there having been 1,493 beasts, 9,102 sheep
and lambs, 743 calves, and 651 pigs more exhibited
in the market this month than last.

There have been received from Norfolk, in the
course of the month, 7,414 Scots, and home breds ;
frf.m Suffjlk, 289 home-breds, Scots, and Devons ;
from Essex, 121 Herefords, runts, and Devons ;

from Cambridgeshire, 85 short-horns, runts, Scots,
and Herefords ; from Lincolnshire, 114 short-
horns; from Leicestershire, 110 short-horns, and
Devons ; from Northamptonshire, 82 short-horns,
Herefords, and runts ; from Derbyshire, 20 Devons,
short-horns, and Scots ; from Staffordshire, 53 Staf-
fords, and Herefoi-ds ; from Warwickshire, 61
short-horns, Devons, Hereferds, runts, and Irish
beasts ; from Oxfordshire 44 Devons and runts;
from Shropshire 48 Devons and Scots ; from
Durham 43 runts and Durham cows, steers, and
heifers ; from Buckinghamshire 54 Herefords,
runts, and Devons ; from Herefordshire 85 Here-
fords ; from Worcestershire, 52 runts, and De-
vons ; from various parts of Wales, 62 Pembroke
runts and Devons; from Gloucestershire, 44 runts,
Devons, and Irish beasts ; from Somersetshire, 61
runts and Hereferds ; from Devonshire, 96 De-
vons ; from Dorsetshire, 70 Devot.s, Herefords,
and Welsh runts ; from Hampshire 58 Devons and
Herefords; from Wilcshire, 70 runts, and Devons ;
from Berkshire, 72 runts, Herefords, and Irish
beasts; fi-om Hull, by steam vessels, 248 short-
horns, -and Devons ; from Aberdeen. Inverness,
and Banff, 2,402 Scots, by sea ; from Sussex, 87
Sussex oxen, Scots. Herefords, and Devons ; from
Surrey, 67 cows, Devons, and Scots : and from
Kent, 78 Herefords, cows, and Devons. In addi-
tion to the above enumerated supplies, there have
appeared in the market about 225 lusty and fat
town's-end cows, which have been sent in by the
marshraen, caw-keepers, and cattle-lodgers, residing
a short distance from the metropolis.
PRICES.
Per 81bs, to sink the offaliS.

April 28. Alay 26.

3. d. s. d. s. d. 3. d.

Inferior Beef 2 6 to 28.. 2 4t0g 6

iVIiddling, do. ..3 0 to 3 6 .. 2 10 to 3 8

Prime, do 4 0to4 4 ,. 4 0to4 6

Inferior Mutton.. 3 0 to 3 2 ., 2 8 to 3 0
Middling do. . . 3 8 to 4 8 . . 3 2 to 4 2
Prime ditto, .. 4 10 to 5 0 . . 4 4 to 4 6

Lamb 5 0 to 7 0 . . 5 0 to 6 4

Veal 4 2 to 5 4 .. 4 0 to 5 0

Pork 3 6 to 5 0 .. 3 6 to 5 0

A comparison of the supplies and prices of fat
stock exhibited and sold, in Smithfield an Friday,
May 27, 1836, and Friday, May 26, 1837.
At per 81bs, sinking the offals.

May -27, 1836. May 26, 1837.
s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d.

Coarse and inferior beasts 2 10 to 3 0...2 4 to 2 6

Second quality do 3 2 to 3 6...2 10to3 2

Prime large -xen 3 10 to 4 2. .3 6 to 3 S

Prime Scots. &c 4 4 to 4 8... 4 0to4 6

Coarse ari'linferioi- slieep 3 4 to 3 8... 2 8 to 3 0

S cond quality do 4 2 to 4 6... 3 2 to 3 6

Prime C(.arse-\vo lied do 4 8 to 4 10. . .3 10 to 4 2

Prime South Down do 4 10 to 5 0. ..4 4 to 4 8

Lamb 5 10 to 6 6. ..4 0 to 6 4

L irge coarse calves 4 2 to 4 8... 4 0 to 4 6

Prime smalldo., 4 10 to 5 2. ..4 Sto5 0

Large lioirs 3 6 to 4 2... 3 6 to 4 2

Xeat small porkers 4 4 to 4 8 ..4 8 to 5 9

SUPPLIES.

May ar, 1836. May 26, 1837.

Beasts 690 764

Sheep & Lambs 4,500 9.100

Calves 200 285

Pigs '. 320. 293^ ,,:

#4

THE FAR Midi's MA(,AZli>;E.

About tLiee-t'oiirtlis ot' the supply of slieej) ex-
hibited this month, which have beeu principally de-
rived from Sussex, Kent, Essex, Hampshire, Dor-
setshire, Devonshire, Wiltshire, !^onlerset8hire,
Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire,
and Middlesex, have consisted of Soutli Downs,
old and new Leicesters, Lincclns, and Kents
and Kentish half-breds: the remainder, of horned
Dorsets and Somersets, white-faced Gloucesters.and
English fed Scotch and Welsh sheep: with 2,893,
from Scotland ; 1,565 from Boston, in Lincolnshire,
and 876, from Hull, in Yorkshire, the whole of
which came by steam vessels.

The supply of lambs has been chiefly composed
of South Downs, Leicesters, Lincolns, and horned
Dorsets and Somersets, with S'id, by sea, from Scot-
land.

From Ireland, there have arrived, about 280 live
pigs, by steam boats.

As but few sheep now appear in the wool, the
prices above quoted are for those shorn — we deem-
ing it unnecessar}', to make any further distinction
between those which are shorn and those which are

ftOt.

Notwithstanding it has been stated, in some of
the Scotch newspapers, that both beef and muiton
may be purchased, at considerably lower rates in
Smithfield than in Scotland, the arrivals hither, this
month, have, as will be perceived above, been larger
than almost ever before witiessed ; but the prices
realized have not been very remunerative to the
shippers.

Many persons have expressed their surprise, con-
sidering the inclement weather which has been ex-
perienced, during the past winter, and the great
scarcity of pasture herbage, that the stock should
have arrived in such prime condition.

A statement of the quantities of slaughtered meat,
■which have reached Newgate and Leadenhall mar-
iets, in the course of the month, from the under-
msntioned quarters.

BeA1T8. ShKKI". CaLVRS. PIG3.

Ntitnberaf Niimberof Nuinberof Numberof

Carcasses. Carcast^s. Carcasses. Carcasses.

Scotland... 28 1509 — 429

Yorkshire.. 32 11 U — 996

Busex 28 222 464 t'92

Berkshire. 26 215 S40 109

'WiltBhirc... 22 233 2195 Ufi

Sussex 18 167 77 126

Surrey 40 240 585 5lo

Hampshire 36 l92 495 82

Devonshire. 17 505 535 37

Oloucestir . 39 210 696 104

277

4607

5887

10075

4176

Total ,.
Supply of 1
preceding V 434
month. J

Thr number of packages of beef, the average
weight of which has been ^121Ls.which had ar-
rived has been 95, most from Scotland and Essex.

As the summer is now advancing, we do not an-
ticipate any dead stock to reach London, from any
quarter, except, indeed, from within its immediate
neighbourhood — it being impossible, to convey it
hither, in warm weather, in a wholesome condition.
As the 8up[)lies of dead stock decrease, those of live
increase. We have received, since our last, for the
purpose of being slaughtered, and sold in the above
markets, without appearing in Smithfield, 200 beasts ;
aad 920 sheep and lambs.

NORFOLK.

Month after month passed away, and our notice

atill unchanged — the same inconganial state of the

atmosphar* ratards the progress of vegetation — the

Mm* uncertainty prevaili with regard to tb» uUim»t»

eti'ect of such uu unprecedented prolongation of
weather so nearly approximating to that of winter,
and the same fear is entertained, that a late harvest,
which is uow inevitable, may be productive of un-
pleasant consequences. For ourselves, we deem
this latter circumstance to be attended with just
grounds for apprehension, but as far as regards the
present a[)pearance of the ciops, whether of grain or
pulse, our opinion remains unchanged: namely, that
though the present is a backward season, it does not
necessarily follow that it should be an unproductive
year. 'I'he crop of hay will be short ot itself, and
the diminution in the hulk, arising from the extra
quantity of land required for summer feeding, will
tend still farther to abridge the winter stores, aid to
which the exhausted condition of the old stock, and
we may fairly conclude, that the price of that article
will rule high at the approach of next winter. No-
thing is wanted but a milder temperature and more
of the sun's rays to induce a more vigorous vegeta-
tion— the earth has beeu sufficiently re[)lenished with
rain, yet not saturated with an excess of moisture,
consequently the land is in good tilth for the recep-
tion of mangel-wurzel and Swedish and other turnip-
seeds— the sowings of the former are principally
completed in a very satisfactory manner, and the
preparations for the latter are in great forwardness,
with every prospect of a successful termination.
Good turnip-seed is every where enquired for, not
so much from any scarcity which may be apprehended
in the present season, as with regard to that which
may be anticipated in the year following. The
scarcity of cattle food has been such, that few people
could afford to spare even a load or two to plant lor
seed ; consequently, with the exception of here and
there u patch sown as an after crop, and preserved
for seed in the cott;ige gardens, there is no pro-
vision made for the service of next year or for the
contingencies of any future period. There does not
appear at this moment to be any want of employment
among the labourers in husbandry, nor do we hear
any complain of the inadequacy of their wages, the
principal reason for which perhaps may be traced to
th« diminished number of hands ; first, by emigration,
and secondly, by the drawing off a portion of the men
to work upon the rail-roads. The professed rigour of
the " poor law amendment act" has certainly had the
effect of sending a number of families to seek a belter
condition among savages, than they expected to find
in civilized society. We make use of the term " pro-
fessed rig mr of the poor laws," because we think
they were blazened forth in a manner calculated to
intimidate and alarm those, it is asserted, whose
condition they are intended to benefit. Whatever
the intention of the legislature may have been, we
are happy to observe the lenient spirit which has
characterized most of the unions in bringing that law
into operation, and however we may have regretted
that some of its provisions should have become tl e
law of the land, we would be the last to offer any
interruption, or advance any reasoning that should
make it still more unpalatable to the labouring poor ;
and we do most decidedly condemn the misplaced
zeal, or party spirit, or whatever other motive may
actuate those persons who now perversely endeavotir
to subvert its principle and embarrass its introduction,
by inciting the poor to acts of riot and insubordina-
tion, which we know too well has been done, or
attempted to be done, by the gratuitous distribution
of printed bills, setting forth acts of oppression,
which if true, only redounded to the discredit of the
parties concerned, and not to the general bearing of
the act itself. There is also a feature in the " paro-
chial MSAssment act," which is manifestly oppressiv*

THE FARMERS MAGAZINE.

475

and unjust; namely, that of assessing cottages to the
poor-rate, the payment of which it is imp(-vative upon
the overseer to collect and enforce. The hardship of
such a proceeding is universally admitted, and the
remedy proposed is, thac of ni;i!iing- the Janulord
subject to the payment instend ( f the tenant. For
Ourselves, we don't ace either the policy' nr the fair-
ness of S0 doing, cottages are a very ti;id ])roperty to
bold as it is, and of couise, if thev were saddled with
this obligation, the owners would either suffer thftui
to f;dl into delapidation nnd remove them altogether,
or would re-emburse themselves by advancing the
rent. It appears to us, that all cottages of a certain
descri|ition and let at a certain rent, sav three pounds
ten shillings or four pounds per annum, sliould be
discharged from the payment of all jrirtn.-liial rates
whatever.

ESSEX,
During the last fortnight we have had a succussion
ofcohi north-easterly wii.ds, accompanied with hail
storms and thunder ; hardlv a rav of sunshine has
been seen. The grass, which was just lecovering
from prior frost and cold, has had another checl;,
and the feed has rapidlv disaj)peared before stock ;
indeed, so much so, that great fears are entertained
that more extensive sacrifices of them must he made.
We never remember our cattle markets so full of
lean stock as thev are at present, — on our las! mar-
ket dav we counted nearlv L'OO lean beasts, which is
ten times as much as is usual at this lime of ye>ir.
In the feeding of sheep in fields, where there is no
water, we would recommend a supply to be given
them in troughs, as it is hardly credible how much
better thev fatten with, than without it ; it is at-
tended with small exf>f^!ise, and amply repays the
trouble. The appearance of the wheat in this county
we consider extremely good ; in the Rochford and
Dengies hundreds particularly, the ap[>earance is
such as to promise, under a favourable season, a
most luxuriant and productive harvest. In the Roo-
things too, the wheats look remarkably well,
and with all kinds of spring corn promise an
excellent crop ; we admit it is extremely back-
ward, but this gives no room for any anxiety
as to productiveness. We were conversing
with a gentleman, the other day, who stated
he once knew a season very similar to this,
when he did not begin harvest till September; he
stated he had never since had so good a harvest in
quantity and quality. Our impression is, that warm
weather now, woukl bring the corn on in our dis-
trict so rapidly, that little or no more backwardness
would be experienced than usu;d. There are many
farmers who little thought "of buying hay at
this advanced period of the season, but from the
number of loiids which have pa:?se(l our door during
the last fortnight, we should say the consumption
must have been vt-ry great. A gentleman in our
neighbourhood, is now mowing a very excellent
piece of rye and trifoliuni, and cutting it uj) with
wheat straw into chaff, and he states the cattle are
doing exceedini^ly well upon it ; vi-e would recom-
mend to all farmers the adejition of the system of
cutting their first mowings of vetches into chaff, as
besides being much more economical, it is far less
likely to affect the horses with gripes, than when
given at first alone : there are many machines now
made, which, with a man iind a small boy, can cut 30
or 40 tons per day, and wishing to give evrrv one a
fair meed of priiise, we consider " Pm-ivIi -^ 's" a
capitid machine for ilio |)urpose ; we Irivo tried
several, but we can find none other so jv "d, and cut
so clean. We are glad to find the corii maikets

rallying a little from their late depression ; from tha
average stock in hand in our neighbourhood, we
should be inclined to think, if otlier parts are as
well supplied, no fear ne«d be entertained as to a
want of grain previous to next harvest ; the stack-
yards, for the most [)art, are empty, it is true, but
vve know of some considerable quantities yet lying
in granary, and will not, most probibly, make its
appearance till under an improved market ; to say
there is that great cjuantity with us as there was two
years since, is untrue, and vre aujjur from this a fair
remunerating price for our next produce. A great
quantity of land in our neighbourhood, has this
spring been sown with barley or oats, which was in-
tended (or wheat in the autumn, in consequence of
extreme wetness then :eudering it an impossibility
to put It in ; if this, as we hear, bo a general thing,
it will also tend much to keep up the prices of wheat.
There are many oj)inions afloat as to the cause of the
diminutiou of the malt duty here, and some ascribe
it to the little malt made the former part of the sea-
son in conseijuence of hurley being so de.u', and as
uiucli has bewu iimde since, barley has fallen in price ;
the duties on tliat so made will go to the ..ccoutitof
the next ([uarter, others ascribe it to tiie reduced
(juantity of heei' drank by our labourers, from the
operation of the New Poor Law Rill; we are in-
clined to tliink the consumption has been greatly
aflFected by it, as we do not see our beer-houses halt
so numerously haunted as when the old system or'
paying the poor gave the preference to the idle and
the profligate frequenters of these public nuisances.
- May 26. W. C.

DERBYSHIRE.

As yet the trembling year is unconfirmed.
And winter oft at eve resumes the breeze,
Chills the jiale morn, and bids his drivini.' sleets,
Deform the day delightless ; so ihat scarce
The bittern knovvs his time, with bill engulph'd
To shake the sounding marsh ; or from the shore
The plovers wdien to scatter o'er the lieath,
And «ing their wild notes to the listening waste.

lno>j I'SON.
That favourable weather which existed at the latt&r
end of the last month chang<rd into cold wintery
weather at the commcncemect of this month, and
has continued to tlw; present, vegetation has suffered
S; verely. The fields are now clothed in an urir
healthy appearance. The pastures are unusually
short, and I think that cat'le generally is suffering
as much from a want of keep at the present time as
ever thev have done, during the winter. The farmer
has been obliged to turn out his cattle into the fields
from the extreme scat city of keep, and from being
so nejessitaled the ground has been completely over-
stocked. A great deal of cattle is dead, from being
so pined during the winter, and when turned out to
grass has not been able to bear the change of food.
VVhe:\t has improved very little during the lastmonth,
the weather i as been so unfavourable to vegetation ,
hut should the su;ceeding month prove line, I think
there is a probability of its making a full crop. t)ats
and barley cdme up well and even, and though back-
ward, should the weather be favourable the next
month, t!,ere is every probability of a sufHcient re-
muneration. Beans are doing verj' indiiferently, a
great dt a! of the seed seems lo Irave perished in the
ground, vHul tl)«? severity of the N^eatLer has tended
,0 effect the health of the ])laiits generally. Winter
tares have improved during the last niontii, thougK
astoni.shiiigiy short, and will Le a good time ere they
are ready foi" the sc_^tlie. Spring 1;-res are doing

476

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

tolerably wall, considering tlie uucongeiiial state of
the weather they are short but healthy. Hay has
continued remarkably firm in price, or rather a little
upon the advance, the average being 91. per ion.
Straw is scarce, the average being HI. j)er ton. Our
fat stock markets are remarkably firm, while lean
stock is equally as dull as it wa« three months ago,
keep being equally as scarce as it ever has been at
any period during the winter. Our corn markets
are firm with a little advance, though comparatively
little alteration in prices, but 1 think there is a pro-
bability of corn advancing] for the stack-yards are
empty.

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.

The favourable weather which I mentioned existed
at the latter end of the last month, was but of short
duration. The wind veered round to the north, and
has remained there, during the whole of this month
with very little variation ; the weather has been ex-
tremely cold for the season, and that delightful im-
posing- appearance which clothed the vegetable world
at the termination of the last montb, has been
changed to a blue sickly aspect, so unusual to the
season of the year. Grass hmd hiis a most wretched
appearance from the influence of the cold north
winds, which prevail, the pastures are unusually
short, having grown very little during the last three
weeks fiom the ^sngeniality of the weather, and
the farmer has oeen obliged from the scarcity of
keep of every description to lay upon his lands a
greater quantity of stock than he otherwise would
hare done, had he been provided with a better store
of winter provision, so that under present circum-
stances the ground is very much over-stocked.
Wheat during the latter end of last month, and the
commencemimt of the prest-nt, had improved very
much in appearance, and has till now continued to
collect in its root. But its appearance at the pre-
sent is not very imposing, it is suffering alike with
the remaining part of the vegetable world from the
incongeniality of "he weather; but should the wea-
ther be favourable for its growth during the next
month, I think there is a probability of a full crop.
Barley has come up remarkable well, and particu-
larly even in its growth, but it is in a very backward
state from the influence of the cold north winds, still
its appearance is not so indifferent as might have
been expected under existing circumstances. Oats
that were sown early have rather a sickly aspect,
wliile those which were sown later, not having been
so much exposed to the cold winds are doing toler-
able well. Beans are very indifferent, having suf-
fered so much during the months of March and
April, that I think there scarce remains a probability
of their ever becoming a crop. Winter tares are in
some places entirely a failure from the severity of
the winter, especially those which were in cold ex-
posed situations, while others that were otherwise
situated are doing tolerably well ; as regards their
appearance I cannot speak very favourable, the best
of them being rsmarkably short for this season of
the year. Spring tares, considering the unfavour-
able weather which we have had.are doing very well,
though in general they are beginning to want more
sunshine and rain, some few farmers have already
sown their Swedish turnips, while others are busy
in preparing their grounds for sowing, but though
the weather has upon the whole been dry, still we
have not had sufficient sun to cause the process of
cleaning the ground to proceed so favourable as
might have been desired. The extreme shortness of
the pastures has caused hay to advance in price, the
avsrage being 91. per ton ; our fat stock markets, as

may be expected, are particularly firm ; while lean
stock of every description is astonishingly dull, and
heavy sale, arising from the extreme scarcity of keep
of every description. I never remember seeing
vegetation in a more backward state than at the pra-
seiit, considering the season of the year. Our com
markets are tiriM, with very little alteration. But if
we must judge from the stack-yards, corn must rise
considerably, for you may ride over a great extent of
country, and not see a single stack remaining, so
that where we are to draw our supplies from tor the
next three months remains a question.

BEDFORDSHIRE.

Our last report left us in the middle of April,
wh>-n the weather was as severe as is usually expe-
rienced in the month of February, and which con-
tinued so nearly to the end of the month, but
which was afterwards succeeded by a plentiful
fall of rain, and a milder atmosphere, so that our
fields at length are presenting a spring-like appear-
ance. V\ e are far, however, from experiencing the
usual warmth of this season of thu year, and vegeta-
tion, upon the wtiole, is still remarkably backward.
U e alluded, in our last, particularly to the great
inconvenience sustained in providing food for the
cattle, and this difficulty has scarcelv abated at all,
eve'> up to the present time ; though th" young tares
and rye have afforded some little temporary relief,
still the weather of late being showery, the sheep
have generally done badly upon them, especially
where they had been kept sparingly before, 'laking,
therefore, the season altogether, we never remember
so disastrous and expensive a time for flock-masters
generally. We are strongly reminded this year of
an old provincialism of this part of the county, —
" i'he scock have eaten their heads off." Such has
been the distress for food, that most of our farmers
have hitherto had to feed, indiscriminately, the whole
of their young seeds and grasses, and in the few in-
stances where they^ have been saved (excejjt upon
the very b»st soils) there is scarcely any grass
as yet upon the ground. Where, therefoie, the
hay is to come from, and when it is to be harvested,
we are at present quite at a loss to conjecture.
The wheat cro[>, though in many place a deficient
plant, has much improved, and may yet make an
average crop, though our own opinion concerning
it is not very favourable. The barley was remarka-
ably well put in ; and though, from the extreme cold
weather, it has, in many caseo, turned pale and
sickly, yet we feel no serious apprehensions of any
material failure. We are much more concerned as
to future prices, feeling confident that unless the
odious and impolitic malt tax be repealed, or greatly
diminished, from the falling oft' in the consumption
of beer, the price of this article will be wretchedly low.
The turnip fallows, where they were worked early,
are in tine Goni.'ition ; and our best farmers have put
in their mangel wurzel under very favourable cir-
cumstances, having had repeated showers to fetch
them up. Surely, after the season we have just en-
countered, no person who keeps either a sheep or
a beast will in future be without this xcellent root.
We have never had but one opinion of this
vegetable, and that is, that they who do net estimate
it highly, know not either how or when to use it.
Prices of all the leading articles which farmers
have to sell hove experienced a very great depression
of late, namely, wheat, barley, and wool, and which
has already given a very serious check to the nu-
merous improvements which were going on. Indeed
it cannot be otherwifje ; — with extreme low prices,

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

m

the ordinary burdens of agriculture in this country
cannot be sustained, much less cnn a surplus popu-
lati<5n be employed. And we are ver}' sorry to linve
to re|iort that the labourers are already feeling the
ill effects of the furraer's diminished means of em-
ployment; and nothing- pains us more than to see
our industrious peasantry roaming about without the
legitimate means of subsistence. We have always
considered the new workbouse system to act as a
seasonable cheek upon idleness and improvidence ;
but we cannot in our conscience tolerate the idea of
our I etter labourers having to break up their little
establishments and become theinmates of these houses.
We very gratefully acknowledge, however, that the
families of our labourers derive immense advantage,
in the southern parts of this county, and the adjoin-
ing counties of Herts and l^ucks, from the extensive
straw-hat manufactories which are carried on here ;
for it not only furnishes profitable and healthy
employment to tl)e wife and children of botli
sexes, but in times of slack employment, and in the
long winter evenings, the husband having learnt the
business in his boyhood, sets himself to work.
We may be fliought, perhaps, to be travelling-
somewhat out of our way in alluding to this manu-
facture in an agricultural report, hut having* had oc-
cular demonstration of the great benefit wliich the
whole of our rural population is deriving from this
employment, and feeling it always to be our duty to
bring before the public everything connected with
the welfare of the poor, as well as that of the occu-
piers of the soils, we have felt it incumbent upon us,
in common honesty, to revert to these facts. Indeed,
though our sphere is purely agricultural, it affords
us unmingled pleasure to witness the great perfec-
tion to which the gentlemen connected with this
manufacture have brought it. And now we are upon
this subject, I trust we shall he excased in express-
ing the feelings of admiration which we experienced
the other day, in finding that a new style of gentle-
men's summer hats has been lately invented, which
from their beauty, durability, and comfort, bid fair
to be very generally worn in all respectable circles
throughout the United Kingdom. They have been
taken up by that public-sjiirited and enterprising-
gentleman, Mr. W-dller, of Lutun, and we believe
they are callcfd, " The Brazillian Grass Summer
Hats." They are wove with the fingers throughout,
not having a stitch in them ; they are made either
plain or of variegated colours, and of the ni.)st
fasbionable shapes. While, therefore, we disclaim
any shadow of interest in these observations, but
merely upon patriotic principles, as furnishii g the
means of emplovrrent to thousands of young people,
and thereby diffusing comfort and happiness in the
country, we very strongly recommend them to the
nobility and gentry, through the length and breadth
of the land.— May 19.

YORKSHIRE.
The month of May opened with one of the most
dreary prospects which the country has had at that
season for many years. A cold searching piercing
wind from the N. or N. E., accompanied by biting
frosts and cold rains, with scarcely a blade of
grass to be seen throughout the county; the hay-
stacks deeply cut, the principal part of the straw
consumed, the corn crops withered and bleached,
some of the land only just sown, much spring corn
not above ground, and a poverty-stricken set of
cattle completed the dreary prospect. Since then
to the 22nd. the weather has been cold, but still
the sufficiency of moisture supplied by the fre-
quent falling »howers, and the occasional warmth

of the mid-day sun,revlved and freshened the face of
nature, but it was too cold for the crops to make
much progress. For the last four days they have
certainlyimproved, and the present appearance and
state we will now proceed to review. The wheat
crops have revived much since our last rc[)ort ;
there are, however, many parts of most fields en-
tirely, or partially gone off, and several have been
sown with beans owing to the complete failure of
the wheat with which they were sown ; in every
place it is thin upon the ground, rather spiry, and
very backward. The oat, barley, and bean crops,
are very backward but are certainly looking as
well as can be expected, but we never remember
seeing them so late. We think the breadth of land
sown with spring corn this year is above an ave-
rage, and especially beans, which come up green,
broad, and healthy. The pastures are very short,
and there is great scarcity of food for the stock ;
the great want of hay and straw compelled the
farmers to turn out at the usual season whether
there was grass or not, and the state of the cattle
upon the pastures, and sheep upon the seeds, may
aptly be termed one of extreme poverty. They
take the grass and herbage as it springs, and we
observed many young cattle actually turned into
the lanes, we apprehend for want of better pas-
tiirage. The breadth reserved for meadow must
be small, and in almost every case it is hard eaten.
The clover leys are very thin and backward, being
much eaten by the sheep. Potatoe planting is
now in active operation on all descriptions of soils,
and though late, it is not later than the generality
of crops this season, and to have the land properly
cleaned; the planting has gone on in a hurried
manner, but the seeds — the plants more properly
— have germinated very iittle,aciiCL.mstance highly
favourable to the welfare of the crop. Potatoes
have been scarce and dear, poor people have had
difficulty in procuring them for planting. The
sowing of Swedish turnips has been somewhat de-
layed, though most of those intended to be soA'n
are finished, but we think the breadth is somewhat
small. Indeed the more tenacious soils have
worked very unkindly, and have been both wild,
wet, and cloddy ; many of the summer fallows are
yet uncrossed, but we do not remember thepeiiod
when the manure was so well carted out, turned,
and prepared as the present. Very little mangel
wurzel is sown in this county, it is not consideied
worth the pains, expense, and heavy dressing it
requires ; it is quite impossible upon the majority
of soils to prepare the land for its reception in
sufficienc time to secure a crop. The corn-ricks
are disappearing almost like magic, not that we
consider that they are coming to market, but to
provide at least a little straw for the stock. Our
markets are rather looking up again, but without
some serious and unexpected change takes place,
we do not apprehend that there is, or will be,
either any deficiency in hand, or that prices will
rise very considerably. Sheep-shearing has com-
menced, but the weather is cold for the operation.
We believe the clip will be unusually light from
the unfavourable state of sheep keep both during
the autumnal and -winter months, but more espe-
cially those of March and April. Beef and mutton
are ready sale, but lean stock are scarcely saleable
at any price. — May 27.

DURHAM.

From the date of our last report, the weath«r has
been exceedingly cold and ungenial for the season ;
we hav» had three or four fine days which was

478

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

cheering, aad Lad the appearance of spring, but the
wind has iiirariabh* shifted about to the north with
all the appearance of winter again, which hns checked
vegetation to a degree seldom or ever witnessed,
and has produced consequences most .-iorious to
the farmer, as turnips are quite exhausted, and
stackyards empty, and the loss of stock that are
perishing for want of food is most :darming-. The
growing: cro|S have made little progress. \Vheat is
healthy and has a firm root-hold, l)ut it wants warm
sunny weather; it is now very evident that tlie har-
vest must bo a late one, and should the granaries not
be well stocked with v/heat prices must advance
before harvest. At Stagshaw fair, which is consi-
dered one of the largest in the north, Igan stock was
difficult to he disposed of, and bore evident marks of
the severity of the winter and scarcity of fodder.
Fat stock of all kinds are very scarce and advancing
in price, and must advance, should this dreadful
and endless weather continue, as beef and mutton
cannot grow unless animals have sufficient food ;
lambs are poor and expected to be dear, from the
imraence losses, which have been of that magnitude
that it will be a work of time before many farmers can
get up their stock again, and sheep cannot be plen-
tiful for some time to come. The farmers are begin-
ning to put on long faces, for they he^in to think
that the approaching summer is going to be of the
same character as the last eight months of winter.
Potatoe planting is going on slowly, we sbould re-
commend our brother farmers to roll tliuni alter being
furrowed uj), with a heavy roller ; we have seen good
eflfects result from this operation, it prevents the
droughtfrom getting down to theseed. The early sown
spring corn has come up thin, which muv be imputed
to ;he extreme wet, cold, and unpropitious weather,
and it laying such a length of time in the ground.
Very little of the late-sown has come up. Clover
and seeds promise to be a light crop, the clover is
gone off from the inclemency of the weather, it is
difficult to say what price hay may reach should the
crop prove light. The corn markets are advancing,
we have very small markets of wheat and oats, from
the immense consumption of the latter grain for
sheep and cattle (to save life.) We fear t'lere will be
a scarcity, unless we have large importations from
Ireland. This year's clip will be a very inferior
one both as regards qunntiiy and quality, and will
put very little money into the farmer's pocket, com-
pared with the last few years; there will be many
clips which will consist one-half of cotts, which only
brings half price. Swedish turnip sowing has com-
menced, land is not working kindly, it ploughs up
livery, and is difficult to reduce by harrowing and
roding, which maybe attributed to the continued
heavy rains, and unless there is a fine tilth for tur-
nips it is a waste of time to sow them; the hybrid
turnips is much liked in this county, it is between
the Swede and white globe, cattle are very fond of
it, and is exceedingly nutritious, and of large size.
May 20.

CiLAMORG AN SHIRE.
Up to the commencement of the present month,
the weather continued cold and ungenial, to a degree
which we have never known before. The average
temperature of April being that of February, from
the 9th to the 20th, the thermometer during the
nights generally receded below 30 degrees ; vegeta-
tion consequently remained dormant, and the face
of nature had for the enii of April a most dishearten-
ing appearance. Stock suffered the most severe
rirations, an d very considerable losses have taken

place. In some places furze and hay were the chief
support of the cattle, especially the latter, which
was carefully collected from all quarters. However,
after a period of suffering unfirecedented, we believe,
in the memory of the oloest person living, a favour-
able change took place ; some rain fell, and the
temperature became gradually milder. In this short
period vegetation lias made tolerable progress in the
young wheats and clover, grass land being previ-
ously so unusually bare is still backward, and the
youno- grass is so young and tender, that cattle in
their present poor condition can scarcely exist on it
without dry food. The dry weather proceeds highly
favourable for preparing the fallows for mangel and
turnips. The former have been set with a better
prospect of a crop than in the two or three last years,
although the moisture is still deficient to produce
vegetation. Barley sowing has been completed in
goou order, and the beard came u.i well ; during the
ast week some sharp frosty nights have given it a
yellow tinge, which requires a little warmer weather
to recover. The young wheat, although consider-
ably improved, is still thin on the ground and back-
waid ; spring wheat still more so. The hay ground
having been grazed in most cases to the 1st instant,
cannot yield an average crop even with the most
favourable weather hereafter ; for the last few days
the cold easterly winds had co;iipletely checked it.
The young clover, which promised so well in the
autumn, lost a great portion of the plant in the
s[>ring, and we see no prospect of a good crop of
hay, and as the old stock is totally exhausted the
price must keep up for another season. Fat stock
are extremely scarce, and our markets are at present
supplied chiefly with veal. Barley has taken a turn
unforeseen both by the sellers and buyers, which
cannot easily be accounted for ; lately the same
samples have been sold at 3s.. which in November
would produce 6s. We are of opinion that this great
variation in price has arisen from the imperative ne-
cessity by which all farmers were actuated to econo-
mise winter provender ; straw could not he waste d
consequently thrashing was deferred, notwithstand-
ing the urgent demands of the maltster for barlej%
until the straw was required for the stock. From the
great scarcity of barley at the commenceroen': of the
season the quantity of malt made is much less than
usual, and the stock of barley now left is larger than
last year. We have not known for many years so
large a portion of the wheat thrashed at this period,
and the stack-yards are nearly all cleared out. —
May 19.

HULL.

Vegetation during tlie last week has not only made
a stand, but has actually gone back, and the fields
are looking worse than they did a week since. The
weather continues very cold, with the wind N.N.E.
There is at present every reason to expect a late
wheat harvest, and if the present sort of weattiCr
should continue two or three weeks longer, it must
inevitably be very late, unless we should have ex-
tremely hot weather in the month of June, wliich
might produce a premature harvest, but in that case
a very unproductive one. — IMay 16.

An opulent farmer residing in the High Peak has 100
tons of hay to sell, but is waiting till a further advance
of 21, per ton lias taken place, the present price being:
10/. Average price of hay at the undermentioned
places :— Derbyshire, 10/. to 12/. per ton ; Sheffield, 11.
to 8/. ditto ; Manchester and Stockport, 7/. 10s. to 8/.
ditto ; Uttoxeter, 13/. ditto. — Sheffield Iris.

THK FARMER'S AJAGAZINE.

479

REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE

DURING THE MONTH OF MAY.

The lengthened period during which the anxieties
of the farmer have been excited, appeared at the
commencement of the montli to Irave been brought
to a termination, and with magic rapidify. Tlie
whole face of nature assumed a cheering aspect,
vegetation exhibiting in a striking degree the stimu-
lating powers of heat and moisture : and prices in
consequence receded, the trade being deprived of
that firmness of character which had previously
prevailed ; and though there was partially an in-
creased facility in the procuring of money, y^ t the
markets continued heavy, the fine weather counter-
acting all speculative feeling. Towards, howtver,
the middle of the month we experienced one of
those fitful changes to which our clime is liable ;
the genial temperature, sunshine, and westerly
gales having been superseded by bleak north-easterly
winds, accompanied with frost, snow, and hail, the
thermometer in the metropolis having fiillen as low
as 34 degrees, and the night frosts severely check-
ing the growth of plants, the very period that its
advance is most accelerated. In Scotland, and the
borders of England snow was lying on the ground.
A chill ungenial state of atmosphere continued to
prevail until about the third week in the month,
and was beginning- to ci-eate a subject for serious
consideration. It was not therefore to be wondered
at, that a very general feeling of speculation existed
amongst the farmers, and a reluctance to accede to the
existing range ofcurrencies; the markets consequently
being kept in limited supply, and the stocks of wheat
in merchants and speculators' hands being extremely
shi rt, old granaried parcels having been nearly ex-
hausted, consumers have become more than usually
dependent on the growers, and prices must be
therefore mainly influenced by their operations,
and they have already succeeded in enhancing the
currencies fully 5s. per qr. from the earlier part of
the month. If mercantile confidence had been com-
pletely re-established, and the lowering character of
commercial affairs had not pressed money into the
public securities for investment, and continued to
render discounts less readily attainable, except for
first rate paper, we doubt not, that currencies would
have ranged much higher. As however it is ex-
pected that a climax must shortly ensue, which the
failures in the western parts of Scotland too fatally
portend, and that the bank having, it is said, deter-
mined to render no further assistance to the Ame-
rican houses, the evil of procrastination, which has
operated very materially in injuring the markets, by
keeping the public in a state of suspense and un-
certainty, will be thus avoided, and the worst will
be at once known, from which melancholy period we
trust that credit, phceuix like, will arise, and spread
confidence among all classes of negociators, and a
consequent improvement in prices ensue. Tiie
young wheats latterlyhave been represented as suffer-
ing trom the cold temperature and absence of sun,
looking in many instances yellow and sickly. Barley,
which in our jirincipal counties of produce had
si'ldom presented a more regular braird, has partly
from losing the support of the kernel, but more
from the ungenial weather, turned off, and looks
also )ellow. Oats have made little advance. In
Scotland farmers are actuated from. the same causes

as those in England, and especially as regards oats,
the demand proving considerable in the nor.hern
parts for oatmeal for their distressed countrymen,
and the finer qualities are gradually realizing higher
prices, and good samples of wheat held on improv-
ing terms. In Ireland, however, few complaints are
made as to the weather, and the sov,-ing of summer
grain being completed, the planting of potatoes and
the sowing of flax is proceeding under favourable
circumstances, the weather continuing dry, and it
would appear much less ungenial than with us.
Oats are, however, advancing in price, together
with oatmeal, which is more in demand, owing to
the high price of potatoes. The speculation, we
must remark, in wheat, arises, we are of opinion, en-
tirely from the weather, and not any actual dearth of
wheat, but an apprehended scarcity which may arise
from certain contingencies, a fact speculators should
keep in view ; and we are glad to find our opinions
corroborated by well-informed parties, that the
stocks of wheat in those counties where the article
is principally cultivated, are not so much diminished
as has been erroneously represented, agreeing with
the fact we have previously put forth, that though
the number of stacks was much reduced, yet farmers
held a much larger quanaty than usual of wheat in
chaff, having had an extra demand for their straw
for cattle.

On the 23rd however, the weather again mani-
fested a decided disposition to assume more its
vernal character, since which it has continued to
prove highly conducive to the advancement of vege-
tition, and the markets, in consequence, at the close
of May, were becoming much less animated — -
millers purchasing with caution, and farmers keep-
ing the trade in limited supply were enabled to pre-
vent any material depreciation, though the tendency
to any further advance was check d.

Che trade in bonded grain has received a decided
imj ulse, and many speculators have been induced
to c.ime forward, but owing- to the advanced demands
of holders of foreign wheat in loco, speculators have
preferred transmitting orders abroad, where the
price > are ruling relatively much lower ; the prices
of high-mixed Danzig wheats being noted at 29s.

The flour trade was extremely heavy at the begin-
ning o ' (month, and millers, owing to the reduced
ratesoi wheats were compelled to lower their de-
mands. The nominal price of best town made
qualitipb was reduced to 52s., or 50s. as a selling
rate; ship marks giving also way Is. to 'is. per
sack, since which town made parcels have been
free sale a; the quotations and ship samples have
rallied fully Is. per sack, though Norfolk households
are procurable at 39s. to 40 s, the latter being an
extreme price. Foreign flour has been arriving
rather freely, but a demand continuing for shipment,
principally to the West Indies, a fair sale has been
experienced at from 25s. to 27s. per barrel.

The better qualities of barley .until towards the close
of the month, continued weekly to decline in value,
many maltsters having desisted from working, and
distillers being well in stock ; but grinding descrip-
tions experienced a ready demand for feed, and
maintained full prices, but as the weather improved
this enquiry fell off; on the return of cold weather

480

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

and depresssed rates of fine malting sorts, say 32s.
to 33s., induced some maltsters to continue working-,
and a few to resume their operations, which led to
tn enhancement of Is. to i's. per qr. on fine lots,
and Is. on all otlier descri])tions. The trade, how-
ever, again flagged at the close of tlie month, nnd
the improved prices barely maintained — malt has
sustained little alteiation in the quotations though
remiiining extremely dull and languid. In bonded
barley nothing- transpiring, as the stocks of English
in the lianas of growers, is estimated still large, not-
■withstanding the extra draught on the article for
animal feed.

Though there was u libeial supply of oats from
Ireland, especially at the earlier part of the month,
and amounting during the month to upwards of
55,000 qrs., yet factors remained firm in their de-
mands, and though purchasers attempted to depress
prices by refraining from buying, yet the accumu-
lated want of the article for feed compelled them to
accede to the holders' terms, and the currencies
must be noted 2s. per qr. dearer for Irish, and 2s.
to 3s. for English and Scotch samples, the receijjts
of the former of which have been 18,600 qrs,, and
the latter 5,400 qrs. Many country dealers have
ajjpeared in Mark-hme, and from much more distant
parts than usually attend, indicating the shortness of
the stocks in their districts ; indeed it was calcu-
lated, that there have b^en buyers from so extended
a circle as sixty miles round the metropolis ; and rs
the consumption of o:its and hay has been immense,
owing to the scarcity of green feed for cattle, the
Stocks of oats throughout England are calculated to
be nearly exhausted, and Vv-hich appears exemplified
by the weekly advance of the article at the leading
country mai-kets. In Scotland, the demand is also
great for cattle and oatmeal, and prices have for
many weeks ranged too high to permit the transport
of the article from the usual ports of shipment to
Mark Lane; besides, farmers are generally holding
for higher prices, the stocks being es'imated as
barely sufficient to meet their home necessities,
and which they will not do, in all probability, with
a protracted harvest. We seem, therefore, entirely
dependent on Ireland, and even if the supplies still
on hand there are considerablp, which, however, it
is the opinion of immy well-informed men, is not
tht case, yet it is believed that foreign oats will be
required for the consumption, and that notwithstand-
ing the quality of inferior Irish oats, is likely maie-
materially to check any rapid advance of the
averages, yet the extra prices realized for the sound
fresh feed will influence the returns sufficiently to
reduce the duly to a range that early jiurchasers of
foreign qualities will be enabled to take advantage
of for their entry. On Fiiday factors succeeded in
obtaining Is. per qr. more money, with a hiisk
inquiry, the supplies proving by no means equi-
valent to the increased dem^md. Free on board sales
in Ireland are again attracting attention ; for Lime-
ricks, 13s. 3d. to 13s. 6d. has been paid, and
Galways, l'2s.3d. to 12s. 6d., and shippers requiring
now higher terms.

These anticipations of a failure in the supply before
the new crop can be rendered available, has ltd to a
considerable speculative demand for foreign feed oats,
and bonded cjualities of feed have advanced 3s., and
heavy brew samjdes 4s. per qr. ; and the extensive
purchases made abroad for F.nglish -.iccount have
advanced the demands of foreign holders fully 2s.
per qr. Common feed Danish oats here may be
noted -at 16s. to 17s.; black of 36 to 37 pounds 18s.
to 19s.; Friesland of 411bs. 20s.; ditto 431bs. to
44lbs. 23s. to 26s. For the range of prices abroad

we refer to our remarkg on the Hamburgh and
Rotterdam trade.

Beans as well as peas having been in limited
supply, both articles have attracted attention, both
for the consumption as well as speculation. Beans
must be noted Is. to 2s. higher, -and peas fully 2s.
dearer, and several orders transmitted abroad.
Peas in bond have obtained 27s. to 30s. and are
held now on higher terms.

I'he alteration in the dut'es diring the month,
consist of an advance of Is. per qr.on wheat, Is. 6d.
on barle}-. Is. 6d. on rye, but a diminution of Is. 6d.
per quarter on oats and peas, the duty on beans re-
maining unvaried.

The advices from Canada intimate that the
spring business was about to commence, the Lachine
canal being free from ice, and the steam boats having
arrived at Montreal from their winter quarters. No
price wiis fixed, as the probable opening r.ites of
flour, though several parcels were offering for arrival.
A small parcel of Lower Canada red viheat had
been sold at 8s. 8d. per minot ; superfine flour was
noted at 10 dollars, nnd fine 9^- dollars per barrel.
Money was more readily attainable. At Kingston,
Upper Canada wheat was held .it 7s. 6d. per bushel,
and flour at SOs. to 55s. At Toronto flour was
selling at 40s. to 42s.

Tlie accounts from Van Diemen's Land of the
3rd of .January report very unfavourably of the state
of the crops, and the harvest on the aggregate was
expected to yield much below an average p.oduce,
the cold. Wet, and nngenial season having proved
detrimental to vegetation, or in the words of our
conespondent, which .ire strangely ajiplioiible to the
state of the weather '^-e have been experiencing in
this Antipodean clime, "the total absence of summer,
now at mii'suramer, has caused a very considerable
failure in the wheat crop." Barley and oats pre-
sented a more satisfaciory prospect. VVhent was
improving in value, being noted at Hobart Town at
6s. 3d. ; at Launceston the article was worth 5s. to
6s., and flour, 15s. to 18s. perlOOlbs.

The accounts from Kingston in Jamaica state,
that the supplies of flour dur.ng the current year
exceeded those of the past season by 9,600 barrels,
4,000 barrels of which had however been re-ex-
ported to Cuba and New ProviUtnce. Some of the
later cargoes had proved " hard," and unfit for
bakers' use to make fine bread, and the stock of fresh
superfine flour extremely limited, and as the last
ships from Philadelphia had arrived without any
supplies of bread stuff, prices were expected to im-
prove. The quantity of sour flour on hand was con-
siderable, but the accounts from the country notice,
that from the continued dry weather there would be a
demand for flour, and it appears that sour qualities are
l)articularly well adapted for the country trade. There
were no biscuits in importers' hands, but retailers
were tolerably well supjdied ; crackers 60s., pilot
bread 53s. 4d. The imports in 1837, of flour, were
21,900 barrels ; 1836, 12,254 barrels.

The latest advices from Barbadoes state provi-
sions of all kinds extremely dear, partly arising from
the falling ofi' in the usual supplies from America,
and from the neglect of the ajjprenticed labourers,
in favour of the cultivation of the cane. The follow-
ing statistical account offers some idea of the quan-
tity of solid food consumed in Bridgetown and
neighbourhood from March, 1836, to March, 1837 :
— Oxen, 555; calves, 550; sheep 1,641 ; goats,
1,347; pigs, 3,070; exclusive of the animals
shmghreied pri\ately.

In France the prevalence of cold wet weather is
having a similar effect on the markets to that pro-

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

481

duced on tbe British trade, and farmeis unwilling-
to sell unless at higher rates. Fine good conditioned
wlieats are much sought after by the millers, the
humidity of the ntmosphere having very generally
afiecied the samplfs. J lie weather, however, with-
out ins|)iring any very great degree of apprehension,
is sufficiently unseasonable to lead to a speculative
feeling, and at Paris holders were deraav.ding 50
centimes per l^ hectolitre more. Oats, which have
sutlered in the low htavy soils, are looking most
luxuriant in the light aiid sandy land, and prices,
therefore, though steady, have not advanced, in-
ferior parcels being difficult of disposal. Rye 's
reported as having buffered most materially from the
inclemency of the season. At Paris, prices of
wheat were 36s. 3d. to 37s. 3d. ; for white and red
28s. lOd. to 36s. 5d. per qr. In the southern
markets the influx of supplies had depressed prices.

At Riga the grain trade remained dull, about
8,000 lasts of oats had arrived, half of which re-
mained unsold, Courish qualities being held at 10s.
6(1., and Russian at Us. 6d. Linseed crushing, 33s.
Wheat nominal, at 30s. 8d. Rye, 17s. 6d", and
about 2,000 las's offering, 8,000 of tlie new supplies
having been already disposed of. At Konigsberg,
the wheat trade « as dull, and might have been
bought on rather lower terms ; good new qualities
offering at 27;-. to 28s., a range of prices lower than
had been attained last year. (!ats were attainable at
lis. 6d. to 12s. [lerqr. At Danzig, a momentary de-
mand had been experienced for English account,
wh'cb having subsided the trade had become heavy,
and prices receded, good hi^h-mixed wheats being
procurable at 29s, and mixed selling at 24s. to 26s.
The arrivals down the Vistula were considerable,
and far exceeded the shipments, which would, it was
expected, advance the urice of granary rent bevond
2d. per qi-. per month. The quantity of wheat noticed
as having alieady passed the Polish frontiers ex-
ceeded 90,000 qrs., and 20,000 qrs. of Rye. The
weatJier was ex'remely unfavourable for vegetation,
and all grain unusuaily backward. At Stettin, whe;.it
continued heavy, at ^'7s. to 28s. ; but barley had ra-
ther rallied, owing to the decrease in the stocks and
the purchases still making for Norway. Oats were
noted at Us. to 12s. perq.-. In Mecklenburg, wheat
was at ^7s. to 27s. 6d. The stock, however, of oats
was extremely limited, both at Rostock and Wisraar,
and, owing to tbe scarcity of fodder, the consump-
tion had been considerable in the country, and the
growers therefore had little to bring to market, prices
ranged from 12s. to 143., and no chance of the exe-
cution of orders to any extent. Danish Island oats
may be noted at 12s. to I3s., Jutland, the same,
Holslein, 1 Is. to I3s. 6d., Swedish, 12s. 6d. to I3s.
6d. At Hamburg, wheat had rellied, owing to the
unfavourable accounts from the upper districts of
the Elbe, and tlie receipt of a few orders from Eng-
land, and tbe best wlieats were not to be obtained
under Sis. 6d. to 32s. Upland barley, iTs. 6d. to
18s. 6d. Oats had already attracted the attention of
speculators, and rearly all the disposable parcels in
the market have been purchased, viz. about 5,000
qrs. at Elbing, of 36lbs. to 381bs., at 10s. 6d. to Us.
6d., and a similar quantity on the Jahde and West
Coast of Holstein at Us. to I3s., and the stocks ge-
nerally represented as inconsivlerable, and the re-
ceipt of additional orders to any amount would occa-
sion a further rise of at least Is. to 2s. It is, how-
ever, remarked that the new oats generally in Hol-
stein and Jutland are not free iroin granary smell,
though otherwise sound. Beans had sold at 24s. 6d.,
small, and peas fine at 27s. The accounts from the
upper parts of tbe Elbe w'ere unfavourable in refer-

ence to agricultuial operations. The weather had
been very unseasona: le, and irost experienced dur-
ing the nights ; whole districts were so much satu-
rated with moisture as to prevent the sowing of sum-
mer grain, and in the neighbourhood of the Oder and
Warthebruck, wheie large quantities of oats and bar-
ley are cultivated, the land was quite inundi.ted with
water. In parts of Poland the young wheats iiom
the wet and cold were looking thin and yellow. The
accounts also from several parts of Germany were
unfavouriible regarding the rape plants, and many
fielas reportetl as being ploughed up. Prices, how-
ever, at Hamburg had sustained little improvement,
being noted at 23/. to 23/. lOs. per last.

At Rotterdam, as well as Amsterdam, the slock o^"
Wheat was limited, and the weather extremely un-
favourable for the growing crops, which bad occa-
sioned an improvement in the rates of Is. to 2s. per
qr. ; fine Rhenish qualities in bond being noted at
32s. to 33s.; good ditto, 61 to 62 lbs., 31s. 3d. to
31s. 8d. The demand for Oats at all the Dutch ports
was increasing, and prices advanced Js. to 2s. per
qr. ; Brews ot 42 to 43 lbs. were worth 17s. 4d. to
19s. ; Polands, 40 to 43 lbs., 15s. 6d. to I7s. ; Feed,
ot 32 to 38 lbs., 12s. 6d. to 14s. 6d. and 15s. Tick
Beans ready sale at 2()s. to 21s. 6d. ; Pigeon samples
scarce, and worth 23s. to 25s. Blue Peas in request
at 25s. to 29s.; White boiling qualities in limited
stock, and worth also 25s. to 29s. It appears that
the supplies of old Wheat are nearly exhausted, and
that the consumption depends in Holland on the last
crops; should therefore any demand for export arise,
or the growing crops sustain any injury, prices are
likely materially to advance. Theexjiortto America,
of\Vheatand Rye, has been very extensive, and it
seems that the Rhine has shiiiped too iVeely, and
prices are ranging in the Rhenish provinces beyond
those of Rotterdam and Amsterdam ; and supplies
from these cities are not unlikely to find their way
back to tbe districts of produce.

The advices from tbe United States intimate the
grain trade to be in a dull declining state, not ave-
raging more than 1 dollar 50 to 55 cents, per bushel,
and good parcels 40 to 45 cents. Flour had receded
1 dollar 50 cents, to 2 dollars per barrel. The quan-
tity of wheat imported from Euro()e at New York
during 1836, was about 61,500 qrs. of which 33,200
qrs. were from England, and from the 1st of January
to the 19tb of April 1837, the aggregate receipts had
amounted to 107,000 qrs. of which 28,800 qrs. were
from England. At Philadelphia speculators were
spreading reports that the ensuing harvest would
prove a failure, in order to give tone to the market,
and it had so far succeeded in rendering holders more
firm at 9 dollars per barrel. Rye had materially
receded in value, being noted, at New York, at 90
to 95 cents, fur best milling samples of foreign. The
markets were completely glutted with inferior quali-
ties of European wheat, and as they had become a
drug on the market, re-shipments were on the eve of
being made to Europe, especially from New York ;
a fact which would not imply much dreaded dearth,
though it may increase monetary derangement on the
part of shippers trom Europe to New York.

The prospects of the wheat crojis, though repre-
sented as unfavourable in Virginia, one of the prin-
cipal wheat growing States, yet at the depar ure of
the latest advices, they were becoming rather more
satisfactory, and in some portions of the Sta.e, if
the weath»r continues projiitious, were expected to
turn out an average produce. 'I'lie^'Aleiandria Ga-
cette' asserts, that in one of the best regions of
Virginia, farmers btve ploughed up several acres
with the view of seeding the laud with oats and

482

TilE FARMER'S MAGAZINF.

Indian coro, and that the same course would be
generally pursued in that ueiglibourhood ; but in
Jjoudoun the prospect was not so bad as previously
represented. The Williamsjwrt Maryland, "Banner"
reports very unfavourably of the wheat in that
vicinity, and also in the neighbouring counties of
Berkeley, in Virginia, especially that portion con-
tiguous to the Potomac. The Hanover Pennsylvania
"Herald," on the other hand says, that the crop may
be a fair one. In Buckinghiim county, we under-
stand, that the ])rospect is tolerably promising, and
on the whole we apprehend it is not so gloomy
throughout the States as intimated the two or three
previous weeks. The protracted weather has no
doubt retarded the vegetation of wheat but unless
it is ascertained that the roots have perished, it is
highly impolitic and premnture in the farmers to
plough up their fields, and does not exhibit those
usual leading characteristic features, hope and
patience, which enable them to cope with the vicis-
situdes of every clime. A few small lots of Italian
Spring wlieat, which have in parts of Virginia been
sown for the first time this sea-ou, are repotted as
looking well. As at this moment all information is
fraught with interest connected with the Corn Trade
in the United States, it will be well to point out the
causes assigned by the Americans for the depreciation
in the value of wheat, arising as it does from causes
different to those which are currently believed to
have operated disadvantageously on the transatlantic
markets. It is to be premised, that previous to the
demand becoming urgent from America, most of the
wheit in bond in England had been warehoused
for three or four years, and that the quantity of
really good quality was very limited. Most of the
early arrivals in the United States were cargoes of
wheat from London and Liverpool, and few, very
few, proved perfectly sound, and the same fact is
applicable to a large proportion of the heavy export-
tations whi":h succeeded from the more Northern
European ports out of and in the Baltic. Much of
the wheat was taken by the American millers as it
arrived, who had on hand native grown qualities,
with which admixture, they were enabled to manu-
facture a ftourthat was taken into general consump-
tion. When the internal water communications
closed for the season, and home samples could
no longer be procured to mix witli the foreign,
the flour was made exclusively of the latter, which
it has been found, was not suited to the taste of the
American consumers, though sold at prices even
much below thatof tlie native flour, and the disposal
throughout the winter appears to have been on a
comparatively limited scale. The favourable account
sales of foreign wheat in the fall of the year pro-
duced large exports from Europe, and the stocks,
though they are now large at the leading ports in the
United States, yet not one-tenth of the bulk is in
perfectly sound condition, nor does it seem likely
that the millers around New \'ork, Philadelpliia and
Baltimore, will be able to obtain such a quantity of
native sound wheat as would enable them to work
up much of the foreign corn before another liarvest.
Thus the Americans are placed in the singular posi-
tion of possessing in the three principal flour marts,
a considerable quantity of wheat to meet i heir emer-
gencies, but which is almost unavailable, in conse-
quence of the inferiority of its quality, and the
millers deprived of the power of improving the
manufactured article to any extent. Had the im-
ports proved sound there is little doubt the latter
advices from America would have reported a
very different state of the market to those received,
as the cargoes would have been readily taken off at

fair prices ; but under the circumstances, it ia to b«
feared that Euro] ean exporters will n~>w sustain
serious losses on their shipments, as it is generally
estimated that, calculating the i'reight imd exorbi-
tant charges, with J.uties no less than 1 dollar 80 to
85 c*Mits per bushel on the average will at present
barely remunerate them for tl.e speculation. In
conclusion, we have extracted the following remarks
from an intelligent correspondent, who, spenking of
bis countrymen, who had imported oa their own
accounts, but who, by the by, form a remarkably
small proportion of the numb>^r of importers as
compared with those encoursged to consign, says
— " information of the state of our markets has
already gone out that will stop further shipments
from ^our side of the Atlantic, and circumstances
may arise that will induce the holders of foreign
Wheat, at any additionally material reduction, to
take the benefit of the diawback, and re-export it to
Europe. You had better .et us starve for Wheat bread
than bring in unsound Whe it.

CURRENCY PER IMPSRIAI. MEASURB

liftlTISH. MayI. JtiNBl;

s. s. s. s.

WlipHt, red, Essex, K<nt, Siilfull. SOtoSfi 50 to .58

White 52 60 52 63

Norfolk, Lincoliisliire and Yorksliire. .. 40 54 40 56

White, do. do 46 58 46 60

trish Red — — — —

DittdWliitP — — — —

Barley, iMaltiiifj, new 30 .32 27 30

Chevalier, new 32 34 29 33

Distilling 30 32 26 30

Grinding 24 28 25 28

Irish .". 24 27 24 27

.Malt, Brown 46 50 38 46

Ditto, Chevalier 58 60 58 60

Ditto, Norfolk and SufTolk Pale 54 .IS 54 57

Ditto Wnie 57 59 55 58

Peas, Hog and Grey 33 36 36 38

Maple 35 38 35 40

White Boilers 38 40 38 42

Beans, small 34 44 40 48

Harrow 36 42 38 45

Ti.ks 34 40 36 42

Mazasan 34 40 36 44

Oat^, English feed 22 25 25 28

Short small 24 28 28 32

Poland 25 29 27 32

iicoTCH, Common 22 27 24 30

Herwick.&c 24 29 2? 32

Potatoe, &c. 25 30 27 33

Irish, Feed 18 23 23 24

Ditto Potatoe 20 25 24 27

DittoBlack 18. 23 23 25

JnNEl,

48 to 50

39

41

39

40

41

38

40

3S

40

40

42

43

—

PRICES OF FLOUR,

Per Sack of 280 lbs. Ma\ 1 .

«. R.

Town-made 50 to 55

Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent, and Essex .... 41 42

Sussex and Hampshire 40 41

Snperfine 42 —

Lincolnshire, Y rkshire, and St 'ekton. 40 42

Northumberland. Berwick, and Scotch. 40 42

Irish 41 43

Extra 44 —

STOCK OF GRAIN, FLOUR AND CLOVER-
SEED IN BOND IN THE PORT OF LON-
DON ON THE 5th MAY.

Wheat. Barley. Oats. Beans. Peac. Flour. Cloversd.

qrs. qrs. (|rs. qrs. qrs. cwts. cwts,

212,98? 6,6?^ 66,493 2,171 7,324 23,661 25,347
Rye, 15 qrs

THE I'A[liMER'S MAGAZINE.

483

An Account of tlie quantity of Foreig:n Grain and Flour
in];!orte<l into the United Kitipdom during" the month
ending' the 5th May 1837 ; the Quantity on which
the Duty has been paid for Home Consumption, and
the quantity remaining' in Warehouse.

Fineigii Grain ami
Flour.

Wheat from Driasli

Possessio7i=

Ditto Forpign

Barlev

Oats

Rye

Beans

Peas : ...

Qiinntitv
iinpoited.

11997
/3fi0

1.3278
3522
4922

12003

ti'ied lor
consumption

qrs. bush.

13fi5

6

1290

fi

142

3

27

7

2405

•>

1359

0

2405

2

Qiiantif
Warelio

y in

JPO.

qrs. bush.

2473(5

4621527
24208

239032
3262
14502
20215

3

n

6
5
()
0
3

cwts.qrs

.U.S.

6011 1

145748 0

6
fi

cwts qrs. lbs icwts.qrs.lbs.
Flour from British I

PoBcessions j 1600 1 24 il996 0 2

Ditto Foreisii 'l2358 2 7 I 128 2 9

PRICE OF SEEDS.

May 20.

The Cloverseed trade has experienced little altera-
tion ; there are purchasers of foreign at market, ftt the
rates noted a fortniarht since, but they are not inclined
to accede to the advanced terms of holders. Trefoil in
request, and rather dearer. Linseed and Rapeseed dull
sale. In Caraway, Coriander, and Mustard, no varia-
tion. Canary hang's on hand at the previous depres-
sion. In Tares littls doin? and prices nominally unal-
tered. Linseed Cakes rather cheaper, and in Rape no
variation. The arrivals of Cloverseed from abroad
have been only 4 casks from Hamburg'h, and 36 bagrs
from Rotterdam ; besides 170 Oil Cakes from Honfleur

POTATOE MARKET.

SOUTHWARK — Waterside, May 29.— The ar-
rivals of Potatoes throusrhout the week have continued
moderate, comprising' only 1,21 6 tons, of which 2-36 tons
were from Devon, 76 do. Yorkshire, 72 do. Kent and
Suffolk, 462 do. Scotch, and 370 do. from Jersey and
Guernsey. During' the course of the past week the
trade assumed an animated appearance, and the supplies
provinsr on a very limited scale, salesmen succeeded in
ohtainin£^ a still further advance, and the quotations of
Yorkshire reds have to-day attained a heiprht of cur-
rency, viz. 7/. per ton, v,rhich has not been amved at for
the last 20 years. At the improvement, however, the
trade rules heavy, the weather having set in remarkably
line and favourable for vegetation still no immediate
reduction is expected in the quotations.
Per toil of 40 bushels.

Yorkshire reds. .120* to t40s

Dn. Kidneys 100s

Do.Shaws, for s^ed — s
Pevonshire reds.. .110s

Scotch reds 95s

Do. Minion Cups... — s
Wisbeach .... 90s

110s
— s
120s
1105

95 s

Norfolk Whites.
Lynn Kidnevs
Suffolk Whites
Krnt Kidnevs .

Irish Ruffs.' — s 120!

,Tersey&Guern.blHesll0sl20,«
Do.whi':es — s — s

90s 100s
.— s liO«

Chats 45s 70s.

■WOOL MARKETS.

BRITISH.

May 29.

The unfavourable accounts, relative to the state of the
British Woollen trade, which continue daily to arrive,
from our g-reat manufacturing' districts, tend much to
depress the London trade, which is in a very inanimate
state, and, to effect any thing- like extensive sales, an
abatement of from Id. to 2d. per lb. must be submitted
to. Contrary to expectation, the orders for Woollen

May 1

June 1.

1. s.

d.

9. d.

s. d.

-to 1

7A

1 6 to 1 7

7i 1

8i

1 7

1 7*

4 1

5

1 2

I 8

43 1
1 1

l\

1 4

1 1

11

7 1

0

0 6

0 11

0 1

,">

0 11

1 3

1 1

3

0 11

1 2

g'oods, rectiTed from tlie United .States, have hi-.n very
few, whilst the exports thither have been limited.

Per lb. s. (

Down Tei's 1

Half-bred do 1

Ewes and Wethers 1

Leicester Ho^s 1

Do. Wethers 1

Blanket Wool 0

Flannel . 1

Skill Comliing 1

EXETER. — Here all things must be taken as no-
minal merely, for literally in this trade there is nothing
doing', and the distress, from the number of hands out
of employ, is daily increasing: ; indeed, the majority of
the concerns in tliis district l)ave ceased working'. This
is a melancholy picture, but unfortunately in all its
features marked with truth. With respect to yolk wool.
It is impossible to quotea price, since in this market there
wa? no one disposed even to name terms by which they
would be bound to effect purchase ; and consequently
in this way nothing' was done. Washed wool is from
12d. to 13d., and Dorset horn Hd.perlb. Sorts— Kent
head, lOid. to lid.; r.-d, green, and pinions, lljd.;
fell combing', 10|d. to 12d. ; fine head, 12§d. to 13^d. ;
stripes. North Devon and Cornish, 15d ; and tops, river
washed, 18d. ; soap washed, ]8]d. to IS^d. per lb.

WAKEFIELD, May 26.— This market remains in
the same dull state as for several weeks past. The
near approach of clip, and the disastrius accounts from
America, have destroyed all confidence in the holders
of wool, and lower prices have been almost daily sub-
mitted to ; there is, however, a feeling beginning to
manifest itself that prices have seen their lowest, and
offers have been made to purchase to some extent at
within a shade of what may be quoted as the present
value : and should this get to be a prevailing opinion,
we may expect to see more doing in all departments of
the trade.

PONTEFRACT.— On Monday last, the first of the
annual series of wool markets took place at Ponte-
fract. Very little wool was produced, and the demands
of the growers were so extravagant as to deter the few
buyers present from purchasing.

LIVERPOOL.
Week ending M.4y 29.

English Wool. — Down ewes and wethers, 1.3d. to
14d. ; down tegs, 15d.tol6d.; combing' fleece, 14d.
tolSd.; combing' skin, 12d. to 14d; super skin, 12d.
to 13d. ; head skin, lOd. to lid.

Scotch Wool. — We can only repeat this week what
we have said for several weeks past, that of actual
business in Scotch wools there has been none. The
near approach of the clip, with the complete stagnation
of business in the manufacturing districts, \vill we ex-
pect cause the present dulness here to continue for
some week's longer. Our quotations must now be con-
sidered perfectly nominal, for we have no doubt that
holders would consent to a considerable reduction to
effect sales, but in the absence of positive business ■we
continue them unaltered.

per stone I't 24!bs. s. d. s. d.

Laid Highlanil MOol.lnm) .. 11 6tol2 0

White do. do 15 0 16 8

Laid Crossed do 14 0 15 0

Washed de. do 15 0 16 0

?. aid Cheviot, do 1/0 18 0

Wasbeddo. do 22 0 24 0

White do. do 28 0 30 0

Import for tlie week 96 hags.

Previously this year .2926 do.

Every description of wool continues extremely dull in
the market, and the accompanying prices may be con-
sidered merely nominal. This inertness is the result of
the depressed state of trade in the manufacturing dis-
tricts. The feeling here is that tlie clip id wool will be
unusually light this year, the result of tiie present very
unfavourable season. The import from New South
Wales is expected to be large, this week it has been
particularly so, exceetliug 2,000 bags. 1 he stocks here
continue to increase, which has contributed, as a. ncces.

484

THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE.

sary result, to diminWi prices. In Scotch or Irish t'lere
has been literaUy nothinsr doing.

Irish Wool.— Irish fleece, niixedlots, 12d.to 12'd.;
In»h wethers, n|d.to 12^d.; Irish hoes, 12d.to 13d.;
Irish combing' skin, lid. to 12d.; Irnh short skin, 9d.
to lid. per lb. Import* this week, 20 bajs ; ditto for
the year, 1 ,378 bajrs.

Foreign Wool. — Russia wool, 6d. to 7d.; Odeisa.
fine, Is. Id. to 2s. ; Buenos Ayres, 3d. to 4d. ; Mog-a-
dore and Barbary, 3^d. to 4^d. ; washed Peruvian, 9d.
te lOd. ; unwashed ditto, 66. to 7d. ; Portufral R., lid.
t« 13d. ; ditto, low marks, 9d. to lOd.; German fleeces,
Is. 3d. to Is. 6d. ; ditto assorted. ls.6d.to ls9d.-, ditto
lambs. Is. 6d. to 2s. 9d.; Spanish R, ls.6d.to.ls. 9d. ;
ditto F. S., Is. 3d. to Is. lid.; New South Wales. Is.
2d. to Is. lOd. Imports this week, 2,005 bales ; ditto
for the year, 13,507 bales.

SCOTCH.
Per stone of 24 lbs. MavI. June 1.

s. d. s. d. 9. d. B d.
Laid Hiehland Wool, fiom. 12 0 to 1.3 0 U 6 to 12 0

White Do. Do...;.... 15 0 15 6 15 0 15 6

Laid Crossed Do ..15 0 16 0 14 0 15 0

Washed Do. Do 16 0 1/ 0 15 0 16 0

Lai.i Cheviots 18 0 20 0 17 6 18 0

Washed Do 24 0 26 0 22 0 24 0

White Do 32 0 34 fl 28 0 30 0

FOREIGN.

M.4V 29.

Our supplies, since Monday last, have consisted of
380 bales of German ; 200 do. of Spanish ; 390 do. of
Turkish ; and 145 do. of South American wools. The
sale of 400 bags of Spanish wool, for the 5th of June,
is the only one at present appointed. Our demand by
private contract, is in a rery sluggish state, at barely
stationary prices.'.

Electoral Saxony wool, from 4s. 2d, to 5s. 2d. ; first
Austrian, Bohemian, and other German wools, 3s. to 3s.
lOd. ; seconddo.,2s. 4d.to2s.lOd.; inferior do. in locks
and pieces, 2s. to 2s. 4d. ; German lamb's do., 2s. 3d. to
3s. ; Hungarian sheep's do., 2s. to 3s. ; Leonesa
sheep's do., 2s. 6d. to 3s. ; Segovia do., 2s. to 2s. 8d. ;
Soriado., 2s. 2d. to 3s. ; Caceres do., 2s. 6d. to 3s. ;
Spanish lamb's do., Is. 6d. to 29. 8d. ; German and
Spanish cross do., 2s. 4d. to 3s. 2d. ; Portugal sheep's
do., 2s. 2d. to 2s. 8d. ; do. lamb's do., Is. 4d.to 2s. 6d. ;
Australian, fine crossed do., 2s. 6d. to 3s. 4d.; do.
native sheep's do., Is. 4d. to 2s. 6d. ; Van Diemen's
Land, Is. 4d. to 2s. 6d. ; and Cape do., Is. Gd. to 3s.
per lb.

CAUTION TO W^OOL GROWERS.-Tlie wool-
len manufacturers of the West of Enprland, having for
some years past sustained considerable loss from the
deceitful winding- of wool— that is, from the too general
practice of enclosinsr in the fleece locks, pelt, tar, dung,
straw, grass, &c., have published extracts of the existing
statutes for the prevention and punishment of such prac-
tice. They have also informed such growers of wool as
may hereafter be found in the above practice, that they
may expect the enforcement of the legal penalties for so
doing.

EXTHACTS FROJI THE STATUTES.

" 23d Henry VIII. cap. 17.— No person shall vvind
in any fleece, clay, lead, stones, sand, tails, deceitful
locks, cot, or any other thing whereby the fleece may be
more weighty, to the deceit and loss of the buyer." —
Sixpence per fleece only was the penalty under the
above Statute, but this was found an insufficient pre-
ventive, and therefore it was enacted by the 28th Geo.
III. cap. 38, " That every person offending as above,
shall in lieu of every sixpence, forfeit and pay two shil-
lings for every fleece, and the whole thereof to go to the

finder or prover of the said deceits, to be heard and de-
termined by one magistrate in a summary way." — The
growers of wool learn from the aljove, that if in any
instance the manufacturer should feel an ind sposition to
prosecute, then any wool assorter, or other person, may
coniG forward and convict any found in offence against
such statute. Those who bind their fleeces with cord
are subject to the same penalty.

REVIEW OF THE HOP TRADE.

MAY 26, 1837,

During- the last three months we have had a de-
pressed trade for Hops, with a uniform cold Spring,
attended with severe frosts, even up to tlje present
time; upon the whole, prices have remained un-
altered ; within the last ten days more business has
been done at a trifling advance, particularly in Jine
Hops ; of this description, very few are now left on
offer.

The district reports state that it is not in the
memory of man to have witnessed so cold or back-
ward a Spring, the bine, which in ordinary seasons,
should now be flourishing half way up the pole, has
not vet been tied, even for the first time. The plant,
or show of bine, is also represented as particularly
uneaven and weakly, with the continued frosty
nights this cannot be wondered at, but unless a
rapid and favourable change takes place in the
weather, the growers will have reason to be alarmed
at the jiosition of the plant. It is admitted the bine,
when the weather suits the plant, will grow ^with
astonishing rapidity, but if the winter is to fofiow
this tender jilant up till midsummer, it is quite evi-
dent the pi'oduce will be a mere nothing- this season.
Independent of the serious injury, that little tor-
menter, the Jiea, does the plant in cold Springs ;
this insect now shows its ravages to a great extent,
and the cold nights prevent the plant from growing
out of its way. Should Jiy follow, this is the de-
stroyer, but that cannot come with the cold weather.
Showers and warm nights will alone bring that insect,
and possibly such weather may start the bine and set
it growing so rank and vigorous, that it.may defy
the fly. This has been the case, but in blights, we
have always found the fly come earlv and catch the
plant in w-eakness, and thus the crop has been de-
stroyed. This was clearly the case in 1823 and
1825. As in ordinars' years, the present estimate of
duty stands at 150 in. but few backers.

PRESENT PRICES.

£. »■• £. s.

East Kent Pockets (ordinary) . . 5 0 fine 6 6

Bags 4 10 5 10

i\Iidland Kent Pockets 4 0 6 6

Bags 3 15 5 12

Weald of Kent Pockets 3 15 4 15

Sussex Pockets 3 10 4 10

Yearlings 3 0 3 15

Old 2 2 3 3

Old Olds I 1 2 2

Estimated duty, May 26, 1827, 150,000.

BONES.

Since our last there have passed the Sound,
Elsinore, the Great Belt, and the Holstein
Canal, ships loaded with Bones, bound for Hull, 4 ;
Newcastle, 1 ; Kirkcaldy, 1 ; Ipswich, 1 ; other parts
of Scotland, 5 ; and other parts of England, 5 ; — with
patent mist for England, 2.

END OF VOLUME VI.

Printed by Joseph Rogeisoa, 24, Norfolk Street, Strand, London.

INDEX TO THE SIXTH VOLUME.

Aberdeen Journal, to the Editor
of, 45^2

Agriculture, 331, 379, 386

Agriculturists of England, to the, 1

Agricultural production and popu-
lation, Ireland, 49

Agricultui-nl population, condition
of. 203

Agricultural experiment, 308

Agricultural societies — Market-
bill, 3 ; Bnth and West of Eng-
land, 9 ; Chelmsford andEssex,
11; Paitland, 22 : Tauntou, 52;
Rye, f)9 ; Chippenham, TO;
Ciiartham, 70; Highland, 96 ;
Rutland, 110 ; Markethill, 125 ;
Kent and Canterbury, 129 ;
Perthshire, 136 ; Herefordshire,
ISO; East Riding, Yorkshire,
197; Newtoxvnards,233 ; Kirk- |
caldy, 271 ; East Lothian, ooi':) ;
Devon, 415; Flintshire, 432 ;
Wharfdale,434 ; Highland, 434

Agricultural distress, 153

Agricultural reports, 63, 140, 150,
228, 232, 312, 589, 471

Agricultural wages, rate of, 100

Agricultural prosperity, 127

Agricultural Libraries, 154

Agricultural Intelligence, 73, 157,
234, 316, 397, 477

Agricultural improvement, 446,
466

Agricola and the farmers of Eng-
land, 27

Agriculture, points in chemistry
applied to, 269, 325, 405

Agricultural committee, 1836, evi-
dence before, 347, 467

Agriculture, premiums of High-
land Society for 1837, SsT

Agriculturists, schools for, 370

Ale and Sack, a song, 311

Apple and pear trees, dilapidated
state of, 116

Asparagus, culture of, l76

Asses' milk, 78

Assessing paupers, 436

Bank of England, 203

Barley, extraordinary crop of, 1 i

Bastardy law, 371 -

Beams for building, important im-
provement in, 436

Beer, ode to, 134

Bee-hive, new, 259

Beer, mode of preventing, from be-
coming acid,270

Beet-roet, 49

Beet-root sugar, 100, 258, 359

Beet-root sugar in Massachusetts,

192
Black caterpillar, history of, 85
Boglillie, farm of, 372

Bog, cultivation of, 195

Bone manure, 176, 236, 339, 433,
469

Bones, human, use of, 225

Black Sea, 187

Bread, baking b}^ steam, 414

Building, new method of, 100

Brocoli, on forcing, 388

Bristol Mercurv, to the Editor of,

311
Burning the bush, 136
Cambrian, letter to the Editor of

the, 151, 196
Charcoal for draining, 116
Carriages, two wheeled, regulations

on, 1 92
Castration, -122

Centrifugal water-machine, 311
Cattle and sheep, various breeds

of, 435
Cautery and setons, 450
Cheese, curious mode of preserv-

ing, 70
Cabbage tree, 308 ■
Chippenham market, premiums

awarded at, 419
Chesnut, sugar from the, 366
Christmas, merry, and happy new

year, 48
Castle Douglas, second sIjow, 310
Clay, stiff, cultivation of, 348
Corn laws, 72, 165
Corn trade, review of, 77, 159,

^39, 319, 399, 479
Corn, state of, in foreign ports, 128
Corn Exchange, Mark- Lane, 466
Chickens, extraordinary mode of

hatching, 256
Crime, proportion to population,

12
Church-rates, Croydon, 257
Church-rates' bill, 291
County Newspaper, to Editor of,

430
Corn crake, 279
Cricklade, new market at, 185
Corn laws, Mr. Clay's motion, 300
Crops, state of, 59
Cucumber, Allen's treatise on, 369
Currency, 14. 360, 439
Devizes Gazette, to the Editor of,

155
Drag, Makepeace's improved pa-
tent, 16
Drag, patent on improved, 49
Drilling and broadcast, relative ad-
vantages of, 107
Elis, plate, 197
Endless ladder, 440
Fallowing, practice of, explained

on scientific principles, 459
Ferret, the, 297
Fare, old English, 48
Faringdon, 180
Farm servants, combination of, in

East Lothian, 269
Farmer at Christmas, 138
Faimer's Magazine, letter to the
Editor of, 92, 153, 154, 373

Farmer, Irish, reminiscence of, 414
Farmers 300 years ago, 375
Farmers, useful hints to, 384
Farms, manure of, 411
Farms, small, on the management

of, 436
Farms, experimental, 329
Fat cattle, 225

Feeding, experiments on, 412
Flax-growers, important to, 455
Flax, on tlie culture and treatment

of, 365, 368
Flax-seed, feeding cattle upon,

260
Fruit-trees, frost upon, 357
Grafting, expediency and effects

of, 354
Grain and flour imported into Li-
verpool in last 20 years, 61
Grain, comparison of imports into
Liverpool, in 1835 and 1836, 63
Grain, proportionate freight table,

469
Green crop system, 367, 419
Greyhound, plate, 357
Grass-land, on converting into

arable and relaying down, 91
Grass-land, economical method of

improving in Scotland, 424
Grass valuable, 378
Great Britain and Ireland, 152
Hack, plate, 16
Hares, the two, 173
Herculean feat, 308
Harvest, estimate of, 54, 58
Heath, improvement of, 411
Heifer, abscess in thigh of, 179
Hedge-birds destructive to crops,

207, 261
Hillyard's practical farming, 247
Hides, duty on, 70
Highland poor, 398
Hop trade, review of, 81, 244, 323,

484
Hops, cultivation of, 91
Hornsea, plate, 173
Horses, number in England and

Wales, 28
Horse, curious, 12
Horses, epidemic among, 101, 181
Horses, management of, 117
Horses, on soundness and un-
soundness in, 283
Horses, on the principles and

practice of shoeing, 341
Horses, on the past and present

state of, 349
Horses, racing, in Hindostan, 434
Horses, imperial establishment for

breeding in Austria, 445
Horticulture, 93
Horticultural society, 48
Hunters, management of, 17
Hunter, oh ! rest thee my, 124
.Hunter, condition of, wintering,
294

INDEX TO THE SIXTH VOLUME,

Ireland, question of superabund-
ant population considered, 451

Irrigation and draining, 338

Islington cattle market, 8

Islington marlcet v. Smit'.ifield, 339

Italian r3'e-grass, '299

Lambs, paralysis in, 441

Land, proposal for estimating rent
of, by average price of wheat, 16

Land, rent of, 180

Landed and trading interests, letter
to, 132

Larch, diseases of, 428

Landlords, important to, 237

Landlord and tenant, 308

Leases, 409

Lessees of ecclesiastical lands and
church-rates, 340

Loan fund, Charlbury, 115

Malt, quantity consumed by Lon-
don brewers, in year ending
Oct. 10, 183(), '26

Mangle Wurzel, 348, 369, 377,
449

Mangle Wurzel, system of culti-
vating, in East Lothian, 225

Maltsters, important to, 153

Manures, on, 385, 443

Manure, nature and application of,
447

Manure, farm-yard, 347

Manure, new, 364

Mark-Lane Express, to the Editor
of, 191

Mark-Lane Express, to the Editor
of, by S. Gill, 202, 237, 361

Milburn, Mr., reply to, 13, 274

Milburn's, Mr., reply to Mr. Gill,
256

Monetary system, 280

Moor-ill, 26

Myrtle, gigantic size in Van Die-
man's Land, 260

Nonpareil, plate, 437

Northumberland drovers in 1792,
340

Norwegian farmers, 419

Paper money and high prices, 177

Paris statistics, 238

Pig, remarkable, 70

Phosphoric acid — bone manure,
428

Plough, steam, 237,409

Plough, Armagh and Sussex, 330,
334, 440

Plough, Scotch, 363

Ploughing- on clay soils, 2

Ploughing, subsoil, 14, 131, 255

Ploughing matches, 177, 212

Ploughing and draining, 210

Ploughing-match at Hailsham, 281

Pneumonia, 128

Population, 116

Poisoned valley of Java, 259

Poor law report, 98

Poor law, abuse of, 238

Poor law commissioners report to.
112

Poor law, Ireland. 167, 213, 250

Poor luw, new, 188, 201 , 225, 259,
298, 370

Poor laws, Mr. Gaily Knight upon
the, 362

Pork trade at Cincinnati, 433

Pork establishment of IMexico, 445

Potatoes, on jilanting, 201

Potato, 205, 346

Potato Market, 244, 323

Potato crop, failure of, 248, 429,
464

Potato crop in Scotland, 432

Potato, the cup, 299

Puzzle for the curious, 361

Pyrenean shepherds, 366

Railways, triumph of, 153

Rain in October and November, 72

Rat, musk, 131

Reaping machine, 131

Rents, postponement of, 49

Rents, high for poor land, 258

Rheumatism, simple cure for, 48

Rumination, process of. 38

Rural police, 138, 238

Scotland, commerce of, in 1656 and
1835, 212

Scotland, statistical account of, 380

Settlement, law of, 179

Seeds and roots, on the classifica-
tion and purification of, 380

Seeds, price of, 323

Shaw Lefevre's pamphlet, letter in
answer to, 29

Sheep, consultation respecting, 358

Sheep, apthae in, 370

Short-horned cattle, sale of, 385

Short-horned cattle, on crossing
with other breeds, 285

Squirrels, 385

Sheet Anchor, a stallion, descrip-
tion of, 277

Shooting dog, 310

Smithfield for ever, 276

Smithfield show, 46

Snow, on clearing roads of, 138

Song of the month, 311

Soil, burnt, mode of preparing for
manure, 111

Spade husbandry, 298

Stall-feeding, 99

Statistics, upon, 260

Stud, Marquis of Waterford's, 420

Stock, sale of, at Firby, 427

Sussex Advertiser, letters to the
Editor of, 47,48,131

Tape-worm in the pointer and

spaniel, 278
Temperance societies, 189
Tenure, curious, 270
Threshing machines, 154
I Threshing machints, impi'ovement
in, 372
Tic doloureux, cui'e for, 49
Tithes, commutation of, 25, 268
Tithes, commutation meetings, 133,

199, 200
Tithes, commutation Act, opera-
tion of, 51, 71, 132, 153, 155,
299, 328, 422
Tithes, origin of, in England, 260
Tithes on hops, 420
Timber trees, planting of, 37 1
Timber duties, 175
Timber, i79
Tobacco and sheep, 129
Tour in Holstein, extracts from,

453
Trees, size of, 50
Turf intelligence, 83
Turnip crop, failure of, S. P. G.'s

theory, 50
Turnip crop fftilure, by Mr. Mil-
burn, 135
Turnip, Swedish, 71, 130, 333
Turnip fly, prevention against, 115
Turnip flV, 124, 130, 139, 260, 340,

420
Turnip cabbage, 178, 282
Turnip, on culture of, to C. Hill-
yard, Esq., 267
Turnpike trusts and tolls, 173
Turnpike-roads, 275
Vegetable manure, 431
Vetches, cultivation of, 137
Veterinarian, extract from, 193
Unions— Holborn, 176 ; Thingoe,
180; Strand, 186; Plomesgate,
201 ; Hoxne, 273
Wallflowers, 435
Waste land, improvement of, 97
Weather, severity of, 384
Western Australian report, 334
Weeding, necessity of, 257
Wheat, Smoothey's, or Boishall's

new red, 15
Wheat, flour, and bread, 70
Wheat, weekly averages, during

1836, 152
Wheat, tabular view of crops of,

from 1815 to 1835,421
Wheat, breadth of, in ground, 468
Wheat, on manure for, 309
Willow, value of, 298 ,
Woollen trade, review of, 76, 158
Wool market, Devizes, 174
Wool markets, 243, 323, 403
Worting classes, hints to, 27

PriBted by Joseph Rojerson, 24, Norfolk Street, Strand, LoBdcu,

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